Effects of wheat bran in comparison to antibiotics on growth performance, intestinal immunity, barrier function, and microbial composition in broiler chickens.

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of wheat bran (WB) and antibiotics on growth performance, intestinal immunity, barrier function, and microbial composition in broiler chickens. A total of 168 one-day-old male Arbor Acre chicks were allocated to 3 treatments consisting of 7 replicates with 8 birds per replicate. The 3 treatments were: an antibiotic-free control diet (control, CON), CON + 75 mg/kg chlortetracycline as an antibiotic growth promoter (AGP), and CON + 3% WB. Birds fed AGP and WB had greater (P < 0.05) ADG during days 1 to 21 and lower (P < 0.05) feed-to-gain ratio during each phase than those fed CON. The WB supplementation reduced (P < 0.05) serum concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-α and diamine oxidase activity compared with CON on both day 21 and 42. The AGP and WB supplementation decreased (P < 0.05) interleukin-1ß concentration in jejunal mucosa on day 21 and increased (P < 0.05) secretory immunoglobulin A concentration in jejunal mucosa on day 21 and 42. The relative expression of occludin in jejunal mucosa was upregulated (P < 0.05) in WB than in CON on day 21. Moreover, both AGP and WB supplementation upregulated (P < 0.05) the relative expression of zonula occludens-1 in jejunal mucosa on day 21 and 42. The WB supplementation enhanced the α-diversity of cecal microbiota, as evidenced by the increased Shannon index (P < 0.05). At the phylum level, the phylum Firmicutes was enriched (P < 0.05) in WB. At the genus level, the WB supplementation enriched (P < 0.05) Lachnoclostridium and Butyricicoccus. The WB supplementation increased (P < 0.05) cecal total short chain fatty acids concentrations on day 21 and 42, and butyric acid concentrations on day 42 compared with CON. Collectively, supplementation of 3% WB could promote growth by improving intestinal immunity, barrier function, and microbial composition in broilers. Thus, WB may have a role in replacing antibiotics for improved growth performance and intestinal health in broilers.

[Analysis of allergen spectrum and sensitization factors in children with allergic rhinitis].

Objective:The aim of this study is to analyze the distribution of common allergens in allergic rhinitis patients aged 2-15 in Zhangjiagang area,in order to provide a path to know the epidemic features of children with AR, and supports epidemiological materials to find better prevention, diagnosis and treatment for them.Method:From July.2015 to July.2018,1 320 children aged 2-15 who were suspected with allergic rhinitis by the doctors of ENT clinic in the Zhangjiagang Affiliated Hospital,were enrolled in this project.Using the serum specific IgE detection methods to detect common allergens in those patients,then analyze the relationship among allergens and gender,age and visiting time of every single patient.Result:The total positive rate of 1 320 children was 82.50%,and the total positive rate of 8 common inhaled allergens was 82.50%.The main allergens were dust mites and dogs. The total positive rate of Children aged in 7-12 was the highest,and the positive rate of dust mites of male was higher than female.The common food allergens total positive rate was 9.09%.And the top three food allergens were milk,shrimp,crab.The number of visitors in July and August was the most in a year.The dust mite had the highest positive rate among common inhaled allergen in a year,and the maximum value appeared in July.The rate of patients who were allergic to one inhalant allergen were lower than those who were allergic to two or more inhalant allergens.Conclusion:The dust mite is the major allergen above all.The total positive rate of Children aged in 7-12 was the highest,and the positive rate of dust mites of male was higher than female;the maximum value appeared in July and August.The rate of patients who were allergic to one inhalant allergen were lower than those who were allergic to two or more inhalant allergens.

[Control study of H-uvulopalatopharyngoplasty combined with tongue base radiofrequency for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome].

Objective: To investigate the effect of H-uvulopalatopharyngoplasty(H-UPPP) combined with tongue base radiofrequency ablation in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome(OSAHS). Methods: Sixty-two patients with moderate or severe OSAHS, whose obstructive plane located in the oropharynx and tongue base were divided into two groups two groups according to the patient's independent choice under the condition of fully informed before the operation. The control group of 30 cases underwent H-UPPP, while the experimental group of 32 patients underwent improved H-UPPP and tongue base radiofrequency. The clinical efficacy between the two groups was compared. Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups before operation. After the operation, the total effective rate of the experimental group was 71.9%, significantly higher than that of the control group (46.7%, χ(2)=4.09, P<0.05), the difference was statistically significant. After operation, in the control group, AHI was (19.4±8.1)/h, LSaO(2) was 0.767±0.052. In the experimental group, AHI was (17.8±7.8)/h, LSaO(2) was 0.790±0.059. There was significant difference in both groups before and after surgery (P<0.001), with statistical significance. In the experimental group, after operation, the minimum diameter of oropharyngeal cavity was (10.6±2.4) mm, there was obvious increase compared with the diameter of oropharyngeal cavity (9.9±2.2) mm before operation, the difference was statistically significant (t=2.64, P<0.05). In the control group, after operation, the minimum diameter of oropharyngeal cavity was(10.0±2.4) mm, there was no obvious increase compared with the diameter of oropharyngeal cavity (9.9±2.5) mm before operation, the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Compared between control group and experimental group, the differences of AHI, LSaO(2), the minimum anteroposterior diameter of oropharyngeal cavity before and after operation were not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusion: The effect of same time H-UPPP and radiofrequency ablation surgery is definitive.

[Expression patterns and prognostic values of Nrf2 and Keap1 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma].

Objective:To investigate the expression of Nrf2 and Keap1 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and to analyze the relationship between the expression of Nrf2 and Keap1 and the clinicopathological features and prognosis of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Method:A total of 108 patients with biopsy-proven nonkeratinizing squamous cell carcinoma-undifferentiated type with available biopsy specimens for tissue microarray (TMA) construction were selected. The relationship between Nrf2 and Keap1 protein expression and the prognosis of radiotherapy in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma was analyzed. Result: The overall 5-year disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival(OS) rates were 57.4% and 70.2%, respectively. The 5-year DFS rate was 59.4% in the low nuclear Nrf2 expression group, and 53.8% in the high nuclear Nrf2 expression group. The 5-year DFS rate was 42.2% in the low cytoplasmic Keap1 expression group, and 68.2% in the high cytoplasmic Keap1 expression group. The 5-year OS rate was 70.8% in the low nuclear Nrf2 expression group, and 69.2% in the high nuclear Nrf2 expression group. The 5-year OS rate was 55.6% in the low cytoplasmic Keap1 expression group, and 80.9% in the high cytoplasmic Keap1 expression group.Conclusion:We found that nuclear Nrf2 or cytoplasmic Keap1 expression had no significant association with clinicopathological features. The high expression of cytoplasmic Keap1 had higher DFS and OS. Keap1 is an independent prognostic factor for DFS and OS in NPC patient.

Prognostic significance of preoperative albumin-to-globulin ratio in patients with cholangiocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to assess the prognostic value of the serum albumin to globulin ratio (AGR) in cholangiocarcinoma patients after surgery. METHODS: We retrospectively enrolled 123 cholangiocarcinoma patients who underwent surgical treatment between June 2003 and September2014 at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University. Univariate and multivariate analyses using the Cox regression model were performed to determine the prognostic value of AGR. RESULTS: Univariate analysis suggested that AGR was a predictive factor for (overall survival) OS but not for recurrence free survival (RFS). After adjustment for other risk factors, multivariate analysis showed that AGR remained independently associated with OS. The optimal cut-off point for AGR was determined to be 1.44. Kaplan-Meier curves showed that there was a significantly lower mean survival time in the low AGR group compared to the high AGR group. A low AGR was found to be significantly associated with high alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, total bilirubin levels and an advanced American Joint Committee on Cancer TNM stage, but a low hemoglobin level. CONCLUSION: In summary, patients with higher AGRs have better outcomes than those with lower AGRs. Preoperative AGR can be a reliable marker for evaluating the prognosis of cholangiocarcinoma patients.

Effect of different inclusion level of condensed distillers solubles ratios and oil content on amino Acid digestibility of corn distillers dried grains with solubles in growing pigs.

The purpose of this experiment was to determine and compare the digestibility of crude protein (CP) and amino acids (AA) in full-oil (no oil extracted) and de-oiled (oil extracted) corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) with different condensed distillers solubles (CDS) ratios. Six barrows (29.6±2.3 kg) fitted with ileal T-cannula were allotted into a 6×6 Latin square design. Each period was comprised of a 5-d adaption period followed by a 2-d collection of ileal digesta. The five test diets contained 62% DDGS as the sole source of AA. A nitrogen-free diet was used to measure the basal endogenous losses of CP and AA. Chromic oxide (0.3%) was used as an index in each diet. The results showed that CP and AA were very similar in 5 DDGS, but the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of lysine (from 56.16% to 71.15%) and tryptophan (from 54.90% to 68.38%) had the lowest values and largest variation within the essential AA, which suggests reduced availability of AA and different levels of Maillard reactions in the five DDGS. The apparent ileal digestibility and SID of CP and most of AA in full-oil DDGS (sources 1 and 2) were greater (p<0.05) than de-oiled DDGS (sources 3, 4, and 5). Comparing the AA SID in the 5 DDGS, full-oil with low CDS ratio DDGS (source 1) had non-significantly higher values (p >0.05) than full-oil with high CDS ratio DDGS (source 2); however, the SID of most AA of de-oiled with low CDS ratios DDGS (source 3) were non-significantly lower (p>0.05) than de-oiled with high CDS ratio DDGS (source 4); and the de-oiled DDGS with middle CDS ratio (source 5) but with different drying processing had the lowest SID AA values. In conclusion, de-oiled DDGS had lower SID of CP and AA than full-oil DDGS; a higher CDS ratio tended to decrease the SID of AA in full-oil DDGS but not in de-oiled DDGS; and compared with CDS ratio, processing, especially drying, may have more of an effect on AA digestibility of DDGS.

Thioredoxin fusion/HIV-1 protease coexpression system for production of soluble human IL6 in E. coli cytoplasm.

In this paper, thioredoxin (TRX) fusion expression system has been modified to produce soluble human IL6 (hIL6) without TRX moiety in E. coli cytoplasm. A novel TRX gene fusion vector was developed that contained at the 3'-end of TRX gene a short DNA sequences encoding a linker peptide '-GSGSGVSQNYPIVQHHHHHH-', serving not only as a specific HIV-1 protease site but also providing six contiguous histidine (His) residues to foreign proteins. The cDNA for hIL6 was cloned into this vector resulting in plasmid pTRX@HISIL6. The cDNA for the HIV-1 protease has been cloned into another compatible plasmid pHMM2, resulting in plasmid pHMM2-PR. Both plasmids were transformed into E. coli strain GI724, and when induced for expression of both proteins, the correct processing of TRX@HISIL6 was obtained, producing hIL6 with His6-tag at the N terminus named HISIL6. A fraction of HISIL6 was found in soluble form and could be purified to homogeneity by Ni-NTA Superflow and ion-exchange chromatography. The biological activity of purified HISIL6 was measured by MTT method in an IL-6-dependent cell line 7TD1 to be 2.1 x 10(8) unit/mg.

Molecular cloning and expression of human interleukin-6 in insect cells.

670-bp hIL-6 cDNA fragments have been amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using recombinant plasmid pBMIL-6A as templates and two synthetic oligonucleotides containing the optimized translation initiation sequence and restriction sites suitable for cloning as primers. The amplified IL-6 cDNA fragments have then been recombined with a non-fusion expression baculovirus vector pVL1393. The resultant recombinant plasmid pVL. IL-6 together with wtAcMNPV DNAs were transferred into cultured lepidopteran insect cells (Sf9) by calcium phosphate coprecipitation procedure. The recombinant baculoviruses were formed by homologous recombination in vivo between pVL. IL-6 and wtAcMNPV DNAs, screened for plaque assay, and identified by means of dot blotting hybridization. The expressed rhIL-6 was secreted into the culture medium, and its bioactivity was measured through half-maximum H-TdR incorporation into IL-6-dependent cells 7TD1. As a result, the supernatant collected from recombinant baculovirus rAc. IL-6-infected Sf9 cells showed IL-6 activity of 10(6) U/mL. The expression level of rhIL-6 of the supernatant determined by IL-6 ELISA quantitation kit was 1 microgram/mL.