Effect of Lactobacillus salivarius SNK-6 on egg quality, intestinal morphology, and cecal microbial community of laying hens.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of Lactobacillus salivarius (L. salivarius) SNK-6 supple-mentation on the laying performance, egg quality, blood parameters, intestinal morphology, and cecal microbial community of laying hens. A total of 432 healthy 30-wk-age laying hens were randomly divided into 3 groups with 6 replicates under the same husbandry and dietary regimes: control (CON); 2.0 × 108 CFU/kg L. salivarius supplementation (T1); 2.0 × 109 CFU/kg L. salivarius supplementation (T2). The experiment lasted for 10 wk. The results indicated that the supplementation resulted in a significant reduction in the broken egg and unqualified egg ratios, and a significant increase in the eggshell strength, eggshell relative weight, albumen height, and Haugh units (P < 0.05). The L. salivarius-treated hens exhibited significantly reduced serum malondialdehyde levels (P < 0.05); significantly increased total protein, phosphorus, calcitonin, and immunoglobulin M (P < 0.05); significantly increased cecal secretory immunoglobulin A concentration (P < 0.05); significantly improved villus height (VH) in the duodenum and VH to crypt depth ratio in the jejunum (P < 0.05). The serum globulin and interleukin-1ß, immunoglobulin G concentrations, and catalase activity significantly increased in T2 (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the serum interferon-α level in T1 was significantly higher than that of the CON (P < 0.05). The intestinal barrier-related mRNA gene ZO-1, CLDN1, and MUC2 expression in the jejunum was significantly upregulated in the T1 and T2 groups (P < 0.05). The Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio was higher and the relative abundances of Flavonifractor and Clostridiales_noname were significantly higher in the T1 group (P < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary supplementation with L. salivarius SNK-6 may improve hen egg quality, serum antioxidant capacity, immune function, and intestinal health.

Development of an LC/MS/MS Method for Simultaneous Detection of 11 Polyphenols in Rat Plasma and Its Pharmacokinetic Application after Oral Administration of Coreopsis tinctoria Extract.

Eleven polyphenols, classified as flavonoid glycosides, flavonoid aglycones, and phenolic acids, are important bioactive components in the capitula of Coreopsis tinctoria (CCT). Nevertheless, their full pharmacokinetic profiles have not been demonstrated simultaneously. Therefore, a liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method was developed in the present work and used it to study the pharmacokinetics of these 11 compounds. We performed LC/MS/MS with a gradient mobile phase composed of water containing 0.1 % formic acid and acetonitrile containing 0.1 % formic acid on a Proshell 120 SB C18 column (2.1 mm×100 mm, 2.7 µm). We achieved a good chromatographic peak shape, resolution, and mass signal response, and multiple reaction monitoring facilitated the simultaneous detection of 11 analytes. In addition, we validated the selectivity, correlation coefficient, precision, extraction recovery, matrix effects, and stability of the LC/MS/MS method to be acceptable for 11 analytes in rat plasma. Subsequently, rats were orally administered with 50 % ethanol eluent of CCT (ECCT). Nine of 11 polyphenols were absorbed quickly (except for QCD and TCA), and their plasma levels peaked within 40 min. The exposure and Cmax values of flavonoid glycosides and phenolic acids were lower than those of flavonoid aglycones. This is the first report to demonstrate the pharmacokinetics of 11 polyphenols in ECCT, which may play an important role in future studies of the bioactive components of ECCT and their bioactive mechanisms.

The Relationship between Meniere's Disease and Acute Low-Tone Sensorineural Hearing Loss.

Objective: To analyse the vestibular function characteristics of patients with Meniere's disease and acute hypophonic sensorineural hearing loss in order to find more reliable and objective ancillary tests that will reduce misdiagnosis and missed diagnoses. Methods: From January 2021 to December 2021, 60 healthy adults who underwent physical examination in our hospital were included in the control group, 60 patients with Meniere's disease were included in Study Group A, and 60 patients with acute low-tone sensorineural hearing loss were recruited in Study Group B. All participants underwent the caloric test (CT), video-head impulse test (vHIT), headshaking test (HST), and vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) testing, which includes ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP) and cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP). Results: Statistical analyses of unilateral weakness and directional preponderance (DP) in the two groups of patients found no significant differences between the two groups (P > 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the abnormal rate of vHIT and HST results between the two study groups (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference in the wave latencies, interwave intervals, and amplitudes of cVEMP and oVEMP, among the three groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: This study found that factors affecting CT, vHIT, HST, and VEMP results included age, head posture and position during testing, stimulus type, manipulation method, and control of muscle tone, and also those that are related to the testing instrument, statistical software, and manipulation procedures, resulting in different excitation rates and testing parameters. The small sample size prevented a comprehensive assessment of the differences in vestibular function between patients with Meniere's disease and acute hypotonic sensorineural hearing loss, and a larger sample size will be investigated in the future to provide useful insight into the diagnosis, treatment and differentiation of Meniere's disease, and acute hypotonic sensorineural hearing loss.