Effects of Prevotella copri on insulin, gut microbiota and bile acids.

Obesity is becoming a major global health problem in children that can cause diseases such as type 2 diabetes and metabolic disorders, which are closely related to the gut microbiota. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, a significant positive correlation was observed between Prevotella copri (P. copri) and obesity in children (p = 0.003). Next, the effect of P. copri on obesity was explored by using fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) experiment. Transplantation of P. copri. increased serum levels of fasting blood glucose (p < 0.01), insulin (p < 0.01) and interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) (p < 0.05) in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice, but not in normal mice. Characterization of the gut microbiota indicated that P. copri reduced the relative abundance of the Akkermansia genus in mice (p < 0.01). Further analysis on bile acids (BAs) revealed that P. copri increased the primary BAs and ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in HFD-induced mice (p < 0.05). This study demonstrated for the first time that P. copri has a significant positive correlation with obesity in children, and can increase fasting blood glucose and insulin levels in HFD-fed obese mice, which are related to the abundance of Akkermansia genus and bile acids.

Effects of main active components of rosemary on growth performance, meat quality and lipid metabolism in finishing pigs.

Rosemary extracts have been widely used as feed additives in recent years. This study aimed to investigate the effects of rosmarinic acid (RA) and ursolic acid (UA), the main active components of rosemary, on growth performance, meat quality and lipid metabolism in finishing pigs. A total of 72 finishing pigs (Landrace; initial age of 150 d) were randomly divided into 3 treatments with 8 replicates of 3 pigs each, and fed a basal diet or diet containing 500 mg/kg of RA or UA. The results showed that dietary supplementation of RA or UA had no significant effect on the growth performance and carcass traits of finishing pigs (P > 0.05). However, both RA and UA significantly increased the triglyceride (TG) level in soleus muscle (P < 0.001). Supplementation of RA increased the expression of genes related to lipogenesis and transport including fatty acid synthase (FAS) (P < 0.001), sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP1c) (P < 0.001) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) (P < 0.05), while UA increased the expression of fatty acid transport protein 1 (FATP1), a gene related to lipid uptake (P < 0.05). However, RA reduced the expression of adipogenesis-related gene acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase α (ACCα) (P < 0.01). Characterization of cecal microbiota indicated that RA increased the microbial richness (chao 1, P < 0.001) and diversity (observed species, P < 0.01). Further analysis of the genera revealed that RA increased the relative abundance of Bacteroides and g-UCG-005 (P < 0.05), and UA enriched Prevotella (P < 0.001). Correlation analysis showed that g-UCG-005 was positively correlated with the expression of FAS, carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1B (CPT1B), SREBP1c and PPARγ (P < 0.01). In conclusion, dietary supplementation of RA or UA may increase fat deposition in muscle of finishing pigs by regulating lipid metabolism and gut microbiota.

A renewable test strip combined with solid-state ratiometric fluorescence emission spectra for the highly selective and fast determination of hydrazine gas.

N2H4 is one of the most toxic and explosive chemicals. In particular, N2H4 vapor is dangerously unstable. However, the determination of N2H4 gas has lagged behind the detection of N2H4 in aqueous solution or biological fluid in terms of the crucial ability to discriminate and quantify N2H4. Despite the multitude of fluorescent probe-coated test strips that have been used for N2H4 gas detection, these techniques mainly rely on the observation by eye of fluorescence color changes, which will hamper the discrimination of subtle color changes on the test strips due to the limited capacity of the eye to perceive and differentiate colors. Herein, we developed a new technique combining a renewable test strip and solid-state ratiometric fluorescence readout. The results confirmed that the prepared test strips could be used as a solid-state fluorescence sensor for the fast capture (within 5 min) and quantification of N2H4 gas. Additionally, the test strips could be easily renewable. Thus, this test strip-based approach provides an efficient tool for N2H4 gas detection, which is particularly significant for the real-time monitoring of N2H4 gas in airports and the environmental atmosphere in chemical plant regions. This design concept presents a new avenue for developing solid-state fluorescence sensors for gas detection.

A novel sandwich electrochemiluminescence immunosensor for ultrasensitive detection of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 based on immobilizing luminol on Ag@BSA core/shell microspheres.

A novel sandwich-type electrochemiluminescence immunosensor based on immobilizing luminol on Ag@BSA core/shell microspheres (Ag@BSA-luminol) for ultrasensitive detection of tumor marker carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) has been developed. Herein, magnetic carbon nanotubes (MAGCNTs) decorated with polyethylenimine (PEI) was used to construct the base of the immunosensor. MAGCNTs with prominent electrical conductivity and high surface area could be beneficial for promoting the electron transfer and loading plenty of primary antibodies (Ab1) via glutaraldehyde (GA). Meanwhile, the magnetic property of MAGCNTs makes it easy to be attached to the surface of magnetic glass carbon electrode (MGCE) through magnetism interaction, which provides an outstanding platform for this immunosensor. Moreover, Ag@BSA microspheres with large surface area, good stability, and excellent biocompatibility were desirable candidates for effective cross-link of CA19-9 detection antibodies (Ab2). A more interesting thing was that ELISA color reaction was used as an ultrasensitive strategy for identifying Ab2 was successfully coated on Ag@BSA with the naked eye. Additionally, we immobilized the luminol on the surface of Ag@BSA to prepare the target immunosensor. Immobilization of luminol on the surface of Ag@BSA could decrease the distance between luminophores and the electrode surface, leading to great enhancement of the ECL intensity of luminol in the present of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Under the optimal conditions, the intensity of the ECL immunosensor increased linearly with the logarithm of CA19-9 concentration in a wide linear range from 0.0005 to 150UmL(-1) with a detection limit of 0.0002UmL(-1) (S/N=3). All the results suggested the prepared CA19-9 immunosensor displayed high sensitivity, excellent stability and good specificity. The developed method opened a new avenue to clinical bioassay.