Ferritinophagy: A new idea for liver diseases regulated by ferroptosis.

BACKGROUND: The discovery of regulatory cell death has led to a breakthrough in the therapeutic field. Various forms of cell death, such as necrosis, apoptosis, pyroptosis, autophagy, and ferroptosis, play an important role in the development of liver diseases. In general, more than one form of cell death pathways is responsible for the disease state. Therefore, it is particularly important to study the regulation and interaction of various cell death forms in liver diseases. DATA SOURCES: We performed a PubMed search up to November 2022 with the following keywords: ferritinophagy, ferroptosis, and liver disease. We also used terms such as signal path, inducer, and inhibitor to supplement the query results. RESULTS: This review summarized the basic characteristics of ferritinophagy and ferroptosis and the regulation of ferroptosis by ferritinophagy and reviewed the key targets and treatment strategies of ferroptosis in different liver diseases. CONCLUSIONS: Ferritinophagy is a potential therapeutic target in ferroptosis-related liver diseases.

Dynamics in fermentation quality, bacterial community, and metabolic profile during silage fermentation of late-harvested elephant grass.

The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of delayed harvest and storage length on fermentation products, bacterial community, and metabolic shifts of elephant grass silage. The late-harvested elephant grass (LG) was naturally fermented (NLG) for 1, 3, 7, 15, 30, and 60 days, respectively. After 60-day ensiling, NLG displayed homolactic fermentation with low pH value, butyric acid, and ammonia nitrogen concentrations, and high lactic acid concentration, and ratio of lactic acid to acetic acid. Pseudomonas, Sphingomonas, and Pantoea dominated the bacterial community in LG, but Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, and Pediococcus were the advantageous genera in a 3-day and 60-day NLG. The correlation heatmap revealed that Acetobacter was positively related to acetic acid, ethanol, ammonia nitrogen, and butyric acid concentrations. There were distinct differences in the KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) metabolic profiles of fresh and ensiled LG. Ensiling suppressed the metabolism of amino acid, vitamins, and energy, while promoted the metabolism of carbohydrate. The LG can be well-fermented without additives, but its low crude protein content should not be ignored when applied in agricultural practice. The ensiling process remarkably affected the fermentation quality, bacterial community, and metabolic profiles of NLG.

Rapid antidepressant-like effect of Fructus Aurantii depends on cAMP-response element binding protein/Brain-derived neurotrophic facto by mediating synaptic transmission.

Several studies reported the relative antidepressant effects of Fructus Aurantii (FRA) with repeated treatment, the rapid antidepressant effects of FRA and the underlying mechanisms remained unclear. We, therefore, examined the rapid antidepressant actions of FRA in behavioral tests in mice and tested the underlying molecular mechanisms. We found FRA, like ketamine, reversed the behavioral deficits both in lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced and learned helplessness (LH) models at 1 day after a single administration. FRA was also capable of increasing the expressions of protein kinase A/cAMP-response element-binding protein/brain-derived neurotrophic factor (PKA/CREB/BDNF) signaling in hippocampus. Consistent with ketamine, FRA up-regulated the expressions of GABAergic receptor (GAD67) and glutamatergic receptor 1 (GluR1) in mouse hippocampus both exposed to LPS and LH. Moreover, synaptic proteins such as postsynaptic density-95 (PSD95) and synapsin1 were also up-regulated by a single dose of FRA both in LH and LPS models, like ketamine. Finally, metadoxine (an antagonist of CREB) inhibited the antidepressant effects of FRA in tail suspension test (TST) and forced swimming test (FST) in LPS-induced mice, which also blocked the phosphorylation of CREB and the expressions of neurotransmitters and synaptic molecules. Therefore, FRA had rapid antidepressant effects, which depended on PKA/CREB/BDNF pathway, subsequently regulated the downstream synaptic transmission.

Serum Total Bile Acid is Closely Related to the Significant Liver Injury in Patients with Non-Cholestatic Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection: a Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between non-cholestatic liver disease and total bile acid (TBA) remains obscure. The present study aimed to verify this relationship in patients with non-cholestatic chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. METHODS: A total of 922 consecutive chronic HBV infected patients with alkaline phosphatase (ALP) ≤ 1.5 upper limit of normal (ULN) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) ≤ 3 ULN were rigorously included in this cross-sectional study. Liver biopsy was performed in 53 patients and Scheuer scoring system was used to evaluate inflammation grade. G3/G4 or Child-Pugh B/C were considered to be significant liver injury. RESULTS: Compared to Child-Pugh A, TBA, total bilirubin (TBIL), ALP, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and AST to ALT ratio (AST/ALT) were significantly higher in Child-Pugh B/C, while TBIL to TBA ratio (TBIL/TBA) was significantly lower (all p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, TBA and AST/ALT were independently correlated with Child-Pugh B/C [odds ratio (OR) = 1.04, p < 0.001; OR = 1.79, p < 0.001, respectively]. The area under the curve (AUC) of TBA (0.82) was significantly higher than that of AST (0.73, p < 0.001) and ALT (0.63, p < 0.001). Furthermore, in patients with liver biopsy, TBA was also significantly higher in G3/G4 while TBIL/TBA was significantly lower (p < 0.05). After adjusting the factors related to bile excretion, TBIL/TBA was independently associated with G3/G4 (OR = 0.89, p = 0.037). CONCLUSIONS: Serum TBA shows a close relationship with significant liver injury in chronic HBV infected patients without cholestasis. Assessment of TBA, especially in combination with TBIL/TBA, may serve as a non-invasive marker for the diagnosis of non-cholestatic hepatic damage.

rhEPO inhibited cell apoptosis to alleviate acute kidney injury in sepsis by AMPK/SIRT1 activated autophagy.

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, people diagnosed sepsis may develop acute kidney injury (AKI), resulting heavy burden of health care. Recombinant human erythroprotein (rhEPO) has been suggested to have multifunction and may be used in the prevention or treatment of AKI, and its underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. METHODS: In our study, cell model induced by LPS-activated cell apoptosis in vitro and AKI animal model caused by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection in vivo. MTT assay and Flow Cytometry were conducted to analyze cell viability and apoptosis, respectively. Western bot was used to analyze expressions of apoptosis and autophagy associated proteins, and effects on AMPK/SIRT1 pathway. RESULTS: Our results suggested that rhEPO inhibited LPS-induced cell apoptosis in HK-2 and HEK-293. Moreover, we found that rhEPO activated autophagy to prevented cell apoptosis, changing the expression level of autophagy associated proteins such as LC3-I/LC3-II and P62, and AMPK/SIRT1 pathway was involved in its regulation. Additionally, both EX527 (SIRT1 inhibitor) and Compound C (AMPK inhibitor) blocked the autophagy effects caused by rhEPO and thus reversed the anti-apoptotic effects of rhEPO. Furthermore, our data demonstrated that rhEPO inhibited LPS-induced kidney tubular injury and decreased the expression level of apoptotic proteins by altering the expression level of autophagy related proteins and AMPK/SIRT1 pathway related proteins in vitro. CONCLUSION: Collectively, rhEPO suppressed LPS-induced cell apoptosis via AMPK/SIRT1 pathway mediated autophagy, and modulating their levels may serve as potential way in preventing AKI.

[Research on the Training Samples Selection for Spectral Reflectance Reconstruction Based on Principal Component Analysis].

The composition of training samples set is an important influence factor of spectral reflectance reconstruction process. Representative color samples selection for learning-based spectral reflectance reconstruction is discussed in this paper. A method based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is proposed to perform sample selection. First of all, a part of samples are selected according to the minimum Euclidean distance criteria in terms of camera response value from a large number of samples, which aim to ensure the similarity between training samples and target samples. Then the PCA data processing method is applied to these samples after removing the duplicate samples. The samples with larger principal component loadings are regarded as the representative color samples. Different thresholds for each principal component are used to make decision whether the loading of sample is large enough. In order to validate the proposed method, the selected samples are used as training samples to recover the spectral reflectance of color patches. A real multi-channel imaging system by loading broadband color filters in front of lens is used in the experiment to acquire the multi-channel image dataset. In this paper the pseudo-inverse method is employed to reconstruct spectral reflectance of target color patches. It is shown that the proposed method is superior to the previous methods in spectral reconstruction accuracy and can meet the requirements of high precision color reproduction.

The Comparison of Spectral Classification Based on DBN, BP Neural Network and SVM.

The stellar classification was an important research field for understanding the formation and evolution of stars and galaxies. With large sky surveys and its massive data, the speed and accuracy of the celestial automatic classification was very important. The depth confidence neural network (DBN), support vector machines (SVM) and BP neural networks used in the star classification were compared in this paper. And the applicability of star classification with these three methods was analyzed. First, K, F stars are classified according to the depth of confidence neural network and BP neural network and support vector machine.Then the K1, K3, K5 sub-type and F2, F5, F9 sub-type were separately identified. Finally, the data which did not belong to the k sub-type were excluded by a secondary classification model based on SVM support vector machine . The results shows that: the depth of belief networks is better for K, F-type star classification, but it is poor for K, F sub-type classification results; The recognition rate of SVM is high for the K, F-type stars and the classification effects of this method is better for K, F-type stars than the corresponding sub-type stars by comparison; The recognition rate of BP neural network is ordinary general for K, F-type stars and their sub-types. The experiment showed that the accuracy of excluding non-k-sub-type data can be up to 100% which indicates that the unknown spectral data can be screened and classified with SVM.

[Optimization Study of Non-Contact Color Measurement Parameters].

Spectral data or chrominance data acquired with color measurement device is able to objectively characterize the true color information of the object. As to the measuring target that without direct contact with the measuring instrument, it needs to adopt the non-contact color measurement method to obtain the color information.The spectral irradiance theoretical analysis shows that the changes of the color illumination distance, measuring distance and exposure time have greater impact on the measurement results. However, there is no in-depth study on the influence of the changes of measuring parameters for the measured results. In order to get the most accurate measurement results in the process of non-contact color measurement, parameter optimization study based on orthogonal experiment was proposed. Experiment with different combinations of parameters was conducted to obtain the color information of ColorChecker via PR705 spectroradiometer with range analysis and variance analysis method.Experimental results show that the minimum color difference of measured value and the standard value is 0.878 8ΔE, and the maximum color difference is 1.543 1ΔE. Data results show that the proposed method can effectively select the best combination of parameters, and to analyze the impact of various parameters on the result.

Research on the Development of Light Blending Model for Smart LED Lighting.

The color of the LED smart light is tunable by its inner equipped micro-processing systems. Therefore, it could provide significant improvement for the smart lighting conditions, such as museum lighting and home lighting. At present, the limitation of the current lighting blending technology remarkably affects the application of smart lighting technology and people could not make full use of the adjustability of the smart luminaries. In this research, a novel light blending model was proposed based on BP neural network and active set algorithm. The models could effectively simulate the nonlinear relationship between the device control values of the smart light and the output radiance spectrum of the light. Particularly, a BP neural network-based forward model for LED light blending was firstly proposed, which could accurately calculate the spectral radiance power distribution from the device control values. Afterwards, based on forward model, an active set algorithm-based backward model was developed, which could precisely predict the device control values from the desired spectral radiance power distribution. The experimental result indicates that the proposed method could accurately achieve the light blending controlling of smart LED light, with a CIEUCS Duv value of 0.002 7, which is significantly smaller than the just noticeable difference value of human vision. The authors believe that the proposed method will provided effective support for the development of smart LED lighting in near future.

[Risk factors of ISUP Modified Gleason score upgrading after radical prostatectomy].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the factors upgrading the International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) Gleason score using the specimens from preoperative prostatic biopsy and radical prostatectomy. METHODS: A total of 164 patients diagnosed with prostate cancer by biopsy underwent radical prostatectomy. We retrospectively analyzed their age, prostate volume, preoperative PSA level, PSA density (PSAD) , the time interval between biopsy and surgery, the number of positive punctures, positive surgical margin, seminal vesicle invasion, lymphatic invasion, and Gleason scores from biopsy and prostatectomy. We also determined the predictors of Gleason score upgrading by logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Of the 164 cases analyzed, 95 (57.93% ) showed a consistency between the Gleason score of preoperative prostatic biopsy and that after radical prostatectomy, 55 (33.54% ) increased and 14 (8.52%) decreased after prostatectomy as compared with preoperative biopsy. The prostate volume (P < 0.01) and biopsy score (P < 0.05) were independent predictors of Gleason score upgrading. The risk of Gleason score upgrading was 27 times higher in the patients with the prostate volume ≤ 25 ml and 9 times higher in the 25-40 ml group than in the > 60 ml group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Low Gleason score of biopsy (≤ 6) and small prostate volume (≤ 40 ml) may be the predictors of Gleason score upgrading after radical prostatectomy.

[Fluorosis of coal burning affects the male reproductive system].

Fluorosis of coal burning is a new type of endemic fluorosis in China, which affects the male reproductive system. Furthermore, the content of fluoride in the semen, sperm mortality, sperm concentration and the incidence of infertility are higher in severe fluorosis areas than in mild- and non-fluorosis areas, so are the levels of serum follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone. However, the levels of inhibin B, serum testosterone and estradiol show different degrees of reduction in severe fluorosis areas. Accordingly, fluorosis of coal burning, just like other endemic fluorosis, may affect the structure of male reproductive organs, the generation of sperm and reproductive endocrinology, resulting in the decline of men's reproductive ability.

Thoracic spinal cord injury and paraplegia caused by intradural cement leakage after percutaneous kyphoplasty: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) is a pivotal intervention for osteoporotic fractures, pathological vertebral compression fractures, and vertebral bone tumors. Despite its efficacy, the procedure presents challenges, notably complications arising from intradural cement leakage. Timely and accurate diagnosis, coupled with emergent intervention is imperative to improve patient prognosis. This case report illuminates the intricacies and potential complications associated with PKP, emphasizing the critical need for vigilant monitoring, prompt diagnosis, and immediate intervention to mitigate adverse outcomes. CASE SUMMARY: A 58-year-old male patient, experiencing a T7 osteoporosis-related pathological compression fracture, underwent PKP at a local hospital. Two weeks post-procedure, the patient developed paraplegic and dysuric symptoms, necessitating emergency decompression surgery. Gradual improvement was achieved, marked by the restoration of muscle strength, sensation, and mobility. CONCLUSION: PKP Intradural cement leakage following PKP is unusual and potentially fatal. Prompt imaging examinations, urgent evaluation, and the decompression surgery are essential, which help alleviate symptoms associated with spinal damage, markedly improving the overall prognosis.

Predictors of portal vein thrombosis after splenectomy in patients with cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND: Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is a commonthsn complication after splenectomy in patients with cirrhosis. However, the predictors of postoperative PVT are not known. AIM: To investigate the predictors of PVT after splenectomy in patient with cirrhosis. METHODS: A total of 45 patients with cirrhosis who underwent splenectomy were consecutively enrolled from January 2017 to December 2018. The incidence of PVT at 1 months, 3 months, and 12 months after splenectomy in patients with cirrhosis was observed. The hematological indicators, biochemical and coagulation parameters, and imaging features were recorded at baseline and at each observation point. The univariable, multivariable, receiver operating characteristic curve and time-dependent curve analyses were performed. RESULTS: The cumulative incidence of PVT was 40.0%, 46.6%, and 48.9% at 1 months, 3 months, and 12 months after splenectomy. Multivariable analysis showed that portal vein diameter (PVD) ≥ 14.5 mm and monthsdel end-stage liver disease (MELD) score > 10 were independent predictors of PVT at 1 months, 3 months, and 12 months after splenectomy (P < 0.05). Time-dependent curve showed that the cumulative incidence of PVT was significantly different between patients with MELD score ≤ 10 and > 10 (P < 0.05). In addition, the cumulative incidence of PVT in the PVD ≥ 14.5 mm group was significantly higher than that in the PVD < 14.5 mm group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Wider PVD and MELD score > 10 were independent predictors of PVT at 1 months, 3 months, and 12 months after splenectomy in patient with cirrhosis.

Clinical application of anatomy landmarks for microscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary adenomas.

It is important to identify relevant anatomical landmarks on the route of endonasal transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) for pituitary adenomas to improve the gross total resection and the remission of disease. We therefore retrospectively studied the clinical outcomes of 148 patients who underwent single nostril endonasal TSS for pituitary adenomas. The anatomic basis of these procedures was evaluated. The important landmarks included the mucosal sphenoid ostia, the sphenoid keel, the osseous ostia and the nutrient arteries nearby, the sellar bulge, and the carotid protuberance, which outlined a clear route to the sella turcica with the best view and less tissue damage. Based on these landmarks, 148 cases of endonasal TSS were successfully performed to achieve 70.3% of gross total resection and remission, respectively. The complications were controlled to the least. Therefore, the application of these landmarks will help to prevent complications and improve the long-term outcomes.

Enhancement of Biomass Conservation and Bioethanol Production of Sweet Sorghum Silage by Constructing Synergistic Microbial Consortia.

The efficient storage of materials before bioethanol production could be key to improving pretreatment protocol and facilitating biodegradation, in turn improving the cost-effectiveness of biomass utilization. Biological inoculants were investigated for their effects on ensiling performance, biodegradability of silage materials, and final bioethanol yield from sweet sorghum. Two cellulolytic microbial consortia (CF and PY) were used to inoculate silages of sweet sorghum, with and without combined lactic acid bacteria (Xa), for up to 60 days of ensiling. We found that the consortia notably decreased pH and ammonia nitrogen content while increasing lactic acid/acetic acid ratios. The microbes also functioned in synergy with Xa, significantly reducing lignocellulose content and improving biomass preservation. First-order exponential decay models captured the kinetics of nonstructural carbohydrates and suggested high water-soluble carbohydrate (grams per kilogram dry matter [DM]) preservation potential in PY-Xa (33.48), followed by CF-Xa (30.51). Combined addition efficiently improved enzymatic hydrolysis and enhanced bioethanol yield, and sweet sorghum treated with PY-Xa had the highest ethanol yield (28.42 g L-1). Thus, combined bioaugmentation of synergistic microbes provides an effective method of improving biomass preservation and bioethanol production from sweet sorghum silages. IMPORTANCE Ensiling is an effective storage approach to ensure stable year-round supply for downstream biofuel production; it offers combined facilities of storage and pretreatment. There are challenges in ensiling sweet sorghum due to its coarse structure and high fiber content. This study provides a meaningful evaluation of the effects of adding microbial consortia, with and without lactic acid bacteria, on changes in key properties of sweet sorghum. This study highlighted the bioaugmented ensiling using cellulolytic synergistic microbes to outline a cost-effective strategy to store and pretreat sweet sorghum for bioethanol production.

Urban ecological security pattern construction coupled with risk and service: A case study of Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province, China.

How to combine regional ecological risks and local ecological needs to construct ecological security is one of the main issues of its application in territorial spatial governance and associated with whether it can be effectively applied. Based on the "source" accessibility and the quality of space, we constructed the ecological security pattern of Xianyang City through the way of source-corridor-node. During the construction processes, we combined the cha-racteristics of topography, influencing factors of regional ecological security, and landscape characteristics. We coupled them with morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) and comprehensive evaluation results of ecological resistance, ecological connectivity and ecosystem service value, and superimposed with ecological gradient ana-lysis. The results showed that there were 66 ecological sources, with a total area of 2506.65 km2, accounting for 24.6% of the total area of Xianyang City, which were mainly distributed in the northeast, west and central mountainous areas. There were 106 ecological corridors with a total length of 823.5 km, including potential corridors, water systems, irrigation canal sites, Qinzhidao and other natural and cultural systems, which extended along the ecological source to the northwest and south Weihe River. There were 20 ecological nodes to improve ecological connectivity, which were mainly distributed between second layers of loess tableland and arid mountainous areas with banded distribution in the north part of the city.

Association between dosing of spironolactone and outcomes in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction patients combined with chronic kidney disease------Balance of efficacy and risk.

Aims: Few studies have compared the association between dosing of spironolactone and outcomes in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), and whether spironolactone dose could significantly affect the prognosis of HFpEF patients combined with chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains unclear. Our aim was to directly compare 'high vs. low' doses of spironolactone in an attempt to find a benefit-risk-balanced point, and infer an adequate dose for HFpEF with CKD patients. Methods: Overall, 4,321 symptomatic heart failure inpatients were initially screened from January 2013 to December 2019, and all enrolled patients were followed-up for 36 months; After including patients who meet the diagnostic criteria of HFpEF and CKD with ejection fraction > 45% and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 60 ml/min/1.73 m2, a total of 387 patients was selected. Primary outcome was a composite of all-cause death, heart failure (HF) hospitalization and non-fatal stroke. The key safety outcome was hyperkalemia rates during the follow-up period. Results: The primary outcome event rates in patients with or without spironolactone were 12.74 and 21.45 per 100 person-years, respectively. Compared with patients not taking spironolactone, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) [95% confidence interval (CI)] was 0.55 (0.38-0.79) with spironolactone group for primary outcomes. After grouped by the daily dose of spironolactone, low-dose group (≤ 40 mg) was associated with lower relative risk for the primary efficacy outcome [adjusted HR (95% CI) was 0.43 (0.23-0.81), 0.50 (0.33-0.76) and 0.74 (0.36-2.79) with < 40 mg, 40 mg and >40 mg, respectively]. During 3-year follow-up, the risk for hyperkalemia was amplified in the higher dose group (>40 mg) while showed no significant difference compared with low dose group (p = 0.425). Conclusion: HFpEF with CKD patients using spironolactone had lower risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes. And the use of low-dose spironolactone (≤ 40 mg) showed the best efficacy and safety, therefore we may recommend ≤ 40 mg as the optimal initial dose for these patients. However, this was a relatively small sample size, retrospective study, and further adequately powered randomized trials are needed to verify these results.

Dynamics of Phyllosphere Microbiota and Chemical Parameters at Various Growth Stages and Their Contribution to Anaerobic Fermentation of Pennisetum giganteum.

This work evaluated the dynamic changes of phyllosphere microbiota and chemical parameters at various growth stages of Pennisetum giganteum and their effects on the bacterial community, cooccurrence networks, and functional properties during anaerobic fermentation. P. giganteum was collected at two growth stages (early vegetative stage [PA] and late vegetative stage [PB]) and was naturally fermented (NPA and NPB) for 1, 3, 7, 15, 30, and 60 days, respectively. At each time point, NPA or NPB was randomly sampled for the analysis of chemical composition, fermentation parameter, and microbial number. In addition, the fresh, 3-day, and 60-day NPA and NPB were subjected to high-throughput sequencing and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) functional prediction analyses. Growth stage obviously affected the phyllosphere microbiota and chemical parameters of P. giganteum. After 60 days of fermentation, NPB had a higher lactic acid concentration and ratio of lactic acid to acetic acid but a lower pH value and ammonia nitrogen concentration than NPA. Weissella and Enterobacter were dominant in 3-day NPA and Weissella was dominant in 3-day NPB, while Lactobacillus was the most abundant genus in both 60-day NPA and NPB. The complexity of bacterial cooccurrence networks in the phyllosphere decreased with P. giganteum growth. The ensiling process further decreased the complexity of bacterial networks, with the simplest bacterial correlation structures in NPB. There were great differences in the KEGG functional profiles of PA and PB. Ensiling promoted the metabolism of lipid, cofactors, vitamins, energy, and amino acids but suppressed the metabolism of carbohydrates and nucleotides. Storage time had a greater influence than growth stage on bacterial community diversity, cooccurrence networks, and functional profiles of P. giganteum silage. Differences in bacterial diversity and functionality of P. giganteum silage caused by growth stage appear to be offset by long-term storage. IMPORTANCE The phyllosphere microbiota consists of various and complex microbes, including bacteria with crucial relevance to the quality and safety of fermented food and feed. It initially derives from soil and becomes specific to its host after interaction with plants and climate. Bacteria associated with the phyllosphere are highly abundant and diverse, but we know little about their succession. Here, the phyllospheric microbiota structure was analyzed within the growth of P. giganteum. We also evaluated the effects of phyllosphere microbiota and chemical parameter changes on the anaerobic fermentation of P. giganteum. We observed remarkable differences in bacterial diversity, cooccurrence, and functionality of P. giganteum at various growth stages and storage times. The obtained results are important for understanding the fermentation mechanism and may contribute to high-efficient production without additional cost.

Sustainable utilization of residual grass: effect of anaerobic storage days on chemical composition, fermentation performance, microbial community, and functional profiles of Pennisetum giganteum.

The seasonal surplus and putrefactive property of moist forages inevitably increase the pressure on environmental protection and residual grass disposal. In the current work, the anaerobic fermentation approach was adopted to assist the sustainable recycling of leftover Pennisetum giganteum (LP), and its chemical composition, fermentation performance, bacterial community and functional profiles during anaerobic fermentation were studied. Fresh LP was spontaneously fermented for up to 60 d. At the end of anaerobic fermentation, fermented LP (FLP) displayed homolactic fermentation with low pH value, ethanol, and ammonia nitrogen concentrations but high lactic acid concentration. Weissella was dominant in 3-day FLP, yet Lactobacillus was the overwhelming genus (92.6%) in 60-day FLP. The anaerobic fermentation process promoted (P < 0.05) the metabolism of carbohydrate and nucleotide while suppressing (P < 0.05) that of lipid, cofactors, vitamins, energy, and amino acid. The results showed that the residual grass with LP as an example could be successfully fermented even if no additives were added, without signs of clostridial and fungal contamination.

Lipopolysaccharide-induced endotoxaemia during adolescence promotes stress vulnerability in adult mice via deregulation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 in the medial prefrontal cortex.

RATIONALE: Sepsis is a severe inflammatory response to infection that leads to long-lasting cognitive impairment and depression after resolution. The lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endotoxaemia model is a well-established model of gram-negative bacterial infection and recapitulates the clinical characteristics of sepsis. However, whether LPS-induced endotoxaemia during adolescence can modulate depressive and anxiety-like behaviours in adulthood remains unclear. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether LPS-induced endotoxaemia in adolescence can modulate the stress vulnerability to depressive and anxiety-like behaviours in adulthood and explore the underlying molecular mechanisms. METHODS: Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure inflammatory cytokine expression in the brain. A stress vulnerability model was established by exposure to subthreshold social defeat stress (SSDS), and depressive- and anxiety-like behaviours were evaluated by the social interaction test (SIT), sucrose preference test (SPT), tail suspension test (TST), force swimming test (FST), elevated plus-maze (EPM) test, and open field test (OFT). Western blotting was used to measure Nrf2 and BDNF expression levels in the brain. RESULTS: Our results showed that inflammation occurred in the brain 24 h after the induction of LPS-induced endotoxaemia at P21 but resolved in adulthood. Furthermore, LPS-induced endotoxaemia during adolescence promoted the inflammatory response and the stress vulnerability after SSDS during adulthood. Notably, the expression levels of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and BDNF in the mPFC were decreased after SSDS exposure in mice treated with LPS during adolescence. Activation of the Nrf2-BDNF signalling pathway by sulforaphane (SFN), an Nrf2 activator, ameliorated the effect of LPS-induced endotoxaemia during adolescence on stress vulnerability after SSDS during adulthood. CONCLUSIONS: Our study identified adolescence as a critical period during which LPS-induced endotoxaemia can promote stress vulnerability during adulthood and showed that this effect is mediated by impairment of Nrf2-BDNF signalling in the mPFC.