Antioxidant, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective activities of pentacyclic triterpenes isolated from Ziziphus oxyphylla Edgew.

Ziziphus oxyphylla Edgew is in folk use in Pakistan as an analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and liver ailments. Therefore, we have investigated antioxidant, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective activities of the isolated compounds (ceanothic acid and zizybrenalic acid) from the chloroform fraction of Z. oxyphylla. Ceanothic acid and zizybrenalic acid showed significant DPPH and H2O2 scavenging activity as compared to control. In the acute toxicity study, ceanothic acid and zizybrenalic acid showed no toxic effects upto 200 mg/kg. The antinociceptive activity shown by ceanothic acid and zizybrenalic acid at 50 mg/kg was 64.28% and 65.35% compared to diclofenac sodium (72.3%) at 50 mg/kg. The percent inhibition of xylene-induced ear edema exhibited by ceanothic acid and zizybrenalic acid at 50 mg/kg was 51.33% and 58.66%, respectively, as compared to diclofenac sodium (72.66%). Both the isolated compounds exhibited inhibition of carrageenan-induced paw edema as compared to control. Hepatoprotection exhibited by zizybrenalic acid was more pronounced than ceanothic acid as observed from the decrease in carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced elevation of serum biomarkers, antioxidant enzymes and lipid peroxidation. Furthermore, zizybrenalic acid produced a marked decline in CCl4-induced prolongation of phenobarbital-induced sleeping duration. Zizybrenalic acid exhibited 55.4 ± 1.37% inhibition of hypotonic solution-induced hemolysis compared to sodium salicylate (75.6 ± 2.15%). The histopathological damage caused by CCl4 was also countered by the administration of ceanothic acid and zizybrenalic acid. Ceanothic acid and zizybrenalic acid exhibited antioxidant, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective activities. Zizybrenalic acid exhibited better antioxidant, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective activity than ceanothic acid.

End-to-End Deep Convolutional Recurrent Models for Noise Robust Waveform Speech Enhancement.

Because of their simple design structure, end-to-end deep learning (E2E-DL) models have gained a lot of attention for speech enhancement. A number of DL models have achieved excellent results in eliminating the background noise and enhancing the quality as well as the intelligibility of noisy speech. Designing resource-efficient and compact models during real-time processing is still a key challenge. In order to enhance the accomplishment of E2E models, the sequential and local characteristics of speech signal should be efficiently taken into consideration while modeling. In this paper, we present resource-efficient and compact neural models for end-to-end noise-robust waveform-based speech enhancement. Combining the Convolutional Encode-Decoder (CED) and Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) in the Convolutional Recurrent Network (CRN) framework, we have aimed at different speech enhancement systems. Different noise types and speakers are used to train and test the proposed models. With LibriSpeech and the DEMAND dataset, the experiments show that the proposed models lead to improved quality and intelligibility with fewer trainable parameters, notably reduced model complexity, and inference time than existing recurrent and convolutional models. The quality and intelligibility are improved by 31.61% and 17.18% over the noisy speech. We further performed cross corpus analysis to demonstrate the generalization of the proposed E2E SE models across different speech datasets.

Garlic and ginger essential oil-based neomycin nano-emulsions as effective and accelerated treatment for skin wounds' healing and inflammation: In-vivo and in-vitro studies.

Skin, largest organ of human, is directly exposed to environment and hence is prone to high rates of injuries and microbial infections. Over the passage of time these microbes have developed resistance to antibiotics making them ineffective especially in lower doses and hence, higher dosages or new drugs are required. The current study deals with designing of nano-emulsion (NE) formulations composed of garlic and ginger oils (0.1 %) with neomycin sulphate used in different ratios (0.001, 0.01 and 0.1 %) and combinations. The resulting NEs were characterized for droplet size (145-304 nm), zetapotential (-3.0-0.9 mV), refractive index (1.331-1.344), viscosity (1.10-1.23cP), transmittance (96-99 %), FT-IR and HPLC and found stable over a period of three months. All NEs were also found effective against both gram positive and negative bacterial strains i.e., B. spizizenii, S. aureus, E. coli and S. enterica as compared to pure neomycin sulphate (NS) used as control with highest activity recorded for NE-2 and NE-4 against all strains showing zone of inhibition in range of 22-30 mm and 21-19 mm, respectively. NEs were also tested using rabbit skin excision wound model which potentiates that all the NEs resulted in early recovery with 86-100 % wound healing achieved in 9 days as compared to NS ointment (71 %). The studies confirmed that essential oils when used in combination with traditional drug can lead to much higher efficacies as compared to pure drugs.

Comparing the effectiveness of Mulligan mobilization versus Cyriax approach in the management of patients with subacute lateral epicondylitis.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effectiveness of Mulligan mobilisation versus Cyriax approach in the management of patients with subacute lateral epicondylitis. METHODS: The clinical trial was conducted at the District Headquarter Hospital, Bahawalnagar, Pakistan, from September to December 2018, and comprised lateral epicondylitis patients having symptoms for >2 weeks. The diagnosis was confirmed on the basis of physical tests and musculoskeletal ultrasound. The subjects were randomly allocated to two equal groups A and B. Group A received deep transverse friction and Mill's manipulation according to Cyriax approach, while group B received Mulligan mobilisation with movement techniques. Patient-related tennis elbow evaluation index was used to collect data which was analysed using SPSS 20. RESULTS: Of the 60 patients, there were 30(50%) in each of the two groups. The overall mean age was 35.27±7.30 years, and 38(63.3%) participants were male. After 4 weeks of treatment sessions, both groups showed significant improvements (p<0.05) in pain and functional disability scores. Group A showed significantly more improvement (p<0.05) in pain subscale scores compared to group B, while group B showed significant improvement (p<0.05) in functional disability subscale scores compared to group A. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) between the groups on total the patient-related tennis elbow evaluation index score. CONCLUSIONS: Both Mulligan mobilisation with movement and Cyriax approach decreased pain and improved functional status in lateral epicondylitis patients.

Site-Specific Biofunctionalization of Cellulose and Poly(dimethylsiloxane): A Chemoenzymatic Approach for Surface Engineering.

Site-specific, covalent immobilization of protein is of great importance in the design of bioanalytical devices. User-defined covalent coupling of protein onto the surface has been primarily limited to a noncanonical amino acid or cysteine residues. It is desirable to develop a new approach for site-specific biofunctionalization. Herein, we demonstrate a robust and modular chemoenzymatic approach for site-specific, covalent grafting of proteins onto a surface. The synthetic strategy relies on the combination of surface amine functionalization, followed by sortase-mediated coupling. The developed method was validated by site-specific immobilization of two model proteins (glutathione S-transferase and green fluorescent protein) on cellulose and polydimethylsiloxane surfaces via a short recognition motif (LPETG). The covalent coupling of immobilized proteins at the interface was characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy in attenuated total reflectance mode, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscope, and fluorescent microscopy. This enzymatic surface functionalization approach could permit an oriented, homogeneous, and site-specific covalent tethering of LPETG-tag proteins to other materials under mild conditions.

Fungi from the extremes of life: an untapped treasure for bioactive compounds.

More than 80% of the Earth surface is consisted of hostile and harsh environments, classified as extreme from an anthropogenic perspective. Microorganisms with acclimatized nature dominate these extreme ecosystems of the biosphere. Survivals in such environments initiate an inductive force leading to the production of noteworthy metabolites having peculiar biochemistry. Recent investigations on extremophilic fungi for unprecedented bioactive compounds emphasize their remarkable potential as sources of new therapeutics. The present review covers the literature published in the last 15 years and highlights the biological activities and structure of compounds isolated from the extremophilic fungi. The compounds are grouped based on their biological functions such as cytotoxicity, lipid-lowering ability, and antimicrobial, antioxidant, nematocidal, anti-inflammatory, anti-malarial, and antifouling activities. A total of 155 compounds isolated from 25 Penicillium species, 16 Aspergillus species, and 23 other species are presented, which include 105 new and 50 known bioactive compounds. Out of these, 77 have known cytotoxic activity and 46 are antimicrobial in nature, while there are 32 other compounds with different activities including nematocidal, anti-allergic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory. KEY POINTS: • A broad compilation of bioactive compounds from extremophilic fungi. • Classification of bioactive compounds based on their biological functions. • Production of cytotoxic compounds is common among all kind of extremophilic fungi. • Bioactive compounds have no direct role in adaptation process of extremophiles.

Tea polyphenols attenuate liver inflammation by modulating obesity-related genes and down-regulating COX-2 and iNOS expression in high fat-fed dogs.

BACKGROUND: Tea polyphenols (TPs) attenuate obesity related liver inflammation; however, the anti-obesity effects and anti-inflammatory mechanisms are not clearly understood. This study aimed to determine whether the anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory TPs mechanisms associated with cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression levels, and obesity-related gene response in dogs. RESULTS: Dogs fed TPs displayed significantly decreased (p < 0.01) mRNA expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1ß), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) compared to dogs that consumed high-fat diet (HFD) alone. TPs significantly (p < 0.01) inhibited COX-2 and iNOS expression level, and decreased liver fat content and degeneration. CONCLUSION: These results suggested that TPs act as a therapeutic agent for obesity, liver inflammation, and fat degeneration via COX-2 and iNOS inhibition, with TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6 involvement.

Vitrification of murine mature metaphase II oocytes perturbs DNA methylation reprogramming during preimplantation embryo development.

Accurate reprogramming of DNA methylation occurring in preimplantation embryos is critical for normal development of both fetus and placenta. Environmental stresses imposed on oocytes usually cause the abnormal DNA methylation reprogramming of early embryos. However, whether oocyte vitrification alters the reprogramming of DNA methylation (5 mC) and its derivatives in mouse preimplantation embryo development remains largely unknown. Here, we found that the rate of cleavage and blastocyst formation of embryos produced by IVF of vitrified matured oocytes was significantly lower than that in control counterparts, but the quality of blastocysts was not impaired by oocyte vitrification. Additionally, although vitrification neither altered the dynamic changes of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) and 5-formylcytosine (5 fC) before 4-cell stage nor affected the levels of 5 mC and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC) throughout the preimplantation development, vitrification significantly reduced the levels of 5hmC and 5 fC from 8-cell stage onwards. Correspondingly, vitrification did not alter the expression patterns of Tet3 in preimplantation embryos but apparently reduced the expression levels of Tet1 in 4-cell and 8-cell embryos and increased the expression levels of Tet2 at morula stage. Taken together, these results demonstrate that oocyte vitrification perturbs DNA methylation reprogramming in mouse preimplantation embryo development.

Pharmacognostic and phytochemical studies of Zanthoxylum armatum DC.

The pharmacognostic and phytochemical investigations on the leaf, stem bark, and fruit of Zanthoxylum armatum were carried out. Macroscopic study of leaf, stem bark, and fruit of Z. armatum revealed some of the characteristic features like size, shape, color, odor and taste of the crude drug. Distinguishing fragments were identified from the powder drug. Leaf, bark, and fruit powder of this plant have higher values of total, acid insoluble, and water soluble ash as compared to the powder of this plant exhausted with ethanol and n- hexane. Extraction values in methanol were highest for leaves (20.10%) and fruit (11%), while bark showed highest value in chloroform (8.5%). The extractive values varied among other parts with different solvents. Fluorescence analysis of the Z. Armatum leaf, stem bark, and fruit powder with various reagents showed characteristic coloration at day and under UV light. Quantitative phytochemical screening revealed the presence of many bioactive constituents in leaves, such as alkaloids (15.60±0.10 mg/g), sterols (71.60±0.10mg/g), saponins (21.57±0.12mg/g), tannins (34.43±0.21mg/g), phenols (11.66±0.33mg/g) and flavonoids (13.68±0.66mg/g). Alkaloids (19.60±0.10mg/g), sterols (33.83±0.29mg/g), saponins (14.78±0.10mg/g), tannins (28.62±0.13mg/g), phenols (16.48±1.33mg/g) and flavonoids (18.33±1.22mg/g) were reported form the bark, while fruits were reported to have alkaloids (25.07±0.21mg/g), sterols (164.92±0.14mg/g), saponins (28.60±0.10mg/g), tannins (35.5±0.5mg/g), phenols (21.68±0.44mg/g) and flavonoids (22.8±1.33mg/g). Z. armatum is an important medicinal plant, traditionally used for various ailments. This study will be helpful in the future pharmacognostic standardization of this important plant.

Short Communication: Pharmacognostic and Pharmacological evaluation of Ruellia tuberosa L.

Ruellia tuberosa Linn. of family Acanthaceae was studied to investigate the microscopical, vein islet and vein termination numbers, palisade ratio, stomatal index and different chemical parameters. The antibacterial, antifungal and phytotoxic activities of the crude extract of the plant were also determined. Five bacterial species were used, of which, Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most susceptible bacterial species to crude extract with MICs 10, 4.0 and 14mg/ml, respectively. Among the tested fungal species Fusarium solani and Aspergillus niger were more susceptible to crude extracts with MICs 1.34, 2.78 and 1.45µg/ml, respectively. At the concentration of 1000µg/ml the methnolic extract exhibited significant activity, at 100µg/ml the activity was good and at 10µg/ml the activity was moderate against Lemna minor. The above selected plants were shown by in vitro assays to be a potential source for natural antifungal, antibacterial and phytotoxic agents.

In vivo antinociceptive and muscle relaxant activity of leaf and bark of Buddleja asiatica L.

The current study was designed to assess the antinociceptive and skeleton muscle relaxant effect of leaves and barks of Buddleja asiatica in animal models. In acetic acid induced writhing test, pretreatment of ethanolic extract of leaves and barks evoked marked dose dependent antinociceptive effect with maximum of 70% and 67% pain relief at 300mg/kg i.p. respectively. In chimney test, the ethanolic extract of leaves and barks evoked maximum of 66.66% and 53.33% muscle relaxant effect after 90min of treatment at 300mg/kg i.p respectively. In traction test, the ethanolic extract of leaves and barks caused maximum of 60% and 73.33% muscle relaxant effect after 90min of treatment at 300mg/kg i.p respectively. In short, both leaves and barks demonstrated profound antinociceptive and skeleton muscle relaxant effects and thus the study provided natural healing agents for the treatment of said disorders.

Chemical composition and biological activities of the essential oil of Skimmia laureola leaves.

The composition of the essential oil from leaves of Skimmia laureola was determined by GC and GC-MS. Twenty-eight components were identified, accounting for 93.9% of the total oil. The oil is mainly composed of monoterpenes (93.5%), of which monoterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated monoterpenes represent 11.0% and 82.5%, respectively. Sesquiterpenes constitute only 0.3% of the total oil. Linalyl acetate is the main component (50.5%), with linalool (13.1%), geranyl acetate (8.5%) and cis-p-menth-2-en-1-ol (6.2%) as other principal constituents. The essential oil showed a significant antispasmodic activity, in a dose range of 0.03-10 mg/mL. The essential oil also possesses antibacterial and antifungal activities against some pathogenic strains. The phytotoxic and cytotoxic activities were also assessed.

Pharmacological evaluation and binding behavior of 4,4'-diamino-2,2'-stilbene disulfonic acid with metal ions using spectroscopic techniques.

Industrial and human activities contribute significantly to the environmental contamination of heavy metal ions (HMIs), which have detrimental effects on aquatic life, plants, and animals, causing major toxicological problems. The commercially available 4,4'-diamino-2,2'-stilbenedisulfonic acid (DSD) has been playing a vital role in the detection of heavy metal ions and has significantly inhibited a variety of cancer cells in numerous field of modern science. The current investigation aimed to ensure the detection of heavy metals ions from the environment and fluorescence imaging of DSD in the treatment of cancer cells. Fluorescence and UV-Visible spectroscopic analysis was performed to sense the selective behavior of the probe DSD with several heavy metal ions, including Fe2+, K1+, Co2+, Ni2+, Zn2+, Cd2+, Pb2+, Mn2+, Sn2+, and Cr3+. Furthermore, DSD was subjected to examine enzyme inhibition such as anti-Alzheimer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, and antimicrobial activities in search of multifaceted drugs. Test compounds have demonstrated dose-dependent responses in the in-vitro enzyme inhibition assays for acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), cyclooxygenase (COX), and lipoxygenase (LOX), as well as antioxidant [DPPH = 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and ABTS = 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid]. The DSD were shown to be more effective than the conventional medication galantamine in inhibiting acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), with an IC50 value of 12.18 and 20.87 µM, which is equivalent to the standard drug. The results obtained has revealed that DSD has the potential to become an effective sensor for the detection of Sn2+ ions over competing metal ions due to the inhibition of photo-induced electron transfer pathway (PET). The MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazoliumbromide tetrazolium) test, demonstrated that DSD had strong anticancer effects against the brain cancer cell line NIH/3T3, HeLa and MCF-7 with an IC50 value of 32.59, 15.31 and 96.46 µM respectively. The antimicrobial testing has shown that DSD outperforms the standard drug cefixime against Candida albicans and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, respectively. This study makes a substantial contribution to the ongoing search for efficient treatments for breast cancer.

Phenolic phytochemistry, in vitro, in silico, in vivo, and mechanistic anti-inflammatory and antioxidant evaluations of Habenaria digitata.

Excessive and imbalance of free radicals within the body lead to inflammation. The objective of the current research work was to explore the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potential of the isolated compounds from Habenaria digitata. In this study, the isolated phenolic compounds were investigated for in vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory potential along with the antioxidant enzyme. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potential of the phenolic compounds was assayed via various enzymes like COX-1/2, 5-LOX and ABTS, DPPH, and H2O2 free radical enzyme inhibitory assay. These compounds were also explored for their in vivo antioxidant activity like examining SOD, CAT, GSH-Px, and MDA levels in the brain, heart, and liver. The anti-inflammatory potential was evaluated using the carrageenan-induced pleurisy model in mice. On the basis of initial screening of isolated compounds, the most potent compound was further evaluated for the anti-inflammatory mechanism. Furthermore, the molecular docking study was also performed for the potent compound. The phenolic compounds were isolated and identified by GC-MS/NMR analysis by comparing its spectra to the library spectra. The isolated phenolic compounds from H. digitata were 5-methylpyrimidine-24,4-diol (1), 3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-2,3-dihydropyran-4-one (2), 2-isopropyl-5-methylphenol (3), 3-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (4), and 2,6-dimethoxy-4-vinylphenol (5). In in vitro antioxidant assay, the most potent compound was compound 1 having IC50 values of 0.98, 0.90, and 5 µg/mL against ABTS, DPPH, and H2O2, respectively. Similarly, against COX1/2 and 5-LOX ,compound 1 was again the potent compound with IC50 values of 42.76, 10.70, and 7.40 µg/mL. Based on the in vitro results, compound 1 was further evaluated for in vivo antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential. Findings of the study suggest that H. digitata contains active compounds with potential anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. These compounds could be screened as drug candidates for pharmaceutical research, targeting conditions associated with oxidative stress and inflammatory conditions in medicinal chemistry and support their ethnomedicinal use for inflammation and oxidative stress.

Investigation of anti-nociceptive, anti-inflammatory potential and ADMET studies of pure compounds isolated from Isodon rugosus Wall. ex Benth.

The strong ethnopharmacological utilization of Isodon rugosus Wall. Ex. Benth is evident in the treatment of several types of pain and inflammation, including toothache, earache, abdominal pain, gastric pain, and generalized body pain and inflammation. Based on this background, the antinociceptive effects of the crude extract, various fractions, and essential oil have been reported previously. In this research work, we isolate and characterize pure bioactive compounds from I. rugosus and evaluate possible mechanisms using various in vivo and in vitro models. The pure compounds were analyzed for analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities through various assays. The column chromatography of the chloroform fraction of I. rugosus led to the identification of two pure compounds, i.e., 1 and 2. Compound 1 demonstrated notable inhibition (62% writhing inhibition, 72.77% COX-2 inhibition, and 76.97% 5-LOX inhibition) and anti-inflammatory potential (>50% paw edema inhibition at various intervals). The possible mechanism involved in antinociception was considered primarily, a concept that has already been elucidated through the application of naloxone (an antagonist of opioid receptors). The involvement of adrenergic receptors was investigated using a hot plate model (an adrenergic receptor antagonist). The strong ethnomedicinal analgesic background of I. rugosus, supported by previous reports and current observations, leads to the conclusion that I. rugosus is a potential source of antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory bioactive compounds. It may be concluded from the results that the isolated analgesic compounds of I. rugosus may be a possible alternative remedy for pain and inflammation management with admirable efficacy and safety profiles.

Improving broiler health through cecal microbiota transplantation: a comprehensive study on growth, immunity, and microbial diversity.

Cecal microbiota has emerged as a prominent intervention target for improving the production and welfare of poultry. This is essential for the overall health and performance of broiler chickens. The current study focused on investigating the effect of cecal microbiota transplantation (CMT) from healthy donor chickens on the growth performance, immunity, and microbial composition of newly hatched chicks and evaluated the effect of sample storage on the microbial diversity of the cecal samples. A healthy "Wannan Yellow Chicken line" was selected as the donor, and 180 1-d-old chicks from the same line were used as recipients for a 60-d feed trial. The chicks were randomly allocated to three groups (60 birds per group) with three replicates in each group. The three treatment groups were CMT-0 (control, normal saline solution), CMT-I (1:12 cecal content, normal saline supplemented with 10% glycerol), and CMT-II (1:6 cecal content, normal saline supplemented with 10% glycerol). The results of weight gain and absolute organ weight showed significant improvements in the CMT-II group compared with the CMT-0 group. Serum IgG level was significantly improved (P < 0.05) in CMT-I compared with that in the CMT-0. However, IL-6 levels increased in CMT-I and then significantly decreased in CMT-II. The cecal microbial diversity of CMT treatment was compared between two groups, fresh samples (FS) and stored samples at-80 °C (SS). The results showed that beneficial taxa, such as Firmicutes and Verrucomicrobiota, were substantially more abundant in both CMT-I and CMT-II than in CMT-0 in both FS and SS. Microbial function analysis at levels 1, 2, and 3 showed improved metabolism, genetic information processing, cellular processes, environmental information processing, and organismal systems in CMT-I and CMT-II for both FS and SS groups. However, the SS group showed decreased microbial diversity and function. To conclude, cecal microbiota transplantation is a promising strategy for enhancing the productivity and health of broiler chickens.

The cecal microbiota refers to a diverse community of microorganisms that play a crucial role in digestion, nutrient absorption, and overall gut health, influencing the well-being and performance of the host bird. In this study, we aimed to improve the health and growth of broiler chickens by exploring a unique approach called cecal microbiota transplantation. A thorough investigation was conducted by transplanting the microbiota from healthy Wannan Yellow Chicken line donors into newly hatched chicks in a 60-d feeding trial. After dividing the chicks into three groups, each receiving different treatments, we found significant enhancements in WG and organ health in the groups that received cecal microbiota transplants. The results also showed improvements in Serum IgG levels in the treatment groups. Furthermore, the analysis of microbial diversity indicated that beneficial microorganisms were more abundant in the treated groups, suggesting a positive effect on chicken digestive health. To summarize, our findings suggest that transferring healthy gut microorganisms from mature parent chickens to young chicks can lead to improved growth, immune system function, microbial diversity, and overall health. This approach is a promising strategy for enhancing the productivity and well-being of broiler chickens.

Assessing the performance, egg quality, serum analysis, heavy metals and essential trace metals accumulation in laying hen eggs and tissues fed black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae meal.

Black soldier fly (BSF) larvae convert wastes into protein, playing a vital role in addressing the challenge of sustainable poultry production. These larvae accumulate toxic substances, posing a risk to feed and food safety. This study investigates the effects of substituting soybean meal with different levels of BSF larvae meal on laying performance, egg quality, serum analysis, and the deposition of various metals in eggs, meat, and excreta. A total of 1,008 Lohmann hens (age 48 wk) were randomly assigned to 4 treatments. The treatments consisted of corn-soybean meal (CK) diet replaced with 7% (BSF7), 14% (BSF14), and 21% (BSF21) BSF larvae meal. Each treatment consisted of 6 replicates with 42 hens each and the trial lasted for 8 wk. Dietary BSF larvae meal treatments increased (linear, P < 0.05) the laying rate (1.52 to 1.95%) and decreased (linear, P < 0.01) the feed intake (3.64-3.86 g) during the entire experiment. During 48 to 52 wk, egg weight was decreased (P < 0.001) 0.93 g for the BSF21 group compared to CK group, however, during 52-56 wk, no differences in egg weight were observed among treatments. The addition of BSF larvae meal enhanced the eggshell strength (linear, P < 0.05), with no effect on the albumen height and yolk weight (P > 0.05). Low transfer of arsenic, lead, and cadmium concentration was observed in the egg yolk and egg white across different treatments (P > 0.05). Conversely, the concentrations of these metals and iron showed an increase, while Zinc exhibited a decrease in excreta as the dietary intake of BSF larvae meal increased. The chromium and iron increased linearly (P < 0.001) in the egg white with the inclusion of BSF larvae meal. Egg white iron and chromium showed a strong positive correlation with the dietary zinc and copper. Taken together, BSF larvae can replace soybean meal completely in laying diet, however, careful attention requires to elevated metal levels in diet and excreta.

Schizochytrium sp. Extracted Lipids Prevent Alopecia by Enhancing Antioxidation and Inhibiting Ferroptosis of Dermal Papilla Cells.

Alopecia has gradually become a problem that puzzles an increasing number of people. Dermal papilla cells (DPCs) play an important role in hair follicle (HF) growth; thus, exploring the effective chemicals or natural extracts that can remediate the growth of DPCs is vital. Our results showed that Schizochytrium sp.-extracted lipids (SEL) significantly promoted proliferation (up to 1.13 times) and survival ratio (up to 2.45 times) under oxidative stress. The treatment with SEL can protect DPCs against oxidative stress damage, reducing the reactive oxygen species (ROS) level by 90.7%. The relative gene transcription and translation were thoroughly analyzed using RNA-Seq, RT-qPCR, and Western blot to explore the mechanism. Results showed that SEL significantly inhibited the ferroptosis pathway and promoted the expression of antioxidant genes (up to 1.55-3.52 times). The in vivo application of SEL improved hair growth, with the length of new hair increasing by 16.7% and the length of new HF increasing by 92.6%, and the period of telogen shortening increased by 40.0%. This study proposes a novel therapeutic option for alopecia, with the effect and regulation mechanism of SEL on DPC systematically clarified.

Evaluation of phase change material-graphene nanocomposite for thermal regulation enhancement in buildings.

The growth of high-efficiency phase change material (PCM) nanocomposites with good heat conduction and substantial thermal capacity was of vital significance for practical matters in the sustainable utilization of energy. A novel leakage-proof n-heptadecane-graphene nanocomposite was prepared by a direct impregnation procedure from n-heptadacne as a PCM and nanographene as a skeleton. The creation of shape-stabilized nanocomposite was checked with X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis illustrated that the n-heptadecane and graphene had favourable compatibility and there was no phase separation and graphene accumulation. Thermal analysis showed that the shape-stabilized nanocomposite not only had a good phase transition enthalpy (101.7 J/g) and n-heptadecane content (45.6 %) but also possessed appropriate thermal stability. The heat conduction of the obtained mesoporous nanocomposite was up to 1.527 W/mK, with a growth of 808 % compared to pure n-heptadecane. Furthermore, the optimized nanocomposite held auspicious thermal reliability, being exposed to 400 thermal cycles. Moreover, the thermoregulation tests demonstrated that the gypsum boards containing optimized nanocomposite showed a slow heat release rate and improved the building temperature profile over only the gypsum board. By virtue of the combination of n-heptadecane and thermal conductive nanographene, the obtained engineered nanocomposite might be regarded as a smart material for energy-conserving and temperature regulation in buildings.

The influence of environment and Earnings on Prolonged existence and human fertility: A Deeper Dive into Asia's environmentally vulnerable nations.

This study inspects the impact of environmental deterioration and income on longevity and fertility in Asian countries, specifically the nations that are highly vulnerable to extreme weather. The study examines the data, covering two decades from 2000 to 2019. The empirical conclusions of the panel ARDL-PMG and the CS-ARDL econometric models indicate that environmental degradation leads to a decline in birth rate and life expectancy, while a rising income has a significant influence over longevity. However, increasing per capita income alone cannot solve the problem of population crisis in climatically susceptible countries. Therefore, the sample countries must prioritize climate action and formulate climate-resilient policies to add more years to the lives of their citizens. Similarly, for increasing childbirth the sample nations need to make peace with nature. The outcomes of this study are strong enough, as both the models support each other's findings, producing similar significant outcomes.