Gut commensal Parabacteroides distasonis alleviates inflammatory arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Gut microbiota dysbiosis is closely linked to the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We aimed to identify potential probiotic gut microbes that can ameliorate the development of RA. DESIGN: Microbiota profiling in patients with RA and healthy individuals was investigated via 16S rDNA bacterial gene sequencing and shotgun metagenomics. Collagen-induced arthritic mice and TNF-α transgenic mice were used to evaluate the roles of the gut commensal Parabacteroides distasonis in RA. The effects of P. distasonis-derived microbial metabolites on the differentiation of CD4+ T cells and macrophage polarisation were also investigated. RESULTS: The relative abundance of P. distasonis in new-onset patients with RA and patients with RA with history of the disease was downregulated and this decrease was negatively correlated with Disease Activity Score-28 (DAS28). Oral treatment of arthritic mice with live P. distasonis (LPD) considerably ameliorated RA pathogenesis. LPD-derived lithocholic acid (LCA), deoxycholic acid (DCA), isolithocholic acid (isoLCA) and 3-oxolithocholic acid (3-oxoLCA) had similar and synergistic effects on the treatment of RA. In addition to directly inhibiting the differentiation of Th17 cells, 3-oxoLCA and isoLCA were identified as TGR5 agonists that promoted the M2 polarisation of macrophages. A specific synthetic inhibitor of bile salt hydrolase attenuated the antiarthritic effects of LPD by reducing the production of these four bile acids. The natural product ginsenoside Rg2 exhibited its anti-RA effects by promoting the growth of P. distasonis. CONCLUSIONS: P. distasonis and ginsenoside Rg2 might represent probiotic and prebiotic agents in the treatment of RA.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for detection of fentanyl and its analogs by using Ag-Au nanoparticles.

The problem of opioid abuse has become a global problem. Thus, creating an urgent need for highly sensitive detection of opioid substances. In this work, we developed a method for the controllable preparation of Ag@Au nanocrystals (Ag@Au NCs) for highly sensitive SERS detection of fentanyl and its analogs. By regulating the concentration of ligands on the surface of silver seed, we successfully prepared Ag@Au NCs with three different morphologies, including core-satellite, yolk shell and hollow structure. Firstly, we explored the SERS-enhancing effect of Ag@Au NCs with different morphology using rhodamine 6G as the molecule to be tested. The results show that the core-satellite Ag@Au NCs has the best SERS effect, and the lowest detection concentration for R6G reached to 10-10 M. Furthermore, we used the prepared core-satellite Ag@Au NCs to detect fentanyl and its five analogs, including carfentanyl, furanylfentanyl, thiofentanyl, 4-fluorobutyrfentanyl and N-4-piperidylacetanilide. Trace detection was achieved for the above six substances. For the environmental water samples spiked with fentanyl, the calculated recovery was 89.2% with an RSD value of 7.3%. Moreover, in order to realize the qualitative analysis of the characteristic peaks of different fentanyl analogs, we performed DFT calculations on the Raman spectra of the above-mentioned 6 substances. By analyzing the DFT calculation results, conventional Raman spectroscopy and SERS spectroscopy, we realized the distinction of six fentanyl analogs with similar structures.

Study on the Intervention Mechanism of Cryptotanshinone on Human A2780 Ovarian Cancer Cell Line Using GC-MS-Based Cellular Metabolomics.

Cryptotanshinone (CT), an active component of the traditional Chinese medicine Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, exhibits a wide range of biological and pharmacological activities. Although the anticancer activity of CT is well known, the knowledge of its effect on the regulation of cancer cell metabolism is relatively new. The present study investigated the anticancer mechanism of CT in ovarian cancer with a focus on cancer metabolism. CCK8 assays, apoptosis assays, and cell cycle assays were conducted to reveal the growth-suppressive effect of CT on ovarian cancer A2780 cells. To explore the potential underlying mechanisms of CT, the changes in endogenous metabolites in A2780 cells before and after CT intervention were investigated using the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) approach. A total of 28 important potential biomarkers underwent significant changes, mainly involving aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, energy metabolism, and other pathways. Changes in the ATP and amino acid contents were verified with in vitro and in vivo experiments. Our results indicate that CT may exert an anti-ovarian cancer effect by inhibiting ATP production, promoting the protein catabolic process, and inhibiting protein synthesis, which may lead to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.

Relationship between urban morphology and land surface temperature-A case study of Nanjing City.

This study investigated the relationship between urban form and land surface temperature (LST) using the Multi-access Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR) model. A case study on Nanjing City was conducted using building data, point-of-interest (POI) data, land use data, remote sensing data, and elevation data. The results show that the MGWR model can reveal the influence of altitude, urban green space, road, building height (BH), building density (BD) and POI on LST, with a superior fitting effect over the geographically weighted regression model. LST in Nanjing exhibits a significant spatial differentiation, and the distribution of LST hotspots is spatially consistent with the level of urban construction. In terms of the two-dimensional landscape pattern, LST decreases with altitude and increases with POI. In terms of the three-dimensional structure, building height has a positive correlation with LST. POI, urban roads, and urban buildings positively affect LST, while urban green space and altitude negatively affect LST. The results of this study were verified against existing findings. The LST of areas with high-rise and super high-rise buildings is lower than that of areas with mid-rise building, which can be attributed to the large number of shadow areas formed by high-rise and super high-rise buildings. A similar phenomenon was also observed between areas with medium- and high-density buildings. These findings provide a reference for urban architecture planning and can help to develop urban heat island adaptation strategies based on local conditions.

Spatiotemporal changes caused by the intensive use of sea areas in the liaoning coastal economic zone of China.

Oceans and their resources are experiencing immense pressure because of human exploitation. The intensive use of sea areas has become an important method in solving the contradiction between ocean supply and demand, thereby ensuring sustainable marine economy development, tapping potential sea-area utilization, reasonably allocating sea-area utilization structures, and increasing marine economic benefits. This paper explores the definition and connotation of intensive sea-area use and constructs an evaluation index system based on marine input intensity, marine utilization structure, marine economic benefit, and marine ecological environment. Multi-objective variable fuzzy set theory and fuzzy decision analysis methods were used to evaluate the intensive sea-area utilization in the Liaoning Coastal Economic Zone of China during 2004-2016. The spatial differentiation characteristics of intensive sea-area use were analysed using cluster analysis. The research result showed that: (1) Intensive utilization level of the Liaoning coastal economic zone has gradually increased, while it is still in a moderately weak level; (2) Sea area intensive utilization varied in degrees and fluctuates in the six cities under the jurisdiction of the Liaoning coastal economic zone; and (3) Marine input intensity, marine utilization structure, marine economic benefit, and marine sustainability indexes have increased in the cities, thereby exhibiting improvements in the Liaoning coastal economic zone.