Genomic prediction and genome-wide association studies for additive and dominance effects for body composition traits using 50 K and imputed high-density SNP genotypes in Yunong-black pigs.

Body composition traits are complex traits controlled by minor genes and, in hybrid populations, are impacted by additive and nonadditive effects. We aimed to identify candidate genes and increase the accuracy of genomic prediction of body composition traits in crossbred pigs by including dominance genetic effects. Genomic selection (GS) and genome-wide association studies were performed on seven body composition traits in 807 Yunong-black pigs using additive genomic models (AM) and additive-dominance genomic models (ADM) with an imputed high-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array and the Illumina Porcine SNP50 BeadChip. The results revealed that the additive heritabilities estimated for AM and ADM using the 50 K SNP data ranged from 0.20 to 0.34 and 0.11 to 0.30, respectively. However, the ranges of additive heritability for AM and ADM in the imputed data ranged from 0.20 to 0.36 and 0.12 to 0.30, respectively. The dominance variance accounted for 23% and 27% of the total variance for the 50 K and imputed data, respectively. The accuracy of genomic prediction improved by 5% on average for 50 K and imputed data when dominance effect were considered. Without the dominance effect, the accuracies for 50 K and imputed data were 0.35 and 0.38, respectively, and 0.41 and 0.43, respectively, upon considering it. A total of 12 significant SNP and 16 genomic regions were identified in the AM, and 14 significant SNP and 21 genomic regions were identified in the ADM for both the 50 K and imputed data. There were five overlapping SNP in the 50 K and imputed data. In the AM, a significant SNP (CNC10041568) was found in both body length and backfat thickness traits, which was in the PLAG1 gene strongly and significantly associated with body length and backfat thickness in pigs. Moreover, a significant SNP (CNC10031356) with a heterozygous dominant genotype was present in the ADM. Furthermore, several functionally related genes were associated with body composition traits, including MOS, RPS20, LYN, TGS1, TMEM68, XKR4, SEMA4D and ARNT2. These findings provide insights into molecular markers and GS breeding for the Yunong-black pigs.

Effects of microbes in pig farms on occupational exposed persons and the environment.

In terms of pig farming, pig gut microbes have a significant effect on farmers and the farm environment. However, it is still unclear which microbial composition is more likely to contribute to this effect. This study collected a total of 136 samples, including pigs' faeces samples, farmers' faeces samples, samples from individuals who had no contact with any type of farm animal (referred to as 'non-exposed' persons), and environmental dust samples (collected from inside and outside pig houses and the farm) from two pig farms, pig farm A and pig farm B. Whereafter, 16S rRNA sequencing and taxonomic composition analysis were performed. According to the study, compared to non-exposed persons, pig farmers had a significantly higher abundance of 7 genera. In addition, the farmers were grouped according to the duration of their occupational exposure, and it was shown that 4 genera, including Turicibacter, Terrisporobacter, and Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, exhibited a rise in more frequent contact with pigs. As compared to outside the pig house, the environmental dust has a greater concentration of the 3 bacteria mentioned before. Therefore, these 3 microbes can be considered as co-occurring microbes that may exist both in humans and the environment. Also, the 3 co-occurring microbes are involved in the fermentation and production of short-chain fatty acids and their effectiveness decreased as distance from the farm increased. This study shows that the 3 microbes where pig farmers co-occur with the environment come from pig farms, which provides fresh ideas for preventing the spread of microbial aerosols in pig farms and reducing pollution.

Neoadjuvant immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy in the treatment of stage III lung squamous cell carcinoma: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy has been proven to be a successful therapeutic strategy for patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Nevertheless, there is a paucity of information regarding surgical feasibility and safety as well as tumor response. The present study aimed to investigate the therapeutic and surgical outcomes for patients with stage III lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). Methods: Patients with stage III potentially resectable LSCC treated with neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy at The First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University between March 2020 and June 2022 were retrospectively included. Oncologic outcomes and intraoperative and postoperative variables were assessed. Results: A total of 17 locally advanced LSCC patients were included in the study. Patients in stages IIIA and IIIB were represented by 10 (58.8%) and 7 (41.2%) cases, respectively. A minimally invasive procedure was successfully completed in 12 out of 17 cases (70.6%). A total of 10 patients (58.8%) had standard lobectomies performed, 1 (5.9%) had a bilobectomy, 3 (17.6%) had pneumonectomies, and 1 (5.9%) had a wedge resection. A total of 7 patients (41.2%) experienced postoperative complications, and there were no 30- or 90-day mortalities. The 2-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 76.6% and 82.5%, respectively. The rate of major pathological response (MPR) was 70.6%. Conclusions: Lung resection after immunochemotherapy for potentially resectable stage III LSCC is feasible and safe. This treatment strategy results in a significant pathologic response and promising rates of OS at 2 years.

Deletion of osteopontin in non-small cell lung cancer cells affects bone metabolism by regulating miR-34c/Notch1 axis: a clue to bone metastasis.

Lung cancer is prone to bone metastasis, and osteopontin (OPN) has an important significance in maintaining bone homeostasis. The goal of this study was to explore the impact of OPN level on bone metabolism and the molecular mechanism of inhibiting bone metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The expression of OPN in NSCLC was ascertained by Western blot and immunohistochemistry, and the correlation between the expression level of OPN and survival of patients was analyzed. Then the shRNA technology was applied to reduce the expression of OPN in NSCLC cells, and CCK-8 assay was carried out to investigate the effect of low expression of OPN on the proliferation of NSCLC cells. In addition, the effects of low expression of OPN on osteoclast differentiation, osteoblast generation and mineralization were studied using osteoclast precursor RAW264.7 and human osteoblast SaOS-2 cells, and whether OPN could regulate miR-34c/ Notch pathway to affect bone metabolism was further explored. The findings showed that the high level of OPN in NSCLC was closely related to the poor prognosis of patients and the abnormal proliferation of NSCLC cell lines. The suppression of OPN was beneficial to inhibit the differentiation of osteoclasts and promote the mineralization of osteoblasts. Besides, this study confirmed that the deletion of OPN can regulate bone metabolism through the regulation of miR-34c/Notch1 pathway, which will contribute to inhibiting the occurrence of osteolytic bone metastasis in NSCLC.

High-Efficiency and Stable Long-Persistent Luminescence from Undoped Cesium Cadmium Chlorine Crystals Induced by Intrinsic Point Defects.

Application of long-persistent luminescence (LPL) materials in many technological fields is in the spotlight. However, the exploration of undoped persistent luminescent materials with high emission efficiency, robust stability, and long persistent duration remains challenging. Here, inorganic cesium cadmium chlorine (CsCdCl3 ) is developed, featuring remarkable LPL characteristics at room temperature, which is synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. Excited by ultraviolet light, the CsCdCl3 crystals exhibit an intense yellow emission with a large photoluminescence quantum yield of ≈90%. Different from the reported systems with lanthanides or transition metals doping, the CsCdCl3 crystals without dopants perform yellow LPL with a long duration of 6000 s. Joint experiment-theory characterizations reveal the intrinsic point defects of CsCdCl3 act as the trap centers of excited electrons and the carrier de-trapping process from such trap sites to localized emission centers contributes to the LPL. Encouraged by the attractive fluorescence and persistent luminescence as well as good stability of CsCdCl3 against environment oxygen/moisture (75%), heat (100 °C for 10 h), and ultraviolet light irradiation, an effective dual-mode information storage-reading application is demonstrated. The results open up a new frontier for exploring LPL materials without dopants and provide an opportunity for advanced information storage compatible for practical applications.

Lymphoid enhancer binding factor 1 is associated with nose color in Yunong black pigs.

Yunong black pig is an indigenous black pig breed being cultivated that has a pure black whole body. However, some individuals appear with a white spot on the nose. We performed case-control association studies and FST approaches in 76 animals with nose color records (26 white-nosed pigs vs. 50 black-nosed pigs) by Illumina Porcine SNP50 BeadChip data. In total, 76 SNPs, which included 2 genome-wide significant SNPs and 18 chromosome-wide suggestive SNPs, were identified by association study. The top-ranked 0.1% windows of FST results as signals under selection and 24 windows were selected. The lymphoid enhancer binding factor 1 was identified as candidate gene with strong signal in analyses of genome-wide association study and FST in black- and white-nosed pigs. Overall, our findings provide evidence that nose color is a heritable trait influenced by many loci. The results contribute to expand our understanding of pigmentation in pigs and provide SNP markers for skin color and related traits selection in Yunong black pigs. Additional research on the genetic link between nose pigmentation is needed.

Genome-wide association study reveals the candidate genes for reproduction traits in Yunong black pigs.

Enhancing pig reproductive efficiency has the potential to have a significant positive economic impact on the pig business. We collected four reproduction records of 734 Yunong black pigs in this study, including the total number of piglets born (TNB), the number born alive (NBA), the average birth interval of piglets (ABI) and the average birth weight (ABW). A total of 453 Yunong black pigs were genotyped with Porcine 50K SNP BeadChip. Twenty-five SNPs and 35 genomic areas were found to have a substantial impact on the reproductive performance of Yunong black pigs by single-locus GWAS and single-step GWAS (ssGWAS). For the ssGWAS, we found that the two genomic regions (12.67-13.85 and 14.26-15.01 Mb) on Sus scrofa chromosome X were associated with TNB, NBA and ABI. It is worth noting that CNC10110530 and CNC100141254 significantly affected the TNB by both GWAS methods. Finally, we further determined the gene functions by enrichment analysis and a literature search, and identified 28 of them as candidate genes affecting the reproductive performance of Yunong black pigs, including RET, EIF1AX, NELL2, CTPS2, S100G, RBBP7 and PDHA1. This study further promotes understanding of the genetic mechanism of porcine reproductive performance, and also provides more molecular markers for pig breeding.

Phase-controlled van der Waals growth of wafer-scale 2D MoTe2 layers for integrated high-sensitivity broadband infrared photodetection.

Being capable of sensing broadband infrared (IR) light is vitally important for wide-ranging applications from fundamental science to industrial purposes. Two-dimensional (2D) topological semimetals are being extensively explored for broadband IR detection due to their gapless electronic structure and the linear energy dispersion relation. However, the low charge separation efficiency, high noise level, and on-chip integration difficulty of these semimetals significantly hinder their further technological applications. Here, we demonstrate a facile thermal-assisted tellurization route for the van der Waals (vdW) growth of wafer-scale phase-controlled 2D MoTe2 layers. Importantly, the type-II Weyl semimetal 1T'-MoTe2 features a unique orthorhombic lattice structure with a broken inversion symmetry, which ensures efficient carrier transportation and thus reduces the carrier recombination. This characteristic is a key merit for the well-designed 1T'-MoTe2/Si vertical Schottky junction photodetector to achieve excellent performance with an ultrabroadband detection range of up to 10.6 µm and a large room temperature specific detectivity of over 108 Jones in the mid-infrared (MIR) range. Moreover, the large-area synthesis of 2D MoTe2 layers enables the demonstration of high-resolution uncooled MIR imaging capability by using an integrated device array. This work provides a new approach to assembling uncooled IR photodetectors based on 2D materials.

Correlation between fat accumulation and fecal microbiota in crossbred pigs.

Backfat thickness (BF) is an important indicator of fat deposition capacity and lean meat rate in pigs and is very important in porcine genetics and breeding. Intestinal microbiota plays a key role in nutrient digestion and utilization with a profound impact on fat deposition of livestock animals. To investigate the relationship between the pig gut microbiome and BF, 20 low-BF (L-BF) and 20 high-BF (H-BF) pigs were selected as two groups from Yunong Black pigs in the present study. Fecal samples from pigs were analyzed for microbial diversity, composition, and predicted functionality using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The results showed that there were significant differences in microbial ß diversity between the two groups. LEfSe analysis revealed a number of bacterial features being differentially enriched in either L-BF or H-BF pigs. Spearman correlation analysis identified the abundance of Oscillospira, Peptococcus, and Bulleidia were significantly positive correlations with BF (P < 0.05), while Sutterella and Bifidobacterium were significantly negatively correlated with BF (P < 0.05). Importantly, the bacteria significantly positively correlated with BF mainly belong to Clostridium, which can ferment host-indigestible plant polysaccharides into short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) and promote fat synthesis and deposition. Predictive functional analysis indicated that the pathway abundance of cell motility and glycan biosynthesis were significantly widespread in the microbiota of the H-BF group. The results of this study will be useful for the development of microbial biomarkers for predicting and improving porcine BF, as well as for the investigation of targets for dietary strategies.

Treatment paradigms and survival outcomes in esophageal adenocarcinoma with liver metastasis: a retrospective cohort study using the SEER database.

Background: Esophageal adenocarcinoma with liver metastasis (EACLM) at the time of diagnosis has a poor prognosis and few therapeutic options. The best treatment options and prognostic factors for EACLM patients are unclear. The present study sought to explore the optimal treatment modalities for and the prognosis of these patients. Methods: Patients diagnosed with EACLM at the time of diagnosis were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database between 2010 and 2015. The last follow-up date was December 31, 2018. Treatment patterns were divided into four groups: local therapy (surgery/radiation), systemic therapy [chemotherapy (CT)], combination therapy (surgery/radiation + CT), and no treatment. The Kaplan-Meier (K-M) method and log-rank test were used for overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS). Univariable and multivariable Cox regression were performed to identify the prognostic factors. Propensity score-matching (PSM) analyses were performed for sensitive analyses. Results: A total of 925 patients diagnosed with EACLM were included in the study. The median OS was 12, 10, 3, and 2 months for combination therapy, systemic therapy, local therapy, and no treatment, respectively (P<0.001). After PSM, the patients who received systemic treatment had a better OS (median 9 vs. 2 months; P<0.001) and DSS (median 9 vs. 3 months; P<0.001) than those who received no treatment. Compared to systemic therapy, combination therapy did not increase patients' OS (median 13 vs. 12 months, P=0.069) but did improve their DSS (median 19 vs. 13 months, P=0.048). Conclusions: EACLM patients might benefit the most from systemic therapy and combination therapy. For patients who are well-tolerated, combination therapy should be considered as a preferable option.

Identification of Genomic Regions and Candidate Genes for Litter Traits in French Large White Pigs Using Genome-Wide Association Studies.

The reproductive traits of sows are one of the important economic traits in pig production, and their performance directly affects the economic benefits of the entire pig industry. In this study, a total of 895 French Large White pigs were genotyped by GeneSeek Porcine 50K SNP Beadchip and four phenotypic traits of 1407 pigs were recorded, including total number born (TNB), number born alive (NBA), number healthy piglets (NHP) and litter weight born alive (LWB). To identify genomic regions and genes for these traits, we used two approaches: a single-locus genome-wide association study (GWAS) and a single-step GWAS (ssGWAS). Overall, a total of five SNPs and 36 genomic regions were identified by single-locus GWAS and ssGWAS, respectively. Notably, fourof all five significant SNPs were located in 10.72-11.06 Mb on chromosome 7, were also identified by ssGWAS. These regions explained the highest or second highest genetic variance in the TNB, NBA and NHP traits and harbor the protein coding gene ENSSSCG00000042180. In addition, several candidate genes associated with litter traits were identified, including JARID2, PDIA6, FLRT2 and DICER1. Overall, these novel results reflect the polygenic genetic architecture of the litter traits and provide a theoretical reference for the following implementation of molecular breeding.

Regulating the Singlet and Triplet Emission of Sb3+ Ions to Achieve Single-Component White-Light Emitter with Record High Color-Rendering Index and Stability.

The rapid development of solid-state lighting technology has attracted much attention for searching efficient and stable luminescent materials, especially the single-component white-light emitter. Here, we adopt a facile ion-doping technology to synthesize vacancy-ordered double perovskite Cs2ZrCl6:Sb. The introduction of Sb3+ ions with a 5s2 active lone pair into Cs2ZrCl6 host stimulates the singlet (blue) and triplet (orange) states emission of Sb3+ ions, and their relative emission intensity can be tuned through the energy transfer from singlet to triplet states. Benefiting from the dual-band emission as a pair of perfect complementary colors, the optimum Cs2ZrCl6:1.5%Sb exhibits a high-quality white emission with a color-rendering index of 96. By employing Cs2ZrCl6:1.5%Sb as the down-conversion phosphor, stable single-component white light-emitting diodes with a record half-lifetime of 2003 h were further fabricated. This study puts forward an effective ion-doping strategy to design single-component white-light emitter, making practical applications of them in lighting technologies a real possibility.

In Situ Fabrication of PdSe2/GaN Schottky Junction for Polarization-Sensitive Ultraviolet Photodetection with High Dichroic Ratio.

Polarization-sensitive ultraviolet (UV) photodetection is of great technological importance for both civilian and military applications. Two-dimensional (2D) group-10 transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), especially palladium diselenide (PdSe2), are promising candidates for polarized photodetection due to their low-symmetric crystal structure. However, the lack of an efficient heterostructure severely restricts their applications in UV-polarized photodetection. Here, we develop a PdSe2/GaN Schottky junction by in situ van der Waals growth for highly polarization-sensitive UV photodetection. Owing to the high-quality junction, the device exhibits an appealing UV detection performance in terms of a large responsivity of 249.9 mA/W, a high specific detectivity, and a fast response speed. More importantly, thanks to the puckered structure of the PdSe2 layer, the device is highly sensitive to polarized UV light with a large dichroic ratio up to 4.5, which is among the highest for 2D TMD material-based UV polarization-sensitive photodetectors. These findings further enable the demonstration of the outstanding polarized UV imaging capability of the Schottky junction, as well as its utility as an optical receiver for secure UV optical communication. Our work offers a strategy to fabricate the PdSe2-based heterostructure for high-performance polarization-sensitive UV photodetection.

C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 12 (CXCL12)/C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 7(CXCR7) regulates epithelial-mesenchymal transition process and promotes the metastasis of esophageal cancer by activating signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway.

Esophageal cancer is a malignant tumor of the digestive system that is prone to metastasis. Chemokines and their receptors act an essential role in the occurrence and development of tumors. Here, we investigated the regulatory mechanism of CXCL12/CXCR7 in the growth and metastasis of esophageal cancer. CXCR7 was found highly expressed in clinical tissues and cells of esophageal cancer. Knockdown of CXCR7 inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process of esophageal cancer cells. The knockdown of chemokine CXCL12 also inhibited the expression of EMT-related proteins and the mesenchymal morphology changes of esophageal cancer cells, but the knockdown of C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) had no such effect. Furthermore, the knockdown of CXCR7 attenuated the enhanced EMT process induced by CXCL12 overexpression, while the knockdown of CXCR4 cannot inhibit this process. In addition, overexpressed CXCL12/CXCR7 activated the downstream STAT3 pathway, but had little effect on the extracellular regulated protein kinase (ERK) or serine-threonine kinase (AKT) pathways. Inhibition of the STAT3 pathway using AZD9150 weakened the accelerated effects of CXCL12/CXCR7 on the growth and metastasis of esophageal cancer in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, our research revealed that CXCL12/CXCR7 regulates EMT and other malignant processes by activating the STAT3 pathway to accelerate the growth and metastasis of esophageal cancer.

An association study on imputed whole-genome resequencing from high-throughput sequencing data for body traits in crossbred pigs.

Body traits are important economic factors in the pig industry. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have been widely applied using high-density genotype data to detect QTL in pigs. The aim of the present study was to detect the genetic variants significantly associated with body traits in crossbred pigs using the Illumina Porcine SNP50 BeadChip and imputed whole-genome sequence data. A set of seven body traits - body length, body height, chest circumference, cannon bone circumference, leg buttock circumference, back fat thickness and loin muscle depth - were measured. Moderate to high heritabilities were obtained for most traits (from 0.14 to 0.46), and significant genetic and phenotypic correlations among them were observed. GWAS identified 714 significantly associated SNPs located at 39 regions on all autosomes for body traits, and a total of seven functionally related candidate genes: PIK3CD, HOXA, PCGF2, CHST11, COL2A1, BMI1 and OSR2. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that candidate genes were enriched in the estrogen signaling pathway, embryonic skeletal system morphogenesis and embryonic skeletal system development. These results aim to uncover the genetic mechanisms underlying body development and marker-assisted selection programs focusing on body traits in pigs.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on acute pancreatitis presentations, management, and in-hospital outcomes: a single-center, retrospective observational study from the northeast of China.

Background: Since initially detected in late December 2019, the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak rapidly swept the world, which has profoundly affected healthcare system and clinical practice in the management of gastrointestinal diseases. Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the pattern of hospital admissions and healthcare services for acute pancreatitis (AP). Design: We conducted a retrospective observational cohort study using the anonymized electronic medical records. Methods: This single-center, retrospective observational study from a regional medical center in the northeast of China included all consecutively admitted patients with AP from 23 January to 10 June 2020 (during the COVID-19 outbreak in Harbin), compared with the equivalent period of the previous year, in terms of demographics, clinical characteristics, and in-hospital outcomes. Results: In this article, we observed a reduction in AP admissions after the beginning of COVID-19 outbreak. With the prolonged time from symptom onset to hospitalization [32.0 (22.0-72.0) versus 18.0 (12.0-24.0) h; p < 0.001], a higher proportion of AP patients developed acute renal failure (14.0% versus 7.4%, p = 0.004) and acute necrotic collection (16.5% versus 11.2%; p = 0.038) in the COVID-19 era. The percentage of alcohol etiology significantly decreased after the implementation of social restriction measures (11.5% versus 20.4%; p = 0.002), whereas biliary etiology was numerically more common amidst the COVID-19 era (41.6% versus 32.6%; p = 0.014). No significant differences were found in the rates of intensive care unit admission and mortality between the two groups. Conclusion: This study preliminarily demonstrated the descending trend and delay in hospital presentations for AP during the outbreak of COVID-19. Given that the pandemic may persist for several years, adjustments of medical services according to the varying degrees of local breakouts are imperative to provide appropriate care for AP patients and diminish the risk of viral transmission. Registration: ClincialTrials.gov number ChiCTR2100043350.

Fabrication of 2D PdSe2/3D CdTe Mixed-Dimensional van der Waals Heterojunction for Broadband Infrared Detection.

Room-temperature infrared photodetectors are in great demand because of their vitally important applications in the military and civilian fields, which has inspired intensive studies in recent decades. Here, we present the fabrication of a large-size PdSe2/CdTe mixed-dimensional van der Waals (vdW) heterojunction for room-temperature infrared detection. Taking advantage of the wide light absorption of the multilayer PdSe2, high-quality vdW interface, and unique mixed-dimensional device geometry, the present device is capable of detecting an ultrawide light up to long-wave infrared (LWIR) of 10.6 µm at room temperature. In addition, our photodetector exhibits a good capability to follow short pulse infrared signals with a quick response rate of 70 ns, a large responsivity of 324.7 mA/W, and a reasonable specific detectivity of 3.3 × 1012 Jones. Significantly, the assembled photodetector is highly sensitive to a polarized infrared light signal with a decent polarization sensitivity of 4.4. More importantly, an outstanding LWIR imaging capability based on the PdSe2/CdTe vdW heterojunction at nonrefrigeration condition is demonstrated. Our work paves a novel route for the design of highly polarization-sensitive, room-temperature infrared photodetectors.

Ultrabroadband and High-Detectivity Photodetector Based on WS2/Ge Heterojunction through Defect Engineering and Interface Passivation.

Broadband photodetectors are of great importance for numerous optoelectronic applications. Two-dimensional (2D) tungsten disulfide (WS2), an important family member of transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), has shown great potential for high-sensitivity photodetection due to its extraordinary properties. However, the inherent large bandgap of WS2 and the strong interface recombination impede the actualization of high-sensitivity broadband photodetectors. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of an ultrabroadband WS2/Ge heterojunction photodetector through defect engineering and interface passivation. Thanks to the narrowed bandgap of WS2 induced by the vacancy defects, the effective surface modification with an ultrathin AlOx layer, and the well-designed vertical n-n heterojunction structure, the WS2/AlOx/Ge photodetector exhibits an excellent device performance in terms of a high responsivity of 634.5 mA/W, a large specific detectivity up to 4.3 × 1011 Jones, and an ultrafast response speed. Significantly, the device possesses an ultrawide spectral response spanning from deep ultraviolet (200 nm) to mid-wave infrared (MWIR) of 4.6 µm, along with a superior MWIR imaging capability at room temperature. The detection range has surpassed the WS2-based photodetectors in previous reports and is among the broadest for TMD-based photodetectors. Our work provides a strategy for the fabrication of high-performance ultrabroadband photodetectors based on 2D TMD materials.

[Preparation of paclitaxel-loaded and folic acid-modified poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) nano-micelles and in vitro anticancer effect on cervical cancer HeLa cells].

The paclitaxel-loaded and folic acid-modified poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nano-micelles(PTX@FA-PLGA-NMs) were prepared by the emulsion solvent evaporation method, and the parameters of paclitaxel-loaded nano-micelles were optimized with the particle size and PDI as evaluation indexes. The morphology of the nano-micelles was observed by transmission electron microscopy(TEM), and the stability, drug loading and encapsulation efficiency were systematically investigated. In vitro experiments were performed to study the cytotoxic effects of nano-micelles, apoptosis, and cellular uptake. Under the optimal parameters, the nano-micelles showed the particle size of(125.3±1.2) nm, the PDI of 0.086±0.026, the zeta potential of(-20.0±3.8) mV, the drug loading of 7.2%±0.75%, and the encapsulation efficiency of 50.7%±1.0%. The nano-micelles were in regular spherical shape as observed by TEM. The blank FA-PLGA-NMs exhibited almost no inhibitory effect on the proliferation and growth of tumor cells, while the drug-loaded nano-micelles and free PTX exhibited significant inhibitory effects. The IC_(50) of PTX@FA-PLGA-NMs and PTX was 0.56 µg·mL~(-1) and 0.66 µg·mL~(-1), respectively. The paclitaxel-loaded nano-micelles were potent in inhibiting cell migration as assessed by the scratch assay. PTX@FA-PLGA-NMs had good pro-apoptotic effect on cervical cancer HeLa cells and significantly promoted the uptake of HeLa cells. The results of in vitro experiments suggested that PTX@FA-PLGA-NMs could target and treat cervical cancer HeLa cells. Therefore, as nanodrug carriers, PTX@FA-PLGA-NMs with anti-cancer activity are a promising nano-system for improving the-rapeutic effects on tumors.

Characterization and comparison of the bacterial community between complete intensive and extensive feeding patterns in pigs.

To investigate and compare the gut microbiota structures in complete intensive feeding pattern (CP) and extensive feeding pattern (EP) groups, a total of 20 pigs were divided into two groups and fed the same diet. The fecal microbial composition was profiled using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Our results showed that seventeen predominant genera were present in each pig sample and constituted the phylogenetic core of the microbiota at the class level. The abundance of most of the core microbial flora were significantly higher in the CP group than in the EP group (P < 0.05), while the abundance of Gammaproteobacteria was significantly lower in the CP group than in the EP group (P < 0.05). The CP group had significantly greater community diversity, richness, and evenness than the EP group (P < 0.05). Functional prediction analysis indicated that intestinal microbial species potentially led to faster growth and an increased fat accumulation capacity in the CP group; however, disease resistance was weaker in the CP group than in the EP group. In conclusion, EP pigs have a wider range of activity and better animal welfare than CP pigs, which helps reduce the occurrence of diseases and neurological symptoms. To explore the effect of intestinal flora on disease resistance in pigs at the molecular level, Coprococcus, which is a key gut bacterium in the intestine, was selected for isolation and purification and cocultured with intestinal epithelial cells. qPCR was performed to determine the effect of Coprococcus on SLA-DRB gene expression in intestinal epithelial cells. The results showed that Coprococcus enhanced SLA-DRB gene expression in intestinal epithelial cells. The results provide useful reference data for further study on the relationship between intestinal flora and pig disease resistance.