Adjudicative efficacy of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BLa80 in treating acute diarrhea in children: a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study.

The goal of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BLa80, as an adjunct treatment for diarrhea in children with a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study design. Eligible diarrheal children, aged 0-3 years without the need for antibiotic treatment based on clinical diagnosis when recruited, were randomized into the intervention group (IG, n = 58, with probiotic) or the control group (CG, n = 53, placebo). The primary assessment was the duration of diarrhea. Fecal samples were collected for biochemical index measurement, analysis of gut microbiome composition, and prediction of gene family abundances. The total duration of diarrhea in the IG (122.6 ± 13.1 h) was significantly shorter than in the CG (148.4 ± 17.6 h, p < 0.001). More children in the IG showed improvements in diarrhea compared to the CG, both in intention-to-treat analysis (81.7% vs. 40.0%, p < 0.001) and per protocol analysis (84.4% vs 45.3%, p < 0.001). Cathelicidin level in the IG was significantly higher than that in the CG after the intervention (4415.00 ± 1036.93 pg/g vs. 3679.49 ± 871.18 pg/g, p = 0.0175). The intervention led to an increased abundance of Bifidobacterium breve and Collinsella aerofaciens species, higher alpha-diversity (p < 0.05), and enrichment of functional genes in the gut microbiota related to immunity regulation. Administration of BLa80 at a dose of 5 × 109 CFU/day resulted in a shorter duration of diarrhea and alterations in gut microbiome composition and gene functions.

Adjunctive efficacy of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis XLTG11 for functional constipation in children.

Functional constipation (FC) can seriously affect the physical and mental health of children. The goal of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis XLTG11 in treating FC in children through a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled approach. Eligible children were randomized into either the intervention group (IG, n = 65, receiving conventional treatment with probiotics) or the control group (CG, n = 66, receiving conventional treatment without probiotics). The primary outcome measure was fecal frequency. Fecal gut microbiota analysis and PICRUSt (Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States) were used to predict gene family abundances based on 16S information. Over the course of treatment, the weekly frequency of feces within each group increased significantly (F = 41.97, p < 0.001). The frequency of feces (times/week (t/w)) in the IG was significantly higher than that in the CG (3.69 ± 2.62 t/w vs.3.18 ± 1.43 t/w, 4.03 ± 2.54 t/w vs. 2.89 ± 1.39 t/w and 3.74 ± 2.36 t/w vs. 2.94 ± 1.18 t/w and 3.45 ± 1.98 vs. 3.17 ± 1.41 t/w for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th week after intervention, respectively) (F = 7.60, p = 0.0067). After the intervention, dominate species shifted to Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium breve, and Escherichia coli in the IG. Additionally, genes related to short-chain fatty acid (SCF) metabolism were upregulated, while methane metabolism was downregulated. Administration of XLTG11 at a dose of 1 × 1010 CFU/day to children increased fecal frequency, induced beneficial changes in gut microbiota, and regulated SCFs and methane metabolism-related genes.

How does the robot adoption promote carbon reduction?: spatial correlation and heterogeneity analysis.

Along with the continuous improvement of industrial intelligence, robots are widely used in various aspects of production and life, playing an essential role in achieving carbon reduction targets. However, the existing research on the carbon reduction effect of robots and its mechanism is limited. Therefore, this study aims to explore the impact of robot adoption on carbon emissions and analyzes the mechanism by taking 30 provinces in China from 2006 to 2019 as research objects. It found that robot adoption can significantly reduce carbon emissions. However, the degree of marketization plays a masking effect, which limits robots' carbon reduction effect to some extent. Furthermore, the carbon reduction effect of robot adoption is stronger in provinces with lower carbon emissions. Finally, robot adoption has a significant spatial spillover effect on neighboring regions. The improvement of robot adoption will positively affect the region's and surrounding areas' carbon emission reduction. The relevant findings provide empirical support for further deepening the policy implementation of robot-assisted carbon emission reduction.

[Modified styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer-based chromatographic stationary phase for phospholipid separation and analysis].

Phospholipids are important signaling molecules, and their metabolism is closely related to various diseases, such as neurodegenerative diseases and cancers. Phospholipids are typically characterized with extreme complexity and structural diversity. For example, phospholipids present in many different forms, such as sn position isomers, double-bond position isomers, double-bond stereochemical isomers, and enantiomers. Therefore, further research on novel separation and analytical techniques for phospholipids is of great importance. As an amphiphilic alternating copolymer, styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer (SMA) can be inserted into the phospholipid bilayer of biofilms to form lipid nanodisks with membrane proteins as the centers, thereby solubilizing membrane proteins and phospholipids. Thus, the introduction of SMA into a chromatographic stationary phase can potentially improve the separation and analysis of phospholipids. In this paper, SMA was successfully grafted onto the surface of silica gel via the "click" reaction and free radical polymerization. After further ring-opening modification of SMA with methyl methionine hydrochloride (MME·HCl), a novel SMA-modified stationary phase material (Sil-SMA-MME) was fabricated. The Sil-SMA-MME stationary phase was characterized using thermogravimetric analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and the results indicated the successful fabrication of the target material. The retention mechanism of the packed Sil-SMA-MME chromatographic column was investigated using hydrophilic nucleosides and nucleic acid bases via high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and UV detection. According to the retention characteristics of the nucleosides and nucleic acid bases in different mobile phases, the Sil-SMA-MME chromatographic column exhibited a typical hydrophilic-interaction-based retention mechanism, similar to that of a commercially available amino (SiO2-NH2) column. The separation performance of the Sil-SMA-MME column was evaluated using three types of small-molecule substances, including amides, nucleoside/nucleic acid bases, and phenols. Cyanoacetamide, 2-iodoacetamide, benzamide, p-aminobenzamide, and nicotinamide were used to evaluate the chromatographic performance of the developed Sil-SMA-MME column. When acetonitrile-H2O (96∶4, v/v) was used as the mobile phase, the five compounds exhibited good peak shapes and could be baseline-separated within 8 min. The highest column efficiency achieved was 90900 N/m. By contrast, under the same chromatographic conditions, the test substances were not separated effectively on the SiO2-NH2 column. Regardless of the mobile phase ratio, the peaks of benzamide and 2-iodoacetamide overlapped. These results demonstrate that the developed Sil-SMA-MME column has good separation selectivity. The separation performance of the Sil-SMA-MME column for phospholipid samples was also investigated by HPLC and evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD) to explore its feasibility for phospholipid separation and analysis. Different phospholipid standards were used to evaluate the separation performance of the column. Under certain mobile phase conditions, baseline separation could be achieved for dipalmityl phosphatidyl serine sodium (DPPS), diolyl phosphatidyl choline (DOPC), and dipalmityl phosphatidyl ethanolamine (DPPE), as well as four phosphatidyl choline (PC) standards, namely, lysophosphatidylcholine (LysoPC), dimyristoyl phosphatidyl choline (DMPC), distearyl phosphatidyl choline (DSPC), and dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl choline (DPPC). The separation potential of the developed Sil-SMA-MME column was further evaluated by separating and analyzing phospholipid extracts from Antarctic krill oil and human serum. The results showed that the developed Sil-SMA-MME column has good potential for phospholipid separation and analysis.

[Effect of High-volume Straw Returning and Applying Bacillus on Bacterial Community and Fertility of Desertification Soil].

This study was conducted to explore the fertilization potential of the high-volume straw returning mode in cooperation with Bacillus and other functional flora on desertification soil and to analyze the changing characteristics of soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus components and functional activities of flora, so as to provide a basis for efficiently improving desertification soil fertility. A randomized block experiment was conducted, setting straw not returning to field (CK) and high-volume straw returning of 6.00 kg·m-2 (ST1), 12.00 kg·m-2 (ST2), 24.00 kg·m-2+(ST3), 6.00 kg·m-2+Bacillus (SM1), 12.00 kg·m-2+Bacillus (SM2), and 24.00 kg·m-2+Bacillus (SM3). In this study, we conducted a randomized block experiment to investigate the effect of the treatment for soil microbial and nutrient contents using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing and soil biochemical properties analysis. Our results showed that:① the α diversity of the soil bacterial community was significantly reduced by the combination of high-volume straw returning and Bacillus application. ② The single mode of high-volume straw returning significantly enriched Proteobacteria and decreased the relative abundance of Actinobacteriota, and the effect of the combined application of Bacillus on the variability of bacterial community structure was more significant. At the genus level, the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria such as Pseudomonas, Rhodanobacter, and Bacillus increased significantly. ③ The functional prediction based on FAPROTAX found that the high-volume straw returning combined with Bacillus could significantly improve the decomposition potential of soil flora to organic substances and the transformation potential of nitrogen components. ④ Compared with that in the control, the application of Bacillus with high-volume straw returning significantly increased the contents of soil organic matter, total phosphorus, and available phosphorus by 31.20-32.75 g·kg-1, 0.11-0.18 g·kg-1, and 29.69-35.09 mg·kg-1, respectively. In conclusion, the application of Bacillus in the sand-blown area with a high-volume straw returning can notably improve the contents of soil organic matter and phosphorus components, the functional activity of bacteria, and the abundance of beneficial bacteria, which is of great significance to the rapid improvement of soil fertility in the middle- and low-yield fields in arid areas.

Increased expression of OPN contributes to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and indicates a poor prognosis.

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is fibrotic lung disease with no effective treatment. It is characterized by destruction of alveolar structure and pulmonary interstitial fibrosis, leading to dyspnea and even asphyxia death of patients. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is considered to be a driving factor in the pathogenesis of IPF. Osteopontin (OPN) is a secreted protein widely present in the extracellular matrix and involved in the occurrence and development of a variety of diseases. METHODS: The original datasets were obtained from NCBI GEO databases analyzed with the online tool GEO2R and EasyGEO. Bleomycin induced mouse pulmonary fibrosis model and OPN/OPN-biotin treated mouse model were established to investigate the role of OPN in mouse pulmonary fibrosis and the target cells of OPN. A549 cells and HBE cells were used to explore the mechanism of OPN-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in epithelial cells and mass spectrometry was used to detect OPN downstream receptors. Precision-cut lung slices and lentivirus-treated mice with pulmonary fibrosis were used to examine the therapeutic effect of OPN and its downstream pathways on pulmonary fibrosis. RESULTS: We demonstrate that the content of OPN in IPF bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) is high compared to the normal groups, and its expression level is correlated with prognosis. At the animal level, OPN was highly expressed at all stages of pulmonary fibrosis in mice, and the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) could accurately reflect its expression in the lung. Next, we reveal that OPN was mainly expressed by macrophages and the main target cells of OPN were epithelial cells. Mice developed pulmonary fibrosis accompanied after treating the mice with OPN. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments confirmed that OPN could induce EMT of alveolar epithelial cells. Mechanistically, OPN binding triggered phosphorylation of FAK by CD44, thus activating snail1-mediated profibrotic protein synthesis. Inhibition of FAK phosphorylation and its downstream pathways can effectively alleviate pulmonary fibrosis in precision sections of lung tissue (PCLS) assay. OPN knockdown in bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis mice led to significantly less fibrosis. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that OPN mediates lung fibrosis through EMT, implicating its potential therapeutic target and prognostic indicator role for IPF. OPN may be a target for the diagnosis and treatment of IPF.

Adjunctive efficacy of Lactis XLTG11 for Acute diarrhea in children: A randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of Bifidobacterium animalis sp. Lactis XLTG11, as an adjunctive treatment for acute watery diarrhea in children, using a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study design. METHOD: Eligible children with diarrhea were randomly assigned into one of two groups: an intervention group (IG, n = 35), which received conventional treatment plus the probiotic, and a control group (CG, n = 35), which received only conventional treatment. Fecal samples were collected from all children before and after the intervention to measure biochemical indices and analyze gut microbiome (GM) composition. RESULT: The duration of diarrhea (121.3 ± 11.5 h) and hospital length of stay (3.4 ± 1.1 d) in the IG were significantly shorter than those in the CG (133.4 ± 14.1 h and 4 ± 1.3 d, respectively; P < 0.001 and P = 0.041, respectively). A higher percentage of children in the IG showed improvements compared with the CG (57.1% versus 25.7%, P < 0.001). The calprotectin level in the IG was significantly lower than that in the CG after the intervention (928.91 ± 158.90 ng/g versus 1029.86 ± 133.25 ng/g, P = 0.028). XLTG11 administration led to a higher abundance of species B. longum and < breve, increased α-diversity of the GM (P < 0.05), and upregulated the functional genes of the GM related to immunity and nutrient absorption. CONCLUSIONS: Administration of XLTG11 at a dose of 1 × 1010 CFU/d was effective in reducing the duration of diarrhea, inducing beneficial changes in GM composition and gene functions.

Comparison of developmental toxicity of benzophenone-3 and its metabolite benzophenone-8 in zebrafish.

Benzophenone-3 (BP-3) as one of frequently used organic UV filters has been considered an emerging pollutant due to its toxicities. Benzophenone-8 (BP-8) is one of the main metabolites of BP-3 in organisms. Current reports show that BP-8 may be more toxic than BP-3. However, difference of their toxicities on embryonic development has rarely been reported. In this study, zebrafish embryos were chosen as the target organism to explore the developmental toxicities of BP-3 and BP-8. Non-targeted metabolomic analysis was performed to compare their modes of action. Results showed that BP-8 exposures led to higher bioaccumulation and lower hatching rate of zebrafish larvae than BP-3. Both BP-8 and BP-3 exposures caused behavioral abnormalities of zebrafish larvae, but no significant difference was found between them. At the metabolome level, 1 µg/L BP-3 and 1 µg/L BP-8 exposures altered neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction pathway and FoxO signaling pathway, respectively, which might be involved in the abnormal behaviors in zebrafish larvae. For higher exposure groups (30 and 300 µg/L), both BP-3 and BP-8 exposures changed metabolism of cofactors and vitamins of zebrafish larvae. Exposure of BP-3 altered the metabolism by pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis pathway, while BP-8 exposure changed riboflavin metabolism and folate biosynthesis. The above results indicated different modes of action of BP-3 and BP-8 in zebrafish embryonic development. This study sheds new light to biological hazards of BP-3 due to its metabolism in aquatic organisms.

Efficacy and safety of preoperative transarterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to compare preoperative transcatheter arterial chemotherapy (TACE) plus liver resection (LR) with liver resection (LR) alone for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, web of science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched from their initiation until 24 August 2021. Eligible languages were English and Chinese. This study includes only RCT and cohort studies. The primary outcome was the prognostic factors including overall survival rate (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and we also research the operative time, intraoperative blood loss, and postoperative complication. RESULTS: Twenty-nine trials (2 RCTs and 27 cohorts) were included, containing a total of 22023 patients, compared with hepatic resection, preoperative TACE plus LR shows the benefit of RFS (Hazard Ratio (HR)=0.80, 95%CI = [0.73-0.88], p < .001), and the combined therapy was associated with a higher OS for patients with HCC in Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) B stage (HR = 0.76, 95%CI = [0.60-0.96], p = .024). In terms of safety, combination therapy is related to less intraoperative blood loss (Weighted Mean Difference (WMD)=-11.17, 95%CI = [-21.79 to -0.54], p = .039); and there's no statistical significance in postoperative complication (Risk Ratio (RR)=0.99, 95%CI= [0.90-1.08], p = 0.771) and operative time (WMD = 7.57, 95%CI = [-5.07 to 20.20], p = .240). CONCLUSION: TACE prior to surgery should be recommended as a routine treatment for HCC patients, especially BCLC B stage HCC, in view of its benefits for RFS and OS. Large, multicenter, and blinded randomized trials should be performed to confirm these findings.

A cell wall-localized NLR confers resistance to Soybean mosaic virus by recognizing viral-encoded cylindrical inclusion protein.

Soybean mosaic virus (SMV) causes severe yield losses and seed quality reduction in soybean (Glycine max) production worldwide. Rsc4 from cultivar Dabaima is a dominant genetic locus for SMV resistance, and its mapping interval contains three nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat-containing (NLR) candidates (Rsc4-1, Rsc4-2, and Rsc4-3). The NLR-type resistant proteins were considered as important intracellular pathogen sensors in the previous studies. In this study, based on transient expression assay in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves, we found that the longest transcript of Rsc4-3 is sufficient to confer resistance to SMV, and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated editing of Rsc4-3 in resistant cultivar Dabaima compromised the resistance. Interestingly, Rsc4-3 encodes a cell-wall-localized NLR-type resistant protein. We found that the internal polypeptide region responsible for apoplastic targeting of Rsc4-3 and the putative palmitoylation sites on the N terminus are essential for the resistance. Furthermore, we showed that viral-encoded cylindrical inclusion (CI) protein partially localizes to the cell wall and can interact with Rsc4-3. Virus-driven or transient expression of CI protein of avirulent SMV strains is enough to induce resistance response in the presence of Rsc4-3, suggesting that CI is the avirulent gene for Rsc4-3-mediated resistance. Taken together, our work identified a unique NLR that recognizes plant virus in the apoplast, and provided a simple and effective method for identifying resistant genes against SMV infection.

Microplastic pollution in an urbanized river affected by water diversion: Combining with active biomonitoring.

Microplastics as the most challenging environmental pollutants in ocean have raised increasing concerns, however, the understanding of microplastics in freshwater falls far behind. The main objective of this study is to assess the microplastic pollution in an urbanized river affected by water diversion. The active biomonitoring method with caged native crucian carp (Carassius auratus) was used to evaluate the microplastic risk for riverine fish. It found that microplastic abundance in water and sediment was 1467-20567 items/m³ and 1115-6380 items/kg, respectively. The operational water diversion did not alleviate the microplastic pollution in water. The abundance in sediment was not simply proportional to that in water. However, the main morphological profiles and polymer composition were similar in the water and sediment. Microplastic accumulation in caged fish intestine was higher than that in gill. Intestine seems to be an ideal tissue to reflect the microplastic pollution in water. Shapes may contribute to the accumulation in fish. Based on the pollution load index, all caged fish did not reach to high level risks. These findings not only improve the understanding on the impact of water diversion on microplastic pollution in urban river, but also shed an insight in the related risk for riverine fish.

Free and self-trapped exciton emission in perovskite CsPbBr3 microcrystals.

The all-inorganic perovskite CsPbBr3 has been capturing extensive attention due to its high quantum yield in luminescence devices and relatively high stability. Its luminescence is dominated by free exciton (FE) recombination but additional emission peaks were also commonly observed. In this work, a CsPbBr3 microcrystal sample in the orthorhombic phase was prepared by the chemical vapor deposition method. In addition to the FE peak, a broad emission peak was found in this sample and it was attributed to self-trapped excitons (STEs) based on its photophysical properties. The STE emission can only be observed below 70 K. The derived Huang-Rhys factor is ∼12 and the corresponding phonon energy is 15.3 meV. Its lifetime is 123 ns at 10 K, much longer than that of FE emission. The STE emission is thought to be an intrinsic property of CsPbBr3.

[Characteristics of soil organic carbon mineralization in low altitude and high altitude forests in Wuyi Mountains, southeastern China]. / 武夷山低海拔和高海拔森林土壤有机碳的矿化特征.

Examining the variations of soil organic carbon mineralization at different altitudes is crucial for better understanding of soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics. We selected the low altitude and high altitude broad-leaved forest soils in Wuyi Mountains as the research object, and incubated them under particular annual average temperature (17 and 9 ℃, respectively) in laboratory to investigate the difference of SOC mineralization characteristics. The results showed that the cumulative SOC mineralization had no significant difference between forest soils at low and high altitude in a 126-day incubation period under ambient temperature. Soil organic carbon content of high altitude soil was significantly higher than that from low altitude. The dynamics of SOC mineralization could fitted by the first-order kinetics. Both mineralization potential (CP) and mineralization rate constant (K) values of two soils had no significant difference, but CP/SOC value and mineralization ratio were significantly higher at low altitude, indicating that the carbon sequestration capacity of low altitude soil was relatively lower than that of high altitude under ambient temperature. Soil microbial biomass carbon and microbial quotients were significantly higher than that of low altitude with the increase of incubation time, indicating that the ability of microbial carbon assimilation was greater at high altitude. On the other hand, the activities of ß-1,4-glucosidase and cellobiohydrolase in high altitude soil were higher, suggesting that more labile carbon would be decomposed by soil microbes. The carbon sequestration capacity and microbial carbon utilization efficiency in high altitude soil would be reduced and thus result in a decline of soil organic carbon storage under the scenarios of climate warming.

Influence of gastrointestinal tract on metabolism of bisphenol A as determined by in vitro simulated system.

Oral exposure is a major route of human bisphenol A (BPA) exposure. However, influence of gastrointestinal tract on BPA metabolism is unavailable. In this study, in vitro simulator of the human intestinal microbial ecosystem (SHIME) was applied to investigate the changes in bioaccessibility and metabolism of BPA in different parts of gastrointestinal tract (stomach, small intestine and colon). Then the human hepatoma cell line HepG2 was employed to compare toxic effects of BPA itself and effluents of SHIME system on hepatic gene expression profiles. Results showed that level of bioaccessible BPA decreased with the process of gastrointestinal digestion. But the gastrointestinal digestion could not completely degrade BPA. Then, BPA exposure significantly changed microbial community in colons and increased the percentage of microbes shared in ascending, transverse and descending colons. Abundances of BPA-degradable bacteria, such as Microbacterium and Alcaligenes, were up-regulated. Further, SHIME effluents significantly up-regulated expressions of genes related to estrogenic effect and oxidative stress compared to BPA itself, but reduced or had little change on the risk of cell apoptosis and fatty deposits. This study sheds new lights on influence of gastrointestinal digestion on bioaccessibility and toxic effects of BPA.

[Effects of PI3K/Akt-eNOS signaling pathway on total flavones in Clematis filamentosa post-conditioning alleviated of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats].

The aim of this paper was to study the effect of total flavones of Clematis filamentosa Dunn(TFCD) post-conditioning against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) and the role of PI3K/Akt-eNOS signaling pathway. Forty male SD rats were divided randomly into five groups: Sham group, model group (I/R), TFCD post-conditioning group (TFCD), TFCD post-condition-ing+LY294002 (a PI3K/Akt signaling pathway inhibitor) group (TFCD+LY), and LY294002 group (LY). At the end of reperfusion, hemodynamic parameters were recorded, morphology changes of myocardial tissue were evaluated by using HE staining, and myocardial infarct size were observed, blood samples were obtained to determine plasma activation of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK) nitric oxide (NO), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), superoxide dismutase (SOD), maleic dialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px). The expressions of Akt, p-Akt, eNOS and p-eNOS proteins were assessed by using Western blot, and eNOS and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA was measured by RT-PCR. The results showed that, compared with the model group, TFCD post-conditioning remarkably improved hemodynamics function and myocardial structure, reduced myocardial infarct size and enhanced the contents of NO, eNOS, SOD and GSH-Px, and decreased the contents of LDH, CK and MDA, increased the levels of phosphorylation of Akt and eNOS protein expression, eNOS and iNOS mRNA expression significantly(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01). These effects were inhibited by LY294002, a blocker of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. The above experiments indicated that TFCD post-conditioning could significantly reduce MIRI in rats, the mechanism of which may be associated with increasing antioxidation, scavenging oxygen free radicals, regulating NO generation and activating PI3K/Akt-eNOS signaling pathway.

Enhanced Electrochemical Performance of Heterogeneous Si/MoSi2 Anodes Prepared by a Magnesiothermic Reduction.

This work explores facile synthesis of heterogeneous Si/MoSi2 nanocomposites via a one-step magnesiothermic reduction. MoSi2 serves as a highly electrically conductive nanoparticle that has several advantages of electrochemical properties, which is formed through the absorption of local heat accumulation generated by magnesiothermic reduction. As a result, the Si/MoSi2 nanocomposites exhibit excellent electrochemical performance, showing initial charge capacity of 1933.9 mA h g(-1) at a rate of 0.2 C and retaining 85.2% after 150 cycles. This work using local heat accumulation generated by magnesiothermic reduction demonstrates a large-scale method for producing high-performance Si-based anode materials, which could provide referential significances for other materials.

Polyketides from the Mangrove-Derived Endophytic Fungus Nectria sp. HN001 and Their α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activity.

Four new polyketides: nectriacids A-C (1-3) and 12-epicitreoisocoumarinol (4), together with three known compounds: citreoisocoumarinol (5), citreoisocoumarin (6), and macrocarpon C (7) were isolated from the culture of the endophytic fungus Nectria sp. HN001, which was isolated from a fresh branch of the mangrove plant Sonneratia ovata collected from the South China Sea. Their structures were determined by the detailed analysis of NMR and mass spectroscopic data. The absolute configuration of the stereogenic carbons for compound 4 was further assigned by Mosher's ester method. All of the isolated compounds were tested for their α-glucosidase inhibitory activity by UV absorbance at 405 nm, and new compounds 2 and 3 exhibited potent inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 23.5 and 42.3 µM, respectively, which were more potent than positive control (acarbose, IC50, 815.3 µM).

Organic UV Filters in the Surface Water of Nanjing, China: Occurrence, Distribution and Ecological Risk Assessment.

Organic UV filters (OUV-Fs) are increasingly used for protection against UV irradiation. The widespread occurrence of OUV-Fs residues in aquatic systems has been reported, but little is known regarding their distribution and potential impact to the surface water in China. This study reports the occurrence, distribution and risk assessment of eight widely used OUV-Fs in the surface water of Nanjing. The results indicated butyl-methoxydibenzoylmethane, octyl-dimethyl-PABA and benzophenone-types (BP3, BP4 and BP1) were the most frequently detected compounds at concentrations of 3.63-104 ng/L. In general, the concentrations of OUV-Fs were decreased along the rivers; however, due to a substantial pollution load from the tributaries, higher concentrations of OUV-Fs were observed near the tributary inlet, compared to the other study areas. The risk assessment based on the calculated risk quotients (RQs) demonstrated that all OUV-Fs posed at least low risks to certain sensitive aquatic organisms, and BP3 posed high risk with RQ values of 1.64. It should be noted that the exclusion of adsorbed OUV-Fs might have contributed to an underestimation of the risk, therefore, it's necessary to assess both adsorbed and dissolved OUV-Fs in further studies.

Cross-talk between bile acids and intestinal microbiota in host metabolism and health.

Bile acid (BA) is de novo synthesized exclusively in the liver and has direct or indirect antimicrobial effects. On the other hand, the composition and size of the BA pool can be altered by intestinal microbiota via the biotransformation of primary BAs to secondary BAs, and subsequently regulate the nuclear farnesoid X receptor (FXR; NR1H4). The BA-activated FXR plays important roles in BA synthesis and metabolism, glucose and lipid metabolism, and even hepatic autophagy. BAs can also play a role in the interplays among intestinal microbes. In this review, we mainly discuss the interactions between BAs and intestinal microbiota and their roles in regulating host metabolism, and probably the autophagic signaling pathway.

Biological fate and effects of propranolol in an experimental aquatic food chain.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the trophic transfer of the ß-blocker propranolol (PRP) in an experimental aquatic food chain involving the green algae Scenedesmus obliquus, the water flea Daphnia magna and the crucian carp Carassius auratus, as well as the metabolism and effects of PRP in the liver of crucian carp. After a 48 h PRP aqueous exposure for algae, with a subsequent 48 h dietary exposure for daphnia and an 8d dietary exposure for crucian carp, PRP was observed in each trophic level, despite significant bioaccumulation did not occur in daphnia and crucian carp. A portion of the absorbed PRP was metabolized by the crucian carp to N-desisopropylated propranolol, propranolol glucuronic acid, monohydroxylated propranolol, hydroxypropranolol glucuronide and dihydroxypropranolol glucuronide, which were similar to those in mammals. In addition, multiple biomarkers in the liver of crucian carp (7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase, EROD; 7-benzyloxyresorufin O-dealkylation, BROD; superoxide dismutase, SOD and malondialdehyde, MDA) were measured. BROD and MDA were not significantly affected by PRP, while EROD and SOD did change significantly during the 8d dietary exposure. This work indicated that the trophic transfer of PRP, resulting in biochemical perturbations of fish biological systems, should be a concern for the assessment of the environmental risks to aquatic food chains.