Using combined Lactobacillus and quorum quenching enzyme supplementation as an antibiotic alternative to improve broiler growth performance, antioxidative status, immune response, and gut microbiota.

To seek viable alternatives to antibiotics, we determined the combinatorial effects of Lactobacillus and a quorum quenching enzyme (QQE) on broiler growth performance, antioxidant capacity, immune responses, and cecal microbial populations. In total, 360 one-day-old male broilers (Ross 308) were randomly allotted to 3 dietary treatments, with 12 replicate pens/treatment and 10 birds/replicate pen. Dietary treatments lasted 42 d and comprised: corn-soybean meal basal diet (control group, CON); control plus antibiotic growth promoter supplement group (AGP); and control plus Lactobacillus and QQE supplement group (LQ). Dietary LQ supplementation significantly increased final body weight (BW) and average daily gain (ADG) when compared with CON and AGP groups between 22 and 42 d and 1 to 42 d (P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed for serum superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels between treatments (P > 0.05). A higher concentration of total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) was observed on d 42 in the LQ group (P = 0.06). Feeding LQ significantly increased serum immunoglobulins (IgA and IgG) levels when compared with other treatments (P < 0.05). A statistical trend was also observed for increased cecal butyrate levels (P = 0.06) in the LQ group. Bacterial α-diversity was unaffected by dietary treatments (P > 0.05). However, from principal component analysis (PCoA), the microbial community structure was different between the LQ and AGP groups. Diet supplemented with LQ significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the relative abundance of Synergistota and Proteobacteria and significantly (P < 0.05) increased the proportion of Ruminococcaceae and Faecalibacterium. Thus, supplemental LQ improved growth performance, immune status, and modulated intestinal microbial communities in broilers. We provide a new perceptive on antibiotic substitutes in the poultry industry.

[Correlation between the increase in corneal higher-order aberrations and the control of children's myopic anisometropia after wearing orthokeratology lenses].

Objective: To explore the interocular differences in both the increase of corneal higher-order aberrations (HOAs) and axial length elongation, and the correlation between them after orthokeratology lens (OK lens) wear in children with myopic anisometropia. Methods: It was a prospective cohort study. From 2018 to 2019, 31 children with myopic anisometropia who were fitted with OK lenses initially in the Department of Ophthalmology of Peking University Third Hospital were enrolled, including 15 males (30 eyes) and 16 females (32 eyes). The age was (10.7±1.4) years. Before (baseline) and 12 months after wearing OK lenses, corneal aberrations, corneal relative refractive power (corneal RRP, the difference between peripheral corneal refraction and central corneal refraction) and axial length were measured using the Sirius combining a corneal topographer and a tomographer and an IOL-Master intraocular lens biometer in two eyes. Interocular differences in corneal aberrations, corneal RRP and axial length were analyzed by the paired t test and Wilcoxon rank sum test. The Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses were used to explore the correlation between the increase in corneal HOAs, corneal RRP and axial length elongation. Results: At 12 months after wearing OK lenses, 6 children were lost for follow-up, and the data of the remaining 25 children (50 eyes) were evaluated. With 3.0- and 6.0-mm measuring zones of the total cornea and the anterior surface, the increases in total corneal HOAs, coma, spherical aberration of higher myopic eyes were significantly more than fellow lower myopic eyes (all P<0.05). The corneal RRP with 2.0-mm and 2.5-mm radius in the upper cornea and 2.5-mm radius in the inferior cornea of higher myopic eyes were more than fellow lower myopic eyes (t=-2.06, -2.07, -2.42; P=0.05, 0.049, 0.023), but there was no significant interocular difference in corneal RRP in the horizontal meridian direction of the cornea (both the nasal and temporal sides of the cornea) (both P>0.05). The axial length elongation in higher myopic eyes was 0.14 (0.08, 0.20) mm, which was significantly less than that in the contralateral eyes [0.18 (0.14, 0.35) mm] (Z =-3.21, P= 0.001). The interocular difference in axial length decreased from 0.40 (0.34, 0.54) mm at baseline to 0.33 (0.24, 0.54) mm (Z =-3.21, P = 0.001). The increases in HOAs, coma and spherical aberration of the anterior corneal surface with 3.0-mm measuring zone and the increase in coma of the anterior corneal surface with 6.0-mm measuring zone were all negatively correlated with axial length elongation (r=-0.493, -0.606, -0.500, -0.307; P<0.05). But the corneal RRP had no significant correlation with axial length elongation (r=-0.092, -0.104, -0.230, -0.061; P>0.05). Conclusion: After 12 months of OK lens wear, interocular difference in axial length reduced significantly in children with myopic anisometropia, which was related to the larger increase in corneal HOAs of higher myopic eyes than fellow lower myopic eyes, especially coma.

Secular trends of incidence and hospitalization cost of hip fracture in Tangshan, China.

We investigated the secular trends of the incidence and hospitalization cost of hip fracture in Tangshan, China. The incidence of hip fracture and the hospitalization cost were both increasing during the observation period. INTRODUCTION: The present study aimed to determine sex-, age-, and fracture type-specific incidence and annual changes in hip fractures in Tangshan, China, between 2007 and 2018. METHODS: We analyzed annual hip fracture incidence using urban hospital data during 2007-2018 and calculated incidence rate/100,000 person years in each age group and sex. We assessed annual changes in incidence among people aged >60 years using linear-by-linear association tests and evaluated hospitalization costs with the Kruskal-Wallis test. RESULTS: During the study period, we observed an increasing proportion of hip fractures in people >60 years old from 14.2 to 22.79%. Crude hip fracture incidence increased markedly from 140.87 to 306.56/100,000 in women (p < 0.01) and from 124.83 to 167.19/100,000 in men (p < 0.01) in the age group >60 years. Type-specific analysis indicated significantly increased trends in incidence of cervical and trochanteric fractures among women and cervical fracture among men (p < 0.01). In people aged 36-60 years, the trend of hip fracture increased significantly in both sexes. The total and cervical-to-trochanteric ratio in men increased, with significant upward trends (p < 0.01). The proportion of cervical fracture was higher than that for trochanteric fracture in women, with stable levels from 2007 to 2018. Hospitalization costs for cervical and trochanteric fractures increased by 51.91% and 53.20%, respectively, during 2011-2018. CONCLUSION: Tangshan will have an increasing burden on health care resources attributable to a considerable rise in hip fracture incidence and the older population. Further investigation of risk factors and subsequent implementation of effective measures to prevent hip fracture are needed.

[Evaluation of safety of two inactivated COVID-19 vaccines in a large-scale emergency use].

Objective: To evaluate the safety of two inactivated COVID-19 vaccines in a large-scale emergency use. Methods: Based on the "Vaccination Information Collection System", the incidence data of adverse reactions in the population vaccinated with the inactivated COVID-19 vaccines developed by Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd and Wuhan Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd, respectively, in emergency use were collected, and the relevant information were analyzed with descriptive epidemiological and statistical methods. Results: By December 1, 2020, the vaccination information of 519 543 individuals had been collected. The overall incidence rate of adverse reactions was 1.06%, the incidence rate of systemic adverse reactions was 0.69% and the incidence rate of local adverse reactions was 0.37%. The main systemic adverse reactions included fatigue, headache, fever, cough and loss of appetite with the incidence rates of 0.21%, 0.14%, 0.06%, 0.05% and 0.05%, respectively; the main local adverse reactions were injection site pain and injection site swelling with the incidence rates of 0.24% and 0.05%, respectively. Conclusion: The two inactivated COVID-19 vaccines by Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd and Wuhan Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd showed that in the large-scale emergency use, the incidence rate of general reactions was low and no serious adverse reactions were observed after the vaccinations, demonstrating that the vaccines have good safety.

Quasifree Neutron Knockout Reaction Reveals a Small s-Orbital Component in the Borromean Nucleus

A kinematically complete quasifree (p,pn) experiment in inverse kinematics was performed to study the structure of the Borromean nucleus ^{17}B, which had long been considered to have a neutron halo. By analyzing the momentum distributions and exclusive cross sections, we obtained the spectroscopic factors for 1s_{1/2} and 0d_{5/2} orbitals, and a surprisingly small percentage of 9(2)% was determined for 1s_{1/2}. Our finding of such a small 1s_{1/2} component and the halo features reported in prior experiments can be explained by the deformed relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov theory in continuum, revealing a definite but not dominant neutron halo in ^{17}B. The present work gives the smallest s- or p-orbital component among known nuclei exhibiting halo features and implies that the dominant occupation of s or p orbitals is not a prerequisite for the occurrence of a neutron halo.

[Clinical significance and cost-benefit analysis of serum calcitonin assay in diagnosis and treatment of medullary thyroid carcinoma].

Objective: To study the clinical significance of serum calcitonin in the diagnosis and treatment of medullary thyroid carcinoma and to analyze its cost-benefit. Methods: One hundred and forty one patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma who undertook calcitonin test and frozen pathological examination were enrolled in this study from Oct 2012 to Mar 2018. Using the method of χ(2) test, the positive rate of calcitonin test and frozen pathological examination in diagnosis of medullary thyroid carcinoma(MTC) were compared. Firstly, we compared the correct checkout cost of calcitonin test and that of frozen pathological examination (total number of patients×cost of examination/the correctly detected number of patients) . Secondly, we calculated whether calcitonin test help patients save money(average cost of treatment in hospital for MTC×number of patients who were evaluated to be candidate for surgery-cost of calcitonin test×total number of patients)/total number of patients. Results: 139 patients were positive in calcitonin test among 141 patients, and the positive rate was 98.58%. 91 patients were positive in frozen pathological examination, and the positive rate was 64.54% (χ(2)=97.821, P<0.000 1) . Cost-benefit analysis showed that the correct checkout cost of calcitonin test and frozen pathological examination were 71.01 yuan and 426.10 yuan, also,1 371 938.64 yuan could be saved totally and 9 730.06 yuan could be saved per patient because of calcitonin test. Conclusion: Serum calcitonin test had a significant effect on the diagnosis and treatment of medullary thyroid carcinoma and was economical and practical.

MOTS-c improves osteoporosis by promoting the synthesis of type I collagen in osteoblasts via TGF-ß/SMAD signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether MOTS-c can regulate the synthesis of type I collagen in osteoblasts by regulating TGF-ß/SMAD pathway, thereby improving osteoporosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Viability of hFOB1.19 cells treated with MOTS-c was detected by CCK-8 assay. The mRNA and protein levels of TGF-ß, SMAD7, COL1A1 and COL1A2 in hFOB1.19 cells were detected by quantitative Real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot, respectively. We then changed expressions of TGF-ß and SMAD7 by plasmids transfection to detect levels of COL1A1 and COL1A2 in hFOB1.19 cells by qRT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. RESULTS: Cell viability was significantly increased after treatment of 1.0 µM MOTS-c for 24 h or 0.5 µM MOTS-c for 48 h in a time-dependent manner. The mRNA and protein expressions of TGF-ß, SMAD7, COL1A1 and COL1A2 in hFOB1.19 cells were dependent on the concentration of MOTS-c. In addition, MOTS-c increased the expressions of COL1A1 and COL1A2, which were partially reversed by knockdown of TGF-ß or SMAD7. CONCLUSIONS: MOTS-c could promote osteoblasts to synthesize type I collagen via TGF-ß/SMAD pathway.

LPS at low concentration promotes the fracture healing through regulating the autophagy of osteoblasts via NF-κB signal pathway.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of low-concentration lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on proliferation and apoptosis of osteoblasts and to discover the mechanism of low-concentration LPS in facilitating the proliferation of osteoblasts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts were treated with LPS, 3-methyladenine (3-MA, autophagy inhibitor), and BAY11-7082 (inhibitor of nuclear factor-kappa b, NF-κB), respectively. The cell cycles were detected using a flow cytometer. Cell proliferation and activity of MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts were explored by cell counting kit-8. Western blotting and immunofluorescence assay were performed to detect the protein level. RNA expression was measured through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunofluorescence assay. RESULTS: At the third day after cell culture, cell infusion reached 80%, and cells were taken as the subjects. At 6 h after treatment with low-concentration LPS, the proliferation and activity of cells were higher than those at 1 h and 12 h after treatment, and the apoptotic level was significantly lower than that in cells at 12 h after treatment. The proliferation and activity of cells in the low-concentration LPS group were significantly higher than those in the control group, 3-MA group and BAY11-7082 group, and the apoptotic level was lower than those in these groups. Compared with those of cells in control group and BAY11-7082 group, the messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein expressions and nuclear transfer of cells in low-concentration LPS group were significantly elevated, but there were no statistically significant differences in comparisons with the 3-MA group. In the experiment of cell autophagy, the autophagic level in cells in low-concentration LPS group was higher than those in the control group, 3-MA group and BAY11-7082 group. CONCLUSIONS: Through the NF-κB signaling pathway in osteoblasts, low-concentration LPS can activate the autophagy and promote cell proliferation, thereby inhibiting cell apoptosis and accelerating the fracture healing.

Effects of sevoflurane or propofol combined with remifentanil anesthesia on clinical efficacy and stress response in pregnant women with pregnancy-induced hypertension.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of sevoflurane or propofol combined with remifentanil anesthesia on the clinical efficacy and stress response of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIHS) in cesarean section. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 150 patients with PIHS and treated with cesarean section in our hospital from May 2015 to September 2016 were selected. All patients were randomly divided into sevoflurane-remifentanil group (n=75) and propofol-remifentanil (n=75). The elbow blood of patients in both groups were collected, the levels of Norepinephrine (NE) adrenaline (AD), cortisol and blood glucose in plasma were compared at before anesthesia induction (T0), operation 30 min (T1), end of operation (T2), 2 h after operation (T3), 24 h after operation (T4). The blood pressure control, muscle control, anesthesia onset time, maternal pain and complications were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The patients in the sevoflurane group were superior to the propofol group (p<0.05) in terms of muscle control effect, anesthesia onset time and maternal pain. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of blood pressure control and anesthesia complications (p>0.05). There was no significant difference in plasma AD, NE, cortisol and blood glucose between the two groups before induction of anesthesia (p>0.05). However, the plasma markers of the two groups began to increase after anesthesia induction and reached peak at T2 or T3, returned back to preoperative level or higher than before surgery at T4. The levels of AD, NE, cortisol and blood glucose in plasma of sevoflurane group were significantly lower than those in propofol group at T1-T4 time point, the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The clinical efficacy of sevoflurane combined with remifentanil anesthesia is better than that of propofol combined with remifentanil, and it can effectively reduce the stress of pregnant women with pregnancy-induced hypertension treated with cesarean section.

Actin cytoskeleton stiffness grades metastatic potential of ovarian carcinoma Hey A8 cells via nanoindentation mapping.

Recent studies have indicated that the nanoindentation measured stiffness of carcinoma adherent cells is in general lower than normal cells, thus suggesting that cell stiffness may serve as a bio-marker for carcinoma. However, the proper establishment of such a conclusion would require biophysical understanding of the underlying mechanism of the cell stiffness. In this work, we compared the elastic moduli of the actin cytoskeletons of Hey A8 ovarian carcinoma cells with and without metastasis (HM and NM), as measured by 2D atomic force microscopy (AFM) with low-depth nanoindentation via a rate-jump method. The results indicate clearly that HM cells showed lower actin cytoskeleton stiffness atop of their nucleus position and higher actin cytoskeleton stiffness at their rims, compared to NM cells, suggesting that the local stiffness on the cytoskeleton can reflect actin filament distribution. Immunofluorescence staining and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) also indicated that the difference in stiffness in Hey A8 cells with different metastasis is associated with their F-actin rearrangement. Finite-element modelling (FEM) shows that a migrating cell would have its actin filaments bundled together to form stress fibers, which would exhibit lower indentation stiffness than the less aligned arrangement of filaments in a non-migrating cell. The results here indicate that the actin cytoskeleton stiffness can serve as a reliable marker for grading the metastasis of adherent carcinoma cells due to their cytoskeleton change and potentially predicting the migration direction of the cells.

Long non-coding RNA CCHE1 overexpression predicts a poor prognosis for cervical cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Our study is intended to explore the correlation of long non-coding RNA CCHE1 (CCHE1) and clinicopathological factors of cervical cancer patients, and evaluate the impact of CCHE1 on the prognosis of cervical cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The CCHE1 expression in cervical cancer tissues was examined by quantitative Real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and its correlation with clinicopathological features was also analyzed. A Kaplan-Meier survival curve was generated following a log-rank test. Multivariate Cox regression analyses were finally used to determine the independent factors for overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) times. RESULTS: Our results showed that higher CCHE1 expression was found in cervical cancer tissues compared with the match normal cervical tissues. Then, we found that high levels of CCHE1 expression correlated with FIGO stage (p= 0.014), tumor size (p = 0.007), lymph node metastasis (p = 0.022) and HPV (p = 0.001). Results of Kaplan-Meier survival curve revealed that patients with low CCHE1 expression had better OS (p = 0.019) and RFS (p = 0.006) than patients with high CCHE1 expression. Finally, overexpression of CCHE1 was supposed to be an independent poor prognostic factor for predicting the 5-year RFS and OS of cervical cancer patients through multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Increased CCHE1 was associated with poor survival in cervical cancer patients, suggesting that CCHE1 was a potential prognostic biomarker for cervical cancer.

Cell-structure specific necrosis by optical-trap induced intracellular nuclear oscillation.

A drug-free procedure for killing malignant cells in a cell-type specific manner would represent a significant breakthrough for leukemia treatment. Here, we show that mechanically vibrating a cell in a specific oscillation condition can significantly promote necrosis. Specifically, oscillating the cell by a low-power laser trap at specific frequencies of a few Hz was found to result in increased death rate of 50% or above in different types of myelogenous leukemia cells, while normal leukocytes showed very little response to similar laser manipulations. The alteration of cell membrane permeability and cell volume, detected from ethidium bromide staining and measurement of intracellular sodium ion concentration, together with the observed membrane blebbing within 10min, suggest cell necrosis. Mechanics modelling reveals severe distortion of the cytoskeleton cortex at frequencies in the same range for peaked cell death. The disruption of cell membrane leading to cell death is therefore due to the cortex distortion, and the frequency at which this becomes significant is cell-type specific. Our findings lay down a new concept for treating leukemia based on vibration induced disruption of membrane in targeted malignant cells.

[Short-term outcomes of minimally invasive Sweet esophagectomy for Siewert type â ¡ esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma].

Objective: To describe the technique for minimally invasive Sweet esophagectomy and to evaluate the feasibility, safety and the short-term clinical outcomes of this approach in the treatment of Siewert type Ⅱ esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma. Methods: The clinical data of 122 patients with Siewert type Ⅱ esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma who received Sweet esophagectomy between October 2013 and June 2015 in Department of Thoracic Surgery, Anhui Provincial Hospital Affiliated with Anhui Medical University was analyzed retrospectively. The study group consisted of 87 men and 35 women, and the ages ranged from 48 to 78 years (median: 67 years). Of those 122 patients, 47 underwent minimally invasive approach and 75 underwent open left transthoracic sweet esophagectomy. This study included 16 stage Ⅰa patients, 35 stage Ⅰb patients, 32 stage Ⅱa patients, 28 stage Ⅱb patients, and 11 stage Ⅲa patients. The clinicopathologic factors, operational factors and postoperative complications of the two groups were compared by t test and χ2 test. Results: The two groups were similar in terms of gender, age, American Society of Anesthesiologists grade, preoperative staging and incidence of comorbidities (P>0.05). The minimally invasive approach was associated with significant increase in the number of total lymph nodes dissected or the stations of the total lymph nodes dissected (18.1±2.7 vs. 15.0±2.5, t= 6.612, P=0.001; 8.9±1.1 vs. 6.7±1.2, t=9.960, P=0.003), significant decrease in surgical blood loss ((88±32) ml vs. (120±34) ml, t=5.052, P=0.001), chest tube duration ((8±4) d vs. (10±4) d, t=3.110, P=0.002) and postoperative stay ((9±5) d vs. (12±4) d, t=3.167, P=0.002) relative to the open approach. The postoperative in-hospital mortality and total morbidity did not differ between the two groups (P>0.05). The minimally invasive approach was associated with significantly fewer respiratory complications than the open approach (8.5% vs. 22.7%, χ2=4.063, P=0.044). Conclusion: Minimally invasive technique for Siewert type Ⅱ esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma can be safely and effectively performed for intrathoracic anastomosis with favorable early outcomes.

[Analysis on molecular genetic evolution of Banna virus based on the 12th segment].

Objective: To understand the evolution characteristics of Banna viruses (BAVs) isolated worldwide from 1980 to 2012. Methods: In this study, a phylogenetic analysis using Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulations was conducted on all available 12th segment of genes of BAVs isolated worldwide from 1980 to 2012 to investigate the evolutionary and epidemiologic dynamics of BAVs. Results: The Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of BAVs revealed that the common ancestor of BAVs appeared 315 (95%HPD: 63-619) years ago. The evolutionary rate of BAV based on the 12th segment gene was estimated to be 2.33×10-3 (95%HPD: 2.84× 10-4-8.52×10-3) substitution per site per year, indicating BAV belong to an emerging arbovirus with rapid evolution. Conclusion: The evolution of emerging BAVs is rapid and the distribution of BAVs has expanded with new variant being detected, so it is necessary to enhance the surveillance to fully understand the natural distribution and pathogenicity of BAVs.

Mechanical oscillations enhance gene delivery into suspended cells.

Suspended cells are difficult to be transfected by common biochemical methods which require cell attachment to a substrate. Mechanical oscillations of suspended cells at certain frequencies are found to result in significant increase in membrane permeability and potency for delivery of nano-particles and genetic materials into the cells. Nanomaterials including siRNAs are found to penetrate into suspended cells after subjecting to short-time mechanical oscillations, which would otherwise not affect the viability of the cells. Theoretical analysis indicates significant deformation of the actin-filament network in the cytoskeleton cortex during mechanical oscillations at the experimental frequency, which is likely to rupture the soft phospholipid bilayer leading to increased membrane permeability. The results here indicate a new method for enhancing cell transfection.

Molecular characterization, tissue expression, and polymorphism analysis of liver-type fatty acid binding protein in Landes geese.

Liver weight is an important economic trait in the fatty goose liver industry. Liver-type fatty acid binding protein (L-FABP) is involved in the formation and metabolism of fatty acids. Thus, we hypothesized that sequence polymorphisms in L-FABP were associated with fatty liver weight in goose. We first isolated, sequenced, and characterized the goose L-FABP gene, which had not been previously reported. The goose L-FABP gene was 2490 bp and included 4 exons coding for a 126-amino acid protein. Analysis of expression levels of the goose L-FABP gene in different tissues showed that the expression level in the liver tissue was higher than in other tissues, and was significantly higher in the liver tissue of overfed geese than in control geese. Moreover, a single nucleotide polymorphism located at 774 bp in the gene was identified in a Landes goose population. To test whether this single nucleotide polymorphism was associated with fatty liver production, liver weight and the ratio of liver to carcass weights were determined for the 3 genotypes with this single nucleotide polymorphism (TT, TG, GG) in overfed Landes geese. Our data indicate that individuals with the GG genotype had higher values for the variables measured than those with the other 2 genotypes, suggesting that L-FABP can be a selection marker for the trait of fatty liver production in goose.