Synthesis and Mechanism of Co2+/Sr2+ Codoped Magnetic Lanthanum Cuprate with Excellent Corrosion Resistance.

The special structure of perovskite-like compounds allows the existence of some open spaces in the crystals that play an important role in their crystal function enhancement and can accommodate active oxygen, which helps to solve some problems in the field of corrosion prevention. The magnetic lanthanum cuprate was obtained through the doping of Co2+ and Sr2+, and compared with La2CuO4 and epoxy resin, its corrosion resistance was improved by 215.2 and 566.7%, respectively. The micromagnetic field in the crystal interfered with the state of motion of the electrons and prolonged their transport path. High concentration doping and substitution of unequal states led to the formation of oxygen vacancy defects, which could trap active oxygen molecules and inhibit cathodic corrosion reactions. The unique alternating interlayer structure of perovskite-like compounds was conducive to the release of Cu2+, thus forming a more stable passivator on the surface of the coating. La1.96Sr0.04Cu0.98Co0.02O4 had both magnetic properties and structural advantages, which enhanced the shielding property of epoxy resin and expanded the application of perovskite-like compounds in the field of corrosion prevention.

Berberine regulates glucose metabolism in largemouth bass by modulating intestinal microbiota.

This study examined the role of intestinal microbiota in berberine (BBR)-mediated glucose (GLU) metabolism regulation in largemouth bass. Four groups of largemouth bass (133.7 ± 1.43 g) were fed with control diet, BBR (1 g/kg feed) supplemented diet, antibiotic (ATB, 0.9 g/kg feed) supplemented diet and BBR + ATB (1g/kg feed +0.9 g/kg feed) supplemented diet for 50 days. BBR improved growth, decreased the hepatosomatic and visceral weight indices, significantly downregulated the serum total cholesterol and GLU levels, and significantly upregulated the serum total bile acid (TBA) levels. The hepatic hexokinase, pyruvate kinase, GLU-6-phosphatase and glutamic oxalacetic transaminase activities in the largemouth bass were significantly upregulated when compared with those in the control group. The ATB group exhibited significantly decreased final bodyweight, weight gain, specific growth rates and serum TBA levels, and significantly increased hepatosomatic and viscera weight indices, hepatic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, phosphofructokinase, and pyruvate carboxylase activities, and serum GLU levels. Meanwhile, the BBR + ATB group exhibited significantly decreased final weight, weight gain and specific growth rates, and TBA levels and significantly increased hepatosomatic and viscera weight indices and GLU levels. High-throughput sequencing revealed that compared with those in the control group, the Chao one index and Bacteroidota contents were significantly upregulated and the Firmicutes contents were downregulated in the BBR group. Additionally, the Shannon and Simpson indices and Bacteroidota levels were significantly downregulated, whereas the Firmicutes levels were significantly upregulated in ATB and BBR + ATB groups. The results of in-vitro culture of intestinal microbiota revealed that BBR significantly increased the number of culturable bacteria. The characteristic bacterium in the BBR group was Enterobacter cloacae. Biochemical identification analysis revealed that E. cloacae metabolizes carbohydrates. The size and degree of vacuolation of the hepatocytes in the control, ATB, and ATB + BBR groups were higher than those in the BBR group. Additionally, BBR decreased the number of nuclei at the edges and the distribution of lipids in the liver tissue. Collectively, BBR reduced the blood GLU level and improved GLU metabolism in largemouth bass. Comparative analysis of experiments with ATB and BBR supplementation revealed that BBR regulated GLU metabolism in largemouth bass by modulating intestinal microbiota.

A novel AIE-active imidazolium macrocyclic ratiometric fluorescence sensor for pyrophosphate anion.

An imidazolium bridged macrocyclophane was synthesized as a ratiometric fluorescence sensor with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristic to detect pyrophosphate anion with high selectivity among various anions. In the presence of zinc ion, macrocyclophane can form aggregates through complexation with pyrophosphate anion and emit ratiometric fluorescence, resulting from an enhancement in its aggregate-state emission and a reduction in its monomer emission. This AIE-active macrocycle showed great potential as a ratiometric fluorescence receptor.

Iguratimod in treatment of primary Sjögren's syndrome concomitant with autoimmune hemolytic anemia: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) concomitant with autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) but without eye and mouth dryness is exceedingly rare. Iguratimod (IGU) has been widely used in the treatment of pSS. However, there are few reports about the application of IGU in pSS concomitant with AIHA. CASE SUMMARY: Here, we present the case of a patient with pSS concomitant with AIHA but without eye and mouth dryness. The patient was initially diagnosed with hyperplastic anemia and AIHA while pSS was missed, and was finally diagnosed with pSS concomitant with AIHA. The patient was treated with IGU along with prednisone and hydroxychloroquine, and her hemoglobin, reticulocytes and IgG returned to normal levels. CONCLUSION: IGU was effective for and well tolerated by our patient with pSS concomitant with AIHA, and may be a promising therapy for the treatment of this disease.

Fabp4 contributes toward regulating inflammatory gene expression and oxidative stress in Ctenopharyngodon idella.

Fatty acid-binding protein (Fabp)-4 is a member of the FABP family. Mammalian fabp4 has been demonstrated to involve in inflammation and immunity, whereas the related data of fish fabp4 remain limited. Therefore, we further investigated the effects of fabp4 on immunity in Ctenopharyngodon idella. The fabp4 sequence spanned 405 bp was cloned first, sharing high identity to fabp4 from other fish and mammals. Fabp4 expression was the highest in the adipose tissue, followed by the heart, muscle, and liver. In vivo, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) triggered the expression of fabp4, toll-like receptor (tlr)-22, interleukin (il)-1ß, and tumor necrosis factor (tnf)-α in the kidney and spleen. In vitro, exposing C. idella CIK cells to LPS decreased their viability, and the expression of fabp4 was also increased by LPS. However, BMS309403, an inhibitor of FABP4, mitigated these effects. Furthermore, treating the cells with LPS or fabp4 overexpression plasmids resulted in reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and upregulation of inflammatory genes expression, including tlr22, type-I interferon (ifn-1), interferon regulatory factor (irf)-7, tnfα, il-1ß, and interferon-ß promoter stimulator 1. These effects were ameliorated by preincubation with BMS309403. Moreover, incubating the cells with glutathione reduced the production of ROS and the expression of inflammatory genes that were evoked by LPS and plasmid treatments. These results showed that fabp4 acts as a pro-inflammatory molecule via elevating ROS levels, providing a novel understanding of the molecular regulation of innate immunity in teleosts.

New Insights into the Relationships between Bacterial Dynamics and Water Quality of Aquaculture Systems Supplemented with Carbon Source and Biofilm Substratum.

Aquaculture is crucial for achieving the FAO's goal of a world without hunger and malnutrition. Recently, biofilm substratum has been proposed as an effective means to control waste pollution caused by excessive nutrient inputs from aquaculture, but key bacterial communities involved in the remediation remain unclear. Here we reported a freshwater mesocosm study where the addition of biofilm substrata with external carbon effectively controlled the total ammonia nitrogen and improved fish growth. 16S rRNA study and Weighted UniFrac analysis revealed that bacterial compositions were significantly different (999 permutations, p-value < 0.01) between the biofilm-substrata-added and biofilm-substrata-free systems. Planctomycetes were found, as key bacteria benefited from the biofilm substrata addition and exerted the major function of ammonia nitrogen control. Our study demonstrated that the addition of biofilm substrata and an external carbon source favored fish growth and improved the aquaculture environment by the formation of a unique bacteria community.

Homology analysis between clinically isolated extraintestinal and enteral Klebsiella pneumoniae among neonates.

BACKGROUND: Klebsiella pneumoniae is a leading cause of hospital-associated (HA) infections. It has been reported that gastrointestinal colonization (GI) is likely to be a common and significant reservoir for the transmission and infections of K. pneumoniae in both adults and neonates. However, the homologous relationship between clinically isolated extraintestinal and enteral K. pneumoniae in neonates hasn't been characterized yet. RESULTS: Forty-three isolates from 21 neonatal patients were collected in this study. The proportion of carbapenem resistance was 62.8%. There were 12 patients (12/21, 57.4%) whose antibiotic resistance phenotypes, genotypes, and ST types (STs) were concordant. Six sequence types were detected using MLST, with ST37 and ST54 being the dominant types. The results of MLST were consist with the results of PFGE. CONCLUSIONS: These data showed that there might be a close homologous relationship between extraintestinal K. pneumoniae (EXKP) and enteral K. pneumoniae (EKP) in neonates, indicating that the K. pneumoniae from the GI tract is possibly to be a significant reservoir for causing extraintestinal infections.

Effect of protein on the thermogenesis performance of natural rubber matrix.

Under high-speed strain, the thermogenesis performance of natural rubber products is unstable, leading to aging and early failure of the material. The quality of rubber latex and eventually that of the final products depends among others on the protein content. We found that when the protein is almost removed, the heat generated by the vulcanized rubber increases rapidly. After adding soy protein isolate to the secondary purification rubber, the heat generation of the vulcanized rubber is reduced, and the heat generation is the lowest when the added amount is 2.5-3.0 phr, which on account of protein promotes the construction of a vulcanization network and increases the rigidity of the rubber chain, resulting in a decrease in the potential frictional behavior of the rubber chain during the curl up-extension process.

Modeling analysis of COVID-19 based on morbidity data in Anhui, China.

Since the first case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Wuhan Hubei, China, was reported in December 2019, COVID-19 has spread rapidly across the country and overseas. The first case in Anhui, a province of China, was reported on January 10, 2020. In the field of infectious diseases, modeling, evaluating and predicting the rate of disease transmission is very important for epidemic prevention and control. Different intervention measures have been implemented starting from different time nodes in the country and Anhui, the epidemic may be divided into three stages for January 10 to February 11, 2020, namely. We adopted interrupted time series method and develop an SEI/QR model to analyse the data. Our results displayed that the lockdown of Wuhan implemented on January 23, 2020 reduced the contact rate of epidemic transmission in Anhui province by 48.37%, and centralized quarantine management policy for close contacts in Anhui reduced the contact rate by an additional 36.97%. At the same time, the estimated basic reproduction number gradually decreased from the initial 2.9764 to 0.8667 and then to 0.5725. We conclude that the Wuhan lockdown and the centralized quarantine management policy in Anhui played a crucial role in the timely and effective mitigation of the epidemic in Anhui. One merit of this work is the adoption of morbidity data which may reflect the epidemic more accurately and promptly. Our estimated parameters are largely in line with the World Health Organization estimates and previous studies.

Identification and analysis of lipid droplet-related proteome in the adipose tissue of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) under fed and starved conditions.

Fat accumulation in the mesenteric adipose tissue is a serious problem in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) culture. Lipid droplet-related proteins (LDRPs) are involved in the formation, degradation, and biological functions of lipid droplets. In this study, we aimed to provide reference proteomics data to study lipid droplet regulation in fish. We isolated LDRPs from the mesenteric adipose tissue of grass carp (1-year-old) after normal feeding and 7 days of starvation, and identified and analysed them using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) technology. Short-term starvation had no significant effect on the body weight, condition factor, visceral index, hepatopancreas index, intraperitoneal fat index, adipose tissue triglyceride content, and adipocyte size of grass carp. Nine hundred and fifty proteins were identified and annotated using the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases; they are involved in a variety of metabolic and signalling pathways, including amino acid, lipid, and carbohydrate metabolism, and the PI3K-Akt signalling pathway. There were 296 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs), with 143 up-regulated and 153 down-regulated proteins. Three proteins involved in triglyceride and fatty acid syntheses and two proteins involved in autophagy were up-regulated, and six proteins involved in lipid catabolism were down-regulated. These results indicate that under short-term starvation, lipid droplets in the adipose tissue of grass carp may maintain their shape by promoting fat production and inhibiting lipolysis, and autophagy may be one of the main strategies for coping with short-term energy deprivation.

Feeding Faba Beans (Vicia faba L.) Reduces Myocyte Metabolic Activity in Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus).

In this study, we aimed to explore the effects of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) on the energy metabolism of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus). A total of 180 fish (∼2900 g) were randomly assigned to six tanks (2.5 × 2.5 × 1.2 m; 30 individuals per tank) and fed either faba bean (Vicia faba L.) or a commercial diet for 120 days (3% body weight, twice per day). The results showed that faba bean-fed grass carp (FBFG) had significantly lower growth and higher fat accumulation in the mesenteric adipose tissue and hepatopancreas than commercial diet-fed grass carp (CDFG). Compared with CDFG, FBFG exhibited no significant difference in proximate composition of the muscle; however, an obvious decrease in muscle fiber size and significantly higher hardness, chewiness, and gumminess were observed. Transcriptome results showed that a total of 197 genes were differentially regulated in the dorsal muscle. Down-regulated genes included four genes annotated with myocyte development and 12 transcripts annotated with components of myofibrils. In addition, the FBFG group exhibited significantly lower expression of genes associated with oxygen transport, the mitochondrial respiratory chain, and creatine metabolism, suggesting reduced energy availability in the muscle of the FBFG. Moreover, using western-blotting and enzyme assays, we found decreased protein levels in the mitochondrial electron transport respiratory chain and creatine metabolism activities, as well as increased expression of autophagy marker protein levels, in the muscle of FBFG. Overall, our results suggest that an abnormal energy distribution may exist in grass carps after feeding with faba bean, which is reflected by a mass of fat deposition in the adipose tissue and hepatopancreas and subdued metabolic activity in the muscle.

Augmentation of Photocatalytic Degradation of Oxytetracycline by Cu-CdS and Deciphering the Contribution of Reactive Oxygen Species.

Production of Copper (Cu) modified Cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanomaterial, named as Cu-CdS, was successfully synthesized through hydrothermal and photo deposition method to degrade oxytetracycline (OTC) antibiotics in aqueous solution. Uniform surface loading of copper was observed on CdS using Scanning Electron Microscopy-mapping (SEM-mapping). The Cu induced improvement in the visible light absorption was observed using UV-vis absorption spectrum. Thus, this material can exhibit excellent oxytetracycline (OTC) degradation by photocatalysis. The best OTC degradation efficiency of 90% was be achieved under the optimal concentration of 4% Cu-CdS, with 0.1 g L-1 dosage (pH 5) under UV irradiation. 0.167 mg L-1 min-1 was observed as the reaction kL-H on the peripheral of the catalyst. In addition, OTC can also be degraded under visible light with removal efficiency approximately 90%. Moreover, the contribution of main reactive oxygen species (ROS), including hydroxyl radicals, superoxide radical and holes, is evaluated as 18%, 43% and 29%.

Transcriptome analysis of golden pompano (Trachinotus ovatus) liver indicates a potential regulatory target involved in HUFA uptake and deposition.

Promoting highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) uptake and deposition can improve nutritional value of farmed fish and reduce dietary fish oil addition. Previously, we found that the golden pompano Trachinotus ovatus liver HUFA content increased with the increasing of dietary HUFA. Therefore, we examined the common genes and pathways responsible for HUFA uptake and deposition in T. ovatus liver using transcriptome sequencing technology after feeding with either 1.0% or 2.1% HUFA for 8 weeks. Results showed that a total of 140 and 147 genes were significantly upregulated and downregulated, respectively. Five bile acid synthesis-related genes (CYP7A1, CYP8B1, AKR1D1, SCP2 and ACOT8), which are related to dietary fat emulsification were downregulated in 2.1% HUFA group, implying that the cholate synthesized through the classical pathway might be the main bile acid form in fat emulsification. Moreover, fatty acid transport protein (FATP)-6, fatty acid binding protein (FABP)-1, -4, and -6 increased with HUFA deposition, especially FATP6 and FABP4, suggesting that the two genes may be important mediators involved in HUFA uptake and deposition. KEGG analysis showed that most of the differential genes described above were involved in peroxisome proliferator activator receptor (PPAR) signaling pathway, and PPARγ increased with HUFA deposition, indicating that PPARγ might be a key regulator of HUFA uptake and deposition by regulating the genes involved in fatty acid emulsification and transport. This study focused on the liver, which is the center of intermediary metabolism, providing a comprehensive understanding of the molecular regulation of HUFA uptake and deposition in T. ovatus, which should be further investigated to develop potential measures to improve HUFA content.

Efficacy of Therapeutic Endoscopy for Gastrointestinal Lesion (GI): A network meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Endoscopic therapy can reduce the risks of rebleeding, continued bleeding, need for surgery, and mortality. The objective of this systematic review was to compare the different modalities of endoscopic therapy for GI bleeding. METHODS: Studies were identified by searching electronic databases MEDLINE. We selected all available clinical studies published after 2000 that assessed efficacy and/or safety of different endoscopic hemostatic techniques in treating GI bleeding. The outcomes evaluated included initial hemostasis, rebleeding rate, and 30-day all-cause mortality. Network meta-analyses were performed to summarize the treatment effects. RESULTS: Total 20 studies involving 1845 patients were evaluated. Ten different treatment categories including mechanic, ablative, injection, and combined therapy were compared in our analysis in terms of their efficacy in stopping bleeding and complications. Band ligation [rate: 0.757; 95% Credible Interval (0.565, 0.887)] and injection therapy [rate: 0.891; 95% CI (0.791, 0.944)] had inferior efficacy in attaining initial hemostasis compared to others. Combined therapy of band ligation and HPC and hemoclip may represent the best options for preventing rebleeding and mortality respectively. No significant difference was found among other treatments in terms of complications. CONCLUSIONS: We recommend the application of hemoclips in treating GI bleeding due to its high hemostasis efficacy and low risk of 30-day mortality.

Lipid droplets participate in modulating innate immune genes in Ctenopharyngodon idella kidney cells.

Lipid droplets (LDs) are increasingly being recognized as important immune modulators in mammals, in additional to their function of lipid ester deposition. However, the role of LDs in fish immunity remains poorly understood. In this study, the function of LDs in the innate immune response of Ctenopharyngodon idella kidney (CIK) cells, which are the equivalent of myeloid cells in vertebrates, was investigated. LD number and TG content significantly increased in the CIK cells following exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), peptidoglycan (PGN), and polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidylic acid (Poly [I: C]) for 24 h, accompanied by increases in the relative expression of several innate immune genes. However, fatty acid compositions of the triglycerides were not changed after treatment with these three pathogenic mimics. LPS, PGN, and Poly (I: C) did not alter the relative expressions of lipogenic (FAS, SCD, and DGAT) and lipid catabolic (PPARα, ATGL, and CPT-1) genes. However, these treatments did increase the mRNA levels of lipid transportation genes (FATP/CD36, ACSL1, and ACSL4), and also decreased the non-esterified fatty acid level in the medium. To further explore the role of LDs in the immune response, CIK cells were incubated with different concentrations (0, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 µM) of exogenous lipid mix (LM; oleic acid [OA]:linoleic acid [LA]:linolenic acid [LNA] = 2:1:1), and were then transferred to a lipid-free medium and incubated for 24 h. LD size and number increased with the increase in lipid levels, and this was accompanied by increased expression of innate immune genes, including MyD88, IRF3, and IL-1ß, which were expressed at their highest levels in 300 µM exogenous lipid mix. Interestingly, after incubating with different fatty acids (LM, OA, LA, LNA, arachidonic acid [ARA], and docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]; 300 µM), ARA and DHA were more potent in inducing LD formation and innate immune gene expression in the CIK cells. Finally, atglistatin, an ATGL inhibitor, effectively attenuated the expression of most genes upregulated by ARA or DHA, suggesting that lipolysis may be involved in the regulation of immune genes at the transcriptional level. Overall, the findings of this study demonstrate that LDs are functional organelles that could act as modulators in the innate immune response of CIK cells. Additionally, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid enriched LDs play a unique role in regulating this process.

Dietary arachidonic acid decreases the expression of transcripts related to adipocyte development and chronic inflammation in the adipose tissue of juvenile grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella.

Overdevelopment of adipose tissue in cultured fish is one of the biggest issues plaguing current aquaculture industry, leading to unhealthy status of fishes and production losses. Diet supplemented with 0.30% arachidonic acid (ARA) has been found to reduce adipogenesis and inflammation in grass carp, but the potential mechanism is not comprehensively understood. To fully reveal the effects of dietary ARA on the mRNA profiles of adipose tissue, transcriptome techniques were applied in this study. A 10-weeks feeding experiment was performed using two isonitrogenous and isoenergetic purified diets, namely ARA-free (control) and 0.30% ARA (ARA group). Results showed increased ARA content and decreased intraperitoneal fat index and adipocyte size in the adipose tissue of fish fed ARA (P < 0.05). A total of 611 and 973 genes of the adipose tissue were significantly up-regulated and down-regulated, respectively, in fish fed ARA (P < 0.05). Dietary ARA upregulated LOX pathway but downregulated CYP450 pathway annotated genes expression. A total of 65 cell development annotated genes including 30 adipocyte proliferation, 21 adipocyte differentiation, and 14 cell apoptosis annotated genes were down-regulated in the ARA group. In addition, 19 lipid catabolism annotated genes were increased. The mRNA expression levels of 5 chemokines, 10 cytokines, 26 cytokine and chemokine receptors, 15 cell adhesion, 6 oxidative stress, and 6 angiogenesis annotated genes were all down-regulated in fish fed ARA. Finally, dietary ARA also decreased the expression of transcripts annotated with glucose transportation, glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. Overall, our results demonstrate that dietary ARA has a fat reducing role, and tends to retard adipocyte development and attenuate chronic inflammation based on these adipose transcript expression results in grass carp.

Oligo-fucoidan improved unbalance the Th1/Th2 and Treg/Th17 ratios in asthmatic patients: An ex vivo study.

An imbalance in the helper T cells (Th)1/Th2 and regulatory T cells (Tregs)/Th17 ratios is believed to play a key role in asthmatic inflammatory responses. Fucoidan reportedly reduces the production of inflammatory factors. Nutritional intervention is an important tool in decreasing the severity of asthmatic disease. This study aimed to investigate the beneficial roles of oligo-fucoidan in balancing the T cell subtype ratios and reducing airway inflammation ex vivo. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were collected from 30 asthmatic subjects and 15 healthy subjects. Harvested PBMCs were stimulated and treated with or without oligo-fucoidan (100 or 500 µg/ml) for 48 h. Cell surface and intracellular cytokine markers were examined by flow cytometry. The pro-inflammatory factors in plasma and culture supernatants were measured using ELISA kits. We found that oligo-fucoidan increases the proportion of Th1 and Treg cells, but did not affect the proportion of Th2 and Th17 cells. Oligo-fucoidan also increased the levels of interferon-γ and interleukin-10. Thus, we concluded that oligo-fucoidan might improve the imbalance in Th1/Th2 and Treg/Th17 ratios to reduce airway inflammation, which could be a potential adjuvant therapy for allergic asthma.

Smad4-dependent regulation of type I collagen expression in the muscle of grass carp fed with faba bean.

Smad4 is the key regulator in the transforming growth factor ß1 (TGF-ß1)/Smads signal pathway, and is also the crux of the regulation of type I collagen expression in mammals. In fish, however, the relationship between Smad4 and type I collagen is still unknown. Given the widely accepted importance of type I collagen in fish muscle hardness, we seek to explore this issue by analyzing the expressions of the TGF-ß1/Smads pathway molecules and type I collagen in the muscle of crisp grass carp fed with faba bean, which shows increased muscle hardness. The study found that (1) in the process of feeding the grass carp with faba bean, the mRNA and protein expressions of TGF-ß1, Smad2 and Smad4 all increased along with the increase of type I collagen expression (Col1α1 and Col1α2); (2) one day after the injection of Smad4 over-expression vector, both mRNA and protein expressions of Col1α1 and Col1α2 significantly increased, reaching the maximum on the 2nd and 5th day, respectively; (3) one day after the injection of Smad4 RNAi interference vector, the mRNA and protein expressions of Col1α1 and Col1α2 decreased, reaching the minimum on the 5th day. These results revealed that Smad4 is the major regulator of type I collagen in the muscle of grass carp fed with faba bean. This study would provide an important mechanistic basis for nutritional regulation of type I collagen in the muscle of fish.

Lipid accumulation in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) fed faba beans (Vicia faba L.).

Feeding faba beans (Vicia faba L.) to grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) increases muscle compactness but decreases growth and motility. The lipid metabolism of grass carp was examined to assess potential effects of feeding faba beans on physiological properties using a total of 180 fish. The treatment group was fed faba beans for 120 days and a commercial diet for another 30 days. The control group received a commercial diet for 150 days. Fish were sampled every month. Weight gain was significantly lower in the treatment group than in the control. Hardness, springiness, chewiness, cohesiveness, and gumminess of the dorsal muscle increased significantly with the feeding faba beans from 30 to 120 days, which was not reversed by the subsequent feeding of commercial diet. Fat accumulation increased significantly in the treatment group as suggested by the condition factor, viscera index, hepatopancreatic index, and intraperitoneal fat index (IPFI), hepatopancreas, and muscle fat content but was not affected by subsequent feeding with the commercial diet. Serum triglyceride and total cholesterol levels were significantly reduced in the experimental diet group. In the hepatopancreas and intraperitoneal fat IPF, monounsaturated fatty acids showed significantly higher content in faba bean feeding fish, whereas polyunsaturated fatty acid content showed the reversed pattern. In the hepatopancreas, the activities of the lipogenic enzymes malate dehydrogenase and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase were higher in the treatment than in the control group. Moreover, the treatment group showed lower mRNA levels of carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1. Overall, our results clearly demonstrate increasing lipid accumulation in the viscera of faba bean-fed grass carp.