Functional evaluation of Bacillus licheniformis PF9 for its potential in controlling enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli in weaned piglets.

During the bacterial selection, isolate PF9 demonstrated tolerance to low pH and high bile salt and an ability to extend the lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans infected with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC; P < 0.05). Thirty-two weaned piglets susceptible to ETEC F4 were randomly allocated to four treatments as follows: 1) non-challenged negative control group (NNC; basal diet and piglets gavaged with phosphate-buffered saline), 2) negative control group (NC; basal diet and piglets challenged with ETEC F4, 3 × 107 CFU per pig), 3) positive control (PC; basal diet + 80 mg·kg-1 of avilamycin and piglets challenged with ETEC F4), and 4) probiotic candidate (PF9; control basal diet + 2.5 × 109 CFU·kg-1 diet of B. licheniformis PF9 and piglets challenged with ETEC F4). The infection of ETEC F4 decreased average daily gain and gain:feed in the NC group when compared to the NNC group (P < 0.05). The inoculation of ETEC F4 induced severe diarrhea at 3 h postinoculum (hpi), 36, 40 hpi in the NC group when compared to the NNC group (P < 0.05). The supplementation of B. licheniformis PF9 significantly relieved diarrhea severity at 3 hpi when compared to the NC group (P < 0.05). The inoculation of ETEC F4 reduced duodenal, jejunal, and ileal villus height (VH) in the NC group when compared to the NNC group. A significant (P < 0.05) decrease was detected in the duodenal VH in the PC and NNC groups. Moreover, the NNC group had a reduced relative mRNA level of Na+-glucose cotransporter 1 (SGLT1) when compared to the NC group (P < 0.05). Compared to the NC and NNC groups, the supplementation of B. licheniformis PF9 increased the relative mRNA levels of aminopeptidase N, occludin, zonula occludens-1, and SGLT1 (P < 0.05). The supplementation of B. licheniformis PF9 also significantly increased the relative mRNA level of excitatory amino acid transporter 1 when compared to the NC group (P < 0.05). Piglets supplemented with B. licheniformis PF9 showed lower relative abundance of Bacteroidetes in the colon than piglets from the NNC group (P < 0.05). The NNC group had a higher relative abundance of Firmicutes in the ileum than all the challenged piglets (P < 0.05); however, a lower relative abundance of Proteobacteria in the ileum and colon was observed in the NC group (P < 0.05). This study provides evidence that B. licheniformis PF9 has the potential to improve the gut health of piglets under challenging conditions.

Lipidomics, transcription analysis, and hormone profiling unveil the role of CsLOX6 in MeJA biosynthesis during black tea processing.

Jasmonates, such as jasmonic acid (JA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA), are crucial aspect of black tea quality. However, lipids species, hormones, and genes regulated mechanism in the jasmonate biosynthesis during black tea processing are lacking. In this study, we employed lipidomics, hormone metabolism analysis, and transcriptome profiling of genes associated with the MeJA biosynthesis pathway to investigate these factors. The contents of lipids GLs, PLs, and TAG are decreased, accompanied by the main lipids species reduced during black tea processing. Galactolipids, primarily 34:3/36:6/36:3 DGDG and 36:6/36:5/36:4 MGDG, are transformed into massive MeJA and JA in black tea processing, accompanied by the decreased SA, MeSA, IAA, and BA and increased zeatin. Additionally, the transcriptional activity of the primary genes in MeJA biosynthesis pathway exhibited downregulated trends except for AOS and OPR and non-primary genes tend to be a little high or have fluctuation of expression. Coordinated expression of main CsHPL (TEA008699), CsAOS (TEA001041), and CsJMT (TEA015791) control the flow of lipids degradation and MeJA production. A strong infected reduction of a key lipoxygenase gene, CsLOX6 (TEA009423), in tea buds significantly reduced the level of jasmonates and expression of downstream genes, accompanied by SA, MeSA level rising, and ABA declining. We have identified a key CsLOX6, as well as established galactolipids, mainly 34:3/36:6/36:3 DGDG and 36:6/36:5/36:4 MGDG, sources for MeJA biosynthesis regulated by dynamics hormone and controlled by coordinated expressed CsHPL (TEA008699), CsAOS (TEA001041), and CsJMT (TEA015791). Our findings provide a theoretical basis for breeding high-quality black tea and offer valuable insights for improving processing methods.

Peripheral amyloid-ß clearance mediates cognitive impairment in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

BACKGROUND: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a prevalent risk factor for cognitive impairment. Cerebral amyloid-ß (Aß) accumulation, as an important pathology of cognitive impairment, can be caused by impaired Aß clearance in the periphery. The liver is the primary organ for peripheral Aß clearance, but the role of peripheral Aß clearance in NAFLD-induced cognitive impairment remains unclear. METHODS: We examined correlations between NAFLD severity, Aß accumulation, and cognitive performance in female Sprague-Dawley rats. The impact of NAFLD on hepatic Aß clearance and the involvement of low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP-1) were assessed in rat livers and cultured hepatocytes. Additionally, a case-control study, including 549 NAFLD cases and 549 controls (782 males, 316 females), investigated the interaction between NAFLD and LRP-1 rs1799986 polymorphism on plasma Aß levels. FINDINGS: The severity of hepatic steatosis and dysfunction closely correlated with plasma and cerebral Aß accumulations and cognitive deficits in rats. The rats with NAFLD manifested diminished levels of LRP-1 and Aß in liver tissue, with these reductions inversely proportional to plasma and cerebral Aß concentrations and cognitive performance. In vitro, exposure of HepG2 cells to palmitic acid inhibited LRP-1 expression and Aß uptake, which was subsequently reversed by a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) agonist. The case-control study revealed NAFLD to be associated with an increment of 8.24% and 10.51% in plasma Aß40 and Aß42 levels, respectively (both P < 0.0001). Moreover, the positive associations between NAFLD and plasma Aß40 and Aß42 levels were modified by the LRP-1 rs1799986 polymorphism (P for interaction = 0.0017 and 0.0015, respectively). INTERPRETATION: LRP-1 mediates the adverse effect of NAFLD on peripheral Aß clearance, thereby contributing to cerebral Aß accumulation and cognitive impairment in NAFLD. FUNDING: Major International (Regional) Joint Research Project, National Key Research and Development Program of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Angel Nutrition Research Fund.

Chronic household air pollution and exposure patterns among Himalayan nomads.

BACKGROUND: Household air pollution (HAP) is a major risk factor of non-communicable diseases, causing millions of premature deaths each year in developing nations. Populations living at high altitudes are particularly vulnerable to HAP and associated health outcomes. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to explore the relationships between activity patterns, HAP, and an HAP biomarker among 100 Himalayan nomadic households during both cooking and heating-only periods. METHODS: Household CO was monitored in 100 rural homes in Qinghai, China, at 3500 m on the Himalayan Plateau among Himalayan nomads. Carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) was used as a biomarker to assess exposure among 100 male and 100 female heads of household. Linear mixed-effects models were used to explore the relationship between COHb and activity patterns. RESULTS: Cooking periods were associated with 7 times higher household CO concentrations compared with heating periods (94 ± 56 ppm and 13 ± 11 ppm, respectively). Over the three-day biomarker-monitoring period in each house, 99% of subjects had at least one COHb measurement exceeding the WHO safety level of 2%. Cooking was associated with a 32% increase in COHb (p < 0.001). IMPACT STATEMENT: This study on household air pollution (HAP) in high-altitude regions provides important insights into the exposure patterns of nomadic households in Qinghai, China. The study found that cooking is the primary factor influencing acute carbon monoxide (CO) exposure among women, while heating alone is sufficient to elevate CO exposure above WHO guidelines. The results suggest that cooking-only interventions have the potential to reduce HAP exposure among women, but solutions for both cooking and heating may be required to reduce COHb to below WHO guidelines. This study's findings may inform future interventions for fuel and stove selection to reduce HAP and exposure among other populations.

Alpha 2-Macroglobulin Polymorphisms and Susceptibility to Alzheimer's Disease: A Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Based on 62 Studies.

Background: The relationship between alpha 2-macroglobulin (A2M) gene and Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been widely studied across populations; however, the results are inconsistent. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the association of A2M gene with AD by the application of meta-analysis. Methods: Relevant studies were identified by comprehensive searches. The quality of each study was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Allele and genotype frequencies were extracted from each of the included studies. Odds ratio (OR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) was calculated using a random-effects or fixed-effects model. The Cochran Q statistic and I2 metric was used to evaluate heterogeneity, and Egger's test and Funnel plot were used to assess publication bias. Results: A total of 62 studies were identified and included in the current meta-analysis. The G allele of rs226380 reduced AD risk (OR: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.47-0.87, pFDR = 0.012), but carrier with the TT genotype was more likely to develop AD in Asian populations (OR: 1.56, 95% CI: 1.12-2.19, pFDR = 0.0135). The V allele of the A2M-I/V (rs669) increased susceptibility to AD in female population (OR, 95% CI: 2.15, 1.38-3.35, pFDR = 0.0024); however, the II genotype could be a protective factor in these populations (OR, 95% CI: 0.43, 0.26-0.73, pFDR = 0.003). Sensitivity analyses confirmed the reliability of the original results. Conclusions: Existing evidence indicate that A2M single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) may be associated with AD risk in sub-populations. Future studies with larger sample sizes will be necessary to confirm the results.

Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation: Neuroprotection and Nerve Regeneration After Spinal Cord Injury.

Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), with its morbidity characteristics of high disability rate and high mortality rate, is a disease that is highly destructive to both the physiology and psychology of the patient, and for which there is still a lack of effective treatment. Following spinal cord injury, a cascade of secondary injury reactions known as ischemia, peripheral inflammatory cell infiltration, oxidative stress, etc. create a microenvironment that is unfavorable to neural recovery and ultimately results in apoptosis and necrosis of neurons and glial cells. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation has emerged as a more promising therapeutic options in recent years. MSC can promote spinal cord injury repair through a variety of mechanisms, including immunomodulation, neuroprotection, and nerve regeneration, giving patients with spinal cord injury hope. In this paper, it is discussed the neuroprotection and nerve regeneration components of MSCs' therapeutic method for treating spinal cord injuries.

Research progress and application of the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology based on hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is now a common cause of cancer death, with no obvious change in patient survival over the past few years. Although the traditional therapeutic modalities for HCC patients mainly involved in surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, which have achieved admirable achievements, challenges are still existed, such as drug resistance and toxicity. The emerging gene therapy of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat/CRISPR-associated nuclease 9-based (CRISPR/Cas9), as an alternative to traditional treatment methods, has attracted considerable attention for eradicating resistant malignant tumors and regulating multiple crucial events of target gene-editing. Recently, advances in CRISPR/Cas9-based anti-drugs are presented at the intersection of science, such as chemistry, materials science, tumor biology, and genetics. In this review, the principle as well as statues of CRISPR/Cas9 technique were introduced first to show its feasibility. Additionally, the emphasis was placed on the applications of CRISPR/Cas9 technology in therapeutic HCC. Further, a broad overview of non-viral delivery systems for the CRISPR/Cas9-based anti-drugs in HCC treatment was summarized to delineate their design, action mechanisms, and anticancer applications. Finally, the limitations and prospects of current studies were also discussed, and we hope to provide comprehensively theoretical basis for the designing of anti-drugs.

Effect of synbiotic supplementation on immune parameters and gut microbiota in healthy adults: a double-blind randomized controlled trial.

Synbiotics are increasingly used by the general population to boost immunity. However, there is limited evidence concerning the immunomodulatory effects of synbiotics in healthy individuals. Therefore, we conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study in 106 healthy adults. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either synbiotics (containing Bifidobacterium lactis HN019 1.5 × 108 CFU/d, Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001 7.5 × 107 CFU/d, and fructooligosaccharide 500 mg/d) or placebo for 8 weeks. Immune parameters and gut microbiota composition were measured at baseline, mid, and end of the study. Compared to the placebo group, participants receiving synbiotic supplementation exhibited greater reductions in plasma C-reactive protein (P = 0.088) and interferon-gamma (P = 0.008), along with larger increases in plasma interleukin (IL)-10 (P = 0.008) and stool secretory IgA (sIgA) (P = 0.014). Additionally, synbiotic supplementation led to an enrichment of beneficial bacteria (Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Collinsella) and several functional pathways related to amino acids and short-chain fatty acids biosynthesis, whereas reduced potential pro-inflammatory Parabacteroides compared to baseline. Importantly, alternations in anti-inflammatory markers (IL-10 and sIgA) were significantly correlated with microbial variations triggered by synbiotic supplementation. Stratification of participants into two enterotypes based on pre-treatment Prevotella-to-Bacteroides (P/B) ratio revealed a more favorable effect of synbiotic supplements in individuals with a higher P/B ratio. In conclusion, this study suggested the beneficial effects of synbiotic supplementation on immune parameters, which were correlated with synbiotics-induced microbial changes and modified by microbial enterotypes. These findings provided direct evidence supporting the personalized supplementation of synbiotics for immunomodulation.

The role of peripheral ß-amyloid in insulin resistance, insulin secretion, and prediabetes: in vitro and population-based studies.

Background: Previous experimental studies have shown that mice overexpressing amyloid precursor protein, in which ß-amyloid (Aß) is overproduced, exhibit peripheral insulin resistance, pancreatic impairment, and hyperglycemia. We aimed to explore the effects of Aß on insulin action and insulin secretion in vitro and the association of plasma Aß with prediabetes in human. Methods: We examined the effects of Aß40 and Aß42 on insulin-inhibited glucose production in HepG2 cells, insulin-promoted glucose uptake in C2C12 myotubes, and insulin secretion in INS-1 cells. Furthermore, we conducted a case-control study (N = 1142) and a nested case-control study (N = 300) within the prospective Tongji-Ezhou cohort. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for prediabetes were estimated by using conditional logistic regression analyses. Results: In the in vitro studies, Aß40 and Aß42 dose-dependently attenuated insulin-inhibited glucose production in HepG2 cells, insulin-promoted glucose uptake in C2C12 myotubes, and basal and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in INS-1 cells. In the case-control study, plasma Aß40 (adjusted OR: 2.00; 95% CI: 1.34, 3.01) and Aß42 (adjusted OR: 1.94; 95% CI: 1.33, 2.83) were positively associated with prediabetes risk when comparing the extreme quartiles. In the nested case-control study, compared to the lowest quartile, the highest quartile of plasma Aß40 and Aß42 were associated with 3.51-fold (95% CI: 1.61, 7.62) and 2.75-fold (95% CI: 1.21, 6.22) greater odds of prediabetes, respectively. Conclusion: Elevated plasma Aß40 and Aß42 levels were associated with increased risk of prediabetes in human subjects, which may be through impairing insulin sensitivity in hepatocytes and myotubes and insulin secretion in pancreatic ß-cells.

Microencapsulation protected Lactobacillus viability and its activity in modulating the intestinal microbiota in newly weaned piglets.

Lactobacilli are sensitive to heat, which limits their application as probiotics in livestock production. Lactobacillus rhamnosus LB1 was previously shown to reduce enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) and Salmonella infections in pigs. To investigate its potential in the application, the bacterium was microencapsulated and examined for its survival from feed pelleting and long-term storage as well as its function in modulating pig intestinal microbiota. The in vitro studies showed that freshly microencapsulated Lactobacillus rhamnosus LB1 had viable counts of 9.03 ± 0.049 log10 colony-forming units/g, of which only 0.06 and 0.87 Log of viable counts were reduced after storage at 4 and 22 °C for 427 d. The viable counts of encapsulated Lactobacillus rhamnosus LB1 were 1.06 and 1.54 Log higher in the pelleted and mash feed, respectively, than the non-encapsulated form stored at 22 °C for 30 d. In the in vivo studies, 80 piglets (weaned at 21 d of age) were allocated to five dietary treatments for a 10-d growth trial. The dietary treatments were the basal diet (CTL) and basal diet combined with either non-encapsulated LB1 (NEP), encapsulated LB1 (EP), bovine colostrum (BC), or a combination of encapsulated LB1 and bovine colostrum (EP-BC). The results demonstrated that weaning depressed feed intake and reduced growth rates in pigs of all the treatments during 21 to 25 d of age; however, the body weight gain was improved during 25 to 31 d of age in all groups with the numerically highest increase in the EP-BC-fed pigs during 21 to 31 d of age. Dietary treatments with EP, particularly in combination with BC, modulated pig intestinal microbiota, including an increase in Lactobacillus relative abundance. These results suggest that microencapsulation can protect Lactobacillus rhamnosus LB1 against cell damage from a high temperature during processing and storage and there are possible complementary effects between EP and BC.

Both in vitro and in vivo studies were conducted to verify if the microencapsulation method reported previously could preserve the viability of Lactobacillus rhamnosus LB1 after feed pelleting and long-term storage, and the probiotic functions of the bacterium either alone or in combination with bovine colostrum (BC) in the weaning transition phase of piglets. The results demonstrated that microencapsulation protected Lactobacillus rhamnosus LB1 against cell damage from a high temperature during processing and storage. Dietary treatments with encapsulated LB1, particularly in combination with BC, modulated pig intestinal microbiota, including an increase in Lactobacillus relative abundance during the weaning transition.

Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Analyses Reveal Differences in Flavonoid Pathway Gene Expression Profiles between Two Dendrobium Varieties during Vernalization.

Dendrobium (Orchidaceae, Epidendoideae) plants have flowers with a wide variety of colors that persist for a long period throughout the year. The yellow coloration of Dendrobium flowers is mainly determined by the flavonol pathway and the flavone pathway, but the relevant biosynthesis mechanisms during vernalization remain unclear. To explore the similarities and differences in flavonoid biosynthesis in different tissues during vernalization, we selected two species of Dendrobium for a flower color study: Dendrobium capillipes Rchb (which has yellow flowers) and Dendrobium nobile Lindl (which has white flowers). We collected a total of 36 samples from six tissue types and both Dendrobium species during vernalization and subjected the samples to metabolic profiling and transcriptome sequencing. A total of 31,504 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between different tissues of the two Dendrobium species by transcriptomic analysis. However, many differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) and DEGs were enriched not only in the general pathway of "flavonoid biosynthesis" but also in multiple subpathways of "flavone and flavonol biosynthesis". According to a combined transcriptome and metabolome analysis, Putrescine hydroxycinnamoyl transferase 1 (LOC110093422) may be the main gene responsible for the differences in flavonoid accumulation during vernalization, which is closely associated with yellow flowers. Taken together, the results of our study preliminarily revealed the metabolites responsible for and the key genes regulating flavonoid biosynthesis during vernalization. These results provide a basis for the further study of the molecular mechanism of flavonoid synthesis during vernalization.

Emerging Hypervirulent Marek's Disease Virus Variants Significantly Overcome Protection Conferred by Commercial Vaccines.

As one of the most important avian immunosuppressive and neoplastic diseases, Marek's disease (MD), caused by oncogenic Marek's disease virus (MDV), has caused huge economic losses worldwide over the past five decades. In recent years, MD outbreaks have occurred frequently in MD-vaccinated chicken flocks, but the key pathogenic determinants and influencing factors remain unclear. Herein, we analyzed the pathogenicity of seven newly isolated MDV strains from tumor-bearing chickens in China and found that all of them were pathogenic to chicken hosts, among which four MDV isolates, SDCW01, HNXZ05, HNSQ05 and HNSQ01, were considered to be hypervirulent MDV (HV-MDV) strains. At 73 days of the virus infection experiment, the cumulative incidences of MD were 100%, 93.3%, 90% and 100%, with mortalities of 83.3%, 73.3%, 60% and 86.7%, respectively, for the four viruses. The gross occurrences of tumors were 50%, 33.3%, 30% and 63.3%, respectively, accompanied by significant hepatosplenomegaly and serious atrophy of the immune organs. Furthermore, the immune protection effects of four commercial MD vaccines against SDCW01, CVI988, HVT, CVI988+HVT, and 814 were explored. Unexpectedly, during the 67 days of post-virus challenge, the protection indices (PIs) of these four MD vaccines were only 46.2%, 38.5%, 50%, and 28%, respectively, and the birds that received the monovalent CVI988 or HVT still developed tumors with cumulative incidences of 7.7% and 11.5%, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of the simultaneous comparison of the immune protection efficacy of multiple commercial MD vaccines with different vaccine strains. Our study revealed that the HV-MDV variants circulating in China could significantly break through the immune protection of the classical MD vaccines currently widely used. For future work, there is an urgent need to develop novel, more effective MD vaccines for tackling the new challenge of emerging HV-MDV strains or variants for the sustainable control of MD.

AlphaMobileSensing: A virtual testbed for mobile environmental monitoring.

Environmental monitoring plays a critical role in creating and maintaining a comfortable, productive, and healthy environment. Built upon the advancements of robotics and data processing, mobile sensing demonstrates its potential to address problems regarding cost, deployment, and resolution that stationary monitoring encounters, which therefore has attracted increasing research attentions recently. To facilitate mobile sensing, two key algorithms are needed: the field reconstruction algorithm and the route planning algorithm. The field reconstruction algorithm is to reconstruct the entire environment field from spatially- and temporally-discrete measurements collected by the mobile sensors. The route planning algorithm is to instruct the mobile sensors where the mobile sensor needs to move to for the next measurements. The performance of mobile sensors highly depends on these two algorithms. However, developing and testing those algorithms in the real world is expensive, challenging, and time-consuming. To address these issues, we proposed and implemented an open-source virtual testbed, AlphaMobileSensing, that can be used to develop, test, and benchmark mobile sensing algorithms. AlphaMobileSensing aims to help users more easily develop and test the field reconstruction and route planning algorithms for mobile sensing solutions, without worrying about hardware fault, test accidents (such as collision during the test), etc. The separation of concerns can significantly reduce the cost of developing software solutions for mobile sensing. For versatility and flexibility, AlphaMobileSensing was wrapped up using the standardized interface of OpenAI Gym, and it also provides an interface for loading physical fields that were generated by numerical simulations as virtual test sites to perform mobile sensing and retrieving monitoring data. We demonstrated applications of the virtual testbed by implementing and testing algorithms for physical field reconstruction in both static and dynamic indoor thermal environments. AlphaMobileSensing provides a novel and flexible platform to develop, test, and benchmark mobile sensing algorithms more easily, conveniently, and efficiently. AlphaMobileSensing is open sourced at https://github.com/kishuqizhou/AlphaMobileSensing. Electronic Supplementary Material ESM: the Appendix is available in the online version of this article at 10.1007/s12273-023-1001-9.

How social media expression can reveal personality.

Background: Personality psychology studies personality and its variation among individuals and is an essential branch of psychology. In recent years, machine learning research related to personality assessment has started to focus on the online environment and showed outstanding performance in personality assessment. However, the aspects of the personality of these prediction models measure remain unclear because few studies focus on the interpretability of personality prediction models. The objective of this study is to develop and validate a machine learning model with domain knowledge introduced to enhance accuracy and improve interpretability. Methods: Study participants were recruited via an online experiment platform. After excluding unqualified participants and downloading the Weibo posts of eligible participants, we used six psycholinguistic and mental health-related lexicons to extract textual features. Then the predictive personality model was developed using the multi-objective extra trees method based on 3,411 pairs of social media expression and personality trait scores. Subsequently, the prediction model's validity and reliability were evaluated, and each lexicon's feature importance was calculated. Finally, the interpretability of the machine learning model was discussed. Results: The features from Culture Value Dictionary were found to be the most important predictors. The fivefold cross-validation results regarding the prediction model for personality traits ranged between 0.44 and 0.48 (p < 0.001). The correlation coefficients of five personality traits between the two "split-half" datasets data ranged from 0.84 to 0.88 (p < 0.001). Moreover, the model performed well in terms of contractual validity. Conclusion: By introducing domain knowledge to the development of a machine learning model, this study not only ensures the reliability and validity of the prediction model but also improves the interpretability of the machine learning method. The study helps explain aspects of personality measured by such prediction models and finds a link between personality and mental health. Our research also has positive implications regarding the combination of machine learning approaches and domain knowledge in the field of psychiatry and its applications to mental health.

Virulence potential of antimicrobial-resistant extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli from retail poultry meat in a Caenorhabditis elegans model.

Healthy poultry can be a reservoir for extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC), some of which could be multidrug resistant to antimicrobials. These ExPEC strains could contaminate the environment and/or food chain representing thus, food safety and human health risk. However, few studies have shown the virulence of poultry-source antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) ExPEC in humans. This study characterized AMR ExPEC and investigated the virulence potential of some of their isolates in a Caenorhabditis elegans infection model. A total of 46 E. coli isolates from poultry (chicken, n = 29; turkey, n = 12) retail meats and chicken feces (n = 4), or humans (n = 1) were sequenced and identified as ExPEC. Except eight, all remaining 38 ExPEC isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic and carried corresponding antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs). About 27 of the 46 ExPEC isolates were multidrug-resistant (≥3 antibiotic classes). Seven ExPEC isolates from chicken or turkey meats were of serotype O25:H4 and sequence type (ST) 131 which clustered with an isolate from a human urinary tract infection (UTI) case having the same serotype and ST. The C. elegans challenge model using eight of studied ExPEC isolates harboring various ARGs and virulence genes (VGs) showed that regardless of their ARG or VG numbers in tested poultry meat and feces, ExPEC significantly reduced the life span of the nematode (P < 0.05) similarly to a human UTI isolate. This study indicated the pathogenic potential of AMR ExPEC from retail poultry meat or feces, but more studies are warranted to establish their virulence in poultry and human. Furthermore, relationships between specific resistance profiles and/or VGs in these E. coli isolates for their pathogenicity deserve investigations.

Dual Proton/Silver-Catalyzed Serial (5 + 2)-Cycloaddition and Nazarov Cyclization of (E)-2-Arylidene-3-hydroxyindanones with Conjugated Eneynes: Synthesis of Indanone-Fused Benzo[cd]azulenes.

A one-pot step-economic tandem process involving (5 + 2)-cycloaddition and Nazarov cyclization reactions has been reported for the facile synthesis of indanone-fused benzo[cd]azulenes from (E)-2-arylidene-3-hydroxyindanones and conjugated eneynes. This highly regio- and stereoselective bisannulation reaction is enabled by dual silver and Brønsted acid catalysis and opens up a new avenue for the construction of important bicyclo[5.3.0]decane skeletons.

Rational design of a minimum nanoplatform for maximizing therapeutic potency: Three birds with one stone.

Therapeutic modalities and drug formulations play a crucial and prominent role in actualizing effective treatment and radical cures of tumors. However, the therapeutic efficiency was severely limited by tumor recurrence and complex multi-step preparation of formulation. Therefore, the exploration of novel nanoparticles via a simple and green synthesis process for conquering traditional obstacles and improving therapeutic efficiency is an appealing, yet remarkably challenging task. Herein, a universal nanoplatform allows all cancerous cell-targeting, acid-responsive, cell imaging, synergistic chemotherapy, and nucleolar targeted phototherapy function was tactfully designed and constructed by using chemotherapeutic agents ursolic acid (UA), sorafenib (SF), and carbon dots (CDs) photosensitizers (PSs). The designed US NPs were formed by self-assembly of UA and SF associated with electrostatic, π-π stacking, and hydrophobic interactions. After hydrogen bonding reaction with CDs, the obtained (denoted as USC NPs) have a relatively uniform size of an average 125.6 nm, which facilitated the favorable accumulation of drugs at the tumor region through a potential enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect as compared to their counterpart of free CDs solution. Both in vitro and in vivo studies revealed that the advanced platform commenced synergistic anticancer therapeutic potency, imperceptible systematical toxicity, and remarkable reticence towards drug-resistant cancer cells. Moreover, the CDs PSs possess intrinsic nucleolus-targeting ability. Taken together, this theranostics system can fully play the role of "killing three birds with one stone" in a safe manner, implying a promising direction for exploring treatment strategies for cancer and endowing them with great potential for future translational research and providing a new vision for the advancing of an exceptionally forceful protocol for practical cancer therapy.

Sensing Psychological Well-being Using Social Media Language: Prediction Model Development Study.

BACKGROUND: Positive mental health is arguably increasingly important and can be revealed, to some extent, in terms of psychological well-being (PWB). However, PWB is difficult to assess in real time on a large scale. The popularity and proliferation of social media make it possible to sense and monitor online users' PWB in a nonintrusive way, and the objective of this study is to test the effectiveness of using social media language expression as a predictor of PWB. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the predictive power of social media corresponding to ground truth well-being data in a psychological way. METHODS: We recruited 1427 participants. Their well-being was evaluated using 6 dimensions of PWB. Their posts on social media were collected, and 6 psychological lexicons were used to extract linguistic features. A multiobjective prediction model was then built with the extracted linguistic features as input and PWB as the output. Further, the validity of the prediction model was confirmed by evaluating the model's discriminant validity, convergent validity, and criterion validity. The reliability of the model was also confirmed by evaluating the split-half reliability. RESULTS: The correlation coefficients between the predicted PWB scores of social media users and the actual scores obtained using the linguistic prediction model of this study were between 0.49 and 0.54 (P<.001), which means that the model had good criterion validity. In terms of the model's structural validity, it exhibited excellent convergent validity but less than satisfactory discriminant validity. The results also suggested that our model had good split-half reliability levels for every dimension (ranging from 0.65 to 0.85; P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: By confirming the availability and stability of the linguistic prediction model, this study verified the predictability of social media corresponding to ground truth well-being data from the perspective of PWB. Our study has positive implications for the use of social media to predict mental health in nonprofessional settings such as self-testing or a large-scale user study.

Clinical effects of remimazolam alone or in combination with dexmedetomidine in patients receiving bronchoscopy and influences on postoperative cognitive function: a randomized-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Remimazolam and dexmedetomidine are commonly used as sedatives. However, the effects and safety of remimazolam alone or in combination with dexmedetomidine have not been investigated. AIM: We sought to investigate the clinical effects of remimazolam alone or in combination with dexmedetomidine in bronchoscopy, and their influence on cognitive function. METHOD: Ninety eligible patients who underwent bronchoscopy under intravenous anesthesia were randomly divided into three groups: propofol control, remimazolam, and remimazolam plus dexmedetomidine. The primary outcome was the incidence of perioperative hypoxemia. Secondary outcomes included induction and maintenance doses of remimazolam, hemodynamic variables, scores for modified Observer's Assessment of Alertness/Sedation (MOAA/S), coughing, limb movement, incidence of adverse events, patient satisfaction, bronchoscopist satisfaction, incidence of post-operative cognitive dysfunction (POCD), time to loss of consciousness (LoC), and time to awake. RESULTS: The incidence of hypoxemia, hypotension, and bronchoscopist satisfaction score were significantly decreased, and time to LoC and time to awake were markedly longer in the remimazolam and remimazolam plus dexmedetomidine groups than in the propofol control group (p < 0.05). The remimazolam group had significantly decreased induction and maintenance doses of remimazolam and a shorter time to LoC than the remimazolam plus dexmedetomidine group (p < 0.05). Scores for coughing, limb movement, MOAA/S, and post-operative patient satisfaction were comparable among the three groups. POCD was not induced in any of the groups. CONCLUSION: Remimazolam is safe and effective for painless bronchoscopy, with a low incidence of adverse reactions, and exhibits a good synergistic effect with dexmedetomidine. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial protocol had been registered on Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2000041435, date: 2020 12 26.

Current Advances and Prospects in Carbon Nanomaterials-based Drug Deliver Systems for Cancer Therapy.

The in-depth intersection between nanoscience and oncology comes from the fact that nanomaterials are in a similar dimension to basic biomolecules. Drug delivery systems (DDSs), which are either targeted to a particular site or intended for the controlled release in a particular position, have been studied extensively at the nanoscale and are, by far, the most advanced technology in the area of nanoparticle applications. This, consequently lead to the improvement and development of convenient administration routes, lower toxicity, fewer side effects, and extended drug life cycle. Carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) with favorable size and unique fluorescence properties, which was considered an ideal candidate to transport or deliver therapeutic drugs to specific targets in a controlled manner. The development of DDSs based on them constitutes an interesting topic in highly effective and universal therapies to achieve better therapeutic outcomes and reduce the side effects of malignancies. In this review, the cutting-edge progress of CNMs in DDSs was comprehensively summarized. Additionally, the emphasis was placed on the applications of CNMs including fullerene, graphene, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), carbon dots (CDs), and nano-diamonds (NDs) in drug delivering. Further, we gave some insights into the future direction and foreseeable challenges of DDSs based on CNMs used in cancer therapy, which we hope these inspirations in DDSs associated with anti-cancer therapy will provide perspectives in designing new drugs for further tumor treatment.