The Effect of Dietary Protein Hydrolysate from Black Soldier Fly Larvae and Schizochytrium on Palatability, Nutrient Metabolites and Health Status in Beagle Dogs.

Protein hydrolysate from black soldier fly larvae (BSFP) has garnered great attention with its lower allergenicity, high amount of essential amino acids, and small bioactive peptides. Schizochytrium is a promising alternative source of n-3 FUFA because it has enriched docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22: 6). The aim of this study was to assess palatability, the presence of diarrhea, plasma biochemistry panels, anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects, and immune function in beagle dogs when supplementing a mixture of protein hydrolysate from black soldier fly larvae and schizochytrium (BSFPs) into their diets. Experiment I: 24 young beagle dogs (16 males and 8 females; 4-5 months; BW: 6.40 ± 0.15 kg) were randomly divided into four groups: (1) control (CON), (2) 5% BSFPs, (3) 10% BSFPs, (4) 15% BSFPs. Their body weights and fecal scores were recorded, and blood samples were collected for analysis. Experiment II: three diets containing 5%, 10%, and 15% BSFPs were evaluated by comparing them with a basal diet (CON) to evaluate palatability. These results suggested that a lower presence of diarrhea existed in the BSFP diet than the CON diet (p < 0.05). Three treatment groups remarkably increased their total protein (TP) and albumin (ALB) contents and decreased their concentrations of triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) in plasma (p < 0.05). Moreover, the 5% and 15% BSFPs groups had a higher calcium (CA) content in plasma, and the activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and contents of creatinine (CREA) and urea nitrogen (BUN) were significantly reduced by supplementing BSFP in their diets (p < 0.05). Their anti-oxidative enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) were dramatically enhanced, and their malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations were remarkably reduced (p < 0.05). Immunoglobulin A and G (IgA and IgG) concentrations in the plasma in the 10% and 15% BSFPs groups were significantly increased (p < 0.05). Furthermore, lower interleukin-8 (IL-8) contents were shown in the BSFP diets than the CON diet (p < 0.05). Similarly, the diets supplemented with BSFPs exhibited a positive effect on palatability (p < 0.05). To sum up, the diets supplemented with BSFPs significantly enhanced palatability, immune function, and anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory capacity to alleviate diarrhea and improve the general health of the beagle dogs.

Primary multiple endocrine insufficiency during immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment: A case report.

RATIONALE: Immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) has shown promising activity against many tumor types. However, they can also induce a wide array of immune-related adverse events, ranging from mild to fatal. Primary 3 endocrine gland insufficiency during treatment with ICI has rarely been reported. PATIENT CONCERNS: We report the case of a 33-year-old man with Ewing sarcoma who was treated with toripalimab as a second-line treatment. Approximately 11 months after initiating treatment, the patient developed subclinical hypothyroidism, which was followed by adrenal insufficiency and hypogonadism 6 months later. Consequently, the decision was made to discontinue ICI therapy and initiate hormone replacement therapy to manage endocrine deficiencies. DIAGNOSES: Serum adrenocorticotropic hormone, thyroid stimulating hormone, and prolactin levels increased significantly, while cortisol, estradiol, and testosterone levels decreased (Table 1). The patient had negative findings on the pituitary MRI. INTERVENTION: As part of the management strategy, ICI therapy was ceased and hormone replacement therapy was commenced to address endocrine deficiencies. OUTCOMES: After hormone replacement therapy, his symptoms improved and follow-up examinations showed normalization of hormone levels. LESSONS: Clinicians should be aware of the potential of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy to cause endocrine dysfunction. Prompt recognition and management of these adverse events are crucial for patient health and quality of life.

Studying green climate nexus with green work engagement: how are environmental sustainability and personality traits important?

The  purpose of this research was to investigate the complex relationship between workers' green job involvement and factors such as environmental sustainability, personality characteristics, the green climate, environmental views, and values. Survey data from a representative cross-section of workers at a variety of companies were analyzed using structural equation modeling in this study. According to the findings, there is a positive link between environmental sustainability, environmental attitudes and values, and green work engagement (GWE). The research also suggests that participating in green practices at work is a key component of environmental sustainability. It acts as an impetus for green projects, sustainable practices, and the development of a sustainability culture in businesses. In light of the difficulties posed by the green climate nexus, the study highlights the critical need of green work participation in achieving sustainable development objectives. Positive links between character qualities and eco-friendly workplace behavior were also uncovered. As a mediator between environmental sustainability and GWE, a green climate was also uncovered. These results suggest that policies aiming at encouraging green job engagement among workers may succeed if they promote environmental views and values, take personality qualities into account in the hiring process, and encourage a green atmosphere in the workplace. By elucidating the many factors that play a role in shaping eco-friendly workplace practices, this study contributes to our growing body of knowledge on environmental responsibility in the business world. The findings of this research have broad implications for businesses that are committed to fostering a culture of sustainability and environmental responsibility.

Fluorinating All Interfaces Enables Super-Stable Solid-State Lithium Batteries by In Situ Conversion of Detrimental Surface Li2CO3.

Li-stuffed battery materials intrinsically have surface impurities, typically Li2CO3, which introduce severe kinetic barriers and electrochemical decay for a cycling battery. For energy-dense solid-state lithium batteries (SSLBs), mitigating detrimental Li2CO3 from both cathode and electrolyte materials is required, while the direct removal approaches hardly avoid Li2CO3 regeneration. Here, a decarbonization-fluorination strategy to construct ultrastable LiF-rich interphases throughout the SSLBs by in situ reacting Li2CO3 with LiPF6 at 60 °C is reported. The fluorination of all interfaces effectively suppresses parasitic reactions while substantially reducing the interface resistance, producing a dendrite-free Li anode with an impressive cycling stability of up to 7000 h. Particularly, transition metal dissolution associated with gas evolution in the cathodes is remarkably reduced, leading to notable improvements in battery rate capability and cyclability at a high voltage of 4.5 V. This all-in-one approach propels the development of SSLBs by overcoming the limitations associated with surface impurities and interfacial challenges.

An AI-Application-Oriented In-Class Teaching Evaluation Model by Using Statistical Modeling and Ensemble Learning.

In-class teaching evaluation, which is utilized to assess the process and effect of both teachers' teaching and students' learning in a classroom environment, plays an increasingly crucial role in supervising and promoting education quality. With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the concept of smart education has been constantly improved and gradually penetrated into all aspects of education application. Considering the dominant position of classroom teaching in elementary and undergraduate education, the introduction of AI technology into in-class teaching evaluation has become a research hotspot. In this paper, we propose a statistical modeling and ensemble learning-based comprehensive model, which is oriented towards in-class teaching evaluation by using AI technologies such as computer vision (CV) and intelligent speech recognition (ISR). Firstly, we present an index system including a set of teaching evaluation indicators combining traditional assessment scales with new values derived from CV and ISR-based AI analysis. Next, we design a comprehensive in-class teaching evaluation model by using both the analytic hierarchy process-entropy weight (AHP-EW) and AdaBoost-based ensemble learning (AdaBoost-EL) methods. Experiments not only demonstrate that the two modules in the model are respectively applicable to the calculation of indicators with different characteristics, but also verify the performance of the proposed model for AI-based in-class teaching evaluation. In this comprehensive in-class evaluation model, for students' concentration and participation, ensemble learning module is chosen with less root mean square error (RMSE) of 8.318 and 9.375. In addition, teachers' media usage and teachers' type evaluated by statistical modeling module approach higher accuracy with 0.905 and 0.815. Instead, the ensemble learning approaches the accuracy of 0.73 in evaluating teachers' style, which performs better than the statistical modeling module with the accuracy of 0.69.

A thick yet dense silicon anode with enhanced interface stability in lithium storage evidenced by in situ TEM observations.

Increasing the density and thickness of electrodes is required to maximize the volumetric energy density of lithium-ion batteries for practical applications. However, dense and thick electrodes, especially high-mass-content (>50 wt%) silicon anodes, have poor mechanical stability due to the presence of a large number of unstable interfaces between the silicon and conducting components during cycling. Here we report a network of mechanically robust carbon cages produced by the capillary shrinkage of graphene hydrogels that can contain the silicon nanoparticles in the cages and stabilize the silicon/carbon interfaces. In situ transmission electron microscope characterizations including compression and tearing of the structure and lithiation-induced silicon expansion experiments, have provided insight into the excellent confinement and buffering ability of this interface-strengthened graphene-caged silicon nanoparticle anode material. Consequently, a dense and thick silicon anode with reduced thickness fluctuations has been shown to deliver both high volumetric (>1000 mAh cm-3) and areal (>6 mAh cm-2) capacities together with excellent cycling capability.

AKR1C1-3, notably AKR1C3, are distinct biomarkers for liver cancer diagnosis and prognosis: Database mining in malignancies.

Aldo-keto reductases, known as AKR1C1-AKR1C4 enzymes, are pivotal to NADPH-dependent reduction, and their expression is highly associated with the progression of malignant cancers. However, the expression and distinct prognostic value of the AKR1C family members in liver cancer are not well established. In the current study, the expression of AKR1C isoforms was studied using the Oncomine online databases. In addition, their expression profiles were analyzed in cancer cell lines using data from the Cancer Cell lines Encyclopedia (CCLE) database. Furthermore, the mRNA expression levels of AKR1C family members between liver cancer and normal liver samples were assessed by the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database. The AKR1C1-3 prognostic value was further investigated by the Kaplan-Meier plotter database in liver cancer patients. It was found that the expression levels of AKR1C3 were elevated significantly in liver cancer tissues and cells as demonstrated by the Oncomine, CCLE and GEPIA databases. The expression levels of AKR1C1 and AKR1C2 in liver cancer tissues did not increase significantly in the Oncomine database while expression was significantly high in CCLE and GEPIA databases. However, the expression levels of the AKR1C4 gene as determined by the CCLE, GEPIA and Oncomine databases were not consistent. Therefore, the Kaplan-Meier survival curves of liver cancer patients with the expression of AKR1C1-3 genes were next analyzed. The data indicated that high expression levels of AKR1C1-3 were correlated with lower overall survival in liver cancer patients. Using the co-expression and PPI network, AKR1C1-3 genes were identified that were involved in the same pathway displaying 44 total unique interactors. These results suggested that the increased AKR1C1-3, notably AKR1C3 expression levels served as possible diagnostic biomarkers and essential prognostic factors for liver cancer patients. The roles of AKR1C4 in liver cancer require further examination.

Increased cycles of DC/CIK immunotherapy decreases frequency of Tregs in patients with resected NSCLC.

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) suppress antitumor immune responses. Cycles of Dendritic cells (DC) vaccination combined with cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells (DC/CIK) treatment were significantly related with good prognosis. Therefore, we investigated whether increased cycles of immunotherapy could decrease frequency of Tregs in patients with resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Previous study from our laboratory has determined that the optimal cutoff point of the cycle count was 3cycles. We examined the levels of Tregs and the related cytokines by flow cytometric and cytokine analysis in these patients after more than (≥) 3cycles or less than (<) 3cycles of DC/CIK cell treatment. Significant reduction of Tregs frequency, Treg-generated cytokines level and recurrence rate were presented in patients received with ≥3cycles of DC/CIK cell treatment compared with patients with <3cycles of treatment. Interestingly, Tregs frequency and the related cytokines level were similar between patients suffered tumor recurrence and patients without recurrence in both groups. Together, our findings reveal that increased cycle count of DC/CIK cell immunotherapy contribute to decline of Tregs frequency and cancer recurrence rate in patients with resected NSCLC.

Human papillomavirus prevalence and genotypes distribution among female outpatients in Qingdao, East China.

Persistent infection with human papillomavirus, especially high risk ones, is a necessary cause of cervical cancer. This study aimed to investigate the distribution of HPV genotypes in female outpatients from Qingdao, East China. A total of 4,534 cervical swabs from women visiting this medical institution for gynecologic care were included. HPV genotypes were examined by a PCR-based hybridization gene chip assay and liquid-based cytology analysis was used to evaluate cervical cytology. The overall HPV prevalence in this study was 32.2% (1,459/4,534). A total of 23 HPV genotypes were identified and the five most prevalent ones were HPV16 (16.1%), HPV52 (8.9%), HPV58 (7.9%), HPV6 (7.0%), and HPV53 (6.5%). Age-specific prevalence of HPV exhibited one peak at the youngest age group and the HPV positive rate decreased gradually with age growth. But high risk HPV infections were more prevalent among aged women. Besides, association between cervical cytology and HPV infection was also determined, 27.2% (1124/4,126) of women with normal cytology were HPV positive while 82.1% (335/408) of women with abnormal cytology were HPV positive. These findings give new epidemiological data and may provide guidance for the vaccination program in this area.

[Evaluations of urinary sediment and dry chemical detection in urinary tract infections].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the diagnostic values of urinalysis in urinary tract infections. METHODS: A total of 526 urine culture specimens were analyzed by UF-1000i urine analyzers and GEB600 urine chemistry analyzer to determine the sensitivity and specificity of individual and combined analysis of white blood cell, bacteria count and nitrite test in the diagnosis of urinary tract infections. And bacterial culture was used as the gold standard. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy rate of bacterial count were the highest in individual analysis at 84.3%, 90.5%, 84.3%, 90.5% and 88.2% respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and accuracy of combined bacterial count and leukocyte was 83.9%, 91.0%, 85.4% and 88.2% respectively while the negative predictive value of white blood cell and nitrite was highest (91.3%). Compared with the combined or single analysis, the combination of three analyses had the highest sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy rate at 85.4%, 92.6%, 84.7%, 93.0%, 90.3% respectively. CONCLUSION: The combined urinalysis may be used as a rapid screening indicator of urinary tract infections.

A dual molecular beacon approach for fast detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The main objectives of this study were to assess a dual molecular beacon approach for fast detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MT). MT beacon (Tb-B) was designed to target the unique IS6110 (114 bp) and rpoB (215 bp) fragment of the MT (H37Ra) genome, and the two fragments were inserted into the PMD-19T vector after purification, by PCR and sequencing, to construct plasmids. Different dilutions of positive plasmid standards were used for dual molecular beacon RT-PCR of rpoB and IS6110, and standard curves were established.The results show that the dual molecular beacon of rpoB and IS6110 detecting MT was stable (CV is 1.91-2.68 %) with a high amplification efficiency (95.6 %). In addition, the strains of non MT did not generate fluorescence signals, while strains of MT did, indicating that the primers and molecular beacons were specific, and only MT complex was amplified. The linear range was wide (10(3)-10(11) copies/mL), and clinical specimens presenting different bacterial counts can be detected.

[Epidemiological studies on close contacts of smear-positive tuberculosis patients in Shijiazhuang city from 2007 to 2008].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in people who were in close contact with smear-positive TB patients. METHODS: A total of 19 159 subjects, including 17 334 family members and 1825 classmates of patients, in close contact with 6653 smear-positive TB patients in Shijiazhuang city from 2007 to 2008 were observed. All the classmates were tested by purified protein derivative (PPD) test and symptom screening, and all family members were screened by symptoms. All these subjects were trained with knowledge related to TB. The ones with positive PPD test and suspected TB symptoms were further examined by chest X-ray and sputum smear microscopy, and those without any symptom were followed up monthly throughout a two year period and were examined at any time if symptoms occurred. RESULTS: A total of 281 patients with pulmonary TB were diagnosed in 2 years, including 176 family members and 105 classmates in all close contacts. The smear-positive incidences were 1466.67/100 000. The incidences for 14 - 25 years old group and more than 75 years old group were 2907.18/100 000 (83/2855) and 2650.96/100 000 (18/679), which were higher than those for other groups. Two higher incidences were related to close contact time periods of 6 months (929.07/100 000, 178/19 159) and 13 - 18 months (369.12/100 000, 70/18 964). Three highest incidences were observed in the roommates (11 384.62/100 000, 37/325), classmates (4533.33/100 000, 68/1500) and couples (1624.17/100 000, 86/5295). CONCLUSION: Closer contact with smear-positive patients with TB may result in the higher chance of TB. Close contact for 6 months or 13 to 18 months caused more patients, and the 14 - 25 years old group and more than 75 years old group had higher incidences of TB.