Effect of Raw Material Particle Size on the Synthesis of La2Zr2O7 by the Molten Salt Method.

In this study, a process based on the molten salt method was proposed to prepare La2Zr2O7 for improving the kinetic conditions of synthesis. Considering that the particle size of raw materials is an important factor that may have an effect on the kinetic process of synthesis, ZrO2 and La2O3 with different particle sizes are used as raw materials, and the synthesis experiment is carried out at 900-1300 °C through the combination of raw materials with different particle sizes. The results show that the particle size of ZrO2 plays an important role in the synthesis of La2Zr2O7. The "dissolution precipitation" mechanism of the synthesis process in the NaCl-KCl molten salt was confirmed by SEM image observation. Furthermore, the influence of the dissolution rate of each raw material on the synthesis reaction was studied by introducing the Noyes-Whitney equation and testing the specific surface area and solubility of each raw material, and it was confirmed that the particle size of ZrO2 was the limiting condition of the synthesis reaction, and use of ZrO2(Z50) with a nominal particle size of 50 nm could significantly improve the kinetic condition of the reaction, thus reducing the synthesis temperature, which can help realize the energy-saving and -efficient synthesis of pyrochlore La2Zr2O7.

Independent and joint associations of general and abdominal obesity with the risk of conventional adenomas and serrated polyps: A large population-based study in East Asia.

Evidence regarding associations of general and abdominal obesity with the risk of conventional adenomas (ADs) and serrated polyps (SPs) from Asian population is scarce. This study aimed to investigate the independent and joint associations of general obesity assessed by body mass index (BMI) and abdominal obesity assessed by waist circumference (WC) or waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) with the risk of ADs and SPs among 25 222 participants recruited by a population-based screening program. Compared to participants with normal BMI, those with a BMI ≥28 kg/m2 had increased risk of ADs (odds ratio [OR] 1.52, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.36-1.70) and SPs (OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.38-2.07). For participants with a WC ≥102 cm (≥88 cm for females), the risk of ADs (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.25-1.51) and SPs (OR 1.81, 95% CI 1.52-2.16) was higher than that of the reference group. For participants with a WHR ≥0.95 (≥0.90 for females), the risk of ADs (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.16-1.36) and SPs (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.26-1.69) were higher than that of the reference group. Moreover, participants with both BMI ≥28 kg/m2 and WC ≥102 cm (≥88 cm for females) had 61% and 119% higher risk of ADs (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.39-1.85) and SPs (OR 2.19, 95% CI 1.70-2.82) compared to those with both normal BMI and WC. These findings indicate that both general and abdominal obesity are associated with SPs and ADs, presenting stronger association with SPs than ADs. Moreover, the association is more evident when both obesities exist. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Can a Nomogram Predict Survival After Treatment for an Ankylosing Spondylitis Cervical Fracture in a Patient With Neurologic Impairment? A National, Multicenter Study.

BACKGROUND: Ankylosing spondylitis-related cervical spine fracture with neurologic impairment (ASCF-NI) is a rare but often lethal injury. Factors independently associated with survival after treatment remain poorly defined, and identifying patients who are likely to survive the injury remains challenging. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: (1) What factors are independently associated with survival after treatment among patients with ASCF-NI? (2) Can a nomogram be developed that is sufficiently simple for clinicians to use that can identify patients who are the most likely to survive after injury? METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted based on a multi-institutional group of patients admitted and treated at one of 29 tertiary hospitals in China between March 1, 2003, and July 31, 2019. A total of 363 patients with a mean age of 53 ± 12 years were eventually included, 343 of whom were male. According to the National Household Registration Management System, 17% (61 of 363) died within 5 years of injury. Patients were treated using nonsurgical treatment or surgery, including procedures using the anterior approach, posterior approach, or combined anterior and posterior approaches. Indications for surgery included three-column injury, unstable fracture displacement, neurologic impairment or continuous progress, and intervertebral disc incarceration. By contrast, patients generally received nonsurgical treatment when they had a relatively stable fracture or medical conditions that did not tolerate surgery. Demographic, clinical, and treatment data were collected. The primary study goal was to identify which factors are independently associated with death within 5 years of injury, and the secondary goal was the development of a clinically applicable nomogram. We developed a multivariable Cox hazards regression model, and independent risk factors were defined by backward stepwise selection with the Akaike information criterion. We used these factors to create a nomogram using a multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. RESULTS: After controlling for potentially confounding variables, we found the following factors were independently associated with a lower likelihood of survival after injury: lower fracture site, more-severe peri-injury complications, poorer American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale, and treatment methods. We found that a C5 to C7 or T1 fracture (ref: C1 to C4 and 5; hazard ratio 1.7 [95% confidence interval 0.9 to 3.5]; p = 0.12), moderate peri-injury complications (ref: absence of or mild complications; HR 6.0 [95% CI 2.3 to 16.0]; p < 0.001), severe peri-injury complications (ref: absence of or mild complications; HR 30.0 [95% CI 11.5 to 78.3]; p < 0.001), ASIA Grade A (ref: ASIA Grade D; HR 2.8 [95% CI 1.1 to 7.0]; p = 0.03), anterior approach (ref: nonsurgical treatment; HR 0.5 [95% CI 0.2 to 1.0]; p = 0.04), posterior approach (ref: nonsurgical treatment; HR 0.4 [95% CI 0.2 to 0.8]; p = 0.006), and combined anterior and posterior approach (ref: nonsurgical treatment; HR 0.4 [95% CI 0.2 to 0.9]; p = 0.02) were associated with survival. Based on these factors, a nomogram was developed to predict the survival of patients with ASCF-NI after treatment. Tests revealed that the developed nomogram had good performance (C statistic of 0.91). CONCLUSION: The nomogram developed in this study will allow us to classify patients with different mortality risk levels into groups. This, coupled with the factors we identified, was independently associated with survival, and can be used to guide more appropriate treatment and care strategies for patients with ASCF-NI. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, therapeutic study.

[Application of microneedle-assisted percutaneous drug delivery system in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis:a review].

Rheumatoid arthritis(RA) is a chronic degenerative joint disease characterized by inflammation. Due to the complex causes, no specific therapy is available. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents and corticosteroids are often used(long-term, oral/injection) to interfere with related pathways for reducing inflammatory response and delaying the progression of RA, which, however, induce many side effects. Microneedle, an emerging transdermal drug delivery system, is painless and less invasive and improves drug permeability. Thus, it is widely used in the treatment of RA and is expected to be a new strategy in clinical treatment. This paper summarized the application of microneedles in the treatment of RA, providing a reference for the development of new microneedles and the expansion of its clinical application.

Evolutionary analysis of a complete chicken genome.

Microchromosomes are prevalent in nonmammalian vertebrates [P. D. Waters et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 118 (2021)], but a few of them are missing in bird genome assemblies. Here, we present a new chicken reference genome containing all autosomes, a Z and a W chromosome, with all gaps closed except for the W. We identified ten small microchromosomes (termed dot chromosomes) with distinct sequence and epigenetic features, among which six were newly assembled. Those dot chromosomes exhibit extremely high GC content and a high level of DNA methylation and are enriched for housekeeping genes. The pericentromeric heterochromatin of dot chromosomes is disproportionately large and continues to expand with the proliferation of satellite DNA and testis-expressed genes. Our analyses revealed that the 41-bp CNM repeat frequently forms higher-order repeats (HORs) at the centromeres of acrocentric chromosomes. The centromere core regions where the kinetochore attaches often encompass telomeric sequence (TTAGGG)n, and in a one of the dot chromosomes, the centromere core recruits an endogenous retrovirus (ERV). We further demonstrate that the W chromosome shares some common features with dot chromosomes, having large arrays of hypermethylated tandem repeats. Finally, using the complete chicken chromosome models, we reconstructed a fine picture of chordate karyotype evolution, revealing frequent chromosomal fusions before and after vertebrate whole-genome duplications. Our sequence and epigenetic characterization of chicken chromosomes shed insights into the understanding of vertebrate genome evolution and chromosome biology.

Effects of the Number of Crested Cushions in Runzhou White-Crested Ducks on Serum Biochemical Parameters.

We investigated the effects of crest cushions in Runzhou white-crested (RWC) ducks. A total of 322 duck eggs were collected for incubation; 286 eggs were fertilized, and 235 RCW ducks were hatched. All the RWC ducks were weighed after 100 days and counted, and the volume of the crest cushion was measured. The number of crest cushions was positively correlated with the body weight, volume of the crest cushion, and distance from the mouth (p < 0.05). The serum Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn, and Se contents in the multiple-crest-cushion group were significantly higher (p < 0.05), as were the levels of triglycerides, immunoglobulin A, immunoglobulin G, immunoglobulin M, and immunoglobulin D (p < 0.01). The opposite results were seen for glycosylated low-density lipoprotein (p < 0.01). Propionic acid and acetic acid contents differed significantly between the two groups (p < 0.05), as did butyric acid content (p < 0.01), being higher in the multiple-crest-cushion group. Thus, an increase in the number of crest cushions coincided with a change in various serum biochemical indicators. The number of crest cushions might be involved in regulating various mechanisms of RWC ducks and might have an immunoregulatory effect.

Assembly-Induced Emission Enhancement in Glutathione-Capped Bimetallic Gold and Copper Nanoclusters by Al3+ Ions and Further Application in Myricetin Determination.

A significant emission enhancement (>100-fold) of glutathione-capped bimetallic gold and copper nanoclusters (AuCuNC@GSH) was achieved by assembling with Al3+ ions and by assembly-induced emission enhancement (AIEE). Further chelation of myricetin to Al3+ resulted in emission quenching of AuCuNC-Al3+, which was applied to specifically detect myricetin. Two linear responses were shown in the range of 0−1.5 µM and 1.5−50 µM, separately, leading to a low limit of detection at 8.7 nM. The method was successfully and accurately applied to myricetin determination in grape juice, which showed good application for real samples. Finally, the in-depth mechanism revealed that both the chelation of myricetin and Al3+ and the inner filter effect (IFE) between myricetin-Al3+ and AuCuNC-Al3+ greatly contributed to the quenching response of myricetin. Therefore, the present study provides an easy way to improve the fluorescence property of metal nanoclusters. Additionally, it supplies a cost-effective and easily performed approach to detect myricetin with high selectivity and sensitivity.

Promising applications of human-derived saliva biomarker testing in clinical diagnostics.

Saliva testing is a vital method for clinical applications, for its noninvasive features, richness in substances, and the huge amount. Due to its direct anatomical connection with oral, digestive, and endocrine systems, clinical usage of saliva testing for these diseases is promising. Furthermore, for other diseases that seeming to have no correlations with saliva, such as neurodegenerative diseases and psychological diseases, researchers also reckon saliva informative. Tremendous papers are being produced in this field. Updated summaries of recent literature give newcomers a shortcut to have a grasp of this topic. Here, we focused on recent research about saliva biomarkers that are derived from humans, not from other organisms. The review mostly addresses the proceedings from 2016 to 2022, to shed light on the promising usage of saliva testing in clinical diagnostics. We recap the recent advances following the category of different types of biomarkers, such as intracellular DNA, RNA, proteins and intercellular exosomes, cell-free DNA, to give a comprehensive impression of saliva biomarker testing.

Identification of key surfactant in municipal solid waste leachate foaming and its influence mechanism.

Serious foaming problems and the excessive consumption of defoamer have undoubtedly become one of the most critical problems that hinder municipal solid waste (MSW) leachate treatment efficiency and industry development. Since there is limited research penetrating the foaming mechanism and identification of the key surfactants, current defoaming and surfactant removal techniques lack pertinence and orientation. In this study, a foaming characterization device was developed and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS/MS) was optimized to accurately identify the key surfactants affecting leachate foaming and offer a glimpse into their interaction mechanisms. This study collected leachate samples from 9 typical landfills and waste-to-energy facilities of various waste compositions, climatic conditions, ages, and geographical locations. The foaming problem of leachate was mainly centered on raw leachate and nanofiltration membrane concentrate (NFC). Fresh leachate performed with relatively low foaming capacity and foam stability, associated with low surfactant concentration. The pH value of the system was positively correlated with the concentration of anionic surfactants, indicating significant impacts on surfactant release in MSW. Since the distribution characteristics of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) in leachate were consistent with the variety of foaming performances, LAS proved to be an indispensable surfactant in the leachate involved in this study, and its content proportion escalated to 92.87% in aged leachate.

Live yeast supplementation altered the bacterial community's composition and function in rumen and hindgut and alleviated the detrimental effects of heat stress on dairy cows.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of live yeast (LY, Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on the lactation performance, bacterial community, and functions in the rumen and hindgut of dairy cows under heat stress. Thirty-three multiparous (parity 3.9 ± 0.8) Holstein dairy cows (189.1 ± 6.6 d in milk at the beginning of the experiment) were randomly assigned to three groups (11 cows per treatment). Cows in the three groups were fed a diet without yeast (CON), with 10 g yeast/d/head (LY-10), and with 20 g yeast/d/head (LY-20). The yeast product contained 2.0 × 1010 CFU/g. Supplementing LY decreased the rectal temperature and respiratory rate of cows, and increased dry matter intake, milk yield, milk fat yield, milk protein yield, and milk lactose yield (P < 0.001), yet decreased milk urea nitrogen concentration (P = 0.035). Interaction effects of treatment × week were observed for rectal temperature (P < 0.05), respiratory rate (P < 0.05), milk yield (P = 0.015), milk urea nitrogen (P = 0.001), milk protein yield (P = 0.008), and milk lactose yield (P = 0.030). In rumen, LY increased the concentrations of acetate, isobutyrate, isovaterate, valerate, total volatile fatty acids (VFAs), and NH3-N (P < 0.05). Miseq sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes showed that LY increased the relative abundance of Prevotella and Prevotellaceae UCG-003 at the genus level with a series of enriched pathways in the metabolism of carbohydrates and protein. In fecal samples, LY did not affect the profile of VFAs (P > 0.05). Clostridium sensu stricto 1 (P = 0.013) and Actinobacillus (P = 0.011) increased in the relative abundance by LY, whereas Bacteroides (P = 0.016) and Oscillospirales UCG-010 (P = 0.005) decreased with a series of enriched pathways in carbohydrate metabolism, secondary bile acid biosynthesis. In summary, LY supplementation altered the bacterial community's composition and function in rumen and hindgut, and simultaneously alleviated the detrimental effects of heat stress on dairy cows. These findings provide extended insight into the effects of LY in the rumen and hindgut of dairy cows exposed to heat stress.

Dairy cows are exposed to severe heat stress under hot and humid climates in summer in south China, resulting in a decline in feed intake and milk yield. Therefore, we investigated the effect of live yeast (LY, Saccharomyces cerevisiae) supplementation on the milk performance, bacterial community, and functions in the rumen and hindgut of dairy cows under heat stress. Thirty-three dairy cows were randomly assigned to control (CON, without yeast addition), treatment 1 (LY-10, with 10 g yeast/d/head) and treatment 2 (LY-20, with 20 g yeast/d/head). Supplementing LY decreased the rectal temperature and respiratory rate of the dairy cows and increased feed intake and milk performance. Live yeast enhanced fermentation in the rumen but did not affect it in the hindgut. Live yeast altered the microbiota in the rumen and hindgut, with an enrichment of bacteria in the pathways of the metabolism of carbohydrates, protein, and other substances. In all, LY supplementation had beneficial effects on dairy cows under heat stress by affecting the microbiota and fermentation in the rumen and hindgut.

Spatiotemporal regulation of injectable heterogeneous silk gel scaffolds for accelerating guided vertebral repair.

Osteoporotic vertebral fracture has been jeopardizing the health of the aged population around the world, while the hypoxia microenvironment and oxidative damage of bone defect make it difficult to perform effective tissue regeneration. The balance of oxidative stress and the coupling of vessel and bone ingrowth are critical for bone regeneration. In this study, the injectable heterogeneous silk gel scaffold which can spatiotemporally and sustainedly release bone mesenchymal stem cell-derived small extracellular vesicles (BMSC-sEVs), HIF-1α pathway activator (DFO) and inhibitor (YC-1) was developed for bone repair and vertebral reinforcement. The initial enhancement of HIF-1α upregulated the expression of VEGF to promote angiogenesis; and the balance of reactive oxygen species (ROS) level was regulated to effectively eliminate oxidative damage and abnormal microenvironment. The subsequent inhibition of HIF-1α avoided the overexpression of VEGF and vascular overgrowth. Meanwhile, complex macroporous structures and suitable mechanical support could be obtained within the silk gel scaffolds, which would promote in-situ bone regeneration. Our findings provide a new clinical translation strategy for osteoporotic vertebral augmentation on basis of hypoxia microenvironment improvement. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Orthogonal Experimental Study on the Factors Affecting the Mechanical Properties of Alkali-Activated Slag Materials.

Blast furnace slag is one of the largest solid wastes in the world. The slag-based geopolymer obtained by alkali activation has many advantages, such as a high strength, a good corrosion resistance, low carbon and environmental protection. Existing studies have shown that the mechanical properties of slag-based geopolymers are related to the combined effects of many factors, but there is still a lack of reliable conclusions on the primary and secondary influence degree of each factor, which greatly affects the scientific preparation and application of slag-based geopolymers. In order to solve this problem, we choose to proceed from the two perspectives of the mix ratio of the alkali activator and the elemental composition of raw materials. Through the orthogonal analysis method, this paper studies the influence of the modulus of the alkali activator, the solid-to-liquid ratio of the activator, the water-cement ratio and the metakaolin replacement rate on the uniaxial compressive strength of a slag-based geopolymer. The results show that when the solid-liquid ratio is about 0.25, the modulus of the alkali activator is 1.3~1.5, the water-cement ratio is about 0.4 and the samples with higher strength can be prepared. With the addition of metakaolin, a new gel phase NASH was formed in the system, which significantly promoted the late strength and toughness growth of the sample. The research results comprehensively analyze the influence of different factors on the mechanical properties of the slag-based geopolymer, which can provide a valuable reference for the engineering application of alkali-activated slag materials.

SLC1A5 enhances malignant phenotypes through modulating ferroptosis status and immune microenvironment in glioma.

Glioma is the most common type of primary malignant tumor in the central nervous system with limited treatment satisfaction. Finding new therapeutic targets has remained a major challenge. Ferroptosis is a novel and distinct type of programmed cell death, playing a regulatory role in the progression of tumors. However, the role of ferroptosis or ferroptosis-related genes (FRGs) in glioma progression has not been extensively studied. In our study, a novel ferroptosis-related prognostic model, including 7 genes, was established, in which patients classified into the high-risk group had more immuno-suppressive status and worse prognosis. Among these 7 genes, we screened solute carrier family 1 member 5 (SLC1A5), an FRG, as a possible new target for glioma treatment. Our results showed that the expression of SLC1A5 was significantly upregulated in glioblastoma tissues compared with the low-grade gliomas. In addition, SLC1A5 knockdown could significantly inhibit glioma cell proliferation and invasion, and reduce the sensitivity of ferroptosis via the GPX4-dependent pathway. Furthermore, SLC1A5 was found to be related to immune response and SLC1A5 knockdown decreased the infiltration and M2 polarization of tumor-associated macrophages. Pharmacological inhibition of SLC1A5 by V9302 was confirmed to promote the efficacy of anti-PD-1 therapy. Overall, we developed a novel prognostic model for glioma based on the seven-FRGs signature, which could apply to glioma prognostic and immune status prediction. Besides, SLC1A5 in the model could regulate the proliferation, invasion, ferroptosis and immune state in glioma, and be applied as a prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for glioma.

Black phosphorous-based biomaterials for bone defect regeneration: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Critical-sized bone defects are always difficult to treat, and they are associated with a significant burden of disease in clinical practice. In recent decades, due to the fast development of biomaterials and tissue engineering, many bioinspired materials have been developed to treat large bone defects. Due to the excellent osteoblastic ability of black phosphorous (BP), many BP-based biomaterials have been developed to treat bone defects. Therefore, there are abundant studies as well as a tremendous amount of research data. It is urgent to conduct evidence-based research to translate these research data and results into validated scientific evidence. Therefore, in our present study, a qualitative systematic review and a quantitative meta-analysis were performed. Eighteen studies were included in a systematic review, while twelve studies were included in the meta-analysis. Our results showed that the overall quality of experimental methods and reports of biomaterials studies was still low, which needs to be improved in future studies. Besides, we also proved the excellent osteoblastic ability of BP-based biomaterials. But we did not find a significant effect of near-infrared (NIR) laser in BP-based biomaterials for treating bone defects. However, the quality of the evidence presented by included studies was very low. Therefore, to accelerate the clinical translation of BP-based biomaterials, it is urgent to improve the quality of the study method and reporting in future animal studies. More evidence-based studies should be conducted to enhance the quality and clinical translation of BP-based biomaterials.

Complement C3 Regulates Inflammatory Response and Monocyte/Macrophage Phagocytosis of Streptococcus agalactiae in a Teleost Fish.

The complement system is composed of a complex protein network and is pivotal to innate immunity. Complement 3 (C3) is a critical protein in the complement cascade and participates in complement activation and immune defense. In this study, C3 from Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) was cloned and its function in resisting pathogen infection was characterized. The full length of OnC3 open reading frame is 4974 bp, encoding 1657 aa, and the predicted protein mass weight is 185.93 kDa. The OnC3 amino acid sequence contains macroglobulin domains. The expression pattern of OnC3 mRNA in the tissues of healthy fish was detected, with the highest in the liver and the lowest in the muscle. After challenged with Streptococcus agalactiae and Aeromonas hydrophila, the expression of OnC3 mRNA was significantly up-regulated in the liver, spleen, and head kidney. Further, the recombinant OnC3 protein alleviated the inflammatory response and pathological damage of tissues after infected with S. agalactiae. Moreover, the OnC3 promoted the phagocytosis of monocytes/macrophages to S. agalactiae. The data obtained in this study provide a theoretical reference for in-depth understanding of C3 in host defense against bacterial infection and the immunomodulatory roles in teleost fish.

Isotropically Ultrahigh Thermal Conductive Polymer Composites by Assembling Anisotropic Boron Nitride Nanosheets into a Biaxially Oriented Network.

The demand for thermally conductive but electrically insulating materials has increased greatly in advanced electronic packaging. To this end, polymer-based composites filled with boron nitride (BN) nanosheets have been intensively studied as thermal interface material (TIM). However, it remains a great challenge to achieve isotropically ultrahigh thermal conductivity in BN/polymer composites due to the inherent thermal property anisotropy of BN nanosheets and/or the insufficient construction of the 3D thermal conductive network. Herein, we present a high-performance BN/polymer composite with a biaxially oriented thermal conductive network by a dendritic ice template. The composite exhibits both ultrahigh in-plane (∼39.0 W m-1 K-1) and through-plane thermal conductivity (∼11.5 W m-1 K-1) at 80 vol % BN loading, largely exceeding those of reported BN/polymer composites. In addition, our composite as a TIM shows higher cooling efficiency than that of commercial TIM with up to 15 °C reduction of the chip temperature and retains good thermal stability even after 1000 heating/cooling cycles. Our strategy represents an effective approach for developing advanced thermal interface materials, which are greatly demanded for advanced electronics and emerging areas like wearable electronics.

Computation and molecular pharmacology to trace the anti-rheumatoid activity of Angelicae Pubescentis Radix.

BACKGROUND: The mechanism of action of Angelicae Pubescentis Radix in rheumatoid arthritis treatment is complex; the pathways and protein targets involved remain unclear. This study predicted the targets and signaling pathways of Angelicae Pubescentis Radix for rheumatoid arthritis treatment using network pharmacology and molecular docking technology and clarified its mechanism of action using in vitro cellular experiments. METHODS: Angelicae Pubescentis Radix active components and related targets were retrieved from the traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database. All human proteins were mined from the global protein database, and the network of active components and targets of Angelicae Pubescentis Radix was drawn using Cytoscape 3.7.1. GeneCard, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, and DrugBank databases were used to mine rheumatoid arthritis-related genes. Metascape was used for Gene Ontology function analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment pathways. ß-sitosterol's molecular docking was determined using AutoDock Tools; pathway verification was performed in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database, and the verified genes were input into the Human Protein Atlas database to observe the expression levels in various human body tissues. RESULTS: Eight main active components were screened out of Angelicae Pubescentis Radix from the traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database, and 60 targets related to major active ingredients were obtained. Forty-two core pathogenic rheumatoid arthritis-related genes were screened from GeneCard and other related databases. The enrichment of the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway included the vascular endothelial growth factor signaling pathway that proved to be the decisive pathway for rheumatoid arthritis treatment by a high degree value. In vitro experiments confirmed that Angelicae Pubescentis Radix mainly regulated cell proliferation and survival through the vascular endothelial growth factor signaling pathway and showed significant therapeutic effects on rheumatoid arthritis. The prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase 2 gene was associated with rheumatoid arthritis via pathway verification and monitoring of human gene expression levels. CONCLUSIONS: The mechanism of the multi-component, multi-target, and multi-channel treatment of rheumatoid arthritis via Angelicae Pubescentis Radix was explored using network pharmacology and molecular docking technology, providing new thinking and research directions for future rheumatoid arthritis treatment using Angelicae Pubescentis Radix.

Transcriptome sequencing analysis of the role of miR-499-5p and SOX6 in chicken skeletal myofiber specification.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) might play critical roles in skeletal myofiber specification. In a previous study, we found that chicken miR-499-5p is specifically expressed in slow-twitch muscle and that its potential target gene is SOX6. In this study, we performed RNA sequencing to investigate the effects of SOX6 and miR-499-5p on the modulation and regulation of chicken muscle fiber type and its regulatory mechanism. The expression levels of miR-499-5p and SOX6 demonstrated opposing trends in different skeletal muscles and were associated with muscle fiber type composition. Differential expression analysis revealed that miR-499-5p overexpression led to significant changes in the expression of 297 genes in chicken primary myoblasts (CPMs). Myofiber type-related genes, including MYH7B and CSRP3, showed expression patterns similar to those in slow-twitch muscle. According to functional enrichment analysis, differentially expressed genes were mostly associated with muscle development and muscle fiber-related processes. SOX6 was identified as the target gene of miR-499-5p in CPM using target gene mining and luciferase reporter assays. SOX6 knockdown resulted in upregulation of the slow myosin genes and downregulation of fast myosin genes. Furthermore, protein-protein interaction network analysis revealed that MYH7B and RUNX2 may be the direct targets of SOX6. These results indicated that chicken miR-499-5p may promote slow-twitch muscle fiber formation by repressing SOX6 expression. Our study provides a dataset that can be used as a reference for animal meat quality and human muscle disease studies.

Instantaneous death risk, conditional survival and optimal surgery timing in cervical fracture patients with ankylosing spondylitis: A national multicentre retrospective study.

Background: The mortality rate in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and cervical fracture is relatively high. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the instantaneous death risk and conditional survival (CS) in patients with AS and cervical fracture. We also studied the relationship between surgical timing and the incidence of complications. Methods: This national multicentre retrospective study included 459 patients with AS and cervical fractures between 2003 and 2019. The hazard function was used to determine the risk of instantaneous death. The five-year CS was calculated to show the dynamic changes in prognosis. Results: The instantaneous death risk was relatively high in the first 6 months and gradually decreased over time in patients with AS and cervical fracture. For patients who did not undergo surgery, the instantaneous risk of death was relatively high in the first 15 months and gradually decreased over time. For patients with American Spinal Injury Association impairment scale (ASIA) A and B, the 5-year CS was 55.3% at baseline, and improved steadily to 88.4% at 2 years. Odds ratios (ORs) for pneumonia, electrolyte disturbance, respiratory insufficiency, and phlebothrombosis decreased as the surgery timing increased. Conclusion: Deaths occurred mainly in the first 6 months after injury and gradually decreased over time. Our study highlights the need for continued surveillance and care in patients with AS with cervical fractures and provides useful survival estimates for both surgeons and patients. We also observed that early surgery can significantly increase functional recovery, and decrease the incidence of complications and rehospitalisation.

Metagenomic insights into the modulatory effects of kelp powder (Thallus laminariae)-Treated dairy milk on growth performances and physiological lipometabolic processes of kunming mice.

Kelp powder, supplemented with a dairy cow diet, effectively improved the milk polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) content. However, little information exists on the downstream effects of the kelp-treated milk on body health, gut microbiota, and nutrient metabolism. For this purpose, 48 3-week old Kunming (KM) male mice with an average body weight of 16.1 g ± 0.2 g were randomly divided into the control treatment (CON, fed with standard chow), the common milk supplement treatment (Milk), and the kelp powder-treated milk supplement treatment (KPM). The experiment lasted for 35 days, with a 7-day long adaptive period and a 28-day long main trial. Phenotypic parameters including growth performances and serum lipids-related parameters were first measured, and results indicated that Milk and KPM supplement significantly promoted the total body weight gain (P < 0.05), while significantly decreasing the feed conversion ratio compared with CON (P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed in the blood lipids content among all three treatments, however, the triglyceride content showed a decreasing trend after KPM supplement treatment. Further, activities of liver lipometabolic-related enzymes were investigated to determine the underlying factors that impacted physiological lipid metabolism. KPM treatment showed a significant reductive effect on the activity of lipogenesis-related enzymes, such as FAS and ACC, while a significant stimulative effect on the activity of lipolysis-related enzymes included the ATGL and CPT1 compared with CON (P < 0.05). Finally, gastrointestinal tract development and cecal microbiota community that correlated with body lipid degradation and absorption were measured to determine the underlying mechanism of KPM supplementation on physiological lipid metabolism. Results indicated that supplementation with KPM significantly enhanced cecal bacteria diversity which was reflected in the significant increase of Chao1 and ACE indexes. Besides, starch-degraded bacteria such as Faecalibacterium, Ruminococcaceae, and Streptococcus are significant decreased (P < 0.05), while cellulose-degraded bacteria including Parabacteroides, Prevotella, Lactobacillus, Clostridium, and Bifidobacterium are significantly increased (P < 0.05) after KPM supplement, which may further restrict the energy generation and therefore reduce the lipid deposition. In summary, kelp supplement helped increase the milk PUFAs content, enhance the bacterial diversity and relative abundances of probiotics, which finally modulated physiological lipid metabolism, and promote growth performances.