Study on the detection rate, genetic polymorphism, viral load, persistent infection capacity, and pathogenicity of human papillomavirus type 81.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) type 81 has recently become one of the most common low-risk HPV types; however, literature focusing on it is limited. This study aimed to analyze the reasons for the increased detection rate of HPV81 and investigate its evolving pathogenicity. We analyzed the detection rates and trends of HPV81 in 229 061 exfoliated cervical cell samples collected from 2014 to 2023; collected samples of HPV81 single infections from two different time periods; and analyzed the allele frequencies, positive selection, viral load, persistent infection capacity, and pathogenicity of E6 and E7 genotypes. We found that the detection rate of HPV81 ranked first among the low-risk types in exfoliated cervical cells and exhibited a significantly increasing trend (p < 0.001). The frequency of the E6 prototype allele of HPV81 (n = 317) was significantly increased (p = 0.018) and demonstrated the strongest adaptive capacity. The viral load and persistent infection capacity of the E6 prototype were significantly higher than those of the mutants, thus serving as key drivers for increasing the detection rate of HPV81 and enhancing its pathogenicity. The viral load was positively correlated with persistent infection capacity and pathogenicity. Persistent infection was a crucial factor in the pathogenicity of HPV81. Successful adaptive evolution of HPV81 is accompanied by enhanced pathogenicity.

IL-6 Generated from Human Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells through TLR4 Signaling Promotes Emergency Granulopoiesis by Regulating Transcription Factor Expression.

Emergency granulopoiesis, also known as demand-adapted granulopoiesis, is defined as the response of an organism to systemic bacterial infections, and it results in neutrophil mobilization from reservoir pools and increased myelopoiesis in the bone marrow. Indirect and direct initiating mechanisms of emergency granulopoiesis have been hypothesized. However, the detailed mechanism of hyperactive myelopoiesis in the bone marrow, which leads to granulocyte left shift, remains unknown. In this study, we report that TLR4 is expressed on granulo-monocytic progenitors, as well as mobilized human peripheral blood CD34+ cells, which account for 0.2% of monocytes in peripheral blood, and ∼ 10% in bone marrow. LPS, a component of Gram-negative bacteria that results in a systemic bacterial infection, induces the differentiation of peripheral blood CD34+ cells into myelocytes and monocytes in vitro via the TLR4 signaling pathway. Moreover, CD34+ cells directly responded to LPS stimulation by activating the MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways, and they produced IL-6 that promotes emergency granulopoiesis by phosphorylating C/EBPα and C/EBPß, and this effect was suppressed by the action of an IL-6 receptor inhibitor. This work supports the finding that TLR is expressed on human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, and it provides evidence that human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells can directly sense pathogens and produce cytokines exerting autocrine and/or paracrine effects, thereby promoting differentiation.

Exploring genetic association of insomnia with allergic disease and asthma: a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND: Insomnia is highly prevalent among patients with allergic disease and asthma; however, few studies have investigated their causal relationship. We aim to explore the causal association between insomnia and allergic disease/asthma by performing bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) study. METHODS: Instrumental variables were constructed using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Summary statistics for insomnia, allergic disease, and asthma were obtained from four large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of European ancestry. The pleiotropy analysis was applied by using the MR-Egger intercept test and the MR pleiotropy residual sum and outlier (MR-PRESSO) test. MR analyses were conducted by using inverse variance weighted (IVW), weighted median, and MR-Egger method. RESULTS: Based on the multiplicative random effects IVW method, the MR analysis showed that genetically predicted insomnia was causally associated with an increased risk of allergic disease [odds ratio (OR) = 1.054, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.031-1.078, P = 3.817 × 10-06], asthma (OR = 1.043, 95% CI = 1.010-1.077, P = 9.811 × 10-03), moderate-severe asthma (OR = 1.168, 95% CI = 1.069-1.277, P = 6.234 × 10-04), and adult-onset asthma (OR = 1.086, 95% CI = 1.037-1.138, P = 4.922 × 10-04). In bidirectional analyses, we did not find evidence supporting the reverse causality relations. CONCLUSIONS: Our MR study suggested that genetically predicted insomnia was the risk factor for allergic disease and asthma. Improving sleep quality could be one of the cornerstones in the prevention of allergic disease and asthma.

Molecular Classification and Overcoming Therapy Resistance for Acute Myeloid Leukemia with Adverse Genetic Factors.

The European LeukemiaNet (ELN) criteria define the adverse genetic factors of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). AML with adverse genetic factors uniformly shows resistance to standard chemotherapy and is associated with poor prognosis. Here, we focus on the biological background and real-world etiology of these adverse genetic factors and then describe a strategy to overcome the clinical disadvantages in terms of targeting pivotal molecular mechanisms. Different adverse genetic factors often rely on common pathways. KMT2A rearrangement, DEK-NUP214 fusion, and NPM1 mutation are associated with the upregulation of HOX genes. The dominant tyrosine kinase activity of the mutant FLT3 or BCR-ABL1 fusion proteins is transduced by the AKT-mTOR, MAPK-ERK, and STAT5 pathways. Concurrent mutations of ASXL1 and RUNX1 are associated with activated AKT. Both TP53 mutation and mis-expressed MECOM are related to impaired apoptosis. Clinical data suggest that adverse genetic factors can be found in at least one in eight AML patients and appear to accumulate in relapsed/refractory cases. TP53 mutation is associated with particularly poor prognosis. Molecular-targeted therapies focusing on specific genomic abnormalities, such as FLT3, KMT2A, and TP53, have been developed and have demonstrated promising results.

Stepwise selection of natural variations at CTB2 and CTB4a improves cold adaptation during domestication of japonica rice.

The improvement of cold adaptation has contributed to the increased growing area of rice. Standing variation and de novo mutation are distinct natural sources of beneficial alleles in plant adaptation. However, the genetic mechanisms and evolutionary patterns underlying these sources in a single population during crop domestication remain elusive. Here we cloned the CTB2 gene, encoding a UDP-glucose sterol glucosyltransferase, for cold tolerance in rice at the booting stage. A single standing variation (I408V) in the conserved UDPGT domain of CTB2 originated from Chinese Oryza rufipogon and contributed to the cold adaptation of Oryza sativa ssp. japonica. CTB2 is located in a 56.8 kb region, including the previously reported gene CTB4a in which de novo mutation arose c. 3200 yr BP in Yunnan province, China, conferring cold tolerance. Standing variation of CTB2 and de novo mutation of CTB4a underwent stepwise selection to facilitate cold adaptation to expand rice cultivation from high-altitude to high-latitude regions. These results provide an example of stepwise selection on two kinds of variation and describe a new molecular mechanism of cold adaptation in japonica rice.

OsMYB3 is a R2R3-MYB gene responsible for anthocyanin biosynthesis in black rice.

Black rice is a rare type of rice germplasm with various health benefits that are largely attributed to anthocyanin pigment accumulation in the pericarps. The anthocyanin biosynthesis in plant tissues is activated mainly by the MBW complexes, consisting of three types of transcription factors R2R3-MYB, bHLH, and WDR. In black rice, the bHLH and WDR components regulating anthocyanin biosynthesis in pericarps have been characterized, while the R2R3-MYB factor remains unknown. By examining the expression correlation between all putative rice MYB genes and anthocyanin biosynthesis-related genes based on transcriptome data of pericarps in combination with further molecular and genetic analysis, we proved that OsMYB3 (LOC_Os03g29614) was the determinant R2R3-MYB gene for anthocyanin biosynthesis in rice pericarps. The expression level of OsMYB3 in pericarps of black rice was significantly higher than that of white rice. The knockout of OsMYB3 in a black rice variety caused significant downregulation of 19 anthocyanin metabolites and many other flavonoids in grains. Our research deepens the understanding of regulatory system for anthocyanin biosynthesis in rice pericarps and provides implications for breeding black rice varieties with high anthocyanin level. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11032-021-01244-x.

Scutellarin is Highly Likely to be Responsible for Drug-Drug Interactions Mediated by Hepatic Organic Anion-Transporting Polypeptide1B3.

PURPOSE: Scutellarin, a flavonoid derived from the plant Erigeron breviscapus, is currently widely used to treat cerebrovascular diseases, liver-related diseases, and hyperlipidemia in china and other East Asian countries. This study was to investigate the effect of scutellarin on the uptake of rosuvastatin in HEK293T cells expressing human organic anion transporting polypeptide 1B3 (hOATP1B3) and rat OATP1B2 (rOATP1B2), respectively, and the effect of scutellarin on the pharmacokinetics of rosuvastatin in rats. METHODS: The newly established HEK293T cells expressing hOATP1B3 and rOATP1B2 were used to examine the effects of scutellarin and positive controls on in vitro rosuvastatin transport. After co-feeding with scutellarin, the rosuvastatin area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC0-24h), the peak plasma drug concentration (Cmax), elimination half-life (t1/2), time to reach Cmax (tmax), clearance (CL) and apparent clearance (CL/F) of rosuvastatin were determined in rats. RESULTS: Scutellarin inhibited hOATP1B3- and rOATP1B2-mediated rosuvastatin uptake (IC50: 45.54 ± 6.67 µM and 27.58 ± 3.97 µM) in vitro in a concentration-dependent manner. After co-feeding with scutellarin, the AUC0-24h and Cmax of rosuvastatin in rats increased to 27.4% and 37.7%, respectively. The t1/2 and tmax of rosuvastatin showed no significant change. Moreover, scutellarin caused 29.2% and 28.1% decrease in the CL and CL/F of rosuvastatin. CONCLUSION: Scutellarin may inhibit the hOATP1B3- and rOATP1B2-mediated transport of rosuvastatin in vitro, and exerts a moderate inhibitory effect on the pharmacokinetics of rosuvastatin in rats. Scutellarin is highly likely to participate in drug-drug interactions, as mediated by OATP1B3 in humans.

Successful management of splenomegaly with ruxolitinib prior to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in acute myeloid leukemia transformed from post-polycythemia vera myelofibrosis.

A 64-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital to undergo allogeneic stem cell transplantation. She was diagnosed with polycythemia vera with a JAK2 V617F mutation 7 years ago. She was administered ruxolitinib for splenomegaly two years prior to admission but this was discontinued because of progressive pancytopenia. One months after cessation of ruxolitinib, she developed acute myeloid leukemia transformed from post-polycythemia vera myelofibrosis. Although she achieved complete remission after induction therapy, 8-finger-breadth splenomegaly remained below the left costal margin. Ruxolitinib was re-administered following two courses of consolidation therapy. She underwent unrelated peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. Ruxolitinib was administered until the day before transplantation, and the spleen was palpated in 4-finger breadth below costal arc. Neutrophil engraftment was achieved 13 days after transplantation. In allogeneic stem cell transplantation, splenomegaly is one of the risk factors for engraftment failure and/or therapy-related mortality. Hence, a smaller spleen size can theoretically improve the outcome after transplantation. The administration of ruxolitinib prior to transplantation may have contributed to engraftment with a non-invasive reduction in the size of the spleen.

Cytosine-Phosphorothionate-Guanine Oligodeoxynucleotides Exacerbates Hemophagocytosis by Inducing Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha Production in Mice after Bone Marrow Transplantation.

Hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS) is frequently associated with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and is treated with some benefit derived from TNF-α inhibitors. However, the mechanisms of how HPS occurs and how a TNF-α inhibitor exerts some benefit to HPS management have remained unclear. We evaluated the effect of toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands, especially focusing on cytosine-phosphorothionate-guanine oligodeoxynucleotide (CpG), a TLR9 ligand, on HPS in mice that underwent transplantation with syngeneic or allogeneic bone marrow (BM) cells (Syn-BMT, Allo-BMT), or with allogeneic BM cells plus splenocytes to promote graft-versus-host disease (GVHD mice). Hemophagocytosis was a common feature early after all BMT, but it subsided in Syn-BMT and Allo-BMT mice. In GVHD mice, however, hemophagocytosis persisted and was accompanied by upregulated production of IFN-γ but not TNF-α, and it was suppressed by blockade of IFN-γ but not TNF-α. A single injection of the TLR9 ligand CpG promoted HPS in all BMT mice and was lethal in GVHD mice, accompanied by greatly upregulated production of TNF-α, IL-6, and IFN-γ. Blocking of TNF-α, but not IL-6 or IFN-γ, suppressed CpG-induced HPS in all BMT mice and rescued GVHD mice from CpG-induced mortality. Thus, TLR9 signaling mediates TNF-α-driven HPS in BMT mice and is effectively treated through TNF-α inhibition.

[Signal intensity-time curve and quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in differentiating neoplasms of uterus].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate signal intensity-time (SI-Time) curve and quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced 3.0T magnetic resonance imaging in diagnosis and differentiating neoplasm of uterus.
 METHODS: A total of 42 cases of uterine neoplasm (20 were malignant and 22 were benign) were evaluated in our study. All cases received dynamic contrast-enhanced scanning on 3.0T MRI. The raw data was processed by Siemens Tissue 4D software and the SI-Time curve was obtained and analyzed. Pharmacokinetic modeling of Tofts with a modeled vascular input function was used for calculating volume parameters: volume transfer constant (Ktrans), reverse volume transfer constant (Kep), the extravascular extracellular space volume per unit volume of tissue (Ve). The correlation of these parameters at each groups were investigated. The SI-Time curve and the data of perfusion parameters between the 2 groups were compared by T test.
 RESULTS: Among 20 malignant tumors, 12 were cervical carcinoma and 8 were endometrial cancer. Among the benign tumors, 13 were leiomyomas, 3 were endometrial polyp, 3 were endometrial hyperplasia, and 3 were adenomyosis. 59.1% cases of benign tumors belong to Type I curve and 65% cases of malignant tumors belong to Type II curve. There was significant difference in SI-Time curve between benign and malignant tumors (P=0.011). If Type I curve was used as diagnostic criteria for benign tumors, and Type II and III curve were for malignant tumors, the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value were 90.0%, 59.1%, 66.7%, and 86.7%, respectively. Ve was 0.477 ± 0.143 in malignant and 0.614 ± 0.146 in control group with significant difference (P=0.004). Ve was 0.477 ± 0.143 in malignant and 0.589 0.176 in benign group with significant difference (P=0.004). Ktrans was (0.178 ± 0.067) min⁻¹ in malignant and (0.263 ± 0.111) min⁻¹ in control group with significant difference (P=0.003). Ktrans was (0.182 ± 0.096) min⁻¹ in benign and (0.263 ± 0.111) min⁻¹ in control group with significant difference (P=0.011). 
 CONCLUSION: The type of SI-Time curve and perfusion parameters were important for differentiating benign and malignant uterine tumors in dynamic enhanced MRI. These parameters provide a supplement for conventional morphological MR diagnosis.

Enucleation of human erythroblasts involves non-muscle myosin IIB.

Mammalian erythroblasts undergo enucleation, a process thought to be similar to cytokinesis. Although an assemblage of actin, non-muscle myosin II, and several other proteins is crucial for proper cytokinesis, the role of non-muscle myosin II in enucleation remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the effect of various cell-division inhibitors on cytokinesis and enucleation. For this purpose, we used human colony-forming unit-erythroid (CFU-E) and mature erythroblasts generated from purified CD34(+) cells as target cells for cytokinesis and enucleation assay, respectively. Here we show that the inhibition of myosin by blebbistatin, an inhibitor of non-muscle myosin II ATPase, blocks both cell division and enucleation, which suggests that non-muscle myosin II plays an essential role not only in cytokinesis but also in enucleation. When the function of non-muscle myosin heavy chain (NMHC) IIA or IIB was inhibited by an exogenous expression of myosin rod fragment, myosin IIA or IIB, each rod fragment blocked the proliferation of CFU-E but only the rod fragment for IIB inhibited the enucleation of mature erythroblasts. These data indicate that NMHC IIB among the isoforms is involved in the enucleation of human erythroblasts.

Effects of dietary energy level on antioxidant capability, immune function and rectal microbiota in late gestation donkeys.

Introduction: This study investigated the effects of dietary energy level on the antioxidant capability, immune function, and rectal microbiota in donkey jennets during the last 60 days of gestation. Methods: Fifteen pregnant DeZhou donkeys with age of 6.0 ± 0.1 years, body weight of 292 ± 33 kg, parity of 2.7 ± 0.1 parities and similar expected date of confinement (74 ± 4 days) were randomly allocated to three groups and feed three diets: high energy (10.92 MJ/kg, H), medium energy (10.49 MJ/kg, M), and low energy (9.94 MJ/kg, L). Results and Discussion: The serum activity of catalase (CAT), total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in group M was significantly higher, whereas the concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA), interleukin 1 (IL-1), IL-2, and IL-6 were lower than those recorded for groups H and L (p ≤ 0.05). The dietary energy level significantly affected rectal microbial community structure in the jennet donkeys 35 days and 7 days before the parturition (p ≤ 0.05). The abundances of norank_f_norank_o_Coriobacteriales genus was significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) in group H, and the abundances of norank_f_norank_o_Mollicutes_RF39 and the Candidatus_Saccharimonas were higher in group L (p ≤ 0.05). The abundance of Fibrobacter in group M was significantly increased (p ≤ 0.05). The abundance of norank_f_norank_o_Coriobacteriales was positively correlated with average daily gain (ADG) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) concentrations (p ≤ 0.05). The abundance of norank_f_norank_o_Mollicutes_RF39 was positively correlated with IL-2 and IL-6 concentrations. The abundance of Candidatus_Saccharimonas was positively correlated with CAT, T-SOD and GSH-Px activities (p ≤ 0.05). The abundance of Fibrobacter was positively correlated with CAT and T-SOD activities (p ≤ 0.05), but negatively correlated with IL-2 concentration (p ≤ 0.05). In conclusion, an appropriate dietary with an energy content of 10.49 MJ/kg for jennet donkeys during late gestation increased the prenatal antioxidant capacity, reduced inflammatory cytokines, and promoted fetal growth, and these changes were related to diet-induced changes in rectal microbiota compositions.

Effects of Dietary Selenium Yeast Supplementation on Lactation Performance, Antioxidant Status, and Immune Responses in Lactating Donkeys.

Donkey milk is a traditional medicinal food with various biological activities. However, its production is very low, and lactating donkeys often experience oxidative stress, leading to a further decline in milk yield. In this study, we supplemented the diets of lactating donkeys with yeast selenium (SY) to investigate its effects on lactation performance, antioxidant status, and immune responses, and we expected to determine the optimum additive level of SY in the diet. For this study, 28 healthy lactating Dezhou donkeys with days in milk (DIM, 39.93 ± 7.02 d), estimated milk yield (EMY, 3.60 ± 0.84 kg/d), and parity (2.82 ± 0.48) were selected and randomly divided into 4 groups of 7 donkeys in each: Group SY-0 (control), Group SY-0.15, Group SY-0.3, and Group SY-0.5, with selenium supplementation of 0, 0.15, 0.3, and 0.5 mg of Se/kg DM (in form of SY) to the basal diet, respectively. The results showed a dose-dependent increase in milk yield, milk component yield, milk protein production efficiency, milk production efficiency, the activities of glutathione peroxidases (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), as well as the content of serum interleukin-10 (IL-10), white blood cells (WBC), lymphocytes (LYM), red blood cells (RBC), hematocrit, plasma selenium, and milk selenium. Conversely, it presented a dose-dependent decrease in the activity of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), reactive oxygen species (ROS), nitric oxide (NO), interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interferon-γ (IFN-γ). In conclusion, the results confirmed that dietary supplementation with SY can improve lactation performance, antioxidant status, and immune responses in lactating donkeys, and the recommended dose of SY was 0.3 mg/kg.

An interfacial C-S bond bridged S-scheme ZnS/C3N5 for photocatalytic H2 evolution: Opposite internal-electric-field of ZnS/C3N4, increased field strength, and accelerated surface reaction.

An interfacial C-S bond bridged ZnS/C3N5 heterojunction was constructed for photocatalytic H2 evolution. Different from traditional type-II ZnS/C3N4 heterojunction, the electron transfer followed S-scheme pathway, due to opposite internal-electric-field (IEF) directions in these two heterojunctions. The C-S bond formation was carefully investigated, and they were susceptive to the preparation temperatures. In photocatalytic reaction, C-S bond was functioned as the "high-speed channel" for electron separation and transfer, and the IEF strength in ZnS/C3N5 was 1.86 × 108 V/m, 2.6 times higher than that in ZnS/C3N4. Moreover, the C-S bond also altered the surface molecular structure of ZnS/C3N5, and hence the surface reaction was accelerated via improving H2O adsorption and activation behaviors. Benefiting from the S-scheme pathway, enhanced IEF strength, and accelerated surface reaction, the photocatalytic H2 production over ZnS/C3N5 reached up to 20.18 mmol/g/h, 3.2 and 2.5 times higher than those of ZnS/C3N4 and ZnS/C3N5-300 without C-S bond.

Deep learning for colorectal cancer detection in contrast-enhanced CT without bowel preparation: a retrospective, multicentre study.

BACKGROUND: Contrast-enhanced CT scans provide a means to detect unsuspected colorectal cancer. However, colorectal cancers in contrast-enhanced CT without bowel preparation may elude detection by radiologists. We aimed to develop a deep learning (DL) model for accurate detection of colorectal cancer, and evaluate whether it could improve the detection performance of radiologists. METHODS: We developed a DL model using a manually annotated dataset (1196 cancer vs 1034 normal). The DL model was tested using an internal test set (98 vs 115), two external test sets (202 vs 265 in 1, and 252 vs 481 in 2), and a real-world test set (53 vs 1524). We compared the detection performance of the DL model with radiologists, and evaluated its capacity to enhance radiologists' detection performance. FINDINGS: In the four test sets, the DL model had the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) ranging between 0.957 and 0.994. In both the internal test set and external test set 1, the DL model yielded higher accuracy than that of radiologists (97.2% vs 86.0%, p < 0.0001; 94.9% vs 85.3%, p < 0.0001), and significantly improved the accuracy of radiologists (93.4% vs 86.0%, p < 0.0001; 93.6% vs 85.3%, p < 0.0001). In the real-world test set, the DL model delivered sensitivity comparable to that of radiologists who had been informed about clinical indications for most cancer cases (94.3% vs 96.2%, p > 0.99), and it detected 2 cases that had been missed by radiologists. INTERPRETATION: The developed DL model can accurately detect colorectal cancer and improve radiologists' detection performance, showing its potential as an effective computer-aided detection tool. FUNDING: This study was supported by National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China (No. 81925023); Regional Innovation and Development Joint Fund of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U22A20345); National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82072090 and No. 82371954); Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence in Medical Image Analysis and Application (No. 2022B1212010011); High-level Hospital Construction Project (No. DFJHBF202105).

Plant Extracts to Alleviating Heat Stress in Dairy Cows.

Heat stress (HS) in cows is a critical issue in the dairy industry. Dairy cows accumulate heat from body metabolism, along with that imposed by air temperature, humidity, air flow and solar radiation. HS in animals can occur during hot and humid summers when the ambient temperature is extremely high. Dairy cows have relatively high feed intakes and metabolic heat production and are thus susceptible to HS, leading to reductions in feed intake, lower milk yield, affected milk quality, reduced animal health and even shortening the productive lifespan of cows. Therefore, alleviating HS is a top priority for the dairy industry. Suitable plant extracts have advantages in safety, efficiency and few toxic side effects or residues for applications to alleviate HS in dairy cows. This paper reviews the effects of some plant extract products on alleviating HS in dairy cows and briefly discusses their possible mechanisms of action.

Dietary Polysaccharide-Rich Extract from Noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) Fruit Modified Ruminal Fermentation, Ruminal Bacterial Community and Nutrient Digestion in Cashmere Goats.

In two consecutive studies, we evaluated the effects of polysaccharide-rich noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) fruit extract (NFP) on ruminal fermentation, ruminal microbes and nutrient digestion in cashmere goats. In Exp. 1, the effects of a diet containing NFP of 0, 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.55% on in vitro ruminal fermentation at 3, 6, 9, 12 and 24 h were determined, whereas in Exp. 2, fourteen cashmere goats (46.65 ± 3.36 kg of BW ± SD) were randomly assigned to two treatments: the basal diet with or without (CON) supplementation of NFP at 4 g per kg DM (0.4%). The in vitro results showed that NFP linearly increased concentrations of volatile fatty acids (VFA), quadratically decreased ammonia-N concentration, and changed pH, protozoa number, gas production and the microbial protein (MCP) concentration, and was more effective at 0.4% addition, which yielded similar results in ruminal fermentation in Exp. 2. In addition, NFP increased the apparent digestibility of dry matter and crude protein and the abundance of Firmicutes, and reduced the abundance of Bacteroides and Actinobacteria. Ruminococcus_1 was positively associated with VFA concentration. The Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group was positively correlated with protozoa and negatively correlated with MCP concentration. Thus, NFP has potential as a ruminal fermentation enhancer for cashmere goats.