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Microplastic records from lake cores can reconstruct the plastic pollution history. However, the associations between anthropogenic activities and microplastic accumulation are not well understood. Huguangyan Maar Lake (HML) is a deep-enclosed lake without inlets and outlets, where the sedimentary environment is ideal for preserving a stable and historical microplastic record. Microplastic (size: 10-500 μm) characteristics in the HML core were identified using the Laser Direct Infrared Imaging system. The earliest detectable microplastics appeared unit in 1955 (1.1 items g -1 ). The microplastic abundance ranged from n.d. to 615.2 items g -1 in 1955-2019 with an average of 134.9 items g -1 . The abundance declined slightly during the 1970s and then increased rapidly after China's Reform and Opening Up in 1978. Sixteen polymer types were detectable, with polyethylene and polypropylene dominating, accounting for 23.5 and 23.3% of the total abundance, and the size at 10-100 μm accounted for 80%. Socioeconomic factors dominated the microplastic accumulation based on the random forest modeling, and the contributions of GDP per capita, plastic-related industry yield, and total crop yield were, respectively, 13.9, 35.1, and 9.3% between 1955-2019. The total crop yield contribution further increased by 1.7% after 1978. Coarse sediment particles increased with soil erosion exacerbated microplastics discharging into the sediment.

The gut microbiota contributes to skeletal muscle energy metabolism and is an indirect factor affecting meat quality. However, the role of specific gut microbes in energy metabolism and fiber size of skeletal muscle in chickens remains largely unknown. In this study, we first performed cecal microbiota transplantation from Chinese indigenous Jingyuan chickens (JY) to Arbor Acres chickens (AA), to determine the effects of microbiota on skeletal muscle fiber and energy metabolism. Then, we used metagenomics, gas chromatography, and metabolomics analysis to identify functional microbes. Finally, we validated the role of these functional microbes in regulating the fiber size via glucose metabolism in the skeletal muscle of chickens through feeding experiments. The results showed that the skeletal muscle characteristics of AA after microbiota transplantation tended to be consistent with that of JY, as the fiber diameter was significantly increased, and glucose metabolism level was significantly enhanced in the pectoralis muscle. L. plantarum , L. ingluviei , L. salivarius, and their mixture could increase the production of the microbial metabolites protoporphyrin IX and short-chain fatty acids, therefore increasing the expression levels of genes related to the oxidative fiber type ( MyHC SM and MyHC FRM ), mitochondrial function ( Tfam and CoxVa ), and glucose metabolism ( PFK , PK , PDH , IDH , and SDH ), thereby increasing the fiber diameter and density. These three Lactobacillus species could be promising probiotics to improve the meat quality of chicken.IMPORTANCEThis study revealed that the L. plantarum, L. ingluviei , and L. salivarius could enhance the production of protoporphyrin IX and short-chain fatty acids in the cecum of chickens, improving glucose metabolism, and finally cause the increase in fiber diameter and density of skeletal muscle. These three microbes could be potential probiotic candidates to regulate glucose metabolism in skeletal muscle to improve the meat quality of chicken in broiler production., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Sedimentary records of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and phthalates could reflect energy consumption and industrial production adjustment. However, there is limited knowledge about their effects on variations of PAH and phthalate compositions in the sediment core. The PAH and phthalate sedimentary records in Huguangyan Maar Lake in Guangdong, China were constructed, and random forest models were adopted to quantify the associated impact factors. Sums of sixteen PAH (∑ 16 PAH) and seven phthalate (∑ 7 PAE) concentrations in the sediment ranged from 28.8 to 1110 and 246-4290 μg/kg dry weight in 1900-2020. Proportions of 5-6 ring PAHs to the ∑ 16 PAHs increased from 32.0 %-40.7 % in 1900-2020 with increased coal and petroleum consumption, especially after 1980. However, those of 2-3 ring PAHs decreased from 30.7 % to 23.6 % due to the biomass substitution with natural gas. The proportions of bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate to the ∑ 7 PAEs decreased from 52.3 %-29.1 % in 1900-2020, while those of di-isobutyl phthalate increased (13.7 % to 42.3 %). The shift from traditional plasticizers to non-phthalates drove this transformation, though the primary plastic production is increasing. Our findings underscore the effectiveness of optimizing energy structures and updating chemical products in reducing organic pollution in aquatic environments., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Kluyveromyces marxianus, a thermotolerant, fast-growing, Crabtree-negative yeast, is a promising chassis for the manufacture of various bioproducts. Although several genome editing tools are available for this yeast, these tools still require refinement to enable more convenient and efficient genetic modification. In this study, we engineered the K. marxianus NBRC 104275 strain by impairing the nonhomologous end joining and enhancing the homologous recombination machinery, which resulted in improved homology-directed repair effective on homology arms of up to 40 bp in length. Additionally, we simplified the CRISPR-Cas9 editing system by constructing a strain for integrative expression of Cas9 nuclease and plasmids bearing different selection markers for gRNA expression, thereby facilitating iterative genome editing without the need for plasmid curing. We demonstrated that tRNA was more effective than the hammerhead ribozyme for processing gRNA primary transcripts, and readily assembled tRNA-gRNA arrays were used for multiplexed editing of at least four targets. This editing tool was further employed for simultaneous scarless in vivo assembly of a 12-kb cassette from three fragments and marker-free integration for expressing a fusion variant of fatty acid synthase, as well as the integration of genes for starch hydrolysis. Together, the genome editing tool developed in this study makes K. marxianus more amenable to genetic modification and will facilitate more extensive engineering of this nonconventional yeast for chemical production., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs), a group of synthetic chemicals released from liquid crystal devices such as televisions and smartphones, have recently been recognized as emerging contaminants due to their widespread occurrence in the environment and potential negative impacts on human health. Airborne LCMs can undergo atmospheric oxidation reactions to form various transformation products. Despite the certainty of atmospheric transformation chemistry, the knowledge about the hazard properties of transformation products remains largely unknown. Here, we perform an in silico model-based evaluation of the persistence, bioaccumulation potential, mobility, and toxicity of two representative LCMs, namely, 1-ethyl-4-(4-(4-propylcyclohexyl)phenyl)benzene and 4''-ethyl-2'-fluoro-4-propyl-1,1':4',1''-terphenyl, and their transformation products. We found that, among the investigated transformation products, 38% have overall persistence greater than the minimum of 331 days among the persistent organic pollutants regulated by the Stockholm Convention, 62% meet the bioaccumulation threshold of 1000 L kg -1 used by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 44% are classified "mobile" according to the criterion used by the German Environmental Agency, and 58% have the potential to induce unacceptable toxic effects in aquatic organisms. Furthermore, we identified several transformation products with increased persistence, bioaccumulation potential, and mobility compared to their parent compounds. These findings not only offer insights for prioritizing LCM transformation products for future risk assessment, but also underscore the significance of considering atmospheric transformation in the evaluation of environmental risks posed by emerging contaminants, including LCMs.

Prediction of blood cell flow is known as the difficult research by reason of the complexity of blood vessel. In this study, considering the complex structure of blood vessels, a mechanical model for red blood cell (RBC) based on unstructured grid has been established to study the flow characteristics of RBCs in complex blood vessels. In the model, the strain-energy function by Skalak is employed to model the shear elasticity and surface-area conservation of the membrane, and the hinge spring is used to describe the forces originating from local bending of the membrane. The immersed boundary method is utilized to couple the interphase force. Using the model, the stretching test of RBC is compared with the experiment data, and the good agreement verified the validation of the present model. The morphology of red blood cell and the blood viscosity in micro-vessel are studied. RBCs move with a symmetric shape (parachute shape) in small blood vessels, and the buckling instability is observed when the RBC flow slowly through a micro-vessel or a converging-diverging capillary. When the vessel diameter is around 10 μm, the reverse Fahraeus-Lindqvist effect is presented. The blood apparent viscosity shows linear increase with the blood hematocrit. In addition, Malaria infection can make the RBC deformability decreased and the blood apparent viscosity increased., (© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Lake sediment is a natural sink for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAH sedimentation characteristics and their impact factors of Chinese lakes have mainly been qualitative assessed. However, quantitative impacts of PAH sedimentation from different factors have not been well analyzed. To fill this gap, we screened PAH sedimentation records from the literature, for 51 lakes in China and other regions of the world, to identify historical concentration variation and the impact factors of PAHs in different regions, in lake sediment. The results show that PAH concentrations in the sediment core in the selected Chinese lakes (478 ± 812 ng/g dry weight (dw)) were significantly lower than those in North America (5518 ± 6572 ng/g dw) and Europe (3817 ± 4033 ng/g dw). From 1900 to 2015, most of the lakes in China showed an increasing trend of PAH sedimentation concentrations, with the lakes in Southeastern China showed a decreasing trend of PAH concentration in the period of 2001-2015, which was later than the peak times shown in Western countries (1941-1970). The 2-3-ring PAHs were the main components in the sediment core of Chinese lakes, but the proportion to the total PAHs decreased from 72% in 1900-1940 to 55% in 2001-2015. Generalized additive modeling (GAM) was adopted to simulate the associations between PAH sedimentation records and the impact factors. There are large regional variations of economic and industrial development in China. The impact factors of PAH accumulation in the lake sediments differ in different regions. However, population and the consumption of coal, pesticides, and fertilizer were identified to be the most important impact factors influencing PAH sedimentation. The Chinese government needs to strengthen control measures on pollutant discharge to reduce the anthropogenic impact of PAH sedimentation in lakes., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aeriscardovia aeriphila , also known as Bifidobacterium aerophilum , was first isolated from the caecal contents of pigs and the faeces of cotton-top tamarin. Bifidobacterium species play important roles in preventing intestinal infections, decreasing cholesterol levels, and stimulating the immune system. In this study, we isolated a strain of bacteria from the duodenal contents of broiler chickens, which was identified as A. aeriphila , and then evaluated the effects of A. aeriphila on growth performance, antioxidant functions, immune functions, and gut microbiota in commercial broiler chickens. Chickens were orally gavaged with A. aeriphila (1×10 9 CFU/mL) for 21 d. The results showed that A. aeriphila treatment significantly increased the average daily gain and reduced the feed conversion ratio ( P <0.001). The levels of serum growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) were significantly increased following A. aeriphila treatment ( P <0.05). Blood urea nitrogen and aspartate aminotransferase levels were decreased, whereas glucose and creatinine levels increased as a result of A. aeriphila treatment. Furthermore, the levels of serum antioxidant enzymes, including catalase ( P <0.01), superoxide dismutase ( P <0.001), and glutathione peroxidase ( P <0.05), and total antioxidant capacity ( P <0.05) were enhanced following A. aeriphila treatment. A. aeriphila treatment significantly increased the levels of serum immunoglobulin A (IgA) ( P <0.05), IgG ( P <0.01), IgM ( P <0.05), interleukin-1 (IL-1) ( P <0.05), IL-4 ( P <0.05), and IL-10 ( P <0.05). The broiler chickens in the A. aeriphila group had higher secretory IgA (SIgA) levels in the duodenum ( P <0.01), jejunum ( P <0.001), and cecum ( P <0.001) than those in the control group. The messenger RNA (mRNA) relative expression levels of IL-10 ( P <0.05) and IL-4 ( P <0.001) in the intestinal mucosa of chickens were increased, while nuclear factor-‍κB ( NF ‍ - ‍ κB ) ( P <0.001) expression was decreased in the A. aeriphila group compared to the control group. Phylum-level analysis revealed Firmicutes as the main phylum, followed by Bacteroidetes, in both groups. The data also found that Phascolarctobacterium and Barnesiella were increased in A. aeriphila -treated group. In conclusion, oral administration of A. aeriphila could improve the growth performance, serum antioxidant capacity, immune modulation, and gut health of broilers. Our findings may provide important information for the application of A. aeriphila in poultry production.

The native saltmarsh species Scirpus mariqueter (hereafter S. mariqueter) and the exotic species saltmarsh cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora Loisel., hereafter S. alterniflora), have been found commonly in regional saltmarsh ecosystems which received a large amount of sediment inputs from Yangtze River, eastern coasts of China. For the purpose of saltmarsh restoration and invasive species management, it is important to understand the response of vegetation species to various sediment inputs. This study investigated and compared the effects of sediment addition on S. mariqueter and S. alterniflora through laboratory experiment using vegetation samples collected from a natural saltmarsh with a high sedimentation rate (12 cm a -1 ). Plant growth parameters over their growth period, including survival rate, height and biomass were measured against sediment addition gradient (0 cm, 3 cm, 6 cm, 9 cm, and 12 cm in thickness). The results showed that sediment addition significantly affected the growth of vegetation but this effect varied between two species. Compared with the control group, the growth of S. mariqueter was promoted with sediment addition of 3-6 cm, but it turned to inhibition when the sediment thickness exceeded 6 cm. The growth of S. alterniflora was increased with increasing sediment addition till 9-12 cm, but the survival rate of each group kept stable. Overall, against a gradient sediment addition, S. mariqueter was found to benefit from low to moderate sediment addition (3-6 cm) but higher addition showed inhabitation effects. S. alterniflora benefited from increasing sediment addition to a point. When facing high sediment inputs, S. alterniflora was found to be more adaptable than S. mariqueter. These results have important implications for further studies on saltmarsh restoration and interspecific competition against a high sediment input background., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

STREAMLINE is a simple, transparent, end-to-end automated machine learning (AutoML) pipeline for easily conducting rigorous machine learning (ML) modeling and analysis. The initial version is limited to binary classification. In this work, we extend STREAMLINE through implementing multiple regression-based ML models, including linear regression, elastic net, group lasso, and L21 norm. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the regression version of STREAMLINE by applying it to the prediction of Alzheimer's disease (AD) cognitive outcomes using multimodal brain imaging data. Our empirical results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the newly expanded STREAMLINE as an AutoML pipeline for evaluating AD regression models, and for discovering multimodal imaging biomarkers., (©2023 AMIA - All rights reserved.)

Amyloid imaging has been widely used in Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis and biomarker discovery through detecting the regional amyloid plaque density. It is essential to be normalized by a reference region to reduce noise and artifacts. To explore an optimal normalization strategy, we employ an automated machine learning (AutoML) pipeline, STREAMLINE, to conduct the AD diagnosis binary classification and perform permutation-based feature importance analysis with thirteen machine learning models. In this work, we perform a comparative study to evaluate the prediction performance and biomarker discovery capability of three amyloid imaging measures, including one original measure and two normalized measures using two reference regions (i.e., the whole cerebellum and the composite reference region). Our AutoML results indicate that the composite reference region normalization dataset yields a higher balanced accuracy, and identifies more AD-related regions based on the fractioned feature importance ranking., (©2023 AMIA - All rights reserved.)

Background: The interaction between nutrition and immunity plays a vital role in nutrient digestion, absorption, and metabolism during poultry production. Recent studies showed that the gut microbiota contributes to the development of intestinal mucosal immunity. However, the mechanisms by which gut microbes regulate this process remain unclear., Methods: We compared the intestinal mucosal immunity and gut microbiota of Arbor Acre broilers (AA (lower mucosal immunity) and Chinese native Wuliang Mountain Black-bone chickens (WLMB) (higher mucosal immunity) using 16S rDNA sequencing, transcriptomic analysis, and immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibody repertoire sequencing. We then combined 16S rDNA sequencing with transcriptomics to identify the key microbes and found that they were positively correlated with IgA production. Next, we transplanted candidate microbes into 1-day-old broiler to explore their role in intestinal mucosal immunity. Finally, we verified the function of candidate microbial metabolites in regulating the immune function of macrophages and the intestinal-epithelial cells (IECs) using in vitro experiments., Results: WLMB performs stronger mucosal immunity than AA, including higher IgA levels, more diverse IgA antibody repertoire, and higher bacterial affinity. Bacteroides was identified as the key microbes related to the intestinal IgA response. Bacteroides transplantation could increase IgA concentration in the duodenal contents by enhancing the expression of IgA, polymeric immunoglobin receptor (PIgR), B cell-activating factor of the TNF family (BAFF), and activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) in the duodenum. Additionally, Bacteroides-derived isovaleric acid promoted M2 macrophage polarization of macrophage via mTOR/PPAR-γ/STAT3 signaling pathways and regulated the immunologic function of IECs to produce cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-10, IL-4, BAFF, and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), thus promoting IgA production in B cells by facilitating AID expression., Conclusion: Our study revealed that Bacteroides modulate the intestinal IgA response and maintain gut health in broilers. Bacteroides may be a promising alternative as an immunomodulatory microbial agent for developing next-generation probiotics for broiler production., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Amino acids play crucial roles in the MTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase) complex 1 (MTORC1) pathway. However, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Here, we establish a cell-free system to mimic the activation of MTORC1, by which we identify CANX (calnexin) as an essential regulator for leucine-stimulated MTORC1 pathway. CANX translocates to lysosomes after leucine deprivation, and its loss of function renders either the MTORC1 activity or the lysosomal translocation of MTOR insensitive to leucine deprivation. We further find that CANX binds to LAMP2 (lysosomal associated membrane protein 2), and LAMP2 is required for leucine deprivation-induced CANX interaction with the Ragulator to inhibit Ragulator activity toward RRAG GTPases. Moreover, leucine deprivation promotes the lysine (K) 525 crotonylation of CANX, which is another essential condition for the lysosomal translocation of CANX. Finally, we find that KAT7 (lysine acetyltransferase 7) mediates the K525 crotonylation of CANX. Loss of KAT7 renders the MTORC1 insensitivity to leucine deprivation. Our findings provide new insights for the regulatory mechanism of the leucine-stimulated MTORC1 pathway. Abbreviations: CALR: calreticulin; CANX: calnexin; CLF: crude lysosome fraction; EIF4EBP1: eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E binding protein 1; ER: endoplasmic reticulum; GST: glutathione S-transferase; HA: hemagglutinin; HEK293T: human embryonic kidney-293T; KAT7: lysine acetyltransferase 7; Kcr; lysine crotonylation; KO: knockout; LAMP2: lysosomal associated membrane protein 2; LAMTOR/Ragulator: late endosomal/lysosomal adaptor: MAPK and MTOR activator; MAP1LC3B: microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta; MTOR: mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase; PDI: protein disulfide isomerase; PTM: post-translational modification; RPS6KB1/p70S6 kinase 1: ribosomal protein S6 kinase B1; RPTOR: regulatory associated protein of MTOR complex 1; SESN2: sestrin 2; TMEM192: transmembrane protein 192; ULK1: unc-51 like autophagy activating kinase 1.

Although reports of human infection with influenza A(H5N6) increased in 2021, reports of similar H5N6 virus infection in poultry are few. We detected 10 avian influenza A(H5N6) clade 2.3.4.4b viruses in poultry from 4 provinces in China. The viruses showed strong immune-escape capacity and complex genetic reassortment, suggesting further transmission risk.

Tremor in Parkinson's disease (PD) is caused by synchronized activation bursts in limb muscles. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is an effective clinical therapy for inhibiting tremor and improving movement disorders in PD patients. However, the neural mechanism of how tremor symptom is suppressed by DBS at motor unit (MU) level remains unclear. This paper developed a data acquisition platform for collecting physiological data in PD patients. Both high-density surface Electromyography (HD-sEMG) and kinematics data were collected concurrently before and after DBS surgery. The MU behaviors were obtained via HD-sEMG decomposition algorithm to reveal the effect of DBS on PD tremor. A data set of one tremor dominant PD patient acquired in pre-operation and post-operation (DBS-on) phases was analyzed. Preliminary results showed significant changes in MU firing rate and MU synchronization. The analysis approach introduced in this paper provides a novel perspective for studying the neural mechanism of DBS as revealed by MU activities. Clinical Relevance- This study presented an approach to investigate the effect of DBS therapy on improving tremor disorder of PD patients.

In early 2021, roughly 6 months after the H7N9 H7-Re3 and H7N9 rLN79 vaccine strains were introduced into China, we monitored a number of H7N9 subtype avian influenza viruses, which could have escaped vaccine-induced immunity in live poultry markets (LPMs) in Yunnan, Hebei, Shanxi and Guangdong provinces, China. To investigate whether these viruses were a novel H7N9 variant of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus and whether they had the potential for further spread, we characterized the genetic evolution, antigenic divergence and pathogenicity of the viruses in the context of vaccine immunity. The results show further diversification in the HA gene of newly isolated HPAI H7N9 viruses compared with antigenic variants that emerged after the period of 2017-2019. There were clear antigenic differences between current vaccines and these viruses, and SPF broilers under vaccine protection could not resist virus challenges. Our study demonstrates that the current vaccine has insufficient protective capacity against the novel H7N9 variants under experimental conditions. A novel H7N9 immune escape virus has emerged. Faced with potential outbreaks, we should strengthen surveillance and update vaccine strains., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Excessive accumulation of soil heavy metals (HMs) result in the deterioration of soil quality and reduction of agricultural productivity and safety. The accumulation status, temporal change, and sources of soil HMs were determined by large-scale field surveys in 2014 and 2019 in rapid urbanization and industrialization area along the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, China. Eighty-two surface soil samples were collected in 2014 and ninety-five surface soil samples and seven soil profiles (0-100 cm) were collected in 2019. The mean concentrations (in, mg kg -1 ) of As (10.17), Cd (0.33), Cr (86.38), Cu (38.22), Hg (0.11), Ni (37.67), Pb (43.95), and Zn (113.15) were greater than the corresponding background values. The concentrations of these 8 HMs significantly varied with site-specific distributions depending on nearby landscape patterns with decreasing order: agricultural soil around industrial > agricultural soil > fallow soil. Cd and Hg were found to be priority pollutants due to their greater accumulations in this study area. Combined analyses of principal component analysis and positive matrix factorization model addressed source apportionment of soil HMs. Industrial activities, parent materials, and agricultural and traffic activities were three major sources and their contributions were 35.56%, 35.20%, and 29.23%, respectively. The concentrations of soil As, Cd, Cr and Pb increased with time. This study elucidates how changes in land uses and time affect soil HMs and provides reasonable suggestions for the effective reduction of HM contamination in economically and industrially developed areas of China, and elsewhere., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Phthalate pollution in plastic greenhouses (PGs) has aroused concerns. However, mechanisms and factors of vegetables planted in PGs (VPGs) accumulating phthalates from soil and air are unclear. To fill the gap, 19 PGs in Shaanxi, the largest vegetable production province in northwestern China, were selected to probe this issue. 35 soil samples, 48 air samples, and 26 VPG samples were collected in winter and summer. Medians of sum of 7 phthalate concentrations (∑ 7 PAEs) in PG soil, air, and VPGs were 73.9 μg kg -1 , 5300 ng m -3 , and 1053 μg kg -1 dry weight, respectively. ∑ 7 PAE concentrations in PG environmental media in winter were higher than summer, with the significant difference in VPGs. Sum concentrations of bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) accounted for 76.8% and 82.3% of the ∑ 7 PAEs in soil and VPGs. DnBP and DEHP concentrations in VPGs were significantly correlated to those in air and soil, with correlation coefficients (R) of 0.89 and 0.96 to air and 0.68 and 0.59 to soil. Log-transformed soil-air partition coefficient (log K SA ) and fugacity fraction (log ff) of DnBP decreased while log K SA and log ff of DEHP increased from winter to summer, though DnBP in soil volatilized to air while DEHP in air sank to soil within the year. These issues were caused by air temperature changes and the application of plastic films. Furthermore, DnBP concentrations in VPGs were positively correlated to K SA values of DnBP (R = 0.87) while those of DEHP were negative (R = -0.82). Therefore, VPGs could uptake more phthalates from air than from soil, especially for edible parts of leafy and solanaceous VPGs. Applying phthalates free agricultural films and precision management such as adjusting air temperature in PGs could be considered to ensure VPG safeties., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Rationale: Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is a powerful analytical tool extensively applied in numerous domains. However, there still exists the phenomenon of peaks overlapping in the analysis of isomers with similar structures due to the limited resolution of IMS. In this paper, a dynamic inertia weight particle swarm optimization (DIWPSO) algorithm combined with second-order differentiation is proposed to separate the IMS overlapping peaks efficiently and precisely., Methods: It can identify the component number of overlapping peaks and limit those parameters (ion mobility, intensity, and full-width at half maximum of each single peak) of the peak model in a small range using second-order differentiation. Based on this, DIWPSO that has been set the best operating parameters is capable of accurately separating IMS overlapping peaks to identify the compound within a short time., Results: A comparison between the performance of DIWPSO and the improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) found that DIWPSO with separation errors less than 2.34% overall outperforms IPSO whose maximum error is up to 5.58%. Moreover, the running time of DIWPSO is 30-80 times less than that of IPSO, and DIWPSO exhibits stronger robustness., Conclusions: This method can automatically identify the component number of IMS overlapping peaks and resolve them with muticomponents and different overlapped degrees rapidly and accurately, which further improves the structural resolution of IMS., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Combined with microstructure characterization and properties tests, the effects of Zn contents on the mechanical properties, corrosion behaviors, and microstructural evolution of extruded Al-Li-Cu-Mg-Ag alloys were investigated. The results show that the increase in Zn contents can accelerate hardening kinetics and improve the hardness of peak-aged alloys. The Zn-added alloys present non-recrystallization characteristics combined with partially small recrystallized grains along the grain boundaries, while the T1 phase with finer dimension and higher number density could explain the constantly increasing tensile strength. In addition, increasing Zn contents led to a lower corrosion current density and a shallower maximum intergranular corrosion depth, thus improving the corrosion resistance of the alloys. Zn addition, distributed in the central layer of T1 phases, not only facilitates the precipitation of more T1 phases but also reduces the corrosion potential difference between the T1 phase and the matrix. Therefore, adding 0.57 wt.% Zn to the alloy has an excellent combination of tensile strength and corrosion resistance. The properties induced by Zn under the T8 temper (solid solution treatment + water quenching + 5% pre-strain+ isothermal aging), however, are not as apparent as the T6 temper (solid solution treatment + water quenching + isothermal aging).

The gut microbiome has great effects on the digestion, absorption, and metabolism of lipids. However, the microbiota composition that can alter the fat deposition and the meat quality of pigs remains unclear. Here, we used Laiwu (LW) pigs (a native Chinese breed with higher intramuscular fat) compared with commercial crossbreed Duroc × (Landrace × Yorkshire) (DLY) pigs to investigate the effects of microbiota on meat quality, especially in intramuscular fat content. A total of 32 DLY piglets were randomly allotted to 4 groups and transplanted with fecal microbiota from healthy LW pigs. The results indicated that the high dose of fecal microbiota transplantation (HFMT) selectively enhanced fat deposition in longissimus dorsi ( P  < 0.05) but decreased backfat thickness ( P  < 0.05) compared with control group. HFMT significantly altered meat color and increased feed conversation ratio ( P  < 0.05). Furthermore, the multi-omics analysis revealed that Bacteroides uniformis , Sphaerochaeta globosa , Hydrogenoanaerobacterium saccharovorans , and Pyramidobacter piscolens are the core species which can regulate lipid deposition. A total of 140 male SPF C57BL/6j mice were randomly allotted into 7 groups and administrated with these 4 microbes alone or consortium to validate the relationships between microbiota and lipid deposition. Inoculating the bacterial consortium into mice increased intramuscular fat content ( P  < 0.05) compared with control mice. Increased expressions of lipogenesis-associated genes including cluster of differentiation 36 ( Cd36 ), diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2 ( Dgat2 ), and fatty acid synthase ( FASN ) were observed in skeletal muscle in the mice with mixed bacteria compared with control mice. Together, our results suggest that the gut microbiota may play an important role in regulating the lipid deposition in the muscle of pigs and mice., (© 2022 Chinese Association of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd.)

Agricultural plastic greenhouse (PG) production can extend the growing season of crops to satisfy domestic consumption in countries such as China. Workers in PGs have potential higher phthalate exposure risks than the general population as phthalate accumulation has been observed in greenhouse soil, air, and crops. To date, biomonitoring tests of phthalates for the working population have not been carried out. To address this shortage, we conducted a pilot study in Shaanxi Province, China, among 35 healthy PG workers by follow-up recording their seasonal dietary habits and work activities and urine sample collection and measurement between 2018 and 2019. The objectives were to uncover the association between phthalate metabolites and the population characteristics, seasonal and diurnal variations and causes, and to estimate exposure risks and contributions of exposure pathways from PG production systems. A total of 13 phthalate metabolite concentrations (Σ 13 phthalate metabolites) ranged from 102 to 781 (5th-95th) ng/mL (median: 300 ng/mL). Mono-n-butyl phthalate (MNBP) made up 51.3% of Σ 13 phthalate metabolites, followed by the sum of four di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) metabolites (24.2%), mono-2-isobutyl phthalate (MIBP) (13.4%), and mono-ethyl phthalate (MEP) (9.8%). The concentrations of MNBP and MIBP in summer were significantly higher than the levels in winter (p < 0.0001). A total of 62.3% of the PG worker population was shown to have exposure risks, and the proportion was as high as 79.4% in summer. Phthalate exposure of the workers from PG production systems constituted over 20% of the total creatinine-based daily intake, and consuming vegetables and fruit planted in PGs and inhalation in PGs were the two largest exposure pathways. Our findings demonstrate that it is important to protect workers in PGs from phthalate exposure risks, and phasing out the use of plastic materials containing phthalates in PGs is imperative, to guarantee food safety in PGs., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Identification and quantification of the distribution, ecological risk, and sources of heavy metals in soils are essential for regional pollution control and management. In this study, spatial analysis (SA), GeogDetector model (GDM), and positive matrix factorization (PMF) model were combined to evaluate the status, ecological risk, and sources of heavy metals in soils from a typical coastal economic development area in Southeastern China. The mean contents of Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu, and Zn in the surface soils (0-20 cm) were 0.45, 41.72, 90.50, 47.86, and 145.33 mg/kg, respectively. In accordance, the mean contents of Cd exceeded the risk screening value for contamination of agricultural soil in China. Our results revealed that industrial and residential soils had higher enrichment of heavy metals than agricultural and fallow soils. Industrial production was the major driving factors influencing the spatial distribution of heavy metals. Soil OM and pH were found to be the most important factors affecting the potential ecological risk of heavy metals, followed by distance from the industrial enterprises and roads. Heavy metals in the study area were mainly originated from industrial emissions/atmospheric deposition, agricultural sources, and followed by natural sources. Therefore, regular monitoring and source control for heavy metals, especially for Cd, along with the integrated soil environmental management in the study area are crucial to ensure soil health and ecosystem security., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Phthalate pollution in soil and vegetables in plastic agricultural greenhouses has attracted wide concern. Investigating airborne phthalates in this environment can improve understanding of air-soil or air-vegetable phthalate migration. However, studies of phthalates in plastic agricultural greenhouse air are rare. To fill this gap, 25 gas-phase and 23 particle-phase samples were collected from 12 typical plastic greenhouses in Shaanxi. 16 types of phthalates were measured by a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry system (GC-MS) to analyse their pollution features and variations. Results showed that in the air of the plastic greenhouses, the median concentration of the sum of sixteen type phthalates (∑ 16 phthalates) was 5305 ng m -3 , with 5th-95th value of 1214-9616 ng m -3 . Phthalates in gas-phase samples were over 100 times higher than the levels in particle-phase samples. Air phthalate concentrations in the plastic greenhouses were higher than those in the control groups (P < 0.05). Air bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) accounted for 66.9% and 29.3% of total ∑ 16 phthalate concentrations, respectively. Air phthalate concentrations in the plastic greenhouses in winter were 1.1-5.3 times higher than the levels in summer respectively (P < 0.05). Gas-particle partition coefficients (K P ) values of DEHP in summer (median of 1.52 × 10 -4  m 3  μg -1 ) were higher than K P values of DnBP in summer (0.60 × 10 -4  m 3  μg -1 ). Log-transformed K P values of DnBP and DEHP were linear correlated to the reciprocal of air temperatures, respectively (P < 0.05)., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Public value is gaining prominence from both academics and politicians with regards to China's rural development. However, rural planning authorities and practitioners showed limited confidence on public, which manifests as few public perceptions were integrated into the planning documents. This study explores the potential role of residents' experiences in illustrating local economic development within the context of coastal villages in which economic and industries are rapidly transforming. Two case studies from within the locale of the Greater Hangzhou Bay Rim Area are used in this article to examine the gap between residents' experiences and the actual economic development that has occurred. The main findings suggest that rural residents can directly reflect upon both current and historic trends of local economic development. Moreover, household income satisfaction (HIS) is a comprehensive notion of residents' experiences, and indicates social and economic sustainability of industrial transformation, or "thriving business", that have been highlighted in coastal villages. Public experiences could therefore act as a valid and accessible evidence for planners in rural economic planning in China and other developing countries., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Soils in coastal areas of the land-sea interface are vulnerable to heavy metal (HM) accumulation and subsequently to human health risk. However, few studies have investigated the HM pollution and risk in soils along the coastal areas of the Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (YSLME), in an international perspective. This study is the first comprehensive work in the YSLME encompassing 122 coastal locations along the Bohai Sea (BS), Yellow Sea of China (YSC), and Yellow Sea of South Korea (YSK). Soil HM pollution showed great spatial variations cross the regions and countries. Accumulations of As, Cu, Pb, and Zn in the YSK were significantly higher than those in the BS and YSC (p < 0.05). Whilst the elevated Cd, Hg, and Ni in soils were found in the BS and YSC compared to those in the YSK (p < 0.05). Meantime, the assessment of ecological risk posed by HMs indicated higher potential risk in the BS than other coastal areas. In specific, Cd and Hg posed a higher risk in the BS and YSC, while As showed relatively high risk in the YSK, indicating site-dependent accumulation of HMs in soils. Soil pH and organic matter were found to be important factors affecting the HM accumulation in the study areas. Industrial activities are the major driving factors influencing spatial distributions of HMs, and such activities exhibited different degrees of influence across the sampling sites. Altogether, the results of present study first identified the bilateral characteristics of soil HM pollution along the entire coasts of the YSLME in a comprehensive manner in several aspects: (1) sources, (2) hot spots, (3) priority chemicals of concern, and (4) site-specific potential risk of the soil HMs. Overall, this study provides references and backgrounds for future environmental management strategies and aids in developing a bilateral government policy towards coastal pollution management of HMs from an international scale and perspective., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis with central nervous system involvement is caused by inflammatory factor storms. The inflammatory factors invade the blood-brain barrier and further infiltrate brain tissue resulting in associated neurological and/or psychiatric symptoms in hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis with central nervous system involvement patients. This case report is based on a 14-year-old male patient who experienced intermittent dizziness and blurred vision about five years before admission as well as lower limb weakness and unstable walking approximately three years before admission. His brain MRI showed abnormal signals in the bilateral cerebellar hemisphere and vermis, right occipital lobe, and bilateral basal ganglia. The cerebrospinal fluid examination revealed an increase in nucleated cells, mainly monocytes, and elevated protein. He had no typical manifestation of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in the early stage, such as fever, cytopenia, or hepatosplenomegaly. He was misdiagnosed with meningoencephalitis or tuberculous meningitis. Perforin gene detection revealed a mutation in the PRF1 gene. The final diagnosis of type 2 familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis was made based on the neurological symptoms and genetic test. The possibility of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis needs to be considered in patients with unexplained central nervous system symptoms, even if the patient does not have typical hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis symptoms, such as fever, cytopenia, or hepatosplenomegaly. We present the neurological symptoms of familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis type 2., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2020 Wang et al. Published by IMR press.)

Ruxolitinib is a promising option for treating steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease (SR-aGVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). In this study, we describe ruxolitinib treatment for SR-aGVHD in HSCT patients with Epstein-Barr virus-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (EBV-HLH) to evaluate its effectiveness. We evaluated the outcomes of 12 patients who received ruxolitinib for SR-aGVHD between January 2017 and March 2019. Of the 12 patients who received ruxolitinib, 7 patients achieved a complete response (CR), 3 had a partial response (PR), and 2 experienced treatment failure (TF). OS and CR rates were 83.3% and 58.3%, respectively. Moreover, CR was achieved by the six patients who had aGVHD with skin involvement. The mean time of steroid application in the patients who received ruxolitinib was 28.1 days. Median survival after HSCT was 64.6 weeks. The adverse effects of ruxolitinib included grades 3 to 4 neutropenia (n = 7) and grades 3 to 4 thrombocytopenia (n = 6). Cytomegalovirus reactivation was observed in three patients. A high rate of CR and short steroid application time of ruxolitinib as a salvage treatment were observed in HSCT patients with EBV-HLH. Consequently, from this study, it was determined that ruxolitinib is an optimal choice to treat SR-aGVHD in patients with EBV-HLH.

Gut microbiota plays a crucial role in diet nutrient metabolism and maintaining host health. The synthetic dipeptides glycyl-glutamine (Gly-Gln) used as diet supplementation to improve the weaning transition of newborns could be metabolized by certain bacteria in vitro . However, the effect of diet Gly-Gln supplementation on gut microbiota in vivo remains largely unknown. 240 piglets at the age of 28 days (day 28) were randomly assigned to two groups that received a basal diet (Ctrl group) or a basal diet supplemented with 0.25% Gly-Gln (Gly-Gln group) for 3 weeks. Five piglets from each group were euthanized for sampling after overnight fasting on day 38 and day 49, respectively. We determined their structure shifts of the gut microbiota using 16S rDNA-based high-throughput sequencing analysis. Microbial metabolites short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the ileum and the colon were determined with high-performance gas chromatography. The concentrations of endocrine peptides including epidermal growth factor, glucagon-like peptide-1, and glucagon-like peptide-2 in ileal mucosa, as well as the serum concentration of interleukin 1 beta, interleukin 6, interleukin 10, and tumor necrosis factor alpha were determined using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay. In addition, we also checked the diarrhea ratio, growth performance, and intestinal morphology to assess the favorable effect of dietary Gly-Gln supplementation during the weaning transition. Dietary Gly-Gln supplementation beneficially altered the gut microbiota by increasing bacterial loading, elevating alpha diversity, and increasing the relative abundance of anaerobes and fiber-degrading bacteria (Phylum Fibrobacteres). Accordingly, the microbial metabolites SCFAs in both colon and ileum, as well as the downstream endocrine peptides in the ileum increased. Meanwhile, dietary Gly-Gln's favorable weaning transition was reflected in the increase of growth performance indices and the reduced inflammatory response in a time dependent manner. There were significant correlations among the bacteria which responded to dietary Gly-Gln supplementation and these checked indices. Taken together, dietary Gly-Gln supplementation selectively modulated the gut microbiota, which may favor piglets' weaning-transition. These findings suggest that gut microbiota targeted approaches can be potentially used to improve weaning transition of piglets by dietary functional amino acid., (Copyright © 2020 Yan, Xu, Yin, Xu, Niu, Tang, Wang, Xie, Yang, Zhou, Yan and Ma.)

Background: Early-weaning of piglets is often accompanied by severe disorders, especially diarrhea. The gut microbiota and its metabolites play a critical role in the maintenance of the physiologic and metabolic homeostasis of the host. Our previous studies have demonstrated that oral administration of Lactobacillus frumenti improves epithelial barrier functions and confers diarrhea resistance in early-weaned piglets. However, the metabolic response to L. frumenti administration remains unclear. Then, we conducted simultaneous serum and hepatic metabolomic analyses in early-weaned piglets administered by L. frumenti or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)., Results: A total of 100 6-day-old crossbred piglets (Landrace × Yorkshire) were randomly divided into two groups and piglets received PBS (sterile, 2 mL) or L. frumenti (suspension in PBS, 10 8  CFU/mL, 2 mL) by oral administration once per day from 6 to 20 days of age. Piglets were weaned at 21 days of age. Serum and liver samples for metabolomic analyses were collected at 26 days of age. Principal components analysis (PCA) showed that L. frumenti altered metabolism in serum and liver. Numerous correlations ( P  < 0.05) were identified among the serum and liver metabolites that were affected by L. frumenti . Concentrations of guanosine monophosphate (GMP), inosine monophosphate (IMP), and uric acid were higher in serum of L. frumenti administration piglets. Pathway analysis indicated that L. frumenti regulated fatty acid and amino acid metabolism in serum and liver. Concentrations of fatty acid β-oxidation related metabolites in serum (such as 3-hydroxybutyrylcarnitine, C4-OH) and liver (such as acetylcarnitine) were increased after L. frumenti administration., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that L. frumenti regulates lipid metabolism and amino acid metabolism in the liver of early-weaned piglets, where it promotes fatty acid β-oxidation and energy production. High serum concentrations of nucleotide intermediates, which may be an alternative strategy to reduce the incidence of diarrhea in early-weaned piglets, were further detected. These findings broaden our understanding of the relationships between the gut microbiota and nutrient metabolism in the early-weaned piglets., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© The Author(s). 2019.)

Alternatives to antibiotics for preventing diarrhea in early-weaned farm animals are sorely needed. CM piglets (a native Chinese breed) are more resistant to early-weaning stress-induced diarrhea than the commercial crossbred LY piglets. Transferring fecal microbiota, but not saline, from healthy CM into LY piglets by oral administration prior to early weaning conferred diarrhea resistance. By comparing the relative abundance of intestinal microbiota in saline and microbiota transferred LY piglets, we identified and validated Lactobacillus gasseri LA39 and Lactobacillus frumenti as two bacterial species that mediate diarrhea resistance. Diarrhea resistance depended on the bacterial secretory circular peptide gassericin A, a bacteriocin. The binding of gassericin A to Keratin 19 (KRT19) on the plasma membrane of intestinal epithelial cells was essential for enhancement of fluid absorption and decreased secretion. These findings suggest the use of L. gasseri LA39 and L. frumenti as antibiotic alternatives for preventing diarrhea in mammals., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A novel type of TiO₂ nanotubes (NTs)/Ag/MoS₂ meshy photoelectrode was fabricated with highly oriented TiO₂ nanotube arrays grown from a Ti mesh supporting Ag nanoparticles and three-dimensional MoS₂ nanosheets. In this structure, Ag nanoparticles act as bridges to connect MoS₂ and TiO₂ and pathways for electron transfer, ensuring the abundant production of active electrons, which are the source of •O₂ - . The TiO₂ NTs/Ag/MoS₂ mesh can be used as both photocatalyst and electrode, exhibiting enhanced photoelectrocatalytic efficiency in degrading tetracycline hydrochloride under visible light irradiation (λ ≥ 420 nm). Compared to unmodified TiO₂ NTs, the improved photoelectrocatalytic activity of the TiO₂ NTs/Ag/MoS₂ arise from the formation of Z-scheme heterojunctions, which facilitate the efficient separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs through the Schottky barriers at the interfaces of TiO₂ NTs⁻Ag and Ag⁻MoS₂.

The intestine of pigs harbors a mass of microorganisms which are essential for intestinal homeostasis and host health. Intestinal microbial disorders induce enteric inflammation and metabolic dysfunction, thereby causing adverse effects on the growth and health of pigs. In the human medicine, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), which engrafts the fecal microbiota from a healthy donor into a patient recipient, has shown efficacy in intestinal microbiota restoration. In addition, it has been used widely in therapy for human gastrointestinal diseases, including Clostridium difficile infection, inflammatory bowel diseases, and irritable bowel syndrome. Given that pigs share many similarities with humans, in terms of anatomy, nutritional physiology, and intestinal microbial compositions, FMT may also be used to restore the normal intestinal microbiota of pigs. However, feasible procedures for performing FMT in pigs remains unclear. Here, we summarize a standardized preparation for FMT in pigs by combining the standard methodology for human FMT with pig production. The key issues include the donor selection, fecal material preparation, fecal material transfer, stool bank establishment, and the safety for porcine FMT. Optimal donors should be selected to ensure the efficacy of porcine FMT and reduce the risks of transmitting infectious diseases to recipients during FMT. Preparing for fresh fecal material is highly recommended. Alternatively, frozen fecal suspension can also be prepared as an optimal choice because it is convenient and has similar efficacy. Oral administration of fecal suspension could be an optimal method for porcine fecal material transfer. Furthermore, the dilution ratio of fecal materials and the frequency of fecal material transfer could be adjusted according to practical situations in the pig industry. To meet the potential large-scale requirement in the pig industry, it is important to establish a stool bank to make porcine FMT readily available. Future studies should also focus on providing more robust safety data on FMT to improve the safety and tolerability of the recipient pigs. This standardized preparation for porcine FMT can facilitate the development of microbial targeted therapies and improve the intestinal health of pigs.

Increased intestinal epithelial barrier function damages caused by early weaning stress have adverse effects on swine health and feed utilization efficiency. Probiotics have emerged as the promising antibiotic alternatives used for intestinal barrier function damage prevention. Our previous data showed that Lactobacillus frumenti was identified as a predominant Lactobacillus in the intestinal microbiota of weaned piglets. However, whether the intestinal epithelial barrier function in piglets was regulated by L. frumenti is still unclear. Here, piglets received a PBS vehicle or PBS suspension (2 ml, 10 8 CFU/ml) containing the L. frumenti by oral gavage once a day during the period of 6-20 days of age prior to early weaning. Our data demonstrated that oral administration of L. frumenti significantly improved the intestinal mucosal integrity and decreased the serum endotoxin and D-lactic acid levels in early-weaned piglets (26 days of age). The intestinal tight junction proteins (including ZO-1, Occludin, and Claudin-1) were significantly up-regulated by L. frumenti administration. The serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels, intestinal secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) levels, and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) levels were significantly increased by L. frumenti administration. Furthermore, our data revealed that oral administration of L. frumenti significantly increased the relative abundances of health-promoting microbes (including L. frumenti , Lactobacillus gasseri LA39, Parabacteroides distasonis , and Kazachstania telluris ) and decreased the relative abundances of opportunistic pathogens (including Desulfovibrio desulfuricans and Candida humilis ). Functional alteration of the intestinal bacterial community by L. frumenti administration was characterized by the significantly increased fatty acids and protein metabolism and decreased diseases-associated metabolic pathways. These findings suggest that L. frumenti facilitates intestinal epithelial barrier function maintenance in early-weaned piglets and may be a promising antibiotic alternative used for intestinal epithelial barrier function damage prevention in mammals.

The vast amount of clinical data in electronic health records constitutes a great potential for secondary use. However, most of this content consists of unstructured or semi-structured texts, which is difficult to process. Several challenges are still pending: medical language idiosyncrasies in different natural languages, and the large variety of medical terminology systems. In this paper we present SEMCARE, a European initiative designed to minimize these problems by providing a multi-lingual platform (English, German, and Dutch) that allows users to express complex queries and obtain relevant search results from clinical texts. SEMCARE is based on a selection of adapted biomedical terminologies, together with Apache UIMA and Apache Solr as open source state-of-the-art natural language pipeline and indexing technologies. SEMCARE has been deployed and is currently being tested at three medical institutions in the UK, Austria, and the Netherlands, showing promising results in a cardiology use case.