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Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common and serious acute inflammatory disease with high severity rate and mortality. Inflammation and oxidative stress play an extremely important role in the development of AP disease. Polyvinylpyrrolidone‐modified iridium nanoparticles (IrNP‐PVP) have multienzyme mimetic activity, and the aim of this article is to discuss the therapeutic alleviative effects of the ultrasmall nanozymes IrNP‐PVP on AP through their antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory effects. IrNP‐PVP were proved to inhibit inflammation and scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) at the cellular level. The synthetic IrNP‐PVP exhibit remarkable antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory activities in the prevention and treatment of AP mice by establishing murine AP model, which can reduce the oxidative stress and inflammatory response. The results of this article indicated that the ultrasmall nanozymes IrNP‐PVP effectively alleviate AP via scavenging ROS as well as suppressing inflammation both in vivo and in vitro, which might provide enormous promise for the AP management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining optical and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data for crop mapping has become a crucial way to improve classification accuracy, especially in cloudy and rainy areas. However, the acquisition of optical images is significantly unstable due to the influence of cloudy and rainy weather, which seriously restricts the application of this method in practice. To solve this problem, this study proposed an optical-SAR imagery-based rice mapping method which has the advantages of less dependence on optical images, easy operation and high classification accuracy. To account for the trait of sparse availability of optical images, this method only needs one clear sky optical image in the rice growth period and combined it with multi-temporal SAR images to achieve a high accuracy rice mapping result. Meanwhile, this paper also proposed a comprehensively multi-scale segmentation parameter optimization algorithm, which considers the area consistency, shape error and location difference between the segmented object and reference object, and adopts an orthogonal experiment approach. Based on the optical image, the boundaries of the parcel objects can be segmented, which were subsequently used to perform the object-oriented classification. The results show that the overall accuracy of the proposed method in Yangzhou City is 94.64%. Moreover, according to a random pick test, it is encouraging that the proposed method has strong robustness in response to the instability of the acquisition time of SAR images. A relatively high overall accuracy of 90.09% suggested that the proposed method can provide a reliable rice mapping result in cloudy and rainy areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floral initiation is a major phase change in the spermatophyte, where developmental programs switch from vegetative growth to reproductive growth. It is a key phase of flowering in tea-oil trees that can affect flowering time and yield, but very little is known about the molecular mechanism of floral initiation in tea-oil trees. A 12-year-old Camellia oleifera (cultivar 'changlin53') was the source of experimental materials in the current study. Scanning electron microscopy was used to identify the key stage of floral initiation, and transcriptome analysis was used to reveal the transcriptional regulatory network in old leaves involved in floral initiation. We mined 5 DEGs related to energy and 55 DEGs related to plant hormone signal transduction, and we found floral initiation induction required a high level of energy metabolism, and the phytohormones signals in the old leaves regulate floral initiation, which occurred at stage I and II. Twenty-seven rhythm-related DEGs and 107 genes associated with flowering were also identified, and the circadian rhythm interacted with photoperiod pathways to induce floral initiation. Unigene0017292 (PSEUDO-RESPONSE REGULATOR), Unigene0046809 (LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL), Unigene0009932 (GIGANTEA), Unigene0001842 (CONSTANS), and Unigene0084708 (FLOWER LOCUS T) were the key genes in the circadian rhythm-photoperiod regulatory network. In conjunction with morphological observations and transcriptomic analysis, we concluded that the induction of floral initiation by old leaves in C. oleifera 'changlin53' mainly occurred during stages I and II, floral initiation was completed during stage III, and rhythm–photoperiod interactions may be the source of the main signals in floral initiation induced by old leaves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless electric vehicle charging technology is developing in the direction of high power levels. However, more generated heat brought by higher power will accelerate the system's aging and can even lead to damage. An excellent thermal design for the magnetic coupler can reduce each part's maximum temperature, ensuring long-term operation reliability. Therefore, in this article, the magnetic coupler's thermal estimation and design are studied based on a 6.6 kW wireless electric vehicle charging system. First, the calculation method of internal resistance of a litz coil, core loss, and eddy current loss of a shielding aluminum plate are studied. Considering the influence of thermal fields on material properties, each part's power loss calculation formula is further modified to improve the accuracy. After that, heat dissipation research is carried out. The heat dissipation measures, such as filling the surface of the shielding aluminum plate with thermal conductive silicone grease, are proposed. Finally, the effectiveness of the heat dissipation measures is verified by simulation and experiments. The experiment shows that the error between the power loss value of each part calculated by simulation and measured by the experiment is less than 15%, and the maximum temperature of the magnetic coupler is controlled below 80 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)VD3) and Vitamin D3 (VD3) supplemented in the diet of weaned piglets on their growth performance, bone quality, intestinal integrity, immune function and antioxidant capacity. A total of 192 weaned piglets were allocated into four groups and they were fed a control diet containing 2000 IU VD3 (negative control, NC), NC + 100 ppm colistin sulfate (positive control, PC), NC + 2000 IU VD3 (VD3) and NC + 2000 IU 25(OH)VD3 (25(OH)VD3). The results showed that 25(OH)VD3 improved the growth performance, bone quality and antioxidase activity of piglets compared with the other groups. Meanwhile, 25(OH)VD3 up-regulated ileal mRNA expressions of tight junction proteins and host defense peptides. The VD3 group had an increased intestinal sIgA content and mRNA expression of pBD-1 compared with the NC group. Both groups of VD3 and 25(OH)VD3 altered the microbial β-diversity compared with the NC group, and 25(OH)VD3 increased ileal concentrations of acetate and butyrate. In conclusion, our findings indicated that a regular dosage of 2000 IU VD3 in the weaned piglets' diet did not achieve optimal antioxidant capacity and immune function. 25(OH)VD3 had better growth performance than VD3 at the same inclusion level, which is associated with the improved intestinal integrity and antioxidant capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The armature of the electromagnetic reconnection launcher (EMRCL) plays a key role in accelerating large-mass loads, which have attracted extensive attention in past years. In this article, the effects of the armature thickness, length, and width on the performance of the EMRCL are analyzed for designing a high-strength and high-efficiency armature. First, according to the deformation and Von Mises’ stress distribution of the armature in the electromagnetic structure field, the armature thickness should be six times the skin depth. Then, the orthogonal experiment method results demonstrate that the armature speed tends to a saturated value with increasing length and width. Finally, a three-stage EMRCL platform with a load of 10 kg was constructed to verify the accuracy of the simulation results of three armatures with different lengths and widths. The experimental results show that the speed of 80 $\times120$ mm2 armature can reach 11.26 m/s, which is a significant increase of 23 times than the 40 $\times120$ mm2 armature and is consistent with the simulation results. It indicates that the optimal armature length is 1.2 times the coil length, and the optimal width is 1.3 times the coil width. This research provides a valuable reference for the armature design of EMRCL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a design of bipolar nonsalient pole (BNSP) transmitter, which originates from motor theory, for high-power EV dynamic wireless power transfer (DWPT) system is proposed. To analyze and evaluate BNSP transmitter in aspect of principle, characteristic, and performance, the existing I-type, S-type, and N-type transmitters in DWPT application are classified as bipolar salient pole (BSP) transmitter, which establishes a reference for comparing. The design parameters and other contrast conditions of BNSP and BSP transmitters are given. Coupling flux and leakage flux of BNSP transmitter are analyzed by comparing the magnetic models and the finite-element models of BNSP and BSP transmitters. Based on the modular design in practical application, the sensitivity of coupling performance to the module gap in BNSP and BSP transmitters is analyzed and compared in simulation. All theoretical results are verified by contrast experiments. The maximum effective mutual inductance of BNSP transmitter is about 31.0% larger than that of BSP transmitter, and the efficiency of the system with output power of 10 kW is 93.5% with BNSP transmitter, about 2.4% higher than that with BSP transmitter. Besides, BNSP transmitter needs 5.9% shorter Litz wire and 53.1% smaller volume of cores, which makes it smaller in size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small size and narrow distribution are the key factors to improve performances of metal nanocrystals due to nanosize effect. Here, a silver‐alkylamine complex–mediated single micelle, a one‐pot approach, for controlled synthesis of monodisperse silver nanocrystals, in which oleylamine molecules play key roles serving both as complex agent and as micellar coalescence blocker is reported. After the synthesis, monodisperse products can be directly collected through subsequent single‐step separation as the particle size is finely adjusted during the synthesis. Dual‐soluble silver oleylamine complex is prepared through liquid phase complexing and is used as oil‐soluble precursor in single reverse micelle. The as‐synthesized silver nanocrystals are very uniform with a controlled size of 6.00 ± 0.29 or 8.0 ± 0.40 nm and a narrow size distribution with a standard deviation (σ) of ≈5.0%. The protocol offers a general platform for fast synthesis of noble metal nanocrystals with rationally designed size and structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary Chinese herb medicine extracted from Dandelion root on growth performance, serum immune markers, faecal bacterial community and their metabolites in weaned pigs. The results showed that dietary Dandelion root extract (CHE) supplementation decreased (P <.05) the diarrhoea frequency, but had no effect on growth performance of weaned pigs. Dietary CHE supplementation increased (P <.05) propionate and butyrate concentrations in faecal samples of pigs. Moreover, dietary CHE supplementation increased (P <.05) IL-6 concentration and decreased (P <.05) IL-4 concentration in serum. Pigs in the CHE group had lower (P <.05) relative abundance of Clostridiaceae_1 on family level and Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1 on genus level in faeces. In conclusion, dietary CHE supplementation increased the concentration of faecal butyrate, improved immune function and altered relative abundance and composition of faecal microflora in weaned pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to determine the DE, ME, and apparent (AID) and standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of AA in different wheat cultivars fed to growing pigs. In Exp. 1, twelve crossbred growing barrows were allotted to a replicated 6 × 6 Latin square design to determine the DE and ME contents of 12 different wheat cultivars. In Exp. 2, twelve growing barrows with a simple T-cannula were used to determine the AID and SID of AA in 10 different wheat cultivars. Pigs were randomly allotted to a replicated 6 × 6 Latin square design and fed one nitrogen-free diet and 10 different cultivars of wheat diets. Among different wheat cultivars, the concentrations of GE, CP, NDF, ADF, and starch ranged from 4,385 to 4,458 kcal/kg, 12.95% to 18.14%, 9.16% to 13.89%, 1.93% to 2.92% and 60.81% to 70.77%, respectively (DM basis). There were significant differences (P < 0.05) in the DE, ME values, and the ATTD of GE in 12 different cultivars of wheat in Exp. 1. The DE and ME contents and the ATTD of GE ranged (P < 0.05) from 3,922 to 4,067 kcal/kg DM, 3,759 to 3,941 kcal/kg DM and 88.14% to 90.31%, respectively. The best prediction equations of DE and ME for different cultivars of wheat cultivars were DE = −2,738 – (40.8 × % ADF) + (1.7 × GE) – (51.5 × % Xylans) – (95.7 × % Ash) + (22.3 × % EE), R 2 = 0.98, and ME = −2,990 + (1.7 × GE) – (50.2 × % Xylans) – (87.6 × % Ash), R 2 = 0.88, respectively. There were also differences (P < 0.05) in the AID and SID of CP and indispensable AA, expect for His, in 10 wheat cultivars in Exp. 2. The AID and SID of CP, Lys, and Met ranged (P < 0.05) from 82.02% to 89.46%, 74.13% to 84.73%, 87.35% to 92.49% and 87.56% to 94.04%, 80.56% to 89.89%, 89.56% to 94.45%, respectively. In conclusion, the chemical composition, energy contents, and most AA digestibility in different cultivars of wheat varied widely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-digestible polysaccharides are of great significance to human and animal intestinal health. Cellulose, arabinoxylan, β−glucan and glucomannan were selected in the present study to investigate the fermentation characteristics and fiber-degrading enzyme kinetics by inoculating pig fecal microbiota in vitro. Our results showed that fermentation of arabinoxylan and β-glucan produced the highest amount of acetate and lactate, respectively. The abundance of Prevotella_9 was the highest in β-glucan group and positively correlated with lactate and acetate. Glucomannan fermentation produced the highest amount of butyrate, and the abundance of Lachnospiraceae_XPB_1014_group and Bacteroides were the lowest. A significant negative correlation was found between Lachnospiraceae_XPB_1014_group, Bacteroides and butyrate. Exo-β-1,4-xylanase had the highest activity at 24 h during arabinoxylan fermentation. The activity of β-glucosidase and β-mannosidase at 36 h were higher than those at 15 h in the glucomannan group. The abundance of Prevotella_9 was positively correlated with β-glucosidase while Lachnospiraceae_XPB_1014_group and Bacteroides were negatively correlated with β-xylosidase. Our findings demonstrated the β-glucan and arabinoxylan promote proliferation of Prevotella_9, with the preference to secret β-glucosidase, β-mannosidase and the potential to produce lactate and acetate. Butyrate production can be improved by inhibiting the proliferation of Lachnospiraceae_XPB_1014_group and Bacteroides, which have the lack of potential to secret β-xylosidase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy saving and emission reduction in traditional manufacturing can be achieved by reducing the occurrence of defective products. Most of the existing optimization methods are obtained by referring to production experience and technical manual, which are time-consuming and laborious. Thus, a method of process selection and optimization for defective products in the design phase is required. In this paper, a process design strategy based on design parameters for eliminating sand casting defects is proposed. Firstly, the technological process and hole-type defects of sand casting are analyzed. The process design parameters are divided into three categories to propose a process design strategy. Three specific optimization schemes named OSP (structure parameters optimized process), OGP (gating system parameters optimized process), and OPP (processing parameters optimized process) are derived. Then a carbon emission prediction model is established to evaluate the effect of these schemes, and a sustainable manufacturing evaluation method with six indicators is also raised. Finally, a case study illustrates that 21%–24% of process carbon emission was saved after optimization on average. Among the strategies, OSP has the best energy-saving performance of average carbon emission, which is 4% lower than the others. OGP has the largest proportion of recyclable resources while OPP has the highest process yield and lowest adjustment cost. The results show that the proposed strategies can effectively improve the process yield, quality of casting, and decrease carbon emissions. The strategy raised in the paper supports the sustainable development of traditional manufacturing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread use of sand casting technology has brought tremendous pressure on the environment due to its energy consumption, waste discharge, and process related carbon emissions. A plan should begin at the design phase of the casting, in order to achieve low carbon sand castings or sand castings with low greenhouse gas emissions. Accurate prediction of carbon emission in sand casting is the basis for carbon emission reduction. To calculate and reduce carbon emission of sand castings during the sand casting process design phase, a low carbon process design method of sand casting based on process design parameters is proposed. The process design of sand casting includes various parameters. Three types of sand casting carbon source model were built by three categories of process design parameters analysis of sand mold casting. so as to predict the carbon emission of sand mold casting. The feasibility of the proposed method to estimating the carbon emission in the process design stage was validated by using a practical example. Through the comparison of the two process design schemes based on this method, it can be proved that carbon emissions have decreased significantly. Moreover, we can know the amount of carbon emissions from each type of carbon source can be predicted. A low carbon sand casting process during the sand casting process design phase can be created by this method. The optimization of process design parameters was useful to the reduce carbon emissions of the sand casting and benefited to achieve the aim of reach sustainable manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type 2 diabetes is considered to be one of the essential risks of adverse outcomes in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). 1 1 COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019. Metformin and insulin were suggested to affect the outcomes. However, divergent views are still expressed. We aim to gain further insight into metformin and insulin in both pre-admission and in-hospital usage in COVID-19 patients with pre-existed type 2 diabetes. This is a multicentral retrospective study of the hospital confirmed COVID-19 patients between January 19 to April 09, 2020, who admitted to 3 main hospitals in Xiangyang city, China. The effect of type 2 diabetes, metformin, and insulin on COVID-19 were analyzed, respectively. Clinical characteristics, blood laboratory indices, clinical observational indices, and outcomes of these cases were collected. A total of 407 confirmed COVID-19 patients (including 50 pre-existed type 2 diabetes) were eligible in our study. COVID-19 patients with type 2 diabetes had more adverse outcomes than non-diabetes (OR 2 2 OR, odds ratio. : mortality: 1.46 [95% CI 3 3 CI, confidence intervals. 1.11, 1.93]; P < 0.001). Pre-admission metformin usage showed a declined intensive care unit admission rate in a dose-dependent fashion (OR 0.04 [95% CI 0.00, 0.99]; adjust P = 0.049). While in-hospital insulin usage attempted to increase the invasive ventilation (8 [34.8%] vs. 1 [3.7%], adjust P = 0.043), independent of age and blood glucose. Our study indicated that pre-admitted metformin usage may have beneficial effects on COVID-19 with pre-existed type 2 diabetes, insulin should be used sparingly in the hospital stay. [Display omitted] • Type 2 diabetes is the important risk factors of mortality and poor prognosis in COVID-19 patients. • Pre-admission metformin usage is associated with declining intensive care unit admission rate in a dose-dependent fashion. • In-hospital insulin usage had the risk of increasing invasive ventilation utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dietary fiber deprivation is linked to probiotic extinction, mucus barrier dysbiosis, and the overgrowth of mucin-degrading bacteria. However, whether and how mucin could rescue fiber deprivation-induced intestinal barrier defects remains largely unexplored. Here, we sought to investigate the potential role and mechanism by which exogenous mucin maintains the gut barrier function. The results showed that dietary mucin alleviated fiber deprivation-induced disruption of colonic barrier integrity and reduced spermine production in vivo . Importantly, we highlighted that microbial-derived spermine production, but not host-produced spermine, increased significantly after mucin supplementation, with a positive association with upgraded colonic Lactobacillus abundance. After employing an in vitro model, the microbial-derived spermine was consistently dominated by both mucin and Lactobacillus spp. Furthermore, Limosilactobacillus mucosae was identified as an essential spermine-producing Lactobacillus spp., and this isolated strain was responsible for spermine accumulation, especially after adhering to mucin in vitro . Specifically, the mucin-supplemented bacterial supernatant of Limosilactobacillus mucosae was verified to promote intestinal barrier functions through the increased spermine production with a dependence on enhanced arginine metabolism. Overall, these findings collectively provide evidence that mucin-modulated microbial arginine metabolism bridged the interplay between microbes and gut barrier function, illustrating possible implications for host gut health., Importance: Microbial metabolites like short-chain fatty acids produced by dietary fiber fermentation have been demonstrated to have beneficial effects on intestinal health. However, it is essential to acknowledge that certain amino acids entering the colon can be metabolized by microorganisms to produce polyamines. The polyamines can promote the renewal of intestinal epithelial cell and maintain host-microbe homeostasis. Our study highlighted the specific enrichment by mucin on promoting the arginine metabolism in Limosilactobacillus mucosae to produce spermine, suggesting that microbial-derived polyamines support a significant enhancement on the goblet cell proliferation and barrier function., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

The pathogenicity of Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 is predominantly associated with Shiga toxin 2 (Stx2) that poses a huge threat to human and animal intestinal health. Production of Stx2 requires expression of stx2 gene, which is located in the genome of lambdoid Stx2 prophage. Growing evidence has implicated that many commonly consumed foods participate in the regulation of prophage induction. In this study, we aimed to explore whether specific dietary functional sugars could inhibit Stx2 prophage induction in E. coli O157:H7, thereby preventing Stx2 production and promoting intestinal health. We demonstrated that Stx2 prophage induction in E. coli O157:H7 was strongly inhibited by L-arabinose both in vitro and in a mouse model. Mechanistically, L-arabinose at doses of 9, 12, or 15 mM diminished RecA protein levels, a master mediator of the SOS response, contributing to reduced Stx2-converting phage induction. L-Arabinose inhibited quorum sensing and oxidative stress response, which are known as positive regulators of the SOS response and subsequent Stx2 phage production. Furthermore, L-arabinose impaired E. coli O157:H7 arginine transport and metabolism that were involved in producing Stx2 phage. Collectively, our results suggest that L-arabinose may be exploited as a novel Stx2 prophage induction inhibitor against E. coli O157:H7 infection.

The plant-based refers to plant-based raw materials or products that are available as the source of protein and fat. Utilization and development of walnuts as a plant-based, resulting in a high-quality protein-rich walnut plant-based product: walnut protein powder and walnut peptides. Progress in research on the application of walnuts as a plant-based has been advanced, solving the problem of wasted resources and environmental pollution caused by the fact that walnut residue, a product of walnuts after oil extraction, is often thrown away as waste, or becomes animal feed or compost. This paper reviews and summarizes the research and reports on walnut plant-based at home and abroad, focusing on the application of walnut plant-based in the preparation process (enzymatic and fermentation methods) and the biological activity of the walnut protein and walnut peptide, to provide a theoretical basis for the further processing of walnuts as a walnut plant-based. It can make full use of walnut resources and play its nutritional and health care value, develop and build a series of walnut plant-based products, improve the competitiveness of walnut peptide products, turn them into treasure, and provide more powerful guidance for the development of food and medicine health industry in Yunnan., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Zhou, Peng, Pei, Chen, Meng, Yuan, Xing and Wu.)

Effects of different dietary fiber (DF) sources on short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) production and absorption in the hindgut of growing pigs were studied by an in vivo-vitro (ileal cannulated pigs and fecal inoculum-based fermentation) method. Thirty-six cannulated pigs (body weight: 48.5 ± 2.1 kg) were randomly allocated to 6 treatments containing the same DF content (16.5%), with either wheat bran (WB), corn bran (CB), sugar beet pulp (SBP), oat bran (OB), soybean hulls (SH), or rice bran (RB) as DF sources. Pigs were allowed 15 days for diet adaptation, and then, fresh ileal digesta and feces were collected to determine SCFA concentration which was normalized for food dry matter intake (DMI) and the hindgut DF fermentability. Fecal microbiota was inoculated into the freeze-dried ileal digesta samples to predict the ability of SCFA production and absorption in the hindgut by in vitro fermentation. The SH group had the largest concentration of total SCFA and propionate in ileal digesta and fecal samples of growing pigs ( p < 0.05). Nonetheless, the predicted acetate, total SCFA production, absorption in the SBP group were the highest ( p < 0.01), but the lowest in the OB group ( p < 0.01) among all groups. Even SBP and OB group had a similar ratio of soluble DF (SDF) to insoluble DF (IDF). The CB group had high determined ileal and fecal butyrate concentration but the lowest butyrate production and absorption in the hindgut ( p < 0.01). Overall, the source of DF had a great impact on the hindgut SCFA production and absorption, and SBP fiber had a great potential to increase hindgut SCFA production and absorption., Competing Interests: YP was employed by company Boen Biotechnology Co. Ltd. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The reviewer YZ declared a shared affiliation, with the authors to the handling editor at the time of the review., (Copyright © 2022 Bai, Zhou, Zhao, Wang, Ye, Pi, Che, Han, Zhang and Wang.)

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the high level of xylooligosaccharides (XOS) on growth performance, antioxidant capability, immune function, and fecal microbiota in weaning piglets. The results showed that 28 d body weight exhibited linear and quadratic increases ( P < 0.05) with increasing dietary XOS level, as well as average daily feed intake (ADFI) on d 15-28, average daily gain (ADG) on d 15-28 and 1-28. There was a linear decrease ( P < 0.05) between XOS levels and feed conversion rate (FCR) on d 1-14 and 1-28. Additionally, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) showed a linear increase ( P < 0.05), while the malondialdehyde (MDA) level decreased linearly and quadratically ( P < 0.05) with the increasing dietary level of XOS. Moreover, the XOS treatments markedly increased the levels of immunoglobulin A (Ig A) (linear, P < 0.05; quadratic, P < 0.05), IgM (quadratic, P < 0.05), IgG (linear, P < 0.05), and anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10) (quadratic, P < 0.05) in serum, while the IL-1β (linear, P < 0.05; quadratic, P < 0.05) and IL-6 (linear, P < 0.05) decreased with increasing level of XOS. Microbiota analysis showed that dietary supplementation with 1.5% XOS decreased ( P < 0.05) the α-diversity and enriched ( P < 0.05) beneficial bacteria including Lactobacillu s, Bifidobacterium , and Fusicatenibacter at the genus level, compared with the control group. Importantly, linearly increasing responses ( P < 0.05) to fecal acetate, propionate, butyrate, and total short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were observed with increasing level of XOS. Spearman correlation analyses found that Lactobacillu s abundance was positively correlated with ADG, acetate, propionate, and IgA ( P < 0.05), but negatively correlated with IL-1β ( P < 0.05). Bifidobacterium abundance was positively related with ADFI, total SCFAs, IgG, and IL-10 ( P < 0.05), as well as g &#95; Fusicatenibacter abundance with ADFI, total SCFAs, and IL-10. However, Bifidobacterium and Fusicatenibacter abundances were negatively associated with MDA levels ( P < 0.05). In summary, dietary supplementation with XOS can improve the growth performance in weaning piglets by increasing antioxidant capability, enhancing immune function, and promoting beneficial bacteria counts., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Pang, Zhou, Ye, Wu, Wang, Lu, Wang and Han.)

This study was conducted to explore the in vitro fermentation characteristics for different ratios of soluble to insoluble dietary fiber in pig fecal microbiota. The fermentation substrates consisted of inulin and a non-starch polysaccharide mixture and were divided into five groups according to different soluble dietary fiber (SDF) to insoluble dietary fiber (IDF) ratios (SDF 25, 50, 75, and 100%). With the increased SDF ratio, the total gas production increased, and the pH in the substrate decreased as the fermentation proceeded. The concentrations of lactic acid, formic acid, and acetic acid increased in the high SDF ratio group, whereas the concentrations of propionic acid and butyric acid increased in the low SDF ratio group. The genera Clostridium&#95;sensu&#95;stricto&#95;1 , Ruminococcaceae&#95;NK4A214&#95;group , Christensenellaceae&#95;R-7&#95;group , and Rikenellaceae&#95;RC9&#95;gut&#95;group were enriched in the high SDF ratio group. Correlation analysis indicated that these differential bacteria had the potential to degrade polysaccharides. These results revealed that high SDF ratios could stimulate the proliferation of fibrolytic bacteria, which in turn degrade fibers to produce organic acids and monosaccharides. Collectively, these findings add to our understanding of the mechanisms responsible for interaction between SDF and intestinal microbiota and provide new ideas for the rational use of dietary fiber., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest.

The use of antiplatelet agents in patients with ischemic stroke is recommended. In this study, we compared the efficacy and safety of the treatment of clopidogrel plus aspirin (ASA) and that of ASA alone in patients with mild stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA). Randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies of Clop + ASA vs. ASA therapy in the patients with minor stroke/TIA were identified by electronic bibliographic searches. The primary result was recurrent stroke, while myocardial infarction (MI) as well as vascular mortalities were the secondary result, and major hemorrhagic events were the safety result. A comparative analysis of binary outcomes was performed on the treatment groups, with the employment of fixed effect models and the measurement of risk ratios (95% CI). Five RCT studies involving 9,527 patients were included. Compared with the group with ASA treatment, there was significant reduction in the incidence of recurrent stroke in the group with Clop + ASA (RR=0.76, 95% CI=0.67-0.87, P<0.0001), and there was no significant increase in the incidence of vascular mortalities and MI (RR=1.08, 95% CI=0.83-1.41, P=0.56) and no significant change in major hemorrhagic events (RR=1.55, 95% CI=0.72-3.36, P=0.26). Therefore, the treatment with Clop + ASA seems safe as well as effective for decreasing stroke recurrence. In addition, this is related to a statistically insignificant trend in increasing vascular mortalities, MI, and primary hemorrhagic events. These findings need to be confirmed in prospective studies.

A Pd-catalyzed decarboxylative coupling of thiazoles and benzoxazole with various substituted benzoic acids is developed. The reaction is compatible with both electron-rich and electron-poor benzoic acids. It can also be extended to the synthesis of polyfluoro-substituted biaryls using polyfluorobenzenes as the starting materials.

A one-step preparation of xanthones via Pd-catalyzed annulation of 1,2-dibromoarenes and salicylaldehydes was developed.