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Nano-encapsulated phase change materials (NEPCMs) with appropriate phase change temperature range and excellent anti-permeability have significant application value in the field of thermal regulation dressings. In this study, NEPCMs were synthesized using the microemulsion polymerization method, with eutectic fatty acids (LA-SA) as the core material and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as the shell material. Subsequently, using the electrostatic adsorption method, chitosan (CS) was successfully coated onto the outer surface of NEPCMs, resulting in the preparation of a novel bilayer shell nano-encapsulated phase change materials (BS-NEPCMs) for thermal regulation dressings. The impact of core/shell ratio, CS acid solution concentration and cross-linking agent content on capsule properties was investigated. It was found that BS-NEPCMs exhibited excellent cyclical stability and thermal stability. In particular, the CS shell layer provided excellent interfacial impermeability effects for the capsules, achieving an anti-permeability efficiency of 96.21 %. This not only helps address the problem of high leakage rates in single wall capsules, but also ensures that the capsules maintain high phase change enthalpies of 99.32 J/g and 96.38 J/g, respectively. The dressings based on BS-NEPCMs demonstrated good thermal regulation at 33–42 °C with maximum phase change enthalpies of 39.53 J/g and 34.08 J/g, respectively. Swelling and rheological analysis showed that the dressing exhibits a gel state, with a swelling ratio of 343 %, an elastic modulus of 15 kPa and a viscous modulus of 4 kPa. This study indicated that BS-NEPCMs hold significant promise for various applications in energy storage and body thermal regulation fields.

Microencapsulated phase change materials (MEPCMs) have been widely used in the fields of slurry, buildings, and textiles, because of their excellent durability, impermeability, and high thermal conductivity. However, the microencapsulation also makes the phase change process difficult to observe. In recent years, many scholars have attempted to add chromic materials into microcapsules in order to realize the visualization of the phase change process. This paper gives a brief review of extant chromic MECPMs and their applications. Three main types of chromic materials were introduced: thermochromic, photochromic, solvatochromic. Their specific classification and chromic principle are shown. The commonly used preparation method of chromic MEPCMs was presented. The current advance in applications of chromic MEPCMs are briefly discussed. The discussion covers several frontier areas of focus, including thermal control fabric, energy-efficient buildings, wearable temperature sensors, and low-temperature energy storage. A detailed analysis about the application effect and potential of chromic MEPCMs in these areas was given. This Review may provide a guideline for the future study about preparation and application of chromic MEPCMs.

This study aimed to synthesize a reversible thermochromic membrane (TC-membrane) using nano-encapsulated phase change materials (NEPCMs) for medical dressings, which possess both body temperature monitoring and regulation functionality. N-Octadecane (C18) was chosen as the core material in NEPCMs to facilitate heat absorption. Crystal violet lactone (CVL) Bisphenol A (BPA) and tetradecanol (C14H29OH) were employed as the thermochromic compound. In addition, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and water-based polyurethane (WPU) were used to prepare TC-membrane, and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPC) was used as a modified material to enhance the mechanical properties of TC-membrane. Characterization results revealed that the most optimal color-changing performance was achieved with a mass ratio of CVL to BPA to C14H29OH at 1:3:50. The TC-membrane exhibited a phase transition enthalpy of 22.6 J/g and 31.9 J/g in solidification and melting progress, respectively, demonstrating excellent heat storage capabilities. The addition of HPC enhanced the mechanical properties, resulting in a 37.1 % increase in tensile strength and a 90.8 % increase in elongation at break. Furthermore, the TC-membrane presented rapid responses to temperature variations, with color changes and recoveries occurring within 1 min. This study demonstrated that NEPCMs have a promising potential future in applications related to wearable temperature sensors, energy storage and thermal regulation applications.

The current study attempted to identify the action target and related signal pathways of the Wuzi Yanzong prescription for the treatment of asthenozoospermia (AZS) by using network pharmacology and molecular docking. We identified 72 active components in five traditional Chinese medications and screened their 216 corresponding targets. We identified 147 target AZS-related genes after intersecting the results from both screenings. Our results suggest that AKT1, interleukin 6 (IL6), vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), caspase 3 (CASP3), JUN, MYC, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), epidermal growth factor (EGF), oestrogen receptor 1 (ESR1), and mitogen-activated protein kinase 8 (MAPK8) may be the core targets of the Wuzi Yanzong prescription for AZS. We found 1023 gene ontology (GO) functional enrichment analysis core targets, including 965 biological processes (BP), 15 cell composition (CC), and 43 molecular function (MF) targets. After screening the Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) screening, we obtained 103 AZS-related pathways. The Wuzi Yanzong prescription acts mainly on AKT1, IL6, VEGFA, CASP3 and other targets to regulate mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK), focal adhesion, Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1), tumour necrosis factor (TNF) and other signal pathways to improve AZS.

Since 2005, novel duck reoviruses have been outbreaks in duck breeding areas such as central China and South China. In recent years, the incidence rate of this disease is still increasing, bringing serious economic losses to waterfowl breeding industry. This study isolated 3 novel duck reoviruses (NDRV-SDLS, NDRV-SDWF, and NDRV-SDYC) from sick ducks in 3 local duck farms in Shandong Province. The study aimed to investigate the characteristics of these viruses. The virus is inoculated into duck embryo fibroblasts, where the virus replicates to produce syncytium and dies within 3 to 5 d. The viruses were also isolated from infected ducks, and RT-PCR amplified the whole genomes after passage purification in duck embryos. The resulting whole genome was analyzed for genetic evolution. The total length of the gene sequencing was 23,418 bp, divided into 10 fragments. Gene sequence comparison showed that the 3 strains had high similarity with novel duck reoviruses (NDRV) but low similarity with chicken-origin reovirus (chicken ARV) and Muscovy duck reovirus (MDRV), especially in the σC segment. Phylogenetic analysis of the 10 fragments showed that the 3 isolates constituted the same evolutionary clade as other DRV reference strains and were far related to ARV and MDRV in different evolutionary clades. The results of all 10 segments indicate that the isolates are in the evolutionary branch of NDRV, suggesting that the novel waterfowl reovirus is the dominant circulating strain in Shandong. This study complements the gene bank information of NDRV and provides references for vaccine research and disease prediction of NDRV in Shandong.

In recent years, with the expansion of duck breeding industry in China, the infection rate of duck circovirus (DuCV) in duck and the mixed infection rate of DuCV with other diseases increased significantly, which seriously endanger the development of duck breeding industry. To study the epidemic status of duck circovirus in China, analyze the virus's genetics and evolution, and establish a foundation for scientific prevention and control of duck circovirus, our laboratory collected 4 disease materials preliminarily diagnosed as duck circovirus infections. Conventional PCR was used to amplify 4 strains of duck circovirus with a full length of 1993bp, and their sequences were compared and analyzed. The analysis showed that the 4 DuCVs had typical circovirus characteristics, including 3 major ORFs: ORFV1 (Rep protein), ORFC1 (Cap protein), ORFC2 (apoptosis-related protein), and a stem ring structure. The 4 strains were compared with 22 other reference strains, and the results revealed that all 4 strains belonged to the DuCV-I type represented by the German strain AY228555. Furthermore, the homology between the 4 DuCVs and the reference strains was up to 98.6%, which help us to understand the genotype and genetic variation of DuCV in these regions and provide a reference for the prevention and control of DuCV.

The development of pharmaceutical cold chain logistics calls for thermochromic microencapsulated phase change materials (TC-MPCMs) to fit the demand of temperature indication and low temperature (2–8 °C) cold storage. In this study, TC-MPCMs for low temperature were constructed by encapsulating crystal violet lactone (CVL), bisphenol A (BPA) and n-tetradecane & n-dodecanol (aliphatic compound) binary system into melamine-formaldehyde (MF) resin. The effects of emulsifier type, n-dodecanol content, and core/shell ratio on the performance of TC-MPCMs were investigated. Results indicate that TC-MPCMs with SMA: gelatin ratio of 2:1 exhibit the best morphology and uniform dispersion, with particle size distribution between 4.5 μm and 19.5 μm. TC-MPCMs with 25 wt% 12OH and core/shell of 1.85 demonstrate excellent property in terms of the encapsulation efficiency, melting enthalpy and color difference, which are 67.80 %, 169.90 J/g and 23.39, respectively. Synthesized TC-MPCMs present outstanding thermal durability during 100 thermal cycles and have an appreciable thermal stability at temperature not exceeding 96 °C. The vaccine refrigerator was designed which can maintain a low temperature (2–8 °C) for 12.8 min.

Interferon regulatory factor 8 (IRF8) is also known as interferon (IFN) consensus sequence binding protein (ICSBP), which plays an important role in IFN signal transduction. In this study, we cloned the full-length coding sequence of Cherry Valley duck IRF8 (duIRF8) and analyzed its structure. In addition, we tested the distribution of IRF8 in the tissues of healthy Cherry Valley ducks, and the changes in IRF8 expression levels in the tissues after virus infection. The results show that the open reading frame (ORF) of IRF8 is 1293 bp, encodes 430 amino acids, and have 3 conserved domains: the N-terminal DBD domain, the C-terminal IAD domain, and the NLS domain. Besides, from the analysis of the phylogenetic tree, it can be known that the duIRF8 has the highest homology with the anser cygnoides, and has less homology with the fish. Analyzing the distribution level of IRF8 in the tissues, it is found that the expression level of IRF8 in the liver of Cherry Valley duck is the highest. However, after infection with duck Tambusu virus, novel duck reovirus, and duck plague virus, the expression of IRF8 in the spleen and brain all showed up-regulation. These data indicate that IRF8 is involved in the host's innate immune response against virus in Cherry Valley duck.

CD4 protein is a single chain transmembrane glycoprotein and has a broad functionality beyond cell-mediated immunity. In this study, we cloned the full-length coding sequence (CDS) of duck CD4 (duCD4) and analyzed its sequence and structure, and expression levels in several tissues. It consists of 1,449 nucleotides and encodes a 482 amino acid protein. The putative protein of duCD4 consisted of an N-terminal signal peptide, three immunoglobulins and one immunoglobulins-like domain in its central, one terminal transmembrane region, and a C-terminal domain of the CD4 T cell receptor. The duCD4 also has the typical signature “CXC” of CD4s. The multiple sequence alignment suggests duCD4 has four potential N-glycosylation sites and the phylogenetic analysis suggests duCD4 shares greater similarity with avian than other vertebrates. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that duCD4 mRNA transcripts are widely distributed in the healthy Cherry Valley duck, and the highest level in the thymus. During the virus infection, the obvious change of duCD4 expression was observed in the spleen, lung and brain, which suggesting that duCD4 could be involved in the host's immune response to multiple types of viruses. Our research studied the characterization, tissue distribution, and antiviral immune responses of duCD4.

Interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4) is a multifunctional transcription factor that plays an important regulatory role in the interferon (IFN) signaling. IRF4 participates in the process of anti-virus, Th cell differentiation and B cell maturation by regulating the expression of IFN and some lymphokines. In this study, Cherry Valley duck IRF4 (duIRF4) was cloned and its cDNA was analyzed. Expression of duIRF4 in a wide variety of tissues and changes in duIRF4 expression due to viral infection also was detected by quantitative real-time PCR. The results show that duIRF4 contains 1341 bp of ORF encoding a protein with 446 amino acids and contains three domains: DNA-binding domain (DBD), IRF-association domain (IAD) and nuclear localization signal (NLS). Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that duIRF4 was evenly expressed in all tissues examined, with the highest expression in the spleen, followed by the bursa of Fabricius, and lower in the skin and brain. In addition, expression of duIRF4 in the brain and spleen was significantly up-regulated after being infected by duck plague virus, duck Tembusu virus, and novel duck reovirus. These data suggest that duIRF4 may be involved in innate immune response.