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Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have shown great potential in the treatment of several inflammatory diseases due to their immunomodulatory ability, which is mediated by exosomes secreted by MSCs (MSC-Exs). The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasing globally, but there is currently no long-term effective treatment. As an emerging therapy, MSC-Exs have proven to be effective in alleviating IBD experimentally, and the specific mechanism continues to be explored. The gut microbiota plays an important role in the occurrence and development of IBD, and MSCs and MSC-Exs can effectively regulate gut microbiota in animal models of IBD, but the mechanism involved and whether the outcome can relieve the characteristic dysbiosis necessary to alleviate IBD still needs to be studied. This review provides current evidence on the effective modulation of the gut microbiota by MSC-Exs, offering a basis for further research on the pathogenic mechanism of IBD and MSC-Ex treatments through the improvement of gut microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacteria can form biofilms in natural and clinical environments on both biotic and abiotic surfaces. The bacterial aggregates embedded in biofilms are formed by their own produced extracellular matrix. Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is one of the most common pathogens of biofilm infections. The formation of biofilm can protect bacteria from being attacked by the host immune system and antibiotics and thus bacteria can be persistent against external challenges. Therefore, clinical treatments for biofilm infections are currently encountering difficulty. To address this critical challenge, a new and effective treatment method needs to be developed. A comprehensive understanding of bacterial biofilm formation and regulation mechanisms may provide meaningful insights against antibiotic resistance due to bacterial biofilms. In this review, we discuss an overview of S. aureus biofilms including the formation process, structural and functional properties of biofilm matrix, and the mechanism regulating biofilm formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ni58Cr32Fe10-based alloys, such as Alloy 690 and filler metal 52 (FM-52), suffer from ductility dip cracking (DDC). It is reported that decreasing the stacking fault energy (SFE) of these materials could improve the DDC resistance of Alloy 690. In this work, the effects of alloying elements on the stacking fault energies (SFEs) of Ni58Cr32Fe10 alloys were studied using first-principle calculations. In our simulations, 2 at.% of Ni is replaced by alloy element X (X=Al, Co, Cu, Hf, Mn, Nb, Ta, Ti, V, and W). At a finite temperature, the SFEs were divided into the magnetic entropy (SFEmag) and 0 K (SFE0) contributions. Potentially, the calculated results could be used in the design of high-performance Ni58Cr32Fe10-based alloys or filler materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]