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Skeletal muscle is the main edible part of meat products, and its development directly affects the yield and palatability of meat. Sea buckthorn oil (SBO) contains plenty of bioactive substances and has been recognized as a potential functional food product. The study aimed to explore the effects and possible mechanisms of SBO on sheep primary myoblast proliferation and myogenic differentiation. The results implied that SBO exhibited a pro-proliferative effect on primary myoblasts, along with up-regulated proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and Cyclin D1/cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) abundances. And, SBO promoted myotube formation by increasing the expression of myogenin. Meanwhile, we found that SBO inhibited the expression of miRNA-292a. Moreover, the regulatory effect of SBO on myogenic differentiation of myoblasts was attenuated by miRNA-292a mimics. Of note, SBO activated protein kinase B (Akt)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway and augmented glucose uptake and glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) content, which might be attributed to AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation. Additionally, the results were shown that SBO increased the abundance of antioxidative enzymes, including glutathione peroxidase 4 (Gpx4) and catalase. In summary, these data suggested that SBO regulated the proliferation and myogenic differentiation of sheep primary myoblasts in vitro, which might potentiate the application of SBO in muscle growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and hypothesis: This study was aimed at exploring the mediating role of the prolonged second stage of labor (PSSL) in the association between delivery mode and urinary incontinence (UI) among postpartum women in Shandong, China. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving postnatal women from the Women's Pelvic Floor Functional Health Center in Shandong, China, was conducted. An electronic questionnaire was used to collect the data between June 2020 and February 2021. UI was assessed using the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI SF). Logistic regression and multiple linear regression were employed to explore the association among delivery mode, PSSL, and UI, and the mediating role of PSSL. Results: Among the total of 5,586 postpartum women included in this study, the prevalence of UI was 13.3%. Among the 742 patients with UI, the prevalence of stress urinary incontinence (78.3%) was greater than urge urinary incontinence (8.6%), mixed urinary incontinence (9.3%), and others (3.8%). After adjusting for controlling variables, delivery mode was found to be significantly associated with PSSL, whereby women with vaginal delivery were more likely to be in PSSL, and women with PSSL had a higher probability of suffering from UI. PSSL played a partial mediating effect in delivery mode and UI. Conclusions: This study provided evidence that the effect of delivery mode on UI was partially mediated by PSSL among postpartum women in Shandong, China. Strategies to prevent PSSL should be actively adopted to reduce the risk of UI in women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to identify that the advantages of frozen embryos are not evident in ovulatory women or women with non-polycystic ovary syndrome (non-PCOS) by meta-analysis. An exhaustive literature search of PubMed (MEDLINE), Embase, and Cochrane Library databases was performed until March 20, 2020 (limited to articles published in English). We included randomized clinical trials comparing the results of frozen and fresh embryo transfers. The primary outcomes were live birth rate and birth weight. The fixed effect model was used when a significant heterogeneity was observed. Otherwise, a random effect model was used. In 511 identified studies, 4 were eligible and were included in this review. There was no difference in live birth rate, singleton birth weight, clinical pregnancy, ongoing pregnancy, gestational diabetes, and gestational hypertension between frozen and fresh embryos. In frozen embryos, the relative risk of moderate or severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) was lower, the incidence rate of pre-eclampsia higher, and the standardized mean difference of twin birth weight higher than in fresh embryos. There is no significant difference between frozen embryo transfer (FET) and fresh embryo transfer in ovulatory women or women with non-PCOS. We recommend that the transfer depends on the actual situation in the patient in clinical practice, rather than the "freeze all" policy and thawing FET. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrogenation of CO to synthetic natural gas (SNG) needs a high molar ratio of H2/CO (usually large than 3.0 in industry), which consumes a large abundant of hydrogen. The reverse dry reforming reaction (RDR, 2H2 + 2CO ↔ CH4 + CO2), combining CO methanation with water-gas-shift reaction, can significantly decrease the H2/CO molar ratio to 1 for SNG production. A detailed thermodynamic analysis of RDR reaction was carried out based on the Gibbs free energy minimization method. The effect of temperature, pressure, H2/CO ratio and the addition of H2O, CH4, CO2, O2 and C2H4 into the feed gas on CO conversion, CH4 and CO2 selectivity, as well as CH4 and carbon yield, are discussed. Experimental results obtained on homemade impregnated Ni/Al2O3 catalyst are compared with the calculations. The results demonstrate that low temperature (200-500 °C), high pressure (1-5 MPa) and high H2/CO ratio (at least 1) promote CO conversion and CH4 selectivity and decrease carbon yield. Steam and CO2 in the feed gas decrease the CH4 selectivity and carbon yield, and enhance the CO2 content. Extra CH4 elevates the CH4 content in the products, but leads to more carbon formation at high temperatures. O2 significantly decreases the CH4 selectivity and C2H4 results in the generation of carbon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) has been of concern worldwide. In this study, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) were investigated in antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli isolated from surface water samples (rivers, n = 17; Taihu Lake, n = 16) and from human, chicken, swine, and Egretta garzetta sources in the Taihu Basin. E. coli showing resistance to at least five drugs occurred in 31, 67, 58, 27, and 18 % of the isolates from surface water ( n = 665), chicken ( n = 27), swine ( n = 29), human ( n = 45), and E. garzetta ( n = 15) sources, respectively. The mean multi-antibiotic resistance (MAR) index of surface water samples (0.44) was lower than that of chicken (0.64) and swine (0.57) sources but higher than that of human (0.30) and E. garzetta sources (0.15). Ten tetracycline, four sulfonamide, four quinolone, five β-lactamase, and two streptomycin resistance genes were detected in the corresponding antibiotic-resistant isolates. Most antibiotic-resistant E. coli harbored at least two similar functional ARGs. Int-I was detected in at least 57 % of MAR E. coli isolates. The results of multiple correspondence analysis and Spearman correlation analysis suggest that antibiotic-resistant E. coli in water samples were mainly originated from swine, chicken, and/or human sources. Most of the ARGs detected in E. garzetta sources were prevalent in other sources. These data indicated that human activities may have contributed to the spread of ARB in the aquatic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerning the integration of large-scale wind power, an integrated model of generation and transmission expansion planning is proposed based on the assessment of the value of steady state and dynamic security. In the assessment of security value, the unit commitment simulation based on the predicted hourly load and wind power output data in the planning horizon is used to evaluate the costs of preventive control, emergency control and social losses due to the uncertainty of load and wind power. The cost of preventive control consists of the fuel cost of power generation, the environmental cost and the load shedding cost. This not only provides a systematic method of security assessment of power system expansion planning schemes, but also broadens the perspective of power system planning from the technology and economic assessment to the measure of the whole social value. In the assessment process, the preventive control and emergency control of cascading failures are also presented, which provides a convincing tool for cascading failure analysis of planning schemes and makes the security assessment more comprehensive and reasonable. The proposed model and method have been demonstrated by the assessment of two power system planning schemes on the New England 10-genarator 39-bus System. The importance of considering the value of security and simulating hourly system operation for the planning horizon, in expansion planning of power system with integration of large-scale wind power, has been confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hair follicles are the basis of the formation of Hu sheep pattern. This study was to employ whole transcriptome sequencing to screen differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) between three wave patterns in lambskin. In this study, three groups of 2-day-old Hu sheep were selected from full-sib individuals that included small, medium, and large waves, and hair follicle tissues were collected from dorsal side of Hu sheep. LncRNA and mRNA expression profiles were analyzed by whole transcriptome sequencing technology. 33, 31, and 41 differentially expressed lncRNAs were selected between large and medium, medium and small, and large and small, respectively. 458, 481, and 498 differentially expressed mRNAs were found between large and medium, medium and small, and large and small, respectively, by RNA-seq analysis. qRT-PCR results of 16 randomly selected lncRNAs and mRNAs were similar to the sequencing results. Correlation analysis of lncRNA and mRNA expression showed that, several lncRNAs may be enriched for hair follicle such as Wnt, mTOR, Notch signaling pathways. Our results aid in excavation of mRNAs and lncRNAs in hair follicle, and providing a basis for future study on pattern formation mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sheep colibacillosis is one of the most common bacterial diseases in large-scale sheep farms. In this study, we orally administered Escherichia coli F17 (E. coli F17) to lambs to obtain antagonistic and sensitive individuals. We used RNA-seq to screen for differential circRNAs in the spleens of both antagonist and sensitive individuals to explore the effect of circRNA on anti-diarrhoea in sheep. The results showed that 60 differentially expressed (DE) circRNAs were screened by RNA-seq in the spleen of antagonistic and sensitive lambs, among which 31 were up-regulated and 29 were down-regulated; q-PCR was used to validate the relative expression levels of six randomly selected circRNAs in antagonist and susceptible lambs and found to be consistent with the results of RNA-seq. Using Miranda analysis of circRNA-miRNA-mRNA interactions, we found a certain target relationship between 6 circRNAs, 5 miRNAs and 9 mRNAs. The relative expression levels of mRNA in antagonistic and sensitive lambs were verified by q-PCR and were consistent with the results of RNA-seq. This study explored the expression profile of circRNA in the spleen of an antagonistic and susceptible lamb with diarrhoea and found that differentially expressed circRNAs were helpful for determining how the lambs resist the pathogenesis of diarrhoea and provided a scientific basis for lambs to resist diarrhoea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]