Search

As railway transportation advances towards higher speeds and increased axle loads, the fatigue damage between wheels and rails has become more severe, significantly limiting the service life and safety of trains. Therefore, developing upgrade wheel-rail materials with enhanced contact fatigue properties has been considered an effective approach to avoid damage. This study reports a newly developed heavy-haul wheel steel with a superior rolling contact fatigue performance and the fatigue damage of wheel was studied by a novel RCF tester with a vision system. The results indicate that the newly developed heavy-haul wheel steel (NW) consists of smaller pearlite layer spacing and reduced proeutectoid ferrite. The NW steel demonstrates outstanding fatigue resistance in both oil and dry conditions, with a fatigue life 2.7 times longer than CL65 wheel steel and superior performance compared to most typical wheel steels. With increasing in pearlite content and decreasing in pearlitic interlamellar spacing, the fatigue damage degree of wheels under oil or dry contact conditions decreases obviously, leading to a significant enhancement in fatigue life. Properly controlling the pearlite content and the interlamellar spacing can optimize the fatigue properties of wheel materials. The vision system observed that the average area and perimeter of the defects gradually increased on the sample surface. The shape of the defect became more rounded under oil contact conditions but showed the opposite result in dry contact. When subjected to cyclic loading, surface cracks propagated along various paths after initiation, eventually forming different morphologies of peeling. The results will not only help optimize wheel materials for heavy-haul railways, but also offer an effective means for analyzing damage evolution in wheel-rail contact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pile penetration is a very important engineering parameter in pile sinking operation of jacket platform. Insufficient penetration may lead to insufficient bearing capacity of pile foundation, resulting in platform instability and extremely serious safety accidents. In the process of actual pile sinking operation, the penetration is affected by many factors. In this paper, through relevant calculation and analysis, the influencing factors such as internal friction angle, pile diameter, hammer distance and hammer quality are studied, and the influence law of pile penetration is obtained. Finally, relevant suggestions are given in order to provide reference for engineering practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) are being increasingly deployed in energy storage systems (ESS) due to a high energy density. However, the inherent flammability of current LIBs presents a new challenge to fire protection system design. While bench-scale testing has focused on the hazard of a single battery, or small collection of batteries, the more complex burning behavior of a commercially design module (collection of batteries) or rack (collection of modules) is still largely unknown. In this study, a series of small- to large-scale free burn fire tests were conducted on ESS comprised of either iron phosphate (LFP) or lithium nickel oxide/lithium manganese oxide (LNO/LMO) batteries. Small-scale tests showed that a thermal runaway event could lead to a self-propagating fire for both the LFP and LNO/LMO batteries with a significantly greater heat release rate (HRR) generated from the LNO/LMO battery. Intermediate- and large-scale tests showed that the burning of a single module was sufficient to involve all other modules within the same ESS rack for both types of battery chemistries. The different burning behavior of the two battery chemistries was further demonstrated with the LNO/LMO battery generating a maximum HRR nearly three times that of the LFP battery. To better understand the hazard associated with these fires, a multi-point source model was used to analyze the radiative heat exposure to the environment. The end result is an experimentally validated data set that can be used to estimate the heat exposure to objects surrounding an ESS fire, such as ESS racks across an aisle space in a large deployment, or other nearby combustibles. These data also provide the basis for evaluating the effectiveness of sprinkler protection at reducing the fire hazard and protecting the surroundings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of adding Brevibacillus laterosporus (B. laterosporus) PBC01 to aquarium water on water quality, including Aeromonas spp. counts, growth performance, digestive enzyme activities, and antioxidant activity of the crucian carp Carassius auratus. One hundred and twenty healthy crucian carp (13.56 ± 0.2 g) were reared for 56 days in four different treatments with three replications, as the control group (clean water) and three test groups with PBC01 at levels 5 × 103 CFU/ml, 5 × 104 CFU/ml, and 5 × 105 CFU/ml added to the rearing water. As a result, B. laterosporus in rearing water can lower the concentrations of nitrogen and the number of Aeromonas spp. to varying degrees. As the B. laterosporus concentration increased, the effect became more significant. Crucian carp reared in water supplemented with B. laterosporus showed marked growth performance in comparison with the control group. In addition, rearing water supplemented with B. laterosporus improved antioxidant status in the serum and liver of crucian carp, and increased the intestinal digestive enzyme activity. In conclusion, certain amounts of B. laterosporus PBC01 used as a probiotic supplement in the aquarium water can promote crucian carp growth and improve the health status of these fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was focused on evaluating the effects of Bacillus methylotrophicus SY200 in broiler production. A total of 120 healthy 7-day-old broiler chicks were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments, which included basal diet supplemented with 0%, 0.10%, 0.25%, or 0.50% (w/w) B. methylotrophicus SY200 preparation (1.0 × 109 cfu/g), regarded as negative control group (NC), low-dose group (BML), medium-dose group (BMM), and high-dose group (BMH), respectively. Each treatment was fed the corresponding experimental diet for 35 days. Results showed that dietary supplementation of B. methylotrophicus SY200 could improve broiler weight gain, especially the finisher phase. Further studies suggested that a certain amount of B. methylotrophicus SY200 enhanced the broiler antioxidant status and improved the morphological development of jejunum. Besides, dietary supplementation of B. methylotrophicus SY200 especially in 0.50% levels significantly increased the relative weight of immune organs and Newcastle disease virus antibody titer, similarly, increased mRNA expression levels of claudin-1, claudin-3, zonula occluden-1, and zonula occluden-2 were observed in the jejunum of BMM group. Moreover, B. methylotrophicus SY200 also showed beneficial effects in improving broilers microbiota homeostasis by increasing the number of beneficial bacteria. Conclusively, B. methylotrophicus SY200 could effectively improve the antioxidant status, modulate the intestinal structure, enhance the intestinal mucosal barrier function, and regulate the immune function of broilers, which finally improves the performance of the chicken in the finisher period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the application effect of antimicrobial peptides Gal-13 (AMP Gal-13) instead of antibiotic feed additives, 90 7-day-old Ross 308 broilers were randomly divided into 3 groups. Group A was fed a basic diet as the control, and Groups B and C were supplemented with AMP Gal-13 (100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg, respectively). After a 35-day feeding experiment, the weight and average daily gain (ADG) of the broilers in Group B were significantly higher than those of the broilers in Group A. The Enterococcus sp. and Escherichia coli counts in the ileum and cecum in Group A were significantly higher than those in Groups B and C, while the Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and Bifidobacterium sp. counts were significantly lower. The amylase activity of the jejunum in Group B was significantly higher than that in Group A. The villus length (VL): crypt depth (CD) ratios of the jejunum and ileum in Group B were significantly higher than those in Group A. The glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities in the liver and serum in Groups B and C were significantly higher than those in Group A, while the malondialdehyde (MDA) activity was significantly lower. The titers of Newcastle disease virus (NDV)–specific antibodies were elevated significantly in Group B at the age of 42 days. Additionally, the weights of the spleen and thymus were significantly increased. The expression levels of Il-2, Il-6, Tgf-β4, Tnf-α, and Mif in the spleen in Groups B and C were significantly downregulated to different degrees; Il-4 expression in Group B was significantly upregulated, while Ifn-γ expression in Group C was significantly upregulated. The results suggested that adding AMP Gal-13 to the diet could improve intestinal digestion, the antioxidant capacity, and immune function, ultimately promoting the growth of broilers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multi-functional properties of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) on host health have been a popular research topic. The aim of present study was to assess the multi-functional potential of five LAB strains isolated from giant panda. In this study, we analyzed five giant panda LAB strains (Weissella confuse WJ202003 (W3), WJ202009 (W9), WJ202021 (W21), BSP201703 (X3); Lactiplantibacillus plantarum BSGP201683 (G83)) and found that they exhibited rapid growth as well as strong acid production capacity. The five LAB strains possessed high cell surface hydrophobicity to the four tested solvents (xylene, hexadecane, chloroform, ethyl acetate; except strain W9), auto-aggregation ability, co-aggregation ability with three pathogens (Escherichia coli, Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella), adhesion ability to Caco-2 cell line, and strongly biofilm formation ability, suggesting an adhesion property. As investigated for their antioxidative potential, all the strains showed good tolerance to H2O2, high scavenging ability against 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and hydroxyl (OH−), and reduction ability. Furthermore, the five LAB strains could produce multiple probiotic substances, including exopolysaccharide (EPS), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), bile salt hydrolase (BSH), cellulase (only strain G83), and protease (except strain X3), which was the first to report the production of EPS, GABA, BSH, cellulase, and protease in giant panda-derived LAB strain. These results demonstrated that strains W3, W9, W21, X3, and G83 had multi-functional potential and could be utilized as potential probiotics for giant panda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to explore whether or not the combined application of BS15 and H2 is capable to have a more effective control effect on SNE in broilers. A total of 240 1-day-old female chickens were randomly divided into 5 groups: (a) basal diet in negative control group (NC group); (b) basal diet + SNE infection (coccidiosis vaccine + CP) (PC group); (c) basal diet + SNE infection + H2 pre-treatment (BT group); (d) basal diet + SNE infection + BS15 pre-treatment (LT group); and (e) basal diet + SNE infection + H2 pre-treatment + BS15 pre-treatment (MT group). The results showed the MT group had the most positive effect on inhibiting the negative effect of growth performance at 42 days of age. In the detection of the NC, PC, and MT group indicators at 28 days of age, we found that MT group significantly promoted ileum tissue development of broilers, and the ileum of broilers in the MT group formed a flora structure different from NC and PC, although it was found that the MT group had no effect on the butyrate level in the cecum, but it could affect the serum immune level, such as significantly reducing the level of pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-8 and increasing the content of immunoglobulin IgM and IgG. In conclusion, the composite preparation of Lactobacillus johnsonii BS15 and Bacillus licheniformis H2 could effectively improve the growth performance against SNE broilers, which is possibly caused by the improvement of the immune levels, the reduction of inflammation levels, and the promotion of the intestinal development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this experiment, laying hens were divided into a high productive group (group H) and a low productive group (group L). The purpose of this experiment was to screen and isolate a potential probiotic associated with the laying rate from group H by comparing the results via 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing. The high-throughput sequencing analysis results showed that there were some differences in the composition of the gut microbiome between groups H and L on the Phylum and Genus levels. Through isolation and identification, we screened 16 lactobacilli strains. Among the 16 strains, S5 showed good acid tolerance, bile salt tolerance, and cholesterol degradation. Therefore, we chose strain S5 (identified as Limosilactobacillus oris, named Limosilactobacillus oris BSLO 1801) as a potential probiotic to promote the productivity of ordinary laying hens. During the animal experiment, 288 Hy-line white hens (30 weeks old) were divided into four groups, with six replications (n = 12) per group. The control group received the basic diet, and the treatment groups received the same basic diet supplemented with 107 CFU/kg, 108 CFU/kg, and 109 CFU/kg of BSLO 1801. The laying hens were acclimated to the environment for 1 week before the initiation of the experiment. Dietary supplementation with 107 CFU/kg and 109 CFU/kg of BSLO 1801 increased the laying rate significantly, and the potential probiotic improved the egg weight in all treatment groups. Additionally, the cholesterol content of the yolk dropped significantly in the 109 CFU/kg group, and the weight of egg yolk was significantly increased in all treatment groups. However, no significant differences in eggshell strength, eggshell thickness, protein height, and Haugh unit were observed among the four groups. These results revealed that lactobacilli spp. are important bacteria of the intestinal microbiome in highly productive laying hens, and BSLO 1801 was isolated as a potential probiotic. Through these animal experiments, we also found that adding BSLO 1801 to the basic diet of laying hens could effectively improve the laying rate, average egg weight, and yolk weight and reduce the cholesterol content in egg yolk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Cdc42 has been linked to multiple human cancers and is implicated in the migration of cancer cells. Cdc42 could be activated via biochemical and biophysical factors in tumor microenvironment, the precise control of Cdc42 was essential to determine its role to cell behaviors. Needle-shaped protrusions (filopodia) could sense the extracellular biochemical cues and pave the path for cell movement, which was a key structure involved in the regulation of cancer cell motility. Methods: We used the photoactivatable Cdc42 to elucidate the breast cancer cell protrusions, the mutation of Cdc42 was to confirm the optogenetic results. We also inhibit the Cdc42, Rac or Rho respectively by the corresponding inhibitors. Results: We identified that the activation of Cdc42 by light could greatly enhance the formation of filopodia, which was positive for the contribution of cell movement. The expression of Cdc42 active form Cdc42-Q61L in cells resulted in the longer and more filopodia while the Cdc42 inactive form Cdc42-T17N were with the shorter and less filopodia. Moreover, the inhibition of Cdc42, Rac or Rho all significantly reduced the filopodia numbers and length in the co-expression of Cdc42-Q61L, which showed that the integration of small GTPases was necessary in the formation of filopodia. Furthermore, photoactivation of Cdc42 failed to enhance the filopodia formation with the inhibition of Rac or Rho. However, with the inhibition of Cdc42, the photoactivation of Cdc42 could partially recover back the filopodia formations, which indicated that the integration of small GTPases was key for the filopodia formations. Conclusions: Our work highlights that light activates Cdc42 is sufficient to promote filopodia formation without the destructive structures of small GTPases, it not only points out the novel technique to determine cell structure formations but also provides the experimental basis for the efficient small GTPases-based anti-cancer strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhizosphere microorganisms can greatly affect plant growth, especially the plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), which can improve plant root development and growth because they contain various biological functions including nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, and phytosiderophore production. This study demonstrates that Cyperus rotundus L. is capable of developing and forming complex underground reproductive systems at arbitrary burial depths and cutting modes due to its extremely strong multiplication and regeneration ability. With the densities of C. rotundus increasing, the abundance of PGPR, soil enzymes invertase and urease, the nutrient contents of the field soil, and maize quality were impacted. Notably, more abundance of PGPR—most notably, the nitrogen-fixing microorganisms (NFMs) such as Azospirillum, Burkholderia, Mycobacterium, and Rhizobium—enriches in the rhizosphere of C. rotundus than in that of maize. In addition, the activities of soil enzymes invertase (S_SC) and urease (S_SU) were significantly higher in its rhizosphere than in maize, further proving that more NFMs enrich the C. rotundus rhizosphere. The nutrient contents of the field soil of TN, SOM, and SOC were reduced, indicating that the presence of C. rotundus made the soil infertile. Hence, these pieces of evidence indicate that C. rotundus may drive the field soil infertile as reflected by reduced soil nutrients via altering rhizosphere bacteria community structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deacetylated porous cellulose acetate microspheres (DPCA) modified with hydroxyapatite (HA) penetrated polydopamine (PDA) coating was prepared by a one-step in-situ method and investigated as the scaffold for bone tissue regeneration. The physical and chemical properties of different scaffolds were analyzed by Scanning electron microscopy, Transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectrum. Test results proved the unique three-dimensional porous structure, homogeneous PDA coating, dispersive HA crystals of the DPCA-PDA-HA microspheres (DPPH). The excellent attachment, adhesion and proliferation of MC3T3-E1 preosteoblast on DPPH were manifested by cell adhesion and biocompatibility assessment. In vitro mineralization also shown MC3T3-E1 was capable of differentiating osteogenically. Such satisfactory biomedical performance of DPPH was ascribed to the one-step introducing process contributing to a uniform and enrich growth of HA on the microspheres surface and interior. This study provides a promising cellulose-based scaffold applied in bone regeneration field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Giant pandas often suffered from gastrointestinal disease, especially the captive sub-adult one. Our study aims to investigate whether L. plantarum G83, a good panda-derived probiotic, can improve the intestinal barrier against the enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli K88 (E. coli K88) infection in giant panda microbiota-associated mice (GPAM). We treated SPF mice with antibiotics cocktail and transplanted the giant panda intestinal microbiota to set up a GPAM. Our results demonstrated that the microbiota of GPAM changed over time and was relatively stable in the short-term experiment (2–4 weeks). Whereafter, the GPAM pretreated with L. plantarum G83 for 15 days and infected with enterotoxigenic E. coli K88. The result indicated that the number of Bifidobacteria spp. increased in GPAM-G and GPAM-GE groups; the Lactobacillus spp. only increased in the GPAM-G group. Although the abundance of Enterobacteriaceae spp. only decreased in the GPAM-G group, the copy number of Escherichia coli in the GPAM-E group was significantly lower than that in the other groups. Meanwhile, the L. plantarum G83-induced alteration of microbiota could increase the mRNA expression of Claudin-1, Zo-1, and Occludin-1 in the GPAM-G group in the ileum; only Occludin-1 was increased in the GPAM-GE group. The sIgA in the ileum showed a positive response, also the result of body weight and histology in both the GPAM-G and GPAM-GE group. These results indicated that the L. plantarum G83 could improve the intestinal barrier to defense the enterotoxigenic E. coli K88 invasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subclinical necrotic enteritis (SNE) is one of the serious threats to the poultry industry. Probiotics have been proven to exert beneficial effects in controlling SNE. However, their exact mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. Moreover, few studies have focused on their impact on microRNAs (miRNAs). Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the miRNA expression profiles in the ileum of broiler chickens during probiotic supplementation for controlling SNE. A total of 180 newly hatched male broilers were randomly allocated into three groups, including a negative control group, an SNE infection group, and a Bacillus licheniformis H2 pretreatment group. Illumina high-throughput sequencing was conducted to identify the miRNA expression of the three groups. Results showed that 628 miRNAs, including 582 known miRNAs and 46 novel miRNAs, were detected in the miRNA libraries. The target genes of 57 significantly differentially expressed miRNAs were predicted and annotated. Moreover, they were found to be partly enriched in pathways related to immunity and inflammation such as tumor necrosis factor receptor binding, immune response-regulating signaling pathway, Toll-like receptor 2 signaling pathway, interleukin-15 production, activation of NF-κB-inducing kinase activity, and MAP kinase tyrosine/serine/threonine phosphatase activity. Some of the target genes of 57 miRNAs were related to the MAPK signaling pathway. Furthermore, the expression of several miRNAs, which may be involved in the MAPK signaling pathway, was significantly affected by SNE induction and showed no significant difference in the presence of H2. All these findings provide comprehensive miRNA expression profiles of three different treatment groups. They further suggest that H2 could exert beneficial effects in controlling SNE through immune and inflammatory response associated with altered miRNA expression, such as the MAPK signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Necrotic enteritis (NE) is being considered as one of the most important intestinal diseases in the recent poultry production systems, which causes huge economic losses globally. NE is caused by Clostridium perfringens, a pathogenic bacterium, and normal resident of the intestinal microflora of healthy broiler chickens. Gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of broiler chicken is considered as the most integral part of pathogen's entrance, their production and disease prevention. Interaction between C. perfringens and other pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella present in the small intestine may contribute to the development of NE in broiler chickens. The antibiotic therapy was used to treat the NE; however European Union has imposed a strict ban due to the negative implications of drug resistance. Moreover, antibiotic growth promoters cause adverse effects on human health as results of withdrawal of antibiotic residues in the chicken meat. After restriction on use of antibiotics, numerous studies have been carried out to investigate the alternatives to antibiotics for controlling NE. Thus, possible alternatives to prevent NE are bio-therapeutic agents (Probiotics), prebiotics, organic acids and essential oils which help in nutrients digestion, immunity enhancement and overall broiler performance. Recently, probiotics are extensively used alternatives to antibiotics for improving host health status and making them efficient in production. The aim of review is to describe a replacement to antibiotics by using different microbial strains as probiotics such as bacteria and yeasts etc. having bacteriostatic properties which inhibit growth of pathogens and neutralize the toxins by different modes of action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the influence of chronic fluorosis on the brain has been widely reported. Our study aimed to demonstrate the potential mechanism underlying the impairment of memory function by excessive fluorine intake. We also evaluated whether improvement of intestinal microflora could be a potential therapy to prevent the negative influences from the perspective of gut-brain axis. Male ICR mice were randomly divided into three groups and administered with either phosphate buffered saline (PBS) (Control and F groups) or Lactobacillus johnsonii BS15 (FP group; daily amounts of 1 × 109 CFU/mL), a probiotic strain, by oral gavage throughout a 98-day experimental period. Sodium fluoride (100 mg/L) was added to the drinking water of the F and FP groups. Animals were sacrificed for sampling with or without water avoidance stress (WAS) at two phases of the experiment and behavioral tests including T-maze test and passive avoidance test were also performed. Based on the results of behavioral tests, probiotic reversed the fluorine-induced memory dysfunction. In addition, L. johnsonii BS15 also increased the antioxidant capacities (serum and hippocampal tissue) and hippocampal synaptic plasticity-related mRNA expression after excessive fluoride ingestion. Moreover, the increased colonization of L. johnsonii BS15 also protected the small intestines from the damages of growth performance, visceral indexes, intestinal development, digestive, and secretory functions by changing the structure of the microflora and then improving intestinal permeability and integrity. L. johnsonii BS15 also improved the ability of flourosis mice against psychological stress indicated by the changes in behavioral tasks, hippocampal antioxidant levels, and synaptic plasticity-related mRNA expressions. Lactobacillus johnsonii BS15 intake appears as a promising way to ameliorate fluorine-induced memory dysfunction, especially under psychological stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The black-odor phenomenon in polluted urban rivers is a serious environmental problem that has received increasing attention in the recent years. The low redox potential (less than − 100 mV) in the sediment is considered to be the key factor causing the occurrence of black-odor phenomenon. Here, we studied the structure and function of the microbial community during the remediation of urban rivers. Results showed a clear improvement in water quality after undergoing river remediation processes. The on-site treatments showed a succession in the microbial composition and their predicted functions. The primary iron- and sulfur-reducing bacteria (Thiobacillus, Sulfuricurvum, and Sulfursoma) and the related reactions rapidly decreased after the dredging treatment but reappeared after a year. The structure and abundance of nitrogen and methane participants were also affected by river remediation process. These results indicated that although the water quality temporarily improved shortly after a dredging process, a recurrence of the black-odor phenomenon may occur as a result of the rebound in the microbial communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reduction in the use of antibiotics in the poultry industry has considerably increased the appearance of Clostridium perfringens (CP)–induced subclinical necrotic enteritis (SNE), forcing researchers to search alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) like probiotics. This study aimed to investigate the effect and the underlying potential mechanism of dietary supplementation of Bacillus licheniformis H2 to prevent SNE. A total of 180 1-day-old male broiler chickens (Ross 308) were randomly divided into three groups, with six replicates in each group and ten broilers per pen: (a) basal diet in negative control group(NC group); (b) basal diet + SNE infection(coccidiosis vaccine + CP) (SNE group); (c) basal diet + SNE infection + H2 pre-treatment(BL group). Growth performance, morphology of small intestine and liver, and antioxidant capacity of the serum, ileum, and liver were assessed in all three groups. The results showed that H2 significantly suppressed (P < 0.05) the negative effects on growth performance induced by SNE, including loss of body weight gain, decrease of feed intake, and raise of feed conversion ratio among the different treatments at 28 days. The addition of H2 also increased (P < 0.05) the villus height: crypt depth ratio as well as villus height in the ileum. Chicks fed with H2 diet had lower malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in the ileum in BL group than that in SNE group (P < 0.05). Moreover, compared with other treatment groups, dietary H2 improved the activities of antioxidant enzymes in the ileum, serum, and liver (P < 0.05). H2 may also prevent SNE by significantly increasing the protein content (P < 0.05) of Bcl-2 in the liver. Dietary supplementation of H2 could effectively prevent the appearance of CP-induced SNE and improve the growth performance of broiler chickens damaged by SNE, of which the mechanism may be related to intestinal development, antioxidant capacity, and apoptosis which were improved by H2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Norcantharidin (NCTD) is a potential anti-renal interstitial fibrotic drug. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of how NCTD works remains unclear. In this study, using both in vivo and in vitro models, we report that the level of β-catenin is positively correlated to the degree of renal interstitial fibrosis (RIF). Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) binds to β-catenin and suppresses its phosphorylation, thereby increasing the total β-catenin expression. Additionally, NCTD dramatically elevates the level of phosphorylated β-catenin and decreases total β-catenin expression in a dose-dependent manner, consequently leading to the reduction of RIF. Mechanistically, PP2A-mediated suppression of β-catenin phosphorylation is an essential target for the anti-renal interstitial fibrotic effect of NCTD. Therefore, we report a potential theoretical basis for clinical application of NCTD in treating RIF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study mainly explored the immunomodulatory mechanisms of the probiotic Bacillus cereus PAS38 (PB) on broiler spleen. A total of 120 avian white feather broilers were randomly divided into 4 groups (N = 30), as follows: control (CNTL, fed with basal diet), PB (fed with diet supplemented with probiotic B. cereus PAS38), vaccine (VAC, fed with basal diet and injected with Newcastle disease virus vaccine), and vaccine + PB group (PBVAC, fed with basal diet supplemented with B. cereus PAS38 and injected with NDV vaccine). The experiment was conducted for 42 days. Twelve spleens were collected from four different groups, weighed, and cut into histological sections, and transcriptome analysis was performed using RNA-seq. Results of the spleen and histological section relative weights showed that feeding with probiotic B. cereus PAS38 and vaccination had a similar tendency to promote spleen development. Compared with the CNTL group, 21 immune-related genes were significantly downregulated in the PB and PBVAC groups. These genes were mainly involved in attenuating inflammatory response. The upregulated antimicrobial peptide NK-lysin and guanylate-binding protein 1 expression levels indicated that this strain enhanced the body's antimicrobial capacity. B. cereus PAS38 also amplified the broilers' immune response to the vaccine, which mainly reflected on nonspecific immunity. Hence, probiotic B. cereus PAS38 can regulate and promote the immune function of broilers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have shown that probiotic Bacillus could promote growth and enhance anti-disease ability in animal. In present study, the mixture of three Bacillus strains, which were isolated from rex rabbits and showed high cellulose, protease, and amylase activities, was added into the diet for investigating its effects on young and weaning rex rabbits. For experiment 1, 40 young rex rabbits (9 weeks old) were randomly divided into four groups and fed with diets containing 0 (NC), 1.0 × 105 cfu/g (LC), 1.0 × 106 cfu/g (MC), and 1.0 × 107 cfu/g (HC) Bacillus strains for 4 weeks. For experiment 2, 80 weaning rex rabbits (5 weeks old) were randomly divided into four groups and fed with diet containing 0 (control), 1.0 × 105 cfu/g (T-1), 1.0 × 106 cfu/g (T-2), and 1.0 × 107 cfu/g (T-3) Bacillus strains for 8 weeks. The results showed that Bacillus strains at a dose of 1.0 × 106 cfu/g significantly enhanced growth performance, increased immune organ indexes, improved serum biochemical parameters, and heightened antioxidant capacity. It also markedly improved the intestinal microbiota by increasing Lactobacillus spp., Bacillus spp. counts, and decreased Escherichia coli count. In addition, the Bacillus mixture raised the concentrations of acetic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acid as well as protease, amylase, and cellulase activities of young and weaning rex rabbits. Moreover, for weaning rex rabbits, the inclusion of Bacillus strains also upregulated the abundance of cellulolytic bacteria and improved intestinal morphology. Therefore, our results indicated that Bacillus strains could facilitate the growth of young and weaning rex rabbits by improving digestive function and anti-disease ability. Key Points: • Bacillus with high extracellular enzyme activity were isolated from rex rabbits. • Bacillus could improve growth performance of young and weaning rex rabbits. • The digestive function of young and weaning rex rabbits could be improved by Bacillus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Itol A, an isoryanodane diterpene derived from Itoa orientalis Hemsl. (Flacourtiaceae), is a potential plant-based insecticide. However, the effect of itol A on the tobacco cutworm [Spodoptera litura (Fab.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)], an important and widely distributed insect pest, remains unclear. In this study, the toxicity and inhibitory potency of itol A on S. litura were evaluated. The results indicated that itol A exhibited larvicidal activity against the third instar larvae in a concentration-dependent manner (LC50 875.48 mg/L at 96 h). Antifeedant activity also was observed, and the 24-h AFC50 values were 562.05 and 81.47 mg/L in the no-choice and choice experiments, respectively. The insect growth was inhibited after treatment of itol A, as reflected by long developmental periods, low-quality pupae, and various abnormalities. Itol A exerted ovicidal effect on S. litura, with an estimated LC50 of 759.30 mg/L. Itol A deterred oviposition in the choice experiment (ODI50 909.60 mg/L). Besides, the activities of α-amylase, general protease, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD) were inhibited after itol A treatment over time compared to controls, which may be a relevant mechanism underlying the toxicity of itol A toward S. litura. However, the activities of lipase, carboxylesterase (CarE), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (P450) were increased. Taken together, these results suggest that itol A could be a good botanical pesticide to reduce the population of S. litura in integrated pest management programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subclinical necrotic enteritis (SNE) caused by Clostridium perfringens (CP), is an important disease in chickens, which causes huge economic losses by damaging the intestinal mucosa, decreasing digestion and absorption of nutrients. Use of antibiotics at a sub-therapeutic level as antimicrobial growth promoters in poultry feed prevents the birds from SNE and improves growth. Due to the ban on the use of antibiotics in 2006 as antimicrobial growth promoters have led to the reemergence of the disease. Worldwide numerous studies have been carried out to investigate the alternatives to antibiotics for the prevention of SNE. Possible alternatives to control SNE include probiotics, prebiotics, bacteriophages, essential oils, organic acids, secondary metabolites and other microbial products. Currently, probiotics are most extensively used in poultry production as an alternative to antibiotics. This review summarizes recent insights and experimental evidence on the use of different microorganisms like Bacillus, Lactic acid bacteria, Bifidobacteria, Enterococcus, yeast, etc. as valuable probiotics for prevention of SNE and potential molecular mechanisms responsible for ameliorating effects of probiotics against SNE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have investigated the beneficial effects of Lactobacillus johnsonii strain BS15 on mice and broilers. This study aimed to understand the growth-promoting effects of BS15 on piglets. We determined the effects of L. johnsonii BS15 and a commercial probiotic strain, Bacillus subtilis JS01. Seventy-two suckling piglets (1 ± 2-day-old) were divided into three groups and fed with diets supplemented with 1 × 106 colony-forming units (cfu) BS15 per gram of feed (BS15 group); 1 × 106 cfu JS01 per gram of feed (JS01 group); or de Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe liquid medium (control group) 35 days. Compared with JS01, BS15 significantly improved the daily weight gain and diarrhea index of the piglets. The BS15 group had higher fecal sIgA levels, whereas the JS01 group had high fecal sIgA levels only after 35 days of treatment. Additionally, BS15 altered T cell subsets in peripheral blood by significantly increasing the CD3+CD4+ T cell percentage and CD3+CD4+/CD3+CD8+ ratio and decreasing the CD3+CD8+ T cell percentage. Moreover, BS15 exerted better beneficial effects on fecal microbiota than JS01. Specifically, the BS15 group had markedly increased Clostridium, Peptococcus, and Lactobacillus populations on days 7 and 21 of treatment and reduced Escherichia coli populations on day 35 of treatment. These findings indicated that BS15 can be applied as a probiotic that promotes growth performance and controls diarrhea in piglets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Probiotics could promote animal growth and enhance immune function. This study investigated the effects of Clostridium butyricum (CB) on the growth performance, intestinal immune, and gut microbiota of weaning rex rabbits. A total of 60 healthy female rabbits (5-month-old) were divided equally into four groups and mated on the same day: control group (CTRL, fed with basal feed), low-dose group (LDG, fed with basal feed + 1.0 × 103 CFU/g CB), middle-dose group (MDG, fed with basal feed + 1.0 × 104 CFU/g CB), and high-dose group (HDG, fed with basal feed + 1.0 × 105 CFU/g CB). Then, 30 weaning rex rabbits (35-day-old) were collected from each group for this experiment, and they were offered the same feeds as their mother. The results demonstrated that high-dose CB treatment significantly increased average daily weight gain of weaning rex rabbits. Further studies suggested that CB enhanced small intestinal digestive enzyme activity and improved mucosal morphology and antioxidant status. Supplemented with CB, small intestinal barrier function was maintained with the upregulation of mRNA levels of ZO-1, claudin, and occludin as well as the increase of sIgA production. Moreover, the relative expressions of MyD88, TLR2, and TLR4 were elevated in HDG; simultaneously, pro-inflammatory cytokines including IL-6, INF-γ, and TNF-α were decreased after CB administration. In addition, CB showed beneficial effects in improving weaning rex rabbit intestinal microflora via increasing the abundance of beneficial bacteria. Therefore, our results indicated CB can promote rex rabbit growth, which is likely to the enhancement of immune function and the improvement of intestinal microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weissella confusa has recently received attention for its probiotic potential. Some W. confusa and Weissella cibaria strains isolated from fermented foods show favorable probiotic effects. However, the probiotic properties of W. confusa isolated from giant panda remain unreported to date. Thus, this study isolated a W. confusa strain from giant panda feces and then investigated its characteristics and probiotic properties. A lactic acid bacteria strain was isolated from giant panda fecal samples. The isolated strain was screened by in vitro probiotic property tests, including in vitro antimicrobial test, antioxidant test, surface hydrophobicity, and stress resistance. On the basis of biochemical identification and 16S rDNA sequencing, the W. confusa strain was identified as BSP201703. This Weissella confusa strain can survive at pH 2 and 0.3% (w/v) concentration of bile salt environment and inhibit common intestinal pathogens. It also possesses an in vitro antioxidant capacity, a high auto-aggregation ability, and a high surface hydrophobicity. BSP201703 might serve as a probiotic to giant pandas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to isolate an optimal lactic acid bacterial strain from the feces of healthy giant pandas. The strain exhibited good stability at low pH and high bile salt concentrations, activity against pathogens relevant to pandas, and antibiotic susceptibility. In the current study, 25 isolates were obtained from de Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe agar. Two (E21 and G83) and eight (E1, E2, E16, E18, E21, E69, E70, and G83) isolates demonstrated good performance at pH 2.0 and bile 2% (w/v), respectively. Three isolates (G83, G88, and G90) possessed better antimicrobial effect on enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli CVCC196 (ETEC) than the rest. One isolate (G83) strongly affected Salmonella, whereas three (G83, G87, and G88) exhibited inhibitory activity against Staphylococcus aureus. All isolates were multi-drug resistant. These isolates were identified as Lactobacillus (5 isolates) and Enterococcus (20 isolates) by 16S rRNA sequencing. Virulence genes were detected in Enterococcus isolates. Isolate G83 was identified as Lactobacillus plantarum and was considered as the best probiotic candidate among all of the experimental isolates. This study provided necessary and important theoretical guidance for further experiments on G83 in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual tracking is a challenging problem in computer vision. Recently, correlation filter-based trackers have shown to provide excellent tracking performance. Inspired by a sample consensus approach proposed for foreground detection, which classifies a given pixel as foreground or background based on its similarity to recently observed samples, we present a template consensus tracker based on the kernelized correlation filter (KCF). Instead of keeping only one target appearance model in the KCF, we make a feature pool to keep several target appearance models in our method and predict the new target position by searching for the location of the maximal value of the response maps. Both quantitative and qualitative evaluations are performed on the CVPR2013 tracking benchmark dataset. The results show that our proposed method improves the original KCF tracker by 8.17% in the success plot and 8.11% in the precision plot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Polydopamine (PDA)—decorated porous cellulose acetate microspheres (PCA/PDA) were synthesized and employed as support for Ag-Fe3O4 NPs (SFNPs) by an in situ one pot method without additional reductants. Different PCA/SFNPs have been studied using various characterization techniques. The as-prepared PCA/PDA/SFNPs exhibited excellent catalytic property for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol within 10 min and strong bactericidal activity against E. coli. Interestingly, the corresponding rate constant increased with the increase of SFNPs amount in PCA/PDA and PCA/PDA/SFNPs showed significantly higher catalytic activity as compared to those exhibited by SFNPs deposited on deacetylated porous cellulose acetate/SFNPs microspheres (DPCA/SFNPs). The enhanced catalytic performance may be attributed to the improved adsorbability and dispersity of SFNPs via the introduction of abundant amine and catechol groups of PDA onto the PCA nanoporous structure. This work has demonstrated the PCA/PDA/SFNPs may hold application potentials in various fields.Graphical Abstract: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: As the size of wind turbines are continuously increasing, fatigue loads must be reduced to obtain a more reliable condition for main components. Independent pitch control (IPC) strategy, based on the collective pitch control (CPC) strategy, provides an effective solution to load reduction on WT’s components caused by asymmetry loads. Meanwhile, IPC can also improve the performance of MW-scale wind turbine. This paper presents a dynamic model for 5 MW wind turbines of CSIC (Chongqing) Haizhuang Windpower Equipment Co., Ltd. Based on the dynamic model, an independent variable pitch controller has been investigated.Methods: Non-linear dynamic analysis has been conducted on wind turbine structures. During the turbine linearization, the blade flap-wise and tower F-A bending modes are considered. The tower, main shaft and blade are regarded as rigid bodies. Based on the dynamic model, the IPC controller is designed through d-q conversion.Results: The results suggest that the IPC technique not only works well in stabilizing the output power, but may also effectively reduce the fatigue loads on the blades, main shaft, tower and hub. Under the identical conditions, the IPC presented in this paper has more advantages than a collective pitch controller, and can further reduce loads on key components.Conclusions: The IPC is of greater significance in control of wind turbines, and can lead to lower maintenance costs. However, IPC will raise the pitch-regulating speed, and further increase the fatigue load on the pitch mechanism. This problem requires further studies for a solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: A rice receptor-like kinase gene OSBBS1/OsRLCK109 was identified; this gene played vital roles in leaf senescence and the salt stress response.Abstract: Early leaf senescence can cause negative effects on rice yield, but the underlying molecular regulation is not fully understood. bilateral blade senescence 1 (bbs1), an early leaf senescence mutant with a premature senescence phenotype that occurs mainly performing at the leaf margins, was isolated from a rice mutant population generated by ethylmethane sulfonate (EMS) treatment. The mutant showed premature leaf senescence beginning at the tillering stage and exhibited severe symptoms at the late grain-filling stage. bbs1 showed accelerated dark-induced leaf senescence. The OsBBS1 gene was cloned by a map-based cloning strategy, and a guanine (G) insertion was found in the first exon of LOC_Os03g24930. This gene encodes a receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase and was named OsRLCK109 in a previous study. Transgenic LOC_Os03g24930 knockout plants generated by a CRISPR/Cas9 strategy exhibited similar early leaf senescence phenotypes as did the bbs1 mutant, which confirmed that LOC_Os03g24930 was the OsBBS1 gene. OsBBS1/OsRLCK109 was expressed in all detected tissues and was predominantly expressed in the main vein region of mature leaves. The expression of OsBBS1 could be greatly induced by salt stress, and the bbs1 mutant exhibited hypersensitivity to salt stress. In conclusion, this is the first identification of OsRLCKs participating in leaf senescence and playing critical roles in the salt stress response in rice (Oryza sativa L.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transformation of biomass into nitrogen-doped carbon materials has been considered as effective and affordable route for energy generation and conversion. Wool fiber, as an abundant renewable biomass, contains plentiful nitrogen and sulfur element. Here, nitrogen-doped porous carbon derived from wool fiber by molten salt carbonization method has been realized in 700 °C LiCl/KCl/KNO3 melt. The wool fiber-derived carbon via molten salt carbonization (WFC-MSC) with honeycomb-like structure has a specific surface area of 787.079 m2 g−1 as well as a nitrogen content of 2.6 wt%. Using this nitrogen-doped carbon as electrode materials for supercapacitor, high specific capacitance of 318.2 F/g at 0.25 A/g and good high-rate capability are achieved. The stable cycling performance with specific capacitance of 210 F/g after 5000 cycles at 5 A/g is realized. Moreover, WFC-MSC-based symmetric supercapacitor possesses high specific energy of 20.2 Wh kg−1 with a power density of 202 W kg−1 operated a wide voltage range of 1.8 V in aqueous neutral Na2SO4 electrolyte. These results highlight the merits of the molten salt carbonization of wool fiber in producing nitrogen-doped porous carbon and suggest its prospect for application in supercapacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leaf morphology of rice ( Oryza sativa L.) is an important agronomic trait that greatly affects the total grain yield. In the present study, a mutant with screw flag leaf 1 ( sfl1) was identified and characterized. The sfl1 mutants showed the screw flag leaf and panicle-at-bottom phenotype at reproductive stage, accompanied by a dramatic reduced plant height, flag leaf length and width, panicle length, and grain width. Histological analysis showed that the sfl1 mutant had increased small veins and number and size of bulliform cells compared with wild-type. Genetic analysis suggested that the mutant traits were completely controlled by a single recessive gene. The SFL1 gene was mapped to the long arm of chromosome 10 within a region of 49.7 kb between InDel markers B7P26 and B7P31. Cloning and sequencing results revealed that there was only one base substitution in the second exon of candidate gene Os10g0416200. The SFL1 locus encodes the 3-ketoacyl-CoA synthase 20 protein (KCS20). Furthermore, 288 KCS genes from 11 flowering plant species were identified using bioinformatics approaches. The qRT-PCR analysis showed that SFL1 was highly expressed in sheath, flag leaf and panicles. Furthermore, ROLLED and ERECT LEAF 2 ( REL2), NARROW AND ROLLED LEAF 1 ( NRL1), LEAF INCLINATION 2 ( LC2), a zinc finger homeodomain class homeobox transcription factors gene ( OsZHD1), ADAXIALIZED LEAF 1 ( ADL1), ABAXIALLY CURLING LEAF 1 ( ACL1), Rice outermost cell-specific gene 5 ( Roc5), and ROLLED and ERECT LEAF 1 ( REL1) were significantly upregulated while ROLLED LEAF 14 ( RL14) was significantly downregulated in sfl1 mutant. These results provide an important basis for the functional analysis of SFL1 gene in rice leaf and panicle development, as well as exploration of further mechanisms controlling screw flag leaf trait for application in rice breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing studies have focused on the beneficial effects of Lactobacillus johnsonii in certain diseases. Here, we studied the prevention ability of a probiotic strain, L. johnsonii BS15 on subclinical necrotic enteritis (SNE), and its underlying mechanism. 180 male Cobb 500 chicks were randomly allotted into three groups and administrated with BS15 (1 × 10 cfu/g) or Man Rogosa Sharpe liquid medium throughout a 28-day experimental period. With the exception of the normal group, SNE infection was treated for the remaining experimental period after the chicks were fed with normal diet 14 days. Results showed that BS15 notably suppressed the SNE-induced loss of average daily gain and liver functional abnormality. Additionally, BS15 facilitated lipid metabolism of SNE boilers when the contents of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ and adipose triglyceride lipase in adipose tissue and serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol decreased. BS15 also attenuated the hepatic lipid accumulation of stricken chicks by suppressing the genes expression of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, fatty acid synthase and sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c as well as stimulating the genes expression of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α and carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1. Moreover, BS15 enhanced the development of SNE gut by improving the intestinal development and digestion as well as adjusting the gut microflora. Therefore, BS15 may provide a promising natural preventative strategy against SNE, which may be contributed to the amelioration of lipid metabolism and intestinal microflora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese Mongolian sheep are an important ruminant raised for wool and meat production. However, little is known about the microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of Chinese Mongolian sheep. To increase our understanding of the microbial community composition in the GIT of Chinese Mongolian sheep, microbiota of five sheep is investigate for the first time using the Illumina MiSeq platform. High microbial diversity was obtained from the GIT, and the microbiota exhibited a higher biodiversity in the stomach and large intestine than in the small intestine. Firmicutes (44.62%), Bacteroidetes (38.49%), and Proteobacteria (4.11%) were the three most abundant phyla present in the GIT of the sheep. The present study also revealed the core genera of Prevotella, Bacteroides, Ruminococcus, Oscillospira, Treponema, and Desulfovibrio in the GIT. Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States indicated that the metabolic pathway related to carbohydrate metabolism was the richest in the sheep GIT. In addition, a series of metabolic pathways related to plant secondary metabolism was most abundant in the stomach and large intestine than in the small intestine. Overall, the present study provides insight into the microbial community composition in GIT of the Chinese Mongolian sheep which is highly diverse and needs to be studied further to exploit the complex interactions with the host. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferredoxin-dependent glutamate synthase (Fd-GOGAT, EC 1.4.7.1) plays major roles in photorespiration and primary nitrogen assimilation. However, due to no mutant or knockdown lines of OsFd-GOGAT have been reported in rice ( Oryza sativa L.), the contribution of OsFd-GOGAT to rice foliar nitrogen metabolism remains little up-to-date. Here, we isolated a rice premature leaf senescence mutant named gogat1, which was reduced in 67% of the total GOGAT enzyme activity in leaves. The gogat1 mutant exhibited chlorosis under natural condition, while showed less extent premature leaf senescence under low light treatment. The gogat1 locus was mapped to a 54.1 kb region on chromosome 7, and the sequencing of OsFd-GOGAT showed one substitution (A to T) at the 3017th nucleotide of the open reading frame, leading to the amino-acid substitution of leucine changed to histidine. The gogat1 mutant showed reduced seed setting rate, while the grain protein content in gogat1 mutant was significantly higher than that in wild type. Meanwhile, during the grain-filling stage, total amino acids in the up three leaves and the upmost internode were increased dramatically. The results in this study suggested that OsFd-GOGAT might participate in nitrogen remobilization during leaf senescence, which provides a potential way to improve nitrogen use efficiency in rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play critical roles in tumorigenesis and cancer metastasis. Recently, miR-203 was reported as a tumor suppressor microRNA silenced in different malignancies including hepatocellular carcinoma, prostate cancer, oral cancer, breast cancer, and hematopoietic malignancy, whereas its role in the carcinogenesis of gastric carcinoma (GC) has not been evaluated. Here, we analyzed the levels of miR-203 and Slug in the GC specimen and studied their correlation. We analyzed the binding of miR-203 to the 3′-UTR of Slug messenger RNA (mRNA) and its effects on Slug translation by bioinformatics analysis and by luciferase-reporter assay, respectively. We modified miR-203 levels in GC cells and studied their effects on the cell invasiveness in transwell cell migration assay. We found that in GC, miR-203 levels were significantly decreased and Slug levels were significantly increased. miR-203 and Slug inversely correlated in patients' specimen. Bioinformatic analysis predicted that miR-203 may target the 3′-UTR of Slug mRNA to inhibit its translation, which was confirmed by luciferase-reporter assay. Overexpression of miR-203 inhibited Slug and cell invasiveness, while depletion of miR-203 increased Slug and cell invasiveness. These data suggest that miR-203 suppression in GC promotes Slug-mediated cancer metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palea and lemma are grass specific floral organs, and their identities to the typical floral organs in eudicots remains unclear. In the present study, we identified and characterized a defective body of palea ( dbop) from ethyl methyl sulfonate mutagenesis lines of Oryza sativa ssp. japonica cv. Nipponbare. The dbop mutant exhibited abnormal palea without the body of palea. By map-based cloning, the DBOP was narrowed down to a 68.9 kb interval on the long arm of chromosome 9. Sequencing result showed that there was G to A substitution and C to A substitution at the 245th and 383rd nucleotide of LOC_Os09g24480 coding sequence region, respectively. DBOP was found allelic to the RETARDED PALEA1 ( REP1) gene which encoded a TCP family transcription factor. DBOP/ REP1 might specify palea development by suppressing the expansion of the margin of palea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibiotics have been widely used for the prevention and the treatment of diseases to humans and animals, and they have fed additives for agricultural animals to promote growth. However, there is a growing concern over the practice due to its side effects on intestinal microbial communities which plays a vital role in animals' health. To investigate the effect of antibiotics on the bacterial population of the caecum in rex rabbits, 80 rex rabbits were randomly divided into four groups: control group (B, basal diet), chlortetracycline group (C, 50 mg/kg), colistin sulfate group (S, 20 mg/kg) and zinc bacitracin group (Z, 40 mg/kg). Caecum microbial communities of rex rabbits from the four groups were analyzed through Illumina Miseq platform after being fed 28 days. The results showed that most obtained sequences belongs to Firmicutes followed by Bacteroidetes, and the ratio of Bacteroidetes /Firmicutes in C group (42.31 %) was higher than that in Z group (21.84 %). Zinc bacitracin supplementation caused a significant decreased of the Proteobacteria phylum and Lactobacillus spp. ( P < 0.05), while the Lactobacillus spp. significantly increased in S group ( P < 0.05). In addition, Ruminococcus spp., especially Ruminococcus albus were the predominant bacterial species found in both S and Z groups. The proportion of Coprococcus spp. significantly increased in Z group ( P < 0.05). These findings suggested that the antibiotics used may cause significant changes in the caecum microbiota of rex rabbits, and we also found C group had a similarity caecum bacteria structure with B group which was probably due to the high levels of chlortetracycline resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yupingfeng (YPF) is a kind of Astragali radix-based ancient Chinese herbal supplemented with Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma and Radix Saposhnikoviae. Increasing evidence has proven the beneficial immunomodulating activity of YPF. However, the action mechanism(s) of it is not known. Here, we explored the immunomodulatory activity of unfermented Yupingfeng polysaccharides (UYP) and fermented Yupingfeng polysaccharides (FYP) obtained using Rhizopus oligosporus SH in weaning Rex rabbits. The results showed that both UYP and FYP exhibited notable growth-promoting and immune-enhancing activities, improvement of the intestinal flora homeostasis, and maintenance of intestinal barrier integrity and functionality. Notably, compared with UYP, FYP effectively enhanced average daily gain, organ indices, interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-4, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), TLR2, and TLR4 mRNA levels in spleen, IL-1, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, TNF-α, and IFN-γ protein concentrations in serum, and TLR2 and TLR4 mRNA expressions in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Moreover, FYP exhibited greater beneficial effects in improving the intestinal flora, including augment flora diversity and the abundance of cellulolytic bacteria, reduction the abundance of Streptococcus spp. and Enterococcus spp. in the GIT, particularly the foregut and maintaining the intestinal barrier integrity and functionality by upregulating zonula occludens 1, claudin, polymeric immunoglobulin receptor, trefoil factor, and epidermal growth factor mRNA levels in the jejunum and ileum. Our results indicated the immunoenhancement effect of FYP is superior over that of UYP, which is probably related with the amelioration of the intestinal microflora and intestinal barrier in the foregut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been established beyond doubt that giant panda genome lacks lignin-degrading related enzyme, gastrointestinal microbes may play a vital role in digestion of highly fibrous bamboo diet. However, there is not much information available about the intestinal bacteria composition in captive giant pandas with different ages. In this study, we compared the intestinal bacterial community of 12 captive giant pandas from three different age groups (subadults, adults, and geriatrics) through PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and real-time PCR analysis. Results indicated that microbial diversity in the intestine of adults was significantly higher than that of the geriatrics ( p < 0.05), but not significant compared to the subadults ( p > 0.05). The predominant bands in DGGE patterns shared by the twelve pandas were related to Firmicutes and Proteobacteria. Additionally, in comparison to healthy individuals, antibiotic-treated animals showed partial microbial dysbiosis. Real-time PCR analyses confirmed a significantly higher abundance of the Lactobacillus in the fecal microbiota of adults ( p < 0.05), while other bacterial groups and species detected did not significantly differ among the three age groups ( p > 0.05). This study revealed that captive giant pandas with different ages showed different intestinal bacteria composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AML is a common life-threatening blood system malignancy. The treatment of AML continues to face greater challenges. An abnormal haematopoietic niche with high adhesion and proliferation might be the root cause of resistance and relapse. Most leukaemia cells are stored in the endosteal niche and recess in the G phase, and they are not sensitive to varieties of radiotherapies and chemotherapies. G-CSF and AMD3100 are increasingly used in priming chemotherapy. G-CSF can promote leukaemia cells to the cell cycle, which improves the complete remission rate of leukaemia patients. AMD3100, the novel CXCR4 antagonist, could also potentially promote leukaemia cells to cell cycle and improve the susceptibility of leukaemia cells to chemotherapeutic agents. The combination of them enhances anti-leukaemia effect. So in this review, we explore the function of G-CSF and/or AMD3100 in the priming chemotherapy of haematological malignants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A balanced gastrointestinal microbial ecosystem is crucial for the health and growth of animals. In the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of ruminants, cellulolytic bacteria aid in the digestion and absorption of nutrients. Rumen contents and feces in ruminants are often used to assess gastrointestinal microbial communities; however, these sites do not guarantee to represent the diversity of microbes found in the entire GIT. In this study, we investigated the microbiota along the GIT of five Chinese Mongolian sheep using PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and real-time PCR analysis. Results indicated that microbiota were more abundant in the stomach and large intestine than in the small intestine. DGGE and real-time PCR revealed the predominance of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes in the GIT. Meanwhile, Ruminococcus flavefaciens and Clostridium cluster IV showed significant difference in their abundance along the GIT ( P < 0.05). Fibrobacter succinogenes was the most dominant species, followed by Ruminococcus albus and R. flavefaciens. The ileum harbored a larger number of cellulolytic bacteria, particularly- Clostridium cluster IV, than reported previously. In addition, comparisons between microbiota in the rumen and rectum indicated similar number of total bacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, F. succinogenes, Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens, Clostridium cluster IV, and Clostridium cluster XIVa, whereas the number of R. albus and R. flavefaciens was higher in the rumen. This study investigated the composition and quantification of GIT microbial community in Chinese Mongolian sheep, and revealed for the first time the cellulolytic bacterial community in these sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Poultry intake has been inconsistently associated with incidence or mortality of colorectal cancer (CRC) in epidemiologic studies. The purpose of this study was to assess their relationships by performing a dose-response meta-analysis. Methods: We conducted a search of PubMed database between January 1966 and July 2013 for prospective studies that reported relative risks (RRs) with 95 % confidence interval (CIs) of CRC for at least three categories of poultry intake. Dose-response relationships were examined with the generalized least-squares trend estimation. Study-specific results were pooled with a random-effects model. Subgroup, sensitivity, and meta-regression analyses were also conducted to explore heterogeneity. Results: Sixteen studies on poultry intake and CRC incidence, and four studies regarding poultry intake and CRC mortality were identified. These studies involved a total of 13,949 incident CRC cases and 983 CRC deaths. The RRs of CRC for higher compared with lower intake of poultry were reported in these studies, and the reported levels of poultry intake varied substantially. Results of the dose-response meta-analysis conferred a RR of 0.89 (95 % CI 0.81-0.97) for an increase in poultry intake of 50 g/day. The results were not sensitive to any individual studies and were similar for colon and rectal cancer. Poultry intake was not associated with CRC mortality (RR for 50 g/day = 0.97, 95 % CI 0.79-1.20). Conclusions: This meta-analysis indicates that poultry intake may be moderately associated with reduced incidence of CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of cavitation bubble is analyzed in the compressible fluid by use of the boundary integral equation considering the compressibility. After the vertical incidence of plane wave to the rigid wall, the motion characteristics of single cavitation bubble near the rigid wall with initial equilibrium state are researched with different parameters. The results show that after the driving of acoustic wave, the cavitation bubble near the rigid wall will expand or contract, and generate the jet pointing to the wall. Also, the existence of the wall will elongate time for one oscillation. With the compressible model, the oscillation amplitude is reduced, as well as the peak value of inner pressure and jet tip velocity. The effect of the wall on oscillation amplitude is limited. However with the increment of initial vertical distance, the effect of wall on the jet velocity is from acceleration to limitation, and finally to acceleration again. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]