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BackgroundEnteric glia are essential components of the enteric nervous system. Previously believed to have a passive structural function, mounting evidence now suggests that these cells are indispensable for maintaining gastrointestinal homeostasis and exert pivotal influences on both wellbeing and pathological conditions. This study aimed to investigate the global status, research hotspots, and future directions of enteric glia.MethodsThe literature on enteric glia research was acquired from the Web of Science Core Collection. VOSviewer software (v1.6.19) was employed to visually represent co-operation networks among countries, institutions, and authors. The co-occurrence analysis of keywords and co-citation analysis of references were conducted using CiteSpace (v6.1.R6). Simultaneously, cluster analysis and burst detection of keywords and references were performed.ResultsA total of 514 publications from 36 countries were reviewed. The United States was identified as the most influential country. The top-ranked institutions were University of Nantes and Michigan State University. Michel Neunlist was the most cited author. “Purinergic signaling” was the largest co-cited reference cluster, while “enteric glial cells (EGCs)” was the cluster with the highest number of co-occurring keywords. As the keyword with the highest burst strength, Crohns disease was a hot topic in the early research on enteric glia. The burst detection of keywords revealed that inflammation, intestinal motility, and gut microbiota may be the research frontiers.ConclusionThis study provides a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of enteric glia research. EGCs have emerged as a crucial link between neurons and immune cells, attracting significant research attention in neurogastroenterology. Their fundamental and translational studies on inflammation, intestinal motility, and gut microbiota may promote the treatment of some gastrointestinal and parenteral disorders.

The contents of selenomethionine (SeMet) and selenomethylcysteine (SeMC) in Selenium-Enriched black garlic extract (Se-BGE), a popular functional food in Asian countries, were 2.9 ± 0.6 μg/g and 12.2 ± 2.3 μg/g by PITC pre-column derivatization UPLC-MS method. Improved histological injury, significant extension of the median survival time, and attenuated serum levels of alanine aminotransferase, total bilirubin and SOD activity were observed in the acute liver failure (ALF) rats treated with Se-BGE (1.0 g/mL). 1HNMR-based metabonomics revealed that serum levels of lactate, pyruvate, betaine, choline, taurine, and glycine were restored, and 16S rDNA sequencing analysis showed that the composition and number of the intestinal flora were regressed to healthy levels in ALF rats treated by Se-BGE. Serum choline and betaine showed significant correlations with g_Lactobacillus and g_Escherichia. Our findings demonstrated that Se-BGE protects against LPS/D-GalN-induced ALF in rats, possibly due to antioxidation, metabolism, and intestinal flora regulations of Se-BGE.

Abstract Background Human brucellosis has become one of the major public health problems in China, and increases atypical manifestations, such as fever of unknown origin (FUO), and misdiagnosis rates has complicated the diagnosis of brucellosis. To date, no relevant study on the relationship between brucellosis and FUO has been conducted. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the medical charts of 35 patients with confirmed human brucellosis and prospectively recorded their outcomes by telephone interview. The patients were admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University between January 01, 2013 and October 31, 2019. Patient data were collected from hospital medical records. Results The percentage of males was significantly higher than that of female in FUO (78.95% vs. 21.05%, P

BackgroundDespite neuroinflammation being an important component of the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), effective therapies to alleviate neuroinflammation are still lacking. Many animal experiments in AD have found that acupuncture may ameliorate cognition by decreasing neuroinflammation and modulating cytokines, but its effects have not been systematically examined. We aimed to assess its efficacy on neuroinflammation in AD and to investigate the potential mechanisms.Materials and methodsThe following databases were searched from inception until 24 August 2022: Web of Science, EMBASE, PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. Animal studies that reported the efficacy of acupuncture on neuroinflammation in AD were included. The SYRCLE Robt was utilized to evaluate methodological quality. Stata 17 was utilized to conduct a meta-analysis of cytokine levels and the results of the Morris water maze.Results23 studies were included, with a total of 417 rats/mice. The overall quality of all included reports was medium. The results indicated that acupuncture significantly reduced the expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokines which included IL-1β [SMD = −3.50, 95% CI (−4.31, −2.69); I2 = 78.6%] (P < 0.05), TNF-α [SMD = −3.05, 95% CI (−3.86, −2.24); I2 = 69.6%] (P < 0.05), IL-6 [SMD = −3.22, 95% CI (−4.62, −1.81); I2 = 77.6%] and enhanced the expressions of anti-inflammatory cytokines including IL-4 [SMD = 2.77, 95% CI (1.95, 3.59); I2 = 33.9%] (P < 0.05), IL-10 [SMD = 1.84, 95% CI (1.20, 2.49); I2 = 41.0%] (P < 0.05) in an animal model of AD. Regarding the Morris water maze, compared to the control group, the acupuncture group showed a shorter escape latency [SMD = −2.23, 95% CI (−2.89, −1.57); I2 = 79.2%] (P < 0.05), longer duration in platform quadrant [SMD = 2.34, 95% CI (1.44, 3.23); I2 = 81.7%] (P < 0.05), and increased platform crossing number [SMD = 2.79, 95% CI (2.06, 3.53); I2 = 71.9%] (P < 0.05).ConclusionAcupuncture may reduce neuroinflammation in AD by modulating cytokine expression. This modulation significantly improved cognitive function in animal models of AD.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42022354878.

The compositions of the organic pollutants of chemi-mechanical pulping wastewater were studied using Fourier transform infrared spectra and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) was approximately 18110 mg/L, and the ratio of biological oxygen demand to COD (BOD5/COD) was approximately 0.17, due to low biodegradability. In this study, Phanerochaete chrysosporium was selected and the changes in bacterial culture time required to transform pulping wastewater and the metabolites present before and after pretreatment in the wastewater were identified. A decline in the components of the pulping wastewater was observed. Initially, 43 kinds of organic compounds were detected in the raw water. After 3 days of treatment, only 21 organic compounds were detected. Then, 7 days later, the organic pollutants in the waste amounted to only 7 organic compounds. Through the analysis of analysis of P-RC APMP pulping wastewater and that treated by Phanerochaete chrysosporium using GCMS, the relative content of organic acids was 12.4%, in which phenylpropionic acid had the highest concentration of 11.3%. So, in the culture medium, phenylpropionic acid as the single carbon source can be completely degraded within 96 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Accumulating evidence suggests that altered immunity contributes to the development of major depressive disorder (MDD).Aims: To examine whether complement factor H (CFH), a regulator of activation of the alternative pathway of the complement cascade, confers susceptibility to MDD.Method: Expression analyses were tested in 53 unmedicated people with MDD and 55 healthy controls. A two-stage genetic association analysis was performed in 3323 Han Chinese with or without MDD. Potential associations between CFH single nucleotide polymorphisms and age at MDD onset were evaluated.Results: CFH levels were significantly lower in the MDD group at both protein and mRNA levels (P = 0.009 and P = 0.014 respectively). A regulatory variant in the CFH gene, rs1061170, showed statistically significant genotypic and allelic differences between the MDD and control groups (genotypic P = 0.0005, allelic P = 0.0001). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that age at onset of MDD was significantly associated with the C allele of rs1061170 (log rank statistic χ(2) = 6.82, P = 0.009). The C-allele carriers had a younger age at onset of MDD (22.2 years, s.d. = 4.0) than those without the C allele (23.6 years, s.d. = 4.3).Conclusions: CFH is likely to play an important role in the development of MDD. rs1061170 has an important effect on age at onset of MDD in Han Chinese and may therefore be related to early pathogenesis of MDD, although further study is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Phosphorus (P) supplementation is costly and can result in excess P excretion. This study investigated the effects of reducing dietary P on milk production and P excretion in dairy cows over a full lactation. Method Forty-five multiparous Holstein dairy cows were divided into 15 blocks according to expected calving date and previous milk yield, and assigned randomly to one of the three dietary treatments: 0.37, 0.47, and 0.57% P (DM basis); these P levels represent the NRC recommendations, Chinese recommendations, and the amount of dietary P commonly fed by Chinese dairy farmers, respectively. Average daily feed intake was calculated from monthly data on feed offered and refused. Milk yields of individual cows were recorded weekly, and milk samples were taken for analysis of protein, fat, solids-not-fat, lactose, and somatic cell count. Blood samples were collected on days -6, -3, 0, 3, 6 relative to calving, and then monthly throughout lactation, and analyzed for P and Ca concentrations. Spot samples of feces and urine were collected for 3 consecutive d during weeks 12, 24, and 36, and P concentrations were analyzed. Reproduction and health data were recorded. Results Dietary P did not affect dry matter intake or milk yield (P > 0.10). Milk fat content was slightly higher in cows fed 0.37% P than in cows fed 0.47% P (P = 0.05). Serum concentrations of P and Ca did not reflect dietary P content (P > 0.10). Fecal and urinary P both declined linearly (P < 0.05) as dietary P decreased from 0.57 to 0.37%. Fecal P content was 25% less when dietary P was 0.37% compared to 0.57%. Health events and reproductive performance were not associated with dietary P content (P > 0.05). Conclusions Lowering dietary P from 0.57 to 0.37% did not negatively affect milk production, but did significantly reduce P excretion into environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated that a free radical scavenger edaravone has neuroprotective effects on ischemic stroke but the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. The aim of this research is to explore the effect of edaravone on the apoptotic process involving the Fas/FasL signaling pathway. Transient focal ischemia in rats was induced for 2 hours by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). After reperfusion rats were treated i.v. with either edaravone or physiological saline. The expression of Fas-associated death domain protein (FADD), death-associated protein (Daxx) and caspase-8 was examined by immunohistochemistry. The mRNA levels for FADD and Daxx by reverse-transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) and apoptosis was assessed by terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase- mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL). Neurological scores and infarction volumes were also evaluated. Edaravone significantly improved the neurological outcome (p <0.05) and reduced the total infarct volumes (p <0.05), compared with saline control. In addition, edaravone-treatment significantly reduced the number of TUNEL-posifive cells (17 <0.01), reduced expression levels of FADD, Daxx and caspase-8 immunoreactivity (p <0.05~0.01), and decreased mRNA levels of FADD and Daxx (p <0.05~0.01) within the peri-infarct area. We conclude that edaravone may protect ischemic neurons from apoptosis via suppressing the gene expression of the Fas/FasL signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]