Search

Sialic acid (SA) is a kind of functional monosaccharide which exists widely in edible bird's nest (EBN), milk, meat, mucous membrane surface, etc. SA is an important functional component in promoting brain development, anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, anti-virus, anti-tumor and immune regulation. The intestinal mucosa covers the microbial community that has a significant impact on health. In the gut, SA can also regulate gut microbiota and metabolites, participating in different biological functions. The structure, source and physiological functions of SA were reviewed in this paper. The biological functions of SA through regulating key signaling pathways and target genes were discussed. In summary, SA can modulate gut microbiota and metabolites, which affect gene expressions and exert its biological activities. It is helpful to provide scientific reference for the further investigation of SA in the functional foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renal interstitial fibrosis (RIF) represents an irreversible and progressive pathological manifestation of chronic renal disease, which ultimately leads to end‐stage renal disease. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been suggested to be involved in the progression of RIF. Small nucleolar RNA host gene 16 (SNHG16), a member of lncRNAs, has been found to be involved in the progression of pulmonary fibrosis. This paper first researched the effect of SNHG16 on renal fibrosis. We established a unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO)‐induced mouse RIF model by ligation of the left ureter to evaluate the biological function of SNHG16 in RIF. As a result, SNHG16 was upregulated in UUO‐induced renal fibrotic tissues. Knockdown of SNHG16 inhibited RIF and reduced alpha‐smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA), fibronectin, and college IV expression. miR‐205 was a target of SNHG16, and downregulated in UUO‐induced renal fibrotic tissues. Inhibition of miR‐205 promoted RIF and increased the expression of α‐SMA, college IV, and fibronectin. Overexpression of SNHG16 promoted the UUO‐induced RIF, but miR‐205 abrogated this effect of SNHG16. Histone deacetylase 5 (HDAC5) showed high expression in UUO‐induced renal fibrotic tissues. Knockdown of HDAC5 significantly reduced α‐SMA, fibronectin, and college IV expression in renal tissues of UUO‐induced mice. Inhibition of miR‐205 promoted HDAC5 expression, but knockdown of SNHG16 inhibited HDAC5 expression in renal tissues of UUO‐induced mice. In conclusion, SHNG16 is highly expressed in renal fibrotic tissues of UUO‐induced mice. Knockdown of SHNG16 may prevent UUO‐induced RIF by indirectly upregulating HDAC5 via targeting miR‐205. SHNG16 may be novel target for treating renal fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the effect of ventilation rate and air supply angle of an air purifier using computational fluid dynamics to determine the dispersion of airborne COVID virus exhaled by an infected person. The risk of infection for an occupant was determined based on the virus concentration in the active area and accumulated particle dose within the breathing zone by varying the ventilation parameters. The air purifier was found to provide a local dilution and would block the development of an expiratory jet for a short time to reduce transmission risk. Compared to the case without an air purifier, the maximum reductions were 94.27% in the accumulated dose and 53.2% in the particle count concentration. In the breathing area, the larger air supply angle (90° > 60° > 30°) is better when the ventilation rate was 27.0 m3/h and 40.5 m3/h. Otherwise, 60° air supply angle is preferable where the ventilation rate was 54.0 m3/h. Assessing the results with the grey relational analysis revealed that the relational degree for particle count concentration was greater by varying the ventilation rate than by varying the air supply angle. However, the relational degree according to the accumulated dose was greater by varying the air supply angle than by increasing the ventilation rate. These findings may provide an important control strategy to effectively mitigate the risk of infection in a confined room by using an air purifier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the human exhaled particle motion law under the effects of the thermal plume in a ventilated room, a three-dimensional model of a typical double ward was created. The Large Eddy Simulation was utilized to study the effects of thermal plume of different intensities on particle diffusion, and the removal effects of varied ventilation rates on particles during displacement ventilation were simulated. The results show that the thermal plume formed by a human model at varied room temperatures has a consistent distribution law, and particle diffusion distance and velocity are positively linked with plume intensity. Lower ventilation rates are preferable for particle-removal in the reasonable ventilation mod