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Inflammation is one of the main causes of impaired health in livestock and some of its processes weaken animal productivity and impact human health. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of echinacea extract (cichoric acid – CA) on yak peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), inflammatory-related factors, and the toll-like receptor (TLR)4 signalling pathway induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in these PBMCs. more...

Abstract Dysbiosis of the gut microbiome has been associated with the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC). We profiled the microbiome of gut mucosal tissues from 18 CRC patients and 18 non-CRC controls of the UKM Medical Centre (UKMMC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The results were then validated using a species-specific quantitative PCR in 40 CRC and 20 non-CRC tissues samples from the UMBI-UKMMC Biobank. Parvimonas micra, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Peptostreptococcus stomatis and Akkermansia muciniphila were found to be over-represented in our CRC patients compared to non-CRC controls. These four bacteria markers distinguished CRC from controls (AUROC = 0.925) in our validation cohort. We identified bacteria species significantly associated (cut-off value of > 5 fold abundance) with various CRC demographics such as ethnicity, gender and CRC staging; however, due to small sample size of the discovery cohort, these results could not be further verified in our validation cohort. In summary, Parvimonas micra, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Peptostreptococcus stomatis and Akkermansia muciniphila were enriched in our local CRC patients. Nevertheless, the roles of these bacteria in CRC initiation and progression remains to be investigated. more...

Gastric metastasis from breast carcinoma is uncommon and rarely encountered in our daily practice. We report a case of late gastric metastasis from previous infiltrating lobular carcinoma of the breast. The patient had extended disease-free interval of 22 years prior to metastasis. Gastroscopy and fluoroscopy showed changes appearing like linitis plastica of the body of the stomach. Computed tomography of the thorax and abdomen demonstrated pulmonary metastasis and mediastinal lymphadenopathy. Biopsy of the mediastinal lymph node and stomach lesion confirmed metastatic adenocarcinoma from breast carcinoma based on immunohistochemistry staining. Immunohistochemistry staining of both specimens revealed strong positivity for cytokeratin 7 and negative for cytokeratin 20. more...

Two-dimensional (2D) organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites feature characteristics of inherent quantum-well structures and intriguing optoelectronic properties, and have therefore attracted enormous research attention for their optical applications in light emitting, sensing, modulation, and telecommunication devices. The low-cost and solution-processed fabrications as well as alternative organic spacer cations endue 2D hybrid perovskites with higher tunability in optical and photonic applications. In particular, they demonstrate distinguished nonlinear optical characters such as second-harmonic generation (SHG), two-photon absorption (2PA), and saturable absorption (SA) under the excitation of laser pulses. Here, we discuss the construction of the various sorts of 2D hybrid perovskites with different structural features. We have also highlighted some representative properties and applications of these 2D hybrid perovskites in both linear and nonlinear optical regimes. more...

Bromine has a strong resource dependence. With the sharp decline of the total amount and grade of traditional brine resources, the difficulty of mining is increasing day by day, and the shortage of bromine supply and demand has become a normal situation. Therefore, it is urgent to find new sources of bromine resources and develop corresponding extraction technologies. Bromine-containing waste salt is a new source of bromine. The mature technology achievements of bromine extraction in underground brine, concentrated seawater and other water are transferred to the field of bromine extraction from bromine-containing waste salt, which realizes the closed-loop recycling of resources and extends the industrial chain, and has a good application prospect. more...

The air blow-out method of extracting bromine from seawater or brine is widely used at home and abroad. The key parameter in this unit operation is the vapor-liquid equilibrium data (T, x, y) for brominebrine system, which were obtained with the Bubble Equilibrium equipment at 10 and 20℃ in this paper. The experimental equilibrium data were carried out by using Margules Equation for liquid phase and ideal equation for gas phase, and the nonlinear least square method was used to regress the parameters of Margules model for the system. It showed good consistency for the calculated data from Margules model and the experimental data. more...

The initial distribution of gas and liquid is one of the key factors that determine the operation efficiency of packed towers. The development of a gas distributor for ultra-large air blow-out bromine extraction plant can improve operation efficiency, save energy and reduce consumption. In order to develop the gas distributor for ultra-large air blow-out bromine extraction plant, the guidelines for evaluating gas distributors are clarified in this paper, and six kinds of commonly gas distributor are compared in detail. Considering gas distribution inhomogeneity, liquid foam entrainment rates and distributor pressure drop, the double tangential circulation type gas distributor is the first choice in the ultra-large air blow-out method bromine extraction plant. more...

Background: Dengue is the most common arboviral illness worldwide. While most infected patients recover, a proportion of them develop severe complications or fatality. Nevertheless, the pathophysiological mechanisms which distinguish the disease severity and associated complications are not clearly understood. We studied blood profiles of dengue patients in order to identify microRNAs that could play a role in these pathophysiological mechanisms.Methods: Blood samples from 26 dengue-infected patients were collected within 0-14 days of infection. Together with samples obtained from six healthy individuals, microRNA profiles were generated to identify significantly altered microRNAs upon dengue infection. Profiles of patients with influenza were also used to determine the disease specificity of these altered microRNAs. Their discriminative power to distinguish dengue from influenza was then tested statistically.Results: Several significantly altered microRNAs were identified in patients with dengue. Twelve microRNAs were specifically altered upon acute dengue whereas 14 microRNAs exhibited similar expression between dengue and influenza. Seventeen microRNAs which could potentially distinguish dengue-related complications were also identified. Expression of miR-24-1-5p, miR-512-5p and miR-4640-3p distinguished mild dengue from those exhibiting liver complications whereas miR-383 was significantly upregulated in mild dengue compared to those diagnosed as severe dengue with fluid accumulation.Conclusions: We identified two panels of microRNAs - one specific for dengue and the other common to dengue and influenza. We also report on the differentially expressed microRNAs in patients with mild versus severe dengue, which could be the basis for the complications seen in them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...