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Liver cirrhosis affects the structures and physiological functions of the intestine. Our previous study revealed that liver injury inhibited 25-hydroxylation of vitamin D (25(OH)-VD). The aim of this study was to investigate the roles and mechanisms of vitamin D in liver cirrhosis-induced intestinal injury. The rat liver cirrhosis model was established through the administration of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) for 8 weeks. Hematoxylin–eosin staining was performed to unveil the intestinal injury induced by liver cirrhosis. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent and reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) analysis were used to determine the levels of 25(OH)-VD, vitamin D receptor, Cytochrome P450 24A1 (CYP24A1), and α-defensin 5 (DEFA5) in rat and human serum of liver cirrhosis. Furthermore, liver cirrhosis rats were treated with low-dose (500 IU/kg) and high-dose (2,000 IU/kg) vitamin D intraperitoneally. The expression levels of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway were evaluated by RT-PCR and Western blot. In conclusion, we determined the deficiency of vitamin D and down-regulation of DEFA5 and intestinal damage induced by liver cirrhosis. Moreover, vitamin D effectively inhibited liver cirrhosis-induced intestinal inflammation and oxidative stress through the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway. Vitamin D might be a promising therapeutic strategy for future treatment of liver-induced intestinal injury.

Summarizing the clinical characteristics and the process of two times of nucleic acid turning re-positive after discharge of an imported COVID-19 case in Chengdu in order to provide experience for clinical management of such cases. A retrospective research method was used to analyze the diagnosis and treatment process, as well as the clinical symptoms and examination results 15 days after discharge of an imported COVID-19 case in Chengdu. The case was tested positive for SARSCoV-2 nucleic acid in Thailand on March 7, 2020. After arriving in Chengdu on March 10, 2020, he was sent to Chengdu Public Health Clinical Medical Center for isolation treatment. On March 11, the SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test of nasopharyngeal swab was suspiciously positive and the result of anal swab was positive. The case was admitted to the hospital as an asymptomatic accompanied by a decline in cellular immune function, his physical examination showed no positive signs. Then he was converted to a confirmed case after 22 days of hospitalization.After the case was discharged 15 days from the hospital, his virus nucleic acid had returned re-positive for 2 times. He was accompanied by neurological symptoms and was diagnosed as anxious and depressive when nucleic acid returned re-positive for the second time, and his symptoms resolved after treatment with psychiatric drugs.Asymptomatic patients of COVID-19 can be converted to confirmed cases. Nucleic acid returning re-positive does not mean that the patient's condition has relapsed or worsened. Patients with COVID-19 may have mental disorder, medical staff need to find it out in time and provide psychological intervention or necessary medication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the characteristics of Chinese green hotel national standards, comparing them with three internationally influential green hotel certification programs from Europe and North America. The similarities and differences of the certification systems are discussed? While suggestions to improve? A Chinese certification program is proposed. Three domestic standards (LB/T007 - 2006, SB/T10356 - 2002, GB/T21084 - 2007) of green hotels in China are compared. The (GB/T21084 -2007) Chinese national standard is the most complete, specific and process - oriented program. National green hotel standards generally cover rooms, food and beverages, and architectural design. National standards are more clearly illustrated by numeric ratings and scales from one to five are more elaborate in the information they provide. Therefore, the (GB/T21084 - 2007) national standard was chosen to represent Chinese green hotel standards for further comparison. This paper evaluates the selected Chinese national standard with three international green hotel certification programs. These are the European Green Key program originating in Denmark, the Canadian Green Key eco-rating program and the Green Leaf eco-rating program popular in the United States and Canada. The similarities and differences of these certification systems are analyzed, exploring certification? subjects, content, continuous counseling, rating systems and marketing. The Danish, United States and Canadian green hotel certification programs have a broader certification scope, are more focusing on staff involvement and training, pay more attention to continuous counseling, set clearer rating specifications and are more market-driven in certification organization and processes when compared with the Chinese program. Further, the North American and European programs are rapidly expanding internationally through efficient marketing drives. This paper suggests a number of improvements to the national Chinese green hotel standards and other domestic Chinese green hotel certification programs. First, the Chinese programs should broaden the scope of green hotel certification. That is, hotel facilities should not only be evaluated, but staff involvement in green activities should also be rated. Second, more third parties should be encouraged to join the green hotel certification process. In addition to the government and hotels themselves joining, more companies involved with hotel management, tourism and environmental protection should be urged to join the programs. Third, the green hotel certification program should be positioned to more deeply develop alliances with influential international organizations. To improve the international influence of Chinese green hotel standards and the certification programs, specific measures are proposed. These improvements are based on the successful practices used by the European and North American green hotel certification programs. They include: adding an 'employee involvement and training in green initiatives' category within green hotel certification content; marketing the 'five green ginkgo leaves' brand, which symbolizes the Chinese green hotel certification program; establishing a 'five green ginkgo leaves' website for the certification program; developing on-line applications for the program; using green hotel ratings to assist green hotel applicants make continuous improvements; and increasing the involvement of international organizations with the Chinese program. International organizations have rich experiences of green hotel certification and can assist by consulting on the certification process and act as a third party to audit on-site green hotel practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fungi play significant roles in the geochemical processes of heavy metals in the environment. However, the interaction between heavy metals and fungi, especially at the cellular level, is quite complicated and remains unknown. This study explored the mutual interaction mechanism between Pb 2+ and Trichoderma viride by combining batch experiments, spectroscopy, and in vitro approaches. Batch experiments revealed that Pb 2+ had toxic effect on T. viride, originally causing the biomass of T. viride decreased from 1.3 g in the control group to 0 g in the presence of 200 mg/L Pb 2+ . The difference in biomass further led to varied pH, even decreasing from 5.7 at the outset to 3.4 due to the acid-production properties of T. viride. Moreover, structural deformation and damage of T. viride mycelium appeared when exposed to Pb 2+ , and were more evident at a higher dose of Pb 2+ exposure. The growth curve exhibited that T. viride gradually adapted to Pb 2+ exposure, which related to Pb 2+ exposure concentration. Further, intracellular and extracellular secretions of T. viride changed with varying exposure concentrations of Pb 2+ , indicating that T. viride adapted differently to different concentrations of Pb 2+ , and MT participated in the detoxification of T. viride. SEM-EDX showed that T. viride could bio-adsorb and bioaccumulate more Pb 2+ when exposed to more Pb 2+ , which was closely related to the content of P. And carbonyl, phosphate, and amino groups of T. viride participated in the Pb 2+ biosorption onto T. viride, as evidenced by FT-IR and XPS. Meanwhile, the biomineralization and reduction of Pb 2+ by T. viride were observed by XRD and XPS, which might be a possible factor for Pb 2+ biosorption and bioaccumulation. CLSM showed that the bio-adsorbed and bioaccumulated Pb 2+ were mainly distributed in the membrane of T. viride mycelium., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A lack of sunlight exposure, residence in the northern latitudes, and dietary vitamin D insufficiency are coprevalent with metabolic syndrome (MetS), Type 2 diabetes (T2D), and nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases (NAFLD), implying a potential causality and underlying mechanism. Whether vitamin D supplementation or treatment can improve these disorders is controversial, in part, because of the absence of large-scale trials. Experimental investigations, on the other hand, have uncovered novel biological functions of vitamin D in development, tumor suppression, and immune regulation, far beyond its original role as a vitamin that maintained calcium homeostasis. While the large intestine harbors massive numbers of microbes, the small intestine has a minimal quantity of bacteria, indicating the existence of a gating system located in the distal region of the small intestine that may restrain bacterial translocation to the small intestine. Vitamin D receptor (VDR) was found to be highly expressed at the distal region of small intestine, where the vitamin D signaling promotes innate immunity, including the expression of α-defensins by Paneth cells, and maintains the intestinal tight junctions. Thus, a new hypothesis is emerging, indicating that vitamin D deficiency may impair the intestinal innate immunity, including downregulation of Paneth cell defensins, leading to bacterial translocation, endotoxemia, systemic inflammation, insulin resistance, and hepatic steatosis. Here, we review the studies for vitamin D for innate immunity and metabolic homeostasis, and we outline the clinical trials of vitamin D for mitigating MetS, T2D, and NAFLD.