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Benefiting from the interconnection of active FeWO4 and Fe2O3 chemical phases, a novel porous nanospindle FeWO4/Fe2O3 heterojunction with abundant active interfaces is developed as an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for both the HER and OER.

T-2 toxin is a mycotoxin that has harmful effects on the immune system and cognitive function. Betulinic acid (BA) is a plant-derived pentacyclic lupane-type triterpenoid which possesses a wide spectrum of bioactivities. The study was aimed to explore whether BA has a protective effect on cognitive impairment and oxidative stress caused by T-2 toxin. BA was suspended in 1% soluble starch by continuous intragastric administration for 14 days, then the brain damage in mice was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of T-2 toxin (4 mg/kg). It was found that BA alleviated the reduction of discrimination index in T-2 toxin-treated mice, and enhanced dopamine (DA), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), and acetylcholine (ACH) levels of brain neurotransmitter. Meanwhile, BA pretreatment ameliorated oxidative stress through increase of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and glutathione (GSH) levels, and inhibition of the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the brain of mice exposed to T-2 toxin. Moreover, BA reduced brain hemorrhage and ecchymosis, improved the mitochondrial morphology, enriched the number of organelles, and inhibited cell apoptosis in brain challenged with T-2 toxin. Furthermore, BA inhibited mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) as well as enhanced mRNA expression of anti-inflammatory cytokine such as IL-10 in the brain of T-2 toxin-triggered mice. Therefore, BA could improve the cognitive function, enhance the antioxidant capacity, and inhibit the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines in brain, thereby playing a preventive and protective role against brain damage caused by T-2 toxin.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of anti-stress agents on the growth performance and immune function of broilers under immune stress conditions induced by vaccination. A total of 128, 1-day-old Arbor Acres broilers were randomly divided into four groups. Group normal control (NC) was the control group. Group vaccination control (VC), T 0.5%, and T 1% were the treatment groups, which were nasally vaccinated with two doses of the Newcastle disease virus (NDV) vaccine. The chicks in groups T 0.5% and T 1% were fed conventional diets containing 0.5% and 1% anti-stress agents. Thereafter, these broilers were slaughtered on 1, 7, 14, and 21 days post-vaccination. The results indicated that anti-stress agents could significantly reduce serum adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) (

Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) is the important pathogen of Newcastle Disease (ND) attacking chicken, turkey and other birds. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the effects of immune stress induced by ND vaccination and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on growth performance, antioxidant ability, and lipid metabolism of broilers. In total, 128 one-day-old broilers were randomly assigned to the following four groups and were treated as indicated: normal control (NC); vaccinated with live LaSota ND vaccine (CV); administered ND vaccine and 0.25 mg/kg body weight (BW) LPS (L-LPS); and administered ND vaccine and 0.5 mg/kg BW LPS (H-LPS). The results demonstrated that broiler feed conversion ratio (FCR) was increased in the groups CV, L-LPS and H-LPS from d 0 to 42 days compared with the group NC. The antioxidant function of broilers was decreased as indicated by the malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels in the serum of the treated groups. ND vaccination combined LPS increased the concentration of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), but decreased the concentration of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL C) compared with the group NC. The reverse transcription (RT)-PCR results revealed that the mRNA expression of acetyl-CoA carboxylase gene (ACC) and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme-A reductase (HMGR) in the liver were downregulated, whereas the mRNA expression of carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 (CPT-1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-α were upregulated compared with the group NC. These results suggest that ND vaccination combined LPS reduced broiler growth performance and antioxidant ability, whereas it activated AMPK-mediated lipid metabolism.

In animal models, purified diets (PDs) and whole food diets (WFDs) are used for different purposes. In similar studies, different dietary patterns may lead to inconsistent results. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the effects of WFDs and PDs on changes in the metabolism of mice. We found that different dietary patterns produced different results in lipid metabolism experiments. Compared with those of the PD-fed mice, the WFD-fed mice had higher body weights and serum glucose, serum lipid, and liver lipid levels (

The quadratic numerical range has an important application to the spectral distribution of operators. In this paper, the geometry of the quadratic numerical range is investigated. Moreover, some su...

This study was conducted to assess the growth performance and immunological effects of vaccination-induced stress on broilers. The chickens were administered 0, 2, 4, 8, and 16 doses of live LaSota Newcastle disease (ND) vaccine and slaughtered on the 1st, 7th, 14th, and 21st day post vaccination. The results showed that the serum antibody titers after Newcastle disease virus (NDV) vaccination were elevated at day 7 post vaccination, peaked at day 14, then declined by day 21. Interestingly, the antibody titers peaked at 2 doses, and no further dose-dependent titer increases were observed. This study demonstrated that vaccination-induced stress increased serum adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol, affected growth performance (average daily gain, average daily feed intake, and feed conversion ratio), and triggered apoptosis in spleen lymphocytes by downregulating the ratio of Bcl-2 to BAX and upregulating the gene expressions of caspase-3 and -9, which was concordant with the activation of the enzymatic activities of caspase-3 and -9. This study suggests that NDV vaccine doses in broilers must be controlled judiciously because increasing the number of doses resulted in increased lymphocyte apoptosis while the peak of the antibody titer and optimal growth performance were achieved at a low number of doses (2 doses).

In this paper, we propose the reproductive stress hypothesis that describes the pregnant females response to reproductive events based upon the activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis and sympathetic adrenomedullary system. The main components of the reproductive stress hypothesis can be summarized as follows: (1) events unique to reproduction including empathema, pregnancy, parturition and lactation cause non-specific responses in females, called active reproductive stress; (2) the fetus is a special stressor for pregnant females where endocrine hormones, including corticotropin-releasing hormones and fetal glucocorticoids secreted by the fetus and placenta, enter the maternal circulatory system, leading to another stress response referred to as passive reproductive stress and (3) response to uterine tension and intrauterine infection is the third type of stress, called fetal intrauterine stress. Appropriate reproductive stress is a crucial prerequisite in normal reproductive processes. By contrast, excessive or inappropriate reproductive stress may result in dysfunctions of the reproductive system, such as compromised immune function, leading to susceptibility to disease. The novel insights of the reproductive stress hypothesis have important implications for deciphering the pathogenesis of certain diseases in pregnant animals, including humans, which in turn may be applied to preventing and treating their occurrence.

Background Betulinic acid (BA) is a plant-derived pentacyclic triterpenoid with a variety of biological activities. The purpose of this study was to assess the potential protective role of BA against intestinal mucosal injury induced by cyclophosphamide (CYP) treatment. Methods Mice were pretreated with BA daily (0.05, 0.5, and 5.0 mg/kg) for 14 days, then injected intraperitoneally with CYP (50 mg/kg) for 2 days. Results BA pretreatment reduced the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH), decreased the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in small intestine, increased villus hight/crypt depth ratio and restored the morphology of intestinal villi in CYP-induced mice. Moreover, BA pretreatment could significantly down-regulate the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-5 (IL-5), IL-17, IL-12 (P70) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), reduced production of chemokines macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (MIP-1α), macrophage inflammatory protein-1β (MIP-1β) and regulated upon activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), and enhanced the levels of anti-inflammatory such as IL-2 and IL-10 in serum, and decreased the mRNA expressions of IL-1β and TNF-α in intestine of CYP-induced mice. Furthermore, RT-PCR demonstrated that BA improved intestinal physical and immunological barrier in CYP-stimulated mice by enhancing the mRNA expressions of zonula occluden 1 (ZO-1) and Claudin-1. Conclusions BA might be considered as an effective agent in the amelioration of the intestinal mucosal resulting from CYP treatment.

Treatment of neoplastic diseases in companion animals is one of the most important problems of modern veterinary medicine. Given the growing interest in substances of natural origin as potential anti-cancer drugs, our goal was to examine the effectiveness of benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC), a compound found in cruciferous vegetables, against canine lymphoma and leukemia. These are the one of the most common canine cancer types, and chemotherapy is the only treatment option. The study involved established cell lines originating from various hematopoietic malignancies: CLBL-1, GL-1, CLB70 and CNK-89, immortalized noncancerous cell lines: MDCK and NIH-3T3 and canine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The cytotoxic activity of BITC, apoptosis induction, caspase activity and ROS generation were evaluated by flow cytometry. H2AX phosphorylation was assessed by western blot. The study showed that the compound was especially active against B lymphocyte-derived malignant cells. Their death resulted from caspase-dependent apoptosis. BITC induced ROS accumulation, and glutathione precursor N-acetyl-l-cysteine reversed the effect of the compound, thus proving the role of oxidative stress in BITC activity. In addition, exposure to the compound induced DNA damage in the tested cells. This is the first study that provides information on the activity of BITC in canine hematopoietic malignancies and suggests that the compound may be particularly useful in B-cell neoplasms treatment.

A new europium metal-organic framework (Eu-MOF) was prepared by simple hydrothermal method. The product exhibited intense red fluorescence, long fluorescence lifetime (0.454 ms) and excellent fluorescence stability. The fluorescence titration result showed that Fe

T-2 toxin is highly cytotoxic to animals, which causes damage to animal health and great economic losses to agriculture and livestock production. Betulinic acid (BA), a naturally occurring pentacyclic lupane-type triterpenoid, has various biological and medicinal activities in vivo and in vitro. The objective of the present study was to investigate the toxic effects of T-2 toxin and the reversal effect of BA on porcine kidney (PK-15) cells. We evaluated T-2 toxin-induced apoptotic responses via oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress pathways by assessing the repair effect of BA in PK-15 cells. The results proved that T-2 toxin (1 μM, treated for 24 h) is highly toxic to PK-15 cells. After pre-treatment with BA (0.25, 0.5, and 1 μM) for 24 h, the cell viabilities were significantly increased, and the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in the culture media was dramatically decreased compared to that in the T-2 toxin treatment group. BA also enhanced the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), and catalase (CAT) and reduced the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in cells. BA also dose-dependently increased the expression of glucose regulated protein (GRP78), reduced expression of activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4), C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), the phosphorylation of protein kinase R-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK), eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF2α), and intracellular Ca2+ concentration in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, BA significantly decreased the expression of cleaved-caspase-3 and caspase-12, consequently reducing T-2 toxin-induced PK-15 cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Collectively, we suggest that BA has a protective effect on T-2 toxin-induced cytotoxicity by ameliorating oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress in PK-15 cells.

Lanthanide coordination polymers with F-substituted carboxylate tectonics and phenanthroline ligands exhibit emission from the visible to near-infrared region with long lifetime. Dy(iii) compounds show temperature dependent and field induced single molecule magnetism.

Series of Ln(III) coordination polymers, namely, {[Ln(Oaobtc)(H2O)4]·Hbipy·H2O}n(H4Oaobtc = oxidation azoxybenzene - 2, 2′, 3, 3′-tetracarboxylic acid, bipy = 4,4′-bipyridine, and Ln = Pr(1), Nd(2), Ho(3), Er(4), Yb(5), respectively) have been designed, afforded and luminescence characterized systematically. The family coordination polymers are nearly isostructural sets, featuring one dimensional (1D) zigzag double chain edifice structure, with cationic Hbipy+ guest being located along two sides. These 1D chains are interlinked into 2D network, and are further extended into 3D supramolecular architecture through hydrogen bonding interactions from the cationic Hbipy+ moiety. The photo luminescence emission spectra of polymer 1 and 4 are based on the H4aobtc acid ligand, while 2, 3 and 5 display the emissions originated from characteristic f-f transitions of Ln(III) ions within near-infrared (NIR) regions.

In the present study, the complete chloroplast genome of Vitis davidii Foex strain ‘SJTU003’ was assembled and subjected to phylogenetic analysis. This chloroplast genome of ‘SJTU003’ was 161,335 bp in length, including two inverted repeat regions (IRa and IRb) that were separated by a large single-copy region (89,570 bp) and a small single-copy region (19,059 bp). The genome contained 133 genes, including 88 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that V. davidii is most closely related to Vitis flexuosa and Vitis amurensis.

Downy mildew, caused by Plasmopara viticola, is a major disease that affects grapevines, and a few resistance (R) genes have been identified thus far. In order to identify R genes, we investigated F1 progeny from a cross between the downy mildew-resistant Vitis amurensis ‘Shuang Hong’ and the susceptible Vitis vinifera ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’. The P. viticola-resistance of the progeny varied continuously and was segregated as a quantitative trait. Genotyping-by-sequencing was used to construct linkage maps. The integrated map spanned 1898.09 cM and included 5603 single nucleotide polymorphisms on 19 linkage groups (LGs). Linkage analysis identified three quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for P. viticola resistance: 22 (Rpv22) on LG 02, Rpv23 on LG15, and Rpv24 on LG18. The phenotypic variance contributed by these three QTLs ranged from 15.9 to 30.0%. qRT-PCR analysis of R-gene expression in these QTLs revealed a CC-NBS-LRR disease resistance gene RPP8, two LRR receptor-like serine/threonine-protein kinases, a serine/threonine-protein kinase BLUS1, a glutathione peroxidase 8, an ethylene-responsive transcription factor ERF038, and a transcription factor bZIP11 were induced by P. viticola, and these genes may play important role in P. viticola response.

Gamma-oryzanol (Orz), a mixture of ferulic acid esters of plant sterols and triterpene alcohols, has been proven to possess multiple activities. The purpose of this study was to explore the hepatoprotective effects and potential mechanisms of Orz against ethanol-induced liver injury in mice. Orz pretreatment significantly reduced the serum levels of ALP, ALT, AST and CYP2E1, and increased the TP and GLB levels in the ethanol-challenged mice. Orz increased the activities of CAT, SOD, GSH-PX and the GSH content in the liver, while decreased hepatic steatosis in ethanol-induced liver injure. Furthermore, Orz significantly decreased the protein expression of ASK1, JNK, P38, active-caspase-9 and active-caspase-3, and the protein ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 in livers of ethanol-challenged mice. These results suggest that Orz provides protection against ethanol-induced liver injury which might be due to its alleviation of oxidative stress and inhibition of apoptosis, possibly inhibiting MAPK signaling pathways mediated mitochondrial signaling pathway activation.

λ-Carrageenan (Carr), a seaweed polysaccharide, is used as a proinflammatory agent in research. Betulinic acid (BA), a naturally occurring pentacyclic triterpenoid, exerts immunomodulatory, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, anti-malarial and anti-HIV effects. The aim of this study was to investigate whether BA exerts anti-inflammatory effect against Carr-induced paw edema in mice, and how BA could mediate the expression of inflammation-associated MAPK-COX-2-PGE2 signal pathway. BA pretreatment significantly reduced the inflammatory response to Carr-induced paw edema, especially at 4 h after injection. BA reduced the serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-5, IL-6, GM-CSF, KC, MCP-1 and PGE2 in Carr-treated mice, and increased those of anti-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-12. It also increased SOD, CAT and GSH-Px activities, and GSH content, and reduced MDA content in the liver of Carr-treated mice. Besides, BA reduced neutrophil infiltration in the basal and subcutaneous layers of the paw of Carr-treated mice, decreased the expression of COX-2 protein, and reduced the phosphorylation of JNK, p38 and ERK1/2. These results indicated that the protective effect of BA on Carr-induced paw edema might be due to its alleviation of inflammatory response and inhibition of oxidative stress, possibly by inhibiting MAPK-COX-2-PGE2 signaling pathway activation.

Potassium (K +) is one of the many elements necessary for plant growth and development, and is the only one that plants need to have a higher concentration of cation. In order to cope with the low ...

MLO (mildew resistance locus O), which encodes a transmembrane protein 7TM, is considered to be a model plant gene suitable for studying broad-spectrum resistance. It is a negative regulator of powdery mildew resistance and thus has potential applications in plant breeding. In the present paper, a full cDNA sequence encoding MLO was cloned from the leaves of mulberry (Morus multicaulis) based on mulberry expressed sequence tags (EST), homologous cloning technology, and 5′-RLM-RACE using RT-PCR;the sequence was designated MMLO (GenBank accession no. KX683296). The full cDNA was 1943 bp in length with 5′-untranslated region (UTR) of 106 bp, 3′-UTR of 160 bp, and an open reading frame (ORF) of 1677 bp encoding a protein of 558 amino acids. The estimated molecular weight and isoelectric point (pI) of the putative protein were 62.48 kDa and 9.03, respectively. The MMLO protein had Mlo domain and belonged to the Mlo superfamily. Phylogenetic analysis based on the amino acid sequences encoded by the MLO gene from various species showed that mulberry was closely related to Eucalyptus grandis, Ziziphus jujube, and Juglansregia. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis revealed that MMLO was expressed in all the tissues tested, including leaf, bud, fruit, stem, phloem, and xylem in mulberry with the highest expression in the phloem. The expression level of the mRNA increased and significantly changed under drought, cold, and salt stress treatments compared to the normal growth environment. The ORF segment of the MMLO was inserted into the expression plasmid pET-28a(+) to construct a recombinant expression plasmid. SDS-PAGE result revealed that fusion protein was successfully expressed. Overall, these results provide a better understanding of the molecular basis for the signal transduction mechanism during the stress responses in mulberry trees.

T-2 toxin is a highly toxic trichothecene that can induce toxic effects in a variety of organs and tissues, but the pathogenesis of its nephrotoxicity has not been elucidated. In this study, we assessed the involvement of protein kinase RNA-like ER kinase (PERK)-mediated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and apoptosis in PK-15 cells cultured at different concentrations of T-2 toxin. Cell viability, antioxidant capacity, intracellular calcium (Ca2+) content, apoptotic rate, levels of ER stress, and apoptosis-related proteins were studied. T-2 toxin inhibited cell proliferation; increased the apoptosis rate; and was accompanied by increased cleaved caspase-3 expression, altered intracellular oxidative stress marker levels, and intracellular Ca2+ overloading. The ER stress inhibitor 4-phenylbutyrate (4-PBA) and PERK selective inhibitor GSK2606414 prevented the decrease of cell activity and apoptosis caused by T-2 toxin. The altered expression of glucose regulatory protein 78 (GRP78), C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), and caspase-12 proved that ER stress was involved in cell injury triggered by T-2 toxin. T-2 toxin activated the phosphorylation of PERK and the alpha subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2α) and upregulated the activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4), thereby triggering ER stress via the GRP78/PERK/CHOP signaling pathway. This study provides a new perspective for understanding the nephrotoxicity of T-2 toxin.

A novel three-dimensional terbium metal–organic framework (Tb-MOF) sensing material has been synthesized by hydrothermal method and applied in fluorescent detection of tetracycline (TC) in milk. The sensing material could emit strong green fluorescence with a long fluorescence lifetime (906.48 ± 1.49 μs), which could be sensitively and selectively quenched by TC aqueous solution. Meanwhile, it had the characteristics of fast response (2 min), low detection limit (184 nmol/L), wide linear range (0–100 and 100–244 μmol/L) and recyclable luminescence sensing during TC detection. The luminescence quenching mechanism was mainly derived from the inner-filter effect and energy transfer from ligand to Tb3+ ion. Furthermore, satisfactory recoveries of 93.5–104.2% were obtained in TC spiked raw milk and pasteurized milk samples, suggesting the potential application of Tb-MOF in the detection of TC in food engineering.

Zearalenone (ZEA) is an estrogenic toxin produced by Fusarium strains, that is widely present in crops, and endangers the reproductive system of animals. Tannic acid (TA) is a natural polyphenolic substance that is widespread in the roots, stems, and leaves of plants, and has special pharmacological activity. This study was designed to investigate the therapeutic effect of TA on ZEA-induced ovarian damage in mice and to explore the molecular mechanism involved. Ninety healthy Kunming female mice were divided into six equal groups. All the groups but the control group were administered daily with ZEA [10 mg/kg body weight (bw)] orally, for 7 days, to induce damage to the reproductive system. Some groups were also administered with TA (50, 100, and 200 mg/bw) for 7 days. Mice were euthanized 24 h later to allow for collection of serum and ovaries. TA can effectively alleviate the appearance of congestion and redness of the ovary, caused by ZEA, and increase the number of healthy growing follicles. Moreover, the estrogen content and the levels of MDA and ROS in the ovaries can be effectively reduced by TA. It can also reduce the apoptosis of ovarian cells, decreases the protein expression of the estrogen receptor, Fas, Fasl, caspase-3, caspase-8, caspase-9, and Bax, and increases the protein expression of Bcl-2. Our study indicates that TA reduces the strong estrogen and oxidative damage induced by ZEA, and these therapeutic effects may be partially mediated by the death receptor and mitochondrial apoptosis signaling pathway.

A new heterometallic complex containing bis-Schiff base, namely, [(Salbn)NiNa(DMF)(H2O)]·N(CN)2 (1) (Salbn = bis(3-methoxysalicylidene) benzene-1, 2-diamine, DMF = N, N-dimethyl formamide) has been prepared through one-pot refluxing and condensation approach. Complex 1 was characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, X-ray single-crystal diffraction, and powder X-ray diffraction analysis. The intermolecular hydrogen bonding interaction connects the Schiff base complex units through the [N(CN)2]− anion into dimer aggregate. These aggregates are further linked by weak hydrogen bondings and strong π–π interactions to give rise to one-dimensional chelating double-chain supramolecular polymer. Cyclic voltammetry measurement reveals the oxidation and reduction process of the compound is irreversible in nature. Polymer 1 exhibits emission spectrum maximum at 548 nm under ultraviolet excitation. Antibacterial property measurement indicates that 1 has strong inhibition toward Staphylococcus aureus.