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BACKGROUND: Monoglycerides have emerged as a promising alternative to conventional practices due to their biological activities, including antimicrobial properties. However, few studies have assessed the efficacy of monoglyceride blend on weaned pigs and their impacts on performance, immune response, and gut health using a disease challenge model. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary monoglycerides of short- and medium-chain fatty acids on the immunity and gut health of weaned pigs experimentally infected with an enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli F18. RESULTS: Pigs supplemented with high-dose zinc oxide (ZNO) had greater (P

As a high-energy density material, polymeric nitrogen has attracted considerable attention, while the exceptionally high synthesis pressure hinders its studies and applications. A significant discovery indicates that the insertion of noble gas elements can effectively reduce the synthesis pressure of polymeric nitrogen compounds. This work utilized the particle swarm optimization algorithm and first-principles calculations to extensively explore the stoichiometry of Xe–N compounds under high pressures. Two phases of XeN14, P6mm and P-62m, have been discovered, which are energetically more stable than the basic mixture of Xe and N2. Evidence of charge transfer between Xe and N was found, verifying that Xe plays a crucial role in forming polymeric nitrogen compounds. These two compounds are kinetically stable at pressures ranging from 50 to 200 GPa and exhibit semiconductor properties. A unique channel-like structure was discovered in the P6mm phase. The energy densities of P6mm and P-62m phases are 7.39 and 7.59 kJ/g, respectively, significantly exceeding those of TNT (Trinitrotoluene) and HMX (Octogen), indicating their potential as high-energy density materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The emergence of antibiotic resistant microorganisms associated with conventional swine production practices has increased interest in acid-based compounds having antimicrobial properties and other biological functions as nutritional interventions. Despite the interest in organic acids and monoglycerides, few studies have examined the effects of the combination of these acid-based additives in weaned pigs under disease challenge conditions. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with blend of organic acids and/or medium-chain fatty acid monoglycerides on intestinal health and systemic immunity of weaned pigs experimentally infected with an enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) F18 at 4-week of age. Results: Dietary supplementation of organic acids, monoglycerides, or both organic acids and monoglycerides (combination) reduced (P < 0.05) the diarrhea frequency of ETEC F18-infected pigs throughout the experimental period (d −7 to 21 post-inoculation). This is consistent with the reduced (P < 0.05) proportion of β-hemolytic coliforms in feces observed for the organic acid and combination treatments on d 10 post-inoculation. Supplementation of organic acids, monoglycerides, or combination also reduced (P < 0.05) bacterial translocation in mesenteric lymph nodes on d 21 post-inoculation. Pigs fed with monoglycerides or combination had lower (P < 0.05) white blood cells on d 5 post-inoculation, and pigs fed the combination also had lower (P < 0.05) lymphocytes than pigs in control group. Monoglyceride supplementation increased (P < 0.05) white blood cells and neutrophils compared with control group on d 14 post-inoculation. However, supplementation with organic acid blend, monoglyceride blend, or combination did not affect growth performance in this experiment. Conclusions: Supplementation with monoglycerides or organic acids alone or in combination improves the detrimental effects of ETEC F18 infection in weaned pigs, as indicated by reduced diarrhea, fecal shedding of β-hemolytic coliforms, and bacterial translocation, and thus enhancing disease resistance. Monoglycerides reduced the inflammatory response during peak infection, but their immunomodulatory and possible synergistic effects with organic acids need to be further investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ferroptosis is associated with the pathological progression of hemorrhagic injury and ischemia–reperfusion injury. According to our previous study, exosomes formed through bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells modified with miR-340-3p (MB-exos) can restore damaged endometrium. However, the involvement of ferroptosis in endometrial injury and the effect of MB-exos on ferroptosis remain elusive. Methods: The endometrial injury rat model was developed. Exosomes were obtained from the supernatants of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs) and miR-340/BMSCs through differential centrifugation. We conducted RNA-seq analysis on endometrial tissues obtained from the PBS and MB-exos groups. Ferroptosis was induced in endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) by treating them with erastin or RSL3, followed by treatment with B-exos or MB-exos. We assessed the endometrial total m6A modification level after injury and subsequent treatment with B-exos or MB-exos by methylation quantification assay. We performed meRIP-qPCR to analyze m6A modification-regulated endogenous mRNAs. Results: We reveal that MB-exos facilitate the injured endometrium to recover by suppressing ferroptosis in endometrial stromal cells. The injured endometrium showed significantly upregulated N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification levels; these levels were attenuated by MB-exos through downregulation of the methylase METTL3. Intriguingly, METTL3 downregulation appears to repress ferroptosis by stabilizing HMOX1 mRNA, thereby potentially elucidating the mechanism through which MB-exos inhibit ferroptosis in ESCs. We identified YTHDF2 as a critical m6A reader protein that contributes to HMOX1 mRNA degradation. YTHDF2 facilitates HMOX1 mRNA degradation by identifying the m6A binding site in the 3′-untranslated regions of HMOX1. In a rat model, treatment with MB-exos ameliorated endometrial injury-induced fibrosis by inhibiting ferroptosis in ESCs. Moreover, METTL3 short hairpin RNA-mediated inhibition of m6A modification enhanced the inhibitory effect of MB-exos on ferroptosis in endometrial injury. Conclusions: Thus, these observations provide new insights regarding the molecular mechanisms responsible for endometrial recovery promotion by MB-exos and highlight m6A modification-dependent ferroptosis inhibition as a prospective therapeutic target to attenuate endometrial injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chirality is ubiquitous in the nature. Chiral nanomaterials show wide application prospects owing to their special properties. In this study, chirality was introduced into photocatalysis. Chiral L-cysteine was introduced into photocatalytic materials for preparation of chiral CdS quantum dots (QDs) at room temperature. Then the CdS QDs were characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectra, infrared spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The hydrogen production activity was tested within the visible light range. Under visible light irradiation, the hydrogen yields of chiral CdS QDs at 298, 323, 333, 348, 358 K were all higher compared with the nonchiral CdS QDs. The hydrogen yield was maximized to 18.72 mmol/g/h at 333 K, which was significantly higher than that of the nonchiral CdS QDs (10.35 mmol/g/h). The reasons for the higher activity of chiral CdS QDs were that the introduction of the chiral ligand broadened the bandgap of CdS, and the more-negative conduction band strengthened the reducibility of photoelectrons. Moreover, the electron-donating groups that coordinated with the active Cd2+ directionally enhanced the electron density of CdS QDs. Theoretical calculation showed the conduction band electron density of CdS was significantly improved, which is consistent with the above results. For these reasons, the hydrogen production ability of chiral CdS QDs is considerably higher than that of nonchiral CdS QDs. • Chiral induced higher photocatalytic activity. • Greatly enhance the plasma resonance effect of silver nanoparticles. • Synergistic effect between silver nanoparticles and silver phosphate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

g/C3N4-ZnO composite catalysts were synthesized through surface hybridization of the delocalized conjugated-π structure of g/C3N4 with the closely contacted surface of ZnO via a successive and simultaneous calcination procedure, and two kinds of photocatalysts, g/C3N4-ZnO1 and g/C3N4-ZnO2, were obtained. Heterojunctions were formed between the two components, which promote the separation of photogenerated carriers efficiently, and then enhanced the degradation of 100 mg/L of AMX The degradation rate of g/C3N4-ZnO1 was 1.54, 11.33, and 2.52-fold that of g/C3N4-ZnO2, g/C3N4 and ZnO, respectively, at a 3.5-h reaction period, with the dosage of 0.3 g/L, and solution pH at 7.0±0.2. The recycle and reuse ability was excellent and 90.5% of AMX mitigation was achieved in the fifth cycle. For g/C3N4-ZnO1, electrons migrated from the conduction band of g/C3N4 to that of ZnO via the heterojunction. ·OH and h+ were the main active species for AMX degradation, compared to ·O2− dominated for g/C3N4. Twelve intermediate products were identified, and two degradation pathways were inferred for g/C3N4-ZnO1 and g/C3N4-ZnO2, respectively. Finally, transformation products without lactam rings were achieved, which lost most of the antibacterial potencies, and the ecotoxicity was also dramatically decreased as indicated by the ECOSAR program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]