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Abstract Background Compared to that of bacteria, the role of gut fungi in obesity development remains unknown. Results Here, alterations in gut fungal biodiversity and composition were confirmed in obese pig models and high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. Antifungal drugs improved diet-induced obesity, while fungal reconstruction by cohousing or fecal microbiota transplantation maintained the obese phenotype in HFD-fed mice. Fungal profiling identified 5 fungal species associated with obesity. Specifically, Ascomycota_sp. and Microascaceae_sp. were reduced in obese mice and negatively correlated with fat content. Oral supplementation with fungi was sufficient to prevent and treat diet-induced obesity. Clec7a, which is involved in fungal recognition, was highly expressed in HFD-fed mice. The Clec7a agonist accelerated diet-induced obesity, while Clec7a deficieny in mice resulted in resistance to diet-induced obesity and blocked the anti-obese effect of antifungal drugs and fungi. Conclusions Taken together, these results indicate that gut fungi/Clec7a signaling is involved in diet-induced obesity and may have therapeutic implications as a biomarker for metabolic dysregulation in humans. Video Abstract

The gut microbiota is crucial for maintaining the host’s intestinal homeostasis and metabolism. This study investigated the effects of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from Ningxiang pigs on the growth performance, fecal microbiota, and serum metabolites of the same-old DLY pigs. The results indicated that the average daily gain of FMT pigs was significantly greater than that of the control (CON) group. Compared to the CON group, the FMT group significantly improved the apparent digestibility of crude fiber, crude ash, gross energy, and calcium of the pigs. The analysis of serum antioxidant status revealed that the activities of total superoxide dismutase and catalase in the serum of pigs in the FMT group were significantly elevated, whereas the level of malondialdehyde was significantly reduced. Furthermore, 16S rRNA sequencing analysis revealed that the Ningxiang pig-derived microbiota altered the fecal microbiota structure and modulated the diversity of the gut microbiota in the DLY pigs. Untargeted LC–MS metabolomics demonstrated that pigs in the FMT group exhibited distinct metabolomic profiles compared to those in the CON group. Significant changes were observed in key metabolites involved in amino acid, lipid, and carbohydrate metabolism. Additionally, a correlation analysis between serum differential metabolites and the gut microbiota revealed that the relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group and Corynebacterium was highly correlated with lipid compounds. In conclusion, Ningxiang pig-derived microbiota can alleviate oxidative stress and enhance growth performance in DLY pigs by modulating their gut microbiota and metabolic features.

Lactobacillus delbrueckii intervention can regulate body lipid metabolism, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Our study investigated the effects of L. delbrueckii on serum lipid levels, tissular fat metabolism and deposition, bile acid metabolism, and gut microbiota in Ningxiang pigs. Ninety-six pigs were divided into two groups and fed basal diets containing either 0 (CON) or 0.1% L. delbrueckii (LD) for 60 days. Dietary L. delbrueckii promoted fecal total bile acid (TBA) excretion and increased hepatic enzyme activities related to cholesterol and bile synthesis but decreased hepatic and serum lipid concentrations. L. delbrueckii downregulated gene expression associated with fatty acid synthesis but upregulated gene expression related to lipolysis and β-fatty acid oxidation in liver and subcutaneous fat. L. delbrueckii elevated gut Lactobacillus abundance and colonic short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing bacteria but declined the abundance of some pathogenic bacteria. These findings demonstrated that L. delbrueckii modulated intestinal microbiota composition and facilitated fecal TBA excretion to regulate hepatic fat metabolism, which resulted in less lipid deposition in the liver and reduced levels of serum lipids.

The gut microbiota consistently shows strong correlations with lipid metabolism in humans and animals, and whether the gut microbiota contributes to muscle fatty acid (FA) deposition and meat traits in farm animals has not been fully resolved. In this study, we aimed to unveil the microbial mechanisms underlying muscle FA deposition in pigs. First, we systematically revealed the correlation between the gut microbiome and muscle FA levels in 43 obese Ningxiang pigs and 50 lean Duroc Landrace Yorkshire (DLY) pigs. Mutual fecal microbial transplantation showed that the obese Ningxiang pig-derived microbiota increased the muscle FA content and improved meat quality by reshaping the gut microbial composition in lean DLY pigs. Lactobacillus reuteri has been identified as a potential microbial biomarker in obese Ningxiang pig-derived microbiota-challenged DLY pigs. A gavage experiment using lean DLY pigs confirmed that L. reuteri XL0930 isolated from obese Ningxiang pigs was the causal species that increased the muscle FA content. Mechanistically, SLC22A5, a carnitine transporter, was downregulated in L. reuteri XL0930-fed DLY pigs, resulting in reduced muscle carnitine levels. Muscle and intestinal L-carnitine levels, which correlated with the muscle FA content, impeded fat synthesis and FA accumulation in in vitro and in vivo models. In conclusion, we uncovered an unexpected and important role of the obese Ningxiang pig-derived microbiota in regulating muscle FA metabolism via the SLC22A5-mediated carnitine system.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary L-theanine supplementation on apparent nutrient digestibility, milk yield, milk composition, and blood biochemical indices of dairy cows under heat stress. Thirty Chinese Holstein cows (19.84 ± 2.42 kg milk/d, 192.36 ± 40.77 d in milk and 2 ± 0.93 parities) were divided into 3 groups of 10 animals each. The control group was fed a basal total mixed ration (TMR) diet, while treatment 1 (LTA16) and treatment 2 (LTA32) groups were fed a basal TMR diet supplemented with L-theanine at 16 and 32 g/cow per day, respectively. The results showed that feeding the dairy cows with LTA16 treatment decreased (P 0.05) on the dry matter intake, nutrient digestibility, total volatile fatty acid (TVFA) concentration and molar proportion of volatile fatty acid, milk yield, milk composition, feed efficiency and antioxidant capacity of the dairy cows. The triglyceride (TG) content of the LTA32 group was significantly greater (P = 0.014) than that of the control group. With the increase in L-theanine dosage, the serum cholesterol (CHOL) content significantly increased (P = 0.013). The serum albumin (ALB; P = 0.067), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C; P = 0.053), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C; P = 0.067) contents showed an upward trend as L-theanine dosage increased. Ultimately, the results of this study show that supplementing dairy cow diet with L-theanine could decrease dairy cow rectal temperature, affect lipid metabolism, and potentially relieve the heat stress of dairy cows to some extent.

Forest fires have significant implications for the Earth’s ecological balance, causing widespread devastation and posing formidable challenges for containment once they propagate. The development of computer vision methods holds promise in facilitating the timely identification of forest fire risks, thereby preventing potential economic losses. In our study conducted in various regions in British Columbia, we utilized image data captured by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and computer vision methods to detect various types of trees, including alive trees, debris (logs on the ground), beetle- and fire-impacted trees, and dead trees that pose a risk of a forest fire. We then designed and implemented a novel sliding window technique to process large forest areas as georeferenced orthogonal maps. The model demonstrates proficiency in identifying various tree types, excelling in detecting healthy trees with precision and recall scores of 0.904 and 0.848, respectively. Its effectiveness in recognizing trees killed by beetles is somewhat limited, likely due to the smaller number of examples available in the dataset. After the tree types are detected, we generate color maps, indicating different fire risks to provide a new tool for fire managers to assess and implement prevention strategies. This study stands out for its integration of UAV technology and computer vision in forest fire risk assessment, marking a significant step forward in ecological protection and sustainable forest management.

Intestinal bacteria, synchronized with diet and feeding time, exhibit circadian rhythms and anticipate host gut function; however the effect of dietary probiotics on gut bacterial diurnal rhythms remains obscure. In this study, bacteria were sequenced at 6 Zeitgeber times (ZT) from a pig model of ileal T-shaped fistula to test ileal bacterial composition and circadian rhythms after Lactobacillus delbrueckii administration. The results showed that dietary L. delbrueckii enhanced ileal bacterial α-diversity at Zeitgeber time (ZT) 16, evidenced by an increased Simpson index compared with control pigs. At the phylum level, Firmicutes was identified as the largest phyla represented in pigs, but dietary L. delbrueckii only increased the abundance of Tenericutes at ZT16. At the genus level, 11/100 genera (i.e., Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, Leptotrichia, Pediococcus, Bifidobacte, Cellulosilyticum, Desulfomicrobium, Sharpea, Eubacterium, Propionivibrio, and Aerococcus) were markedly differentiated in L. delbrueckii-fed pigs and the effect was rhythmicity-dependent. Meanwhile, dietary L. delbrueckii affected six pathways of bacterial functions, such as membrane transport, metabolism of cofactors and vitamins, cell motility, the endocrine system, signaling molecules and interaction, and the nervous system. Cosinor analysis was conducted to test bacterial circadian rhythm in pigs, while no significant circadian rhythm in bacterial α-diversity and phyla composition was observed. Lactobacillus, Terrisporobacter, and Weissella exhibited significant rhythmic fluctuation in the control pigs, which was disturbed by probiotic exposure. In addition, dietary L. delbrueckii affected circadian rhythms in ileal Romboutsia, Erysipelatoclostridium, Cellulosilyticum, and Eubacterium abundances. Dietary L. delbrueckii affected both ileal bacterial composition and circadian rhythms, which might further regulate gut function and host metabolism in pigs.

Shaziling pig, a Chinese indigenous breed, has been classified as a fatty pig model. However, the gut microbial development and role in lipid metabolism in Shaziling pigs has been rarely reported. Here, we compared the lipid metabolic and microbial profiles at 30, 60, 90, 150, 210, and 300 d of age between Shaziling and Yorkshire pigs. Predictably, there were marked differences in the liver lipids (i.e., cholesterol, glucose, and low-density lipoprotein) and the lipid related expressions (i.e., SREBP1/2, LXRα/β, DGAT1/2, and FABP1-3) between Shaziling and Yorkshire pigs. Bacteria sequencing in the ileal digesta and mucosa showed that Shaziling pigs had a higher α-diversity and higher abundances of probiotics, such as Lactobacillus johnsonii, Lactobacillus amylovorus, and Clostridium butyricum. Thirty-five differentiated metabolites were further identified in the mucosa between Shaziling and Yorkshire pigs, which were enriched in the carbohydrate, protein, glucose and amino acid metabolism and bile acid biosynthesis. Furthermore, 7 differentiated microbial species were markedly correlated with metabolites, indicating the role of gut microbiota in the host metabolism. Next, the role of differentiated L. johnsonii in lipid metabolism was validated in Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire (DLY) pigs and the results showed that L. johnsonii mono-colonization promoted lipid deposition and metabolism by altering gut microbiota (i.e., Megasphaera elsdenii and L. johnsonii) and DGAT1/DGAT2/CD36-PPARγ gene expressions. In conclusion, Shaziling pigs exhibited different metabolic and microbial profiles compared with Yorkshire pigs, which might have contributed to the diverse metabolic phenotypes, and the significant enrichment of L. johnsonii in Shaziling pigs promoted lipid metabolism and obesity of DLY pigs, which provided a novel idea to improve the fat content of lean pigs.

In recent years, distributed optical fiber acoustic sensing (DAS) technology has been increasingly used for vertical seismic profile (VSP) exploration. Even though this technology has the advantages of high spatial resolution, strong resistance to high temperature and pressure variations, long sensing distance, DAS seismic noise has expanded from random noise to optical abnormal noise, fading noise and horizontal noise, etc. This seriously affects the quality of the seismic data and brings huge challenges to subsequent imaging, inversion and interpretation. Moreover, the noise is more complex and more difficult to simultaneously suppress using traditional methods. Therefore, for the purpose of effectively improving the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of DAS seismic data, we introduce a denoising network named attention-guided denoising convolutional neural network (ADNet). The network is composed of four blocks, including a sparse block (SB), a feature enhancement block (FEB), an attention block (AB) and a reconstruction block (RB). The network uses different kinds of convolutions alternately to enlarge the receptive field size and extract global feature of the input. Meanwhile, the attention mechanism is introduced to extract the hidden noise information in the complex background. The network predicts the noise, and denoised data are obtained by subtracting the predicted results from the noisy inputs. In addition, we uniquely construct a large number of complex forward models for pure seismic data training set to enhance the network suitability. The combination design improves the denoising performance and reduces computational cost and memory consumption. The results obtained from both synthetic- and field data illustrate that the network has the ability to denoise the seismic images and retrieve weak effective signals better than conventional methods and common networks.

Gut microbiota and its metabolites play a key role in host metabolism. Our previous study found supplemental Lactobacillus delbrueckii affected lipid metabolism of pigs, however, the underlying mechanism is unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of L. delbrueckii on colonic bacteria composition and its metabolites, serum lipids and hormone levels, fat metabolism related enzyme activity and gene expression in various tissues of growing-finishing pigs. Twelve pigs were randomly distributed into two groups (n = 6), and pigs in each group were fed diets with (Con + LD) or without (Con) 0.1 % L. delbrueckii for 28 days. Results exhibited the deceased triglyceride (TG) levels and elevated free fatty acid (FFA) contents in serum and increased concentrations of butyric acid in colonic digesta after L. delbrueckii supplementation. Dietary L. delbrueckii increased abundance of Lactobacillus and Butyrivibri and tended to increase abundance of Akkermansia and Megasphaera in colonic digesta. L. delbrueckii consumption up-regulated glucagon-like peptide1 (GLP-1), monocarboxylate transporter1 (MTC1) and sodium-dependent monocarboxylate transporter1 (SMCT1) expression in colonic tissue. Administration of L. delbrueckii tended to increase lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity, up-regulated CPT-1, angiopoietin-like protein 4 (Angpt14), LPL and triglyceride hydrolase (TGH) expression and down-regulated fatty acid synthetase (FAS), G protein-coupled receptor 41(GPR41) and GPR43 expression in the liver. L. delbrueckii addition increased adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK) expression in longissimus dorsi, upregulated LPL, CPT-1, Angptl4 and cluster of differentiation 36 (CD36) expression in subcutaneous fat, and enhanced LPL, CPT-1, TGH, adipocyte determination and differentiation-dependent factor 1 (ADD1) and hormone sensitive lipase (HSL) expression in leaf lard. These findings suggested that L. delbrueckii might enhance lipolysis and fatty acid β-oxidation to lower serum TG levels via colonic microbiota modulation and short chain fatty acids-mediated lipid metabolism of growing-finishing pigs.

The goal of prebiotic applications from different sources is to improve the gut ecosystem where the host and microbiota can benefit from prebiotics. It has already been recognized that prebiotics have potential roles in the gut ecosystem because gut microbiota ferment complex dietary macronutrients and carry out a broad range of functions in the host body, such as the production of nutrients and vitamins, protection against pathogens, and maintenance of immune system balance. The gut ecosystem is very crucial and can be affected by numerous factors consisting of dietary constituents and commensal bacteria. This review focuses on recent scientific evidence, confirming a beneficial effect of prebiotics on animal health, particularly in terms of protection against pathogenic bacteria and increasing the number of beneficial bacteria that may improve epithelial cell barrier functions. It has also been reviewed that modification of the gut ecosystem through the utilization of prebiotics significantly affects the intestinal health of animals. However, the identification and characterization of novel potential prebiotics remain a topical issue and elucidation of the metagenomics relationship between gut microbiota alteration and prebiotic substances is necessary for future prebiotic studies.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary addition with Clostridium butyricum (CB) and xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) on growth performance, carcass trait, and meat quality of pigs. A total of 128 Huanjiang mini-pigs with an initial body weight of 9.5 ± 0.1 kg were randomly assigned to one of four groups. The pigs in control (Con) group were fed a basal diet and those in the experimental groups were fed the basal diet supplemented with 0.05% CB (CB group), 0.02% XOS (XOS group), or 0.05% CB + 0.02% XOS (CB + XOS group). Eight replicate pens were used per group with four pigs per pen. On days 28, 56, and 84 of the trial, the growth performance, carcass trait, and meat quality were evaluated. The results showed that dietary CB addition decreased (p < 0.05) the average daily gain and increased (p < 0.05) the ratio of feed intake to body weight gain at day 28 of the trial; CB, XOS, and CB + XOS addition increased (p < 0.05) the backfat thickness at day 84 of the trial compared with the Con group. Dietary CB, XOS, and CB + XOS addition increased (p < 0.05) the pH45min, while decreased (p < 0.05) the marbling score at day 28 of the trial compared with the Con group. Dietary CB + XOS addition increased (p < 0.05) the contents of Ala, Arg, Asp, Gly, His, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Ser, Thr, Tyr, and Val in muscle at day 56 of the trial. At day 84 of the trial, dietary CB addition increased the contents of nonessential amino acid (NEAA), total amino acid (TAA), and monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), while decreased (p < 0.05) the percentage of C20:1 in muscle compared with the Con group. Collectively, dietary addition with 0.05% CB and 0.02% XOS could not alter the growth performance, but increase carcass trait, meat quality, and muscular nutrient contents in Huanjiang mini-pigs.

ABSTRACT: The present study investigated the dosage and replication effects of lipopolysaccharide challenges on the serum oxidative and immune status, and the intestinal morphology and permeability of Linwu ducks at the growing stage. A total of 500 54-day-old Linwu ducks were randomly assigned into 10 treatments, which included a factorial arrangement of 2 levels of LPS challenge replications (1 and 2 times) × 5 levels of lipopolysaccharide challenging dosages (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.8 mg/kg). Each treatment consisted of 5 cages and 10 ducks per cage. The results showed significant replication effects of LPS on the body weight gain of ducks, that 2 replicates of LPS challenges significantly decreased the body weight gain than one challenge (P = 0.036). Regarding to the serum oxidative and immune status, dosage effects of lipopolysaccharide were found on the serum levels of superoxide dismutase (P = 0.034) and immunoglobulin A (P = 0.007), that 0.4 mg/kg lipopolysaccharides significantly increased the levels of these 2 parameters. Additionally, replication effects were found in the serum levels of interlukin 1β, that 2 replicates of LPS challenges significantly increased the interlukin 1β levels comparing to one challenge (P = 0.010). Regarding to the intestinal conditions, dosage effects of lipopolysaccharides were found on the ratio of villus height and crypt depth (P = 0.005) in duodenum, and the wall thickness of duodenum (P = 0.010) and jejunum (P = 0.001), that lipopolysaccharides at 0.1, 0.2, and 0.8 mg/kg significantly deteriorated the intestinal morphologies, especially in the duodenum and jejunum. Moreover, the dosage effects of lipopolysaccharides and the interactions of dosages and replications significantly influenced the permeabilities of the intestinal segments (P < 0.05). It appeared that 2 replicates of lipopolysaccharides at the dosage at 0.4 mg/kg could trigger oxidative and immunological stress, and damage the intestinal morphology and permeability of Linwu ducks at the growing stage.

The present study investigated the effects of ferulic acid (FA) on the growth performance, serum cytokine profile, intestinal morphology, and intestinal microbiota in ducks at the growing stage. 300 female Linwu ducks at 28 days of age with similar body weights were randomly divided into five groups. Each group contained six replicates of 10 birds. The dietary treatments were corn-soybean-based diet supplemented with FA at the concentrations of 0 (control), 100, 200, 400, and 800 mg/kg diet. The results demonstrated that dietary FA at the levels of 200, 400, and 800 mg/kg increased the average daily gain (P = 0.01), 400 and 800 mg/kg FA increased the final body weight (P = 0.02), 100, 200, and 800 mg/kg FA increased the serum glutathione (P = 0.01), and 100, 400, and 800 mg/kg FA increased the glutathione peroxidase activities in birds (P < 0.01). Additionally, 200, 400, and 800 mg/kg dietary FA lowered the serum levels of interleukin-2 (P = 0.02) and interleukin-6 (P = 0.04). Moreover, the morphometric study of the intestines indicated that 400 mg/kg FA decreased the crypt depth in jejunum (P = 0.01) and caecum (P = 0.04), and increased the ratio of villus height to crypt depth in jejunum (P = 0.02). Significant linear and/or quadratic relationships were found between FA concentration and the measured parameters. 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that dietary FA increased the populations of genera Faecalibacterium, Paludicola, RF39, and Faecalicoccus in the cecum (P < 0.05), whereas decreased the populations of Anaerofilum and UCG-002 (P < 0.05). The Spearman correlation analysis indicated that phylum Proteobacteria were negatively, but order Oscillospirales, and family Ruminococcaceae were positively related to the parameters of the growth performance. Phylum Bacteroidetes, class Negativicutes and family Rikenellaceae were negatively associated with the parameters of the antioxidative capability. And phylum Cyanobacteria, Elusimicrobia, and Bacteroidetes, class Bacilli, family Rikenellaceae, and genus Prevotella were positively associated with the parameters of the immunological capability. Thus, it was concluded that the supplementations of 400 mg/kg FA in diet was able to improve the growth performance, antioxidative and immunological capabilities, intestinal morphology, and modulated the gut microbial construction of Linwu ducks at the growing stage.

Abstract This study explored the effect of dietary xylo-oligosaccharide (XOS) supplementation on the gut microbial composition and activity in pigs of different ages. Eighty pigs with an average body weight (BW) of 30 kg were randomly divided into eight groups: A control group, a group that received antibiotic treatment, and six groups fed diets supplemented with 100, 250, and 500 g/t XOS, of which three groups were in the growing period (GP, 30–65 kg BW) and three groups in the growing and fattening period (GFP, 30–100 kg BW). At the end of the experiment, the intestinal contents were sampled for analyses of gut microbiota and bacterial metabolites including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and bioamines. The results showed that 100 g/t XOS supplementation during the GFP significantly reduced the relative abundances of presumably pathogenic bacteria (Proteobacteria and Citrobacter), but enhanced the relative abundances of likely beneficial bacteria (Firmicutes and Lactobacillus). However, XOS supplementation during the GP showed little effect on the gut microbiota when pigs were killed at 100 kg BW. Meanwhile, 100 g/t XOS supplementation during the GFP decreased the level of 1,7-heptane diamine and increased the acetic acid, straight-chain fatty acids, and total SCFAs concentrations in the intestinal contents. Statistical analysis showed that both the dose and exposure time to XOS supplementation affected the microbial communities. In summary, 100 g/t XOS supplementation during the GFP modified the gut microbiota composition and metabolic activity. Possible consequences of such changes for the host are discussed.

Abstract Background Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are known to play an important role in the regulation of gene expression in eukaryotes. Photo-thermosensitive genic male sterile (PTGMS) is a very important germplasm resource in two-line hybrid rice breeding. Although many circRNAs have been identified in rice (Oryza sativa L.), little is known about the biological roles of circRNAs in the fertility transition of the PTGMS rice line. Results In the present study, RNA-sequencing libraries were constructed from the young panicles of the Wuxiang S sterile line rice (WXS (S)) and its fertile line rice (WXS (F)) at three development stages with three biological replicates. A total of 9994 circRNAs were obtained in WXS rice based on high-throughput strand-specific RNA sequencing and bioinformatic approaches, of which 5305 were known circRNAs and 4689 were novel in rice. And 14 of 16 randomly selected circRNAs were experimentally validated with divergent primers. Our results showed that 186 circRNAs were significantly differentially expressed in WXS (F) compared with WXS (S), of which 97, 87 and 60 circRNAs were differentially expressed at the pollen mother cell (PMC) formation stage (P2), the meiosis stage (P3) and the microspore formation stage (P4), respectively. Fertility specific expression patterns of eight circRNAs were analysis by qRT-PCR. Gene ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway analysis of the parental genes of differentially expressed circRNAs (DECs) revealed that they mainly participated in various biological processes such as development, response to stimulation, hormonal regulation, and reproduction. Furthermore, 15 DECs were found to act as putative miRNA sponges to involved in fertility transition in PTGMS rice line. Conclusion In the present study, the abundance and characteristics of circRNAs were investigated in the PTGMS rice line using bioinformatic approaches. Moreover, the expression patterns of circRNAs were different between WXS (F) and WXS (S). Our findings primarily revealed that circRNAs might be endogenous noncoding regulators of flower and pollen development, and were involved in the fertility transition in the PTGMS rice line, and guide the production and application of two-line hybrid rice.

We hypothesized that balancing the content of exogenous amino acids, especially lysine, to reduce protein content in swine diets could reduce nitrogen (N) pollution associated with animal husbandry. Two experiments (45 d each experiment) were performed on weaned piglets (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire, 28 d of age) to test this and to determine the optimal lysine to crude protein (Lys:CP) ratio in diet. In Exp. 1, 12 piglets (6 replicates [n = 6]) were fed diets containing different levels of CP (17% and 20%) but the same level of Lys. Increased CP content resulted in significant increases (P

Pork quality is a factor increasingly considered in consumer preferences for pork. The formation mechanisms determining meat quality are complicated, including endogenous and exogenous factors. Despite a lot of research on meat quality, unexpected variation in meat quality is still a major problem in the meat industry. Currently, gut microbiota and their metabolites have attracted increased attention in the animal breeding industry, and recent research demonstrated their significance in muscle fiber development and fat deposition. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the research on the effects of gut microbiota on pig muscle and fat deposition. The factors affecting gut microbiota composition will also be discussed, including host genetics, dietary composition, antibiotics, prebiotics, and probiotics. We provide an overall understanding of the relationship between gut microbiota and meat quality in pigs, and how manipulation of gut microbiota may contribute to increasing pork quality for human consumption.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) act as universal regulators of various biological processes, but no genome-wide screening of lncRNAs involved in the fertility transition of the photo-thermosensitive genic male sterile (PTGMS) rice line has been reported. Here, we performed strand-specific RNA sequencing at three developmental stages of a novel PTGMS line Wuxiang S (WXS). A total of 3,948 lncRNAs were identified; 622 of these were detected as differentially expressed lncRNAs (DE-lncRNAs) between male-sterile WXS (WXS-S) and male-fertile WXS (WXS-F). A large proportion of lncRNAs differentially expressed at the stage of pollen mother cells meiosis, suggested that it may be the most critical stage for fertility transition of WXS. Furthermore, functional annotation of the cis- and trans- targets of DE-lncRNAs showed that 150 targets corresponding to 141 DE-lncRNAs were identified as involved in anther and pollen development. Moreover, computational analysis predicted 97 lncRNAs as precursors for 72 miRNAs, and 94 DE-lncRNAs as potential endogenous target mimics (eTMs) for 150 miRNAs. Finally, using the dual luciferase reporter assays, we demonstrated that two lncRNAs act as eTMs to regulate the expression of the SPL and GRF genes by competing for the shared osa-miR156 and osa-miR396, respectively. These genomic characteristics, differential expression, and interaction of lncRNAs with miRNAs and mRNAs contribute to our understanding of the roles of lncRNAs during the fertility transition in PTGMS rice lines.

Microbiota-targeted therapies for hypercholesterolemia get more and more attention and are recognized as an effective strategy for preventing and treating cardiovascular disease. The experiment was conducted to investigate the cholesterol-lowering mechanism of Lactobacillus delbrueckii in a pig model. Twelve barrows (38.70 ± 5.33 kg) were randomly allocated to two groups and fed corn–soybean meal diets with either 0% (Con) or 0.1% Lactobacillus delbrueckii (Con + LD) for 28 days. L. delbrueckii–fed pigs had lower serum contents of total cholesterol (TC), total bile acids (TBAs), and triglyceride, but higher fecal TC and TBA excretion. L. delbrueckii treatment increased ileal Lactobacillus abundance and bile acid (BA) deconjugation and affected serum and hepatic BA composition. Dietary L. delbrueckii downregulated the gene expression of ileal apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter (ASBT) and ileal bile acid binding protein (IBABP), and hepatic farnesoid X receptor (FXR), fibroblast growth factor (FGF19), and small heterodimer partner (SHP), but upregulated hepatic high-density lipoprotein receptor (HDLR), low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), sterol regulatory element binding protein-2 (SREBP-2), and cholesterol-7α hydroxylase (CYP7A1) expression. Our results provided in vivo evidence that L. delbrueckii promote ileal BA deconjugation with subsequent fecal TC and TBA extraction by modifying ileal microbiota composition and induce hepatic BA neosynthesis via regulating gut–liver FXR–FGF19 axis.

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) crosshole tomography is widely applied to subsurface media images. However, the inadequacies of ray methods may limit the resolution of crosshole radar images, since the ray method is a type of high-frequency approximation. To solve this problem, the full waveform method is introduced for GPR inversion. However, full waveform inversion is computationally expensive. In this paper, we introduce a trained neural network that can be evaluated very quickly to replace a computationally intensive forward model. Additionally, the forward error of the trained neural network can be statistically analyzed. We demonstrate a methodology for a full waveform inversion of crosshole ground-penetrating radar data using the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method. An accurate forward model based on Maxwell’s equations is replaced by a quickly trained neural network. This method achieves a high computation efficiency, which is four orders of magnitude faster than the accurate forward model. The inversion result of the synthetic waveform data shows a good performance of the trained neural network, which greatly improves the calculation efficiency.

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of maternal catalase (CAT) supplementation on reproductive performance, antioxidant enzyme activities, mineral transport, and mRNA expression of related genes in sows and offspring. A total of 40 pregnant sows at 95 days of gestation with similar parity (3–5 parities) and back-fat thickness were assigned randomly and equally into the control (CON) group (fed a basal diet) and CAT group (fed a basal diet supplemented with 660 mg/kg CAT; CAT activity, 280 U/g). The reproductive performance was recorded, and the placenta and blood samples of sows and neonatal piglets, as well as the jejunum and ileum samples from neonatal boars (eight replicates per group), were collected. Results showed that dietary supplementation with CAT significantly decreased the intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) rate and increased the activity of serum CAT in neonatal piglets and umbilical cords (p < 0.05). In addition, CAT supplementation tended to improve total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) levels in the maternal serum (p = 0.089) and umbilical cords of piglets (p = 0.051). The serum calcium (Ca), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) of farrowing sows and Mn concentration in the umbilical cord, and serum Ca, magnesium (Mg), copper (Cu), and Mn of neonatal piglets were significantly increased (p < 0.05) in the CAT group. CAT supplementation downregulated mRNA expression of TRPV6 and CTR1 (p < 0.05), Cu/Zn SOD (p = 0.086) in the placenta and tended to increase the mRNA expression of the glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPX1) (p = 0.084), glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) (p = 0.063), and CAT (p = 0.052) genes in the ileum of piglets. These results showed that the maternal CAT supplementation improved fetal growth by decreasing the IUGR rate, and modulated antioxidant activity, as well as mineral elements in the pregnant sows and their piglets.

ABSTRACT Melatonin, a circadian hormone, has been reported to improve host lipid metabolism by reprogramming the gut microbiota, which also exhibits rhythmicity in a light/dark cycle. However, the effect of the administration of exogenous melatonin on the diurnal variation in the gut microbiota in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) is unclear. Here, we further confirmed the antiobesogenic effect of melatonin on mice fed an HFD for 2 weeks. Samples were collected every 4 h within a 24-h period, and diurnal rhythms of clock gene expression (Clock, Cry1, Cry2, Per1, and Per2) and serum lipid indexes varied with diurnal time. Notably, Clock and triglycerides (TG) showed a marked rhythm in the control in melatonin-treated mice but not in the HFD-fed mice. The rhythmicity of these parameters was similar between the control and melatonin-treated HFD-fed mice compared with that in the HFD group, indicating an improvement caused by melatonin in the diurnal clock of host metabolism in HFD-fed mice. Moreover, 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that most microbes exhibited daily rhythmicity, and the trends were different for different groups and at different time points. We also identified several specific microbes that correlated with the circadian clock genes and serum lipid indexes, which might indicate the potential mechanism of action of melatonin in HFD-fed mice. In addition, effects of melatonin exposure during daytime or nighttime were compared, but a nonsignificant difference was noticed in response to HFD-induced lipid dysmetabolism. Interestingly, the responses of microbiota-transplanted mice to HFD feeding also varied at different transplantation times (8:00 and 16:00) and with different microbiota donors. In summary, the daily oscillations in the expression of circadian clock genes, serum lipid indexes, and the gut microbiota appeared to be driven by short-term feeding of an HFD, while administration of exogenous melatonin improved the composition and diurnal rhythmicity of some specific gut microbiota in HFD-fed mice. IMPORTANCE The gut microbiota is strongly shaped by a high-fat diet, and obese humans and animals are characterized by low gut microbial diversity and impaired gut microbiota compositions. Comprehensive data on mammalian gut metagenomes shows gut microbiota exhibit circadian rhythms, which is disturbed by a high-fat diet. On the other hand, melatonin is a natural and ubiquitous molecule showing multiple mechanisms of regulating the circadian clock and lipid metabolism, while the role of melatonin in the regulation of the diurnal patterns of gut microbial structure and function in obese animals is not yet known. This study delineates an intricate picture of melatonin-gut microbiota circadian rhythms and may provide insight for obesity intervention.

This study was conducted to explore the effect of administrated Lactobacillus delbrueckii (LAB) during the suckling period on future intestinal integrity of the host, using a piglet model. Probiotic LAB increased final body weight, concentrations of immunoglobulin G and anti-inflammatory cytokines, but reduced diarrhea incidence by over 50% during any phase of experimental period. The intestinal villus height of the LAB-treated piglets were greater than that in the control piglets. Along with lower activity of serum diamine oxidase in the LAB piglets, there was a concurrent increase in mRNA expression of intestinal tight junctions proteins. We conclude that LAB, given to suckling piglets, stimulates immune response and improves intestinal morphology and barrier function, thereby mitigating diarrhea and promoting growth, importantly, these beneficial effects could be maintained up to 4 weeks after weaning. A proper utilization of LAB to neonates would be beneficial to future intestinal health.

The author presents an extension of the Airy beam, referred to as the Gaussian Airy beam, to simulate high-frequency wave propagation in inhomogeneous media. Theoretically, the Airy beam and the Gaussian beam satisfy the same fundamental paraxial wave equation. Here, the author combines the Airy beam and Gaussian beam concepts and derive the acoustic Gaussian Airy beam formulas. Starting from the acoustic paraxial wave equation in the ray-centered coordinate system, the author derives expressions for the Airy beam and quasi-ray tracing. The expression for the Airy beam is the same as that obtained from the Schrodinger equation, while the expressions for quasi-ray tracing can be used to obtain the parameters of the Gaussian beam. Relevant formulas for the Gaussian Airy beam in a homogeneous medium are derived. The author gives numerical solutions of the Gaussian Airy beam formulation and compare them with the Gaussian beam solutions. Furthermore, the author examines the effectiveness of the method for high-frequency wavefields by performing numerical simulations for models exhibiting pronounced heterogeneity.

Crosshole ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is an important tool for a wide range of geoscientific and engineering investigations, and the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method is a heuristic global optimization method that can be used to solve the inversion problem. In this paper, we use time-lapse GPR full-waveform data to invert the dielectric permittivity. An inversion based on the MCMC method does not rely on an accurate initial model and can introduce any complex prior information. Time-lapse ground-penetrating radar has great potential to monitor the properties of a subsurface. For the time-lapse inversion, we used the double difference method to invert the time-lapse target area accurately and full-waveform data. We propose a local sampling strategy taking advantage of the a priori information in the Monte Carlo method, which can sample only the target area with a sequential Gibbs sampler. This method reduces the calculation and improves the inversion accuracy of the target area. We have provided inversion results of the synthetic time-lapse waveform data that show that the proposed method significantly improves accuracy in the target area.

Background/Aims: Our previous reports suggested that dietary supplementation with lysine influenced intestinal absorption and metabolism of amino acids. In this study, we further investigated the effect of lysine restriction (30%) on feed intake and we also tested the hypothesis that gut microbiome contributed to the potential mechanism of lysine restriction-mediated feeding behavior. Here, we profiled gut microbial communities by sequencing 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) genes from gut samples as well as growth performance, serum hormones, and intestinal lysine transport in a piglet model. Results: Piglets preferred to the lysine restricted diet when giving three diets and the feed intake was markedly higher in the lysine-restricted group than that in the control group. Altered hormones (leptin, CCK, and ghrelin) might contribute to the feeding behavior caused by lysine restriction. Meanwhile, lysine transporting ability (SLC7A1 and SLC7A2 expression, intestinal electrophysiological changes, and amino acid pool in mesenteric vein) was decreased in response to lysine restriction. Through deep sequencing of bacterial rRNA markers, we observed that bacterial diversity was enhanced in the lysine-restricted group (Shannon H, PD, and Chao1). At the phylum level, lysine restriction enhanced gut Actinobacteria, Saccharibacteria, and Synergistetes abundances. At the family level, Moraxellaceae, Halomonadaceae, Shewanellaceae, Corynebacteriaceae, Bacillaceae, Comamonadaceae, Microbacteriaceae, Caulobacteraceae, and Synergistaceae abundances were increased in response to lysine restriction. Predictive functional profiling of microbial communities by PICRUSt also confirmed that dietary lysine restriction affected gut microbiome, which might further mediate amino acid metabolism, membrane transport, and endocrine system. Conclusion: Our results indicated that lysine restriction inhibited intestinal lysine transport and promoted feed intake, which might be associated with gut microbiome.

The experiment aimed to investigate the effects of probiotics and Achyranthes bidentata polysaccharides on the growth performance, nutrients digestibility, and immune function of weaned pigs. One hundred and twenty weaned pigs (about 7 kg BW, 23 ± 2 d) were allotted to five dietary treatments (CON: antibiotics-free basal diet; ANT: CON + antibiotics; PRO: CON + probiotics; ABPS: CON + Achyranthes bidentata polysaccharides; P-ABPS: PRO + ABPS) for a 28-day trial. Compared with CON, pigs in ANT, PRO, ABPS, and P-ABPS had greater (p < 0.05) ADG, ATTD of CP and GE, serum ALB, IgA and IL-2, duodenal intraepithelial lymphocyte, ileal VH and jejunal mucosa sIgA, but lower (p < 0.05) fecal scores, serum BUN, and IL-1β. Meanwhile, ANT, PRO, ABPS, and P-ABPS exhibited similar beneficial roles on growth performance, nutrients digestibility, serum parameters, and immune function. Interestingly, P-ABPS effects were similar to those obtained with ANT rather than with PRO or ABPS. In conclusion, Dietary PRO or ABPS used alone or in combination (P-ABPS), the combination augmenting the positive effect more than the independent supplement, could improve piglets’ growth performance via promoting intestinal nutrient digestion and absorption and enhancing immune function, indicating it had the potential to act as an alternative to in-feed antibiotics used in piglet diets.

Oxidative stress is increasingly being recognized as a player in the pathogenesis of intestinal pathologies, and probiotics are becoming an attractive means of addressing it. The present study investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with Lactobacillus delbrueckii (LAB) on intestinal integrity and oxidative damage in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged piglets. A total of 36 crossbred weaned piglets (Duroc × Landrace × Large Yorkshire) were randomly divided into three groups: (1) non-challenged controls (CON), (2) LPS-challenged controls (LPS), and (3) 0.2% LAB (2.01 × 1010 CFU/g) + LPS treatment (LAB + LPS). On the 29th day of the experiment, the LPS and CON groups were injected intraperitoneally with LPS and saline at 100 ug/kg body weight, respectively. The results show that the LPS-induced elevation of the serum diamine oxidase (DAO) level and small intestinal crypt depth (CD) were reversed by the dietary addition of LAB, which also markedly increased the ileal expression of tight junction proteins (occludin, ZO-1, and claudin-1) in the LPS-challenged piglets. Furthermore, LAB supplementation normalized other LPS-induced changes, such as by decreasing malondialdehyde (MDA) in both the serum and intestinal mucosa and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in the jejunal mucosa, increasing glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in both the serum and intestinal mucosa, and increasing glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the jejunal mucosa. LAB also activated Toll-like receptor (TLR)–Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (Btk)–nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2(Nrf2) signaling pathways in the intestine, suggesting that it plays a vital role in the ameliorative antioxidant capacity of weaned piglets. In summary, LAB increased intestinal integrity by improving the intestinal structure and tight junctions while enhancing antioxidant functions via the activation of the TLR–Btk–Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Our work proved that processing trajectory could effectively obtain a more reliable and robust quantitative model compared with the step-by-step optimization method. The use of systematic tracking was investigated as a tool to optimize modeling parameters including calibration method, spectral pretreatment and variable selection latent factors. The variable was selected by interval partial least-squares (iPLS), backward interval partial least-square (BiPLS) and synergy interval partial least-squares (SiPLS). The models were established by Partial least squares (PLS) and Bagging-PLS. The model performance was assessed by using the root mean square errors of validation (RMSEP) and the ratio of standard error of prediction to standard deviation (RPD). The proposed procedure was used to develop the models for near infrared (NIR) datasets of active pharmaceutical ingredients in tablets and chlorogenic acid of Lonicera japonica solution in ethanol precipitation process. The results demonstrated the processing trajectory has great advantages and feasibility in the development and optimization of multivariate calibration models as well as the effectiveness of bagging model and variable selection to improve prediction accuracy and robustness.

Unrestricted cell proliferation is a hallmark of cancer. Purines are basic components of nucleotides in cell proliferation, thus impaired purine metabolism is associated with the progression of cancer. The de novo biosynthesis of purine depends on six enzymes to catalyze the conversion of phosphoribosylpyrophosphate to inosine 5′-monophosphate. These enzymes cluster around mitochondria and microtubules to form purinosome, which is a multi-enzyme complex involved in de novo purine biosynthesis and purine nucleotides requirement. In this review, we highlighted the purine metabolism and purinosome biology with emphasis on the therapeutic potential of manipulating of purine metabolism or purinosome in cancers. We also reviewed current advances in our understanding of mammalian target of rapamycin for regulating purinosome formation or purine metabolism in cancers and discussed the future prospects for targeting purinosome to treat cancers.

Particle size is of great importance for the quantitative model of the NIR diffuse reflectance. In this paper, the effect of sample particle size on the measurement of harpagoside in Radix Scrophulariae powder by near infrared diffuse (NIR) reflectance spectroscopy was explored. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was employed as a reference method to construct the quantitative particle size model. Several spectral preprocessing methods were compared, and particle size models obtained by different preprocessing methods for establishing the partial least-squares (PLS) models of harpagoside. Data showed that the particle size distribution of 125–150 μm for Radix Scrophulariae exhibited the best prediction ability with Rpre2 = 0.9513, RMSEP = 0.1029 mg·g−1, and RPD = 4.78. For the hybrid granularity calibration model, the particle size distribution of 90–180 μm exhibited the best prediction ability with Rpre2 = 0.8919, RMSEP = 0.1632 mg·g−1, and RPD = 3.09. Furthermore, the Kubelka-Munk theory was used to relate the absorption coefficient k (concentration-dependent) and scatter coefficient s (particle size-dependent). The scatter coefficient s was calculated based on the Kubelka-Munk theory to study the changes of s after being mathematically preprocessed. A linear relationship was observed between k/s and absorption A within a certain range and the value for k/s was >4. According to this relationship, the model was more accurately constructed with the particle size distribution of 90–180 μm when s was kept constant or in a small linear region. This region provided a good reference for the linear modeling of diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. To establish a diffuse reflectance NIR model, further accurate assessment should be obtained in advance for a precise linear model.

The two-line hybrid rice is an important factor of a global crop, but its fertility transition mechanism is unclear. Here, a comparative proteomics and transcriptomics analysis was completed on the two-line hybrid rice line Wuxiang S (WXS) to explore its molecular mechanism and protein regulation during fertility transition. A total of 340 differentially abundant proteins (DAPs) were identified using iTRAQ between the pollen mother cell formation stage (P2) and the meiosis stage (P3). There were 3541 and 4247 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in P2 and P3 between WXS (Sterile, S)-WXS(S) and WXS (Fertile, F)-WXS(F), respectively, of which 92 and 71 DEGs had corresponding DAPs. Among the DAPs and DEGs, 65 (SP2 vs. FP2) and 55 (SP3 vs. FP3) corresponding DEGs and DAPs (cor-DEGs-DAPs) showed the same expression trend, indicating the cor-DEGs-DAPs genes might play vital roles in WXS fertility transition. Further analysis indicated that cor-DEGs-DAPs proteins were related to energy metabolism-related proteins in anther development and were accompanied by the activation of the stress response pathway and modifications to the cell wall, which ultimately affected the fertility transition of the PTGMS rice line WXS.

This paper aims at the problem that in deep water the migration quality is poor, and starts with the influence that velocity model accuracy has on migration, studying influence that variable seawater velocity makes on migration effect. At first, variable seawater velocity influenced by temperature, pressure and salinity is defined to replace the true seawater velocity. Then variable seawater velocity’s influence on interface migration location, layer sickness and migration energy focusing degree are analyzed in theory. And finally a deep water layered medium model containing variable seawater velocity, a syncline wedge shape model and a complex seafloor velocity model are constructed. By changing the seawater velocity of each model and comparing migration results of constant seawater-velocity model and variable seawater-velocity model, we can draw the conclusion: Under the condition of deep water, variable seawater-velocity’s impact on the quality of seismic migration is significant, which not only can change the location of geologic body migration result, but also can influence the resolution of geologic interface in the migration section and maybe can cause migration illusion. Investigación de los efectos de la variación en la velocidad del agua marina sobre las imágenes de migración en la geología de aguas profundas Resumen Este artículo se enfoca en el problema de la baja calidad de la migración en aguas profundas. Se analiza la influencia que tiene el modelo de precisión de velocidad en la migración y se estudia el impacto que la variación de velocidad del agua marina tiene en el efecto de movimiento. En primera instancia, se define la variación de la velocidad del agua marina afectada por la temperatura, la presión y la salinidad para reemplazar la velocidad del agua marina actual. Luego se analiza la teoría de la influencia de la velocidad del agua marina sobre la interfaz de la ubicación de migración, el grosor de la capa y la energía de movimiento de acuerdo con la inclinación. Además, finalmente, se construyó un modelo medio por capas de aguas profundas que contiene las variaciones de velocidad del agua marina, un modelo de forma de cuña sinclinal, y un modelo de complejo de velocidades del lecho marino. Al cambiar la velocidad del agua marina en cada modelo y comparar los resultados de migración del modelo de velocidad de agua marina constante con los del modelo modelo de velocidad variable se encontró la conclusión. Bajo las condiciones de agua profunda, el impacto de la variación de la velocidad del agua es significativo en la migración sísmica, lo que no solo puede cambiar el resultado de migración en la ubicación del cuerpo geológico sino que además puede influir en la resolución de la interconexión geológica en la sección de movimiento y podría causar la ilusión de migración.