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1. A study used gene synthesis to obtain the functional domains of chicken epidermal growth factor (cEGF) and examined their impact on broiler growth performance, small intestinal morphology, digestive enzyme activities in the intestinal contents and the structure of duodenal microflora. 2. The pET-32a-cEGF recombinant expression vector was constructed. The specific band at 26 KDa was shown by SDS-PAGE analysis and WB results. The purified protein content was shown to be 1687 μg/ml by assay. 3. A total of 180 healthy, one-day-old Arbor Acres male, white-feathered broilers were randomly divided into three dietary treatment groups (six replicate pens, 10 birds per replicate): A control diet (ND); cEGF diet (cEGF), control supplemented with 250 mg/kg cEGF and the control diet (CD) supplemented with 250 mg/kg chlortetracycline. 4. The results showed that feeding the cEGF and CD diet reduced FCR of broilers aged 1–21 d, average daily feed intake (ADFI) at 22–42 d, and the FCR in the whole period (1–42 d; p < 0.05). Compared with the ND group, the cEGF diet increased duodenal α-amylase and alkaline phosphatase activities in the 1–21 d, duodenal lipase, alkaline phosphatase, and ileal alkaline phosphatase activities in the post-period and increased villus height in the duodenum and ileum (p < 0.05). In addition, the ACE and Chao1 index for the birds fed cEGF were higher than the ND group (p < 0.05). At the phyla level, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were dominant in all groups. At the genus level, the dominant genus was Lactobacillus. The LEfSe analysis showed that the cEGF group was enriched by 11 species including Brevibacillus, Eisenbergiella, Cloacibacterium, Butyricoccus spp. 5. The addition of 250 mg/kg cEGF to the diet can increase growth performance by improving intestinal development and digestive enzyme activity, which may be related to the duodenal intestinal microflora. Therefore, cEGF is an effective alternative to antibiotics in broiler farming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Surgical management is the mainstay of treatment for tumours in the parapharyngeal space. This study aimed to evaluate the indications, limits and technical nuances of the endoscopic transoral approach. Method: Thirteen patients with parapharyngeal space tumours that were treated between May 2017 and November 2020 were included in this retrospective study. Results: All patients underwent surgery for complete oncological resection except one patient who received treatment for diagnostic purposes. No major complications were reported, with excellent control of the vital structures of the parapharyngeal space. Conclusion: The endoscopic transoral approach to the parapharyngeal space is a promising alternative approach for selected parapharyngeal space tumours with satisfactory outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the effect of water depth, hydrodynamic characteristics of ships manoeuvring in shallow waters are quite different from those in deep water. In the present study, the CFD method is used to investigate the hydrodynamic behaviour of the ESSO OSAKA model in model-fixed condition in deep and shallow waters by solving RANS equations, which performs steady turning motion with the effect of free surface considered. The governing equations are discretized by the finite volume method (FVM) and the free surface is captured by applying the volume of fluid (VOF) method. Viscous hydrodynamic characteristics and flow fields in a series of cases at different water depths and speeds are investigated respectively. By comparing the numerical results in shallow water with those in deep water, it was found that effects of water depth and free surface are significant on ship's hydrodynamic forces. The coefficients of drag, lateral force and yaw moment all increase with the decrease of water depth. The drag coefficient in shallow water is about 45% larger than that in deep water. However, effect of water depth on the lateral force coefficient is small, it is about 15% larger in shallow water than that in deep water. While, it has significant effect on the yaw moment coefficient, which is about 25% larger in shallow water than in deep water. And as the water depth increases, the effect of the free surface gradually becomes smaller. Both coefficient of pressure component of drag force and drag coefficient in the present simulation are about 7% smaller than the case without considering the free surface at h/d ≥ 3.0, while that of frictional component is almost the same. When h/d ≥ 3.0, the lateral force and yaw moment coefficients are almost the same as when the free surface is not considered. The error between the present numerical result and the measurements is within 10%, which indicates that RANS method has promising capability to predict the hydrodynamic forces on ships manoeuvring in shallow water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) with three types of double anode buffer layers (DABLs), i.e., 4.5nm hole-transport material 4,4-bis[N-(1-naphthyl)-N-phenyl-amino]biphenyl layer, 1 nm electrontransport material Bphen, and 1 nm typical insulator LiF layer, respectively, deposited onto 10nm MoO3 layer, were fabricated. All these three DABLs can improve the efficiency of CuPc/C60 based planar heterojunction OPV, especially with about 10% enhancement of short-circuit current (ISC). Based on the external quantum efficiency (EQE) and transient photovoltage (TPV) measurements, a mechanism of depressing harmful exciton dissociation at the MoO3/CuPc interface has been proposed. This harmful dissociation results in exciton loss within the CuPc layer, while a proper ultrathin layer inserted at MoO3/CuPc interface can effectively depress the dissociation and thus improve the total photocurrent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the role of HOXA-AS2 in the progression of diabetic nephropathy (DN) and the molecular mechanism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Relative levels of HOXA-AS2 and microRNA-302b-3p (miRNA- 302b-3p) in serum and kidney tissues of DN rats induced by STZ administration and controls were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Serum levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), Transforming Growth Factor-α (TNF-α), creatinine, and BUN, as well as blood glucose in DN rats administrated with vector or pcDNA-HOXA-AS2 lentivirus, were detected. Dual-Luciferase reporter gene assay was conducted to verify the interaction among HOXA-AS2, miRNA-302b-3p, and TIMP3. At last, the regulatory effects of HOXA-AS2/miRNA-302b-3p/TIMP3 axis on levels of IL-1β and TNF-α, proliferative, and apoptotic rates in podocytes undergoing high-level glucose treatment were explored. RESULTS: HOXA-AS2 was downregulated in STZ-induced DN rats. In vivo overexpression of HOXA-AS2 alleviated kidney injuries in DN rats, manifesting as elevations on serum levels of IL- 1β, TNF-α, creatinine, BUN, and blood glucose. HOXA-AS2/miRNA-302b-3p/TIMP3 axis protected DN-induced inflammatory response, proliferation suppression, and apoptosis in podocytes following the high-glucose treatment. CONCLUSIONS: HOXA-AS2/miRNA-302b-3p/ TIMP3 axis protects inflammatory response, proliferation suppression, and apoptosis in podocytes treated with high-level glucose, thus alleviating the deterioration of DN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small ubiquitin‐related modifier (SUMO)‐specific protease 2 (SENP2) is essential for the development of healthy placenta. The loss of SENP2 causes severe placental deficiencies and leads to embryonic death that is associated with heart and brain deformities. However, tissue‐specific disruption of SENP2 demonstrates its dispensable role in embryogenesis and the embryonic defects are secondary to placental insufficiency. SENP2 regulates SUMO1 modification of Mdm2, which controls p53 activities critical for trophoblast cell proliferation and differentiation. Here we use genetic analyses to examine the involvement of SUMO2 and SUMO3 for SENP2‐mediated placentation. The results indicate that hyper‐SUMOylation caused by SENP2 deficiency can be compensated by reducing the level of SUMO modifiers. The placental deficiencies caused by the loss of SENP2 can be alleviated by the inactivation of gene encoding SUMO2 or SUMO3. Our findings demonstrate that SENP2 genetically interacts with SUMO2 and SUMO3 pivotal for the development of three major trophoblast layers. The alleviation of placental defects in the SENP2 knockouts further leads to the proper formation of the heart structures, including atrioventricular cushion and myocardium. SUMO2 and SUMO3 modifications regulate placentation and organogenesis mediated by SENP2. Key Findings: Genetic analyses reveal that hyper sumoylation caused by SENP2 deficiency can be compensated by reducing the level of SUMO modifiers. The placental deficiencies caused by the loss of SENP2 can be alleviated by the inactivation of gene encoding SUMO2 or SUMO3. SENP2 genetically interacts with SUMO2 and SUMO3 pivotal for the development of three major trophoblast layers. The alleviation of placental defects in the SENP2 knockouts further leads to the proper formation of the heart structures, including atrioventricular cushion and myocardium. Protein modification by SUMO2 and SUMO3 is essential for SENP2‐mediated placentation and organogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]