Successful Retrograde Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for Chronic Total Occlusion in a Patient with Dextrocardia.

Dextrocardia is a very rare congenital malposition, and most cardiologists are not familiar with the radiographic angiograms of this condition. Here, we first report a case of dextrocardia with a chronic total occlusion (CTO) lesion undergoing retrograde percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Significant difficulties in lesion interpretation and device manipulation were encountered with the original angiograms. These challenges were not significantly improved until we adopted the double-inversion technique. The procedure was finally accomplished by using the kissing wire technique with a poor angle of attack. Retrograde CTO PCI for patients with dextrocardia is feasible with adequate techniques.

The denitrification characteristics of Na2S2O8 solution in a falling film reactor.

Wet scrubbing technology is an effective emission control technology for marine diesel engines. Nitric oxide (NO) is one of the main component of ship emissions, the sodium persulfate (Na2S2O8) can facilitate the NO mass transfer process to a rapid reaction. Falling film reactors are widely used in rapid gas-liquid reactions, however, the reaction characteristics of denitrification using Na2S2O8 solution in a falling film reactor are not clear, which were investigated in this paper. The factors of NO mass transfer flux were tested with the liquid-gas ratio of 15 L/m3. The effects of solution properties and temperatures on the reaction driving force were studied by calculating the chemical reaction equilibrium constants and Gibbs free energy changes. The results showed that the NO mass transfer flux increased with the increase of temperature, Na2S2O8 concentration, O2 concentration and NO concentration. NO mass transfer flux increased by 41.00% and then decreased by 2.12% as the pH value increased from 7 to 10 and then rising to 12. The Gibbs free energy changes of alkaline solutions were 114.22%-130.99% lower than those of acidic solution at 303-343 K, and the chemical reaction equilibrium constants were higher. Na2S2O8/seawater system has great application potential in marine exhaust gas purification.

Understanding the mechanism of safety attitude mitigates the turnover intention novice nurses via the person-centred method: A theory-driven, deductive cross-sectional study.

AIM: Examine profiles of safety attitudes among novices and explore whether profiles moderate the occupational identity-turnover pathway. BACKGROUND: Novice nurses face unique challenges in adopting positive safety attitudes, which influence outcomes like turnover. However, past research found only average levels of safety attitudes among novices, ignoring possible heterogeneity. Exploring whether meaningful subgroups exist based on safety perspectives and factors shaping them can provide insights to improve safety attitudes and retention. DESIGN: This study was designed as a cross-sectional investigation. METHODS: Data were collected through the distribution of questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were first conducted, followed by latent profile analysis. We then carried out univariate analysis and ordinal multinomial regression to explore the factors shaping the different profiles. Finally, we examine the moderating effect of nurses' safety attitudes with different latent profiles on the relationship between professional identification and turnover intention. RESULTS: A total of 816 novice nurses were included. Three profiles were identified: high, moderate and low safety attitudes - higher attitudes were associated with lower turnover intention. Interest in nursing, health status, identity and turnover predicted profile membership. Moderate profile had a stronger buffering effect on the identity-turnover link versus high profile. CONCLUSION: Multiple safety attitude profiles exist among novice nurses. Certain factors like interest in nursing and occupational identity are associated with more positive safety profiles. Targeting these factors could potentially improve safety attitudes and reduce turnover among novice nurses. The moderating effects suggest that tailored interventions matching specific subgroups may maximize impact. IMPACT: Assessing subgroup attitudes enables tailored training for novices' specific needs, nurturing continuous improvement. Supporting early career development and role identity may strengthen retention intentions.

Risk Factors for Acute Postsurgical Pain: A Narrative Review.

Acute postsurgical pain (APSP) has received growing attention as a surgical outcome. When poorly controlled, APSP can affect short- and long-term outcomes in patients. Despite the steady increase in awareness about postoperative pain and standardization of pain prevention and treatment strategies, moderate-to-severe APSP is frequently reported in clinical practice. This is possibly because pain varies widely among individuals and is influenced by distinct factors, such as demographic, perioperative, psychological, and genetic factors. This review investigates the risk factors for APSP, including gender, age, obesity, smoking history, preoperative pain history, pain sensitivity, preoperative anxiety, depression, pain catastrophizing, expected postoperative pain, surgical fear, and genetic polymorphisms. By identifying patients having an increased risk of moderate-to-severe APSP at an early stage, clinicians can more effectively manage individualized analgesic treatment protocols with a combination of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. This would alleviate the transition from APSP to chronic pain and reduce the severity of APSP-induced chronic physical disability and social psychological distress.

Tislelizumab combined with GT chemotherapy for intimal sarcoma of inferior vena cava: A case report.

RATIONALE: Intimal sarcoma of inferior vena cava (IVC) is a rare soft tissue sarcoma with no typical symptoms and specific imaging features in the early stage, and there is a lack of standardized treatment and methods. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 54-year-old female patient presented to Fenghua District People's Hospital with a post-active cough and hemoptysis and was subsequently referred to our hospital. DIAGNOSES: The patient was pathologically diagnosed as intimal sarcoma of IVC complicating multiple intrapulmonary metastases. Chest CT revealed left lung malignant tumor with multiple intrapulmonary metastases; while enhanced upper abdominal CT showed cancer embolus of IVC with extension to right atrium and bilateral renal veins. Besides, hematoxylin and eosin staining suggested intimal sarcoma of veins. Immunohistochemical staining showed positivity for PD-L1, Ki-67, CD31, Desmin and ERG. INTERVENTIONS: The patient initially received GT chemotherapy (gemcitabine injection + docetaxel). Then, immunotherapy (tislelizumab) was added based on the results of genetic testing (TP53 gene mutation). OUTCOMES: The disease was stabilized after receiving the treatment. LESSONS: Given the lack of characteristic clinical manifestations in patients with intimal sarcoma of IVC, imaging examination combined with immunohistochemical index were helpful for diagnosis of intimal sarcoma of IVC. Furthermore, the combination of tislelizumab and GT chemotherapy was feasible in such patients with positive PD-L1 expression and TP53 mutation.

Pilot-Scale Experimental Study on the Coupling of Venturi-Bubbling Reactor to Promote the Absorption of Leaked H2S.

Natural gas generates varying concentrations of H2S during natural formation and extraction, and H2S leak accidents are frequent, posing a significant threat to the safety of human life and the environment. Conventional treatment technology equipment is large and does not meet the emergency requirements of the complex topographical gas field. This study aimed to design a pilot-scale method coupling the venturi and bubbling reactors to reduce equipment size and improve emergency capabilities for the absorption of leaked H2S. It found that the ring system self-priming venturi reactor, which was suitable only for the coarse treatment of toxic gases, maintained an absorption efficiency of around 50% under most operating conditions, with substantial variations due to changes in process parameters, but that redundancy of the bubbling reactor was high. With the synergistic effect of venturi and bubbling, the coupling process had an extremely high absorption efficiency, basically more than 95%. The experiments also showed that the H2S concentration at the outlet of the venturi-bubbling reactor increased with increasing inlet gas concentration and gas volume. The absorption performance improved significantly on increasing Fe3+ concentration; it increased first and then remained constant, and the optimum Fe3+ concentration for the absorption of leaked H2S was 21 000 mg/m3. The absorption performance decreased with increasing submergence height and then remained stable after the size of the inlet approached 600 mm, whereas the overall absorption efficiency of the venturi-bubbling reactor remained constant. The optimum operating temperature range was 10 °C-50 °C. The experimental system kept the outlet concentration below the emergency discharge standard for a continuous period of 48 h following practical use in the gas field and resulting in significant enhancement in mass transfer performance, fully satisfying the emergency requirements.

Inverse design of Bézier curve-based mechanical metamaterials with programmable negative thermal expansion and negative Poisson's ratio via a data augmented deep autoencoder.

Controlling stress and deformation induced by thermo-mechanical stimulation in high-precision mechanical systems can be achieved by mechanical metamaterials (MM) exhibiting negative thermal expansion (NTE) and negative Poisson's ratio (NPR). However, the inverse design of MM exhibiting a wide range of arbitrary target NTEs and NPRs is a challenging task due to the low design flexibility of analytical methods and parametric studies based on numerical simulation. In this study, we propose Bézier curve-based programmable chiral mechanical metamaterials (BPCMs) and a deep autoencoder-based inverse design model (DAIM) for the inverse design of BPCMs. Through iterative transfer learning with data augmentation, DAIM can generate BPCMs with a curved rib shape inaccessible with the Bézier curve, which improves the inverse design performance of the DAIM in the data sparse domain. This approach decreases the mean absolute error of NTE and NPR between the inverse design target and the numerical simulation results of inverse designed BPCMs on the data-sparse domain by 79.25% and 83.33% on average, respectively. A 3D-printed BPCM is validated experimentally and exhibits good coincidence with the target NTE and NPR. Our proposed BPCM and the corresponding inverse design framework enable the inverse design of BPCMs with NTE in the range of -1100 to 0 ppm K-1 and NPR in the range of -0.6 to -0.1. Furthermore, programmable thermal deformation modes with a fixed Poisson's ratio are realized by combining various inverse designed BPCM unit cells. BPCMs and the DAIM for their inverse design are expected to improve the mechanical robustness of high-precision mechanical systems through tunable modulation of thermo-mechanical stimulation.

High-Loading Smart Carrier Containing 2-Mercaptobenzimidazole-Zn2+-Polydopamine with pH-Responsive Function to Fabricate High-Performance Waterborne Epoxy Anticorrosion Coatings.

Corrosion inhibitor additives are considered to be one of the effective methods to slow down the corrosion of metals, but the corrosion inhibitors will decompose and lose their effect in a long-term corrosive environment. In this work, a smart corrosion inhibitor carrier 2-mercaptobenzimidazole-Zn2+-polydopamine@graphite (MZPG) with excellent pH response was designed and synthesized using a one-pot method. This corrosion inhibitor carrier not only has a very high 2-mercaptobenzimidazole (MBI) loading capacity (38.0%) but also maintains a very low MBI activity to inhibit the decomposition of MZPG in the environment as much as possible. The MZPG/epoxy (MZPG/EP) coatings prepared by the spraying method showed excellent mechanical properties. Electrochemical and salt spray tests showed that the MZPG/EP coatings (1.20 × 1010 Ω·cm2) have excellent corrosion resistance with Rp values up to 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of the EP coating (1.25 × 107 Ω·cm2). Notably, the MZPG/EP coatings maintained good corrosion resistance under acidic conditions due to the pH-responsive release of corrosion inhibitors. This is of great significance for the future development of coatings for highly corrosive environments.

Small-molecule α-lipoic acid targets ELK1 to balance human neutrophil and erythrocyte differentiation.

BACKGROUND: Erythroid and myeloid differentiation disorders are commonly occurred in leukemia. Given that the relationship between erythroid and myeloid lineages is still unclear. To find the co-regulators in erythroid and myeloid differentiation might help to find new target for therapy of myeloid leukemia. In hematopoiesis, ALA (alpha lipoic acid) is reported to inhibit neutrophil lineage determination by targeting transcription factor ELK1 in granulocyte-monocyte progenitors via splicing factor SF3B1. However, further exploration is needed to determine whether ELK1 is a common regulatory factor for erythroid and myeloid differentiation. METHODS: In vitro culture of isolated CD34+, CMPs (common myeloid progenitors) and CD34+ CD371- HSPCs (hematopoietic stem progenitor cells) were performed to assay the differentiation potential of monocytes, neutrophils, and erythrocytes. Overexpression lentivirus of long isoform (L-ELK1) or the short isoform (S-ELK1) of ELK1 transduced CD34+ HSPCs were transplanted into NSG mice to assay the human lymphocyte and myeloid differentiation differences 3 months after transplantation. Knocking down of SRSF11, which was high expressed in CD371+GMPs (granulocyte-monocyte progenitors), upregulated by ALA and binding to ELK1-RNA splicing site, was performed to analyze the function in erythroid differentiation derived from CD34+ CD123mid CD38+ CD371- HPCs (hematopoietic progenitor cells). RNA sequencing of L-ELK1 and S-ELK1 overexpressed CD34+ CD123mid CD38+ CD371- HPCs were performed to assay the signals changed by ELK1. RESULTS: Here, we presented new evidence that ALA promoted erythroid differentiation by targeting the transcription factor ELK1 in CD34+ CD371- hematopoietic stem progenitor cells (HSPCs). Overexpression of either the long isoform (L-ELK1) or the short isoform (S-ELK1) of ELK1 inhibited erythroid-cell differentiation, but knockdown of ELK1 did not affect erythroid-cell differentiation. RNAseq analysis of CD34+ CD123mid CD38+ CD371- HPCs showed that L-ELK1 upregulated the expression of genes related to neutrophil activity, phosphorylation, and hypoxia signals, while S-ELK1 mainly regulated hypoxia-related signals. However, most of the genes that were upregulated by L-ELK1 were only moderately upregulated by S-ELK1, which might be due to a lack of serum response factor interaction and regulation domains in S-ELK1 compared to L-ELK1. In summary, the differentiation of neutrophils and erythrocytes might need to rely on the dose of L-ELK1 and S-ELK1 to achieve precise regulation via RNA splicing signals at early lineage commitment. CONCLUSIONS: ALA and ELK1 are found to regulate both human granulopoiesis and erythropoiesis via RNA spliceosome, and ALA-ELK1 signal might be the target of human leukemia therapy.

Structural elucidation and anti-psoriasis activity of a novel polysaccharide from Saussurea Costus.

PSCP, a novel water-soluble polysaccharide, was extracted from the root of Saussurea costus and subsequently purified using DEAE-52 cellulose and Sephadax G-50 columns. The elucidation of its structure involved various techniques including HPGPC, FT-IR, HPLC-ELSD, GC-MS, NMR, AFM, and SEM. The results show that PSCP was a homogeneous heteropoly saccharide having molecular weight of 4131 Da and mainly composed of 1-α-D-Glcp-(-2-ß-D-Fruf-1-)23-2-ß-D-Fruf. The anti-psoriasis activity of PSCP was evaluated in imiquimod-induced psoriasis in Balb/C mice. This study revealed that treatment with PSCP resulted in a significant improvement in the pathological morphology of the skin and a reduction in the PASI score. Analysis of liver RNA-Seq data indicated that the MAPK signaling pathway may play a crucial role in the ability of PSCP to ameliorate psoriasis. PSCP was found to effectively inhibit the phosphorylation of JNK, ERK, and p38, as well as down-regulate the expression of the transcription factor AP-1 (c-fos and c-jun) in the nucleus, thereby reducing the expression of inflammatory factors. These findings suggest that PSCP holds promise as a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of psoriasis.

Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells from human pluripotent stem cell-derived brain organoid enhance the ex vivo expansion and maintenance of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells.

BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) are of great therapeutic value due to their role in maintaining the function of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs). MSCs derived from human pluripotent stem cells represent an ideal alternative because of their unlimited supply. However, the role of MSCs with neural crest origin derived from HPSCs on the maintenance of HSPCs has not been reported. METHODS: Flow cytometric analysis, RNA sequencing and differentiation ability were applied to detect the characteristics of stromal cells from 3D human brain organoids. Human umbilical cord blood CD34+ (UCB-CD34+) cells were cultured in different coculture conditions composed of stromal cells and umbilical cord MSCs (UC-MSCs) with or without a cytokine cocktail. The hematopoietic stroma capacity of stromal cells was tested in vitro with the LTC-IC assay and in vivo by cotransplantation of cord blood nucleated cells and stroma cells into immunodeficient mice. RNA and proteomic sequencing were used to detect the role of MSCs on HSPCs. RESULTS: The stromal cells, derived from both H1-hESCs and human induced pluripotent stem cells forebrain organoids, were capable of differentiating into the classical mesenchymal-derived cells (osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and adipocytes). These cells expressed MSC markers, thus named pluripotent stem cell-derived MSCs (pMSCs). The pMSCs showed neural crest origin with CD271 expression in the early stage. When human UCB-CD34+ HSPCs were cocultured on UC-MSCs or pMSCs, the latter resulted in robust expansion of UCB-CD34+ HSPCs in long-term culture and efficient maintenance of their transplantability. Comparison by RNA sequencing indicated that coculture of human UCB-CD34+ HSPCs with pMSCs provided an improved microenvironment for HSC maintenance. The pMSCs highly expressed the Wnt signaling inhibitors SFRP1 and SFRP2, indicating that they may help to modulate the cell cycle to promote the maintenance of UCB-CD34+ HSPCs by antagonizing Wnt activation. CONCLUSIONS: A novel method for harvesting MSCs with neural crest origin from 3D human brain organoids under serum-free culture conditions was reported. We demonstrate that the pMSCs support human UCB-HSPC expansion in vitro in a long-term culture and the maintenance of their transplantable ability. RNA and proteomic sequencing indicated that pMSCs provided an improved microenvironment for HSC maintenance via mechanisms involving cell-cell contact and secreted factors and suppression of Wnt signaling. This represents a novel method for large-scale production of MSCs of neural crest origin and provides a potential approach for development of human hematopoietic stromal cell therapy for treatment of dyshematopoiesis.

Short time effects of two radiofrequency ablation methods on hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: Radiofrequency ablation has been applied for the treatment of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). The two known procedures are percutaneous intramyocardial septal radiofrequency ablation (PIMSRA) and endocardial radiofrequency septal ablation (ERSA). METHODS: This study presents a retrospective analysis of the PIMSRA and ERSA procedures in patients with drug-refractory HOCM. A total of 28 patients participated in the study, with 12 receiving PIMSRA and 16 receiving ERSA. The objective of our study was to compare the short-term effects of these two radiofrequency ablation procedures. RESULTS: At the 30-day follow-up, the PIMSRA group demonstrated a greater reduction in left ventricular outflow tract peak gradient at rest compared to the ERSA group (22.25 [16.72] mmHg versus 47.75 [21.94] mmHg) (p < .01). The values for the PIMSRA group decreased from 99.33 (32.00) mmHg to 22.25 (16.72) mmHg (p < .01), while the ERSA group decreased from 97.75 (30.24) mmHg to 47.75 (21.94) mmHg (p < .01). Only the PIMSRA group exhibited a decrease in mitral regurgitation (MR). The area of MR decreased from 10.13 (4.12) mm2 to 3.65 (2.80) mm2 in the PIMSRA group (p < .01). Additionally, the PIMSRA group experienced reductions in left atrial diameter (LAD) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF)%. The values for LAD changed from 43.58 (7.53) mm to 37.08 (6.92) mm (p = .03), and the values for LVEF% decreased from 65.75 (6.12) pg/mL to 60.83 (4.06) pg/mL (p = .03). CONCLUSION: In terms of the two types of radiofrequency ablation methods used in HOCM, it has been observed that PIMSRA demonstrates a more favorable early treatment effect compared to ERSA.

Transcription factor Hoxb5 reveals the unidirectional hierarchy of hematopoietic stem cell pool.

Hoxb5 exhibits preferential expression in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and uniquely marks the long-term HSCs (LT-HSCs). Previous studies have demonstrated the remarkable capability of Hoxb5 to alter cell fates when enforced expression in blood progenitors, such as B cell progenitors and multipotent progenitors. Additionally, Hoxb5 deficiency does not hinder the generation of LT-HSCs. However, the specific impact of Hoxb5 deletion on LT-HSCs has remained unexplored. To address this, we developed a conditional Hoxb5 knockout-reporter mouse model, wherein Hoxb5 was knock out by the Vav-cre recombinase, and the endogenous Hoxb5 promoter drove the expression of the blue fluorescent protein (BFP). Our findings revealed that the primary recipients, who transplanted with HSCs indicating Hoxb5 deficiency by the presence of BFP (BFP-positive HSCs), exhibited comparable levels of donor chimerism and lineage chimerism to recipients transplanted with HSCs that spontaneously did not express Hoxb5 and thus lacked BFP expression (BFP-negative HSCs). However, during the secondary transplantation, recipients receiving total bone marrow (BM) from the primary recipients with BFP-positive HSCs showed significantly higher levels of donor chimerism and more robust multi-lineage chimerism compared to those receiving total BM from the primary recipients with BFP-negative HSCs. Our results indicate that deleting Hoxb5 in LT-HSCs transiently influences their lineage differentiation bias without compromising their long-term self-renewal capacity. These findings highlight the primary role of Hoxb5 in regulating lineage commitment decisions in LT-HSCs, while emphasizing that its presence is not indispensable for the maintenance of long-term self-renewal capacity.

Changes in microbial composition and interaction patterns of female urogenital tract and rectum in response to HPV infection.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that changes in the microbial community of the female urogenital tract are associated with Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. However, research on this association was mostly focused on a single site, and there are currently few joint studies on HPV infection and multiple sites in the female urogenital tract. METHODS: We selected 102 healthy women from Yunnan Province as the research object, collected cervical exfoliation fluid, vaginal, urethral, and rectal swabs for microbial community analysis, and measured bacterial load, and related cytokine content. The link between HPV, microbiota, and inflammation was comprehensively evaluated using bioinformatics methods. FINDINGS: The impact of HPV infection on the microbial composition of different parts varies. We have identified several signature bacterial genera that respond to HPV infection in several detection sites, such as Corynebacterium, Lactobacillus, Campylobacter, and Cutibacterium have been detected in multiple sites, reflecting their potential significance in cross body sites HPV infection responses. There was a solid microbial interaction network between the cervix, vagina, and urethra. The interrelationships between inflammatory factors and different bacterial genera might also affect the immune system's response to HPV infection. INTERPRETATION: It might be an effective strategy to prevent and treat HPV infection by simultaneously understanding the correlation between the microbial changes in multiple parts of the female urogenital tract and rectum and HPV infection, and controlling the microbial network related to HPV infection in different parts.

A DNA-inspired injectable adhesive hydrogel with dual nitric oxide donors to promote angiogenesis for enhanced wound healing.

Chronic diabetic wounds are a severe complication of diabetes, often leading to high treatment costs and high amputation rates. Numerous studies have revealed that nitric oxide (NO) therapy is a promising option because it favours wound revascularization. Here, base-paired injectable adhesive hydrogels (CAT) were prepared using adenine- and thymine-modified chitosan (CSA and CST). By further introducing S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) and binary l-arginine (bArg), we obtained a NO sustained-release hydrogel (CAT/bArg/GSON) that was more suitable for the treatment of chronic wounds. The results showed that the expression of HIF-1α and VEGF was upregulated in the CAT/bArg/GSON group, and improved blood vessel regeneration was observed, indicating an important role of NO. In addition, the research findings revealed that following treatment with the CAT/bArg/GSON hydrogel, the viability of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli decreased to 14 ± 2 % and 6 ± 1 %, respectively. Moreover, the wound microenvironment was improved, as evidenced by a 60 ± 1 % clearance of DPPH. In particular, histological examination and immunohistochemical staining results showed that wounds treated with CAT/bArg/GSNO exhibited denser neovascularization, faster epithelial tissue regeneration, and thicker collagen deposition. Overall, this study proposes an effective strategy to prepare injectable hydrogel dressings with dual NO donors. The functionality of CAT/bArg/GSON has been thoroughly demonstrated in research on chronic wound vascular regeneration, indicating that CAT/bArg/GSON could be a potential option for promoting chronic wound healing. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: This article prepares a chitosan hydrogel utilizing the principle of complementary base pairing, which offers several advantages, including good adhesion, biocompatibility, and flow properties, making it a good material for wound dressings. Loaded GSNO and bArg can steadily release NO and l-arginine through the degradation of the gel. Then, the released l-arginine not only possesses antioxidant properties but can also continue to generate a small amount of NO under the action of NOS. This design achieves a sustained and stable supply of NO at the wound site, maximizing the angiogenesis-promoting and antibacterial effects of NO. More neovascularization and abundant collagen were observed in the regenerated tissues. This study provides an effective repair hydrogel material for diabetic wound.

Scutellaria Baicalensis Georgi Stem and Leaf Flavonoids Ameliorate the Learning and Memory Impairment in Rats Induced by Okadaic Acid.

AIM: The objective of this study is to explore the impact and underlying mechanism of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi stem and leaf flavonoids (SSFs) on cognitive impairment caused by intracerebroventricular injection of okadaic acid (OA) in rats. METHODS: An experimental model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) was induced in rats by intracerebroventricular injection of OA, resulting in memory impairment. The Morris water maze test was employed to confirm the successful establishment of the memory impairment model. The rats that exhibited significant memory impairment were randomly divided into different groups, including a model group, three SSFs dose groups (25, 50, and 100 mg/kg), and a positive control group treated with Ginkgo biloba tablets (GLT) at a dose of 200 mg/kg. To evaluate the learning and memory abilities of the rats, the Morris water maze test was conducted. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was used to observe any morphological changes in neurons. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed to measure the expression of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) protein. Western blotting (WB) was utilized to assess the phosphorylation levels of tau protein at Ser262 and Ser396. The activities of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and constitutive nitric oxide synthase (cNOS) were quantified using ultraviolet spectrophotometry. The levels of inflammatory factors, including interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6), were measured using ELISA. RESULTS: In rats, the administration of OA via intracerebroventricular injection resulted in cognitive impairment, neuropathological changes, and alterations in protein expression and activity levels. Specifically, the protein expression of ChAT was significantly reduced (P<0.01), while the phosphorylation levels of tau protein at Ser262 and Ser396 were significantly increased (P<0.01). Moreover, iNOS activity in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex exhibited a significant increase (P<0.01), whereas cNOS activity showed a decrease (P<0.05). Furthermore, the levels of IL-1ß and TNF-α in the cerebral cortex were elevated (P<0.01), while the level of IL-6 was decreased (P<0.05). The administration of three doses of SSFs and GLT to rats exhibited varying degrees of improvement in the aforementioned pathological alterations induced by OA. CONCLUSION: SSFs demonstrated the ability to enhance cognitive function and mitigate memory deficits in rats following intracerebroventricular injection of OA. This beneficial effect may be attributed to the modulation of ChAT protein expression, tau hyperphosphorylation, NOS activity, and inflammatory cytokine levels by SSFs.

Ligand Defect-Induced Active Sites in Ni-MOF-74 for Efficient Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction to CO.

The conversion of CO2 into valuable carbon-based products using clean and renewable solar energy has been a significant challenge in photocatalysis. It is of paramount importance to develop efficient photocatalysts for the catalytic conversion of CO2 using visible light. In this study, the Ni-MOF-74 material is successfully modified to achieve a highly porous structure (Ni-74-Am) through temperature and solvent modulation. Compared to the original Ni-MOF-74, Ni-74-Am contains more unsaturated Ni active sites resulting from defects, thereby enhancing the performance of CO2 photocatalytic conversion. Remarkably, Ni-74-Am exhibits outstanding photocatalytic performance, with a CO generation rate of 1380 µmol g-1 h-1 and 94% CO selectivity under visible light, significantly surpassing the majority of MOF-based photocatalysts reported to date. Furthermore, experimental characterizations reveal that Ni-74-Am has significantly higher efficiency of photogenerated electron-hole separation and faster carrier migration rate for photocatalytic CO2 reduction. This work enriches the design and application of defective MOFs and provides new insights into the design of MOF-based photocatalysts for renewable energy and environmental sustainability. The findings of this study hold significant promise for developing efficient photocatalysts for CO2 reduction under visible-light conditions.

Effects of functional nutrients on chicken intestinal epithelial cells induced with oxidative stress.

The objective of this study was to investigate the protective effects of functional nutrients including various functional amino acids, vitamins, and minerals on chicken intestinal epithelial cells (cIECs) treated with oxidative stress. The cIECs were isolated from specific pathogen free eggs. Cells were exposed to 0 mM supplement (control), 20 mM threonine (Thr), 0.4 mM tryptophan (Trp), 1 mM glycine (Gly), 10 µM vitamin C (VC), 40 µM vitamin E (VE), 5 µM vitamin A (VA), 34 µM chromium (Cr), 0.42 µM selenium (Se), and 50 µM zinc (Zn) for 24 h with 6 replicates for each treatment. After 24 h, cells were further incubated with fresh culture medium (positive control, PC) or 1 mM H2O2 with different supplements (negative control, NC and each treatment). Oxidative stress was measured by cell proliferation, whereas tight junction barrier function was analyzed by fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran permeability and transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER). Results indicated that cell viability and TEER values were less (p < 0.05) in NC treatments with oxidative stress than in PC treatments. In addition, FITC-dextran values were greater (p < 0.05) in NC treatments with oxidative stress than in PC treatments. The supplementations of Thr, Trp, Gly, VC, and VE in cells treated with H2O2 showed greater (p < 0.05) cell viability than the supplementation of VA, Cr, Se, and Zn. The supplementations of Trp, Gly, VC, and Se in cells treated with H2O2 showed the least (p < 0.05) cellular permeability. In addition, the supplementation of Thr, VE, VA, Cr, and Zn in cells treated with H2O2 decreased (p < 0.05) cellular permeability. At 48 h, the supplementations of Thr, Trp, and Gly in cells treated with H2O2 showed the greatest (p < 0.05) TEER values among all treatments, and the supplementations of VC and VE in cells treated with H2O2 showed greater (p < 0.05) TEER values than the supplementations of VA, Cr, Se, and Zn in cells treated with H2O2. In conclusion, Thr, Trp, Gly, and VC supplements were effective in improving cell viability and intestinal barrier function of cIECs exposed to oxidative stress.

Effect of dietary glycine supplementation on productive performance, egg quality, stress response, and fatty liver incidence in laying hens raised under heat stress conditions.

The current experiment aimed to investigate the effect of dietary glycine (Gly) supplementation on productive performance, egg quality, stress response, and fatty liver incidence in laying hens raised under heat stress (HS) conditions. A total of two hundred eighty 24-wk-old Lohmann Brown-Lite laying hens were randomly allotted to 1 of 4 dietary treatments with 7 replicates. The negative control (NC) diet was prepared to meet or exceed the nutrient and energy requirement for Lohmann Brown laying hens, whereas the positive control (PC) diet was formulated to increase AMEn by 100 kcal/kg compared with the NC diet. Two additional diets were prepared by supplementing 0.341% and 0.683% Gly to the NC diet. All hens were exposed to cyclic HS at 31.4 ± 1.17°C for 8 h/d and 26.7 ± 1.10°C for the remaining time for a 12-wk trial. Results indicated that increasing supplementation of Gly in diets tended (linear, P = 0.088) to decrease the FCR of laying hens. Increasing supplementation of Gly in diets increased (linear, P < 0.05) eggshell lightness and decreased (linear, P < 0.05) egg yolk color. Moreover, a tendency for a quadratic association (P < 0.10) of serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase concentrations with increasing supplementation of Gly was observed. Increasing supplementation of Gly in diets decreased (linear, P < 0.05) blood heterophil:lymphocyte ratio of laying hens. Hens fed the NC diet showed higher fatty liver incidence (P < 0.05) than those fed the PC diet, but increasing supplementation of Gly decreased (linear, P < 0.05) fatty liver incidence of laying hens. In conclusion, increasing supplementation of Gly up to 0.683% in diets decreases FCR, stress response, and fatty liver incidence in laying hens raised under HS conditions.

Pioneering Enhanced Corrosion Resistance along the Normal Plane of an Ultra-Light Mg-Li Extruded Sheet.

The microstructure and corrosion anisotropy of the Mg-5Li extruded sheet were investigated in this work. Three distinct samples cut from the normal plane (A), longitudinal plane (B), and cross-sectional plane (C) of the as-extruded sheet were prepared. The microstructure was analyzed using optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The corrosion resistance and behaviors of the three samples in a 0.1 mol/L NaCl solution were evaluated by employing hydrogen evolution, mass loss testing, electrochemical assessments, and corrosion morphology analyses. The results revealed that sample A displayed a distinctive bimodal (0002) basal texture, along with clearly distinguishably larger grain sizes than the other samples. The effect of grain size and crystallographic orientation on the corrosion resistance was highlighted, indicating the pioneering corrosion resistance of sample A and the lowest corrosion resistance of sample C. Furthermore, all three samples exhibited the characteristic filiform corrosion during the initial stages of corrosion, progressing into the formation of corrosion pits, with sample C displaying pronounced susceptibility.