Protective effects of sodium humate and its zinc and selenium chelate on the oxidative stress, inflammatory, and intestinal barrier damage of Salmonella Typhimurium-challenged broiler chickens.

The objective of this study was to investigate the protective effects and mechanisms of dietary administration of sodium humate (HNa) and its zinc and selenium chelate (Zn/Se-HNa) in mitigating Salmonella Typhimurium (S. Typhi) induced intestinal injury in broiler chickens. Following the gavage of 109 CFU S. Typhi to 240 broilers from 21-d to 23-d aged, various growth performance parameters such as body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), and feed ratio (FCR) were measured before and after infection. Intestinal morphology was assessed to determine the villus height, crypt depth, and chorionic cryptologic ratio. To evaluate intestinal barrier integrity, levels of serum diamine oxidase (DAO), D-lactic acid, tight junction proteins, and the related genes were measured in each group of broilers. An analysis was conducted on inflammatory-related cytokines, oxidase activity, and Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NF-κB) and Nuclear factor erythroid2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway-related proteins and mRNA expression. The results revealed a significant decrease in BW, ADG, and FCR in S. typhi-infected broilers. HNa tended to increase FCR (P = 0.056) while the supplementation of Zn/Se-HNa significantly restored BW and ADG (P < 0.05). HNa and Zn/Se-HNa exhibit favorable and comparable effects in enhancing the levels of serum DAO, D-lactate, and mRNA and protein expression of jejunum and ileal tight junction. In comparison to HNa, Zn/Se-HNa demonstrates a greater reduction in S. Typhi shedding in feces, as well as superior efficacy in enhancing the intestinal morphology, increasing serum catalase (CAT) activity, inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokines, and suppressing the activation of the NF-κB pathway. Collectively, Zn/Se-HNa was a more effective treatment than HNa to alleviate adverse impact of S. Typhi infection in broiler chickens.

Ultrafast transient absorption measurements of photocarrier dynamics in PdSe2.

We investigate the photocarrier dynamics in bulk PdSe2, a layered transition metal dichalcogenide with a novel pentagonal structure and unique electronic and optical properties. Using femtosecond transient absorption microscopy, we study the behavior of photocarriers in mechanically exfoliated bulk PdSe2 flakes at room temperature. By employing a 400 nm ultrafast laser pulse, electron-hole pairs are generated, and their dynamics are probed using an 800 nm detection pulse. Our findings reveal that the lifetime of photocarriers in bulk PdSe2 is approximately 210 ps. Furthermore, by spatially resolving the differential reflection signal, we determine a photocarrier diffusion coefficient of about 7.3 cm2 s-1. Based on these results, we estimate a diffusion length of around 400 nm and a photocarrier mobility of approximately 300 cm2 V-1 s-1. These results shed light on the ultrafast optoelectronic properties of PdSe2, offer valuable insights into photocarriers in this emerging material, and enable design of high-performance optoelectronic devices based on PdSe2.

Progress in the research of COVID-19 effects on Alzheimer's disease / 中国热带医学

@#Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). More than one-third of patients with COVID-19 experience neurological symptoms, including confusion, headaches, and decreased/disordered taste. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a slowly progressive neurodegenerative disease and the most common type of dementia. Alzheimer's disease patients are at high risk and susceptible to infection with COVID-19, which may cause severe illness and even death. There appears to be an interaction between AD and COVID-19, and on the one hand, patients with COVID-19 seem to be more likely to develop AD. AD patients, on the other hand, may be more susceptible to severe COVID-19. Therefore, understanding the common link between COVID-19 and AD may help to develop treatment strategies. Risk factors common to AD and COVID-19 are aging, ApoE ε4 allele, β-amyloid (Aβ) deposition, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), neuroinflammation, oxidative stress. Here, this article focuses on the relationship between COVID-19 and AD, explores common risk factors and potential pathogenesis, and provides help for early prevention, treatment and recovery.

Association of Meal and Snack Patterns With Mortality of All-Cause, Cardiovascular Disease, and Cancer: The US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003 to 2014.

Background Although accumulating evidence has demonstrated that consumption time of energy and macronutrients plays an important role in maintaining health, the association between consumption time of different foods and cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all-cause mortalities is still largely unknown. Methods and Results A noninstitutionalized household population of the US 21 503 participants from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was included. Meal patterns and snack patterns throughout a whole day were measured using 24-hour dietary recall. Principal component analysis was performed to establish dietary patterns. Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the association between dietary patterns across meals and cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, and all-cause mortalities. During the 149 875 person-years of follow-up, 2192 deaths including 676 deaths because of CVD and 476 because of cancer were documented. After adjusting for potential confounders, participants consuming fruit-lunch had lower mortality risks of all-cause (hazard ratio [HR], 0.82; 95% CI, 0.72-0.92) and CVD (HR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.49-0.87); whereas participants who consumed Western-lunch were more likely to die because of CVD (HR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.10-1.89). Participants who consumed vegetable-dinner had lower mortality risks of all-cause, CVD, and cancer (HRall-cause, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.60-0.78; HRCVD, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.61-0.95; HRcancer, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.48-0.83). For the snack patterns, participants who consumed fruit-snack after breakfast had lower mortality risks of all-cause and cancer (HRall-cause, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.66-0.93; HRcancer, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.39-0.78), and participants who consumed dairy-snack after dinner had lower risks of all-cause and CVD mortalities (HRall-cause, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.72-0.94; HRCVD, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.52-0.87). Participants who consumed a starchy-snack after main meals had greater mortality risks of all-cause (HRafter-breakfast, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.24-1.82; HRafter-lunch, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.27-1.81; HRafter-dinner, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.25-1.80) and CVD (HRafter-breakfast, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.08-2.24; HRafter-lunch, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.03-2.02; HRafter-dinner, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.10-2.23). Conclusions Fruit-snack after breakfast, fruit-lunch, vegetable-dinner, and dairy-snack after dinner was associated with lower mortality risks of CVD, cancer, and all-cause; whereas Western-lunch and starchy-snack after main meals had greater CVD and all-cause mortalities.

The joint effect of energy reduction with calcium supplementation on the risk factors of type 2 diabetes in the overweight population: a two-year randomized controlled trial.

Both excessive energy intake and low calcium intake are inversely associated with the aging-related diseases, particularly for type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM). This study examined whether energy reduction coupled with calcium supplementation aided in the prevention of T2DM among the overweight population. A randomized controlled trial(RCT) of 1021 overweight participants was performed, in which participants were randomly assigned to 4 groups: 1) energy-reduction group(ERG), 2) calcium supplementation group(CSG), 3) energy-reduction with calcium supplementation group(ER-CSG), 4) control group(CG). Nutritional habits, anthropometric and diabetes-related indicators were measured at baseline and each follow-up time. To analyze the separate effects of dietary energy reduction and calcium supplementation, ERG and ER-CSG were integrated into ERGs. Similarly, CSG and ER-CSG were integrated into CSGs. Compared to the non-energy-reduction groups(NERGs), ERGs had lower values of ΔBMI(-0.9kg/m2), ΔFSG (-0.34mmol/L), ΔHbA1c(0.16%), and ΔHOMA-IR(-0.13), and higher value of ΔGutt index(-5.82). Compared to the non-calcium supplementation groups(NCSGs), the ΔGutt index(-5.46) in CSGs showed a significant decrease. Moreover, these risk factors for T2DM were most effectively ameliorated in ER-CSG group with the decreased values of ΔFSG(-0.42mmol/L), ΔGutt index(-0.73), and the slowest increasing rate value of Δ2h-glucose(0.37mmol/L). This RCT demonstrated that energy-reduction with calcium supplementation was a useful dietary intervention strategy for preventing the development of T2DM in the overweight population.

Secreted stromal protein ISLR promotes intestinal regeneration by suppressing epithelial Hippo signaling.

The Hippo-YAP signaling pathway plays an essential role in epithelial cells during intestinal regeneration and tumorigenesis. However, the molecular mechanism linking stromal signals to YAP-mediated intestinal regeneration and tumorigenesis is poorly defined. Here, we report a stroma-epithelium ISLR-YAP signaling axis essential for stromal cells to modulate epithelial cell growth during intestinal regeneration and tumorigenesis. Specifically, upon inflammation and in cancer, an oncogenic transcription factor ETS1 in stromal cells induces expression of a secreted protein ISLR that can inhibit Hippo signaling and activate YAP in epithelial cells. Deletion of Islr in stromal cells in mice markedly impaired intestinal regeneration and suppressed tumorigenesis in the colon. Moreover, the expression of stromal cell-specific ISLR and ETS1 significantly increased in inflamed mucosa of human IBD patients and in human colorectal adenocarcinoma, accounting for the epithelial YAP hyperactivation. Collectively, our findings provide new insights into the signaling crosstalk between stroma and epithelium during tissue regeneration and tumorigenesis.

Simultaneous typing of seven porcine pathogens by multiplex PCR with a GeXP analyser.

A novel high-throughput method was developed for simultaneous detection and differentiation of seven porcine pathogens by multiplex PCR based on a GenomeLab Gene Expression Profiler (GeXP) analyser. The pathogens included in this study were pseudorabies virus (PRV), classical swine fever virus (CSFV), African swine fever virus (ASFV), porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), porcine parvovirus (PPV), porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV-2) and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). Seven pairs of chimeric primers, consisting of a pathogen-specific sequence fused to a universal sequence at the 5' end, were used to initiate the PCR, after which a set of universal primers was used for the subsequent cycles of the PCR. Amplification products were separated by capillary electrophoresis and identified using fluorescence spectrophotometry. The specificity of the GeXP assay was examined with single and mixed pathogen cDNA/DNA templates. The specific DNA product amplification peaks of seven pathogens were observed on the GeXP analyser. Negative controls did not produce DNA products. The sensitivity was evaluated by performing the assay on serial 10-fold dilutions of the plasmids containing the target sequence. Under optimised conditions this assay achieved a sensitivity of 100-1000 copies/µL for a single virus and 1000 copies/µL when all of the seven pre-mixed viral targets were present. Furthermore, the GeXP-PCR assay was 100% specific when 58 clinical samples were tested in comparison with the conventional PCR method. In conclusion, the GeXP assay is a rapid, cost-effective, sensitive, specific and high throughput method for simultaneously detecting seven pathogens that infect swine.