Gut microbiota plays a major role in metabolic disorders. Berberine is used to treat obesity, diabetes and atherosclerosis. The mechanism underlying the role of berberine in modulating metabolic ...disorders is not fully clear because berberine has poor oral bioavailability. Thus, we evaluated whether the antiatherosclerotic effect of berberine is related to alterations in gut microbial structure and if so, whether specific bacterial taxa contribute to the beneficial effects of berberine.
Apoe−/− mice were fed either a normal-chow diet or a high-fat diet (HFD). Berberine was administered to mice in drinking water (0.5 g/L) for 14 weeks. Gut microbiota profiles were established by high throughput sequencing of the V3–V4 region of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene. The effects of berberine on metabolic endotoxemia, tissue inflammation and gut barrier integrity were also investigated.
Berberine treatment significantly reduced atherosclerosis in HFD-fed mice. Akkermansia spp. abundance was markedly increased in HFD-fed mice treated with berberine. Moreover, berberine decreased HFD-induced metabolic endotoxemia and lowered arterial and intestinal expression of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Berberine treatment increased intestinal expression of tight junction proteins and the thickness of the colonic mucus layer, which are related to restoration of gut barrier integrity in HFD-fed mice.
Modulation of gut microbiota, specifically an increase in the abundance of Akkermansia, may contribute to the antiatherosclerotic and metabolic protective effects of berberine, which is poorly absorbed orally. Our findings therefore support the therapeutic value of gut microbiota manipulation in treating atherosclerosis.
•Berberine markedly increases Akkermansia spp. abundance in HFD-fed Apoe−/− mice.•Berberine decreases HFD-induced inflammation and restores the gut barrier integrity.•Modulation of the gut microbiota may contribute to the antiatherosclerotic effect of berberine.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
In recent years, the microfluidic technique has been widely used in the field of tissue engineering. Possessing the advantages of large-scale integration and flexible manipulation, microfluidic ...devices may serve as the production line of building blocks and the microenvironment simulator in tissue engineering. Additionally, in microfluidic technique-assisted tissue engineering, various biomaterials are desired to fabricate the tissue mimicking or repairing structures (i.e., particles, fibers, and scaffolds). Among the materials, gelatin methacrylate (GelMA)-based hydrogels have shown great potential due to their biocompatibility and mechanical tenability. In this work, applications of GelMA hydrogels in microfluidic technique-assisted tissue engineering are reviewed mainly from two viewpoints: Serving as raw materials for microfluidic fabrication of building blocks in tissue engineering and the simulation units in microfluidic chip-based microenvironment-mimicking devices. In addition, challenges and outlooks of the exploration of GelMA hydrogels in tissue engineering applications are proposed.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Platelets are non-nucleated blood effector cells, which plays an important role in coagulation, hemostasis, and thrombosis. However, platelets are extremely susceptible to activation by external ...stimuli, which in turn damages the platelet's natural biological activity and affects its biological function. Platelet biological activity has become a hotspot in the field of vascular diseases. In this study, ultrasound parameters (ultrasound intensity and duration time) were used to intervene in the biological activity of platelets. The response of platelets to ultrasound energy was explored from the aspects of platelet morphology, aggregation ability and particle release (the expression of P-selectin and the number of particles). The results showed that the ultrasound intensity of 0.25 W/cm
(1 MHz, 60 s) had no effect on the morphology, aggregation ability and particle release of platelets. When the ultrasonic intensity was increased to greater than 0.25 W/cm
, the generation of platelet pseudopods, morphological
Platelets are non-nucleated blood effect Cells play an important role in coagulation, hemostasis, and thrombosis. However, platelets are very easily activated by exogenous stimulation, which in turn ...damages the natural biological activity of platelets and affects their biological functions. Therefore, the biological activity of platelets becomes vascular. One of the hot spots in the field of disease research. This paper studies the influence of ultrasound parameters (ultrasound intensity and duration of action) on the biological activity of platelets, and explores the effect of ultrasound energy on platelet morphology, aggregation ability, and particle release Expression of P-selectin (CD62P) and number of particles And other aspects. The results show that under the conditions of an ultrasonic frequency of 1 MHz and an action time of 60 s, when the sound intensity is 0.25 W/cm2, the morphology, aggregation ability and particle release of platelets are not...
To investigate the indications for high-flow nasal cannula oxygen (HFNC) therapy in patients with hypoxemia during ventilator weaning and to explore the predictors of reintubation when treatment ...fails.
Adult patients with hypoxemia weaning from mechanical ventilation were identified from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV) database. The patients were assigned to the treatment group or control group according to whether they were receiving HFNC or non-invasive ventilation (NIV) after extubation. The 28-day mortality and 28-day reintubation rates were compared between the two groups after Propensity score matching (PSM). The predictor for reintubation was formulated according to the risk factors with the XGBoost algorithm. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was calculated for reintubation prediction according to values at 4 h after extubation, which was compared with the ratio of SpO
/FiO
to respiratory rate (ROX index).
A total of 524,520 medical records were screened, and 801 patients with moderate or severe hypoxemia when undergoing mechanical ventilation weaning were included (100 < PaO2/FiO2 ≤ 300 mmHg), including 358 patients who received HFNC therapy after extubation in the treatment group. There were 315 patients with severe hypoxemia (100 < PaO2/FiO2 ≤ 200 mmHg) before extubation, and 190 patients remained in the treatment group with median oxygenation index 166157,180 mmHg after PSM. There were no significant differences in the 28-day reintubation rate or 28-day mortality between the two groups with moderate or severe hypoxemia (all P > 0.05). Then HR/SpO
was formulated as a predictor for 48-h reintubation according to the important features predicting weaning failure. According to values at 4 h after extubation, the AUC of HR/SpO
was 0.657, which was larger than that of ROX index (0.583). When the HR/SpO
reached 1.2 at 4 h after extubation, the specificity for 48-h reintubation prediction was 93%.
The treatment effect of HFNC therapy is not inferior to that of NIV, even on patients with oxygenation index from 160 to 180 mmHg when weaning from ventilator. HR/SpO
is more early and accurate in predicting HFNC failure than ROX index.
Heavy rare earth elements (HREE) are currently in high demand for use in high technology, renewable energy and low-carbon transport, but they are the least abundant in nature. Carbonatites are the ...primary source of REE; however, they are dominated by light REE (LREE). It remains unknown whether carbonatites have the potential to form economic HREE mineralization. Here we report a xenotime-bearing carbonatite in the Bachu REE deposit, northwestern Tarim Large Igneous Province (TLIP), China, and infer the origin of HREE in carbonatites. The rocks evolved from dolomite to calcite carbonatites, and their HREE content correspondingly increased. Both types of rocks have similar monazite U-Pb ages (ca. 300 Ma), and are older than the major eruption of flood basalt of the TLIP, and associated alkaline complexes. They contain higher εNd(t) (2.4–4.1) and lower initial Sr isotopic ratios (87Sr/86Sr)i = 0.7036–0.7041 than the basalts but similar values to those of younger alkaline rocks. The carbonatites are inferred to be directly derived from low-degree melting of lithospheric mantle sources induced by a deep-seated mantle plume. Calcite carbonatites contain characteristic xenotime, which is associated with burbankite, sulfates, and minor quartz. The rock-forming calcite shows high HREE abundance and flat REE patterns (La/Ybcn = 0.3–2.1). Apatite and LREE minerals in calcite carbonatites also have a higher HREE content (e.g., Y2O3 up to 2 wt%) than those in dolomite rocks. This finding indicates that the early dolomite carbonatite underwent strong fractionation of dolomite and LREE minerals, resulting in HREE and alkali enrichment in the evolved calcite rocks. High amounts of alkalis further enhance the solubility of REE, particularly HREE, in the residual melts. Silica assimilation from the country rocks facilitates the HREE mineralization by sequestering alkalis. Therefore, HREE enrichment in carbonatites may require substantial fractional crystallization of initial melts as well as alkali conservation during ascent.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
•Analyze the influence of cavitation on the hydrodynamic load coefficients and surrounding flow structures.•Explain the interdependency between the cavity and vorticity dynamics.•Investigate the ...evolution of cavitating flow structure around the pitching hydrofoil for sheet cavitation and cloud cavitation regimes.
The present paper applied experimental and numerical methods to investigate the cavitating flow structures and corresponding hydrodynamics for a transient pitching Clark-Y hydrofoil. The aims are to (1) improve the understanding of the interplay between the transient cavitating flow structures, motion of the hydrofoil, and hydrodynamic performance, (2) quantify the influence of cavitation on the hydrodynamic load coefficients and flow structures, and (3) analyze the evolution of cavitating flow during different cavitation regime. The pitching motion trajectory is a triangular wave with mean incidence of α0=10° and amplitude of Δα = 5° at a frequency of 2 Hz. The upstream velocity U∞ is fixed at 6.3 m/s, which is corresponding to Re=4.4 × 105. The cavitation patterns for different cavitation numbers are mainly documented by the high-speed photography, and the dynamic characteristics of the hydrofoil are measured by the torque sensor. The numerical investigations were performed by solving the incompressible URANS equations using the mass-transfer cavitation model, the coupled k-ω SST turbulence model and γ-Reθ transition model. The predicted cavity patterns and moment coefficients agree well with the experimental results. Four typical regimes, including sub cavitation, inception cavitation, sheet cavitation and cloud cavitation, are observed. Compared to the sub cavitation case, the hydrodynamic coefficients and flow structures are significantly affected by the incipient cavity. Results show that the leading edge (LE) cavity promotes the formation of the counterclockwise tailing edge vortex (TEV), thus leading to decline of the lift. Moreover, the LE cavity also limits the formation of the clockwise second vortex (SV), which weakens the fluctuation of the hydrodynamic load. For the sheet cavitation case, three cavitating flow patterns(Pattern A/B/C) are observed in the hydrodynamic fluctuation stage, which is corresponding to different characteristic frequency. For the cloud cavitation case, the hydrodynamic curves present four distinct stages. According to the cavity breaking position and characteristic frequency, four different patterns(Pattern I/II/III/IV) of the cavity development and shedding are observed and analyzed.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
An attack of congestive heart failure (CHF) can cause symptoms such as difficulty breathing, dizziness, or fatigue, which can be life-threatening in severe cases. An electrocardiogram (ECG) is a ...simple and economical method for diagnosing CHF. Due to the inherent complexity of ECGs and the subtle differences in the ECG waveform, misdiagnosis happens often. At present, the research on automatic CHF detection methods based on machine learning has become a research hotspot. However, the existing research focuses on an intra-patient experimental scheme and lacks the performance evaluation of working under noise, which cannot meet the application requirements. To solve the above issues, we propose a novel method to identify CHF using the ECG-Convolution-Vision Transformer Network (ECVT-Net). The algorithm combines the characteristics of a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and a Vision Transformer, which can automatically extract high-dimensional abstract features of ECGs with simple pre-processing. In this study, the model reached an accuracy of 98.88% for the inter-patient scheme. Furthermore, we added different degrees of noise to the original ECGs to verify the model's noise robustness. The model's performance in the above experiments proved that it could effectively identify CHF ECGs and can work under certain noise.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Currently, biomimetic scaffold is one of the most promising strategies in the field of bone tissue engineering. Zirconia (ZrO
2
), as a kind of bioceramic material, has attracted much attention in ...biomimetic scaffolds due to its excellent biocompatibility, high mechanical strength and great chemical stability. A lot of work has been carried out to investigate the characteristics and applications of the zirconia-based biomimetic scaffolds. However, there is few work which can provide a systematic comparison and overview on the research progress of zirconia-based biomimetic scaffolds. This review focuses on the properties and preparations of ZrO
2
and its composite materials. In addition, the roles of ZrO
2
along with other materials as scaffolds for bone tissue repair applications are highlighted. Simultaneously, the limitations of materials and technology are discussed.
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
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