Abstract
Veterinary systems biology is an innovative approach that integrates biological data at the molecular and cellular levels, allowing for a more extensive understanding of the interactions and ...functions of complex biological systems in livestock and veterinary science. It has tremendous potential to integrate multi-omics data with the support of vetinformatics resources for bridging the phenotype–genotype gap via computational modeling. To understand the dynamic behaviors of complex systems, computational models are frequently used. It facilitates a comprehensive understanding of how a host system defends itself against a pathogen attack or operates when the pathogen compromises the host’s immune system. In this context, various approaches, such as systems immunology, network pharmacology, vaccinology and immunoinformatics, can be employed to effectively investigate vaccines and drugs. By utilizing this approach, we can ensure the health of livestock. This is beneficial not only for animal welfare but also for human health and environmental well-being. Therefore, the current review offers a detailed summary of systems biology advancements utilized in veterinary sciences, demonstrating the potential of the holistic approach in disease epidemiology, animal welfare and productivity.
High-performance thermoelectric composite fibers were prepared via simple wet-spinning of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT)/poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) pastes using a common ...solvent/coagulation system. By improving the content and dispersion state of SWCNTs in the composite fibers, the thermoelectric performance could be effectively enhanced. With n-type doping of SWCNTs using polyethylenimine, high-performance n-type SWCNT/PVDF composite fibers could be prepared. The power factors of the p- and n-type SWCNT/PVDF composite fibers with the SWCNT content of 50 wt% were 378 ± 56 and 289 ± 98 μW m-1 K-2, respectively. The electric power generation capability of an organic thermoelectric generator with the p- and n-type composite fibers was confirmed.
Background/Aims: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a severe and debilitating disease characterized by remodeling of the pulmonary vessels, which is driven by excessive proliferation and ...migration and apoptosis resistance in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs). The calcineurin (CaN)/nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) signaling pathway is the most important downstream signaling pathway of store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE), which is increased in PAH. CaN/NFAT has been reported to contribute to abnormal proliferation in chronic hypoxia (CH)-induced PAH. However, the effect of CaN/NFAT signaling on PASMC proliferation, migration and apoptosis in monocrotaline (MCT)-induced PAH remains unclear. Methods: PAH rats were established by a single intraperitoneal injection of MCT for 21 days. PASMCs were isolated and cultured in normal and MCT-induced PAH Sprague-Dawley rat. PASMCs were treated with CsA targeting CaN and siRNA targeting NFATc2-4 gene respectively by liposome. We investigated the expression of calcineurin/NFAT signaling by immunofluorescence, qRT-PCR and Western blotting methods. Cell proliferation was monitored using MTS reagent or by assessing proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression. Cell apoptosis was evaluated with an Annexin V - FITC/propidium iodide (PI) apoptosis kit by flow cytometry. PASMC migration was assessed with a Transwell chamber. Results: MCT successfully induced PAH and pulmonary vascular remodeling in rats. CaN phosphatase activity and nuclear translocation of NFATc2-4 were increased in PASMCs derived from MCT-treated rats. In addition, CaNBβ/NFATc2-4 expression was amplified at the mRNA and protein levels. PASMC proliferation and migration were markedly inhibited in a dosedependent manner by cyclosporin A (CsA). Furthermore, siRNA targeting NFATc2 and NFATc4 attenuated the excessive proliferation and migration and apoptosis resistance in PASMCs derived from both CON and MCT-treated rats, while NFATc3 knockdown specifically affected MCT-PASMCs. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that CaN/NFAT signaling is activated and involved in the modulation of PASMC proliferation, migration and apoptosis in MCT-induced PAH.
Summary Background Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are a population of pluripotent cells, which have characteristics similar to bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells. Whereas ADSCs have ...potential applications for the repair and regeneration of various damaged tissues, few studies have dealt with the effect of ADSCs on fibroblasts, which play a key role in skin biology. Objective In this study, we investigated the possible roles of ADSCs in skin wound healing process, especially in the aspect of fibroblast activation—proliferation, collagen synthesis and migratory properties. Methods and results ADSCs promoted human dermal fibroblast (HDF) proliferation, not only by cell-to-cell direct contact, which was confirmed by co-culture experiment, but also by paracrine activation through secretory factors, resolved by transwell co-culture and culturing with conditioned medium of ADSCs (ADSC-CM). ADSC-CM enhanced the secretion of type I collagen in HDFs by regulating the mRNA levels of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins: up-regulation of collagen type I, III and fibronectin and down-regulation of MMP-1. Moreover, ADSC-CM showed stimulatory effect on migration of HDFs in in vitro wound healing models. Additional to those in vitro evidences, wound healing effect of ADSCs was also verified with in vivo animal study, resulted that ADSCs significantly reduced the wound size and accelerated the re-epithelialization from the edge. Conclusion Collectively, these data suggest that ADSC is constitutionally well suited for dermal wound healing and secretory factors derived from ADSCs promote wound healing via HDFs and ADSCs can be used for the treatment of photoaging and wound healing.
Perishable foods at undesired temperatures can generate foodborne illnesses that present significant societal costs. To certify refrigeration succession in a food‐supply chain, a flexible, ...easy‐to‐interpret, damage‐tolerant, and sensitive time‐temperature indicator (TTI) that uses a self‐healing nanofiber mat is devised. This mat is opaque when refrigerated due to nanofiber‐induced light scattering, but becomes irreversibly transparent at room temperature through self‐healing‐induced interfibrillar fusion leading to the appearance of a warning sign. The mat monitors both freezer (−20 °C) and chiller (2 °C) successions and its timer is tunable over the 0.5–22.5 h range through control of the polymer composition and film thickness. The thin mat itself serves as both a temperature sensor and display; it does not require modularization, accurately measures localized or gradient heat, and functions even after crushing, cutting, and when weight‐loaded in a manner that existing TTIs cannot. It also contains no drainable chemicals and is attachable to various shapes because it operates through an intrinsic physical response.
Innovative time–temperature indicators with superior performance and extreme stability are engineered using self‐healing nanofibers. Owing to the intrinsic response of the self‐healable elastomer, highly sensitive, reliable, and tunable operation is enabled through morphological conversion. The self‐responsive working principle is driven by thermodynamic stability and liberates these indicators from the physical limitations and chemical hazards of existing devices.
Considering a variety of sampled value (SV) attacks on busbar differential protection (BDP) which poses challenges to conventional learning algorithms, an algorithm to detect SV attacks based on the ...immune system of negative selection is developed in this paper. The healthy SV data of BDP are defined as self-data composed of spheres of the same size, whereas the SV attack data, i.e., the nonself data, are preserved in the nonself space covered by spherical detectors of different sizes. To avoid the confusion between busbar faults and SV attacks, a self-shape optimization algorithm is introduced, and the improved self-data are verified through a power-frequency fault-component-based differential protection criterion to avoid false negatives. Based on the difficulty of boundary coverage in traditional negative selection algorithms, a self-data-driven detector generation algorithm is proposed to enhance the detector coverage. A testbed of differential protection for a 110 kV double busbar system is then established. Typical SV attacks of BDP such as amplitude and current phase tampering, fault replays, and the disconnection of the secondary circuits of current transformers are considered, and the delays of differential relay operation caused by detection algorithms are investigated.
Cattle are domestic animals that have been nourishing humans for thousands of years. Milk from cattle represents a key source of high-quality protein, fat, and other nutrients. The nutritional value ...of milk and dairy products is closely associated with the fat content, providing up to 30% of the total fat consumed in the human diet. The fat content in cattle milk represents a major concern for the scientific community due to its association with human health. The relationship between milk fat content and diacylglycerol o-acyltransferase 1 gene (DGAT1) is well described in literature. Several studies demonstrated the difference in fat contents and other milk production traits in a wide range of cattle breeds, to be associated with missense non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs) of the DGAT1 gene. As a result, an nsSNPs analysis is crucial for unraveling the DGAT1 structural and conformational dynamics linked to milk fat content. DGAT1-nsSNPs are yet to be studied in terms of their structural and functional impact. Therefore, state-of-the-art computational and structural genomic methods were used to analyze five selected variants (W128R, W214R, C215G, P245R, and W459G), along with the wild type DGAT1. Significant structural and conformational changes in the variants were observed. We illustrate how single amino acid substitutions affect DGAT1 function, how this contributes to our understanding of the molecular basis of variations in DGAT1, and ultimately its impact in improving fat quality in milk.
Background: Poorly controlled acute postoperative pain after laparoscopic nephrectomy may adversely affect surgical outcomes and increase morbidity rates. In addition, excessive use of opioids during ...surgery may slow postoperative endocrine and metabolic responses and cause opioid-related side effects and opioid-induced hyperalgesia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block on the postoperative quality of recovery and intraoperative remifentanil requirement in laparoscopic nephrectomy. Methods: Sixty patients who underwent laparoscopic nephrectomy were randomly divided into 2 groups: TAP and Control groups. After induction of anesthesia and before awakening from anesthesia, the TAP group was administered 40 mL of 0.375% ropivacaine and the Control group was administered 40 mL of normal saline to deliver ultrasound-guided TAP block using 20 mL of each of the above drugs. The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of the TAP block on quality of recovery using the Quality of Recovery 40 (QoR-40) questionnaire and assessments of intraoperative remifentanil requirement. In addition, to evaluate the postoperative analgesic effect of the TAP block, the total usage time for patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) and the number of PCA bolus buttons used in both groups were analyzed. Results: The QoR-40 score, measured when visiting the ward on the third day after surgery, was significantly higher in the TAP group (171.9 ± 23.1) than in the Control group (151.9 ± 28.1) ( P = .006). The intraoperative remifentanil requirement was not significantly different between the groups ( P = .439). In the TAP group, the frequency of bolus dose accumulation at 1, 2, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours after surgery was low enough to show a significant difference, and the total usage time for PCA was long enough to show a significant difference. Conclusion: In conclusion, we determined that ultrasound-guided TAP block during laparoscopic nephrectomy improves the quality of postoperative recovery and is effective for postoperative pain control but does not affect the amount of remifentanil required for adequate anesthesia during surgery.
Mastitis poses a major threat to dairy farms globally; it results in reduced milk production, increased treatment costs, untimely compromised genetic potential, animal deaths, and economic losses. ...Streptococcus agalactiae is a highly virulent bacteria that cause mastitis. The administration of antibiotics for the treatment of this infection is not advised due to concerns about the emergence of antibiotic resistance and potential adverse effects on human health. Thus, there is a critical need to identify new therapeutic approaches to combat mastitis. One promising target for the development of antibacterial therapies is the transmembrane histidine kinase of bacteria, which plays a key role in signal transduction pathways, secretion systems, virulence, and antibiotic resistance. In this study, we aimed to identify novel natural compounds that can inhibit transmembrane histidine kinase. To achieve this goal, we conducted a virtual screening of 224,205 natural compounds, selecting the top ten based on their lowest binding energy and favorable protein-ligand interactions. Furthermore, molecular docking of eight selected antibiotics and five histidine kinase inhibitors with transmembrane histidine kinase was performed to evaluate the binding energy with respect to top-screened natural compounds. We also analyzed the ADMET properties of these compounds to assess their drug-likeness. The top two compounds (ZINC000085569031 and ZINC000257435291) and top-screened antibiotics (Tetracycline) that demonstrated a strong binding affinity were subjected to molecular dynamics simulations (100 ns), free energy landscape, and binding free energy calculations using the MM-PBSA method. Our results suggest that the selected natural compounds have the potential to serve as effective inhibitors of transmembrane histidine kinase and can be utilized for the development of novel antibacterial veterinary medicine for mastitis after further validation through clinical studies.
The electronic and magnetic properties of d
0
dilute magnetic semiconductors formed by rock-salt structured magnesium oxide (MgO) doped with C are systematically studied based on first-principles ...calculations and the Ising model. It is shown that the electronic holes of p states are generated due to the impurity carbon replacing oxygen in MgO, and the magnetic moment of 2
μ
B
is introduced by each C impurity. The polarization energy and formation energy of C-doped MgO are calculated, and the magnetization energy of C-doped MgO is also calculated which is used to obtain the exchange constant between C impurities. By means of the Ising model, we simulated the magnetization and the susceptibility of the doped system with increasing temperature and obtained the Curie temperature of C-doped MgO.
The combination of first-principles and Ising model paves a new way for studying the Curie temperature of dilute magnetic semiconductors.
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