Ginsenoside Rb1 (GRb1), one of the principle active components of Panax ginseng, has been reported to reduce inflammation in various diseases. In the present study, we investigated whether GRb1 has ...an anti-inflammatory effect on postoperative ileus (POI) and further contributes to the recovery of gastrointestinal motility. POI was induced in rats by intestinal manipulation. The POI rats received 5, 10 and 20 mg/kg GRb1 orally via gavage four times before and after surgery. Gastrointestinal motility was assessed by charcoal transport. Systemic inflammation was assessed by serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and IL-10 concentrations, whereas intestinal inflammation was assessed by the activity of myeloperoxidase, and concentrations and gene expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-10 in the ileum tissue. The results revealed that GRb1 increased rat gastrointestinal transit with POI. The increased levels of systemic and intestinal inflammatory parameters in POI rats were also reduced by GRb1. In addition, GRb1 reduced systemic and intestinal inflammation and increased the gastrointestinal transit of POI rats in a dose-dependent manner, and with significance at doses of 10 and 20 mg/kg. These results suggest that GRb1 has a potent anti-inflammatory effect on POI and further contributes to the recovery of gastrointestinal motility. GRb1 may be a promising treatment for POI prophylaxis.
Currently, the significance of social media in disseminating noteworthy
information on topics such as health, politics, and the economy is
indisputable. During the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-vaxxers ...have used
social media to distribute fake news and anxiety-provoking information
about the vaccine. Such social media practice may harm the public.
Here, we characterise the psycho-linguistic features of anti-vaxxers on
the online social network Twitter. For this, we collected COVID-19
related tweets from February 2020 to June 2021 to analyse vaccination
stance, linguistic features, and social network characteristics. Our results
demonstrated that, compared to pro-vaxxers, anti-vaxxers tend to have
more negative emotions, narrative thinking, and immoral tendencies.
Furthermore, we found a tighter network structure in anti-vaxxers even
after mass vaccination. This study can advance our understanding of the
online anti-vaccination movement, and become critical for social media
management and policy action during and after the pandemic.
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crops have been cultivated at a large scale over the past several decades, which have raised concern about unintended effects on natural environments. Microbial ...communities typically contain numerous rare taxa that make up the majority of community populations. However, the response of dominant and rare taxa for fungal diversity to the different root environments of Bt plants remains unclear.
We quantified fungal population sizes and community composition via quantitative PCR of ITS genes and 18S rRNA gene sequencing of, respectively, that were associated with Bt and conventional cotton variety rhizosphere soils from different plant growth stages. qPCR analyses indicated that fungal abundances reached their peak at the seedling stage and that the taproots and lateral root rhizospheres of the Bt cotton SGK321 were significantly different. However, no significant differences in population sizes were detected between the same root zones from Bt and the conventional cotton varieties. The overall patterns of fungal genera abundances followed that of the dominant genera, whereas overall patterns of fungal genera richness followed those of the rare genera. These results suggest that the dominant and rare taxa play different roles in the maintenance of rhizosphere microhabitat ecosystems. Cluster analyses indicated a separation of fungal communities based on the lateral roots or taproots from the three cotton varieties at the seedling stage, suggesting that root microhabitats had marked effects on fungal community composition. Redundancy analyses indicated that pH was more correlated to soil fungal community composition than Bt protein content.
In conclusion, these results indicate that dominant and rare fungal taxa differentially contribute to community dynamics in different root microhabitats of both Bt and conventional cotton varieties. Moreover, these results showed that the rhizosphere fungal community of Bt cotton did not respond significantly to the presence of Bt protein when compared to the two conventional cotton varieties.
Berberine, an isoquinoline alkaloid derived from many medicinal plants, has been extensively used to treat various gastrointestinal diseases. In the present study, we investigated whether berberine ...could ameliorate intestinal mucosal barrier damage induced by peritoneal air exposure for 3 h. Peritoneal air-exposure rats received 100, 150, and 200 mg/kg berberine orally via gavage four times before and after surgery. Blood and terminal ileum samples were collected 24 h after surgery. The serum D-lactate levels were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Intestinal permeability was determined by measuring the intestinal clearance of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)–dextran (FD4). Intestinal inflammation was assessed by measuring myeloperoxidase activity. Intestinal histopathology was also assessed. The results revealed that berberine decreased the serum D-lactate level, intestinal FD4 clearance, and myeloperoxidase activity. Edema and inflammation were reduced by berberine in the intestinal mucosa and submucosa, and the Chiu’s scores, indices of intestinal mucosal injury, also decreased in the berberine-treated group. In addition, berberine exerted these protective effects in a dose-dependent manner, with a significant difference from the control group at doses of 150 and 200 mg/kg. The results suggest that berberine could ameliorate intestinal mucosal barrier damage induced by peritoneal air exposure, which is linked to its anti-inflammatory activity. Berberine may be a promising treatment for intestinal mucosal barrier damage in open abdominal surgery.
proteins are crystal proteins produced by
(
) in the early stage of spore formation that exhibit highly specific insecticidal activities. The application of
proteins primarily includes
transgenic ...plants and
biopesticides. Transgenic crops with insect resistance (via
)/herbicide tolerance comprise the largest global area of agricultural planting. After artificial modification,
insecticidal proteins expressed from
can be released into soils through root exudates, pollen, and plant residues. In addition, the construction of
recombinant engineered strains through genetic engineering has become a major focus of
biopesticides, and the expressed
proteins will also remain in soil environments.
proteins expressed and released by
transgenic plants and
recombinant strains are structurally and functionally quite different from
prototoxins naturally expressed by
in soils. The former can thus be regarded as an environmentally exogenous substance with insecticidal toxicity that may have potential ecological risks. Consequently, biosafety evaluations must be conducted before field tests and production of
plants or recombinant strains. This review summarizes the adsorption, retention, and degradation behavior of
insecticidal proteins in soils, in addition to their impacts on soil physical and chemical properties along with soil microbial diversity. The review provides a scientific framework for evaluating the environmental biosafety of
transgenic plants,
transgenic microorganisms, and their expression products. In addition, prospective research targets, research methods, and evaluation methods are highlighted based on current research of
proteins.
High-amylose maize starch (69.3 % amylose) was debranched to increase the level of linear molecules and enhance the formation of spherulites. Debranched high-amylose maize starch (25 %, w/w) was ...heated to 180 °C in a Parr reactor followed by crystallization at different temperatures between 25 and 150 °C. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of crystallization temperature on the yield, morphology, structure, crystallinity, and digestibility of the spherulites formed. When the crystallization temperature was 150 °C, spherulites with negative birefringent sign were formed. High crystallization temperature caused molecular degradation and the degree of degradation was severe at 150 °C, resulting in relatively short chain amylose (DP < 150). When crystallized at 25 to 120 °C, spherulites with strong positive birefringence were produced. The long chain amylose was attributed to the positive birefringence. All spherulites had a predominant B-type crystalline structure. The spherulites with negative birefringence showed a lower degree of crystallinity and lower resistance to enzyme digestion, but all the spherulites with positive birefringence had a high resistant starch content (89–94 %). α-Amylase was not able to penetrate inside the spherulites as revealed by the confocal laser scanning microscopic images.
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Enteral nutrition (EN) can improve clinical outcomes as an important treatment in critically ill patients. However, when patients suffer from gastrointestinal function disorders, intestinal ...intolerance occurs and EN administration may be delayed and even fails to perform. Pectin, a structural heteropolysaccharide, could protect gastrointestinal function from disorders in many gastrointestianl diseases. The present study aimed to determine whether pectin-supplemented EN was safe and improved clinical outcomes in intensive care unit (ICU) patients.
Patients enrolled in ICU from August 2014 to January 2015 were randomized to EN group and pectin-supplemented EN group (PEC/EN group). Both group received isonitrogenous, isocaloric EN support within 36 hours after ICU admission, and last for 6 days. The primary endpoints were 30-day mortality and gastrointestinal intolerance.
There were 125 patients included in this study (63 in EN group, and 62 in PEC/EN group). The results showed that the 30-day mortality was 4.8% in EN group and 1.61% in PEC/EN group (p=0.317). PEC/EN group had a smaller gastrointestinal intolerance rate than EN group (41.3% vs 27.4%, p=0.04). Furthermore, there were shorter times to reach full EN (13.0±5.12 vs 9.99±1.91, p=0.05), length of ICU stay (17.9±9.72 vs 13.8±8.59, p<0.001), and length of hospital stay (32.9±19.0 vs 23.4±13.2, p<0.001) in EN group than those in PEC/EN group.
These results revealed that pectin- supplemented EN was safe, and could improve clinical outcomes in ICU patients.
Background. The pathogenesis of postoperative ileus (POI) is complex. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of peritoneal air exposure on the POI intestinal inflammation and the ...underlying mechanism. Methods. Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into five groups (6/group): the control group, the sham group, and three exposure groups with peritoneal air exposure for 1, 2, or 3 h. At 24 h after surgery, we analyzed the gastrointestinal transit, the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and IL-10, the myeloperoxidase activity, and the levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10 in the ileum and colon. The oxidant and antioxidant levels in the ileum and colon were analyzed by measuring malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC). Results. Peritoneal air exposure caused an air-exposure-time-dependent decrease in the gastrointestinal transit. The length of peritoneal air exposure is correlated with the severity of both systemic and intestinal inflammations and the increases in the levels of MDA, SOD, GSH-Px, and T-AOC. Conclusions. The length of peritoneal air exposure is proportional to the degree of intestinal paralysis and the severity of intestinal inflammation, which is linked to the oxidative stress response.
Objective. To compare the differences between acute colonic pseudo-obstruction (ACPO) with and without acute gut wall thickening. Methods. ACPO patients with feeding tolerance were divided into ACPO ...with no obvious gut wall thickening (ACPO-NT) group and ACPO with obvious acute gut wall thickening (ACPO-T) group according to computed tomography and abdominal radiographs. Patients’ condition, responses to supportive measures, pharmacologic therapy, endoscopic decompression, and surgeries and outcomes were compared. Results. Patients in ACPO-T group had a significantly higher APACHE II (11.82 versus 8.25, p=0.008) and SOFA scores (6.47 versus 3.54, p<0.001) and a significantly higher 28-day mortality (17.78% versus 4.16%, p=0.032) and longer intensive care unit stage (4 versus 16 d, p<0.001). Patients in ACPO-NT group were more likely to be responsive to supportive treatment (62.50% versus 24.44%, p<0.001), neostigmine (77.78% versus 17.64%, p<0.001), and colonoscopic decompression (75% versus 42.86%, p=0.318) than those in ACPO-T group. Of the patients who underwent ileostomy, 81.25% gained benefits. Conclusions. ACPO patients with gut wall thickening are more severe and are less likely to be responsive to nonsurgical treatment. Ileostomy may be a good option for ACPO patients with gut wall thickening who are irresponsive to nonsurgical treatment.
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