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•The preparation of biomaterial-based encapsulated probiotics (BEP) is summarized.•The BEP in diversified biomedical applications are highlighted.•The challenges and perspectives for ...the BEP are proposed.
Probiotics have recently received increasing attention in a range of biomedical applications, such as antimicrobial agents, tissue repair and regeneration, as well as disease treatment. However, the activity and viability of probiotics are significantly affected by complicated tissue/organ environment and thus the probiotics can not stay steady at the target location. Probiotic encapsulation is developed as a biotechnological tool to cope with the technological issues derived from the handling and application of probiotics. Encapsulating living probiotics within appropriate biomaterials is a crucial extension of the functions of probiotics and further development. Biomaterials-based probiotic encapsulation not only protects the vitality of the probiotics but also is a better way to make them delivered to their target location. This review summarizes recent advances of biomaterial-based encapsulated probiotics, including encapsulation methods, encapsulation materials, and encapsulation effects. Further, we highlight biomaterial-based encapsulated probiotics in diversified biomedical applications, including the gastrointestinal tract, oral cavity, vagina, and skin. In the final section, current challenges faced by biomaterial-based encapsulated probiotics are outlined and future perspectives for advancing this research are proposed.
Titanium (Ti) implants are widely used in dentistry and orthopedics owing to their excellent corrosion resistance, biocompatibility, and mechanical properties, which have gained increasing attention ...from the viewpoints of fundamental research and practical applications. Also, numerous studies have been carried out to fine-tune the micro/nanostructures of Ti and/or incorporate chemical elements to improve overall implant performance. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (nano-ZnO) are well-known for their good antibacterial properties and low cytotoxicity along with their ability to synergize with a variety of substances, which have received increasingly widespread attention as biomodification materials for implants. In this review, we summarize recent research progress on nano-ZnO modified Ti-implants. Their preparation methods of nano-ZnO modified Ti-implants are introduced, followed by a further presentation of the antibacterial, osteogenic, and anti-corrosion properties of these implants. Finally, challenges and future opportunities for nano-ZnO modified Ti-implants are proposed.
FNA is a simple, safe, cost-effective and accurate diagnostic tool for the initial screening of patients with thyroid nodules. The aims of this study were to determine the diagnostic utility of FNAC ...performed in our institution, assess the cytomorphologic features that contribute to diagnostic errors and propose improvement measures.
A total of 2781 FNACs were included in the study, and 1122 cases were compared with their histological diagnoses. We retrospectively reexamined our discordant (both false-negative and false-positive) cases and performed a systematic review of previous studies on causes of misdiagnoses.
When DC V and DC VI were both considered cytologic-positive, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and diagnostic accuracy were 98.3, 30.9, 94.9, 58.3 and 93.5%, respectively. If DC VI was considered cytologic-positive, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and diagnostic accuracy of FNAC were 98.0, 84.0, 99.4, 58.3, and 97.5% respectively. The main cause of false-negative diagnoses was sampling error (13/15, 86.7%), while interpretation error led to the majority of the false-positive diagnoses (38/47, 80.9%). Overlapping cytological features in adenomatous hyperplasia, thyroiditis and cystic lesions were the major factors contributing to interpretation errors, while the size and number of nodules may have led to false-negative diagnoses because of heterogeneity and unsampled areas.
The sensitivity and PPV of thyroid FNAC in our institution were higher than those in the published data, while the specificity and NPV were lower. Regarding the FNA category DC V, a frozen section analysis during diagnostic lobectomy is necessary. Multiple passes should be performed in various parts of a large nodule or from different nodules to reduce the risk of false-negative findings. Cytopathologists should strengthen their criteria for the identification of adenomatous hyperplasia, thyroiditis and cystic lesions to avoid false-positive diagnoses. NIFTP has little effect on diagnostic accuracy and the distribution of diagnostic errors.
This article is concerned with improving college students’ English audiovisual speaking ability in the context of the development of the times. Based on the SPOC (Small Private Online Course) ...teaching platform and the POA (Production-Oriented Approach) theory, the article constructs a blended teaching mode of English movie audiovisual speaking course. This model extracts English movie audiovisual features through the multimodal fusion of audiovisual correlation perception and audiovisual recognition. The article adopts CRNN (Convolutional Recurrent Neural Network) model and 3D convolutional structure to build a multimodal audiovisual speech recognition model for English movies. The differences between blended and traditional teaching are analyzed and the effects of integrated teaching are explored through a study of South China Agricultural University students. The study results show that the combined teaching is 0.699 points higher than the traditional teaching method in the average normalized gain score, and the audiovisual speaking ability of the students in the experimental class has improved by 76.04%. The blended teaching of English movie audiovisual speaking based on SPOC platform can effectively enhance students’ audiovisual speaking ability, thus promoting students’ cross-cultural communication ability.
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are a group of naturally occurring alkaloids widely present in plants. PAs are highly hepatotoxic and have been documented to cause many incidents of human and animal ...poisoning. Retrorsine (RTS) is a pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) derived from the Compositae Senecio, which has been shown to cause hepatotoxicity. Human liver poisoning occurs through the consumption of RTS-contaminated food, and animals can also be poisoned by ingesting RTS-containing toxic plants. The mechanism of RTS-induced liver toxicity is not fully understood. In this study, we demonstrated that RTS-induced oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in RTS-induced liver toxicity involving apoptosis and autophagy. The results showed that RTS treatment in the cultured Primary rat hepatocytes caused cytotoxicity and release of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Our study showed that treatment of RTS induced ROS and MDA (malondialdehyde, a lipid peroxidation marker) in the hepatocytes, and reduced antioxidant capacity (GSH content, SOD activity), suggesting RTS treatment caused oxidative stress response in the hepatocytes. Furthermore, we found that RTS induced apoptosis and autophagy in the hepatocytes, and RTS-induced apoptosis and autophagy could be alleviated by ROS scavenger N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and the MAPK pathway inhibitors suggesting ROS/MAPK signaling pathway plays a role in RTS induced apoptosis and autophagy. Collectively, this study reveals the regulatory mechanism of oxidative stress in RTS-induced apoptosis and autophagy in the hepatocytes, providing important insights of molecular mechanisms of hepatotoxicity induced by RTS and related pyrrolizidine alkaloids in liver. This mechanism provides a basis for the prevention and treatment of PA poisoning in humans and animals.
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•Retrorsine could induce the release of AST and ALT, and exhibit significant hepatotoxicity.•Retrorsine could induce oxidative stress and apoptosis and autophagy in hepatocytes.•Retrorsine could regulate the apoptosis and autophagy of hepatocytes through the ROS/MAPK signaling pathway.
Achieving high yields of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from carbohydrates remains a challenge today. With the aim of developing an efficient and inexpensive catalyst for the production of HMF, ...manganese phosphate (MnPO4) was used as the sole catalyst for the catalytic conversion of biomass-derived carbohydrates into HMF in the H2O/tetrahydrofuran (THF) biphasic reaction system. The effects of various factors, including reaction temperature, reaction time, system, and catalyst dosage on the conversion of carbohydrates to HMF were explored. An impressing HMF yield of 59% was achieved with glucose as a feedstock at 160 °C for 90 min. Meanwhile, up to 44% of HMF was also obtained with microcrystalline cellulose as a feedstock at 170 °C for 120 min. In addition, MnPO4 catalyst also displayed outstanding catalytic activities for the conversion of other biomass-derived carbohydrates including monosaccharides and disaccharides. Combined with the dissolution characteristics of the MnPO4, a possible catalytic mechanism for the conversion of carbohydrates into HMF catalyzed by MnPO4 was proposed. The catalytic approach proposed in this paper exhibited a promising potential for HMF production via optimizing the catalytic process.
•MnPO4 catalyst exhibits a desired catalytic activity for the formation of HMF from carbohydrates.•MnPO4 can be used as a temperature-controlled phase transfer catalyst in the formation of HMF.•The high activity of the MnPO4 catalyst is derived from its bifunctional properties exhibited at high temperatures.
The plasmid-borne fosfomycin resistance gene fosA3 has been identified in Escherichia coli (E. coli) from various animals but has rarely been reported in ducks. In this study, we investigated the ...fosA3 prevalence and molecular characteristics of fosA3-harboring E. coli strains from ducks in Shandong province of China. In 416 E. coli isolates, 91 (21.88%) were identified as fosA3-bearing strains, and the fosfomycin-resistant phenotype of 88 of the 91 fosA3-harboring strains was successfully transferred to the recipient strains. Seven different genetic structures surrounding the fosA3 gene were detected and 2 new contexts were discovered among the fosA3-carrying E. coli. Twenty fosA3-harboring isolates and their trans-conjugants were randomly selected for pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing and S1-nuclease PFGE, respectively. The PFGE patterns revealed that the 20 randomly selected fosA3-bearing isolates were not a result of clonal dissemination. S1-PFGE showed that 15 of the 20 randomly selected trans-conjugants carried a single plasmid, and these 15 plasmids that harbored fosA3 (55–190 kb) were distributed into the following replicon types: IncF (n = 11), IncI1 (n = 1), IncN (n = 1), untypable (n = 1), and W-FIC (n = 1). Additionally, as vectors for fosA3 in E. coli, F-:A1:B6, N/ST1, IncI1/ST2, W-FIC, and one untypable plasmid had never been reported before. These observations highlighted the importance of ducks as a reservoir for multidrug-resistant fosA3-carrying E. coli.
Chronic metabolism-related diseases are challenging clinical problems. Omentin-1 is mainly expressed in stromal vascular cells of adipose tissue and can also be expressed in airway goblet cells, ...mesothelial cells, and vascular cells. Omentin-1 has been found to exert important anti-inflammatory, antioxidative and anti-apoptotic roles and to regulate endothelial dysfunction. Moreover, omentin-1 also has protective effects against cancer, atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and bone metabolic diseases. The current review will discuss the therapeutic potential of omentin-1.
This review summarizes the biological actions of omentin-1 and provides an overview of omentin-1 in metabolic-related diseases. The relevant literature was derived from a PubMed search spanning 1998-2021 using these search terms: omentin-1, atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, bone, cancer, inflammation, and oxidative stress.
As a novel adipocytokine, omentin-1 is a promising therapeutic target in metabolic-related diseases. Preclinical animal studies have shown encouraging results. Moreover, circulating omentin-1 has excellent potential as a noninvasive biomarker. In the future, strategies for regulating omentin-1 need to be investigated further in clinical trials in a large cohort.
Since September 2018, serious meningitis has been found on some breeding-duck farms in Shandong Province, China. A large number of ducks exhibit severe neurological symptoms. The ducks were randomly ...selected for laboratory testing. Duck brain samples were collected using standard sterile techniques, and the staphylococci isolates were detected in 404 (70.14%) out of 576 brain samples. A total of 525 coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) strains were isolated, including 6 species: Staphylococcus sciuri (S. sciuri) (67.24%, 353/525), Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) (9.71%, 51/525), Staphylococcus saprophyticus (S. saprophyticus) (8.38%, 44/525), Staphylococcus lentus (S. lentus) (7.62%, 40/525), Staphylococcus haemolyticus (S. haemolyticus) (2.48%, 13/525), and Staphylococcus xylosus (S. xylosus) (4.57%, 24/525). Mixed strain infections were detected in 121 (29.95%) infected presentations. The antimicrobial susceptibility testing indicated that 40.38% of the isolates exhibited multi-drug resistance, and 53.90% of the strains were methicillin-resistant strains by amplification of the methicillin resistance gene (mecA) gene. Through experimental reproduction of the disease, we determined that the CoNS strains were the leading pathogens causing bacterial meningitis in ducks. Although these CoNS strains does not directly cause the death of sick ducks, they still cause large economic losses due to the retarded growth and development of the sick ducks, lower feed returns, and lower grades of processed duck products. The results of this study will contribute to our understanding of the epidemiology and pathogenesis of CoNS and be helpful in the prevention and treatment of the infection.
Although significant progress has been made in the study of gastric cancer (GC), clinicians lack reliable protein markers for accurate diagnosis and tumor stratification. Neutrophil extracellular ...traps (NETs) are networks of extracellular fibers composed of DNA from neutrophils. We have previously reported that abundant NETs are deposited in GC, damaging human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and triggering the release of tissue factors, leading to a hypercoagulable state in GC. However, the specific effects of NETs on HUVECs are unclear. We aimed to explore the functional changes caused by NETs on HUVECs, providing evidence that NETs may fuel GC progression. Through quantitative proteomics, we identified 6182 differentially expressed proteins in NET-stimulated HUVECs by TMT. The reliability of the TMT technique was confirmed by parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) analysis of 17 differentially expressed proteins. Through bioinformatics analysis, we found that NETs upregulate ANGPT2 in HUVECs. We comprehensively analyzed the prognosis, biological function, immune response, and therapeutic value of ANGPT2 in GC. We found that overexpression of ANGPT2 in GC is associated with poor prognosis and potentially regulates multiple biological functions. At the same time, ANGPT2 also predicted immunotherapeutic and chemotherapeutic responses in GC. In conclusion, NETs promoted ANGPT2 overexpression in the GC microenvironment. In the future, the neutrophil/NETs-ANGPT2 axis may provide a new target for the treatment of GC.
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