[Controversy on the age of initiation in colorectal cancer screening]

Colorectal cancer is a significant public health issue all over the world. Screening has been shown effective in improving the survival rate and decreasing the deaths of colorectal cancer. Several organizations have released guidelines for colorectal cancer screening. However, detailed recommendations like the age to begin remain controversial. This paper summarizes the recommended different age groups in initiating the colorectal cancer screening program from a few guidelines and analyzes the reasons for the inconsistency, thus facilitating the drafting of colorectal cancer screening guidelines in China.

Meta-analysis of energy intake of growing-finishing pigs in China

Data from 655 treatments of 116 studies were used in a meta-analysis to determine the daily digestible energy (DE), metabolizable energy (ME) and net energy (NE) intake of Chinese growing-finishing pigs, and to predict feed efficiency responses to change in dietary DE, ME and NE. Three alternative functions (i.e., polynomial, Bridges and asymptotic function) were employed for fitting daily DE, ME or NE intakes to mean body weight. The results showed that the three models from the current study provided reasonable fit (all R²  > 0.83) for the energy intake data. However, under the same energy system, the polynomial function had the smallest Akaike's information criteria (AIC) and residual standard deviation (RSD), followed by Bridges and asymptotic functions. The three model-generated energy intakes of growing pigs were significantly less than that of the Chinese Feeding Standard of Swine, but similar to that of the National Research Council (2012), while the values of finishing pigs were greater than both standards. Compared with those that predict feed efficiency based on DE or ME, the equation with NE as a predictor had the minimized AIC and RSD. It was also found that feed efficiency increased with increasing dietary energy density (DED), but this response varied with pig body weight, and the lighter pigs were more sensitive to DED than heavier pigs.

[Effects of hand continuous passive motion system combined with functional training and pressure gloves in treating early scar contracture after burn on the back of the hand]

Objective: To observe the effects of hand continuous passive motion (CPM) system combined with functional training and pressure gloves in treating early scar contracture after burn on the back of the hand. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in 43 patients who met the inclusion criteria and were admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University from June 2017 to December 2019 with scar contracture after deep partial-thickness to full-thickness burn on the back of the hand. According to the treatment methods applied, 13 patients were enrolled into pressure glove alone group (9 males and 4 females, aged (31±6) years), 14 patients were enrolled into pressure glove+functional training group (11 males and 3 females, aged (30±5) years), and 16 patients were enrolled into pressure glove+functional training+CPM system group (10 males and 6 females, aged (29±5) years). All the patients in the three groups received skin grafting on the back of the hand. The corresponding rehabilitation treatment was started 6-8 days after wound healing, and the treatment lasted for 3 months. Before treatment and after 3 months of treatment, the total active motion range of the hand was measured to evaluate the motion range of the hand joint and the ratio of excellent and good was calculated; the Carroll upper limb function evaluation method was used to evaluate the upper limb function score, and the difference before and after treatment was calculated; the Vancouver Scar Scale was used to evaluate the scar score, and the difference before and after treatment was calculated. Data were statistically analyzed with chi-square test, Fisher's exact probability test, McNemar's exact probability test, one-way analysis of variance, Bonferroni correction, least significant difference test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and paired sample t test. Results: The ratio of excellent and good of the motion range of the hand joint of patients in pressure glove alone group, pressure glove+functional training group, and pressure glove+functional training+CPM system group were 2/13, 2/14, and 3/16 respectively before treatment, and 4/13, 6/14, and 14/16 respectively after 3 months of treatment. The ratio of excellent and good of the motion range of the hand joint of patients was significantly higher in pressure glove+functional training+CPM system group than in the other two groups after 3 months of treatment (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Compared with that before treatment, the ratio of excellent and good of the motion range of the hand joint of patients in pressure glove+functional training+CPM system group was significantly increased after 3 months of treatment (P<0.01). Before treatment, the upper limb function score and hand scar score of patients in the three groups were similar (F=0.598, 0.035, P>0.05). After 3 months of treatment, the upper limb function score of patients was significantly higher in pressure glove+functional training+CPM system group than in pressure glove alone group (P<0.05); the hand scar score of patients was significantly lower in pressure glove+functional training group and pressure glove+functional training+CPM system group than in pressure glove alone group (P<0.05 or P<0.01), and the hand scar score of patients was significantly lower in pressure glove+functional training+CPM system group than in pressure glove+functional training group (P<0.05). Compared with those before treatment, the upper limb function scores of patients were significantly increased (t=-5.295, -7.252, -15.342, P<0.01) and the hand scar scores of patients were significantly decreased (t=13.361, 16.982, 40.334, P<0.01) in pressure glove alone group, pressure glove+functional training group, and pressure glove+functional training+CPM system group after 3 months of treatment. The differences in upper limb function score and hand scar score of patients before and after treatment in pressure glove+functional training+CPM system group were significantly higher than those in pressure glove+functional training group and pressure glove alone group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). The differences in upper limb function score and hand scar score of patients before and after treatment in pressure glove+functional training group were significantly higher than those in pressure glove alone group (P<0.05). Conclusions: Hand CPM system combined with functional training and pressure gloves can significantly improve the motion range of hand joint in treating early scar contracture after burn on the back of the hand, with better restoration of hand function and improvement of hand scar. Its effect is better than routine rehabilitation treatment such as functional training, etc., which is worthy of clinical reference.

Application of ultrasound-based radiomics technology in fetal-lung-texture analysis in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes and/or pre-eclampsia

OBJECTIVES

To analyze and compare, using ultrasound-based radiomics technology, fetal-lung texture in pregnancies affected by gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and/or pre-eclampsia (PE) and in normal pregnancies, overall and at different gestational ages.

METHODS

In this retrospective study, 430 high-throughput features per fetal-lung image were extracted from 548 fetal-lung ultrasound images (obtained at the level of the four-chamber view of the heart) in 548 pregnant women who delivered between July 2018 and August 2019 at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University. Images had been obtained during ultrasound examinations between 28 and 41 weeks of gestation. The data were divided randomly into training set (80% of fetal-lung images) and independent test set (20% of images), and 20% of the images in the training set were then selected as the validation set. A standard machine-learning model based on ultrasound-based radiomics technology was created using features of fetal-lung texture extracted from the images, and a regression model was used to evaluate the relationship between lung-texture features, GDM and/or PE and gestational age.

RESULTS

Of the 548 pregnancies included, 108 were affected by GDM alone, 71 by PE alone and 25 by both GDM and PE, and 344 were normal. The overall performance of the GDM and PE prediction model was superior to that of the gestational-age prediction model, with an area under the receiver-operating-characteristics curve of 0.95-0.99, sensitivity of 78.8-97.1% in the validation set and 74.5-91.3% in the independent test set, specificity of 79.8-94.3% in the validation set and 75.7-88.4% in the independent test set and accuracy of 81.0-95.3% in the validation set and 80.6-86.4% in the independent test set.

CONCLUSIONS

Using ultrasound-based radiomics technology, fetal lungs from pregnancies grouped according to whether they were affected by GDM and/or PE could be distinguished from each other and from fetal lungs of normal pregnancies, and lungs from pregnancies at different gestational ages could be distinguished. These findings support further research to explore the use of this non-invasive technology to predict neonatal respiratory complications in women with PE, GDM or their combination. © 2020 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Longitudinal Flow Decorrelations in Xe+Xe Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.44 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

The first measurement of longitudinal decorrelations of harmonic flow amplitudes v_{n} for n=2-4 in Xe+Xe collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.44  TeV is obtained using 3  μb^{-1} of data with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The decorrelation signal for v_{3} and v_{4} is found to be nearly independent of collision centrality and transverse momentum (p_{T}) requirements on final-state particles, but for v_{2} a strong centrality and p_{T} dependence is seen. When compared with the results from Pb+Pb collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02  TeV, the longitudinal decorrelation signal in midcentral Xe+Xe collisions is found to be larger for v_{2}, but smaller for v_{3}. Current hydrodynamic models reproduce the ratios of the v_{n} measured in Xe+Xe collisions to those in Pb+Pb collisions but fail to describe the magnitudes and trends of the ratios of longitudinal flow decorrelations between Xe+Xe and Pb+Pb. The results on the system-size dependence provide new insights and an important lever arm to separate effects of the longitudinal structure of the initial state from other early and late time effects in heavy-ion collisions.

Search for Dark Matter Produced in Association with a Dark Higgs Boson Decaying into W^{±}W^{∓} or ZZ in Fully Hadronic Final States from sqrt[s]=13 TeV pp Collisions Recorded with the ATLAS Detector

Several extensions of the Standard Model predict the production of dark matter particles at the LHC. An uncharted signature of dark matter particles produced in association with VV=W^{±}W^{∓} or ZZ pairs from a decay of a dark Higgs boson s is searched for using 139  fb^{-1} of pp collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The s→V(qq[over ¯])V(qq[over ¯]) decays are reconstructed with a novel technique aimed at resolving the dense topology from boosted VV pairs using jets in the calorimeter and tracking information. Dark Higgs scenarios with m_{s}>160  GeV are excluded.

Quasisymmetric Optimization of Nonaxisymmetry in Tokamaks

Predictive 3D optimization reveals a novel approach to modify a nonaxisymmetric magnetic perturbation to be entirely harmless for tokamaks, by essentially restoring quasisymmetry in perturbed particle orbits as much as possible. Such a quasisymmetric magnetic perturbation (QSMP) has been designed and successfully tested in the KSTAR and DIII-D tokamaks, demonstrating no performance degradation despite the large overall amplitudes of nonaxisymmetric fields and strong response otherwise expected in the tested plasmas. The results indicate that a quasisymmetric optimization is a robust path of error field correction across the resonant and nonresonant field spectrum in a tokamak, leveraging the prevailing concept of quasisymmetry for general 3D plasma confinement systems such as stellarators. The optimization becomes, in fact, a simple eigenvalue problem to the so-called torque response matrices if a perturbed equilibrium is calculated consistent with nonaxisymmetric neoclassical transport.

[Bladder cancer incidence, mortality and temporal trends in China]

Objective: To describe the epidemiological characteristics of bladder cancer in 2015 and temporal trends in China. Methods: From 501 cancer registries in China, we collected data of cancer new cases, deaths and populations in 2015. After qualified, sex-specific, area-specific, age-specific and overall incidence/mortality rates (including age-standardized rates by Chinese standard population and by world standard population) and estimated cases of bladder cancer were calculated. Annual Percent Change (APC)/Average Annual Percent Change (AAPC) fitted from Log-line model was applied to evaluate the temporal trends of bladder cancer incidence/mortality rates from 1998 to 2015. Results: Bladder cancer is the 13(th) most common cancer in China. The crude, age-standardized by China standard population and by world standard population rates were 5.80/10(5), 3.60/10(5) and 3.57/10(5) for incidence, and 2.37/10(5), 1.31/10(5) and 1.32/10(5) for mortality, respectively. The incidence of bladder cancer ranked 7(th) in male. The incidence and mortality of male were 3.8 and 4.0 times as high as those of female. Bladder cancer incidence in urban area was 1.4 times as high as that in rural area. Incidence in western areas and middle areas of China were similar, which were lower than that in eastern areas. Geographical distribution characteristics of mortality was along with incidence.Both incidence and mortality remained low before 45 and 55 years old, then they increased rapidly and peaked at 80-84 and over 85 years old age group. Temporal trend analysis suggested that bladder cancer incidence in China increased in 1998-2007 (APC=2.58, P<0.001), while decreased from 2007 to 2015 (APC=-3.82, P<0.001). Bladder cancer mortality declined gradually, with APCs for 1998-2003 and 2003-2015 of 3.65% (P=0.002) and 1.42% (P<0.001). Conclusions: Bladder cancer is one of the main cancers in China. Its epidemiological distributions varies among different sex, area and age group. Both incidence and mortality of bladder cancer decline. More efforts on tobacco control should be made, and awareness of early diagnosis and early treatment could be enhanced for the middle-aged and elderly.

[Analysis of liver cancer screening results and influencing factors of urban residents in Zhejiang Province from 2013 to 2018]

Objective: To analyze the results of liver cancer screening for urban residents in Zhejiang Province from 2013 to 2018 and explore the influencing factors of the detection rate. Methods: From September 2013 to August 2019, six urban communities in Hangzhou (Jianggan District and Gongshu District), Ningbo (Haishu District, Yinzhou District and Jiangbei District), and Quzhou (Kecheng District) were selected as study sites. All permanent residents aged 40-74 (with local household registration and living in the local area for more than 3 years) were selected as the research subjects by using cluster sampling method. Patients with confirmed cancers and other serious medical and surgical diseases were excluded. A total of 166 293 research subjects were included. Basic demographic characteristics and risk factors of subjects were obtained through questionnaire surveys. The cancer risk assessment system was used to evaluate the liver cancer risk of subjects. Clinical screening participation and screening results for subjects at high risk of liver cancer were obtained from participating hospitals. The high-risk rate of liver cancer, clinical screening rate, detection rate of positive lesions, and detection rate of suspected liver cancer were analyzed. Poisson regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of detection rate. Results: The age of 166 293 subjects was (56.01±8.40) years, of which 41.36% (68 777) were males. A total of 23 765 high-risk subjects for liver cancer were screened (the high-risk rate was 14.29%). Among them, a total of 12 375 subjects participated in clinical screening for liver cancer, with a screening rate of 52.07% (12 375/23 765). A total of 297 cases of positive lesions were detected and the detection rate was 2.40% (297/12 375). A total of 8 cases of suspected liver cancer were detected, with a detection rate of 0.06% (8/12 375). The results of multivariate Poisson regression model analysis showed that compared with men, people who never smoked, never ate pickled food, had low oil content, and had no history of hepatobiliary disease, female, people who were smoking or had smoked, sometimes ate pickled food, ate higher oil content, and had a history of hepatobiliary disease had a higher detection rate of positive lesions. The incidence rate ratio (IRR) (95%CI) values were 1.98 (1.45-2.70), 2.23 (1.61-3.09)/2.08 (1.31-3.28), 1.82 (1.22-2.70), 1.44 (1.08-1.91), and 1.45 (1.05-2.00), respectively. Compared with those aged from 40 to 49 years old and without HBsAg test, the IRR (95%CI) of suspected liver cancer in people aged 70 to 74 years old and HBsAg positive were 16.30 (1.32-200.74) and 6.43 (1.24-33.22), respectively. Conclusion: The urban cancer early diagnosis and early treatment project in Zhejiang Province has good compliance in clinical screening of liver cancer. Abdominal ultrasound examination and serum alpha-fetoprotein detection are helpful to detect liver cancer and its precancerous lesions in the high-risk population of liver cancer.

Novel biomarkers of intervertebral disc cells and evidence of stem cells in the intervertebral disc

OBJECTIVE

Rat intervertebral disc (IVD) is one of the most commonly used and cost-effective alternative models for human IVD. Many IVD related clinical studies need to be pre-tested on rat IVDs. However, studies on the heterogeneous cell clusters of the rat IVD are inadequate, and a further understanding of the marker genes and cell phenotypes of healthy mature IVD cells is essential.

METHODS

In this study, we used the 10X Genomics technology to analyze the single-cell transcriptome of purified wild-type rat IVDs.

RESULTS

We identified potentially new gene markers of IVDs via single-cell sequencing. Based on the unsupervised cluster analysis of 13,578 single-cell transcripts, 3 known IVD cell types were identified. We provided a complete single-cell gene expression map of the IVD. Immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence images of rat disc sections confirmed the new marker genes of all cell types. One group of heterologous cell groups expressed multi-functional stem cell (MSC)-specific genes, indicating the stem cell potential of IVD cells.

CONCLUSION

We provided the phenotype and marker genes of IVD cells at the single-cell level, reconfirmed existing data, and proposed new marker genes, including MSC marker genes. By identifying more accurate target cells and genes, our results pave the way for further study of the response of individual disc cells to disease states and provide the basis for future disc regeneration therapies.

The interplay between spatial and heliconical orientational order in twist-bend nematic materials

The helical pitch formed by organic molecules, such as the α-helix of proteins, usually requires hydrogen bonding between chiral units and long-range positional order. It was recently found that certain liquid crystal oligomers can have a twist-bend nematic (NTB) phase with nanoscale heliconical structure without hydrogen bonding, molecular chirality or positional order. To understand the nature of this unique structure, here we present hard and resonant tender X-ray scattering studies of two novel sulfur containing dimer materials. We simultaneously measure the temperature dependences of the helical pitch and the correlation length of both the helical and positional order. In addition to an unexpected strong variation of the pitch with the length of the spacer connecting the monomer units, we find that at the transition to the NTB phase the positional correlation length drops. The helical structure was found not only in the NTB phase but observed even in the upper range of a smectic phase that forms just below the NTB state. The coexistence of smectic layering and the heliconical order indicates a layered (SmATB) phase wherein the rigid units of the dimers are tilted with respect to the smectic layer normal in order to accommodate the bent conformation of the dimers and the tilt direction rotates along the heliconical axis.

Medium-Induced Modification of Z-Tagged Charged Particle Yields in Pb+Pb Collisions at 5.02 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

The yield of charged particles opposite to a Z boson with large transverse momentum (p_{T}) is measured in 260  pb^{-1} of pp and 1.7  nb^{-1} of Pb+Pb collision data at 5.02 TeV per nucleon pair recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The Z boson tag is used to select hard-scattered partons with specific kinematics, and to observe how their showers are modified as they propagate through the quark-gluon plasma created in Pb+Pb collisions. Compared with pp collisions, charged-particle yields in Pb+Pb collisions show significant modifications as a function of charged-particle p_{T} in a way that depends on event centrality and Z boson p_{T}. The data are compared with a variety of theoretical calculations and provide new information about the medium-induced energy loss of partons in a p_{T} regime difficult to measure through other channels.

[Results and cost-effectiveness of colorectal cancer screening program among urban residents in Zhejiang province, 2013-2018]

Objective: To analyze the results and cost-effectiveness of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening program among Zhejiang urban residents so as to provide evidence for further optimization of CRC screening strategies. Methods: Based on the Cancer Screening Program in Urban China which was conducted in Zhejiang province from 2013-2018, data related to the rates on compliance and detection through the CRC screening program among the 40-74 year-old residents were analyzed. Chi-square tests were used to compare the differences among groups, and multivariate logistic regression models were applied to explore the potential risk factors. Cost-effectiveness ratio (CER) was calculated by using the cost per lesion detected as the indicator. Results: Among all the 166 285 participants who completed the risk assessment questionnaire, 21 975 (13.2%) were recognized as under the high risk of CRC and 4 389 (20.0%) of them received the colonoscopy. The detection rates of CRC, advanced adenoma, and non-advance adenoma were 0.3% (11 cases), 2.7% (119 cases), and 5.2% (229 cases), respectively. Results from the multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that factors as age, gender, education level, smoking, drinking alcohol, previous fecal occult blood test (FOBT), polyp history, and family history of CRC were significantly associated with the compliance rate of colonoscopy while age, smoking and polyp history were significantly associated with the detection rate of advanced neoplasms (CRC and advanced adenoma). The costs were ￥22 355.74 Yuan for every CER advanced neoplasm detection and ￥264 204.18 Yuan per CRC detection, respectively. The CER decreased along with ageing. Sensitivity analysis showed that CERs were expected to decrease when the compliance rate of colonoscopy was increasing. Conclusions: The current screening program seems effective in detecting the precancerous colorectal lesions, but the relatively low compliance rate of colonoscopy restricting both the diagnostic yields and economic benefits. It is necessary to improve the awareness and acceptance of colonoscopy among the high-risk CRC population.

Genomic characteristics of four different geese populations in China

It is well known that many Chinese goose breeds differ substantially in economic performance, but the genetic changes involved are still poorly understood. This study sequenced 35 individuals from four goose breeds namely Shitou, Zhedong White, Taihu, and Zi with an average sequencing depth of 10× for each individual. Among these populations, SNPs were identified, which clustered the individuals into four distinct genetic groups in accordance with the four breeds. Genomic comparisons among the four goose breeds revealed many candidate genes, as well as pathways that may be associated with meat yield in Shitou geese and laying traits in Zi geese. These findings will enable a better understanding of the artificial selection history of Chinese local geese and provide a valuable resource for future research on the breeding of geese for the economic traits of meat and egg production.

Hydroclimate footprint of pan-Asian monsoon water isotope during the last deglaciation

Oxygen isotope speleothem records exhibit coherent variability over the pan-Asian summer monsoon (AM) region. The hydroclimatic representation of these oxygen isotope records for the AM, however, has remained poorly understood. Here, combining an isotope-enabled Earth system model in transient experiments with proxy records, we show that the widespread AM δ18Oc signal during the last deglaciation (20 to 11 thousand years ago) is accompanied by a continental-scale, coherent hydroclimate footprint, with spatially opposite signs in rainfall. This footprint is generated as a dynamically coherent response of the AM system primarily to meltwater forcing and secondarily to insolation forcing and is further reinforced by atmospheric teleconnection. Hence, widespread δ18Op depletion in the AM region is accompanied by a northward migration of the westerly jet and enhanced southwesterly monsoon wind, as well as increased rainfall from South Asia (India) to northern China but decreased rainfall in southeast China.

Observation and Measurement of Forward Proton Scattering in Association with Lepton Pairs Produced via the Photon Fusion Mechanism at ATLAS

The observation of forward proton scattering in association with lepton pairs (e^{+}e^{-}+p or μ^{+}μ^{-}+p) produced via photon fusion is presented. The scattered proton is detected by the ATLAS Forward Proton spectrometer, while the leptons are reconstructed by the central ATLAS detector. Proton-proton collision data recorded in 2017 at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt[s]=13  TeV are analyzed, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 14.6  fb^{-1}. A total of 57 (123) candidates in the ee+p (μμ+p) final state are selected, allowing the background-only hypothesis to be rejected with a significance exceeding 5 standard deviations in each channel. Proton-tagging techniques are introduced for cross-section measurements in the fiducial detector acceptance, corresponding to σ_{ee+p}=11.0±2.6(stat)±1.2(syst)±0.3(lumi) and σ_{μμ+p}=7.2±1.6(stat)±0.9(syst)±0.2(lumi)  fb in the dielectron and dimuon channel, respectively.

Search for Heavy Resonances Decaying into a Photon and a Hadronically Decaying Higgs Boson in pp Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

This Letter presents a search for the production of new heavy resonances decaying into a Higgs boson and a photon using proton-proton collision data at sqrt[s]=13  TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 139  fb^{-1}. The analysis is performed by reconstructing hadronically decaying Higgs boson (H→bb[over ¯]) candidates as single large-radius jets. A novel algorithm using information about the jet constituents in the center-of-mass frame of the jet is implemented to identify the two b quarks in the single jet. No significant excess of events is observed above the expected background. Upper limits are set on the production cross-section times branching fraction for narrow spin-1 resonances decaying into a Higgs boson and a photon in the resonance mass range from 0.7 to 4 TeV, cross-section times branching fractions are excluded between 11.6 fb and 0.11 fb at a 95% confidence level.

Search for Higgs Boson Decays into a Z Boson and a Light Hadronically Decaying Resonance Using 13 TeV pp Collision Data from the ATLAS Detector

A search for Higgs boson decays into a Z boson and a light resonance in two-lepton plus jet events is performed, using a pp collision dataset with an integrated luminosity of 139  fb^{-1} collected at sqrt[s]=13  TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN LHC. The resonance considered is a light boson with a mass below 4 GeV from a possible extended scalar sector or a charmonium state. Multivariate discriminants are used for the event selection and for evaluating the mass of the light resonance. No excess of events above the expected background is found. Observed (expected) 95% confidence-level upper limits are set on the Higgs boson production cross section times branching fraction to a Z boson and the signal resonance, with values in the range 17-340 pb (16_{-5}^{+6}-320_{-90}^{+130}  pb) for the different light spin-0 boson mass and branching fraction hypotheses, and with values of 110 and 100 pb (100_{-30}^{+40} and 100_{-30}^{+40}  pb) for the η_{c} and J/ψ hypotheses, respectively.

Dietary supplementation with berberine improves growth performance and modulates the composition and function of cecal microbiota in yellow-feathered broilers

This study investigated the effect of berberine (BBR) on growth performance and composition and function of cecal microbiota in yellow-feathered broilers. A total of 360 1-day-old female broilers were assigned to 3 dietary treatments, each with 6 replicates of 20 birds. The dietary treatments consisted of a basal diet as negative control (NC), basal plus 200 mg/kg oxytetracycline calcium and 250 mg/kg nasiheptide as an antibiotic positive control (PC), and basal plus 250 mg/kg BBR. On day 21, 42, and 63, one chicken from each replicate was randomly selected for blood collection and cecal sampling. The 16S rRNA sequencing technology was used to analyze the community composition and function of cecal microbiota. Dietary supplementation with antibiotics or BBR increased the final body weight (BW) at day 63 and the average daily gain (ADG) during 1 to 21 d compared with the NC (P < 0.05). Supplementation with BBR improved the average daily feed intake (ADFI) at 22 to 42 d, 43 to 63 d, and 1 to 63 d (P < 0.05). Feed efficiency, indicated by feed to gain ratio (F/G), increased with PC during day 1 to 21 compared with NC (P < 0.05). The plasma concentrations of total protein at 42 d and uric acid at 21 d were increased, whereas creatine concentration at 63 d was decreased by BBR treatment (P < 0.05). The Chao 1 and Shannon index representing microbial α-diversity was reduced by BBR treatment (P < 0.05). The abundances of phylum Firmicutes and genera Lachnospiraceae, Lachnoclostridium, Clostridiales, and Intestinimonas were decreased, whereas the abundances of phylum Bacteroidetes and genus Bacteroides were increased with BBR treatment. Functional prediction of microbiota revealed that BBR treatment enriched pathways related to metabolism, organismal systems, and genetic information processing, especially DNA replication. The abundance of phylum Bacteroidetes, and genera Bacteroides and Lactobacillus in cecal contents were positively correlated with broiler growth performance. These results demonstrated dietary BBR supplementation improved the growth performance of yellow-feathered broilers, and was closely related to the significant changes in cecal microbiota composition.

Lactobacillus plantarum inhibited the inflammatory response induced by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli K88 via modulating MAPK and NF-κB signalling in intestinal porcine epithelial cells

AIMS

To investigate the effects of Lactobacillus plantarum on inflammatory responses induced by ETEC K88 and explore the underlying molecular mechanisms.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Intestinal porcine cells (IPEC-1) were incubated with 0 or 1 × 10⁸  CFU per well L. plantarum for 4 h, and then these cells were challenged with 0 or 1 × 10⁸  CFU per well ETEC K88 for 2 h. The results showed that pre-treatment of IPEC-1 cells with L. plantarum prevented the increases in the transcript abundance of interleukin-1α (IL-1α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) (P < 0·05) caused by ETEC K88. Additionally, L. plantarum inhibited the reduction in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) expression caused by ETEC K88 (P < 0·05). Moreover, L. plantarum pre-treatment downregulated the phosphorylation levels of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), extracellular regulated protein kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) and p38 and the nuclear concentration of nuclear factor kappa B p65 (NF-κB p65) (P < 0·05) compared with ETEC K88 group. Silencing experiment further supported that the protective effect of L. plantarum P might mediated by suppression of ETEC-provoked activation of MAPK and NF-κB signalling pathways.

CONCLUSIONS

Lactobacillus plantarum inhibited the inflammatory response induced by ETEC K88 in IPEC-1 cells via modulating MAPK and NF-κB signalling.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

This study elucidated the underlying mechanism in which probiotics protect against intestinal inflammation caused by ETEC K88.