Table_1_Cangpu Oral Liquid as a Possible Alternative to Antibiotics for the Control of Undifferentiated Calf Diarrhea.XLSX

Antibiotics are essential in the prevention of calf diarrhea epidemics. As more antibiotics become ineffective due to drug-resistant bacteria, attention must be directed toward alternative treatments for calf diarrhea. Natural antibiotic alternatives, such as Chinese herbal medicine, have become a research hotspot in the clinical treatment of diseases such as calf diarrhea due to their characteristics of fewer side effects, low cost, little residue, and no drug resistance. The Cangpu Oral Liquid (CP) was modified from a traditional herbal formula that had been widely used in ancient China to treat gastrointestinal diseases in animals. In order to evaluate the treatment effect of CP on neonatal calf diarrhea, a randomized controlled field trial was performed. Two hundred and forty-six diarrheal Holstein calves of 2–15 days old were selected and randomly divided into two treatment groups receiving either apramycin or CP. 101 out of 123 calves recovered from diarrhea in the CP group, whereas 77 out of 123 calves showed recovery after antibiotic therapy. There were no differences in initial weight between both groups, while the final weight was significantly different (P = 0.892, P = 0.025, respectively). The mean average daily gain (ADG) of calves (211.45 gram/day) in the CP group was significantly higher compared to the antibiotic group (164.56 gram/day) (P = 0.001). The CP group also showed a shorter recovery time from diarrhea (3.90 days vs. 6.62 days, P = 0.001). The current results indicate that the CP has a beneficial clinical effect on the treatment of diarrhea in neonatal calves and is an effective alternative treatment option.</p

Table_1_Plasma Metabolomics Reveals Pathogenesis of Retained Placenta in Dairy Cows.DOC

The complex etiology and pathogenesis of retained placenta (RP) bring huge challenges for researchers and clinical veterinarians in investigating the pathogenesis and treatment schedule. This study aims to investigate the pathogenesis of RP in dairy cows by plasma metabolomics. As subjects, 10 dairy cows with RP and 10 healthy dairy cows were enrolled according to strict enrollment criteria. Imbalanced antioxidant capacity, reduced Th1/Th2 cytokine ratio, and deregulation of total bilirubin (T-bil), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and reproductive hormones were shown in dairy cows with RP by detecting biochemical indicators, oxidation and antioxidant markers, and cytokines in serum. Plasma metabolites were detected and analyzed by a liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) system coupled with multivariate statistical analysis software. A total of 23 potential biomarkers were uncovered in the plasma of dairy cows with RP. The metabolic pathways involved in these potential biomarkers are interconnected, and the conversion, utilization, and excretion of nitrogen were disturbed in dairy cows with RP. Moreover, these potential biomarkers are involved in the regulation of antioxidant capacity, inflammation, and autocrine or paracrine hormone. All of these findings suggest that an imbalance of these potential biomarkers might be responsible for the imbalanced antioxidant capacity, reduced Th1/Th2 cytokine ratio, and deregulation of reproductive hormones in dairy cows with RP. The regulation of metabolic pathways involved in these potential biomarkers represents a promising therapeutic strategy for RP.</p

Triethylamine Sensors Based on Nanoscale Porous Carbon Nanocages Originated from Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework Derivatives

2D transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have attracted much attention for promising application in gas sensors. Edges of the layered nanostructures are well known as highly reactive sites, besides the low working temperature. However, TMD sensors still suffer from the bottlenecks of low response and slow reaction kinetics. We propose an innovative use of porous carbon nanostructures originated from zeolitic imidazolate frameworks. In this work, multi-layered MoS2 nanoplates are confined in nanoscale porous carbon nanocages (PCNCs) by a facile hydrothermal technique. The carefully designed MoS2/PCNC sensor exhibits good triethylamine (TEA) sensing performances. Compared with pure MoS2, the response (Ra/Rg) of the MoS2/PCNC composite sensor to 100 ppm TEA is as high as 53. The theoretical TEA detection limit is estimated to be as low as 12 ppb. In addition, the investigation proves good stability and reproducibility. The possible sensing mechanism for the improved performances is discussed too. The innovative strategy for the controlled design of MoS2/PCNC nanostructures may provide valuable application in designing high-performance TEA sensors

Triethylamine Gas Sensors Based on BiOBr Microflowers Decorated with ZnO Nanocrystals

In this work, ZnO nanocrystals (NCs) are innovatively decorated on the hierarchically porous microflowers (MFs) of BiOBr. The preparation is accompanied by the construction of n–n nano-heterojunctions. The crystallographic information, microstructure, oxygen vacancy, and gas sensing performances of BiOBr/ZnO composites are investigated. The BiOBr/ZnO sensor presents excellent response characteristics to triethylamine (TEA). Compared with BiOBr MFs and pure ZnO NCs, the BiOBr/ZnO composite sensor exhibits a higher response (Ra/Rg) of about 20.57 to 100 ppm TEA at 200 °C. The sensor also shows good selectivity and durable long-term stability, besides the low detection limit of 112 ppb. Even more appealingly, the response time is only 4 s. The improved TEA sensing performance of BiOBr MFs modified with ZnO NCs can be mainly attributed to the unique hierarchical heterogeneous microstructure. Furthermore, the construction of n–n BiOBr/ZnO heterostructures leads to a large specific surface area and effective electron transport, which facilitate the surface reaction and diffusion of TEA molecules. The BiOBr/ZnO composite sensor based on n–n nano-heterojunctions may provide a valuable strategy for the detection of volatile organic compounds

Ambient Stable CsPbBr₃/ZnO Nanostructures for Ethanolamine Sensing

Continuous monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is an important challenge for human beings. All-inorganic halide perovskites (AIHPs) have attracted extensive attention because of their excellent semiconductor properties. Perovskite interfacial modulation engineering is considered as a key factor in the preparation of stable and high-performance AIHP devices. In this work, organic hydrophilic ligand 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) is creatively introduced to regulate the nanostructure of CsPbBr3 and construct the ambient stable binary heterojunction of CsPbBr3 nanoparticles (NPs)/ZnO NPs. The microscopic morphology design shows that CsPbBr3 NPs with the optimal nano size have abundant sensitive gas adsorption sites and large specific surface area, which can effectively improve the sensitivity of the CsPbBr3-based sensor to ethanolamine (EA). Moreover, hydrophilic groups in MPA are good for the formation of hydrogen bonds and MPA network structures, which effectively improve the binding affinity of metal oxides on MPA surfaces, enhancing the stable anchoring of ZnO to halide perovskite CsPbBr3 and the heterojunction construction of CsPbBr3/ZnO. The CsPbBr3-2MPA/ZnO sensor displays the advantages of the lowest theoretical detection limit (DL, 31 ppb), excellent selectivity, a much shorter response time (50 s) than CsPbBr3, and significantly enhanced EA response (13.25, 100 ppm) at room temperature, besides the stable repeatability in more than 1 month. In addition, we propose a feasible sensing mechanism. The gas sensor based on CsPbBr3/ZnO nano-heterojunctions with efficient hydrophilic MPA modulation may provide constructive idea for the detection of VOCs

Design of Ti₃C₂T_<i>x</i>/SnO₂‑Selective Ethanolamine Sensor

Two-dimensional transition metal carbides/nitrides (MXenes) show great potential in volatile organic compound (VOC) sensors owing to their exceptional electrical properties, numerous active sites, and abundant terminal functional groups. However, pure MXene Ti3C2Tx is prone to oxidative degradation under ambient environment, and the insufficient response and poor stability are still grand challenges. Hereby, by deliberately introducing metal oxide semiconductor in multilayer Ti3C2Tx, a promising Ti3C2Tx/SnO2 sensor with excellent long-term stability and outstanding selectivity is developed for VOC monitoring. The research shows that the Ti3C2Tx/SnO2 hybrid sensor implements efficient detection of hydrogen-bonded gases and is especially highly efficient with ethanolamine (EA). The sensitivity of the hybrid sensor to EA is improved by over 10-fold in comparison with pristine Ti3C2Tx, besides the good selectivity to over 12 different VOCs. The synergistic effects of n-n nanoheterojunctions, the large specific surface area of 45.186 m2/g and mesoporous-rich hierarchical structure, and the functional terminal groups together facilitate the EA-sensitive properties. In addition, the innovative preparation of the Ti3C2Tx/SnO2 sensor, which takes advantage of terpinol, contributes to the close contact of Ti3C2Tx/SnO2 on the ceramic tubes, thus improving the sensor sensitivity. The scientific findings of this work may provide valuable ideas for the exploration of innovatively composite gas sensors

Microfluidic Preparation of Gelatin Methacryloyl Microgels as Local Drug Delivery Vehicles for Hearing Loss Therapy

Local drug delivery has become an effective method for disease therapy in fine organs including ears, eyes, and noses. However, the multiple anatomical and physiological barriers, unique clearance pathways, and sensitive perceptions characterizing these organs have led to suboptimal drug delivery efficiency. Here, we developed dexamethasone sodium phosphate-encapsulated gelatin methacryloyl (Dexsp@GelMA) microgel particles, with finely tunable size through well-designed microfluidics, as otic drug delivery vehicles for hearing loss therapy. The release kinetics, encapsulation efficiency, drug loading efficiency, and cytotoxicity of the GelMA microgels with different degrees of methacryloyl substitution were comprehensively studied to optimize the microgel formulation. Compared to bulk hydrogels, Dexsp@GelMA microgels of certain sizes hardly cause air-conducted hearing loss in vivo. Besides, strong adhesion of the microgels on the round window membrane was demonstrated. Moreover, the Dexsp@GelMA microgels, via intratympanic administration, could ameliorate acoustic noise-induced hearing loss and attenuate hair cell loss and synaptic ribbons damage more effectively than Dexsp alone. Our results strongly support the adhesive and intricate microfluidic-derived GelMA microgels as ideal intratympanic delivery vehicles for inner ear disease therapies, which provides new inspiration for microfluidics in drug delivery to the fine organs

Table_1_The emergence of multi-drug resistant and virulence gene carrying Escherichia coli strains in the dairy environment: a rising threat to the environment, animal, and public health.DOCX

Escherichia coli is a common inhabitant of the intestinal microbiota and is responsible for udder infection in dairy cattle and gastro-urinary tract infections in humans. We isolated E. coli strains from a dairy farm environment in Xinjiang, China, and investigated their epidemiological characteristics, phenotypic and genotypic resistance to antimicrobials, virulence-associated genes, and phylogenetic relationship. A total of 209 samples were collected from different sources (feces, slurry, water, milk, soil) and cultured on differential and selective agar media (MAC and EMB). The presumptive identification was done by the VITEK2 system and confirmed by 16S rRNA gene amplification by PCR. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done by micro-dilution assay, and genomic characterization was done by simple and multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A total of 338 E. coli strains were identified from 141/209 (67.5%) of the samples. Most of the E. coli strains were resistant to sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (62.43%), followed by cefotaxime (44.08%), ampicillin (33.73%), ciprofloxacin (31.36%), tetracycline (28.99%), and a lesser extent to florfenicol (7.99%), gentamicin (4.44%), amikacin (1.77%), and fosfomycin (1.18%). All of the strains were susceptible to meropenem, tigecycline, and colistin sulfate. Among the resistant strains, 44.4% were identified as multi-drug resistant (MDR) showing resistance to at least one antibiotic from ≥3 classes of antibiotics. Eighteen out of 20 antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) were detected with sul2 (67.3%), blaTEM (56.3%), gyrA (73.6%), tet(B) (70.4%), aph(3)-I (85.7%), floR (44.4%), and fosA3 (100%, 1/1) being the predominant genes among different classes of antibiotics. Among the virulence-associated genes (VAGs), ompA was the most prevalent (86.69%) followed by ibeB (85.0%), traT (84.91%), ompT (73.96%), fyuA (23.1%), iroN (23.1%), and irp2 gene (21.9%). Most of the E. coli strains were classified under phylogenetic group B1 (75.45%), followed by A (18.34%), C (2.96%), D (1.18%), E (1.18%), and F (0.30%). The present study identified MDR E. coli strains carrying widely distributed ARGs and VAGs from the dairy environment. The findings suggested that the dairy farm environment may serve as a source of mastitis-causing pathogens in animals and horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance and virulence genes carrying bacterial strains to humans via contaminated milk and meat, surface water and agricultural crops.</p

Microfluidic Preparation of Gelatin Methacryloyl Microgels as Local Drug Delivery Vehicles for Hearing Loss Therapy

Local drug delivery has become an effective method for disease therapy in fine organs including ears, eyes, and noses. However, the multiple anatomical and physiological barriers, unique clearance pathways, and sensitive perceptions characterizing these organs have led to suboptimal drug delivery efficiency. Here, we developed dexamethasone sodium phosphate-encapsulated gelatin methacryloyl (Dexsp@GelMA) microgel particles, with finely tunable size through well-designed microfluidics, as otic drug delivery vehicles for hearing loss therapy. The release kinetics, encapsulation efficiency, drug loading efficiency, and cytotoxicity of the GelMA microgels with different degrees of methacryloyl substitution were comprehensively studied to optimize the microgel formulation. Compared to bulk hydrogels, Dexsp@GelMA microgels of certain sizes hardly cause air-conducted hearing loss in vivo. Besides, strong adhesion of the microgels on the round window membrane was demonstrated. Moreover, the Dexsp@GelMA microgels, via intratympanic administration, could ameliorate acoustic noise-induced hearing loss and attenuate hair cell loss and synaptic ribbons damage more effectively than Dexsp alone. Our results strongly support the adhesive and intricate microfluidic-derived GelMA microgels as ideal intratympanic delivery vehicles for inner ear disease therapies, which provides new inspiration for microfluidics in drug delivery to the fine organs

Supplement Number 1

The partial characterization studied can be found in the supplementary materials. The relevant parameters for the density functional theory calculation of the adsorption energy are in the supplementary material