Dynamic Change of Gut Microbiota During Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus Infection in Suckling Piglets

Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) is a disease that has a devastating effect on livestock. Currently, most studies are focused on comparing gut microbiota of healthy piglets and piglets with PED, resulting in gut microbial populations related to dynamic change in diarrheal piglets being poorly understood. The current study analyzed the characteristics of gut microbiota in porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV)-infected piglets during the suckling transition stage. Fresh fecal samples were collected from 1 to 3-week-old healthy piglets (n = 20) and PEDV infected piglets (n = 18) from the same swine farm. Total DNA was extracted from each sample and the V3–V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Statistically significant differences were observed in bacterial diversity and richness between the healthy and diarrheal piglets. Principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) showed structural segregation between diseased and healthy groups, as well as among 3 different age groups. The abundance of Escherichia-Shigella, Enterococcus, Fusobacterium, and Veillonella increased due to dysbiosis induced by PEDV infection. Notably, there was a remarkable age-related increase in Fusobacterium and Veillonella in diarrheal piglets. Certain SCFA-producing bacteria, such as Ruminococcaceae_UCG-002, Butyricimonas, and Alistipes, were shared by all healthy piglets, but were not identified in various age groups of diarrheal piglets. In addition, significant differences were observed between clusters of orthologous groups (COG) functional categories of healthy and PEDV-infected piglets. Our findings demonstrated that PEDV infection caused severe perturbations in porcine gut microbiota. Therefore, regulating gut microbiota in an age-related manner may be a promising method for the prevention or treatment of PEDV

Relationship, Loyalty, and Marketing -- a Correlation Study of Taiwan Hotel Customers' Perspectives

The purpose of the study was to validate customer equity theory by relating the marketing drivers to the generation of true customer loyalty among the patrons of a five-star hotel in Taipei, Taiwan. The study was guided by three objectives: (a) to determine the relationship between marketing drivers related to customer equity theory and customer loyalty, (b) to determine the profiles of customers according to the antecedents and behavioral outcomes of customer loyalty, and (c) to determine the association between the customer loyalty and the customer demographic profiles. The survey method would use self-administered questionnaires. A two-stage sampling approach including convenient sampling and systematic random sampling method was conducted. Paired samples t-test, regression analysis, cluster analysis, multiple variances of analysis in connected with discriminate analysis, one way of variance analysis, and important-performance analysis (IPA) were employed in the data analysis. The findings of empirical tests supported the conclusion that fundamental and marketing strategies related to customer equity theory increased attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. There was no linear relationship on proportion of stay from the fundamental marketing strategy and the progressive marketing strategy. Customers in the hotel could be classified in terms of attitudinal loyalty (trust, commitment, and switching cost) and behavioral loyalty (word-of-mouth endorsement, cooperation, and proportion of visit) into four segments of customer loyalty: latent (27.5%), true (48.8%), low (19.1%), and spurious (4.6%). The customers' demographic variables could not be associated with the segments of customer loyalty, attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty. The managerial implication is that profiling customer developed the marketing strategies that further influence the shifts of the segments of markets. The theoretical implications indicated that the empirical results was not completely supported by customer equity theory and might be an example of dissonance theory.School of Hotel and Restaurant Administratio

Stable oxygen and carbon isotopes from the planktonic foraminifera Neogloboquadrina pachyderma in the Western Arctic surface sediments: Implications for water mass distribution

Neogloboquadrina pachyderma is the most abundant planktonic foraminifera species found in the modern polar oceans. The δ18O and δ13C of N. pachyderma from the Western Arctic Ocean sediments were analyzed to reveal the implications of the proxies to environmental changes. The ±18O from N. pachyderma in the Chukchi Sea reflect the water mass distribution in this area. Heavier ±18O values were found along the Anadyr Current (AC) and lighter values in the central and eastern Chukchi Sea. These may reflect the freshwater signal from the Alaska Coastal Current (ACC) and Bering Sea Shelf Water (BSSW). The light δ18O signature in the high Arctic basin comes from the freshwater stored in the Arctic surface layer. The δ13C distribution pattern in the Chukchi Sea is also influenced by the current system. High primary productivity along the AC results in heavy δ13C. The relatively low primary productivity and the freshwater component from the BSSW and ACC may be the reason for this light δ13C signal in the central and eastern Chukchi Sea. Our data reveal the importance of well ventilated Pacific Water through the Chukchi Sea into the Arctic Ocean

中美贸易冲突、全球价值链重构与国际产能合作

Abstract: At present, China-US economic and trade relations have entered a period of frequent frictions and economic and trade relations have changed from "ballast stone" (stable) Sino-US relations to "fire" (unstable). The US government frequently launches trade disputes with China, uses various trade relief tools to protect domestic sensitive industries and adopts unilateral trade measures to increase the price of Sino-US trade negotiations. Faced with the trend of US unilateralism in trade and the sustained slowdown of the global economy, the key questions are; how to improve China's right to speak and rule in the field of international trade and investment? How to enhance the ability of China and the vast number of developing countries to participate in the global value chain division of labor? Based on the perspective of global value chain reconstruction, this paper analyzes the industrial policy choices and micro-foundation of China's ability to participate in global economic governance based on the experience and evidence of China-Lithuania economic and trade investment cooperation. The study found that developed countries led by the United States have attracted domestic and foreign industrial capital and production factors to return to their own countries, raising the threshold for foreign investment and technical cooperation in developed countries. On the contrary, the space for seeking international capacity cooperation among developing countries has greatly increased. If the integration of the “Belt and Road” value chain is substantially promoted, China and the countries along the route will gradually transfer from the low-end state of the global value chain, which is embedded in Europe and America, to the regional value chain form of high value-added links of mutual benefit and win-win scenarios. Keywords: Sino-US trade conflict; Regional value chain; International capacity cooperation; Global economic governance.当前中美经贸关系步入摩擦多发期，经贸关系已从中美关系的“压舱石”蜕变为“导火索”。美国政府频繁发起对华贸易争端，使用各种贸易救济工具为国内敏感产业提供保护，采取单边贸易措施提高在中美贸易谈判中的要价。面临美国的贸易单边主义政策和全球经济持续性放缓的趋势，如何提升中国在国际贸易投资领域的话语权和规则制定权？如何增强中国和广大发展中国家参与全球价值链分工的能力？本文从全球价值链重构视角，基于中国与立陶宛经贸投资合作的经验与证据，探析我国提升参与全球经济治理能力的产业政策选择与微观基础。研究发现美国为首的发达国家吸引国内外产业资本和生产要素向本国回流，提高了发达国家对外投资与技术合作的门槛，反而导致发展中国家之间寻求国际产能合作空间大为增加。若“一带一路”价值链整合得到实质性推进，中国与沿线国家将可能从嵌入欧美主导的全球价值链低端锁定状态，逐渐转换为互利共赢的高附加值环节的区域价值链形态。 【关键词】中美贸易冲突；区域价值链；国际产能合作；全球经济治

Comparison of Lithium-Ion Anode Materials Using an Experimentally Verified Physics-Based Electrochemical Model

Researchers are in search of parameters inside Li-ion batteries that can be utilized to control their external behavior. Physics-based electrochemical model could bridge the gap between Li+ transportation and distribution inside battery and battery performance outside. In this paper, two commercially available Li-ion anode materials: graphite and Lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12 or LTO) were selected and a physics-based electrochemical model was developed based on half-cell assembly and testing. It is found that LTO has a smaller diffusion coefficient (Ds) than graphite, which causes a larger overpotential, leading to a smaller capacity utilization and, correspondingly, a shorter duration of constant current charge or discharge. However, in large current applications, LTO performs better than graphite because its effective particle radius decreases with increasing current, leading to enhanced diffusion. In addition, LTO has a higher activation overpotential in its side reactions; its degradation rate is expected to be much smaller than graphite, indicating a longer life span

Late Quaternary terrigenous sedimentation in the Western Arctic Ocean as exemplified by a sedimentary record from the Alpha Ridge

Terrigenous components in sediment core B84A from the Alpha Ridge, Western Arctic Ocean, have been investigated to reconstruct Mid to Late Quaternary variations in sedimentation, provenance, and related climate changes. The core stratigraphy, evaluated by a combination of variations in Mn content, color cycles, foraminiferal abundance, and lithological correlation, extends back to estimated Marine Isotope Stage 12. Twelve Ice Rafted Detritus (IRD, >250 ¹m) events were identified and interpreted to mostly occur during deglaciation. The Canadian Arctic, which was covered by ice sheets during glacial periods, is suggested to be the major source region. The IRD events likely indicate the collapses of ice sheets, possibly in response to abrupt climate changes. Grain size analysis of B84A indicates sedimentologically sensitive components in core B84A in the 4{9 ¹m and 19{53 ¹m silt subfractions, which are inferred to be mainly transported by currents and sea ice, respectively. Down core variability of these two fractions may indicate changes in ice drift and current strength. In accordance with previous studies in the central Arctic Ocean, the average sedimentation rate in core B84A is about 0.4 cm*ka(-1). Compared with the relatively high sedimentation rates on the margins, sedimentation in the central Arctic Ocean is limited by sea ice cover and the correspondingly low bioproductivity, as well as the long distance from source regions of terrigenous sediment

Unraveling immunotherapeutic targets for endometriosis: a transcriptomic and single-cell analysis

BackgroundEndometriosis (EMs), a common gynecological disorder, adversely affects the quality of life of females. The pathogenesis of EMs has not been elucidated and the diagnostic methods for EMs have limitations. This study aimed to identify potential molecular biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of EMs.MethodsDifferential gene expression (DEG) and functional enrichment analyses were performed using the R language. WGCNA, Random Forest, SVM-REF and LASSO methods were used to identify core immune genes. The CIBERSORT algorithm was then used to analyse the differences in immune cell infiltration and to explore the correlation between immune cells and core genes. In addition, the extent of immune cell infiltration and the expression of immune core genes were investigated using single-cell RNA (scRNA) sequencing data. Finally, we performed molecular docking of three core genes with dienogest and goserelin to screen for potential drug targets.ResultsDEGs enriched in immune response, angiogenesis and estrogen processes. CXCL12, ROBO3 and SCG2 were identified as core immune genes. RT-PCR confirmed that the expression of CXCL12 and SCG2 was significantly upregulated in 12Z cells compared to hESCs cells. ROC curves showed high diagnostic value for these genes. Abnormal immune cell distribution, particularly increased macrophages, was observed in endometriosis. CXCL12, ROBO3 and SCG2 correlated with immune cell levels. Molecular docking suggested their potential as drug targets.ConclusionThis study investigated the correlation between EMs and the immune system and identified potential immune-related biomarkers. These findings provided valuable insights for developing clinically relevant diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for EMs

ICIs-Related Cardiotoxicity in Different Types of Cancer

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are rapidly developing immunotherapy cancer drugs that have prolonged patient survival. However, ICIs-related cardiotoxicity has been recognized as a rare, but fatal, consequence. Although there has been extensive research based on different types of ICIs, these studies have not indicated whether cardiotoxicity is specific to a type of cancer. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review to analyze a variety of ICIs-related cardiotoxicity, focusing on different types of cancer. We found that the incidence of ICIs-related cardiac adverse events (CAEs) and common cardiotoxic manifestations vary with cancer type. This inspired us to explore the underlying mechanisms to formulate targeted clinical strategies for maintaining the cardiovascular health of cancer patients