Exploring the effects of lysozyme dietary supplementation on laying hens: performance, egg quality, and immune response

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the dietary supplementation with lysozyme's impacts on laying performance, egg quality, biochemical analysis, body immunity, and intestinal morphology. A total of 720 Jingfen No. 1 laying hens (53 weeks old) were randomly assigned into five groups, with six replicates in each group and 24 hens per replicate. The basal diet was administered to the laying hens in the control group, and it was supplemented with 100, 200, 300, or 400 mg/kg of lysozyme (purity of 10% and an enzyme activity of 3,110 U/mg) for other groups. The preliminary observation of the laying rate lasted for 4 weeks, and the experimental period lasted for 8 weeks. The findings demonstrated that lysozyme might enhance production performance by lowering the rate of sand-shelled eggs (P < 0.05), particularly 200 and 300 mg/kg compared with the control group. Lysozyme did not show any negative effect on egg quality or the health of laying hens (P > 0.05). Lysozyme administration in the diet could improve intestinal morphology, immune efficiency, and nutritional digestibility in laying hens when compared with the control group (P < 0.05). These observations showed that lysozyme is safe to use as a feed supplement for the production of laying hens. Dietary supplementation with 200 to 300 mg/kg lysozyme should be suggested to farmers as a proper level of feed additive in laying hens breeding

Lycium barbarum Polysaccharide Ameliorates Heat-Stress-Induced Impairment of Primary Sertoli Cells and the Blood-Testis Barrier in Rat via Androgen Receptor and Akt Phosphorylation

Male infertility induced by heat stress has been attracting more and more attention. Heat stress not only causes apoptosis of spermatocytes but also has adverse effects on Sertoli cells, further damaging spermatogenesis. Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP) is the main bioactive component of Lycium barbarum, which has a protective effect on male reproduction, but its mechanism is still unclear. In this study, our results proved that LBP blocked the inhibitory effect on the proliferation activity of Sertoli cells after heat stress, reversed the dedifferentiation of Sertoli cells induced by heat stress, and ameliorated the structural integrity of the blood-testis barrier. In addition, it increased the expression of the androgen receptor and activated Akt signaling pathway to resist heat-stress-induced injury of Sertoli cells

Nitric Oxide Synthase Activity Correlates with OGG1 in Ozone-Induced Lung Injury Animal Models

Background: NO is an important cellular signaling molecule which is derived from L-arginine by nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and the effects of NOS signaling in lung injury is conflicting. The present study was designed to observe the effect of NOS and Arginase signaling in the occurrence and development of lung injury and its mechanism.Methods: An ozone-stressed lung injury animal model was established by exposure to 2.0 ppm O3 for 30 min every day for consecutive 12 day with or without the administration of NO precursor L-arginine or non-selective NOS inhibitor N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). Then, the lung histopathology, the releases of inflammatory mediators and the production of ROS were assayed by immunohistochemistry, ELISA and flow cytometry respectively. The activities and expression of NOS and Arginase were assayed by biochemical methods and western blot. Correspondingly, the release of 8-oxoguanine glycosylase 1(8-OxoG) and 8-oxoguanine glycosylase 1 (OGG1) were assayed by ELISA and western blot. The correlation between NOS/Arginase signaling with 8-OxoG/ OGG1 was also analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficients and immunofluorescence in NOS deficient bronchial epithelial cells.Results: In ozone-induced rat lung injury models, lung inflammation as well as lung architecture was disrupted in a time dependent manner. Ozone treatment with L-arginine showed a substantial attenuation of adverse lung histopathological changes and treatment with L-NAME promoted the inflammation and remodeling. Importantly, the expression of NOS was promoted by L-arginine and inhibited by L-NAME and the expression of Arginase was promoted by L-NAME treatment. Further, we observed significantly higher levels of 8-OxoG and lower levels of OGG1 in ozone group which was reversed by L-arginine and promoted by L-NAME. The expression of NOS is closely related with 8-OxoG /OCG1.Conclusion: These findings give further evidence that the NOS signaling is related with base excise repair

Perpendicularly oriented MoSe2/graphene nanosheets as advanced electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution

By increasing the density of exposed active edges, the perpendicularly oriented structure of MoSe2 nanosheets facilitates ion/electrolyte transport at the electrode interface and minimizes the restacking of nanosheets, while the graphene improves the electrical contact between the catalyst and the electrode. This makes the MoSe2/graphene hybrid perfect as a catalyst in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). It shows a greatly improved catalytic activity compared with bare MoSe2 nanosheets

Ranibizumab in patients with dense cataract and proliferative diabetic retinopathy with rubeosis

Background: To evaluate the safety of ranibizumab as a surgical adjunct during cataract surgery in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) with rubeosis, and to evaluate the efficacy and adverse effects of ranibizumab in treating PDR with rubeosis. Materials and Methods: Three intravitreal injections of 0.5 mg ranibizumab were administered on day-1, months-1 and -2 with cataract surgery 6-16 days after first injection. Retreatments with ranibizumab injections and pan-retinal photocoagulation (PRP) were given if recurrence or persistence of PDR was noted between months-3 and -11. Safety observation visits occurred at months-12, -18 and -24. Primary end points were incidence and severity of adverse events (AEs) that were related to both cataract surgery and treatment of PDR with rubeosis through month -12. Results: Of six patients screened, four (mean age 61.3 years) were enrolled. No AEs were noted with either cataract surgery or treatment of PDR. Neovascularization of iris (NVI) promptly regressed by 4 days after first ranibizumab injection, prior to cataract surgery in three of four patients (one had significantly regressed NVI by post-injection day-3 visit); NVI was not noted in any patient at 2 weeks after first ranibizumab injection. Recurrence of rubeosis or NVA after 3 monthly injections was not observed in any. At month-12, PDR was not present when assessed clinically and by fluorescein angiogram (FA). Only one patient developed neovascularization of disc and neovascularization elsewhere and required retreatments at months-5 and -9. Conclusions: Multiple intravitreal injections of ranibizumab may be a safe, effective treatment adjunct for PDR and diabetes-related rubeosis

Influence of Natural Aging on the Moisture Sorption Behaviour of Wooden Structural Components

A greater understanding of moisture sorption behaviour of aged wooden structural components, which has a close relationship with dimensional stability, is required to effectively evaluate and preserve historical artefacts. This study focused on the effects of aging on Baotou beam samples from a Chinese historical wooden building. An analysis of the sorption isotherms and hysteresis loops of a naturally aged, decayed sample (AOS), an aged sound sample (AIS), and a reference sample (RS), using classical sorption isotherm models revealed that the moisture sorption behaviour of samples from the same growth ring in a Baotou beam can differ significantly. AOS showed higher hygroscopicity than AIS, and both these samples were more hygroscopic than RS. Furthermore, the mono/multilayer moisture contents of AOS were always higher than those of AIS and RS. In addition, Fourier transform infrared, second-derivative infrared, and two-dimensional correlation infrared spectroscopy were used to investigate chemical changes in the samples. The relative hemicellulose and lignin contents of the samples changed significantly with wood aging. Furthermore, AOS exhibited the highest calcium oxalate content, which may be associated with fungal infections. Overall, these results provide valuable insights into the effects of aging on wood samples and the dimensional stability of timber structures, which could inform future research on methods for the preservation or restoration of aging timber structures

In Situ Monitoring the Molecular Diffusion Process in Graphene Oxide Membranes by ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy

Graphene oxide (GO) membranes have been widely explored for molecular separation, but the molecular diffusion behavior inside GO membranes and the interaction between the diffusates and GO sheets during diffusion is still unclear and rarely studied. In this paper, time-dependent attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy was used for the first time to in situ monitor the diffusion processes of several typical organic solvents through GO membranes. The diffusion coefficients of the solvents and the evolution of molecular interaction during diffusion were investigated. The diffusion coefficients of the solvents decrease with the increase of their interaction with the oxygen-containing functional groups on GO sheets. In addition, when diffusing into GO membranes, solvent molecules exhibit a different aggregation form compared with their bulk states. Time-dependent ATR-FTIR spectroscopy can be an efficient and powerful technique to explore the molecular diffusion mechanism in GO membranes

Table_1_Integrative proteomic and physiological analyses of the molecular response to dessication-stress in Auricularia fibrillifera.XLSX

Drought stress is one of the main factors influencing the growth and development of an organism. Auricularia fibrillifera has strong dessication resistance. In A. fibrillifera under dessication-stress, the melanin content of fruiting bodies elevated significantly by >10-fold compared with the control. Folate content also increased sharply but decreased significantly after rehydration, and amino acid and biotin levels increased by 40.11 and 22.14%, respectively. In proteomic analysis, 1,572 and 21 differentially abundant proteins (DAPs) were identified under dessication-stress and rehydration, respectively. A large number of DAPs were annotated in “amino acid metabolism,” “carbohydrate metabolism,” and “translation” pathways, and the DAPs related to osmotic regulation and antioxidant enzymes were significantly increased in abundance. Transcriptome-proteome association analysis showed that most DAPs (30) were annotated in the “biosynthesis of antibiotics” pathway. DAPs and corresponding differentially expressed genes were all up-regulated in the “biotin biosynthesis” pathway and associated with “folate biosynthesis” and “phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan biosynthesis.” In the analysis of protein–protein interactions, the DAPs annotated in the “phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan biosynthesis” pathway had the strongest interactions with other DAPs. These enriched pathways could enhance amino acid, folate, biotin, and melanin levels during desiccation stress, which is consistent with the physiological data (amino acid, folate, biotin, and melanin contents). In addition, many DAPs related to the cytoskeleton were significantly increased in abundance under dessication-stress. Physiological and transcriptome data were in agreement with proteomic results. This work provides valuable insight into the dessication-tolerant mechanisms of A. fibrillifera.</p