Interferon Tau Affects Mouse Intestinal Microbiota and Expression of IL-17

This study was conducted to explore the effects of interferon tau (IFNT) on the intestinal microbiota and expression of interleukin 17 (IL-17) in the intestine of mice. IFNT supplementation increased microbial diversity in the jejunum and ileum but decreased microbial diversity in the feces. IFNT supplementation influenced the composition of the intestinal microbiota as follows: (1) decreasing the percentage of Firmicutes and increasing Bacteroidetes in the jejunum and ileum; (2) enhancing the percentage of Firmicutes but decreasing Bacteroidetes in the colon and feces; (3) decreasing Lactobacillus in the jejunum and ileum; (4) increasing the percentage of Blautia, Bacteroides, Alloprevotella, and Lactobacillus in the colon; and (5) increasing the percentage of Lactobacillus, Bacteroides, and Allobaculum, while decreasing Blautia in the feces. Also, IFNT supplementation decreased the expression of IL-17 in the intestines of normal mice and of an intestinal pathogen infected mice. In conclusion, IFNT supplementation modulates the intestinal microbiota and intestinal IL-17 expression, indicating the applicability of IFNT to treat the intestinal diseases involving IL-17 expression and microbiota

Microwave-assisted extraction of anthocyanin from Chinese bayberry and its effects on anthocyanin stability

AbstractAnthocyanins are present in high concentrations in Chinese bayberry, Myrica rubra Sieb. & Zucc. Herein, a microwave-assisted extraction was used to extract the anthocyanins from Chinese bayberry. The HPLC chromatogram of the extracts showed that the anthocyanin components were slightly hydrolysed during the extraction process. Further experiments confirmed that microwave irradiation slightly hydrolysed cyanidin-3-O-glucoside to cyanidin, but did not significantly influence the antioxidant activity of the extracts. Optimized extraction conditions for total anthocyanin content were a solid-to-liquid ratio, extraction temperature, and extraction time of 1:50, 80 °C, and 15 min, respectively. Under these conditions, the anthocyanin content was 2.95 ± 0.08 mg·g−1, and the antioxidant activity yield was 279.96 ± 0.1 μmol.·g−1 Trolox equivalent on a dry weight basis. These results indicated that microwave-assisted extraction was a highly efficient extraction method with reduced processing time. However, under some extraction conditions it could damage the anthocyanins. These results provide an important guide for the application of microwave extraction

Study on evaluation of regional cultivated land quality based on resource-asset-capital attributes and its spatial mechanism

In the context of rapid urbanization, changes in human demand and agricultural technology progress have deeply expanded the cultivated land attribute dimensions. Thus, evaluating the regional cultivated land quality with different attributes and studying its spatial mechanism is of great theoretical and practical significance. Based on the analytical framework of resource-asset-capital attributes of cultivated land quality, multi-source data were used to evaluate the quality indexes of 5332 cultivated land plots with different attributes in Quzhou county. Then, some spatial analysis models were applied to explore the spatial distribution features of these three quality attributes. The results showed that 1) in the analytical framework of resource-asset-capital attributes of regional cultivated land quality, the resource quality meant the natural production capacity of cultivated land. However, asset quality and capital quality indicate the ability of cultivated land to bring wealth, rights and surplus profits to humans. 2) Considerable gaps existed in the evaluation results of different quality attributes in Quzhou. The proportions of good, medium, and lower quality cultivated land in the total cultivated land area of resource quality was 40.35%, 23.78% and 35.87%, the proportions were 40.35%, 23.78% and 35.87% in the asset quality area and 30.87%, 28.48% and 40.65% in the capital quality area, respectively. 3) The spatial patterns of the three quality attributes all showed obvious positive autocorrelation, with numerical values of 0.705 3, 0.846 4 and. 0.969 0 in resource, asset and capital quality, respectively. The cultivated land quality in southwest Quzhou was relatively high, while that in central Quzhou was poor. 4) The distribution of cultivated land resource quality was more even than that of asset and capital quality, while the spatial structures of asset and capital quality have better stability and continuity than that of resource quality. According to the different quality attribute characteristics, various suggestions were provided to improve the efficiency of cultivated land quality construction and to promote sustainable development in Quzhou county

Spatiotemporal Decoupling of Population, Economy and Construction Land Changes in Hebei Province

Under the context of rapid urbanization, how to use construction land resources under the dual pressure of socioeconomic growth and cultivated land protection is critical to resource utilization and sustainable development. Thus, it is of great theoretical and practical significance to study the relationship between socioeconomic change and construction land expansion. Based on decoupling theory, this study constructed a two-dimensional model to analyze the population-construction land and economy (non-agricultural GDP)-construction land decoupling status and characteristics in Hebei Province at the county level. Then, a decoupling-based construction land-use zoning model was built to explore construction land saving and intensive utilization strategies in different construction land-use zones. The results show that (1) the construction land area, population and non-agricultural GDP in Hebei Province increased in the study period, but there were spatial differences in the hot areas of growth. (2) In the population-construction land dimension, the growth of the population and construction land in Hebei Province was generally in an uncoordinated state. According to the results of the calculation, the samples of counties whose relationships between population and construction land were uncoordinated accounted for 75.76% of all counties, and 68.94% of all counties demonstrated weak decoupling. (3) In the economy-construction land dimension, 89.39% of all counties in Hebei Province had coordinated relationships between economy and construction land change. The expansion negative decoupling was the main decoupling state in Hebei Province in this dimension. (4) On the basis of two-dimensional decoupling type results, the construction land-use in Hebei was divided into four zones: “Population–economy dual coordinated”, “population unilateral coordinated”, “economy unilateral coordinated” and “population–economy dual uncoordinated”. The results showed that the “economy unilateral coordinated” zone included 68.18% of all counties. According to the characteristics of different construction land-use zones, this study provided various regulatory and control countermeasures and suggestions to improve the efficiency of construction land-use and to promote sustainable development in Hebei Province

Inhibition of the MEK/ERK pathway suppresses immune overactivation and mitigates TDP-43 toxicity in a Drosophila model of ALS

Abstract TDP-43 is an important DNA/RNA-binding protein that is associated with age-related neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD); however, its pathomechanism is not fully understood. In a transgenic RNAi screen using Drosophila as a model, we uncovered that knockdown (KD) of Dsor1 (the Drosophila MAPK kinase dMEK) suppressed TDP-43 toxicity without altering TDP-43 phosphorylation or protein levels. Further investigation revealed that the Dsor1 downstream gene rl (dERK) was abnormally upregulated in TDP-43 flies, and neuronal overexpression of dERK induced profound upregulation of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). We also detected a robust immune overactivation in TDP-43 flies, which could be suppressed by downregulation of the MEK/ERK pathway in TDP-43 fly neurons. Furthermore, neuronal KD of abnormally increased AMPs improved the motor function of TDP-43 flies. On the other hand, neuronal KD of Dnr1, a negative regulator of the Drosophila immune deficiency (IMD) pathway, activated the innate immunity and boosted AMP expression independent of the regulation by the MEK/ERK pathway, which diminished the mitigating effect of RNAi-dMEK on TDP-43 toxicity. Finally, we showed that an FDA-approved MEK inhibitor trametinib markedly suppressed immune overactivation, alleviated motor deficits and prolonged the lifespan of TDP-43 flies, but did not exhibit a lifespan-extending effect in Alzheimer disease (AD) or spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) fly models. Together, our findings suggest an important role of abnormal elevation of the MEK/ERK signaling and innate immunity in TDP-43 pathogenesis and propose trametinib as a potential therapeutic agent for ALS and other TDP-43-related diseases

Dietary l-Arginine Supplementation Protects Weanling Pigs from Deoxynivalenol-Induced Toxicity

This study was conducted to determine the positive effects of dietary supplementation with l-arginine (Arg) on piglets fed a deoxynivalenol (DON)-contaminated diet. A total of eighteen, 28-day-old healthy weanling pigs were randomly assigned into one of three groups: uncontaminated basal diet (control group), 6 mg/kg DON-contaminated diet (DON group) and 6 mg/kg DON + 1% l-arginine (DON + ARG group). After 21 days of Arg supplementation, piglets in the DON and DON + ARG groups were challenged by feeding 6 mg/kg DON-contaminated diet for seven days. The results showed that DON resulted in damage to piglets. However, clinical parameters, including jejunal morphology, amino acid concentrations in the serum, jejunum and ileum, were improved by Arg (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the mRNA levels for sodium-glucose transporter-1 (SGLT-1), glucose transporter type-2 (GLUT-2) and y+l-type amino acid transporter-1 (y+LAT-1) were downregulated in the DON group, but the values were increased in the DON + ARG group (p < 0.05). Collectively, these results indicate that dietary supplementation with Arg exerts a protective role in pigs fed DON-contaminated diets

Interferon Tau Affects Mouse Intestinal Microbiota and Expression of IL-17

This study was conducted to explore the effects of interferon tau (IFNT) on the intestinal microbiota and expression of interleukin 17 (IL-17) in the intestine of mice. IFNT supplementation increased microbial diversity in the jejunum and ileum but decreased microbial diversity in the feces. IFNT supplementation influenced the composition of the intestinal microbiota as follows: (1) decreasing the percentage of Firmicutes and increasing Bacteroidetes in the jejunum and ileum; (2) enhancing the percentage of Firmicutes but decreasing Bacteroidetes in the colon and feces; (3) decreasing Lactobacillus in the jejunum and ileum; (4) increasing the percentage of Blautia, Bacteroides, Alloprevotella, and Lactobacillus in the colon; and (5) increasing the percentage of Lactobacillus, Bacteroides, and Allobaculum, while decreasing Blautia in the feces. Also, IFNT supplementation decreased the expression of IL-17 in the intestines of normal mice and of an intestinal pathogen infected mice. In conclusion, IFNT supplementation modulates the intestinal microbiota and intestinal IL-17 expression, indicating the applicability of IFNT to treat the intestinal diseases involving IL-17 expression and microbiota