Doping-free complementary WSe2 circuit via van der Waals metal integration.

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors have attracted considerable attention for the development of ultra-thin body transistors. However, the polarity control of 2D transistors and the achievement of complementary logic functions remain critical challenges. Here, we report a doping-free strategy to modulate the polarity of WSe2 transistors using same contact metal but different integration methods. By applying low-energy van der Waals integration of Au electrodes, we observed robust and optimized p-type transistor behavior, which is in great contrast to the transistors fabricated on the same WSe2 flake using conventional deposited Au contacts with pronounced n-type characteristics. With the ability to switch majority carrier type and to achieve optimized contact for both electrons and holes, a doping-free logic inverter is demonstrated with higher voltage gain of 340, at the bias voltage of 5.5 V. Furthermore, the simple polarity control strategy is extended for realizing more complex logic functions such as NAND and NOR

Inflammatory Links Between High Fat Diets and Diseases

In recent years, chronic overnutrition, such as consumption of a high-fat diet (HFD), has been increasingly viewed as a significant modifiable risk factor for diseases such as diabetes and certain types of cancer. However, the mechanisms by which HFDs exert adverse effects on human health remains poorly understood. Here, this paper will review the recent scientific literature about HFD-induced inflammation and subsequent development of diseases and cancer, with an emphasis on mechanisms involved. Given the expanding global epidemic of excessive HFD intake, understanding the impacts of a HFD on these medical conditions, gaining great insights into possible underlying mechanisms, and developing effective therapeutic strategies are of great importance

Estimation of rice seedling growth traits with an end-to-end multi-objective deep learning framework

In recent years, rice seedling raising factories have gradually been promoted in China. The seedlings bred in the factory need to be selected manually and then transplanted to the field. Growth-related traits such as height and biomass are important indicators for quantifying the growth of rice seedlings. Nowadays, the development of image-based plant phenotyping has received increasing attention, however, there is still room for improvement in plant phenotyping methods to meet the demand for rapid, robust and low-cost extraction of phenotypic measurements from images in environmentally-controlled plant factories. In this study, a method based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and digital images was applied to estimate the growth of rice seedlings in a controlled environment. Specifically, an end-to-end framework consisting of hybrid CNNs took color images, scaling factor and image acquisition distance as input and directly predicted the shoot height (SH) and shoot fresh weight (SFW) after image segmentation. The results on the rice seedlings dataset collected by different optical sensors demonstrated that the proposed model outperformed compared random forest (RF) and regression CNN models (RCNN). The model achieved R2 values of 0.980 and 0.717, and normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) values of 2.64% and 17.23%, respectively. The hybrid CNNs method can learn the relationship between digital images and seedling growth traits, promising to provide a convenient and flexible estimation tool for the non-destructive monitoring of seedling growth in controlled environments

Dietary Supplementation With Chinese Herbal Residues or Their Fermented Products Modifies the Colonic Microbiota, Bacterial Metabolites, and Expression of Genes Related to Colon Barrier Function in Weaned Piglets

To explore the feasibility of dietary Chinese herbal residue (CHR) supplementation in swine production with the objective of valorization, we examined the effects of dietary supplementation with CHR or fermented CHR products on the colonic ecosystem (i.e., microbiota composition, luminal bacterial metabolites, and expression of genes related to the intestinal barrier function in weaned piglets). We randomly assigned 120 piglets to one of four dietary treatment groups: a blank control group, CHR group (dose of supplement 4 kg/t), fermented CHR group (dose of supplement 4 kg/t), and a positive control group (supplemented with 0.04 kg/t virginiamycin, 0.2 kg/t colistin, and 3000 mg/kg zinc 0.04 kg/t virginiamycin, 0.2 kg/t colistin, and 3000 mg/kg zinc oxide). Our results indicate that dietary supplementation with CHR increased (P < 0.05) the mRNA level corresponding to E-cadherin compared with that observed in the other three groups, increased (P < 0.05) the mRNA level corresponding to zonula occludens-1, and decreased (P < 0.05) the quantity of Bifidobacterium spp. When compared with the blank control group. Dietary supplementation with fermented CHR decreased (P < 0.05) the concentration of indole when compared to the positive control group; increased (P < 0.05) the concentrations of short-chain fatty acids compared with the values measured in the CHR group, as well as the mRNA levels corresponding to interleukin 1 alpha, interleukin 2, and tumor necrosis factor alpha. However, supplementation with fermented CHR decreased (P < 0.05) interleukin 12 levels when compared with the blank control group. Collectively, these findings suggest that dietary supplementation with CHR or fermented CHR modifies the gut environment of weaned piglets

Combined effects of host genetics and diet on porcine intestinal fungi and their pathogenic genes

As research on gut microbes progresses, it becomes increasingly clear that a small family of microbiota--fungi, plays a crucial role in animal health. However, little is known about the fungal composition in the pig intestine, especially after a dietary fiber diet and hybrid genetics, and the changes in host pathogenicity-associated genes they carry. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of diet and genetics on the diversity and structure of porcine intestinal fungi and to describe, for the first time, the host pathogenicity-related genes carried by porcine intestinal fungi. Samples of colonic contents were collected for metagenomic analysis using a 3 × 2 parsing design, where three pig breeds (Taoyuan, Duroc, and crossbred Xiangcun) were fed high or low fiber diets (n = 10). In all samples, we identified a total of 281 identifiable fungal genera, with Ascomycota and Microsporidia being the most abundant fungi. Compared to Duroc pigs, Taoyuan and Xiangcun pigs had higher fungal richness. Interestingly, the fiber diet significantly reduced the abundance of the pathogenic fungus Mucor and significantly increased the abundance of the fiber digestion-associated fungus Neocallimastix. Pathogenic fungi exert their pathogenicity through the genes they carry that are associated with host pathogenicity. Therefore, we obtained 839 pathogenicity genes carried by the spectrum of fungi in the pig intestine by comparing the PHI-base database. Our results showed that fungi in the colon of Taoyuan pigs carried the highest abundance of different classes of host pathogenicity-related genes, and the lowest in Duroc pigs. Specifically, Taoyuan pigs carried high abundance of animal pathogenicity-related genes (CaTUP1, CPAR2_106400, CaCDC35, Tfp1, CaMNT2), and CaTUP1 was the key gene for Candida pathogenicity. The intestinal fungal composition of crossbred Xiangcun pigs and the abundance of host pathogenicity-associated genes they carried exhibited a mixture of characteristics of Taoyuan and Duroc pigs. In conclusion, our results provide the first comprehensive report on the effects of dietary fiber and genetics on the composition of intestinal fungi and the host-associated pathogenicity genes they carry in pigs. These findings provide a reference for subsequent pig breeding and development of anti-pathogenic fungal drugs

l-Arginine stimulates proliferation and prevents endotoxin-induced death of intestinal cells

This study tested the hypothesis that l-arginine (Arg) may stimulate cell proliferation and prevent lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced death of intestinal cells. Intestinal porcine epithelial cells (IPEC-1) were cultured for 4 days in Arg-free Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s-F12 Ham medium (DMEM-F12) containing 10, 100 or 350 μM Arg and 0 or 20 ng/ml LPS. Cell numbers, protein concentrations, protein synthesis and degradation, as well as mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling pathways were determined. Without LPS, IPEC-1 cells exhibited time- and Arg-dependent growth curves. LPS treatment increased cell death and reduced protein concentrations in IPEC-1 cells. Addition of 100 and 350 μM Arg to culture medium dose-dependently attenuated LPS-induced cell death and reduction of protein concentrations, in comparison with the basal medium containing 10 μM Arg. Furthermore, supplementation of 100 and 350 μM Arg increased protein synthesis and reduced protein degradation in both control and LPS-treated IPEC-1 cells. Consistent with the data on cell growth and protein turnover, addition of 100 or 350 μM Arg to culture medium increased relative protein levels for phosphorylated mTOR and phosphorylated ribosomal protein S6 kinase-1, while reducing the relative levels of TLR4 and phosphorylated levels of nuclear factor-κB in LPS-treated IPEC-1 cells. These results demonstrate a protective effect of Arg against LPS-induced enterocyte damage through mechanisms involving mTOR and TLR4 signaling pathways, as well as intracellular protein turnover