Association of suboptimal health status with intestinal microbiota in Chinese youths

Suboptimal health status (SHS), a physical state between health and disease, is a subclinical and reversible stage of chronic disease. Previous studies have shown alterations in the intestinal microbiota in patients with some chronic diseases. This study aimed to investigate the association between SHS and intestinal microbiota in a case‐control study with 50 SHS individuals and 50 matched healthy controls. Intestinal microbiota was analysed by MiSeq 250PE. Alpha diversity of intestinal microbiota in SHS individuals was higher compared with that of healthy controls (Simpson index, W = 2238, P = .048). Beta diversity was different between SHS and healthy controls (P = .018). At the phylum level, the relative abundance of Verrucomicrobia was higher in the SHS group than that in the controls (W = 2201, P = .049). Compared with that of the control group, nine genera were significantly higher and five genera were lower in abundance in the SHS group (all P < .05). The intestinal microbiota, analysed by a random forest model, was able to distinguish individuals with SHS from the controls, with an area under the curve of 0.79 (95% confidence interval: 0.77‐0.81). We demonstrated that the alteration of intestinal microbiota occurs with SHS, an early stage of disease, which might shed light on the importance of intestinal microbiota in the primary prevention of noncommunicable chronic diseases.     

Loganin alleviates testicular damage and germ cell apoptosis induced by AGEs upon diabetes mellitus by suppressing the RAGE/p38MAPK/NF-κB pathway

Diabetes mellitus (DM) damages male reproduction at multiple levels, such as endocrine secretion, spermatogenesis and penile erection. We herein investigated the protective effects and mechanism of loganin targeting the advanced glycation end products (AGEs)/receptor for AGEs (RAGE)/p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK)/NF-κB signalling pathway. Loganin relieved the general DM symptoms and decreased the blood glucose level of KK-Ay DM mice. Haematoxylin-eosin staining demonstrated that loganin ameliorated testicular histology and function and enhanced the activities of testis-specific markers lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), acid phosphatase (ACP) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (γ-GT). Loganin also showed evident anti-oxidative stress, anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory effects on DM-induced reproductive damage by restoring glutathione (GSH) level and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, as well as reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in vivo and in vitro. Western blotting exhibited that loganin significantly inhibited the AGEs/RAGE/p38MAPK/NF-κB signalling pathway. Acridine orange and ethidium bromide staining (AOEB) and Western blotting showed that loganin in combination with inhibitors of RAGE, p38MAPK and NF-κB exerted stronger anti-apoptotic effects on AGE-induced GC-2 cell damage compared with loganin alone. In conclusion, loganin can protect against DM-induced reproductive damage, probably by suppressing the AGEs/RAGE/p38MAPK/NF-κB pathway.     

Fibroblast growth factor 21 alleviates acute pancreatitis via activation of the Sirt1‐autophagy signalling pathway

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), a metabolic hormone with pleiotropic effects on glucose and lipid metabolism and insulin sensitivity, alleviates the process of acute pancreatitis (AP). However, its mechanism remains elusive. The pathological and physiological characteristics of FGF21 are observed in both patients with AP and cerulein‐induced AP models, and the mechanisms of FGF21 in response to AP are investigated by evaluating the impact of autophagy in FGF21‐treated mice and cultured pancreatic cells. Circulating levels of FGF21 significantly increase in both AP patients and cerulein‐induced AP mice, which is accompanied by the change of pathology in pancreatic injury. Replenishment of FGF21 distinctly reverses cerulein‐induced pancreatic injury and improves cerulein‐induced autophagy damage in vivo and in vitro. Mechanically, FGF21 acts on pancreatic acinar cells to up‐regulate Sirtuin‐1 (Sirt1) expression, which in turn repairs impaired autophagy and removes damaged organs. In addition, blockage of Sirt1 accelerates cerulein‐induced pancreatic injury and weakens the regulative effect in FGF21‐activated autophagy in mice. These results showed that FGF21 protects against cerulein‐induced AP by activation of Sirtuin‐1‐autophagy axis.     

In Vitro Effects of Ginseng and the Seed of Zizyphus jujuba var. spinosa on Gut Microbiota of Rats with Spleen Deficiency

Ginseng and the seed of Zizyphus jujuba var. spinosa, which are traditional Chinese medicinal materials, were often used in ancient Chinese recipes as a pair of medicines. They can replenish the primordial qi and tonify the spleen. This study investigated the effects of ginseng and the seed of Zizyphus jujuba var. spinosa (GS) extract on gut microbiota diversity in rats with spleen deficiency syndrome (SDS). A total of 52 compounds (including 16 flavonoids, 35 saponins, and 1 alkaloid) were identified and analyzed from the GS extract by UPLC‐Q‐Orbitrap‐MS/MS. The GS extract significantly increased the relative abundance of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes in rats with SDS but decreased that of Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria. At the genus level, the GS extract significantly increased the relative abundance of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium in rats with SDS but decreased that of Streptococcus, Escherichia‐Shigella, Veillonella, and Enterococcus. In addition, the GS extract influenced glucose and amino acid metabolism. In summary, the results showed that the GS extract changed the structure and diversity of gut microbiota in rats with SDS and balanced the metabolic process.     

High‐Efficiency CsPbI2Br Perovskite Solar Cells with Dopant‐Free Poly(3‐hexylthiophene) Hole Transporting Layers

CsPbI₂Br is emerging as a promising all‐inorganic material for perovskite solar cells (PSCs) due to its more stable lattice structure and moisture resistance compared to CsPbI₃, although its device performance is still much behind this counterpart. Herein, a preannealing process is developed and systematically investigated to achieve high‐quality CsPbI₂Br films by regulating the nucleation and crystallization of perovskite. The preannealing temperature and time are specifically optimized for a dopant‐free poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT)‐based device to target dopant‐induced drastic performance degradation for spiro‐OMeTAD‐based devices. The resulting P3HT‐based device exhibits comparable power conversion efficiency (PCE) to spiro‐OMeTAD‐based devices but much enhanced ambient stability with over 95% PCE after 1300 h. A diphenylamine derivative is introduced as a buffer layer to improve the energy‐level mismatch between CsPbI₂Br and P3HT. A record‐high PCE of 15.50% for dopant‐free P3HT‐based CsPbI₂Br PSCs is achieved by alleviating the open‐circuit voltage loss with the buffer layer. These results demonstrate that the preannealing processing together with a suitable buffer layer are applicable strategies for developing dopant‐free P3HT PSCs with high efficiency and stability.     

Efficient Organic Solar Cell with 16.88% Efficiency Enabled by Refined Acceptor Crystallization and Morphology with Improved Charge Transfer and Transport Properties

Single‐layered organic solar cells (OSCs) using nonfullerene acceptors have reached 16% efficiency. Such a breakthrough has inspired new sparks for the development of the next generation of OSC materials. In addition to the optimization of electronic structure, it is important to investigate the essential solid‐state structure that guides the high efficiency of bulk heterojunction blends, which provides insight in understanding how to pair an efficient donor–acceptor mixture and refine film morphology. In this study, a thorough analysis is executed to reveal morphology details, and the results demonstrate that Y6 can form a unique 2D packing with a polymer‐like conjugated backbone oriented normal to the substrate, controlled by the processing solvent and thermal annealing conditions. Such morphology provides improved carrier transport and ultrafast hole and electron transfer, leading to improved device performance, and the best optimized device shows a power conversion efficiency of 16.88% (16.4% certified). This work reveals the importance of film morphology and the mechanism by which it affects device performance. A full set of analytical methods and processing conditions are executed to achieve high efficiency solar cells from materials design to device optimization, which will be useful in future OSC technology development.     

Spontaneous Atomic Ruthenium Doping in Mo2CTX MXene Defects Enhances Electrocatalytic Activity for the Nitrogen Reduction Reaction

The electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) process usually suffers extremely low Faradaic efficiency and ammonia yields due to sluggish N?N dissociation. Herein, single‐atomic ruthenium modified Mo₂CT_X MXene nanosheets as an efficient electrocatalyst for nitrogen fixation at ambient conditions are reported. The catalyst achieves a Faradaic efficiency of 25.77% and ammonia yield rate of 40.57 µg h^?1 mg^?1 at ‐0.3 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode in 0.5 m K₂SO₄ solution. Operando X‐ray absorption spectroscopy studies and density functional theory calculations reveal that single‐atomic Ru anchored on MXene nanosheets act as important electron back‐donation centers for N₂ activation, which can not only promote nitrogen adsorption and activation behavior of the catalyst, but also lower the thermodynamic energy barrier of the first hydrogenation step. This work opens up a promising avenue to manipulate catalytic performance of electrocatalysts utilizing an atomic‐level engineering strategy.     

柯萨奇病毒B组3型基因组剪切片段的序列分析

柯萨奇病毒B组(Coxsackievirus B,CVB)感染细胞时其基因组RNA存在不稳定现象,但产生机制尚不清楚。本研究将柯萨奇病毒B组3型(CVB3)感染细胞后,利用5′ cDNA末端快速扩增技术(5′ rapid amplification of cDNA ends,5′ RACE)扩增并克隆细胞内CVB3基因组片段,并对每条序列及其5′端的二级结构进行分析。结果获得的20条CVB3基因组片段,长度为 2 067～5 547 bp,片段断端主要分布于2Apro和2C编码区。RNAfold分析显示,这些片段多数在5′断点端形成二级茎-环结构。本研究显示,CVB在宿主细胞感染时可形成大量不完整基因组RNA片段,这些片段可在5′断点端形成局部双链结构,提示片段不是随机产生,可能是RNA酶剪切产物。此发现有助于理解CVB基因组不稳定的机制。     

吡拉西坦联合鼠神经生长因子对急性缺血性脑卒中患者的疗效及Hcy、PCT和皮质醇水平的影响

目的:探讨吡拉西坦联合鼠神经生长因子对急性缺血性脑卒中患者的疗效及对同型半胱氨酸(Hcy)、降钙素原(PCT)和皮质醇水平的影响。方法:回顾性分析我院2017年2月～2018年11月收治的73例急性缺血性脑卒中患者为研究对象,依据入院先后顺序分为对照组(n=35)和观察组(n=38)。对照组患者采用吡拉西坦治疗,观察组基于对照组加以鼠神经生长因子治疗。观察并比较两组临床疗效,治疗前后美国国立卫生研究院卒中量表(NIHSS)、日常生活能力(ADL),治疗前及治疗2周结束时用全自动生化分析仪测定血浆Hcy水平,用放射免疫学分析法测定PCT水平,用化学发光法测定皮质醇水平,用超声多普勒诊断仪测定基底动脉、左右大脑中动脉血流。结果:治疗后,观察组NIHSS评分低于对照组(8.96±1.21)vs(11.27±1.59)分,ADL评分高于对照组(74.21±9.75)vs(66. 04±8.03)分(P0.05)。观察组总有效率高于对照组89.47%vs 68.57%(P0.05)。治疗后,观察组Hcy、PCT及皮质醇水平低于对照组(14.27±2.01)vs (18.51±2.84)μmol/L、(0.25±0.03)vs (0.31±0.04)μg/L、(171.93±23.86)vs(228.75±30.27)nmol/L(P0.05)。治疗后,观察组脑血流学指标高于对照组基底动脉(43.81±6.84)vs(39.62±5.27)mL/min、左大脑中动脉血流(64.27±9.95)vs(57.03±7.52)mL/min、右大脑中动脉血流(62.85±9.01)vs(56.64±7.42)mL/min(P0.05)。结论:吡拉西坦联合鼠神经生长因子能够提高急性缺血性脑卒中的疗效,降低Hcy、PCT及皮质醇水平,促进神经功能的恢复。     

NF-κB在幽门螺杆菌感染介导的胃癌发生发展中的作用

目的:探讨核因子-κB(nuclear factor-κB,NF-κB)在幽门螺杆菌感染介导的胃癌发生发展中的作用。方法:选择2016年3月至2019年3月在本院诊治的胃部疾病患者110例,采用qPCR检测NF-κB相对表达情况,采用免疫印记法检测幽门螺杆菌(Helicobacter pylori,Hp)感染情况并进行相关性分析。结果:在110例患者中,病理诊断为胃癌9例(胃癌组)和良性胃部疾病101例(良性组,其中浅表性胃炎52例、萎缩性胃炎26例、不典型增生23例)。胃癌组的幽门螺杆菌感染率为88.9%,显著高于良性组的10.9%(P0.05)。胃癌组的NF-κB表达阳性率为77.8%,显著高于良性组的14.9%(P0.05)。在110例患者中,直线相关性分析显示幽门螺杆菌感染、NF-κB表达阳性与胃癌有显著正相关性(P0.05)。受试者工作特征曲线(receiver operating characteristic curve,ROC)显示幽门螺杆菌感染、NF-κB表达阳性鉴别诊断胃癌的曲线下面积分别为0.669和0.713。结论:NF-κB在胃癌中呈现高表达状况,也多伴随有幽门螺杆菌感染,两者存在显著相关性,共同介导胃癌的发生发展。