Longitudinal gut fungal alterations and potential fungal biomarkers for the progression of primary liver disease

Liver disease,a major health concern worldwide,is a serious and progressive disorder.Herein,we not only established a mouse model of DEN+CCl4-induced primary liver disease but also collected clinical human samples to investigate longitudinal alterations in the gut mycobiome.As liver disease advanced,gut integrity was disrupted,and the mycobiota was disturbed in the mouse models.The metabolites associated with hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)differed from those associated with the cirrhotic phase as follows:levels of stercobilin and aflatoxin B1 dialcohol were reduced,while levels of triterpenoids,bafilomycin A1,and DHEA were increased in the HCC group.The abundance of the phylum Chytridiomycota increased as the chronic liver disease progressed and was then replaced by the phylum Ascomycota in HCC.Based on the results from clinical human samples,the genus Candida(Ascomycota)(in humans)and the genus Kazachstania(Ascomycota)(in mice)occupied a dominant position in the HCC group,while other fungi were depleted.The increased abundance of C.albicans and depletion of S.cerevisiae may be hallmarks of the progression of liver cirrhosis to early HCC.Moreover,the administration of C.albicans and S.cerevisiae in the LC-HCC progression could accelerate or retard the progression of HCC.Therefore,gut fungi have the potential to serve as a noninvasive clinical biomarker and even a treatment method.

Functional gastrointestinal disorders,mental health,genetic susceptibility,and incident chronic kidney disease

Background:Whether functional gastrointestinal disorders(FGIDs)are associated with the long-term risk of chronic kidney disease(CKD)remains unclear.We aimed to investigate the prospective association of FGIDs with CKD and examine whether mental health mediated the association.Methods:About 416,258 participants without a prior CKD diagnosis enrolled in the UK Biobank between 2006 and 2010 were included.Participants with FGIDs(including irritable bowel syndrome[IBS],dyspepsia,and other functional intestinal disorders[FIDs;mainly composed of constipation])were the exposure group,and non-FGID participants were the non-exposure group.The primary outcome was incident CKD,ascertained from hospital admission and death registry records.A Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to investigate the association between FGIDs and CKD,and the mediation analysis was performed to investigate the mediation proportions of mental health.Results:At baseline,33,156(8.0%)participants were diagnosed with FGIDs,including 21,060(5.1%),8262(2.0%),and 6437(1.6%)cases of IBS,dyspepsia,and other FIDs,respectively.During a mean follow-up period of 12.1 years,11,001(2.6%)participants developed CKD.FGIDs were significantly associated with a higher risk of incident CKD compared to the absence of FGIDs(hazard ratio[HR],1.36;95%confidence interval[CI],1.28-1.44).Similar results were observed for IBS(HR,1.27;95%CI,1.17-1.38),dyspepsia(HR,1.30;95%CI,1.17-1.44),and other FIDs(HR,1.60;95%CI,1.43-1.79).Mediation analyses suggested that the mental health score significantly mediated 9.05%of the association of FGIDs with incident CKD and 5.63-13.97%of the associations of FGID subtypes with CKD.Specifically,the positive associations of FGIDs and FGID subtypes with CKD were more pronounced in participants with a high genetic risk of CKD.Conclusion:Participants with FGIDs had a higher risk of incident CKD,which was partly explained by mental health scores and was more pronounced in those with high genetic susceptibility to CKD.

Transient plasma-enhanced remediation of nanoscale particulate matter in restaurant smoke emissions via electrostatic precipitation

It is now recognized that nanoscale particulate matter(PM)represents a substantial health hazard for our society,including PM from restaurant smoke.In this study,we explored the use of a transient pulsed plasma in conjunction with an applied DC bias to treat oil aerosols that closely resemble restaurant(i.e.,charbroiler)smoke emissions.For polyaromatic olefin PAO-4 and soybean oil,we found that a three-order-of-magnitude reduction in particulates(i.e.,99.9%remediation)could be achieved with this system.Here,the plasma discharge was produced in a 4-in.-diameter cylindrical reactor with a 5-10 ns high voltage(30 kV)pulse generator together with applied DC bias voltages up to 10 kV.The distribution of nanoparticle sizes was measured using a scanning mobility particle sizer(SMPS)with diameter centered around 225 nm.Here,the main mechanism of remediation occurs in a two-step process in which the oil nanoparticles are first ionized by the free electrons and free radicals in the plasma and then the charged particles are swept out to the sidewalls of the reactor by the applied DC potential.We believe this general approach opens up new degrees of freedom in the design of electrostatic oil aerosol pollution control devices.

Dihydromyricetin improves liver fat deposition in high-fat diet-induced obese mice

It has been reported that the histone/protein deacetylase SIRT1-AMP-activated protein kinase(SIRT1-AMPK)signaling pathway may play a role in the effects of dihydromyricetin(DHM)on improving triglyceride(TG)accumulation and insulin resistance in liver cells.Therefore,we aimed to further observe the effect of DHM on liver fat deposition in high-fat diet(HFD)-induced obese mice and explore its possible mechanism.C57BL/6J mice were fed with a normal diet(ND)and HFD and were treated with or without low-dose(125 mg/kg)or high-dose(250 mg/kg)DHM for 16 weeks,respectively.During the experiment,body weight was checked every 2 weeks.After 16 weeks,the orbital vein was bled,the animals were sacrificed,and the subscapular,epididymal,and inguinal fat were collected and weighed with an electronic scale.An automatic biochemical analyzer was used to determine the levels of serum triglyceride(TG),serum total cholesterol(TC),serum high-density lipoprotein(HDL),and serum low-density lipoprotein(LDL).The livers were stained with hematoxylin-eosin staining(H&E)and Oil Red O to detect liver fat deposition.A colorimetric method was used to detect liver MDA and SOD contents.Quantitative real-time PCR(q RT-PCR)was used to detect the gene expressions of related indicators,such as interleukin-6(IL-6),interleukin-8(IL-8),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),acetyl-Co A carboxyl acetyl-Co A carboxylase(ACC),sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c(SREBP-1),fatty acid synthetase(FAS),peroxisome proliferator activation receptor alpha(peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha,PPARα),palmitoyltransferase 1(carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1,CPT1),SIRT1,and AMPK.Western blotting analysis was used to detect the protein expression levels of SIRT1,AMPK,SIRT1-AMPK,ACC,SREBP-1,FAS,PPARα,and CPT1.Results showed that compared with the ND group,the weight and body fat of the mice in the HFD group were increased significantly.The levels of TG,TC,and LDL were increased,the level of HDL was decreased,the volume of hepatocytes was increased,the number of lipid droplets,fat deposition,MDA,IL-6,IL-8,TNF-α,SREBP-1c,FAS,ACC1,SIRT1,and AMPK protein levels were significantly increased,and the SOD activity,PPARα,CPT1,SIRT1 m RNA,AMPK m RNA,PPARα,CPT1 levels were significantly decreased.DHM could significantly reverse the changes of the above indexes in HFD mice,while DHM had no significant effect on the above indexes in ND mice.Collectively,our findings revealed that DHM improved liver fat deposition in HFD-induced obese mice,and the mechanism might be related to inhibition of oxidative stress,inflammation,lipid synthesis,and promotion of lipid decomposition.

Broadband electroluminescence from reverse breakdown in individual suspended carbon nanotube pn-junctions

There are various mechanisms of light emission in carbon nanotubes (CNTs), which give rise to a wide range of spectral emission characteristics that provide important information regarding the underlying physical processes that lead to photon emission. Here, we report spectra obtained from individual suspended CNT dual-gate field effect transistor (FET) devices under different gate and bias conditions. By applying opposite voltages to the gate electrodes (i.e., Vg1 = –Vg2), we are able to create a pn-junction within the suspended region of the CNT. Under forward bias conditions, the spectra exhibit a peak corresponding to E11 exciton emission via thermal (i.e., blackbody) emission occurring at electrical powers around 8 μW, which corresponds to a power density of approximately 0.5 MW/cm2. On the other hand, the spectra observed under reverse bias correspond to impact ionization and avalanche emission, which occurs at electrical powers of ~ 10 nW and exhibits a featureless flat spectrum extending from 1,600 nm to shorter wavelengths up to 600 nm. Here, the hot electrons generated by the high electric fields (~ 0.5 MV/cm) are able to produce high energy photons far above the E11 (ground state) energy. It is somewhat surprising that these devices do not exhibit light emission by the annihilation of electrons and holes under forward bias, as in a light emitting diode (LED). Possible reasons for this are discussed, including Auger recombination.