New strain of Pediococcus pentosaceus alleviates ethanol-induced liver injury by modulating the gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acid metabolism

BACKGROUND Intestinal dysbiosis has been shown to be associated with the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease(ALD), which includes changes in the microbiota composition and bacterial overgrowth, but an effective microbe-based therapy is lacking. Pediococcus pentosaceus(P. pentosaceus) CGMCC 7049 is a newly isolated strain of probiotic that has been shown to be resistant to ethanol and bile salts. However, further studies are needed to determine whether P. pentosaceus exerts a protective effect on ALD and to elucidate the potential mechanism.AIM To evaluate the protective effect of the probiotic P. pentosaceus on ethanol-induced liver injury in mice.METHODS A new ethanol-resistant strain of P. pentosaceus CGMCC 7049 was isolated from healthy adults in our laboratory. The chronic plus binge model of experimental ALD was established to evaluate the protective effects. Twenty-eight C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into three groups: The control group received a pairfed control diet and oral gavage with sterile phosphate buffered saline, the EtOH group received a ten-day Lieber-DeCarli diet containing 5% ethanol and oral gavage with phosphate buffered saline, and the P. pentosaceus group received a 5% ethanol Lieber-DeCarli diet but was treated with P. pentosaceus. One dose of isocaloric maltose dextrin or ethanol was administered by oral gavage on day 11, and the mice were sacrificed nine hours later. Blood and tissue samples(liver and gut) were harvested to evaluate gut barrier function and liver injury-related parameters. Fresh cecal contents were collected, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry was used to measure short-chain fatty acid(SCFA) concentrations, and the microbiota composition was analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.RESULTS The P. pentosaceus treatment improved ethanol-induced liver injury, with lower alanine aminotransferase, aspartate transaminase and triglyceride levels and decreased neutrophil infiltration. These changes were accompanied by decreased levels of endotoxin and inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-5, tumor necrosis factor-α, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, keratinocyte-derived protein chemokine, macrophage inflammatory protein-1α and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. Ethanol feeding resulted in intestinal dysbiosis and gut barrier disruption, increased relative abundance of potentially pathogenic Escherichia and Staphylococcus, and the depletion of SCFA-producing bacteria, such as Prevotella, Faecalibacterium, and Clostridium. In contrast, P. pentosaceus administration increased the microbial diversity, restored the relative abundance of Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Prevotella, Clostridium and Akkermansia and increased propionic acid and butyric acid production by modifying SCFA-producing bacteria. Furthermore, the levels of the tight junction protein ZO-1, mucin proteins(mucin [MUC]-1, MUC-2 and MUC-4) and the antimicrobial peptide Reg3β were increased after probiotic supplementation.CONCLUSION Based on these results, the new strain of P. pentosaceus alleviated ethanol-induced liver injury by reversing gut microbiota dysbiosis, regulating intestinal SCFA metabolism, improving intestinal barrier function, and reducing circulating levels of endotoxin and proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Thus, this strain is a potential probiotic treatment for ALD.

Viscosity and structure of CaO-BaO-SiO_(2)-Al_(2)O_(3)-based mold slags for continuous casting of high titanium steel with different Tio2 absorption

The effect of TiO_(2) absorption into two different CaO-BaO-SiO_(2)-Al_(2)O_(3)-based mold slags from the steel plant on the viscosity,melting performance and microstructure of slags was investigated through the measurement of the viscosity-temperature relationship,melting temperature and Raman spectroscopy.The parameter of the number of non-bridging oxygen per tetrahedrally-coordinated atom(NBO/T)was also calculated to explain the microstructure variation of molten slags with different TiO_(2) absorption.The variation of the actual slag consumption and the depth of the liquid slag in mold was explained through the comparison of the viscosity and the melting temperature of two different slags.The viscosity of mold slags(basicity=0.6)decreased from 1.1 to 0.68 Pa s with the increase in the Ti0_(2) absorption from 0 to 10%,while that of slags(basicity=0.7)decreased from 0.76 to 0.56 Pa s with the Ti0_(2) absorption from 0 to 6%.The activation energy of both two groups of slags had the tendency to decrease with the increasing TiO_(2) absorption.The network structure of both two groups of slags measured by the Raman spectra showed that the fraction of complex structure units(Q^(1),Q^(2),Q^(3) and A1-O-Al)decreased and simple structure units(Al-O-and Q^(0))increased with the increase in TiO_(2) absorption.NBO/T also increased with the increase in the TiO2 absorption,indicating that the absorption of TiO_(2) into slags resulted in the destruction of silicate/aluminate structure.Hence,the absorption of TiO_(2) into the current CaO-BaO-SiO_(2)-Al_(2)O_(3) mold slags decreased the degree of polymerization of these slags and then led to the decrease of viscosity.

A multifunctional stealthy material for wireless sensing and active camouflage driven by configurable polarization

The dipole species transformation and polarization relaxation configuration are achieved by changing the cobalt ion stoichiometry,which precisely tailors the electromagnetic attenuation performance of bismuth iron cobalt oxide.When the stoichiometric ratio of Fe:Co is 19:1,the optimal reflection loss reaches-60 dB.The high electromagnetic attenuation performance significantly improve the linear sensitivity of the strain response and active customized stealth capability of the designed multifunctional capacitor-like structure.Therefore,the wireless multifunctional design integrates energy attenuaten of electromagnetic wave with the wireless sensing and active camouflage functions for the first time.The work provides an important step for the realization of electromagnetical multifunctional applications including electromag-netic protection and electromagnetic sensing in artificial beings,medical health and even space travel.

Wettability between titanium-containing steels and TiN ceramic substrate

The wettability between TiN ceramic substrates and steels with various Ti contents was studied under an argon atmosphere at 1550℃ using a modified sessile drop method.An electron probe microanalyzer and thermodynamic calculations were applied to investigate the interface between the steels and the TiN substrates as well as the surface of solidified steel droplets.The measured apparent contact angles between the TiN substrates and steels were 96°,91°,and 146°,as the Ti content in the steel samples was 0.01,0.31,and 0.68 wt.%,respectively.No reaction products were found at the interface,and only physical interactions occurred.The wettability between high titanium steels(0.68 wt.%Ti)and TiN ceramic substrates should be evaluated from various perspectives,as many TiN particles existing in steel made the apparent contact angle increased significantly,deviating from the true value of contact angle.

Antioxidant and antiaging effect of traditional Thai rejuvenation medicines in Caenorhabditis elegans

Objective: This study explored the rejuvenation mechanisms of Thai polyherbal medicines using different approaches, including in vitro methods, as well as a well-defined nematode model, Caenorhabditis elegans.Methods: THP-R-SR012 decoction was selected from 23 polyherbal medicines, based on metal-chelating and chain-breaking antioxidant capacities. The influences of this extract on the survival and some stress biomarkers of C. elegans under paraquat-induced oxidative stress were evaluated. Furthermore, lifespan analysis and levels of lipofuscin accumulation were examined in senescent nematodes. The phytochemical profile of THP-R-SR012 was analyzed.Results: Supplementation with THP-R-SR012 decoction significantly increased the mean lifespan and reduced the oxidative damage to C. elegans under oxidative stress conditions. Further, THP-R-SR012 supplementation slightly influenced the lifespan and the level of lipofuscin accumulation during adulthood.Antioxidant-related phytochemical constituents of THP-R-SR012 decoction were rutin, naringenin, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, gallic acid, glycyrrhizic acid, demethoxycurcumin and 18 a-glycyrrhetinic acid.Conclusion: The antioxidant potential of THP-R-SR012 was due to its scavenging properties, its enhancement of antioxidant-related enzyme activities, and the presence of the antioxidant-related compound.These results support the traditional use of THP-R-SR012 decoction as a tonic for nourishing and strengthening the whole body.

Properties and structure of a new non-reactive mold flux for high-Al steel

During the conventional continuous casting process of high-aluminum steels(w([Al])>0.5 wt.%),some components of slag,such as SiO_(2),B_(2)O_(3),and TiO_(2),could be reduced by aluminum in molten steel.Therefore,the CaO-BaO-Al_(2)O_(3)-CaF2-Li2O non-reactive mold fluxes were designed using the simplex grid method and molecular dynamics to mitigate the slag-metal interface reaction and stabilize the performance of mold fluxes.The results show that the components of nonreactive quinary system are 20-40 wt.% CaO,14-34 wt.% BaO,14-34 wt.% Al_(2)O_(3),4-12 wt.% F,and 4-8 wt.% Li_(2)O.Molecular dynamics simulation results show that[AlO_(4)]-tetrahedron acts as network formers and melt network structure is mainly chain and lamellar in the low-viscosity area.The cross sections of w(F)=8 wt.%,w(Li_(2)O)=8 wt.%and w(F)=12 wt.%,w(Li2O)=8 wt.% are important reference sections for the design of mold flux,with the compositions of 22-40 wt.%CaO,14-34 wt.% BaO,20-34 wt.%Al_(2)O_(3) and 23-40 wt.%CaO,14-34 wt.%BaO,20-28 wt.% Al_(2)O_(3),respectively.

Triggering the biocontrol of Botrytis cinerea by Trichoderma harzianum through inhibition of pathogenicity and virulence related proteins

This study reports a strain of Trichoderma harzianum CCTCC-SBW0162 with potential to enhance biocontrol activity against gray mold pathogen, Botrytis cinerea, and with a pivotal role in tomato(Solanum esculentum) plant growth enhancement. A total of 254 Trichoderma isolates were screened by in vitro antagonistic assay. Of these, 10 were selected for greenhouse experiments based on their greater inhibition of B. cinerea.The in vitro antagonistic assay and greenhouse experiments indicated that T. harzianum CCTCC-SBW0162 gave the highest inhibition rate(90.6%) and disease reduction(80.7%). Also, to study the possible mechanism associated with antifungal activity of CCTCC-SBW0162 against B. cinerea, molecular docking was used to assess the interactions between CCTCC-SBW0162-derived metabolites, and pathogencity and virulence related proteins of B. cinerea. The molecular docking results indicated that the combination of harzianopyridone,harzianolide and anthraquinone C derived from CCTCCSBW0162 could synergistically improve antifungal activity against B. cinerea through the inhibition/modification of pathogenicity and virulence related proteins.However, this computerized modeling work emphasized the need for further study in the laboratory to confirm the effect T. harzianum-derived metabolites against the proteins of B. cinerea and their interactions.