Investigating the correlation between phenotype, cecal microbiome, and serum metabolome in laying ducks with different shell strength.

Eggshell quality plays a critical role in the poultry industry, influencing both biological and economic outcomes. However, the factors determining eggshell strength in egg-laying ducks remain poorly understood. This study sought to explore phenotypic variations, gut microbiota composition, and serum metabolites in ducks with differing eggshell strengths to identify key microbial and metabolic factors affecting shell integrity.

Artificial-intelligence-assisted design principle for developing high-performance single-atom catalysts.

Artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted approaches are powerful means for advancing catalyst design, as they can significantly accelerate the development of novel catalysts. However, the underlying mechanisms of these approaches often remain elusive, which may lead to unreliable results due to a lack of clear understanding of the involved processes. Herein, we present an AI strategy that combines machine learning (ML) and data mining (DM) to identify high-performance catalysts while elucidating the key factors that govern catalytic performance in complex reactions.

Polystyrene microplastics exacerbate mitophagy through mitochondrial dysfunction in the duck lung.

Microplastics (MPs) are widespread environmental pollutants that can enter the human body through the food chain, potentially leading to lung damage. However, the underlying mechanisms responsible for this damage remain unclear. Ducks, a commonly consumed poultry species in China, are particularly susceptible to MPs exposure due to their farming environment.

Dietary resveratrol alleviates liver and intestinal injury in ducks under cage rearing system.

Cage rearing is a promising farming method. However, our previous studies have demonstrated that changes in farming practices induce oxidative stress and inflammation in the liver and duodenum of ducks. Resveratrol (RES), a natural plant polyphenol, possesses antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cytoprotective properties.

Comparative Transcriptome Profiling of Ileal and Cecal Tissues Between Pekin Ducks and Shaoxing Ducks.

: Pekin ducks are well-known meat-type ducks, whereas Shaoxing ducks are bred for their egg-laying abilities. Growth and development of poultry species is well studied; however, very little is known regarding differences in intestinal gene expression between Pekin and Shaoxing ducks. : To investigate intestinal differences between Pekin and Shaoxing ducks, we conducted transcriptome analysis on ileal and cecal tissues from five 42-day-old ducks per breed, raised under identical housing and feeding conditions to minimize environmental influences.

Exploring the Dietary Strategies of Coated Sodium Butyrate: Improving Antioxidant Capacity, Meat Quality, Fatty Acid Composition, and Gut Health in Broilers.

Background/objectives: Broiler chickens are excellent animals for protein production and play an essential role in the food industry. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of coated sodium butyrate (CSB) on the biochemical indices, antioxidant capacity, meat quality, fatty acid composition, and gut health of Xianju broilers.

Methods: A total of 192 one-day-old broilers were randomly divided into four treatment groups: the basal diet (CK), the basal diet with 250 mg/kg CSB (CSB250), the basal diet with 500 mg/kg CSB500 (CSB500), and the basal diet with 1000 mg/kg CSB (CSB1000).

Nanoresonance Cavity and Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance Enhanced Broad-Spectral Photodetector for Versatile Applications.

To overcome the limitations inherent in traditional silicon (Si)-based photodetectors, particularly the low light absorption and complex carrier dynamics, this study proposes and fabricates in situ three-dimensional (3D) graphene/Si Schottky junctions integrated with WS quantum dots (QDs). The introduction of WS QDs enables the heterojunction to realize "double-enhanced absorption" by the synergistic effect of the natural nanoresonant cavity effect and the surface plasmon resonance effect (LSPR) of the WS QDs. Photodetectors constructed from the WS QDs/3D-graphene/Si heterojunction demonstrate a broadband, self-powered response from 440 to 1850 nm, maintaining stable operation at 1550 nm for 4 months.

Interaction between cecal microbiota and liver genes of laying ducks with different residual feed intake.

Background: The gut microbiota exerts a critical influence on energy metabolism homeostasis and productive performance in avian species. Given the diminishing availability of arable land and intensifying competition for finite resources between livestock production and human populations, the agricultural sector faces dual imperatives to enhance productive efficiency while mitigating ecological footprints. Within this paradigm, optimizing nutrient assimilation efficiency in commercial waterfowl operations emerges as a strategic priority.

Unveiling the physical mechanisms underpinning bandgap variations in chalcopyrite crystals (ABX) using interpretable artificial intelligence.

We propose an interpretable AI approach integrating hybrid DFT, symbolic regression, and data mining to predict chalcopyrite (ABX) bandgaps. Key factors, including atomic size, molar volume, and electron affinity, are identified, offering insights into bandgap-composition relationship and guiding high-performance materials design.

New insights into ovarian regression-related mitochondrial dysfunction in the late-laying period.

Duck egg production sharply decreases during the late-laying period, which likely stems from an ovarian mechanism. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying ovarian regression during the late-laying period remain unclear. In this study, egg-laying (LLP) and ceased-laying (CLP) ducks at 72 weeks of age were selected to explore the potential mechanism of ovarian regression.

Multi-omics elucidates the kidney damage caused by aquatic Cu via the gut-kidney axis in ducks.

Copper (Cu) is an essential trace element for biological growth and development. Excessive intake of Cu exists harmful effects on organisms. However, whether excessive Cu intake induces kidney function damage by gut microbiota regulation remains unclear.

Dipole-Modulated Carrier Dynamics and Charge Transport Behavior of Ligand-Protected Metal Chalcogenide Nanoclusters.

Atomically precise nanoclusters, distinguished by their unique nuclearity- and structure-dependent properties, hold great promise for applications of energy conversion and electronic transport. However, the relationship between ligands and their properties remains a mystery yet to be unrevealed. Here, the influence of ligands on the electronic structures, optical properties, excited-state dynamics, and transport behavior of ReS dimer clusters with different ligands is explored using density functional theory combined with time-domain nonadiabatic molecular dynamic simulations.

The difference between young and older ducks: Amino acid, free fatty acid, nucleotide compositions and breast muscle proteome.

Duck meat has a unique taste and nutritional value, but age probably affects meat quality. In this study, ducks of different ages (60-day-old, D60; 900-day-old, D900) were chosen, and the odor, taste, amino acid, nucleotide, and free fatty acid components of breast meat were evaluated to investigate the differences. The results showed that the amino acid contents of breast muscle in D900 ducks, especially in Asp (umami) and Thr (sweet), were richer than those in D60 ducks.

Effects of combined use of compound acidifiers and plant essential oils in feed on the reproductive performance and physiological status of Xianjv chickens.

This study investigates the effects of combined compound acidifiers and plant essential oils on the production performance, egg quality, and health parameters of Xianjv chickens. A total of 240 healthy 34-week-old Xianjv chickens were randomly divided into 5 groups and given 5 different feed additives: a control group with a basal diet, and four experimental groups with varying doses of compound acidifiers (CA) and essential oils (EO). The results revealed that the addition of compound acidifiers and essential oils did not significantly affect average daily feed intake, egg production rate, or feed-to-egg ratio.

The role of the gut microbial metabolism of sterols and bile acids in human health.

Sterols and bile acids are vital signaling molecules that play key roles in systemic functions, influencing the composition of the human gut microbiota, which maintains a symbiotic relationship with the host. Additionally, gut microbiota-encoded enzymes catalyze the conversion of sterols and bile acids into various metabolites, significantly enhancing their diversity and biological activities. In this review, we focus on the microbial transformations of sterols and bile acids in the gut, summarize the relevant bacteria, genes, and enzymes, and review the relationship between the sterols and bile acids metabolism of gut microbiota and human health.

Unraveling the gut microbiota of Tibetan chickens: insights into highland adaptation and ecological advantages.

Unlabelled: Tibetan animals have several unique advantages owing to the harsh ecological conditions under which they live. However, compared to Tibetan mammals, understanding of the advantages and underlying mechanisms of the representative high-latitude bird, the Tibetan chicken (, TC), remains limited. The gut microbiota of animals has been conclusively shown to be closely related to both host health and host environmental adaptation.

Triple-Phosphorescent Gold Nanoclusters Enabled by Isomerization of Terminal Thiouracils in the Surface Motifs.

Metal nanoclusters (NCs) hold great promise for expressing multipeak emission based on their well-defined total structure with diverse luminescent centers. Herein, we report the surface motif-dictated triple phosphorescence of Au NCs with dynamic color turning. The deprotonation-triggered isomerization of terminal thiouracils can evolve into a mutual transformation among their hierarchical motifs, thus serving a multipeak-emission expression with good tailoring.

Integrated omics analysis reveals the differentiation of intestinal microbiota and metabolites between Pekin ducks and Shaoxing ducks.

Pekin ducks and Shaoxing ducks are 2 Chinese local duck breeds, both domesticated from mallard, but after domestication and long-term artificial selection, the body weight of Pekin ducks is significantly higher than that of Shaoxing ducks. It is no debate that genetic factors are the main factors responsible for this difference, but whether intestinal microbiota contribute to this difference is yet unknown. Thus, we performed comparative intestinal metagenomics and metabolomics analysis between Pekin ducks and Shaoxing ducks.

Metagenomic profiling uncovers microbiota and antibiotic resistance patterns across human, chicken, pig fecal, and soil environments.

The ongoing and progressive evolution of antibiotic resistance presents escalating challenges for the clinical management and prevention of bacterial infections. Understanding the makeup of resistance genomes and accurately quantifying the current abundance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are crucial for assessing the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to public health. This comprehensive study investigated the distribution and diversity of bacterial community composition, ARGs, and virulence factors (VFs) across human, chicken, pig fecal, and soil microbiomes in various provinces of China.

Unveiling the physical mechanisms driving delafossite crystal (ABX) formation through interpretable machine learning.

A method integrating machine learning with first-principles calculations is employed to forecast the formation energy of delafossite crystals, facilitating the rapid identification of stable crystals. This approach identifies several stable candidates and highlights the importance of atomic ionization energy and electron affinity in the formation of delafossite crystals.

The Effects of Resveratrol and Apigenin on Jejunal Oxidative Injury in Ducks and on Immortalized Duck Intestinal Epithelial Cells Exposed to HO.

Oxidative stress increases the apoptosis of intestinal epithelial cells and impairs intestinal epithelial cell renewal, which further promotes intestinal barrier dysfunction and even death. Extensive evidence supports that resveratrol and apigenin have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiproliferative properties. Here, we investigated the ability of these two compounds to alleviate diquat-induced jejunal oxidative stress and morphological injury, using the duck as a model, as well as the effects of apigenin on oxidative stress induced by HO in immortalized duck intestinal epithelial cells (IDECs).

The impact of serum uric acid on psoriasis: NHANES 2005-2014 and Mendelian randomization.

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease, and hyperuricemia is a common comorbidity in patients with psoriasis. However, the exact relationship between uric acid levels and psoriasis remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the association between uric acid levels and psoriasis.

Cu exposure induces liver inflammation via regulating gut microbiota/LPS/liver TLR4 signaling axis.

Copper (Cu) serves as an essential cofactor in all organisms, yet excessive Cu exposure is widely recognized for its role in inducing liver inflammation. However, the precise mechanism by which Cu triggers liver inflammation in ducks, particularly in relation to the interplay in gut microbiota regulation, has remained elusive. In this investigation, we sought to elucidate the impact of Cu exposure on liver inflammation through gut-liver axis in ducks.