Distinct Gut Microbial Signatures and Diminished Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Short-Chain Fatty Acids in Schizophrenia With Immune Activation.

Background And Hypothesis: A subset of patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) exhibit subclinical immune activation. However, the gut microbial features of this subgroup and their interplay with the immune function remain poorly understood. This study aimed to identify the gut microbiome signature of immune-activated SCZ and elucidate the role of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the gut-immune crosstalk.

Robust Beamfocusing for Secure NFC with Imperfect CSI.

In this paper, we consider the issue of the physical layer security (PLS) problem between two nodes, i.e., transmitter (Alice) and receiver (Bob), in the presence of an eavesdropper (Eve) in a near-field communication (NFC) system.

Correlation between Spectral CT Parameters and Ki67 Expression in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between quantitative parameters of spectral CT and the Ki67 expression index of tumor cells in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: A total of 19 patients who underwent preoperative spectral CT dual-phase enhancement and who were diagnosed with HCC by postoperative pathology were prospectively selected. Patients with ≥10% Ki67-positive tumor cells formed a high-Ki67 group, and those with <10% Ki67- positive cells formed a low-Ki67 group.

Bacteriophages allow selective depletion of gut bacteria to produce a targeted-bacterium-depleted mouse model.

The gut microbiome is essential for human health. Mouse microbiota models, including gnotobiotic mice, are the most prominent tools to elucidate the functions of gut bacteria. Here, we propose a targeted-bacterium-depleted (TBD) model using lytic bacteriophage to selectively deplete gut bacterium of healthy or otherwise defined mice.

Increased Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Is Associated With a Reduced Risk of Heart Failure in Middle-Aged and Older Adults.

Objectives: Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is closely related to all-cause mortality. The aim of this study is to explore the role of REM sleep on the incident heart failure (HF).

Methods: We selected 4490 participants (2480 women and 2010 men; mean age, 63.

Multi-Omics Analysis Reveals Aberrant Gut-Metabolome-Immune Network in Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia (SCZ) is associated with several immune dysfunctions, including elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Microorganisms and their metabolites have been found to regulate the immune system, and that intestinal microbiota is significantly disturbed in schizophrenic patients. To systematically investigate aberrant gut-metabolome-immune network in schizophrenia, we performed an integrative analysis of intestinal microbiota, serum metabolome, and serum inflammatory cytokines in 63 SCZ patients and 57 healthy controls using a multi-omics strategy.

Stressful events induce long-term gut microbiota dysbiosis and associated post-traumatic stress symptoms in healthcare workers fighting against COVID-19.

Objective: The microbiota-gut-brain axis is a key pathway perturbed by prolonged stressors to produce brain and behavioral disorders. Frontline healthcare workers (FHWs) fighting against COVID-19 typically experience stressful event sequences and manifest some mental symptoms; however, the role of gut microbiota in such stress-induced mental problems remains unclear. We investigated the association between the psychological stress of FHW and gut microbiota.

Systems biological assessment of altered cytokine responses to bacteria and fungi reveals impaired immune functionality in schizophrenia.

Evidence suggests that complex interactions between the immune system and brain have important etiological and therapeutic implications in schizophrenia. However, the detailed cellular and molecular basis of immune dysfunction in schizophrenia remains poorly characterized. To better understand the immune changes and molecular pathways, we systemically compared the cytokine responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) derived from patients with schizophrenia and controls against bacterial, fungal, and purified microbial ligands, and identified aberrant cytokine response patterns to various pathogens, as well as reduced cytokine production after stimulation with muramyl dipeptide (MDP) in schizophrenia.

Effects of a yeast-derived product on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and immune function of broilers.

Yeast culture plus enzymatically hydrolyzed yeast cell wall (YC-EHY) contains crude protein, mannan-oligosaccharide, β-glucan and yeast culture. This study was carried out to explore the effects of dietary YC-EHY at different levels on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and immune function of broiler chickens. A total of 320 one-day-age male broiler chicks were allocated into 4 groups and were fed with a basal diet supplemented with 0 mg/kg (the control group), 50 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg, 150 mg/kg YC-EHY for 42 d.

Zearalenone regulates key factors of the Kelch-like erythroid cell-derived protein with CNC homology-associated protein 1-nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 signaling pathway in duodenum of post-weaning gilts.

Objective: This study explored the mechanism of the Kelch-like erythroid cell-derived protein with CNC homology-associated protein 1 (Keap1)-nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling pathway under conditions of zearalenone (ZEA)-induced oxidative stress in the duodenum of post-weaning gilts.

Methods: Forty post-weaning gilts were randomly allocated to four groups and fed diets supplemented with 0, 0.5, 1.

Metagenome-wide association of gut microbiome features for schizophrenia.

Evidence is mounting that the gut-brain axis plays an important role in mental diseases fueling mechanistic investigations to provide a basis for future targeted interventions. However, shotgun metagenomic data from treatment-naïve patients are scarce hampering comprehensive analyses of the complex interaction between the gut microbiota and the brain. Here we explore the fecal microbiome based on 90 medication-free schizophrenia patients and 81 controls and identify a microbial species classifier distinguishing patients from controls with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.

Transplantation of microbiota from drug-free patients with schizophrenia causes schizophrenia-like abnormal behaviors and dysregulated kynurenine metabolism in mice.

Accumulating evidence suggests that gut microbiota plays a role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia via the microbiota-gut-brain axis. This study sought to investigate whether transplantation of fecal microbiota from drug-free patients with schizophrenia into specific pathogen-free mice could cause schizophrenia-like behavioral abnormalities. The results revealed that transplantation of fecal microbiota from schizophrenic patients into antibiotic-treated mice caused behavioral abnormalities such as psychomotor hyperactivity, impaired learning and memory in the recipient animals.

Modulation of Gene Expression in Liver of Hibernating Asiatic Toads ().

Hibernation is an effective energy conservation strategy that has been widely adopted by animals to cope with unpredictable environmental conditions. The liver, in particular, plays an important role in adaptive metabolic adjustment during hibernation. Mammalian studies have revealed that many genes involved in metabolism are differentially expressed during the hibernation period.

Effects of zearalenone on the localization and expression of the growth hormone receptor gene in the uteri of post-weaning piglets.

Objective: In this study, we investigated the adverse effects of dietary zearalenone (ZEA) (0.5 to 1.5 mg/kg diet) on the localization and expression of the growth hormone receptor (GHR) in the uteri of post-weaning gilts and explored alternative mechanism of the reproductive toxicity of ZEA on piglets.