BACKGROUND Alterations in plasma and intestinal metabolites contribute to the pathogenesis and progression of alcohol-related liver cirrhosis(ALC).AIM To explore the common and different metabolites in the plasma and ...BACKGROUND Alterations in plasma and intestinal metabolites contribute to the pathogenesis and progression of alcohol-related liver cirrhosis(ALC).AIM To explore the common and different metabolites in the plasma and feces of patients with ALC and evaluate their clinical implications.METHODS According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria,27 patients with ALC and 24 healthy controls(HCs)were selected,and plasma and feces samples were collected.Liver function,blood routine,and other indicators were detected with automatic biochemical and blood routine analyzers.Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to detect the plasma and feces metabolites of the two groups and the metabolomics of plasma and feces.Also,the correlation between metabolites and clinical features was analyzed.RESULTS More than 300 common metabolites were identified in the plasma and feces of patients with ALC.Pathway analysis showed that these metabolites are enriched in bile acid and amino acid metabolic pathways.Compared to HCs,patients with ALC had a higher level of glycocholic acid(GCA)and taurocholic acid(TCA)in plasma and a lower level of deoxycholic acid(DCA)in the feces,while L-threonine,L-phenylalanine,and L-tyrosine increased simultaneously in plasma and feces.GCA,TCA,L-methionine,L-phenylalanine,and L-tyrosine in plasma were positively correlated with total bilirubin(TBil),prothrombin time(PT),and maddrey discriminant function score(MDF)and negatively correlated with cholinesterase(CHE)and albumin(ALB).The DCA in feces was negatively correlated with TBil,MDF,and PT and positively correlated with CHE and ALB.Moreover,we established a P/S BA ratio of plasma primary bile acid(GCA and TCA)to fecal secondary bile acid(DCA),which was relevant to TBil,PT,and MDF score.CONCLUSION The enrichment of GCA,TCA,L-phenylalanine,L-tyrosine,and L-methionine in the plasma of patients with ALC and the reduction of DCA in feces were related to the severity of ALC.These metabolites may be used as indicators to evaluate the progression of alcohol-related liver cirrhosis.展开更多
Novel non-/minimally-invasive and effective approaches are urgently needed to supplement and improve current strategies for diagnosis and management of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Overwhelming evidence from publishe...Novel non-/minimally-invasive and effective approaches are urgently needed to supplement and improve current strategies for diagnosis and management of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Overwhelming evidence from published studies on HCC has documented that multiple molecular biomarkers detected in body fluids and feces can be utilized in early-diagnosis,predicting responses to specific therapies,evaluating prognosis before or after therapy,as well as serving as novel therapeutic targets.Detection and analysis of proteins,metabolites,circulating nucleic acids,circulating tumor cells,and extracellular vesicles in body fluids(e.g.,blood and urine)and gut microbiota(e.g.,in feces)have excellent capabilities to improve different aspects of management of HCC.Numerous studies have been devoted in identifying more promising candidate biomarkers and therapeutic targets for diagnosis,treatment,and monitoring responses of HCC to conventional therapies,most of which may improve diagnosis and management of HCC in the future.This review aimed to summarize recent advances in utilizing these biomarkers in HCC and discuss their clinical significance.展开更多
In order to clarify whether the planktivorous silver carp and bighead carp can collect phytoplanktonas small as Cyclotella(【20μm)in Donghu Lake,studies on phytoplankton in their gut contents and feceswere made in 19...In order to clarify whether the planktivorous silver carp and bighead carp can collect phytoplanktonas small as Cyclotella(【20μm)in Donghu Lake,studies on phytoplankton in their gut contents and feceswere made in 1990.The fish were cultured in both net cage in Donghu Lake and aquaria with the lakewater.Past the intestine,the average valve diameter of Cyclotella changed little.The average ratio of emptyfrustule of Cyclotella to total Cyclotella in the foregut contents of the fishes were 1.8—1.9 times higherthan that in the lake water,but changed little from foregut to feces.The aquarium experiment showedthat both carps could collect particles as small as 8-10μm, which was obviously narrower than the dis-tance between their gill rakers.Probably,secretion of mucus plays an important role in collecting suchsmall展开更多
Molecular microbiological methods, such as competetive PCR, real-time PCR, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and large-scale parallel-pyrosequencing, require the extraction of sufficient quantity of high ...Molecular microbiological methods, such as competetive PCR, real-time PCR, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and large-scale parallel-pyrosequencing, require the extraction of sufficient quantity of high quality DNA from microbiologically and chemically complex matrices. Due to difficulties in the field to standardize/select the optimum DNA preservation-extraction methods in view of laboratories differences, this article attempts to present a straight-forward mathematical framework for comparing some of the most commonly used methods. To this end, as a case study, the problem of selecting an optimum sample preservation-DNA extraction strategy for obtaining total bacterial DNA from swine feces was considered. Two sample preservation methods (liquid nitrogen and RNAlater?) and seven extraction techniques were paired and compared under six quantitative DNA analysis criteria: yield of extraction, purity of extracted DNA (A260/280 and A 260/230 ratios), duration of extraction, degradation degree of DNA, and cost. From a practical point of view, it is unlikely that a single sample preservation-DNA extraction strategy can be optimum for all selected criteria. Hence, a systematic multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach was used to compare the methods. As a result, the ZR Fecal DNA MiniPrepTM DNA extraction kit for samples preserved either with liquid nitrogen or RNAlater? were identified as potential optimum solutions for obtaining total bacterial DNA from swine feces. Considering the need for practicality for in situ applications, we would recommend liquid nitrogen as sample preservation method, along with the ZR Fecal DNA MiniPrepTM kit. Total bacterial DNA obtained by this strategy can be suitable for downstream PCR-based DNA analyses of swine feces.展开更多
Objective: To determine the occurrence of CTX-M producing Escherichia coli(E. coli)from cattle feces in Bogor slaughterhouse, Indonesia.Methods: A total of 220 cattle feces samples were collected from Bogor slaughterh...Objective: To determine the occurrence of CTX-M producing Escherichia coli(E. coli)from cattle feces in Bogor slaughterhouse, Indonesia.Methods: A total of 220 cattle feces samples were collected from Bogor slaughterhouse from March to April 2015. Presence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase(ESBL) producing E. coli was detected by disc diffusion test based on the recommendation from Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute(2014). Bacterial strains which were confirmed as producing ESBLs were further analyzed for the presence of bla genes of the ESBL by PCR.Results: The results showed that CTX-M producing E. coli isolates were detected in 19 samples from 220 samples(8.6%). The b-lactamase genes detected were CTX-M-1(n = 10) and CTX-M-9(n = 9). All of the CTX-M producing E. coli isolates showed multidrug resistance phenotypes to at least four antibiotics. The highest incidence of antibiotics resistance was showed to ampicillin(100.0%), cefotaxime(100.0%), and cefpodoxime(100.0%), followed by streptomycin(84.3%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole(73.7%), erythromycin(52.6%), kanamycin(26.3%), doxycycline(10.5%), and ceftazidime(0.0%).Conclusions: Detection of CTX-M-producing E. coli in cattle feces raises important questions as they can represent a potential risk factor to public health.展开更多
Background:As an important player during food digestion,gut microbiota has attracted much attention in diet adaptation studies in birds.Microbiota extracted from feces has been widely used as a proxy for gut microbiot...Background:As an important player during food digestion,gut microbiota has attracted much attention in diet adaptation studies in birds.Microbiota extracted from feces has been widely used as a proxy for gut microbiota.Although several methods have been developed for microbial DNA extraction,their performances in the bird feces have not been systematacially evaluated yet.Methods:In this study,we applied three DNA extraction methods(Qiagen,MoBio and Bead)to extract DNA from feces of three avian dietary guilds(granivore,omnivore and carnivore),sequenced V4 region of 16S rRNA gene for each extract and evaluated the performances of DNA yield,DNA integrity,microbial composition,cell lysis capacity and alpha diversity for the three methods on each dietary guild.Results:Bead method was the best on the performance of both DNA yield and DNA integrity regardless of dietary guild.In granivore,microbial relative abundance at both species and phylum levels,alpha diversity and cell lysis capacity were comparable among all methods.In omnivore,Qiagen had the best performance on alpha diversity,fol-lowed by Bead and MoBio.There were small variations on microbial relative abundance at both species and phylum levels among different extraction methods.MoBio exhibited the best performance on cell lysis capacity.In carnivore,considerable variations were found on microbial relative abundance at both species and phylum levels.Qiagen had the best performance on alpha diversity,followed by MoBio and Bead.MoBio had the highest cell lysis capacity.Conclusions:DNA yield and integrity have no obvious impact on microbial composition,alpha diversity or cell lysis capacity.The microbiota results(e.g.,microbial composition,cell lysis capacity,alpha diversity)obtained from differ-ent methods are comparable in granivorous avian species but not in omnivorous or carnivorous birds.Either method could be used in granivore microbiota studies.For omnivores and carnivores,we recommend Qiagen method when the research purpose is microbial diversity and MoBio when gram-positive bacteria is the research target.展开更多
Fecal indicators of nutritional status of wild ungulates were less constrained than that of blood, rumen contents, or urine analyses. Thus, we compared the nitrogen and fiber concentrations of feces with those of the ...Fecal indicators of nutritional status of wild ungulates were less constrained than that of blood, rumen contents, or urine analyses. Thus, we compared the nitrogen and fiber concentrations of feces with those of the rumen contents of Mongolian gazelles (Procapra guttrurosa) in Hulunbeier Grassland. Rumen contents and fecal nutritional concentrations varied in different seasons. Dietary nitrogen concentrations only increased linearly with increase nitrogen concentration in fecal in winter. There was a positive correlation between rumen NDF (neutral detergent fiber) and fecal NDF concentrations. But the regression coefficient was small (r=0.3917). There was a significant regression equation between rumen contents ADF (acid detergent fiber) and fecal ADF concentrations,as well as ADL (acid detergent lignin) concentrations. Nitrogen concentration was found to be negatively correlated with NDF ADF and ADL concentrations both in rumen and in fecal compositions. Our data suggest that fecal nitrogen, ADF ADL concentrations may assess winter dietary qualities that are in protein, crude fiber and lignin concentrations for Mongolian gazelles.展开更多
Swertisin contents in rat urine,feces and tissues were determined by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography(RP-HPLC) method.Chromatographic separations were performed on a C18 column with acetonitrile-w...Swertisin contents in rat urine,feces and tissues were determined by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography(RP-HPLC) method.Chromatographic separations were performed on a C18 column with acetonitrile-water(23:77,v/v) as the mobile phase.The calibration curves were linear over the ranges of 0.175-35.0μg/mL for rat urine,0.5-60.0μg/mL for rat feces,and 0.014 to 53.0μg/mL for all tissues.The inter-and intra-day precisions and accuracy for all measured samples were satisfactory.The fully validated method was applied for tissue distribution and excretion of swertisin in rat urine and bile after intravenous administration.The maximum level of swertisin was found in kidney,which reached 83.87± 6.36μg/g.In rat heart,swertisin was hardly detected under used experimental conditions.Swetisin level in liver,kidney,stomach,smooth muscle and skeletal muscle continued to decrease from 5 to 60min.Swertisin showed increasing tendency in intestine,spleen and testis tissues at scheduled time points.Detectable swertisin was found in brain and lung tissue.Totally 11.9% swertisin dose was cumulatively excreted from urine in 60h after intravenous administration.There was small amount of swertisin in rat feces and the cumulative excretion level reached 4.59% of intravenous dose in 60h.展开更多
<b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Background:</span></b><span style="font-family:""> <i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Campylobacter...<b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Background:</span></b><span style="font-family:""> <i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Campylobacter</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> contamination in poultry and poultry product has been reported worldwide. The present study aims to determine the prevalence of </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Campylobacter</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> in poultry feces using selective enrichment Bolton broth and multiplex PCR. </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Method:</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> Two methods were used in this study</span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">:</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> the first </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">was</span><span style="font-family:""> <span style="font-family:Verdana;">direct</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> plating of poultry feces into mCCDA agar plates. </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">The second</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">, three</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> antibiotics were used at different concentrations to add in Bolton broth supplemented. These antibiotics were Rifampicin (Oxoid, </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Nepean, Ontario) with 10</span></span><span style="font-family:""> </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">mg/L, colistin (Oxoid, Nepean, Ontario) with 1</span><span style="font-family:""> </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">mg/mL and 2</span><span style="font-family:""> </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">mg/mL;trimethoprim (Oxoid, Nepean, Ontario) with 10</span><span style="font-family:""> </span><span style="font-family:""><span style="font-family:Verdana;">mg/L. The colonies with typical </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">campylobacter</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> morphology on blood agar (little, red </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">and</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> ring colonies) were further identified to the species level by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR). </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Results:</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> The addition of colistin (2</span></span><span style="font-family:""> </span><span style="font-family:""><span style="font-family:Verdana;">mg/mL) to the Bolton broth with selective supplements enhanced the selective isolation of </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Campylobacter</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> strains. Out of the 52 feces samples, 18 (34.61%) were positive for </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">campylobacter</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> and direct plating on mCCDA 11 (21.15%) </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">campylobacter</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> strains (p < 0.05). The PCR results have shown that 17 (94.45%) of the </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">campylobacter</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> strains detected belonged to </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Campylobacter </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">coli</span> </i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">and 1</span></span><span style="font-family:""> </span><span style="font-family:""><span style="font-family:Verdana;">(5.55%) strain to </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Campylobacter </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">jejuni</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">. </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Conclusion: </span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Although it </span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">i</span><span style="font-family:""><span style="font-family:Verdana;">s known to be difficult to isolate </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Campylobacter</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> from animal feces samples, this study show</span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">s</span><span><span> that antibiotic selective pressure improves the isolation efficiency of </span><i><span>Campylobacter</span></i><span> from poultry feces.展开更多
Aiming at a series of hot issues and topics,such as resource waste,environmental pollution,and Mollisol protection,related to the arbitrary discharge of livestock and poultry feces,livestock and poultry feces are take...Aiming at a series of hot issues and topics,such as resource waste,environmental pollution,and Mollisol protection,related to the arbitrary discharge of livestock and poultry feces,livestock and poultry feces are taken as the research object,a questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate residents’cognition and willingness to pay(WTP)for the nonmarket value of livestock and poultry feces returning to farmland in Heilongjiang Province,China.The contingent valuation method(CVM)was used for the correlation analysis of WTP and socioeconomic characteristics,and correlation analysis of payment mode and socioeconomic characteristics.Meanwhile,the factors influencing WTP and payment mode were analyzed.The results show that the majority of the respondents are aware of the harmfulness of the arbitrary discharge of livestock and poultry feces and the importance of its nonmarket regeneration value.Approximately 90.09% of respondents were willing to pay for the return of livestock and poultry feces to fields.In 2020,the total value of WTP of livestock and poultry feces returning to farmland in Heilongjiang Province was 4.65 billion CNY,equivalent to 1.32% of the total agricultural production of Heilongjiang Province in the same year.And the nonmarket value of livestock and poultry feces is estimated to be 1456.69 CNY/t.The annual average WTP of rural and urban households is 286.42 CNY and 422.90 CNY per household,accounting for 0.46% and 0.52% of the average annual income of households,respectively.Therefore,the return of livestock and poultry feces to farmland utilization has a high nonmarket value.The analysis shows that the average annual household income is a significant factor in WTP,and the registered permanent residence type and the average annual household income are significant factors in payment mode.The research results should provide a scientific and theoretical basis for the government’s policy and decision-making on the return of livestock and poultry feces to farmland.展开更多
Aerobic composting is a method for the sanitary disposal of human feces as is used in bio-toilet systems.As the products of composting can be utilized as a fertilizer,it would be beneficial if the composting condition...Aerobic composting is a method for the sanitary disposal of human feces as is used in bio-toilet systems.As the products of composting can be utilized as a fertilizer,it would be beneficial if the composting conditions could be more precisely controlled for the retention of fecal nitrogen as long as possible in the compost.In this study,batch experiments were conducted using a closed aerobic thermophilic composting reactor with sawdust as the bulk matrix to simulate the condition of a bio-toilet for the sanitary disposal of human feces.Attention was paid to the characteristics of nitrogen transformation.Under the controlled conditions of temperature at 60°C,moisture content at 60%,and a continuous air supply,more than 70%fecal organic removal was obtained,while merely 17%fecal nitrogen loss was observed over a two-week composting period.The nitrogen loss was found to occur mainly in the first 24 h with the rapid depletion of inorganic nitrogen but with an almost unchanged organic nitrogen content.The fecal NH4-N which was the main component of the inorganic nitrogen(>90%)decreased rapidly in the first day,decreased at a slower rate over the following days,and finally disappeared entirely.The depletion of NH4-N was accompanied by the accumulation of NH3 gas in the ammonia absorber connected to the reactor.A mass balance between the exhausted NH3 gas and the fecal NH4-N content in the first 24 hours indicated that the conversion of ammonium into gaseous ammonia was the main reason for nitrogen loss.Thermophilic composting could be considered as a way to keep a high organic nitrogen content in the compost for better utilization as a fertilizer.展开更多
As the connecting part of diet and host physiology,intestinal microbes can convert the ingested diet into a huge number of physiologically active small molecules.Indole metabolites of tryptophan are precursors or sign...As the connecting part of diet and host physiology,intestinal microbes can convert the ingested diet into a huge number of physiologically active small molecules.Indole metabolites of tryptophan are precursors or signal molecules for many biologically active substances,which are involved in serotonin and microbial catabolism pathways.To understand the influence of tryptophan metabolism in the intestinal environment on the neurological and immune systems at the molecular level,it is important to establish a high-coverage analytical method to comprehensively analyze the metabolites involved in tryptophan metabolism.However,due to a small molecular weight and poor response during mass spectrometry analysis,as well as weak retention on the reversed-phase chromatography,determination of indole metabolites of tryptophan is challenging.Here,we proposed a method for the simultaneous determination of 20 indole metabolites of tryptophan in a single run on reversed-phase chromatography by chemical labeling coupled to liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis.4-(Dimethylamino)benzaldehyde(DMAB)was used for the labeling of indole metabolites of tryptophan,which could significantly improve the detection sensitivities and retention of these metabolites on reversed-phase chromatography.With the developed method,we realized the sensitive detection and comprehensive analysis of 15 endogenous indole metabolites of tryptophan in rat feces samples with functional dyspepsia intervention by acupuncture.The developed method offers a useful tool for studying tryptophan metabolism-related diseases.展开更多
Antarctica and the Arctic are the coldest places, containing a high diversity of microorganisms, including viruses,which are important components of polar ecosystems. However, owing to the difficulties in obtaining ac...Antarctica and the Arctic are the coldest places, containing a high diversity of microorganisms, including viruses,which are important components of polar ecosystems. However, owing to the difficulties in obtaining access to animal and environmental samples, the current knowledge of viromes in polar regions is still limited. To better understand polar viromes, this study performed a retrospective analysis using metagenomic sequencing data of animal feces from Antarctica and frozen soil from the Arctic collected during 2012–2014. The results reveal diverse communities of DNA and RNA viruses from at least 23 families from Antarctic animal feces and 16families from Arctic soils. Although the viral communities from Antarctica and the Arctic show a large diversity,they have genetic similarities with known viruses from different ecosystems and organisms with similar viral proteins. Phylogenetic analysis of Microviridae, Parvoviridae, and Larvidaviridae was further performed, and complete genomic sequences of two novel circular replication-associated protein(rep)-encoding single-stranded(CRESS) DNA viruses closely related to Circoviridae were identified. These results reveal the high diversity,complexity, and novelty of viral communities from polar regions, and suggested the genetic similarity and functional correlations of viromes between the Antarctica and Arctic. Variations in viral families in Arctic soils,Arctic freshwater, and Antarctic soils are discussed. These findings improve our understanding of polar viromes and suggest the importance of performing follow-up in-depth investigations of animal and environmental samples from Antarctica and the Arctic, which would reveal the substantial role of these viruses in the global viral community.展开更多
Probiotics are beneficial microorganisms with certain characteristics such as survival under gastrointestinal conditions,adhesion to intestinal surface and different functions which result in several health benefits t...Probiotics are beneficial microorganisms with certain characteristics such as survival under gastrointestinal conditions,adhesion to intestinal surface and different functions which result in several health benefits to host.With this regards,this study aimed to isolate Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) from sourdough and human feces as two different environments and to test their potential probiotic functions.In total nine distinct isolates were assessed with several probiotic functions such as in vitro adhesion to human colon cells,antimicrobial activities and survival under harsh gastrointestinal conditions.In general,distinct strains showed strong antimicrobial activity against the pathogenic and fungal strains tested in this study.Importantly,the adhesion levels to HT29 cells were determined between 0.29 % and 9.54% and Lactobacillus paracasei F7B showed the highest adhesion.All isolates tolerated the bile salt after 24 h and the infant feces isolates showed good survival characteristics at pH 4.展开更多
The behavioral video recordings of the gray-backed shrike Lanius tephronotus revealed that parent birds eat the feces produced by their nestlings.“Parental nutrition hypothesis”attributes the origin of this behavior...The behavioral video recordings of the gray-backed shrike Lanius tephronotus revealed that parent birds eat the feces produced by their nestlings.“Parental nutrition hypothesis”attributes the origin of this behavior to nutrition-recovery and cost-saving,respectively.However,the presence of usable nutrients in the nestlings’feces is unknown because of traditional technology.In this study,we analyzed all the metabolites and the variations in the diversity and content of microbes in the feces of gray-backed shrike nestlings.We aimed to report the changes in microbes and metabolites with the age of nestlings and point out that the parent birds that eat the feces may gain potential nutrition benefits.The results showed that the relative abundances of Proteobacteria,Firmicutes,and Bacteroidota,changed significantly when the nestlings were 6 days old.The relative abundances of 6 probiotics,which are involved in digestion,metabolism,and immunity-related physiological functions,decreased in the nestlings’feces gradually with age;therefore,these probiotics may be obtained by parent birds upon ingestion of the feces of young nestlings.Among the metabolites that were detected,20 were lipids and some had a role in anti-parasitic functions and wound healing;however,their relative contents decreased with age.These beneficial substances in the nestlings’feces may stimulate the parents to swallow the feces.Moreover,there were many aromatic metabolites in the newly hatched nestlings’feces,but the content of bitter metabolites increased as they grew up.Therefore,our results are in accordance with the nutritional hypothesis.展开更多
With the rapid development of urbanization in China,the existing municipal network cannot cover all areas and solve all human waste treatment problems.Biogas plants,as an important nationally developmental strategy fo...With the rapid development of urbanization in China,the existing municipal network cannot cover all areas and solve all human waste treatment problems.Biogas plants,as an important nationally developmental strategy for cleaner energy production and environmental protection,have been widely used in many industrial and agricultural fields.This research analyzed the mass flow and operation performance in a biogas plant treating human feces at a practical rather than laboratory scale.The biogas plant operated on mesophilic semi-continuous mode at the organic loading rates(OLRs)of 0.56 kg volatile solid(VS)/(m³·d)and average total solid(TS)contents of 3.50%.Results showed that the average biogas production and methane yield were(145±10)m³/d and(471±17)m³CH4/(t VS),respectively.Annual total feeding amount was 2555.0 t.Among these,there were 58.04 t biogas and 2496.97 t digestate,including 43.07 t solid residues and 2453.90 t liquid digestate.For the full-scale biogas plant,anaerobic bacteria could acclimatize to high total ammonia nitrogen(TAN)concentration(3659 mg/L)and tolerate high free ammonia nitrogen(FAN)concentration of 561 mg/L.It also had strong autoregulation for adapting the large range(2.02-15.18 g/L)and high concentration(15.18 g/L)of influent volatile fatty acid(VFA).In order to achieve its sustainable development and high efficient operation,it is very important to improve the feeding concentration,using digestate to dilute raw material and adding some high C/N raw material in human feces.In conclusion,the biogas plant was an excellent alternative technology for treating human feces.展开更多
Predicting the excretion of feces,urine and nitrogen(N)from dairy cows is an effective way to prevent and control the environmental pollution caused by scaled farming.The traditional prediction methods such as polluta...Predicting the excretion of feces,urine and nitrogen(N)from dairy cows is an effective way to prevent and control the environmental pollution caused by scaled farming.The traditional prediction methods such as pollutant generation coefficient(PGC)and mathematical model based on linear regression(LR)may be limited by prediction range and regression function assumption,and sometimes may deviate from the actual condition.In order to solve these problems,the support vector regression(SVR)was applied for predicting the cows'feces,urine and N excretions,taking Holstein dry cows as a case study.SVR is a typical non-parametric machine learning model that does not require any specific assumptions about the regression function in advance and only by learning the training sample data,and also it can fit the function closest to the actual in most cases.To evaluate prediction accuracy effectively,the SVR technique was compared with the LR and radial basis function artificial neural network(RBF-ANN)methods,using the required sample data obtained from actual feeding experiments.The prediction results indicate that the proposed technique is superior to the other two conventional(especially LR)methods in predicting the main indicators of feces,urine,and N excretions of Holstein dry cows.展开更多
Two trials were conducted to evaluate the effects of positively buoyant dietary materials on growth,intestinal health,and fecal properties of tilapia.In trial 1,ten diets containing 0(control)1%,2%or 3%cork,expanded a...Two trials were conducted to evaluate the effects of positively buoyant dietary materials on growth,intestinal health,and fecal properties of tilapia.In trial 1,ten diets containing 0(control)1%,2%or 3%cork,expanded and vitrified microball or expanded vermiculilite fine particles(250e450 mm)were fed to tilapia fry(5.0±0.1 g)for 30 days to evaluate the effects on the growth and feeding efficiencies.In trial 2,the three buoyant materials with coarse particles(450e830 mm)were included in diets at 0(control),3%,4%or 5%supplementation levels to feed tilapia juveniles(55.0±1.0 g),and the growth,feed efficiencies,evacuation velocity,fecal floatability and intestinal histology were examined after 21 days feeding.In trial 1,the weight gain(WG)of the fish significantly decreased with the supplementation of 2%,3%cork,3%microball or 3%vermiculite(P<0.05),and the feed conversion ratio(FCR)was significantly increased by 3%cork and 3%vermiculite(P<0.05)when compared to the control.In trial 2,cork-fed groups were observed to have more floating feces than microball-and vermiculite-fed groups.Dietary cork significantly decreased the sinking velocity of diets and feces(P<.05),but microball only decreased the sinking velocity of diets,and vermiculite(4%,5%)decreased the sinking velocity of feces(P<0.05).All buoyant materials supplemented groups showed lower WG and higher FCR than the control(P<.05).The intestine evacuation velocity and villus height,crypt depth,muscle thickness of intestinal walls were decreased by the increasing buoyant materials in diets,and 5%microball group showed the lowest values among all groups.In conclusion,dietary cork,microball and vermiculite(3%e5%)negatively affect the growth performance and intestinal histology of tilapia,and diets with cork supplementation could decrease the density of feed and feces to produce floating feces.展开更多
Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)currently has spread all over the world.However,the dynamic characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infections have not previously been described in detail.Here,we repo...Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)currently has spread all over the world.However,the dynamic characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infections have not previously been described in detail.Here,we report a cured patient in West China Hospital,and describe the dynamic detection of SARS-CoV-2-RNA in different specimens and viral specific IgM and IgG antibodies in blood.The findings suggest that the fecal SARS-CoV-2-RNA negativity may be considered as a new standard for de isolation.Serum IgM and IgG antibodies detection were helpful for early diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and judgment of patients in recovery stage,respectively.展开更多
The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of a faeces sieving tool “Digescan” as an indicator of feed valorization, and to test the influence of feeding strategy on fecal particle size (PS) distribution an...The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of a faeces sieving tool “Digescan” as an indicator of feed valorization, and to test the influence of feeding strategy on fecal particle size (PS) distribution and weight, milk performance and the possible association between them. Data from 95 trials were used. During each trial, two periods were identified: before and during live yeast probiotic (LYP) supplementation. The LYP used at 5 g/d/cow was Saccharomyces cerevisiae (CNCM I-4407, 1010 CFU/g, Actisaf<sup>®</sup> Sc47;Phileo by Lesaffre, France). Milk yield and composition were recorded. Fecal samples were taken at the end of each period and sieved with a set of two wire-mesh screens with pore sizes of 5 mm and 2 mm under running tap water. Yeast probiotic supplementation significantly reduced (P 5 mm was accompanied by 1.2 and 0.65 kg/d decrease in MY, 2.5 and 2 kg/d decrease in ECM and 3.2 and 2.6 kg/d in FCM before and during LYP supplementation, respectively. Fecal particle distribution appears to be a practicable tool to predict influences of feeding systems on feed valorization and performance in dairy cows. Live yeast increases dairy performance and decreases the quantity of fecal particles remaining in the two sieves after rinsing.展开更多
基金Supported by National Key R&D Program of China,No.21YFC2301801Capital's Funds for Health Improvement and Research of China,No.2020-1-2171.
文摘BACKGROUND Alterations in plasma and intestinal metabolites contribute to the pathogenesis and progression of alcohol-related liver cirrhosis(ALC).AIM To explore the common and different metabolites in the plasma and feces of patients with ALC and evaluate their clinical implications.METHODS According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria,27 patients with ALC and 24 healthy controls(HCs)were selected,and plasma and feces samples were collected.Liver function,blood routine,and other indicators were detected with automatic biochemical and blood routine analyzers.Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to detect the plasma and feces metabolites of the two groups and the metabolomics of plasma and feces.Also,the correlation between metabolites and clinical features was analyzed.RESULTS More than 300 common metabolites were identified in the plasma and feces of patients with ALC.Pathway analysis showed that these metabolites are enriched in bile acid and amino acid metabolic pathways.Compared to HCs,patients with ALC had a higher level of glycocholic acid(GCA)and taurocholic acid(TCA)in plasma and a lower level of deoxycholic acid(DCA)in the feces,while L-threonine,L-phenylalanine,and L-tyrosine increased simultaneously in plasma and feces.GCA,TCA,L-methionine,L-phenylalanine,and L-tyrosine in plasma were positively correlated with total bilirubin(TBil),prothrombin time(PT),and maddrey discriminant function score(MDF)and negatively correlated with cholinesterase(CHE)and albumin(ALB).The DCA in feces was negatively correlated with TBil,MDF,and PT and positively correlated with CHE and ALB.Moreover,we established a P/S BA ratio of plasma primary bile acid(GCA and TCA)to fecal secondary bile acid(DCA),which was relevant to TBil,PT,and MDF score.CONCLUSION The enrichment of GCA,TCA,L-phenylalanine,L-tyrosine,and L-methionine in the plasma of patients with ALC and the reduction of DCA in feces were related to the severity of ALC.These metabolites may be used as indicators to evaluate the progression of alcohol-related liver cirrhosis.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.81972726,No.81871949 and No.81572345.
文摘Novel non-/minimally-invasive and effective approaches are urgently needed to supplement and improve current strategies for diagnosis and management of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Overwhelming evidence from published studies on HCC has documented that multiple molecular biomarkers detected in body fluids and feces can be utilized in early-diagnosis,predicting responses to specific therapies,evaluating prognosis before or after therapy,as well as serving as novel therapeutic targets.Detection and analysis of proteins,metabolites,circulating nucleic acids,circulating tumor cells,and extracellular vesicles in body fluids(e.g.,blood and urine)and gut microbiota(e.g.,in feces)have excellent capabilities to improve different aspects of management of HCC.Numerous studies have been devoted in identifying more promising candidate biomarkers and therapeutic targets for diagnosis,treatment,and monitoring responses of HCC to conventional therapies,most of which may improve diagnosis and management of HCC in the future.This review aimed to summarize recent advances in utilizing these biomarkers in HCC and discuss their clinical significance.
文摘In order to clarify whether the planktivorous silver carp and bighead carp can collect phytoplanktonas small as Cyclotella(【20μm)in Donghu Lake,studies on phytoplankton in their gut contents and feceswere made in 1990.The fish were cultured in both net cage in Donghu Lake and aquaria with the lakewater.Past the intestine,the average valve diameter of Cyclotella changed little.The average ratio of emptyfrustule of Cyclotella to total Cyclotella in the foregut contents of the fishes were 1.8—1.9 times higherthan that in the lake water,but changed little from foregut to feces.The aquarium experiment showedthat both carps could collect particles as small as 8-10μm, which was obviously narrower than the dis-tance between their gill rakers.Probably,secretion of mucus plays an important role in collecting suchsmall
文摘Molecular microbiological methods, such as competetive PCR, real-time PCR, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and large-scale parallel-pyrosequencing, require the extraction of sufficient quantity of high quality DNA from microbiologically and chemically complex matrices. Due to difficulties in the field to standardize/select the optimum DNA preservation-extraction methods in view of laboratories differences, this article attempts to present a straight-forward mathematical framework for comparing some of the most commonly used methods. To this end, as a case study, the problem of selecting an optimum sample preservation-DNA extraction strategy for obtaining total bacterial DNA from swine feces was considered. Two sample preservation methods (liquid nitrogen and RNAlater?) and seven extraction techniques were paired and compared under six quantitative DNA analysis criteria: yield of extraction, purity of extracted DNA (A260/280 and A 260/230 ratios), duration of extraction, degradation degree of DNA, and cost. From a practical point of view, it is unlikely that a single sample preservation-DNA extraction strategy can be optimum for all selected criteria. Hence, a systematic multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach was used to compare the methods. As a result, the ZR Fecal DNA MiniPrepTM DNA extraction kit for samples preserved either with liquid nitrogen or RNAlater? were identified as potential optimum solutions for obtaining total bacterial DNA from swine feces. Considering the need for practicality for in situ applications, we would recommend liquid nitrogen as sample preservation method, along with the ZR Fecal DNA MiniPrepTM kit. Total bacterial DNA obtained by this strategy can be suitable for downstream PCR-based DNA analyses of swine feces.
基金Support by Budget Implementation Registration Form of Bogor Agricultural University(No.571/IT3.11/PL/2015)
文摘Objective: To determine the occurrence of CTX-M producing Escherichia coli(E. coli)from cattle feces in Bogor slaughterhouse, Indonesia.Methods: A total of 220 cattle feces samples were collected from Bogor slaughterhouse from March to April 2015. Presence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase(ESBL) producing E. coli was detected by disc diffusion test based on the recommendation from Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute(2014). Bacterial strains which were confirmed as producing ESBLs were further analyzed for the presence of bla genes of the ESBL by PCR.Results: The results showed that CTX-M producing E. coli isolates were detected in 19 samples from 220 samples(8.6%). The b-lactamase genes detected were CTX-M-1(n = 10) and CTX-M-9(n = 9). All of the CTX-M producing E. coli isolates showed multidrug resistance phenotypes to at least four antibiotics. The highest incidence of antibiotics resistance was showed to ampicillin(100.0%), cefotaxime(100.0%), and cefpodoxime(100.0%), followed by streptomycin(84.3%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole(73.7%), erythromycin(52.6%), kanamycin(26.3%), doxycycline(10.5%), and ceftazidime(0.0%).Conclusions: Detection of CTX-M-producing E. coli in cattle feces raises important questions as they can represent a potential risk factor to public health.
基金This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.31930013,31872240)the National Key Program of Research and Development,Ministry of Science and Technology(2016YFC0503200)Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences(2020086)to SP.
文摘Background:As an important player during food digestion,gut microbiota has attracted much attention in diet adaptation studies in birds.Microbiota extracted from feces has been widely used as a proxy for gut microbiota.Although several methods have been developed for microbial DNA extraction,their performances in the bird feces have not been systematacially evaluated yet.Methods:In this study,we applied three DNA extraction methods(Qiagen,MoBio and Bead)to extract DNA from feces of three avian dietary guilds(granivore,omnivore and carnivore),sequenced V4 region of 16S rRNA gene for each extract and evaluated the performances of DNA yield,DNA integrity,microbial composition,cell lysis capacity and alpha diversity for the three methods on each dietary guild.Results:Bead method was the best on the performance of both DNA yield and DNA integrity regardless of dietary guild.In granivore,microbial relative abundance at both species and phylum levels,alpha diversity and cell lysis capacity were comparable among all methods.In omnivore,Qiagen had the best performance on alpha diversity,fol-lowed by Bead and MoBio.There were small variations on microbial relative abundance at both species and phylum levels among different extraction methods.MoBio exhibited the best performance on cell lysis capacity.In carnivore,considerable variations were found on microbial relative abundance at both species and phylum levels.Qiagen had the best performance on alpha diversity,followed by MoBio and Bead.MoBio had the highest cell lysis capacity.Conclusions:DNA yield and integrity have no obvious impact on microbial composition,alpha diversity or cell lysis capacity.The microbiota results(e.g.,microbial composition,cell lysis capacity,alpha diversity)obtained from differ-ent methods are comparable in granivorous avian species but not in omnivorous or carnivorous birds.Either method could be used in granivore microbiota studies.For omnivores and carnivores,we recommend Qiagen method when the research purpose is microbial diversity and MoBio when gram-positive bacteria is the research target.
文摘Fecal indicators of nutritional status of wild ungulates were less constrained than that of blood, rumen contents, or urine analyses. Thus, we compared the nitrogen and fiber concentrations of feces with those of the rumen contents of Mongolian gazelles (Procapra guttrurosa) in Hulunbeier Grassland. Rumen contents and fecal nutritional concentrations varied in different seasons. Dietary nitrogen concentrations only increased linearly with increase nitrogen concentration in fecal in winter. There was a positive correlation between rumen NDF (neutral detergent fiber) and fecal NDF concentrations. But the regression coefficient was small (r=0.3917). There was a significant regression equation between rumen contents ADF (acid detergent fiber) and fecal ADF concentrations,as well as ADL (acid detergent lignin) concentrations. Nitrogen concentration was found to be negatively correlated with NDF ADF and ADL concentrations both in rumen and in fecal compositions. Our data suggest that fecal nitrogen, ADF ADL concentrations may assess winter dietary qualities that are in protein, crude fiber and lignin concentrations for Mongolian gazelles.
基金Supported by the Excellent Young Scholars Research Foundation of Beijing Institute of Technology(2007Y0612)
文摘Swertisin contents in rat urine,feces and tissues were determined by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography(RP-HPLC) method.Chromatographic separations were performed on a C18 column with acetonitrile-water(23:77,v/v) as the mobile phase.The calibration curves were linear over the ranges of 0.175-35.0μg/mL for rat urine,0.5-60.0μg/mL for rat feces,and 0.014 to 53.0μg/mL for all tissues.The inter-and intra-day precisions and accuracy for all measured samples were satisfactory.The fully validated method was applied for tissue distribution and excretion of swertisin in rat urine and bile after intravenous administration.The maximum level of swertisin was found in kidney,which reached 83.87± 6.36μg/g.In rat heart,swertisin was hardly detected under used experimental conditions.Swetisin level in liver,kidney,stomach,smooth muscle and skeletal muscle continued to decrease from 5 to 60min.Swertisin showed increasing tendency in intestine,spleen and testis tissues at scheduled time points.Detectable swertisin was found in brain and lung tissue.Totally 11.9% swertisin dose was cumulatively excreted from urine in 60h after intravenous administration.There was small amount of swertisin in rat feces and the cumulative excretion level reached 4.59% of intravenous dose in 60h.
文摘<b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Background:</span></b><span style="font-family:""> <i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Campylobacter</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> contamination in poultry and poultry product has been reported worldwide. The present study aims to determine the prevalence of </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Campylobacter</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> in poultry feces using selective enrichment Bolton broth and multiplex PCR. </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Method:</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> Two methods were used in this study</span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">:</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> the first </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">was</span><span style="font-family:""> <span style="font-family:Verdana;">direct</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> plating of poultry feces into mCCDA agar plates. </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">The second</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">, three</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> antibiotics were used at different concentrations to add in Bolton broth supplemented. These antibiotics were Rifampicin (Oxoid, </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Nepean, Ontario) with 10</span></span><span style="font-family:""> </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">mg/L, colistin (Oxoid, Nepean, Ontario) with 1</span><span style="font-family:""> </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">mg/mL and 2</span><span style="font-family:""> </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">mg/mL;trimethoprim (Oxoid, Nepean, Ontario) with 10</span><span style="font-family:""> </span><span style="font-family:""><span style="font-family:Verdana;">mg/L. The colonies with typical </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">campylobacter</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> morphology on blood agar (little, red </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">and</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> ring colonies) were further identified to the species level by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR). </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Results:</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> The addition of colistin (2</span></span><span style="font-family:""> </span><span style="font-family:""><span style="font-family:Verdana;">mg/mL) to the Bolton broth with selective supplements enhanced the selective isolation of </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Campylobacter</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> strains. Out of the 52 feces samples, 18 (34.61%) were positive for </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">campylobacter</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> and direct plating on mCCDA 11 (21.15%) </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">campylobacter</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> strains (p < 0.05). The PCR results have shown that 17 (94.45%) of the </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">campylobacter</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> strains detected belonged to </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Campylobacter </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">coli</span> </i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">and 1</span></span><span style="font-family:""> </span><span style="font-family:""><span style="font-family:Verdana;">(5.55%) strain to </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Campylobacter </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">jejuni</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">. </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Conclusion: </span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Although it </span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">i</span><span style="font-family:""><span style="font-family:Verdana;">s known to be difficult to isolate </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Campylobacter</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> from animal feces samples, this study show</span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">s</span><span><span> that antibiotic selective pressure improves the isolation efficiency of </span><i><span>Campylobacter</span></i><span> from poultry feces.
基金financially supported by the Scientific and Technological Project of Heilongjiang Province(Grant No.2021ZXJ03B05)the Heilongjiang Provincial Postdoctoral Science Foundation(Grant No.LBH-Q17021).
文摘Aiming at a series of hot issues and topics,such as resource waste,environmental pollution,and Mollisol protection,related to the arbitrary discharge of livestock and poultry feces,livestock and poultry feces are taken as the research object,a questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate residents’cognition and willingness to pay(WTP)for the nonmarket value of livestock and poultry feces returning to farmland in Heilongjiang Province,China.The contingent valuation method(CVM)was used for the correlation analysis of WTP and socioeconomic characteristics,and correlation analysis of payment mode and socioeconomic characteristics.Meanwhile,the factors influencing WTP and payment mode were analyzed.The results show that the majority of the respondents are aware of the harmfulness of the arbitrary discharge of livestock and poultry feces and the importance of its nonmarket regeneration value.Approximately 90.09% of respondents were willing to pay for the return of livestock and poultry feces to fields.In 2020,the total value of WTP of livestock and poultry feces returning to farmland in Heilongjiang Province was 4.65 billion CNY,equivalent to 1.32% of the total agricultural production of Heilongjiang Province in the same year.And the nonmarket value of livestock and poultry feces is estimated to be 1456.69 CNY/t.The annual average WTP of rural and urban households is 286.42 CNY and 422.90 CNY per household,accounting for 0.46% and 0.52% of the average annual income of households,respectively.Therefore,the return of livestock and poultry feces to farmland utilization has a high nonmarket value.The analysis shows that the average annual household income is a significant factor in WTP,and the registered permanent residence type and the average annual household income are significant factors in payment mode.The research results should provide a scientific and theoretical basis for the government’s policy and decision-making on the return of livestock and poultry feces to farmland.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.51021140002)the National Program of Water Pollution Control(No.2008ZX07317-004)the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University(No.IRT0853)。
文摘Aerobic composting is a method for the sanitary disposal of human feces as is used in bio-toilet systems.As the products of composting can be utilized as a fertilizer,it would be beneficial if the composting conditions could be more precisely controlled for the retention of fecal nitrogen as long as possible in the compost.In this study,batch experiments were conducted using a closed aerobic thermophilic composting reactor with sawdust as the bulk matrix to simulate the condition of a bio-toilet for the sanitary disposal of human feces.Attention was paid to the characteristics of nitrogen transformation.Under the controlled conditions of temperature at 60°C,moisture content at 60%,and a continuous air supply,more than 70%fecal organic removal was obtained,while merely 17%fecal nitrogen loss was observed over a two-week composting period.The nitrogen loss was found to occur mainly in the first 24 h with the rapid depletion of inorganic nitrogen but with an almost unchanged organic nitrogen content.The fecal NH4-N which was the main component of the inorganic nitrogen(>90%)decreased rapidly in the first day,decreased at a slower rate over the following days,and finally disappeared entirely.The depletion of NH4-N was accompanied by the accumulation of NH3 gas in the ammonia absorber connected to the reactor.A mass balance between the exhausted NH3 gas and the fecal NH4-N content in the first 24 hours indicated that the conversion of ammonium into gaseous ammonia was the main reason for nitrogen loss.Thermophilic composting could be considered as a way to keep a high organic nitrogen content in the compost for better utilization as a fertilizer.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2018YFA0900400)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.21635006 and21721005)。
文摘As the connecting part of diet and host physiology,intestinal microbes can convert the ingested diet into a huge number of physiologically active small molecules.Indole metabolites of tryptophan are precursors or signal molecules for many biologically active substances,which are involved in serotonin and microbial catabolism pathways.To understand the influence of tryptophan metabolism in the intestinal environment on the neurological and immune systems at the molecular level,it is important to establish a high-coverage analytical method to comprehensively analyze the metabolites involved in tryptophan metabolism.However,due to a small molecular weight and poor response during mass spectrometry analysis,as well as weak retention on the reversed-phase chromatography,determination of indole metabolites of tryptophan is challenging.Here,we proposed a method for the simultaneous determination of 20 indole metabolites of tryptophan in a single run on reversed-phase chromatography by chemical labeling coupled to liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis.4-(Dimethylamino)benzaldehyde(DMAB)was used for the labeling of indole metabolites of tryptophan,which could significantly improve the detection sensitivities and retention of these metabolites on reversed-phase chromatography.With the developed method,we realized the sensitive detection and comprehensive analysis of 15 endogenous indole metabolites of tryptophan in rat feces samples with functional dyspepsia intervention by acupuncture.The developed method offers a useful tool for studying tryptophan metabolism-related diseases.
基金supported by the Key Deployment Projects of Chinese Academy of Sciences(KJZD-SW-L11)the International Partnership Program from the Bureau of International Cooperation,Chinese Academy of Sciences(153B42KYSB20200013)+2 种基金the Strategic Priority Science and Technology Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(Category B)(XDB42000000)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(grant no.31900154)the Chinese polar scientific strategy Research Fund(IC201706)
文摘Antarctica and the Arctic are the coldest places, containing a high diversity of microorganisms, including viruses,which are important components of polar ecosystems. However, owing to the difficulties in obtaining access to animal and environmental samples, the current knowledge of viromes in polar regions is still limited. To better understand polar viromes, this study performed a retrospective analysis using metagenomic sequencing data of animal feces from Antarctica and frozen soil from the Arctic collected during 2012–2014. The results reveal diverse communities of DNA and RNA viruses from at least 23 families from Antarctic animal feces and 16families from Arctic soils. Although the viral communities from Antarctica and the Arctic show a large diversity,they have genetic similarities with known viruses from different ecosystems and organisms with similar viral proteins. Phylogenetic analysis of Microviridae, Parvoviridae, and Larvidaviridae was further performed, and complete genomic sequences of two novel circular replication-associated protein(rep)-encoding single-stranded(CRESS) DNA viruses closely related to Circoviridae were identified. These results reveal the high diversity,complexity, and novelty of viral communities from polar regions, and suggested the genetic similarity and functional correlations of viromes between the Antarctica and Arctic. Variations in viral families in Arctic soils,Arctic freshwater, and Antarctic soils are discussed. These findings improve our understanding of polar viromes and suggest the importance of performing follow-up in-depth investigations of animal and environmental samples from Antarctica and the Arctic, which would reveal the substantial role of these viruses in the global viral community.
文摘Probiotics are beneficial microorganisms with certain characteristics such as survival under gastrointestinal conditions,adhesion to intestinal surface and different functions which result in several health benefits to host.With this regards,this study aimed to isolate Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) from sourdough and human feces as two different environments and to test their potential probiotic functions.In total nine distinct isolates were assessed with several probiotic functions such as in vitro adhesion to human colon cells,antimicrobial activities and survival under harsh gastrointestinal conditions.In general,distinct strains showed strong antimicrobial activity against the pathogenic and fungal strains tested in this study.Importantly,the adhesion levels to HT29 cells were determined between 0.29 % and 9.54% and Lactobacillus paracasei F7B showed the highest adhesion.All isolates tolerated the bile salt after 24 h and the infant feces isolates showed good survival characteristics at pH 4.
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China[31301889]the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities[lzujbky-2014-97,lzujbky-2021-sp03].
文摘The behavioral video recordings of the gray-backed shrike Lanius tephronotus revealed that parent birds eat the feces produced by their nestlings.“Parental nutrition hypothesis”attributes the origin of this behavior to nutrition-recovery and cost-saving,respectively.However,the presence of usable nutrients in the nestlings’feces is unknown because of traditional technology.In this study,we analyzed all the metabolites and the variations in the diversity and content of microbes in the feces of gray-backed shrike nestlings.We aimed to report the changes in microbes and metabolites with the age of nestlings and point out that the parent birds that eat the feces may gain potential nutrition benefits.The results showed that the relative abundances of Proteobacteria,Firmicutes,and Bacteroidota,changed significantly when the nestlings were 6 days old.The relative abundances of 6 probiotics,which are involved in digestion,metabolism,and immunity-related physiological functions,decreased in the nestlings’feces gradually with age;therefore,these probiotics may be obtained by parent birds upon ingestion of the feces of young nestlings.Among the metabolites that were detected,20 were lipids and some had a role in anti-parasitic functions and wound healing;however,their relative contents decreased with age.These beneficial substances in the nestlings’feces may stimulate the parents to swallow the feces.Moreover,there were many aromatic metabolites in the newly hatched nestlings’feces,but the content of bitter metabolites increased as they grew up.Therefore,our results are in accordance with the nutritional hypothesis.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(51506217)Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest of China(201403019)Bill&Melinda Gates foundation(29035035).
文摘With the rapid development of urbanization in China,the existing municipal network cannot cover all areas and solve all human waste treatment problems.Biogas plants,as an important nationally developmental strategy for cleaner energy production and environmental protection,have been widely used in many industrial and agricultural fields.This research analyzed the mass flow and operation performance in a biogas plant treating human feces at a practical rather than laboratory scale.The biogas plant operated on mesophilic semi-continuous mode at the organic loading rates(OLRs)of 0.56 kg volatile solid(VS)/(m³·d)and average total solid(TS)contents of 3.50%.Results showed that the average biogas production and methane yield were(145±10)m³/d and(471±17)m³CH4/(t VS),respectively.Annual total feeding amount was 2555.0 t.Among these,there were 58.04 t biogas and 2496.97 t digestate,including 43.07 t solid residues and 2453.90 t liquid digestate.For the full-scale biogas plant,anaerobic bacteria could acclimatize to high total ammonia nitrogen(TAN)concentration(3659 mg/L)and tolerate high free ammonia nitrogen(FAN)concentration of 561 mg/L.It also had strong autoregulation for adapting the large range(2.02-15.18 g/L)and high concentration(15.18 g/L)of influent volatile fatty acid(VFA).In order to achieve its sustainable development and high efficient operation,it is very important to improve the feeding concentration,using digestate to dilute raw material and adding some high C/N raw material in human feces.In conclusion,the biogas plant was an excellent alternative technology for treating human feces.
基金The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support from the National Key R&D Program of China(2016YFD0700204-02)the China Agriculture Research System(CARS-36)+1 种基金the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(2017M611346)the Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province of China(C2018018).
文摘Predicting the excretion of feces,urine and nitrogen(N)from dairy cows is an effective way to prevent and control the environmental pollution caused by scaled farming.The traditional prediction methods such as pollutant generation coefficient(PGC)and mathematical model based on linear regression(LR)may be limited by prediction range and regression function assumption,and sometimes may deviate from the actual condition.In order to solve these problems,the support vector regression(SVR)was applied for predicting the cows'feces,urine and N excretions,taking Holstein dry cows as a case study.SVR is a typical non-parametric machine learning model that does not require any specific assumptions about the regression function in advance and only by learning the training sample data,and also it can fit the function closest to the actual in most cases.To evaluate prediction accuracy effectively,the SVR technique was compared with the LR and radial basis function artificial neural network(RBF-ANN)methods,using the required sample data obtained from actual feeding experiments.The prediction results indicate that the proposed technique is superior to the other two conventional(especially LR)methods in predicting the main indicators of feces,urine,and N excretions of Holstein dry cows.
基金This work was financially supported by the Shanghai University Knowledge Service Platform,Shanghai Ocean University Aquatic Animal Breeding Center(ZF1206).
文摘Two trials were conducted to evaluate the effects of positively buoyant dietary materials on growth,intestinal health,and fecal properties of tilapia.In trial 1,ten diets containing 0(control)1%,2%or 3%cork,expanded and vitrified microball or expanded vermiculilite fine particles(250e450 mm)were fed to tilapia fry(5.0±0.1 g)for 30 days to evaluate the effects on the growth and feeding efficiencies.In trial 2,the three buoyant materials with coarse particles(450e830 mm)were included in diets at 0(control),3%,4%or 5%supplementation levels to feed tilapia juveniles(55.0±1.0 g),and the growth,feed efficiencies,evacuation velocity,fecal floatability and intestinal histology were examined after 21 days feeding.In trial 1,the weight gain(WG)of the fish significantly decreased with the supplementation of 2%,3%cork,3%microball or 3%vermiculite(P<0.05),and the feed conversion ratio(FCR)was significantly increased by 3%cork and 3%vermiculite(P<0.05)when compared to the control.In trial 2,cork-fed groups were observed to have more floating feces than microball-and vermiculite-fed groups.Dietary cork significantly decreased the sinking velocity of diets and feces(P<.05),but microball only decreased the sinking velocity of diets,and vermiculite(4%,5%)decreased the sinking velocity of feces(P<0.05).All buoyant materials supplemented groups showed lower WG and higher FCR than the control(P<.05).The intestine evacuation velocity and villus height,crypt depth,muscle thickness of intestinal walls were decreased by the increasing buoyant materials in diets,and 5%microball group showed the lowest values among all groups.In conclusion,dietary cork,microball and vermiculite(3%e5%)negatively affect the growth performance and intestinal histology of tilapia,and diets with cork supplementation could decrease the density of feed and feces to produce floating feces.
基金This research was supported by Special Funds for Prevention and Control of COVID-19 of Sichuan University and West China Hospital(No.2020scunCoV10004 and HX-2019-nCoV-010)grant of Chengdu Bureau of Science and technology(2020-YF05-00216-SN and 2020-YF05-00218-SN).
文摘Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)currently has spread all over the world.However,the dynamic characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infections have not previously been described in detail.Here,we report a cured patient in West China Hospital,and describe the dynamic detection of SARS-CoV-2-RNA in different specimens and viral specific IgM and IgG antibodies in blood.The findings suggest that the fecal SARS-CoV-2-RNA negativity may be considered as a new standard for de isolation.Serum IgM and IgG antibodies detection were helpful for early diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and judgment of patients in recovery stage,respectively.
文摘The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of a faeces sieving tool “Digescan” as an indicator of feed valorization, and to test the influence of feeding strategy on fecal particle size (PS) distribution and weight, milk performance and the possible association between them. Data from 95 trials were used. During each trial, two periods were identified: before and during live yeast probiotic (LYP) supplementation. The LYP used at 5 g/d/cow was Saccharomyces cerevisiae (CNCM I-4407, 1010 CFU/g, Actisaf<sup>®</sup> Sc47;Phileo by Lesaffre, France). Milk yield and composition were recorded. Fecal samples were taken at the end of each period and sieved with a set of two wire-mesh screens with pore sizes of 5 mm and 2 mm under running tap water. Yeast probiotic supplementation significantly reduced (P 5 mm was accompanied by 1.2 and 0.65 kg/d decrease in MY, 2.5 and 2 kg/d decrease in ECM and 3.2 and 2.6 kg/d in FCM before and during LYP supplementation, respectively. Fecal particle distribution appears to be a practicable tool to predict influences of feeding systems on feed valorization and performance in dairy cows. Live yeast increases dairy performance and decreases the quantity of fecal particles remaining in the two sieves after rinsing.
