Screening of candidate genes related to differences in growth and development between Chinese indigenous and Western pig breeds.

Neijiang (NJ) and Yacha (YC) are two indigenous pig breeds in the Sichuan basin of China, displaying higher resistance to diseases, lower lean ratio, and slower growth rate than the commercial Western pig breed Yorkshire (YS). The molecular mechanisms underlying the differences in growth and development between these pig breeds are still unknown. In the present study, five pigs from NJ, YC, and YS breeds were subjected to the whole genome resequencing, and then the differential single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were screened using a 10-kb window sliding in 1-kb step using the F method.

Thrombin immobilized polydopamine-diatom biosilica for effective hemorrhage control.

In this study, an efficient composite hemostatic material (DA-diatom-T) was prepared, using a polydopamine layer as a linker to immobilize thrombin on the surface of diatom biosilica. DA-diatom-T retained the porous structure of the diatom with high water absorption capacity, which can absorb 31 times its own weight of water. The thrombin activity of DA-diatom-T was as high as 5.

Hair as a noninvasive biomarker of human exposure to the endocrine disruptors polybrominated diphenyl ethers: a meta-analysis.

Several epidemiological studies with small sample sizes have suggested that hair is a promising biomarker of exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). We reanalyzed the data from human studies to investigate correlations between the concentrations of the five main congeners in hair and serum. We searched medical article databases for articles that reported correlation coefficients for concentrations of PBDEs in hair and serum.

Chitosan/Diatom-Biosilica Aerogel with Controlled Porous Structure for Rapid Hemostasis.

Uncontrolled hemorrhage is the main reason of possible preventable death after accidental injury. It is necessary to develop a hemostatic agent with rapid hemostatic performance and good biocompatibility. In this study, a chitosan/diatom-biosilica-based aerogel is developed using dopamine as cross-linker by simple alkaline precipitation and tert-butyl alcohol replacement.

Mechanically and functionally strengthened tissue adhesive of chitin whisker complexed chitosan/dextran derivatives based hydrogel.

Schiff base reaction crosslinking hydrogels are advantageous by rapid formation and absence of external crosslinkers. However, poor mechanical hindered their broader applications. Here, a mechanically strengthened tissue adhesive was constructed through incorporation of chitin nano-whiskers (CtNWs) with a Schiff base crosslinking hydrogel of carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) and dextran dialdehyde (DDA).

Hydroxybutyl Chitosan Centered Biocomposites for Potential Curative Applications: A Critical Review.

Chitosan (CS), a natural biopolymer, has been extensively explored for multiple applications including tissue engineering, gene therapy, bioimaging, and sewage treatment due to its abundant availability, intrinsic biocompatibility, biodegradability, and tunable biological properties. Nevertheless, the actual use of CS is limited because of its water-insolubility in physiological circumstances, which could be optimized by chemical modifications via active side groups. Etherification is one of the most widely used reactions to obtain water-soluble CS derivatives, such as hydroxybutyl CS (HBC).

Thermo/photo dual-crosslinking chitosan-gelatin methacrylate hydrogel with controlled shrinking property for contraction fabrication.

Stimuli-responsive gel volume variation is reversible and has shown promising applications, which may be potential for contraction or expansion fabrication, generating shrinking or swelling volume of the original. In this study, a thermo/photo dual-crosslinking hydrogel is prepared with methacrylated hydroxylbutyl chitosan (MHBC) and gelatin methacrylate (GelMA). The M/G hydrogel undergoes sol-gel phase transition under room temperature and shrinking deformation upon elevating temperature.

Hydroxybutyl chitosan/diatom-biosilica composite sponge for hemorrhage control.

Effective bleeding control is critical first step in current civilian and military trauma treatment, however commercially available hemostatic materials are difficult to achieve expected effects. In this study, a composite sponge (H-D) based on hydroxybutyl chitosan (HBC) and diatom-biosilica (DB) was designed for hemorrhage control. H-D exhibited hierarchical porous structure, favorable biocompatibility (hemolysis ratio < 5 %, no cytotoxicity), along with high and fast fluid absorbability (11-16 times than that of weight), given effective hemostasis effect (clotting time shortened by 70 % than that of control).

The toughness chitosan-PVA double network hydrogel based on alkali solution system and hydrogen bonding for tissue engineering applications.

Biocompatibility and mechanical properties have always been important indicators for the application of hydrogel materials in tissue engineering. In this work, a high strength and toughness chitosan-poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) DN (double network) hydrogel based on multiple hydrogen bonding interactions was prepared by applying the simple freezing-heating alternate treatment to the chitosan-PVA alkaline solution. The PVA first network was prepared by freeze crystallization, and the chitosan second network was constructed by raising the chitosan/KOH/urea temperature to 45 °C.

Preparation and characterization of chitosan from crab shell (Portunus trituberculatus) by NaOH/urea solution freeze-thaw pretreatment procedure.

The effect of NaOH/urea solution freeze-thaw pretreatment to the chitosan of purity and the degree of deacetylation from the crab shell was examined. Higher purity chitosan (CS1) was prepared. On this basis, the raw materials after the first demineralization were pretreated with NaOH/urea solution freeze-thaw under different freeze-thaw situations.

Fast Supervised Topic Models for Short Text Emotion Detection.

With the development of social network platforms, discussion forums, and question answering websites, a huge number of short messages that typically contain a few words for an individual document are posted by online users. In these short messages, emotions are frequently embedded for communicating opinions, expressing friendship, and promoting influence. It is quite valuable to detect emotions from short messages, but the corresponding task suffers from the sparsity of feature space.

Construction of physical-crosslink chitosan/PVA double-network hydrogel with surface mineralization for bone repair.

Weak mechanical properties, lack biocompatibility and relatively bioinert are formidable obstruct in application of bone repair materials. Multifunctional composite materials have been considered as a viable solution to this problem. Here, a new double network (DN) hydrogel was constructed by physical cross-linking of medical grade poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and chitosan in KOH/urea dissolution system.

A surface charge dependent enhanced Th1 antigen-specific immune response in lymph nodes by transfersome-based nanovaccine-loaded dissolving microneedle-assisted transdermal immunization.

The efficient delivery of vaccines to draining lymph nodes and the induction of robust local immune responses are crucial for immunotherapy. Transdermal administration has been evidenced to facilitate the delivery of ingredients to lymph nodes. In this study, transfersomes with opposite surface charges were applied for antigen encapsulation and these were integrated with dissolving microneedles to investigate their effects on immune responses via transdermal immunization.

Development of alginate hydrogel/gum Arabic/gelatin based composite capsules and their application as oral delivery carriers for antioxidant.

We have designed microcapsules-immobilized composite capsules and evaluated the oral delivery efficacy. The composite capsules were developed by encapsulating Perinereis aibuhitensis extract (PaE), a model substance possessing antioxidant activity, loaded gum Arabic/gelatin microcapsules in calcium alginate (CA) hydrogel (PaE:CA/GA/GE-CCs). In vitro antioxidant assay showed the obtained composite capsules were able to protect PaE from gastric acid, since O scavenging rate of encapsulated PaE was about 1.

Optimization of the preparation conditions of thermo-sensitive chitosan hydrogel in heterogeneous reaction using response surface methodology.

A thermo-sensitive hydroxybutyl chitosan (HBC) hydrogel was prepared by using 1,2‑butene oxide as an etherification modifying agent. To obtain the maximum yield of HBC, response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize its preparation conditions. Key factors were chosen firstly by Plackett-Burman design (PBD) experiments, such as the concentration of NaOH, the ratio of isopropanol to water and reaction temperature.

Transcriptomic profiling in muscle and adipose tissue identifies genes related to growth and lipid deposition.

Growth performance and meat quality are important traits for the pig industry and consumers. Adipose tissue is the main site at which fat storage and fatty acid synthesis occur. Therefore, we combined high-throughput transcriptomic sequencing in adipose and muscle tissues with the quantification of corresponding phenotypic features using seven Chinese indigenous pig breeds and one Western commercial breed (Yorkshire).