Intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (IFABP; FABP2) and liver fatty acid-binding protein (LFABP; FABP1) are small intracellular lipid-binding proteins. Deficiency of either of these proteins in mice leads to differential changes in intestinal lipid transport and metabolism, and to markedly divergent changes in whole-body energy homeostasis. The gut microbiota has been reported to play a pivotal role in metabolic process in the host and can be affected by host genetic factors. Here, we examined the phenotypes of wild-type (WT), LFABP−/−, and IFABP−/− mice before and after high-fat diet (HFD) feeding and applied 16S rRNA gene V4 sequencing to explore guild-level changes in the gut microbiota and their associations with the phenotypes. The results show that, compared with WT and IFABP−/− mice, LFABP−/− mice gained more weight, had longer intestinal transit time, less fecal output, and more guilds containing bacteria associated with obesity, such as members in family Desulfovibrionaceae. By contrast, IFABP−/− mice gained the least weight, had the shortest intestinal transit time, the most fecal output, and the highest abundance of potentially beneficial guilds such as those including members from Akkermansia, Lactobacillus, and Bifidobacterium. Twelve out of the eighteen genotype-related bacterial guilds were associated with body weight. Interestingly, compared with WT mice, the levels of short-chain fatty acids in feces were significantly higher in LFABP−/− and IFABP−/− mice under both diets. Collectively, these studies show that the ablation of LFABP or IFABP induced marked changes in the gut microbiota, and these were associated with HFD-induced phenotypic changes in these mice.
Powder flow properties are critical bulk level features for the manufacturing of solid dosage forms. Small-scale powder flow measurements are also widely accepted as a tool for predicting large-scale production failure. The aim of this study is to explore the flow properties of a two-component powder mixture and investigate the effect of mixing two powders with different properties on the flow properties parameters. To achieve this aim, 12 blends were prepared using an acoustic mixer (Labram). The flow properties were studied using rotational shear cell methodology. The results showed that the addition of Micr APAP into the excipients with good flow properties significantly increased the flow resistance of the prepared blends and consequently reduced their flow properties. The main driving factor in determining the flow properties is the particle size of the blend’s components. The results of this study suggest that it is very important to measure the flow properties of any pharmaceutical blends and not depend only on the flow properties of the original components before mixing.
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