BackgroundThe chicken gastrointestinal tract contains a diverse microbiota whose composition and structure play important roles in gut functionality. In this study, microbial shifts resulting from feed supplementation with Bacillus subtilis CSL2 were evaluated in broilers challenged and unchallenged with Salmonella Gallinarum. To analyse bacterial community composition and functionality, 454 GS-FLX pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons was performed.ResultsThe Quantitative Insights into Microbial Ecology (QIIME) pipeline was used to analyse changes in the faecal microbiota over a 24-h period. A total of 718,204 sequences from broiler chickens were recorded and analysed. At the phylum level, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria were the predominant bacterial taxa. In Salmonella-infected chickens (SC), Bacteroidetes were more highly abundant compared to control (NC) and Bacillus-treated (BT) chickens. At the genus level, in the NC and BT groups, Lactobacillus was present at high abundance, and the abundance of Turicibacter, unclassified Enterobacteriaceae, and Bacteroides increased in SC broilers. Furthermore, taxon-independent analysis showed that the SC and BT groups were compositionally distinct at the end of the 24-h period. Further analysis of functional properties showed that B. subtilis CSL2 administration increased gut-associated energy supply mechanisms (i.e. carbohydrate transport and metabolism) to maintain a stable microbiota and protect gut integrity.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated that S. Gallinarum infection and B. subtilis CSL2 supplementation in the diet of broiler chickens influenced the diversity, composition, and functional diversity of the faecal microbiota. Moreover, the findings offer significant insights to understand potential mechanisms of Salmonella infection and the mode of action of probiotics in broiler chickens.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40104-016-0130-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

MXene has shown enormous potential in scientific fields, including energy storage and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. Unfortunately, MXene-based material structures generally suffer from mechanical fragility and vulnerability to oxidation. Herein, musselinspired dopamine successfully addresses those weaknesses by improving interflake interaction and ordering in MXene assembled films. Dopamine undergoes in situ polymerization and binding at MXene flake surfaces by spontaneous interfacial charge transfer, yielding an ultrathin adhesive layer. Resultant nanocomposites with highly aligned tight layer structures achieve approximately seven times enhanced tensile strength with a simultaneous increase of elongation. Ambient stability of MXene films is also greatly improved by the effective screening of oxygen and moisture. Interestingly, angstrom thick polydopamine further promotes the innate high electrical conductivity and excellent EMI shielding properties of MXene films. This synergistic concurrent enhancement of physical properties proposes MXene/polydopamine hybrids as a general platform for MXene based reliable applications.

Alles klickt zusammen: Mittels kupferfreier 1,3‐dipolarer Cycloaddition einer Serie von Alkin‐ und Azid‐Bausteinen mit einer nicht‐Watson‐Crick‐artigen DNA‐Sekundärstruktur als Katalysator gelang die Identifizierung einer potenten Telomer‐erkennenden niedermolekularen Verbindung (siehe Bild). Die Methode ist allgemein anwendbar und liefert niedermolekulare Sonden, die selektiv zwischen einer gegebenen RNA oder DNA unterscheiden können.

A combination of objective and subjective assessments is needed for the early detection of the nutritional status in case of gastric cancer patients after gastrectomy.

To achieve successful therapeutic outcomes in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), continuous and adequate imatinib (Gleevec(®), Glivec(®), Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Basel, Switzerland) dosing is essential. Here, we report a patient counseling program ("Care club", "Happy club" in Korea) performed to improve patient compliance with imatinib. From January 2006 to December 2008, patients diagnosed with chronic phase CML and taking imatinb were eligible for this retrospective study. A total of 114 patients from 4 centers in Korea were recruited at a 50:50 ratio for Happy club group versus non-Happy club group at each center. During 36-month follow-up, persistency (the number of days of imatinib prescribed versus 1 year) was higher in the Happy club group (98.2 ± 0.03%) than in the non-Happy club group (79.3 ± 0.16%, P = 0.001), whereas dose compliance (miligrams of imatinib that were actually taken versus miligrams that should have been taken) was not different between two groups; 96.5 ± 0.6% and 96.6 ± 0.7% in the Happy club and non-Happy club (P = 0.958). Overall compliance (the product of persistency and dose compliance) improved in the Happy club group (93.0 ± 2.3%) compared with the non-Happy club group (76.2 ± 7.4%, P = 0.001). The patient counseling program was efficient especially in patients who needed high-dose imatinib (>400 mg/day), and overall compliance was 87.8 ± 6.0% in the Happy club group versus 65.5 ± 16.1% in the non-Happy club group (P = 0.017). In conclusion, the patient counseling program was effective in persisting imatinib medication, resulting in the improvement of overall compliance.

No abstract

Aqueous Zn–Br batteries (ZBBs) offer promising next‐generation high‐density energy storage for energy storage systems, along with distinctive cost effectiveness particularly in membraneless and flowless (MLFL) form. Unfortunately, they generally suffer from uncontrolled diffusion of corrosive bromine components, which cause serious self‐discharge and capacity fade. An MLFL‐ZBB is presented that fundamentally tackles the problem of bromine crossover by converting bromine to the polybromide anion using protonated pyridinic nitrogen doped microporous carbon decorated on graphite felt (NGF). The NGF electrodes efficiently capture bromine and polybromide anions at the abundant protonated nitrogen dopant sites within micropores and facilitate effective conversion of bromine into polybromides through electrochemical–chemical growth mechanism. The MLFL‐ZBBs with NGF exhibit an extraordinary stability over 1000 charge/discharge cycles, with an energy efficiency over 80%, the highest value ever reported among membraneless Zn–Br batteries. Judicious engineering of an atomistically designed nanostructured electrode offers a novel design platform for low cost, high voltage, long‐life cycle aqueous hybrid Zn–Br batteries.

A total of 120 finishing pigs ([Yorkshire×Landrace]×Duroc) with an average body weight (BW) of 49.72 ±1.72 kg were used in 12-wk trial to evaluate the effects of protected organic acids on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, fecal micro flora, meat quality and fecal gas emission. Pigs were randomly allotted to one of three dietary treatments (10 replication pens with 4 pigs per pen) in a randomly complete block design based on their initial BW. Each dietary treatment consisted of: Control (CON/basal diet), OA1 (basal diet+0.1% organic acids) and OA2 (basal diet+0.2% organic acids). Dietary treatment with protected organic acid blends linearly improved (p<0.001) average daily gain during 0 to 6 week, 6 to 12 week as well as overall with the increase in their inclusion level in the diet. The dry matter, N, and energy digestibility was higher (linear effect, p<0.001) with the increase in the dose of protected organic acid blends during 12 week. During week 6, a decrease (linear effect, p = 0.01) in fecal ammonia contents was observed with the increase in the level of protected organic acid blends on d 3 and d 5 of fermentation. Moreover, acetic acid emission decreased linearly (p = 0.02) on d7 of fermentation with the increase in the level of protected organic acid blends. During 12 weeks, linear decrease (p<0.001) in fecal ammonia on d 3 and d 5 and acetic acid content on d 5 of fermentation was observed with the increase in the level of protected organic acid blends. Supplementation of protected organic acid blends linearly increased the longissimus muscle area with the increasing concentration of organic acids. Moreover, color of meat increased (linear effect, quadratic effect, p<0.001, p<0.002 respectively) and firmness of meat showed quadratic effect (p = 0.003) with the inclusion of increasing level of protected organic acid in the diet. During the 6 week, increment in the level of protected organic acid blends decreased (linear effect, p = 0.01) Escherichia coli (E. coli) counts and increased (linear effect, p = 0.004) Lactobacillus counts. During 12-wk of experimental trial, feces from pigs fed diet supplemented with organic acid blends showed linear reduction (p<0.001) of E. coli counts and the tendency of linear increase (p = 0.06) in Lactobacillus count with the increase in the level of organic acid blends. In conclusion, 0.2% protected organic acids blends positively affected growth performance, nutrient digestibility, fecal gas emission and meat quality in finishing pigs without any adverse effects on blood parameters.