Recent evidence suggests that intestinal Bifidobacterium species (spp.) positively correlates with improved insulin resistance and obesity, and this might be linked to metabolic inflammation. The expression of intestinal REG (regenerating) family proteins which are widely involved in inflammatory bowel disease and diabetes are still unknown in metabolic syndrome. Hence, we investigated the effects of Bifidobacterium longum (BIF) supplementation on metabolic parameters, intestinal function and expression of Reg family genes in a rat model of metabolic syndrome induced by a high-fat (HF) diet. We specifically increased the gut bifidobacterial content of HF-fed rats through BIF supplementation. Compared with the normal chow-fed control rats, HF feeding significantly reduced intestinal Bifidobacterium. As expected, BIF supplementation fed rats had totally restored quantities of Bifidobacterium. HF diet-fed rats showed significant increase in body weight, fat deposits, systolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, fasting triglycerides and reduced insulin sensitivity, while increases of intestinal Bifidobacterium did improve HF-diet-induced metabolic disorders. HF feeding led to significantly higher levels of the plasma lipopolysaccharide, interleukin-1β and intestinal myeloperoxidase, as well as intestinal inflammatory activity index, while these parameters were normalized to the control levels in the HF + BIF-treated rats. The levels of RegI mRNA and protein in the HF + BIF group were significantly higher than the control and the HF groups. Increasing Bifidobacterium in the gut improved HF-fed-induced metabolic syndrome by reducing metabolic endotoxin concentrations and intestinal inflammation, as well as upgrading the expression of intestinal Reg I as a regulator of growth factor.

Background To combat the COVID-19 pandemic, nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPI) were implemented worldwide, which impacted a broad spectrum of acute respiratory infections (ARI). Methods Etiologically diagnostic data from 142 559 cases with ARIs, who were tested for eight viral pathogens (influenza virus, IFV; respiratory syncytial virus, RSV; human parainfluenza virus, HPIV; human adenovirus; human metapneumovirus; human coronavirus, HCoV; human bocavirus, HBoV, and human rhinovirus, HRV) between 2012 and 2021, were analyzed to assess the changes of respiratory infections in China during the first COVID-19 pandemic year compared to pre-pandemic years. Results Test positive rates of all respiratory viruses decreased during 2020, compared to the average levels during 2012−2019, with changes ranging from -17·2% for RSV to -87·6% for IFV. Sharp decreases mostly occurred between February and August when massive NPIs remained active, although HRV rebounded to the historical level during the summer. While IFV and HMPV were consistently suppressed year round, RSV, HPIV, HCoV, HRV HBov resurged and went beyond historical levels during September, 2020−January, 2021, after NPIs were largely relaxed and schools reopened. Resurgence was more prominent among children younger than 18 years and in Northern China. These observations remain valid after accounting for seasonality and long-term trend of each virus. Conclusions Activities of respiratory viral infections were reduced substantially in the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, and massive NPIs were likely the main driver. Lifting of NPIs can lead to resurgence of viral infections, particularly in children.

A facile approach to construct 3,4-fused tricyclic azepino[5,4,3-cd]indoles from 2-alkynyl anilines, isocyanides, and α,β-unsaturated acids is reported. This synthetic process involves a regioselective meta-functionalization of 2-alkynylanilines using a dearomatization strategy and a palladium(II)-catalyzed domino heterocyclization/Heck reaction.

Due to their large surface areas, high pore volumes, relatively even distributions of pore sizes, surfaces enriched with unsaturated groups and orderly long-range structures, the mesoporous materials have been widely applied in industries such as chemical, biomedical, environmental protection and functional materials. In recent years, many scientists have demonstrated that the mesoporous molecular sieves have better adsorption of dyes in wastewater. This paper reviews the applications of different types of mesoporous adsorbents for removal of dyes in wastewater. It also presents the challenges and prospects in using the mesoporous materials for dye removal in wastewater treatment.

Dearomatization Strategy and Palladium-Catalyzed Domino Reaction: Construction of Azepino[5,4,3-cd]indoles from 2-Alkynylanilines. -This synthetic process involves a regioselective meta-functionalization of 2-alkynylanilines using a dearomatization strategy and a palladium(II)-catalyzed domino heterocyclization/Heck reaction. The preliminary meta-functionalization fails for N-protecting groups such as benzoyl, Boc, or trifluoroacetyl. -(ZHENG, C.; CHEN, J. J.; FAN*, R.; Org. Lett. 16 (2014) 3, 816-819, http://dx.