Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is multifactorial and involves immunological, environmental and genetic factors. Although there are no animal models that effectively mimic human IBD, experimental models allow us to analyze the mechanisms of chronic intestinal inflammation. IBD can be induced in mice by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) or by a 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)‑ethanol enema, which evoke immune responses and colitis. In this study, in order to compare the mechanisms of inflammatory response in mice, 3 distinct models of IBD were established: 2% TNBS-induced acute colitis, 4% DSS-induced acute colitis and 2% DSS-induced chronic colitis. In addition, to evaluate the effects of TNBS on inflammasome activation, we used caspase-1 knockout (KO) mice. Changes in both body weight and survival became prominent after day 1 in the 2% TNBS‑induced colitis model, and after day 5 in the 4% DSS-induced colitis model. The TNBS- and DSS-treated mice, but not the caspase-1 KO mice, showed a massive bowel edema and disruption of epithelial cells. The level of CD11b(+)Gr-1(+) myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) was increased in all tested tissues of the TNBS- and DSS-treated groups, apart from the basal membrane (BM) in the DSS-induced colitis groups and the lamina propria (LP) in the DSS-induced chronic colitis group. We further analyzed different subsets of CD4(+) T cells in LP and found that the levels of interferon (IFN)γ‑secreting (IFNγ(+)), IL-17‑secreting (IL-17(+)), but not those of IL-4-secreting (IL-4(+)) T cells increased upon treatment with TNBS or DSS. In addition, discrepancies between the histopathologies of wild-type and caspase-1 KO mice indicated that the pathogenesis of IBD may be associated with the inflammasome pathway responses mediated by caspase‑1 in TNBS‑induced colitis.

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Hysteretic metal-insulator transitions (MIT) mediated by ionic dynamics or ferroic phase transitions underpin emergent applications for nonvolatile memories and logic devices. The vast majority of applications and studies have explored the MIT coupled to the electric field or temperarture. Here, we argue that MIT coupled to ionic dynamics should be controlled by mechanical stimuli, the behavior we refer to as the piezochemical effect. We verify this effect experimentally and demonstrate that it allows both studying materials physics and enabling novel data storage technologies with mechanical writing and current-based readout.

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Although dietary antibiotic growth promoters have long been used to increase growth performance in commercial food animal production, the biochemical details associated with these effects remain poorly defined. A metabolomics approach was used to characterize and identify the biochemical compounds present in the intestine of broiler chickens fed a standard, unsupplemented diet or a diet supplemented with the antibiotic growth promoters, virginiamycin or bacitracin methylene disalicylate. Compared with unsupplemented controls, the levels of 218 biochemicals were altered (156 increased, 62 decreased) in chickens given the virginiamycin-supplemented diet, while 119 were altered (96 increased, 23 decreased) with the bacitracin-supplemented diet. When compared between antibiotic-supplemented groups, 79 chemicals were altered (43 increased, 36 decreased) in virginiamycin- vs. bacitracin-supplemented chickens. The changes in the levels of intestinal biochemicals provided a distinctive biochemical signature unique to each antibiotic-supplemented group. These biochemical signatures were characterized by increases in the levels of metabolites of amino acids (e.g. 5-hydroxylysine, 2-aminoadipate, 5-hydroxyindoleaceate, 7-hydroxyindole sulfate), fatty acids (e.g. oleate/vaccenate, eicosapentaenoate, 16-hydroxypalmitate, stearate), nucleosides (e.g. inosine, N6-methyladenosine), and vitamins (e.g. nicotinamide). These results provide the framework for future studies to identify natural chemical compounds to improve poultry growth performance without the use of in-feed antibiotics.

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This study explores the relationship between corporate social responsibility (C.S.R.) and financial performance of Indian firms. We also examine the relationship between C.S.R. and financial performance in context of Indian business group firms, which are known to have unique characteristics which differ from those of Indian stand-alone firms. Using a sample of Indian listed firms between 2010 and 2015, we find that C.S.R., as measured by E.S.G. disclosure score, has a U-shaped relationship with Tobin's Q, supporting the slack resource theory at lower level of CSR and supporting the stakeholder theory at higher level of C.S.R. The empirical results imply that an improvement in CSR actions does not always result in higher firm value but should exceed a certain level of C.S.R. to have a positive effect on firm value. In addition, we find that at lower level, a negative relationship between C.S.R. and Tobin's Q weakens in group affiliate firms. However, this complement effect of business group disappears at higher level, weakening the positive relationship between C.S.R. and Tobin's Q. This study offers new insights for the different influence of business groups on C.S.R. performance.