Chronic pancreatitis （CP） is a common disease in clinical practice characterized by progressive inflammatory fibrosis of the pancreas. Gut microbiota， known as the “second genome” of humans， bidirectionally modulates the progression of fibrosis in CP via the gut-pancreas axis. This article systematically elaborates on the characteristics of gut microbiota during the progression of CP and its molecular mechanism in mediating pancreatic fibrosis through bacterial translocation， metabolites， immune regulatory networks， and microbe-pancreatic stellate cell interactions， with a focus on the pivotal role of short-chain fatty acids and inflammatory cytokine networks in pancreatic stellate cell activation and extracellular matrix deposition. In addition， this article explores the potential value of gut microbiota-targeted interventions in the prevention and treatment of CP fibrosis， such as probiotics， prebiotics， and fecal microbiota transplantation， and discusses the translational potential of using multi-omics technologies to identify diagnostic biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets for CP， in order to provide new ideas for the precise diagnosis and treatment of CP.

Short-chain fatty acids （SCFA） are the main metabolic products generated by the fermentation of dietary fiber by gut microbiota. Studies have shown that SCFA not only play a role in energy metabolism， but also act as important signaling molecules， exhibiting a significant potential in alleviating liver and pancreatic fibrosis. The core mechanism of SCFA mainly involves the regulation of various key signaling pathways by activating G protein-coupled receptors and inhibiting the activity of histone deacetylase， thereby suppressing the activation and proliferation of hepatic stellate cell （HSC） and pancreatic stellate cell （PSC）， which is a key link in fibrosis formation. In addition， SCFA can effectively alleviate tissue inflammation response， improve intestinal barrier function， and regulate gut microbiota balance， thus indirectly preventing the process of fibrosis mediated by the “gut-liver/pancreas axis”. Compared with the research on SCFA in liver fibrosis， studies on their role in pancreatic fibrosis are limited. Given that HSC and PSC are highly homologous， the transcription factors and proteins that have been confirmed in liver fibrosis-related studies are also similarly expressed in PSC， suggesting that they may also influence the activation of PSC. This article systematically summarizes the recent advances in the research on SCFA in alleviating liver and pancreatic fibrosis， in order to provide new perspectives for exploring the mechanism of pancreatic fibrosis and developing related interventional strategies.

Objective The complex evolutionary history of the origin of medicinal blue herbs might result in the presence of adulterants, affecting the accuracy and safety of clinical medication. To provide a reference basis for the identification of medicinal blue herbs with leaves as the medicinal part, based on the leaf epidermis microstructure. Methods The species belonging to medicinal blue herbs and their close relatives (10 species from 4 genera) were systematically investigated. The leaf epidermis microstructure of these species was observed and analyzed by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. A species retrieval table was established based on the microstructure characteristics. Results By combining the distribution of stomata, types of subsidiary cells, stomatal index, stomatal density, characteristics of the periclinal walls of epidermal cells, and epidermal appendages, the species Clerodendrum cyrtophyllum, Polygonum tinctorium, Isatis indigotica, I. violascens, I. costata, I. minima, Strobilanthes wallichii, S. dalzielii, S. pentstemonoides, and S. cusia can be accurately distinguished. Conclusion Microscopic characteristics of leaf epidermis can provide reference data for accurately differentiating the botanical origins of medicinal blue herbs.

Objective To study microbial characteristics of pulmonary in children with community-acquired pneumonia(CAP)of different severity,in order to provide a basis for accurate diagnosis and antibiotic treatment of pneumonia children,and provide new strategies and perspectives for the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary microbiota in pneumonia children.Methods Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF)from 64 children with CAP of different severity hospitalized in Department of Pediatrics,Jingmen People's Hospital were collected from January to December 2023,the children were divided into severe pneumonia group(n=34)and common pneumonia group(n=30).Microbiome information of the lungs of children with CAP of different severity were obtained through metagenomic sequencing of BALF,microbial structure diversity analysis,species classification analysis,and differential analysis on the microbial bioinformatics data of two groups of samples obtained were performed.Results Alpha diversity analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences(P<0.05)in the Chao1 index,ACE index,Shannon index,and Simpson index between two groups.The principal coordinate analysis(PCoA)of Beta diversity showed a statistically significant difference in the composition of microbial communities between two groups(F=4.221,P=0.005).Through species classification analysis,it was found that at the genus level,mycoplasma was the main genus in the BALF samples of severe pneumonia group,followed by Streptococcus and Haemophilus,Streptococcus was the main genus in the BALF samples of common pneumonia group,followed by Mycoplasma and Haemophilus.Children of two groups showed statistically significant differences in microbial abundance among the top 20 species at the genus level(P<0.05),including Mycoplasma,Streptococcus,Rhodococcus,Neisseria,Prevotella,Corynebacterium,and Pseudomonas.Species diversity analysis showed that at the genus level,there were 47 species with differences(P<0.05).Conclusion There are differences in the abundance,diversity,structure,and composition of pulmonary microbiota in children with CAP of different severity.The dominant microbiota varies among children with CAP of different severity.This study enriches the pulmonary microbiome data of children with CAP.

Objective To study microbial characteristics of pulmonary in children with community-acquired pneumonia(CAP)of different severity,in order to provide a basis for accurate diagnosis and antibiotic treatment of pneumonia children,and provide new strategies and perspectives for the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary microbiota in pneumonia children.Methods Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF)from 64 children with CAP of different severity hospitalized in Department of Pediatrics,Jingmen People's Hospital were collected from January to December 2023,the children were divided into severe pneumonia group(n=34)and common pneumonia group(n=30).Microbiome information of the lungs of children with CAP of different severity were obtained through metagenomic sequencing of BALF,microbial structure diversity analysis,species classification analysis,and differential analysis on the microbial bioinformatics data of two groups of samples obtained were performed.Results Alpha diversity analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences(P<0.05)in the Chao1 index,ACE index,Shannon index,and Simpson index between two groups.The principal coordinate analysis(PCoA)of Beta diversity showed a statistically significant difference in the composition of microbial communities between two groups(F=4.221,P=0.005).Through species classification analysis,it was found that at the genus level,mycoplasma was the main genus in the BALF samples of severe pneumonia group,followed by Streptococcus and Haemophilus,Streptococcus was the main genus in the BALF samples of common pneumonia group,followed by Mycoplasma and Haemophilus.Children of two groups showed statistically significant differences in microbial abundance among the top 20 species at the genus level(P<0.05),including Mycoplasma,Streptococcus,Rhodococcus,Neisseria,Prevotella,Corynebacterium,and Pseudomonas.Species diversity analysis showed that at the genus level,there were 47 species with differences(P<0.05).Conclusion There are differences in the abundance,diversity,structure,and composition of pulmonary microbiota in children with CAP of different severity.The dominant microbiota varies among children with CAP of different severity.This study enriches the pulmonary microbiome data of children with CAP.

Microbial induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) refers to the natural biological process of calcium carbonate precipitation induced by microbial metabolism in its surrounding environment. Based on the principles of MICP, microbial cement has been developed and has received widespread attention in the field of biology, civil engineering, and environment owing to the merits of environmental friendliness and economic competence. Urease and carbonic anhydrase are the key enzymes closely related to microbial cement. This review summarizes the genes, protein structures, regulatory mechanisms, engineering strains and mutual synergistic relationship of these two enzymes. The application of bioinformatics and synthetic biology is expected to develop biocement with a wide range of environmental adaptability and high performance, and will bring the MICP research to a new height.
Calcium Carbonate/metabolism* ; Chemical Precipitation ; Urease/metabolism*

The adhesive protein secreted by marine sessile animals can resist the resistance of water and exert stickiness under the humid environment. It has become a candidate for the development of high-performance materials in the field of biomedicine and bionics. Barnacles are as one of the marine macrofoulers that can be firmly attached to the underwater substrate materials with different surface characteristics through its cement proteins. To date, the adhesion process of barnacle has been understood in-depth, but the specific underwater adhesion mechanism has not been elucidated and needs further exploration. This review first presented an overview of barnacle and its adhesion process, followed by summarizing the advances of barnacle adhesive protein, its production methods, and applications. Moreover, challenges and future perspectives were prospected.
Animals ; Thoracica/metabolism* ; Proteins/metabolism* ; Adhesives/metabolism*

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic performance of MRI Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System version 2018 in high-risk hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with intrahepatic parenchymal substantial lesions ≤3.0 cm.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted in hospitals between September 2014 to April 2020. 131 pathologically confirmed non-HCC cases with lesions ≤3.0 cm in diameter were randomly matched with 131 cases with lesions ≤3.0 cm in diameter and divided into benign (56 cases), other hepatic malignant tumor (OM, 75 cases), and HCC group (131 cases) in a 1:1 ratio. MRI features of the lesions were analyzed and classified according to LI-RADS v2018 criteria (tie-break rule was applied to lesions with both HCC and LR-M features). Taking the pathological results as the gold standard, the sensitivity and specificity of the LI-RADS v2018 classification criteria and the more stringent LR-5 criteria (with three main signs of HCC at the same time) were calculated for HCC, OM or benign lesions diagnosis. Mann -Whitney U test was used to compare the classification results. Results:The number of cases classified as LR-M, LR-1, LR-2, LR-3, LR-4, and LR-5 in HCC group after applying the tie-break rule were 14, 0, 0, 12, 28, and 77, respectively. There were 40, 0, 0, 4, 17, 14 and 8, 5, 1, 26, 13, 3 cases in benign and OM group, respectively. There were 41 (41/77), 4 (4/14) and 1 (1/3) lesion case in the HCC, OM and benign group, respectively, that met the more stringent LR-5 criteria. The sensitivity of LR-4 combined with LR-5 (LR-4/5) criteria, LR-5 criteria and more stringent LR-5 criteria for HCC diagnosis were 80.2% (105/131), 58.8% (77/131) and 31.3% (41/131), respectively, and the specificity were 64.1% (84/131), 87.0% (114/131) and 96.2% (126/131), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of LR-M were 53.3% (40/75) and 88.2% (165/187), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity using LR-1 combined with LR-2 (LR-1/2) criteria for the diagnosis of benign liver lesions were 10.7% (6/56) and 100% (206/206), respectively.Conclusions:LR-1/2, LR-5, and LR-M criteria have high diagnostic specificity for intrahepatic lesions with a diameter of ≤3.0 cm. Lesions classified as LR-3 are more likely to be benign. The specificity of LR-4/5 criteria is low, while the more stringent LR-5 criteria has a high specificity for HCC diagnosis.

Enzyme is an efficient and green biocatalyst, and widely used in many areas. Immobilized enzyme is superior to its free form in a variety of properties. Enzyme immobilization studies started in the 1970s in China. Till now, immobilized enzymes are widely applied in the fields of food, medical, energy, environmental management, among others. However, there are still some defects such as no universal method and the high cost. Therefore, based on the relatively mature traditional immobilization technologies, efforts have been made to innovate immobilization technologies. As a result, many new immobilization technologies focusing on new carriers and methods are continuously generated. Coupling with more than ten years' study on enzyme immobilization, we present here recent development and application of new immobilization technologies, as well as suggestions to future development of immobilization technology.

Vegetable oil is one of the most potential alternatives of petroleum and has become a hot issue in recent years. This review focuses on the influence of vegetable oil structure on platform compounds and polymers properties, and further systematically introduces their developments and the latest progress. Meanwhile, we also summarized the main confronting problems and the future development directions in the research of oil-based platform compounds and polymers. The review provides useful information for readers to fully understand biochemical engineering of vegetable oils and their prospects.