Abstract Background To compare the efficacy and safety of follitropin delta in its individualized fixed-dose regimen with follitropin alfa in a conventional adjustable dosing regimen in Chinese women. Methods This was a subgroup analysis of the randomized, multi-center, assessor-blind, non-inferiority trial (GRAPE) including 759 Chinese women (aged 20–40 years) recruited in 16 reproductive medicine clinics in China. Women were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to be treated with either follitropin delta dose based on anti-Müllerian...

Abstract The incidence of myocardial ischaemia‒reperfusion injury (MIRI) is increasing every year, and there is an urgent need to develop new therapeutic approaches. Nrf2 is thought to play a protective role during MIRI and it is regulated by microRNAs (miRNAs). This study focused on PLGA nanoparticles camouflaged by platelet membrane vesicles (PMVs) (i.e., PMVs@PLGA complexes) carrying microRNA inhibitors, which regulate Nrf2 and can play a therapeutic role in the MIRI process. In vitro and in...

Abstract Background Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a critical event contributing to more aggressive phenotypes in cancer cells. EMT is frequently activated in radiation-targeted cells during the course of radiotherapy, which often endows cancers with acquired radioresistance. However, the upstream molecules driving the signaling pathways of radiation-induced EMT have not been fully delineated. Methods In this study, RNA-seq-based transcriptome analysis was performed to identify the early responsive genes of HeLa cells to γ-ray irradiation. EMT-associated genes...

Abstract Background The incidence of cognitive impairment is increasing with an aging population. Developing effective strategies is essential to prevent dementia. Higher education level is associated with better baseline cognitive performance, and reading activities can slow down cognitive decline. However, it is unclear whether education and reading activities are synergistic or independent contributors to cognitive performance. Methods This was a sub-study of an ongoing prospective community cohort of China National Clinical Research Center Alzheimer’s Disease...

The processes leading to the N2+ lasing are rather complex and even the population distribution after the pump laser excitation is unknown. In this paper, we study the population distribution at electronic and vibrational levels in N2+ driven by ultra-short laser pulse at the wavelengths of 800 nm and 400 nm by using the quantum-mechanical time-domain incoherent superposition model based on the time-dependent Schrodinger equation and the quasi-classical model assuming instantaneous ionization injection described by...

The mechanism of action underlying the intriguing prominent bioactivity of urinary bladder matrix (UBM) for in situ tissue regeneration of soft tissue defects remains to be elucidated. It is speculated that the activity of UBM for cell adhesion, migration, and activation is inherent. The bioactivity of UBM for in situ tissue regeneration and its relation with the structure and intact soluble components of UBM were investigated in comparison to a collagen-based scaffold, PELNAC (PEL). We...

The mechanism of action underlying the intriguing prominent bioactivity of urinary bladder matrix (UBM) for in situ tissue regeneration of soft tissue defects remains to be elucidated. It is speculated that the activity of UBM for cell adhesion, migration, and activation is inherent. The bioactivity of UBM for in situ tissue regeneration and its relation with the structure and intact soluble components of UBM were investigated in comparison to a collagen-based scaffold, PELNAC (PEL). We...

Abstract Chimeric fusion transcription factors are oncogenic hallmarks of several devastating cancer entities including pediatric sarcomas, such as Ewing sarcoma (EwS) and alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS). Despite their exquisite specificity, these driver oncogenes have been considered largely undruggable due to their lack of enzymatic activity. Here, we show in the EwS model that – capitalizing on neomorphic DNA-binding preferences – the addiction to the respective fusion transcription factor EWSR1-FLI1 can be leveraged to express therapeutic genes....

Abstract Background Dengue is the fastest spreading arboviral disease, posing great challenges on global public health. A reproduceable and comparable global genotyping framework for contextualizing spatiotemporal epidemiological data of dengue virus (DENV) is essential for research studies and collaborative surveillance. Methods Targeting DENV-1 spreading prominently in recent decades, by reconciling all qualified complete E gene sequences of 5003 DENV-1 strains with epidemiological information from 78 epidemic countries/areas ranging from 1944 to 2018, we established and...

In view of vector vortex beams (VVBs) with non-uniform polarization states have a wide range of applications from particle capture to quantum information. Here, we demonstrate theoretically the longitudinal evolution from a scalar vortex carrying homogeneous polarization states to an inhomogeneous vector vortex with a polarization singularity in the THz band using all-dielectric metasurfaces. The order of the converted vector vortex beam can be arbitrarily tailored by manipulating the topological charge embedded in the two...

Objectives: Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecologic malignancy, and targeted therapy for different pathological types and molecular phenotypes is urgent to be studied. Studies have shown that MicroRNA-592 (miR-592) plays an important negative regulatory role in the occurrence of gastrointestinal malignancies, breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and glioma, but the expression of miR-592 in ovarian cancer and the mechanism of action are still unclear. Methods: The expressions of miR-592 were examined by RT-PCR...

ObjectiveTo investigate condylar bone density (BD) in children with craniofacial microsomia (CFM) and identify factors that contribute to early stage condylar resorption (CR) after mandibular distraction osteogenesis (MDO).DesignRetrospective study.SettingCraniofacial department of a plastic surgery hospital.PatientsFifty-one children with CFM classified as Pruzansky IIa based on complete pre-(T0) and post-MDO (T1) computed tomography (CT) data.Intervention and Main outcome measurementsMimic 21.0 (Materialise Inc., Belgium) was used to measure bilateral BD and condylar height (CH) and volume (CV) of...

ObjectivesWhile surgeries to correct the anatomical malformations that cause nasal airway obstruction (NAO) are generally successful, the outcomes of such procedures are often unsatisfactory. The aim of the present study was to assess the value of opening the middle meatus in patients with NAO.MethodsThirty-four patients with nasal obstruction due to nasal septal deviation were included in this study. After randomization, the middle meatus was either opened or not opened during septoplasty. The patients were evaluated...

Abstract Background At present, chronic respiratory diseases are a major burden in terms of morbidity and mortality and are of increasing public health concern in China. Meanwhile, the prevalence of diabetes has increased by more than 10 times over the last 40 years. While a few studies have investigated the association between chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes mellitus, the association is not clear. This study aimed to explore this association and provide evidence. Methods In...

Abstract Pathogenic variants in MYO15A are known to cause autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing loss (ARNSHL), DFNB3. We have previously reported on one ARNSHL family including two affected siblings and identified MYO15A c.5964+3G > A and c.8375 T > C (p.Val2792Ala) as the possible deafness-causing variants. Eight year follow up identified one new affected individual in this family, who also showed congenital, severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss. By whole exome sequencing, we identified a new...

Abstract Background The ricefield eel is a freshwater protogynous hermaphrodite fish and has become an important aquaculture species in China. The sex change of ricefield eel is impeding its aquaculture practice, particularly the large-scale artificial breeding. Many studies including transcriptomes of mixed gonadal samples from different individuals have been aimed to elucidate mechanisms underlying the sex change. However, the key physiological factors involved in the initiation of sex change remain to be identified. Results The...

Abstract Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the deadliest cancers and is mainly developed from chronic liver diseases such as hepatitis-B infection-associated liver cirrhosis (LC). The progression from LC to HCC makes the detection of diagnostic biomarkers to be challenging. Hence, there have been constant efforts to improve on identifying the critical and predictive changes accompanying the disease progression. Methods In this study, we looked to using the mass spectrometry mediated spatial metabolomics technique...

Abstract Background In our previous study, N end of the Circumsporozoite protein (CSP I-plus) modified recombinant human Endostatin (rEndostatin, endostar) (rES-CSP) was constructed, which had antiangiogenic capability and bound to hepatocellular carcinoma in vivo and in vitro. In this study, the inhibition of rES-CSP on hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis was verified in vivo and in vitro, and its possible mechanism was explored. Methods Firstly, the impact of rES-CSP on the migration, adhesion of hepatoma cell HCCLM3...

Abstract Background In our previous study, N end of the Circumsporozoite protein (CSP I-plus) modified recombinant human Endostatin (rEndostatin, endostar) (rES-CSP) was constructed, which had antiangiogenic capability and bound to hepatocellular carcinoma in vivo and in vitro. In this study, the inhibition of rES-CSP on hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis was verified in vivo and in vitro, and its possible mechanism was explored. Methods Firstly, the impact of rES-CSP on the migration, adhesion of hepatoma cell HCCLM3...

Abstract Background Anoxia is characterized by changes in the morphology, metabolism, and function of tissues and organs due to insufficient oxygen supply or oxygen dysfunction. Gentiana straminea Maxim (G.s Maxim) is a traditional Tibetan medicine. Our previous work found that G.s Maxim mediates resistance to hypoxia, and we found that the ethyl acetate extract had the best effect. Nevertheless, the primary anti-hypoxia components and mechanisms of action remain unclear. Methods Compounds from the ethyl acetate...

Background:Serious illness conversations may lead to care consistent with patients’ goals near the end of life. The emergency department could serve as an important time and location for these conversations.Aim:To determine the feasibility of an emergency department-based, brief motivational interview to stimulate serious illness conversations among seriously ill older adults by trained nurses.Design:A pre-/post-intervention studySettings/participants:In an urban, tertiary care, academic medical center and a community hospital from January 2021 to January 2022, we prospectively enrolled...

ObjectiveHomologous recombination deficiency (HRD) is the main mechanism of tumorigenesis in some cancers. HRD causes abnormal double-strand break repair, resulting in genomic scars. Some scoring HRD tests have been approved as companion diagnostics of polyadenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor treatment. This study aimed to build an HRD prediction model using gene expression data from various cancer types.MethodsThe cancer genome atlas data were used for HRD prediction modeling. A total of 10,567 cases of 33 cancer...

Abstract Background Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo, which contains rich polysaccharides, flavonoids and alkaloids, is a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with important economic benefits, while various pathogens have brought huge losses to its industrialization. NBS gene family is the largest class of plant disease resistance (R) genes, proteins of which are widely distributed in the upstream and downstream of the plant immune systems and are responsible for receiving infection signals and regulating gene expression respectively....

Abstract Background Seasonal breeding in mammals has been widely recognized to be regulated by photoperiod, but the association of gut microbiota with photoperiodic regulation of seasonal breeding has never been investigated. Results In this study, we investigated the association of gut microbiota with photoperiod-induced reproduction in male Brandt’s voles (Lasiopodomys brandtii) through a long-day and short-day photoperiod manipulation experiment and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) experiment. We found photoperiod significantly altered reproductive hormone and gene expression...

Three-Dimensional (3D) light-field displays can provide an immersive visual experience, which has attracted significant attention. However, the generating of high-quality 3D light-field content in the real world is still a challenge because it is difficult to capture dense high-resolution viewpoints of the real world with the camera array. Novel view synthesis based on CNN can generate dense high-resolution viewpoints from sparse inputs but suffer from high-computational resource consumption, low rendering speed, and limited camera baseline....