[Carbon Emission Influencing Factors and Abatement Cost Calculation of Households in Northern Counties: A Case Study of Fengning County, Hebei].

With the economic development and the pace of urbanization, the rising living standard of the urban population has been accompanied with the increase in household carbon emissions in China, and it is of importance to understand the characteristics of the carbon emissions in order to support green energy transitions and sustainable development. Based on the household survey data and using the "Lifestyle calculator-for individuals" developed by the United Nations Climate Change Organization, this study analyzes urban household carbon emissions in Fengning County, Hebei Province, a typical county in North China. We applied the Lasso regression and Random Forest Models （RFMs）, assessing the impacts of relevant factors on household emissions.

A Chromatographic Approach for High-Precision Eu Isotope Analysis.

Eu isotopes are promising tracers across various scientific domains such as planetary, earth, and marine science, yet their high-precision analysis has been challenging due to the similar geochemical properties of rare earth elements (REEs). In this study, a novel two-column chromatographic approach was developed utilizing AG50W-X12 and TODGA resins to separate Eu effectively from matrix and interfering elements like Ba, Nd, Sm, and Gd, while ensuring high Eu yields (99.4 ± 0.

Effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on semen parameters in sperm bank volunteers with normal sperm concentration.

In this study, we aimed to assess the effect of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on semen parameters. The study comprised 110 sperm volunteers who self-reported SARS-CoV-2 infection from the Human Sperm Bank of the Center for Reproductive Medicine, Shandong University (Jinan, China). The volunteers had normal sperm concentration before infection.

Growth hormone supplementation ameliorates blastocyst euploidy rates and improves pregnancy outcomes in women undergoing preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy cycles.

Background: Growth hormone (GH) supplementation has been shown to improve oocyte quality and live birth, but few studies have examined whether GH can reduce embryonic aneuploidy. Chromosomal abnormalities in preimplantation embryos have been regarded as the principal cause of implantation failure and miscarriage, and an increased percentage of aneuploid embryos has been observed in patient cohorts with unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), recurrent implantation failure (RIF), and advanced maternal age.

Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted on women whose previous PGT-A cycle ended up with no transferrable blastocysts, or the aneuploidy rate was above 50% and no live birth was acquired.

Extracellular vesicles from iPSC-MSCs alleviate chemotherapy-induced mouse ovarian damage via the ILK-PI3K/AKT pathway.

Chemotherapy can significantly reduce follicle counts in ovarian tissues and damage ovarian stroma, causing endocrine disorder, reproductive dysfunction, and primary ovarian insufficiency (POI). Recent studies have suggested that extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) exert therapeutic effects in various degenerative diseases. In this study, transplantation of EVs from human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived MSCs (iPSC-MSC-EVs) resulted in significant restoration of ovarian follicle numbers, improved granulosa cell proliferation, and inhibition of apoptosis in chemotherapy-damaged granulosa cells, cultured ovaries, and ovaries in mice.

[Clinical and Cytogenetical Characteristics in Acute Myeloid Leukemia with Myelodysplasia-Related Changes].

Objective: To explore the clinical and cytogenetic characteristics of acute myeloid leukemia with myelodysplasia-related changes (AML-MRC) based on morphology define.

Methods: A total of 180 newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients were enrolled and retrospectively analyzed, and marrow cell morphology of 126 patients were re-evaluated. The clinical and cytogenetic characteristics, including ages, sex, WBC count, HGB level, PLT count, blasts percentage, abnormal karyotype detection rate of the patients in AML with multilineage dysplasia (AML-MRC-1), secondary AML from myelodysplastic/ myeloproliferative neoplasms (MDS/MPN) (AML-MRC-2), and AML not otherwise specified (AML-NOS) groups were investigated.

Endometrial cavity fluid is associated with deleterious pregnancy outcomes in patients undergoing fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: The effects of endometrial cavity fluid (ECF) on in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) pregnancy outcomes following embryo transfer (ET) are still controversial. We conducted the present study to investigate whether the presence of ECF in infertile patients scheduled to undergo IVF or ICSI was associated with pregnancy outcomes.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study design was used.

Corrigendum: Hormone-Like Effects of 4-Vinylcyclohexene Diepoxide on Follicular Development.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2020.

Systemic changes in a mouse model of VCD-induced premature ovarian failure.

Aims: Premature ovarian failure (POF) is a phenomenon in which the ovaries fail before the age of 40 years. Prior research has used a wide range of mouse models designed to reflect different causes of POF, including genetic factors, iatrogenic factors, and immune factors. The current study employed a mouse model of POF induced by 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD).

Mutational analysis of the gene in Chinese men with nonobstructive azoospermia.

As a crucial transcription factor for spermatogenesis, GATA-binding protein 4 (GATA4) plays important roles in the functioning of Sertoli and Leydig cells. Conditional knockout of GATA4 in mice results in age-dependent testicular atrophy and loss of fertility. However, whether GATA4 is associated with human azoospermia has not been reported.

Hormone-Like Effects of 4-Vinylcyclohexene Diepoxide on Follicular Development.

Background: 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD) has long been considered a hazardous occupational chemical that promotes ovarian failure. However, VCD is also used as a research compound to chemically induce animal models of premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), and in related work we unexpectedly found that VCD apparently exhibits both dose- and duration-dependent opposing, hormone-like effects on the maintenance of the primordial follicle pool, follicle development, and ovulation induction.

Results: We conducted experiments with cultured murine ovaries and performed transplantation experiments using postnatal day (PD) 2 and PD12 mice and found that low-dose, short-term exposure to VCD (VCD) actually protects the primordial/primary follicle pool and improves the functional ovarian reserve (FOR) by disrupting follicular atresia.

Pten-mediated Gsk3β modulates the naïve pluripotency maintenance in embryonic stem cells.

Mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are isolated from the inner cell mass of blastocysts, and they exist in different states of pluripotency-naïve and primed states. Pten is a well-known tumor suppressor. Here, we generated Pten mouse ESCs with the CRISPR-Cas9 system and verified that Pten ESCs maintained naïve pluripotency by blocking Gsk3β activity.

The histone modification reader ZCWPW1 is required for meiosis prophase I in male but not in female mice.

Meiosis is a specialized type of cell division that creates haploid germ cells and ensures their genetic diversity through homologous recombination. We show that the H3K4me3 reader ZCWPW1 is specifically required for meiosis prophase I progression in male but not in female germ cells in mice. Loss of in male mice caused a complete failure of synapsis, resulting in meiotic arrest at the zygotene to pachytene stage, accompanied by incomplete DNA double-strand break repair and lack of crossover formation, leading to male infertility.

Novel Method of 3-Dimensional Graphical Representation for Proteins and Its Application.

In this article, we propose a 3-dimensional graphical representation of protein sequences based on 10 physicochemical properties of 20 amino acids and the BLOSUM62 matrix. It contains evolutionary information and provides intuitive visualization. To further analyze the similarity of proteins, we extract a specific vector from the graphical representation curve.

Higher Prevalence of Endometrial Polyps in Infertile Patients with Endometriosis.

Aim: To study whether infertile patients with endometriosis have a higher prevalence of endometrial polyps, and to clarify the characteristics of the pathology of combined polyps.

Methods: Infertile patients who had undergone both hysteroscopy and laparoscopy in Reproductive Hospital Affiliated with Shandong University from January 2014 to May 2017 were enrolled. Patients with and without endometriosis, diagnosed by laparoscopy, were staged and included in the study group and control group, respectively, and the prevalence of polyps was compared.

Identification of reference genes for qRT-PCR in granulosa cells of healthy women and polycystic ovarian syndrome patients.

Comparative gene expression analysis by qRT-PCR is commonly used to detect differentially expressed genes in studies of PCOS pathology. Impaired GC function is strongly associated with PCOS pathogenesis, and a growing body of studies has been dedicated to identifying differentially expressed genes in GCs in PCOS patients and healthy women by qRT-PCR. It is necessary to validate the expression stability of the selected reference genes across the tested samples for target gene expression normalization.

[Estimation of net primary productivity in arid region based on coupling model.].

Net primary productivity (NPP), as the base for the research of matter recycling and energy flow in terrestrial ecosystem, is sensitive to the changes of environment and climate in arid region, and also is an important indicator of eco-environmental characteristics. Based on remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS), using meteorological data, eddy cova-riance data, Landsat 8 and MODIS data, this study coupled SEBAL model and light utility efficiency model to estimate the NPP of vegetation in Manas River Watershed, and the spatial pattern of NPP and the relationships between NPP and terrain factors (elevation and slope) were analyzed. Results showed that the estimated result of NPP in Manas River Watershed by coupling model was reasonable and could actually reflect the NPP of vegetation.

Predictors of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in Chinese Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Aims: This study aims to explore the independent predictors of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in Chinese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed primigravid women with PCOS and classified them as those with and without GDM. Independent risk factors and model performance were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression and the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic (ROC), respectively.

Coexistence of SFO-1 and NDM-1 β-lactamase genes and fosfomycin resistance gene fosA3 in an Escherichia coli clinical isolate.

This study aims to characterize antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial resistance genetic determinants of an Escherichia coli clinical isolate HD0149 from China in 2012. This strain displayed high-level resistance to cephalosporins, carbapenems, fluoroquinolones, aminoglycosides and fosfomycin. A range of antimicrobial resistance genes was detected responsible for its multiple antimicrobial resistances, involving the blaCMY-2, blaCTX-M-65, blaNDM-1, blaSFO-1, blaTEM-1, fosA3, rmtB, sul1 and sul2 genes.

The association between testicular microlithiasis and semen parameters in Chinese adult men with fertility intention: experience of 226 cases.

Objective: To investigate the association between testicular microlithiasis (TM) and semen parameters in Chinese adult men with fertility intention.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the ultrasonography results of the reproductive system of 16,204 consecutive adult male patients in our hospital with fertility intention from November 2012 to October 2013. TM was diagnosed by scrotal ultrasonography.

[Clinical application of BCR/ABL probes in myeloproliferative disorders].

This study was purposed to explore the application value of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) detection in differential diagnosis of chronic myeloproliferative disorders (CMPD) and Ph(+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph(+) ALL), as well as in dynamic monitoring of minimal residual disease (MRD) after treatment. The BCR/ABL fusion gene of newly diagnosed and treated cases was detected by using BCR/ABL (ES) probe and BCR/ABL (DF) probe respectively. The results showed that among 49 newly diagnosed cases considered as CMPD, 28 cases met the criterion of CML morphologically, out of them 23 cases were eventually diagnosed to be CML and with morphological consistent rate 82.

[Expressions of clinical significances of p-extracellular regulated kinase 1/2 and matrix metalloproteinase-9 in cervical squamous cell carcinoma].

Objective: To study the expressions and clinical significances of p-extracellular regulated kinase(P-ERK)1/2 and matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9)in cervical squamous cell carcinoma.

Methods: The expressions of P-ERK1/2 and MMP-9 in 30 cases with chronic cervicitis, 45 cases with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), and 58 cases with cervical squamous cell carcinoma were detected by immunohistochemical method.

Results: The positive rates of P-ERK1/2 and MMP-9 in chronic cervicitis, CIN, and cervical squamous cell carcinoma were 0 and 0, 28.

[Internal quality control of sperm concentrations in semen analysis: establishment of a method].

Objective: To establish a method for internal quality control (IQC) of sperm concentration test in the laboratory.

Methods: We set the concentrations of frozen semen at 20 x 10(6) and 80 x 10(6) as low and high concentrations of putative IQC products, with QC-BEADSTM quality control beads (QCBs) as the control. Using the double-blind method, four technicians determined the sperm concentrations of the IQC products and QCBs by computer-assisted sperm analysis, and drew a quality control chart (Xbar chart and Sbar chart) for each product.