Time to progression predicts outcome of patients with multiple myeloma that can be influenced by autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Objectives: Currently, there is limited understanding regarding the prognostic significance of time to progression (TTP) after first remission in multiple myeloma (MM).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of clinical data from 209 patients with MM. These patients were categorized into ≤ 6 months, ≤ 12 months, ≤ 24 months, > 24 months, 6-12 months, and 12-24 months subgroups based on TTP.

Malnutrition defined by Controlling Nutritional Status score was independently associated with prognosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma primarily on elderly patients.

Objectives: Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) Score is an effective tool for the assessment of malnutrition and proved to be associated with survival of Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients. We investigated the impact of CONUT score on specific subgroups of DLBCL patients, including age and International prognostic Index (IPI) risk groups.

Methods: Data of 287 newly diagnosed DLBCL in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University were retrospectively collected.

Pretreatment with oral contraceptive pills in women with PCOS scheduled for IVF: a randomized clinical trial.

Study Question: What is the effect of pretreatment with oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) on oocyte and embryo quality and pregnancy rates in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) scheduled for IVF/ICSI cycles?

Summary Answer: In women with PCOS who underwent a first or second IVF/ICSI cycle with a GnRH antagonist protocol and were randomized to start ovarian stimulation immediately, the quality of cleavage-stage embryos was non-inferior to pretreatment with OCP.

What Is Known Already: PCOS in Asian populations is characterized by high levels of circulating LH in the early follicular phase. Previous studies indicated that inappropriately high LH levels might affect oocyte maturation and fertilization rates, and impaired embryo quality, consequently resulting in higher rates of impaired pregnancy and miscarriage in women with PCOS.

Fine-Tune the Structural Components of Porous Frameworks for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production.

With the depletion of fossil fuels and increasing pollution problems, green and sustainable energy supply attracts worldwide attention. Hydrogen is a green and high-density energy substance, and photocatalytic hydrogen generation is an effective and sustainable method. Therefore, developing high-performance photocatalysts plays a crucial role in practical application.

Ambient air pollution and hospital admission for interstitial lung diseases: A multicenter hospital-based case-crossover study.

Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) lead to increased morbidity and premature deaths, imposing a significant burden on public health worldwide. Recently, several studies have linked ambient air pollution with the acute exacerbation of certain ILDs, but the evidence remains limited and inconclusive. With a multicenter hospital-based case-crossover design, we investigated 9128 patients who resided in Jiangsu province, China, and were admitted for ILDs between 2019 and 2022.

Advance toward function, production, and delivery of natural astaxanthin: A promising candidate for food ingredients with future perspectives.

Astaxanthin (AST) exhibits potent antioxidant activity, effectively preventing neurological diseases and cancer. Presently, producing AST from microorganisms like Haematococcus pluvialis and Phaffia rhodozyma is a growing trend. This review summarizes the main research topics on AST in the past five years.

Transcutaneous Pericardium 6 Acupoint Electrical Stimulation Provides Comparable Antiemetic Effect to Granisetron When Combined With Dexamethasone in Patients Undergoing Breast Cancer Surgery.

Introduction: Perioperative transcutaneous pericardium 6 (P6) electrical stimulation is effective for prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). The patients undergoing breast cancer surgery have a high PONV prevalence; however, the effectiveness of P6 stimulation in this surgical population has not been investigated.

Materials And Methods: A total of 198 patients undergoing mastectomy under general anesthesia were enrolled.

Differences in preimplantation blastocyst chromosomal aberrations between polycystic ovary syndrome women and controls: a multi-center retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: Comprehensive chromosomal status of blastocyst from women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) was limited. This study aimed to identify possible differences in the preimplantation blastocyst chromosome aberrations between PCOS women and controls receiving preimplantation genetic testing (PGT).

Methods: This was a multi-center retrospective cohort study including a total of 707 blastocysts from 147 PCOS women and 3006 blastocysts from 821 control women receiving PGT between 2015 and 2021.

Mechanisms of Crustal-Mantle Material and Energy Exchanges: Impacts on Hydrocarbon and Geothermal Resources.

The exchange of matter and energy between crust and mantle significantly influences the formation and development of oil, gas, and geothermal resources. Understanding how these exchanges impact these resources is crucial in geological science. In many oil-rich basins in China, significant accumulations of H, CO, geothermal energy, and other associated resources linked to deep mantle materials or geological processes have been discovered.

Short-term exposure to ambient fine particulate matter constituents and myocardial infarction mortality.

Short-term ambient fine particulate matter (PM) exposure has been related to an increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI) death, but which PM constituents are associated with MI death and to what extent remain unclear. We aimed to explore the associations of short-term exposure to PM constituents with MI death and evaluate excess mortality. We conducted a time-stratified case-crossover study on 237,492 MI decedents in Jiangsu province, China during 2015-2021.

Nicotinamide mitigates visceral leishmaniasis by regulating inflammatory response and enhancing lipid metabolism.

Background: Currently, treatment regimens for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) are limited because of the presence of numerous adverse effects. Nicotinamide, a readily available and cost-effective vitamin, has been widely acknowledged for its safety profile. Several studies have demonstrated the anti-leishmanial effects of nicotinamide in vitro.

Association of short-term exposure to ambient fine particulate matter and ozone with outpatient visits for anxiety disorders: A hospital-based case-crossover study in South China.

Background: The short-term adverse effects of ambient fine particulate matter (PM) and ozone (O) on anxiety disorders (ADs) remained inconclusive.

Methods: We applied an individual-level time-stratified case-crossover study, which including 126,112 outpatient visits for ADs during 2019-2021 in Guangdong province, China, to investigate the association of short-term exposure to PM and O with outpatient visits for ADs, and estimate excess outpatient visits in South China. Daily residential air pollutant exposure assessments were performed by extracting grid data (spatial resolution: 1 km × 1 km) from validated datasets.

Prediction of embryo euploidy and pregnancy outcome by blastocyst morphology and development speed for women receiving single embryo transfer.

Background: Selection of high-quality blastocysts is the most important factor determining the success of assisted reproductive technology. The objective of this study is to assess the values of blastocyst morphological quality and development speed for predicting euploidy and clinical pregnancy outcome.

Methods: A total of 155 preimplantation genetic testing cycles including 959 blastocysts and 154 euploid blastocyst transfer cycles conducted between January 2018 and December 2019 were retrospectively analysed.

Mid-infrared Imaging Using Strain-Relaxed GeSn Alloys Grown on 20 nm Ge Nanowires.

Germanium-tin (GeSn) semiconductors are a front-runner platform for compact mid-infrared devices due to their tunable narrow bandgap and compatibility with silicon processing. However, their large lattice parameter has been a major hurdle, limiting the quality of epitaxial layers grown on silicon or germanium substrates. Herein, we demonstrate that 20 nm Ge nanowires (NWs) act as effective compliant substrates to grow extended defect-free GeSn alloys with a composition uniformity over several micrometers along the NW growth axis without significant buildup of the compressive strain.

Multivariate analysis for data mining to characterize poultry house environment in winter.

The processing and analysis of massive high-dimensional datasets are important issues in precision livestock farming (PLF). This study explored the use of multivariate analysis tools to analyze environmental data from multiple sensors located throughout a broiler house. An experiment was conducted to collect a comprehensive set of environmental data including particulate matter (TSP, PM, and PM), ammonia, carbon dioxide, air temperature, relative humidity, and in-cage and aisle wind speeds from 60 locations in a typical commercial broiler house.

High-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation promotes ipsilesional functional hyperemia and motor recovery in mice with ischemic stroke.

Neurovascular decoupling plays a significant role in dysfunction following an ischemic stroke. This study aimed to explore the effect of low- and high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on neurovascular remodeling after ischemic stroke. To achieve this goal, we compared functional hyperemia, cerebral blood flow regulatory factors, and neurochemical transmitters in the peri-infract cortex 21 days after a photothrombotic stroke.

The exposure to glyphosate on the integrity of intestinal epithelial tight junctions of chicks.

Glyphosate is an ingredient widely used in various commercial formulations, including Roundup®. This study focused on tight junctions and the expression of inflammatory genes in the small intestine of chicks. On the sixth day of embryonic development, the eggs were randomly assigned to three groups: the control group (CON,  = 60), the glyphosate group (GLYP,  = 60), which received 10 mg of active glyphosate/kg egg mass, and the Roundup®-based glyphosate group also received 10 mg of glyphosate.

Adverse effects of bisphenol A and its analogues on male fertility: An epigenetic perspective.

In recent years, there has been growing concern about the adverse effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on male fertility. Epigenetic modification is critical for male germline development, and has been suggested as a potential mechanism for impaired fertility induced by EDCs. Bisphenol A (BPA) has been recognized as a typical EDC.

LdCyPA attenuates MAPK pathway to assist Leishmania donovani immune escape in host cells.

Background: Visceral leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease affecting millions of people worldwide. Macrophages serve as the primary host cells for L. donovani, the immune response capability of these host cells is crucial for parasites' intracellular survival.

Neural response properties predict perceived contents and locations elicited by intracranial electrical stimulation of human auditory cortex.

Intracranial electrical stimulation (iES) of auditory cortex can elicit sound experiences with a variety of perceived contents (hallucination or illusion) and locations (contralateral or bilateral side), independent of actual acoustic inputs. However, the neural mechanisms underlying this elicitation heterogeneity remain undiscovered. Here, we collected subjective reports following iES at 3062 intracranial sites in 28 patients (both sexes) and identified 113 auditory cortical sites with iES-elicited sound experiences.