Trehalose attenuates abdominal aortic aneurysm formation by inducing autophagy in smooth muscle cells.

Background: Trehalose is a naturally occurring disaccharide, which has been identified as an autophagy inducer and exhibits protective effect in cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infraction and atherosclerosis. However, the functional role of trehalose in abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) remains undefined.

Methods: To study the effect of trehalose in AAA, trehalose (1 g/kg per day) were given for 14 continuous days in a mouse model of elastase-induced abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Coupling Effect of Hydrostatic Pressure and Erosion on Corrosion Behavior of X70 Steel in Simulated Seawater.

The corrosion behavior of X70 steel under the coupling effect of pressure and erosion in simulated seawater was investigated by using corrosion loss, electrochemical tests, SEM, AFM, XPS, and Raman spectroscopy. The coupling effect of pressure and erosion could induce changes in the amounts and compositions of the corrosion products and increase pitting. The rate of the combined corrosion of X70 steel represents a downtrend, which still displays a higher corrosion rate than only immersion at the same pressure.

Experimental demonstration of super-symbol transmission for improved fiber nonlinearity tolerance.

We experimentally verified the enhanced nonlinear tolerance of probabilistic shaping (PS) 64QAM super symbol (SUP) transmission over both dispersion uncompensated and compensated standard single mode fiber (SSMF) links. PS-64QAM with SUP is found to provide ∼0.51- and ∼1.

Baud rate and shaping blocklength effects on the nonlinear performance of super-symbol transmission.

In this paper we study the nonlinear performance of super-symbol (SUP) transmission. We analyze the spectral dip, a unique feature of SUP, as a function of various system parameters and discuss how this dip and the associated nonlinear benefit would vary with different baud rates and shaping blocklengths. We then conduct simulations to verify our analysis, by which we confirm that the SUP performance can be optimized via a judicious choice on the baud rate and/or blocklength.

Transmission method of improved fiber nonlinearity tolerance for probabilistic amplitude shaping.

For probabilistic amplitude shaping (PAS), we propose a super-symbol transmission method that improves fiber nonlinearity tolerance. A simple fiber nonlinearity low-pass filtering model, as well as its interaction with the spectral dip of signal's intensity waveform, is provided to explain the origin of this nonlinear benefit. With 25-GHz-spaced, 26 × 22.

Contribution of MTR A2756G polymorphism and MTRR A66G polymorphism to the risk of idiopathic male infertility.

Background: Methionine synthase reductase gene (MTRR A66G) polymorphism and methionine synthase gene (MTR A2756G) polymorphism have shown an association with idiopathic male infertility risk in several ethnic populations. However, their small sample sizes and inconsistent outcomes have prevented strong conclusions. We performed a meta-analysis with published studies to evaluate the associations of the 2 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and idiopathic male infertility risk.

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor rs2066853 gene polymorphisms and male infertility risk: a meta-analysis.

To evaluate the relationship between the aryl hydrocarbon receptor () rs2066853 gene polymorphism and the risk of male infertility. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched for relevant case-control studies up to 31 July 2019. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were used to assess the strength of associations.

Effectiveness, Safety and Risk Factors of Woven EndoBridge Device in the Treatment of Wide-Neck Intracranial Aneurysms: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: To assess the current efficacy, safety, and risk factors of the Woven EndoBridge (WEB) in treating wide-neck intracranial aneurysms.

Methods: We searched the PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, and Embase databases between December 1, 2012 and June 30, 2018. Studies were included if they featured ≥5 patients undergoing WEB for wide-neck intracranial aneurysms, reported an angiographic or clinical outcome and risk factors, and were published after December 1, 2012.

Meta-analysis of the association between the inflammatory potential of diet and urologic cancer risk.

Background: The inflammatory potential of diet has been shown to have an association with the risk of several cancer types, but the evidence is inconsistent regarding the related risk of urologic cancer (UC). Therefore, we conducted the present meta-analysis to investigate the association between the inflammatory potential of diet and UC.

Methods: PubMed, Embase and Web of Science were searched up to July 31, 2018.

Prognosis of Symptoms and Complications After Microvascular Decompression for Hemifacial Spasm: A Single-Center Experience.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify potential prognostic factors of hemifacial spasm (HFS) after microvascular decompression (MVD), to establish the appropriate way to tackle postprocedure symptoms and complications (PPSCs), and to find the incidence and duration of PPSCs.

Methods: Two hundred and forty-eight patients with HFS were monitored between December 2009 and December 2014. The mean follow-up duration was 24 months (range, 6-67 months).

[Application of Biological Heart Valves (BHV) and Mechanical Heart Valves (MHV) in the Female Patients of Childbearing Age: a Matched Paired Study].

Objective: To observe the efficacy and safety of biological heart valves (BHV) and mechanical heart valves (MHV) in childbearing age women (CAW) during the perinatal and short-moderate term postoperative (SMTP) periods.

Methods: There were 33 patients [(25.2±7.

Kangfuxinye Enema Combined with Mesalamine for Ulcerative Colitis: A Systematic Review and GRADE Approach.

Objectives: To critically appraise the efficacy and safety of Kangfuxinye enema combined with mesalamine for the ulcerative colitis (UC) patients and in addition to grade the quality of evidence by using the GRADE (grading of recommendations, assessment, development, and evaluation) approach.

Methods: A literature search was performed in the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CBM, CNKI, VIP, and WanFang Databases. The search restrictions were patients with UC and RCTs.

The SPO11-C631T gene polymorphism and male infertility risk: a meta-analysis.

To evaluate the association between the SPO11 gene C631T polymorphism and the risk of male infertility. We conducted a search on PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China biology medical literature database (CBM), VIP, and Chinese literature database (Wan Fang) on 31 March 2016. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were used to assess the strength of associations.

Use of noninvasive ventilation at the pulmonary infection control window for acute respiratory failure in AECOPD patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis based on GRADE approach.

The aim of the study was to comprehensively examine the efficacy and safety of noninvasive ventilation used at the pulmonary infection control (PIC) window for acute respiratory failure (ARF) in patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD).Seven electronic databases and relevant resources were searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing patients using noninvasive ventilation at PIC window with those continuing receiving invasive ventilation. Retrieved citations were screened, risk of bias was assessed, and data were extracted by 2 independent review authors.

Effectiveness and safety of ShenXiong glucose injection for acute ischemic stroke: a systematic review and GRADE approach.

Background: To appraise critically whether published trials of ShenXiong glucose injection for patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) are of sufficient quality, and in addition to rate the quality of evidence by using the GRADE approach (grading of recommendations, assessment, development, and evaluation, GRADE).

Methods: A literature search was performed in the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CBM, Chinese TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) Database, CNKI, VIP, WanFang Databases until January 2015. The limits were patients with AIS and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi-RCTs.

Prognosis research of delayed facial palsy after microvascular decompression for hemifacial spasm.

Background: Although microvascular decompression (MVD) surgery has been widely accepted as an effective treatment for hemifacial spasm (HFS), delayed facial palsy (DFP) is not an unusual complication, but it has only been sporadically described in the literature. The purpose of this study was to examine the probability of occurrence, the risk/predisposing factors, and the prognosis and timing of DFP.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted that included patients diagnosed with HFS and treated by MVD at our institution.

Over 210 Gb/s PDM multiband DDO-OFDM LR-PON downstream with simple self-polarization diversity.

A simple polarization division multiplexed (PDM) multiband direct-detection optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DDO-OFDM) long reach passive optical network (LR-PON) with net data rate over 210 Gb/s on single wavelength channel is proposed and experimentally demonstrated with self-polarization diversity technique. The proposed self-polarization diversity function is realized at a powered remote node with all passive components to achieve cost-effectiveness and simultaneously double both the channel capacity and subscriber numbers. Meanwhile, this architecture retains the simplicity of direct-detection single receiver-end without any hardware or software modification at the optical network units.

Design and performance evaluation of an OpenFlow-based control plane for software-defined elastic optical networks with direct-detection optical OFDM (DDO-OFDM) transmission.

Optical Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (O-OFDM), which transmits high speed optical signals using multiple spectrally overlapped lower-speed subcarriers, is a promising candidate for supporting future elastic optical networks. In contrast to previous works which focus on Coherent Optical OFDM (CO-OFDM), in this paper, we consider the direct-detection optical OFDM (DDO-OFDM) as the transport technique, which leads to simpler hardware and software realizations, potentially offering a low-cost solution for elastic optical networks, especially in metro networks, and short or medium distance core networks. Based on this network scenario, we design and deploy a software-defined networking (SDN) control plane enabled by extending OpenFlow, detailing the network architecture, the routing and spectrum assignment algorithm, OpenFlow protocol extensions and the experimental validation.

On the long-memory filtering gain in optical high-order QAM transmission systems.

In this paper, we verify the effectiveness of the last-stage long memory filter (LMF) in mitigating the long-memory response (LMR) of hardware, i.e. the transmitter and receiver.

Per-symbol-based digital back-propagation approach for PDM-CO-OFDM transmission systems.

For polarization-division-multiplexing coherent optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (PDM-CO-OFDM) systems, we propose a per-symbol-based digital back-propagation (DBP) approach which, after cyclic prefix removal, conducts DBP for each OFDM symbol. Compared with previous DBP, this new proposal avoids the use of inefficient overlap-and-add operation and saves one fast Fourier transform (FFT) module, therefore simplifying the hardware implementation. Transmitting a 16-QAM, 42.

Generation and detection of 240-Gb/s PDM-64QAM using optical binary synthesizing approach and phase-folded decision-directed equalization.

We present new generation and detection methods for high symbol-rate 64-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (64QAM). The 64QAM signal is created by tandem in-phase/quadrature (I/Q) modulators driven by electrical binary signals. The first I/Q modulator, which has four drive arms (i.

Joint compensation of CD and PMD in direct-detected OFDM transmission using polarization-time coding.

We propose and demonstrate a polarization-time coding (PTC) method which can effectively compensate both the CD and first order PMD in direct-detected OFDM transmission. Compared with the previous methods, the proposed PTC not only alleviates the need for the complex dynamic polarization controller but also exhibits superior transparencies to both the OFDM format and transmission data rate. For the proposed PTC method, we have analytically derived the transmission model with CD and first order PMD, and theoretically prove the PTC indeed can jointly compensate both CD and PMD.

Tunable optical wavelength conversion of OFDM signal using a periodically-poled lithium niobate waveguide.

We experimentally demonstrate tunable optical wavelength conversion of a 10-Gb/s radio frequency (RF)-tone assisted orthogonal-frequency-division-multiplexing (OFDM) signal with approximately-5 dB (approximately 30%) efficiency over approximately 30 nm bandwidth using a periodically-poled lithium-niobate (PPLN) waveguide. A penalty of < 3 dB is obtained after wavelength conversion. Quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) size and subcarrier number are varied to further evaluate the performance of the wavelength converter.