Bone Morphogenetic Protein 15 Knockdown Inhibits Porcine Ovarian Follicular Development and Ovulation.

Bone morphogenetic protein 15 () is strongly associated with animal reproduction and woman reproductive disease. As a multifunctional oocyte-specific secret factor, BMP15 controls female fertility and follicular development in both species-specific and dosage-sensitive manners. Previous studies found that BMP15 played a critical role in follicular development and ovulation rate in mono-ovulatory mammalian species, especially in sheep and human, but study on knockout mouse model implied that BMP15 possibly has minimal impact on female fertility of poly-ovulatory species.

Adjunctive vitamin D for the treatment of active juvenile idiopathic arthritis: An open-label, prospective, randomized controlled trial.

Vitamin D has an important immunomodulatory effect, but no trial has examined the effect of boosting serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) in individuals with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). The aim of the present study was to assess whether vitamin D supplementation reduced disease activity and adjusted/maintained bone mass in patients with active JIA. A 24-week randomized trial was undertaken at Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University.

Gene mutation profiling in Chinese colorectal cancer patients and its association with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis.

Background: Gene mutations may play an important role in the development, response to treatment and prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC). This retrospective study aimed to investigate the mutation profiling of Chinese patients with CRC, and its correlation with clinicopathological features and prognosis.

Methods: This study included 1190 Chinese CRC patients who were diagnosed between May 1998 and December 2018 and received clinical genetic testing.

Chaihu-Shugan-San Reinforces CYP3A4 Expression via Pregnane X Receptor in Depressive Treatment of Liver-Qi Stagnation Syndrome.

s. Chaihu-Shugan-San (CSS) is a classic traditional Chinese herbal prescription for treating depression. However, the underlying mechanism of the Chinese syndrome-specific efficacy of CSS is poorly understood.

Disruption of Regional Brain Activity and Functional Connectivity in Patients with Asymptomatic Vulnerable Carotid Plaque.

Background & Aims: Studies have shown that moderate to severe stenosis of the carotid was associated with abnormal neural activity and functional connectivity (FC). However, whether there is a change of neuronal activity in individuals with asymptomatic vulnerable carotid plaque but mild stenosis (VCP) remains unknown.

Methods: From December 2015 to December 2017, a total of 31 patients with VCP and 31 no carotid plaque (NCP) controls were performed multi-modal state functional magnetic resonance imaging and investigated the regional brain activity and FC.

Fabrication of Hydrophobic Ni Surface by Chemical Etching.

Hydrophobic surfaces were successfully fabricated on pure nickel substrates by a one-step chemical etching process with different acidic solutions. The static water contact angle (SCA) of the etched Ni surfaces reached higher than 125°, showing excellent hydrophobicity. The examination of surface chemical compositions implied that there were almost no polar moieties on the surface after chemical etching, except part of the surface was oxidized.

Effect of LncRNA MIAT on Prognosis of Hand-assisted Laparoscopic or Laparoscopic-assisted Colectomy for Colorectal Cancer.

Purpose: The current study aims to explore the effect of myocardial infarction associated transcript (MIAT) level on the long-term prognosis of hand-assisted laparoscopic colectomy (HALC) or laparoscopic-assisted colectomy (LAC) for colorectal cancer (CC).

Materials And Methods: A total of 320 CC patients were included. Patients were randomized into HALC and LAC group.

Visualization of Type-J counter current chromatography: Hydrodynamic behavior in a helical column.

In counter-current chromatography (CCC), the hydrodynamic motion of a two-phase solvent system in the column/coil is very important. There are some previous visualization studies on CCC using stroboscopic photography. As CCC separation is a continuous liquid-liquid extraction process, observing the distribution and movement of the solvent system on-line will be helpful to understand the hydrodynamic behavior during the whole CCC separation process.

Sustainable recycling of waste polystyrene into hierarchical porous carbon nanosheets with potential applications in supercapacitors.

Herein, polystyrene waste was carbonized into mesoporous carbon nanosheets (CNS) using the template method. The pore structure of the obtained CNS was further tuned by KOH activation, resulting in the formation of hierarchical porous carbon sheets with a specific surface area of 2650 m g and a pore volume of 2.43 cm g.

Hypofractionated Ir source stereotactic ablative brachytherapy with coplanar template assistance in the primary treatment of peripheral lung cancer.

Purpose: In this study, we reported the safety and efficacy of hypofractionated Ir source stereotactic ablative brachytherapy (SABT) with coplanar template assistance for peripheral lung cancer, and compared the dosimetric parameters between SABT and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT).

Material And Methods: Thirty-three peripheral lung cancer patients, with the gross lung tumor volume (GTVL) < 5 cm in diameter were enrolled in this study. We assessed the safety and efficacy of SABT, and compared the dosimetric parameters between SABT and SBRT.

Pyrimethanil Ionic Liquids Paired with Various Natural Organic Acid Anions for Reducing Its Adverse Impacts on the Environment.

In this study, nine pyrimethanil ionic liquids (PILs) were synthesized through an acid-base reaction with nine naturally derived organic acid anions to improve the physicochemical properties and reduce the environmental adverse impacts. The PILs presented lower volatilization, higher photostability, better soil adsorption capacity, and improved fungicidal activity relative to pyrimethanil. When the length of the carbon chains in the anions was increased, the PILs showed better properties in terms of melting point, water solubility, volatility, and surface tension.

Well-Designed Porous Graphene Flakes for Lithium-Ion Batteries with Outstanding Rate Performance.

Porous graphene flakes (PGFs) with controllable pore sizes are selectively prepared through self-assembly of FeO nanoparticles on organic modified montmorillonite combined with carbonization and subsequent annealing treatment. The resulting PGFs with a thickness of 5 nm have a specific surface area of 337 m/g, pore volume of 0.66 cm/g, and mean pore diameter of 15 nm.

Chitosan Hydrogel Delivery System Containing Herbal Compound Functions as a Potential Antineuroinflammatory Agent.

Rhein (4,5-dihydroxyanthraquinone-2-carboxylic acid) is an anthraquinone compound mainly isolated from the herbal medicine rhubarb. It possesses a wide spectrum of pharmacological effects. However, the lack of sustained release properties and the poor bioavailability hinder clinical transformation.

Synthesis of Polylysine/Silica Hybrids through Branched-Polylysine-Mediated Biosilicification.

Although many biosilicification methods based on cationic linear α-poly -l- lysine for synthesis of polylysine/silica hybrids have been investigated, these methods tend to rely on the counteranions, added catalysts, and complex synthesis process. To explore a simple and efficient biosilicification method, in this work, branched poly-l-lysine (BPL) is used as both a catalyst to hydrolyze tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and an in situ template to direct silicic acids forming polylysine/silica hybrids in one-pot mode. The catalysis of BPL to hydrolyze TEOS results from the abundant hydrogen bonding (as the active site) to increase the nucleophilicity of BPL.

Highly Efficient Generation of Pigs Harboring a Partial Deletion of the CD163 SRCR5 Domain, Which Are Fully Resistant to Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus 2 Infection.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) 1 and 2 differ in their recognition of CD163. Substitution of porcine CD163 SRCR5 domain with a human CD163-like SRCR8 confers resistance to PRRSV 1 but not PRRSV 2. The deletion of CD163 SRCR5 has been shown to confer resistance to PRRSV 1 and both PRRSV 1 and 2 .

One-Step Synthesis of NiFe Layered Double Hydroxide Nanosheet Array/N-Doped Graphite Foam Electrodes for Oxygen Evolution Reactions.

Developing cost-effective and highly efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts is vital for the production of clean hydrogen by electrocatalytic water splitting. Here, three dimensional nickel-iron layered double hydroxide (NiFe LDH) nanosheet arrays are in-situ fabricated on self-supporting nitrogen doped graphited foam (NGF) via a one-step hydrothermal process under an optimized amount of urea. The as prepared NiFe LDH/NGF electrode exhibits a remarkable activity toward OER with a low onset overpotential of 233 mV and a Tafel slope of 59.

Gas-Permeable, Irritation-Free, Transparent Hydrogel Contact Lens Devices with Metal-Coated Nanofiber Mesh for Eye Interfacing.

An electronic "smart" contact lens device with high gas permeability and optical transparency, as well as mechanical compliance and robustness, offers daily wear capability in eye interfacing and can have broad applications ranging from ocular diagnosis to augmented reality. Most existing contact lens electronics utilize gas-impermeable substrates, electronic components, and interfacial adhesion layers, which impedes them from applications requiring continuous daily wear. Here we report on the design and fabrication of an eye interfacing device with a commercial ocular contact lens as the substrate, metal-coated nanofiber mesh as the conductor, and electrochemically deposited poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) /poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS) as the adhesion material.

The high-risk HPV oncogene E7 upregulates miR-182 expression through the TGF-β/Smad pathway in cervical cancer.

Accumulating experimental evidence has shown that the aberrant expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) is involved in the development and progression of human cervical cancer. Previously, we identified miR-182 as an oncomiRNA in cervical cancer. However, the mechanism by which miR-182 is regulated and the interaction between human papillomavirus (HPV) and miR-182 in cervical cancer development remains unknown.

The etiologic origins for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

COPD, characterized by long-term poorly irreversible airway limitation and persistent respiratory symptoms, has resulted in enormous challenges to human health worldwide, with increasing rates of prevalence, death, and disability. Although its origin was thought to be in the interactions of genetic with environmental factors, the effects of environmental factors on the disease during different life stages remain little known. Without clear mechanisms and radical cure for it, early screening and prevention of COPD seem to be important.

Prognostic Implications of Tripartite Motif Containing 24 Expression Levels in Patients with Solid Tumors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

To systematically investigate the prognostic implications of tripartite motif containing 24 () expression levels in Patients with solid tumors. Pubmed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang databases were searched through December 2017 to identify studies examining the relationship between expression levels and outcomes in solid tumor patients. The hazard ratios (HRs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals were used to evaluate the association between and overall survival (OS).

Facial morphology prediction after complete denture restoration based on principal component analysis.

In developing treatment plan before complete denture restoration, doctors need to help the patient regain chewing ability while considering facial shape reconstruction after the surgery. At present, facial deformation prediction depends on the subjective judgment and experience of doctors; thus, an accurate basis for scientific quantitative analysis is lacking. With the development of computer technology, this paper proposed new facial morphology prediction method based on principal component analysis.

Negligible effects of TiO nanoparticles at environmentally relevant concentrations on the translocation and accumulation of perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonate in hydroponically grown pumpkin seedlings (Cucurbita maxima × C. moschata).

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO-NPs) are widely distributed in the environment. It has been demonstrated that TiO-NPs could modify the environmental fate and bioavailability of organic pollutants, which affects ecological risks of TiO-NPs and organic pollutants. In this study, the uptake, translocation and accumulation of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) in pumpkin plants was investigated in the presence of TiO-NPs.

Mass production of hierarchically porous carbon nanosheets by carbonizing "real-world" mixed waste plastics toward excellent-performance supercapacitors.

Recently, sustainable development and serious energy crisis called for appropriate managements for the large number of municipal and industrial waste plastics as well as the development of low-cost, advanced materials for energy storage. However, the complexity of waste plastics significantly hampers the application of ever used methods, and little attention is paid to the utilization of waste plastics-derived carbon in energy storage. Herein, porous carbon nanosheets (PCNSs) was produced by catalytic carbonization of "real-world" mixed waste plastics on organically-modified montmorillonite (OMMT) and the subsequent KOH activation.

A systematic review and quantitative assessment of methylation biomarkers in fecal DNA and colorectal cancer and its precursor, colorectal adenoma.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) arises from accumulated genetic and epigenetic alterations, which provide the possibility to identify tumor-specific biomarkers by analyzing fecal DNA. Methylation status in human genes from tumor tissue is highlighted as promising biomarker in the early detection of CRC. A number of studies have documented altered methylation levels in DNA extracted from stool samples, but generated heterogeneous results.