This study explores whether the current external quality assessment (EQA) level and acceptable bias for basic semen analysis in China are clinically useful. We collected data of semen EQA from Andrology laboratories in the Hunan Province (China) in 2022 and searched for data in the published literature from January 2000 to December 2023 in China. On the basis of these data, we analyzed the coefficients of variation and acceptable biases of different quality control materials for basic semen analysis through robust statistics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdvancements in patterning techniques for metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are crucial for their integration into microelectronics. However, achieving precise nanoscale control of MOF structures remains challenging. In this work, a resist-free method for patterning MOFs is demonstrated using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography with a resolution of 40 nm.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCachexia is a prevalent multifactorial syndrome characterized by a substantial decrease in food intake, which results from processes such as proteolysis, lipolysis, inflammatory activation, and autophagy, ultimately leading to weight loss. In cancer patients, this condition is referred to as cancer-related cachexia (CRC) and affects over 50% of this population. A comprehensive understanding of the intricate interactions between tumors and the host organism is essential for the development of effective treatments for tumor cachexia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe presence of a synergistic effect between carrier and insecticide in controlled release formulations is highly desirable to improve efficacy to target pests and reduce insecticide use. Herein, controlled release microparticles of avermectin (AVM) were fabricated using natural chitosan (CTS) as a carrier by a pH adjustment method. The resulted AVM@CTS microparticles displayed high encapsulation efficiency (73.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CSA-AKI) is a notably common complication in pediatrics, with an incidence rate ranging from 15 to 64%. This rate is significantly higher than that observed in adults. Currently, there is a lack of substantial evidence regarding the association between intraoperative blood pressure variability (BPV) during cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and the development of AKI in pediatric patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGinseng peptides, small molecule active ingredients in ginseng, are mainly extracted naturally or synthesized chemically, but high costs and difficulties hinder further research. In this study, a ginseng hexapeptide FKEHGY, named antitumor peptide 0601 (AT0601) and its five tandem sequence repeats AT0605, were expressed in Bacillus subtilis WB600 for the first time, and the bioactivity study showed that the anticancer activity of AT0605 was even significantly higher than that of AT0601 for colon cancer CT26 cells, with IC50s of 16.82 ± 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: This study identified novel variants of the FSIP2 and SPEF2 genes in multiple morphological abnormalities of the sperm flagella (MMAF) patients and to investigate the potential effect of variations on male infertility and assisted reproductive outcomes.
Methods: Whole-exome sequencing was performed in 106 Chinese MMAF patients. The discovered variants were evaluated in silico and confirmed by Sanger sequencing.
Background: Diabetic keratopathy is a prevalent but sometimes ignored visual condition in diabetic patients, which significantly affects patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) in terms of their visual acuity. Exosomes regulate diabetes-related conditions like diabetic keratopathy (DK) by secreting their components into the body.
Objective: Aim to investigate the effect and mechanism of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived exosome miR-125a-5p on DK.
Type III collagen, a fundamental constituent of the extracellular matrix (ECM), is extensively utilized across the biomedicine, tissue engineering, and cosmetic industries because of its exceptional biocompatibility and biodegradability. Despite its widespread application, traditional methods of collagen production are often hindered by the limit yield, potential immunogenicity, and batch-to-batch variability. In the present study, we describe a synthetic biological approach for expressing full-length recombinant type III collagen (RCIII) in the Komagataella phaffii system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a debilitating condition that often results in paralysis and lifelong medical challenges. Research has shown that epigenetic modifications, particularly histone acetylation, play a role in neuroprotection following hypoxic-ischemic events in SCI. The objective of this study was to explore the effects of histone H3K27 acetylation, along with its underlying mechanisms, on the tolerance to hypoxia and ischemia in SCI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTannic acid and Fe were used in this study to create a polyphenol-metal network-based composite film for the preservation of Melaleuca bracteata essential oils. The inhibition rate of ABTS and DPPH free radicals reached more than 90 % at an essential oil concentration of 20 mg/mL. Additive quantities of 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a prevalent cardiovascular disease with high mortality rates worldwide. Patients with CHD often experience adverse psychological stress related to the disease's diagnosis, treatment and recovery phases. This stress can hurt sleep quality and overall quality of life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Osteosarcoma (OS) is the leading cancer-associated mortality in childhood and adolescence. Increasing evidence has demonstrated the key function of microRNAs (miRNAs) in OS development and chemoresistance. Among them, miRNA-605-3p acted as an important tumor suppressor and was frequently down-regulated in multiple cancers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFITIH4 has anti-inflammatory properties toward eosinophilic/neutrophilic inflammation. This study aimed to explore clinical value of ITIH4 in childhood asthma. Serum ITIH4 and inflammatory cytokines were determined in 120 childhood asthma patients by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMetal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of porous materials constructed from organic linkers and inorganic building blocks. Coordinative competition labilizes some MOFs under harsh chemical conditions because of their weak bonding. However, instability is not always a negative property of a material.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Frailty, a prevalent geriatric syndrome, presents challenges exacerbated by malnutrition. Nutritional Management Interventions (NMIs) offer hope in frailty reversal, necessitating exploration of their multi-dimensional outcomes.
Objectives: Assess NMIs' impact on frail and pre-frail older adults across diverse outcomes.
In this paper, the aluminium-doped carbon dots (Al-CDs) were developed for simultaneous selective detection of five tetracycline antibiotics (TCs), including minocycline (MC), tetracycline (TC), oxytetracycline (OTC), doxycycline (DOC) and chlortetracycline (CTC). With the bright blue fluorescence, Al-CDs displayed excellent stability and showed no obvious fluorescence intensity changes under different ionic strength, acidic or alkaline environment, continuous ultraviolet light illumination, and even longtime storage at room temperature. As adding different antibiotics, the fluorescence of Al-CDs was strongly quenched by five TCs and showed no distinguished changes with the addition of other kinds of antibiotics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer immunotherapy has demonstrated significant efficacy in various tumors, but its effectiveness in treating Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) remains limited. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify a new immunotherapy target and develop corresponding intervention strategies. Bioinformatics analysis has revealed that growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) is highly expressed in HCC and is closely related to poor prognosis of HCC patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Observational studies show that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) tend to be sedentary during leisure time. Physical activity (PA) may reduce the risk of COPD, but the causal relationship is unclear. We used a Mendelian randomisation (MR) method to elucidate the association of leisure sedentary behaviours (LSB) and PA with lung function and COPD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Radiographic severity assessment can be instrumental in diagnosing postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) and guiding oxygen therapy. The radiographic assessment of lung edema (RALE) and Brixia scores correlate with disease severity, but research on low-risk elderly patients is lacking. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of two chest X-ray scores in predicting continuous oxygen therapy (COT) treatment failure in patients over 70 years of age after thoracic surgery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhether parental educational expectations for adolescents serve as a source of motivation or stress depends on the extent to which adolescents hold expectations for themselves. Previous research on the discrepancies between parental and adolescent educational expectations and their impact on learning engagement has been limited by traditional statistical tests, and lacking an examination of the internal mediating mechanism of parent-child relational quality from both parental and adolescent perspectives. This cross-sectional study, utilizing a multi-informant design, examined the association between discrepancies in parents' and adolescents' reports of expectations, and adolescents' study engagement, as well as the mediating role of parent-child relational qualities perceived by both parties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSignificant advances in chemotherapy drugs have reduced mortality in patients with malignant tumors. However, chemotherapy-related cardiotoxicity increases the morbidity and mortality of patients, and has become the second leading cause of death after tumor recurrence, which has received more and more attention in recent years. Arrhythmia is one of the common types of chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity, and has become a new risk related to chemotherapy treatment, which seriously affects the therapeutic outcome in patients.
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