Comparison of clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics between SARS-CoV-2 infection and community-acquired pneumonia caused by influenza virus: A cross-sectional retrospective study.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the most important global public health issue that we currently face. We aimed to explore the clinical features of patients with COVID-19 and compared them with those of hospitalized community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients caused by influenza virus during the same period.From Jan 1, to Mar 4, 2020, patients with COVID-19 or CAP caused by influenza virus who were admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University were consecutively screened for enrollment.

Treatment of Infertile Women with Unilateral Tubal Occlusion Diagnosed by Hysterosalpingography: The Role of Intrauterine Insemination.

The optimal assisted reproductive treatment strategy for infertile women with unilateral tubal obstruction remains uncertain. To investigate the role of intrauterine insemination (IUI) in the treatment of infertile women with unilateral tubal occlusion, the data of 148 couples were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Seventy-eight infertile women with unilateral occlusion diagnosed by hysterosalpingography (HSG) were categorized as the study group and 70 others with unexplained infertility as the control group.

Isolation of male and female gametes, zygotes and proembryos of leek ( Roxb).

The isolation of male and female gametes is an effective method to study the fertilization mechanisms of higher plants. An osmotic shock method was used to rupture pollen grains of Allium tuberosum Roxb and release the pollen contents, including generative cells, which were mass collected. The pollinated styles were cut following 3 h of in vivo growth, and cultured in medium for 6-8 h, during which time pollen tubes grew out of the cut end of the style.

Association between serum adiponectin concentrations and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a meta-analysis.

Background: Adiponectin has been implicated to play a role in the pathophysiology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Many studies have assessed serum adiponectin concentrations in COPD patients. However, results from different reports were not consistent.

Resveratrol increases resistance of mouse oocytes to postovulatory aging .

After ovulation, metaphase II oocytes undergo a time-dependent deterioration or , which is referred to as postovulatory oocyte aging, a process during which a series of deleterious molecular and cellular changes occur. In this study, we found that short-term injection of resveratrol (3,5,4'-trihydroxystilbene) effectively ameliorated oxidative stress-induced damage in postovulatory oocyte aging of middle-aged mice . Resveratrol induced changes that delayed the aging-induced oocyte deterioration including the elevated expression of the anti-aging molecule Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1); it reduced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, and improved mitochondria function.

Long-term treatment with budesonide/formoterol attenuates circulating CRP levels in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients of group D.

Background: The systemic inflammation is associated with clinical outcome and mortality in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. To investigate the effects of tiotropium (Tio) and/or budesonide/formoterol (Bud/Form) on systemic inflammation biomarkers in stable COPD patients of group D, a randomized, open-label clinical trial was conducted.

Methods: Eligible participants (n = 324) were randomized and received either Tio 18ug once daily (group I), Bud/Form 160/4.

Comparative microarray analyses of mono(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate impacts on fat cell bioenergetics and adipokine network.

Cellular accumulation of mono(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (MEHP) has been recently demonstrated to disturb fat cell energy metabolism; however, the underlying mechanism remained unclear. The study aimed to determine how MEHP influenced fat cell transcriptome and how the changes might contribute to bioenergetics. Because of the pivotal role of PPARγ in energy metabolism of fat cells, comparative microarray analysis of gene expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes treated with both MEHP and rosiglitazone was performed.

Serum C-reactive protein level in COPD patients stratified according to GOLD 2011 grading classification.

Background And Objective: The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) 2011 grading classification has been used to evaluate the severity of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, little is known about the relationship between the systemic inflammation and this classification. We aimed to study the relationship between serum CRP and the components of the GOLD 2011 grading classification.

Association between serum interleukin-6 concentrations and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is an important pro-inflammatory cytokine and has been implicated to play a role in the systemic inflammation of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We conducted this meta-analysis to assess the association between serum IL-6 concentrations and COPD.

Comparative transcriptome analyses between a spontaneous late-ripening sweet orange mutant and its wild type suggest the functions of ABA, sucrose and JA during citrus fruit ripening.

A spontaneous late-ripening mutant of 'Jincheng' (C. sinensis L. Osbeck) sweet orange exhibited a delay of fruit pigmentation and harvesting.

Mono(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate accumulation disturbs energy metabolism of fat cells.

Phthalates are lipophilic and tend to accumulate in adipose tissue, an important regulator of energy balance and glucose homeostasis. The study aimed to determine whether cellular phthalate accumulation influenced fat cell energy metabolism. Following a 3-day treatment with adipogenesis-inducing medium and a 2-day treatment with adipogenesis-maintaining medium, 3T3-L1 cells differentiated into adipocytes in the presence of a phthalate at a clinically relevant concentration (30-300 μM) for another 6 days.

Genome characterization of sugarcane yellow leaf virus from China reveals a novel recombinant genotype.

Sugarcane yellow leaf virus (SCYLV; genus Polerovirus, family Luteoviridae) is a recombinant virus associated with yellow leaf disease, a serious threat to sugarcane in China and worldwide. Among the nine known SCYLV genotypes existing worldwide, COL, HAW, REU, IND, CHN1, CHN2, BRA, CUB and PER, the last five have been reported in China. In this study, the complete genome sequences (5,880 nt) of GZ-GZ18 and HN-CP502 isolates from the Chinese provinces of Guizhou and Hainan, respectively, were cloned, sequenced and characterized.

Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of Sugarcane yellow leaf virus isolates from China.

Sugarcane yellow leaf virus (SCYLV) (genus Polerovirus, family Luteoviridae), the causal agent of sugarcane yellow leaf disease (YLD), was first detected in China in 2006. To assess the distribution of SCYLV in the major sugarcane-growing Chinese provinces, leaf samples from 22 sugarcane clones (Saccharum spp. hybrid) showing YLD symptoms were collected and analyzed for infection by the virus using reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR), quantitative RT-PCR, and immunological assays.

RAPD-based genetic analysis of offsprings from the sexual cross using allotetraploid citrus somatic hybrid as pollen parent.

Thirty-one polymorphic decamer primers were selected to genotype 92 progenies from the cross between Yiben No.4, a monoembryonic diploid F1 hybrid of Citrus reticulata Blanco cv Huanongbendizao tangerine and C. ichangensis Swingle, and [Hamlin sweet orange + Rough lemon], an allotetraploid somatic hybrid of Citrus sinensis Osbeck cv.

[Creation and hybrid identification of the sexual progenies using citrus somatic hybrid as pollen parent].

110 plantlets were obtained from the cross between citrus allotetraploid somatic hybrid [Hamlin sweet orange (Citrus sinensis Osback) + Rough Lemon (C. jambhiri Luss)] (as the pollen parent) and mono-embryonic diploid type Iben No.4 [Huanongbendizao tangerine (C.

Sol-gel encapsulation of lactate dehydrogenase for optical sensing of L-lactate.

Sol-gel encapsulation of lactate dehydrogenase and its cofactor can be employed as a disposable sensor for L-lactate. The sensor utilized the changes in absorbance or fluorescence from the reduced cofactor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) upon exposure to L-lactate. Although, problems such as diminished enzymatic activity and/or leaching of enzyme from the sol-gel matrix occurred, the sol-gel process is sufficiently mild to permit retention of enzymatic activity.