Impact of micro-environmental factors on survival, reproduction and distribution of Oncomelania hupensis snails.

Background: Schistosomiasis japonica is a chronic parasitic disease that seriously harms people's health. Oncomelania hupensis is the only intermediate host of Schistosoma japonicum. The micro-environmental factors surrounding the snail have a great impact on the survival, growth and reproduction of O.

Noninvasive Diagnosis of Viral Keratouveitis with Retro-corneal Endothelial Plaques: A Case Series.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the noninvasive diagnostic methods in managing the herpetic keratouveitis with retro-corneal endothelial plaques.

Methods: 12 patients suspected to have unilateral herpetic keratouveitis with retro-corneal endothelial plaques were included. Slit lamp photos, AS-OCT, IVCM and corneal scraping culture were taken in all cases to help diagnosing and managing the disease.

PKD3 promotes metastasis and growth of oral squamous cell carcinoma through positive feedback regulation with PD-L1 and activation of ERK-STAT1/3-EMT signalling.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has a high incidence of metastasis. Tumour immunotherapy targeting PD-L1 or PD-1 has been revolutionary; however, only a few patients with OSCC respond to this treatment. Therefore, it is essential to gain insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the growth and metastasis of OSCC.

Analysis of the etiologies of female infertility in Yunnan minority areas.

Background: The present study aims to provide a comparative analysis of the etiologies of female infertility between Dehong, on the Yunnan Frontier, and Kunming.

Methods: A retrospective study, which included 941 infertile females in Kunming who were treated in the First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province and infertile females who were treated in the local hospital in Dehong from January 2016 to November 2018, was conducted. A comparative analysis of the etiologies of infertility in the two regions was then carried out.

N-methyladenosine modification of MALAT1 promotes metastasis via reshaping nuclear speckles.

N6-methyladenosine (mA), one of the most prevalent RNA post-transcriptional modifications, is involved in numerous biological processes. In previous studies, the functions of mA were typically identified by perturbing the activity of the methyltransferase complex. Here, we dissect the contribution of mA to an individual-long noncoding RNA-metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1).

Spatial Decomposition-Based Fault Detection Framework for Parabolic-Distributed Parameter Processes.

Fault detection for distributed parameter processes (heat processes, fluid processes, etc.) is vital for safe and efficient operation. On one hand, the existing data-driven methods neglect the evolution dynamics of the processes and cannot guarantee that they work for highly dynamic or transient processes; on the other hand, model-based methods reported so far are mostly based on the backstepping technique, which does not possess enough redundancy for fault detection since only the boundary measurement is considered.

Study on patterned photodynamic cross-linking for keratoconus.

Purpose: This study examined the patterned treatment of corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) for keratoconus to reduce the complications caused by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. By modifying the method of UV irradiation during the cross-linking process, cross-linking with a special structure is achieved, and the cross-linking effect is analyzed and compared to that of traditional cross-linking. By constructing an animal model of keratoconus, the process and effect of corneal cross-linking can be investigated more fundamentally.

Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) promotes the recovery of ovarian function in a rat model of premature ovarian failure (POF).

Aims: Our study was to evaluate the benefits of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) for the prevention of premature ovarian failure (POF) in a rat model.

Materials And Methods: 80 female SD rats aged between 6 and 8 weeks were randomly divided into 4 groups A, B, C and D. Rats in group A is normal control group; group B, C and D received zona pellucida glycoprotein 3 (pZP3) administration to induce POF model.

miR-335-5p suppresses gastric cancer progression by targeting MAPK10.

Background: Recent studies have established the roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in cancer progression. The aberrant expression of miR-335-5p has been reported in many cancers, including gastric cancer (GC). In this study, the precise roles of miR-335-5p in GC as well as the molecular mechanisms underlying its effects, including the role of its target MAPK10, were evaluated.

Histone Demethylase Could Improve the Developmental Competence of Buffalo () Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) Embryos.

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) holds vast potential in agriculture. However, its applications are still limited by its low efficiency. Histone 3 lysine 9 trimethylation (H3K9me3) was identified as an epigenetic barrier for this.

Preliminary studies of constructing a tissue-engineered lamellar corneal graft by culturing mesenchymal stem cells onto decellularized corneal matrix.

Aim: To construct a competent corneal lamellar substitute in order to alleviate the shortage of human corneal donor.

Methods: Rabbit mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were isolated from bone marrow and identified by flow cytometric, osteogenic and adipogenic induction. Xenogenic decellularized corneal matrix (XDCM) was generated from dog corneas.

Single-cell analysis of nonhuman primate preimplantation development in comparison to humans and mice.

Background: Genetic programs underlying preimplantation development and early lineage segregation are highly conserved across mammals. It has been suggested that nonhuman primates would be better model organisms for human embryogenesis, but a limited number of studies have investigated the monkey preimplantation development. In this study, we collect single cells from cynomolgus monkey preimplantation embryos for transcriptome profiling and compare with single-cell RNA-seq data derived from human and mouse embryos.

Enhanced coupling efficiency and electrical property in surface plasmon-enhanced light-emitting diodes with the tapered Ag structure.

We design, fabricate and analyze plasmon-enhanced LEDs with the tapered Ag structure that significantly increases plasmonic coupling efficiency at a coupling distance far beyond the penetration depth. The electroluminescence intensity showed a 16-fold increase compared with planar LEDs with a coupling distance of 100 nm. The enhanced coupling efficiency with large distance is originated from the accumulated SP energy at the metal conical tip and the missing momentum provided by the corrugated surface.

Polysaccharide-Based Nanomaterials for Ocular Drug Delivery: A Perspective.

Ocular drug delivery is one of the most challenging issues in ophthalmology because of the complex physiological structure of the eye. Polysaccharide-based nanomaterials have been extensively investigated in recent years as ideal carriers for enhancing the bioavailability of drugs in the ocular system because of their biocompatibility and drug solubilization. From this perspective, we discuss the structural instability of polysaccharides and its impact on the synthesis process; examine the potential for developing bioactive polysaccharide-based ocular drug nanocarriers; propose four strategies for designing novel drug delivery nanomaterials; and suggest reviewing the behavior of nanomaterials in ocular tissues.

Influence of Synthesis Methods on the High-Efficiency Removal of Cr(VI) from Aqueous Solution by Fe-Modified Magnetic Biochars.

Fe-modified biochars have been widely used in removal of Cr(VI) from water due to the resulting modified surface functional groups and magnetization property. However, few studies have synthetically investigated modification methods and synthesis parameters on the improvement of the removal efficiency of Cr(VI) by Fe-modified biochars. Herein, 10 types of corn straw-based magnetic biochars were produced using pre-modification and post-modification methods with various modifier ratios, and the highest heating temperature (HHT).

Thioridazine hydrochloride: an antipsychotic agent that inhibits tumor growth and lung metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer via inducing G0/G1 arrest and apoptosis.

CCK8: Cell Counting Kit-8; CDK: cyclin-dependent kinase; DRD2: dopamine D2 receptor; ERK1/2: extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2; GAPDH: glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase; H&E: hematoxylin and eosin; MMP: membrane potential; NAC: N-acetyl-L-cysteine; PI: Propidium iodide; Rh123: rhodamine-123; ROS: reactive oxygen species; TBST: tris-buffered saline containing 0.1% Tween 20 TNBC: Triple-negative breast cancer; Thi-hyd: Thioridazine hydrochloride.

Screening and identification of a CD44v6 specific peptide using improved phage display for gastric cancer targeting.

Background: Peptide probes can be applied for biomarker targeting to improve the diagnostic accuracy. Cluster of differentiation 44 (CD44) is up-regulated in gastric cancer (GC). Among all the variants of CD44, CD44v6 is reported the most promising biomarker for GC.

Potential of preparing cement clinker by adding the fluorine-containing sludge into raw meal.

Fluorine-containing sludge from semiconductor industries were one kind of hazardous wastes, there was hardly effective treatment to realize its safe disposal and utilization. This paper evaluated the potential of preparing cement clinker by adding the sludge into raw meal by a series of experiments. The results revealed 2.

Neurologic Factors in Patients with Vascular Mild Cognitive Impairment Based on fMRI.

This study focused on the application of functional magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychology in diagnosis of vascular mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and the exploration of its relevant factors. The study enrolled 28 patients with vascular MCI in an observation group and 30 healthy individuals in a control group. All patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging.

Vitamin D receptor Bsm I polymorphism and osteoporosis risk in postmenopausal women: a meta-analysis from 42 studies.

Objective: This study aimed to quantitatively summarize the evidence for VDR BsmI gene polymorphism and osteoporosis risk in postmenopausal women.

Materials And Methods: The PubMed, EMBASE, Weipu, CNKI, and Wanfang databases were searched for eligible studies. Case-control studies containing available genotype frequencies of B/b were chosen, and odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess the strength of this association.

[Expression Level of Protein Kinase D in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma with Diverse Differentiation].

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the expression level of protein kinase D (PKD) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and its relationship with differentiation of OSCC.

Methods: Sample was collected from 10 healthy control subjects and 40 OSCC confirmed by histopathological diagnosis, and the immunohistochemical staining was adopted to detect the expression of PKDs in OSCC tissues. The proportion of stained cell and staining intensity were evaluated to get a score, which used to analyze the difference among PKD1, PKD2 and PKD3 in various differentiation OSCC tissues.

Cell synchronization by Rapamycin improves the developmental competence of buffalos (Bubalus bubalis) somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos.

This study mainly explored the effects of Rapamycin on the growth of the Buffalo ear fibroblast (BEF) and embryonic developmental competence of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). The results show that the appropriate concentration (1 μM) of Rapamycin could significantly improve the proportion of the G0/G1 phase in BEF cells treated at a certain time (72 hr). Simultaneously, the percentage of the G0/G1 phase also was significantly higher than the serum starvation and control group.

Corticosteroid therapy for coronavirus disease 2019-related acute respiratory distress syndrome: a cohort study with propensity score analysis.

Background: The impact of corticosteroid therapy on outcomes of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is highly controversial. We aimed to compare the risk of death between COVID-19-related ARDS patients with corticosteroid treatment and those without.

Methods: In this single-center retrospective observational study, patients with ARDS caused by COVID-19 between January 20, 2020, and February 24, 2020, were enrolled.

COVID-19-associated gastrointestinal and liver injury: clinical features and potential mechanisms.

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The infection is spreading globally and poses a huge threat to human health. Besides common respiratory symptoms, some patients with COVID-19 experience gastrointestinal symptoms, such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite.