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Purpose: The occurrence of diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) in women was growing in recent years. Although in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) became an effective treatment for DOR, the live-birth (LB) rate remains unsatisfactory. This study aimed to investigate the impact factors of LB rate in women with DOR undergoing assisted reproduction.Methods: This was a single-center retrospective cohort study. A total of 2277 IVF-ET or ICSI cycles from 1957 DOR women were analysed. Impact factors of LB rate were explored via Student's t test, Pearson's Chi-square test, and multivariate logistic regression models.Results: There were statistically significant differences in maternal age (P < 0.001), duration of infertility (P < 0.001), female body mass index (P = 0.039), first IVF cycle (P = 0.004), poor ovarian response (P < 0.001), paternal age (P < 0.001), total gonadotropin dose (P = 0.010), endometrial thickness (P = 0.021), number of follicles ≥ 14 mm (P = 0.007), number of oocytes retrieved (P < 0.001), number of frozen embryos (P = 0.014), and the stage (P < 0.001) and number (P < 0.001) of embryos transferred between the non-live-birth (NLB) and LB groups. However, only factors of maternal age, the stage and number of embryos transferred remained different after adjusting for potential confounders.Conclusions: Maternal age, the stage and number of embryos transferred were independent impact factors affecting the live-birth rate in women with DOR seeking for assisted conception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reconstructing the evolution of paleofluid pressure in carbonate reservoirs is a challenging problem, particularly when no oil-bearing fluid inclusions are available to provide barometric constraints on the fluid system. To recover the paleofluid pressure in the Sinian Dengying Formation (Z 2 dn) and the Cambrian Longwangmiao Formation (Є 1 l) of the central paleo-uplift of the Sichuan Basin, we conducted a comprehensive analysis combining the inclusion pressure-volume-temperature simulation, inclusions in situ Raman shifts, and basin modeling. The results showed that the evolution of the pore pressure could be divided into four stages. Prior to the end of the late Triassic, the whole central paleo-uplift was in a normal pressure state. During the Jurassic, a moderate overpressure prevailed in the dolomitic reservoirs of the Gaoshiti-Moxi area and decreased in the adjacent units. At the end of the early Cretaceous, the overpressure reached a maximum in the whole region and was strongest in the Longnüsi area, decreasing to the west. From the late Cretaceous to the present day, the central area of the basin has uplifted rapidly with the overpressure significantly decreasing. Z 2 dn has been restored to normal pressure during the Neogene, while Є 1 l remains moderately overpressurized. Based on an analysis of the structural background and preservation conditions, the types of sedimentary facies, the preservation condition of the traps, and the differential weathering process are the primary reasons for the different pressure states in Z 2 dn and Є 1 l during the last stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, trillions of cubic meters gas resources have been found in Sinian reservoirs of Gaoshiti-Moxi region in the central uplift of Sichuan Basin, which is the first commercial discovery of primary gas field in Precambrian anywhere in the world. To obtain a great breakthrough in Precambrian hydrocarbon exploration, it is necessary to find out the evolution process of temperature and pressure. Reconstructing the thermal history and pore pressure evolution in carbonate reservoirs are challenging problems, especially in deep-old layers without available samples and methods. To study the temperature and pressure system, we conducted a comprehensive analysis combining the paleo-thermal indicators and inclusions Pressure-Volume-Temperature (PVT) simulation with basin modeling. The results showed that the thermal history of the Gaoshiti-Moxi area could be divided into three stages. From the Late Sinian to Late Paleozoic, the thermal regime was stable with low heat flow value (<65 mW/m 2 ). During the Early Paleozoic, the heat flow increased rapidly to the peak value (75–100 mW/m 2 ). From Mesozoic to present, the thermal subsidence occurred in the basin with the heat flow decreasing to the present value (60–70 mW/m 2 ). With the boundary condition of above thermal history, the simulated pressure of Dengying Formation in Gaoshiti-Moxi area could be divided into four stages. The excess pressure began to form during the Triassic. From the end of Triassic to Middle Jurassic, the excess pressure increased steadily and slowly. From Middle Jurassic to the end of Early Cretaceous, the strata subsided rapidly while the excess pressure increased significantly. Since the Late Cretaceous, the Dengying Formation suffered from rapid uplifting and gas lateral migrating with the excess pressure decreasing, until the Late Neogene, the excess pressure in reservoirs declined to zero. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paratesticular liposarcoma is an infrequent tumor characterized by a growing, painless, inguinal or scrotal mass. Only about 200 cases have been reported as of yet in literature, however there are a few cases regarding giant paratesticular liposarcoma measuring over 10 cm. The disease may be commonly misdiagnosed prior to operation. Improper treatment tends to lead to local recurrence and distant metastasis. The current report presents a case of a 51-year-old patient with a large, painless right scrotum. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a 7.8x5.8x10.4 cm nonhomogeneous space-occupying lesion of the right testis, which was firstly diagnosed as a spermatocytoma. Following this, a radical orchiectomy of the right testis was performed, however, it appeared to be a dedifferentiated liposarcoma, following histopathological examination and immunohistochemistry. Due to the large size of the tumor, it is significant to report the characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of the similar cases. The current study additionally presents a supplementary review of previously published cases in literature and focuses on discussion regarding the clinical characteristics, diagnosis, histopathology and immunohistochemical features and treatment of this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previously, it has been shown that obesity may be considered as a risk factor for breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Leptin, a hormone whose level is elevated in obesity, has been suggested to be involved in the development of breast cancer, and univariate survival analyses have shown that over-expression of ACAT2, an enzyme that is involved in the production of cholesteryl esters, may be associated with a poor prognosis. Here, we aimed to investigate the effect of leptin on the proliferation, migration and invasion of breast cancer cells, as well as to elucidate its underlying mode of action. Methods: Gene expression changes in leptin treated breast cancer-derived MCF-7, T47D and BT474 cells were assessed using PCR array, qRT-PCR and Western blot analyses. The expression patterns of Ob-R (leptin receptor) and ACAT2 in breast cancer cells and primary breast cancer tissue samples were analyzed using immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Leptin-induced proliferation of breast cancer cells was assessed using a CCK8 assay, and scratch wound and Transwell assays were used to assess breast cancer cell invasion and migration. Results: We found that, among the genes tested, ACAT2 expression exhibited the most significant changes in the leptin treated cells. In addition, we found that inhibition of ACAT2 expression using pyripyropene A (PPPA) or siRNA-mediated gene silencing significantly decreased leptin-induced proliferation, migration and invasion of MCF-7 and T47D cells. Subsequent Western blot analyses strongly indicated that the PI3K/AKT/SREBP2 signaling pathway was involved in leptin-induced ACAT2 upregulation in both MCF-7 and T47D cells. Finally, through the analysis of primary breast cancer tissue samples we found that ACAT2 may affect cancer progression through activation of the Ob-R. Conclusions: Our data indicate that leptin may enhance the proliferation, migration and invasion of breast cancer cells via ACAT2 up-regulation through the PI3K/AKT/SREBP2 signaling pathway. Therefore, the leptin/ACAT2 axis may represent an attractive therapeutic target for breast cancer, particularly in postmenopausal and/or obese women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mg-Al spinel modification with transition metal oxides of CuO, Mn2O3, and Fe2O3was prepared to catalyze the NO+CO reaction for the DeNOx of fluid catalytic cracking flue gas. Mg-Al spinel modification with CuO showed the best catalytic performance for the easy adsorption of CO on CuO. The Cu+in amorphous state of the catalyst surface was contributed for the main adsorption site of CO from the characterization results by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy technology. The additive amount of CuO was optimized to 4%, and the excess CuO sintered and converted to crystal phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Western Yunnan is composed of several extruded continental microblocks that were generated by the oblique collision between the Indian and Asian continents during the Cenozoic. In this study, the magmatic and tectonic frameworks of western Yunnan in the Cenozoic were analyzed based on geochemistry, Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes, and apatite/zircon fission track dating. Magmatism during the Cenozoic in western Yunnan was then divided into three distinctive episodes: alkali granite rocks produced from 55 to 46 Ma were derived from the anatexis of crustal materials; bimodal igneous rocks formed between 37 and 24 Ma were possibly derived from an EMII mantle with a contribution from continental materials; and intermediate-basic volcanic rocks produced in the Tengchong microblocks since ∼16 Ma are considered to be generated by the partial melting of the upper mantle that was induced by the pulling apart of the dextral Gaoligong strike-slip fault system. Moreover, fission track analysis of apatite and zircon indicates that the regional crustal uplift in western Yunnan possibly began at ∼34 Ma, with accelerated annealing occurring at ∼24 Ma, ∼13 Ma, and ∼4 Ma. During the past 24 Ma, the average denudation rate was ∼0.32 mm/yr for the faulted block controlled by the Chongshan-Lancang River fault However, crustal uplift has been relatively gentle in places lacking influence from strike-slip shear zones, with an average denudation rate of ∼0.2 mm/yr. Combined with strike-slip shear and block rotation in the Cenozoic, the tectonic evolution of western Yunnan since ∼45 Ma can thus be divided into four stages occurring at 45-37 Ma, 37-24 Ma, 24-13 Ma, and 13-0 Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grain refinement always provides a high strength of metals and alloys but this is accompanied by a remarkable deterioration of ductility. Here we report a pure Zr with a heterogeneous structure, characterized by recrystallized coarse grains embedded in the ultrafine-grained matrix, which is produced by rolling at room temperature and subsequent partial recrystallization. The results show that the heterostructured Zr exhibits a superior combination of high strength and improved ductility and higher strain hardening than its coarse-grained counterparts. In terms of the high strength of heterostructured Zr, it is ascribed to the abundant ultrafine grains and significant hetero-deformation induced strengthening. Whereas good ductility is derived from the dislocation hardening of recrystallized coarse grains, the hetero-deformation induced hardening, and the sharp (0002) basal texture. The present study can contribute to understanding the essence of a desirable combination of strength and ductility of heterostructured materials. • Heterostructured Zr was obtained by cold rolling and partial recrystallization. • Heterostructured Zr showed high strength and good ductility simultaneously. • Hetero-deformation induced strengthening contributes to high strength and ductility. • The coarse grains and sharp (0002) basal texture aids of keeping ductility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The interaction paths among LCC, STATCOMs and weak AC network are presented. Then, the impacts of the interactions among them on the system damping characteristic and oscillation modes are further analyzed. • A stability-enhancing control called quadrature voltage compensation control is proposed, which is easy to implement and will not slow down response speed of STATCOM. • The physical explanations on the instability caused by increasing the number of online STATCOMs are given from two physical perspectives, which help in understanding such unstable phenomenon intuitively and easily. Instability may occur in LCC-HVDC system when multiple STATCOMs operate simultaneously at the inverter station. To deeply investigate this problem, firstly a structured linear model of LCC-HVDC system with STATCOMs is presented. Then, a single-input single-output (SISO) form of the model is obtained. Based on the movement of dominant poles (MODPs) of the SISO model, the interactions at the receiving end of the system are investigated. The results reveal that the interactions between LCC and STATCOMs mainly affect the high-frequency (HF) characteristics of the system. With the increase in the number of online STATCOMs, the negative effects of the interactions on the system HF stability gradually increase, while that on low-frequency (LF) stability become weaker. In order to improve such negative interactions, a quadrature voltage compensation control (QVCC) of STATCOM is proposed in this paper. This method introduces the q -axis AC voltage into the constant AC voltage control (CAVC). The theoretical analysis indicates that the QVCC can enhance the stability of the LCC-HVDC system with multiple STATCOMs, which is verified by the simulation results conducted in PSCAD/EMTDC. Finally, the intuitive and physical explanations on the mechanism of instability caused by increasing number of online STATCOMs are given from two perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gradient-structured (GS) metals have been reported to possess superior mechanical properties. In this study, the mechanical incompatibility and strain delocalization of Cu-4.5Al-SMAT specimen processed by surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) during tensile was systematically investigated. The results showed that the hardness of specimen exhibited a gradient variation along the thickness after SMAT, which was related to the gradient defects (deformation twins and dislocations). EBSD observation demonstrated that the magnitude of mechanical incompatibility between gradient layers of specimen was associated to the degree of hardness gradient, which was further measured by load-unload-reload (LUR) test. The hetero-deformation induced (HDI) stress of Cu-4.5Al-SMAT specimen was more obvious compared to annealed specimen without SMAT, and the rate of HDI stress strengthening decreased with increasing tensile strain due to the reduction of degree of hardness gradient. Additional strain hardening was found for the Cu-4.5Al-SMAT specimen, which was confirmed by hardness and TEM. Furthermore, the combination of the gradient structure and the coarse-grained matrix can induce dispersed strain bands on the GS surface, which led to strain delocalization and thus obtained high yield strength and considerable ductility in the Cu-4.5Al-SMAT specimen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the limited application of the traditional water-cooled GSPP (gas-steam combined cycle power plant) in water-deficient areas, an air-cooled GSPP is proposed based on AHP (absorption heat pump) to achieve conservation of energy and water in this paper. The thermodynamic performance is comprehensively compared with three other configurations from both the energy and exergy analysis perspectives. Four cogeneration systems are considered: traditional water-cooled GDES (GSPP with direct extraction steam for heating), water-cooled GAS (GSPP with AHP system), air-cooled GDES and air-cooled GAS. Compared with water-cooled GDES, net output power, energy and exergy efficiencies increase by 17,815 kW, 1.43% and 1.53% in air-cooled GAS with 384,382 kW heating capacity. The results demonstrate that the performance of an air-cooled GAS can surpass that of a traditional water-cooled GDES, which shows that the energy-saving effect of waste heat recovery can compensate for the performance reduction caused by air cooling modification. Therefore, the traditional water-cooled GDES can be modified into an air-cooled GAS to implement dual purposes of saving energy and water in water-starved regions. The water-cooled GAS achieves the best performance and should be selected in water-rich areas. This research can provide theoretical support for different energy- and water-saving modification needs. • Proposed diverse combinations of waste heat recovery and cooling modes. • Explored the measure to achieve dual purposes of saving energy and water. • Established thermodynamic models from perspectives of energy and exergy. • Performances changes are revealed from qualitative and quantitative aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infection with cytotoxin-associated gene A (cagA)-positive Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is associated with severe gastrointestinal disease. A rapid, simple, and convenient detection method for cagA -positive H. pylori was an urgent need. We have developed and evaluated a duplex recombinase aided amplification combined with lateral flow dipstick (Duplex RAA-LFD) assay for detection of cagA -positive H. pylori strains. The Duplex RAA-LFD successfully detected DNA extracts in 25 min at 39°C, with visual detection limits of 1.2 × 102 CFU/mL and 10 pg, respectively. No positive amplification was observed in 6 non- H. pylori strains, indicating higher specificity. When testing 56 clinical isolates, the sensitivity and specificity of the Duplex RAA-LFD assay were 96% and 100%, respectively, with Duplex PCR serving as the reference method. Therefore, the Duplex RAA-LFD assay is a potential rapid and effective alternative to detect cagA -positive H. pylori strains in fresh gastric mucosal tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely believed that endometrial atrophy in postmenopausal women is due to an age-related reduction in estrogen level. But the role of high circulating follicle-stimulating hormone ( FSH) in postmenopausal syndrome is not clear. Here, we explored the role of high circulating FSH in physiological endometrial atrophy. We found that FSH exacerbated post- OVX endometrial atrophy in mice, and this effect was ameliorated by lowering FSH with Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist (Gn RHa). In vitro, FSH inhibited endometrial proliferation and promoted the apoptosis of primary cultured endometrial cells in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, upregulation of caspase3, caspase8, caspase9, autophagy-related proteins ( ATG3, ATG5, ATG7, ATG12 and LC3) and downregulation of c-Jun were also observed in endometrial adenocytes. Furthermore, smad2 and smad3 showed a time-dependent activation in endometrial cells which can be partly inhibited by blocking the transforming growth factor beta receptor II (Tβ RII). In conclusion, FSH regulated endometrial atrophy by affecting the proliferation, autophagy and apoptosis of endometrial cells partly through activation of the transforming growth factor beta ( TGFβ) pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semantic segmentation, as a pixel-level recognition task, has been widely used in a variety of practical scenes. Most of the existing methods try to improve the performance of the network by fusing the information of high and low layers. This kind of simple concatenation or element-wise addition will lead to the problem of unbalanced fusion and low utilization of inter-level features. To solve this problem, we propose the Inter-Level Feature Balanced Fusion Network (IFBFNet) to guide the inter-level feature fusion towards a more balanced and effective direction. Our overall network architecture is based on the encoder–decoder architecture. In the encoder, we use a relatively deep convolution network to extract rich semantic information. In the decoder, skip-connections are added to connect and fuse low-level spatial features to restore a clearer boundary expression gradually. We add an inter-level feature balanced fusion module to each skip connection. Additionally, to better capture the boundary information, we added a shallower spatial information stream to supplement more spatial information details. Experiments have proved the effectiveness of our module. Our IFBFNet achieved a competitive performance on the Cityscapes dataset with only finely annotated data used for training and has been greatly improved on the baseline network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) on cell apoptosis and oxidative stress in H2O2-induced vertebral endplate chondrocytes (EPCs), and to assess the associated mechanisms involved. Cell viability and apoptosis were evaluated using the Cell Counting Kit-8 method and TUNEL assay, respectively. In addition, the scavenging capability was detected using various enzymatic assays, and the quantity of nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA), and activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) were assessed. The expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins, activation of the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) signaling pathway induced by H2O2 and the effect of treatment with ANP on vertebral EPCs were detected by western blotting. The results revealed that ANP protected EPCs from H2O2-induced cell damage. H2O2-induced intracellular MDA was decreased by ANP, and the levels of SOD and NO were increased in the presence of ANP. ANP also inhibited the H2O2-induced alterations in the expression levels of cleaved-caspase-3, Bax and Bcl-2. Finally, ANP blocked H2O2-induced oxidative stress through activating the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway. These findings suggested that ANP may effectively protect EPCs through inhibition of H2O2-induced oxidant injury and cell death by activating the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Broadly neutralizing antibodies and appropriate immunogens are critical for preexposure prophylaxis and therapeutic HIV vaccines. In this study, we aimed to explore effective antibodies against the genetically diverse HIV-1 strains by investigating the roles of human CD4 D1D2 domain and nonvariable immugens. The human CD4 D1D2 domain and the chimeric protein of mouse D1 domain/human D2 domain were expressed in Sf9 insect cells and purified by gel-filtration chromatography. The human CD4 D1D2 domain potently inhibited the infection of 77.8% HIV-1 pseudoviruses, including the clades AE, B' and BC, with less than 20 μg/mL of IC50. pcDNA3.1-mhD1D2m and pcDNA3.1-mhD2m plasmids were used for the production of mouse anti-human CD4 polyclonal antibodies. The neutralizing activities of the polyclonal antibodies were determined by using pseudotyped HIV-1 viruses. The antibodies induced by plasmids containing human CD4 D1D2 domain were able to potently inhibit all pseudotyped HIV-1 strains. The antibodies from mhD1D2m-immunized mice also showed strong binding capacity to CD4 expressed on the surface of TZM-bl cells. The potent and broad inhibitory activity of antibodies against the human CD4 D1D2 domain may be used to develop effective passive immunization agent to control the spread of HIV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3D object detection in LiDAR point clouds has been extensively used in autonomous driving, intelligent robotics, and augmented reality. Although the one-stage 3D detector has satisfactory training and inference speed, there are still some performance problems due to insufficient utilization of bird's eye view (BEV) information. In this paper, a new backbone network is proposed to complete the cross-layer fusion of multi-scale BEV feature maps, which makes full use of various information for detection. Specifically, our proposed backbone network can be divided into a coarse branch and a fine branch. In the coarse branch, we use the pyramidal feature hierarchy (PFH) to generate multi-scale BEV feature maps, which retain the advantages of different levels and serves as the input of the fine branch. In the fine branch, our proposed pyramid splitting and aggregation (PSA) module deeply integrates different levels of multi-scale feature maps, thereby improving the expressive ability of the final features. Extensive experiments on the challenging KITTI-3D benchmark show that our method has better performance in both 3D and BEV object detection compared with some previous state-of-the-art methods. Experimental results with average precision (AP) prove the effectiveness of our network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatiotemporal graph convolution has made significant progress in skeleton-based action recognition in recent years. Most of the existing graph convolution methods take all the joints of the human skeleton as the overall modeling graph, ignoring the differences in the movement patterns of various parts of the human, and cannot well connect the relationship between the different parts of the human skeleton. To capture the unique features of different parts of human skeleton data and the correlation of different parts, we propose two new graph convolution methods: the whole graph convolution network (WGCN) and the part graph convolution network (PGCN). WGCN learns the whole scale skeleton spatiotemporal features according to the movement patterns and physical structure of the human skeleton. PGCN divides the human skeleton graph into several subgraphs to learn the part scale spatiotemporal features. Moreover, we propose an adaptive fusion module that combines the two features for multiple complementary adaptive fusion to obtain more effective skeleton features. By coupling these proposals, we build a whole and part adaptive fusion graph convolution neural network (WPGCN) that outperforms previous state-of-the-art methods on three large-scale datasets: NTU RGB+D 60, NTU RGB+D 120, and Kinetics Skeleton 400. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional object detection from point cloud data is becoming more and more significant, especially for autonomous driving applications. However, it is difficult for lidar to obtain the complete structure of an object in a real scene due to its scanning characteristics. Although the existing methods have made great progress, most of them ignore the prior information of object structure, such as symmetry. So, in this paper, we use the symmetry of the object to complete the missing part in the point cloud and then detect it. Specifically, we propose a two-stage detection framework. In the first stage, we adopt an encoder–decoder structure to generate the symmetry points of the foreground points and make the symmetry points and the non-empty voxel centers form an enhanced point cloud. In the second stage, the enhanced point cloud is input into the baseline, which is an anchor-based region proposal network, to generate the detection results. Extensive experiments on the challenging KITTI benchmark show the effectiveness of our method, which has better performance on both 3D and BEV (bird's eye view) object detection compared with some previous state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A standardized enhanced recovery kidney transplant pathway is associated with a reduction in length of stay and costs • The projected healthcare cost reductions required minimal implementation costs • The reduction in length of stay associated with the enhanced recovery pathway did not result in increased readmission rates [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• GM-CSF improves regeneration of injured endometrium in mice. • GM-CSF increases the proliferation of primary human endometrial glandular cell and the migration of stromal cell. • GM-CSF has potential application in clinical treatment for thin endometrium. Endometrial injury can result in thin endometrium and subfertility. Granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) contributes to tissue repair, but its role in endometrial regeneration has not been investigated. To determine the effect of GM-CSF on endometrial regeneration, we established a mouse model of thin endometrium by uterine perfusion with 20 μL 90% ethanol. Thin endometrium in mice was featured by lowered endometrial thickness, decreased expression of Ki67 in glandular cells, and a reduced number of implantation sites. To explore the mechanism of GM-CSF on endometrial regeneration, endometrium was obtained from patients undergoing hysterectomy or hysteroscopy and endometrial biopsy. Effects of GM-CSF on primary cultured human endometrial glandular and stromal cells were examined by the 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) proliferation assay and transwell migration assay, followed by exploration of the potential signaling pathway. GM-CSF intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection significantly increased endometrial thickness, expression of Ki67 in endometrial glandular cells, and the number of implantation sites. GM-CSF significantly promoted proliferation of primary human endometrial glandular cells and migration of stromal cells. GM-CSF activated p-Akt and increased expressions of p70S6K and c-Jun, which were blocked by LY294002. We found that GM-CSF could improve endometrial regeneration, possibly through activating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]