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Premature ovarian failure (POF) is a female reproductive system disease caused by many factors and systems, which has seriously affected the quality of life of women of childbearing age. Clinically, the disease is difficult to treat while its incidence rate shows an increasing trend. In recent years, natural products used as multi-pathway, multi-target and efficient drugs, have become the focus of many research and clinical studies in China and abroad, and the effect of phytochemicals derived from edible plants and Chinese medicine herbs on POF were investigated in several papers. Using "premature ovarian failure" or "ovary" and related natural products as keywords, we retrieved and reviewed research articles from China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, Wanfang, PubMed, Web of Science and other literature databases. Up to October, 2021, natural compounds with prophylactic or interference inhibition effects on POF mainly included flavonoids, polysaccharides, saponins, and polyphenols. Their effect on POF and ovarian function was closely related to their antioxidant, antiapoptotic, antiaging, immunoregulatory and estrogen-like activities.

Objective: The endothelial to mesenchymal transition (EndMT) plays a major role in cancer metastasis by regulating the complexity of the tumor microenvironment (TME). Here, we investigated whether 27-hydroxycholesterol (27HC) induces EndMT in endothelial cells (ECs). Methods: EndMT markers in the human microvascular endothelial cell-1 (HMEC-1) cell line and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) stimulated with 27HC were evaluated with Western blot. Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers in breast cancer (BC) cells cultured in conditioned medium were investigated with quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The MMP-2 and MMP-9 mRNA expression and activity were detected with qRT-PCR and gelatin zymography assays, respectively. The effect of activated STAT3 on 27HC-induced EndMT was validated by Western blot, immunofluorescence staining, and cell transfection assays. The migration ability of BC cells was evaluated with Transwell assays. Results: We found that 27HC induced EndMT in HMEC-1 and HUVECs, and 27HC-induced EndMT facilitated EMT and BC cell migration. The 27HC-induced EMT of BC cells also promoted EndMT and HUVEC migration. Investigation of the underlying molecular mechanisms revealed that STAT3 knockdown repressed EndMT in HUVECs as well as migration in BC cells induced with 27HC. In addition, C646 and resveratrol, inhibitors of STAT3 acetylation, repressed the expression of Ac-STAT3, p-STAT3, and EndMT markers in HUVECs exposed to 27HC; these HUVECs in turn attenuated the migration ability of BC cells in 27HC-induced EndMT. Conclusions: Cross-talk between 27HC-induced EndMT and EMT was observed in the TME. Moreover, activation of STAT3 signaling was found to be involved in 27HC-induced EndMT.

Objective The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association and predictive value of geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) in elderly patients with prostate cancer(PCa) undergoing laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP). Methods the clinical data of 72 elderly patients (aged ≥ 65 y) with PCa undergoing LRP in the Department of Urology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College from January 2018 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The basic information, laboratory examination indexes, operation conditions, postoperative complications and postoperative recovery indexes of patients were included. Clavien-Dindo Classification System (CDCS) was used to assess the postoperative complications. T-test was used to analyze the grouping variables. ROC curve was drawn to study the predictive value of GNRI for postoperative complications. Results The body weight, BMI, preoperative HGB, ALB values of malnutrition group (MNg) and normal nutrition group (NNg) were significantly positively correlated (P༜0.01); the incidence and severity of postoperative complications of MNg were significantly higher than those of NNg (P༜0.05). The average hospitalization costs of MNg was higher, the duration of postanesthesia care unit (PACU), duration of antibiotic use was longer and the duration of indwelling drainage tube were longer than NNg (P༜0.05). The volume of indwelling drainage tube were more than NNg (P༜0.05). Conclusion GNRI is an effective and reliable tool to evaluate preoperative nutritional status of prostate cancer, which is closely related to postoperative recovery and complications,and has predictive value.

Additional file 1. Supplementary data of this article.

Bowel preparation is the basis of colonoscopy, and adequate bowel preparation is essential to the success of colonoscopy. Studies have been reported that telephone intervention can improve the quality of bowel preparation, while it remains unclear regarding effectiveness with the elderly. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of telephone intervention on the quality of bowel preparation for colonoscopy in elderly outpatients. In total, 162 outpatients older than 65 years were enrolled and randomly divided into a control group and a study group. Patients in the study group were re-educated through telephone by a specific nurse 2 days before colonoscopy, whereas participants in the control group received education only on the day of appointment. The Ottawa score was used to evaluate the quality of bowel preparation between the two groups. In this study, no significant differences were observed in age, gender, body mass index, educational level, smoking and/or alcohol drinking, waiting time to colonoscopy, reasons for colonoscopy, and colonoscopic findings between the control group and the study group. Participants in the study group had higher adequate bowel preparation and compliance than the control group (83.1% vs. 59.5%, p = .03; 96.4% vs. 74.7%, p < .001). Univariate analysis showed that only noncompliance with start time was significantly associated with satisfactory bowel preparation in elderly patients. In conclusion, telephone intervention 2 days before colonoscopy can improve the quality of bowel preparation in the elderly.

This study aims to evaluate whether the participation of an experienced endoscopy nurse in colonoscopy increases the polyp detection rate (PDR) and adenoma detection rate (ADR) of experienced colonoscopists. This study was a randomized controlled trial. Patients were randomly assigned to the experienced colonoscopist alone (single observer) group, or experienced nurse participation (dual observer) group. The primary outcome was the PDR and ADR. The advanced lesion detection rate was also recorded. A total of 587 patients were included in the analysis. Among these patients, 291 patients were assigned to the single observer group, while 296 patients were assigned to the dual observer group. The PDR was 33% in the single observer group and 41.9% in the dual observer group (P = 0.026), while the ADR was 23.0% in the single observer group and 30.4% in the dual observer group (P = 0.043). No significant difference was found for advanced lesions between groups. The present data demonstrated that experienced nurse observation during colonoscopy can improve polyp and adenoma detection rates, even if the colonoscopist is experienced. Clinicaltrials.gov No. NCT02292563. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?cond=&term=NCT02292563&cntry=&state=&city=&dist=

In recent times, Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) synthesized from plant extracts and their anticancer activity have attracted significant attention. We report the green approach for the synthesis of AuNPs using extract from Abies spectabilis plant. In this study, the reaction parameters were optimized to control the size of the nanoparticle, which was confirmed by Transmission Electron microscopy (TEM). Various characterization technique such as SAED pattern, UV visible spectroscopy, EDX, FTIR, and AFM were employed to analyze the synthesized AuNPs obtained from A. spectabilis plant extract. Furthermore, we investigated the anticancer activities using T24 cell lines. Interestingly, the results of extensive screening on the applications of newly synthesized AuNPs were tested for their cytotoxicity effects on anticancer activity against T24 cells by MTT assay. The cell apoptosis was studied using TUNEL, DAPI, caspase activity, cell invasion and migration. Nanoparticles at different concentrations ranging from 1 to 25 μg/ml exhibited a dose dependent cytotoxicity for 24 h. Condensation and DNA fragmentation are characteristic of apoptosis by DAPI, TUNEL staining, and the significant up regulations of Beclin-1, Bax and caspase 3, whereas the expressions of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and Bid were down regulated. However, this study, therefore attempts to report the synthesis, characterization, and anticancer activity of gold nanoparticles of A. spectabilis plant extract beneficial for cancer therapeutics.

Low-salt diet is beneficial in salt-sensitive hypertension but may provoke cardiovascular risk in patients with heart failure, diabetes mellitus, or other cardiovascular abnormalities because of endogenous renin-angiotensin system activation. PPAR (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor)-γ is a transcription factor which promotes an antioxidant pathway in the endothelium. We studied transgenic mice expressing a dominant-negative mutation in PPAR-γ selectively in the endothelium (E-V290M) to test the hypothesis that endothelial PPAR-γ plays a protective role in response to low salt-mediated renin-angiotensin system activation. Plasma renin and Ang II (angiotensin II) were significantly and equally increased in all mice fed low salt for 6 weeks. Vasorelaxation to acetylcholine was not affected in basilar artery from E-V290M at baseline but was significantly and selectively impaired in E-V290M after low salt. Unlike basilar artery, low salt was not sufficient to induce vascular dysfunction in carotid artery or aorta. Endothelial dysfunction in the basilar artery from E-V290M mice fed low salt was attenuated by scavengers of superoxide, inhibitors of NADPH oxidase, or blockade of the Ang II AT1 (angiotensin type-1) receptor. Simultaneous AT1 and AT2 receptor blockade revealed that the restoration of endothelial function after AT1 receptor blockade was not a consequence of AT2 receptor activation. We conclude that interference with PPAR-γ in the endothelium produces endothelial dysfunction in the cerebral circulation in response to low salt-mediated activation of the endogenous renin-angiotensin system, mediated at least in part, through AT1 receptor activation and perturbed redox homeostasis. Moreover, our data suggest that the cerebral circulation may be particularly sensitive to inhibition of PPAR-γ activity and renin-angiotensin system activation.

The management mode of irrigation and drainage in field during the growth period of super rice will directly affect its growth trend, yield and water consumption. Increasing the oxygen content of irrigation water will help to promote the growth of rice and increase the yield. To understand the effect of oxygation on growth and yield of super rice, 7 irrigation and drainage management modes were designed and carried out in the super hydrid early rice field during the whole growth period by using oxygation and non-oxygation, so as to find a better management mode under different conditions. The results showed that the oxygation with the same irrigation in field had a significant effect on promoting the growth and increasing the yield of rice compared with that non-oxygation. However, the results of increasing the yield of rice by oxygation were very different among the modes. Under the oxygation condition, the Drought-tolerant II had the best growth trend and yield increase, and the irrigation water quantity was in the middle level, which had better water conservation and drainage reduction effect compared with the conventional mode. The Drought-tolerant II is “controlled irrigation and storage” mode, which is moderate water shortage controls irrigation and moderate rain storage controls drainage. The moderate water shortage controls irrigation mean that the soil moisture content is lower than 70% of the saturated water capacity as the irrigation control parameter during the drought in rice field. The moderate rain storage controls drainage the maximum rain storage depth of 200 mm as the field drainage control parameter during the rain in rice field. The results indicated that the Drought-tolerant II is a relatively optimal irrigation and drainage management method for rice field in southern China.

Based on the analysis of the observation results of rainfall and runoff and hydrogeological exploration in the Ziquejie terraces, the concept of “equal slope underground sponge reservoir” in the terraces is proposed. Compared with the ordinary linear storage and drainage process of groundwater in the basin, the “equal slope underground sponge reservoir” has a very significant characteristic of “sponge basin” which can adjust peak and relieve dry and prolong the outflow time. The calculation formula of non-linear outflow of underground water in the “sponge basin” is given. The characteristics of this “sponge basin” and its non-linear outflow principle and the coupling relationship among irrigation, water supply and drainage of ancient terraces are demonstrated. An adaptive balance model of water supply and demand in the original ecosystem of ancient terraces is established. The model is applied to simulate a long series of water supply and demand balance in the original ecosystem of the ancient terraced field, and the check results are highly consistent with the Historical Drought Resistance records of the ancient terraced field. It is proved that the principle of non-linear groundwater outflow in sponge basin and its calculation formula are correct and practical. The research results have important guiding significance for the development, utilization and protection of other ancient terraces, and also have important reference value for the development of sloping farmland.

Background This study aims to evaluate whether the participation of an experienced endoscopy nurse in colonoscopy increases the polyp detection rate (PDR) and adenoma detection rate (ADR) of experienced colonoscopists. Methods This study was a randomised controlled trial (Clinicaltrials.gov No. NCT02292563). Patients were randomly assigned to the experienced colonoscopist alone (single observer) group or experienced nurse participation (dual observer) group. The primary outcome was the PDR and ADR. The advanced lesions detection rate was also recorded. Results A total of 587 patients were included in the analysis. Among these patients, 291 patients were assigned to the single observer group, while 296 patients were assigned to the dual observer group. The PDR was 33% in the single observer group and 41.9% in the dual observer group (p=0.026), while the ADR was 23.0% in the single observer group and 30.4% in the dual observer group (p=0.043). No significant difference was found for advanced lesions between groups. Conclusions The present data demonstrated that experienced nurse observation during colonoscopy could improve polyp and adenoma detection rates, even if the colonoscopist is experienced.

Pharmacological activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) protects the vasculature. Much less is known regarding the cell specific impact of PPARγ when driven by endogenous ligands. Recently, we found that endothelial PPARγ protects against angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced endothelial dysfunction. Here, we explored that concept further examining if effects were sex-dependent along with underlying mechanisms. We studied mice expressing a human dominant negative mutation in PPARγ driven by the endothelial specific vascular cadherin promoter (E-V290M), using non-transgenic (non-Tg) littermates as controls. Acetylcholine (an endothelium-dependent agonist) produced similar relaxation of carotid arteries from non-Tg and E-V290M mice. Incubation of isolated arteries with Ang II (1 nmol/L) overnight had no effect in non-Tg, but reduced responses to acetylcholine by about 50% in male and female E-V290M mice (p50% (p

Background: A meta-analysis was applied to evaluate the associations between the glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) M1/T1 gene polymorphisms and male infertility in Chinese populations. Methods: A comprehensive search for articles was conducted from PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, China biology medical literature database (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP, and Chinese literature database(Wang fang) up to April 30, 2018. All of the statistical analyses were performed using Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 14.0. Results: Ten studies on GSTM1 gene polymorphism involving 3302 cases and 1959 controls, and ten studies on GSTT1 gene polymorphism involving 3048 cases and 1861 controls were included in this meta-analysis. Overall, the null genotype of GSTM1/GSTT1 was significantly related to male infertility risk in Chinese populations (GSTM1, OR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.02–1.78; GSTT1, OR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.15–1.70). In subgroup analyses stratified by infertility type, significant association was observed between GSTT1 null genotype and male infertility in both nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA) and oligoasthenozoospermia (OAT). However, the GSTM1 null genotype was associated with OAT, but not NOA in Chinese populations. The sensitivity analysis confirmed the reliability and stability of the meta-analysis. Conclusion: Our meta-analysis supports that the GSTM1/GSTT1 null genotype might contribute to individual susceptibility to male infertility in Chinese populations.

The Ziquejie Terrace is one of the three famous ancient terraces in China. Rice has been planted in large area with mountains standing and a lot of steep hills. Whatever the weather is drought or rainstorm, the rice can always have a good harvest without water storage facilities. To reveal the mechanism of the original ecology gravity irrigation, several investigations had been developed such as observation of hydrology and meteorology, hydro-geological exploration and dynamic monitoring of groundwater level. According to the results of the experimental observations, this article proposed a suit of perfect theories and methods, such as the nonlinear autonomic regulation theory and “the ground water reservoir on the same slope position” theory in ancient terrace area. Further more, the calculation model of the original ecology gravity irrigation water cycle balance was established and a set of theories and methods of the water cycle balance calculation were formed on the basis of prior theories. Using this model, the process of irrigation water supply and demand balance, as well as the irrigation assurance, was simulated at rice growth stages in the original gravity irrigation area and its surrounding artificial irrigation area. The results showed that there is a highly consistency between the simulation results and the measured results, and it revealed the mechanism of ancient ecological gravity irrigation profoundly in terraces area. The result of study has important directive significance to the exploitation and protection of the terrace in China and has important reference value to the exploitation of the slope farmland.

According to the daily flow data collected by three representative hydrological stations in the Xiangjiang River basin which are the Guiyang station in the upstream section, the Hengshan station in the midstream section, and the Xiangtan station in the downstream section, and the water environment data collected from the Hunan Water Resources Bulletin, Mann-Kendal method was used to analyze the changes of the annual average flow of the Xiangjiang River basin in the past 20 years as well as the variation of water environment quality in the whole year, flood season and non-flood season. Based on these analysis, the evolution trend of water resources and water environment in the Xiangjiang River basin is further forecasted. The results show that the annual runoff of the upper reaches of the Xiangjiang River basin tends to be stable, and the runoff of the middle and lower reaches is decreasing. The water quality of the Xiangjiang River basin got deteriorated from 1996 to 2010. A sudden change occurred around 2012, and the water quality of the basin gradually improved.

As FP-Growth algorithm generates a great deal of conditional pattern bases and conditional pattern trees, leading to low efficiency, propose an improved FP-Growth(IFP) algorithm which firstly combine the same patterns based on the situation whether the support of the transaction is greater than the minimum support(min_sup) to mine the frequent patterns. Thus the IFP cuts down on the space and improves the efficiency. It also makes it easy to be paralleled. Further more, combine the IFP algorithm with the MapReduce computing model, named MR-IFP(MapReduce-Improved FP), to improve the capability to deal with the mass data.