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Controlling the deformation of the pit and adjacent building in the excavation process is the key factor in the design of deep foundation excavation work. Due to the high support capacity, the support structure consisting of a diaphragm wall and isolation pile is commonly utilized in such projects. Based on a deep foundation pit project for a metro station in Nanning, Guangxi, the current study investigates the partial parameters of isolation piles in the combined support structure. In this context, the effect of different positions of the isolation pile bottom on the settlement of the soil around the pit, the deformation of the building and the pit, and other laws, by varying the length of the isolation pile and its horizontal distance to the enclosure structure, is investigated. The findings show that the position of the base of the isolation pile relative to the sliding surface of the soil is the main factor affecting the soil settlement, the moment distribution in the enclosure structure, and the building deformation when other parameters of the isolation pile remain constant. In this article, a formula is developed to determine the insertion depth, and a design method is presented to determine the optimum length of the isolation pile based on available relevant research, after summarising the series of laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and hypothesis: This qualitative research explores the motivations, psychosocial burdens, and decision-making modes of post-partum women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) engaging in pelvic floor physical therapy (PFPT). Methods: This study was conducted face-to-face in a treatment room using qualitative semi-structured interviews with post-partum women who received PFPT for SUI between May and October 2022. Participant interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analyzed using NVivo software, which is most commonly used for qualitative data analysis. Results: Themes that impacted participants' decisions to receive PFPT included avoiding deterioration of SUI symptoms, believing that the sooner it is treated the better, being unable to adhere to home exercise programs, and dissatisfaction with quality of life. Some participants experienced psychosocial burdens when receiving PFPT, including impact on daily activities, worries about the baby, financial burdens, and uncertainty about the effect. There were two modes of decision making, which brought different experiences. Some participants preferred participant–provider shared decision making and reported effective doctor–patient communication, and striving for autonomous decisions. Other participants preferred their clinicians to decide on PFPT protocols in view of their trust in their midwives, institutional reputation, and lacking knowledge of PFPT. Conclusions: We discovered that participants had both motivations and psychosocial burdens when receiving therapy. Some participants preferred participant–provider shared decision making, whereas others preferred their midwives to make decisions. Further more standardized studies with more robust samples are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The applicability and accuracy of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted bone age assessment and adult height prediction methods in girls with early puberty are unknown. Objective: To analyze the performance of AI-assisted bone age assessment methods by comparing the corresponding methods for predicted adult height with actual adult height. Materials and methods: This retrospective review included 726 girls with early puberty, 87 of whom had reached adult height at last follow-up. Bone age was evaluated using the Greulich–Pyle (GP), Tanner–Whitehouse (TW3–RUS) and China 05 RUS–CHN (RUS-CHN) methods. Predicted adult height was calculated using the China 05 (CH05), TW3 and Bayley–Pinneau (BP) methods. Results: We analyzed 1,663 left-hand radiographs, including 155 from girls who had reached adult height. In the 6–8- and 9–11-years age groups, bone age differences were smaller than those in the 12–14-years group; however, the differences between predicted adult height and actual adult height were larger than those in the 12–14-years group. TW3 overestimated adult height by 0.4±2.8 cm, while CH05 and BP significantly underestimated adult height by 2.9±3.6 cm and 1.3±3.8 cm, respectively. TW3 yielded the highest proportion of predicted adult height within ±5 cm of actual adult height (92.9%), with the highest correlation between predicted and actual adult heights. Conclusion: The differences in measured bone ages increased with increasing bone age. However, the corresponding method for predicting adult height was more accurate when the bone age was older. TW3 might be more suitable than CH05 and BP for predicting adult height in girls with early puberty. Methods for predicting adult height should be optimized for populations of the same ethnicity and disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phthalate esters (PAEs) may act as estrogen receptor agonists, and their relationship with precocious puberty is a global health concern. However, their role in isolated premature thelarche (IPT) progression remains unclear. We conducted a cohort study investigating the relationship between IPT progression and urinary PAE metabolites. Girls with IPT aged 6–8 years were regularly followed up every three months for one year. Clinical data and urine PAE metabolite levels were collected. Participants who progressed to central precocious puberty (CPP) or early puberty (EP) had significantly higher ovarian volume, breast Tanner stage, and levels of the creatinine-adjusted urinary secondary oxidized di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) metabolites (Σ4DEHP). Breast Tanner stage (odds ratio [OR] = 7.041, p = 0.010), ovarian volume (OR = 3.603, p = 0.019), and Σ4DEHP (OR = 1.020, p = 0.005) were independent risk factors for IPT progression. For each 10 µg/g/Cr increase in the urine level of Σ4DEHP, the risk of progression from IPT to CPP/EP within one year increased by 20%. This study demonstrated that the breast Tanner stage, ovarian volume, and Σ4DEHP in urine were independent risk factors for IPT progression, and Σ4DEHP may be associated with the progression of IPT to CPP or EP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estrogen can promote the acceleration of bone maturation and phthalate esters (PAEs) have estrogen-mimicking effects. We investigated whether PAEs are associated with the acceleration of bone age (BA) in girls with early onset of puberty (EOP). This case–control study enrolled 254 girls with EOP from the Endocrinology Department at Shenzhen Children's Hospital between December 2018 and August 2019. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry were used to analyze the 10 metabolites of PAEs (mPAEs) in urine samples. BA was measured using an artificial intelligence system. BA exceeding the chronological age (CA) by > 2 years (BA-CA ≥ 2 years) was referred to as significant BA advancement. Participants were divided into groups A (BA-CA ≥ 2 years; case group) and B (BA-CA < 2 years; control group). Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed for both groups in a 1:2 ratio with a caliper of 0.25. To identify potential dose–response relationships between PAEs exposure and BA advancement, we grouped the participants after PSM according to the tertiles of the mPAE concentrations. After PSM, 31 and 62 girls in groups A and B were selected. The concentration of Mono-ethyl phthalate (MEP) in group A was significantly higher than in group B (11.83 μg/g vs. 7.11 μg/g, P < 0.05); there was no significant difference in the levels of other mPAEs between the groups. The degree of BA advancement and proportion of significantly advanced BA in the lowest, middle, and highest tertiles of the MEP sequentially increased, as well as in the lowest, middle, and highest tertiles of Mono-(2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate; however, these were only statistically different between the highest and lowest MEP tertiles (both P < 0.05). For the remaining mPAEs, differences in the degree of BA advancement among the lowest, middle, and highest tertiles, as well as differences in the proportion of significantly advanced BA among the lowest, middle, and highest tertiles, were not significant (all P > 0.05). Our findings suggested that MEP was positively associated with BA advancement in girls with EOP. Exposure to PAEs may promote accelerated bone maturation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and hypothesis: No studies have been performed to examine the association of sexual activity and pelvic floor muscle (PFM) morphology or function during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to survey the frequency of sexual intercourse and examine the associations between the frequency of sexual intercourse and the PFM morphology in pregnant women of mainland China. The relationship between sexual intercourse frequency and stress urinary incontinence (SUI)-related symptoms was also evaluated. Methods: Pregnant women in their first or second trimester were enrolled from January 2017 and November 2017. The morphology of the PFM was examined by transperineal ultrasound, and SUI-related symptoms were assessed by the International Consultation of Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-SF). Multivariable regression analyses were used to estimate coefficients [95% confidence intervals (CI)] with adjustment for the possible effects of cofounders. Results: In total, 323 pregnant women (mean age, 29.66 ± 4.32 years) were included in the analysis. Almost 49% of the women had no sexual intercourse during pregnancy. Compared with pregnant women who had no sexual intercourse, those who had sexual intercourse more than once a month had stronger LA th at rest (β = 0.59, P = 0.004 for two or three times per month; β = 0.59, P = 0.044 for weekly or more). No significant relationship was found between the frequency of sexual intercourse and any ICIQ-SF-related items. Conclusions: Chinese women had inactive sexual intercourse during pregnancy. There is a slight association between increased sexual intercourse frequency and a thicker levator ani muscle in pregnant women. Future work may be directed at determining the causality of this association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ACT11 represents a unique and ancient actin subclass in the complex Arabidopsis actin gene family. We have isolated and characterized the Arabidopsis ACT11 actin gene and examined its expression. Southern blotting with a 5′ gene-specific probe showed that ACT11 was a single-copy gene in the genome. Northern analysis with a 3′ gene-specific probe and reverse transcriptase-mediated PCR (RT-PCR) using gene-specific primers detected ACT11 mRNA at low levels in seedling, root, leaf, and silique tissue; at moderate levels in the inflorescence stem and flower; and at very high levels in pollen. The 5′ region of the ACT11 gene, including the promoter region, the 5′-untranslated leader, the intron within the leader, and the first 19 actin codons, was fused to a β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene. The expression of the ACT11/GUS fusion was examined histochemically in numerous independent transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Strong ACT11/GUS activity was detected in rapidly elongating tissues and organs (e.g., etiolated hypocotyls, expanding leaves, stems) and in floral organ primordia. As the floral buds developed into mature flowers, strong GUS activity was gradually restricted to mature pollen and developing ovules. ACT11 appears to be the only Arabidopsis actin gene expressed at significant levels in ovule, embryo, and endosperm. The unique expression patterns in reproductive organs and the sequence divergence of the ACT11 actin gene suggest that the ACT11 isovariant plays distinct and required roles during Arabidopsis development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tests the prediction that WRN, the gene defective in Werner syndrome, is an exonuclease. Use of tagged recombinant wild-type and mutant WRN proteins; Finding that WRN is indeed an endonuclease, which resides in the N terminus; Difference from other human RecQ-like helicases; Possible explanation for the differences between Werner syndrome and Bloom's syndrome.

Purpose: Immunotherapy in the clinic has demonstrated its potential to control cancer through disinhibiting the immune system, especially for immune checkpoint inhibitors such as anti-programmed cell death protein 1/anti-programmed death-ligand 1 (anti-PD1/anti-PD-L1). However, although these new immunotherapies have resulted in durable clinical responses in various cancers, multiple mechanisms of immune resistance and suppression exist in tumors. One significant barrier to efficacy of anti-PD1 against colon cancer may be the recruitment of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) into the tumor microenvironment. Here we demonstrated functional inhibition of G-MDSC with (−)-4-O-(4-O-β-D-glucopyranosylcaffeoyl) quinic acid (QA), an inhibitor of PI3Kδ/γ, reshaped the tumor immune microenvironment and promoted cytotoxic T cell-mediated tumor regression, resultantly enhancing responses to anti-PD1 treatment in colon tumor model.Methods: A syngeneic colon tumor mouse model was used to study the effects of QA on tumor immune microenvironment and its potential synergistic effects with anti-PD1 blockade.Results: QA treatment inhibited G-MDSC function in the tumor tissue. Additionally, combination treatment induced CD8+ T lymphocyte-dependent tumor growth delay and prolonged survival time in colon cancer.Conclusions: Our results offered opportunities for new combination strategies using a selective small molecule PI3Kδ/γ inhibitor, to suppress MDSCs to enhance responses to immune checkpoint blockade in colon cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]