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Problem: Endometriosis patients undergoing in vitro fertilization‐embryo transfer (IVF‐ET) treatment suffer from poor oocyte quality, a reduced likelihood of the fertilization rate, and low embryo quality. The dysregulation of immune cells and cytokine profiles in the follicular fluid (FF) may play an important role in the competence of the oocyte and the development of the embryo, but the mechanism remains largely unknown. Method of Study: A total of 40 proved advanced staged endometriosis patients were enrolled in this study. The pregnancy results were followed until all the embryos collected by the first oocyte retrieval cycle were used up. The immune cells subtypes in FF and serum collected on the day of oocyte retrieval were detected by flow cytometry and 27 cytokines were determined using the Bio‐Plex Pro Human Cytokine 27‐Plex Immunoassay. The specific effect of cytokine on the gene expression of human granulosa cells was determined by RT‐qPCR. Results: The fertilization rate and the cumulative live birth rate were significantly lower in the endometriosis group. The ratio of CD4+/CD8+T cells in FF was significantly lower, while the level of IP‐10, RANTES and G‐CSF were statistically higher in the endometriosis group. The level of IP‐10 correlated with the IVF outcome. Moreover, treated by IP‐10, the mRNA level of FSHR and CYP19A1 the human granulosa cells were downregulated in vitro. Conclusion: These results suggest that alterations of the lymphocyte subsets and cytokines in women with advanced endometriosis may have an impact on the oocyte development and resulting in poorer IVF outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A flavor-related enzyme fromToona sinensis(TS), ɣ-glutamyl-transpeptidase (GGT), was purified 40.67-fold with 13.40% recovery using ammonium sulfate precipitation, dialysis and gel filtration chromatography. Gel filtration chromatography and sodium dodecyl sulfate acryl amide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) revealed that GGT was a heterodimer with a molecular weight of 90 kDa, and the molecular size of its two subunits was 26 kDa and 64 kDa, respectively. The apparent Km and Vmax of GGT were 3.623 μmol/mL and 2.831 μmol/mL/min of protein, respectively. The optimum reaction temperature was 60°C, while the optimum pH was 7.0. GGT can tolerate temperatures of 70°C for a short time and can keep stable activity at 60°C for more than 2 hours. The effect of metal ions on GGT activity showed that Cu2+and Zn2+had strong inhibition, while Fe3+had strong activation, and other metal ions had only a slight effect. LC-MS analysis indicated that GGT catalyzed (S, S)-γ-glutamyl-(cis-S-1-propenyl)-thioglycine, a flavor precursor found in TS, to release glutamic acid moiety. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

High-wing aircraft generally has a big landing gear fairing, thereby its shape needs to be designed carefully so as to reduce drag as much as possible. In order to understand the aerodynamic effect of landing gear fairing and guide the following fairing shape redesign, a contrast is made between the configurations with fairing and the otler without fairing. Considering the landing gear layout restraints, a NURBS parametric modeling method within CATIA is proposed and implemented to redesign the shape of landing gear fairing. CFD results indicate that the drag is reduced by 1.9 Counts, about 27% of the whole drag reduction margin. Moreover, in order to understand the fairing effect more clearly, a deformation without landing gear constraints is performed. The drag reduction can reach to 3.4 Counts, and results show the effect of fairing can be concluded as the disturbance between fairing and wing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seamless high-lift technology is a rising direction which is adapted for the reason of environmental requirements concern. A clean airfoil based on MD-30P30N multi-element airfoil is built, research on seamless deflection at leading and trailing edge, including parameters of deflection proportions and angles are investigated using the software of FLUENT. Circulation control technique (active trailing jet) is adopted to eliminate the trailing edge flow separation at high angle of attack, and the momentum coefficient and nozzle height are studied at the same time. Using the multi-discipline optimization software of ISIGHT, the multi-parameter optimization is also carried out based on the optimized response surface, in which the Multi-island genetic algorithm is adopted. The results show that, the equivalent high-lift capability could be achieved compared with that of MD-30P30N. The possible value in engineering application of this method is validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The far-field noise of two dimensional multi-element high lift device L1T2 slat model was calculated using commercial CFD software FLUENT. LES model was used in flow field analysis to provide noise source data, while the FW-H method was used to calculate the far-field noise levels. To study the effects of gap and overlap on both maximum lift coefficient and noise levels, a total of 24 different combinations of gap and overlap were analyzed, and two response surface models were built from the results. The response surface models indicate that it is possible to find reasonable combinations of gap and overlap to achieve a balance between aerodynamic performance and noise characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An amino acid, 3S-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-ß-carboline-3-carboxylic acid, was isolated for the first time from the leaves of Cichorium endivia. The complete assignment of its ¹H and 13C NMR spectroscopic data was carried out also for the first time based on extensive 1D and 2D NMR experiments. Cytotoxicity of this isolated compound against HCT-8 and HepG2 human cancer cell lines was evaluated for the first time, with moderate activities being found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chitinase is one of the important pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins in plants. By comparative proteomics study, a novel pathogen-responsive chitinase (known as GbCHI) has been identified from sea-island cotton (Gossypium barbadense). The GbCHI cDNA was cloned from wilt-resistant sea-island cotton and the anti-fungal activity of the gene product was investigated. qRT-PCR analysis indicated that GbCHI was expressed constitutively in root, stem, leaf, flower, and ovule of cotton plant, and the expression could be induced by Verticillium dahliae and plant hormone SA, ACC, and JA. Subcellular localization analysis using GFP-tagged proteins showed that GbCHI-GFP fusion proteins were targeted mainly to the plasma membrane. Anti-fungal assay demonstrated that GbCHI could inhibit spore germination and hyphae growth of V. dahliae significantly. These results provide important information for understanding the cellular function of GbCHI and for exploring the application potential of this gene in molecular breeding of wilt-tolerant cotton plants.

An amino acid, 3S-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline-3-carboxylic acid, was isolated for the first time from the leaves of Cichorium endivia. The complete assignment of its (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopic data was carried out also for the first time based on extensive 1D and 2D NMR experiments. Cytotoxicity of this isolated compound against HCT-8 and HepG2 human cancer cell lines was evaluated for the first time, with moderate activities being found.

Objective: To analyze sex chromosome mosaicisms in early cleavage-stage human embryos and blastocysts with poor embryo quality score based on the numbers of pronucleus(PN) zygotes using X,Y dual color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and to discuss the possible mechanisms., Methods: Fresh or frozen-thawed early cleavage-stage human embryos and blastocysts with poor embryo quality score not suitable for embryo transfer were studied with dual color FISH., Results: Double signal rate of 2PN among early cleavage-stage embryos was 66.67%, which was significantly higher than 1PN and 3PN embryos. Single signal rate of 1PN early cleavage-stage embryos was 90.41%, which was significantly higher than 2PN and 3PN ones. Three signal rate of 3PN early cleavage-stage embryos was 28.00%, which was significantly higher than 1PN and 2PN ones. Double signal rate of 3PN ones was 46.00%, which was significantly higher than 1PN ones. The polyploid rate of frozen-thawed early cleavage-stage embryos was 23.53%, which was slightly higher than that of fresh embryos, but with no statistical significance. The mosaicism rate of 24 blastocysts was 100.00% and the double signal dominant (≥ 50%) rate was 62.50%, which was significantly higher than the rate of early cleavage-stage embryos., Conclusion: Using 2PN as the criterion for embryo quality score cannot guarantee the selection of normal fertilized embryo for transplantation. Frozen-thawed embryos may harbor more polyploid cells. To avoid the selection of embryos with abnormal chromosomes, combinations of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and prenatal diagnosis are necessary. Meanwhile, blastocysts with poor quality scores may provide an important source for embryo stem cells.