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Background: Endometriosis(EM) is a major cause of infertility, but the pathogenesis and mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. MiR-19b-3p is involved in many diseases, but its functional role in EM-associated infertility has not been investigated. In this study, we aimed to examine miR-19b-3p abundance and IGF1 concentration in cumulus cells (CCs) and follicular fluid in EM-associated infertility patients and to reveal the potential role of miR-19b-3p in KGN cells by identifying its target and elucidating the underlying mechanisms. Results: The results showed that compared to the control group (patients with tubal infertility), EM-associated infertility patients had a lower percentage of mature oocytes. Abundance of miR-19b-3p was increased in CCs in EM-associated infertility patients. IGF1 was a direct target of miR-19b-3p and was negatively regulated by miR-19b-3p in KGN cells. Overexpression of miR-19b-3p significantly inhibited viability and proliferation, promoted apoptosis, and arrested cell cycle at G0/G1 phase in KGN cells. The effects of miR-19b-3p could be reversed by co-transfection of IGF1 and the biological effects of miR-19b-3p in KGN cells were mediated by IGF1. In addition, miR-19b-3p targeted IGF1 to downregulate AKT phosphorylation and to participate in apoptotic pathway in KGN cells. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that miR-19b-3p abundance is increased in CCs and IGF1 concentration is decreased in follicular fluid in EM-associated infertility patients, and miR-19b-3p participates in the regulation of biological effects of KGN cells by targeting IGF1.

Photoelectric properties of all-inorganic perovskite quantum dots (IPQDs) highly depend on their synthetic route. However, current synthetic processes of IPQDs are widely facing potential unsustainable issues of containing nonreusable and high-cost auxiliary materials. In this work, full-visible-spectrum IPQDs were successfully synthesized by an environmentally friendly ion-exchange approach with a renewable and low-cost anion exchange resin. Introducing anion exchange resin brings the improvement of both optical performance and surface morphology of the prepared IPQDs. The emission wavelength of IPQDs can be precisely controlled without changing their inherent crystal phase, and those IPQD’s single crystals with poor morphology and unstable structure are selectively removed. The photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) and the fluorescence lifetime of the three-primary-color IPQDs can be dramatically improved to 93.69, 89.99, and 65.03% and 71.3 ns, 22.2 ns, and 13.2 ns, respectively. Notably, the red-emitting PQDs at 622 nm exhibit a record high PLQY. By using the prepared IPQDs for photoluminescent color conversion, the three-primary-color light-emitting diodes (LEDs) provided high brightness and wide color gamut simultaneously. This study provides new ideas for the environmentally friendly and sustainable synthesis route of IPQDs, and it is expected to show great ambitions in the display field.

How to reduce reaction pressure and hydrogen consumption is a hot and difficult issue for the conversion of biomass to produce alkanes. In this research, vapors from cellulose pyrolysis were converted into alkanes without extra hydrogen source. The effect of content of Au loading, mass ratio of catalyst to cellulose, pyrolysis and catalytic temperature on the production of LCAs was studied. Model compounds were used to explore possible mechanism for the formation of LCAs. At the optimal reaction condition, the highest selectivity and yield of LCAs were 89.2% and 14.4 wt%, respectively, over 1.0% Au/TS-1. Alcohol functional groups are contributed to the formation of LCAs over Au/TS-1.

In this study, the authors report the design and fabrication of a small mixed-integrated balun for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The device was designed by using the positive anti-symmetric coupling method, which applies the lump surface-mount technology capacitors as well as mirror-symmetric coupling strips that were etched on the top and bottom layers of a printed circuit board. The capacitors reduced the length of the coupling strips and compensated for imbalances in the phase and gain due to errors in the fabrication process. The structure and equivalent even–odd circuit model of the device was modeled and examined using commercial software to optimize the design parameters. Following this, the device was fabricated and its performance was assessed through measurements using a network analyzer. The results showed that imbalances in the gain and phase were lower than 0.1 dB and 1°, respectively, and the insertion loss and the input voltage standing-wave ratio (VSWR) were lower than 0.4 dB and −25 dB, respectively. More importantly, the device was small, with dimensions of 50 × 60 × 1.5 mm. This makes it suitable for MRI applications involving highly integrated miniaturized systems. The proposed device was integrated into a 3.0 T radio-frequency power amplifier (RFPA) and reduced the dimensions of its power modules by 20% compared with the traditional balun. Finally, the RFPA module was used in an 3.0T MRI system for imaging experiments, and the results showed that the balun can help obtain high-quality scanning images.

A new phononic crystal with the graded supercell configuration is proposed to broaden the Bragg scattering band gaps. The graded structural design can merge adjacent multiple band gaps into an extremely broad one. The proposed phononic crystal is made up of a periodic arrangement of supercells, and the supercells are composed of unit cells with graded structural parameters. The mechanical model of the graded phononic crystals is established based on the transfer matrix method to investigate in-plane elastic waves propagating and band structures of the periodic system. Modal analysis shows that the mechanism for the broadening of band gap is that the graded supercell configuration breaks some symmetries of the phononic crystal, resulting in the opening of the Dirac cone and creation of new band gaps. The effects of the main structural parameters related to graded supercell design on band gap broadening are studied by simulation and verified by the experiment. The present study is beneficial to the design of new functional materials with broadband vibration isolation performance.

Anthocyanin has attracted increasing attention due to its superior biological activity. However, the inherently poor stability of anthocyanin limits its practical applications. In this study, a fast and straightforward method was developed to improve the stability of anthocyanin. Cellulose acetate ultrafine fiber-loaded anthocyanin (CA@Anthocyanin UFs) was prepared by robust electrospinning, and the potential application of cellulose acetate ultrafine fibers (CA UFs) as a bioactive substance delivery system was comprehensively investigated. The experimental results showed that CA@Anthocyanin UFs had protective effects on anthocyanin against temperature, light, and pH. The results of the artificially simulated gastric fluid (pH = 2.0) indicated that the CA@Anthocyanin UFs had a controllable release influence on anthocyanin. A 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging assay suggested that the CA@Anthocyanin UFs still had an excellent antioxidant activity similar to anthocyanin. This work demonstrated the potential application of robust electrospinning-constructed cellulose acetate ultrafine fibers in bioactive substance delivery and controlled release systems, as well as its prospects in green packaging due to the nature of this environmentally friendly composite.

Patients suffering from breast cancer (BC) still have a poor response to treatments, even though early detection and improved therapy have contributed to a reduced mortality. Recent studies have been inspired on the association between microRNAs (miRs) and therapies of BC. The current study set out to investigate the role of miR-216b in BC, and further analyze the underlining mechanism. Firstly, hexokinase 2 (HK2) and miR-216b were characterized in BC tissues and cells by RT-qPCR and Western blot assay. In addition, the interaction between HK2 and miR-216b was analyzed using dual luciferase reporter assay. BC cells were further transfected with a series of miR-126b mimic or inhibitor, or siRNA targeting HK2, so as to analyze the regulatory mechanism of miR-216b, HK2 and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway, and to further explore their regulation in BC cellular behaviors. The results demonstrated that HK2 was highly expressed and miR-216b was poorly expressed in BC cells and tissues. HK2 was also verified as a target of miR-216b with online databases and dual luciferase reporter assay. Functionally, miR-216b was found to be closely associated with BC progression via inactivating mTOR signaling pathway by targeting HK2. Moreover, cell viability, migration and invasion were reduced as a result of miR-216b upregulation or HK2 silencing, while autophagy, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis were induced. Taken together, our findings indicated that miR-216 down-regulates HK2 to inactivate the mTOR signaling pathway, thus inhibiting the progression of BC. Hence, this study highlighted a novel target for BC treatment.

Aim: To explore the circular RNA (circRNA) profile in cumulus cells from endometriosis-associated infertility patients. Methods: The expression of circRNAs was profiled by high-throughput sequencing. Sanger sequencing was performed to identify the backsplicing site. Six candidate circRNAs and their parental genes were measured in 30 samples by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chainreaction (qRT-PCR). Bioinformatics analysis was performed to predict the functions. Results: A total of 55 upregulated and 41 downregulated differentially expressed circRNAs were detected. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes data indicated that these target genes were mainly involved in cumulus cell growth- and differentiation-related pathways. Hsa_circ_0072391, hsa_circ_0007299 and hsa_circ_0057799 were significantly increased, and hsa_circ_001533 was significantly decreased in endometriosis-associated infertility patients. Conclusion: The differentially expressed circRNAs might be potentially involved in pathophysiology of endometriosis-associated infertility.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) in RNAs is closely related to various biological progresses, but the specific regulatory mechanisms are still unclear. The existing m6A single-base resolution analysis techniques have problems of specificity and sensitivity to be improved, which can hardly meet the urgent needs of basic research and clinical applications. This work proposes a new strategy based on xeno nucleic acid (XNA) probe and CRISPR/Cas12a signal amplification for the sensitive detection of site-specific m6A modifications. According to the difference in the thermodynamic stability of hybridization between XNA probe with m6A-RNA and A-RNA, XNA was designed as a block probe to mediate m6A-RNA specific reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (MsRT-PCR). Therefore, m6A can be specifically distinguished by converting difficult-to-test m6A modifications into easily detectable dsDNA fragments. Integration of CRISPR/Cas12a technology, skilfully designed sequences of crRNAs targeting m6A site-specific amplification dsDNA. The specificity was significantly improved through dual specific recognition of XNA probe and crRNA. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the assay was also greatly increased by the combined signal amplification of PCR and CRISPR/Cas12a. Additionally, we extend the application of CRISPR/Cas12a to flexible fluorescent and electrochemical biosensing system, which can accurately detect m6A modifications with different ranges of methylation fractions. The analysis results of m6A sites in MALAT1, ACTB and TPT1 further demonstrated the feasibility of the constructed biosensor for the accurate detection of hypomethylated samples in cells. The implementation of this work will provide strong technical support to promote the in-depth research on m6A in disease regulation mechanisms and in vitro molecular diagnosis.

Polymers synthesized from green resources have many advantages in food packaging and hence their development is very important. Herein, starch/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibrous composite films were fabricated by electrospinning technology. Steam-induced cross-linking reaction with glutaraldehyde (GTA) and silver sodium zirconium phosphate (Ag-ZrP) was employed to improve the hydrophobic and antibacterial properties of the constructed nanofibrous films, respectively. The effects of starch/PVA ratio on the micro-morphology and mechanical properties of the binary composite film were investigated. The composite film showed optimal uniformity, bead-free electrospun nanofibers, with enhanced mechanical strength for the 60/40 (v/v) starch/PVA composite. Moreover, the crystallinity of PVA was reduced during the electrospinning process, whereas the introduction of PVA strengthened the hydrogen interactions and improved the thermal stability of the composite films. After the cross-linking with GTA, the starch/PVA films became more hydrophobic. Furthermore, the starch/PVA films embedded with Ag-ZrP had outstanding antibacterial property against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. This work demonstrated the potential prospects of electrospun starch nanofibrous films in the food packaging field.

In order to improve high efficiency for light-color conversion, this paper studies a high-efficiency light recycled structure for quantum dot color conversion (QDCC) based on a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR). The difference of optical performance is discussed between the QDCC structure employing a DBR and an absorptive color filter (ACF). Traditional quantum dot color conversion layer (QDCCL) has inherent limitations of blue light leakage and low light utilization rate. To solve this, an optical structure of QDCCL is proposed and discussed in detail, which uses a DBR instead of the traditional color filter and realizes efficient light-color conversion. Different structures are compared via experimental preparation and measurement, such as light-emitting intensity, color gamut, and light utilization rate. Results show that the structure of QDCCL combining a DBR can not only achieve a high color gamut of 124 NTSC%, but also increase the light utilization rate over twice than the traditional ACF structure. More importantly, the light emission intensity of red and green sub-pixels is increased by 2.2 and 2.3 times, respectively. In general, the structure proposed in this paper is of great significance to the development of the display industry.

NOP2/Sun domain family, member 2 (NSUN2) is a nuclear RNA methyl‐transferase catalyzing 5‐methylcytosine formation. Evidence shows that NSUN2 is correlated with cell unlimited proliferation. However, its functional role in gallbladder carcinoma (GBC), which is the most common biliary tract malignancy and has a poor prognosis, remains to be determined. Here we found that NSUN2 was highly expressed in GBC tissues as well as cell lines. NSUN2 silencing repressed GBC cell proliferation and tumorigenesis both in vitro and in vivo. Conversely, upregulation of NSUN2 enhanced GBC cell growth and colony formation. We further discovered that RPL6 was a closely interacting partner with NSUN2. Silencing RPL6 resulted in insufficient NSUN2 translational level and accumulative NSUN2 transcriptional level. Exogenous expression of NSUN2 partially rescued the effect of RPL6 in gallbladder cancer progression. Taken together, our data provided novel mechanic insights into the function of NSUN2 in GBC, thus pointing to NSUN2 as a potential and effective therapeutic approach to GBC treatment.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been revealed to be involved in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the mechanism remains to be fully elucidated. Smad-interacting protein 1 (SIP1) is a transcriptional repressor, which serves a pivotal role in cell metastasis. In the present study, the role of SIP1 in HBx-induced hepatocyte EMT and cancer aggressiveness was examined. It was found that HBV X protein (HBx) increased the expression of SIP1 and recruited it to the promoter of E-cadherin, resulting in depression of the transcription of E-cadherin. Histone deacetylase 1 was also found to be involved in the repressive complex formation. Furthermore, in an orthotopic tumor transplantation model in vivo, HBx promoted tumor growth and metastasis, whereas the knockdown of SIP1 attenuated the effect of HBx. These results indicate a novel mechanism for the development of HBV-related liver cancer.

Background Emerging evidence has shown that miR-1275 plays a critical role in tumour metastasis and the progression of various types of cancer. In this study, we analysed the role and mechanism of miR-1275 in the progression and prognosis of gastric cancer (GC). Methods Target genes of miR-1275 were identified and verified by luciferase assay and Western blotting. The function of miR-1275 in invasion and metastasis was analysed in vitro and in vivo in nude mice. The signal pathway regulated by miR-1275 was examined by qRT-PCR, Western blotting and chromatin immunoprecipitation analyses. The expression of miR-1275and JAZF1 were measured in specimens of GC and adjacent non cancerous tissues. Results We identified JAZF1 as a direct miR-1275 target. miR-1275 supresses migration and invasion of GC cells in vitro and in vivo, which was restored by JAZF1 overexpression. Moreover, JAZF1 was recognized as a direct regulator of Vimentin. Knocking-down miR-1275 or overexpressing JAZF1 resulted in upregulation of Vimentin but downregulation of E-cadherin. Meanwhile, we validated in 120 GC patients specimens that low miR-1275expression and high JAZF1 mRNA expression levels were closely associated with lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis. The expression of JAZF1 in protein level displayed the correlations with Vimentin but inversely with E-cadherin. Conclusions Increased miR-1275 expression inhibited GC metastasis by regulating vimentin/E-cadherin via direct suppression of JAZF1expression, suggesting that miR-1275 is a tumour-suppressor miRNA with the potential as a prognostic biomarker or therapeutic target in GC. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12885-019-5929-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Objectives: The purpose of this meta-analysis was to assess whether there is an association between hypothyroidism and the risk of cognitive dysfunction. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase were searched for relevant studies published from database inception to 4 May 2022, using medical subject headings (MeSHs) and keywords. Results: Eight studies involving 1,092,025 individuals were included, published between 2010 and 2021. The pooled analysis showed that there was no association between hypothyroidism and cognitive dysfunction (OR = 1.13, 95% CI = 0.84–1.51, p = 0.426), including both all-cause dementia (OR = 1.04, 95% CI = 0.76–1.43, p = 0.809) and cognitive impairment (OR = 1.50, 95% CI = 0.68–3.35, p = 0.318). Neither overt hypothyroidism (OR = 1.19, 95% CI = 0.70–2.02, p = 0.525) nor subclinical hypothyroidism (OR = 1.04, 95% CI = 0.73–1.48, p = 0.833) was associated with cognitive dysfunction. Neither prospective cohort (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 0.77–1.51, p = 0.673) nor cross-sectional studies (OR = 1.23, 95% CI = 0.63–2.42, p = 0.545) had any effect on the association. Interestingly, the risk of cognitive dysfunction was significantly increased in the group not adjusted for vascular comorbidity (OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.07–2.01, p = 0.017), while it was reduced in the adjusted group (OR =0.82, 95% CI = 0.79–0.85, p < 0.001). Conclusions: This meta-analysis shows that hypothyroidism was associated with a reduced risk of cognitive dysfunction after adjustment for vascular-disease comorbidities. More prospective observational studies are needed in the future to investigate the relationship between hypothyroidism and cognitive dysfunction.

Sequential media G5 series (Vitrolife) and single-step medium Continuous Single Culture Complete (CSC-C) (Irvine Scientific) are two different culture media. We want to examine difference between culturing effects of the two media. To compare the fertilization and early embryo development, a prospective randomized controlled trial with sibling oocytes in infertile patients, aged ≤ 45 years with ≥ 8 oocytes (226 cycles) was conducted. Each half of the retrieved oocytes from the same patient were randomly allocated to two culture media separately. The remaining fresh cycles were randomly assigned to two culture media during the same period (179 cycles). We compared the clinical outcomes based on the total fresh ET cycles in this periods, in which the transferred embryos were only from one culture medium. Embryo outcomes: 226 cycles, included 176 IVF and 50 ICSI cycles, were analyzed, which correspond to 3518 inseminated or micro-injected oocytes. Clinical outcomes: 71 (CSC-C) and 71 (G5 series) fresh ET cycles were compared. There were no significant differences in clinical outcomes and general fertilization rate. However, the fertilization rate was superior in the CSC-C when compared with G5 in ICSI cycles (76.51% vs. 67.25%, P = 0.008). In addition, the compacted embryo development rate was significantly higher in CSC-C on day 3. The cycles that had compacted embryos on day 3 demonstrated better outcomes both in embryos as well as clinically. CSC-C had higher fertilization rates than G5 series in ICSI cycles. In addition, the compaction rates of day 3 embryos were significantly higher in CSC-C.

To analyze the clinical characteristics and prognosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients complicated with pneumothorax.The clinical data of 7 COVID-19 patients complicated with pneumothorax admitted to Huanggang Central Hospital from January 3 to March 10, 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The clinical features, diagnosis and treatment were summarized, and experience in the treatment of COVID-19 was shared.(1) General information: among the 7 patients, 5 were males and 2 were females. Four of them had no underlying disease, and 1 had a history of diabetes and hypertension. One patient had only a history of hypertension. There were 6 cases of right pneumothorax and 1 case of bilateral pneumothorax. The 7 patients had a long hospital stay, all over 4 weeks, mostly complicated with multiple organ dysfunction. (2) Imaging examination: 1 case evolved from the early stage to the advanced stage within 1 week and to the severe stage within 2 weeks. Pneumothorax occurred 4 weeks later, and was absorbed within 2 weeks. The remaining 6 patients presented progressive stage on admission, all of them advanced to severe stage within 1 to 2 weeks, and most of them presented diffused consolidation shadows, striation shadows and fibrosis of both lungs, obvious pleural adhesion, and extremely slow lesion absorption. (3) Treatment: 1 severe patient with pneumothorax 4 weeks after onset was given non-invasive mechanical ventilation. The remaining 6 critically ill patients were treated with endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. Five patients were treated with mechanical ventilation within 3 days after the occurrence of pneumothorax, and 1 patient was treated with mechanical ventilation after 11 days. (4) Outcome: 1 patient without endotracheal intubation was continuously given nasal high-flow oxygen therapy, and the condition was stable. Four of the 6 patients complicated with pneumothorax after endotracheal intubation died, and the other 2 patients successfully removed the drainage tube within 2 weeks of closed thoracic drainage, and their condition gradually stabilized.COVID-19 complicated with pneumothorax is a dangerous disease with poor prognosis, and should be paid adequate attention.