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Field research on phthalate monoesters (MPEs) and their relationships with phthalate esters (PAEs) is limited, especially in wild fishes. Here, PAEs and MPEs were measured in surface water, sediment, and wild fish collected from a representative river basin with high economic development. Several metabolites of emerging plasticizers, such as mono(3,5,5-trimethyl-1-hexyl) phthalate and mono(6-oxo-2-propylheptyl) phthalate, have already existed in fish with high detection frequencies (95 % and 100 %). Monobutyl phthalate and mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate were the predominant MPEs in fish and natural environment (surface water and sediment), while bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate was the most abundant PAEs in all matrices. The total concentrations (median) of 9 PAEs and 16 MPEs were 5980 and 266 ng/L in water, 231 and 10.6 ng/g (dw) in sediment, and 209 and 32.5 ng/g (ww) in fish, respectively. The occurrence of MPEs was highly related to their parent PAEs, with similar spatial distribution characteristics in the aquatic environments. Moreover, municipal wastewater discharge was recognized as the main source of MPEs in the research area. Fish species can accumulate targeted chemicals, and it seems more MPEs were from the PAE degradation in fish other than the direct uptake of MPEs in water. Parent PAEs showed higher ecological risk than their corresponding metabolites., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is associated with a higher risk of perinatal morbidity and mortality, as well as long-term health issues in newborns. Currently, there is no effective medicine for FGR. Phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors have been shown in pre-clinical studies to improve FGR. This study aimed to evaluate the latest evidence about the clinical outcomes and safety of PDE-5 inhibitors for the management of FGR. Methods: Eight databases (PubMed, Embase, Medline, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Database and WangFang Database) were searched for English and Chinese articles published from the database inception to December 2023. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting the use of PDE-5 inhibitors in FGR were included. The quality of the RCTs was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. Odds ratio and mean difference (MD) (95% confidence intervals) were pooled for meta-analysis. Results: From 253 retrieved publications, 16 studies involving 1,492 pregnant women met the inclusion criteria. Only sildenafil (15 RCTs) and tadalafil (1 RCT) were studied for FGR. Compared with the control group (placebo, no treatment, or other medication therapies), sildenafil increased birth weight, pregnancy prolongation and umbilical artery pulsatility indices. However, it also increased the risk of pulmonary hypertension in newborns, as well as headache and flushing/rash in mothers. There were no significant differences in gestation age, perinatal mortality or major neonatal morbidity, stillbirth, neonate death, infants admitted to neonatal intensive care unit, intraventricular hemorrhage and necrotizing enterocolitis in infants, as well as pregnancy hypertension and gastrointestinal side effects in mothers between the treatment and the control groups. Discussion: Sildenafil was the most investigated PDE-5 inhibitors for FGR. Current evidence suggests that sildenafil can improve birth weight and duration of pregnancy but at the same time increase the risk of neonatal pulmonary hypertension. It remains uncertain whether the benefits of sildenafil in FGR outweigh the risks and further high-quality RCTs are warranted. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=325909., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Liu, Un, Bai, Chan, Zeng, Lei, Li and Ung.)

Inherited ichthyosis comprises a series of heterogeneous dermal conditions; it mainly manifests as widespread hyperkeratosis, xerosis and scaling of the skin. At times, overlapping symptoms require differential diagnosis between ichthyosis and several other similar disorders. The present study reports seven patients with confirmed or suspected to be associated with ichthyosis by conducting a thorough clinical and genetic investigation. Genetic testing was conducted using whole‑exome sequencing, with Sanger sequencing as the validation method. The MEGA7 program was used to analyze the conservation of amino acid residues affected by the detected missense variants. The enrolled patients exhibited ichthyosis‑like but distinct clinical manifestations. Genetic analysis identified diagnostic variations in the FLG , STS , KRT10 and SERPINB7 genes and clarified the carrying status of each variant in the respective family members. The two residues affected by the detected missense variants remained conserved across multiple species. Of note, the two variants, namely STS : c.452C>T(p.P151L) and c.647_650del(p.L216fs) are novel. In conclusion, a clear genetic differential diagnosis was made for the enrolled ichthyosis‑associated patients; the study findings also extended the mutation spectrum of ichthyosis and provided solid evidence for the counseling of the affected families.

Objective: To analyze the main disease composition of children hospitalized in pediatric surgery, explore the correlation between disease types and gender, and provide a reference for hospital management and pediatric disease prevention., Methods: Using ICD-10 codes as the classification standard for disease diagnosis, a statistical analysis was conducted on the disease composition of children hospitalized in the Pediatric Surgery Department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2015, followed by the establishment of a clinical database. A total of 1647 male patients and 817 female patients were enrolled in the study, resulting in a male-to-female ratio of 2:1. The age range of the patients spanned from 0 to 18 years, with a marked imbalance in patient distribution among the various age groups. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS version 18.0 software. A chi-square test was performed to analyze the differences in the composition of disease systems and the composition of major diseases in terms of sex and age., Results: Pediatric patients were admitted with complex and diverse diseases in 2015, involving 15 systems of the human body and 400 diseases. Digestive system diseases, tumors, congenital malformations, and genitourinary system diseases were the top four diseases accounting for 83.5% of all pediatric cases. 561 patients were aged 0 years, accounting for 22.3% of all cases, while 1,801 patients fell within the 0-5 years age group, constituting 73.1% of the total. The differences in disease system composition among different sex and age groups of pediatric surgical inpatients were statistically significant (P = .001). There are statistically significant differences in the length of hospital stay and hospitalization costs among pediatric surgical inpatients in different age groups (P = .001)., Conclusion: To strengthen the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric surgical diseases, we should strengthen the construction of key departments, optimize the consultation process according to the characteristics of children's disease spectrum, and improve the level of diagnosis and treatment of pediatric surgical diseases.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have potential carcinogenicity, immunotoxicity, and hepatotoxicity. Research has been conducted on PFAS exposure in people to discuss their potential health effects, excluding lung cancer. In this study, we recruited participants (n = 282) with lung cancer from Heilongjiang Province, northeast China. The PFAS concentrations were measured in their serum to fill the data gap of exposure, and relationships were explored in levels between PFASs and clinical indicators of tumor, immune and liver function. Ten PFASs were found in over 80 % of samples and their total concentrations were 5.27-152 ng/mL, with the highest level for perfluorooctanesulfonate (median: 12.4 ng/mL). Long-chain PFASs were the main congeners and their median concentration (20.5 ng/mL) was nearly three times to that of short-chain PFASs (7.61 ng/mL). Significantly higher concentrations of perfluorobutanoic acid, perfluorononanoic acid and perfluorohexanesulfonate were found in males than in females (p < 0.05). Serum levels of neuro-specific enolase were positively associated with perfluoropentanoic acid in all participants and were negatively associated with perfluorononanesulfonate in females (p < 0.05, multiple linear regression models). Exposure to PFAS mixture was significantly positively associated with the lymphocytic absolute value (difference: 0.224, 95% CI: 0.018, 0.470; p < 0.05, quantile g-computation models) and serum total bilirubin (difference: 2.177, 95% CI: 0.0335, 4.33; p < 0.05). Moreover, PFAS exposure can affect γ-glutamyl transpeptidase through several immune markers (p < 0.05, mediating test). Our results suggest that exposure to certain PFASs could interfere with clinical indicators in lung cancer patients. To our knowledge, this is the first study to detect serum PFAS occurrence and check their associations with clinical indicators in lung cancer patients., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To assess the feasibility, safety, and efficiency of simultaneous anterograde video laparoscopic inguinal and pelvic lymphadenectomy for penile cancer., Materials and Methods: We reviewed retrospectively the records of 22 patients (44 lateral) who underwent inguinal lymph nodes dissection for penile cancer. The procedure was standardized as two planes, three holes, and six steps. Two Separate-planes: superior plane of eternal oblique aponeurosis/ / fascia lata; inferior plane of superficial camper fascia. Three holes: two artificial lateral boundary holes, the internal and external boundary holes, and the hole of oval fossa. Six steps: separate the first separate-plane; separate the second layer; separate two artificial lateral boundary holes; free great saphenous vein; separate the third hole and clean up the deep inguinal lymph nodes; pelvic lymphadenectomy., Results: A total of 22 cases were included and 9 patients underwent simultaneous pelvic lymphadenectomy. The average operation time on both sides was 7.52 ± 3.29 h, which was 0.5-1 h/side after skilled. The average amount of bleeding was 93.18 ± 50.84 ml. A total of 8 patients had postoperative complications, accounting for 36.36%, and no complications great than Clavien-Dindo class III occurred., Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the video laparoscopic simultaneous anterograde inguinal and pelvic lymphadenectomy is a feasible and safe technique. Indocyanine Green was helpful for lymph node identify., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2024 Yi, Li, Lu, Lu, Chen, Zeng, Qin, Wu and Tang.)

Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) have been recognized as contaminants of emerging concerns. E-waste recycling sites and liquid crystal displays (LCDs) manufacturers are supposed to be critical sources. However, information regarding LCM contaminations in soils surrounding these sites are currently unavailable. In this study, soil samples were collected from two distinct areas in South China: e-waste recycling area (n = 36) and LCD manufacturer (n = 41), and 60 target LCMs (including 13 biphenyl and analogs (BAs), 10 cyanobiphenyl and analogs (CBAs), and 37 fluorinated biphenyl and analogs (FBAs)) were determined. The concentrations of LCMs in the soils from near the e-waste recycling area (0.32-18 ng/g, average: 4.2 ng/g) were higher than those surrounding the LCD manufacturer (ND - 7.2 ng/g, average: 1.5 ng/g). The compositional profiles of LCMs in soil samples from these two typical point sources were considerably different. The concentrations of FBAs exponentially decreased with distance from the e-waste recycling park, by >90 % within 2 km. The levels of BAs exhibited a similar exponential decrease with distance from the LCD manufacturer. The inventories of LCMs were estimated to be 21.0 kg in the e-waste recycling area and 10.8 kg in the LCD manufacturer area. Remarkably, the inventory of LCMs in soils from e-waste recycling area was one order of magnitude larger than that of hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) in the same region, and 0.2 to 20 times the annual global emissions of LCMs from discarded LCD panels. More studies are required to elucidate the environmental occurrence, behavior, and fate of LCMs in multimedia environment surrounding typical point sources., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by green synthesis from fungi polysaccharides are attracting increasing attention owing to their distinctive features and special applications in numerous fields. In this study, a cost-effective and environmentally friendly biosynthesizing AgNPs method with no toxic chemicals involved from the fruiting body polysaccharide of Phlebopus portentosus (PPP) was established and optimized by single factor experiment and response surface methodology. The optimum synthesis conditions of polysaccharide-AgNPs (PPP-AgNPs) were identified to be the reaction time of 140 min, reaction temperature of 94 °C, and the PPP: AgNO 3 ratio of 1:11.5. Formation of PPP-AgNPs was indicated by visual detection of colour change from yellowish to yellowish brown. PPP-AgNPs were characterized by different methods and further evaluated for biological activities. That the Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis.) spectroscopy displayed a sharp absorption peak at 420 nm confirmed the formation of AgNPs. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis detected the presence of various functional groups. The lattice indices of (111), (200), (220), and (331), which indicated a faced-centered-cubic of the Ag crystal structure of PPP-AgNPs, was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the particles were found to be spherical through high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) determined the presence of silver in PPP-AgNPs. The percentage relative composition of elements was determined as silver (Ag) 82.5 % and oxygen (O) 17.5 % for PPP-AgNPs, and did not exhibit any nitrogen peaks. The specific surface area of PPP-AgNPs was calculated to be 0.5750 m 2 /g with an average pore size of 24.33 nm by BET analysis. The zeta potential was -4.32 mV, which confirmed the stability and an average particle size of 64.5 nm was calculated through dynamic light scattering (DLS). PPP-AgNPs exhibited significant free radical scavenging activity against DPPH with an IC 50 value of 0.1082 mg/mL. The MIC values of PPP-AgNPs for E. coli, S. aureus, C. albicans, C. glabrata, and C. parapsilosis are 0.05 mg/mL. The IC 50 value of the inhibition of PPP-AgNPs against α-glucosidase was 11.1 μg/mL, while the IC 50 values of PPP-AgNPs against HepG2 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines were calculated to be 14.36 ± 0.43 μg/mL and 40.05 ± 2.71 μg/mL, respectively. According to the evaluation, it can be concluded that these green-synthesized and eco-friendly PPP-AgNPs are helpful to improve therapeutics because of significant antioxidant, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, and anticancer properties to provide new possibilities for clinic applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

With completing a baseline survey of a large natural population cohort, conducting regular follow-up has become a key factor in further improving the quality of cohort construction and ensuring its sustainable development. Typical cohort follow-up methods include repeat surveys, routine monitoring, and community-oriented surveillance. However, in practical applications, there are often issues such as high costs, difficulty, and high error rates. Telephone follow-up is an important supplementary method to the methods mentioned above, as it has the characteristics of low cost, fast response, and high quality. However, the with difficult organization, quality control is challenging, response rates are low, and management levels vary widely, which limits its widespread use in large-scale population cohort studies. Given the above problems, this study draws on customer relationship management based on the actual needs of the China Northwest Cohort follow-up. It relies on the REDCap electronic data collection platform to build a telephone follow-up management and quality control system. Targeted solutions are provided for key issues in telephone follow-up implementation, including organizational structure, project management, data collection, and process quality control, to improve the quality control level of telephone follow-up comprehensively and thereby enhance the quality and efficiency of follow-up. We hope to provide standardized follow-up programs and efficient quality control tools for newly established and existing cohort studies.

Background: One of the main causes of lung cancer-related death is brain metastasis (BM). Finding early indicators of BM derived from lung cancer is crucial. Therefore, this study was designed to determine if serum hsa&#95;circ&#95;0072309 may be employed as a potential biomarker for BM induced by non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and to understand its possible underlying mechanism., Methods: Primary lung cancer and healthy neighboring tissues were obtained from all patients, while BM tissues were taken from BM+ patients. Serum specimens were collected from all patients and healthy volunteers. Hsa&#95;circ&#95;001653, miR-100, and ACKR3 RNA expressions were analyzed by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and atypical chemokine receptor 3 (ACKR3) protein expression by western blotting (WB), immunohistochemistry (IHC), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In order to examine the effect of serum hsa&#95;circ&#95;0072309 and its relevant mechanism on BM development, an NSCLC-associated BM model in mice was established., Results: According to the results, miR-100 expression was down-regulated in primary lung cancer tissues compared to healthy lung tissues in all NSCLC patients, and circ&#95;0072309 and ACKR3 expression were up-regulated. In BM tissues compared with primary lung tumors of BM+ patients, in serum samples from all patients compared to healthy volunteers, and in lung tumors of BM+ patients compared to those from BM- patients. Patients' serum exhibits the same level of hsa&#95;circ&#95;0072309/miR-100/ACKR3 expression as in BM samples. Advanced tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage, higher BM, shorter post-operative overall survival (OS), and progression-free survival (PFS) are all substantially associated with increased serum circ&#95;0072309 levels in BM+ patients. In animal models, serum owning hsa&#95;circ&#95;0072309 from BM+ patients facilitates BM formation by regulating the miR-100/ACKR3 pathway., Conclusions: The current preliminary research reveals serum hsa&#95;circ&#95;0072309 as a possible biomarker and target for early diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy of NSCLC-derived BM and suggests a substantial role for the hsa&#95;circ&#95;0072309/miR-100/ACKR3 axis in the formation of BM from NSCLC., (© 2023 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Gravel (>2 mm) is one of the main parameters for estimating soil carbon pool. To assess the effects of gravel on soil bulk density (BD) and organic carbon density (SOCD) in Pinus massoniana plantations, we estimated the BD and SOCD at the 0-10, 10-20 and 20-40 cm soil depths of 131 plots under two different conditions, with and without removing gravel. The BD of each soil layer after removing gravel was 0.58-1.57, 0.60-1.67, and 0.59-1.75 g·cm -3 , respectively, which was significantly lower than that before removing gravel. Gravel increased the BD by 6.5%-6.8%. The SOCD of each soil layer before removing gravel was 8.93-65.97, 7.63-59.08, and 8.79-94.53 t·hm -2 , respectively, which was higher than that after removing gravel. Overall, by neglecting the effect of gravel, SOCD was overestimated by 4.9%-11.8%. As gravel content increased, the relative deviation in the estimated BD and SOCD among different methods increased. When the gravel content was higher than 20%, the estimated SOCD at soil layer of 0-40 cm showed a significant difference between neglecting gravel and removing gravel, with the former being 29.7%-47.4% higher than the latter. In conclusion, gravel markedly affected the estimations of BD and SOCD. It was recommended that SOCD should be estimated by the method that not only uses the BD after removing gravel but also considers gravel as a correction factor (especially when gravel content is above 20.0%) to avoid overestimation of soil carbon pool.

Objective: To study the relationship between the Chinese dietary guidelines compliance index for pregnant women (CDGCI&#95;PW) and congenital heart disease (CHD) in offspring. Methods: In a hospital-based case-control study conducted in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires were used to investigate the diets of pregnant women throughout pregnancy. The modified CDGCI&#95;PW score was used to evaluate dietary quality during pregnancy, logistic regression was applied to analyze the relationship between CDGCI&#95;PW score and offspring CHD, and the ROC curve was adopted to construct the prediction model of CDGCI&#95;PW for offspring CHD. Results: A total of 1 422 subjects were enrolled, including 474 in the case group and 948 in the control group. The CDGCI&#95;PW score in the case group M ( Q 1 , Q 3 ) was 46.0 (26.0, 65.0) lower than that in the control group, which was 60.0 (40.0, 77.0). The difference between the two groups was significant ( P <0.001). Compared with those in the Q 1 of CDGCI&#95;PW, the offspring in the Q 2 , Q 3, and Q 4 of CDGCI&#95;PW had a lower risk of total CHD ( OR =0.60, 95% CI : 0.43-0.83; OR =0.64, 95% CI : 0.45-0.89; OR =0.29, 95% CI : 0.19-0.44), with the trend test P <0.001. The risk of total CHD was reduced by 17% ( OR =0.83, 95% CI : 0.79-0.88) when 10 points increased the CDGCI&#95;PW score. The area under curve predicted by constructing the ROC curve was 0.793 (95% CI : 0.768-0.818), and at the maximum of the Youden index, the sensitivity was 0.740, and the specificity was 0.725. Conclusion: This study suggests that improving dietary quality during pregnancy may reduce the risk of CHD in offspring.

Take-out food has become increasingly prevalent due to the fast pace of people's life. However, few study has been done on microplastics in take-out food. Contacting with disposable plastic containers, take-out food may be contaminated with microplastics. In the present study, abundance and characteristics of microplastics in total of 146 take-out food samples including solid food samples and beverage samples (bubble tea and coffee) were determined and identified. The mean abundance of microplastics in take-out food was 639 items kg -1 , with the highest value in rice and the lowest value in coffee. Fragments shape, transparent color and sizes ≤ 500 μm were the main characteristics of microplastics in those food, and polyethylene was the main polymer type. Our results indicated that microplastics in take-out food was influenced by food categories and cooking methods, as well as food packaging materials. Approximately 170-638 items of microplastics may be consumed by people who order take-out food 1-2 times weekly., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Research Question: Does kaempferol alleviate postovulatory oocyte ageing, thereby maintaining their early embryonic development capacity?, Design: The effects of kaempferol on postovulatory ageing were investigated in vitro and in vivo by short-term kaempferol administration (mature oocytes were cultured in a kaempferol-containing medium for 12 h; mice were intragastrically administered with the appropriate amount of kaempferol for 21 days). Spindle morphology and chromosome alignment, levels of oxidative stress and the gap junction were assessed by immunofluorescence. Fertilization ability and early embryonic development ability of each oocyte group was detected by IVF. Fertilization of the ageing oocyte model was used to explore whether kaempferol could improve adverse pregnancy outcome. RNA-sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction were used to identify the cellular pathways through which kaempferol relieves postovulatory oocyte ageing in vivo., Results: Kaempferol administration altered various processes in the ageing oocytes, including oxidative stress, the peroxisome, TNF signalling, cAMP signalling and the gap junction pathway. Expression of several important genes, such as Sirt1, Mapk1, Ampk and Foxo3, was regulated. Moreover, kaempferol ameliorated adverse pregnancy outcomes of fertilized ageing oocytes. IVF results indicate that kaempferol could partially counteract the effects of oocyte ageing on fertilization capacity (pronucleus: kaempferol, 69.08 ± 2.37% versus aged, 38.95 ± 3.58%) and early embryonic development (blastocyst: kaempferol, 50.02 ± 3.34% versus aged, 30.83 ± 5.46%)., Conclusions: Our results indicate that kaempferol may be a potent natural antioxidant, have implications for animal husbandry and may help improve the success rate of IVF and ICSI. Further clinical trials are needed., (Copyright © 2022 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

With the strict regulation of brominated flame retardants, organophosphate esters (OPEs) have been extensively used as replacements. Increasing concerns on OPEs have aroused due to their extensive distribution in the environment and humans, as well as their potential toxicities. Recent studies have demonstrated that some organophosphate di-esters are even more toxic than their respective tri-esters. This review summarized the current state of knowledge on the analytical methodologies (including sample collection and preparation, instrumental analysis, and the feasibility of each potential human matrix), as well as the occurrences of OPEs and/or their metabolites (m-OPEs) in various human matrices. Organophosphate esters are readily metabolized in human thus only limited studies reported their occurrences in blood and breast milk, whereas abundant studies are available regarding the occurrences of m-OPEs rather than OPEs in urine. Since none of the matrix is suitable all the time, appropriate matrix should be selected depending on the aims of biomonitoring studies, e.g., high throughput screening or body burden estimation. Biomonitoring with non-invasive matrices such as hair and/or nail is useful to screen specific populations that might be under high exposure risks while urine is more suitable to provide valuable information on body burden. In terms of urinary monitoring, specific biomarkers have been identified for some OPE compounds, including tri(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate, tri(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate, tri(2-chloroethyl) phosphate and tri(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate. Further studies are required to identify suitable urinary biomarkers for other OPE compounds, especially the emerging ones., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the present work., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Isotemporal substitution model is a powerful tool to explore the real association between physical behavior and health outcomes, which has the potential of the application in large-scale cohort study. This paper systematically introduces the principle of isotemporal substitution model and its implementation method in specific analysis to provide analytical ideas for the epidemiological research related to physical behavior in China. The baseline data of Regional Ethic Cohort Study in Northwest China conducted in Shaanxi province were used to analyze the relationship between physical behavior and cardiovascular disease with single-factor model, partition model and isotemporal substitution model. The advantages and disadvantages of different models were compared, and the advantages of isotemporal substitution model in quantifying physical activity health risk were introduced. Isotemporal substitution model could qualify physical behavior and health outcomes, which has wide application value in epidemiological research.

Inherited epidermolysis bullosa (IEB) represents a group of rare genetic dermatoses comprising various phenotypes ranging from severe cutaneous and extracutaneous involvement to mild cutaneous fragility. Pathogenic variants have been identified in at least 20 genes responsible for IEB. In the present study, six cases of epidermolysis bullosa were recruited and subjected to a combination of clinical and genetic analysis. The family history of each case was surveyed. Whole exome sequencing was performed to identify the causative variation. The six patients showed typical EB symptoms. In all cases, WES detected the diagnostic variations of the COL7A1 or DST gene. A total of 10 variants were identified and verified. The findings of the present study further expanded the mutation spectrum of IEB, provided evidence for genetic counseling to the affected families, as well as highlighted the complexity of the pathogenesis of IEB., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright: © Yao et al.)

We developed a digital optical phase locking loop (OPLL) with three advantages, including high precision of phase locking, high control bandwidth up to 2.8 MHz, and automatic laser locking strategy. Spaceborne laser interferometers will be used to measure tiny displacements caused by gravitational waves in millions of kilometers range. A slave laser will be heterodyne phase locked to the incoming weak light at the end of an arm, emitting a higher power light back to the other satellite to measure pathlength variations at the picometer level. Such accuracy requires extremely precise OPLL. We report an experiment to demonstrate a digital OPLL that can automatically lock two independent free-running Nd:YAG lasers with residual phase error below 1 m r a d / H z above 0.01 Hz, which is the best performance recorded for digital servos, to our knowledge. Such performance tested under a normal laboratory environment will be highly improved in a vacuum environment with temperature and vibration well controlled. Both the digital OPLL and the automatic strategy were implemented on a field programmable gate array that could be potentially used for future gravitational-wave detection. Our experiment might change the thinking of scientists who study phasemeters of gravitational-wave detection because we are aware that the digital phase locking loop used for "optical phase tracking" is differently designed from "optical phase locking."

Cardiac hypertrophy is a common cardiovascular disease that is found worldwide and is characterized by heart enlargement, eventually resulting in heart failure. Exploring the regulatory mechanism of cardiac hypertrophy is beneficial for understanding its pathogenesis and treatment. In our study, we have showed TINCR was downregulated and miR-211-3p was upregulated in TAC- or Ang II-induced models of cardiac hypertrophy. Dual luciferase and RIP assays revealed that TINCR served as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) for miR-211-3p. Then, we observed that knockdown of miR-211-3p alleviated TAC- or Ang II-induced cardiac hypertrophy both in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that miR-211-3p directly targeted VEGFB and thus regulated the expression of SDF-1α and CXCR4. Rescue assays further confirmed that TINCR suppressed the progression of cardiac hypertrophy by competitively binding to miR-211-3p, thereby enhancing the expression of VEGFB and activating the VEGFB-SDF-1α- CXCR4 signal. Furthermore, overexpression of TINCR suppressed TAC-induced cardiac hypertrophy in vivo by targeting miR-211-3p-VEGFB-SDF-1α- CXCR4 signalling. In conclusion, our research suggests that LncRNA TINCR improves cardiac hypertrophy by targeting miR-211-3p, thus relieving its suppressive effects on the VEGFB-SDF-1α-CXCR4 signalling axis. TINCR and miR-211-3p might act as therapeutic targets for the treatment of cardiac hypertrophy., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology.)

We examined the effects of nitrogen addition (0, 30, 60, and 90 kg N·hm -2 ·a -1 ) to soil microbial biomass, enzyme activities, and nutrient contents of the Pinus massoniana-Quercus variabilis mixed plantations in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, with the aim to provide a theoretical basis for predicting soil carbon dynamics under the background of continuously increasing atmospheric nitrogen deposition in this area. The results showed that nitrogen addition at all levels led to a significant increase of the contents of organic carbon, total nitrogen, microbial biomass carbon (MBC), microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN), and microbial biomass phosphorus (MBP) in the forest soil, while a decrease of soil pH-value, and no significant effect on the total phosphorus content. Nitrogen addition increased the activities of β-1-4 glucosidase (BG), cellobiose hydrolase (CB), acid phosphatase (AP), N-acetylglucosaminosidase (NAG) and peroxidase (POD), while inhibited that of polyphenol oxidase (PPO). There was a significant seasonal variation in soil oxidase activities, in which the peroxidase activity was higher in May and August, and the polyphenol oxidase activity was the highest in August. Soil enzyme activities were significantly correlated with soil moisture and the contents of soil nutrients, MBC, MBN, and MBP. The variation of soil enzyme activities was caused by the comprehensive effects of multiple factors. The redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that the contents of total soil nitrogen and MBC were the main environmental factors driving soil enzyme activities. The continuous increase of atmosphere nitrogen deposition would lead to soil acidification and promote the turnover of soil organic carbon and nutrient cycling in the Pinus massoniana - Quercus variabilis mixed plantations of the study area.

In medical research, the quality of data is the key to success. Thus, data quality control becomes an important part of ensuring the research's high quality. REDCap system is an emerging data acquisition system in medical research, which is gradually applied in research at home and abroad. It is a hot issue to realize double data entry and data quality control in using the REDCap system, which researchers are concerned about when this system is supposed to apply. This article will systematically introduce how to use the REDCap system for double data entry and quality control from the aspects of research project creation, data collection tool design, double data entry, data checking and exporting.

This study explored the effects of renal sympathetic denervation (RDN) on hyperlipidity-induced cardiac hypertrophy in beagle dogs. Sixty beagles were randomly assigned to the control group, RDN group, or sham-operated group. The control group was fed with a basal diet, while the other two groups were given a high-fat diet to induce model hypertension. The RDN group underwent an RDN procedure, and the sham-operated group underwent only renal arteriography. At 1, 3, and 6 months after the RDN procedure, the diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) levels were markedly decreased in the RDN group relative to the sham group ( P < 0.05). After 6 months, serum norepinephrine (NE) and angiotensin II (AngII), as well as left ventricular levels, in the RDN group were statistically lower than those in the sham group ( P < 0.05). Also, the left ventricular mass (LVM) and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) were significantly decreased, while the E/A peak ratio was drastically elevated ( P < 0.05). Pathological examination showed that the degree of left ventricular hypertrophy and fibrosis in the RDN group was statistically decreased relative to those of the sham group and that the collagen volume fraction (CVF) and perivascular circumferential collagen area (PVCA) were also significantly reduced ( P < 0.05). Renal sympathetic denervation not only effectively reduced blood pressure levels in hypertensive dogs but also reduced left ventricular hypertrophy and myocardial fibrosis and improved left ventricular diastolic function. The underlying mechanisms may involve a reduction of NE and AngII levels in the circulation and myocardial tissues, which would lead to the delayed occurrence of left ventricular remodeling., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2021 Shan Tu et al.)

Objective: This study explored the association between antenatal calcium supplementation in the childbearing aged women and risk of small for gestational age infant (SGA) among singleton in Shaanxi province,China. Methods: Multi-stage random cluster sampling method was employed to collect information about pregnant women, who were pregnant and had definite outcomes, and their infants, from 30 districts (counties) in 2010 to 2013. Information was collected by face-to-face questionnaire survey. Generalized linear mixed models were employed after adjusting covariates. Dependent variable was whether single-birth neonate was SGA, and independent variable was calcium supplementation of childbearing aged women in different pregnant periods. Results: A total of 28 357 childbearing aged women was recruited in this study. The age of these women was (28.08±4.74) years old, of which, 79.28% were rural residents and 60.90% had calcium supplementation intake. There was a number of 12 810 female in singleton neonates. The neonatal birth weight and gestational age were (3.27±0.16) kg and (277.44±8.80) day, respectively. The prevalence of SGA was 11.35% in total, and 10.48% in mothers with maternal calcium supplementation and 12.70% in mothers without maternal calcium supplementation in whole antenatal period. There were statistically significant differences seen in antenatal calcium supplementation within the subgroups of maternal age (whether the mother was an advanced maternal woman), residential area, maternal occupation, maternal parity, maternal education level, and household incomes ( P <0.05). After adjusting these covariates, the risk of SGA among childbearing aged women with antenatal calcium supplementation showed 16% decreased risk ( OR =0.84, 95% CI : 0.77-0.92). Further analysis of the different antenatal periods showed that calcium supplementation during the second and third trimester had a statistically significant difference in reducing the risk of neonatal SGA ( P <0.05). Besides, subgroup analysis showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the perinatal calcium supplementation and the single-born neonates with SGA Significance ( P <0.05) in non-advanced women, those who had a low education level and moderate household economic status groups. Conclusion: The risk reduction of SGA among singleton neonates is related to calcium supplementation during antenatal period in Shaanxi province.

Fas binding factor 1 (Fbf1) is one of the distal appendage proteins in the centriole, located at its distal and proximal ends. It influences the duplication and separation of centrosomes, thereby affecting the progression of the cell cycle during mitosis. However, the function of Fbf1 in meiosis has remained unclear. To explore the role of Fbf1 in the in vitro maturation of mouse oocyte, immunofluorescence staining was used to examine the Fbf1 location in the oocyte and their phenotype after protein deletion. Western blot was used to examine the protein abundance. This study showed that mouse oocytes express Fbf1 which locates at the spindle poles and around the microtubules. Through taxol and nocodazole treatment, and microinjection of siRNA, it was demonstrated that Fbf1 had an important role in the spindle assembly and chromosome separation during mouse oocyte meiosis In particular, microinjection of Fbf1-siRNA resulted in severe abnormalities in the spindle and chromosome arrangement, decreased aggregation of microtubules, disrupted the first oocyte meiosis, and the extrusion of the first polar body. Furthermore, in the Fbf1-siRNA group, there was reduced expression of Plk1 and its agglutination at the spindle poles, along with retarded chromosome segregation due to the activation of the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) component BubR1. These results indicate that Fbf1 may function in microtubule depolymerization and agglutination, control the microtubule dynamics, spindle assembly and chromosome arrangement and, thus, influence the mouse oocyte meiotic maturation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The relationship between parity and atherosclerosis has been reported in some ethnic populations. However, results regarding Chinese women are still lacking. This study aimed to investigate the association of parity and carotid atherosclerosis, which has a predictive value of subsequent atherosclerotic events in elderly Chinese women., Methods: A total of 2, 052 participants from the medical examination center of the Third Xiangya Hospital were enrolled in the study. A standardized, structured questionnaire was administered to collect information on subjects' demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, and cardiovascular risk factors. High-resolution ultrasound was used to examine carotid plaques and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT)., Results: The mean age of participants was 66.1 ± 5.5 years. Women with more birth appeared to have a higher risk of carotid artery plaques. A multivariate-adjusted model yielded an odds ratio of 1.38 (95% CI: 12%-70%, P = 0.003) per birth. A positive association was observed between parity and common carotid IMT (β ± SE: 0.029 ± 0.006, P < 0.001), and internal carotid IMT (β ± SE: 0.011 ± 0.005, P = 0.03) in a univariate model; however, these associations became non-significant in multivariate-adjusted models. When common carotid IMT was classified into an IMT ≥ 1 mm group and an IMT < 1 mm group, higher parity was associated with more obvious thickening both in the unadjusted model (OR = 1.61, 95% CI: 1.29-2.00, P < 0.001) and in the fully adjusted model (OR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.09-1.88, P = 0.01)., Conclusions: There is a positive association between parity and risk of carotid plaques, as well as between parity and risk of obvious thickening for common carotid IMT in elderly Chinese women, indicating multiparous women might experience more atherosclerotic challenges., (Copyright and License information: Journal of Geriatric Cardiology 2020.)

Cohort study is one of the basic methods used in epidemiological research. With the development of the etiological analysis of complex diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, large natural population-based cohort study has become a popular topic in medical research. In the process of cohort development, one of the important issues is to ensure the efficiency and safety on data collection. As a database management system, with open source, free clinical research data collection and high quality, REDCap can widely be applied in large population-based cohort studies. This article summarizes the baseline survey and follow-up procedures on cohort studies and introduces a REDCap-system-based solution for data collection and management. Contents on the establishment of data working groups, data collection, cohort follow-up methods and field application are also discussed in this paper, in order to improve the efficiency of data collection and management in cohort study to help the development of cohort study in China.

Background: The incidence of insulin resistance (IR) has rapidly increased worldwide over the last 20 years, no perfect solution has yet been identified. Finding new therapeutic drugs will help improve this situation. As a traditional Chinese medicine, PPM (processed Polygonum multiflorum) has widely been used in the clinic. Recently, other clinical functions of PPM have been widely analyzed., Results: Administration of the water extract from PPM decreased the level of FBG, TC, and TG, and increased the level of FGC, thereby reducing the IR index and improving IR. Furthermore, Western blot analysis revealed that PPM significantly increased GPR43 and AMPK expression when compared with the MOD group, and GPR43, AMPK were known as glucose metabolism-related proteins. In addition, treatment with PPM can restore the balance of gut microbiota by adjusting the relative abundance of bacteria both at the phylum and genus level, and these changes have been reported to be related to IR., Methods: Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were fed a high-fat diet and were gavaged daily with either normal saline solution or PPM for 12 weeks. Major biochemical indexes, such as fasting blood glucose (FBG), fasting glucagon (FGC), total cholesterol (TC), and triglyceride (TG) were measured. Then the protein expression of adenosine 5'-monophosphate -activated protein kinase (AMPK) and G protein-coupled receptor 43 (GPR43) was evaluated by using Western blot analysis. Moreover, the composition of gut microbiota was assessed by analyzing 16S rRNA sequences., Conclusions: Our findings showed that PPM reversed the increasing of FBG and the decreasing of IRI, PPM accelerated the expression of glucose metabolism-related proteins and regulated the intestinal microecological balance. Therefore, we hold the opinion that PPM may be an effective option for treating IR.

Editor office’s response for Ahead of Print article withdrawn The article “Potential false-positive rate among the ‘asymptomatic infected individuals’ in close contacts of COVID-19 patients” was under strong discussion after pre-published. Questions from the readers mainly focused on the article’s results and conclusions were depended on theoretical deduction, but not the field epidemiology data and further researches were needed to prove the current theory. Based on previous discussions, the article was decided to be offline by the editorial board from the pre-publish lists. Objective: As the prevention and control of COVID-19continues to advance, the active nucleic acid test screening in the close contacts of the patients has been carrying out in many parts of China. However, the false-positive rate of positive results in the screening has not been reported up to now. But to clearify the false-positive rate during screening is important in COVID-19 control and prevention. Methods: Point values and reasonable ranges of the indicators which impact the false-positive rate of positive results were estimated based on the information available to us at present. The false-positive rate of positive results in the active screening was deduced, and univariate and multivariate-probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to understand the robustness of the findings. Results: When the infection rate of the close contacts and the sensitivity and specificity of reported results were taken as the point estimates, the positive predictive value of the active screening was only 19.67%, in contrast, the false-positive rate of positive results was 80.33%. The multivariate-probabilistic sensitivity analysis results supported the base-case findings, with a 75% probability for the false-positive rate of positive results over 47%. Conclusions: In the close contacts of COVID-19 patients, nearly half or even more of the 'asymptomatic infected individuals' reported in the active nucleic acid test screening might be false positives.

In recent years, the incidence of diseases associated with hepatic injury has increased in prevalence. Targeting the mitochondria to protect liver function has gained momentum due to their central role in energy production, apoptotic cell death, oxidative stress, calcium homeostasis, and lipid metabolism. In this study, we employed a hepatic mitochondria-based centrifugal ultrafiltration/liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry method (CM-HMC) to identify hepatic mitochondria ligands from medicinal herbs (MHs) including Notopterygii Rhizoma et Radix (NRR) that possess hepatic-protective effects. A total of 4 newly identified mitochondrial ligands were successfully identified by CM-HMC. The mitochondria-regulating activities of 3 of the 4 hits were confirmed using isolated mitochondria. The hepatic-protective effects of one of these hits were validated in carbon tetrachloride-damaged human liver L02 cell models. We have thus identified new natural hepatic-protectants that enhance our understanding of the hepatic-protective mechanisms of MHs. CM-HMC was proven to efficiently screen for mitochondrial ligands from MHs., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest associated with this manuscript., (Copyright © 2019 Li Liang et al.)

Background: Mitochondrial dysfunction is an important mechanism of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Developing mitochondrial regulators/nutrients from natural products to remedy mitochondrial dysfunction represent attractive strategies for NAFLD therapy. In China, Polygonatum kingianum (PK) has been used as a herb and food nutrient for centuries. So far, studies in which the effects of PK on NAFLD are evaluated are lacking. Our study aims at identifying the effects and mechanism of action of PK on NAFLD based on mitochondrial regulation., Methods: A NAFLD rat model was induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) and rats were intragastrically given PK (1, 2 and 4 g/kg) for 14 weeks. Changes in body weight, food intake, histological parameters, organ indexes, biochemical parameters and mitochondrial indicators involved in oxidative stress, energy metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and apoptosis were investigated., Results: PK significantly inhibited the HFD-induced increase of alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, total cholesterol (TC), and low density lipoprotein cholesterol in serum, and TC and triglyceride in the liver. In addition, PK reduced high density lipoprotein cholesterol and liver enlargement without affecting food intake. PK also remarkably inhibited the HFD-induced increase of malondialdehyde and the reduction of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, ATP synthase, and complex I and II, in mitochondria. Moreover, mRNA expression of carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1 and uncoupling protein-2 was significantly up-regulated and down-regulated after PK treatment, respectively. Finally, PK notably inhibited the HFD-induced increase of caspase 9, caspase 3 and Bax expression in hepatocytes, and the decrease of expression of Bcl-2 in hepatocytes and cytchrome c in mitochondria., Conclusion: PK alleviated HFD-induced NAFLD by promoting mitochondrial functions. Thus, PK may be useful mitochondrial regulators/nutrients to remedy mitochondrial dysfunction and alleviate NAFLD., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

Targeting mitochondria as a hepatic-protective strategy has gained attention, because of their important roles in energy production, adjustment of apoptosis, and generation of reactive oxygen species. To promote the discovery of natural mitochondria-targeted hepatic-protectants, we established a hepatocellular mitochondria-based capturing method by coupling affinity ultrafiltration with liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS), which is suitable for identifying mitochondrial ligands from medicinal herbs (MHs). After evaluating the feasibility of the method, it was applied for capturing mitochondria-targeting constituents from Peucedani Radix extract. A total of 10 active compounds were identified by LC/MS, all of which were newly identified mitochondrial ligands. The mitochondria-remedying activity of 4 of the 10 hits was confirmed by pharmacological tests in vitro . Additionally, the hepatic-protective abilities of 4 hits were verified in both carbon tetrachloride-damaged liver L02 cells and mice. These results indicated that the method could be used for identifying hepatic mitochondria-targeting constituents in MHs, which might be beneficial for hepatic-protective development.

This experiment has the citrus orchard soil in the basin of the Zigui County Ecological Station in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area as its research object. Leaching tests of an undisturbed soil column at 0-20, 0-40, and 0-60 cm depth were performed in a citrus orchard. The effects of nitrogen leaching and residual amounts in the soil were studied. Four kinds of fertilization treatments were set up in the experiment:no fertilization treatment (CK), low nitrogen fertilization treatment (T1:250kg·hm -2 ), medium nitrogen fertilization treatment (T2:500kg·hm -2 ), and high nitrogen fertilization treatment (T3:750kg·hm -2 ). The results showed that:① The main form of nitrogen leaching in citrus orchard soil was nitrate nitrogen (NO 3 - -N), accounting for 36.93%-60.07% of total nitrogen (TN) leaching. The ratio of TN to ammonium nitrogen (NH 4 + -N) was 4.40% to 5.79%. The ratio of NO 3 - -N residues in soil to TN residues was 11.31‰-45.66‰, and the ratio of NH 4 + -N residues to TN residues was 1.051‰-2.07‰. ② Nitrogen leaching and residual amounts in citrus orchards at the same depth showed significant positive correlation with the amount of fertilizer applied. The leaching losses and residual amounts of TN in soil at different fertilization rates were 11.35-30.11 kg·hm -2 and 0.30-1.86 g·kg -1 , respectively. Among them, the ratio of leaching losses of NO 3 - -N and NH 4 + -N to TN leaching amounts peaked under T2 treatment, and the peaks of NO 3 - -N and NH 4 + -N residues in TN residual amounts appeared in T1 and T2 treatment, respectively. ③ Given the same fertilization amounts, the leaching amounts and residual amounts of different forms of nitrogen in the soil were greatly affected by soil depth. After fertilization, the peaks of NO 3 - -N leaching and residual amounts appeared at 20 cm and 40 cm, respectively, and the peaks of NH 4 + -N leaching and residual amounts mainly appeared at 20 cm depth. Inferred from the results of the experiment, the neutral nitrogen treatment in the 0-40 cm soil column is more conducive to the conversion of fertilizer nitrogen to inorganic nitrogen for plant absorption, and reduces the risk of nitrogen leaching after fertilization.

Aim: To identify the effects and mechanism of action of Polygonatum kingianum ( P. kingianum ) on dyslipidemia in rats using an integrated untargeted metabolomic method., Methods: A rat model of dyslipidemia was induced with a high-fat diet (HFD) and rats were given P. kingianum [4 g/(kg•d)] intragastrically for 14 wk. Changes in serum and hepatic lipid parameters were evaluated. Metabolites in serum, urine and liver samples were profiled using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry followed by multivariate statistical analysis to identify potential biomarkers and metabolic pathways., Results: P. kingianum significantly inhibited the HFD-induced increase in total cholesterol and triglyceride in the liver and serum. P. kingianum also significantly regulated metabolites in the analyzed samples toward normal status. Nineteen, twenty-four and thirty-eight potential biomarkers were identified in serum, urine and liver samples, respectively. These biomarkers involved biosynthesis of phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan, valine, leucine and isoleucine, along with metabolism of tryptophan, tyrosine, phenylalanine, starch, sucrose, glycerophospholipid, arachidonic acid, linoleic acid, nicotinate, nicotinamide and sphingolipid., Conclusion: P. kingianum alleviates HFD-induced dyslipidemia by regulating many endogenous metabolites in serum, urine and liver samples. Collectively, our findings suggest that P. kingianum may be a promising lipid regulator to treat dyslipidemia and associated diseases., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that there is no duality of interest associated with this manuscript.

Caohai wetland is a National Nature Reserve. Benthic animals were collected from the deep-water area in the middle of Caohai Lake and the shallow-water area in the surrounding marshes, and mercury and methyl mercury distributions in the benthic animals were analyzed and discussed. The risk of mercury pollution was evaluated. The concentrations of total mercury and methyl mercury in the benthonic animals were in the range of 0.51-46.55 ng·g -1 with an average of 7.82 ng·g -1 and 0.04-27.71 ng·g -1 with an average of 4.31 ng·g -1 , respectively. This was lower than reports from other natural reserves. By contrast, the total mercury and methyl mercury in the benthic animals in summer were higher than in other seasons, which was consistent with the characteristics of methyl mercury distribution in sediments but opposite to the spatial distribution characteristics of total mercury in sediments. The methyl mercury contents in Cipangopaludina cathayensis were positively correlated with the content of methyl mercury in the sediments ( r =0.52, P <0.05). The results showed methylation and the bioavailability of mercury in sediments from the shallow-water area were obviously higher than those from the deep-water area in the middle of Caohai Lake. The difference in organic matter content of the sediment or the wet-dry alternation (flooding-receding-flooding) in the surrounding shallow marshes was suspected to be associated with the obvious difference. The high enrichment coefficient of total mercury and methyl mercury in benthic animals were sufficient to raise the risk of mercury contamination in the aquatic food chain in the wetland.

Understanding the temporal and spatial dynamics of land use/cover (LUC) can contri-bute to reveal the impacts of climate change and human activities on ecosystems and thus be an important prerequisite for ecosystem management. As an ecologically vulnerable area in China, the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA) of the Yangtze River presented significant complexity in the response to environmental changes. However, there is a general lack of understanding in the underlying mechanism. In this study, we interpreted the time series remote sensing images derived from the Landsat sensors to map the LUC of the TGRA, and aimed to analyze the long-term changes in the distribution and structure of LUC and elucidate the evolution process of LUC, which could provide a scientific basis to understand the complexity of ecosystem changes and regional ecosystem management in ecologically fragile regions. The results showed that the TGRA presented the significant changes in spatial heterogeneity of LUC structure from 1990 to 2015. Meanwhile, the landscape changed from farmland to woodland (forest and shrubland). Farmland decreased from 66.2% to 40.4%, but woodland increased from 31.3% to 53.5%, buildings and water area increased gradually. Forest gradually spread to the middle of the TGRA, while the buildings presented a scattered expansion. In the altitude zone of 500-1000 m and slope zone of 15°-25°, woodland increased noticeably, and the coniferous forest, mixed forest and shrubland had a higher growth rate. In the study period, due to the urban construction and the various ecological restoration projects in the TGRA, the LUC structure varied with the dam's impoundment and was characterized by the ecosystem restoration. Ecological restoration projects were helpful to reduce the negative impacts of urban construction and economic development on the environment.

The small watershed of an agroforestry system in the Lanlingxi watershed in the Three Gorges Reservoir area was studied by performing continuous monitoring of nitrogen and phosphorus output and concentrations and analyzing the changes in the output of nitrogen and phosphorus in runoff and its response to different rainfall conditions. The results showed that:①The total runoff loss was 50.92×10 4 m 3 in this watershed during the rainy season, with 52.43 kg·hm -2 lost by total nitrogen, including nitrate nitrogen (30.26 kg·hm -2 ) and particulate nitrogen (21.61 kg·hm -2 ), and 0.06 kg·hm -2 and 0.10 kg·hm -2 lost by ammonium nitrogen and total phosphorus; ②The distribution of rainfall has the characteristics of stage and strong rainfall during the wet season was the main driving force of soil nutrient output. Rainfall runoff contributed to 88% of total nitrogen loss and 90% of total phosphorus loss in the rainy season; ③The main path of nitrogen and phosphorus loss in the rainy season was the surface runoff caused by rainfall, accounting for 68% of total nitrogen loss and 74% of total phosphorus loss; ④Nitrate nitrogen concentrations showed a negative correlation with rainfall runoff and the output was mainly distributed in the later runoff process. Ammonium nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations were positively correlated with rainfall and both were mainly distributed in the early stage of the runoff process; ⑤The concentrations of total nitrogen in this watershed exceeded the standard values. The water quality in the rainfall and the non-rainfall period was worse than Grade Ⅴ.

Objective: To explore the origin of ovarian high grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) through analysing the expression and significance of PAX8, PAX2, p53 and RAS in the ovary and fallopian tube of different types and grades of serous carcinoma. Methods: A total of 44 cases tissue samples of ovarian tumor including 34 malignant ovarian tumor and 10 normal normal tissue (as control group) were collected from the admitted patients in Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from January 2015 to January 2016. Fallopian tube tissues were segmented in accordance with the fimbria, ampulla, isthmus and the corresponding ovarian tissues were by the side. There were 34 cases of patients with ovarian cancer including 29 cases of epithelial ovarian cancer (27 serous carcinoma, 1 mucinous carcinoma,1 endometrioid adenocarcinoma) and 5 non-epithelial ovarian cancer (sex cord-interstitial tumor). Among 27 cases of patients with ovarian serous cancer, there were 23 HGSC and 4 low-grade ovarian serous cancer (LGSC). One hundred fifty-three cases of samples were diagnosed as ovarian serous cancer by Shandong University Affiliated Qilu Hospital from 2005 to 2013 and these samples were made tissue microarray. (1) To analyze the expression and differences of PAX8, PAX2, p53 and RAS in the above tissues and tissue microarray from ovarian and tubal of HGSC and control women by immunohistochemistry methods. (2) To compare the expression levels of PAX8, PAX2, p53 and RAS in ovarian and fallopian tubes of ovarian cancer patients with different pathological types. (3) To analyze the correlations of tubal and ovarian tissue in PAX8, PAX2, p53 and RAS expression of HGSC. (4) To analyze the factors of the prognosis of ovarian serous cancer in tissue microarray by single factor analysis method. Results: (1) PAX8, PAX2, p53 and RAS expression was negative in normal ovarian epithelium of control group, but the expression of PAX8, PAX2, p53 and RAS were strongly positive brown in secrete cells of normal fallopian tube epithelium. (2) p53 and RAS expression of fallopian tube epithelium in the epithelial ovarian cancer group were significantly higher than those in the non-epithelial ovarian cancer groups ( P< 0.05), but the expression of PAX8 and PAX2 in fallopian tube and the expression of PAX8, PAX2, p53 and RAS in ovarian tissue was not statistically significant in the groups ( P> 0.05). PAX8, PAX2 and p53 expression of the ovarian in HGSC group were significantly higher than those in LGSC group ( P< 0.05), while the expression of RAS was lower in the ovarian of the high-grade group ( P< 0.05), while the expression of PAX8, PAX2, p53 and RAS in fallopian tube was not statistically significant in the groups ( P> 0.05). (3) There was a significantly positive correlation between fallopian tube and the corresponding ovary of HGSC in PAX8 and PAX2 expression ( r= 0.422, P= 0.045; r= 0.693, P= 0.000), but not correlation in p53 and RAS expression ( r= 0.058, P= 0.793; r= - 0.190, P= 0.384). (4) Univariate survival analysis showed that the progression free survival time in patients with ovarian serous cancer group was significantly correlated with the protein expression of PAX8, PAX2 and RAS ( P< 0.05), but there were not correlated with age, surgical staging, cell differentiation, lymph node metastasis and preoperative chemotherapy and p53 protein expression ( P> 0.05). The total survival time in patients with ovarian serous cancer group was significantly correlated with the protein expression of PAX8 ( P< 0.05), but there were not correlated with age,surgical staging, cell differentiation, lymph node metastasis and preoperative chemotherapy and the protein expression of PAX2, RAS and p53 ( P> 0.05). Conclusions: PAX8, PAX2, p53, RAS are of great significance for the study of origin of HGSC. HGSC may be derived from fallopian tube, but further investigation would be necessary to confirm this. PAX8, PAX2, p53, RAS could be expected to be used as predictors of survival prognosis in patients with ovarian serous cancer.

Objective: To explore the relevant factors of behavioral development among 30-month-old infants in rural area, Shaanxi Province. Methods: The behavioral development among 977 infants aged 30-month-old was evaluated in Changwu and Binxian of Shaanxi province from July 2006 to August 2008. The inclusion criteria included single live birth between January 2004 and February 2006, mother had participated in a community-based intervention study named "Impact of multi-micronutrient supplementation during pregnancy on low birth weight and premature delivery" . Infants who had obvious deformity or other birth defects, infants who could not complete the questionnaire survey, physical examination were excluded from the study. The self-designed questionnaire was used to investigate the information of feeding patterns, disease status, physical development, and immunization status of the infants, and their behavioral development were assessed by Bayley scales of infant development (BSID). General Linear Model was used to adjust the possible confounding factors, and the analysis of variance was performed to explore the effects on the behavioral development among infants aged 30-month-old. Results: Among the infants in the study, the average age was (30.6±0.6) months old, the mean birth weight was (3 199.1±405.9)g. After adjusted the mothers' age of delivery, educational level and occupation of the parents, family ecnomic conditions and the number of children, infants whose mother exposed to toxic chemicals during pregnancy had lower score in activity (-0.179±0.961) and lower score in concentration (-0.177±1.099) compared with infants with unexposed mother (0.058±1.006, P= 0.001; 0.057±0.960, P= 0.003). Similarly, infants whose mother took drugs during pregnancy had lower score in persistent behaviors (-0.070±1.000) compared with infants whose mother did not(0.085±1.006, P= 0.017). Compared with normal birth infants(0.043±0.981, P= 0.007; 0.021±0.984, P= 0.034), infants less than gestational age and low birth weight had lower score in concentration(-0.198±1.063 and-0.389±1.285, respectively). After adjusted the delivery gestational age of mothers, the months of infants, the mothers' age of delivery, educational level and occupation of the parents, family ecnomic conditions, the number of children, and the main orderlies of infants, the score of activity of infants suffered from diseases in early month age was-0.049±0.992, which was lower than those who did not(0.207±1.011, P= 0.001). The infants with Rickets signs had lower score in motor coordination (-0.218±0.896) than normal infants (0.031±1.011, P= 0.013). Infants whose mother with adequate micronutrient supplementation in pregnancy had higher score in concentration (0.066±0.966) than those whose mother with insufficient supplementation (-0.062±1.027, P= 0.043). Furthermore, infants with fine protein added and minerals and vitamins added had higher score in activity and concentration compared with those insufficient, who scored 0.078±1.013 and 0.496±0.872 (-0.254±0.924, P< 0.001; 0.001±0.997, P= 0.033), respectively. Conclusion: Micronutrient supplementation during pregnancy and reasonable nutrition added during childhood could affect behavioral development among infants.

Objective: To explore the effect of maternal animal sourced food intake during pregnancy on neonate birth weight and provide scientific basis for guiding the reasonable diet intake in pregnant women and increasing neonate birth weight. Methods: Data were derived from a cross-sectional project of"the prevalence and risk factors of birth defects in Shaanxi province" , which were conducted in 30 counties in Shaanxi province from July to November in 2013. A stratified multistage random sampling method was used to select women who were pregnant between January 2010 and December 2013 for a random semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire survey to collect the data on the frequency and amount of food consumption on animal protein sources and the data of newborns. Children aged 0-1 years and their mothers were selected as the study subjects. The generalized linear model was used to analyze the relationship between the neonate birth weight and maternal animal sourced food intake during pregnancy, and by using neonate birth weight as dependent variable, food intake frequency as independent variable, three adjustment models were established for stratified analysis. Results: Totally 11 459 participants were involved in this study. The average birth weight of newborn was (3 279.9±454.6) g, the average weekly intake of animal sourced foods was4.00 times for egg, 1.50 times for meat, 3.00 times for dairy foods, 0.50 times for fish and 5.00 times for overall animal sourced foods in pregnant women. Without stratification, three models shown that meat and overall animal sourced food intake had effects on neonate birth weight. After adjustment for gestational weeks, maternal age, social and demographic factors and others, meat intake increased by 1 time a week, the increase of neonate birth weight was about 5.26 (95 %CI : 1.32-9.20) g, and the overall animal food increased by 1 times a week, the average neonate birth weight increased by 3.24 (95 %CI : 1.09-5.39) g. Stratified analysis showed that meat and overall animal sourced food always had more influences on baby girls and those living in rural area. In the region classification, the overall animal sourced food intake had more influences on women living in northern area and Guanzhong area of Shaanxi, and meat intake had greater influence on women living in southern Shaanxi. And the influences were positive, the more animal sourced foods were taken, the greater the birth weight increased. Conclusion: Animal sourced food intake during pregnancy would benefit the increase of neonate birth weight. It suggests that pregnant women should pay more attention to the intake of animal sourced food.

Objective: To investigate the influencing factors on congenital malformation of body surface. Methods: Multi-stage stratified random sampling method was adopted. A questionnaire survey was conducted among the childbearing aged women who experienced more than 28 weeks pregnancy or having definite pregnancy outcomes in Shaanxi, during 2010-2013. Results: Results from the logistic regression model showed that factors as: intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy ( OR =21.76, 95 %CI : 4.46-106.25), histories with abnormal pregnancy or reproduction ( OR =11.88, 95 %CI : 9.14-15.45), having birth defects in the family ( OR =6.15, 95 %CI : 2.66-14.23), being twins ( OR =5.74, 95 % CI : 3.34-9.86), being worker (compared with others, OR =2.47, 95 % CI : 1.30-4.68) or farmer (compared with others, OR =1.91, 95 %CI : 1.14-3.20), less than 4 times of antenatal care (compared with >7, OR =1.84, 95 % CI : 1.28-2.64), occupational exposure to related risks during pregnancy ( OR =1.74, 95 % CI : 1.26-2.42), mother's hometown was from mid-part of Shaanxi (compared with northern Shaanxi, OR =1.65, 95 %CI : 1.20-2.28), mother's native residence was from the rural areas ( OR =1.75, 95 % CI : 1.13-2.71), drug use ( OR =1.64, 95 % CI : 1.26-2.13) etc . were risk factors for congenital malformation of body surface. Iron supplement during pregnancy ( OR =0.46, 95 %CI : 0.21-0.99) appeared as protective factor for congenital malformation of body surface. Conclusion: The following factors seemed to be of risk for congenital malformation of body surface, including: mother's native area was from the middle part of Shaanxi and living in rural area, being worker or farmer, histories of abnormal pregnancy and reproduction, history of birth defects in the family, being twins, with antenatal care less than 4 times, occupational exposure to dangerous materials, drug use, intrahepatic cholestasis during pregnancy etc .

The nitrogen (N) output in Lanlingxi watershed of Three Gorges Reservoir Area in 2015 was monitored and the current land use map was investigated. Cluster analysis and correlation analysis were used to identify the major sources of pollutants and to discriminate the source and the sink land use types. The effects of land use on N exports were quantitatively analyzed by stepwise regression analysis. The results showed that: ① After the returning farmland to forest project the land use structure of this area changed dramatically. The area proportions of forest land and garden plot increased to 76.85% and 13.87% respectively, and the proportion of cultivated land dropped to 1.16%. Cultivated lands were stellate distributed and garden plots in some catchments were flake distributed. ② The content of TN in some monitoring points surpassed the Class V standard of the national groundwater environmental quality. The ammonium-N (NH 4 + -N) concentrations ranged 0.089-0.214 mg·L -1 , 2.925-13.203 mg·L -1 for nitrate-N (NO 3 - -N) and 3.561-14.572 mg·L -1 for total-N (TN). And NO 3 - -N accounted for more than 80% of TN. ③ There were significant positive correlations between garden plot, residential land and N loss, and negative correlations between forest land, unutilized land and N export, which indicated that the former were N sources and the latter were sinks. ④ Forest land area should be increased and garden plot should be controlled, and the area ratio of residential land should be kept below 5% when adjusting land use structure of this watershed. Moreover, forest-tea and forest-fruits modes should be applied to change single land use type of garden plot in some catchments.

Carbon spheres and tubes were formed from acetylene decomposition on SBA-15 and Ni-SBA-15 at 650-850 °C. At 650 °C, the decomposed carbons covered the surface of the support, and no carbon spheres and filament materials were formed. Carbon sphere formation occurred at 750 °C-850 °C; with diameters ranging from 0.8 μm-1.1 μm. For Ni-SBA-15, the diameters of the spheres and filaments were 0.8 μm and 62 nm, respectively, at 650 °C. At 750 °C, the diameter of the ball carbon materials ranged from 0.7 μm-0.8 μm, the diameter of the carbon tubes formed was 120-130 nm, and their pore diameter was 8.0 nm-11 nm. At 850 °C, the diameters of ball carbon materials and carbon tubes were similar to those of the materials at the formation temperature, 750 °C. Si, O and C were the main constituents of SBA-15; Ni-SBA-15 and carbon material formation supports. High-ring PAHs (such as BaP (five rings); IND (six rings); DBA (five rings) and B[ ghi ]P (six rings)) exist in carbon materials. SBA-15 revealed insignificant cytotoxicity, but Ni-SBA-15 inhibited the proliferation of human lung cancer cells (A549). Less inhibition on cell viability and reactive oxidative species (ROS) generation on A549 were determined for carbon material formation on the Ni-SBA-15 compared to the Ni-SBA-15.

Annual soil nutrient loss characteristics on typical reforestation patterns in watershed along the Three Gorges Reservoir Area were studied based on runoff plot experiment. Runoff and sediment nutrition content from May to October 2014 of typical reforestation patterns including garden plot (tea garden), forest land (Chinese chestnut) and the original slope farmland were determined and then analyzed. The results showed that: (1) After the Returning Farmland to Forest Project the quantity of annual soil nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus, the sum of them in sediment and runoff) loss decreased. The output of total nitrogen (TN) was in the order of slope farmland (2 444.27 g x hm(-2)) > tea garden (998.70 g x hm(-2)) > Chinese chestnut forest (532.61 g x hm(-2)), and for total phosphorus (TP) loss was slope farmland (1 690.48 g x hm(-2)) > tea garden (488.06 g x hm(-2)) > Chinese chestnut forest (129.00 g x hm(-2)) . Compared with slope farmland, the load of TN and TP output of reforestation patterns decreased 68.68% and 81.75%, respectively. (2) Compared with slope farmland, available nitrogen loss decreased in reforestation patterns. Total nitrate nitrogen (NO3(-)-N) loss ranked in the order of slope farmland (113.79 g x hm(-2)) > tea garden (73.75 g x hm(-2)) > Chinese chestnut forest (56.06 g x hm(-2)) The largest amount of ammonium nitrogen (NH4(+)-N) was found in tea garden (69.34 g x hm(-2)), then in farmland (52.45 g x hm(-2)), and the least in Chinese chestnut forest (47.23 g x hm(-2)). (3) The main route of NO3(-)-N and NH4(+)-N loss was both through runoff, the quantity of NO3(-)-N and NH4(+)-N output in which accounted for 91.4% and 92.2% of the total, respectively. The quantity of TN and TP in sediment accounted for 86.6% and 98.4% of the total. TN and TP loss showed an extremely significant correlation with sediments, which showed that sediment output was the main approach of TN and TP loss.

β-Arrestins (β-arrs) are regulators and mediators of G protein-coupled receptor signaling, and accumulating evidence suggests that they are functionally involved in inflammation and autoimmune diseases. However, the effect of β-arrs is unclear in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and the role of β-arr2 is unknown in ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). The aim of this study is to investigate whether β-arr2 encourages inflammation-induced epithelial apoptosis through endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress/p53-upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA) in colitis. In the present study, the results showed that β-arr2 was increased in specimens from patients with UC or CD. Furthermore, a β-arr2 deficiency significantly repressed intestinal inflammation, ameliorated colitis, and alleviated mucosal apoptosis in mice. In addition, the targeted deletion of β-arr2 depressed ER stress, inhibited PUMA, and downregulated PUMA-mediated mitochondrial apoptotic signaling in colitis. β-Arr2, an important modulator of G protein-coupled receptor function, binds eIF2α to activate ER stress signaling. Furthermore, the knockdown of PUMA dramatically prevented β-arr2-induced apoptosis via alleviating ER stress in vitro. The results suggest that β-arr2 encourages inflammation-induced epithelial apoptosis through ER stress/PUMA in colitis and that β-arr2 is a potential therapeutic target for colitis.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of DNMT3A gene mutation on prognosis of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) by a meta-analysis., Methods: Methods of Cochrane systematic review was followed by 7 databases,including PubMed, Embase, Ovid, CNKI, CBM, WanFang Data and VIP, were searched for peer-reviewed articles related to DNMT3A gene mutations and prognosis of patients with AML.Then manual retrieval was applied into literature references. After the evaluation of quality and extract of clinical trialliterature data, Stata 11.0 was employed to perform meta-analysis., Results: Seven randomized controlled trials involving 1493 cases were included in the meta-analysis. The prognosis of patients with DNMT3A mutations and without DNMT3A mutations was compared. There was no statistically significant difference in complete remission(CR) rate (OR=1.034, 95%CI: 0.596~1.796, P=0.905 between two groups, but the overall survival (OS（HR=1.990, 95%CI: 1.463~2.510, P=0.000 and disease free survival (DFS) (HR= 2.840, 95%CI: 1.063~4.613, P=0.002) of patients without DNMT3A mutations were longer than those with DNMT3A mutation., Conclusion: DNMT3A gene mutation is an independent risk factor of poor prognosis of patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation. Different studies have shown decreased bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with SLE. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence and possible risk factors of low BMD in untreated female patients with SLE in Chinese population. A total of 119 untreated female patients with SLE were included. BMD was measured at lumbar spine and at total hip by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The associations between decreased BMD and demographic variables, clinical variables, and bone metabolism variables were analyzed. These SLE patients had the following characteristics: mean age was 32.6 ± 11.9 years, mean disease duration was 22.1 ± 34.5 months, and mean SLEDAI was 11.4 ± 5.4. Osteopenia was present in 31.1% of the patients and osteoporosis in 8.5%. A significant negative association between low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) and BMD at the lumbar spine (correlation coefficient = -0.242; P = 0.023) and total hip (correlation coefficient = -0.259; P = 0.019) was shown. These results seem to indicate that increased LDL-c may be an important risk factor for low BMD at lumbar spine and total hip in untreated female SLE patients.

The Three Gorges Reservoir area (TGR area) , one of the most sensitive ecological zones in China, has dramatically changes in ecosystem configurations and services driven by the Three Gorges Engineering Project and its related human activities. Thus, understanding the dynamics of ecosystem configurations, ecological processes and ecosystem services is an attractive and critical issue to promote regional ecological security of the TGR area. The remote sensing of environment is a promising approach to the target and is thus increasingly applied to and ecosystem dynamics of the TGR area on mid- and macro-scales. However, current researches often showed controversial results in ecological and environmental changes in the TGR area due to the differences in remote sensing data, scale, and land-use/cover classification. Due to the complexity of ecological configurations and human activities, challenges still exist in the remote-sensing based research of ecological and environmental changes in the TGR area. The purpose of this review was to summarize the research advances in remote sensing of ecological and environmental changes in the TGR area. The status, challenges and trends of ecological and environmental remote-sensing in the TGR area were further discussed and concluded in the aspect of land-use/land-cover, vegetation dynamics, soil and water security, ecosystem services, ecosystem health and its management. The further researches on the remote sensing of ecological and environmental changes were proposed to improve the ecosystem management of the TGR area.

Artemisnin is a novel sesquiterpene lactone with an internal peroxide bridge structure, which is extracted from traditional Chinese herb Artemisia annua L. (Qinghao). Recommended by World Health Organization, artemisinin is the first-line drug in the treatment of encephalic and chloroquine-resistant malaria. In the present study, transgenic A. annua plants were developed by overexpressing the key enzymes involved in the biosynthetic pathway of artemisinin. Based on Agrobacterium-mediated transformation methods, transgenic plants of A. annua with overexpression of both HDR and ADS were obtained through hygromycin screening. The genomic PCR analysis confirmed six transgenic lines in which both HDR and ADS were integrated into genome. The gene expression analysis given by real-time quantitative PCR showed that all the transgenic lines had higher expression levels of HDR and ADS than the non-transgenic control (except ah3 in which the expression level of ADS showed no significant difference compared with control); and the HPLC analysis of artemisinin demonstrated that transgenic A. annua plants produced artemisinin at significantly higher level than non-transgenic plants. Especially, the highest content of artemisinin was found in transgenic line ah70, in which the artemisinin content was 3.48 times compared with that in non-transgenic lines. In summary, overexpression of HDR and ADS facilitated artemisinin biosynthesis and this method could be applied to develop transgenic plants of A. annua with higher yield of artemisinin.

There are no clinical studies on the effects of catheter-based radiofrequency renal denervation (RDN) on renal artery structure using 64-detector computed tomography (CT). A total of 39 patients with resistant hypertension received RDN and 38 patients received drug treatment. Mean systolic pressure and diastolic pressure in the RDN group decreased after 1, 3, 6, and 12 months of procedure (P<.05) and urinary protein level significantly decreased after 6 and 12 months (P<.05). The diameter, length, and sectional area of the renal artery; number of cases of atherosclerosis; and plaque burden of 64-detector CT renal arteriography did not change at 12 months of follow-up (P<.05), whereas the plaque burden increased significantly in the control group (P<.05). RDN significantly and persistently reduced blood pressure and decreased urinary protein excretion rate in patients with resistant hypertension and did not exhibit any adverse effect on renal function and renal artery structure., (© 2014 The Authors Journal of Clinical Hypertension Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)