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Background: The disorders of endometrial receptivity and ovulatory dysfunction are both important causes of infertility of patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome(PCOS) .The study aimed to investigate the expression profile and functional analysis of circRNAs in the endometrial receptivity of mice with PCOS. Methods: Twenty-four 4-week-old female C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into two groups(PCOS group and Normal control group,n=12) and PCOS group was subcutaneously with DHEA 6mg/kg for 20 days.The circRNA expression profile in the endometrium tissue of two groups on the 4th day of gestation was screened by gene chip technique.Bioinformatics analyses, including Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway were performed to preliminary understand the functions of circRNAs. The expression of selected circRNA was verified by RT-PCR and and circRNA–microRNA(miRNA)–messenger RNA (mRNA) negative correlation network analyses was construct by Cytoscape.Result: Compared with mice in NC group,there are 205 differentially expressed circRNAs significantly in mice of PCOS group,including 147 up-regulated and 58 down-regulated circRNAs(fold change [FC]≥1.5 and p value < 0.05). GO analysis demonstrated that the host genes of differentially regulated circRNAs were mainly related to protein binding,cellular process and cellular anatomical entity.KEGG analysis revealed that these source genes were engaged in the Proteoglycans in cancer,Cell junctions (focal adheren and gap junction) ,Pathways in cancer,Ras signaling pathway,Chemokine signaling pathway，autophagy and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.qRT-PCR results showed that the expression levels of circRNA_38548 (PConclusions: The circRNAs were aberrantly expressed in the implantation window of PCOS mice,suggesting that differentially expressed circRNA may play a role in the endometrial receptivity of PCOS. We validated four circRNAs(circRNA_38548, circRNA_38550, circRNA_001686 and circRNA_27938),which may contribute to the abnormal endometrial receptivity of PCOS by regulating the expression of Lifr, FOXK1, FOXO1, HOXA10 and other genes through targeting mir-214-3p, mir-532-5p, mir-423 and other miRNAs. These four circRNAs are worthy targets for further study of the related mechanisms.

Background: Visceral adiposity index (VAI), a surrogate marker of adiposity and insulin resistance, has been demonstrated to be significantly related to cardiovascular disease. It remains indistinct whether VAI predicts adverse prognosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Methods: A total of 798 participants who met the enrollment criteria were finally brought into this study. VAI was determined by waist circumference, body mass index, fasting triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol as previously reported. Adverse prognosis included all-cause death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal ischemic stroke, and ischemia-driven revascularization, the composite of which was defined as the primary endpoint.Results: Higher VAI maintained as a significant and independent risk predictor for the primary endpoint, regardless of the adjustment for the various multivariate models [hazard ratio (95% CI) for fully adjusted model: 2.72 (2.02–3.68), p < 0.001]. The predictive value of VAI was further confirmed in sensitivity analysis where VAI was taken as a continuous variate. There was a dose-response relationship of VAI with the risk of the primary endpoint (p for overall association < 0.001). Moreover, the ability of VAI on the prediction of the primary endpoint was consistent between subgroups stratified by potential confounding factors (all p for interaction > 0.05). VAI exhibited a significant incremental effect on risk stratification for the primary endpoint beyond existing risk scores, expressed as increased Harrell's C-index, significant continuous net reclassification improvement, and significant integrated discrimination improvement.Conclusion: VAI is a significant indicator for predicting worse prognosis and plays an important role in risk stratification among patients with NSTE-ACS and T2DM undergoing elective PCI. The present findings require further large-scale, prospective studies to confirm.

Background Insulin resistance (IR), evaluation of which is difficult and complex, is closely associated with cardiovascular disease. Recently, various IR surrogates have been proposed and proved to be highly correlated with IR assessed by the gold standard. It remains indistinct whether different IR surrogates perform equivalently on prognostic prediction and stratification following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods The present study recruited patients who were diagnosed with NSTE-ACS and successfully underwent PCI. IR surrogates evaluated in the current study included triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, visceral adiposity index, Chinese visceral adiposity index, lipid accumulation product, and triglyceride-to-high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, calculations of which were conformed to previous studies. The observational endpoint was defined as the major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE), including cardiac death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and non-fatal ischemic stroke. Results 2107 patients (60.02 ± 9.03 years, 28.0% female) were ultimately enrolled in the present study. A total of 187 (8.9%) MACCEs were documented during the 24-month follow-up. Despite regarding the lower median as reference [hazard ratio (HR) 3.805, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.581–5.608, P Conclusion The TyG index, which is most strongly associated with the risk of MACCE, can be served as the most valuable IR surrogate for risk prediction and stratification in NSTE-ACS patients receiving PCI, with and without T2DM.

A highly sensitive and stable solid-state electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensor was developed based on tris (2,2’-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) (Ru(bpy) 3 2 + ) integrating with 2,2-azino- bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) functionalized graphene. Ru(bpy) 3 2 + is incorporated with the ABTS functionalized graphene based on not only the π-π stacking but also electrostatic interactions. Coupled with capillary electrophoresis (CE), this ECL sensor was used to detect tyramine and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) based on their quenching effects for the Ru(bpy) 3 2 + /tripropylamine (TPA) system. The quenching mechanism was illustrated and the conditions for CE separation and ECL detection were optimized. Based on an S/N = 3, the limit of detection (LOD) for tyramine and 5-HT were 0.1 μM and 0.02 μM, respectively. The applicability of the proposed method was further illustrated in the determination of tyramine and 5-HT in human plasma samples from small intestine carcinoid patients.

The coronary slow flow phenomenon (CSFP) is a poorly recognized clinical entity characterized by delayed distal vessel opacification in the absence of epicardial coronary stenosis and presently lack of specific data on the clinical profile and outcome. We investigated a cohort of 429 patients who fulfilled the criteria for CSFP to explore the clinical feature, outcome, and risk factor of prognosis. Two teams (clinical center and core lab) were blind to patient data for the assessment of coronary angiograph using corrected thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) frame count (CTFC). The study cohort consisted of 429 patients (294 men, 68.5%), aged from 30 to 78 years (mean, 54 years). Two hundred patients (46.6%) out of 429 patients had a history of hypertension, 72 (16.8%) had diabetes mellitus, and 222 (51.7%) had dyslipidemia. All the rates of agreement between two teams in evaluating whether normal flow (CTFC ≤ 27 frames) or slow flow (CTFC > 27 frames) were moderate (0.40 κ 50 years (hazard ratio (HR) = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.0 to 4.9, and P=0.042), hypertension (HR = 2.1, 95% CI: 1.1 to 4.2, and P=0.021), and dyslipidemia (HR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.0 to 3.9, and P=0.042). CSFP affects predominantly patients at middle age and above but can occur in any age group; CSFP should be more concerned, particularly in patients >50 years old with hypertension and dyslipidemia.

Hemorrhagic septicemia is an acute, highly fatal disease that affects goldfish (Carassius auratus). To gain a better understanding of related immune genes, the transcriptomes of the skin and head kidney of goldfish suffering hemorrhagic septicemia were sequenced, assembled, and characterized. Based on functional annotation, an extensive and diverse catalog of expressed genes were identified in both the skin and head kidney. As two different organs, pair-wise comparison identified 122/77 unigenes up/down-regulated (two-fold change with P

To explore the clinical effect and radial remodeling of transradial slender 7 Fr sheath for left main bifurcation disease (LM bifurcation).From January 2018 to September 2019, 236 patients with LM bifurcation undergoing transradial percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) from two heart centers were divided into slender 7 Fr sheath group (Slender 7 Fr sheath group had a higher preoperative distal bifurcation angle (67.271 ± 22.886) than 6 Fr group (55.831 ± 20.245) (With larger main and side branch diameter, larger angle of bifurcation and higher SYNTAX score, transradial slender 7 Fr sheath obtained similar clinical effects as 6 Fr sheath without increasing the occurrence of adverse events. Similar follow-up RAD, IMT and radial artery injury were observed. Therefore, slender 7 Fr sheath has safety and feasibility in applying to transradial LM-Bifurcation PCI.

This work presents the static balancing of a mechanism with 5 degrees of freedom. This specific feature allows it to manipulate a surgical tool and hold it in a certain position with no locking system required. The proposed mechanism is made of a linear parallelogram mechanism and an angular spherical decoupled architecture. Its kinematics is studied to permit the analysis of its gravitational potential energy. Several specific mechanical concepts based on tension springs are designed and implemented to generate an elastic potential energy that compensates the gravitational potential energy. This method allows the conservation of the mechanism total potential energy, which is required for the static balancing. A prototype of the statically balanced mechanism is manufactured. Its static balancing is successfully testing.

Electroencephalography is a sensitive indicator for measuring brain condition, and can reflect early changes in brain function and severity of cerebral ischemia. However, it is not yet known whether electroencephalography can predict development of post-cerebral infarction depression. A total of 321 patients with ischemic stroke underwent electroencephalography and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale assessment to analyze the relationship between electroencephalography and post-cerebral infarction depression. Our results show that electroencephalograms of ischemic stroke patients with depression exhibit low-amplitude alpha activity and slow theta activity. In contrast, electroencephalograms of ischemic stroke patients without depression show fast beta activity and slow delta activity. These findings confirm that low-amplitude alpha activity and slow theta activity can be considered as independent predictors for post-cerebral infarction depression.

Graphene-family nanomaterials (GFNs) have been widely used in cancer therapy, tissue engineering, antibacterial and biological imaging due to their optical, thermal, and drug absorption properties. When used as drug and gene nanocarrier, the major limitations are aggregation, biocompatibility, and inappropriate release of drugs or genes. To overcome these problems, researchers have developed a variety of functionalization processes. In this review, we grouped the functionalization according to the decoration molecules, putting particular emphasis on the gene delivery. Organic and inorganic materials resulted as the major sets to introduce functional sections onto graphene oxide (GO). We also classified the target molecules used in the GO delivery system, as well as introduced other strategies to increase the delivery efficacy such as controlled release and magnetic targeting.

Accumulating evidence indicates that exercise can enhance brain function and attenuate neurodegeneration. Besides improving neuroplasticity by altering the synaptic structure and function in various brain regions, exercise also modulates multiple systems that are known to regulate neuroinflammation and glial activation. Activated microglia and several pro-inflammatory cytokines play active roles in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. The purpose of this review is to highlight the impacts of exercise on microglial activation. Possible mechanisms involved in exercise-modulated microglial activation are also discussed. Undoubtedly, more studies are needed in order to disclose the detailed mechanisms, but this approach offers therapeutic potential for improving the brain health of millions of aging people where pharmacological intervention has failed.

In the present investigation, we compared the radical-scavenging activities and phenolic contents of seven Taiwanese Cirsium species with a spectrophotometric method. We further analyzed their phytochemical profiles with high-performance liquid chromatography–photodiode array detection (HPLC–DAD). We found that the flower part of Cirsium japonicum var. australe (CJF) showed the best radical-scavenging activities against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), and the hypochlorite ion, for which the equivalents were 6.44 ± 0.17 mg catechin/g, 54.85 ± 0.66 mmol Trolox/g and 418.69 ± 10.52 mmol Trolox/g respectively. CJF also had the highest contents of total phenolics (5.23 ± 0.20 mg catechin/g) and phenylpropanoids (29.73 ± 0.72 mg verbascoside/g). According to the Pearson’s correlation coefficient, there was a positive correlation between the total phenylpropanoid content and ABTS radical-scavenging activities (r = 0.979). The radical-scavenging activities of the phenylpropanoids are closely related to their reducing power (r = 0.986). HPLC chromatograms obtained in validated HPLC conditions confirm that they have different phytochemical profiles by which they can be distinguished. Only CJF contained silicristin (0.66 ± 0.03 mg/g) and silydianin (9.13 ± 0.30 mg/g). CJF contained the highest contents of apigenin (5.56 ± 0.09 mg/g) and diosmetin (2.82 ± 0.10 mg/g). Among the major constituents, silicristin had the best radical-scavenging activities against DPPH (71.68 ± 0.66 mg catechin/g) and ABTS (3.01 ± 0.01 mmol Trolox/g). However, diosmetin had the best reducing power and radical-scavenging activity against the hypochlorite anion (41.57 ± 1.14 mg mmol Trolox/g). Finally, we found that flavonolignans (especial silicristin and silydianin) and diosmetin acted synergistically in scavenging radicals.

Gibberellin (GA) is essential for determining plant height. Alteration of GA content or GA signaling results in a dwarf or slender phenotype. Here, we characterized a novel wheat mutant, quick development (qd), in which GA regulates stem elongation but does not affect mature plant height. qd and wild-type plants did not exhibit phenotypic differences at the seedling stage. From jointing to heading stage, qd plants were taller than wild-type plants due to elongated cells. However, wild-type and qd plants were the same height at heading. Unlike wild-type plants, qd plants were sensitive to exogenous GA due to mutation of Rht-B1. With continuous GA stimulation, qd seedlings and adult plants were taller than wild-type. Thus, the GA content of qd plants might differ from that of wild-type during the growth process. Analysis of GA biosynthetic gene expression verified this hypothesis and showed that TaKAO, which is involved in catalyzing the early steps of GA biosynthesis, was differentially expressed in qd plants compared with wild-type. The bioactive GA associated gene TaGA20ox was downregulated in qd plants during the late growth stages. Measurements of endogenous GA content were consistent with the gene-expression analysis results. Consistent with the GA content variation, the first three basal internodes were longer and the last two internodes were shorter in qd than in wild-type plants. The qd mutant might be useful in dissecting the mechanism by which GA regulates stem-growing process, and it may be serve as a GA responsive semi-dwarf germplasm in breeding programs.

A 4th-Order Wideband Sigma Delta modulator structure is proposed in this paper, which uses linear system theory technique. There are many implementation techniques to improve the performance of Sigma Delta ADCs, such as noise coupling, differential sampling and dynamic elements matching. An extra loop delay is needed to be added in the system. This paper explains how to make the modulator stable with the addition of feed-forward and feed-back branches which are used to compensate the extra loop delay. Next, we restore the signal and noise transfer functions. A 4th-Order Wideband deltasigma modulator have been designed and simulated to verify the method.

With hydrothermally synthesized MCM-41 and Zr-MCM-41 as the supports, Ni 2 P/Zr-MCM-41 catalysts were prepared by co-impregnation with Ni(NO 3 ) 2 and (NH 4 ) 2 HPO 4 solution, calcination, reduction with H 2 and subsequent passivation. The Ni 2 P/Zr-MCM-41 catalysts were characterized by XRD, Py-IR, TEM, XPS, N 2 physisorption and CO chemisorption; their catalytic performance in the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of Jatropha curcas oil to produce the second-generation biodiesel was investigated in an autoclave. The results indicated that Ni 2 P can be well dispersed on Zr-MCM-41 with a loading of 20% by reduction at 650°C from the phosphate precursors. The Ni 2 P/Zr-MCM-41 catalyst exhibit excellent performance in the HDO of Jatropha curcas oil. Over the Ni 2 P/Zr-MCM-41 catalyst with a Ni 2 P loading of 20%, the HDO conversion achieves 93.90% and the fraction of linear paraffins in the product oil reaches 85.36%, in which diesel fraction (C 15–20 ) may exceed 61.90%; the components of oil generated through HDO are similar to those of fossil diesel.

Species of Cirsium (Asteraceae family) have been used in folk hepatoprotective medicine in Taiwan. We collected four Cirsium species—including the aerial part of Cirsium arisanense (CAH), the aerial part of Cirsium kawakamii (CKH), the flower part of Cirsium japonicum DC. var. australe (CJF), and Cirsii Herba (CH)—and then made extractions from them with 70% methanol. We compared the antioxidant contents and activities of these four Cirsium species extracts by a spectrophotometric method and high-performance liquid chromatography–photodiode array detector (HPLC-DAD). We further evaluated the hepatoprotective effects of these extracts on CCl4-induced acute liver damage in C57BL/6 mice. The present study found CAH possesses the highest antioxidant activity among the four Cirsium species, and these antioxidant activities are closely related to phenylpropanoid glycoside (PPG) contents. The extracts decreased serum ALT and AST levels elevated by injection with 0.2% CCl4. However, only CJF and CH decreased hepatic necrosis. Silibinin decreased serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels and hepatic necrosis caused by CCl4. CJF and CH restored the activities of hepatic antioxidant enzymes and decreased hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. CJF further restored the expression of hepatic antioxidant enzymes including Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD), Mn-superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD), and glutathione S-transferase (GST) proteins. HPLC chromatogram indicated that CKH, CJF, and CH contained silibinin diastereomers (α and β). Only CJF contained diosmetin. Hence, the hepatoprotective mechanism of CJF against CCl4-induced acute liver damage might be involved in restoring the activities and protein expression of the hepatic antioxidant defense system and inhibiting hepatic inflammation, and these hepatoprotective effects are related to the contents of silibinin diastereomers and diosmetin.

Fluorescence lifetime is not only associated with the molecular structure of fluorophores, but also strongly depends on the environment around them, which allows fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) to be used as a tool for precise measurement of the cell or tissue microenvironment. This review introduces the basic principle of fluorescence lifetime imaging technology and its application in clinical medicine, including research and diagnosis of diseases in skin, brain, eyes, mouth, bone, blood vessels and cavity organs, and drug evaluation. As a noninvasive, nontoxic and nonionizing radiation technique, FLIM demonstrates excellent performance with high sensitivity and specificity, which allows to determine precise position of the lesion and, thus, has good potential for application in biomedical research and clinical diagnosis.

By means of the Internet platform for rapid and timely, the relevant data of domestic media in 2012 reported burst events were collected and collated. The statistics showed that burst mainly occurred in the southern coastal cities; winter was the main season for burst, especially in January, February and December; in July burst also was frequent; 5:00-17:00 was a dangerous phase during a whole day; the trunk road intersection or crossings and the construction site were more likely to become the incident locations. Generally recognizing that improper construction and aging were the main reasons for burst. The diameter of burst was concentrated in DN300-DN600, DN800 and DN1000-DN1200, especially in DN600. Pipes of cast iron pipes and cement pipes, and pipes pipeline in 20-30 years old was more likely to burst.

As a result of the popularity of ecotourism in China, the number of tourists has increased and the development scale of tourism area has expanded constantly. It will inevitably affect natural landscape and ecological balance. In order to protect the environment and maintain the sustainable development of ecotourism area, this paper argues that underground space utilization in ecotourism area is an effective method. By introducing the contemporary situation of ecological tourist area in China, it points out the necessity of underground space development. Combined with the characteristics of underground space, the advantages and disadvantages of underground space development in ecotourism area were analyzed. The main principles of underground space development in ecotourism area were discussed. From the perspective of overall planning in ecotourism area, the calculation method for underground space demand was proposed.

In this paper, we point out that the phonon polaritons in hexagonal boron nitride may not have to be volume-confined. Surface-confined phonon polaritons can occur at the edges of ultra-thin boron nitride films. Based on numerical calculations, we have investigated the effective indexes of such phonon polariton modes, and found that these modes normally have much lower losses than the volume-confined ones. Surface-confined phonon polaritons in boron nitride nanoribbons are also investigated that can be seen as the coupling of the phonon polariton modes at two edges of the nanoribbon, and the corresponding losses can be further reduced. Then, we give a deep discussion on the volume-confined and surface-confined phonon polaritons. In the end, the effects of defects and substrates on such modes are presented. The proposed low-loss surface-confined phonon polaritons may be useful in phonon polariton based photonic devices.

Underground space for disaster prevention is a key component of urban disaster prevention system. The study applied GIS technology, established an indicator system and a comprehensive assessment model for site selection of urban underground space for disaster prevention. The result of the study, which is on the basis of GIS data collection and model principle, provided quantitative foundation for disaster prevention planning of underground space, and also helped to improve planning management and decision making.

Antibodies against a conjugate of daidzein and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were immobilized onto dihydrazide-activated silica beads via online coupling reactions. The binding performances of the obtained immunoaffinity adsorbents to the corresponding hapten and carrier protein were all optimized and characterized. It was found that online coupling reactions offered a convenient and practical way to generate the requisite immunoaffinity columns. The optimum binding buffers for BSA and daidzein were found to be pH 5.0, 0.01 mol L−1 phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and 0.05% Tween-20 in pure water, indicating different interactions between the immobilized antibodies with different parts of the antigen. Under the optimum operating conditions, the silica-based immunoaffinity adsorbents showed specific and selective binding properties to the target protein; while for small molecules, a mixed adsorption mechanism caused by both specific and non-specific interactions was observed. For comparison, offline coupled silica-antibody immunoaffinity adsorbents and Sepharose 4B support immobilized with the same antibody were also prepared and tested. The experimental results of this study may provide useful information for further development of other high-performance immunoaffinity chromatographic methods for different purposes.