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Storage is an important process involved in the postharvest treatment of grain-oilseed and is necessary for maintaining high quality and ensuring the long-term supply of these commodities in the food industry. Proper storage practices help prevent spoilage, maintain nutritional value, and preserve marketable quality. It is of great interest for storage to investigate flow, heat and mass transfer processes, and quality change for optimizing the operation parameters and ensuring the quality of grain-oilseed. This review discusses the mathematical models developed and applied to describe the physical field, biological field, and quality change during the storage of grain-oilseed. The advantages, drawbacks, and industrial relevance of the existing mathematical models were also critically evaluated, and an organic system was constructed by correlating them. Finally, the future research trends of the mathematical models toward the development of multifield coupling models based on biological fields to control quality were presented to provide a reference for further directions on the application of numerical simulations in this area. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence (AI) can greatly enhance our understanding of the coupling relationships within grain-oilseed storage. AI's strengths in both qualitative and quantitative analysis, as well as its effectiveness, make it an invaluable tool for this purpose., (© 2024 Institute of Food Technologists®.)

Thladiantha nudiflora Hemsl. ex F.B.Forbes & Hemsl. 1887 (Cucurbitaceae) has been widely known as a traditional medicine plant. In this study, we sequenced, assembled, and annotated the complete chloroplast genome of T. nudiflora . The chloroplast genome of T. nudiflora is 156,824 base pair (bp) in length, containing a large single-copy region of 86,566 bp and a small single-copy region of 18,070 bp, separated by a pair of inverted repeats of 26,094 bp. The chloroplast genome contains 132 genes, including 87 protein-coding, 37 transfer RNA, and eight ribosomal RNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis of the chloroplast genome revealed that species of the genus Thladiantha were clustered together in the phylogenetic trees. This study will not only shed light on T. nudiflora 's evolutionary position but also provide valuable chloroplast genomic information for future studies into the origins and diversification of the genus Thladiantha and the Cucurbitaceae family., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the manuscript., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.)

C-Reactive protein (CRP) is an essential biomarker relevant to various disease prognoses. Current biosensors require a significant amount of time for detecting CRP. To address this issue, this work proposes electrokinetic flow-assisted molecule trapping integrated with an impedance biosensor, where a driving signal in terms of a gated sine wave is provided to circularly arranged electrodes which detect proteins. To verify the biosensor's efficacy, protein aggregation on the electrode surface was evaluated through a fluorescence analysis and measurement of the electrochemical impedance spectrum (EIS). The fluorescence analysis with avidin showed that target samples largely accumulated on the electrode surface upon provision of the driving signal. The EIS measurement of CRP accumulation on the electrode surface further confirmed a significant electrokinetic phenomenon at the electrode/electrolyte interface. Even at the low CRP concentration of 10 pg/ml, the proposed device's sensitivity and reliability were as high as 3.92 pg/ml with a signal-to noise ratio (SNR) of ≥3, respectively. In addition, the protein detection time (without considering the preparation time) was minimized to as low as 90 s with the proposed device. This device's advantage is its minimal time consumption, and simple drop-analysis process flow; hence, it was used for monitoring clinical serum samples., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The temporal distribution patterns of bacterial communities, as an important group in mountain soil, are affected by various environmental factors. To improve knowledge regarding the successional seasonal dynamics of the mountain soil bacterial communities, the rhizospheric soil of a 30-year-old natural secondary Pinus tabulaeformis forest, located in the high-altitude (1900 m a.s.l.) of the temperate Qinling Mountains, was sampled and studied during four different seasons. The bacterial community composition and structure in the rhizospheric soil were studied using an Illumina MiSeq Sequencing platform. Furthermore, the edaphic properties and soil enzymatic activities (urease, phosphatase, and catalase) were measured in order to identify the main impact factors on the soil bacterial community. According to the results, all of the edaphic properties and soil enzymatic activities were significantly affected by the seasonal changes, except for the C/N ratio. Although the biomasses of soil bacterial communities increased during the summer and autumn (warm seasons), their Shannon diversity and Pielou's evenness were decreased. Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Planctomycetes, and Bacteroidetes were the predominant bacterial groups in all of the soil samples, and the genera of Ktedonobacter , Sphingobium as well as an unclassified member of the Ktedonobacteria were the keystone taxa. The composition and structure of soil bacterial communities were strongly impacted by the edaphic properties, especially the temperature, moisture, ammoniacal nitrogen, available phosphorus and total phosphorus which were the crucial factors to drive the temporal distribution of the soil bacterial community and diversity. In conclusion, the soil temperature, moisture and the nutrients N and P were the crucial edaphic factors for shaping the rhizospheric soil bacterial communities as season and climate change in a P . tabulaeformis forest of Qinling Mountains.

This study aimed to explore the outcomes of progestin-primed ovarian stimulation protocol (PPOS) in aged infertile women who failed to get pregnant in the first IVF/ICSI-ET cycles with GnRH-a long protocol. A self-controlled study was conducted to retrospectively investigate the clinical outcomes of 104 aged infertile patients who didn't get pregnant in the first IVF/ICSI-ET treatment by stimulating with GnRH-a long protocol (non-PPOS group), and underwent PPOS protocol (PPOS group) in the second cycle between January 2016 and December 2016 in the Center for Reproductive Medicine, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University. The primary outcomes included clinical pregnancy rate of frozen-thawed embryos transfer (FET) in PPOS group, and good-quality embryo rate in both groups. The secondary outcomes were fertilization rate, egg utilization rate and cycle cancellation rate. The results showed that there were no significant differences in basal follicle stimulating hormone (bFSH), antral follicle count (AFC), duration and total dosage of gonadotropin (Gn), number of oocytes retrieved, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) rate, fertilization rate, and cycle cancellation rate between the two groups (P>0.05). However, the oocyte utilization rate and good-quality embryo rate in PPOS group were significantly higher than those in non-PPOS group (P<0.05). By the end of April 2017,62 FET cycles were conducted in PPOS group. The clinical pregnancy rate and embryo implantation rate were 22.58% and 12.70%, respectively. In conclusion, PPOS protocol may provide better clinical outcomes by improving the oocyte utilization rate and good-quality embryo rate for aged infertile patients who failed to get pregnant in the first IVF/ICSI-ET cycles.

OPN is essential for blastocyst implantation and placentation. Previous study found that miR181a was increased while miR181b was downregulated in endometrium during decidualization. However, the information regarding their effects on decidualization in human endometrium is still limited. Here, we report a novel role of OPN and miR181b in uterine decidualization and pregnancy success in humans. The expression of OPN was high in endometrium in secretory phase and in vitro decidualized hESC, whereas miR181b expression was low in identical conditions. Further analysis confirmed that OPN expression was upregulated by cAMP and C/EBPβ signal pathway, while downregulated by miR181b. Increased OPN expression could promote the expression of decidualization-related and angiogenesis-related genes. Conversely, the processes of decidualization and angiogenesis in hESC were compromised by inhibiting OPN expression in vitro OPN expression was repressed in implantation failure group when compared with successful pregnancy group in IVF/ICSI-ET cycles. These findings add a new line of evidence supporting the fact that OPN is involved in decidualization and pregnancy success., (© 2018 Society for Reproduction and Fertility.)

To promote leadership and intrapersonal development in university students, a subject entitled "Tomorrow's Leaders" was developed and offered at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. To assess the perceived effectiveness of this subject, 647 students completed the student feedback questionnaire (SFQ). Results showed that the feedback questionnaire had very good psychometric properties, including internal consistency reliability and construct validity. Regarding students' views of the subject, results showed that students generally had good evaluation of the content of the subject, teaching quality, and perceived benefits of the subject. The present findings have implications for the teaching of general education regarding leadership development.

Genital tract infections with ureaplasma urealyticum (UU) and chlamydia trachomatis (CT) are the most frequent sexually-transmitted disease worldwide. UU and CT infections are considered to be the leading cause for infertility and adverse pregnancy outcomes. However, little is known about the specific effect of cervical UU and CT infections on the etiology of female infertility, as well as the pregnancy outcomes of the patients undergoing in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection-embryo transfer (IVF/ICSI-ET). In order to find the association between cervical UU and/or CT infection and pregnancy outcomes, we conducted a retrospective case-control study on the patients undergoing IVF/ICSI-ET with cervical UU and/or CT infection. A total of 2208 patients who received IVF/ICSI-ET were enrolled in this study. Data on the general conditions, pregnancy history and clinical pregnant outcomes were analyzed in terms of the cervical UU and CT detection. Our results revealed that cervical UU and CT infections were the risk factors for ectopic pregnancy and tubal factor-induced infertility. Moreover, the pregnancy rate, abortion rate, ectopic pregnancy rate and premature birth rate in patients with UU and/or CT infections showed no significant difference when compared with the control group. We recommend that cervical UU and CT detection should be an optional item for infertility patients and clinical UU detection should differentiate the subtypes of cervical UU. Positive cervical UU and CT infections should not be taken as strict contraindications for IVF/ICSI-ET.

Problem: Spontaneous abortion is a poorly understood phenomenon, although fetomaternal intolerance is known to play an important role in its pathogenesis. The tyrosine-specific phosphotransferase Fyn has been reported as a significant regulator in immune response. However, its role in fetomaternal immune tolerance and contribution to spontaneous abortion remains unclear., Methods of Study: Fyn expression was evaluated at the fetomaternal interface of normal pregnant and abortion-prone mice, as well as in decidual tissue obtained from normal human pregnancies and idiopathic miscarriages. A Fyn inhibitor was administrated into the LPS-induced abortion mice to investigate the variation of embryo resorption and local immunity., Results: Fyn expression fluctuated with the progress of normal pregnancy and was elevated in abortion-prone mice and patients with recurrent spontaneous abortion. The Fyn inhibitor reversed LPS-induced embryo absorption and aberrant inflammatory status including redundant expression of IRF4 and increased proportion of Th17 cells., Conclusion: Fyn is confirmed as a negative regulator in fetomaternal immune tolerance, through promoting Th17 cell expansion and proinflammatory factors expression., (© 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Successful implantation of embryo and placentation depend on proper trophoblast proliferation and differentiated into specialized invasive trophoblast. However, little is known about the regulatory factors and mechanisms in trophoblast proliferation and differentiation. Osteopontin (OPN) is a member of the small integrin-binding ligand N-linked glycoprotein family and participates in cell adhesion and invasion. It has been identified that OPN is highly expressed in invasive trophoblasts in human placenta. In this study, we demonstrated that OPN is constitutively expressed in highly invasive phenotype of human choriocarcinoma cell lines of JAR and JEG-3 cells, and OPN could promote trophoblast proliferation and invasion, partly through promoting MMP-9 secretion. Inhibition of OPN will compromise the abilities of proliferation and invasion in JAR and JEG-3 cell lines. Our data showed that the expression of OPN in trophoblast may participate in placentation, OPN expression defects may be involved in gestational trophoblastic diseases.

Background: Ovarian stimulation in IVF cycle results in luteal supraphysiological steroid concentrations especially for high response patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of ovarian steroid hormone suppression in luteal phase after oocyte retrieval for preventing severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) in high-risk patients with embryo cryopreservation., Methods: 281 patients with high risk of OHSS were enrolled in this study among 4735 infertile women undergoing their first IVF treatment. The subjects were allocated into treatment and control group. The treatment group (n = 161) received letrozole (n = 43), mifepristone (n = 51), cetrotide (n = 39) and three-drug combinations (n = 28) during the luteal phase after oocyte retrieval, respectively. The control group (n = 120) received no medicine. Fertilization rate, good embryo rate, serum steroid concentration, clinical outcome, and incidence of severe OHSS were compared between the two groups., Results: On days 2, 5 and 8 after oocyte retrieval, serum estradiol levels in the letrozole and three-drug combination therapy group were significantly lower than in the other three groups at the same time (P < 0.001, respectively). There were no significantly difference of serum luteinizing hormone concentration on days 2, 5 and 8 and progesterone concentration on day 8 after oocyte retrieval among the five groups (P > 0.05, respectively). Compared with the control group, the incidence of severe OHSS, the paracentesis rate, the duration of hospitalization and the days of luteal phase in each subgroup of treatment groups was not significantly decreased (P > 0.05, respectively)., Conclusions: Our findings indicate that steroidal ovarian suppression in luteal phase after oocyte retrieval seems to be unable to prevent severe OHSS in high-risk patients with embryo cryopreservation.

Osteopontin (OPN) is a multifunctional phosphoprotein that is detected in various tissues, including male and female reproductive tracts. In this study, we evaluated OPN expression in mouse oviducts during the estrus cycle, and at days 1-5 of pregnancy and pseudopregnancy by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry. The mice oocytes, sperm and embryos were treated with different concentrations of anti-OPN antibody in vitro to detect the function of OPN in fertilization and preimplantation embryo development. OPN mRNA and protein expression in mouse oviducts were cyclic dependent throughout the estrous cycle, which was highest at estrous and lowest at diestrous. Such a phenomenon was consistent with the change in estrogen level in mice. The expression levels of OPN in mice oviduct of normal pregnancy and pseudopregnancy were significantly different, which indicated that OPN expression in mouse oviducts was depend on estrogen and preimplantation embryo. Furthermore, anti-OPN antibody treatment could reduce the rates of fertilization, cleavage and blastocyst formation in vitro in a dose-dependent way. Overall, our results indicated that the expression of OPN in mouse oviducts during the estrous cycle and early pregnancy is likely regulated by estrogen and the embryo, and OPN may play a vital role in oocyte fertilization and preimplantation embryo development.

Background and Purpose: The virtual noncontrast images generated with iodine subtraction from dual-energy CTA images are expected to replace the true noncontrast images for radiation-dose reduction. This study assessed the feasibility of virtual noncontrast images for diagnosing SAH., Materials and Methods: Eighty-four patients with or without SAH underwent true noncontrast brain CT (the criterion standard for diagnosing SAH). Among them, 37 patients underwent an additional head dual-energy angiography, and the other patients underwent head and neck dual-energy angiography. Virtual noncontrast images were produced on a dedicated dual-energy postprocessing workstation and reconstructed in orientation and section width identical to those in true noncontrast images. The findings on the virtual noncontrast and true noncontrast images were compared at both the individual level and the lesion level. Image noise of the virtual noncontrast and true noncontrast images was also measured and compared. The volume CT dose index and dose-length product were recorded for the radiation-dose analysis., Results: The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of virtual noncontrast images at the individual level and the lesion level were 94.5%, 100%, 100%, 90.6% and 86.7%, 96.9%, 91.8%, 94.8%, respectively. The agreement in the diagnosis of SAH on true noncontrast and virtual noncontrast images reached 92.3% at the individual level and 85.1% at the lesion level. The virtual noncontrast images showed a higher image noise level. The volume CT dose index and dose-length product were obviously reduced without the true noncontrast brain CT scan., Conclusions: Virtual noncontrast images are a reliable tool for diagnosing SAH, with the advantage of reducing the radiation dose., (© 2015 by American Journal of Neuroradiology.)

The aim of the present pilot study was to assess the feasibility and efficacy of Cetrotide administration in the early luteal phase in patients at high risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), undergoing embryo cryopreservation following superovulation. A total of 135 patients at high risk of OHSS and undergoing embryo cryopreservation were divided into two groups. In the treatment group (n=39), the patients received daily subcutaneous injections of 0.25 mg Cetrotide between days 1 and 5 following ooctye retrieval, and volume expansion and symptomatic treatment were also provided. In the control group (n=96), the patients received routine treatments, including volume expansion therapy. The serum steroid hormone concentrations of the patients were measured on days 2, 5 and 8 following ooctye retrieval, while the incidence of moderate or severe OHSS, self-evaluated clinical symptoms and various clinical indicators were recorded. The serum estradiol (E 2 ), luteinizing hormone and progesterone levels in the treatment group on days 2, 5 and 8 following oocyte retrieval were not found to differ significantly when compared with the patients in the control group (P>0.05). The incidence of severe OHSS did not differ significantly between the two groups (P>0.05). The average length of hospital stay and length of luteal phase were not found to be significantly different between the treatment and control groups (P>0.05). In conclusion, Cetrotide injections in the early luteal phase did not alter the serum steroid levels of patients at high risk of OHSS undergoing embryo cryopreservation, and were unable to reduce the incidence of severe early OHSS. However, further randomized studies are required to evaluate the effectiveness of Cetrotide in the prevention of OHSS.

The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs), the relative apparent diffusion coefficient (rADC), and the pathological prognostic factor human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) in patients with breast cancer. A total of 64 women with breast cancer underwent breast diffusion-weighted imaging. HER-2 expression was detected in histological specimens. The ADC value, rADC value, and HER-2 level were determined. The ADC and rADC values of the breast cancer group were 1.1495 ± 0.1499 x 10(-3) and 0.6602 ± 0.0853, respectively. The differences in the ADC and rADC values between the two groups were statistically significant. There was no correlation between the ADC value and HER-2 expression in patients with breast cancer (r = -0.508, P = 0.043). However, the rADC value eliminated the individual differences to some extent. Therefore, compared to the ADC value, the rADC value had a better correlation with HER-2 expression.

Embryo implantation into the maternal uterus is a decisive step for successful mammalian pregnancy. Osteopontin (OPN) is a member of the small integrin-binding ligand N-linked glycoprotein family and participates in cell adhesion and invasion. In this study, we showed that Opn mRNA levels are up-regulated in the mouse uterus on day 4 and at the implantation sites on days 5 and 8 of pregnancy. Immunohistochemistry localized the OPN protein to the glandular epithelium on day 4 and to the decidual zone on day 8 of pregnancy. OPN mRNA and proteins are induced by in vivo and in vitro decidualization. OPN expression in the endometrial stromal cells is regulated by progesterone, a key regulator during decidualization. As a secreted protein, the protein level of OPN in the uterine cavity is enriched on day 4, and in vitro embryo culturing has indicated that OPN can facilitate blastocyst hatching and adhesion. Knockdown of OPN attenuates the adhesion and invasion of blastocysts in mouse endometrial stromal cells by suppressing the expression and enzymatic activity of matrix metalloproteinase-9 in the trophoblast. Our data indicated that OPN expression in the mouse uterus during early pregnancy is essential for blastocyst hatching and adhesion and that the knockdown of OPN in mouse endometrial stroma cells could lead to a restrained in vitro trophoblast invasion.

Embryo implantation is a highly synchronized bioprocess between an activated blastocyst and a receptive uterus. In mice, successful implantation relies on the dynamic interplay of estrogen and progesterone; however, the key mediators downstream of these hormones that act on blastocyst competency and endometrium receptivity acquisition are largely unknown. In this study, we showed that the expression of osteopontin (OPN) in mouse blastocysts is regulated by ovarian estrogen and uterine micro-environment. OPN mRNA is up-regulated in mouse blastocyst on day 4 of pregnancy, which is associated with ovarian estrogen secretion peak. Hormone treatment in vivo demonstrated that OPN expression in a blastocyst is regulated by estrogen through an estrogen receptor (ER). Our results of the delayed and activated implantation model showed that OPN expression is induced after estrogen injection. While estrogen treatment during embryo culture in vitro showed less effect on OPN expression, the tubal ligation model on day 3 of pregnancy confirmed that the regulation of estrogen on OPN expression in blastocyst might, through some specific cytokines, have existed in a uterine micro-environment. Collectively, our study presents that estrogen regulates OPN expression and it may play an important role during embryo implantation by activating blastocyst competence and facilitating the endometrium acceptable for active blastocyst.

Objective: To examine the expression levels of cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and COX-2 in the endometrium before and after insertion of the copper intrauterine device (Cu-IUD)., Methods: Ten patients were investigated. Two endometrial biopsies were taken from the uterus of each patient. The first biopsy was taken prior to insertion of the Cu-IUD, and the second was taken 1 month after insertion on the same day of the menstrual cycle and from the same location. The levels of COX-1 and COX-2 mRNA and protein in the endometrium were determined using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting., Results: Before insertion, expression of COX-2 mRNA and proteins was 0.399+/-0.014 and 14.75+/-1.31, respectively. Post insertion, expression of COX-2 mRNA and proteins was 0.563+/-0.041 and 18.61+/-1.93, respectively. A significant increase (P<0.05) of COX between pre and post insertion of the Cu-IUD was only seen with COX-2. There was no significant change in the level of COX-1 mRNA or proteins before and after insertion of the Cu-IUD., Conclusion: COX-2 is the primary isoenzyme stimulating overproduction of prostaglandins in the endometrium after the insertion of Cu-IUDs.