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Can women with partial 17α-hydroxylase deficiency (17-OHD) conceive naturally with adequate hormonal control and endometrial preparation? This report presents two cases of women with partial 17-OHD who achieved successful pregnancies. The first case involved a 27-year-old Chinese woman with recurrent cysts and infertility, and the second case involved a 32-year-old Chinese woman with a complex disorder requiring IVF. Both cases were treated with oral prednisone to control hormone concentrations and underwent endometrial preparation. In the first case, the patient resumed spontaneous ovulation, conceived naturally, and gave birth to a healthy baby. In the second case, after cryopreserving embryos due to a thin endometrium, the patient underwent frozen embryo transfer and achieved a singleton pregnancy. This study suggests that women with partial 17-OHD can conceive naturally with appropriate hormonal management and endometrial preparation. These findings provide valuable insights into the reproductive potential of women with this disorder, and highlight the importance of further research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic substitution is beneficial to sustainable agricultural development. In order to determine the proper fertilization strategy, it is necessary to evaluate the effects of partial substitution of nitrogen fertilizer with organic amendments on soil quality and crop yield, as well as their decisive factors. A five-year organic substitution field experiment was set up to investigate the effects of partial substitution of chemical fertilizer with stover, cattle manure and biochar on soil quality, soil microbial and nematode diversities and crop yield in a maize (Zea mays L.) field of Northeast China. Our results showed that organic substitutions increased soil quality and manure substitution increased maize yield through changing the composition and functional group of soil biota. Bacteria played important roles in determining the maize yield, but the beneficial effects were contingent on the different types of organic substitution. Stover substitution improved soil quality through increasing bacterial diversity but may lead to the competition of nitrogen between microorganisms and crops. Compared with conventional fertilization, manure substitution provided resources with suitable C/N ratio (6.82) and resulted in the higher maize yield, but the soil quality improvement was weaker under manure substitution than under stover substitution. Biochar substitution reduced the relative abundance of plant-parasitic nematodes but caused an increasing of potential pathogenic fungi for maize. Comprehensively, stover substitution is the most promising fertilization regime for maize in Northeast China from the perspective of soil quality and soil biodiversity. • Organic substitution increased soil quality through increasing bacterial diversity. • Manure substitution increased maize yield due to the suitable C/N. • Bacterial functional group played important roles in determining the maize yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a single-pedal control algorithm was proposed, modeled, and theoretically analyzed to improve the driving range of electric vehicles and increase the intensity and frequency of energy regeneration. Specific analysis and strategy improvement were also conducted for the control problem under low adhesion conditions. The driving control function, economy, and control logic of the proposed single-pedal system were investigated using both simulations and real vehicle verifications under the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC). Based on simulations and real car testing, optimization of the single-pedal system under the traditional low adhesion control strategy was conducted, and then comprehensive comparisons were investigated. Results demonstrated that the proposed single-pedal control and its low adhesion condition control strategy are in line with the design requirements and effectively improved the vehicle economy, achieving a 24.9% energy regeneration rate. The optimized single-pedal low adhesion control strategy, according to the results, can effectively satisfy driving smoothness, economy, and stability under low adhesion conditions. [Display omitted] • A single-pedal control is proposed to improve driving range of electric vehicles. • Optimal control strategy at low adhesion is studied to ensure stability and economy. • Effectiveness of the control strategy is verified by simulation and real road tests. • The single-pedal control achieved 24.9% energy regeneration on low-adhesion roads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stoichiometric imbalance between resources and their decomposers can alter the activity and structure of soil microbial communities and play an important role in regulating nutrient and carbon cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. However, whether and how ecological networks of soil micro-food web change to cope with the stoichiometric imbalance has never been assessed so far. In this study, we tested how the soil micro-food web responded to elemental limitations along a forest-steppe ecotone. We measured several adaptation mechanisms including soil microbial stoichiometry, enzyme activities and the composition of soil microbial and nematode communities. The microbial investment in resource acquisition shifted from nutrient-to C-acquiring enzymes with decreasing soil C:N:P ratios along the forest-steppe ecotone. The shifts in element use efficiencies could be a compensatory way besides enzyme allocation, implemented by microbial communities to cope with stoichiometric imbalance in their substrates. The community structure of soil micro-food web also changed with a decrease in saprotrophic fungi and fungivorous nematodes from the steppe plots towards the forest plots. The co-occurrence networks were less complex and stable with decreasing soil C:N:P ratios, suggesting that trophic interactions were less diverse and C-limitation plays an important role in structuring ecological interactions in soil food webs. Our findings provide insights into how stoichiometric constraints may induce shifts in ecological networks and have important implications for integrating shifts in individual physiological metabolism as well as changes in community composition of soil biota and to better understand and predict soil biogeochemical cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. [Display omitted] • Resource stoichiometric imbalance leads to microbial elemental limitation in ecotone. • Higher C-acquiring enzyme investment and CUE were found in steppe compared to forest. • Ecological networks were simplified and unstable with decreasing soil C:N:P ratios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been demonstrated that miR-145 is expressed in primordial follicles and modulates the initiation of primordial follicle development. We aimed to explore the function of miR-145 in mouse granulosa cells (mGCs). The proliferation and differentiation of GCs were examined via MTT, EDU assay, QRT-PCR, ELISA and electron microscope analysis. The target of miR-145 was determined by bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay and the molecular mechanisms were examined via western blot and quantitative Real-Time RT-PCR. We proved that down-regulation of miR-145 could inhibit GCs proliferation and differentiation. In addition, we provided evidence that Crkl was the target gene of miR-145. The miR-145 antagomir caused an increase in Crkl expression and activation of the JNK/p38 MAPK pathway. Overexpression of Crkl with pEGFP-N1- Crkl vector inhibited GCs differentiation and progesterone synthesis as well as activation of the JNK/p38 MAPK pathway. Our study shows that miR-145 targets Crkl and through the JNK/p38 MAPK signaling pathway promotes the GCs proliferation, differentiation, and steroidogenesis. MiR-145 may play an important role in the ovarian physiology and pathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]