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The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of sperm proteasome activity on fertilization outcome and embryo development after IVF. Following density gradient centrifugation for IVF purpose, the spermatozoa of 84 infertile patients with tubal factor were evaluated by luciferase enzymatic activity to assess the proteasome quantity. The mean age of patients was 33.8 years, and the mean concentration of human spermatozoa 26S proteasome was 674.53 ng/ml. After IVF, the embryos were scored for morphology. The spermatozoa proteasome activity was both positively correlated with fertilization rate in vitro (P = 0.0003) and 2PN rate (P = 0.0007). Compared to low fertilization rate group, the high fertilization rate group showed a significantly higher level of spermatozoa proteasome activity (P = 0.002). In conclusion, sperm proteasome activity provides additional data on sperm functional capacity in terms of fertilization during IVF.

Herein, the effect of SnCl4 addition on the catalytic performance of Pd–Cu/attapulgite (Pd–Cu/APT) synthesized by a deposition–precipitation method has been investigated. Compared with Pd–Cu/APT, the suitable addition of Sn has a conspicuous facilitation on the catalytic performance of Pd–Cu–Sn/APT for CO oxidation. The characterization results reveal that the incorporation of Sn gives rise to the formation of SnO2, which conduces to produce the more Cu2Cl(OH)3 active phases and Cu+ species in Pd–Cu–Sn/APT and establish a mutual interaction between Sn and Pd, Cu species. Accordingly, the Pd0 species generated during CO oxidation over Pd–Cu–Sn/APT can be more easily oxidized than those over Pd–Cu/APT. Additionally, the generation of SnO2 is prone to suppress the adsorption of water vapor on the catalyst surface, hence augmenting the water resistance of Pd–Cu–Sn/APT. Therefore, Sn-modified Pd–Cu/APT catalyst exhibits the more excellent catalytic performance for CO oxidation at room temperature under moisture-rich conditions.

Background Autoimmune blistering skin diseases (AIBD) are a group of rare chronic autoimmune diseases which are associated with ocular surface diseases especially dry eye disease. This study is designed to investigate the relationship between ocular surface disorders and quality of life among patients with autoimmune blistering skin diseases. Methods Twenty-four AIBD patients (18 pemphigus and 7 pemphigoid) and twenty-five non-AIBD controls were included. Ocular surface disease index (OSDI), ocular surface evaluation, including slit-lamp examination, Schirmer I test, tear break-up time, corneal fluorescein staining, lid-parallel conjunctival folds, meibomian gland evaluation, presence of symblepharon and corneal opacity were assessed. Life quality was evaluated by multiple questionnaires, including Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Questionnaire (SF-36), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI). Ocular surface tests and quality of life were compared between AIBD patients and non-AIBD controls. In the AIBD patients, the associations between ocular surface parameters and quality of life were also evaluated. Results 92% of AIBD patients and 87.5% of age- and sex-matched non-AIBD controls were diagnosed with dry eye in this study. Compared with non-AIBD controls, AIBD patients reported lower SF-36 scores (P P Conclusions AIBD patients experience reduced quality of life and more severe ocular surface disorders including dry eye, symblepharon and corneal opacity. Early treatments of dry eye and collaborations among multidisciplinary physicians are necessary in patients with AIBD.

Using AgNO3 as the Ag source, the Ag@BiOCl photocatalyst was prepared by depositing noble metal Ag on the surface of BiOCl by solvothermal method. Ag exists as spherical particles with a diameter of 40 nm. Based on the surface plasmon resonance effect (SPR) of Ag, the photoresponse range of BiOCl was successfully extended to the visible light region, which reduced the photo-generated electron-hole recombination efficiency and improved the charge transfer efficiency. The photocatalytic performance of Ag@BiOCl was studied under visible light. The results show that when the Ag content is 10wt%, it exhibits excellent effects on the degradation of acid red B (ARB), and its degradation rate constant is 11 times larger than that of BiOCl. The active substance-capturing test results show that the main role in photocatalytic degradation of ARB is voids.

Two types of apatite supports including hydroxyapatite (HAP) and fluorapatite (FAP) were prepared by the co-precipitation method. Supported Co catalysts with the above carriers were synthesized from Co(NO3)2·6H2O via the impregnation method. The catalytic activity for N2O decomposition was investigated using a continuous flowing microreactor system. The catalytic results demonstrated that the Co/HAP exhibited more excellent catalytic activity as well as the impurity gas (H2O, O2, and NO) resistance capability than the Co/FAP in the temperature range of 300–600 °C. Furthermore, the physicochemical properties of Co/HAP and Co/FAP were determined by several relevant characterization methods. The obtained experimental results revealed that Co/HAP possessed larger specific surface area, more ion-exchanged Co2+ and stronger oxygen desorption capacity than Co/FAP, which are the key factors for high N2O decomposition activity. Moreover, compared with Co/FAP, Co/HAP has not only more basic content, but also higher basic site density, which may be also conducive to enhance the electron donating ability of Co2+, thereby promoting the N2O catalytic decomposition.

In this paper, BiOCl1-xIx (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0) solid solution was synthesized by one-step ultrasound-assisted solvothermal method. A series of samples with different band gap values was obtained by varying the amount of components. The synthesized photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM, UV–Vis DRS, ESR, and BET specific surface area. The PL and EIS methods were used to evaluate the separation efficiency of the photogenerated electrons and holes. Photocatalytic experiments under visible light show that the degradation efficiency of BiOCl0.6I0.4 for acid red B (ARB) is 96.4% under 2 h irradiation time. After five times of recycling, the degradation rate of ARB was 91%. The results of free radical quenching experiments showed that the dominant role of BiOCl0.6I0.4 in the photocatalytic degradation of ARB is the oxidation of h+. A preliminary discussion on the photocatalytic mechanism was made.

A series of CuxMn composite oxide catalysts with different Cu/Mn molar ratios (x = 1, 1.5 and 2) was synthesized by the co-precipitation method. The catalytic performance of CuxMn in N2O decomposition has been studied with a continuous flowing microreactor system. The obtained catalysts were characterized by XRD, BET, Raman, FT-IR, ICP-AES and H2-TPR. The catalytic tests show that the CuxMn catalysts exhibit more excellent N2O catalytic decomposition activity compared with the pure CuO and Mn2O3 catalysts, and the Cu1.5Mn shows the highest catalytic activity under the reaction conditions of N2O 0.1%, GHSV 10000 h−1. The characterizations results suggest that bulk CuO and Mn2O3 existed in pure CuO and Mn2O3 catalysts, respectively. In the CuxMn catalysts, with the decreasing of x, the amount of bulk CuO gradually decreases until it disappears, while the amount of newly formed CuMn2O4 gradually increases. However, the amount of small crystal CuO increases first and then decreases, which might be considered as an important active phase that contributes to the excellent catalytic performance of CuxMn in N2O decomposition.

Background Self-sampling for human papillomavirus (HPV) testing is a feasible option to improve the cervical screening coverage. However, an ideal triage method for HPV-positive self-samples does not yet exist. The aim of this study was to explore the utility of HPV genotyping and p16INK4a immunostaining (p16) in triaging HPV-positive self-samples, focusing on HPV-positive, cytology-negative (HPCN) women. Methods A total of 73,699 women were screened in a cervical screening project in China via SeqHPV assay on self-samples. HPV-positive women were called-back and collected cervical sample for p16 immunostaining and liquid-based cytology, those who met any result of HPV16/18+ or visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) + or p16+ were referred for colposcopy, and HPCN women with adequate data on p16 and pathology were analyzed. A triage strategy was considered acceptable if the negative predictive value (NPV) for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 3 or worse (CIN3+) was 98% or more, combined with an improvement of sensitivity and specificity for CIN2+/CIN3+ in reference to the comparator, being HPV16/18 + . Results A total of 2731 HPCN women aged 30–64 years were enrolled, 136 (5.0%) CIN2+ and 53 (1.9%) CIN3+ were detected. Five triage strategies met the criteria: p16+; HPV16/33+; ‘HPV16+ or HPV33/58/31/35+&p16+’; ‘HPV16/33+ or HPV58/31/35+&p16+’; HPV16/18/31/33/45/52/58 + & p16+. These strategies required less or similar colposcopy referrals, and less colposcopies to detected one case of CIN2+/CIN3+, achieving favorable false positive (negative) rates to the comparator. Among them, p16 staining detected 83.1% (79.2%) of underlying CIN2 + (CIN3+) in HPCN women. Moreover, three triage strategies were favorable in sensitivity and/or specificity to the ‘HPV16/33+’ strategy: p16+; ‘HPV16+ or HPV33/58/31/35 + &p16+’; HPV16/18/31/33/45/52/58 + &p16 + . Conclusions Genotyping for HPV16/33 could be utilized to optimize the management of HPCN women. Moreover, p16 immunostaining, either alone or combined with extended genotypes, is more effective than HPV genotypes alone in the triage of HPCN women.

Objective The aim of this research was to evaluate independently the performance of a new isothermal amplification assay for cervical cancer screening compared to two previously validated PCR-based assays and histologic endpoints. Methods This is a sub-study from the Chinese multi-center screening trial (CHIMUST). The self-collected and clinician-collected specimens stored in PreservCyt at − 4 °C from 6042 women with complete data were tested with the AmpFire assay. These specimens had been previously tested with Cobas and SeqHPV assays. In the primary study all patients with an abnormal test were referred to colposcopy where all had directed and/or random biopsies plus ECC. No additional patients were called back based on the AmpFire results. Results 6042/6619 women had complete data (mean age 44.1). There were 57 cases of CIN 2, 35 cases of CIN 3 and 2 cancers. The sensitivity for CIN2+ and CIN3+ were similar among the three assays (both direct and self-collected). For the specificities in all categories (CIN2+/CIN3+ and self and direct collection), isothermal amplification assay was either equal to or more specific than Cobas but consistently less specific than SeqHPV. Conclusion The AmpFire HPV assay showed similar sensitivity to Cobas and SeqHPV for CIN2+ and CIN3+ on both self and clinician-collections (P>0.05), with good specificity. The speed, low cost, and simplicity of this assay will make it particularly suited for low and middle resource settings. Its accuracy with self-collection makes it applicable for mass screening programs.

The Pd–Cu/attapulgite clay catalysts were synthesized using a deposition–precipitation method with different precipitants. The as-synthesized catalysts were characterized by ICP-AES, N2-physisorption, XRD, FT-IR, TEM and TPR. Their catalytic activities for CO oxidation were tested by a fixed-bed continuous flow reactor at room temperature and in humid circumstances. The results illustrated that the activity of CO oxidation strongly depended on the precipitant. The best catalytic performance is achieved by using NH3·H2O (PC-AH) or NH4HCO3 (PC-AHC) as precipitants. The crystalline phase of PC-AH and PC-AHC comprised of Cu2Cl(OH)3 and CuO, while the catalysts prepared with NaOH (PC-SH) or NaHCO3 (PC-SHC) as precipitants were mainly CuO. Combined with FT-IR and TEM results, it could be found that Cu2Cl(OH)3 on PC-AH and PC-AHC possessed higher stability than that on PC-SH and PC-SHC due to the different formation process and morphology of Cu2Cl(OH)3 species. The TPR results showed that the Cu2Cl(OH)3 had a strong interaction with Pd species and enhanced reducibility. Moreover, the residual sodium ions on PC-SH and PC-SHC may have adverse effect on the catalytic activity. A suitable precipitant resulted in the most efficient CO oxidation catalyst at room temperature and in humid circumstances.

Psoriasis is a chronic, systemic, hyper-proliferative immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease. The results of epidemiological investigations have shown that psoriasis affects around 2% of the general population worldwide, and the total number of psoriasis patients is more than 6 million in China. Apart from the skin manifestations, psoriasis has been verified to associate with several metabolic comorbidities, such as insulin resistance, diabetes and obesity. However, the underlying mechanism is still not elucidated. Adipocytes, considered as the active endocrine cells, are dysfunctional in obesity which displays increased synthesis and secretion of adipokines with other modified metabolic properties. Currently, growing evidence has pointed to the central role of adipokines in adipose tissue and the immune system, providing new insights into the effect of adipokines in linking the pathophysiology of obesity and psoriasis. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of the pathological role of adipokines and the potential mechanisms whereby different adipokines link obesity and psoriasis. Furthermore, we also provide evidence which identifies a potential therapeutic target aiming at adipokines for the management of these two diseases.