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Previous studies have shown that the addition of carboplatin to neoadjuvant chemotherapy improved the pathologic complete response (pCR) rate in patients suffering from triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), and patients who obtained a pCR could achieve prolonged event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS). However, no studies have assessed the effects of the combination of docetaxel and carboplatin without anthracycline with taxane- and anthracycline-based regimens. The NeoCART study was designed as a multicenter, randomized controlled, open-label, phase 2 trial to assess the efficacy and safety of docetaxel combined with carboplatin in untreated stage II-III TNBC. All eligible patients were randomly assigned, at a 1:1 ratio, to an experimental docetaxel plus carboplatin (DCb) for 6 cycles group (DCb group) or an epirubicin plus cyclophosphamide for 4 cycles followed by docetaxel for 4 cycles group (EC-D group). PCR (ypT0/is ypN0) was evaluated as the primary outcome. Between September 1, 2016, and December 31, 2019, 93 patients were randomly assigned, and 88 patients were evaluated for the primary endpoint (44 patients in each group). In the primary endpoint analysis, 27 patients in the DCb group (61.4%, 95% CI 47.0-75.8) and 17 patients in the EC-D group achieved a pCR (38.6%, 95% CI 24.3-53.0) (odds ratio 2.52, 95% CI 2.4-43.1; p noninferiority = 0.004). Noninferiority was met, and the DCb regimen was confirmed to be superior to the EC-D regimen (P = 0.044, superiority margin of 5%). At the end of the 37-month median follow-up period, OS and EFS rates were equivalent in both groups. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Tea is the one of the most popular non-alcoholic caffeinated beverages in the world. Tea is produced from the tea plant (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze), which is known to accumulate fluoride. This article systematically analyzes the literature concerning fluoride absorption, transportation and fluoride tolerance mechanisms in tea plants. Fluoride bioavailability and exposure levels in tea infusions are also reviewed. The circulation of fluoride within the tea plantation ecosystems is in a positive equilibrium, with greater amounts of fluoride introduced to tea orchards than removed. Water extractable fluoride and magnesium chloride (MgCl2 ) extractable fluoride in plantation soil are the main sources of absorption by tea plant root via active trans-membrane transport and anion channels. Most fluoride is readily transported through the xylem as F- /F-Al complexes to leaf cell walls and vacuole. The findings indicate that tea plants employ cell wall accumulation, vacuole compartmentalization, and F-Al complexes to co-detoxify fluoride and aluminum, a possible tolerance mechanism through which tea tolerates higher levels of fluoride than most plants. Furthermore, dietary and endogenous factors influence fluoride bioavailability and should be considered when exposure levels of fluoride in commercially available dried tea leaves are interpreted. The relevant current challenges and future perspectives are also discussed. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Purpose To describe the sonographic (ultrasound-US) features of retained surgical sponges (RSSs) and compare them with the pathological findings. Methods Ultrasound features of RSSs in nine patients (seven women and two men) identified between June 1996 and July 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. Patient characteristics including gender and age, location of the sponge, time interval until diagnosis, clinical presentation, and patient complaints were evaluated. Results The US appearances of RSSs could be classified into three types. Type I (five cases): an echogenic arc with a strong posterior shadow; type II (two cases): US appearance mimicked a cystic teratoma; type III (two cases): a cystic mass with zigzag-shaped internal contents. CT and/or MRI showed a mass with density/signal intensity similar to that of the adjacent soft tissues. Conclusion The characteristic US findings along with a history of surgery can help reach a correct diagnosis of RSS.

Objectives Mice are widely used as an animal model for studying human uterine receptivity for embryo implantation. Although transcriptional changes related to mouse uterine receptivity have been determined by using bulk RNA‐seq, the data are of limited value because the uterus is a complex organ consisting of many cell types. Here, we aimed to decipher mouse uterine receptivity for embryo implantation at single‐cell resolution. Materials and methods Single‐cell RNA sequencing was performed for the pre‐receptive and the receptive mouse uterus. Gene expression profiles in luminal epithelium and glandular epithelium were validated by comparing against a published laser capture microdissection (LCM)‐coupled microarray dataset. Results We revealed 19 distinct cell clusters, including 3 stromal cell clusters, 2 epithelial cell clusters, 1 smooth muscle cell cluster, 4 endothelial cell clusters and 8 immune cell clusters. We identified global gene expression changes associated with uterine receptivity in each cell type. Additionally, we predicted signalling interactions for distinct cell types to understand the crosstalk between the blastocyst and the receptive uterus. Conclusion Our data provide a valuable resource for deciphering the molecular mechanism underlying uterine receptivity in mice., In this study, by using the state‐of‐the‐art single‐cell RNA‐seq approach, we resolved all cell types of the pre‐receptive and the receptive mouse uterus at single‐cell resolution. Consequently, we were able to identify global gene expression changes associated with uterine receptivity in each cell type. Additionally, we predicted signaling interactions for distinct cell types to understand the crosstalk between the blastocyst and the receptive uterus. Our data provide a valuable resource for deciphering the molecular mechanism underlying uterine receptivity in mice.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) that frequently results in renal disease, and is characterized by a variety of symptoms, including albuminuria. It has been shown that apoptosis of glomerular mesangial cells (MCs) can aggravate albuminuria and contribute to the development of diabetic glomerulosclerosis. Hence, determination of the mechanisms leading to MC apoptosis may help us gain insights into the pathogenesis of DN. As our understanding of the role of high glucose (HG) in MC apoptosis remains elusive, we explored the interplay between X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1) and MC apoptosis in this study. XBP1 was observed to be downregulated both in vivo and in vitro. Treatment of XBP1-overexpressing cells with HG resulted in a decrease of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and a suppression of cell apoptosis, concomitant with decreases in cleaved caspase-3 and Bax. Subsequent analyses demonstrated that XBP1 overexpression inhibited the expression of phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) and enhanced the activation of AKT in MCs exposed to HG. In addition, XBP1-induced injuries in MC were reversed by overexpression of PTEN, and XBP1 inhibited apoptosis, which was mediated by the activated PTEN/AKT signaling pathway. Thus, our data indicate that XBP1 can activate the PTEN/AKT signaling pathway, thereby alleviating oxidative stress caused by HG or MC apoptosis. These findings suggest that XBP1 may have potential in the development of treatment methods for DN.

BACKGROUND Garlic is the second largest allium crop after onion and is grown all over the world. The onion maggot (Delia antiqua M.) is a pest that seriously affects the yield and quality of garlic. Cultural controls and insecticides have several potential problems, including pesticide residue and development of resistance. Screening resistant varieties is an ideal alternative method. RESULTS The resistance of 213 accessions of garlic clones against onion maggot was identified. The results showed that the pest index was between 5.56% and 91.11%, with classification into six groups by cluster analysis: HR (highly resistant), R (resistant), MR (moderately resistant), MS (moderately susceptible), S (susceptible) and HS (highly susceptible). Among these accessions, 9 and 30 were HR and R to onion maggot, respectively. Comparing the resistances of seven pairs of accessions between the original accessions and their progenies showed that single bulb clonal selection could be an effective way to improve allicin content, onion maggot resistance and most morphological traits. The relationship between allicin content and resistance was investigated, and a significant positive relationship was found. Accessions with a high content of allicin have great potential as resistant accessions. CONCLUSION This study showed significant differences among garlic germplasm in their response to Delia antiqua M. Some accessions were highly resistant and tolerant. Utilization of these accessions will help minimize environmental pollution, preserve agro‐ecosystems and biodiversity, and make management processes more economical. Furthermore, these accessions could be used in breeding programs to develop new maggot‐resistant onion cultivars. © 2019 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Highly active catalysts that can directly utilize renewable energy (e.g., solar energy) are desirable for CO2 value-added processes. Herein, aiming at improving the efficiency of photodriven CO2 cycloaddition reactions, a catalyst composed of porous carbon nanosheets enriched with a high loading of atomically dispersed Al atoms (≈14.4 wt%, corresponding to an atomic percent of ≈7.3%) coordinated with N (AlN4 motif, Al-N-C catalyst) via a versatile molecule-confined pyrolysis strategy is reported. The performance of the Al-N-C catalyst for catalytic CO2 cycloaddition under light irradiation (≈95% conversion, reaction rate = 3.52 mmol g-1 h-1 ) is significantly superior to that obtained under a thermal environment (≈57% conversion, reaction rate = 2.11 mmol g-1 h-1 ). Besides the efficient photothermal conversion induced by the carbon matrix, both experimental and theoretical analysis reveal that light irradiation favors the photogenerated electron transfer from the semiconductive Al-N-C catalyst to the epoxide reactant, facilitating the formation of a ring-opened intermediate through the rate-limiting step. This study not only provides an advanced Al-N-C catalyst for photodriven CO2 cycloaddition, but also furnishes new insight for the rational design of superior photocatalysts for diverse heterogeneous catalytic reactions in the future.

The immobilization of metal–organic framework (MOF) materials in a three-dimensional (3 D) and oriented arrangement is critical for their application in heterogeneous catalysis. In this work, a coordination replication strategy was developed to construct Cu-based MOFs into 3 D hierarchical nanoarray architectures by using Cu(OH)2 nanorod arrays as a sacrificial template. The Cu(OH)2 nanorod arrays served as the Cu source and coordinated with an organic ligand to form MOF crystals, and they also served as the 3 D substrate to support the growth of the Cu-based MOFs. This strategy could also be applied to synthesize various hierarchical Cu-based MOF arrays, which demonstrated the general efficacy of the method. Owing to their unique structural advantages (hierarchical porosity, large surface area, and intimate contact with the 3 D substrate), these MOF nanoarrays exhibit excellent catalytic activity and cycling stability in heterogeneous catalysis as structured catalysts. This strategy opens up new possibilities for the construction of immobilized MOF-based 3 D nanoarrays for multipurpose applications.

Hollow metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising materials with sophisticated structures, such as multiple shells, that cannot only enhance the properties of MOFs but also endow them with new functions. Herein, we show a rational strategy to fabricate multi-shelled hollow chromium (III) terephthalate MOFs (MIL-101) with single-crystalline shells through step-by-step crystal growth and subsequent etching processes. This strategy relies on the creation of inhomogeneous MOF crystals in which the outer layer is chemically more robust than the inner layer and can be selectively etched by acetic acid. The regulation of MOF nucleation and crystallization allows the tailoring of the cavity size and shell thickness of each layer. The resultant multi-shelled hollow MIL-101 crystals show significantly enhanced catalytic activity during styrene oxidation. The insight gained from this systematic study will aid in the rational design and synthesis of other multi-shelled hollow structures and the further expansion of their applications.

The aim of this study was to determine the levels of fluoride in commercial teas and to estimate the contribution of tea consumption to the fluoride recommended daily allowance. A total of 558 tea products in 6 categories, green tea, black tea, oolong tea, pu'er tea, white tea, and reprocessed tea, were collected in the period from 2010 to 2013. The levels of fluoride in infusions of these teas were determined by a fluoride-ion selective electrode. The mean fluoride level in all of the tea samples was 85.16 mg/kg. For each category of tea, the mean fluoride levels were 63.04, 99.74, 52.19, 101.67, 159.78, and 110.54 mg/kg for green tea, black tea, white tea, pu'er tea, oolong tea, and reprocessed tea, respectively. The fluoride content of tea from 4 tea zones in descending order were Southern tea zone (111.39 mg/kg) > Southwest tea zone (78.78 mg/kg) > Jiangnan tea zone (71.73 mg/kg) > Jiangbei tea zone (64.63 mg/kg). These areas produced teas with lower fluoride levels than available foreign-produced tea (161.11 mg/kg). The mean chronic daily intake (CDI) was 0.02 mg/(kg•day) or 1.27 mg/kg. Generally, consuming tea from these 6 categories does not result in the intake of excessive amounts of fluoride for the general population.