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Microbiota of lower female reproductive tract is special in its microorganism composition with Lactobacillus as the predominant bacteria. A few of Lactobacillus species have been identified to benefit the inhibition of inflammatory and malignant diseases. Lacticaseibacillus casei LH23 is a strain isolated from traditional fermented food and had been demonstrate to ameliorate DSS-induced colitis in mice. In the present study, effects of Lacticaseibacillus casei LH23 on cervical cancer cells were investigated. Supernatants of lysates and heat-inactivated Lacticaseibacillus casei LH23 were found to inhibit the expression of human papillomavirus genes E6/E7 which is the main causative factor of cervical cancer. With MTT, EdU staining, and TUNEL staining assays, Lacticaseibacillus casei LH23 was shown to suppress the proliferation and induced the apoptosis of cervical cancer cells. Additionally, with wound-healing and Western-blot assays, Lacticaseibacillus casei LH23 was shown to slowdown the migration of cervical cancer cells and altered the expression of metastasis-related genes. These results demonstrated the anti-cervical cancer potential of Lacticaseibacillus casei LH23.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic value of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in detecting the choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed by searching Pubmed, Science Direct, Embase, and Web of Science. The pooled sensitivity and specificity with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), area under the summary receiver operator characteristic curve (sROC), and the total accurate classification rate were used to evaluate OCTA’s diagnostic value of CNV in AMD patients. Results: Seven studies involving 517 eyes were included in the analysis. The mean age of subjects in each study ranged from 58.5 years to 81.7 years. Fluorescein angiography was applied as the gold standard in 5 studies. There were 350 eyes diagnosed with CNV, OCTA detected 301 eyes correctly, while among the 167 eyes without CNV, OCTA identified 150 correctly. The total accurate classification rate was 87.23%. The Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was 0.5, indicating that there was no significant threshold effect in the current study (S = 8, p = 0.103). The pooled sensitivity and pooled specificity were 0.89 (95% CI: 0.82, 0.94) and 0.96 (95% CI: 0.85, 1.00), respectively. The area under sROC was up to 0.911. Conclusion: The specificity of OCTA for the detection of CNV in AMD patients is extremely high; however, the sensitivity still needs to be improved. In general, the meta-analysis revealed that OCTA had a high diagnostic value for the detection of CNV in AMD patients.

Objective The aim of this study was to study the relationship between adverse pregnant outcomes(APO) with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in pregnant women. Method From 2017 to 2019, we studied HBsAg (+) pregnant women and HBsAg (-) who gave birth at our hospital in Guangzhou City, China. We compared of the outcomes of pregnant women with HBsAg(+) or HBsAg(-). Further, among HBsAg(+) pregnant women, We compared of the outcomes of pregnant women with HBeAg(+) group or HBeAg(-) group, HBV DNA above 2×10e5IU/mL group or HBV DNA below 2×10e5IU/mL) group, respectively. Finally, multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the independent association between HBV infection and the risk of developing APO. Result First, Our research Indicates that the rates of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), premature rupture of membrane (PROM), Fetal distress (FD), Oligohydramnios, Premature delivery (PD), Low birth weight (LBW), Meconium contamination (MC), Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia(NH) in HBsAg(+) group were higher than those in HBsAg(-) group (P5 IU/mL were higher than those in HBV DNA below 2×10e5 IU/mL group (P

Autophagy exists widely in various physiological and pathological conditions. Lots of investigations have verified that the autophagic activity is always related to the occurrence and the development of cancer. Endometriosis (EMs) is a disease that endometrium-like tissues abnormally grow outside the uterus and also considered to possess the characters of tumor because of its malignant biological behavior.Recently, several studies have already revealed that autophagy may play a potential role in proliferative-phase EMs. However, the function of autophagic activity in secretory-phase EMs is still unclear.In our work, we explored autophagic activity between normal endometrium and EMs lesion endometrium during different menstrual phases and EMs stages. The clinical endometrium samples from 73 women were selected in this study, including 30 healthy individuals and 43 patients with EMs (endometrium samples include eutopic and its matched ectopic endometrium). All the participants were divided into two groups according to the menstrual cycle, namely proliferative-phase and secretive- phase group. Among the patients with EMs, 22 individuals in proliferative phase and the other 21 individuals in secretory phase were further classified into the groups of Stage I-II and Stage III-IV according to revised-American Fertility Society (r-AFS). Two autophagy-related proteins microtubuleassociated protein 1 light chain 3 beta-II (LC3B-II) and sequestosome protein (P62), which are believed to be the indicators of autophagy activity, were chosen in the study. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining, Western blot assay and Real-Time quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RTqPCR) were used to examine the expression of LC3B-II and P62 in protein and mRNA level accordingly.It showed that the expression of LC3B-II both in protein and mRNA level decreased and that of P62 increased in secretory phase of the healthy group (P0.05), but showed no significant difference in ectopic and its eutopic endometrium group during proliferative and secretory phase (P0.05). In addition, the expression of LC3B-II in ectopic endometrium group was significantly lower than that of its eutopic endometrium group (P0.05), and the expression of P62 was significantly higher accordingly (P0.05). At the same time, both LC3B-II and P62 levels remained same between eutopic endometrium group and control group (P0.05). Furthermore, compared to Stage I-II EMs group, the expression of LC3B-II was significantly lower (P0.05) and P62 was significantly higher (P0.05) in Stage III-IV EMs during secretory phase.Taken together, the periodicity-losing in EMs and the decreased autophagic activity in ectopic endometrium may exert a potential role in the pathogenesis of EMs. Down-regulated autophagy of ectopic endometrium in secretory phase may be related to the progression of EMs.

We investigated the temporal changes in major eye injuries in Taiwan by reviewing the medical records of all patients with ocular trauma hospitalized at the National Cheng Kung University Hospital during 2002–2004 and 2012–2014. A total of 169 eyes (161 patients) during 2002–2004 and 121 eyes (120 patients) during 2012–2014 were enrolled (mean ± SD age: 41.9 ± 20.8 years in 2002–2004, and 51.8 ± 19.3 years in 2012–2014). Males accounted for ~75% of patients. The most frequent injury-causing object was metallic material (~24%), and blunt traumas were most frequently attributable to traffic accidents and falls. The most common locations of injuries for males and females were the workplace and home, respectively. Open-globe injuries occurred in ~70% of eyes, requiring primary repair, cataract extraction, and/or intraocular lens implantation. The frequencies of fall injury, lacrimal system laceration, lens injury, corneal/scleral foreign bodies, and use of intracameral antibiotics increased from 2002–2004 to 2012–2014, while those of closed-globe injury, vitreous haemorrhage, optic nerve injury, and medical treatment decreased. The final visual acuity remained poor (≤20/200) in >1/3 of injured eyes. Despite therapeutic advancements, major eye injuries still pose a high risk for poor visual outcome.

Background: Because of medical advances, metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is now viewed as a chronic disease, rather than an imminent death sentence. Helping women live with this disease requires more than a medical approach to symptoms. Thus, a mentor-based and supportive-expressive program ‘Be Resilient to Breast Cancer’ (BRBC) was designed to help Chinese women with MBC enhance their resilience levels, biopsychosocial functions, and potentially extend their life span. Methods: A total of 226 women with MBC were randomly assigned, in a 1 : 1 ratio, to an intervention group (IG) that participated in BRBC or to a control group (CG) that received no intervention. Be Resilient to Breast Cancer was conducted for 120 min once a week. Primary outcomes were cancer-specific survival and secondary outcomes were resilience, Allostatic Load Index (ALI), anxiety, depression, and quality of life (QoL). The Cox proportional-hazards model was used for survival analysis and growth mixture models were performed for secondary outcomes. Results: Be Resilient to Breast Cancer did not significantly prolong 3- or 5-year survival (median survival, 36.7 months in IG and 31.5 months in CG). The hazard ratio for death was 0.736 (95% CI, 0.525–1.133, P=0.076; univariate Cox model) and 0.837 (95% CI, 0.578–1.211, P=0.345; multivariate Cox analysis). The IG improved in anxiety (ES=0.85, P

To estimate children's long-term seizure outcomes after hemispheric surgery and the associated predictors. A systematic review of 4 databases and a meta-analysis were performed from January 1, 1995 to August 31, 2015. The databases included PubMed, Embase, Science Direct, and Web of Science; patients were classified into the Engel Class I group and the Engel Class II to IV group, according to their seizure outcomes. Nine potential predictors were then stratified across the groups and estimated using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test for continuous variables and the Chi-squared test for categorical variables. The search yielded 15 retrospective studies, with a total sample size of 380. Five years after surgery, 268 (0.71, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.64–0.78) children were seizure free; the seizure onset age in the Engel Class I group was significantly higher than that of the Engel Class II to IV group (standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.26, 95% CI: 0.03–0.49, P = 0.028); specifically, when predicting the positive long-term outcomes, the odds ratio for late onset age (≥3.6 months, median value of the Engel Class II–IV group) versus early onset age was 2.65 (95% CI: 1.454–4.836, z = 3.18, P = 0.001). The abnormal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings were more predictive for positive seizure outcomes than the normal findings (odds ratio [OR] = 4.60, 95% CI: 1.27–16.62, P = 0.02). Following hemispheric surgery, the long-term prognosis of children with epilepsy was good. Late seizure onset (age ≥ 3.6 months) and abnormal MRI findings were positive predictors for long-term seizure control in children.

To reduce the risk of adjustment problems for breast cancer patients in mainland China, we examined the efficacy of a multidiscipline mentor-based program, Be Resilient to Breast Cancer (BRBC), delivered after breast surgery to (a) increase protective factors of social support, hope for the future, etc.; (b) decrease risk factors of Physical and Emotional Distress; and (c) increase outcomes of Resilience, Transcendence and Quality of Life (QOL). A multisite randomized controlled trial was conducted at 6 specialist cancer hospitals. 101 and 103 breast cancer patients were allocated to intervention group (IG) and control group (CG), respectively, and 112 general females (without breast cancer) were allocated to the norm group (NG). Participants completed measures that were related to latent variables derived from the Resilience Model for Breast Cancer (RM-BC) at baseline (T1), 2 months (T2), 6 months (T3), and 12 months (T4) after intervention. At T2, the IG reported significantly lower Depression (ES = 0.65,P = 0.0019) and Illness Uncertainty (ES = 0.57, P = 0.004), better Hope (ES = 0.81, P

Mammalian spermatogenesis is a highly complex cell division and differentiation process occurring in the seminiferous tubules of the testis. This processes are regulated at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels, any mistake in this process can lead to infertility. Unveiling the molecular mechanisms of spermatogenesis has important implications for exploring novel contraceptive approach and treatment of infertility. This review addresses recent progress towards understanding the regulation of androgen, estrogen and their receptors, transcription factors and chromatin-associated factors for spermatogenesis at transcriptional level.

Background Schizophrenia is a widespread and debilitating mental disorder. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of schizophrenia remains largely unknown and no objective laboratory tests are available to diagnose this disorder. The aim of the present study was to characterize the alternations of glucose metabolites and identify potential diagnostic biomarkers for schizophrenia. Methods Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry based targeted metabolomic method was used to quantify the levels of 13 glucose metabolites in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) derived from healthy controls, schizophrenia and major depression subjects (n = 55 for each group). Results The majority (84.6%) of glucose metabolites were significantly disturbed in schizophrenia subjects, while only two (15.4%) glucose metabolites were differently expressed in depression subjects relative to healthy controls in both training set (n = 35/group) and test set (n = 20/group). Antipsychotics had only a subtle effect on glucose metabolism pathway. Moreover, ribose 5-phosphate in PBMCs showed a high diagnostic performance for first-episode drug-naïve schizophrenia subjects. Conclusion These findings suggested disturbance of glucose metabolism may be implicated in onset of schizophrenia and could aid in development of diagnostic tool for this disorder. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12967-015-0540-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BACKGROUND Recent studies suggest a role for interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) in the pregnancy process. METHODS The expression of non-classical class II major histocompatibility complex (RT1-DM) antigens and classical class I major histocompatibility complex (RT1-A) antigens induced by IFN-gamma was examined by reverse transcription-PCR, western blotting and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS IFN-gamma treatment increased expression of RT1-DM and RT1-A during early pregnancy and decreased them during mid pregnancy at the maternal-fetal interface. In late pregnancy, expression of RT1-A decreased in placenta and increased in uterus, and RT1-DM increased in both placenta and uterus with IFN-gamma treatment compared with untreated controls. Immunohistochemical studies suggested that in early pregnancy, RT1-DM protein mainly localized to uterine luminal epithelium and glandular epithelium, and RT1-A mainly localized to decidual blood vessels and decidua basalis. During mid and late pregnancy, RT1-A mainly localized in decidual blood vessels and spongiotrophoblast cells of the junction zone. RT1-DM mainly localized in blood vessels and the labyrinthine zone during mid and late gestation. CONCLUSIONS RT1-A and RT1-DM can both be expressed at the maternal-fetal interface during normal pregnancy. Their localizaion changed according to the period of pregnancy. IFN-gamma can modulate the expression of these two molecules during the whole pregnancy.

Amyloid beta (Aβ) is an important pathogenic factor in Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we investigated the hypothesis that administration of amyloid-derived diffusible ligands (ADDLs) prepared from a synthetic Aβ(1-42) amyloid peptide can cause defective expression of insulin receptors (IRs). To this end, primary rat hippocampal neurons were treated with various concentrations of ADDLs and expression levels of IRs were measured using real-time PCR and western blots. In these experiments, the expression of IRs significantly increased following treatment with low concentrations of Aβ(1-42). In contrast, when higher concentrations of Aβ(1-42) were applied, the number of apoptotic cells present increased, and expression of IRs significantly decreased. In combination, these results suggest that ADDLs is able to induce abnormal expression of IRs and interrupt normal insulin signaling, thereby potentially contributing to central insulin resistance that can occur during progression of AD.

Objective Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a condition associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Insulin resistance, a common pathogenesis of NAFLD and T2D, is partially caused by alterations in angiotensin II (Ang II) and is accompanied by hypoadiponectinemia. We aimed to investigate whether the circulating Ang II and adiponectin concentrations are related to hyperglycemia in male NAFLD patients. Methods Thirty-five controls and 85 NAFLD patients without prior known T2D were enrolled. All participants were non-smoking men who performed 75-g oral glucose tolerance tests. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria, the NAFLD patients were divided into the euglycemia and hyperglycemia groups. The NAFLD patients with hyperglycemia were further divided into the isolated impaired fasting glucose (I-IFG) and postprandial hyperglycemia subgroups. The fasting serum Ang II and adiponectin concentrations were measured. Results Among the 85 NAFLD patients, 40 (47%) had hyperglycemia, including I-IFG (18%) and postprandial hyperglycemia (29%). The serum Ang II concentrations in the euglycemia and hyperglycemia groups were significantly higher than those observed in the control and euglycemia groups, respectively; whereas the serum adiponectin concentrations were significantly lower. The serum Ang II concentrations were significantly higher in the postprandial hyperglycemia subgroup than in the I-IFG subgroup. The serum Ang II and adiponectin concentrations were found to be independent predictors of hyperglycemia in the NAFLD patients. The serum Ang II concentration was significantly associated with the serum adiponectin and 2-hour postprandial glucose concentrations in the NAFLD patients. Conclusion An increased circulating Ang II concentration is associated with hypoadiponectinemia and postprandial hyperglycemia in male NAFLD patients and may be involved in the pathogenesis of T2D in NAFLD patients.

The clinical side-effects of increased cyclooxygenase (COX) activity induced by pathologic conditions have raised concerns recently. However, a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the subsequent neurotoxicity requires knowledge of pathways downstream of COX, especially prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and its receptors. Therefore, this study was performed to investigate the effects of PGE2 receptor 1 (EP1) activity on neuronal cell death resulting from hypoxia/reoxygenation (Hyp). As cyclinD1 activity has been shown to regulate neuronal apoptosis as well, the role of cyclinD1 was investigated, as well. Cortical neural cells isolated from fetal Wistar rats were cultured for 12 d and exposed to Hyp conditions to establish an in vitro Hyp model. To determine the effects of EP1 activity on Hyp-induced neurotoxicity, cells were treated with 17-phenyl trinor-PGE2 (17-pt), a synthetic EP1 agonist, or sc-51089, an EP1 antagonist, then exposed to hypoxic conditions for 3h and reoxygenated for 21 h. Following Hyp, cell viability was quantified by MTT assays, and apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry. Protein expression levels of caspase-3 and cyclinD1 were examined by Western blot analysis. Treatment of cultured cortical neurons with 17-pt significantly decreased the survival rate of Hyp-treated neurons (p0.05), while treatment with sc-51089 increased the survival rate. Treatment with 17-pt also led to increased expression levels of caspase-3, further supporting a role for EP1 in the observed neurotoxicity. However, cyclinD1 expression levels were unchanged following treatment with either 17-pt or sc-51089. Therefore, EP1 may play an important role in Hyp-induced neuronal apoptosis, but this neurotoxic activity is unlikely to involve cyclinD1.

While traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is widely used among Chinese patients with cancer, studies evaluating the effectiveness of TCM using objective indicators are rare. We examined the effectiveness of TCM for liver protection and completion of chemotherapy among patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy. We used a case-control design to examine the medical records of patients with cancer who received chemotherapy in a teaching hospital in Taipei in 2004. A total of 184 courses of chemotherapy among 89 patients were studied. Of the 184 courses, 42 used TCM jointly with chemotherapy served as cases, while the remaining 142 courses served as controls. Outcome variables included counts of cancelled or delayed chemotherapies and liver function (aspartate aminotransferase, AST and alanine aminotransferase, ALT) 1 week before, during and 2 weeks after chemotherapy. Generalized estimating equations were used to analyze the data. Patients who had concomitant TCM with chemotherapy had lower serum ALT and AST during chemotherapy than the controls given that the age, sex, cancer stage, radiotherapy sites, cancer diagnosis and potential hepatotoxicity of the chemotherapeutic drugs were controlled for in the model [β = −3.48, 95% confidence interval (CI) −10.08 to 3.11 for AST;β = −5.95, 95% CI: −11.47 to −0.44 for ALT]. There was no significant difference between the case and control groups for odds of completing one course of chemotherapy. Use of TCM with chemotherapy resulted in protection of the liver during chemotherapy, as manifested by lower serum AST and ALT levels.

Purpose: To investigate major pediatric ocular trauma in Taiwan. Methods: Retrospective review of medical records of all patients 15 years and younger who were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of eye injury at National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Taiwan, between June 1988 and May 2006. Results: There were 156 children (156 eyes) 1.1 to 15.0 years (mean ± standard deviation, 7.1 ± 0.3 years; boy: girl ratio: 2.1:1). Objects most often causing penetrating injury were scissors (13.5%), pencils/pens (12.2%), broken eyeglasses/spectacles (7.7%), and knives (6.4%). Most blunt trauma occurred in traffic accidents (5.8%). Most injuries occurred at home, followed by on the street, at school, and at sports venues. Injuries were classified as open globe (71.2%), adnexal only (18.6%), or closed globe (10.3%), and included corneal laceration (40.4%), lens damage (27.6%), hyphema (25.6%), and eyelid laceration (23.7%). Most surgical procedures were primary repair (88.5%) or removal of a damaged lens (22.4%). Additional surgery was performed in 19.9% of cases. After treatment, 56.4% of eyes had corneal opacity/scar and 7.1% became phthitic; 52.6% had good visual outcome, whereas 23.1% had poor final vision. Compared with visual acuity measured on admission, final visual acuity was improved in 76.1%, unchanged in 19.7%, and worse in 4.3%. Predictors of worse outcome were open-globe injury and larger wound size, posterior segment involvement, and presence of an intraocular foreign body. Conclusions: Most of the children hospitalized for major ocular trauma are younger boys with penetrating injuries suffered at home. Most injuries could have been prevented by increased awareness and reduction of risk factors, and the authors urge better public education for improved safety. [J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus 2010;47:88–95.]

Interleukin-1 (IL-1beta) beta and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) play an important role during pregnancy. Expression of non-classical class MHC II RT1-DM antigen and classical class MHC I RT1-A antigen induced by IL-1beta was examined by Northern blotting, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. IL-1beta treatment significantly increased the expression of RT1-A and RT1-DM in early and mid pregnancy. In late pregnancy, expression of RT1-DM significantly increased in uteri and decreased in placenta. Immunohistochemical studies indicated that, in early pregnancy, RT1-DM protein mainly localized to luminal and glandular uterine epithelium, and RT1-A was present in deciduas basalis, outer layer of luminal epithelium and glandular epithelium. During mid and late pregnancy, RT1-DM was present in maternal blood vessels and syncytiotrophoblast of labyrinthine zone, and RT1-A was present in maternal blood vessels and trophoblastic epithelium of the labyrinthine layers. These findings show that exogenous IL-1beta affects expression of RT1-DM and RT1-A and does not affect the localization of corresponding molecules during pregnancy.