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Evidence of associations between ambient fine particulate matter (PM

For environmental safety, it is important to establish a simple, rapid, and sensitive method for emerging pollutants. Here, a dispersive solid-phase extraction (d-SPE) method based on an iron-based metal-organic framework (Fe-MIL-88-NH

To assess the relationship between waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and the incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D)/impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and to explore to what extent these associations are mediated by blood pressure, lipids and other indicators related to liver and kidney metabolism.This study was based on a functional community cohort included 6109 participants which were divided into two sub-cohorts. One sub-cohort included participants with normal fasting glucose (n = 5563), another included IFG individuals at baseline (n = 546). Cox regression models were used to evaluate the relationships of WHtR with T2D/IFG. Four-year time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and area under curve (AUC) were calculated to estimate the discriminatory power of WhtR and other anthropometric indices on T2D. Mediation analysis was performed to estimate which risk factors mediate the association between WHtR and T2D.Significant positive associations were found between WHtR and the incidence of T2D/IFG in both sub-cohort. WhtR was a useful predictor of T2D (P 0.05). Mediation analysis showed that HOMA-IR (0.45 %), SBP (5.10 %), triglycerides (11.02 %), creatinine (9.36 %) and combined kidney indicators (17.48 %) partly mediated the effect of WHtR on T2D in men. For women, this association was partly mediated by SBP (13.86 %), HDL (24.54 %), ALT (6.29 %), UA (22.58 %) and combined kidney indicators (39.51 %).WHtR was an independent risk factor for the development of T2D and IFG. This association was partly mediated by HOMA-IR, SBP, lipids and other liver and kidney metabolism indicators.

In this study, taking the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region as an example, CMAQ and BETR models were constructed to carry out numerical simulation for the pyrene (Pyr) and benzo[a] pyrene (BaP) in 2014. The model results were compared and evaluated for the atmospheric transportation and transformation of PAHs. Additionally, the XGBoost model was used to identify the key atmospheric physicochemical processes and parameters that affect the environmental behavior of PAHs in the CMAQ. The results showed that the ratio of the simulated value of BETR and annual average value of CMAQ to the measured annual average value was between 1/2 and 2, and the seasonal trend of the simulated concentrations of Pyr and BaP from the CMAQ model were basically consistent with the measured values, which verified the reliability of the two types of models. At the same time, the simulated concentration of the CMAQ model averaged from 9 km grid to 27 km grid and was comparable to the BETR concentration. The results showed that the average concentrations of Pyr and BaP in the BETR model were approximately 1.59 and 1.38 times those of the CMAQ simulation concentrations, respectively, indicating that the two models had good comparability in terms of average annual concentration level and spatial distribution. The SHAP-based variable importance on the XGBoost model showed that boundary layer height was the most significant meteorological factor affecting the transportation and transformation of Pyr and BaP, accounting for 22%-35% of all factors, and sometimes even exceeded the emissions for certain cities and pollutants. The boundary layer height was significantly negatively correlated with the concentration of PAHs. Wind speed was a secondary factor affecting the concentration of PAHs and was negatively correlated with the PAHs, whereas the influence of wind direction on the concentration of PAHs varied.

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological cancer. In spite of recent advances, clinical outcomes remain poor, urgently needing novel therapeutic approaches. Growing evidence indicates that microRNAs play crucial roles in ovarian carcinogenesis and progression and that ferroptosis serves as a novel tumor suppressor. However, the molecular mechanisms of miRNA-mediated ferroptosis regulation in ovarian cancer are still largely unknown. In the present study, we show that miR-424-5p negatively regulates ferroptosis by directly targeting ACSL4 in ovarian cancer cells. Upregulation of miR-424-5p suppressed ACSL4 by directly binding to its 3'-UTR, which subsequently reduced erastin- and RSL3-induced ferroptosis. Meanwhile, knockdown of miR-424-5p increased the sensitivity of ovarian cancer cells to erastin and RSL3. Furthermore, ACSL4 was upregulated in ovarian cancer tissues, and high ACSL4 expression predicted worse prognosis and sensitized ovarian cancer cells to erastin- and RSL3-induced ferroptosis. Importantly, decreases in lipid peroxides and ferroptotic cell death mediated by miR-424-5p could be abrogated by ACSL4 overexpression. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that miR-424-5p regulates ferroptosis by targeting ACSL4 in ovarian cancer cells and suggest a potential therapeutic approach for ovarian cancer.

Describe and predict the malignant tumor deaths in Xi'an so as to provide evidence for the government to formulate the prevention and treatment plans.Overall malignant tumor death in Xi'an in the past 16 years was described. The multi-decrease life table was used to calculate cumulative mortality risk by cause and life expectancy reduction years by cause of malignant tumors in 2020. The join point regression models were used to analyze the change trend of standard mortality of malignant tumors in Xi'an from 2005 to 2020. The appropriate gray models were selected to predict the death of malignant tumors in Xi'an in the next decade.The mortality of total malignant tumors in Xi'an showed that men are higher than women and the elderly are higher than other groups. As for 2020, lung cancer had the highest risk of death for both men and women, while leukemia had the highest life expectancy reduction years by cause. From 2005 to 2020, standardized mortality of majority malignant tumors showed downward trends, which were particularly obvious in recent years. The prediction results of several major malignant tumors showed that in the next decade, the mortality of most malignant tumors had downward trends, but combined with the increase of population in the future, the number of malignant tumor deaths in Xi'an will continue to increase.Malignant tumors in Xi'an have decreasing mortality trends in recent years, and effective measures to prevent and treat tumors should be strengthened in the future.

This study investigated the effect of nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) stress on the production of DHA or EPA and total fatty acids (TFAs) in the marine microalga Tisochrysis lutea and the freshwater microalga Monodus subterraneus. Five N or P starvation/limitation conditions (N sufficient and P limited, N sufficient and P starved, N starved and P sufficient, N starved and P limited, and N and P starved) and one N and P sufficient condition (control) were studied. The results demonstrated that the proportion of DHA or EPA among TFAs and production in the microalgae suspensions decreased (57%, 73% for N stress and 18%, 51% for P stress, respectively) under N or P stress in both microalgae compared with the N and P sufficient group. Differently, DHA dry weight content of T. lutea decreased significantly, and EPA dry weight content of M. subterraneus decreased slightly under N starved conditions. Clear differences in TFA content/production and the relationship between TFA and DHA or EPA production/content and CO2 fixation were observed between the two microalgae. These results give a new sight on the difference between marine microalgae and freshwater microalgae. Meanwhile, it gave a potential application to produce DHA or EPA and TFA combining with CO2 fixation by these microalgae.

BACKGROUND Protective effects of reduced beta 2 glycoprotein I (Rb2GPI) against vascular injury of diabetes mellitus have been extensively investigated. However, the effects of Rb2GPI on liver injury in diabetic animals have not been reported. MATERIAL AND METHODS A diabetic rat model of was produced by systemic injection of streptozotocin (STZ). Rats were divided into a normal control group, a model group, and an Rb2GPI treatment group (N=6 in each group). After treatments, blood serum and liver tissue were collected to test the protection of Rb2GPI. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) was detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. RESULTS Our results revealed that Rβ2GPI reduced blood glucose, serum creatinine, and urea nitrogen levels, as well as serum inflammation cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and C-reactive protein in the diabetic rats. Importantly, Rβ2GPI prevented liver injury in the diabetic rats as confirmed by hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining, alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, and gamma-glutamyl transferase. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) were promoted by diabetic modeling and were attenuated by Rβ2GPI administration. Moreover, Rβ2GPI significantly reduced liver catalase, malondialdehyde, and superoxide dismutase levels in the diabetic rats. Rβ2GPI reduced liver glycolipid storage in STZ diabetic rats. Both immunohistochemistry and Western blotting demonstrated that Rβ2GPI promoted AMPK phosphorylation in the diabetic rats. CONCLUSIONS Our data proved that Rβ2GPI prevented liver injury in diabetic rats, likely through activating the AMPK signaling pathway.

This study systematically examined the effect of nitrogen and phosphorous stress on the formation of linoleic acid (LA), arachidonic acid (ARA), and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in Porphyridium cruentum gy-h56. P. cruentum was cultivated in six different media conferring different conditions of nitrogen (N) sufficiency/deprivation and phosphorous (P) sufficiency/limitation/deprivation. Over a 16-day cultivation process, the dry-weight content, proportion of total fatty acids (TFAs), and the concentration in the medium of linoleic acid (LA) were greatly improved by a maximum of 2.5-, 1.6-, and 1.1-fold, respectively, under conditions of N or P deprivation compared with N and P sufficiency. In contrast, levels of EPA or ARA were not enhanced under N or P stress conditions. Additionally, the results showed that N deprivation weakened the impact of P deficiency on the content and proportions of LA and EPA, while P deprivation enhanced the impact of N starvation on the content and proportions of LA and EPA. The conditions of N sufficiency and P deprivation (N+P-) were the optimal conditions for the production of LA, while the optimal conditions for EPA, ARA, and TFAs production were N sufficiency and P limitation (N+P-lim). This study suggests the potential application of combining N removal from saline wastewater with the production of LA, ARA, EPA, and biodiesel.

This study investigated the growth and biodiesel production of S. obliquus from autotrophic, heterotrophic and mixotrophic cultures under different nitrogen conditions. FAME productivities in the mixotrophic culture were 2.28 and 1.53 times greater than the combination of the autotrophic and heterotrophic cultures under nitrogen-replete and nitrogen-deplete conditions, respectively, which indicates that the mixotrophic process is not a simple combination of autotrophic and heterotrophic processes. Moreover, mixotrophic cultivation of S. obliquus coupled with nitrogen starvation led to the highest FAME productivity, which reached as high as 110.6 mg L−1 d−1. Furthermore, high fatty acid yield in the mixotrophic culture without nitrogen supply indicated that mixotrophic S. obliquus converted the assimilated carbon to fatty acids more effectively. This study suggests a great potential to recover COD as fatty acids via S. obliquus, where biodiesel productivity and COD recovery can be significantly improved by combining nitrogen starvation with mixotrophic cultivation.

The large scale lignocellulosic biomass wastes could also be regarded as abundantly-available renewable resources, and how to convert them into value-added products via sustainable approaches is still a big challenge. In this work, we demonstrated a facile pyrolysis method to construct N, P-dually doped biochar materials from the lignocellulosic biomass wastes. The as-synthesized N, P-dually doped biochar samples could act as electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction and evolution reactions (ORR/OER), showing excellent catalytic performance and long-term durability, as well as robust tolerance to CO and methanol. The unique hierarchical porous structure, favorable electronic structure modified by the N and P doping, as well as a variety of defect sites induced by the N and P doping into the carbon framework were identified as the main contributions to the prominent catalytic activity of the as-synthesized N, P-dually doped biochar materials. We expect this work would spur more efforts into developing advanced materials from the large scale lignocellulosic biomass wastes.

Microalgae, with robust nutrition intake capacity and rapid growth rate, could enrich large amounts of nutrition elements (N and P) and CO2 from the environment, providing an effective way to counter water eutrophication and global warming. However, how to effectively dispose the massive biomass rich in carbon and nutrition contents is still a big challenge. In this work, the microalgae biomass was used as a precursor to synthesize the N-enriching porous carbon materials via a facile pyrolysis method. The as-synthesized materials exhibited robust electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activities in both alkaline and acidic media, showing a superb catalytic ORR activity (high catalytic activity, favorable durability, as well as excellent tolerance to methanol and CO). Large surface area with mesopore structure, as well as abundant active nitrogen sites were mainly responsible for their robust electrocatalytic performance. The pyridinic N species was identified as the ORR catalytic site, and its contribution was quantitatively analyzed. The performance of the as-assembled Zn-air battery equipped with the as-synthesized N-enriching carbon materials for air cathode catalyst further confirms its superb effectiveness for ORR. The results provided in this work would provide a sustainable and cost-effective method to produce high-performance carbon materials for energy storage and conversion from the large-scale biomass wastes.

Although Metformin, a first-line antidiabetic drug, can ameliorate ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) induced brain damage, but how metformin benefits injured hippocampus and the mechanisms are still largely unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the neuroprotective mechanisms of metformin against ischemic brain damage induced by cerebral I/R and to explore whether the Akt-mediated down-regulation of the phosphorylation of JNK3 signaling pathway contributed to the protection provided by metformin. Transient global brain ischemia was induced by 4-vessel occlusion in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. The open field tasks and Morris water maze were used to assess the effect of metformin on anxiety-like behavioral and cognitive impairment after I/R. Cresyl Violet staining was used to examine the survival of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. Immunoblotting was performed to measure the phosphorylation of Akt1, JNK3, c-Jun and the expression of cleaved caspase-3. Through ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) rat model, we found that metformin could attenuate the deficits of hippocampal related behaviors and inhibit cell apoptosis. The western blot data showed that metformin could promote the activation of Akt1 and reduce the phosphorylation of JNK3 and c-Jun as well as elevation of cleaved caspase-3 in I/R brains. PI3K inhibitor reversed all the protective effects, further indicating that metformin protect hippocampus from ischemic damage through PI3K/Akt1/JNK3/c-Jun signaling pathway.

A visible light-responsive graphene oxide–Ag3PO4 (GO–Ag3PO4) was prepared using a facile electrostatically driven self-assembly method. Ag3PO4 particles were uniformly deposited on the surface of graphene oxide (GO) sheets. The GO–Ag3PO4 composite was more active in photocatalytically killing both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria compared with pure Ag3PO4. The significantly enhanced photocatalytic and bactericidal performance of GO–Ag3PO4 composite could be attributed to (i) the more active adsorption sites on the GO surface for bacteria, and (ii) the reduced recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs relying on the excellent electronic conductivity and store electricity of GO. According to the results, most of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria were killed within 30 min under visible light irradiation, while Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria were almost completely killed within only 25 min. The difference could be due to the outer membrane of E. coli, which made them more resistant to the cell membrane damage caused by GO–Ag3PO4 than S. aureus lack of the outer membrane. In addition, the radical capture experiments confirmed the involvement of active holes and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the antibacterial process of GO–Ag3PO4. All the results demonstrated that the synthesized GO–Ag3PO4 composite, as a visible light-responsive antibacterial material, has a great promising for water disinfection.

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is critical to various energy conversion and storage systems. Developing cost-effective and high performance metal-free carbon as an alternative to Pt-based ORR electrocatalytsts is a promising strategy for the commercialization of these clean energy conversion technologies. In this work, the microalgae biomass with a high N content was used as a precursor to prepare N-doped biochar material via an ionic liquid-assisted carbonization process. Experimental results show that the sp2/sp3 carbon interface and pore structure of the as-synthesized biochar material could be tuned by the polymerization of the ionic liquids and the catalysis of Fe species in the carbonization process. The as-synthesized N-doped biochar material exhibited robust electrocatalytic ORR performance with a high catalytic activity, excellent long-term stability and great tolerance to methanol and CO. The pyridinic N species was identified as the active catalytic site for the ORR. A Zn-air battery was assembled using the N-doped biochar as the air cathode catalyst and showed favourable performance. This work provides a straightforward strategy to prepare efficient and low-cost functional carbon materials for clean energy conversion from naturally abundant biomass.

Heterotrophic cultivation of microalgae is attracting more attention due to its high production efficiency. In this study, Chlorella vulgaris was cultivated heterotrophically with acetate in batch systems. The effects of nitrogen deficiency and different phosphorus supply levels on biodiesel production were investigated. It was found that C. vulgaris can assimilate acetate and accumulate fatty acids simultaneously. The highest FAME (Fatty acid methyl ester) content (56%) of algae was obtained in nitrogen deficient media. Interestingly, the productivity of fatty acids under nitrogen starved conditions was three times greater than that under nitrogen sufficient conditions. Moreover, FAME productivity was further enhanced to 66 mg L − 1 ·d − 1 by a sufficient phosphorus supply but there was no effect caused by phosphorus limitation. Furthermore, the conversion yields of acetate consumed to fatty acids produced (Chemical oxygen demand (COD)-based) in nitrogen starved media were also three times higher than those in nitrogen sufficient media. FAME productivity of C. vulgaris under nitrogen starvation was not improved by controlling the pH at stable values (7.5, 8.0, and 8.5), and even decreased when pH was controlled at 7.0 and 9.0.

Background: Preterm birth (PTB) is the leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide, and its prevention is an important health-care priority. The cervical incompetence is a well-known risk factor for PTB and its incidence is about 0.1–2.0%, while there is no ideal optimum treatment recommended currently. The cervical incompetence causes about 15% of habitual abortion in 16–28 weeks. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of cervical cerclage and vaginal progesterone in the treatment of cervical incompetence with/without PTB history. Methods: We retrospectively observed the pregnancy outcome of 198 patients diagnosed with cervical incompetence from January 2010 to October 2015 in Beijing Hospital. Among the 198 women involved, women who had at least one PTB before 32 weeks (including abortion in the second trimester attributed to the cervical competence) were assigned to the PTB history cohort, and others were assigned to the non-PTB history cohort. All women underwent cerclage placement (cervical cerclage group) or administrated with vaginal progesterone (vaginal progesterone group) until delivery. The outcomes of interest were the differences in gestational age at delivery, the rate of premature delivery, neonatal outcome, complications, and route of delivery between the two treatment groups. Results: Among the 198 patients with cervical incompetence, 116 patients in PTB history cohort and 80 patients in non-PTB history cohort were included in the final analysis. In the PTB history cohort, cervical cerclage group had significantly longer cervical length at 2 weeks after the start of treatment (23.1 ± 4.6 mm vs. 12.4 ± 9.1 mm, P = 0.002), higher proportion of delivery ≥37 weeks' gestation (63.4% vs. 33.3%, P = 0.008), bigger median birth weight (2860 g vs. 2250 g, P = 0.031), and lower proportion of neonates whose 1-min Apgar score P = 0.005), compared with vaginal progesterone group. No significant differences were found in other outcome measures between the two treatment groups. In the non-PTB history cohort, there were no significant differences in the maternal outcomes between cervical cerclage and vaginal progesterone groups, such as median gestational age at delivery (37.4 weeks vs. 37.3 weeks, P = 0.346) and proportion of delivery ≥37 weeks' gestation (55.9% vs. 60.9%, P = 0.569). There were also no significant differences in the neonatal outcomes between the cervical cerclage and vaginal progesterone groups including the median birth weight (2750 g vs. 2810 g, P = 0.145), perinatal mortality (5.9% vs. 6.5%, P = 0.908), and 1-min Apgar scores (8.8% vs. 8.7%, P = 0.984). Conclusions: Cervical cerclage showed more benefits in the maternal and neonatal outcomes than vaginal progesterone therapy for women with an asymptomatic short cervix and prior PTB history, while cervical cerclage and vaginal progesterone therapies showed similar effectiveness for women with an asymptomatic short cervix but without a history of PTB.

In this work, we have found that a new Fe-N module, FexN (x = 2, 3, or 4), in which the N atoms insert the lattice of Fe matrix, also has high catalytic activity towards ORR. We synthesized the FexN module embedded N-doped carbon material (FexN/NC) via a facile metal-organic framework (MOF)-templated approach. The as-synthesized FexN/NC shows a superb catalytic ORR activity as well as high methanol tolerance. The highly efficient catalytic active sites (FexN module and well-doped N species) were mainly responsible for the superb ORR activity. The synergistic mechanisms of the N-doped carbon support and FexN moieties for ORR at molecular level were elucidated by density functional theory calculations. The excellent catalytic ORR performance make the FexN/NC catalyst be a promising candidate to replace the expensive Pt based cathodic catalyst in Zn-air batteries.

The present study was conducted to explore the correlations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the calcium channel CACNA 1A, CACNA 1C, and CACNA 1H genes and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) amongst the Chinese population. In total, 281 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes participated in the present study. These patients were divided into the case group, which was subdivided into the DPN (143 cases) and the non-DPN groups (138 cases). Subsequently, 180 healthy individuals that had undergone routine health examinations were also recruited and assigned to the control group. PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was used to detect the genotype and allele frequencies of CACNA 1A, CACNA 1C, and CACNA 1H genes; logistic regression analysis to investigate the association of gene polymorphisms with DNP. Gene–gene interactions were then detected by generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction (GMDR). The results revealed that CACNA 1A rs2248069 and rsl6030, CACNA 1C rs216008 and rs2239050, and CACNA 1H rs3794619, and rs7191246 SNPs were all associated with DPN, while rs2248069, rsl6030, rs2239050, and rs7191246 polymorphisms were attributed to the susceptibility to DPN. It was also observed that the optimal models were three-, four- and five-dimensional models with a prediction accuracy of 61.05% and the greatest consistency of cross-validation was 10/10. In summary, these findings demonstrated that the SNPs in the CACNA 1A, CACNA 1C, and CACNA 1H genes were involved in the pathophysiology of DPN. In addition, polymorphisms in the CACNA 1A, CACNA 1C, and CACNA 1H genes and their interactions also had effects on DPN.

In this study, Tisochrysis lutea was cultivated in mixotrophic and heterotrophic cultures with glycerol as a carbon source and with glucose and acetate for comparison; autotrophic cultivation was the control group without a carbon source. It was found that T. lutea used glycerol and did not use glucose and acetate under mixotrophy. Mixotrophy slightly elevated the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and total fatty acids (TFA) content in the dry-weight and enhanced the DHA and TFA production in medium (41.3 and 31.9% respectively) at the end of a 16-day cultivation, while heterotrophy reduced the DHA content and TFA production. Under the mixotrophy, the glycerol contribution to the DHA production (16.19 mg/L) and the TFA production (97.8 mg/L) was not very high and the DHA yield [2.63% chemical oxygen demand (COD)] and TFA yield (13.1% COD) were also very low. Furthermore, T. lutea using glycerol had a period of adaptation, indicating that T. lutea was not an ideal microalga for organic carbon utilization. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13568-018-0580-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Subsequent application of the obtained algae by chemical coagulation (e.g. Fe(III) addition) presents a challenge because of various iron compounds in algae. In this study, algae obtained by chemical coagulation were carbonized to yield an algae-based Fe/C nano-composite with a high capacity for hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) removal (236.9 mg/g), which is attributed to the high reductive Fe content (e.g., FeS, Fe(0), and FeO) and specific surface area. The optimal conditions—that is, 100 mg/L Fe(III) addition and 800 °C—were determined. Moreover, the role of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in carbonization was examined as it affected the product composition and efficiency of Cr(VI) removal, owing to the stabilizing property effect of EPS in algae. Algal EPS induced the homogeneous distribution of Fe compounds on the surface of the algae, and the generated α-FeOOH nanoparticles were wrapped in organic carbon matrix, resulting in a sufficient reaction between Fe compounds and organic carbon during carbonization. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that reduction and adsorption contributed 83.44% and 16.56% to Cr(VI) removal, respectively. This study provides a new insight into the role of EPS in the efficient Cr(VI) removal by algae-based Fe/C nano-composite and presents a promising application of this Fe/C nano-composite in environmental remediation.

The present study was conducted to explore the correlations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the calcium channel CACNA 1A, CACNA 1C, and CACNA 1H genes and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) amongst the Chinese population. In total, 281 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes participated in the present study. These patients were divided into the case group, which was subdivided into the DPN (143 cases) and the non-DPN groups (138 cases). Subsequently, 180 healthy individuals that had undergone routine health examinations were also recruited and assigned to the control group. PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was used to detect the genotype and allele frequencies of CACNA 1A, CACNA 1C, and CACNA 1H genes; logistic regression analysis to investigate the association of gene polymorphisms with DNP. Gene–gene interactions were then detected by generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction (GMDR). The results revealed that CACNA 1A rs2248069 and rsl6030, CACNA 1C rs216008 and rs2239050, and CACNA 1H rs3794619, and rs7191246 SNPs were all associated with DPN, while rs2248069, rsl6030, rs2239050, and rs7191246 polymorphisms were attributed to the susceptibility to DPN. It was also observed that the optimal models were three-, four- and five-dimensional models with a prediction accuracy of 61.05% and the greatest consistency of cross-validation was 10/10. In summary, these findings demonstrated that the SNPs in the CACNA 1A, CACNA 1C, and CACNA 1H genes were involved in the pathophysiology of DPN. In addition, polymorphisms in the CACNA 1A, CACNA 1C, and CACNA 1H genes and their interactions also had effects on DPN.

Background The sensitivity and specificity of noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for detection of sex chromosome aneuploidies (SCAs) compared to common autosomal trisomies are significantly lower. We speculated that in addition to altered maternal X chromosome karyotype, maternal X chromosome copy number variations (CNVs) may also contribute to discordant NIPT SCA results. Methods Clinical NIPT was performed for pregnant women at a single hospital. Copy number variation sequencing (CNV-Seq) was used to identify and quantitate the copy number of maternal X chromosome CNVs for each positive SCA pregnancy. Results Two out of 25 SCA positive NIPT samples had slightly abnormal ChrX/ChrY z-scores and were referred for invasive test confirmation. However, fetal karyotypes were found to be normal. CNV-Seq analysis of the maternal white blood cell DNA archived from the original two NIPT blood samples identified small CNVs spanning the STS gene, which is associated with X-linked ichthyosis. Correcting for the altered plasma levels of X chromosome DNA caused by the two CNVs and, taking into consideration the phenotypic consequences for X-linked disease, both fetuses were diagnosed as normal. Conclusions Maternal DNA sequencing is recommended for all positive NIPT SCA results to avoid unnecessary referral for invasive testing and also to evaluate the risk to the fetus of X-linked disease.

In order to rapidly response to users request in high-speed mobile environment, achieve efficient content distribution in content center network, this paper proposed a novel multipath routing transmission mechanism based on network coding (MRNC). By using network coding technology, users Interest packet is divided into multiple child interest packet, and the content is divide and random linear codes and the content, thus the content is cache fragmentation. Content retrieval process is become into more child content retrieval process by the multipath routing technology. The simulation results show that the proposed mechanism can effectively improve the node success delivery rate, reduce the total road network redundancy, improve the transmission efficiency.

The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence and charateristics of Acinetobacter baumannii producing MBLs isolated from the several wards of the affiliated hospital in Jilin regions. The bioinformatics technology was used to design primers, sequence and blast, in conjunction with antibiotic susceptibility test and MBL screening method. The total of 119 were isolated from three wards and 88 strains (73.9 %) produced MBLs, the number of 31 strains (26.1%) didnt produce MBLs. All MBLs isolates showed same antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. Among Acinetobacter baumannii producing MBLs, 78 strains (88.9%) were positive for blaOXA-23 gene, 10 strains (11.1%) contained blaVIM-2 gene. Plasmid profiles and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis were used to study the relatedness of isolates. All MBLs isolates were closely related by PFGE and plasmid analysis. This study confirmed the potential risk of spreading of Acinetobacter baumannii producing MBLs with inter-and intrahospital clonal transfer of patients.