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Patients with asthenozoospermia often present multiple defects in sperm functions apart from a decrease in sperm motility. However, the etiological factors underlying these multifaceted defects remain mostly unexplored, which may lead to unnecessary treatment and unsatisfactory assisted reproductive technologies (ART) outcome. Here, we show that the protein levels of CD147 were lowered in sperm obtained from asthenozoospermic infertile patients exhibiting defects in both sperm motility and the acrosome reaction. Whereas CD147 maintained sperm motility before capacitation, female tract-derived soluble CD147 interacted with sperm-bound CD147 to induce an acrosome reaction in capacitated sperm. Soluble CD147 treatment restored the acrosome reaction and improved the fertility of sperm from patients with asthenozoospermia. Mechanistically, CD147 promotes sperm motility and acrosome reaction (AR) by eliciting Ca2+ influx through soluble CD147 binding to sperm-bound CD147. Notably, the level of soluble CD147 in seminal plasma was positively correlated with the fertilization rate and pregnancy outcome in infertile couples undergoing in vitro fertilization. Our study has identified a marker for the diagnosis and a therapeutic target for the defective AR capability in asthenozoospermia and a candidate for the prediction of in vitro fertilization outcomes for male infertile patients that facilitates the development of precision medicine in ART., Graphical abstract, This study has identified CD147 as a potential marker for the diagnosis and treatment of defective AR capability in asthenozoospermia and for the prediction of in vitro fertilization outcome for male infertile patients.

Endocrine therapy for prostate cancer (PCa) mainly inhibits androgen receptor (AR) signaling, due to increased androgen synthesis and AR changes, PCa evolved into castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). The function of Family With Sequence Similarity 64 Member A (FAM64A) and its association with prostate cancer has not been reported. In our research, we first reported that FAM64A is up-regulated and positively associated with poor prognosis of patients with prostate cancer (PCa) by TCGA database and immunohistochemistry staining. Moreover, knockdown of FAM64A significantly suppressed the proliferation, migration, invasion, and cell cycle of PCa cells in vitro. Mechanistically, FAM64A expression was increased by dihydrotestosterone (DHT) through direct binding of AR to FAM64A promoter, and notably promoted the proliferation, migration, invasion, and cell cycle of androgen-dependent cell line of PCa. In addition, abnormal expression of FAM64A affects the immune and interferon signaling pathway of PCa cells. In conclusion, FAM64A was up-regulated by AR through directly binding to its specific promoter region to promote the development of PCa, and was associated with the immune mechanism and interferon signaling pathway, which provided a better understanding and a new potential for treating PCa.

As an important part of the ecological environment, degraded coastal soils urgently require efficient and eco-friendly soil amendment. Biochar and wood vinegar have been proved to be effective soil amendments, and acid-modified biochar has great potential in ameliorating the degraded coastal saline–alkali soil. However, the effects of individual or combined application of biochar (BC), acid-modified biochar (ABC), and wood vinegar (WV) on coastal saline–alkali soil are unknown. Hence, biochar, wood vinegar, and acid-modified biochar were prepared by pyrolysis of poplar wood. The properties of biochar were characterized, and soil incubation experiments were conducted. The results showed that ABC decreased the soil alkalinity by acid-base neutralization and improved the soil fertility by increasing the nutrients (C, N, P). ABC provided a more suitable environment and changed the abundance and diversity of soil microorganisms. ABC increased the relative contents of specific families (e.g., Pseudomonadaceae and Sphingomonadaceae), which had strong ecological linkages in the C, N, and P cycles and organic matter degradation. The results indicated that WV had little effect on coastal saline–alkali soil, whereas individual and combined application of biochar (especially ABC) showed an efficient remediation effect. Our preliminary study demonstrated that the ABC could be a suitable solution for ameliorating degraded coastal saline–alkali soils.

Background Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the most common tumors in urinary tract tumors. However, the mechanism that supports renal cell carcinoma is unclear. The function of transcription elongation factor A (SII)-like 2 (TCEAL2) and its association with human cancer have not been reported. Materials and methods To explore the role of TCEAL2 in carcinogenesis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), we performed bioinformatics analysis to determine the expression levels of TCEAL2 in ccRCC specimens and normal kidney tissue and then verified findings with our samples by qPCR, Western blot and immunohistochemistry staining. Furthermore, the lentiviral vectors were used to increase the expression of TCEAL2 in ccRCC cell lines. The immunofluorescence assay was taken to observe the subcellular location of TCEAL2 in ccRCC cells, and CCK-8 and flow cytometry were introduced for assessing cell proliferation and cell cycle of ccRCC cells, respectively. Results Compared with adjacent normal kidney tissue and human proximal tubular epithelial cells, the expression of TCEAL2 in ccRCC tissues and cell lines was down-regulated. Patients who had low expression of TCEAL2 had a statistically significant late tumor stage. Restore of TCEAL2 in ccRCC cells inhibited cell proliferation and induced cell cycle arrest in S phase of ccRCC cells. Conclusion To our knowledge, this is the first report of TCEAL2 expression changes in ccRCC. We found that the decrease of TCEAL2 expression may be related to the occurrence of ccRCC. Further research is needed to clarify the molecular mechanism of TCEAL2 in progress of ccRCC.

Observations of the atmospheric trace gases are crucial for quality assessment of the human living environment. Multiaxis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) is the most promising candidate to meet the requirements on observations of atmospheric trace gases with high sensitivity, good stability, and a wide range of regional monitoring. The shipborne observations of tropospheric trace gases (NO2, SO2, and O3) over a coastal city, Qingdao, with MAX-DOAS were conducted by a Chinese oceanographic research vessel, XiangYangHong 08 (XYH 08). During the observational campaign, the shipborne MAX-DOAS equipment was used to make anchor measurements for 3 days, and a sailing measurement along Qingdao coast for half an hour. Measurement results are presented for both sailing and anchor point measurements in this paper. Combining geometry characteristic of the monitoring area, it can be concluded from the sailing measurements that the traffic emissions may play an important role in the boundary layer (BL) pollution of a coastal city’s atmosphere. The anchor point measurements showed that the NO2 vertical column density (VCD) mean value of Jiaozhou Bay is about 2.7 times of the value of the Qingdao offshore sea area. Likewise, the tropospheric VCDs of SO2 and O3 have an increase of 30% and 40%, respectively, on 1 September in Jiaozhou Bay, compared to the other 2 days in Qingdao offshore sea area.

Introduction Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been linked with erectile dysfunction (ED), but the relatively independent polysomnography (PSG) outcomes of apnea and nocturnal hypoxia may not effectively assess the physiological impairment of OSA well. Aim To propose a new calculation method, the blood oxygen accumulation distribution area index (BOADAI), for evaluating the association between OSA and ED. Methods In this study, 502 male participants with suspected OSA were enrolled. Clinical questionnaire, physical measurements, and PSG outcomes were obtained by 2 respiratory physicians. ED was assessed by a urologist using the International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5). Whole pulse oxygen saturation curves during the sleep time were compressed into a fixed scale image, and the distribution area of oxygen saturation curves was outlined. We then calculated the value of the outlined area and normalized it by total sleep time. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator logistic regression model was used for selecting the optimal variable associated with ED and model construction. The clinical net benefit of the BOADAI and its related modules was estimated and compared by decision curve analysis. Main Outcome Measure ED and OSA were assessed using the IIEF-5, clinical questionnaire, physical measurements, and PSG outcomes. Results The frequency of ED in patients with OSA was significantly greater than that in the no-OSA group. Meanwhile, the new BOADAI was negatively correlated with the IIEF-5 score (r = −0.2525, P = .0000). Moreover, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method retained BOADAI but not the other PSG parameters such as respiratory disorder index and lowest SaO2. Finally, logistic regression analysis revealed that older age, lips with cyanochroia, systemic hypertension, and BOADAI were independently associated with ED, and decision curve analysis indicated the clinical usefulness of the BOADAI module. Conclusion This study revealed novel evidence that OSA is a risk factor for ED. Meanwhile, the BOADAI could act as a potential clinical characteristic to evaluate ED in patients with OSA and to provide clinical treatment recommendations.

With the wide application of lidar in the future, the problem of crosstalk between lidars will become more serious. True random coding photon counting lidar with high anti-crosstalk ability will play an important role in solving this problem. In this paper, based on the working principle of Gm-APD, the detection probability theoretical model of true random coding photon counting lidar is built, and the impact of jitter on detection probability is considered for the first time. The influence of mean echo photon number, mean pulse count density, sequence length and pulse width on detection probability is analyzed. Monte Carlo simulation and experimental results are highly consistent with the theoretical model, which proves the correctness of the detection probability theoretical model. This theoretical model provides an effective means to evaluate the system performance.

Alternative splicing (AS) constitutes a major reason for messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein diversity. Increasing studies have shown a link to splicing dysfunction associated with malignant neoplasia. Systematic analysis of AS events in kidney cancer remains poorly reported. Therefore, we generated AS profiles in 533 kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) patients in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database using RNA-seq data. Then, prognostic models were developed in a primary cohort (N = 351) and validated in a validation cohort (N = 182). In addition, splicing networks were built by integrating bioinformatics analyses. A total of 11 268 and 8083 AS variants were significantly associated with patient overall survival time in the primary and validation KIRC cohorts, respectively, including STAT1, DAZAP1, IDS, NUDT7, and KLHDC4. The AS events in the primary KIRC cohorts served as candidate AS events to screen the independent risk factors associated with survival in the primary cohort and to develop prognostic models. The area under the curve of the receiver-operator characteristic curve for prognostic prediction in the primary and validation KIRC cohorts was 0.84 and 0.82 at 2500 days of overall survival, respectively. In addition, splicing correlation networks revealed key splicing factors (SFs) in KIRC, such as HNRNPH1, HNRNPU, KHDBS1, KHDBS3, SRSF9, RBMX, SFQ, SRP54, HNRNPA0, and SRSF6. In this study, we analyzed the AS landscape in the TCGA KIRC cohort and detected predictors (prognostic) based on AS variants with high performance for risk stratification of the KIRC cohort and revealed key SFs in splicing networks, which could act as underlying mechanisms.

A polarized micropulse lidar (P-MPL) employing a pulsed laser at 532 nm was developed by the Institute of Oceanographic Instrumentation, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences). The optomechanical structure, technical parameters, detection principle, overlap factor calculation method, and inversion methods of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) depth and depolarization ratio (DR) were introduced. Continuous observations using the P-MPL were carried out at Xi’an Meteorological Bureau, and the observation data were analyzed. In this study, we gleaned much information on aerosols and clouds, including the temporal and spatial variation of aerosols and clouds, aerosol extinction coefficient, DR, and the structure of ABL were obtained by the P-MPL. The variation of aerosols and clouds before and after a short rainfall was analyzed by combining time-height-indication (THI) of range corrected signal (RCS) and DR was obtained by the P-MPL with profiles of potential temperature (PT) and relative humidity (RH) detected by GTS1 Digital Radiosonde. Then, the characteristics of tropopause cirrus cloud were discussed using the data of DR, PT, and RH. Finally, a haze process from January 1st to January 5th was studied by using aerosol extinction coefficients obtained by the P-MPL, PT, and RH profiles measured by GTS1 Digital Radiosonde and the time-varying of PM2.5 and PM10 observed by ambient air quality monitor. The source of the haze was simulated by using the NOAA HYSPLIT Trajectory Model.

Purpose/Objective(s) For stage I to II high-risk endometrioid adenocarcinoma patients, the optimal adjuvant radiotherapy modality remains controversial. The present study sought to optimize the treatment of pelvic external beam radiation (EBRT) with/or vaginal brachytherapy (VBT) for high-risk endometrioid adenocarcinoma patients in multiple radiation oncology centers across China. Materials/Methods This article retrospectively reviewed stage I to II resected endometrioid adenocarcinoma patients treated at 13 radiation centers from Jan. 1999 to Dec. 2015. Patients were eligible if they had high-risk features (stage IB Grade 3 disease or stage II Grade 1-3 disease) on the basis of ESMO-ESGO-ESTRO risk group consensus. Results A total of 218 patients were included in the analysis. Lymphadenectomy was achieved in 87.2% of all patients. Fifty-one patients received adjuvant EBRT (EBRT group), 25 patients received VBT (VBT group), and 142 patients were administered EBRT combined with VBT (EBRT + VBT group). The three groups were comparable in baseline characteristics, except that the proportion of stage IBand Grade 3 disease in the VBT group was significantly higher and their age was older (P Conclusion For patients with postoperative stage I to II high-risk endometrioid adenocarcinoma, compared with VBT alone, pelvic radiation significantly improved DFS, LRFS and DMFS with tolerable adverse effects. Survival outcomes were not significantly different between the EBRT and EBRT + VBT modalities. Author Disclosure W. Wang: None. L. Zou: None. T. Wang: None. Z. Liu: None. J. He: None. X. Sun: None. W. Zhong: None. F. Zhao: None. X. Li: None. S. Li: None. H. Zhu: None. Z. Ma: None. S. Sun: None. M. Jin: None. F. Zhang: None. X. Hou: None. L. Wei: None. K. Hu: None.

Neonicotinoid and fipronil insecticides have been consumed worldwide, particularly in China. There is growing interest in the environmental research community about the occurrence, sources, and risks of neonicotinoids and fipronil. A new method based on high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) and disc solid phase extraction (SPE) techniques were developed for the determination of neonicotinoids and fipronil in seawater in this research. The effects of the styrene divinyl benzene-reverse phase sulfonated (SDB-RPS) membrane-based solid phase extraction optimization process and the HPLC separation parameters on the detection results of the target compounds were studied. Under the optimized conditions, the detection limit of this method for 12 target compounds ranged from 0.05 ng L-1 to 0.50 ng L-1 and absolute recovery was achieved from 58.9-106.5%. The results proved that this method can effectively detect neonicotinoid and fipronil pesticides in seawater. At the same time, dinotefuran, nitenpyram, thiamethoxam, imidacloprid, thiacloprid, fipronil and its metabolites were found in seawater samples from the Yangtze River Estuary and the adjacent sea area. Among them, the total concentration of neonicotinoid insecticides ranged from ND-12.45 ng L-1 and the average total concentration was 3.5 ng L-1; the total concentration of fipronil and its metabolites ranged from ND-2.45 ng L-1, and the average total concentration was 0.79 ng L-1. The results showed that there was contamination of neonicotinoids and fipronil in the Yangtze River Estuary and its adjacent area.

China has abundant of local citrus resources, which had many seeds. The Seedless is the aim of the local citrus breeding. Triploid citurs resources usually obtained by crosssing breeding between the diploid and tetraploid plants. However, the resources of tetraploid citrus are limited. It has been reported that the hybrid between diploid and diploid plants can produce triploid citrus, which not only saves the breeding time, but also shortens the breeding cycles. In this project, flow cytometry detection assisted by embryo rescue system and SSR identification technology were used to improve the probability of obtaining polyploidy from the hybrid offspring, and provide technical support for obtaining polyploidy from large-scale hybridization between diploid and diploid. plants. Three diploid pollen cultivars were crossbred with Hunan local cultivar 8306, immature seeds were collected for embryo rescue to obtain regenerative plants, plant ploidy was detected by flow cytometry and stoma electron microscope, and offspring genotypes were identified by SSR. After 100 d hybrid between three diploid pollens and Ponkan 8 306, 405 plants were obtained by embryo rescue technique. And 70 plants survived in the greenhouse after transplantation. Through flow cytometry instrument and stomatal electron microscope inspection, the results showed that SSR analysis validated that there are 13 polyploid plants, including 1 tetraploid plant and 12 triploid plants. The ratio of polyploidy was 18.57%. This study is obtained triploid and tetraploid plants by Ponkan embryo rescue from diploid interspecific hybridization. In this study, the embryo rescue technology system and the early identification system for polyploid hybridization were established, and a lot of new polyploid germplasm were obtained.

Background/Aims: Increasing evidence has shown that miR-216b plays an important role in human cancer progression. However, little is known about the function of miR-216b in renal cell carcinoma. Methods: The expression levels of miR-216b in renal cell carcinoma tissues and cell lines were examined by qRT-PCR. The biological role of miR-216b in renal cell carcinoma proliferation and/or metastasis was examined in vitro and in vivo. The target of miR-216b was identified by a dual-luciferase reporter assay. The expression level of KRAS protein was measured by western blotting. Results: The expression of miR-216b was downregulated in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) cell lines and specimens compared to the adjacent normal tissues. Furthermore, miR-216b can bind to the 3’untranslated region (UTR) of KRAS and inhibit the expression of KRAS through translational repression. The in vitro study revealed that miR-216b attenuated ccRCC cell proliferation and invasion. Furthermore, in vivo study also showed that miR-216b suppressed tumor growth. MiR-216b exerted its tumor suppressor function through inhibiting the KRAS-related MAPK/ERK and PI3K/AKT pathways. Conclusion: Our findings provide, for the first time, significant clues regarding the role of miR-216b as a tumor suppressor by targeting KRAS in ccRCC.

Purpose/Objective(s) The aim of this study was to analyze survival outcomes and patterns of recurrence over time according to the radiotherapy mode in different risk groups and to provide reference for further optimization of treatment choices Materials/Methods 1,298 stage I or Ⅱ EC patients receiving adjuvant radiotherapy from 13 centers in China were included between January 2000 to January 2017. The enrolled patients were categorized as low-risk (LR), intermediate-risk (IR), high-intermediate-risk (HIR) and high-risk groups (HR) according to ESMO-ESGO-ESTRO classification, while the radiotherapy modality consisted of the external beam radiotherapy (EBRT)and vaginal brachytherapy (VBT)alone. The key outcome of interest was the overall survival and time-dependent recurrence patterns. Disease-free interval (DFI) events were defined as time to first site recurrences, classifying as vaginal, regional (including intra-pelvic sites, or regional lymph nodes such as para-aortic lymph nodes) and distance metastasis. Competing risks regression analysis were applied to compare the time-to the first recurrence patterns according to the risk groups and radiotherapy modality. And hazard curves describe the change of failure rate over time. Results The median follow-up of 51 months. The 10-year overall survival rates of LR, IR, HIR, and HR were 90 %,85%,84% and 83%, respectively (P = 0.018). In all, 91 of 1,298 patients developed recurrences including 8 vaginal relapses, 17 regional recurrences and 66 distant metastases. And the 5-year disease-free survival rates were 96%, 92.8%, 89% and 85% for the four risk groups, respectively (P 0.1). For the subgroup analysis, the patients received EBRT in the HIR and HR group had higher 10-year rate of distant metastasis than the VBT alone (Gray's test, P = 0.004). And the EBRT group had a tendency of lower incidence of locoregional recurrence (1.66% vs 3.54% for VBT, Gray's test, P = 0.105). Conclusion This study demonstrated the differential susceptibility to distant metastasis based on the risk classification and radiotherapy modality. Defining different patterns of EC recurrence over time in details can improve EC care through surveillance guidelines and can guide the design of clinical studies. Author Disclosure K. Ren: None. L. Zou: None. T. Wang: None. X. Li: None. H. Zhu: None. S. Sun: None. M. Jin: None. F. Zhang: None. X. Hou: None. L. Wei: None. K. Hu: None.

The cultivated landrace ‘Huarongdao Zhoupigan’ originated in China, and it has a history of more than a hundred years. It is widely cultivated for its distinctive pericarp, soft juicy pulp, slight bitter taste, and rich flavonoids and vitamin C (17.2 ± 0.08 mg•mL−1). Morphological observation shows that ‘Huarongdao Zhoupigan’ is mandarin-like in leaf shape, fruit flesh, easy peeling and crumpled pericarp, implying this variety may be a hybrid of orange and mandarin. To reveal the genetic background of ‘Huarongdao Zhoupigan’, 21 citrus accessions were evaluated using nuclear and chloroplast SSR markers and whole-genome SNP information. ‘Huarongdao Zhoupigan’ was grouped with mandarins and closely clustered with ‘Yuanjiang Nanju’ in the nuclear SSR analysis and sub-grouped with ‘Goutou’ sour orange, ‘Dahong’ sweet orange and ‘Newhall’ navel orange in the chloroplast SSR analysis. The genomic sequence similarity rate of ‘Huarongdao Zhoupigan’ with mandarin was 36.09%, with mandarin heterozygosity of 46.50%; the rough ratio of the two main parts was nearly 1:1, except for the unknown (19.11%) and pummelo (1.46%) parts. Thus, ‘Huarongdao Zhoupigan’ may be a natural hybrid with sour orange (a sexual hybrid of pummelo and mandarin) as the seed parent and mandarin as the pollen parent.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S) To explore the effect of age at diagnosis as a continuous variable on survival and treatment choice of patients with early-stage endometrial carcinoma (EC). MATERIALS/METHODS We retrospectively analyzed data from patients with early-stage EC from January 1999 to December 2015 in multiple institutions in China. All patients received primary hysterectomy/bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and adjuvant radiotherapy for EC confirmed pathology of stage I and II disease (FIGO 2009 staging). All patients were divided into low-risk, intermediate-risk, high-intermediate-risk and high-risk groups according to ESMO-ESGO-ESTRO risk classification. This retrospective study was approved by the Ethics Review Committee of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences [Protocol number S-K139]. The clinical trial ID of the study is ChiCTR-PRC-17010712. Evaluation of all data met the requirements of the Helsinki Declaration. RESULTS The median follow-up time was 57months, and the 5-year cancer-specific survival (CSS) was 95.7%. Age as a continuous variable was an independent prognostic factor for CSS. With an increase in age, the hazard ratio (HR) for CSS increases gradually. Other independent prognostic factors included myometrial invasion (MI), grade, and chemotherapy. In the stratified analysis of age, the HRs of age on CSS in patients >70y were 5.516, 5.015, 4.469, 4.618, 5.334, and 5.821 after adjusting for cancer characteristics, local treatment, chemotherapy and treatment-related late toxicity. In patients 66-70-year-old, the HRs were 2.509, 2.074, 2.101, 2.091, 2.157 and 1.621 after adjusting for the above covariates. In patients ≤65y, there was no significant difference in the HR of age on CSS after adjustment. CONCLUSION Age as a continuous variable is an independent prognostic factor and 65 year-old may be the best cut-off point for CSS in patients with early-stage EC in the Asian population. Adjuvant radiotherapy can reduce the HR of age on CSS for patients >65 years. AUTHOR DISCLOSURE S. Sun: None. L. Zou: None. T. Wang: None. Z. Liu: None. J. He: None. X. Sun: None. W. Zhong: None. F. Zhao: None. X. Li: None. S. Li: None. H. Zhu: None. Z. Ma: None. W. Wang: None. J. Meng: None. F. Zhang: None. X. Hou: None. L. Wei: None. K. Hu: None.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S) We retrospectively analyzed the oncological outcomes of T3 or G3 distal ureteral urothelial carcinoma (DUUC) underwent partial ureterectomy (PU) followed by adjuvant radiotherapy (ART). MATERIALS/METHODS From January 2008 to September 2019, clinical data from a total of 221 patients with pathologic T3 or G3 who underwent PU or RNU at our hospital were analyzed. 17 patients of them were treated with PU+ART, 72 with PU alone and 132 with RNU. Clinicopathologic outcomes were evaluated. Survival was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox regression addressed recurrence-free survival (RFS), metastasis-free survival (MFS), cancer specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS Median age and follow-up time were 68 (IQR 62-76) years old and 43 (IQR 28-67) months, respectively. In univariate and multivariable analyses, no LNM and ART were independent prognostic factors of RFS (P = 0.031 and 0.016, respectively). ART significantly improved 5-year RFS Compared with the PU alone, (67.6% vs. 39.5%, HR: 2.431, 95% CI 1.210-4.883, P = 0.039). There was no statistical difference in 5-year RFS between PU+ART and RNU groups (67.6% vs. 64.4%, HR = 1.113, 95% CI 0.457-2.712, P = 0.821). Compared with PU alone or RNU, PU+ART demonstrated no statistical difference in 5-year MFS (PU+ART 73.2%, PU 57.2%, RNU69.4%), CSS (70.7%, 55.1%, 76.6%, respectively), and OS (70.7%, 54.1%, 69.2%, respectively). CONCLUSION For distal ureteral urothelial carcinoma patients with T3 or G3, adjuvant radiotherapy could significantly improve recurrence-free survival compared with partial ureterectomy alone. There was no significant difference between survival outcomes of PU+ART and radical nephroureterectomy.

Due to rejecting order in a single supply chain for lack of adequate capacity, a multi-chain system is introduced to avoid this potential operational risk. Based on four categories of order: direct order, reserve order, chain-to-chain order and rejected order, the framework of order selection in multi-chain system (MCS) is presented, and the model of order selection and planning under chain-to-chain collaboration is formulated. Then, the Lagrange algorithm is used to solve this problem through Lagrange relaxation and decomposition. Finally, numerical study show that opportunity cost of rejecting reserve order and production cost of chain-to-chain order have significant impacts on order selection, and there exists a critical threshold value of the combination of two factors. Through the combination, the multi-chain system can obtain the optimal status, meanwhile manager can utilize this to realize different strategies in MCS.

Neuron-derived neurotrophic factor (NDNF) is a glycosylated, disulfide-bonded secretory protein that contains a fibronectin type III domain. NDNF has been identified as a neurotrophic factor; however, its role in carcinogenesis has not yet been identified. To investigate the expression and role of NDNF in carcinogenesis, the expression of NDNF in human Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cell lines and tissues was detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blot analysis. Cell proliferation was investigated using CCK-8 and colony formation assays, and the cell invasion and immigration capacity was evaluated using the transwell assay. The results demonstrated that NDNF expression was downregulated in RCC cell lines and RCC tissues. Restoring NDNF expression significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of RCC cells. The study also demonstrated that the inhibitory effect of NDNF on invasive ability was mediated by suppressing the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in RCC cells. NDNF may therefore be considered an important regulator of EMT in RCC progression and may represent a novel promising target for antimetastatic therapy.

In this work, three widely used commercial Zn alloys (ZA4-1, ZA4-3, ZA6-1) were purchased and prepared by hot extrusion at 200 °C. The microstructure, mechanical properties, corrosion behaviors, biocompatibility and hemocompatibility of Zn alloys were studied with pure Zn as control. Commercial Zn alloys demonstrated increased strength and superb elongation compared with pure Zn. Accelerated corrosion rates and uniform corrosion morphologies were observed in terms of commercial Zn alloys due to galvanic effects between Zn matrix and α-Al phases. 100% extracts of ZA4-1 and ZA6-1 alloys showed mild cytotoxicity while 50% extracts of all samples displayed good biocompatibility. Retardant cell cycle and inhibited stress fibers expression were observed induced by high concentration of Zn2+ releasing during corrosion. The hemolysis ratios of Zn alloys were lower than 1% while the adhered platelets showed slightly activated morphologies. In general, commercial Zn alloys possess promising mechanical properties, appropriate corrosion rates, significantly improved biocompatibility and good hemocompatibility in comparison to pure Zn. It is feasible to develop biodegradable metals based on commercial Zn alloys.

Adrenal sarcomatoid carcinoma is a rare adrenal carcinoma. To the best of our knowledge, only 11 cases have been reported since 1987. Adrenal sarcomatoid carcinoma presents a diagnostic challenge due to its atypical symptoms and histological patterns. At the time of diagnosis, a large percentage of patients are already at the metastatic stage and succumb within a few months. The present study reports a case of a 59-year-old man presenting with asthenia and weight loss with adrenal sarcomatoid carcinoma metastatic to the lung. A computed tomography (CT) scan and ultrasonography of the patient's abdomen suggested a large homogeneous mass in the right adrenal gland, and a CT scan of his chest suggested lung metastasis. Right adrenalectomy was performed. Histological examination revealed that the tumor was composed of sarcomatous and carcinomatous differentiation elements. Immunohistochemical examination revealed tumor cell positivity for vimentin and cytokeratin. At the 6-month follow-up the patient exhibited no disease progression and refused further proposed treatment. The patient was alive at the time of writing the current report. The present case report additionally reviews the literature, for the purpose of raising awareness of these rare lesions and assisting in achieving accurate diagnoses and effective treatment.

High spatial, temporal resolution and continuous measurement of atmospheric aerosols over ocean is very important to understand their role in the atmospheric processes as well as on human health and environment. A shipborne multiwavelength lidar system for aerosol and clouds in the troposphere and lower stratosphere was developed. We then conducted twice shipborne measurements onboard the vessel XIANGYANGHONG No. 8 (X8) over the Yellow Sea of China on May and September in 2015, respectively. In this paper, the optical properties of aerosol together with 180- hour continuous measurement during the 2015 Yellow Sea Experiment (2015-YSE) are presented.

The observations of marine aerosol over the Yellow Sea near Qingdao were carried out using a ship-borne scanning micro pulse lidar (SMPL) onboard the oceanographic research vessel, XIANGYANGHONG No.8 (XYH-08). The observation campaign including anchor point observation and sailing observation was conducted from September 13th to September 18th, 2015. We acquired observation data of sailing route including aerosol extinction coefficient, the temporal and spatial variation of aerosols and clouds, and the structure of boundary layer and so on. Through the function of 3-dimensional scanning, the SMPL also provided range-height indication (RHI) and plane-position indication (PPI) of observation signals which could well reflect the distribution of marine aerosol in different directions. From the change of aerosol extinction coefficient, we successfully captured a process of sea fog occurrence.

Observations of traffic trace gases near-surface concentration over a busy urban road in Qingdao were conducted by long-path differential optical absorption spectroscopy (LP-DOAS). During the observation period, the LP-DOAS system made long-term trace gases measurements over the Haier Road in Laoshan District, Qingdao. And a camera was placed next to the LP-DOAS system to record the traffic condition every day. The relationship between the trace gases measurements results and the traffic flow is presented in this paper. The weekly characteristics of the trace gases due to traffic influence are further studied in this paper. Using typical data on January 3 and March 22, 2018, the NO2 concentration is under a strong positive correlation with the traffic flow, and O3 concentration is under a negative correlation with the traffic flow. The correlation coefficient between NO2 measurements and traffic flow from 7:00 to 18:00 is 0.86. The comparison of daily measurements during a week showed that the working days had much more trace gases content than the weekend which may be affected by the different traffic condition among working days and the weekend.

Nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA) or testicular failure is the most severe form of male infertility. A variety of conditions, both acquired and congenital, can cause azoospermia. However, in a large number of azoospermia patients who are classified as idiopathic cases, the etiology remains poorly understand mainly due to the lack of knowledge of all the genetic causes and molecular mechanisms responsible for spermatogenesis failure. Identification of the key gene modules and pathways-related spermatogenesis failure might help to reveal the mechanisms of idiopathic azoospermia. Therefore, the expression patterns of spermatogenesis-associated genes in NOA were analyzed by weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) based on two public microarray data sets (GSE45885 and GSE45887), which included 51 samples and 32,321 genes. We identified a module (turquoise) that was significantly related to the Johnsen score of the testicular samples. In addition, the results of function and pathway enrichment analyses based on the online bioinformatics database Metascape revealed that genes in the turquoise module were mainly related to the process of spermatogenesis and spermatid development. To further identify spermatogenesis-associated genes, a microarray data set (GSE926) of murine testis at different developmental time points was analyzed by WGCNA. The blue module in GSE926 was significantly related to the time of murine testis development. The overlap study and k-core analysis based on protein-protein interaction network revealed that spermatogenesis- and spermatid development-associated genes, including glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, ADAM metallopeptidase domain 2, transition protein 1, testis-specific serine kinase 2, transition protein 2, and germ cell-associated 1 (GSG1), were further identified in the selected modules. The expression profile of GSG1 in human testis was chosen for further study using immunochemistry staining. Taken together, these screened gene modules and pathways provided a more detailed genetic and molecular mechanism underlying spermatogenesis failure occurrence and holds promise as potential diagnosis biomarkers and therapeutic targets.