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Testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) are the most common type of testicular cancer, comprising 90–95% of cases and representing the most prevalent solid malignancy in young adult men. Immune infiltrates play important regulatory roles in tumors, but their role in TGCT remains unclear. Molecular subtyping is a promising way to provide precisely personalized treatment and avoid unnecessary toxicities. This study investigated immune infiltrates, key biomarkers, and immune subtyping of TGCT. In GSE3218, 24 differentially expressed immune genes (immDEGs) were identified. A new risk signature consisting of six immDEGs was developed using these genes. Individuals in the high‐risk group had poor overall survival (OS; hazard ratio of 4.61 and P‐value

Small berry pomaces (SBPs) are poorly utilized as an inexpensive source of bioactive compounds. This study investigated the impact of compounding treatment on nutritional and antioxidant characteristics of combined SBPs, in comparison with single SBP. The results showed that the amounts of protein, minerals, dietary fiber (DF) and anthocyanidins were significantly (p

In the present study, we fabricated electroconductive aligned carbon nanofibers (CNFs) as the nanofibers-guided bone regeneration scaffold. The CNFs were obtained from electrospun polyacrylonitrile nanofibers through two steps heat treatment. Aligned nanofibers were fabricated at high drum speed (2400 rpm). The fabricated CNFs were characterized regarding the morphology, crystallinity, carbon structure, wettability, electrical conductivity, hemocompatibility, cytocompatibility, and cell morphology. The results showed that the nanofibers obtained at 2400 rpm drum speed were aligned and electrical conductivity was dependent on the direction of conductivity measurement. The highest electrical conductivity (3.92 0.09 S.cm−1) was obtained at the measuring direction of that parallel to the axis of CNFs. The in vitro studies confirmed that the CNFs induced negligible hemolysis, indicating the hemocompatibility of CNFs. The cell viability assessment showed the biocompatibility of CNFs. The cell SEM images showed that MG-63 cells (an osteoblast-like cell line) were grown at a direction that parallels the axis of aligned CNFs, while the growth on the random CNFs was without a specific pattern. In conclusion, this study indicates that the fabricated aligned CNFs can be considered and the nanofibers-guided bone regeneration scaffold.

Femoral atherosclerotic plaques are less inflammatory than carotid plaques histologically, but limited cell-level data exist regarding comparative immune landscapes and polarization at these sites. We investigated intraplaque leukocyte phenotypes and transcriptional polarization in 49 patients undergoing femoral (n = 23) or carotid (n = 26) endarterectomy using single-cell RNA-Seq (scRNA-Seq; n = 13), flow cytometry (n = 24), and IHC (n = 12). Comparative scRNA-Seq of CD45+-selected leukocytes from femoral (n = 9; 35,265 cells) and carotid (n = 4; 30,655 cells) plaque revealed distinct transcriptional profiles. Inflammatory foam cell–like macrophages and monocytes comprised higher proportions of myeloid cells in carotid plaques, whereas noninflammatory foam cell–like macrophages and LYVE1-overexpressing macrophages comprised higher proportions of myeloid cells in femoral plaque (P < 0.001 for all). A significant comparative excess of CCR2+ macrophages in carotid versus plaque was observed by flow cytometry in a separate validation cohort. B cells were more prevalent and exhibited a comparatively antiinflammatory profile in femoral plaque, whereas cytotoxic CD8+ T cells were more prevalent in carotid plaque. In conclusion, human femoral plaques exhibit distinct macrophage phenotypic and transcriptional profiles as well as diminished CD8+ T cell populations compared with human carotid plaques

Abstract The fast OH− transfer between hydroxide layers is the key to enhancing the charge storage efficiency of layered double hydroxides (LDH)‐based supercapacitors (SCs). Constructing interlayer reactive sites in LDH is much expected but still a huge challenge. In this work, CdS nano‐dots (NDs) are introduced to interlayers of ultra‐thin NiFe‐LDH (denoted CdSinter.‐NiFe‐LDH), promoting the interlayer ions flow for higher redox activity. The excellent performance is not only due to the enlarged layer spacing (from 0.70 to 0.81 nm) but also stems from anchored interlayer reactive units and the undamaged original layered structure of LDH, which contribute to the improvement of OH− diffusion coefficient (1.6 × 10−8 cm2 s−1) and electrochemical active area (601 mF cm−2) better than that of CdS NDs on the surface of NiFe‐LDH (2.1 × 10−9 cm2 s−1 and 350 mF cm−2). The champion CdSinter.‐NiFe‐LDH electrode displays high capacitance of 3330.0 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and excellent retention capacitance of 90.9% at 10 A g−1, which is better than the NiFe‐LDH with CdS NDs on the surface (1966.6 F g−1). Moreover, the assembled asymmetric SCs (ASC) device demonstrate an outstanding energy density/power density (121.56 Wh kg−1/754.5 W kg−1).

Abstract The antitumor effects of Lycium ruthenicum Murr. polysaccharides (LRPS) and Lycium ruthenicum Murr. anthocyanins (LRAC) were comprehensively investigated in this study. LPRS was obtained by water extraction and alcohol precipitation and further purified using diethylaminoethyl cellulose (DEAE‐Cellulose) and Sephadex G‐75 columns. High‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and Fourier transform‐infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy were used to characterize the purified LRPS. The results showed that the purified LRPS contained heteropolysaccharides, mainly composed of arabinose, galactose, and glucose with weight percentage of 41.2%, 33.6%, and 10.8%, respectively. More importantly, LRPS (500 μg/ml) and LRAC (80 μg/ml) failed to impede the proliferation of tumor cells when applied solely (48 h incubation), yet remarkable antineoplastic effects were found once they were applied altogether, since the LoVo cells, a typical human colorectal carcinoma cell line, were significantly inhibited by the mixture of LRPS (150 μg/ml) and LRAC (20 μg/ml) (LRPS&AC) in 24 h. The antineoplastic activity resulted from the combination of both LRPS and LRAC (LRPS&AC), by means of blocking the cell cycle at the G0–G1 phase and inducing LoVo cell apoptosis via reactive oxygen species (ROS)‐dependent pathway. The inhibitory effects of LRPS&AC were specific to the tumor cells, without imposing on the proliferation of normal cells. Western blotting revealed that the antitumor effect was related to the mitochondria‐mediated apoptosis launched by the cross‐action of PI3K/Akt (phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase/protein kinase B) and JAK2/STAT3 (janus kinase 2/signal transduction and activator of transcription 3) signaling pathways. These findings for the first time reveal the synergistic antitumor effects of LRPS&AC and the related mechanisms, which enable Lycium ruthenicum Murr. to serve as a natural source to develop therapeutic reagents and functional foods with antineoplastic properties.

PurposePregnancy outcomes (overall patency rate, overall pregnancy rate, natural pregnancy rate, and the ratio of patients with pregnancy by assisted reproductive technology) after microsurgical vasoepididymostomy (MVE) in patients with epididymal obstructive azoospermia (EOA) were assessed through meta-analysis.MethodWe searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library databases up to 28 September 2022 for published literature related to retrospective or prospective clinical studies of obstructive azoospermia after apparent microsurgical vasoepididymostomy. Our search terms included obstructive azoospermia, epididymis obstruction, epididymal obstruction and vasoepididymostomy, and epididymovasostomy. Two researchers independently performed the literature search and assessed the eligibility of selected studies according to established inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software.ResultA total of 504 patients with EOA were included in 10 studies (including 2 prospective clinical studies and 8 retrospective clinical studies). The mean patency rate after MVE was 72% (95% CI 68–76%). The overall pregnancy rate was 34% (95% CI 30–38%). The natural pregnancy rate is 21% (95% CI 17–24%). The ratio of patients with pregnancy by assisted reproductive technology (ART) was 34.9%. For the factors affecting pregnancy outcomes after MVE, the overall pregnancy rates in patients receiving bilateral MVE were significantly higher than those receiving unilateral MVE (75.4 vs. 24.6%). The mean best sperm count and sperm motility in patients with overall pregnancy were significantly higher than those with failing pregnancies. For the subgroup meta-analysis of microsurgical vasoepididymostomy, there were no statistically significant differences in the overall patency rate (68 vs. 70%), the overall pregnancy rate (33 vs. 37%), the natural pregnancy rate (20 vs. 23%), the ratio of ART (30 vs. 28%) in end-to-side or end-to-end anastomosis, and longitudinal or triangular intussusception MVE.ConclusionVasectomy patency rates are higher, but natural pregnancy rates are lower in EOA male infertility patients after MVE. Altering the MVE procedures alone does not significantly improve pregnancy outcomes, but ART after MVE could improve the chance of pregnancy regardless of sperm parameters. We recommended that human sperms from EOA male infertility patients should be cryopreserved during intraoperative MVE for application in the subsequent ICSI treatment procedure.

Background and Aims: An interactive regulatory network assembled through the induction and downregulation of distinct transcription factors governs acinar cell maturation. Understanding how this network is built is relevant for protocols of directed pancreatic acinar differentiation. The murine transcription factor Prox1 is highly expressed in multipotent pancreatic progenitors and in various mature pancreatic cell types except for acinar cells. In this study, we investigated when is Prox1 expression terminated in developing acinar cells and the potential involvement of its activity in acinar cell specification/differentiation. We also investigated the effects of sustained Prox1 expression in acinar maturation and maintenance. Methods: Prox1 acinar expression was analyzed by immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy. Prox1-null embryos (Prox1GFPCre/Δ), Prox1AcOE transgenic mice, histologic and immunostaining methods, transmission electron microscopy, functional assays, and quantitative RNA and RNA-sequencing methods were used to investigate the effects of Prox1 functional deficiency and sustained Prox1 expression in acinar maturation and homeostasis. Results: Immunostaining results reveal transient Prox1 expression in newly committed embryonic acinar cells. RNA-sequencing demonstrate precocious expression of multiple “late” acinar genes in the pancreas of Prox1GFPCre/Δ embryos. Prox1AcOE transgenic mice carrying sustained Prox1 acinar expression have relatively normal pancreas development. In contrast, Prox1AcOE adult mice have severe pancreatic alterations involving reduced acinar gene expression, abnormal acinar secretory granules, acinar atrophy, increased endoplasmic reticulum stress, and mild chronic inflammation. Conclusion: Prox1 transient expression in early acinar cells is necessary for correct sequential gene expression. Prox1 expression is terminated in developing acinar cells to complete maturation and to preserve homeostasis.

BackgroundYolk sac tumor is the most common malignant nonseminomatous germ-cell tumor in children characterized by elevated level of α-fetoprotein (AFP), accounting for 70%–80% of all cases. However, giant yolk sac tumors that involve the entire testicle may be misdiagnosed by color Doppler ultrasonography as orchitis. Therefore, we described a case of a 2-year-old pediatric patient with a giant testicular yolk sac tumor that was misdiagnosed by ultrasonography as orchitis, in order to evaluate the role of measuring AFP levels in the initial diagnosis to aid in the accuracy of the definitive diagnosis of testicular yolk sac tumor.Case presentationA 2-year-old boy received outpatient visits for unintentional swelling of the right scrotum for 7 days. Physical examination showed a rubbery swelling of the right scrotum with rejective touch. Then, the patient underwent perineal color Doppler ultrasonography in outpatient visits. The result showed a right testicle size of 29 mm × 22 mm × 20 mm with heterogeneous echogenicity and abundant blood flow, supporting the initial diagnosis of orchitis. However, the initial surgeon was skeptical of the ultrasonography diagnosis. Thus, the patient was admitted to the Department of Andrology on day 2 for further serological and imaging examination. The serum AFP level on day 3 was 323.77 ng/ml. The results of CT and MRI showed a giant tumor of the right testis (26 mm × 21 mm × 29.6 mm) with multiple lymphoid hyperplasia in the inguinal region bilaterally. The patient received radical orchidectomy without lymph node dissection on day 9. The results of postoperative pathological examination confirmed giant testicular yolk sac tumor (T1N0M0S1, Stage Is) and was positive for AFP and SALL4 in immunohistochemistry staining. The patient received three courses of bleomycin–etoposide–cisplatin chemotherapy in the Department of Pediatrics after multidisciplinary team meeting on postoperative days 14, 37, and 58, respectively. During chemotherapy and follow-up, the patient's AFP and lactate dehydrogenase levels continued to decline, and eventually remained within normal range on postoperative day 84.ConclusionMeasuring the AFP level was necessary for initial diagnosis and follow-up in pediatric cases of testicular enlargement. Radical orchidectomy combined with postoperative bleomycin–etoposide–cisplatin adjuvant chemotherapy was an effective treatment strategy for pediatric giant testicular yolk sac tumors.

BackgroundThe current study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) combined with interleukin (IL)-6 on admission day and the 28-day mortality of septic patients.Material and MethodsWe conducted an observational retrospective study. Patients with presumed sepsis were included. We observed the correlation of studied biomarkers (NLR, IL-6, PCT, and CRP) and the severity scores (APACHE II and SOFA scores) by plotting scatter plots. The relationships of the studied biomarkers and 28-day mortality were evaluated by using Cox regression model, receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and reclassification analysis.ResultsA total of 264 patients diagnosed with sepsis were enrolled. It was revealed that IL-6 had the strongest correlation with both APACHE II and SOFA scores, followed by the NLR and PCT, and there was no obvious correlation between CRP and the illness severity. NLR and IL-6 were independent predictors of the 28-day mortality in septic patients in the Cox regression model [NLR, odds ratio 1.281 (95% CI 1.159–1.414), P < 0.001; IL-6, odds ratio 1.017 (95% CI 1.005–1.028), P=0.004]. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of NLR, IL-6 and NLR plus IL-6 (NLR_IL-6) was 0.776, 0.849, and 0.904, respectively.ConclusionOur study showed that the levels of NLR and IL-6 were significantly higher in the deceased patients with sepsis. NLR and IL-6 appeared to be independent predictors of 28-day mortality in septic patients. Moreover, NLR combined with IL-6 could dramatically enhance the prediction value of 28-day mortality.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of primary varicocele and related surgery in male infertility through meta-analysis.Methods: A systematic search of the literature was conducted using the Medline, Embase, Cochrane, and CNKI databases. The search was up to September 2019. Article selection proceeded according to the search strategy based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses criteria. Data were analyzed using RevMan 5.2. A random-effects model was used to calculate the overall combined risk estimates.Results: After screening 687 articles, 4 randomized controlled trials with 349 patients were included. One hundred seventy two patients were addressed in embolization/ligation, with 177 patient's observation treatment. The number of spontaneous pregnancies in the two groups was 41 and 40, respectively. There was no significant difference in pregnancy rate between the operation group and the control group. RR = 1.05 [0.72, 1.54].Conclusion: There is not enough evidence to explain the surgical treatment of varicocele can improve the natural fertility of the infertile couples, and there is still a need for most of prospective randomized controlled trials to verify the efficacy of varicocele surgery for treating of male infertility. We do not deny the importance of this operation, we just want to call on everyone to strictly grasp the indications of the operation, avoid ineffective medical expenses, and avoid unnecessary pain to patients.

Mullerian adenosarcoma (MAS) is a biphasic tumor with malignant stroma. It is most commonly of endometrial origin but occasionally originates in the cervix, ovary, or other pelvic/peritoneal sites. The typical MAS is low grade with an indolent clinical course; however, tumors with sarcomatous overgrowth (SO) or a high-grade sarcoma tend to be aggressive. Tumor etiology is largely unknown. To better understand the global genome alterations and gene mutations in MAS, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and target validation analysis were performed. MAS showed remarkable chromosome (chr) copy number variation (CNV), specifically, gains in chr 1q, 5p, 12p, 12q, and 17q and losses in chr 3p, 3q, 9p, and 11q. Gain of chr 12q13-15 was present in 50% of cases. The selected gene products in gain regions were upregulated as measured by immunohistochemistry. HMGA2 overexpression was significantly correlated with SO. While the structural variation (SV) rate was relatively low overall, a disproportionally high rate of break-ends at chr 7 was noted involving 6 in-frame rearrangement fusion genes. Among 40 frequently mutated genes detected by WGS and validated in 29 MAS by next generation sequencing (NGS), KMT2C, and BCOR were frequently seen in MAS both with and without SO, while MAGEC1 and KDM6B were strongly associated with SO. Overall, a higher rate of frequently mutated genes was found in MAS with SO (33%) than MAS without (11%). This study uncovers the complex and specific genetic alterations in this malignancy. The findings provide a tool for future investigation of these molecular changes in tumorigenesis and target therapies.

Borago officinalis is a kind of vegetable and traditional medicinal herb in the Mediterranean region, and now it has spread many areas around the world. In this study, we sequenced a complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of B. officinalis to investigate its phylogenetic relationship with other species. The whole cp genome of B. officinalis is 149,835 bp in length with 37.82% overall GC content, including a large single-copy (LSC) region of 78,840 bp and a small single-copy (SSC) region of 16,967 bp, which are separated by a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 27,014 bp. The cp genome contains 110 genes, including 76 protein-coding genes, 30 tRNA genes, and 4 rRNA genes. The phylogenetic analysis based on cp genome sequences showed that B. officinalis is closely related to Antirhea chinensis, Mitragyna speciosa and Neolamarckia cadamba.

Residual stresses model comprehensively considers the three main sources of residual stress during the coating deposition process: quenching stress, thermal stress and phase transformation-induced stress. With the deposited layer temperature, coating thickness, number of deposited layers and relevant workpiece dimensions as the input, the model can easily calculate the final residual stress distribution in the coating. Moreover, the thermal–mechanical behavior during the coating deposition process was revealed through experimental and theoretical analysis of coatings. The results showed that the coating fabricated within the range of 65.2–122.5 °C have relatively low residual stresses, ensuring relatively high service reliability. Keywords: High-speed electric arc spraying, Residual stress, Coating, Crankshaft, Theoretical analysis

Wheat plays a very important role in China’s agriculture. The wheat grain yields are affected by the growing period that is determined by temperature, precipitation, and field management, such as planting date and cultivar species. Here, we used the CSM-CERES-Wheat model along with different Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) and two global circulation models (GCMs) to simulate different impacts on the winter wheat that caused by changing climate for 2025 and 2050 projections for Guanzhong Plain in Northwest China. Our results showed that it is obvious that there is a warming trend in Guanzhong Plain; the mean temperature for the different scenarios increased up to 3.8 °C. Furthermore, the precipitation varied in the year; in general, the rainfall in February and August was increased, while it decreased in April, October and November. However, the solar radiation was found to be greatly reduced in the Guanzhong Plain. Compared to the reference year, the results showed that the number of days to maturity was shortened 3–24 days, and the main reason was the increased temperature during the winter wheat growing period. Moreover, five planting dates (from October 7 to 27 with five days per step) were applied to simulate the final yield and to select an appropriate planting date for the study area. The yield changed smallest based on Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL)-CM3 (−6.5, −5.3, −4.2 based on RCP 4.5, RCP 6.0, and RCP 8.5) for 2025 when planting on October 27. Farmers might have to plant the crop before 27 October.

Oxidative stress (OS), caused by the imbalance between the generation and detoxification of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS), plays an important role in brain aging, neurodegenerative diseases, and other related adverse conditions, such as ischemia. While ROS/RNS serve as signaling molecules at physiological levels, an excessive amount of these molecules leads to oxidative modification and, therefore, dysfunction of proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids. The response of neurons to this pervasive stress, however, is not uniform in the brain. While many brain neurons can cope with a rise in OS, there are select populations of neurons in the brain that are vulnerable. Because of their selective vulnerability, these neurons are usually the first to exhibit functional decline and cell death during normal aging, or in age-associated neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease. Understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms of selective neuronal vulnerability (SNV) to OS is important in the development of future intervention approaches to protect such vulnerable neurons from the stresses of the aging process and the pathological states that lead to neurodegeneration. In this review, the currently known molecular and cellular factors that contribute to SNV to OS are summarized. Included among the major underlying factors are high intrinsic OS, high demand for ROS/RNS-based signaling, low ATP production, mitochondrial dysfunction, and high inflammatory response in vulnerable neurons. The contribution to the selective vulnerability of neurons to OS by other intrinsic or extrinsic factors, such as deficient DNA damage repair, low calcium-buffering capacity, and glutamate excitotoxicity, are also discussed.