Comparison of long non-coding RNAs in adipose and muscle tissues between seven indigenous Chinese and the Yorkshire pig breeds.

lncRNAs play crucial roles in fat metabolism in animals. Previously, we have compared the mRNA transcriptome profiles between seven fat-type Chinese pig breeds and one lean-type Western breed (Yorkshire, YY). The associations between differentially expressed (DE) genes and phenotypical traits were investigated. In the present study, to further explore the underlying regulatory mechanisms, lncRNAs were sequenced and compared between YY and Chinese indigenous breeds. The results showed 9114 and 7538 DE lncRNAs between at least one Chinese breed and the YY breed in the adipose and muscle tissue respectively. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that the target genes of these DE lncRNAs mainly influenced the glucolipid metabolism, which is an important process affecting meat quality. Correlation analyses between the DE lncRNA and DE mRNA genes related to meat quality and growth traits were performed. The results showed that LTCONS_00073280 was associated with intramuscular fat content. Four lncRNAs (LTCONS_00101781, LTCONS_00037879, LTCONS_00088260 and LTCONS-00128343) might mediate backfat thickness. Overall, this study provides candidate lncRNAs that potentially affect meat quality, which might be useful for molecular breeding of pig breeds in future.

[Clinical investigation in the methods for complete placenta previa labor induction in the second trimester].

Objective: To investigate the appropriate method of labor induction in the second trimester for complete placenta previa patients. Methods: The labor induction outcomes of 85 cases with complete placenta previa in the second trimester were retrospectively analyzed. Twenty patients in group A were treated with cesarean section, 30 patients in group B were treated with ethacridine and mifepristone combined with uterine artery embolization (UAE), and 35 patients in group C were induced by using ethacridine and mifepristone. The clinical features and induction outcomes of three groups were compared. Results: The total duration of labor in group B [(28.7±30.1) hours] was significantly longer than that of group C [(24.3±21.9) hours; P<0.05]. The total amount of blood loss during induction and labor in group B [(302±271) ml] was significantly lower than those of group C [(393±523) ml] and group A [(626±487) ml; P<0.05]. The incidence of fever in group B (13%, 4/30) was significantly higher than those of group C (11%, 4/35) and group A (10%, 2/20; P<0.05). In group C, 13 patients (37%, 13/35) underwent emergency UAE, and 2 patients (6%, 2/35) underwent emergency cesarean section. As to average hemoglobin level and blood transfusion rate, there were no difference among the three groups (all P>0.05). Conclusion: Prophylactic UAE combined with drug induction in patients with complete placenta previa in the second trimester could significantly reduce the amount of bleeding during induction and reduce the risk of emergency procedures.

[Ibrutinib combined with CAR-T cells in the treatment of del (17p) chronic lymphocytic leukemia with BCL-2 inhibitor resistance: a case report and literature review].

Objective: To improve the knowledge and experience of ibrutinib combined with CAR-T cells in the treatment of high-risk chronic lymphoblastic leukemia (CLL) patients or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) with TP53 gene aberration. Methods: One case of del (17p) CLL patients with BCL-2 inhibitor resistance was treated with ibrutinib combined with CAR-T cells, successfully bridged to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) , and the relative literatures were reviewed. Results: The patient was a young female with superficial lymph node enlarging at the beginning of the onset. Lymph node biopsy was confirmed as small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) without del (17p) . The disease progressed rapidly to CLL/SLL with del (17p) and bone marrow hematopoietic failure 2 years later. Firstly, the patient was treated with BCL-2 inhibitor (Venetoclax) , and the enlarged lymph nodes shrank significantly 2 months later. After 3 months, the disease progressed rapidly. The spleen was enlarged to 16 cm below the ribs, the neck lymph nodes was rapidly enlarged, and the superior vena cava syndrome appeared, which were mainly attributed to venetoclax resistance; so BTK inhibitor (ibrutinib) was used continuously after venetoclax discontinuation. Partial remission (PR) was achieved without lymphocytosis after 2 months, then ibrutinib was combined with CAR-T cells targeting CD19 antigen. Grade 1 of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) appeared after CAR-T cells infusion, and the complete remission (CR) was achieved after 1 month both in bone marrow and peripheral blood, with minimal residual disease (MRD) negative, then bridging allo-HSCT after 2 months of combined therapy. Conclusion: CLL/SLL patients with TP53 aberration have poor prognosis because of rapid progression, drug resistance, etc. Ibrutinib combined with CAR-T cell therapy can quickly achieved complete remission.

[Efficacy and safety of paritaprevir/ritonavir/ombitasvir combined with dasabuvir in non-cirrhotic Asian adult patients with newly diagnosed and treated chronic HCV genotype 1b infection: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study - China data].

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir (OBV/PTV/r) 25/150/100 mg once daily combined with dasabuvir 250mg, twice daily in non-cirrhotic Chinese adult patients with newly diagnosed and treated chronic HCV genotype 1b infection. Methods: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter phase 3 clinical trial was conducted in mainland China, Korea, and Taiwan.Safety and efficacy of OBV/PTV/r plus DSV administered for 12 weeks were evaluated in a newly diagnosed and treated (interferon alpha /pegylated interferon alpha) and ribavirin non-cirrhotic adults with chronic HCVgenotype 1b infection. Patients randomly received OBV/PTV/r plus DSV for 12 weeks (Group A), or placebo for 12 weeks (Group B) followed by an open-label phase of OBV/PTV/r plus DSV for 12 weeks. Sustained response (SVR12) rate obtained at 12 weeks and (SVR24) 24 weeks after discontinuation of treatment, and the incidence of adverse events and laboratory abnormalities after double-blind and open-label phase treatment were assessed. Results: A total of 410 cases of Chinese patients were included and randomly assigned to group A and B (with 205 cases in each group) in a 1:1 ratio. The rates of SVR12 and SVR24 were 99% (95% CI: 94.8% - 99.8%) in the newly diagnosed patients in group A (205 patients) and the rates of SVR12 and SVR24 were 100% in treated patients (95% CI: 96.3% - 100%). Different baseline characteristics had no effect on SVR12 and SVR24 rates. Most of the adverse events occurred were mild, asymptomatic, and≥ 3 laboratory abnormalities during treatment were rare, including elevation of alanine aminotransferase (2 cases in double-blind stage A group), aspartate aminotransferase (Double-blind stage A (3 cases) and total bilirubin (1 case in open-label phase B group); however, those mild adverse events could be recovered after drug withdrawal or discontinuation. only1 person discontinued drugs due to adverse events (Group B, open-label phase). Conclusion: The 12 weeks treatment course of OBV/PTV/r combined with DSV produced 99% ~ 100% rates of SVR12 and SVR24 in non-cirrhotic Asian adult patients with newly diagnosed and treated chronic HCV genotype 1b infection, and the tolerance and safety were good.

[Effects of arnebia root oil on wound healing of rats with full-thickness skin defect and the related mechanism].

Objective: To observe the effects of arnebia root oil on wound healing of rats with full-thickness skin defect, and to explore the related mechanism. Methods: Eighty SD rats were divided into arnebia root oil group and control group according to the random number table, with 40 rats in each group, then full-thickness skin wounds with area of 3 cm×3 cm were inflicted on the back of each rat. Wounds of rats in arnebia root oil group and control group were treated with sterile medical gauze and bandage package infiltrated with arnebia root oil gauze or Vaseline gauze, respectively, with dressing change of once every two days. On post injury day (PID) 3, 7, 14, and 21, 10 rats in each group were sacrificed respectively for general observation and calculation of wound healing rate. The tissue samples of unhealed wound were collected for observation of histomorphological change with HE staining, observation of expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) with immunohistochemical staining, and determination of mRNA expressions of VEGF and bFGF with real time fluorescent quantitive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Data were processed with analysis of variance of factorial design, t test, and Bonferroni correction. Results: (1) On PID 3, there were a few secretions in wounds of rats in the two groups. On PID 7, there were fewer secretions and more granulation tissue in wounds of rats in arnebia root oil group, while there were more secretions and less granulation tissue in wounds of rats in control group. On PID 14, most of the wounds of rats in arnebia root oil group were healed and there was much red granulation tissue in unhealed wounds, while part of wounds of rats in control group was healed and there were a few secretions and less granulation tissue in unhealed wounds. On PID 21, wounds of rats in arnebia root oil group were basically healed, while there were still some unhealed wounds of rats in control group. (2) On PID 3 and 7, the wound healing rates of rats in arnebia root oil group were (39±5)% and (46±4)% respectively, which were close to (34±3)% and (44±4)% of rats in control group (with t values respectively 0.807 and 0.481, P values above 0.05). On PID 14 and 21, the wound healing rates of rats in arnebia root oil group were (76±4)% and (90±3)% respectively, which were significantly higher than (60±6)% and (73±5)% of rats in control group (with t values respectively 2.308 and 3.072, P<0.05 or P<0.01). (3) On PID 3, 7, and 14, granulation tissue, fibroblasts, and nascent capillaries in unhealed wound tissue of rats in the two groups both gradually increased, and more ranulation tissue, fibroblasts, and nascent capillaries were seen in unhealed wound tissue of rats in arnebia root oil group. On PID 21, granulation tissue, fibroblasts, and nascent capillaries in unhealed wound tissue of rats in the two groups both gradually decreased. (4) On PID 3, 7, and 14, the numbers of VEGF positive cells and bFGF positive cells in unhealed wound tissue of rats in the two groups both gradually increased; there were more VEGF positive cells and bFGF positive cells in unhealed wound tissue of rats in arnebia root oil group than those in control group. On PID 21, positive expressions of VEGF and bFGF both decreased in unhealed wound tissue of rats in the two groups. (5) On PID 3, 7, and 14, mRNA expressions of VEGF in unhealed wound tissue of rats in arnebia root oil group were higher than those of control group (with t values from 2.967 to 4.173, P values below 0.01). On PID 21, mRNA expression of VEGF in unhealed wound tissue of rats in arnebia root oil group was lower than that of control group (t=-4.786, P<0.001). From PID 3 to 21, mRNA expressions of bFGF in unhealed wound tissue of rats in arnebia root oil group were higher than those of control group (with t values from 2.326 to 4.702, P<0.05 or P<0.01). Conclusions: Arnebia root oil can promote wound healing of rats with full-thickness skin defect, which may relate to increasing expressions of VEGF and bFGF.

[Multi-centric clinical study of trial of labor after cesarean section].

OBJECTIVE: To study the feasibility and safety of trial of labor after cesarean section (TOLAC). METHODS: Retrospective analysis of five medical center of Guangdong province from January 2011 to December 2015 hospitalized delivery information, compare the same scar TOLAC (research group) with the scar pregnancy (control group) pregnancy outcomes, to study the feasibility and safety of TOLAC. RESULTS: (1) During 2011-2015, total delivery 95 600 cases in five medical center, 13 824 cases of thme with uterine scar pregnancy, including 12 027 cases elective repeat cesarean section and 1 797 cases (13.00%, 1 797/13 824) with scar uterus vaginal trial of labor. Among 1 308 cases of vaginal delivery, the success for trial of labor rate was 72.79% (1 308/1 797). From 2011 to 2015, there were increased rate of pregnancy after cesarean section, which were respectively 10.71%, 13.28%, 14.45%, 15.54% and 16.98%. The will of vaginal birth were rising and the rate were respectively 11.85%, 12.25%, 13.49%, 13.82% and 12.93%. (2) There were 489 (27.21%, 489/1 797) cases of scar uterus maternal emergency cesarean section in the trial of labor, reason for "social factors" require for cesarean delivery have 68 cases, the percentage was 13.91% (68/489), compared with control group (7.18%, 206/2 869), the difference was statistically significant difference (χ(2)=27.356, P=0.000). Doctors diagnosed as "aura uterine rupture" in the labor was 11.86% (58/489), compared with that in control group (1.43%, 41/2 869), the differences were statistically significant difference (χ(2)=1 578.223, P=0.000). (3) The incidence of uterine rupture of the research group (0.74%, 9/1 211) was significantly higher than that of control group (0.01%,2/31 200; χ(2)> 2 000, P=0.000). The incidence of postpartum hemorrhage in research group was 6.94% (84/1 211), compared with that in the control group (3.05%, 951/31 200), there was statistically significant difference (χ(2)=16.328, P=0.000). While, there were no statistical significancefor the labor time limit, birth rate of severe asphyxia and neonatal birth weight average differences between two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The rate of pregnancy after cesarean section is increasing year by year, and the will of vaginal birth is increasing, while it still are generally low. TOLAC is safe and feasible, but also significantly higher risk, strictly labor monitoring and can proceed fast cesarean delivery in delivery room is an important guarantee of safe delivery.

Investigation of the bipolar effect in the thermoelectric material CaMg2Bi2 using a first-principles study.

The bipolar effect in relatively narrow band-gap thermoelectric (TE) compounds is a negative process deteriorating the TE properties particularly at higher temperatures. In this work, we investigate the TE performance of the compound CaMg2Bi2 using the first-principles calculation and semi-classical Boltzmann transport theory in combination with our experimental data. It is revealed that this compound exhibits a remarkable bipolar effect and temperature-dependent carrier concentration. The bipolar effect imposes remarkable influence on all the electron-transport related TE parameters. An effective carrier concentration neff as a function of temperature is proposed to account for the bipolar effect induced carrier excitations. The as-evaluated TE parameters then show good consistency with measured results. This work may shed light on our understanding of the bipolar effect in TE compounds.

Full-scale computation for all the thermoelectric property parameters of half-Heusler compounds.

The thermoelectric performance of materials relies substantially on the band structures that determine the electronic and phononic transports, while the transport behaviors compete and counter-act for the power factor PF and figure-of-merit ZT. These issues make a full-scale computation of the whole set of thermoelectric parameters particularly attractive, while a calculation scheme of the electronic and phononic contributions to thermal conductivity remains yet challenging. In this work, we present a full-scale computation scheme based on the first-principles calculations by choosing a set of doped half-Heusler compounds as examples for illustration. The electronic structure is computed using the WIEN2k code and the carrier relaxation times for electrons and holes are calculated using the Bardeen and Shockley's deformation potential (DP) theory. The finite-temperature electronic transport is evaluated within the framework of Boltzmann transport theory. In sequence, the density functional perturbation combined with the quasi-harmonic approximation and the Klemens' equation is implemented for calculating the lattice thermal conductivity of carrier-doped thermoelectric materials such as Ti-doped NbFeSb compounds without losing a generality. The calculated results show good agreement with experimental data. The present methodology represents an effective and powerful approach to calculate the whole set of thermoelectric properties for thermoelectric materials.

Developmental changes in the expression of the GLUT2 and GLUT4 genes in the longissimus dorsi muscle of Yorkshire and Tibetan pigs.

Glucose transporter proteins 2 and 4 (GLUT2 and GLUT4) play important roles in glucose transport and energy metabolism. Changes in the levels of GLUT2 and GLUT4 mRNA were measured in longissimus dorsi muscle from the lean Yorkshire and fat Tibetan pig breeds at six different time points (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 months) with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reactions. The results showed that GLUT2 and GLUT4 mRNA were abundantly expressed in the longissimus dorsi muscle and that the developmental expression patterns were similar in both breeds. Tibetan pigs exhibited higher intramuscular fat and GLUT2 mRNA levels, while Yorkshire pigs exhibited a higher myofiber cross-sectional area (CSA) and GLUT4 mRNA levels. Furthermore, the changes in the GLUT4 mRNA levels were strongly and positively correlated with the CSA over a period of six months. These results exhibit time- and breed-specific expression patterns of GLUT2 and GLUT4, which highlight their potential as candidate genes for assessing adipose deposition and muscle development in pigs. These differences in the expression of GLUT family genes may also have indications for meat quality.

Suitable internal control microRNA genes for measuring miRNA abundance in pig milk during different lactation periods.

Determination of an optimal set/number of internal control microRNA (miRNA) genes is a critical, but often undervalued, detail of quantitative gene expression analysis. No validated internal genes for miRNA quantitative PCR (q-PCR) in pig milk were available. We compared the expression stability of six porcine internal control miRNA genes in pig milk from different lactation periods (1 h, 3 days, 7 days, 14 days, 21 days, and 28 days postpartum), using an EvaGreen q-PCR approach. We found that using the three most stable internal control genes to calculate the normalization factor is sufficient for producing reliable q-PCR expression data. We also found that miRNAs are superior to ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and snRNA, which are commonly used as internal controls for normalizing miRNA q-PCR data. In terms of economic and experimental feasibility, we recommend the use of the three most stable internal control miRNA genes (miR-17, -107 and -103) for calculating the normalization factors for pig milk samples from different lactation periods. These results can be applied to future studies aimed at measuring miRNA abundance in porcine milk.

ESR dating pleistocene barnacles from BC and Maine: a new method for tracking sea level change.

Barnacles have never been successfully dated by electron spin resonance (ESR). Living mainly in the intertidal zone, barnacles die when sea level changes cause their permanent exposure. Thus, dating the barnacles dates past sea level changes. From this, we can measure apparent sea level changes that occur due to ocean volume changes, crustal isostasy, and tectonics. ESR can date aragonitic mollusc shells ranging in age from 5 ka to at least 500 ka. By modifying the standard ESR method for molluscs to chemically dissolve 20 microm from off the shells, six barnacle samples from Norridgewock, Maine, and Khyex River, British Columbia, were tested for suitability for ESR dating. Due to Mn2+ interference peaks, the four Maine barnacle samples were not datable by ESR. Two barnacles from BC, which lacked Mn2+ interference, yielded a mean ESR age of 15.1 +/- 1.0 ka. These ages agree well with 14C dates on the barnacles themselves and wood in the overlying glaciomarine sediment. Although stability tests to calculate the mean dating signal lifetime and more ESR calibration tests against other barnacles of known age are needed to ensure the method's accuracy, ESR can indeed date Balanus, and thus, sea level changes.