Efficacy of Dan'e Fukang Soft Extract in Moderate Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome for Concurrent Treatment of Blood and Fluid Guided by the "Triple Prevention" Principle.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy and safety of Dan'e Fukang soft extracts in moderate ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) for the simultaneous treatment of blood and fluid, guided by the traditional Chinese medicine principle of "triple prevention". Methods: This study conducted a retrospective analysis of clinical data from outpatients who underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection embryo transfer (ICSI-ET). A total of 2245 cases were included and divided into a treatment group (1002 cases) and a control group (1243 cases). Patients in the treatment group were administered Dan'e Fukang soft extracts orally in addition to conventional Western medicine. Comparative assessments were made between the two groups on pelvic ascites volume, maximum ovary diameter, dysmenorrhea incidence post-oocyte retrieval, and safety indicators. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the treatment group and the control group in terms of general characteristics or the levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteotropic hormone (LH), estradiol (E2), or progesterone (P) at the time of gonadotropin (Gn) initiation. The groups did not differ significantly when we compared the levels of LH, E2, or P on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) injection and during ovarian hyperstimulation protocols (P > 0.05 for all indicators). The differences in the volume of pelvic ascites, the maximum ovarian diameter, and the incidence of dysmenorrhea after oocyte retrieval were statistically significant between the treatment group and the control group (P < 0.05 in both). There were no instances of adverse reactions in either group. Conclusion: Based on the traditional Chinese medicine principle of "triple prevention", the use of Dan'e Fukang soft extracts for the simultaneous treatment of blood and fluid in moderate OHSS significantly improved the absorption of pelvic ascites, promoted ovarian recovery, and reduced the incidence of dysmenorrhea after oocyte retrieval.

Effects of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Inactivated Vaccine on the Outcome of Frozen Embryo Transfers: A Large Scale Clinical Study.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is a life-threatening infectious disease that has become a global pandemic. Objective: This study aimed to explore the effects of SARS-CoV-2 inactivated vaccine on the outcome of frozen embryo transfer (FET). Methods: We grouped patients who underwent FET between August 2021 and March 2022 based on their vaccination status, number of doses, and the interval between the last dose and the FET, and then compared the differences in pregnancy outcomes among the groups. Results: There were 1084 vaccinated patients and 1228 non-vaccinated ones. There were significant differences in the live birth rate between the vaccination and non-vaccination groups (16.61% vs 28.26%), among the one-dose, two-dose, and three-dose groups (22.28% vs 19.51% vs 7.27%), and among the groups with interval ≤ 1 month, 1-2 months, and ≥ 2 months (38.38% vs 27.27% vs 12.03%). There were significant differences in the persistent pregnancy rate between the vaccination and non-vaccination groups (22.88% vs 14.09%), among the one-dose, two-dose, and three-dose groups (14.51% vs 23.80% vs 38.18%), and among the groups with interval ≤ 1 month, 1-2 months, and ≥ 2 months (1.01% vs 8.44% vs 28.16%). There were significant differences in the neonatal weight between the vaccination and non-vaccination groups [3805.50 (3746.00-3863.50) vs 2970.00 (2500.00-3400.00)]. There were significant differences in the premature birth rate among the one-dose, two-dose, and three-dose groups (23.26% vs 34.59% vs 100.00%), and among the groups with interval ≤ 1 month, 1-2 months, and ≥ 2 months (15.79% vs 21.43% vs 37.00%). Conclusion: Pregnancy outcomes were not affected by taking the SARS-CoV-2 inactivated vaccine before FET, the number of doses, and the interval between doses. These findings provide evidence supporting the safety of administering the SARS-CoV-2 inactivated vaccine during pregnancy, which can be used as a guide for vaccinating patients undergoing ART.

Continuous Goos-Hänchen Shift of Vortex Beam via Symmetric Metal-Cladding Waveguide.

Goos-Hänchen shift provides a way to manipulate the transverse shift of an optical beam with sub-wavelength accuracy. Among various enhancement schemes, millimeter-scale shift at near-infrared range has been realized by a simple symmetrical metal-cladding waveguide structure owing to its unique ultrahigh-order modes. However, the interpretation of the shift depends crucially on its definition. This paper shows that the shift of a Gaussian beam is discrete if we follow the light peak based on the stationary phase approach, where the M-lines are fixed to specific directions and the beam profile is separated near resonance. On the contrary, continuous shift can be obtained if the waveguide is illuminated by a vortex beam, and the physical cause can be attributed to the position-dependent phase-match condition of the ultrahigh-order modes due to the spatial phase distribution.

The possible window of implantation for embryos in the first frozen embryo transplantation cycle: A retrospective analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the duration of progesterone (P) therapy on clinical pregnancy rates as measured by the window of implantation (WOI) in the first cycle of frozen embryo transplantation. METHODS: The study compared the pregnancy rates between 345 cleavage stage transfers and 348 blastocyte transfers of frozen embryos with modified natural cycles in patients from July 1, 2020, to November 30, 2020. Four different P durations were analyzed in the cleavage stage embryo transfer group, i.e., two, three, four, and five days. Five different P durations were analyzed in the blastocyst transfer group, i.e., three, four, five, six, and seven days. RESULTS: The baseline demographics and clinical characteristics of the cleavage stage embryos and blastocyst transfer groups were not comparable. The clinical pregnancy rates following the cleavage stage embryo transfer after two, three, four, and five-day P administration were 45.71%, 44.60%, 38.40%, and 30.43%, respectively (the difference among the subgroups was not significant). Following the blastocyst transfer, the clinical pregnancy rates after three, four, five, six, and seven-day P administration were 50.65%, 63.51%, 60.00%, 54.55%, and 61.54%, respectively (the difference among the subgroups was not significant). In contrast, these two transfer groups showed significantly different clinical pregnancy rates following four and five-day P exposure (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: For cleavage-stage embryo transfer, the most effective WOI was found between days two and five of P administration. The effective WOI for blastocyst transfer was observed between days three and seven of P administrations.

Effect of Nano-Y2O3 Content on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Fe18Cr Films Fabricated by RF Magnetron Sputtering.

In this work, FeCr-based films with different Y2O3 contents were fabricated using radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. The effects of Y2O3 content on their microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), inductive coupled plasma emission spectrometer (ICP) and a nanoindenter. It was found that the Y2O3-doped FeCr films exhibited a nanocomposite structure with nanosized Y2O3 particles uniformly distributed into a FeCr matrix. With the increase of Y2O3 content from 0 to 1.97 wt.%, the average grain size of the FeCr films decreased from 12.65 nm to 7.34 nm, demonstrating a grain refining effect of Y2O3. Furthermore, the hardness of the Y2O3-doped FeCr films showed an increasing trend with Y2O3 concentration, owing to the synergetic effect of dispersion strengthening and grain refinement strengthening. This work provides a beneficial guidance on the development and research of composite materials of nanocrystalline metal with a rare earth oxide dispersion phase.

[Risk factors of oral Helicobacter pylori infection among children in two kindergartens in Suzhou and the effects of oral cleaning on reducing oral Helicobacter pylori infection].

OBJECTIVE: This work aimed to identify the risk factors of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in preschool children and provide effective measures for the prevention and reduction of the incidence of H. pylori infections. METHODS: A total of 204 children from two kindergartens in Suzhou city were recruited through a questionnaire survey. Risk factors were selected through the single factor paired data χ² test and multiple factor Logistic regression analysis. Oral and gastric H. pylori infections were detected by using H. pylori saliva detection (HPS) and ¹³C-urea breath test (¹³C-UBT). Special toothpaste for H. pylori control was selected for oral cleaning. Oral H. pylori infection rates at 2 months after special toothpaste treatment were examined by using HPS. RESULTS: The high-risk factors of H. pylori infections among preschool children included poor personal hygiene habits, such as the nibbling of fingers and the avoidance of hand-washing before meals, diet, and parent's history of stomach disease. Among the 204 subjects enrolled in this study, 158 (77.45%), 37 (18.14%), and 28 (13.73%) were HPS positive, ¹³C-UBT positive, and HPS and ¹³C-UBT positive, respectively. The incidence of oral H. pylori infections was significantly higher than that of gastric H. pylori infections (P<0.01). The positive rate of infections significantly decreased after special toothpaste treatment (P<0.01). This result indicates that the intervention was effective. CONCLUSIONS: Children must receive education on good eating habits. Individualized dining habits or the use of public chopsticks must be implemented. H. pylori infections must be detected as early as possible. Specific toothpaste for oral cleaning must be selected. These approaches could drastically prevent or reduce the incidence of H. pylori infections among preschool children.

[Research on influence of environment factors to yield and quality traits of Perilla frutescen].

The research is aimed to study of the influence of environmental factors on the yield and quality traits, and find out the regularity of the growth and development of perilla. The main environmental factor data in six ecological area in Guizhou province were collected, and the correlation analysis with yield and quality traits of 15 perilla strains was conducted. The results showed that the cultivation environment has significant effects on the yield and quality traits of perilla. The effect of environment on main yield composed traits, contained grain number in top spike, effective panicle number per plant, plant height, top spike length, growth period, and thousand seed weight was degressive. In the different environmental factors, the latitude showed positive correlation with yield, growth period and effective panicle number per plant, and negative correlation with top spike length and grain number in top spike. Elevation showed negative correlation with the growth period of perilla. The perilla yield increased at first and then decreased with altitude rising, with the maximum in the 800 m altitude. The 600-900 m altitude is suitable area for perilla. Except for positive correlation with the plant height, and negative correlation with top spike length, the longitude showed in apparent impact on other traits. Sunshine duration, temperature and rainfall accumulation showed different effect on the different perilla strains. For yield composed traits, the sunshine duration was negatively correlation with the plant length. The accumulated temperature and mean temperature showed negative correlation with the main spike length, the rainfall showed negative correlation with the precipitation and growth period, plant height, ear number. The environmental impact on the oil compounds decreased with oleic acid, stearic acid, linoleic acid, α-linolenic acid, palmitic acid and oil content. Correlation analysis showed that the significantly negative correlation between the oil content and palmitic acid and linoleic acid content, and the positive correlation between linolenic acid content, α-linolenic acid content showed significant negative correlation with other fatty acids composition, and palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid showed significant positive correlation with each other. The influence of different environmental factors on the quality of perilla were as follows: the oil content was positively associated with elevation and sunshine duration. α-Linolenic acid content showed negative correlation with longitude, latitude, accumulated temperature and mean temperature, but positive correlation with altitude, sunlight and rainfall capacity. The correlation between palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and environmental factors showed contrast character of α-linolenic acid. This study detailed discussed the influence of environmental factors on the quality of perilla, which provided the foundation of ecological planting technology and geoherbalism research of perilla.

[Therapeutic effects of α-adrenergic receptor antagonists on benign prostatic hyperplasia: A network meta-analysis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the therapeutic effects of commonly used selective α-adrenergic receptor antagonists (α-ARA) on benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). METHODS: PubMed, Embase and CNKI databases were searched for the literature about selective α-ARAs for the treatment of BPH and the information was extracted on the common adverse reactions in the course of treatment. Multivariate meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the therapeutic effects of different α-ARAs. RESULTS: The total rates of adverse effects of silodosin and tamsulosin were the highest, 51.9% and 34.0% respectively, with the highest incidences of headache (38.3%), weakness (23.6%) and dizziness (17.5%). Besides, tamsulosin ranked the first in inducing sexual dysfunction of the male patients with BPH (70.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Doxazosin is preferable as the first-choice treatment of BPH for its therapeutic effect and improvement of the patient's quality of life. Silodosin and tamsulosin, however, can be selectively used according to the patient's specific tolerance to different adverse effects.

Transcription factor gene TuGTγ-3 is involved in the stripe rust resistance in Triticum urartu.

Wheat stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis West. f. sp. tritici Eriks. ＆Henn. (Pst), is a serious fungal disease. Identification of new genes associate with stripe rust resistance is important for developing disease resistant wheat cultivars and studying the mechanism of disease resistance. Trihelix is a plant specific transcription factor family, which is involved in regulation of growth and development, morphogenesis, and response to stresses. So far, no study reports on the relationship between the Trihelix family and wheat stripe rust. In this study, a gene in the GTγ subfamily of Trihelix family, designated TuGTγ-3, was cloned from Triticum urartu Tum. (2n=2x=14, AA). The results of sequencing demonstrated that TuGTγ-3 gene consisted of a complete open reading frame (ORF), and its coding sequence was 1329 bp in length, which encoded a protein with 442 amino acids. The predicted molecular weight of this protein was 50.31 kDa and the theoretical isoelectric point was 6.12. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that TuGTγ-3 protein had a monopartite nuclear localization signal (GLPMQKKMRYT), and had neither transmembrane domain nor signal peptide. The conserved trihelix domain, the fourth α-helix and the CC domain were located in the regions of Q115?R187, F234?Y241 and K362?K436, respectively. Dissection of secondary structure showed that TuGTγ-3 protein comprised of 43.89% α-helix, 9.51% extended strand, 9.95% ß-turn and 36.65% random coil structures. Based on the BLAST search against the genome database of common wheat from IWGSC, TuGTγ-3 was located on the long arm of chromosome 5A. Transient expression experiment using onion inner epidermal cell showed that the fusion protein TuGTγ-3-GFP distributed mainly in nuclear and slightly in cytoplasm. Expression profiles in different organs indicated that expression level of TuGTγ-3 was much higher in leaves than that in roots or leaf sheaths, and the expression in leaves was extremely up-regulated by infection of the Pst race CYR32. Furthermore, the BSMV-VIGS experiment demonstrated that the transcription factor TuGTγ-3 positively regulated resistance to stripe rust in T. urartu.

Dermatoglyphics from all Chinese ethnic groups reveal geographic patterning.

Completion of a survey of dermatoglyphic variables for all ethnic groups in an ethnically diverse country like China is a huge research project, and an achievement that anthropological and dermatoglyphic scholars in the country could once only dream of. However, through the endeavors of scientists in China over the last 30 years, the dream has become reality. This paper reports the results of a comprehensive analysis of dermatoglyphics from all ethnic groups in China. Using cluster analysis and principal component analysis of dermatoglyphics, it has been found that Chinese populations can be generally divided into a southern group and a northern group. Furthermore, there has been considerable debate about the origins of many Chinese populations and about proper assignment of these peoples to larger ethnic groups. In this paper, we suggest that dermatoglyphic data can inform these debates by helping to classify a Chinese population as a northern or southern group, using selected reference populations and quantitative methods. This study is the first to assemble and investigate dermatoglyphics from all 56 Chinese ethnic groups. It is fortunate that data on population dermatoglyphics, a field of physical anthropology, have now been collected for all 56 Chinese ethnic groups, because intermarriage between individuals from different Chinese ethnic groups occurs more frequently in recent times, making population dermatoglyphic research an ever more challenging field of inquiry.

[Genetic analysis and molecular markers of a novel stripe rust resistance gene YrHua in wheat originated from Psathyrostachys huashanica Keng].

The H9020-17-5,a common wheat-Psathyrostachys huashanica Keng translocation line, possesses excellent resistance to wheat stripe rust. Genetic analysis of F2 and BC1 populations derived from H9020-17-5 x Mingxian169 indicated that resistance to stripe rust in H9020-17-5 was a dominant character controlling by single gene originated from Ps. huashanica. This resistance gene originated from Ps. huashanica was first reported in the present study and named as YrHua. In order to map the resistance gene YrHua, AFLP approach was employed to analyze the 119 individuals of H9020-17-5 x Mingxian169 F2 population which were inoculated by stripe rust isolate CY30. As a result,two markers, PM14(301) and PM42(249) were found to be linked to the resistance gene YrHua,and the genetic distances between the markers and target gene were 5.4 cM and 2.7 cM, respectively. For the convenience of marker-assisted selection in wheat breeding, one of the two AFLP markers was converted to PCR marker using a pair of special primers based on the DNA sequence of PM14 (301) and the polymorphism of restriction site. Our research results provided a useful tool for marker-assisted selection and laid a foundation of fine mapping and map based cloning of YrHua gene.

[Genome constitution of Agropyron elongatum 4x by biochemical and SSR markers].

We analyzed the electrophoritic patterns of 16 kinds of isozyme and three kinds of storage protein in Agropyron elongatum 2x and Ag. elongatum 4x by isoelectric focusing (IEF) and SDS-PAGE, respectively. The results showed three types of electrophoritic patterns. In the first type, the zymogram phenotypes are identical between Ag. elongatum 2x and Ag. elongatum 4x. Two kinds of isozyme belong to this type, which accounts for 10.5% of all the biochemical markers analyzed. In the second type, Ag. elongatum 4x showed a phenotype which is made up of combinations of the all of Ag. elongatum 2x bands and the specific bands. Ten kinds of isozyme and three kinds of storage protein fall into this class, which is the most part and accounts for 63.2% of all the markers analyzed. In the third type, Ag. elongatum 2x and Ag. elongatum 4x showed some identical bands and their own specific bands. Five kinds of isozyme were classified to this group,which accounts for 26.3% of all the markers analyzed. The results above suggested that Ag. elongatum 4x is a allotetraploid composed of one genome originated from Ag. elongatum 2x and another unknown genome which is apparently distinct from the St, J and N genomes of relative species. Otherwise, SSR primers were used to analyze the relation of Ag. elongatum 2x and Ag. elongatum 4x. The amplification results of most primers showed that Ag. elongatum 2x and Ag. elongatum 4x have some identical bands and Ag. elongatum 4x have some specific bands. This result validated the conclusion from biochemical marker analyses that Ag. elongatum 4x is a allotetraploid.

[Efficient production of wheat alien translocation lines and characterization by molecular cytogenetics].

The Triticum aestivum-Leymus mollis and T. aestivum-Thinopyrum intermedium translocation lines were induced by gametocidal chromosome 3C derived from Aegilops triuncialis and gamma-ray irradiated pollens of a T. aestivum-Th. intermedium addition line TAI-14 with a lower dosage (10Gy), respectively. By genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) analysis, three T. aestivum-L. mollis translocation lines (WM-10, WM-43 and WM-47) and three deletion lines (WM-18, WM-43 and WM-44) were selected from 59 F2 plants derived from a cross combination of T. aestivum-L. mollis substitution line M8724-8-13 x T. aestivum-Ae. triunicalis 3C chromosome addition line. The frequency of translocation lines produced and total frequency of chromosome structural variation occurred were 5.08% and 8.47%, respectively. Two of the three translocation lines, WM-10 and WM-43 all were heterozygous translocation lines carrying one T. aestivum-L. mollis Robertsonian translocation chromosome, but the translocation chromosome in the two lines were different in morphology. The other one, WM-47 was a double heterozygous translocation with two different translocation chromosomes. By the C-banding, one of the three translocation lines was identified, the translocation chromosome consisted of 7DL of wheat and a chromosome arm of L. mollis. In addition, wheat chromosome deletions were observed in some plants. In another cross combination involved in common wheat and T. aestivum-Th. intermedium addition line, two alien terminal non-Robertsonian translocation lines (WI-21 and WI-68) were identified from 69 F2 plants by C-banding and GISH, and the percentage of translocation line was 2.90%. By C-banding analysis, the translocation chromosomes involved in wheat chromosomes 3A and 4A in the two lines, respectively. These results indicate that inducing wheat alien translocation line by gametocidal chromosome and irradiated pollens all are efficient methods.