Adsorption studies of tetracycline hydrochloride and diclofenac sodium on NH2-MIL-53(Al/Zr) sodium alginate gel spheres.

Metal-organic frameworks are emerging inorganic-organic hybrid materials that can be self-assembled from metal ions and organic ligands via coordination bonds. These materials possess large specific surface area, tunable pore structure, abundant active center, diversity of functional groups as well as high mechanical and thermal stability which promote their applications in adsorption and catalysis studies. In this study, NH2-MIL-53(Al/Zr) was prepared and embedded into sodium alginate gel spheres (NH2-MIL-53(Al/Zr)-SA) and its adsorption properties towards TC and DCF in solution were investigated. According to XRD and FTIR analysis, the structure of the raw material was not changed after making the gel spheres. The maximum adsorption towards TC (pH =3) and DCF (pH =5) reached 98.5 mg·g-1 and 192 mg·g-1, respectively. The process was consistent with Langmuir and Freundlich, suggesting that there was both monolayer and multilayer adsorption which infers the presence of physical adsorption (intra-particle diffusion) and non-homogeneous chemical adsorption. The thermodynamic parameters showed that the adsorption process was a spontaneous entropy increasing reaction. The regeneration rate of spent NH2-MIL-53(Al/Zr)-SA could still reach 99.1 % after three cycles, indicating good regeneration performance. This study can provide a basis for the application of NH2-MIL-53(Al/Zr)-SA in wastewater treatment.

Clinical analysis of the regimens for terminating the second-trimester pregnancy in cesarean section women.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the suitable regimens of induced termination of second-trimester pregnancy in women with prior cesareans. METHODS: A total of 204 s-trimester pregnant women with prior cesareans at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2019 to December 2020 were included in this retrospective study. Group A included pregnant women who were administered mifepristone with misoprostol, Group B included those administering mifepristone with misoprostol as well as a transcervical Cook double-balloon catheter, Group C included those receiving mifepristone with an intra-amniotic injection of ethacridine lactate, and Group D included those receiving mifepristone, transcervical Cook double-balloon catheter, and intra-amniotic injection of ethacridine lactate. Their characteristics, clinical outcomes, and complications among the four groups were compared. RESULTS: All women had similar profiles in maternal age, gravidity, and previous cesarean delivery (p > .05). There was no significant difference in successful abortion among the four groups (p > .05). Group C had a significantly shorter induction-to-abortion interval than Group D (p < .01). The blood loss after abortion at 2 h in Group B was much less than Group A (p < .05). It made a significant difference between Group B and Group D regarding the blood loss after abortion at 2 h (p < .01). With regard to total incidences of adverse reactions, there were much fewer in the group B than the group A (p < .05). CONCLUSION: The four regimens are all effective for the termination of second-trimester pregnancy in women with prior cesareans. The use of transcervical Cook double-balloon could reduce the risks caused by misoprostol, and the combination of these is feasible to induce second-trimester pregnancy termination in women with prior cesareans.

Association between chromosome abnormities and prenatal diagnosis indicators screening in the second trimester of pregnancy.

This study aimed to explore the prenatal indicators in the second trimester of pregnancy and their association with chromosome abnormities (CA) to guide decisions toward invasive diagnostic procedures. Pregnant women who underwent prenatal screening and underwent amniocentesis in the second trimester in our Hospital between June 2017 and February 2019 were included in this retrospective cohort study. The reason for amniocentesis in prenatal screening and diagnoses was extracted from the charts. Finally, 3449 pregnant women were included. Of them, 181 were with CA confirmed by amniocentesis (i.e., the CA group), while 3268 were without CA (i.e., the non-CA group). Compared with the women in the non-CA group, those in the CA group were more likely to be older (30 [27,32] vs 29 [26,31], P < .001), had higher gestational weeks (20 [19,23] vs 19 [18,23], P = .008), an increased risk of advanced maternal age (AMA) (9.4% vs 2.2%, P < .001), had an increased risk of NIPT (IRN) (5.1% vs 1.9%, P < .001), had higher rates of a parental chromosome abnormality (PCA) (1.8% vs 0.9%, P = .002), and had increased risk of trisomy 21 (IRT21) (63.0% vs 45.3%, P < .001). AMA (OR = 4.22, 95% CI: 2.35-7.58, P < .001; AUC = 0.536), IRN (OR = 10.62, 95% CI: 6.66-16.94, P < .001; AUC = 0.589), PCA (OR = 4.77, 95% CI: 2.01-11.32, P < .001; AUC = 0.584), and IRT21 (OR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.47-0.89, P = .008; AUC = 0.515) were independently associated with CA. AMA, IRN, IRT21, and PCA during the second trimester were independently associated with CA, but their predictive values for CA were relatively low. Combining those indicators may improve the predictive value.

On the effective organization of rural settlements spatial structure under the transformation and development of mountainous areas in Western China: evaluation measurement based on complex adaptability theory.

The vast majority of rural settlements in Western China are located in the ecologically sensitive and diverse mountainous environment, which also experienced rapid changes in policy and institutional interventions over the past 40 years. At present, in the transitional period of "post-poverty alleviation," they have more opportunities to re-integrate themselves into the large regional development. However, there is a lack of systematic evaluation and cognition of the related functions of the spatial structure between the settlements at the regional village scale and town scale. Therefore, in this paper, the theory of complex adaptive system and its analytical NK model were introduced, and a quantitative measurement framework was constructed for the adaptability level of this kind of rural settlement spatial structure organization so as to explore the effective path for its global optimization. Taking Xinglong Town of Chongqing in the western mountainous area as an example, it was found from the analysis that (1) the number of villages at a high comprehensive adaptation level has increased over time, which has an obvious positive correlation with the construction of transportation network, and a structural adsorption effect. (2) The spatial structure of the rural settlement system in the region has changed from weak industrial nodes - traffic single branch connection - public service decentralized coverage in 2010 to the organizational adaptation characteristics of stable industrial agglomeration - traffic expansion and extension - public service continuous coverage in 2019. (3) The spatial elements related to industry and public service in each village have an increasingly significant impact on the reconstruction and differentiation of its spatial structure. Finally, based on the changing trend of adaptability level and the correlation characteristics of regional space, in this paper, the spatial structure optimization strategy of Xinglong Town is put forward, which provides a reference basis for the coordinated development of the town and village space under the township-level planning in the western region.

WNT3 hypomethylation counteracts low activity of the Wnt signaling pathway in the placenta of preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy. Many studies have shown that epigenetic mechanisms may play a role in preeclampsia. Moreover, our previous study indicated that the differentially methylated genes in preeclampsia were enriched in the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway. This study aimed to identify differentially methylated Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway genes in the preeclamptic placenta and to study the roles of these genes in trophoblast cells in vitro. Using an Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation 850 K BeadChip, we found that the Wnt signaling pathway was globally hypermethylated in the preeclamptic group compared with the term birth group, but hypomethylated in the preeclamptic group compared with the preterm birth group. Among all Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway factors, WNT3 was the most significantly differentially expressed gene and was hypomethylated in the preeclamptic group compared to the nonhypertensive groups, namely, the preterm birth group and term birth group. This result was confirmed by pyrosequencing. Through quantitative real-time PCR and western blot analysis, the WNT3 gene was found to be highly expressed in preeclamptic placental tissues, in contrast to other WNT factors, which were previously reported to be expressed at low levels in placental tissues. Additionally, in the HTR8/SVneo cell line, knockdown of WNT3 suppressed the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway, consistent with the findings for other WNT factors. These results prompted us to speculate that the WNT3 gene counteracts the low activation state of the Wnt signaling pathway in the preeclamptic placenta through methylation modification.

Differential Role of Smad2 and Smad3 in the Acquisition of an Endovascular Trophoblast-Like Phenotype and Preeclampsia.

During placental development, cytotrophoblast progenitor cells differentiate into the syncytiotrophoblast and invasive extravillous trophoblasts (EVTs). Some EVTs further differentiate into endovascular trophoblasts (enEVTs) which exhibit endothelial-like properties. Abnormal placental development, including insufficient enEVT-mediated remodeling of the uterine spiral arteries, is thought to be a precipitating factor in the onset of preeclampsia (PE), a pregnancy-related hypertensive disorder. Several members of the transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) superfamily, such as TGF-ßs, Nodal, and Activin have been reported to either promote or inhibit the invasive EVT pathway. These ligands signal through serine/threonine receptor complexes to activate downstream signaling mediators, Smad2 and Smad3. In this study, we determined Smad2 and Smad3 expression pattern in placenta and their effects on trophoblast invasion and differentiation. Total Smad2/3 levels were relatively constant across gestation while the ratio of active phosphorylated forms to their total levels varied with gestational stages, with a higher pSmad2/total Smad2 in later gestation and a higher pSmad3/total Smad3 in early gestation. Immunofluorescent staining revealed that pSmad3 was localized in nuclei of EVTs in anchoring villi. On the other hand, pSmad2 was mostly absent in this invasive EVT population. In addition, pSmad3/total Smad3, but not pSmad2/total Smad2, was significantly lower in both early onset and late onset PE cases, as compared to gestational age-matched controls. Functional studies carried out using a first trimester trophoblast cell line, HTR-8/SVneo, and first trimester human placental explants showed that Smad2 and Smad3 had differential roles in the invasive pathway. Specifically, siRNA-mediated knockdown of Smad2 resulted in an increase in trophoblast invasion and an upregulation of mRNA levels of enEVT markers while the opposite was observed with Smad3 knockdown. In addition, Smad2 siRNA accelerated the EVT outgrowth in first trimester placental explants while the Smad3 siRNA reduced the outgrowth of EVTs when compared to the control. Furthermore, knockdown of Smad2 enhanced, whereas overexpression of Smad2 suppressed, the ability of trophoblasts to form endothelial-like networks. Conversely, Smad3 had opposite effects as Smad2 on network formation. These findings suggest that Smad2 and Smad3 have opposite functions in the acquisition of an enEVT-like phenotype and defects in Smad3 activation are associated with PE.

[Multivariate analysis of impacting perinatal outcomes in preeclampsia].

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the influencing factors of perinatal outcomes in preeclampsia. METHODS: Statistically the single factor analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed for 448 preeclamptic women. RESULTS: There were 94 cases (21.0%) with had perinatal outcomes in 448 preeclamptic women, among which there were 41 perinatal death cases (9.2%). Single analyses showed that Onset gestation weeks, labor gestation weeks, subjective symptoms, convulsion, proteinuria degrees, edema, systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, white blood count, granulocyte count, urine protein quantity, plasma-albumin, lactate dehydrogenase, creatinine, antenatal care frequencies, hypertension (gestation weeks) and edema (gestation weeks) were correlated to bad perinatal Outcomes (P < 0.05). The logistic regression screened out such factors as labor gestation weeks (OR 0.583, 95% CI: 0.367-0.926), subjective symptoms (OR 9.315, 95% CI: 1.500-57.833) and proteinuria degrees (OR 3.394, 95% CI: 1.226-9.397), which would influence perinatal outcome in preeclampais. CONCLUSION: Regular antenatal cares and extending gestation weeks may improve the perinatal Outcome in preeclampais.

[Homocysteine decreases the invasion in cultured human trophoblasts: relationship between homocysteine and matrix metalloproteinase-2, -9 expression].

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that homocysteine can decrease MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression in cultured trophoblasts of early pregnancy and that homocysteine can prevent trophoblasts invasion in the early stage of preeclampsia. METHODS: Cytotrophoblasts from early pregnancy were isolated and cultured. Trophoblasts were treated with or without Hcy (1 mmol/L) for 48 hour, and real time RT-PCR and gelatin zymography were used to quantify the mRNA and protease activity of MMP-2, -9. RESULTS: Treatment with Hcy (1 mmol/L) induced a decrease in MMP-2 mRNA by 21% and MMP-9 mRNA by 11%. At protein level MMP-2 expression decreased 14% and MMP-9 expression decreased 52% compared with control. CONCLUSIONS: Homocysteine can decrease MMP-2, -9 expression in trophoblasts of early pregnancy and influence its invasion process.

[Differences between the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2, 9 in preeclampsia and normal placental tissues].

OBJECTIVE: To study the possible relationships between expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 2, 9 and the pathogenesis of preeclampsia in which trophoblast invasion is impaired. METHODS: MMP-2, 9 expression were detected by immunohistochemistry streptavidin-biotin complex (SABC) method in 20 normal term placentae and 20 preeclampsia placentae, respectively. In addition, mRNAs for MMP-2, 9 were analyzed by real time PCR in both groups. RESULTS: The intensities of both MMP-2 and MMP-9 immunostaining in preeclampsia placentae were significantly declined compared to those of normal term placentae (P < 0.05). By using 2(-DeltaDeltaCt) as a relatively quantitative assay, mRNA expression of MMP-2 was significantly higher in 10 normal placentae than those in 13 preeclampsia placentae (7.6 +/- 2.8 vs 5.6 +/- 1.5, P < 0.05). Expression of MMP-9 mRNA was also significantly higher in normal placentae than those in preeclampsia placentae (2.2 +/- 2.6 vs -0.9 +/- 2.0, P < 0.05). Whereas, mRNA expression of MMP-2 was higher compared to MMP-9 in normal term placentae (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The decreased expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in preeclampsia placentae may lead to impaired invasion of trophoblast cells, causing abnormal placentation and occurrence of preeclampsia.