In mammals, female fecundity is determined by the size of the primordial follicle (PF) pool, which is established during the perinatal period. As a non-renewable resource, the preservation of dormant ...PFs is crucial for sustaining female reproduction throughout life. Although studies have revealed that several oocyte-derived functional genes and pathways, such as newborn ovary homeobox (NOBOX) and 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1, participate in maintaining the PF pool, our understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms is still incomplete. Here, we demonstrate that E-cadherin (E-cad) plays a crucial role in the maintenance of PFs in mice. E-cad is specifically localized to the cytomembrane of oocytes in PFs. Knockdown of E-cad in neonatal ovaries resulted in significant PF loss owing to oocyte apoptosis. In addition, the expression pattern of NOBOX is similar to that of E-cad. Knockdown of E-cad resulted in a decreased NOBOX level, whereas overexpression of Nobox partially rescued the follicle loss induced by silencing E-cad. Furthermore, E-cad governed NOBOX expression by regulating the shuttle protein, β-catenin, which acts as a transcriptional co-activator. Notably, E-cad, which is a transmembrane protein expressed in the oocytes, was also responsible for maintaining the PF structure by facilitating cell-cell adhesive contacts with surrounding pregranulosa cells. In conclusion, E-cad in oocytes of PFs plays an indispensable role in the maintenance of the PF pool by facilitating follicular structural stability and regulating NOBOX expression. These findings shed light on the physiology of sustaining female reproduction.
Metformin is currently the most widely used first-line hypoglycemic agent for diabetes mellitus. Besides glucose-lowering action, there is increasingly interest in the potential anti-inflammatory ...action of this drug. In the present study, we investigated the actions of metformin on experimental insulitis using STZ-induced diabetic mice.
Mice with acute diabetes induced by STZ were administered metformin by gavage. Changes of blood glucose and body weight, and the daily amount of food and water intake were measured. Pancreatic tissues were collected for histologic analyses. Pathological assessment and immunohistochemistry analysis were used to determine the effect of metformin on insulitis. Inflammatory cytokines in the pancreas and insulin levels were measured through ELISA analysis.
Metformin significantly reduced blood glucose levels and improved aberrant water intake behavior in experimental diabetic mice. No significant differences were observed in terms of body weight and food intake behavior in metformin-treated animals. In the STZ-induced model of diabetes, we found the appearance of pronounced insulitis. However, metformin administration reduced the severity of insulitis assessed by blind pathological scoring. In addition, metformin treatment improved insulin levels in experimental diabetic mice. ELISA assay revealed decreased levels of inflammatory response marker IL-1
and TNF-
in the pancreatic tissues following metformin treatment.
Metformin attenuated insulitis in the STZ-induced mice model of diabetes. This islet-protective effect might be partly correlated with the anti-inflammatory action of metformin.
This study introduces a novel Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) system designed explicitly for distance-tolerant and angle-insensitive. The system incorporates a Fabry-Perot Cavity (FPC) and a Rectifying ...Metasurface (ReMS), effectively addressing the challenge of maintaining stable Direct Current (DC) output power across varying distances. The FPC antenna serves as the transmitter, while the ReMS, as one layer of the multi-layer FPC, combines the functionalities of a receiver and rectifier. The ReMS captures Radio Frequency (RF) energy from diverse incident angles through its top surface's cross dipoles. Its bottom rectification network is designed based on the performance of the FPC antenna, aiming to improve the efficiency of RF-to-DC conversion. Comprising 64 cells, the ReMS achieves an energy harvesting efficiency of up to 94.5% at various incident angles. Additionally, the rectifier's design has been validated with a peak rectifying efficiency of 62.6%. Prototype results indicate that the system, at an average unit input power of 10 dBm, attains considerably stable DC output power over a range of distances, with a total efficiency of approximately 40%-50%. The outcomes of this work lay the groundwork for developing self-powered units with wireless transmission capabilities, ideal for intelligent devices subject to frequent locational changes.
A phytochemical investigation on the alkaloid fractions of Sophora alopecuroides L. led to the production of 11 undescribed matrine-type alkaloids, sophaloseedlines I–S (1−11), 12 known analogs ...(12−23), and an unexpected artificial matrine-derived Al(III) complex (24). The corresponding structures were elucidated by the interpretation of spectroscopic analyses, quantum chemical calculation, and six instances (1−4, 18, and 24), verified by X-ray crystallography. The biological activities screening demonstrated that none of the isolates exhibited cytotoxicity against four human cancer cell lines (HepG2, A549, THP-1, and MCF-7) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) at 50 μM, while moderate anti-inflammatory activity with IC50 value from 15.6 to 47.8 μM was observed. The key structure-activity relationships of those matrine-type alkaloids for anti-inflammatory effects have been summarized. In addition, the most potent 7-epi-sophoramine (19) and aluminum sophaloseedline T (24) could effectively inhibit the release of pro-inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β), as well as the expression of iNOS and COX-2 proteins.
The study on Sophora alopecuroides led to the production of 11 undescribed matrine-type alkaloids, 12 known analogs, and an unexpected artificial matrine-derived Al(III) complex. Compounds 19 and 24 were active against LPS-induced inflammation by suppressing the expression of iNOS and COX-2. Display omitted
•Eleven undescribed matrine-type alkaloids (1–11) were isolated from Sophora alopecuroides.•A matrine-derived aluminium (III) complex (24) with unprecedented structure was unexpectedly obtained.•Compounds 19 and 24 could inhibit the release of many pro-inflammatory factors, and iNOS and COX-2 proteins.
The development of cost-efficient biochar adsorbent with a simple preparation method is essential to constructing efficient wastewater treatment system. Here, a low-cost waste carton biochar (WCB) ...prepared by a simple two-step carbonization was applied in efficiently removing Rhodamine B (RhB) in aqueous environment. The maximum ability of WCB for RhB adsorption was 222 mg/g, 6 and 10 times higher than both of rice straw biochar (RSB) and broadbean shell biochar (BSB), respectively. It was mainly ascribed to the mesopore structure (3.0–20.4 nm) of WCB possessing more spatial sites compared to RSB (2.2 nm) and BSB (2.4 nm) for RhB (1.4 nm✕1.1 nm✕0.6 nm) adsorption. Furthermore, external mass transfer (EMT) controlled mass transfer resistance (MTR) of the RhB sorption process by WCB which was fitted with the Langmuir model well. Meanwhile, the adsorption process was dominated by physisorption through van der Waals forces and π-π interactions. A mixture of three dyes in river water was well removed by using WCB. This work provides a straightforward method of preparing mesoporous biochar derived from waste carton with high-adsorption capacity for dye wastewater treatment.
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•WCB can effectively treat dyes in river water.•The maximum adsorption capacity was 222.6 mg/g and controlled by van der Waals forces.•The superior ability was mainly due to mesopores, graphitization and hydrophobicity.•External mass transfer dominated the mass transfer resistance.
For the multisensor systems with unknown noise variances, based on the solution of the matrix equations for the correlation function, the on-line estimators of the noise variance matrices are ...obtained, whose consistency is proved using the ergodicity of sampled correlation function. Further, two self-tuning weighted measurement fusion Kalman filters are presented for the multisensor systems with identical and different measurement matrices, respectively. Based on the stability of the dynamic error system, a new convergence analysis tool is presented for a self-tuning fuser, which is called the dynamic error system analysis (DESA) method. A new concept of convergence in a realization is presented, which is weaker than the convergence with probability one. It is rigorously proved that the proposed self-tuning Kalman fusers converge to the steady-state optimal Kalman fusers in a realization or with probability one, so that they have asymptotic global optimality. A simulation example for a target tracking system with 3 sensors shows their effectiveness.
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) led to the outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan. The virus is highly infectious. Patients with cancer might be susceptible to the viral ...infection because of the immunosuppressive state cause by therapies on tumors.
We present the clinical features of four cancer patients who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 in late January of 2020 in our hospital. Cases 1 and 3 were diagnosed as mild and common type of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-2019) and survived from the viral infection. They acquired SARS-CoV-2 infection during their staying in hospital under radiotherapy and surgery of the tumors. Cases 2 and 4 suffered from severe type of COVID-19, and Case 2 was dead owning to the advanced age, uncontrolled chronic B cell lymphocytic leukemia and many other underlying diseases. The immunosuppressive state induced by liver transplantation and anti-rejection therapy might contribute to the severity of COVID-19 in Case 4, who suffered from hepatitis B related hepatocellular carcinoma. However, Case 4 was recovered from COVID-19 after a combination therapy against virus, bacteria and fungi, and also respiratory support. Nearly all patients showed a decrease in lymphocytes including total CD3
T cells, B cells, and natural killer cells after infection of the virus.
The severity of COVID-19 might be influenced by immune system state and underlying diseases in cancer patients. And the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection in cancer patients is challenged by the immunosuppressive state of these patients under chemotherapy or surgery.
•The original ML 1T′-MoSSe is an indirect semiconductor.•Se(A), S(B) and Mo(A) vacancies are still 2D semiconductor materials with an increased band gap, while S(A), Se(B) and Mo(B) exhibits metallic ...properties, implying a phase transition from the semiconductor to metallic phase.•The magnetism could be induced for the Mo-Se(A) and Mo-S(A) antisite defects.•The magnetism can be induced and is widespread in the presence of different types of complex defects in the 1T′-MoSSe substrate.
By means of first-principles calculations, we systematically investigate the stable geometry, formation energy, and magnetic and electronic properties modulated by the vacancy, antisite, and complex defects in the 1T′ phase of monolayer (ML) Janus MoSSe. The formation energies for different positions of vacancy defects shows that the metallic and semiconductive phases can be produced for the vacancy defect with inequivalent atoms. Furthermore, the magnetism could be induced in ML Janus 1T′-MoSSe by the Mo-Se(A) and Mo-S(A) antisite defects. For the complex defects case, we found that the magnetism can be induced and is widespread for different types of vacancy in the 1T′-MoSSe substrate. The band gap of the original ML Janus 1T′-MoSSe can be efficiently modified by introducing defects and vacancies. Our investigation indicates that the 1T′ phase of ML Janus MoSSe with defects and vacancy has a potential application for spintronics and optoelectronics.
Background
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common chronic rheumatic disease in children. With the gradual expansion of the incidence of JIA in the population, the pathogenesis and ...treatment of JIA were further explored and analyzed, and JIA has achieved some success in drug therapy.
Data sources
A systemic literature search was conducted on PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, ISI Web of Science, the US National Institutes of Health Ongoing Trials Register, and the EU Clinical Trials Register. Through the searching of clinical trials of JIA in recent years, we summarized the progress of the clinical treatment of JIA.
Results
The main treatment drugs for JIA include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorticoids, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and biological agents. So far, a variety of biological agents targeting the cytokines and receptors involved in its pathogenesis have been gradually approved for JIA in many countries. The application of biological agents in JIA showed good efficacy and safety, bringing unprecedented experience to children and adolescents with JIA.
Conclusions
The potential and advantages of biologic agents in the treatment of JIA are significant, and the application of biologic agents in the treatment of JIA will be more and more common.
In this work, reuse probability of heavy metal-contaminated sediment for land application was discussed using a 100-day column leaching assessment under the situation of simulated acid rain. For ...comparison, NaCl-modified zeolite and biochar were firstly studied for their adsorption capacity for Cu, Cd, and Pb in aqueous solution, and then their stabilizing effects on the three metals in sediment-soil mixture. Characteristic results indicated that NaCl-modified zeolite had properties more conducive to metal adsorption than biochar, including higher BET surface area and more negative surface charges. Adsorption capacities of NaCl-modified zeolite fitted by Langmuir isotherm model were 24.83, 35.57, and 133.16 mg g
−1
for Cu, Cd, and Pb, respectively. Leaching results demonstrated that metal concentrations in the leachates of soil receiving zeolite- or biochar-modified sediment reduced significantly after 100 days compared with that of soil receiving bare sediment. Moreover, the NaCl-modified zeolite presented a better performance in stabilizing the three metals than biochar from the BCR sequential extraction result. Therefore, stabilization of the dredged contaminated sediment by modified zeolite ensures an environmentally friendly reuse of the sediment on land and makes the sediment treatment operation-able and cost-effective.
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