Graphene-based membranes have great potential to revolutionize nanofiltration technology, but achieving high solute rejections at high water flux remains extremely challenging. Herein, a family of ...ultrafine metal oxide/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites are synthesized through a heterogenous nucleation and diffusion-controlled growth process for dye nanofiltration. The synthesis is based on the utilization of oxygen functional groups on GO surface as preferential active sites for heterogeneous nucleation, leading to the formation of sub-3 nm size, monodispersing as well as high-density loading of metal oxide nanoparticles. The anchored ultrafine nanoparticles could inhibit the wrinkling of the rGO nanosheet, forming highly stable colloidal solutions for the solution processing fabrication of nanofiltration membranes. By functioning as pillars, the nanoparticles remarkably increase both vertical interlayer spacing and lateral tortuous paths of the rGO membranes, offering a water permeability of 225 L m
h
bar
and selectivity up to 98% in the size-exclusion separation of methyl blue.
Oestradiol, an important hormone in follicular development and endometrial receptivity, is closely related to clinical outcomes of fresh in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) cycles. A ...supraphysiologic E2 level is inevitable during controlled ovarian hyper-stimulation (COH), and its effect on the outcome of IVF-ET is controversial. The aim of this retrospective study is to evaluate the association between elevated serum oestradiol (E2) levels on the day of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) administration and neonatal birthweight after IVF-ET cycles. The data of 3659 infertile patients with fresh IVF-ET cycles were analysed retrospectively between August 2009 and February 2017 in First Hospital of Zhengzhou University. Patients were categorized by serum E2 levels on the day of hCG administration into six groups: group 1 (serum E
levels ≤ 1000 pg/mL, n = 230), group 2 (serum E2 levels between 1001 and 2000 pg/mL, n = 524), group 3 (serum E
levels between 2001 and 3000 pg/mL, n = 783), group 4 (serum E
levels between 3001 and 4000 pg/mL, n = 721), group 5 (serum E2 levels between 4001 and 5000 pg/mL, n = 548 ), and group 6 (serum E2 levels > 5000 pg/mL, n = 852). Univariate linear regression was used to evaluate the independent correlation between each factor and outcome index. Multiple logistic regression was used to adjust for confounding factors. The LBW rates were as follows: 3.0% (group 1), 2.9% (group 2), 1.9% (group 3), 2.9% (group 4), 2.9% (group 5), and 2.0% (group 6) (P = 0.629), respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in the incidences of neonatal LBW among the six groups. We did not detect an association between peak serum E2 level during ovarian stimulation and neonatal birthweight after IVF-ET. The results of this retrospective cohort study showed that serum E2 peak levels during ovarian stimulation were not associated with birth weight during IVF cycles. In addition, no association was found between higher E2 levels and increased LBW risk. Our observations suggest that the hyper-oestrogenic milieu during COS does not seem to have adverse effects on the birthweight of offspring after IVF. Although this study provides some reference, the obstetric-related factors were not included due to historical reasons. The impact of the high estrogen environment during COS on the birth weight of IVF offspring still needs future research.
Display omitted
•DFP1 &DFP2 are highly expressed in D. farinae but their functions are unknown.•DFP1 & DFP2 were expressed in E. coli Rosetta-gami 2 & BL21, respectively.•After temperature stress, ...recombinant strains grow better than controls.•DFP1 recombinant strains grow better under cold stress than heat stress.•DFP1 & DFP2 have been shown response to temperature stress for the first time.
The functions of highly expressed genes DFP1 and DFP2 in Dermatophagoides farinae remain unknown. DFP1 and DFP2 have been abundantly annotated and were up-regulated under temperature stress at 43 °C and –10 °C in our previous RNA-seq study, indicating that DFP1 and DFP2 may have temperature stress response function. Here, we amplified, cloned, and sequenced to obtain the complete coding sequences of DFP1 and DFP2 and predicted their protein characteristics using bioinformatics analysis. Then, prokaryotic expression systems were constructed and found that DFP1 was expressed in Escherichia coli Rosetta-gami 2 (DE3) but not BL21 (DE3); DFP2 was expressed in both BL21 (DE3) and Rosetta-gami 2 (DE3), with higher expression in BL21 (DE3). Finally, the growth curves of bacteria were drawn and indicated that the DFP1- and DFP2-pET32a carrying recombinant bacteria grew better than the respectiveonly pET32a carrying control bacteria after heat and cold stress. This study confirms for the first time that DFP1 and DFP2 respond to temperature stress at the protein level. The constructed prokaryotic expression systems will provide an experimental foundation for future antibody preparation for western blotting detection to confirm the temperature-stress response functions of DFP1 and DFP2.
Primary ovarian carcinoid is a very rare ovarian low-grade neuroendocrine tumor, accounting for about 0.1% of all ovarian neoplasms.
We reported a case of primary ovarian carcinoid arising from a ...mature cystic teratoma in a 50-year-old woman. Intraoperative frozen section of left ovarian mass was assessed and a malignant epithelial tumor was considered. Morphologically, the main tumor was composed of cells forming trabeculae, and mature cystic teratoma was observed adjacent to the main part. Immunohistochemistry revealed that the trabecular cells were diffuse positive for pan Cytokeratin, CD56 and synaptophysin with low Ki-67 index (about 1%).
Careful morphological observation combined with appropriate accessory examination are essential for the diagnosis of primary ovarian carcinoid arising from mature cystic teratoma. In addition, the classification criteria of the primary ovarian neuroendocrine tumor are discussed.
The digital economy uses its own digital information advantages to reduce the intensity of energy consumption brought by economic growth. Intelligent manufacturing achieves cost reduction and ...efficiency through the integration of manufacturing and intelligence as well as digitalization and information technology. The two have become a new engine for sustainable economic development at present, and they can promote and influence each other. However, there is a lack of research on the relationship between them. In this regard, this study aims to build a coupling coordination model of digital economy and intelligent manufacturing and to make an empirical analysis using the data of Chinese provincial administrative regions in order to provide a theoretical reference for promoting sustainable economic development. The research finds that (1) the digital economy and intelligent manufacturing are mainly cross-coupled from four aspects: infrastructure, technological innovation, product optimization and organizational change. The development level and speed of the former are significantly higher than those of the latter, and the gap does not decrease with time. The two have a strong correlation, but there is no high-quality coupling coordination. (2) The main obstacle factors to the digital economy lie in the imperfect supporting facilities, the short board of technological innovation and the lack of technological application capacity. Intelligent manufacturing lacks intelligent application and technological innovation. (3) Influencing factors such as opening to the outside world, economic development, high-level talent input, industrial structure and innovation emphasis have different effects on their coupling and coordinated development in different regions. (4) The spatial correlation test shows that the coupling coordination degree of each region is spatially positively correlated. This research helps to promote the coupling and coordinated development of the digital economy and intelligent manufacturing.
A dual‐mode dielectric resonator antenna based on a microstrip line‐slot coupling feed, operating in both the GMS‐900 and GMS‐1800 frequency bands, is presented. The antenna structure consists of a ...rectangular dielectric substrate and a cylindrical dielectric resonator, which is fed by a microstrip line‐slot coupling. The cylindrical resonant cavity and the dual‐stub coupling slot are designed so that the HEM111 and HEM311 modes are excited simultaneously, resulting in resonance at the two desired frequency points. The gain of the antenna is 3.74 and 7.63 dBi at 0.9 and 1.8 GHz respectively, and the efficiency of the antenna is greater than 70% in both operating bands.
Cylindrical resonant cavity, dielectric resonator antenna, dual‐mode
Owing to difficulties in obtaining functional gene sequences, molecular pathogenic mechanisms in Demodex have been understudied. In this study, overlap extension PCR was used to obtain the sequences ...of cathepsin L (CatL), a pathogenicity-related gene, to provide a foundation for subsequent functional research. Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis mites were obtained from the face skin of Chinese individuals, and Demodex canis mites were isolated from the skin lesions of a dog. RNA was extracted and used to synthesise double-stranded cDNA. PCR amplification, cloning, sequencing, and bioinformatics analysis of CatL were performed. CatL gene sequences of 1005, 1008, and 1008 bp were successfully amplified for D. brevis, D. folliculorum, and D. canis, respectively. These sequences showed 99.9 or 100% identity with templates previously obtained by RNA-seq. The Maximum Likelihood (ML) phylogenetic tree showed that D. folliculorum clustered with D. canis first, then with D. brevis, and finally with other Acariformes mite species. The three Demodex species had nine similar motifs to those of Sarcoptes scabies, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, and Dermatophagoides farinae, and motifs 10-13 were valuable for identification. CatL proteins of Demodex species were predicted to be approximately 38 kDa, be located in lysosomes, have a signal peptide but no transmembrane region, and have two functional domains, I29 and Pept_C1. However, interspecific differences were observed in secondary and tertiary protein structures. In conclusion, we successfully obtained CatL sequences of three Demodex species by overlap extension PCR, which creates conditions for further pathogenic mechanism studies.
Genetic modification (GM) technology is a technology that changes the characteristics of species through changing the genes of species. Public attitudes toward GM technology have an important impact ...on the technology's development. Previous surveys conducted in China used to assess public attitudes toward GM have mostly focused on the explicit level, which is recognized and acknowledged through the self-report method. However, the corresponding research on the implicit level is still lacking, which is unconscious and automated. The public attitudes toward the complete concept of GM are still unclear. In order to fill this gap, this study uses a questionnaire survey (Study 1), and interaction verification of the SC-IAT paradigm and the GNAT paradigm (Study 2) to investigate the explicit and implicit attitudes of Chinese university students towards GM. The role of education level is also examined in this study. The results show that the explicit attitudes of Chinese university students towards GM are generally positive, and the main effect of education level is significant. Finally, the mediating effect of the cognitive level between education level and explicit GM attitude is significant. However, the implicit GM attitudes of university students are generally negative, and neither the main effect of education level nor the mediating effect of cognition level is significant. University students as the future consumers and an important part of public opinion, their attitude to GM will affect the development of GM technology to a large extent. This study provides a theoretical basis for improving Chinese university students' attitudes toward GM, and also provides new research ideas for the public view of GM.
Under the dual pressure of economic development and environmental protection, it is urgent that we improve the efficiency of green innovation. Enterprise digital transformation brings opportunities ...to improve the efficiency of green innovation. However, most current studies focus on the relationship between the two from the micro level, ignoring the impact of enterprise digital transformation on the green innovation of other innovation entities within the region, and have not yet described it in detail from the perspective of digital capabilities. Therefore, based on Chinese data, this paper studies the impact of enterprise digital transformation on regional green innovation efficiency from the perspective of digital capability, and provides a theoretical reference for improving regional green innovation efficiency. The research shows that (1) the digital capabilities of enterprise digital transformation include digital acquisition capability, digital utilization capability, and digital sharing capability, which have significant promoting effects on regional green innovation efficiency; (2) strengthening information resources, knowledge resources, R&D funds, and human resources are the role channels indicated by mechanism analysis; (3) heterogeneity analysis shows that the promotion effect is not related to geographical location, but the disadvantaged areas of enterprise digital transformation and regional green innovation efficiency have a greater impact. Further, the applicability of the research conclusions is extended through case studies in other countries. This study enriches the research perspective of the relationship between enterprise digital transformation and green innovation, and provides a new path for regional sustainable development.
PDF
