Malayan pangolin SARS-CoV-2-related coronavirus (SARSr-CoV-2) is closely related to SARS-CoV-2. However, little is known about its pathogenicity in pangolins. Using CT scans we show that SARSr-CoV-2 ...positive Malayan pangolins are characterized by bilateral ground-glass opacities in lungs in a similar manner to COVID-19 patients. Histological examination and blood gas tests are indicative of dyspnea. SARSr-CoV-2 infected multiple organs in pangolins, with the lungs the major target, and histological expression data revealed that ACE2 and TMPRSS2 were co-expressed with viral RNA. Transcriptome analysis indicated that virus-positive pangolins were likely to have inadequate interferon responses, with relative greater cytokine and chemokine activity in the lung and spleen. Notably, both viral RNA and viral proteins were detected in three pangolin fetuses, providing initial evidence for vertical virus transmission. In sum, our study outlines the biological framework of SARSr-CoV-2 in pangolins, revealing striking similarities to COVID-19 in humans.
The endometrial gland is one of the most important components of the mammalian uterus. However, few studies have been conducted on the regulatory mechanisms of adenogenesis during the development of ...endometrium. In the present study, we detected the genes expression of 35 different prolactin family members (PRLs) together with the prolactin receptor (PRL-R) in the endometrium of neonatal mice along with the adenogenesis process, to address which prolactin-like genes play a key role during gland development in mice. We found that: (1) The expression of
, and
genes were significantly increased along with the development of uterine glands.
and
were observably up-regulated on Postnatal day 5 (PND5) when the uterine glandular bud invagination begins.
, and
suddenly increased significantly on PND9. But,
and
were markedly down-regulated on PND5 and the expression of
and
were stable extremely. (2) After continuous injection of Progesterone (P4), a well-known method to suppress the endometrial adenogenesis, the expression of
, and
were suppressed on PND7. And on PND9,
, and
were significantly inhibited. (3) Further analysis of the epithelial and stroma showed that these PRLs were mainly expressed in the endometrial stroma of neonatal mice. Our results indicate that multiple PRLs are involved in uterine development and endometrial adenogenesis. Continued progesterone therapy may alter the expression pattern of these PRLs in endometrial stromal cells, thereby altering the interaction and communication between stroma and epithelium, and ultimately leading to complete suppression of endometrial adenogenesis.
The cell-free massive multiple-input multiple-output (CFmMIMO) aims to provide uniform quality of service (QoS) for all users, and can be used in small-area scenarios such as indoor industrial ...networks. This paper studies the CFmMIMO system for indoor industrial scenarios. Firstly, an access point (AP) grouping based hierarchical network topology is proposed. Based on this, we propose an effective AP selection method. To reduce pilot contamination, a pilot assignment scheme based on inspection robot (IR) location is proposed. Considering the high reliability requirement of industrial data transmission, the power control and backhaul combining are jointly optimized to maximize the minimum signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR). The scalability of the proposed CFmMIMO system is analyzed, and a scalable power control method is proposed. The simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the AP selection method, pilot assignment scheme, and the joint optimization algorithm for power control and backhaul combining. Moreover, the impact of network scale and network load on system performance is evaluated and analyzed in the simulations.
The aim of this study was to identify a novel implantation-related molecule and to examine EMO2 expression in the mouse uterus during the peri-implantation period.
Experimental study.
Research ...laboratory.
Adult ICR mice aged 6-8 weeks.
Adult female mice were mated with fertile males to achieve pregnancy. Implantation was delayed by ovariectomizing pregnant mice on day 4 and administering P during days 5-7; implantation was then initiated by administering E(2). Pseudopregnant mice were obtained by mating females with vasectomized males.
The tissue distribution of EMO2 mRNA was detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and the uterine expression pattern of the EMO2 protein was determined by immunohistochemistry.
The full cDNA sequence of EMO2 was registered in GenBank (AY372183). EMO2 mRNA expression was observed in all mouse tissues tested. The expression of the EMO2 protein was predominately localized in decidual cells at the implantation site during days 5-6 of pregnancy, and its expression was induced by the active blastocyst and artificially induced decidualization.
Our data indicate that EMO2 may play a key role in the mouse embryo implantation process.
•BPA (20μg/mL) at supra-physiological doses impaired decidualization of human uterine stromal fibroblasts.•During decidualization, BPA at 20μg/mL decreased expression of PGR and ESR1.•During ...decidualization, BPA at 20μg/mL reduced cell proliferation and CCND2.
This study examined the effect of bisphenol A (BPA) exposure on human uterine stromal fibroblast cells (HuF) undergoing decidualization. HuF cells were isolated and cultured for eight days in the presence of a decidualization-inducing cocktail, while concurrently exposed to physiological and supra-physiologic doses of BPA (1ng/mL, 10ng/mL, 0.5μg/mL, 10μg/mL and 20μg/mL). Decidualization markers, steroid hormone receptors and cell cycle gene expression were detected by qRT-PCR and cellular proliferation was assessed by KI-67 immunofluorescent staining and MTS assay. BPA impaired decidualization at 10μg/mL and 20μg/mL, but not at lower doses. Additionally, BPA at 20μg/mL decreased progesterone receptor and estrogen receptor-alpha compared to controls. The highest dose of BPA also reduced cellular proliferation and cyclin D2 expression compared to controls. These findings demonstrate that BPA disrupts in vitro decidualization of uterine stromal fibroblasts by altering steroid hormone receptor expression at higher concentrations but not at lower physiological doses.
Abstract
STUDY QUESTION
Does a single intrauterine infusion of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) at the time corresponding to a Day 3 embryo transfer in oocyte donors induce favorable molecular ...changes in the endometrium for embryo implantation?
SUMMARY ANSWER
Intrauterine hCG was associated with endometrial synchronization between endometrial glands and stroma following ovarian stimulation and the induction of early decidual markers associated with stromal cell survival.
WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY
The clinical potential for increasing IVF success rates using an intrauterine hCG infusion prior to embryo transfer remains unclear based on previously reported positive and non-significant findings. However, infusion of CG in the non-human primate increases the expression of pro-survival early decidual markers important for endometrial receptivity, including α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and NOTCH1.
STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION
Oocyte donors (n=15) were randomly assigned to receive an intrauterine infusion of 500 IU hCG (n=7) or embryo culture media vehicle (n=8) 3 days following oocyte retrieval during their donor stimulation cycle. Endometrial biopsies were performed 2 days later, followed by either RNA isolation or tissue fixation in formalin and paraffin embedding.
PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS
Reverse transcription of total RNA from endometrial biopsies generated cDNA, which was used for analysis in the endometrial receptivity array (ERA; n = 5/group) or quantitative RT–PCR to determine relative expression of ESR1, PGR, C3 and NOTCH1. Tissue sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin followed by blinded staging analysis for dating of endometrial glands and stroma. Immunostaining for ESR1, PGR, α-SMA, C3 and NOTCH1 was performed to determine their tissue localization.
MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE
Intrauterine hCG infusion was associated with endometrial synchrony and reprograming of stromal development following ovarian stimulation. ESR1 and PGR were significantly elevated in the endometrium of hCG-treated patients, consistent with earlier staging. The ERA did not predict an overall positive impact of intrauterine hCG on endometrial receptivity. However, ACTA2, encoding α-SMA was significantly increased in response to intrauterine hCG. Similar to the hCG-treated non-human primate, sub-epithelial and peri-vascular α-SMA expression was induced in women following hCG infusion. Other known targets of hCG in the baboon were also found to be increased, including C3 and NOTCH1, which have known roles in endometrial receptivity.
LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION
This study differs from our previous work in the hCG-treated non-human primate along with clinical studies in infertile patients. Specifically, we performed a single intrauterine infusion in oocyte donors instead of either continuous hCG via an osmotic mini-pump in the baboon or infusion followed by blastocyst-derived hCG in infertile women undergoing embryo transfer. Therefore, the full impact of intrauterine hCG in promoting endometrial receptivity may not have been evident.
WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
Our findings suggest a potential clinical benefit for intrauterine hCG prior to embryo transfer on Day 3 in counteracting endometrial dyssynchrony from ovarian stimulation and promoting expression of markers important for stromal survival. Finally, there were no obvious negative effects of intrauterine hCG treatment.
STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)
Funding for this work was provided by NICHD R01 HD042280 (A.T.F.) and NICHD F30 HD082951 (M.R.S.). C.S. and P.D.-G are co-inventors of the patented ERA, which is owned by IGENOMIX SL and was used in this study, and C.S. is a shareholder in IGENOMIX SL. M.R.-A. is employed by IGENOMIX SL. No other authors have any conflicts of interest to report.
TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER
This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01786252).
TRIAL REGISTRATION DATE
5 February 2013.
DATE OF FIRST PATIENT'S ENROLLMENT
10 May 2013.
Single capacitive coupled wireless power transfer (SCC-WPT) technology only needs one pair of metal plates for energy transmission. This provides a unique advantage in two-dimensional plane dynamic ...wireless power transfer. However, in practical application, this technology has a clear challenge in improving the transmission power ratings and efficiency. This article studies the power transfer mechanism of the SCC-WPT system based on stray capacitance and self-capacitance. A universal system model has been investigated, where the equivalent circuit model of the system is proposed. The two-port network of the coupler critical factors that limit the transmission power of the system has been analyzed. A new LC-CL compensation topology is proposed to achieve a phase difference of voltage between the primary side and secondary side to 90°, which improves the transmission power of the SCC-WPT system. In addition, the resonant operating condition of the system together with the efficiency is analyzed. Finally, an experimental prototype is built under the guidance of the analysis. Both simulation and experimental results verify the validity of the proposed model and the topology. The experimental results show that the prototype achieves 266 W output power with 62% dc-dc efficiency.
Environmental selection of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is considered to be caused by antibiotic or metal residues, frequently used in livestock. In this study we examined three commercial ...poultry farms to correlate the co-occurrence patterns of antibiotic and metal residues to the presence of ARGs. We quantified 283 ARGs, 12 mobile genetic elements (MGEs), 49 targeted antibiotics, 7 heavy metals and sequenced 16S rRNA genes. The abundance and type of ARG were significantly enriched in manure while soil harbored the most diverse bacterial community. Procrustes analysis displayed significant correlations between ARGs/MGEs and the microbiome. Cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) were responsible for a majority of positive correlations to ARGs when compared to antibiotics. Integrons and transposons co-occurred with ARGs corresponding to 9 classes of antibiotics, especially Class1 integrase intI-1LC. Redundancy analysis (RDA) and Variance partitioning analysis (VPA) showed that antibiotics, metals, MGEs and bacteria explain solely 0.7%, 5.7%, 12.4%, and 21.9% of variances of ARGs in the microbial community, respectively. These results suggested that bacterial composition and horizontal gene transfer were the major factors shaping the composition of ARGs; Metals had a bigger effect on ARG profile than detected antibiotics in this study.
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•Heavy metals in the environment trigger co-selection of antibiotic resistance in bacteria.•MGEs facilitate the mobility of ARGs and MRGs.•Bacterial composition and horizontal gene transfer were the major influencing factors on the composition of ARGs.•Metals had a bigger effect on the ARG profile than detected antibiotics.•Antibiotics, metals, MGEs and bacteria explain solely 0.7%, 5.7%, 12.4%, and 21.9% of variances in ARGs respectively.
We installed 10 continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) stations on the northeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau at the end of 2012, in order to qualitatively investigate strain accumulation across ...the Liupanshan Fault (LPSF). We integrated our newly built stations with 48 other existing GPS stations to provide new insights into three-dimensional tectonic deformation. We employed white plus flicker noise model as a statistical model to obtain realistic velocities and corresponding uncertainties in the ITRF2014 and Ordos-fixed reference frame. The total velocity decrease from northwest to southeast in the Longxi Block (LXB) was 5.3 mm/yr within the range of 200 km west of the LPSF on the horizontal component. The first-order characteristic of the vertical crustal deformation was uplift for the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. The uplift rates in the LXB and the Ordos Block (ORB) were 1.0 and 2.0 mm/yr, respectively. We adopted an improved spherical wavelet algorithm to invert for multiscale strain rates and rotation rates. Multiscale strain rates showed a complex crustal deformation pattern. A significant clockwise rotation of about 30 nradians/yr (10−9 radians/year) was identified around the Dingxi. Localized strain accumulation was determined around the intersectional region between the Haiyuan Fault (HYF) and the LPSF. The deformation pattern across the LFPS was similar to that of the Longmengshan Fault (LMSF) before the 2008 Wenchuan MS 8.0 earthquake. Furthermore, according to the distributed second invariant of strain rates at different spatial scale, strain partitioning has already spatially localized along the Xiaokou–Liupanshan–Longxian–Baoji fault belt (XLLBF). The tectonic deformation and localized strain buildup together with seismicity imply a high probability for a potential earthquake in this zone.
Double-outlet left ventricle (DOLV) is a rare congenital cardiac malformation in which both great arteries arise entirely or predominantly from the left ventricle. An extracardiac conduit is the ...first surgical option for repairing DOLV, specifically because its placement of the extracardiac conduit can be customized to accommodate all possible anatomical variations. The bovine jugular veins and homograft valves are often used as conduits. There have been no reports on the use of handmade trileaflet-valved conduits for correcting DORV.
A 1-year old male was admitted for significant heart murmur and cyanosis, according to the results of transthoracic echocardiography, computed tomography angiography, and cardioangiography, and was diagnosed with DOLV and pulmonary stenosis.
The patient underwent biventricular repair with a handmade trileaflet-valved extracardiac conduit. The postoperative course was uneventful.
Three months after the surgery, TTF indicated mild right ventricular outflow obstruction and pulmonary valve regurgitation.
Correction of the left ventricular double outlet with a handmade trileaflet-valved conduit has been shown to have excellent performance, and long-term outcomes should be followed over time.
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