Does technological innovation in National Sustainable Development Agenda Innovation Demonstration Zones promote green development?-the case from Chengde City, China.

The National Sustainable Development Agenda Innovation Demonstration Zones (NSDAIDZs) aim to spearhead green development through scientific and technological innovation, showcasing sustainable development to other regions in China and offering valuable insights for countries worldwide. Taking Chengde City, which is one of the cities in the second batch of NSDAIDZs, as a case study, we examine the quantitative impact of technological innovation on green development. Additionally, it investigates the threshold effect of Research and development investments (R&D investments) on the relationship between technological innovation and green development. The results indicate that: (1) technological innovation has a positive promoting effect on green development, with a 1.01% increase in green development for every one unit increase in technological innovation; (2) The positive effect of technological innovation on green development becomes fully realized only when R&D investments and the upgrading of industrial structure surpass a specific threshold value. We contribute to the existing research on the connection between technological innovation and green development in innovation demonstration zones. It also provides empirical insights to foster a mutually beneficial relationship between R&D investments, industrial structure upgrading, and technological innovation, ultimately maximizing the promoting role of technological innovation in green development.

Optoelectronic Torque Measurement System Based on SAPSO-RBF Algorithm.

The torque is a significant indicator reflecting the comprehensive operational characteristics of a power system. Thus, accurate torque measurement plays a pivotal role in ensuring the safety and stability of the system. However, conventional torque measurement systems predominantly rely on strain gauges adhered to the shaft, often leading to reduced accuracy, poor repeatability, and non-traceability due to the influence of strain gauge adhesion. To tackle the challenge, this paper introduces a photoelectric torque measurement system. Quadrants of photoelectric sensors are employed to capture minute deformations induced by torque on the rotational axis, converting them into measurable voltage. Subsequently, the system employs the radial basis function neural network optimized by simulated annealing combined with particle swarm algorithm (SAPSO-RBF) to establish a correlation between measured torque values and standard references, thereby calibrating the measured values. Experimental results affirm the system's capability to accurately determine torque measurements and execute calibration, minimizing measurement errors to 0.92%.

DNA Damage Atlas: an atlas of DNA damage and repair.

DNA damage and its improper repair are the major source of genomic alterations responsible for many human diseases, particularly cancer. To aid researchers in understanding the underlying mechanisms of genome instability, a number of genome-wide profiling approaches have been developed to monitor DNA damage and repair events. The rapid accumulation of published datasets underscores the critical necessity of a comprehensive database to curate sequencing data on DNA damage and repair intermediates. Here, we present DNA Damage Atlas (DDA, http://www.bioinformaticspa.com/DDA/), the first large-scale repository of DNA damage and repair information. Currently, DDA comprises 6,030 samples from 262 datasets by 59 technologies, covering 16 species, 10 types of damage and 135 treatments. Data collected in DDA was processed through a standardized workflow, including quality checks, hotspots identification and a series of feature characterization for the hotspots. Notably, DDA encompasses analyses of highly repetitive regions, ribosomal DNA and telomere. DDA offers a user-friendly interface that facilitates browsing, searching, genome browser visualization, hotspots comparison and data downloading, enabling convenient and thorough exploration for datasets of interest. In summary, DDA will stand as a valuable resource for research in genome instability and its association with diseases.

Hsa_circ_0124554 may serve as a biomarker for the diagnosis of colorectal cancer: An observational study.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play important roles in the occurrence and development of cancer, and have been shown with diagnostic values in various cancers. The latest research showed that hsa_circ_0124554 is closely related to liver metastasis and vascular invasion in colorectal cancer (CRC). This study aimed to investigate whether hsa_circ_0124554 can be used as a diagnostic marker for CRC. In this study, quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect hsa_circ_0124554 expression levels in 40 pairs of CRC tissues and adjacent non-tumor intestinal tissues derived from CRC patients and 32 paired plasma specimens. The relationship between the expression of hsa_circ_0124554 and the clinicopathological features of CRC patients was analyzed by t-test and chi-square test. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was established to explore the diagnostic value of hsa_circ_0124554 in CRC. The results showed that hsa_circ_0124554 was substantially expressed in CRC tissues (P < .001) and that there were variations in pathological differentiation, perineural invasion and invasion. The expression of hsa_circ_0124554 in CRC patients was considerably higher than healthy controls (P < .001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of tissue and plasma hsa_circ_0124554 was 0.703 and 0.742. The AUC of the expression combined hsa_circ_0124554, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) had the best diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.899) in the CRC groups, and the sensitivity and specificity were 0.844 and 0.844. The expression of hsa_circ_0124554 was up-regulated in the tissues and plasma in CRC patients, which may be a new biomarker for the diagnosis of CRC. The combination hsa_circ_0124554, CEA and CA199 has the best diagnostic efficacy in CRC.

Silver-catalyzed cyclization of α-imino-oxy acids to fused tetralone derivatives.

A silver-catalyzed intramolecular radical relay cyclization of α-imino-oxy acids under mild conditions has been described. This reaction offers facile access to a diverse range of fused tetralone derivatives with exquisite stereoselectivity in moderate to good yields (40-98%). Experimental studies show that the reaction undergoes a decarboxylation and acetone fragmentation/1,5-hydrogen atom transfer (HAT)/cyclization process.

Sub-arc collimator angle optimization based on the conformity index heatmap for VMAT planning of multiple brain metastases SRS treatments.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of collimator angle optimization in single-isocenter coplanar volume modulated arc therapy (VMAT) stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for multiple metastases with respect to dosimetric quality and treatment delivery efficiency. In particular, this is achieved by a novel algorithm of sub-arc collimator angle optimization (SACAO). Methods: Twenty patients with multiple brain metastases were retrospectively included in this study. A multi-leaf collimator (MLC) conformity index (MCI) that is defined as the ratio of the area of target projection in the beam's eye view (BEV) to the related area fitted by MLC was applied. Accordingly, for each control point, 180 MCI values were calculated with a collimator angle interval of 1°. A two-dimensional heatmap of MCI as a function of control point and collimator angle for each full arc was generated. The optimal segmentation of sub-arcs was achieved by avoiding the worst MCI at each control point. Then, the optimal collimator angle for each sub-arc would be determined by maximizing the summation of MCI. Each patient was scheduled to undergo single-center coplanar VMAT SRS based on either the novel SACAO algorithm or the conventional VMAT with static collimator angle (ST-VMAT). The dosimetric parameters, field sizes, and the monitoring units (Mus) were evaluated. Results: The mean dose-volumetric parameters for the target volume of SACAO were comparable to ST-VMAT, while the conformity index (CI), homogeneity index (HI), and gradient index (GI) were reduced by SACAO. Improved sparing of organs at risk (OARs) was also obtained by SACAO. In particular, the SACAO method significantly (p < 0.01) reduced the field size (76.59 ± 32.55 vs. 131.95 ± 56.71 cm2) and MUs (655.35 ± 71.99 vs. 729.85 ± 73.52) by 41.11%. Conclusions: The SACAO method could be superior in improving the CI, HI, and GI of the targets as well as normal tissue sparing for multiple brain metastases SRS. In particular, SACAO has the potential of increasing treatment efficiency in terms of field size and MU.

Langmuir-Blodgett Deposition of Cellulose Nanocrystal Surfactants into Ordered Monolayers.

The cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are shown to interact with amine-functionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS-NH2) strongly at the water/oil interface, forming the CNC-POSS assemblies, that is, CNC surfactants that decrease the interfacial tension of the water/chloroform greatly. When bringing the CNC aqueous solution and POSS chloroform solution into a Langmuir trough, they form a monolayer of the CNC surfactants. Upon applying a continuous compression, a distinct transition appears in the surface pressure-area curves, and during this transition, the packing of the CNC surfactants in the produced monolayers transits from network-like patterns to ordered alignment.

Drinking water aromaticity and treatability is predicted by dissolved organic matter fluorescence.

Samples from fifty-five surface water resources and twenty-five drinking water treatment plants in Europe, Africa, Asia, and USA were used to analyse the fluorescence composition of global surface waters and predict aromaticity and treatability from fluorescence excitation emission matrices. Nine underlying fluorescence components were identified in the dataset using parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) and differences in aromaticity and treatability could be predicted from ratios between components Hii (λex/λem= 395/521), Hiii (λex/λem= 330/404), Pi, (λex/λem=290/365) and Pii (λex/λem= 275/302). Component Hii tracked humic acids of primarily plant origin, Hiii tracked weathered/oxidised humics and the "building block" fraction measured by LC-OCD, while Pi and Pii tracked amino acids in the "low molecular weight neutrals" LC-OCD fraction. Ratios between PARAFAC components predicted DOC removal at lab scale for French rivers in standardized tests involving coagulation, powdered activated carbon (PAC), chlorination, ion exchange (IEX), and ozonation, alone and in combination. The ratio Hii/Hiii, for convenience named "PARIX" standing for "PARAFAC index", predicted SUVA according to a simple relationship: SUVA = 4.0 x PARIX (RMSEp=0.55) Lmg-1m-1. These results expand the utility of fluorescence spectroscopy in water treatment applications, by demonstrating the existence of previously unknown relationships between fluorescence composition, aromaticity and treatability that appear to hold across diverse surface waters at various stages of drinking water treatment.

[Effect and mechanism of leonurine on pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy in rats].

To investigate the effects of leonurine(Leo) on abdominal aortic constriction(AAC)-induced cardiac hypertrophy in rats and its mechanism. A rat model of pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy was established by AAC method. After 27-d intervention with high-dose(30 mg·kg~(-1)) and low-dose(15 mg·kg~(-1)) Leo or positive control drug losartan(5 mg·kg~(-1)), the cardiac function was evaluated by hemodynamic method, followed by the recording of left ventricular systolic pressure(LVSP), left ventricular end-diastolic pressure(LVESP), as well as the maximum rate of increase and decrease in left ventricular pressure(±dp/dt_(max)). The degree of left ventricular hypertrophy was assessed based on heart weight index(HWI) and left ventricular mass index(LVWI). Myocardial tissue changes and the myocardial cell diameter(MD) were measured after hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining. The contents of angiotensin Ⅱ(AngⅡ) and angiotensin Ⅱ type 1 receptor(AT1 R) in myocardial tissue were detected by ELISA. The level of Ca~(2+) in myocardial tissue was determined by colorimetry. The protein expression levels of phospholipase C(PLC), inositol triphosphate(IP3), AngⅡ, and AT1 R were assayed by Western blot. Real-time quantitative PCR(qRT-PCR) was employed to determine the mRNA expression levels of ß-myosin heavy chain(ß-MHC), atrial natriuretic factor(ANF), AngⅡ, and AT1 R. Compared with the model group, Leo decreased the LVSP, LVEDP, HWI, LVWI and MD values, but increased ±dp/dt_(max) of the left ventricle. Meanwhile, it improved the pathological morphology of myocardial tissue, reduced cardiac hypertrophy, edema, and inflammatory cell infiltration, decreased the protein expression levels of PLC, IP3, AngⅡ, AT1 R, as well as the mRNA expression levels of ß-MHC, ANF, AngⅡ, AT1 R, c-fos, and c-Myc in myocardial tissue. Leo inhibited AAC-induced cardiac hypertrophy possibly by influencing the RAS system.

Lycorine improves peripheral nerve function by promoting Schwann cell autophagy via AMPK pathway activation and MMP9 downregulation in diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is the most common complication of diabetes mellitus and no effective therapy is approved. Here, lycorine, a natural alkaloid, was identified as a potential drug for DPN by the bioinformatics analysis of GEO datasets and Connectivity Map database. Lycorine administration improved peripheral nerve function and autophagy-associated proteins of diabetic mice. Again, in vitro high glucose-cultured rat Schwann cells (RSC96) showed enhanced autophagosome marker LC3-II with the treatment of lycorine. Additionally, beclin-1 and Atg3 were decreased in high glucose-stimulated RSC96 cells, which were reversed by lycorine treatment. Furthermore, DPN-associated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from GEO datasets and lycorine-drug targets from PubChem and PharmMapper were visually analyzed and revealed that MMP9 was both DPN-associated DEGs and lycorine-drug target. Functional enrichment analysis of MMP9-relevant genes showed that cell energy metabolism was involved. Moreover, lycorine reduced high glucose-enhanced MMP9 expression in RSC96 cells. Overexpression of MMP9 attenuated lycorine-induced the expression of beclin-1, Atg3 and LC3-II in high glucose-cultured RSC96 cells. In addition, AMPK pathway activation was confirmed in lycorine-treated high glucose-cultured RSC96 cells. Then AMPK pathway inhibition attenuated lycorine-reduced MMP9 expression in high glucose-treated RSC96 cells. Molecular docking analysis revealed that lycorine bound the domain of AMPK containing Thr 172 site, which affected AMPK (Thr 172) phosphorylation. Finally, AMPK pathway activation and MMP9 downregulation were also revealed in the sciatic nerves of diabetic mice administrated with lycorine. Taken together, lycorine was advised to promote Schwann cell autophagy via AMPK pathway activation and MMP9 downregulation-induced LC3-II transformation in diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Fabrication of a High-Performance and Reusable Planar Face Mask in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a surge in demand for face masks, with the massive consumption of masks leading to an increase in resource-related and environmental concerns. In this work, we fabricated meltblown polypropylene (mb-PP)-based high-performance planar face masks and investigated the effects of six commonly used disinfection methods and various mask-wearing periods on the reusability of these masks. The results show that, after three cycles of treatment using hot water at 70 °C for 30 min, which is one of the most scalable, user-friendly methods for viral disinfection, the particle filtration efficiency (PFE) of the mask remained almost unchanged. After mask wearing for 24 h and subsequent disinfection using the same treatment procedures, the PFE decreased to 91.3%; the average number of bacterial and fungal colonies was assessed to be 9.2 and 51.6 colony-forming units per gram (CFU∙g- 1), respectively; and coliform and pyogenic bacteria were not detected. Both the PFE and the microbial indicators are well above the standard for reusable masks after disinfection. Schlieren photography was then used to assess the capabilities of used and disinfected masks during use; it showed that the masks exhibit a high performance in suppressing the spread of breathed air.

Associations between sexual and reproductive health knowledge, attitude and practice of partners and the occurrence of unintended pregnancy.

Background: Although global contraceptive coverage has increased significantly, high rates of unintended pregnancy remain the current global status quo. A comparative analysis of the differences and correlations of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) of both partners will help guide public health work according to gender characteristics and needs, and reduce the occurrence of unintended pregnancy. Methods: A questionnaire survey of people with unintended pregnancies including women and their male partners (n = 1,275 pairs) who sought help from the Shanghai General Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from October 2017 to October 2021. Data were collected on sexual and reproductive health knowledge, attitudes, and practices in both partners who had unintended pregnancies. Chi-square test and Logistic regression were used to analyze the relationship between the occurrence of unintended pregnancy and KAP and its influencing factors. Paired odds ratio and McNemar's test were used to estimate the difference and concordance of KAP between partners. Results: This study included 1,275 partners with a mean age of 30.0 years. The partner's overall level of KAP is good. Compared with women, men had better knowledge (χ2 = 3.93, p = 0.047) and more active contraceptive practices (χ2 = 19.44, p < 0.001). In the analysis of partner concordance, male contraceptive intention was found to be better than female [matched pairs odds ratio (ORMP) = 2.56, p < 0.001], and the concordance of positive contraceptive practice between partners increased with male education [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.556, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.185-2.044, p = 0.001]. In partner-paired regression analysis, compared with good contraceptive knowledge in both men and women in the partner, the risk of negative contraceptive practice was 1.7 times (aOR = 1.721, 95% CI = 1.234-2.400, p = 0.001) higher with good contraceptive knowledge in women but negative in men, while women with poor contraceptive knowledge but men with good knowledge are 1.3 times (aOR = 1.349, 95% CI = 1.000-1.819, p = 0.05) more likely to have negative contraceptive practices. In addition, compared with partners with positive contraceptive attitudes, women with positive attitudes but negative men and women with negative attitudes but positive men had 1.7 and 1.4 times the risk of negative contraceptive practices, respectively. Conclusion: The study found that unintended pregnancy occurs mainly in young people, and the younger age of first sexual intercourse, the low education background and the lack of discussion of contraception between partners are risk factors for not taking contraceptive measures. Men's better knowledge and contraceptive practices compared with female partners, and poor male contraceptive knowledge and attitudes may lead to a higher risk of negative contraceptive practices, the results suggest that male KAP plays an important role in promoting contraceptive use and reducing unintended pregnancy.

Direct reprogramming of human Sertoli cells into male germline stem cells with the self-renewal and differentiation potentials via overexpressing DAZL/DAZ2/BOULE genes.

We propose a new concept that human somatic cells can be converted to become male germline stem cells by the defined factors. Here, we demonstrated that the overexpression of DAZL, DAZ2, and BOULE could directly reprogram human Sertoli cells into cells with the characteristics of human spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs), as shown by their similar transcriptomes and proteomics with human SSCs. Significantly, human SSCs derived from human Sertoli cells colonized and proliferated in vivo, and they could differentiate into spermatocytes and haploid spermatids in vitro. Human Sertoli cell-derived SSCs excluded Y chromosome microdeletions and assumed normal chromosomes. Collectively, human somatic cells could be converted directly to human SSCs with the self-renewal and differentiation potentials and high safety. This study is of unusual significance, because it provides an effective approach for reprogramming human somatic cells into male germ cells and offers invaluable male gametes for treating male infertility.

TXNIP, a novel key factor to cause Schwann cell dysfunction in diabetic peripheral neuropathy, under the regulation of PI3K/Akt pathway inhibition-induced DNMT1 and DNMT3a overexpression.

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is the most common complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) and the dysfunction of Schwann cells plays an important role in the pathogenesis of DPN. Thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) is known as an inhibitor of thioredoxin and associated with oxidative stress and inflammation. However, whether TXNIP is involved in dysfunction of Schwann cells of DPN and the exact mechanism is still not known. In this study, we first reported that TXNIP expression was significantly increased in the sciatic nerves of diabetic mice, accompanied by abnormal electrophysiological indexes and myelin sheath structure. Similarly, in vitro cultured Schwann cells TXNIP was evidently enhanced by high glucose stimulation. Again, the function experiment found that knockdown of TXNIP in high glucose-treated RSC96 cells led to a 4.12 times increase of LC3-II/LC3-I ratio and a 25.94% decrease of cleaved caspase 3/total caspase 3 ratio. Then, DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) inhibitor 5-Aza has been reported to benefit Schwann cell in DPN, and here 5-Aza treatment reduced TXNIP protein expression, improved autophagy and inhibited apoptosis in high glucose-treated RSC96 cells and the sciatic nerves of diabetic mice. Furthermore, DNMT1 and DNMT3a upregulation were found to be involved in TXNIP overexpression in high glucose-stimulated RSC96 cells. Silencing of DNMT1 and DNMT3a effectively reversed high glucose-enhanced TXNIP. Moreover, high glucose-inhibited PI3K/Akt pathway led to DNMT1, DNMT3a, and TXNIP upregulation in RSC96 cells. Knockdown of DNMT1 and DNMT3a prevented PI3K/Akt pathway inhibition-caused TXNIP upregulation in RSC96 cells. Finally, in vivo knockout of TXNIP improved nerve conduction function, increased autophagosome and LC3 expression, and decreased cleaved Caspase 3 and Bax expression in diabetic mice. Taken together, PI3K/Akt pathway inhibition mediated high glucose-induced DNMT1 and DNMT3a overexpression, leading to cell autophagy inhibition and apoptosis via TXNIP protein upregulation in Schwann cells of DPN.

Economic status and catastrophic health expenditures in China in the last decade of health reform: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: In order to solve the problem of "expensive medical treatment and difficult medical treatment" for patients and improve the equity of medical services, China started the health-care reform in 2009, and proposed ambitious goals of providing fair and high-quality basic medical and health services to all citizens and reducing economic burden of diseases. This study was to systematically explore the association between population economic status and incidence of catastrophic health expenditures (CHE) in mainland China in the last decade since 2009 health reform. METHODS: This systematic review was reported according to the standard of preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA). We systematically searched Chinese Electronic literature Database of China Journal Full Text Database, Chinese Biomedical Journal Database, Wan fang Data Resource System, VIP Database, and English literature databases of PubMed, SCI, EMbase and Cochrane Library from January 2000 to June 2020, and references of included studies. Two reviewers independently selected all reports from 2000 to 2020 for empirical studies of CHE in mainland China, extracted data and evaluated the quality of the study. We conducted meta-analysis of the incidence of CHE and subgroup analysis according to the time of the study and the economic characteristics of residents. RESULTS: Four thousand eight hundred seventy-four records were retrieved and eventually 47 studies with 151,911 participants were included. The quality scores of most of studies were beyond 4 points (91.49%). The pooled incidence of CHE of Chinese residents in the last two decades was 23.3% (95% CI: 21.1 to 25.6%). The CHE incidence increased from 2000 to 2017, then decreased over time from 2017 to 2020. From 2000 to 2020, the CHE incidence in rural areas was 25.0% (95% CI: 20.9 to 29.1%) compared to urban 20.9% (95% CI: 18.3 to 23.4%); the CHE incidence in eastern, central and western China was 25.0% (95% CI: 19.2 to 30.8%), 25.4% (95% CI: 18.4 to 32.3%), and 23.1% (95% CI: 17.9 to 28.2%), respectively; the CHE incidence was 30.9% (95% CI: 22.4 to 39.5%), 20.3% (95% CI: 17.0 to 23.6%), 19.9% (95% CI: 15.6 to 24.1%), and 23.7% (95% CI: 18.0 to 29.3%) in poverty group, low-income group, middle-income group, and high-income group, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In the past two decade, the incidence of CHE in rural areas is higher than that of urban residents; higher in central areas than in eastern, western and other regions; in poverty households than in low-income, middle-income and high-income regions. Further measures should be taken to reduce the incidence of CHE in susceptible people.

Interfacial Reaction Induced Disruption and Dissolution of Dynamic Polymer Networks.

The reaction of amine-terminated polystyrene (PS-NH2 ) with an epoxy-based dynamic polymer networks (DPNs) above the topology freezing transition temperature of the DPN, results in the disruption of the network by the formation of graft copolymers at the interface between the linear homopolymer and the network. The rate of the disruption decreases with annealing time and is strongly dependent on the molecular weight of the PS-NH2 , with the lower molecular weight PS-NH2 reacting much more rapidly than the higher molecular weight PS-NH2 . A higher catalyst concentration in the DPN also promotes the interfacial reaction, indicating a reaction-rate-controlled process.

miRNA-122-5p stimulates the proliferation and DNA synthesis and inhibits the early apoptosis of human spermatogonial stem cells by targeting CBL and competing with lncRNA CASC7.

Epigenetic regulators of human spermatogonia stem cells (SSCs) remain largely unknown. We found that miRNA-122-5p was upregulated in human spermatogonia from obstructive azoospermia (OA) patients compared with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA). MiRNA-122-5p stimulated the proliferation and DNA synthesis of human SSCs, whereas it inhibited the early apoptosis of human SSCs. CBL was predicted and identified as a direct target of miRNA-122-5p in human SSCs. CBL silencing led to an enhancement of cell proliferation and DNA synthesis and neutralized the effect of miRNA-122-5p inhibitor on the DNA synthesis of human SSCs. The decrease in the early apoptosis of human SSCs was observed after CBL knockdown. By comparing the profiles of lncRNAs between OA and NOA spermatogonia, CASC7 was significantly deficient in OA spermatogonia, and it had a direct association with miRNA-122-5p. LncRNA CASC7 competed with miRNA-122-5p, and it suppressed the inhibition of CBL. Collectively, these results implicate that miRNA-122-5p enhances the proliferation and DNA synthesis and inhibits the early apoptosis of human SSCs by targeting CBL and competing with lncRNA CASC7. Therefore, this study provides novel insights into epigenetic regulation of fate determinations of human SSCs, and it offers new targets for gene therapy of male infertility that is associated with aging.

Stabilizing Aqueous Three-Dimensional Printed Constructs Using Chitosan-Cellulose Nanocrystal Assemblies.

The assembly and binding of nanoparticles at the interfaces of aqueous two-phase systems enable the three-dimensional (3D) printing of all-aqueous naturally occurring materials. When a dispersion of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) in an aqueous solution of polyethylene glycol (PEG) is brought into contact with chitosan dissolved in an aqueous solution of dextran, the CNCs and chitosan diffuse to the interface between the two immiscible aqueous solutions, electrostatically interact, and form a solid, membranous layer sufficiently rapidly to 3D print tubules of one liquid in the other. The diameter, length, spatial arrangement, and stability of the printed tubules can be broadly controlled. Adsorption and directional diffusion of ionic species across the membranous layer make heavy metal ion removal possible. The results present a platform for fabricating and developing all-aqueous compartmentalized systems where function can be independently coupled to the inherent functionality of the nanoparticles or ligands.

Do health insurances reduce catastrophic health expenditure in China? A systematic evidence synthesis.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of health insurances on catastrophic health expenditure (CHE), and compares that among different health insurances in the last two decades in China. METHODS: The systematic review was conducted according to the Cochrane Handbook and reported according to PRISMA. We searched English and Chinese literature databases including PubMed, EM base, web of science, CNKI, Wan fang, VIP and CBM (Sino Med) for empirical studies on the association between health insurance and CHE from January 2000 to June 2020. Study selection, data extraction and quality appraisal were conducted by two reviewers. The secular trend of CHE rate and comparisons between population with different health insurances were conducted using meta-analysis, subgroup analysis and meta-regression. RESULTS: A total of 4874 citations were obtained, and finally 30 eligible studies with 633917 participants were included. The overall CHE rate was 13.6% (95% CI: 13.1% - 14.0%) from Jan 2000 to June 2020, 12.8% (95% CI: 12.2% - 13.3%) for people with health insurance compared with 16.2% (95% CI:15.4% - 16.9%) for people without health insurance. For types of insurance, the CHE rate was 13.0% (95% CI: 12.4% - 13.6%) for people with new rural cooperative medical scheme (NCMS), 11.9% (95% CI: 9.3% - 14.5%) for urban employees health insurance (UEBMI), 12.0% (95% CI: 8.3% - 15.6%) for urban residents health insurance (URBMI), and 18.0% (95% CI: - 4.5% - 31.5%) for commercial insurance. However, the CHE rate in China has increased in the past 20 years, even adjusted for other factors. The CHE rate of people with NCMS has increased significantly more than people with UEBMI and URBMI. CONCLUSION: In the past 20 years, the basic health insurance plan has reduce the rate of CHE to a certain extent, but due to the rapid increase in medical costs and the release of health needs in recent years, it masks the role of health insurance. More efforts are needed to control unreasonable medical demand and rising costs.

Bi-Underpotential/PtAu-bulk co-electrodeposition and subsequent Bi dissolution for the electrocatalytic oxidation and amperometric analysis of formaldehyde.

A PtAuBi-UPD composite electrocatalyst modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) is prepared via the simultaneous underpotential deposition (UDP) of Bi and bulk deposition of Pt and Au, followed by stripping of the accessible Bi, and it shows high performance for the electrocatalytic oxidation and amperometric analysis of formaldehyde.