Cognitive behavioral therapy achieves better benefits in relieving postoperative pain and improving joint function: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a structured, short-term psychotherapy approach that may have positive effects in terms of relieving postoperative pain. The main objective of this study was to determine the effect of CBT on pain and joint function in patients after total joint arthroplasty. METHODS: We searched 3 electronic databases including randomized controlled studies (RCTs) using CBT as an intervention. The main results of this study were to determine pain intensity by NRS, VAS, WOMAC pain Scale, PCS, and joint function by HHS, OKS, EQ-5D, ROM. Data extraction and quality assessment of included RCTs were independently performed by the authors and date analysis was performed by RevMan V.5.4. RESULTS: Among the 605 studies, 9 RCTS were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The study showed that the difference between CBT and usual care groups in PCS (≤3months), NRS, VAS (≤3months) were statistically significant (P < 0.05); the difference between CBT and usual care groups in PCS (≥12months), WOMAC Pain Scale, and VAS (≥12months) were not statistically significant (P > 0.05), indicating that CBT can improve pain in patients after arthroplasty in the early term. In addition, the difference between CBT and usual care groups in OKS (≤3months), HSS, ROM (≤3months), EQ-5D (≤3months) were not statistically significant (P > 0.05); the difference between CBT and usual care groups in EQ-5D (≥12months) were statistically significant (P < 0.05), indicating that the quality of life in patients after total joint arthroplasty were improved with the extension of follow-up time. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that CBT can relieve pain in patients with total joint arthroplasty in the early postoperative period and improve quality of life to some extent over time.

Evaluative effectiveness of follicular output rate, ovarian sensitivity index, and ovarian response prediction index for the ovarian reserve and response of low-prognosis patients according to the POSEIDON criteria: a retrospective study.

The aim was to explore the implications of follicular output rate (FORT), ovarian sensitivity index (OSI), ovarian response prediction index (ORPI), and follicle-to-oocyte index (FOI) in low-prognosis patients defined by POSEIDON criteria. In total, 4030 fresh in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles from January 2013 to October 2021 were included in this retrospective cohort analysis and were categorized into four groups based on the POSEIDON criteria. The FORT between Groups 1 and 2 (0.61 ± 0.34 vs. 0.65 ± 0.35, P = 0.081) and Groups 3 and 4 (1.08 ± 0.82 vs. 1.09 ± 0.94, P = 0.899) were similar. The OSI in the order from the highest to the lowest were 3.01 ± 1.46 in Group 1, 2.28 ± 1.09 in Group 2, 1.54 ± 1.04 in Group 3, and 1.34 ± 0.96 in Group 4 (P < 0.001). The trend in the ORPI values was consistent with that in the OSI. FORT, OSI, ORPI, and FOI complemented each other and offered excellent effectiveness in reflecting ovarian reserve and response, but they were not good predictors of clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) from IVF.

The influence of morphologic grading and COS protocol on the outcomes of Day 5 versus Day 6 single fresh blastocyst transfers: a retrospective analysis of clinical outcomes from one center experience.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the blastocyst morphologic grading and the protocol of controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) would influence pregnancy outcomes, aiming to provide guidance when choosing blastocyst transfer. METHODS: The clinical data of 612 patients who received single fresh blastocyst transfer for first cycle, as well as the data of 253 patients who had already delivered were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were divided into two groups according to blastocyst formation time (D5 or D6). The following subgroup analyses were performed: (i) the morphologic grading of blastocyst and (ii) the protocol of COS. RESULTS: We observed that D5 single embryo transfer (SET) were associated with higher clinical pregnancy rate (CPR, 59.04% vs. 31.73%, P < 0.001) and live birth rate (LBR, 43.90% vs. 24.04%, P < 0.001) than D6 SET following fresh cycle. Patients in D5 group experienced more good blastocysts transfer (45.47%vs. 13.46%, P < 0.001) and less poor blastocysts transfer (9.64%vs. 45.19%, P < 0.001) than patients in D6 group. As to early stage and good quality blastocysts, the CPR and LBR were similar between D5 and D6 group. GnRH antagonist protocol had a demonstrable inferiority comparing with the early-follicular-phase long-acting GnRH-agonist long protocol (EFLL) or the mid-luteal-phase long-acting GnRH-agonist long protocol (MLLL) with regard to the CPR and LBR in D6-SET group. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis found that ovarian reserve of patients in D6-SET group was comparatively worse than that of patients in D5-SET group and D6-SET patients represented a subgroup of infertility patients usually having relatively poor embryo quality. The results should be interpreted with caution as the very low numbers in the respective group limited the use of statistical tests and the real significance values.

Peroxisomal oxidation of erucic acid suppresses mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation by stimulating malonyl-CoA formation in the rat liver.

Feeding of rapeseed (canola) oil with a high erucic acid concentration is known to cause hepatic steatosis in animals. Mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation plays a central role in liver lipid homeostasis, so it is possible that hepatic metabolism of erucic acid might decrease mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation. However, the precise mechanistic relationship between erucic acid levels and mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation is unclear. Using male Sprague-Dawley rats, along with biochemical and molecular biology approaches, we report here that peroxisomal ß-oxidation of erucic acid stimulates malonyl-CoA formation in the liver and thereby suppresses mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation. Excessive hepatic uptake and peroxisomal ß-oxidation of erucic acid resulted in appreciable peroxisomal release of free acetate, which was then used in the synthesis of cytosolic acetyl-CoA. Peroxisomal metabolism of erucic acid also remarkably increased the cytosolic NADH/NAD+ ratio, suppressed sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) activity, and thereby activated acetyl-CoA carboxylase, which stimulated malonyl-CoA biosynthesis from acetyl-CoA. Chronic feeding of a diet including high-erucic-acid rapeseed oil diminished mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation and caused hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance in the rats. Of note, administration of a specific peroxisomal ß-oxidation inhibitor attenuated these effects. Our findings establish a cross-talk between peroxisomal and mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation. They suggest that peroxisomal oxidation of long-chain fatty acids suppresses mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation by stimulating malonyl-CoA formation, which might play a role in fatty acid-induced hepatic steatosis and related metabolic disorders.

Uniform iron oxide nanoparticles reduce the required amount of polyethylenimine in the gene delivery to mesenchymal stem cells.

Cationic polyethylenimine (PEI) is regarded as the 'golden standard' of non-viral gene vectors. However, the superiority of PEI with high positive charge density also induces its major drawback of cytotoxicity, which restricts its application for an effective and safe gene delivery to stem cells. To redress this shortcoming, herein, a magnetic gene complex containing uniform iron oxide nanoparticles (UIONPs), plasmid DNA, and free PEI is prepared through electrostatic interactions for the gene delivery to bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs). Results show that UIONPs dramatically promote the gene delivery to BM-MSCs using the assistance of magnetic force. In addition, decreasing the free PEI nitrogen to DNA phosphate (N/P) ratio from 10 to 6 has little adverse impact on the transgene expression levels (over 300 times than that of PEI alone at the N/P ratio of 6) and significantly reduces the cytotoxicity to BM-MSCs. Further investigations confirmed that the decrease of free PEI has little influence on the cellular uptake after applying external magnetic forces, but that the reduced positive charge density decreases the cytotoxicity. The present study demonstrates that magnetic gene delivery not only contributes to the enhanced gene expression but also helps to reduce the required amount of PEI, providing a potential strategy for an efficient and safe gene delivery to stem cells.

Genetic variations and haplotypes in the annexin A5 gene are associated with the risk of recurrent pregnancy loss.

The expression of annexin A5 (ANXA5) was shown to affect the pathogenesis of recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL). In this study, the effects of two haplotypes, M1 and M2, on the transcription efficiency of ANXA5 promoter were explored. Correlation analysis was used to investigate the association between the single-nucleotide polymorphism haplotypes in ANXA5 promoter and the risk of RPL. And a luciferase reporter assay was carried out to study the effects of haplotypes M1 and M2 on the transcription efficiency of the ANXA5 promoter. To study the association between ANXA5 haplotypes and the risk of RPL, real-time polymerase chain reaction, western blot analysis, and immunohistochemistry assays were conducted to observe the expressions of ANXA5 messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein. Compared to M1 haplotype carriers, M2 haplotype carriers were associated with a higher risk of RPL. Additionally, compared to GATGTC haplotype carriers, GATGGC haplotype carriers were associated with a higher risk of RPL. Compared with RPL cases, the incidences of M2 haplotype were lower in both the population control and parous control cases. Furthermore, M2 carriers showed more significantly decreased activity of ANXA5 promoter compared to the carriers of other haplotypes, indicating that the haplotypes of ANXA5 promoter may be used as a potential biomarker to predict the prognosis of RPL. Moreover, the activity of ANXA5 as well as the mRNA/protein expression of ANXA5 was significantly downregulated in RPL patients, indicating that the M2 haplotype significantly increased the risk of RPL. Therefore, haplotype M2 increased the risk of RPL by inhibiting the expression of ANXA5.

Metformin treatment alleviates polycystic ovary syndrome by decreasing the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 via H19/miR-29b-3p and AKT/mTOR/autophagy signaling pathways.

In this study, we aimed to investigate the molecular pathway(s) underlying the effect of metformin (MET) on the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9. Real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blot analysis, and gelatin zymography were used to assay the effects of MET on MMP and AMPK signaling pathways. In addition, HTOG cells were treated with miR-29b-3p/a scramble control, H19/a negative control, or MET/PBS to explore possible signaling pathway(s) underlying the inhibitory effect of MET on MMP-2/MMP-9. A rat model of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) was also established to validate the molecular mechanism(s) of MET in vivo. The administration of MET suppressed the expression of MMP-9/MMP-2 and mTOR while increasing the expression of Akt and AMPK, indicating that MET reduced the expression of MMPs via the AMPK signaling pathway. Meanwhile, the H19/miR-29b-3p/MMP-9 and H19/miR-29b-3p/MMP-2 signaling pathways were implicated in PCOS, in which the interactions between H19/miR-29b-3p and MMP-9/MMP-2/miR-29b-3p were confirmed. Furthermore, the administration of MET suppressed the expression of H19 while elevating the expression of miR-29b-3p. And the role of MET in PCOS was also confirmed in vivo via examining the activity of H19 and AMPK signaling pathways in cell or serum samples collected from PCOS rats. MET exhibits a therapeutic effect in the treatment of PCOS by reducing the expression of MMPs.

Transferrin-modified liposome promotes α-mangostin to penetrate the blood-brain barrier.

α-Mangostin (α-M) is a polyphenolic xanthone that protects and improves the survival of cerebral cortical neurons against Aß oligomer-induced toxicity in rats. α-M is a potential candidate as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the efficacy was limited by the poor penetration of the drug through the blood-brain barrier (BBB). In this study, we modified the α-M liposome with transferrin (Tf) and investigated the intracellular distribution of liposomes in bEnd3 cells. In addition, the transport of α-M across the BBB in the Tf(α-M) liposome group was examined. In vitro studies demonstrated that the Tf(α-M) liposome could cross the BBB in the form of an integrated liposome. Results of the in vivo studies on the α-M distribution in the brain demonstrated that the Tf(α-M) liposome improved the brain delivery of α-M. These results indicated that the Tf liposome is a potential carrier of α-M against AD. FROM THE CLINICAL EDITOR: The use of α-Mangostin (α-M) as a potential agent to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been reported. However, its use is limited by the poor penetration through the blood brain barrier. The delivery of this agent by transferrin-modified liposomes was investigated by the authors in this study. The positive results could point to a better drug delivery system for brain targeting.

Establishment of a cervical cancer bio-bank for the Chinese population: from project-based sample collection to routine management.

PURPOSE: There is an increasing need for the establishment of a cervical cancer bio-bank that will facilitate both clinical and basic research. METHODS: The cervical cancer bio-bank was first established in January 1999 and included two stages. First, a GWAS-based sample collection was conducted with special emphasis on the diagnosis and the retrieval of the corresponding bio-specimens, especially blood samples. Second, clinical data and their corresponding bio-specimens were routinely collected and handled. Notably, these bio-specimens also included samples from Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County, which has the highest incidence of cervical cancer in China. The specimens were collected from patients with cervical cancer and those with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, while the control samples were collected from normal individuals. RESULTS: With special emphasis on clinical data and blood samples for the GWAS analysis, the collection of other bio-specimens was slow, and the pairing of specimens and clinical data was poor during the first stage. However, in the second stage, the pairing of the clinical data and its corresponding bio-specimens improved. At present, the samples procured and preserved in the bio-bank cover most regions of China and different ethnic groups for both the normal controls and cervical cancer patients of different pathological categories. CONCLUSIONS: This bio-bank of cervical cancer specimens from the Chinese population will greatly promote the studies of cervical cancer in China.

Co-exposure to pentachlorophenol (PCP) and cadmium (Cd) triggers apoptosis-like cell death in Eschericia coli.

Pentachlorophenol (PCP) - cadmium (Cd) complex pollution has been identified as a form of persistent soil pollution in south China, exerting detrimental impacts on the indigenous soil bacterial communities. Hence, it is worthwhile to investigate whether and how bacterial populations alter in response to these pollutants. In this study, Escherichia coli was used as a model bacterium. Results showed that PCP exposure caused bacterial cell membrane permeability changes, intracellular ROS elevation, and DNA fragmentation, and triggered apoptosis-like cell death at low exposure concentration and necrosis at high exposure concentration. Cd exposure caused severe oxidative damage and cell necrosis in the tested bacterial strain. The co-exposure to PCP and Cd elevated the ROS level, stimulated the bacterial caspase activity, and induced DNA fragmentation, thereby leading to an apoptosis-like cell death. In conclusion, PCP-Cd complex pollution can cause bacterial population to decrease through apoptosis-like cell death pathway. However, it is worth noting that the subpopulation survives under the complex pollution stress.

[Effect of Tiaojing Cuyun acupuncture therapy on pregnancy outcomes in women with diminished ovarian reserve undergoing IVF-ET: a cohort study].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of Tiaojing Cuyun acupuncture therapy (acupuncture for regulating menstruation and promoting pregnancy) on pregnancy outcomes in patients with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) undergoing in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET). METHODS: Eighty women with DOR were divided into an observation group (40 cases, 1 case dropped out) and a control group (40 cases, 1 case dropped out) according to whether Tiaojing Cuyun acupuncture therapy was given or not. In the control group, IVF-ET was delivered. In the observation group, before IVF-ET, Tiaojing Cuyun acupuncture therapy was given. Two groups of acupoints were used alternatively, including Baihui (GV 20), Shenting (GV 24), Benshen (GB 13), Zhongwan (CV 12), Guanyuan (CV 4), and bilateral Tianshu (ST 25), Shenshu (BL 23), Ciliao (BL 32), etc. Acupuncture was operated once every other day, three interventions a week, for 12 weeks. The primary outcome was clinical pregnancy rate (CPR). Secondary outcomes included the total days and amount of gonadotropin (Gn) used, the number of oocytes retrieved, the number of oocytes in metaphase of second meiosis (MⅡ), the number of transferable embryos, the number of high-quality embryos, the cycle cancellation rate, the positive rate of human choriogonadotropin (HCG), the embryo implantation rate, live birth rate (LBR), the basal serum levels of sex hormones (follicular stimulating hormone [FSH], estradiol (E2), FSH/luteinizing hormone [LH]) and antral follicle count (AFC). RESULTS: CPR in the observation group was higher than that in the control group (53.8% [21/39] vs. 17.9% [7/39], P<0.05). The results of the number of oocytes retrieved, the number of oocytes in MⅡ, the number of transferable embryos, the number of high-quality embryos, the positive rate of HCG, the embryo implantation rate, and LBR in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). The serum level of FSH and FSH/LH in the observation group were lower thau those in the control group (P<0.05). The differences were not significant statistically in the total days and amount of Gn used, the cycle cancellation rate, serum level of E2 and AFC between the two groups (P>0.05). Logic regression analysis showed that CPR increased in the observation group when compared with that of the control group (OR = 5.33, 95%CI: 1.90-14.97, P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture can improve the pregnancy outcomes of DOR women undergoing IVF-ET.

Changes in prevalence and clinical characteristics of cervical cancer in the People's Republic of China: a study of 10,012 cases from a nationwide working group.

PURPOSE: About one-third of the world's total annual new cervical cancer cases are found in the People's Republic of China. We investigate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of cervical cancer cases in the People's Republic of China over the past decade. METHOD: A total of 10,012 hospitalized patients with cervical cancer from regions nationwide were enrolled from 2000 to 2009. Demographic and clinical characteristics, therapeutic strategies, and outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS: The mean age at diagnosis of all cervical cancer patients was 44.7 ± 9.5 years, which is 5-10 years younger than mean ages reported before 2000 in the People's Republic of China. The age distribution showed 16.0% of patients were ≤35 years old, 41.7% were 35-45 years old, and 41.7% were >45 years old. Early stage diagnoses were most prevalent: 57.3% were stage I, 33.9% were stage II, and 4.3% were stage III or IV. Most patients (83.9%) were treated with surgery, and only 9.5% had radiotherapy alone. Among 8,405 patients treated with surgery, 68.6% received adjuvant treatments, including chemotherapy (20.9%), radiotherapy (26.0%), and chemoradiotherapy (21.9%). Among stage IA patients, 16.0% were treated with corpus uteri preservation. The proportion of ovarian preservation was 42.0%. CONCLUSIONS: Cervical cancer cases in the People's Republic of China show increasing prevalence in young patients and at early stages. In the past 10 years, surgery has become the dominant treatment and is increasingly combined with adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with stages I and II. Conservative surgical approaches are reasonable options for genital organ preservation in selected patients.

Development of criteria for ovarian preservation in cervical cancer patients treated with radical surgery with or without neoadjuvant chemotherapy: a multicenter retrospective study and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: There is no consensus on the selection criteria for ovarian preservation in cervical cancer, and the role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) on ovarian metastasis (OM) is also unknown. METHODS: A total of 1,889 cervical cancer patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stages IB to IIB who underwent radical hysterectomy, pelvic lymphadenectomy, and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with or without NACT were enrolled. Clinicopathologic variables were studied by univariate and multivariate analyses. Meta-analyses of published data for risk factors of OM were also performed. RESULTS: Twenty-two (1.2%) of 1,889 patients were diagnosed as OM: 12 squamous cell carcinomas (SCC, 0.7%), five adenocarcinomas (2.7%), four adenosquamous carcinomas (5.6%), and one small cell carcinoma (7.7%). Multivariate analysis revealed that lymph node metastasis (LNM; odds ratio 5.75, 95% confidence interval 2.16-15.28), corpus uteri invasion (CUI; 5.53, 2.11-14.53), parametrial invasion (PMI; 8.24, 3.01-22.56), and histology and NACT (0.40, 0.13-1.22) were associated with OM. Furthermore, OM in patients with SCC was associated with PMI (5.67, 1.63-19.72), CUI (3.25, 0.88-12.01), and LNM (9.44, 2.43-36.65). FIGO stage (IIB vs. IB; 31.78, 1.41-716.33), bulky tumor size (12.71, 1.31-123.68), PMI (51.21, 4.10-639.19), NACT (0.003, 0.00-0.27), and CUI (44.49, 2.77-714.70) were independent clinicopathologic factors for OM in adenocarcinomas. In the meta-analysis, we identified six risk factors for OM: LNM, CUI, PMI, adenocarcinoma, large tumor size, and lymphovascular space involvement. CONCLUSIONS: Ovarian preservation surgery may be safe in SCC patients without suspicious LNM, PMI, and CUI, and in adenocarcinomas in patients who received NACT without FIGO stage IIB disease, bulky tumor size (>4 cm), suspicious PMI, and CUI.

GSH-Activatable Metal-Phenolic Networks for Photothermal-Enhanced Chemotherapy and Chemodynamic Therapy.

Chemotherapy (CT) plays an important role in the antitumor process, but the unsatisfactory therapeutic efficacy and the obvious toxic side effects of CT seriously restrict its application. To overcome the limitations of CT, the strategy of chemotherapy enhanced by chemodynamic therapy (CDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) has been considered a promising approach to improve the anticancer effect. Herein, a novel GSH-activatable Cu2+-Quercetin network (QC) was synthesized via a convenient strategy to load Au nanoparticles (NPs) and DOX, named QCDA, for the synergistic therapy of CT/CDT/PTT. The results showed that QCDA exhibited GSH-sensitive degradation and "cargos" release in cancer cells, and then PTT and CDT caused by Au NPs and Cu+ significantly enhanced the CT effect of DOX and Quercetin on anticancer. More importantly, the PTT and depleted GSH accelerated the Fenton-like ionization process resulting in facilitating the CDT efficiency. Collectively, the multi-mode synergistic strategy of CT/CDT/PTT, which showed an excellent therapeutic effect, maybe a potential therapeutic pathway for anticancer.

Primary screening for breast diseases among 17618 women in Wufeng area, a region with high incidence of cervical cancer in China.

In this study, the current status for breast diseases in a region with high-incidence of cervical cancer were epidemiologically investigated. From March to August, 2009, 17618 women, from Wufeng area of Hubei province, China, were recruited to screen breast diseases by using breast infrared diagnostic apparatus. Other diagnostic methods, such as B-mode ultrasound, X-ray mammography, needle biopsy and pathological examination were, if necessary, used to further confirm the diagnosis. The screening showed that 5990 of 17618 cases (34.00%) had breast diseases, 5843 (33.16%) had mammary gland hyperplasia, 48 (0.27%) had breast fibroadenoma, 11 (0.06%) had breast carcinoma, and 88 (0.50%) had other breast diseases. The peak morbidity of breast cancer was found in the women aged 50-60 ages. The morbidity of breast cancer was significantly increased in women elder than or equal to 50 years old (n=8, 0.157%) in comparison with that in the subjects younger than 50 years old (n=3, 0.024%) (u=2.327, P<0.05). It was shown that the occurrence of breast diseases was concentrated in women aged 20-40 years, while the total morbidity reached its peak at the age of 30 years and then decreased sharply after age of 40. Compared with the patients elder than or equal to 40 years old (n=3289, 27.46%), the morbidity rate of breast diseases was significantly increased in women less than 40 years old (2648 cases, 47.18%; P<0.001). However, there was no significant difference in the morbidity of breast diseases between the age group of 20-29 years and that of 30-39 years (P=0.453), and both of them were high. There was no significant association between the morbidity of breast diseases and cervical cancer. Since the morbidity of breast diseases was higher among young women, more attention should be paid to the screening of breast diseases among young women for early diagnosis.

An E. coli SOS-EGFP biosensor for fast and sensitive detection of DNA damaging agents.

An E. coli SOS-EGFP biosensor which expresses enhanced green fluorescent protein as a reporter protein under the control of recA gene promoter in SOS response was constructed for detection of DNA damage and evaluation of DNA damaging chemicals. The chemicals that may cause substantial DNA damage will trigger SOS response in the constructed bacterial biosensor, and then the reporter egfp gene under the control of recA promoter is stimulated to express as a fluorescent protein, allowing fast and sensitive fluorescence detection. Interestingly, this biosensor can be simultaneously applied for evaluation of genotoxicity and cytotoxicity. The SOS-EGFP bacterial biosensor provides a sensitive, specific and simple method for detecting known and potential DNA damaging chemicals.

Enhanced bacterial biosensor for fast and sensitive detection of oxidatively DNA damaging agents.

A number of known and potential chemicals may cause substantial damage to genomic DNA, further inducing mutagenesis and carcinogenesis. To screen potentially genotoxic compounds from a multitude of chemicals, fast and senstive bioanalytical technologies are desirable. By taking advantage of the DNA damage-dependent SOS response (a regulatory signal initiated by damage to DNA or the physiological consequences of such damage in prokaryotes) in reactive oxygen species (ROS)-sensitive bacterium and the enhanced green fluorescent protein reporter, we constructed a composite bacterial biosensor for detection of DNA damage agents. The sensitivity of the bacterium to ROS induced DNA damage is 10-20-times enhanced by the knockout of one alkyl hydroperoxide reductase gene and two catalase genes. This biosensor can be used for fast and sensitive detection of DNA damaging agents among which some cannot be detected by previous bacterial biosensors, demonstrating the potential and promising applications for evaluation of DNA damage and for screening of DNA damaging agents in large scale.

Challenges and opportunities for ovarian cancer management in the epidemic of Covid-19: lessons learned from Wuhan, China.

China and the rest of the world are experiencing an outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Patients with cancer are more susceptible to viral infection and are more likely to develop severe complications, as compared to healthy individuals. The growing spread of COVID-19 presents challenges for the clinical care of patients with gynecological malignancies. Ovarian debulking surgery combined with the frequent need for chemotherapy is most likely why ovarian cancer was rated as the gynecologic cancer most affected by COVID-19. Therefore, ovarian cancer presents a particular challenging task. Concerning the ovarian cancer studies with confirmed COVID-19 reported from large-scale general hospitals in Wuhan, we hold that the treatment plan was adjusted appropriately and an individualized remedy was implemented. The recommendations discussed here were developed mainly based on the experience from Wuhan. We advise that the management strategy for ovarian cancer patients should be adjusted in the light of the local epidemic situation and formulated according to the pathological type, tumor stage and the current treatment phase. Online medical service is an effective and convenient communication platform during the pandemic.

Artificial Cycle with or without a Depot Gonadotropin-releasing Hormone Agonist for Frozen-thawed Embryo Transfer: An Assessment of Infertility Type that Is Most Suitable.

The clinical outcomes of five groups of infertility patients receiving frozen-thawed, cleavage-stage embryo transfers with exogenous hormone protocols with or without a depot gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist were assessed. A retrospective cohort analysis was performed on 1003 cycles undergoing frozen-thawed, cleavage-stage embryo transfers from January 1, 2012 to June 31, 2015 in the Reproductive Medicine Center of Wuhan General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Region. Based on the infertility etiologies of the patients, the 1003 cycles were divided into five groups: tubal infertility, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, male infertility, and unexplained infertility. The main outcome was the live birth rate. Two groups were set up based on the intervention: group A was given a GnRH agonist with exogenous estrogen and progesterone, and group B (control group) was given exogenous estrogen and progesterone only. The results showed that the baseline serum hormone levels and basic characteristics of the patients were not significantly different between groups A and B. The live birth rates in groups A and B were 41.67% and 29.29%, respectively (P<0.05). The live birth rates in patients with PCOS in groups A and B were 56.25% and 30.61%,respectively (P<0.05). The clinical pregnancy, implantation and on-going pregnancy rates showed the same trends as the live birth rates between groups A and B. The ectopic pregnancy rate was significantly lower in group A than in group B. We concluded that the live birth rate was higher and other clinical outcomes were more satisfactory with GnRH agonist cotreatment than without GnRH agonist co-treatment for frozen-thawed embryo transfer. The GnRH agonist combined with exogenous estrogen and progesterone worked for all types of infertility tested, especially for women with PCOS.

Sensitive detection of oxidative DNA damage in cyanobacterial cells using supercoiling-sensitive quantitative PCR.

Supercoiling-sensitive quantitative PCR (ss-qPCR) is a sensitive technique to detect DNA damage in cultured animal cells and cultured/clinical human cells in vitro. In this study, we investigated whether the ss-qPCR method can be applied as a sensitive means to detect oxidative DNA damage in unicellular organisms. We used the model cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 as a test organism and H2O2 as an exogenetic oxidative toxicant. Results showed that a significant increase in the plasmid DNA damage of S. elongatus PCC 7942 was induced by H2O2 in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The sensitivity of ss-qPCR in detecting DNA damage of the cyanobacterium was higher than the cell inhibition method (up to 255 times) as calculated from the slopes of fitted curves in the tested sub-toxic concentration range of 1-5 mM H2O2. Ss-qPCR also detected repairable low-intensity DNA damage in the cyanobacterium when DNA repair inhibitors were used. The detection limit of modified ss-qPCR was one tenth of that of previous methods. We also observed that ss-qPCR can be used to detect genomic DNA conformation change of cyanobacterium exposed to H2O2. Thus, this method will provide a powerful technical support for investigating the mechanisms of cyanobacterial DNA damage by environmental factors, especially intracellular reactive oxygen species enhancement-related factors.