Exploring the molecular mechanisms by which per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances induce polycystic ovary syndrome through in silico toxicogenomic data mining.

The pathogeny of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is intricate, with endocrine disruptors (EDCs) being acknowledged as significant environmental factors. Research has shown a link between exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and the development and progression of PCOS, although the precise mechanism is not fully understood. This study utilized toxicogenomics and comparative toxicogenomics databases to analyze data and investigate how PFAS mixtures may contribute to the development of PCOS. The results indicated that 74 genes are associated with both PFAS exposure and PCOS progression. Enrichment analysis suggested that cell cycle regulation and steroid hormone synthesis may be crucial pathways through which PFAS mixtures participate in the development of PCOS, involving important genes such as CCNB1 and SRD5A1. Furthermore, the study identified transcription factors (TFs) and miRNAs that may be involved in the onset and progression of PCOS, constructing regulatory networks encompassing TFs-mRNA interactions and miRNA-mRNA relationships to elucidate their regulatory roles in gene expression. By utilizing data mining techniques based on toxicogenomic databases, this study provides relatively comprehensive insights into the association between exposure factors and diseases compared to traditional toxicology studies. These findings offer new perspectives for further in vivo or in vitro investigations and contribute to understanding the pathogenesis of PCOS, thereby providing valuable references for identifying clinical treatment targets.

Epidemiological characteristics of overseas imported COVID-19 cases into China: A scoping literature review.

Previous studies investigating the characteristics of imported cases were mostly limited to a certain province/city or a specific sub-group during a certain period with a small sample size, which may not provide an overall picture of the characteristics of imported cases. In this scoping literature review, we comprehensively synthesized the epidemiological characteristics of overseas imported COVID-19 cases into China by retrieving six literature databases, with aims to provide implications for more targeted control, prevention, and medical treatment of this disease. After dropping duplicates and reviewing titles, abstracts, and full-texts, 50 articles were included in the review finally, including 26 (52%) articles in English and 24 (48%) articles in Chinese. According to the type of data sources, the 50 studies were divided into three categories: 13 (26%) articles using data sourced from the Chinese Infectious Diseases Online Reporting System, 15 (30%) articles using data from the websites of national/local health departments, and 22 (44%) articles using hospital admission data. Most of the overseas imported COVID-19 cases were young and middle-aged Chinese students and businessmen returning from the United States, Europe, and some neighboring countries. Airport routine health screening measures could not identify COVID-cases effectively, although scheduled multiple nucleic acid tests were required before boarding. Almost all imported cases were identified during the hotel quarantine period. Although a large proportion of imported cases were asymptomatic or with mild symptoms in the published literature, they may be due to participant selection bias. The exact proportion of asymptomatic cases may need to be further investigated especially through population-based large-scale studies.

Simultaneous measurement of mode dependent loss and mode coupling in few mode fibers by analyzing the Rayleigh backscattering amplitudes.

In this paper, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a nondestructive method for simultaneously measuring the mode-dependent loss (MDL) and mode coupling (MC) in few-mode fibers (FMFs). The method is based on analyzing the Rayleigh backscattering amplitudes obtained with an optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR). The experimental results show that, in about 4 km six-mode FMF, the MDL and MC values are 0.132 dB and -23.13 dB/km between LP01 and LP11a, 0.176 dB and -23.73 dB/km between LP01 and LP11b, 0.272 dB and -26.17 dB/km between LP01 and LP21a, 0.284 dB and -26.70 dB/km between LP01 and LP21b, and 0.380 dB and -20.21 dB/km between LP01 and LP02. And it also demonstrated that the proposed scheme can be scalable to measure MDL and MC between higher-order modes. The values of the MC and MDL obtained by the proposed method agree well with that by the conventional transmission method. However, the proposed method has the merits of simultaneous and single-end measurement of MDL and MC in the FMF and could be a good solution to the characterization of FMFs used in large-capacity mode-division-multiplexing transmission systems.

[Effect of inhaling specific phosphodiesterase inhibitor on lung injury induced by cardiopulmonary bypass].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of pretreatment by inhaling specific phosphodiesterase inhibitor on lung injury induced by cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). METHODS: From April 2010 to November 2010, 30 patients were divided randomly into two groups: control group (n = 15) and milrinone group (n = 15). In milrinone group, 5 mg milrinone diluted by 5ml normal saline was inhaled per 8 h two days pre-operation. In control group, only 10 ml normal saline was inhaled. Blood samples were drawn from ulnar vein and radial artery pre-operation (T(0)), 30 min post-aortic unclamping (T(1)), at the end of operation (T(2)), 24 h, 72 h and 7 d post-operation (T(3)-T(5)). The following parameters were determined: TNF-α (tumor necrosis factor-alpha), IL-6 (interleukin-6), HSCRP (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein), MDA (malondialdehyde), MPO (myeloperoxidase) level and leucocyte count ratio of venous and arterial blood. And the values of pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) and oxygenation index (OI) were measured through a Swan-Ganz catheter at the first 5 time points. RESULTS: PVR rose while OI declined at post-operation. But the range of above-mentioned indices in milrinone group was significantly smaller than that in control group. And the indices recovered much earlier in milrinone group. The levels of TNF-α, IL-6, HSCRP, MDA, MPO and leucocyte count ratio were not significantly different at T(0) between two groups and increased significantly after CPB in both groups. But the level of TNF-α (ng/L) was significantly lower at T(2), T(4), T(5) in milrinone group than that in control group (60 ± 5 vs 79 ± 7, 29 ± 6 vs 40 ± 8, 18 ± 5 vs 28 ± 7, all P < 0.05). The levels of IL-6 and MDA were significantly lower at T(1)-T(4) in milrinone group. The level of HSCRP became elevated post-operatively in both groups and reached its peak at 24 h post-operation, especially in control group. The level of MPO (µg/L) was significantly lower at T(2), T(3) and T(5) (134 ± 20 vs 190 ± 23, 142 ± 28 vs 178 ± 20, 65 ± 9 vs 75 ± 11, all P < 0.05). And the V/A ratio was significantly lower at T(1)-T(3) in milrinone group than in control group (1.12 ± 0.11 vs 1.37 ± 0.09, 1.07 ± 0.07 vs 1.25 ± 0.07, both P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Inhaled milrinone may protect the lungs from acute injury induced by CPB. Inhaling milrinone is safe and feasible for the prevention of acute CPB-induced injury.

DMAP-catalyzed esterification of pentaerythritol-derivatized POMs: a new route for the functionalization of polyoxometalates.

We have demonstrated that a pentaerythritol-derivatized hexavanadate can be easily esterified with acid anhydrides using 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)pyridine (DMAP) as a catalyst, which provides a convenient method for the functionalization of polyoxometalates.

From 0D dimer to 2D network-supramolecular assembly of organic derivatized polyoxometalates with remote hydroxyl via hydrogen bonding.

A series of remote hydroxyl functionalized organoimido derivatives of hexamolybdate, (Bu(4)N)(2)[Mo(6)O(18)(Cres)] (1) (Cres = 4-amino-m-cresol), (Bu(4)N)(2)[Mo(6)O(17)(Cres)(2)] x H(2)O (2), (Bu(4)N)(2)[Mo(6)O(18)(Phen)] x i-PrOH (Phen = p-aminophenol)(3), (Bu(4)N)(2)[Mo(6)O(18)(Phen)] x EtOH (4), (Bu(4)N)(2)[Mo(6)O(17)(Phen)(2)] (5), (Bu(4)N)(2)[Mo(6)O(18)(Naph)] (Naph = 5-amino-1-napheynyl) (6), and (Bu(4)N)(2)[Mo(6)O(18)(Chex)] x 1.5 H(2)O (Chex = trans-4-aminocyclohexanol) (7) were synthesized and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction, FT-IR spectra, UV-vis spectra, elemental analysis, (1)H NMR, and cyclic voltammetry. X-ray structural study reveals that intermolecular and intramolecular hydrogen bonding plays an important role in their supramolecular assembly; it is found that (i) bridged oxo ligands of hexamolybdate cluster are more inclined to form hydrogen bonds as acceptors than terminal oxo ligands in this system; (ii) small solvent molecules with hydrogen bonding donor and acceptor, such as water, i-PrOH, and EtOH, usually act as hydrogen bonding bridge in their supramolecular assembly; (iii) hydrogen bonding has an important influence on their anion conformation besides cell packing; (iv) the hydrogen bonding supramolecular assembly of compounds 1-7 demonstrate an interesting change from dimer (3), to 1D infinite single chain (4), to 1D infinite double chain (2), and to 2D network (1, 5, 6, and 7) owing to the alteration of the grafting organic ligand, the substituted number, and the crystallized solvent molecule. To explore their potential application in conductivity, the optical band gap of compounds 1-7 were determined upon their solid state reflectance spectra. Our current study not only surveys systematically hydrogen bonding interaction and supramolecular assembly of remote hydroxyl functionalized organoimido-derivatized hexamolybdates but also provides some available precursors for further modification including esterification.