Efficacy of Dan'e Fukang Soft Extract in Moderate Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome for Concurrent Treatment of Blood and Fluid Guided by the "Triple Prevention" Principle.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy and safety of Dan'e Fukang soft extracts in moderate ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) for the simultaneous treatment of blood and fluid, guided by the traditional Chinese medicine principle of "triple prevention". Methods: This study conducted a retrospective analysis of clinical data from outpatients who underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection embryo transfer (ICSI-ET). A total of 2245 cases were included and divided into a treatment group (1002 cases) and a control group (1243 cases). Patients in the treatment group were administered Dan'e Fukang soft extracts orally in addition to conventional Western medicine. Comparative assessments were made between the two groups on pelvic ascites volume, maximum ovary diameter, dysmenorrhea incidence post-oocyte retrieval, and safety indicators. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the treatment group and the control group in terms of general characteristics or the levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteotropic hormone (LH), estradiol (E2), or progesterone (P) at the time of gonadotropin (Gn) initiation. The groups did not differ significantly when we compared the levels of LH, E2, or P on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) injection and during ovarian hyperstimulation protocols (P > 0.05 for all indicators). The differences in the volume of pelvic ascites, the maximum ovarian diameter, and the incidence of dysmenorrhea after oocyte retrieval were statistically significant between the treatment group and the control group (P < 0.05 in both). There were no instances of adverse reactions in either group. Conclusion: Based on the traditional Chinese medicine principle of "triple prevention", the use of Dan'e Fukang soft extracts for the simultaneous treatment of blood and fluid in moderate OHSS significantly improved the absorption of pelvic ascites, promoted ovarian recovery, and reduced the incidence of dysmenorrhea after oocyte retrieval.

Cdc42 promotes thyroid cancer cell proliferation and migration and tumor-associated macrophage polarization through the PTEN/AKT pathway.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential mechanism and function of Cdc42 in thyroid cancer. We found that knockdown of Cdc42 inhibited the migration and proliferation of WRO cells. This role of Cdc42 is achieved by interacting with PTEN and interfering with its PTEN nuclear translocation. The overexpression of Cdc42 enhances the production of lactic acid and promotes the polarization of M2 macrophages, and therefore M2 macrophages inhibit the function of T cells. Overall, Cdc42 can promote cell proliferation and migration through the PTEN/AKT pathway and promote tumor-related M2 macrophage polarization and inhibit T cell activity by enhancing aerobic glycolysis, animal experiments confirmed that tumor volume increased after Cdc42 overexpressed in TBP-3743 murine thyroid cancer cells. Increased infiltration of Treg and macrophages was also observed. taken together, our results indicate that Cdc42 can be used as a diagnostic and thyroid cancer Prognostic biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets.

The possible window of implantation for embryos in the first frozen embryo transplantation cycle: A retrospective analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the duration of progesterone (P) therapy on clinical pregnancy rates as measured by the window of implantation (WOI) in the first cycle of frozen embryo transplantation. METHODS: The study compared the pregnancy rates between 345 cleavage stage transfers and 348 blastocyte transfers of frozen embryos with modified natural cycles in patients from July 1, 2020, to November 30, 2020. Four different P durations were analyzed in the cleavage stage embryo transfer group, i.e., two, three, four, and five days. Five different P durations were analyzed in the blastocyst transfer group, i.e., three, four, five, six, and seven days. RESULTS: The baseline demographics and clinical characteristics of the cleavage stage embryos and blastocyst transfer groups were not comparable. The clinical pregnancy rates following the cleavage stage embryo transfer after two, three, four, and five-day P administration were 45.71%, 44.60%, 38.40%, and 30.43%, respectively (the difference among the subgroups was not significant). Following the blastocyst transfer, the clinical pregnancy rates after three, four, five, six, and seven-day P administration were 50.65%, 63.51%, 60.00%, 54.55%, and 61.54%, respectively (the difference among the subgroups was not significant). In contrast, these two transfer groups showed significantly different clinical pregnancy rates following four and five-day P exposure (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: For cleavage-stage embryo transfer, the most effective WOI was found between days two and five of P administration. The effective WOI for blastocyst transfer was observed between days three and seven of P administrations.

Cytogenetic Analysis of the Products of Conception After Spontaneous Abortion in the First Trimester.

In the present study, we retrospectively recruited 340 patients who underwent spontaneous abortions to investigate chromosomal abnormalities of the conception products in the first trimester. We also performed a relevant analysis of clinical factors. Of these patients, 165 had conception products with chromosomal abnormalities, including 135 aneuploidies, 11 triploidies, 10 complex abnormalities, and 9 segmental aneuploidies. The most common abnormal chromosomes were chromosome 16 in the embryo-transfer group and sex chromosomes in the natural-conception group. The most common abnormal chromosomes in all analyzed maternal age groups were sex chromosomes, 16, and 22. The chromosomal abnormality incidence was related to age and number of spontaneous abortions (both p < 0.05), but not to number of pregnancies, deliveries, induced abortions, or methods of conception (all p > 0.05). The rates of abnormality for chromosomes 12, 15, 20, and 22 increased with age, while the rates for chromosomes 6, 7, 13, and X decreased. In all age groups, aneuploidy was by far the most common abnormality; however, the low-incidence distributions of chromosomal abnormalities were entirely different. Overall, chromosomal aneuploidy was the primary cause of pregnancy loss in the first trimester, and low-frequency abnormalities differed across age subgroups. Chromosomal aberrations were found to be related to maternal age and spontaneous abortion, but not all chromosomal abnormalities increased with age.

lincRNA-p21 Mediates the Anti-Cancer Effect of Ginkgo Biloba Extract EGb 761 by Stabilizing E-Cadherin Protein in Colon Cancer.

BACKGROUND Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761 is a putative antioxidant and has been used for thousands of years to treat a variety of ailments, including cancer. While it is known that cell behavior can be modulated by long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), the contributions of lncRNAs in EGb 761-induced anti-cancer effects are largely unknown. MATERIAL AND METHODS Colon cancer cell lines HT29 and HCT116 were used in this study. RT-qPCR was used to detect the relative expression of lincRNA-p21 in colon cancer cells. Wound-healing assay and Matrigel Transwell assay were performed to investigate the migration and invasion of colon cancer cells. Immunoprecipitation and Western blot experiments were used to verify ubiquitination and the interaction between lincRNA-p21 and E-cadherin, or E-cadherin and b-transducin repeat containing (BTRC) E3 ubiquitin protein ligase. RESULTS Cell function assay verified that treatment with EGb 761 suppressed the migratory and invasive abilities of colon cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner via the suppression of E-cadherin expression level. lincRNA-p21 was upregulated in colon cancer cells after treatment with EGb 761, and knockdown of lincRNA-p21 reversed the EGb 761-induced anti-metastatic effect. Furthermore, lincRNA-p21 was localized in cytoplasm of colon cells and regulated E-cadherin expression at a post-transcriptional level. Specifically, lincRNA-p21 promotes E-cadherin stability by preventing the interaction between BTRC and E-cadherin, which leads to the inhibition of E-cadherin ubiquitination. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrated that lincRNA-p21 mediates the anti-cancer effect of Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761 by stabilizing E-cadherin protein in colon cancer, which may help define the functional role of EGb 761 in cancer treatment.

Association between the TLR2 Arg753Gln polymorphism and the risk of sepsis: a meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Recently, researchers in a number of studies have explored the association between the Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) Arg753Gln polymorphism and sepsis risk. However, the results were conflicting. In this meta-analysis, we aimed to confirm the effect of the TLR2 Arg753Gln polymorphism on sepsis risk. METHODS: Relevant records up to 1 June 2015 were retrieved from the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Knowledge databases. The odds ratios with their corresponding 95 % confidence intervals were used to assess the association between the TLR2 Arg753Gln polymorphism and sepsis risk. The selection of a fixed or random effects model was made according to a heterogeneity test in total and subgroup analyses. Sensitivity analysis and publication bias test were performed to ensure the reliability of our results. RESULTS: A total of 12 studies with aggregate totals of 898 cases and 1517 controls met our inclusion criteria for meta-analysis. There were significant associations between the TLR2 Arg753Gln polymorphism and sepsis risk in overall analyses under two genetic models (the allele comparison and the dominant model). In addition, subgroup analyses based on age group, ethnicity, sepsis type, and source of control also showed a significant effect of the TLR2 Arg753Gln polymorphism on sepsis risk. CONCLUSIONS: Our present meta-analysis supports a direct effect of the TLR2 Arg753Gln polymorphism on sepsis risk, especially in Europeans. The TLR2 Arg753Gln polymorphism might be used as a relevant risk estimate for the development of sepsis. Studies with larger sample sizes and homogeneous groups of patients with sepsis are required for further analysis.

Neutrophil CD64 expression as a diagnostic marker for sepsis in adult patients: a meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Neutrophil CD64 (nCD64) expression appears to be a promising marker of bacterial infections. The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the accuracy of nCD64 expression for the diagnosis of sepsis in critically ill adult patients. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, ISI Web of Knowledge, and the Cochrane Library for literature published between database inception and 19 May 2014, as well as reference lists of identified primary studies. Studies were included if they included assessment of the accuracy of nCD64 expression for sepsis diagnosis in adult patients and provided sufficient information to construct a 2×2 contingency table. RESULTS: A total of 8 studies comprising 1986 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria for the final analysis. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.76 (95 % confidence interval [CI], 0.73-0.78) and 0.85 (95 % CI, 0.82-0.87), respectively. The positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio and diagnostic odds ratio were 8.15 (95 % CI, 3.82-17.36), 0.16 (95 % CI, 0.09-0.30), and 60.41 (95 % CI, 15.87-229.90), respectively. The area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve of nCD64 expression with Q* value were 0.95 (Q* =0.89). CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of our meta-analysis, nCD64 expression is a helpful marker for early diagnosis of sepsis in critically ill patients. The results of the test should not be used alone to diagnose sepsis, but instead should be interpreted in combination with medical history, physical examination, and other test results.