The Role of Solution Aggregation Property toward High-Efficiency Non-Fullerene Organic Photovoltaic Cells.

In organic photovoltaic cells, the solution-aggregation effect (SAE) is long considered a critical factor in achieving high power-conversion efficiencies for polymer donor (PD)/non-fullerene acceptor (NFA) blend systems. However, the underlying mechanism has yet to be fully understood. Herein, based on an extensive study of blends consisting of the representative 2D-benzodithiophene-based PDs and acceptor-donor-acceptor-type NFAs, it is demonstrated that SAE shows a strong correlation with the aggregation kinetics during solidification, and the aggregation competition between PD and NFA determines the phase separation of blend film and thus the photovoltaic performance. PDs with strong SAEs enable earlier aggregation evolutions than NFAs, resulting in well-known polymer-templated fibrillar network structures and superior PCEs. With the weakening of PDs' aggregation effects, NFAs, showing stronger tendencies to aggregate, tend to form oversized domains, leading to significantly reduced external quantum efficiencies and fill factors. These trends reveal the importance of matching SAE between PD and NFA. The aggregation abilities of various materials are further evaluated and the aggregation ability/photovoltaic parameter diagrams of 64 PD/NFA combinations are provided. This work proposes a guiding criteria and facile approach to match efficient PD/NFA systems.

A new phenolic compound from Persicaria capitata.

Persicaria capitata was a frequently used Hmong medicinal flora in China. In this study, one new phenolic compound, capitaone A (1) together with 20 known ones, were isolated from the whole herb of P. capitata. Among them, 7 components (4, 9-11, 15-16, 20-21) were discovered from P. capitata for the first time. Their chemical structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive NMR and MS spectrum. Furthermore, three compounds (15, 20, 21) displayed remarkable cytotoxic activities against two human cancer cell lines (A549 and HepG2).

Turning Nonemissive CsPb2Br5 Crystals into High-Performance Scintillators through Alkali Metal Doping.

X-ray scintillators have utility in radiation detection, therapy, and imaging. Various materials, such as halide perovskites, organic illuminators, and metal clusters, have been developed to replace conventional scintillators due to their ease of fabrication, improved performance, and adaptability. However, they suffer from self-absorption, chemical instability, and weak X-ray stopping power. Addressing these limitations, we employ alkali metal doping to turn nonemissive CsPb2Br5 into scintillators. Introducing alkali metal dopants causes lattice distortion and enhances electron-phonon coupling, which creates transient potential energy wells capable of trapping photogenerated or X-ray-generated electrons and holes to form self-trapped excitons. These self-trapped excitons undergo radiative recombination, resulting in a photoluminescence quantum yield of 55.92%. The CsPb2Br5-based X-ray scintillator offers strong X-ray stopping power, high resistance to self-absorption, and enhanced stability when exposed to the atmosphere, chemical solvents, and intense irradiation. It exhibits a detection limit of 162.3 nGyair s-1 and an imaging resolution of 21 lp mm-1.

Accumulation of dissolved organic matter in the transition from fresh to aged seasonal snow in an industrial city in NE China.

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays a significant role in the reduction of snow albedo and the acceleration of snowmelt, but its accumulation in snow remains poorly understood. This study investigated the accumulation of DOM in seasonal snow including its accumulation rate, molecular characteristics, and biological and chemical processing. Sixteen snow samples of both fresh and aged snow were collected at one-day interval in Changchun, a typical industrial city in NE China. The snow DOM contents increased linearly with accumulation time at a rate of 30.3 µg L-1 d-1. The optical properties, including fluorescence intensity and optical absorption coefficient, of snowmelt increased exponentially with time owing to the rapid accumulation of terrestrial humic-like fluorophores through snow-soil exchange and deposition of soil-derived substances. Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance-mass spectrometry highlighted the properties of DOM at a molecular level, indicating that compounds derived from underlying soil and vascular plants make the largest contribution to DOM. Microbe-derived compounds contribute 35.5 % to the DOM pool. Degrees of saturation and oxidation increase slightly after accumulation, with the impacts of photo- and bio-chemistry on DOM molecules being non-negligible. This study provides a new perspective concerning the accumulation and fate of organic contaminants in snow ecosystems.

The efficacy and safety of immune checkpoint inhibitors in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: We aim to assess the efficacy and safety profiles of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer using a meta-analysis. METHODS: We extracted and examined data from phase I, II and III clinical trials from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library, which included patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who were treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors. We performed a meta-analysis to investigate several indexes of efficacy and safety, including the objective response rate, 1-year overall survival (OS) rate, prostate-specific antigen response rate, and adverse event rate of immune checkpoint inhibitors. The material data were calculated and pooled using The R Project for Statistical Computing and STATA 12.0 software. RESULTS: We identified 12 clinical trials in our study. We assessed the pooled frequencies of all-grade AEs and grade ≥ 3 AEs first and showed 0.82 (95% CI: 0.74-0.91, I2 = 94%, P < .01) and 0.42 (95% CI: 0.33-0.54, I2 = 96%, P < .01), respectively. The objective response rate was 0.10 (95% CI: 0.04-0.19, I2 = 70%, P < .01), and the 1-year OS and prostate-specific antigen response rate were 0.55 (95% CI: 0.45-0.67, I2 = 93%, P < .01) and 0.18 (95% CI: 0.16-0.20, I2 = 43%, P = .03), respectively. CONCLUSION: The immune checkpoint inhibitors therapy was well tolerated and showed potential to improve tumor responses in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Wedelolactone, a Component from Eclipta prostrata (L.) L., Inhibits the Proliferation and Migration of Head and Neck Squamous Cancer Cells through the AhR Pathway.

BACKGROUND: Ecliptae prostrata (L.) L. has been widely used in East Asia with reported biological activities, including anti-cancer properties. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the effect of ethyl acetate extract of Ecliptae prostrata (L.) L. (EAE) and its component wedelolactone on the proliferation and migration of head and neck squamous cancer cells. METHODS: The proliferation of human SCC-4 and mouse CU110-1 tongue squamous carcinoma cells was assessed using the 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) method. Scratch wound assays were performed to assess cell migration rates. The levels of Ecadherin and vimentin were used as markers of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). AhR, CYP1A1, and CYP1B1 levels were examined to uncover the mechanism of inhibition of cell migration by wedelolactone. RESULTS: We found that EAE and wedelolactone decreased the proliferation of human SCC-4 cells and mouse CU110-1 cells at doses of EAE at > 25 µg/ml and wedelolactone at > 6.25 µg/ml. Similarly, both EAE and wedelolactone produced inhibitory effects against migration, but the effective doses that significantly inhibited migration were lower than those affecting proliferation. Wedelolactone below 12.5 µg/ml inhibited the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) with increased expression of E-cadherin and decreased expression of vimentin in SCC-4 and CU110-1 cells. Further analysis showed wedelolactone inhibited the expression of AhR and its downstream target molecules CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 in both squamous carcinoma cells at the same doses inhibiting cell migration. The addition of benzo (a)pyrene [B(a)P], an agonist of AhR, stimulated migration, especially in the CU110-1 cells with reported cancer stem cell-like characteristics. Instructively, B(a)P reversed the inhibitory effects of wedelolactone on AhR expression and cell migration, suggesting that wedelolactone antagonizes cell migration through the AhR pathway. Moreover, the higher activity of EAE and wedelolactone against the migration of cancer stem-like CU110-1 cells relative to SCC-4 cells suggests selective activity against cancer stem cells. CONCLUSION: Our study identifies wedelolactone as a major active component of Ecliptae prostrata (L.) L. with promising anti-cancer properties against head and neck squamous cancer cells.

8-Formylophiopogonanone B induces ROS-mediated apoptosis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE-1 cells.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world. It is very important to find drugs with high efficiency, low toxicity, and low side effects for the treatment of cancer. Flavonoids and their derivatives with broad biological functions have been recognized as anti-tumor chemicals. 8-Formylophiopogonanone B (8-FOB), a naturally existed homoisoflavonoids with rarely known biological functions, needs pharmacological evaluation. In order to explore the possible anti-tumor action of 8-FOB, we used six types of tumor cells to evaluate in vitro effects of this agent on cell viability and tested the effects on clone formation ability, scratching wound-healing, and apoptosis. In an attempt to elucidate the mechanism of pharmacological action, we examined 8-FOB-induced intracellular oxidative stress and -disrupted mitochondrial function. Results suggested that 8-FOB could suppress tumor cell viability, inhibit cell migration and invasion, induce apoptosis, and elicit intracellular ROS production. Among these six types of tumor cells, the nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE-1 cells were the most sensitive cancer cells to 8-FOB treatment. Intracellular ROS production played a pivotal role in the anti-tumor action of 8-FOB. Our present study is the first to document that 8-FOB has anti-tumor activity in vitro and increases intracellular ROS production, which might be responsible for its anti-tumor action. The anti-tumor pharmacological effect of 8-FOB is worthy of further investigation.

Exploring the Potential Mechanism of Shennao Fuyuan Tang for Ischemic Stroke Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking.

METHODS: Screen the biologically active components and potential targets of SNFYT through Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP), Traditional Chinese Medicines Integrated Database (TCMID), and related literature. In addition, DrugBank, OMIM, DisGeNET, and the Therapeutic Target Database were searched to explore the therapeutic targets of IS. The cross-targets of SNFYT potential targets and IS treatment targets were taken as candidate gene targets, and GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were performed on the candidate targets. On this basis, the SNFYT-component-target network and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network were constructed using Cytoscape 3.7.2. Finally, AutoDock was used to verify the molecular docking of core components and core targets. RESULTS: We screened out 95 potentially active components and 143 candidate targets. SNFYT-component-target network, PPI network, and Cytoscape analysis identified four core active ingredients and 14 core targets. GO enrichment analyzed 2333 biological processes, 79 cell components, and 149 molecular functions. There are 170 KEGG-related signal pathways (P < 0.05), including the IL-17 signal pathway, TNF signal pathway, and HIF-1 signal pathway. The molecular docking results of the core components and the core targets showed good binding power. CONCLUSIONS: SNFYT may achieve the effect of treating ischemic stroke through its anti-inflammatory effect through a signal pathway with core targets as the core.

Concentrations and health risks of heavy metals in five major marketed marine bivalves from three coastal cities in Guangxi, China.

Seafood consumption provides essential elements to humans while also posing risks to human health. A total of 2610 individuals of five edible marine bivalve species (Ruditapes philippinarum, Paphia undulata, Meretrix meretrix, Sinonovacula constricta and Meretrix lyrata) were randomly sampled from six farmer markets in three cities (Beihai, Qinzhou and Fangchenggang) in the southernmost coastal region of China. The concentrations of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr, Hg and As) were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The estimated daily intake (EDI), target hazard quotient (THQ), total hazard index (HI), and target cancer risk (TR) were calculated to evaluate potential human health risks from bivalve consumption. The mean concentrations of metals in the tissues of bivalves descended in the order Zn > Cu > As > Cd > Cr >Pb > Hg in descending order, and the concentrations varied substantially among the five bivalves. Heavy metal concentrations in edible tissues of most bivalve samples were below the safety limits set by national and international regulations, and there were significant correlations between certain metal concentrations. The EDI values for each metal in each bivalve were significantly lower than the corresponding PTDI (provisional tolerable daily intake) values. Health risk assessment showed that although there is no noncarcinogenic health risk for local residents exposed to individual or combined metals from these bivalves, there is a carcinogenic risk from Cd and Cr exposure. Thus, in the long term, monitoring and controlling bivalve consumption will be important. Although current accumulation levels of bivalves are safe, continued and excessive lifetime consumption over 70 years may pose a target cancer risk.

Functional connectivity of cerebellar dentate nucleus and cognitive impairments in patients with drug-naive and first-episode schizophrenia.

Cognitive impairments are the hallmark of schizophrenia and prominent in the early episode stage. However, the underlying pathological mechanisms of cognitive impairments are not fully understood. This study aimed to investigate the abnormal functional connectivity (FC) of the cerebellar dentate nucleus (DN) and its correlation with cognitive impairments in patients with drug-naive and first-episode schizophrenia. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired in 47 patients and 43 healthy controls. Cognitive functions were assessed by number sequence span, verbal category fluency, digit-symbol coding tests. The results showed that the patients had deficits in all three cognitive tests compared to the controls. Furthermore, the increased FC of DN with the bilateral postcentral gyrus and decreased FC of DN with the right inferior temporal gyrus and regional cerebellum (e.g., Vermis 4-5 and Crus I) were observed in the patient group compared to the control group. Importantly, these abnormal DN FC significantly correlated with cognitive tests (e.g., number sequence span and digit-symbol coding) and clinical symptoms (e.g., negative symptom) in the patient group. The results suggested that abnormal FC of DN with cortical and subcortical regions was associated with cognitive impairments and symptom severity and might be an underlying neural mechanism in schizophrenia.

Study of the Effect Epidermal Growth Factor Nanoparticles in the Treatment of Diabetic Rat Ulcer Skin and Regeneration.

This study's objective is to analyze the effect of epidermal growth factor (EGF) nanoparticles on the healing of diabetic skin wounds and also, simultaneously, to investigate the mechanism of EGF nanoparticles to promote healing. In this manuscript, EGF nanoparticles were prepared, and also the drug loading rate of EGF nanoparticles was measured. In the meantime, a diabetic skin wound model was prepared with the use of rats. Then, the rats were split into four groups: EGF nanogroup, EGF group, empty particle group, and control group. Additionally, the results indicate that this study was successful in preparing EGF nanoparticles with a stable performance, and the drug was released for 24 hours. The wound healing in the EGF nanoparticle group was quicker than that in the EGF group. Furthermore, the area of EGF receptor-positive cells in the wound surface of the EGF nanogroup was higher than that of the EGF group, with the results demonstrating that EGF nanoparticles upregulated the expression of EGF receptors in wound surface cells, promoted wound surface healing, and had better efficacy than EGF.

Myosin18B predicts favorable prognosis of cutaneous squamous-cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Myosin18 family, including Myosin18A (MYO18A) and Myosin18B (MYO18B), are newly-identified Myosins in Myosin superfamily. The expression and function of Myosin18 family in cancer progression is still controversial, and in cutaneous squamous-cell carcinoma (cSCC) is totally unknown. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression and prognostic significance of Myosin18 family in cSCC. METHODS: In this study, the expressions of MYO18 family, including MYO18A and MYO18B were detected in six pairs of cSCCs and corresponding normal tissues with qRT-PCR. MYO18A and MYO18B expressions and intracellular locations in 80 cSCCs were detected with immunohistochemistry. The clinical significance was evaluated by analyzing the correlation between MYO18 family and clinicopathological factors. The prognostic significance of MYO18 family was estimated by univariate analysis with log-rank test, and by multivariate analysis by Cox-regression model. RESULTS: The percentages of high MYO18A and MYO18B in cSCC were 43.75% and 36.25%, respectively. High expression of MYO18A (P = 0.035) and MYO18B (P = 0.032) were both associated with less tumor size. MYO18A had no significant influence on sSCC prognosis (P = 0.686), but low expression of MYO18B was proved to be significantly associated with poor outcome of cSCC (P = 0.014). MYO18B was confirmed as an independent prognostic biomarker of cSCC (P = 0.002), indicating the favorable outcome. CONCLUSION: The expression of MYO18B was an independent prognostic biomarker of cSCC, predicting the favorable prognosis independently. Investigating the expression of MYO18B can help stratify the subset of high-risk cSCC patients for more potent treatment and post-operational surveillance.

Shared and Unshared Feature Extraction in Major Depression During Music Listening Using Constrained Tensor Factorization.

Ongoing electroencephalography (EEG) signals are recorded as a mixture of stimulus-elicited EEG, spontaneous EEG and noises, which poses a huge challenge to current data analyzing techniques, especially when different groups of participants are expected to have common or highly correlated brain activities and some individual dynamics. In this study, we proposed a data-driven shared and unshared feature extraction framework based on nonnegative and coupled tensor factorization, which aims to conduct group-level analysis for the EEG signals from major depression disorder (MDD) patients and healthy controls (HC) when freely listening to music. Constrained tensor factorization not only preserves the multilinear structure of the data, but also considers the common and individual components between the data. The proposed framework, combined with music information retrieval, correlation analysis, and hierarchical clustering, facilitated the simultaneous extraction of shared and unshared spatio-temporal-spectral feature patterns between/in MDD and HC groups. Finally, we obtained two shared feature patterns between MDD and HC groups, and obtained totally three individual feature patterns from HC and MDD groups. The results showed that the MDD and HC groups triggered similar brain dynamics when listening to music, but at the same time, MDD patients also brought some changes in brain oscillatory network characteristics along with music perception. These changes may provide some basis for the clinical diagnosis and the treatment of MDD patients.

lncRNA EZR­AS1 knockdown represses proliferation, migration and invasion of cSCC via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Although long non­coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been implicated in various human cancer types, the role of lncRNA ezrin antisense RNA 1 (EZR­AS1) in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of lncRNAEZR­AS1 on cSCC and identify the underlying molecular mechanisms. EZR­AS1 expression was measured in cSCC tissue and cells detected using reverse transcription­quantitative PCR. Gain­of­function assays were performed in A431 cells, which have a relatively low expression of EZR­AS1, while loss­of­function assays were performed in SCC13 and SCL­1 colon cancer cells, which have a relatively high expression of EZR­AS1. Cell viability, proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis were assessed using MTT, plate cloning, wound healing, Transwell and flow cytometry assays, respectively. EZR­AS1 mRNA expression levels were significantly upregulated in cSCC tissues and cells compared with adjacent healthy tissues and HaCaT cells, respectively. Compared with the small interfering RNA (si)­negative control (NC) group, si­EZR­AS1 significantly inhibited SCC13 and SCL­1 cell proliferation, migration and invasion, but promoted cell apoptosis. By contrast, compared with the pc­NC group, EZR­AS1 overexpression significantly enhanced A431 cell proliferation, migration and invasion, but inhibited cell apoptosis. Moreover, focal adhesion kinase (FAK) was identified as a target of EZR­AS1, and EZR­AS1 knockdown significantly decreased FAK expression compared with the si­NC group. Moreover, EZR­AS1 knockdown significantly downregulated the protein expression levels of phosphorylated (p)­PI3K/PI3K and p­AKT/AKT in cSCC cells compared with the si­NC group. The PI3K agonist 740Y­P significantly reversed si­EZR­AS1­mediated effects on SCC13 and SCL­1 cell proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that si­EZR­AS1 inhibited cSCC cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and promoted cell apoptosis, potentially via regulating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Therefore, the present study provided novel insights into the diagnosis and treatment of cSCC.

A cross-sectional study on associations of physical symptoms, health self-efficacy, and suicidal ideation among Chinese hospitalized cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies have shown increased risk of suicide in cancer patients compared with the general population. The present study aimed to examine the association between physical symptoms and suicidal ideation in Chinese hospitalized cancer patients and test the modifying effect of health self-efficacy on the association. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 544 hospitalized cancer patients in two general hospitals in northeast China via face-to-face interviews. Suicidal ideation was measured by using the first four items on the Yale Evaluation of Suicidality scale and then dichotomized into a positive and negative score. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the impacts of physical symptoms, health self-efficacy, and their interactions on suicidal ideation. RESULTS: The suicidal ideation rate was 26.3% in the enrolled cancer patients. Logistic regression showed that insomnia (aOR = 1.84, 95% CI 1.13 to 3.00, p = 0.015) and lack of appetite (aOR = 2.14, 95% CI 1.26 to 3.64, p = 0.005) were significantly associated with suicidal ideation. Low health self-efficacy had a marginally significant exaggerating effect on the association between pain and suicidal ideation (aOR = 2.77, 95% CI 0.99 to 7.74, p = 0.053), after adjusting for significant socio-demographics, clinical characteristics, and depression. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate significant associations between physical symptoms (insomnia and/or lack of appetite) and suicidal ideation and highlight the potential modifying role of health self-efficacy in the identification and prevention of suicide among cancer patients.

Mechanism of anti-inflammatory effects of volatile compounds of Ai pian based on network pharmacology, in vivo animal experiments, and GC-MS.

Ai pian (AP) is a well-known Miao national herb with resuscitative effects. However, pharmacological and clinical applications of AP are limited because its precise molecular mechanism remains unclear. This study was conducted to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activities of the volatile compounds of AP in in vivo animal models and determine the molecular mechanism underlying the anti-inflammatory effects based on network pharmacology and molecular docking. We performed gas chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis of volatile compounds with chemometric methods, including hierarchical clustering analysis and principal component analysis, to identify AP from different origins. Mouse models of xylene-induced ear edema were used to examine the in vivo anti-inflammatory activities of AP with cotton ball-granulation test. The mechanism of AP was determined by network pharmacology analysis and molecular docking. Significant differences in chemical constituents and percentage contents were observed among different habitats. We found that AP exerted potent anti-inflammatory effect, and that multiple targets and pathways were involved in this effect. These results provided a foundation for further comprehensive development and application of AP from Miao national herb.

Identification of species and sources of atmospheric chromophores by fluorescence excitation-emission matrix with parallel factor analysis.

It is essential to fully understand the physicochemical properties and sources of atmospheric chromophores to evaluate their impacts on environmental quality and global climate. Three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy is an important method for directly characterizing the occurrences, origins, and chemical behaviors of atmospheric chromophores. However, there is still a lack of adequate information on the sources and chemical structures of EEM-defined chromophores. This situation limits the extensive application of the EEM method in the study of atmospheric chromophores. Under these adverse conditions, this work uses the analysis of EEM data by the parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis model and a comprehensive comparison of the types and abundances of different chromophores in different aerosol samples (combustion source samples, secondary organic aerosols, and ambient aerosols) to demonstrate that the EEM method can distinguish among different chromophore types and aerosol sources. Indeed, approximately half of all fluorescent substances can be attributed to specific chemicals and sources. These findings provide an important basis for the study of the sources and chemical processes of atmospheric chromophores by the EEM approach.

Study on the oxidation potential of the water-soluble components of ambient PM2.5 over Xi'an, China: Pollution levels, source apportionment and transport pathways.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are a class of substances that are of general concern in terms of human health and are used to represent the oxidation potential (OP) of the atmosphere. In this study, the ROS levels in 116 daily fine particulate matter (PM2.5) samples taken over Xi'an in 2017 were measured with the dithiothreitol (DTT) method. The sources of DTTv (volume-based DTT consumption) in PM2.5 as well as their contributions were identified by both positive matrix factorization (PMF) and multiple linear regression (MLR) based on the measured chemical species in particulate matter (PM). The results showed that the yearly average DTTv over Xi'an was 0.53 nmol/min/m3 (0.19-1.10 nmol/min/m3). The highest DTTv level occurred in winter, followed by spring, summer and autumn. DTTv was the most strongly correlated with the water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC; r = 0.85), but the effects of WSOC on DTTv were very limited. SO2, NO2, CO, elemental carbon (EC) and K+ (r > 0.64) had moderate correlations with DTTv and were moderately related to environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) (r = 0.56). The linear mixed-effects model showed that pollutants originating from incomplete combustion had greater effects on DTTv than those from complete combustion. Source apportionment results from PMF showed that motor vehicle emissions (27.4%), secondary sulfates (21.6%) and coal combustion sources (18.8%) were more important contributors to the DTTv in PM2.5 than dust sources (8.4%), metal processing (4.9%), industrial emissions (11.3%) and secondary nitrates (7.5%). The PMF results for the DTTv were consistent with the MLR results, which verified that both PMF and MLR are feasible methods for source apportionment of PM2.5 as well as specific species such as ROS and EPFRs. Backward trajectory clusters showed that the dominant cluster groups were local and regional transport, while the OP of the PM2.5 over Xi'an was affected more by long-range transport than by local transport. As stated above, the improvement of atmospheric oxidation potential require not only regional efforts but also large-scale joint cooperation. Furthermore, this study on the OP of PM as well as the specific source information provides important guidance for health effect research.

Effect of duration of gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist on the outcome of in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer in a short-acting long regimen.

Objective: To investigate the effect of the duration of gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) use on the outcome of in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) during the short-acting long-term hyperstimulation cycle. Methodology: Clinical data from 776 patients receiving controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) after short-term regimen downregulation were retrospectively analyzed. According to the duration of GnRH-a, the patients were divided into 3 groups: Group A, 14 days for GnRH-a; Group B, 15-17 days for GnRH-a; and Group C, >18 days for GnRH-a. The clinical data, treatment and clinical outcomes were compared among the groups. Results: There were no significant differences in fertilization rate, implantation rate, clinical pregnancy rate, abortion rate, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) rate(P > 0.05). The total costs in group A were significantly less than those in group B and C(P < 0.001). The number of eggs and quality embryos generated in group A was significantly higher than that in groups B and C (P = 0.014, P = 0.005). Conclusions: In the short-acting GnRH agonist long protocol, satisfactory IVF-ET pregnancy outcome was obtained with the use of GnRH-a for 14 days under the premise of lowering the receptor-regulating standard. Excessive application of GnRH-a will affect the number of eggs and embryos and increase the cost of medical treatment.