Evaluation of menopausal status among breast cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea

Objective： In patients with chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea （CIA）, the menopausal status is ambiguous anddifficult to evaluate. This study aimed to establish a discriminative model to predict and classify the menopausalstatus of breast cancer patients with CIA.Methods： This is a single center hospital-based study from 2013 to 2016. The menopausal age distribution andaccumulated incidence rate of CIA are described. Multivariate models were adjusted for established and potentialconfounding factors including age, serum concentration of estradiol （E2） and follicle-stimulating hormone （FSH）,feeding, pregnancy, parity, abortions, and body mass index （BMI）. The odds ratio （OR） and 95% confidenceinterval （95% CI） of different risk factors were estimated.Results： A total of 1,796 breast cancer patients were included in this study, among whom, 1,175 （65.42%） werepremenopausal patients and 621 （34.58%） were post-menopause patients. Five hundred and fifty patients wereincluded in CIA analysis, and a cumulative CIA rate of 81.64% was found in them. Age （OR： 1.856, 95% CI：1.732-1.990）, serum concentration of E2 （OR： 0.976, 95% CI： 0.972-0.980） and FSH （OR： 1.060, 95% CI：1.053-i.066）, and menarche age （OR： 1.074, 95% CI： 1.009-1.144） were found to be associated with the patients＇menopausal status. According to multivariate analysis, the discriminative model to predict the menopausal status isLogit （P）=-28.396＋0.536Age-0.014E2＋0.031FSH. The sensitivities for this model were higher than 85%, and itsspecificities were higher than 89%.Conclusions： The discriminative model obtained from this study for predicting menstrual state is important forpremenopausal patients with CIA. This model has high specificity and sensitivity and should be prudently used.

Effect of glial cells on remyelination after spinal cord injury

Remyelination plays a key role in functional recovery of axons after spinal cord injury.Glial cells are the most abundant cells in the central nervous system.When spinal cord injury occurs,many glial cells at the lesion site are immediately activated,and different cells differentially affect inflammatory reactions after injury.In this review,we aim to discuss the core role of oligodendrocyte precursor cells and crosstalk with the rest of glia and their subcategories in the remyelination process.Activated astrocytes influence proliferation,differentiation,and maturation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells,while activated microglia alter remyelination by regulating the inflammatory reaction after spinal cord injury.Understanding the interaction between oligodendrocyte precursor cells and the rest of glia is necessary when designing a therapeutic plan of remyelination after spinal cord injury.

The role of proton dynamics on the catalyst-electrolyte interface in the oxygen evolution reaction

The development of non‐precious metal catalysts that facilitate the oxygen evolution reaction(OER)is important for the widespread application of hydrogen production by water splitting.Various perovskite oxides have been employed as active OER catalysts,however,the underlying mechanism that occurs at the catalyst‐electrolyte interface is still not well understood,prohibiting the design and preparation of advanced OER catalysts.Here,we report a systematic investigation into the effect of proton dynamics on the catalyst‐electrolyte interfaces of four perovskite catalysts:La_(0.5)Sr_(0.5)CoO_(3‐δ)(LSCO),LaCoO_(3),LaFeO_(3),and LaNiO_(3).The pH‐dependent OER activities,H/D kinetic isotope effect,and surface functionalization with phosphate anion groups were investigated to elucidate the role of proton dynamics in the rate‐limiting steps of the OER.For oxides with small charge‐transfer energies,such as LSCO and LaNiO_(3),non‐concerted proton‐coupled electron transfer steps are involved in the OER,and the activity is strongly controlled by the proton dynamics on the catalyst surface.The results demonstrate the important role of interfacial proton transfer in the OER mechanism,and suggest that proton dynamics at the interface should carefully be considered in the design of future high‐performance catalysts.

Correlation of genomic and expression alterations of AS3 with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Androgen-induced proliferation shutoff gene AS3, also known as APRIN, is a growth inhibitory gene that is initially implicated in prostate cancer. This gene is required for androgen-dependent growth arrest and is a primary target for 1,25（OH）2D3 and androgens. Allelic loss at AS3 locus has been linked to a variety of cancers. However, the correlation of genomic and expression alterations of AS3 with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma （ESCC） is not well established. In this study, the genornic and expression alterations of AS3 in ESCC and their clinical significance are evaluated. Loss of heterozygosity （LOH） analysis using an AS3 intragenic microsatellite marker D13S171 revealed 72% allelic loss at AS3 locus in ESCC, which is significantly correlated with higher pathological grade （P=0.042）. RT-PCR examination showed that AS3 mRNA obviously decreased in 44% tumors and its down-regulation was correlated with the sex of patients （P=0.03）. Furthermore, the correlation between genornic and expression alterations of AS3 gene was analyzed in 18 ESCC specimens, which indicated that the consistency between allelic loss and decreased mRNA expression of AS3 was relatively poor. The results of this study indicate that the aberrant expression of AS3 may be involved in the tumorigenesis of esophagus and is responsible for the male predominance of ESCC.

Fast Distributed Demand Response Algorithm in Smart Grid

This paper proposes a fast distributed demand response U+0028 DR U+0029 algorithm for future smart grid based on primaldual interior method and Gaussian belief propagation U+0028 GaBP U+0029 solver. At the beginning of each time slot, each end-user U+002F energysupplier exchanges limited rounds of messages that are not private with its neighbors, and computes the amount of energy consumption U+002F generation locally. The proposed demand response algorithm converges rapidly to a consumption U+002F generation decision that yields the optimal social welfare when the demands of endusers are low. When the demands are high, each end-user U+002F energysupplier estimates its energy consumption U+002F generation quickly such that a sub-optimal social welfare is achieved and the power system is ensured to operate within its capacity constraints. The impact of distributed computation errors on the proposed algorithm is analyzed theoretically. The simulation results show a good performance of the proposed algorithm. © 2017 Chinese Association of Automation.

Research on the Low-order Control Strategy of the Power System With Time Delay

In this paper, the design problem of the low-order controller is considered for the power system with a fixed time delay. A linear model of the power system with time delay is firstly established. Then the proportional-integral-differential(PID) controller, which is the typical low-order controller, is designed to improve the stability of the power system. The stabilizing region of the PID controller is obtained. The control parameters chosen arbitrarily in the resultant region can ensure the stability of the power system. Finally, based on the stabilizing result, the PID controller satisfying the H∞performance index is designed, which improves the robustness of the whole power system. The main advantage of the proposed method lies in that there is no need to approximate the model of the power system.The method can be further extended to the power system which is more complex.

A Novel Nucleophilic Substitution of 3-Halo-6-phenoxypyridazines

A novel nucleophilic substitution of pyridazines is found, in which phenoxy group is dislodged rather than the halogen atom, on treating 3-halo-6-phenoxypyridazines with alkoxy anion. The reactivity of substituents on benzene ring and the halogen atom of pyridazines are studied. Reasonable explanation based on the quantum chemical calculations are given.

The Register and Characteristics of Chinese Key Protected Wild Plants in Dabie Mountains National Nature Preserve, Hubei Province

A study was conducted on the newly promulgated key protected wild plants distributed in the Dabie Mountains National Nature Reserve in Hubei in 2021.According to statistics,Dabie Mountains National Nature Reserve of Hubei Province has a total of 41 species of wild plants under national key protection,including 7 species in the first class and 34 species in the second class.Among them,6 are cultivated species,4 in the first class,and 2 species in the second class.The characteristics of Chinese key protected wild plants in the Dabie Mountains National Nature Reserve in Hubei Province were analyzed.

全基因组关联研究发现中国人群前列腺癌两个新易感位点9q31.2和19q13.4

0前言在全球范围内，前列腺癌的发病率和病死率存在着巨大差异。该病在西方发达国家发病率最高，在非裔美国人群病死率最高，而在亚洲人群中发病率及病死率均为全球最低，提示不同人种在前列腺癌的遗传方面存在异质性。在欧美和日本人群中，全基因组关联研究（GWAS）技术已经被用于检测前列腺癌的遗传易感性位点，但至今尚无关于GWAS检测中国人群前列腺癌易感位点的报道。

全息聚合物分散型液晶显示器:一种生成动力学新模型

在本文,我们提出一种用非局域聚合法修正过的分散模式,描述反射式全息聚合物散射型液晶的形成。基于这种非局域聚合机制,可以很好地解释曝光条件和反射效率之间的异常关系。

Relaxation mechanisms of cavernosum tissue in vitro neferine on the rabbit corpus

Aim： To investigate the relaxation mechanisms of neferine （Nef） on the rabbit corpus cavemosum tissue in vitro. Methods： Strips of rabbit corpus cavemosum were mounted in organ chambers. The effects of Nef were examined on isolated muscle strips precontracted with phenylephrine （PE） alone, in the presence of NW-nitro-L-arginine （LNNA, a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor）, 1-H-[ 1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-tx]quinoxalin- 1-one （ODQ, a guanylyl cyclase inhibitor）, indomethacin （cyclooxygenase inhibitor）, tetraethylammonium （Ca^2＋ -activated K^＋ channel blocker）, 4-aminopiridine （4-AP ,voltage dependent K^＋ channel blocker） and glibenclamide （ATP sensitive K^＋channel blocker）. The effects of Nef on KCl-induced contraction of isolated muscle strips were also investigated. The procedure of calcium absencecalcium addition was designed to observe the effect of Nef on two components of the contractile responses to PE based on the source of Ca^2＋ （extracellular vs. intracellular）. Results： Corpus cavemosum strips relaxed in response to Nef （10-9-10-4 mol/L） in a concentration-dependent manner with an IC50 of 4.60 × 10^-6 mol/L. However, they were not affected by LNNA, ODQ, indomethacin or K^＋-channel blockers. Nef （10^-6 mol/L, 10^-5 mol/L） concentration dependently reduced the maximal contraction response of isolated strips induced by KC1 to 79.3% ± 5.5% and 61.5% ±3.2%, respectively （P 〈 0.01）. In the calcium absence-calcium addition procedure, Nef 10.5 mol/L inhibited both intracellular calcium-dependent and extracellular calcium-dependent contraction induced by PE （2 × 10^5 mol/L） （P 〈 0.05）. The inhibition ratios were 26.2% ± 5.4% and 48.3% ±7.6%, respectively. Conclusion： The results of the present study suggest that Nef possesses a relaxant effect on rabbit corpus cavemosum tissues, which is attributable to the inhibition of extracellular Ca^2＋ influx and the inhibition of release of intracellular stored Ca^2＋, but not mediated by the release of nitric oxide, prostaglandins or by the activation of potassium channels.

Study on Technical Schemes for Major Pollutants Emission Reduction in Beijing North Canal River Basin Based on Watershed Water Quality Target Management

Water quality target management in watershed is the fundamental choice of city rivers suffering both serious pollution and severe water shortage. In this study, we performed a case study regarding river pollution control plan based on water quality target management in the North Canal River catchment of Beijing section, in order to obtain effective water quality improvement programs. The ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were taken as the main controlling pollutants. Water quality targets and basic water quality improvement scenarios were set up considering different intensities of population regulation scenarios and gradually strengthening emission control measures. The MIKE11 model was adopted to simulate the effects of a range of water quality improvement scenarios. Results indicated that the basic scenarios could dramatically improve the surface water environment. However, additional intensive and combined measure programs should be implemented to ensure that the water quality would basically meet the targets of corresponding water function zones. The results highlight the need to implement water conservation in water shortage urban river basin and show the importance of enhancing drainage communication and conducting ecological water replenishment in such kind basins. It is expected to provide a reference for the water environment management practice of other metropolis in the world facing both crisis of water resource shortage and water environment pollution.

Nano-enabled solar driven-interfacial evaporation:Advanced design and opportunities

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation(SDIE)is emerging as a promising pathway to solving the worldwide water shortage and water pollution.Nanomaterials(e.g.,plasmonic metals,inorganic/organic semiconductors,and carbon nanomaterials)and related nanochemistry have attracted increasing attention for the solar-to-vapor process in terms of broadband absorption,electronic structure adjustment,and surface/interface chemistry manipulation.Furthermore,the assembly of nanomaterials can contribute to the mass transfer,heat management,and enthalpy regulation of water during solar evaporation.To date,numerous nano-enabled materials and structures have been developed to improve the solar absorption,heat management(i.e.,heat confinement and heat transfer),and water management(i.e.,activation,evaporation,and replenishment).In this review,we focus on a systematical summary about the composition and structure engineering of nanomaterials in SDIE,including size and morphology effects,nanostructure optimizations,and structure-property relationship decoupling.This review also surveys recent advances in nanochemistry(e.g.,preparation chemistry and structural chemistry)deployed to conceptual design of nanomaterials.Finally,the key challenges and future perspectives of nanomaterials for solar evaporation are overviewed.This review aims at providing guidance for the design and construction of nanomaterials for high-efficiency SDIE on the basis of the aspects of materials science and chemical engineering.

In-situ study for the elastic structure evolutions of threedimensional Ir-O framework during the oxygen evolution reaction in acid

Understanding the dynamic structural and chemical evolutions at the catalyst-electrolyte interfaces is crucial for the development of active and stable electrocatalysts.In this work,β-Li_(2)IrO_(3)is employed as a model catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction(OER).Its elastic three-dimensional Ir-O framework enables us to investigate the Li^(+)cation dissolution-induced structure evolutions and the formation mechanism of amorphous IrO_(x)species.Electrochemical measurements by rotating ring disk electrode(RRDE)reveal that up to 60%of the measured OER current can be ascribed to catalyst degradation.A series of in-situ X-ray diffraction spectroscopy(XRD),X-ray absorption spectroscopy(XAS),and Raman spectroscopy are conducted.Structure vibration is observed with oxidation states of Ir being reduced abnormally during OER at high potentials.It’s hypothesized that the reversible proton intercalations are responsible for the Ir turn-over mechanism.Results of this work demonstrate a stable and elastic iridate structure and reveal the initial catalyst degradation behaviors during OER in acid media.

PV Array Reconfiguration Based on the Shaded Cells'Number for PV Modules

Reconfiguration can increase the output power for a PV array under partial shadows.However,traditional reconfiguration methods consider the PV module as either totally shaded or totally unshaded,and module-based simulation is employed to evaluate the reconfiguration effect.Actually,there is an unneglectable error when treating a partially shaded PV module as totally shaded,through using a more accurate cellbased simulation.Based on the analysis of the determinant factors on MPPs’power of a PV array,a new reconfiguration method is proposed based on the exact partial shadow shape projected on the PV array.This method restructures the electrical connection among PV modules of a PV array according to the shaded cells’number(SCN)of every PV module.Extensive cell-based simulations are carried out on a PV array to verify the effectiveness of the proposed SCN-based reconfiguration method.Comprehensive comparisons among various reconfiguration methods and shadow distributions clearly show its suitability to different irregular shadows and its superiority in PV output power enhancement.

Performance of the Prostate Health Index in predicting prostate biopsy outcomes among men with a negative digital rectal examination and transrectal ultrasonography

The [-2]proPSA （p2PSA） and its derivatives, the p2PSA-to-free PSA ratio （%p2PSA）, and the Prostate Health Index （PHI） have greatly improved discrimination between men with and without prostate cancer （PCa） in prostate biopsies. However, little is known about their performance in cases where a digital rectal examination （DRE） and transrectal ultrasonography （TRUS） are negative. A prospective cohort of 261 consecutive patients in China with negative DRE and TRUS were recruited and underwent prostate biopsies. A serum sample had collected before the biopsy was used to measure various PSA derivatives, including total prostate-specific antigen （tPSA）, free PSA, and p2PSA. For each patient, the free-to-total PSA ratio （%fPSA）, PSA density （PSAD）, p2PSA-to-free PSA ratio （%p2PSA）, and PHI were calculated. Discriminative performance was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve （AUC） and the biopsy rate at 91% sensitivity. The AUC scores within the entire cohort with respect to age, tPSA, %fPSA, PSAD, p2PSA, %p2PSA, and PHI were 0.598, 0.751, 0.646, 0.789, 0.814, 0.808, and 0.853, respectively. PHI was the best predictor of prostate biopsy results, especially in patients with a tPSA of 10.1-20 ng ml-1. Compared with other markers, at a sensitivity of 91%, PHI was the most useful for determining which men did not need to undergo biopsy, thereby avoiding unnecessary procedures. The use of PHI could improve the accuracy of PCa detection by predicting prostate biopsy outcomes among men with a negative DRE and TRUS in China.

Phi-based risk calculators performed better in the prediction of prostate cancer in the Chinese population

Risk prediction models including the Prostate Health Index(phi)for prostate cancer have been well established and evaluated in the Western population.The aim of this study is to build phi-based risk calculators in a prostate biopsy population and evaluate their performanee in predicting prostate cancer(PCa)and high-grade PCa(Gleason score 27)in the Chinese population.We developed risk calculators based on 635 men who underwent initial prostate biopsy.Then,we validated the performance of prostate-specific antigen(PSA),phi,and the risk calculators in an additional observational cohort of 1045 men.We observed that the phi-based risk calculators(risk calculators 2 and 4)outperformed the PSA-based risk calculator for predicting PCa and high-grade PCa in the training cohort.In the validation study,the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC)for risk calculators 2 and 4 reached 0.91 and 0.92,respectively,for predicting PCa and high-grade PCa,respectively;the AUC values were better than those for risk calculator 1(PSA-based model with an AUC of 0.81 and 0.82,respectively)(all P<0.001).Such superiority was also observed in the stratified population with PSA ranging from 2.0 ng ml^-1 to 10.0 ng ml^-1.Decision curves confirmed that a considerable proportion of unnecessary biopsies could be avoided while applying phi-based risk calculators.In this study,we showed that,compared to risk calculators without phi,phi-based risk calculators exhibited superior discrimination and calibration for PCa in the Chinese biopsy population.Applying these risk calculators also considerably reduced the number of unnecessary biopsies for PCa.

Prostate volume does not provide additional predictive value to prostate health index for prostate cancer or clinically significant prostate cancer:results from a multicenter study in China

To evaluate whether prostate volume(PV)would provide additional predictive utility to the prostate health index(phi)for predicting prostate cancer(PCa)or clinically significant prostate cancer,we designed a prospective,observational multicenter study in two prostate biopsy cohorts.Cohort 1 included 595 patients from three medical centers from 2012 to 2013,and Cohort 2 included 1025 patients from four medical centers from 2013 to 2014.Area under the receiver operating characteristic curves(AUC)and logistic regression models were used to evaluate the predictive performance of PV-based derivatives and models.Linear regression analysis showed that both total prostate-specific antigen(tPSA)and free PSA(fPSA)were significantly correlated with PV(all P<0.05).[-2]proPSA(p2PSA)was significantly correlated with PV in Cohort 2(P<0.001)but not in Cohort 1(P=0.309),while no significant association was observed between phi and PV.When combining phi with PV,phi density(PHID)and another phi derivative(PHIV,calculated as phi/PV°5)did not outperform phi for predicting PCa or clinically significant PCa in either Cohort 1 or Cohort 2.Logistic regression analysis also showed that phi and PV were independent predictors for both PCa and clinically significant PCa(all P<0.05);however,PV did not provide additional predictive value to phi when combining these derivatives in a regression model(all models vs phi were not statistically significant,all P>0.05).In conclusion,PV-based derivatives(both PHIV and PHID)and models incorporating PV did not improve the predictive abilities of phi for either PCa or clinically significant PCa.

Diversified Application of Barcoded PLATO(PLATO-BC) Platform for Identification of Protein Interactions

Proteins usually associate with other molecules physically to execute their functions.Identifying these interactions is important for the functional analysis of proteins.Previously,we reported the parallel analysis of translated ORFs(PLATO)to couple ribosome display of full-length ORFs with affinity enrichment of mRNA/protein/ribosome complexes for the “bait”molecules,followed by the deep sequencing analysis of mRNA.However,the sample processing,from extraction of precipitated mRNA to generation of DNA libraries,includes numerous steps,which is tedious and may cause the loss of materials.Barcoded PLATO(PLATO-BC),an improved platform was further developed to test its application for protein interaction discovery.In this report,we tested the antisera-antigen interaction using serum samples from patients with inclusion body myositis(IBM).Tripartite motif containing 21(TRIM21)was identified as a potentially new IBM autoantigen.We also expanded the application of PLATO-BC to identify protein interactions for JQ1,single ubiquitin peptide,and NS5 protein of Zika virus.From PLATO-BC analyses,we identified new protein interactions for these “bait”molecules.We demonstrate that Ewing sarcoma breakpoint region 1(EWSR1)binds to JQ1 and their interactions may interrupt the EWSR1 association with acetylated histone H4.RIO kinase 3(RIOK3),a newly identified ubiquitin-binding protein,is preferentially associated with K63-ubiquitin chain.We also find that Zika NS5 protein interacts with two previously unreported host proteins,par-3 family cell polarity regulator(PARD3)and chromosome 19 open reading frame 53(C19orf53),whose attenuated expression benefits the replication of Zika virus.These results further demonstrate that PLATO-BC is capable of identifying novel protein interactions for various types of “bait”molecules.

Race-specific genetic risk score is more accurate than nonrace-specific genetic risk score for predicting prostate cancer and high-grade diseases

Genetic risk score （GRS） based on disease risk-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms （SNPs） is an informative tool that can be used to provide inherited information for specific diseases in addition to family history, However, it is still unknown whether only SNPs that are implicated in a specific racial group should be used when calculating GRSs. The objective of this study is to compare the performance of race-specific GRS and nonrace-specitic GRS for predicting prostate cancer （PCa） among 1338 patients underwent prostate biopsy in Shanghai, China. A race-specific GRS was calculated with seven PCa risk-associated SNPs implicated in East Asians （GRS7）, and a nonrace-specific GRS was calculated based on 76 PCa risk-associated SNPs implicated in at least one racial group （GRS76）. The means of GRS7 and GRS76 were 1.19 and 1.85, respectively, in the study population. Higher GRS7 and GRS76 were independent predictors for PCa and high-grade PCa in univariate and multivariate analyses. GRS7 had a better area under the receiver-operating curve （AUC） than GRS76 for discriminating PCa （0.602 vs 0.573） and high-grade PCa （0.603 vs 0.575） but did not reach statistical significance. GRS7 had a better （up to 13% at different cutoffs） positive predictive value （PPV） than GRS76. In conclusion, a race-specific GRS is more robust and has a better performance when predicting PCa in East Asian men than a GRS calculated using SNPs that are not shown to be associated with East Asians.