Acupuncture-assisted embryo transfer techniques: Research frontiers and future directions.

Background: Acupuncture, an ancient practice, is gaining recognition as a complementary and alternative medicine, especially in assisted reproductive technology. It plays a crucial role in enhancing embryo transfer success rates. Research indicates that acupuncture can improve blood flow, increase endometrial receptivity regulate pressure, and affect neuroendocrine activities in the ovaries and uterus during embryo implantation, therefore improving pregnancy outcomes.

Genetically predicted ankylosing spondylitis increases the risk of heart failure: a Mendelian randomization study.

Background: Observational studies have indicated a potential association between ankylosing spondylitis and elevated cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. However, it remains uncertain whether this association reflects a causal association. Therefore, we conducted this Mendelian randomization to investigate the causal relationship between ankylosing spondylitis and CVD.

Intravoxel incoherent motion-based habitat imaging for the prediction of immunohistochemistry in patients with breast cancer.

Background: To explore the value of intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM)-based habitat imaging in predicting immunohistochemistry in patients with breast cancer.

Methods: 299 patients with suspected breast cancer were randomly assigned to a training set of 210 individuals and a test set of 89 individuals. A series of models was constructed for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)/Ki-67/hormone receptors (HR)/lymph node metastasis (LNM) prediction, including the whole-tumor model, habitat model, conventional MRI features (CF) model and hybrid model (incorporating habitats features and CF).

Reducing chalkiness and enhancing quality and yield in hybrid indica rice at the middle panicle position through optimal water and nitrogen management.

Chalkiness considerably impacts rice quality and is influenced by water and fertilizer management. This study investigates the regulatory mechanisms of water and nitrogen management on yield and chalkiness across different panicle positions. Compared to the upper and lower panicle positions, grain yield from the middle panicle position was significantly increased by 8.

Side deep placement of slow-release N as base fertilizer combined with urea as panicle fertilizer increases rice yield by optimizing dry matter and N accumulation and translocation.

Introduction: Side deep fertilization (SDF) technology and slow release N fertilizer offer advantages in enhancing rice yield and N use efficiency. However, the effects of side deep application of slow-release N as base fertilizer, combined with the application of urea at different growth stages, on dry matter accumulation, N uptake, translocation, assimilation, and yield formation in rice remain unclear.

Methods: Therefore, in 2023 and 2024, a field experiment was conducted in Sichuan, China, using the local variety Chuankangyou 6308.

Management of Meloidogyne incognita with the endophytic fungus Beauveria bassiana.

Background: Meloidogyne incognita root-knot nematodes (RKNs) pose a significant threat to crops, ranking among the most dangerous plant pathogens globally. Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) have been reported to reduce populations of plant-pathogenic nematodes, including M. incognita.

The cost of antenatal care in Beijing: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Medical and non-medical expenses could be incurred during antenatal care, however, few studies about it in Beijing were found. Hence, this study assesses the cost of antenatal care in Beijing and explores it's influencing factors, aiming to inform targeted strategies.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Beijing from October 14 to December 16, 2024.

Intention to disclose maternal HIV status to children among Chinese mothers: association with outcome expectations and moderation by perceived health.

Background: Disclosure of maternal HIV status to children can be beneficial for both mother and children. Few studies have examined factors and moderators of HIV disclosure among mothers living with HIV.

Objective: The present study examined the association of outcome expectations and perceived health on intention to disclose maternal HIV status to children, and the moderating role of perceived health among women living with HIV in China.

A superior method for antitumor therapy and application: dual-ligand nanomedicines.

Currently, nanomedicines have been widely applied in the treatment of various types of tumors. However, due to the complexity of the tumor microenvironment, conventional nanomedicines often exhibit poor efficacy, insufficient site specificity, and susceptibility to off-target effects. In contrast, dual-ligand nanomedicines demonstrate superior targeting ability and drug penetration in tumor therapy.

Smart self-assembly of a multifunctional theranostic nanozyme for self-enhanced precise chemo/chemodynamic therapy.

The use of hypoxia-activated prodrugs to treat breast cancer is a promising therapeutic strategy, but limited by inconsistent hypoxia states in whole tumors. Herein, we developed a theranostic nanozyme using Mn-driven self-assembly of fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl-protected cysteine (Fmoc-Cys) as a multifunctional carrier for the first time, and co-encapsulated with tirapazamine (TPZ) and glucose oxidase (GOX). The prepared nanozyme is sensitive to excess glutathione (GSH) and achieves efficient self-enhanced chemo/chemodynamic therapy (CDT) thanks to the synergistic effect among the multiple components.

Breast Cancer: Habitat imaging based on intravoxel incoherent motion for predicting pathologic complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Background: Radiomics research based on whole tumors is limited by the unclear biological significance of radiomics features, which therefore lack clinical interpretability.

Purpose: We aimed to determine whether features extracted from subregions defined by habitat imaging, reflecting tumor heterogeneity, could identify breast cancer patients who will benefit from neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), to optimize treatment.

Methods: 143 women with stage II-III breast cancer were divided into a training set (100 patients, 36 with pathologic complete response [pCR]) and a test set (43 patients, 16 with pCR).

Exosome-Based Vaccines: Pioneering New Frontiers in Combating Infectious Diseases and Cancer.

Exosomes, small extracellular vesicles with lipid bilayer membranes, play a crucial role in cellular communication and can transfer diverse biological cargo, including proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, from donor to recipient cells. Exosomes possess diverse immunological properties, such as antigen delivery and immune activation, along with excellent drug delivery capabilities, making them promising candidates for vaccine development. For different diseases, exosome-based vaccines can be designed as therapeutic or prophylactic vaccines by leveraging cellular immunity or humoral immunity.

The Impact of ART on Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Among HIV-positive Pregnant Women - Yunnan Province, China, 2013-2022.

Introduction: This study assessed the impact of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on stillbirth and neonatal mortality and investigated associated risk factors among ‌Human immunodeficiency virus-positive (HIV-positive) pregnant women in Yunnan, China during 2013-2022.

Methods: Data from the National Information System of Integrated Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV, Syphilis, and Hepatitis B Program (PMTCT) were analyzed to determine stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates. Multivariate Poisson regression was employed to identify risk factors associated with stillbirth and neonatal outcomes.

Experimental Study on Hydrogen-Induced Crack Propagation of X80 Steel Under Alternating Pressure Fluctuations.

When hydrogen is transported in a pipeline, the fatigue loading in the pipeline will enhance hydrogen accumulation and diffusion, thus increasing the risk of hydrogen-induced fracture. In this study, specimens are subjected to cyclic loading within an autoclave, where hydrogen gas pressure is varied to examine its impact on fatigue crack growth. The influence of hydrogen pressure and stress variations on the fatigue crack growth rate is investigated.

Thyroid FT4-to-TSH ratio in the first trimester is associated with gestational diabetes mellitus in women carrying male fetus: a prospective bi-center cohort study.

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the most common medical complications of pregnancy, which increases the risk of other pregnant complications and adverse perinatal outcomes. Thyroid dysfunction is closely with the risk of diabetes mellitus. However, the relationship between euthyroid function in early pregnancy and GDM is still controversial.

The effects of Baduanjin on fine motor skills in mild and moderate Parkinson's disease: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Fine motor impairment is common in Parkinson's disease (PD), which reduces patients' quality of life. There are few suitable targeted treatments. We conducted a clinical trial to determine whether Baduanjin Qigong exercise would increase fine motor skills in PD patients.

Application of knowledge graph in smart irrigation district management decision making.

Regarding the traditional irrigation and drainage management methods in China's irrigation districts, there are problems such as complex management processes, dispersed information systems, difficulty in resource sharing, diverse data sources, and insufficient intelligent auxiliary decision-making. In order to further realize refined intelligent management decision-making on issues related to smart irrigation districts, this article uses the basic information of 28 Yellow River diversion irrigation districts in Henan Province, as well as the overall plan reports and related issue management manuals of 7 management offices of the first and second phase projects of Zhaokou Irrigation District as data sources. Collect and organize data from irrigation areas, and use these to build a knowledge graph for management of issues in irrigation areas diverted from the Yellow River.

Entomopathogenic Nematodes-Killed Insect Cadavers in the Rhizosphere Activate Plant Direct and Indirect Defences Aboveground.

Plants can perceive and respond to external stimuli by activating both direct and indirect defences against herbivores. Soil-dwelling entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs), natural enemies of root-feeding herbivores, carry symbiotic bacteria that grow and reproduce once inside arthropod hosts. We hypothesized that the metabolites produced by EPN-infected insect cadavers could be perceived by plants, thereby activating plant defences systemically.

Glutamate chemical exchange saturation transfer (GluCEST) MRI to evaluate the relationship between demyelination and glutamate content in depressed mice.

Glutamatergic alteration is one of the potential mechanisms of depression. However, there is no consensus on whether glutamate metabolism changes affect the myelin structure of depression in mouse models. Glutamate chemical exchange saturation transfer (GluCEST) is a novel and powerful molecular imaging technique that can visualize glutamate distribution.

Revealing novel insights into the enhancement of quality in black tea processing through microbial intervention.

Black tea is highly favored by consumers worldwide, with enzymatic reactions being recognized as a pivotal factor influencing tea quality. The role of microorganisms in shaping the composition of black tea has emerged as a focus of research due to their involvement in enzyme catalysis and metabolic processes. In this study, full-length amplicon sequencing combined with qPCR more accurately reflected microbial profile, and , , , and were identified as the main microbial genera.

Defective recovery of QT dispersion due to no-reflow following acute interventional therapy in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

Background: Previous studies have suggested that adequate myocardial reperfusion after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) can improve the inhomogeneity of myocardial repolarization. However, it remains unclear whether no-reflow (NR) following emergency PCI involves disadvantages related to ventricular repolarization indices. The present study aimed to determine the effect of NR on QT dispersion (QTd) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and to evaluate the prognostic value of the relative reduction of QTd on ventricular arrhythmia events (VAEs).

Alginate oligosaccharide improves 5-fluorouracil-induced intestinal mucositis by enhancing intestinal barrier and modulating intestinal levels of butyrate and isovalerate.

Chemotherapy-induced mucositis (CIM) is the typical side effect of chemotherapy. This study investigates the potential of alginate oligosaccharide (AOS) in ameliorating CIM induced by 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in a murine model and its underlying mechanisms. AOS effectively mitigated body weight loss and histopathological damage, modulated inflammatory cytokines and attenuated the oxidative stress.

microRNA-106b-5p and Rab10: Potential Markers of Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

This study focuses on acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a condition with a 5-year survival rate below 30% despite various treatment options. Recent strides in targeted therapies have shown promise, leading to better outcomes with minimal toxicity. These advances underscore the importance of discovering new diagnostic and prognostic targets for AML.

Breast Cancer: Multi-b-Value Diffusion Weighted Habitat Imaging in Predicting Pathologic Complete Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy.

Rationale And Objectives: The aim of this study was to ascertain whether the utilization of multiple b-value diffusion-weighted habitat imaging, a technique that depicts tumor heterogeneity, could aid in identifying breast cancer patients who would derive substantial benefit from neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).

Materials And Methods: This prospective study enrolled 143 women (II-III breast cancer), who underwent multi-b-value diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in 3-T magnetic resonance (MR) before NAC. The patient cohort was partitioned into a training set (consisting of 100 patients, of which 36 demonstrated a pathologic complete response [pCR]) and a test set (featuring 43 patients, 16 of whom exhibited pCR).