Developmental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), an endocrine-disrupting contaminant, impairs cognitive function in both animals and humans. However, whether BPA affects the development of primary sensory systems, which are the first to mature in the cortex, remains largely unclear. Using the rat as a model, we aimed to record the physiological and structural changes in the primary auditory cortex (A1) following lactational BPA exposure and their possible effects on behavioral outcomes. We found that BPA-exposed rats showed significant behavioral impairments when performing a sound temporal rate discrimination test. A significant alteration in spectral and temporal processing was also recorded in their A1, manifested as degraded frequency selectivity and diminished stimulus rate-following by neurons. These post-exposure effects were accompanied by changes in the density and maturity of dendritic spines in A1. Our findings demonstrated developmental impacts of BPA on auditory cortical processing and auditory-related discrimination, particularly in the temporal domain. Thus, the health implications for humans associated with early exposure to endocrine disruptors such as BPA merit more careful examination.
Humans ; Rats ; Animals ; Benzhydryl Compounds/toxicity* ; Phenols/toxicity* ; Auditory Perception/physiology* ; Neurons/physiology*

Background Global warming may increase the frequency of compound hot extreme (CHE).However, there is still a lack of studies assessing the associations between CHE and preterm birth (PTB), and the underlying biological mechanisms remain unclear. Objective To estimate the association of exposure to CHE during pregnancy with PTB, and to explore the roles of inflammatory, endothelial dysfunction, and oxidative stress in the association between CHE and PTB. Methods All participants were selected from the Prenatal Environments and Offspring Health (PEOH), a prospective birth cohort conducted in Guangzhou. In this study, a total of 2449 participants who gave birth from May to October in 2014 to 2017 were enrolled, and among them blood samples were collected from 311 preterm (n=43) and full-term (n=268) pregnant women at the time of delivery. A hot day/night was identified as a day when the daily maximum temperature/minimum temperature was higher than its 90th percentile in the study period, and a CHE was defined as having both a hot night and a following hot day. The meteorological data were obtained from the China Meteorological Data Sharing Service System. Anusplin was used to assess the daily maximum temperature, daily minimum temperature, and relative humidity of the participant residence. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure C reactive protein (CRP), endothelin-1 (ET-1), and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in maternal serum, and their results were transformed by natural logarithm. A distributed lag nonlinear model was used to investigate the associations of exposures to hot day, hot night, and CHE during pregnancy with PTB at different lag days, and a logistic regression model was used to investigate the associations of CRP, ET-1, and MDA with PTB. Results The incidence rate of PTB was 6.2% in all selected participants. Compared with the non-hot day, the RRs (95%CIs) of CHE in lag 3, 7, and 14 days on PTB were 1.43 (1.12-1.84), 1.24 (1.08-1.43), and 1.17 (1.05-1.30), respectively, and the cumulative effects (% difference) (95%CI) of CHE in lag 14 days on maternal serum CRP, ET-1, and MDA were 0.33% (−0.45%-1.12%), 0.59% (0.11%-1.07%), and 0.57% (0.09%-1.05%), respectively. Compared with the Q1 (lowest quartile) for CRP, ET-1 and MDA, the RRs (95%CIs) of Q4 (highest quartile) for PTB were 1.27 (0.50-3.22), 1.51 (0.61-3.72), and 2.07(0.81-5.27), respectively. Conclusion Maternal exposure to CHE during pregnancy might be associated with an increased risk of PTB. Prenatal exposure to CHE is positively associated with maternal serum CRP, ET-1, and MDA, and the three biochemical indicators are also positively associated with PTB. However, the above conclusions still need further confirmation.

β-N-acetylglucosaminidases (NAGases) can convert natural substrates such as chitin or chitosan to N-acetyl-β-D glucosamine (GlcNAc) monomer that is wildly used in medicine and agriculture. In this study, the BcNagZ gene from Bacillus coagulans DMS1 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant protein was secreted into the fermentation supernatant and the expression amount reached 0.76 mg/mL. The molecular mass of purified enzyme was 61.3 kDa, and the specific activity was 5.918 U/mg. The optimal temperature and pH of the BcNagZ were 75 °C and 5.5, respectively, and remained more than 85% residual activity after 30 min at 65 °C. The Mie constant Km was 0.23 mmol/L and the Vmax was 0.043 1 mmol/(L·min). The recombinant BcNagZ could hydrolyze colloidal chitin to obtain trace amounts of GlcNAc, and hydrolyze disaccharides to monosaccharide. Combining with the reported exochitinase AMcase, BcNagZ could produce GlcNAc from hydrolysis of colloidal chitin with a yield over 86.93%.
Acetylglucosamine ; Acetylglucosaminidase ; Bacillus coagulans ; Chitin ; Chitinases ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Recombinant Proteins/genetics*

The incidence of papillary thyroid cancer after liver transplantation is relatively low. This article introduces the treatment and prognosis of a case of papillary thyroid cancer after liver transplantation, and discusses the occurrence and development of thyroid cancer after liver transplantation and perioperative management and the prognosis, in order to further enhance the comprehensive management of such patients, extend the survival period and improve the quality of life.

Objective:To investigate the application value of Jinfeng pill combined with long-acting gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) in frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET).Methods:A retrospective analysis of 220 cases of FET in the Department of Reproductive Medicine, the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University during January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017 was performed. All cases were divided into Jinfeng pill combined with long-acting GnRH-a group (experimental group, n=102) and long-acting GnRH-a group (control group, n=118) according to whether the endometrium was prepared in combination with Jinfeng pill or not. The general data, embryo resuscitation rate, number of transplanted embryos, embryo implantation rate, clinical pregnancy rate, endometrial proliferation time, serum estradiol level on the day of endometrial transformation and endometrial thickness on the day of endometrial transformation were compared between the two groups. Results:Compared with control group, the experimental group had a shorter endometrial proliferation time [(14.03±3.39) d vs. (16.40±1.45) d, P<0.001], and the serum estradiol level was higher [(347.67±26.78) ng/L vs. (259.57±24.78) ng/L, P<0.001]. The endometrium on the endometrial transformation was thicker [(11.89±1.57) mm vs. (9.69±0.85) mm, P<0.001], the difference was statistically significant. The embryo implantation rate and the clinical pregnancy rate in experimental group were higher than those in control group (32.66% vs. 31.70%; 53.92% vs. 50.85%), but the difference was not statistically significant ( P>0.05). There were no significant differences in age, infertility duration, primary infertility ratio, anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), antral follicle count (AFC), body mass index (BMI), number of thawing, embryo resuscitation rate, number of transplanted embryos, and multiple pregnancy rates between the two groups ( P>0.05). Conclusion:Jinfeng pill combined with long-effect GnRH-a can improve the pregnancy outcome of FET.

Objective:To investigate the application value of Jinfeng pill combined with long-acting gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) in frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET).Methods:A retrospective analysis of 220 cases of FET in the Department of Reproductive Medicine, the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University during January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017 was performed. All cases were divided into Jinfeng pill combined with long-acting GnRH-a group (experimental group, n=102) and long-acting GnRH-a group (control group, n=118) according to whether the endometrium was prepared in combination with Jinfeng pill or not. The general data, embryo resuscitation rate, number of transplanted embryos, embryo implantation rate, clinical pregnancy rate, endometrial proliferation time, serum estradiol level on the day of endometrial transformation and endometrial thickness on the day of endometrial transformation were compared between the two groups. Results:Compared with control group, the experimental group had a shorter endometrial proliferation time [(14.03±3.39) d vs. (16.40±1.45) d, P<0.001], and the serum estradiol level was higher [(347.67±26.78) ng/L vs. (259.57±24.78) ng/L, P<0.001]. The endometrium on the endometrial transformation was thicker [(11.89±1.57) mm vs. (9.69±0.85) mm, P<0.001], the difference was statistically significant. The embryo implantation rate and the clinical pregnancy rate in experimental group were higher than those in control group (32.66% vs. 31.70%; 53.92% vs. 50.85%), but the difference was not statistically significant ( P>0.05). There were no significant differences in age, infertility duration, primary infertility ratio, anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), antral follicle count (AFC), body mass index (BMI), number of thawing, embryo resuscitation rate, number of transplanted embryos, and multiple pregnancy rates between the two groups ( P>0.05). Conclusion:Jinfeng pill combined with long-effect GnRH-a can improve the pregnancy outcome of FET.

Different polymorphs of drugs have different molecular arrangements or molecular forces. Raman spectroscopy can reflect the change of molecular polarizability and can be used for the detection of drug polymorphs. The technology has been recorded for the analysis of polymorphism in European Pharmacacopoeia, British Pharamacopoeia and Chinese pharmacopoeia. This review focuses on the application of Raman spectroscopy in the study of pharmaceutical polymorphism. The advances in Raman spectroscopy in the qualitative, quantitative and dynamic processes of drug polymorphism are summarized and analyzed systematically, aiming to provide reference for researchers in related fields.

Objective: To describe the influence of post-operative anatomical structure changes on nasal airflow characteristics by 3D reconstruction and numerical simulation in real cases after nasalisation with Draf Ⅲ so as to explore the correlation between the changes of anatomical structure and subjective symptoms as well as airflow characteristics. Methods: Ten patients underwent nasalization with Draf Ⅲ in Department of Rhinology in Beijing Tongren Hospital from 2006 to 2018 were selected retrospectively. Postoperative follow-up of all patients was more than 1 year. All patients had no abnormalities in their paranasal sinus CT scans and Lund-Kennedy scores were 0 except scar. VAS scores including nasal obstruction, stimulation in frontal sinus, and headache were collected at the same period. The control model was a normal person. Numerical simulation was used for calculating airflow characteristics in deep inspiratory period of both models. Independent sample Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman correlation test were used by software SPSS 22.0. Results: The airflow pressure in frontal sinus ostium was (7.21±1.39)×10⁴ Pa (Mean±SD), which was lower than that in normal subjects (8.99×10⁴ Pa) under deep inspiratory simulation. But, the velocities in frontal sinus ostium and frontal sinus were (40.10±2.46) m/s and (28.19±1.73) m/s respectively, which were higher than those in normal one (2.70 m/s, 0.73 m/s). The airflow patterns of the two models were basically similar. There was no significant difference in the opening size and volume of frontal sinus between different groups after grouped by three symptoms respectively. No correlation could be found between the opening size and volume of the frontal sinus with the appearance and severity of three subjective symptoms. Conclusions The airflow pattern and distribution after nasalisation with Draf Ⅲ are like those of normal person. There is no correlation between the changes of anatomy in frontal recess and frontal sinus and nasal airflow characteristics as well as subjective symptoms.

Zearalenone (ZEN) and its derivatives are non-steroidal estrogenic mycotoxins mainly produced by Fusarium species. They are widely distributed in grain feeds originated from maize, barley, wheat and sorghum, causing serious harm to animal and human health. Currently, there is a pressing need of an efficient technology for ZEN degradation and detoxification. Because traditional physical and chemical methods could not effectively detoxify ZEN in grains, and might also affect the grain nutrients and food taste, and even result in secondary pollution, the biological technologies are developed to detoxify ZEN and its derivatives. In this paper, we reviewed the structure of ZEN and its derivatives, the fungi and bacteria species with ability of degradation of ZEN. In addition, the characterization, protein sequences and conformation of currently identified ZEN degrading enzymes, the only solved ZHD structure from Clonostachys rose were analyzed and compared, and the enzymes heterologous expression and application were also reviewed. This review will provide reference for reducing the cost of ZEN degrading enzymes by biological technologies such as enzyme engineering and fermentation engineering.

Bacillus subtilis is Gram-positive aerobic bacterium and widely used as a heterologous protein expression host because of its safety and high protein secretion property. However, comparing to Escherichia coli, the low transformation efficiency limits the application of B. subtilis as a host cell for directed evolution of heterologous enzymes. Therefore, we optimized the competent cell preparation conditions for conventional plasmid, including the alteration of the medium, the concentration of inducer, the plasmid type, and other parameters. Compared with the original LB medium, YN medium improved the transformation efficiency by about 4 folds. The transformation efficiency enhanced by about 2 folds under induction with 1.5% xylose for 2 h. In addition, with plasmids prepared from E. coli GM272 strain the transformation efficiency increased by about 3 folds. Combining all these findings, the transformation efficiency of pDG1730 plasmid under the optimized conditions could reach 10⁶ CFU/μg, which was 2 orders of magnitude higher than that the original. Our findings provide references for directed evolution of enzymes and metabolic engineering in Bacillus subtilis.