Poly[[aqua­(μ7-biphenyl-3,3′,4,4′-tetra­carboxyl­ato)(1,10-phenanthroline)dicobalt(II)] monohydrate]

In the title compound, {[Co2(C16H6O8)(C12H8N2)(H2O)2]·H2O}n, one CoII ion has a {CoN2O4} distorted octa­hedral environment defined by two N atoms of one 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) ligand, three O atoms of the carboxyl­ate groups of three biphenyl-3,3′,4,4′-tetra­carboxyl­ate (BPTC) ligands, one of which is bidentate, and one O atom from one coordinated water mol­ecule. The other CoII atom is surrounded by six O atoms from four different BPTC ligands and one coordinated water mol­ecule. Each BPTC ligand forms eight coordination bonds with seven CoII atoms, leading to a layer structure along the ac plane. Uncoordinated water mol­ecules occupy the space between the layers, and inter­act via inter­layer O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds along the b axis, generating a three-dimensional supra­molecular network

Association Between the COVID-19 Pandemic and Infant Neurodevelopment:A Comparison Before and During COVID-19

Aim: To investigate the association between the experience of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and neurodevelopment of 6-month-old and 1-year-old children and explore the differences in the association by birth order. Methods: This comparison study was embedded in the Born in Guangzhou Cohort Study in China. The exposed group included 546 6-month-old and 285 1-year-old children who attended neurodevelopment assessments between March 1 and May 15, 2020, and the non-exposed group included 3,009 6-month-old and 2,214 1-year-old children during the same months from 2015 to 2019. Neurodevelopment at age 6 months and 1 year was assessed by trained clinical staff using the Ages and Stages Questionnaires, third edition (ASQ-3) and the Gesell Developmental Schedules (GDS). Results: The experience of the pandemic in 2020 was associated with a higher risk of delay in the fine motor (adjusted OR: 2.50, 95% CI: 1.25, 4.99; estimated by logistic regression) and communication (adjusted RR [aRR]: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.25; estimated by log-binomial regression) domains at age 1 year. The association between the experience of the pandemic and communication delay at age 1 year only existed in first-born children (aRR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.30) but not in later-born children (aRR: 1.02, 95% CI: 0.84, 1.25). No associations were observed in any domain among 6-month-olds. Conclusion: Experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health strategies might be associated with a higher risk of delay in the development of fine motor and communication in 1-year-old children; the association observed in the communication domain only existed in first-born children

Prevalence and Characteristics of Social Withdrawal Tendency Among 3-24 Months in China:A Pilot Study

Background: Sustained withdrawal behavior is an obstacle for child development. The present study aimed to preliminarily evaluate the prevalence of social withdrawal tendency in young Chinese children using the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB) and describe the characteristics of socially withdrawn children. Method: This was a cross-sectional analysis as part of a prospective cohort study. A total of 114 children aged 3–24 months were included. The following instruments were administered: the Chinese version of ADBB, the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3), the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE), and the Infant Temperamental Questionnaire. The tendency of social withdrawal in children was assessed using the ADBB. Social withdrawal was defined as an ADBB score of 5 or above. Student's t-test, χ(2) test, and Fisher's exact test were performed to identify the differences in maternal and child characteristics between the children with and without social withdrawal. Age-specific indicators of development in these two groups were also presented. Results: About 16.7% of the children were socially withdrawn. Compared with those without social withdrawal, children with social withdrawal were older and had higher proportions of boys (68.4 vs. 42.1%) and social-emotional development delay (63.2 vs. 0%). In age-specific analyses, social-emotional development was poorer in children with social withdrawal across all age groups from 3 to 24 months. Conclusion: Assessed by the ADBB, the prevalence of social withdrawal tendency in young Chinese children was similar to that reported in the European population; children with social withdrawal tended to have poorer social-emotional development. Further research with larger sample sizes is needed to validate the scale and confirm these findings

Research progress in surface plasmon resonance technology in exosome characterization and identification

Exosomes are lipid bilayer membrane vesicles that are widely distributed in peripheral blood， saliva， urine， ascites and other fluids. A variety of tumor-related genes in exosomes are involved in the information exchange between cancer cells and normal cells， as well as the process of tumor cell proliferation and metastasis， play an important role in tumor development， and are potential biomarkers for tumor liquid biopsy. In recent years， surface plasmon resonance （SPR） is considered to have great application potential in the characterization of exosomes due to its high sensitivity， small sample size required for testing， short detection time and low background interference， etc. In this article， the basic principle of SPR and the application prospect of SPR-based biosensing platform in exosomes characterization were mainly illustrated

Impact of mean arterial pressure on reproductive endocrine characteristics in infertile patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: a secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial

ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the association between mean arterial pressure (MAP) and anthropometric, metabolic, and endocrine parameters in Chinese infertile women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).MethodsA total of 1,000 PCOS subjects were enrolled in the clinical trial project of Acupuncture and Clomiphene in the treatment of PCOS infertility patients (PCOSAct). Of these, 998 patients were selected for this study. Linear trends and regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the association between MAP and anthropometric, metabolic, and endocrine parameters. Logistic regression was employed to estimate the association between MAP and risk of insulin resistance (IR), nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and hyperlipidemia. The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve was used to determine the predictive value of the MAP for IR, NAFLD and hyperlipidemia.ResultsLinear trends revealed that the MAP was positively associated with age, height, body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), hirsutism score, and acanthosis nigricans score, fasting blood glucose (FBG), fasting insulin (FINS), the homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), apolipoprotein B (ApoB), ApoB/apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) ratio, total testosterone (TT), and free androgen index (FAI), as well as the prevalence of IR, metabolic syndrome (MetS), NAFLD, and hyperlipidemia. Conversely, MAP was negatively correlated with the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), luteinizing hormone (LH), the LH/follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) ratio, and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH). After adjusting for age and BMI, a significant linear relationship was observed between MAP and WC, WHR, hirsutism score, FBG, LDL, TG, TC, ApoB, and ApoB/ApoA1 ratio. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that participants in the highest quartile (Q4) of MAP had no significantly higher odds ratios (OR) for IR, NAFLD and hyperlipidemia after adjusting for confounding factors. The ROC curve analysis indicated that the AUCIR was 0.593 (95%CI: 0.557 ~ 0.629), with 85.9% sensitivity and 28.8% specificity at a cut-off value of 82.83, and the AUCNAFLD was 0.621 (95%CI: 0.554 ~ 0.687), with 69.4% sensitivity and 53.5% specificity at a cut-off value of 87.17, and the AUChyperlipidemia was 0.555 (95% CI: 0.518 ~ 0.592), with 39.5% sensitivity and 70.00% specificity at a cut-off value of 90.83.ConclusionElevated MAP is associated with dysregulation of glucose and lipid metabolism and alterations in endocrine hormone levels. It may thus serve as a promising screening approach for IR-related conditions in patients with PCOS

The PE_k Algorithm of Solving the Quasi-Block Tridiagonal Systems

Abstract In this paper, the PEk method of solving special linear algebraic systems-block quasi-tridiagonal systems is presented. On the condition that the coefficient matrix is Hermitian positive definite, the solvability and convergence of the new method are proved, and the selection range for the parameters k is also given.</jats:p

The Role of NFATC4 Gene in Human Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Nuclear factor of activated T-cells, cytoplasmic 4 (NFATC4) has been implicated in keratinocyte development and several types of cancer. A well-defined role for NFATC4 in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) has not yet been established. In this study, NFATC4 gene function in CSCC development was examined. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to measure the mRNA expression of NFATC4 in CSCC tissues and controls. A431 and Colo16 cell proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis were measured by CCK-8 assay, transwell invasion, and flow cytometry, respectively, after an NFATC4 expression lentivirus infection. Animal models were applied to validate the function of the NFATC4 gene. (1) CSCC tissues showed a significant decrease in NFATC4 expression compared to controls. (2) Overexpression of NFATc4 suppresses A431 and Colo16 cell proliferation and invasion but promotes cell apoptosis. (3) Mouse models overexpressing NFATC4 showed reduced tumourigenesis. It was suggested that NFATC4 might be a tumour suppressor gene in CSCC

Piezoelectric Effect Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of Pt/Bi3.4Gd0.6Ti3O12 Plasmonic Photocatalysis

Novel Pt/Bi3.4Gd0.6Ti3O12 heterojunction was synthesized by a decoration of Pt nanoparticles (PtNPs) on the surface of piezoelectric Bi3.4Gd0.6Ti3O12 (BGTO) through an impregnation process. The photocatalytic, piezo-catalytic, and piezo-photocatalytic activities of the Pt/BGTO heterojunction for methyl orange (MO) degradation were investigated under ultrasonic excitation and whole spectrum light irradiation. The internal piezoelectric field of BGTO and a plasmonic effect have been proven important for the photocatalytic activity of the heterojunctions. Pt/BGTO exhibited an optimum photocatalytic degradation performance of 92% for MO in 70 min under irradiation of whole light spectrum and ultrasonic coexcitation, and this value was about 1.41 times higher than the degradation rate under whole spectrum light irradiation alone. The PtNPs in Pt/BGTO heterojunction can absorb the incident light intensively, and induce the collective oscillation of surface electrons due to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect, thus generating &ldquo;hot&rdquo; electron&ndash;hole pairs. The internal piezoelectric field produced in BGTO by ultrasonic can promote the separation of SPR-induced &ldquo;hot&rdquo; charge carriers and facilitate the production of highly reactive oxidation radicals, thus enhancing Pt/BGTO heterojunction&prime;s photocatalytic activity for oxidizing organic dyes