In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of the combining CNV-seq and quantitative fluorescence polymerase chain reaction (QF-PCR) for miscarriage analysis in clinical practice.

Over a 35-month period, a total of 389 fetal specimens including 356 chorionic villi and 33 fetal muscle tissues were analyzed by CNV-seq and QF-PCR. Relationships between the risk factors (e.g., advanced maternal age, abnormal pregnancy history, and gestational age) and incidence of these chromosomal abnormalities were further analyzed by subgroup.

Clinically significant chromosomal abnormalities were identified in 58.95% cases. Aneuploidy was the most common abnormality (46.84%), followed by polyploidy (8.16%) and structural chromosome anomalies (3.95%). In sub-group analysis, significant differences were found in the total frequency of chromosomal abnormalities between the early abortion and the late abortion group, as well as in the distribution of chromosomal abnormalities between the advanced and the younger maternal age group. Meanwhile, the results of the logistic regression analysis identified a trend suggesting that the percentage of fetal chromosomal abnormalities is significantly higher in advanced maternal age, lesser gestational age, and lesser number of prior miscarriages.

Our study suggests that CNV-seq and QF-PCR are efficient and reliable technologies in the fetal chromosome analysis of miscarriages and could be used as a routine selection method for the genetic analysis of spontaneous abortion.

Our study suggests that CNV-seq and QF-PCR are efficient and reliable technologies in the fetal chromosome analysis of miscarriages and could be used as a routine selection method for the genetic analysis of spontaneous abortion.Venous access procedures are painful and feared by children and their parents. Virtual reality has become increasingly prominent and has been shown to be effective in various procedures. The aim of this meta-analysis was to examine virtual reality’s effect on pain and fear in children from 4 to 12 in the context of vascular access. From the 20th to the 26th December 2020, we searched Sciencedirect, Springerlink, CENTRAL, Pubmed and PMC. Studies using virtual reality versus a control in vascular access for children were included in a meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of virtual reality regarding pain as a primary and fear/anxiety as a secondary endpoint during the procedures. The Jadad scale and Delphi List were used to assess study quality. 20,894 citations were identified, 9 met our inclusion criteria. One publication was conducted in two different situations and was thus considered as 2 studies. Compared to standard of care, virtual reality significantly reduced pain (10 studies, 930 participants standardized mean difference [SMD] 2.54, 95%CI 0.14-4.93, p = 0.038), and fear/anxiety (6 studies, 648 participants SMD 0.89, 95%Cl 0.16-1.63, p = 0.017). For both parameters, we found significant heterogeneity between studies. This is the first meta-analysis to look at the use virtual reality in young children undergoing vascular access procedures, providing weak to moderate evidence for its use. Although large effect sizes provide evidence for a positive effect of virtual reality in reducing pain and fear, there is significant heterogeneity between studies. More research with larger groups and age stratification is required.MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been accepted as promising non-invasive biomarkers for cancer early diagnosis. Developing amplified sensing strategies for detecting ultralow concentration of miRNAs in clinical samples still requires much effort. Herein, an integrated fluorescence biosensor using nicking enzyme-powered numerous-feet DNA walking machine was developed for ultrasensitive detection of miRNA. A long numerous-feet walker produced by target-triggered rolling circle amplification autonomously moves along the defined DNA tracks on gold nanorods (AuNRs) with the help of nicking enzyme, leading to the recovery of fluorescence. This results in an amplified fluorescence signal, typically measured at 518 nm emission wavelength. Benefiting from the long walker that dramatically improves movement range, the homogenous and one-step strategy realizes ultrahigh sensitivity with a limit of detection of 0.8 fM. Furthermore, this walking machine has been successfully used to quantification of miRNA in clinical serum samples. The consistency of the gained results between of the developed strategy and reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) shows that the sensing method has great promise for tumor diagnostics based on nucleic acid. Schematic representation of the fluorescent biosensing strategy, numerous-legged DNA walker prepared by rolling circle amplification on gold nanorods (AuNRs) for microRNA analysis, which can be applied in real samples with good results.Expression of recombinant proteins requires at times the aid of molecular chaperones for efficient post-translational folding into functional structure. However, predicting the compatibility of a protein substrate with the right type of chaperone to produce functional proteins is a daunting issue. To study the difference in effects of chaperones on His-tagged recombinant proteins with different characteristics, we performed in vitro proteins expression using Escherichia coli overexpressed with several chaperone 'teams’ Trigger Factor (TF), GroEL/GroES and DnaK/DnaJ/GrpE, alone or in combinations, with the aim to determine whether protein secondary structure can serve as predictor for chaperone success. Protein A, which has a helix dominant structure, showed the most efficient folding with GroES/EL or TF chaperones alone, whereas Protein B, which has less helix in the structure, showed a remarkable effect on the DnaK/J/GrpE system alone. This tendency was also seen with other recombinant proteins with particular properties. With the chaperons’ assistance, both proteins were synthesized more efficiently in the culture at 22.5 °C for 20 h than at 37 °C for 3 h. These findings suggest a novel avenue to study compatibility of chaperones with substrate proteins and optimal culture conditions for producing functional proteins with a potential for predictive analysis of the success of chaperones based on the properties of the substrate protein.Systematic collections of single-gene deletions have been invaluable in uncovering determinants of lifespan in yeast. Overexpression of a single gene does not have such a clear outcome as cancellation of its function but it can lead to a variety of imbalances, deregulations and compensations, and some of them could be important for longevity. We report an experiment in which a genome-wide collection of strains overexpressing a single gene was assayed for chronological lifespan (CLS). Only one group of proteins, those locating to the inner membrane and matrix of mitochondria, tended to extend CLS when abundantly overproduced. We selected two such strains-one overexpressing Qcr7 of the respiratory complex III, the other overexpressing Mrps28 of the small mitoribosomal subunit-and analyzed their transcriptomes. The uncovered shifts in RNA abundance in the two strains were nearly identical and highly suggestive. They implied a distortion in the co-translational assembly of respiratory complexes followed by retrograde signaling to the nucleus. The consequent reprogramming of the entire cellular metabolism towards the resistance to stress resulted in an enhanced ability to persist in a non-proliferating state. Our results show that surveillance of the inner mitochondrial membrane integrity is of outstanding importance for the cell. They also demonstrate that overexpression of single genes could be used effectively to elucidate the mitochondrion-nucleus crosstalk.Excessive fluoride intake has been reported in many studies, which can lead to diseases such as autism, mental retardation, low birth weight, reproductive disorder, as well as dental and bone fluorosis. The potential risk assessment of fluoride intake for the health of people living in Fars Province, Iran, is investigated. Hence, 1700 drinking water samples were taken from April 2018 to March 2020 in four seasons in 29 cities of Fars Province and were analyzed. Non-carcinogenic health risks of exposure to fluoride through drinking water were evaluated. Moreover, the spatial distribution maps of fluoride and hazard quotient (HQ) risk index were prepared using GIS software. The results showed that the concentration of fluoride in the drinking water of the studied area was in the range of 0.086 to 2.61 mg/L. Accordingly, in 48.27% of the cities, fluoride was in the range below the national and international standards, 34.48% of the cities were in the permissible range of 0.5 to 1.5 mg/L, and 17.24% of the urban areas of the province had fluoride contents above the permissible range. Hazard quotient index had the health risk of HQ > 1 in 27.58% of children, 17.24% of teenagers, and 10.34% of adults in the urban areas of Fars Province. In the cities with HQ > 1, there was risk of diseases associated with excessive fluoride intake. Therefore, it is necessary to replace water supply sources in these cities.Plant-based foods are recognized by their remarkable content of bioactive compounds. In an attempt to increase plant-based foods shelf-life, technologies like drying can be used. Foam-mat drying is a mild drying technology that removes water, usually by using hot air, from a foam obtained by the whipping of a liquid or semi-liquid food added with a foaming agent. There are several reports on the use of foam-mat drying for extending plant-based foods shelf-life, including reports on the effect of drying on their bioactive compounds. Therefore, this study aimed at reviewing the literature on the impact of foam-mat drying on plant-based foods bioactive compounds published in the last 10 years. Results show that short foam-mat drying time is beneficial to bioactive compounds retention. In addition, hot air temperature between 40-65 °C, foam thickness between 0.2 and 1 cm and the use of egg white as one of the foaming agents leads to high bioactive retention. Egg white is also the most used foaming agent. Regarding the mathematical models used for fitting the foam-mat drying kinetics, the Page model was shown as the most proper model. Foaming agent concentration is a delicate parameter, as its increase in foam formulation may beneficially enhance drying rates but, at the same time, it dilutes bioactive compounds and may cause their loss by oxidation. In conclusion, foam-mat drying stands out as a suitable technology for producing food powders with high bioactive retention.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) is a potential interesting method for assessing accurately Crohn’s disease (CD) activity. We compared the value of intestinal ultrasonography (US) coupled with contrast agent injection with that of magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) in the assessment of small bowel CD activity using surgical histopathology analysis as reference.

Seventeen clinically active CD patients (14 women, mean age 33years) requiring an ileal or ileocolonic resection were prospectively enrolled. All performed a MRE and a US coupled with contrast agent injection (CEUS) less than 8weeks prior to surgery. Various imaging qualitative and quantitative parameters were recorded and their respective performance to detect disease activity, disease extension and presence of complications was compared to surgical histopathological analysis.

The median wall thickness measured by US differed significantly between patients with non-severely active CD (n = 5) and those with severely active CD (n = 12) [7.