Maternal gestational diabetes in singleton pregnancies conceived by ART may be modified by periconceptional B vitamins

BackgroundThe risk of maternal gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) may be influenced by pregnancies conceived through assisted reproductive technology (ART). However, the influence of the dosage of B vitamins (folate, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12) on GDM weren’t considered. Thus, we hypothesized that periconceptional B vitamins could modify maternal GDM in singleton pregnancies conceived by ART.MethodsThis study is a prospective cohort study using data from 3,252 women with singleton pregnancies and received a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 24–28 weeks of gestation. We included an interaction term in the multivariable logistic and linear regression models, respectively, to test our hypothesis.ResultsWomen who underwent ART were significantly associated with the incidence of GDM compared with spontaneous pregnancy women. The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) was 1.59, and the 95% confidence interval (CI) was 1.08–2.34. ART pregnancies also elevated OGTT (oral glucose tolerance test) 1-h blood glucose levels and OGTT 2-h blood glucose levels (P < 0.05). A positive association between dietary vitamin B6 (aOR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.13–2.27), dietary vitamin B12 (aOR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.34–2.64) and dietary folate (aOR = 1.66, 95% CI: 1.19–2.32) with GDM risk comparing the highest to the lowest quartile (all Ptrend < 0.001). The aORs of GDM for inadequate (< 400 μg/day), adequate (400–800 μg/day), and excessive (> 800 μg/day) supplemental folate intake were 1.00, 0.93, and 1.30, respectively (Ptrend = 0.033). Since only the supplemental folate illustrates a statistically significant interaction with ART (P for interaction < 0.05), the association between ART and GDM and OGTT blood glucose levels stratifying by supplemental folate were further evaluated. These increased risks of GDM (aOR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.39–3.39) and the regression coefficients (β) of 1-h blood glucose (β = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.39–1.13) and 2-h blood glucose (β = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.29–0.92) in the multiple linear regression model were significant only in the ART group with excessive supplemental folate (> 800 μg/day).ConclusionThe risk of GDM is significantly elevated, particularly among those women who conceived ART with the intake of excessive supplemental folate (> 800 μg/day)

Review of X-ray pulsar spacecraft autonomous navigation

This article provides a review on X-ray pulsar-based navigation (XNAV). The review starts with the basic concept of XNAV, and briefly introduces the past, present and future projects concerning XNAV. This paper focuses on the advances of the key techniques supporting XNAV, including the navigation pulsar database, the X-ray detection system, and the pulse time of arrival estimation. Moreover, the methods to improve the estimation performance of XNAV are reviewed. Finally, some remarks on the future development of XNAV are provided.Comment: has been accepted by Chinese Journal of Aeronautic

Preparation Method of Lunar Soil Simulant and Experimental Verification of the Performance of an Impact Penetrator for Lunar Soil Exploration

The exploration and investigation of lunar soil can provide necessary information for human beings to understand the Moon’s geological evolution history and solar activity, and is also of great significance for human beings to search for new energy sources. The impact penetrator can dive to a certain depth below the lunar surface, depending on soil compaction effect, and obtain lunar soil detection data by using the onboard sensors. The penetrator has the advantages of small size, light weight, low power consumption and long-term detection ability. In order to verify the diving performance of the developed impact penetrator, a great deal of lunar soil simulant, with physical and mechanical properties similar to a real lunar soil sample, was prepared, which lay the foundation for experimental research. Experiments on the influences of mass–stiffness parameters and dynamic parameters were conducted to obtain reasonable parameter-matching effects and driving parameters. The penetrating experiments in lunar soil simulant, with different relative compaction parameters, indicated that the penetrator could penetrate the simulated lunar soil with high relative compaction, and the penetration depth could reach to 545 mm after 894 shocks in lunar soil, with a relative compaction of 85%. This study on the impact penetrator can provide a feasible approach for in-situ exploration of lunar soil

Preparation Method of Lunar Soil Simulant and Experimental Verification of the Performance of an Impact Penetrator for Lunar Soil Exploration

The exploration and investigation of lunar soil can provide necessary information for human beings to understand the Moon’s geological evolution history and solar activity, and is also of great significance for human beings to search for new energy sources. The impact penetrator can dive to a certain depth below the lunar surface, depending on soil compaction effect, and obtain lunar soil detection data by using the onboard sensors. The penetrator has the advantages of small size, light weight, low power consumption and long-term detection ability. In order to verify the diving performance of the developed impact penetrator, a great deal of lunar soil simulant, with physical and mechanical properties similar to a real lunar soil sample, was prepared, which lay the foundation for experimental research. Experiments on the influences of mass–stiffness parameters and dynamic parameters were conducted to obtain reasonable parameter-matching effects and driving parameters. The penetrating experiments in lunar soil simulant, with different relative compaction parameters, indicated that the penetrator could penetrate the simulated lunar soil with high relative compaction, and the penetration depth could reach to 545 mm after 894 shocks in lunar soil, with a relative compaction of 85%. This study on the impact penetrator can provide a feasible approach for in-situ exploration of lunar soil

Prisoner’s Dilemma Game with Cooperation-Defection Dominance Strategies on Correlational Multilayer Networks

As multilayer networks are widely applied in modern society, numerous studies have shown the impact of a multilayer network structure and the network nature on the proportion of cooperators in the network. In this paper, we use Barabási–Albert scale-free networks (BA) and Watts and Strogatz networks (WS) to build a multilayer network structure, and we propose a new strategy-updating rule called “cooperation-defection dominance”, which can be likened to dominant and recessive traits in biogenetics. With the newly constructed multilayer network structure and the strategy-updating rules, based on the simulation results, we find that in the BA-BA network, the cooperation dominance strategy can make the networks with different rs show a cooperative trend, while the defection dominance strategy only has an obvious effect on the network cooperation with a larger r. When the BA network is connected to the WS network, we find that the effect of strategy on the proportion of cooperators in the network decreases, and the main influencing factor is the structure of the network. In the three-layer network, the cooperation dominance strategy has a greater impact on the BA network, and the proportion of the cooperators is enhanced more than under the natural evolution strategy, but the promotion effect is still smaller than that of the two-layer BA network because of the WS network. Under the defection dominance strategy, the WS layer appears different from the first two strategies, and we conclude through simulation that when the payoff parameter is at the middle level, its cooperator proportion will be suppressed, and we deduce that the proportion of cooperators and defectors, as well as the payoff, play an important role

Cost-effectiveness of immunotherapies for advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer: a systematic review

Abstract Background There are differences in the pharmacoeconomics of Immune checkpoint blocking (ICB) therapies for the treatment of lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). However, no corresponding review studies have fully discussed the cost-effectiveness of ICBs in treating LSCC. The aim of this paper is to systematically review and evaluate all available pharmacoeconomic studies of ICBs for LSCC. Method The inclusion criteria were based on the population, intervention, comparator, outcomes, and study designs. An electronic search was conducted by June 2023, and the following databases were used: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. Search keywords included ‘Carcinoma’, Non-Small-Cell Lung’, ‘Immunotherapy’, and ‘Economics, Medical’. The primary outcome was the cost-effectiveness analysis of ICB therapy in LSCC patients. Drummond Checklist was used to assess quality problems and possible bias in the study design of included pharmacoeconomic studies. Results This review searched 15 articles on the economic evaluation of ICB treatment for LSCC. After a qualitative review of 15 studies, we concluded that nivolumab is more cost-effective as a monotherapy than chemotherapy alone. In the combination regimen, pembrolizumab combined with chemotherapy appears to be the most cost-effective option at present, but for Chinese payers with LSCC, locally developed treatments such as sintilimab or toripalimab in combination with chemotherapy are more cost-effective. Discussion The inclusion of economic evaluation has heterogeneity in research design and outcomes, which can only support qualitative synthesis. Therefore, The results of this paper need to be treated with caution. For the Chinese market, instead of imported drugs, the possible cost-effectiveness of locally developed ICB therapies should be the focus of future research

Aggregator’s scheduling and offering strategy for renewable integration based on information gap decision theory

Due to the increasing penetration of renewable energy, the problem of curtailing wind and photovoltaic is becoming more and more prominent. Peak regulation market is established for renewable integration in China. Owing to the flexibility in demand side, the aggregator is able to participant in the peak regulation market. For this purpose, this paper aims to derive an optimal scheduling and offering strategy for the aggregator in the peak regulation market. The proposed strategy applies information gap decision theory (IGDT) to deal with the uncertainty of the market clearing price. First, the aggregator’s deterministic strategy is given which considers two types of load: temperature control load (TCL) and electric vehicle (EV). And based on IGDT, the robust strategy and the opportunistic strategy are presented. Then, in order to further reduce the profit loss caused by the forecasted error of the market clearing price, the step offering curve is developed. Finally, the results of case studies validate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy

Ku80 is highly expressed in lung adenocarcinoma and promotes cisplatin resistance

Abstract Background Ku80 is crucially implicated in DNA repair, apoptosis, and chemoresistance. In this study, we aimed to assess the expression of Ku80 in clinical lung adenocarcinoma specimens, and investigate its role in the regulation of cisplatin sensitivity in cisplatin resistant human lung adenocarcinoma cells A549/DDP. Methods Tumor specimens and medical records of 106 patients with operable lung adenocarcinoma were obtained from 1998 to 2003. Ku80 mRNA and protein levels of the tumor samples, cultured human lung adenocarcinoma cells A549 cells and their cisplatin resistant variant A549/DDP cells were examined by reverse transcription PCR and western blot analysis. Ku80-specific siRNA or control scramble siRNA was transfected into A549/DDP cells, then cell sensitivity to cisplatin was examined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthia-zol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay and apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometric analysis. In addition, the levels of cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved PARP in the treated cells were detected by western blot analysis. Results Total 83.3% (20/24) cisplatin-resistant tumors had high Ku80 expression, while 8.3% (4/48) cisplatin-sensitive tumors had high Ku80 expression (p  Conclusions Ku80 expression level could predict the outcome and the sensitivity to cisplatin-based chemotherapy in patients with lung adenocarcima. Ku80-siRNA could be utilized as a therapeutic strategy to resensitize nonresponders to cisplatin.</p