Maternal supraphysiological estradiol (E2) environment during pregnancy leads to adverse perinatal outcomes. However, the influence of oocyte exposure to high E2 levels on perinatal outcomes remains unknown. Thus, a retrospective cohort study was conducted to explore the effect of high E2 level induced by controlled ovarian stimulation (COH) on further outcomes after frozen embryo transfer (FET). The study included all FET cycles (n = 10,581) between 2014 and 2017. All cycles were categorized into three groups according to the E2 level on the day of the human Chorionic Gonadotropin trigger. Odds ratios (ORs) and their confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to evaluate the association between E2 level during COH and pregnancy outcomes and subsequent neonatal outcomes. From our findings, higher E2 level was associated with lower percentage of chemical pregnancy, clinical pregnancy, ongoing pregnancy, and live birth as well as increased frequency of early miscarriage. Preterm births were more common among singletons in women with higher E2 level during COH (aOR1 = 1.93, 95% CI: 1.22–3.06; aOR2 = 2.05, 95% CI: 1.33–3.06). Incidence of small for gestational age (SGA) was more common in both singletons (aOR1 = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.30–3.11; aOR2 = 2.51, 95% CI: 1.69–3.74) and multiples (aOR1 = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.03–2.45; aOR2 = 1.99, 95% CI: 1.05–3.84) among women with relatively higher E2 level. No association was found between high E2 level during COH and the percentage of macrosomia or large for gestational age. In summary, oocyte exposure to high E2 level during COH should be brought to our attention, since the pregnancy rate decreasing and the risk of preterm birth and SGA increasing following FET.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of curcumin on insulin resistance (IR) and hepatic lipid accumulation in intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR). Rats with a normal birth weight (NBW) or IUGR were fed basic diets (NBW and IUGR groups) or basic diets supplemented with curcumin (NBW-C and IUGR-C groups) from 6 to 12 weeks. Rats in the IUGR group showed higher levels of glucose and homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) (P < 0·05) than in the NBW group. The livers of IUGR rats exhibited higher (P < 0·05) concentration of TAG and lower (P < 0·05) activities of lipolysis enzymes compared with the normal rats. In response to dietary curcumin supplementation, concentrations of serum insulin, glucose and HOMA-IR, pyruvate, TAG, total cholesterol and NEFA in the liver were decreased (P < 0·05). The concentrations of glycogen and activities of lipolysis enzymes in the liver were increased (P < 0·05) in the IUGR-C group compared with the IUGR group. These results were associated with lower (P < 0·05) phosphorylated insulin receptor substrate 1, protein kinase B or Akt, glycogen synthase kinase 3β and expressions of sterol regulatory element binding protein 1 and fatty acid synthase (FASN); decreased expressions for Cd36, sterol regulatory element binding protein 1c (Srebf1) and Fasn; increased (P < 0·05) expression of PPARα; and expressions for Ppara and hormone-sensitive lipase in the liver of IUGR-C rats than the IUGR rats. Maternal malnutrition caused IR and lipid accumulation in the liver. Curcumin supplementation prevented IR by regulating insulin signalling pathways and attenuated hepatic lipid accumulation.

Rats with a normal birth weight (NBW) or intra-uterine growth retardation (IUGR) were fed basic diets (NBW and IUGR groups) or basic diets supplemented with curcumin (NC and IC groups) from 6 to 12 weeks. The body weight of IUGR rats was lower (P<0·05) than that of the controls. Rats with IUGR showed higher (P<0·05) concentrations of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6; higher (P<0·05) activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in their serum; and increased (P<0·05) concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyl (PC) and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHDG) in the liver compared with the NBW rats. The livers of IUGR rats exhibited a lower (P<0·05) superoxide dismutase activity and decreased (P<0·05) metabolic efficiency of the hepatic glutathione redox cycle compared with those of the NBW rats. In response to dietary curcumin supplementation, concentrations of inflammatory cytokines and activities of AST and ALT in the serum and MDA, PC and 8-OHDG in the liver were lower (P<0·05), and the hepatic glutathione redox cycle in the liver was improved (P<0·05) in the IC group than in the IUGR group. These results were associated with lower (P<0·05) phosphorylated levels of the NF-κB pathway and Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) and higher (P<0·05) mRNA expression of genes involved in the nuclear factor, erythroid 2-like 2 (Nfe2l2)/antioxidant response element (ARE) pathway in the liver of the IC rats than that of the IUGR rats. Maternal undernutrition decreased birth weight and led to inflammation, oxidative damage and injury in rats. Curcumin appeared to be beneficial in preventing IUGR-induced inflammation, oxidative damage and injury by activating the expression of the NF-κB, JAK/STAT and Nfe2l2/ARE pathways in the liver.

Nickel oxide–polypyrrole (NiO–PPy) composites for lithium-ion batteries were prepared by a chemical polymerization method with sodium p-toluenesulfonate as the dopant, Triton-X as the surfactant, and FeCl3 as the oxidant. The new composite material was characterized by Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and field-emission scanning electron microscopy. Nanosize conducting PPy particles with a cauliflower-like morphology were uniformly coated onto the surface of the NiO powder. The electrochemical results were improved for the NiO–PPy composite compared with the pristine NiO. After 30 cycles, the capacities of the NiO and the NiO–PPy composite were about 119 and 436 mAh·g−1, respectively, indicating that the electrochemical performance of the composite was significantly improved.

The events resulting in compaction have an important influence on the processes related to blastocyst formation. To analyse the quality of the embryos obtained by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) in aspects different from previous studies, not only the number of blastomeres of cloned embryos during the initiation of compaction, but also the distribution of microvilli in cloned, normal, parthenogenetic, and tetraploid embryos before and after compaction was preliminarily investigated in mouse. Our results showed that during compaction the number of blastomeres in SCNT embryos was fewer than that in intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) embryos and, before compaction, there was a uniform distribution of microvilli over the blastomere surface, but microvilli became restricted to an apical region after compaction in the four types of embryos. We also reported here that the time course of compaction in SCNT embryos was about 3 h delayed compared with that in ICSI embryos, while there was no significant difference between SCNT and ICSI embryos when developed to the 4-cell stage. We concluded that: (i) the cleavage of blastomeres in cloned embryos was slow at least before compaction; (ii) the distribution of microvilli in cloned, normal, parthenogenetic, and tetraploid embryos was coherent before and after compaction; and (iii) the initiation of compaction in SCNT embryos was delayed compared with that of ICSI embryos.

A joule level of XeF(C-A) laser optically pumped by a sectioned surface discharge was developed. The irradiative intensity of pumping source was diagnosed by calculating XeF2 photo-dissociation wave evolvement which was photographed by a framing camera. The photon flux in the wavelength region of 140 to 170nm is about 5 × 1023 photon s−1cm−2, that corresponds to the irradiative brightness temperature of more than 25000 K. The laser experiments were carried out in different conditions. The maximum laser output energy of 2.5 J was obtained with the total conversion efficiency of 0.1%.

Ninety-nine individual plants of a segregating F2 population of a wheat single cross Wen 6×CP90.0.2.4.1 were used in this study to find out whether CP90.0.2.4.1, a derivative of Triticum spelta var. album, carries a novel stripe rust resistance gene other than Yr5. Using molecular marker technology, it was found that only one out of 150 SSR primers could produce amplified polymorphism, and a marker, Xgwm155-147bp, located on chromosome 3A, was found to be linked to the stripe rust resistance gene identified with a genetic distance of 40.5 cM, indicating that the latter was also located on chromosome 3A. Since the only Yr gene previously reported to originate from T. spelta var. album is Yr5, located on 2BL, the only logical inference is that there might be other Yr gene (genes) in T. spelta, and the Yr gene identified in the present study might be a novel one. It was temporarily designated YrSp.

The distribution of genetic diversity between Oryza sativa L. ssp. indica and O. sativa L. ssp. japonica covering different ecological zones in Yunnan was studied, and specific markers of indica/japonica subspecies, paddy/upland rice and different ecological zones were screened, using 36 microsatellite primers and 113 accessions in the Yunnan landrace rice core collection. The genetic diversity of japonica was higher than that of indica, and the ecological zone with the highest and smallest genetic diversity lay in south-east and north-east Yunnan, respectively. This distribution was consistent at morphological and isozyme levels with studies on the entire Yunnan rice resources and core collection. In addition, the results showed that, among 416 markers, there were six indica/japonica-specific markers, 15 specific markers for paddy/upland rice and three specific markers in different ecological zones. The main conclusions are that the landrace rice core collection in Yunnan genetically represents the entire landrace rice resources in Yunnan, the centre of genetic diversity at DNA level lies in south-east Yunnan, and the DNA differentiation between indica and japonica is small. Furthermore, microsatellite markers were useful for studying the genetic diversity, classification and ecotype of germplasm resources and their core collection.