Background. In previous studies, people's knowledge of reproductive health and infertile women's psychological states was surveyed in several countries. However, there has been limited information concerning the psychological states of infertile women seeking treatment and the outcomes of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in China. Methods. Infertile women were asked to complete short questionnaires on the day that their oocytes were retrieved; these questionnaires covered the durations of their infertility, levels of education, sources of pressure, and psychological states. Data concerning IVF outcomes were provided by embryologists and clinicians. The correlations between the duration of infertility and educational level, psychological state and education level, and psychological state and outcome of IVF were analyzed in the cohort study. Results. The duration of infertility in more than half of the females was longer than 5 years. Compared with less-educated women, women with higher levels of education sought treatment earlier and their rates of depressive symptoms were lower. There is an association between negative emotions and outcome of IVF. Conclusions. The survey of the situations of infertile women seeking IVF treatment in China indicates the importance of popularizing knowledge concerning reproductive health. Improving medical conditions, reducing the costs of treatment, and developing social culture will aid in relieving the stress of infertile women and improving assisted reproductive treatment.

Lanthanide elements have been documented to possess various biologic effects, and their compounds have been studied intensely for their anti-cancer potential. However, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. In the present study, we propose that the levels of proliferation and apoptosis related microRNAs (miRNAs), let-7a and miR-34a, which mediate the apoptosis of cervical cancer cells, can be affected by the lanthanum ion. Our data showed that LaCl3 inhibited the proliferation and induced the apoptosis of cervical cancer cells both in vivo and in vitro by regulating let-7a, miR-34a and their downstream genes. This study provides novel evidence demonstrating that the anticancer mechanism of lanthanum chloride is partially attributed to miRNAs regulation and establishes an experimental basis for the clinical application of lanthanum chloride as an anti-cancer drug.

BackgroundPreterm birth is one of the leading causes of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Gut microbiome dysbiosis is closely related to adverse pregnancy outcomes. However, the role of the gut microbiome in the pathogenesis of preterm birth remains poorly studied.MethodWe collected fecal samples from 41 women (cases presenting with threatened preterm labor =19, 11 of which delivered preterm; gestational age-matched no-labor controls, all of which delivered at term = 22) were recruited for the study. We performed 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to compare the composition of the gut microbiome in threatened preterm labor cases and controls and among women who delivered preterm and at term. By annotating taxonomic biomarkers with the Human Oral Microbiome Database, we observed an increased abundance of potential oral-to-gut bacteria in preterm patients.ResultsPatients with preterm birth showed a distinct gut microbiome dysbiosis compared with those who delivered at term. Opportunistic pathogens, particularly Porphyromonas, Streptococcus, Fusobacterium, and Veillonella, were enriched, whereas Coprococcus and Gemmiger were markedly depleted in the preterm group. Most of the enriched bacteria were annotated oral bacteria using the Human Oral Microbiome Database. These potential oral-to-gut bacteria were correlated with clinical parameters that reflected maternal and fetal status.ConclusionsThis study suggests that patients who deliver preterm demonstrate altered gut microbiome that may contain higher common oral bacteria.

Recent studies have shown a close correlation between Capn4 expression and the prognosis of patients with solid tumors. This study aimed to investigate clinical role of Capn4 in ovarian cancer. The expression of Capn4 in 113 ovarian cancer and 35 non-tumor tissue samples were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Capn4 expression was significantly upregulated in ovarian cancer tissues compared with non-tumor tissues (p < 0.01), and was positively correlated to FIGO stage, tumor grade and distant metastasis of ovarian cancer. Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that patients with high Capn4 expression had shorter overall survival (HR = 1.929, 95%CI: 1.210-3.077, P= 0.006) and progress-free survival (PFS) (HR = 2.043, 95%CI: 1.276-3.271, P= 0.003). Moreover, univariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that Capn4 overexpression was an unfavorable prognostic factor for ovarian cancer (HR = 2.819, 95%CI: 1.365-3.645, P = 0.003). After the adjustment with age, histological type and tumor size, multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that Capn4 expression level (HR = 2.157,95%CI: 1.091-3.138, P = 0.014), distant metastasis (HR = 1.576, 95%CI: 1.025-3.012, P = 0.028), tumor grade (HR = 1.408, 95%CI: 0.687-2.884, P = 0.037), and FIGO stage (HR = 1.791, 95%CI: 1.016-3.158, P=0.036) were independent poor prognostic indicators for ovarian cancer. In conclusion, Capn4 has the potential as a new prognostic marker for patients with ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of mortality resulting from gynecologic cancer. A common anti-ovarian tumor drug is cisplatin; however, repeated use of cisplatin causes severe resistance and leads to poor long-term survival rate in ovarian cancer patients. Recently, it was reported that lanthanum chloride (LaCl3) may inhibit tumor growth and induce apoptosis in certain cancer cells. In the present study, the effect of LaCl3 on ovarian cancer was determined in vivo and in vitro. A cisplatin-sensitive human ovarian cancer cell line, COC1, was used in the current study. A xenograft animal model of ovarian cancer was established injecting COC1 or cisplatin-resistant COC1 cells (COC1/DDP) cells into mice. A TUNEL assay was used to determine the apoptosis of the COC1 or COC1/DDP cells and a immunohistochemical assay was conducted to measure the expression of B-cell lymphoma-2, Ki67, breast cancer 1 (BRCA)1, BRCA2 and excision repair cross-complementation group 1 in COC1 or COC1/DDP cells. It was observed that LaCl3 promoted apoptosis in COC1 and COC1/DDP cells. In addition, LaCl3 plus cisplatin led to further increase in the expression levels of tumor suppressor genes and decrease in the expression of oncogenes. Furthermore, application of LaCl3 and cisplatin inhibited tumor growth in vivo in a xenograft animal model. These results indicated the synergistic role of LaCl3 on cisplatin-induced inhibition of cancer cell proliferation and tumor growth, providing a potential and effective candidate for the treatment of ovarian tumors.