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Over the past 30 years, Chinese children have shifted in anthropomorphic measures indicating a shift from problems of under-nutrition to measures consistent with over-nutrition, particularly in urban areas and among boys. Some regions are burdened by problems of both under- and over-nutrition. Regional and sex-specific guidelines and public health policies for childhood nutrition are needed in China.

DWI combined with gustatory stimulation seems to display the physiological changes of the parotid gland following RT and may be a potential tool for non-invasively assessing salivary gland function.

Background/Aim A new bioceramic material iRoot BP Plus has been introduced and reported to have good biocompatibility, sealing ability and antibacterial activity. It has also been reported to be successfully used for procedures such as pulpotomy, pulp floor perforation repair and so on. However, there are only a few reports on the use of iRoot BP Plus in the management of traumatized teeth with an exposed pulp. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical and radiographic outcomes of partial pulpotomy with iRoot BP Plus in immature permanent teeth with complicated crown fracture or complicated crown‐root fracture. Material and Methods The study was prospectively designed, and 110 immature permanent teeth with complicated crown fracture or complicated crown‐root fracture were randomly allocated into two groups (n = 55). All teeth were clinically and radiographically assessed at 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months after partial pulpotomy with iRoot BP Plus (experimental group, n = 50) or calcium hydroxide (control group, n = 49) as the pulp capping agent. Eleven cases were lost during follow up, and 99 teeth were finally analysed. Results There were no intergroup differences in the survival rate, survival time, root length and dentin wall thickness. The calcific bridge was significantly thinner in the iRoot BP Plus group than in the calcium hydroxide group (0.97 ± 0.13 mm vs 1.36 ± 0.12 mm; F = 5.128, P = .029). Conclusions iRoot BP Plus may be an effective capping material for partial pulpotomy.

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• Golden-angle radial stack-of-stars VIBE aids gastric cancer MRI diagnosis. • The 3D GRE technique is suitable for patients unable to suspend respiration. • Method scored higher in the qualitative evaluation for uncooperative patients. • The technique produced images with fewer artefacts than conventional VIBE sequence. • Dynamic enhanced images can be used for quantitative analysis of gastric cancer.

Background5,10-Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) plays a central role in folate metabolism by irreversibly converting 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate to 5-methylenetetrahydrofolate, a predominant circulating form of folate. Folate is reportedly important for milk protein synthesis, and MTHFR may be a key regulatory point of folate metabolism for milk protein synthesis in mammary epithelial cells. Prior to this study, polymorphisms of the MTHFR gene were not associated with milk production traits from a breeding perspective. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at microRNA (miRNA) binding sites (miR-SNPs) can affect gene expression. This study aimed to identify the effects of miR-SNPs (g.2244A>G and g.2264A>G) in the caprine MTHFR 3' UTR on the milk production traits of dairy goats.ResultsGuanzhong dairy (GD, n = 325) goats were used to detect SNPs in the caprine MTHFR 3' UTR by DNA sequencing. Two novel SNPs (g.2244A>G and g.2264A>G) were identified in the said region. The homozygous haplotype A-G of the SNPs g.2244A>G and g.2264A>G was significantly associated with milk yield and milk protein levels in GD goats (P < 0.05). Functional assays indicated that the MTHFR 2244 A → G substitution could increase the binding activity of hsa-miR-1266 with the MTHFR 3' UTR. The MTHFR 2264 A → G substitution could decrease the binding activity of hsa-miR-616 with the MTHFR 3' UTR. In addition, we observed a significant increase in the MTHFR mRNA levels of homozygous haplotype A-G carriers relative to those of homozygous haplotype G-A carriers. These results indicated that both SNPs altered the MTHFR mRNA levels. These altered levels of MTHFR mRNA may account for the association of SNPs with milk production traits.ConclusionsThis study is the first to report that the g.2244A>G and g.2264A>G polymorphisms were associated with milk production traits in GD goats. Further investigations should explore the underlying miRNA-mediated mechanisms that are modified by the g.2244A>G and g.2264A>G SNPs. The current study evaluated these SNPs as potential genetic markers in goats, with potential applications in breeding programs.

Eight heifers, aged 16-17 months and showing normal oestrous cycles, were immunized against a recombinant porcine inhibin alpha subunit immunogen, together with another 10 heifers of the same age as controls and treated with placebo immunogen. Primary (1 mg immunogen) and two booster (0.5 mg immunogen each) immunizations were administered at 28-day intervals. Ten days after the second booster immunization, both groups of heifers underwent a superovulation treatment. Each animal was given an intravaginal progesterone releasing sponge, which was withdrawn 7 days following an i.m. injection of 0.5 mg cloprostenol. Heifers were treated with FSH for 4 days and artificially inseminated after oestrus occurred. The embryos were flushed and evaluated 7 days after insemination. Immunization significantly (p < 0.01) increased blood antibody titres against recombinant porcine inhibin alpha subunit, from pre-immunizaion and control values of approximately 0.06 of ELISA 450 nm reading to 0.6 to 0.7 after two or three immunizations. The immunized heifers produced on average 15.8 +/- 2.8 embryos, significantly (p < 0.05) higher than the yield of 8.3 +/- 1.5 in the controls. The number of transferable embryos were non-significantly higher in immunized than in control heifers (9.6 +/- 3.1 vs 5.8 +/- 1.6, p > 0.05). The peak plasma oestradiol concentrations were significantly higher in immunized than in control heifers, both immediately after FSH treatment and 20 days thereafter. Plasma P4 concentrations after superovulation were in the range of 20 ng / ml in the immunized heifers, significantly (p < 0.05) higher than the values approximately 15 ng / ml in control heifers. These results indicated that prior immunization against inhibin alpha subunit stimulated production of antibodies against inhibin, which enhanced follicular developmental response to superovulation and lead to higher yield of total and transferable embryos. Therefore immunization combined with the conventional superovulatory gonadotrophin treatment, can be a simple and efficient method to produce low cost bovine embryos.