IMPORTANCE Steroid hormone receptors, including estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR), are crucial biomarkers in breast cancer (BC). However, limited data are available regarding single hormone receptor-positive (ER-positive/PR-negative and ER-negative/PR-positive) subtypes, rendering treatment decision and survival forecast difficult in patients with these BC subtypes. OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and BC-specific survival (BCSS) of patients with single hormone receptor-positive BC. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In this cohort study, data on patients diagnosed with BC between 1990 and 2015 were retrieved from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (N = 1 158 032). Patients lacking information on ER status, PR status, or BCSS were excluded (n = 334 633). Comparisons were performed between single hormone receptor-positive BC and double hormone receptor-positive/double hormone receptor-negative BC. The dates of analysis were September 1, 2018, to June 31, 2019. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The BCSS of patients with single hormone receptor-positive BC. RESULTS This cohort study included 823 399 patients with BC (818 002 women and 5397 men). The median (range) age at diagnosis was 60 (8-108) years, and the median (range) follow-up duration was 71 (0-311) months. The percentages of ER-positive/PR-positive, ER-positive/PRnegative, ER-negative/PR-positive, and ER-negative/PR-negative cases were 67.2%, 12.2%, 1.6%, and 19.0%, respectively. Single hormone receptor-positive subtypes showed distinct clinical characteristics compared with double hormone receptor-positive/double hormone receptornegative subtypes. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis showed that patients with ER-positive/PR-negative (hazard ratio [HR], 1.36; 95% CI, 1.34-1.38) and ER-negative/PRpositive (HR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.55-1.67) tumors had worse BCSS than patients with the ER-positive/PRpositive subtype. In contrast, patients with ER-positive/PR-negative (HR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.24-1.29) and ER-negative/PR-positive (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.03-1.11) tumors had better BCSS than patients with the ER-negative/PR-negative subtype. The BCSS was statistically significantly worse in patients with ER-negative/PR-positive tumors than in patients with ER-positive/PR-negative tumors (HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.14-1.23). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this cohort study, statistically significant distinctions between survival rates of patients with single hormone receptor-positive BC vs double hormone receptorpositive/double hormone receptor-negative BC were observed. Different strategies may be required (continued)

BackgroundThyroid nodules are a common clinical problem and some are potentially cancerous; however, little is known about the prevalence of thyroid nodules in China. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of thyroid nodules in a healthy Chinese population.MethodsWe reviewed electronic medical records of 13,178,313 participants from 30 provinces and regions who received health examinations and underwent thyroid ultrasound at Meinian Onehealth Healthcare in 2017. Among them, 6,192,357 were excluded based on predefined criteria. All thyroid nodules were diagnosed by ultrasonography, and standardized protocols were adopted for data collection, quality control, and data management.ResultsA total of 6,985,956 participants (mean age: 42.1 ± 13.1 years) were included in this study. The overall prevalence of thyroid nodules was 36.9% (95% CI, 35.7%–38.1%; age- and sex-standardized prevalence 38.0% [95% CI, 37.0%–39.1%]). The prevalence of thyroid nodules in females (44.7% [95% CI, 43.4%–45.9%], age-standardized prevalence: 45.2% [95% CI, 44.1%–46.4%]) was significantly higher than that in males (29.9% [95% CI, 28.8%–31.0%], age-standardized prevalence 31.2% [95% CI, 30.1%–32.2%]; P < 0.001). The prevalence of thyroid nodules decreased from <18 to 25 years, while increased with age over 25 years old. The top three provinces with the highest prevalence of thyroid nodules were Jilin (47.6%), Liaoning (44.8%), and Shandong (43.9%), whereas Guizhou (23.9%), Chongqing (26.2%), and Shaanxi (26.4%) had the lowest prevalence. Females had more than 10% higher rates of thyroid nodules than males in all included provinces and regions, except for Tianjin (8.0%). Based on the geographical regions of China, the northeast had the highest prevalence (46.8% [95% CI, 44.1%–49.2%]), whereas northwest had the lowest prevalence (28.9% [95% CI, 26.9%–31.6%]. Based on multivariable logistic regression analysis, factors including age, gender, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, uric acid, fasting blood glucose, triglycerides, high-density lipoproteins, and low-density lipoproteins were significantly associated with the presence of thyroid nodules.ConclusionThis study provides the first nationwide analysis of the prevalence of thyroid nodules in China. Our results showed that the prevalence of thyroid nodules was high in health screening Chinese people with regional-specific patterns.

Understanding the relationship between exogenous melatonin and water deficit stress is crucial for achieving high yields and alleviating the effects of water deficit stress on soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) plants in agriculture. This study investigated the effects of exogenous melatonin on soybean photosynthetic capacity under water deficit stress induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000. We conducted a potting experiment in 2018 using the soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill) cultivar Suinong 26. We identified the impacts of a concentration of PEG 6000 simulating drought (15%, w/v) and an appropriate melatonin concentration (100 μmol/L) on the growth of soybean seedlings and flowering stages in a preliminary test. We applied exogenous melatonin by foliar spraying and root application to determine the effects on leaf photosynthesis during water deficit stress. Our results indicated that 15% PEG 6000 had an obvious inhibitory effect on the growth of soybean seedlings and flowering stages, causing oxidative stress and damage due to reactive oxygen species (ROS) (H2O2 and O2·-) accumulation and potentially reducing air exchange parameters and photosystem II (PSII) efficiency. The application of exogenous melatonin significantly relieved the inhibitory effects of PEG 6000 stress on seedlings and flowering growth, and gas exchange parameters, potentially improved PSII efficiency, improved the leaf area index (LAI) and the accumulation of dry matter, slowed down oxidative stress and damage to leaves by increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, POD, and CAT), reduced the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), and ultimately improved soybean yield. Overall, the results of this study demonstrated that application of exogenous melatonin at the seedlings and flowering stages of soybean is effective in alleviating plant damage caused by water deficit stress and improving the drought resistance of soybean plants. In addition, the results showed that application of exogenous melatonin by root is superior to foliar spraying.

Multivesicular bodies (MVBs) are specialized endosomes that contain intraluminal vesicles generated from invagination and budding of the limiting membrane. In the endocytic pathway, MVBs are late endosomes whose content can be degraded through fusion with lysosomes/vacuoles or released into the extracellular space after fusion with the plasma membrane (PM). The proteins retained on the limiting membrane of MVBs are translocated to the membrane of lysosomes/vacuoles or delivered back to the PM. It has been long suspected that MVBs might fuse with the PM to form paramural bodies in plant cells, possibly leading to release of building blocks for deposition of papillae and antimicrobial molecules against invading pathogens. Over the past decade or so, major progress has been made in establishing the critical roles of MVBs and associated membrane trafficking in pathogen recognition, defense signaling, and deployment of defense-related molecules during plant immune responses. Regulatory proteins and signaling pathways associated with induced biogenesis and trafficking of MVBs during plant immune responses have also been identified and characterized. Recent successful isolation of plant extracellular vesicles and proteomic profiling of their content have provided additional support for the roles of MVBs in plant–pathogen interactions. In this review, we summarize the important progress and discuss how MVBs, particularly through routing of cellular components to different destinations, contribute to the complex network of plant immune system.

With the isothermal dissolution equilibrium method and wet-residue method, the solubility data as well as physicochemical properties including density, refractive index, and pH value of the two ternary systems (NaCl + NaBO 2 + H 2 O) and (Na 2 SO 4 + NaBO 2 + H 2 O) at 298.15 K and 0.1 MPa have been experimentally determined, and the relatively phase diagrams have been established for the first time. In the ternary system (NaCl + NaBO 2 + H 2 O), two invariant points, three univariant curves, and three crystallization regions corresponding to sodium chloride (NaCl), sodium metaborate tetrahydrate (NaBO 2 •4H 2 O), and a congruent double salt teepleite (NaCl•NaBO 2 •2H 2 O) were detected. While in the ternary system (Na 2 SO 4 + NaBO 2 + H 2 O), there are one invariant point, two univariant curves, and two crystallization regions corresponding to NaBO 2 •4H 2 O and mirabilite (Na 2 SO 4 •10H 2 O). The physicochemical properties (density, refractive index, and pH value) in the two systems present a regular variation versus that with the changes of sodium metaborate concentration in the solution. Moreover, on the basis their empirical equations, the calculated values of refractive index and density are consistent with the experimental data.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cause of death in women throughout the world. Although microRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified as novel regulators in carcinogenesis, there are still abundant hidden treasure needed to be excavated. In the present study, we found that miR-519d expression was remarkably decreased in both human BC tissues and MCF-7 cells. CCK8 and 5-Ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU) assays were used to evaluate cell proliferation. Wound-healing and transwell assays were performed for detection of cell migration and invasion. The results demonstrated miR-519d overexpression dramatically suppressed MCF-7 cells proliferation, migration and invasion. While downregulation of miR-519d by miR-519d inhibitor substantially increased MCF-7 cell carcinogenesis. Further analysis identified Matrix Metalloproteinase-3 (MMP3) as a direct target of miR-519d. QRT-PCR and western blot results indicated the correlative expression of miR-519d and MMP3 in BC tissues and MCF-7 cells. In summary, our data uncovered the novel molecular interaction between miR-519d and MMP3, indicating a therapeutic strategy of miR-519d for BC.

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