Objective To compare seminal carnitine levels between normal males and asthenozoospermic patients,evaluate its correla-tion with progressive motility(PR)of sperm,and observe the effects of exogenous carnitine supplementation on asthenozoospermic pa-tients.Methods Semen samples were collected from 511 normal fertile males and asthenozoospermic patients.Seminal was measured using a fixed-time assay kit and the levels of carnitine were compared between the two groups.The consistency between seminal carni-tine and PR was assessed.Additionally,77 asthenozoospermic patients received L-carnitine(1 g/time,3 times/day,30 days/course).The levels of seminal carnitine and PR alteration pre-and post-treatment were monitored.Results The seminal L-carnitine level in the patients with asthenospermia([194.34±65.41]μmol/L)was significantly lower than that in normal fertile males([405.43±72.12]μmol/L)(P＜0.01).When the seminal L-carnitine level ≥325 μmol/L was set as the threshold,the statistical results showed that Kappa value was 0.81,with a diagnostic coincidence rate of 93.74％.After one course of administration of L-carnitine,the concentra-tion of seminal L-carnitine([356.03±84.87]μmol/L)and PR([32.69±8.35]％)were significantly higher those that before treat-ment([183.61±79.54]μmol/L and[16.56±7.74]％,P＜0.01).Conclusion The seminal carnitine assay kit could be used for ac-curate and high-throughput quantification of clinical samples,facilitating asthenozoospermia diagnosis and therapeutic efficacy evalua-tion.Exogenous carnitine supplementation may elevate seminal carnitine levels and sperm motility in asthenozoospermic patients and po-tentially improve their fertility.

【Objective】 To investigate the efficacy of low intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) in the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). 【Methods】 A total of 121 ED patients treated during June 2020 and June 2022 were selected as the research objects. According to the International Erectile Index Score (IIEF-EF), the patients were divided into three subgroups:mild (17-25 points), moderate (11-16 points), and severe (0-10 points). The total effective rate, erectile hardness scale (EHS), sex life log questions (SEP), general assessment questionnaire (GAQ), peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), and adverse reactions of the three groups before treatment, 4 weeks and 12 weeks after treatment were analyzed. 【Results】 A total of 119 patients completed the follow-up. There were significant increases in IIEF-EF and EHS at week 4 and 12 (P<0.05), and the total effective rate was 69.75% and 76.47%, respectively. The total effective rate was significantly higher in the mild and moderate groups than in the severe group at week 4 and 12 (P<0.05). The patients who answered "yes" to SEP2 and SEP3 accounted for 91.60% and 71.43%, respectively at week 4, and 92.44% and 78.15% at week 12, both significantly higher than the rates before treatment (52.10% and 27.73%, P<0.05). The proportion of patients who answered "yes" to GAQl and GAQ2 at week 4 were 84.87% and 71.43%, respectively, and were 82.35% and 70.59% respectively at week 12, with no significant difference. The PSV level significantly increased at week 12 compared to that before treatment [(48.85±14.11) cm/s vs. (41.42±14.90) cm/s] (P<0.05), while the EDV level significantly decreased [(-0.57±7.01) cm/s vs. (2.25± 5.68)cm/s] (P<0.05). 【Conclusion】 LIPUS can improve erectile function in ED patients without obvious adverse reactions.

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, is a destructive pest native to America and has recently become an invasive insect pest in China. Because of its rapid spread and great risks in China, understanding of FAW genetic background and pesticide resistance is urgent and essential to develop effective management strategies. Here, we assembled a chromosome-level genome of a male FAW (SFynMstLFR) and compared re-sequencing results of the populations from America, Africa, and China. Strain identification of 163 individuals collected from America, Africa and China showed that both C and R strains were found in the American populations, while only C strain was found in the Chinese and African populations. Moreover, population genomics analysis showed that populations from Africa and China have close relationship with significantly genetic differentiation from American populations. Taken together, FAWs invaded into China were most likely originated from Africa. Comparative genomics analysis displayed that the cytochrome p450 gene family is extremely expanded to 425 members in FAW, of which 283 genes are specific to FAW. Treatments of Chinese populations with twenty-three pesticides showed the variant patterns of transcriptome profiles, and several detoxification genes such as AOX, UGT and GST specially responded to the pesticides. These findings will be useful in developing effective strategies for management of FAW in China and other invaded areas.
Animals ; China ; Genomics ; Humans ; Male ; Pesticides ; Spodoptera/genetics* ; Transcriptome

Objective:To explore the efficacy, adverse reactions, and feasibility of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation(HD-tDCS) treating major depressive disorder(MDD) patients with anxious distress.Methods:Sixty cases of MDD with anxious distress admitted to Zhenjiang Mental Health Center were recruited as participants. All patients were allocated into either the active treatment group or the sham group based on the random number table method. HD-tDCS was utilized in both groups to stimulate the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on the basis of conventional antidepressant treatment. In the active group, 2mA current stimulation was used for 20 min, and in the sham group, a 30-sceond stimulation was adopted at the beginning and the end of the stimulation. Participants in both group were treated once a day, five times a week for two consecutive weeks. Anxiety and depression symptoms of the patients were assessed respectively by the Hamilton depression scale(HAMD 17), the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale(MARDS), the Hamilton Anxiety Scale(HAMA), and the Beck Anxiety Inventory(BAI) at the baseline, 2nd, 4th, and the 6th weekend of the treatment. The differences between active treatment and sham groups were analyzed by repetitive measure analysis of variance and simple effect analysis. Fisher′s exact probability test was used to compare the effective rate, remission rate and adverse reaction rate between the two groups. Results:(1) The interaction of times and groups was significant in HAMD 17( F=3.29, P<0.05) and BAI( F=2.99, P<0.05). In all measurement instruments, the main effects of groups( F=4.40-7.94) and times( F=35.42-247.59) were significant( P<0.05).(2) Findings from the simple effect analysis showed that: there were no significant differences in the scores of HAMD 17 at baseline and the 2 nd assessment between the two groups. Similarly, no significant differences were found in BAI at baseline, the 2nd and the 6th weekend of the treatment between two groups( P>0.05).(3) The scores of HAMD 17 at the 4th and the 6th week, BAI at the 4th weekend of the treatment in the active group were significantly lower than that in the sham group( P<0.05).(4) At the 4th weekend of the treatment, the active group had a remission rate of 16/20 and a response rates of 19/20, which were higher than 9/19 and 13/19, respectively, in the sham group( P<0.05). Also, the remission rate(18/20) in the active group was higher than that in the sham group(11/19) at the 6th weekend of the treatment.( P<0.05). As for the response rates, differences were not found between the two groups at the 6th weekend of the treatment.(5) The overall dropout rate had no significant differences in-between( P>0.05). As for the safety outcome, the rate of adverse events(e.g., itching, tingling and headache) showed no significant differences between the two groups. Additionally, no severe adverse events or mania was reported. Conclusions:This study indicated that HD-tDCS has significant efficacy and high safety in the treatment among MDD patient with anxious distress. Nevertheless, further large sample clinical studies are warranted to confirm the findings of the current investigation.

Objective:To explore the efficacy, adverse reactions, and feasibility of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation(HD-tDCS) treating major depressive disorder(MDD) patients with anxious distress.Methods:Sixty cases of MDD with anxious distress admitted to Zhenjiang Mental Health Center were recruited as participants. All patients were allocated into either the active treatment group or the sham group based on the random number table method. HD-tDCS was utilized in both groups to stimulate the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on the basis of conventional antidepressant treatment. In the active group, 2mA current stimulation was used for 20 min, and in the sham group, a 30-sceond stimulation was adopted at the beginning and the end of the stimulation. Participants in both group were treated once a day, five times a week for two consecutive weeks. Anxiety and depression symptoms of the patients were assessed respectively by the Hamilton depression scale(HAMD 17), the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale(MARDS), the Hamilton Anxiety Scale(HAMA), and the Beck Anxiety Inventory(BAI) at the baseline, 2nd, 4th, and the 6th weekend of the treatment. The differences between active treatment and sham groups were analyzed by repetitive measure analysis of variance and simple effect analysis. Fisher′s exact probability test was used to compare the effective rate, remission rate and adverse reaction rate between the two groups. Results:(1) The interaction of times and groups was significant in HAMD 17( F=3.29, P<0.05) and BAI( F=2.99, P<0.05). In all measurement instruments, the main effects of groups( F=4.40-7.94) and times( F=35.42-247.59) were significant( P<0.05).(2) Findings from the simple effect analysis showed that: there were no significant differences in the scores of HAMD 17 at baseline and the 2 nd assessment between the two groups. Similarly, no significant differences were found in BAI at baseline, the 2nd and the 6th weekend of the treatment between two groups( P>0.05).(3) The scores of HAMD 17 at the 4th and the 6th week, BAI at the 4th weekend of the treatment in the active group were significantly lower than that in the sham group( P<0.05).(4) At the 4th weekend of the treatment, the active group had a remission rate of 16/20 and a response rates of 19/20, which were higher than 9/19 and 13/19, respectively, in the sham group( P<0.05). Also, the remission rate(18/20) in the active group was higher than that in the sham group(11/19) at the 6th weekend of the treatment.( P<0.05). As for the response rates, differences were not found between the two groups at the 6th weekend of the treatment.(5) The overall dropout rate had no significant differences in-between( P>0.05). As for the safety outcome, the rate of adverse events(e.g., itching, tingling and headache) showed no significant differences between the two groups. Additionally, no severe adverse events or mania was reported. Conclusions:This study indicated that HD-tDCS has significant efficacy and high safety in the treatment among MDD patient with anxious distress. Nevertheless, further large sample clinical studies are warranted to confirm the findings of the current investigation.

Objective:To screen the kinase genes related to radioresistance by high-throughput method and provide a theoretical basis for clinical treatment strategy of oral squamous cell carcinoma.Methods:The tongue squamous carcinoma cell line Cal-27 was infected with lentivirus shRNA kinase library that contains 4 675 different shRNAs regulating 709 human kinase genes. The uninfected cells were removed by puromycin screening. Then, the cells were irradiated with different doses (0, 10, 15 cGy) and continued to culture for 3 d to enrich the differences among groups. Afterwards, the cell genomic DNA was extracted and the complete shRNA sequences were obtained by PCR.Different tags were labeled in shRNAs of each group. An illumina platform was used for next generation sequencing to acquire the shRNA abundance, and then the differentiated expressed genes among different groups were identified.Results:A total of 5 kinase genes (PKLR, IPMK, AURKB, ITPKB and DLG2) were screened out from irradiated cells. Knockdown of PKLR and IPMK increased radiation resistance, while knockdown of AURKB, ITPKB and DLG2 increased radiation sensitivity, and the high expression of these genes would lead to radiotherapy tolerance.Conclusions:In this study, 3 genes relative to radioresistance of oral squamous cell carcinoma were identified by using shRNA lentivirus library combined with next generation sequencing, but the underlying mechanism requires further exploration.

Objective:To make a new simple respirator and observe the oxygen therapy effect of the respirator on patients with severe and critical coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).Methods:Based on the infectivity and hospital requirements of COVID-19, a new simple respirator was designed by the medical staff of the Department of Anesthesiology of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, which was applied on the 22 patients with severe and critical COVID-19 who needed oxygen therapy admitted to the Cancer Center of Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology from February 15th to March 15th in 2020. The new simple respirator contained two National Utility Model Patents (a respirator: ZL 2015 2 0410623.6, a fluid switch and oxygen suction device: ZL 2017 2 0873509.6), which was mainly composed of anesthesia mask and filter, L-shaped connecting tube, soft breathing bladder, connecting tube and elastic fixing belt. When in use, the anesthesia mask was fixed to the patient's mouth and nose with elastic straps, the connecting tube was inserted into the oxygen meter interface, the oxygen flow was adjusted to 6-10 L/min, and the L-shaped connecting tube was opened immediately after the soft breathing bag was full. The carbon dioxide and excess oxygen in the body was discharged from exhaust port. The oxygen flow was lowered to 2-3 L/min, the patient's respiratory rate (RR) was observed through the soft breathing bag fluctuations, and the oxygen flow was adjusted at any time. The changes of pulse oxygen saturation (SpO 2), RR and heart rate (HR) before and after application of new simple respirator were observed, and the blood gas test results of part of the patients were collected. Results:Twenty-two patients with severe and critical COVID-19 had significantly higher SpO 2 at 10 minutes after application of the new simple ventilator than before application (0.994±0.007 vs. 0.952±0.017, P < 0.01), and RR was significantly lower than that before application (times/min: 27.59±3.63 vs. 29.64±3.81, P < 0.01); after 1 day of application, each index was further improved. All 13 patients who received blood gas analysis indicated no carbon dioxide accumulation. Conclusions:The new simple respirator can significantly improve the oxygen therapy effect of patients with severe and critical COVID-19. At the same time, 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) can be filtered through the filter to reduce the formation of aerosol and protect the medical staff and patients.

Objective To evaluate the effect of preoperative sleep deprivation on hippocampal Tolllike receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway in aged mice with postoperative cognitive dysfunction.Methods Sixty clean-grade healthy male C57BL/6J mice,aged 16 months,weighing 28-36 g,were divided into 4 groups (n=15 each) using a random number table method:control group (group C),surgery group (group S),sleep deprivation group (group SD) and sleep deprivation plus surgery group (group SD+S).Mice were fed a common diet in group C.Mice were sleep-deprived for 24 h in group SD.Tibial fracture internal fixation was performed in group S.Tibial fracture internal fixation was performed after 24-h sleep deprivation in group SD+S.Cognitive function was assessed using the contextual fear conditioning test at days 3 and 7 after operation.The animals were sacrificed at day 7 after operation,brains were removed and hippocampi were isolated for determination of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) content (by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and expression of TLR4 and p-NF-κB p65 (by Western blot).Results Compared with group C,the percentage of time spent freezing induced by condition and percentage of time spent freezing induced by context were significantly decreased at days 3 and 7 after operation,the content of TNF-α was increased,and the expression of TLR4 and p-NF-κB p65 was up-regulated in S,SD and SD+S groups (P＜0.05).Compared with group S and group SD,the percentage of time spent freezing induced by condition and percentage of time spent freezing induced by context were significantly decreased at days 3 and 7 after operation,the content of TNF-α was increased,and the expression of TLR4 and p-NF-κB p65 was up-regulated in group SD+S (P＜0.05).Conclusion Preoperative sleep deprivation further accentuates postoperative cognitive dysfunction,and the mechanism is related to activating TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway and inducing inflammatory responses of aged mice.

Objective: To investigate the chromosomal aberration rate, micronucleus cell rate and the related factors of radiation workers in Changzhou, provide evidence for the occupational health and safety of radiation workers. Methods: Descriptive analysis of the chromosomal aberration rate, micronucleus cell rate and the related factors of 3021 radiation workers who conducted occupational health examination in the Changzhou Center for Disease Control and prevention in 2017, multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the data. Results: The abnormal rate of chromosome aberration and micronucleus cells of 3021radiation workers in Changzhou were 1.32% and 3.34% respectively. The results of multivariate logistic regression showed that the exposure year (OR=1.501, 95%CI:1.078~2.089, P=0.016) was a risk factor for chromosome aberration. The risk of chromosome aberration in radiation therapy (OR=6.417, 95%CI:1.360~30.280, P=0.019) and interventional radiology (OR=4.598, 95%CI:1.688~12.524, P=0.003) was higher than that of industrial application. the exposure year (OR=1.245, 95%CI:1.007~1.539, P=0.043) is also a risk factor for micronucleus cell rate. The micronucleus cell rate abnormality Risk of nuclear medicine (OR=3.934, 95%CI:1.305~11.858, P=0.015) , radiation therapy (OR=3.802, 95%CI:1.101~13.128, P=0.035) , and interventional radiology (OR=2.953, 95%CI:1.324~6.584, P=0.008) is higher than industrial application. Conclusion The chromosome aberration rate and micronucleus rate of workers who are exposed to low dose ionizing radiation for long time are related to the exposure year of radiation workers and the occupational categories involved.

Objective To investigate the effects of dorsal hippocampal lesions (DH) or fimbria-fornix transection (FF) on the learning and memory of conditioned fear and the heart rate and blood pressure in rats.Methods Nineteen male adult Wistar rats were used in this experiment.They were implanted telemetry sensors in their abdominal aortas.Two week later,six of the rats were subjected to permanent NMDA-induced neurotoxic lesions to the dorsal hippocampus (DH) and seven for the fimbria-fornix transection (FF)through stereotactic brain surgery,the left six were treated with saline as the control (Sham).All rats were subjected to a conditioned fear experiment.Meanwhile,changes in heart rate and blood pressure were measured.Results There was no significant difference in heart rate and blood pressure among the rats with the hippocampal operation or fimbria-fornix transection.In the acquisition of conditioned fear,there were significant difference in freezing time among the three group in both inter-trial-interval (ITI) and conditioned stimulus (CS) process (all P＜0.05).The freezing time of the FF group showed significantly lower than that of the Sham group (P＜0.05).There was no significant difference in heart rate and blood pressure among the three group(P＞0.05).In the test of conditioned contextual fear memory,the freezing time percentage in the FF group ((0.31±0.16) ％) significantly lower than that in the Sham group ((2.78± 1.23) ％) (P＜0.05)at the first 3 min of the test.There was a significant difference in heart rate among the three group.The heart rate of FF group ((436.42± 10.16) times/min) was significantly lower than that of the Sham group ((472.48±4.43) times/min,P＜0.01) and the DH group ((469.94 ±7.36)times/min,P＜0.01).In the test of conditioned tone fear memory.The freezing time percentage in FF group ((18.78±6.29) ％) was significantly lower than that in the Sham ((51.77±9.33)％,P＜0.01) and DH group ((59.19±8.13)％,P＜0.01),but the freezing time percentage between the later two groups had no difference (P=0.52).The synchronous telemetry measurement showed there was no significant difference both in the heart rate and the blood pressure among the groups (all P＞0.05) during the conditioned tone test.Conclusion The dorsal hippocampal lesions and fimbria-fornix transection in rats can significantly reduce the learning and memory ability in conditioned fear and scene fear in rats,and the effect of fimbria-fornix transection is more obvious.The decrease in,fear memory is not synchronously reflected in heart rate and blood pressure in rats.