OBJECTIVE: To explore and quantify the association of hot night exposure during the sperm development period (0-90 lag days) with semen quality. METHODS: A total of 6,640 male sperm donors from 6 human sperm banks in China during 2014-2020 were recruited in this multicenter study. Two indices (i.e., hot night excess [HNE] and hot night duration [HND]) were used to estimate the heat intensity and duration during nighttime. Linear mixed models were used to examine the association between hot nights and semen quality parameters. RESULTS: The exposure-response relationship revealed that HNE and HND during 0-90 days before semen collection had a significantly inverse association with sperm motility. Specifically, a 1 °C increase in HNE was associated with decreased sperm progressive motility of 0.0090 (95% confidence interval [ CI]: -0.0147, -0.0033) and decreased total motility of 0.0094 (95% CI: -0.0160, -0.0029). HND was significantly associated with reduced sperm progressive motility and total motility of 0.0021 (95% CI: -0.0040, -0.0003) and 0.0023 (95% CI: -0.0043, -0.0002), respectively. Consistent results were observed at different temperature thresholds on hot nights. CONCLUSION Our findings highlight the need to mitigate nocturnal heat exposure during spermatogenesis to maintain optimal semen quality.
Humans ; Male ; Semen Analysis ; Adult ; Sperm Motility ; Hot Temperature/adverse effects* ; China ; Middle Aged ; Spermatozoa/physiology* ; Young Adult

Nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA), one of the most severe types of male infertility, etiology often remains unclear in most cases. Therefore, this study aimed to detect four biallelic detrimental variants (0.5%) in the minichromosome maintenance domain containing 2 ( MCMDC2 ) genes in 768 NOA patients by whole-exome sequencing (WES). Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) demonstrated that MCMDC2 deleterious variants caused meiotic arrest in three patients (c.1360G>T, c.1956G>T, and c.685C>T) and hypospermatogenesis in one patient (c.94G>T), as further confirmed through immunofluorescence (IF) staining. The single-cell RNA sequencing data indicated that MCMDC2 was substantially expressed during spermatogenesis. The variants were confirmed as deleterious and responsible for patient infertility through bioinformatics and in vitro experimental analyses. The results revealed four MCMDC2 variants related to NOA, which contributes to the current perception of the function of MCMDC2 in male fertility and presents new perspectives on the genetic etiology of NOA.
Humans ; Male ; Azoospermia/genetics* ; Meiosis/genetics* ; Spermatogenesis/genetics* ; Adult ; Exome Sequencing ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins/genetics* ; Alleles ; Infertility, Male/genetics*

Objective:To construct evaluation index system of core competence of dental nurses applying digital technology, and to provide reference for training, assessment and digital technology application capabilities evaluation of dental nurses.Methods:From May to August 2024, literature review, semi-structured interview, Delphi expert letter consultation and analytic hierarchy process were used to build anevaluation index system of core competence of dental nurses applying digital technology and determine the weights of each index.Results:The effective response rate of the two rounds of expert inquiry questionnaires was 100%(26 / 26), the expert authority coefficient of the two rounds of expert correspondence was 0.943, and the Kendall harmony coefficient of the first, second and third indexes in the second round of inquiry were 0.221, 0.261 and 0.200 (all P<0.05), respectively. Finally, the evaluation index system of digital technology application core competence of dental nurses included 7 first-level indicators, 15 second-level indicators and 61 third-level indicators. Conclusions:The evaluation index system of digital technology application core competence of dental nurses established in this study has a high degree of expert authority, concentrated opinions, and scientific and reliable research results. It can provide reference for nursing managers to train, assess and hire dental nurses.

Aim To investigate the effect of oroxylin A(OA)on apoptosis in Ishikawa cell line of endometrial cancer and the underlying mechanism through the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase/protein kinase B(PI3K/AKT)signaling pathway.Methods Ishikawa cells were treated with different concentrations of OA(0,4,8,10,12,and 20 μmol·L-1)for 24 h-72 h,the cell viability was detected by CCK-8 assay,apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry,and the protein ex-pression levels of B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2),Bcl-2-associated X protein(Bax),PI3K/AKT,recombinant cytochrome P450 1B1(CYP1B1),and catechol-O-methyltransferase(COMT)were detected by Western blot technique.Results OA inhibited the prolifera-tion of Ishikawa cells in a concentration-and time-de-pendent manner.Compared with the blank control group,the expression of Bax protein increased signifi-cantly,while the expression of Bcl-2 protein decreased significantly with the increase of OA concentration.The expression of COMT protein increased significant-ly,while the expression of CYP1B1 protein decreased significantly.PI3K/AKT:IGF-1(PI3 K agonist)sup-plementation reversed the effect,the expression of COMT protein significantly decreased,and the expres-sion of CYP1B1 protein significantly increased.Con-clusions OA exerts anti-tumor effects in Ishikawa cells of endometrial cancer,which may be related to cell apoptosis mediated by the inhibition of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Objective:To analyze the association of apolipoprotein E(ApoE),soluble semaphoring 4D(sSema4D),and cyclophilin A(CypA)levels with unfavorable outcome in patients with chronic heart failure(CHF).Methods:We retrospectively enrolled 108 patients with CHF admitted in the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou Universi-ty between March 2019 and March 2022.According to the outcome during 6-month follow-up,patients were di-vided into favorable outcome group(n=71)and unfavorable outcome group(n=37).ApoE,sSema4D and CypA levels were compared between the two groups,and multivariate Logistic regression was employed to identify the risk factors of unfavorable outcome within 6-month follow-up in CHF patients.Results:Compared to patients in the favorable outcome group,those in the unfavorable outcome group had significant higher proportion of NYHA classⅣ(59.46％vs.25.35％),serum creatinine[(80.74±3.89)μmol/L vs.(71.36±3.63)μmol/L],ApoE[(69.87±4.25)mg/L vs.(47.36±3.17)mg/L],sSema4D[(916.62±7.32)ng/L vs.(426.42±6.25)ng/L]and CypA[(6.74±1.32)ng/L vs.(4.38±0.72)ng/L](P＜0.001 all).Multivariate Logistic regression indicated that NY-HA class Ⅳ(OR=2.782,95％CI 1.166～6.636),serum creatinine(OR=29.893,95％CI 6.782～131.768),ApoE(OR=12.046,95％CI 4.694～30.913),sSema4D(OR=8.390,95％CI 2.260～31.146)and CypA(OR=6.486,95％CI 1.780～23.635)were independent risk factors for unfavorable outcome within 6-month follow-up in CHF patients(P＜0.05 or＜0.01).Conclusion:The levels of ApoE,sSema4D and CypA were closely associated with short-term unfavorable outcome in patients with chronic heart failure.

Objective:To analyze the association of apolipoprotein E(ApoE),soluble semaphoring 4D(sSema4D),and cyclophilin A(CypA)levels with unfavorable outcome in patients with chronic heart failure(CHF).Methods:We retrospectively enrolled 108 patients with CHF admitted in the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou Universi-ty between March 2019 and March 2022.According to the outcome during 6-month follow-up,patients were di-vided into favorable outcome group(n=71)and unfavorable outcome group(n=37).ApoE,sSema4D and CypA levels were compared between the two groups,and multivariate Logistic regression was employed to identify the risk factors of unfavorable outcome within 6-month follow-up in CHF patients.Results:Compared to patients in the favorable outcome group,those in the unfavorable outcome group had significant higher proportion of NYHA classⅣ(59.46％vs.25.35％),serum creatinine[(80.74±3.89)μmol/L vs.(71.36±3.63)μmol/L],ApoE[(69.87±4.25)mg/L vs.(47.36±3.17)mg/L],sSema4D[(916.62±7.32)ng/L vs.(426.42±6.25)ng/L]and CypA[(6.74±1.32)ng/L vs.(4.38±0.72)ng/L](P＜0.001 all).Multivariate Logistic regression indicated that NY-HA class Ⅳ(OR=2.782,95％CI 1.166～6.636),serum creatinine(OR=29.893,95％CI 6.782～131.768),ApoE(OR=12.046,95％CI 4.694～30.913),sSema4D(OR=8.390,95％CI 2.260～31.146)and CypA(OR=6.486,95％CI 1.780～23.635)were independent risk factors for unfavorable outcome within 6-month follow-up in CHF patients(P＜0.05 or＜0.01).Conclusion:The levels of ApoE,sSema4D and CypA were closely associated with short-term unfavorable outcome in patients with chronic heart failure.

Objective:To explore the predictive value of atherogenic index of plasma(AIP)combined with neutro-phil/HDL-C ratio(NHR),lymphocyte/HDL-C ratio(LHR)and monocyte/HDL-C ratio(MHR)for major adverse cardiovascular events(MACE)in patients with acute coronary syndrome(ACS).Methods:This retrospec-tive study enrolled 320 patients underwent coronary angiography in Department of Cardiovascular Medicine,Harri-son International Peace Hospital between January 2021 and December 2022,including 215 ACS patients and 105 pa-tients without ACS;according to Gensini score,ACS patients were divided into low risk group(n=50),medium risk group(n=70)and high risk group(n=95).According to the presence of MACE within 1 year,patients were divided into MACE group(n=55)and no MACE group(n=160).After admission,blood routine,blood lipids,C-reactive protein(CRP)and endothelin-1(ET-1)levels were measured,then NHR,LHR,MHR and AIP were calculated.Spearman method was used to analyze the association of above-mentioned indexes with Gensini score;stepwise Logistic regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of MACE within 1 year in ACS patients;and ROC curve was used to analyze the predictive value of single and combined detection of above indexes for MACE within 1 year in ACS patients.Results:Compared to patients in no ACS group,those in ACS group had significantly higher BMI[(23.59±0.85)kg/m2 vs.(21.57±1.16)kg/m2],proportions of hypertension(57.67％vs.13.33％),diabetes(23.26％vs.8.57％),NHR[(12.09±3.46)vs.(3.81±1.29)],MHR[(0.70±0.18)vs.(0.33±0.10)],LHR[(0.79±0.21)vs.(0.40±0.09)],AIP[(0.21±0.06)vs.(0.11±0.02)],CRP[(9.82±3.09)mg/L vs.(2.20±0.58)mg/L],ET-1[(31.25±10.34)μg/L vs.(10.60±1.96)μg/L](P＜0.001 all).Compared to those in no MACE group,patients in MACE group had significantly higher NHR[(17.33±3.87)vs.(10.12±2.68)],MHR[(0.93±0.24)vs.(0.61±0.13)],LHR[(1.05±0.27)vs.(0.71±0.16)],AIP[(0.28±0.04)vs.(0.17±0.02)],CRP[(15.52±3.83)mg/L vs.(7.69±2.40)mg/L],ET-1[(46.68±9.51)μg/L vs.(25.47±4.66)μg/L]levels(P＜0.001 all).Spearman correlation analysis showed that NHR,MHR,LHR and AIP were significant positively correlated with Gensini score(r=0.837～0.868,P＜0.001 all).Stepwise Logistic regression analysis showed that NHR(OR=1.225,95％CI 1.016～1.550,P=0.035),AIP(OR=2.632,95％CI 1.055～6.566,P=0.038)were independent risk factors for MACE within 1 year in ACS patients.ROC curve shows that AUC of AIP combined with NHR,MHR and LHR predicting MACE within 1 year in ACS patients was 0.786(95％CI 0.725～0.839),which was significantly higher than those of NHR(AUC 0.768,95％CI 0.706～0.823),LHR(AUC 0.749,95％CI 0.686～0.806)and AIP(AUC 0.764,95％CI 0.701～0.819)alone(Z=2.597,2.687,1.965,P＜0.05 or＜0.01).Conclusion:AIP combined with NHR,MHR and LHR have certain predictive value for MACE within 1 year in ACS patients.

Biochemistry,as a fundamental course for science and engineering majors related to biology and chemistry,holds a significant position in the curriculum.The course team at Dalian Minzu University is committed to teaching innovation,adopting the outcome-based education(OBE)concept for teaching de-sign and incorporating ideological and political elements,in order to achieve the dual goals of knowledge transmission and value guidance.The team has established a three-dimensional teaching goal of"knowl-edge,morality,and ability",covering"consolidating core knowledge,cultivating moral sentiment,and enhancing innovation ability".Through a multi-dimensional integrated teaching method of"three integra-tions and five combinations",multiple rounds of teaching practice have been carried out in the applied chemistry major using"classification and specificity of enzyme"as an example.The output of teaching re-sults and survey questionnaires show that students highly recognize the teaching design and its"process-based learning"evaluation method,fully reflecting the student-centered teaching idea.Research has shown that OBE design combined with ideological and political elements can effectively promote students' knowl-edge acquisition,moral growth,and innovation ability improvement in the course of Biochemistry.This teaching design not only helps students construct correct worldviews,outlooks on life,and values,but also significantly enhances their innovative thinking and practical abilities.This teaching design can not only ef-fectively improve the teaching quality of the course,but also provide new perspectives and ideas for the teaching design of Biochemistry,realizing the organic integration of professional knowledge imparting and i-deological and political education,and has certain innovation and practical significance.

Aim To investigate the effect of oroxylin A(OA)on apoptosis in Ishikawa cell line of endometrial cancer and the underlying mechanism through the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase/protein kinase B(PI3K/AKT)signaling pathway.Methods Ishikawa cells were treated with different concentrations of OA(0,4,8,10,12,and 20 μmol·L-1)for 24 h-72 h,the cell viability was detected by CCK-8 assay,apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry,and the protein ex-pression levels of B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2),Bcl-2-associated X protein(Bax),PI3K/AKT,recombinant cytochrome P450 1B1(CYP1B1),and catechol-O-methyltransferase(COMT)were detected by Western blot technique.Results OA inhibited the prolifera-tion of Ishikawa cells in a concentration-and time-de-pendent manner.Compared with the blank control group,the expression of Bax protein increased signifi-cantly,while the expression of Bcl-2 protein decreased significantly with the increase of OA concentration.The expression of COMT protein increased significant-ly,while the expression of CYP1B1 protein decreased significantly.PI3K/AKT:IGF-1(PI3 K agonist)sup-plementation reversed the effect,the expression of COMT protein significantly decreased,and the expres-sion of CYP1B1 protein significantly increased.Con-clusions OA exerts anti-tumor effects in Ishikawa cells of endometrial cancer,which may be related to cell apoptosis mediated by the inhibition of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.