Extensive studies have identified potential adverse effects on semen quality of obesity, based on body mass index, but the association between body fat distribution, a more relevant indicator for obesity, and semen quality remains less clear. We conducted a longitudinal study of 4304 sperm donors from the Guangdong Provincial Human Sperm Bank (Guangzhou, China) during 2017-2021. A body composition analyzer was used to measure total and local body fat percentage for each participant. Generalized estimating equations were employed to assess the association between body fat percentage and sperm count, motility, and morphology. We estimated that each 10% increase in total body fat percentage (estimated change [95% confidence interval, 95% CI]) was significantly associated with a 0.18 × 10 6 (0.09 × 10 6 -0.27 × 10 6 ) ml and 12.21 × 10 6 (4.52 × 10 6 -19.91 × 10 6 ) reduction in semen volume and total sperm count, respectively. Categorical analyses and exposure-response curves showed that the association of body fat distribution with semen volume and total sperm count was stronger at higher body fat percentages. In addition, the association still held among normal weight and overweight participants. We observed similar associations for upper limb, trunk, and lower limb body fact distributions. In conclusion, we found that a higher body fat distribution was significantly associated with lower semen quality (especially semen volume) even in men with a normal weight. These findings provide useful clues in exploring body fat as a risk factor for semen quality decline and add to evidence for improving semen quality for those who are expected to conceive.
Humans ; Male ; Adult ; Semen Analysis ; China ; Body Fat Distribution ; Longitudinal Studies ; Sperm Count ; Sperm Motility ; Body Mass Index ; Tissue Donors ; Obesity/complications* ; Spermatozoa ; Young Adult ; Middle Aged ; East Asian People

Developmental dysplasia of hip(DDH)usually occurs in children,and delayed diagnosis of DDH might lead to serious complications and influence long-term prognosis.The application of artificial intelligence(AI)in medical images helps to quantitatively individualize image data,reduce bias generated by manual analysis and achieve early and accurate diagnosis of children DDH.The research progresses of AI in imaging diagnosis of children DDH were reviewed in this article.

The current study aimed to clarify the roles of apolipoprotein A5 (ApoA5) and milk fat globule-epidermal growth factor 8 (Mfge8) in regulating myocardial lipid deposition and the regulatory relationship between them. The serum levels of ApoA5 and Mfge8 in obese and healthy people were compared, and the obesity mouse model induced by the high-fat diet (HFD) was established. In addition, primary cardiomyocytes were purified and identified from the hearts of suckling mice. The 0.8 mmol/L sodium palmitate treatment was used to establish the lipid deposition cardiomyocyte model in vitro. ApoA5-overexpressing adenovirus was used to observe its effects on cardiac function and lipids. The expressions of the fatty acid uptake-related molecules and Mfge8 on transcription or translation levels were detected. Co-immunoprecipitation was used to verify the interaction between ApoA5 and Mfge8 proteins. Immunofluorescence was used to observe the co-localization of Mfge8 protein with ApoA5 or lysosome-associated membrane protein 2 (LAMP2). Recombinant rMfge8 was added to cardiomyocytes to investigate the regulatory mechanism of ApoA5 on Mfge8. The results showed that participants in the simple obesity group had a significant decrease in serum ApoA5 levels (P < 0.05) and a significant increase in Mfge8 levels (P < 0.05) in comparison with the healthy control group. The adenovirus treatment successfully overexpressed ApoA5 in HFD-fed obese mice and palmitic acid-induced lipid deposition cardiomyocytes, respectively. ApoA5 reduced the weight of HFD-fed obese mice (P < 0.05), shortened left ventricular isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT), increased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and significantly reduced plasma levels of triglycerides (TG) and cholesterol (CHOL) (P < 0.05). In myocardial tissue and cardiomyocytes, the overexpression of ApoA5 significantly reduced the deposition of TG (P < 0.05), transcription of fatty acid translocase (FAT/CD36) (P < 0.05), fatty acid-binding protein (FABP) (P < 0.05), and fatty acid transport protein (FATP) (P < 0.05), and protein expression of Mfge8 (P < 0.05), while the transcription levels of Mfge8 were not significantly altered (P > 0.05). In vitro, the Mfge8 protein was captured using ApoA5 as bait protein, indicating a direct interaction between them. Overexpression of ApoA5 led to an increase in co-localization of Mfge8 with ApoA5 or LAMP2 in cardiomyocytes under lipid deposition status. On this basis, exogenous added recombinant rMfge8 counteracted the improvement of lipid deposition in cardiomyocytes by ApoA5. The above results indicate that the overexpression of ApoA5 can reduce fatty acid uptake in myocardial cells under lipid deposition status by regulating the content and cellular localization of Mfge8 protein, thereby significantly reducing myocardial lipid deposition and improving cardiac diastolic and systolic function.
Animals ; Humans ; Mice ; Myocytes, Cardiac/metabolism* ; Obesity/physiopathology* ; Male ; Apolipoprotein A-V/blood* ; Lipid Metabolism/physiology* ; Milk Proteins/blood* ; Myocardium/metabolism* ; Diet, High-Fat ; Antigens, Surface/physiology* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Cells, Cultured ; Female

Developmental dysplasia of hip(DDH)usually occurs in children,and delayed diagnosis of DDH might lead to serious complications and influence long-term prognosis.The application of artificial intelligence(AI)in medical images helps to quantitatively individualize image data,reduce bias generated by manual analysis and achieve early and accurate diagnosis of children DDH.The research progresses of AI in imaging diagnosis of children DDH were reviewed in this article.

Objective To establish a high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(HPLC-MS/MS)method for the simultaneous determination of isoniazid and acetylisoniazid in human serum,and to detect the concentration of isoniazid in the blood of tuberculosis patients.Methods The serum samples were achieved on an Agilent RRHD SB-Aq(50.0 mm ×3.0 mm,1.8 μm),whose column temperature was 40 ℃.The mobile phase consisted of purified water and methanol with a gradient program at a flow rate of 0.25 mL·min-1.Both isoniazid and acetyl-isoniazid mass spectrometry detection methods were electrospray positive ion mode,multiple reaction monitoring.The specificity,lower limit of quantitation,standard curve,precision and recovery,matrix effect,stability and residual effect of the method were investigated.Results The retention times of isoniazid and acetylisoniazid were 1.37 and 1.24 min,respectively.Isoniazid showed a good linear relationship in the range of 0.2-20.0 μg·mL-1.The regression equation of isoniazid was y=0.29x+3.05 × 10-3(r2=0.999 6),and the lower limit of quantitation was 200 ng·mL-1.The regression equation of acetyl isoniazid was y=0.29x-3.21 × 10-3(r2=0.999 7),and the lower limit of quantitation was 200 ng·mL-1.The relative standard deviation(RSD)of intra-lot and inter-lot precision was less than 4.00％.The recovery rates were 100.34％-106.22％.Internal standard normalized matrix effect factor(MF)≤ 3.79％.The samples have good freeze-thaw cycle stability and long-term stability.The method has been successfully used to analyze serum samples of 72 patients with tuberculosis in our hospital.Conclusion This method is simple,rapid and accurate,and is suitable for simultaneous determination of isoniazid and acetylisoniazid in the blood of tuberculosis patients.

Aim To investigate the molecular mecha-nism of lysophosphatidylcholine(LPC)-induced neu-trophil extracellular trap formation and the intervening role of quercetin.Methods An in vitro model of NETs formation was constructed using LPC-induced primary rat neutrophils,and quercetin intervention was performed.The formation of NETs and the expression level of related pathway proteins were detected.Results 100 mg·L-1 LPC induced the formation of NETs in vitro,and NETs formation was associated with the up-regulation of LOX-1/NOX2 pathway protein expres-sion.Quercetin intervention effectively decreased LOX-1 and NOX2 protein expression,then inhibiting NETs formation.Conclusions Quercetin inhibits the forma-tion of NETs by regulating the LOX-1/NOX2 signaling pathway and exerting a protective effect against related inflammatory diseases.

Purpose::To identify the risk factors for training-related lower extremity muscle injuries in young males by a non-invasive method of body composition analysis.Methods::A total of 282 healthy young male volunteers aged 18 -20 years participated in this cohort study. Injury location, degree, and injury rate were adjusted by a questionnaire based on the overuse injury assessment methods used in epidemiological studies of sports injuries. The occurrence of training injuries is monitored and diagnosed by physicians and treated accordingly. The body composition was measured using the BodyStat QuadScan 4000 multifrequency Bio-impedance system at 5, 50, 100 and 200 kHz to obtain 4 impedance values. The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to check whether the data conformed to a normal distribution. Data of normal distribution were shown as mean ± SD and analyzed by t-test, while those of non-normal distribution were shown as median (Q 1, Q 3) and analyzed by Wilcoxon rank sum test. The receiver operator characteristic curve and logistic regression analysis were performed to investigate risk factors for developing training-related lower extremity injuries and accuracy. Results::Among the 282 subjects, 78 (27.7%) developed training injuries. Lower extremity training injuries revealed the highest incidence, accounting for 23.4% (66 cases). These patients showed higher percentages of lean body mass ( p = 0.001), total body water (TBW, p=0.006), extracellular water ( p=0.020) and intracellular water ( p=0.010) as well as a larger ratio of basal metabolic rate/total weight ( p=0.006), compared with those without lower extremity muscle injuries. On the contrary, the percentage of body fat ( p=0.001) and body fat mass index ( p=0.002) were lower. Logistic regression analysis showed that TBW percentage > 65.35% ( p=0.050, odds ratio =3.114) and 3rd space water > 0.95% ( p=0.045, odds ratio =2.342) were independent risk factors for lower extremity muscle injuries. Conclusion::TBW percentage and 3rd space water measured with bio-impedance method are potential risk factors for predicting the incidence of lower extremity muscle injuries in young males following training.

The Piezo protein is a non-selective mechanosensitive cation channel that exhibits sensitivity to mechanical stimuli such as pressure and shear stress. It converts mechanical signals into bioelectric activity within cells, thus triggering specific biological responses. In the digestive system, Piezo protein plays a crucial role in maintaining normal physiological activities, including digestion, absorption, metabolic regulation, and immune modulation. However, dysregulation in Piezo protein expression may lead to the occurrence of several pathological conditions, including visceral hypersensitivity, impairment of intestinal mucosal barrier function, and immune inflammation.Therefore, conducting a comprehensive review of the physiological functions and pathological roles of Piezo protein in the digestive system is of paramount importance. In this review, we systematically summarize the structural and dynamic characteristics of Piezo protein, its expression patterns, and physiological functions in the digestive system. We particularly focus on elucidating the mechanisms of action of Piezo protein in digestive system tumor diseases, inflammatory diseases, fibrotic diseases, and functional disorders. Through the integration of the latest research findings, we have observed that Piezo protein plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of various digestive system diseases. There exist intricate interactions between Piezo protein and multiple phenotypes of digestive system tumors such as proliferation, apoptosis, and metastasis. In inflammatory diseases, Piezo protein promotes intestinal immune responses and pancreatic trypsinogen activation, contributing to the development of ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and pancreatitis. Additionally, Piezo1, through pathways involving co-action with the TRPV4 ion channel, facilitates neutrophil recruitment and suppresses HIF-1α ubiquitination, thereby mediating organ fibrosis in organs like the liver and pancreas. Moreover, Piezo protein regulation by gut microbiota or factors like age and gender can result in increased or decreased visceral sensitivity, and alterations in intestinal mucosal barrier structure and permeability, which are closely associated with functional disorders like irritable bowel sydrome (IBS) and functional consitipaction (FC). A thorough exploration of Piezo protein as a potential therapeutic target in digestive system diseases can provide a scientific basis and theoretical support for future clinical diagnosis and treatment strategies.

Background: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a highly desmoplastic tumor with poor prognosis even after curative resection. We investigated the associations between the composition of the ICC stroma and immune cell infiltration and aimed to develop a stromal-immune signature to predict prognosis in surgically treated ICC. Patients and methods: We recruited 359 ICC patients and performed immunohistochemistry to detect α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), CD3, CD4, CD8, Foxp3, CD68, and CD66b. Aniline was used to stain collagen deposition. Survival analyses were performed to detect prognostic values of these markers. Recursive partitioning for a discrete-time survival tree was applied to define a stromal-immune signature with distinct prognostic value. We delineated an integrated stromal-immune signature based on immune cell subpopulations and stromal composition to distinguish subgroups with different recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) time. Results: We defined four major patterns of ICC stroma composition according to the distributions of α-SMA and collagen: dormant (α-SMAlow/collagenhigh), fibrogenic (α-SMAhigh/collagenhigh), inert (α-SMAlow/collagenlow), and fibrolytic (α-SMAhigh/collagenlow). The stroma types were characterized by distinct patterns of infiltration by immune cells. We divided patients into six classes. Class I, characterized by high CD8 expression and dormant stroma, displayed the longest RFS and OS, whereas Class VI, characterized by low CD8 expression and high CD66b expression, displayed the shortest RFS and OS. The integrated stromal-immune signature was consolidated in a validation cohort. Conclusion We developed and validated a stromal-immune signature to predict prognosis in surgically treated ICC. These findings provide new insights into the stromal-immune response to ICC.

Objective To establish a high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(HPLC-MS/MS)method for the simultaneous determination of isoniazid and acetylisoniazid in human serum,and to detect the concentration of isoniazid in the blood of tuberculosis patients.Methods The serum samples were achieved on an Agilent RRHD SB-Aq(50.0 mm ×3.0 mm,1.8 μm),whose column temperature was 40 ℃.The mobile phase consisted of purified water and methanol with a gradient program at a flow rate of 0.25 mL·min-1.Both isoniazid and acetyl-isoniazid mass spectrometry detection methods were electrospray positive ion mode,multiple reaction monitoring.The specificity,lower limit of quantitation,standard curve,precision and recovery,matrix effect,stability and residual effect of the method were investigated.Results The retention times of isoniazid and acetylisoniazid were 1.37 and 1.24 min,respectively.Isoniazid showed a good linear relationship in the range of 0.2-20.0 μg·mL-1.The regression equation of isoniazid was y=0.29x+3.05 × 10-3(r2=0.999 6),and the lower limit of quantitation was 200 ng·mL-1.The regression equation of acetyl isoniazid was y=0.29x-3.21 × 10-3(r2=0.999 7),and the lower limit of quantitation was 200 ng·mL-1.The relative standard deviation(RSD)of intra-lot and inter-lot precision was less than 4.00％.The recovery rates were 100.34％-106.22％.Internal standard normalized matrix effect factor(MF)≤ 3.79％.The samples have good freeze-thaw cycle stability and long-term stability.The method has been successfully used to analyze serum samples of 72 patients with tuberculosis in our hospital.Conclusion This method is simple,rapid and accurate,and is suitable for simultaneous determination of isoniazid and acetylisoniazid in the blood of tuberculosis patients.