Sexual experiences and information needs among patients with prostate cancer: a qualitative study.

Background: Less is known about the sexual life and information seeking of Chinese patients with prostate cancer (PCa) after androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) treatment. Aim: To identify the experiences of sex and information needs among Chinese patients with PCa after ADT treatment. Methods: This qualitative study included 15 Chinese patients with PCa in urology inpatient wards, selected via a purposive sampling method. Semistructured interviews were conducted face-to-face or by telephone regarding sexual experiences and information needs after ADT treatment. Outcomes: Themes and subthemes were assessed among patients with PCa. Results: Two themes and 5 subthemes emerged from the interview data. The first theme was "altered sexual life and attitude" with 3 subthemes: (1) undesirable sexual function and altered sexuality, (2) sexual attitudes and sociocultural cognition, and (3) behavior adjustment and intimacy. The second theme was "scarce information sources" with 2 subthemes: (1) uncertainty and lack of information support and (2) barriers to access sexual information. Clinical Implications: The present findings suggest that the following may help patients with PCa manage treatment and develop appropriate sexual attitudes: a tailored sexual health education program, well-equipped consultations rooms, and information delivery innovations. Strengths and Limitations: Strengths of this study included adding unique evidence among patients with PCa within an Asian context to reveal the understudied topic of sexual health and information needs after ADT treatment. This study was limited in being representative of all Chinese patients with PCa, with different marital statuses, treatment therapies, sexual orientations, and barriers of information seeking. Conclusion: Sexual life and attitude among patients with PCa were affected by their sociocultural cognition and ADT treatment, and most patients received insufficient information and sexual health education from health care providers.

Electrochemically Promoted [3 + 2] Annulation of Imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine with Alkynes.

The efficient electrochemically promoted [3 + 2] annulation of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines with alkynes using traceless electrons as green reagents has been developed, leading to the synthesis of a large class of polycyclic heteroaromatics in good yields with a broad substrate scope under mild and green conditions. The scaled-up experiment, follow-up procedures, and potential biological applications show the practicability and feasibility of the electrochemical method.

Subtype-selective mechanisms of negative allosteric modulators binding to group I metabotropic glutamate receptors.

Group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGlu1 and mGlu5) are promising targets for multiple psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. Understanding the subtype selectivity of mGlu1 and mGlu5 allosteric sites is essential for the rational design of novel modulators with single- or dual-target mechanism of action. In this study, starting from the deposited mGlu1 and mGlu5 crystal structures, we utilized computational modeling approaches integrating docking, molecular dynamics simulation, and efficient post-trajectory analysis to reveal the subtype-selective mechanism of mGlu1 and mGlu5 to 10 diverse drug scaffolds representing known negative allosteric modulators (NAMs) in the literature. The results of modeling identified six pairs of non-conserved residues and four pairs of conserved ones as critical features to distinguish the selective NAMs binding to the corresponding receptors. In addition, nine pairs of residues are beneficial to the development of novel dual-target NAMs of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors. Furthermore, the binding modes of a reported dual-target NAM (VU0467558) in mGlu1 and mGlu5 were predicted to verify the identified residues that play key roles in the receptor selectivity and the dual-target binding. The results of this study can guide rational structure-based design of novel NAMs, and the approach can be generally applicable to characterize the features of selectivity for other G-protein-coupled receptors.

Membrane Biofouling Control by Surface Modification of Quaternary Ammonium Compound Using Atom-Transfer Radical-Polymerization Method with Silica Nanoparticle as Interlayer.

A facile approach to fabricate antibiofouling membrane was developed by grafting quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) onto polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane via surface-initiated activators regenerated by electron transfer atom-transfer radical-polymerization (ARGET ATRP) method. During the modification process, a hydrophilic silica nanoparticle layer was also immobilized onto the membrane surface as an interlayer through silicification reaction for QAC grafting, which imparted the membrane with favorable surface properties (e.g., hydrophilic and negatively charged surface). The QAC-modified membrane (MQ) showed significantly improved hydrophilicity and permeability mainly due to the introduction of silica nanoparticles and exposure of hydrophilic quaternary ammonium groups instead of long alkyl chains. Furthermore, the coverage of QAC onto membrane surface enabled MQ membrane to have clear antibacterial effect, with an inhibition rate ~99.9% of Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive), respectively. According to the batch filtration test, MQ had better antibiofouling performance compared to the control membrane, which was ascribed to enhanced hydrophilicity and antibacterial activity. Furthermore, the MQ membrane also exhibited impressive stability of QAC upon suffering repeated fouling-cleaning tests. The modification protocols provide a new robust way to fabricate high-performance antibiofouling QAC-based membranes for wastewater treatment.