[Detection methods and evaluation indexes of sexual motivation in male rats: An update].

Sexual motivation refers to the intensity of willingness to have sex with or near a potential partner and is important for sexual health. At present, low sexual desire has become an increasingly prominent social problem, and there are no unified standards for its detection and evaluation. In this paper, we systematically sorted out the commonly used methods for detecting sexual motivation in male rats, including the three major categories of male-female mating, competitive selection and task acquisition, and discussed the relevant evaluation indexes and the advantages and disadvantages of various methods. We also explored the nature of sexual motivation, elaborated sexual contact behavior as a direct manifestation of sexual motivation, and proposed focusing relevant studies on contact behaviors and differentiating sexual proximity from social proximity.

Real-world data of China: Analysis of HPV vaccine coverage and post-vaccination adverse reaction monitoring in Western Chinese provinces from 2018 to 2021.

To investigate the HPV vaccine coverage and post-vaccination adverse reactions in Gansu Province, Western China, from 2018 to 2021. Data on suspected adverse reactions to HPV vaccines were collected from the Chinese Vaccine Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI). Estimate the incidence rates of Common Adverse Reaction and Rare Adverse Reaction. HPV vaccine coverage among females in different age groups was calculated using data from the Gansu Provincial Immunization Information Platform. The first-dose HPV vaccine coverage rate among females aged 9 to 45 was 2.02%, with the lowest rate of less than 1% observed in females aged 9 to 14. From 2018 to 2021, the incidence rates of Common Adverse Reaction and Rare Adverse Reaction reported in females after HPV vaccination were 11.82 and 0.39 per 100,000 doses, respectively. Common Adverse Reaction included fever (5.52 per 100,000 doses), local redness and swelling (3.33 per 100,000 doses), fatigue (3.15 per 100,000 doses), headache (2.76 per 100,000 doses), as well as local induration and nausea/vomiting (1.97 per 100,000 doses). Adverse reactions mainly occurred within 1 day after vaccination, followed by 1 to 3 days after vaccination. The HPV vaccine coverage rate among females aged 9 to 14 in Gansu Province is remarkably low, and there is an urgent need to enhance vaccine coverage. From 2018 to 2021, the incidence of Adverse reaction Following Immunization HPV vaccination fell within the expected range, indicating the vaccine's safety profile.

Compositional Engineering of Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Lead-Halide Perovskite and PVDF-Graphene for High-Performance Triboelectric Nanogenerators.

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have attracted a great deal of attention since they can convert ubiquitous mechanical energy into electrical energy and serve as a continuous power source for self-powered sensors. Optimization of the dielectric material composition is an effective way to improve the triboelectric output performance of TENGs. Herein, the hybrid organic-inorganic lead-iodide perovskite Cs0.05FA0.95-xMAxPbI3 was prepared by blade coating and used as a positive friction layer material. Moreover, PVDF-graphene (PG) nanofibers were prepared as negative friction layer materials by electrostatic spinning. The output performance of the TENG was enhanced by varying the MA content of the pervoskite films and the graphene content of the PG nanofibers. The champion output TENG based on Cs0.05FA0.9MA0.05PbI3/PG-0.15 achieved an open-circuit voltage of 245 V, a short-circuit current of 24 µA, and a charge transfer of 80.2 nC. Meanwhile, a maximum power density of 11.23 W m-2 was obtained at 100 MΩ. Moreover, the device exhibits excellent energy-harvesting properties, including excellent stability and durability, rapidly charges capacitors, and lights commercial LEDs and digital tubes.

Coagulation parameters correlate to venous thromboembolism occurrence during the perioperative period in patients with spinal fractures.

BACKGROUND: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is one of the leading causes of mortality in hospitalized patients. However, whether the coagulation-related parameters of the hospitalized patients could be used to predict the occurrence of VTE in patients with spinal injury surgery remained unclear. METHOD: The patients with spinal fractures who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled to be analyzed using a retrospective analysis approach. The association of risk factors of enrolled patients and operations to VTE occurrence were analyzed. The activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time, thrombin time, D-dimer (D-D), fibrinogen (FIB) and fibrinogen degradation products (FDP) were detected. ROC and HR analysis were applied to evaluate the correlation of coagulation-related parameters and other parameters to VTE occurrence. RESULT: The indicators of D-D, FIB and FDP were significantly elevated in VTE patients compared to non-VTE patients. The multivariate analysis of OR showed that six risk factors, including age ≥ 60, spinal cord injury, postoperative bedtime over 5 days, plasma D-dimer ≥ 0.54 mg/L, plasma fibrinogen ≥ 3.75 g/L and plasma FDP ≥ 5.19 mg/L, were positively correlated to VTE. CONCLUSION: The six risk factors, including D-D, FIB, FDP, age ≥ 60, spinal cord injury, and postoperative bedtime over 5 days, could be used to predict the occurrence of VTE.

Identification of Pla a 7 as a novel pollen allergen group in Platanus acerifolia pollen.

BACKGROUND: Platanus acerifolia is recognized as a source of allergenic pollen worldwide. Currently, five Platanus acerifolia pollen allergens belonging to different protein families have been identified, in which profilin and enolase were characterized by our group recently. Besides, we also screened and identified a novel allergen candidate as triosephosphate isomerase, which was different from already known types of pollen allergens. However, the role of this novel allergen group in Platanus acerifolia pollen allergy was unclear. Therefore, we further investigated the allergenicity and clarify its clinical relevance in this study. METHODS: The natural triosephosphate isomerase from Platanus acerifolia pollen was purified by three steps of chromatography and identified by mass spectrometry. The cDNA sequence of this protein was matched from in-house transcripts based on internal peptide sequences, which was further confirmed by PCR cloning. The recombinant triosephosphate isomerase was expressed and purified from E. coli. Allergenicity analysis of this protein was carried out by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, immunoblot, and basophil activation test. RESULTS: A novel allergen group belonging to triosephosphate isomerase was firstly identified in Platanus acerifolia pollen and named as Pla a 7. The cDNA of Pla a 7 contained an open reading frame of 762 bp encoding 253 amino acids. The natural Pla a 7 displayed 41.4% IgE reactivity with the patients' sera by ELISA, in which the absorbance value showed correlation to the serum sIgE against Platanus acerifolia pollen extract. Inhibition of IgE-binding to pollen extracts reached 26%-94% in different Pla a 7-positive sera. The recombinant Pla a 7 exhibited weaker IgE-reactivity in ELISA than its natural form, but showed comparable activity in immunoblot. The allergenicity was further confirmed by basophil activation test. CONCLUSIONS: Triosephosphate isomerase (Pla a 7) was first recognized as pollen allergen in Platanus acerifolia pollen, which is a completely different type of pollen allergen from those previously reported. This finding is essential to enrich information on allergen components and pave the way for molecular diagnosis or treatment strategies for Platanus acerifolia pollen allergy.

Cascading effects of hypobaric hypoxia on the testis: insights from a single-cell RNA sequencing analysis.

Most mammals tolerate exposure to hypobaric hypoxia poorly as it may affect multiple regulatory mechanisms and inhibit cell proliferation, promote apoptosis, limit tissue vascularization, and disrupt the acid-base equilibrium. Here, we quantified the functional state of germ cell development and demonstrated the interaction between the germ and somatic cells via single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). The present study elucidated the regulatory effects of hypobaric hypoxia exposure on germ cell formation and sperm differentiation by applying enrichment analysis to genomic regions. Hypobaric hypoxia downregulates the genes controlling granule secretion and organic matter biosynthesis, upregulates tektin 1 (TEKT1) and kinesin family member 2C (KIF2C), and downregulates 60S ribosomal protein 11 (RPL11) and cilia- and flagella-associated protein 206 (CFAP206). Our research indicated that prosaposin-G protein-coupled receptor 37 (PSAP-GPR37) ligands mediate the damage to supporting cells caused by hypobaric hypoxic exposure. The present work revealed that hypoxia injures peritubular myoid (PTM) cells and spermatocytes in the S phase. It also showed that elongating spermatids promote maturation toward the G2 phase and increase their functional reserve for sperm-egg binding. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis for future investigations on prophylactic and therapeutic approaches toward protecting the reproductive system against the harmful effects of hypobaric hypoxic exposure.

Analysis of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Perfusion Parameters for the Identification of Spinal Metastatic Tumors with Rich Blood Supply.

PURPOSE: To determine the reliability of dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) perfusion parameters for the evaluation of blood supply to spinal metastatic tumors. METHODS: A total of 36 patients with spinal metastasis who underwent dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance spinal perfusion imaging at Tianjin Hospital from December 2018 to December 2020 were reviewed. Subsequently, the patients underwent corresponding preoperative examination using digital subtraction angiography of the spine at the hospital and were divided into 2 groups accordingly. Differences in dynamic MRI perfusion parameters between the 2 groups were analyzed. RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences between the 2 groups in the quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI perfusion parameters vascular permeability and plasma volume, as well as semi-quantitative peak enhancement and blood flow ratio parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Dynamic MRI perfusion may distinguish spinal metastatic lesions with rich blood supply from those with poor blood supply and may help clinicians identify patients that can benefit from invasive spinal angiography and preoperative embolization. This technique may also provide guidance on decision taking for surgery basing on dynamic MRI perfusion parameters.

A simple and efficient fluorescent labeling method in Staphylococcus aureus for real-time tracking of invasive bacteria.

Bacterial fluorescent labeling is a powerful tool for the diagnosis and treatment of bacterial infections. Here, we present a simple and efficient labeling strategy for Staphylococcus aureus. Intracellular labeling of bacteria was achieved by heat shock using Cyanine 5.5 (Cy5.5) near-infrared-I dyes in S. aureus (Cy5.5@S. aureus). Several key factors, such as Cy5.5 concentration and labeling time, were systematically evaluated. Further, the cytotoxicity of Cy5.5 and the stability of Cy5.5@S. aureus was evaluated by flow cytometry, inverted fluorescence microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. In addition, Cy5.5@S. aureus were used to explore the phagocytic behavior of RAW264.7 macrophages. These results proved that Cy5.5@S. aureus had a uniform fluorescence intensity and high luminance; additionally, our method had no significant adverse effects on S. aureus compared to unlabeled S. aureus infections. Our method provides researchers with a useful option for analyzing the behavior of S. aureus as an infectious agent. This technique can be broadly applied to study host cell-bacteria interactions at the molecular level, and to in vivo tracing of bacterial infections.

A METTL3 Inhibitor Alleviates the Onset of Osteomyelitis in a Mouse Model by Targeting MyD88.

We aimed to study the effects of a methyltransferase 3 (METTL3) inhibitor on osteomyelitis. Bone marrow cells (BMs) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from osteomyelitis patients at our hospital. Primary BM-derived macrophages (BMDMs) were incubated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), poly(I:C), or PAM3CSK4 after pretreatment with STM2457. S. aureus was injected into the intramedullary canal to construct an osteomyelitis C57BL/6 mice model, which was then treated with STM2457. Body weights, µCT three-dimensional analyses, and bacterial burdens of the mice were obtained. Up-regulated METTL3 expression was found in both BMs and PBMCs of osteomyelitis patients. LPS and PAM3CSK4-induced IL-6 and TNF-α secretion in BMDMs could be inhibited by STM2457 pretreatment, while STM2457 pretreatment did not affect the relative expression of NOS2, IL-6, and TNF-α after incubation with poly(I:C). STM2457 alleviated the symptoms of osteomyelitis in mice with increased body weights, diminished reactive bone formation and cortical bone loss, increased bacterial burdens, and decreased IL-6 and TNF-α secretion. STM2457 pretreatment down-regulated the relative expression of myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), p-TAK, and p-IKKα/ß in LPS-stimulated BMDMs, while it did not show any effect on poly(I:C)-stimulated BMDMs. STM2457 alleviates the onset of osteomyelitis in mice by down-regulating the relative expression of MyD88 and NF-κB relevant inflammation molecules in macrophages.