Association between serum vitamin D levels and visceral adipose tissue among adolescents: a cross-sectional observational study in NHANES 2011-2015.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, obesity and vitamin D deficiency are more prevalent among adolescents. Improving our knowledge of the link between vitamin D and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is essential for the health of adolescents. This study aimed to examine the connection between serum vitamin D levels and VAT mass among adolescents participating in the United States. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study that used data from the 2011 to 2015 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The connection between serum vitamin D levels and VAT was investigated using weighted multiple linear regression models. Potential nonlinear relationships were explored using smooth curve fitting. RESULTS: The analysis included 3171 adolescents aged 12-19 years. Vitamin D levels were shown to be inversely linked with VAT in the full-adjusted model (ß = - 0.34, 95% CI: - 0.49 to - 0.19). When stratified analyses by gender, this negative relationship persisted in the girls' group (ß = - 0.39, 95% CI: - 0.60 to - 0.19), but not in the boys' group (ß = - 0.06, 95% CI: - 0.25 to 0.13). When stratified analysis by race, this negative relationship persisted in the Mexican American group (ß = - 0.61, 95% CI: - 1.03 to - 0.19), and the non-Hispanic White group (ß = - 0.27, 95% CI: - 0.54 to - 0.01), but not in the other groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings confirmed that serum vitamin D levels negatively correlated with VAT among adolescents in the United State, especially in girls, the Mexican American and non-Hispanic White. Further research is needed to determine whether increasing serum vitamin D levels decrease VAT among adolescents.

Clinical characteristics and endoscopic treatment of hematospermia with postcoital hematuria.

BACKGROUND: Recurrent hematospermia accompanied by postejaculatory hematuria is a very rare phenomenon, has not been well understood in the clinical setting, and usually leads to misdiagnosis and mistreatment. The aim of this study was to summarize the clinical characteristics, etiologic diagnosis, and endoscopic treatment of hematospermia with postcoital hematuria. METHODS: We collected the clinical data from 39 patients of hematospermia with postcoital hematuria, who were admitted to our hospital from May 2014 to October 2019. The etiologic diagnostic process and endoscopic surgery were analyzed retrospectively, and we observed and evaluated the efficacy and any complications during follow-up. RESULTS: The average age of the 39 patients was 44.1 years (range, 18-61 years), and the disease history ranged from 1 month to 20 years, with a median duration of 24 months. All of the patients were observed by urethrocystoscopy, which showed 38 cases of posterior urethral hemangioma (PUH) or abnormal varicose vessels, and 1 case of anterior urethral hemangioma. Of these, 18 patients underwent transurethral resection of urethral hemangioma, and 21 patients underwent transurethral electrocauterization. Postoperative follow-up ranged from 1 to 56 months, with a median of 16 months. The symptoms disappeared in 37 patients and recurred in 2 patients two to 3 months after the operation. The two recurrent patients were treated again by transurethral electrocauterization, and their symptoms then disappeared. CONCLUSIONS: PUH is the most common cause of hematospermia with postejaculatory hematuria. Herein, we demonstrated that transurethral resection or electrocauterization provides a safe, effective, and minimally invasive method for the treatment of PUH.

Application of novel pH sensitive isoniazid-heptamethine carbocyanine dye conjugates against prostate cancer cells.

Recent studies have shown that monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) is significantly expressed in malignant prostate cancer (PCa) and plays an important role in tumorigenesis indicating its potential to serve as a target for PCa treatment. Here, we choose the small molecule isoniazid as the MAOA inhibition functionality and incorporated it in the tumor-targeting moiety of heptamethine carbocyanine dyes via a pH sensitive hydrazone bond to design and synthesize novel MAOA inhibitor isoniazid-heptamethine carbocyanine dye conjugates. Cytotoxicity assay in PC-3 cells shows that all conjugates possessed improved antitumor efficacy compared with isoniazid. The tested compounds also demonstrated a moderate MAOA inhibitory effect. In conclusion, these results indicate that these conjugates exert antitumor effects by delivering the MAOA-inhibiting moiety to PCa cells.

Fatty acids from oleaginous yeasts and yeast-like fungi and their potential applications.

PURPOSE: Oleaginous yeasts, fatty acids biosynthesis and regulation in the oleaginous yeasts and the fatty acids from the oleaginous yeasts and their applications are reviewed in this article. RESULTS: Oleaginous yeasts such as Rhodosporidium toruloides, Yarrowia lipolytica, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, and Aureobasidium melanogenum, which can accumulate over 50% lipid of their cell dry weight, have many advantages over other oleaginous microorganisms. The fatty acids from the oleaginous yeasts have many potential applications. Many oleaginous yeasts have now been genetically modified to over-produce fatty acids and their derivatives. The most important features of the oleaginous yeasts are that they have special enzymatic systems for enhanced biosynthesis and regulation of fatty acids in their lipid particles. Recently, some oleaginous yeasts such as R. toruloides have been found to have a unique fatty acids synthetase and other oleaginous yeasts such as A. melanogenum have a unique highly reducing polyketide synthase (HR-PKS) involved in the biosynthesis of hydroxyl fatty acids. CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to further enhance lipid biosynthesis using metabolic engineering and explore new applications of fatty acids in biotechnology.

[Injection of botulinum-A toxin into bulbospongiosus muscle for primary premature ejaculation: A preliminary clinical study].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of injection of botulinum-A toxin into the bulbospongiosus muscle in the treatment of primary premature ejaculation (PPE). METHODS: According to the inclusion criteria, we randomly assigned 70 outpatients with PPE to a trial and a control group of equal number, the former injected with 100 U botulinum-A toxin at 10 U/ml and the latter with the same volume of saline into the bulbospongiosus muscle. Then, we obtained the intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT), scores of the Premature Ejaculation Profile (PEP), Male Sexual Health Questionnaire-Ejaculatory Dysfunction (MSHQ-EjD), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups before and 4 weeks after treatment. RESULTS: Complete data were obtained from 69 of the patients, 34 in the trial and 35 in the control group. The effectiveness rate was 47.06% (16/34) in the former but 0 in the latter. At 4 weeks after treatment, the patients of the trial group showed a significantly longer IELT than the controls and the baseline (ï¼»2.35 ± 1.83ï¼½ vs ï¼»0.79 ± 0.21ï¼½ and ï¼»0.74 ±+ 0.27ï¼½ min, P < 0.01) and the controls. The patients in the trial group, in comparison with those in the saline control group and the baseline, also exhibited significant improvement in the scores of PEP-ejaculation control (1.21 ± 1.04 vs 0.49 ± 0.56 and 0.47 ± 0.51, P < 0.05), PEP-sexual satisfaction (1.32 ± 1.01 vs 0.71 ± 0.57 and 0.79 ± 0.48, P < 0.05), PEP-PE-related distress (2.12 ± 1.01 vs 2.80 ± 0.68 and 2.76 ± 1.26, P < 0.05), and PEP-PE-induced difficult relationship with the partners (1.38 ± 0.70 vs 2.37 ± 0.55 and 2.12 ± 1.49, P < 0.05). The sexual satisfaction score of the female partners after treatment was markedly improved in the trial group as compared with the control group and the baseline (1.18 ± 1.00 vs 0.57 ± 0.50 and 0.62 ± 0.60, P < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in MSHQ-EjD and HADS scores between the two groups before and after treatment. Adverse reactions were observed in 6 cases (17.65%) in the trial group, including 4 cases of decreased erectile hardness (11.76%) and 2 cases of incomplete urination (5.88%), which occurred from the 3 to 4 days after injection, and those with decreased erectile hardness could complete sexual intercourse without any other treatment and recovered after 3 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Injection of botulinum-A toxin into the bulbospongiosus muscle can be used as an option for the treatment of PPE. Its clinical application value, however, needs to be verified by further studies with larger samples.

Adaptor protein DOK3 promotes plasma cell differentiation by regulating the expression of programmed cell death 1 ligands.

The adaptor Downstream-of-Kinase (DOK) 3 functions as a negative regulator and attenuates B-cell receptor-mediated calcium signaling. Although DOK3 is dispensable for early B-cell development, its role in plasma cell (PC) differentiation is unknown. Here, we show that Dok3(-/-) mice have increased populations of T follicular-helper (Tfh) and germinal center (GC) B cells upon immunization with a T-cell-dependent antigen. However, interestingly, they generate significantly fewer PCs. Bone marrow reconstitution experiments show that the PC defect is B-cell intrinsic and due to the inability of Dok3(-/-) B cells to sustain programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) ligand 1 (PDL1) and up-regulate PD-1 ligand 2 (PDL2) expressions that are critical for PC differentiation. Overexpression of PDL2 rectifies the PC differentiation defect in Dok3(-/-) B cells. We further demonstrate that calcium signaling suppresses the transcription of PD-1 ligands. Abrogation of calcium signaling in B cells by deleting BTK or PLCγ2 or inhibiting calcineurin with cyclosporine A leads to increased expression of PD-1 ligands. Thus, our study reveals DOK3 as a nonredundant regulator of PC differentiation by up-regulating PD-1 ligand expression through the attenuation of calcium signaling.

[Seminal vesiculoscopy: Past, status quo, and prospects].

Seminal vesiculoscopy is a new technology in uro-andrology developed in recent 10 years, which is a set of clinical operational techniques for observing the ejaculatory duct, seminal vesicle, ampullar region of the vas deferens and their surrounding structure, determining the cause, location and degree of the disease, and accomplishing such treatment procedures as irrigation, resection, incision, fulguration, hemostasis, expansion, drainage, and removal of hematocele, stones or obstruction in the distal seminal duct region. Therefore, it is not only an etiologically diagnostic technique, but also a minimally invasive surgical approach to the management of common diseases of the distal seminal duct region. Seminal vesiculoscopy has irreplaceable advantages of safety, effectiveness, minimal invasiveness, rapid recovery, and few complications.

[Vacuum sealing drainage as an adjuvant treatment of penile and scrotal gangrene: Clinical analysis of 4 cases].

OBJECTIVE: To search for an optimal strategy for the treatment of penile and scrotal gangrene by analyzing the clinical effect of vacuum sealing drainage (VSD) as an adjuvant treatment on this disease. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data about 4 cases of penile and scrotal gangrene treated by VSD as an adjuvant treatment from January 2015 to June 2016. The 4 patients all underwent early extensive and radical debridement of gangrene of the scrotum and penis and received intravenous injection of two broad-spectrum antibiotics, followed by VSD for wound drainage and irrigation. RESULTS: Adequate wound drainage was achieved in all the 4 cases, the gangrene range rapidly localized and testicular necrosis avoided. The wound surface healed satisfactorily after cleansing and suturing. The patients were followed up for 3 months after discharged from the hospital and none experienced recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: VSD combined with early adequate debridement can effectively localize the gangrene range, significantly reduce the frequency of changing dressings and shorten the hospitalization time of the patient, and therefore is a very effective adjuvant treatment of penile and scrotal gangrene.

Loss of miR-182 affects B-cell extrafollicular antibody response.

MicroRNAs have been shown to play a role in B-cell differentiation and activation. Here, we found miR-182 to be highly induced in activated B cells. However, mice lacking miR-182 have normal B-cell and T-cell development. Interestingly, mutant mice exhibited a defective antibody response at early time-points in the immunization regimen when challenged with a T-cell-dependent antigen. Germinal centres were formed but the generation of extrafollicular plasma cells was defective in the spleens of immunized miR-182-deficient mice. Mutant mice were also not able to respond to a T-cell-independent type 2 antigen, which typically elicited an extrafollicular B-cell response. Taken together, the data indicated that miR-182 plays a critical role in driving extrafollicular B-cell antibody responses.

[Efficacy and safety of Yimusake Tablets plus dapoxetine hydrochloride in the treatment of premature ejaculation].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect and safety of Yimusake Tablets combined with dapoxetine hydrochloride and either of them used alone in the treatment of premature ejaculation (PE). METHODS: We randomly assigned 180 PE patients to oral medication of Yimusake Tablets at 1.5 g per night (group A), dapoxetine hydrochloride at 30 mg at 1－3 hours before anticipated sexual activity (group B), the Yimusake Tablets plus dapoxetine hydrochloride simultaneously (group C), all for 8 weeks. After 4 and 8 weeks of medication, we recorded and compared the changes in the intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT), measures of the PE profile (PEP), and adverse events among the three groups of patients. RESULTS: The treatment was accomplished and complete data obtained from 154 of the patients, 56 in group A, 52 in group B, and 46 in group C. After 4 and 8 weeks of medication, the mean IELT was dramatically prolonged in all the three groups as compared with the baseline (P<0.01), most significantly at 8 weeks in group C (ï¼»2.08±0.68ï¼½ min), followed by B (ï¼»1.76±0.52ï¼½ min) and A (ï¼»1.47±0.44ï¼½ min), with statistically significant differences among the three groups (P<0.01). The PEP measures were remarkably improved in group A at 8 weeks (P<0.05), and both in B and C at 4 and 8 weeks (P<0.05), most significantly at 8 weeks in group C (P<0.05), in which the patients scored 1.96±0.77 in perception of control over ejaculation, 2.62±0.98 in satisfaction with sexual intercourse, 3.04±0.62 in PE-related distress, and 3.57±0.80 in PE-induced difficult relationship with their partners, all markedly improved as compared with groups A and B (P<0.05). Adverse reactions were observed in 2 cases (3.6%) in group A, 6 cases (9.6%) in B, and 5 cases (10.9%) in C. No severe adverse events occurred in any of the patients during the study. CONCLUSIONS: Combined medication of Yimusake Tablets and dapoxetine hydrochloride, with its advantages of effectiveness and safety, deserves to be recommended for the treatment of PE.

Self-retaining contact lens simplifies intravitreal injection course in rats.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to design a self-retaining rat contact lens to simplify intravitreous injection in rats. MATERIAL/METHODS: A self-retaining, plane-concave prism contact lens customized for rats was designed. Forty diabetic rats were randomly divided into 2 groups and received the intravitreous injection of 10 µl of a cell suspension containing bone marrow-derived stroma cell (BMSC). Group A: used a microsyringe and a rat contact lens (n=20). Group B: used the same microsyringe and a traditional cover-slip (n=20).The duration of the intravitreous injection course and the success rate of intravitreous injection were observed. RESULTS: With the use of a self-retaining rat contact lens, a clear and stable view of the rat fundus was provided and the intravitreous injection course of rats quickly achieved, averaging 4.65±0.53 min in Group A and 12.33±2.79 min in Group B. The difference was statistically significant, and the time saved averaged 7.68 min. None of the Group A rats had retinal bleeding or lens injury; whereas 2 of 20 Group B rats had bleeding and 1 of 20 had lens injury. There was no significant difference between the rats in Group A and Group B. CONCLUSIONS: A self-retaining rat contact lens is a potentially powerful instrument that allows high-quality observation of the rat fundus and simplifies the course of intravitreal injection.

Magnesium sulfate for acute traumatic brain injury.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the effect of magnesium sulfate in the treatment of acute traumatic brain injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic search of ClinicalTrials.gov, the Cochrane Library database, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and the World Health Organization trial registry, plus manual searches of gray literature, was undertaken in April 2013. Two reviewers independently extracted the data with a predefined data extraction form. RevMan 5 software was used to synthesize data and calculate the risk ratio for mortality with the 95% confidence interval. For the Glasgow Outcome Scale and posttreatment Glasgow Coma Scale data, the weighted mean difference was calculated with the 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: A total of 8 randomized controlled trials with a total of 786 patients were included. Meta-analysis showed that there was no significant difference between the groups for mortality. The Glasgow Outcome Scale of the treatment group was higher than that of the control group, although the significance was borderline. The Glasgow Coma Scale score change posttreatment was significantly higher than that of the control. CONCLUSIONS: The present meta-analysis of existing randomized controlled trials does not identify a significant beneficial effect in the mortality of traumatic brain injury patients; however, it suggests that magnesium sulfate shows a tendency to improve the Glasgow Outcome Scale and Glasgow Coma Scale scores, which is a promising result for traumatic brain injury therapy. Further effort is necessary to explore which subgroup of traumatic brain injury patients could benefit from magnesium sulfate.

Reduction of fertility in male mice immunised with pSG.SS.C3d3.YL.Bin1b recombinant vaccine.

OBJECTIVES: To study the anti-fertility effect of a DNA vaccine using Bin1b as the target antigen in male mice. METHODS: A novel recombinant eukaryotic vector containing a fusion gene sequence of mouse Bin1b in tandem with three copies of C3d fragment (C3d3) was used to construct pSG.SS.C3d3.YL.Bin1b. The correct expression of the Bin1b-C3d3 protein was confirmed in transfected HEK293 cells by indirect immunofluorescence and western blot analysis. The fertility of immunised mice was determined by a mating experiment and sperm motility test. Anti-Bin1b antibody titres in sera were examined by ELISA assays. Binding activity of C3d3 fragment of the fusion protein was verified in C3d receptor-expressing Raji cells and flow cytometric analysis. RESULTS: Immunisation of pSG.SS.C3d3.YL.Bin1b recombinant DNA vaccine significantly decreased sperm motility and compromised fertility in male mice. ELISA results showed that the titres of anti-Bin1b IgG in sera of immunised mice increased markedly with the immunisation process. Further, the anti-fertility effect of pSG.SS.C3d3.YL.Bin1b was significantly better than that of pSG.SS.YL.Bin1b DNA vaccine and generated higher titres of anti-Bin1b antibody. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that recombinant DNA vaccine targeting Bin1b can markedly reduce fertility in male mice, providing an alternative approach for birth control.

Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers in Dementia Patients with Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy.

OBJECTIVE: To study the changes of biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) dementia and Alzheimer(')s disease. METHODS: Levels of amyloid protein ß (Aß42, Aß40) and phosphorylated Tau-protein (P-tau) in CSF and ratio of Aß42/Aß40 were tested in 5 cases with CAA dementia and 20 cases with Alzheimer's disease collected at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from December 2001 to March 2011. RESULTS: The levels of Aß42, Aß40, and P-tau in CSF and ratio of Aß42/Aß40 were (660.4 ± 265.2) ng/L, (7111.0 ± 1033.4) ng/L, (71.8 ± 51.5) ng/L, and 0.077 ± 0.033, respectively in CAA dementia and (663.6 ± 365.6) ng/L, (5115.0 ± 2931.1) ng/L, (47.7 ± 38.8) ng/L, and 0.192 ± 0.140, respectively in Alzheimer's disease patients. There were no statistically significant differences between CAA dementia and Alzheimer's disease in terms of these CSF biomarkers (all P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Measurements of CSF biomarkers may not be helpful in differential diagnosis of CAA and Alzheimer's disease.

[Dapoxetine for premature ejaculation: Advances in clinical studies].

Premature ejaculation (PE) is a most common sexual dysfunction, for which dapoxetine, a novel selective serotonin (5-HT) re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI), is the only licensed oral medicine at present. With the advantages of fast absorption, rapid action, on-demand medication, and short half-life time, dapoxetine has been proved by clinical trials to be effective in prolonging the intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) and improving the overall condition of PE patients in various areas and populations. Compared with the traditional SSRIs, dapoxetine has a better safety and tolerability. The most frequently reported dapoxetine-related adverse events include nausea, diarrhea, headache and dizziness, but with very few severe or serious cases.

[Reseach on THz Time Domain Spectrum of Photo-Induced Insulator-Metal Phase Transition of VO2 Films].

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) film will be phase-transitioned from insulator into metal, accompanied with dramatic change on conductivity, which is named as photo-induced insulator-metal phase transition. Such phase transition of VO2 film has important application potentials in modulators or other functional devices for terahertz waves. In this paper, the transmission spectrum variations before and after the photo-induced insulator-metal phase transition of vanadium dioxide film are investigated, and the phase transition properties in terahertz(THz) region are analyzed. In the experiment, the phase transition of the VO2 film was induced by a continuous wave (CW) laser source and a femtosecond (fs) laser source, respectively. Obvious changes on the THz waveforms were observed for the both mentioned means of excitation, and the amplitude attenuation, as well as the signal distortion, was intensified with the increase of the impinging optical power. The fast Fourier transform (FFT) spectra of the transmitted THz time-domain signals were analyzed and it was found that the amplitude of the transmitted spectrum decreased synchronously with the increase of the optical power, accompanied with deformation of the spectrum line shape at the same time. The reason was that the macroscopic dielectric properties of the VO2 film approached gradually to that of a metal as laser power was increased. A parameter, transmission modulation function, was defined in the paper as the amplitude difference between the transmission spectra of the VO2 film before and after the laser excitation, to describe the dispersivity of the photo-induced phase transition more clearly. From the curve of the transmission modulation function, strong frequency-dependent properties at THz frequencies were found to vary regularly with the incident light power. After furthermore comparison, it was found that, though the insulator-metal phase transition could be trigged by both CW laser source and fs laser source, the corresponding impinging optical power values were obviously alternative for the equivalent transmission modulation function. At the end of the paper, the difference of the phase transition efficiency between the two excitation methods was analyzed and discussed.

A modified nonlinear damage accumulation model for fatigue life prediction considering load interaction effects.

Many structures are subjected to variable amplitude loading in engineering practice. The foundation of fatigue life prediction under variable amplitude loading is how to deal with the fatigue damage accumulation. A nonlinear fatigue damage accumulation model to consider the effects of load sequences was proposed in earlier literature, but the model cannot consider the load interaction effects, and sometimes it makes a major error. A modified nonlinear damage accumulation model is proposed in this paper to account for the load interaction effects. Experimental data of two metallic materials are used to validate the proposed model. The agreement between the model prediction and experimental data is observed, and the predictions by proposed model are more possibly in accordance with experimental data than that by primary model and Miner's rule. Comparison between the predicted cumulative damage by the proposed model and an existing model shows that the proposed model predictions can meet the accuracy requirement of the engineering project and it can be used to predict the fatigue life of welded aluminum alloy joint of Electric Multiple Units (EMU); meanwhile, the accuracy of approximation can be obtained from the proposed model though more simple computing process and less material parameters calling for extensive testing than the existing model.

Thermal cycling life prediction of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder joint using type-I censored data.

Because solder joint interconnections are the weaknesses of microelectronic packaging, their reliability has great influence on the reliability of the entire packaging structure. Based on an accelerated life test the reliability assessment and life prediction of lead-free solder joints using Weibull distribution are investigated. The type-I interval censored lifetime data were collected from a thermal cycling test, which was implemented on microelectronic packaging with lead-free ball grid array (BGA) and fine-pitch ball grid array (FBGA) interconnection structures. The number of cycles to failure of lead-free solder joints is predicted by using a modified Engelmaier fatigue life model and a type-I censored data processing method. Then, the Pan model is employed to calculate the acceleration factor of this test. A comparison of life predictions between the proposed method and the ones calculated directly by Matlab and Minitab is conducted to demonstrate the practicability and effectiveness of the proposed method. At last, failure analysis and microstructure evolution of lead-free solders are carried out to provide useful guidance for the regular maintenance, replacement of substructure, and subsequent processing of electronic products.

Microscopic Electric Rotary Grinding of Plaques Combined with Graft Repair in the Management of Peyronie's Disease.

Peyronie's Disease (PD) is clinically characterized by the development of localized fibrous plaques, primarily on the tunica albuginea, especially on the dorsal area of the penis. These plaques are the hallmark feature of this condition, resulting in penile curvature, deformity, and painful erections for affected individuals. Although various nonsurgical treatment options exist, their overall effectiveness is limited. As a result, surgical intervention has become the ultimate choice for patients with severe penile curvature deformities and associated erectile dysfunction. Our research team has successfully employed a combined approach involving microscopic electric rotary grinding of the fibrous plaques and the use of tunica vaginalis or bovine pericardium as graft materials for the repairing of the defects of tunica albuginea in the treatment of PD. This approach has consistently yielded highly satisfactory results regarding the restoration of penile shape, with excellent cosmetic results and significantly improved sexual satisfaction. This protocol aims to present a comprehensive surgical management strategy utilizing electric rotary grinding of the plaques and repairing the defects of tunica albuginea by using the tunica vaginalis, which represents an optimal surgical strategy for treating PD.

[Determination of the derivatization reactivity between α/ß-dicarbonyl compounds and standard citrullinated peptides based on matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry].

Protein citrullination is an irreversible post-translational modification process regulated by peptidylarginine deiminases (PADs) in the presence of Ca2+. This process is closely related to the occurrence and development of autoimmune diseases, cancers, neurological disorders, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and other major diseases. The analysis of protein citrullination by biomass spectrometry confronts great challenges owing to its low abundance, lack of affinity tags, small mass-to-charge ratio change, and susceptibility to isotopic and deamidation interferences. The methods commonly used to study the protein citrullination mainly involve the chemical derivatization of the urea group of the guanine side chain of the peptide to increase the mass-to-charge ratio difference of the citrullinated peptide. Affinity-enriched labels are then introduced to effectively improve the sensitivity and accuracy of protein citrullination by mass spectrometry. 2,3-Butanedione or phenylglyoxal compounds are often used as derivatization reagents to increase the mass-to-charge ratio difference of the citrullinated peptide, and the resulting derivatives have been observed to contain α-dicarbonyl structures. To date, however, no relevant studies on the reactivity of dicarbonyl compounds with citrullinated peptides have been reported. In this study, we determined whether six α-dicarbonyl and two ß-dicarbonyl compounds undergo derivatization reactions with standard citrullinated peptides using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Among the α-dicarbonyl compounds, 2,3-butanedione and glyoxal reacted efficiently with several standard citrullinated peptides, but yielded a series of by-products. Phenylglyoxal, methylglyoxal, 1,2-cyclohexanedione, and 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione also derivated efficiently with standard citrullinated peptides, generating a single derivative. Thus, a new derivatization method that could yield a single derivative was identified. Among the ß-dicarbonyl compounds, 1,3-cyclohexanedione and 2,4-pentanedione successfully reacted with the standard citrullinated peptides, and generated a single derivative. However, their reaction efficiency was very low, indicating that the ß-dicarbonyl compounds are unsuitable for the chemical derivatization of citrullinated peptides. The above results indicate that the α-dicarbonyl structure is necessary for realizing the efficient and specific chemical derivatization of citrullinated peptides. Moreover, the side chains of the α-dicarbonyl structure determine the structure of the derivatives, derivatization efficiency, and generation (or otherwise) of by-products. Therefore, the specific enrichment and precise identification of citrullinated peptides can be achieved by synthesizing α-dicarbonyl structured compounds containing affinity tags. The proposed method enables the identification of citrullinated proteins and their modified sites by MS, thereby providing a better understanding of the distribution of citrullinated proteins in different tissues. The findings will be beneficial for studies on the mechanism of action of citrullinated proteins in a variety of diseases.