Inherent hepatocytic heterogeneity determines expression and retention of edited F9 alleles post-AAV/CRISPR infusion.

Infusing CRISPR/donor-loaded adeno-associated viral vectors (AAV/CRISPR) could enable in vivo hepatic gene editing to remedy hemophilia B (HB) with inherited deficiency of clotting factor IX (FIX). Yet, current regimens focus on correcting HB with simple mutations in the coding region of the F9, overlooking those carrying complicated mutations involving the regulatory region. Moreover, a possible adverse effect of treatment-related inflammation remains unaddressed. Here we report that a single DNA cutting-mediated long-range replacement restored the FIX-encoding function of a mutant F9 (mF9) carrying both regulatory and coding defects in a severe mouse HB model, wherein incorporation of a synthetic Alb enhancer/promoter-mimic (P2) ensured FIX elevation to clinically meaningful levels. Through single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) of liver tissues, we revealed that a subclinical hepatic inflammation post-AAV/CRISPR administration regulated the vulnerability of the edited mF9-harboring host cells to cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and the P2 activity in a hepatocytic subset-dependent manner via modulating specific sets of liver-enriched transcription factors (LETFs). Collectively, our study establishes an AAV/CRISPR-mediated gene-editing protocol applicable to complicated monogenetic disorders, underscoring the potentiality of improving therapeutic benefits through managing inflammation.

[Biological mechanisms of Oxalis corniculata regulating human prostate cancer PC-3 cells: An investigation based on the NF-κB pathway].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the biological mechanisms underlying the effect of the Chinese herbal medicine Oxalis corniculata on human prostate cancer PC-3 cells. METHODS: Through in vitro experiment, we treated human prostate cancer PC-3 cells with different concentrations of Oxalis corniculata, assessed the viability of the cells by MTT assay, examined their apoptosis by flow cytometry, evaluated their migration and invasiveness by Transwell assay, and determined the expressions of the proteins p65, p-p65, IκBα and p-IκBα in the NF-κB pathway using protein imprinting technology. RESULTS: Compared with the blank control, Oxalis corniculata significantly inhibited the proliferation and induced the apoptosis of the PC-3 cells (P< 0.05), suppressed their migration and invasiveness in a dose-dependent manner (P< 0.05), and upregulated the expression of IκBα and downregulated those of p-p65 and p-IκBα in the NF-κB pathway (P< 0.05). CONCLUSION: Oxalis corniculata can inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasiveness and induce the apoptosis of human prostate cancer PC cells, which may be attributed to its abilities of inhibiting the expressions of p-p65 and p-IκBα and regulating the activity of the NF-κB pathway.

[Construction of cell factories for production of patchoulol in Saccharomyces cerevisiae].

Patchoulol is an important sesquiterpenoid in the volatile oil of Pogostemon cablin, and is also considered to be the main contributing component to the pharmacological efficacy and fragrance of P. cablin oil, which has antibacterial, antitumor, antioxidant, and other biological activities. Currently, patchoulol and its essential oil blends are in high demand worldwide, but the traditional plant extraction method has many problems such as wasting land and polluting the environment. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a new method to produce patchoulol efficiently and at low cost. To broaden the production method of patchouli and achieve the heterologous production of patchoulol in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the patchoulol synthase(PS) gene from P. cablin was codon optimized and placed under the inducible strong promoter GAL1 to transfer into the yeast platform strain YTT-T5, thereby obtaining strain PS00 with the production of(4.0±0.3) mg·L~(-1) patchoulol. To improve the conversion rate, this study used protein fusion method to fuse SmFPS gene from Salvia miltiorrhiza with PS gene, leading to increase the yield of patchoulol to(100.9±7.4) mg·L~(-1) by 25-folds. By further optimizing the copy number of the fusion gene, the yield of patchoulol was increased by 90% to(191.1±32.7) mg·L~(-1). By optimizing the fermentation process, the strain was able to achieve a patchouli yield of 2.1 g·L~(-1) in a high-density fermentation system, which was the highest yield so far. This study provides an important basis for the green production of patchoulol.

St13 protects against disordered acinar cell arachidonic acid pathway in chronic pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis and treatment of chronic pancreatitis (CP) are limited. In this study, St13, a co-chaperone protein, was investigated whether it constituted a novel regulatory target in CP. Meanwhile, we evaluated the value of micro-PET/CT in the early diagnosis of CP. METHODS: Data from healthy control individuals and patients with alcoholic CP (ACP) or non-ACP (nACP) were analysed. PRSS1 transgenic mice (PRSS1Tg) were treated with ethanol or caerulein to mimic the development of ACP or nACP, respectively. Pancreatic lipid metabolite profiling was performed in human and PRSS1Tg model mice. The potential functions of St13 were investigated by crossing PRSS1Tg mice with St13-/- mice via immunoprecipitation and lipid metabolomics. Micro-PET/CT was performed to evaluate pancreatic morphology and fibrosis in CP model. RESULTS: The arachidonic acid (AA) pathway ranked the most commonly dysregulated lipid pathway in ACP and nACP in human and mice. Knockout of St13 exacerbated fatty replacement and fibrosis in CP model. Sdf2l1 was identified as a binding partner of St13 as it stabilizes the IRE1α-XBP1s signalling pathway, which regulates COX-2, an important component in AA metabolism. Micro-PET/CT with 68Ga-FAPI-04 was useful for evaluating pancreatic morphology and fibrosis in CP model mice 2 weeks after modelling. CONCLUSION: St13 is functionally activated in acinar cells and protects against the cellular characteristics of CP by binding Sdf2l1, regulating AA pathway. 68Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT may be a very valuable approach for the early diagnosis of CP. These findings thus provide novel insights into both diagnosis and treatment of CP.

Transmittance-invariant phase modulator for chip-based quantum key distribution.

In chip-based quantum key distribution (QKD) systems, the non-ideal quantum state preparation due to the imperfect electro-optic phase modulators (EOPM) decreases the secret key rate and introduces potential vulnerabilities. We propose and implement an on-chip transmittance-invariant phase modulator (TIPM) to solve this problem. Simulated and experimental results show that TIPM can eliminate the correlation between phase, intensity, and polarization of quantum states caused by phase-dependent loss. The design can tolerate a significant fabrication mismatch and is universal to multi-material platforms. Furthermore, TIPM increases the modulation depth achievable by EOPMs in standard process design kit (PDK). The proposal of TIPM can improve the practical security and performance of the chip-based QKD systems.

The effect of posterior lumbar dynamic fixation and intervertebral fusion on paraspinal muscles.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of unilateral K-rod dynamic internal fixation on paraspinal muscles for lumbar degenerative diseases. METHODS: This study retrospectively collected 52 patients who underwent lumbar surgery with the K-rod group or PLIF. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage volume, postoperative exercise time were compared in the two groups. The visual analog scale (VAS) score and the oswestry dysfunction index (ODI) were employed to evaluate the clinical outcomes. The functional cross-sectional area (FCSA) of the paraspinal muscles and paraspinal muscles fat infiltration were measured to assess on the paraspinal muscles. RESULTS: As compared with the PLIF group, the operation time, the postoperative time in the field, and the average postoperative hospital stay in the K-rod internal fixation group were significantly shortened. At the last follow-up, both the groups showed significant improvement in the VAS score and ODI. The FCSA atrophy of the upper and lower adjacent segments (UAS and LAS) of the K-rod internal group was significantly less than that of the PLIF group. The extent of increase in the fatty infiltration of the paraspinal muscles in the K-rod group was significantly lesser than that in the PLIF group. The postoperative low back pain of the two groups of patients was significantly positively correlated with the FCSA atrophy. CONCLUSIONS: As compared to PLIF, the posterior lumbar unilateral K-rod dynamic internal fixation showed significantly lesser paraspinal muscle atrophy and fatty infiltration, which were significantly positively correlated with postoperative low back pain.

SUMOylation of spastin promotes the internalization of GluA1 and regulates dendritic spine morphology by targeting microtubule dynamics.

Dendritic spines are specialized structures involved in neuronal processes on which excitatory synaptic contact occurs. The microtubule cytoskeleton is vital for maintaining spine morphology and mature synapses. Spastin is related to microtubule-severing proteases and is involved in synaptic bouton formation. However, it is not yet known if spastin can be modified by Small Ubiquitin-like Modifier (SUMO) or how this modification regulates dendritic spines. Spastin was shown to be SUMOylated at K427, and its deSUMOylation promoted microtubule stability. In addition, SUMOylation of spastin was shown to affect signalling pathways associated with long term synaptic depression. SUMOylated spastin promoted the development of dendrites and dendritic spines. Moreover, SUMOylated spastin regulated endocytosis and affected the transport of the AMPA receptor, GluA1. Our findings suggest that SUMOylation of spastin promotes GluA1 internalization and regulates dendritic spine morphology through targeting of microtubule dynamics.

P53 Activated by ER Stress Aggravates Caerulein-Induced Acute Pancreatitis Progression by Inducing Acinar Cell Apoptosis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a severe pancreatic disorder that remains associated with high mortality due to a lack of effective drugs and management strategies. This study aimed to investigate the molecular pathogenic mechanisms of AP involving p53 and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathways. METHODS: Expression of PRSS1 and p53 in human AP tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. AP was induced with caerulein in humanized PRSS1 transgenic mice, and its severity was verified by histological imaging, evaluation of edema, serum amylase, and trypsin activity assays. A transferase-mediated d-UTP nick end-labeling assay was performed to evaluate acinar cell apoptosis associated with AP. The expression of ER stress genes was assessed by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting. RESULTS: PRSS1 and p53 were highly expressed in human AP tissues. Expression of human PRSS1 in caerulein-treated mice induced significant acinar cell apoptosis and AP progression. P53 knockout significantly suppressed AP progression in humanized PRSS1 transgenic mice. The ER stress pathway was activated by PRSS1 and mediated the progression of AP in mouse pancreatic tissues. Application of a p53 inhibitor effectively ameliorated caerulein-induced AP in PRSS1 transgenic mice, while a p53 activator promoted the progression of AP. CONCLUSION: P53, which was activated by the ER stress pathway, promoted the progression of AP in mice expressing PRSS1 by inducing acinar cell apoptosis.

Analysis of clinical effect and radiographic outcomes of Isobar TTL system for two-segment lumbar degenerative disease: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Nonfusion fixation is an effective way to treat lumbar degeneration. In the present study, we analyzed the clinical effects and radiographic outcomes of the Isobar TTL system used to treat two-segment lumbar degenerative disease. METHOD: Forty-one patients diagnosed with two-segment lumbar degenerative disease underwent surgical implantation of the Isobar TTL dynamic stabilization system (n = 20) or a rigid system (n = 21) from January 2013 to June 2017. The mean follow-up time was 23.6 (range 15-37) months. Clinical results were evaluated with the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), modified Macnab criteria, and the visual analog score (VAS). Radiographic evaluations included the height of the intervertebral space and the range of motion (ROM) of the treated and adjacent segments. The intervertebral disc signal was classified using the modified Pfirrmann grading system and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) system. RESULTS: The clinical results, including the ODI and VAS, showed that there was significant improvement in the two groups after implantation and that the difference between the two groups was not significant. In addition, the clinical efficacy indicated by the modified Macnab criteria for the two groups was similar. Radiological outcomes included the height of the intervertebral space, lumbar mobility, and intervertebral disc signal. The height of the intervertebral space of the upper adjacent segment L2/3 in the rigid group was significantly lower than that in the Isobar TTL group at the last follow-up. Furthermore, the number of ROMs of the fixed-segment L3/4 in the Isobar TTL group was significantly less than that before implantation, suggesting that the fixed-segment ROMs in the Isobar TTL group were limited. In addition, the ROM of the upper adjacent segment L2/3 in the last follow-up of the rigid group increased significantly, while that of the Isobar TTL group did not change after implantation. Finally, the incidence of adjacent-segment degeneration (ASD) was significantly greater in the rigid group than in the Isobar TTL group according to the UCLA system. CONCLUSION: The Isobar TTL system can be clinically effective for treating two-segment lumbar degenerative disease. Compared with rigid fixation, the Isobar TTL system yielded better radiographic outcomes and maintained the mobility of the treated segments with less impact on the proximal adjacent segment.

Experimental realization of a resource-saving polarization-independent orbital-angular-momentum-preserving tunable beam splitter.

The tunable beam splitter (TBS) is a fundamental component used in optical experiments. A TBS can preserve the orbital angular momentum (OAM) states; in addition, the polarization states of photons are valuable for some particular experiments, such as high-dimensional quantum information processing. We use polarization beam splitters and half-wave plates to realize such a TBS under a compact structure, which can reduce the number of elements that require comparing with existing works. The experiments verify that the TBS has good performances in tunability, polarization, and OAM state preservation. A Sagnac interferometer is implemented with the proposed TBS to evaluate its practical usability, and the mean visibilities greater than 99.30% under varying polarization states demonstrate its potential for optical information processing.

[Efficacy and safety of lycopene in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia with lower urinary tract symptoms].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy and safety of lycopene in the treatment of BPH with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). METHODS: Totally, 127 BPH patients with LUTS were treated with oral lycopene tablets at 500 mg bid in the Department of Andrology of Jinling Hospital from January 2018 to January 2019. At 8 and 16 weeks of medication, we compared the IPSS, quality of life (QOL) score, prostate volume, PSA level, maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax), postvoid residual urine volume (PVR) and the incidence of adverse reactions before and after treatment. RESULTS: A total of 120 patients completed the treatment. Compared with the baseline, significant improvement was observed after 8 weeks of medication in the IPSS (ï¼»18.42 ± 4.59ï¼½ vs ï¼»14.13 ± 4.51ï¼½, P < 0.01) and QOL score (ï¼»4.34 ± 1.37ï¼½ vs ï¼»3.14 ± 1.25ï¼½, P < 0.01), and even more significant at 16 weeks in the IPSS (ï¼»18.42 ± 4.59ï¼½ vs ï¼»10.29 ± 3.61ï¼½, P< 0.01), QOL score (ï¼»4.34 ± 1.37ï¼½ vs ï¼»2.17 ± 1.35ï¼½, P < 0.01), PSA (ï¼»3.87 ± 3.14ï¼½ vs ï¼»2.90 ± 3.07ï¼½ µg/L, P < 0.01), Qmax (ï¼»10.62 ± 2.08ï¼½ vs ï¼»14.15 ± 3.66ï¼½ ml/s, P < 0.01) and PVR (ï¼»35.88 ± 15.33ï¼½ vs ï¼»18.36 ± 13.09ï¼½ ml, P < 0.01), but there was no statistically significant difference in the prostate volume before and after treatment (ï¼»39.85 ± 10.22ï¼½ vs ï¼»38.16 ± 10.12ï¼½ ml, P > 0.05), and no adverse reactions in any of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: Lycopene has a good therapeutic effect on BPH with LUTS, which can significantly improve the patients' quality of life without causing adverse reactions.

Identification of risk factors for pancreatic pseudocysts formation, intervention and recurrence: a 15-year retrospective analysis in a tertiary hospital in China.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic pseudocyst (PPC) is a common complication of acute and chronic pancreatitis. To our knowledge no study has systematically reported the risk factors for the formation, intervention and recurrence of PPC. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the potential risk factors for PPC, with regards to its formation, intervention and recurrence. METHODS: A database containing 5106 pancreatitis patients was retrospectively analyzed. As a result, a total of 4379 eligible patients were identified and divided into 2 groups: PPC group (group A, n = 759) and non-PPC group (group B, n = 3620). The PPC group was subdivided into 2 groups: intervention PPC (group C, n = 347) and resolution PPC (group D, n = 412). The differences in surgical complication and recurrence rates were compared among 347 PPC patients receiving different interventions, including surgical, endoscopic and percutaneous drainages. Furthermore, group C was subdivided into 2 groups: recurrent PPC (group E, n = 34) and non-recurrent PPC (group F, n = 313). All possible risk factors for PPC formation, intervention and recurrence were determined by multivariate regression analysis. RESULTS: In this study, PPC was developed in 17.3% (759/4379) of pancreatitis patients. The significant risk factors for PPC formation included alcoholic pancreatitis (OR, 6.332; 95% CI, 2.164-11.628; p = 0.031), chronic pancreatitis (CP) (OR, 5.822; 95% CI, 1.921-10.723; p = 0.006) and infected pancreatic necrosis (OR, 4.253; 95% CI, 3.574-7.339; p = 0.021). Meanwhile, the significant risk factors of PPC patients who received intervention were alcoholic pancreatitis (OR, 7.634; 95% CI, 2.125-13.558; p = 0.016), size over 6 cm (OR, 8.834; 95% CI, 2.017-16.649; p = 0.002) and CP (OR, 4.782; 95% CI, 1.897-10.173; p = 0.038). In addition, the recurrence rate in PPC patients treated with percutaneous drainage was found to be the highest (16.3%) among the three intervention groups. Furthermore, percutaneous drainage was the only risk factor of PPC recurrence (OR, 7.812; 95% CI, 3.109-23.072; p = 0.013) identified from this retrospective cohort study. CONCLUSIONS: Alcoholic pancreatitis and CP are the main risk factors for PPC formation and intervention, but not PPC recurrence. A higher recurrence rate is found in PPC patients treated with percutaneous drainage, as compared to endoscopic and surgical interventions.

[Value of prostaticexosomal protein contentsin the first- and mid-stream urine for the diagnosis of chronic prostatitis].

OBJECTIVE: To detect the contents of prostaticexosomal protein (PSEP) in the first- and mid-stream urine and assess their clinical value in the diagnosis of chronic prostatitis (CP). METHODS: This study included358 male outpatientsat Nanjing General Hospital from November 2017 to May 2018, 269 diagnosed with and the other 89 without CP. Wemeasured the contents of PSEP in the first- and mid-stream urine samples collected from the subjectsby ELISA anddetermined the sensitivity and specificity, and total coincidence rate ofthe PSEPcontents in the diagnosis of CP. Using the ROC curve, we compared the PSEP levels in the two different urine samples and the results of diagnosis of CPbetween the PSEP detection method and clinical diagnostic criteria. RESULTS: No statistically significant difference was observed between the contents of PSEP in the first- and mid-stream urine samples (ï¼»3.82 ± 3.74ï¼½ vs ï¼»3.77 ± 3.90ï¼½ ng/ml, P = 0.46). In the diagnosis of CP, the PSEP contents in the first- and mid-stream urine samples manifested a sensitivity of 81.41% vs 86.99%, a specificity of 89.89% vs 88.76%, and a total coincidence rate of 83.52% vs 87.43%. CONCLUSIONS: Both the content of PSEP in the first-stream and that in the mid-stream urine can be used as auxiliarydiagnostic indicators of chronic prostatitis, bothwith high sensitivity and specificity.

[Fosfomycin tromethamine inhibits the expressions of TNF-α, IL-8 and IL-6 in the prostate tissue of rats with chronic bacterial prostatitis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of fosfomycin tromethamine (FT) on the expressions of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the prostate tissue of the rats with chronic bacterial prostatitis (CBP). METHODS: We randomly divided 70 male SD rats into 7 groups of equal number: blank control, CBP model control, positive control, 14 d low-dose FT, 7 d low-dose FT, 14 d high-dose FT, and 7 d high-dose FT. The CBP model rats in the latter five groups were treated intragastrically with levofloxacin at 100 mg/kg/d for 30 days and FT at 200 mg/kg/d for 14 and 7 days and at 300 mg/kg/d for 14 and 7 days, respectively. Then we collected the prostate tissue from the animals for determination of the levels of TNF-α, IL-8 and IL-6 by ELISA. RESULTS: Compared with the blank controls, the CBP model rats showed significantly increased levels of TNF-α (ï¼»19.83 ± 6.1ï¼½ vs ï¼»32.93 ± 6.21ï¼½ ng/g prot, P <0.01), IL-8 (ï¼»8.26 ± 0.52ï¼½ vs ï¼»16.2 ± 2.84ï¼½ ng/g prot, P <0.01) and IL-6 (ï¼»1.55 ± 0.11ï¼½ vs ï¼»2.51 ± 1.06ï¼½ ng/g prot, P <0.05) in the prostate tissue. In comparison with the CBP model controls, the levels of TNF-α and IL-8 were remarkably decreased in the groups of positive control (ï¼»20.54 ± 5.78ï¼½ ng/g prot, P <0.01; ï¼»12.43 ± 4.02ï¼½ ng/g prot, P <0.05), 14 d low-dose FT (ï¼»21.95 ± 6.48ï¼½ ng/g prot, P <0.01; ï¼»11.11 ± 2.86ï¼½ ng/g prot, P <0.01), 7 d low-dose FT (ï¼»23.8 ± 6.93ï¼½ ng/g prot, P <0.05; ï¼»12.43 ± 4.02ï¼½ ng/g prot, P <0.05), 14 d high-dose FT (ï¼»19.97 ± 2.58ï¼½ ng/g prot, P <0.01; ï¼»8.83 ± 1.32ï¼½ ng/g prot, P <0.01), and 7 d high-dose FT (ï¼»21.97 ± 3.38ï¼½ ng/g prot, P <0.01; ï¼»12.68±1.97ï¼½ ng/g prot, P <0.05). No statistically significant differences were observed between the positive control and FT groups in the contents of TNF-α, IL-8 or IL-6 (P >0.05). The expression of IL-6 was markedly reduced in the 14 d high-dose FT group as compared with the model controls (ï¼»1.76 ± 0.46ï¼½ vs ï¼»2.51 ± 1.06ï¼½ ng/g prot, P<0.05) but exhibited no significant difference between the CBP model control and the other groups (P >0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Fosfomycin tromethamine inhibits the expressions of TNF-α, IL-8 and IL-6 in the prostate tissue, suppresses its inflammatory reaction, promotes the repair of damaged prostatic structure, and thus contributes to the treatment of chronic bacterial prostatitis in rats.

[Lipoic acid protects spermatogenesis in male rats with ornidazole-induced oligoasthenozoospermia].

OBJECTIVE: To study the protective effect of lipoic acid (LA) on the spermatogenic function of the male rats with oligoasthenozoospermia induced by ornidazole (ORN). METHODS: Seventy male SD rats were equally randomized into groups A (solvent control: 1 ml 0.5% CMC-Na + 1 ml olive oil), B (low-dose ORN model: 400 mg/kg ORN suspension + 1 ml olive oil), C (low-dose ORN + low-dose LA treatment: 400 mg/kg ORN + 50 mg/kg LA), D (low-dose ORN + high-dose LA treatment: 400 mg/kg ORN + 100 mg/kg LA), E (high-dose ORN model: 800 mg/kg ORN suspension + 1 ml olive oil), F (high-dose ORN + low-dose LA treatment: 800 mg/kg ORN + 50 mg/kg LA), and G (high-dose ORN + high-dose LA treatment: 800 mg/kg ORN + 100 mg/kg LA), and treated respectively for 20 successive days. Then all the rats were sacrificed and the weights of the body, testis, epididymis and seminal vesicle obtained, followed by calculation of the organ index, determination of epididymal sperm concentration and motility, and observation of the histomorphological changes in the testis and epididymis by HE staining. RESULTS: Compared with group A, group E showed significantly decreased body weight (ï¼»117.67 ± 11.53ï¼½ vs ï¼»88.11 ± 12.65ï¼½ g, P < 0.01) and indexes of the testis (ï¼»1.06 ± 0.12ï¼½ vs ï¼»0.65 ± 0.13ï¼½ %, P < 0.01) and epididymis (ï¼»0.21 ± 0.03ï¼½ vs ï¼»0.17 ± 0.01ï¼½ %, P < 0.01). In comparison with group E, group F exhibited remarkable increases in the epididymal index (ï¼»0.17 ± 0.01ï¼½ vs ï¼»0.20 ± 0.02ï¼½ %, P < 0.01), and so did group G in the body weight (ï¼»88.11 ± 12.65ï¼½ vs ï¼»102.70 ± 16.10ï¼½ g, P < 0.05) and the indexes of the testis (ï¼»0.65 ± 0.13ï¼½ vs ï¼»0.95 ± 0.06ï¼½ %, P < 0.01) and epididymis (ï¼»0.17 ± 0.01ï¼½ vs ï¼»0.19 ± 0.02ï¼½ %, P < 0.05), but no obvious difference was observed in the index of seminal vesicle among different groups. Compared with group A, group B manifested significant decreases in sperm motility (ï¼»74.12 ± 8.73ï¼½ vs ï¼»40.25 ± 6.08ï¼½ %, P < 0.01), and so did group E in sperm count (ï¼»38.59 ± 6.40ï¼½ vs ï¼»18.67 ± 4.59ï¼½ ×105/100 mg, P < 0.01) and sperm motility (ï¼»74.12 ± 8.73ï¼½ vs ï¼»27.58 ± 8.43ï¼½ %, P < 0.01). Sperm motility was significantly lower in group B than in C and D (ï¼»40.25 ± 6.08ï¼½ vs ï¼»58.13 ± 7.62ï¼½ and ï¼»76.04 ± 8.44ï¼½%, P < 0.01), and so were sperm count and motility in group E than in F and G (ï¼»18.67 ± 4.59ï¼½ vs ï¼»25.63 ± 9.66ï¼½ and ï¼»29.92 ± 4.15ï¼½ ×105/100 mg, P < 0.05 and P < 0.01; ï¼»27.58 ± 8.43ï¼½ vs ï¼»36.56 ± 11.08ï¼½ and ï¼»45.05 ± 9.59ï¼½ %, P < 0.05 and P < 0.01). There were no obvious changes in the histomorphology of the testis and epididymis in groups A, B, C and D. Compared with group A, group E showed necrotic and exfoliated spermatogenic cells with unclear layers and disorderly arrangement in the seminiferous tubules and remarkably reduced sperm count with lots of noncellular components in the epididymal cavity, while groups F and G exhibited increased sperm count in the seminiferous tubules and epididymis lumen, also with exfoliation, unclear layers and disorderly arrangement of spermatogenic cells, but significantly better than in group E. CONCLUSIONS: LA can reduce ORN-induced damage to the spermatogenetic function of rats, improve sperm quality, and protect the reproductive system.

Single-path Sagnac interferometer with Dove prism for orbital-angular-momentum photon manipulation.

Orbital angular momentum (OAM) is an important resource in high-dimensional quantum information processing, as its quantum number can be infinite. Dove prism (DP) is a most common tool to manipulate OAM light. However, the Dove prism changes the polarization of the photon states and decreases the sorting fidelity of the interferometer. In this work, we analyze the polarization-dependent effect of the DP on OAM light manipulation in the normal single-path Sagnac interferometers (SPSIs) with beam splitter (BS) and polarizing beam splitter (PBS). The results demonstrate that the BS SPSI is more sensitive to the input polarization and the specific parameters of the DP. We have also proposed and realized a modified BS SPSI, of which the sorting fidelity can be 100% in principle and is independent on the input polarization and the transmission matrix of the DP. The experiments demonstrate that the fidelity of the modified BS SPSI is about 5%~10% higher than that of the normal one. The modified BS SPSI is easy to implement (only two more half-wave plates are required) and is stable for free running at the scale of several hours. These merits make the structure suitable for applications in critical quantum information processing tasks, such as quantum cryptography.

Visible-Light Induced and Oxygen-Promoted Oxidative Cyclization of Aromatic Enamines for the Synthesis of Quinolines Derivatives.

The dual transition metal-visible light photoredox catalysis for the synthesis of quinoline derivatives by using dioxygen as an oxygen source is developed. By using visible light, the direct oxidative cyclization of aromatic enamines with alkynes or alkenes can be achieved at mild conditions with an aid of copper or palladium catalysts, and a variety of multisubstituted quinoline derivatives could be obtained in good to moderate yields under mild reaction conditions.

[Advances in the studies of lipoic acid in male infertility].

Lipoic acid (LA) is widely present in the body as a disulfide compound with an extensive biological activity and a strong antioxidant capacity. LA plays an antioxidant role by removing oxygen free radicals, chelating metal ions, and regenerating other antioxidants in the body. Recent studies have shown the effects of LA in the prevention or treatment of male reproductive disorders, such as idiopathic oligoasthenozoospermia, diabetes mellitus-induced erectile dysfunction and infertility, serious infection in the reproductive system, and reproductive system injuries caused by chemotherapeutic agents, ionizing radiation, environmental toxins, testicular ischemia reperfusion, excessive exercise, and so on.

[Protective effect of astaxanthin against epididymal oxidative damagein rats with ornidazole-induced oligoasthenozoospermia].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the improving effect of astaxanthin (AST) on the sperm quality of rats with ornidazole (ORN)-induced oligoasthenozoospermiaand its action mechanism. METHODS: Forty adult male SD rats were equally randomized into groups A (solvent control), B (low-dose ORN ï¼»400 mg/（kg·d）］), C (high-dose ORN ï¼»800 mg/（kg·d）］), D (low-dose ORN ï¼»400 mg/（kg·d）］ + AST ï¼»20 mg/（kg·d）］), and E (high-dose ORN ï¼»800 mg/（kg·d）］ + AST ï¼»20 mg/（kg·d）］), all treated intragastrically for3 weeks.After treatment, the epididymal tails ononeside was taken for determination of sperm concentration and activity, and the epididymideson the other side harvested for measurement of the activities of GSH-Px, GR, CAT and SOD and the MDA contentin the homogenate. RESULTS: Compared with group A, sperm motilityin the epididymal tail andGSH-Px and SOD activities in theepididymiswere markedly decreased while the MDAcontent significantlyincreased in group B (P<0.05), spermmotility and concentrationin the epididymal tail, testisindex, and the activities of GSH-Px, GR, CAT and SOD in the epididymis were remarkably reduced while theMDA contentsignificantly increased in group C(P<0.05). In comparison with group B, group D showed markedly increased sperm motility (ï¼»45.3±8.7ï¼½% vs ï¼»66.3±8.9ï¼½%, P<0.05) in the epididymal tail and SOD activity in the epididymis (ï¼»116.7±25.3ï¼½ U/mg prot vs ï¼»146.1±23.8ï¼½ U/mg prot, P<0.05), decreased MDA content(ï¼»1.68±0.45ï¼½ nmol/mg prot vs ï¼»1.19±0.42ï¼½ nmol/mg prot, P<0.05).Compared with group C, group Eexhibited significant increases in the weight gained (ï¼»89.0±9.5ï¼½ vs ï¼»99.9±4.1ï¼½ %, P<0.05) and sperm motility (ï¼»17.9±3.5ï¼½% vs ï¼»27.3±5.3ï¼½ %, P<0.05) but a decrease in the content of MDA (ï¼»2.03±0.30ï¼½ nmol/mg prot vs ï¼»1.52±0.41ï¼½ nmol/mg prot, P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: AST can improve spermquality in rats with ORN-inducedoligoasthenozoospermia, which may be associated with its enhancing effect on the antioxidant capacity of the epididymis.

[RNA simultaneous and amplification testing versus the culture method for detecting Ureaplasma urealyticum infection].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of real-time RNA simultaneous amplification and testing (SAT) in the detection of Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU) in the semen of infertile males and its clinical significance. METHODS: We collected semen samples from 542 infertility patients and 120 normal fertile men as controls in the Andrology Clinic of Nanjing General Hospital from March to September 2015. We detected UU infection in the samples using the culture method and SAT technology, respectively. RESULTS: All the UU positive cases (except 4 false positive cases) detected by the culture method were also shown to be positive in SAT. The UU detection rate of SAT was significantly higher than that of the culture method both in the infertility patients (54.1 vs 19.7%, P<0.05) and in the normal controls (42.5 vs 12.5%, P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: SAT is a rapid and accurate method for detecting UU infection in semen samples, with a higher sensitivity and accuracy than the culture method, and it can also be used to evaluate the therapeutic effects. However, the culture method has its own advantages, such as low requirement of technical equipment, easy operation, and possibility of drug sensitivity test at the same time. Therefore, SAT and the culture method can be used alternatively according to the clinical need.