[Retrospective study on the impact of penile corpus cavernosum injection test on penile vascular function].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of age, various hormonal levels, and biochemical markers on penile cavernous body vascular function in patients with erectile dysfunction (ED). Me-thods: A retrospective analysis of clinical data from male patients with ED who underwent color duplex Doppler ultrasonography (CDDU) and intracavernosal injection test (ICI) at the Reproductive Medicine Center of Peking University Third Hospital from January 2020 to August 2023. Data were managed and processed using SPSS 29.0, and a multivariable Logistic regression analysis was conducted. RESULTS: A total of 700 ED patients were included, with 380 showing negative ICI results and 320 positive. In the study, 84 patients had a peak systolic velocity (PSV) < 25 cm/s, while 616 had PSV≥25 cm/s; 202 patients had end-diastolic velocity (EDV)>5 cm/s, and 498 had EDV≤5 cm/s. 264 patients had abnormal PSV and/or EDV results, and 436 had normal results for both. Patients with vascular ED had significantly lower estrogen levels (t=-3.546, P < 0.001), lower testosterone levels (t=-2.089, P=0.037), and a higher rate of hyperglycemia (χ2=12.772, P=0.002) compared with those with non-vascular ED. The patients with arterial ED were older (t=3.953, P < 0.001), had a higher rate of hyperglycemia (χ2=9.518, P=0.009), and a higher estrogen/testosterone ratio (t=2.330, P=0.020) compared with those with non-arterial ED. The patients with mixed arteriovenous ED had higher age (t=3.567, P < 0.001), lower testosterone levels (t=-2.288, P=0.022), a higher rate of hyperglycemia (χ2=12.877, P=0.002), and a larger estrogen/testosterone ratio (t=2.096, P=0.037) compared with those with normal findings. Multifactorial Logistic regression analysis indicated that higher levels of estrogen were a protective factor for vascular ED (OR=1.009, 95%CI: 1.004-1.014), and glucose≥7.0 mmol/L was a risk factor (OR=0.381, 95%CI: 0.219-0.661). Older age was a risk factor for arterial ED (OR=0.960, 95%CI: 0.938-0.982). Additionally, older age (OR=0.976, 95%CI: 0.958-0.993) and glucose levels of 5.6-6.9 mmol/L (OR=0.591, 95%CI: 0.399-0.876) were also risk factors for mixed arterio-venous ED. CONCLUSION: Hyperglycemia and aging may impair penile cavernous body vascular function, while higher levels of estrogen may have a protective effect on it.

Fertility preservation in male adolescents with cancer (2011-2020): A retrospective study in China.

BACKGROUND: According to the studies, more than 80% of pediatric patients with cancer can achieve a survival rate greater than 5 years; however, long-term chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy may seriously affect their reproductive ability. Fertility preservation in adolescents with cancer in China was initiated late, and related research is lacking. Analyze data to understand the current situation and implement measures to improve current practices. METHODS: From 2011 to 2020, data on 275 male adolescents with cancer whose age ranged from 0 to 19 years old were collected from 16 human sperm banks for this retrospective study. Methods include comparing the basic situation of male adolescents with cancer, the distribution of cancer types, and semen quality to analyze the status of fertility preservation. RESULTS: The mean age was 17.39 ± 1.46 years, with 13 cases (4.7%) aged 13-14 years and 262 cases (95.3%) aged 15-19 years. Basic diagnoses included leukemia (55 patients), lymphomas (76), germ cell and gonadal tumors (65), epithelial tumors (37), soft tissue sarcomas (14), osteosarcoma (7), brain tumors (5), and other cancers (16). There are differences in tumor types in different age stages and regions. The tumor type often affects semen quality, while age affects semen volume. Significant differences were found in sperm concentration and progressive motility before and after treatment (p < 0.001). Moreover, 90.5% of patients had sperm in their semen and sperm were frozen successfully in 244 patients (88.7%). CONCLUSIONS: The aim of this study is to raise awareness of fertility preservation in male adolescents with cancer, to advocate for fertility preservation prior to gonadotoxic therapy or other procedures that may impair future fertility, and to improve the fertility status of future patients.

Tuning the D-Band Center of Bi2S3─MoS2 Heterostructure Towards Superior Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are one of the most promising energy storage devices due to their environmental friendliness, low cost, and high specific capacity. However, the slow electrochemical kinetics and the "shuttle effect" have seriously hindered their commercialization. Herein, the nanoflower Bi2S3─MoS2 (BMS) heterostructure is synthesized by a two-step hydrothermal method, and then the Bi2S3─MoS2-Polypropylene (BMS-PP) interlayer is constructed. The heterostructure is rich in active sites, in which BMS has strong adsorption to lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and can effectively anchor LiPSs while catalyzing LiPSs and promote the redox of Li2S at the same time, which can improve the utilization of active substances. More importantly, the d-band center can be tuned by the formation of Bi2S3─MoS2 heterostructure. Thus, Li-S batteries containing the BMS-PP interlayer show excellent rate performance (841.6 mAh g-1 at 5 C) and cycling performance (70.3% capacity retention after 500 cycles at 3 C). This work provides a new route for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries.

Multiplicative-noise-multiplexing holography with ultrahigh capacity and low cross talk.

Optical multiplexing technologies, by utilizing various dimensions of light, can effectively expand the information capacity and density for holography but may also lead to multiplexing cross talk. Here, we propose and demonstrate a novel, to our knowledge, multiplicative-noise-multiplexing holography by utilizing the orthogonality between multiplicative noises as a multiplexing dimension. The results prove that this holography can provide a new multiplexing dimension, significantly enhancing information capacity and effectively lowering cross talk. This promising scheme for ultrahigh-capacity holography has the potential to address the limitations of traditional holographic multiplexing technologies.

NiS/NiCo2O4 Cooperative Interfaces Enable Fast Sulfur Redox Kinetics for Lithium-Sulfur Battery.

Due to their high energy density and cost-effectiveness, lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) are considered highly promising for the next generation of energy storage technologies. However, the soluble lithium-polysulfides (LiPSs) notorious for causing the shuttle effect and the sluggish redox kinetics have hindered their practical commercialization. To tackle these challenges, a heterostructural catalyst featuring NiS-NiCo2O4 interfaces is developed, which serves as an interlayer for LSBs. These interfacial sites leverage the advantages of polar NiCo2O4 and conductive NiS, enabling smooth Li+ diffusion, rapid electron transport, and effective immobilization of LiPSs. This synergistic approach promotes the conversion of sulfur species, resulting in a high discharge capacity of 526 mAh g-1 at 3 C for cells with the NiS-NiCo2O4 interlayer. Additionally, remarkable cycling stability is achievable with an areal sulfur loading of ≈5.0 mg cm-2. It is believed that this research paves the way for practical applications of LSBs.