Sexual and reproductive health service needs of university/ college students： updates from a survey in Shanghai, China

Aim： To promote the provision of reproductive health services to young people by exploring the attitudes and perceptions of university students in Shanghai, China, toward reproductive health. Methods： From July 2004 to May 2006, 5 243 students from 14 universities in Shanghai took part in our survey. Topics covered the demands of reproductive health-care services, attitudes towards and experience with sex, exposure to pornographic material, and knowledge on sexual health and sexually transmitted infections （STIs）/AIDS. Results： Of the 5 067 students who provided valid answer sheets, 50.05% were female and 49.95% were male, 14.86% were medical students, and 85.14% had non-medical backgrounds. A total of 38.4% of respondents had received reproductive health education previously. The majority of students supported school-based reproductive health education, and also acquired information about sex predominantly from books, schoolmates, and the Internet. Premarital sexual behavior was opposed by 17.7% of survey participants, and 37.5% could identify all the three types of STIs listed in the questionnaire. Although 83.7% knew how HIV is transmitted, only 55.7% knew when to use a condom and 57.8% knew that the use of condoms could reduce the risk of HIV infection. Conclusion： The reproductive health service is lagging behind current attitudes and demands of university students. Although students＇ attitudes towards sexual matters are liberal, their knowledge about reproductive health and STIs/AIDS is still limited. It is therefore necessary to provide effective and confidential reproductive health services to young people.

Ecological operation for Three Gorges Reservoir

The traditional operation of the Three Gorges Reservoir has mainly focused on water for flood control, power generation, navigation, water supply, and recreation, and given less attention to the negative impacts of reservoir operation on the river ecosystem. In order to reduce the negative influence of reservoir operation, ecological operation of the reservoir should be studied with a focus on maintaining a healthy river ecosystem. This study considered ecological operation targets, including maintaining the river environmental flow and protecting the spawning and reproduction of the Chinese sturgeon and four major Chinese carps. Using flow data from 1900 to 2006 at the Yichang gauging station as the control station data for the Yangtze River, the minimal and optimal river environmental flows were analyzed, and eco-hydrological targets for the Chinese sturgeon and four major Chinese carps in the Yangtze River were calculated. This paper proposes a reservoir ecological operation model, which comprehensively considers flood control, power generation, navigation, and the ecological environment. Three typical periods, wet, normal, and dry years, were selected, and the particle swarm optimization algorithm was used to analyze the model. The results show that ecological operation modes have different effects on the economic benefit of the hydropower station, and the reservoir ecological operation model can simulate the flood pulse for the requirements of spawning of the Chinese sturgeon and four major Chinese carps. According to the results, by adopting a suitable re-operation scheme, the hydropower benefit of the reservoir will not decrease dramatically while the ecological demand is met. The results provide a reference for designing reasonable operation schemes for the Three Gorges Reservoir.

Xeno-free culture of human spermatogonial stem cells supported by human embryonic stem cell-derived fibroblast-like cells

Spermatogonial stem cells （SSCs） divide continuously to support spermatogenesis throughout postnatal life and transmit genetic information to the next generation. Here, we report the successful establishment of the method for the isolation and identification of human SSCs from testicular tissue, and to determine the culture conditions required to expand SSCs on human embryonic stem cell-derived fibroblast-like cells （hdFs）. Large-scale cultures of SSCs were maintained on hdF feeder layers and expanded in the presence of a combination of cytokines and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor for at least 2 months. Cell surface marker analysis showed that SSCs retained high levels of alkaline phosphatase activity and stained strongly for anti-stage-specific embryonic antigen （SSEA）-1, OCT4 and CD49f. They also expressed the genes OCT4, SOX3 and STRA8 as detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR） analysis. These data clearly illustrate a novel approach for the growth of human SSCs using hdFs as feeder cells, potentially eliminating xenogeneic contaminants. This system provides a new opportunity for the study of the regulatory mechanism of the ‘niche＇ that governs SSC self-renewal, and will be a valuable source of SSCs for potential clinical applications.

Monitoring and Analysis of Chinese Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Patients Who Have Stopped Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Therapy

Discontinuation of tyrosine kinase inhibitor(TKI)therapy after achieving a persistent deep molecular response(DMR)is an urgently needed treatment goal for chronic myeloid leukemia(CML)patients and has been included in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network(NCCN)guidelines(version 2.2017)for CML.Indeed,various studies have confirmed the feasibility of discontinuing TKI therapy.In this study,we analyzed data from 45 CML patients who had discontinued TKI therapy.Univariate analysis was performed to predict factors that were potentially related to treatment-free remission(TFR)and identify the differences between early relapse and late relapse.Out of the 45 patients,20 exhibited molecular relapse after a median follow-up of 18 months(range,1-54 months),and the estimated TFR at 24 months was 40%.The univariate analysis revealed that a high Sokal score and interruptions or dose reductions during TKI treatment were the only baseline factors associated with poor outcomes.Our results indicate that TKI discontinuation could be successfully put into practice in China.

Microsurgical vasoepididymostomy for patients withinfectious obstructive azoospermia, cause, outcome,and associated factors

Azoospermia is of great importance to male infertility. Obstructive azoospermia （OA） due to infection is the most prevalent form of OA in China and has been less studied. We aim to observe the treatment outcome of microsurgical vasoepididymostomy （VE） and also to identify the factors relative to the result after reconstructive surgery. Two hundred and eight men presenting with OA due to infection during the study period from July 2010 to July 2013 were prospectively evaluated. Clinical examination, semen analysis, serum follicle stimulating hormone （FSH）, and scrotal ultrasound were done before surgical exploration. Among the 198 men who were selected for surgical procedures, 159 candidates underwent microsurgical VE with sperm detected in the epididymal fluid. As for the other 39 cases, reconstruction was not feasible. The average age was 28.5 ＋ 3.9 years （range 22-38）, with average follow-up being 16.5 ~ 5.9 months （range 4-28）. According to the 150 cases being followed after VE procedures, the total patency rate was 72% （108/150）. During follow-up, 38.7% （58/150） natural pregnancies occurred, with overall live birth rate being 32.7% （49/150）. Our data suggested that microsurgical VE is an effective therapy for postinfectious epididymal OA. Individualized counseling with prognosis based on etiology should be offered to patients to select optical therapy.

A prospective randomized controlled study on scheduled PDE5i and vacuum erectile devices in the treatment of erectile dysfunction after nerve sparing prostatectomy

Cavernous nerve injury is an important cause of erectile dysfunction(ED).Although protective nerve technology has been widely used in nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy(nsRP),the incidence of ED is still very high after surgery.The purpose of our study was to evaluate erectile function(EF)and penile length in the non-erectile state(PLNES)following scheduled phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor(PDE5i),vacuum erectile device(VED)treatment,and combination therapy after nsRP.One hundred patients with localized prostate cancer and normal EF were randomized to scheduled PDE5i group,VED treatment group,a combined treatment group,and the control group without any intervention.The International Index of Erectile Function-5(IIEF-5)scores and PLNES were evaluated after 6 months and 12 months of treatment.Sexual Encounter Profile(SEP-Question 2 and SEP-Question 3)were evaluated after 12 months of treatment.Ninety-one of the 100 randomized patients completed the study.We found that the 5 mg tadalafil once a day(OaD)combined with VED can help improve IIEF-5 scores in nsRP patients after both 6 months and 12 months.VED alone or combined with tadalafil OaD can help patients maintain PLNES.VED combined with tadalafil OaD can improve the rate of successful penetration(SEP-Question 2)after 12 months.There were no significant differences in the return to target EF after 12 months among the groups.No significant correlation was noted between the variables and return to target EF(IIEF≥17),and between the variables and effective shortening of the patient’s penis(shortening≥1 cm)after 12 months of intervention.

Comprehensive transcriptome analysis based on RNA sequencing identifies critical genes for lipopolysaccharide-induced epididymitis in a rat model

Epididymitis is a comm only diagnosed disease associated with male infertility.However,little is known about the molecules that are involved in its development.This study was to identify critical genes associated with lipopolysaccharide-induced epididymitis and an a lyze the molecular mecha nism of epididymitis through RNA sequencing.Experime ntal epididymitis models were generated by administering male Sprague-Dawley rats'lipopolysaccharide.A total of 1378 differentially expressed genes,including 531 upregulated and 847 down regulated gen es,were identified in the epididymitis model rats compared with those in sham-operated rats by RNA seque ncing.Fun ctional enrichme nt an a lyses suggested that the upregulated genes were markedly enriched in inflammati on.related biological processes,as well as in the tumor necrosis factor(TNF)signaling pathway,cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions,complement and coagulation cascades,and in the chemokine signalipathway.Four downregulated genes(collagen type XXVⅢalpha 1 chain[Col28α1],cyclirndependent kinase-like 1[Cdkl1],phosphoserine phosphatase[Psph],and fatty acid desaturase 2[Fads2])and ten upregulated genes(CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein beta[Cebp0],C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 2[Cxcr2],interleukin 11[ll11],C-C motif chemokine ligand 20[Ccl20],nuclear factor-kappa-B inhibitor alpha[NfKbia],claudin 4[Cldn4],matrix metallopeptidase 9[Mmp9],heat shock 70 kDa protein 8[Hspa8],intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1[Icam1],and Jun)were successfully confirmed by real-time polymerase chai n reaction.Wester n blot dem on strated that CDKL1 was decreased,while MMP9 and NFKBIA were increased in the experimental model group compared with those in the sham-operated group.Our study sheds new light on the understand!ng of the early response of the epididymis during bacterial epididymitis.

Up-regulation of circular RNA hsa_circ_01844 induces apoptosis and suppresses proliferation and migration of glioblastoma cells

Background:Previous studies have demonstrated that various circular RNAs are involved in the malignant proliferation of cancers,such as liver cancer,lung cancer,breast cancer,and others.The potential role of circular RNAs in glioblastoma,however,is still uncertain.In this study,we aimed to study the potential role of hsa_circ_01844 in glioblastoma.Methods:Using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR)method,hsa_circ_01844 expression was measured in five glioblastoma samples and five normal brain samples.To evaluate the potential function of hsa_circ_01844 in glioblastoma,hsa_circ_01844 was overexpressed in glioblastoma cell lines(U251 and U87 cells).Using these two cell lines,in vitro experiments including the flow cytometry assay,3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay,Transwell assay,and cell apoptosis assay were performed to investigate the role of hsa_circ_01844 in glioblastoma.Student t test and one-way analysis of variance were used for statistical analysis.Results:The expression of circular RNA hsa_circ_01844 was lower in glioblastoma tissues when compared with the normal brain tissues by RT-PCR method(0.034±0.036 vs.1.630±0.891,P<0.001).Using two glioblastoma cell lines,we found that overexpression of hsa_circ_01844 in glioblastoma cells suppressed their proliferation,colony formation,migration,and increased the apoptotic rate compared with empty vector group and blank control group(all P<0.05).Conclusion:Hsa_circ_01844 shows decreased expression in glioblastoma and its overexpression induces apoptosis and inhibits proliferation,migration,and invasion of glioblastoma cells.

Inhibition of NF-kappa B can enhance Fas-mediated apoptosis in leukemia cell line HL-60

This study explored the effects of nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-κB)inhibitor Bay 11-7082 on Fas/FasL system and Fas-mediated apoptosis in cell line HL-60 cells.The mRNA and protein levels of Fas,FasL,and X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein(XIAP)were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR)and flow cytometry(FCM);the level of sFasL was evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA);and apoptosis was determined by FCM.After treatment with Bay 11-7082,the mRNA and protein levels of FasL and XIAP in HL-60 cells were significantly lower than in the controls(P<0.05),but the mRNA and protein levels of Fas and sFasL did not change significantly(P>0.05).Apoptotic rate of HL-60 cells treated with Bay 11-7082 was significantly higher than in the controls(P<0.05).Therefore,we conclude that Bay 11-7082 can enhance Fas-mediated apoptosis in HL-60 cells by downregulating FasL and XIAP levels.