OBJECTIVE: To identify the rat cavernous nerve and establish a rat model of erectile dysfunction (ED) caused by injury of the cavernous nerve. METHODS: Twenty rats underwent dissections. Cavernous nerves were identifi...OBJECTIVE: To identify the rat cavernous nerve and establish a rat model of erectile dysfunction (ED) caused by injury of the cavernous nerve. METHODS: Twenty rats underwent dissections. Cavernous nerves were identified with the aid of an operating microscope and confirmed by electrical stimulation. Then, 42 experimental rats were randomized into 3 groups, including sham-operated controls and unilateral and bilateral cavernous nerve ablation groups. Three weeks after surgery, rat models were evaluated with the Apomorphine test. RESULTS: The major pelvic ganglion lies on either side of the dorsolateral lobes of the prostate.It includes 2 inflows, one called hypogastric nerve and the other, the pelvic nerve. The largest outflow is termed the cavernous nerve. Stimulus parameters which could induce obvious penile erection were 5 volts, a frequency of 20 Hertz and a duration of 5 milliseconds. Three weeks after surgery, apomorphine could induce penile erection of each rat in the controls with a mean of 2.57 +/- 1.40 erections in 30 minutes, while there were no erections (0.00 +/- 0.00) in either the unilateral or bilateral groups. CONCLUSIONS: The rat large ganglion and its cavernous nerve can be easily identified and it produces an obvious response to electrical stimulation. Rats are low cost animals to purchase, easy to house and very available making an ideal animal for developing an ED model caused by cavernous nerve injury. In addition, our study showed that in the early period of cavernous nerve ablation, unilateral and bilateral treated rats lost erectile capacity.展开更多
With the combination of surfactant and freeze-drying, we have developed two kinds of graphene spongy structures. On the one hand, using foams of soap bubbles as templates, three-dimensional porous graphene sponges wit...With the combination of surfactant and freeze-drying, we have developed two kinds of graphene spongy structures. On the one hand, using foams of soap bubbles as templates, three-dimensional porous graphene sponges with rich hierarchical pores have been synthesized. Pores of the material contain three levels of length scales, including millimeter, micrometer and nanometer. The structure can be tuned by changing the freezing media, adjusting the stirring rate or adding functional additives. On the other hand, by direct freeze-drying of a graphene oxide/surfactant suspension, a porous framework with directionally aligned pores is prepared. The surfactant gives a better dispersion of graphene oxide sheets, resulting in a high specific surface area. Both of the obtained materials exhibit excellent absorption capacity and good compression performance, providing a broad range of possible applications, such as absorbents, storage media, and carriers.展开更多
文摘OBJECTIVE: To identify the rat cavernous nerve and establish a rat model of erectile dysfunction (ED) caused by injury of the cavernous nerve. METHODS: Twenty rats underwent dissections. Cavernous nerves were identified with the aid of an operating microscope and confirmed by electrical stimulation. Then, 42 experimental rats were randomized into 3 groups, including sham-operated controls and unilateral and bilateral cavernous nerve ablation groups. Three weeks after surgery, rat models were evaluated with the Apomorphine test. RESULTS: The major pelvic ganglion lies on either side of the dorsolateral lobes of the prostate.It includes 2 inflows, one called hypogastric nerve and the other, the pelvic nerve. The largest outflow is termed the cavernous nerve. Stimulus parameters which could induce obvious penile erection were 5 volts, a frequency of 20 Hertz and a duration of 5 milliseconds. Three weeks after surgery, apomorphine could induce penile erection of each rat in the controls with a mean of 2.57 +/- 1.40 erections in 30 minutes, while there were no erections (0.00 +/- 0.00) in either the unilateral or bilateral groups. CONCLUSIONS: The rat large ganglion and its cavernous nerve can be easily identified and it produces an obvious response to electrical stimulation. Rats are low cost animals to purchase, easy to house and very available making an ideal animal for developing an ED model caused by cavernous nerve injury. In addition, our study showed that in the early period of cavernous nerve ablation, unilateral and bilateral treated rats lost erectile capacity.
基金This work is supported by Beijing Natural Science Foundation （No. 2122027）, the National Basic Research Program of China （No. 2011CB013000）, the National Natural Science Foundation of China （No. 51372133）, and the Tsinghua University Initiative Scientific Research Program （No. 2012Z02102）.
文摘With the combination of surfactant and freeze-drying, we have developed two kinds of graphene spongy structures. On the one hand, using foams of soap bubbles as templates, three-dimensional porous graphene sponges with rich hierarchical pores have been synthesized. Pores of the material contain three levels of length scales, including millimeter, micrometer and nanometer. The structure can be tuned by changing the freezing media, adjusting the stirring rate or adding functional additives. On the other hand, by direct freeze-drying of a graphene oxide/surfactant suspension, a porous framework with directionally aligned pores is prepared. The surfactant gives a better dispersion of graphene oxide sheets, resulting in a high specific surface area. Both of the obtained materials exhibit excellent absorption capacity and good compression performance, providing a broad range of possible applications, such as absorbents, storage media, and carriers.
