Excess copper exposure and male reproductive toxicity: molecular mechanisms and potential interventions.

Copper (Cu) is an essential micronutrient in various enzymatic and physiological functions. However, excessive copper intake, mainly resulting from industrial emissions and improper agricultural practices, has raised growing concerns due to its toxicological effects, particularly on the male reproductive system. This review summarizes current research progress on copper-induced reproductive toxicity in males, emphasizing its impact on sperm quality, androgen production, and testicular structure and function.

Latest Research Progress in High-Purity Material Purification Technology.

High-purity metals, defined as metals with impurity levels minimized to achieve purity, typically ≥99.999% (5N grade), constitute critical raw materials and serve as essential supporting components for modern high-technology industries. Common examples include high-purity indium, gallium, germanium, magnesium, lithium, aluminum, tin, tellurium, and titanium.

Predicting chronic stenosis progression of stable coronary artery disease using peri-coronary fat attenuation index derived from coronary computed tomography angiography.

Background: Stable coronary artery disease (CAD), a common condition in CAD, often requires monitoring and treatment. However, predicting its chronic stenosis progression remains challenging. Peri-coronary fat attenuation index (FAI), a quantitative parameter derived from coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA), may provide valuable information for predicting the chronic stenosis progression of CAD.

Prenatal iron overload induces hepatic oxidative stress and ferroptosis in offspring mice.

Iron is an essential micronutrient required for normal growth and development. However, excessive iron intake can exert toxic effects, particularly during sensitive developmental windows such as pregnancy. In this study, pregnant female mice were supplemented with varying concentrations of iron until day 21 post-delivery.

Heterointerface-Engineered SiC@SiO@C Nanofibers for Simultaneous Microwave Absorption and Corrosion Resistance.

To meet the demands of maritime defense and transportation, next-generation microwave absorption (MA) materials must combine efficient attenuation and corrosion resistance (CR). SiC nanofibers, with their moderate dielectric constant and chemical inertness, are ideal multifunctional coating fillers. However, their single-component nature limits microwave attenuation, resulting in low efficiency and narrow bandwidth.

Synergistic enhancement of PLA nanocomposites via functionalized CNTs and MOFs: Multifunctional improvements in mechanical strength, thermal stability, and biomedical compatibility.

In pursuit of a sustainable alternative to conventional petroleum-derived polymers, this study aims to enhance the comprehensive performance of polylactic acid (PLA). Despite its inherent biocompatibility and biodegradability, the intrinsic brittleness of PLA significantly restricts its broader applicability, particularly in the medical domain. To overcome this limitation, we utilized the Hummers method to functionalize the surface of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with carboxylic acid groups, followed by a green and highly efficient solution-mixing approach to immobilize the modified CNTs onto the surface of HKUST-1, a metal-organic framework (MOF).

Correlation between gut dysbiosis, metabolite alterations and erosive hand osteoarthritis - An observational study within the community-based Xiangya Osteoarthritis (XO) cohort.

Objectives: Erosive hand osteoarthritis (EHOA) is an aggressive subtype of hand osteoarthritis (HOA) with unclear pathogenesis. Since gut dysbiosis and related metabolite alterations may exacerbate inflammation and accelerate bone destruction, we investigated whether these abnormalities were involved in EHOA.

Methods: Participants were drawn from the Xiangya Osteoarthritis Study.

Rare earth composite MOFs materials for energy, environmental and medical applications.

Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are a group of seventeen specialized elements that have shown irreplaceable roles in energy, environment and medical fields due to their unique electronic structures and chemical properties. Rare Earth Composite Metal-Organic Frameworks (RE-MOFs) have become a hotspot for interdisciplinary research as they combine the excellent properties of REEs with the porous properties of MOFs, which have high specific surface area, adjustable pore size, abundant active sites, and multifunctionality. In this paper, we systematically review the progress of the application of RE-MOFs in the fields of energy storage and conversion, pollution control, and biomedicine, analyze the performance optimization strategies and challenges, and look forward to the future development direction.

Effect of Quality Control Circle Activities on Reducing the Failure Rate of Surgical Instrument Pre-Treatment.

Background: The quality of surgical instrument cleaning can affect patient safety. Pre-treatment is a key step in cleaning. This study investigated the effect of quality control circle (QCC) activities on reducing the failure rate of surgical instrument pre-treatment.

Effects of Copper on Steroid Hormone Secretion, Steroidogenic Enzyme Expression, and Transcriptomic Profiles in Yak Ovarian Granulosa Cells.

Yak (Bos grunniens) is the main economic animal growing in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Because of its poor growing environment, copper deficiency is common. Studies have shown that appropriate copper supplementation can improve the reproductive performance of heifers.

Osteoarthritis and the risk of sleep apnea: a general population-based cohort study.

Objective: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease, leading to pain and inflammation, two risk factors for sleep apnea (SA). We aimed to examine whether OA may increase the risk of incident SA, a common source of mortality and sudden death.

Method: Using data from the IQVIA Medical Research Database, we conducted three cohort studies (i.

A uranyl-based metal-organic framework featuring an eight-connected UL cage for guest capture.

A novel (3,6)-connected uranyl-based MOF (IHEP-50) was synthesized by a judicious combination of UO and polycarboxylic acid, 4,4',4'',4''',4'''',4'''''-(((1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triyl)tris(azanetriyl))hexakis(methylene))hexabenzoic acid (HDTPCA). Two DTPCA ligands are connected together four uranyl cations to form a lantern-shaped cage UL, which is further connected with other eight equivalent ones to form a 3D porous framework with two kinds of 1D channels. These large pore structures give it certain potential for guest molecule capture.

MRI-based intra-tumoral ecological diversity features and temporal characteristics for predicting microvascular invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective: To investigate the predictive value of radiomics models based on intra-tumoral ecological diversity (iTED) and temporal characteristics for assessing microvascular invasion (MVI) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Material And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of 398 HCC patients who underwent dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI with Gd-EOB-DTPA (training set: 318; testing set: 80). The tumors were segmented into five distinct habitats using case-level clustering and a Gaussian mixture model was used to determine the optimal clusters based on the Bayesian information criterion to produce an iTED feature vector for each patient, which was used to assess intra-tumoral heterogeneity.

Correlation between imaging features of pure ground-glass opacities and pathological subtypes of lung minimally invasive adenocarcinoma and precursor lesions.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between imaging features of pure ground-glass opacities (pGGOs) and the pathological subtypes of minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA) and precursor lesions. A retrospective analysis was conducted on data from 1521 patients diagnosed with GGOs as lung adenocarcinoma or precursor lesions between January 2015 and March 2021. The pGGOs were categorized into atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (AAH) / adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) and MIA groups.

Enhanced Optical Modulation Properties via Two-step Annealing of Sol-Gel Deposited Vanadium Dioxide Thin Films.

Vanadium dioxide (VO) is a key coating component for smart devices, especially in smart windows, due to its excellent thermochromic properties and metal-insulating transformation. In this study, we investigate the influence of different annealing on the VO thin films prepared by a sol-gel technique combined with spin-coating and compare the changes in morphology, structure, and optical properties. Of the two types of VO (M) films obtained by one-step annealing at 700 °C and two-step annealing at 500 and 700 °C, the two-step annealed samples formed an intermediate phase VO (B), which allowed them to exhibit higher purity and better crystallinity than those of the one-step annealed samples.

Isoflavones extracted from Millettia pachyloba prevent the infection of the rice blast fungus by inhibiting its conidial germination and appressorium formation.

Background: The ascomycete Magnaporthe oryzae is a destructive phytopathogenic fungus that causes rice blast disease and can greatly reduce rice yields. Due to the widespread use of synthesized chemical fungicides and the frequent occurrence of fungicide resistance and environmental pollution as a result, it has become increasingly urgent to develop environmentally friendly biocontrol alternatives, including plant crude extracts.

Results: In this study, the crude extracts of the tropical plant Millettia pachyloba were screened out and exhibited excellent preventive effects against M.

Effects of Trace Elements and Vitamins on the Synthesis of Steroid Hormones in Follicular Granulosa Cells of Yak.

Yak (), a special breed of cattle on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, has low fertility due to nutritional deficiency, especially the trace elements. The steroid hormones estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P4) synthesized by yak follicular granulosa cells (BGCs) are involved in the entire reproductive process. In the present study, we investigated the effects of trace elements and vitamins on yak follicular GCs, including the cellular activity, the synthesis of E2 and P4, and the expression of genes related to steroid hormone synthesis.

Cage-Based Metal-Organic Framework Featuring a Double-Yolk Core-Shell UL@UL Structure for Iodine Capture.

Cage-based MOFs, with their customizable chemical environments and precisely controllable nanospaces, show great potential for the selective adsorption of guest molecules with specific structures. In this work, we have constructed a novel cage-based MOF [(CH)NH][(UO)(TMTTA)]·11.5DMF·2HO (IHEP-51), utilizing a triazine derivative poly(carboxylic acid), 4,4',4″-(((1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triyl)tris(((4-carboxycyclohexyl)methyl)azanediyl))tris(methylene))tribenzoic acid (HTMTTA), as an organic ligand and uranyl as a metal node.

Emodin regulated lactate metabolism by inhibiting MCT1 to delay non-small cell lung cancer progression.

Lung cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world, with high incidence rate and mortality. Monocarboxylate transporter (MCT) 1 has been found to be widely expressed in various tumors and plays a crucial role in regulating energy metabolism. Emodin, as an important traditional Chinese medicine in China, has been reported to inhibit the progression of lung cancer.

Construction of Cyclodextrin-Based Covalent Organic Frameworks for Efficient Encapsulation of Menthol.

The application of flavoring ingredients like menthol in the food industry is hindered by their high volatility and poor thermal stability, which lead to significant losses during processing and storage. Encapsulation of flavors into porous materials to obtain inclusion complexes (ICs) has proved to be an efficient strategy. In the present study, we synthesized a series of relatively food-safe three-dimensional anionic cyclodextrin-based covalent organic frameworks (CD-COFs) with spiroborate linkages using a facile microwave-assisted method.