Blood plasma trimethylamine N-oxide and related metabolites and asthenozoospermia odds: a hospital-based matched case-control study in China.

Study Question: Are blood plasma trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) and related metabolites linked to the odds of asthenozoospermia?

Summary Answer: Increased blood plasma TMAO levels were positively associated with the odds of asthenozoospermia, while elevated levels of choline and L-carnitine were related to reduced asthenozoospermia odds, implying that TMAO and its related metabolites might play an important role in the development of asthenozoospermia.

What Is Known Already: Sperm motility and concentration are profoundly impaired by excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS). A positive correlation has been established between ROS levels and TMAO, which is regarded as a key regulatory factor for initiating mitochondrial ROS production.

Axial Compression Behavior of Bamboo Scrimber-Filled Steel Tubular (BSFST) Column Under Different Loading Modes.

Bamboo scrimber is an environmentally friendly biomass building material with excellent mechanical properties. However, it is susceptible to delamination failure of the transverse fibers under compression, which limits its structural performance. To address this problem, this study utilizes steel tubes to encase bamboo scrimber, forming a novel bamboo scrimber-filled steel tubular column.

Tumor Forkhead Box J2 as a Biomarker Reflecting Risks of Recurrence and Death in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Receiving Surgical Resection.

Forkhead box J2 (FOXJ2) induces cell apoptosis and restrains epithelial-mesenchymal transition in lung cancer, but its capability to serve as a prognostic biomarker in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unclear. Hence, this study intended to investigate the association of FOXJ2 with clinical characteristics, disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) in NSCLC patients who received surgical resection. Totally, 182 NSCLC patients who received surgical resection were retrospectively enrolled.

Map4k4 is up-regulated and modulates granulosa cell injury and oxidative stress in polycystic ovary syndrome via activating JNK/c-JUN pathway: An experimental study.

The regulatory mechanism on granulosa cells (GCs) oxidative injury is becoming increasingly important in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) studies. Serine/threonine kinase mitogen-activated protein 4 kinase 4 (Map4k4) is linked with oxidative injury and possibly associated with premature ovarian failure and ovarian dysgenesis. Herein, we investigated the function and mechanism of Map4k4 in a PCOS rat model.

UV-irradiating synthesis of cyclodextrin-silver nanocluster decorated TiO nanoparticles for photocatalytic enhanced anticancer effect on HeLa cancer cells.

Titanium dioxide (TiO) has emerged as a viable choice for several biological and environmental applications because of its high efficiency, cheap cost, and high photostability. In pursuit of this purpose, the research of its many forms has been influenced by these unique aspects. The development of novel TiO-based hybrid materials with enhanced photocatalytically induced anticancer activity has gained tremendous attention.

Enterotypes in asthenospermia patients with obesity.

The essence of enterotypes is stratifying the entire human gut microbiome, which modulates the association between diet and disease risk. A study was designed at the Center of Reproductive Medicine, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University and Jinghua Hospital of Shenyang. Prevotella and Bacteroides were analyzed in 407 samples of stool, including 178 men with enterotype B (61 normal, 117 overweight/obese) and 229 men with enterotype P (74 normal, 155 overweight/obese).

Lidocaine suppresses the malignant behavior of gastric cancer cells via the c-Met/c-Src pathway.

The present study was designed to investigate the role and mechanism of action behind the action of lidocaine in gastric cancer cells. Lidocaine was tested for its potential role in affecting the viability of cells using Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assays. It was found that there was a decreased MKN45 cell viability upon lidocaine treatment in a dose-dependent manner.

Maternal exposure to sulfur dioxide and the risk of oral clefts in Liaoning Province, China: a population-based case-control study.

There is limited and equivocal epidemiological evidence relating to the association between maternal sulfur dioxide (SO) exposure and the risk of oral clefts (OCs) in offspring. We performed a population-based case-control study in Liaoning province to evaluate aforementioned relationship during 3 months before conception, the first trimester of pregnancy, and their single months. The study involved 3086 patients with OCs and 7950 controls.

Association between prenatal air pollution exposure and risk of hypospadias in offspring: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

Background: The findings of associations between prenatal air pollution exposure and hypospadias risk in offspring are inconsistent. No systematic review or meta-analysis has yet summarized the present knowledge on the aforementioned topic.

Methods: Relevant manuscripts were identified by searching PubMed and Web of Science databases through January 31, 2020.

CDCA7 promotes lung adenocarcinoma proliferation via regulating the cell cycle.

CDCA7 is overexpressed in several malignant cancers and is predicted by bioinformatics to be a candidate oncogene in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). However, the clinical and biological function of CDCA7 in LUAD has never been investigated. In this study, we used quantitative real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry to determine the expression level and clinical significance of CDCA7.

Natural killer cells inhibit oxaliplatin-resistant colorectal cancer by repressing WBSCR22 via upregulating microRNA-146b-5p.

Natural killer (NK) cells have exhibited promising efficacy in inhibiting cancer growth. We aimed to explorer the effect of NK cells on oxaliplatin-resistant colorectal cancer and the underlying molecular mechanism. Oxaliplatin-resistant colorectal cancer cell lines were co-cultured with NK cells to evaluate the effect on viability, proliferation, migration and invasion .

Is it feasible to detect epidermal growth factor receptor mutations in circulating tumor cells in nonsmall cell lung cancer?: A meta-analysis.

Background: The value of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in detecting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is controversial. We performed a meta-analysis to investigate the diagnostic significance of CTCs with tumor tissues as the standard control.

Methods: A systematic literature search, including papers published until November 26, 2015, was performed using PubMed, Medline, Embase, Web of Science, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and the references of retrieved articles were screened.

The overexpression of KIFC1 was associated with the proliferation and prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: The kinesin family member C1 (KIFC1, also known as HSET) is a kinesin superfamily protein (KIFs). Although KIFC1 acts as a crucial role in the development of several human cancers, the KIFC1 expression profile and functional remain unclear in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: We collected the fresh NSCLC samples and paired normal lung tissue in patients with lung cancer operation, and detected KIFC1 expression using quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting.

[Elution of endosulfan from contaminated soil by surfactants and their combination].

The elution efficiency and dynamic characteristic of endosulfan from the contaminated soil were studied using non-ionic surfactants and anionic/non-ionic surfactants in the presence or absence of Na2SiO3 with batch experiment and parallel desorption experiment. The results showed that the elution percents of alpha-, beta-endosulfan followed a decreasing order of Tween 80/SDS, Tween 80 and Triton X-100 in the absence of Na2SiO3, while that by Triton X-100/SDS at low concentration (100-500 mg x L(-1)) and high concentration (800-1000 mg x L(-1)) were lower and higher than those by the corresponding concentrations of Triton X-100, respectively. The elution efficiencies for four elution modes obviously increased in the presence of Na2SiO3, and the elution percents of alpha-, beta-endosulfan followed a decreasing order of Tween 80/SDS, Tween 80, Triton X-100/SDS and Triton X-100, and that of alpha-endosulfan were as 1.