Vitamin D and Male Sexual Function: A Transversal and Longitudinal Study

Background. The effects of vitamin D on sexual function are very unclear. Therefore, we aimed at evaluating the possible association between vitamin D and sexual function and at assessing the influence of vitamin D administration on sexual function. Methods. We retrospectively studied 114 men by evaluating clinical, biochemical, and sexual parameters. A subsample (n=41) was also studied longitudinally before and after vitamin D replacement therapy. Results. In the whole sample, after performing logistic regression models, higher levels of 25(OH) vitamin D were significantly associated with high values of total testosterone and of all the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) questionnaire parameters. On the other hand, higher levels of total testosterone were positively and significantly associated with high levels of erectile function and IIEF total score. After vitamin D replacement therapy, total and free testosterone increased and erectile function improved, whereas other sexual parameters did not change significantly. At logistic regression analysis, higher levels of vitamin D increase (Δ-) were significantly associated with high values of Δ-erectile function after adjustment for Δ-testosterone. Conclusions. Vitamin D is important for the wellness of male sexual function, and vitamin D administration improves sexual function

Androgen Receptor Gene CAG Repeat Polymorphism Regulates the Metabolic Effects of Testosterone Replacement Therapy in Male Postsurgical Hypogonadotropic Hypogonadism

Aim. To evaluate the independent role of androgen receptor (AR) gene CAG repeat polymorphism on metabolic effects of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in male postsurgical hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, a condition frequently associated with hypopituitarism and in which the TRT-related metabolic effects are combined with those deriving from concomitant administration of metabolically active pituitary-function replacement therapies. Methods. 15 men affected by postsurgical hypogonadotropic hypogonadism were evaluated before and after TRT. Cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs), pituitary-dependent hormones, and AR gene CAG repeat polymorphism were considered. Results. Testosterone, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), and estradiol were the only hormones, which varied significantly between the two phases. All CVRFs significantly improved after TRT. The number of CAG triplets was positively and significantly correlated with all the variations (Δ-) of CVRFs (except for a significant negative correlation with Δ-high-density lipoprotein); the opposite occurred between the latter and Δ-testosterone. No correlation between Δ-IGF-1 or estradiol and Δ-CVRFs was found. At multiple linear regression, after correction for Δ-testosterone, nearly all the associations between the number of CAG triplets and Δ-CVRFs were confirmed. Conclusions. In male postsurgical hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, shorter AR gene CAG tract length seems to yield greater metabolic improvement after TRT, independently of the effects of concomitant pituitary-function replacement therapies

A model for the estimation of standard deviation of air pollution concentration in different stability conditions

We propose to estimate the standard deviations of the air pollution concentration in the horizontal and vertical direction, σy and σz, based on Pasquill’s well-known equation, in terms of the wind variance and the Lagrangian integral time scales, on the basis of an atmospheric turbulence spectra model. The main advantage of the spectral model is its treatment of turbulent kinetic energy spectra as the sum of buoyancy and a shear produced part, modelling each one separately. The formulation represents both shear and buoyant turbulent mechanisms characterizing the various regimes of the Planetary Boundary Layer, and gives continuous values at any elevation and all stability conditions from unstable to stable. As a consequence, both the wind variance and the Lagrangian integral time scales in the dispersion parameters are more general than those found in literature, because they are not derived from diffusion experiments as most parameterizations. Furthermore, they provide a formulation continuous for the whole boundary layer resulting more physically consistent. The σy, σz parameters, included in a Gaussian model have been tested and compared with a dispersion scheme reported in the literature, using experimental data in different emission conditions (low and tall stacks) and in several meteorological conditions ranging from stable to convective. Results show that the dispersion model with the sigmas parameterisation included, produces a good fitting of the measured ground-level concentration data in all the experimental conditions considered, performing slightly better than other state-of-art models

Inferring directed climatic interactions with renormalized partial directed coherence and directed partial correlation

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work was supported in part by Spanish MINECO/FEDER (FIS2015-66503-C3-2-P) and ITN LINC (FP7 289447). C.M. also acknowledges partial support from ICREA ACADEMIAPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Klinefelter syndrome: cardiovascular abnormalities and metabolic disorders

Klinefelter syndrome (KS) is one of the most common genetic causes of male infertility. This condition is associated with much comorbidity and with a lower life expectancy. The aim of this review is to explore more in depth cardiovascular and metabolic disorders associated to KS. KS patients have an increased risk of cerebrovascular disease (standardized mortality ratio, SMR, 2.2; 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.6–3.0), but it is not clear whether the cause of the death is of thrombotic or hemorrhagic nature. Cardiovascular congenital anomalies (SMR, 7.3; 95% CI, 2.4–17.1) and the development of thrombosis or leg ulcers (SMR, 7.9; 95% CI, 2.9–17.2) are also more frequent in these subjects. Moreover, cardiovascular abnormalities may be at least partially reversed by testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). KS patients have also an increased probability of endocrine and/or metabolic disease, especially obesity, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The effects of TRT on these abnormalities are not entirely clear

Targeting of Pseudorabies Virus Structural Proteins to Axons Requires Association of the Viral Us9 Protein with Lipid Rafts

The pseudorabies virus (PRV) Us9 protein plays a central role in targeting viral capsids and glycoproteins to axons of dissociated sympathetic neurons. As a result, Us9 null mutants are defective in anterograde transmission of infection in vivo. However, it is unclear how Us9 promotes axonal sorting of so many viral proteins. It is known that the glycoproteins gB, gC, gD and gE are associated with lipid raft microdomains on the surface of infected swine kidney cells and monocytes, and are directed into the axon in a Us9-dependent manner. In this report, we determined that Us9 is associated with lipid rafts, and that this association is critical to Us9-mediated sorting of viral structural proteins. We used infected non-polarized and polarized PC12 cells, a rat pheochromocytoma cell line that acquires many of the characteristics of sympathetic neurons in the presence of nerve growth factor (NGF). In these cells, Us9 is highly enriched in detergent-resistant membranes (DRMs). Moreover, reducing the affinity of Us9 for lipid rafts inhibited anterograde transmission of infection from sympathetic neurons to epithelial cells in vitro. We conclude that association of Us9 with lipid rafts is key for efficient targeting of structural proteins to axons and, as a consequence, for directional spread of PRV from pre-synaptic to post-synaptic neurons and cells of the mammalian nervous system

A spatial approach for the epidemiology of antibiotic use and resistance in community-based studies: the emergence of urban clusters of Escherichia coli quinolone resistance in Sao Paulo, Brasil

Copyright © Kiffer et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Background Population antimicrobial use may influence resistance emergence. Resistance is an ecological phenomenon due to potential transmissibility. We investigated spatial and temporal patterns of ciprofloxacin (CIP) population consumption related to E. coli resistance emergence and dissemination in a major Brazilian city. A total of 4,372 urinary tract infection E. coli cases, with 723 CIP resistant, were identified in 2002 from two outpatient centres. Cases were address geocoded in a digital map. Raw CIP consumption data was transformed into usage density in DDDs by CIP selling points influence zones determination. A stochastic model coupled with a Geographical Information System was applied for relating resistance and usage density and for detecting city areas of high/low resistance risk. Results E. coli CIP resistant cluster emergence was detected and significantly related to usage density at a level of 5 to 9 CIP DDDs. There were clustered hot-spots and a significant global spatial variation in the residual resistance risk after allowing for usage density. Conclusions There were clustered hot-spots and a significant global spatial variation in the residual resistance risk after allowing for usage density. The usage density of 5-9 CIP DDDs per 1,000 inhabitants within the same influence zone was the resistance triggering level. This level led to E. coli resistance clustering, proving that individual resistance emergence and dissemination was affected by antimicrobial population consumption