A pre-conception cohort study of fertility and its related factors among couples with the intention of conception / 中华预防医学杂志

Objective: To describe fertility and explore factors associated with it among pre-conception couples of childbearing age. Methods: Based on the pre-conceptional offspring trajectory study of the School of Public Health of Fudan University, couples of childbearing age who participated in the pre-conception physical examination in Shanghai Jiading District from 2016 to 2021 were recruited and followed up. Couples' time to pregnancy (TTP) was analyzed and Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to explore the factors associated with TTP. Kaplan-Meier was used to calculate each menstrual cycle's cumulative pregnancy rate. Results: A total of 1 095 preconception couples were included in the analysis, the M(Q1,Q3)of TTP was 4.33 (2.41, 9.78) menstrual cycles. Age of women (FR=0.90, 95%CI: 0.85-0.95, P<0.001), women who were overweight or obese before pregnancy (FR=0.36, 95%CI: 0.24-0.55, P<0.001), women who were exposed to second-hand smoking (FR=0.63, 95%CI: 0.44-0.92, P=0.016), women whose home or office had been renovated in the past 2 years and had a particular smell (FR=0.46, 95%CI: 0.26-0.81, P=0.008) were risk factors for impaired fertility. Regular menstrual cycles (FR=1.64, 95%CI: 1.16-2.31, P=0.005), females who often drank tea/coffee (FR=1.55, 95%CI: 1.11-2.17, P=0.011) and males who took folic acid before conception (FR=2.35, 95%CI: 1.38-4.23, P=0.002) were associated with better fertility. The cumulative pregnancy rate of 3, 6, and 12 menstrual cycles was 37.6%, 64.4%, and 78.4%, respectively. Conclusion: Older couples, overweight or obesity before pregnancy, irregular menstruation, exposure to secondhand smoke and decoration pollutants in females are associated with impaired fertility. Frequent tea/coffee drinking before pregnancy in females and taking folic acid before pregnancy in males are associated with shortened conception time.

Effect of Serum from Kidney Yang Deficiency Rats on Expression of β-catenin/OPG/RANKL in OB-OC Co-culture System and Regulatory of Icariin / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To observe the effect of serum of kidney Yang deficiency rats on the expression of β-catenin，osteoprotegerin(OPG) and nuclear transcription factor-κB receptor activator ligand (RANKL) in the co-culture system and regulatory of icariin on it， and to explore the possible mechanism of inducing osteoporosis.Method:The 16 male SD rats were randomly divided into blank group and model group， 8 rats in each group. 10 mL·kg-1 adenine was administrated to stomach to establish kidney yang deficiency model. Serum was separated and extracted after the model was established successfully. Isolation and culture of osteoblast（OB） and osteoclast（OC） in vitro， OB was observed and identified by alkaline phosphatase（ALP），alizarin red and Giemsa staining， OC was identified by tartrate resistant acid phosphatase（TRAP） staining， OB-OC co-culture system was established in transwell cell， icariin group（100 μmol·L-1）， blank group， icariin（100 μmol·L-1） + serum group， serum group and Dickkopf1（DKK-1） drug（100 μg·L-1） were set up in group ， 2 days after intervention of co-culture system， OC was counted， ALP and TRAP in supernatant were detected by microplate enzyme labeling， and the expression of OPG，β-catenin and RANKL in each group was detected by Western blot.Result:Compared with blank group， the ALP activity，β-catenin and OPG protein expression in serum group were significant reduction （P<0.05）， while the OC quantity， TRAP activity and RANKL protein expression were marked increase （P<0.05）. Compared with serum group， ALP activity of icariin group decreased significantly （P<0.01）， Compared with icariin group， ALP activity and OPG protein expression decreased （P<0.05）， trap activity and RANKL expression increased （P <0.05） in icariin + serum group.Conclusion:The serum of kidney Yang deficiency rats can induce the occurrence of osteoporosis， and the mechanism of action may be through inhibition of ALP activity， down regulating the expression of β-catenin and OPG protein， increasing the activity of TRAP and the expression of RANKL protein.

Degradation of earthworm extracts prepared by wet superfine grinding in simulated gastrointestinal environment / 药学学报

This is to report the study of degradation of earthworm extracts prepared by wet superfine grinding in simulated gastrointestinal environment. Enzymatic reactions were terminated by adjusting the solution pH or using membrane bioreactor principle. Earthworm protein concentration change was detected by Bradford method, the degraded state of protein was described with SDS-PAGE technology, and the degraded state of small molecule substances was detected by HPLC. The results showed that earthworm protein degraded completely in artificial gastric juice. High molecular weight protein degraded greatly in artificial intestinal fluid, while low molecular weight protein was not significantly degraded. Small molecular substances degradation did not degrade in artificial gastric juice, while they degraded obviously in artificial intestinal fluid, there is even new small molecule substance appeared. Finally it is concluded that the substance that having therapeutic effects in vivo may be some degraded peptide, amino acid and stable small molecules existed in artificial intestinal fluid.