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This study aimed to explore whether assisted biomimetic electrostimulation (BES) therapy can improve clinical outcomes in patients with abnormal endometrial receptivity undergoing frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycles. We retrospectively collected data from 132 patients who underwent FET cycles and divided them into the BES ( n  = 86) and non-BES (NBES) groups ( n  = 46). The clinical pregnancy rate (55.8 vs. 37.0%), biochemical pregnancy rate (59.3 vs. 41.3%), and live birth rate (44.2 vs. 23.9%) of the BES group were significantly higher than those of the NBES group ( p  < 0.05). No significant difference between the two groups was observed in endometrial thickness at FET day, embryo implantation rate, and early abortion rate ( p  > 0.05). The logistic regression analysis indicated that blastocyst transfer (adjusted OR = 3.617; 1.337-9.783; p  = 0.011) and BES (adjusted OR = 2.398; 1.094-5.256; p  = 0.029) were positively associated with the clinical pregnancy rate. These results suggested that assisted BES therapy can improve clinical outcomes in patients with diseases affecting endometrial receptivity.Impact statement What is already known on this subject? Biomimetic electrostimulation (BES) therapy can increase endometrial thickness in patients with thin endometria undergoing embryo transfers and to some extent improve their clinical outcomes. What do the results of this study add? Assisted BES therapy can improve clinical pregnancy rates in patients with abnormal endometrial receptivity undergoing FET cycles (55.8 vs. 37.0%, p  = 0.039). After adjusting for covariates, BES was still positively associated with the clinical pregnancy rate (adjusted OR = 2.398; 1.094-5.256; p  = 0.029). What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? BES therapy can improve endometrial receptivity. Further studies are needed to understand its specific mechanisms.

CircRNA circFADS2 suppresses LPS-induced inflammation, which plays a critical role in endometritis. Our preliminary sequencing analysis revealed a positive correlation between circFADS2 and miR-643, which also play protective roles in LPS-induced inflammation. Therefore, this study was performed to explore the involvement of circFADS2 in endometritis with a focus on its interaction with miR-643. RT-qPCR was performed to analyze the levels circFADS2, mature miR-643, and premature miR-643 in plasma samples from endometritis patients (n = 66) and healthy controls (n = 66). Pearson's correlation coefficient was applied to analyze correlations between these genes. The effect of circFADS2 on miR-643 maturation was analyzed by measuring miR-643 and premature miR-643 levels in circFADS2-overexpressed human endometrial epithelial cell line HEnEpCs. The role of circFADS2 and miR-643 in HEnEpC apoptosis under LPS treatment was analyzed by cell apoptosis assay. CircFADS2 was downregulated in endometritis and was positively correlated with mature miR-643, but not premature miR-643. CircFADS2 overexpression in HEnEpCs increased the level of mature miR-643 but not premature miR-643. Cell apoptosis analysis showed that circFADS2 and miR-643 overexpression protected HEnEpCs from LPS-induced cell apoptosis, and miR-643 inhibition reduced the effect of circFADS2 overexpression. CircFADS2 is downregulated in endometritis, and it overexpression promotes miR-643 maturation in HEnEpCs to suppress cell apoptosis., (© 2021. Society for Reproductive Investigation.)

Objective: To investigate the effects of Ningmitai capsule combined with sertraline on patients with premature ejaculation (PE) and an increased anterior-posterior diameter (APD) of the seminal vesicles (SVs)., Methods: Sixty men with acquired PE were enrolled and randomly divided into two groups. The combined group was treated with Ningmitai capsule and sertraline, while the control group was treated with sertraline alone. Main outcomes were measured using the premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (PEDT), APD of SVs, and Clinical Global Impression of Change questionnaire and compared before and after 3 months of treatment., Results: Comparing after treatment with before treatment outcomes within each group, the PEDT score was significantly reduced in the combined group (12.1 ¡À 2.5 vs 8.6 ¡À 3.2, P < 0.001, respectively) and control group (12.9 ¡À 2.6 vs 10.3 ¡À 1.6, P < 0.001, respectively). Furthermore, the PEDT score after treatment was significantly lower in the combined compared with control group (8.6 ¡À 3.2 vs 10.3 ¡À 1.6, P = 0.011, respectively). The APD of SVs in the combined group was significantly decreased after treatment [(10.8 ¡À 2.4) vs (12.9 ¡À 2.2) mm, P = 0.001], while the APD of SVs in the control group was equivalent before and after treatment. The treatment response rate was not significantly higher in the combined compared with control group., Conclusion: These results indicated that the effect of Ningmitai capsule combined with sertraline was better than that of sertraline alone for the treatment of PE patients exhibiting an increased APD of SVs. The therapeutic effect found for the combined treatment may be due to antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity reported for Ningmitai capsule, and may suggest that seminal vesiculitis is a potential pathophysiological factor in acquired PE.

Objective: To survey the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases among high-risk population in Nanjing., Methods: A high-risk population of 1539 underwent physical examinations from September 2001 to May 2004. The results were recorded, the urogenital swabs collected to further detect Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GN), Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct), Ureaplasma urealyticum (Uu), and the blood specimens tested for syphilis and HIV antibodies., Results: The infection rates were 13.5% for GN, 10.3% for syphilis, 2.3% for condyloma acuminata, 35.9% for Ct and 22.4% for Uu respectively. Nongonococcal urethritis (NUG) was shown to be the most prevalent STD in the group. No subject was found to be positive with HIV antibody., Conclusion: Screening strategy in the high risk population is useful and efficient in controlling the spread of STDs and HIV.

Objective: Semen evaluation is the most important laboratory test for assessing male fertility. However, lack of strict quality control (QC) for semen analyses in hospital andrology laboratories makes it difficult and meaningless to compare semen data between different laboratories. This paper reports a comparative study on the accuracy of the Hemacytometer (Qiujing Inc., Shanghai, China), Makler (Sefi-Medical Instrument, Haifa, Israel), and Cell-VU (Millennium Sciences Inc., New York, USA) chambers for sperm counting., Methods: Both low [(18 +/- 2.5) x 10(6)/ml] and high [(35 +/- 5) x 10(6)/ml] pre-calibrated standard latex bead solutions (Hamilton Thorne Biosciences, USA) were used as the quality control solution to perform counts on the three different counting chambers. Bead counts for the three different chambers were compared, and variability within the chambers determined for standard solutions at low and high concentrations of latex beads, respectively., Results: Mean bead concentrations for the Cell-VU, Hemacytometer and Makler chambers were (37.63 +/- 4.89), (42.74 +/- 4.98) and (53.52 +/- 6.67) x 10(6)/ml respectively for a standard solution containing (35 +/- 5) x 10(6) beads/ml, and (18.22 +/- 1.77), (20.48 +/- 1.56), (24.97 +/- 4.75) x 10(6)/ml respectively for a standard solution containing (18 +/- 2.5) x 10(6) beads/ml. Mean bead concentrations for the Cell-VU chamber were consistently similar and close to the standard pre-calibrated bead solutions, while those for both the Hemacytometer and the Makler chambers were significantly overestimated (P < 0.001). The average coefficients of variation for the Cell-VU chamber were 7.51% for a higher concentration of the standard solution containing (36 +/- 5) x 10(6) beads/ml and 1.22% for a lower concentration of the standard solution containing (18 +/- 2.5) x 10(6) beads/ml, while the mean variation rates of the Hemacytometer and Makler chambers were 22.11% and 13.78% for a standard solution containing (36 +/- 5) x 10(6) beads/ml, and 52.91% and 38.72% for a standard solution containing (18 +/- 2.5) x 10(6) beads/ ml, respectively., Conclusion: Semen analysis is one of the most important tests for male fertility evaluation, but the data obtained from commercially available counting chambers may differ markedly in accuracy and reliability. Results from this comparative study demonstrated that the Cell-VU chamber exhibits significantly more accurate and less variable results than those of the Hemacytometer and Makler chambers. To ensure the best possible evaluations and accurate diagnoses, we therefore recommend that Cell-VU be used as the standard counting chamber for routine semen analyses in andrology laboratories.