Search Results (7,198)

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) remain a global health burden. Beyond classical pathogens, dermatophytes are increasingly identified within sexually linked transmission networks. Genital dermatophytosis is a superficial fungal infection of the genital area, primarily caused by anthropophilic and zoophilic dermatophytes. Recently, Trichophyton mentagrophytes genotype VII and Trichophyton indotineae have emerged as clinically significant dermatophytes, increasingly linked to human-to-human and sexually associated transmission within highly interconnected sexual networks. These infections are often marked by inflammatory, persistent, and treatment-refractory presentations, with prominent genital involvement and rising antifungal resistance—particularly to terbinafine—posing growing diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (Doxy-PEP) has recently emerged as a novel preventive strategy for bacterial STIs, involving the administration of 200 mg doxycycline within 24–72 h after activities associated with increased infection exposure, particularly among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women. While effective in reducing infections such as syphilis and chlamydia, its broader implementation raises concerns regarding antimicrobial resistance. Chemsex is an increasingly prevalent behavioural phenomenon, defined as the intentional use of psychoactive substances during sexual activity to enhance or prolong the experience, particularly among MSM. It is associated with multiple adverse effects, including increased STI transmission, substance dependence, drug toxicity, psychological disturbances, and significant challenges in treatment adherence and healthcare engagement. This review aims to provide a comprehensive and clinically oriented overview of emerging trends in STIs, with a particular focus on dermatophyte infections as pathogens with potential sexually associated transmission, alongside evolving prevention strategies and behavioral factors influencing transmission. Full article

Low-salinity events caused by heavy rainfall and freshwater runoff pose significant environmental constraints on eucheumatoid seaweed mariculture in coastal areas. In this study, five eucheumatoid seaweeds, including three strains of Kappaphycus alvarezii (Hn-R, Hn-G, and Ma-R), Kappaphycus striatum, and Eucheuma denticulatum, were exposed to 22, 26, and 30 psu for 36 days. Growth performance, photosynthetic pigments, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, oxidative damage, and antioxidant responses were determined. To compare the actual physiological performance of different seaweeds under each salinity condition, a functional performance score was calculated using membership function analysis based on relative growth rate, chlorophyll a, carotenoids, photosynthesis, and malondialdehyde. Low salinity generally reduced growth, photosynthetic pigment content, and photosystem II performance, while increasing malondialdehyde content and antioxidant-related parameters, indicating that prolonged low-salinity exposure induced both physiological inhibition and oxidative stress responses. At 22 psu, K. alvarezii Ma-R showed the strongest functional performance, followed by K. striatum and E. denticulatum. At 26 psu, E. denticulatum showed the strongest functional performance, followed by K. alvarezii Ma-R and K. striatum. These results indicate that eucheumatoid seaweeds differ in their functional performance under mild and more severe low-salinity tolerance, providing physiological evidence for selecting candidate eucheumatoid seaweeds for salinity-fluctuating coastal mariculture. Full article

Accurate prediction of protein–protein interaction (PPI) interface residues is essential for understanding molecular recognition and supporting structure-guided design. To integrate contextual sequence representations with structure-related physicochemical information, we propose a multimodal framework termed MD-Transformer. The model combines residue-level ProtBERT embeddings with physicochemical descriptors, including B-factor, solvent-accessible surface area (SASA), and hydrophobicity. A hybrid fusion module first aligns heterogeneous features, followed by Transformer encoding and cross-modal attention for multimodal integration. Using the DB5.5 benchmark, physicochemical descriptors were Z-score normalized exclusively with training-set statistics. Under the complex-level split protocol (Official A), MD-Transformer achieved an AUPRC of 0.564, outperforming the ablation model without physicochemical descriptors by 0.159 and reducing false-positive predictions on exposed non-interface residues. Under the homology-aware split protocol (Official B v1), the model maintained an AUPRC of 0.480 and an MCC of 0.242, indicating retained predictive capability under reduced sequence similarity constraints. Under the same aligned evaluation workflow, PeSTo achieved an AUPRC of 0.264. Further SASA-stratified analyses identified SASA as a major contributor to suppressing false-positive predictions across residue exposure environments, while also revealing a precision-recall trade-off in highly exposed residues. These results suggest that contextual sequence representations and residue-level physicochemical descriptors provide complementary predictive signals. Full article

This paper develops a scenario-based population modelling framework for the 847 mahalle (smallest administrative unit) of Istanbul, Türkiye, extending an empirical baseline for 2007–2025 into prospective scenarios to 2035. The baseline combines rank-size (Zipf) analysis, density quintile trajectories, trajectory classification, and phase-diagram analysis of early versus late-period growth. It reveals a persistent U-shaped deviation from the Zipf benchmark: both the most and least populous mahalle grew strongly through suburban mega-development and peri-urban expansion, respectively, while the established inner-city middle tier remained essentially unchanged. Density followed an inverted gradient, rising sharply on the low-density suburban fringe and contracting in the hyper-dense core. Building on this baseline, the paper defines a baseline continuation (S0) and four alternative scenarios: moderate economic stress (S1), a major North Anatolian Fault earthquake (S2), a combined shock (S3), and policy-led urban renewal (S4). The baseline trajectory amplifies existing inequalities; seismic and economic shocks compress upper-tail growth while generating displacement demand in outer-ring mahalle; and only S4 partially reverses the density-gradient inversion, by stimulating inner-city regeneration under Türkiye’s risky-area programme. The findings link intra-urban population redistribution to seismic-risk exposure and inform spatially targeted planning. Full article

Background: Mitophagy is a mitochondrial quality-control pathway whose contribution to cancer stress tolerance may vary by cellular context. For essential oils, mechanistic interpretation is often limited by compositional variability and the limited number of studies addressing malignant and non-malignant comparisons under matched exposure conditions. Methods: Ylang Ylang essential oil (YY EO) was characterized by GC-MS-FID. Lung cancer cells (A549) and a salivary gland carcinoma model (HTB-41), together with non-malignant lung-related cells (BEAS-2B, MRC-5), were exposed to YY EO. Functional outcomes were assessed by WST-1 and LDH assays. Mitophagy-related and mitochondrial quality-control-associated genes were quantified by RT-qPCR (2^−ΔΔCt). Results: GC-MS-FID identified a terpenoid-rich mixture (99.31%), with germacrene D and β-caryophyllene among the major constituents. YY EO was associated with dose- and cell-type-dependent functional responses, with malignant cells showing reductions in WST-1 signal and stronger LDH-associated responses under the tested conditions, while non-malignant cells showed less pronounced functional changes. Transcriptional responses were context-dependent, with differential changes in mitophagy-related genes across cell lines. Conclusions: These findings provide comparative evidence of greater functional sensitivity in malignant cells, alongside cell-context-dependent mitophagy-related transcriptional responses. These observations are hypothesis-generating and remain limited to functional readouts and mRNA-level data. Within these limits, the present study provides a composition-anchored comparative dataset that may support future mechanistic studies in this area. Full article

Waterlogging at the tillering stage, a key early vegetative growth stage, is increasingly limiting wheat productivity worldwide, but the physiological mechanisms underlying genotypic tolerance are not fully understood. To address this, 23 bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes from five germplasm groups were exposed to 14 days of waterlogging at the tillering stage. Morphological traits including leaf (green area, biomass, and senescent biomass proportion) and the elongation rate of the main culm (cm day⁻¹), plant water status (relative water content, RWC), photosynthetic pigment content (SPAD values; total chlorophyll, TChl; total carotenoids, TCar), and photosynthetic performance (maximal photochemical efficiency of photosystem II, F_v/Fm; actual photochemical efficiency of photosystem II, F_v′/F_m′; net photosyntheis, P_n; stomatal conductance to water vapor, g_s), were assessed. Waterlogging induced strong but highly variable responses among genotypes. Sensitive genotypes showed marked reductions in green biomass (up to ~40–60%), TChl content (up to ~80%), TCar (~70%), and photosynthetic performance, including declines in F_v/F_m, F_v′/F_m′, and P_n. In contrast, tolerant genotypes maintained higher photochemical efficiency, P_n, and pigment content, despite stress exposure, underscoring greater functional resilience. Importantly, morphological stability did not consistently translate into functional performance. Several genotypes maintained green leaf area despite pronounced declines in photosynthetic capacity and pigment content, revealing a decoupling between morphological and physiological responses. Multivariate analysis identified an integrated photosynthetic trait axis strongly associated with yield performance under stress, highlighting that tolerance is primarily driven by the capacity to maintain photosynthetic function rather than green biomass alone. Together, these findings emphasize the importance of preserving both physiological functionality and green leaf area to maintain waterlogging tolerance. Integrated physiological markers (e.g., TChl and TCar content, photochemical quenching, leaf gas exchange traits) enable effective early screening and support function-based selection in wheat breeding programs. Full article

Background: The impact of long-term residence in uranium legacy-affected areas on surgical outcomes in patients with lower extremity artery disease (LEAD) remains insufficiently studied. Objectives: This study aimed to compare early postoperative dynamics of chronic lower limb ischemia (CLLI) in patients with LEAD residing in uranium legacy-affected areas and those living outside the zone of potential technogenic exposure. Methods: The study included 70 patients with LEAD (CLLI stages IIB–IV according to the Fontaine classification). The study group (n = 35) consisted of patients who had resided for at least 5 years within a radius of less than 20 km from uranium tailings storage facilities (Stepnogorsk area, Akmola region, Kazakhstan). The control group (n = 35) comprised patients with the same diagnosis living outside this zone. Results: The distribution of Fontaine stages was compared between groups before surgery and at 1 month postoperatively. Statistical analysis was performed using Pearson’s chi-squared test. Before surgery, no statistically significant intergroup differences were found in the distribution of CLLI stages (χ² = 3.688, df = 2, and p = 0.158). At 1 month after surgery, the control group demonstrated significantly better regression of ischemia stages: mild stages (I–IIa) were observed in 51.4% of control patients versus 8.6% in the study group, while severe stages (III–IV) persisted in 62.8% of the study group versus 22.9% of the control group (χ² = 17.547, df = 4, and p = 0.002). Complete regression to stage I occurred only in the control group (2 patients, 5.7%). Conclusions: Patients with LEAD residing long-term in uranium legacy-affected areas showed less favorable early postoperative dynamics compared to patients living outside the zone of potential technogenic exposure. The observed association requires cautious interpretation, and further prospective studies with individual exposure assessment are warranted. Full article

Flooding in the Kathmandu Valley has intensified in recent years due to rapid urbanization, unregulated land-use change, and insufficient drainage infrastructure. Existing flood hazard assessments are often based on low-resolution datasets and lack proper field validation. This study presents an integrated flood modeling framework that combines Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-derived Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), field-based flood measurements, and hydrological simulations to assess urban flood hazards in the Bagmati-Nakkhu confluence, Nepal. High-resolution UAV-derived DEM and field survey data, including flood marks and high-water levels, were used as the foundation for the analysis. Hydrological modeling was conducted using the Hydrologic Engineering Center—Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) to estimate the peak discharges of the Nakkhu River (2000–2024), which were then used to derive design flows for return periods of 5 to 150 years using the Gumbel distribution. These flows were used as boundary condition inputs for the Hydrologic Engineering Center—River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) to simulate flood depth and inundation extent under different scenarios. Flood extents for the 27 September 2024 event were derived from Sentinel-2 imagery and validated against surveyed flood marks. Additionally, land use/land cover (LULC) mapping based on UAV data was used to support flood impact analysis. The results show that flood depths ranged from approximately 0.5 m to 2.8 m, with inundation areas increasing by 35–50% under extreme rainfall. Model validation demonstrated strong agreement with simulated results, with deviations generally within ±0.3–0.5 m. Scenario analysis further indicates that urban expansion significantly increases runoff and flood extent, particularly in low-lying areas near the river confluence. Socio-economic exposure analysis for the 27 September 2024 event indicates that approximately 2569 residents (56.4% of the study zone population) and 4.011 km (77.42%) of the local road network were exposed to inundation. Overall, the results demonstrate that integrating high-resolution UAV data, field observations, and hydrological modeling greatly improves the accuracy and reliability of flood hazard assessments in data-scarce urban environments. Full article

Background: Acrylamide (ACR) is a well-established neurotoxicant, but whether peripheral nerve dysfunction develops uniformly across all myelinated fibers or preferentially affects specific fiber subpopulations under acute high-dose exposure conditions remains unclear. This study tested the hypothesis that acute high-dose ACR exposure differentially affects fibers with distinct conduction velocities. Methods: Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats received daily intraperitoneal injections of ACR (50 mg/kg/day) or saline for 11 days, representing an acute high-dose experimental model of ACR-induced peripheral neurotoxicity. Sciatic nerves were assessed using compound action potential (CAP) recordings and conduction velocity distribution (CVD) analysis. Nerve excitability, oxidative stress markers, and histomorphometric parameters were also evaluated. Results: Acute high-dose ACR exposure induced marked body weight loss and reduced nerve excitability, reflected by increased rheobase and decreased chronaxie. CAP analysis showed significant reductions in amplitude, area, and conduction velocities. The most pronounced decrease occurred in maximum upstroke velocity, indicating preferential impairment of fast-conducting fibers. CVD analysis confirmed a marked leftward shift, with a significant reduction in fibers >50 m/s, while slower fibers were relatively preserved. These functional changes were accompanied by increased oxidative stress and supported by histomorphometric evidence of myelin and axonal alterations. Conclusions: In this acute high-dose rat model, ACR preferentially impaired fast-conducting, large-diameter myelinated fibers, revealing a fiber population–specific pattern of peripheral neurotoxicity. CVD analysis sensitively detected this selective fiber involvement, supported by structural evidence of myelin and axonal damage. These findings should be interpreted within the context of a short-duration, high-dose experimental paradigm rather than as a direct model of chronic low-level dietary or occupational exposure. Full article

Background/Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of local zoledronate treatment during periapical lesion development on inflammatory and bone remodeling responses in two immunologically distinct inbred rat strains, Dark Agouti (DA) and Albino Oxford (AO). Methods: Periapical lesions were induced in the mandibular first molars of AO and DA rats (n = 44) by pulp exposure. Animals were assigned to four groups: DA + zoledronate, DA + saline, AO + zoledronate, and AO + saline. Zoledronate (0.15 mg/kg) or saline was locally administered on days 0, 7, 14, and 21 during lesion development. Animals were sacrificed on day 28. Mandibles were analyzed radiographically and histologically for lesion size, while osteogenic activity was assessed by osteocalcin immunohistochemistry. Gene expression was evaluated by qRT-PCR, and systemic oxidative stress parameters were analyzed spectrophotometrically. Statistical analysis included parametric or non-parametric tests according to data distribution, with significance set at p < 0.05. Results: Zoledronate -treated AO rats exhibited smaller periapical lesions and higher radiographic grayscale density than DA rats (p < 0.05). Histological analysis confirmed the radiographic findings and demonstrated smaller lesion areas in AO rats. Osteocalcin expression was significantly higher in AO rats (p < 0.05), indicating increased osteogenic activity. At the molecular level, DA rats showed higher expression of TNF-α and IL-1β, whereas AO rats exhibited higher expression of IL-10 and IL-4 (p < 0.05). In addition, expression of osteoclastogenic factor RANKL was significantly lower in AO rats than in DA rats (p < 0.05), while OPG expression showed a non-significant tendency toward higher levels in AO rats. Systemic redox analysis demonstrated lower NO₂⁻ and O₂⁻ levels in zoledronate-treated AO rats, whereas no significant differences were observed in the remaining oxidative stress parameters. Conclusions: Following local zoledronate treatment during lesion development, Th2-dominant AO rats exhibited reduced inflammatory responses and increased osteogenic activity compared with Th1-dominant DA rats. In contrast, DA rats primarily demonstrated attenuation of osteoclastogenic signaling without comparable osteogenic responses. These findings indicate that the biological effects of local zoledronate treatment in developing periapical lesions are influenced by the host immune phenotype. Full article

Background: Pancreatic resection (Pancreatoduodenectomy, PD, distal pancreatectomy, DP, or total pancreatectomy, TP) is the standard of care for resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Despite advances in multimodal therapy, recurrence rates remain high, approaching 80%, and continue to drive poor overall survival. Objective: This review evaluates the burden and clinical significance of localized recurrence in PDAC and critically examines the potential role of intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) in improving locoregional disease control. Results: Distant recurrence remains the predominant pattern of failure, occurring in 55–75% of patients, most commonly involving the liver, lungs, and peritoneum. However, isolated local recurrence, observed in approximately 17–32% of patients, represents a clinically meaningful subset associated with significant morbidity and potential for subsequent metastatic progression. IORT, delivered as a single high-dose radiation treatment to the tumor bed at the time of surgery, enables precise targeting of areas at highest risk for residual microscopic disease while minimizing radiation exposure to adjacent radiosensitive structures. Retrospective and meta-analytic data, while limited, suggest that IORT is associated with improved local control and modest survival benefit without a significant increase in perioperative morbidity, though interpretation is limited by study heterogeneity and lack of randomized control trials. Conclusion: IORT represents a rational adjunct in the multimodal management of PDAC, particularly for patients at high risk of locoregional failure, including those with borderline resectable or locally advanced disease, nodal involvement, perineural invasion, or concern for margin positivity. Prospective studies are needed to better define optimal patient selection and to clarify the role of IORT in the modern treatment paradigm. Full article

In therapeutic applications, ultrasound is widely used in physiotherapy, tissue repair, and cancer treatment. Regarding cancer treatment, as an emerging field for technology, significant research efforts have been devoted to the area of ultrasound therapy. The derived energy from beams can be deposited in tissues not only through heating but also through non-thermal mechanisms, whereby cancer cells are subject to cell death. Ultrasound-induced heating can generate localized temperature elevations within biological tissues, making it a subject of interest for thermal therapeutic applications. Nevertheless, excessive temperature elevations outside the primary exposure region may result in undesirable thermal effects within the surrounding tissue. In this study, we used continuous 3 MHz ultrasound waves at the powers of 0.4 to 1.4 W on ex vivo chicken breast tissue in a water bath to prevent fluctuations in temperature. The process was also numerically modeled with a maximum error of 0.4% from the measured data. Temperature measurements revealed a significant difference between the region of maximum acoustic pressure along the beam axis and deeper tissue locations (in some cases, above 3.5 °C). These findings indicate that temperature gradients can develop within homogeneous tissue during ultrasound exposure, emphasizing the importance of controlling acoustic power and exposure conditions. Moreover, increasing the temperature was significant during the first moments of treatment, which highlights the importance of precise controls for rate and precision in therapy. The numerical simulations also showed that increasing acoustic power elevates tissue temperature while simultaneously producing a less uniform temperature distribution. These observations may be useful for the optimization of future ultrasound-based thermal treatment strategies; however, direct clinical extrapolation requires further investigation using physiologically representative tissue models. Full article

Flood susceptibility in Pakistan is strongly influenced by hydro-climatic variability, land-surface conditions, topography, and recurrent floodplain exposure; however, national-scale studies often lack a comprehensive assessment that captures both spatial patterns and temporal flood-risk dynamics within a single framework. This study is one of Pakistan’s first national efforts to address the gap between flood risk assessment and prioritization through a unified geospatial assessment. This study assesses flood susceptibility across Pakistan for 2002, 2012, and 2022 using a GIS-based AHP approach by integrating climatic, environmental, topographic, hydrological, soil, LULC, and anthropogenic indicators. The study results were further analyzed through district-level assessments, risk change analysis, persistence mapping, LULC exposure assessments, and the Comprehensive Flood Risk Priority Index (FRPI). The results show that high and very high flood susceptibility zones are primarily concentrated along the Indus River corridor, lower floodplains, and coastal Sindh, accounting for more than 7% of the total land area of Pakistan. Persistent flood hotspots are identified in Rann of Kutch (66.6%), Jacobabad (65.0%), and Jafarabad (61.1%), indicating strong temporal stability of flood-prone conditions. LULC exposure analysis reveals that cropland is the dominant exposed class, with the highest district-level exposure observed in Badin (17.1%) and Larkana (10.1%). The FRPI further identifies priority flood-risk zones where susceptibility, persistence, risk change, and exposure converge, with the highest FRPI values observed in Jacobabad (0.742), Rann of Kutch (0.738), and Badin (0.711). Model validation demonstrates strong predictive performance, with susceptibility ROC-AUC values ranging from 0.85 to 0.87 and FRPI AUC reaching 0.85. The proposed framework provides a robust decision-support tool for targeted flood-risk management and climate-resilient land-use planning in Pakistan. Full article

Background/Objectives: African swine fever (ASF) is a highly lethal disease of domestic pigs and wild suids that continues to cause substantial economic losses worldwide. Despite recent progress in live attenuated ASF vaccine development, evidence supporting durable protection under repeated exposure conditions representative of endemic settings remains limited. Here, we assessed the long-term safety and protective efficacy of a live attenuated ASFV-G-ΔI177L/ΔLVR vaccine using a repeated-challenge experimental design intended to model re-exposure in ASF-endemic regions. Methods: Vaccinated pigs were subjected to homologous virulent ASF virus challenges at multiple intervals, including repeated challenges (three sequential inoculations) and single challenges administered at 8 and 12 weeks post-vaccination. Results: Across all challenge regimens, vaccinated animals survived and remained clinically healthy, including those receiving three challenges, supporting sustained protection under repeated exposure pressure. Animals challenged at 8 or 12 weeks post-vaccination likewise exhibited complete survival, indicating maintained efficacy through at least 12 weeks. No vaccine-associated adverse clinical outcomes were detected over the study period, and post-challenge viral shedding was minimal. Conclusions: Overall, these data demonstrate that the candidate live attenuated ASF vaccine provides excellent protective efficacy and confers sustained protection against homologous ASF virus infection. This result is expected to be equally applicable under repeated exposure conditions in regions with unstable ASF biosecurity, making it a sufficiently promising model experiment for field application in ASF epidemic areas. However, this is still a vaccine variant, and further studies are planned to evaluate its genomic stability and transmissibility. Full article

Background/Objectives: The “Land of Fires” (LF) in the Campania Region has attracted considerable attention due to massive environmental contamination deriving from decades of illegal disposal, burial, and burning of urban, industrial, and toxic waste. Cadmium (Cd) has been repeatedly proven to affect male reproductive function by a plethora of endocrine and non-endocrine mechanisms. The scientific literature is almost devoid of large studies addressing semen quality in this area, particularly by directly correlating seminal parameters to objectively measured pollutant burden in biological samples. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to comprehensively evaluate semen quality of males of reproductive age living in the LF, by correlating seminal parameters to cumulative local male reproductive tract Cd burden objectively quantified in whole semen samples. Methods: The current single-center, observational, cross-sectional study evaluated semen quality in 493 males aged 14–50 (29.07 ± 7.17) years living in three LF municipalities. Moreover, the association of semen quality with whole semen Cd (sCd) levels measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was addressed in a subgroup of participants; semen samples suitable for semen Cd measurements were available from 383/493 (77.7%) participants of the total cohort, and all analyses involving semen Cd were performed within the measured subset. Results: In the total cohort, seminal parameters were as follows: semen pH 8.32 ± 0.3, semen volume 3.13 ± 1.67 mL, sperm concentration 37.58 ± 30.18 × 10⁶/mL, total count 111.2 ± 104 × 10⁶/ejaculate, total motility 56.83 ± 16.09%, progressive motility 50.22 ± 16.63%, in situ motility 6.72 ± 3.43%, immotile spermatozoa 43.07 ± 15.88%, normal morphology 7.97 ± 4.02%, and viability 64.75 ± 15.34%. Prevalence of normozoospermia and pathological seminal parameters was as follows: normozoospermia 66.5% (328/493), pathological seminal parameters 33.5% (165/493), specifically, oligozoospermia 14% (69/493), cryptozoospermia 0.8% (4/493), azoospermia 2.2% (11/493), asthenozoospermia 3% (15/493), teratozoospermia 0.6% (3/493), oligo-astheno-teratozoospermia 6.1% (30/493), necrozoospermia 5.7% (28/493), and different combined seminal parameters alterations 7.1% (35/493). Whole semen Cd was below (undetectable) or above (detectable) the limit of detection (LoD) (0.2 μg/L) in 66.6% (255/383) and 33.4% (128/383) whole semen samples, respectively. In samples with detectable sCd, sCd level was below or above the median value (0.76 μg/L; min–max 0.1–5.95 μg/L) in 23.4% (30/128) and 76.6% (98/128) whole semen samples, respectively. Participants with detectable sCd levels had a significantly reduced sperm total count (93.28 ± 84.88 × 10⁶/ejaculate vs. 113.2 ± 101.5 × 10⁶/ejaculate; p = 0.037), and normal morphology (7.29 ± 3.71% vs. 8.23 ± 3.91%; p = 0.034), and a significantly lower prevalence of normozoospermia (60.2% vs. 72.2%; p = 0.02) and significantly higher prevalence of pathological seminal parameters (39.8% vs. 27.8%; p = 0.02), specifically, a significantly higher prevalence of oligozoospermia (21.1% vs. 12.6%; p = 0.036) than those with undetectable sCd levels. Whole semen Cd levels were significantly higher in participants with pathological seminal parameters (1.08 ± 0.84 μg/L vs. 0.93 ± 0.74 μg/L; p = 0.037) than those with normozoospermia. Participants with sCd levels above the median value (N = 98) had a significantly reduced sperm concentration (29.12 ± 24.84 × 10⁶/mL vs. 43.62 ± 29.55 × 10⁶/mL; p = 0.015) and displayed a trend towards reduced sperm normal morphology (6.92 ± 3.38% vs. 8.55 ± 4.49%; p = 0.057) than those with sCd levels below the median value (N = 30). Moreover, participants with sCd levels above the median value (N = 98) had a significantly reduced sperm concentration (29.12 ± 24.84 × 10⁶/mL vs. 35.3 ± 26.29 × 10⁶/mL; p = 0.03), total count (85.77 ± 80.52 × 10⁶/ejaculate vs. 113.2 ± 101.5 × 10⁶/ejaculate; p = 0.008) and normal morphology (6.92 ± 3.38% vs. 8.23 ± 3.91%; p = 0.006), and a significantly lower prevalence of normozoospermia (57.1% vs. 72.2%; p = 0.008) and significantly higher prevalence of pathological seminal (42.9% vs. 27.8%; p = 0.008), specifically, a significantly higher prevalence of oligozoospermia (23.5% vs. 12.6%; p = 0.014) than those with undetectable sCd levels. Conclusions: The results of the current study demonstrate an association between the environmental Cd exposure and the impairment of seminal parameters, with a significantly poorer semen quality in participants with detectable sCd, and, more markedly, in those with sCd level above the median value, compared to participants with undetectable sCd, although subgroups comparisons highlighted a homogeneous profile in major confounders including age, BMI, and smoking habits among subgroups of participants with different sCd burden. Full article