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A previous study showed that the length of the foreskin plays a role in the risk of sexually transmitted infections and chronic prostatitis, which can lead to poor quality of sexual life. Here, the association between foreskin length and sexual dysfunction was evaluated. A total of 5700 participants were recruited from the andrology clinic at The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China (Hefei, China). Clinical characteristics, including foreskin length, were collected, and sexual function was assessed by the International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) and Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool (PEDT) questionnaires. Men with sexual dysfunction were more likely to have redundant foreskin than men without sexual dysfunction. Among the 2721 erectile dysfunction (ED) patients and 1064 premature ejaculation (PE) patients, 301 (11.1%) ED patients and 135 (12.7%) PE patients had redundant foreskin, respectively. Men in the PE group were more likely to have redundant foreskin than men in the non-PE group (P = 0.004). Logistic regression analyses revealed that the presence of redundant foreskin was associated with increased odds of moderate/severe ED (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.31, adjusted P = 0.04), moderate PE (aOR = 1.38, adjusted P = 0.02), and probable PE (aOR = 1.37, adjusted P = 0.03) after adjusting for confounding variables. Our study revealed a positive correlation between the presence of redundant foreskin and the risk of sexual dysfunction, especially in PE patients. Assessment of the length of the foreskin during routine clinical diagnosis may provide information for patients with sexual dysfunction.

Despite AlB2 is the most typical structure prototype of transition metal diborides (TMB2), studies on AlB2 thin films are scarce. Furthermore, although Al is the primary alloying element for TMB2 to improve their oxidation resistance, no such data are available for AlB2 thin films. Here, we develop AlBx thin films through non-reactive magnetron sputtering of an AlB2 compound target and investigate their microstructure, mechanical properties, thermal stability and oxidation resistance. Keeping the substrate temperature at 700 °C and increasing the Ar pressure during deposition from pAr = 0.4 to 0.8 to 1.2, Pa, the films‘ chemistry slightly varies between x = 1.99, 1.97, and to 2.27, respectively. Detailed transmission electron microscopy shows that the highly (0001)-oriented AlB2.27 thin film exhibits small platelet-like amorphous B regions next to the large columnar α-structured AlB2 crystals. In the as deposited state, this film exhibits an indentation hardness and elastic modulus of 19.2 ± 1.2 GPa and 331.8 ± 14.4 GPa, respectively. Between 850 and 900 °C, the AlB2.27 thin film starts to decompose into tetragonal (t-) AlB12, but still maintains dominant α structure up to 950 °C. At 1000 °C, the thin film is completely decomposed into t-AlB12 and hexagonal AlB10. The AlB2.27 thin film also shows exceptional oxidation-resistance with an onset temperature for the formation of oxides (α-Al2O3 and o-Al18B4O33) between 950 and 1000 °C when exposed to lab-air.