Extensive studies have identified potential adverse effects on semen quality of obesity, based on body mass index, but the association between body fat distribution, a more relevant indicator for obesity, and semen quality remains less clear. We conducted a longitudinal study of 4304 sperm donors from the Guangdong Provincial Human Sperm Bank (Guangzhou, China) during 2017-2021. A body composition analyzer was used to measure total and local body fat percentage for each participant. Generalized estimating equations were employed to assess the association between body fat percentage and sperm count, motility, and morphology. We estimated that each 10% increase in total body fat percentage (estimated change [95% confidence interval, 95% CI]) was significantly associated with a 0.18 × 10 6 (0.09 × 10 6 -0.27 × 10 6 ) ml and 12.21 × 10 6 (4.52 × 10 6 -19.91 × 10 6 ) reduction in semen volume and total sperm count, respectively. Categorical analyses and exposure-response curves showed that the association of body fat distribution with semen volume and total sperm count was stronger at higher body fat percentages. In addition, the association still held among normal weight and overweight participants. We observed similar associations for upper limb, trunk, and lower limb body fact distributions. In conclusion, we found that a higher body fat distribution was significantly associated with lower semen quality (especially semen volume) even in men with a normal weight. These findings provide useful clues in exploring body fat as a risk factor for semen quality decline and add to evidence for improving semen quality for those who are expected to conceive.
Humans ; Male ; Adult ; Semen Analysis ; China ; Body Fat Distribution ; Longitudinal Studies ; Sperm Count ; Sperm Motility ; Body Mass Index ; Tissue Donors ; Obesity/complications* ; Spermatozoa ; Young Adult ; Middle Aged ; East Asian People

Medical institutions, with their clinical practice foundation and abundant human use experience data, have become important carriers for the inheritance and innovation of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) and the "cradles" of the preparation of new TCM. To effectively promote the transformation of new TCM originating from the TCM clinical practice in medical institutions and establish an effective evaluation index system for the transformation of new TCM conforming to the characteristics of TCM, consensus experts adopted the literature research, questionnaire survey, Delphi method, etc. By focusing on the policy and technical evaluation of new TCM originating from the TCM clinical practice in medical institutions, a comprehensive evaluation from the dimensions of drug safety, efficacy, feasibility, and characteristic advantages was conducted, thus forming a comprehensive evaluation system with four primary indicators and 37 secondary indicators. The expert consensus reached aims to encourage medical institutions at all levels to continuously improve the high-quality research and development and transformation of new TCM originating from the TCM clinical practice in medical institutions and targeted at clinical needs, so as to provide a decision-making basis for the preparation, selection, cultivation, and transformation of new TCM for medical institutions, improve the development efficiency of new TCM, and precisely respond to the public medication needs.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional/standards* ; Humans ; Consensus ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Body weight abnormalities, including overweight, obesity, and underweight, have become a dual public health challenge in Chinese adults: overweight and obesity lead to a variety of chronic complications, while underweight increases the risks of malnutrition, sarcopenia, and organ dysfunction. To systematically address these issues, multidisciplinary experts in endocrinology, sports science, nutrition, and psychiatry from various regions have held multiple weight management seminars. Based on the latest epidemiological data and clinical evidence, they expanded the guideline to include assessment and intervention strategies for underweight, in addition to the core content of obesity management. This guideline outlines the etiological mechanisms, evaluation methods, and multidimensional management strategies for overweight and obesity, covering key areas such as diagnosis and assessment, medical nutrition therapy, exercise prescription, pharmacological intervention, and psychological support. It is intended to provide a scientific and standardized approach to weight management across the adult population, aiming to curb the rising prevalence of obesity, mitigate complications associated with abnormal body weight, and improve nutritional status and overall quality of life.

Cardiac fibrosis(CF) is a cardiac pathological process characterized by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix(ECM). When the heart is damaged by adverse stimuli, cardiac fibroblasts are activated and secrete a large amount of ECM, leading to changes in cardiac fibrosis, myocardial stiffness, and cardiac function declines and accelerating the development of heart failure. There is a close relationship between heart yin deficiency and cardiac fibrosis, which have similar pathogenic mechanisms. Heart Yin deficiency, characterized by insufficient Yin fluids, causes the heart to lose its nourishing function, which acts as the initiating factor for myocardial dystrophy. The deficiency of body fluids leads to stagnation of blood flow, resulting in blood stasis and water retention. Blood stasis and water retention accumulate in the heart, which aligns with the pathological manifestation of excessive deposition of ECM, as a tangible pathogenic factor. This is an inevitable stage of the disease process. The lingering of blood stasis combined with water retention eventually leads to the generation of heat and toxins, triggering inflammatory responses similar to heat toxins, which continuously stimulate the heart and cause the ultimate outcome of CF. Considering the syndrome of heart Yin deficiency, traditional Chinese medicine capable of nourishing Yin, activating blood, and promoting urination can reduce myocardial cell apoptosis, inhibit fibroblast activation, and lower the inflammation level, showing significant advantages in combating CF.
Humans ; Fibrosis/drug therapy* ; Animals ; Yin Deficiency/metabolism* ; Myocardium/metabolism* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use*

Objective To analyze the characteristics of spirometry and type 2 inflammation indicators of patients with CVA,ACO and CA to determine their clinical utility in identifying and distinguishing among CVA,ACO and CA patients.Methods Clinical data from 483 patients diagnosed with bronchial asthma,CVA,and bronchial asthma combined with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the outpatient department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from July 2023 to June 2024 were collected and divided into CA,CVA and ACO groups according to diagnosis.Comparison of spirometry,fractional exhaled nitric oxide(FeNO),blood eosinophil(EOS),serum total immunoglobulin E(tIgE)and other tests between CA and CVA,CA and ACO groups.Perform logistic regression analysis on significant test results,then construct receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves to compare the area under the curve and corresponding cut-off values.Result There was a statistically significant difference in tIgE between the CVA and CA groups(P=0.018),whereas no significant differences were observed in FeNO and EOS.Additionally,no notable differences were found between the ACO and CA groups in tIgE,FeNO,or EOS.Finally,FEV1％pred(OR=1.086,P=0.019),FEV1/FVC(OR=1.153,P=0.023),and MEF50％pred(OR=0.922,P=0.045)were used to construct the discriminative model between CA and CVA.ROC curves were plotted,with FEV1％pred showing an AUC of 0.680(P<0.001),a Youden index of 0.358,and a corresponding cutoff value of 89.200.FEV1/FVC had an AUC of 0.684(P<0.001),a Youden index of 0.334,and a cutoff value of 76.075.MEF50％pred had an AUC of 0.668(P<0.001),a Youden index of 0.309,and a cutoff value of 59.800.The combined sensitivity of these three measures was 0.909,specificity was 0.514,positive predictive value was 0.600,negative predictive value was 0.873,and the AUC was 0.773(P<0.001),with a Youden index of 0.423.FEV1(OR=0.002,P=0.045),FEV1％pred(OR=1.490,P=0.006),and FEV1/FVC(OR=0.749,P=0.005)were used to construct the discriminative model between CA and ACO.ROC curves were plotted,with FEV1 showing an AUC of 0.819(P<0.001),a Youden index of 0.532,and a corresponding cutoff value of 2.060.FEV1％pred had an AUC of 0.788(P<0.001),a Youden index of 0.501,and a cutoff value of 75.000.FEV1/FVC had an AUC of 0.891(P<0.001),a Youden index of 0.678,and a cutoff value of 68.620.The combined sensitivity of these three measures was 1.000,specificity was 0.904,positive predictive value was 0.771,negative predictive value was 1.000,and the AUC was 0.973(P<0.001),with a Youden index of 0.904.Conclusions Differences exist in the spirometry among CVA,ACO and CA.The spirometry results incor-porated into the discriminative models provide good discriminative value for distinguishing between CA and CVA patients with similar clinical symptoms,as well as for identifying ACO in the CA population.

Objective To analyze the characteristics of spirometry and type 2 inflammation indicators of patients with CVA,ACO and CA to determine their clinical utility in identifying and distinguishing among CVA,ACO and CA patients.Methods Clinical data from 483 patients diagnosed with bronchial asthma,CVA,and bronchial asthma combined with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the outpatient department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from July 2023 to June 2024 were collected and divided into CA,CVA and ACO groups according to diagnosis.Comparison of spirometry,fractional exhaled nitric oxide(FeNO),blood eosinophil(EOS),serum total immunoglobulin E(tIgE)and other tests between CA and CVA,CA and ACO groups.Perform logistic regression analysis on significant test results,then construct receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves to compare the area under the curve and corresponding cut-off values.Result There was a statistically significant difference in tIgE between the CVA and CA groups(P=0.018),whereas no significant differences were observed in FeNO and EOS.Additionally,no notable differences were found between the ACO and CA groups in tIgE,FeNO,or EOS.Finally,FEV1％pred(OR=1.086,P=0.019),FEV1/FVC(OR=1.153,P=0.023),and MEF50％pred(OR=0.922,P=0.045)were used to construct the discriminative model between CA and CVA.ROC curves were plotted,with FEV1％pred showing an AUC of 0.680(P<0.001),a Youden index of 0.358,and a corresponding cutoff value of 89.200.FEV1/FVC had an AUC of 0.684(P<0.001),a Youden index of 0.334,and a cutoff value of 76.075.MEF50％pred had an AUC of 0.668(P<0.001),a Youden index of 0.309,and a cutoff value of 59.800.The combined sensitivity of these three measures was 0.909,specificity was 0.514,positive predictive value was 0.600,negative predictive value was 0.873,and the AUC was 0.773(P<0.001),with a Youden index of 0.423.FEV1(OR=0.002,P=0.045),FEV1％pred(OR=1.490,P=0.006),and FEV1/FVC(OR=0.749,P=0.005)were used to construct the discriminative model between CA and ACO.ROC curves were plotted,with FEV1 showing an AUC of 0.819(P<0.001),a Youden index of 0.532,and a corresponding cutoff value of 2.060.FEV1％pred had an AUC of 0.788(P<0.001),a Youden index of 0.501,and a cutoff value of 75.000.FEV1/FVC had an AUC of 0.891(P<0.001),a Youden index of 0.678,and a cutoff value of 68.620.The combined sensitivity of these three measures was 1.000,specificity was 0.904,positive predictive value was 0.771,negative predictive value was 1.000,and the AUC was 0.973(P<0.001),with a Youden index of 0.904.Conclusions Differences exist in the spirometry among CVA,ACO and CA.The spirometry results incor-porated into the discriminative models provide good discriminative value for distinguishing between CA and CVA patients with similar clinical symptoms,as well as for identifying ACO in the CA population.

Body weight abnormalities, including overweight, obesity, and underweight, have become a dual public health challenge in Chinese adults: overweight and obesity lead to a variety of chronic complications, while underweight increases the risks of malnutrition, sarcopenia, and organ dysfunction. To systematically address these issues, multidisciplinary experts in endocrinology, sports science, nutrition, and psychiatry from various regions have held multiple weight management seminars. Based on the latest epidemiological data and clinical evidence, they expanded the guideline to include assessment and intervention strategies for underweight, in addition to the core content of obesity management. This guideline outlines the etiological mechanisms, evaluation methods, and multidimensional management strategies for overweight and obesity, covering key areas such as diagnosis and assessment, medical nutrition therapy, exercise prescription, pharmacological intervention, and psychological support. It is intended to provide a scientific and standardized approach to weight management across the adult population, aiming to curb the rising prevalence of obesity, mitigate complications associated with abnormal body weight, and improve nutritional status and overall quality of life.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Chinese medicine (CM) in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China. METHODS: A multi-center retrospective cohort study was carried out, with cumulative CM treatment period of ⩾3 days during hospitalization as exposure. Data came from consecutive inpatients from December 19, 2019 to May 16, 2020 in 4 medical centers in Wuhan, China. After data extraction, verification and cleaning, confounding factors were adjusted by inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW), and the Cox proportional hazards regression model was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 2,272 COVID-19 patients were included. There were 1,684 patients in the CM group and 588 patients in the control group. Compared with the control group, the hazard ratio (HR) for the deterioration rate in the CM group was 0.52 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.41 to 0.64, P<0.001]. The results were consistent across patients of varying severity at admission, and the robustness of the results were confirmed by 3 sensitivity analyses. In addition, the HR for all-cause mortality in the CM group was 0.29 (95% CI: 0.19 to 0.44, P<0.001). Regarding of safety, the proportion of patients with abnormal liver function or renal function in the CM group was smaller. CONCLUSION This real-world study indicates that the combination of a full-course CM therapy on the basic conventional treatment, may safely reduce the deterioration rate and all-cause mortality of COVID-19 patients. This result can provide the new evidence to support the current treatment of COVID-19. Additional prospective clinical trial is needed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of specific CM interventions. (Registration No. ChiCTR2200062917).
Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; COVID-19 Drug Treatment ; Aged ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/adverse effects* ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Treatment Outcome ; China/epidemiology* ; Adult

Vascular calcification is a highly regulated process of ectopic calcification in cardiovascular system while no effective intervention can be clinically performed up to date.As vascular calcification undergoes a common regulatory mechanism within bone formation,bone morphogenetic protein 7(BMP-7)main-tains contractile phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells and further inhibits vascular calcification via promoting the process of osteoblast differentiation,reducing ectopic calcification pressure by increasing bone formation and reducing bone resorption.This work systematically reviews the role of BMP-7 in vascular calcifi-cation and the possible mechanism,and their current clinical application as well.The current proceedings may help develope early diagnostic strategy and therapeutic treatment with BMP-7 as a new molecular marker and potential drug target.The expec-tation could achieve early prevention and intervention of vascular calcification and improve poor prognosis on patients.

Objective:To explore the barriers of online consulting services by dental specialist nurses, so as to provide theoretical basis for constructing an online service model of dental specialist nurses.Methods:This study was a qualitative study. Based on the theoretical domains framework (TDF), an interview outline was developed. From January to February 2023, purposive sampling was used to select 12 nurses from Shanghai Stomatological Hospital who participated in online consulting services for dental specialist nursing as the research subject, and semi-structured interviews were conducted on the nurses. According to the relevant fields of TDF, the transcribed data was sorted and the interview data was analyzed using the Colaizzi 7-step analysis method.Results:A total of three themes and eight sub-themes were extracted, including ability barriers (low level of dental knowledge, lack of written communication skills), environmental barriers (insufficient special publicity and promotion, inadequate standardized service standards and processes, limited online consulting platform functions, distributed appointment resources), and goal barriers (low sense of professional value, incomplete performance evaluation system) .Conclusions:The relevant management departments of hospitals should standardize the management system of online consulting services by dental specialist nurses and optimize the process of online consulting services by dental specialist nurses. At the same time, dental specialist nurses should enhance their abilities, provide high-quality online consulting services for patients, and improve patients ' satisfaction with online consulting.