Background The prevalence of chronic diseases among the Chinese occupational population is rising steadily, with hypertension and diabetes becoming important health concerns. Occupational health examinations (OHE) provide stable population coverage, standardized protocols, and fixed follow-up intervals, offering a robust data foundation for risk assessment. However, most existing hypertension prediction studies rely on cross-sectional data and mainly focus on clinic onset, failing to capture the dynamic progression and cumulation of individual risk. Objective To construct a machine learning-based risk prediction model for blood pressure abnormality in occupational populations, providing a reference for health risk stratification and targeted health interventions. Methods Longitudinal data from 2020 to 2023 were extracted from the occupational health examination database of an institution in Shanghai. After excluding individuals with hypertension in any of the first three years, 3710 workers who participated 4 consecutive years of OHE were included. Six categories of blood pressure-related indicators from 2020 to 2022 were selected, including basic information, lifestyles, occupational exposures, cardiovascular indicators, routine blood tests, and biochemical markers, comprising 30 variables in total. For feature engineering, continuous variables were processed to reflect three-year dynamic characteristics: level (mean), variability (variance), and temporal trend (slope). Categorical variables were incorporated using 2022 values. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression was applied to identify variables for inclusion in the machine learning models. Five models (decision tree, logistic regression, random forest, support vector machine, and XGBoost) were employed to predict blood pressure abnormality risk in 2023. And then sensitive analysis was conducted. The optimal model was selected based on the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic. Feature importance and SHAP analyses were applied to interpret the final model. Results Feature engineering transformed 17 continuous variables into 51 secondary variables, combined with 13 baseline variables, resulted in 24 variables screened out by LASSO regression. The logistic regression model achieved the best performance. Feature importance analysis indicated that the dynamic trajectory of blood pressure played a central role in the model, complemented by other biochemical and lifestyle indicators. SHAP analysis further showed that the model’s ability to not only identify risks of high-normal blood pressure and hypertension but also quantify the specific contribution of individual examination indicators to predicted risk, supporting risk-stratified population management in occupational health management. Conclusion Based on an existing occupational health examination database and routinely collected data, this study has developed a risk prediction model for blood pressure abnormalities in occupational populations. By incorporating dynamic change characteristics from longitudinal examinations, the study demonstrates the feasibility of using routine health data for early risk identification and stratified management. However, its applicability is limited by the availability of repeated examination data and the focus on specific occupational groups, requiring further validation across broader populations and diverse clinic scenarios.

ObjectiveTo investigate the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of human bocavirus (HBoV) in hospitalized children with acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRTI) at a single-center children’s hospital in Shanghai, thereby providing evidence for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of HBoV infection. MethodsA retrospective study was conducted on 19 537 hospitalized children with ALRTI at Shanghai Children’s Hospital from January 2021 to December 2023. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) combined with capillary electrophoresis was used to detect HBoV and 12 other common respiratory viruses /atypical pathogens. The positive detection rate, demographic characteristics (sex, age), temporal distribution (year, season) of HBoV, as well as the clinical characteristics of severe and non-severe pneumonia were analyzed. ResultsThe overall HBoV-positive rate was 2.57% (503/19 537), with 59.44% (299/503) being single infections and 40.56% (204/503) being co-infections. The positive detection rate was significantly higher in boys than that in girls (2.78% vs 2.33%, χ²=3.88, P=0.049). The highest infection rate was observed in toddlers, followed by infants (χ²=379.57, P<0.001). The positive rate peaked in 2021 and reached its lowest point in 2023 (χ²=45.49, P<0.001), with epidemics mainly prevalent in summer and autumn. The main clinical symptoms were cough (90.06%, 453/503), fever (75.94%, 382/503), and wheezing (39.96%, 201/503). Children with severe pneumonia showed a higher incidence of wheezing compared with the non-severe group (P<0.001), while underlying diseases and co-infections had no significant association with disease severity (P>0.05). ConclusionHBoV was an important pathogen of ALRTI in children, predominantly affecting infants and toddlers, with higher susceptibility in boys and seasonal peaks in autumn and summer. The main clinical manifestations included cough, fever, and wheezing, with wheezing being more prevalent in children with severe pneumonia.

As a primary approach to safeguarding workers' occupational health in China, the work-related injury insurance still has insufficient preventive measures for occupational groups. By reviewing the preventive measures embedded in Germany’s statutory accident insurance (Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung) and Japan’s workers’ accident compensation insurance, this study summarized their best practices and then proposed the following policy directions based on China’s specific context: strengthening the prevention-oriented institutional framework, increasing financial investment in occupational injury prevention, improving the incentive mechanisms of floating premium rate, and promoting data integration and intelligent applications in occupational health management. These measures are expected to shift China’s work-related injury insurance system from a compensation-oriented model to one that emphasizes comprehensive prevention and health promotion, thereby providing useful insights for better safeguarding the health of Chinese workers.

Liposomes serve as critical carriers for drugs and vaccines, with their biological effects influenced by their size. The microfluidic method, renowned for its precise control, reproducibility, and scalability, has been widely employed for liposome preparation. Although some studies have explored factors affecting liposomal size in microfluidic processes, most focus on small-sized liposomes, predominantly through experimental data analysis. However, the production of larger liposomes, which are equally significant, remains underexplored. In this work, we thoroughly investigate multiple variables influencing liposome size during microfluidic preparation and develop a machine learning (ML) model capable of accurately predicting liposomal size. Experimental validation was conducted using a staggered herringbone micromixer (SHM) chip. Our findings reveal that most investigated variables significantly influence liposomal size, often interrelating in complex ways. We evaluated the predictive performance of several widely-used ML algorithms, including ensemble methods, through cross-validation (CV) for both liposome size and polydispersity index (PDI). A standalone dataset was experimentally validated to assess the accuracy of the ML predictions, with results indicating that ensemble algorithms provided the most reliable predictions. Specifically, gradient boosting was selected for size prediction, while random forest was employed for PDI prediction. We successfully produced uniform large (600 nm) and small (100 nm) liposomes using the optimised experimental conditions derived from the ML models. In conclusion, this study presents a robust methodology that enables precise control over liposome size distribution, offering valuable insights for medicinal research applications.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of early antimicrobial therapy on the prognosis of patients with suspected sepsis in emergency and outpatient settings. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted. Patients with suspected sepsis admitted to the emergency department of Taizhou Hospital, Zhejiang Province, from May 1, 2022, to July 31, 2023, were enrolled. Participants were divided into an early group (0-1 hour) and a delayed group (> 1 hour) according to duration from admission to antimicrobial administration. General information, initial vital signs, laboratory parameters within 24 hours after admission, disease severity scores, vasoactive drug usage, and clinical outcomes of the patient were collected. Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to analyze 28-day survival. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression was performed to identify independent risk factors for prognosis of the patients with suspected sepsis in emergency and outpatient settings. Sensitivity analyses were conducted through subgroup analyses. RESULTS: A total of 143 patients with suspected sepsis were enrolled in the analysis, with 66 patients in the early group and 77 in the delayed group. No statistically significant differences were observed in baseline characteristics (age, gender, vital signs, laboratory parameters, disease severity scores) or clinical outcomes [vasoactive drug usage rate, mechanical ventilation duration, length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, total hospitalization duration] between the two groups. The 28-day mortality, multidrug resistance rate and sepsis confirmation rate did not differ significantly between the early group and delay group [28-day mortality: 18.2% (12/66) vs. 20.8% (16/77), multidrug resistance rate: 3.0% (2/66) vs. 2.6% (2/77), sepsis confirmation rate: 87.9% (58/66) vs. 88.3% (68/77), all P > 0.05]. Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed no difference in 28-day cumulative survival between the two groups (Log-Rank test: χ² = 2.528, P = 0.112). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression identified vasoactive drug usage [hazard ration (HR) = 2.465, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 1.019-5.961, P = 0.045] and endotracheal intubation (HR = 5.516, 95%CI was 2.195-13.858, P < 0.001) as independent risk factors for 28-day death of the patients with suspected sepsis in emergency and outpatient settings. Further exploration of the impact of early antimicrobial therapy on 28-day death in different subgroups of the patients with suspected sepsis in emergency and outpatient settings was conducted through subgroup analysis. The results showed that in the patients with different ages (< 60 years old: HR = 1.214, 95%CI was 0.535-2.751, P = 0.643; ≥ 60 years old: HR = 2.085, 95%CI was 0.233-18.668, P = 0.511), sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores (< 6: HR = 1.411, 95%CI was 0.482-4.128, P = 0.530; ≥ 6: HR = 0.869, 95%CI was 0.292-2.587, P = 0.801), shock indexes (< 1: HR = 1.095, 95%CI was 0.390-3.077, P = 0.863; ≥ 1: HR = 1.364, 95%CI was 0.458-4.059, P = 0.577) and whether diagnosed with sepsis or not (yes: HR = 0.943, 95%CI was 0.059-15.091, P = 0.967; no: HR = 1.207, 95%CI was 0.554-2.628, P = 0.636) subgroups, early usage of antibiotics had not shown any advantage in improving prognosis compared with delayed usage. CONCLUSION Early antimicrobial therapy does not improve the prognosis of patients with suspected sepsis in emergency and outpatient settings.
Humans ; Sepsis/drug therapy* ; Prospective Studies ; Prognosis ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Outpatients ; Female ; Male ; Anti-Infective Agents/therapeutic use* ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Treatment Outcome

Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a genetically heterogeneous disorder characterized by impaired motility of cilia and flagella. Mutations in cilia- and flagella-associated protein 300 ( CFAP300 ) are associated with human PCD and male infertility; however, the underlying pathogenic mechanisms remain poorly understood. In a consanguineous Chinese family, we identified a homozygous CFAP300 loss-of-function variant (c.304delC) in a proband presenting with classical PCD symptoms and severe sperm abnormalities, including dynein arm deficiency and acrosomal malformation, as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Histological analysis revealed multiple morphological abnormalities of the sperm flagella in CFAP300 -mutant individual, whereas immunofluorescence demonstrated markedly reduced CFAP300 expression in the spermatozoa of the proband. Furthermore, tandem mass tag (TMT)-based quantitative proteomics showed that the CFAP300 mutation reduced key spermatogenesis proteins (e.g., sperm flagellar 2 [SPEF2], solute carrier family 25 member 31 [SLC25A31], and A-kinase anchoring protein 3 [AKAP3]) and mitochondrial ATP synthesis factors (e.g., SLC25A31, cation channel sperm-associated 3 [CATSPER3]). It also triggered abnormal increases in autophagy-related proteins and signaling mediator phosphorylation. These molecular alterations are likely to contribute to progressive deterioration of sperm ultrastructure and function. Notably, successful pregnancy was achieved via intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) using the proband's sperm. Overall, this study expands the known CFAP300 mutational spectrum and offers novel mechanistic insights into its role in spermatogenesis.
Humans ; Male ; Infertility, Male/pathology* ; Acrosome/pathology* ; Sperm Tail/pathology* ; Pedigree ; Spermatozoa ; Adult ; Loss of Function Mutation ; Ciliary Motility Disorders/genetics* ; Spermatogenesis/genetics* ; Female

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the disease burden and inequalities of lower extremity peripheral artery disease (LEPAD) among people aged 40 and above in the Belt and Road partner countries from 1990 to 2021. METHODS: Data were retrieved from the Global Burden of Disease 2021 database. The age-standardized prevalence rates, mortality rates, and the annual rate of years lived with disability (YLDs) of LEPAD were analyzed. Trends were measured using the estimated annual percentage change (EAPC), and the slope index of inequality (SII) and concentration index were used to quantify the absolute and relative inequalities. RESULTS: In 2021, the age-standardized prevalence and mortality rates of LEPAD were 3168.26/10⁵ and 3.09/10⁵, increasing by 4.30% and 19.31% compared to 1990, while YLDs rates decreased by 4.00%. Females had higher age-standardized prevalence and YLDs rates, while males had higher mortality rates. The EAPC for prevalence rates was slightly higher in males (0.22%) than in females (0.17%); while the EAPC of age-standardized mortality rate was 2.02% for females, compared to 1.45% for males. From 1990 to 2021, the age-standardized YLDs rates decreased from 16.23/10⁵ to 15.58/10⁵, with a faster decline in females (－0.12%) than in males (－0.06%). LEPAD prevalence varied across countries, with higher burden in Europe and faster growth in Gulf states. Higher socio-demographic index countries had higher prevalence. Inequity improved, with the SII at 52.90/10⁵ and concentration index at 0.038 in 2021. Gender disparities persisted, with concentration index increased to 0.058 in females and reduced to －0.026 in males. CONCLUSIONS LEPAD prevalence and mortality among people aged 40 and above in the Belt and Road partner countries increased, while YLDs rates decreased from 1990 to 2021. Significant differences among people exist depending on gender and country, highlighting the need for enhanced screening, health education, and shared public health strategies across the Belt and Road partner countries.
Humans ; Peripheral Arterial Disease/mortality* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Aged ; Prevalence ; Lower Extremity/blood supply* ; Global Burden of Disease ; Cost of Illness

OBJECTIVE: This cross-sectional study assessed the methodological quality of systematic reviews (SRs) of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) published in Chinese between Jan 2021 and Sep 2022. METHODS: Chinese language CHM SRs were identified through literature searches across 3 international and 4 Chinese databases. Methodological quality was appraised using A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews 2. Logistic regressions were used to explore associations between bibliographical characteristics and quality. RESULTS: Analyses of methodological quality found that among the 213 sampled SRs, 69.5% were of critically low quality, 30.5% were of low quality, and none achieved high or moderate quality. Common shortcomings included the failure to identify the studies excluded from the analysis, failure to disclose funding sources, and limited evaluation of the potential impact of bias on conclusions. Logistic regressions revealed that SRs led by corresponding authors affiliated with universities or academic institutions tended to be of lower quality than SRs led by authors affiliated with hospitals or clinical facilities. CONCLUSION Recent Chinese language CHM SRs exhibited limited methodological quality, making them unlikely to support the development of clinical practice guidelines. Urgent initiatives are needed to enhance training for researchers, peer-reviewers and editors involved in the preparation and publication of SRs. Adoption of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses reporting guidelines in Chinese language journals is crucial to improve the relevance of SRs for Chinese medicine development. Addressing deficiencies in methodology and reporting is essential for promoting evidence-based practices and informed clinical decisions in Chinese medicine. Please cite this article as: Jiang Y, Zhong CC, Wang BH, Xu SS, Ho FF, Kwong MH, Ho L, Zhou JHS, Lam KC, Liu JP, Zhang BT, Chung VCH. Methodological quality of systematic reviews on orally administered Chinese herbal medicine published in Chinese between 2021 and 2022: A cross-sectional study. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(5):492-501.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Systematic Reviews as Topic/standards* ; Humans ; China ; Administration, Oral ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

To promote the standardization and normalization of perioperative care for follicular unit extraction(FUE) hair transplantation, ensure treatment efficacy, and align with advancements in the specialty, the Nursing Branch of the Chinese Association of Plastic and Aesthetics organized a panel of domestic experts. By integrating evidence-based medicine with clinical practice experience, and following thorough discussions, these experts developed the Clinical Practice Expert Consensus on Perioperative Nursing Care for Follicular Unit Extraction (2025). This consensus provides a comprehensive overview of hair transplantation, covering preoperative preparation, surgical procedures, intraoperative coordination, postoperative management, and complication prevention and treatment. It serves as a key reference and guide for implementing standardized perioperative nursing care in FUE hair transplantation.

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.