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.
Humans ; Male ; Foreskin ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Adult ; Erectile Dysfunction/epidemiology* ; Premature Ejaculation/epidemiology* ; Middle Aged ; China/epidemiology* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological/epidemiology* ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: Ferroptosis-related genes play a crucial role in regulating intracellular iron homeostasis and lipid peroxidation, and they are involved in the regulation of tumor growth and drug resistance. The expression of ferroptosis-related genes in tumor tissues can be used to predict patients' future survival times, aiding doctors and patients in anticipating disease progression. Based on the sequencing data of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, this study identified genes involved in the regulation of ferroptosis, constructed a prognostic model, and evaluated the predictive performance of the model. METHODS: A total of 1467 ferroptosis-related genes were obtained from the GeneCards database. Gene expression profiles and clinical data from 541 LUAD patients were collected from the TCGA database. The expression data of all ferroptosis-related genes were extracted, and differentially expressed genes were identified using R software. Survival analysis was performed on these genes to screen for those with prognostic value. Subsequently, a prognostic risk scoring model for ferroptosis-related genes was constructed using LASSO regression model. Each LUAD patient sample was scored, and the patients were divided into high-risk and low-risk groups based on the median score. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted, and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated to assess model performance, followed by validation in an external dataset. Finally, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the independent prognostic value and clinical relevance of the model. RESULTS: Through survival analysis, 121 ferroptosis-related genes associated with prognosis were initially identified. Based on this, a LUAD prognostic risk scoring model was constructed using 12 ferroptosis-related genes (ALG3, C1QTNF6, CCT6A, GLS2, KRT6A, LDHA, NUPR1, OGFRP1, PCSK9, TRIM6, IGF2BP1 and MIR31HG). The results indicated that patients in the high-risk group had significantly shorter survival time than those in the low-risk group (P<0.001), and the model demonstrated good predictive performance in both the training set (1-yr AUC=0.721) and the external validation set (1-yr AUC=0.768). Risk scores were significantly associated with the prognosis of LUAD patients in both univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses (P<0.001), suggesting that this score is an important prognostic factor for LUAD patients. CONCLUSIONS This study successfully established a LUAD risk scoring model composed of 12 ferroptosis-related genes. In the future, this model is expected to be used in conjunction with the tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging system for prognostic predictions in LUAD patients.
Humans ; Ferroptosis/genetics* ; Prognosis ; Adenocarcinoma of Lung/pathology* ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology* ; Male ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Middle Aged ; ROC Curve

Debates persist regarding the efficacy and safety of azvudine, particularly its real-world outcomes. This study involved patients aged ≥60 years who were admitted to 25 hospitals in mainland China with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between December 1, 2022, and February 28, 2023. Efficacy outcomes were all-cause mortality during hospitalization, the proportion of patients discharged with recovery, time to nucleic acid-negative conversion (T _NANC), time to symptom improvement (T _SI), and time of hospital stay (T _HS). Safety was also assessed. Among the 5884 participants identified, 1999 received azvudine, and 1999 matched controls were included after exclusion and propensity score matching. Azvudine recipients exhibited lower all-cause mortality compared with controls in the overall population (13.3% vs. 17.1%, RR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.67-0.90; P = 0.001) and in the severe subgroup (25.7% vs. 33.7%; RR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.66-0.88; P < 0.001). A higher proportion of patients discharged with recovery, and a shorter T _NANC were associated with azvudine recipients, especially in the severe subgroup. The incidence of adverse events in azvudine recipients was comparable to that in the control group (2.3% vs. 1.7%, P = 0.170). In conclusion, azvudine showed efficacy and safety in older patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the SARS-CoV-2 omicron wave in China.

Functional dyspepsia (FD), characterized by persistent or recurrent dyspeptic symptoms without identifiable organic, systemic or metabolic causes, is an increasingly recognized global health issue. The objective of this guideline is to equip clinicians and nursing professionals with evidence-based strategies for the management and treatment of adult patients with FD using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The Guideline Development Group consulted existing TCM consensus documents on FD and convened a panel of 35 clinicians to generate initial clinical queries. To address these queries, a systematic literature search was conducted across PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP Database, China Biology Medicine (SinoMed) Database, Wanfang Database, Traditional Medicine Research Data Expanded (TMRDE), and the Traditional Chinese Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System (TCMLARS). The evidence from the literature was critically appraised using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. The strength of the recommendations was ascertained through a consensus-building process involving TCM and allopathic medicine experts, methodologists, pharmacologists, nursing specialists, and health economists, leveraging their collective expertise and empirical knowledge. The guideline comprises a total of 43 evidence-informed recommendations that span a range of clinical aspects, including the pathogenesis according to TCM, diagnostic approaches, therapeutic interventions, efficacy assessments, and prognostic considerations. Please cite this article as: Zhang SS, Zhao LQ, Hou XH, Bian ZX, Zheng JH, Tian HH, Yang GH, Hong WS, He YY, Liu L, Shen H, Li YP, Xie S, Shu J, Zeng BF, Li JX, Liu Z, Xiao ZH, Xiao JD, Zheng PY, Huang SG, Chen SL, Fei GJ. International clinical practice guideline on the use of traditional Chinese medicine for functional dyspepsia (2025). J Integr Med. 2025; 23(5):502-518.
Dyspepsia/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use*

Bone grafting is a primary method for treating bone defects. Among various graft materials, xenogeneic bone substitutes are widely used in clinical practice due to their abundant sources, convenient processing and storage, and avoidance of secondary surgeries. With the advancement of domestic production and the limitations of imported products, an increasing number of bone filling or grafting substitute materials isentering clinical trials. Relevant experts have drafted this consensus to enhance the management of medical device clinical trials, protect the rights of participants, and ensure the scientific and effective execution of trials. It summarizes clinical experience in aspects, such as design principles, participant inclusion/exclusion criteria, observation periods, efficacy evaluation metrics, safety assessment indicators, and quality control, to provide guidance for professionals in the field.
Humans ; Bone Substitutes/therapeutic use* ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic/methods* ; Consensus ; Bone Transplantation ; Research Design

Objective With the focus on emerging infectious diseases and diseases of unknown cause,the study aims to realize multi-point trigger monitoring of infectious diseases through key monitoring sites and key populations.Methods Using ar-tificial intelligence,deep learning,big data and other information technologies to build an intelligent information center for infec-tious diseases with patients'disease files as the core,construct a core capacity of infectious disease surveillance,early warning and situation prediction,and predict and evaluate the importance of infectious disease warning signals.Results The system cov-ered 1 425 primary-level medical institutions,18 hospitals,2 580+schools,4 134 pharmacies,4 laboratories and civil affairs departments,detected 55 kinds of infectious diseases and 6 kinds of syndrome monitoring signals.Since its launch,121 000 ac-tive notification cards have been issued,more than 54 000 new notification cards have been added,35.256 million times of multi-source monitoring and 14.4 million disease files have been recorded.Conclusion By expanding monitoring content and chan-nels,we realized early monitoring,auxiliary investigation and multi-mode visual early warning of infectious diseases,built a multi-point trigger mechanism,and moved forward the infectious disease surveillance.

Objective The aim of this study is to explore the potential modulatory role of quercetin against Endotoxin or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced septic cardiac dysfunction.Methods Specific pathogen-free chicken embryos (n = 120) were allocated untreated control, phosphate buffer solution (PBS) vehicle, PBS with ethanol vehicle, LPS (500 ng/egg), LPS with quercetin treatment (10, 20, or 40 nmol/egg, respectively), Quercetin groups (10, 20, or 40 nmol/egg). Fifteen-day-old embryonated eggs were inoculated with abovementioned solutions via the allantoic cavity. At embryonic day 19, the hearts of the embryos were collected for histopathological examination, RNA extraction, real-time polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemical investigations, and Western blotting.Results They demonstrated that the heart presented inflammatory responses after LPS induction. The LPS-induced higher mRNA expressions of inflammation-related factors (TLR4, TNFα, MYD88, NF-κB1, IFNγ, IL-1β, IL-8, IL-6, IL-10, p38, MMP3, and MMP9) were blocked by quercetin with three dosages. Quercetin significantly decreased immunopositivity to TLR4 and MMP9 in the treatment group when compared with the LPS group. Quercetin significantly decreased protein expressions of TLR4, IFNγ, MMP3, and MMP9 when compared with the LPS group. Quercetin treatment prevented LPS-induced increase in the mRNA expression of Claudin 1 and ZO-1, and significantly decreased protein expression of claudin 1 when compared with the LPS group. Quercetin significantly downregulated autophagy-related gene expressions (PPARα, SGLT1, APOA4, AMPKα1, AMPKα2, ATG5, ATG7, Beclin-1, and LC3B) and programmed cell death (Fas, Bcl-2, CASP1, CASP12, CASP3, and RIPK1) after LPS induction. Quercetin significantly decreased immunopositivity to APOA4, AMPKα2, and LC3-II/LC3-I in the treatment group when compared with the LPS group. Quercetin significantly decreased protein expressions of AMPKα1, LC3-I, and LC3-II. Quercetin significantly decreased the protein expression to CASP1 and CASP3 by immunohistochemical investigation or Western blotting in treatment group when compared with LPS group.Conclusion Quercetin alleviates cardiac inflammation induced by LPS through modulating autophagy, programmed cell death, and myocardiocytes permeability.

Using methylated pyrroloxicam as a starting material and following the principles of drug design such as bioisosterism and active site binding,we designed and synthesized ten structurally novel target compounds,whose structures were characterized by 1H NMR and MS analysis.The in vitro antitumor activity of these title compounds was evaluated by measuring their inhibitory activity against pancreatic cancer cells Capan-1,leukemia cells L1210,and human liver cancer cells SMMC-7721.The results showed that compound 6f(IC50=4.8±0.5 μmol/L)exhibited good inhibitory activity against Capan-1 pancreatic cancer cells,that compound 6b(IC50=2.6±0.3 μmol/L)showed good inhibitory activity against L1210 leukemia cells,and that compound 6c(IC50=2.1±0.2 μmol/L)displayed good inhibitory activity against SMMC-7721 human liver cancer cells.These preliminary results from the antitumor activity experiments suggest that the introduction of benzothiazine derivatives plays a certain role in enhancing the antitumor activity of this class of compounds.

Objective　To assess the diagnostic efficacy of the cell-free Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA testing (CF-TB) in tuberculous pleurisy. Methods　A total of 71 patients diagnosed with tuberculous pleurisy and 35 patients with non-tuberculous pleurisy were selected from the Fifth People's Hospital of Wuxi between January to December 2022. The standard pleural puncture was conducted to collect pleural effusion, which was then utilized for Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture, GeneXpert Mycobacterium tuberculosis/rifampicin resistance (GeneXpert MTB/RIF), CF-TB, and adenosine deaminase (ADA) testing. Blood samples were subjected to tuberculosis infection T-cell spotting test (T-SPOT.TB) assay. The receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC) was applied to obtain the optimal cut-off value for pleural fluid CF-TB and to compare the diagnostic performance of CF-TB with other methods. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 22.0 software, with statistical significance defined as P<0.05. Results　The ROC curve analysis determined that the optimal cycle threshold (Ct) value for diagnosing tuberculous pleurisy using CF-TB in pleural fluid was 38.489, with a sensitivity of 91.5% and specificity of 97.1%. In comparison, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of T-SPOT.TB and pleural fluid ADA in diagnosing tuberculous pleurisy were 86.0%, 71.4%, 86.0%, 71.4%, 81.1%, and 55.0%, 91.4%, 92.9%, 50.8%, 67.0%, respectively, all of which were lower than the diagnostic efficiency of CF-TB. Furthermore, the specificity of pleural fluid CF-TB in diagnosing tuberculous pleurisy (97.1%) was not significantly different from GeneXpert MTB/RIF (100%) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture (100%), but its sensitivity (91.5%) was significantly higher than both GeneXpert MTB/RIF (19.7%) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture (28.2%), with a statistically significant difference (P<0.001). Conclusions　Compared to the conventional gold standard for diagnosing tuberculous pleurisy, CF-TB exhibits a higher sensitivity and its specificity is superior to that of tuberculosis immunological test. Consequently, CF-TB can serve as a valuable complement to other traditional detection methods in aiding the diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy.

Objective:In order to truly realize the deep integration of ideological and political education and professional edu-cation in the course of Animal Immunology and effectively improve the comprehensive quality of students.Methods:The experiment adopts the teaching method of integrating the online and offline hybrid teaching of Animal Immunology into the ideology and politics of the course,studies the course design concept,teaching objectives,teaching design and teaching implementation,and will conduct an evaluation of the teaching effect from the examination results and ideological and political effect.Results:The results show that the teaching model has stimulated students'interest in learning and improved their overall ability.Conclusion:It shows that the teaching effect of this method is good and the basic task of moral education is realized.