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

Mycophenolic acid (MPA), the active moiety of both mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and enteric-coated mycophenolate sodium (EC-MPS), serves as a primary immunosuppressant for maintaining solid organ transplants. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) enhances treatment outcomes through tailored approaches. This study aimed to develop an evidence-based guideline for MPA TDM, facilitating its rational application in clinical settings. The guideline plan was drawn from the Institute of Medicine and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Using the Delphi method, clinical questions and outcome indicators were generated. Systematic reviews, Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) evidence quality evaluations, expert opinions, and patient values guided evidence-based suggestions for the guideline. External reviews further refined the recommendations. The guideline for the TDM of MPA (IPGRP-2020CN099) consists of four sections and 16 recommendations encompassing target populations, monitoring strategies, dosage regimens, and influencing factors. High-risk populations, timing of TDM, area under the curve (AUC) versus trough concentration (C₀), target concentration ranges, monitoring frequency, and analytical methods are addressed. Formulation-specific recommendations, initial dosage regimens, populations with unique considerations, pharmacokinetic-informed dosing, body weight factors, pharmacogenetics, and drug‍-‍drug interactions are covered. The evidence-based guideline offers a comprehensive recommendation for solid organ transplant recipients undergoing MPA therapy, promoting standardization of MPA TDM, and enhancing treatment efficacy and safety.
Mycophenolic Acid/administration & dosage* ; Drug Monitoring/methods* ; Humans ; Organ Transplantation ; Immunosuppressive Agents/administration & dosage* ; Delphi Technique

Instrument separation is a critical complication during root canal therapy, impacting treatment success and long-term tooth preservation. The etiology of instrument separation is multifactorial, involving the intricate anatomy of the root canal system, instrument-related factors, and instrumentation techniques. Instrument separation can hinder thorough cleaning, shaping, and obturation of the root canal, posing challenges to successful treatment outcomes. Although retrieval of separated instrument is often feasible, it carries risks including perforation, excessive removal of tooth structure and root fractures. Effective management of separated instruments requires a comprehensive understanding of the contributing factors, meticulous preoperative assessment, and precise evaluation of the retrieval difficulty. The application of appropriate retrieval techniques is essential to minimize complications and optimize clinical outcomes. The current manuscript provides a framework for understanding the causes, risk factors, and clinical management principles of instrument separation. By integrating effective strategies, endodontists can enhance decision-making, improve endodontic treatment success and ensure the preservation of natural dentition.
Humans ; Root Canal Therapy/adverse effects* ; Consensus ; Root Canal Preparation/adverse effects*

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are major outer membrane components of Gram-negative bacteria. Unlike most Gram-negative bacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii can still survive and acquire polymyxin resistance after complete loss of LPS. Previous studies of LPS-deficient Acinetobacter baumannii mostly focused on LPS-deficient strains induced by polymyxin, whose background was complex and unstable. To investigate LPS loss-mediated polymyxin resistant-Acinetobacter baumannii, this study constructed a stable and clear background LPS-deficient strain by knocking out lpxC gene in Acinetobacter baumannii ATCC 19606 with CIRSPR/Cas9, and then studied the phenotypic changes of the lpxC-deficient strain including morphology, growth rate, antibiotic susceptibility, virulence, membrane permeability, and membrane potential. Animal experiments were approved by the Animal Care and Welfare Committee Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, CAMS and PUMC (approval number: IMB-20240119D₉). The results indicated that the lpxC gene of Acinetobacter baumannii ATCC 19606 was successfully knocked out. After losing the lpxC, the strain underwent the morphological change from rod-shaped to spherical. Furthermore, it leads to reduced growth rate, enhanced membrane permeability, decreased membrane potential, lower virulence, and increased antibiotic susceptibility to β-lactams, quinolones, aminoglycosides, macrolides, glycopeptides. The lpxC deletion results in significant changes in membrane homeostasis and adaptability of Acinetobacter baumannii. Understanding the phenotypic changes of colistin-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii mediated by LPS loss is useful for exploring the resistance mechanism of Acinetobacter baumannii and developing new therapeutic strategies.

Gallbladder carcinoma(GBC)is one of the most common malignant tumors in the biliary system,which is difficult to diagnose in the early stage due to its high degree of malignancy,invasiveness and lack of specific clin-ical manifestations.In this paper,we summarize ultrasound,CT and other imaging manifestations in the early stage of GBC,and describe the role of protein markers and microRNA marker as biomarkers in the diagnosis of early GBC.The enhanced understanding of the relevant features might help to improve the accuracy of the diagnosis of early gallbladder carcinoma.

Humans ; Child ; Klinefelter Syndrome/complications* ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/complications*

Objective : To study the resistance pattern of streptomycin and ethambutol in Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Luoyang area , guide clinical medication and supplement epidemiological data on local drug⁃resistant tuberculosis . Methods : The positive results of high⁃resolution melting curve (HRM) in 2 941 cases in Luoyang area were analyzed to assess the risk factors associated with streptomycin and ethambutol resistance . Results : Of the 2 941 HRM⁃positive patients , 18 . 4% were resistant to streptomycin and 8. 0% were ethambutol . Both streptomycin and ethambutol and resistance rates were higher in men than those in women ( 19. 0% vs 16. 9% , P = 0. 129 ; 8. 0% vs 7. 9% , P = 0. 987) . The resistance rates to streptomycin and ethambutol were higher in urban than those in rural areas (21 . 3% vs 16. 6% , P = 0. 002 ; 9. 8% vs 6. 9% , P = 0. 004) . The resistance rate was much higher in previously treated patients than those newly diagnosed for MTB infection (25 . 8% vs 17. 3% , P < 0. 001 ; 12. 1% vs 7. 4% , P = 0. 002) . The resistance rates to streptomycin were higher in the < 51 years than those in the > 50 years group (21 . 1% vs 16. 1% , P < 0. 001) . According to age , the highest resistance rates to streptomycin and ethambutol occurred in the age range of 31 - 35 years and 56 - 60 years in men , respectively , while in the age range of 21 - 25 years and 56 - 60 years in women , respectively . In multivariate models , prior treatment history , age less than 51 years , and urban area were positively associated with streptomycin and ethambutol resistance after adjusting for smear results and year testing . Conclusion Men , prior treatment history , age less than 51 years , and urban residents are key monitoring targets for streptomycin and ethambutol resistant tuberculosis .

OBJECTIVE: To utilized the baseline data of the Beijing Fangshan Family Cohort Study, and to estimate whether the association between a healthy lifestyle and arterial stiffness might be modified by genetic effects. METHODS: Probands and their relatives from 9 rural areas in Fangshan district, Beijing were included in this study. We developed a healthy lifestyle score based on five lifestyle behaviors: smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index (BMI), dietary pattern, and physical activity. The measurements of arterial stiffness were brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and ankle-brachial index (ABI). A variance component model was used to determine the heritability of arterial stiffness. Genotype-environment interaction effects were performed by the maximum likelihood methods. Subsequently, 45 candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in the glycolipid metabolism pathway were selected, and generalized estimated equations were used to assess the gene-environment interaction effects between particular genetic loci and healthy lifestyles. RESULTS: A total of 6 302 study subjects across 3 225 pedigrees were enrolled in this study, with a mean age of 56.9 years and 45.1% male. Heritability of baPWV and ABI was 0.360 (95%CI: 0.302-0.418) and 0.243 (95%CI: 0.175-0.311), respectively. Significant genotype-healthy diet interaction on baPWV and genotype-BMI interaction on ABI were observed. Following the findings of genotype-environment interaction analysis, we further identified two SNPs located in ADAMTS9-AS2 and CDH13 might modify the association between healthy dietary pattern and arterial stiffness, indicating that adherence to a healthy dietary pattern might attenuate the genetic risk on arterial stiffness. Three SNPs in CDKAL1, ATP8B2 and SLC30A8 were shown to interact with BMI, implying that maintaining BMI within a healthy range might decrease the genetic risk of arterial stiffness. CONCLUSION The current study discovered that genotype-healthy dietary pattern and genotype-BMI interactions might affect the risk of arterial stiffness. Furthermore, we identified five genetic loci that might modify the relationship between healthy dietary pattern and BMI with arterial stiffness. Our findings suggested that a healthy lifestyle may reduce the genetic risk of arterial stiffness. This study has laid the groundwork for future research exploring mechanisms of arterial stiffness.
Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Female ; Ankle Brachial Index ; Cohort Studies ; Gene-Environment Interaction ; Vascular Stiffness/genetics* ; Pedigree ; Pulse Wave Analysis/methods* ; Genotype

OBJECTIVE: To test the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of adverse childhood experiences international questionnaire (ACE-IQ) in Chinese parents of preschool children. METHODS: The parents of preschool children in 6 kindergartens in Tongzhou District of Beijing were selected by stratified random cluster sampling, and the Chinese version of ACE-IQ after translation and adaptation was used for survey online. The collected data were randomly divided into two parts. One part of the data (n=602) was used for exploratory factor analysis (EFA), to screen items and evaluate structural validity, and then form the final Chinese version of ACE-IQ. The other part of the data (n=700) was used for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), criterion validity analysis and reliability analysis. At the same time, experts investigation method was used to evaluate the content validity of the final Chinese version of ACE-IQ. RESULTS: After deleting four items of collective violence, the Chinese version of ACE-IQ with twenty-five items indicated good structural, criterion and content validity. Analysis results showed that the Chinese version of ACE-IQ presented a seven-factor model dimension, namely emotional neglect, physical neglect, family dysfunction, family violence, emotional and physical abuse, sexual abuse and violence outside the home, and the total score of the binary version of ACE-IQ Chinese version was positively correlated with the total score of childhood trauma questionaire-28 item short form (CTQ-SF, r=0.354, P < 0.001) and the center for epidemiological studies depression scale (CES-D, r=0.313, P < 0.001) respectively. Results from five experts showed that the item-level content validity index (I-CVI) of 25 items was between 0.80 and 1.00, and the average of all I-CVIs on the scale (S-CVI/Ave) of the scale was 0.984. At the same time, the internal consistency (Cronbach's α coefficient) of the whole scale was 0.818, and the split-half reliability (Spearman-Brown coefficient) was 0.621, which demonstrated good reliability. CONCLUSION This study has formed a Chinese version of ACE-IQ with 25 items and 7 dimensions, which has good reliability and validity among the parents of preschool children in China. It can be used as an evaluation instrument for measuring the minimum threshold of the adverse childhood experiences in the parents of preschool children in the cultural background of China.
Humans ; Child, Preschool ; Adverse Childhood Experiences ; Reproducibility of Results ; Parents/psychology* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; China ; Psychometrics/methods*

Humans ; Nutrition Surveys ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/chemically induced* ; Environmental Exposure/analysis* ; Environmental Monitoring ; Phthalic Acids/toxicity* ; Environmental Pollutants/toxicity*