Genital size is a crucial index for the assessment of male sexual development, as abnormal penile or testicular size may be the earliest visible clinical manifestation of some diseases. However, there is a lack of dat...Genital size is a crucial index for the assessment of male sexual development, as abnormal penile or testicular size may be the earliest visible clinical manifestation of some diseases. However, there is a lack of data regarding penile and testicular size measurements for Chinese boys at all stages of childhood and puberty. This cross-sectional study aimed to develop appropriate growth curves and charts for male external genitalia among children and adolescents aged 0-17 years in Chongqing, China. A total of 2974 boys were enrolled in the present study. Penile length was measured using a rigid ruler, penile diameter was measured using a pachymeter, and testicular volume was determined using a Prader orchidometer. Age-specific percentile curves for penile length, penile diameter, and testicular volume were drawn using the generalized additive models for location, scale, and shape. Very similar growth curves were found for both penile length and penile diameter. Both of them gradually rose to 10 years of age and then sharply increased from 11 to 15 years of age. However, testicular volume changed little before the age of 10 years. This study contributes to the literature covering age-specific growth curve and charts about male external genitalia in Chinese children and adolescents. These age-related values are valuable in evaluating the growth and development status of male external genitalia and could be helpful in diagnosing genital disorders.展开更多
Recent years have witnessed increasingly frequent extreme precipitation events,especially in desert steppes in the semi-arid and arid transition zone.Focusing on a desert steppe in western-central Inner Mongolia Auton...Recent years have witnessed increasingly frequent extreme precipitation events,especially in desert steppes in the semi-arid and arid transition zone.Focusing on a desert steppe in western-central Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region,China,this study aimed to determine the principle time-varying pattern of extreme precipitation and its dominant climate forcings during the period 1988-2017.Based on the generalized additive models for location,scale,and shape(GAMLSS)modeling framework,we developed the best time-dependent models for the extreme precipitation series at nine stations,as well as the optimized non-stationary models with large-scale climate indices(including the North Atlantic Oscillation(NAO),Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation(AMO),Southern Oscillation(SO),Pacific Decadal Oscillation(PDO),Arctic Oscillation(AO),and North Pacific Oscillation(NPO))as covariates.The results indicated that extreme precipitation remained stationary at more than half of the stations(Hailisu,Wuyuan,Dengkou,Hanggin Rear Banner,Urad Front Banner,and Yikewusu),while linear and non-linear time-varying patterns were quantitatively identified at the other stations(Urad Middle Banner,Linhe,and Wuhai).These non-stationary behaviors of extreme precipitation were mainly reflected in the mean value of extreme precipitation.The optimized non-stationary models performed best,indicating the significant influences of large-scale climate indices on extreme precipitation.In particular,the NAO,NPO,SO,and AMO remained as covariates and significantly influenced the variations in the extreme precipitation regime.Our findings have important reference significance for gaining an in-depth understanding of the driving mechanism of the non-stationary behavior of extreme precipitation and enable advanced predictions of rainstorm risks.展开更多
文摘Genital size is a crucial index for the assessment of male sexual development, as abnormal penile or testicular size may be the earliest visible clinical manifestation of some diseases. However, there is a lack of data regarding penile and testicular size measurements for Chinese boys at all stages of childhood and puberty. This cross-sectional study aimed to develop appropriate growth curves and charts for male external genitalia among children and adolescents aged 0-17 years in Chongqing, China. A total of 2974 boys were enrolled in the present study. Penile length was measured using a rigid ruler, penile diameter was measured using a pachymeter, and testicular volume was determined using a Prader orchidometer. Age-specific percentile curves for penile length, penile diameter, and testicular volume were drawn using the generalized additive models for location, scale, and shape. Very similar growth curves were found for both penile length and penile diameter. Both of them gradually rose to 10 years of age and then sharply increased from 11 to 15 years of age. However, testicular volume changed little before the age of 10 years. This study contributes to the literature covering age-specific growth curve and charts about male external genitalia in Chinese children and adolescents. These age-related values are valuable in evaluating the growth and development status of male external genitalia and could be helpful in diagnosing genital disorders.
基金funded by the Yinshanbeilu Grassland Eco-hydrology National Observation and Research Station,China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research(YSS202105)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(52269005)+3 种基金the Inner Mongolia Science and Technology Plan Project(2022YFSH0105)the Central Guidance for Local Science and Technology Development Fund Projects(2024ZY0002)the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region University Youth Science and Technology Talent Project(NJYT 22037)the Inner Mongolia Agricultural University Young Teachers'Scientific Research Ability Improvement Project(BR220104).
文摘Recent years have witnessed increasingly frequent extreme precipitation events,especially in desert steppes in the semi-arid and arid transition zone.Focusing on a desert steppe in western-central Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region,China,this study aimed to determine the principle time-varying pattern of extreme precipitation and its dominant climate forcings during the period 1988-2017.Based on the generalized additive models for location,scale,and shape(GAMLSS)modeling framework,we developed the best time-dependent models for the extreme precipitation series at nine stations,as well as the optimized non-stationary models with large-scale climate indices(including the North Atlantic Oscillation(NAO),Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation(AMO),Southern Oscillation(SO),Pacific Decadal Oscillation(PDO),Arctic Oscillation(AO),and North Pacific Oscillation(NPO))as covariates.The results indicated that extreme precipitation remained stationary at more than half of the stations(Hailisu,Wuyuan,Dengkou,Hanggin Rear Banner,Urad Front Banner,and Yikewusu),while linear and non-linear time-varying patterns were quantitatively identified at the other stations(Urad Middle Banner,Linhe,and Wuhai).These non-stationary behaviors of extreme precipitation were mainly reflected in the mean value of extreme precipitation.The optimized non-stationary models performed best,indicating the significant influences of large-scale climate indices on extreme precipitation.In particular,the NAO,NPO,SO,and AMO remained as covariates and significantly influenced the variations in the extreme precipitation regime.Our findings have important reference significance for gaining an in-depth understanding of the driving mechanism of the non-stationary behavior of extreme precipitation and enable advanced predictions of rainstorm risks.
