Objective To compare the reproducibility and reliability of facial soft tissue landmarks using a direct and an indirect placement methods in facial three-dimensional (3D) soft tissue assessment.Methods 3D coordinates of 37 soft tissue landmarks were obtained respectively in 35 normal healthy volunteers from 3D optical capture system and Materialise's interactive medical image control system (Mimics).Landmarks were affixed on the cutaneous surface (direct method) and marked on the 3D reconstructed craniofacial model (indirect method).Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) and paired t-tests were used to compare the reliability and reproducibility of facial landmarks between two placement methods.Results For the direct placement method,86.5 ％ landmarks had an ICC higher than 0.75.For the indirect placement method,75.7％ landmarks had an ICC higher than 0.75.The inter-observer variability using the direct placement method was (1.259±0.566) mm,which was significantly smaller (P＜0.05) than (1.420±0.638) mm obtained by the indirect placement method.Conclusions Compared with indirect method,direct method has higher reliability and reproducibility in evaluating facial soft tissue.

OBJECTIVE:To study varieties,indications and usage features of Tibetan medicine preparations,and provide refer-ence for the clinical treatment and new drug development for Tibetan medicine. METHODS:Tibetan medicine preparations in offi-cial standards were collected,variety features(formula scale,license number,pharmaceutical enterprise,name and dosage form, herbal medicine number),action features(indication name,clinical application)and medicine features(category and quantity,me-dicinal part,commonly used drug,frequency,three fruitsuse feature) were summarized. RESULTS:Totally 458 preparations were included,including 18 recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia (part 1,2015 edition),200 recorded in Pharmaceutical Stan-dards of the Ministry of Health of China(Tibetan medicine,1995 edition),240 recorded in Tibetan Medicine Standards(six prov-inces). 129 had obtained 430 license numbers,from 52 pharmaceutical companies;the prearations were mainly named byherbal medicine+principal medicine+dosage formprincipal medicine+dosage formandindication+dosage form. Dosage forms had powder,pill,cream,oil,syrup and wine; the number of herbal medicine was(13.81±13.28). The Tibetan preparations were com-monly used in the clinical treatment of diseases of the digestive system,respiratory system,genitourinary system,circulatory sys-tem,infectious and parasitic diseases,etc. 442 medicines had been used,including 297 herbal medicines,70 animal medicines, 47 mineral medicines and other 28 medicines. The common medicinal parts were seed or fruit,root or rhizome,whole grass,flow-er,stem,over-ground part,tuber or bulb,etc. The top 10 frequency of medicines were as follows as Terminalia chebula,Cartha-mus tinctorius,Aucklandia lappa,Amomum kravanh,Phyllanthus emblica,Piper longum,Inula racemosa,Punica granatum, Moschus berezovskii,Adhatoda vasica;and 19% preparations contained three fruits(T. chebula,P. emblica,Terminalia bellirica). CONCLUSIONS:Tibetan medicine preparations have rich varieties,reasonable herbal medicines,more solid preparations,widely clinic application,contain more herbal drugs and commonly usethree fruits,while fewer preparations have obtained license number.

Objective: To observe the clinical efficacy of herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion for ulcerative colitis (UC) and elucidate its mechanism by targeting the vitamin D receptor (VDR) signaling pathway. Methods: A total of 63 patients with UC were randomly divided into an observation group (30 cases, treated with herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion) and a control group (33 cases, treated with sham herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion). Moxibustion treatment was performed at Qihai (CV6) and bilateral Tianshu (ST25) and Shangjuxu (ST37), 3 times per week for 12 weeks. The total effective rate, visual analog scale (VAS) score for abdominal bloating and pain, and hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) score were compared between the two groups. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the concentrations of serum C-reactive protein (CRP), 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], and interleukin-12 (IL-12)/interleukin-23 (IL-23) p40. Immunohistochemistry was used to observe the expression levels of VDR and regenerating gene Ⅳ (Reg Ⅳ) proteins in colonic mucosa. The expression levels of VDR, cytochrome p45027B1 (CYP27B1), and Reg Ⅳ mRNAs were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitive polymerase chain reaction. Results: After treatment, the total effective rate in the observation group was 86.7％, which was significantly higher than 51.5％ in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the VAS scores for abdominal bloating and pain in the observation group were significantly decreased (P<0.01), as well as the HADS-depression subscale (HADS-D) and HADS-anxiety subscale (HADS) scores (P<0.05), while only the VAS score for abdominal pain in the control group was reduced (P<0.05), and the improvements of the scores in the observation group were more significant than those in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the serum CRP concentrations in both groups and the IL-12/IL-23 p40 concentration in the observation group were significantly decreased (P<0.05), and the concentrations in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). The expression levels of VDR protein and mRNA in the colon in both groups were all increased (P<0.01), and the expression levels of Reg Ⅳ protein and mRNA and CYP27B1 mRNA were all decreased in the two groups (P<0.05 or P<0.01); the improvements in the observation group were more notable than those in the control group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Conclusion: Herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion can effectively alleviate abdominal pain and diarrhea in patients with UC, improve depression and anxiety disorders, and regulate the expression of related proteins in the VDR signaling pathway. The mechanism may be related to inhibiting intestinal inflammation by reducing the release of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-12/IL-23 p40.

Objective:To investigate the application value of auricular point pressing with beans combined with Chinese medicine for rehabilitation in older adults after total hip arthroplasty.Methods:This is a prospective case-control study. A total of 80 older adult patients with femoral neck fractures who underwent total hip arthroplasty at Wenzhou Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine from September 2020 to January 2022 were included in this study. These patients were randomly divided into a control group and an observation group, with 40 patients per group. The control group underwent conventional interventions, while the observation group underwent auricular point pressing with beans combined with Chinese medicine. Clinical efficacy was compared between the two groups.Results:The overall response rate in the observation group was 85.00% (34/40), which was significantly higher than 65.0% (26/40) in the control group ( χ2 = 4.27, P = 0.036). Before surgery, there were no significant differences in various indicators between the two groups (all P > 0.05). At 2 weeks after surgery, the hemoglobin level and Harris scores in the observation group were higher than those in the control group ( t = -7.11, -5.81, both P < 0.05). At 1 and 3 days and 2 weeks after surgery, the D-dimer level, prothrombin time, activated partial thrombin time, thrombin time, Visual Analogue Scale score, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (all P < 0.05). At 3 days and 2 weeks after surgery, C-reactive protein, thigh and calf circumference of the affected limb in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group ( t = 2.34, 6.85, 4.47, 3.89, 6.63, 4.35, all P < 0.05). After surgery, the time to get off the bed and the length of hospital stay in the observation group were (3.58 ± 2.43) days and (7.14 ± 2.18) days, respectively, which were significantly shorter than (5.47 ± 2.35) days and (9.13 ± 2.14) days in the control group ( t = 3.54, 4.12, both P < 0.001). The incidence of postoperative deep vein thrombosis in the observation group was 5.00% (2/40), which was significantly lower than 10.00% (4/40) in the control group ( χ2 = 0.72, P = 0.396). Conclusion:Auricular point pressing with beans combined with Chinese medicine can promote rapid rehabilitation of older adult patients with femoral neck fractures after total hip arthroplasty.

Alpha-particles, which have strong cytotoxicity, could reduce radiation damage to surrounding tissues, and stimulate anti-tumor immune response, so they have good development prospect in cancer treatment. The current researches show that α-emitting radionuclides increase the presentation of major histocompatibility complex-I (MHC-Ⅰ) on tumor cells and induce immunogenic cell death (ICD) to activate immune response mediated by CD8 + T cells. As two methods of α-therapy, α radioimmunotherapy and diffusing α-emitters radiation therapy (DART) further enhance the anti-cancer effect when combined with immunotherapy. The methods of immunotherapy include adoptive cell therapy (ACT), immune checkpoint blockade, neutralization of immunosuppressive cells and immunoadjuvant. This article reviews the characteristics of α-particles for cancer treatment, the mechanism of immune response induced by ionizing radiation (including α-radionuclides) and the related research of α-therapy combined with immunotherapy.

ObjectiveTo observe the effects of specific exercise therapy on spinal deformity and joint hypermobility of idiopathic scoliosis. MethodsFrom April to October, 2021, 100 children with idiopathic scoliosis in the Scoliosis Rehabilitation Center of Xinhua Hospital were divided into control group (n = 50) and experimental group (n = 50), who accepted routine exercise therapy or scoliosis-specific exercise therapy in accordance with their wishes, for six months. The maximum Cobb angle and bone mineral density were measured, and they were assessed with Beighton Scale and Chinese version of the Scoliosis Research Society-22 Questionnaire Scores (SRS-22) before and after treatment. ResultsThe change of the maximum Cobb angle was more in the experimental group than in the control group (Z = -2.202, P < 0.05) after treatment, and the incidence of respondent was more (χ² = -2.405, P < 0.05). The bone mineral density decreased in the experimental group after treatment (|Z| > 2.127, P < 0.05). For SRS-22, the total scores increased in both groups after treatment (F_time = 106.57, P < 0.001), and increased more in the experimental group than in the control group (F = 4.969, P < 0.05); the scores of function domain and self-image domain increased in the experimental group (|Z| > 2.149, P < 0.05), while the mental health domain score decreased in the control group (Z = -2.096, P < 0.05); and the mental health domain score was more in the experimental group than in the control group (Z = -2.260, P < 0.05). ConclusionThe scoliosis-specific exercise therapy is effective on spinal deformity and quality of life for children with idiopathic scoliosis, but less helpful for joint hypermobility and bone mineral density, which need to further improve.

Inflammation-driven endothelial dysfunction is the major initiating factor in atherosclerosis, while the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Here, we report that the non-canonical stimulator of interferon genes (STING)-PKR-like ER kinase (PERK) pathway was significantly activated in both human and mice atherosclerotic arteries. Typically, STING activation leads to the activation of interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB)/p65, thereby facilitating IFN signals and inflammation. In contrast, our study reveals the activated non-canonical STING-PERK pathway increases scaffold protein bromodomain protein 4 (BRD4) expression, which encourages the formation of super-enhancers on the proximal promoter regions of the proinflammatory cytokines, thereby enabling the transactivation of these cytokines by integrating activated IRF3 and NF-κB via a condensation process. Endothelium-specific STING and BRD4 deficiency significantly decreased the plaque area and inflammation. Mechanistically, this pathway is triggered by leaked mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) via mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP), formed by voltage-dependent anion channel 1 (VDAC1) oligomer interaction with oxidized mtDNA upon cholesterol oxidation stimulation. Especially, compared to macrophages, endothelial STING activation plays a more pronounced role in atherosclerosis. We propose a non-canonical STING-PERK pathway-dependent epigenetic paradigm in atherosclerosis that integrates IRF3, NF-κB and BRD4 in inflammatory responses, which provides emerging therapeutic modalities for vascular endothelial dysfunction.