Objective To analyze the clinical features of,concurrence of allergic diseases in,as well as serum levels of total immunoglobulin E (IgE) and specific IgEs in,232 patients with alopecia areata (AA),and to estimate their relationship.Methods Serum samples were obtained from 232 patients with AA and 110 healthy controls from a health check-up center.Turbidimetric immunoassay and fluorescence-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were performed to measure total IgE and specific IgEs to common antigens in these serum samples,respectively.Statistical analysis was carried out by t test,rank sum test,and chi-square test.Results The patients showed a male/female ratio of 127 ∶ 105 with an average age of (26.4 ± 13.8) years and clinical course of (25.3 ± 42.3) months.Among these patients,89 (38.4％) suffered from severe AA,and 67 (28.9％) reported at least one allergic disease.No significant difference was found in the positive rates of serum total IgE (30.2％ vs.21.8％,P ＞ 0.05),anti-Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and-Cockroach specific IgEs or the serum levels of antiDermatophagoides pteronyssinus or-Cockroach IgE between the patients and healthy controls.The three most common specific IgEs were anti-Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus IgE (34.1％),anti-Dermatophagoides farinae IgE (31.9％) and anti-Cockroach IgE (22.5％) in patients with AA,whose serum levels were positively correlated with the level of serum total IgE separately.A significant increase was observed in the positive rates and serum levels of anti-Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and-Cockroach specific IgEs in patients with severe and diffuse AA compared with the healthy controls and patients with mild AA,as well as in those of anti-Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus specific IgE in child patients with AA compared with the healthy controls and adult patients with AA (P ＜ 0.05 or 0.01).Conclusions Dust mite allergy may be not only a pathogenic factor for severe,diffuse and childhood AA,but also a risk factor for early onset and severe type of AA.

Objective To observe the action ofFu Liu Zhen (acupuncture at the six abdominal points) plus moxa-box moxibustion at umbilicus on a community population of qi and yang deficiency.Method Two hundred subjects diagnosed with qi deficiency and/or yang deficiency were randomized into a treatment group and a control group, 100 cases in each group. The two groups both received constitution-associated health education, and the treatment group was additionally intervened byFu Liu Zhen plus moxa-box moxibustion at umbilicus, while the control group didn’t receive any other intervention. The Score of Constitution in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and the number of people of each constitution were observed prior to the intervention, right after the intervention, 6 months after the intervention and 12 months after the intervention.Result In the treatment group, the scores of qi deficiency and yang deficiency after the intervention, 6 months after the intervention and 12 months after the intervention were significantly different from that prior to the intervention (P<0.01). The scores of the corresponding constitution types (qi deficiency, yang deficiency) after the intervention, 6 months after the intervention and 12 months after the intervention were significantly different from that before the intervention (P<0.01). The proportions of subjects with harmonious constitution, qi deficiency, and yang deficiency in the treatment group after the intervention, 6 months and 12 months after the intervention were significantly different from that prior to the intervention (P<0.01). The proportions of subjects with harmonious constitution, qi deficiency, and yang deficiency in the treatment group after the intervention, 6 months and 12 months after the intervention were significantly different from that in the control group (P<0.01).ConclusionFu Liu Zhen plus moxa-box moxibustion at umbilicus can improve the qi-deficiency and yang-deficiency constitutions in the community population.

Objective:To investigate endoscopic thyroidectomy in the treatment of thyroid cancer and its effects on patient's quality of life.Methods:A total of 98 patients with thyroid cancer who received treatment in Zhoushan Hospital from March 2019 to March 2021 were included in this study. They were randomly divided into observation and control groups, with 49 patients in each group. Patients in the observation group underwent endoscopic thyroidectomy, and those in the control group underwent traditional surgery. Perioperative indicators and postoperative complications were compared between the two groups. Stress response measured before and 2 months after surgery and quality of life before and 3 months after surgery were compared between the two groups.Results:Operative time in the observation group was significantly longer than that in the control group [(89.82 ± 18.49)] minutes vs. (63.24 ± 17.28) minutes, t = 7.35, P < 0.05]. Intraoperative blood loss and postoperative drainage in the observation group were (10.32 ± 2.28) mL and (29.25 ± 3.17) mL, which were significantly lower than (15.42 ± 3.56) mL and (40.52 ± 4.95) mL in the control group ( t = 8.44, 13.42, both P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in length of hospital stay between the two groups ( P > 0.05). The incidence of postoperative complications in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group [4.08% (2/49) vs. 18.37% (9/49), χ2 = 5.01, P < 0.05]. At 2 days after surgery, white blood cell count, fasting plasma glucose, C-reactive protein in the observation group were (5.62 ± 0.41) × 10 9/L, (4.77 ± 0.38) mmol/L, and (13.25 ± 2.79) mg/L, which were significantly lower than (8.71 ± 0.98) × 10 9/L, (5.75 ± 0.45) mmol/L, (20.84 ± 3.86) mg/L in the control group ( t = 20.36, 11.64, 11.26, all P < 0.05). At 3 months after surgery, Karnofsky performance scale score in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group [(87.64 ± 4.35) points vs. (81.29 ± 4.02) points, t = 7.58, P < 0.05). Conclusion:Endoscopic thyroidectomy is highly effective on thyroid cancer, has few postoperative complications, produces little effect on stress response, and can improve the quality of life of patients.

Objective: To analyze the clinical features of perianal condyloma acuminatum in HIV infected men who have sex with men (MSM) and assess the effects of combined treatment of microwave and photodynamic therapy. Methods: Clinical and laboratory data of 260 male patients with perianal condyloma acuminatum were collected and microwave combined with photodynamic therapy was applied on them. Results: The majority of the patients with perianal condyloma acuminatum were young people (243/260). Warts were mainly located in the anus or from the outside to inside of the anus (245/260). Among them, the proportion of warts position of extraanal in HIV-infected group (8/220) was lower than that of non-HIV-infected group (7/40). HPV types 11 (70/118), 6 (44/118) and 16 (40/118) were the most common types of HPV infection. People with HIV infection were more likely to develop high-risk, mixed types HPV infection and multiple HPV infection than those without HIV infection. More than half of the patients (146/260) needed only 1-3 sessions of photodynamic treatments. There was no significant difference in the times of photodynamic treatments and the numbers of photosensitizers required between the HIV-infected and non-HIV-infected groups. The recurrence rate of HIV-infected group (13.6%, 30/220) was also similar to that of non-HIV-infected group (15.0%, 6/40), but far lower than those who underwent microwave therapy alone (45%, 18/40). Conclusions The combination therapy significantly reduced the recurrence rate of perianal condyloma acuminatum in HIV infected MSM.

Objective To investigate the difference in naturally occurring resistance-associated variants (RAVs) between the patients with HIV/HCV co-infection and those with HCV infection alone by detecting the drug resistance loci associated with HCV NS3/4A protease and NS5A inhibitors. Methods A total of 246 patients with HIV/HCV co-infection or HCV infection alone who were hospitalized or attended the outpatient service in Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, from January 2016 to January 2020 were enrolled in this study. Serum samples were collected and next-generation sequencing (Illumina platform, PE250) was used for sequencing. The two groups of patients were compared in terms of RAVs associated with NS3/4A protease and NS5A inhibitors approved in China, and the drugs for analysis included asunaprevir/daclatasvir (ASV/DCV) and elbasvir/grazoprevir (EBR/GZR) for HCV genotype 1b and glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (GLE/PIB) for pan-genotypes. The t -test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups; the chi-square test or the Fisher's exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. Results Among the 246 serum samples included in this study, 239 samples (97.2%) were successfully amplified by PCR and sequenced, with 102 samples from the patients with HIV/HCV co-infection and 137 from the patients with HCV infection alone. The analysis of RAVs associated with ASV/DCV and EBR/GZR showed that Y56F, Q80K/L, and S122N/R/T associated with ASV and GZR and L31M and Y93H associated with DCV and EBR were observed in patients with HIV/HCV (genotype 1b) co-infection or HCV (genotype 1b) infection alone; 2 patients with HIV/HCV co-infection had the RAVs of Y56F+Y93H associated with EBR/GZR, and 2 with HCV infection alone had the RAVs of Q80L+L31M and Y56F+Y93H, respectively, associated with EBR/GZR, with no significant difference in RAVs between the two groups (both P > 0.05). The analysis of RAVs associated with GLE/PIB for pan-genotypes showed that 3 patients with PIB-associated Y93H RAV were observed among the patients with HCV genotype 3a infection, among whom 2 had HIV/HCV co-infection and 1 had HCV infection alone ( P =0.590), and in addition, no RAVs associated with GLE/PIB were observed. Conclusion There is no significant difference in naturally occurring RAVs associated with HCV NS3/4A protease and NS5A inhibitors between the patients with HIV/HCV co-infection and those with HCV infection alone.

Objective To explore the improving effects of motion sickness acclimatization training methods,namely sinusoidal vertical oscillation stimulation and sinusoidal vertical oscillation stimulation combined with visual virtual reality(VR)swell stimulation,on cognitive performance of individuals with extremely severe motion sickness.Methods A total of 90 individuals with extremely severe motion sickness screened by the Graybiel score during 6 h navigation were randomly divided into vertical group,vertical+VR group,and control group(n=30).The abilities of vigilance,memory,rapid calculation,information processing and visual manipulation were evaluated before and after the acclimatization training using a self-developed cognitive performance evaluation software.Results On the 1st day of training,the numbers of missed targets of the vertical group and vertical+VR group were increased in the vigilance test;the reaction time was prolonged in the short-term memory,rapid calculation,information processing and visual manipulation tasks;and the efficiency of rapid calculation was reduced.After acclimatization training,the numbers of missed targets were reduced to the baseline level in the vertical and vertical+VR groups,and the reaction time in the short-term memory,rapid calculation,information processing and visual manipulation tasks and the efficiency of rapid calculation were improved.Conclusion Motion sickness caused by vertical oscillation stimulation or vertical oscillation combined with visual VR swell stimulation can decrease vigilance,short-term memory,rapid calculation,information processing and visual manipulation abilities.Motion sickness acclimatization training can significantly improve the above cognitive abilities.