Objective:To evaluate the viability and clinical effect of polyfoliate anterolateral thigh perforator flap (ALTPF) in reconstruction of large soft tissue defect around ankle.Methods:From June 2019 to October 2022, large soft tissue defects around ankle of 11 patients were reconstructed with ALTPF in the Department of Orthopaedics of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University. The causes of injury were traffic accident in 8 patients and heavy objects in 3 patients. All wounds were large defects (15.0 cm×14.0 cm-30.0 cm×20.0 cm) and combined with various degrees of infection. Intraoperatively, polyfoliate ALTPFs sized 16.0 cm×14.5 cm-23.0 cm×18.5 cm were used in reconstruction of the defects. Deep dead spaces were filled with antibiotic bone cement, and direct suture was performed to close the donor sites or by skin grafting repair. Postoperative follow-ups were scheduled at 1, 3 and 6 months, and 6 monthly thereafter at outpatient clinics and via telephone interviews. The appearance and colour of the flaps and healing of donor sites were recorded together with evaluation of the recovery of ankle motor function according to the ankle-hindfoot rating scale of American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS).Results:All flaps survived. No haematoma or secondary infection occurred at the recipient site after surgery. All donor sites healed primarily. One patient had venous occlusion at the distal end of the polyfoliate ALTPF. The flap survived completely at 1 week after distal venous bloodletting. Postoperative follow-ups lasted 6-24 (15.27±5.21) months. All flaps had good blood supply with satisfactory appearance, similar colour and texture to the recipient sites, and without obvious bloat nor ulceration. Only a linear scar or few skin graft scar was left at the flap donor sites in concealed locations. The mean AOFAS ankle-hindfoot score was (88.36±10.21) point. There were 6 cases of excellent, 4 cases of good, and 1 case of fair.Conclusion:A polyfoliate ALTPF is an ideal flap for reconstruction of soft tissue defects around ankle by converting the length of a flap to the width.

Objective:To explore the relationship between the hypertensive snowbirds′ length of migratory stay and their blood pressure control and blood pressure levels.Methods:This study was a cross-sectional study. A population of snowbirds with hypertension was recruited between October and November 2022, and a structured questionnaire was used to collect their self-measured blood pressure and length of stay in Hainan Province. The blood pressure control status is determined based on self-measured blood pressure. According to the self-measured blood pressure to determine whether the blood pressure was well controlled. The associations between snowbirds′ length of stay and their blood pressure control as well as their self-measured blood pressure were analyzed using restricted cubic splines.Results:A total of 362 research subjects were included, 169(46.7%) of whom were male, and their age was (69.7±7.0) years old. The participants′ self-measured systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were (129.1±16.2) mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) and (78.9±10.1) mmHg, respectively. Overall, 174 (48.1%) participants attained adequate blood pressure control. The median length of stay in Wuzhishan City was 7(6, 7) months. There was an inverted U-shaped association between snowbirds′ length of stay and blood pressure control (overall: P=0.023; nonlinearity: P=0.014), where participants with a length of stay of 7 months had the highest rate of blood pressure control. There is a U-shaped curve relationship between length of stay and systolic blood pressure (overall: P=0.001; nonlinearity: P=0.033), and a linear negative correlation with diastolic blood pressure ( β=-1.19, P=0.003). Conclusions:Compared with hypertensive snowbirds with too long or too short lengths of stay, snowbirds who stayed in Wuzhishan City for seven months have better blood pressure control, and systolic blood pressure is also lower.

Objective To investigate the expression of FBXW12 in pancreatic cancer and elucidate its impact on cancer cell migration and invasion.Methods The present study utilized the GEPIA 2 database to analyze the differential expression of FBXW12 between pancreatic cancer tissues and normal tissues.Clinical data from 31 pancreatic cancer patients who underwent radical resection at Linyi People's Hospital from June 2016 to December 2022 were collected.Immunohistochemical staining was conducted to assess FBXW12 expression in both cancerous and adjacent normal tissues obtained during surgery,with subsequent follow-up for survival prognosis.Western blot and polymerase chain reaction(PCR)techniques were employed to determine FBXW12 protein expression levels in pancreatic cancer cell lines.The impact of FBXW12 on cancer cell invasion and migration was evaluated using Transwell cell invasion and scratch test.Results The results from the analysis of the GEPIA 2 database revealed a significant downregulation of FBXW12 mRNA expression in pancreatic cancer tissues compared to normal pancreatic tissues(P＜0.05).Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated a positive expression rate of FBXW12 protein in pancreatic cancer tissues at 75.19％(23/31),whereas adjacent normal tissues exhibited a higher positive expression rate at 93.55％(29/31),indicating a statistically significant difference in FBXW12 expression between pancreatic cancer and adjacent normal tissues(P＜0.05).Additionally,the expression level of FBXW12 in pancreatic cancer tissues was found to be closely associated with lymph node metastasis(P＜0.05),patients with low expression of FBXW12 have a worse prognosis(P＜0.05).Furthermore,transfection with FBXW12 overexpression plasmid resulted in a significant decrease in the invasion and migration abilities of pancreatic cancer cells.Conclusion FBXW12 is low expressed in pancreatic cancer and is associated with the occurrence and development of pancreatic cancer.

Objective:To investigate the role and underlying mechanisms of inhibiting high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) in the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in spinal cord astrocytes (AS) in rats after spinal cord injury (SCI).Methods:After an SCI model was established in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats using a modified Allen's Weight-Dropping method and ethyl pyruvate (EP) or glycyrrhizin (GL) was used to inhibit the effect of HMGB1, the rats were divided into a sham group, an SCI group, an SCI+EP (50 mg/kg) group, and an SCI+GL (100 mg/kg) group. The expression levels of glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) and MMP-9 in spinal cord AS were observed. After the spinal cord AS in SD rats was cultured and incubated by the oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) procedure, the expression of MMP-9 protein was detected at 6 h/R 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, and 48 h after OGD. The time point with the highest expression was chosen in the subsequent experiments as an OGD/R group. HMGB1 was inhibited by HMGB1 shRNA or EP to observe the effect of HMGB1 on the expression of MMP-9 protein in AS treated with OGD/R. Then, toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) inhibitor, TIR-domain-containing adaptor inducing interferon- β (TRIF) inhibitor, and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF- κB) inhibitor were used to investigate the effects of TLR4/TRIF/NF- κB signaling pathway during the regulation of HMGB1 on MMP-9 in vitro. Results:Western blot showed that the expression of MMP-9 protein in the spinal cord was significantly increased in rats at 1 d after SCI, and the expression of MMP-9 protein in the SCI+EP group and the SCI+GL group was significantly lower than that in the SCI group ( P<0.001). Immunofluorescence showed that GFAP and MMP-9 proteins were co-localized in the spinal cord after SCI, and the expression of GFAP and MMP-9 proteins in the SCI+EP and SCI+GL groups was significantly lower than that in the SCI group ( P<0.05). Since the expression of MMP-9 protein in the spinal cord AS cultured in vitro was significantly higher in the OGD 6h/R 12h group than that in the normal group and the OGD 6h/R 6h, 24, and 48 h groups, the OGD 6h/R 12h was taken as the OGD/R group. The MMP-9 protein expression in AS in the OGD/R+HMGB1 shRNA group and the OGD/R+EP group was significantly lower than that in the OGD/R group ( P<0.001). In the cultured AS, moreover, inhibiting TLR4, TRIF, and NF- κB reduced MMP-9 protein expression after OGD 6 h/R 12 h when compared with that in the OGD/R group ( P<0.001). Conclusions:HMGB1 inhibition may result in a reduction in MMP-9 expression both in the spinal cord AS in SCI rats and in AS after OGD/R treatment in vitro. HMGB1 may regulate MMP-9 protein expression in AS after OGD/R treatment via the TLR4/TRIF/NF- κB signal pathway.

Objective:To evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) model of" neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy plus consolidation neoadjuvant chemotherapy (CNCT) followed by surgery" for locally advanced gastric cancer.Methods:From 2018 to 2020, 28 patients clinically diagnosed with locally advanced gastric adenocarcinoma or Siewert Ⅱ/Ⅲ adenocarcinoma gastroesophageal junction cancer were prospectively enrolled. The neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) was delivered with a total dose of 45 Gy, 1.8 Gy/f. Concurrent chemotherapy was S-1 at a dose of 40-60 mg twice daily. Then, patients received four to six cycles of CNCT of SOX regimen at three weeks after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. D 2 lymphadenectomy was performed at 4-6 weeks after CNCT. Results:A total of 28 patients completed the whole therapy. Grade 3 or above adverse events occurred in 3 cases (11%) during CCRT, including thrombocytopenia, leukopenia and anorexia; 2 cases (7%) developed leukopenia and 3 cases (11%) of thrombocytopenia during CNCT. Twenty patients (71%) completed the surgery. The proportion of patients with pathological complete remission (pCR) was 50%. Three patients experienced surgical complications including anastomotic leak, anastomotic stenosis and intra-abdominal sepsis. All were recovered after symptomatic treatment.Conclusion:Interim analysis results demonstrate that TNT can yield significant down-staging for patients with locally advanced gastric cancer, which causes tolerable adverse events and postoperative complications.

Objective:To compare the pathological results and complications of limited and extended pelvic lymph node dissection among high-risk prostate cancer patients, and to explore the risk factors that affect the rate of lymph node metastasis in high-risk prostate cancer patients.Methods:The data of 800 high-risk prostate cancer patients who underwent radical prostatectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection from January 2016 to December 2020 in three affiliated hospital of Sun Yat-sen University were analyzed retrospectively. According to the scope of pelvic lymph node dissection, they were divided into limited pelvic lymph node dissection (LPLND) group and extended pelvic lymph node dissection (EPLND) group. There were 172 patients underwent LPLND, and 628 patients underwent EPLND.The age of the patients in the LPLND group was 67 (62, 72) years old, diagnosed PSA 20.7 (10.9, 54.8) ng/ml. The biopsy Gleason score 6 in 22 cases, 7 in 59 cases, 8 in 56 cases and 9-10 in 35 cases.The clinical T stage: T 1 in 29 cases, T 2 in 102 cases, T 3 in 37 cases, T 4 in 4 cases; N 0 in 160 cases and N 1 in 12 cases. 50 patients received neoadjuvant hormonal therapy. The age of patients in the EPLND group was 67 (63, 72) years old, diagnosed PSA was 23.9 (14.0, 46.8) ng/ml. Biopsy Gleason Score 6 in 51 cases, 7 in 194 cases, 8 in 218 cases and 9-10 in 165 cases. Clinical T stage: T 1 in 114 cases, T 2 in 341 cases, T 3 in 144 cases, T 4 in 29 cases; N 0 in 526 cases and N 1 in 102 cases.158 patients received neoadjuvant hormonal therapy. There were no significant differences in the age, PSA, puncture Gleason score, clinical T stage, and whether or not to receive neoadjuvant hormonal therapy between the two groups of patients ( P>0.05). The difference in clinical N staging was statistically significant ( P=0.002). The number of postoperative lymph nodes, positive pelvic lymph nodes and postoperative complications and other related clinical and pathological data of the two groups were analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors of patients with positive lymph nodes. Results:The median number of lymph nodes harvested [13(8, 19)vs. 6(4, 13), P<0.001] and the rate of positive lymph node cases[31.2%(196/628) vs. 10.5%(18/172), P<0.001] in the EPLND group was significantly higher than those in the LPLND group. Preoperative PSA, clinical N staging, Gleason score, and way of lymph node dissection were independent risk factors for postoperative positive pelvic lymph node in high-risk prostate cancer patients. Compared with the LPLND group, the ELPND group had a higher postoperative complication rate [19.9%(125/628) vs. 11.0%(11/172), P=0.007]. Conclusions:Compared with the LPLND, EPLND in high-risk prostate cancer patients can harvest more lymph nodes and increase the detection rate of positive lymph nodes. The complications of EPLND were higher than those of LPLND. Preoperative PSA, clinical N stage, Gleason score, and the way of lymph node dissection are independent risk factors for positive pelvic lymph node dissection.

Objective:To explore the correlations between 11C-2β-carbomethoxy-3β-(4-fluorophenyl)tropane (CFT) microPET/CT imaging and the degree of damage to dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra of midbrain and the severity of Parkinson′s disease (PD). Methods:Sixty male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided into PD model group ( n=48) and control group ( n=12) by random number table method. The PD model was established by injecting 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) into the right striatum. The rotational behavior test and 11C-CFT microPET/CT imaging were performed at 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks after the establishment of PD model. The radioactivity uptake values of bilateral striatum were analyzed and the radioactivity uptake ratio of injured side to healthy side was calculated. The number of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunoreactive positive neurons in the pars compacta of substantia nigra was counted by immunofluorescence staining, and the ratio of total number of TH positive neurons in injured side to healthy side was calculated. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance, the least significant difference t test and Pearson correlation analysis. Results:At 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks after the establishment of PD model, the rotation speed of PD model to the healthy side was (4.55±1.37), (8.64±1.64), (9.96±1.83) and (11.67±2.77) r/min, respectively, while there was no rotation behavior in the control group. Meanwhile, the ratios of 11C-CFT uptake and the number of TH positive neurons in the PD model group were 0.658±0.038, 0.580±0.094, 0.513±0.042, 0.394±0.065 and 0.698±0.066, 0.604±0.062, 0.546±0.064, 0.315±0.082, respectively, which were significantly lower than those in the control group (0.997±0.048 and 0.996±0.054; F values: 167.50, 169.20, both P<0.05). Correlation analysis showed that 11C-CFT uptake ratio was correlated with rotation behavior (rotation speed) and TH positive neuron ratio ( r values: -0.877, 0.897, both P<0.001). Conclusion:In the PD animal model, the ratios of 11C-CFT uptake has a good correlation with the degree of damage to dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra of the midbrain (TH positive neuron ratio) and the severity of PD.

Chinese herbal medicines( CHMs) are a class of preparations made from natural plants that pose health beneficial properties as well as illness prevention functions. Thanks to a panel of salutary features,such as comprehensive immunological enhancement and inhibition of pathogenic bacteria,negligible side-effects,inappreciable drug-resistance,CHMs have been taken as one of the costeffective candidates for antibiotics substitutions. Through probiotics fermentation,the enzymatic hydrolysis of matrixes of CHMs enables easier release of the active ingredient as well as endows less toxicity of the preparations derived. During fermentation,the macromolecule or polymers forms of the active ingredient can be cut down to smaller molecule,which favors the transmembrane transport and improve adsorption of the active ingredients by the tissues. Other than the enzymatic benefits,probiotics can produce metabolites that inhibit pathogenic bacteria propagation,which may function synergically with the inhibitory effects of the CHMs preparations to fight the target pathogens. In addition,the oligosaccharide like components of CHMs can promote the growth of probiotics in intestinal environment which may largely facilitate the gut health. To summarize,the fermentation of CHMs using probiotics brings about the biochemical reactions and elevates the health beneficial effects by synergy of the microbial and herbal activities. It has been proved to be one of promising approaches as to antibiotic substitutions,particularly in livestock and poultry breeding industries. This review covered the recent progress of CHMs fermentation on the aspects of microbial strains,patterns of fermentation and active substances from fermentation of CHMs and their potency,respectively.
Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Fermentation ; Humans ; Research

Modern medical imaging techniques,such as computed tomorgraphy (CT),magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and position emission tomorgraphy/computed tomorgraphy (PET-CT) can accurately delineate the gross target volume (GTV) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Comparison of postoperative pathological subclinical lesions,imaging and clinical parameters contributes to the precise delineation of clinical target volume (CTV).Moreover,radiotherapy-assisted techniques,such as fourdimensional computed tomography (4DCT),compression of abdomen,active breathing control and respiratory gating,can minimize the internal target volume (ITV).In addition,immobilization with vacuum cushion and body membrane can reduce the set-up error,minimize the planning target volume (PTV) and avoid or decrease the irradiation error or missing irradiation.All these approach can minimize the target volume,elevate the dose and reduce the complications during radiotherapy for HCC.In this article,the research progress on the target delineation for external beam radiotherapy in HCC patients was reviewed.

Surgical resection or liver transplantation are the primary curative treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).However, a minority of patients are eligible for these treatment strategies upon initial diagnosis.With the development of radiotherapy technol-ogy,radiotherapy is being used increasingly in the treatment of HCC.A large number of studies have shown that external beam radio-therapy has obvious advantages for different stages of HCC.Stereotactic radiotherapy provides an alternative to radiofrequency abla-tion in the treatment of early unresectable HCC,and radiotherapy combined with other local or systemic treatments,including trans-catheter arterial chemoembolization and sorafenib,has been applied for the treatment of locally advanced and distant metastatic le-sions.The particle beam has the advantages of Bragg peak and better dose distribution compared to conventional radiography,show-ing promising prospect in clinical application.This review focuses on the developments in the field of external beam radiotherapy in the treatment of HCC.