Fused teeth are usually formed by the partial or complete fusion of two normal tooth germs during the development process and belong to dental developmental abnormalities. Fused teeth are relatively rare clinically, and those occurring in the posterior tooth area are even rarer. This article reports a case of fused teeth between the first permanent molar and the second permanent molar in the right mandible. This fused tooth had a complex root canal anatomical structure (seven root canals). The number and location of the root canals were analyzed by cone beam computed tomography, and root canal treatment was successfully completed with the assistance of microscope.
Humans ; Molar/diagnostic imaging* ; Mandible ; Dental Pulp Cavity/abnormalities* ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography ; Root Canal Therapy/methods* ; Fused Teeth/surgery*

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of Huashi Runzao prescription （HRP） on the histopathological injury and function of submandibular gland in naive non-obese diabetic （NOD/Ltj） mouse model of Sjögren's syndrome （SS） and its regulatory effect on aquaporin 5 （AQP5） expression in submandibular gland cells. MethodThe SS model was induced in NOD/Ltj mice. The NOD/Ltj female mice aged nine weeks were selected and randomly assigned into model group，HRP group （7.15 g·kg^-1·d^-1），and hydroxychloroquine （HCQ） group （1.30 g·kg^-1·d^-1）， and female BALB/c mice in the same age were selected and assigned into the normal group， with six mice in each group. Drug intervention lasted eight weeks. The water consumption and salivary flow rate （SFR） of each group were recorded. The pathological staining results of the submandibular gland of mice in each group were observed and scored. AQP5 expression was determined by immunohistochemistry （IHC） and Western blot. ResultCompared with the normal group， the model group showed increased water consumption （P<0.05） and reduced SFR （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， the HRP group showed decreased water consumption （P<0.05） and increased SFR （P<0.05）， and the HCQ group showed increased SFR （P<0.05）. In terms of histopathological results of the submandibular gland，compared with the normal group，the model group showed increased pathological score， number of lymphocyte infiltration foci，and percentage of lymphatic infiltration area （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， the HRP group showed reduced pathological scores and number of lymphocyte infiltration foci （P<0.05）， and the HRP group and the HCQ group showed reduced percentage of lymphatic infiltration area（P<0.05）. The results of IHC and Western blot showed that compared with the normal group，the model group showed down-regulated expression level of AQP5 protein （P<0.05）， and compared with the model group and the HCQ group，the HRP group showed up-regulated expression level of AQP5 protein （P<0.05）. ConclusionHRP can improve the secretion function of submandibular gland acinous cells and glandular structure injury in SS model mice， and its mechanism may be related to the up-regulation of AQP5 protein expression level in submandibular gland cells.

ObjectiveTo observe the efficacy and safety of Huashi Runzao prescription for patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome （pSS） of combined dryness and dampness pattern. MethodA total of 105 eligible patients were randomized into the experimental group （65 cases） and control group （40 cases）， and they were respectively treated with Huashi Runzao prescription and hydroxychloroquine for 12 weeks. Visual Analogue Scale （VAS） was employed to assess the symptoms. The symptoms of dryness， fatigue， and pain， European League Against Rheumatism （EULAR） Sjögren's Syndrome Patient Reported Index （ESSPRI）， EULAR Sjögren's syndrome disease activity index （ESSDAI）， and immune inflammatory indicators before and after treatment were compared between the two groups， and adverse reactions were observed. ResultAfter treatment， the ESSPRI score was lower than that before treatment in the experimental groups （P<0.01） and was lower in the experimental group than in the control group （P<0.05）. The VAS scores of dry mouth， dry eyes， overall dryness， fatigue， and pain in the experimental group decreased compared with those before treatment （P<0.01）， and the experimental group had lower VAS scores of dry mouth and overall dryness than the control group （P<0.01）. After treatment， the ESSDAI score of both groups decreased compared with that before treatment （P<0.05， P<0.01）， but there was no significant difference between the groups. After treatment， the level of immunoglobulin M （IgM） decreased （P<0.01） and the level of complement C3 increased （P<0.01） in the experimental group， while the level of complement C3 decreased in the control group （P<0.05）. There was no significant difference in the laboratory indexes between groups. During the treatment， stomachache occurred to one case in the experimental group， which was alleviated after the treatment， and no adverse reaction was observed in the control group. According to the chi-square test， the occurrence of adverse reactions was insignificantly different between the two groups. ConclusionHuashi Runzao prescription can alleviate the symptoms of dryness， fatigue， and pain， and reduce disease activity without associated side effects in pSS patients with combined dampness and dryness pattern.

ObjectiveTo explore the characteristics of tongue manifestations and traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndromes in patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome （pSS） of different time. MethodpSS patients who visited TCM Department of Rheumatism in China-Japan Friendship Hospital from December 2018 to October 2021 were included and grouped according to the disease courses （short<5 years， medium 5-10 years， long > 10 years）. Chi-square test was used for comparison between three groups and Bonferroni method for multiple comparisons. In the pairwise comparison， P<0.017 indicated significant difference. Chi-square test was performed on the syndrome and specific tongue manifestations with inter-group differences to analyze the trend of tongue manifestations and TCM syndromes over time （interval： two years）. ResultA total of 193 pSS patients were enrolled， with 85 （44.0%） of short disease course， 69 （35.8%） of medium disease course， and 39 （20.2%） of long disease course. The common tongue manifestations were crimson tongue， fissured tongue， thin tongue， lack of fluid， and dry coating， which showed no significant difference among the three groups. Higher proportion of patients with light red tongue was observed in the group with short disease course than in group with medium disease course （χ²=6.407， P<0.017）. Higher proportions of patients with thick coating （χ²=6.784， P<0.017） and phlegm-dampness syndrome （χ²=11.545， P<0.017） and lower proportion of patients with Qi deficiency syndrome （χ²=12.706， P<0.017） were found in the group with short disease course than in the group with long disease course. Patients with medium （χ²=6.358， P<0.017） and long （χ²=8.279， P<0.017） disease course tended to have exfoliated coating compared with those with short disease course， and the proportion of patients with exfoliated coating rose and the proportion of patients with thick greasy coating decreased over time （P_trend<0.05）. In addition， the proportion of patients with phlegm-dampness syndrome decreased and that with Qi deficiency syndrome increased over time （P_trend<0.05）. ConclusionIn the early stage， patients with pSS often show both dryness and dampness， as manifested by the thick greasy coating and phlegm-dampness syndrome. In the medium and late stage， patients often have Qi-Yin deficiency， as evidenced by exfoliated coating and Qi deficiency. In the clinical practice， medicines should be prescribed based on tongue manifestations and TCM syndrome of patients.

ObjectiveTo analyze the clinical characteristics of geographic tongue in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome （pSS）. MethodPatients with pSS treated in the China-Japan Friendship Hospital from December 2018 to October 2021 were enrolled and divided into different groups according to the presence of geographic tongue or the severity. Phi correlation analysis，Chi-square test， and Mann-Whitney test were used to analyze the clinical characteristics of patients with geographic tongue. ResultA total of 182 pSS patients were included in this study，including 75 （41.2%） patients with geographic tongue and 107 （58.8%） without geographic tongue. Partial exfoliation was more common than total exfoliation， and the anterior part of the tongue was the most common exfoliation site. The number of patients with severe geographic tongue was more than those with mild-to-moderate geographic tongue. Compared with pSS patients without geographic tongue，those with geographic tongue were more common in fissured tongue （92.0%/41.1%，χ²=48.491，P<0.05），red or crimson tongue （48.0%/23.3%，χ²=12.009，P<0.05），Yin deficiency syndrome （100.0%/43.9%，χ²=62.739，P<0.05），and Qi deficiency syndrome （94.7%∶50.5%，χ²=40.046，P<0.05），less common in phlegm-dampness syndrome （33.3%/72.0%，χ²=26.709，P<0.05），and showed higher proportions in hyperglobulinemia （89.3%/65.4%，χ²=13.547，P<0.01），ANA ≥1∶160 （78.1%/57.3%，χ²=8.227，P<0.01），and positive RF （51.4%/36.5%，χ²=3.877，P<0.05）. Compared with pSS patients with mild geographic tongue，pSS patients with moderate-to-severe geographic tongue had higher proportions in hyperglobulinemia （98.1%/68.2%，χ²=14.617，P<0.01），positive anti-CENP-B （26.0%/4.8%，χ²=4.214，P<0.05），and reduced complement 3 （26.4%/4.5%，χ²=4.647，P<0.05）. The geographic tongue was positively associated with fissured tongue （φ=0.531），Yin deficiency syndrome （φ=0.587），and Qi deficiency syndrome （φ=0.469），negatively associated with phlegm-dampness syndrome （φ=-0.447），and weakly associated with tongue color （φ<0.4）. There was no statistical difference in the disease activity index between patients with or without geographic tongue and severity. ConclusionMore than 40% of pSS patients had geographic tongue accompanied by fissured tongue. Geographic tongue is positively associated with Yin deficiency syndrome and Qi deficiency syndrome，and negatively associated with phlegm-dampness syndrome， indicating that treatment should be based on tonifying Qi and nourishing Yin. Compared with pSS patients without geographic tongue， those with geographic tongue may have higher positive rate of some immune indicators，which deserves further exploration.

ObjectiveTo summarize the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome in primary Sjögren's syndrome （pSS） patients with interstitial lung disease （ILD） and to explore associated factors. MethodA survey was conducted and pSS patients who were treated in TCM department of rheumatism at China-Japan Friendship Hospital from December 2018 to April 2022 were included. Tongue manifestations and syndromes of patients were recorded. pSS patients with ILD were classified into the pSS-ILD group and those without the ILD were included in the pSS-non-ILD group. The tongue manifestations， syndromes， and laboratory indexes were compared between the two groups， and logistic regression was used to explore the factors associated with pSS-ILD. ResultA total of 200 pSS patients were included， with 186 （93.0%） females， median age of 57 years， and median disease course of 60 months， of which 44 （22%） had pSS-ILD. In terms of tongue manifestations， pSS-ILD patients generally had dark/purple/stasis tongue， fissured tongue， and tongue with little fluid， thick coating， yellow coating， and greasy coating. The proportion patients with yellow coating was higher in pSS-ILD group than in the pSS-non-ILD group （χ²=4.799，P<0.05）. In terms of syndrome， more than 40% of pSS-ILD patients had Qi deficiency， Yin deficiency， phlegm-dampness， Qi stagnation， and/or blood stasis syndrome. As for Yin deficiency， liver-kidney Yin deficiency syndrome ranked the first. For Qi deficiency， lung Qi deficiency syndrome was most commonly seen. The proportion of patients with lung Qi deficiency was higher in the pSS-ILD group than in the pSS-non-ILD group （χ²=18.667，P<0.01）. As to laboratory indexes， compared with the pSS-non-ILD group， pSS-ILD group had high proportion of anti-SSA-positive patients （P<0.05） and high levels of C-reactive protein （CRP） （P<0.01）， complement C3 （χ²=4.332，P<0.05）， and complement C4 （P<0.05）. Logistic regression analysis showed that pSS with ILD was positively associated with lung Qi deficiency ［odds ratio （OR）=6.079， 95% confidence interval （CI） 2.585-14.298， P<0.01）］ and yellow coating （OR=5.260， 95% CI 1.337-20.692， P<0.05） and negatively associated with low C4 （OR=0.199， 95% CI 0.070-0.564， P<0.01）. ConclusionAbout 22% of pSS patients had ILD， and patients with pSS-ILD generally have Qi deficiency， Yin deficiency， phlegm-dampness， Qi stagnation， and/or blood stasis syndrome. Yellow coating， lung Qi deficiency and C4 level are factors associated with pSS combined with ILD.

Objective:To determine the anatomical parameters concerning the length, width and height of the sustentaculum fragment of the calcaneus using CT imaging data and their clinical significance.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the CT imaging data of normal calcaneus in 96 patients (100 feet) which had been collected by Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai Tongji Hospital from January 2019 to September 2020. There were 45 males (48 feet) and 51 females (52 feet) with an age of (42.1±13.6) years, and 56 left feet and 44 right feet. After 3D models were reconstructed with the CT data using software Mimics 22.0, the calcaneus was viewed layer by layer at each level of the scan. After the first continuous bone trabecula on the medial side of the calcaneal central triangle was taken as the boundary, the model of the sustentaculum fragment was segmented. The length, width, and height of the sustentaculum fragment were measured. The outer contour of the sustentaculum fragment was projected onto the lateral wall of the calcaneus to draw the contour line using software Materialise 3-Matic 22.0. By overlaying projection line diagrams, a summary of projection line diagrams of 100 sustentaculum fragments was obtained. Seven screw insertion points were selected in the summary region of the projection line diagrams of the lateral wall of the calcaneus, and the distance from each point to the medial side of the calcaneus were measureed. The length, width, and height of the sustentaculum fragment, as well as the distance from the 7 insertion points to the medial side of the calcaneus, were compared between different feet and genders.Results:The length, width, and height of the sustentaculum fragment were (45.19±4.60) mm, (38.57±4.59) mm and (40.76±5.48) mm, respectively. There were no significant differences in the length, width or height of the sustentaculum fragment between different feet or in the height of the sustentaculum fragment between different genders ( P>0.05), but the length and width of the sustentaculum fragment in females were significantly smaller than those in the males ( P<0.05). The projection of the sustentaculum fragment was approximately ellipse on the summary region of the projection line diagrams on the lateral wall of the calcaneus, with the long axis approximately parallel to the midpoint tangent of the lateral edge of the calcaneal posterior articular surface, ranging from 2 to 20 mm from the posterior articular surface. The distances from the 7 insertion points to the medial surface of the calcaneus were (39.91±3.77) mm at point A, (40.89±3.55) mm at point B, (36.42±5.98) mm at point C, (39.12±5.52) mm at point D, (40.04±4.84) mm at point E, (33.00±3.96) mm at point F, and (33.04±3.82) mm at point H. There was no significant difference in the distances from the 7 insertion points to the medial surface of the calcaneus between different feet ( P>0.05), but the distances from the 7 insertion points to the medial surface of the calcaneus in the females were significantly smaller than those in the males ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Anatomical measurements of the sustentaculum fragment can provide a theoretical basis for the range of fixation of the sustentaculum screws. A summary of projection line diagrams of the sustentaculum fragment on the lateral surface of the calcaneus can serve as a reference for placement of sustentaculum screws. Measurement of the distances from 7 insertion points to the medial surface of the calcaneus can facilitate determination of the lengths of sustentaculum screws.

Objective:To retrospectively construct competency-based portfolios for medical students to analyze the factors influencing competency self-assessment, and to explore an approach to efficient portfolio construction.Methods:The participants were randomly selected among medical graduates of 2015 in Shantou University Medical College. Through records collection and an online questionnaire survey, portfolios were built for the participants based on their development data during eight years from college entrance, college education, to post-graduation medical education. The correlation between variables was determined using Kendall's tau-b correlation coefficients. The inter-group differences were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Results:A total of 126 usable questionnaires for effective developmental portfolios were collected. There were a total of 208 indicators collected, including 79 questionnaire indicators (including 36 for competency self-assessment). The reliability coefficient (Cronbach's α) of the questionnaire was 0.984. The factors related to competency self-assessment were identified. Conclusion:This study provides a basis for the implementation of portfolio assessment, which can promote students' self-assessment and competency development. Optimizing the indicator system, building an online platform, increasing participants' participation motivation, and emphasizing self-reflection and feedback will help improve the efficiency of developmental portfolio construction and its performance.

Objective:To meet the demand of medical system for talents, the training of medical students' competency has become a new direction of medical education. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of training quality in medical graduates through the competency scale.Methods:Taking "attitude", "skill" and "knowledge" as the evaluation dimensions, the competency development was divided into four levels of "state", "explain", "apply" and "transfer", and we proposed the competence concept of "A.S.K.-SEAT" and formulated an evaluation scale. Questionnaires and behavior event interviews (BEI) were conducted in medical graduates of Shantou University in 2018. Reliability and validity of the questionnaire were evaluated and current situation of different competency items were analyzed.Results:A total of 155 questionnaires were collected with good reliability and validity, and 15 graduates participated in BEI. A total of 21 A.S.K. competency items (including five basic competency items and two discriminating competency items) and SEAT textual descriptions were finally established.Conclusion:A.S.K.-SEAT scale can provide valid references for the competency evaluation of medical graduates.

To propose the architectural layout for the big general hospital in the face of public health emergencies, we analyzed the conditions, methods, problems and countermeasures for the reconstruction of the isolation ward from the existing medical building layout of a general hospital. The affected areas met the requirements of isolation ward in the reconstruction, and realized the corresponding partition and separation of people. But the cost of occupying the medical room should be concerned. General hospital should be alerted to potential risks of public health emergencies. The characteristics of different construction types, defects, and the function of the hospital should be considered in the construction, rebuilding, and expansion of the hospital, which shouldnot only meet the needs of the development of the hospital daily usage but also consider dealing with emergent public health events. We can adopt the reasonable layout, including setting up a firewall-like device between the channel and the floor, an ordinary ward at ordinary times, and an independent space for emergency by pulling down the gate. This strategy can not only avoid the problem of low utilization rate of the space occupied by the corresponding area in the ward for diseases spread by air and droplets, maximizing the efficiency of the medical site, but also avoid the problem of emergency response to the temporary reconstruction.
Emergencies ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Facility Design and Construction ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Public Health