Diabetic foot (DF) is one of the most serious chronic complications of diabetes. The incidence rate among global diabetes patients is as high as 15% to 25%, and about 50% of patients will develop contralateral foot ulcers within 5 years after the first unilateral ulcer. As a non-invasive prevention and control solution, the application progress of functional insoles is mainly reflected in the following aspects:(1) Material innovation. The application of new composite materials and smart materials has significantly enhanced the pressure reduction effect and comfort. (2) Structural optimization. The development of multi-layer design and local pressure reduction structure has achieved more precise pressure distribution regulation. (3) Manufacturing process. 3D printing and parametric design have enabled the personalized customization of functional insoles. (4) Intelligent monitoring. It integrates functions such as pressure sensing and temperature monitoring, achieving real-time monitoring and early warning of foot conditions. Clinical research has confirmed that personalized functional insoles could reduce the incidence of foot ulcers and shorten the healing time of ulcers. At present, the research hotspots mainly focus on the development of smart materials, the construction of multi-functional integration and remote monitoring systems. However, in-depth research is still needed in the aspects of biomechanical mechanisms, standardized evaluation systems and long-term efficacy assessment. The development of future functional insoles should focus on the coordinated advancement of "personalization-intelligence-standardization", with the aim of providing more effective solutions for the prevention and treatment of DF.
Humans ; Diabetic Foot/therapy* ; Foot Orthoses

OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed at investigating the carrier rate of, and molecular variation in, α- and β-globin gene mutations in Hunan Province. METHODS: We recruited 25,946 individuals attending premarital screening from 42 districts and counties in all 14 cities of Hunan Province. Hematological screening was performed, and molecular parameters were assessed. RESULTS: The overall carrier rate of thalassemia was 7.1%, including 4.83% for α-thalassemia, 2.15% for β-thalassemia, and 0.12% for both α- and β-thalassemia. The highest carrier rate of thalassemia was in Yongzhou (14.57%). The most abundant genotype of α-thalassemia and β-thalassemia was -α ^3.7/αα (50.23%) and β ^IVS-II-654/β ^N (28.23%), respectively. Four α-globin mutations [CD108 (ACC>AAC), CAP +29 (G>C), Hb Agrinio and Hb Cervantes] and six β-globin mutations [CAP +8 (C>T), IVS-II-848 (C>T), -56 (G>C), beta nt-77 (G>C), codon 20/21 (-TGGA) and Hb Knossos] had not previously been identified in China. Furthermore, this study provides the first report of the carrier rates of abnormal hemoglobin variants and α-globin triplication in Hunan Province, which were 0.49% and 1.99%, respectively. CONCLUSION Our study demonstrates the high complexity and diversity of thalassemia gene mutations in the Hunan population. The results should facilitate genetic counselling and the prevention of severe thalassemia in this region.
Humans ; beta-Thalassemia/genetics* ; alpha-Thalassemia/genetics* ; Hemoglobinopathies/genetics* ; China/epidemiology* ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing

Child ; Consensus ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Respiratory System

Objective: To investigate the characteristics and comprehensive treatment of infected wounds in patients with iatrogenic Cushing's syndrome. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted. From May 2012 to December 2021, the data of 19 patients with iatrogenic Cushing's syndrome discharged from the Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University were collected, including 8 males and 11 females, aged 28-71 (56±11) years, with 12 cases of infected acute wounds and 7 cases of infected chronic wounds. The lesions were located in the limbs, perianal, and sacrococcygeal regions, with original infection ranging from 9 cm×5 cm to 85 cm×45 cm. After admission, the patients were performed with multidisciplinary assisted diagnosis and treatment, and the wounds were treated with debridement and vacuum sealing drainage, according to the size, severity of infection, suture tension, and bone and tendon tissue exposure of wounds, direct suture or autologous skin and/or artificial dermis and/or autologous tissue flap transplantation was selected for wound repair. The levels of cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) of patients at 8:00, 16:00, and 24:00 within 24 h after admission were counted. After admission, the number of operations, wound repair methods, and wound and skin/flap donor site healing of patients were recorded. During follow-up, the wounds were observed for recurrent infection. Results: The cortisol levels of 16 patients at 8:00, 16:00, and 24:00 within 24 h after admission were (130±54), (80±16), and (109±39) nmol/L, respectively, and ACTH levels were (7.2±2.8), (4.1±1.8), and (6.0±3.0) pg/mL, respectively; and the other 3 patients had no such statistical results. After admission, the number of surgical operation for patients was 3.4±0.9. The following methods were used for wound repair, including direct suturing in 4 cases and autologous skin and/or artificial dermis grafting in 9 cases, of which 2 cases underwent stage Ⅱ autologous skin grafting after artificial dermis grafting in stage Ⅰ, and 6 cases had pedicled retrograde island flap+autologous skin grafting. The wound healing was observed, showing that all directly sutured wounds healed well; the wounds in 6 cases of autologous skin and/or artificial dermis grafting healed well, and the wounds in 3 cases also healed well after the secondary skin grafting; the flaps in 4 cases survived well with the wounds in 2 cases with distal perforators flap arteries circumfluence obstacle of posterior leg healed after stage Ⅱ debridement and autologous skin grafting. The healing status of skin/flap donor sites was followed showing that the donor sites of medium-thickness skin grafts in the thigh of 4 cases were well healed after transplanted with autologous split-thickness grafts from scalp; the donor sites of medium-thickness skin grafts in 3 cases did not undergo split-thickness skin grafting, of which 2 cases had poor healing but healed well after secondary skin grafting 2 weeks after surgery; the donor sites of split-thickness skin grafts in the head of 2 patients healed well; and all donor sites of flaps healed well after autologous skin grafting. During follow-up of more than half a year, 3 gout patients were hospitalized again for surgical treatment due to gout stone rupture, 4 patients were hospitalized again for surgical treatment due to infection, and no recurrent infection was found in the rest of patients. Conclusions: The infected wounds in patients with iatrogenic Cushing's syndrome have poor ability to regenerate and are prone to repeated infection. Local wound treatment together with multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment should be performed to control infection and close wounds in a timely manner, so as to maximize the benefits of patients.
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone ; China ; Cushing Syndrome/surgery* ; Female ; Gout ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone ; Iatrogenic Disease ; Male ; Skin, Artificial ; Wound Infection

Objective: To evaluate the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID-19 ) prevention and control measures in Huzhou on influenza epidemic strength and characteristics in 2020, so as to provide reference for formulating influenza prevention measures. Methods: Using the influenza surveillance data of the national influenza sentinel surveillance system from January 2015 to July 2020, the seasonal characteristics of influenza epidemic were analyzed, the proportion of influenza-like illness cases ( ILI% ) and the positive rate of influenza virus in January to July of 2020 were compared with those of the same period in 2015-2019, in order to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 prevention and control measures. Results : The ILI% and the positive rate of influenza virus in Huzhou were 3.90% and 15.32% during 2015-2019, while were 4.41% and 12.63% from January to July of 2020. The trends of ILI% during 2015-2019 fluctuated similar, but continued to drop since January 2020. The positive rate of influenza virus peaked from December to March in 2015-2019, also peaked from December 2019 to January 2020, but decreased to 0 in March. ILI% was positively correlated with the positive rate of influenza virus ( r=0.682, P<0.05). The growth rates of ILI% from January to July 2020 were 4.75%, -11.27%, 0.68%, 19.84% and 0.92%, compared with the same period of 2015-2019, respectively. The growth rates of ILI% in January 2020 were much higher ( >57.00% ) and from April to July were much lower ( <-33.00% ) . The growth rates of influenza virus positive rate from January to July 2020 were -47.96%, -36.53%, -3.44%, -35.92% and -39.37%, compared to the same period of 2015-2019, respectively. The growth rates of influenza virus positive rate in January 2020 were much higher ( >11.00% ) and from February to March were much lower ( <-61.00% ). Conclusion Since COVID-19 prevention and control measures were implemented in January 2020 in Huzhou, the ILI% and the positive rate of influenza virus in sentinel hospitals decreased significantly.

Alveolar echinococcosis is a parasitic zoonosis that severely damages human health. Currently, radical surgical resection is the first choice for hepatic alveolar echinococcosis. For the advanced hepatic echinococcosis patients with refractory radical resection, the palliative surgery combined with chemotherapy, liver transplantation, drug therapy, and radiofrequency microwave ablation may provide comprehensive tools. This article reviews the current situation and progress of comprehensive treatments for hepatic alveolar echinococcosis.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the presence of leukemia stem cells (LSC) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and find out the relative position of leukemia cells in the figures of flow cytometry, and to analyze the relationship between minimal residual diseases (MRD) and the level of LSC, so as to explore the correlation of LSC changes with the curative effect and the prognosis during chemical therapy.

METHODSA total of 85 samples were collected from 50 AML (except M3) patients, including 50 samples from the newly diagnosed patients, 7 samples of AML patients with non-remission and 28 samples of AML patients with complete remission. All samples were used for detection of LSC from immune phenotype of CD34/CD38/CD123 by flow cytometry. The detection of immune phenotypic of leukemia cells was performed in the newly diagnosed patients. The detection of leukemia- associated immune phenotypes (LAIP) was implemented in the non-newly diagnosed patients.

RESULTSThe LSC was identified in the CD34/ CD38/ CD123 in AML and consistent with the relative position of the leukemia cell in flow cytometry figures. Statistical analysis showed significant difference in LSC content between the newly diagnosed AML group and the post-chemotherapy complete remission group(P<0.01),but did not between the newly diagnosed AML group and the post-chemotherapy non-remission group(P>0.05).There was significant positive correlation between the LSC content and MRD level in 28 AML patients with complete remission (r=0.680,P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONLSC exist in AML and the relative position are consistent with the leukemia cells in flow cytometry figures, the size characteristics and weak expression of CD45 are also similar to leukemia cells. The proportion of LSC decreases after chemotherapy. Detecting and tracking the LSC changes in bone marrow and combination with detecting minimal resident disease(MRD) may contribute to evaluate the theraputic efficacy and prognosis of leukemia patients.

Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Interleukin-3 Receptor alpha Subunit ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; Neoplasm, Residual ; Neoplastic Stem Cells ; Prognosis

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical effectiveness of polytheretherketone (PEEK) cages assisted anterior cervical discetomy and fusion (ACDF) to treat cervical spondylosis with sympathetic symptoms. METHODS: Retrospective analysis was undertaken for 39 patients who were diagnosed as cervical spondylosis with sympathetic symptoms and underwent ACDF with PEEK cages. Radiographs obtained before surgery, after surgery, and at the final follow-up were assessed for quality of fusion. The following criteria were used for assessing radiographic success of fusion: (1) endplate obliterated with no lucent lines; (2) obliteration of disc space by bony trabeculae; (3) less than 2°of intervertebral motion or 2 mm of motion between the spinous processes at the operated segment on flexion-extension lateral radiographs. The sympathetic symptoms including vertigo, headache, tinnitus, nausea and vomiting, heart throb, hypomnesia and gastroenterological discomfort were scored by 20-point system preoperatively, 2 months postoperatively and at the final follow-up. The recovery rate and clinical satisfaction rate were also evaluated. Surgical complications were also assessed. RESULTS: They were followed up for at least one year. The mean follow-up was 15.6 months. Radiographs of the cervical spine at the last follow-up revealed a solid fusion with no signs of a pseudoarthrosis in 36 cases. In two patients delayed union and bony fusion were achieved at the end of 9 and 11 months. Pseudoarthosis was found in 1 case but the patient had no symptoms. The score of sympathetic symptoms before surgery, 2 months after surgery and at the final follow-up were 8.4±1.0,2.2±0.3,and 2.4±0.3, respectively. There were 22 excellent cases, 15 good cases, 1 fair case and 1 bad case in terms of RR. Good to excellent results were attained in 95% of theses patients. The sympathetic symptoms improved in all the patients and the score was significantly improved after surgery. There was one patient who had cerebral spinal fluid leakage but he recovered one week after surgery. Two patients felt a mild swallowing discomfort, but it disappeared within one month after surgery. Subcutaneous hematoma occurred in one patient due to obstructed drainage. It was cleared two days after surgery. CONCLUSION Cervical spondylosis patients with sympathetic symptoms may be managed successfully with ACDF using PEEK cages. Successful clinical results regarding symptom improvement and general satisfaction with the surgical procedure depend not only on obtaining successful decompression and radiographic fusion but also on patient selection.
Cervical Vertebrae/surgery* ; Decompression, Surgical ; Diskectomy ; Humans ; Male ; Nausea ; Neurosurgical Procedures ; Radiography ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Fusion ; Spondylosis/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome ; Vomiting

ObjectiveWorldwide, community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common infection that occurs in older adults, who may have pulmonary comorbidities, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Although there have been clinical studies on the coexistence of CAP with COPD, there remain some controversial findings. This review presents the current status of COPD in CAP patients, including the disease burden, clinical characteristics, risk factors, microbial etiology, and antibiotic treatment.

Data SourcesA literature review included full peer-reviewed publications up to January 2018 derived from the PubMed database, using the keywords "community-acquired pneumonia" and "chronic obstructive pulmonary disease".

Study SelectionPapers in English were reviewed, with no restriction on study design.

ResultsCOPD patients who are treated with inhaled corticosteroids are at an increased risk of CAP and have a worse prognosis, but data regarding the increased mortality remains unclear. Although Streptococcus pneumoniae is still regarded as the most common bacteria isolated from patients with CAP and COPD, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is also important, and physicians should pay close attention to the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance, particularly in these two organisms.

ConclusionsCOPD is a common and important predisposing comorbidity in patients who develop CAP. COPD often aggravates the clinical symptoms of patients with CAP, complicating treatment, but generally does not appear to affect prognosis.

Community-Acquired Infections ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; mortality ; Humans ; Pneumonia ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; mortality ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; pathogenicity ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; mortality ; Risk Factors ; Streptococcus pneumoniae ; pathogenicity

To evaluate the adjuvant effect of recombinant enterovirus 71 (EV71) subunit vaccine formulated with chitosan, rabbits were orally immunized with recombinant VP1 (rVP1) or rVP1 mixed with chitosan adjuvant. Levels of virus-specific IgG and IgA antibodies in sera, mucosal wash buffer (intestine, nasal cavity, and lung), and feces were determined by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The titers of neutralizing antibodies against EV71 were determined using cytopathic effect-based neutralizing assay, and levels of cytokines (IFN-gamma and IL-4) secreted from in vitro-cultured rabbit splenic lymphocytes under antigen stimulation were also determined by ELISA. Results showed that immunization with rVP1 alone could only induce low levels of serum IgG and mucosal IgA, while rVP1 combined with chitosan adjuvant were able to induce significantly higher levels of antibodies, rVP1 can only induce neutralizing antibodies when used in combination with chitosan. Levels of IFN-gamma and IL-4 in the group immunized with rVP1 plus chitosan were significantly higher than those in the group immunized with rVP1 only or those in the control groups. Our study lays the foundation for development of oral VP1 vaccine against EV71 infection.
Adjuvants, Immunologic ; administration & dosage ; Animals ; Antibodies, Viral ; immunology ; Chitosan ; administration & dosage ; immunology ; Enterovirus A, Human ; genetics ; immunology ; Enterovirus Infections ; immunology ; prevention & control ; virology ; Female ; Humans ; Rabbits ; Vaccination ; Vaccines, Subunit ; administration & dosage ; genetics ; immunology ; Viral Proteins ; administration & dosage ; genetics ; immunology ; Viral Vaccines ; administration & dosage ; genetics ; immunology