BACKGROUND: Generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP), a rare and recurrent autoinflammatory disease, imposes a substantial burden on patients and society. Awareness of GPP in China remains limited. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey, conducted between September 2021 and May 2023 across 14 hospitals in China, included GPP patients of all ages and disease phases. Data collected encompassed demographics, clinical characteristics, economic impact, disease severity, quality of life, and treatment-related complications. Risk factors for GPP recurrence were analyzed. RESULTS: Among 127 patients (female/male ratio = 1.35:1), the mean age of disease onset was 25 years (1st quartile [Q1]-3rd quartile [Q3]: 11-44 years); 29.2% had experienced GPP for more than 10 years. Recurrence occurred in 75.6% of patients, and nearly half reported no identifiable triggers. Younger age at disease onset ( P  = 0.021) and transitioning to plaque psoriasis ( P  = 0.022) were associated with higher recurrence rates. The median diagnostic delay was 8 months (Q1-Q3: 2-41 months), and 32.3% of patients reported misdiagnoses. Comorbidities were present in 53.5% of patients, whereas 51.1% experienced systemic complications during treatment. Depression and anxiety affected 84.5% and 95.6% of patients, respectively. During GPP flares, the median Dermatology Life Quality Index score was 19.0 (Q1-Q3: 13.0-23.5). This score showed significant differences between patients with and without systemic symptoms; it demonstrated correlations with both depression and anxiety scores. Treatment costs caused financial hardship in 55.9% of patients, underscoring the burden associated with GPP. CONCLUSIONS The substantial disease and economic burdens among Chinese GPP patients warrant increased attention. Patients with early onset disease and those transitioning to plaque psoriasis require targeted interventions to mitigate the high recurrence risk.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Psoriasis/pathology* ; Adult ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Adolescent ; Child ; Young Adult ; Quality of Life ; Middle Aged ; China/epidemiology* ; Recurrence ; Risk Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; East Asian People

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, is a destructive pest native to America and has recently become an invasive insect pest in China. Because of its rapid spread and great risks in China, understanding of FAW genetic background and pesticide resistance is urgent and essential to develop effective management strategies. Here, we assembled a chromosome-level genome of a male FAW (SFynMstLFR) and compared re-sequencing results of the populations from America, Africa, and China. Strain identification of 163 individuals collected from America, Africa and China showed that both C and R strains were found in the American populations, while only C strain was found in the Chinese and African populations. Moreover, population genomics analysis showed that populations from Africa and China have close relationship with significantly genetic differentiation from American populations. Taken together, FAWs invaded into China were most likely originated from Africa. Comparative genomics analysis displayed that the cytochrome p450 gene family is extremely expanded to 425 members in FAW, of which 283 genes are specific to FAW. Treatments of Chinese populations with twenty-three pesticides showed the variant patterns of transcriptome profiles, and several detoxification genes such as AOX, UGT and GST specially responded to the pesticides. These findings will be useful in developing effective strategies for management of FAW in China and other invaded areas.
Animals ; China ; Genomics ; Humans ; Male ; Pesticides ; Spodoptera/genetics* ; Transcriptome

Objective:To explore the improvement and its mechanism of minocycline on sevoflurane anesthesia induced cognitive dysfunction in aged mice.Methods:Totally 75 aged clean-grade C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into control (Con) group( n=25), sevoflurane (Sev) group( n=25) and sevoflurane + minocycline (Sev+ Min) group( n=25). Anesthetic injury was induced by 3% sevoflurane (2 h/d for 3 days) in Sev group. Minocycline (50 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally first, and then 3% sevoflurane (2 h/d for 3 days) anesthesia was performed in Sev+ Min group. Saline alone was injected intraperitoneally (once a day for 3 days) in Con group.The spatial memory function was detected by Morris water maze experiments. BrdU was used to label new neuron and the proliferation was observed by immunohistochemistry. The field excitatory postsynaptic potential (fEPSP) slope was measured in hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) region of isolated brain slices by electricphysiological technique.The data were analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance and SNK-q test using SPSS 21.0 software. Results:Results from positioning navigation experiment showed that the group×time interaction effect of mice was significant( F=15.65, P<0.01). On the 6th day after anesthesia, compared with Con group, the escape latency of the original platform in Sev group was significantly increased ( q=4.35, P<0.05) in space exploration experiment, while the target quadrant time ratio ( q=6.15, P<0.05))and the mean annulus crossings ( q=6.45, P<0.05) were significantly decreased. Compared with Sev group, the escape latency in Sev+ Min group was significantly decreased ( q=3.01, P<0.05), while the target quadrant time ratio ( q=3.21, P<0.05) and the mean annulus crossings ( q=3.48, P<0.05) were significantly increased. In immunohistochemistry experiment, the number of BrdU positive cells in Sev group was significantly reduced ((227.45±43.25), q=8.67, P<0.01) compared with Con group (355.87±62.58). Compared with Sev group, the number of BrdU positive cells in Sev+ Min group was significantly increased ((338.73±47.27), q=8.68, P<0.01). In electricphysiological test, the fEPSP slope after high frequency stimulation in Sev group ((126.83±25.67)%, q=6.18, P<0.01)) was significantly lower than that in Con group((214.38±43.42)%). In Sev+ Min group, the fEPSP slope was significantly higher ((178.49±32.67)%, q=3.64, P<0.05) than that in Sev group. Conclusion:Sevoflurane anesthesia can induce the short-term cognitive dysfunction in aged mice, and its mechanism is related to inhibiting neuron proliferation and synaptic plasticity. Minocycline can alleviate the damage caused by sevoflurane.

Objective:To analyze the differential expression of silent information regulator transcript-1 (SIRT1) in tissues and cells of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), to explore the effects of SIRT1 on the proliferation and migration of NPC cells, as well as the effects on and mechanisms of lipid metabolism in NPC cells.Methods:Experimental subjects: In this study, tissue specimens were obtained from patients who visited the Department of Otolaryngology and performed nasopharyngeal tissue biopsy in the Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University from 2019 to 2020. Among them, 6 cases were male, 6 cases were female, age range: 27-72 years old, including 7 cases of NPC diagnosed by pathology and 5 cases of normal nasopharyngeal mucosa. Experimental methods and outcome measures: Western Blot and quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were used to detect the protein and mRNA levels of SIRT1. CNE2 cell line was selected for subsequent experiments. Cell viability and migratory ability were evaluated by CCK8, wound healing and Transwell assays respectively. Animal xenograft tumor model was used to explore the role of SIRT1 inhibitor Ex527 on tumor growth in nude mice. Oil red and Bodipy were used to stain intracellular lipids. For the mechanical investigation, the interactions between SIRT1 and hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) were analyzed by immunoprecipitation (IP) and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). Finally, statistical analysis was performed by SPSS 26.0 software, P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results:The levels of SIRT1 protein (1.005±0.168) and mRNA (5.829±2.395) in NPC tissues were higher than those in normal nasopharyngeal mucosa (0.181±0.042,1.995±1.605). Differences were statistically significant ( t values were 6.438 and 2.759, both P<0.05). The mRNA and protein levels of CNE1, CNE2, 5-8F and 6-10B cell lines were also higher than those in normal nasopharynx epithelial cell line NP69. Besides, overexpression of SIRT1 correlated with the proliferation and migration of NPC cells. The tumorigenesis ability of nude mice in the Ex527 group was lower than that in the control group. The low SIRT1 expression reduced the protein level of the key enzymes of liposynthesis in NPC cells, improved the expression of lipolysis enzymes, while HIF-1α overexpression promoted lipid synthesis enzymes in NPC cells. SIRT1 inhibited HIF-1α transcription by enhancing deacetylation levels. The binding ability of HIF-1α to SIRT1 promoter regions decreased when NPC cells were hypoxic. Conclusions:SIRT1 promotes the proliferation, migration and lipid metabolism of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells, which might be expected to provide new theoretical basis for prognosis judgment and gene therapy.

OBJECTIVETo compare the difference in the manual measurement of Fengshi (GB 31) between the standing position and the supine position so as to determine the location.

METHODSA total of 197 volunteers were included in the manual measurement of Fengshi (GB 31) at the standing position and 92 volunteers at the supine position. The differences were compared between the two measurements.

RESULTSThe results in the manual measurement at the standing position showed that the distance was (39.27±3.83) cm from the greater trochanter of femur to the popliteal transverse crease [(39.96±4.21) cm in males, (38.82±3.49) cm in females, < 0.05]. The distance was (19.08±2.97) cm from the tip of the middle finger to the popliteal transverse crease [(18.96±3.50) cm in males, (19.16±2.58) cm in females]. After calculating according to the formula of proportional bone measurement, Fengshi (GB 31) was located (9.28±1.44) above the popliteal transverse crease [(9.07±1.64) in males, (9.42±1.29) in females]. The results in the manual measurement at the supine position showed that the distance was (41.89±3.88) cm from the greater trochanter of femur to the popliteal transverse crease [(42.36±3.88) cm in males, (41.67±3.89) cm in females]. The distance was (23.01±3.37) cm from the tip of the middle finger to the popliteal transverse crease [(22.50±3.73) cm in males, (23.25±3.20) cm in females]. After calculated according to the formula of proportional bone measurement, Fengshi (GB 31) was located (10.51±1.69) above the popliteal transverse crease [(10.16±1.75) in males, (10.67±1.63) in females].

CONCLUSIONFengshi (GB 31) is located on the femoral region, in the depression under the tip of the middle finger at the standing position. The simple localization of the acupoint at the supine position: at the supine, the palm touches the middle of the lateral side of the thigh, about 1 directly below the depression under the tip of the middle finger. The location of Fengshi (GB 31) in female is slightly upper than male.

Acupuncture Points ; Female ; Femur ; anatomy & histology ; Humans ; Male ; Meridians ; Posture ; Reference Standards ; Thigh ; anatomy & histology

In the paper, the study was reviewed on the infrared temperature characteristics of acupoints in recent 10 years. CNKI, WANFANG, VIP, SciVerse ScienceDirect and Springer databases were retrieved, with"infrared thermal imaging" and "acupoint" as the key words. The retrieving time was from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2016. Totally, 468 relevant papers were searched and 169 papers of them were read carefully on acupoint infrared temperature. In terms of physiological condition, pathological condition and the stimulation methods such as acupuncture, moxibustion,, embedding therapy and cupping therapy, the general situation was reviewed on the infrared temperature characteristics of acupoints separately. It was found that the study on infrared temperature characteristics of acupoints in physiological condition was limited and the characteristics discovered were not enough to systematically review the physiological and physical properties of acupoints. The study in terms of the pathological condition objectively reflected the effects and rules of diseases. It was showed in the study of acupoint infrared temperature characteristics after stimulation that the changes of infrared thermal imaging tempe-rature at some specific region induced by different therapies and parameters might be used to deduce the potential mechanism and optimal parameters or schemes of intervention method and contributed to the formation and deve-lopment of quantitative diagnosis and treatment. The authors believe that the study on infrared temperature characteristics of acupoint provides the active significance in the exploration on the physiological and physical characteristics of acupoint, the effects and rules of diseases as well as the quantitative diagnosis and treatment.

TheMeridian and Acupoint Science is a basic course in the major of acupuncture-moxibustion and tuina. We applied target-guided teaching method in teaching this course to evoke student's interest in studyingMeridian and Acupoint Science through initiative guidance, and boost student's initiative and enthusiasm by exhibiting the teaching targets. During the practice, we emphasized the specification of each unit target, around which we adopted various methods; meanwhile, we also focused on prompt evaluation, based on which necessary adjustments would be made to approach the targets. Teachers should act as guider, maintainer and promoter in class, rather than transmitter, to help students to study positively rather than passively listen. Via this kind of teaching reform, students not only obtained knowledge, but also enhanced their capability and feelings.

Ever since 1980’s, outcome-based learning (OBL) has been applied to the reform in education as a systematic method in the whole world. It’s based on the expected learning outcomes and emphasized on study from the aspect of students, and its target is to let the students transform what they have learnt into practice. Therefore, it’s widely rewarded in the undergraduate medical education. As a basic theoretical course in acupuncture-moxibustion and an essential component in traditional Chinese medicine, Meridians and Acupoints is a compulsory course for overseas students in studying traditional Chinese medicine. The authors induced OBL into the study of this course and correspondingly conducted exploratory reform in the education of evaluation, by taking practice as the expected outcome and reversely designing teaching and evaluation.

ObjectiveTo explore the characteristics of and regularities in the application of points for acupuncture treatment of diabetes in clinical literature.MethodOne hundred and two pieces of clinical literature on acupuncture treatment for diabetes published from 1998 to 2013 were sorted out, sifted, entered and statistically analyzed using modern computer and data mining technology to summarize the characteristics of and regularities in the application of acupoints in the literature.ResultSanyinjiao was the most frequently used point for acupuncture treatment of diabetes (68). Two points[Pishu(BL20)and Shenshu(BL23)], three points[Pishu, Shenshu andSanyinjiao(SP6); Weiwanxiashu(Ex-B3), Pishu and Shenshu], four points[Zusanli(ST36),Pishu, Shenshu and Sanyinjiao]and five points[Zusanli, Pishu, Shenshu, Weiwanxiashu and Sanyinjiao]were the most frequently used point combinations. The most frequently used meridian was the Bladder Meridian of Foot-Taiyang (260). The selected points were distributed on the back and the lower limb. The proportion of used specific points reached 74.5%. Five Shu points and Back-Shu points were used most frequently. The proportion of using manual acupuncture was 57.6%. Treatments with the cooperation of Dietary control and exercise conditioning accounted for 64.4%.ConclusionAcupuncture treatment of diabetes is mainly based on regulating the middle Jiao, with the upper Jiao and the lower Jiao taken into account. Specific points are the main part of point combinations. Manual acupuncture is the main treatment and meanwhile, attention is paid to adjusting life style.