Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of different combination therapies with aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) in the treatment of facial basal cell carcinoma in the elderly.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 131 elderly patients with facial basal cell carcinoma who visited Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital from August 2020 to October 2023. According to the depth of the lesions, the patients were divided into 3 groups to receive intensive pretreatment with curettage (41 cases), CO 2 laser therapy (35 cases), and narrow-margin excision surgery without sutures (55 cases) respectively, all followed by ALA-PDT. During the follow-up period of 17.7 ± 9.0 months, the efficacy was evaluated and adverse reactions were recorded in each group. Results:The total remission rates were 100%, 100%, and 96.4% in the curettage + ALA-PDT group, CO 2 laser + ALA-PDT group, and narrow-margin excision surgery without sutures + ALA-PDT group, respectively. The patients experienced mild pain and local erythematous swelling during ALA-PDT treatment, which were temporary and fully tolerable, and no wound infections or difficulties in healing were observed. After treatment, scar formation was observed in 3 cases of basal cell carcinoma on the nose and nasolabial folds in the narrow-margin excision surgery without sutures + ALA-PDT group, but the rest of the patients retained a good facial appearance. Conclusions:In this preliminary exploration study on PDT for basal cell carcinoma of different depths, ALA-PDT combined with curettage, CO 2 laser or narrow-margin excision surgery without sutures all exhibited definite efficacy and minimal damage, providing effective treatment options for facial basal cell carcinoma in the elderly.

Objective:To investigate the application value of dermoscopy and reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) in identifying field cancerization in actinic keratosis (AK) in the elderly.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical, dermoscopic, and RCM features of elderly (> 60 years old) patients, who were confirmedly diagnosed with AK and had complete medical records at Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital from January 2022 to December 2023.Results:A total of 132 elderly patients with AK were included. Dermoscopy showed brownish-gray pseudonetwork pigment patterns, follicular horn plugs, irregular branched vessels, and rosette signs in AK lesions. Histopathological examination in 51 patients revealed that 47 (92.16%) were confirmedly diagnosed with AK. Field cancerization was observed in 106 patients (80.3%), among whom 66 (62.26%) had irregular branched vessels, 88 (83.02%) predominantly exhibited brownish-gray pseudonetwork pigment patterns, and 83 (78.30%) showed scattered brown pigment networks/fingerprint-like patterns. Post-treatment follow-up of 63 patients showed varying degrees of changes in vascular and pigment structures by dermoscopy, with significant reductions in follicular horn plugs and superficial yellow-white scales or keratin masses. RCM examinations in 41 AK patients all showed disordered arrangements of keratinocytes presenting as atypical honeycomb patterns, with atypical cells in the AK lesions; in the field cancerization areas of 20 patients, RCM revealed keratinocytes disorderedly arranged in an irregular honeycomb pattern, with some keratinocytes exhibiting mild atypia. Thirty-four AK patients underwent dynamic RCM monitoring before and after 1, 3 and 6 months of ALA-PDT treatment, which showed gradual regularization of arrangements of keratinocytes and reduction of atypical cells, as well as reappearance of atypical keratinocytes upon recurrence.Conclusions:The incidence of field cancerization was relatively high in elderly AK patients. Dermoscopy and RCM are helpful for the early identification of AK and field cancerization, especially in patients with multiple lesions and with difficulties in multi-site biopsy.

Objective: To explore the impact mechanism of psychological health work in colleges on the psychological health status of college students, in order to provide a basis and practical guidance for optimizing the psychological health service system in colleges and formulating scientific and effective psychological capital intervention strategies. Methods: Through stratified cluster random sampling, 1 148 colleges students were selected from 7 colleges in Shanghai from October to November 2024. A survey was conducted using the Satisfaction Questionnaire for Psychological Health Work in colleges, Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ) and Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90). Spearman correlation analysis, multiple Logistic regression analysis and structural equation model pathway analysis were conducted to analyze the relationship of psychological health work in colleges and psychological capital with psychological health status of college students. Results: The scores of satisfaction with college psychological health work, PCQ, and SCL-90 were [2.78(2.55,3.02),3.08(2.85,3.32),1.56(1.42,1.78)]. Spearman correlation analysis results showed that the four dimensions scores of satisfaction with psychological health work in colleges (satisfaction with psychological health course teaching, satisfaction with practical activities, satisfaction with psychological counseling services and satisfaction with crisis intervention and management) were negatively correlated with SCL-90 score of college students ( r =-0.26, -0.31, -0.24, -0.21 ); the four dimensions scores of psychological capital (self confidence, optimism, resilience, and hope) of college students were negatively correlated with SCL-90 score ( r =-0.29, -0.34, -0.28, -0.29) (all P <0.05). The results of multiple Logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for confounding factors such as gender, grade level, parents highest education level, major type, and physical health status, compared with college students who were "very satisfied" with their psychological health work, those who were "very dissatisfied" and "dissatisfied" with their psychological health work had a higher proportion of poor psychological health status ( OR =2.15, 1.68); compared to college students with higher level of psychological capital, those with lower level of psychological capital had a higher proportion of poor psychological health status ( OR =2.73, 2.05) (all P <0.05). The results of structural equation modeling path analysis showed that the satisfaction of psychological health work in colleges indirectly reduced psychological health risks by increasing psychological capital among colleges ( β=0.12, P <0.05), with mediation effect accounting for 60% of the total effect. Conclusion The satisfaction with psychological health work in colleges is positively correlated with both psychological health status and psychological capital among college students; and psychological capital, as an intermediary bridge, further amplifies and transmits the positive impact of satisfaction with psychological health work in colleges on psychological health among college students.

Objective:To investigate the effects and mechanisms of capsaicin on full-thickness skin defects in diabetic mice.Methods:This study was an experimental study. Thirty-six male db/db mice aged 6-8 weeks were taken. Circular full-thickness skin defect wounds (6 mm in diameter) were created on their backs. According to the random number table method (grouping method same below), the mice were divided into control group, low-concentration capsaicin group, and high-concentration capsaicin group injected with normal saline, 10 μmol/L capsaicin solution, and 20 μmol/L capsaicin solution, respectively ( n=12). Immediately after modeling and on day 2, 30 μL of the corresponding solution was injected locally into the wounds. At 4, 8, and 12 days after injury, wound healing status was observed grossly and the percentage of residual wound area was calculated. At 12 days after injury, the proportions of inflammatory cell, collagen fiber, and CD31-positive expression areas in the wound of mice were observed and detected respectively using hematoxylin and eosin staining, Masson staining, and immunohistochemical staining, and the protein expression of transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) in the wound tissue of mice was detected using Western blotting. Human primary fibroblasts were prepared from normal skin tissue obtained from 5 patients (2 male and 3 female patients, aged 20-45 years) who were admitted to the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery of Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in October 2024. Cells in the logarithmic growth phase (passages 2-5) were used for subsequent experiments. Cells were divided into control group and high-concentration capsaicin group, cultured in complete media without or with 20 μmol/L capsaicin, respectively. After 24 hours of culture, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between two groups were identified using the DESeq2 R package, followed by gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. The cells were divided into control group, low-concentration capsaicin group, and high-concentration capsaicin group, which were cultured in complete media without capsaicin, and with 10 μmol/L capsaicin, and with 20 μmol/L capsaicin, respectively. After 48 hours of culture, cell apoptosis status was assessed using flow cytometer. The protein expression levels of protein kinase B (Akt), phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and phosphorylated mTOR (p-mTOR) in cells were detected by Western blotting, and the p-Akt/Akt and p-mTOR/mTOR ratios were calculated. At 12 days after injury, the protein expression levels of Akt, p-Akt, mTOR, and p-mTOR in the wounds of diabetic mice in both control group and high-concentration capsaicin group were detected by Western blotting, and the p-Akt/Akt and p-mTOR/mTOR ratios were calculated. All animal experiments used a sample size of 6, and all cellular experiments used 3. Results:At 4 days after injury, the wounds of three groups of diabetic mice began to heal gradually, and the percentages of residual wound area of mice in both low-concentration capsaicin group and high-concentration capsaicin group were significantly lower than that in control group (with t values of 2.31 and 2.87, respectively, P<0.05). At 8 days after injury, the percentages of residual wound area of mice in both low-concentration capsaicin group and high-concentration capsaicin group were significantly lower than that in control group (with t values of 2.55 and 5.38, respectively, P<0.05). At 12 days after injury, the percentages of residual wound area of mice in both low-concentration capsaicin group and high-concentration capsaicin group remained significantly lower than that in control group (with t values of 3.31 and 6.24, respectively, P<0.05), with the high-concentration capsaicin group showing a significantly greater reduction compared to that in low-concentration capsaicin group ( t=3.42, P<0.05). At 12 days after injury, the proportion of inflammatory cell area in the wound of mice in high-concentration capsaicin group was (6.2±1.8)%, significantly lower than (15.5±3.0)% in control group ( t=6.45, P<0.05). The proportion of collagen fiber area, proportion of CD31-positive expression area, and protein expression of TRPV1 in the wound of mice in high-concentration capsaicin group were significantly higher compared with those in control group (with t values of 5.48, 7.11, and 15.41, respectively, P<0.05). After 24 hours of culture, 51 DEGs with significantly differential expression were detected in high-concentration capsaicin group of cells compared with those in control group ( P<0.05), with 31 upregulated and 20 downregulated genes. GO analysis showed that the significantly upregulated and significantly downregulated DEGs mainly participated in biological processes such as extracellular matrix (ECM) polymerization, extracellular structure organization, collagen metabolic process regulation, and ECM component secretion regulation. KEGG analysis showed that the significantly upregulated and significantly downregulated DEGs mainly participated in cell apoptosis-related pathways such as the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt pathway and tumor necrosis factor signaling pathway. After 48 hours of culture, the cell apoptosis rates in both low-concentration capsaicin group and high-concentration capsaicin group were significantly lower than that in control group (with t values of 6.38 and 9.09, respectively, P<0.05). The p-mTOR/mTOR ratio in cells in low-concentration capsaicin group was significantly higher than that in control group ( t=2.74, P<0.05). The p-Akt/Akt and p-mTOR/mTOR ratios in cells in high-concentration capsaicin group were significantly higher than those in control group (with t values of 4.43 and 3.33, respectively, P<0.05). At 12 days after injury, the p-Akt/Akt and p-mTOR/mTOR ratios in wounds of diabetic mice in high-concentration capsaicin group were 0.470±0.044 and 0.549±0.106, respectively, which were significantly higher than 0.189±0.058 and 0.241±0.120 in control group (with t values of 6.67 and 3.36, respectively, P<0.05). Conclusions:Capsaicin can promote the healing of full-thickness skin defect wounds in diabetic mice by activating the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway in fibroblasts, thereby inhibiting apoptosis.

Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of different combination therapies with aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) in the treatment of facial basal cell carcinoma in the elderly.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 131 elderly patients with facial basal cell carcinoma who visited Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital from August 2020 to October 2023. According to the depth of the lesions, the patients were divided into 3 groups to receive intensive pretreatment with curettage (41 cases), CO 2 laser therapy (35 cases), and narrow-margin excision surgery without sutures (55 cases) respectively, all followed by ALA-PDT. During the follow-up period of 17.7 ± 9.0 months, the efficacy was evaluated and adverse reactions were recorded in each group. Results:The total remission rates were 100%, 100%, and 96.4% in the curettage + ALA-PDT group, CO 2 laser + ALA-PDT group, and narrow-margin excision surgery without sutures + ALA-PDT group, respectively. The patients experienced mild pain and local erythematous swelling during ALA-PDT treatment, which were temporary and fully tolerable, and no wound infections or difficulties in healing were observed. After treatment, scar formation was observed in 3 cases of basal cell carcinoma on the nose and nasolabial folds in the narrow-margin excision surgery without sutures + ALA-PDT group, but the rest of the patients retained a good facial appearance. Conclusions:In this preliminary exploration study on PDT for basal cell carcinoma of different depths, ALA-PDT combined with curettage, CO 2 laser or narrow-margin excision surgery without sutures all exhibited definite efficacy and minimal damage, providing effective treatment options for facial basal cell carcinoma in the elderly.

Objective:To investigate the application value of dermoscopy and reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) in identifying field cancerization in actinic keratosis (AK) in the elderly.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical, dermoscopic, and RCM features of elderly (> 60 years old) patients, who were confirmedly diagnosed with AK and had complete medical records at Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital from January 2022 to December 2023.Results:A total of 132 elderly patients with AK were included. Dermoscopy showed brownish-gray pseudonetwork pigment patterns, follicular horn plugs, irregular branched vessels, and rosette signs in AK lesions. Histopathological examination in 51 patients revealed that 47 (92.16%) were confirmedly diagnosed with AK. Field cancerization was observed in 106 patients (80.3%), among whom 66 (62.26%) had irregular branched vessels, 88 (83.02%) predominantly exhibited brownish-gray pseudonetwork pigment patterns, and 83 (78.30%) showed scattered brown pigment networks/fingerprint-like patterns. Post-treatment follow-up of 63 patients showed varying degrees of changes in vascular and pigment structures by dermoscopy, with significant reductions in follicular horn plugs and superficial yellow-white scales or keratin masses. RCM examinations in 41 AK patients all showed disordered arrangements of keratinocytes presenting as atypical honeycomb patterns, with atypical cells in the AK lesions; in the field cancerization areas of 20 patients, RCM revealed keratinocytes disorderedly arranged in an irregular honeycomb pattern, with some keratinocytes exhibiting mild atypia. Thirty-four AK patients underwent dynamic RCM monitoring before and after 1, 3 and 6 months of ALA-PDT treatment, which showed gradual regularization of arrangements of keratinocytes and reduction of atypical cells, as well as reappearance of atypical keratinocytes upon recurrence.Conclusions:The incidence of field cancerization was relatively high in elderly AK patients. Dermoscopy and RCM are helpful for the early identification of AK and field cancerization, especially in patients with multiple lesions and with difficulties in multi-site biopsy.

Objective:To investigate the effects and mechanisms of capsaicin on full-thickness skin defects in diabetic mice.Methods:This study was an experimental study. Thirty-six male db/db mice aged 6-8 weeks were taken. Circular full-thickness skin defect wounds (6 mm in diameter) were created on their backs. According to the random number table method (grouping method same below), the mice were divided into control group, low-concentration capsaicin group, and high-concentration capsaicin group injected with normal saline, 10 μmol/L capsaicin solution, and 20 μmol/L capsaicin solution, respectively ( n=12). Immediately after modeling and on day 2, 30 μL of the corresponding solution was injected locally into the wounds. At 4, 8, and 12 days after injury, wound healing status was observed grossly and the percentage of residual wound area was calculated. At 12 days after injury, the proportions of inflammatory cell, collagen fiber, and CD31-positive expression areas in the wound of mice were observed and detected respectively using hematoxylin and eosin staining, Masson staining, and immunohistochemical staining, and the protein expression of transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) in the wound tissue of mice was detected using Western blotting. Human primary fibroblasts were prepared from normal skin tissue obtained from 5 patients (2 male and 3 female patients, aged 20-45 years) who were admitted to the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery of Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in October 2024. Cells in the logarithmic growth phase (passages 2-5) were used for subsequent experiments. Cells were divided into control group and high-concentration capsaicin group, cultured in complete media without or with 20 μmol/L capsaicin, respectively. After 24 hours of culture, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between two groups were identified using the DESeq2 R package, followed by gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. The cells were divided into control group, low-concentration capsaicin group, and high-concentration capsaicin group, which were cultured in complete media without capsaicin, and with 10 μmol/L capsaicin, and with 20 μmol/L capsaicin, respectively. After 48 hours of culture, cell apoptosis status was assessed using flow cytometer. The protein expression levels of protein kinase B (Akt), phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and phosphorylated mTOR (p-mTOR) in cells were detected by Western blotting, and the p-Akt/Akt and p-mTOR/mTOR ratios were calculated. At 12 days after injury, the protein expression levels of Akt, p-Akt, mTOR, and p-mTOR in the wounds of diabetic mice in both control group and high-concentration capsaicin group were detected by Western blotting, and the p-Akt/Akt and p-mTOR/mTOR ratios were calculated. All animal experiments used a sample size of 6, and all cellular experiments used 3. Results:At 4 days after injury, the wounds of three groups of diabetic mice began to heal gradually, and the percentages of residual wound area of mice in both low-concentration capsaicin group and high-concentration capsaicin group were significantly lower than that in control group (with t values of 2.31 and 2.87, respectively, P<0.05). At 8 days after injury, the percentages of residual wound area of mice in both low-concentration capsaicin group and high-concentration capsaicin group were significantly lower than that in control group (with t values of 2.55 and 5.38, respectively, P<0.05). At 12 days after injury, the percentages of residual wound area of mice in both low-concentration capsaicin group and high-concentration capsaicin group remained significantly lower than that in control group (with t values of 3.31 and 6.24, respectively, P<0.05), with the high-concentration capsaicin group showing a significantly greater reduction compared to that in low-concentration capsaicin group ( t=3.42, P<0.05). At 12 days after injury, the proportion of inflammatory cell area in the wound of mice in high-concentration capsaicin group was (6.2±1.8)%, significantly lower than (15.5±3.0)% in control group ( t=6.45, P<0.05). The proportion of collagen fiber area, proportion of CD31-positive expression area, and protein expression of TRPV1 in the wound of mice in high-concentration capsaicin group were significantly higher compared with those in control group (with t values of 5.48, 7.11, and 15.41, respectively, P<0.05). After 24 hours of culture, 51 DEGs with significantly differential expression were detected in high-concentration capsaicin group of cells compared with those in control group ( P<0.05), with 31 upregulated and 20 downregulated genes. GO analysis showed that the significantly upregulated and significantly downregulated DEGs mainly participated in biological processes such as extracellular matrix (ECM) polymerization, extracellular structure organization, collagen metabolic process regulation, and ECM component secretion regulation. KEGG analysis showed that the significantly upregulated and significantly downregulated DEGs mainly participated in cell apoptosis-related pathways such as the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt pathway and tumor necrosis factor signaling pathway. After 48 hours of culture, the cell apoptosis rates in both low-concentration capsaicin group and high-concentration capsaicin group were significantly lower than that in control group (with t values of 6.38 and 9.09, respectively, P<0.05). The p-mTOR/mTOR ratio in cells in low-concentration capsaicin group was significantly higher than that in control group ( t=2.74, P<0.05). The p-Akt/Akt and p-mTOR/mTOR ratios in cells in high-concentration capsaicin group were significantly higher than those in control group (with t values of 4.43 and 3.33, respectively, P<0.05). At 12 days after injury, the p-Akt/Akt and p-mTOR/mTOR ratios in wounds of diabetic mice in high-concentration capsaicin group were 0.470±0.044 and 0.549±0.106, respectively, which were significantly higher than 0.189±0.058 and 0.241±0.120 in control group (with t values of 6.67 and 3.36, respectively, P<0.05). Conclusions:Capsaicin can promote the healing of full-thickness skin defect wounds in diabetic mice by activating the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway in fibroblasts, thereby inhibiting apoptosis.

Background and aims:Inflammatory factors play significant roles in the development and occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).However,the tumor-protective functions of growth differentiation factors(GDFs)in HCC are yet to be clarified.In this study,we aimed to evaluate the expression levels of 10 GDFs in tumor and paratumor tissues from patients with HCC and perform in vitro and in vivo ex-periments to elucidate the role of GDF7 in regulating the proliferation and metastasis of HCC.Methods:The gene expression of 10 GDFs was compared between HCC and paratumors using The Cancer Genome Atlas dataset and patient-derived tissues.A tumor microarray containing 108 HCC tissue samples was used to explore the prognostic value of GDF7 expression.Loss-of-function experiments were also performed in vitro and in vivo to investigate the role of GDF7 in HCC.Results:The mRNA and protein levels of GDF7 were significantly lower in HCC tumors than in para-tumors(P＜0.001).Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that decreased GDF7 expression in HCC was asso-ciated with worse overall survival(5-year rate:61.8％vs.27.5％,P＜0.001)and increased recurrence risk(P＜0.001).Multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that low GDF7 expression,the presence of microvascular invasion,and elevated alpha-fetoprotein(AFP)levels were independent risk factors for tumor recurrence and poor survival.Downregulation of GDF7 also increased the tumor growth in HCC cells and in an HCC xenograft model.GDF7 knockdown promoted migration and invasion via epithelial-mesenchymal transition.Meanwhile,a negative correlation between JunB proto-oncogene(JUNB)and GDF7 was observed in HCC tissues.Modulating JUNB levels altered GDF7 protein expression.Conclusions:GDF7 is a potential biomarker for predicting superior outcomes in patients with HCC.GDF7 amplification is a potential therapeutic option for HCC.

Objective:To investigate Helicobactor pylori (H. pylori) infection status and interfamilial transmission pattern in Zhengzhou area. Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2020 to march 2021, among 731 individual from 266 families randomly selected from 9 communities of Zhengzhou area. H. pylori infection status was determined by serum antibody tests, and 13C-urea breath test was performed in the previously eradicated population to clarify the current infection status. The individual and familial infection rate, infection status for couples and children and adolescent were analyzed. Results:Among 731 individuals from 266 families, 397 of them were H. pylori positive. The individual infection rate was 54.31% (397/731); among infected individuals 77.83% (307/397) were infected with type Ⅰ strain, 22.67% (90/397) were infected by type Ⅱ strain. Annual household income ( χ2=0.419, 0.410, 0.213, all P>0.05), smoking history (χ 2=0.071, P>0.05), drinking history ( χ2=0.071, P>0.05), dining place ( χ2=0.009, P>0.05), gastrointestinal symptoms ( χ2=0.047, P>0.05), family history of gastric disease ( χ2=0.069, P>0.05), and history of gastric cancer ( χ2=0.004, P>0.05) had no significant differences between H. pylori-positive and -negative groups, but the infection rate in individuals with higher education level was lower ( χ2=4.449, P<0.05). The infection rate was significantly higher in≥18 age groups compared with<18 age groups ( χ2=6.531, 23.362, 20.671, 24.244, 37.948, 14.597 and 5.170, all P<0.05). The familial H. pylori infection rate was 87.59% (233/266), and in 61 families all member were infected (26.18%, 61/233). The positive rate was 23.08% (6/26) in 50 families with children under 18 years when both parents were infected. Among 231 coupled families, both couples were infected in 78 families (33.76%), one couple was infected in 113 families (48.92%), and both couples were not infected in 40 (17.32%). With the increase of marriage time, the infection rate of both spouses increased significantly ( χ2=7.775, 12.662, 15.487, all P<0.05). Conclusions:The distribution of H. pylori infection presents a family cluster pattern, and intrafamilial infection is an important transmission rout of H. pylori. The type I strain of H. pylori is the dominate strain in this area.

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a very important pathogen, especially for children.On a global scale, GAS is an important cause of morbidity and mortality.But the burden of disease caused by GAS is still unknown in China and also has not obtained enough attention.For this purpose, the expert consensus is comprehensively described in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of GAS diseases in children, covering related aspects of pneumology, infectiology, immunology, microbiology, cardiology, nephrology, critical care medicine and preventive medicine.Accordingly, the consensus document was intended to improve management strategies of GAS disease in Chinese children.