OBJECTIVE: To explore the effectiveness of free paraumbilical perforator flaps in repairing skin and soft tissue defects in children. METHODS: Between February 2018 and March 2024, 12 children with skin and soft tissue defects were treated with the free paraumbilical perforator flaps. There were 7 boys and 5 girls with an average age of 6.3 years (range, 2-12 years). The defects located on the upper limbs in 6 cases, lower limbs in 5 cases, and neck in 1 case. The causes of wounds included 7 cases of electrical burns, 1 case of thermal burn, 2 cases of scar release and excision due to scar contraction after burns, 1 case of scar ulcer at the amputation stump after severe burns, and 1 case of skin necrosis after a traffic accident injury. The size of defects after debridement ranged from 7.0 cm×4.0 cm to 18.0 cm×10.0 cm. According to the defect size, 11 cases were repaired with unilateral paraumbilical perforator flaps centered on the umbilicus, among which 3 cases with larger defects were designed as "L"-shaped flaps along the lateral and lower ends of the perforator; the donor sites were directly closed. One case with extensive defect after scar excision and release was repaired with bilateral expanded paraumbilical perforator flaps; the donor sites were repaired with autologous split-thickness skin grafts. The size of flaps ranged from 9.0 cm×4.0 cm to 20.0 cm×11.0 cm. Postoperatively, analgesia and sedation were provided, and the blood supply of the flaps was observed. RESULTS: All operations were successfully completed. The operation time was 4-7 hours, with an average of 5.0 hours. After postoperative analgesia and sedation, the visual analogue scale (VAS) score for pain in all children was less than or equal to 3, and there was no non-cooperation due to pain. All flaps and skin grafts survived completely, and the wounds healed by first intention. Ten children underwent 1-4 times of flap de-fatting, finger separation, and trimming. All children were followed up 6-48 months (mean, 26.6 months). No obvious swelling of the flaps occurred, and the texture was soft. At last follow-up, among the 6 children with upper limb defects, 2 had upper limb function grade Ⅳ and 4 had upper limb function grade Ⅴ according to the Carroll upper limb function assessment method. The 4 children with lower limb defects had no limitation of joint movement. The neck flexion and rotation in the 1 child with neck defect significantly improved when compared with that before operation. The 1 child with residual ulcer at the amputation stump could wear a prosthesis and move without limitation, and no new ulcer occurred. Linear scars were left at the donor sites, and no abdominal wall hernia was formed. CONCLUSION The free paraumbilical perforator flap has abundant blood supply and can be harvested in large size. It can be used to repair skin and soft tissue defects in children and has the advantages of short operation time, minimal injury, high safety, and minimal impact on the growth and development of children.
Humans ; Perforator Flap/transplantation* ; Child ; Male ; Female ; Soft Tissue Injuries/surgery* ; Child, Preschool ; Plastic Surgery Procedures/methods* ; Burns/surgery* ; Umbilicus/surgery* ; Skin Transplantation/methods* ; Skin/injuries* ; Cicatrix/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome

Apical microsurgery is accurate and minimally invasive, produces few complications, and has a success rate of more than 90%. However, due to the lack of awareness and understanding of apical microsurgery by dental general practitioners and even endodontists, many clinical problems remain to be overcome. The consensus has gathered well-known domestic experts to hold a series of special discussions and reached the consensus. This document specifies the indications, contraindications, preoperative preparations, operational procedures, complication prevention measures, and efficacy evaluation of apical microsurgery and is applicable to dentists who perform apical microsurgery after systematic training.
Microsurgery/standards* ; Humans ; Apicoectomy ; Contraindications, Procedure ; Tooth Apex/diagnostic imaging* ; Postoperative Complications/prevention & control* ; Consensus ; Treatment Outcome

Pulpotomy, which belongs to vital pulp therapy, has become a strategy for managing pulpitis in recent decades. This minimally invasive treatment reflects the recognition of preserving healthy dental pulp and optimizing long-term patient-centered outcomes. Pulpotomy is categorized into partial pulpotomy (PP), the removal of a partial segment of the coronal pulp tissue, and full pulpotomy (FP), the removal of whole coronal pulp, which is followed by applying the biomaterials onto the remaining pulp tissue and ultimately restoring the tooth. Procedural decisions for the amount of pulp tissue removal or retention depend on the diagnostic of pulp vitality, the overall treatment plan, the patient's general health status, and pulp inflammation reassessment during operation. This statement represents the consensus of an expert committee convened by the Society of Cariology and Endodontics, Chinese Stomatological Association. It addresses the current evidence to support the application of pulpotomy as a potential alternative to root canal treatment (RCT) on mature permanent teeth with pulpitis from a biological basis, the development of capping biomaterial, and the diagnostic considerations to evidence-based medicine. This expert statement intends to provide a clinical protocol of pulpotomy, which facilitates practitioners in choosing the optimal procedure and increasing their confidence in this rapidly evolving field.
Humans ; Calcium Compounds/therapeutic use* ; Consensus ; Dental Pulp ; Dentition, Permanent ; Oxides/therapeutic use* ; Pulpitis/therapy* ; Pulpotomy/standards*

Intentional tooth replantation (ITR) is an advanced treatment modality and the procedure of last resort for preserving teeth with inaccessible endodontic or resorptive lesions. ITR is defined as the deliberate extraction of a tooth; evaluation of the root surface, endodontic manipulation, and repair; and placement of the tooth back into its original socket. Case reports, case series, cohort studies, and randomized controlled trials have demonstrated the efficacy of ITR in the retention of natural teeth that are untreatable or difficult to manage with root canal treatment or endodontic microsurgery. However, variations in clinical protocols for ITR exist due to the empirical nature of the original protocols and rapid advancements in the field of oral biology and dental materials. This heterogeneity in protocols may cause confusion among dental practitioners; therefore, guidelines and considerations for ITR should be explicated. This expert consensus discusses the biological foundation of ITR, the available clinical protocols and current status of ITR in treating teeth with refractory apical periodontitis or anatomical aberration, and the main complications of this treatment, aiming to refine the clinical management of ITR in accordance with the progress of basic research and clinical studies; the findings suggest that ITR may become a more consistent evidence-based option in dental treatment.
Humans ; Tooth Replantation/methods* ; Consensus ; Periapical Periodontitis/surgery*

The protein kinase B(Akt)pathway can regulate the growth,proliferation,and metabolism of tumor cells and stem cells through the activation of multiple downstream target genes,thus affecting the development and treatment of a range of diseases.Thioesterase superfamily member 4(THEM4),a member of the thioesterase superfamily,is one of the Akt kinase-binding proteins.Some studies on the mechanism of cancers and other diseases have shown that THEM4 binds to Akt to regulate its phosphorylation.Initially,THEM4 was considered an endogenous inhibitor of Akt,which can inhibit the phosphorylation of Akt in diseases such as lung cancer,pancreatic cancer,and liver cancer,but subsequently,THEM4 was shown to promote the proliferation of tumor cells by positively regulating Akt activity in breast cancer and nasopharyngeal carcinoma,which contradicts previous findings.Considering these two distinct views,this review summarizes the important roles of THEM4 in the Akt pathway,focusing on THEM4 as an Akt-binding protein and its regulatory relationship with Akt phosphorylation in various diseases,especially cancer.This work provides a better understanding of the roles of THEM4 combined with Akt in the treatment of diseases.

Objective To analyze the diversity and composition changes of gut fungal communities between mouse model of total parental nutrition(TPN)and normal control mice.Methods After mouse model of TPN was constructed,fresh feces were collected from TPN mice(n=5)and normal control mice(n=5).Internal transcribed spacer(ITS)DNA sequencing was applied to determine intestinal fungi,and then bioinformatics analysis was conducted to identify the differences in fungal diversity,structure,and functional properties between the 2 groups of mice.Results There were significant differences in Alpha diversity(P＜0.05)and Beta diversity(P＜0.01)of intestinal fungi between the 2 groups.In the TPN model group,the relative abundances of Candida,Penicillium,Aspergillus and Talaromyces were obviously reduced(all P＜0.01).LEfSe analysis indicated that the above 4 strains were notably enriched in the normal control mice.Conclusion TPN mice exhibit characteristic changes in the composition of gut fungal flora compared to normal control mice.Dysfunction of gut fungal community may promote the occurrence of TPN related complications,and regulating the balance of gut fungal community may become a new strategy for preventing TPN related complications.

Objective:To investigate the strategies and clinical effects of free tissue flaps in repairing massive destructive burn wounds.Methods:This study was a retrospective observational study. From June 2014 to October 2023, 51 burn patients with 53 massive destructive burn wounds which met the inclusion criteria were admitted to Tongren Hospital of Wuhan University & Wuhan Third Hospital, including 47 males and 4 females, aged 21 to 77 years. After debridement, the wound area needed to be repaired by tissue flaps ranged from 20.0 cm×12.5 cm to 50.0 cm×15.0 cm. Emergency, early, or delayed transplantation of tissue flaps was performed to repair the wounds. Six head, face, and neck wounds, 5 upper limb wounds, and 1 lower limb wound were repaired with latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flaps. Eleven upper limb wounds and 6 lower limb wounds were repaired with anterolateral thigh flaps. Seven upper limb wounds, 5 lower limb wounds, and 2 face and neck wounds were repaired with paraumbilical perforator flaps. One lower limb wound was repaired with lower abdominal flap. Two face and neck wounds, 2 upper limb wounds, and 1 lower limb wound were repaired with inguinal flaps. One upper limb wound was repaired with scapular flap. One trunk wound was repaired with the "fillet flap" from the abandoned upper limb after amputation. Three head, face, and neck wounds, 3 lower limb wounds, and 1 upper limb wound were repaired with omental flaps. Four wounds were repaired by combined transplantation of the above-mentioned tissue flaps. Three wounds were repaired by fractional transplantation of the above-mentioned tissue flaps. The size of a single harvested tissue flap ranged from 15.0 cm×5.0 cm to 45.0 cm×25.0 cm. The arterial and venous anastomoses were added as the circumstances might require to improve tissue flap circulation. The wounds in the flap donor sites were sutured directly or repaired by split-thickness skin grafts from head. The general condition of patients during treatment was recorded. After surgery, the survival of tissue flaps, the healing of wounds in the recipient sites, limb salvage, the healing of wounds in the flap donor sites, and the survival of skin grafts were observed. The healing of wounds in the recipient sites was observed during follow-up. At the last follow-up, the upper limb function after successful limb salvage was evaluated by the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand Disability Scoring Scale, the weight-bearing walking ability of patients with successful lower limb salvage was evaluated by the Holden walking ability classification, and the patient's satisfaction with the efficacy was assessed by 5-grade Likert scale.Results:During treatment, one case with electrical burn of the head suffered from aggravated cerebral edema, cerebral hernia and coma recurred. After dehydration, hormone therapy, and so on, the patient recovered and incomplete hemiplegia on the right limb was left. The shock symptoms of 4 patients got worse, which were gradually controlled after anti-shock with fluid supplement and colloid injection. One patient developed hemorrhagic shock after tissue flap transplantation, which was corrected by fluid infusion and red blood cell suspension transfusion. Vascular crisis occurred in 3 tissue flaps after surgery, of which 2 survived and 1 eventually became necrotic after exploration. Partial necrosis occurred in 2 tissue flaps and slight necrosis occurred at the edge of 5 tissue flaps, which all healed after tissue flap trimming, vacuum sealing drainage (VSD), and skin grafting treatment. All the other tissue flaps survived. There were 12 recipient wounds with residual necrotic tissue after surgery, which healed after debridement, VSD, and skin grafting treatment. The remaining 41 wounds healed well. Among the 40 limb wounds of 39 patients, 5 patients had 3 upper limb and 2 lower limb amputations. The remaining 35 limbs of 34 patients were successfully salvaged. The donor site wounds healed well, and the skin grafts survived well. During the follow-up of 6 to 52 months, all the head, face, neck, and trunk wounds were well repaired. The fester recurred in 7 limb wounds 3 to 9 months after surgery and healed after debridement, drainage, and tissue flap repair. At the last follow-up, the functional scores of 22 upper limbs after successful limb salvage ranged from 0 to 100 (with an average of 50), and the Holden walking ability classification of 12 patients with 13 lower limbs after successful limb salvage was level Ⅴ in 8 cases, level Ⅳ in 2 cases, and level Ⅲ in 2 cases. The patients were very satisfied with the efficacy in 33 cases, relatively satisfied in 12 cases, and not quite satisfied in 6 cases.Conclusions:Systematic evaluation and treatment of the whole body condition, choosing the appropriate repair time, and using appropriate tissue flaps to repair massive destructive burn wounds will help ensure the safety of treatment, improve the repair effect, and reduce the injury of donor sites, thus optimizing the repair effect.

Objective:To establish an automatic potentiometric method for determination of fluoride in urine.Methods:The fluorine level in human urine was determined by an automatic potentiometric titrator. Methodological experimental analysis of the linear range, detection limit, precision, and accuracy (quality control sample testing and actual sample spiking recovery experiment) of the method were carried out. The determination results of 33 urine samples were compared with those of the national health industry standard Determination of Fluoride in Urine - Ion Selective Electrode Method (WS/T 89-2015).Results:The linear range of the standard curve of urine fluoride in the automatic potentiometric determination method was 0.1 - 10.0 mg/L. The range of linear correlation coefficient ( r) was 0.999 6 to 0.999 9. The minimum detection limit of urine fluoride was 0.01 mg/L (sampling volume was 10.0 ml). The relative standard deviation ( RSD) range for precision experiments was 0.00% to 3.45%. The quality control samples of the national urine fluoride external quality control assessment in 2022 were determined, and the results were within the range of the consensus value. The spiked recovery experiment was carried out, the recovery rate ranged from 100.0% to 104.4%, with a total average recovery rate of 102.1%. The method comparison experiment showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the test results of automatic potentiometric method and the standard method recommended by the national urine fluoride health industry ( t = - 0.90, P = 0.375). Conclusions:A method has been successfully established, achieving automation of the reagent addition and detection process of urine fluoride samples after sampling. It has the characteristics of wide linear range, low detection limit, good precision, and high accuracy, and is suitable for rapid and automatic determination fluoride level of large quantities of urine samples.

Objective:To establish a new method for antimony cerium catalytic spectrophotometric detection (referred to as the new method) of urinary iodine.Methods:By utilizing the efficient catalytic ability of iodine for the oxidation-reduction reaction of antimony and cerium, a new method was applied to conduct linear relationship fitting curve, detection limit, pecision, accuracy and other experiments within the range of 0 - 300 μg/L urine iodine mass concentration. The method was compared with the Arsenic Cerium Catalytic Spectrometric Method (WS/T 107.1-2016) recommended national industry standard.Results:In the range of 0 - 300 μg/L urine iodine mass concentration, the correlation coefficients│ r│ of the fitted curves were > 0.999 0, and the qualitative detection limit was 7.96 μg/L (with a sampling volume of 0.25 ml). Four actual urine samples with different iodine mass concentrations were selected for precision experiments, and the relative standard deviation ( RSD) of the detection precision ranged from 0.96% to 2.87%, all < 5%. The actual urine sample spiked recovery range from 99.62% to 103.88%, with an overall average recovery rate of 101.75%. Two methods were used to detect 30 urine samples, and the difference in results was not statistically significant ( t = 0.68, P = 0.501). Conclusions:The new method has high reaction sensitivity and accuracy, avoiding the use of highly toxic substance arsenic trioxide. The antimony reagent used is safe, and the environmental pollution caused by waste liquid discharge is small. The detection steps are similar to Arsenic Cerium Catalytic Spectrometric Method, the laboratory urine iodine detection personnel do not need special training to operate and use it, which is suitable for the application and promotion of urine iodine detection in grassroots iodine deficiency disorders monitoring work.

Objective:To study the diagnostic value of artificial intelligence B-ultrasound image computer-aided diagnosis system (hereinafter referred to as intelligent ultrasound system) in adult goiter.Methods:In June 2022 and March 2023, two phases of thyroid disease survey were carried out in 4 cities in Anhui Province. One village was selected in each city, and 250 adults were selected as survey subjects in each village. Adult bilateral thyroid area was scanned by both intelligent ultrasound system and conventional ultrasound scanning equipment, and the effectiveness of intelligent ultrasound system in the diagnosis of goiter was analyzed based on the results of conventional ultrasound examination. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn, and Kappa test was used to analyze the consistency between intelligent ultrasound system and conventional ultrasound examination in the diagnosis of goiter. At the same time, Spearman correlation analysis and Bland-Altman method were used to evaluate the consistency of the two methods in measuring thyroid volume.Results:After screening and removing outliers and missing values, a total of 910 adults were included, including 253 males (27.80%) and 657 females (72.20%). The age was (45.92 ± 10.20) years old, ranging from 18 to 60 years old. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the intelligent ultrasound system for diagnosing adult goiter were 80.00%, 99.67%, and 99.56%, respectively. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.996, which was consistent with the results of conventional ultrasound examination for diagnosing goiter ( κ = 0.67, P < 0.001). After controlling for variables such as gender, thyroid function, and thyroid nodules, the intelligent ultrasound system showed good consistency with conventional ultrasound examination in the diagnosis of goiter in females, adults with thyroid dysfunction, and adults without thyroid nodules ( κ = 0.66, 0.80, 0.80, P < 0.001). The consistency in the diagnosis of goiter in adults with thyroid nodules was moderate ( κ = 0.56, P < 0.001). Spearman correlation analysis showed a highly positive correlation between the measurement results of adult thyroid volume by intelligent ultrasound system and conventional ultrasound examination ( r = 0.88, P < 0.001). The Bland-Altman method results showed that only 4.62% (42/910) of points in adults were outside the 95% consistency limit, indicating good consistency between intelligent ultrasound system and conventional ultrasound examination in measuring thyroid volume (< 5%). The proportion of points outside the 95% consistency limit in males, adults with thyroid dysfunction, and adults with thyroid nodules was 6.72% (17/253), 5.83% (12/206), and 6.45% (12/186), respectively. Conclusions:The intelligent ultrasound system has certain diagnostic value for adult goiter and has good consistency with conventional ultrasound examination for thyroid volume measurement. However, the accuracy of diagnosis for males and adults with thyroid nodules still needs to be improved.