OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy of Daoqi (directing qi flowing) acupuncture technique in Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic) for moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). METHODS: Sixty patients with moderate-to-severe OSAHS were randomly divided into a Daoqi acupuncture group (30 cases) and a conventional acupuncture group (30 cases, 1 case dropped out). In the Daoqi acupuncture group, Daoqi acupuncture technique in Huangdi Neijing was applied at Shanglianquan (Extra), Fengfu (GV16), and bilateral Lieque (LU7), Zhaohai (KI6); in the conventional acupuncture group, conventional acupuncture was applied at Shanglianquan (Extra), Fengfu (GV16), Yamen (GV15), and bilateral Lieque (LU7), Zhaohai (KI6), Zusanli (ST36), Fenglong (ST40). The treatment was adopted once every other day, 3 times a week, 4 weeks as one course and 3 courses were required totally in both groups. Before and after treatment, the polysomnography (PSG) indexes [apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), hypopnea index (HI), apnea index (AI), longest apnea duration, lowest nocturnal SaO₂ (LSaO₂)], and scores of Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), World Health Organization quality of life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) were observed, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated after treatment in the two groups. RESULTS: After treatment, the AHI, HI, AI and longest apnea duration were reduced compared with those before treatment in the two groups (P<0.01), the LSaO₂ was increased in the Daoqi acupuncture group (P<0.01); in the Daoqi acupuncture group, the AHI, HI, AI and longest apnea duration were lower than those in the conventional acupuncture group (P<0.05), and the LSaO₂ was higher than that in the conventional acupuncture group (P<0.05). After treatment, the ESS and PSQI scores were decreased compared with those before treatment (P<0.01), while the WHOQOL-BREF scores were increased compared with those before treatment (P<0.01) in the two groups; in the Daoqi acupuncture group, the ESS and PSQI scores were lower than those in the conventional acupuncture group (P<0.05, P<0.01), and the WHOQOL-BREF score was higher than that in the conventional acupuncture group (P<0.05). The total effective rate was 93.3% (28/30) in the Daoqi acupuncture group, which was higher than 82.8% (24/29) in the conventional acupuncture group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION Daoqi acupuncture technique in Huangdi Neijing can effectively treat moderate-to-severe OSAHS patients, improve the clinical symptoms and quality of life, and has the advantages i.e. simpler acupoints selection and gentler stimulation.
Humans ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive/physiopathology* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Acupuncture Points ; Treatment Outcome ; Aged ; Quality of Life

OBJECTIVE To analyze the clinical characteristics and the correlation between laboratory indicators and prognosis of severe Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia(SMPP)in children.METHODS A total of 85 children with SMPP admitted to Anhui Provincial Children's Hospital from Nov.2021 to May 2024 were selected as the study subjects.Based on clinical typing at admission,they were divided into a high-risk group(n=59)and a low-risk group(n=26).The clinical manifestations,laboratory indicators and outcomes at 28 days of treatment were compared between the two groups.RESULTS The duration of fever and cough before admission in the high-risk group was(7.17±1.09)days and(6.79±1.25)days,respectively,which was longer than that in the low-risk group(P＜0.05).There were no statistically significant differences in pulmonary auscultation(wheezing rales,moist rales)and extrapulmonary complications between the two groups.The levels of C-reactive protein(CRP),serum amyloid A(SAA),platelets(PLT),fibrinogen(FIB),D-dimer(DD)and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide(NT-proBNP)in the high-risk group were(11.62±1.45)mg/L,(226.88±36.83)mg/L,(3 18.57±39.82)×109/L,(4.28±0.74)g/L,(0.81±0.12)μg/ml and(2 295.48±413.75)pg/ml,respectively,all of which were higher than those in the low-risk group(P＜0.05).Within 28 days after treatment of children in both groups,one patient in the high-risk group died.CONCLUSIONS Compared with children with SMPP in the low-risk group,those in the high-risk group have a higher risk of prognostic mor-tality,suggesting a correlation between the children's blood CRP,SAA,PLT,FIB,DD and NT-proBNP levels and the prognosis of children with SMPP.

OBJECTIVE To analyze the clinical characteristics and the correlation between laboratory indicators and prognosis of severe Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia(SMPP)in children.METHODS A total of 85 children with SMPP admitted to Anhui Provincial Children's Hospital from Nov.2021 to May 2024 were selected as the study subjects.Based on clinical typing at admission,they were divided into a high-risk group(n=59)and a low-risk group(n=26).The clinical manifestations,laboratory indicators and outcomes at 28 days of treatment were compared between the two groups.RESULTS The duration of fever and cough before admission in the high-risk group was(7.17±1.09)days and(6.79±1.25)days,respectively,which was longer than that in the low-risk group(P＜0.05).There were no statistically significant differences in pulmonary auscultation(wheezing rales,moist rales)and extrapulmonary complications between the two groups.The levels of C-reactive protein(CRP),serum amyloid A(SAA),platelets(PLT),fibrinogen(FIB),D-dimer(DD)and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide(NT-proBNP)in the high-risk group were(11.62±1.45)mg/L,(226.88±36.83)mg/L,(3 18.57±39.82)×109/L,(4.28±0.74)g/L,(0.81±0.12)μg/ml and(2 295.48±413.75)pg/ml,respectively,all of which were higher than those in the low-risk group(P＜0.05).Within 28 days after treatment of children in both groups,one patient in the high-risk group died.CONCLUSIONS Compared with children with SMPP in the low-risk group,those in the high-risk group have a higher risk of prognostic mor-tality,suggesting a correlation between the children's blood CRP,SAA,PLT,FIB,DD and NT-proBNP levels and the prognosis of children with SMPP.

Purpose/Significance To develop a secure single-cell RNA sequencing(scRNA-seq)classification method,which can enhance data analysis precision and ensure the security of sensitive information,and to promote the application of scRNA-seq technology in various fields.Method/Process The paper proposes a solution based on trusted execution environment(TEE).The training data is encrypted and transmitted to TEE.It is decrypted in a secure and isolated environment,while training the model to obtain the trained model parameters.Automated cell type i-dentification using neural networks(ACTINN)and support vector machine(SVM)are used for cell classification in both TEE and traditional plain-text environments.The results are compared and analyzed.Result/Conclusion The results show that the F1 score of the two classification models in TEE environment reaches 0.904 and 0.879,respectively,which is comparable to the performance in traditional plaintext environment.The secure ex-ecution environment provided by TEE has extremely limited impact on the accuracy and efficiency of the models.This is of great significance for see-king both secure and efficient data processing solutions in scenarios where sensitive or private data needs to be processed.

Objective:To evaluate the long-term efficacy of percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma.Methods:2054 cases with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage 0~B at the Fifth Medical Center of the Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital from January 2006 to September 2020 were retrospectively collected. All patients were followed up for at least 2 years. The primary endpoint of overall survival and secondary endpoints (tumor-related survival, disease-free survival, and postoperative complications) of patients treated with ultrasound-guided percutaneous MWA were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier method was used for stratified survival rate analysis. Fine-and-Gray competing risk model was used to analyze overall survival.Results:A total of 5 503 HCC nodules [mean tumor diameter (2.6±1.6) cm] underwent 3 908 MWAs between January 2006 and September 2020, with a median follow-up time of 45.6 (24.0 -79.2) months.The technical effectiveness rate of 5 375 tumor nodules was 97.5%. The overall survival rates at 5, 10, and 15-years were 61.6%, 38.8%, and 27.0%, respectively. The tumor-specific survival rates were 67.1%, 47.2%, and 37.7%, respectively. The free tumor survival rates were 25.8%, 15.7%, and 9.9%, respectively. The incidence rate of severe complications was 2.8% (108/3 908). Further analysis showed that the technical effectiveness and survival rate over the passing three time periods from January 2006-2010, 2011-2015, and 2016-September 2020 were significantly increased, with P ?

Objective:To investigate the changes in symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as the situation of IBD treatment medication use.Methods:A cross-sectional survey study method was used. A questionnaire survey was conducted on a voluntary sampling basis for IBD patients of multiple centers nationwide from December 1st to 31st 2022, collecting clinical data of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 through nucleic acid/antigen testing. Patients were divided into symptomatic exacerbation group and asymptomatic exacerbation group based on whether they felt an exacerbation of IBD symptoms including abdominal discomfort, increased bloody stool or the appearance of purulent bloody stool, increased frequency of diarrhea, etc. And the differences in age, gender, body mass index (BMI) , underlying disease conditions, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status, IBD type, disease activity, COVID-19 symptoms, and treatment medication between the two groups were compared.Results:A total of 497 patients were included, 317 males and 180 females; age (35.27±11.54) years; 355 CD patients and 142 UC patients; more than 50% of patients exhibited respiratory system symptoms such as fever, muscle soreness, fatigue, cough, expectoration, nasal congestion, and some IBD patients exhibited digestive system symptoms and nervous system symptoms. The symptomatic exacerbation group consisted of 104 patients (20.93%) , and the asymptomatic exacerbation group consisted of 393 (79.07%) . There were no statistically significant differences in gender, age, BMI, underlying diseases, IBD type, and SARS-CoV-2 vaccine doses between the two groups (all P>0.05) . Compared with the asymptomatic exacerbation group, the proportion of patients in the disease active phase was higher [47.12% (49/104) vs. 24.68% (97/393) , P<0.001], and the proportion of patients using mesalazine/sulfasalazine was higher (35.58% vs. 23.41%, P = 0.012) , and the proportions of COVID-19 symptoms such as diarrhea, headache, and dizziness were all higher (all P<0.05) in the symptomatic exacerbation group. Among the 237 IBD patients using biologics, there was a statistically significant difference in the types of biologics used between the symptomatic and asymptomatic exacerbation groups (χ 2 = 9.351, P = 0.031) . Among the 240 patients using biologics, the proportion of delaying or interrupting the use of biologics was higher in symptomatic exacerbation group than that of the asymptomatic exacerbation group, and the difference was statistically significant [45.45% (20/44) vs. 23.98% (47/196) , χ 2 = 8.235, P = 0.004]. Among the 47 patients using immunosuppressants, there was no statistically significant difference in the proportion of stopping immunosuppressants between the symptomatic and asymptomatic exacerbation groups ( P = 0.263) . Conclusion:The main symptoms of IBD patients infected with COVID-19 are respiratory and systemic symptoms, and those in the active phase of the disease or those delaying or withdrawing biologics are more likely to experience an exacerbation of IBD symptoms during the infection.

Objective:To investigate the changes in symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as the situation of IBD treatment medication use.Methods:A cross-sectional survey study method was used. A questionnaire survey was conducted on a voluntary sampling basis for IBD patients of multiple centers nationwide from December 1st to 31st 2022, collecting clinical data of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 through nucleic acid/antigen testing. Patients were divided into symptomatic exacerbation group and asymptomatic exacerbation group based on whether they felt an exacerbation of IBD symptoms including abdominal discomfort, increased bloody stool or the appearance of purulent bloody stool, increased frequency of diarrhea, etc. And the differences in age, gender, body mass index (BMI) , underlying disease conditions, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status, IBD type, disease activity, COVID-19 symptoms, and treatment medication between the two groups were compared.Results:A total of 497 patients were included, 317 males and 180 females; age (35.27±11.54) years; 355 CD patients and 142 UC patients; more than 50% of patients exhibited respiratory system symptoms such as fever, muscle soreness, fatigue, cough, expectoration, nasal congestion, and some IBD patients exhibited digestive system symptoms and nervous system symptoms. The symptomatic exacerbation group consisted of 104 patients (20.93%) , and the asymptomatic exacerbation group consisted of 393 (79.07%) . There were no statistically significant differences in gender, age, BMI, underlying diseases, IBD type, and SARS-CoV-2 vaccine doses between the two groups (all P>0.05) . Compared with the asymptomatic exacerbation group, the proportion of patients in the disease active phase was higher [47.12% (49/104) vs. 24.68% (97/393) , P<0.001], and the proportion of patients using mesalazine/sulfasalazine was higher (35.58% vs. 23.41%, P = 0.012) , and the proportions of COVID-19 symptoms such as diarrhea, headache, and dizziness were all higher (all P<0.05) in the symptomatic exacerbation group. Among the 237 IBD patients using biologics, there was a statistically significant difference in the types of biologics used between the symptomatic and asymptomatic exacerbation groups (χ 2 = 9.351, P = 0.031) . Among the 240 patients using biologics, the proportion of delaying or interrupting the use of biologics was higher in symptomatic exacerbation group than that of the asymptomatic exacerbation group, and the difference was statistically significant [45.45% (20/44) vs. 23.98% (47/196) , χ 2 = 8.235, P = 0.004]. Among the 47 patients using immunosuppressants, there was no statistically significant difference in the proportion of stopping immunosuppressants between the symptomatic and asymptomatic exacerbation groups ( P = 0.263) . Conclusion:The main symptoms of IBD patients infected with COVID-19 are respiratory and systemic symptoms, and those in the active phase of the disease or those delaying or withdrawing biologics are more likely to experience an exacerbation of IBD symptoms during the infection.

Objective:To analyze the influencing factors of nursing dependency in prostate cancer patients and explore the mediating effect of psychological resilience between alexithymia and nursing dependency.Methods:From May 2019 to May 2022, 365 prostate cancer patients admitted to the Second Medical Center of the Chinese People 's Liberation Army General Hospital and the 900th Hospital of the Joint Logistics Support Force of the People 's Liberation Army were selected as the study subject using convenience sampling method. A questionnaire survey was conducted on patients using the General Information Questionnaire, Care Dependency Scale, Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to explore the influencing factors of nursing dependency, and AMOS 25.0 software was used to construct a structural equation model to analyze the mediating effect. Results:A total of 365 questionnaires were distributed, and 358 valid questionnaires were collected, with an effective rate of 98.08%. The nursing dependency score of 358 prostate cancer patients was (56.23±8.28), and 55.59% (199/358) of patients had nursing dependency. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that marital status, bedtime on schedule, electronic health literacy, disease acceptance, alexithymia, and psychological resilience were the influencing factors for nursing dependency in prostate cancer patients ( P<0.05), accounting for 61.5% of the total variance. Structural equation model analysis showed that psychological resilience played a part of the mediating effect between alexithymia and nursing dependency in prostate cancer patients, and the mediating effect was 0.43, accounting for 58.11% of the total effect. Conclusions:The incidence of nursing dependency in prostate cancer patients is high, and intervention should be strengthened for prostate cancer patients who have no spouse, do not sleep according to schedule, have low electronic health literacy, and low disease acceptance. Psychological resilience plays a partial mediating effect between alexithymia and nursing dependency. Based on the alexithymia and psychological resilience of prostate cancer patients, reasonable nursing plans can be formulated to improve their quality of life.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis of newly-treated patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL).Methods:Clinical data of 117 newly-treated PCNSL patients who were admitted to the First Hospital of Jilin University, the Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, and Cancer Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College from August 2009 to February 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients' age, sex, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) physical status (PS) score, pathological type, involvement of deep brain tissue, number of lesions, cerebrospinal fluid protein concentration, International Extranodal Lymphoma Study Group (IELSG) score, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) score, treatment strategy, and response after the first-line therapy were analyzed using univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models to identify the independent influencing factors for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of PCNSL patients. Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis.Results:In 117 newly-treated PCNSL patients, 59 cases (50.4%) presented with increased intracranial pressure or focal neurological symptoms at diagnosis; there were 65 cases (55.6%) with single lesions and 52 cases (44.4%) with multiple lesions; 1 patient (0.9%) had lymphoma of T-cell origin, and 116 cases (99.1%) had diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Among 95 evaluable patients, 41 patients (43.2%) achieved complete remission (CR), 20 patients (21.1%) achieved partial remission (PR), 16 patients (16.8%) achieved stable disease (SD), and 18 patients (18.9%) had progressive disease (PD). In 117 patients with median follow-up of 66.0 months (95% CI 57.9-74.1 months), the median PFS and OS were 17.4 months (95% CI 11.5-23.3 months) and 45.6 months (95% CI 20.1-71.1 months), respectively. The 2-, 3- and 5-year PFS rates were 41.2%, 28.6% and 19.3%, and OS rates were 63.7%, 52.4% and 46.3%, respectively. Univariate Cox regression analysis showed that baseline high-risk MSKCC score group was an adverse prognostic factor for PFS ( P = 0.037), and the first-line chemotherapy with ≥4 cycles of high-dose methotrexate (HDMTX), HDMTX in combination with rituximab, ≥4 cycles of rituximab in combination with HDMTX, and achieving CR or ≥PR after the first-line treatment reduced the risk of disease progression and prolonged the PFS time (all P <0.01); age >60 years old, ECOG-PS score of 2-4 points, elevated cerebrospinal fluid protein concentration, high-risk IELSG score, and high-risk MSKCC score were adverse prognostic factors for OS, and ≥4 cycles of HDMTX and achieving CR or ≥PR after the first-line treatment were favorable factors for OS. Multivariate Cox regression analysis verified that rituximab in combination with HDMTX (yes vs. no: HR = 0.349, 95% CI 0.133-0.912, P = 0.032) and achieving ≥PR after the first-line chemotherapy (yes vs. no: HR = 0.028, 95% CI 0.004-0.195, P < 0.001) were independent favorable factors for PFS; age >60 years old (>60 years old vs. ≤60 years old: HR = 10.878, 95% CI 1.807-65.488, P = 0.009) was independent unfavorable factor for OS, while ≥4 cycles of HDMTX treatment (≥4 cycles vs. <4 cycles: HR = 0.225, 95% CI 0.053-0.947, P = 0.042) was independent favorable factor for OS. Conclusions:The older the PCNSL patients at initial treatment, the worse the prognosis. Intensive and continuous treatment for achieving deeper remission may be the key for improving the outcome of PCNSL patients.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of varicella vaccine in varicella outbreaks and to analyze the influencing factors, and to provide a reference for making the targeted prevention and controlling measures. Methods: A total of 3 888 students with no history of varicella were selected from 2 schools with varicella outbreak in Guangdong Province in 2021, a retrospective cohort study was conducted by using questionnaire survey, rate ratio ( RR ) and vaccine effectiveness ( VE ) values were calculated and Logistic regression was uses to analyze the factors influencing the protective effect of varicella. Results: There were 138 confirmed cases of varicella among the participants. There was no significant sex difference in the vaccination rate( χ 2=1.36, P =0.51), but there was significant difference in the vaccinattion rate of different age groups( χ 2=555.82, P <0.01). The overall protective effect of VarV was 66.94%(95% CI =56.17%-77.71%), and the protective effect of 2 doses of vaccine( VE = 90.02% , 95% CI =83.13%-96.90%) was higher than that of 1 dose( VE =49.40%, 95% CI =32.36%-66.44%)( χ 2=24.93, P < 0.01 ). The high fever rates in the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups were 7.69% and 25.81%, with significant difference( χ 2= 6.29 , P <0.05). The rates of moderate and severe skin lesions of vaccinated and unvaccinated groups was 20.00% and 50.00%, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant( χ 2=11.32, P <0.01). The protective effects of varicella vaccine against high fever and moderate to severe rash were 70.19%(95% CI =42.11%-98.27%) and 60.00%(95% CI =38.15%-81.85%). Stratified analysis showed that there were significant differences in different years of vaccination( χ 2=37.87, P <0.05), while there were no significant differences in age of vaccination and vaccine manufacturer ( P >0.05). Conclusion Varicella vaccination can prevent chickenpox infection and reduce the severity of the disease. However, the efficacy of varicella vaccine was affected by vaccination years. It is recommended to improve the vaccination coverage of varicella vaccine to prevent the outbreak of the epidemic.