BACKGROUND: Research has indicated that the disease burden of alopecia areata (AA) in China exceeds the global average. Therefore, accurate and updated epidemiological information is crucial for policymakers. In this study, we aimed to comprehensively assess the disease burden of AA in China. METHODS: The following four key indicators were utilized: the prevalence of cases; disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs); the age-standardized prevalence rate (ASPR); and the age-standardized DALY rate (ASDR) of AA according to the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study 2021. We analyzed the epidemiological burden of AA in China during 2021, examined changes between 1990 and 2021, and performed a Bayesian age-period-cohort analysis to predict trends over the course of the next decade (2022-2030). Additionally, a Gaussian process regression model was applied to estimate the relationship between the gross domestic product (GDP) and the ASPR and ASDR of AA at the provincial level between 1992 and 2021. RESULTS: In 2021, the estimated number of patients with AA in China was approximately 3.49 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 3.37-3.62 million); of these patients, 1.20 million (95% UI, 1.16-1.25 million) were male and 2.29 million (95% UI, 2.20-2.37 million) were female. This large number of patients with AA resulted in a total of 114,431.25 DALYs (95% UI, 74,780.27-160,318.96 DALYs). Additionally, the ASPR and ASDR were 224.61 per 100,000 population (95% UI, 216.73-232.65 per 100,000 population) and 7.41 per 100,000 population (95% UI, 4.85-10.44 per 100,000 population), respectively; both of these rates were higher than the global averages. The most affected demographic groups were young and female individuals 25-39 years of age. Slight regional disparities were observed, with the northern and central regions of China bearing comparatively higher burdens. Between 1990 and 2021, the health loss and disease burden caused by AA in China remained relatively stable. The ASPR and ASDR of AA increased with the GDP when the annual GDP was less than 2 trillion Chinese yuan; however, a downward trend was observed as the GDP surpassed 2 trillion Chinese yuan. A slight upward trend in the disease burden of AA in China is predicted to occur over the next decade. CONCLUSIONS AA continues to be a public health concern in China that shows no signs of declining. Targeted efforts for young individuals and females are necessary because they experience a disproportionately high burden of AA.
Humans ; China/epidemiology* ; Alopecia Areata/epidemiology* ; Global Burden of Disease ; Female ; Male ; Adult ; Disability-Adjusted Life Years ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Bayes Theorem ; Child ; Quality-Adjusted Life Years ; Child, Preschool

Objective The plasma von Willebrand factor(vWF)level in patients with primary microvascular angina(PMVA)were measured to evaluate the vascular endothelial function of the patients.The change of vWF level in patients after the treatment with Shexiangbaoxin Pill were observeg.Methods Totally 69 patients who were definitely diagnosed as PMVA,They were randomly divided into conventional treatment group(33cases)and ShexiangBaoxin Pill group(36cases).The plasma vWF levels of the two groups were measured before and after treatment.Results The level of vWF before treatment in conventional treatment group was(50.93±32.98)μg/L.The level of vWF before treatment in ShexiangBaoxin Pill group was(27.45±25.02)μg/L.The level of vWF in conventional treatment group after treatment was(49.65±35.12)μg/L.The level of vWF after treatment in ShexiangBaoxin Pill group was(17.37±15.68)μg/L.The difference of vWF decrease in Baoxin Pill group after treatment(10.08±16.47)μg/L,was lower than that in conventional treatment group(1.28±12.37)μg/L,the difference is significant(P<0.05).Conclusion Shexiang Baoxin Pill has the function of protecting vascular endothelium,and PMVA patients can benefit from treatment.

Objective:To analyze levels of oral Streptococcus sanguinis( Ss)in middle-aged and elderly patients with primary microvascular angina(PMVA)and changes in vascular endothelial function. Methods:In this case-control study, 21 middle-aged and elderly patients diagnosed with PMVA at the Department of Cardiology, Hangzhou Red Cross Hospital between January 2019 and July 2022(the PMVA group)were recruited, with ages ranging from 45 to 80(63.4±12.3)years, while 23 healthy individuals receiving health checkups during the same period served as the control group, with ages ranging from 48-76(62.5±6.5)years.The 21 middle-aged and elderly PMVA patients underwent tests for the measurement of subgingival plaque Ss levels of the oral cavity and levels of plasma vascular von Willebrand factor(VWF)and homocysteine(Hcy). Pearson linear regression analysis was conducted.Results:Ss was not found in subgingival plaque of the oral cavity in the control group, but low levels of Ss were detected in patients from the PMVA group(percentage: 1.754×10 -4; 6.218×10 -5, 4.450×10 -4). The VWF level in the PMVA group was higher than in the control group[(20.22 ± 4.44)μg/L vs.(12.00 ± 6.60)μg/L, t=4.890, P<0.01]. There was no statistical difference in the Hcy level between the PMVA group and the control group[(15.28±6.40)μmol/L vs.(12.86±2.63)μmol/L, t=1.615, P>0.05]. There was no significant correlation between Ss levels and VWF levels in the PMVA group( r=0.038, P>0.05). Conclusions:Ss can be detected in subgingival plaque of the oral cavity in PMVA patients, but not in healthy middle-aged and elderly people.The VWF level in PMVA patients is significantly higher than in healthy people, indicating that vascular endothelial function is impaired in middle-aged and elderly PMVA patients.However, there is no correlation between subgingival plaque Ss levels of the oral cavity and VWF levels in PMVA patients.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), as the most common type (>90%) of head and neck cancer, includes various epithelial malignancies that arise in the nasal cavity, oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx. In 2020, approximately 878 ‍ 000 new cases and 444 000 deaths linked to HNSCC occurred worldwide (Sung et al., 2021). Due to the associated frequent recurrence and metastasis, HNSCC patients have poor prognosis with a five-year survival rate of 40%-50% (Jou and Hess, 2017). Therefore, novel prognostic biomarkers need to be developed to identify high-risk HNSCC patients and improve their disease outcomes.
Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics* ; Head and Neck Neoplasms/genetics* ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; RNA ; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck ; Survival Analysis ; Survival Rate

Objective:To investigate plasma levels of fibrinopeptide A(FPA)and platelet alpha-granule membrane glycoprotein 140(GMP-140), and to analyze the changes of coagulation activity in elderly patients with primary microvascular angina(PMVA).Methods:In this prospective case-control study, a total of 45 elderly patients(aged 60-80 years, 27 males and 18 females)admitted to our hospital from Jan.2019 to Dec.2020 were diagnosed as PMVA(as microvascular angina group)by clinical symptoms, electrocardiogram, dynamic electrocardiogram and coronary angiography.Forty-three age-and sex-matched elderly subjects who took a medical check-up and had no primary microvascular angina were included as the control group.Plasma levels of FPA, GMP-140 and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were determined.The levels of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, platelet, fasting blood glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein, uric acid, renal function and liver function were detected.Results:The FPA level was higher in the PMVA group than in the control group[(430.32±364.05)μg/L vs.(263.73± 118.29)μg/L, t=2.913, P<0.01]. There was no difference in GMP-140 level between the PMVA group and the control group[(5.78±3.92)μg/L vs.(6.95±1.91)μg/L, t=-1.790, P>0.05]. The high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was higher in the PMVA group than in the control group[(3.33±5.70)mg/L vs.(0.81±0.86)mg/L, t=2.927, P<0.01]. Conclusions:Compared with the control group, the FPA level is significantly increased with elevated coagulation activity in patients with primary microvascular angina.The increased inflammatory state in the PMVA group might promote the occurrence and development of microvascular angina, but whether the inflammatory state promotes the enhancement of coagulation activity needs further study to confirm.

How to realize the control of limb movement and apply it to intelligent robot systems at the level of cerebellar cortical neurons is a hot topic in the fields of artificial intelligence and rehabilitation medicine. At present, the cerebellar model usually used is only for the purpose of controlling the effect, borrowing from the functional mode of the cerebellum, but it ignores the structural characteristics of the cerebellum. In fact, in addition to being used for controlling purposes, the cerebellar model should also have the interpretability of the control process and be able to analyze the consequences of cerebellar lesions. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a bionic cerebellar model which could better express the characteristics of the cerebellum. In this paper, the process that the cerebellum processes external input information and then generates control instructions at the neuron level was explored. By functionally segmenting the cerebellum into homogeneous structures, a novel bionic cerebellar motion control model incorporating all major cell types and connections was established. Simulation experiments and force feedback device control experiments show that the bionic cerebellar motion control model can achieve better control effect than the currently widely used cerebellar model articulation controller, which verifies the effectiveness of the bionic cerebellar motion control model. It has laid the foundation for real brain-like artificial intelligence control.
Arm ; Artificial Intelligence ; Bionics ; Cerebellum ; Humans ; Motion

Objective To evaluate the value of color Doppler ultrasonography in diagnosing cystic adventitial disease of the popliteal artery . Methods The ultrasonographic images of 12 patients with cystic adventitial disease of the popliteal artery confirmed by surgery and pathology were retrospectivly analyzed . The ultrasonographic features were summarized . Results The ultrasonographic images showed the location ,number ,size and the compression of popliteal artery . Cystic adventitial disease of the popliteal artery showed cystic masses within popliteal artery wall . The tunica media and tunica externa were separated . Slender separations could be found in some cysts . Color Doppler ultrasonography showed no blood flow inside the cysts . When the popliteal artery was compressed ,the velocity of blood flow increased significantly . The affected popliteal artery diameter was less than that of the contralateral side [ ( 2 .858 ± 1 .256)mm vs (5 .500 ± 0 .095)mm , t ＝7 .531 , P ＜0 .01] ,the peak flow velocity of the affected popliteal artery was higher than that of the contralateral side[(213.750±119.464)cm/svs(57.417±4.209)cm/s, t ＝4 .465 , P ＜0 .01] ,the peak flow velocity of the affected posterior tibial artery was lower than that of the contralateralside[(32.417±14.569)cm/svs(47.250±4.115)cm/s,t ＝4.318,P ＜0.01] .Conclusions Color Doppler ultrasonography is the preferred imaging method for diagnosis of cystic adventitial disease of the popliteal artery .

Objective: To conduct a preliminary evaluation for the usability of Carelink remote monitoring system by clinical physician. Methods: A total of 215 patients received cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIED) with Carelink remote monitoring function from 12 hospitals in China between 2012-01 and 2013-10 were prospectively enrolled. The patient's mean age was (62.3±14.3) years including 108 male and 107 female. There were 54 physicians completed questionnaire survey. Based on the type of CIED, the patients were divided into3 groups: PM (pace maker) group,n=110, ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator) group,n=54 and CRT (cardiac resynchronization therapy) group,n=51. The patients received routine hospital visit at 3 months of CIED implantation and meanwhile, they performed device data transmission at 3 and 6 months of Carelink remote monitoring. The time physician spent to evaluate data was collected at 3 months and the questionnaire survey was completed by physician at 6 months after CIED implantation. Results: All 54 physicians felt that Carelink remote monitoring system was simple to operate and easy to use. There were 147 patients ifnished hospital visit at 3 months after CIED implantation, the mean time for physician to evaluate data was (14.8±8.4) min; 150 patients ifnished Carelink remote monitor at 3 months after CIED implantation, the mean time for physician to evaluate data was (8.2 ±4.6) min,P<0.0001.Conclusion: Carelink remote monitoring system was easy to use, it may save time in follow-up study which with high satisfaction in clinical practice.

Objective To evaluate the clinical value of mini-probe endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) in determin-ing the therapeutic strategy for early gastric cancer (EGC) before surgery. Methods 151 EGC lesions were enrolled in the study. The accuracy of EUS-determined depths were compared with histopathologic results, and the effects of EUS-based therapeutic decision-making plan was evaluated. Results The overall accuracy of EUS-determined T staging was 74.8%. Multivariate analysis revealed that tumor size larger than 2 cm, endoscopic ulceration and tumor located at upper two thirds of the stomach were associated with EUS misdiagnosis ( < 0.05). 75.3 %(107/142) of the EGC patients received proper treatment according to EUS-based therapeutic selection. Conclusions Mini-probe EUS is a useful utility in T-staging and therapeutic strategy selection for EGC. Special attention should be paid when tumor diameter exceeds 2 cm, co-existence of ulcer or tumor located in the upper two-thirds portion of the stomach.