Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics of psoriasis and status quo of medical care for patients in county areas of China.Methods:This study was a cross-sectional investigation. Based on the “Qianxian Wuyin” Project (a national project for upgrating ability for psoriasis care at county level), an online questionnaire survey was conducted in the dermatology departments of 459 county hospitals in 404 pilot administrative counties across China from February to June 2023. The questionnaire included demographic information of patients (gender, ethnicity, age, place of residence, education, marital status), and clinical characteristics of psoriasis (disease course, type, comorbidities, body surface area (BSA) and previous treatment. The Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) were applied for assessing the quality of life and disease severity, and completed by patients or guardian and doctors, respectively.Results:A total of 16 935 patients completed the questionnaire. The age of patients was 1-102(44.17±11.58)years, and 71.0% (12 036/16 935) were 30-59 years old. The ratio of male to female was 2.21∶1; 24.3%(4 117/16 935) of patients had high school education; there were 9 940 patients(58.7%) with previous or current smoking and/or alcohol use; 42.8%(7 218/16 855) of patients had a disease course of 1-5 years. There were 15 630 patients(92.3%) with DLQI≥10, 8 346 patients(49.7%) with PASI≥10, 15 017 patients(89.2%) with BSA≥10%. The plaque type was the most common disease type ( n=14 965, 88.7%), and spotting type ranked the second ( n=1 141, 6.8%). The most common initial site was the trunk ( n=12 309, 72.9%). Among the comorbidities, hypertension was the most common one ( n=1 681, 10.0%). There were 7 650 reports of treatment response to conventional topical drug therapy and 3 112 reports of treatment response to systemic drug therapy, with 6 269 (81.9%) and 2 493 (80.1%) reporting poor or no response, respectively. Conclusions:The survey shows that in the county areas of China, the majority of psoriasis patients are severe patients with short course of disease, plaque type is the most common type, and hypertension is the most common comorbidity; and the conventional treatment is less effective for most patients.

Purpose: The long-term fertility impact of cancer treatments is a significant concern for young breast cancer survivors. These reproductive concerns often become a persistent source of stress, negatively affecting their quality of life. This study aims to explore the reproductive concerns experienced by young breast cancer survivors post-treatment and the factors influencing their perceptions. Methods: This phenomenological study utilized semi-structured interviews to collect data. Eighteen participants were recruited from a tertiary hospital in Mainland China. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Colaizzi's method. Results: Data analysis revealed five themes and fourteen subthemes: (1) multiple emotional burdens interwoven with concerns about fertility; (2) concerns about risks associated with reproduction; (3) dilemma of childrearing; (4) the significance of reproduction; (5) support needs from family, peers, and professionals. Conclusion Young breast cancer survivors in China face significant challenges related to reproductive issues. Reproductive health is a crucial aspect of breast cancer survivorship care. Healthcare providers must be attentive to the reproductive concerns of survivors, recognize the importance of multidimensional support for positive adaptation, and offer tailored and ongoing interventions to manage reproductive health in young breast cancer survivors.

Purpose: The long-term fertility impact of cancer treatments is a significant concern for young breast cancer survivors. These reproductive concerns often become a persistent source of stress, negatively affecting their quality of life. This study aims to explore the reproductive concerns experienced by young breast cancer survivors post-treatment and the factors influencing their perceptions. Methods: This phenomenological study utilized semi-structured interviews to collect data. Eighteen participants were recruited from a tertiary hospital in Mainland China. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Colaizzi's method. Results: Data analysis revealed five themes and fourteen subthemes: (1) multiple emotional burdens interwoven with concerns about fertility; (2) concerns about risks associated with reproduction; (3) dilemma of childrearing; (4) the significance of reproduction; (5) support needs from family, peers, and professionals. Conclusion Young breast cancer survivors in China face significant challenges related to reproductive issues. Reproductive health is a crucial aspect of breast cancer survivorship care. Healthcare providers must be attentive to the reproductive concerns of survivors, recognize the importance of multidimensional support for positive adaptation, and offer tailored and ongoing interventions to manage reproductive health in young breast cancer survivors.

Purpose: The long-term fertility impact of cancer treatments is a significant concern for young breast cancer survivors. These reproductive concerns often become a persistent source of stress, negatively affecting their quality of life. This study aims to explore the reproductive concerns experienced by young breast cancer survivors post-treatment and the factors influencing their perceptions. Methods: This phenomenological study utilized semi-structured interviews to collect data. Eighteen participants were recruited from a tertiary hospital in Mainland China. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Colaizzi's method. Results: Data analysis revealed five themes and fourteen subthemes: (1) multiple emotional burdens interwoven with concerns about fertility; (2) concerns about risks associated with reproduction; (3) dilemma of childrearing; (4) the significance of reproduction; (5) support needs from family, peers, and professionals. Conclusion Young breast cancer survivors in China face significant challenges related to reproductive issues. Reproductive health is a crucial aspect of breast cancer survivorship care. Healthcare providers must be attentive to the reproductive concerns of survivors, recognize the importance of multidimensional support for positive adaptation, and offer tailored and ongoing interventions to manage reproductive health in young breast cancer survivors.

Confronted with the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, China has become an asset in tackling the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission and mutation, with several innovative platforms, which provides various technical means in this persisting combat. Derived from collaborated researches, vaccines based on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 or inactivated whole virus are a cornerstone of the public health response to COVID-19. Herein, we outline representative vaccines in multiple routes, while the merits and plights of the existing vaccine strategies are also summarized. Likewise, new technologies may provide more potent or broader immunity and will contribute to fight against hypermutated SARS-CoV-2 variants. All in all, with the ultimate aim of delivering robust and durable protection that is resilient to emerging infectious disease, alongside the traditional routes, the discovery of innovative approach to developing effective vaccines based on virus properties remains our top priority.
Humans ; COVID-19 Vaccines ; COVID-19/prevention & control* ; SARS-CoV-2 ; China/epidemiology* ; Vaccine Development

AIM: Previous studies have suggested that big stick design (BSD) method can only be used in clinical trials of two treatments with equal proportion, which has good statistical performance and has become the recommended choice of randomized methods. This study expands BSD method, so that it can be applied to three groups, and provides more randomized methods for clinical trials. METHODS: On the basis of BSD method used in two treatments with equal proportion, the derivation conditional allocation probability of BSD method used in three treatments with equal proportion was carried out. BSD method was compared with simple randomization (SR) method, permuted block design (PBD) method and block urn design (BUD) method by Monte-Carlo simulation in balance and randomness. RESULTS: In terms of balance, PBD method was the best, followed by BUD method, BSD method, and SR method was the worst. In terms of randomness, SR method was the best, followed by BSD method, BUD method and PBD method. The comprehensive performance showed that BSD method was better than BUD method, PBD method and SR method. CONCLUSION: The expanded BSD method used in three treatments with equal proportion has good comprehensive performance, and it can be the recommended randomization method for clinical trials of three treatments with equal proportion.

Objective:Both type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes are associated with abnormal bone metabolism, but they have different pathogenic mechanisms. Sclerostin(SOST), Dickkopf-related protein 1(DKK-1), and irisin are newly discovered factors involved in the regulation of bone metabolism. This study aims to compare the differences in serum levels of SOST, DKK-1, and irisin between patients with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.Methods:This cross-sectional study included 101 patients with type 1 diabetes who visited the Endocrinology Department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 2017 to 2019, as well as 55 patients with type 2 diabetes and 59 individuals with normal glucose tolerance who were confirmed through an oral glucose tolerance test as part of the Beijing Changping Community Type 2 Diabetes Management Program from 2014 to 2015. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to measure the levels of SOST, DKK-1, and irisin.Results:There were more female participants than male participants, with an average age of 49 years. The group with type 1 diabetes had a longer duration of illness( P<0.001) and higher HbA 1C levels( P<0.001) compared to the group with type 2 diabetes, and there was no statistical difference in age between the two groups. Both the type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes groups had lower levels of serum procollagen type 1 N-terminal propeptide(P1NP) compared to the control group [(8 579±400)pg/mL, (7 268±552)pg/mL vs(10 051±618)pg/mL, P=0.039, P=0.001]; But the β isomer of C-terminal cross-linking telopeptide of type 1 collagen(β-CTX) showed no statistical difference compared to the control group. Patients with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes had higher SOST than controls [(129.7±6.8)pg/mL, (104.8±6.8)pg/mL vs(85.9±5.3)pg/mL, P<0.001, P=0.030], the differences between the type 1 diabetes group and the control group lost statistical significance after adjusting for factors such as fasting blood glucose and lipid levels. There was no significant difference in SOST between type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes groups. There was no significant difference in DKK-1 among three groups, but DKK-1 in type 1 diabetes group was lower or tended to be lower than that in type 2 diabetes group. Serum irisin in patients with type 1 diabetes was higher than that in controls and patients with type 2 diabetes[(16.6±0.7)ng/mL vs (9.6±0.6)ng/mL, (9.8±0.6)ng/mL, both P<0.001], but there was no significant difference in irisin level between type 2 diabetes and controls. Conclusions:Patients with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes showed inhibition of the bone formation marker P1NP, while the bone resorption marker β-CTX did not significantly change. SOST levels were elevated or showed an increasing trend in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients, which may be related to the inhibition of bone formation. Additionally, type 1 diabetes patients had increased levels of irisin, which may be involved in abnormal bone turnover.

Epilepsy is one of the common neurological diseases in the nervous system. The susceptibility, seizure frequency and drug efficacy in epilepsy vary across different regions, possibly related to living environment and genetic factors. The unique geographical environment and dietary habits of people living on plateaus are associated with occurrence and development of epilepsy to some extent. However, research on the correlation between plateau environment and epilepsy is currently limited. This paper comprehensively reviews the correlation between plateau environment and epilepsy, aiming to better understand the real scenarios and pathogenesis of epilepsy and offer valuable reference for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy in plateau areas.

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disease and a common disease in neurology.The epidemiologic characters,clinical characteristics and risk factors of epilepsy vary from region to region.Although there are relatively few studies on epilepsy in the plateau,current studies show that its morbidity and prevalence are higher than those in other regions.There is a large gap in epilepsy treatment in the plateau area,and the quality of life of patients is poor.Among them,cerebrovascular diseases,cerebral parasitic diseases and craniocerebral trauma are common causes of epilepsy in the plateau area.This paper summarizes the epidemiologic characteristics,clinical characteristics,risk factors,etiology,comorbidities and other related studies of epilepsy in plateau areas,aiming to offer valuable reference for the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy patients in plateau areas.

Objective:To investigate whether the specific traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)constitution of in-dividuals can be defined by certain biological indexes instead of answering the questionnaire,and to explore the possibility of discriminating nine TCM constitutions from each other simultaneously using biological indexes.Methods:Blood and urine samples from 152 individuals with nine TCM constitutions were collected,and the related biological indexes were analyzed combining ANOVA,multiple comparison,discriminant analysis,and support vector machine.Results:We found that 4 out of 24 blood routine indexes,7 out of 10 urine routine indexes,and 12 out of 32 biochemical indexes showed differences among the constitutions.High-sensitivity C-reactive protein,apolipoprotein A1,and alkaline phosphatase were potential candidates for screening out individuals with unbalanced constitutions.Combining uric acid,high-density lipoprotein,apolipoprotein A1,creatine kinase,total protein,aspartate aminotransferase,total bile acid,dehydrogenase,sodium,and calcium levels had the potential to directly distinguish the nine TCM constitutions from each other.Among these indexes,the highest ratio of discriminant analysis between two constitutions was 95.5％,while the lowest was 66.1％.Conclusion:Our results suggest that some biochemical and urine indexes are related to various TCM constitutions,and thus they have the potential to be used for TCM constitution classification.