Objective China is among the 30 countries with a high burden of tuberculosis(TB)worldwide,and TB remains a public health concern.Kashgar Prefecture in the southern Xinjiang Autonomous Region is considered as one of the highest TB burden regions in China.However,molecular epidemiological studies of Kashgar are lacking. Methods A population-based retrospective study was conducted using whole-genome sequencing(WGS)to determine the characteristics of drug resistance and the transmission patterns. Results A total of 1,668 isolates collected in 2020 were classified into lineages 2(46.0%),3(27.5%),and 4(26.5%).The drug resistance rates revealed by WGS showed that the top three drugs in terms of the resistance rate were isoniazid(7.4%,124/1,668),streptomycin(6.0%,100/1,668),and rifampicin(3.3%,55/1,668).The rate of rifampicin resistance was 1.8%(23/1,290)in the new cases and 9.4%(32/340)in the previously treated cases.Known resistance mutations were detected more frequently in lineage 2 strains than in lineage 3 or 4 strains,respectively:18.6%vs.8.7 or 9%,P<0.001.The estimated proportion of recent transmissions was 25.9%(432/1,668).Multivariate logistic analyses indicated that sex,age,occupation,lineage,and drug resistance were the risk factors for recent transmission.Despite the low rate of drug resistance,drug-resistant strains had a higher risk of recent transmission than the susceptible strains(adjusted odds ratio,1.414;95%CI,1.023-1.954;P = 0.036).Among all patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis(DR-TB),78.4%(171/218)were attributed to the transmission of DR-TB strains. Conclusion Our results suggest that drug-resistant strains are more transmissible than susceptible strains and that transmission is the major driving force of the current DR-TB epidemic in Kashgar.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli（ETEC）infection can induce watery diarrhea，leading to dehydration，electrolyte disturbance，and even death in severe cases. Recombinant B subunit/inactivated whole-cell cholera（rBS/WC）vaccine is effective in preventing ETEC infectious diarrhea. On the basis of the latest evidence on etiology and epidemiology of ETEC，as well as the effectiveness，safety，and health economics of rBS/WC vaccine，National Clinical Research Center for Child Health（The Children’s Hospital，Zhejiang University School of Medicine）and Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention invited experts to develop expert consensus on rBS/WC vaccine in prevention of ETEC infectious diarrhea. It aims to provide the clinicians and vaccination professionals with guidelines on using rBS/WC vaccine to reduce the incidence of ETEC infectious diarrhea.

Objective: To investigate the clinical features and long-term prognosis of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) in patients with past hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Methods: 353 cases with PBC who visited the Liver Disease Center of Beijing Friendship Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University between January 2000 and January 2018 were retrospectively analyzed and were divided into the past HBV infection group (156 cases) and the no HBV infection group (197 cases). The two groups' baseline clinical features were compared. Ursodeoxycholic acid response rate after one year, GLOBE score, UK-PBC score, and long-term liver transplantation-free survival rate were compared through outpatient and telephone follow-up. Results: PBC with past HBV infection had a significantly reduced female proportion compared to the no HBV infection group (91.9% vs. 79.5%, P = 0.001). However, there were no statistically significant differences in age, biochemical indices, immunological indicators, platelet count, cirrhosis proportion, and others. Ursodeoxycholic acid biochemical response rate was reduced in patients with past HBV infection at the end of one year of treatment, but the difference was not statistically significant (65.8% vs. 78.2%, P = 0.068). In addition, there were no statistically significant differences between the GLOBE score (0.57 vs. 0.59, P = 0.26) and UK-PBC 5-year (2.87% vs. 2.87%, P = 0.38), 10-year (9.29% vs. 8.2%, P = 0.39) and 15-year liver transplantation rates (16.6% vs. 14.73%, P = 0.39). Lastly, the overall 5-year liver transplantation-free survival rate had no statistically significant difference between the two groups of patients (86.4% vs. 87.5%, P = 0.796). Conclusion: Primary biliary cholangitis had no discernible effect in terms of age at onset, biochemical indices, immunological indicators, cirrhosis proportion, ursodeoxycholic acid response rate after one year, GLOBE score, UK-PBC score, or overall liver transplantation-free survival rate in patients with past hepatitis B virus infections.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that β -glucan enhances protective qi (PQi), an important Chinese medicine (CM) concept which stipulates that a protective force circulates throughout the body surface and works as the first line of defense against "external pernicious influences". METHODS: A total of 138 participants with PQi deficiency (PQD) were randomized to receive β -glucan (200 mg daily) or placebo for 12 weeks. Participants' PQi status was assessed every 2 weeks via conventional diagnosis and a standardized protocol from which a PQD severity and risk score was derived. Indices of participants' immune and general health status were also monitored, including upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), saliva secretory IgA (sIgA), and self-reported measures of physical and mental health (PROMIS). RESULTS: PQi status was not significantly different between the β -glucan and placebo treatment groups at baseline but improved significantly in the β -glucan (vs. placebo) group in a time-dependent manner. The intergroup differences [95% confidence interval (CI)] in severity score (scale: 1-5), risk score (scale: 0-1), and proportion of PQD participants (%) at finish line was 0.49 (0.35-0.62), 0.48 (0.35-0.61), and 0.36 (0.25-0.47), respectively. Additionally, β -glucan improved URTI symptom (scale: 1-9) and PROMIS physical (scale: 16.2-67.7) and mental (scale: 21.2-67.6) scores by a magnitude (95% CI) of 1.0 (0.21-1.86), 5.7 (2.33-9.07), and 3.0 (20.37-6.37), respectively, over placebo. CONCLUSIONS β -glucan ameliorates PQi in PQD individuals. By using stringent evidence-based methodologies, our study demonstrated that Western medicine-derived remedies, such as β -glucan, can be employed to advance CM therapeutics. (ClinicalTrial.Gov registry: NCT03782974).
Adult ; Double-Blind Method ; Humans ; Qi ; Risk Factors ; Self Report ; beta-Glucans/therapeutic use*

Neuroscientists have emphasized visceral influences on consciousness and attention, but the potential neurophysiological pathways remain under exploration. Here, we found two neurophysiological pathways of heart-brain interaction based on the relationship between oxygen-transport by red blood cells (RBCs) and consciousness/attention. To this end, we collected a dataset based on the routine physical examination, the breaking continuous flash suppression (b-CFS) paradigm, and an attention network test (ANT) in 140 immigrants under the hypoxic Tibetan environment. We combined electroencephalography and multilevel mediation analysis to investigate the relationship between RBC properties and consciousness/attention. The results showed that RBC function, via two independent neurophysiological pathways, not only triggered interoceptive re-representations in the insula and awareness connected to orienting attention but also induced an immune response corresponding to consciousness and executive control. Importantly, consciousness played a fundamental role in executive function which might be associated with the level of perceived stress. These results indicated the important role of oxygen-transport in heart-brain interactions, in which the related stress response affected consciousness and executive control. The findings provide new insights into the neurophysiological schema of heart-brain interactions.
Awareness ; Brain ; Consciousness ; Humans ; Oxygen ; Visual Perception

Objective: To explore the heterogeneity and correlation of clinical phenotypes and genotypes in children with disorders of sex development (DSD). Methods: A retrospective study of 1 235 patients with clinically proposed DSD in 36 pediatric medical institutions across the country from January 2017 to May 2021. After capturing 277 DSD-related candidate genes, second-generation sequencing was performed to analyzed the heterogeneity and correlation combined with clinical phenotypes. Results: Among 1 235 children with clinically proposed DSD, 980 were males and 255 were females of social gender at the time of initial diagnosis with the age ranged from 1 day of age to 17.92 years. A total of 443 children with pathogenic variants were detected through molecular genetic studies, with a positive detection rate of 35.9%. The most common clinical phenotypes were micropenis (455 cases), hypospadias (321 cases), and cryptorchidism (172 cases) and common mutations detected were in SRD5A2 gene (80 cases), AR gene (53 cases) and CYP21A2 gene (44 cases). Among them, the SRD5A2 mutation is the most common in children with simple micropenis and simple hypospadias, while the AMH mutation is the most common in children with simple cryptorchidism. Conclusions: The SRD5A2 mutation is the most common genetic variant in Chinese children with DSD, and micropenis, cryptorchidism, and hypospadias are the most common clinical phenotypes. Molecular diagnosis can provide clues about the biological basis of DSD, and can also guide clinicians to perform specific clinical examinations. Target sequence capture probes and next-generation sequencing technology can provide effective and economical genetic diagnosis for children with DSD.
3-Oxo-5-alpha-Steroid 4-Dehydrogenase/genetics* ; Child ; China/epidemiology* ; Cryptorchidism/genetics* ; Disorders of Sex Development/genetics* ; Female ; Genital Diseases, Male ; Genotype ; Humans ; Hypospadias/genetics* ; Male ; Membrane Proteins/genetics* ; Penis/abnormalities* ; Phenotype ; Retrospective Studies ; Steroid 21-Hydroxylase/genetics*

Connective tissue disease (CTD) are closely related to liver abnormality. CTD can affect the liver causing various degrees of liver injury, coexist with other liver diseases, especially autoimmune liver disease (ALD). Medications for CTD can also lead to liver injury or reactivate the hepatitis B virus. CTD patients can also be positive for ALD-related autoantibodies without corresponding manifestation; and vis versa. The diagnosis and differential diagnosis should be made on integrating clinical presentation, laboratory, imaging, and histological studies, not solely relying on autoantibody positivity.
Autoantibodies ; Autoimmune Diseases/diagnosis* ; Connective Tissue Diseases/diagnosis* ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Liver

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the incidence of extrauterine growth retardation (EUGR) and its risk factors in very preterm infants (VPIs) during hospitalization in China. METHODS: A prospective multicenter study was performed on the medical data of 2 514 VPIs who were hospitalized in the department of neonatology in 28 hospitals from 7 areas of China between September 2019 and December 2020. According to the presence or absence of EUGR based on the evaluation of body weight at the corrected gestational age of 36 weeks or at discharge, the VPIs were classified to two groups: EUGR group (n=1 189) and non-EUGR (n=1 325). The clinical features were compared between the two groups, and the incidence of EUGR and risk factors for EUGR were examined. RESULTS: The incidence of EUGR was 47.30% (1 189/2 514) evaluated by weight. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that higher weight growth velocity after regaining birth weight and higher cumulative calorie intake during the first week of hospitalization were protective factors against EUGR (P<0.05), while small-for-gestational-age birth, prolonged time to the initiation of total enteral feeding, prolonged cumulative fasting time, lower breast milk intake before starting human milk fortifiers, prolonged time to the initiation of full fortified feeding, and moderate-to-severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia were risk factors for EUGR (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS It is crucial to reduce the incidence of EUGR by achieving total enteral feeding as early as possible, strengthening breastfeeding, increasing calorie intake in the first week after birth, improving the velocity of weight gain, and preventing moderate-severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia in VPIs.
Female ; Fetal Growth Retardation ; Gestational Age ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors

Objective:To carry out the monitoring of H5N6 subtype avian influenza virus (AIV) in the population infection and live poultry markets (LPMs) environmental pollution in Changsha city from 2016 to 2018. Laboratory data were provided to prevent human infection with H5N6 subtype AIV.Methods:A total of 6 909 throat swab specimens from the population and 1 719 environmental specimens from LPMs were collected in Changsha city from 2016 to 2018. The real-time RT-PCR method was used for the detection of influenza virus in type A, H5, H7, H9 and N6 subtypes. Eighty-two AIV nucleic acid-positive specimens were subjected to high-throughput nucleotide sequencing, and then BLAST similarity and amino acid (aa) key site analyses were performed on the sequencing results.Results:One H5N6 subtype AIV nucleic acid was detected from 6 909 population throat swab specimens, 927 (53.93%) positive specimens of A-type AIV nucleic acids and 193 (11.23%) positive specimens of both H5 and N6 subtypes were detected from 1 719 LPMs environmental specimens. Fourteen genomic sequences of H5N6 subtype AIV were obtained with high-throughput nucleotide sequencing, and aa key site analyses showed that there were 6 basic aa in 338-347 aa of viral HA protein-linked peptide, which was highly pathogenic to birds. Receptor binding site (RBS) 238-240 aa (corresponding to H3 type influenza virus 226-228 aa) is QSG or QRG, and the receptor is characterized by avian origin. The 290th resistance gene locus of NA protein did not show R290K mutation, and was sensitive to NA inhibitor (Duffy/osoterosine phosphate). The E627K and D701N(I) mutations in the viral PB2 protein indicate that the virus is pathogenic.Conclusions:Human infected with H5N6 subtype AIV in Changsha city is sporadic, and the H5N6 subtype AIV of LPMs is seriously polluted. It is necessary to further strengthen the AIV surveillance of LPMs.

Objective:To compare the clinical efficacy of transperitoneal robot assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RARP) versus extraperitoneal single port RARP.Methods:A retrospective analysis was perfoumed on 142 cases of RARP from July 2019 to June 2020 in Robotic Minimally Invasive Center of Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, including 82 cases(Group A) , aged 70.0(65.6-78.0), undergoing transperitoneal RARP and 60 cases(Group B), aged 68.2 years old(60.1-79.2), undergoing extraperitoneal single port RARP. For group A, PSA was 12.9(5.6-64.0) ng/ml, with 26 cases of less than 10 ng/ml(31.7%), 40 cases of 10-20 ng/ml(48.8%), and 16 cases of more than 20 ng/ml(19.5%), the Gleason score was 7.2(6.0-10.0), with 14 cases(17.1%) of ≤6, 56 cases(68.3%) of 7, and 12 cases(14.6%) of ≥8, and the prostate volume was 61.3(29.0-112.0) ml. There were 49 cases with BMI≤25 kg/m 2, accounting for 59.8%, and 33 cases with BMI>25 kg/m 2, accounting for 40.2%. There were 17 cases(20.7%) of T 1, 44 cases(53.7%) of T 2 and 21 cases(25.6%) of T 3. The proportion of lymph node dissection was 17.1%, and 4 cases(4.9%)had a history of operation. For group B, the PSA was 12.2(1.0-42.6)ng/ml, with 20 cases (33.3%) of <10 ng/ml, 31 cases(51.7%)of 10-20 ng/ml, and 9 cases (15%) of >20 ng/ml. Gleason score was 7.1(6.0-9.0), with 12 cases (20.0%) of ≤6, 42 cases (70.0%) of 7, and 6 cases (10.0%)of ≥8. Prostate volume was 42.4(31.2-72.8)ml on average. There were 37 cases (61.7%) with BMI≤25 kg/m 2, and 23 cases (38.3%)with BMI >25 kg/m 2 . There were 17 cases(28.3%)of T 1, 32 cases(53.3%)of T 2 and 11 cases(18.3%)of T 3.The proportion of lymph node dissection was 11.7% and 4 cases (6.7%) had a history of operation.There was no statistically significant difference in term of age, PSA level, Gleason score, BMI, clinical stage, proportion of lymph node dissection or history of operation between the two groups( P>0.05), but there was statistically significant difference for prostate volume( P<0.05). All operations were performed by the same operator. Four different ways of bladder neck and urethral dissociation was selected according to the intraoperative conditions in Group A, include VIP style, T-shape incision style, VIP plus T-shape incision style or the style along the lateral side of the bladder neck. Small and single anterograde incision stripping of bladder neck was routinely performed in the Group B. Postoperative follow-up was performed to compare the operation time, intraoperative blood loss, bladder neck and urethral anastomosis time, postoperative hospital stay, postoperative exhaust time, postoperative complications, positive rate of surgical margin, indwelling time of urinary catheter, urinary continence satisfaction rate of immediately after operation, 3 months and 6 months after operation, wound healing and aesthetics. Results:All of the operations were successfully completed under robot-assisted laparoscopy, and there was no conversion to open surgery. The operation time was 56.0(45.0-112.0) min in the Group A and 65.4(55.5-96.8) min in the Group B, and there was no statistically significant difference( P>0.05). The intraoperative blood loss was 76.2(30.0-120.5) ml and 55.6(45.5-114.6) ml, respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant( P>0.05). The time of bladder neck urethral anastomosis was 18.9(12.6-25.6) min and 16.2(10.7-19.3) min, respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant( P>0.05). The postoperative hospital stay days were 9.3(8.0-16.0) d and 8.4(7.0-13.0) d, respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant( P>0.05). The postoperative exhaust time was 1.3(0.7-3.0) d and 3.4(2.0-7.0) d, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant( P<0.05). There was 1 case of anastomotic fistula with ureteral injury in Group A, and no serious complication in Group B, and the difference was not statistically significant( P>0.05). The number of positive surgical margin in the two groups was 13(15.9%)and 9(15.0%)respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant( P>0.05). The indwelling time of urinary catheter after operation was 9(7-21) d and 6(4-8) d, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant( P<0.05). The number of patients with satisfactory urinary continence immediately after surgery, 3 months and 6 months after surgery in the two groups were 8(9.8%), 51(62.2%), 62(75.6%) and 17(28.3%), 43(71.7%) and 54(90.0%), respectively. The differences were statistically significant( P<0.05). The total incision lengths in the two groups were 12.1(10.4-13.4) cm and 5.6(5.0-6.0) cm, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant( P<0.05). Conclusions:The extraperitoneal single port RARP is safe and feasible, and the postoperative effect is similar to that of transperitoneal RARP. It has the advantages of shorter recovery time, higher urinary continence satisfaction rate, neater and more beautiful incision. The long-term therapeutic effect needs further confirming by prospective study.