Objective To investigate the distribution and antimicrobial resistance profiles of clinically isolated Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis in hospitals across China from 2015 to 2021,and provide evidence for rational use of antimicrobial agents.Methods Data of H.influenzae and M.catarrhalis strains isolated from 2015 to 2021 in CHINET program were collected for analysis,and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by disc diffusion method or automated systems according to the uniform protocol of CHINET.The results were interpreted according to the CLSI breakpoints in 2022.Beta-lactamases was detected by using nitrocefin disk.Results From 2015 to 2021,a total of 43 642 strains of Haemophilus species were isolated,accounting for 2.91％of the total clinical isolates and 4.07％of Gram-negative bacteria in CHINET program.Among the 40 437 strains of H.influenzae,66.89％were isolated from children and 33.11％were isolated from adults.More than 90％of the H.influenzae strains were isolated from respiratory tract specimens.The prevalence of β-lactamase was 53.79％in H.influenzae strains.The H.influenzae strains isolated from children showed higher resistance rate than the strains isolated from adults.Overall,779 strains of H.influenzae did not produce β-lactamase but were resistant to ampicillin(BLNAR).Beta-lactamase-producing strains showed significantly higher resistance rates to these antimicrobial agents than the β-lactamase-nonproducing strains.Of the 16 191 M.catarrhalis strains,80.06％were isolated from children and 19.94％isolated from adults.M.catarrhalis strains were mostly susceptible to both amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and cefuroxime,evidenced by resistance rate lower than 2.0％.Conclusions The emergence of antibiotic-resistant H.influenzae due to β-lactamase production poses a challenge for clinical anti-infective treatment.Therefore,it is very important to implement antibiotic resistance surveillance for H.influenzae and guide rational antibiotic use.All local clinical microbiology laboratories should actively improve antibiotic susceptibility testing and strengthen antibiotic resistance surveillance for H.influenzae.

This study was aimed at identifying the pathogenic bacteria responsible for the death of a young tiger at the Fujian Meihua Mountain South China Tiger Breeding Research Institute.Tissue samples from the lungs,liver,and intestines of the deceased tiger were collected,and the bacteria were cultured inasterile environment.The bacterial strains were characterized according to their morphological and molecular biological properties,including assessment of virulence genes and antibiotic resistance genes,mouse lethality tests,and antibiotic susceptibility evaluations.A predominant bacterial strain isolated from the liver of the deceased tiger was identified as enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli(ETEC)strain Tiger22513F.Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene revealed that the Tiger22513F strain exhibited close genetic similarity to the reference strain ETEC(MF919609.1),with 99.9%nucleotide similarity,and resided on the same evolutionary branch.The Tiger22513F strain contained 11 antibiotic resistance genes(tetA,sul1,sul3,cmlA,floR,blaTEM,blaSHV,blaCMY-2,qnrA,qnrS,and qnrD)along with five virulence genes(VT1,fyuA,tsh,iucD,and ST).Mouse lethality tests indicated significant pathogenicity toward mice,affecting primarily the lungs,liver,and intestines.Antibiotic susceptibility testing demonstrated that this strain exhibited resistance to various classes of beta-lactam antibiotics,as well as quinolones and aminoglycosides.This investigation successfully isolated a multi-drug resistant enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli strain with pronounced pathogenicity from the liver of a deceased tiger;thus providing valuable scientific insights for clinical diagnosis,as well as prevention and control measures,against ETEC infections in South China tigers.

Objective To investigate the distribution and antimicrobial resistance profiles of clinically isolated Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis in hospitals across China from 2015 to 2021,and provide evidence for rational use of antimicrobial agents.Methods Data of H.influenzae and M.catarrhalis strains isolated from 2015 to 2021 in CHINET program were collected for analysis,and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by disc diffusion method or automated systems according to the uniform protocol of CHINET.The results were interpreted according to the CLSI breakpoints in 2022.Beta-lactamases was detected by using nitrocefin disk.Results From 2015 to 2021,a total of 43 642 strains of Haemophilus species were isolated,accounting for 2.91％of the total clinical isolates and 4.07％of Gram-negative bacteria in CHINET program.Among the 40 437 strains of H.influenzae,66.89％were isolated from children and 33.11％were isolated from adults.More than 90％of the H.influenzae strains were isolated from respiratory tract specimens.The prevalence of β-lactamase was 53.79％in H.influenzae strains.The H.influenzae strains isolated from children showed higher resistance rate than the strains isolated from adults.Overall,779 strains of H.influenzae did not produce β-lactamase but were resistant to ampicillin(BLNAR).Beta-lactamase-producing strains showed significantly higher resistance rates to these antimicrobial agents than the β-lactamase-nonproducing strains.Of the 16 191 M.catarrhalis strains,80.06％were isolated from children and 19.94％isolated from adults.M.catarrhalis strains were mostly susceptible to both amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and cefuroxime,evidenced by resistance rate lower than 2.0％.Conclusions The emergence of antibiotic-resistant H.influenzae due to β-lactamase production poses a challenge for clinical anti-infective treatment.Therefore,it is very important to implement antibiotic resistance surveillance for H.influenzae and guide rational antibiotic use.All local clinical microbiology laboratories should actively improve antibiotic susceptibility testing and strengthen antibiotic resistance surveillance for H.influenzae.

This study was aimed at identifying the pathogenic bacteria responsible for the death of a young tiger at the Fujian Meihua Mountain South China Tiger Breeding Research Institute.Tissue samples from the lungs,liver,and intestines of the deceased tiger were collected,and the bacteria were cultured inasterile environment.The bacterial strains were characterized according to their morphological and molecular biological properties,including assessment of virulence genes and antibiotic resistance genes,mouse lethality tests,and antibiotic susceptibility evaluations.A predominant bacterial strain isolated from the liver of the deceased tiger was identified as enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli(ETEC)strain Tiger22513F.Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene revealed that the Tiger22513F strain exhibited close genetic similarity to the reference strain ETEC(MF919609.1),with 99.9%nucleotide similarity,and resided on the same evolutionary branch.The Tiger22513F strain contained 11 antibiotic resistance genes(tetA,sul1,sul3,cmlA,floR,blaTEM,blaSHV,blaCMY-2,qnrA,qnrS,and qnrD)along with five virulence genes(VT1,fyuA,tsh,iucD,and ST).Mouse lethality tests indicated significant pathogenicity toward mice,affecting primarily the lungs,liver,and intestines.Antibiotic susceptibility testing demonstrated that this strain exhibited resistance to various classes of beta-lactam antibiotics,as well as quinolones and aminoglycosides.This investigation successfully isolated a multi-drug resistant enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli strain with pronounced pathogenicity from the liver of a deceased tiger;thus providing valuable scientific insights for clinical diagnosis,as well as prevention and control measures,against ETEC infections in South China tigers.

This paper aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect and mechanism of action of the Yiqi Fumai Formula(YQFM), a kind of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), on mice with experimental heart failure based on the "heart-gut axis" theory. Based on the network pharmacology integrated with the group collaboration algorithm, the active ingredients were screened, a "component-target-disease" network was constructed, and the potential pathways regulated by the formula were predicted and analyzed. Next, the model of experimental heart failure was established by intraperitoneal injection of adriamycin at a single high dose(15 mg·kg~(-1)) in BALB/c mice. After intraperitoneal injection of YQFM(lyophilized) at 7.90, 15.80, and 31.55 mg·d~(-1) for 7 d, the protective effects of the formula on cardiac function were evaluated using indicators such as ultrasonic electrocardiography and myocardial injury markers. Combined with inflammatory factors in the cardiac and colorectal tissue, as well as targeted assays, the relevant indicators of potential pathways were verified. Meanwhile, 16S rDNA sequencing was performed on mouse fecal samples using the Illumina platform to detect changes in gut flora and analyze differential metabolic pathways. The results show that the administration of injectable YQFM(lyophilized) for 7 d significantly increased the left ventricular end-systolic internal diameter, fractional shortening, and ejection fraction of cardiac tissue of mice with experimental heart failure(P<0.05). Moreover, markers of myocardial injury were significantly decreased(P<0.05), indicating improved cardiac function, along with significantly suppressed inflammatory responses in cardiac and intestinal tissue(P<0.05). Additionally, the species of causative organisms was decreased, and the homeostasis of gut flora was improved, involving a modulatory effect on PI3K-Akt signaling pathway-related inflammation in cardiac and colorectal tissue. In conclusion, YQFM can affect the "heart-gut axis" immunity through the homeostasis of the gut flora, thereby exerting a therapeutic effect on heart failure. This finding provides a reference for the combination of TCM and western medicine to prevent and treat heart failure based on the "heart-gut axis" theory.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Heart Failure/microbiology* ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Male ; Disease Models, Animal ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/drug effects* ; Heart/physiopathology* ; Humans ; Signal Transduction/drug effects*

eIF3a is a N ⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A) reader that regulates mRNA translation by recognizing m⁶A modifications of these mRNAs. It has been suggested that eIF3a may play an important role in regulating translation initiation via m⁶A during infection when canonical cap-dependent initiation is inhibited. However, the death of animal model studies impedes our understanding of the functional significance of eIF3a in immunity and regulation in vivo. In this study, we investigated the in vivo function of eIF3a using eIF3a knockout and knockdown mouse models and found that eIF3a deficiency resulted in splenic tissue structural disruption and multi-organ damage, which contributed to severe sepsis induced by Lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Ectopic eIF3a overexpression in the eIF3a knockdown mice rescued mice from LPS-induced severe sepsis. We further showed that eIF3a maintains a functional and healthy immune system by regulating B cell function and quantity through m⁶A modification of mRNAs. These findings unveil a novel mechanism underlying sepsis, implicating the pivotal role of B cells in this complex disease process regulated by eIF3a. Furthermore, eIF3a may be used to develop a potential strategy for treating sepsis.

Background and Aims:Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNA) has limitations due to the small sample size obtained,including nondiagnostic specimens,indeterminate cytological results,and false-negative or false-positive results,potentially leading to misdiagnosis or missed diagnoses. The BRAF gene mutation,specifically BRAFV600E,is a specific biomarker for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). However,studies on its diagnostic value in FNA benign high-risk thyroid nodules are limited. This study was conducted to further explore the clinical value of adding BRAFV600E mutation testing in FNA benign thyroid nodules.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 549 patients who underwent 668 ultrasound evaluations indicating high risk of PTC and were classified as TIRADS categories 4-5 thyroid nodules at the Thyroid Surgery Department of China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University from January 2019 to September 2022. All patients underwent surgical treatment,and paraffin pathological examination was performed on resected tissues after surgery. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria,84 FNA benign thyroid nodules were included in this study. The clinicopathologic characteristics of nodules with BRAFV600E mutations were analyzed. Using postoperative pathology as the gold standard,the diagnostic performance of BRAFV600E mutation testing in FNA benign nodules was assessed. Results:Among the 84 FNA benign thyroid nodules,44 (52.4％) tested positive for the BRAFV600E mutation. Patients with BRAFV600E-positive nodules were more likely to be younger than 45 years (56.8％ vs. 35.0％,P=0.045),and their nodules had a smaller median long diameter compared to the BRAFV600E-negative group (0.49 cm vs. 0.61 cm,P=0.024). Postoperative pathology revealed 63 PTC nodules and 21 benign nodules. PTC nodules had a smaller median long diameter than benign nodules (0.50 cm vs. 0.70 cm,P=0.004) and a higher proportion of nodules<1 cm (95.2％ vs. 71.4％,P=0.007),with a higher BRAFV600E mutation rate (68.3％ vs. 4.8％,P<0.001). In terms of the ultrasound characteristics of thyroid nodules,BRAFV600E-positive nodules showed a significantly higher rate of blurred/irregular margins than the negative group (86.4％ vs. 60.0％,P=0.006). Similarly,PTC nodules showed a higher rate of blurred/irregular margins compared to benign nodules (81.0％ vs. 52.4％,P=0.010). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis indicated that BRAFV600E-positive thyroid nodules had a 39.184-fold higher risk of being diagnosed as PTC compared to BRAFV600E-negative nodules (P=0.001),with BRAFV600E mutation being an independent risk factor for PTC diagnosis. The sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value,negative predictive value,and accuracy of BRAFV600E mutation testing for PTC diagnosis were 69.3％,95.2％,97.7％,50.0％,and 75.0％,respectively. Conclusion:BRAFV600E mutation testing demonstrates high positive predictive value and accuracy,and can reduce the risk of missed PTC diagnoses among FNA-reported benign thyroid nodules. It is recommended that thyroid nodules with highly suspicious ultrasound features and TIRADS categories 4-5 undergo combined FNA and BRAFV600E mutation testing.

Objective:To explore the application value and surgical experience of neuroendoscopic resection for pediatric patients with cerebellar tumors.Methods:This was a case series study.The clinical data and outcomes of 30 pediatric patients with cerebellar tumors treated through neuroendoscopic surgery in the Department of Neurosurgery, the Guizhou Hospital of Shanghai Children′s Medical Center and Guizhou Provincial People′s Hospital from January 2021 to January 2024 were retrospectively analyzed.Results:Twenty-six patients underwent total resection, 3 patients underwent subtotal resection, and 1 patient underwent biopsy.Postoperative pathological findings showed 9 cases of medulloblastoma, 3 cases of ependymoma, 17 cases of astrocytoma (5 cases of World Health Organization Grade Ⅰ, 3 cases of Grade Ⅱ, and 9 cases of Grade Ⅲ), and 1 case of cerebellar benign lesion.During the perioperative period, malignant arrhythmia occurred and induced death in 1 case, cerebellar mutism occurred in 12 cases, and ataxia occurred in 22 cases.During the 1-36 months of follow-up, 2 cases developed communicating hydrocephalus at the 2 nd and the 6 th month, respectively, and improved after ventriculoperitoneal shunt; cerebellar mutism was relieved to varying degrees after an average postoperative follow-up period of (115±23) days(46-194 days), and ataxia was alleviated after an average postoperative follow-up period of (127±42) days(27-173 days).Tumors relapsed in 5 cases during the last follow-up. Conclusions:Neuroendoscopy provides an alternative to the microscope for experienced operators to achieve the surgical exposure requirements during the resection of pediatric cerebellar vermis tumors.

Objective To construct a big data sharing platform for clinical scientific research to solve the problems of clinical research in decentralized application systems and data sharing safety.Methods A clinical research information data usage management system was developed through the formulation of management methods in line with the actual situation of the institution,normalized standard data usage processes and a data usage service team.Then a clinical scientific research big data sharing platform including the components for sharing environment construction,research application integration,data desensitization and encryption and file management was established based on the existing hospital systems,the requirements of clinical research data usage management and the habits of clinical researchers.Results The platform realized the balance between open sharing of clinical research data and data security control,which improved the efficiency of clinical researchers while reducing data security risks during data transmission and data analysis.Conclusion The clinical scientific research big data sharing platform meets the needs of clinical scientific research application and data security management,and provides references for the co-construction-sharing of medical big data resources.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(4):27-31]

Background and Aims:Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNA) has limitations due to the small sample size obtained,including nondiagnostic specimens,indeterminate cytological results,and false-negative or false-positive results,potentially leading to misdiagnosis or missed diagnoses. The BRAF gene mutation,specifically BRAFV600E,is a specific biomarker for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). However,studies on its diagnostic value in FNA benign high-risk thyroid nodules are limited. This study was conducted to further explore the clinical value of adding BRAFV600E mutation testing in FNA benign thyroid nodules.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 549 patients who underwent 668 ultrasound evaluations indicating high risk of PTC and were classified as TIRADS categories 4-5 thyroid nodules at the Thyroid Surgery Department of China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University from January 2019 to September 2022. All patients underwent surgical treatment,and paraffin pathological examination was performed on resected tissues after surgery. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria,84 FNA benign thyroid nodules were included in this study. The clinicopathologic characteristics of nodules with BRAFV600E mutations were analyzed. Using postoperative pathology as the gold standard,the diagnostic performance of BRAFV600E mutation testing in FNA benign nodules was assessed. Results:Among the 84 FNA benign thyroid nodules,44 (52.4％) tested positive for the BRAFV600E mutation. Patients with BRAFV600E-positive nodules were more likely to be younger than 45 years (56.8％ vs. 35.0％,P=0.045),and their nodules had a smaller median long diameter compared to the BRAFV600E-negative group (0.49 cm vs. 0.61 cm,P=0.024). Postoperative pathology revealed 63 PTC nodules and 21 benign nodules. PTC nodules had a smaller median long diameter than benign nodules (0.50 cm vs. 0.70 cm,P=0.004) and a higher proportion of nodules<1 cm (95.2％ vs. 71.4％,P=0.007),with a higher BRAFV600E mutation rate (68.3％ vs. 4.8％,P<0.001). In terms of the ultrasound characteristics of thyroid nodules,BRAFV600E-positive nodules showed a significantly higher rate of blurred/irregular margins than the negative group (86.4％ vs. 60.0％,P=0.006). Similarly,PTC nodules showed a higher rate of blurred/irregular margins compared to benign nodules (81.0％ vs. 52.4％,P=0.010). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis indicated that BRAFV600E-positive thyroid nodules had a 39.184-fold higher risk of being diagnosed as PTC compared to BRAFV600E-negative nodules (P=0.001),with BRAFV600E mutation being an independent risk factor for PTC diagnosis. The sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value,negative predictive value,and accuracy of BRAFV600E mutation testing for PTC diagnosis were 69.3％,95.2％,97.7％,50.0％,and 75.0％,respectively. Conclusion:BRAFV600E mutation testing demonstrates high positive predictive value and accuracy,and can reduce the risk of missed PTC diagnoses among FNA-reported benign thyroid nodules. It is recommended that thyroid nodules with highly suspicious ultrasound features and TIRADS categories 4-5 undergo combined FNA and BRAFV600E mutation testing.