The Type III Secretion System (T3SS) serves as a pivotal virulence apparatus for numerous Gram-negative bacterial pathogens, enabling them to infect both animal and plant hosts. Functioning as a molecular syringe, the T3SS directly translocates bacterial effector proteins from the bacterial cytoplasm into the interior of eukaryotic host cells. These effectors are central weapons that precisely manipulate a wide spectrum of host cellular physiological processes, ranging from cytoskeletal dynamics to immune signaling, to establish a favorable niche for bacterial survival and proliferation. Among the diverse arsenal of T3SS effectors, the YopJ family constitutes a critical group of virulence factors. Members of this family are characterized by a conserved catalytic triad structure—a hallmark of the CE clan of cysteine proteases that has been evolutionarily repurposed to confer acetyltransferase activity. A defining and intriguing feature of these enzymes is their stringent dependence on a host-derived eukaryotic cofactor, inositol hexakisphosphate (IP₆), for allosteric activation. This requirement acts as a sophisticated molecular safeguard, ensuring enzymatic activity only within the appropriate host environment, thereby preventing detrimental effects on the bacterium itself. While seminal studies on individual members such as Yersinia’s YopJ and Salmonella’s AvrA have provided deep mechanistic insights, a systematic and integrative understanding of the structure-function relationships across the entire family remains fragmented. Key questions persist regarding how a conserved catalytic core has diverged to recognize distinct host substrates in different kingdoms of life. To address this gap, this article provides a systematic review of the YopJ family, focusing on three interconnected aspects: their structural features, their catalytic mechanism, and their divergent immunosuppressive strategies in animal versus plant hosts. By conducting a comparative analysis of the sequences and resolved three-dimensional structures of three representative members (e.g., HopZ1a, PopP2, AvrA), we elucidate regions of significant variation embedded within the conserved core catalytic architecture. These variable regions, often involving surface loops and substrate-binding interfaces, are crucial determinants of target specificity and functional specialization. The functional divergence of this effector family is most apparent when comparing their modes of action in different hosts. In animal hosts, YopJ-family effectors primarily sabotage innate immune signaling pathways. They achieve this by acetylating key serine and threonine residues within the activation loops of critical kinases in the MAPK and NF‑κB pathways. This post-translational modification blocks the phosphorylation and subsequent activation of these kinases, leading to potent suppression of inflammatory cytokine production. Conversely, in plant hosts, the strategy broadens to dismantle the two-tiered plant immune system. YopJ homologs target a more diverse set of substrates, including immune-associated receptor-like cytoplasmic kinases (RLCKs), microtubule networks via tubulin acetylation (which disrupts cellular trafficking and signaling), and transcription factors central to defense gene regulation. This multi-target approach effectively suppresses both Pattern-Triggered Immunity (PTI) and Effector-Triggered Immunity (ETI). In conclusion, this synthesis aims to deepen the mechanistic understanding of YopJ family-mediated pathogenesis by integrating structural biology with cellular function across host kingdoms. Elucidating the precise molecular basis for substrate selection—how conserved platforms achieve target diversity—is a major frontier. Furthermore, this knowledge provides a vital theoretical foundation for developing novel anti-virulence strategies. Targeting the conserved IP₆-binding pocket or the catalytic acetyltransferase activity itself represents a promising avenue for designing broad-spectrum inhibitors that could disarm this critical family of bacterial effectors, potentially offering new therapeutic approaches against a range of pathogenic bacteria.

This article reports a rare case of autoinflammatory disease presenting initially with skin induration and swelling after trauma as the initial manifestation, followed by progressive limb weakness. The patient was a middle-aged female who developed skin induration and swelling after trauma, which gradually progressed to limb weakness, dysarthria and bilateral facial paralysis, accompanied by livedo reticularis of the lower extremities, diffuse skin induration of the limbs, and beaded subcutaneous nodules in the right upper limb. The patient had a susceptibility to infection since childhood and a history of chronic livedo reticularis. Skin pathological examination revealed panniculitis. A comprehensive etiological screening for special infections and autoimmune diseases was completed with an unremarkable results, and whole-exome sequencing showed no abnormal findings. Following a multidisciplinary discussion combined with RNA sequencing results, the patient was diagnosed with an autoinflammatory disease, with a suspected type Ⅰ interferonopathy. Treatment with tofacitinib resulted in gradual improvement of clinical symptoms. This case highlights the importance of detailed medical history collection, systematic physical examination and multidisciplinary collaborative diagnosis and treatment, and underscores the pivotal role of molecular diagnosis in the confirmation of rare diseases. It can provide a reference for the clinical diagnosis and management of similar rare cases.

Objective: To explore the influencing factors of incident caries at age 5 among caries-free 3-year-old children in Beijing, construct a machine learning prediction model based on oral health behavioral data, and provide a scientific basis and practical tool for early risk identification, stratified prevention and control, and home-kindergarten-medical collaborative intervention of incident dental caries in preschool children. Methods: This study has been reviewed and approved by the Medical Ethics Committee, and written informed consent was obtained from the guardians of the study participants and their guardians. Children with complete baseline data at age 3 and follow-up data at age 5 from Beijing public oral health programs were included. Oral examinations were conducted according to World Health Organization diagnostic criteria, and questionnaires were completed by guardians. Risk factors were screened by Logistic regression. The total sample was randomly divided into a test set (20%) and a validation set (80%). Five-fold cross-validation was performed on the validation set for model training and tuning, and the final model performance was evaluated on the test set. Four machine learning models—decision tree, random forest, Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM)—were constructed. Model performance was evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC), accuracy, and specificity. Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) was used for model interpretation. Results: The incidence of incident caries for 3 372 5-year-old children in Beijing was 50.96%. Multivariate logistic regression showed that parental caries, sleeping with milk, frequent feeding at night, no postprandial cleaning, high sugar intake, insufficient bedtime tooth brushing, and non-fluoride toothpaste use were significant risk factors (P < 0.05). Although all four machine learning models performed well, the XGBoost model performed the best (AUC = 0.806). Feature importance and SHAP analysis indicated that the frequency of bedtime tooth brushing, the frequency of candy consumption, and parental caries status were the top three predictors. Conclusion The XGBoost model based on oral health behaviors at age 3 can accurately predict the risk of incident caries in 5-year-old children in Beijing. Bedtime tooth brushing, sugar control, and parental oral health management are key points for caries prevention in preschool children.

ObjectiveColorectal cancer (CRC) is a highly heterogeneous malignancy, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome differentiation is widely used in its clinical management. However, the biological basis underlying different TCM syndromes remains insufficiently understood. This study aimed to investigate the proteomic differences between qi-blood deficiency syndrome (QBDS) and damp-heat syndrome (DHS) in CRC patients and to establish a “syndrome-differential protein-herbal component” network for exploring potential molecular mechanisms and therapeutic targets associated with syndrome-specific treatment strategies. MethodsTumor tissue samples were collected from 10 patients with pathologically confirmed CRC, including 5 patients diagnosed with QBDS and 5 with DHS according to standardized TCM syndrome differentiation criteria. Tandem mass tag (TMT)-based quantitative proteomics was employed to identify differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) between the two syndrome groups. Functional enrichment analyses, including Gene Ontology (GO) annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses, were performed to characterize the biological functions and signaling pathways associated with the identified DEPs. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis was further applied to screen key syndrome-related proteins and construct a core protein prediction model. Subsequently, molecular docking was conducted to evaluate the binding affinities between representative herbal compounds, astragaloside IV and berberine, and the identified core proteins. Finally, cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assays were performed in HCT 116 and HT-29 colorectal cancer cell lines to validate the anti-proliferative activities of these compounds in vitro. ResultsA total of 44 DEPs were identified between QBDS and DHS tissues, including 21 upregulated and 23 downregulated proteins in the QBDS group relative to the DHS group. Functional enrichment analyses revealed that these proteins were primarily associated with antiviral immune responses, regulation of inflammatory signaling, NF‑κB signaling pathways, cholesterol metabolism, and other biological processes relevant to tumor progression and host immune regulation. LASSO regression analysis identified eight core proteins with potential syndrome-specific significance. Among them, ST7, GPCPD1, and PODXL were closely associated with QBDS, whereas FAT1, GRB7, KRT7, MAFF, and MMP8 were associated with DHS. Molecular docking demonstrated favorable interactions between astragaloside IV and QBDS-related proteins, with binding energies lower than -5 kcal/mol, indicating stable binding activity. Berberine exhibited even lower binding energies and stronger binding specificity toward DHS-related core proteins. In vitro experiments further confirmed that both compounds inhibited CRC cell proliferation, while berberine displayed significantly greater anti-proliferative efficacy. The lowest 48 h IC₅₀ value of berberine reached 15.21 mg/L in CRC cells, indicating a stronger growth-inhibitory effect than astragaloside IV. ConclusionCRC patients with QBDS and DHS exhibit distinct proteomic characteristics, suggesting that different TCM syndromes possess unique molecular signatures. The identified core proteins may serve as potential biomarkers for syndrome differentiation, while astragaloside IV and berberine may exert therapeutic effects through targeting syndrome-specific molecular networks. These findings provide preliminary proteomic evidence supporting syndrome-guided precision integrative medicine in CRC and offer new insights into the biological basis of TCM syndrome differentiation and individualized therapeutic strategies.

Clinical practice guidelines represent the best recommendations for patient care. They are developed through systematically reviewing currently available clinical evidence and weighing the relative benefits and risks of various interventions. However, clinical practice guidelines have to go through a long translation cycle from development and revision to clinical promotion and application, facing problems such as scattered distribution, high duplication rate, and low actual utilization. At present, the clinical practice guideline information platform can directly or indirectly solve the problems related to the lengthy revision cycles, decentralized dissemination and limited application of clinical practice guidelines. Therefore, this paper systematically examines different types of clinical practice guideline information platforms and investigates their corresponding challenges and emerging trends in platform design, data integration, and practical implementation, with the aim of clarifying the current status of this field and providing valuable reference for future research on clinical practice guideline information platforms.

BACKGROUND:At present,osteoarthritis has become a major disease affecting the quality of life of the elderly,and the therapeutic effect is poor,often focusing on preventing the disease process,and the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis is still not fully understood.Bioinformatics analysis was carried out to explore the main pathogenesis of osteoarthritis and related mechanisms of gene coding regulation. OBJECTIVE:To screen core differential genes with a major role in osteoarthritis by gene expression profiling. METHODS:Datasets were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO):GSE114007,GSE117999,and GSE129147.Differential genes in the GSE114007 and GSE117999 data collections were screened using R software,performing differential genes to weighted gene co-expression network analysis.The module genes most relevant to osteoarthritis were selected to perform protein interaction analysis.Candidate core genes were selected using the cytocape software.The candidate core genes were subsequently subjected to least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression and COX analysis to identify the core genes with a key role in osteoarthritis.The accuracy of the core genes was validated using an external dataset,GSE129147. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)A total of 477 differential genes were identified,265 differential genes associated with osteoarthritis were obtained by weighted gene co-expression network analysis,and 8 candidate core genes were identified.The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression analysis finally yielded a differential gene ASPM with core value that was externally validated.(2)It is concluded that abnormal gene ASPM expression screened by bioinformatics plays a key central role in osteoarthritis.

ObjectiveTo establish a model that can quickly identify the aroma components in different parts of Nardostachys jatamansi， so as to provide a quality control basis for the market circulation and clinical use of N. jatamansi. MethodsHeadspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry（HS-SPME-GC-MS） combined with Smart aroma database and National Institute of Standards and Technology（NIST） database were used to characterize the aroma components in different parts of N. jatamansi， and the aroma components were quantified according to relative response factor（RRF） and three internal standards， and the markers of aroma differences in different parts of N. jatamansi were identified by orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis（OPLS-DA） and cluster thermal analysis based on variable importance in the projection（VIP） value >1 and P<0.01. The odor data of different parts of N. jatamansi were collected by Heracles Ⅱ Neo ultra-fast gas phase electronic nose， and the correlation between compound types of aroma components collected by the ultra-fast gas phase electronic nose and the detection results of HS-SPME-GC-MS was investigated by drawing odor fingerprints and odor response radargrams. Chromatographic peak information with distinguishing ability≥0.700 and peak area≥200 was selected as sensor data， and the rapid identification model of different parts of N. jatamansi was established by principal component analysis（PCA）， discriminant factor alysis（DFA）， soft independent modeling of class analogies（SIMCA） and statistical quality control analysis（SQCA）. ResultsThe HS-SPME-GC-MS results showed that there were 28 common components in the underground and aboveground parts of N. jatamansi， of which 22 could be quantified and 12 significantly different components were screened out. Among these 12 components， the contents of five components（ethyl isovalerate， 2-pentylfuran， benzyl alcohol， nonanal and glacial acetic acid，） in the aboveground part of N. jatamansi were significantly higher than those in the underground part（P<0.01）， the contents of β-ionone， patchouli alcohol， α-caryophyllene， linalyl butyrate， valencene， 1，8-cineole and p-cymene in the underground part of N. jatamansi were significantly higher than those in the aboveground part（P<0.01）. Heracles Ⅱ Neo electronic nose results showed that the PCA discrimination index of the underground and aboveground parts of N. jatamansi was 82， and the contribution rates of the principal component factors were 99.94% and 99.89% when 2 and 3 principal components were extracted， respectively. The contribution rate of the discriminant factor 1 of the DFA model constructed on the basis of PCA was 100%， the validation score of the SIMCA model for discrimination of the two parts was 99， and SQCA could clearly distinguish different parts of N. jatamansi. ConclusionHS-SPME-GC-MS can clarify the differential markers of underground and aboveground parts of N. jatamansi. The four analytical models provided by Heracles Ⅱ Neo electronic nose（PCA， DFA， SIMCA and SQCA） can realize the rapid identification of different parts of N. jatamansi. Combining the two results， it is speculated that terpenes and carboxylic acids may be the main factors contributing to the difference in aroma between the underground and aboveground parts of N. jatamansi.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the safety and efficacy of avatrombopag（AVA） combined with rhIL-11 in treating thrombocytopenia induced by chemotherapy in acute myeloid leukemia. METHODS: The clinical information of 8 patients in the real world who received avatrombopag combined with rhIL-11 in cancer treatment-induced thrombocytopenia(CTIT) after AML chemotherapy were retrospectively analyzed, and at the same time, 8 patients who received rhIL-11 only in CTIT after AML chemotherapy served as the control group, A preliminary observation was to summarize and compare the therapeutic efficacy and adverse effects between the two groups. RESULTS: D3 and D7 platelet counts were not significantly different between the observation group and the control group after treatment. The platelet counts in the observation group was significantly higher than those of the control group on the 10th day after treatment (P < 0.01). The adverse reactions, such as weakness, abdominal pain, fatigue, nausea and edema after treatment were mild in the observation group and the control group. Except for one patient in the observation group who had a history of cerebral infarction before the onset of the disease and was routinely taking antiplatelet drugs, no thrombosis events occurred in the patients in the observation and control groups during the period of administration of the drug, and the total incidence rate of adverse reactions was not significantly different between the two groups. CONCLUSION The combination of AVA and rhIL-11 can enhance platelet recovery in CTIT of AML patients after chemotherapy. Compared with the rhIL-11 alone group, the platelet recovery time in AVA+rhIL-11 group was significantly shorter, the platelet count on the 10th day after drug administration was significantly higher. No statistically significant difference in the total incidence rate of adverse reactions was observed between rhIL-11 alone group and AVA+rhIL-11 group.
Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/drug therapy* ; Thrombocytopenia/chemically induced* ; Interleukin-11/therapeutic use* ; Retrospective Studies ; Adult ; Thiophenes/therapeutic use* ; Platelet Count ; Female ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Thiazoles

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common cardiac arrhythmia in the elderly. This study aimed to evaluate urban-rural disparities in its prevalence and management in elderly Chinese. METHODS: Consecutive participants aged ≥ 65 years attending outpatient clinics were enrolled for AF screening using handheld single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) from April 2017 to December 2022. Each ECG rhythm strip was reviewed from the research team. AF or uninterpretable single-lead ECGs were referred for 12-lead ECG. Primary study outcome comparison was between rural and urban areas for the prevalence of AF. The Student's t-test was used to compare mean values of clinical characteristics between rural and urban participants, while the Pearson's chi-square test was used to compare between-group proportions. Multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the association between AF and various patient characteristics. RESULTS: The 29,166 study participants included 13,253 men (45.4%) and had a mean age of 72.2 years. The 7073 rural participants differed significantly (P ≤ 0.02) from the 22,093 urban participants in several major characteristics, such as older age, greater body mass index, and so on. The overall prevalence of AF was 4.6% (n = 1347). AF was more prevalent in 7073 rural participants than 22,093 urban participants (5.6% vs. 4.3%, P < 0.01), before and after adjustment for age, body mass index, blood pressure, pulse rate, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and prior medical history. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified overweight/obesity (OR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.17-1.54) in urban areas and cigarette smoking (OR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.20-2.17) and alcohol consumption (OR = 1.42, 95% CI: 1.04-1.93) in rural areas as specific risk factors for prevalent AF. In patients with known AF in urban areas (n = 781) and rural areas (n = 338), 60.6% and 45.9%, respectively, received AF treatment (P < 0.01), and only 22.4% and 17.2%, respectively, received anticoagulation therapy (P = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS In China, there are urban-rural disparities in AF in the elderly, with a higher prevalence and worse management in rural areas than urban areas. Our study findings provide insight for health policymakers to consider urban-rural disparity in the prevention and treatment of AF.

Objective:To analyze the epidemiological and clinical features of infectious diseases of the central nervous system (CNS).Methods:A cross-sectional study and analysis were conducted to summarize the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 9 918 patients with CNS infectious diseases, who were diagnosed and treated at 29 hospitals across China from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2020. Data collected included demographic data, clinical manifestations, health economic indicators, and prognostic outcomes.Results:Among the 9 918 collected cases of CNS infectious diseases, 5 559 were male (56.0%) and 4 359 were female (44.0%), with an onset age of 38 (25, 53) years. Education level: slightly more junior high school education (2 651 cases, 26.7%), and less elementary school education and below (2 181 cases, 22.0%) were found. Occupational distribution: farmers were found predominant (3 215 cases, 32.4%), followed by workers (1 826 cases, 18.4%) and students (1 633 cases, 16.5%). Clinical manifestations: headache (6 074 cases, 61.2%), fever (5 869 cases, 59.2%) and positive meningeal irritation signs (2 273 cases, 22.9%) were the 3 most common clinical manifestations, followed by nausea and (or) vomiting (2 095 cases, 21.1%), impaired consciousness (2 077 cases, 20.9%), psychiatric symptom (1 866 cases, 18.8%) and epilepsy (1 627 cases, 16.4%), etc., and cranial nerve involvement was found in 669 cases (6.7%). Major pathogens included viruses in 6 814 cases (68.7%), Mycobacterium tuberculosis in 1 677 cases (16.9%), common bacteria in 864 cases (8.7%), fungi in 254 cases (2.6%), spirochetes of syphilis in 183 cases (1.8%), parasites in 121 cases (1.2%), and rickettsiae in 5 cases (0.1%). Urban-rural distribution: slightly more cases were found in the countryside (5 418 cases, 54.6%) than in the towns (4 500 cases, 45.4%). Distribution of onset by season: 2 412 cases (24.3%) fell ill in spring, 2 835 cases (28.6%) in summer, 2 187 cases (22.1%) in fall, and 2 484 cases (25.0%) in winter. Health economics: the duration of hospitalization was 15 (8, 27) days, and the cost of hospitalization was 1.53 (0.91, 3.02)×10 000 yuan. Prognosis: 9 531 cases (96.1%) were cured or improved, and 92 cases (0.9%) died. Conclusions:The pathogens responsible for CNS infectious diseases are predominantly viruses. Although the incidence is slightly higher during the summer months, the overall seasonal pattern is not particularly pronounced. These infections are more commonly observed in young and middle-aged males and present with a diverse range of clinical manifestations, contributing to a significant disease burden.