Objective:To investigate the clinical value of prognostic nutrition index(PNI)in the overall survival of patients with non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC)aged 70 years and above treated with radiotherapy, and to construct a nomogram prediction model.Methods:General clinicopathological features and routine blood test in144 patients with pathologically confirmed NSCLC aged 70 years and above were collected, PNI(serum albumin+ 5× lymphocyte count)before radiotherapy were calculated, and prognostic factors affecting the survival were analyzed.Build a nomogram model and verify it.Statistical analysis was performed using R language 4.0.3 software.Results:125 elderly patients with NSCLC met the inclusion criteria, with the median survival time of 18.4 months.The optimal cutoff value of PNI was 42.3.PNI was closely correlated with age, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiation pneumonia in elderly NSCLC patients receiving radiotherapy( P<0.05).TNM stage, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and PNI were independent factors affecting the prognosis of NSCLC patients aged 70 years and above who had received radiotherapy( P<0.05).We use these independent risk factors to construct prognostic column charts at 1, 2, and 3 years.We use Bootstrap repeated sampling 1000 times, and validate through ROC curves and calibration curves. Conclusions:For NSCLC patients aged 70 years and above who have received radiotherapy, PNI is a simple prognostic indicator and has practical clinical application value.

Objective:To analyze the epidemiological characteristics and changing trends of elderly patients with drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis(DR-PTB)at Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, in order to provide references for clinical prevention and treatment.Methods:Data were retrospectively collected from all DR-PTB cases hospitalized in the electronic medical record system of Beijing Chest Hospital from 2019 to 2023.The epidemiological characteristics including classification, gender, age, occupation and their changing trends among elderly DR-PTB patients were analyzed.Results:Among 1 981 hospitalized DR-PTB patients, 400(20.19%)were elderly[aged 60-92 years, mean(68.67±7.01)years], showing an overall increasing trend from 2019 to 2023.Mono-resistant PTB was the most common(198 cases, 49.50%), followed by multidrug-resistant PTB(170 cases, 42.50%), extensively drug-resistant PTB(21 cases, 5.25%), and polyresistant PTB(11 cases, 2.75%).Among the elderly DR-PTB patients, 287 cases(71.75%)were male, 200 cases(50.00%)were initial treatment cases, 377 cases(94.25%)were Han nationality, 165 cases(41.25%)were Beijing residents, 185 cases(46.25%)were employees of enterprises and institutions, 109 cases(27.25%)were farmers, 68 cases(17.00%)were unemployed individuals, 202 cases(50.50%)were pathogen-positive cases(smear and culture positive), and 228 cases(57.00%), 331 cases(82.75%), 196 cases(49.00%)were patients with comorbidities, complications, and extrapulmonary tuberculosis, respectively.There were no significant differences between elderly and non-elderly groups in ethnicity, treatment classification, or comorbidities(all P>0.05).However, significantly differences were found in gender ( χ2=12.718, P<0.001), occupation ( χ2=97.500, P<0.001), patient origin ( χ2=119.771, P<0.001), pathogen detection results ( χ2=10.101, P=0.001), and drug resistance patterns ( χ2=15.990, P=0.001).The proportion of elderly DR-PTB patients showed an overall increasing trend, with rises in females(25.64%-28.70%), unemployed individuals(7.69%-20.37%), other occupations(5.13%-19.40%), Han ethnicity(91.03%-99.07%), initial treatment(33.33%-57.41%), smear-negative but culture-positive cases(46.15%-53.70%), polyresistant PTB(1.28%-9.26%), and extensively drug-resistant PTB(1.28%-3.70%). Conclusions:Among elderly DR-PTB patients, the proportions of female, unemployed individuals and other occupations, initial treatment cases, smear-negative but culture-positive cases, polyresistant PTB, and extensively drug-resistant PTB are increasing annually.Future efforts should focus on targeted prevention and treatment for key populations to further reduce the rate of elderly DR-PTB.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the bactericidal effect of levulinic acid-sodium dodecyl sulfate(LVA-SDS)on the strains of Mycobacterium abscessus,Mycobacterium chelonae and Mycobacterium fortuitum,and to provide a new method for the prevention of common pathogenic rapidly growing non-tuberculous mycobacteria(NTM)dis-ease.METHODS The minimum inhibitory concentration(MIC)and minimal bactericidal concentration(MBC)of LVA-SDS were detected by microculture method and suspension quantitative bactericidal test,respectively.Using 1000 mg/L chlorine-containing disinfectant(sodium hypochlorite)as the control,the killing effect of LVA-SDS at different times and concentrations on M.abscessus,M.chelonae and M.fortuitum were detected.RESULTS The MIC values of LVA-SDS against M.abscessus,M.chelonae and M.fortuitum were 0.0625%LVA+0.00625%SDS,0.03125%LVA+0.003125%SDS and 0.125%LVA+0.0125%SDS,respectively.The MBC values were 0.25%LVA+0.025%SDS,0.25%LVA+0.025%SDS,and 1%LVA+0.1%SDS,repectively.Within a cer-tain range,with the increase in LVA-SDS concentration and the extension of time(1-30 min),the bactericidal effect on M.abscessus,M.chelonae and M.fortuitum gradually enhanced.The killing rates of the 18%LVA+1.8%SDS for 5 minutes and the 6%LVA+0.6%SDS for 20 minutes to M.abscessus reached 100.00%;the kill-ing rates of the 18%LVA+1.8%SDS for 10 minutes and the 10%LVA+1%SDS for 25 minutes to M.chelo-nae reached 100.00%;while the killing rates of the 18%LVA+1.8%SDS for 5 minutes and the 6%LVA+0.6%SDS for 30 minutes to M.fortuitum reached 100.00%.Compared with 1000 mg/L chlorine-containing disin-fectant(sodium hypochlorite),LVA-SDS has equivalent bactericidal effects against M.abscessus and M.chelo-nae,and a better bactericidal effect against M.fortuitum.CONCLUSION LVA-SDS has a good bactericidal effect on M.abscessus,M.chelonae and M.fortuitum,and may be used in the disinfection of NTM in the future.

Objective:To explore the correlation between thyroid hormone levels and the 90-day prognosis in patients with severe pulmonary tuberculosis, with a particular focus on the impact of age.Methods:This retrospective cohort study included 156 patients(43 females, 113 males; ages ranging from 21 to 93 years)diagnosed with severe pulmonary tuberculosis between January 2022 and December 2023.Patients were categorized into deceased( n=46)and survived( n=110)groups based on their 90-day survival status.Further subcategorization into elderly and non-elderly subgroups was conducted.Thyroid hormone levels and other relevant laboratory markers were measured and analyzed. Results:Total triiodothyronine(TT3) [(0.92±0.36)nmol/L] and free triiodothyronine(FT3) [(2.19±0.87)pmol/L] in deceased group were lower than in survival group [TT3(1.09±0.38)nmol/L], FT3 [(2.79±0.99)pmol/L], both P<0.05.T3 levels positively correlated with 90-day survival (TT3: r=-0.202, P=0.011; FT3: r=-0.276, P<0.001).In elderly patients, this correlation was weakened (TT3: r=-0.071, P=0.526; FT3: r=-0.206, P=0.059), but remained significant in non-elderly patients (TT3: r=-0.360, P=0.002; FT3: r=-0.345, P=0.003).FT3 was a better prognostic indicator than TT3. Conclusions:Low serum T3 levels are indicative of a poor prognosis in severe pulmonary tuberculosis; however, their predictive value diminishes in elderly patients.

Objective:To detect the expression levels of long non-coding RNAs(lncRNA)in elderly patients with pulmonary tuberculosis(PTB)and those with non-tuberculous lung diseases(non-TB), and to assess the performance of these lncRNA in the differential diagnosis of PTB.Methods:A total of 300 elderly patients with suspected PTB were recruited from Beijing Chest Hospital between January 2024 and September 2024, and were further divided into the PTB group and the non-TB lung disease group based on the results of mycobacterium tuberculosis(MTB)pathogenicity testing.Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated using a lymphocyte separation solution, and RNA was extracted using the TRIzol method.Nine lncRNAs, previously identified as differentially expressed in PTB through our group's microarray analysis, were selected and detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction to evaluate the expression levels of these lncRNAs between the PTB and non-TB lung disease groups.The overall patients were randomly divided into training and validation sets in a 7∶3 ratio.Lasso regression was employed to select the characteristic variables, and a random forest algorithm was then used to construct the lncRNA diagnostic portfolio.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were generated to evaluate the diagnostic performance of individual lncRNAs and the combined panel in differentiating elderly patients with PTB from those with other non-TB lung diseases.Results:A total of 201 cases were included, with 105 confirmed elderly patients diagnosed with PTB(52.2%)and 96 elderly patients suffering from non-TB lung disease(47.8%).Compared to the elderly patients with non-TB lung disease, the expression levels of ENST00000417346.1, ENST00000620744.1, lncRNA PWP1, ENST00000583184.1, lncRNA ABHD17B, ENST00000607464.1, ENST00000516057.1, and NR_003000 were significantly downregulated in the PTB patients, whereas the expression level of lncRNA BCL2L10 was significantly upregulated in the PTB patients.ROC analysis revealed that the area under the curve(AUC)for each lncRNA ranged from 0.659 to 0.848.The diagnostic panel, which included NR_003000, ENST00000607464.1, ENST00000583184.1, and ENST00000620744.1 as determined by Lasso analysis, exhibited AUC values of 0.917 and 0.906 in the training and validation sets, respectively.The performance of this panel was superior to that of each individual lncRNA.Conclusions:The random forest model, which incorporates NR_003000, ENST00000607464.1, ENST00000583184.1, and ENST00000620744.1, demonstrates potential in differentiating between PTB and non-TB lung diseases.

Objective:To summarize the drug resistance characteristics of clinical pathogen isolates in a tuberculosis specialized hospital from 2017 to 2023，and understand the distribution characterisitics of pathogens and their resistance to antimicrobial agents.Methods:The isolates from January 2017 to December 2023 were identified and subjected to drug susceptibility tests using the VITEK 2-compact system. The susceptibilities of the isolates to antimicrobial agents were determined by the minimum inhibitory concentration（MIC）methods according to the CLSI（2023）guideline. The data of detection of different kinds of bacteria，specimen distribution and the detection rates of major drug-resistant gram-negative bacteria in hospital antimicrobial resistance were analyzed. Chi square test were performed to analyze one or more sets of data related to detection rate or drug resistance rate by SPSS 17.0.Results:A total of 9 993 isolates were detected，among which 9 079（90.9%）were gram-negative bacteria and 914（9.1%）were gram-positive bacteria. From 2017 to 2022，among all gram-negative isolates，the top three most frequently isolated pathogens were Klebsiella pneumonia，followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii. The overall resistance rates to carbapenems in Acinetobacter baumannii， Pseudomonas aeruginosa， Klebsiella pneumonia，and Escherichia coli were 43.7%（495/1 133），19.4%（276/1 423），8.4%（279/3 304），3.6%（19/521），respectively. The overall detection rates of ceftriaxone/ciprofloxacin-resistant Klebsiella pneumonia（CTX/CRO-R-KPN），or Escherichia coli（CTX/CRO-R-ECO），and quinolone-resistant Escherichia coli（QNR-ECO）were 19.5%（644/3 304），57.6%（300/521），77.4%（403/521），respectively. The difference in resistance rates between imipenem-resistant and imipenem-susceptible Klebsiella pneumoniae was statistically significant（ P<0.05）. Except for CTX/CRO-R-ECO（ χ2=7.9 ，P>0.05），significant differences were observed in the detection rates of other major drug-resistant gram-negative bacteria in hospital（ P<0.05）. The detection of some drug-resistant strains showed an upward trend in recent years. Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii， Pseudomonas aeruginosa，and Escherichia coli exhibited higher resistance rate to other antibiotics. Conclusions:The detection rates of major drug-resistant gram-negative bacteria have increased in the past two years. Carbapenem-resistant strains exhibit relatively high resistance rate to cephalosporin and quinolone antibiotics. Although carbapenem antibiotics remain effective against Enterobacteriaceae，strengthened antimicrobial resistance monitoring and control of multidrug-resistant bacteria spread are necessary.

Macrophages play a pivotal role in host defense against Mycobacterium tuberculosis ( Mtb) infection. Their metabolic processes and metabolites are essential for maintaining immune homeostasis, responding to invading pathogens, and orchestrating subsequent immune responses. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of macrophage metabolic reprogramming during Mtb infection is critical for deciphering the intricate mechanisms underlying the host immune response against tuberculosis. This review summarizes recent advances in how macrophages regulate immune responses through core metabolic pathways, including glucose metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, lipid metabolism, and amino acid metabolism, in the context of Mtb infection. The insights provided here offer new perspectives and potential strategies for future tuberculosis prevention and targeted therapy.

Vitrification cryopreservation technology converts the liquid water in biological samples into glassy solids through ultra-rapid cooling. In this review, the core research of vitrification cryopreservation technology was mainly reviewed, such as the optimization of cryoprotectant formulations, the improvements to temperature control methods, the innovative carrier designs and the improvements to rewarming technology. The application status and issues in the fields of organ preservation, tumor research, reproductive medicine and rare cell preservation were also summarized. By combining the technical principles with glassy state detection methods, a theoretical basis was provided for optimizing the technical system and expanding application scenarios, thereby promoting its large-scale application in clinical and biological sample libraries.

Objective:To evaluate the diagnostic value of metagenomic next-generation sequencing（mNGS）in bone and joint infections caused by non-tuberculous mycobacteria（NTM）.Methods:Clinical data of 175 patients with suspected NTM bone and joint infections admitted in Beijing Chest Hospital，Capital Medical University from January 2019 to January 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. Mycobacterium growth indicator tube（MGIT）method was used for mycobacterial culture on the bone tissue or abscess samples and mNGS test was performed on bone tissue samples in all patients. Taking clinical diagnosis as the gold standard，the sensitivity，specificity，positive predictive value，negative predictive value，positive likelihood ratio，and negative likelihood ratio of the two methods were compared.Results:Twenty-six patients（14.9%）were clinically diagnosed as NTM bone and joint infections. The mNGS showed higher sensitivity（100.0% vs. 57.7%，），specificity（99.3% vs. 86.6%），positive predictive value（96.3% vs. 42.9%），and negative predictive value（100.0% vs. 92.1%），compared to MGIT culture（all P<0.001）. The positive likelihood ratio（149.00 vs. 4.31）and negative likelihood ratio（0 vs. 0.49）of mNGS were also superior to those of MGIT. Conclusion:Compared to MGIT culture，mNGS has high diagnostic value in NTM bone and joint infections and can serve as an efficient and reliable method for clinical diagnosis.

This study compared the clinical characteristics of brucellosis,tuberculosis,and their co-infections,to improve dif-ferential diagnosis and disease management.A retrospective analysis was conducted on 41 patients with brucellosis,38 co-infected pa-tients,and 95 patients with tuberculosis admitted to Beijing Chest Hospital,Capital Medical University,between January 2017 and December 2024.Clinical manifestations,laboratory findings,and complications were analyzed statistically.Brucellosis and tuberculo-sis shared clinical similarities,such as presentation with prolonged fever.However,patients with brucellosis tended to exhibit muscle pain,night sweats,and loss of appetite,whereas patients with tuberculosis frequently presented with cough,sputum production,and lymphadenopathy.Co-infected patients had a higher fever incidence,and elevated hs-CRP and ESR levels.Whereas spinal spondyli-tis was more frequent in brucellosis,pulmonary infections and pleural effusion were predominant in tuberculosis.Co-infected patients exhibited characteristics of both diseases,and showed more severe systemic inflammation and prolonged illness.In conclusion,al-though elevated hs-CRP and ESR might aid in differentiation,pathogen detection is crucial for accurate diagnosis.Strengthening screening in patients with persistent fever and systemic inflammation may improve early identification,optimize treatment,and en-hance outcomes.