OBJECTIVE To explore the clinical value of metagenomic next generation sequencing(mNGS)in detec-tion of pathogens from the patients with pulmonary infection.METHODS The clinical data were collected from 103 patients with pulmonary infection who were treated in respiratory and critical care medicine department of Gansu Province People's Hospital from Jun.2021 to Jun.2023.The pathogens were detected from all of the patients with the use of mNGS for bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF)and traditional cultures(including sputum culture and BALF culture).The positive rates,consistency,distribution,efficacy and curative effects were observed and sys-tematically compared between the two detection methods.RESULTS Totally 122 strains of bacteria,47 strains of fungi,94 strains of viruses,3 strains of Mycoplasma and 2 strains of Chlamydia were detected from the 103 pa-tients by mNGS,as compared with only 45 strains of bacteria and 20 strains of fungi that were detected by the tra-ditional culture method.The positive rate of detection of pathogens was 89.32％by mNGS,higher than 38.83％of the traditional culture method(P＜0.001).There was certain difference in the distribution of pathogens be-tween the two detection method,the two detection method showed the poor consistency of detection efficacy,and the effect of targeted drug therapy based on the mNGS-detected pathogens was higher than that of the mNGS-negative empirical therapy(P＜0.001).In addition,some of drug resistance genes could be detected by mNGS.CONCLUSIONS The mNGS shows remarkable higher efficacy in detection of the pathogens causing pul-monary infections than the traditional culture method and can detect various types of pathogens.The effect of the targeted drug therapy based on the pathogens detected by mNGS is remarkable.It plays an imorptant role in guid-ing the clinical diagnosis and treatment of the patients with pulmonary infections.

BACKGROUND:Studies have shown that different durations of pressure application on normal muscles can produce varying physiological responses.OBJECTIVE:To explore the expression levels of inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor α and nuclear κB in skeletal muscle under different pressure durations.METHODS:Twenty healthy male SPF-grade Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups:control group,10-second pressure group,20-second pressure group,and 30-second pressure group.The right leg of each rat was used for the experiment.The control group received no intervention,while rats in each pressure group were anesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of 2%pentobarbital sodium(35 mg/kg),and the thin femoral muscle of the rats was pressed continuously at a constant pressure of 200 kPa using a homemade mechanical pressure device for 10,20,and 30 seconds,respectively.Muscle tissue at the pressing site of the right hind limb was collected immediately after pressure.Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to observe the morphological changes of skeletal muscle tissues and changes in the cross-sectional area of muscle fibers,and immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression levels of tumor necrosis factor α and nuclear factor κB in rat skeletal muscle.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Hematoxylin-eosin staining results revealed that the pressure groups showed loosely arranged skeletal muscle fibers,reduced cross-sectional area and diameter,and enlarged intermuscular spaces.Compared with the control group,the cross-sectional area of muscle fibers was significantly reduced in the pressure groups(P<0.05),but there was no significant difference between the three pressure groups(P>0.05).The 10-second pressure group showed no significant presence of red blood cells in the interstitial spaces,while the 20-second pressure group exhibited a small amount of red blood cells,and the 30-second pressure group showed capillary dilation with red blood cells in the interstitial spaces.The expression level of tumor necrosis factor α in the 30-second pressure group was significantly higher than that in the control group(P<0.05).The expression level of nuclear factor κB in skeletal muscle showed no significant difference among groups(P>0.05).To conclude,skeletal muscle undergoes morphological changes and reduced cross-sectional area after pressure at 200 kPa,but there is no significant difference among the 10-,20-,and 30-second pressure groups.As the duration of pressure increases to 30 seconds,the inflammatory factor tumor necrosis factor α is activated,but nuclear factor κB remains unaffected,suggesting that inflammatory factors may express under short-term pressure,while transcription factors show no significant change.

In October 2024, a 36-year-old female patient with botulinum toxin type A intoxication for 15d was admitted to the Department of Neurology of Northern Jiangsu People’s Hospital. Although type A botulinum antitoxin (BAT) therapy remained effective, the patient developed a serum sickness-like reaction (SSLR) on day 4 of treatment after receiving eight consecutive desensitizing intramuscular injections of BAT. After stopping the injection of the drug and giving intravenous dexamethasone, the patient’s symptoms improved. On the 6th day after stopping the injection of botulinum antitoxin type A, the patient was followed up in the outpatient clinic and the skin symptoms had almost disappeared. This article analyzed the patient’s medical records and explored the association between BAT and SSLR, suggesting that medical personnel should be alert to the risk of adverse reactions when applying antitoxin therapy, and that they should identify and intervene in a timely manner in order to ensure the safety of the medication and therapeutic efficacy of the patients.

Objective To investigate the effects and mechanisms of Huatan Quyu Decoction on learning and memory abilities in rats with vascular dementia(VD).Methods Totally 112 male SD rats were randomly selected with 16 rats as the sham-operation group,the remaining rats were used to prepare VD models by segmental ligation of the common carotid artery.The successfully modeled rats were randomly divided into model group,Huatan Quyu Decoction low-,medium-and high-dosage groups(6.1,12.1,24.2 g/kg),donepezil hydrochloride group(0.5 mg/kg)and combination group(Huatan Quyu Decoction 12.1 g/kg+donepezil hydrochloride 0.5 mg/kg),with 16 rats in each group.Each group was given the corresponding treatment measures for 4 weeks.The Morris water maze test was used to assess learning and memory abilities,neurological function was evaluated using Garcia score,HE staining was used to observe the morphology of the hippocampal tissue,ELISA was employed to detect the serum content of Aβ,immunohistochemistry was utilized to observe the β-catenin,LRP6 and GSK-3β protein expression in brain tissue.Results Compared with the sham-operation group,the escape latency of the model group rats was prolonged(P<0.01),the number of crossing platforms was reduced(P<0.01),and the neurological deficit score was decreased(P<0.01),the arrangement of hippocampal tissue cells was disorderly,and the tissue was severely damaged,the serum Aβ content increased(P<0.01),the expressions of β-catenin and LRP6 protein in brain tissue decreased,and the expression of GSK-3β protein increased(P<0.01).Compared with the model group,the escape latency of rats in each administration group was shortened,the number of crossing platforms increased,the neurological deficit score increased,the number of hippocampal cells was relatively more,the arrangement was more orderly,and the structure was relatively complete,the serum Aβ content decreased,the expressions of β-catenin and LRP6 proteins increased,and the expression of GSK-3β protein decreased.Among them,Huatan Quyu Decoction high-dosage group had a significantly better effect than Huatan Quyu Decoction low-and medium-dosage groups(P<0.01),and there was no statistical significance in various indicators compared with the donepezil hydrochloride group(P>0.05).Compared with the donepezil hydrochloride group,the combination group showed significant improvements in learning and memory abilities(P<0.01),the neurological deficit score significantly increased(P<0.01),the number of hippocampal cells significantly increased,arranged neatly,and structurally intact,the serum Aβ content significantly decreased(P<0.01),the expression of β-catenin and LRP6 proteins significantly increased,and the expression of GSK-3β protein significantly decreased(P<0.01).Conclusion Huatan Quyu Decoction can repair cognitive function in VD rats,improve learning and memory abilities,and alleviate VD symptoms by activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway to reduce serum Aβ content,decrease the apoptosis of nerve cells and alleviate the degree of pathological damage in hippocampal tissue.

OBJECTIVE To explore the clinical value of metagenomic next generation sequencing(mNGS)in detec-tion of pathogens from the patients with pulmonary infection.METHODS The clinical data were collected from 103 patients with pulmonary infection who were treated in respiratory and critical care medicine department of Gansu Province People's Hospital from Jun.2021 to Jun.2023.The pathogens were detected from all of the patients with the use of mNGS for bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF)and traditional cultures(including sputum culture and BALF culture).The positive rates,consistency,distribution,efficacy and curative effects were observed and sys-tematically compared between the two detection methods.RESULTS Totally 122 strains of bacteria,47 strains of fungi,94 strains of viruses,3 strains of Mycoplasma and 2 strains of Chlamydia were detected from the 103 pa-tients by mNGS,as compared with only 45 strains of bacteria and 20 strains of fungi that were detected by the tra-ditional culture method.The positive rate of detection of pathogens was 89.32％by mNGS,higher than 38.83％of the traditional culture method(P＜0.001).There was certain difference in the distribution of pathogens be-tween the two detection method,the two detection method showed the poor consistency of detection efficacy,and the effect of targeted drug therapy based on the mNGS-detected pathogens was higher than that of the mNGS-negative empirical therapy(P＜0.001).In addition,some of drug resistance genes could be detected by mNGS.CONCLUSIONS The mNGS shows remarkable higher efficacy in detection of the pathogens causing pul-monary infections than the traditional culture method and can detect various types of pathogens.The effect of the targeted drug therapy based on the pathogens detected by mNGS is remarkable.It plays an imorptant role in guid-ing the clinical diagnosis and treatment of the patients with pulmonary infections.

BACKGROUND:Studies have shown that different durations of pressure application on normal muscles can produce varying physiological responses.OBJECTIVE:To explore the expression levels of inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor α and nuclear κB in skeletal muscle under different pressure durations.METHODS:Twenty healthy male SPF-grade Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups:control group,10-second pressure group,20-second pressure group,and 30-second pressure group.The right leg of each rat was used for the experiment.The control group received no intervention,while rats in each pressure group were anesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of 2%pentobarbital sodium(35 mg/kg),and the thin femoral muscle of the rats was pressed continuously at a constant pressure of 200 kPa using a homemade mechanical pressure device for 10,20,and 30 seconds,respectively.Muscle tissue at the pressing site of the right hind limb was collected immediately after pressure.Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to observe the morphological changes of skeletal muscle tissues and changes in the cross-sectional area of muscle fibers,and immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression levels of tumor necrosis factor α and nuclear factor κB in rat skeletal muscle.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Hematoxylin-eosin staining results revealed that the pressure groups showed loosely arranged skeletal muscle fibers,reduced cross-sectional area and diameter,and enlarged intermuscular spaces.Compared with the control group,the cross-sectional area of muscle fibers was significantly reduced in the pressure groups(P<0.05),but there was no significant difference between the three pressure groups(P>0.05).The 10-second pressure group showed no significant presence of red blood cells in the interstitial spaces,while the 20-second pressure group exhibited a small amount of red blood cells,and the 30-second pressure group showed capillary dilation with red blood cells in the interstitial spaces.The expression level of tumor necrosis factor α in the 30-second pressure group was significantly higher than that in the control group(P<0.05).The expression level of nuclear factor κB in skeletal muscle showed no significant difference among groups(P>0.05).To conclude,skeletal muscle undergoes morphological changes and reduced cross-sectional area after pressure at 200 kPa,but there is no significant difference among the 10-,20-,and 30-second pressure groups.As the duration of pressure increases to 30 seconds,the inflammatory factor tumor necrosis factor α is activated,but nuclear factor κB remains unaffected,suggesting that inflammatory factors may express under short-term pressure,while transcription factors show no significant change.

Objective:To investigate the prevalence of scoliosis among middle school students through school-based screening, and to analyze the correlations between axial trunk rotation (ATR) angle and Cobb angle among those with scoliosis considering gender, age, body mass index (BMI) and curve type, so as to provide references for early prevention and treatment.Methods:Random cluster sampling was used to enroll 9501 middle school students from 11 schools in the Hanyang District of Wuhan. They underwent a six-step scoliosis screening with a forward bending test, scoliometer measurements, and confirmatory X-ray examinations. The students exhibiting scoliosis were stratified by gender, age, BMI, and curve type. The correlation between ATR angle and Cobb angle was subsequently analyzed within each subgroup.Results:Scoliosis was observed in 358 of the students (150 boys and 208 girls), a positive screening rate of 3.8%. Moreover, the positive screening rate was significantly higher among the girls (4.8%) than among the boys (2.9%). There was a moderate Spearman correlation ( r=0.69) between the ATR and Cobb angles in 358 of the students with scoliosis, both the boys ( r=0.69) and the girls ( r=0.70). When it came to age, there was a positive correlation between the ATR and Cobb angles for students aged 13 to 16 irrespective of their BMI classification, except that there was no significant correlation between the two angles for those classified as obese. In terms of Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) classification, there was a positive correlation for those in types Ia, Ib, Ic, IIa, IIb, IIc and IId, but there was no significant correlation between the two angles for those in type III. Conclusions:Scoliosis is prevalent among the group of adolescents studied. Society, schools and parents need to prioritize prevention, heightened awareness, timely diagnosis and early treatment, particularly for girls. The ATR angle may serve as a practical surrogate for estimating Cobb angle severity in scoliosis screening for single-curve or double-curve cases. However, ATR measurements may yield false-negative results among those with triple-curve deformities or the obese, underscoring the need for supplementary diagnostic methods among such populations.

The classical latent structure method does not consider the influence of primary and secondary symptoms,syndromes and symptoms in the analysis and modeling of syndromes.In this paper,based on the data of damp-heat in intestine and stomach syndrome involving 1087 diabetic patients,the classical latent structure analysis was used to obtain the quantitative syndrome diagnostic rules.Then,using Constrained Latent Tree Analysis(CLTA),the quantitative syndrome diagnostic rules containing primary and secondary symptoms were obtained as follows,primary symptoms include halitosis(2.3),yellow tongue coating(2),abdominal distension(2.3),greasy tongue coating(2.1),loose stool or loose stool(1.5),red tongue(1.3),smooth pulse(1.4).Secondary symptoms include epigastric distension(1.1).Compared with the traditional latent structure analysis method,the rules established by CLTA are more compatible with the concept of differentiating primary and secondary symptoms and the common practice of TCM.The quantitative syndrome diagnostic rules of damp-heat in intestine and stomach syndrome constructed by the CLTA method have considerable objectivity in the modeling process.The diagnostic rules established were also compatible with the qualitative concept of TCM theory in stratifying primary and secondary symptoms.Finally,the diagnostic rules are obtained by logistic regression analysis,and the accuracy of the three rules is compared.The results show that the rule recognition accuracy obtained by CLTA is the highest.Therefore,the syndrome diagnostic rules of damp-heat in intestine and stomach obtained from the analysis of CLTA are in line with the constraint semantics of primary and secondary diseases and the theory of traditional Chinese medicine.

Objective:To evaluate the role of NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome-mediated microglia activation in myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion-induced brain injury in mice.Methods:Fifty-two SPF healthy male wild-type C57BL/6 mice and 52 NLRP3 -/- mice, aged 8-10 weeks, were divided into 4 groups ( n=26 each) using a random number table method: wild type sham operation group (W-S group), wild type myocardial ischemia-reperfusion group (W-IR group), NLRP3 -/- sham operation group (NLRP3 -/--S group), and NLRP3 -/- myocardial ischemia-reperfusion group (NLRP3 -/--IR group). The myocardial ischemia-reperfusion-induced brain injury model was established by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery for 45 min followed by 24 h of reperfusion in anesthetized mice. The cognitive function was evaluated using the modified Morris water maze test at 24 h of reperfusion. The mice were sacrificed after blood specimens were collected, and brain tissues were obtained for measurement of the blood-brain barrier permeability and water content, for microscopic examination of the pathological changes of brain tissues, and for determination of serum S-100β protein and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) concentrations, contents of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in hippocampal tissues (by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), expression of NLRP3, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein (ASC), cleaved cysteine aspartate protease 1 (cleaved-caspase-1), gasdermin D (GSDMD), ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba-1), and occludin in hippocampal tissues (by immunofluorescence and/or Western blot). The apoptosis rate of neurons and density of dendritic spine were calculated. Results:Compared with sham operation group, the escape latency was significantly prolonged, the number of crossing the original platform was decreased, and the time spent in the target quadrant was shortened, the concentrations of serum S-100β protein and NSE were increased, the blood-brain barrier permeability and brain water content were increased, the dendritic spine density in the hippocampal CA1 area was decreased, the contents of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α were increased, the expression of NLRP3, ASC, cleaved-caspase-1, GSDMD and Iba-1 was up-regulated, and the expression of occludin was down-regulated ( P<0.05), and the pathological injury to brain tissues was found in ischemia-reperfusion group. Compared with W-IR group, the escape latency was significantly shortened, the number of crossing the original platform was increased, and the time spent in the target quadrant was prolonged, the concentrations of serum S-100β protein and NSE were decreased, the blood-brain barrier permeability and brain water content were decreased, the dendritic spine density in the hippocampal CA1 area was increased, the contents of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α were decreased, the expression of NLRP3, ASC, cleaved-caspase-1, GSDMD and Iba-1 was down-regulated, and the expression of occludin was up-regulated ( P<0.05), and the pathological injury to brain tissues was alleviated in NLRP3 -/--IR group. Conclusions:NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated microglia activation is involved in myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion-induced brain injury in mice.

Objective:To investigate the prevalence of scoliosis among middle school students through school-based screening, and to analyze the correlations between axial trunk rotation (ATR) angle and Cobb angle among those with scoliosis considering gender, age, body mass index (BMI) and curve type, so as to provide references for early prevention and treatment.Methods:Random cluster sampling was used to enroll 9501 middle school students from 11 schools in the Hanyang District of Wuhan. They underwent a six-step scoliosis screening with a forward bending test, scoliometer measurements, and confirmatory X-ray examinations. The students exhibiting scoliosis were stratified by gender, age, BMI, and curve type. The correlation between ATR angle and Cobb angle was subsequently analyzed within each subgroup.Results:Scoliosis was observed in 358 of the students (150 boys and 208 girls), a positive screening rate of 3.8%. Moreover, the positive screening rate was significantly higher among the girls (4.8%) than among the boys (2.9%). There was a moderate Spearman correlation ( r=0.69) between the ATR and Cobb angles in 358 of the students with scoliosis, both the boys ( r=0.69) and the girls ( r=0.70). When it came to age, there was a positive correlation between the ATR and Cobb angles for students aged 13 to 16 irrespective of their BMI classification, except that there was no significant correlation between the two angles for those classified as obese. In terms of Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) classification, there was a positive correlation for those in types Ia, Ib, Ic, IIa, IIb, IIc and IId, but there was no significant correlation between the two angles for those in type III. Conclusions:Scoliosis is prevalent among the group of adolescents studied. Society, schools and parents need to prioritize prevention, heightened awareness, timely diagnosis and early treatment, particularly for girls. The ATR angle may serve as a practical surrogate for estimating Cobb angle severity in scoliosis screening for single-curve or double-curve cases. However, ATR measurements may yield false-negative results among those with triple-curve deformities or the obese, underscoring the need for supplementary diagnostic methods among such populations.