Gut microbial communities are likely remodeled in tandem with accumulated physiological decline during aging, yet there is limited understanding of gut microbiome variation in advanced age. Here, we performed a metagenomics-based enterotype analysis in a geographically homogeneous cohort of 367 enrolled Chinese individuals between the ages of 60 and 94 years, with the goal of characterizing the gut microbiome of elderly individuals and identifying factors linked to enterotype variations. In addition to two adult-like enterotypes dominated by Bacteroides (ET-Bacteroides) and Prevotella (ET-Prevotella), we identified a novel enterotype dominated by Escherichia (ET-Escherichia), whose prevalence increased in advanced age. Our data demonstrated that age explained more of the variance in the gut microbiome than previously identified factors such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) or diet. We characterized the distinct taxonomic and functional profiles of ET-Escherichia, and found the strongest cohesion and highest robustness of the microbial co-occurrence network in this enterotype, as well as the lowest species diversity. In addition, we carried out a series of correlation analyses and co-abundance network analyses, which showed that several factors were likely linked to the overabundance of Escherichia members, including advanced age, vegetable intake, and fruit intake. Overall, our data revealed an enterotype variation characterized by Escherichia enrichment in the elderly population. Considering the different age distribution of each enterotype, these findings provide new insights into the changes that occur in the gut microbiome with age and highlight the importance of microbiome-based stratification of elderly individuals.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Bacteroides ; China ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/microbiology* ; Escherichia coli/classification* ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/genetics* ; Metagenomics ; East Asian People

Cognitive dysfunction often occurs in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, cerebrovascular disease, or other neurodegenerative diseases, and can significantly impact the life quality of patients and create serious social, psychological, and economic burdens for individuals and their families. Numerous studies have confirmed that exercise can slow the decline in cognitive function through multiple pathways, in which fibronectin type III domain-containing protein 5 (FNDC5) plays an important role. However, the current research on the modulation of FNDC5 by exercise and its ability to improve hippocampal cognitive function lacks a systematic and comprehensive understanding. Therefore, this review focuses on the latest research progress regarding the role of exercise-induced FNDC5 in cognitive function, systematically reviews the positive effects of FNDC5 on cognitive function impairment caused by various factors, and clarifies the specific mechanisms by which exercise-induced FNDC5 improves cognitive function by inhibiting neuroinflammation and improving hippocampal neurogenesis and hippocampal synaptic plasticity. Based on the existing literature, we also identify the areas that require further research in this field. Overall, this review provides a theoretical basis for exercise-based prevention and improvement of cognitive function impairment.
Humans ; Cognition/physiology* ; Fibronectins/physiology* ; Exercise/physiology* ; Hippocampus/physiology* ; Cognitive Dysfunction/prevention & control* ; Neuronal Plasticity ; Animals ; Neurogenesis

Cataract is the world's leading cause of blindness, and surgery is the most effective treatment for cataract. With the development of femtosecond laser technology and ophthalmic surgical equipment, the application of femtosecond laser systems in cataract surgery is becoming increasingly widespread. It can be used in cataract surgery for corneal incisions, anterior capsulotomy, lens fragmentation, arcuate incisions and other key operations. Compared to traditional surgery, femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery(FLACS)offers significant advantages in precision, safety and postoperative visual outcomes. Its clinical benefits have garnered growing recognition among ophthalmologists. However, the key technologies and high-precision equipment for FLACS remain predominantly controlled by Western countries. In China, the research in this field began later. This article reviews the technological advancements in FLACS, with a focus on femtosecond laser technology, optical coherence tomography(OCT), artificial intelligence, and clinical application progress. The objective is to provide theoretical foundations and practical insights for the development of ophthalmic medical technology in China.

OBJECTIVE T o explore the values of body temperature,white blood cells(WBC),neutrophils(NEUT),platelets(PLT),red blood cell distribution width(RDW),procalcitonin(PCT)and C-reactive procal-citonin(PCT)in early diagnosis of postoperative nosocomial infections in the intensive care unit(ICU)patients undergoing surgical procedures.METHODS The clinical data that were collected from the surgery patients who were hospitalized in ICU of Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University from Mar.2021 to May 2022 were retro-spectively analyzed,and the enrolled patients were divided into the infection group with 45 cases and the non-infection group with 130 case according to the status of nosocomial infections.The highest body temperature and the levels of WBC,NEUT,PLT,RDW,PCT and CRP were observed and compared between the infection group within 48 hours before diagnosis with nosocomial infections and the non-infection group after ICU stay for 48 hours.The values of the single and joint detection of the indexes in prediction of postoperative nosocomial infec-tions in the ICU patients were analyzed.RESULTS The body temperature,WBC,NEUT,RDW,PCT and CRP of the infection group were 38.30(37.80,38.80)℃,14.10(10.90,17.30)× 109/L,12.22(9.32,15.12)×109/L,14.10(12.70,15.50)％,1.20(0.10,2.30)ng/ml and 55.00(40.00,70.00)mg/L,respectively,high er than those of the non-infection group(P＜0.05).CRP,body temperature,PCT,NEUT and WBC showed remarkable diag-nostic effects;the area under the curves(AUCs)of the above indexes were 0.968,0.952,0.939,0.896 and 0.886,respectively.The sensitivity of the joint detection of PCT and CRP was 0.978,with the specificity 0.985 and AUC 0.980;the sensitivity of the joint detection of body temperature,PCT and CRP was 0.978,with the specificity 0.992,AUC 0.991.CONCLUSIONS The ICU patients with postoperative nosocomial infections show high levels of body temperature,WBC,NEUT,PCT and CRP.The body temperature,PCT and CRP have high sensitivity and specificity,showing certain values in prediction of postoperative nosocomial infection in the ICU pa-tients;the joint detection of the indexes has higher diagnostic efficiency.

Objective To develop and translate the Chinese listening self-efficacy questionnaire(C-LSEQ)and to test its reliability and validity.Methods A total of 172 subjects aged≥60 years with age-related hearing loss completed the C-LSEQ questionnaire via direct interviews.Pure tone hearing threshold test,Mandarin hearing in noise test,and the hearing handicap inventory for elderly-screening(HHIE-S)were evaluated.Twenty subjects were randomly selected from the original group to complete the C-LSEQ questionnaire in 2 weeks after the initial evaluation.Results ① Reliability:The Cronbach's a coefficients of the three sub-dimensions and the overall ques-tionnaire were all＞0.8,and the test-retest reliability coefficients of the three sub-dimensions and the overall ques-tionnaire were all＞0.9(P＜0.001).② Validity:The experts collectively evaluated the representativeness of the statements with good content validity.The convergent validity test showed that the composite reliability(CR)of the 2 sub-dimensions and the overall questionnaire were all＞0.7,and the average variance extracted(AVE)were all＞0.5.The CR value of the complex listening dimension was 0.655,and the AVE value was 0.937.The criterion validity test showed that the overall questionnaire and the three sub-dimensions of the C-LSEQ were significantly correlated with the pure-tone average,speech recognition thresholds in noise,and HHIE-S(P＜0.001).Conclusion The C-LSEQ exhibits stable structure,with good reliability and validity.It can be used to assess listen-ing self-efficacy in adults with hearing loss,especially in the elderly with age-related hearing loss.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy and safety of high-frequency irreversible electroporation (H-FIRE) in treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).Methods:This randomized controlled open-label multicenter clinical trial enrolled patients from nine medical centers in China between August 2020 and July 2022. Inclusion criteria: age 50–80 years, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) ≥12, maximum urinary flow rate (Q max) >5 ml/min and ≤15 ml/min. Exclusion criteria: prostate malignancy, contraindications to surgery or anesthesia. Patients were randomized 1∶1 into the H-FIRE group (experimental) or the control group (daily oral 0.2 mg tamsulosin hydrochloride sustained-release capsules). Primary outcomes included Q max, IPSS, prostate volume, and International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) scores, measured at baseline, 1 and 3 months post-treatment. Results:A total of 160 cases were included in this study, including 80 cases in the experimental group and 80 cases in the control group, 30 cases in Renji Hospital, 7 cases in Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, 8 cases in Tongji Hospital, 3 cases in Hunan Provincial Hospital, 13 cases in Shanghai Pudong Hospital, 29 cases in Hwa Mei Hospital, 18 cases in Yiyuan County People's Hospital, and 38 cases in Shanghai East Hospital, and 14 cases in Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital. At 3 months of post-treatment, Q max in the experimental group increased by a median of 7.50 (3.55, 14.50) ml/s from the baseline value, whereas in the control group it increased by a median of 1.70 (-1.40, 6.00) ml/s, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant ( P < 0.01, U = 1 083); and at 3 months of post-treatment, IPSS in the experimental group decreased by a median of 12.00 (7.00, 17.00) points in the test group and 6.00 (2.00, 11.00) points in the control group, and the magnitude of improvement in IPSS scores in the test group was significantly higher than that in the control group ( P < 0.01, U = 1 248); at 3 months of post-treatment, the prostate volume decreased by a median of 12.16 (5.69, 18.27) ml in the experimental group and 0 (-3.94, 6.89) ml in the control group, suggesting that H-FIRE significantly reduced prostate gland volume ( P<0.01, U=1 111). The difference in elevated IIEF-5 scores from baseline at 3 months of treatment between the experimental and control groups was not statistically significant[0(-2.00, 1.00) points vs. 0(-2.00, 1.50) points; P=0.54, U=2 338]. There were no serious adverse events in the two groups. Conclusions:H-FIRE could significantly improve both subjective and objective symptoms of BPH with a low risk of severe complications.

Metanephric adenoma is a rare renal epithelial tumor with a low incidence and lack of specific clinical manifestations，resulting in a lack of uniformity in clinical understanding and treatment. Its etiology and pathogenesis are still unclear，and it may be related to the abnormal number and structure of chromosomes 2，7，and 17，as well as mutations in genes such as BRAF V600E，NF1，and NOTCH1，etc. There may be a transformed relationship between this tumor and Wilms’ tumor and papillary renal cell carcinoma. For diagnosis，it has diverse but non-specific clinical manifestations，and it is difficult to accurately differentiate it from other tumors in the imaging examination，and the confirmation of diagnosis relies on pathological and immunohistochemical staining. Treatment is mainly based on surgery to preserve the renal unit，such as partial nephrectomy，etc.，but the difficulty of preoperative diagnosis often leads to over-treatment，and there is a lack of standardized treatment protocols for metastatic posterior renal adenoma. The aim of this article is to provide a reference for the in-depth understanding of posterior renal adenomas and to optimize the clinical diagnosis and treatment strategies.

Objective:To investigate the curative effects of the ulnar artery perforator flap carrying 2 and more perforators of same source artery on reconstruction of defects in hand.Methods:A retrospective observational study was conducted on 13 patients with hand injuries combined with bone or tendon exposure and met the inclusion criteria of the study were admitted to the Department of Hand Surgery, Wuxi NO.9 People’s Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University between April 2022 and September 2023. The patients were 8 males and 5 females with a mean age of 45.7 (25-67) years. Seven hand injuries were caused by mechanical crushing, 2 by hot crushing and 4 by machine strangulation. After debridement, the sizes of defect were found at 5.4 cm×5.1 cm to 8.2 cm×7.5 cm. Dopplor ultrasound was applied to locate the perforators before surgery. Perforator flaps carrying cutaneous branches of ulnar artery proximal to the wrist were designed for reconstruction of the defects in hand. The flaps were 6.0 cm×5.5 cm-8.5 cm×8.0 cm in size. Donor sites were covered by the ulnar artery perforator flaps sized 5.3 cm×2.7 cm-8.2 cm×4.0 cm and carryied 2 and more perforators of the same source artery. During harvest of the flaps, the number and calibre of perforators carried by flap, the calibre of the main trunk of the superior carpal branch of the ulnar artery and the length of its pedicle were recorded. A total of 35 perforators with 0.35-0.95 mm in calibre carried by 13 perforator flaps of ulnar artery were successfully retained. Five of the 13 flaps carried the perforators with a calibre smaller than 0.50 mm. Overall, there were 7 flaps with 2 perforators per flap, 4 with 3 perforators per flap, 1 with 4 perforators and 1 with 5 perforators. The cutaneous branch of ulnar artery in a caliber of 0.75-1.35 mm and proximal to the wrist was dissected as the vascular pedicle with 30.0-45.0 mm in length. All patients were included in the schedueled postoperative at outpatient clinic to observe the appearance and sensation of the flaps, and the occurrence of complication.Results:All flaps survived and the wounds healed at first intention without vascular compromises, wound dehiscence or obvious swelling. All patients received 8 - 20 months of follow-up, with 15 months in average. Flaps presented good appearance and colour, with soft texture and without bloating. TPD of the first flap was 8-18 mm, with an average of 10.5 mm±0.5 mm and that of the second or relay flap was 7-15 mm, with an average of 9.5 mm±0.5 mm. According to British Medical Research Council (BMRC) system, the sensory evaluation of the recipient sites achieved S 4 in 5 flaps, S 3 in 9 flaps and S 2 in 12 flaps. Conclusion:The ulnar artery perforator flap with 2 and more perforators of the same source artery has sufficient and reliable blood supply and is effective in reconstruction of hand defects.

Objective:To report the nationwide surveillance results of pathogenic profiles and antimicrobial resistance patterns of Gram-positive bloodstream infections in China in 2023.Methods:The clinical isolates of Gram-posttive bacteria from blood cultures were collected in member hospitals of National Bloodstream Infection Bacterial Resistant Investigation Collaborative System（BRICS）during January to December 2023. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the dilution method recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute（CLSI）. Statistical analyses were conducted using WHONET 5.6 and SPSS 25.0 software.Results:A total of 4 385 Gram-positive bacterial isolates were obtained from 60 participating center. The top five pathogens were Staphylococcus aureus（ n=1 544，35.2%），coagulase-negative Staphylococci（ n=1 441，32.9%）， Enterococcus faecium（ n=574，13.1%）， Enterococcus faecalis（ n=385，8.8%），and α-hemolytic Streptococci（ n=187，4.3%）. The prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus（MRSA）and methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococci（MRCNS）was 26.2%（405/1 544）and 69.8%（1 006/1 441），respectively. Notably，all Staphylococci remained susceptible to glycopeptide or daptomycin. Staphylococcus aureus demonstrated excellent susceptibility（>97.0%）to cephalobiol，rifampicin，trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole，linezolid，minocycline，tigecycline，and eravacycline. No Enterococcus exhibiting resistance to linezolid were detected. Glycopeptide resistance was uncommon but more frequent in Enterococcus faecium（resistance to vancomycin and teicoplanin：both 1.7%）compared to Enterococcus faecalis（both 0.3%）. The detection rates of MRSA and MRCNS exhibited significant regional variations across the country（ χ2=17.674 and 148.650，respectively，both P<0.001）. No vancomycin-resistant Enterococci were detected in central China. Institutional comparison demonstrated higher prevalence of MRSA（ χ2=14.111， P<0.001）and MRCNS（ χ2=4.828， P=0.028）in provincial hospitals than that in municipal hospitals. Socioeconomic analysis identified elevated detection rates of both MRSA（ χ2=18.986， P<0.001）and MRCNS（ χ2=4.477， P=0.034）in less developed regions（per capita GDP

Objective:To report the results of bacterial resistant investigation collaborative system（BRICS）on the distribution and antimicrobial resistance profile of clinical Gram-negative bacteria isolates from bloodstream infections in China in 2023，and provide reference for clinical tretment of bloodstream infections and prevention and control of bacterial resistance.Methods:The clinical isolates of Gram-negative bacteria from blood cultures in member hospitals of BRICS were collected during January 2023 to December 2023. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were conducted by agar dilution or broth dilution methods recommended by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute（CLSI）. WHONET 5.6 and SPSS 25.0 were used to analyze the data.Results:During the study period，11 492 strains of Gram-negative bacteria were collected from 60 hospitals，of which 10 098（87.9%）were Enterobacterales and 1 394（12.1%）were non-fermentative bacteria. The top 5 bacterial species were Escherichia coli（50.0%）， Klebsiella pneumoniae（26.1%）， Pseudomonas aeruginosa（5.1%）， Acinetobacter baumannii complex（5.0%）and Enterobacter cloacae complex（4.1%）. The ESBL-producing rates in Escherichia coli， Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus mirablilis were 46.8%（2 685/5 741），18.3%（549/2 999）and 44.0%（77/175），respectively. The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli（CREC）and carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae（CRKP）were 1.3%（76/5 741）and 15.0%（450/2 999）；32.9%（25/76）and 78.0%（351/450）of CREC and CRKP were sensitive to ceftazidime/avibactam combination，respectively. 94.7%（72/76）and 90.2%（406/450）of CREC and CRKP were sensitive to aztreonam/avibactam combination. Furthermore，57.9%（44/76）and 79.1%（356/450）were sensitive to imipenem/relebactam combination. The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii（CRAB）complex was 64.6%（370/573），while more than 80.0% of CRAB complex was sensitive to tigecycline，eravacycline and polymyxin B. The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa（CRPA）was 17.0%（99/581）. There were differences in the composition ratio of Gram-negative bacteria in bloodstream infections and the prevalence of important Gram-negative bacteria resistance among different regions in China，with statistically significant differences in the prevalence of CREC，CRKP，CRPA and CRAB complex（ χ2=10.6，28.6，10.8 and 19.3， P<0.05）. The prevalence of ESBL-producing Escherichia coli， CREC，CRAB complex and CRKP were higher in provincial hospitals than those in municipal hospitals（ χ2=12.5，9.8，12.7 and 57.8，all P<0.01）. Conclusions:Gram-negative bacteria are the main pathogens causing bloodstream infections in China，and Escherichia coli is ranked in the top，while the trend of Klebsiella pneumoniae increases continuously with time. CRKP infection shows a slow upward trend，CREC infecton maintains a low prevalence level，and CRAB complex infection continues to exhibit a high prevalence rate. The composition and resistance patterns of pathogens causing bloodstream infections vary to some extent across different regions and levels of hospitals in China.