Microbial communities such as those residing in the human gut are highly diverse and complex, and many with important implications for health and diseases. The effects and functions of these microbial communities are determined not only by their species compositions and diversities but also by the dynamic intra- and inter-cellular states at the transcriptional level. Powerful and scalable technologies capable of acquiring single-microbe-resolution RNA sequencing information in order to achieve a comprehensive understanding of complex microbial communities together with their hosts are therefore utterly needed. Here we report the development and utilization of a droplet-based smRNA-seq (single-microbe RNA sequencing) method capable of identifying large species varieties in human samples, which we name smRandom-seq2. Together with a triple-module computational pipeline designed for the bacteria and bacteriophage sequencing data by smRandom-seq2 in four human gut samples, we established a single-cell level bacterial transcriptional landscape of human gut microbiome, which included 29,742 single microbes and 329 unique species. Distinct adaptive response states among species in Prevotella and Roseburia genera and intrinsic adaptive strategy heterogeneity in Phascolarctobacterium succinatutens were uncovered. Additionally, we identified hundreds of novel host-phage transcriptional activity associations in the human gut microbiome. Our results indicated that smRandom-seq2 is a high-throughput and high-resolution smRNA-seq technique that is highly adaptable to complex microbial communities in real-world situations and promises new perspectives in the understanding of human microbiomes.
Humans ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/genetics* ; Bacteriophages/physiology* ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; Sequence Analysis, RNA/methods* ; Bacteria/virology*

Fracture healing is a complex process that necessitates the synergistic action of various cells and molecules. Macrophages play an indispensable and crucial regulatory role in the process of fracture repair, influencing stages such as inflammatory modulation, angiogenesis, and tissue remodeling. This article delves into the functional characteristics of macrophages and their roles at different stages of fracture healing. Additionally, it explores the impact of aging macrophages on the healing process. Furthermore, the potential of emerging therapies, such as hydrogel-based treatments and exosomes, in modulating macrophage responses is analyzed. This study provides a theoretical foundation for the development of innovative therapies aimed at enhancing the efficacy of fracture healing.

OBJECTIVE To establish a comprehensive platform for regional pharmaceutical care among Jiangxi provincial pediatric alliance to realize the management of pediatric hierarchical diagnosis and treatment, and improve the quality of pharmaceutical care. METHODS A unified diagnosis and treatment information standard and a knowledge base of children's rational drug use rules were established among the medical institutions of Jiangxi provincial pediatric alliance. On this basis, the medical records and drug use information of patients in various medical institutions in the region were uploaded to the chain in a structured manner in real time, and a comprehensive platform for regional pharmaceutical care was built. RESULTS The comprehensive platform for regional pharmaceutical care built based on blockchain technology could share medical resources and information among medical institutions, realize rational drug use management, remote prescription review, individualized drug use guidance, popular science education, government supervision, etc., and improve the quality of pharmaceutical care. CONCLUSION The comprehensive platform for regional pharmaceutical care among Jiangxi provincial pediatric alliance can help allocate high-quality medical resources (drug safety knowledge base and pediatric pharmacists) for primary medical institutions. Further more, it lays the foundation for government supervision at the same time ensuring children’s medication safety, which has great practical significance.

Objective:To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of concurrent chemoradiotherapy combined with nimotuzumab in the treatment of patients with inoperable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 503 patients with inoperable ESCC who underwent concurrent chemoradiotherapy in the Department of Radiation Oncology, Changzhou No. 2 People′s Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University and Department of Radiation Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University from 2014 to 2020. Among these patients, 69 received concurrent chemoradiotherapy combined with nimotuzumab (the combined therapy group) and 434 received concurrent chemoradiotherapy alone (the concurrent chemoradiotherapy group). Patients of both groups were matched at a ratio of 1∶2 using the propensity score matching (PSM) method. As a result, 168 patients were determined for clinical analysis, including 61 in the combined therapy group and 107 in the concurrent chemoradiotherapy group. The short-term efficacy and adverse reactions of both groups were compared. The overall survival (OS) curves and progression-free survival (PFS) curves were plotted using the Kaplan-Meier method for the Log-rank test.Results:The two groups showed no statistical difference ( P > 0.05) in clinical baseline characteristics after the PSM. The objective response rate (ORR) of the combined therapy group was significantly higher than that of the concurrent chemoradiotherapy group with statistically significant differences (85.2% vs. 71.0%, χ2 = 4.33, P = 0.037). There was no statistical difference (98.4% vs. 91.6%, P > 0.05) in the disease control rate (DCR) between the two groups. The combined therapy group had median PFS of 28.07 months and 1-, 3-, and 5-year PFS ratios of 78.2%, 37.5% and 29.1%, respectively. The concurrent chemoradiotherapy group had mPFS of 19.54 months and 1-, 3-, and 5-year PFS ratios of 72.9%, 28.3% and 21.3%, respectively. Both groups showed statistically significant differences in PFS ( χ2 = 4.49, P = 0.034). The combined group had median OS of 34.93 months and 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS ratios of 88.5%, 46.8% and 37.4%, respectively. The concurrent chemoradiotherapy group had mOS of 24.30 months and 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS ratios of 81.3%, 35.2% and 28.0%, respectively. Both groups showed statistically significant differences in OS (χ 2= 5.11, P = 0.024), but did not show statistical differences ( P > 0.05) in the severity degree of each adverse effect during the treatment. Conclusions:Concurrent chemoradiotherapy combined with nimotuzumab can improve the ORR and prolong the PFS and OS of patients with inoperable ESCC compared with concurrent chemoradiotherapy alone. Furthermore, combining with nimotuzumab does not increase adverse effects and can be tolerated by patients with high safety.

Objective:To study the effects of poly adenosine diphosphate ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors niraparib and pamiparib on the radiosensitivity of breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-436, and to explore its mechanism.Methods:MCF-7 and MDA-MB-436 cells were divided into control group, niraparib group, pamiparib group, radiation group, combination group treated with niraparib and radiation, and combination group treated with pamiparib and radiation, respectively. The effects of drugs on cell proliferation and radiosensitivity were measured by CCK-8 assay and colony formation assay, respectively. The effect of drugs combined with radiation on cell cycle and apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry. Immunofluorescence method was used to detect the changes of γ-H2AX focal number of cells. The expressions of FANCG, Bax and Bcl-2 mRNA and protein were detected by qPCR and Western blot, respectively.Results:Both niraparib and pamiparib inhibited the proliferation of breast cancer cells MCF-7 and MDA-MB-436 in a time-dose dependent manner. With the increase of irradiation dose, D0, Dq, SF2 value of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-436 cells decreased, and SER D0 and SER Dq value increased. Compared with control group, the percentages of cells in G 2/M phase were increased ( tMCF-7=41.66, 44.08, P<0.05; t436=24.69, 18.91, P<0.05), the percentage of cells in G 0/G 1 phase were decreased ( tMCF-7=8.67, 29.61, P<0.05; t436=26.39, 29.12, P<0.05), and the cell apoptosis rate was significantly increased ( tMCF-7=11.17, 11.71, P<0.05; t436=42.68, 15.89, P<0.05) in the combination group. Compared with control group, the number of γ-H2AX foci of MCF-7 cells in the radiation group and combination group treated with niraparib and radiation increased significantly at 2 h after irradiation ( t=8.89, 21.72, P<0.05). At 24 h after irradiation, the number of γ-H2AX foci basically returned to normal level in the radiation group but remained at a higher level in the combination group ( t=8.82, P<0.05). Compared with control group, the expressions of FANCG and Bcl-2 mRNA decreased ( tFANCG=14.07, P<0.05; tBcl-2=29.21, P<0.05), the expression of Bax mRNA increased ( t=8.90, P<0.05), and the expression of FANCG and Bcl-2 proteins decreased ( tFANCG=7.09, P<0.05; tBcl-2=10.24, P<0.05), while the expression of Bax protein increased ( t=2.90, P<0.05) in the combination group. Conclusions:PARP inhibitors niraparib and pamiparib can increase the radiosensitivity of breast cancer MCF-7 and MDA-MB-436 cells probably through down-regulating the expression of FANCG in FA-BRCA pathway, up-regulating apoptosis-related genes and inhibiting DNA damage repair.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus has caused havoc across the entire world. Even though several COVID-19 vaccines are currently in distribution worldwide, with others in the pipeline, treatment modalities lag behind. Accordingly, researchers have been working hard to understand the nature of the virus, its mutant strains, and the pathogenesis of the disease in order to uncover possible drug targets and effective therapeutic agents. As the research continues, we now know the genome structure, epidemiological and clinical features, and pathogenic mechanism of SARS-CoV-2. Here, we summarized the potential therapeutic targets involved in the life cycle of the virus. On the basis of these targets, small-molecule prophylactic and therapeutic agents have been or are being developed for prevention and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Objective:To evaluate the antibacterial activity of pediatric Faropenem sodium against common pathogens isolated from children′s respiratory tract in vitro, and to provide reference for its clinical research and application. Methods:Retrospective analysis.The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Faropenem sodium, Merope-nem, Imipenem and other antibiotics was determined by the agar dilution method.A total of 156 strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae [including 32 strains of Penicillin-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae (PSSP), 28 strains of Penicillin-intermediate Streptococcus pneumoniae (PISP) and 96 strains of Penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (PRSP)], 98 strains of Haemophilus influenza, 173 strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae, and 55 strains of Moraxella catarrhali clinical isolates were used.MIC 50, MIC 90 and the accumulative inhibition of the bacteria were investigated. Results:The MIC of Faropenem sodium against all the Streptococcus pneumoniae strains ranged from 0.010-2.000 mg/L.There was no difference in the MIC distribution of Faropenem sodium against PSSP, PISP and PRSP, and the MIC 90 value was all 1.000 mg/L.Faropenem sodium inhibited all the Haemophilus influenza strains at concentrations ranging from 0.030-8.000 mg/L.There was no difference in the MIC distribution of Faropenem sodium against Haemophilus influenza with or without β-lactamase and Ampicillin resistance.The MIC 90 value was all 4.000 mg/L.Ho-wever, the MIC of Faropenem sodium against Klebsiella pneumoniae ranged from 0.250 to above 32.000 mg/L, and both MIC 50 and MIC 90 were greater than 32.000 mg/L.Faropenem sodium inhibited all the Moraxella catarrhalis strains at concentrations ranging from 0.030-2.000 mg/L, with MIC 50 being 0.500 mg/L and MIC 90 being 1.000 mg/L. Conclusions:Antimicrobial susceptibility testing results in vitro demonstrate that pediatric Faropenem sodium has satisfactory antibacterial activities against Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenza, and Moraxella catarrhalis, but comparatively weak antibacterial activities against Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Objective:To evaluate the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) system on the diagnosis rate of precancerous state of gastric cancer.Methods:A single center self-controlled study was conducted under the premise that such factors were controlled as mainframe and model of the endoscope, operating doctor, season and climate, and pathology was taken as the gold standard. The diagnosis rate of precancerous state of gastric cancer, including atrophic gastritis (AG) and intestinal metaplasia (IM) in traditional gastroscopy (from September 1, 2019 to November 30, 2019) and AI assisted endoscopy (from September 1, 2020 to November 15, 2020) in the Eighth Hospital of Wuhan was statistically analyzed and compared, and the subgroup analysis was conducted according to the seniority of doctors.Results:Compared with traditional gastroscopy, AI system could significantly improve the diagnosis rate of AG [13.3% (38/286) VS 7.4% (24/323), χ2=5.689, P=0.017] and IM [33.9% (97/286) VS 26.0% (84/323), χ2=4.544, P=0.033]. For the junior doctors (less than 5 years of endoscopic experience), AI system had a more significant effect on the diagnosis rate of AG [11.9% (22/185) VS 5.8% (11/189), χ2=4.284, P=0.038] and IM [30.3% (56/185) VS 20.6% (39/189), χ2=4.580, P=0.032]. For the senior doctors (more than 10 years of endoscopic experience), although the diagnosis rate of AG and IM increased slightly, the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion:AI system shows the potential to improve the diagnosis rate of precancerous state of gastric cancer, especially for junior endoscopists, and to reduce missed diagnosis of early gastric cancer.

Objective:To assess the influence of an artificial intelligence (AI) -assisted diagnosis system on the performance of endoscopists in diagnosing gastric cancer by magnifying narrow banding imaging (M-NBI).Methods:M-NBI images of early gastric cancer (EGC) and non-gastric cancer from Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University from March 2017 to January 2020 and public datasets were collected, among which 4 667 images (1 950 images of EGC and 2 717 of non-gastric cancer)were included in the training set and 1 539 images (483 images of EGC and 1 056 of non-gastric cancer) composed a test set. The model was trained using deep learning technique. One hundred M-NBI videos from Beijing Cancer Hospital and Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University between 9 June 2020 and 17 November 2020 were prospectively collected as a video test set, 38 of gastric cancer and 62 of non-gastric cancer. Four endoscopists from four other hospitals participated in the study, diagnosing the video test twice, with and without AI. The influence of the system on endoscopists′ performance was assessed.Results:Without AI assistance, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of endoscopists′ diagnosis of gastric cancer were 81.00%±4.30%, 71.05%±9.67%, and 87.10%±10.88%, respectively. With AI assistance, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of diagnosis were 86.50%±2.06%, 84.87%±11.07%, and 87.50%±4.47%, respectively. Diagnostic accuracy ( P=0.302) and sensitivity ( P=0.180) of endoscopists with AI assistance were improved compared with those without. Accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of AI in identifying gastric cancer in the video test set were 88.00% (88/100), 97.37% (37/38), and 82.26% (51/62), respectively. Sensitivity of AI was higher than that of the average of endoscopists ( P=0.002). Conclusion:AI-assisted diagnosis system is an effective tool to assist diagnosis of gastric cancer in M-NBI, which can improve the diagnostic ability of endoscopists. It can also remind endoscopists of high-risk areas in real time to reduce the probability of missed diagnosis.

Objective:To investigate the status of regional citrate anticoagulation (RCA) in continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) in emergency department.Methods:Participants of a national emergency conference from August 1st to August 4th in 2019 from hospitals of different levels in different regions were interviewed by online questionnaire to collect data about the current status and limitations of the application of RCA in emergency CRRT by convenient sampling.Results:Totally 407 questionnaires were collected through internet, and the completeness of the answers was as high as 100%. Twenty-three responses with logic errors were excluded, and 384 questionnaires were finally retrieved, with an effective rate of 94.35%. Representatives from 29 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government participated in the questionnaire survey, and the hospitals in which they worked were mainly class Ⅲ grade A [70.31% (270/384)]. The survey showed that 61.46% (236/384) of the emergency departments could carry out CRRT independently. There were less than 10 CRRT cases per month in most emergency departments [52.87% (166/314)]. In the emergency departments where CRRT were carried out, heparin was a widely used and well-applied anticoagulant [82.17% (258/314)], and 199 emergency departments (63.38%) were proficient in RCA. In clinical practice, heparin [49.68% (156/314)] was preferred to RCA [25.80% (81/314)] and low molecular weight heparin [23.56% (74/384)]. In the emergency departments where RCA could be used skillfully, 4% sodium citrate was the main regional anticoagulant [68.34% (136/199)]. Anticoagulation protocol came from different sources, most of which were from nephrology or dialysis center (29.65%). Most departments could adjust the ionized calcium before the filter to the target safety level [0.9-1.2 mmol/L, 88.94% (177/199)], and adjust the ionized calcium after the filter to the target ideal anticoagulation level [0.2-0.4 mmol/L, 93.47% (186/199)] within 4 hours. The common complications that emergency physicians concerned were accumulation of citrate [58.29% (116/199)], metabolic alkalosis [54.77% (109/199)] and metabolic acidosis [37.19% (74/199)]. In 281 emergency departments that could not use RCA, there were kinds of factors that limited the use of citrate, such as higher cost than heparin (31.67%), unskilled personnel (21.00%), limited source of citrate (17.08%), concerns of complications (11.74%). At present, the substitution fluids used in clinical practice were mainly the commercial products (45.54%). In most cases, emergency CRRT filters had a life span of 12-23 hours (39.49%).Conclusions:The use of RCA in domestic emergency CRRT is low. Compared with the international peers, we are still lacking of adequate understanding of RCA. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an anticoagulation protocol of RCA for emergency departments in China, and promote training of CRRT.