Objective: To analyze the school tuberculosis (TB) outbreaks and preventive treatment in Hefei from 2022 to 2024, so as to provide reference for TB prevention and control in schools. Methods: Data were collected on all school based TB outbreaks occurring during 2022-2024 in Hefei, defined as ≥2 epidemiologically linked TB cases within the same school during a single semester. Statistical analyses were performed using the Chi square test. Results: Close contacts exhibited significantly higher TB incidence (2.88%) and latent mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (LTBI) rates (13.80%) in the school TB outbreaks, compared to non close contacts (0.12% and 2.63%, respectively). Among close contacts, secondary school students showed lower TB incidence (0.48%) and LTBI prevalence (3.42%) than both primary school or younger children (0.68%, 6.95%) and college students ( 0.78% , 6.50%), with statistically significant differences ( χ 2=360.91, 6.37; 791.71, 102.03, all P <0.05). The proportion of LTBI individuals recommended for preventive therapy was higher in primary school or younger groups (98.59%) than in secondary (95.25%) or college students (86.34%) ( χ 2=25.86, P <0.01). However, among those recommended, close contacts had higher uptake (85.82%) and completion rates (87.25%) of preventive therapy than non close contacts (69.63% and 70.57%); similarly, secondary school students demonstrated higher uptake (91.21%) and completion rates (86.45%) compared to primary school or younger (88.57%, 83.87%) and college students (57.28%, 64.08%) ( χ 2=30.52, 26.72; 125.17, 38.84, all P <0.01). Subsequent TB incidence among LTBI close contacts (13.30%) and among those who did not complete preventive therapy (22.73%) were significantly higher than among non close contacts (2.80%, 2.41%), respectively ( χ 2=32.19, 13.87, both P <0.05). Conclusions In school TB outbreaks, close contacts face higher LTBI prevalence and subsequent TB risk than non close contacts. College students show notably low adherence to preventive therapy. It is necessary to take targeted measures to improve the compliance of preventive measures among students.

To formulate an expert consensus on the principles of preoperative hair removal and provide scientific guidance for standardized removal of hair before surgical procedures so as to reduce the incidence of surgical site infections.METHODS Led by the Hospital Management Institute of National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China,this consensus was reached with the joint efforts from the expects of relevant fields such as surgeries,interventional therapies,nursing,and infection prevention and control.The consensus facilitates the classification and evaluation of literatures by following the evidence grade formulated by Oxford Evidence-based Medicine Center and focuses on the association of preoperative hair removal with surgical site infection,it reaches the evidence grade of expert consensus and recommendation intensity by integrating with discussions on meetings and clinical experience of the expects from relevant fields.RESULTS A total of 6 items of consensus were reached by summarizing the latest evidence on the aspects including the indications for preoperative hair removal,tools,range,timing and places.CONCLUSION The consensus,to some extent,make supplements to and complete the exiting regulations and standards.It provides guidance for the medical institutions to carry out the preoperative hair removal.

Aim To study the renal protective effect of balanophora polysaccharide(BPS)on diabetic nephrop-athy(DN)mice and explore the related mechanisms.Methods A DN mouse model was induced using a high-fat diet combined with intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin(STZ),which was indicated by fasting blood glucose higher than 11.1 mmol·L-1,accompa-nied by diabetic symptoms such as polydipsia,polydia-gia,polyuria and weight loss,then BPS intervention was performed.Body weight and fasting blood glucose of each group mice were detected;automatic biochemical analyzer was used to detect blood creatinine(SCr),blood urea nitrogen(BUN),24 h urinary protein(24 h UP),triglycerides(TG),total cholesterol(TC),alanine aminotransferase(ALT)content;ELISA was applied to determine serum inflammatory factor interleukin-6(IL-6)and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)level;HE and Masson staining were employed to observe renal his-topathological morphology;Western blot was used to de-tect Toll-like receptor 4(TLR4),myeloid differentiation factor 88(MyD88),nuclear factor κB(NF-κB)for pro-tein expression.Results Compared with the model group,after BPS,body weight and fasting blood glucose decreased(P＜0.01 or P＜0.05);SCr,BUN,24 h UP,TC,TG and ALT significantly decreased(P＜0.01 or P＜0.05);the levels of the proinflammatory factors TNF-α and IL-6 were significantly reduced(P＜0.01 or P＜0.05);renal tissue injury and fibrosis decreased;TLR4,MyD88,NF-κB protein expression significantly decreased(P＜0.01 or P＜0.05).Conclusion BPS has a protective effect on the kidneys of DN mice,re-ducing the blood glucose level,improving liver and kid-ney function,alleviating renal tissue damage and renal fibrosis,and reducing inflammation response.Its mecha-nism may be related to the regulation of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway.

A subset of patients with multiple myeloma(MM)present with reduced serum vitamin B12 levels at initial diagnosis;however,its clinical significance and underlying mechanisms remain unclear.Vitamin B12 plays a crucial role in hematopoiesis and immune regulation.This study aims to elucidate its association with extramedullary diseases,immune function,and prognosis in MM patients.A retrospec-tive analysis was conducted of 92 newly diagnosed MM patients,who received treatment at the Second Af-filiated Hospital of Soochow University between January 2020 and December 2023.Patients were classi-fied into a low vitamin B12 group(n=37)and a normal vitamin B12 group(n=55)based on their ser-um vitamin B12 levels.The findings revealed that the incidence of extramedullary infiltration was signifi-cantly higher in the low vitamin B12 group than in the normal group(26.5％vs.17.0％,P=0.031).Survival analysis demonstrated that patients with low vitamin B12 levels had significantly shorter overall survival(OS)and progression-free survival(PFS)(OS:P=0.0123;PFS:P=0.0136).Additionally,these patients showed a decreasing trend in peripheral blood total T cell,CD4+T cell,and CD8+T cell counts,with serum vitamin B12 levels showing a significant positive correlation with the total T cell count(R=0.2717,P=0.0135)and CD4+T cell count(R=0.2175,P=0.0497).In conclusion,reduced serum vitamin B12 levels at initial diagnosis are significantly associated with poor prognosis in MM pa-tients and may serve as a potential prognostic biomarker.Furthermore,vitamin B12 deficiency may con-tribute to immune dysfunction,particularly impaired T cell immunity,and a higher incidence of extr-amedullary diseases.

pAPN is a zinc-dependent metalloprotease,mediating the fusion between virus and host cell,and playing a role as the receptor of coronavirus.To explore the effect of pAPN on PEDV rep-lication,the full-length pAPN gene was amplified from the porcine small intestinal by PCR,and was cloned into the lentiviral vector via the homologous site digested with BamH Ⅰ and Not Ⅰ to obtain the recombinant lentiviral vector PLVX-pAPN-mCMV-ZsGreen1-puro.The recombinant lentiviral vector and helper plasmids pLP1,pLP2,pLP-VSVG were co-transfected into 293T cells for lentiviral packaging.Vero cells were infected with the packaged lentivirus and the pAPN gene overexpressing cells were screened by puromycin.The stable expression of Vero-pAPN monoclonal cell line was screened by a limited dilution method,and the effect of the cell line on the replication of PEDV was determined by qPCR for N mRNA transcription level,Western blot for N protein level,and TCID50.The results showed that the packaged lentivirus could infect Vero cells,and the monoclonal cell line Vero-pAPN(2C5)could stably expressed pAPN.The Vero-pAPN cell line can promote the replication of PEDV,the N gene mRNA transcription level was significantly different at 12-48 h(P＜0.05),the N protein expression level increased,and the TCID50 was significantly different at 24 and 48 h(P＜0.05).In conclusion,the Vero-pAPN cell line was constructed in this study and it can significantly promote the replication of PEDV,which provides a candidate cell line for PEDV vaccine production and isolation.

Accurate pain assessment is a prerequisite for pain management.However,pain is a relatively subjective feeling greatly affected by the environment,education,and emotional state.Therefore,in diagnosing and treating pain,it is necessary not only to assess the subjective feelings of patients,but also to have stable and reliable objective indicators to evaluate the pain status of different patients.At present,there are many clinical tools for assessing and monitoring pain.This paper introduces the commonly used subjective assessment tools(single-dimensional pain assessment scale,multi-dimensional pain assessment scale)and objective assessment tools(surgical pleth index,analgesia and nociception index,nociceptive level index,and biomarkers),and analyzes their advantages and disadvantages,so as to provide reference for future clinical pain assessment.

Objective To investigate the changing antibiotic resistance profiles of E.coli isolated from patients in the 52 hospitals participating in the CHINET program from 2015 to 2021.Methods Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested for clinical isolates of E.coli according to the unified protocol of CHINET program.WHONET 5.6 and SPSS 20.0 software were used for data analysis.Results Atotal of 289 760 nonduplicate clinical strains ofE.coli were isolated from 2015 to 2021,mainly from urine samples(44.7±3.2)％.The proportion of E.coli strains isolated from urine samples was higher in females than in males(59.0％vs 29.5％).The proportion of E.coli strains isolated from respiratory tract and cerebrospinal fluid samples was significantly higher in children than in adults(16.7％vs 7.8％,0.8％vs 0.1％,both P＜0.05).The isolates from internal medicine department accounted for the largest proportion(28.9±2.8)％with an increasing trend over years.Overall,the prevalence of ESBLs-producing E.coli and carbapenem resistant E.coli(CREco)was 55.9％and 1.8％,respectively during the 7-year period.The prevalence of ESBLs-producing E.coli was the highest in tertiary hospitals each year from 2015 to 2021 compared to secondary hospitals.The prevalence of CREco was higher in children's hospitals compared to secondary and tertiary hospitals each year from 2015 to 2021.The prevalence of ESBLs-producing E.coli in tertiary hospitals and children's hospitals and the prevalence of CREco in children's hospitals showed a decreasing trend over the 7-year period.The prevalence of CREco in secondary and tertiary hospitals increased slowly.Antibiotic resistance rates changed slowly from 2015 to 2021.Carbapenem drugs(imipenem,meropenem)were the most active drugs amongβ-lactams against E.coli(resistance rate≤2.1％).The resistance rates of E.coli to β-lactam/β-lactam inhibitor combinations(piperacillin-tazobactam,cefoperazone-sulbactam),aminoglycosides(amikacin),nitrofurantoin and fosfomycin(for urinary isolates only)were all less than 10％.The resistance rate of E.coli strains to antibiotics varied with the level of hospitals and the departments where the strains were isolated,especially for cefazolin and ciprofloxacin,to which the resistance rate of E.coli strains from children in non-ICU departments was significantly lower than that of the strains isolated from other departments(P＜0.05).The E.coli isolates from ICU showed higher resistance rate to most antimicrobial agents tested(excluding tigecycline)than the strains isolated from other departments.The E.coli strains isolated from tertiary hospitals showed higher resistance rates to the antimicrobial agents tested(excluding tigecycline,polymyxin B,cefepime and carbapenems)than the strains from secondary hospitals and children's hospitals.Conclusions E.coli is an important pathogen causing clinical infection.More than half of the clinical isolates produced ESBL.The prevalence of CREco is increasing in secondary and tertiary hospitals over the 7-year period even though the overall prevalence is still low.This is an issue of concern.

Accurate pain assessment is a prerequisite for pain management.However,pain is a relatively subjective feeling greatly affected by the environment,education,and emotional state.Therefore,in diagnosing and treating pain,it is necessary not only to assess the subjective feelings of patients,but also to have stable and reliable objective indicators to evaluate the pain status of different patients.At present,there are many clinical tools for assessing and monitoring pain.This paper introduces the commonly used subjective assessment tools(single-dimensional pain assessment scale,multi-dimensional pain assessment scale)and objective assessment tools(surgical pleth index,analgesia and nociception index,nociceptive level index,and biomarkers),and analyzes their advantages and disadvantages,so as to provide reference for future clinical pain assessment.

This consensus was developed by the Orthodontic Society of the Chinese Stomatological Association to provide a systematic, scientific, and practical guideline for informed consent in orthodontic care. Orthodontic treatment is typically lengthy, highly individualized, and involves multiple factors such as growth and development, occlusal function, and facial esthetics. Rapid technological advances and diverse risk profiles make the traditional reliance on orthodontist experience or institutional templates insufficient to ensure patients′ full understanding and autonomous decision-making. To address this, the expert panel conducted extensive reviews of domestic and international guidelines, analyzed representative dispute cases, and performed multicenter patient-clinician surveys. Using a multi-round Delphi method, the group established a standardized informed consent framework covering the initial consultation, treatment, and retention phases. The consensus emphasizes that informed consent is not only a fundamental legal and ethical requirement but also a key step in building trust, improving patient compliance, and enhancing treatment satisfaction. Orthodontists should clearly and comprehensively explain treatment plans, potential risks, uncertainties, and associated costs, while respecting the autonomy of patients or guardians, and maintain continuous communication and dynamic evaluation throughout the treatment process. The release of this consensus provides unified and authoritative guidance for clinical orthodontics, helping to standardize informed consent, enhance its transparency, safeguard patient rights, reduce medical risks, and promote high-quality, sustainable development of orthodontic practice.

Objective To investigate the changing antibiotic resistance profiles of E.coli isolated from patients in the 52 hospitals participating in the CHINET program from 2015 to 2021.Methods Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested for clinical isolates of E.coli according to the unified protocol of CHINET program.WHONET 5.6 and SPSS 20.0 software were used for data analysis.Results Atotal of 289 760 nonduplicate clinical strains ofE.coli were isolated from 2015 to 2021,mainly from urine samples(44.7±3.2)％.The proportion of E.coli strains isolated from urine samples was higher in females than in males(59.0％vs 29.5％).The proportion of E.coli strains isolated from respiratory tract and cerebrospinal fluid samples was significantly higher in children than in adults(16.7％vs 7.8％,0.8％vs 0.1％,both P＜0.05).The isolates from internal medicine department accounted for the largest proportion(28.9±2.8)％with an increasing trend over years.Overall,the prevalence of ESBLs-producing E.coli and carbapenem resistant E.coli(CREco)was 55.9％and 1.8％,respectively during the 7-year period.The prevalence of ESBLs-producing E.coli was the highest in tertiary hospitals each year from 2015 to 2021 compared to secondary hospitals.The prevalence of CREco was higher in children's hospitals compared to secondary and tertiary hospitals each year from 2015 to 2021.The prevalence of ESBLs-producing E.coli in tertiary hospitals and children's hospitals and the prevalence of CREco in children's hospitals showed a decreasing trend over the 7-year period.The prevalence of CREco in secondary and tertiary hospitals increased slowly.Antibiotic resistance rates changed slowly from 2015 to 2021.Carbapenem drugs(imipenem,meropenem)were the most active drugs amongβ-lactams against E.coli(resistance rate≤2.1％).The resistance rates of E.coli to β-lactam/β-lactam inhibitor combinations(piperacillin-tazobactam,cefoperazone-sulbactam),aminoglycosides(amikacin),nitrofurantoin and fosfomycin(for urinary isolates only)were all less than 10％.The resistance rate of E.coli strains to antibiotics varied with the level of hospitals and the departments where the strains were isolated,especially for cefazolin and ciprofloxacin,to which the resistance rate of E.coli strains from children in non-ICU departments was significantly lower than that of the strains isolated from other departments(P＜0.05).The E.coli isolates from ICU showed higher resistance rate to most antimicrobial agents tested(excluding tigecycline)than the strains isolated from other departments.The E.coli strains isolated from tertiary hospitals showed higher resistance rates to the antimicrobial agents tested(excluding tigecycline,polymyxin B,cefepime and carbapenems)than the strains from secondary hospitals and children's hospitals.Conclusions E.coli is an important pathogen causing clinical infection.More than half of the clinical isolates produced ESBL.The prevalence of CREco is increasing in secondary and tertiary hospitals over the 7-year period even though the overall prevalence is still low.This is an issue of concern.