Objective To develop an automated system for the determination of gross α and gross β activity concentrations in water, and to support the rapid and automated monitoring of environmental water bodies. Methods Based on the thick source method, microwave evaporation-ashing was used to replace conventional electric hotplate heating. A grinder and a sample-spreading device were designed and operated via a robotic arm, achieving fully automated pretreatment, sample preparation, and measurement. Results Spike recovery tests demonstrated that the recovery rates were 95.7%-102.5% for gross α and 97.2%-108.1% for gross β. The relative standard deviations were 4.1%-7.8% for gross α and 5.9%-7.7% for gross β. Compared with manual laboratory methods, the average relative errors were 2.17%-6.25% for gross α and 4.17%-6.90% for gross β. The sample preparation time was reduced from an average of 72 hours to less than 5 hours, representing an efficiency improvement of over 90%. Conclusion The developed system enables rapid, accurate, and fully automated monitoring of gross α/β radioactivity, making it suitable for online monitoring of environmental water bodies. It can provide timely data on the radiological indicators of water bodies for environmental protection and water resource management authorities.

Da Qinjiaotang is the 54^th formula of the 100 formulas in the Catalogue of Ancient Classical Formulas （the first batch） ，and it originated from the Collection of Writings on the Mechanism of Disease， Suitability of Qi， and Safeguarding of Life Discussed in Plain Questions. Da Qinjiaotang is composed of Gentiana macrophylla， Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma， Ligusticum chuanxiong， Angelica sinensis， Paeonia lactiflora， Asari Radix et Rhizoma， Notopterygium incisum， Saposhnikoviae Radix， Scutellariae Radix， Gypsum， Angelica dahurica， Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma， Rehmanniae Radix， Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata， Poria， and Angelicae Pubescentis Radix. It is a classical formula for treating strokes. Da Qinjiaotang is widely used in modern clinical practices for treating ischemic stroke， peripheral facial paralysis， cervical spondylosis， rheumatic arthritis， neurodermatitis， and other multisystem diseases. Therefore， following the Principles of Textual Research on the Key Information of Ancient Classical Famous Formulas， the authors collected the ancient Chinese medical literature of Da Qinjiaotang by the method of bibliometrics and screened out 177 valid data， involving 100 ancient books of traditional Chinese medicine. Based on the historical evolution， composition， dosage， method of preparation， and preparation of the original medicinal materials of Da Qinjiaotang， a systematic study was carried out. It was found that among the 175 records of the main diseases and syndromes， stroke （144） was the most， accounting for 82.29% of the total diseases and syndromes. Later generations mostly followed the practice of LIU Wansu in using Da Qinjiaotang to treat stroke caused by "weak blood and inability to nourish tendon"， featuring "hands and feet cannot move， stiff tongue hinders speaking"， as well as other symptoms， such as slant of the mouth， hemiplegia， numbness of the limbs， paroxysmal pain， and acerbic syncope. The treatment scope was expanded， covering tendon dryness， clonic convulsion， spasm syndrome， and arthralgia syndrome. At the same time， it was found that there was a controversy between "internal wind" and "external wind" in the treatment of stroke by Da Qinjiaotang. LIU Wansu thought that stroke was caused by internal factors， created the theory of "hot stroke"， and used Da Qinjiaotang to treat "internal wind". Many doctors in later generations focused on treating the "external wind" of "internal deficiency and evil". There were 76 valid data on the composition of drugs， 59 of which had doses for each drug. It was suggested to use the modern conversion dosage of the original formula， with 41.30 g per dose. The drug should be boiled in 600 mL water until 300 mL， decocted once， and taken in a warm state after removing the dregs anytime. Through the analysis and study of the ancient books about Da Qinjiaotang， the paper clarified its historical evolution and confirmed its key information， so as to provide the ancient literature evidence for the research and development of the classical famous formula Daqinjiaotan and its better clinical application.

Da Qinjiaotang is the 54^th formula of the 100 formulas in the Catalogue of Ancient Classical Formulas （the first batch） ，and it originated from the Collection of Writings on the Mechanism of Disease， Suitability of Qi， and Safeguarding of Life Discussed in Plain Questions. Da Qinjiaotang is composed of Gentiana macrophylla， Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma， Ligusticum chuanxiong， Angelica sinensis， Paeonia lactiflora， Asari Radix et Rhizoma， Notopterygium incisum， Saposhnikoviae Radix， Scutellariae Radix， Gypsum， Angelica dahurica， Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma， Rehmanniae Radix， Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata， Poria， and Angelicae Pubescentis Radix. It is a classical formula for treating strokes. Da Qinjiaotang is widely used in modern clinical practices for treating ischemic stroke， peripheral facial paralysis， cervical spondylosis， rheumatic arthritis， neurodermatitis， and other multisystem diseases. Therefore， following the Principles of Textual Research on the Key Information of Ancient Classical Famous Formulas， the authors collected the ancient Chinese medical literature of Da Qinjiaotang by the method of bibliometrics and screened out 177 valid data， involving 100 ancient books of traditional Chinese medicine. Based on the historical evolution， composition， dosage， method of preparation， and preparation of the original medicinal materials of Da Qinjiaotang， a systematic study was carried out. It was found that among the 175 records of the main diseases and syndromes， stroke （144） was the most， accounting for 82.29% of the total diseases and syndromes. Later generations mostly followed the practice of LIU Wansu in using Da Qinjiaotang to treat stroke caused by "weak blood and inability to nourish tendon"， featuring "hands and feet cannot move， stiff tongue hinders speaking"， as well as other symptoms， such as slant of the mouth， hemiplegia， numbness of the limbs， paroxysmal pain， and acerbic syncope. The treatment scope was expanded， covering tendon dryness， clonic convulsion， spasm syndrome， and arthralgia syndrome. At the same time， it was found that there was a controversy between "internal wind" and "external wind" in the treatment of stroke by Da Qinjiaotang. LIU Wansu thought that stroke was caused by internal factors， created the theory of "hot stroke"， and used Da Qinjiaotang to treat "internal wind". Many doctors in later generations focused on treating the "external wind" of "internal deficiency and evil". There were 76 valid data on the composition of drugs， 59 of which had doses for each drug. It was suggested to use the modern conversion dosage of the original formula， with 41.30 g per dose. The drug should be boiled in 600 mL water until 300 mL， decocted once， and taken in a warm state after removing the dregs anytime. Through the analysis and study of the ancient books about Da Qinjiaotang， the paper clarified its historical evolution and confirmed its key information， so as to provide the ancient literature evidence for the research and development of the classical famous formula Daqinjiaotan and its better clinical application.

Background::Hepatitis B poses a heavy burden for children in China, however, the national studies on the distributional characteristics and health care costs of children with severe hepatitis B is still lacking. This study aimed to analyze the disease characteristics, health economic effects, and medical cost for children with severe hepatitis B in China.Methods::Based on patient information in the Hospital Quality Monitoring System, cases with severe hepatitis B were divided into four groups according to age, and the etiology and symptoms of each group were quantified. The cost of hospitalization was calculated for cases with different disease processes, and severity of disease. The spatial aggregation of cases and the relationship with health economic factors were analyzed by Moran’s I analysis. Results::The total number of children discharged with hepatitis B from January 2016 to April 2022 was 1603, with an average age of 10.5 years. Liver failure cases accounted for 43.48% (697/1603) of total cases and cirrhosis cases accounted for 11.23% (180/1603). According to the grouping of disease progression, there were 1292 cases without associated complications, and the median hospitalization cost was $818.12. According to the spatial analysis, the aggregation of cases was statistically significant at the prefectural and provincial levels in 2019, 2020, and 2021 (all P <0.05). The number of severe cases was negatively correlated with gross domestic product (Moran’s I <0) and percentage of urban population (Moran’s I <0), and positively correlated with the number of pediatric beds per million population (Moran’s I >0). Conclusion::The number of severe hepatitis B cases is low in areas with high gross domestic product levels and high urban population ratios, and health care costs have been declining over the years.

S-methyl-L-cysteine sulfoxide (SMCO) is a non-protein sulfur-containing amino acid with a variety of functions. There are few reports on the enzymes catalyzing the biosynthesis of SMCO from S-methyl-L-cysteine (SMC). In this study, the flavin-containing monooxygenase gene derived from Schizosaccharomyces pombe (spfmo) was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) and the enzymatic properties of the expressed protein were analyzed. The optimum catalytic conditions of the recombinant SpFMO were 30 ℃ and pH 8.0, under which the enzyme activity reached 72.77 U/g. An appropriate amount of Mg²⁺ improved the enzyme activity. The enzyme kinetic analysis showed that the K_m and k_cat/K_m of SpFMO on the substrate SMC were 23.89 μmol/L and 61.71 L/(min·mmol), respectively. Under the optimal reaction conditions, the yield of SMCO synthesized from SMC catalyzed by SpFMO was 12.31% within 9 h. This study provides reference for the enzymatic synthesis of SMCO.
Schizosaccharomyces/genetics* ; Escherichia coli/metabolism* ; Recombinant Proteins/metabolism* ; Cysteine/biosynthesis* ; Mixed Function Oxygenases/metabolism* ; Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins/metabolism* ; Oxygenases/metabolism* ; Kinetics

One of the technical bottlenecks limiting the high yield of 1,4-butanediamine is the insufficient tolerance of strains to 1,4-butanediamine. Enhancing the tolerance of strains to 1,4-butanediamine is therefore a primary challenge that needs to be addressed for the construction of strains with high yields of 1,4-butanediamine. Staphylococcus pasteuri 326180 exhibits exceptional tolerance to high-concentration 1,4-butanediamine, serving as both an ideal model for studying the mechanism underlying the 1,4-butanediamine tolerance and a novel host for constructing strains capable of efficiently producing 1,4-butanediamine. However, for both the research on the tolerance mechanism and the modification of chassis strains, gene editing of S. pasteuri needs to be carried out at the molecular level. The research objective of this paper is to establish a genetic manipulation system for S. pasteuri, laying foundation for subsequent studies on tolerance mechanism and the modification of chassis strains. This study systematically optimized the electroporation conditions, including key parameters such as the growth phase of cells, electric field strength, electroporation buffer, and recovery medium, successfully establishing an electroporation method for S. pasteuri. Additionally, we constructed the gene editing plasmid pCpfOA by replacing the resistance expression cassette, optimized the selection markers for gene editing, and finally established a CRISPR/Cpf1-based gene editing technology for S. pasteuri, achieving an editing efficiency of 90%. The genetic manipulation system of S. pasteuri established in this study provides technical support for research into the tolerance mechanism of this bacterium and the genetic modification of chassis strains.
Staphylococcus/drug effects* ; Gene Editing/methods* ; Electroporation/methods* ; Plasmids/genetics* ; CRISPR-Cas Systems ; Genetic Engineering/methods*

Objective:To compare the clinical characteristics of monogenic and non-monogenic early-onset inflammatory bowel disease (EO-IBD) in children and to explore the necessity of genetic analysis in EO-IBD research.Methods:A retrospective analysis of clinical data was conducted on 73 children diagnosed with EO-IBD at the Children's Hospital affiliated with Capital Institute of Pediatrics between January 2017 and December 2023. Genetic analysis was performed utilizing next-generation sequencing technology, with patients stratified into monogenic and non-monogenic groups based on the presence or absence of pathogenic mutations. Subsequently, a comparative analysis of clinical characteristics was conducted between these two cohorts of EO-IBD patients.Results:Among the 73 EO-IBD cases, 27 (37%) were diagnosed as monogenic IBD, and 46 (63%) as non-monogenic IBD. Compared to the non-monogenic group, the monogenic group had an earlier age of onset [1 (0.2, 3.0) months vs. 15 (4.1, 51.3) months, P < 0.001], with a higher incidence within the first month of life (70.4% vs. 13.0%, P < 0.001). Monogenic IBD cases were more likely to present with Crohn's disease (CD) phenotypes (88.9% vs. 52.2%, P = 0.003) and colonic involvement (L2) (91.7% vs. 62.5%, P < 0.001), but were less likely to present with non-penetrating, non-stricturing (B1) disease (87.5% vs. 95.8%, P = 0.019). Children in the monogenic group were more prone to severe malnutrition (74.1% vs. 21.3%, P < 0.001), perianal abscesses (40.7% vs. 8.7%, P < 0.001), perianal tags (22.2% vs. 0%, P = 0.004), fever (74.1% vs. 23.9%, P < 0.001), oral ulcers (44.4% vs. 6.5%, P < 0.001), and skin lesions (33.3% vs. 2.2%, P < 0.001). Regarding treatment, the monogenic group had higher usage of thalidomide (88.9% vs. 54.3%, P = 0.002) and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) (37.0% vs. 0, P < 0.001) and a higher mortality rate (22.2% vs. 2.2%, P = 0.017) . Conclusions:For children with IBD presenting at an early age, especially within the first month of life, and showing symptoms like fever, oral ulcers, skin lesions, severe malnutrition, and perianal disease, monogenic IBD should be considered. Genetic testing results can aid in guiding treatment decisions.

Objective:To identify the serotype and genotype characteristics of the first cluster infection of Brucella in Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province. Methods:The information of seven suspected cluster brucellosis cases reported in Lanping County, Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in April 2023 were collected, blood samples were collected, and the strains were isolated and cultured. Serological methods were employed for brucellosis diagnosis, bacterial species identification was performed using BCSP31-PCR and AMOS-PCR. Multilocus locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) was conducted for strain genotyping, followed by phylogenetic analysis comparing the strains with those from other regions of China.Results:All seven cases were diagnosed with brucellosis, they were all villagers from the same village and had daily contact with sheeps. Four suspected Brucella strains were isolated, identified as Brucella melitensis biotype by BCSP31-PCR and AMOS-PCR. The four isolated strains exhibited identical MLVA-16 genotype, with MLVA-8 genotype 42 and MLVA-11 genotype 180, belonging to the Eastern Mediterranean lineage. Compared with the MLVA-16 of the isolated strains from other regions of China, the four isolated strains formed an independent cluster. Conclusion:The first cluster infection of Brucella in Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province is caused by Brucella melitensis biotype, and the four isolated strains have showed unique MLVA genotype.

Objective:To compare the clinical characteristics of monogenic and non-monogenic early-onset inflammatory bowel disease (EO-IBD) in children and to explore the necessity of genetic analysis in EO-IBD research.Methods:A retrospective analysis of clinical data was conducted on 73 children diagnosed with EO-IBD at the Children's Hospital affiliated with Capital Institute of Pediatrics between January 2017 and December 2023. Genetic analysis was performed utilizing next-generation sequencing technology, with patients stratified into monogenic and non-monogenic groups based on the presence or absence of pathogenic mutations. Subsequently, a comparative analysis of clinical characteristics was conducted between these two cohorts of EO-IBD patients.Results:Among the 73 EO-IBD cases, 27 (37%) were diagnosed as monogenic IBD, and 46 (63%) as non-monogenic IBD. Compared to the non-monogenic group, the monogenic group had an earlier age of onset [1 (0.2, 3.0) months vs. 15 (4.1, 51.3) months, P < 0.001], with a higher incidence within the first month of life (70.4% vs. 13.0%, P < 0.001). Monogenic IBD cases were more likely to present with Crohn's disease (CD) phenotypes (88.9% vs. 52.2%, P = 0.003) and colonic involvement (L2) (91.7% vs. 62.5%, P < 0.001), but were less likely to present with non-penetrating, non-stricturing (B1) disease (87.5% vs. 95.8%, P = 0.019). Children in the monogenic group were more prone to severe malnutrition (74.1% vs. 21.3%, P < 0.001), perianal abscesses (40.7% vs. 8.7%, P < 0.001), perianal tags (22.2% vs. 0%, P = 0.004), fever (74.1% vs. 23.9%, P < 0.001), oral ulcers (44.4% vs. 6.5%, P < 0.001), and skin lesions (33.3% vs. 2.2%, P < 0.001). Regarding treatment, the monogenic group had higher usage of thalidomide (88.9% vs. 54.3%, P = 0.002) and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) (37.0% vs. 0, P < 0.001) and a higher mortality rate (22.2% vs. 2.2%, P = 0.017) . Conclusions:For children with IBD presenting at an early age, especially within the first month of life, and showing symptoms like fever, oral ulcers, skin lesions, severe malnutrition, and perianal disease, monogenic IBD should be considered. Genetic testing results can aid in guiding treatment decisions.

Objective:To identify the serotype and genotype characteristics of the first cluster infection of Brucella in Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province. Methods:The information of seven suspected cluster brucellosis cases reported in Lanping County, Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in April 2023 were collected, blood samples were collected, and the strains were isolated and cultured. Serological methods were employed for brucellosis diagnosis, bacterial species identification was performed using BCSP31-PCR and AMOS-PCR. Multilocus locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) was conducted for strain genotyping, followed by phylogenetic analysis comparing the strains with those from other regions of China.Results:All seven cases were diagnosed with brucellosis, they were all villagers from the same village and had daily contact with sheeps. Four suspected Brucella strains were isolated, identified as Brucella melitensis biotype by BCSP31-PCR and AMOS-PCR. The four isolated strains exhibited identical MLVA-16 genotype, with MLVA-8 genotype 42 and MLVA-11 genotype 180, belonging to the Eastern Mediterranean lineage. Compared with the MLVA-16 of the isolated strains from other regions of China, the four isolated strains formed an independent cluster. Conclusion:The first cluster infection of Brucella in Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province is caused by Brucella melitensis biotype, and the four isolated strains have showed unique MLVA genotype.