Objective:To analyze the risk factors for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection in pediatric recipients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT).Methods:Clinical data of children who underwent first allo-HSCT were retrospectively analyzed from March 2017 to November 2024. A total of 259 pediatric allo-HSCT recipients were analyzed through comparing HCMV infection group (n=115) and Non-HCMV infection group (n=144). Clinical characteristics were compared, and risk factors for HCMV infection were analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression.Results:The result of univariate analysis showed that adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), length of hospitalization, duration of antiviral therapy, and bacterial infection were significantly associated with HCMV infection in pediatric allo-HSCT recipients ( P<0.05). The result of multivariate analysis showed that ALD was an independent protective factor against HCMV infection of allo-HSCT recipients ( P<0.05) [OR=0.22, 95% CI: 0.06-0.86], while umbilical cord blood transplantation (UCBT) was an independent risk factor for HCMV infection in allo-HSCT recipients ( P<0.05) [OR=6.13, 95% CI: 1.34-28.04]. When the area under the ROC curve (AUC) for predicting post-transplant relapse based on HCMV viral load was 0.75 (95% CI: 0.55-0.94, P=0.014) and at the cutoff value of 3×10 3 copies/ml, the sensitivity and specificity for predicting relapse were 81.13% and 66.67%, respectively. Conclusions:HCMV infection in pediatric allo-HSCT recipients may lead to longer hospitalization and increased risk of relapse.

Objective:Analysis of the composition of pathogen spectrum and prevalence characteristics in throat swabs of patients with acute respiratory infections (ARI) in Yucheng city, Henan province, from March to June 2023.Methods:After 1 153 throat swabs were collected from ARI patients in Yucheng, 18 respiratory pathogens were tested using a real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method. The characterization of pathogens spectrum was analyzed.Results:A total of 1 153 throat swabs from ARI patients were collected from March to June 2023 in Yucheng, including 171 outpatients and 982 hospitalized patients. A total of 244 positive samples for common respiratory pathogens were detected (at least one pathogen per sample was detected). The total detection rate of respiratory pathogens was 21.16%, and the top three detection rates were, in descending order, human bocavirus (HBoV), enterovirus (EV), and human parainfluenza virus (HPIV). The main detection month for pathogens was May, with a detection rate of 42.3% (60/142). The main respiratory pathogens detected are HBoV, EV, and HPIV. The detection rate of the age group under 1 year old was the highest, at 25.1% (49/195), mainly consisting of HBoV, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and HPIV. The main clinical manifestations of respiratory pathogen-positive patients were fever and cough, and the clinical diagnosis was mainly lower respiratory tract infection, all of which were hospitalized patients.Conclusions:The respiratory pathogens in ARI patients were mainly HBoV, EV, and HPIV from March to June, 2023 in Yucheng. The peak of the epidemic was in May, mainly infecting children under 5 years of age.

Objective:To determine the epidemiological characteristics of human bocavirus (HBoV) in children with acute respiratory infections (ARI) in Bengbu City, Anhui Province, in 2024.Methods:Nasopharyngeal swab samples were collected from 269 children with ARI in Bengbu City, Anhui Province, in 2024. Seventeen respiratory pathogens were screened using quantitative fluorescence PCR. For HBoV-positive samples, the VP1/VP2 structural gene fragments of HBoV were amplified and sequenced for genetic evolutionary analysis.Results:Among the 269 nasopharyngeal swab samples from children with ARI, the overall detection rate of respiratory pathogens was 48.33% (103/269). The top three pathogens with the highest detection rates were: Influenza A virus (FluA): 10.04% (27/269), Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV): 8.18% (22/269), Human bocavirus (HBoV): 7.43% (20/269). The age distribution of HBoV-infected children showed that the detection rate was highest in the 0-2 years age group (50%, 10/20), followed by the 3-5 years age group (25%, 5/20) and the over 6 years age group (25%, 5/20). However, there was no statistically significant difference in viral detection rates among the age groups. Genetic evolutionary analysis based on VP1/VP2 revealed that all 13 HBoV strains were of the HBoV-1 genotype.Conclusions:HBoV is one of the major pathogens causing ARI in children in Bengbu City, Anhui Province, in 2024, with HBoV-1 being the predominant genotype. Additionally, infants aged 0-2 years are the most susceptible population to HBoV infection.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics and cytokines expression characteristics in infants with mild and severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection.Methods:From May 2023 to December 2023, plasma samples and clinical information were collected from 16 infants with RSV infection and 14 control infants. Cytek Aurora flow cytometry (Cytek, America) and Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to detect the expression levels of 25 cytokines after mild and severe RSV infection.Results:Cough and nasal obstruction were the main clinical manifestations in infants with mild RSV infection, accompanied by polypnea, wheezing and other symptoms. The main symptoms of severe RSV infection were cough and rales, accompanied by fever and polypnea. In comparison with the control group, the expression levels of IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-9, IL-13, IL-22, TNF-α, IFN-α, IFN-β, MIP-1β, I-TAC, ENA-78, GROα, Eotaxin, and MCP-1 in the RSV infection group all exhibited an upregulation trend. Both IP-10 and MIP-3α demonstrated a downward trend in the RSV infection group; however, there was no statistically significant difference ( P>0.05). The levels of IL-10, IFN-γ, MIP-1α, and IL-8 in the RSV infection group were significantly higher than those in the control group, whereas the levels of MIG, TARC, and RANTES in the RSV infection group were significantly lower than those in the control group ( P<0.05). The levels of IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-9, IL-10, IL-13, IL-22, IFN-β, IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-8, I-TAC, MIP-1β, Eotaxin, and MCP-1 in the mild RSV infection group were significantly higher than those in the severe RSV infection group ( P>0.05). Among these, the levels of MIG, RANTES, TARC, MIP-3α, and ENA-78 in the mild infection group were all lower than those in the severe infection group. The expressions of ENA-78 and MIP-1α in the severe infection group were significantly higher than those in the mild infection group and also higher than those in the control group. There was no significant difference in IP-10 and GROα between the mild and severe RSV infection groups ( P>0.05). Conclusions:The differences in clinical features and cytokines between infants with mild and severe RSV infection provide important data support for the prevention and treatment of RSV infection in infants.

Based on network pharmacology,molecular docking,and experimental validation,this study explored the mechanisms of Geranium wilfordii Maxim(GWM)in the treatment of liver injury.Mice were randomly divided into a control group(CON group),a model group(CCl4 group),a high-dose drug group(GWM-H group),and a low-dose group(GWM-L group).The liv-er injury model in mice was induced by CCl4,and liver tissue pathological morphology was ob-served,along with the measurement of the relative gene expression levels of liver inflammatory factors.Active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine and target information of Chinese medi-cine and diseases were obtained through databases such as TCMSP,PubChem,Swiss Target Pre-diction,Super-PRED,Gene Cards,and DisGeNET.Intersecting the targets of liver injury,necropto-sis,and drugs yielded potential drug targets.String database was used for protein-protein interac-tion(PPI)analysis of the potential targets.Furthermore,Cytoscape was utilized to construct a net-work diagram of"drug-disease-active ingredient-intersection target,"Wei Sheng Xin was used for GO and KEGG pathway analysis.Molecular docking was performed using MOE software,and the results of molecular docking were experimentally validated to detect the expression of key targets in the RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL signaling pathway.Animal experiments showed that compared to the CON group,the CCl4 group of mice exhibited a significant increase in liver organ index(P＜0.05),markedly elevated serum AST activity(P＜0.05),and a highly significant increase in ALT activity(P＜0.01).Pathological examination revealed chaotic liver lobules,severe hepatocyte steatosis,ex-tensive hepatocyte necrosis,and inflammatory cell infiltration in the livers of mice in the CCl4 group.In comparison to the CCl4 group,the GWM-H group showed a significant decrease in liver organ index(P＜0.05),while the GWM-L group displayed a downward trend.The GWM-H group exhibited a significant reduction in serum AST activity(P＜0.05),the GWM-L group showed a decreasing trend in serum AST activity,the GWM-H group demonstrated a highly significant de-crease in serum ALT activity(P＜0.01),and the GWM-L group displayed a significant decrease in serum ALT activity(P＜0.05).Histopathological examination revealed that the drug treatment groups could improve CCl4-induced liver injury,with the GWM-H group showing better efficacy than the GWM-L group.RT-qPCR results of liver tissues showed that compared to the CON group,the CCl4 group exhibited a highly significant increase in the relative expression of IL-1βand PGE2 mRNA(P＜0.01),while the mRNA relative expression of COX2 showed an increasing trend.In contrast,compared to the CCl4 group,the GWM-H group showed a remarkably significant decrease in the relative expression of IL-1βmRNA(P＜0.01),a significant decrease in PGE2 mR-NA expression(P＜0.05),and a decreasing trend in COX2 mRNA expression.Through network pharmacology,56 potential targets related to GWM in ameliorating necroptosis-induced liver injury were identified.Key targets,based on degree value,include TNF,Bcl2,HSP90AA1,and Caspase8,while the key components are quercetin,luteolin,kaempferol,and ellagic acid.Functional enrich-ment analysis yielded 2 173 entries for GO and 146 biological pathways for KEGG.Molecular doc-king results indicated a strong binding capacity between the main components of GWM and key targets.RT-qPCR experimental results showed that compared to the CON group,the CCl4 group exhibited a extremely significantly increase in the mRNA relative expression of TNF-α,TNFR1,MLKL(P＜0.01),significantly increase in the mRNA relative expression of FAS,RIPK1,RIPK3 mRNA(P＜0.05),and a significant decrease in Caspase 8 mRNA expression(P＜0.05).The addi-tion of GWM successfully reversed this trend;compared to the CCl4 group,the GWM-H group showed a highly significant decrease in the mRNA relative expression of TNF-α,TNFR1,FAS and MLKL mRNA(P＜0.01),significant decrease in RIPK1,RIPK3 mRNA expression(P＜0.05),and an increasing trend in CASPASE8 mRNA expression.GWM exerts hepatoprotective effects through multiple components and pathways,among which inhibition of the RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL pathway reduces hepatocyte necroptosis,potentially serving as one of the essential mechanisms for its protective effects.

We have isolated an intestinal probiotic strain, Pediococcus acidilactici HRQ-1. To improve its gastrointestinal fluid tolerance, transportation and storage stability, and slow-release properties, we employed the extrusion method to prepare the microcapsules with P. acidilactici HRQ-1 as the core material and sodium alginate and chitosan as the wall material. The optimal conditions for preparing the microcapsules were determined by single factor and orthogonal tests, and the optimal ratio was determined by taking the embedding rate, survival rate, storage stability, gastrointestinal fluid tolerance, and release rate as the evaluation indexes. The results showed that under the optimal embedding conditions, the embedding rate reached (89.60±0.02)%. Under the optimal formula of freeze-drying protective agent, the freeze-drying survival rate reached (76.42±0.13)%, and the average size of the microcapsules produced was (1.16±0.03) mm. The continuous gastrointestinal fluid simulation experiments confirmed that the microcapsules ensured the viable bacterial count and can slowly release bacteria in the intestinal fluid. The curve of the viable bacterial count during storage at 4 ℃ and room temperature indicated that the prepared microcapsules achieved strains' live number protection. The formula and preparation process of P. acidilactici microcapsules may provide a technological reserve for the preparation of more live bacterial drugs in the future.
Pediococcus acidilactici/chemistry* ; Probiotics/chemistry* ; Capsules/chemistry* ; Alginates/chemistry* ; Chitosan/chemistry* ; Drug Compounding/methods* ; Glucuronic Acid/chemistry* ; Hexuronic Acids/chemistry* ; Freeze Drying

OBJECTIVES: To explore the mediating role of sleep duration in the relationship between depression symptoms and myopia among middle school students. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional research conducted using a stratified cluster random sampling method. A total of 1 728 middle school students were selected from two junior high schools and two senior high schools in certain urban areas and farms of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. Questionnaire surveys and vision tests were conducted among the students. Spearman analysis was used to analyze the correlation between depression symptoms, sleep duration, and myopia. The Bootstrap method was employed to investigate the mediating effect of sleep duration between depression symptoms and myopia. RESULTS: The prevalence of myopia in the overall population was 74.02% (1 279/1 728), with an average sleep duration of (7.6±1.0) hours. The rate of insufficient sleep was 83.62% (1 445/1 728), and the proportion of students exhibiting depression symptoms was 25.29% (437/1 728). Correlation analysis showed significant negative correlations between visual acuity in both eyes and sleep duration with depressive emotions as measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (with correlation coefficients of -0.064, -0.084, and -0.199 respectively; P<0.01), as well as with somatic symptoms and activities (with correlation coefficients of -0.104, -0.124, and -0.233 respectively; P<0.01) and interpersonal relationships (with correlation coefficients of -0.052, -0.059, and -0.071 respectively; P<0.05). The correlation coefficients for left and right eye visual acuity and sleep duration were 0.206 and 0.211 respectively (P<0.001). Sleep duration exhibited a mediating effect between depression symptoms and myopia (indirect effect=0.056, 95%CI: 0.029-0.088), with the mediating effect value for females (indirect effect=0.066, 95%CI: 0.024-0.119) being higher than that for males (indirect effect=0.042, 95%CI: 0.011-0.081). CONCLUSIONS Sleep duration serves as a partial mediator between depression symptoms and myopia in middle school students.
Humans ; Myopia/etiology* ; Male ; Female ; Depression/physiopathology* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Sleep ; Adolescent ; Students ; Child ; Time Factors ; Sleep Duration

Gene therapy, harnessing the power of CRISPR-Cas9 and/or DNAzyme systems, stands as a pivotal approach in cancer therapy, enabling the meticulous manipulation of genes pivotal to tumorigenesis and immunity. However, the pursuit of precise gene therapy encounters formidable hurdles. Herein, a near-infrared upconversion theranostic nanomachine is devised and tailors for CRISPR-Cas9/DNAzyme systems mediate precise gene therapy. An ingenious logic DNAzyme system consists of Chain 1 (C1)/Chain 2 (C2) and endogenous lncRNA is designed. We employ manganese modified upconversion nanoparticles for carrying ultraviolet-responsive C1-PC linker-C2 (C₂P) chain and Cas9 ribonucleoprotein (RNP), with outermost coats with hyaluronic acid. Upon reaching tumor microenvironment (TME), the released Mn²⁺ ions orchestrate a trifecta: facilitating endosomal escape, activating cGAS-STING signaling, and enabling T1-magnetic resonance imaging. Under near-infrared irradiation, Cas9 RNP/C₂P complex dissociates, releasing Cas9 RNP into the nucleus to perform gene editing of Ptpn2, while C1/C2 chains self-assemble with endogenous lncRNA to form a functional DNAzyme system, targeting PD-L1 mRNA for gene silencing. This strategy remodels the TME by activating cGAS-STING signaling and dual immune checkpoints blockade, thus realizing tumor elimination. Our theranostic nanomachine armed with the CRISPR-Cas9/DNAzyme logic systems, represents a resourceful and promising strategy for advancing cancer systemic immunotherapy and precise gene therapy.

Objective To investigate the distribution and antimicrobial resistance profiles of clinically isolated Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis in hospitals across China from 2015 to 2021,and provide evidence for rational use of antimicrobial agents.Methods Data of H.influenzae and M.catarrhalis strains isolated from 2015 to 2021 in CHINET program were collected for analysis,and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by disc diffusion method or automated systems according to the uniform protocol of CHINET.The results were interpreted according to the CLSI breakpoints in 2022.Beta-lactamases was detected by using nitrocefin disk.Results From 2015 to 2021,a total of 43 642 strains of Haemophilus species were isolated,accounting for 2.91％of the total clinical isolates and 4.07％of Gram-negative bacteria in CHINET program.Among the 40 437 strains of H.influenzae,66.89％were isolated from children and 33.11％were isolated from adults.More than 90％of the H.influenzae strains were isolated from respiratory tract specimens.The prevalence of β-lactamase was 53.79％in H.influenzae strains.The H.influenzae strains isolated from children showed higher resistance rate than the strains isolated from adults.Overall,779 strains of H.influenzae did not produce β-lactamase but were resistant to ampicillin(BLNAR).Beta-lactamase-producing strains showed significantly higher resistance rates to these antimicrobial agents than the β-lactamase-nonproducing strains.Of the 16 191 M.catarrhalis strains,80.06％were isolated from children and 19.94％isolated from adults.M.catarrhalis strains were mostly susceptible to both amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and cefuroxime,evidenced by resistance rate lower than 2.0％.Conclusions The emergence of antibiotic-resistant H.influenzae due to β-lactamase production poses a challenge for clinical anti-infective treatment.Therefore,it is very important to implement antibiotic resistance surveillance for H.influenzae and guide rational antibiotic use.All local clinical microbiology laboratories should actively improve antibiotic susceptibility testing and strengthen antibiotic resistance surveillance for H.influenzae.

Objective:To investigate the value of machine learning models based on CT radiomics for predicting the outcome of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer (LAGC).Methods:A retrospective case series study was conducted. A total of 279 LAGC patients receiving NAC before surgery in Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital from January 2018 to November 2020 were included. According to a ratio of 7∶3, all patients were randomly divided into the training set (196 cases) and the validation set (83 cases). According to the tumor regression grade (TRG), the pathological grade was divided into the good response of NAC (GR) group (TRG 0-1, 55 cases) and the poor response of NAC (PR) group (TRG 2-3, 224 cases). The clinicopathological data of patients were collected, such as age, gender, differentiation degree, clinical T and N staging, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and carbohydrate antigen 199 (CA199) level. Radiomics features were extracted from the enhanced CT images in the vein phase, and the features were screened by 3-step dimensionality reduction. And then 5 machine learning algorithms including logistic regression (LR), naive bayes (NB), random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM) and extreme gradient boosting (XGB) were applied to build prediction models based on the CT radiomics. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the decision analysis (DCA) curve were drawn to evaluate the predictive performance and clinical benefit of each model on the outcome of NAC in patients with LAGC.Results:Among 196 patients in the training set, there were 39 cases in GR group and 157 cases in PR group; among 83 patients in the validation set, there were 16 cases in GR group and 67 cases in PR group. There were no statistically significant differences in clinicopathological data of patients between the training and validation sets, or between GR and PR groups in the training and validation sets (all P > 0.05). A total of 102 radiomics features were extracted from region of interest of CT images in the vein phase, and 6 key features were finally selected including original_firstorder_10Percentile, original_firstorder_RoubustMeanAbsoluteDeviation, original_glcm_Idmn, original_glcm_MCC, original_ngtdm_Busyness, original_ngtdm_Contrast; and there were statistically significant differences in 6 features between the GR and PR groups (all P < 0.05). LR, NB, RF, SVM and XGB machine learning algorithms were used to construct 5 prediction models based on the CT radiomics. The area under ROC curve for NAC prediction in the training set was 0.553, 0.709, 0.668, 0.772 and 0.790, respectively; in the validation set was 0.662, 0.622, 0.683, 0.752 and 0.784, respectively. The model constructed by XGB showed the best comprehensive performance, and its accuracy, sensitivity and specificity was 0.771, 0.562 and 0.821, respectively. In the DCA of 5 machine learning models in the training set, XGB-based model provided a higher net benefit. Conclusions:Machine learning models based on enhanced CT radiomics in the vein phase have a high predictive efficacy in the outcome of NAC in LAGC patients before surgery and it helps make clinical personalized treatment decisions.