Objective To investigate the species composition, distribution, density, and pathogen-carrying status of host-seeking ticks in urban environments of Jiangsu Province, and to provide a scientific basis for the prevention and control of tick-borne diseases in urban settings. Methods From April to September 2023, a survey on host-seeking ticks was conducted in three types of habitats (city parks, residential areas, and street greenbelts) across 54 counties (cities, districts) of 13 prefecture-level cities in Jiangsu Province by using the flagging method. RStudio 4.4.3 (Windows version) was employed to perform chi-square test analysis on the species composition of ticks across different months, and Friedman test (for multiple paired samples) was applied to analyze monthly changes in the average tick density index among different habitats. Quantitative real-time PCR was performed to detect pathogens in the captured ticks. Results A total of 863 host-seeking ticks were captured from 54 habitats in 24 counties (cities, districts) of 11 prefecture-level cities (Nanjing, Wuxi, Changzhou, Suzhou, Nantong, Huai'an, Yancheng, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Taizhou, and Suqian) in Jiangsu Province, whereas no ticks were captured in Xuzhou and Lianyungang. The collected ticks belonged to three species, with Haemaphysalis longicornis being the dominant species (accounting for 82.62%), followed by Haemaphysalis flava and Hae. phasiana. The average density index of ticks in positive habitats was 3.20 ticks/ (flag·100 m). In terms of tick density among prefecture-level cities, Wuxi had the highest density[13.55 ticks/(flag·100 m)], whereas Nanjing and Taizhou had the lowest[both,0.20 ticks/(flag·100 m)]. With respect to the types of positive habitats,46 positive city parks,7 positive residential areas, and 1 positive street greenbelt were found, with the average tick density index being 3.46, 1.86, and 3.60 ticks/flag · 100 m, respectively. No statistically significant differences were observed in the monthly variations in the average tick density index among different habitats (P＞0.05). Pathogen detection showed no Bandavirus dabieense, Rickettsia, or Borrelia burgdorferi in the collected ticks. Conclusions Host-seeking ticks have established populations in urban environments across most prefecture-level cities in Jiangsu Province, with Hae. longicornis identified as the dominant species. City parks serve as the primary breeding habitats for these ticks. Strengthening tick surveillance and control measures in densely populated and frequently visited areas, such as city parks and residential neighborhoods, is crucial for the effective prevention and control of urban tick-borne diseases.

Objective To explore the effect and mechanism of keratin 17(KRT17)on proliferation of human esophageal squamous cell line KYSE-150.Methods The correlation of KRT17 expression with the disease stage and survival of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma was analyzed by GEPIA2 website.Human esophageal squamous cell line KYSE-150 was divided into control group,si-NC group,si-KRT17 group and activator group.Small interfering RNA of si-NC and si-KRT17 were transfected into cells of si-NC group and si-KRT17 group,re-spectively.Cells in the activator group were transfected with si-KRT17 and treated with 740 Y-P(PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway activator)with a final concentration of 30 μmol/L in the medium.The cell proliferation was detec-ted by CCK-8 assay.The clonal formation was detected by clonal formation experiment.The apoptosis was detected by TUNEL staining.The cell cycle was detected by flow cytometry.The cell migration and invasion were detected by Transwell assay.The contents of glucose,lactic acid and pyruvate in cell supernatant were detected by commercially available kits.The expression of KRT17 mRNA was detected by qRT-PCR.And the expression of KRT17,GLUT1,PDK1 and LDHA,p-PI3K,PI3K,p-AKT,AKT,p-mTOR and mTOR protein were detected by Western blot.Results The expression level of KRT17 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma tissues was significantly higher than that in normal tissues(P＜0.05).There was a statistically significant correlation between the expression level of KRT17 and the stage of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(P＜0.05).The survival prognosis of patients with low KRT17 expression was better than that of patients with high KRT17 expression(P＜0.05).Compared with control group or si-NC group,the mRNA and protein expression of KRT17 in si-KRT17 group were decreased(P＜0.05),and the cell proliferation activity,number of clone formation,migration and invasion cells were de-creased(P＜0.05).And the lactic acid content,protein expression levels of GLUT1,PDK1 and LDHA were de-creased(P＜0.05),values of p-PI3K/PI3K,p-Akt/AKT and p-mTOR/mTOR were decreased(P＜0.05).The proportion of cells in G0/G1 phase,TUNEL positive rate,and contents of glucose and pyruvate were increased(P＜0.05).Compared with si-KRT17 group,the mRNA and protein expression levels of KRT17 in activator group were increased(P＜0.05),and the cell proliferation activity,number of clone formation,migration and in-vasion cells were increased(P＜0.05).And the lactic acid content,protein expression levels of GLUT1,PDK1 and LDHA were increased(P＜0.05),the values of p-PI3K/PI3K,p-Akt/AKT and p-mTOR/mTOR were in-creased(P＜0.05).The proportion of cells in G0/G1 phase,TUNEL positive rate,and contents of glucose and pyruvate were decreased(P＜0.05).Conclusions KRT17 is highly expressed in esophageal squamous cell car-cinoma tissues and cells.Silencing KRT17 inhibits proliferation,migration and invasion of human esophageal squamous cell line KYSE-150,and promotes apoptosis and cell cycle arrest.

Objective:To evaluate the cumulative live birth rate (CLBR) and cost-effectiveness of fixed versus adjusted follicle-stimulation hormone (FSH) dosages in infertile women with different ovarian responses during their first assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycle.Methods:A retrospective real-world cohort study was conducted on 5 419 infertile women who underwent their first ART treatment at the Department of Reproductive Medicine of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between January 2013 and December 2017. All patients received an individualized starting dosage of gonadotropin. Based on whether FSH dosages were adjusted during controlled ovarian stimulation (COS), patients were divided into fixed-dosage group ( n=2 061) and adjusted-dosage group ( n=3 358). Clinical outcomes and FSH cost-effectiveness were compared between the two groups across different ovarian response groups, with CLBR as the primary outcome. Propensity score matching (PSM) and multivariable logistic regression were used to adjust for potential confounders. Results:FSH dosage adjustments were found in 62.0% (3 358/5 419) of cycles during COS. After PSM, baseline characteristics were comparable between the two groups (all P>0.05). After adjusting for confounders using multivariable logistic regression, FSH dosage adjustment was not significantly associated with CLBR ( OR=1.06, 95% CI: 0.94-1.20, P=0.332). Compared with the adjusted-dosage group, the fixed-dosage group showed no significant differences in CLBR in poor-, normal-, and high-responder groups (all P>0.05). The incidence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) did not differ significantly between the two groups ( P>0.05). In poor-, normal-, and high-responder groups, the total FSH dosages in the fixed-dose group [1 350 (375, 1 825) U, 1 200 (375, 1 500) U and 525 (375, 1 128) U, respectively] were significantly lower than those in the adjusted-dose group [1 875 (1 425, 2 294) U, P=0.001; 1 425 (450, 1 875) U, P<0.001; 600 (375, 1 425) U, P=0.020]. Similarly, average FSH costs in different ovarian response groups in the fixed-dosage group [4 725.0 (1 312.5, 6 387.5) yuan, 4 200.0 (1 312.5, 5 250.0) yuan and 1 837.5 (1 312.5, 3 947.3) yuan, respectively] were significantly lower than those in the adjusted-dosage group [6 562.5 (4 987.5, 8 028.1) yuan, P=0.001; 4 987.5 (1 575.0, 6 562.5) yuan, P<0.001; 2 100.0 (1 312.5, 4 987.5) yuan, P=0.020]. For normal-responders, the FSH cost per high-quality embryo in the fixed-dosage group [1 365.0 (875.0, 2 537.5) yuan] was significantly lower than that in the adjusted-dosage group [2 056.3 (1 268.8, 3 412.5) yuan, P<0.001]. Conclusion:FSH dosage adjustment during COS is not associated with CLBR or the incidence of OHSS. However, the fixed-dose group exhibited lower total FSH dosages and costs across different ovarian response populations. In the context of ART being covered by medical insurance, fixed FSH dosage may represent a more cost-effective ovarian stimulation protocol.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease(CJD)is a rapidly progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder caused by prions,with certain infectivity and iatrogenic transmission risks.With the rapid progress and application of new dia-gnostic biomarkers and detection methods,as well as the construction and improvement of surveillance and reporting systems,the detection of CJD in patients domestically and internationally has shown an increasing trend year by year.Due to its long incubation period and heterogeneity of early symptoms,early identification and diagnosis of the disease is difficult,increasing the risk of transmission within medical institutions.Currently,there is a lack of con-sensus on the infection prevention and control of CJD.In order to timely identify and diagnose CJD as well as effec-tively block its transmission in medical institutions,this consensus summarizes 15 clinical concerns and formulates 24 specific recommendations based on the latest domestic and international research findings and clinical evidence,as well as combines with clinical practice,aiming to standardize healthcare-associated infection prevention and control measures for CJD and reduce its transmission risk in medical institutions.

AIM:To establish a physiological-based pharmacokinetic(PBPK)model of ertapen-em in elderly patients with chronic kidney disease,and to analyze the pharmacokinetic/pharmacody-namic index f％ T＞MIC at different doses.METH-ODS:The physicochemical properties and pharma-cokinetic characteristics of ertapenem were collect-ed by reviewing the literature and databases,and a healthy adult model was established in PKSim? software,and then extrapolated to the PBPK model of the elderly.The clinical pharmacokinetic re-search data were used to optimize and validate the model,and the mean folding error(MFE)was used as the index to evaluate the prediction perfor-mance of the model.The final model was used to simulate the in vivo exposure of elderly patients with chronic kidney disease after administration,and the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic index of commonly used clinical dosing regimens was an-alyzed,and the recommended dosing regimens were given.RESULTS:The MFE of the area under the curve(AUC0-t),peak concentration(Cmax)and peak time(Tmmax)predicted by the established PBPK model of ertapenem in adults were 0.92,0.79 and 1.02,respectively,and the predicted value of the optimized PBPK model of ertapenem in the elderly was also consistent with the observed value of 0.5＜MFE＜2 standards,all of which have good predictive performance.With f％ T＞MIC greater than 40％as the drug efficacy target,the minimum inhibitory concentration(MIC)is 0.5-1 μg/mL for sensitive bacteria,and elderly patients with chronic kidney disease can consider reducing the drug dose as ap-propriate.CONCLUSION:The PBPK model of ertap-enem in elderly patients with renal insufficiency has been successfully established,and the model has good prediction performance and provides a reference for clinical personalized medication in el-derly patients with renal insufficiency.

Allergen-associated proteases, pollutants, viral and fungal pathogens disrupted epithelial barrier integrity and promoted airway epithelial release of alarmins.Epithelial-derived Alarmins include thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), interleukin 33 (IL-33), and interleukin 25 (IL-25), which acted on a variety of effector cells such as dendritic cells (DCs), T-lymphocytes, innate lymphocyte cells (ILC2), B-lymphocytes, eosinophils, mast cells, basophils, and macrophages. T-lymphocytes, innate lymphocyte cell type 2 (ILC2), B-lymphocytes, eosinophils, mast cells, basophils and macrophages are the effector cells. By affecting the physiological and biochemical functions of target cells, such as proliferation and differentiation, survival and recruitment, and material metabolism, the alarmins had activated the intrinsic and adaptive immunity, and played a key role in allergic diseases such as bronchial asthma, atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, and urticaria. A variety of monoclonal antibodies targeting epithelial-derived alarm factors have been developed for the above allergic diseases, and some of these products are already put into clinical use. As epidemiological studies showed that skin allergy closely related to airway allergy, allergic co-morbidities has imposed a heavy economic and psychological burden to patients. In-depth understanding the mechanism of alarmins will help to understand the developing and progression of allergic diseases, and develop more effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for allergic co-morbidities. This article reviews the mechanism and recent research advances of epithelial-derived alarmins in a variety of allergic diseases.

Objective:To evaluate corrective intra-articular osteotomy in the treatment of malreduced tibial pilon fractures in young patients.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the 23 patients who had been treated for malreduced tibial pilon fractures by corrective intra-articular osteotomy from January 2013 to December 2022 at Department of Orthopedics, Orthopedic Research Institute, West China Hospital. They were 21 males and 2 females with a median age of 42.9(28.6, 48.1) years. The median interval between intra-articular osteotomy and initial injury or previous surgery was 97 (51, 166) d. The clinical efficacy was assessed by the ankle-hindfoot score of American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS), MOS item short form health survey (SF-36), visual analog scale (VAS) pain score, ankle range of motion (ROM), modified Kellgren-Lawrence arthritis grading, and complications.Results:The median follow-up period was 35.4 (26.2, 72.2) months. At the last follow-up, the AOFAS ankle-hindfoot score, SF-36, VAS pain score, and ankle ROM for all patients were, respectively, (80.7±12.1) points, (72.2±13.9) points, 2.0(0, 3.0) points and 23.0°(18.0°, 30.0°), and the modified Kellgren-Lawrence arthritis grading revealed stage Ⅱ in 17 cases, stage Ⅲ in 5 cases, and stage Ⅳ in 1 case. For the 12 patients with sufficient preoperative data, the AOFAS ankle-hindfoot score [(80.9±10.1) points], SF-36 [(72.9±12.0) points], VAS pain score [2.5 (0.5, 3.0) points], and ankle ROM (26.5°±7.9°) at the last follow-up were significantly better than the preoperative values [(42.2±16.0) points, (36.0±8.8) points, 6.0 (5.5, 6.5) points, and 21.3°±7.0°] (all P<0.05). One patient who experienced significant pain postoperatively planned to receive ankle fusion surgery. No patients experienced deep infection, fracture non-union, or failure of internal fixation. Conclusion:Corrective intra-articular osteotomy may be a viable alternative treatment of malreduced tibial pilon fractures in young patients, because it can effectively improve short-term clinical and radiographic outcomes.

Objective:To explore the establishment, implementation, and application effect of the annual progressive assessment mode for standardized training of resident physicians in a medical laboratory base.Methods:Since 2020, the base has improved the annual progressive assessment system through assessment system establishment, question bank construction, routine assessment, rotation examination, and annual examination. This new assessment mode was adopted for the residency trainees enrolled in the base after 2020. The control group consisted of seven residency trainees enrolled before 2020, while the experimental group comprised 13 trainees enrolled in 2020 and later. The two groups were compared based on the rotation and annual examination scores of second- and third-year trainees, as well as their academic achievements. Additionally, teaching outcomes of the base before and after 2020 were analyzed. The t test, rank-sum test, and Fisher's exact test were performed using SPSS 27.00. Results:There were no significant differences in age, sex, and education level between the two groups. The experimental group showed significantly higher scores than the control group in theory assessment ( P<0.001 for second-year trainees and P=0.008 for third-year trainees) and skill assessment ( P<0.001 for second-year trainees and P=0.038 for third-year trainees) in rotation examination, as well as in theory assessment (both P<0.001) and skill assessment (both P<0.001) in annual examination. The improvement was particularly pronounced among second-year trainees. The trainees of the experimental group submitted 17 case reports in three years, and won awards at national conferences, provincial conferences, and institutional case speech competitions. In a national academic conference, the trainees won the second prize of "Excellent Case". Since 2020, we have been granted with our first teaching reform project and published our first teaching article. To date, we have obtained five teaching reform projects, published six teaching articles, and won multiple awards in provincial and institutional teaching competitions. Conclusions:The establishment of the annual progressive assessment mode is critical for training high-quality laboratory physicians, and puts forward higher requirements for residency training teachers.

Various researches have reported on the relationship between homocysteine levels and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Researchers are increasingly focusing on the impact of homocysteine on female reproductive health and figuring out the potential positive effects of lowering homocysteine levels on women fertility. Our review aims to systematically summarize the possible roles of homocysteine in female reproductive disorders based on relevant studies from the past 15 years and therapeutic prospects targeting homocysteine to improve the reproductive health of women.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in clinical practice. It has a high prevalence and poor prognosis. The application of antiarrhythmic drugs and even surgery cannot completely treat the disease, and there are many sequelae. AF can be classified into the category of "palpitation" in Chinese medicine according to its symptoms. Acupuncture has a significant effect on AF. The authors find that an important mechanism of acupuncture in AF treatment is to regulate the cardiac vagus nerve. Therefore, this article intends to review the distribution and function of vagus nerve in the heart, the application and the regulatroy effect for the treatment of AF.
Atrial Fibrillation/physiopathology* ; Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Vagus Nerve/physiology* ; Animals