The "four-in-one" approach is based on the four-dimensional perspective of "property, position, tendency and syndrome", which helps to identify and analyze classical prescriptions in a multi-dimensional and three-dimensional way. The early pathogenesis of chronic heart failure (CHF) is deficiency of heart Qi and heart Yang and disorder in Qi transformation in triple energizer, while in the later stage of the disease, it progresses from deficiency to excess, with simultaneous occurrence of deficiency and excess syndromes. Fuling Guizhi Baizhu Gancao Decoction (Linggui Zhugan Decoction) plays its role in treating chronic heart failure by the four elements of "property, position, tendency and syndrome". Property—Linggui Zhugan Decoction is pungent, sweet, slight sweet and bitter in flavor, but warm in property. The sweet is able to tonify deficiency; the pungent is responsible for dispersing Yang, promoting Qi and draining water retention; the warm nourishes the spleen, raises Yang Qi and resolves phlegm; the bitter could excrete diuresis and dry dampness to guarantee the smooth operation of three energizer. Position-Linggui Zhugan Decoction acts on the heart, spleen and triple energizer. It can stimulate heart Yang, strengthen the spleen, resolve phlegm, and regulate the waterways to promote the Qi transformation in triple energizer. Tendency-The tendency of Linggui Zhugan Decoction is upward and downward in parallel, both internal and external. Warming up and promoting diuresis, raising Yang up and tonifying deficiency, it is conducive to the Yang Qi transformation in triple energizer. Syndrome-Linggui Zhugan Decoction is indicated for the syndrome of heart Yang deficiency and water-fluid retention, which begins with the upper abdomen swelling, Qi rushes against the chest. It is widely used in the treatment of water-vapor impulse heart disease. The disorder of Qi transformation in triple energizer is the main mechanism of recurrent CHF. Linggui Zhugan Decoction can not only warm the fire of Qi transformation in triple energizer, but also smooth the pathway of Qi transformation in triple energizer, which is compatible with the treatment of systemic fluid retention in chronic heart failure. Its pharmacological mechanisms include anti-inflammation, anti-platelet aggregation, regulation of cardiomyocyte cell membrane ion channels, protection against ischemia-reperfusion injury and modulation of vasodilation, etc. Deconstructing Linggui Zhugan Decoction with "four-in-one" approach and discussing its mechanism for treating CHF in combination with the theory of "Qi transformation in triple energizer", have great significance to rejuvenate the vitality of classical prescriptions and to apply them accurately and effectively.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate a new noninvasive diagnostic model for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) based on features of tongue images. METHODS: Healthy controls and volunteers confirmed to have NAFLD by liver ultrasound were recruited from China-Japan Friendship Hospital between September 2018 and May 2019, then the anthropometric indexes and sampled tongue images were measured. The tongue images were labeled by features, based on a brief protocol, without knowing any other clinical data, after a series of corrections and data cleaning. The algorithm was trained on images using labels and several anthropometric indexes for inputs, utilizing machine learning technology. Finally, a logistic regression algorithm and a decision tree model were constructed as 2 diagnostic models for NAFLD. RESULTS: A total of 720 subjects were enrolled in this study, including 432 patients with NAFLD and 288 healthy volunteers. Of them, 482 were randomly allocated into the training set and 238 into the validation set. The diagnostic model based on logistic regression exhibited excellent performance: in validation set, it achieved an accuracy of 86.98%, sensitivity of 91.43%, and specificity of 80.61%; with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.93 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.68-0.98]. The decision tree model achieved an accuracy of 81.09%, sensitivity of 91.43%, and specificity of 66.33%; with an AUC of 0.89 (95% CI 0.66-0.92) in validation set. CONCLUSIONS The features of tongue images were associated with NAFLD. Both the 2 diagnostic models, which would be convenient, noninvasive, lightweight, rapid, and inexpensive technical references for early screening, can accurately distinguish NAFLD and are worth further study.
Humans ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/diagnostic imaging* ; Ultrasonography ; Anthropometry ; Algorithms ; China

Aim To investigate the protective effect of Jujing formula on retina of mice with dry age-related macular degeneration(AMD).Methods The mouse model of dry AMD was induced by intraperitoneal in-jection of sodium iodate,and the prognosis was given to the Jujing formula.Retinal thickness was detected by optical coherence tomography(OCT),the retinal morphological changes were observed by hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining,and the apoptosis of retinal cells was detected by in situ terminal transferase labeling(TUNEL)staining.Combination of tumor necrosis fac-tor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-6(IL-6)and interleukin-1β(IL-1 β)in eyeballs and serum,superoxide dis-mutase(SOD),glutathione(GSH)and malondialde-hyde(MDA)were evaluated to assess the protective effects of Jujing formula on retinal injury in mice with dry AMD.Results The results of OCT,HE and TUNEL staining showed that Jujing formula significant-ly improved the retinal injury induced by sodium iodate in mice with dry AMD,increased the retinal thickness(P＜0.05),reduced the apoptosis of retinal cells(P＜0.01),and increased the levels of GSH,IL-6 and SOD activity in eyeballs and serum(P＜0.01).The levels of TNF-α,IL-6,IL-1β and MDA were reduced(P＜0.01).Conclusions Jujing formula has certain therapeutic effects on retinal injury in dry AMD,which may be related to inhibiting inflammatory response and enhancing antioxidant capacity.

The relevant data reported by laboratories carrying out serological prenatal screening in Jiangsu Province from 2021 to 2022 were retrospectively analyzed, and the provincial inter-ventricular quality assessment was realized by comparing the internal quality control data of laboratories. The quality control analysis platform of prenatal screening in Jiangsu Province was used to collect the determination methods, quality control data results of three concentrations, instrument platform, reagents and other relevant information of maternal serological screening quality control in early and middle pregnancy in each laboratory from 2021 to 2022. Firstly, the test results of each laboratory were statistically analyzed, and the precision of each laboratory was evaluated by the variation coefficient of indoor quality control. Secondly, the consistency was evaluated by comparing laboratories with different experimental platforms. The results showed that the passing rate of PAPP-A(pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A) precision test in 2021 and 2022 was 87.5% (7/8) and 92.3% (12/13), respectively. The accuracy pass rate of the Free β-hCG (free beta-human chorionic gonadotrophin)(early pregnancy) test in 2021 and 2022 was 97.5% (39/40) and 95.5% (42/44), and the accuracy pass rate of the AFP(alpha-fetal protein) test in 2021 and 2022 was 100% (40/40) and 90.9% (40/44), respectively. The accuracy pass rate of Free β-hCG (middle pregnancy) test in 2021 and 2022 was 100% (40/40) and 95.5% (42/44), respectively. The consistency of each index was 100%. In conclusion, the relevant data reported by laboratories carrying out serological prenatal screening in Jiangsu Province has a high consistency, and for a small number of laboratories with poor stability, it is necessary to make periodic evaluation and rectification according to the data analysis results, so as to improve the quality control management of maternal serological prenatal screening.

Objective:To investigate the influence of maternal autoimmune diseases and anticoagulants, including low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) and aspirin, on the fetal fraction of maternal plasma cell-free DNA of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT).Methods:A prospective cohort study was conducted on women with singleton pregnancies receiving NIPT in the Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital from March 2021 to July 2022. NIPT was carried out using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-free amplification platform. In this study, four types of maternal autoimmune diseases, which were antiphospholipid syndrome, undifferentiated connective tissue disease, Sj?gren's syndrome, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and two anticoagulants, LMWH and aspirin, were studied. Univariate and multivariate linear regression models were used to analyze the factors influencing fetal fraction of maternal plasma cell-free DNA.Results:A total of 4 102 singleton pregnant women were enrolled in the prospective cohort, and 3 948 were finally included after excluding the cases with unclear dosing time of LMWH or aspirin, other autoimmune diseases, conceiving through ovulation induction alone, and having true positive or failed NIPT result. There were 96 cases with antiphospholipid syndrome, 35 with undifferentiated connective tissue disease, 34 with Sj?gren's syndrome, and 18 with SLE. A total of 108 patients only received LMWH treatment, 121 only received aspirin treatment, and 113 received both LMWH and aspirin treatment. Univariate linear regression analysis showed that maternal body mass index at blood collection ( B=－0.423), conceived by assisted reproductive technology ( B=－0.803), male fetus ( B=－0.458), undifferentiated connective tissue disease ( B=1.774), and SLE ( B=3.467) had influence on the fetal fraction (all P<0.05). Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that maternal body mass index at blood collection ( B=－0.415), conceived by assisted reproductive technology ( B=－0.585), male fetus ( B=－0.322), SLE ( B=3.347) and undifferentiated connective tissue disease ( B=1.336) were factors influencing fetal fraction (all P<0.05). Conclusions:Maternal use of LMWH or aspirin does not affect fetal fraction when performing NIPT on a PCR-free amplification platform, but undifferentiated connective tissue disease and SLE are the influencing factors. Therefore, pregnant women should be informed before the NIPT that the fetal fraction of maternal plasma cell-free DNA may be affected by maternal autoimmune diseases.

Objective To monitor the susceptibility of clinical isolates to antimicrobial agents in tertiary hospitals in major regions of China in 2022.Methods Clinical isolates from 58 hospitals in China were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility using a unified protocol based on disc diffusion method or automated testing systems.Results were interpreted using the 2022 Clinical &Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)breakpoints.Results A total of 318 013 clinical isolates were collected from January 1,2022 to December 31,2022,of which 29.5％were gram-positive and 70.5％were gram-negative.The prevalence of methicillin-resistant strains in Staphylococcus aureus,Staphylococcus epidermidis and other coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species(excluding Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and Staphylococcus schleiferi)was 28.3％,76.7％and 77.9％,respectively.Overall,94.0％of MRSA strains were susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and 90.8％of MRSE strains were susceptible to rifampicin.No vancomycin-resistant strains were found.Enterococcus faecalis showed significantly lower resistance rates to most antimicrobial agents tested than Enterococcus faecium.A few vancomycin-resistant strains were identified in both E.faecalis and E.faecium.The prevalence of penicillin-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae was 94.2％in the isolates from children and 95.7％in the isolates from adults.The resistance rate to carbapenems was lower than 13.1％in most Enterobacterales species except for Klebsiella,21.7％-23.1％of which were resistant to carbapenems.Most Enterobacterales isolates were highly susceptible to tigecycline,colistin and polymyxin B,with resistance rates ranging from 0.1％to 13.3％.The prevalence of meropenem-resistant strains decreased from 23.5％in 2019 to 18.0％in 2022 in Pseudomonas aeruginosa,and decreased from 79.0％in 2019 to 72.5％in 2022 in Acinetobacter baumannii.Conclusions The resistance of clinical isolates to the commonly used antimicrobial agents is still increasing in tertiary hospitals.However,the prevalence of important carbapenem-resistant organisms such as carbapenem-resistant K.pneumoniae,P.aeruginosa,and A.baumannii showed a downward trend in recent years.This finding suggests that the strategy of combining antimicrobial resistance surveillance with multidisciplinary concerted action works well in curbing the spread of resistant bacteria.

Objective To investigate the distribution and antimicrobial resistance profiles of the common pathogens isolated from urine from 2015 to 2021 in the CHINET Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program.Methods The bacterial strains were isolated from urine and identified routinely in 51 hospitals across China in the CHINET Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program from 2015 to 2021.Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by Kirby-Bauer method,automatic microbiological analysis system and E-test according to the unified protocol.Results A total of 261 893 nonduplicate strains were isolated from urine specimen from 2015 to 2021,of which gram-positive bacteria accounted for 23.8％(62 219/261 893),and gram-negative bacteria 76.2％(199 674/261 893).The most common species were E.coli(46.7％),E.faecium(10.4％),K.pneumoniae(9.8％),E.faecalis(8.7％),P.mirabilis(3.5％),P.aeruginosa(3.4％),SS.agalactiae(2.6％),and E.cloacae(2.1％).The strains were more frequently isolated from inpatients versus outpatients and emergency patients,from females versus males,and from adults versus children.The prevalence of ESBLs-producing strains in E.coli,K.pneumoniae and P.mirabilis was 53.2％,52.8％and 37.0％,respectively.The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant strains in E.coli,K.pneumoniae,P.aeruginosa and A.baumannii was 1.7％,18.5％,16.4％,and 40.3％,respectively.Lower than 10％of the E.faecalis isolates were resistant to ampicillin,nitrofurantoin,linezolid,vancomycin,teicoplanin and fosfomycin.More than 90％of the E.faecium isolates were ressitant to ampicillin,levofloxacin and erythromycin.The percentage of strains resistant to vancomycin,linezolid or teicoplanin was＜2％.The E.coli,K.pneumoniae,P.aeruginosa and A.baumannii strains isolated from ICU inpatients showed significantly higher resistance rates than the corresponding strains isolated from outpatients and non-ICU inpatients.Conclusions E.coli,Enterococcus and K.pneumoniae are the most common pathogens in urinary tract infection.The bacterial species and antimicrobial resistance of urinary isolates vary with different populations.More attention should be paid to antimicrobial resistance surveillance and reduce the irrational use of antimicrobial agents.

Objective To understand the distribution and changing resistance profiles of clinical isolates of Enterococcus in hospitals across China from 2015 to 2021.Methods Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was conducted for the clinical isolates of Enterococcus according to the unified protocol of CHINET program by automated systems,Kirby-Bauer method,or E-test strip.The results were interpreted according to the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)breakpoints in 2021.WHONET 5.6 software was used for statistical analysis.Results A total of 124 565 strains of Enterococcus were isolated during the 7-year period,mainly including Enterococcus faecalis(50.7％)and Enterococcus faecalis(41.5％).The strains were mainly isolated from urinary tract specimens(46.9％±2.6％),and primarily from the patients in the department of internal medicine,surgery and ICU.E.faecium and E.faecalis strains showed low level resistance rate to vancomycin,teicoplanin and linezolid(≤3.6％).The prevalence of vancomycin-resistant E.faecalis and E.faecium was 0.1％and 1.3％,respectively.The prevalence of linezolid-resistant E.faecalis increased from 0.7％in 2015 to 3.4％in 2021,while the prevalence of linezolid-resistant E.faecium was 0.3％.Conclusions The clinical isolates of Enterococcus were still highly susceptible to vancomycin,teicoplanin,and linezolid,evidenced by a low resistance rate.However,the prevalence of linezolid-resistant E.faecalis was increasing during the 7-year period.It is necessary to strengthen antimicrobial resistance surveillance to effectively identify the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and curb the spread of resistant pathogens.

Objective To examine the changing antimicrobial resistance profile of Enterobacter spp.isolates in 53 hospitals across China from 2015 t0 2021.Methods The clinical isolates of Enterobacter spp.were collected from 53 hospitals across China during 2015-2021 and tested for antimicrobial susceptibility using Kirby-Bauer method or automated testing systems according to the CHINET unified protocol.The results were interpreted according to the breakpoints issued by the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)in 2021(M100 31st edition)and analyzed with WHONET 5.6 software.Results A total of 37 966 Enterobacter strains were isolated from 2015 to 2021.The proportion of Enterobacter isolates among all clinical isolates showed a fluctuating trend over the 7-year period,overall 2.5％in all clinical isolates amd 5.7％in Enterobacterale strains.The most frequently isolated Enterobacter species was Enterobacter cloacae,accounting for 93.7％(35 571/37 966).The strains were mainly isolated from respiratory specimens(44.4±4.6)％,followed by secretions/pus(16.4±2.3)％and urine(16.0±0.9)％.The strains from respiratory samples decreased slightly,while those from sterile body fluids increased over the 7-year period.The Enterobacter strains were mainly isolated from inpatients(92.9％),and only(7.1±0.8)％of the strains were isolated from outpatients and emergency patients.The patients in surgical wards contributed the highest number of isolates(24.4±2.9)％compared to the inpatients in any other departement.Overall,≤ 7.9％of the E.cloacae strains were resistant to amikacin,tigecycline,polymyxin B,imipenem or meropenem,while ≤5.6％of the Enterobacter asburiae strains were resistant to these antimicrobial agents.E.asburiae showed higher resistance rate to polymyxin B than E.cloacae(19.7％vs 3.9％).Overall,≤8.1％of the Enterobacter gergoviae strains were resistant to tigecycline,amikacin,meropenem,or imipenem,while 10.5％of these strains were resistant to polycolistin B.The overall prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter was 10.0％over the 7-year period,but showing an upward trend.The resistance profiles of Enterobacter isolates varied with the department from which they were isolated and whether the patient is an adult or a child.The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant E.cloacae was the highest in the E.cloacae isolates from ICU patients.Conclusions The results of the CHINET Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program indicate that the proportion of Enterobacter strains in all clinical isolates fluctuates slightly over the 7-year period from 2015 to 2021.The Enterobacter strains showed increasing resistance to multiple antimicrobial drugs,especially carbapenems over the 7-year period.