Background Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an important pathogen for both human bloodstream infections and mastitis in cows. However, little attention has been paid to the cross-host transmission of MRSA from cows to high-risk groups in China. Objective To determine the MRSA colonization rates among dairy cows and dairy farm workers in Xinjiang, identify the antibiotic resistance profiles and molecular characteristics of the isolates, and provide scientific evidence for the formulation of targeted infection control strategies. Method A cross-sectional survey combined with laboratory pathogen analysis was conducted. From June to August 2024, large-scale dairy farms in Xinjiang region were selected as study sites. Nasal swabs (n=96) and skin swabs (n=39) were collected from workers, and bovine nasal swab samples (n=109) were collected simultaneously. All samples were subjected to MRSA isolation, cultivation, and identification, followed by antibiotic susceptibility testing to characterize resistance phenotypes. Staphylococcus aureus protein A (Spa) typing was performed to determine strain genotypes and elucidate MRSA colonization rates and molecular epidemiological patterns. Results A total of 35 MRSA strains was successfully isolated from 244 samples. The MRSA colonization rates among dairy farm workers and dairy cows were 20.83% (20/96) and 12.84% (14/109), respectively, with an overall isolation rate of 14.34% (35/244). Among the workers, the nasal colonization rate was 16.67% (16/96), and the skin colonization rate was 12.82% (5/39). One worker exhibited MRSA colonization at multiple body sites. All MRSA strains were resistant to cefoxitin (100%, 35/35). The resistance rates to erythromycin and clindamycin were 42.86% (15/35) and 34.29% (12/35), respectively. Thirteen strains showed a multidrug-resistant phenotype, whereas all strains were susceptible to vancomycin. The MRSA isolates exhibited high genetic diversity, with 13 Spa types identified, among which t441 was the most prevalent (8 strains). Both t441 and t034 types were detected in samples from both the dairy cows and their handlers. These two Spa types also carried and stably inherited specific resistance combinations, including erythromycin–clindamycin–cefoxitin and ciprofloxacin–erythromycin–clindamycin–gentamicin–cefoxitin–tetracycline, and a statistically significant association was also observed between the two resistance profiles and the bacterial types (P < 0.001). In addition, one novel Spa type strain was identified. Conclusion MRSA colonization rates among dairy cows and dairy farm workers in Xinjiang are relatively high, with evidence of multi-site colonization. The isolates exhibit high levels of multidrug resistance and genetic diversity, indicating a potential risk of cross-host transmission.

Objective To compare the clinical outcomes of subxiphoid robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (SRATS) and intercostal robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (IRATS) in the treatment of anterior mediastinal tumors. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients with anterior mediastinal tumors who underwent robot-assisted surgery in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Gansu Provincial Hospital, from May 2020 to July 2022. According to the surgical approach, patients were divided into an SRATS group and an IRATS group. Perioperative data were compared between the two groups. Results A total of 87 patients were included. There were 41 patients in the SRATS group [23 males, 18 females; mean age, (44.51±11.28) years] and 46 patients in the IRATS group [21 males, 25 females; mean age, (46.67±8.76) years]. Compared with the IRATS group, the SRATS group had significantly less intraoperative blood loss [(24.41±6.67) mL vs. (37.93±9.23) mL, P<0.001], shorter postoperative drainage duration [(1.73±0.59) days vs. (2.54±0.50) days, P<0.001], lower postoperative drainage volume [(94.46±34.08) mLvs. (116.72±24.90) mL, P=0.001], lower visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores on postoperative day 1 [(3.66±0.76) points vs. (4.15±0.84) points, P=0.005] and day 3 [(2.41±0.59) points vs. (2.89±0.82) points, P=0.003], shorter postoperative hospital stay [(4.12±0.81) days vs. (4.98±1.02) days, P<0.001], and lower hospitalization costs [(4.51±0.65) ten thousand yuan vs. (4.86±0.68) ten thousand yuan, P=0.020]. There were no statistical differences between the two groups in operative time or incidence of postoperative complications (P>0.05). Conclusion Both SRATS and IRATS are safe and effective for the treatment of anterior mediastinal tumors. However, SRATS is less invasive and more conducive to enhanced postoperative recovery.

Gastric cancer is a common malignant tumor of the digestive tract and can be classified as “fullness of the stomach”， “epigastric pain”， “noise” and other categories in the field of traditional Chinese medicine. Sijunzi decoction is composed of Panax ginseng， Poria cocos， Atractylodes macrocephala， and honey-fried Glycyrrhiza uralensis， and it has the effect of tonifying qi and strengthening the spleen. This article summarizes the active ingredients， mechanism of action， and clinical application research progress of Sijunzi decoction in treating gastric cancer. The results show that the main active ingredients of Sijunzi decoction include ginsenosides， atractylenolide， pachymic acid， glycyrrhizic acid， etc.； Sijunzi decoction and its effective ingredients can play an anti-gastric cancer role by inhibiting the proliferation of gastric cancer cell， inducing apoptosis of gastric cancer cell， enhancing gastric cancer cell chemotherapy sensitivity， and inhibiting invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer cell. In addition， Sijunzi decoction can enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy drugs， strengthen the immune function of the body and lower serum cancer marker levels during the clinical treatment of gastric cancer.

Grounded in the theory of "all marrows dominated by brain", this study explored the therapeutic mechanism of Zuogui Pills in modulating the oxytocin(OXT)/oxytocin receptor(OXTR) feed-forward loop in the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis(PMOP). A PMOP rat model was established using ovariectomy, and 70 Sprague-Dawley female rats were randomly divided into the following groups: sham operation group, model group, estradiol group(17β-estradiol, 0.05 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)), Zuogui Pills low, medium, and high dose groups(0.2, 0.4, 0.8 g·kg~(-1)·d~(-1), respectively), and an antagonist group(atosiban 0.9 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1) + 17β-estradiol 0.05 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1) + Zuogui Pills 0.4 g·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)). After 12 weeks of model establishment, treatment was administered by gavage once daily for another 12 weeks, followed by sample collection. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to measure serum levels of estrogen(E_2), OXT, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase(TRACP-5b), and bone alkaline phosphatase(BALP). Histopathological changes in the left distal femur were observed through hematoxylin and eosin(HE) staining. Micro-computed tomography(micro-CT) was used to analyze the microstructure of the right distal femur. Western blot was employed to detect the expression levels of OXTR, small GTP-binding protein Ras, Raf1 proto-oncogene(Raf1), mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1/2(MEK1/2), and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2(ERK1/2), and their phosphorylated forms in tibial tissues. Compared with the model group, the Zuogui Pills medium and high dose groups showed significantly increased levels of E_2, OXT, and BALP, with a notable decrease in TRACP-5b levels. Morphologically, the trabeculae in the left distal femur were more tightly arranged. The fibrous structure in the right distal femur was significantly improved in the Zuogui Pills high dose group. Additionally, the expression of OXTR, Ras, p-Raf1, p-MEK1/2, and p-ERK1/2 proteins in tibial tissues was significantly increased. The therapeutic effect of the Zuogui Pills high dose group was partially inhibited when an OXTR antagonist was administered. These findings suggest that Zuogui Pills can regulate the OXT/OXTR feed-forward loop, activate the phosphorylation of the downstream Ras/Raf1/MEK/ERK signaling pathway, and ultimately improve bone mineral density, thereby exerting therapeutic effects in PMOP.
Animals ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats ; Female ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Oxytocin/genetics* ; Receptors, Oxytocin/genetics* ; Humans ; Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal/genetics* ; Bone and Bones/drug effects* ; Brain/drug effects* ; Bone Marrow/drug effects*

Objective To investigate the association of digit ratio with single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)at three loci(rs17576,rs3918249,rs9509)of matrix metallopeptidase 9(MMP-9)gene.Methods A total of 804 Ningxia Han youths(399 males and 405 females)were used as the study subjects.A digital camera was used to take frontal photographs of the hands,and image analysis software was used to mark the anatomical points and measure the lengths of each finger of both hands(2D,3D,4D,5D);Multiplexed PCR was used to detect the three polymorphic sites of the MMP-9 gene,SPSS 25.0 and R Studio software were used for data analysis and plotting.Results The 2D/3D(P＜0.05)and 2D/4D(left,P＜0.01,right,P＜0.05)of both hands,2D/5D(P＜0.01),3D/5D,4D/5D(P＜0.05)of the right hand,and 3D/4D(P＜0.05)of the left hand in female youths of Ningxia Han were significantly higher than those in males,Differences in genotypes and allele frequencies at all 3 loci of the MMP-9 gene were not statistically significant between genders(P＞0.05).Right hand 2D/4D was significantly associated with genotypes at the rs17576 and rs3918249 loci in male youths(P＜0.05).Conclusion MMP-9 gene SNPs(rs17576 and rs3918249)may be associated with the formation of 2D/4D of Ningxia Han male youths.

Objective Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS)is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease.Mutations in the Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase 1 gene(SOD1)have been identified as the cause of familial ALS.Sequencing the SOD1 gene may be helpful for patients with a suspected family history of ALS.This article reports for the first time a case of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with SOD1-p.A5S mutation in Han Chinese and summarizes its clinical characteristics.Method and Results This is the first report on Chinese Han of ALS with SOD1-p.A5S mutation and review of relevant case literature to summarize its clinical characteristics.The study case is a 34-year-old male who was admitted to the Neurology Department of The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University with a complaint of"weakness in both lower limbs for 2 years,worsening with both hands for 6 months".The main clinical manifestations were progressive limb weakness,no swallowing difficulties or cognitive impairment.Further improvement of routine examinations and electromyography after admission were made to rule out other diagnoses,and genetic testing was conducted.Based on the patient's typical clinical manifestations and evidence of involvement of lower motor neurons in the cervical,thoracic,and lumbar spinal cord areas indicated by electromyography,other diagnoses and characteristic gene testing results were reasonably excluded,and ALS was diagnosed.The genetic testing results indicated that the patient had a heterozygous mutation in SOD1 exon 1,c.13G＞T(p.A5S),and his mother had a suspicious medical history but died without genetic verification.After discharge,the follow-up period lasted until August 21,2022,with a total of 38 months and a course of 62 months.Further review of the clinical characteristics of other patients with the same site mutation reported in the literature reveals that the progress of this patient with the mutation was slower than that of other patients with the same site mutation reported in the literature.Conclusion This study shows that gene sequencing is a powerful tool for diagnosing familial ALS.The mutation of c.13G＞T(p.A5S)in exon 1 of SOD1 is a rare pathogenic variation.The progress of patients with this subtype is slow,which further indicates that gene detection has important value in the diagnosis and prognosis of ALS.

Objective:To investigate the current situation of the use of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) for portal hypertension, which should aid the development of TIPS in China.Methods:The China Portal Hypertension Alliance (CHESS) initiated this study that comprehensively investigated the basic situation of TIPS for portal hypertension in China through network research. The survey included the following: the number of surgical cases, main indications, the development of Early-TIPS, TIPS for portal vein cavernous transformation, collateral circulation embolization, intraoperative portal pressure gradient measurement, commonly used stent types, conventional anticoagulation and time, postoperative follow-up, obstacles, and the application of domestic instruments.Results:According to the survey, a total of 13 527 TIPS operations were carried out in 545 hospitals participating in the survey in 2021, and 94.1% of the hospital had the habit of routine follow-up after TIPS. Most hospitals believed that the main indications of TIPS were the control of acute bleeding (42.6%) and the prevention of rebleeding (40.7%). 48.1% of the teams carried out early or priority TIPS, 53.0% of the teams carried out TIPS for the cavernous transformation of the portal vein, and 81.0% chose routine embolization of collateral circulation during operation. Most of them used coils and biological glue as embolic materials, and 78.5% of the team routinely performed intraoperative portal pressure gradient measurements. In selecting TIPS stents, 57.1% of the hospitals woulel choose Viator-specific stents, 57.2% woulel choose conventional anticoagulation after TIPS, and the duration of anticoagulation was between 3-6 months (55.4%). The limitation of TIPS surgery was mainly due to cost (72.3%) and insufficient understanding of doctors in related departments (77.4%). Most teams accepted the domestic instruments used in TIPS (92.7%).Conclusions:This survey shows that TIPS treatment is an essential part of treating portal hypertension in China. The total number of TIPS cases is far from that of patients with portal hypertension. In the future, it is still necessary to popularize TIPS technology and further standardize surgical indications, routine operations, and instrument application.

Objective:To investigate respiratory virus infection in children with septic shock in pediatric care units (PICU) in China and its influence on clinical outcomes.Methods:The clinical data of children with septic shock in children′s PICU from January 2018 to December 2019 in 10 Chinese hospitals were retrospectively collected. They were divided into the pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 groups according to the onset of disease, and the characteristics and composition of respiratory virus in the 2 groups were compared. Matching age, malignant underlying diseases, bacteria, fungi and other viruses, a new database was generated using 1∶1 propensity score matching method. The children were divided into the respiratory virus group and non-respiratory virus group according to the presence or absence of respiratory virus infection; their clinical characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment were compared by t-test, rank sum test and Chi-square test. The correlation between respiratory virus infection and the clinical outcomes was analyzed by logistic regression. Results:A total of 1 247 children with septic shock were included in the study, of them 748 were male; the age was 37 (11, 105) months. In the pre-and post-COVID-19 groups, there were 530 and 717 cases of septic shock, respectively; the positive rate of respiratory virus was 14.9% (79 cases) and 9.8% (70 cases); the seasonal distribution of septic shock was 28.9% (153/530) and 25.9% (185/717) in autumn, and 30.3% (161/530) and 28.3% (203/717) in winter, respectively, and the corresponding positive rates of respiratory viruses were 19.6% (30/153) and 15.7% (29/185) in autumn, and 21.1% (34/161) and 15.3% (31/203) in winter, respectively. The positive rates of influenza virus and adenovirus in the post-COVID-19 group were lower than those in the pre-COVID-19 group (2.1% (15/717) vs. 7.5% (40/530), and 0.7% (5/717) vs. 3.2% (17/530), χ2=21.51 and 11.08, respectively; all P<0.05). Rhinovirus virus were higher than those in the pre-Covid-19 group (1.7% (12/717) vs. 0.2% (1/530), χ2=6.51, P=0.011). After propensity score matching, there were 147 cases in both the respiratory virus group and the non-respiratory virus group. Rate of respiratory failure, acute respiratory distress, rate of disseminated coagulation dysfunction, and immunoglobulin usage of the respiratory virus group were higher than those of non-respiratory virus group (77.6% (114/147) vs. 59.2% (87/147), 17.7% (26/147) vs. 4.1% (6/147), 15.6% (25/147) vs. 4.1% (7/147), and 35.4% (52/147) vs. 21.4% (32/147); χ2=11.07, 14.02, 11.06 and 6.67, all P<0.05); and PICU hospitalization of the former was longer than that of the later (7 (3, 16) vs. 3 (1, 7)d, Z=5.01, P<0.001). Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that the presence of respiratory viral infection was associated with respiratory failure, disseminated coagulation dysfunction, the use of mechanical ventilation, and the use of immunoglobulin and anti-respiratory viral drugs ( OR=2.42, 0.22, 0.25, 0.56 and 1.12, all P<0.05). Conclusions:The composition of respiratory virus infection in children with septic shock is different between pre and post-COVID-19. Respiratory viral infection is associated with organ dysfunction in children with septic shock. Decreasing respiratory viral infection through respiratory protection may improve the clinical outcome of these children.

Objective:To investigate the clinical features, pathogen composition, and prognosis of septic shock in pediatric intensive care units (PICU) in China.Methods:A multicenter retrospective cohort study. A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of children with septic shock from 10 hospitals in China between January 2018 and December 2021. The clinical features, pathogen composition, and outcomes were collected. Patients were categorized into malignant tumor and non-malignant tumor groups, as well as survival and mortality groups. T test, Mann Whitney U test or Chi square test were used respectively for comparing clinical characteristics and prognosis between 2 groups. Multiple Logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for mortality. Results:A total of 1 247 children with septic shock were included, with 748 males (59.9%) and the age of 3.1 (0.9, 8.8) years. The in-patient mortality rate was 23.2% (289 cases). The overall pathogen positive rate was 68.2% (851 cases), with 1 229 pathogens identified. Bacterial accounted for 61.4% (754 strains) and virus for 24.8% (305 strains). Among all bacterium, Gram negative bacteria constituted 64.2% (484 strains), with Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter being the most common; Gram positive bacteria comprised 35.8% (270 strains), primarily Streptococcus and Staphylococcus species. Influenza virus (86 strains (28.2%)), Epstein-Barr virus (53 strains (17.4%)), and respiratory syncytial virus (46 strains (17.1%)) were the top three viruses. Children with malignant tumors were older and had higher pediatric risk of mortality (PRISM) Ⅲ score, paediatric sequential organ failure assessment (pSOFA) score (7.9 (4.3, 11.8) vs. 2.3 (0.8, 7.5) years old, 22 (16, 26) vs. 16 (10, 24) points, 10 (5, 14) vs. 8 (4, 12) points, Z=11.32, 0.87, 4.00, all P<0.05), and higher pathogen positive rate, and in-hospital mortality (77.7% (240/309) vs. 65.1% (611/938), 29.7% (92/309) vs. 21.0% (197/938), χ2=16.84, 10.04, both P<0.05) compared to the non-tumor group. In the death group, the score of PRISM Ⅲ, pSOFA (16 (22, 29) vs. 14 (10, 20) points, 8 (12, 15) vs. 6 (3, 9) points, Z=4.92, 11.88, both P<0.05) were all higher, and presence of neoplastic disease, positive rate of pathogen and proportion of invasive mechanical ventilation in death group were also all higher than those in survival group (29.7% (87/289) vs. 23.2% (222/958), 77.8% (225/289) vs. 65.4% (626/958), 73.7% (213/289) vs. 50.6% (485/958), χ2=5.72, 16.03, 49.98, all P<0.05). Multiple Logistic regression showed that PRISM Ⅲ, pSOFA, and malignant tumor were the independent risk factors for mortality ( OR=1.04, 1.09, 0.67, 95% CI 1.01-1.05, 1.04-1.12, 0.47-0.94, all P<0.05). Conclusions:Bacterial infection are predominant in pediatric septic shock, but viral infection are also significant. Children with malignancies are more severe and resource consumptive. The overall mortality rate for pediatric septic shock remains high, and mortality are associated with malignant tumor, PRISM Ⅲ and pSOFA scores.