ObjectivesTo investigate the molecular epidemiological characteristics of HIV-1 infection among men who had sex with men (MSM) in Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, and to provide a scientific reference for acquired immune deficiency syndrome prevention and control efforts. MethodsThe research subjects were all newly reported MSM population in Taizhou City from 2020 to 2023. Blood samples without antiviral therapy were collected. The HIV-1 pol gene was amplified and sequenced, and the sequences were submitted to the Stanford University drug resistance database to identify the mutation sites and drug resistance. MEGA 11.0 software was used to analyze the nucleic acid sequences, construct phylogenetic tree, and calculate genetic distance of gene sequences. The molecular transmission network diagram of HIV-1 was constructed using Cytoscape_v3.10.1, and the influencing factors of network entry were analyzed by logistic regression. ResultsA total of 363 newly reported HIV-infected MSM patients were included, with a median age [M (P₂₅, P₇₅)] of 34 (26,47) years old. The majority had an educational level of junior high school or below (55.65%). A total of eight subtypes were found, mainly CRF07_BC and CRF01_AE. The primary drug resistance rate was 10.47% (38/363). The optimal molecular network gene distance was 0.019, with a network access rate of 42.70% (155/363), and a total of 47 molecular clusters were formed. Multivariate logistic analyses showed that compared with the CRF01_AE subtype, the clustering risk of CRF07_BC subtype was higher (OR=1.916, 95%CI: 1.191‒3.109), cases with drug resistance had a higher risk of cluster formation than those without drug resistance (OR=2.011, 95%CI: 1.006‒4.080), and recent infected patients had a lower risk of entering the largest molecular cluster than long-term infected patients (OR=0.376, 95%CI: 0.137‒0.928). ConclusionThe newly diagnosed infections among the MSM population are active in Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, with a high level of primary drug resistance. Individuals carrying drug-resistant strains are more likely to cluster. Drug resistance monitoring should be strengthened to prevent further spread of drug-resistant strains in the network.

Heart failure(HF)is the end stage of almost all cardiovascular diseases,including coronary heart disease and structural heart disease.For end-stage HF,medications and cardiac assist devices have limited therapeutic effects,and heart transplantation is associated with donor shortage and immune rejection.Alginate hydrogel has the ability to mechanically support and induce cardiac tissue regeneration and repair.In March 2021,we conducted the world's first transcatheter endocardial alginate-hydrogel implantation in patients with end-stage heart failure,and explored the safety and feasibility of the treatment.Given that patients with heart failure who had undergone cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator(CRT-D)were excluded from previous studies,this paper is the first to report a case of transcatheter endocardial alginate-hydrogel implantation in a patient with heart failure who did not respond to CRT-D,with a significant reduction in the number of visits to the doctor and a significant improvement in the quality of life during the post-procedure follow-up,which may expand the indications for the use of this technology.

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 investigate the value of soluble interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor (sIL-6R) level in predicting ultrafiltration insufficiency in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients.Methods:It was a prospective cohort study. The patients who received continuous ambulatory PD and regular follow-up between November 2016 and July 2018 in the PD Center of Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University were enrolled. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to determine dialysate sIL-6R and its appearance rate (AR) was calculated. Patients were divided into high sIL-6R AR group and low sIL-6R AR group according to median value of sIL-6R AR and prospectively followed up until death, PD cessation, or the end of the study (December 31, 2022). Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the related factors of sIL-6R AR. Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were used to compare the survival rate difference of ultrafiltration insufficiency between high sIL-6R AR group and low sIL-6R AR group. Multivariate Cox regression and multivariate competing risk models were used to assess the risk factors associated with occurrence of ultrafiltration insufficiency.Results:A total of 198 PD patients were enrolled, including 115 (58.1%) males, with age of (54.9±13.7) years old and PD duration of 22.5 (6.6, 65.0) months. The sIL-6R AR of the cohort was 2 094.7 (1 672.4, 2 920.9) pg/min. Compared with low sIL-6R AR（<2 094.7 pg/min）group, high sIL-6R AR（>2 094.7 pg/min）group had older age ( t=-3.269, P=0.001), higher body mass index ( t=-3.248, P=0.001), proportion of combined diabetes mellitus ( χ2=8.890, P=0.003), 24 h glucose exposure ( Z=-2.257, P=0.024), 24 h ultrafiltration capacity ( Z=-2.515, P=0.012), 4 h dialysate creatinine to serum creatinine ratio ( t=-2.609, P=0.010), mass transfer area coefficient of creatinine ( Z=-2.308, P=0.021), IL-6 AR ( Z=-3.533, P<0.001) and solute glycoprotein 130 AR ( Z=-8.670, P<0.001), and lower serum albumin ( t=2.595, P=0.010) and residual renal function ( t=2.133, P=0.033). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that body mass index ( β=0.194, P=0.005), serum albumin ( β=-0.215, P=0.002) and dialysate lg[IL-6 AR] ( β=0.197, P=0.011) were independently correlated with sIL-6R AR. By the end of the study, 57 (28.8%) patients developed ultrafiltration insufficiency. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that high sIL-6R AR group had a significantly inferior ultrafiltration insufficiency-free survival rate than that in low sIL-6R AR group (log-rank χ 2=5.375, P=0.020). Multivariate Cox regression analysis and multivariate competing risk models showed that high dialysate sIL-6R AR (>2 094.7 pg/min) was an independent influencing factor of ultrafiltration insufficiency ( HR=2.286 , 95% CI 1.254-4.165 , P=0.007 ; SHR=2.074, 95% CI 1.124-3.828, P=0.020) in PD patients. Conclusions:Dialysate sIL-6R level was associated with body mass index, serum albumin and dialysate IL-6 level. Dialysate sIL-6R may be a predictive factor of ultrafiltration insufficiency in PD patients.

Objective To investigate the incidence rate,clinical characteristics,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen,China.Methods Led by Shenzhen Children's Hospital,the Shenzhen Neonatal Data Collaboration Network organized 21 institutions to collect 36 cases of neonatal stroke from January 2020 to December 2022.The incidence,clinical characteristics,treatment,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen were analyzed.Results The incidence rate of neonatal stroke in 21 hospitals from 2020 to 2022 was 1/15 137,1/6 060,and 1/7 704,respectively.Ischemic stroke accounted for 75％(27/36);boys accounted for 64％(23/36).Among the 36 neonates,31(86％)had disease onset within 3 days after birth,and 19(53％)had convulsion as the initial presentation.Cerebral MRI showed that 22 neonates(61％)had left cerebral infarction and 13(36％)had basal ganglia infarction.Magnetic resonance angiography was performed for 12 neonates,among whom 9(75％)had involvement of the middle cerebral artery.Electroencephalography was performed for 29 neonates,with sharp waves in 21 neonates(72％)and seizures in 10 neonates(34％).Symptomatic/supportive treatment varied across different hospitals.Neonatal Behavioral Neurological Assessment was performed for 12 neonates(33％,12/36),with a mean score of(32±4)points.The prognosis of 27 neonates was followed up to around 12 months of age,with 44％(12/27)of the neonates having a good prognosis.Conclusions Ischemic stroke is the main type of neonatal stroke,often with convulsions as the initial presentation,involvement of the middle cerebral artery,sharp waves on electroencephalography,and a relatively low neurodevelopment score.Symptomatic/supportive treatment is the main treatment method,and some neonates tend to have a poor prognosis.

Objective To investigate the rate of germline variants in patients with pancreatic cancer and clinical characteristics related with germline variants.Methods A total of 271 patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer were enrolled in this study.Germline variants of 21 tumor susceptibility genes were detected by next-generation sequencing,and the relationship between germline variants and clinical factors such as age of onset,family history and personal history was analyzed.Results The rate of germline P/LP variants was 6.3%in unselected pancreatic cancer patients,but was high as 17.1%in genetic high-risk group patients(those with a family or personal history of cancer,or early-onset).Genes with higher frequency of germline variants in pancreatic cancer patients were PALB2,BRCA2,and ATM.Conclusion The rate of germline variants in overall pancreatic cancer patients is not high,but it increases significantly in genetic high-risk group,proving the importance of clinical factors in the screening of hereditary pancreatic cancer.

Objective To evaluate the value of high-throughput sequencing(HTS)data reanalysis that does not include ERBB2 copy number variation(CNV)analysis,in identifying ERBB2 amplification in patients with colorectal cancer.Methods The HTS data of 252 cases of colorectal cancer diagnosed by pathological biopsy who received peripheral blood cfDNA HTS detection samples were retrospectively analyzed.According to the HTS data of ERBB2 non-amplified samples judged by immunohistochemistry(IHC)and/or fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH),the number of chromosome 17(Chr17)reads in the total number of reads was calculated the range of the ratio was initially determined as the threshold for prompting ERBB2 amplification.Suspected positive samples were screened according to thresholds and verified by digital PCR,IHC and FISH.Results The proportion of the number of Chr17 reads accounts for the number of total reads in the 89 cases of ERBB2 non-amplified samples determined by IHC and/or FISH ranged from 0.188 to 0.299(0.239±0.192).Using 0.298(1.25 times the mean)as the threshold indicating ERBB2 amplification,the data of 163 samples were analyzed,of which 7 cases were suspected to be positive,and the ratio ranged from 0.302 to 0.853.Among them,5 cases were determined to be positive by IHC and/or FISH,and 6 cases were confirmed to be positive by digital PCR.The ratio of the number of Chr17 reads to the number of total reads was positively correlated with the ratio of ERBB2/EIF2C1,and the correlation was good(r2=0.909).Conclusion The high-throughput sequencing data that does not cover the ERBB2 CNV analysis has a certain hint value for ERBB2 amplification in patients with colorectal cancer.

G protein-coupled receptor (GPR) 40, as one of GPRs family, plays a potential role in regulating glucose and lipid metabolism. To study the effect of GPR40 novel agonist SZZ15-11 on hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia and its potential mechanism, spontaneous type 2 diabetic KKA^y mice, human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells and murine mature adipocyte 3T3-L1 cells were used. KKA^y mice were divided into four groups, vehicle group, TAK group, SZZ (50 mg·kg^-1) group and SZZ (100 mg·kg^-1) group, with oral gavage of 0.5% sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), 50 mg·kg^-1 TAK875, 50 and 100 mg·kg^-1 SZZ15-11 respectively for 45 days. Fasting blood glucose, blood triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC), non-fasting blood glucose were tested. Oral glucose tolerance test and insulin tolerance test were executed. Blood insulin and glucagon were measured via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). After mice′s execution, liver tissue was harvested to test TG and TC content. Then pathological morphology of liver was observed through hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, and the lipid metabolism relative signal pathway was analyzed by Western blot and RT-PCR. The experiments were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College. At the same time, Akt phosphorylation level in HepG2 cells and adiponectin in 3T3-L1 cells treated with TNFα were measured with Western blot. The results show that SZZ15-11 not only decreased blood glucose and lipid, improved insulin sensitivity, but also increased fasting blood glucagon and promoted insulin secretion after glucose loading in KKA^y mice. Additionally, SZZ15-11 alleviated hepatic steatosis and liver dysfunction in KKA^y mice. In liver tissue, SZZ15-11 increased AMPKα phosphorylation level and cholesterol metabolism relative gene Abcg8 transcription. In HepG2 cells, SZZ15-11 increased Akt phosphorylation level. In adipocyte 3T3-L1, SZZ15-11 recovered the decreased adiponectin expression by TNFα. This study proved that GPR40 agonist SZZ15-11 could be a candidate compound for regulating glucolipid metabolic disorder.

ObjectiveTo analyze the failure of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and drug resistance characteristics among the newly reported HIV-infected patients in Taizhou City from 2020 to 2022. MethodsBlood samples, sociodemographic characteristics and ART information of the newly reported HIV-infected patients who received ART for ≥6 months in Taizhou City from 2020 to 2022 were collected for the detection of recent infections and HIV-1 genotypic drug resistance. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the influencing factors of treatment failure. The gene sequences of cases with failed ART were submitted to the HIV drug resistance database of Stanford University to determine the drug resistance mutation sites and drug resistance characteristics. ResultsAmong the 1 023 newly reported HIV-infected patients receiving ART, the median age （P₂₅，P₇₅） was 47 (33, 58) years, 81.4% were male, 66.4% (679/1 023) were infected through heterosexual transmission, 74.7% had a WHO clinical stage Ⅰ/Ⅱ, 62.2% had a baseline CD4 count of >200 cell·μL^-1, 94.4% (966/1 023) received an immediate ART, and 78.7% were long-term infected. Among the 66 patients with treatment failure (6.5%), the likelihood of treatment failure was lower in those with homosexual transmission (OR=0.39, 95%CI: 0.17‒0.84) and without history of sexually transmitted disease (STD) (OR=0.45, 95%CI: 0.24‒0.92), but higher in those with a baseline CD4 count of ≤200 cell·μL^-1, delayed ART (OR=3.19, 95%CI: 1.24‒7.52), and primary drug resistance (OR=4.69, 95%CI: 1.68‒11.89). Among the 36 HIV-infected patients with virological failure, 27 sequences were successfully amplified, with a successful amplification rate of 75.0% (27/36). The total drug resistance rate was 55.6% (15/27), of which the drug resistance rates of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) and protease inhibitors (PIs) were 37.0% (10/27), 51.9% (14/27) and 3.7% (1/27), respectively. Among the NNRTIs, the degree of resistance to efavirenz and nevirapine was consistent, with a majority (51.9%) of highly drug-resistant. K103N and M184V were the most common mutation sites, but PIs mutations occured less frequently. A total of 8 genotypes of HIV-1 were detected, in which subtype CRF01_AE accounted for 37.0% (10/27), followed by CRF07_BC [14.8% (4/27)], CRF08_BC [14.8% (4/27)] and subtype C [14.8% (4/27)]. ConclusionDuring the period from 2020 to 2022, the newly reported HIV-infected individuals in Taizhou City were predominated by long-term infections. Immediate initiation of ART can reduce the risk of treatment failure in HIV-infected individuals. Virological treatment failures are primarily associated with resistance to NRTIs and NNRTIs. It is recommended to strengthen active detection and promptly initiate ART to minimize the occurrence of ART failure. Simultaneously, there is a need to intensify drug resistance detection targeted for those with treatment failure, so as to provide a scientific guidance for drug replacement.

Objective Recombinase-aided polymerase chain reaction(RAP)is a sensitive,single-tube,two-stage nucleic acid amplification method.This study aimed to develop an assay that can be used for the early diagnosis of three types of bacteremia caused by Staphylococcus aureus(SA),Pseudomonas aeruginosa(PA),and Acinetobacter baumannii(AB)in the bloodstream based on recombinant human mannan-binding lectin protein(M1 protein)-conjugated magnetic bead(M1 bead)enrichment of pathogens combined with RAP. Methods Recombinant plasmids were used to evaluate the assay sensitivity.Common blood influenza bacteria were used for the specific detection.Simulated and clinical plasma samples were enriched with M1 beads and then subjected to multiple recombinase-aided PCR(M-RAP)and quantitative PCR(qPCR)assays.Kappa analysis was used to evaluate the consistency between the two assays. Results The M-RAP method had sensitivity rates of 1,10,and 1 copies/μL for the detection of SA,PA,and AB plasmids,respectively,without cross-reaction to other bacterial species.The M-RAP assay obtained results for<10 CFU/mL pathogens in the blood within 4 h,with higher sensitivity than qPCR.M-RAP and qPCR for SA,PA,and AB yielded Kappa values of 0.839,0.815,and 0.856,respectively(P<0.05). Conclusion An M-RAP assay for SA,PA,and AB in blood samples utilizing M1 bead enrichment has been developed and can be potentially used for the early detection of bacteremia.