Objective To compare the distribution characteristics and drug resistance of mucous and non-mucous Streptococcus pneumoniae(SP).Methods SP isolated from clinical specimens of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen Medical College from January 2023 to June 2024 were collected.They were isolated,cultured and identified,and their susceptibility to antibacterial drugs was determined.Results A total of 291 SP strains were isolated,of which 20 strains were mucous SP and 271 strains were non-mucous SP.Children played a dominant role of non-mucous SP infection,but mucous SP mainly infected adults and the children above 5 years old.Both phenotypes of SP were mainly characterized by pulmonary infection.Non-mucous SP had a relatively high sensitivity rate to vancomycin,linezolid,penicillin,ertapenem,chloramphenicol,levofloxacin,moxifloxacin and ofloxacin.It had a high resistance rate to compound sulfamethoxazole,clindamycin,erythromycin and tetracycline.Mucous SP was completely sensitive to penicillin,amoxicillin,cefotaxime,ceftriaxone,ertapenem,vancomycin,linezolid,levofloxacin and moxifloxacin,and had a relatively high resistance rate to clindamycin,erythromycin and tetracycline.Conclusion The laboratory should enhance the detection capacity of mucous SP.Mucous SP is highly sensitive to common antibiotics.Clinicians should select antibiotics based on drug sensitivity results to delay the occurrence of drug resistance.

Objective:To identify and trace the origin of the Francisella tularensis subsp. novicida strain SJCS-979 isolated from the blood of a patient, so as to provide a reference for the traceability investigation of such infection events. Methods:Hot spring water samples that the patient had recently bathed in were collected to culture the causative agent, combined with the pathogenic characteristics and the patient′s activity before the bloodstream infection. The water samples were concentrated, acid-treated, and then the isolation of the causative agent was performed, following the method for Legionella detection in circulating cooling water. Suspected strains detected from the hot spring water were subjected to classical phenotypic identification, API ZYM and API NH strips tests, drug sensitivity testing, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) identification, and the obtained data were compared with those of strain SJCS-979 isolated from the patient′s blood. A phylogenetic tree was constructed based on genomic analysis to determine the taxonomic status of strain SJCS-979 and related strains. Epidemiological data of Francisella tularensis subsp. novicida were collected and analyzed by integrating the global genetic and genomic data on GenBank database. Core single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP) comparisons were obtained using Snippy 3.2 software, and then an evolutionary tree was built to determine its population structure based on BAPS analysis. Results:Strain CC-2, isolated from the hot spring water, shared the same biochemical and drug sensitivity phenotype, and had a nearly consistent mass spectrometric profile with strain SJCS-979 isolated from the blood of a patient. Genomic phylogenetic tree analysis based on 120 core protein sequences showed that strains SJCS-979 and CC-2 fell on the same branch with known Francisella tularensis subsp. novicida strains. Bayesian genotyping showed that the global Francisella tularensis subsp. novicida strains with genomic data could be divided into six different sequence clusters. Strains SJCS-979 and CC-2 were located in the same taxonomic group with only 4 SNP differences, indicating that they might be the same clone. Conclusions:This study reports a case of bacteremia caused by Francisella tularensis subsp. novicida, and natural hot spring water may be the environmental source of this infection event.

Objective To compare the distribution characteristics and drug resistance of mucous and non-mucous Streptococcus pneumoniae(SP).Methods SP isolated from clinical specimens of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen Medical College from January 2023 to June 2024 were collected.They were isolated,cultured and identified,and their susceptibility to antibacterial drugs was determined.Results A total of 291 SP strains were isolated,of which 20 strains were mucous SP and 271 strains were non-mucous SP.Children played a dominant role of non-mucous SP infection,but mucous SP mainly infected adults and the children above 5 years old.Both phenotypes of SP were mainly characterized by pulmonary infection.Non-mucous SP had a relatively high sensitivity rate to vancomycin,linezolid,penicillin,ertapenem,chloramphenicol,levofloxacin,moxifloxacin and ofloxacin.It had a high resistance rate to compound sulfamethoxazole,clindamycin,erythromycin and tetracycline.Mucous SP was completely sensitive to penicillin,amoxicillin,cefotaxime,ceftriaxone,ertapenem,vancomycin,linezolid,levofloxacin and moxifloxacin,and had a relatively high resistance rate to clindamycin,erythromycin and tetracycline.Conclusion The laboratory should enhance the detection capacity of mucous SP.Mucous SP is highly sensitive to common antibiotics.Clinicians should select antibiotics based on drug sensitivity results to delay the occurrence of drug resistance.

Objective:To identify and trace the origin of the Francisella tularensis subsp. novicida strain SJCS-979 isolated from the blood of a patient, so as to provide a reference for the traceability investigation of such infection events. Methods:Hot spring water samples that the patient had recently bathed in were collected to culture the causative agent, combined with the pathogenic characteristics and the patient′s activity before the bloodstream infection. The water samples were concentrated, acid-treated, and then the isolation of the causative agent was performed, following the method for Legionella detection in circulating cooling water. Suspected strains detected from the hot spring water were subjected to classical phenotypic identification, API ZYM and API NH strips tests, drug sensitivity testing, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) identification, and the obtained data were compared with those of strain SJCS-979 isolated from the patient′s blood. A phylogenetic tree was constructed based on genomic analysis to determine the taxonomic status of strain SJCS-979 and related strains. Epidemiological data of Francisella tularensis subsp. novicida were collected and analyzed by integrating the global genetic and genomic data on GenBank database. Core single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP) comparisons were obtained using Snippy 3.2 software, and then an evolutionary tree was built to determine its population structure based on BAPS analysis. Results:Strain CC-2, isolated from the hot spring water, shared the same biochemical and drug sensitivity phenotype, and had a nearly consistent mass spectrometric profile with strain SJCS-979 isolated from the blood of a patient. Genomic phylogenetic tree analysis based on 120 core protein sequences showed that strains SJCS-979 and CC-2 fell on the same branch with known Francisella tularensis subsp. novicida strains. Bayesian genotyping showed that the global Francisella tularensis subsp. novicida strains with genomic data could be divided into six different sequence clusters. Strains SJCS-979 and CC-2 were located in the same taxonomic group with only 4 SNP differences, indicating that they might be the same clone. Conclusions:This study reports a case of bacteremia caused by Francisella tularensis subsp. novicida, and natural hot spring water may be the environmental source of this infection event.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the commonest cause of heart failure (HF), whereas pulmonary hypertension (PH) has not been established or reported in this patient population. Therefore, we assessed the prevalence, risk factors, and survival in CAD-associated HF (CAD-HF) complicated with PH. METHODS: Symptomatic CAD-HF patients were continuously enrolled in this prospective, multicenter registry study. Echocardiography, coronary arteriography, left and right heart catheterization (RHC), and other baseline clinical data were recorded. Patients were followed up and their survival was recorded. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty-two CAD-HF patients were enrolled, including 142 with HF with a preserved ejection fraction (heart failure with preserved ejection fraction [HFpEF]; left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF] ≥50%) and 40 with a reduced ejection fraction (heart failure with reduced ejection fraction [HFrEF]; LVEF < 50%). PH was diagnosed with RHC in 77.5% of patients. Patients with PH showed worse hemodynamic parameters and higher mortality. HFrEF-PH patients had worse survival than HFpEF-PH patients. CAD-HF patients with an enlarged left ventricular end-diastolic diameter and reduced hemoglobin were at higher risk of PH. Nitrate treatment reduced the risk of PH. Elevated creatinine and mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP), diastolic pressure gradient (DPG) ≥7 mmHg, and previous myocardial infarction (MI) entailed a higher risk of mortality in CAD-HF patients with PH. CONCLUSIONS: PH is common in CAD-HF and worsens the hemodynamics and survival in these patients. Left ventricle enlargement and anemia increase the risk of PH in CAD-HF. Patients may benefit from nitrate medications. Renal impairment, elevated mPAP, DPG ≥7 mmHg, and previous MI are strong predictors of mortality in CAD-HF-PH patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02164526.
Coronary Artery Disease/epidemiology* ; Creatinine ; Heart Failure/complications* ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary/complications* ; Nitrates ; Prevalence ; Prognosis ; Prospective Studies ; Registries ; Risk Factors ; Stroke Volume ; Ventricular Function, Left

OBJECTIVETo study the therapeutic efficacy of Qianggan Capsule (QC) in treating patients Seventy pa-with chronic hepatitis B fibrosis from the pathological aspect and serum fibrosis markers.

METHODSpatients with chronic hepatitis B were randomly assigned to two groups, the treated group (45 cases) and the control group (25 cases). QC was given to patients in the treated group, while glucurone and compound vitamin B were given to those in the control group. The therapeutic course for both groups was 6 months. The therapeutic effect was assessed by determination of fibrosis markers including serum levels of platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB), transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta1), matrix metalloproteinases-1 (MMP-1), tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1) and serum levels of alanine transaminase (ALT), total bilirubin (TBIL), albumin (ALB), and prothrombin time (PT) were completed 1 month before treatment and at the end of the trial respectively.

RESULTS(1) Serum levels of ALT, TBIL, PT decreased obviously and the serum ALB level obviously increased in both groups (all P<0.05), showing no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). (2) Hepatic fibrosis markers: Serum levels of PDGF-BB, TGF-1P3, and TIMP-1 significantly decreased, and serum MMP-1 level markedly increased in the treated group more than before treatment (all P<0.05). No significant difference was shown between before and after treatment in each index of the control group (P>0.05). Serum levels of PDGF-BB, TGF-beta1, and TIMP-1 were obviously lower and the serum MMP-1 level was obviously higher in the treated group than in the control group after treatment (all P<0.05). (3) Hepatic histopathological results: The hepatic inflammatory necrosis activity and the hepatic fibrosis degree in the treated group were significantly improved (P<0.05), with the total effective rate of the hepatic necrosis activity improvement being 40.00% and that of the hepatic fibrosis degree being 57.78%. But there was no obvious improvement in the hepatic inflammatory necrosis activity or the hepatic fibrosis degree in the control group (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSQC could effectively improve serological indices and pathological indices of chronic hepatitis B fibrosis patients, showing better therapeutic effect in reversing hepatic fibrosis and alleviating hepatic inflammatory necrosis.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; blood ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Humans ; Male ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 1 ; blood ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-sis ; blood ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 ; blood ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; blood ; Young Adult