Objective To investigate the regulatory role of the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and its ligand programmed cell death protein ligand 1 (PD-L1) signaling on the subtypes and functions of natural killer (NK) cells at the maternal-fetal interface during the second trimester in mice following Toxoplasma gondii infection during the first trimester. Methods Twelve 6- to 8-week-old female mice of the C57BL/6J strain were divided into a control group and an infection group, of 6 mice in each group. On the 6.5th day of pregnancy (Gd6.5), each pregnant mouse in the infection group was intraperitoneally injected with 150 tachyzoites of the Toxoplasma gondii PRU strain, while mice in the control group were injected with an equal volume of physiological saline. On the 12.5th day of pregnancy (Gd12.5), uterus and placenta tissues were sampled from pregnant mice for pathological observations, and the mRNA expression levels of PD-1, PD-L1, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were quantified in uterus and placenta tissues. The PD-1 and DX5 expression was measured on NK cells at the maternal-fetal interface using flow cytometry. In addition, the in vitro JEG-3 trophoblast cells and NK-92MI cells co-culture system was established as the control group, and the addition of T. gondii tachyzoites in the co-culture system served as the infection group. The PD-1, PD-L1, and DX5 mRNA expression was quantified in cells using real-time fluorescence quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) assay, and the TNF-α concentration was measured in the cell culture supernatant using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results On Gd12.5, clear and intact cellular structures of placental decidual tissues were seen in pregnant mice in the control group, with no remarkable abnormal changes found in the uterine columnar epithelial cells, and inflammatory cell infiltration and blood stasis at varying degrees were found in uterine and placental tissues from pregnant mice in the infection group. The relative PD-1, PD-L1, and TNF-α mRNA expression was (1.004 ± 0.004), (1.001 ± 0.001), and (1.001 ± 0.001) in uterine tissues from pregnant mice in the control group and (2.480 ± 0.720), (3.355 ± 0.920), and (2.391 ± 0.073) in the infection group, respectively. The relative PD-1, PD-L1, and TNF-α mRNA expression was (1.007 ± 0.010), (1.006 ± 0.006), and (1.001 ± 0.001) in the uterine tissues in the control group and (6.948 ± 1.918), (3.225 ± 1.034), and (1.536 ± 0.150) in the infection group, respectively. The relative PD-1, PD-L1, and TNF-α mRNA expression was higher in both the uterine (t = 3.55, 4.43 and 33.02, all P values < 0.05) and placental tissues (t = 5.36, 3.72 and 6.18, all P values < 0.05) in the infection group than in the control group. Flow cytometry showed that the proportions of PD-1⁺ NK cells, PD-1⁺ DX5⁺ NK cells, and DX5⁺ NK cells were (12.200 ± 1.082)%, (9.373 ± 7.728)%, and (44.000 ± 4.095)% in uterine tissues from pregnant mice in the control group, and (21.733 ± 1.630)%, (18.767 ± 1.242)%, and (73.367 ± 0.611)% in the infection group, respectively. The proportions of PD-1⁺ NK cells, PD-1⁺ DX5⁺ NK cells, and DX5⁺ NK cells were (1.100 ± 0.510)%, (2.277 ± 1.337)%, and (96.167 ± 2.831)% in placental tissues from mice in the control group, and (26.867 ± 9.722)%, (23.433 ± 6.983)%, and (82.467 ± 2.248)% in the infection group, respectively. The proportions of PD-1⁺ NK cells (t = 8.45, P < 0.05) and DX5⁺ NK cells (t = 12.29, P < 0.05) were higher in uterine tissues from pregnant mice in the infection group than in the control group, and no significant difference was seen in the proportion of PD-1⁺ DX5⁺ NK cells (Z = -1.09, P > 0.05). The proportions of PD-1⁺ NK cells (t = 4.58, P < 0.05) and PD-1⁺ DX5⁺ NK cells (t = 5.15, P < 0.05) were higher in placental tissues from pregnant mice in the infection group than in the control group, while the proportion of DX5⁺ NK cells was lower in the infection group than in the control group (t = -6.56, P < 0.05). RT-qPCR assay revealed that the relative PD-1, PD-L1, and DX5 mRNA expression was (1.010 ± 0.005), (1.002 ± 0.003), and (1.001 ± 0.001) in the JEG-3 cells and NK92MI cells co-culture system and (3.638 ± 1.258), (0.397 ± 0.158), and (4.267 ± 1.750) in the control group, and ELISA measured that the TNF-α concentration was higher in the cell culture supernatant in the infection group [(22.056 ± 3.205) pg/mL] than in the control group [(12.441 ± 0.001) pg/mL] (t = 5.20, P < 0.05). The PD-1(t = 3.62, P < 0.05) and DX5 mRNA expression (t = 3.23, P < 0.05) was higher in the infection group than in the control group, and the PD-L1 mRNA expression was lower in the infection group than in the control group (t = -6.63, P < 0.05). Conclusions Following T. gondii infection, both PD-L1 expression and PD-1 expression on DX5⁺ NK cells at the maternal-fetal interface are upregulated in mice during the second trimester; however, the proportion of DX5⁺ NK cells decreases. These findings suggest that PD-1/PD-L1 signaling may suppress NK cell functions by modulating DX5⁺ NK cell subsets.

Objective To investigate the mechanism of mitochondrial division regulating myocardi-al fatty acid oxidation in diabetic mice.Methods A total of 16 7-week-old male SPF C57BLKS/J diabetic mice were randomly divided into model group and mitochondrial division inhibitor 1(mdivi-1)intervention group(intervention group),with 8 mice in each group.Another 8 male SPF C57BLKS/J mice of the same age were fed adaptively for 1 week and served as control group.The changes in blood glucose and body mass were monitored in above groups.Echocardiography was conducted to detect LVEF and LVFS1 rate and E/A between early and late ventricular diastole.The pathological changes of myocardial tissue were observed by HE staining.The size,morpholo-gy and quantity of mitochondria were observed by TEM.Western blotting was used to detect the expression of mitochondrial dynamin-related protein 1(Drp1),peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α(PPARα),long chain acyl-CoA synthetase 4(ACSL4),carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1B(CPT1B),and fatty acid oxidation detection kit was conducted to determine the activity of fat-ty acid oxidation.Results Compared with the control group,the model group presented hyper-trophic cardiomyocytes and significantly larger cross-sectional diameter of cardiomyocytes(22.36±2.80 μm vs 12.71±1.78 μm,P＜0.01)than the control group.Mdivi-1 intervention resul-ted in greatly improved myocardial hypertrophy and obviously smaller cross-sectional diameter of cardiomyocytes(13.79±1.39 μm vs 22.36±2.8 μm,P＜0.01)when compared with the model group.The expression level of myocardial mitochondrial Drp1,number of mitochondria per unit area of myocardial tissue and the protein levels of PPARα,ACSL4 and CPT1B in myocardial cyto-plasm were significantly higher,and the average mitochondrial area of myocardial tissue,the ex-pression of PPARα,ACSL4 and CPT1B in myocardial mitochondria,and fatty acid oxidation activ-ity were significantly lower in the model group than the control group(P＜0.01).After mdivi-1 intervention,the expression level of myocardial mitochondrial Drp1,the number of mitochondria per unit area of myocardial tissue and the protein levels of PPARα,ACSL4 and CPT1B in myocar-dial mitochondria were notably lower,and the expression of PPARα,ACSL4 and CPT1B in myo-cardial mitochondria and fatty acid oxidation activity in myocardial tissue were significantly higher when compared with those in the model group(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).Conclusion In diabetic mice,increased myocardial mitochondrial division,decreased translocation of fatty acid oxidation regula-tory protein from cytoplasm to mitochondria,inhibited fatty acid oxidation,and myocardial injury are observed.Mdivi-1 intervention inhibits mitochondrial division,promotes fatty acid oxidation by increasing the translocation of fatty acid oxidation regulatory proteins to mitochondria,and thus improves cardiac function.

Objective To monitor the susceptibility of clinical isolates to antimicrobial agents in healthcare facilities in major regions of China in 2023.Methods Clinical isolates collected from 73 hospitals across China were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility using a unified protocol based on disc diffusion method or automated testing systems.Results were interpreted using the 2023 Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) breakpoints.Results A total of 445199 clinical isolates were collected in 2023,of which 29.0％ were gram-positive and 71.0％ 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) (MRSA,MRSE and MRCNS) was 29.6％,81.9％ and 78.5％,respectively.Methicillin-resistant strains showed significantly higher resistance rates to most antimicrobial agents than methicillin-susceptible strains (MSSA,MSSE and MSCNS).Overall,92.9％ of MRSA strains were susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and 91.4％ of MRSE strains were susceptible to rifampicin.No vancomycin-resistant strains were found.Enterococcus faecalis had 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 93.1％ in the isolates from children and and 95.9％ in the isolates from adults.The resistance rate to carbapenems was lower than 15.0％ for most Enterobacterales species except for Klebsiella,22.5％ and 23.6％ of which were resistant to imipenem and meropenem,respectively .Most Enterobacterales isolates were highly susceptible to tigecycline,colistin and polymyxin B,with resistance rates ranging from 0.6％ to 10.0％.The resistance rate to imipenem and meropenem was 21.9％ and 17.4％ for Pseudomonas aeruginosa,respectively,and 67.5％ and 68.1％ for Acinetobacter baumannii,respectively.Conclusions Increasing resistance to the commonly used antimicrobial agents is still observed in clinical bacterial isolates.However,the prevalence of important crabapenem-resistant organisms such as crabapenem-resistant K.pneumoniae,P.aeruginosa,and A.baumannii showed a slightly decreasing trend.This finding suggests that strengthening bacterial resistance surveillance and multidisciplinary linkage are important for preventing the occurrence and development of bacterial resistance.

Objective:To explore the application value of E-learning+mind mapping in nursing internship teaching in the department of neurology.Methods:A total of 215 nursing students admitted for internships in February 2021 were selected as research subjects. They were randomly divided into two groups. The observation group received teaching method combining E-learning and mind mapping, while the control group received conventional teaching method. The two groups of nursing students were compared in terms of internship assessment results, learning engagement (learning engagement scale), clinical thinking ability (clinical thinking ability evaluation scale), and student self-recognition. SPSS 20.0 was used for t test and chi-square test. Results:After 1 month of internship, the scores of theories and practical operation were significantly higher in the observation group than in the control group [(90.05±3.02) vs. (85.29±4.17) and (81.33±5.26) vs. (78.62±4.69), all P<0.05]. The score of learning engagement scale, score of clinical thinking ability evaluation scale, and self-recognition rate were significantly higher in the observation group than in the control group (all P<0.05). Conclusions:E-learning+mind mapping can significantly enhance the learning efficiency of intern nursing students in the department of neurology and improve their clinical nursing thinking ability, making it worthy of widespread application.

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 establish two golden hamster models infected with hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae via aerosolized intratracheal(i.t.)and intranasal(i.n.)inoculation,and compare their properties.Methods Golden hamsters of 4 to 5 weeks old were exposed to K.pneumoniae NTUH-K2044 via i.t.route and i.n.route respectively.The survival of these golden hamsters was observed and recorded within 14 days of infection before the 50%lethal dose(LD50),survival rate,bacterial respiratory deposition rate,lung bacterial load and histopathology of the infected golden hamsters in the two groups were detected.Results The LD50 of the i.t.route(3×104 CFU)was lower than that of the i.n.route(7×105 CFU)in golden hamsters.After 4×106 CFU NTUH-K2044 infection,the golden hamsters in the i.t.group had 96.46%of the bacteria deposited and colonized in the lung,developed lobar pneumonia and died without exception within 4 days of infection,while those in the i.n.group had 95.62%of the bacteria deposited in the mouth and nose initially before the bacteria moved down to the trachea for colonization and were cleared out gradually.This group mainly acquired bronchopneumonia with relatively mild lung lesions,with a 14-day survival rate of 70%.Conclusion Inoculation routes can make a difference to the disease type of respiratory tract infections in animal models.The i.t.route mainly causes lobar pneumonia with severe lung lesions,while the i.n.route leads to bronchopneumonia with mild lung lesions.The two animal models established above may be utilized for pathogenesis investigation and treatment efficacy evaluation of Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Objective To monitor the susceptibility of clinical isolates to antimicrobial agents in healthcare facilities in major regions of China in 2023.Methods Clinical isolates collected from 73 hospitals across China were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility using a unified protocol based on disc diffusion method or automated testing systems.Results were interpreted using the 2023 Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) breakpoints.Results A total of 445199 clinical isolates were collected in 2023,of which 29.0％ were gram-positive and 71.0％ 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) (MRSA,MRSE and MRCNS) was 29.6％,81.9％ and 78.5％,respectively.Methicillin-resistant strains showed significantly higher resistance rates to most antimicrobial agents than methicillin-susceptible strains (MSSA,MSSE and MSCNS).Overall,92.9％ of MRSA strains were susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and 91.4％ of MRSE strains were susceptible to rifampicin.No vancomycin-resistant strains were found.Enterococcus faecalis had 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 93.1％ in the isolates from children and and 95.9％ in the isolates from adults.The resistance rate to carbapenems was lower than 15.0％ for most Enterobacterales species except for Klebsiella,22.5％ and 23.6％ of which were resistant to imipenem and meropenem,respectively .Most Enterobacterales isolates were highly susceptible to tigecycline,colistin and polymyxin B,with resistance rates ranging from 0.6％ to 10.0％.The resistance rate to imipenem and meropenem was 21.9％ and 17.4％ for Pseudomonas aeruginosa,respectively,and 67.5％ and 68.1％ for Acinetobacter baumannii,respectively.Conclusions Increasing resistance to the commonly used antimicrobial agents is still observed in clinical bacterial isolates.However,the prevalence of important crabapenem-resistant organisms such as crabapenem-resistant K.pneumoniae,P.aeruginosa,and A.baumannii showed a slightly decreasing trend.This finding suggests that strengthening bacterial resistance surveillance and multidisciplinary linkage are important for preventing the occurrence and development of bacterial resistance.

Objective To investigate the mechanism of mitochondrial division regulating myocardi-al fatty acid oxidation in diabetic mice.Methods A total of 16 7-week-old male SPF C57BLKS/J diabetic mice were randomly divided into model group and mitochondrial division inhibitor 1(mdivi-1)intervention group(intervention group),with 8 mice in each group.Another 8 male SPF C57BLKS/J mice of the same age were fed adaptively for 1 week and served as control group.The changes in blood glucose and body mass were monitored in above groups.Echocardiography was conducted to detect LVEF and LVFS1 rate and E/A between early and late ventricular diastole.The pathological changes of myocardial tissue were observed by HE staining.The size,morpholo-gy and quantity of mitochondria were observed by TEM.Western blotting was used to detect the expression of mitochondrial dynamin-related protein 1(Drp1),peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α(PPARα),long chain acyl-CoA synthetase 4(ACSL4),carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1B(CPT1B),and fatty acid oxidation detection kit was conducted to determine the activity of fat-ty acid oxidation.Results Compared with the control group,the model group presented hyper-trophic cardiomyocytes and significantly larger cross-sectional diameter of cardiomyocytes(22.36±2.80 μm vs 12.71±1.78 μm,P＜0.01)than the control group.Mdivi-1 intervention resul-ted in greatly improved myocardial hypertrophy and obviously smaller cross-sectional diameter of cardiomyocytes(13.79±1.39 μm vs 22.36±2.8 μm,P＜0.01)when compared with the model group.The expression level of myocardial mitochondrial Drp1,number of mitochondria per unit area of myocardial tissue and the protein levels of PPARα,ACSL4 and CPT1B in myocardial cyto-plasm were significantly higher,and the average mitochondrial area of myocardial tissue,the ex-pression of PPARα,ACSL4 and CPT1B in myocardial mitochondria,and fatty acid oxidation activ-ity were significantly lower in the model group than the control group(P＜0.01).After mdivi-1 intervention,the expression level of myocardial mitochondrial Drp1,the number of mitochondria per unit area of myocardial tissue and the protein levels of PPARα,ACSL4 and CPT1B in myocar-dial mitochondria were notably lower,and the expression of PPARα,ACSL4 and CPT1B in myo-cardial mitochondria and fatty acid oxidation activity in myocardial tissue were significantly higher when compared with those in the model group(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).Conclusion In diabetic mice,increased myocardial mitochondrial division,decreased translocation of fatty acid oxidation regula-tory protein from cytoplasm to mitochondria,inhibited fatty acid oxidation,and myocardial injury are observed.Mdivi-1 intervention inhibits mitochondrial division,promotes fatty acid oxidation by increasing the translocation of fatty acid oxidation regulatory proteins to mitochondria,and thus improves cardiac function.

Objective:To search, evaluate and summarize the evidence on prediabetes management in high-risk population with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).Methods:Two researchers independently screened the evidence according to the inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria. The quality of the included evidence was evaluated by the clinical guideline research and evaluation system (AGREE Ⅱ). The quality of the evidence and the strength of recommendation were graded by the GRADE system. According to the clinical nursing practice guidelines for gestational diabetes mellitus, the recommendations for GDM high-risk groups were extracted.Results:A total of 14 pieces of evidence were included, including 4 guidelines, 2 consensus, 5 practice guidelines and 3 diagnosis and treatment standards. 29 pieces of recommendations for prediabetes management of high-risk population with gestational diabetes mellitus were summarized from five aspects, including disease risk assessment, prenatal examination guidance, management objectives of gestational weight and blood glucose, diet guidance and exercise guidance.Conclusion:The evidence of prediabetes management of high-risk population with gestational diabetes mellitus is scientific and reliable.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a chronic disease but causes the highest mortality and morbidity among the cardiovascular diseases worldwide. Correlations between CAD and gut microbiota have been observed. This suggests that the gut microbiota could become a vital diagnostic marker of CAD, and restoring the gut habitat may become a promising strategy for CAD therapy. The elevated level of trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), a gut microbiota-derived metabolite, was found to be associated with the increased risk of cardiovascular disease and the all-cause mortality. Preclinical studies have shown that it has pro-arteriosclerosis properties. It is likely that regulating the production of TMAO by gut microbiota may become a promising strategy for anti-atherosclerosis therapy. This review summarizes the clinical and preclinical researches on the intervention of CAD by regulating the gut microbiota and the microbiota-derived metabolite TMAO, with the aim to provide new target for the therapy of CAD.
Coronary Artery Disease ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Humans ; Methylamines ; Oxides