Objective To compare the clinical characteristics of pneumococcal meningitis in different age groups, and to provide a basis for early diagnosis of pneumococcal meningitis. Methods Cerebrospinal fluid and/or serum samples were collected from 1742 suspected cases of meningitis in Baoji, Shaanxi Province from August 2013 to July 2019. Streptococcus pneumoniae was detected by isolation culture and real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Retrospective analysis of clinical manifestations, biochemical indicators and other information of laboratory confirmed cases was conducted by χ² test or Fisher's exact test. Results A total of 1742 samples of encephalitis or meningitis cases were detected, and 41 cases were confirmed as laboratory-confirmed Streptococcus pneumoniae infection. Among them, there were 12 cases (29.27%) in the infant group, 14 cases (34.15%) in the child group, and 15 cases (36.59%) in the adult group. The proportion of the adults with headache was significantly higher than that of the infants (χ²=11.408，P＜0.017). The proportion of the adults with consciousness disorder, elevated white blood cells and elevated neutrophils were significantly higher than those in the infant and the child groups（Fisher's exact test, P＜0.017；χ² =6.428，P＜0.017；χ² =10.898，P＜0.017；χ² =6.421，P＜0.017；χ² =9.758，P＜0.017；χ² =7.744，P＜0.017). The proportion of the infants with cerebrospinal fluid turbidity was significantly higher than that of the children (Fisher's exact test，P＜0.017). The proportion of the infants with decreased white blood cells and reduced glucose in cerebrospinal fluid was significantly higher than that of the children group and the adult group（Fisher's exact test, P＜0.001；Fisher's exact test, P＜0.001；Fisher's exact test, P＜0.017; Fisher's exact test, P＜0.017). Conclusion Most adult patients with pneumococcal meningitis have headache and consciousness disorders, with significantly increased proportion of white blood cells and neutrophils. Infant patients tend to have cloudy appearance of cerebrospinal fluid, leukopenia in blood, and decreased glucose in cerebrospinal fluid.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of periodontitis induced by Prevotella nigrescens (Pn) combined with ligation on cognitive functions in mice. METHODS: Twenty-four C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into control group, ligation group, and ligation + Pn treatment (P+Pn) group. Experimental periodontitis was induced by silk ligation of the first molars followed by topical application of Pn for 6 weeks. After modeling, alveolar bone resorption was assessed using micro-CT and histological analysis. Learning and memory abilities of the mice were evaluated using open field test (OFT), novel object recognition test (NORT), and Morris water maze test (MWM). Seven weeks after the start of modeling, the mice were sacrificed for examining histopathological changes in the hippocampus using HE and Nissl staining. RESULTS: After 6 weeks of molar ligation, micro-CT revealed horizontal alveolar bone resorption and furcation exposure in the mice, and histological analysis showed apical migration of the junctional epithelium, epithelial ridge hyperplasia, and lymphocyte infiltration, and these changes were obviously worsened in P+Pn group. Alveolar bone height decreased significantly in both ligation groups compared to the control group. Cognitive tests showed that the mice in both of the ligation groups traveled shorter distances in OFT, showed reduced novel object preference in NORT, and exhibited longer escape latencies in MWM, and the mice in P+Pn group had significantly poorer performances in the tests. Histologically, obvious neuronal cytoplasmic degeneration, necrosis, nuclear pyknosis, vacuolation, and reduced Nissl bodies and viable neurons were observed in the hippocampal regions of the mice in the two ligation groups. CONCLUSIONS Pn infection aggravates alveolar bone destruction, accelerates necrosis and causes morphological abnormalities of neuronal cells in the hippocampus to reduce cognitive functions of mice with periodontitis.
Animals ; Periodontitis/microbiology* ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Cognition ; Alveolar Bone Loss ; Hippocampus/pathology* ; Male ; Inflammation ; Maze Learning

Antibody (Ab) humanization is critical to reduce immunogenicity and enhance efficacy in the preclinical phase of the development of therapeutic Abs originated from animal models. Computational suggestions have long been desired, but available tools focused on immunogenicity calculation of whole Ab sequences and sequence segments, missing the individual residue sites. This study introduces Site-specific Immunogenicity for Therapeutic Antibody (SITA), a novel computational framework that predicts B-cell immunogenicity score for not only the overall antibody, but also individual residues, based on a comprehensive set of amino acid descriptors characterizing physicochemical and spatial features for antibody structures. A transfer-learning-inspired framework was purposely adopted to overcome the scarcity of Ab-Ab structural complexes. On an independent testing dataset derived from 13 Ab-Ab structural complexes, SITA successfully predicted the epitope sites for Ab-Ab structures with a receiver operating characteristic (ROC)-area unver the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.85 and a precision-recall (PR)-AUC of 0.305 at the residue level. Furthermore, the SITA score can significantly distinguish immunogenicity levels of whole human Abs, therapeutic Abs and non-human-derived Abs. More importantly, analysis of an additional 25 therapeutic Abs revealed that over 70% of them were detected with decreased immunogenicity after modification compared to their parent variants. Among these, nearly 66% Abs successfully identified actual modification sites from the top five sites with the highest SITA scores, suggesting the ability of SITA scores for guide the humanization of antibody. Overall, these findings highlight the potential of SITA in optimizing immunogenicity assessments during the process of therapeutic antibody design.

Objective: To investigate the knowledge and behaviors related to hepatitis B prevention and control among carriers of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), so as to provide the basis for conducting health education and interventions for HBsAg carriers. Methods: Based on the seroepidemiological survey of hepatitis B among individuals aged 1 to 69 years in Shaanxi Province, HBsAg carriers were selected as the study subjects. Basic information, knowledge and behaviors about hepatitis B prevention and control were collected through questionnaire surveys. The awareness of hepatitis B prevention and control knowledge and related behaviors among HBsAg carriers were analyzed. Results: A total of 107 HBsAg carriers were enrolled, including 52 males (48.60%) and 55 females (51.40%), and had a median age of 47.04 (interquartile range, 19.78) years. The awareness of hepatitis B prevention and control knowledge ranged from 56.07% to 87.85% among HBsAg carriers, with the highest awareness for "hepatitis B vaccination can effectively prevent hepatitis B "(87.85%), and the lowest awareness for "sharing meals with HBsAg carriers or hepatitis B patients will not lead to infection" (56.07%) and "hepatitis B can be treated with antiviral drugs" (61.68%). The proportions of those who did not seek medical consultation, undergo regular check-ups, or receive treatment were relatively high, at 65.42%, 72.90% and 77.57%, respectively. Conclusions The awareness of hepatitis B transmission routes and treatment-related knowledge among HBsAg carriers is relatively low, and their medical-seeking behaviors are relatively passive. There is a need to enhance the dissemination of hepatitis B prevention and control knowledge, improve medical-seeking behaviors, and reduce the risk of hepatitis B virus transmission.

From 2019 to 2023, a total of 30.8602 million doses of non-National Immunization Program (non-NIP) vaccines were administered in Shaanxi Province, averaging 1 561 doses per 10 000 population. The annual administration of non-NIP vaccines increased from 4.359 1 million doses in 2019 to 7.858 2 million doses in 2023, with their proportional representation among all vaccines rising from 30.82% to 55.15%( χ2 trend=2 440 581.54, P<0.001). The administration rate per 10 000 population increased from 1 105 doses to 1 986 doses during this period( χ2 trend=373.10, P<0.001). Concurrently, the substitution rate of non-NIP vaccines for National Immunization Program vaccines rose from 4.94% in 2019 to 16.11% in 2023.

To summarize the clinical practice of continuous medical service for patients at Shanghai Children′s Medical Center, affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, from September 2023 to December 2024, following the approval of its extended care qualification. This study utilized a mixed-methods research design that integrates quantitative and qualitative approaches. The quantitative study included a total of 117 subjects, with an age range of 18 to 35 years, an average age of 21.56 years, and a median age of 19 years; there were 59 males and 58 females. The disease types covered four major categories: childhood leukemia and solid tumors (68 cases), congenital structural malformations (25 cases), congenital hereditary metabolic diseases (4 cases), and rare diseases (20 cases). Among the subjects, 57.26% (67 cases) were first-time visitors to SCMC. The patients came from 20 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities across the country, with 88.03% (103 cases) from outside Shanghai. The treatment outcomes showed improvement or cure in 80.34% (94 cases) of the subjects, and there were no medical complaints. In addition, a qualitative study was conducted to deeply explore the experiences, confusions, and challenges of receiving or implementing continuous medical services from the perspectives of patients and their families, as well as medical staff. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 44 subjects were included in the study, among them, there were 12 patients, 12 family members who were taking care of the patients in SCMC, and 20 corresponding medical staff members. The results of the qualitative study showed that trust in the attending physicians of the children′s specialty hospital, a good doctor-patient relationship, satisfactory treatment outcomes, and support from medical insurance policies are the main driving forces for patients over 18 years old to receive continuous treatment at children′s specialty hospitals. The medical staff of the hospital also believed that this model can promote patient benefits. In conclusion, under the policy support of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, the "Six Fixed" Model for continuous treatment established by SCMC has achieved certain positive results in practice. This provides practical references for the development of continuous treatment in China and offers new strategies for the application of preventive medicine in the field of children′s health.

Objective To investigate the current symptom status of maintenance hemodialysis(MHD)patients,analyze the influencing factors from the perspective of multidimensional symptom burden,extract symptom groups,and construct a symptom network.Methods A total of 490 patients who received MHD at the blood purification center of a tertiary hospital in Shanghai from March to April 2025 were selected using a convenience sampling method.30 symptoms of MHD patients were investigated using a modified dialysis symptom index table.SPSS and R software were utilized to analyze the influencing factors,extract symptom groups,and construct a multidimensional symptom network.Results A total of 488 valid questionnaires were collected,with a valid questionnaire recovery rate of 99.59％.The median number of symptoms experienced by patients was 6(interquartile range:4,8),with the top 5 symptoms being dry skin(69.88％),fatigue or tiredness(56.97％),itching(56.97％),worry(50.20％),and dry mouth(46.31％).Multidimensional analysis indicated that age,duration of dialysis,education level,and complications were influencing factors of symptom burden scores across different dimensions.6 stable symptom groups were extracted,namely skin discomfort,fatigue and pain,gastrointestinal tract,sleep disorders,water-electrolyte imbalance,and uremia.The results of the symptom network analysis revealed that difficulty of falling asleep had the highest intensity centrality(rs=2.18,2.25,2.12).Conclusion The symptom association is relatively stable,and difficulty of falling asleep is the core symptom.This finding can assist clinical medical staff in achieving efficiency and precision in symptom group management.

Objective To investigate the effects of periodontitis induced by Prevotella nigrescens(Pn)combined with ligation on cognitive functions in mice.Methods Twenty-four C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into control group,ligation group,and ligation+Pn treatment(P+Pn)group.Experimental periodontitis was induced by silk ligation of the first molars followed by topical application of Pn for 6 weeks.After modeling,alveolar bone resorption was assessed using micro-CT and histological analysis.Learning and memory abilities of the mice were evaluated using open field test(OFT),novel object recognition test(NORT),and Morris water maze test(MWM).Seven weeks after the start of modeling,the mice were sacrificed for examining histopathological changes in the hippocampus using HE and Nissl staining.Results After 6 weeks of molar ligation,micro-CT revealed horizontal alveolar bone resorption and furcation exposure in the mice,and histological analysis showed apical migration of the junctional epithelium,epithelial ridge hyperplasia,and lymphocyte infiltration,and these changes were obviously worsened in P+Pn group.Alveolar bone height decreased significantly in both ligation groups compared to the control group.Cognitive tests showed that the mice in both of the ligation groups traveled shorter distances in OFT,showed reduced novel object preference in NORT,and exhibited longer escape latencies in MWM,and the mice in P+Pn group had significantly poorer performances in the tests.Histologically,obvious neuronal cytoplasmic degeneration,necrosis,nuclear pyknosis,vacuolation,and reduced Nissl bodies and viable neurons were observed in the hippocampal regions of the mice in the two ligation groups.Conclusion Pn infection aggravates alveolar bone destruction,accelerates necrosis and causes morphological abnormalities of neuronal cells in the hippocampus to reduce cognitive functions of mice with periodontitis.

Antibody humanization is critical to reduce immunogenicity and enhance efficacy in the preclinical phase of the development of therapeutic antibodies originated from animal models.Computational suggestions have long been desired,but available tools focused on immunogenicity calculation of whole antibody sequences and sequence segments,missing the individual residue sites.This study introduces Site-specific Immunogenicity for Therapeutic Antibody(SITA),a novel computational framework that predicts B-cell immunogenicity score for not only the overall antibody,but also individual residues,based on a comprehensive set of amino acid descriptors characterizing physicochemical and spatial features for antibody structures.A transfer-learning-inspired framework was purposely adopted to overcome the scarcity of Antibody-Antibody structural complexes.On an independent testing dataset derived from 13 Antibody-Antibody structural complexes,SITA successfully predicted the epitope sites for Antibody-Antibody structures with a receiver operating characteristic(ROC)-area unver the ROC curve(AUC)of 0.85 and a precision-recall(PR)-AUC of 0.305 at the residue level.Furthermore,the SITA score can significantly distinguish immunogenicity levels of whole human antibodies,therapeutic antibodies and non-human-derived antibodies.More importantly,analysis of an additional 25 thera-peutic antibodies revealed that over 70％of them were detected with decreased immunogenicity after modification compared to their parent variants.Among these,nearly 66％antibodies successfully iden-tified actual modification sites from the top five sites with the highest SITA scores,suggesting the ability of SITA scores for guide the humanization of antibody.Overall,these findings highlight the potential of SITA in optimizing immunogenicity assessments during the process of therapeutic antibody design.

Objective:To investigate the effects of short-peptide-based enteral nutrition on nutritional status, immune function, and chemotherapy-related adverse reactions in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).Methods:A total of 106 children with ALL receiving chemotherapy at the Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University between January 2021 and April 2022 were enrolled. According to the principle of between-group baseline data matching, the patients were divided into observation group and control group by random number table method, with 53 cases in each group. All patients received chemotherapy according to the CCCG-ALL-2020 protocol established by the Multi-center Cooperative Group of the Chinese Society of Pediatric Oncology (2020). The control group received a regular diet, while the observation group received a regular diet supplemented with short-peptide-based enteral nutrition. The incidence rates of malnutrition, hypoproteinemia, hypoalbuminemia, abnormal immunoglobulin levels (IgG, IgM, IgA), and adverse reactions (liver injury, infection) were compared between both groups before chemotherapy and at the end of each of the following seven chemotherapy phases: Induction remission therapy (PVDL), Induction remission therapy (CAT), Early intensification therapy (CAT+), Consolidation therapy (HDMTX), Interim maintenance therapy, Reinduction therapy, and prior to the end of Maintenance therapy. Normally or approximately normally distributed measurement data were expressed as xˉ± s and compared by independent samples t-test. Counting data were expressed as n (%) and compared by χ2 test. Results:During the CAT phase, the incidence of malnutrition was significantly lower in the observation group than in the control group [20.8% (11/53) vs. 39.6% (21/53), χ2=4.48, P=0.034]. The incidence of hypoproteinemia was significantly lower in the observation group during HDMTX, Reinduction, Interim maintenance, and prior to the end of Maintenance therapy [47.2% (25/53) vs. 69.8% (37/53), χ2=5.60, P=0.018; 45.3% (24/53) vs. 67.9% (36/53), χ2=5.53, P=0.019; 41.5% (24/53) vs. 64.2% (34/53), χ2=5.45, P=0.020; 28.3% (15/53) vs. 54.7% (29/53), χ2=7.62, P=0.006, respectively]. The incidence of hypoalbuminemia was significantly lower in the observation group during CAT+, HDMTX, Reinduction, Interim maintenance, and prior to the end of Maintenance therapy [5.7% (3/53) vs. 22.6% (12/53), χ2=6.29, P=0.012; 9.4% (5/53) vs. 26.4% (14/53), χ2=5.19, P=0.023; 9.4% (5/53) vs. 28.3% (15/53), χ2=6.16, P=0.013; 7.6% (4/53) vs. 24.5% (13/53), χ2=5.68, P=0.017; 3.8% (2/53) vs. 18.9% (10/53), χ2=6.01, P=0.014, respectively]. For IgG, incidence was significantly lower in the observation group during Interim maintenance, Reinduction, and prior to the end of Maintenance therapy [7.6% (4/53) vs. 22.6% (12/53), χ2=4.71, P=0.030; 20.8% (11/53) vs. 39.6% (21/53), χ2=4.48, P=0.034; 11.3% (6/53) vs. 26.4% (14/53), χ2=3.94, P=0.047, respectively]. For IgM, incidence was significantly lower in the observation group during the CAT and CAT+ phases [45.3% (24/53) vs. 66.0% (35/53), χ2=4.63, P=0.032; 58.5% (31/53) vs. 77.4% (41/53), χ2=4.33, P=0.037, respectively]. For IgA, incidence was significantly lower in the observation group during Reinduction therapy and Interim maintenance [22.6% (12/53) vs. 45.3% (24/53), χ2=6.06, P=0.014; 9.4% (5/53) vs. 24.5% (13/53), χ2=4.28, P=0.038, respectively]. For liver injury, incidence was significantly lower in the observation group during the CAT, CAT+, and prior to the end of Maintenance phases [22.6% (12/53) vs. 43.4% (23/53), χ2=5.16, P=0.023; 26.4% (14/53) vs. 50.9% (27/53), χ2=6.72, P=0.010, 11.3% (6/53) vs. 26.4%(14/53), χ2=3.94、 P=0.047,respectively]. For infection, incidence was significantly lower in the observation group during the CAT+ and HDMTX phases [35.9% (19/53) vs. 56.6% (30/53), χ2=4.59, P=0.032; 24.5% (13/53) vs. 43.4% (23/53), χ2=4.21, P=0.040, respectively]. Conclusions:Short-peptide-based enteral nutrition demonstrates significant advantages in the treatment of pediatric ALL. It provides substantial support for patient treatment and recovery by improving nutritional status, modulating immune function, and reducing chemotherapy-related adverse reactions.