OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the protective effect of Schistosoma japonicum cystatin (rSj-Cystatin) in a mouse mode of "two-hit" sepsis. METHODS: Sixty male C57BL/6 mice randomized equally into sham-operated group, protein group, "two-hit" modeling group, and protein intervention group. In the former two groups, the mice received an intraperitoneal injection of 100 μL PBS followed by exposure of the cecum and then by intraperitoneal injection of 100 μL PBS or 25 μg rSj-Cystatin 30 min later; In the latter two groups, 100 μL PBS containing LPS (5 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally 24 h before cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), and 100 μL PBS or 25 μg rSj-Cystatin were injected 30 min after CLP. At 12 h after rSj-Cystatin treatment, 6 mice from each group were sacrificed for detection of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, TGF-β, iNOS and Arg-1 in the serum, spleen, liver, lung and kidney tissues using ELISA, for examinations of liver, lung and kidney pathologies with HE staining, and for analysis of CD3⁺CD4⁺CD25⁺Foxp3⁺ T cell percentage in the spleen using flow cytometry. The remaining mice were observed for general condition and 72-h survival. RESULTS: The 72-h survival rates in the 4 groups were 100%, 100%, 0% and 20%, respectively, showing significant differences between the latter two groups. The mouse models of "two-hit" sepsis exhibited obvious tissue pathologies and significant elevations of TNF-α and IL-6 in both the serum and tissue homogenate, which were significantly ameliorated by rSj-Cystatin treatment. Treatment with rSj-Cystatin also increased IL-10 and TGF-β levels and spleen CD3⁺CD4⁺CD25⁺Foxp3⁺ T cell percentage. The septic mouse models also showed increased iNOS levels in all the detected tissues and a decreased Arg-1 level in the kidney, and these changes were obviously improved by rSj-Cystatin treatment. CONCLUSIONS rSj-Cystatin has a protective effect against "two-hit" sepsis in mice by regulating the inflammatory microenvironment.
Animals ; Mice ; Sepsis/drug therapy* ; Male ; Schistosoma japonicum/chemistry* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Cystatins/therapeutic use* ; Interleukin-10/metabolism* ; Interleukin-6/blood* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/blood* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Transforming Growth Factor beta/metabolism*

Objective To evaluate the protective effect of Schistosoma japonicum cystatin(rSj-Cystatin)in a mouse mode of"two-hit"sepsis.Methods Sixty male C57BL/6 mice randomized equally into sham-operated group,protein group,"two-hit"modeling group,and protein intervention group.In the former two groups,the mice received an intraperitoneal injection of 100 μL PBS followed by exposure of the cecum and then by intraperitoneal injection of 100 μL PBS or 25 μg rSj-Cystatin 30 min later;In the latter two groups,100 μL PBS containing LPS(5 mg/kg)was injected intraperitoneally 24 h before cecal ligation and puncture(CLP),and 100 μL PBS or 25 μg rSj-Cystatin were injected 30 min after CLP.At 12 h after rSj-Cystatin treatment,6 mice from each group were sacrificed for detection of TNF-α,IL-6,IL-10,TGF-β,iNOS and Arg-1 in the serum,spleen,liver,lung and kidney tissues using ELISA,for examinations of liver,lung and kidney pathologies with HE staining,and for analysis of CD3+CD4+CD25+Foxp3+T cell percentage in the spleen using flow cytometry.The remaining mice were observed for general condition and 72-h survival.Results The 72-h survival rates in the 4 groups were 100％,100％,0％and 20％,respectively,showing significant differences between the latter two groups.The mouse models of"two-hit"sepsis exhibited obvious tissue pathologies and significant elevations of TNF-α and IL-6 in both the serum and tissue homogenate,which were significantly ameliorated by rSj-Cystatin treatment.Treatment with rSj-Cystatin also increased IL-10 and TGF-β levels and spleen CD3+CD4+CD25+Foxp3+T cell percentage.The septic mouse models also showed increased iNOS levels in all the detected tissues and a decreased Arg-1 level in the kidney,and these changes were obviously improved by rSj-Cystatin treatment.Conclusion rSj-Cystatin has a protective effect against"two-hit"sepsis in mice by regulating the inflammatory microenvironment.

Objective : To analyze the influencing factors associated with the coexistence of multidrug-resistantEscherichia coli(MDR-ECO) infection and active tuberculosis(ATB) in patients with lung infections. Methods: A total of 204 hospitalized patients with lung infections caused by MDR-ECO were enrolled. Among them, patients with coexisting ATB were identified and assigned to the observation group. Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were performed to identify the risk factors for the coexistence of MDR-ECO lung infection and ATB. Results : Factors such as patient age, neutrophil count, hemoglobin level, malignancy, rheumatoid arthritis, history of antibiotic exposure, and history of surgery within the past year were found to be influencing factors for the coexistence of MDR-ECO lung infection and ATB(allP<0.05). Specifically, advanced age(95%CI: 0.949-0.992,P=0.008), decreased neutrophils(95%CI: 0.750-0.922,P<0.001), and a history of antibiotic exposure(95%CI: 1.202-2.596,P=0.004) were identified as risk factors. Conclusion Some patients with MDR-ECO lung infections are prone to coexisting with ATB. Therefore, it is recommended to strengthen ATB screening among high-risk patients, including those at peak ages for susceptibility, with low neutrophil counts, and with a history of antibiotic exposure.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of radiotherapy in patients with advanced esophageal cancer receiving first-line chemoimmunotherapy.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the data of 137 patients with Stage Ⅳ esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated at our hospital from January 2018 to May 2023. These patients were divided into two groups: a group treated with first-line chemoimmunotherapy combined with radiotherapy (chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group, n = 43) and a group treated with only chemoimmunotherapy ( n = 94). Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was applied to balance baseline characteristics between the groups. With overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) as study endpoints, the survival data were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method, the log-rank test, and the Cox regression method. Results:Before calibration, the chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group significantly outperformed the sole chemoimmunotherapy group in median PFS (13.6 months vs. 7.0 months; HR: 0.501, 95% CI: 0.309-0.811, P = 0.005). After calibration using the COX proportional-hazards model for age, gender, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, smoking history, T/N/M stage, and tumor location, the chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group still had significant advantages in PFS (14.7 months vs. 7.0 months; HR: 0.441, 95% CI: 0.261-0.745, P = 0.002). IPTW analysis further confirmed this trend (13.9 months vs. 7.0 months; HR: 0.492, 95% CI: 0.304-0.795, P < 0.001). Specifically, the median OS of the chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group demonstrated significant improvement in all analyses: pre-calibration (29.5 months vs. 18.0 months; HR: 0.507, 95% CI: 0.297-0.867, P = 0.013), after calibration using the Cox model (27.5 months vs. 16.7 months; HR: 0.470, 95% CI: 0.266-0.830, P = 0.009), and after calibration using IPTW (29.5 months vs. 16.9 months; HR: 0.448, 95% CI: 0.262-0.764, P < 0.001). Conclusions:The combination of radiotherapy and first-line chemoimmunotherapy can significantly improve survival outcomes of patients with advanced ESCC, suggesting its potential as a standard treatment strategy.

Outbreaks of zoonotic emerging infectious diseases have posed serious threats to human health and social development. The experience of epidemic prevention and control highlights the importance of the One Health concept in the prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases. Sanitary microbiology studies the ecological relationship between environmental microorganisms and humans, detection techniques, and preventive strategies. Its research scope overlaps and is closely related to that of emerging infectious disease prevention and control guided by the One Health concept. Vigorously promoting the research and teaching reform of sanitary microbiology in universities can provide key technologies and high-tech talents for One Health practices, promote development of new strategies for the prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases, and enhance the ability to respond to biosafety crises.

Objective To identify predictive indicators for unscheduled rehospitalisation within 3 months in patients of oral endotracheal intubation(OEI)with ultrasound gray level co-occurrence matrix(GLCM)and develop a corresponding risk assessment system for the purpose to reduce the event of unscheduled rehospitalisation.Methods A total of 260 OEI patients who underwent extubation in a Tier-IIIA hospital between October 2023 and May 2024 were enrolled by convenience sampling.Patients were divided into a rehospitalisation group and a non-rehospitalisation group according to the event of unscheduled rehospitalisation within 3 months after discharge.Demographic data and laboratory test report,ultrasound morphological indicators and GLCM of rectus femoris muscle were collected on day-1 and day-7 after extubation.Multivariate logistic regression analysis and Framingham risk function were used to identify independent risk factors for unscheduled rehospitalisation within 3 months.A risk assessment system for unscheduled rehospitalisation within 3 months was subsequently developed.Predictive accuracy were evaluated using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve and area under the curve(AUC),and Hosmer-Lemeshow test.Results Toally 224 patients were included.The incidence of unplanned rehospitalization within 3 months in patients with oral tracheal intubation was 35.71%(80/224).The independent risk factors for unscheduled rehospitalisation within 3 months in OEI patients were identified as age≥60,nutrition risk screening2002≥3,shock index≥1.0,duration of mechanical ventilation≥251 hours,rectus femoris cross-sectional area≤1.41cm2,angular second moment≤0.71,the proportion change rate of ratio of rectus femoris on quadriceps femoeis for 0 on day-7 after extubation.The risk assessment system exhibited an AUC of 0.791(95%CI:0.707～0.875,P<0.001),with a sensitivity of 75.02%and a specificity of 67.33%.The Hosmer-Lemeshow value was 2.581(P=0.630),and the optimal cut-off value was determined at 3.Conclusion The developed risk assessment system demonstrates a satisfactory predictive performance.It provides a valuable reference for clinical assessment of the patients who had unscheduled rehospitalisation within 3 months in OEI patients.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease(CJD)is a rapidly progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder caused by prions,with certain infectivity and iatrogenic transmission risks.With the rapid progress and application of new dia-gnostic biomarkers and detection methods,as well as the construction and improvement of surveillance and reporting systems,the detection of CJD in patients domestically and internationally has shown an increasing trend year by year.Due to its long incubation period and heterogeneity of early symptoms,early identification and diagnosis of the disease is difficult,increasing the risk of transmission within medical institutions.Currently,there is a lack of con-sensus on the infection prevention and control of CJD.In order to timely identify and diagnose CJD as well as effec-tively block its transmission in medical institutions,this consensus summarizes 15 clinical concerns and formulates 24 specific recommendations based on the latest domestic and international research findings and clinical evidence,as well as combines with clinical practice,aiming to standardize healthcare-associated infection prevention and control measures for CJD and reduce its transmission risk in medical institutions.