Vascular calcification is a highly regulated process of ectopic calcification in cardiovascular system while no effective intervention can be clinically performed up to date.As vascular calcification undergoes a common regulatory mechanism within bone formation,bone morphogenetic protein 7(BMP-7)main-tains contractile phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells and further inhibits vascular calcification via promoting the process of osteoblast differentiation,reducing ectopic calcification pressure by increasing bone formation and reducing bone resorption.This work systematically reviews the role of BMP-7 in vascular calcifi-cation and the possible mechanism,and their current clinical application as well.The current proceedings may help develope early diagnostic strategy and therapeutic treatment with BMP-7 as a new molecular marker and potential drug target.The expec-tation could achieve early prevention and intervention of vascular calcification and improve poor prognosis on patients.

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 investigate the changing distribution and antibiotic resistance profiles of clinical isolates of Staphylococcus in hospitals across China from 2015 to 2021.Methods Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was conducted for the clinical isolates of Staphylococcus according to the unified protocol of CHINET(China Antimicrobial Surveillance Network)using disk diffusion method and commercial automated systems.The CHINET antimicrobial resistance surveillance data from 2015 to 2021 were interpreted according to the 2021 CLSI breakpoints and analyzed using WHONET 5.6.Results During the period from 2015 to 2021,a total of 204,771 nonduplicate strains of Staphylococcus were isolated,including 136,731(66.8％)strains of Staphylococcus aureus and 68,040(33.2％)strains of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus(CNS).The proportions of S.aureus isolates and CNS isolates did not show significant change.S.aureus strains were mainly isolated from respiratory specimens(38.9±5.1)％,wound,pus and secretions(33.6±4.2)％,and blood(11.9±1.5)％.The CNS strains were predominantly isolated from blood(73.6±4.2)％,cerebrospinal fluid(12.1±2.5)％,and pleural effusion and ascites(8.4±2.1)％.S.aureus strains were mainly isolated from the patients in ICU(17.0±7.3)％,outpatient and emergency(11.6±1.7)％,and department of surgery(11.2±0.9)％,whereas CNS strains were primarily isolated from the patients in ICU(32.2±9.7)％,outpatient and emergency(12.8±4.7)％,and department of internal medicine(11.2±1.9)％.The prevalence of methicillin-resistant strains was 32.9％in S.aureus(MRSA)and 74.1％in CNS(MRCNS).Over the 7-year period,the prevalence of MRSA decreased from 42.1％to 29.2％,and the prevalence of MRCNS decreased from 82.1％to 68.2％.MRSA showed higher resistance rates to all the antimicrobial agents tested except trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole than methicillin-susceptible S.aureus(MSSA).Over the 7-year period,MRSA strains showed decreasing resistance rates to gentamicin,rifampicin,and levofloxacin,MRCNS showed decreasing resistance rates to gentamicin,erythromycin,rifampicin,and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole,but increasing resistance rate to levofloxacin.No vancomycin-resistant strains were detected.The prevalence of linezolid-resistant MRCNS increased from 0.2％to 2.3％over the 7-year period.Conclusions Staphylococcus remains the major pathogen among gram-positive bacteria.MRSA and MRCNS were still the principal antibiotic-resistant gram-positive bacteria.No S.aureus isolates were found resistant to vancomycin or linezolid,but linezolid-resistant strains have been detected in MRCNS isolates,which is an issue of concern.

AP2 transcription factors belong to the AP2/ERF superfamily and are involved in the regula-tion of various biological processes in plant growth and development,as well as in response to biotic and abiotic stresses.However,studies on the AP2 transcription factor family of Perilla frutescens have not been reported.In this study,totally 18 AP2 family members were identified from the Perilla frutescens ge-nome and analyzed for gene structure,conserved motifs,and cis-acting elements using bioinformatics.WRINKLED1(WRI1)is a key regulator of lipid biosynthesis in many plant species and plays an impor-tant role in the regulation of lipid synthesis.Sequence comparison revealed that one member of WRI1 is highly homologous to AtWRI1 and contains two conserved AP2 domains,named PfWRI1.The expression levels of PfAP2 family genes were analyzed in different tissues of Perilla frutescens and at different stages of seed development in conjunction with the transcriptome data,and the results showed that PfWRI1 is highly expressed only in the seeds of Perilla frutescens,suggesting that PfWRI1 may be related to the de-velopmental process of the seeds.The overexpression vector of plant pCAMBIA1303-PfWRI1 was con-structed,and wild-type(Col)and mutant(wri1-1)Arabidopsis thaliana were transformed by Agrobacte-rium tumefaciens to obtain overexpression and complementation lines,respectively.The results showed that the expression of P fWRI1 led to an increase in oil content of Arabidopsis seeds by 8.90％-13.57％compared with Col,and promoted the accumulation of oleic acid(C18:1)and linoleic acid(18:2)and reduced the accumulation of palmitic acid(C16:0),arachidonic acid(C20:0),and cis-11-Eicosenoic acid(C20:1)in transgenic Arabidopsis seeds.In addition,PfWRI1 gene expression increased the ex-pression of glycolysis and fatty acid biosynthesis-related genes AtPKP-α,AtPKP-β1,AtBCCP2,AtSUS2,and AtLIP1.Taken together,PfWRI1 may promote lipid accumulation by increasing unsaturated fatty acid content through interaction with the above genes.

Perilla frutescens,a short-day plant,is rich in biologically active substances and nutrients.Current research on Perilla frutescens focuses on agronomic traits such as yield and fatty acid accumula-tion,with limited exploration of the flowering process and floral organ development.The molecular regu-latory mechanisms underlying these aspects remain unclear.FLOWERING LOUC T(FT)is a florigen in Arabidopsis,plays critical roles in floral transition.PfFT3 is unannotated by genome but annotated by transcriptomics data to the FT-like subfamily.Its function in controlling flowering is yet to be explored.Here subcellular localization analysis showed that PfFT3 is localized in the nucleus and cytoplasm.The plant over-expression vector pCAMBIAI1303-PfFT3 was constructed and transformed into wild-type(Col-0)and mutant fd-2,fd-3,and ft-10 plants by agrobacterium-mediated inflorescence infiltration as a means of obtaining genetically stable and pure overexpression and backfill transgenic lines in Arabidopsis,respectively.Analysis of the results showed that overexpression of PfFT3 significantly promoted early flowering in Arabidopsis and rescued the late-flowering phenotype of the mutants fd-2,fd-3,and ft-10,and that expression of the exogenous PfFT3 promoted the expression of the downstream endogenous flow-ering genes AtSOC1,AtAP1,AtFUL,and AtLFY.This study demonstrates the positive role of PfFT3 in promoting flowering,providing a foundation for further investigation of PfPEBP function and advancing the breeding of early-flowering Perilla frrutescens cultivars.

Objective To design a self-aid pressurized heating tourniquet to decrease the mortality and morbidity of post-traumatic hemorrhage of limbs in highland cold regions.Methods The tourniquet was in the form of long strip and consisted of a gas generating heating mechanism,an inflatable cuff,a decompression mechanism and a micro timer.The gas generating heating mechanism was composed of an inner cylinder and an outer cylinder,which were fixed with screws;the inflatable cuff had two variations for the upper limb and lower limb respectively,with fabric for fixing on the outer side and an airbag set on the inner side;the decompression mechanism had a pressurized valve as its main component;the electronic micro timer was secured to the slot on the gas generating heating mechanism by an insertion clasp.Results The tourniquet developed enabled self-aid hemostasis in 1 to 2 s for post-traumatic hemorrhage of limbs in highland cold regions,and could effectively prevent the affected limb from losing temperature.Conclusion The tourniquet developed gains advantages in easy operation,hemostasis,heat preservation and adjustable pressure,which is of significance for enhancing the self-aid ability for post-traumatic hemorrhage of limbs in highland cold regions.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(3):111-114]

Objective To explore the effect of a R language-based autoregressive integrated moving average(ARIMA)model for predicting the consumption of medical consumables.Methods The monthly consumption data of a certain type of pre-filled flush syringe from July 2018 to June 2023 was selected as the sample data,which underwent smoothness test and difference operation with R language.An ARIMA model was established and the optimal model was determined according to the Akaike and Bayesian information criteria.The corresponding data of the third quarter of 2023 was used as the validation set to predict the consumption,and the prediction result was compared with the actual values to evaluate the prediction effect of the ARIMA model.Results The ARIMA model with the best fitting was ARIMA(0,1,1)(1,0,0)12,all the predicted data were within 95％confidence interval,and its mean absolute percentage error MAPE was 9.92％.P-value proved to be higher than 0.05 when the residual series were tested using the Ljung-Box statistics,which meant the prediction result was satisfactory.Conclusion The R language-based ARIMA model behaves well in predicting the consumption of medical consumables,and provides references for demand planning,budgeting,purchasing and management of medical consumables.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(10):84-87]

Objective:To explore the feasibility of adjusting the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) cut-off values for screening congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in newborns according to the seasons, and to establish a TSH screening cut-off value that is suitable for the actual situation in Quanzhou City.Methods:A total of 355 868 newborns who underwent CH screening at the Neonatal Disease Screening Center in Quanzhou in Fujian Province from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2021 were included in the study. Heel blood samples were collected and made dried blood spots. TSH levels in the heel blood of newborns were measured using genetic screening processor (GSP). The TSH cut-off values for CH screening were established using the percentile method and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve method, and were adjusted based on seasonal factors. The screening efficiency was then compared with the current TSH cut-off value (9.00 mU/L).Results:According to the percentile method, the 99th percentile TSH levels in newborn heel blood in spring, summer, autumn, and winter were 9.47, 9.01, 9.41, and 10.43 mU/L, respectively. Using these values as cut-off values, the initial screening positive rates in spring, summer, autumn, and winter were 1.00% (848/84 652), 1.04% (913/87 524), 1.00% (951/94 875), 1.00% (889/88 817) [1.27% (1 077/84 652), 1.05% (916/87 524), 1.23% (1 171/94 875), 2.01% (1 787/88 817) according to the current TSH cut-off value]. However, except for summer, there were 7, 6, and 17 cases of missed screening in spring, autumn, and winter, respectively. The cut-off values of TSH for the four seasons obtained by the ROC curve method were 9.01, 9.02, 9.01, and 9.01 mU/L, respectively. The initial screening positive rates in spring, autumn, and winter were consistent with the current cut-off values, at 1.27% (1 074/84 652), 1.23% (1 167/94 875), 2.01% (1 781/88 817), respectively, while in summer, it was 0.99% (866/87 524) [1.05% (916/87 524) according to the current TSH cut-off value], and the positive detection rates in all four seasons were 100.00%.Conclusions:It is not advisable to adjust the TSH cut-off value for CH screening according to seasons in Quanzhou City. Using the current TSH cut-off value of 9.00 mU/L for CH screening in Quanzhou City can effectively ensure the quality of screening.

Objective Summarizing the recent efficacy and initial experience of using da Vinci robot surgery for pediatric annular pancreas in our hospital.Methods The clinical data of 3 children with annular pancreas treated by Da Vinci robotic surgery in Wuhan Children's Hospital from October 2020 to December 2022 were retrospectively analyzed.Results All three cases were successfully completed with robot-assisted lateral duoduodenal anastomosis without intraoperative complications.The operation time was 240 min,212 min,135 min,respectively.Postoperative feeding was started at 12 d,7 d,and 6 d,respectively.The postoperative hospital stays were 33 d,18 d,and 13 d,respectively.The first case was complicated with neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis after operation,and was cured and discharged after conservative treatment.The remaining 2 cases were cured and discharged.The follow-up time was 2 years,3 months and 5 months,respectively.No relevant complications occurred during the follow-up period,and the prognosis of the three children was good.Conclusion Da Vinci robotic surgery is safe and feasible in the treatment of annular pancreas in children,but it still needs to be supported by large sample studies.

Objective This study aimed to investigate the potential relationship between urinary metals copper (Cu), arsenic (As), strontium (Sr), barium (Ba), iron (Fe), lead (Pb) and manganese (Mn) and grip strength. Methods We used linear regression models, quantile g-computation and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) to assess the relationship between metals and grip strength.Results In the multimetal linear regression, Cu (β=-2.119), As (β=-1.318), Sr (β=-2.480), Ba (β=0.781), Fe (β= 1.130) and Mn (β=-0.404) were significantly correlated with grip strength (P < 0.05). The results of the quantile g-computation showed that the risk of occurrence of grip strength reduction was -1.007 (95％ confidence interval:-1.362, -0.652; P < 0.001) when each quartile of the mixture of the seven metals was increased. Bayesian kernel function regression model analysis showed that mixtures of the seven metals had a negative overall effect on grip strength, with Cu, As and Sr being negatively associated with grip strength levels. In the total population, potential interactions were observed between As and Mn and between Cu and Mn (Pinteractions of 0.003 and 0.018, respectively).Conclusion In summary, this study suggests that combined exposure to metal mixtures is negatively associated with grip strength. Cu, Sr and As were negatively correlated with grip strength levels, and there were potential interactions between As and Mn and between Cu and Mn.