Objective To investigate the prevalence of spotted fever group rickettsiae (SFGR) infections in free-living ticks and among high-risk populations in the southern margin of the Gurbantunggut Desert, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, so as to provide insights into tick-borne diseases prevention and control in this region. Methods Free-living ticks were collected from five counties (cities) in the southern margin of the Gurbantunggut Desert, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Tick species were identified by morphology combined with mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit Ⅰ (COI) gene analysis. Four target gene fragments of Rickettsia were amplified using a nested PCR assay, including outer membrane protein B (ompB), 17-kDa common surface antigen protein (17kDa), surface cell antigen 1 (sca1), and surface cell antigen 4 (sca4) genes, to detect the prevalence of SFGR infections in tick samples. Positive PCR amplification products were purified, sequenced, and subjected to sequence alignment, and phylogenetic trees were created using the neighbor-joining (NJ) method. Serum samples were collected from individuals at a high risk of tick exposure from six counties (cities, districts) in the southern margin of the Gurbantunggut Desert, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and serum levels of anti-R. sibirica IgG antibodies were detected among these individuals using indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and statistically analyzed. Results A total of 287 free-living ticks were collected, and all were identified as Hyalomma asiaticum. The overall prevalence of SFGR infection was 78.40% (225/287) in tick samples, and five Rickettsia species were characterized, including R. sibirica, which shared 99.81% (515/516) sequence homology with the strain detected in Dermacentor sinicus from China; R. massiliae, which shared 99.80% (509/510) sequence homology with the strain detected in Rhipicephalus sanguineus from Ethiopia; R. raoultii, which shared 100.00% (516/516) sequence homology with the strain detected in Hyalomma asiaticum from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China; R. africae, which shared 100.00% (524/524) sequence homology with the strain detected in Amblyomma splendidum from Ethiopia; and Candidatus Rickettsia barbariae, which shared 99.80% (499/500) sequence homology with the strain detected in steppe polecats from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China, with R. sibirica (33.80% detection rate, 97/287) and R. raoultii (33.10%, 95/287) as dominant species. A total of 1 489 serum samples were collected from individuals at a high risk of tick exposure, and the seroprevalence of antiR. sibirica IgG antibodies was 30.83% (459/1 489). There were no significant differences in the seroprevalence in terms of genders (χ² = 2.23, P > 0.05) or age groups (χ² = 6.45, P > 0.05); however, there was a region-specific seroprevalence rate of anti-R. sibirica IgG antibodies (χ² = 16.05, P < 0.05). Pairwise comparisons showed lower seroprevalence rate of anti-R. sibirica IgG antibodies among high-risk individuals in Midong District of Urumqi City (22.27%, 53/238) than in Wujiaqu City (34.70%, 93/268) and Manas County(37.55%, 98/261) (both P values < 0.05); however, they were not significantly different from those in the other regions (all P values > 0.05). Conclusion Multiple SFGR species are detected in H. asiaticum ticks sampled from the southern margin of the Gurbantunggut Desert, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, where there is a potential risk of local transmission of spotted fever rickettsiosis.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), as a treasure of the Chinese nation, plays a significant role in maintaining public health. In 2019, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council proposed for the first time the establishment of a TCM registration and evaluation evidence system that integrates TCM theory, "personal experience" and clinical trials (referred to as the "Three-in-One" System) to promote the inheritance and innovation of TCM. Subsequently, the National Medical Products Administration issued several guiding principles to advance the improvement and implementation of this system. Owing to the complexity of its implementation, there are still differing understandings within the TCM industry regarding the positioning of the "Three-in-One" Registration and Evaluation Evidence System, as well as the connotation and value orientation of the "personal experience." To address this, Academician WANG Qi, President of the TCM Association, China International Exchange and Promotion Association for Medical and Healthcare and TCM master, led a group of academicians, TCM masters, TCM pharmacology experts and clinical TCM experts to convene a "Seminar on Promoting the Implementation of the ′Three-in-One′ Registration and Evaluation Evidence System for Chinese Medicinals." Through extensive discussions, an expert consensus was formed, clarifying the different roles of the TCM theory, "personal experience" and clinical trials within the system. It was further emphasized that the "personal experience" is the core of this system, and its data should be derived from clinical practice scenarios. In the future, the improvement of this system will require collaborative efforts across multiple fields to promote the high-quality development of the Chinese medicinal industry.

ObjectiveTo investigate the awareness and clinical practice of guidelines for the prevention and treatment of chronic hepatitis B （2022 edition） among clinicians. MethodsFrom July 19 to December 31， 2024， a self-designed electronic questionnaire was distributed via the WeChat mini program to collect related data from 1 588 clinicians nationwide， including their awareness and practice based on 18 questions regarding testing and referral， diagnosis and treatment， and follow-up. ResultsAmong all respondents， only 350 clinicians correctly understood all the updated key points of antiviral indications and treatment for special populations in the 2022 edition of guidelines for the prevention and treatment of chronic hepatitis B， with an overall awareness rate of 22.0%. Only 20% ‍—‍ ‍40% of the patients with positive HBV DNA and an age of >30 years receive antiviral therapy， while 80% ‍—‍ ‍100% of the patients with positive HBV DNA and a family history of hepatitis B cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma receive antiviral therapy. The median follow-up rates at 1 year， 3 years， and 5 years were 67.5% 57.5% and 47.5%，respectively， showing a trend of gradual reduction， which might be associated with the influencing factors such as insufficient time for follow-up management by clinicians， insufficient awareness of the disease among patients， and poor adherence to follow-up. ConclusionThere is a gap between the awareness and practice of guidelines for the prevention and treatment of chronic hepatitis B （2022 edition） among clinicians. It is recommended to further strengthen training and focus on the whole process of “detection， diagnosis， treatment， and management” for patients with chronic hepatitis B in healthcare institutions， in order to promote the implementation of the guidelines.

Objective:To investigate the differences in acute intestinal injury and regulatory mechanisms in mice following carbon ion FLASH radiotherapy (FLASH-RT) and conventional dose rate radiotherapy (CONV-RT).Methods:Healthy C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into three groups: control group, FLASH-RT group (100 Gy/s), and CONV-RT group (0.1 Gy/s), with 9 mice in each group. All mice received carbon ion whole abdominal radiotherapy. DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) and cell proliferation were evaluated by measuring the expression of phosphorylated histone H2AX (γ-H2AX) and nuclear-associated antigen 67 (Ki67) using immunohistochemistry; apoptosis was analyzed using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL); transcriptome sequencing was used to analyze the differences in molecular pathways between FLASH-RT and CONV-RT.Results:Compared with the CONV-RT group, the FLASH-RT group showed significantly reduced intestinal γ-H2AX signal at 3 h after radiotherapy ( t=3.80, P<0.01), significantly increased expression of Ki67 at the base of intestinal crypts at 6 h after radiotherapy ( t=4.30, P<0.001), and a significantly decreased number of TUNEL-positive cells at 12 h after radiotherapy ( t=3.08, P<0.01). Transcriptome sequencing analysis showed that FLASH-RT specifically activated the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) pathway, avoiding the excessive activation of CONV-RT-induced nuclear factor-κB and B cell receptor inflammatory pathways as well as the inhibition of energy metabolism. Conclusions:Compared with CONV-RT, carbon ion FLASH-RT can reduce DSB damage, preserve the proliferative activity of intestinal stem cells, activate the IGF pathway, and regulate inflammatory, immune, and metabolic pathways, thereby significantly alleviating acute intestinal epithelial injury. Specifically, the regulation of repair pathways mediated by reduced DSB and the inhibition of inflammatory pathways are potential protective mechanisms for normal tissues.

Objective To investigate the association between cavitary pulmonary tuberculosis and im-munonutritional status in the Kangbei Plateau and construct a prediction model.Methods A total of 121 pa-tients with active pulmonary tuberculosis treated at Ganzi County People's Hospital from June 2023 to June 2024 were retrospectively enrolled and divided into cavitary group(n=53)and non-cavitary group(n=68)based on imaging findings.Clinical and laboratory data were collected.Influencing factors for pulmonary cavi-tation in tuberculosis were screened using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis to construct a prediction model.The model's performance was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis and the Hosmer-Lemeshow test.Results The cavitary group had higher proportions of smokers,spu-tum-positive cases,patients with disease duration>6 months,and patients with respiratory symptoms at ini-tial diagnosis,as well as higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR),platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio(PLR),neutrophil count,and platelet count than the non-cavitary group(P<0.05).Conversely,the prognostic nutri-tional index(PNI),lymphocyte count,and albumin(ALB)level were lower in the cavitary group(P<0.05).Multivariate analysis identified disease duration,NLR,and ALB as influencing factors for pulmonary cavitation in tuberculosis patients(P<0.05).The prediction model yielded an area under the curve(AUC)of 0.909,and the Hosmer-Lemeshow test indicated good model fit(χ2=10.740,P=0.217).Conclusion Pulmonary cavitation in high-altitude tuberculosis patients is associated with disease duration,ALB,and NLR.The com-bined predictive value of these three indicators is high.

Objective To investigate the distribution and antimicrobial resistance profiles of clinically isolated Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis in hospitals across China from 2015 to 2021,and provide evidence for rational use of antimicrobial agents.Methods Data of H.influenzae and M.catarrhalis strains isolated from 2015 to 2021 in CHINET program were collected for analysis,and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by disc diffusion method or automated systems according to the uniform protocol of CHINET.The results were interpreted according to the CLSI breakpoints in 2022.Beta-lactamases was detected by using nitrocefin disk.Results From 2015 to 2021,a total of 43 642 strains of Haemophilus species were isolated,accounting for 2.91％of the total clinical isolates and 4.07％of Gram-negative bacteria in CHINET program.Among the 40 437 strains of H.influenzae,66.89％were isolated from children and 33.11％were isolated from adults.More than 90％of the H.influenzae strains were isolated from respiratory tract specimens.The prevalence of β-lactamase was 53.79％in H.influenzae strains.The H.influenzae strains isolated from children showed higher resistance rate than the strains isolated from adults.Overall,779 strains of H.influenzae did not produce β-lactamase but were resistant to ampicillin(BLNAR).Beta-lactamase-producing strains showed significantly higher resistance rates to these antimicrobial agents than the β-lactamase-nonproducing strains.Of the 16 191 M.catarrhalis strains,80.06％were isolated from children and 19.94％isolated from adults.M.catarrhalis strains were mostly susceptible to both amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and cefuroxime,evidenced by resistance rate lower than 2.0％.Conclusions The emergence of antibiotic-resistant H.influenzae due to β-lactamase production poses a challenge for clinical anti-infective treatment.Therefore,it is very important to implement antibiotic resistance surveillance for H.influenzae and guide rational antibiotic use.All local clinical microbiology laboratories should actively improve antibiotic susceptibility testing and strengthen antibiotic resistance surveillance for H.influenzae.

Objective To understand the changing composition and antibiotic resistance of bacterial species in the clinical isolates from outpatient and emergency department(hereinafter referred to as outpatients)and inpatient children over time in various hospitals,and to provide laboratory evidence for rational antibiotic use.Methods The data on clinically isolated pathogenic bacteria and antimicrobial susceptibility of isolates from outpatients and inpatient children in the CHINET program from 2015 to 2021 were collected and analyzed.Results A total of 278 471 isolates were isolated from pediatric patients in the CHINET program from 2015 to 2021.About 17.1％of the strains were isolated from outpatients,primarily group A β-hemolytic Streptococcus,Escherichia coli,and Staphylococcus aureus.Most of the strains(82.9％)were isolated from inpatients,mainly SS.aureus,E.coli,and H.influenzae.The prevalence of methicillin-resistant S.aureus(MRSA)in outpatients(24.5％)was lower than that in inpatient children(31.5％).The MRSA isolates from outpatients showed lower resistance rates to the antibiotics tested than the strains isolated from inpatient children.The prevalence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis or E.faecium and penicillin-resistant S.pneumoniae was low in either outpatients or inpatient children.S.pneumoniae,β-hemolytic Streptococcus and S.viridans showed high resistance rates to erythromycin.The prevalence of erythromycin-resistant group A β-hemolytic Streptococcus was higher in outpatients than that in inpatient children.The prevalence of β-lactamase-producing H.influenzae showed an overall upward trend in children,but lower in outpatients(45.1％)than in inpatient children(59.4％).The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae(CRKpn),carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa(CRPae)and carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii(CRAba)was 14％,11.7％,47.8％in outpatients,but 24.2％,20.6％,and 52.8％in inpatient children,respectively.The prevalence of multidrug-resistant E.coli,K.pneumoniae,Proteus mirabilis,P.aeruginosa and A.baumannii strains was lower in outpatients than in inpatient children.The prevalence of fluoroquinolone-resistant E.coli,ESBLs-producing K.pneumoniae,ESBLs-producing P.mirabilis,carbapenem-resistant E.coli(CREco),CRKpn,and CRPae was lower in children in outpatients than in inpatient children,but the prevalence of CRAba in 2021 was higher than in inpatient children.Conclusions The distribution of clinical isolates from children is different between outpatients and inpatients.The prevalence of MRSA,ESBL,and CRO was higher in inpatient children than in outpatients.Antibiotics should be used rationally in clinical practice based on etiological diagnosis and antimicrobial susceptibility test results.Ongoing antimicrobial resistance surveillance and prevention and control of hospital infections are crucial to curbing bacterial resistance.

Objective To investigate the changing antibiotic resistance profiles of E.coli isolated from patients in the 52 hospitals participating in the CHINET program from 2015 to 2021.Methods Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested for clinical isolates of E.coli according to the unified protocol of CHINET program.WHONET 5.6 and SPSS 20.0 software were used for data analysis.Results Atotal of 289 760 nonduplicate clinical strains ofE.coli were isolated from 2015 to 2021,mainly from urine samples(44.7±3.2)％.The proportion of E.coli strains isolated from urine samples was higher in females than in males(59.0％vs 29.5％).The proportion of E.coli strains isolated from respiratory tract and cerebrospinal fluid samples was significantly higher in children than in adults(16.7％vs 7.8％,0.8％vs 0.1％,both P＜0.05).The isolates from internal medicine department accounted for the largest proportion(28.9±2.8)％with an increasing trend over years.Overall,the prevalence of ESBLs-producing E.coli and carbapenem resistant E.coli(CREco)was 55.9％and 1.8％,respectively during the 7-year period.The prevalence of ESBLs-producing E.coli was the highest in tertiary hospitals each year from 2015 to 2021 compared to secondary hospitals.The prevalence of CREco was higher in children's hospitals compared to secondary and tertiary hospitals each year from 2015 to 2021.The prevalence of ESBLs-producing E.coli in tertiary hospitals and children's hospitals and the prevalence of CREco in children's hospitals showed a decreasing trend over the 7-year period.The prevalence of CREco in secondary and tertiary hospitals increased slowly.Antibiotic resistance rates changed slowly from 2015 to 2021.Carbapenem drugs(imipenem,meropenem)were the most active drugs amongβ-lactams against E.coli(resistance rate≤2.1％).The resistance rates of E.coli to β-lactam/β-lactam inhibitor combinations(piperacillin-tazobactam,cefoperazone-sulbactam),aminoglycosides(amikacin),nitrofurantoin and fosfomycin(for urinary isolates only)were all less than 10％.The resistance rate of E.coli strains to antibiotics varied with the level of hospitals and the departments where the strains were isolated,especially for cefazolin and ciprofloxacin,to which the resistance rate of E.coli strains from children in non-ICU departments was significantly lower than that of the strains isolated from other departments(P＜0.05).The E.coli isolates from ICU showed higher resistance rate to most antimicrobial agents tested(excluding tigecycline)than the strains isolated from other departments.The E.coli strains isolated from tertiary hospitals showed higher resistance rates to the antimicrobial agents tested(excluding tigecycline,polymyxin B,cefepime and carbapenems)than the strains from secondary hospitals and children's hospitals.Conclusions E.coli is an important pathogen causing clinical infection.More than half of the clinical isolates produced ESBL.The prevalence of CREco is increasing in secondary and tertiary hospitals over the 7-year period even though the overall prevalence is still low.This is an issue of concern.

Integrated medical curriculum is an important direction for the development of medical education. While integrated theoretical courses have been practiced for many years, integrated experiments are still in the exploratory stage. Taking the integrated experiments of medical microbiology and immunology in Xi'an Jiaotong University as an example, this article introduces the design concept, implementation details, effectiveness evaluation, improvements, and prospects of integrated experiments established based on clinical practice principles, so as to provide a reference for further optimization of integrated experiments in the future.