ObjectiveExisting artificial vision devices can be divided into two types: implanted devices and extracorporeal devices, both of which have some disadvantages. The former requires surgical implantation, which may lead to irreversible trauma, while the latter has some defects such as relatively simple instructions, limited application scenarios and relying too much on the judgment of artificial intelligence (AI) to provide enough security. Here we propose a system that has voice interaction and can convert surrounding environment information into tactile commands on head and neck. Compared with existing extracorporeal devices, our device can provide a larger capacity of information and has advantages such as lower cost, lower risk, suitable for a variety of life and work scenarios. MethodsWith the latest remote wireless communication and chip technologies, microelectronic devices, cameras and sensors worn by the user, as well as the huge database and computing power in the cloud, the backend staff can get a full insight into the scenario, environmental parameters and status of the user remotely (for example, across the city) in real time. In the meanwhile, by comparing the cloud database and in-memory database and with the help of AI-assisted recognition and manual analysis, they can quickly develop the most reasonable action plan and send instructions to the user. In addition, the backend staff can provide humanistic care and emotional sustenance through voice dialogs. ResultsThis study originally proposes the concept of “remote virtual companion” and demonstrates the related hardware and software as well as test results. The system can not only achieve basic guide functions, for example, helping a person with visual impairment to shop in supermarkets, find seats at cafes, walk on the streets, construct complex puzzles, and play cards, but also can meet the demand for fast-paced daily tasks such as cycling. ConclusionExperimental results show that this “remote virtual companion” is applicable for various scenarios and demands. It can help blind people with their travels, shopping and entertainment, or accompany the elderlies with their trips, wilderness explorations, and travels.

With the increasing application of immune checkpoint inhibitors(ICI)in anti-tumor therapy,ICI related infections are often neglected.Mycobacterium tuberculosis(MTB)is also a common pathogen.We reported a case of ICI related pulmonary tuberculosis from Zhongshan Hospital,Fudan University.Meanwhile,18 cases of ICI related tuberculosis infection were collected through literature search,and the characteristics of ICI related tuberculosis were analyzed to improve the understanding in clinic practice.All the cases were confirmed TB including 15 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis(1 case with complication of intestinal tuberculosis)and 4 cases of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis(1 case of disseminated tuberculosis,bone tuberculosis,tuberculous pericarditis and tuberculous pleurisy,respectively).The chest CT characteristics of pulmonary tuberculosis mainly included centrilobular nodules,ground glass nodules,empty lesions,patchy shadows,consolidation and large infiltration.Eighteen cases started anti-tuberculosis treatment,while 4 cases continued ICI treatment.Three cases suspended ICI(2 cases had remission after reuse)and 11 cases stopped ICI,and 1 case was not mentioned.ICI related tuberculosis may be a direct complication of tumor immunotherapy.It is necessary to screen tuberculosis infection and exclude active tuberculosis before immunotherapy.If there are suspected symptoms such as fever,cough and sputum during ICI treatment,active tuberculosis should be taken into account.

Objective To investigate the risk factors for bronchopulmonary dysplasia(BPD)in twin preterm infants with a gestational age of<34 weeks,and to provide a basis for early identification of BPD in twin preterm infants in clinical practice.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the twin preterm infants with a gestational age of<34 weeks who were admitted to 22 hospitals nationwide from January 2018 to December 2020.According to their conditions,they were divided into group A(both twins had BPD),group B(only one twin had BPD),and group C(neither twin had BPD).The risk factors for BPD in twin preterm infants were analyzed.Further analysis was conducted on group B to investigate the postnatal risk factors for BPD within twins.Results A total of 904 pairs of twins with a gestational age of<34 weeks were included in this study.The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that compared with group C,birth weight discordance of>25%between the twins was an independent risk factor for BPD in one of the twins(OR=3.370,95%CI:1.500-7.568,P<0.05),and high gestational age at birth was a protective factor against BPD(P<0.05).The conditional logistic regression analysis of group B showed that small-for-gestational-age(SGA)birth was an independent risk factor for BPD in individual twins(OR=5.017,95%CI:1.040-24.190,P<0.05).Conclusions The development of BPD in twin preterm infants is associated with gestational age,birth weight discordance between the twins,and SGA birth.

Objective To investigate the distribution and antimicrobial resistance profiles of the common pathogens isolated from urine from 2015 to 2021 in the CHINET Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program.Methods The bacterial strains were isolated from urine and identified routinely in 51 hospitals across China in the CHINET Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program from 2015 to 2021.Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by Kirby-Bauer method,automatic microbiological analysis system and E-test according to the unified protocol.Results A total of 261 893 nonduplicate strains were isolated from urine specimen from 2015 to 2021,of which gram-positive bacteria accounted for 23.8％(62 219/261 893),and gram-negative bacteria 76.2％(199 674/261 893).The most common species were E.coli(46.7％),E.faecium(10.4％),K.pneumoniae(9.8％),E.faecalis(8.7％),P.mirabilis(3.5％),P.aeruginosa(3.4％),SS.agalactiae(2.6％),and E.cloacae(2.1％).The strains were more frequently isolated from inpatients versus outpatients and emergency patients,from females versus males,and from adults versus children.The prevalence of ESBLs-producing strains in E.coli,K.pneumoniae and P.mirabilis was 53.2％,52.8％and 37.0％,respectively.The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant strains in E.coli,K.pneumoniae,P.aeruginosa and A.baumannii was 1.7％,18.5％,16.4％,and 40.3％,respectively.Lower than 10％of the E.faecalis isolates were resistant to ampicillin,nitrofurantoin,linezolid,vancomycin,teicoplanin and fosfomycin.More than 90％of the E.faecium isolates were ressitant to ampicillin,levofloxacin and erythromycin.The percentage of strains resistant to vancomycin,linezolid or teicoplanin was＜2％.The E.coli,K.pneumoniae,P.aeruginosa and A.baumannii strains isolated from ICU inpatients showed significantly higher resistance rates than the corresponding strains isolated from outpatients and non-ICU inpatients.Conclusions E.coli,Enterococcus and K.pneumoniae are the most common pathogens in urinary tract infection.The bacterial species and antimicrobial resistance of urinary isolates vary with different populations.More attention should be paid to antimicrobial resistance surveillance and reduce the irrational use of antimicrobial agents.

Objective To understand the distribution and changing resistance profiles of clinical isolates of Enterococcus in hospitals across China from 2015 to 2021.Methods Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was conducted for the clinical isolates of Enterococcus according to the unified protocol of CHINET program by automated systems,Kirby-Bauer method,or E-test strip.The results were interpreted according to the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)breakpoints in 2021.WHONET 5.6 software was used for statistical analysis.Results A total of 124 565 strains of Enterococcus were isolated during the 7-year period,mainly including Enterococcus faecalis(50.7％)and Enterococcus faecalis(41.5％).The strains were mainly isolated from urinary tract specimens(46.9％±2.6％),and primarily from the patients in the department of internal medicine,surgery and ICU.E.faecium and E.faecalis strains showed low level resistance rate to vancomycin,teicoplanin and linezolid(≤3.6％).The prevalence of vancomycin-resistant E.faecalis and E.faecium was 0.1％and 1.3％,respectively.The prevalence of linezolid-resistant E.faecalis increased from 0.7％in 2015 to 3.4％in 2021,while the prevalence of linezolid-resistant E.faecium was 0.3％.Conclusions The clinical isolates of Enterococcus were still highly susceptible to vancomycin,teicoplanin,and linezolid,evidenced by a low resistance rate.However,the prevalence of linezolid-resistant E.faecalis was increasing during the 7-year period.It is necessary to strengthen antimicrobial resistance surveillance to effectively identify the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and curb the spread of resistant pathogens.

Objective To examine the changing antimicrobial resistance profile of Enterobacter spp.isolates in 53 hospitals across China from 2015 t0 2021.Methods The clinical isolates of Enterobacter spp.were collected from 53 hospitals across China during 2015-2021 and tested for antimicrobial susceptibility using Kirby-Bauer method or automated testing systems according to the CHINET unified protocol.The results were interpreted according to the breakpoints issued by the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)in 2021(M100 31st edition)and analyzed with WHONET 5.6 software.Results A total of 37 966 Enterobacter strains were isolated from 2015 to 2021.The proportion of Enterobacter isolates among all clinical isolates showed a fluctuating trend over the 7-year period,overall 2.5％in all clinical isolates amd 5.7％in Enterobacterale strains.The most frequently isolated Enterobacter species was Enterobacter cloacae,accounting for 93.7％(35 571/37 966).The strains were mainly isolated from respiratory specimens(44.4±4.6)％,followed by secretions/pus(16.4±2.3)％and urine(16.0±0.9)％.The strains from respiratory samples decreased slightly,while those from sterile body fluids increased over the 7-year period.The Enterobacter strains were mainly isolated from inpatients(92.9％),and only(7.1±0.8)％of the strains were isolated from outpatients and emergency patients.The patients in surgical wards contributed the highest number of isolates(24.4±2.9)％compared to the inpatients in any other departement.Overall,≤ 7.9％of the E.cloacae strains were resistant to amikacin,tigecycline,polymyxin B,imipenem or meropenem,while ≤5.6％of the Enterobacter asburiae strains were resistant to these antimicrobial agents.E.asburiae showed higher resistance rate to polymyxin B than E.cloacae(19.7％vs 3.9％).Overall,≤8.1％of the Enterobacter gergoviae strains were resistant to tigecycline,amikacin,meropenem,or imipenem,while 10.5％of these strains were resistant to polycolistin B.The overall prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter was 10.0％over the 7-year period,but showing an upward trend.The resistance profiles of Enterobacter isolates varied with the department from which they were isolated and whether the patient is an adult or a child.The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant E.cloacae was the highest in the E.cloacae isolates from ICU patients.Conclusions The results of the CHINET Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program indicate that the proportion of Enterobacter strains in all clinical isolates fluctuates slightly over the 7-year period from 2015 to 2021.The Enterobacter strains showed increasing resistance to multiple antimicrobial drugs,especially carbapenems over the 7-year period.

Objective To understand the changing distribution and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Proteus,Morganella and Providencia in hospitals across China from January 1,2015 to December 31,2021 in the CHINET Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program.Methods Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out following the unified CHINET protocol.The results were interpreted in accordance with the breakpoints in the 2021 Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)M100(31 st Edition).Results A total of 32 433 Enterobacterales strains were isolated during the 7-year period,including 24 160 strains of Proteus,6 704 strains of Morganella,and 1 569 strains of Providencia.The overall number of these Enterobacterales isolates increased significantly over the 7-year period.The top 3 specimen source of these strains were urine,lower respiratory tract specimens,and wound secretions.Proteus,Morganella,and Providencia isolates showed lower resistance rates to amikacin,meropenem,cefoxitin,cefepime,cefoperazone-sulbactam,and piperacillin-tazobactam.For most of the antibiotics tested,less than 10％of the Proteus and Morganella strains were resistant,while less than 20％of the Providencia strains were resistant.The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales(CRE)was 1.4％in Proteus isolates,1.9％in Morganella isolates,and 15.6％in Providencia isolates.Conclusions The overall number of clinical isolates of Proteus,Morganella and Providencia increased significantly in the 7-year period from 2015 to 2021.The prevalence of CRE strains also increased.More attention should be paid to antimicrobial resistance surveillance and rational antibiotic use so as to prevent the emergence and increase of antimicrobial resistance.

Objective To understand the changing distribution and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Klebsiella strains in 52 hospitals across China in the CHINET Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program from 2015 to 2021.Methods Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out according to the unified CHINET protocol.The susceptibility results were interpreted according to the breakpoints in the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)M100 document.Results A total of 241,549 nonduplicate Klebsiella strains were isolated from 2015 to 2021,including Klebsiella pneumoniae(88.0％),Klebsiella aerogenes(5.8％),Klebsiella oxytoca(5.7％),and other Klebsiella species(0.6％).Klebsiella strains were mainly isolated from respiratory tract(48.49±5.32)％.Internal medicine(22.79±3.28)％,surgery(17.98±3.10)％,and ICU(14.03±1.39)％were the top 3 departments where Klebsiella strains were most frequently isolated.K.pneumoniae isolates showed higher resistance rate to most antimicrobial agents compared to other Klebsiella species.Klebsiella isolates maintained low resistance rates to tigecycline and polymyxin B.ESBLs-producing K.pneumoniae and K.oxytoca strains showed higher resistance rates to all the antimicrobial agents tested compared to the corresponding ESBLs-nonproducing strains.The K.pneumoniae and carbapenem-resistant K.pneumoniae(CRKP)strains isolated from ICU patients demonstrated higher resistance rates to majority of the antimicrobial agents tested than the strains isolated from non-ICU patients.The CRKP strains isolated from adult patients had higher resistance rates to most of the antimicrobial agents tested than the corresponding CRKP strains isolated from paediatric patients.Conclusions The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant strains in Klebsiella isolates increased greatly from 2015 to 2021.However,the Klebsiella isolates remained highly susceptible to tigecycline and polymyxin B.Antimicrobial resistance surveillance should still be strengthened for Klebsiella strains.

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.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract and is characterized by alternating periods of inflammation and remission. Although UC incidence is lower in Taiwan than in Western countries, its impact remains considerable, demanding updated guidelines for addressing local healthcare challenges and patient needs. The revised guidelines employ international standards and recent research, emphasizing practical implementation within the Taiwanese healthcare system. Since the inception of the guidelines in 2017, the Taiwan Society of Inflammatory Bowel Disease has acknowledged the need for ongoing revisions to incorporate emerging therapeutic options and evolving disease management practices. This updated guideline aims to align UC management with local contexts, ensuring comprehensive and context-specific recommendations, thereby raising the standard of care for UC patients in Taiwan. By adapting and optimizing international protocols for local relevance, these efforts seek to enhance health outcomes for patients with UC.