[Objective] To investigate the status and epidemiological characteristics of suspected acute respiratory tract infection (ARIS) in children at The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University from July 2023 to June 2024, so as to provide evidence for the prevention and treatment of children in this area. [Methods] A total of 12 169 throat swab samples were collected from children with ARIS during this period, including 6 535 male children and 5 634 female children, with an age of M(Q1, Q3) of 6(3, 9) years old. Six types of respiratory pathogens were detected by multiple real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. The children were grouped according to sex and age. Differences among groups were analyzed by χ² test, and epidemic characteristics of respiratory pathogens were explored from the perspectives of time dimension and infection type. [Results] Among the 12 169 samples, 8 241 were positive for six respiratory pathogens with a positive rate of 67.72% of which 6 823 (56.07%) were detected with single infection and 1 418 (11.65%) were detected with multiple infection. The detection rate of mycoplasma pneumonia (MP) ranked first (21.81%). Among the six pathogens, only human rhinovirus (HRV) showed statistically significant differences in gender (P=0.003). There were significant differences in the pathogens detection rate between the age groups (P<0.001), with the highest pathogens detection rate in the 6-14 years of age group (72.49%). In terms of monthly pathogen detection rate, there showed statistical differences between different months (P<0.001); except HRV, which had two peak detection rates throughout the year, the other five pathogens had only one peak detection rate and the peak months were not completely overlapping. The monthly pathogen detection rate in each age group showed a trend consistent with the overall trend, but in all months of the year, adenovirus (ADV) and MP showed higher detection rates in the age group of 3-14 years, while respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) showed higher detection rates in the age group of <3 years. Among 8 241 children infected with respiratory pathogens, the proportion of fifteen types of dual infections showed significant statistical differences (P<0.001) and ADV+ MP co-infection accounted for the highest proportion (4.02%). There were significant differences in the proportion of dual infection types among different age groups. HRV+ RSV co-infection was the highest pattern in the <1 year group (1.55%) and the 1-<3 years group (1.77%). while ADV+ MP was the most common type of co-infection in 3-<6 years group (2.94%) and 6-14 years group (5.26%). [Conclusion] Between 2023 and 2024, the pathogen patterns of respiratory tract infection of children in Xi’an were mainly single infection type and the detection rate of MP was the highest. With the increase of age, the detection rates of ADV, influenza virus B and MP increased, but RSV decreased. Except HRV, which had two peak detection rates in spring and autumn, the other five pathogens showed a trend of "staggered outbreaks" in winter and spring. While the multiple infection types were mostly dual infection, HRV+ RSV co-infection was the dominant infection type in infants (<3 years), while ADV+ MP co-infection was the dominant infection type in school-age children (3-14 years).

Objective:The investigation and research on the application status of Hepatic Venous Pressure Gradient (HVPG) is very important to understand the real situation and future development of this technology in China.Methods:This study comprehensively investigated the basic situation of HVPG technology in China, including hospital distribution, hospital level, annual number of cases, catheters used, average cost, indications and existing problems.Results:According to the survey, there were 70 hospitals in China carrying out HVPG technology in 2021, distributed in 28 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central Government). A total of 4 398 cases of HVPG were performed in all the surveyed hospitals in 2021, of which 2 291 cases (52.1%) were tested by HVPG alone. The average cost of HVPG detection was (5 617.2±2 079.4) yuan. 96.3% of the teams completed HVPG detection with balloon method, and most of the teams used thrombectomy balloon catheter (80.3%).Conclusion:Through this investigation, the status of domestic clinical application of HVPG has been clarified, and it has been confirmed that many domestic medical institutions have mastered this technology, but it still needs to continue to promote and popularize HVPG technology in the future.

Bacitracin is a broad-spectrum antibiotics mainly produced by Bacillus, and is used as veterinary medicine in the fields of livestock and poultry breeding. Insufficient supply of precursor amino acids might be an important factor that hinders high-level microbial production of bacitracin. We investigated the effect of strengthening L-cysteine supply on bacitracin production by an industrial bacitracin producer, Bacillus licheniformis DW2. Overexpression of cysK encoding L-cysteine synthase led to a 9.17% increase of the bacitracin titer. Moreover, overexpression of cysE encoding L-serine acetyltransferase and cysP encoding thiosulfate/sulfate intracellular transporter increased the bacitracin titers by 7.23% and 8.52%, respectively. Moreover, overexpression of a putative cystine importer TcyP led to a 29.19% increase of intracellular L-cysteine, and bacitracin titer was increased by 7.79%. Subsequently, the strong promoter PbacA was used to replace the promoters of genes cysP, cysE and tcyP in strain DW2::ysK, respectively. The resulted strain CYS4 (DW2::cysK-PbacA-(cysP)-PbacA(cysE)- PbacA(tcyP) produced 910.02 U/mL bacitracin, which was 21.10% higher than that of the original strain DW2 (747.71 U/mL). Together with the experiments in 3 L fermenters, this research demonstrated that enhancing intracellular L-cysteine supply is an effective strategy to increase bacitracin production of B. licheniformis.
Amino Acids ; Bacillus licheniformis/genetics* ; Bacitracin ; Cysteine ; Metabolic Engineering

Objective:To summarize the status and trends of papers published by Chinese scholars on the combination teaching model in the area of medical education in China.Methods:Literature retrieval was performed on CNKI, WanFang, and VIP database, and studies regarding to combination teaching model in medical education were selected and analyzed. BICOMS-2 analysis software was used to extract and sort out keywords, provinces, authors and their organizations and generate co-occurrence matrix and/or word matrix. NetDraw and gCLUTO software were used to draw the network relationship diagram and cluster analysis respectively.Results:Totally 99 articles were included this study, and the number of articles published each year showed an increasing trend. Authors from 15 provinces contributed to these articles, with uneven development and limited cooperation across regions. The authors were divided into 4 main groups, but the communication among these groups was not enough. And there were 3 main research topics.Conclusion:The number of articles on combination teaching model in medical education in China is increasing, covering many authors, teams, institutions and regions. However, the communication and cooperation among these authors and institutions needs to be strengthened; and the research topics should be expanded.

A lack of the complete pig proteome has left a gap in our knowledge of the pig genome and has restricted the feasibility of using pigs as a biomedical model.In this study,we developed a tissue-based proteome map using 34 major normal pig tissues.A total of 5841 unknown protein iso-forms were identified and systematically characterized,including 2225 novel protein isoforms,669 protein isoforms from 460 genes symbolized beginning with LOC,and 2947 protein isoforms with-out clear NCBI annotation in the current pig reference genome.These newly identified protein iso-forms were functionally annotated through profiling the pig transcriptome with high-throughput RNA sequencing of the same pig tissues,further improving the genome annotation of the corre-sponding protein-coding genes.Combining the well-annotated genes that have parallel expression pattern and subcellular witness,we predicted the tissue-related subcellular locations and potential functions for these unknown proteins.Finally,we mined 3081 orthologous genes for 52.7％of unknown protein isoforms across multiple species,referring to 68 KEGG pathways as well as 23 disease signaling pathways.These findings provide valuable insights and a rich resource for enhancing studies of pig genomics and biology,as well as biomedical model application to human medicine.

Objective To discuss the clinical value of IL-6 combined with CA125 and HE4 as a new association marker in the diagnosis of early ovarian cancer.Methods The expression of IL-6, CA125 and HE4 in 21 cases of early ovarian cancer (stageⅠ-Ⅱ), 36 cases of advanced ovarian cancer (stageⅢ-Ⅳ), 40 cases of benign ovarian tumor and 40 healthy women were measured by the Roche automatic chemiluminescence analyzer (electrochemiluminescence).The sensitⅣity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and ROC curves were used to evaluate the diagnostic value.Results The serum levels of IL-6, CA125 and HE4 in patients with ovarian cancer were significantly higher than those in the benign ovarian tumor and the healthy control (P＜0.05).The sensitⅣity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of IL-6 combined with CA125 and HE4 were respectively 85.7％, 90％, 81.8％, 92.3％in the diagnosis of early ovarian cancer (stageⅠ-Ⅱ) patients and respectively 94.4％, 97.5％, 97.1％and 95.1％for advanced ovarian cancer (stageⅢ-Ⅳ) patients.For IL-6 combined with CA125 and HE4, the ROC AUC was respectively 0.955 4 and 0.974 0 for early ovarian cancer (stageⅠ-Ⅱ) patients and advanced ovarian cancer (stageⅢ-Ⅳ) patients.It performed significantly better than any single test of IL-6, CA125 and HE4 and the 2-marker combination of CA125+HE4.Conclusion The marker panel, IL-6, CA125 and HE4, shows higher sensitⅣity, positive predictive value and ROC AUC.It is an ideal serum marker combination for the diagnosis of early ovarian cancer (stageⅠ-Ⅱ) patients, which can improve the diagnostic efficiency of early ovarian cancer.

Objective To design water-equivalent plastic scintillator detector for the measurement of absorbed dose in tumor radiotherapy.Methods The concentration of ZrO2to be doped in polystyrene was estimated according to the empirical formula,and then the Monte Carlo program Geant 4(GEometry And Tracking 4)was used to simulate the energy deposition and transport process of X-rays with different energies in water,solid water RW34(composed of 2.1 wt％TiO2doping polystyrene)and different concentrations of ZrO2particles doped in polystyrene.The dose and attenuation coefficients were compared among different materials at different depths of water.Results The doses at different depths and the attenuation coefficient of polystyrene(doped with about 0.4 wt％ZrO2nanoparticles)were much more consistent with those of water and even exhibit much better water-equivalence than RW34.Conclusions The simulation results provide the basis for the development of water-equivalent scintillator.

Objective To study the impact of preoperative nutritional support on the clinical outcomes in patients with malnutrition who underwent transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for hepatocellular carcinoma.Methods 46 patients with malnutrition underwent TACE after operation for primary liver cancer were randomly divided into the experimental group (n =23) and the control group (n =23).The patients in the experimental group received preoperative nutritional support,but patients in the control group did not receive preoperative nutrition support.The preoperative and postoperative nutritional status,the incidences of postoperative complication,the liver function,the lengths of hospital stay,the costs of nutrition support and the costs of hospitalization were compared between the two groups.Results On the day before the operation,on postoperative day 1,day 7,and one month,the levels of serum albumin,and on the postoperative day 7 and one month,the levels of pre-albumin were significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group,and the differences were significantly different [(38.4 ± 1.5) g/L vs.(32.8±0.8) g/L,(37.6±1.3) g/Lvs.(31.4±0.9) g/L,(39.0±1.6) g/L vs.(32.0±0.7) g/L,(39.8±2.2) g/L vs.(33.0±2.0) g/L,respectively,P＜0.05],[(160.0±14.6) mg/L vs.(131.0 ± 16.5) mg/L,(163.0 ± 17.7) mg/L vs.(135.0 ± 17.1) mg/L,respectively,P ＜0.05].The incidences of complication were significantly lower in the experimental group than that of the control group (52.2％ vs.91.3％,P ＜0.05).The length of hospital stay in the experimental group was shorter than that of the control group [(19.9 ± 2.0) d vs.(24.8 ± 2.7) d,P ＜ 0.05].The cost in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group [(20 108.9 ± 1 142.4) yuan vs.(23 174.1 ± 1 128.5) yuan,P ＜ 0.05].The cost in nutrition support in the experimental group was similar to that of the control group (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions Preoperative nutritional support was helpful in reducing the incidence of postoperative complications,in shortening the length of hospital stay and in reducing medical costs.Nutritional support improved the nutritional status of the patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma after surgery and TACE.

Mitophagy is an essential intracellular process that eliminates dysfunctional mitochondria and maintains cellular homeostasis. Mitophagy is regulated by the post-translational modification of mitophagy receptors. Fun14 domain-containing protein 1 (FUNDC1) was reported to be a new receptor for hypoxia-induced mitophagy in mammalian cells and interact with microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 beta (LC3B) through its LC3 interaction region (LIR). Moreover, the phosphorylation modification of FUNDC1 affects its binding affinity for LC3B and regulates selective mitophagy. However, the structural basis of this regulation mechanism remains unclear. Here, we present the crystal structure of LC3B in complex with a FUNDC1 LIR peptide phosphorylated at Ser17 (pS), demonstrating the key residues of LC3B for the specific recognition of the phosphorylated or dephosphorylated FUNDC1. Intriguingly, the side chain of LC3B Lys49 shifts remarkably and forms a hydrogen bond and electrostatic interaction with the phosphate group of FUNDC1 pS. Alternatively, phosphorylated Tyr18 (pY) and Ser13 (pS) in FUNDC1 significantly obstruct their interaction with the hydrophobic pocket and Arg10 of LC3B, respectively. Structural observations are further validated by mutation and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) assays. Therefore, our structural and biochemical results reveal a working model for the specific recognition of FUNDC1 by LC3B and imply that the reversible phosphorylation modification of mitophagy receptors may be a switch for selective mitophagy.
Crystallography, X-Ray ; Membrane Proteins ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Mitochondrial Degradation ; Mitochondrial Proteins ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Peptides ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Phosphorylation ; Protein Structure, Quaternary

Objective:To explore the relationship between development of social skills and executive function and theory of mind in children and adolescents with autism.Methods:Forty-six children and adolescents with autism aged 6 to 17 years were recruited.The diagnosis was made according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder,Fourth Edition(DSM-Ⅳ),and severe mental disorders were excluded by the screening of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age children (K-SADS).The Rey Complex Figure Test (RCFT),Trail-Making Test,Verbal Fluency Test,Stroop Color-word Task,the First-Order Belief Test and the Second-Order Belief Test were used to assess executive function and theory of mind,and Social Response Scale (SRS) was used to assess social skills.The correlation between results of Executive Function and SRS was analyzed.The SRS scores between groups passing and without passing of First-Order Belief Test and Second-Order Belief were compared.Results:In the aspect of Executive Function,RCFT scores were positively correlated with autistic behavior factor score of SRS (r =0.31-0.41,Ps ＜ 0.05),meanwhile,immediate recall structure scores of RCFT were positively correlated with social motivation factor scores of SRS (r =0.30,P ＜ 0.05),delayed recall structure scores of RCFT were positively correlated with SRS total scores(r =0.34,P ＜ 0.05).In Stroop Colorword Task,errors of the first task were positively correlated with social cognitive factor scores of SRS (r =0.32,P ＜ 0.05).There were no correlation between other Executive Function results and SRS scores (r =-0.21-0.24,Ps ≥0.05).In the aspect of Theory of Mind,there was no significant difference in SRS scores between groups passing or without passing (t =-0.68-1.73,Ps ≥ 0.05).Conclusion:The development of social skill in children and adolescents with autism may have relationship withexecutive function,but have no relationship with the theory of mind.