ObjectiveTo characterize the seasonal patterns of influenza in Kunming City, Yunnan Province before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and provide scientific evidence for optimizing influenza prevention and control strategies. MethodsInfluenza-like illness (ILI) and etiological surveillance data for influenza from the 14^th week of 2010 to the 13^th week of 2024 in Kunming City of Yunnan Province were collected. Harmonic regression models were constructed to analyze the epidemic characteristics and seasonal patterns of influenza before (2010/2011‒2019/2020 influenza seasons), during (2020/2021‒2022/2023 influenza seasons), and after (2023/2024 influenza season) the COVID-19 pandemic. ResultsBefore the COVID-19 pandemic, influenza in Kunming City mainly exhibited an annual cyclic pattern without a significant semi-annual periodicity, peaking from December to February of the next year, with an epidemic duration of 20‒30 weeks. During the pandemic, influenza seasonality shifted, with an increase in semi-annual periodicity and an approximate one month delay in annual peaks. However, after the pandemic, the annual amplitude of influenza increased compared with that before the pandemic, and the epidemic duration extended by about one month. Although the annual peak largely reverted to the pre-pandemic levels, the annual peaks for different influenza subtypes/lineages had not fully recovered. ConclusionInfluenza seasonality in Kunming City underwent substantial alterations following the COVID-19 pandemic and has not yet fully reverted to pre-pandemic levels. Continuous surveillance on different subtypes/lineages of influenza viruses remains essential, and prevention and control strategies should be adjusted and optimized in a timely manner based on current epidemic trends.

Objective:To investigate the current status of endoscopic treatment for gastroesophageal varices in portal hypertension in China, and to provide supporting data and reference for the development of endoscopic treatment.Methods:In this study, initiated by the Liver Health Consortium in China (CHESS), a questionnaire was designed and distributed online to investigate the basic condition of endoscopic treatment for gastroesophageal varices in portal hypertension in 2022 in China. Questions included annual number and indication of endoscopic procedures, adherence to guideline for preventing esophagogastric variceal bleeding (EGVB), management and timing of emergent EGVB, management of gastric and isolated varices, and improvement of endoscopic treatment. Proportions of hospitals concerning therapeutic choices to all participant hospitals were calculated. Guideline adherence between secondary and tertiary hospitals were compared by using Chi-square test.Results:A total of 836 hospitals from 31 provinces (anotomous regions and municipalities) participated in the survey. According to the survey, the control of acute EGVB (49.3%, 412/836) and the prevention of recurrent bleeding (38.3%, 320/836) were major indications of endoscopic treatment. For primary [non-selective β-blocker (NSBB) or endoscopic therapies] and secondary prophylaxis (NSBB and endoscopic therapies) of EGVB, adherence to domestic guideline was 72.5% (606/836) and 39.2% (328/836), respectively. There were significant differences in the adherence between secondary and tertiary hospitals in primary prophylaxis of EGVB [71.0% (495/697) VS 79.9% (111/139), χ2=4.11, P=0.033] and secondary prophylaxis of EGVB [41.6% (290/697) VS 27.3% (38/139), χ2=9.31, P=0.002]. A total of 78.2% (654/836) hospitals preferred endoscopic therapies treating acute EGVB, and endoscopic therapy was more likely to be the first choice for treating acute EGVB in tertiary hospitals (82.6%, 576/697) than secondary hospitals [56.1% (78/139), χ2=46.33, P<0.001]. The optimal timing was usually within 12 hours (48.5%, 317/654) and 12-24 hours (36.9%, 241/654) after the bleeding. Regarding the management of gastroesophageal varices type 2 and isolated gastric varices type 1, most hospitals used cyanoacrylate injection in combination with sclerotherapy [48.2% (403/836) and 29.9% (250/836), respectively], but substantial proportions of hospitals preferred clip-assisted therapies [12.4% (104/836) and 26.4% (221/836), respectively]. Improving the skills of endoscopic doctors (84.2%, 704/836), and enhancing the precision of pre-procedure evaluation and quality of multidisciplinary team (78.9%, 660/836) were considered urgent needs in the development of endoscopic treatment. Conclusion:A variety of endoscopic treatments for gastroesophageal varices in portal hypertension are implemented nationwide. Participant hospitals are active to perform emergent endoscopy for acute EGVB, but are inadequate in following recommendations regarding primary and secondary prophylaxis of EGVB. Moreover, the selection of endoscopic procedures for gastric varices differs greatly among hospitals.

In March 2024,the World Health Organization released the latest version of guidelines for the prevention,diagnosis,care and treatment for people with chronic hepatitis B infection.The guidelines were updated in several aspects,including expanding and simplifying the indications for chronic hepatitis B treatment,adding alternative antiviral treatment regimens,broadening the indications for antiviral therapy to prevent mother-to-child transmission,improving the diagnosis of hepatitis B virus,and adding hepatitis D virus(HDV)testing.This article summarizes and gives an excerpt of the recommendations in the guidelines.

The global chronic hepatitis B (CHB) guidelines have gradually expanded treatment indications in order to accelerate the elimination and improve the treatment rate of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. This article analyzes the new treatment concepts for chronic hepatitis B at home and abroad from two aspects: expanding treatment by paying more attention to the long-term prognosis of the disease and maximizing the use of existing drugs in order to achieve the early goal of the World Health Organization's of eliminating viral hepatitis by 2030.

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.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease(MASLD)is the most prevalent chronic liver disease globally,with only one Food and Drug Administration(FDA)-approved drug for its treatment.Given MASLD's complex pathophysiology,ther-apies that simultaneously target multiple pathways are highly desirable.One promising approach is dual-modulation of the famesoid X receptor(FXR),which regulates lipid and bile acid metabolism.However,FXR agonists alone are insufficient due to their limited anti-inflammatory effects.This study aimed to dto identify natural products capable of both FXR activation and inflammation inhibition to provide a comprehensive therapeutic approach for MASLD.Potential FXR ligands from the Natural Product Library were predicted via virtual screening using the Protein Preparation Wizard module in Schrodinger(2018)for molecular docking.Direct binding and regulation of candidate compounds on FXR were analyzed using surface plasmon resonance(SPR)binding assay,reporter gene ana-lysis,and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).The anti-inflammatory properties of these compounds were eval-uated in AML12 cells treated with tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-α).Dual-function compounds with FXR agonism and inflamma-tion inhibition were further identified in cells transfected with Fxr siRNA and treated with TNF-α.The effects of these dual-function compounds on lipid accumulation and inflammation were evaluated in cells treated with palmitic acid.Results revealed that 17 natural products were predicted via computational molecular docking as potential FXR agonists,with 15 exhibiting a strong affinity for FXR recombinant protein.Nine isoflavone compounds significantly enhanced FXR reporter luciferase activity and the mRNA expressions of Shp and Ostb.Structure-activity relationship analysis indicated that introducing isopropyl or methoxy groups at the C7 position or a methoxy group at the C6 position could enhance the agonistic efficacy of isoflavones.Three compounds(2,6,and 8)were identified as dual-function natural products functioning as FXR agonists and inflammatory inhibitors,while one compound(12)acted as an FXR agonist to inhibit inflammation.These natural products protected hepatocytes against palmitic acid-induced lipid accumulation and in-flammation.In conclusion,compounds 2,6,and 8(genistein,biochanin A,and 7-methoxyisoflavone,respectively)were identified as dual-function bioactive products that transactivate FXR and inhibit inflammation,serving as potential candidates or lead compounds for MASLD therapy.

Objective:To investigate the value of SHOX2 and RASSF1A gene promoter region methylation detection for screening and diagnosis of early-stage lung adenocarcinoma.Methods:The mRNA sequencing data of 471 lung adenocarcinoma patients and corresponding methylation data of 413 cases were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, the methylation levels of SHOX2 and RASSF1A gene promoter regions were calculated, and the difference in methy lation level between normal lung tissues and tumor tissues was analyzed. The clinical data of 54 patients with early-stage lung adenocarcinoma and 31 patients with benign lung tumors who underwent surgery at Drum Tower Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University Medical School from January 2018 to January 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. The methylation status of SHOX2 and RASSF1A in tumor tissues and normal lung tissues (>5 cm from the edge of the tumor foci) (called clinical samples) was detect, and a positive methylation in the promoter region of either gene was considered as a combination of two genes methylation positivity. Using pathological diagnosis as the gold standard, the efficacy of gene methylation positivity in diagnosing early-stage lung adenocarcinoma was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Patients with >80% of tumor cells in paraffin samples were screened, and mRNA high-throughput sequencing was performed in their tumor tissues and normal lung tissues. The relationship between positive methylation of the two genes and clinicopathological features was analyzed, and the correlation between the promoter region methylation level of the two genes and mRNA expression levels in clinical samples and TCGA database samples was analyzed by Spearman method. Gene set variance analysis (GSVA) method was used to analyze the differences in Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment pathways between two-gene methylation-positive clinical lung adenocarcinoma samples and corresponding methylation-negative lung adenocarcinoma.Results:In TCGA database, the SHOX2 promoter region methylation island contained 6 sequenced methylation sites, of which sites cg04532033 and cg01557547 methylation levels were higher in lung adenocarcinoma tissues than in normal lung tissues (both P < 0.05); the RASSF1A gene promoter region methylation island contained 11 sequenced methylation sites, and the methylation levels of 6 of these sites in lung adenocarcinoma tissues were higher than those in normal lung tissues (all P < 0.05). Compared with normal lung tissues, the methylation level of SHOX2 promoter region was higher in stage Ⅰ and Ⅱ lung adenocarcinoma tissues (both P < 0.05); the methylation level of RASSF1A promoter region was higher in all stages of lung adenocarcinoma ( P < 0.001). Among 54 patients with early-stage lung adenocarcinoma, 28 were positive for SHOX2 promoter region methylation in tumor tissues, 21 were positive for RASSF1A promoter region methylation, and 40 were positive for combined methylation of both genes; 31 benign lung nodules were negative for SHOX2 and RASSF1A methylation. ROC curve analysis showed that the sensitivity of positive SHOX2 promoter region methylation for diagnosing early-stage lung adenocarcinoma was higher than that of RASSF1A promoter region methylation positivity (51.8% vs. 38.9%), and the area under the curve (AUC) for diagnosis by two-gene methylation positivity was larger than that for diagnosis by SHOX2 or RASSF1A gene methylation positivity alone (0.870 vs. 0.759 and 0.694). The circulating thresholds (Ct) of SHOX2 and RASSF1A methylation tested by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in stage Ⅰ and Ⅱ lung adenocarcinoma were lower than those in normal lung tissues (all P < 0.05); patients with two-gene methylation positivity were characterized by older age, longer tumor longest diameter and more advanced pathological stage compared with patients with two-gene methylation negativity (all P < 0.05). In clinical stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ lung adenocarcinoma samples, the Ct of SHOX2 and RASSF1A promoter region methylation tested by qRT-PCR was negatively correlated with their mRNA relative expression levels ( r=-0.43, P = 0.003; r = -0.48, P = 0.001); in TCGA database stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ lung adenocarcinoma samples, the level of SHOX2 promoter region methylation was negatively correlated with its mRNA relative expression level ( r = -0.23, P < 0.001), and the level of RASSF1A promoter region methylation was also negatively correlated with its mRNA relative expression level, but without statistical difference ( r = -0.05, P = 0.310). In two-gene promoter methylation-positive lung adenocarcinoma samples, the pathways related to folate metabolism and DNA stability were upregulated, and the pathways related to vasoconstriction and cell growth and differentiation were downregulated. Conclusions:The combined detection of SHOX2 and RASSF1A promoter region methylation can be used as an indicator for screening and diagnosis of early-stage lung adenocarcinoma. Abnormal promoter region methylation of the two genes may affect multiple tumor-related pathways and promote the occurrence and progression of early-stage lung adenocarcinoma.

Objective: To screen the differential expression profile of circular RNA (circRNA) in pancreatic cancer and analyze its potential function. Methods: Four pairs of pancreatic cancer tissues and corresponding adjacent pancreatic tissues were selected for high⁃throughput sequencing , and the differentially expressed circRNA was screened according to fold change > 2 and P < 0. 05. qRT⁃PCR was used to detect the expression of 5 randomly selected differentially expressed circRNA in 20 pairs of pancreatic cancer tissue samples. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis of differentially expressed circRNA was performed , and the top 50 circRNA⁃microRNA interaction network was constructed. The relationship between hsa_circ_0046523 and the clinicopathological features of pancreatic cancer was further analyzed , and the effects of hsa_circ_0046523 on the proliferation , migration and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells were observed by functional experiments. Results: A total of 17 182 circRNA were predicted by high⁃throughput sequencing , of which 302 circRNA were differentially expressed including 137 circRNA were upregulated and 165 circRNA were downregulated in pancreatic cancer tissues. The qRT⁃PCR results showed that the expression levels of hsa_circ_0046523 , hsa_circ_0004220 and hsa_circ_0000690 in pancreatic cancer tis⁃sues were significantly upregulated (P<0.05)，while the expression levels of hsa_ ir_0008676 and hisa _ circ_0004416 were significantly downregulated (P<0.05）.which was consistent with the sequencing results.GO analysis indicated that differentially expressed circRNA were mainly involved in substrate-dependent cell migration, protein kinase complex and cytoskeletal protein bindinig.KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that differentially expressed circRNA were mainly involved in protein digestion and absorption , ABC transporters , central carbon metabolism in cancer,and glycineserine and threonine metabolism pathways.The expression level of hsa_ circ_0046523 was closely correlated with tumor differentiation (P=0.002),T stage (P=0.006),lymph node metastasis (P=0.011) and TNM stage (P=0.001).Compared with HPDE6-C7 cells the expression of hsa_circ_0046523 significantly inc increased in pancreatic cancer SW1990, Mia PaCa-2BxPC-3 and Capan-2 ceIls (P<0.05). hsa_circ_ 0046523 knockdown significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of pancreatic cancer Mia PaCa⁃2 BxPC⁃3 cells (P < 0. 05) . Conclusion There are characteristic differentially expressed circRNAs in pancreatic cancer tissues , and these differentially expressed circRNAs may be involved in the occurrence and development of pancreatic cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the genetic basis for a child with succinate semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency. METHODS: Peripheral blood samples of the proband and his parents were collected and subjected to Sanger sequencing. High-throughput sequencing was used to verify the gene variants. Bioinformatic software was used to analyze the pathogenicity of the variant sites. RESULTS: Sanger sequencing showed that the proband carried a homozygous c.1529C>T (p.S510F) variant of the ALDH5A1 gene, for which his mother was a carrier. The same variant was not detected in his father. However, high-throughput sequencing revealed that the child and his father both had a deletion of ALDH5A1 gene fragment (chr6: 24 403 265-24 566 986). CONCLUSION The c.1529C>T variant of the ALDH5A1 gene and deletion of ALDH5A1 gene fragment probably underlay the disease in the child. High-throughput sequencing can detect site variation as well as deletion of gene fragment, which has enabled genetic diagnosis and counseling for the family.
Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors/genetics* ; Child ; Developmental Disabilities ; Humans ; Infant ; Mutation ; Succinate-Semialdehyde Dehydrogenase/genetics*

Objective:To analyze the difference in immune microenvironment between primary tumor tissues and metastatic tumor tissues of metastatic colorectal cancer, and to screen specific immune-related differentially expressed genes (DEG) related to prognosis of metastatic colorectal cancer via bioinformatics methods.Methods:The GSE131418 microarray dataset of colorectal cancer and metastases was downloaded from gene expression omnibus (GEO) database, including 517 samples from the MCC cohort and 618 samples from the Consortium cohort in Moffitt Cancer Center. Immune-related gene sets were downloaded from immunology database and analysis portal IMMPORT, including 2 483 immune-related genes. A total of 695 cases of RNA sequencing data and 627 cases of clinical information of colorectal cancer tumors and adjacent tissues were downloaded from Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data. The stroma cell score, immune cell score and stromal immune total score of metastatic tumor tissues and primary tumor tissues were calculated by using ESTIMATE algorithm, and 22 kinds of immune cell infiltration in primary tumor and metastatic tumor tissues of colorectal cancer were compared and analyzed by using CIBERSORT deconvolution algorithm. Immune-related DEG were screened to make Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Gnomes (KEGG) signaling pathway enrichment analysis. The patients were divided into high and low expression groups according to the median expression levels of immune-related DEG. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression risk model were used to analyze immune-related DEG, and the genes significantly related to prognosis in the results of the two methods were screened (all P < 0.01), and multivariate analysis was performed by using Cox regression method. The expression differences of each gene in tumor tissues, adjacent tissues, primary tumor tissues and metastatic tissues in GSE131418 data sets of TCGA database and GEO database were compared, and survival analysis was also performed. Results:The stroma cell score, immune cell score and stromal immune total score of colorectal cancer metastatic tissues were lower than those of primary tumor tissues (all P < 0.001). Compared with primary tumor tissues, the proportion of activated natural killer (NK) cells, monocytes, CD8 + T cells, T cells, activated dendritic cells in metastatic colorectal cancer tissues was increased, while the proportion of inactive mast cells, inactive dendritic cells, inactive NK cells, activated memory CD4 + T cells, M1 macrophages, and neutrophils was decreased. There were 289 immune-related DEG in metastatic tissues and primary tumor tissues of metastatic colorectal cancer, including 101 up-regulated genes and 188 down-regulated genes. KEGG signaling pathway enrichment analysis showed that in the immune microenvironment of metastatic tissues in metastatic colorectal cancer, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling pathway, programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and programmed death 1 (PD-1) checkpoint pathway, T helper cell (Th) 1, Th2 and Th17 cell differentiation, NF-kappa B signaling pathway, interleukin 17 (IL-17) signaling pathway, chemokine signaling pathway, T cell receptor signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, and NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity pathways enrichment were detected. Immune-related DEG related to prognosis including ANGPTL5, FPR1, HSPA8, NR2E3, PSMD2, PSMD8 and SBDS were screened out. Cox regression multivariate analysis showed that immune-related DEG ANGPTL5 ( HR = 2.69, 95% CI 1.22-5.92, P < 0.05), HSPA8 ( HR = 0.57, 95% CI 0.33-0.97, P < 0.05), and SBDS ( HR = 2.23, 95% CI 1.18-4.21, P < 0.05) were independent prognostic factors for metastatic colorectal cancer. The expression of ANGPTL5 in tumor tissues was lower than that in normal tissues, and the expression of ANGPTL5 in metastatic tissues was higher than that in primary tumor tissues. Patients with high expression of ANGPTL5 in tumor tissues had worse prognosis. The expression of HSPA8 in tumor tissues was higher than that in normal tissues, and the expression of HSPA8 in metastatic tissues was lower than that in primary tumor tissues. Patients with high expression of HSPA8 in tumor tissues had a better prognosis. The expression of SBDS in tumor tissues was lower than that in normal tissues, and the expression of SBDS in metastatic tissues was lower than that in primary tumor tissues. Patients with high expression of SBDS in tumor tissues had worse prognosis. Conclusions:Immune microenvironment of metastatic colorectal cancer is quite different from that of primary tumor. The degree of immune cell infiltration is reduced and the whole is immunosuppressed. The specific immune-related DEG related to prognosis of metastatic colorectal cancer may be new therapeutic targets of metastatic colorectal cancer.