Objective:To explore the role of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in the diagnosis of pathogens in primary infectious diseases of the spine (IDS) and to reveal its pathogen spectrum.Methods:This is a retrospective multi-center case series study. Clinical data of 380 patients with primary IDS who were treated at four medical centers in China from December 2019 to April 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 82 cases were from the Department of Spine Surgery at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, 129 cases were from the Orthopedics Section Ⅱ (Bone Infection), Public Health Clinical Center Affiliated to Shandong University, 112 cases were from the Department of Spine Surgery, Fuzhou Second General Hospital, and 57 cases were from the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shanghai Sixth People′s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. There were 238 males and 242 females, with an age of (61.4±13.1) years (range: 10 to 91 years). Specimens from the site of spinal infection were obtained for pathogen culture, pathological examination, and mNGS detection preoperatively or intraoperatively in all patients. The number, types, and positive rates of pathogens detected by the two methods were analyzed and compared using the Chi-square test.Results:Among the 380 patients, 320 had confirmed pathogenic bacteria, with the highest proportion being pyogenic bacterial infections, accounting for 76.9% (246/320). The most common pathogen was Staphylococcus aureus, accounting for 22.8% (73/320). Brucella accounted for 13.8% (44/320); Mycobacterium tuberculosis accounted for 6.3% (20/320). Fungal infections accounted for 3.4% (11/320), mainly Aspergillus and Candida. In addition, Mycoplasma was detected in 3 cases (0.9%) and Benacox body in 4 cases (1.2%). The pathogen spectrum constructed by mNGS covered 46 types of pathogens, higher than the 22 types detected by traditional methods. The positive rate of mNGS was 80.8% (308/381), significantly higher than the 27.9% (106/381) of traditional methods ( χ2=182.53, P<0.01). Conclusions:mNGS improves the positive rate of pathogen diagnosis in IDS, detecting a broader spectrum of pathogens, and serves as a valuable complement to traditional diagnostic methods. Combining both methods in the diagnosis of IDS can maximize detection rates, providing robust evidence for precise anti-infective treatment.

italic>Lamiophlomis rotata is an important medicinal plant species endemic to the Tibetan Plateau, which is prone to strong climate change impacts on its habitable range due to the high sensitivity of the Tibetan Plateau to climate change. Accurate quantification of species vulnerability to climate change is essential for assessing species extinction risk and developing effective conservation strategies. Therefore, we carried out the α-shape analysis to determine the habitat of L. rotata. We then carried out the climate-niche factor analysis (CNFA) to assess the vulnerability of L. rotata to climate change based on five climate variables (i.e., mean diurnal range, temperature seasonality, mean temperature of warmest quarter, precipitation of driest month and precipitation of warmest quarter) in the context of two shared socioeconomic pathways (i.e., SSP126 and SSP585) and three global climate models (CMCC-ESM2: Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici-Earth System Model version 2; HadGEM3-GC31-LL: Hadley Global Environment Model version 3-Global Coupled configuration 3.1; IPSL-CM6A-LR: Institut Pierre Simon Laplace-Climate Model version 6) during two different periods (2041-2060 and 2081-2100). The vulnerability of L. rotata to climate change was calculated by integrating the sensitivity and exposure indices of L. rotata to five climate variables. The results showed that L. rotata had the highest vulnerability to the precipitation of warmest quarter. Its vulnerability within its habitat range generally showed a spatial pattern of high value in the southern region and low in the northern region, high in the western region and low in the eastern region. In general, the vulnerability of L. rotata under the SSP585 scenario was higher than that under the SSP126 scenario. The climate data of different global climate models have some influence on the results, while the resulted uncertainty can be reduced by data integration methods. As a result of climate change, the pressure on the survival of L. rotata in the future will be intensified in the low-altitude areas such as the Yarlung Zangbo River, Yigongzangbu River, Zayu River, and Jiaomuzu River, etc., while the highly weathered scree flats or stony alpine meadows in the high-altitude zones, such as the eastern Tanggula Mountain Range, the northern part of Hengduan Mountain Range, and the western part of the Qinling Mountains, may become its refuge. It is necessary to focus on and strengthen the protection and management of L. rotata resources in these vulnerble and critical areas.

Objective:To explore the role of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in the diagnosis of pathogens in primary infectious diseases of the spine (IDS) and to reveal its pathogen spectrum.Methods:This is a retrospective multi-center case series study. Clinical data of 380 patients with primary IDS who were treated at four medical centers in China from December 2019 to April 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 82 cases were from the Department of Spine Surgery at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, 129 cases were from the Orthopedics Section Ⅱ (Bone Infection), Public Health Clinical Center Affiliated to Shandong University, 112 cases were from the Department of Spine Surgery, Fuzhou Second General Hospital, and 57 cases were from the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shanghai Sixth People′s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. There were 238 males and 242 females, with an age of (61.4±13.1) years (range: 10 to 91 years). Specimens from the site of spinal infection were obtained for pathogen culture, pathological examination, and mNGS detection preoperatively or intraoperatively in all patients. The number, types, and positive rates of pathogens detected by the two methods were analyzed and compared using the Chi-square test.Results:Among the 380 patients, 320 had confirmed pathogenic bacteria, with the highest proportion being pyogenic bacterial infections, accounting for 76.9% (246/320). The most common pathogen was Staphylococcus aureus, accounting for 22.8% (73/320). Brucella accounted for 13.8% (44/320); Mycobacterium tuberculosis accounted for 6.3% (20/320). Fungal infections accounted for 3.4% (11/320), mainly Aspergillus and Candida. In addition, Mycoplasma was detected in 3 cases (0.9%) and Benacox body in 4 cases (1.2%). The pathogen spectrum constructed by mNGS covered 46 types of pathogens, higher than the 22 types detected by traditional methods. The positive rate of mNGS was 80.8% (308/381), significantly higher than the 27.9% (106/381) of traditional methods ( χ2=182.53, P<0.01). Conclusions:mNGS improves the positive rate of pathogen diagnosis in IDS, detecting a broader spectrum of pathogens, and serves as a valuable complement to traditional diagnostic methods. Combining both methods in the diagnosis of IDS can maximize detection rates, providing robust evidence for precise anti-infective treatment.

Myopia is the most common type of refractive error. At present, the characteristics of the low age and rapid growth of myopia in our country are obvious, and the myopia of adolescents and children has become a public health problem of concern to the whole society. Visual experience guides the development of children's refractive state and emmetropization. The occurrence and development of myopia is accompanied by changes in the structure of the eyeball, and the choroid has a thinning trend. The thickness change of the choroid may be determined by blood flow perfusion. Decreased choroidal blood flow perfusion may lead to scleral ischemia and hypoxia, and hypoxia induces scleral matrix remodeling and axial length growth. This article reviews the relationship between choroidal blood flow and myopia, and suggests the significance of paying attention to choroidal changes in the prevention and control of myopia.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of plerixafor (PXF) combined with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) (PXF+G-CSF) and cyclophosphamide (Cy) combined with G-CSF (Cy+G-CSF) in the mobilization of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) in patients with multiple myeloma (MM). METHODS: The clinical data of 41 MM patients who underwent PBSC mobilization using PXF+G-CSF (18 cases) or Cy+G-CSF (23 cases) in Shanxi Bethune Hospital from January 2019 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed, including the count of collected CD34⁺ cells, acquisition success rate, failure rate, and optimal rate. The correlation of sex, age, disease type, DS staging, ISS staging, number of chemotherapy cycle, disease status before mobilization, and mobilization regimen with the collection results was analyzed, and the adverse reactions, length of hospital stay, and hospitalization costs were compared between the two mobilization regimens. RESULTS: The 41 patients underwent 97 mobilization collections, and the median number of CD34⁺ cells collected was 6.09 (0-34.07)×10⁶/kg. The acquisition success rate, optimal rate, and failure rate was 90.2%, 56.1%, and 9.8%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that sex, age, disease type, and disease stage had no significant correlation with the number of CD34⁺ cells collected and acquisition success rate (P >0.05), but the patients with better disease remission than partial remission before mobilization were more likely to obtain higher CD34⁺ cell count (P <0.05). The PXF+G-CSF group had a larger number of CD34⁺ cells and higher acquisition success rate in the first collection than Cy+G-CSF group (both P <0.05), and had lower infection risk and shorter length of hospital stay during mobilization (both P <0.05), but the economic burden increased (P <0.05). CONCLUSION PXF+G-CSF used for PBSC mobilization in MM patients has high first acquisition success rate, large number of CD34⁺ cells, less number of collection times, and short length of hospital stay, but the economic cost is heavy.
Humans ; Antigens, CD34/metabolism* ; Cyclophosphamide/therapeutic use* ; Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor/therapeutic use* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Mobilization/methods* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Heterocyclic Compounds/therapeutic use* ; Multiple Myeloma/drug therapy* ; Peripheral Blood Stem Cells/metabolism* ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of multiple serological methods in the identification of complex antibodies. METHODS: The blood group antigens were detected by saline and microcolumn agglutination methods. The saline method was used to screen and identify IgM-type antibodies in the patient's serum, while the polybrene, anti-globulin, microcolumn agglutination, enzymic and absorption-elution methods were used to screen and identify IgG-type antibodies. RESULTS: The patient was B/CCDee/Jk(a-b+)/Fy(a-b+) blood type. The serum reacted with panel cells, and the reaction presented anti-E pattern in the saline medium. It was fully positive in the microcolumn agglutination card, except 2 negative ones after using papain to treat the panel cells. Referring to the pattern table, it was concluded that there existed anti-c, anti-E, and anti-Jk^a antibodies, and one antibody corresponding to an antigen that was easily destroyed by papain. The red blood cells with specific phenotype were selected for absorption-elution to identify IgG-type anti-c, anti-E, anti-Jk^a and anti-Fy^a antibodies. CONCLUSION It is confirmed that IgM-type anti-E, and IgG-type anti-c, anti-E, anti-Jk^a and anti-Fy^a antibodies exist in the patient's serum by multiple serological methods.
Humans ; Papain ; Blood Group Antigens ; Erythrocytes ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M

Objective: To investigate the prevalence, awareness, treatment and control status of dyslipidemia among females aged ≥35 years old across China. Methods: Participants were selected by stratified multistage random sampling method in the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" National Science and Technology Support Project "Survey on the Prevalence of Important Cardiovascular Diseases and Key Technology Research in China" project. This study is a retrospective, cross-sectional study. A total of 17 418 females aged 35 years and over were included in the current study. The basic information such as age, medical history and menopause was collected by questionnaire. The blood lipid parameters were derived from clinical laboratory examinations. The prevalence of dyslipidemia and the rate of awareness, treatment, and control of dyslipidemia were analyzed in females aged 35 years and over. Results: The age of participants was (56.2±13.0) years old, and the prevalence of dyslipidemia was 33.1% (5 765/17 418). The prevalence rates of high total cholesterol, hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL-C and high LDL-C were 9.7% (1 695/17 418), 11.1% (1 925/17 418), 10.9% (1 889/17 418) and 7.3% (1 262/17 418), respectively. The prevalence of dyslipidemia increased with age and the prevalence of dyslipidemia in women who were not married, Han, menarche age>16 years, obesity, central obesity, alcohol consumption, diabetes, hypertension and family history of cardiovascular disease were higher than those without such characteristics (P<0.05). There were 10 432 (59.9%) menopausal females in this cohort and prevalence of dyslipidemia of these participants was 38.8% (4 048/10 432), which was higher than that of non-postmenopausal females (24.6%, 1 717/6 986) (P<0.05). The awareness rates, treatment rates and control rates of dyslipidemia were 33.9% (1 953/5 765), 15.1% (870/5 765) and 2.5% (143/5 765) respectively among females aged 35 years and over in China. Conclusion: The prevalence of dyslipidemia in Chinese females aged 35 years and over is high, and its awareness, treatment, and control rates need to be optimized.
Adult ; Aged ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; China/epidemiology* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dyslipidemias/epidemiology* ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Obesity/epidemiology* ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

Objective: To evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of hepatitis E vaccine(HEV)in Maintenance hemodialysis(MHD)patients. Methods: Based on an open-labeled controlled trial, from May 2016 to March 2018, 35 eligible MHD patients were recruited in the Hemodialysis Center of Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Xiamen University as the experimental group, and 70 MHD patients with matched age, gender and underlying diseases as the control group. The experimental group received HEV at 0, 1 and 6 months according to the standard vaccination procedures, while the control group received routine diagnosis and treatment without vaccine and placebo injection to observe the safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine. The safety of vaccine in MHD population was evaluated by the incidence of adverse reactions/events in the experimental and control groups. The immunogenicity of HEV in MHD patients was evaluated by comparing the data from the phase Ⅲ clinical trial. Results: The overall incidence of adverse reactions/events was 17.1% (18/105), and there were no grade 3-4 adverse reactions/events related to vaccination. In the experimental group, the incidence of local adverse reactions/events was 20.0% (7/35), and the incidence of systemic adverse reactions/events was 17.1% (6/35).There was no significant difference in the incidence of systemic adverse reactions/events between the experimental group and the control group (P>0.05). There were 23 patients receiving 3 doses with the standard schedule. The positive rate of HEV-IgG antibody was 100% and the GMC was 14.47(95%CI:13.14-15.80) WU/ml, which showed no significant difference compared with the 46 patients in Phase Ⅲ clinical trial (t=-1.04, P>0.05). Conclusion: Recombinant HEV has good safety and immunogenicity in MHD patients.
Clinical Trials, Phase III as Topic ; Female ; Hepatitis E ; Humans ; Immunogenicity, Vaccine ; Immunoglobulin G ; Male ; Renal Dialysis ; Viral Hepatitis Vaccines/adverse effects*

Objective: To analyze the prognosis and risk factors of lung metastasis of patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma(ACC) of head and neck. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted. The data of 157 patients with ACC of head and neck treated in Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University from January 2014 to October 2020 were collected, including 72 males and 85 females, with onset age between 14 and 72 years old. According to whether lung metastasis occurred, the patients were divided into lung metastasis group (88 cases) and non-pulmonary metastasis group (69 cases). Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the overall survival rate and progression-free survival rate using SPSS 26.0 software. Log-rank test was used to evaluate statistically relevant clinicopathological factors. Cox proportional risk model was used in multivariate analysis for the factors affecting the lung metastasis-free survival using R Studio 1.2.5042. Results: The 3-year and 5-year overall survival rates were 91.5% and 85.2%, respectively. The 3-year and 5-year progression-free survival rates were 57.7% and 34.3%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that primary site, histological grade, high-grade transformation, Ki-67, T stage, and lymph node status were the risk factors for lung metastasis (χ²=11.78, 10.41, 4.06, 4.71, 5.37, 16.20, respectively, all P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed independent risk factors for lung metastasis, including submandibular gland and sublingual gland (HR=3.53, 95%CI: 1.19-10.46, P<0.05), T3-4 stage (HR=3.09, 95%CI: 1.54-6.23, P<0.05), and Grade Ⅱ-Ⅲ grade (HR=2.47, 95%CI: 1.26-4.86,P<0.05). Conclusion: Distant metastasis, mainly pulmonary metastasis, affects the long-term prognosis of patients with ACC significantly. Primary site, T stage and histopathological grade can be used as the predictors for the risk of lung metastasis.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic ; Female ; Humans ; Lung/pathology* ; Lung Neoplasms/secondary* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Young Adult

Histone lysine-specific demethylase 1(LSD1) has become a promising molecular target for lung cancer therapy. Upon the screening platform for LSD1 activity, some Chinese herbal extracts were screened for LSD1 activity inhibition, and the underlying mechanism was preliminarily investigated at both molecular and cellular levels. The results of LSD1 inhibition showed that Puerariae Lobatae Radix extract can effectively reduce LSD1 expression to elevate the expression of H3 K4 me2 and H3 K9 me2 substrates in H1975 and H1299 cells. Furthermore, Puerariae Lobatae Radix was evaluated for its anti-lung cancer activity. It had a potent inhibitory ability against the proliferation and colony formation of both H1975 and H1299 cells. Flow cytometry and DAPI staining assays indicated that Puerariae Lobatae Radix can induce the apoptosis of lung cancer cells. In addition, it can significantly suppress the migration and reverse the epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT) process of lung cancer cells by activating E-cadherin and suppressing the expression of N-cadherin, slug and vimentin. To sum up, Puerariae Lobatae Radix displayed a robust inhibitory activity against lung cancer, and the mechanism may be related to the down-regulation of LSD1 expression to induce the cell apoptosis and suppress the cell migration and EMT process. These findings will provide new insights into the action of Puerariae Lobatae Radix as an anti-lung cancer agent and offer new ideas for the study on the anti-cancer action of Chinese medicine based on the epigenetic modification.
Pueraria/chemistry* ; Histone Demethylases/analysis* ; Plant Roots/chemistry* ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition ; Neoplasms