Objective:To study the phenotype and genotype distribution of Yersinia pestis ( Y. pestis) in different natural foci of plague in China, so as to provide scientific basis for plague prevention and control. Methods:A total of 2 184 strains of Y. pestis isolated from different time periods, regions, hosts and vectors in 11 plague natural foci of China since 1943 were selected for biochemical type identification, glycolysis test, virulence factor test [capsule antigen (F1), pesticin Ⅰ (Pst Ⅰ), virulence antigen factor (VWa), pigmentation factor (Pgm)], different region (DFR) typing and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) typing. Results:There were 16 biochemical types of Y. pestis in the natural foci of plague in China, and each biochemical type showed obvious regional distribution in each foci. Most strains were positive for ass hide glue glycolysis (89.79%, 1 961/2 184), maltose (80.13%, 1 750/2 184), glycerol (94.23%, 2 058/2 184), and denitrification (82.78%, 1 808/2 184), and negative for rhamnose (88.78%, 1 939/2 184) and melibiose (85.62%, 1 870/2 184). Virulence factor test results showed that 99.95% (2 183/2 184) of Y. pestis were F1 positive; 99.73% (2 178/2 184) of Y. pestis can produce Pst Ⅰ; 73.31% (1 601/2 184) of Y. pestis were VWa positive and 26.69% (583/2 184) were VWa negative; Pgm positive strains accounted for 72.62% (1 586/2 184), Pgm negative strains accounted for 21.52% (470/2 184), and Pgm mixed type strains accounted for 5.86% (128/2 184). According to DFR typing results, there were 52 genotypes in 2 184 strains of Y. pestis, of which 19 were major genotypes and 33 were minor genotypes. CRISPR typing revealed 16 major genotypes, of which 7 were newly discovered. Conclusion:The phenotypes and genotypes of Y. pestis in various natural foci of plague in China are diverse and have geographical distribution characteristics.

Objective:To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of ultrasound-guided percutaneous polidocanol sclerotherapy of the thyroglossal duct cysts in children.Methods:A retrospective analysis of 26 children who were treated with ultrasound-guided percutaneous puncture sclerosis for thyroglossal duct cysts in Beijing Children′s Hospital, Capital Medical University from October 2019 to April 2022, the size of the cyst before treatment was recorded, and the cyst volume in accordance with V(ml) =1/6 πabc cyst volume was calculated. The follow-up time was the 1st, 3rd, 6th, and 12th months after sclerotherapy. And the cyst volume and volume reduction ratio at different time points was calculated. According to changes in the cystic volume, the treatment was considered effective if the cyst volume reduction rate was≥50%. Cosmetic grading scores (CGS) were performed pre-treatment and at the last follow-up after sclerotherapy using the WHO grading system. Complications were recorded during the follow-up period.Results:The cyst volume before treatment was 2.67 (3.78)ml, and the cyst volume at the 1st, 3rd, 6th and 12th month after treatment were 0.66(1.83), 0.45(0.87), 0.40(0.70), 0.38 (0.63)ml, respectively, there were significant differences between pre-treatment and each time point after-treatment (all P<0.001); the volume reduction rate at the last follow-up was (81.48±14.57)%. The reduction rate of cyst volume was more than 50% at the last follow-up in 22 children, the treatment efficiency was 84.62% (22/26). The cosmetic grading scores at the last follow-up after sclerotherapy was 1.74(1.50), and it decreased significantly compared with the pre-treatment score 3.85(0)( P<0.001). There was no skin pigmentation, pain in the injection area, local urticaria and blistering after sclerotherapy, no adverse reactions such as cyst bleeding and drunkenness-like reaction, and no serious complications occurred. There were 2 cases of cysts that presented infection with fever, and no serious complications occurred. Conclusions:Ultrasound-guided percutaneous sclerotherapy is a safe and effective minimally invasive treatment for thyroglossal duct cysts in children.

Objective:To investigate the genetic correlation of interleukin-12 (IL-12) pathway-related gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with psoriasis vulgaris and their interaction with HLA-Cw*0602 in populations of Mongolian and Han nationalities in Inner Mongolia.Methods:From December 2012 to March 2018, 1 409 inpatients with psoriasis vulgaris (1 030 of Han nationality and 379 of Mongo-lian nationality) and 1 483 healthy controls (965 of Han nationality and 518 of Mongolian nationality) were collected from the Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, and served as patient group and control group respectively. Five milliliters of peripheral venous blood samples were collected from these subjects, and DNA was extracted. Nine SNPs located in the coding regions of IL-12 pathway-related genes were selected, including IL-12B (rs2082412, rs2288831, rs3212227, rs3213094, rs7709212) , IL-23R (rs11209026, rs2201841, rs7530511) and IL-28RA (rs4649203) genes, and detected by next-generation sequencing. HLA-Cw*0602 was genotyped by polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP) . Statistical analysis was carried out with PLINK1.07 software, Chi-square test was used to compare allele frequencies between the 2 groups, relative risk estimates of alleles were calculated by using odds ratio ( OR) , and chi-square test for R × C contingency tables was used for haplotype analysis. Results:The allele frequencies of rs2082412, rs2288831, rs3212227, rs3213094 and rs7709212 in the IL-12B gene were significantly lower in the patients with psoriasis vulgaris of Han nationality than in the controls of Han nationality (all P < 0.005) ; the allele frequency of rs3213094 in the IL-12B gene was significantly lower in the patients of Mongolian nationality than in the controls of Mongolian nationality ( P < 0.005) . The prevalence of HLA-Cw*0602 was significantly lower in the patients with psoriasis vulgaris of Han and Mongolian nationalities than in the controls of corresponding nationalities (both P < 0.005) . As stratification analysis showed, the allele frequencies of rs2082412, rs2288831, rs3212227, rs3213094 and rs7709212 in the IL-12B gene were significantly lower in HLA-Cw*0602-positive patients of Han nationality than in HLA-Cw*0602-positive controls of Han nationality (all P < 0.005) , while there was no significant difference between HLA-Cw*0602-negative patients of Han nationality and HLA-Cw*0602-negative controls of Han nationality (all P > 0.05) . Among the HLA-Cw*0602-positive or negative populations of Mongolian nationality, no significant difference was observed in the allele frequencies between the patients and controls (all P > 0.005) . Haplotypes were constructed using 5 SNPs in the IL-12B gene, and there was no significant difference in the frequencies of 6 haplotypes between the patients and controls of Mongolian or Han nationality (all P > 0.005) ; stratification analysis showed that there was no significant difference in the frequencies of 7 haplotypes between HLA-Cw*0602-positive/negative patients and controls of Mongolian or Han nationality (all P > 0.005) . Conclusion:IL-12 pathway-related gene polymorphisms are associated with psoriasis vulgaris in the populations of Mongolian and Han nationalities in Inner Mongolia, and there may be interaction between IL-12B and HLA-Cw*0602 in the occurrence of psoriasis vulgaris.

To evaluate the impact of socioeconomic status，population mobility，prevention and control measures on the early-stage coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) development in major cities of China. : The rate of daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the 51 cities with the largest number of cumulative confirmed cases as of February 19，2020 (except those in Hubei province) were collected and analyzed using the time series cluster analysis. It was then assessed according to three aspects，that is, socioeconomic status，population mobility，and control measures for the pandemic. : According to the analysis on the 51 cities，4 development patterns of COVID-19 were obtained，including a high-incidence pattern (in Xinyu)，a late high-incidence pattern (in Ganzi)，a moderate incidence pattern (in Wenzhou and other 12 cities)，and a low and stable incidence pattern (in Hangzhou and other 35 cities). Cities with different types and within the same type both had different scores on the three aspects. : There were relatively large difference on the COVID-19 development among different cities in China，possibly affected by socioeconomic status，population mobility and prevention and control measures that were taken. Therefore，a timely public health emergency response and travel restriction measures inside the city can interfere the development of the pandemic. Population flow from high risk area can largely affect the number of cumulative confirmed cases.
COVID-19 ; China/epidemiology* ; Cities ; Humans ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Social Class

Objective:To translate the Canadian Nurse Informatics Competency Assessment Scale into Chinese, revise it and test its reliability and validity.Methods:Translation and back translation were conducted strictly following the Brislin translation model, and 7 experts were organized to adjust the scale. From August to December 2019, convenience sampling was used to select 923 nurses in a ClassⅢ Grade A hospital in Qingdao for investigation with the Chinese version of the adjusted Nurse Informatics Competency Assessment Scale so as to test its reliability and validity.Results:The content validity index of the final Nurse Informatics Competency Assessment Scale was 0.960. Exploratory factor analysis extracted four common factors, and the cumulative variance contribution rate was 70.455%. The confirmatory factor analysis result showed that χ 2/ df was 2.862, and root mean square error approximation was 0.047, and goodness of fit index was 0.893, and comparative fit index was 0.947, and incremental fit index was 0.948, and normative fit index was 0.922, and relative fit index was 0.906, and Tucker-Lewis index was 0.937. The total Cronbach's α coefficient of the scale was 0.950, and the half-fold reliability was 0.863, and the test-retest reliability was 0.827. Conclusions:The Nurse Informatics Competency Assessment Scale has good reliability and validity, and can be used as an evaluation tool for clinical nurses' nursing information competency.

Objective:To investigate the relationship of polymorphisms in metabolic syndrome-related genes with psoriasis vulgaris (PsV) and their interaction with HLA-C*06:02 in populations of Mongolian nationality.Methods:Totally, 379 PsV inpatients of Mongolian nationality and 518 healthy controls of Mongolian nationality were collected from the Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University from December 2012 to March 2018. Sixteen previously reported single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and HLA-C*06:02, which were related to metabolic syndrome and its components, were selected. Next-generation sequencing and polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primer (PCR-SSP) typing were performed to determine the genotypes of these subjects. Minor allele frequencies of the 16 mutation sites and HLA-C*06:02 were calculated in the PsV group and control group, and chi-square test was used to analyze the differences in the minor allele frequencies of SNPs between the 2 groups.Results:There was no significant difference in the minor allele frequencies of the 16 SNPs susceptible to metabolic syndrome between the Mongolian PsV patients and healthy controls (all P > 0.05), while the minor allele frequency of HLA-C*06:02 significantly differed between the 2 groups ( P = 4.09 × 10 -35, OR = 3.41). Among the HLA-C*06:02-positive subjects, the minor allele frequencies of rs7593730_T and rs6931514_G significantly differed between the 252 PsV patients and 191 healthy controls ( P = 0.016, OR = 0.64; P = 0.041, OR = 1.33, respectively) ; no significant difference was observed in the minor allele frequencies of the 16 SNPs between the PsV patients and healthy controls among the HLA-C*06:02-negative subjects ( P > 0.05) . Conclusion:The SNPs of rs7593730 and rs6931514 may be related to PsV in populations of Mongolian nationality in Inner Mongolia, and may interact with HLA-C*06:02.

The biodiversity of the mycobiome, an important component of the oral microbial community, and the roles of fungal-bacterial and fungal-immune system interactions in the pathogenesis of oral lichen planus (OLP) remain largely uncharacterized. In this study, we sequenced the salivary mycobiome and bacteriome associated with OLP. First, we described the dysbiosis of the microbiome in OLP patients, which exhibits lower levels of fungi and higher levels of bacteria. Significantly higher abundances of the fungi Candida and Aspergillus in patients with reticular OLP and of Alternaria and Sclerotiniaceae_unidentified in patients with erosive OLP were observed compared to the healthy controls. Aspergillus was identified as an "OLP-associated" fungus because of its detection at a higher frequency than in the healthy controls. Second, the co-occurrence patterns of the salivary mycobiome-bacteriome demonstrated negative associations between specific fungal and bacterial taxa identified in the healthy controls, which diminished in the reticular OLP group and even became positive in the erosive OLP group. Moreover, the oral cavities of OLP patients were colonized by dysbiotic oral flora with lower ecological network complexity and decreased fungal-Firmicutes and increased fungal-Bacteroidetes sub-networks. Third, several keystone fungal genera (Bovista, Erysiphe, Psathyrella, etc.) demonstrated significant correlations with clinical scores and IL-17 levels. Thus, we established that fungal dysbiosis is associated with the aggravation of OLP. Fungal dysbiosis could alter the salivary bacteriome or may reflect a direct effect of host immunity, which participates in OLP pathogenesis.
Adult ; Bacteria ; isolation & purification ; Case-Control Studies ; Dysbiosis ; complications ; microbiology ; Female ; Humans ; Lichen Planus, Oral ; complications ; microbiology ; Male ; Microbiota ; Middle Aged ; Mouth Mucosa ; microbiology ; Mycobiome ; Saliva ; microbiology

OBJECTIVE:To establish the method for content determination of chlorogenic acid and periplocin in Miao medicine Periploca forrestii. METHODS:HPLC method was adopted. The determination was performed on Xtimate C18 column with mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile-0.1% phosphoric acid solution(gradient elution)at the flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The detection wavelength was set at 220 nm,and column temperature was maintained at 25 ℃. The sample size was 10 μL. Cluster analysis was conducted according to the content of chlorogenic acid and periplocin in samples by SPSS 23.0 software. RESULTS:The linear range of chlorogenic acid and periplocin were 0.040 6-1.8 μg(r＝0.999 4)and 0.016 8-2.3 μg(r＝0.999 9),respectively. RSDs of precision,stability and repeatability tests were all lower than 5.0%. The quantitation limits were 0.918 0,0.084 3 μg/mL, and detection limits were 0.102 0,0.025 3 μg/mL, respectively. RSD of durability were lower than 3.0%. The recoveries were 102.66%-104.00%(RSD＝0.53%,n＝6),96.44%-100.79%(RSD＝1.73%,n＝6),respectively. RSD of durability were lower than 3.0%. The result indicated that 18 batches of samples were divided into 3 categories by cluster analysis. S2,S4,S10,S12 and S14-S18 were divided into one category;S1,S3,S5-S7,S9,S11 and S13 were divided into another category;S8 was regarded as one category. CONCLUSIONS:The method can be applied for quality control and evaluation of P. forrestii. The contents of chlorogenic acid and periplocin in P. forrestii from different producing areas are different greatly. There is a certain correlation between the content of each component and the producing area.

Aim To establish a LC-MS/MS method to measure the concentration of ginsenoside Rg1 in intrac-erebral dialysate and compare the probe recovery in vitro and in vivo. Methods The assay was conducted with a ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18(2. 1 mm × 50 mm, 1. 7 μm) . The mobile phase consisted of methanol and ultrapure water and it was detected by gradient elution. The flow rate was 0. 4 mL·min-1 . Specificity, linear range, precision and accuracy, stability were evaluated to investigate the reliability of the method. The recov-ery of ginsenoside Rg1 in probe in vitro and in vivo was compared. Results The retention time of ginsenoside Rg1 was 1. 91 min, the linear range was 0. 1 ~50 μg · L-1 , intra-day and inter-day precisions were less than 15%. The recovery of ginsenoside Rg1 was (4. 05 ± 0. 28)% in vitro and(26. 96 ± 4. 45)% in vi-vo. Conclusion The LC-MS/MS method is accurate, sensitive, and reproducible for quantitative determina-tion of ginsenoside Rg1 in microdialysate. The probe recovery of ginsenoside Rg1 in vivo is higher than in vitro, and both are stable in different concentrations.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between radiographic parameters and the 4th lumbar(L4) degenerative spondylolisthesis.

METHODSFrom April 2010 to April 2012, 60 patients with the L 4 degenerative spondylolisthesis (DLS) were enrolled in DLS group, 56 healthy volunteers were recruited in control group. A series of radiographic parameters were measured in the two groups, including disc height (DH), disc degeneration index(DDI), L4 vertebral inclination angle(L4-VA), pelvic incidence (PI), L4 vertebral size (L4-VS), lumbar lordosis angle (LLA), facet joint angulation (FJA) of cephalad and caudad portions, delta FJA of cephlad and caudad portions, asymmetry variation of FJA, bone mineral density(BMD). Student's test was used to compare difference of parameters between two groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to reveal risk factors of the development of DLS.

RESULTSFifty-three cases of L4 spondylolisthesis in DLS group were classified into grade I, 7 cases of L4 spondylolisthesis were classified into grade II. The average Boxall index was 0.17 ± 0.05. There were significant difference of DH, DDI, L4-VS, L4-VA, LLA, PI, FJA, BMD between DLS group and control group (t = 2.28-9.33, P = 0.021-0.043) . There were significant differences of delta FJA of cephlad and caudad portions in L3-4, L4-5 between DLS group and control group (t = 3.398 and 28.122, P = 0.000 and 0.039). There was no significant difference of asymmetry variation of FJA in L3-4, L4-5 between DLS group and control group (t = 0.209-0.465, P = 0.295-0.858). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that LDS was more frequent among patients with smaller L4-VS(OR = 1.01, 95%CI = 1.000-1.024, P = 0.048), larger L4-VA (OR = 1.88, 95%CI = 14.000-14.600, P = 0.037), larger LLA (OR = 1.90, 95%CI = 1.600-15.800, P = 0.040), larger PI (OR = 2.58, 95%CI = 18.000-19.600, P = 0.029) and the more sagittal FJA (OR = 2.46, 95%CI = 1.400-16.400, P = 0.035) than those in control group.

CONCLUSIONSDLS is signifantly correlated with L4-VS, L4-VA, LLA, PI, FJA . They may be risk factors of the development of DLS.

Aged ; Bone Density ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc Degeneration ; diagnosis ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; diagnostic imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Radiography ; Risk Factors ; Spondylolisthesis ; diagnosis