Herbal Medicine-Inspired Carbon Quantum Dots with Antibiosis and Hemostasis Effects for Promoting Wound Healing.

Bleeding and bacterial infections are crucial factors affecting wound healing. The usage of herbal medicine-derived materials holds great potential for promoting wound healing. However, the uncertain intrinsic effective ingredients and unclear mechanism of action remain great concerns. Herein, inspired by the herbal medicine Ligusticum wallichii, we reported the synthesis of tetramethylpyrazine-derived carbon quantum dots (TMP-CQDs) for promoting wound healing. Of note, the use of TMP as the precursor instead of L. wallichii ensured the repeatability and homogeneity of the obtained products. Furthermore, TMP-CQDs exhibited high antibacterial activity. Mechanically, TMP-CQDs inhibited the DNA repair, biosynthesis, and quorum sensing of the bacteria and induced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). Moreover, TMP-CQDs could accelerate blood coagulation through activating factor VIII and promoting platelet aggregation. Effective wound healing was achieved by using TMP-CQDs in the Staphylococcus aureus-infected mouse skin wound model. This study sheds light on the development of herbal medicine-inspired materials as effective therapeutic drugs.

Evaluation of urinary inflammatory index in rapid screening of urinary tract infection.

The objective of this study was to assess the diagnosis value of urinary inflammatory index (UII) and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) for UTI. Nine inflammatory indexes including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, SII and six UIIs were calculated for Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis to select which one is suitable for the screening of UTIs or distinguishing the types of bacteria. UII3, which calculated from leucocyte esterase (LE), nitrite, white blood cells and bacteria, was preferentially used as an indicator for the diagnosis of UTI when the threshold was set at 0.53. UII2 was more suitable for the distinction between groups when the cutoff is set to 0.94. Appropriate urinary inflammation index calculated by rapid urinalysis of urine dipstick and urine sediment can help us to predict urinary tract infection and bacterial type, and reduce the workload and costs of urine culture.

Combination of procalcitonin, C-reaction protein and carcinoembryonic antigens for discriminating between benign and malignant pleural effusions.

Pleural effusion (PE) is a common manifestation associated with certain chest diseases. However, there is no effective diagnostic marker with high sensitivity and specificity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of several biomarkers in the use of detecting malignant pleural disorder. One hundred and fifty patients with a specific diagnosis of exudative PE were enrolled in this study and were divided into the benign PE group (n=93) and the malignant PE group (n=57). Thoracoscopy was conducted to identify the reasons for the PE. Biomarkers in pleural fluid and in sera were determined either by microparticle enzyme immunoassay [carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)], fluorescence immunoassay [procalcitonin (PCT)] or light-scattering turbidimetric immunoassay [C-reaction protein (CRP)]. Then, correlation analysis and receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis individually or in combination were performed. The CRP and PCT levels were higher in benign PE than they were in malignant PE (PCT: P=0.017, P=0.032; CRP: P=0.001, P<0.001, respectively), while CEA levels were lower in benign PE than in malignant PE (CEA: P=0.001, P=0.001, respectively). During the ROC curve analysis, an optimal discrimination was identified by combining pleural CRP, pleural CEA and serum (s)PCT with an area under the curve of 0.973 (sensitivity, 98.9%; specificity, 89.5%). In the diagnosis of PE, there was no single biomarker that appeared to be adequately accurate. The combination of pleural CRP, pleural CEA and sPCT may represent an efficient diagnostic procedure for guiding the patient towards follow-up clinical treatment.