Zero-dimensional hybrid tin halides with stable broadband light emissions.

Considering the instability and toxicity of 3D Pb-based perovskite nanocrystals, lead-free low-dimensional organic-inorganic hybrid metal halides have attracted widespread attention as potential substitutes. Herein, two new tin-based 0D halides [H4BAPP]SnBr5·Br and [H4BAPP]SnCl5·Cl·H2O (BAPP = 1,4-bis(3-aminopropyl)piperazine) were synthesized successfully based on [SnX5]3- as an emission center. Typically, [H4BAPP]SnBr5·Br and [H4BAPP]SnCl5·Cl·H2O display broadband yellow and yellow-green light emissions originating from the radiative recombination of self-trapped excitons (STEs). The photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs) of the two compounds were calculated to be 19.27% and 2.36%, respectively. Furthermore, the excellent chemical and thermal stability and broadband light emissions reveal their potential application in solid-state white lighting diodes.

Exploring 0D lead-free metal halide with highly efficient blue light emission and high-sensitivity photodetection.

Environmentally friendly and highly efficient blue luminescent materials are an unremitting pursuit in the optoelectronic field. Herein, we assembled a new 0D lead-free metal halide of (F-PPA)ZnBr4, which exhibits narrow blue light emission with a remarkable PLQY of 50.15%, high stability and high detection sensitivity toward UV light. These results indicate the potential for the application of low-dimensional zinc-based halides in multiple optoelectronic devices.

0D triiodide hybrid halide perovskite for X-ray detection.

In the relentless pursuit of developing high-performance, stable and environmentally friendly materials for X-ray detection, we present a new class of Bi-based hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites. An X-ray detector based on a new zero-dimensional (0D) triiodide-induced lead-free hybrid perovskite, (DPA)2BiI9 (DPA = C5H16N22+), has been developed demonstrating outstanding detection performance, including high X-ray sensitivity (20 570 µC Gyair-1 cm-2), low detectable dose rate (0.98 nGyair s-1), fast response time (154/162 ns) and excellent long-term stability.

Study on the accessibility and affordability of 50 drugs in Wuhan based on the WHO/HAI standardization method.

Objective: To understand the availability and affordability of essential drugs in Wuhan since the implementation of the national essential medicine system, and to provide a basis for the subsequent formulation and improvement of related policies. Methods: Using the standard survey method jointly developed by the WHO and Health Action International (HAI), a sample of 50 essential drugs was selected to investigate and evaluate their availability and affordability in public medical and health institutions and social retail pharmacies in Wuhan, using six diseases with high clinical morbidity as the targets. Results: The availability of the original drug and the lowest-priced generic drug in public hospitals is 26.4 and 42.47% respectively, and that in retail pharmacies is 26.8 and 54.4% respectively. The median price ratio of the original drug and the lowest-priced generic drug is 28.71 and 2.23 respectively in public hospitals, and 29.24 and 3.59 respectively in retail pharmacies; In addition to individual drugs, such as omeprazole, others are affordable. The availability of essential drugs in public hospitals in Wuhan is lower than that in social retail pharmacies, and the availability of the lowest-priced generic drugs is much higher than that of original drugs. Conclusion: The availability of essential drugs in public hospitals in Wuhan is lower than that in social retail pharmacies, and the availability of the lowest-priced generic drugs is much higher than that of original drugs. The price of the original drug is much higher than the international reference price; The price of medicines in public hospitals is lower than that in retail pharmacies;the overall condition of affordability is good, but there is a big gap between the affordability levels of original drugs and generic drugs, and the affordability of original drugs is relatively poor. It is recommended to adjust the relevant policies according to the actual situation of Wuhan city itself, moderately ensure the supply of original drugs, improve the price transparency of retail pharmacies, and ensure that the basic drug needs of the public are met.

The influencing factors of biomedical R&D cooperation in three major urban agglomerations of China based on cooperative patents.

Due to the particularity of biomedical industry, it has become necessary for biomedical enterprises to seek innovative research and development (R&D) cooperation to maintain advanced technologies and products in multiple fields. Under such circumstance, the biomedical industry has gradually formed a certain cluster to promote the development of the industry. So far, the biomedical industry cluster has formed in China, mainly within the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei three urban agglomerations. Within the industrial clusters, the frequency of innovation cooperation among enterprises, universities, research institutions, and other relevant organizations in the biomedical area is high, and the capacity for innovation cooperation is strong as well. This paper used the representative cross-section data of cooperative patents from the medical science and technology patent database of China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), researching the R&D cooperation within the three major urban agglomerations in China from 2008 to 2016 (Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration, Pearl River Delta Urban Agglomeration, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration) on total 36 cities' spatial pattern characteristics of biomedical cooperation and the influencing factors. The spatial interaction model was used to study the spatial, economic, political, and R&D influencing factors of cross-city cooperation. The degree of aggregation showed that cross-city R&D cooperation mainly occurred in well-developed and central cities of urban agglomerations. Econometric results revealed that spatial, economic, political, and R&D bias factors did have a significant impact on the frequency of biomedical R&D cooperation across cities.

Drug repositioning: A bibliometric analysis.

Drug repurposing has become an effective approach to drug discovery, as it offers a new way to explore drugs. Based on the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-E) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) databases of the Web of Science core collection, this study presents a bibliometric analysis of drug repurposing publications from 2010 to 2020. Data were cleaned, mined, and visualized using Derwent Data Analyzer (DDA) software. An overview of the history and development trend of the number of publications, major journals, major countries, major institutions, author keywords, major contributors, and major research fields is provided. There were 2,978 publications included in the study. The findings show that the United States leads in this area of research, followed by China, the United Kingdom, and India. The Chinese Academy of Science published the most research studies, and NIH ranked first on the h-index. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mt Sinai leads in the average number of citations per study. Sci Rep, Drug Discov. Today, and Brief. Bioinform. are the three most productive journals evaluated from three separate perspectives, and pharmacology and pharmacy are unquestionably the most commonly used subject categories. Cheng, FX; Mucke, HAM; and Butte, AJ are the top 20 most prolific and influential authors. Keyword analysis shows that in recent years, most research has focused on drug discovery/drug development, COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2/coronavirus, molecular docking, virtual screening, cancer, and other research areas. The hotspots have changed in recent years, with COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2/coronavirus being the most popular topic for current drug repurposing research.

Cost-utility analysis of centrally inserted totally implanted access port (PORT) vs. peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) in the oncology chemotherapy.

Background: Peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) and centrally inserted totally implanted access port (PORT) are two types of intravenous infusion devices that are widely used in clinical practice. PORTs are more expensive to insert than PICCs but have fewer complications. Two cost-utility analyses of PICCs and PORTs in China have been published, but had conflicting findings. This study aimed to compare the cost-utility of PICCs and PORTs. Methods: We conducted a prospective observational trial including 404 patients with cancer and a cross-sectional study to calculate cost and complications of a PICC and PORT. Utility was measured using the EuroQol five-dimensional questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L). A cost-utility analysis was performed from a healthcare system perspective in China. Results: The average total cost of PICCs and PORTs were ¥ 4,091.7 and ¥ 4,566.8, which yielded 0.46 and 0.475 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) in a 6-month dwell time, respectively. The incremental cost-utility ratio (ICUR) was ¥ 31,670.9 per QALY. A one-way sensitivity analysis showed that the base-case results were robust, and the probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed that at a willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of ¥ 80,976 per QALY (China's per capita GDP in 2021) the probability of a PORT being cost-effective was 96%. Conclusion: PORTs were more cost-effective than PICCs for a 6 and 12-month dwell time. The total cost for a PORT was also less than that of a PICC. PORT is therefore recommended as a medium to long-term intravenous delivery device in clinical practice.

Rapid Detection of Respiratory Pathogens for Community-Acquired Pneumonia by Capillary Electrophoresis-Based Multiplex PCR.

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common infectious disease linked to high rates of morbidity and mortality. Fast and accurate identification of the pathogens responsible for CAP will aid in diagnosis. We established a capillary electrophoresis-based multiplex PCR (CEMP) panel to enable the detection of viral and bacterial pathogens associated with CAP. The assay simultaneously detects and identifies the 13 common unculturable CAP viral and bacterial pathogens within 4 h. We evaluated the performance of a commercially available panel with 314 samples collected from CAP patients. We compared the results to those obtained with the liquid chip-based Luminex xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel (RVP) Fast Kit (for viruses) and the agarose gel-based Seegene PneumoBacter ACE Detection Kit (for atypical bacteria). All positive samples were further verified by the Sanger sequencing method. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of CEMP were 97.31%, 100%, 100%, and 99.85%, respectively. CEMP provides a rapid and accurate method for the high-throughput detection of pathogens in patients with CAP.

Comparison of two matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry systems for the identification of clinical filamentous fungi.

Infections caused by filamentous fungi have become a health concern, and require rapid and accurate identification in order for effective treatment of the pathogens. To compare the performance of two MALDI-TOF MS systems (Bruker Microflex LT and Xiamen Microtyper) in the identification of filamentous fungal species. A total of 374 clinical filamentous fungal isolates sequentially collected in the Clinical Laboratory at the Beijing Tongren Hospital between January 2014 and December 2015 were identified by traditional phenotypic methods, Bruker Microflex LT and Xiamen Microtyper MALDI-TOF MS, respectively. The discrepancy between these methods was resolved by sequencing for definitive identification. Bruker Microflex LT and Xiamen Microtyper had similar correct species ID (98.9 vs. 99.2%), genus ID (99.7 vs. 100%), mis-ID (0.3 vs. 0%) and no ID (0 vs. 0). The rate of correct species identification by both MALDI-TOF MS (98.9 and 99.2%, respectively) was much higher compared with phenotypic approach (91.9%). Both MALDI-TOF MS systems provide accurate identification of clinical filamentous fungi compared with conventional phenotypic method, and have the potential to replace identification for routine identification of these fungi in clinical mycology laboratories. Both systems have similar performance in the identification of clinical filamentous fungi.

Septicemia and pneumonia due to Mycobacterium fortuitum infection in a patient with extronodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type: A case report.

RATIONALE: Mycobacterium fortuitum (M.fortuitum) is one of the rapidly growing nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) that is widespread in the environment. M.fortuitum can cause different types of disease including pulmonary disease, lymphadenitis, cutaneous disease, and disseminated disease. However, the infection presenting as septicemia is exceedingly rare. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 48-year-old immunocompromised male with extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type was admitted to the hospital because of high fever for 10 days. DIAGNOSES: The pathogen identified twice in the hemoculture was M.fortuitum, but not in the sputum culture. The chest computed tomographic (CT) scan showed a chronic inflammatory infection. INTERVENTIONS: The patient was treated with sulfamethoxazole and levofloxacin. OUTCOMES: The symptom of patient disappeared after the treatment for one week, and near-total absorption of the consolidation in CT after the treatment for one month. He continued the treatment for one year until the last negative hemoculture. LESSONS: Although the M.fortuitum infection presenting as septicemia is rare, a high suspicion of M.fortuitum is required, particularly in the immunosuppressive patients. Timely and adequate treatment is necessary.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry for rapid identification of fungal rhinosinusitis pathogens.

PURPOSE: Filamentous fungi are among the most important pathogens, causing fungal rhinosinusitis (FRS). Current laboratory diagnosis of FRS pathogens mainly relies on phenotypic identification by culture and microscopic examination, which is time consuming and expertise dependent. Although matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) MS has been employed to identify various fungi, its efficacy in the identification of FRS fungi is less clear. METHODOLOGY: A total of 153 FRS isolates obtained from patients were analysed at the Clinical Laboratory at the Beijing Tongren Hospital affiliated to the Capital Medical University, between January 2014 and December 2015. They were identified by traditional phenotypic methods and Bruker MALDI-TOF MS (Bruker, Biotyper version 3.1), respectively. Discrepancies between the two methods were further validated by sequencing. RESULTS: Among the 153 isolates, 151 had correct species identification using MALDI-TOF MS (Bruker, Biot 3.1, score ≥2.0 or 2.3). MALDI-TOF MS enabled identification of some very closely related species that were indistinguishable by conventional phenotypic methods, including 1/10 Aspergillus versicolor, 3/20 Aspergillus flavus, 2/30 Aspergillus fumigatus and 1/20 Aspergillus terreus, which were misidentified by conventional phenotypic methods as Aspergillus nidulans, Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus japonicus and Aspergillus nidulans, respectively. In addition, 2/2 Rhizopus oryzae and 1/1 Rhizopus stolonifer that were identified only to the genus level by the phenotypic method were correctly identified by MALDI-TOF MS. CONCLUSION: MALDI-TOF MS is a rapid and accurate technique, and could replace the conventional phenotypic method for routine identification of FRS fungi in clinical microbiology laboratories.

Molecular characteristics of the ompA gene of serotype B Chlamydia trachomatis in Qinghai Tibetan primary school students.

To study the molecular characteristics of Chlamydia trachomatis, the major outer membrane protein gene (ompA) of C. trachomatis from primary school students with trachoma residing in the Qinghai Tibetan area was sequenced and compared with the same serotype in GenBank. In Jianshetang Primary School and Galeng Central Primary School in the Galeng Tibetan Township of Qinghai Haidong Sala Autonomous County, scraped samples were collected from the upper tarsal conjunctiva and lower conjunctival sac of both eyes of 45 students with trachoma, stored at 4°C, and transported to Beijing Tongren Hospital by air within 24 h. The samples were screened for C. trachomatis by real-time PCR. The ompA gene from the C. trachomatis-positive samples was amplified by nested PCR. The serotype was confirmed by National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) BLAST search and homology analysis. The entire ompA gene sequence was compared with the corresponding gene sequences of serotype B strains available in GenBank. Of the 45 students aged 6-13 years with trachoma, 26 C. trachomatis-positive students were identified by the initial real-time PCR screening (average age, (9.09±1.63) years; sex ratio, 1.0), accounting for 57.78% (26/45). The cycle threshold values for real-time PCR were 16.79-37.77. Half (13/26) of C. trachomatis-positive students had a bacterial copy number of >10(5). The compliance rate of the ompA gene sequences with the C. trachomatis serotype B strains in GenBank was up to 99%. Two novel genetic mutations were found when the ompA gene was compared with those of the 11 serotype B strains in GenBank. The two non-synonymous mutations were located at (i) position 271 in the second constant domain, an adenine (A) to guanine (G) substitution (ACT→GCT), changing the amino acid at position 91 from threonine to alanine (Thr→Ala) in all 26 strains; and (ii) position 887 in the fourth variable domain, a cytosine (C) to thymine (T) substitution (GCA→GTA), changing the amino acid at residue 296 from alanine to valine (Ala→Val) in four of the 26 strains. Six mutations were identified relative to ATCC VR-573. The strains could be divided into two gene clusters according to the mutation at nucleotide position 887: CQZ-1 (China Qinghai Tibetan-1) and CQZ-2 (China Qinghai Tibetan-2). We thus detected two novel serotype B mutant strains of C. trachomatis among study subjects with trachoma.