Decoding Upconversion-Emitting Phase in Complex Composites Through Single-Particle-Level Upconversion Imaging and Density Functional Theory Calculations.

The crystal structure and phase stability of a host lattice plays an important role in efficient upconversion phenomena. In stable hosts, lanthanides doping should not generally change the crystal structure of the host itself. But when phase of a system drastically changes after lanthanide doping resulting in multiple phases, accurate identification of upconverting phase remains a challenge. Herein, an attempt to synthesize lanthanide-doped NiMoO4 by microwave hydrothermal method produced MoO3/Yb2Mo4O15/NiMoO4 micro-nano composite upconversion phosphor. A combined approach of density functional theory (DFT) calculations and single-particle-level upconversion imaging has been employed to elucidate the phase stability of different phases and upconversion properties within the composite. Through single-particle-level imaging under 980 nm excitation, an unprecedented resolution in visualizing individual emitting and non-emitting regions within the composite has been achieved, thereby allowing to accurately assign the Yb2Mo4O15 as a sole upconversion emitting phase in the composite. Result of the DFT calculation further shows that the Yb2Mo4O15 phase is the most thermodynamically preferred over other lanthanide-doped phases in the composite. This comprehensive understanding not only advances the knowledge of upconversion emission from composite materials but also holds promise for tailoring optical properties of materials for various applications, including bioimaging, sensing, and photonics, where controlled light emission is crucial.

Efficacy and tolerability of initial triple combination therapy with metformin, dapagliflozin and saxagliptin compared with stepwise add-on therapy in drug-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes (TRIPLE-AXEL study): A multicentre, randomized, 104-week, open-label, active-controlled trial.

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of an initial triple combination therapy (TCT) compared with conventional stepwise add-on therapy (SAT) in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2D). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This multicentre, randomized, 104-week, open-label trial randomized 105 patients with drug-naïve T2D (with HbA1c level ≥ 8.0%, < 11.0%) to the TCT (1000 mg of metformin, 10 mg of dapagliflozin and 5 mg of saxagliptin once daily) or SAT (initiated with metformin, followed by glimepiride and sitagliptin) groups. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients who achieved an HbA1c level of less than 6.5% without hypoglycaemia, weight gain of 5% or higher, or discontinuation of drugs because of adverse events at week 104. RESULTS: HbA1c reduction from baseline at week 104 was similar between the groups (the least squares mean change was -2.56% in the TCT group vs. -2.75% in the SAT group). The primary outcome was achieved in 39.0% and 17.1% of the TCT and SAT groups, respectively, with a risk difference of 22.0 (95% confidence interval 3.0, 40.8; P = .027). HbA1c level less than 6.5% at week 104 was 46.3% in both the TCT and SAT groups, whereas the incidence of hypoglycaemia, weight gain, or discontinuation of drugs was 16.7% and 62.0% in the TCT and SAT groups, respectively (P < .001). TCT was well-tolerated and had fewer adverse events than SAT. CONCLUSIONS: Among newly diagnosed patients with T2D, initial TCT effectively lowered HbA1c levels with higher tolerability and safety than SAT for 104 weeks, suggesting a novel strategy for initial combination therapy in T2D patients.

Effects of autophagy-inhibiting chemicals on sialylation of Fc-fusion glycoprotein in recombinant CHO cells.

The occurrence of autophagy in recombinant Chinese hamster ovary (rCHO) cell culture has attracted attention due to its effects on therapeutic protein production. Given the significance of glycosylation in therapeutic proteins, this study examined the effects of autophagy-inhibiting chemicals on sialylation of Fc-fusion glycoproteins in rCHO cells. Three chemical autophagy inhibitors known to inhibit different stages were separately treated with two rCHO cell lines that produce the same Fc-fusion glycoprotein derived from DUKX-B11 and DG44. All autophagy inhibitors significantly decreased the sialylation of Fc-fusion glycoprotein in both cell lines. The decrease in sialylation of Fc-fusion glycoprotein is unlikely to be attributed to the release of intracellular enzymes, given the high cell viability and low activity of extracellular sialidases. Interestingly, the five intracellular nucleotide sugars remained abundant in cells treated with autophagy inhibitors. In the mRNA expression profiles of 27 N-glycosylation-related genes using the NanoString nCounter system, no significant differences in gene expression were noted. With the positive effect of supplementing nucleotide sugar precursors on sialylation, attempts were made to enhance the levels of intracellular nucleotide sugars by supplying these precursors. The addition of nucleotide sugar precursors to cultures treated with inhibitors successfully enhanced the sialylation of Fc-fusion glycoproteins compared to the control culture. This was particularly evident under mild stress conditions and not under relatively severe stress conditions, which were characterized by a high decrease in sialylation. These results suggest that inhibiting autophagy in rCHO cell culture decreases sialylation of Fc-fusion glycoprotein by constraining the availability of intracellular nucleotide sugars. KEY POINTS: •  The autophagy inhibition in rCHO cell culture leads to a significant reduction in the sialylation of Fc-fusion glycoprotein. •  The pool of five intracellular nucleotide sugars remained highly abundant in cells treated with autophagy inhibitors. •  Supplementation of nucleotide sugar precursors effectively restores decreased sialylation, particularly under mild stress conditions but not in relatively severe stress conditions.

Effect of bowel preparation completion time on bowel cleansing efficacy: Prospective randomized controlled trial of different bowel preparation completion times precolonoscopy.

OBJECTIVES: The elapse time between the completion of bowel cleansing and colonoscopy is one of the important factors for proper bowel cleansing. Although several studies have reported that a short time interval resulted in a favorable bowel cleansing, no randomized controlled trial (RCT) has been conducted to determine the effect of the elapse time. Consequently, we performed an RCT to investigate the efficacy of bowel preparation of participants who underwent colonoscopy according to the different time intervals between the completion of bowel preparation and colonoscopy. METHODS: In this single-center RCT, study participants were randomized to complete bowel preparation either 2-4 h or 4-8 h before colonoscopy. The primary end-point was successful bowel preparation, rated using the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS). RESULTS: A total of 504 individuals were included (2-4 h, 255; 4-8 h, 249). The rate of successful bowel preparation in the 2-4 h group showed noninferiority compared with that of the 4-8 h group (97.6% vs. 95.2%; rate difference, 2.5% [-0.8% to 5.7%]; Pfor noninferiority < 0.001, Pfor superiority = 0.136). The rate for perfect cleansing (a BBPS score of 9) was higher in the 2-4 h group (56.5% vs. 39.8%, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: When bowel cleansing was finished 2-4 h before the start of colonoscopy, the overall bowel cleansing was noninferior, and perfect cleansing was superior, compared to that when cleansing was finished 4-8 h before colonoscopy.

DS86760016, a Leucyl-tRNA Synthetase Inhibitor, Is Active against Mycobacterium abscessus.

Benzoxaboroles are a new class of leucyl-tRNA synthetase inhibitors. Epetraborole, a benzoxaborole, is a clinical candidate developed for Gram-negative infections and has been confirmed to exhibit favorable activity against a well known pulmonary pathogen, Mycobacterium abscessus. However, according to ClinicalTrials.gov, in 2017, a clinical phase II study on the use of epetraborole to treat complicated urinary tract and intra-abdominal infections was terminated due to the rapid emergence of drug resistance during treatment. Nevertheless, epetraborole is in clinical development for nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) disease especially for Mycobacterium avium complex-related pulmonary disease (MAC-PD). DS86760016, an epetraborole analog, was further demonstrated to have an improved pharmacokinetic profile, lower plasma clearance, longer plasma half-life, and higher renal excretion than epetraborole in animal models. In this study, DS86760016 was found to be similarly active against M. abscessus in vitro, intracellularly, and in zebrafish infection models with a low mutation frequency. These results expand the diversity of druggable compounds as new benzoxaborole-based candidates for treating M. abscessus diseases.

Development of an SNP marker set for marker-assisted backcrossing using genotyping-by-sequencing in tetraploid perilla.

High-quality molecular markers are essential for marker-assisted selection to accelerate breeding progress. Compared with diploid species, recently diverged polyploid crop species tend to have highly similar homeologous subgenomes, which is expected to limit the development of broadly applicable locus-specific single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assays. Furthermore, it is particularly challenging to make genome-wide marker sets for species that lack a reference genome. Here, we report the development of a genome-wide set of kompetitive allele specific PCR (KASP) markers for marker-assisted recurrent selection (MARS) in the tetraploid minor crop perilla. To find locus-specific SNP markers across the perilla genome, we used genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) to construct linkage maps of two F2 populations. The two resulting high-resolution linkage maps comprised 2326 and 2454 SNP markers that spanned a total genetic distance of 2133 cM across 16 linkage groups and 2169 cM across 21 linkage groups, respectively. We then obtained a final genetic map consisting of 22 linkage groups with 1123 common markers from the two genetic maps. We selected 96 genome-wide markers for MARS and confirmed the accuracy of markers in the two F2 populations using a high-throughput Fluidigm system. We confirmed that 91.8% of the SNP genotyping results from the Fluidigm assay were the same as the results obtained through GBS. These results provide a foundation for marker-assisted backcrossing and the development of new varieties of perilla.

Effect of Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Based Confinement Layers on the Performance of Phase-Change Heterostructure Memory.

Phase-change random-access memory is a promising non-volatile memory technology. However repeated phase-change operations can cause durability issues owing to defects formed by long-distance atom diffusion. To mitigate these issues, phase-change heterostructure (PCH) devices with confinement material (CM) layers based on transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) such as TiTe2 have been proposed. This study implements PCH devices with additional TMDs, including NiTe2 and MoTe2 , alongside TiTe2 , and analyzes their characteristics by examining the differences in the CM layers. The results show that the NiTe2 -based PCH device demonstrates a RESET current of 1.4 mA, 38% lower than that of the TiTe2 -based device, enabling low-power operation. Furthermore, the MoTe2 -based PCH device exhibits a cycling endurance exceeding 107 cycles, a five-fold improvement in durability compare with the TiTe2 -based device. The performance differences observe in each PCH device can be attributed to the variation in the material properties, such as the cohesive energy and electrical conductivity, of the TMDs used as the CM layer. These results provide critical clues to improve the performance and reliability of conventional PCH memory devices.

Efficacy of tegoprazan-based bismuth quadruple therapy compared with bismuth quadruple therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection: A randomized, double-blind, active-controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Bismuth-based quadruple therapy (BQT) is recommended as the first-line empirical therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication as it is not associated with resistance. However, few studies have investigated the use of potassium-competitive acid blockers for BQT. AIM: To investigate the efficacy and safety profiles of tegoprazan-based BQT (TBMT) versus lansoprazole-based BQT (LBMT) for H. pylori eradication. METHODS: We included patients older than 18 with an H. pylori infection without a history of H. pylori eradication who visited four university-affiliated hospitals between March 2020 and December 2021. H. pylori infection was diagnosed using a rapid urease test or Giemsa staining. Patients were randomly assigned to the TBMT or LBMT group. RESULTS: 217 subjects were randomly allocated to receive either TBMT (n = 108) or LBMT (n = 109) therapy. Intention-to-treat (ITT) eradication rates of TBMT and LBMT were 80.0% and 77.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]: -8.4 to 13.7, p = 0.0124), respectively. Corresponding modified ITT rates were 90.3% and 84.5% (95% CI: -3.6 to 15.2, p = 0.0005), respectively. Per-protocol (PP) eradication rates of TBMT and LBMT were 90.2% and 82.4% (95% CI: -2.5 to 18.2, p = 0.0003), respectively. There was no significant difference in the rate of adverse events between the TBMT and LBMT groups (39.1% vs. 43.4%, p = 0.5211). TBMT showed higher eradication rates than that of LBMT in ITT, m-ITT, and PP analysis. CONCLUSION: TBMT showed a noninferior eradication rate and similar adverse events to LBMT as a first-line eradication regimen. Our results suggest that tegoprazan might be substituted for proton pump inhibitors in H. pylori eradication regimens.

Efficacy of bougie dilation for normal diet in benign esophageal stricture.

OBJECTIVES: Bougination is one of the first-line treatments in benign esophageal stricture (BES). The aim of the study was to identify clinical and endoscopic factors affecting the achievement of a normal diet with only bougie dilation in patients with BES. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients treated with only bougination for BES at three hospitals were retrospectively investigated. Data including patient demographics, stricture and procedural characteristics were collected. Clinical success was defined as normal diet without additional procedures for two months after bougination. Clinical success rate and associated factors were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 121 patients with BES were included. The most common cause of BES was post-operative stricture (n = 55). Finally, 43 (36%) patients were able to eat a normal diet with only bougination. Of these patients, 42 (97.7%) achieved clinical success in the first three sessions or less. Among causes of stenosis, corrosive injury had the lowest success rate (9/40, 22.5%). Clinical success rate was significantly higher for those with the length of stricture of less than 2 cm (47.2%), those with pre-procedural dysphagia of semi-solid or soft diet (51.3%) and those with dilation of 13 mm or more (46.1%). However, the duration of symptom, the number of previous endoscopic treatments and the location of stenosis were not related to clinical success. CONCLUSIONS: Normal diet is possible in one-third of BES after bougination alone. Predictable factors for achieving a normal diet were less than four sessions of dilation, short length of stricture, pre-procedural dysphagia status and diameter of dilator.

The optimal interval of surveillance gastroscopy after endoscopic resection for gastric neoplasia: a multicenter cohort study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Due to the possible metachronous recurrence of gastric neoplasia, surveillance gastroscopy is mandatory after endoscopic resection for gastric neoplasia. However, there is no consensus on the surveillance gastroscopy interval. This study aimed to find an optimal interval of surveillance gastroscopy and to investigate the risk factors for metachronous gastric neoplasia. METHODS: Medical records were reviewed retrospectively in patients who underwent endoscopic resection for gastric neoplasia in 3 teaching hospitals from June 2012 to July 2022. Patients were divided into two groups; annual surveillance vs. biannual surveillance. The incidence of metachronous gastric neoplasia was identified, and the risk factors for metachronous gastric neoplasia were investigated. RESULTS: Among the 1,533 patients who underwent endoscopic resection for gastric neoplasia, 677 patients were enrolled in this study (annual surveillance 302, biannual surveillance 375). Metachronous gastric neoplasia was observed in 61 patients (annual surveillance 26/302, biannual surveillance 32/375, P = 0.989), and metachronous gastric adenocarcinoma was observed in 26 patients (annual surveillance 13/302, biannual surveillance 13/375, P = 0.582). All the lesions were removed by endoscopic resection successfully. In a multivariate analysis, severe atrophic gastritis on gastroscopy was an independent risk factor for metachronous gastric adenocarcinoma (odds ratio 3.8, 95% confidence interval 1.4‒10.1; P = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Meticulous observation to detect the metachronous gastric neoplasia is necessary for patients with severe atrophic gastritis during follow-up gastroscopy after endoscopic resection for gastric neoplasia. Annual surveillance gastroscopy might be enough after endoscopic resection for gastric neoplasia.

Sectioning of the Anterolateral Ligaments in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Sectioned Knees Increases Internal Rotation of the Knee Joint: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Cadaveric Studies.

PURPOSE: To investigate whether anterolateral ligament (ALL) sectioning (sALL) in the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)-sectioned (sACL) knee increases the anterior tibial translation (ATT) or internal rotation (IR) of the knee from previous cadaveric biomechanical studies. METHODS: Multiple comprehensive literature databases, including PubMed (MEDLINE), EMBASE, and Cochrane Library, were searched for studies evaluating the in vitro biomechanical function of ALL. This meta-analysis compared the increased ATT and IR between the sACL and sACL + sALL knees at 30°, 60°, and 90° of knee flexion. Thresholds of 2 mm for the difference in ATT and 2° for the difference in IR were considered to be clinically significant. RESULTS: Thirteen cadaveric biomechanical studies were included. All 13 studies satisfied the threshold for a satisfactory methodological quality (Quality Appraisal for Cadaveric Studies score >75%). At 30° of knee flexion, the meta-analysis showed a greater increase in ATT in the sACL + sALL knees than in the sACL knees by 1.23 mm (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.62-1.84; P < .0001). However, the mean difference was less than the minimal clinically significant difference (<2 mm). The meta-analysis also showed a greater increase in IR in the sACL + sALL knees than in the sACL knees at 30° (mean difference [MD]: 2.24°; 95% CI: 1.39-3.09; P < .00001), 60° (MD: 2.77°; 95% CI: 1.88-3.67; P < .00001), and 90° (MD: 2.29°; 95% CI: 1.42-3.15; P < .00001) of knee flexion. The differences in IR at 30°, 60°, and 90° of knee flexion were clinically relevant (>2°). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the different experimental setups and protocols between studies, the meta-analysis of biomechanical cadaveric studies showed that sectioning of the ALL in sACL knees increased IR at 30°, 60°, and 90° of knee flexion. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that ALL contributes to IR in ACL-deficient knees at 30°, 60°, and 90° of flexion.

Which is more stable and specific: DSM-5 internet gaming disorder or ICD-11 gaming disorder? A longitudinal study.

AIM: The high comorbidity rates of internet gaming disorder (IGD) and gaming disorder (GD) with other psychiatric disorders are concerning. A follow-up study of gamers from clinical and nonclinical samples with and without diagnoses of IGD or GD was conducted to investigate the changes in diagnoses over a 1-year period, compare their diagnostic stability, and examine the patterns of co-occurrence between IGD and GD with other psychiatric disorders over the same period. METHODS: Baseline and 1-year follow-up data of 279 participants, including 120 problematic gaming patients and 159 gamers from the general population, were analyzed. Information on demographics, gaming habits, and self-reported psychological status was collected. Additionally, a structured interview was conducted using the Gaming Diagnostic Interview and the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. RESULTS: Although there was no significant difference between the changes in IGD/GD diagnosis during the 1-year period, 34.7% of the participants had a change in IGD diagnosis, while the number of GD cases increased to 60.4%. When evaluating the fixed effects of comorbidity on IGD and GD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder had the highest odds ratio for both IGD (75.23; 95% confidence interval [CI], 10.67-530.61) and GD (117.02 × 106 ; 95% CI, 2.23 × 106 -6132.64 × 106 ). CONCLUSION: These results reveal that a GD diagnosis might be more prone to change than an IGD diagnosis. GD was also found to be more affected by comorbid psychiatric disorders.

Efficacy of a recombinant M-like protein, SimA as a subunit vaccine candidate against Streptococcus parauberis infection in olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus.

Streptococcus parauberis, a gram-positive cocci, causes bacterial disease in farmed fish. The recent increase in S. parauberis infection in aquatic farms in South Korea has justified the importance of vaccine development for the prevention of this disease. In this study, we evaluated the effect of subunit vaccines prepared from recombinant M-like protein (SimA) and fibrinogen-binding protein (FBP) candidates with an aluminum hydroxide adjuvant against S. parauberis infection in olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus. For the in vivo experiment, fish (average length, 7.18 cm; average weight, 3.5 g) were injected intraperitoneally with: phosphate buffer saline (PBS, group 1), PBS/aluminum hydroxide (group 2), FBP/aluminum hydroxide (group 3), SimA/aluminum hydroxide (group 4), and SimA/FBP/aluminum hydroxide (group 5). After 3 weeks, the fish in each group were boosted using PBS (group 1 and 2), FBP (group 3), SimA (group 4), and SimA/FBP (group 5) without adjuvant. We found that the relative percent survival of fish after S. parauberis exposure in group 2, 3, 4, and 5 was 6.25%, 18.75%, 50%, and 12.5%, respectively, whereas the mortality in groups 1 was 80%, respectively. We performed Western blot, ELISA, and quantitative real time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) after vaccination to investigate the further efficacy of the vaccine. Western blot and ELISA of vaccinated fish serum confirmed the production of specific antibodies against SimA and FBP. Furthermore, results of qRT-PCR showed that recombinant protein SimA induced a remarkably specific-antibody response compared with that in FBP or control and increased the expression of various immune response-related genes including interleukin-8 (IL-8), toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), CD4-1, and MHC II. Thus, these results indicate that SimA is a potent vaccine candidate for protection against S. parauberis infection.

Taeanamides A and B, Nonribosomal Lipo-Decapeptides Isolated from an Intertidal-Mudflat-Derived Streptomyces sp.

Two new lipo-decapeptides, namely taeanamides A and B (1 and 2), were discovered from the Gram-positive bacterium Streptomyces sp. AMD43, which was isolated from a mudflat sample from Anmyeondo, Korea. The exact molecular masses of 1 and 2 were revealed by high-resolution mass spectrometry, and the planar structures of 1 and 2 were elucidated using NMR spectroscopy. The absolute configurations of 1 and 2 were determined using a combined analysis of 1H-1H coupling constants and ROESY correlations, the advanced Marfey's method, and bioinformatics. The putative nonribosomal peptide synthetase pathway for the taeanamides was identified by analyzing the full genome sequence data of Streptomyces sp. AMD43. We also found that taeanamide A exhibited mild anti-tuberculosis bioactivity, whereas taeanamide B showed significant bioactivity against several cancer cell lines.

Assessment of a Therapeutic X-ray Radiation Dose Measurement System Based on a Flexible Copper Indium Gallium Selenide Solar Cell.

Several detectors have been developed to measure radiation doses during radiotherapy. However, most detectors are not flexible. Consequently, the airgaps between the patient surface and detector could reduce the measurement accuracy. Thus, this study proposes a dose measurement system based on a flexible copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cell. Our system comprises a customized CIGS solar cell (with a size 10 × 10 cm2 and thickness 0.33 mm), voltage amplifier, data acquisition module, and laptop with in-house software. In the study, the dosimetric characteristics, such as dose linearity, dose rate independence, energy independence, and field size output, of the dose measurement system in therapeutic X-ray radiation were quantified. For dose linearity, the slope of the linear fitted curve and the R-square value were 1.00 and 0.9999, respectively. The differences in the measured signals according to changes in the dose rates and photon energies were <2% and <3%, respectively. The field size output measured using our system exhibited a substantial increase as the field size increased, contrary to that measured using the ion chamber/film. Our findings demonstrate that our system has good dosimetric characteristics as a flexible in vivo dosimeter. Furthermore, the size and shape of the solar cell can be easily customized, which is an advantage over other flexible dosimeters based on an a-Si solar cell.

Genome Resource of Podosphaera xanthii, the Host-Specific Fungal Pathogen That Causes Cucurbit Powdery Mildew.

Approximately 33 types of commonly consumed fruits and vegetables are members of the family Cucurbitaceae, making it an important crop family worldwide. However, pathogen resistance to pesticides and fungicides has become a growing problem in cultivation practices. The identification of the effector proteins in each unique fungus-host pair would help toward the development of strategies for preventing the infection of important crops. In this study, we characterized the genome of Podosphaera xanthii, the fungal pathogen that causes powdery mildew disease in cucurbitaceous plants. A first-draft genome of 209.08 MB was assembled and compared with those of 25 other fungal pathogens, particularly for identifying candidate secreted effector proteins. This draft genome can serve as a valuable resource for future genomic and proteomic studies of P. xanthii and its host-specific pathogenesis.[Formula: see text] Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.

Regiospecific Synthesis of Calcium-Independent Daptomycin Antibiotics using a Chemoenzymatic Method.

Daptomycin (DAP) is a calcium (Ca2+ )-dependent FDA-approved antibiotic drug for the treatment of Gram-positive infections. It possesses a complex pharmacophore hampering derivatization and/or synthesis of analogues. To mimic the Ca2+ -binding effect, we used a chemoenzymatic approach to modify the tryptophan (Trp) residue of DAP and synthesize kinetically characterized and structurally elucidated regiospecific Trp-modified DAP analogues. We demonstrated that the modified DAPs are several times more active than the parent molecule against antibiotic-susceptible and antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive bacteria. Strikingly, and in contrast to the parent molecule, the DAP derivatives do not rely on calcium or any additional elements for activity.

Alcohol-Treated Porous PTFE Substrate for the Penetration of PTFE-Incompatible Hydrocarbon-Based Ionomer Solutions.

For a mechanically tough proton exchange membrane, a composite membrane incorporated with a porous polymer substrate is of great interest to suppress the ionomer swelling and to improve the dimensional stability and mechanical strength of the ionomers. For the composite membranes, good impregnation of substrate-incompatible ionomer solution into the substrate pores still remains one of the challenges to be solved. Here, we demonstrated a facile process (surface treatment with solvents compatible with both substrate and the ionomer solution) for the fabrication of the composite membranes using polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) as a porous substrate and poly(arylene ether sulfone) (SPAES) as a hydrocarbon-based (HC) ionomer. Appropriate solvents for the surface treatment were sought through the contact angle measurement, and it was found that alcohol solvents effectively tuned the surface property of PTFE pores to facilitate the penetration of the SPAES/N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) solution into ∼300 nm pores of the substrate. Using this simple alcohol treatment, the SPAES/NMP contact angle was reduced in half, and we could fabricate the mechanically tough PTFE/HC composite membranes, which were apparently translucent and microscopically almost void-free composite membranes.

Current status on synthesis, properties and applications of CsPbX3(X = Cl, Br, I) perovskite quantum dots/nanocrystals.

The quantum confinement effect and interesting optical properties of cesium lead halide (CsPbX3; X = Cl, Br, I) perovskite quantum dots (QDs) and nanocrystals (NCs) have given a new horizon to lighting and photonic applications. Given the exponential rate at which scientific results on CsPbX3NCs are published in the last few years, it can be expected that the research in CsPbX3NCs will further receive increasing scientific interests in the near future and possibly lead to great commercial opportunities to realize these materials based practical applications. With the rapid progress in the single-photon emitting CsPbX3QDs and NCs, practical applications of the quantum technologies such as single-photon emitting light-emitting diode, quantum lasers, quantum computing might soon be possible. But to reach at cutting edge of stable perovskite QDs/NCs, the study of fundamental insight and theoretical aspects of crystal design is yet insufficient. Even more, it has aroused many unanswered questions related to the stability, optical and electronic properties of the CsPbX3QDs. Aim of the present review is to illustrate didactically a precise study of recent progress in the synthesis, properties and applications of CsPbX3QDs and NCs. Critical issues that currently restrict the applicability of these QDs will be identified and advanced methodologies currently in the developing queue, to overcome the roadblock, will be presented. And finally, the prospects for future directions will be provided.

Pneumonia-targeted lopinavir/ritonavir-based treatment for patients with COVID-19: an early-period retrospective single center observational study.

BACKGROUND: Robust evidenced treatment strategy for Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has not been established yet. Early, targeted, comprehensive management approach can be essential. METHODS: A lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r)-based antiviral treatment was administered to the patients with computed tomography (CT)-documented pneumonia. Medical records of patients with COVID-19, previously discharged or hospitalized for ≥ 21 days at the Seoul Medical Center from January 29 to April 15, 2020 were reviewed to analyze clinical and virological outcomes. Patients were divided into two groups (PCR-Negative conversion group vs. Non-negative conversion group and requiring oxygen group vs. Non-requiring oxygen group). RESULTS: In total, 136 patients with a mean age of 41.8 ± 18.2 years were included with median 3-day delay of hospitalization after illness. Thirteen (9.56%) were initially asymptomatic, and 5 (3.67%) were persistently asymptomatic. Eighty-five (62.5%) had CT-documented pneumonia, 94% of whom received LPV/r treatments. A total of 53 patients (38.97%) had negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results within 28 days. Eight (9.4%) out of 85 pneumonic patients received oxygen supplementation. Patients with initial lower respiratory symptoms showed significant delay in PCR negative conversion (> 28 days) (odds ratio [OR] 0.166; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.067-0.477; P < 0.001). However, antiviral treatment for pneumonic patients was significantly related with early conversion within 28 days (OR 3.049; 95% CI 1.128-8.243; P = 0.028). Increasing age increased the likelihood of oxygen supplementation requirement in the pneumonic patient group (OR 1.108; 95% CI 1.021-1.202; P = 0.014). CONCLUSIONS: Early, pneumonia targeted LPV/r-based antiviral therapy resulted in a significantly higher probability of negative conversion of PCR within 28 days compared to symptomatic treatment.