Development of an exogenous coreactant-free electrochemiluminescent sensor for sensing glucose.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are crystalline porous polymers with the characteristics of a large specific surface area, controllable pore structures, high stability, and low mass density. Herein, we demonstrate the development of an exogenous coreactant-free electrochemiluminescent sensor based on a hydrazone-linked COF for sensing glucose. We synthesized a TFPPy-DMeTHz-COF with the hydrazone bond as the linkage and 2,5-dimethoxyterephthalohydrazide (DMeTHz) and 1,3,6,8-tetrakis(4-formylphenyl)pyrene (TFPPy) as the monomers. The obtained TFPPy-DMeTHz-COF exhibits high electrochemiluminescence (ECL) efficiency (21.7%) without either the addition of any coreactants or the removal of dissolved O2, and the ECL signal intensity of the TFPPy-DMeTHz-COF is 6.6 and 113-fold higher than those of TFPPy and DMeTHz, respectively. The enhanced ECL emission of the TFPPy-DMeTHz-COF is induced by OH- in PBS, and the ECL signal exhibits linear dependence on the pH value in the range from 3 to 10. When glucose is present, the addition of glucose oxidase (GOx) to the O2-containing solution generates gluconic acid, and the resultant gluconic acid can induce the decrease of the pH value and the quenching of the ECL emission of the TFPPy-DMeTHz-COF. This exogenous coreactant-free electrochemiluminescent sensor exhibits good selectivity, excellent stability, and high sensitivity with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.031 µM, and it can accurately detect glucose in human serum.

The role of different educational programs in specialty preference among Chinese medical students: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The imbalanced supply of physicians in different specialties and the decreasing number of young doctors in China have made it important to understand specialty preference and influencing factors and to evaluate the role of different programs in specialty choice and career planning among Chinese medical students to help shape the social healthcare system and ensure adequate medical practitioners in each specialty. METHOD: A cross-sectional study comprising medical students from 5-year and 8-year program was conducted online. Demographics, specialty preferences and influencing factors, and career planning situations were collected and analysed by the chi-square test. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed in each program to identify the association between influencing factors and each specialty. RESULTS: A total of 128 students (57.03% 5-year, 42.97% 8-year) responded to our survey. More 8-year students had a doctor in their household than 5-year students (25.45% vs. 10.96%, p < 0.05). The most preferred specialty among 5-year students was surgery, followed by others and internal medicine, while that most preferred by 8-year students was surgery, followed by internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology and anesthesiology. Compared with 5-year students, more 8-year students considered 'personal competencies' (66.67% vs. 40.85%, p < 0.05), 'the reputation of the specialty' (18.52% vs. 7.04%, p ≤ 0.05), 'fewer doctor‒patient disputes' (27.78% vs. 11.27%, p < 0.05) and 'advice from family members' (24.07% vs. 7.04%, p < 0.05) influential. Among 5-year students, 'personal competencies' was positively associated with preference for surgery and 'work-life balance' was negatively associated. Among 8-year students, 'personal competencies' and 'work-life balance' were positively associated with internal medicine, while 'interests in the specialty' and 'broad career prospects' were negatively related. Many students need further career guidance, and personalized tutoring was the most wanted method. CONCLUSIONS: There was no difference between 5-year and 8-year students regarding specialty preference, but bias existed, possibly due to the influence of the real-world situation. Improving the working environment and welfare might be beneficial for developing a balanced distribution of the workforce among different medical departments. It is necessary for medical schools to develop programs accordingly to help them better plan their future careers.

mTOR Signaling Pathway in Bone Diseases Associated with Hyperglycemia.

The interplay between bone and glucose metabolism has highlighted hyperglycemia as a potential risk factor for bone diseases. With the increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus worldwide and its subsequent socioeconomic burden, there is a pressing need to develop a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in hyperglycemia-mediated bone metabolism. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a serine/threonine protein kinase that senses extracellular and intracellular signals to regulate numerous biological processes, including cell growth, proliferation, and differentiation. As mounting evidence suggests the involvement of mTOR in diabetic bone disease, we provide a comprehensive review of its effects on bone diseases associated with hyperglycemia. This review summarizes key findings from basic and clinical studies regarding mTOR's roles in regulating bone formation, bone resorption, inflammatory responses, and bone vascularity in hyperglycemia. It also provides valuable insights into future research directions aimed at developing mTOR-targeted therapies for combating diabetic bone diseases.

Efficacy of a new day surgery management mode based on WeChat: a study protocol for randomised controlled trials.

INTRODUCTION: There is an enormous imbalance between the rapid development of day surgery and the current conventional medical services. Hence, an effective day surgery management mode should be developed that can be used to constantly follow up on patients both preoperatively and postoperatively. In this study, WeChat was chosen as the platform. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of a new day surgery management mode. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This randomised controlled study investigated the efficacy of a new day surgery management mode based on WeChat. The target number of participants was 1000 per group. The application (app) will send personalised information based on the medical history of the patient and the type of surgery at different time points preoperatively and postoperatively. The healthcare worker can follow up the patient and acquire clinical data by simply signing into the app. The patient and the healthcare worker can also engage in video or voice chats using the app when necessary. Multiple departments, including anaesthesiology, internal medicine, surgery, nursing and psychology, will participate in this new mode. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval was obtained from the West China Hospital of Sichuan University Biomedical Research Ethics Committee. Results of this study will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at international conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ChiCTR2100050793.

Overview of lethal human coronaviruses.

Coronavirus infections of multiple origins have spread to date worldwide, causing severe respiratory diseases. Seven coronaviruses that infect humans have been identified: HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-NL63, HCoV-HKU1, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2. Among them, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV caused outbreaks in 2002 and 2012, respectively. SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) is the most recently discovered. It has created a severe worldwide outbreak beginning in late 2019, leading to date to over 4 million cases globally. Viruses are genetically simple, yet highly diverse. However, the recent outbreaks of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, and the ongoing outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, indicate that there remains a long way to go to identify and develop specific therapeutic treatments. Only after gaining a better understanding of their pathogenic mechanisms can we minimize viral pandemics. This paper mainly focuses on SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2. Here, recent studies are summarized and reviewed, with a focus on virus-host interactions, vaccine-based and drug-targeted therapies, and the development of new approaches for clinical diagnosis and treatment.