The profile of HIV-1 drug resistance in Shanghai, China: a retrospective study from 2017 to 2021.

BACKGROUND: HIV-1 drug resistance is a huge challenge in the era of ART. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of acquired HIV-1 drug resistance (ADR) in Shanghai, China. METHODS: An epidemiological study was performed among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH) receiving ART in Shanghai from January 2017 to December 2021. A total of 8669 PLWH were tested for drug resistance by genotypic resistance testing. Drug resistance mutations (DRMs) were identified using the Stanford University HIV Drug Resistance Database program. RESULTS: Ten HIV-1 subtypes/circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) were identified, mainly including CRF01_AE (46.8%), CRF07_BC (35.7%), B (6.4%), CRF55_01B (2.8%) and CRF08_BC (2.4%). The prevalence of ADR was 48% (389/811). Three NRTI-associated mutations (M184V/I/L, S68G/N/R and K65R/N) and four NNRTI-associated mutations (V179D/E/T/L, K103N/R/S/T, V106M/I/A and G190A/S/T/C/D/E/Q) were the most common DRMs. These DRMs caused high-level resistance to lamivudine, emtricitabine, efavirenz and nevirapine. The DRM profiles appeared to be significantly different among different subtypes. CONCLUSIONS: We revealed HIV-1 subtype characteristics and the DRM profile in Shanghai, which provide crucial guidance for clinical treatment and management of PLWH.

Symptom effects and central mechanism of acupuncture in patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders: a systematic review based on fMRI studies.

BACKGROUND: Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are closely related to disorders of brain-gut interaction. FGIDs are the dominant disease of acupuncture treatment, which can improve the symptoms and emotional state. AIM: To evaluate the results and quality of the available clinical evidence and to summarize the central mechanism and effect of acupuncture on FGIDs. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched by computer to collect the randomized controlled trials (RCTs), which contained central mechanisms via fMRI research of acupuncture in the treatment of FGIDs patients. The search time limit was from the establishment of the database to June 22, 2022. Two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and evaluated the quality. RESULTS: Ten RCTs involving fMRI data were included in this study, including 4 Functional dyspepsia (FD) studies, 3 irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) studies, and 3 functional constipation (FC) studies. The score of improvements in both gastrointestinal symptoms and psychological symptoms showed that acupuncture could significantly improve the clinical symptoms of FGIDs patients, including abdominal pain, abdominal distension, frequency of defecation, and stool characteristics, and could relieve anxiety and depression symptoms of patients. Acupuncture could regulate brain functional connections and functional activity in FGIDs patients, mainly including insula, anterior cingulate cortex, prefrontal cortex, thalamus, hippocampus, amygdala and other brain regions. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture can improve gastrointestinal symptoms and psychological status in FGIDs patients, and regulate functional connectivity and activity of brain regions such as insula, ACC, PFC, thalamus, HIPP, amygdala, etc. These changes in brain activity may related to visceral sensation, pain regulation, emotion, but further studies of high quality are still necessary.

Self-constrained DNAzyme for aptamer-based and sensitive label-free fluorescent assay of sarafloxacin via signal amplification cascades.

The convenient and sensitive assay of antibiotic residuals is important for monitoring food safety and human health. Here, with a new self-constrained metal ion-dependent DNAzyme and hybridization chain reaction (HCR) signal amplifications, a simple label-free and highly sensitive aptamer-based fluorescent sensing assay for sarafloxacin is established. The target sarafloxacin molecules bind the aptamers in the duplex DNA probes to release the complementary strands, which cyclically activate the catalytic activity of the self-constrained DNAzymes to cut the substrate sequences to liberate many ssDNA strands. Subsequent HCR of two hairpins is initiated by these ssDNA strands for yielding long dsDNAs with lots of G-quadruplexes, which intercalate thioflavin T dye to generate drastically magnified fluorescence for non-label and sensitive sarafloxacin detection at the detection limit of 29 pM. Also, a highly selective assay of low levels of sarafloxacin in diluted milk samples has been demonstrated, showing the great potential of our approach for the development of versatile sensitive and convenient aptasensors for monitoring different antibiotics.

Prognostic Factors of Severe Pneumonia in Adult Patients: A Systematic Review.

Objectives: This systematic review aimed to identify independent prognostic factors of severe pneumonia. Methods: A systematic search was undertaken in Pubmed, Embase, and Web of Science from inception to March 2023 to find cohort studies investigating the association between prognostic factors and adverse outcomes of severe pneumonia in adult patients. The study selection process involved screening the title and abstract of articles to identify relevant studies on severe pneumonia in adult patients. Inclusion criteria included studies with a prospective or retrospective longitudinal design, investigating prognostic factors, and performing multivariate analysis. Exclusion criteria included non-English or non-Chinese studies, studies focusing on severe pneumonia in children, studies conducting only univariate analysis, and conference abstracts, reviews, and case reports. The risk of bias was assessed by the Quality In Prognosis Studies (QUIPS) tool. Results: A total of 27 published studies, including both prospective and retrospective cohort studies, were included. These studies reported on 53 different prognostic factors and covered four unique outcomes. The quality assessment indicated that 59.3% of the studies had a low risk of bias. Age, functional dependence, heart rate, and oxygen saturation/respiratory rate index were found to be associated with mortality. Additionally, various laboratory indexes, such as serum cholinesterase, albumin, and blood urea nitrogen to creatinine ratio, demonstrated either protective or risk factors for prognosis. Injury and comorbidities, including acute renal failure, chronic lung disease, and Glasgow Coma Scale, were identified as risk factors for mortality. Scoring tools like Acute Physiological and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score, CURB-65 score, and Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI) score showed associations with mortality. Lastly, certain treatment protocols, such as vasoactive agent use, vasopressor use, and mechanical ventilation, were found to increase the risk of mortality, while invasive mechanical ventilation and the use of remdesivir and steroids had a positive impact on prognosis. These findings provide valuable insights for clinicians in predicting and managing severe pneumonia outcomes. Conclusion: This most comprehensive review identified 53 unique prognostic factors of severe pneumonia, which provided a reference for subsequent researchers to construct models to predict clinical outcomes in patients with severe pneumonia for clinical use. By identifying prognostic factors through multivariate analysis, healthcare providers can better assess the severity and prognosis of individual patients. This knowledge can aid in treatment planning, resource allocation, and determining the appropriate level of care for patients with severe pneumonia. Additionally, understanding the prognostic factors can help identify high-risk patients who may require more intensive monitoring or interventions. Overall, this study provides valuable insights that can inform clinical practice and improve patient outcomes in the management of severe pneumonia.

Animal models of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: A machine-assisted systematic review and meta-analysis.

We report a systematic review and meta-analysis of research using animal models of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). We systematically searched 5 online databases in September 2012 and updated the search in November 2015 using machine learning and text mining to reduce the screening for inclusion workload and improve accuracy. For each comparison, we calculated a standardised mean difference (SMD) effect size, and then combined effects in a random-effects meta-analysis. We assessed the impact of study design factors and reporting of measures to reduce risks of bias. We present power analyses for the most frequently reported behavioural tests; 337 publications were included. Most studies (84%) used male animals only. The most frequently reported outcome measure was evoked limb withdrawal in response to mechanical monofilaments. There was modest reporting of measures to reduce risks of bias. The number of animals required to obtain 80% power with a significance level of 0.05 varied substantially across behavioural tests. In this comprehensive summary of the use of animal models of CIPN, we have identified areas in which the value of preclinical CIPN studies might be increased. Using both sexes of animals in the modelling of CIPN, ensuring that outcome measures align with those most relevant in the clinic, and the animal's pain contextualised ethology will likely improve external validity. Measures to reduce risk of bias should be employed to increase the internal validity of studies. Different outcome measures have different statistical power, and this can refine our approaches in the modelling of CIPN.

Nanoscale engineering of ring-mounted nanostructure around AAO nanopores for highly sensitive and reliable SERS substrates.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is recognized as one of the most favored techniques for enhancing Raman signals. The morphology of the SERS substrate profoundly affects molecular Raman spectra. This study aimed to construct a ring-mounted nanostructured substrate via liquid-liquid two-phase self-assembly incorporated with anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane transfer techniques. High-density nanoparticles (NPs) assembled on AAO membranes were ascribed to reduce the diameters of the nanopores, with Au-Ag alloy NPs to regulate the dielectric constant so as to reveal the local surface plasmon resonance tunability. SERS engineered in this way allowed for the fabrication of a ring-mounted nanostructured substrate where the distribution density of NPs and dielectric constant could be independently fine-tuned. High SERS activity of the substrate was revealed by detecting the enhanced factor of crystal violet and rhodamine 6G molecules, which was up to 1.56 × 106. Moreover, SERS of thiram target molecules confirmed the supersensitivity and repeatability of the substrate as a practical application. The results of this study manifested a low-cost but high-efficiency ring-mounted nanostructured SERS substrate that might be suitable in many fields, including biosensing, medical research, environmental monitoring, and optoelectronics.

Induced circular dichroism of achiral dielectric elliptical hole arrays with a monolayer borophene film.

Induced circular dichroism (ICD) is widely used in miniature polarizers, molecular detection, and negative refractive index media. However, enhancing and the dynamic regulation of ICD signals of achiral nanostructures in the visible and near-infrared range remain the current challenges. Here, monolayer borophene (MB) with anisotropic conductance was incorporated into achiral nanostructures, which consisted of achiral dielectric elliptical hole arrays (DENAs) placed on a silver substrate. Two narrowband ICD signals for DENAs/MB were achieved in the near-infrared range under different circularly polarized lights. The distributions of the magnetic field of DENAs/MB could explain the two narrowband ICD signals originating from the coupling of surface plasmon polariton resonances along the x- and y directions. Not only could the ICD signals be tuned by the structural parameters of DENAs/MB, but they could also be actively tuned by the incident angles of the excitation light and the carrier concentration of MB. In addition, the sensitivity and the figure of merit of DENAs/MB could reach 302/RIU and 61.0. These results provide a concise method for the design of dynamically adjustable chiral devices based on borophene and promote its application in molecular recognition and chiral catalysis.

Genome-wide analysis of SET-domain group histone methyltransferases in apple reveals their role in development and stress responses.

BACKGROUND: Histone lysine methylation plays an important role in plant development and stress responses by activating or repressing gene expression. Histone lysine methylation is catalyzed by a class of SET-domain group proteins (SDGs). Although an increasing number of studies have shown that SDGs play important regulatory roles in development and stress responses, the functions of SDGs in apple remain unclear. RESULTS: A total of 67 SDG members were identified in the Malus×domestica genome. Syntenic analysis revealed that most of the MdSDG duplicated gene pairs were associated with a recent genome-wide duplication event of the apple genome. These 67 MdSDG members were grouped into six classes based on sequence similarity and the findings of previous studies. The domain organization of each MdSDG class was characterized by specific patterns, which was consistent with the classification results. The tissue-specific expression patterns of MdSDGs among the 72 apple tissues in the different apple developmental stages were characterized to provide insight into their potential functions in development. The expression profiles of MdSDGs were also investigated in fruit development, the breaking of bud dormancy, and responses to abiotic and biotic stress; the results indicated that MdSDGs might play a regulatory role in development and stress responses. The subcellular localization and putative interaction network of MdSDG proteins were also analyzed. CONCLUSIONS: This work presents a fundamental comprehensive analysis of SDG histone methyltransferases in apple and provides a basis for future studies of MdSDGs involved in apple development and stress responses.

Dynamically adjustable-induced THz circular dichroism and biosensing application of symmetric silicon-graphene-metal composite nanostructures.

Induced circular dichroism (ICD) has been used to detect biomolecular conformations through the coupling between chiral molecules and achiral metal nanostructures with the localized surface plasmon (LSP). However, this ICD is always weak and cannot be dynamically adjusted. Here, we put dielectric and graphene nanostructures on a metal-substrate for restricting more light energies and obtaining dynamic adjustable performance. A composite nanostructure array composed of achiral silicon-nanorods on a metal-substrate and graphene-ribbons (ASMG) is theoretically investigated. Two strong ICD signals appear in the THz region. Near-field magnetic distributions of ASMG reveal that the two strong ICD signals are mainly due to the surface plasmon resonances (SPPs) on the metal-substrate and LSP in the graphene nanostructures, respectively. The ICD signals strongly depend on the geometric parameters of ASMG and are dynamically adjusted by just changing the Fermi levels of graphene-ribbons. In addition, left-handed ASMG and right-handed ASMG can be used to identify the chiral molecular solutions with different chiralities. The maximum enhancement factor of the chiral molecular solutions could reach up to 3500 times in the THz region. These results can help to design dynamically adjustable THz chiral sensors and promote their application in biological monitoring and asymmetric catalysis.

Plasmonic alloy nanochains assembled via dielectrophoresis for ultrasensitive SERS.

It is great challenge and interesting for researchers to fabricate substrates for enhanced Raman and sensor, and assemble some easy-to-synthesize metallic nanomaterials into controllable nanostructures with special morphologies and arrangements, via alternating current (AC) electric field. The Au-Ag alloy nanoparticles (Au-Ag alloy NPs) colloidal suspension with excellent dispersibility synthesized by wet chemical method, and the morphology of the assembly can be well controlled by regulating the frequency of the AC electric field. Au-Ag alloy nanochains array (Au-Ag ANCs) with dense plasmonic "hot spots" is formed when the AC electric field of 4Vpp-30kHz is applied, which is supported by the result of finite element method (FEM) numerical simulation. Experimental results demonstrate that Au-Ag ANCs show excellent SERS activity: Au-Ag ANCs can detect both Rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) and crystal violet (CV) in the magnitude order of 10-10 M, and the Raman peaks intensity and analyte concentration has a strong linear correlation (R2 is 0.99339 and 0.95916, respectively). Besides, the introduction of Au-Ag ANCs makes the Raman spectra intensity of thiram (a pesticide) with a concentration of 30 ppm on the surface of the blank ITO glass significantly enhanced, and it can detect thiram with a concentration as low as 0.03 ppm. In addition, Au-Ag ANCs substrate exhibits great uniformity and stability, so they have considerable application potential in the field of quantitative detection of trace substances.

Circular dichroism enhancement and dynamically adjustment in planar metal chiral split rings with graphene sheets arrays.

Chiral plasmonic nanostructures have become a promising platform for polarization converters and molecular analysis. However, the circular dichroism (CD) of planar chiral plasmonic nanostructures is always weak and difficult for dynamic adjustment. In this work, graphene sheets (GSs) are introduced in planar metal chiral split rings (MCSRs) to enhance and dynamically adjust their CD effect. The chiral split rings consist of rotated big and small split rings. Simulation results show that the plasmonic coupling between MCSRs and GSs can enhance the absorption and CD spectra of MCSRs at two resonant wavelengths. The surface current distributions reveal that the CD signals are due to the localized surface plasmon resonances on the big and small split rings, respectively. The loss distributions illustrate that the increased loss mainly locates in GSs. In addition, the CD spectra of MCSRs/GSs can be dynamically adjusted and influenced by the Fermi energy of GSs, the geometric parameters of MCSRs and, the mediums in the environment. It can be used to detect the environmental temperature and concentration. The results help to design dynamically adjustable chiral nanostructures and promote their applications in environment detection.

Mechanisms of resistance to estrogen receptor modulators in ER+/HER2- advanced breast cancer.

Endocrine therapy represents a mainstay adjuvant treatment of estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer in clinical practice with an overall survival (OS) benefit. However, the emergence of resistance is inevitable over time and is present in one-third of the ER+ breast tumors. Several mechanisms of endocrine resistance in ER+/HER2- advanced breast cancers, through ERα itself, receptor tyrosine signaling, or cell cycle pathway, have been identified to be pivotal in endocrine therapy. The epigenetic alterations also contribute to ensuring tumor cells' escape from endocrine therapies. The strategy of combined hormone therapy with targeted pharmaceutical compounds has shown an improvement of progression-free survival or OS in clinical practice, including three different classes of drugs: CDK4/6 inhibitors, selective inhibitor of PI3Kα and mTOR inhibitors. Many therapeutic targets of cell cycle pathway and cell signaling and their combination strategies have recently entered clinical trials. This review focuses on Cyclin D-CDK4/6-RB axis, PI3K pathway and HDACs. Additionally, genomic evolution is complex in tumors exposed to hormonal therapy. We highlight the genomic alterations present in ESR1 and PIK3CA genes to elucidate adaptive mechanisms of endocrine resistance, and discuss how these mutations may inform novel combinations to improve clinical outcomes in the future.

Identification and genetic analysis of a totivirus isolated from the Culex tritaeniorhynchus in northern China.

Totiviridae, a viral family of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) viruses, contain a single dsRNA genome 4.6-7.0 kb in length. Totiviridae were initially only known to infect fungi and other eukaryotes as well as plants, but an increase in totiviruses has been detected in insects, mosquitoes, and bats. Here, we describe the isolation and characterization of a strain belonging to the family Totiviridae isolated from Culex tritaeniorhynchus in Kenli, China, in 2016. We isolated a totivirus from field-collected mosquitoes in China by cell culture in Aedes albopictus C6/36 cells, identified the virus by morphological observation and complete genome sequencing, and characterized it by phylogenetic analysis. Transmission electron microscopy identified icosahedral, non-enveloped virus particles with a mean diameter of 35-40 nm. The genome was 7612 bp in length, including two open reading frames (ORFs). ORF1 (5058 nt) encodes the capsid protein, while ORF2 (2216 nt) encodes the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). Nucleotide and amino acid homology analysis of isolate showed higher levels of sequence identity with isolate CTV_NJ2 (China, 2010) with 94.87% nucleic acid identity and 97.32% amino acid identity. The isolate was designated C. tritaeniorhynchus totivirus KL (CTV-KL). This is the first identification of a totivirus in a C. tritaeniorhynchus in northern China. Analysis of the virus's morphology, characteristic and genome organization will further enrich our understanding of the molecular and biological characteristics of dsRNA Totiviridae viruses.

Severe Coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia patients showed signs of aggravated renal impairment.

BACKGROUND: This objective of this study was to identify a sensitive indicator of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. METHODS: Samples were collected from 136 patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia admitted to the Shanghai public health clinical center (116 mild, 20 severe). The concentrations of serum urea, Uric Acid (UA), Creatinine (CREA), Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), and urine protein (Pro) have been tested in this study. RESULTS: Higher levels of urea (female 7.00 ± 3.31, male 8.87 ± 5.18) Pro (female7/7, male 12/13), hs-CRP (female 2/7, male 5/13) ESR (female 94.43 ± 33.26, male 67.85 ± 22.77) were found in severe patients compared with the mild (urea: female 3.71 ± 1.00, male 4.42 ± 1.14; Pro: female 3/46, male 12/70; hs-CRP: female 1/46, male 3/70; ESR: female 43.32 ± 33.24, male 21.64 ± 21.82). UA is lower in the severe group (female 146.90 ± 54.01, male 139.34 ± 66.95) than in mild group (female 251.99 ± 64.35, male 339.81 ± 71.32). CREA and PCT did not show a significant difference between mild and severe patients, but the difference among the five biological markers (urea, Pro, hs-CRP, ESR, and UA) between mild and severe patients we tested was small (P < .05). CONCLUSION: Severe COVID-19 patients had higher levels of urea and Pro, while their UA levels were lower, reflecting poor kidney function in severe patients. However, higher levels of hs-CRP, ESR indicated that inflammatory responses were more active in severe patients.

Integrative Analyses of Widely Targeted Metabolic Profiling and Transcriptome Data Reveals Molecular Insight into Metabolomic Variations during Apple (Malus domestica) Fruit Development and Ripening.

The apple is a favorite fruit for human diet and is one of the most important commercial fruit crops around the world. Investigating metabolic variations during fruit development can provide a better understanding on the formation of fruit quality. The present study applied a widely targeted LC-MS-based metabolomics approach with large-scale detection, identification and quantification to investigate the widespread metabolic changes during "Pinova" apple development and ripening. A total of 462 primary and secondary metabolites were simultaneously detected, and their changes along with the four fruit-development stages were further investigated. The results indicated that most of the sugars presented increasing accumulation levels while organic acid, including Tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) intermediates, showed a distinct decreasing trend across the four fruit-development stages. A total of 207 secondary metabolites consisted of 104 flavonoids and 103 other secondary metabolites. Many flavonoids maintained relatively high levels in the early fruit stage and then rapidly decreased their levels at the following developmental stages. Further correlation analyses of each metabolite-metabolite pair highlighted the cross talk between the primary and secondary metabolisms across fruit development and ripening, indicating the significant negative correlations between sugars and secondary metabolites. Moreover, transcriptome analysis provided the molecular basis for metabolic variations during fruit development. The results showed that most differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in the TCA cycle were upregulated from the early fruit stage to the preripening stage. The extensive downregulation of controlling genes involved in the flavonoid pathway is probably responsible for the rapid decrease of flavonoid content at the early fruit stage. These data provide a global view of the apple metabolome and a comprehensive analysis on metabolomic variations during fruit development, providing a broader and better understanding on the molecular and metabolic basis of important fruit quality traits in commercial apples.

Identification and genetic analysis of Kadipiro virus isolated in Shandong province, China.

BACKGROUND: Kadipiro virus (KDV) belongs to the Reoviridae family, which consists of segmented, non-enveloped, double-stranded RNA viruses. It has previously been isolated from Culex, Anopheles, Armigeres and Aedes mosquitoes in Indonesia and China. Here, we describe the isolation and characterization of SDKL1625 from Anopheles sinensis mosquitoes in Shandong province, China. METHODS: In this study, we isolated Kadipiro virus in Aedes albopictus C6/36 cell culture and the complete genome sequencing was made by next generation sequencing. RESULTS: We isolated and characterized a Kadipiro virus from Anopheles sinensis mosquitoes in 2016 in Shandong province, China. Nucleotide and amino acid homology analysis of SDKL1625 showed higher levels of sequence identity with QTM27331 (Odonata, China, 2016) than with JKT-7075 (Culex fuscocephalus, Indonesia, 1981). The SDKL1625 has 86-97% amino acid identity with the JKT-7075, 88-99% amino acid identity with the QTM27331. Among the 12 fragments, VP1, VP2, VP4, VP6, VP7, VP9 and VP12 showed high amino acid identity (> 90%) and VP5 showed the lowest identity (86% and 88%). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first identification of KDV from mosquito in China. Virus morphology and genome organization were also determined, which will further enrich our understanding of the molecular biological characteristics of KDV and seadornaviruses.

Alignment Relation is What You Need for Diagram Parsing.

As a knowledge carrier, the diagram is widely distributed in many aspects of human life, such as textbooks, architectural drawings, and documents. Different from natural images, representations of visual elements in the diagram are sparser, and similar visual representations can reflect dissimilar semantics. Thus, current methods fail to capture the visual elements with precise semantics. To address this issue, regarding the aligned visual and textual elements as pairs is the way to assign the precise semantics of textual elements to visual elements. We build the first diagram dataset named align diagram element (ADE), which includes annotations for alignment relations between visual and textual elements. And we propose a visual-textual alignment model (VTAM) including graph construction and optimal aligning phases. In the graph construction phase, the relational graphs are constructed between different elements with four relational operators. The relational operators are designed to measure the relations between different elements, according to distance, connection line, inclusion, and feature similarity. In the optimal aligning phase, the representation at each visual-textual pair is improved as a weighted sum of the representations on all relational graphs. Experimental results show that our VTAM achieves a significant improvement of 10.9% on mean test folds of the ADE dataset than the current best competitor. In order to explore the role of alignment relations in diagram parsing, we introduce VTAM to diagram-related tasks, such as diagram question answering (DQA). And we achieve 2.8% to 5.9% and 4.6% to 5.1% improvements on AI2D and Foodwebs after adding VTAM. Our dataset and code are released at: https://github.com/ADE-dataset/ADE-dataset.

Prevalence and transmission of pretreatment drug resistance in people living with HIV-1 in Shanghai China, 2017-2021.

The implementation of pretreatment drug-resistance (PDR) surveillance among people living with HIV-1 (PLWH) is a top priority in countries using efavirenz (EFV)/nevirapine (NVP) for first-line ART. In this study, we assessed the prevalence of PDR among PLWH in Shanghai, China during 2017-2021, and to reveal PDR transmission between Shanghai and other regions of China. A total of 5050 PLWH not on ART during 2017-2021 were included. Partial HIV-1 pol sequences were amplified, sequenced, and analysed for drug-resistance mutations (DRMs). Besides, transmission network of PDR variants was inferred using HIV-TRACE. The overall prevalence of PDR was 4.8% (242/5050; 95% CI, 4.2-5.4). Prevalence of NNRTI-associated PDR was 3.9% (95% CI, 3.4-4.5), higher than those of NRTI-associated (0.8%; 95% CI, 0.5-1.1) and PI-associated PDR (0.9%; 95% CI, 0.6-1.2). High prevalence of PDR (especially high-level resistance) to EFV (132/5050, 2.6%) and NVP (137/5050, 2.7%) were found. CRF01_AE (46.0%) was the predominant HIV-1 genotype with any DRMs, followed by CRF55_01B (21.0%), and CRF07_BC (15.1%). Two NRTI-associated (S68G/N/R and T215A/N/S/Y), five NNRTI-associated (V179D/E/T/L, K103N/R/S/T, E138A/G/K, V106M/I/A and Y181C/I) and two PI-associated mutations (M46I/L/V and Q58E) were the most common observed DRMs in PDR patients in Shanghai. The vast majority of S68G occurred in CRF01_AE (45%). M46I/L/V and Q58E showed a relatively high prevalence in CRF01_AE (4.1%) and CRF07_BC (12.6%). Transmission network analyses demonstrated cross-regional transmission links of PDR variants between Shanghai and other regions of China, which was mainly driven by the potential low-level DRM V179D/E. These results provide crucial information for clinical decision making of first-line ART in PLWH with PDR.

Perioperative position management of 46 cases with simultaneous bilateral auricle reconstruction: A summary of experience.

OBJECTIVES: The primary problem in simultaneous bilateral auricle reconstruction is the fragility of the reconstructed ear structure. Postoperative pressure is strictly prohibited to ensure the operation's effectiveness. The study aimed to summarize the experience of perioperative postural management in simultaneous bilateral auricular reconstruction. METHOD: This study summarizes the experience of perioperative postural management, providing preoperative sleeping posture adaptability training, neck movement training, standardization of the head position angles and the head suspension time in surgery, using protective headrests, paying attention to the transfer and handover procedures, and using specially designed pillows. RESULTS: The comprehensive nursing approach in simultaneous bilateral auricular reconstruction significantly reduced complications, improved patient comfort, and optimized postoperative adaptation. Preoperative posture training, standardized intraoperative head positions, and vigilant postoperative care played pivotal roles, demonstrating positive outcomes in 46 cases. DISCUSSION: Perioperative position management can reduce the risk of complications and pressure injuries, improving patients' postoperative comfort, emotional state, tolerance, and adaptability. CONCLUSION: All ears were viable and in good shape after long-term follow-up. The experiences discussed in this study can be broadly applied to technically mature ear reconstruction teams.

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate-induced tolerance to cadmium stress involves increased flavonoid synthesis and nutrient homeostasis in tomato roots.

Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic heavy metal, increasingly accumulating in the environment and its presence in various environmental compartments represents a significant risk to human health via the food chain. Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG) is a prominent secondary metabolite, which can safeguard plants from biotic and abiotic stress. However, the role of EGCG in flavonoid synthesis, nutrient acquisition and reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism under Cd stress remains unclear. Here, we examined the effects of EGCG and Cd treatment on leaf photochemical efficiency, cell ultrastructure, essential element acquisition, antioxidant system, and secondary metabolism in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). The results showed that O2•-, H2O2, and malondialdehyde levels increased after Cd treatment, but Fv/Fm decreased significantly, suggesting that Cd induced oxidative stress and photoinhibition. However, EGCG mitigated the adverse effects of Cd-induced phytotoxicity in both the roots and leaves. A decrease in ROS accumulation under EGCG + Cd treatment was mainly attributed to the significant enhancement in antioxidant enzyme activity, flavonoid content, and PHENYLALANINE AMMONIA-LYASE expression in roots. Moreover, EGCG reduced Cd content but increased some essential nutrient contents in tomato plants. Transmission electron microscopy-based observations revealed that EGCG treatment safeguards leaf and root cell ultrastructure under Cd stress. This implies that tomato plants subjected to Cd stress experienced advantageous effects upon receiving EGCG treatment. The present work elucidated critical mechanisms by which EGCG induces tolerance to Cd, thereby providing a basis for future investigations into environmentally sustainable agricultural practices in areas contaminated with heavy metals, for utilizing naturally occurring substances found in plants.