Simultaneous Detection of Prolactin and Growth Hormone Using a Dual-label Time-resolved Fluorescence Immunoassay.

Prolactin (PRL) and growth hormone (GH) are two important hormones secreted by the pituitary gland, and their abnormal levels are often related to disease status. This study aimed to establish a new dual-label time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay (TRFIA) to quantitatively measure PRL and GH levels in serum. A sandwich TRFIA was optimized and established: anti-PRL/GH antibodies immobilized on 96-well plates captured PRL/GH and then banded together with anti-PRL/GH paired antibodies labeled with europium(III) (Eu3+)/samarium(III) (Sm3+) chelates. Finally, a time-resolved analyzer measured the Eu3+/Sm3+ fluorescence values. Clinical serum samples were used to evaluate the detection performance of this method. The sensitivities of this dual-label TRFIA were 0.35 ng/mL and 0.45 ng/mL, respectively, and the detection range was between 0.1 and 1000 ng/mL. All the cross-reactivities were lower than 1.07%. The intra-assay and interassay coefficients of variation were 2.18-7.85% and 2.25-7.30%, respectively. Compared with the registered TRFIA kits, a high Pearson coefficient (r = 0.9626 and 0.9675) was observed. This dual-label TRFIA has high sensitivity, accuracy and specificity with good clinical detection performance, representing a suitable alternative to existing methods for determining PRL and GH levels, and is expected to be used in the clinic in the future.

Genomic and Metagenomic Insights into the Distribution of Nicotine-degrading Enzymes in Human Microbiota.

Introduction: Nicotine degradation is a new strategy to block nicotine-induced pathology. The potential of human microbiota to degrade nicotine has not been explored. Aims: This study aimed to uncover the genomic potentials of human microbiota to degrade nicotine. Methods: To address this issue, we performed a systematic annotation of Nicotine-Degrading Enzymes (NDEs) from genomes and metagenomes of human microbiota. A total of 26,295 genomes and 1,596 metagenomes for human microbiota were downloaded from public databases and five types of NDEs were annotated with a custom pipeline. We found 959 NdhB, 785 NdhL, 987 NicX, three NicA1, and three NicA2 homologs. Results: Genomic classification revealed that six phylum-level taxa, including Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Firmicutes_A, Bacteroidota, Actinobacteriota, and Chloroflexota, can produce NDEs, with Proteobacteria encoding all five types of NDEs studied. Analysis of NicX prevalence revealed differences among body sites. NicX homologs were found in gut and oral samples with a high prevalence but not found in lung samples. NicX was found in samples from both smokers and non-smokers, though the prevalence might be different. Conclusion: This study represents the first systematic investigation of NDEs from the human microbiota, providing new insights into the physiology and ecological functions of human microbiota and shedding new light on the development of nicotine-degrading probiotics for the treatment of smoking-related diseases.

Optimization of culture medium and scale-up production of astaxanthin using corn steep liquor as substrate by response surface methodology.

Astaxanthin is a natural carotenoid with strong antioxidant activity. In this paper, the effects of carbon source, corn steep liquor, distiller grains, and initial pH on the growth and astaxanthin production of Phaffia rhodozyma D3 were evaluated. The optimal medium composition was 32 g/L glucose, 12 g/L corn steep liquor as nitrogen source, and the initial pH was 6.7. Phaffia rhodozyma D3 was cultured in a shake flask under these optimized conditions, the biomass was 6.47 g/L, the astaxanthin/OD475 was 15.16, and the astaxanthin content was 1.41 mg/g. The astaxanthin content was further increased to 4.70 mg/g by the combination of TiO2 stimulation and the expanding cultivation of P. rhodozyma D3 in a 5 L fermenter, which was 2.81 times that of the control group. Expanding fermentation implies the possibility of large-scale production in the astaxanthin industry. Corn steep liquor was used as an alternative nitrogen source to culture P. rhodozyma D3, which could both reduce the production cost of astaxanthin and increased the by-products utilization rate.

Metabolite analysis of soybean oil on promoting astaxanthin production of Phaffia rhodozyma.

BACKGROUND: Astaxanthin is a carotenoid with strong antioxidant property. In addition, it has anti-cancer, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory and many other functions. The micro-organisms that mainly produce astaxanthin are Haematococcus pluvialis and Phaffia rhodozyma. Compared with H. pluvialis, P. rhodozyma has shorter fermentation cycle and easier to control culture conditions, but the yield of astaxanthin in P. rhodozyma is low. This article studied how to improve the astaxanthin production of P. rhodozyma. RESULTS: The results showed that when 10 mL L-1 soybean oil was added to the culture medium, astaxanthin production increased significantly, reaching 7.35 mg L-1 , which was 1.4 times that of the control group, and lycopene and ß-carotene contents also increased significantly. Through targeted metabolite analysis, the fatty acids in P. rhodozyma significantly increased under the soybean oil stimulation, especially the fatty acids closely related to the formation of astaxanthin esters, included palmitic acid (C16:0), stearic acid (C18:0), oleic acid (C18:1n9), linoleic acid (C18:2n6), α-linolenic acid (C18:3n3) and γ-linolenic acid (C18:3n6), thereby increasing the astaxanthin esters content. CONCLUSION: It showed that the addition of soybean oil can promote the accumulation of astaxanthin by promoting the increase of astaxanthin ester content. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Controlling and optimizing the morphology and microstructure of 3D interconnected activated carbons for high performance supercapacitors.

For an active electrode material, the morphology, microstructure and the effective specific surface area derived from them, have a dominant effect for the high performance supercapacitors. In this study, 3D interconnected activated carbons with controlled and optimized morphologies and porous structures were prepared from accessible carbon source and graphene oxide by a hydrothermal carbonization and following an activation method. Through optimizing the ratios of the precursors and reaction conditions, an electrode material with excellent specific surface area of 2318 m2 g-1, meso-/macro-pore ratio of 63.2% (meso-/macro-pore volume reached to 0.83 cm3 g-1), as well as an outstanding electrical conductivity of 46.6 S m-1, was obtained. The materials exhibit superior double-layer capacitive performances on a symmetric supercapacitor, delivering superior specific capacitance of 157 F g-1 in organic electrolyte system at current density of 0.5 A g-1, excellent energy density of 37.6 W h kg-1 with a power density of 7.1 kW kg-1 and good cycling stability of capacitance retention of 94% over 7000 cycles. These results offer a practical method to prepare the desired carbon electrode materials with controlled morphology and structure for high efficiency electrochemical energy storage devices.

Long-Term Manure Application Changes Bacterial Communities in Rice Rhizosphere and Arsenic Speciation in Rice Grains.

Bioavailability and speciation of arsenic (As) are impacted by fertilization and bacteria in the rice rhizosphere. In this study, we investigated the effects of long-term manure application on As bioavailability, microbial community structure, and functional genes in a rice paddy field. The results showed that manure application did not affect total As in the soil but increased soluble As forms by 19%, increasing arsenite (As(III)) accumulation in rice grains and roots by 34 and 64% compared to a control. A real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and high-throughput sequencing analysis demonstrated that manure application increased the relative abundance of Rhizobium, Burkholderia, Sphingobium, and Sphingomonas containing arsenate reductase genes (arsC) in the rhizosphere soil, consistent with the 529% increase in arsC, which may have promoted arsenate (As(V)) reduction and increased As availability in pore water. In addition, manure application significantly altered the iron (Fe)-plaque microbial community structure and diversity. The microbes, particularly, Bradyrhizobium, Burkholderia, and Ralstonia, were mostly associated with As, Fe, and sulfur (S) cycles. This result was consistent with changes in the functional genes related to As, Fe, and S transformation. Although manure application promoted As(V) reduction (arsC) in Fe-plaque by 682%, it inhibited Fe and S reduction by decreasing FeIII reduction bacteria (Geobacteraceae) and the sulfate-reducing gene (dsrA) abundance. Further, manure application changed the composition of the microbial community that contained the arsC gene. In short, caution needs to be excised even in the soil with a low As concentration as manure application increased As(III) accumulation in rice grains.

Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s): The spotlight in asthma pathogenesis and lung tissue injury.

Asthma is a heterogeneous disease with ranging etiology and severity. Asthma is a disease of chronic inflammation of the airways, with clinical symptoms of wheezing, breathlessness, cough, and chest tightness manifested as chronic fixed or variable airflow obstruction and airway hyperresponsiveness that predispose the airway epithelium to repeated injury, repair, and regeneration. In recent years, innate lymphoid cells (ILC1, ILC2, and ILC3) have been discovered. The predominant ILC type found in the lung tissue is group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s). Upon damage to the airway epithelium mediating the release of epithelial cytokines (TSLP, IL-33, and IL-25) ensued the activation of ILC2 in an antigen-independent manner. Activated ILC2 produces a significant amount of type 2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, IL-9, and IL-13), altogether contributing to type 2 inflammation in the airways. ILC2s are mediators of type 2 immunity for many type 2 inflammatory diseases such as asthma, since ILC2s were reported to play an important role in asthma pathogenesis. Here we discuss the role of ILC2 in the development of asthma and ILC2 effector cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13) contributing to airway epithelial structural changes.

Highly efficient and cheap treatment of dye by graphene-doped TiO2 microspheres.

Highly efficient dye wastewater treatment by photocatalytic catalysis commonly requires expensive catalysts, long degradation time and a complicated procedure. Here, we for the first time prepared cheap graphene-doped titanium dioxide microspheres with a simple procedure to degrade dye with high efficiency. When the catalyst concentration was 0.2 g·L-1, the photocatalysis degradation extent of methylene blue solution, methylene green solution and 1,9-dimethyl methylene blue solution reached 96.4, 85.9 and 98.7%, respectively. The results showed that the degradation reactions accorded with the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model, and the photocatalytic reactions belonged to a first-order reaction in the primary stage. Furthermore, different photocatalytic degradation mechanisms were proposed, which have not been found in other literature. This work opened a new route for simple preparation of cheap microspheres in photocatalytic dye wastewater treatment with high efficiency.

Pathogen analysis of pertussis-like syndrome in children.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to identify the pathogens, in addition to bordetella pertussis (B. pertussis), which cause pertussis-like syndrome in children and to compare clinical presentation between those with B. pertussis and pertussis-like syndrome. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted from March 2016 to September 2018. In total, 281 children with suspected pertussis infections were enrolled in this study. Multi-pathogen detection was performed. RESULTS: In total, 281 children were enrolled including 139 males and 142 females. Among them, 149 (53.0%) were B. pertussis positive, and 72 (15.6%) children tested positive for other pathogens. Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP, 27 cases) was the most common causative pathogen in pertussis-like syndrome, followed by human rhinovirus (HRV, 23 cases), Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP, 13 cases), Haemophilus influenzae (HI, 12 cases) and parainfluenza virus 3 (Pinf-3, 9 cases). Children in the B. pertussis group had a higher rate of vaccination and longer hospital stay (P < 0.05). B. pertussis was more likely to be detected in winter than other pathogens, but this difference was not significant (P = 0.074). The number of white blood cells, neutrophils and blood platelets was significantly higher in children in the B. pertussis than in the pertussis-like group (P < 0.05). In addition, the percentage of CD3-CD19+ cells was significantly higher in the B. pertussis group (P = 0.018). CONCLUSION: About half of the children with pertussis-like syndrome were B. pertussis positive. MP was the second most common causative pathogen followed by HRV, SP, HI and Pinf-3. Children infected with B. pertussis had longer hospital stay and higher numbers of white blood cells, neutrophil and blood platelets compared with other pathogens.

Parallel pathways of seizure generalization.

Generalized convulsive status epilepticus is a life-threatening emergency, because recurrent convulsions can cause death or injury. A common form of generalized convulsive status epilepticus is of focal onset. The neuronal circuits activated during seizure spread from the hippocampus, a frequent site of seizure origin, to the bilateral motor cortex, which mediates convulsive seizures, have not been delineated. Status epilepticus was initiated by electrical stimulation of the hippocampus. Neurons transiently activated during seizures were labelled with tdTomato and then imaged following brain slice clearing. Hippocampus was active throughout the episode of status epilepticus. Neuronal activation was observed in hippocampus parahippocampal structures: subiculum, entorhinal cortex and perirhinal cortex, septum, and olfactory system in the initial phase status epilepticus. The tdTomato-labelled neurons occupied larger volumes of the brain as seizures progressed and at the peak of status epilepticus, motor and somatosensory cortex, retrosplenial cortex, and insular cortex also contained tdTomato-labelled neurons. In addition, motor thalamic nuclei such as anterior and ventromedial, midline, reticular, and posterior thalamic nuclei were also activated. Furthermore, circuits proposed to be crucial for systems consolidation of memory: entorhinal cortex, retrosplenial cortex, cingulate gyrus, midline thalamic nuclei and prefrontal cortex were intensely active during periods of generalized tonic-clonic seizures. As the episode of status epilepticus waned, smaller volume of brain was activated. These studies suggested that seizure spread could have occurred via canonical thalamocortical pathway and many cortical structures involved in memory consolidation. These studies may help explain retrograde amnesia following seizures.

Oxidized Low Density Lipoprotein-Induced Atherogenic Response of Human Umbilical Vascular Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) was Protected by Atorvastatin by Regulating miR-26a-5p/Phosphatase and Tensin Homolog (PTEN).

BACKGROUND Atherosclerosis is a chronic and multifactorial disease, and it is the main reason of coronary heart disease, cerebral infarction, and peripheral vascular disease, which leads to the formation of lesions in arterial blood vessels. Our study aimed to explore the protective effect and its underlying mechanism of atorvastatin (ATV) on oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-induced atherosclerosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS Human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs) were cultured and pretreated with ox-LDL to establish an in vitro atherosclerotic cell model. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, TUNEL staining, and Transwell assay were used to detect the cell activity, apoptosis, and migration in HUVECs. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blot were applied to measure the mRNA and protein expressions of adhesion-related genes in HUVECs. RESULTS Pretreated with 100 mg/L ox-LDL resulted in a 57.23% decrease of cell viability and 81.09% increase of apoptotic injury in HUVECs compare to the control. Meanwhile, ox-LDL pretreatment increased the cell migration and the expression of miR-26a-5p in HUVECs. ATV treatment could effectively reverse the cellular damage induced by ox-LDL, decrease the release of adhesion-related molecules, and downregulate the expression of miR-26a-5p by 44.79% in HUVECs. Moreover, phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) was demonstrated to be the target gene of miR-26a-5p. CONCLUSIONS Our results highlight that ATV protects against ox-LDL-induced downregulation of cell viability, upregulation of cell apoptosis, migration, as well as the release of adhesion-related molecules in HUVECs through the miR-26a-5p/PTEN axis. This study provides new insights into the underlying mechanism of ATV therapeutic potential in atherosclerosis, and also provides a new strategy for the treatment of atherosclerosis.

Monolithic 3D Cross-Linked Polymeric Graphene Materials and the Likes: Preparation and Their Redox Catalytic Applications.

While there have been tremendous studies about graphene and its applications in the past decade, so far the proposed huge potential of this material has not been materialized. One of the prerequisites to overcome these challenges is maintaining the nature and intrinsic properties of individual graphene sheets while in the state of bulk material. Thus, in this Perspective contribution, the fabrication/synthesis of the monolithic polymeric and three-dimensional (3D) cross-linked bulk materials (3DGraphene) with (doped) 2D graphene sheets as the building block will first be briefly summarized. Then, the second part will cover the redox catalytic application of these bulk materials including doped 3DGraphene, the graphene-like material polymeric C3N4 and their hybrid materials. These will include mainly oxygen reduction reactions (ORR), hydrogen evolution reactions (HER), and CO2 reduction for their latest development. Finally, challenges and outlook related to the design of 3D cross-linked graphene based materials and their catalytic applications will be briefly discussed.

[The diagnostic value of the fractional exhaled nitric oxide for cough variant asthma in children].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the diagnostic value of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) measurement in diagnosis of Cough Variant Asthma (CVA) in children. METHODS: Outpatients with a cough > 4 weeks visiting The Children's Hospital Affiliated to Suzhou University from March 2012 to April 2013 were enrolled. FeNO was measured by a nitric oxide analyzer in accordance with American Thoracic Society guidelines. The levels of FeNO in CVA and other causes of chronic cough were compared. The value of FeNO was assessed and the optimal operating point of FeNO testing for the diagnosis of CVA was determined by the means of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. RESULTS: A total of 84 children with chronic cough were recruited, among whom 38 were diagnosed as having CVA. The levels of FeNO were not statistically different between patients with CVA [(37.2 ± 13.8) ppb] and patients with CVA combined with upper airway cough syndrome [UACS, (40.1 ± 13.8) ppb, P = 0.124], but were both significantly higher than those in patients with UACS or with postinfectious cough (PIC), and the normal control group (P < 0.01 respectively). There were 46 non-CVA patients, including 34 cases with UACS and 12 PIC, and their FeNO levels were not statistically different [(18.3 ± 7.6) to (19.2 ± 4.4) ppb, t = 2.580, P = 2.996]. The levels of FeNO declined rapidly in CVA patients after inhaled corticosteroids during the 4 week follow-up. The proportion of eosinophils in the sputum from CVA patients was higher than that from the non-CVA patients, consistent with the level of FeNO, which showed a positive linear correlation with sputum eosinophils. The area under ROC curve was 0.94.The optimal diagnostic cutoff point was 22.5 ppb which was capable of differentiating CVA and non-CVA with a sensitivity of 84%, and a specificity of 94.3%. CONCLUSIONS: The level of FENO was higher in CVA compared to other causes of chronic cough. FeNO, a marker of airway eosinophilic inflammation, may be helpful in the diagnosis of CVA in children with high sensitivity and specificity.

[Characteristics of airway hyperresponsiveness in children with chronic cough of different causes].

OBJECTIVE: To study the characteristics of airway hyperresponsiveness in children with different causes of chronic cough. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted in children suffering from chronic cough caused by a single reason at the department of respirology of Children's Hospital of Soochow University from April 2012 to December 2013. Bronchial provocation test, induced sputum eosinophil count, and exhale nitric oxide were detected at beginning and 4 weeks later. The severity of the CVA was classified according to the integral dose of histamine which resulted in a 20% (PD20) fall in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1). All patients received treatment according to the recommended guidelines for chronic cough in children of China. According to the responses to the treatment and the results of physical examinations and laboratory findings, a final diagnosis was confirmed. RESULTS: A total of 66 children were enrolled in this study, including cough variant asthma (CVA)in 17, upper airway cough syndrome (UACS) in 37, and post infection cough (PIC) in 12 cases. Positive AHR in CVA, UACS, and PIC groups was found in 17, 13, and 9 cases respectively at the first visit, and after 4 weeks, it was found in 17, 5, and 2 cases respectively. The severity of AHR in CVA, UACS and PIC at beginning and after 4 weeks were moderate to severe in 5, 0, 0 cases and 1, 0, 0 case; Mild to very mild in 12, 13, 9 cases and 16, 5, 2 cases.Negative response was found in 0, 24, 3 cases and 0, 32, 10 cases, respectively. The values of PD20 in CVA group (0.47 ± 0.28) mg were statistically lower those in UACS group (1.8 ± 0.64) mg and PIC group (1.2 ± 0.80) mg (P < 0.01) . The sputum eosinophil count was > 3% in all cases of CVA but all <3% in UACS and PIC.FeNO and sputum eosinophil counts were positively correlated (r = 0.687, P = 0.000) . CONCLUSION: The characteristics of airway responsiveness of chronic cough caused by different causes were varied in different AHR severity and course. Bronchial provocation test combined with induced sputum showed certain values for confirming the cause of chronic cough in children.

A flexible and high-voltage internal tandem supercapacitor based on graphene-based porous materials with ultrahigh energy density.

Pursuing higher working voltage and packaged energy density, an internal tandem supercapacitor has been successfully designed and fabricated based on graphene-based porous carbon hybrid material. Compared with the packaged energy density of 27.2 Wh kgcell (-1) and working voltage of 3.5 V using EMIMBF4 electrolyte for the conventional single-cell supercapacitor, the internal tandem device with the same material achieves a much higher working voltage of 7 V as well as a significantly improved energy density of 36.3 Wh kgcell (-1) (increased by 33%), which is also about 7 times of that of the state-of-art commercial supercapacitors. A flexible internal tandem device is also designed and fabricated and demonstrated similar excellent performance.

Nitrogen-doped graphene materials for supercapacitor applications.

Development of advanced functional materials for energy conversion and storage technologies play a key role in solving the problems of the rapid depletion of fossil fuels and increasingly worsened environmental pollution caused by vast fossil-fuel consumption. Supercapacitors (SCs), also known as ultracapacitors, which store energy based on either ion adsorption or fast/reversible faradaic reactions, are supposed to be a promising candidate for alternative energy storage devices due to their high rate capability, pulse power supply, long cycle life, simple principles, high dynamics of charge propagation, and low maintenance cost. The performance of supercapacitors highly depends on the properties of electrode materials. Nitrogen-doped graphene (NG)-based materials exhibit great potential for application in supercapacitors because of their unique structure and excellent intrinsic physical properties, such as large surface area with appropriate pore structure, controllable two- or three-dimensional morphology, and extraordinarily electrical conductivity. In this review, we provide a brief summary of recent research progress on NG-based electrode materials for SCs, including the various synthesis methods and the mechanisms of electrochemical performance enhancement.

[Study on dynamic changes of airway hyperresponsiveness in children with cough variant asthma].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the dynamic changes of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in children with cough variant asthma (CVA). METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted at the Children's Hospital of Soochow University from April 2012 to March 2013. A total of 36 patients were diagnosed as CVA. According to the integral dose of histamine resulting in a 20% (PD20) fall in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), the severity of CVA was graded. Corresponding treatment was administered and the dynamic changes of airway hyperresponsiveness were followed for 0, 1 and 6 months. RESULTS: Among them, 14 patients suffered from CVA only while another 22 cases had CVA plus upper airway cough syndrome (UACS). PD20 of CVA and CVA+UACS groups were (0.46 ± 0.26) and (0.58 ± 0.34) mg respectively. No statistically significance existed between two groups (t = -0.880, P > 0.05). According to the value of PD20, AHR in CVA patients was classified into four degrees of severe, moderate, mild and very mild. Initially there were moderate (n = 8), mild (n = 21) and very mild (n = 5). At 1 month follow-up, moderate (n = 1), mild (n = 28) and borderline (n = 7); At 6 month, moderate (n = 2), mild (n = 20) and very mild (n = 7). And 4 cases turned negative and another 3 cases became lost. Cough symptom score and PD20 showed no significant correlation (r = -0.086, P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: AHR in CVA patients is predominantly mild and very mild. And it decreases rapidly mostly during initial treatment phase. The proportion of conversion from CVA into negative and typical bronchial asthma is relatively low.

Fabrication of a ratiometric fluorescent probe based on Tb3+ doped dual-emitting carbon dots for the detection of cytochrome c.

Cytochrome c (Cyt-c) was commonly an intrinsic biomarker for a variety of cellular characteristics, such as respiration, energy levels, and apoptosis. Herein, a simple fluorescence sensor was constructed for the detection of Cyt-c in buffer and real serum samples. The carbon dots doped with Tb3+ on the premise of 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN) were fabricated and used as a dual-emission ratiometric fluorescent probe for detecting Cyt-c based on the internal filtering effect (IFE). As a fluorescent probe for ultra-sensitive detection, Cyt-c was quantitatively detected at different concentrations from 1 to 1000 nM. The fluorescent detection method for Cyt-c showed a good linear relationship from 1 to 50 nM, and the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.35 nM. In the recovery range of 101.27-103.39 % in human serum samples, the relative standard deviation (RSD) was less than 3.27 % (n = 3). In the end, the possible structures of CDs were predicted by DFT theoretical simulation calculations. All the results proved the ability of carbon dots as fluorescent probes to detect biomarkers and the application prospects in bioanalysis.

Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on culture-proven sepsis in neonates.

Objective: To assess the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the epidemiology of neonatal sepsis and the antibiotic resistance profiles of pathogens involved. Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed infants diagnosed with culture-proven sepsis at the neonatal department of a tertiary children's hospital in East China from January 2016 to December 2022. We compared the clinical and microbiological characteristics of neonatal sepsis cases between the pre-pandemic Phase I (2016-2019) and during the COVID-19 pandemic Phase II (2020-2022). Results: A total of 507 infants with 525 sepsis episodes were included, with 343 episodes in Phase I and 182 in Phase II. The incidence of early-onset sepsis (EOS) was significantly lower during Phase II (p < 0.05). Infants in Phase II had lower gestational ages and birth weights compared to Phase I. Clinical signs such as mottled skin, severe anemia, thrombocytopenia were more prevalent in Phase II, alongside a higher incidence of complications. Notably, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) (p < 0.05) and meningitis (p < 0.1) occurred more frequently during Phase II. Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) were the predominant pathogens isolated from infants of death and cases with complications. A significant decrease in the proportion of K. pneumoniae was observed in Phase II, alongside increased antibiotic resistance in both E. coli and K. pneumoniae. The period of the COVID-19 pandemic (Phase II) was identified as an independent risk factor for complications in infants with neonatal sepsis. Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic response measures correlated with a decrease in EOS and an increase in neonatal sepsis complications and antibiotic resistance.

Enhancing phosphorus transformation in typical reddish paddy soil from China: Insights on long-term straw return and pig manure application via microbial mechanisms.

Effective utilization of organic resources to activate residual phosphorus (P) in soil and enhance its availability is crucial for mitigating P resource scarcity and assessing the sustainable use of P in agricultural practices. However, the mechanisms through which organic resources affect soil P conversion via microorganisms and functional genes remain unknown, particularly in long-term organic-inorganic agricultural systems. In this study, we examined the impact of combined organic-inorganic fertilizer application on P availability, carbon (C) and P cycling genes, and microbial communities (bacterial and fungal) in reddish paddy soil based on a 42-year field experiment. The results indicated that long-term straw returning and pig manure application significantly augmented soil organic carbon (SOC), Olsen-P, microbial biomass carbon (MBC), microbial biomass phosphorus (MBP), enzyme-P, and CaCl2-P levels in paddy soils. Furthermore, these practices increased the abundance of soil C degradation genes, reduced the abundance of soil P cycling genes, and altered microbial community structure and network complexity. Notably, Module #3 ecological clusters in the fungal ecological co-occurrence network were significantly correlated with P cycling genes. Finally, our study demonstrated that long-term straw returning and pig manure application in paddy fields facilitated two robust and contrasting predictive relationships between C degradation (negative relationship) and P cycling (positive relationship) genes, respectively, and enzyme-P and HCl-P changes to improve soil P availability. This study can enhance our understanding of the role of soil microbial communities and functional genes in mediating P transformation to decipher the enhancement in P application efficiency driven by organic resources in reddish paddy soils.