Incidence and severity of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection, a multicenter cohort study in Shanghai, China.

During March 2022 to January 2023, two Omicron waves hit Shanghai and caused a massive number of reinfections. To better understand the incidence and clinical characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in Shanghai, China, we conducted a multicenter cohort study. COVID-19 patients first infected with BA.2 (March 1, 2022-May 23, 2022) who were quarantined in Huashan Hospital, Renji Hospital, and Shanghai Jing'an Central Hospital were followed up for reinfection from June 1, 2022 to January 31, 2023. Of 897 primary infections, 148 (16.5%) experienced reinfection. Incidence rate of reinfection was 0.66 cases per 1000 person-days. Female gender (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]= 2.19, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.29-3.83) was a risk factor for reinfection. The four most common symptoms of reinfections during the circulation of BA.5 sublineages were cough (62.59%), sore throat (54.42%), fatigue (48.98%), and fever (42.57%). Having received a booster vaccination was not associated with reduced severity of reinfection in comparison with not having received booster vaccination. After matched 1:1 by age and sex, we found that reinfections with BA.5 sublineages had significantly lower occurrence and severity of fever, fatigue, sore throat, and cough, as compared to primary infections with BA.5 sublineages. SARS-CoV-2 Omicron reinfections were less severe than Omicron primary infections during the circulation of the same subvariant. Protection offered by both vaccination and previous infection was poor against SARS-CoV-2 reinfection.

Quantitative analysis method of Panax notoginseng based on thermal perturbation terahertz two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy.

This paper proposes a Panax notoginseng (P. notoginseng) quantitative analysis based on terahertz time-domain spectroscopy and two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2DCOS). By imposing temperature perturbation combined with 2DCOS, the one-dimensional absorbance spectra were transformed into 2DCOS synchronous spectra, which reflected the differences in characteristic information between different P. notoginseng contents more clearly. Then, the feature information of P. notoginseng contents was extracted from the 2DCOS synchronous spectra by a competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS) method and was used to build a quantitative model combined with a support vector regression machine (SVR), called 2DCOS-CARS-SVR. We obtained a more accurate analysis result than the commonly used principal component analysis (PCA)-partial least squares regression (PLSR) and PCA-SVR. The prediction set correlation coefficient and root mean square error reached 0.9915% and 0.8160%, respectively.

Analysis of reaction between vitamin B6 and bovine serum albumin based on a terahertz metamaterial sensor.

A four-peak terahertz metamaterial sensor was used to detect the reaction between different concentrations of vitamin B6 (VB6) and bovine serum albumin (BSA), which achieves a concentration range (0.015-0.125 mg/µl) of VB6 and a maximum binding concentration (0.05 mg/µl) of VB6 and 0.0875 mg/µl BSA. To understand the combination of VB6 and BSA, the reactants between VB (VB1, VB3, and VB5) with the same concentration (0.05 mg/µl) and a BSA solution with a concentration of 0.0875 mg/µl were carried on the surface of the sensor. Experimental results show that the reactants cause the four resonance peaks of the sensor to produce the coincident redshift, which is the same as the order of their binding coefficients determined by the fluorescence method. The experimental process indicates that it is feasible to use terahertz metamaterials to detect the reaction process of organic matter.

A case of desmoplastic myxoid tumor, SMARCB1 mutant, in the pineal region.

Desmoplastic myxoid tumor (DMT), SMARCB1 mutant is a recently proposed new entity that mainly occurs in the pineal region and has epigenetic features similar to those of atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (AT/RT)-MYC and poorly differentiated chordomas. Herein, we present a new case of a 33-year-old man with headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and blurred vision, who was initially found to have a suspicious germinoma on imaging. After surgical removal of the lesion, the postoperative pathological diagnosis was DMT, SMARCB1 mutant. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case reported in China. Our findings also extend the range of the immunohistochemical phenotype of this rare tumor.

Vortex soliton molecule in a fiber laser.

We report the generation of vortex soliton molecules (VSMs) in a passively mode-locked fiber laser based on a mode selective coupler (MSC). ±1-order VSMs with variable numbers of molecules are observed. By adjusting the polarization state of the light in the cavity, we further demonstrate the process in which one VSM splits to multiple. During this process, the number of the solitons inside the VSM also varies and their separation gradually increases while the spectral modulation being unobservable, and vice versa. The obtained results have potential applications in fields of optical communications, especially in information coding.

Urinary epidermal growth factor levels correlate with cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy indices in adults with type 1 diabetes.

The relationship between urinary endothelial growth factor (uEGF) and cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) in adults with type 1 diabetes was evaluated. uEGF levels at baseline and standardized CAN measures were collected at baseline and annually for 3 years for type 1 diabetes adults. Linear regression analysis and linear mixed effects model were used for analysis. In this cohort (n = 44, 59% women, mean ± standard deviation age 34 ± 13 years and diabetes duration 14 ± 6 years), lower baseline uEGF levels correlated with lower baseline expiration : inspiration ratios (P = 0.03) and greater annual declines in Valsalva ratios (P = 0.02) in the unadjusted model, and correlated with lower low-frequency power : high-frequency power ratios (P = 0.01) and greater annual changes in low-frequency power : high-frequency power ratios (P = 0.01) after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, and hemoglobin A1C. In conclusion, baseline uEGF levels correlate to baseline and longitudinal changes in CAN indices. A large-scale, long-term study is needed to validate uEGF as a reliable CAN biomarker.

Correlation between Spatio-Temporal Evolution of Habitat Quality and Human Activity Intensity in Typical Mountain Cities: A Case Study of Guiyang City, China.

The acceleration of the urbanization process brings about the expansion of urban land use, while changes in land-use transformation affect the urban habitat quality, and land-use change brings a threat to regional sustainable development. Against such a backdrop, the assessment of land use on the habitat quality and the relationship between the intensity of human activities is becoming a hot spot in terms of the current land use coordinated with habitat quality. Based on the land-use data of Guiyang in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020, the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics of habitat quality in the study area, combined with the spatial correlation between human activity intensity and habitat quality, were hereby analyzed using the InVEST model. The impact of human activity intensity on habitat quality was correspondingly analyzed. The results show that: (1) From 2000 to 2020, the habitat quality level in Guiyang remained stable without drastic changes, but the changes showed hierarchical distribution and were scattered, mainly reflected in the urban expansion areas of the urban-rural fringe and the key areas of industrial development, and the ecological environment quality fluctuated in a small range. (2) From 2000 to 2020, the intensity of human activities in Guiyang was mainly affected by the relatively concentrated distribution, featuring obvious and significant changes. From 2010 to 2015, the high-impact area surrounded the Guanshan Lake New Area, and the regional habitat quality presented a downward trend. In 2020, the high-impact area of the main urban area and the key industrial development zone was expected to be formed, while the low-impact area was still distributed in forest areas with complex natural conditions. (3) From 2000 to 2020, there was a significant positive correlation between human activity intensity and habitat quality in Guiyang, and such a spatial correlation was weak from 2000 to 2005. The period from 2015 to 2020 witnessed the rapid development of urban construction in Guiyang, human construction activities continue to affect the urban habitat quality. The results show that the intensity of human activities on the promoting function of land use, and the dependencies between them should be considered at the same time, and that explorations on the influence of human activities on land-use intensity and habitat quality of space link are crucial to improving the efficiency of urban land use and ecological environment protection, as well as the coordination between land use and the sustainability of urban development.

Van der Waals MoS2/Two-Dimensional Perovskite Heterostructure for Sensitive and Ultrafast Sub-Band-Gap Photodetection.

Two-dimensional (2D) hybrid perovskites have been extensively studied as the promising light-sensitive materials in the photodetectors owing to their improved structural stability over that of their three-dimensional counterparts. However, the application of the 2D perovskite-based photodetector in the near-infrared (NIR) region is obstructed by the large intrinsic optical band gap. Herein, we develop a novel van der Waals heterostructure composed of few-layer 2D perovskite/MoS2 nanoflakes, which exhibits high-sensitivity detection performance over a broad spectral region, from the visible region to the telecommunication wavelength (i.e., 1550 nm). In particular, the photoresponsivity and specific detectivity under an 860 nm laser reach 121 A W-1 and 4.3 × 1014 Jones, respectively, whereas the individual nanoflakes show no response under the same wavelength. Meanwhile, the response time at the microsecond (µs) level is obtained, shortened by around 3 orders of magnitude compared to that of the constituting layers. The sensitive and ultrafast photoresponse at the NIR wavelength stems from the strong interlayer transition of sub-band-gap photons and the rapid separation of the photogenerated carriers by the built-in field within the heterojunction area. Our results not only provide an effective approach to achieve sub-band-gap photodetection in 2D perovskite-based structures but also suggest a universal strategy to fabricate high-performance optoelectronic devices.

Recurrent retroperitoneal extra-GIST with rhabdomyosarcomatous and chondrosarcomatous differentiations: a rare case and literature review.

Selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) targeting KIT and PDGFRA is the frontline therapy for metastatic and unresectable GIST patients. Some initially responsive patients experience tumor progress because of secondary drug resistance, and some cases can develop heterogeneous differentiation. Here we report a rare case of recurrent retroperitoneal extra-GIST with rhabdomyosarcomatous and chondrosarcomatous differentiation with TKI therapy after surgical tumorectomy. Histology, immunohistochemistry, and mutational analysis were performed on primary and recurrent samples. The current case represents the first report of a recurrent retroperitoneal extra-GIST harboring mixed morphologic phenotypes of rhabdomyosarcoma and chondrosarsoma after TKI treatment. The dual differentiation can represent diagnostic pitfall.

Controlled attenuation parameter for assessment of hepatic steatosis grades: a diagnostic meta-analysis.

AIM: to evaluate the performance and accuracy of Controlled attenuation parameter CAP for hepatic steatosis detection. METHODS: PubMed, EBSCO, Elsevier Science, Ovid, and Wiley were selected to search studies until August 31, 2014. Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies checklist was used to assess the quality of included studies. Heterogeneity was evaluated using Q test. Sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and the area under curve (AUC) with its 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to evaluate the accuracy of CAP for assessment of hepatic steatosis stage (≥ S1, ≥ S2 and ≥ S3). RESULTS: Totally 11 studies (13 cohorts) with high methodological qualities were identified. The summary point estimations with 95% CIs of sensitivity, specificity, AUC and DORs were 0.78 (0.71, 0.84), 0.79 (0.70, 0.86), 0.86 (0.82, 0.88), and 14 (7, 27) for ≥ S1; 0.82 (0.74, 0.88), 0.79 (0.73, 0.85), 0.88 (0.85, 0.90) and 18 (10, 30) for ≥ S2; 0.86 (0.82, 0.89), 0.89 (0.86, 0.92), 0.94 (0.91, 0.96) and 51 (35, 76) for ≥ S3. Significant heterogeneity was found among the studies in ≥ S1 and ≥ S3. Threshold effect was existed in ≥ S3, but not in ≥ S1 and ≥ S2. Publication bias was not existed in ≥ S1 and ≥ S2 except ≥ S3. CONCLUSION: CAP provides good sensitivity and specificity for detection of ≥ S1, ≥ S2, and ≥ S3 steatosis. However, future studies with large samples are still necessary to confirm the clinical application.

Input-to-state stability of switched nonlinear systems with time delays under asynchronous switching.

This paper is concerned with analyzing input-to-state stability (ISS) for a class of switched nonlinear systems with time delays under asynchronous switching. Due to the existence of switching delay, the switching of the controller does not coincide accurately with the switching of the system.When the subsystem is stabilized with the matched controller, the subsystem is ISS; otherwise, the subsystem may be not ISS. We establish efficient condition, in terms of an upper bound on the switching delay, and in terms of a lower bound on the matched time intervals for the subsystem and the controller, which ensures ISS for the whole switched nonlinear system. Finally, an illustrative example is presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the results.

Essential oil composition analysis of three cultivars seeds of Resina ferulae from Xinjiang, China.

OBJECTIVE: Three cultivars seeds of Resina ferulae were analyzed for essential oil composition, Ferula sinkiangensis K. M. Shen, Ferula fukangensis K. M. Shen, and Ferula ovina, investigated differences among different genera of medicinal R. ferulae. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The essential oils were extracted by the method of hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), using normalization method to calculate relative amount. RESULTS: Twenty-six compounds were identified in F. sinkiangensis K. M. Shen, comprised 99.001% of total essential oil; 21 compounds were identified in F. fukangensis K. M. Shen, comprised 100% of total essential oil; 25 compounds were identified in F. ovina, comprised 99.459% of total essential oil. n-Propyl sec-butyl disulfide is the main component in three cultivars seeds of R. ferulae, accounting for 55.875%, 49.797%, 53.781%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Little diversity among three cultivars seeds of R. ferulae from Xinjiang.