Efficacy of doxycycline versus azithromycin for the treatment of rectal chlamydia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Chlamydia trachomatis infection is the most common sexually transmitted infectious disease and carries a risk of complications. However, the optimal treatment for rectal chlamydial infection remains unclear. OBJECTIVES: To compare the efficacy of doxycycline and azithromycin for the treatment of rectal chlamydia by undertaking a systematic review and meta-analysis of published data. METHODS: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and clinicaltrials.gov databases from inception to 7 July 2021 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies that compared the efficacy of doxycycline and single-dose azithromycin on rectal chlamydia cure rates. Data were synthesized using a random-effects model, and subgroup analysis was conducted. RESULTS: All included studies were conducted in developed countries. Two RCTs and nine observational studies, with a total of 2457 patients, were analysed. Doxycycline had a higher microbiological cure rate than azithromycin (risk ratio = 1.21; 95% CI = 1.15-1.28; P < 0.05). Pooled results from two RCTs also revealed a higher microbiological cure rate for doxycycline than azithromycin (risk ratio = 1.27; 95% CI = 1.20-1.35; P < 0.05). The results remained consistent in subgroups of different study designs, countries and sexes. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of our findings, we recommend doxycycline rather than azithromycin as a first-line treatment for rectal chlamydia in developed countries. More RCTs from developing countries are warranted.

Label-Free, Portable, and Color-Indicating Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Test Kit for Acute Myocardial Infarction by Spectral Analysis and Naked-Eye Observation.

The early diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction is difficult in patients with nondiagnostic characteristics. Acute myocardial infarction with chest pain is associated with increased mortality. This study developed a portable test kit based on cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) for the rapid detection of AMI through eye observation at home. The test kit was established on dimethyloctadecyl[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]ammonium chloride-coated substrates covered by a CLC-binding antibody. Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) is a major biomarker of myocardial cellular injury in human blood. The data showed that the concentration of cTnI was related to light transmittance in a positive way. The proposed CLC test kit can be operated with a smartphone; therefore, it has high potential for use as a point-of-care device for home testing. Moreover, the CLC test kit is an effective and innovative device for the rapid testing of acute myocardial infarction-related diseases through eye observation, spectrometer, or even smartphone applications.

Lipid-Based Nanomaterials for Drug Delivery Systems in Breast Cancer Therapy.

Globally, breast cancer is one of the most prevalent diseases, inducing critical intimidation to human health. Lipid-based nanomaterials have been successfully demonstrated as drug carriers for breast cancer treatment. To date, the development of a better drug delivery system based on lipid nanomaterials is still urgent to make the treatment and diagnosis easily accessible to breast cancer patients. In a drug delivery system, lipid nanomaterials have revealed distinctive features, including high biocompatibility and efficient drug delivery. Specifically, a targeted drug delivery system based on lipid nanomaterials has inherited the advantage of optimum dosage and low side effects. In this review, insights on currently used potential lipid-based nanomaterials are collected and introduced. The review sheds light on conjugation, targeting, diagnosis, treatment, and clinical significance of lipid-based nanomaterials to treat breast cancer. Furthermore, a brighter side of lipid-based nanomaterials as future potential drug delivery systems for breast cancer therapy is discussed.

Label-Free, Color-Indicating, Polarizer-Free Dye-Doped Liquid Crystal Microfluidic Polydimethylsiloxane Biosensing Chips for Detecting Albumin.

We reveal a novel design for dye-doped liquid crystal (DDLC) microfluidic biosensing chips in the polydimethylsiloxane material. With this design chip, the orientation of DDLCs was affected by the interface between the walls of the channels and DDLCs. When the inside of a channel was coated with an N,N-dimethyl-n-octadecyl-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilyl chloride (DMOAP) alignment layer, the DDLCs oriented homeotropically in a homeotropic (H) state under cross-polarized microscopy. After immobilization of antigens with antibodies on the alignment layer-coated microchannel walls, the optical intensity of the DDLC change from the dark H state to the bright planar (P) state. Using pressure-driven flow, the binding of antigens/antibodies to the DDLCs could be detected in an experimental sequential order. The microfluidic DDLCs were tested by detecting bovine serum albumin (BSA) and its immune-responses of antigens/antibodies. We proved that this immunoassay chip was able to detect BSA antigens/antibodies pairs with the detection limit about 0.5 µg/mL. The novel DDLC chip was shown to be a simple, multi-detection device, and label-free microfluidic chips are presented.

Dielectric Thermal Smart Glass Based on Tunable Helical Polymer-Based Superstructure for Biosensor with Antibacterial Property.

A dielectric thermal smart glass (DTSG) based on the dielectric heating optical (DHO) effect in tunable helical polymer-based superstructures-cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs)-was exhibited in this study. Field-induced dielectric heating can strongly affect the orientation of liquid crystals and change its optical properties. The purpose of this research focuses on dual-frequency CLC materials characterized by their specific properties on dielectric relaxation and demonstrates their potential for antibacterial biosensor applications. The developed DTSG is driven by voltages with modulated frequencies. The principal of DTSG in transparent states are a planar (P) state and a heated planar (HP) state reflecting infrared light, operated with the voltage at low and high frequencies, respectively. The scattering states are a focal conic (FC) state and a heated FC (HFC) state, with an applied frequency near the crossover frequency. The biomolecule detection of the antibacterial property was also demonstrated. The detection limitation of the DTSG biosensor was found to be about 0.5 µg/mL. The DTSG material has many potential industrial applications, such as in buildings, photonic devices, and biosensor applications.

Profiles of Peripheral Immune Cells of Uncomplicated COVID-19 Cases with Distinct Viral RNA Shedding Periods.

The heterogeneity of immune response to COVID-19 has been reported to correlate with disease severity and prognosis. While so, how the immune response progress along the period of viral RNA-shedding (VRS), which determines the infectiousness of disease, is yet to be elucidated. We aim to exhaustively evaluate the peripheral immune cells to expose the interplay of the immune system in uncomplicated COVID-19 cases with different VRS periods and dynamic changes of the immune cell profile in the prolonged cases. We prospectively recruited four uncomplicated COVID-19 patients and four healthy controls (HCs) and evaluated the immune cell profile throughout the disease course. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were collected and submitted to a multi-panel flowcytometric assay. CD19+-B cells were upregulated, while CD4, CD8, and NK cells were downregulated in prolonged VRS patients. Additionally, the pro-inflammatory-Th1 population showed downregulation, followed by improvement along the disease course, while the immunoregulatory cells showed upregulation with subsequent decline. COVID-19 patients with longer VRS expressed an immune profile comparable to those with severe disease, although they remained clinically stable. Further studies of immune signature in a larger cohort are warranted.

Color-Indicating, Label-Free, Dye-Doped Liquid Crystal Organic-Polymer-Based-Bioinspired Sensor for Biomolecule Immunodetection.

The highly sensitive interfacial effects between liquid crystal (LC) and alignment layers make LC-bioinspired sensors an important technology. However, LC-bioinspired sensors are limited by quantification requiring a polarized microscope and expensive equipment, which makes it difficult to commercialize LC-bioinspired sensors. In this report, we first demonstrate that dye-doped LC (DDLC) chips coated with vertically aligned layers can be employed as a new LC-bioinspired sensing technology. The DDLC-bioinspired sensor was tested by detecting bovine serum albumin (BSA) and immunocomplexes of BSA pairs. The intensities of the dye color of the DDLC-bioinspired sensor can be changed with the concentrations of biomolecules and immunocomplexes. A detection limit of 0.5 µg/mL was shown for the color-indicating DDLC-bioinspired sensors. We also designed a new method to use the quantitative DDLC-bioinspired sensor with a smart-phone for potential of home test. The novel DDLC-bioinspired sensor is cheap, label-free, and easy to use, furthering the technology for home and field-based disease-related detection.

Lemierre's syndrome: A forgotten and re-emerging infection.

Lemierre's syndrome, also known as post-anginal septicemia or necrobacillosis, is characterized by bacteremia, internal jugular vein thrombophlebitis, and metastatic septic emboli secondary to acute pharyngeal infections. Modern physicians have "forgotten" this disease. The most common causative agent of Lemierre's syndrome is Fusobacterium necrophorum, followed by Fusobacterium nucleatum and anaerobic bacteria such as streptococci, staphylococci, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The causative focus mostly originated from pharyngitis or tonsillitis, accounting for over 85% of the cases of Lemierre's syndrome. Pneumonia or pleural empyema is the most common metastatic infection in Lemierre's syndrome. Antimicrobial therapy should be prescribed for 3-6 weeks. The treatment regimens include metronidazole and ß-lactam antibiotics. In recent years, the antibiotic stewardship program has resulted in decreased antibiotic prescription for upper respiratory tract infections. The incidence of Lemierre's syndrome has increased over the past decade. F. necrophorum is an underestimated cause of acute pharyngitis or tonsillitis. A high index of suspicion is required for the differential diagnosis of acute tonsillopharyngitis with persistent neck pain and septic syndrome.

Costs and length of sepsis-related hospitalizations in Taiwan.

To investigate the healthcare expenditures and length of stay (LOS) of sepsis-related hospitalizations in Taiwan.This is a retrospective claim database study. Data were obtained from the two-million-sample longitudinal health and welfare database (LHWD). Adult patients hospitalized with sepsis between 2010 and 2014 were identified by International Classification of Diseases 9th Edition Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes, and these patients were divided into three levels of sepsis severity. The amount and distribution of their total medical expenditures were investigated.In total, 62,517 patients with 97,790 sepsis-related hospitalizations were included in the present study. It was found that ward fees and medicines comprised the largest component of expenses for sepsis-related hospitalizations. In addition, our study results indicated that the median sepsis-related hospitalization cost was 66.4 thousand New Taiwan Dollar (NT dollars) in 2014, and a significant temporal change was found between 2010 and 2014. The median LOS in a hospital and in an intensive care unit were 11 and 7 days, respectively. Both expenditures and LOS were found to increase with sepsis severity.This study provides an updated and better understanding of the costs and LOS of sepsis-related hospitalizations in Taiwan. It was found that ward fees and medicine fees were the major components of hospital costs.

Label-Free Multi-Microfluidic Immunoassays with Liquid Crystals on Polydimethylsiloxane Biosensing Chips.

We developed a new format for liquid crystal (LC)-based multi-microfluidic immunoassays, hosted on a polydimethylsiloxane substrate. In this design, the orientations of the LCs were strongly affected by the interface between the four microchannel walls and surrounding LCs. When the alignment layer was coated inside a microchannel, the LCs oriented homeotropically and appeared dark under crossed polarizers. After antigens bound to the immobilized antibodies on the alignment layer were coated onto the channel walls, the light intensity of the LC molecules changed from dark to bright because of disruption of the LCs. By employing pressure-driven flow, binding of the antigen/antibody could be detected by optical signals in a sequential order. The multi-microfluidic LC biosensor was tested by detecting bovine serum albumin (BSA) and an immunocomplex of BSA antigen/antibody pairs, a protein standard commonly used in labs. We show that this multi-microfluidic immunoassay was able to detect BSA and antigen/antibody BSA pairs with a naked-eye detection limitation of -0.01 µg/mL. Based on this new immunoassay design, a simple and robust device for LC-based label-free microfluidic immunodetection was demonstrated.

Label-free, color-indicating, and sensitive biosensors of cholesteric liquid crystals on a single vertically aligned substrate.

Biosensors based on liquid crystal (LC) materials can be made by employing the sensitive interfacial effect between LC molecules and alignment layers on substrates. In the past, the optical texture observation method was used in the LC biosensor field. However, the method is limited by a complicated fabrication process and quantitative reproducibility of results that bv evidence that both the reliability and accuracy of LC biosensors need to be improved. In this report, we demonstrate that cholesteric LC (CLC) cells in which one substrate is coated with a vertically aligned layer can be used as a new sensing technology. The chirality of the single vertically anchored (SVA)/CLC biosensor was tested by detecting bovine serum albumin (BSA), a protein standard commonly used in the lab. The colors and corresponding spectrum of the SVA/CLC biosensor changed with the BSA concentrations. A detection limit of 1 ng/ml was observed for the SVA/CLC biosensor. The linear optical properties of the SVA/CLC biosensor produced cheap, inexpensive, and color-indicating detection of biomolecules, and may promote the technology of point-of-care devices for disease-related biomarker detection.

Epidemiology of sepsis in Taiwan.

To investigate the epidemiology trend and characteristics of sepsis-related hospitalizations in Taiwan, and to compare the differences among different severity levels of sepsis.This study is a retrospective national claim database analysis. Hospitalized adult patients with sepsis between 2010 and 2014 were identified from the Two-Million-Sample Longitudinal Health and Welfare Database (LHWD) by the International Classification of Diseases 9th Edition Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM). The patients were divided into 3 severity groups based on their medical records during hospitalization.The study results showed that in Taiwan, there were 643 new cases of sepsis in 100,000 Taiwanese. The mortality of all septic patients in Taiwan was 287 per 100,000 people, and the case fatality was 29.2%. It was found that the mortality and incidence of sepsis in Taiwan have increased year by year, but there has been no significant change over time. In addition, demographic variation exists in the epidemiology of sepsis. In all the rates investigated, the men's were higher than the women's and the elderly's were higher than the youths'. The analysis results also showed that the respiratory system was the most common site of organ failure in septic patients.The incidence and mortality of any severity level of sepsis were 643, and 287 per 100,000 people in Taiwan, respectively, and the average case fatality was 29.2% during the study period (2010-2014). The respiratory system was the major infected site and site of organ dysfunction, especially in the more severe levels.

Bio-Kil, a nano-based disinfectant, reduces environmental bacterial burden and multidrug-resistant organisms in intensive care units.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: This prospective before-after study was intended to investigate the effect of Bio-Kil on reducing environmental bacterial burden and healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in intensive care units (ICUs) at the Municipal Wan-Fang Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan in 2014. METHODS: Four rooms in the medical and surgical ICUs were investigated and designated as study rooms (n = 2) or control rooms (n = 2). Routine disinfection was performed during the pre-intervention period in both room types. Bio-Kil was applied to the fomites and surroundings of the study rooms during the intervention period. Total bacterial burden and proportion of colonization of fomites and surroundings by multidrug-resistance organisms (MDROs) were determined before and after the intervention. The demographic characteristics, underlying conditions, and clinical outcomes of patients were analyzed. RESULTS: After application of Bio-Kil, the bacterial burden declined in both groups, although the reduction was greater in the study rooms as compared with the control rooms (p = 0.001). During the pre-intervention period, 16 patients were admitted to control rooms and 18 patients to study rooms. After the intervention, 22 patients were admitted to control rooms and 21 patients to study rooms. The number of cases of new-onset sepsis declined in the intervention group (from 33% to 23.8%), but increased in the control group (from 25% to 40.9%); however, there was no significant difference in incidence of new-onset sepsis between the study and control rooms after intervention. CONCLUSION: Application of Bio-Kil reduced the environmental bacterial burden and MDROs in ICUs. Further studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of this nanotechnology-based disinfectant in reducing HAIs.

Safety and immunogenicity of an inactivated cell culture-derived H7N9 influenza vaccine in healthy adults: A phase I/II, prospective, randomized, open-label trial.

BACKGROUND: We conducted a phase I/II clinical trial to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of a Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cell-grown inactivated H7N9 influenza vaccine for pandemic preparedness purposes. METHODS: Between April 7, 2015 and May 27, 2016, healthy adults aged 20-60years were enrolled sequentially in phase I (n=40) and phase II (n=160) from three hospitals in Taiwan and randomized to receive 2 doses of whole-virus H7N9 vaccine (15 or 30µg hemagglutinin antigen (HA) with or without an aluminum hydroxide adjuvant) at 21-day intervals. Safety up to 180days and changes in hemagglutinin inhibition (HI) titers at 21days after each vaccination were determined. RESULTS: Of the 200 randomized subjects, 193 (96.5%) received 2 doses of the study vaccine and were included in the intention-to-treat analysis for safety, and 190 (95%) were included in the per-protocol analysis for immunogenicity. Most adverse events were mild and transient; no death or vaccine-related serious adverse events were reported. Overall, higher immune responses were observed in the groups administered with 30µgHA formulation than in the other two groups administered with 15µgHA formulation. The highest immune response was observed in subjects who received 2 doses of the adjuvanted vaccine containing 30µgHA with HI titer, seroprotection rate, seroconversion rate, and seroconversion factor of 36.2, 64.6%, 64.6% and 5.7, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that the H7N9 influenza vaccine containing 30µgHA with aluminum hydroxide adjuvant was immunogenic and safe in adults aged 20-60years. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV identifier: NCT02436928.

Role of aerosolized colistin methanesulfonate therapy for extensively-drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii complex pneumonia and airway colonization.

BACKGROUND: Aerosolized colistin methanesulfonate (CMS) has been used for the treatment of extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (XDRAB) pneumonia and eradication of XDRAB colonization in the respiratory tract. The aims of this study were to compare the efficacy, adverse effects, clinical outcomes, and microbiological eradication of the cases of XDRAB pneumonia or colonization. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who received aerosolized CMS for the treatment of pneumonia and airway colonization due to XDRAB. RESULTS: Clinical data from 118 patients were studied. The mean age of 57 patients in the pneumonia group was 79.4 years, and that of 61 patients in the colonization group was 80.0 years. Patients with XDRAB pneumonia were more likely to be ventilator-dependent than colonized patients (46.5% vs. 21.3%; p = 0.005), receive steroid therapy (49.1% vs. 31.1%; p = 0.046), and be admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) at the time of aerosolized CMS treatment (56.1% vs. 32.8%; p = 0.011). The in-hospital mortality rate was higher in the pneumonia group than the colonization group (50.9% vs. 33.3%; p = 0.05). Microbiological eradication of XDRAB in airway samples was achieved in 75% (89 of 118) patients. In pneumonia patients, XDRAB eradication was associated with resolution or improvement of presenting symptoms and signs of infection by the end of treatment relative to the noneradicated group (57.8% vs. 25%; p = 0.044), but had no influence on 30-day mortality. In colonized patients, no difference in clinical outcomes was noted between the eradicated and noneradicated groups. CONCLUSION: Aerosolized CMS therapy has acceptable efficacy for XDRAB pneumonia, but no proven efficacy for XDRAB airway colonization.