Au/Pt@ZIF-90 Nanoenzyme Capsule-Based "Explosive" Signal Amplifier for "All-in-Tube" POCT.

The sensitive, convenient, and visual detection of low-concentration disease markers in biological samples has always been a priority in disease diagnosis. However, existing research has been problematic due to complex operation and unsatisfactory sensitivity. Consequently, an "explosive" signal amplification platform based on Au/Pt@ZIF-90 was developed for sensitive visual detection of disease markers. In this study, a controllable and explosively released Au/Pt nanoparticles (NPs) "nanoenzyme capsule" was prepared by encapsulating Au/Pt NPs with excellent peroxidase activity in ZIF-90. This was achieved by adjusting the particle size of ZIF-90 and the encapsulation amount of Au/Pt NPs. Using the prepared capsules as the signal output module and aptamer as the target recognition module, an "All-in-Tube" portable point-of-care (POC) platform was constructed by integrating the Au/Pt@ZIF-90/filter paper and TMB/strips into an Eppendorf (EP) tube. By utilizing specific competitive binding of targets to aptamers, the platform enabled the sensitive and convenient measurement of small molecular disease markers. Taking adenosine as the proof of concept, the portable detection achieved excellent sensitivity. Moreover, the platform can achieve universal detection of various targets by varying the aptamer sequence. This signal amplification strategy provides a design pattern for the detection of low-concentration targets in biological samples and holds significant potential in the fields of disease diagnosis and environmental monitoring.

The antioxidant protein glutaredoxin 1 is essential for oxidative stress response and pathogenicity of Toxoplasma gondii.

Glutaredoxins (Grxs) are ubiquitous antioxidant proteins involved in many molecular processes to protect cells against oxidative damage. Here, we study the roles of Grxs in the pathogenicity of Toxoplasma gondii. We show that Grxs are localized in the mitochondria (Grx1), cytoplasm (Grx2), and apicoplast (Grx3, Grx4), while Grx5 had an undetectable level of expression. We generated Δgrx1-5 mutants of T. gondii type I RH and type II Pru strains using CRISPR-Cas9 system. No significant differences in the infectivity were detected between four Δgrx (grx2-grx5) strains and their respective wild-type (WT) strains in vitro or in vivo. Additionally, no differences were detected in the production of reactive oxygen species, total antioxidant capacity, superoxide dismutase activity, and sensitivity to external oxidative stimuli. Interestingly, RHΔgrx1 or PruΔgrx1 exhibited significant differences in all the investigated aspects compared to the other grx2-grx5 mutant and WT strains. Transcriptome analysis suggests that deletion of grx1 altered the expression of genes involved in transport and metabolic pathways, signal transduction, translation, and obsolete oxidation-reduction process. The data support the conclusion that grx1 supports T. gondii resistance to oxidative killing and is essential for the parasite growth in cultured cells and pathogenicity in mice and that the active site CGFS motif was necessary for Grx1 activity.

PRM-based quantitative proteomics analysis of altered HSP abundance in villi and decidua of patients with early missed abortion.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to identify differentially expressed heat shock protein (HSP) profiles in the villi and decidua from patients with early missed abortion (EMA). METHODS: By using high-throughput and high-precision parallel reaction monitoring (PRM)-based targeted proteomics techniques, this study examined the abundance of HSPs in the villi and decidua of 10 patients with EMA and 10 controls. Moreover, the abundance of 3 HSPs in the villi of another 22 patients with EMA and 22 controls was verified with Western blotting and immunohistochemistry (IHC). RESULTS: There were potential differences in the abundance of 16 HSPs and 42 polypeptides in human villi and decidua compared with those of the control group. Among them, HSP90AB1, HSPD1 and HSPA13 were downregulated in abundance in villi of patients with EMA, with a statistically significant difference, which was consistent with the verification results of Western blots and IHC. CONCLUSION: Using a PRM-based targeted proteomics technique, this study is the first to screen and quantitatively analyze the expression profile of HSPs in the villi and decidua of patients with EMA. The significant downregulation of HSP90AB1, HSPD1 and HSPA13 was found to have a potentially intimate association with the occurrence of EMA. The findings in our study may provide novel potential research targets related to HSPs for the pathogenesis, prevention and treatment of EMA.

Global Demographic Characteristics and Pathogen Spectrum of Tinea Capitis.

Tinea capitis is an important superficial fungal infection with a global distribution. It mainly affects prepubertal children and is more common in males. Anthropophilic and zoophilic dermatophytes are responsible for most infections. The pathogen spectrum of tinea capitis varies across different regions and changes over time, and is influenced by multiple factors, such as economic development, changes in lifestyle, immigration and animal distribution. This review aimed to clarify the demographic and etiological characteristics of tinea capitis worldwide and determine the common trends of causative pathogens. By mainly analyzing the literature published from 2015 to 2022, we found that the incidence and demographic characteristics of tinea capitis remained generally stable. Zoophilic Microsporum canis, anthropophilic Trichophyton violaceum and Trichophyton tonsurans were the predominant pathogens. The pathogen spectra in different countries changed in different directions. In some countries, the main pathogen shifted to an anthropophilic dermatophyte, such as T. tonsurans, Microsporum audouinii or T. violaceum; in contrast, it shifted to a zoophilic agent, such as M. canis, in some other countries. Dermatologists are advised to continue monitoring the pathogen spectrum and implement preventive measures according to the reported changes.

[Intestinal and pharyngeal microbiota in early neonates: an analysis based on high-throughput sequencing]. / åŸºäºŽé«˜é€šé‡æµ‹åºåˆ†æžæ—©æœŸæ–°ç”Ÿå„¿è‚ é“å’Œå’½éƒ¨å¾®ç”Ÿç‰©èŒç¾¤.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the distribution characteristics and correlation of intestinal and pharyngeal microbiota in early neonates. METHODS: Full-term healthy neonates who were born in Shanghai Pudong New Area Maternal and Child Health Hospital from September 2021 to January 2022 and were given mixed feeding were enrolled. The 16S rRNA sequencing technique was used to analyze the stool and pharyngeal swab samples collected on the day of birth and days 5-7 after birth, and the composition and function of intestinal and pharyngeal microbiota were analyzed and compared. RESULTS: The diversity analysis showed that the diversity of pharyngeal microbiota was higher than that of intestinal microbiota in early neonates, but the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). On the day of birth, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria in the intestine was significantly higher than that in the pharynx (P<0.05). On days 5-7 after birth, the relative abundance of Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria in the intestine was significantly higher than that in the pharynx (P<0.05), and the relative abundance of Firmicutes in the intestine was significantly lower than that in the pharynx (P<0.05). At the genus level, there was no significant difference in the composition of dominant bacteria between the intestine and the pharynx on the day of birth (P>0.05), while on days 5-7 after birth, there were significant differences in the symbiotic bacteria of Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Rothia, Bifidobacterium, and Escherichia-Shigella between the intestine and the pharynx (P<0.05). The analysis based on the database of Clusters of Orthologous Groups of proteins showed that pharyngeal microbiota was more concentrated on chromatin structure and dynamics and cytoskeleton, while intestinal microbiota was more abundant in RNA processing and modification, energy production and conversion, amino acid transport and metabolism, carbohydrate transport and metabolism, coenzyme transport and metabolism, and others (P<0.05). The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis showed that compared with pharyngeal microbiota, intestinal microbiota was more predictive of cell motility, cellular processes and signal transduction, endocrine system, excretory system, immune system, metabolic diseases, nervous system, and transcription parameters (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The composition and diversity of intestinal and pharyngeal microbiota of neonates are not significantly different at birth. The microbiota of these two ecological niches begin to differentiate and gradually exhibit distinct functions over time.

Overexpression of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A promotes mitochondrial fusion and differentiation of glioblastoma stem cells.

Glioma stem cells (GSCs) are self-renewing tumor cells with multi-lineage differentiation potential and the capacity of construct glioblastoma (GBM) heterogenicity. Mitochondrial morphology is associated with the metabolic plasticity of GBM cells. Previous studies have revealed distinct mitochondrial morphologies and metabolic phenotypes between GSCs and non-stem tumor cells (NSTCs), whereas the molecules regulating mitochondrial dynamics in GBM cells are largely unknown. Herein, we report that carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A (CPT1A) is preferentially expressed in NSTCs, and governs mitochondrial dynamics and GSC differentiation. Expressions of CPT1A and GSC marker CD133 were mutually exclusive in human GBMs. Overexpression of CPT1A inhibited GSC self-renewal but promoted mitochondrial fusion. In contrast, disruption of CPT1A in NSTCs promoted mitochondrial fission and reprogrammed NSTCs toward GSC feature. Mechanistically, CPT1A overexpression increased the phosphorylation of dynamin-related protein 1 at Ser-637 to promote mitochondrial fusion. In vivo, CPT1A overexpression decreased the percentage of GSCs, impaired GSC-derived xenograft growth and prolonged tumor-bearing mice survival. Our work identified CPT1A as a critical regulator of mitochondrial dynamics and GSC differentiation, indicating that CPT1A could be developed as a molecular target for GBM cell-differentiation strategy.

The infection and molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. in diarrheic pigs in southern China.

Cryptosporidium spp. is recognized as an opportunistic zoonotic parasite that infects humans, wild and domestic animals, and is also a major cause of diarrhea-related disease in immunocompromised individuals, considered a global public health concern. Pig is considered as one of the reservoir hosts of Cryptosporidium spp. can transmit cryptosporidiosis to humans and other animals. However, limited studies on the distribution of Cryptosporidium spp. in diarrheic pigs have been published. Objective of the current study was to investigate the infection and species/genotypes of Cryptosporidium spp. from feces of diarrheic pigs in southern China. A total of 1254 fresh fecal samples were collected from 37 intensive pig farms in Jiangxi, Hunan and Fujian provinces, and were screened for Cryptosporidium spp. infection using a nested PCR assay targeted the small subunit rRNA (SSU rRNA) genes. The overall infection rate of Cryptosporidium spp. was 4.5% (57/1254), including 5.5% (17/307) in suckling piglets, 2.7% (8/299) in weaned piglets, 7.4% (7/95) in fattening pigs and 4.5% (25/553) in sows, respectively. In addition, two human-pathogenic species Cryptosporidium scrofarum (80.7%, 46/57) and Cryptosporidium suis (19.3%, 11/57) were identified. C. scrofarum and C. suis were observed in pigs tested in all age groups. Interestingly, a high colonization incidence of C. scrofarum (16/57) was observed in suckling piglets. This study revealed the prevalence and species of Cryptosporidium spp. in diarrheic pigs in three provinces of southern China, which suggested that diarrhea maybe not a direct factor affecting the prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in pigs. More prevention and control of this parasite in pigs should receive greater attention from farmers in investigated provinces.

Phosphine-Mediated Morita-Baylis-Hillman-Type/Wittig Cascade: Access to E-Configured 3-Styryl- and 3-(Benzopyrrole/furan-2-yl) Quinolinones.

A phosphine-mediated, well-designed Morita-Baylis-Hillman-type/Wittig cascade for the rapid assembly of a quinolinone framework from benzaldehyde derivatives is developed for the first time. By rationally combining I2/NIS-mediated cyclization, biologically relevant 3-(benzopyrrole/furan-2-yl) quinolinones were facilely synthesized in a one-pot process by starting from 3-styryl-quinolinones bearing an o-hydroxy/amino group, significantly expanding the chemical space of this privileged skeleton. Further utility of this protocol is illustrated by successfully performing this transformation in a catalytic manner through in situ reduction of phosphine oxide by phenylsilane.

Neuroprotective Alkamides from the Aerial Parts of Achillea alpina L.

Three new alkamides, achilleamide B-D (1-3) along with five known alkamides (4-8) were isolated from the aerial parts of Achillea alpina L. Structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis. Modified Mosher's method and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations were introduced for the absolute configuration of 3. The neuroprotective effects of all the compounds were evaluated by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced cell death in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells, with concentration for 50 % of maximal effect (EC50 ) values of 3.16-24.75 µM, and the structure-activity relationship was conducted.

Mucormycosis in Mainland China: A Systematic Review of Case Reports.

BACKGROUND: Mucormycosis is a lethal fungal infection with increasing incidence. The epidemiology of mucormycosis in current mainland China has not been fully elucidated. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the epidemiology, risk factors, manifestations, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of mucormycosis in mainland China. METHODS: We searched for published mucormycosis case reports/series in mainland China in the PubMed, WanFang and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases from January 2001 to July 2020. Cases of proven/probable mucormycosis were included. RESULTS: A total of 390 cases were included in this review. Most of the patients were male (61.3%), and diabetes was the most common predisposing factor (37.2%). Pulmonary mucormycosis (42.1%) was the most common form followed by cutaneous infection (21.0%). Of 390 patients, 24 died before therapy. Among the remaining 366 patients, 208 (56.8%) received antifungal drugs alone, 16 (4.4%) received surgery alone, and 142 (38.8%) received a combination of drugs and surgery, the mortality of the last group is much lower (34/142, 23.9%). The overall mortality was 37.2%. A multivariate analysis indicated that factors associated with increased mortality included corticosteroid use alone as immunosuppressive therapy, rhino-orbito-cerebral or disseminated mucormycosis (compared with pulmonary mucormycosis), and drug administration other than amphotericin B (AmB), posaconazole (POS) and itraconazole (ITR) (compared with the use of conventional AmB), while factors associated with decreased mortality included cutaneous mucormycosis and surgical therapy. Combination or sequential antifungal therapy of AmB and POS or ITR did not reduce mortality compared with conventional AmB monotherapy. CONCLUSION: In mainland China, mucormycosis is a serious fungal infection with high mortality. Corticosteroid use, rhino-orbito-cerebral and disseminated mucormycosis were adverse prognostic factors. Antifungal therapy combined with surgery could improve the prognosis.

Photoredox-Catalyzed Deoxygenation of Hexafluoroacetone Hydrate Enables Hydroxypolyfluoroalkylation of Alkenes.

An unprecedented photoredox-catalyzed phosphine-mediated deoxygenation of hexafluoroacetone hydrate was established to accomplish the hydroxylpolyfluoroalkylation of electron-deficient alkenes. A range of bis(trifluoromethyl)carbinols were facilely accessed by using readily available hexafluoroacetone hydrate, instead of toxic gaseous hexafluoroacetone. A range of electron-deficient alkenes are tolerated, giving the corresponding hydro-hydroxylpolyfluoroalkylated products in moderate to high yields. Remarkable features of this synthetic strategy include operational simplicity, mild reaction conditions, excellent regioselectivity, and broad functional group tolerance. The success of this strategy relies on the delicate utilization of aldehyde/ketone-gem-diol intrinsic equilibrium, which offers an innovated open-shell pathway for the assembly of synthetically challenging polyfluoroalkylated scaffolds.

Regioselective Access to Vicinal Diamines by Metal-Free Photosensitized Amidylimination of Alkenes with Oxime Esters.

A metal-free photosensitized protocol for regioselective diamination of alkene feedstocks over a single step was developed based on the rationally designed bifunctional diamination reagent, thus affording a range of differentially protected 1,2-diamines in moderate to high yields. Mechanistic studies reveal that the reaction is initiated with a triplet-triplet energy transfer between thioxanthone catalyst and diamination reagent, followed by fragmentation to simultaneously generate long-lived iminyl radical and transient amidyl radical. The excellent regioselectivity presumably stems from the large reactivity difference between two different N-centered radical species. This protocol is characterized by excellent regioselectivity, broad functional group tolerance, and mild reaction conditions, which would enrich the diversity and versatility of facilitate the diversity-oriented synthesis of 1,2-diamine-containing complex molecule scaffolds.

[Pulmonary hemorrhage in very low birth weight infants: risk factors and clinical outcome]. / æžä½Žå‡ºç”Ÿä½“é‡å„¿å‘ç”Ÿè‚ºå‡ºè¡€çš„å±é™©å› ç´ åŠå ¶ä¸´åºŠè½¬å½’.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the risk factors for pulmonary hemorrhage and its clinical outcome in very low birth weight infants (VLBWIs). METHODS: The medical data were collected from all live VLBWIs (gestational age <35 weeks) who were admitted to Jiangsu Women and Children Health Hospital and Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, 574 VLBWIs were included in the study, with 44 VLBWIs in the pulmonary hemorrhage group and 530 VLBWIs in the non-pulmonary hemorrhage group. The clinical data were compared between the two groups. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the risk factors for pulmonary hemorrhage. RESULTS: There were significant differences between the two groups in maternal age, rate of positive-pressure ventilation for resuscitation, rate of tracheal intubation for resuscitation, and minimum body temperature within 1 hour after birth (P<0.05). The pulmonary hemorrhage group had a higher proportion of VLBWIs with grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ respiratory distress syndrome or early-onset sepsis than the non-pulmonary hemorrhage group (P<0.05). The pulmonary hemorrhage group also had a higher proportion of VLBWIs with a capillary refilling time of >3 seconds within 1 hour after birth and with the maximum positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) of <5 cmH2O within 24 hours after birth (P<0.05). The multivariate regression analysis showed that maternal age of 30-<35 years (OR=0.115, P<0.05) was a protective factor against pulmonary hemorrhage, while a lower temperature (<34°C) within 1 hour after birth, the maximum PEEP of <5 cm H2O within 24 hours after birth, and early-onset sepsis were risk factors for pulmonary hemorrhage (OR=11.609, 11.118, and 20.661, respectively; P<0.05). For all VLBWIs, the pulmonary hemorrhage group had a longer duration of invasive ventilation and a higher mortality rate than the non-pulmonary hemorrhage group (P<0.05); for the survival VLBWIs, the pulmonary hemorrhage group had a higher incidence rate of bronchopulmonary dysplasia than the non-pulmonary hemorrhage group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Maintaining the stability of temperature, giving appropriate PEEP, and identifying sepsis as early as possible can reduce the incidence rate of pulmonary hemorrhage, thereby helping to reduce the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia and mortality in VLBWIs.

[Preadmission follow-up condition of neonates hospitalized due to severe hyperbilirubinemia after discharge from the department of obstetrics and influencing factors for follow-up compliance: a multicenter investigation]. / äº§ç§‘å‡ºé™¢åŽå› ä¸¥é‡é«˜èƒ†çº¢ç´ è¡€ç—‡ä½é™¢æ–°ç”Ÿå„¿å ¥é™¢å‰éšè®¿æƒ å†µåŠéšè®¿ä¾ä»Žæ€§å½±å“å› ç´ çš„å¤šä¸­å¿ƒè°ƒæŸ¥.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the preadmission follow-up condition of neonates hospitalized due to severe hyperbilirubinemia after discharge from the department of obstetrics and the influencing factors for follow-up compliance. METHODS: A multicenter retrospective case-control study was performed for the cases from the multicenter clinical database of 12 units in the Quality Improvement Clinical Research Cooperative Group of Neonatal Severe Hyperbilirubinemia in Jiangsu Province of China from January 2019 to April 2021. According to whether the follow-up of neonatal jaundice was conducted on time after discharge from the department of obstetrics, the neonates were divided into two groups: good follow-up compliance and poor follow-up compliance. The multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify the influencing factors for follow-up compliance of the neonates before admission. RESULTS: A total of 545 neonates with severe hyperbilirubinemia were included in the study, with 156 neonates (28.6%) in the good follow-up compliance group and 389 (71.4%) in the poor follow-up compliance group. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that low gestational age at birth, ≥10% reduction in body weight on admission compared with birth weight, history of phototherapy of siblings, history of exchange transfusion of siblings, Rh(-) blood type of the mother, a higher educational level of the mother, the use of WeChat official account by medical staff to remind of follow-up before discharge from the department of obstetrics, and the method of telephone notification to remind of follow-up after discharge were associated with the increase in follow-up compliance (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Poor follow-up compliance is observed for the neonates with severe hyperbilirubinemia after discharge from the department of obstetrics, which suggests that it is necessary to further strengthen the education of jaundice to parents before discharge and improve the awareness of jaundice follow-up. It is recommended to remind parents to follow up on time by phone or WeChat official account.

[Antibiotic use in very low birth weight/extremely low birth weight infants in 15 hospitals in Jiangsu Province of China: a multicenter survey]. / 江苏省15家医院极低/è¶ ä½Žå‡ºç”Ÿä½“é‡å„¿æŠ—ç”Ÿç´ ä½¿ç”¨çŽ°çŠ¶è°ƒæŸ¥.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the current status of antibiotic use in very low birth weight/extremely low birth weight infants in Jiangsu Province of China, and to provide a clinical basis for the quality and improvement of antibiotic management in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the data on general conditions and antibiotic use in the very low birth weight/extremely low birth weight infants who were admitted to 15 hospitals of Jiangsu Province from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020. A questionnaire containing 10 measures to reduce antibiotic use was designed to investigate the implementation of these intervention measures. RESULTS: A total of 1 920 very low birth weight/extremely low birth weight infants were enrolled, among whom 1 846 (96.15%) were treated with antibiotic, and the median antibiotic use rate (AUR) was 50/100 patient-days. The AUR ranged from 24/100 to 100/100 patient-days in the 15 hospitals. After adjustment for the confounding factors including gestational age, birth weight, and neonatal critical score, the Poisson regression analysis showed that there was a significant difference in the adjusted AUR (aAUR) among the hospitals (P<0.01). The investigation results showed that among the 10 measures to reduce antibiotic use, 8 measures were implemented in less than 50% of these hospitals, and the number of intervention measures implemented was negatively correlated with aAUR (rs=-0.564, P=0.029). CONCLUSIONS: There is a high AUR among the very low birth weight/extremely low birth weight infants in the 15 hospitals of Jiangsu Province, with a significant difference among hospitals. The hospitals implementing a relatively few measures to reduce antibiotic use tend to have a high AUR. It is expected to reduce AUR in very low birth weight/extremely low birth weight infants by promoting the quality improvement of antibiotic use management in the NICU.

Clinical effect of different maintenance doses of caffeine citrate in the treatment of preterm infants requiring assisted ventilation: a pilot multicenter study. / ä¸åŒç»´æŒå‰‚é‡æž¸æ©¼é ¸å’–å•¡å› å¯¹è¾ åŠ©é€šæ°”æ—©äº§å„¿çš„ç–—æ•ˆè¯„ä¼°ï¼šä¸€é¡¹åˆæ­¥å¤šä¸­å¿ƒç ”ç©¶.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the optimal maintenance dose of caffeine citrate for preterm infants requiring assisted ventilation and caffeine citrate treatment. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of 566 preterm infants (gestational age ≤34 weeks) who were treated and required assisted ventilation and caffeine citrate treatment in the neonatal intensive care unit of 30 tertiary hospitals in Jiangsu Province of China between January 1 and December 31, 2019. The 405 preterm infants receiving high-dose (10 mg/kg per day) caffeine citrate after a loading dose of 20 mg/kg within 24 hours after birth were enrolled as the high-dose group. The 161 preterm infants receiving low-dose (5 mg/kg per day) caffeine citrate were enrolled as the low-dose group. RESULTS: Compared with the low-dose group, the high-dose group had significant reductions in the need for high-concentration oxygen during assisted ventilation (P=0.044), the duration of oxygen inhalation after weaning from noninvasive ventilation (P<0.01), total oxygen inhalation time during hospitalization (P<0.01), the proportion of preterm infants requiring noninvasive ventilation again (P<0.01), the rate of use of pulmonary surfactant and budesonide (P<0.05), and the incidence rates of apnea and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (P<0.01), but the high-dose group had a significantly increased incidence rate of feeding intolerance (P=0.032). There were no significant differences between the two groups in the body weight change, the incidence rates of retinopathy of prematurity, intraventricular hemorrhage or necrotizing enterocolitis, the mortality rate, and the duration of caffeine use (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This pilot multicenter study shows that the high maintenance dose (10 mg/kg per day) is generally beneficial to preterm infants in China and does not increase the incidence rate of common adverse reactions. For the risk of feeding intolerance, further research is needed to eliminate the interference of confounding factors as far as possible.

N,N,N',N'-Tetramethylethylenediamine-Enabled Photoredox-Catalyzed C-H Methylation of N-Heteroarenes.

Aiming at the valuable methylation process, readily available and inexpensive N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA) was first identified as a new methyl source in photoredox-catalyzed transformation in this work. By virtue of this simple methylating reagent, a facile and practical protocol for the direct C-H methylation of N-heteroarenes was developed, featuring mild reaction conditions, broad substrate scope, and scalability. Mechanistic studies disclosed that a sequential photoredox, base-assisted proton shift, fragmentation, and tautomerization process was essentially involved.

Prevalence and multilocus genotyping of Cryptosporidium spp. in cattle in Jiangxi Province, southeastern China.

Cryptosporidium is a genus of single-celled protozoa, infecting a wide range of animals and humans. Although Cryptosporidium infections of cattle have been reported in some provinces in China, there is no available information on the prevalence and predominant species of Cryptosporidium in cattle in Jiangxi province. To investigate the prevalence of Cryptosporidium in cattle in Jiangxi province of China, 556 fecal samples were collected from eight farms in four cities and the SSU rRNA locus of Cryptosporidium was amplified from the DNA of each fecal sample by PCR. The overall prevalence of Cryptosporidium was 12.8% (71/556) in cattle in Jiangxi province, with 24.3% (54/222) in Nanchang city, 7.8% (13/166) in Gao'an city, 3.7% (4/108) in Xinyu city, and 0.0% (0/60) in Ji'an city. The differences of the prevalence rates by region, breed, and age groups were statistically significant. All positive PCR products of Cryptosporidium were successfully sequenced and identified as three Cryptosporidium species, namely Cryptosporidium bovis (1/556, 0.18%), Cryptosporidium ryanae (7/556, 1.3%), and Cryptosporidium andersoni (63/556, 11.3%). Furthermore, 36 C. andersoni isolates were successfully classified into three MLST (multilocus sequence typing) subtypes based on four genetic loci (MS1, MS2, MS3, and MS16). The predominant MLST subtype was A4, A4, A4, A1 (n = 30). These findings not only revealed the prevalence and predominant species of Cryptosporidium in cattle in Jiangxi province, but also provided a baseline for studying the genetic structure of C. andersoni, offering a novel resource for better understanding of the epidemiology of Cryptosporidium infection in cattle in Jiangxi province, southeastern China.

Comprehensive quality evaluation of Polygoni Orientalis Fructus and its processed product: chemical fingerprinting and simultaneous determination of seven major components coupled with chemometric analyses.

INTRODUCTION: Polygoni Orientalis Fructus (POF) is a clinically effective Chinese medicine. Raw POF (RPOF) and POF Tostus (POFT) are used separately in clinics. However, incomplete progress has been made on quality control. OBJECTIVE: To establish a comprehensive method for quality assessment of RPOF and POFT and to discriminate these two varieties. METHODOLOGY: High-performance liquid chromatography combined with the diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) methods were developed for fingerprinting and quantitative analysis of seven major compounds in RPOF and POFT, and the main components were determined by HPLC-DAD coupled with Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance-mass spectrometry. Chemometric approaches were performed to discriminate RPOF and POFT and to screen discriminatory components. RESULTS: Fingerprints were established and 12 common peaks were identified, cannabisin G and cannabisin E were firstly identified from POF. In quantitative analysis, all analytes showed good regression (R > 0.9996) within test ranges and the recovery of the method was in the range 96.6-104.3%. Fingerprints in conjunction with similarity analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) demonstrated the consistent quality of RPOF and showed a clear discrimination between RPOF and POFT. Principal component analysis, partial least-squares discriminant analysis, and heatmap-HCA on quantitative data not only gave a clear differentiation between RPOF and POFT, but they also suggested that quercetin, 3,5,7-trihydroxychromone, and N-trans-feruloyltyramine acted as the main factors responsible for the sample differences. CONCLUSIONS: Chromatographic analysis in combination with chemometric analysis provides a simple and reliable method of comparing and evaluating the qualities of RPOF and POFT.

[Clinical Features of Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders with Connective Tissue Diseases].

Objective To investigate the clinical features of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders(NMOSD)with connective tissue diseases(CTD). Methods Clinical data of 16 NMOSD-CTD patients and 54 NMOSD patients admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University from January 2015 to February 2020 were collected.The initial symptom,intracranial lesion,spinal cord lesion,laboratory examination and treatment response were compared between the two groups. Results The incidence of Sjögren's syndrome(SS)was the highest(10/16,62.5%)in NMOSD-CTD group.The NMOSD-CTD group had significantly higher positive rate of aquaporin-4 immunoglobulin G(AQP4-IgG)in serum or cerebrospinal fluid(100% vs. 70.2%,P=0.009),higher positive rates of serum anti-nuclear antibodies,anti Sjögren's syndrome A antibodies and anti-Ro52 autoantibodies(P<0.001),as well as higher proportion of patients with the expanded disability status scale score ≥ 6(50.0% vs. 22.2%,P=0.035)than the NMOSD group.There was no significant difference between the two groups in the age of onset,visiting age,recurrence frequency,disease course,distribution of intracranial lesions,spinal cord involvement,or the effective rate of glucocorticoid pulse therapy(all P>0.05).Conclusions NMOSD is often complicated with CTD,and SS is the most common one.The positive rate of serum or cerebrospinal AQP4-IgG and the seropositivity of several other autoantibodies in NMOSD-CTD patients were higher than those in NMOSD patients.Neurological impairment in NMOSD-CTD patients were severer,which should arouse attention of clinicians.