Crystal-Site Engineering of Novel Na3KMg7(PO4)6-x(BO3)x:Eu2+ Phosphors for Full-Spectrum Lighting.

The "cyan gap" is the bottleneck problem in violet-driven full-spectrum white-light-emitting diodes (wLEDs) in healthy lighting. Accordingly, we develop a novel broadband-blue-cyan emission Na3KMg7(PO4)6-x(BO3)x:Eu2+ (NKMPB:Eu2+) phosphor via crystal-site engineering. This phosphor is derived from the Na3KMg7(PO4)6:Eu2+ phosphor, which shows desired abundant cyan emissive components. A comparative study is conducted to reveal the microstructure-property relationship and the key influential factors to its spectrum distribution. It can be found that the introduced (BO3)3- units can manipulate the site-selective occupation of Eu2+ activators, asymmetrically broadening the emission spectrum in NKMPB:Eu2+. Considering detailed luminescence performance analysis and the density functional theory calculations, a new substitution pathway of Eu2+ is created by substituting (PO4)3- with (BO3)3- units, making partial Eu2+ ions enter the Mg2+ (CN = 5, CN = 6) crystallographic sites, and yielding an extra emission band at 600 nm (16667 cm-1) and especially 501 nm (19960 cm-1). Meanwhile, a high-color-quality full-spectrum-emitting wLEDs was fabricated, upon 100 mA forward-bias current driven. Due to the achieved extra cyan emissive components of NKMPB:Eu2+, the constructed NKMPB:Eu2+-based wLEDs show better color rendering ability (∼90.9) than that of Na3KMg7(PO4)6:Eu2+-based wLEDs (∼86.3), and also demonstrate its great potential in full-spectrum healthy lighting.

Application of next-generation sequencing in the detection of low-abundance mutations.

Mutation accumulation in somatic cells contributes to cancer development, aging and many non-malignant diseases. The true mutation frequency in normal cells is extremely low, which presents a challenge in detecting these mutations at such low frequencies. The emergence of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology enables direct detection of rare mutations across the entire genome of any species. This breakthrough overcomes numerous limitations of traditional mutation detection techniques that rely on specific detection models and sites. However, conventional NGS is limited in its application for detecting low-frequency mutations due to its high sequencing error rate. To address this challenge, high-accuracy NGS sequencing techniques based on molecular consensus sequencing strategies have been developed. These techniques have the ability to correct sequencing errors, resulting in error rates lower than 10-7, are expected to serve as effective tools for low-frequency mutation detection. Error-corrected NGS (ecNGS) techniques hold great potential in various areas, including safety evaluation and research on environmental mutagens, risk assessment of cell and gene therapy drugs, population health risk monitoring, and fundamental research in life sciences. This review highlights a comprehensive review of the research progress in low-frequency mutation detection techniques based on NGS, and provides a glimpse into their potential applications. It also offers an outlook on the potential applications of these techniques, thereby providing valuable insights for further development, research, and application of this technology in relevant fields.

eIF4E plays the role of a pathogenic gene in psoriasis, and the inhibition of eIF4E phosphorylation ameliorates psoriasis-like skin damage.

Psoriasis is a complex inflammatory skin disease with uncertain pathogenesis. eIF4E (eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E) and its phosphorylation state p-eIF4E are highly expressed in psoriatic tissues. However, the role eIF4E played in psoriasis is still unclear. To investigate the function of eIF4E and p-eIF4E in psoriasis and to figure out whether eFT-508 (Tomivosertib, eIF4E phosphorylation inhibitor) can relieve the disease severity and become a promising candidate for the psoriasis treatment. We first verified the expression of eIF4E and p-eIF4E in psoriasis patients' lesional skin. Then, we demonstrated the effect of eIF4E and p-eIF4E on the abnormal proliferation and inflammatory state of keratinocytes by using eIF4E-specific small interfering RNA (si-eIF4E) and eFT-508. In this study, all cell experiments were performed under the psoriasis-model condition. Moreover, the external application of eFT-508 on imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis mice was performed to explore its potential clinical value. Results showed that eIF4E and p-eIF4E were significantly overexpressed in skin lesions of psoriasis patients. Knocking down eIF4E or adding eFT-508 can relieve the abnormal proliferation and the excessive inflammatory state of keratinocytes by reducing the expression of cyclin D1, IL-1ß, CXCL10, IL23, Wnt 5a, NBS1 and p-AKT from mRNA or protein levels. Furthermore, these results were consistent with those obtained from the in vitro experiments. Then, we conclude that eIF4E plays the role of the pathogenic gene in psoriasis, and eFT-508 may be a promising candidate for anti-prosoriasis drugs.

Desynchronizing oscillators coupled in multi-cluster networks through adaptively controlling partial networks.

This article introduces an adaptive control scheme with a feedback delay, specifically designed for controlling partial networks, to achieve desynchronization in a coupled network with two or multiple clusters. The proposed scheme's effectiveness is validated through several representative examples of coupled neuronal networks with two interconnected clusters. The efficacy of this scheme is attributed to the rigorous and numerical analyses on the corresponding transcendental characteristic equation, which includes time delay and other network parameters. In addition to investigating the impact of time delay and inter-connectivity on the stability of an incoherent state, we also rigorously find that controlling only one cluster cannot realize the desynchronization in the coupled oscillators within three or more clusters. All these, we believe, can deepen the understanding of the deep brain stimulation techniques presently used in the clinical treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and suggest future avenues for enhancing these clinical techniques through adaptive feedback settings.

Interspersing CdS nanodots into iodine vacancy-rich BiOI sphere for photocatalytic lignin valorization.

Flower-like BiOI was decorated by CdS nanodots and followed by the introduction of iodine vacancies (VI) for photocatalytic sodium lignosulfonate (SLS) valorization under visible light. The iodine vacancies could adjust the band configuration, strengthen the light absorption and act as electron traps, while the intimate contact between BiOI and CdS nanodots provides a high-speed channel for charge transfer. As a consequence, the photocatalytic performance of SLS conversion into value-added vanillin was greatly improved over CdS/BiOI-VI compared with those of CdS, BiOI and CdS/BiOI. The highest yield of vanillin is 10.95 mg/gSLS over CdS/BiOI-VI, about 5, 8.7, 1.3 times those of CdS, BiOI, CdS/BiOI, respectively, and exceeding most related photocatalysts reported elsewhere. More significantly, as to the lignin from Masson pine and alkali lignin, the corresponding vanillin yield can reach 7.04 and 6.54 mg/glignin, respectively, under the same condition, which suggests the great potential and universality for photocatalytic lignin valorization over such CdS/BiOI-VI heterostructure.

Study of the systemic biopsy tissue quality in different prostate region / 中华泌尿外科杂志

Objective:To explore the quality differences of systemic biopsy specimens from different regions in prostate biopsy.Methods:The data of 806 patients who underwent transperineal prostate biopsy from May 2013 to December 2020 in Northern Jiangsu People’s Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. The median age of the patients was 72 (66, 77) years old, median PSA was 18.4 (10.3, 34.2) ng/ml, and prostate volume was 43 (32, 56) ml. Tissue quality were graded from low to high as follows. One score means multiple fragments with fragmented tissue ≤5 mm. Two scores means at least one fragment >5 mm and ≤10 mm. Three scores means at least one fragment >10 mm. The prostate specimens fragmentation scores and the length of the specimens in different regions of the prostate were collected to analyze.Results:A total of 806 patients were included in our study. The number of tissues was 8 866, and the mean length of tissues was 1.2 (1.0, 1.5) cm. The tissues of different region were scored according to the scoring criteria, of which 618 (7.0%) prostate tissues were scored as 1 score, 2 720 (30.7%) tissues were scored as 2 scores, and 5 528 (62.4%) tissues were scored as 3 scores. In the prostate apex, tissue quality of 1 score accounted for 11.7%(94/806), 2 scores accounted for 34.7%(280/806), and 3 scores accounted for 53.6%(432/806). While in the prostate base, tissue quality of 1 score accounted for 6.5%(524/8 060), 2 scores accounted for 30.3%(2 449/8 060), and 3 scores accounted for 63.2%(5 096/8 060)( H=35.850, P<0.05). The mean length of the prostate apical tissue was 1.0 (0.8, 1.3) cm, which was significantly shorter than prostate basal tissue of 1.2(1.0, 1.5) cm ( Z=-11.353, P<0.05). Conclusions:In transperineal prostate biopsy, the apical tissue was more fragmented and shorter, prostate apex should be concerned.

Dermatomyositis with kidney neoplasm: two cases report and literature review / 中华泌尿外科杂志

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of dermatomyositis with kidney neoplasm.Methods:The data of two patients with dermatomyositis complicated with kidney neoplasm in Tongji Hospital from January to February 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. The first case was a 55-year-old female, who was admitted with the chief complaints of recurrent erythema of upper extremities for 2 months and facial erythema for 1 month. Physical examination: erythema can be seen on upper limbs and face, no tenderness or percussion pain in kidney area. Myositis enzyme profile test showed that anti-Mi-2 antibody and anti-SSA /Ro-52 antibody were positive. Contrast CT showed nodular uneven enhancement in the right kidney with a size of 50 mm×41 mm. The second case was a 58-year-old female, who was admitted with the chief complaints of kidney occupying for a month. Physical examination: flaky erythema on face, no tenderness or percussion pain in kidney area. Myositis enzyme profile test showed that anti-Ro-52 antibody and anti-MDA5 antibody were positive. Contrast CT showed a significantly uneven enhanced mass with a size of about 50 mm×41 mm on left kidney. Both patients were diagnosed with kidney neoplasm before surgery and underwent laparoscopic partial nephrectomy in Tongji Hospital.Results:Both patients received regular oral prednisone after surgery. The pathological presentation of case 1 was papillary renal cell carcinoma, the facial erythema subsided 1 month after surgery, and there was no tumor recurrence for 13 months. The pathological presentation of case 2 was clear cell renal cell carcinoma, facial erythema subsided 2 weeks after surgery, and there was no tumor recurrence for 12 months.Conclusions:The diagnosis of dermatomyositis should be combined with clinical manifestations and laboratory examination, and the possibility of malignant tumor should be excluded due to the high likelihood of concomitant malignancy. For patients with dermatomyositis with kidney neoplasm, the main treatment is still surgery, and supplemented with glucocorticoid therapy.

Effectiveness and safety of local anesthesia in patients with PI-RADS score 5 and ECOG score ≥2 for prostate puncture / 中华泌尿外科杂志

Objective:To investigate the effect of local anesthesia in patients with a PI-RADS score of 5 and ECOG score ≥2 for prostate puncture.Methods:Retrospective analysis of case data of 33 patients admitted to the Subei People's Hospital for prostate puncture from April 2020 to April 2022. Age (82.5±3.6) years. There were 18 cases with hypertensive disease, 8 cases with diabetes mellitus, and 6 cases with both diabetes mellitus and hypertensive disease. Body mass index (25.2±3.5) kg/m 2. prostate-specific antigen (PSA)(131.5±69.7) ng/ml. prostate volume (38.5±21.4) ml. all patients had a PI-RADS score of 5 on multiparametric magnetic resonance (mpMRI) and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score ≥2. All 33 cases in this group underwent trans-perineal targeted prostate puncture using local anesthesia at the tip of the prostate. The visual analog score (VAS) and visual numeric score (VNS) were applied by the same surgeon to assess the patient's pain level and satisfaction at the time of puncture (VAS-1 and VNS-1) and 30 min after puncture (VAS-2 and VNS-2), and to record the duration of the procedure and the occurrence of postoperative complications. Results:In this group of 33 cases, the VAS-1 score was (1.9±0.3) and the VAS-2 score was (0.1±0.2); the VNS-1 score was (2.9±0.2) and the VNS-2 score was (3.9±0.1). Postoperative pathological results indicated that one of the 33 patients had a negative puncture result (pathology report indicating interstitial inflammation), while the rest of the patients had a positive puncture pathology report (puncture pathology report indicating prostate cancer), with a positive rate of 97%. One case of postoperative carnal haematuria occurred, which gradually improved after the patient was advised to drink water and take alpha-blockers. No perineal hematoma occurred, and all patients did not suffer complications such as urinary tract infection, urinary retention, azoospermia, vagal reaction, and infectious shock.Conclusion:In patients with a PI-RADS score of 5 and ECOG score ≥2, the use of single-hole local anesthesia for performing trans-perineal targeted puncture biopsy has the advantages of good paroxysmal pain and high safety.

Lignocellulose hydrogels fabricated from corncob residues through a green solvent system.

It is still a challenge to find an effective solvent system that can simultaneously dissolve the cellulose and lignin in biomass residues to fabricate lignocellulose hydrogels (LHs). Herein, corncob residues from furfural production were pretreated with alkaline peroxide to regulate the lignin content. The lignin/cellulose composites with various lignin content were then dissolved and regenerated by a green and facile ZnCl2/CaCl2 solvent system. The inorganic salt solvents were served as linkers and flexible LHs were obtained. Substrate material containing 10.75% lignin shows the best compressive stress (76.71 kPa). Inspired by its superior ionic conductivity, the hydrogels were assembled into a solid-state electrolyte for a zinc-ion hybrid supercapacitor. This research develops a feasible, simple, and low-cost route for lignin-containing hydrogel preparation and offers insights into the high-value application of agro-industrial lignocellulosic wastes.

17α-Hydroxyprogesterone Caproate Inhibits Cytokine Production via Suppression of NF-κB Activation.

Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in COVID-19 patients with elevated levels of circulating cytokines contributing to various clinical symptoms. Favorable control of CRS represents a promising and effective strategy to mitigate the clinical outcomes of hospitalized patients with moderate to severe pneumonia. Using in vivo cytokine release assay in human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)-engrafted immunodeficient mice, we reported that 17α-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17-OHPC), a synthetic progestogen, exhibited significant inhibition of OKT-3-stimulated production of numerous cytokines including TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, and GM-CSF. Furthermore, 17-OHPC inhibited in vitro production of IFN-γ, IL-1ß, IL-2, IL-6, and IL-10 in human PBMCs stimulated with OKT3, while exhibiting down-regulation of the mRNA levels of TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-6, and IL-10. Using the same human PBMCs, additional stimulators anti-CD28 antibody or PHA treatments led to substantial cytokine production, which was also attenuated by 17-OHPC. OKT3-stimulated phosphorylation of IκBα and nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 in human PBMCs were also reversed by 17-OHPC, suggesting its inhibition on NF-κB signaling in immune cells. Taken together, this work reported both in vivo and in vitro inhibition of cytokine production by 17-OHPC, presumably by virtue of its suppression of NF-κB signaling. These findings provide pharmacological evidence to support the potential application of 17-OHPC in treating CRS associated with COVID-19.

Metal-organic framework promoting high-solids enzymatic hydrolysis of untreated corncob residues.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) could serve as efficient matrixes to immobilize cellulase because of their high stability and porous morphology. Herein, the Zr-based MOFs (UiO-66 and UiO-66-NH2) assisted 20 wt% high-solids hydrolysis of untreated corncob residues (CRs) at low enzyme loading was investigated. Glucan hydrolysis yields increased to 60.55% and 71.47% by separately adding 4 g/L UiO-66 and UiO-66-NH2 at 5 FPU/g-glucan cellulase dosage. The maximum hydrolysis yield reached 90.01% at 10 FPU/g-glucan in the presence of 4 g/L UiO-66-NH2. Analysis of free protein concentration and cellulase activity suggested that MOFs effectively increased cellulase catalytic activity and stability, thus boosted CRs enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency. Additionally, UiO-66-NH2 immobilization gave a high catalytic activity because of the abundant anchor sites of NH2 groups. This research presents the promising future of MOFs' application in lignocellulosic biomass bioconversion and other areas requiring immobilized enzymes.

A rational tool for the umami evaluation of peptides based on multi-techniques.

Umami peptides have become of key interest in the development of flavoring agents. However, the lack of known umami peptides further prevents the understanding of the umami mechanism. The famous pufferfish (Takifugu flavidus) is a great resource for novel umami peptides, and we further analyze the umami characteristics of peptides based on multi-evaluation. In this study, five novel umami peptides, DF9, TK18, AK11, IK10, and GT12 were found; DF9 having the highest umami intensity, followed by AK11. Moreover, biosensor results showed DF9 with the lowest Ka value of 6.85 × 10-13 mol/L, followed by AK11. These data are mostly in agreement with sensory evaluation and fully reveal the umami mechanism of peptides. Quantum chemical and molecular docking demonstrated active site D in peptides bound with T1R1 receptor. Our results open up new strategies to estimate the taste characteristics of umami peptides and provide rational tools for screening umami peptides in food.

Molecular epidemiological characteristics and antibiotic resistance of Clostridioides difficile in a tertiary hospital in Shaanxi Province / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective:To investigate the molecular epidemiological characteristics and antibiotic resistance of Clostridioides difficile ( Cd) in hospitalized diarrhea patients in a tertiary hospital in Shaanxi Province. Methods:This study collected 425 stool samples of hospitalized diarrhea patients from October 2018 to December 2021 for isolation and identification of Cd. Toxin genes carried by the isolates were detected. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was performed to analyze the phylogenetic profile. Antibiotic susceptibility was analyzed by E-test. Results:Forty-nine strains of Cd were isolated from the 425 samples, including 37 strains of toxigenic Cd (75.5%, 37/49). The detection rate of Cd was 14.0% (25/179) in diarrhea patients aged ≥65 years old and 36.4% (4/11) in Nephrology Department. In the 37 toxigenic Cd strains, A -B + CDT -Cd, A + B + CDT -Cd and A + B + CDT +Cd accounted for 18.9% (7/37), 78.4% (29/37) and 2.7% (1/37), respectively. There were 24 ST types, among which ST2, ST3 and ST54 were the predominant types, each accounting for 12.2% (6/49). All strains were sensitive to metronidazole and vancomycin, with a high resistance rate of 93.9% (46/49) to ciprofloxacin and a low resistance rate of 12.2% (6/49) and 10.2% (5/49) to rifampicin and meropenem, respectively. Conclusions:The main type of toxigenic strains was A + B + CDT -. ST2, ST3 and ST54 were the predominant types and the distribution of ST types was scattered. All isolates were sensitive to metronidazole and vancomycin and most of them were resistant to ciprofloxacin.

Feasibility and safety of rapid frozen pathological examination of prostate biopsy tissue combined with RP in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer / 中华泌尿外科杂志

Objective:To explore the feasibility and safety of the clinical application of the diagnosis and treatment mode combining rapid frozen pathological examination of prostate biopsy tissue with radical prostatectomy.Methods:Suspected prostate cancer patients with PSA>10 ng/ml and PI-RADS score ≥4 in, Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital from April to September 2021 were collected. The included patients underwent mpMRI/TRUS image fusion-guided transperineal prostate targeted biopsy with 16G biopsy needle, 2-3 needles for biopsy, and rapid frozen pathological examination. Robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) was performed immediately for patients with prostate cancer with rapid freezing pathology. For undiagnosed prostate cancer, 18G biopsy needle for prostate targeted + systematic biopsy were used, 18-22 needles for systematic biopsy, and routine pathological examination. The baseline data, frozen pathological results, perioperative conditions, pathological results and follow-up data of all patients were collected.Results:Eleven patients were included in the study, the mean age of the patients was 69.9(66-73) years, the mean BMI was 22.8(19-26) kg/m 2, the mean PSA was 23.2(14.25-32.00), the mean prostate volume was 45(32-52) ml, mean PSAD 0.54(0.33-0.75). PI-RADS score was 4 in 3 cases and 5 in 8 cases; digital rectal examination was positive in 5 cases. All 11 cases underwent rapid freezing and the pathological results showed that: 9 cases were prostate adenocarcinoma, and RALP was performed immediately. The operation time was 111.5(96-126) min, the intraoperative blood loss was 78.9(55-105) ml, and the postoperative extubation time was 4.3(3.5-5.0) days, postoperative hospital stay 5.8(5.0-6.5) days. Postoperative pathology showed that Gleason score 3+ 4=7 in 1 case, 4+ 3=7 in 3 cases, 8 points in 4 cases, and 10 points in 1 case; 3 cases had positive resection margins, and 1 case had seminal vesicle invasion, the average number of dissected lymph nodes was 10.9 (8.5-14.0), and there was no tumor metastasis. Pathological T staging included 2 cases of T 2b stage, 5 cases of T 2c stage, 1 case of T 3a stage, and 1 case of T 3b stage. Two patients were undiagnosed by rapid freezing pathology, of which one was prostate adenocarcinoma with a Gleason score of 4+ 3=7, and then received RALP; the other one was prostate inflammation. 11 patients were followed up; the postoperative follow-up time was 3-7 months, with an average of 5.2 months. Among the 10 patients who underwent RALP, 8 patients recovered urinary continence 2 weeks after surgery, and all recovered within 2 months after surgery. Three patients with positive surgical margins were given regular androgen deprivation therapy in the second week after surgery. PSA did not drop below 0.1 ng/ml in patients with positive margins and seminal vesicle invasion 3 months after surgery. No complications of Clavien grade Ⅰ or higher occurred after operation and during follow-up. Conclusions:For patients with high suspicion of prostate cancer, rapid frozen pathological examination of prostate biopsy tissue is performed. RALP is performed immediately for patients with prostate cancer. The results show that this diagnosis and treatment model could be safe and feasible.

The pathway analysis of the effects of living environment on sleep duration of school-aged children in Xi’an / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

【Objective】 To describe the current situation of sleep duration and living environment of school-aged children so as to analyze the effects of the living environment on sleep duration comprehensively and provide advice for improving children’s sleep duration. 【Methods】 By cluster sampling, 82 families were selected from 1 rural and 2 urban areas in Xi’an. Data were collected by questionnaire survey and environmental sampling. Proportion was used for statistical description, and factor analysis and pathway analysis were used for statistical analysis. 【Results】 50.0% of the school-aged children in Xi’an slept less than 8 hours. Pollution was mainly caused by lower humidity, CO2, temperature, PM10 and aerobic bacterial count, their standard-exceeding rates being 26.8%, 21.3%, 5.5%, 4.3% and 1.8%, respectively. The results of path analysis showed that the influencing factors were as follows in a descending order: strong night light (1.031), presence of the computer (0.549), pressure (0.444), pets (0.408), distance from the driveway (-0.390), humidifier (-0.219), potted plants (0.138), indoor environment factors (0.098), and the floor level (0.039). 【Conclusion】 The sleep duration of school-aged children in Xi’an is relatively inadequate. More attention should be paid to indoor humidity, CO2, temperature, PM10 and aerobic bacterial count. The children’s sleep duration is positively correlated with a good indoor environment, humidifier, being away from the driveway, and low floor level, but is negatively correlated with pressure, strong night light, keeping pets, using computer and potted plants. We need to pay more attention to these factors to improve the sleep quality of school-aged children.

Comparison between ropivacaine and lidocaine in prostatic peripheral nerve block anesthesia / 中华泌尿外科杂志

The present study retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 137 patients who underwent prostate in North Jiangsu People's Hospital from June 2020 to May 2021. All patients underwent peripheral prostatic nerve block anesthesia (PPNB). The observation group received 1% ropivacaine 32 ml local, and the control group received the same dose of lidocaine. There was no significant difference in general data before puncture between the two groups ( P>0.05). All 137 cases were performed by the same surgeon. The number of puncture needles in the observation group and the control group was (20.2±2.8) and (20.2±2.9), respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant ( P>0.05). The visual analogue scores (VAS-1) of pain during puncture in the observation group and the control group were (2.62±0.74) and (2.48±0.79) points, respectively. The visual numeric score (VNS-1) was (3.03±0.88) points and (3.15±0.80) points, respectively, and there was no significant difference ( P>0.05). 30 min after puncture, VAS-2 was (0.48±0.53) points and (0.30±0.47) points, VNS-2 was (3.31±0.48) points and (3.55±0.71) points, respectively.The differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in overall complication rate between the two groups ( P=0.661).

Investigate thenovel coronaviruses in external environmentof COVID-19 / 中华实验和临床病毒学杂志

Objective To understand the distribution of novel coronaviruses in the external environment of confirmed COVID-19 cases. Methods Environmental surface swab specimens such as bed rails, doorknob, closestool, hand washing sink, table, locker,ward pager, mobile phone, cup, clothes, were collected from the sentinel hospital of COVID-19, and samples were collected for the nucleic acid detection by RT-PCR. Results A total of 150 environmental samples were collected from 30 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 6 samples were determined to be novel coronaviruses postive (positive rate 4.00%). The total 14 mobile phone showed 3 novel coronaviruses positive.Among the 30 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 6 cases (positive rate 20.00%)were found novel coronaviruses in the external environment. Conclusions Novel coronaviruses exists in external environment of confirmed COVID-19 cases, which indicates the potential risk of COVID-19 infection.

Analysis of missed diagnosis and risk factors in patients with negative initial prostate biopsy with PI-RADS score>3 / 中华泌尿外科杂志

Objective:To analyze the risk of missed diagnosis in patients with PI-RADS score>3 and negative prostate initial biopsy and to explore its risk factors.Methods:The clinical data of 268 patients with negative prostate biopsy in Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital from May 2013 to December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into observation group (PI-RADS score>3) and control group (PI-RADS score≤ 3) according to different PI-RADS scores. There were insignificant differences in age [(67.4(60.0, 74.0)years and 65.6(66.5, 72.0)years], prostate volume of initial biopsy [62.4(40.0, 72.0)ml and 60.8(38.0, 77.0)ml], biopsy cores [ 20.6(18.0, 22.0)cores and 20.4(18.0, 22.0)cores] between the observation group (n=124) and the control group(n=144)(all P>0.05). But there were significant differences in PSA [17.5(6.5, 23.0)ng/ml and 11.5(6.3, 12.0)ng/ml], PSAD[0.316(0.128, 0.363)ng/ml 2 and 0.211(0.106, 0.256)ng/ml 2], prostate inflammation of the initial biopsy [70 (56.5%) and 32 (22.2%)] between the observation group and the control group(all P<0.05). According to the follow-up results after the initial biopsy, the two groups of repeated biopsy were compared.Furthermore, Logistic regression was used to conduct univariate and multivariate analysis to explore the risk factors of patients with PI-RADS>3 for positive repeated biopsy. At the same time, the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) was used to analyze the accuracy of the risk factors. Results:There were significant differences in repeated biopsy rate [ 27.4%(34/124)and 14.6%(21/144)], CsPCa detection rate[ 41.4%(14/34) and 4.8%(1/21)]between the observation group and the control group(all P<0.05). The positive rate of repeated biopsy in the observation group (41.1%) was higher than that in the control group (23.8%), but there was no statistical difference ( P=0.248). The risk of positive repeated biopsies in the observation group was 2.24 times than that in the control group. Univariate analysis found repeated biopsy PSA ( P =0.02, OR=1.438, 95% CI 1.161-1.896), PSA ratio (repeated biopsy PSA/initial biopsy PSA) ( P=0.011, OR=10.087, 95% CI 1.714-59.36) were risk factors for positive of repeated biopsy in patients with PI-RADS score >3. Multivariate analysis also found that repeated biopsy PSA ( P=0.017, OR=1.15, 95% CI 1.076-2.123), PSA ratio ( P=0.032, OR=10.2, 95% CI 0.883-116.168) were risk factors for positive repeated biopsy. ROC curve analysis, the accuracy of repeated biopsy PSA (AUC=0.971, P<0.001, 95% CI 0.926-1.000), PSA ratio (AUC=0.839, P=0.001, 95% CI0.707-0.971) to predict positive of repeated biopsy were high. The cut-off values were 21.3 ng/ml and 1.4, respectively. The accuracy was higher when combines repeated biopsy PSA with PSA ratio (AUC=0.993, P<0.001, 95% CI 0.974-1.000). Conclusions:Patients with negative PI-RADS score > 3 have a higher risk of missed diagnosis of CsPCa than those with PI-RADS score≤3. When PSA>21.3 ng/ml and PSA ratio>1.4 during follow-up, the possibility of missed diagnosis in the initial biopsy is high.

Detection of 2019-nCoV nucleic acid in different specimens from confirmed COVID-19 cases during hospitalization and after discharge / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective:To investigate the positive rates of 2019-nCoV nucleic acid in different specimens from confirmed COVID-19 cases during hospitalization and after discharge.Methods:Patients with confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled from designated hospitals. Nasal swabs, throat swabs, and specimens of stool, urine and blood were collected during hospitalization. After the patients were discharged, nasal swabs, throat swabs and stool specimens were collected during follow-up. Real-time RT-PCR was used to detect 2019-nCoV nucleic acid.Results:This study involved 25 confirmed COVID-19 cases. During hospitalization, all patients tested positive in both nasal and throat swab 2019-nCoV nucleic acid tests, and nine of them (36.00%) were positive in stool specimen test. Urine and blood specimen test results were all negative. Nasal swabs, throat swabs and stool specimens were collected from each patient 7 d and 14 d after discharge. Two patients (8.00%) tested positive for 2019-nCoV nucleic acid again in nasal and throat swab tests on 7 d, while all stool specimen tests were negative. No 2019-nCoV nucleic acid was detected in nasal swabs, throat swabs or stool samples on 14 d.Conclusions:2019-nCoV nucleic acid was detected in stool samples of confirmed COVID-19 cases during hospitalization. Nasal and throat swab nucleic acid tests turned positive again in some patients after discharge.

Comparing the metabolic profiles of raw and cooked pufferfish (Takifugu flavidus) meat by NMR assessment.

The difference of metabolite profiles between raw and cooked pufferfish (Takifugu flavidus) meat was explored by 1H NMR technique and multivariate statistical methods. The orthogonal projection to latent structure-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) results showed an obvious separation between two samples. There were 24 dominating metabolites in the pufferfish muscle extraction, of which 11 metabolites changed significantly (p < 0.05), including 9 amino acids (alanine, leucine, methionine, tyrosine, glutamate, glycine, arginine, lysine, taurine), 1 organic acid (lactate) and 1 alkaloid (betaine). Moreover, the Student's t-test was performed to identify the different levels of metabolites. Sensory intensity experiments showed that there was a significant difference in the umami taste between raw and cooked pufferfish meat (p < 0.05). The content of glutamate, aspartate and 5'-IMP in the cooked meat increased, making the umami taste more intense. This study provided essential information about the metabolites explaining the taste difference between raw and cooked pufferfish meat.