Progress on microalgae cultivation in wastewater for bioremediation and circular bioeconomy.

Water usage increased alongside its competitiveness due to its finite amount. Yet, many industries still rely on this finite resource thus recalling the need to recirculate their water for production. Circular bioeconomy is presently the new approach emphasizing on the 'end-of-life' concept with reusing, recycling, and recovering materials. Microalgae are the ideal source contributing to circular bioeconomy as it exhibits fast growth and adaptability supported by biological rigidity which in turn consumes nutrients, making it an ideal and capable bioremediating agent, therefore allowing water re-use as well as its biomass potential in biorefineries. Nevertheless, there are challenges that still need to be addressed with consideration of recent advances in cultivating microalgae in wastewater. This review aimed to investigate the potential of microalgae biomass cultivated in wastewater. More importantly, how it'll play a role in the circular bioeconomy. This includes an in-depth look at the production of goods coming from wastes tattered by emerging pollutants. These emerging pollutants include microplastics, antibiotics, ever-increasingly sewage water, and heavy metals which have not been comprehensively compared and explored. Therefore, this review is aiming to bring new insights to researchers and industrial stakeholders with interest in green alternatives to eventually contribute towards environmental sustainability.

Risk factors for complications of the retromandibular approach in patients with parotid gland posterior lower pole tumors / 中国医师杂志

Objective:To analyze the risk factors for complications of the retromandibular approach in patients with parotid gland posterior and lower pole tumors.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 140 patients with parotid posterior lower pole tumors admitted to the Xingtai Third Hospital from October 2019 to October 2021. They were divided into two groups based on whether complications occurred: the occurrence group and the non occurrence group. General data of the two groups of patients were collected, including age, gender, course of disease, previous surgical history, number of tumors, tumor length, resection range, facial nerve dissociation, tumor site resection frequency, and fascia preservation; Single factor and logistic multivariate analysis were conducted to determine the risk factors for complications of the posterior retromandibular approach in patients with parotid gland posterior and lower pole tumors.Results:A total of 140 patients with parotid gland posterior lower pole tumors underwent retromandibular approach treatment, with complications occurring in 38 cases (27.14%), including 7 cases of temporary facial paralysis, 10 cases of facial depression, 11 cases of Frey syndrome, 2 cases of fistula, and 8 cases of sensory abnormalities of the greater auricular nerve. Through logistic multivariate analysis, it was found that the number of tumors ≥ 2 ( OR=2.856), the resection range (total resection) ( OR=2.477), the number of surgeries ≥3 ( OR=5.637), facial nerve dissociation ( OR=3.526), and lack of fascia preservation ( OR=2.551) were all risk factors for postoperative complications in patients with parotid posterior pole tumors (all P<0.05). Conclusions:In clinical practice, relevant prevention and treatment measures should be formulated for these high-risk factors to reduce the incidence of postoperative complications.

Crystallization Pathways and Evolution of Morphologies and Structural Defects of α-MnO2 under Air Annealing.

Manganese dioxide nanomaterials have wide applications in many areas from catalysis and Li-ion batteries to gas sensing. Understanding the crystallization pathways, morphologies, and formation of defects in their structure is particularly important but still a challenging issue. Herein, we employed an arsenal of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), neutron diffraction, positron annihilation spectroscopies, and ab initio calculations to investigate the evolution of the morphology and structure of α-MnO2 nanomaterials prepared via reduction of KMnO4 solution with C2H5OH prior to being annealed in air at 200-600 °C. We explored a novel evolution that α-MnO2 nucleation can be formed even at room temperature and gradually developed to α-MnO2 nanorods at above 500 °C. We also found the existence of H+ or K+ ions in the [1 × 1] tunnels of α-MnO2 and observed the simultaneous presence of Mn and O vacancies in α-MnO2 crystals at low temperatures. Increasing the temperature removed these O vacancies, leaving only the Mn vacancies in the samples.

Seasonal changes in phytoplankton assemblages and environmental variables in highly turbid tropical estuaries of the Mekong River, Vietnam.

The distribution of phytoplankton assemblages in response to physicochemical variables was assessed using Spearman's correlation and canonical correspondence analysis in four highly turbid estuaries of the Mekong River (MKR) system in Ben Tre Province, Vietnam. During two surveys (September 2017 and April 2018) at 20 sampling sites, a total of 162 species were recorded, with a dominance of diatoms (> 50%). Phytoplankton abundance varied from 3.01 × 105 to 11.85 × 105 cells/L, with the highest cell densities found at the BL2 station in the rainy season, mainly attributed to cyanobacteria during the rainy period, whereas diatoms were dominant in the dry season. Chlorophyll-a concentration in this area was low and decreased from the mouth stations. Similarity analysis distinguished the freshwater and oligohaline regions (characterized by lower phytoplankton abundance in the oligohaline areas) from the mesohaline and polyhaline zones (characterized by higher phytoplankton density in the polyhaline sections), based on the salinity gradient, which mostly explained the spatio-temporal distribution of phytoplankton. In which, freshwater and oligohaline sites were dominated by the diatom Coscinodiscus, the euglenoids Lepocinclis, and the green alga Scenedesmus in the rainy season, while mesohaline and polyhaline stations were dominated only by diatom species (Thalassionema and Skeletonema) in the dry season. High salinity and total dissolved solutes, and low nutrients are the major factors affecting phytoplankton growth and lead to low density and low primary biomass in turbid estuarine systems like the MKR estuaries. Our results further emphasize the importance of taking into account of salinity in understanding seasonal changes of phytoplankton communities, which can provide a valuable baseline data for ecological management strategies in tropical estuarine ecosystems.

Spatiotemporal landscape of SARS-CoV-2 pulmonary infection reveals Slamf9+Spp1+ macrophages promoting viral clearance and inflammation resolution

While SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis has been intensively investigated, the host mechanisms of viral clearance and inflammation resolution are still elusive because of the ethical limitation of human studies based on COVID-19 convalescents. Here we infected Syrian hamsters by authentic SARS-CoV-2 and built an ideal model to simulate the natural recovery process of SARS-CoV-2 infection from severe pneumonia1,2. We developed and applied a spatial transcriptomic sequencing technique with subcellular resolution and tissue-scale extensibility, i.e., Stereo-seq3, together with single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), to the entire lung lobes of 45 hamsters and obtained an elaborate map of the pulmonary spatiotemporal changes from acute infection, severe pneumonia to the late viral clearance and inflammation resolution. While SARS-CoV-2 infection caused massive damages to the hamster lungs, including naive T cell infection and deaths related to lymphopenia, we identified a group of monocyte-derived proliferating Slamf9+Spp1+ macrophages, which were SARS-CoV-2 infection-inducible and cell death-resistant, recruiting neutrophils to clear viruses together. After viral clearance, the Slamf9+Spp1+ macrophages differentiated into Trem2+ and Fbp1+ macrophages, both responsible for inflammation resolution and replenishment of alveolar macrophages. The existence of this specific macrophage subpopulation and its descendants were validated by RNAscope in hamsters, immunofluorescence in hACE2 mice, and public human autopsy scRNA-seq data of COVID-19 patients. The spatiotemporal landscape of SARS-CoV-2 infection in hamster lungs and the identification of Slamf9+Spp1+ macrophages that is pivotal to viral clearance and inflammation resolution are important to better understand the critical molecular and cellular players of COVID-19 host defense and also develop potential interventions of COVID-19 immunopathology.

Isolation of indole-3-acetic acid-producing Azospirillum brasilense from Vietnamese wet rice: Co-immobilization of isolate and microalgae as a sustainable biorefinery.

Production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) is well documented in various studies for the bacteria that inhabit the rhizosphere of plants, but with roots of wet rice, the outstandings have been not yet elucidated. This study began with the isolation of bacteria type strain Azospirillum sp. and developed the investigation to a screening of their ability in IAA production. This screening conducted a selection of only bacteria that was capable of the production of IAA with its content of over 25 µg. mL-1 for sequencing. Of 10 isolates only one resulted from the type strain Azospirillum brasilense (A. brasilense) with a similarity of 100%. Various factors that influence A. brasilense in biosynthesizing IAA such as temperature, pH, nitrogen presence and concentration of tryptophan in the culture medium were examined. The results indicated that the culture conditions were suitable for IAA biosynthesis at pH 6.5, 30 °C, culture media with nitrogen, and 0.1% trytophan. The next survey on the role of the immobilization of this bacteria with microalgae in alginate was highlighted to its support in microalgal growth. With the co-immobilization of bacteria and microalgae, the density of Chlorella vulgaris was significantly increased during 15-day culture, inducing 2.2 times of cell content in culture batch microalgae immobilized A. brasilense higher than that free-bacteria.

Green biorefinery: Microalgae-bacteria microbiome on tolerance investigations in plants.

Co-culture of microalgae and microorganisms, supported with the resulting synergistic effects, can be used for wastewater treatment, biomass production, agricultural applications and etc. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the role of Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) in tolerance against the harsh environment of seafood wastewater, at which these microalgal-bacterial flocs were formed by microalgae cultivation. In this present study, B. subtilis isolated from the cultivation medium of Chlorella vulgaris and exposed to different salinity (0.1-4% w/v sodium chloride) and various pH range to determine the tolerant ability and biofilm formation. Interestingly, this bacteria strain that isolated from microalgae cultivation medium showed the intense viability in the salt concentration exceeding up to 4% (w/v) NaCl but demonstrated the decrease in cell division as environmental culture undergoing over pH 10. Cell viability was recorded higher than 71% and 92% for B. subtilis inoculum in media with salt concentration greater than 20 gL-1 and external pH 6.5-9, respectively. This showed that B. subtilis isolated from microalgal-bacteria cocultivation exhibited its tolerant ability to survive in the extremely harsh conditions and thus, mitigating the stresses due to salinity and pH.

Semantic and orthographic processing characters in Chinese school-age children / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective:To explore the developmental characteristics of Chinese semantic and orthographic processing in normal school-age children by event-related potential (ERP) technique.Methods:Children aged 7-11 in an ordinary primary school in Changzhou were randomly selected and divided into 7-year old group ( n=21 ), 8-year old group ( n=21), 9-year old group ( n=19), 10-year old group ( n=20) and 11- year old group ( n=22) according to their age.ERP was recorded while subjects completed the Chinese character semantic activation task and pseudo word judgment task. Then the N400 and P200 amplitudes of school-age children under the conditions of semantic correlation, semantic uncorrelation and pseudo word judgment were collected, and the data were analyzed by three factors mixed design ANOVA.Data of behavioral accuracy and response time were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni correction was used for multiple hypothesis testing. The statistical software was SPSS 25.0. Results:(1)Behavioral results: the accuracy of semantic related and semantic unrelated tasks of children in the five groups aged 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 were statistically significant ( F=15.55, 4.01, both P<0.01), and the accuracy of children in the 7-year old group was significantly lower than those in the other four groups (all P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the accuracy of pseudo word judgment task among the five groups ( F=0.68, P=0.609). The response time of children in the five groups under semantic related and semantic unrelated tasks was significantly different ( F=3.90, 3.13, both P<0.05). The response time of the 11-year old group under semantic related tasks was significantly shorter than those of the 7-, 8- and 9-year old groups (all P<0.05). The response time of the 7-year old and 11-year old groups under semantic unrelated tasks was significantly shorter than those of the 8-, 9- and 10-year old groups (all P<0.05). (2)ERP results: N400 amplitudes of 7-, 8-, 9-, 10- and 11-year old children under semantic related tasks were significantly smaller than those under semantic unrelated tasks and pseudo word judgment tasks (all P<0.05). The N400 amplitude of the subjects gradually decreased with the increase of age, except that there was no statistical difference between the 10-year old and 11-year old groups under the semantic related task, between the 8-year old and 9-year old groups under the semantic unrelated task and the pseudo word judgment task, and between the 10-year old and 11-year old groups (all P>0.05), there were statistical differences between the other age groups (all P<0.05). P200 amplitude of semantic related task at 7-, 8-, 9- and 10-year old was significantly higher than that at semantic unrelated task (all P<0.05), and the amplitude of semantic related task at 7-, 8-, 10- and 11-year old was significantly higher than that at pseudo word judgment (all P<0.05). The amplitude of P200 gradually increased with age, and there were significant differences in pairwise comparison among other age groups ( P<0.05), except semantic related task and unrelated task among 7-, 8- and 9-year old groups, between 10- and 11-year old groups, and pseudo word task between 7- and 8- years old groups, 10- and 11- year old groups (all P>0.05). Conclusion:The semantic processing and orthographic processing of school-age children develop with age in a unique way. The age of 7 is an important period for cognitive development of Chinese language.The age of 8-9 may be a sensitive period for the development of brain plasticity, and the development slows down at the age of 10-11.

Role of pyroptosis in severe COVID-19 / 中国药理学通报

Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infec¬tious disease endangering the respirator)' traet and multiple or¬gans of the whole body caused by severe aeute respirator)' syn¬drome coronavirus 2 ( SARS-CoV-2).More than 200 million people in the world have been infected with the disease, which is an unprecedented global plague.Most patients with C0VID-19 only show mild symptoms with a good prognosis, but about 20% of them may develop into severe cases and eause serious compli-cations, including acute respirator)' distress syndrome ( ARDS) , systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) , cytokine re¬lease syndrome (CRS) , etc.Pyroptosis is a kind of programmed cell death characterized by significant inflammatory response.It is often mediated by inflammatory caspase and the gasdermin family of membrane perforating proteins is the final effector mol¬ecules, resulting in cell membrane swelling and rupture to death, accompanied by the release of a large number of pro-in¬flammatory cytokines (such as IL-lp and IL-18, etc).Pyropto- sis affects the occurrence, progression and treatment of many diseases due to its inflammatory and morphological characteris¬tics, and also plays an important role in severe COVID-19.Therefore, drugs that target key molecules in the pyroapoptotic pathway could he a promising breakthrough for treating severe COVID-19.This article reviews the role of pyroptosis in severe COVID-19 complications ARDS and CHS.

Detection of DNA methylation of HYAL2 gene for differentiating malignant from benign thyroid tumors / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To assess the value of DNA methylation level of HYAL2 gene as a molecular marker for differential diagnosis of malignant and benign thyroid tumors.@*METHODS@#DNA methylation of HYAL2 gene in tissue specimens of 190 patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) and 190 age- and gender-matched patients with benign thyroid tumors was examined by mass spectrometry, and the protein expression of HYAL2 was detected immunohistochemically for another 55 pairs of patients. Logistic regression analysis was performed to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and evaluate the correlation of per 10% reduction in DNA methylation with PTC. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed and the area under curve (AUC) was calculated to assess the predictive value of alterations in HYAL2 methylation.@*RESULTS@#Hypomethylation of HYAL2_CpG_3 was significantly correlated with early-stage PTC (OR=1.51, P=0.001), even in stage I cancer (OR=1.42, P=0.007). Age-stratified analysis revealed a significantly stronger correlation between increased HYAL2_CpG_ 3 methylation and early-stage PTC in patients below 50 years than in those older than 50 years (OR: 1.89 vs 1.37, P < 0.05); ROC analysis also showed a larger AUC of 0.787 in younger patients. The results of immunohistochemistry showed that patients with PTC had significantly higher protein expressions of HYAL2 than patients with benign tumors.@*CONCLUSION@#The alterations of DNA methylation level of HYAL2 gene is significantly correlated with early-stage PTC, suggesting the value of DNA methylation level as a potential biomarker for differentiation of malignant from benign thyroid tumors.

Regulation of Wnt/β-catenin Signaling Pathway in Renal Interstitial Fibrosis by Traditional Chinese Medicine：A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Chronic kidney disease （CKD） has become a public health problem worldwide with renal interstitial fibrosis （RIF） serving as the important pathological feature and pathological outcome of various CKD. Therefore， anti-fibrosis therapy has important practical significance for delaying the progression of CKD and improving the prognosis of CKD patients. The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is a conserved signaling pathway through evolution， which plays a vital role in organ formation， tissue homeostasis， and disease progression during embryonic development. A growing body of research has confirmed that the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is one of the key signaling pathways in a variety of kidney diseases and its activation is closely related to RIF. RIF is aggravated by the specific regulation of the expression of downstream target genes， such as fibroblasts， zinc finger transcription factor 1 （Snail1）， M2 macrophages， matrix metalloproteinase-7 （MMP-7）， plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 （PAI-1）， and renin-angiotensin system（RAS）， and relieved by targeting the signaling pathways， such as Klotho， Dickkopf-related protein 1 （DKK1）， secreted frizzled-related protein 1 （Sfrp1）， and indocyanine green-001. In addition，the pathological view of RIF in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） coincides with that in western medicine. Based on the etiology and pathogenesis of TCM in the combination of deficiency and excess， TCM regulates fibrosis-promoting mediators by tonifying deficiency， eliminating turbidity， removing the toxin， resolving stasis， and treating both symptoms and root causes in a multi-target， multi-layer， and multi-pathway manner to inhibit the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and play an important role in renal protection. Therefore， this study reviewed the regulatory mechanism of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in RIF and the protective effect of targeting this signaling pathway on renal function and discussed the potential role of TCM in delaying the progression of RIF， which is expected to provide new targets and strategies for the prevention and treatment of RIF.

Experience and reflection of financial management in science and technology transfer in public hospitals / 中华医学科研管理杂志

Objective:To explore the development path of improving the intangible assets management, and promoting science and technology transfer of public hospitals.Methods:Analyze and summarize problems and challenges in the identification and disposal of intangible assets related to scientific and technological achievements in the process of technology transfer based on policy research, literature review and practical experience reflection.Results:So far, the identification and measurement norms of intangible assets are not operable enough. Assets evaluation remains controversial and nonstandard.Conclusions:It is recommended to improve the management systems of science and technology transfer and related financial affairs including strengthening the awareness of intangible assets protection, standardizing the management system of intangible assets and optimizing the informatization construction of financial management.

Developing highly efficient and electric-field-sensitive fiber-waveguide evanescent couplers.

The slab-coupled optical fiber sensor (SCOS) is an innovative electric field detector with an ultrawide measuring range and a millimeter-level package size. The core sensing part of the SCOS is a fiber-waveguide evanescent coupler (FWEC) that directly determines the device's main performance specifications. This paper presents an investigation of the spectrum characteristics of FWECs with various structural and curing parameters. Methods for fabricating an FWEC with higher resonant depth, narrower free spectral range, and sharper spectrum slope are determined based on the experimental results. Z-cut lithium-niobate FWEC and Z-cut lithium-tantalate FWEC of about ${{1}} \times {0.5} \times {0.3}\;{\rm{mm}}^3$ are fabricated on this basis. Excellent coupling characteristics are achieved in both, according to the relevant spectra. Electric field tests indicate that the peak wavelengths shift linearly with the external AC field amplitude by 0.11 nm/(kV/cm) and 0.24 nm/(kV/cm), respectively. Three optimization methods are proposed to enhance performance: optimizing material selection, adding an antenna structure, and adjusting the calibration method. The results of this work may provide workable guidance for developing miniature, all-dielectric electric field sensors.

Acute myocardial infarction induced by eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is a multisystem disease characterized by allergic rhinitis, asthma, and a significantly high eosinophil count in the peripheral blood. It mainly involves the arterioles and venules. When the coronary arteries are invaded, it can lead to acute myocardial infarction (AMI), acute heart failure, and other manifestations that often lead to death in the absence of timely treatment. CASE SUMMARY: A 69-year-old man was admitted to the emergency department due to chest pain for more than 1 h. He had a past history of bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and was diagnosed with AMI and heart failure. Thrombus aspiration of the left circumflex artery and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty were performed immediately. After surgery, the patient was admitted to the intensive care unit. The patient developed eosinophilia, and medical history taking revealed fatigue of both thighs 1 mo prior. Local skin numbness and manifestations of peripheral nerve involvement were found on the lateral side of the right thigh. Skin biopsy of the lower limbs pathologically confirmed EGPA. The patient was treated with methylprednisolone combined with intravenous immunoglobulin and was discharged after 21 d. On follow-up at 7 d after discharge, heart failure recurred. The condition improved after cardiotonic and diuretic treatment, and the patient was discharged. CONCLUSION: Asthma, impaired cardiac function, and eosinophilia are indicative of EGPA. Delayed diagnosis often leads to heart involvement and death.

Practice and reflection on international technology transfer in clinical hospitals: Take Peking University Third Hospital as an example / 中华医学科研管理杂志

Objective:To identify the problems and explore the possible approaches for improving the internationalization of technology transfer in hospitals of China.Methods:We make the attempt to summarize the concepts and characteristics of international technology transfer, discussed existing problems and dealing strategies of boosting the internationalization of technology innovation and transformation in hospitals in combination with daily practice.Results:Of the international technology transfer in clinical hospitals in China is at the early stage, there are also a lot of space for improvement, for instance, the training of professional personnel, well-developed innovation and application ecology and the comprehensive regulatory support system.Conclusions:Clinical hospitals should enhance the transformation of scientific and technological achievements at global level. It is important to empower the technology transfer team-building, enhance the infrastructure and professional service, as well as call for more support from the national level to strengthen related policy-making.

Semantic priming processing in children with Chinese developmental dyslexia / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective:To explore the semantic priming processing characteristics of children with Chinese developmental dyslexia(DD).Methods:According to scores of the dyslexia checklist for Chinese children, character recognition test and Raven's standard progressive matrices (RSPM), 19 primary school students from a school in Wuqia County of Xinjiang were selected as DD group.Meanwhile, 19 children were selected as chronological-age control(CA) group matching in age and RSPM scores, and 20 children were selected as reading-level control(RL) group according to the character recognition test and RSPM scores.The amplitude of N400 of children in three groups were tested by semantic priming paradigm under the conditions of semantic related, unrelated and pseudo words.Results:The accuracy of the DD group under the conditions of irrelevant semantics((0.55±0.25) vs (0.81±0.16), P<0.05), and pseudo characters((0.43±0.27) vs (0.68±0.26), P<0.05) were significantly lower than those of CA group.There was no difference between DD group and RL group, as well as between RL group and CA group(both P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the response time among the three groups of children under semantic related and unrelated conditions( F=1.23, 2.03, both P>0.05). In terms of ERP data, in semantic related condition, there was no significant difference in N400 amplitude among the three groups ( F=0.55, P>0.05). In semantic unrelated condition, the amplitude of N400 in DD group was smaller than that in CA Group((-5.92±3.70)μV vs (-9.76±3.45)μV, P<0.05), and there was no statistically significant difference between DD group and RL Group((-5.92±3.70)μV vs (-7.41±4.02)μV, P>0.05), as well as between CA gorup and RL group.As to pseudo words condition, children in DD group had a lower amplitude of N400 than those in CA and RL groups ((-6.03±2.92)μV vs (-9.98±3.40)μV, (-8.91±3.40)μV, both P<0.05). While no significant differences were found between CA group and RL group. Conclusion:Children with Chinese DD have cognitive defects in semantic and orthographic processing.The semantic cognitive defects may caused by their low reading level, rather than their inherent defect, while the defect in orthographic processing may be their inherent defect.

Performance of a recombinase - aided amplification assay for detection of Schistosoma japonicum infections in Oncomelania hupensis / 中国血吸虫病防治杂志

Objective To evaluate the efficiency of a recombinase-aided amplification (RAA) assay for the detection of Schistosoma japonicum infections in Oncomelania hupensis snails. Methods A group test was employed. Fifty Oncomelania snails were collected as a detection sample. The detection samples without infected snails were designated as negative specimens, while the detection samples that contained different numbers of infected snails were designated as positive specimens. A total of 10 negative specimens, 10 positive specimens containing 1 infected snail, 20 positive specimens containing 2 infected snails and 10 positive specimens containing 3 infected snails were assigned. Following random grouping, 40 specimens were subject to the florescent RAA assay using a blind method. The miradium shedding method served as a gold standard, and the sensitivity, specificity, Youden’s index and coincidence rate of the florescent RAA assay were estimated. In addition, 20 samples consisted of 5 negative specimens and 15 positive specimens with 1, 2 and 3 infected snails respectively were grouped randomly. The same specimens were detected using the crushing method and fluorescent RAA assay with the blind method in a paired-design manner. Then, the test results were compared and analyzed. Results Florescent RAA assay detected 29 positives in the 30 specimens containing different numbers of infected snails, with a sensitivity of 96.67%, and 8 negatives in the 10 detection specimens without infected snails, with a specificity of 80.00%, showing a Youden’s index of 0.77. The coincidence rate was 100% among 10 repeated assays for a detection specimen. In addition, there was no significant difference in the detection of infected snails between the florescent RAA assay and the crushing method (χ2 = 0, P > 0.05), and the actual coincidence rates of the florescent RAA assay and crushing method were 95.00% (19/20) and 90.00% (18/20) with the real results, respectively. Conclusion Fluorescent RAA assay has a favorable efficiency for the detection of S. japonicum infections in Oncomelania snails, which shows a potential in screening of S. japonicum-infected Oncomelania snails.

The expression of PDCD1 and CD274 in T cells and macrophages correlated positively with COVID-19 severity

The immune responses underlying the infection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) remain unclear. To help understand the pathology of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemics, public data were analyzed and the expression of PDCD1 (encoding PD-1) and CD274 (encoding PD-L1) in T cells and macrophages were identified to correlate positively with COVID-19 severity.

Liver Chemistries in COVID-19 Patients with Survival or Death: A Meta-Analysis

Background and AimsAlthough abnormal liver chemistries are linked to higher risk of death related to coronavirus disease (COVID-19), liver manifestations may be diverse and even confused. Thus, we performed a meta-analysis of published liver manifestations and described the liver damage in COVID-19 patients with death or survival. MethodsWe searched PubMed, Google Scholar, medRxiv, bioRxiv, Cochrane Library, Embase, and three Chinese electronic databases through April 22, 2020. We analyzed pooled data on liver chemistries stratified by the main clinical outcome of COVID-19 using a fixed or random-effects model. ResultsIn the meta-analysis of 18 studies, which included a total of 2,862 patients, the pooled mean alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was 30.9 IU/L in the COVID-19 patients with death and 26.3 IU/L in the COVID-19 patients discharged alive (p < 0.0001). The pooled mean aspartate aminotransferase (AST) level was 45.3 IU/L in the COVID-19 patients with death while 30.1 IU/L in the patients discharged alive (p < 0.0001). Compared with the discharged alive cases, the dead cases tended to have lower albumin levels but longer prothrombin time, and international standardized ratio. ConclusionsIn this meta-analysis, according to the main clinical outcome of COVID-19, we comprehensively described three patterns of liver impairment related to COVID-19, hepatocellular injury, cholestasis, and hepatocellular disfunction. Patients died from COVID-19 tend to have different liver chemistries from those are discharged alive. Close monitoring of liver chemistries provides an early warning against COVID-19 related death. Lay SummaryAbnormal liver chemistries are linked to higher risk of death related to coronavirus disease (COVID-19). We performed a meta-analysis of 18 studies that included a total of 2,862 patients with COVID-19. We noted that patients died from COVID-19 tend to have different liver chemistries from those are discharged alive and close monitoring of liver chemistries provides early warning against COVID-19 related death.