Multicenter analysis of epidemiological and clinical features of pediatric acute lower respiratory tract infections associated with common human coronaviruses in China, 2014-2019.

The common human coronaviruses (HCoVs) HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-NL63, and HCoV-HKU1 which are members of the coronavirus family are long co-existed with humans and widely distributed globally. Common HCoVs usually cause mild, self-limited upper respiratory tract infections (URTI), and also associated with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI), especially in children. However, there are little multicentre studies have been conducted in children of several different areas in China, and the epidemic potential of common HCoVs remains unclear. Understanding of the common HCoVs is valuable for clinical and public health. Herein, we retrospectively analysed the medical records of children with acute lower respiratory tract infection admitted to 9 hospitals from different regions in China from 2014 to 2019. Of the 124 patients who tested positive for coronaviruses, OC43 was the predominant type, accounting for 36.3% (45/124) of the detections. Children aged ≤ 6 months and 12-23 months had the highest detection rate of common HCoVs, and the detection rate gradually declined after 2 years old. These four HCoVs could be detected all year round. Among the areas of our study, the overall positive rate was higher in southern China, especially in Guangzhou (29/124, 23.4%). Moreover, common HCoV-positive patients were codetected with 9 other common respiratory pathogens. 229E (11/13, 84.6%) was the most frequently associated with codetection, with EV/RhV was the most frequently codetected virus. Cough (113/124, 91.1%) and fever (73/124, 58.9%) were the most common symptoms of common HCoVs infection.

Photothermal-based nanomaterials and photothermal-sensing: An overview.

Based on the excellent properties, photothermal nanomaterials have been widely used in many fields, such as trace substance detection, optical imaging, medical diagnosis and treatment. Different from colorimetric, fluorescent and electrochemical methods which often suffer from the problems of high background interference, operation procedure dependence and high cost, photothermal sensing can effectively break the limitations of the above methods and become an alternative strategy due to its high resolution and spatial controllability. Especially in recent years, the continuous development of new materials and the introduction of portable, low-cost and precision photothermal measuring equipment can significantly improve the application potential of photothermal detection. Here, we conducted comprehensive analyses on those studies. This review summarized the progress of photothermal detection over recent years, including the main types of photothermal nanomaterials and the generation principle of the photothermal effect, the relevant matching thermometry tools, and the applications in the designing of sensing strategies. It aims to provide a reference for researchers to synthesize nanomaterials with stable and high photothermal conversion efficiency and develop more effective and sensitive detection methods.

Metatranscriptome Reveals Specific Immune and Microbial Signatures of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection in Children.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most frequently detected respiratory virus in children with acute lower respiratory tract infection. Previous transcriptome studies have focused on systemic transcriptional profiles in blood and have not compared the expression of multiple viral transcriptomes. Here, we sought to compare transcriptome responses to infection with four common respiratory viruses for children (respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus, influenza virus, and human metapneumovirus) in respiratory samples. Transcriptomic analysis showed that cilium organization and assembly were common pathways related to viral infection. Compared with other virus infections, collagen generation pathways were distinctively enriched in RSV infection. We identified two interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), CXCL11 and IDO1, which were upregulated to a greater extent in the RSV group. In addition, a deconvolution algorithm was used to analyze the composition of immune cells in respiratory tract samples. The proportions of dendritic cells and neutrophils in the RSV group were significantly higher than those in the other virus groups. The RSV group exhibited a higher richness of Streptococcus than the other virus groups. The concordant and discordant responses mapped out here provide a window to explore the pathophysiology of the host response to RSV. Last, according to host-microbe network interference, RSV may disrupt respiratory microbial composition by changing the immune microenvironment. IMPORTANCE In the present study, we demonstrated the comparative results of host responses to infection between RSV and other three common respiratory viruses for children. The comparative transcriptomics study of respiratory samples sheds light on the significant roles that ciliary organization and assembly, extracellular matrix changes, and microbial interactions play in the pathogenesis of RSV infection. Additionally, it was demonstrated that the recruitment of neutrophils and dendritic cells (DCs) in the respiratory tract is more substantial in RSV infection than in other viral infections. Finally, we discovered that RSV infection dramatically increased the expression of two ISGs (CXCL11 and IDO1) and the abundance of Streptococcus.

Determination of lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes in single rat glioma cells by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection.

A method for determination of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) isoenzymes in single rat glioma cells (C6) was developed. In this method, a whole cell was electrokinetically injected into the front end of the separation capillary. After that, the cell was lysed by ultrasonication and the isoenzymes in the cell were pre-separated at 20 kV for 5 min and then incubated for 2 min with the enzyme substrates nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)) and lactate in the capillary electrophoresis running buffer. The electroactive product NADH generated by the isoenzymes through on-capillary enzyme-catalyzed reaction was detected at the outlet of capillary by using the end-capillary amperometric detection with a constant potential mode at a carbon fiber bundle microdisk electrode. Since the amplification of signal via the enzyme reaction, the concentration of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) is much higher than that of LDH. The external standardization was used to quantify isoenzymes in individual cells. Three LDH isoenzymes in single rat glioma cells (C6) were determined and quantified.

Microregion detection of ionic liquid microemulsions.

Nonaqueous ionic liquid (IL) microemulsion consisting of IL, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF(4)), surfactant TX-100, and toluene was prepared and the phase behavior of the ternary system was investigated. Electrical conductivity measurement was used for investigating the microregions of the nonaqueous IL microemulsions. On the basis of the percolation theory, the bmimBF(4)-in-toluene (IL/O), bicontinuous, and toluene-in-bmimBF(4) (O/IL) microregions of the microemulsions were successfully identified using insulative toluene as the titration phase. However, this method was invalid when conductive bmimBF(4) acted as the titration phase. The microregions obtained by conductivity measurements were further proved by electrochemical cyclic voltammetry experiments. The results indicated that the conductivity method was feasible for identifying microstructures of the nonaqueous IL microemulsions.

TX-100/water/1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate microemulsions.

Both ionic liquids and water are typical green solvents. In this work, the phase behavior of the ternary system consisting of ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (bmimPF6), TX-100, and water was determined at 25.0 degrees C. The water-in-bmimPF6, bicontinuous, and bmimPF6-in-water microregions of the microemulsions were identified by cyclic voltammetry method using potassium ferrocyanide K4Fe(CN)6 as the electroactive probe. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and the UV-vis method were used to characterize the microemulsions. It was demonstrated that the hydrodynamic diameter (Dh) of the bmimPF6-in-water microemulsions is nearly independent of the water content but increases with increasing bmimPF6 content due to the swelling of the micelles by the ionic liquid. The UV-vis further confirmed the existence of water domains in the water-in-bmimPF6 microemulsions, and the salt potassium ferricyanide K3Fe(CN)6 could be dissolved in the water domains.