Under the ongoing COVID-19 prevention and control measures in China, increasing the laboratory severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleic acid testing capacity has become the top priority. Since the COVID-19 outbreak in Xinfadi market in Beijing in June 2020, large-scale screening of key populations has been carried out, challenging the nucleic acid testing capabilities of hospital laboratories. Therefore, within 48 hours, Peking University People’s Hospital (PKUPH) transformed a non-nucleic acid testing laboratory into...

Tigecycline is considered one of the last-resort antimicrobials for carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae. Plasmid-mediated tigecycline resistance remains largely unclear. Here, by utilizing whole genome sequencing, we report a plasmid-mediated tigecycline resistance mechanism, a 6,489 bp Resistance-nodulation-division family (RND) efflux pump (tmexCD1-toprJ1 pump), that confers transferable tigecycline resistance in K pneumoniae isolated from patients and chickens. In addition, we identified high prevalence of the plasmids co-harbouring both tmexCD1-toprJ1 pump and mcr (tmexCD1-mcr co-harbouring plasmid) from human in...

Tigecycline is considered one of the last-resort antimicrobials for carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae. Plasmid-mediated tigecycline resistance remains largely unclear. Here, by utilizing whole genome sequencing, we report a plasmid-mediated tigecycline resistance mechanism, a 6,489 bp Resistance-nodulation-division family (RND) efflux pump (tmexCD1-toprJ1 pump), that confers transferable tigecycline resistance in K pneumoniae isolated from patients and chickens. In addition, we identified high prevalence of the plasmids co-harbouring both tmexCD1-toprJ1 pump and mcr (tmexCD1-mcr co-harbouring plasmid) from human in...

In this work, a novel flexible photoelectrochemical immunosensor is developed to determine cardiac troponin I (cTnI) in serum. The flower-like ZnIn2S4 nanospheres (ZIS), as signal amplification material, were successfully synthesized by a solvothermal method. The ZIS and Bi2Se3 were modified on the indium tin oxide- polyethylene terephthalate (ITO-PET) electrode, which effectively accelerates the electronic transition and improved the photocurrent conversion efficiency (signal on). However, the binding of antigen–antibody proteins blocks the electron transfer, resulting in...

The combined chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy have significant advantages for cancer treatments, which have higher therapeutic effects compared with other medicines. Herein, we focused on the synthesis of carbon quantum dot (CQD) based nanocarrier system. CQD and 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) were conjugated with mono-(5-BOC-protected-glutamine-6-deoxy) β-cyclodextrin (CQD-Glu-β-CD) moiety, and finally, the anticancer chemotherapy doxorubicin (DOX) drug was loaded in the 5-ALA-CQD-Glu-β-CD system. The stepwise physicochemical changes for the preparation of the DOX loaded 5-ALA-CQD-Glu-β-CD system were...

Nanomaterials with various dimensionalities (e.g., nanowires, nanofilms, two-dimensional materials, and three-dimensional nanostructures) have shown great potential in the recent development of flexible electronics. Conventionally, organic solvents are inevitable while integrating nanomaterials onto flexible substrates, where polymer mediator-assisted transfer techniques are involved. This often damages the flexible substrate and thus hamper the large-scale application of nanomaterials. Here we report a method using water-soluble sugar as a mediator to facilely transfer nanomaterials onto rigid or flexible substrates....

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) recurrence remains a significant public health concern. The study aimed to assess H. pylori reinfection rate and identify its risk factors in China. This prospective open cohort, observational study was performed at 18 hospitals across 15 provinces in China. Consecutive patients who received the successful initial eradication during 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2018 were eligible for enrolment. H. pylori recurrence was defined as reinfection that occurred at more than...

Amentoflavone (AMF) is a kind of biflavonoids existing in Ginkgo biloba leaves. It has many biological activities, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, antiviral, hypoglycemic, anti-tumor and inducing apoptosis. However, its solubility and bioavailability are poor and there are a few studies on it in vivo. In this study, to improve its solubility and bioavailability, the nanomicelles were prepared with TPGS and soluplus as carriers for the first time. The particle size, Zeta potential, encapsulation efficiency,...

Amentoflavone (AMF) is a kind of biflavonoids existing in Ginkgo biloba leaves. It has many biological activities, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, antiviral, hypoglycemic, anti-tumor and inducing apoptosis. However, its solubility and bioavailability are poor and there are a few studies on it in vivo. In this study, to improve its solubility and bioavailability, the nanomicelles were prepared with TPGS and soluplus as carriers for the first time. The particle size, Zeta potential, encapsulation efficiency,...

The combined chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy have significant advantages for cancer treatments, which have higher therapeutic effects compared with other medicines. Herein, we focused on the synthesis of carbon quantum dot (CQD) based nanocarrier system. CQD and 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) were conjugated with mono-(5-BOC-protected-glutamine-6-deoxy) β-cyclodextrin (CQD-Glu-β-CD) moiety, and finally, the anticancer chemotherapy doxorubicin (DOX) drug was loaded in the 5-ALA-CQD-Glu-β-CD system. The stepwise physicochemical changes for the preparation of the DOX loaded 5-ALA-CQD-Glu-β-CD system were...

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are severe chronic neuropsychiatric diseases, affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Asenapine maleate (ASM) has been demonstrated as a safe and effective therapeutic agent under twice-daily administration. However, lower compliance is observed when patients are treated with ASM, which significantly limits its application in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Moreover, the low bioavailability of ASM caused by first-pass metabolism and poor aqueous solubility also impairs the treatment effect. A formulation of...

Under the ongoing COVID-19 prevention and control measures in China, increasing the laboratory severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleic acid testing capacity has become the top priority. Since the COVID-19 outbreak in Xinfadi market in Beijing in June 2020, large-scale screening of key populations has been carried out, challenging the nucleic acid testing capabilities of hospital laboratories. Therefore, within 48 hours, Peking University People’s Hospital (PKUPH) transformed a non-nucleic acid testing laboratory into...

Supplemental Material, CONSORT_a for Effectiveness of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Versus Mandibular Advancement Device in Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients With Mandibular Retrognathia: A Prospective Clinical Trial by Haichun Lai, Wei Huang, Wei Chen and Desheng Wang in Ear, Nose & Throat Journal

Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by apoptosis of chondrocytes and an imbalance of extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis and catabolism. Emerging evidence has demonstrated that miRNAs are involved in OA pathologies, but the role of miR-296-5p in OA remains unclear. The present study proposes to reveal the functions and mechanisms of miR-296-5p in a cell model of OA. In this study, human chondrocytes were treated with 5 ml interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) to induce apoptosis and cartilage degradation....

Krüppel-like factor 5 (KLF5) can both promote and suppress cell migration, but the underlying mechanisms have not been elucidated. In this study, we show that the function of KLF5 in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and migration of liver cancer cells depends on the status of the cellular tumor antigen p53 (p53). Furthermore, zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 2 (ZEB2) is the main regulator of KLF5 in EMT in liver cancer cells in the context of p53 loss....

Different primers/probes sets have been developed all over the world for the nucleic acid detection of SARS-CoV-2 by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) as a standard method. In our recent study, we explored the feasibility of droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) for clinical SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid detection compared with qRT-PCR using the same primer/probe sets issued by Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) targeting viral ORF1ab or N gene, which showed that...

Quantitative real time PCR (RT-PCR) is widely used as the gold standard for clinical detection of SARS-CoV-2. However, due to the low viral load specimens and the limitations of RT-PCR, significant numbers of false negative reports are inevitable, which results in failure to timely diagnose, cut off transmission, and assess discharge criteria. To improve this situation, an optimized droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) was used for detection of SARS-CoV-2, which showed that the limit of detection...

Supplemental Material, CONSORT_b for Effectiveness of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Versus Mandibular Advancement Device in Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients With Mandibular Retrognathia: A Prospective Clinical Trial by Haichun Lai, Wei Huang, Wei Chen and Desheng Wang in Ear, Nose & Throat Journal

Krüppel-like factor 5 (KLF5) can both promote and suppress cell migration, but the underlying mechanisms have not been elucidated. In this study, we show that the function of KLF5 in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and migration of liver cancer cells depends on the status of the cellular tumor antigen p53 (p53). Furthermore, zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 2 (ZEB2) is the main regulator of KLF5 in EMT in liver cancer cells in the context of p53 loss....

Managing recovered COVID-19 patients with recurrent-positive SARS-CoV-2 RNA test results is challenging. We performed a population-based observational study to characterize the viral RNA level and serum antibody responses in recurrent-positive patients and evaluate their viral transmission risk. Of 479 recovered COVID-19 patients, 93 (19%) recurrent-positive patients were identified, characterized by younger age, with a median discharge-to-recurrent-positive length of 8 days. After readmission, recurrent-positive patients exhibited mild (28%) or absent (72%) symptoms, with no disease progression....

Managing recovered COVID-19 patients with recurrent-positive SARS-CoV-2 RNA test results is challenging. We performed a population-based observational study to characterize the viral RNA level and serum antibody responses in recurrent-positive patients and evaluate their viral transmission risk. Of 479 recovered COVID-19 patients, 93 (19%) recurrent-positive patients were identified, characterized by younger age, with a median discharge-to-recurrent-positive length of 8 days. After readmission, recurrent-positive patients exhibited mild (28%) or absent (72%) symptoms, with no disease progression....

Aeromonas hydrophila (A. hydrophila) can cause a number of diseases in both human and animals. A. hydrophila-related infections in aquaculture cause severe economic losses every year throughout the world. The emergence of antibiotic resistance that is due to the abuse of antibiotics has limited the application of antibiotics. Thus, novel approaches are needed to combat with treatment failure of antibiotics caused by resistant bacterial strains. Aerolysin plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of A....

Aeromonas hydrophila (A. hydrophila) can cause a number of diseases in both human and animals. A. hydrophila-related infections in aquaculture cause severe economic losses every year throughout the world. The emergence of antibiotic resistance that is due to the abuse of antibiotics has limited the application of antibiotics. Thus, novel approaches are needed to combat with treatment failure of antibiotics caused by resistant bacterial strains. Aerolysin plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of A....

Supplemental Material, CONSORT_a for Effectiveness of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Versus Mandibular Advancement Device in Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients With Mandibular Retrognathia: A Prospective Clinical Trial by Haichun Lai, Wei Huang, Wei Chen and Desheng Wang in Ear, Nose & Throat Journal

Following acute infection, individuals COVID-19 may still shed SARS-CoV-2 RNA. However, limited information is available regarding the active shedding period or whether infectious virus is also shed. Here, we monitored the clinical characteristics and virological features of 38 patients with COVID-19 (long-term carriers) who recovered from the acute disease, but still shed viral RNA for over 3 months. The median carrying history of the long-term carriers was 92 days after the first admission, and the...