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An exciton–polariton condensate is a hybrid light–matter state in the quantum fluid phase. The photonic component endows it with characters of spin, as represented by circular polarization. Spin-polarization can form stochastically for quasi-equilibrium exciton–polariton condensates at parallel momentum vector k|| ∼ 0 from bifurcation or deterministically for propagating condensates at k|| > 0 from the optical spin-Hall effect (OSHE). Here, we report deterministic spin-polarization in exciton–polariton condensates at k|| ∼ 0 in microcavities containing methylammonium lead bromide perovskite (CH3NH3PbBr3) single crystals under non-resonant and linearly polarized excitation. We observe two energetically split condensates with opposite circular polarizations and attribute this observation to the presence of strong birefringence, which introduces a large OSHE at k|| ∼ 0 and pins the condensates in a particular spin state. Such spin-polarized exciton–polariton condensates may serve not only as circularly polarized laser sources but also as effective alternatives to ultracold atom Bose–Einstein condensates in quantum simulators of many-body spin–orbit coupling processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the prognostic value of enteroscopic grading for the prognostic assessment of patients with malignant hematological diseases who developed intestinal acute graft-versus-host disease (IT-aGVHD) after unrelated cord blood transplantation (UCBT) . Methods: Fifty patients with IT-aGVHD who developed hormone resistance after UCBT from June 2016 to June 2023 at Anhui Provincial Hospital were collected to compare the effective and survival rates of IT-aGVHD treatment in the group with milder enteroscopic mucosal injury (27 cases, enteroscopic grading of Ⅰ and Ⅱ) and the group with more severe injury (23 cases, enteroscopic grading of Ⅲ and Ⅳ) and to retrospectively analyze the factors affecting patients' prognosis. Results: Patients in the mild and severe groups had an effective rate of 92.6% and 47.8% at 28 days after colonoscopy ( P <0.001), 81.5% and 39.1% at 56 days after colonoscopy ( P =0.002), with optimal effective rate of 92.6% and 65.2% ( P =0.040), respectively, and the differences were statistically significant. The multifactorial analysis found that enteroscopic grading was an independent risk factor affecting the effective rate of IT-aGVHD treatment. The overall survival rate at 2 years after colonoscopy was 70.4% (95% CI 52.0% -88.8% ) and 34.8% (95% CI 14.8% -54.8% ) for patients in the mild and severe groups, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant ( P =0.003). Multifactorial analysis revealed that enteroscopic grading, cytomegalovirus infection status, second-line treatment regimen, and patients' age were independent risk factors for survival. Conclusion: The treatment efficacy and prognosis of patients in the group with less severe enteroscopic injury (grades Ⅰ and Ⅱ) were better than those in the group with more severe injury (grades Ⅲ and Ⅳ) .

Objective: To analyze the drug-resistant gene loci of Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) using metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS). Methods: From November 2022 to October 2023, 697 clinical samples (including sputum, alveolar lavage fluid and blood) of 686 children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae positive detected by mNGS were retrospectively analyzed. Samples were divided into intensive care unit (ICU) group and non-ICU group, Chi-square test was used to compare groups, and Mann-Kendall trend test was used to analyze the change trend of the detection rate of drug resistance gene loci over time. Results: Of the 697 samples, 164 were from the ICU group and 533 were from the non-ICU group. The detection rate of Mycoplasma pneumoniae resistance gene was 44.3% (309/697), and all detected drug-resistant gene loci of MP were A2063G. The detection rate of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in ICU group was 50.0% (82/164), and the detection rates of Mycoplasma pneumoniae resistance gene loci in sputum, alveolus lavage fluid and blood samples were 75.0% (18/24) and 48.4% (62/128), respectively. The detection rate in sputum was higher than alveolus lavage fluid samples ( χ 2 =5.72, P =0.017). The detection rate of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in non-ICU group was 42.6% (227/533), the detection rate of Mycoplasma pneumoniae resistance gene loci in sputum and alveolar lavage fluid was 40.0% (16/40), 44.3% (201/454), and no detection rate in blood samples (0/12). There was no significant difference in the detection rate of alveolar lavage fluid and sputum ( χ 2 =0.27, P =0.602). From November 2022 to October 2023, the detection rate of submitted samples showed an increasing trend month by month (overall: Z =3.99, ICU inspection group: Z =2.93, non-ICU group: Z =3.01, all P <0.01). Among the bacteria commonly detected with Mycoplasma pneumoniae , Streptococcus pneumoniae accounted for the highest proportion, the detection rate was 15.5% (108/697), and Epstein-Barr virus accounted for the highest proportion of 17.6% (123/697). Conclusions: From November 2022 to October 2023, the detection rate of Mycoplasma pneumoniae drug resistance gene loci showed an increasing trend. The detection rate of drug resistance gene loci in sputum samples of ICU group was higher than alveolus lavage fluid. No new drug resistance site were detected.

Aim: To compare the efficacy of quantitative contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) analysis and colour Doppler ultrasound (CDU) in evaluating central retinal artery (CRA) microcirculation in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM)., Materials and Methods: In this prospective study, a total of 55 patients (98 eyes) with DM were enrolled as the study group. They were compared to 46 age-matched healthy volunteers (92 eyes) who were selected as the control group. Each patient underwent CDU and subsequent CEUS examination. CDU and quantitative CEUS parameters were evaluated. The diagnostic efficiency of the diagnostic performance of CEUS and CDU was evaluated and compared, and the scale thresholds of predictive indicators for the diagnosis of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) were evaluated using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analyses., Results: Group pairwise comparisons showed that the end diastolic velocity (EDV) and arrival time (AT) of CRA were significant predictors for PDR by CDU and by quantitative CEUS analysis, respectively (all p<0.05). The ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve value of AT was significantly higher than that of EDV (0.875 versus 0.634, p=0.0002). Accordingly, an AT cut-off value of 1.07 seconds resulted a sensitivity of 90.62 % and a specificity of 79.31 %., Conclusion: Quantitative CEUS analysis can improve the accuracy of clinical staging of diabetic retinopathy for the patients with DM, and the AT showed the best diagnostic efficiency., (Copyright © 2024 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To evaluated the clinical efficacy of a reduced-intensity preconditioning regimen for single non-blood-related umbilical cord blood transplantation (sUCBT) in the treatment of severe aplastic anemia (SAA) . Methods: The clinical data of 63 patients with SAA who underwent sUCBT from January 2021 to July 2023 at the Department of Hematology of the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC were retrospectively analyzed. Fifty-two patients received total body irradiation/total bone marrow irradiation (TMI) combined with fludarabine or a cyclophosphamide- conditioning regimen (non-rATG group) , while 11 patients received rabbit anti-human thymocyte immunoglobulin (rATG) combined with TMI, fludarabine, or the cyclophosphamide-conditioning regimen (rATG group) . All patients received cyclosporine A and mycophenolate mofetil for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis. Complications post-transplantation and long-term survival were compared between the two groups. Results: The baseline parameters were balanced between the two groups ( P >0.05) . In the rATG group, all patients achieved stem cell engraftment, and in the non-rATG group, five patients had primary graft failure. There was no significant difference in the cumulative incidence of neutrophil engraftment at 42 days after transplantation or platelet engraftment at 60 days between the two groups. The incidence of grade Ⅱ-Ⅳ acute GVHD in the rATG group was significantly lower than in the non-rATG group (10.0% vs . 46.2% , P =0.032) , and the differences in the cumulative incidences of grade Ⅲ/Ⅳ acute GVHD and 1-year chronic GVHD were not statistically significant ( P =0.367 and P =0.053, respectively) . There were no significant differences in the incidences of pre-engraftment syndrome, bacterial bloodstream infections, cytomegalovirus viremia, or hemorrhagic cystitis between the two groups ( P >0.05 for all) . The median follow-up time for surviving patients was 536 (61-993) days, and the 1-year transplantation related mortality (TRM) of all patients after transplantation was 13.0% (95% CI 6.7% -24.3% ) . Among the patients in the non-rATG and rATG groups, 15.5% (95% CI 8.1% -28.6% ) and 0% ( P =0.189) , respectively, had mutations. The 1-year overall survival (OS) rate of all patients after transplantation was 87.0% (95% CI 75.7% -93.3% ) . The 1-year OS rates in the rATG group and non-rATG group after transplantation were 100% and 84.5% , respectively (95% CI 71.4% -91.9% ) ( P =0.198) . Conclusion: The preliminary results of sUCBT with a low-dose irradiation-based reduced-intensity conditioning regimen with fludarabine/cyclophosphamide for the treatment of patients with SAA showed good efficacy. Early application of low-dose rATG can reduce the incidence of acute GVHD after transplantation without increasing the risk of implantation failure or infection.