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The ongoing outbreak of COVID-19 has been announced by the World Health Organization as a worldwide public health emergency. The aim of this study was to distinguish between severe and non-severe patients in early diagnosis. The results showed that the mortality of COVID-19 patients increased accompanied by age. Host factors CRP, IL-1β, hs-CRP, IL-8, and IL-6 levels in severe pneumonia patients were higher than in non-severe patients. CD3, CD8, and CD45 counts were decreased in COVID-19 patients. The results of this study suggest that the K-values of CD45 might be useful in distinguishing between severe and non-severe cases. The cut-off value for CD45 was -94.33. The K-values for CD45 in non-severe case were above the cut-off values, indicating a 100% prediction success rate for severe and non-severe cases following SARS-CoV-2 infection. The results confirmed that immune system dysfunction is a potential cause of mortality following COVID-19 infection, particularly for the elderly. CD45 deficiency dysfunction the naïve and memory T lymphocytes which may affects the long-term effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. K-values of CD45 might be useful in distinguishing between severe and non-severe cases in the early infection. May be CD45 could increase the diagnostic sensitivity.

Background: To retrospectively evaluate several clinical indicators related to the improvement of COVID-19 pneumonia on CT., Methods: A total of 62 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia were included. The CT scores based on lesion patterns and distributions in serial CT were investigated. The improvement and deterioration of pneumonia was assessed based on the changes of CT scores. Grouped by using the temperature, serum lymphocytes and high sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) on admission respectively, the CT scores on admission, at peak time and at discharge were evaluated. Correlation analysis was carried out between the time to onset of pneumonia resolution on CT images and the recovery time of temperature, negative conversion of viral nucleic acid, serum lymphocytes and hs-CRP., Results: The CT scores of the fever group and lymphopenia group were significantly higher than those of normal group on admission, at peak time and at discharge; and the CT scores of normal hs-CRP group were significantly lower than those of the elevated hs-CRP group at peak time and at discharge (P all<0.05). The time to onset of pneumonia resolution on CT image was moderately correlated with negative conversion duration of viral nucleic acid (r =0.501, P<0.05) and the recovery time of hs-CPR (r =0.496, P<0.05)., Conclusions: COVID-19 pneumonia patients with no fever, normal lymphocytes and hs-CRP had mild lesions on admission, and presented with more absorption and fewer pulmonary lesions on discharge. The negative conversion duration of viral nucleic acid and the recovery time of hs-CPR may be the indicator of the pneumonia resolution., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/jtd-20-1420). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2020 Journal of Thoracic Disease. All rights reserved.)

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an effective noninvasive therapeutic method that employs photosensitizers (PSs) converting oxygen to highly cytotoxic singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) under light irradiation. The conventional PDT efficacy is, however, compromised by the nonspecific delivery of PSs to tumor tissue, the hypoxic tumor microenvironment, and the reduction of generated 1 O 2 by the intracellular antioxidant glutathione (GSH). Herein, an intelligent multifunctional synergistic nanoplatform (CMGCC) for T 1 -weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging-guided enhanced PDT is presented, which consists of nanoparticles composed of catalase (CAT) and manganese dioxide (MnO 2 ) that are integrated within chlorin-e6-modified glycol chitosan (GC) polymeric micelles. In this system, (1) GC polymers with pH-sensitive surface charge switchability from neutral to positive could improve the PS accumulation within the tumor region, (2) CAT could effectively reoxygenate the hypoxic tumor via catalyzing endogenous hydrogen peroxide to O 2 , and (3) MnO 2 could consume the intracellular GSH while simultaneously producing Mn 2+ as a contrast agent for T 1 -weighted MR imaging. The CMGCC particles possess uniform size distribution, well-defined structure, favorable enzyme activity, and superior 1 O 2 generation ability. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrate that the CMGCC exhibit significantly enhanced PDT efficacy toward HeLa cells and subcutaneous HeLa tumors. Our study thereby demonstrates this to be a promising synergistic theranostic nanoplatform with highly efficient PDT performance for cancer therapy.

The hypoxic microenvironment in solid tumors severely limits the efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT). Therefore, the development of nanocarriers co-loaded with photosensitizers and oxygen, together with imaging guidance ability, is of great significance in cancer therapy. However, previously reported synthetic methods for these multi-functional probes are complicated, and the raw materials used are toxic. Methods: Herein, the human endogenous protein, hemoglobin (Hb), was used for the simultaneous biomimetic synthesis of Gd-based nanostructures and co-loading of Chlorine e6 (Ce6) and oxygen for alleviating the hypoxic environment of tumors and accomplishing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided enhanced PDT. The Gd@Hb Ce6-PEG nanoprobes were synthesized via a green and protein biomimetic approach. The physicochemical properties, including relaxivity, oxygen-carrying/release capability, and PDT efficacy of Gd@Hb Ce6-PEG , were measured in vitro and in vivo on tumor-bearing mice after intravenous injection. Morphologic and functional MRI were carried out to evaluate the efficacy of PDT. Results: The results demonstrated the successful synthesis of compact Gd@Hb Ce6-PEG nanostructures with desired multi-functionalities. Following treatment with the nanoparticles, the embedded MR moiety was effective in lighting tumor lesions and guiding therapy. The oxygen-carrying capability of Hb after biomimetic synthesis was confirmed by spectroscopic analysis and oxygen detector in vitro . Further, tumor oxygenation for alleviating tumor hypoxia in vivo after intravenous injection of Gd@Hb Ce6-PEG was verified by photoacoustic imaging and immunofluorescence staining. The potent treatment efficacy of PDT on early-stage was observed by the morphologic and functional MR imaging. Importantly, rapid renal clearance of the particles was observed after treatment. Conclusion: In this study, by using a human endogenous protein, we demonstrated the biomimetic synthesis of multi-functional nanoprobes for simultaneous tumor oxygenation and imaging-guided enhanced PDT. The therapeutic efficacy could be quantitatively confirmed at 6 h post PDT with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI)., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists., (© The author(s).)

The cyanobacteria Microcystis flos-aquae can cause harmful algal blooms in waterbodies, which threaten the normal functioning of aquatic ecosystems and human health. Some plant extracts are considered as promising algaecides. In this study, the effects of ten plant extracts (Cinnamomum camphora, Ginkgo biloba, Firmiana platanifolia, Salix babylonica, Euphorbia humifusa, Erigeron annuus, Solidago canadensis, Alternanthera philoxeroides, Thalia dealbata and Eichhornia crassipes) against M. flos-aquae were investigated. The results showed that all ten plant extracts had a significant inhibitory effect on M. flos-aquae growth after 96 h (P < 0.01). The inhibition rates of S. babylonica, E. humifusa, S. canadensis and A. philoxeroides were over 70.00%. Furthermore, the E. humifusa extract had the best inhibitory effect on the photosynthesis of M. flos-aquae, with the effective quantum yield of photosystem II and maximal relative electron transport rate decreasing by 97.50% and 97.00%, respectively, after 96 h. Additionally, the E. humifusa extract was found to be non-toxic to non-target organisms such as Brachydanio rerio and Vallisneria spiralis within 96 h. This study contributes to the existing knowledge and data of freshwater cyanobacteria blooms, and provides insights for their control and the restoration of freshwater systems affected by cyanobacteria blooms.

Asymptomatic patients and infected patients with normal chest CT imaging are considered carriers of SARS-CoV-2. Before a diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is made, these patients with negative chest CT findings may be ignored, causing the possibility of virus transmission. For patients with suspected infections, reliable epidemiological information and clinical symptoms, clinical management is necessary even when the chest CT is negative., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Quantitative traits are important targets of both natural and artificial selection. The genetic architecture of these traits and its change during the adaptive process is thus of fundamental interest. The fate of the additive effects of variants underlying a trait receives particular attention because they constitute the genetic variation component that is transferred from parents to offspring and thus governs the response to selection. While estimation of this component of phenotypic variation is challenging, the increasing availability of dense molecular markers puts it within reach. Inbred plant species offer an additional advantage because phenotypes of genetically identical individuals can be measured in replicate. This makes it possible to estimate marker effects separately from the contribution of the genetic background not captured by genotyped loci. We focused on root growth in domesticated rice, Oryza sativa , under normal and aluminum (Al) stress conditions, a trait under recent selection because it correlates with survival under drought. A dense single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) map is available for all accessions studied. Taking advantage of this map and a set of Bayesian models, we assessed additive marker effects. While total genetic variation accounted for a large proportion of phenotypic variance, marker effects contributed little information, particularly in the Al-tolerant tropical japonica population of rice. We were unable to identify any loci associated with root growth in this population. Models estimating the aggregate effects of all measured genotypes likewise produced low estimates of marker heritability and were unable to predict total genetic values accurately. Our results support the long-standing conjecture that additive genetic variation is depleted in traits under selection. We further provide evidence that this depletion is due to the prevalence of low-frequency alleles that underlie the trait., (Copyright © 2020 Karavolias et al.)

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has an effect on the clinical manifestations, radiological characteristics, and disease severity of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated Talaromyces marneffei infection. The clinical manifestations, chest computed tomography (CT) images, and disease severity were compared between 14 patients with culture-confirmed T. marneffei infections who received cART and 38 patients who did not receive cART. Clinical manifestations included high fever (>38°C), cough, shortness of breath, chills, and skin rash. Chest CT scans were evaluated for the presence of ground-glass opacities, consolidation, miliary nodules, nodules, masses, cavitation, pericardial effusion, pleural effusion, mediastinal lymphadenitis, and the distribution of parenchymal abnormalities. Disease severity was estimated by clinical manifestations and chest CT findings. Fever (>38°C), cough, shortness of breath, and chills were significantly less frequent in patients who received cART than in those who did not receive cART (P < 0.05). The frequencies of miliary nodules, mediastinal lymphadenitis, and the proportion of diffuse lesions were significantly lower in patients who received cART than in those who did not receive cART (P < 0.05). The disease severity was significantly decreased in patients who received cART compared with patients who did not receive cART (P < 0.001). T. marneffei -infected patients who received cART had fewer clinical manifestations and decreased disease severity compared with those who did not receive this treatment. The use of cART is associated with modified chest CT characteristics in HIV-associated T. marneffei infections.

Neurotransmitters play an important role in nervous system. Temporal and spatial changes of neurotransmitter distribution are crucial to information processing in neural networks. Biosensors that can visually monitor neurotransmitters are one of the vital tools to explore a variety of physiological and pathological activities. This article reviews recent advances in monitoring neurotransmitters with high temporal and spatial resolution, and introduces the latest fluorescent imaging methods for typical neurotransmitters, including glutamate, dopamine, γ-aminobutyric acid and acetylcholine. The article also summarizes the basic principles, advantages and disadvantages of various visually detection methods, and provides systematic suggestions for designing neurotransmitter sensors with high temporal and spatial resolution.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study is to comprehensively investigate the role of multiple features seen on thin-section CT (TSCT) in the differential diagnosis of ground-glass nodules (GGNs) measuring 5-10 mm in diameter as invasive adenocarcinoma (IAC). MATERIALS AND METHODS. The TSCT features of 313 surgically diagnosed GGNs from 288 patients were retrospectively reviewed. A logistic regression model was applied, and the AUC values for the model and the size and attenuation of the lesions were compared using ROC curve analysis. RESULTS. A total of 247 lung adenocarcinomas in situ (AISs) and minimally invasive adenocarcinomas (MIAs) (hereafter referred to as the AIS-MIA group) and 66 invasive adenocarcinomas (IACs) were identified. Compared with the AIS-MIA group, the IAC groups were significantly larger in size and had higher attenuation values, a higher frequency of mixed GGNs (all p < 0.001), bubblelike appearance, spiculation, pleural indentation, different locations, and a lower frequency of clear tumor-lung interface (all p < 0.05). The logistic model included size and attenuation (both p < 0.001; odds ratio [OR], 1.872 and 1.009, respectively) as well as tumor-lung interface ( p = 0.001; OR, 0.242), bubblelike appearance ( p < 0.05; OR, 2.205), and type of nodule. The AUC value for the logistic model was 0.847 (sensitivity, 80.3%; specificity, 81.0%) and was significantly higher than that for size or attenuation (both p < 0.01). CONCLUSION. Radiologic features could help in the differential diagnosis of a GGN that was 5-10 mm in diameter as IAC versus AIS or MIA. GGNs larger than 8.12 mm and with attenuation greater than -449.52 HU were more likely to be IAC.

Objective: To analyze the value of MR imaging in diagnosis of intraductal papillary neoplasm of the bile duct (IPN-B)., Methods: Fourteen patients with intraductal papillary neoplasms of the bile duct confirmed by surgical pathology were included in this study. The patients underwent MR routine plain scanning and enhancement scanning (including T1WI, T2WI with fat suppression, FALSH T1WI, and three-phase enhancement scanning), diffusion weighted imaging(DWI) and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) before operation. The imaging data were reviewed and analyzed retrospectively in comparison with the surgical and pathological results., Results: In these patients, 7 cases had tumors located in the left lobe, 2 cases had tumors in both the left and right lobes, 2 cases in the hepatic hilum, 2 cases in the common bile duct, and 1 case in both the right lobe and the common bile duct. Solitary or multiple intraductal masses could be found in 12 cases, with 11 cases appeared as papillary masses and one case as flat mass. In the other two cases the tumor was not visible (one case had too many stones, and in another case the tumor was too small). The tumors in the 12 cases showed hypointensity on T1WI and hyperintensity on T2WI. On the dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI, 11 cases showed mild and one showed moderate enhancement in arterial phase, and all the cases showed mildly and gradually delayed enhancement. On DWI, the lesion areas showed high signal intensity in all the cases, and the ADC value of the tumor area (1.697×10(-3)mm(2)/s) was significantly lower than that of the normal bile (3.973×10(-3)mm(2)/s) (t = -10.94, P < 0.05). Twelve cases demonstrated filling defects on primary MRCP coronary thin section images. On 3D-reconstruction MRCP images, 7 cases exhibited diffuse bile duct dilatation with the tumor areas more prominent, 3 cases exhibited aneurysmal bile dilatation, while the rest 4 cases exhibited segmental or lobar bile duct dilatation ( including 2 with invisible tumors ). In the 3 cases with aneurysmal bile dilatation, the multiple directions of MRCP images helped to find the communication between the aneurysmal dilatation and the bile duct. All the cases showed significant proximal bile duct dilatation (the extent of dilatation >100%), and 9 cases also showed distal bile duct dilatation. Bile duct stones were noted in 6 cases, 4 at the tumor area, and the other 2 away from the tumor area. No adjacent tissue invasion and no distal tissue or lymph node metastasis were observed., Conclusion: Intraductal papillary neoplasms of the bile ducts have characteristic imaging appearances on MRI, and MRI is an important method helpful to making correct diagnosis.

Here, we aimed to assess the feasibility of anti-ESAT-6 monoclonal antibody (mAb) coupling with IR783 and rhodamine fluorescent probe in the detection of ESAT-6 expression in tuberculosis tissue of mice using near-infrared fluorescence imaging. IR783 and rhodamine were conjugated to the anti-ESAT-6 mAb or IgG. Mice in the experimental group were injected with fluorescence-labeled mAb probe, and mice in the control group were injected with fluorescence-labeled non-specific IgG antibody. Twenty-four hours later, the lung tissue of mice was examined using ex vivo near-infrared fluorescence imaging. In addition, the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) was calculated by measuring the signal intensities of the pulmonary lesions, normal lung tissue and background noise. The frozen lung tissue section was examined under fluorescence microscopy and compared with hemoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. The ex vivo near-infrared fluorescence imaging showed that the fluorescence signal in the lung tuberculosis lesions in the experimental group was significantly enhanced, whereas there was only a weak fluorescence signal or even no fluorescence signal in the control group. CNR values were 64.40 ± 7.02 (n = 6) and 8.75 ± 3.87 (n = 6), respectively (t = 17.01, p < 0.001). The fluorescence accumulation distribution detected under fluorescence microscopy was consistent with HE staining of the tuberculosis region. In conclusion, anti-ESAT-6 mAb fluorescent probe could target and be applied in specific ex vivo imaging of mice tuberculosis, and may be of further use in tuberculosis in living mice., (Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)