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Viral capsid-like materials have been recognized as bionanotechnology platforms with great potential in controlled drug release, gene transfer and bioimaging. However, their functions still need to be optimized in aspects such as efficient drug transfer and selective targeting. Herein, we report a simple alternative strategy to fabricate viral capsid-like titania (VCL-TiO2) bearing ordered mesoporous channels and protrusions on its surface. The morphology of the synthesized titania materials matches nearly perfectly the outer surface of a real viral capsid. In particular, the robust VCL-TiO2 exhibits high porosity and a high degree of monodispersity in its particle size which makes it ideal for selectively and efficiently enriching phosphorylated peptides (PPs). Moreover, the microsized VCL-TiO2 could be easily collected and recycled through centrifugation.

Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals are often contaminated with diverse artifacts, such as electromyogram (EMG), electrooculogram (EOG), and electrocardiogram (ECG) artifacts. These artifacts make subsequent EEG analysis inaccurate and prevent practical usage. Recently, the use of wearable EEG devices in ambulatory systems has been developed. For practical reasons, these systems usually contain a single EEG channel. Several studies have proposed to combine single-channel decomposition methods with blind source separation (BSS) methods to denoise the single-channel EEG. However, the existing methods have their own limitations since most of them only focus on removing one single kind of artifacts. Unfortunately, the EEG is prone to be contaminated by various kinds of artifacts simultaneously. Yet to our knowledge, there are no existing methods to remove diverse artifacts simultaneously from the single-channel EEG. To address this issue, we propose an effective method to remove diverse artifacts simultaneously for the single-channel EEG case. This method is a combination of singular spectrum analysis (SSA) and second-order blind identification (SOBI) method. We conduct a semi-simulated study to investigate all possible cases of the single-channel EEG been contaminated by EMG, EOG, and ECG artifacts. The results show that the proposed method can successfully remove diverse artifacts from the single-channel EEG. It is a promising tool for biomedical signal processing applications.

To improve the prediction accuracy of traffic flow, a travel time prediction model based on gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) is proposed. In order to test the applicability of GBDT, models with different prediction horizons (5 min ahead, 10 min ahead, and 15 min ahead) are established. The 11 variables are viewed as candidates in this paper. Different from other machine learning algorithms as black boxes, GBDT can provide interpretable results through variable importance. In the proposed model, the variable importance shows that for different prediction horizons, the most important influence variable is uniform, which is travel time in the current period. Traffic conditions in the current period have the greatest influence on the predicted travel time. Compared with the back propagation neural network model and the support vector machine model, the proposed GBDT model can produce more accurate prediction results, especially in multi-step prediction, indicating that GBDT is a promising method in travel time prediction.

In this paper, a comprehensive analysis of merging behavior on the freeway under different traffic densities has been conducted. First, the influence of traffic density on merging parameters (namely merging position, merging speed, merging duration, and accepted gap) was analyzed by mathematical statistics, Mann-Whitney-U Test, and distribution fitting. It was found that the merging position, merging speed, merging duration, and accepted gap are all significantly influenced by traffic density and the best-fitted distributions of merging parameters could be different under different traffic densities. Then, to incorporate the dynamic effects of traffic density on merging behavior, a cell-based traffic density was introduced in this paper and logistic regression was used to model the gap selection behavior. The results showed that traffic density has a significant influence on gap selection behavior during the merging process. The effects of traffic density in logistic regression showed that merging drivers tend to choose a location with lower traffic density during the gap selection process. Moreover, introducing the cell-based traffic density can also improve the predictive accuracy of the logistic regression model.

Total solid content (TS) is an important factor for biogas production during anaerobic digestion. In this study, we explored the influence of different TS (5% wet, 15% semi-solid and 25% solid state) on the relative cumulative methane production (RCMP) during anaerobic co-digestion of chicken manure with corn straw. Results showed that total ammonium nitrogen and free ammonia nitrogen concentration increased with the increase of TS. Ammonium nitrogen in treatments at 15% TS was 2.25-2.76 times as high as that at 5% TS, which was below 3 times. The highest chemical oxygen demand removal and RCMP were obtained in the treatment of 15% TS with a ratio of 2:1 chicken manure: corn straw (based on TS). The RCMP in the treatments of 15% TS were 3.63-4.59 times higher than that of 5% TS based on the volume of substrates. The abundance of Caldicoprobacter improving the degradation of corn straw was significantly positively correlated with the RCMP, and the average abundance of Caldicoprobacter at 15% TS was 8.33 and 7.02 times higher than that at 5% and 25% TS, respectively. Structural equation models analysis suggested that TS significantly impacted the RCMP by indirectly impacting free ammonia nitrogen and microbial abundance. These findings indicated semi-solid state (15% TS) decreased ammonia nitrogen releasing and improved the abundance of Caldicoprobacter, and increased RCMP during anaerobic co-digestion of chicken manure with corn straw.

The spreading characteristics of a liquid metal droplet impacting onto a flat solid surface under the influence of a horizontal magnetic field are investigated numerically. The simulated parameters...

Cu2CoSnS4 (CCTS) thin films, for the first time, were successfully fabricated by RF magnetron sputtering with two different metal precursor stacking sequences followed by sulfurization treatment under kinds of temperatures. Structure, morphology, composition, chemical valence states and optical properties of the as-grown films were discussed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy (Raman), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ultraviolet–visible-near-infrared spectrophotometer (UV–vis–NIR spectrophotometer) respectively. XRD and Raman analysis indicated that the as-obtained Cu2CoSnS4 thin films possess a stannite structure and the crystallinity was improved accompanying the incremental sulfurization temperature under both two depositing orders. The growth mechanism of CCTS films during vulcanization process was also discussed. XRD, Raman spectroscopy and SEM analysis showed that the precursors deposited in Cu/Co/Sn sequence had the best crystallinity after 600 °C sulfurization annealing. Under this preparation condition, XPS analysis showed that the chemical states of the four main elements in the film were Cu (I), Co (II), Sn (IV) and sulfide ions,and it exhibited the direct band gap of 1.58 eV by UV–vis–NIR absorption spectra, which is close to the ideal values for photovoltaic utilization.

Gesture recognition based on surface electromyogram (sEMG) signals has drawn significant attention and obtained satisfactory achievement in the field of human-computer interaction. However, the same gesture performed with different arm positions tends not to generate the same sEMG signals. Traditional solutions can be divided into two types. One type treats the same gesture with different arm positions as the same type, leading to a relatively low classification rate. The other type adopts a gesture classifier followed by the position classifier, which will achieve a satisfactory classification accuracy but at the expenses of high training burdens. To address these issues, we propose a novel framework to explore the intrinsic position independent (PI) characteristics of sEMG signals generated from the same gesture with different arm positions by canonical correlation analysis (CCA), termed as PICCA. In this framework, with the bridge link of the predefined expert set, both the training set and the testing set can be mapped into a unified-style with CCA, and hence, the classification accuracy can be improved in both user-dependent and user-independent manners. Experimental results on 13 gestures with 3 arm positions indicate that the proposed PICCA can achieve higher classification rates than those without CCA (with 28.52% and 44.19% promotions during user-dependent and user-independent manners respectively) while maintaining acceptable training burdens. These improvements will facilitate the practical implementation of myoelectric interfaces.

The author nursed suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19 imported from abroad in a mobile hospital. During the front-line work in the fight against the epidemic in 2020, emergency response measures and corresponding clinical nursing experience have been accumulated for public health emergencies. This article summarized and shared the psychological nursing of patients with COVID-19 during the work of the author.

With the continuing rise of lipidomic studies, there is an urgent need for a useful and comprehensive tool to facilitate lipidomic data analysis. The most important features making lipids different from general metabolites are their various characteristics, including their lipid classes, double bonds, chain lengths, etc. Based on these characteristics, lipid species can be classified into different categories and, more interestingly, exert specific biological functions in a group. In an effort to simplify lipidomic analysis workflows and enhance the exploration of lipid characteristics, we have developed a highly flexible and user-friendly web server called LipidSig. It consists of five sections, namely, Profiling, Differential Expression, Correlation, Network and Machine Learning, and evaluates lipid effects on cellular or disease phenotypes. One of the specialties of LipidSig is the conversion between lipid species and characteristics according to a user-defined characteristics table. This function allows for efficient data mining for both individual lipids and subgroups of characteristics. To expand the server's practical utility, we also provide analyses focusing on fatty acid properties and multiple characteristics. In summary, LipidSig is expected to help users identify significant lipid-related features and to advance the field of lipid biology. The LipidSig webserver is freely available at http://chenglab.cmu.edu.tw/lipidsig, Graphical Abstract Graphical AbstractLipidSig is the first web tool dedicated to comprehensive lipidomic data analysis.

Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder. The copy number variation (CNV) of genes in the X-chromosome is speculated to play a critical role in ASD. The HECT, UBA and WWE domain containing the E3 ubiquitin protein ligase 1 (HUWE1) gene is located on the X-chromosome and is associated with neurodevelopment. However, the CNV of HUWE1 has not been linked to ASD. In this study, we identified increased copy numbers of HUWE1 in ASD patients compared to the controls. Moreover, an elevated severity of ASD phenotype was observed in patients with more HUWE1 copy numbers. In vitro, overexpression HUWE1 could decrease the proliferation of nervous system derived cells and promote their apoptosis, declining the G2/M phase transition. The functional assay showed that HUWE1, an E3 ubiquitin protein ligase, regulated the ubiquitination degradation of key mediators in the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, which is involved in neurodevelopment. Consistent with the ASD patients, overexpression of huwe1 in zebrafish embryos caused defective brain development, small eyes, cardiac edema and a curly spinal cord, supporting the pivotal role of the HUWE1 CNV in neurodevelopmental disorders. In this study, we demonstrated the role of the HUWE1 CNV for complement pathway factors in the origin of ASD for the first time. Genetic analysis of the HUWE1 copy number could inform the clinical counseling of ASD patients.

P. petiolosa as a typical Chinese herbal medicine has been generally utilized as Chinese native medicine formulation for treatment of chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma and pneumoconiosis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities of P. petiolosa ethyl acetate extract (PPEAE) against S. aureus in mice. The air-dried leaves were extracted with ethyl acetate, mice were infected pneumonia by S. aureus. Colonization of S. aureus in lung tissue was calculated by plate colony count. The number of white blood cells (WBC) in blood was measured by blood cell automatic analyzer. The histopathological analysis of hematoxylin-eosin staining (HE) of lung tissue was observed under microscope. Real-time PCR assay was employed to determine the relative mRNA expression of HO-1, iNOS and TNF-α. The results showed that, compared with control, after treated with PPEAE the wet/dry (W/D) weight ratio of mice lung tissue (decreased from 5.371 to 4.9) and the number of white blood cells (WBC) (decreased by 3.13×10

This paper depicted the whole-course care for an advanced cancer patient from hospital to home.In this case,telemedicine was employed to provide guidance on the symptom control,comfort care,psychotherapy,and bereavement counseling.The patient got the holistic care from the whole family and team.The holistic care finally gave a good death of the patient and aided in the recovery of the family members from grief.

Light plays a direct crucial role in the switch between sleep and arousal and the regulation of physiology and behaviour, such as circadian rhythms and emotional change. Artificial lights, which are different from natural light sources with a continuous light spectrum, are composed of three single-colour lights and are increasingly applied in modern society. However, in vivo research on the mechanisms of blue light-regulated sleep and arousal is still insufficient. In this work, we detected the effects of inserting white or blue light for 1 h during the dark period on the wheel-running activity and sucrose preference of C57 mice. The results showed that blue light could induce delays in sleep and arousal-promoting responses. Furthermore, this lighting pattern, including blue light alone, induced depressive-like emotions. The c-fos expression in the blue light group was significantly higher in the arcuate hypothalamic nucleus (Arc) and significantly lower in the cingulate cortex (Cg) and anterior part of the paraventricular thalamic nucleus (PVA) than in the white light group. Compared with the white light group, the phospho-ERK expression in the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVN) and PVA was lower in the blue light group. These molecular changes indicated that certain brain regions are involved in blue light-induced response processes. This study may provide useful information to explore the specific mechanism of special light-regulated physiological function.

Surgical wounds are common injuries of skin and tissues and usually become a clinical problem. Until now, various synthetic and natural peptides have been widely explored as potential drug candidates for wound healing. Inhibition of the TNF-α signaling pathway and promotion of angiogenesis are suggested to be involved in their effects. Angiogenesis at the wound site is one of the essential requisites for rapid healing. In the present study, a novel peptide extract derived from the natural source Lates calcarifer, commonly known as sea bass or barramundi, was evaluated for its wound healing property. The specific acidic and enzymatic approaches were employed for producing sea bass extract containing small size peptides (molecular weight ranging from 1 kD to 5 kD). The cytotoxicity of the extract was examined in HaCaT and NIH3T3. After this, the effects of enzyme digested peptide extracts of sea bass on wound healing in mice were investigated. The peptide extracts (660 and 1320 mg/kg/day) and control protein (1320 mg/kg/day) was orally given to the wounded mice, respectively, for 12 days. The surgical method was improved by implanting a silicone ring at the wound site. The ring avoided the contracting effect in murine wounds, making it more closely related to a clinical condition. The results showed promising improvement at the wound site in mice. Sea bass peptide extracts accelerated the wound healing process and enhanced the microvessel formation at the wound site. The remarkable effects of this novel sea bass peptide extract in healing traumatic injuries revealed a new option for developing wound management.

Fault prediction is a challenging problem of complex system. Furthermore, fault prediction plays a critical role in aircraft engines and the performance of their control systems. Using the robustness analysis of parametric uncertain systems, an improved algorithm is proposed for massive data. The algorithm takes the parametric uncertainties into consideration which can distinguish an actual fault from the model uncertainties. Application to an aircraft engine clearly illustrates the improved performance of the proposed method, the results show that the proposed method helps the system accommodate parametric uncertainties in the model and reduce false alarms and missed detection.

Cr(VI) is a ubiquitous pollutant that poses a serious threat to human health. Recently, the use of microorganisms to adsorb heavy metals has attracted research attention. However, there are few studies on the biosorption of Cr(VI) by Shewanella putrefaciens, which is a metal-reducing bacterium. In this paper, single-factor experiments were designed to investigate the effect of hexavalent chromium by Shewanella putrefaciens, and response surface methodology (RSM) based on the Box-Behnken design (BBD) was performed to study the Cr(VI) biosorption behavior of Shewanella putrefaciens. The coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.811 for Cr(VI)) and probability value (P

The effect of a horizontal magnetic field on the oscillatory instability of convection rolls in a finite liquid-metal layer is investigated. The flow measurements reveal that the first developing oscillations are of a two-dimensional nature. In particular, a mutual increase and decrease in the size of adjacent convection rolls is observed where the periodicity of the ``breathing'' convection rolls can be related to standing inertial waves. With gradual reduction of the magnetic-field strength, the oscillating convection rolls are increasingly affected by three-dimensional disturbances.

High-throughput screening facilitates the rapid identification of novel hit compounds; however, it remains challenging to design effective high-throughput assays, partially due to the difficulty of achieving sensitivity in the assay techniques. Among the various analytical methods that are used, fluorescence-based assays dominate due to their high sensitivity and ease of operation. Recent advances in activity-based sensing/imaging have further expanded the availability of fluorescent probes as monitors for high-throughput screening of result outputs. In this study, we have reviewed various activity-based fluorescent probes used in high-throughput screening assays, with an emphasis on their structure-related working mechanisms. Moreover, we have explored the possibility of developing additional and better probes to boost hit identification and drug development against various targets.

Multicellular organisms undergo several developmental transitions during their life cycles. In contrast to animals, the plant germline and zygote are derived from adult somatic cells. As such, the juvenility of a plant must be reset in each generation. Previous studies have demonstrated that the decline in the levels of miR156/7 with age drives plant maturation. Here, we show that the transgenerational reset of plant juvenility is mediated by de novo activation of MIR156/7 in Arabidopsis. Blocking this process leads to a shortened juvenile phase and premature flowering in the offspring. Mechanistically, we find that different MIR156/7 genes are reset at different developmental stages through distinct reprogramming routes. Among them, MIR156A and MIR156C, two major genes in the miR156 family, are re-activated by the B3 transcription factor LEC2 during the early embryonic stage. Our results delineate a robust transgenerational reset mechanism that ensures accurate restoration of the juvenile phase in each plant generation.

What determines the rate at which a multicellular organism matures is a fundamental question in biology. In plants, the decline of miR156 with age serves as an intrinsic, evolutionarily conserved timer for the juvenile-to-adult phase transition. However, the way in which age regulates miR156 abundance is poorly understood. Here, we show that the rate of decline in miR156 is correlated with developmental age rather than chronological age. Mechanistically, we found that cell division in the apical meristem is a trigger for miR156 decline. The transcriptional activity of MIR156 genes is gradually attenuated by the deposition of the repressive histone mark H3K27me3 along with cell division. In perennial plants, the quiescent axillary shoot meristematic cells preserve their original epigenetic status at the MIR156 gene loci, thereby contributing to the formation of juvenile zones at the root crown. Our findings thus provide a plausible explanation of why the maturation program of a multicellular organism is unidirectional and irreversible, and uncover a molecular mechanism underlying the unique life-cycle strategy of long-lived perennial plants.

The ventrolateral preoptic nucleus (VLPO) in the anterior hypothalamus and the tuberomammillary nucleus (TMN) in the posterior hypothalamus are critical regions which involve the regulation of sleep-wakefulness flip-flop in the central nervous system. Most of the VLPO neurons are sleep-promoting neurons, which co-express γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and galanin, while TMN neurons express histamine (HA), a key wake-promoting neurotransmitter. Previous studies have shown that the two regions are innervated between each other, but how to regulate the sleep-wake cycle are not yet clear. Here, bicuculline (Bic), a GABAA-receptor antagonist, L-glutamate (L-Glu), an excitatory neurotransmitter, and triprolidine (Trip), a HA1 receptor (HRH1) inhibitor, were bilaterally microinjected into TMN or VLPO after surgically implanting the electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) electrode recording system. Microinjecting L-Glu into VLPO during the night significantly increased the NREM sleep time, and this phenomenon was weakened after selectively blocking GABAA receptors with Bic microinjected into TMN. Those results reveal that VLPO neurons activated, which may inhibit TMN neurons inducing sleep via GABAA receptors. On the contrary, exciting TMN neurons by L-Glu during the day, the wakefulness time was significantly increased. These phenomena were reversed by blocking HRH1 with Trip microinjected into VLPO. Those results reveal that TMN neuron activating may manipulate VLPO neurons via HRH1, and induce wakefulness. In conclusion, VLPO GABAergic neurons and TMN histaminergic neurons may interact with each other in regulating the sleep-wake cycle.

AML is the most common blood cancer in adults with a high relapse and an overall poor survival rate. NK cells have been demonstrated to have the capacity to eradicate AML blast, and an impaired NK cell function is involved in AML development and progression. Immune checkpoints are involved in immune escape in various cancers. Immune checkpoints blockade therapy mainly aimed to unleash CD8+T cells function, but NK cells have emerged as new target. However, immune checkpoints profile on NK cells has not been observed in AML patients. Here, we studied the immune checkpoints expression of NK cells from AML patients at initial diagnosis and found increased PD-1, TIGIT and TIM-3 expression compared to NK cells from healthy donors. Further analysis showed that TIGIT expressing NK cells from AML patients had a dysfunctional phenotype, as TIGIT+NK cells exhibit lower antileukemia effect, cytokine production and degranulation compared to TIGIT-NK cells. TIGIT blockade could significantly enhance the function of NK cells. Moreover, AML patients with high frequency of TIGIT+NK cells had higher frequency of poor prognosis risk. Further analysis found that IL-10 upregulated TIGIT expression on NK cells. Thus, TIGIT blockade alone or in combination with other therapy might be potential strategy to treat AML.

Background Hematological comparison of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and other viral pneumonias can provide insights into COVID-19 treatment. Methods In this retrospective case–control single-center study, we compared the data of 126 patients with viral pneumonia during different outbreaks [severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, influenza A (H1N1) in 2009, human adenovirus type 7 in 2018, and COVID-19 in 2020]. Results One of the COVID-19 characteristics was a continuous decline in the hemoglobin level. The neutrophil count was related to the aggravation of COVID-19 and SARS. Thrombocytopenia occurred in patients with SARS and severe COVID-19 even at the recovery stage. Lymphocytes were related to the entire course of adenovirus infection, recovery of COVID-19, and disease development of SARS. Conclusions Dynamic changes in hematological counts could provide a reference for the pathogenesis and prognosis of pneumonia caused by respiratory viruses in clinics.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are non-coding small RNAs that target specific messenger RNAs to inhibit protein translation. miR-200a and miR-141 function as tumor suppressors by targeting STAT4. These two miRNAs belong to the same family, and their expression is often decreased in various cancer types, but are located on different chromosomes of the human genome. The present study showed that the expression levels of miR-141 and miR-200a in serum and cells of liver cancer are significantly downregulated. The expression levels of miR-141 and miR-200a are closely associated with clinicopathological features of liver cancer, especially metastasis and invasion. It is first reported that STAT4 is the new common target gene of miR-141 and miR-200a. In the present study, miR-141 and miR-200a were confirmed to inhibit the expression of E-cadherin and vimentin synergistically during epithelial-mesenchymal transition to regulate the proliferation, migration and invasion of liver cancer cells by targeting STAT4. Simultaneous overexpression of miR-200a and miR-141 resulted in stronger effects compared with each miRNA alone. In addition, overexpression of STAT4 significantly reversed the tumor suppressive roles of miR-200a and miR-141 in liver cancer cells. These findings enrich the tumor suppressor mechanisms of the miR-200 family, and may also provide new experimental and theoretical basis for the use of miRNAs for early diagnosis, prognosis and thorough treatment of liver cancer.

Traditional target detection methods have poor tracking effect for targets with excessive displacement or occlusion between adjacent frames, and it is difficult to deal with high-speed moving targets. In view of the low detection rate of the current system in detecting long-distance weak and small targets, false targets and occlusion in the air, the working mode of convolutional neural network (CNN) and its advantages in target detection are analyzed, and a target detection method based on CNN is proposed, which can ensure the target detection accuracy and meet the real-time requirements of combat scenes, Finally, compared with other algorithms, the proposed method achieves the best results on four types of data. While the center error is low, it has high tracking success rate and low time complexity, which meets the requirements of high precision and real-time of the system.

Experimental and numerical investigations are conducted in order to understand the flow around identical tandem circular cylinders confined in a duct (blockage ratio b = 0.1 and aspect ratio a = 5). In this work, the Reynolds number Re ranges from 40 to 200 and the spacing ratio (distance between two centers of tandem circular cylinders to diameter, L/ d) from 0 to 8. When fluid flows around a single cylinder placed symmetrically in the duct ([Formula: see text]), it is found that the Strouhal numbers St and mean drag coefficients [Formula: see text] increase with the increase in Re, although the separation angle θs decreases. For the flows around two tandem circular cylinders, the research is focused on examining the coupling effect of Re and L/ d on St, flow structures, θs, [Formula: see text] and reverse region length Lr. Based on numerical results, the mathematical descriptions are established, [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text]. The dependence of flow structures, drag forces, θs and Lr, on L/ d is described in detail with the help of approaching velocity profiles, pressure coefficient Cp, and vorticity [Formula: see text] distribution on a cylinder's surface. Through numerical simulations, the detailed mechanisms about influences of these factors on the flow properties are revealed. The experimental results evidence the occurrence of three flow modes, i.e., no vortex shedding mode, single body mode, and reattachment mode, which are determined practically by the Reynolds number and space ratio. Both the measured St based on the dominate frequencies of vortex shedding and the visual flow field match well with numerical simulations.

We aimed to describe liver injury and identify the risk factors of liver injury in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients without chronic liver diseases (CLD). The clinical data of 228 confirmed COVID-19 patients without CLD were retrospectively collected from ten hospitals in Jiangsu, China. Sixty-seven (29.4%) of 228 patients without CLD showed abnormal liver function on admission, including increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (25 [11.0%]) U/L, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) 30 [13.2%]) U/L, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) 28 [12.4%]) U/L, total bilirubin (Tbil) 16 [7.0%] µmol/L, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) 10 [4.5%]) U/L. During hospitalization, 129 (56.3%) of 228 patients showed abnormal liver function, including elevated ALT (84 [36.8%]), AST (58 [25.4%]), GGT (67 [29.5%]), and Tbil (59 [25.9%]). Age over 50 years (odds ratio [OR], 2.086; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.030-4.225; p = .041), male sex (OR, 2.737; 95% CI, 1.418-5.284; p = .003), and lopinavir-ritonavir (OR, 2.504; 95% CI, 1.187-5.283; p = .016) were associated with higher risk of liver function abnormality, while the atomized inhalation of interferon α-2b (OR, 0.256; 95% CI 0.126-0.520; p < .001) was associated with reduced risk of liver function abnormality during hospitalization. Mild to moderate liver injury was common in COVID-19 patients in Jiangsu, China. Age over 50 years, male sex, and lopinavir-ritonavir were the independent risk factors of liver impairment in COVID-19 patients during hospitalization.

The bacterial genus Providencia is Gram-negative opportunistic pathogens, which have been isolated from a variety of environments and organisms, ranging from humans to animals. Providencia alcalifaciens, Providencia rettgeri, and Providencia stuartii are the most common clinical isolates, however, these three species differ in their pathogenicity, antibiotic resistance and environmental adaptation. Genomes of 91 isolates of the genus Providencia were investigated to clarify their genetic diversity, focusing on virulence factors, antibiotic resistance genes, and environmental adaptation genes. Our study revealed an open pan-genome for the genus Providencia containing 14,720 gene families. Species of the genus Providencia exhibited different functional constraints, with the core genes, accessory genes, and unique genes. A maximum-likelihood phylogeny reconstructed with concatenated single-copy core genes classified all Providencia isolates into 11 distant groups. Comprehensive and systematic comparative genomic analyses revealed that specific distributions of virulence genes, which were highly homologous to virulence genes of the genus Proteus, contributed to diversity in pathogenicity of Providencia alcalifaciens, Providencia rettgeri, and Providencia stuartii. Furthermore, multidrug resistance (MDR) phenotypes of isolates of Providencia rettgeri and Providencia stuartii were predominantly due to resistance genes from class 1 and 2 integrons. In addition, Providencia rettgeri and Providencia stuartii harbored more genes related to material transport and energy metabolism, which conferred a stronger ability to adapt to diverse environments. Overall, our study provided valuable insights into the genetic diversity and functional features of the genus Providencia, and revealed genetic mechanisms underlying diversity in pathogenicity, antibiotic resistance and environmental adaptation of members of this genus.

BackgroundTuberculosis (Tb) is the most frequent opportunistic infection among people living with HIV infection. The impact of Tb co-infection in the establishment and maintenance of the HIV reservoir is unclear.MethodWe enrolled 13 HIV-infected patients with microbiologically confirmed Tb and 10 matched mono-HIV infected controls. Total HIV DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), plasma interleukin-7 (IL-7) concentrations and the activities of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) were measured for all the participants prior to therapy and after antiretroviral therapy (ART).ResultsAfter a duration of 16 (12, 22) months’ ART, patients co-infected with Tb who were cured of Tb maintained higher levels of HIV DNA compared with mono-HIV infected patients [2.89 (2.65- 3.05) log10copies/106cells vs. 2.30 (2.11–2.84) log10copies/106cells,P = 0.008]. The levels of on-ART HIV DNA were positively correlated with the baseline viral load (r = 0.64,P = 0.02) in Tb co-infected group. However, neither plasma IL-7 concentration nor plasma IDO activity was correlated with the level of on-ART HIV DNA.ConclusionsTb co-infection was associated with the increased surrogate marker of the HIV reservoir, while its mechanism warrants further examination.

Introduction: Nutritional status has been defined as an individual's health condition. The relationship between the progression of COVID-19 and Nutritional status is still unclear. We analyzed the clinical characteristics of 342 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, and analyzed the relationship between the progression of COVID-19 and Nutritional status. Methodology: 342 COVID-19 were enrolled from ten different hospitals in China. The clinical characteristics were collected and analyzed. Results: The body mass index (BMI) of the mild patients (Group A) was higher than those in severe patients (Group B) and critical patients (Group C); The lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level of Group A was lower than those of the other two groups; Sex, age, and BMI, was strongly correlated with Clinical classification (CT); Among the laboratory test results, Neutrophil (NEU%), Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), LDH, and blood glucose (BG) were positively correlated with CT; Lymphocyte ( LYM%), Platelet (PLT), Albumin (ALB), and Creatinine (Cr) were negatively correlated with CT. BMI, NEU%, LYM%, ALB, Cr, and PLT are all protective factors that affect CT. Conclusion: People with poor nutritional status (lower BMI and ALB) have a higher risk of developing severe disease after infection with SARS-CoV-2. In the clinical treatment of COVID-19, individualized nutritional support is very important for the rehabilitation of patients.

It has been known for many years that the peroxidase activity of cyclooxygenase 1 and 2 (COX-1 and COX-2) can be reactivated in vitro by the presence of phenol, which serves as a reducing compound, but the underlying mechanism is still poorly understood. In the present study, we use phenol as a model compound to investigate the mechanism by which the peroxidase activity of human COXs is reactivated after each catalytic cycle. Molecular docking and quantum mechanics calculations are carried out to probe the interaction of phenol with the peroxidase site of COXs and the reactivation mechanism. It is found that the oxygen atom associated with the Fe ion in the heme group (i.e., the complex of Fe ion and porphyrin) of COXs can be removed by addition of two protons. Following its removal, phenol can readily bind inside the peroxidase active sites of the COX enzymes, and directly interact with Fe in heme to facilitate electron transfer from phenol to heme. This investigation provides theoretical evidence for several intermediates formed in the COX peroxidase reactivation cycle, thereby unveiling mechanistic details that would aid in future rational design of drugs that target the peroxidase site.

Background: To characterize the environment of deep underground laboratory (DUGL) with a rock cover of 1470m and observe the effect of the DUGL environment on the growth and metabolism of Chinese hamster V79 cells. Results: Six environmental parameters in the DUGL and an above ground laboratory (AGL; control) were monitored. Compared to the AGL, O2 concentration was not significantly different, total γ ray dose rate was significantly lower (p=0.005), and relative humidity (p

Background and Aims: Previous studies reported that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was likely to result in liver injury. However, few studies investigated liver injury in COVID-19 patients with chronic liver diseases. We described the clinical features in COVID-19 patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods: Confirmed COVID-19 patients from hospitals in 10 cities of Jiangsu province, China were retrospectively included between January 18, 2020, and February 26, 2020. Hepatic Steatosis Index (HSI) was used to defined NAFLD. Results: A total of 280 COVID-19 patients were enrolled. Eighty-six (30.7%) of 280 COVID-19 patients were diagnosed as NAFLD by HSI. 100 (35.7%) patients presented abnormal liver function on admission. The median ALT levels (34.5 U/L vs. 23.0 U/L, P 40 U/L) (40.7% vs. 10.8%, P