Search

Pressure ulcers (PUs) are common skin injuries known for their high morbidity, rapid onset, susceptibility to infection, and challenging healing process. One potential therapy for PUs is cell-based therapy using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). However, poor survival and low cell retention of MSCs on skin lesions limit their therapeutic effects and applications. In this study, we prepared an extracellular matrix (dECM) hydrogel decellularized from the human umbilical cord (UC). A patch composed of UC-dECM and UC-MSCs was employed in the treatment of PUs in C57BL/6 mice. Our results indicate that the UC-dECM hydrogel effectively sustains cell viability, enhances the stemness-related gene expression in UC-MSCs, and promotes human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) migration and angiogenesis. Compared to the groups treated with the patch containing only UC-dECM, injection of UC-MSCs or gauze dressing, the patch combining UC-dECM hydrogel with UC-MSCs significantly accelerated PU healing. This positive outcome can be attributed to the promotion of tissue re-epithelialization, collagen deposition, angiogenesis, and inflammation inhibition. Our results suggest that the composite patch, comprised of UC-dECM hydrogel and UC-MSCs, may be a promising therapeutic approach for PU treatment.

ObjectiveThis study aims to assess the effectiveness of the National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) versus Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) in predicting hospital mortality among patients with stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI).LocationThis multicenter study was conducted at two anonymized tertiary care hospitals in distinct climatic regions of China, with a combined annual emergency admission exceeding 10,000 patients.PatientsThe study included 2,276 adult emergency admissions diagnosed with stroke (n = 1,088) or TBI (n = 1,188) from January 2021 to December 2023, excluding those with chronic pulmonary disease, severe cardiac conditions, or a history of brain surgery.Measuring and main outcomesThe receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under the curve (AUC) were utilized to analyze the predictive accuracy of NEWS2 and GCS for hospital mortality at 24, 48, and 72 h post-admission and at discharge.ResultsOut of 2,276 patients (mean age 61.4, 65.6% male), 1855 survived while 421 succumbed. NEWS2 demonstrated superior predictive accuracy (AUC = 0.962) over GCS (AUC = 0.854) for overall hospital mortality. Specifically, NEWS2 outperformed GCS in predicting mortality at 24 h (0.917 vs. 0.843), 48 h (0.893 vs. 0.803), and 72 h (0.902 vs. 0.763). Notably, despite a higher AUC for NEWS2 at predicting 24-h hospital mortality, the sensitivity and specificity of GCS were considerably lower (12 and 31%, respectively) compared to NEWS2 (sensitivity of 95% and specificity of 81%). Subgroup analysis showed NEWS2 outperforming GCS in predicting in-hospital mortality for TBI and stroke patients. For TBI patients (n = 260), NEWS2 had an AUC of 0.960 (95% CI: 0.948–0.973) vs. GCS’s AUC of 0.811 (95% CI: 0.781–0.840). For stroke patients (n = 161), NEWS2 had an AUC of 0.930 (95% CI: 0.908–0.952) vs. GCS’s AUC of 0.858 (95% CI, 0.823–0.892). NEWS2 showed greater sensitivity in both groups, highlighting its effectiveness in identifying high-risk neurological patients.ConclusionNEWS2 scores are more precise and effective in predicting hospital mortality in stroke and TBI patients compared to GCS scores, although slightly less so within the first 24 h. Combining NEWS2 with GCS and clinical findings within the initial 24 h is recommended for a comprehensive prognosis evaluation.

Plant annexins constitute a conserved protein family that plays crucial roles in regulating plant growth and development, as well as in responses to both biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, a total of 144 annexin genes were identified in the barley pan-genome, comprising 12 reference genomes, including cultivated barley, landraces, and wild barley. Their chromosomal locations, physical–chemical characteristics, gene structures, conserved domains, and subcellular localizations were systematically analyzed to reveal the certain differences between wild and cultivated populations. Through a cis-acting element analysis, co-expression network, and large-scale transcriptome analysis, their involvement in growth, development, and responses to various stressors was highlighted. It is worth noting that HvMOREXann5 is only expressed in pistils and anthers, indicating its crucial role in reproductive development. Based on the resequencing data from 282 barley accessions worldwide, genetic variations in thefamily were investigated, and the results showed that 5 out of the 12 identified HvMOREXanns were affected by selection pressure. Genetic diversity and haplotype frequency showed notable reductions between wild and domesticated barley, suggesting that a genetic bottleneck occurred on the annexin family during the barley domestication process. Finally, qRT-PCR analysis confirmed the up-regulation of HvMOREXann7 under drought stress, along with significant differences between wild accessions and varieties. This study provides some insights into the genome organization and genetic characteristics of the annexin gene family in barley at the pan-genome level, which will contribute to better understanding its evolution and function in barley and other crops.

Acute liver failure (ALF) is characterized by rapid liver cell destruction. It is a multi-etiological and fulminant complication with a clinical mortality of over 80%. Therapy using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) or MSCs-derived exosomes can alleviate acute liver injury, which has been demonstrated in animal experiments and clinical application. However, similar to other stem cells, different cell sources, poor stability, cell senescence and other factors limit the clinical application of MSCs. To achieve mass production and quality control on stem cells and their exosomes, transfecting umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (UCMSC) with lentivirus overexpressing human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene, the hTERT-UCMSC was constructed as an immortalized MSC cell line. Compared with the primary UCMSC (P3) and immortalized cell line hTERT-UCMSC at early passage (P10), the hTERT-UCMSC retained the key morphological and physiological characteristics of UCMSC at the 35th passage (P35), and showed no signs of carcinogenicity and toxic effect in mice. There was no difference in either exosome production or characteristics of exosomes among cultures from P3 primary cells, P10 and P35 immortalized hTERT-UCMSCs. Inoculation of either hTERT-UCMSC (P35) or its exosomes improved the survival rate and liver function of ALF mice induced by thioacetamide (TAA). Our findings suggest that this immortalized cell line can maintain its characteristics in long-term culture. Inoculation of hTERT-UCMSC and its exosomes could potentially be used in clinics for the treatment of liver failure in the future.

Immune cell changes are associated with Kawasaki disease (KD) pathogenesis. Here, using single cell RNA sequencing of PBMC, the authors show monocyte inflammatory genes are over-expressed in KD and TCR and BCR clonotype sequences show oligoclonal expansions after intravenous immunoglobulin therapy.

With the acceleration of industrialization, the removal of refractory organic dyes from water and how to promote its practical application remains a challenge. Herein, we synthesized an FeCo-LDH/LI-NDG composite electrode material by a simple laser-induced technique on polyimide films, which could electrocatalytically activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to completely degrade MB in about 6 min. The reaction rate constant (kobs) was 0.461 min−1. It was faster than most of the currently reported electrocatalysts. The reaction system demonstrated good interference resistance and catalytic effectiveness in the pH range of 3 to 9. According to the chemical quenching and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) experiments, the non-radical pathway of 1O2 and the radical pathways of SO4·−, ·OH and O2·− were involved in the reaction synergistically, with 1O2 playing the dominant role. 1O2 was produced through the dual pathway of PMS electron loss at the anode and O2·− intermediate transformation at the cathode. The two activation methods of electro-activation and catalytic activation of PMS had synergistic effects to achieve high efficiency in the whole process of production, reaction and recovery, providing new ideas to advance practical applications.

Short tandem repeat (STR) profiling is one of the mostly used systems for forensic applications. In certain circumstances, STR profiling is time-consuming and costly, which potentially leads to delays in criminal investigations. LGC (Laboratory of the Government Chemist, UK) Forensics has developed a robust STR profiling platform called the ParaDNA® Intelligence Test System which can provide early tactical intelligence and aid investigators in making informed decisions on sample prioritization for detection. Here, we validated the ParaDNA intelligence test for its application in forensic cases using a range of mock evidence items following guidelines set by the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM). Specifically, we tested the sensitivity and accuracy of the ParaDNA intelligence test, as well as the success rates for detecting mock samples and for use in case scenarios. Our findings demonstrate that the ParaDNA intelligence test generates useful DNA profiles, especially for samples such as blood, saliva, and semen that contain ample DNA, indicating the benefits of including ParaDNA as a prior step in forensic STR profiling pipelines.

Objectives: Staphylococcus epidermidis is a major nosocomial pathogen predominantly associated with indwelling medical device infections. Studies reporting on S. epidermidis recovered from hospital personnel in China are scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate the carriage and antibiotic resistance of S. epidermidis among the hospital personnel in Tianjin, China and provide insights into their genetic diversity. Methods: One hundred and seven S. epidermidis isolates were recovered from 68 hospital personnel in two public hospitals in Tianjin between March 2018 and May 2018. Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) types were determined by the combination of mec and ccr complexes. Multi-locus sequence typing was used to determine the sequence types (ST) of S. epidermidis isolates. Results: Sixty-two (76.5%) isolates were determined to be methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis (MRSE). Thirty-five (51%) of 68 hospital personnel carried S. epidermidis, of which 32 (91%) were carriers of MRSE. All 62 MRSE isolates had high levels of resistance to penicillin (90%) and cefoxitin (100%). Thirty-seven (60%) isolates carried SCCmec type IV, followed by 15 (24%) carrying SCCmec V, and 4 (6%) SCCmec II. Novel STs were assigned to four S. epidermidis isolates (ST832, ST833, ST834 and ST835). Conclusions: In this study, the majority of MRSE belonged to cluster II domain of CC2. The ST59-IV was a dominant clone among isolates recovered from hospital personnel. Determination of new MLST types confirmed the genetic diversity of these isolates. These observations highlight the need to review the infection control strategies to reduce the carriage of MRSE among hospital personnel.

In forensic practice, it is difficult to determine whether a dead body in the water resulted from drowning or from disposal after death. Diatom testing is currently an important supporting technique for the determination of death by drowning and of drowning sites, even though it is a time-consuming and laborious task. This article reviews the development of diatom testing over the decades and discusses a new method for the potential application of deep learning in diatom testing.

Staphylococci are major hospital-associated pathogens, and the dissemination of methicillin-resistant staphylococci in hospitals poses a great challenge for managing hospital-acquired infections. Little is known about the dissemination of staphylococci recovered from the hospital environment and personnel in China. In this study, antimicrobial susceptibility tests, mecA gene detection, SCCmec typing, and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) were performed to clarify the molecular epidemiology of staphylococci in a large hospital in Tianjin, China. One hundred and ninety-five staphylococci were recovered, and 94% of isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic. Eighty-five staphylococci were mecA gene-positive, and 40% of them harbored SCCmec IV and V. The genotype of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) was ST25, and the dominant genotype of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE) was ST59. Three new sequence types were assigned as ST840, ST841, and ST842. One (2%) frequently touched surface was contaminated by S. aureus, which suggested that environmental contamination occurred in the hospital in China. Nineteen (39%) frequently touched surfaces were contaminated by methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (MRCoNS), and 46% of HP carried MRCoNS. Varied staphylococcal species and antimicrobial-resistance rates were observed between staphylococci that were recovered from hospital personnel and frequently touched surfaces. The transmission of MRSE and S. aureus between hospital personnel and frequently touched surfaces was detected. Hospital items and personnel may act as reservoirs of antimicrobial-resistant staphylococci, and cleaning strategies should be carried out to decrease the dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant staphylococci in hospitals in China.

Background: Risk management strategies play a significant role in genetic counseling, which involves lifestyle modification with respect to nutrition and unhealthy living habits, enhanced screening imaging, endocrine therapy, and following the physician’s advice etc. This study aimed to describe the health-promoting lifestyle of breast cancer patients and their family members in a Chinese genetic counseling clinic, and to explore its various levels encompassing different socio-economic variables. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. The participants in this study originated from a genetic counseling clinic of a cancer center in Shanghai, China. Two hundred and fifty nine patients conforming to the inclusion and exclusion criteria were screened from November 2019 to March 2022. Participants agreeing to participate were sent a questionnaire web-link with an invitation to finish this survey. Two questionnaires were included in the link, one referring to socio-economic information and the other referring to the health-promoting lifestyle. Chinese Health-promoting lifestyle profile-Ⅱ (HPLP-Ⅱ) was used to evaluate the health-promoting lifestyle. Results: One hundred and forty participants were finally included in this study. The mean scores for health-promoting lifestyle was 141.22 ± 19.77, and multiple liner regression revealed monthly family income to be a statistically significant predictor of health-promoting lifestyle (p < 0.05). In the six subscales, health responsibility got the highest score (26.43 ± 4.40), and nutrition received the lowest score (17.81 ± 4.73). Self-actualization was 25.84 ± 4.19, physical activity 24.02 ± 4.97, interpersonal relationship 22.21 ± 4.42, and stress management 24.91 ± 4.39. Conclusions: A representative level of health-promoting lifestyle of breast cancer patients and family members in a Chinese genetic counseling clinic were acquired. More education and intervention should be tailored to enhance and encourage health-promoting lifestyle behaviors in participants with low monthly family income. Additionally, developing nutritional curriculum and strengthening the publicity of nutritional popular science are priorities for future improvement measures.

This paper investigates the stability issues associated with neutral-type delay systems. Firstly, the delay-partitioning method is employed to construct a brand-new LK-functional candidate. The discrete delay and a neutral delay are divided into several piecewise points through a relaxable sequence of constant numbers, are increasing at a steady rate and are not larger than 1. Secondly, to fully use the interconnection information among the delayed state vectors, a new LK-functional is constructed. Thirdly, the recently published single/multiple integral inequalities are employed to bound the derivative of the newly developed LK function. Finally, a novel stability criterion for neutral systems is developed based on the above treatment. Furthermore, a new corollary is also proposed for the condition of τ=h. The benefits and productivities of our method are demonstrated by numerical examples.

Bisphenols (BPs) are a class of endocrine disruptors widely existing in the environment. They have a great impact on human health owing to their environmental endocrine disrupting effects, chronic toxicity, neurotoxicity, cytotoxicity and genetic toxicity. In this paper, an on-line packed fiber solid phase extraction (PFSPE) coupling with column-switching HPLC-FLD determination method was developed for the determination of eight BPs in drinking water. The poly (dibenzo-18-crown-6-ether)/polystyrene composite nanofibers (PDB18C6/PS) were prepared by electrospinning and used as an adsorbent for the on-line PFSPE column. The on-line PFSPE-HPLC equipment contained a dual ternary pump and a switching valve to enable enrichment, purification, and analysis directly in the system. The results showed that the proposed on-line PFSPE-HPLC-FLD method realized the simultaneous separation and detection of eight BPs: BPF, BPE, BPA, BPB, BPAF, BPAP, BPC and BPZ. The curves of the target analytes were prepared with good correlation coefficient values (r2 > 0.998) in the range of 50–1000 pg/mL. The limit of detection (S/N = 3) was 20 pg/mL, the limit of quantitation (S/N = 10) is 50 pg/mL. The recoveries of eight BPs were 94.8–127.3%, and the intra-day precisions (RSD) were less than 10%. The PFSPE column made of the PDB18C6/PS composite nanofibers has stable properties and can be reused at least 200 times. In the detection of drinking water samples, BPZ was detected in nearly 80% of drinking water samples, and BPA, BPAP, BPF and BPAF were also detected in some water samples. This high level of integration and automation was achieved in pretreatment of eight BPs from water samples. The proposed simple, rapid, and practical method has been successfully applied to the detection of eight BPs in drinking water, which can provide powerful technical support for drinking water quality and safety monitoring.

Two different pretreatment approaches have been used for the enrichment and separation of biogenic monoamines and metabolites in plasma for high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) determination. The first approach, based on on-line packed-fiber solid-phase extraction (PFSPE) coupled with HPLC, allows for the simultaneous detection of epinephrine (E), norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA), 3-methoxyl epinephrine (MN), norepinephrine (NMN), 3-methoxytyramine (3-MT), and 5-hydroxytryptamin (5-HT). Using this developed on-line PFSPE–HPLC method, the limit of detections (LODs) of the seven analytes ranged from 1 ng/mL (NMN and MN) to 2 ng/mL (NE, E, DA, 3-MT and 5-HT). The reportable ranges were 5–300 ng/mL for NE and DA, 5–100 ng/mL for E, and 5–200 ng/mL for NMN, MN, 3-MT and 5-HT. The off-line PFSPE–HPLC was employed in the second approach and could provide simultaneous detection of NE, E, DA, NMN, and MN. The linearity was verified in the range of 0.5–20 ng/mL (NE, E, and DA) and 20–250 ng/mL (NMN and MN). The LODs of the five analytes ranged from 0.2 ng/mL (NE, E, and DA) to 5 ng/mL (NMN and MN). This study verified the possibility of using nanofibers as an adsorbent in an on-line PFSPE–HPLC system for the determination of biogenic monoamines and their metabolites in human plasma. Compared with the off-line PFSPE approach, the on-line PFSPE method deserves attention mainly due to its greener character, derived from the automation of the process and high-throughput with less operators’ handling.

Background: Kawasaki disease (KD) is the most common cause of acquired heart disease. A proportion of patients were resistant to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), the primary treatment of KD, and the mechanism of IVIG resistance remains unclear. The accuracy of current models predictive of IVIG resistance is insufficient and doesn't meet the clinical expectations.Objectives: To develop a scoring model predicting IVIG resistance of patients with KD.Methods: We recruited 330 KD patients (50 IVIG non-responders, 280 IVIG responders) and 105 healthy children to explore the susceptibility loci of IVIG resistance in Kawasaki disease. A next generation sequencing technology that focused on 4 immune-related pathways and 472 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was performed. An R package SNPassoc was used to identify the risk loci, and student's t-test was used to identify risk factors associated with IVIG resistance. A random forest-based scoring model of IVIG resistance was built based on the identified specific SNP loci with the laboratory data.Results: A total of 544 significant risk loci were found associated with IVIG resistance, including 27 previous published SNPs. Laboratory test variables, including erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), platelet (PLT), and C reactive protein, were found significantly different between IVIG responders and non-responders. A scoring model was built using the top 9 SNPs and clinical features achieving an area under the ROC curve of 0.974.Conclusions: It is the first study that focused on immune system in KD using high-throughput sequencing technology. Our findings provided a prediction of the IVIG resistance by integrating the genotype and clinical variables. It also suggested a new perspective on the pathogenesis of IVIG resistance.

A forensic validation study of the Early Access Huaxia™ Platinum Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) kit was completed to document the performance capabilities and limitations. The genotyping of DNA samples was consistent across a large range of template DNA concentrations, with complete profiles obtained at 0.125 ng; however, no more than 2 mm × 1.2 mm punches of samples would be recommended for direct amplification. The size precision and accuracy test revealed the genotyping ability; while consistent results were obtained when comparing the kit with other commercially available systems. In addition, the whole PCR amplification can finish within approximately 45 min, making the system suitable for fast-detection. However, only partial profiles may be obtained with challenging samples, including DNA stored on Foam-Tipped Applicators (FTA) cards or some case samples. For the forensic application in ethnic groups, a total of 282 and 229 alleles were obtained in Han and Mongolia, respectively. Since the 23 short tandem repeats were independent from each other, the cumulative power of exclusion in duos was 0.999 999 157 188 and the cumulative power of exclusion in trios was 0.999 999 999 859 in the Han group while the cumulative power of exclusion in duos (CPEduo) was 0.999 998 848 26 and cumulative power of exclusion in trios (CPEtrio) was 0.999 999 999 79 in the Mongolia group. And good internal consistency was found between the two investigated groups and the Sichuan Han, Hui, Tibetan and Uygur according to available reference data.

Fatigue property is a key evaluation index for the service reliability of railway axle. In this work, the effect of ultrasonic surface rolling processing (USRP) on the surface characteristic and fatigue property was investigated in an EA4T axle steel used on high speed trains by several characterization techniques and the staircase method fatigue testing. The surface characteristics were initially studied in EA4T axle steel under different static loads of 1.0 kN, 1.5 kN and 2.0 kN, and served as the important USRP parameter. It was found that the larger static load greatly improved the surface microstructure, microhardness and compressive residual stress, but also increased the surface roughness. Furthermore, the rotating bending fatigue endurance limit of the USRP specimen with a static load of 1.5 kN was obviously enhanced by ~14% (from ~352 MPa to ~401 MPa) relative to the untreated specimen. The enhanced fatigue limit induced by USRP was attributed to the synergistic effect of the grain refinement, as evidenced by transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation, work-hardening, the increased compressive residual stress and the reduced surface roughness. Moreover, the fatigue limit of the USRP specimen was ~4% higher than that of the rolling specimen with turning off the ultrasonic system, ~386 MPa, which showed that the role of the ultrasonic impact could enhance the fatigue property. These findings demonstrate the validity of this technique in modifying the surface characteristics and thus improving the fatigue resistance of axle material, further ensuring its service safety and reliability.

ABSTRACTMultidrug-resistant microorganisms have become a major public health concern around the world. The gut microbiome is a gold mine for bioactive compounds that protect the human body from pathogens. We used a multi-omics approach that integrated whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of 74 commensal gut microbiome isolates with metabolome analysis to discover their metabolic interaction with Salmonella and other antibiotic-resistant pathogens. We evaluated differences in the functional potential of these selected isolates based on WGS annotation profiles. Furthermore, the top altered metabolites in co-culture supernatants of selected commensal gut microbiome isolates were identified including a series of dipeptides and examined for their ability to prevent the growth of various antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Our results provide compelling evidence that the gut microbiome produces metabolites, including the compound class of dipeptides that can potentially be applied for anti-infection medication, especially against antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Our established pipeline for the discovery and validation of bioactive metabolites from the gut microbiome as novel candidates for multidrug-resistant infections represents a new avenue for the discovery of antimicrobial lead structures.