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Soo Han Kim,1,* Hee-Sung Ahn,2,* Jin-Soo Park,2 Jeonghun Yeom,3 Jiyoung Yu,2 Kyunggon Kim,2– 6 Yeon-Mok Oh7 1Department of Internal Medicine, Biomedical Research Institute, Pusan National University Hospital, Busan, 49241, Korea; 2Asan Institute for Life Science, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea; 3Convergence Medicine Research Center, Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea; 4Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; 5Clinical Proteomics Core Laboratory, Convergence Medicine Research Center, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea; 6Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea; 7Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Kyunggon KimDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88 Olympic-ro 43-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 05505, Republic of KoreaTel +82-2-3010-4633Email kkkon1@amc.seoul.krYeon-Mok OhDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, 88 Olympic-ro 43-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 05505, Republic of KoreaTel +82-2-3010-3136Email ymoh55@amc.seoul.krPurpose: The identification of blood biomarkers to diagnose acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) will have clinical utility. Here, we used a proteomics-based approach to identify biomarkers capable of identifying AECOPD.Patients and Methods: This prospective, single-center pilot study enrolled 12 patients who came to Asan Medical Center (South Korea) via the outpatient clinic or emergency department with symptoms of AECOPD and were follow-up in the outpatient clinic during convalescence between 2015 and 2017. Paired blood samples collected from each patient during the treatment naïve AECOPD and convalescence stages were analyzed. A sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragmentation spectra-mass spectrometry (SWATH-MS)-based proteome analysis was performed and a subset of the data were verified by ELISA.Results: The SWATH-MS analysis identified 226 plasma proteins across all samples examined. The median coefficient of variation for triplicate technical replicates of each sample was 1.13 ±  1.38%, indicating high precision of the technique. Fold-change and paired t-test analyses revealed that 14 proteins were present at higher levels in the AECOPD samples than in the convalescence samples. A gene ontology analysis revealed that these proteins are involved in the acute-phase response. A total of 15 proteins were present at higher levels during the recovery (convalescence) stage than during the acute exacerbation phase, and gene ontology analysis revealed that these proteins are related to lipid metabolism and transport. Verification of the SWATH-MS data was performed using ELISAs for three proteins that were up-regulated in AECOPD, namely, LBP, ORM2, and SERPINA3. Among them, SERPINA3 (p = 0.005) was up-regulated significantly in AECOPD compared with the convalescence state.Conclusion: Potential plasma biomarkers of AECOPD were discovered using the SWATH-MS proteomics method, and functional molecular associations were investigated. SERPINA3 could be a promising diagnostic biomarker for the early identification and tracking of AECOPD.Keywords: COPD, plasma, biomarker, ELISA, SWATH, mass spectrometry

BackgroundIdentifying the extent of environmental contamination of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is essential for infection control and prevention. The extent of environmental contamination has not been fully investigated in the context of severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients.AimTo investigate environmental SARS-CoV-2 contamination in the isolation rooms of severe COVID-19 patients requiring mechanical ventilation or high-flow oxygen therapy.MethodsEnvironmental swab samples and air samples were collected from the isolation rooms of three COVID-19 patients with severe pneumonia. Patients 1 and 2 received mechanical ventilation with a closed suction system, while patient 3 received high-flow oxygen therapy and non-invasive ventilation. Real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) was used to detect SARS-CoV-2; viral cultures were performed for samples not negative on rRT-PCR.FindingsOf the 48 swab samples collected in the rooms of patients 1 and 2, only samples from the outside surfaces of the endotracheal tubes tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by rRT-PCR. However, in patient 3's room, 13 of the 28 environmental samples (fomites, fixed structures, and ventilation exit on the ceiling) showed positive results. Air samples were negative for SARS-CoV-2. Viable viruses were identified on the surface of the endotracheal tube of patient 1 and seven sites in patient 3's room.ConclusionEnvironmental contamination of SARS-CoV-2 may be a route of viral transmission. However, it might be minimized when patients receive mechanical ventilation with a closed suction system. These findings can provide evidence for guidelines for the safe use of personal protective equipment.

We present a simple and highly versatile protocol for polymer ablation: hard x-ray irradiation makes it possible to rapidly depolymerize hyaluronan hydrogels and fabricate three-dimensional network of microchannels. Photodynamic and photochemical analyses show that x-ray irradiation directly cleaves the polymer backbone and the total dose controls the degradation kinetics. This nonthermal ablation protocol may offer opportunities for processing organic polymers and biological materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the robustness of MR transverse relaxation times of trabecular bone from spin‐echo and gradient‐echo acquisitions at multiple spatial resolutions of 7 T. Methods: The effects of MRI resolutions to T2 and T 2 * of trabecular bone were numerically evaluated by Monte Carlo simulations. T2, T 2 *, and trabecular structural indices from multislice multi‐echo and UTE acquisitions were measured in defatted human distal femoral condyles on a 7 T scanner. Reference structural indices were extracted from high‐resolution microcomputed tomography images. For bovine knee trabecular samples with intact bone marrow, T2 and T 2 * were measured by degrading spatial resolutions on a 7 T system. Results: In the defatted trabecular experiment, both T2 and T 2 * values showed strong ( | r | > 0.80) correlations with trabecular spacing and number, at a high spatial resolution of 125 µm3. The correlations for MR image‐segmentation‐derived structural indices were significantly degraded ( | r | < 0.50) at spatial resolutions of 250 and 500 µm3. The correlations for T 2 * rapidly dropped ( | r | < 0.50) at a spatial resolution of 500 µm3, whereas those for T2 remained consistently high ( | r | > 0.85). In the bovine trabecular experiments with intact marrow, low‐resolution (approximately 1 mm3, 2 minutes) T2 values did not shorten ( | r | > 0.95 with respect to approximately 0.4 mm3, 11 minutes) and maintained consistent correlations ( | r | > 0.70) with respect to trabecular spacing (turbo spin echo, 22.5 minutes). Conclusion: T2 measurements of trabeculae at 7 T are robust with degrading spatial resolution and may be preferable in assessing trabecular spacing index with reduced scan time, when high‐resolution 3D micro‐MRI is difficult to obtain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]