Clinical characteristics of hospitalized patients with Nocardia genus detection by metagenomic next generation sequencing in a tertiary hospital from southern China.

Objective: As an opportunistic pathogen, Nocardia often occurring in the immunocompromised hosts. As the unspecifc clinical presentation and low identification rate of the culture dependent methods, Nocardia infection may be under-diagnosis. Recent study have reported physicians could benefit from metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in Nocardia diagnosis.

Microplastics in the Lung Tissues Associated with Blood Test Index.

Microplastics (MPs) have received a lot of attention and have been detected in multiple environmental matrices as a new environmental hazard, but studies on human internal exposure to MPs are limited. Here, we collected lung tissue samples from 12 nonsmoking patients to evaluate the characteristics of MPs in human lung tissues using an Agilent 8700 laser infrared imaging spectrometer and scanning electron microscopy. We detected 108 MPs covering 12 types in the lung tissue samples, with a median concentration of 2.

Interleukin-33 increases type 2 innate lymphoid cell count and their activation in eosinophilic asthma.

Background: Interleukin-33 (IL-33) exacerbates asthma probably through type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s). Nevertheless, the association between eosinophilic asthma (EA) and ILC2s remains obscure, and the mechanisms by which IL-33 affects ILC2s are yet to be clarified.

Methods: ILC2s were evaluated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, induced sputum, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid obtained from patients with EA.

New Evidence of Microplastics in the Lower Respiratory Tract: Inhalation through Smoking.

To investigate the relation of smoking and microplastic inhalation, we conducted a prospective study combining population-based and experimental work. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples from 17 smokers and 15 nonsmokers were collected in Zhuhai City, China. We simulated an active smoking model to explore the contribution of smoking to inhaled microplastics.

Evidence of Microplastics in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid among Never-Smokers: A Prospective Case Series.

Microplastics (MPs) are abundant in air, but evidence of their deposition in the respiratory tract is limited. We conducted a prospective case series to investigate the deposition of microplastics in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and determine the internal dose of MPs via inhalation. Eighteen never-smokers aged 32-74 years who underwent fiberoptic bronchoscopy with BALF were recruited from Zhuhai, China.

The Role of Impulse Oscillometry in Evaluating Disease Severity and Predicting the Airway Reversibility in Patients With Bronchiectasis.

Background: Impulse oscillometry (IOS) can be used to evaluate airway impedance in patients with obstructive airway diseases. Previous studies have demonstrated that IOS parameters differ between patients with bronchiectasis and healthy controls. This study aims to explore the usefulness of IOS in assessing disease severity and airway reversibility in patients with bronchiectasis.

Quantitative CT Metrics for the Prediction of Therapeutic Effect in Asthma.

Background: Few studies have explored the correlation between asthma medication and features on HRCT images. We aim to analyse the differences and temporal changes of lung function and airway resistance in asthma with diverse HRCT phenotypes in a short period after inhalation of budesonide/formoterol. Method: This observational study recruited 55 adult patients with varying severities of asthma.

detection by metagenomic next-generation sequencing in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid: A cross-sectional study.

is the bacterium associated with Whipple's disease (WD), a chronic systemic infectious disease primarily involving the gastrointestinal tract. can also be detected in different body site of healthy individuals, including saliva and feces. Traditionally, has a higher prevalence in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of immunocompromised individuals.

Differential Oral Microbial Input Determines Two Microbiota Pneumo-Types Associated with Health Status.

The oral and upper respiratory tracts are closely linked anatomically and physiologically with the lower respiratory tract and lungs, and the influence of oral and upper respiratory microbes on the lung microbiota is increasingly being recognized. However, the ecological process and individual heterogeneity of the oral and upper respiratory tract microbes shaping the lung microbiota remain unclear owing to the lack of controlled analyses with sufficient sample sizes. Here, the microbiomes of saliva, nasal cavity, oropharyngeal area, and bronchoalveolar lavage samples are profiled and the shaping process of multisource microbes on the lung microbiota is measured.

Clinical Course and Factors Associated with Viral RNA Shedding and Radiologic Resolution in Patients with COVID-19: a Retrospective Study.

Background: The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 lead to a worldwide pandemic which poses substantial challenges to public health.

Methods: We enrolled 102 consecutive recovered patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Epidemiological and demographic characteristics, temporal dynamic profiles of laboratory tests and findings on chest CT radiography, and clinical outcomes were collected and analyzed.

Epidemiological, Clinical, Laboratorial and CT Imaging Features of Hospitalized Patients with Initially Negative Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in China.

Purpose: The main objective of this study was to decipher the general epidemiology, clinical characteristic, laboratory finding and chest computed tomography (CT) imaging features of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients whose initial detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2)is negative.

Methods: Nearly 100 confirmed cases admitted to The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from 18th January to 26th February, 2020, were screened. Clinical records, laboratory results and CT images were reviewed for nine COVID-19 patients with initially negative RT-PCR detection.

Hypersensitivity in the lungs is responsible for acute respiratory failure in COVID-19 patients: Case series of patients who received high-dose/short-term methylprednisolone.

Background: COVID-19 is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Patients with severe disease have a high fatality rate and face a huge medical burden due to the need for invasive mechanical ventilation. Hypoxic respiratory failure is the major cause of death in these patients.

Regulatory T cell deficiency in patients with eosinophilic asthma.

Background: There is a lack of information about regulatory T cells (Tregs) and inflammatory phenotypes in patients with asthma. In this study, we aimed to compare the characteristics of Tregs in patients with eosinophilic asthma.

Methods: Forty healthy and 120 stable asthmatic patients were recruited.

Establishment of a Clinical Nomogram Model to Predict the Progression of COVID-19 to Severe Disease.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a worldwide public health pandemic with a high mortality rate, among severe cases. The disease is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. It is important to ensure early detection of the virus to curb disease progression to severe COVID-19.

Successful Sequential Treatment for Severe Asthma Coexisting COVID-19 via Budesonide/Glycopyrrolate/Formoterol Fumarate.

Awareness of the management of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and airway diseases can effectively help clinical physician during the coronavirus pandemic. Herein, we elucidated a COVID-19 case coexisting with severe asthma. Budesonide/glycopyrrolate/formoterol fumarate (BGF) was used as sequential medicine to systemic glucocorticoids for his persisted symptoms related to bronchospasms.

Effect of Infection on the Microbial Composition of Upper Airway.

Methods: Forty-four COVID-19 patients (severe/critical: N = 8, non-severe: N = 36) were examined by next generation sequencing (NGS) of nasopharyngeal test paper to observe the effect of novel coronavirus infection to the microbial composition in upper airway.

Results: In these nasopharyngeal test paper samples, 38 kinds of bacteria, 10 kinds of viruses except , nine kinds of fungi and three kinds of atypical pathogens had been found. There was some difference in microbial composition in the upper airway between severe and non-severe cases.

Maternal microbiome regulation prevents early allergic airway diseases in mouse offspring.

Background: Asthma is a serious global health problem, severely affecting the lives of sufferers and their families. An exceptionally hygienic home and reduced microbial exposure can aggravate the incidence of childhood asthma.

Methods: Specific-pathogen-free BALB/c mice were pre-treated with bacterial lysate (BL; 1 mg/kg) as a high microbial load maternal mouse model, and then, the offspring mice were established as an allergic airway disease (AAD) model.

Household Transmission of SARS-CoV-2, Zhuhai, China, 2020.

Background: To illustrate the extent of transmission, identify affecting risk factors and estimate epidemiological modeling parameters of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in household setting.

Methods: We enrolled 35 confirmed index cases and their 148 household contacts, January 2020-February 2020, in Zhuhai, China. All participants were interviewed and asked to complete questionnaires.

Establishing a high microbial load maternal-offspring asthma model in adult mice.

Background: Although it is widely accepted that the "hygiene hypothesis" explains the increased incidence of asthma, the lack of suitable animal models hinders further in-depth studies of the underlying molecular immune mechanisms. Therefore, we aimed to develop a robust mouse asthma model to investigate the role of bacteria in preventing asthma.

Methods: BALB/c female mice were fed a mixture of eight common bacterial lysates (BL; Broncho-Vaxom®) and a commercial probiotic (Bifidobacterium tetravaccine tablets) at different concentrations before and during pregnancy to simulate different microbial load levels.

Antimicrobial resistance, virulence genes profiling and molecular relatedness of methicillin-resistant strains isolated from hospitalized patients in Guangdong Province, China.

Purpose: The main objective of this study was to decipher the prevalence, antimicrobial resistance, major virulence genes and the molecular characteristics of methicillin-resistant (MRSA) isolated from different clinical sources in southern China.

Materials And Methods: The present study was performed on 187 non-duplicate clinical isolates collected from three tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province, China, 2010-2016. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by the disk diffusion method and by measuring the minimum inhibitory concentration.