Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infects and Damages the Mature and Immature Olfactory Sensory Neurons of Hamsters.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is primarily an acute respiratory tract infection. Distinctively, a substantial proportion of COVID-19 patients develop olfactory dysfunction. Especially in young patients, loss of smell can be the first or only symptom.

Differential distribution of and similar biochemical responses to different species of arsenic and antimony in Vetiveria zizanioides.

Vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizanioides L. Nash) has a great application potential to the phytoremediation of heavy metals pollution. However, few studies explored the bioavailability and distribution of different speciations of As and Sb in V.

Draft genome sequences of five species from plantations in China, , and .

Draft genome sequences of five species [including , , , and ], , and are presented. Species of are the causal agents of Eucalyptus leaf blight disease, threatening the growth and sustainability of plantations in China. is the causal agent of stem canker in native and exotic in South Africa.

A quantitative evaluation of sciatic nerve stiffness after compression by shear wave elastography in diabetic rats.

Background: Our study investigates the feasibility of using quantitative evaluation for nerve entrapment visualization by shear wave elastography (SWE) in diabetic rats.

Methods: A total of 24 male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were included in this study. Before injection of streptozotocin (STZ), the experimental groups were assigned as the diabetic nerve compression (DNC) group (DNC, n=18) and the control group (CON, n=6).

COVID-19 Testing in Patients with Cancer: Does One Size Fit All?

The COVID-19 global pandemic has drastically impacted cancer care, posing challenges in treatment and diagnosis. There is increasing evidence that cancer patients, particularly those who have advanced age, significant comorbidities, metastatic disease, and/or are receiving active immunosuppressive therapy may be at higher risk of COVID-19 severe complications. Controlling viral spread from asymptomatic carriers in cancer centers is paramount, and appropriate screening methods need to be established.

MiR-34c downregulation leads to SOX4 overexpression and cisplatin resistance in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: A major cause of disease-related death in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is the development of distant metastasis (DM) despite combination chemoradiotherapy treatment. We previously identified and validated a four microRNA (miRNA) signature that is prognostic for DM. In this study, characterization of a key component of this signature, miR-34c, revealed its role in chemotherapy resistance.

Overview of therapeutic drug research for COVID-19 in China.

Since the outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) in December 2019, more than 2,500,000 people worldwide have been diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 as of April 22. In response to this epidemic, China has issued seven trial versions of diagnosis and treatment protocol for COVID-19. According to the information that we have collected so far, this article provides an overview of potential therapeutic drugs and compounds with much attention, including favipiravir and hydroxychloroquine, as well as traditional Chinese medicine, which have been reported with good clinical treatment effects.

The association between short-term exposure to ambient air pollution and fractional exhaled nitric oxide level: A systematic review and meta-analysis of panel studies.

Several epidemiological studies have evaluated the fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) of ambient air pollution but the results were controversial. We therefore conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the associations between short-term exposure to air pollutants and FeNO level. We searched PubMed and Web of Science and included a total of 27 articles which focused on associations between ambient air pollutants (PM, PM, black carbon (BC), nitrogen dioxide (NO), sulfur dioxide (SO), ozone (O)) exposure and the change of FeNO.

sp. nov., sp. nov., sp. nov. and sp. nov., isolated from subtropical streams in China.

Six Gram-stain-negative, catalase- and oxidase-positive, rod-shaped and motile strains (FT9W, FT25W, FT26W, FT109W, FT134W and CY42W) were isolated from subtropical streams in China. Comparisons based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the six strains shared similarities of less than 98.1 % with other species within the family and formed two separately distinct clades in phylogenetic trees.

Controlling angular dispersions in optical metasurfaces.

Although metasurfaces have shown great potential for manipulating light, most previously realized meta-devices suffer from angular dispersions, making them unfavorable for many applications. Here, we propose a general strategy to realize optical metasurfaces with desired angular dispersions based on carefully controlling both the near-field couplings between meta-atoms and the radiation pattern of a single meta-atom. Utilizing such a strategy, we experimentally demonstrate a series of optical meta-devices with predesigned angular dispersions, including two incident-angle- absorbers, one incident-angle- absorber, and one multifunctional meta-polarizer whose functionality changes from a perfect mirror to a half-waveplate as the excitation angle varies.

Patterns of Recurrence and Predictors of Survival in Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy, Surgery, and Radiation.

Purpose: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is standard of care for locally advanced breast cancer. There is wide variation in radiation therapy (RT) practice and limited data describing locoregional relapse (LRR) after NAC. We hypothesized a low LRR risk with modern NAC, surgery, and RT and aimed to elucidate patterns of LRR and predictors of disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in these patients.

sp. nov. and sp. nov., isolated from a subtropical stream in PR China.

Two Gram-stain-negative, catalase- and oxidase-positive, rod-shaped, motile strains (FT29W and FT103W) were isolated from a subtropical stream in PR China. Comparisons based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strains FT29W and FT103W showed 98.7 and 98.

Phototransformation of zinc oxide nanoparticles and coexisting pollutant: Role of reactive oxygen species.

In this study, the photochemistry of ZnO NPs and their effect on phototransformation of coexisting pollutants (sulfamethazine, SMZ) were systematically investigated under UV illumination. SMZ (40 μM) degradation was accelerated by ZnO NPs, as the observed reaction rate constant (k) increased from 0.0809 h to 0.

In situ synthesis of a MOFs/PAA hybrid with ultrahigh ionic current rectification.

In recent decades, the ionic current rectification (ICR) property of asymmetric nanochannels has been widely explored in applications of energy conversion, gas separation, water purification and bioanalysis/sensors. How to fabricate nanofluidic devices with a high ICR characteristic remains of critical importance to the development of nanofluidics. Herein, we fabricated an asymmetric MOFs/PAA hybrid via in situ synthesis of a zeolitic imidazole framework (ZIF-90) on porous anodic alumina (PAA) nanochannels.

Ultrasensitive and Label-Free Detection of Cell Surface Glycan Using Nanochannel-Ionchannel Hybrid Coupled with Electrochemical Detector.

In this work, asymmetric nanochannel-ionchannel of porous anodic alumina (PAA) coupled with electrochemical detector was used for sensitive and label-free detection of cell surface glycan. The amplified ionic current caused by array nanochannels as well as the ionic current rectification (ICR) caused by asymmetric geometry endows PAA with sensitive ionic current response. Functionalized with the special molecular probe, the constructed nanofluidic device can be used for selective recognition and detection of glycan in a real-time and label-free format.

Sorption of fluoroquinolones to nanoplastics as affected by surface functionalization and solution chemistry.

Microplastics have attracted much attention in recent years as they can interact with pollutants in water environment. However, nanoplastics (NPs) with or without the surface functionalization modification have not been thoroughly explored. Here, the sorption behaviors of two fluoroquinolones (FQs), including norfloxacin (NOR) and levofloxacin (LEV) on polystyrene NPs (nano-PS) and carboxyl-functionalized polystyrene NPs (nano-PS-COOH) were investigated.

sp. nov., sp. nov. and sp. nov., isolated from a subtropical stream in China.

Four strains assigned the names FT13W, FT14W, FT58W and FT68W were isolated from a subtropical stream in PR China. All the strains were Gram-stain-negative, catalase- and oxidase-positive, rod-shaped and motile with flagella. Comparisons based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strains FT13W, FT14W, FT58W and FT68W belonged to genus and shared 16S rRNA gene similarities in the range of 98.

Short-term Effect of Air Pollution on Tuberculosis Based on Kriged Data: A Time-series Analysis.

Tuberculosis (TB) has a very high mortality rate worldwide. However, only a few studies have examined the associations between short-term exposure to air pollution and TB incidence. Our objectives were to estimate associations between short-term exposure to air pollutants and TB incidence in Wuhan city, China, during the 2015-2016 period.

Author Correction: Dual paths cryptosystem based on tilt Fresnel diffraction using non-spherical mirror and phase modulation in expanded fractional Fourier transform domain.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Dendrimer-Au Nanoparticle Network Covered Alumina Membrane for Ion Rectification and Enhanced Bioanalysis.

Ion transport in an artificial asymmetric nanoporous membrane, which is similar to biological ion channels, can be used for biosensing. Here, a dendrimer-Au nanoparticle network (DAN) is assembled on a nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) surface, forming a DAN/AAO hybrid membrane. Benefiting from the high surface area and anion selectivity of DAN, the prepared DAN/AAO hybrid presents selective ion transport.

Hydroxyapatite/silver electrospun fibers for anti-infection and osteoinduction.

Bone implant materials cause the most common complication of bone infections in orthopedic surgery, resulting in implant failure. Antibiotic treatment of bone infections leads to problems such as bacterial resistance and reduced osteogenic capacity. In this study, dopamine (DA) was self-polymerized on the surface of Polylactic acid (PLLA)/Hydroxyapatite (HA) nanowire composite fibers to form an adhesive polydopamine (PDA) membrane, and a stable silver-nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) coating layer was constructed on it by electrochemically driven Ag coordination and chelation through Polypyrrole (PPy) mediation, achieving steady and slow release of Ag-NPs.

Associations between long-term exposure to air pollution and blood pressure and effect modifications by behavioral factors.

Background: Studies on the hypertensive effect of long-term air pollution exposure were inconclusive and showed scarce evidence from rural areas in developing countries. In this context, we examined the associations of air pollution exposure with hypertension and blood pressure, and their effect modifiers in rural Chinese adults.

Methods: We studied 39,259 participants from a cohort established in five rural regions of central China.

Durable therapeutic gain despite competing mortality in long-term follow-up of a randomized hyperfractionated radiotherapy trial for locally advanced head and neck cancer.

Purpose/objectives: To examine the therapeutic ratio and mortality profile over time in a radiotherapy randomized trial in stage III-IV larynx/pharynx cancer with long-term follow-up.

Materials/methods: From 1988 to 1995, 331 cases were randomized to either hyperfractionated (HF) (58 Gy/40 fractions, twice daily) or conventional (CF) (51 Gy/20 fractions, once daily) radiotherapy. Overall survival (OS), locoregional (LRC), distant control (DC), ≥Grade 3 late toxicity (LT), and relative mortality risk profile over time were compared between both arms.