Development of an Integrated Disposable Device for SARS-CoV-2 Nucleic Acid Extraction and Detection.

Objective: To develop a highly sensitive and rapid nucleic acid detection method for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Methods: We designed, developed, and manufactured an integrated disposable device for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid extraction and detection. The precision of the liquid transfer and temperature control was tested.

Efficacy and Safety of Chinese Medicine Resuscitation Pack for Enhanced Recovery after Bronchoscopy: A Randomized, Single-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a hospital-made resuscitation pack, a Chinese medicinal herbal compound formula designed to enhance recovery in post-bronchoscopy patients.

Methods: In this randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, eligible patients were randomly assigned 1:1 to either the treatment or control groups. The patients in the treatment group applied the resuscitation pack, which contained aromatic compounded Chinese herbs.

Model-based dosing optimization and therapeutic drug monitoring practices of teicoplanin in patients with complicated or non-complicated methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus infection.

Aims: This study aims to establish a population pharmacokinetic (PK) model of teicoplanin in Chinese adult patients to evaluate the dosing regimen in the label sheet and optimize it.

Methods: Nonlinear mixed-effects modelling was used to estimate PK parameters. Monte Carlo simulations were used to evaluate the attainment of various dosing regimens in achieving the target trough concentrations in patients with normal or decreased renal function.

Evaluation of left ventricular function of pregnant women with autoimmune diseases using speckle tracking echocardiography.

Pregnancy can cause fluctuations in autoimmune diseases (AD) women, which may aggravate the cardiac damage. Maternal heart function is very important for maternal and fetal health. Therefore, early and accurate evaluation of the heart function of AD pregnant women is necessary.

Modification of Vancomycin Dosing in Cardiac Surgery With Cardiopulmonary Bypass.

This study aims to assess the risk factors for insufficient vancomycin concentrations for its prophylactic use in adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and to modify the dosing regimen to achieve appropriate plasma concentrations. A total of 27 patients with vancomycin dosing of 1 to 1.5 g based on a weight cutoff of 67 kg were included, of which only 13 (48.

Population pharmacokinetic analysis, renal safety, and dosing optimization of polymyxin B in lung transplant recipients with pneumonia: A prospective study.

This study aims to characterize the population pharmacokinetics of polymyxin B in lung transplant recipients and optimize its dosage regimens. This prospective study involved carbapenem-resistant organisms-infected patients treated with polymyxin B. The population pharmacokinetic model was developed using the NONMEM program.

Dosage Strategy of Linezolid According to the Trough Concentration Target and Renal Function in Chinese Critically Ill Patients.

Linezolid is associated with myelosuppression, which may cause failure in optimally treating bacterial infections. The study aimed to define the pharmacokinetic/toxicodynamic (PK/TD) threshold for critically ill patients and to identify a dosing strategy for critically ill patients with renal insufficiency. The population pharmacokinetic (PK) model was developed using the NONMEM program.

Efficacy and Pharmacodynamic Target Attainment for Ceftazidime-Avibactam Off-Label Dose Regimens in Patients with Continuous or Intermittent Venovenous Hemodialysis: Two Case Reports.

Limited data are available for ceftazidime-avibactam (CZA) dosing in patients receiving renal replacement therapy, especially the data on the dosing in patients receiving intermittent hemodialysis (IHD). In this report, we firstly described a case in which CZA was administered as 2.5 g after each time of IHD, and a dose of 1.

Intraventricular colistin sulphate as a last resort therapy in a patient with multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii induced post-neurosurgical ventriculitis.

Limited therapeutic options exist for multidrug-resistant/extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDR/XDR-Ab) meningitis/ventriculitis. A combination of intravenous and intraventricular (IVT)/intrathecal (IT) polymyxins achieves good therapeutic outcomes for cases of healthcare-associated MDR/XDR-Ab meningitis/ventriculitis. Colistin is commercially available as colistin sulphate and its sulphomethylated derivative.

Model Based Identification of Linezolid Exposure-toxicity Thresholds in Hospitalized Patients.

Evidence supports linezolid therapeutic drug monitoring as the exposure-response relationship has been identified for toxicity among patients receiving linezolid, but the data to establish the upper limit are limited and the published toxicity thresholds range widely. The purpose of this study was to determine the linezolid exposure-toxicity thresholds to improve the safety of linezolid. This is a multicenter retrospective study of adult patients treated with linezolid from 2018 to 2019.

Trough polymyxin B plasma concentration is an independent risk factor for its nephrotoxicity.

Aims: Data regarding clinical pharmacokinetic/toxicodynamic (PK/TD) of polymyxin B is short of direct quantitative data. This study aims to investigate the risk factors of polymyxin B associated acute kidney injury (AKI) and to assess the relationship between polymyxin B plasma levels and its nephrotoxicity.

Methods: A retrospective study was performed in adult patients treated with polymyxin B.

[Research progress on Pheretima and earthworms with related origin].

Through literature analysis of Pheretima and its origin-related earthworm,this study summarized the progress on Pheretima in textual criticism of origin,origin identification,effective components,detection of harmful components,and pharmacological effects,which can lay a basis for further research on Pheretima. Through literature research,the authors found that Pheretima was first recorded in Secret Formulary for Traumatology and Fracture Taught by Immortal written by LIN Daoren in Tang Dynasty rather than the Taiping Holy Prescriptions for Universal Relief in Song Dynasty. The latest techniques for origin identification include microscopic trait identification,DNA barcoding,and HPLC.

Evaluation of cardiac function and systolic dyssynchrony of fetuses exposed to maternal autoimmune diseases using speckle tracking echocardiography.

Objectives: To compare cardiac function and systolic dyssynchrony of fetuses not exposed to and those exposed to maternal autoimmune antibodies using two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2DSTE).

Methods: An observational study of 52 fetuses, 18 from mothers with autoimmune antibodies (anti-SSA/Ro60, anti-Ro52 or/and anti-SSB/La) and 34 from healthy mothers without antibodies, was conducted. Maternal baseline characteristics, fetoplacental Doppler parameters, and conventional echocardiographic data were prospectively collected.

A primary benign cardiac tumor misdiagnosed as cardiac metastasis in the right atrium.

We present a patient with breast cancer with multiple metastases who had an unusual cardiac mass in the right atrium. The cardiac mass was initially diagnosed as malignant metastasis by transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) but subsequently diagnosed as benign by contrast-enhanced ultrasonography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). TTE is the preferred imaging method for examination of cardiac masses.

Right atrial appendage aneurysm complicated with atrial septal defect: A rare case report.

Right atrial appendage aneurysms (RAAAs) are rare heart malformations, presenting as isolated anomalies or co-existing with other structural heart diseases. We describe a rare case of RAAA complicated with an atrial septal defect (ASD). The diagnosis was established using transthoracic echocardiography and confirmed using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.

Right coronary artery-right ventricular fistula complicated with infective endocarditis.

Coronary artery fistula (CAF) is a congenital disease in which a communication forms between one or more coronary arteries and a cardiac chamber or great vessel. We describe an infrequent case of right coronary artery (RCA) fistula into the right ventricle (RV) complicated by infective endocarditis in a child. The patient received echocardiography and contrast-enhanced multidetector computed tomography (MDCT).

Opposing roles of miR-294 and MBNL1/2 in shaping the gene regulatory network of embryonic stem cells.

Alternative pre-mRNA splicing plays important roles in regulating self-renewal and differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). However, how specific alternative splicing programs are established in ESCs remains elusive. Here, we show that a subset of alternative splicing events in ESCs is dependent on miR-294 expression.

Mechanical and Electrical Properties of Direct Spun Carbon Nanotube Fibers Exposed to Ultrahigh Temperatures in Vacuum.

Carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers are promising reinforcements in ceramic matrix composites where the service environments involve extremely high temperatures that are generally beyond 1000 °C. This work focuses on the thermal stability of a direct spun CNT fiber in vacuum and in a wide temperature (25-2000 °C). The microstructure, mechanical and electrical properties of the fibers as a function of the heat-treatment temperature were investigated.

Shipboard and ground measurements of atmospheric particulate mercury and total mercury in precipitation over the Yellow Sea region.

The first ever shipboard measurements for atmospheric particulate mercury (Hg(p)) over the Yellow Sea and ground measurements for atmospheric Hg(p) and total mercury (THg) in precipitation at the remote sites (Deokjeok and Chengshantou) and the urban sites (Seoul and Ningbo) surrounding the Yellow Sea were carried out during 2007-2008. The Hg(p) regional background concentration of 56.3 ± 55.

[Open-top Chamber for in situ Research on Response of Mercury Enrichment in Rice to the Rising Gaseous Elemental Mercury in the Atmosphere].

In situ research was conducted on the response of mercury enrichment in rice organs to elevated gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) with open-top chambers (OTCs) fumigation experiment and soil Hg enriched experiment. The results showed that Hg concentrations in roots were generally correlated with soil Hg concentrations (R = 0.9988, P < 0.

Can transthoracic Doppler echocardiography be used to detect coronary slow flow phenomenon?

Background: Coronary slow flow phenomenon (CSFP) is an important, angiographic clinical entity but is lacking non-invasive detecting techniques. This study aimed to elucidate the value of transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (TTDE) in the diagnosis and monitoring of coronary slow flow in left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery.

Methods: We consecutively enrolled 27 patients with CSFP in LAD detected by coronary arteriography from August 2009 to April 2010.