Clinical and pathogen features of COVID-19-associated infections during an Omicron strain outbreak in Guangzhou, China.

Unlabelled: Although the Omicron variant has been associated with greater transmissibility and tropism of the upper respiratory tract, the clinical and pathogenic features of patients infected with the Omicron variant during an outbreak in China have been unclear. Adults with COVID-19 were retrospectively enrolled from seven medical centers in Guangzhou, China, and clinical information and specimens ( BALF, sputum, and throat swabs) from participants were collected. Conventional detection methods, metagenomics next-generation sequencing (mNGS), and other methods were used to detect pathogens in lower respiratory tract samples.

Stepwise increase of fidaxomicin in an engineered heterologous host through multi-level metabolic engineering.

The anti- infection (CDI) drug fidaxomicin is a natural polyketide metabolite mainly produced by , such as , , and . In the present study, we employed a stepwise strategy by combining heterologous expression, chassis construction, promoter engineering, activator and transporters overexpression, and optimization of fermentation media for high-level production of fidaxomicin. The maximum yield of 384 mg/L fidaxomicin was achieved with engineered D7-VHb in 5 L-tank bioreactor, and it was approximately 15-fold higher than the native strain YP-1 with higher strain stability and growth rate.

Development and implementation of a high-fidelity simulation training course for medical and nursing collaboration based on the Fink integrated course design model.

Aim: The purpose of this study is to examine the design and implementation of a high-fidelity simulation training course for medical and nursing collaboration, based on the Fink integrated course design model. Additionally, the study aims to validate the teaching effectiveness of the course.

Background: Previous empirical studies have highlighted the effectiveness of collaborative healthcare education in institutional teaching and hospital training.

Effect of Alirocumab on Coronary Calcification in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease.

Background: Proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors have been documented with significantly reduction in LDL cholesterol levels and cardiovascular events. However, evidence regarding the impact of PCSK9 inhibitors on coronary calcification is limited.

Methods: Eligible patients with intermediate coronary lesions and elevated LDL cholesterol values were randomized to either alirocumab 75 mg Q2W plus statin (atorvastatin 20 mg/day or rosuvastatin 10 mg/day) therapy or standard statin therapy.

Control of Behavioral Arousal and Defense by a Glutamatergic Midbrain-Amygdala Pathway in Mice.

In response to external threatening signals, animals evolve a series of defensive behaviors that depend on heightened arousal. It is believed that arousal and defensive behaviors are coordinately regulated by specific neurocircuits in the central nervous system. The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a key structure located in the ventral midbrain of mice.

Kinetic Characteristics of Neutralizing Antibody Responses Vary among Patients with COVID-19.

Objective: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to present a major challenge to public health. Vaccine development requires an understanding of the kinetics of neutralizing antibody (NAb) responses to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Methods: In total, 605 serum samples from 125 COVID-19 patients (from January 1 to March 14, 2020) varying in age, sex, severity of symptoms, and presence of underlying diseases were collected, and antibody titers were measured using a micro-neutralization assay with wild-type SARS-CoV-2.

Improvement of binocular summation in intermittent exotropia following successful postoperative alignment.

To investigate the improvement of binocular summation (BiS) at high contrast (100%) and different low contrasts (10, 5 and 2.5%) in patients with intermittent exotropia (IXT) after successfully postoperative alignment. A total of 76 patients (aged 9-40 years) with IXT and poor control at distance before surgery were enrolled in this study.

Rational engineering strategies for achieving high-yield, high-quality and high-stability of natural product production in actinomycetes.

Actinomycetes are recognized as excellent producers of microbial natural products, which have a wide range of applications, especially in medicine, agriculture and stockbreeding. The three main indexes of industrialization (titer, purity and stability) must be taken into overall consideration in the manufacturing process of natural products. Over the past decades, synthetic biology techniques have expedited the development of industrially competitive strains with excellent performances.

Genome-based rational engineering of Actinoplanes deccanensis for improving fidaxomicin production and genetic stability.

Microbial fermentation is currently still the major way to produce structural complicated clinical drugs. Yet, the low productivity and genetic instability of producing strains remain the bottlenecks in microbial pharmaceutical industry. Fidaxomicin is a microbial drug against the Clostridium difficile infection.

Comprehensive dissection of dispensable genomic regions in Streptomyces based on comparative analysis approach.

Background: Large-scale genome reduction has been performed to significantly improve the performance of microbial chassis. Identification of the essential or dispensable genes is pivotal for genome reduction to avoid synthetic lethality. Here, taking Streptomyces as an example, we developed a combinatorial strategy for systematic identification of large and dispensable genomic regions in Streptomyces based on multi-omics approaches.

A case of isolated amyloidosis in extraocular muscle mimicking thyroid eye disease.

A 24-year-old woman presented with periorbital pain, progressive diplopia, and restricted eye movement. Routine blood testing was normal except for increased levels of thyroid peroxidase autoantibody (TPOAb) and thyroglobulin autoantibody (TGAb). Orbital computed tomography revealed fusiform thickening of the rectus muscles belly, with tendon sparing, as in thyroid eye disease.

FadR1, a pathway-specific activator of fidaxomicin biosynthesis in Actinoplanes deccanensis Yp-1.

Fidaxomicin, an 18-membered macrolide antibiotic, is highly active against Clostridium difficile, the most common cause of diarrhea in hospitalized patients. Though the biosynthetic mechanism of fidaxomicin has been well studied, little is known about its regulatory mechanism. Here, we reported that FadR1, a LAL family transcriptional regulator in the fidaxomicin cluster of Actinoplanes deccanensis Yp-1, acts as an activator for fidaxomicin biosynthesis.

A new deep learning model for assisted diagnosis on electrocardiogram.

In order to enhance the accuracy of computer aided electrocardiogram analysis, we propose a deep learning model called CBRNN to assist diagnosis on electrocardiogram for clinical medical service. It combines two sub networks which are convolutional neural network (CNN) and bi-directional recurrent neural network (BRNN). In the model, CNN with one-dimension convolution is employed to extract features for each lead of ECG, and BRNN is used to fuse features of different leads to represent deeper features.

A sparse deep learning model for privacy attack on remote sensing images.

Deep learning tools have been a new way for privacy attacks on remote sensing images. However, since labeled data of privacy objects in remote sensing images are less, the samples for training are commonly small. Besides, traditional deep neural networks have a huge amount of parameters which leads to over complexity of models and have a great heavy of computation.

Diagnostic accuracy of a deep learning approach to calculate FFR from coronary CT angiography.

Background: The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach has been frequently applied to compute the fractional flow reserve (FFR) using computed tomography angiography (CTA). This technique is efficient. We developed the DEEPVESSEL-FFR platform using the emerging deep learning technique to calculate the FFR value out of CTA images in five minutes.

Remnant lipoproteins play an important role of in-stent restenosis in type 2 diabetes undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: a single-centre observational cohort study.

Background: Increasing evidence has suggested that the presence of remnant lipoproteins is a significant risk factor for atherosclerosis. Remnant lipoproteins are lipoproteins that are rich in triglycerides (TGs), and the main components include very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) in the fasting state. Diabetic patients often have hypertriglyceridemia with elevated levels of VLDL cholesterol but normal levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C).

Elevated Levels of Very Low-density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Independently Associated with In-stent Restenosis in Diabetic Patients after Drug-eluting Stent Implantation.

Background: High rate of in-stent restenosis (ISR) remained an unsolved clinical problem in clinical practice, especially among patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Diabetic patients often had hypertriglyceridemia with elevated levels of very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C). Increasing evidence suggested that VLDL-C was known as a significant risk factor for atherosclerosis and had been recommended as a treatment target by current dyslipidemia guidelines.

Differences in esophageal cancer characteristics and survival between Chinese and Caucasian patients in the SEER database.

Background: To compare the clinicopathologic characteristics and survival of Chinese and Caucasian esophageal cancer (EC) patients residing in the US, using a population-based national registry (Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results [SEER]) database.

Methods: Patients with EC were identified from the SEER program from 1988 to 2012. Kaplan-Meier survival methods and Cox proportional hazards regression were performed.

Comparison of augmented and nonaugmented modified Knapp procedure for the treatment of nonrestrictive double elevator palsies.

Purpose: To compare surgical results of augmented and nonaugmented modified Knapp procedure, for the treatment of nonrestrictive double elevator palsies (DEP).

Methods: The medical records of patients with congenital DEP were reviewed retrospectively. Patients were divided into three treatment groups: standard transposition (group A), Foster transposition (group B), and resection transposition (group C).

Nation wide epidemiological survey of primary palmar hyperhidrosis in the People's Republic of China.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and epidemiological characteristics of primary palmar hyperhidrosis (PPH) among adolescents in PR China.

Methods: A nationwide survey was performed, including all seven geological areas of Mainland China. Stratified cluster sampling was performed, and a cross-sectional epidemiological survey was applied via questionnaire among 10,000 college students in each geological area.

Impact of invasive treatment strategy on health-related quality of life six months after non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome.

Background: Few studies have compared change in the health-related quality of life (HRQL) following treatment of non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) with either percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). This study is to compare changes in HRQL six months after hospital discharge between NSTE-ACS patients who underwent either PCI or CABG.

Methods: HRQL was assessed using the Seattle angina questionnaire at admission and six months after discharge in 1012 consecutive patients with NSTE-ACS.

[Surgical treatment for correcting abnormal complicated head posture in nystagmus].

Objective: To demonstrate the surgical choices for patients with complicated head posture associated with nystagmus.

Methods: It was a retrospective clinical study. Thirty-eight cases of congenital nystagmus with abnormal head posture in all three axes without strabismus were retrospectively analyzed.

Heart rate distribution and predictors of resting heart rate after initiation of beta-blocker treatment in patients with coronary artery disease: REsults of Sympathetic Evaluation And Research of China (RESEARCH) study.

Background: The importance of heart rate as secondary prevention strategies for patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) is emphasized by multiple guidelines. However, limited information is available on the heart rate distribution and the change patterns of resting heart rate when initiating beta-blocker therapy among Chinese patients with CAD.

Methods: The REsults of Sympathetic Evaluation And Research of China (RESEARCH) study is a multi-centre, prospective, observational study involving 147 centers in 23 cities across China.