Clinical characteristics, diagnosis, outcomes and lung microbiome analysis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in the community-acquired pneumonia patients.

Background: Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) remains underestimated in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). This study aims to describe clinical features and outcomes of IPA in CAP patients, assess diagnostic performance of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) for IPA and analyse lung microbiome via mNGS data.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included CAP patients from 22 April 2019 to 30 September 2021.

Evaluation of Transbronchial Lung Cryobiopsy Freezing Time, Biopsy Size, Histological Quality, and Incidence of Complication: A Prospective Clinical Trial.

Background: Transbronchial cryobiopsy (TBCB), a novel way of obtaining a specimen of lung tissue using a flexible cryoprobe, can obtain large lung biopsies without crush artifacts. The freezing time of TBCB was empirically selected from 3 to 7 s in the previous studies. However, no consensus has yet been reached regarding the optimal freezing time used in TBCB.

Elaboration of a Radiomics Strategy for the Prediction of the Re-positive Cases in the Discharged Patients With COVID-19.

A considerable part of COVID-19 patients were found to be re-positive in the SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test after discharge. Early prediction of re-positive COVID-19 cases is of critical importance in determining the isolation period and developing clinical protocols. Ninety-one patients discharged from Wanzhou Three Gorges Central Hospital, Chongqing, China, from February 10, 2020 to March 3, 2020 were administered nasopharyngeal swab SARS-CoV-2 tests within 12-14 days, and 50 eligible patients (32 male and 18 female) with completed data were enrolled.

Clinical characteristics and potential factors for recurrence of positive SARS-CoV-2 RNA in convalescent patients: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: The recurrence of positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR is frequently found in discharged COVID-19 patients but its clinical significance remains unclear. The potential cause, clinical characteristics and infectiousness of the recurrent positive RT-PCR patients need to be answered.

Methods: A single-centered, retrospective study of 51 discharged COVID-19 patients was carried out at a designated hospital for COVID-19.

ZNF300 promotes chemoresistance and aggressive behaviour in non-small-cell lung cancer.

Objectives: Chemoresistance induced by cisplatin has become the major impediment to lung cancer chemotherapy. This study explored the potential chemoresistant genes and underlying mechanisms of chemoresistance in NSCLC.

Materials And Methods: Gene expression profile was integrated with DNA methylation profile to screen the candidate chemoresistant genes.

Tumor angiogenesis of SCLC inhibited by decreased expression of FMOD via downregulating angiogenic factors of endothelial cells.

Fibromodulin (FMOD), an ECM small leucine-rich proteoglycan (SLRP), was reported to promote angiogenesis not only during wound healing, but also in optical and cutaneous angiogenesis-dependent diseases. However, whether it plays important roles in tumor angiogenesis remains unclear. To explore the role of FMOD in tumor angiogenesis of human small cell lung cancer (SCLC), initially the study analyzed the relationship of FMOD expression in cancer tissues of SCLC with clinical characteristics.

The breast cancer susceptibility-related polymorphisms at the TOX3/LOC643714 locus associated with lung cancer risk in a Han Chinese population.

It has been well established that besides environmental factors, genetic factors are also associated with lung cancer risk. However, to date, the prior identified genetic variants and loci only explain a small fraction of the familial risk of lung cancer. Hence it is vital to investigate the remaining missing heritability to understand the development and process of lung cancer.

Increased sensitivity of human lung adenocarcinoma cells to cisplatin associated with downregulated contactin-1.

Contactin-1 (CNTN-1), a glycosyl phosphatidylinositol anchor neural cell adhesion molecule (ACAM), is thought to function not only in nervous system development but also in the invasion and metastasis of several tumours. To investigate whether CNTN-1 is involved in multidrug resistance (MDR) in lung adenocarcinoma, CNTN-1 expression was compared between MDR human lung adenocarcinoma A549/cisplatin (A549/DDP) cells and its progenitor A549 cells. The comparison showed that CNTN-1 expression in A549/DDP cells was significantly higher than in A549 cells both at the mRNA level and the protein level.

Phage in the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis.

The serious global TB epidemic coupled with limited diagnostic and therapeutic technologies necessitate the study of the role phage in TB treatment. Mycobacterium phage have been used for TB diagnosis, but the accuracy of such methods needs to be improved. Phage have various advantages in treating many kinds of bacterial infection, and coupled with the abuse and misuse of antibiotics, and the increasing prevalence of drug-resistant bacteria, they have been studied as a novel therapy to support antibiotics.

Size effects on miscibility and glass transition temperature of binary polymer blend films.

After determining the size dependent miscibility of binary polymer blend films using molecular dynamics simulation and thermodynamics, the size dependent glass transition temperatures Tg(w,D) of several polymer blend films in miscible ranges are determined by computer simulation and the Fox equation where w is the weight fraction of the second component and D denotes thickness of films. The Tg(w,D) function of a thin film can decrease or increase as D decreases depending on their surface or interface states. The computer simulation results are consistent with available experimental results and theoretical results for polymer blend films of PPO/PS [poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide)/polystyrene] and stereoregular PMMA/PEO [poly(methyl methacrylate)/poly(ethylene oxide)].