Macrophages play key roles in tissue homeostasis, defense, disease and repair. Macrophages are highly plastic and exhibit distinct functional phenotypes based on micro-environmental stimuli. Despite several advancements in understanding macrophage biology and their different functional phenotypes in various physiological and pathological conditions, currently available treatment strategies targeting macrophages are limited. Macrophages' high plasticity and diverse functional roles -- including tissue injury and wound healing mechanisms -- mark them as potential targets to mine for efficient therapeutics to treat diseases. Despite mounting evidence on association of gut leakage with several extra-intestinal diseases, there is no targeted standard therapy to treat gut leakage. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop therapeutic strategies to treat this condition. Macrophages are the cells that play the largest role in interacting with the gut microbiota in the intestinal compartment and exert their intended functions in injury and repair mechanisms. In this review, we have summarized the current knowledge on the origins and phenotypes of macrophages. The specific role of macrophages in intestinal barrier function, their role in tissue repair mechanisms and their association with gut microbiota are discussed. In addition, currently available therapies and the putative tissue repair mediators of macrophages for treating microbiota dysbiosis induced gut leakage are also discussed. The overall aim of this review is to convey the intense need to screen for microbiota induced macrophage-released pro-repair mediators, which could lead to the identification of potential candidates that could be developed for treating the leaky gut and associated diseases.

Objective: Systemic lupus erythematosus（SLE）is an autoimmune disease involving multiple organs and systems throughout the body. The pathogenesis is complex and has not been fully elucidated. Excessive proliferation of human renal mesangial cells（HRMC）and endothelial cells leads to the deposition of massive immune complexes and the formation of crescents, which is the main cause of lupus nephritis (LN) and one of the main complications of SLE. Recent studies have demonstrated that miR-21 plays an important role in the progression of SLE, but the mechanism remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the expression of miR-21 in renal tissues of MRL/lpr mice and the effect of miR-21 on the proliferation and apoptosis of HRMC and its mechanism. Methods: Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to detect miR-21 in kidney tissues of C57BL/6 and MRL/lpr mice. Flow cytometry was used to detect the apoptosis of cells. Western blot was used to detect the expression of BAX, BCL-2 and PTEN/ PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Results: qRT-PCR results showed that miR-21 was significantly upregulated in MRL/lpr mice. Western blot showed that miR-21 affected apoptosis of HRMC by BAX and BCL-2 and participated in cell proliferation through the PTEN/ PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Conclusion: MiR-21 regulates mesangial cells proliferation and apoptosis in LN via PTEN/ PI3K/ AKT signaling. These results reveal the molecular basis of the influence of miR-21 on renal mesangial cells and provide a new approach for cell therapy of lupus nephritis.

A novel, cheap and high-efficiency nanocomposite Ni-Co/Mo2C/Co6Mo6C2@C has been successfully constructed through simple one-step carbonization method (N2). Due to the fact that polyethyleneimine (PEI) in the precursor can effectively anchor molybdenum-based Keggin-type polyoxometalate (PMo12) and layered double hydroxide (NiCo-LDH) through electrostatic and coordination interactions, it can avoid the aggregation of catalyst particles during the pyrolysis process. After the optimization, the obtained Ni-Co/Mo2C/Co6Mo6C2@C possesses small size (3-8 nm, concentrated at about 4.5 nm), large specific surface area and hierarchical pore structure. More important, Ni-Co/Mo2C/Co6Mo6C2@C presents remarkable hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity with low overpotentials in 0.5 M H2SO4 (102.3 mV) and 1 M KOH (95 mV) to afford the current density of 10 mA·cm-2, as well as small Tafel slopes of 82.49 mV dec-1 and 99.92 mV dec-1, respectively. Simultaneously, this catalyst also shows outstanding stability for 12 h without significant change in current density. Herein, such excellent catalytic performance of Ni-Co/Mo2C/Co6Mo6C2@C can put down to the synergistic effect between multiple components and the small size of the catalyst. This work provides unique insights into the preparation of efficient transition metal-based catalysts for HER.

An elegant Pd(dba)2-catalyzed enantioselective Heck dearomative annulation of indoles and N-tosylhydrazones for the straightforward assembly of structurally diverse optically active indoline scaffolds containing the quaternary carbon centers at the C2-position has been developed. The tandem protocol, which utilized Pd(dba)2/BINOL-based phosphoramidite ligand as the catalytic system, proceeded smoothly through successive oxidative addition, intramolecular carbon palladation, migratory insertion, and reductive elimination se-quences, leading to the chiral indoline derivatives in moderate to excellent yields, with excellent enantioselectivities and diastereoselec-tivities. In addition, the synthetic practicability of the catalytic system was underlined by a scaled-up experiment and the late-stage derivatization of the products, thus highlighting the potential applications in synthetic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, material science.

to assess the distribution of bacteremia pathogens in elderly patients, to evaluate the impact of gender on pathogen distribution, and to determine the predictive value of routine blood parameters for diagnosing bacteremia. Methods: A total of 151 elderly patients (≥60 years old) who admitted to hospital from October 2022 to June 2023 were retrospectively studied. Routine blood test and blood culture were performed. ROC curve was used to analyze the diagnostic efficacy of blood routine parameters: white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), red blood cell distribution width (RDW). Results: The subjects were categorized into either the culture-positive group (82 cases) and the culture-negative one (69 cases) according to blood culture results. There were no significant differences in age and gender between groups. The primary bacterial pathogens of bacteremia in the elderly were Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Streptococcus. A significantly higher culture positivity rate for E. coli was found in elderly female patients compared to their male counterparts (P = 0.021). The area under the ROC curve of four parameters was: WBC, 0.851 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.790 - 0.912); NLR, 0.919 (95% CI 0.875 - 0.963); PLR, 0.609 (95% CI 0.518 - 0.700); and RDW was 0.626 (95% CI 0.563 - 0.717). Conclusion: The most frequently pathogenic microorganism causing bacteremia was E. coli, with elderly female patients having a significantly higher rate of culture positivity. Routine blood parameters (WBC, NLR, PLR, and RDW) demonstrated predictive potential for bacteremia in elderly patients.

Transitioning to an out-of-home child care setting has been shown to be a challenging event for young children. One of the physiological indicators of stress, cortisol secretion, has only been studied minimally in infants yet (e.g., Albers et al., 2016). In the current replication study we therefore followed 32 healthy infants (Mage = 11.59 weeks), their mothers, and their primary professional caregivers during the transition from home to the child care center. We found that on average (1) infants’ cortisol levels were significantly lower at mid-afternoon than mid-morning both at home and child care; (2) cortisol levels at home (both time-points) were significantly higher before transition than after transition; (3) the difference between cortisol levels at child care versus home showed a (non-significant) medium effect with higher levels at child care at both time-points; (4) individual cortisol patterns illustrated large variability between infants; and (5) three exploratory correlates of cortisol secretion at child care displayed a (non-significant) small to medium effect: infants who displayed a cortisol increase over the day scored lower on infant negative emotionality, and had mothers who scored lower on sensitivity and higher on separation anxiety. Larger studies are required, including multiple caregivers and various physiological measures.

The Gulf of Naples as a model system for plankton ecology studiesAdriana Zingone, Domenico D’Alelio and Maria Grazia MazzocchiStazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, NaplesPlankton play a fundamental role in coastal and oceanic ecosystems as a key element of biogeochemical cycles and pelagic trophic webs and contribute to determine and maintain the health of the oceans. Half of the world’s population leaving along the coasts (Vitousek et al., 1997) relies on services offered by plankton in terms of seafood availability and sea water quality. Therefore, monitoring, quantifying, and understanding the responses of plankton to the variability of the coastal ecosystem represent an urgent challenge to the scientific community, and even more so in an epoch of rapid environmental changes. Yet, because of the prevalently microscopic nature of planktonic organisms and logistic hindrances, research in this field has start developing only in the second half of the XIX century.One of the first marine sites where plankton were studied was the Gulf of Naples (GoN), a coastal embayment of the mid Tyrrhenian Sea in the western Mediterranean. The GoN is in the temperate zone but with subtropical characteristics, under the anthropogenic impacts from one of the most densely populated areas of the Mediterranean Sea contrasted by the influence of the open oligotrophic Tyrrhenian waters. Consequently, the GoN marine ecosystem is a mosaic of areas with different ecological conditions, where highly impacted habitats coexist with relatively pristine localities and marine protected areas. Studies on the plankton of the GoN were fostered by scientists working at the Stazione Zoologica (SZN), the first marine institution in Europe funded in 1872 by Anton Dohrn.Plankton of the GoN were initially analysed to unveil their extraordinary diversity (e.g., Giesbrecht, 1892) and phenology (De Angelis, 1958; Indelli 1944; Issel, 1934). In the second half of the last century, studies also focused on plankton taxonomy, life cycles, and distribution in space and time, until regular monitoring was started in 1984 with a long-term ecological research program at the siteMareChiara (LTER-MC) since 2006 part of the Italian, European and international LTER networks. LTER-MC is located two nautical miles off the coast of the city of Naples in an area that can be alternatively influenced by the eutrophic coastal zone and the oligotrophic waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Over the years, LTER-MC has proved to be not only a valuable observatory of the diversity, complexity and temporal variability of plankton but also a precious natural laboratory to test hypotheses that emerged from field observations (reviewed by Zingone et al., 2019).In this Special Issue we have collected the results of the most recent ecological investigations conducted on the plankton of the GoN with the intent to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the SZN foundation, an important occasion that has been widely celebrated (Boero et al., 2023). This special issue focuses on phyto- and zooplankton and their environment studied in both field and lab investigations, with classical methods as well as taking advantage of advanced technologies such as the recent developments of molecular approaches. With this collection, we gather the most updated knowledge on the plankton of the GoN, with a special attention to features that may shed light on general aspects going beyond the local scale of the sampling site.The topics investigated in this Special Issue span over different temporal scales. Some studies took into consideration a large period of the LTER-MC time-series and examined trends of environmental variables (Kokozska et al., 2023; Romillac et al., 2023), revealing that, in the case of plankton, hydrographic changes including inshore–offshore exchanges, the residence time of freshwater and the shallowing of the mixed layer depth are more important than simple temperature increase recorded in summer. The response of plankton is seen in the increased contribution over the years of the autumnal blooms deriving from a lengthening of the stratification period, and in significant trends in specific elements of the phyto- and meso-zooplankton (Saggiomo et al., 2023; Mazzocchi et al. 2023). Interestingly the observed environmental changes are contrasted by the overall stability of the whole mesozooplankton community (Mazzocchi et al., 2023), which parallels the resistance to interannual variation recently highlighted for phytoplankton (Longobardi et al., 2022). When it comes to individual key taxa, the need emerges to consider different aspects of their life cycle, such as fecundity and egg hutching success, to understand the important role played by biology in shaping the observed seasonal and long-term trends in copepod populations (Carotenuto et al., 2023).At the seasonal scale, the annual patterns of seven different and stable phytoplankton associations, identified by leveraging the multiannual data on species distribution from the LTER-MC time series, showed a close relationship with variables related to astronomical factors (Zingone et al., 2023). Their functional diversity varied across the seasons, with divergent or convergent traits within each association reflecting the variable strength of the environmental filtering. A high seasonal signal was also found in dinoflagellate communities investigated in a three-year metabarcoding dataset, along with the identification of a species-rich winter community, so far neglected by the current views of dinoflagellate preference for stable and warm summer conditions (Mordret et al., 2023).A whole range of classical and advanced approaches were used to address plankton variability, including the analysis of physical-chemical, biological and diversity data from the natural environment (Kokozska et al., 2023; Mazzocchi et al., 2023; Romillac et al., 2023; Zingone et al., 2023), laboratory experiments (e.g., Carotenuto et al., 2023; René et al. 2023; Traboni et al., 2023) and more sophisticated chemotaxonomic (Saggiomo et al., 2023) and biomolecular approaches (Di Capua et al., 2023; Mordret et al., 2023; Russo et al., 2023). The latter studies have addressed temporal trends in groups of species hardly detected by morphological studies, unveiling, for example, a high amount of dinoflagellate diversity not assigned to any described taxa (Mordret et al., 2023). This unknown diversity may reveal novel species to be discovered and described, but may also be the effect of massive gaps in reference datasets, i.e., the dictionaries that allow translating the environmental DNA data into biologically meaningful information. In this respect, the delivery of novel reference sequences from several crustacean zooplankters of the GoN represents a relevant contribution to help interpret metabarcoding data and decipher the hidden diversity of plankton communities and their role in the ecology of the system (Di Capua et al., 2023).Molecular approaches are also proven useful and usable to address interspecific relationships of different natures. Co-occurrences derived from a three-year metabarcoding time-series coupled with background biological information on size and trophic habits of their components revealed a trophic hierarchy and modularity in the network, which would allow quick food-web re-arrangements under shifting hydrographic conditions that are typical of the coastal area of the GoN (Russo et al., 2023). The same three-year time series was also explored in the first investigation on diatom parasites of the GoN, where incubation experiments were combined with microscopy observations and contextual metabarcoding analyses (Renè et al., 2023). This multi-approach study revealed that chytrid fungi (Chytridiomycota) are a common component of the protist community in the GoN and would deserve quantification with specific techniques to assess their role in the mortality of their hosts. Besides metabarcoding, another special technique, the stable isotope analysis, provided relevant details of trophic interactions to unveil the complexity of planktonic food webs, which can buffer the environmental variability due to the specific hydrographic features of the GoN (Merquiol et al., 2023). Finally, laboratory experiments conducted with microplastics, which are presently one of the most concerning threats for marine organisms, have revealed that copepod daily intake of food was not significantly affected by their presence, likely because of their ability to avoid those particles and flexible feeding habits (Traboni et al., 2023).The studies presented in this Special Issue have provided many new pieces to the complex puzzle of the plankton ecosystem in the GoN, at the same time opening new questions and providing indications for new studies to be developed in the future. Mainly the topic of trophic and non-trophic interactions has only started to be explored. The discovery of a high amount of parasitic Syndiniales and highly dynamic chytrid fungi populations highlights the need to take into consideration all levels of the network that connects the existence of marine planktonic organisms. While trends are observed in some components of the system, it is necessary to go beyond descriptions and take into consideration the life cycles and reproductive traits of plankton species along with other functional aspects that allow unveiling the mechanism underlying those trends, thus opening the way to the forecast of future scenarios under changing environmental conditions. In this respect, results from both classical, laboratory studies and extensive molecular information obtained from natural populations, interpreted in the light of background knowledge, are expected to provide a formidable new asset to understand plankton and predict their changes in the coming years.In addition to the contribution to the knowledge of the GoN ecosystem, the studies collected in this Special Issue shed light on several aspects of the plankton ecology that go beyond the local scale, emphasizing the specificity of the area and pointing to the pivotal role of long-term investigation sites as testbeds for wide-ranging ecological questions.REFERENCESBoero, F., Groeben, C., & Passariello, A. (2023). La vita del mare. Il mare per la vita: 150 anni di ricerca alla Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn . Firenze: Giunti.Caracciolo, M. R., Berney, C., Alric, B., Piredda, R., Zingone, A., Sarno, D., . . . Henry, N. (submitted). 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Metabarcoding reveals marked seasonality and a distinctive winter assemblage of dinoflagellates at a coastal LTER site in the Gulf of Naples.Marine Ecology, 44 (3), 12758. doi:10.1111/maec.12758Reñé, A., Timoneda, N., Sarno, D., Piredda, R., Zampicinini, G., Zingone, A., . . . Garcés, E. (2023). Vertical and temporal distribution of chytrids infecting diatoms in the Gulf of Naples (Italy, Mediterranean Sea). Marine Ecology, 44 (3), e12726. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.12726Romillac, N., Abagnale, M., Kokoszka, F., Passarelli, A., Saggiomo, V., Ribera d’Alcalà, M., & Margiotta, F. (2023). Interplay among anthropogenic impact, climate change and internal dynamics in driving nutrient and phytoplankton biomass in the Gulf of Naples. Marine Ecology, 44 (3), e12754. doi:10.1111/maec.12754Russo, L., Bellardini, D., Zampicinini, G., Jordán, F., Congestri, R., & D’Alelio, D. (2023). 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Background Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a multifaceted condition. The COVID-19 is associated with various ocular manifestations including conjunctivitis, retinal vein occlusion and optic neuritis. The case of VKH disease associated with SARS-CoV-2 was rare and the specific association is still unclear. Case Presentation In the present study, a 35-year-old female patient with no significant medical history presented with one week of bilateral blurred vision 2 weeks after a clinical course of COVID-19. Both eyes presented with bullous serous retinal detachments. She was diagnosed with incomplete Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada (VKH) disease. Early diagnosis and treatment of VKH disease are essential for the visual prognosis of this aggressive disease. Ocular inflammatory signs and visual acuity improved via corticosteroid therapy in this patient. The case of VKH disease associated with SARS-CoV-2 was rare and the specific association is still unclear. By reviewing similar studies previously reported, we discuss and summarize the potential mechanisms explaining the association between VKH disease and SARS-CoV-2. Conclusion Although the causality remains unclear, ophthalmologists and physicians should be aware of this possible association between VKH disease and COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 may play a potential immunological triggering role in VKH disease. However, further in-depth researches are necessary to investigate the clinical and epidemiological features, as well as the underlying mechanisms of it. Keywords: Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada disease; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; case report

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurological condition that is significantly more prevalent when people become older. It may start out early or late. A rise in levels of proinflammatory cytokines and microglial activation, both of which contribute to the central nervous system’s inflammatory state, are characteristics of AD (CNS). As opposed to this, periodontitis is a widespread oral infection brought on by gram-negative anaerobic bacteria. By releasing proinflammatory cytokines into the systemic circulation, periodontitis can be classified as a “low-grade systemic disease.” Periodontitis and AD are linked by inflammation, which is recognized to play a crucial influence in both the illness and treatment process. The current review sought to highlight the effects of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which are released during periodontal and Alzheimer’s diseases in the pathophysiology of both conditions. It also addresses the puzzling relationship between AD and periodontitis, highlighting the etiology, and potential ramifications.

Cuprous (I) catalysts have been widely used in the coupling reaction of forming C-X bond. The core-modified porphyrins are known to stabilize the unusual oxidation state of many metals. Thus, in this work, a 21-oxaporphyrin was obtained under the improved Adler–Longo condensation condition and successfully used for complexing the cuprous ion. It is found that the synergy of the two factors, the diameter expansion and the univalent form of the N₃O core in the ligand, plays a decisive role in stabilizing the metastable ion, the former effectively stabilizes the electron pair of the equatorial d orbital by aiding the d-π interaction, and the latter exactly balances the single charge of the ion. A size axis of copper species in porphyrinate systems is established by comparing with two previously reported distorted copper (II) porphyrin series.

A document by Sijia Sun. Click on the document to view its contents.

A new species of Psammogeton (Apiaceae) found in Jammu district of Jammu and Kashmir, India, is described and illustrated. It is similar to Psammogeton canescens and P. shivalikense but differing from them in having noticeably radical leaves, deeply ternate leave with acuminate apex, pale yellow flowers, an elongated stylopodium, and fruits hairs that are over three times longer than they are wide. Together with the images, a distribution map, comparison of closely related Psammogeton canescens and P. shivalikense with comparable morphologies and phenology, and a key are included.

A new salsify species, Tragopogon davut-turanii is described from Anatolia based on micro- and macro-morphological, and molecular evidences. The new species is morphologically similar to T. vvedenskyi and T. abbreviatus but, it is closely related to T. stenophyllus and T. coelesyriacus on the basis of the phylogenetic tree obtained nrDNA ITS sequences. Diagnostic characters, description, and conservation status together with micro- and macro-morphological properties of achenes and pollen grains are also provided.

Background: The efficacy of immunization against an airborne pathogen depends in part on its ability to induce antibodies at the major entry site of the virus, the mucosa. Recent studies have revealed that mucosal immunity is poorly activated after vaccination with mRNA vaccines, thus failing in blocking virus acquisition upon its site of initial exposure. Little information is available about the induction of mucosal immunity by inactivated and recombinant COVID-19 vaccines. This study aims to investigate this topic. Methods: Saliva and plasma samples from 440 healthy Congolese were collected including (1) fully vaccinated two month post vaccination with either an inactivated or a recombinant COVID-19 vaccine and (2) non-vaccinated control group. Total anti-SARS-COV-2 RBD IgG and IgA antibodies were assessed using in-house ELISAs for both specimens. Findings: Altogether, the positivity of IgG was significantly higher in plasma than in saliva samples both in vaccinated and non-vaccinated control groups. Inversely, IgA positivity was slightly higher in saliva than in plasma of vaccinated group. The overall IgG and IgA levels were respectively over 103 and 14 times lower in saliva than in plasma samples. We found a strong positive correlation between IgG in saliva and plasma also between IgA in both specimens (r = 0.70 for IgG and r = 052 for IgA). Interestingly, contrary to IgG, the level of salivary IgA was not different between seropositive control group and seropositive vaccinated group. No significant difference was observed between recombinant and Inactivated COVID-19 vaccines in total IgG and IgA antibody concentration release 2 months post vaccination both in plasma and saliva. Conclusion: Inactivated and recombinant COVID-19 vaccines in use in the Republic of Congo poorly activated mucosal IgA mediated antibody response two months post-vaccination.

The present study reports the discovery of Fimbristylis pachmarhiensis (Cyperaceae) as a new species from central India. The specimens were collected from the Pachmarhi hills located in Madhya Pradesh.To aid in the accurate identification of this species, an extensive taxonomic description, accompanied by photographic illustrations, a comparative analysis with similar species, and supplementary notes have been included. These comprehensive details serve to enhance our understanding and recognition of this newly discovered plant species.

Alice is reading a novel on her computer in the comfort of her home drinking a piña colada. Her husband John, on the other hand, is grabbing his morning cup of coffee at his favorite café while looking at his Facebook account. Alice’s webcam is on and John feels at ease using the café’s public WiFi. Then, suddenly, Alice gets an advertisement about Caribbean drinks. She is a bit perplexed. As for John, he receives an email from his boss asking why he is not at work and another from Facebook alerting him of suspicious activities on his account. He is irritated. They both thought their privacy was safe. There are a multitude of threats looming on the horizon from profiling, identity theft, and mass surveillance to depriving babies of their right to privacy before being born. Before diving into the dangers and how to eliminate or at least mitigate threats, let us understand the concept of privacy. To do so, we go back to the origins in order to comprehend its evolution throughout history. At each period, privacy practices adapt to the time-specific context. Not only that, but the historical context can have long-lasting implications for centuries to come. We then explain the situation today with the impacts on the individual and society. Finally, we draw some conclusions about the future of privacy.

Single molecule catalysis reflects the heterogeneity of each molecule, providing a unique insight to the complex catalytic mechanism through the statistics of stochastic individuals. However, the present study methods for single molecule catalysis are either complicated or low throughput, limiting their rapid acquisition of single molecules reaction kinetics with statistic significance. Here, we developed a label-free imaging method for the study of single molecule catalysis in microdroplets with high throughput based on the absorption of the reaction molecules. A wide distribution of the relative catalytic reaction rate constant value of 0.51-4.32 s-1 was observed from 37 single enzymes. Interestingly, a Boltzmann distribution of the enzyme activity can be clearly observed due to the rapid denaturation of the enzymes. The denaturation mechanism of HRP enzyme was clarified. It was revealed that the denaturation of each enzyme goes through a gradual decay rather than a truncated turn-off process from a single molecule point of view. This absorption based method can be applied to most of the catalytic reactions with high throughput, providing a indispensable route for the rapid statistical analysis of various single molecule catalytic reactions, especially when the enzymes is highly unstable.

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the clinical efficacy of lopinavir/ritonavir with oseltamivir plus hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of Covid-19, in order to find a better treatment for Covid-19 patients. Methods: In this single-center, mixed designed cohort study, 198 patients admitted for Covid-19, to Ziaeian Hospital, Tehran, Iran were included. According to the date of admission, the patients were received different treatments and divided into two groups. Group 1 received oseltamivir with hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin whereas group 2 received lopinavir/ritonavir with azithromycin. Patients’ outcomes were measured based on duration of hospitalization, a requirement to intensive care unit (ICU) admission, need for intubation and mortality. Results: Patients in group 1 had greater clinical improvement and shorter duration of hospitalization. Although small in number, mortality, ICU admission, and intubation was also less in this group, but due to the small number of events in incidence of ICU admission, intubation, and mortality, it could not be analyzed and was not possible to investigate the relationship between the type of treatment and these variables. In group 1, one patient was admitted to ICU, while 12 patients were admitted to ICU in group2. None of the patients in group 1 required intubation whereas 4 in group 2 received intubation. One patient in group 1 and 9 patients in group 2 died. Conclusion: This study showed that administration of Oseltamivir plus hydroxychloroquine is likely to be associated with earlier clinical improvement and shorter duration of hospitalization however, further studies are required.

The study was aimed testing the psychometric properties of the Breastfeeding History Questionnaire (BAP) and to evaluate clinic effectiveness in detecting the risk of in-hospital formula supplementation among multiparous women. The study is a cross-sectional study conducted in a mother-friendly tertiary health care facility in western Turkey, involving 358 women. First of all, expert opinion was obtained for content validity, then the risk of using formula was investigated cross-sectionally. Chi-square test and Student’s t-test and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used for data analysis. The sensitivity and the specificity of the BAP used for the prediction of formula supplement use in the hospital by those whose BAP score was ≤ 1 were 74.6% and 88.2%, respectively. In those with a BAP score of ≤1, while the positive predictive value was 78.22%, the negative predictive value was 85.89%. Of the multiparous women, those with a BAP score of ≤1were 12.8 times more likely to supplement formula during the postpartum hospital stay than were those with a BAP score of ≥2 (RR = 12.88, 95% CI [5.76-27.78]; p < .001). The BAP is a valid tool and it offers practical evaluation suitable for clinical use.

This study investigated the chain mediating roles of children’s academic motivation (intrinsic and extrinsic) and academic engagement in the relationships between parenting styles (positive and negative) and their academic achievements in Chinese, mathematics, and English. The participants were 433 elementary school children from grades 3 to 5. After controlling for child’s sex, age, nonverbal intelligence, and family socioeconomic status, the results found that: (1) positive parenting styles exhibited a beneficial effect on academic achievement in Chinese, but not in mathematics and English. Negative parenting styles did not yield a significant effect on academic achievement in any of the subjects examined; (2) positive parenting styles could affect children’s Chinese achievement through their academic engagement and thorough the chain mediating roles of intrinsic academic motivation and academic engagement. However, these mediating and chain mediating effects were not observed in the case of mathematics and English. This study emphasizes the significance of positive parenting styles specifically in relation to the Chinese subject, as opposed to mathematics and English. These findings hold important theoretical and practical implications for promoting children’s academic achievement.

The scheme of CP-ABE is widely used in data security protection in cloud outsourcing service. The architecture based on CP-ABE involves user, SP, PKG and CSP. Under this situation, PKG is trusted by default. However, in the real situation, except the default situation, there exists another scenario, where there is no SP and user communicates with PKG and CSP directly. In the above environment PKG may be untrusted. Once PKG is colluded with CSP or PKG is compromised, the adversary can get the decryption keys from PKG easily and the data preserved on CSP will be decrypted and leaked. In this paper, we first innovatively propose a scheme that can resist the attack from the aforementioned situations. The idea of the scheme is that a factor generated by the user is added to the secret key and the cipher text. The secret key is added the factor, which results that even PKG is compromised or untrusted, the secret key cannot be obtained. We apply the idea on the Li's scheme and make it be suitable for the cloud outsourcing environment with an untrusted PKG. Finally, we prove the security of our scheme.

As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic virus has spread throughout the world, millions of positive cases of COVID-19 have been registered and, even though there are millions of people already vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, a large part of the global population remains vulnerable to contracting the virus. Given the difficulty of massive sample collection in Puerto Rico and the restrictions to perform the molecular test to detect SARS-CoV-2, this study aims to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the TaqPath RT-PCR COVID-19 kit and a LAMP SARS-CoV-2 Laboratory Developed Test in paired nasopharyngeal, saliva, and urine samples. Automated RNA extraction was performed in the KingFisher Flex instrument, whilst PCR quantification of SARS-CoV-2 on the 7500 Fast Dx RT-PCR instrument using the TaqPath RT-PCR COVID-19 molecular test. The PCR data was interpreted by the COVID-19 Interpretive Software from Applied Biosystems and statistically analyzed with Cohen’s kappa coefficient (k). Cohen’s kappa coefficient (k) for paired nasal and saliva samples was found to be 0.52, showing moderate agreement. Nasal and saliva samples displayed concordance and it was determined that saliva samples had a higher viral load. Another objective was to compare the positive or negative result of the RT-PCR with the positive or negative result of LifeGene-Biomarks SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Colorimetric LAMP LDT, which resulted in 90% concordance. Due to this, the use of saliva and LifeGene-Biomarks SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Colorimetric LAMP test is suggested for further evaluation as an alternative to nasal, urine, and RT-PCR tests for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, since it can be easily used in clinics, hospitals, the workplace, and at home, optimizing the surveillance and collection process, which helps mitigate the global public health and socioeconomic damage caused by airborne pandemics.

Background: DNA damage repair genes (DDRGs) have an impact on a wide range of malignancies. However, the relevance of these genes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) prognosis has received little attention. In this study, we want to develop a prognostic signature that will open up novel therapy options for HCC. Methods: We acquired mRNA expression profiles and clinical data of HCC patients from the TCGA database. A polygenic prognostic model for HCC was constructed using LASSO Cox regression and was validated using the ICGC database. Correlations between risk signature and immune status, clinical characteristics and drug sensitivity were investigated. Protein expression levels of prognostic genes were verified using immunohistochemistry. Results: A DDRGs signature model was developed using LASSO Cox regression analysis. Patients in the high-risk group had worse overall survival compared to the low-risk group. Multivariate Cox analysis showed that the risk score is an independent predictor of OS. Functional analysis revealed a strong association with cell cycle and antigen binding pathways, and the risk score was highly correlated with tumor grade, tumor stage, and types of immune infiltrate. High expression levels of prognostic genes were significantly correlated with increased sensitivity of cancer cells to anti-tumor drugs. Immunohistochemistry staining indicated that, except for NEIL3, the other 9 genes were highly expressed in HCC. Conclusion: Ten DDRGs were utilized to create a new signature that might influence the immunological state in HCC and be used for prognostic prediction. In addition, blocking these genes could be an alternate treatment.

Purpose: Myeloperoxidase(MPO) has been found to be the mediator in various inflammatory diseases. Bacterial infection of the intestine and hypoxia can both lead to inflammatory responses, but the effects of MPO in these phenomena are still unclear. Methods: By building the MPO-/- mice ，we examined relevant inflammatory factors and tissue damage in mice with intestinal Citrobacter rodentium infection and hypoxia. The body weight and excreted microorganisms were monitored. Intestinal tissues were collected 7 days after bacterial infection under hypoxia to undergo HE staining and assess the degree of pathological damage. The levels of TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-6 and IL-1β inflammatory factors in the serum were quantified using ELISA. PCR, WB and IF assays to determine the expression of chemokines MCP1, MIP2 and KC in the colon and spleen. . Results: Citrobacter rodentium infection and hypoxia caused weight loss , intestinal colitis and splenic inflammatory cells active proliferation in wild type mice and this phenomena was alleviative in MPO-/- mice. Also，the capability of clearing bacteria in MPO-/- mice significantly declined. The level of TNF-α in the serum and spleen was both lower in MPO-/- hypoxia C. rodentium-infected mice than that in wild type mice. The chemokines expression levels of MIP2, KC and MCP1 in the spleen and colon of each bacterial infected group were significantly increased (P<0.05), while in hypoxia, the factors in the spleen and colon were decreased (P<0.05). Meanwhile, The levels of these chemokines in the MPO-/- mice were found to be lower than those observed in the wild type mice. Conclusion: MPO plays an important role of the inflammatory responses in infectious enteritis and hypoxia in mice. Loss of MPO may greatly reduces the body’s inflammatory responses to fight deseases.