MiR-145 encapsulated small extracellular vesicles inhibit colorectal cancer progression by downregulating fascin actin-bundling protein 1 expression.

Background: Drug degradation poses a significant challenge in the pursuit of effective gene therapies for cancers.

Methods: Here we have developed a bioactive nanosized composite that utilizes human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hucMSCs) derived small extracellular vesicles (sEVs), to carry tumor suppressor miR-145 alongside erbium-doped rare earth nanoparticles (ErNPs). This approach not only enhances in vivo delivery but also facilitates real-time fluorescence tracking of nucleic acid drugs in the near infrared (NIR) II window.

Viral sepsis-induced mortality of older patients infected by the Omicron subvariant BA.5 of SARS-CoV-2: a retrospective study.

Background: The infection by the Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) among the older population induced viral sepsis and put them at high risk of severity and mortality.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated 268 patients infected with the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 and hospitalized in two tertiary medical centers in Jiangsu Province, China, from December 2022 to January 2023, who met the Sepsis- 3 criteria. Patients were divided into the survivor (n = 111) and non-survivor (n = 157) groups, and their baseline clinical characteristics, including their demographic information, medical history, clinical manifestation, laboratory test results, arterial blood gas profiles and computed tomography (CT) patterns, were compared between the two groups to evaluate the risk factors for in-hospital death caused by viral sepsis.

A Highly Portable Smartphone-Based Capillary Electrophoresis with Capacitively Coupled Contactless Conductivity Detection.

Work has rarely been reported on a highly portable smartphone-based capillary electrophoresis (CE) with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (CD). Herein, a highly portable phone-based CE (130 mm × 190 × 70 mm, 1.4 kg) with CD and Bluetooth communication, as well as user-interface software, was developed for portable analysis.

Dexmedetomidine administration is associated with reduced mortality in patients with sepsis-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome: a retrospective study.

Background: Although studies have revealed the benefits of using dexmedetomidine (DEX) in treating rodent models of acute lung injury (ALI) by improving their survival rates, clinical investigation on the effect of DEX on patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remains scarce. Through this retrospective study, we aim to better understand the underlying mechanism of sepsis-induced ARDS and the effect of DEX on patients' standard treatment.

Methods: A total of 208 patients with sepsis-induced ARDS, admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) at Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, China, from January 2017 to December 2019, were included.

Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of hospitalized pediatric patients with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia before and after the COVID-19 pandemic in China: a retrospective multicenter study.

Background: In China many respiratory pathogens stayed low activities amid the COVID-19 pandemic due to strict measures and controls. We here aimed to study the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of pediatric inpatients with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) after the mandatory COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, in comparison to those before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We here included 4,296 pediatric patients with MPP, hospitalized by two medical centers in Jiangsu Province, China, from January 2015 to March 2024.

Natural killer cell-based cancer immunotherapy: from basics to clinical trials.

Cellular immunotherapy exploits the capacity of the human immune system in self-protection and surveillance to achieve the anti-tumor effects. Natural killer (NK) cells are lymphocytes of innate immune system and they display a unique inherent ability to identify and eliminate tumor cells. In this review, we first introduce the basic characteristics of NK cells in the physiological and pathological milieus, followed by a discussion of their effector function and immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment.

Protocol for isolating and identifying small extracellular vesicles derived from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells.

Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) are lipid bilayer-enclosed particles secreted by living cells. Here, we present a protocol for the collection and isolation of sEVs derived from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hucMSCs). We describe steps for characterizing their morphology and integrity by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and size distribution using nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and an atomic force microscope (AFM).

The Influence of Authentic Leadership Perception on Clinical Nurses' Voice Behaviour and the Mediating Effect of Conscientiousness.

Background: Clinical nurses, being integral members of the medical system and actively engaged with patients and their families, possess significant influence in addressing various work-related issues and contribute significantly to the advancement of clinical services and the overall stability of hospitals within the nursing team. Consequently, it is imperative to prioritize the consideration of nurses' recommendations in order to identify the factors that can effectively enhance their enthusiasm in vocalizing their concerns.

Design: Data in this cross-sectional descriptive study were collected from March 2021 to August 2021 by the online survey method.

Risk factors for hospitalization and pneumonia development of pediatric patients with seasonal influenza during February-April 2023.

Objectives: In China influenza remains a low activity for continuous 3 years due to COVID-19 controls. We here sought to study the clinical characteristics and risk factors of the influenza infection among children after the mandatory COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.

Methods: We included 1,006 pediatric patients with influenza A virus (IAV) infection, enrolled in one tertiary hospital in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, China, during February to April 2023.

Construction of a novel nomogram based on competing endogenous RNAs and tumor-infiltrating immune cells for prognosis prediction in elderly patients with colorectal cancer.

Competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) and tumor-infiltrating immune cells play essential roles in colorectal cancer (CRC) tumorigenesis. However, their prognostic role in elderly patients with CRC is unclear. Gene expression profiles and clinical information for elderly patients with CRC were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas.

A handheld contactless conductivity detector for monitoring the desalting of low-volume virus and cell samples.

Desalting of biosamples is crucial for analytical techniques intolerant to abundant salts. However, there is no simple tool to monitor the desalting of low-volume biosamples so far. Here we developed a handheld capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detector (hCD) as a miniaturized device to measure the conductivity of 75 μL biosamples.

Stalk-derived carbon dots as nanosensors for Fe ions detection and biological cell imaging.

Iron is one of the most important needed elements for the growth and reproduction of living organisms. The detection of iron levels is important and developing fluorescent probes with excellent sensitivity for Fe ions is of great significance. Carbon dot (CDs) is a new type of fluorescent nanomaterial based on abundant and low-cost carbon elements.

Hepatic dysfunctions in COVID-19 patients infected by the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2.

Background: Presently, the omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) dominates amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, but its clinical characteristics with intrinsic severity and organ tropism remain understudied.

Methods: We reported 1,001 mild COVID-19 patients that were infected with the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 and hospitalized in China from February to June 2022, including their demographic information, medical/immunization history, clinical symptom, and hematological profile. Patients with one-, two- and three-dose vaccination were compared to assess the vaccine effectiveness.

Effect of Hypertension Comorbidity on Clinical Characteristics of COVID-19 Patients Infected by the Wild-Type, the Delta or Omicron Variant SARS-CoV-2.

Background: Hypertension was the most common comorbidity in patients with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We aim to study the effect of comorbid hypertension on the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients with the underlying mechanism.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 459, 336 and 659 COVID-19 patients who were infected by the wild-type, the delta and omicron variant, respectively, including their demographic information, medical history, immunization record (if available), and laboratory parameters, to investigate the clinical differences between COVID-19 patients with and without hypertension.

Correlation of clinical characteristics between patients with seasonal influenza and patients infected by the wild type or delta variant of SARS-CoV-2.

Background: We compared the clinical characteristics of the patients with COVID-19, infected by the wild type or delta variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), in connection with those of patients with seasonal influenza, all in mild cases.

Methods: We retrospectively studied 245 and 115 patients with mild COVID-19 infected by the wild type and the delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, respectively, with their demographic information, medical history, and laboratory data from hospital records, individually compared to 377 patients with mild seasonal influenza, before and after individual treatment.

Results: Compared to the influenza cohort, the COVID-19 cohort or the COVID-19 delta variant cohort demonstrated younger median age, lower male ratio, and shorter duration from disease onset to hospitalization.

Polymalic acid for translational nanomedicine.

With rich carboxyl groups in the side chain, biodegradable polymalic acid (PMLA) is an ideal delivery platform for multifunctional purposes, including imaging diagnosis and targeting therapy. This polymeric material can be obtained via chemical synthesis, or biological production where L-malic acids are polymerized in the presence of PMLA synthetase inside a variety of microorganisms. Fermentative methods have been employed to produce PMLAs from biological sources, and analytical assessments have been established to characterize this natural biopolymer.

Clinical Characteristics of COVID-19 Patients Infected by the Omicron Variant of SARS-CoV-2.

Background: Currently, as the omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) surges amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, its clinical characteristics with intrinsic severity and the protection from vaccination have been understudied.

Methods: We reported 169 COVID-19 patients that were infected with the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 and hospitalized in Suzhou, China, from February to March 2022, with their demographic information, medical/immunization history, clinical symptom, and hematological profile. At the same time, patients with none/partial (one-dose), full (two-dose) and three-dose vaccination were also compared to assess the vaccine effectiveness.

Effect of Comorbid Diabetes on Clinical Characteristics of COVID-19 Patients Infected by the Wild-Type or Delta Variant of SARS-CoV-2.

Background: Diabetes is one of the most common comorbidities in COVID-19 patients that pertains to disease severity, but the causal mechanism regarding its negative impact on COVID-19 outcome has yet been uncovered.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 459 COVID-19 patients admitted in early 2020 and 336 COVID-19 patients admitted in August 2021, with their demographic information, medical history, vaccination status (if applied), and laboratory data reported.

Results: Among COVID-19 patients, compared to the non-diabetic group, the diabetic group exhibited elder age, higher proportion of patients with other major comorbidities, more severe dysfunction of innate immune cells, more refractory blood coagulopathy and more detrimental organ damage.

Association Between Red Blood Cell Distribution Width and COVID-19 Severity in Delta Variant SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Studies have discovered that wild-type SARS-CoV-2 infections are commonly linked to abnormalities in the hematological profiles of COVID-19 patients, one such abnormality being characterized by elevations in red blood cell distribution width (RDW). Whether this linkage reoccurs in delta variant SARS-CoV-2 infection remains unexamined. Here we compared baseline blood parameters in COVID-19 patients infected by wild type and its delta variant, respectively.

Differences in Clinical Characteristics Between Delta Variant and Wild-Type SARS-CoV-2 Infected Patients.

As delta variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) prevailed in the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, its clinical characteristics with the difference from those of wild-type strains have been little studied. We reported one cohort of 341 wild-type patients with COVID-19 admitted at Wuhan, China in 2020 and the other cohort of 336 delta variant patients with COVID-19 admitted at Yangzhou, China in 2021, with comparisons of their demographic information, medical history, clinical manifestation, and hematological data. Furthermore, within the delta variant cohort, patients with none, partial, and full vaccination were also compared to assess vaccine effectiveness.

Comparative Study of Acute Lung Injury in COVID-19 and Non-COVID-19 Patients.

Amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we analyzed clinical characteristics of acute lung injury (ALI) in COVID-19 patients and reported their similarity and dissimilarity to those of non-COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). We reported on 90 COVID-19 and 130 non-COVID-19 ALI patients in the ICUs of multiple centers. Demographic data, medical histories, laboratory findings, and radiological images were analyzed and compared between the two cohorts and within each cohort between survivors and non-survivors.