During the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), consistent and considerable differences in disease severity and mortality rate of patients treated in Hubei province compared to those in ...other parts of China have been observed. We sought to compare the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients being treated inside and outside Hubei province, and explore the factors underlying these differences.
Collaborating with the National Health Commission, we established a retrospective cohort to study hospitalised COVID-19 cases in China. Clinical characteristics, the rate of severe events and deaths, and the time to critical illness (invasive ventilation or intensive care unit admission or death) were compared between patients within and outside Hubei. The impact of Wuhan-related exposure (a presumed key factor that drove the severe situation in Hubei, as Wuhan is the epicentre as well the administrative centre of Hubei province) and the duration between symptom onset and admission on prognosis were also determined.
At the data cut-off (31 January 2020), 1590 cases from 575 hospitals in 31 provincial administrative regions were collected (core cohort). The overall rate of severe cases and mortality was 16.0% and 3.2%, respectively. Patients in Hubei (predominantly with Wuhan-related exposure, 597 (92.3%) out of 647) were older (mean age 49.7
44.9 years), had more cases with comorbidity (32.9%
19.7%), higher symptomatic burden, abnormal radiologic manifestations and, especially, a longer waiting time between symptom onset and admission (5.7
4.5 days) compared with patients outside Hubei. Patients in Hubei (severe event rate 23.0%
11.1%, death rate 7.3%
0.3%, HR (95% CI) for critical illness 1.59 (1.05-2.41)) have a poorer prognosis compared with patients outside Hubei after adjusting for age and comorbidity. However, among patients outside Hubei, the duration from symptom onset to hospitalisation (mean 4.4
4.7 days) and prognosis (HR (95%) 0.84 (0.40-1.80)) were similar between patients with or without Wuhan-related exposure. In the overall population, the waiting time, but neither treated in Hubei nor Wuhan-related exposure, remained an independent prognostic factor (HR (95%) 1.05 (1.01-1.08)).
There were more severe cases and poorer outcomes for COVID-19 patients treated in Hubei, which might be attributed to the prolonged duration of symptom onset to hospitalisation in the epicentre. Future studies to determine the reason for delaying hospitalisation are warranted.
Breast cancer is the second cause of cancer mortality in women globally. Early detection, treatment, and metastasis monitoring are of great importance to favorable prognosis. Although conventional ...diagnostic methods, such as breast X-ray mammography and image positioning biopsy, are accurate, they could cause radioactive or invasive damage to patients. Liquid biopsy as a noninvasive method is convenient for repeated sampling in clinical cancer prognostic, metastatic evaluation, and relapse monitoring. MicroRNAs encased in exosomes circulating in biofluids are promising candidate cancer biomarkers because of their cancer-specific expression profiles. Here, we report an in situ detection of microRNA-1246 (miR-1246) in human plasma exosomes as breast cancer biomarker by a nucleic acid functionalized Au nanoflare probe. Needing neither time-consuming and costly isolation of exosomes from the plasma sample nor transfection means, the Au nanoflare probe can directly enter the plasma exosomes to generate fluorescent signal quantitatively by specifically targeting miR-1246. Only 40 μL of plasma is needed to incubate 4 h with the probe, giving signal sensitive enough to distinguish samples of breast cancer to normal control. Using plasma miR-1246 level detected by our assay as a marker, we differentiated 46 breast cancer patients from 28 healthy controls with 100% sensitivity and 92.9% specificity at the best cutoff. This simple, accurate, sensitive, and cost-effective liquid biopsy by the Au nanoflare probe is potent to be developed as a noninvasive breast cancer diagnostic assay for clinical adaption.
•Proton conduction.•Metal organic framework.•Metal phosphonates.•Hydrogen bond.
This review covers basic design principles and offers a cross-section of the current status of phosphonate MOFs as ...proton conductors. Metal phosphonates are often sustained by strong bonds that render them very stable materials. The phosphonate group can also coordinate as a protonated species. These factors, coupled with the inherent structural versatility intrinsic to any metal organic framework family, are the foundation of their interest as proton conducting materials. This review summarizes the recent progress in this topical field as well as some of the existing challenges for further development. The present state of application of the materials is still largely in the academic domain but increasingly, new structures with the necessary proton conducting ability and stability to merit further development as membranes are being reported. The review concludes with a discussion of future challenges for development of this promising field.
Photoassisted electrochemical reaction is regarded as an effective approach to reduce the overpotential of lithium–oxygen (Li–O2) batteries. However, the achievement of both broadband absorption and ...long term battery cycling stability are still a formidable challenge. Herein, an oxygen vacancy‐mediated fast kinetics for a photoassisted Li–O2 system is developed with a silver/bismuth molybdate (Ag/Bi2MoO6) hybrid cathode. The cathode can offer both double advantages for light absorption covering UV to visible region and excellent electrochemical activity for O2. Upon discharging, the photoexcited electrons from Ag nanoplate based on the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) are injected into the oxygen vacancy in Bi2MoO6. The fast oxygen reaction kinetics generate the amorphous Li2O2, and the discharge plateau is improved to 3.05 V. Upon charging, the photoexcited holes are capable to decompose amorphous Li2O2 promptly, yielding a very low charge plateau of 3.25 V. A first cycle round‐trip efficiency is 93.8% and retention of 70% over 500 h, which is the longest cycle life ever reported in photoassisted Li–O2 batteries. This work offers a general and reliable strategy for boosting the electrochemical kinetics by tailoring the crystalline of Li2O2 with wide‐band light.
A facile oxygen vacancy‐mediated fast kinetics for an ultrawide band photoassisted Li–O2 system is developed. The bifunctional Ag/Bi2MoO6 cathode is favorable to promoting the oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction kinetics due to the discharge products is amorphous Li2O2. The reaction mechanism is revealed by in situ X‐ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy.
Surfaces, interfaces and grain boundaries are classically known to be sinks of defects generated within the bulk lattice. Here, we report an inverse case by which the defects generated at the ...particle surface are continuously pumped into the bulk lattice. We show that, during operation of a rechargeable battery, oxygen vacancies produced at the surfaces of lithium-rich layered cathode particles migrate towards the inside lattice. This process is associated with a high cutoff voltage at which an anionic redox process is activated. First-principle calculations reveal that triggering of this redox process leads to a sharp decrease of both the formation energy of oxygen vacancies and the migration barrier of oxidized oxide ions, therefore enabling the migration of oxygen vacancies into the bulk lattice of the cathode. This work unveils a coupled redox dynamic that needs to be taken into account when designing high-capacity layered cathode materials for high-voltage lithium-ion batteries.
Multi‐component MOFs contain multiple sets of unique and hierarchical pores, with different functions for different applications, distributed in their inter‐linked domains. Herein, we report the ...construction of a class of precisely aligned flexible‐on‐rigid hybrid‐phase MOFs with a unique rods‐on‐octahedron morphology. We demonstrated that hybrid‐phase MOFs can be constructed based on two prerequisites: the partially matched topology at the interface of the two frameworks, and the structural flexibility of MOFs with acs topology, which can compensate for the differences in lattice parameters. Furthermore, we achieved domain selective loading of multiple guest molecules into the hybrid‐phase MOF, as observed by scanning transmission electron microscopy–energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectrometry elemental mapping. Most importantly, we successfully applied the constructed hybrid‐phase MOF to develop a dual‐drug delivery system with controllable loading ratio and release kinetics.
A class of precisely aligned flexible‐on‐rigid hybrid‐phase MOFs were synthesized by the heteroepitaxial growth of acs‐topology MOF on the surface of fcu‐topology MOF. Domain‐selective loading of multiple guests into the hybrid‐phase MOFs was achieved by size‐selective encapsulation or selective binding. A dual‐drug delivery system with controllable loading ratio and release kinetics was developed based on the hybrid‐phase MOF.
Fluorescent materials exhibiting two‐photon induction (TPI) are used for nonlinear optics, bioimaging, and phototherapy. Polymerizations of molecular chromophores to form π‐conjugated structures were ...hindered by the lack of long‐range ordering in the structure and strong π–π stacking between the chromophores. Reported here is the rational design of a benzothiadiazole‐based covalent organic framework (COF) for promoting TPI and obtaining efficient two‐photon induced fluorescence emissions. Characterization and spectroscopic data revealed that the enhancement in TPI performance is attributed to the donor‐π‐acceptor‐π‐donor configuration and regular intervals of the chromophores, the large π‐conjugation domain, and the long‐range order of COF crystals. The crystalline structure of TPI‐COF attenuates the π–π stacking interactions between the layers, and overcomes aggregation‐caused emission quenching of the chromophores for improving near‐infrared two‐photon induced fluorescence imaging.
A new image: A benzothiadiazole‐based covalent organic framework is reported to promote two‐photon induction and to overcome the aggregation‐caused emission quenching of the chromophores. The design improves upon current near‐infrared two‐photon induced fluorescence imaging techniques.
•3d transition metal phosphonate clusters and chains showing single molecule magnet and single chain magnet behaviour.•Layer or three-dimensional transition metal phosphonates with ferromagnetism, ...ferrimagnetism, canted antiferromagnetism, and metamagnetism.•Magnetic 3d metal phosphonates with multifunctions.
Metal phosphonate chemistry has witnessed a rapid development during the past two decades. Numerous compounds have been synthesized which show new architectures and interesting physical or chemical properties. In this article, we focus on the 3d transition metal phosphonate clusters with single molecule magnet behavior; chain compounds with single chain magnet behavior; and layer or three-dimensional compounds with ferromagnetism, ferrimagnetism, canted antiferromagnetism, and metamagnetism. Finally, magnetic 3d metal phosphonates with multifunctions are also discussed.
Angiogenesis is a major pathologic characteristic of glioblastoma, which is one aggressive primary brain tumor. MicroRNA‐221/222 (miR‐221/222) cluster has been previously reported to function ...importantly in malignant glioma biological process. The current study aims at evaluating the effects of miR‐221/222 cluster on angiogenesis of glioblastoma cells. Microarray data were analyzed to select glioblastoma‐associated differentially expressed genes, and dual‐luciferase reporter assay was performed to assess targeting correlation between miR‐221/222 cluster and suppressor of cytokine signaling‐3 (SOCS3). Subsequently, the expression patterns of miR‐221 and miR‐222 in glioblastoma cells were identified. miR‐221 and miR‐222 were overexpressed or silenced in glioblastoma cells to identify the effect of miR‐221/222 cluster in cell invasion, migration, proliferation, and angiogenesis. To define downstream pathway of miR‐221/222 cluster or SOCS3 in glioblastoma, levels of Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) pathway‐related proteins were assessed. Additionally, the functions of miR‐221/222 on glioblastoma cell angiogenesis were measured in vivo with microvessel density assayed. miR‐221 and miR‐222 were expressed at a high level and SOCS3 was at a low level in glioblastoma. Downregulation of the miR‐221/222 cluster diminished the invasion, migration, proliferation, and angiogenesis with reduced protein levels of matrix metalloproteinase‐2 (MMP‐2), MMP‐9, and vascular endothelial growth factor in glioblastoma cells. Also, silencing miR‐221/222 cluster reduced p‐JAK2/JAK2 and p‐STAT3/STAT3. Consistently, the inhibitory role of silencing miR‐221/222 cluster on tumorigenesis of glioblastoma cells was confirmed in vivo. Collectively, the inhibition of miR‐221/222 cluster could attenuate the glioblastoma angiogenesis through inactivation of the JAK/STAT pathway by upregulating SOCS3.
Collectively, the inhibition of microRNA‐221/222 cluster could attenuate the glioblastoma angiogenesis through inactivation of the Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription pathway by upregulating SOCS3.
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