The 2019 novel coronavirus has caused the outbreak of the acute respiratory disease in Wuhan, Hubei Province of China since December 2019. This study was performed to analyze the clinical ...characteristics of patients who succumbed to and who recovered from 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Clinical data were collected from two tertiary hospitals in Wuhan. A retrospective investigation was conducted to analyze the clinical characteristics of fatal cases of COVID-19 (death group) and we compare them with recovered patients (recovered group). Continuous variables were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Categorical variables were analyzed by χ test or Fisher exact test as appropriate.
Our study enrolled 109 COVID-19 patients who died during hospitalization and 116 recovered patients. The median age of the death group was older than the recovered group (69 62, 74 vs. 40 33, 57 years, Z = 9.738, P < 0.001). More patients in the death group had underlying diseases (72.5% vs. 41.4%, χ = 22.105, P < 0.001). Patients in the death group had a significantly longer time of illness onset to hospitalization (10.0 6.5, 12.0 vs. 7.0 5.0, 10.0 days, Z = 3.216, P = 0.001). On admission, the proportions of patients with symptoms of dyspnea (70.6% vs. 19.0%, χ = 60.905, P < 0.001) and expectoration (32.1% vs. 12.1%, χ = 13.250, P < 0.001) were significantly higher in the death group. The blood oxygen saturation was significantly lower in the death group (85 77, 91% vs. 97 95, 98%, Z = 10.625, P < 0.001). The white blood cell (WBC) in death group was significantly higher on admission (7.23 4.87, 11.17 vs. 4.52 3.62, 5.88 ×10/L, Z = 7.618, P < 0.001). Patients in the death group exhibited significantly lower lymphocyte count (0.63 0.40, 0.79 vs. 1.00 0.72, 1.27 ×10/L, Z = 8.037, P < 0.001) and lymphocyte percentage (7.10 4.45, 12.73% vs. 23.50 15.27, 31.25%, Z = 10.315, P < 0.001) on admission, and the lymphocyte percentage continued to decrease during hospitalization (7.10 4.45, 12.73% vs. 2.91 1.79, 6.13%, Z = 5.242, P < 0.001). Alanine transaminase (22.00 15.00, 34.00 vs. 18.70 13.00, 30.38 U/L, Z = 2.592, P = 0.010), aspartate transaminase (34.00 27.00, 47.00 vs. 22.00 17.65, 31.75 U/L, Z = 7.308, P < 0.001), and creatinine levels (89.00 72.00, 133.50 vs. 65.00 54.60, 78.75 μmol/L, Z = 6.478, P < 0.001) were significantly higher in the death group than those in the recovered group. C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were also significantly higher in the death group on admission (109.25 35.00, 170.28 vs. 3.22 1.04, 21.80 mg/L, Z = 10.206, P < 0.001) and showed no significant improvement after treatment (109.25 35.00, 170.28 vs. 81.60 27.23, 179.08 mg/L, Z = 1.219, P = 0.233). The patients in the death group had more complications such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (89.9% vs. 8.6%, χ = 148.105, P < 0.001), acute cardiac injury (59.6% vs. 0.9%, χ = 93.222, P < 0.001), acute kidney injury (18.3% vs. 0%, χ = 23.257, P < 0.001), shock (11.9% vs. 0%, χ = 14.618, P < 0.001), and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) (6.4% vs. 0%, χ = 7.655, P = 0.006).
Compared to the recovered group, more patients in the death group exhibited characteristics of advanced age, pre-existing comorbidities, dyspnea, oxygen saturation decrease, increased WBC count, decreased lymphocytes, and elevated CRP levels. More patients in the death group had complications such as ARDS, acute cardiac injury, acute kidney injury, shock, and DIC.
Human infections with zoonotic coronaviruses (CoVs), including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV, have raised great public health concern ...globally. Here, we report a novel bat-origin CoV causing severe and fatal pneumonia in humans.
We collected clinical data and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens from five patients with severe pneumonia from Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, Hubei province, China. Nucleic acids of the BAL were extracted and subjected to next-generation sequencing. Virus isolation was carried out, and maximum-likelihood phylogenetic trees were constructed.
Five patients hospitalized from December 18 to December 29, 2019 presented with fever, cough, and dyspnea accompanied by complications of acute respiratory distress syndrome. Chest radiography revealed diffuse opacities and consolidation. One of these patients died. Sequence results revealed the presence of a previously unknown β-CoV strain in all five patients, with 99.8% to 99.9% nucleotide identities among the isolates. These isolates showed 79.0% nucleotide identity with the sequence of SARS-CoV (GenBank NC_004718) and 51.8% identity with the sequence of MERS-CoV (GenBank NC_019843). The virus is phylogenetically closest to a bat SARS-like CoV (SL-ZC45, GenBank MG772933) with 87.6% to 87.7% nucleotide identity, but is in a separate clade. Moreover, these viruses have a single intact open reading frame gene 8, as a further indicator of bat-origin CoVs. However, the amino acid sequence of the tentative receptor-binding domain resembles that of SARS-CoV, indicating that these viruses might use the same receptor.
A novel bat-borne CoV was identified that is associated with severe and fatal respiratory disease in humans.
In this paper, the historical power load data from the National Electricity Market (Australia) is used to analyze the characteristics and regulations of electricity (the average value of every eight ...hours). Then, considering the inverse of Euclidean distance as the weight, this paper proposes a novel short-term load forecasting model based on the weighted k-nearest neighbor algorithm to receive higher satisfied accuracy. In addition, the forecasting errors are compared with the back-propagation neural network model and the autoregressive moving average model. The comparison results demonstrate that the proposed forecasting model could reflect variation trend and has good fitting ability in short-term load forecasting.
Using a method optimized in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we established patient‐derived xenograft (PDX) models with an increased take rate (42.2%) and demonstrated that FBS +10% dimethyl sulfoxide ...exhibited the highest tumor take rate efficacy. Among 254 HCC patients, 103 stably transplantable xenograft lines that could be serially passaged, cryopreserved and revived were established. These lines maintained the diversity of HCC and the essential features of the original specimens at the histological, transcriptome, proteomic and genomic levels. Tumor engraftment was associated with lack of encapsulation, poor tumor differentiation, large size and overexpression of cancer stem cell biomarkers, and was an independent predictor for overall survival and tumor recurrence after resection. To confirm the preclinical value of the PDX model in HCC treatment, several antitumor agents were tested in 16 selected PDX models. The results revealed a high degree of pharmacologic heterogeneity in the cohort, as well as heterogeneity to different agents in the same individual. The sorafenib responses observed between HCC patients and the corresponding PDXs were also consistent. After molecular characterization of the PDX models, we explored the predictive markers for sorafenib response and found that mitogen‐activated protein kinase kinase kinase 1 (MAP3K1) might play an important role in sorafenib resistance and sorafenib response is impaired in patients with MAP3K1 downexpression. Our results indicated that PDX models could accurately reproduce patient tumors biology and could aid in the discovery of new treatments to advance in precision medicine.
What's new?
Patient‐derived xenografts (PDX) models offer a promising preclinical tool. Here, the authors established the largest bank of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) PDX models with a high and stable tumor take rate that recapitulated the key clinical and molecular characteristics of primary tumors. The tumor take rate was associated with expression of cancer stem cell proteins, lack of tumor encapsulation, poor differentiation, advanced stage, overall survival, and time to recurrence in patients. The models were used to identify MAP3K1 expression as an indicator of patient response to sorafenib treatment. PDX models are valuable surrogates for HCC patients and could facilitate translational research.
The effect of temperature on the passive film structure and corrosion performance of CoCrFeMoNi HEA was studied. The results indicated that the passive films exhibited a bilayer structure, where Co ...and Mo were segregated in the outer film, while Cr was enriched in the inner layer. The content of Fe and Mo species in the passive films decreased with rising temperature, leading to the passive film degradation. The CPT of the HEA was 50–60 ℃. The HEA suffered from selective dissolution of FCC phase below 50 ℃ during the potentiodynamic polarization tests, while pitting corrosion occurred above 60 ℃.
•Cr and Mo was enriched in the passive films of the HEA.•Distribution of cation elements within the bi-layered passive films was discussed.•The content of Fe and Mo species in the passive films decreased with raising temperature.•Selective corrosion of the (Cr, Mo)-depleted FCC phase was found.•The CPT value of the HEA was between 50 and 60 ℃.
In this paper, we propose and develop a leaky-wave antenna (LWA) by periodically loading shunt radiation element pairs along a host transmission line (TL). Each pair of radiation unit consists of one ...capacitive element and one inductive element, which are susceptance-complementary with each other. The complementary radiation element loading leads to an effective open-stopband (OSB) suppression, thereby facilitating a continuous leaky-wave beam scanning from backward, through broadside, to forward. Compared with the previously studied OSB-suppressed LWAs containing only one type of susceptive radiation elements, the proposed LWA features two unique properties: constant radiation efficiency over the operation band, and unit cell period only related to the host TL regardless of parameter values of the radiation elements. The aperture synthesis of the proposed LWA is hence straightforward as the radiation elements can be designed to be equally spaced. Experimental prototypes are designed and fabricated based on microstrip line structure as a proof of concept. Desired measured results agree well with the theoretical predictions.
Since load forecasting plays a decisive role in the safe and stable operation of power systems, it is particularly important to explore forecasting methods accurately. In this article, the hybrid ...empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and support vector regression (SVR) with back‐propagation neural network (BPNN), namely the EMDHR‐SVR‐BPNN model, is proposed. Information theory is mainly used to solve the data tendency problem, and the EMD method is used to solve the data volatility problem. There is no interaction between these two methods; thus these two models can complement each other through generalized regression of orthogonal decomposition. Taking the load data from the New South Wales (NSW, Australia) market as an example, the obtained simulation results are compared with other models. It is concluded that the proposed EMDHR‐SVR‐BPNN model not only improves the forecasting accuracy but also has good fitting ability. It can reflect the changing tendency of data in a timely manner, providing a strong basis for the electricity generation of the power sector in the future, thus reducing electricity waste. The proposed EMDHR‐SVR‐BPNN model has potential for employment in mid‐short term load forecasting.
•We fabricate a metal–insulator–metal capacitive humidity sensor.•The functional sensing polymer comprises TiO2 nanoparticles.•The polymer is subjected to inductive plasma and reactive-ion ...etching.•This increases the sensor sensitivity, stability, and performance.•Our sensor is useful for temperature-independent applications.
We propose a high-performance porous metal–insulator–metal-type capacitive humidity sensor based on a functional polymer mixed with TiO2 microparticles subjected to inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and reactive-ion etching (RIE) treatments. The humidity sensor is composed of a porous top electrode, a TiO2-containing functional polymer humidity-sensitive layer subjected to two types of oxygen plasma treatment, a bottom electrode, and a glass substrate. The initial O2 ICP dry-etching utilizes higher intensity plasma for deep etching in the inlet holes on the top electrode to increase the contact area and shorten the vapor absorption path, thereby yielding high sensitivity and low hysteresis. Further, the RIE treatment leads to roughening of the polymer etching surface and further improving the performance of the humidity sensor. The functional polymer mixed with TiO2 microparticles exhibits excellent hysteresis over a wide humidity sensing range. The fabricated sensors are tested at various relative humidity (RH) values, achieving an ultra-low hysteresis of 0.64% RH at 60% RH, a high sensitivity of 1.24pF/% RH, a fast response time of less than 25s, good temperature dependence, and a stable capacitance value with a maximum error rate of 0.15% over 120h of continuous testing.
In this paper, an efficient method is proposed to eliminate frequency splitting in nonradiative wireless power transfer via magnetic resonance coupling. In this method, two nonidentical resonant ...coils (NIRCs) are used as wireless power transmitter and receiver, respectively. According to the elliptic integral term in the analytical expression, the pole of the mutual inductance function with respect to transfer distance can be eliminated by using the two NIRCs, and hence overcoupling between transmitter and receiver with close transfer distance is avoided. Therefore, frequency splitting caused by overcoupling can be suppressed and stable output power can be achieved. The NIRCs are analytically calculated, numerically simulated and finally, fabricated and tested to verify the theory. All the calculated and experimental results show that frequency splitting is completely eliminated and uniform voltage across the load is achieved. Furthermore, lateral misalignment between the NIRCs barely introduces frequency splitting, and the suppression level of frequency splitting can also be controlled freely.
Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is characterized by atherosclerotic plaque rupture with a high incidence of recurrent ischemic events. Several microRNAs are found to be aberrantly expressed in ...atherosclerotic plaques. This study aims to investigate the effects of microRNA‐9 (miR‐9) on vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque and vascular remodeling in ACS and underlying mechanisms. Microarray‐based gene expression profiling was used to identify differentially expressed genes related to ACS and regulatory miRNAs. Oxidized low‐density lipoprotein (lectin‐like) receptor 1 (OLR1) was identified to be aberrantly activated in ACS and regulated by miR‐9. OLR1 was verified as a target gene of miR‐9 by bioinformatics prediction and dual luciferase reporter gene assay. The atherosclerotic models were induced in ApoE−/− mice, in which the agomir or antagomir of miR‐9, or small interfering RNA (siRNA) against OLR1 were separately introduced. Serum lipid levels and expression of vascular remodeling and inflammatory response‐related factors were determined, respectively. On the basis of the obtained results, in the atherosclerosis mice treated with the agomir of miR‐9 and siRNA against OLR1, the p38‐mitogen‐activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) pathway was inhibited; levels of triglyceride, total cholesterol, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, tumor necrosis factor‐α, interleukin‐6, and vascular endothelial growth factor were reduced, but the high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol level was increased, along with decreased vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque area and enhanced vascular remodeling. Taken together, these findings suggested an inhibitory role miR‐9 acts in the formation of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques in ACS mice, along with a promoted vascular remodeling, via a negative feedback regulation of OLR1‐mediated p38MAPK pathway.
Our current study included the following highlights: (1) microRNA‐9 (miR‐9) specifically inhibits oxidized low‐density lipoprotein (lectin‐like) receptor 1 (OLR1). (2) Upregulated miR‐9 reduces atherosclerosis. (3) Upregulated miR‐9 promotes vascular remodeling. (4) miR‐9 inhibits p38‐mitogen‐activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) pathway to alleviate atherosclerosis via knockdown of OLR1. (5) miR‐9 targeting OLR1 might be a novel target for the treatment of acute coronary syndrome (ACS).
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