Human alveolar echinococcosis is a hard-to-treat and largely untreated parasitic disease with high associated health care costs. The current antiparasitic treatment for alveolar echinococcosis relies exclusively on albendazole, which does not act parasiticidally and can induce severe adverse effects. Alternative, and most importantly, improved treatment options are urgently required. A drug repurposing strategy identified the approved antimalarial pyronaridine as a promising candidate against Echinococcus multilocularis infections. Following a 30-day oral regimen (80 mg kg−1 day−1), pyronaridine achieved an excellent therapeutic outcome in a clinically relevant hepatic alveolar echinococcosis murine model, showing a significant reduction in both metacestode size (72.0%) and counts (85.2%) compared to unmedicated infected mice, which revealed significantly more potent anti-echinococcal potency than albendazole treatment at an equal dose (metacestode size: 42.3%; counts: 4.1%). The strong parasiticidal activity of pyronaridine was further confirmed by the destructive damage to metacestode tissues observed morphologically. In addition, a screening campaign combined with computational similarity searching against an approved drug library led to the identification of pirenzepine, a gastric acid-inhibiting drug, exhibiting potent parasiticidal activity against protoscoleces and in vitro cultured small cysts, which warranted further in vivo investigation as a promising anti-echinococcal lead compound. Pyronaridine has a known drug profile and a long track record of safety, and its repurposing could translate rapidly to clinical use for human patients with alveolar echinococcosis as an alternative or salvage treatment.

Adherence to post-exposure prophylaxis and post-exposure vaccination (PEV) is an important measure to prevent rabies. The purpose of this study was to explore the adherence to the vaccination protocol and its influencing factors among rabies-exposed patients in Shenzhen, China. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a tertiary hospital in Shenzhen, China, to obtain epidemiological characteristics of patients; knowledge, attitude, and practice scores of rabies prevention; and medical records. A total of 326 patients requiring full rabies PEV were included in this study, and only 62% (202) completed the full course of vaccination according to the norms of the vaccination guidelines. After multifactor logistic regression, the factors influencing adherence to vaccination were as follows: age 31 to 40 years, time spent to reach the nearest rabies prevention clinic was >60 min, the time of injury was at night to early morning, the place of injury was a school/laboratory, the animal causing injury was a cat, the health status of the animal causing injury could not be determined, and patients with higher practice scores (all p<0.05). Understanding the factors influencing rabies vaccination adherence among rabies-exposed patients in urban areas of China and promote changes in patients’ practice toward rabies prevention is essential for rabies elimination by 2030.

We conducted a retrospective, analytical cross-sectional and single-centre study that included 190 hospitalised COVID-19 patients in the Fujian Provincial Hospital South Branch between December 2022 and January 2023 to analyse the correlation of viral loads of throat swabs with clinical progression and outcomes. To normalise the Ct value as quantification of viral loads, we used RNase P gene as internal control gene and subtracted the Ct value of SARS-CoV-2 N gene from the Ct value of RNase P gene, termed △Ct. Most patients were discharged (84.2%), and only 10 (5.6%) individuals who had a lower △Ct value died. The initial △Ct value of participants was also significantly correlated with some abnormal laboratory characteristics, and the duration time of SARS-CoV-2 was longer in patients with severe symptoms and a lower △Ct value at admission. Our study suggested that the △Ct value may be used as a predictor of disease progression and outcomes in hospitalised COVID-19 patients.

Maternal gestational weight gain (GWG) is an important determinant of infant birth weight, and having adequate total GWG has been widely recommended. However, the association of timing of GWG with birth weight remains controversial. We aimed to evaluate this association, especially among women with adequate total GWG. In a prospective cohort study, pregnant women’s weight was routinely measured during pregnancy, and their GWG was calculated for the ten intervals: the first 13, 14–18, 19–23, 24–28, 29–30, 31–32, 33–34, 35–36, 37–38 and 39–40 weeks. Birth weight was measured, and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) and large-for-gestational-age were assessed. Generalized linear and Poisson models were used to evaluate the associations of GWG with birth weight and its outcomes after multivariate adjustment, respectively. Of the 5049 women, increased GWG in the first 30 weeks was associated with increased birth weight for male infants, and increased GWG in the first 28 weeks was associated with increased birth weight for females. Among 1713 women with adequate total GWG, increased GWG percent between 14 and 23 weeks was associated with increased birth weight. Moreover, inadequate GWG between 14 and 23 weeks, compared with the adequate GWG, was associated with an increased risk of SGA (43 (13·7 %) v. 42 (7·2 %); relative risk 1·83, 95 % CI 1·21, 2·76). Timing of GWG may influence infant birth weight differentially, and women with inadequate GWG between 14 and 23 weeks may be at higher risk of delivering SGA infants, despite having adequate total GWG.

The high overall plant-based diet index (PDI) is considered to protect against type 2 diabetes in the general population. However, whether the PDI affects gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) risk among pregnant women is still unclear. We evaluated the association between PDI and GDM risk based on a Chinese large prospective cohort – the Tongji Maternal and Child Health Cohort. Dietary data were collected at 13–28 weeks of pregnancy by a validated semi-quantitative FFQ. The PDI was obtained by assigning plant food groups positive scores while assigning animal food groups reverse scores. GDM was diagnosed by a 75 g 2-h oral glucose tolerance test at 24–28 weeks of gestation. Logistic regression models were fitted to estimate OR of GDM, with associated 95 % CI, comparing women in different PDI quartiles. Among the total 2099 participants, 169 (8·1 %) were diagnosed with GDM. The PDI ranged from 21·0 to 52·0 with a median of 36·0 (interquartile range (IQR) 33·0–39·0). After adjusting for social-demographic characteristics and lifestyle factors etc., the participants with the highest quartile of PDI were associated with 57 % reduced odds of GDM compared with women in the lowest quartile of PDI (adjusted OR 0·43; 95 % CI 0·24, 0·77; P for trend = 0·005). An IQR increment in PDI was associated with 29 % decreased odds of GDM (adjusted OR 0·71; 95 % CI 0·56, 0·90). Findings suggest that adopting a plant-based diet during pregnancy could reduce GDM risk among Chinese women, which may be valuable for dietary counselling during pregnancy.

The epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) began in China and had spread rapidly to many other countries. This study aimed to identify risk factors associated with delayed negative conversion of SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 patients. In this retrospective single-centre study, we included 169 consecutive patients with confirmed COVID-19 in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from 15th January to 2nd March. The cases were divided into two groups according to the median time of SARS-CoV-2 negative conversion. The differences between groups were compared. In total, 169 patients had a median virus negative conversion time of 18 days (interquartile range: 11–25) from symptom onset. Compared with the patients with short-term negative conversion, those with long-term conversion had an older age, higher incidence of comorbidities, chief complaints of cough and chest distress/breath shortness and severer illness on admission, higher level of leucocytes, neutrophils, aspartate aminotransferase, creatine kinase and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), lower level of CD3+CD4+ lymphocytes and albumin and more likely to receive mechanical ventilation. In multivariate analysis, cough, leucocytes, neutrophils and ESR were positively correlated with delayed virus negative conversion, and CD3+CD4+ lymphocytes were negatively correlated. The integrated indicator of leucocytes, neutrophils and CD3+CD4+ lymphocytes showed a good performance in predicting the negative conversion within 2 weeks (area under ROC curve (AUC) = 0.815), 3 weeks (AUC = 0.804), 4 weeks (AUC = 0.812) and 5 weeks (AUC = 0.786). In conclusion, longer quarantine periods might be more justified for COVID-19 patients with cough, higher levels of leucocytes, neutrophils and ESR and lower levels of CD3+CD4+ lymphocytes.

We aimed to describe the clinical features in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases. We studied 134 critically ill COVID-19 cases from 30 December 2019 to 20 February 2020 in an intensive care unit (ICU) at Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital. Demographics, underlying diseases, therapy strategies and test results were collected and analysed from patients on admission, admission to the ICU and 48 h before death. The non-survivors were older (65.46 (s.d. 9.74) vs. 46.45 (s.d. 11.09)) and were more likely to have underlying diseases. The blood group distribution of the COVID-19 cases differed from that of the Han population in Wuhan, with type A being 43.85%; type B, 26.92%; type AB, 10% and type O, 19.23%. Non-survivors tend to develop more severe lymphopaenia, with higher C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, procalcitonin, D-dimer levels and gradually increased with time. The clinical manifestations were non-specific. Compared with survivors, non-survivors more likely to have organ function injury, and to receive mechanical ventilation, either invasively or noninvasively. Multiple organ failure and secondary bacterial infection in the later period is worthy of attention.

During the detection of industrial hazardous gases, like formaldehyde (HCHO), the selectivity is still a challenging issue. Herein, an alternative HCHO chemosensor that based on the tin oxide nanoparticles is proposed, which was obtained through a facile hydrothermal method. Gas sensing performances showed that the optimal working temperature located at only 180 °C, the response value of 79 via 50 ppm HCHO was much higher than that of 35 at 230 °C. However, the compromised test temperature was selected as 230 °C, taking into account the faster response/recovery speeds than 180 °C, named 20/23versus 53/60 s, respectively. The response (35) of the SnO2 nanoparticles-based sensor to 50 ppm of HCHO is about 400% higher than that of bulk SnO2 sensor (9), especially when the gas concentration is 1 ppm, SnO2 nanoparticles also has a higher sensitivity which may possibly result from more exposed active sites and small size effect for nanoparticles than for bulk ones. The gas sensor based on SnO2 nanoparticles can be utilized as a promising candidate for practical low-temperature detectors of HCHO due to its higher gas response, excellent response–recovery properties, and perfect selectivity.

A compact ultra-wideband (UWB) monopole antenna with reconfigurable band-notch characteristics is demonstrated in this paper. It is comprised of a modified rectangular patch and a defected ground plane. The band-notch property in the WiMAX and WLAN bands is achieved by etching an open-ended slot on the radiating patch and an inverted U-shaped slot on the ground plane, respectively. To obtain the reconfigurable band-notch performance, two PIN diodes are inserted in the slots, and then the notch-band can be switched by changing the states of the PIN diodes. The antenna has a compact size of 0.47 λ1 × 0.27 λ1. The simulated and measured results indicate that the antenna can operate at a UWB mode, two single band-notch modes, and a dual band-notch mode. Moreover, stable radiation patterns are obtained.

This study aimed to determine whether increased carotenoids intake was associated with reduced risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). We performed a cross-sectional analysis using data from Tongji Maternal and Child Health Cohort study. The dietary carotenoids intake of 1978 pregnant women was assessed using a researcher-administered FFQ before undertaking an oral glucose tolerance test at 24–28 weeks. Multivariate logistic and linear regression analyses were used to obtain the effect estimates. Participants in the highest quartile of lycopene intake showed a lower risk of GDM (OR 0·50; 95 % CI 0·29, 0·86; Pfor trend = 0·007) compared with those in the lowest quartile; each 1 mg increase in lycopene consumption was associated with a 5 % (95 % CI 0·91, 0·99; Pfor trend = 0·020) decrease in GDM risk. No significant association was found between α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein/zeaxanthin intake and GDM risk. Multiple linear regression analysis suggested an inverse association between lycopene intake and fasting blood glucose (FBG) (Pfor trend < 0·001); each 1 mg increase in lycopene intake was associated with 0·005 (95 % CI 0·002, 0·007; Pfor trend < 0·001) mmol/l decrease in FBG. Interaction analysis indicated consistent effect on each age or pre-BMI subgroup; however, a stronger protective effect of lycopene intake against GDM was observed among primigravid women (OR 0·20; 95 % CI 0·07, 0·55 in the highest v. the lowest quartile of intake; Pfor interaction = 0·036). In conclusion, dietary lycopene intake was mainly assumed via reducing FBG to decrease GDM risk, and the protection was relatively increased among primigravid women.

Recently, we introduced an epoxy group to mebendazole by a reaction with epichlorohydrin and obtained two isoforms, mebendazole C1 (M-C1) and mebendazole C2 (M-C2). The in vitro effects of mebendazole derivatives at different concentrations on Echinococcus multilocularis protoscoleces and metacestodes as well as cytotoxicity in rat hepatoma (RH) cells were examined. The results demonstrated that the solubility of the two derivatives was greatly improved compared to mebendazole. The mortality of protoscoleces in vitro reached to 70–80% after 7 days of exposure to mebendazole or M-C2, and M-C2 showed higher parasiticidal effects than mebendazole (P > 0.05). The parasiticidal effect of M-C1 was low, even at a concentration of 30 µm. The percentage of damaged metacestodes that were treated with mebendazole and M-C2 in vitro at different concentrations were similar, and M-C1 exhibited insignificant effects on metacestodes. Significant morphological changes on protoscoleces and metacestodes were observed after treatment with mebendazole and M-C2. In addition, the introduction of an epoxy group to mebendazole also reduced its cytotoxicity in RH cells. Our results demonstrate that the introduction of an epoxy group not only improved the solubility of mebendazole, but also increased its parasiticidal effects on E. multilocularis and reduced its cytotoxicity in RH cells.

This paper reports on an atomic-scale investigation into the β′ precipitates and the long-period stacking ordered phase (LPSO) in Mg–5Y–2.5Ni–0.5Zr (at.%) alloy, using Cs-corrected high angle annular dark field-scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM). The results displayed that the 18R-type and 14H-type LPSO phases coexisted in the as-cast and the solid solution states, and the 18R-type and 14H-type LPSO structures were thermal stable. After aging treatment, the aging peak hardness reached 138 HV at 225 °C for 48 h. The significant increase in hardness was attributed to the formation of the metastable β′ phase. The lattice parameters of a and b axes for β′ phases are a = 0.65 nm, b = 2.20 nm, and c = 0.52 nm by HAADF-STEM. The interaction between the LPSO phase and the β′ can be found. The atomic-scale interactions between the LPSO and β′ phases are divided into two parts: under-aging and peak-aging conditions between the building blocks.

Maternal dietary patterns and macronutrients intake have been shown to affect the development of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), but the findings are inconsistent. We aimed to identify maternal dietary patterns and examine their associations with GDM risk, and to evaluate the contributions of macronutrients intake to these associations. We included 2755 Chinese pregnant women from the Tongji Maternal and Child Health Cohort. Dietary intakes were assessed using a validated semi-quantitative FFQ 2 weeks before the diagnosis of GDM. GDM (n 248) was diagnosed based on the results of a 75-g, 2-h oral glucose tolerance test at 24–28 weeks gestation. We derived five different dietary patterns from a principal component analysis. The results showed that high fish–meat–eggs scores, which were positively related to protein intake and inversely related to carbohydrate intake, were associated with a higher risk of GDM (adjusted OR for quartile 4 v. quartile 1: 1·83; 95 % CI 1·21, 2·79; Ptrend=0·007) and higher plasma glucose levels. In contrast, high rice–wheat–fruits scores, which were positively related to carbohydrate intake and inversely related to protein intake, were associated with lower risk of GDM (adjusted OR for quartile 3 v. quartile 1: 0·54; 95 % CI 0·36, 0·83; Ptrend=0·010) and lower plasma glucose levels. In addition, dietary protein and carbohydrate intake significantly contributed to the associations between dietary patterns and GDM risk or glucose levels. These findings suggest that a dietary pattern characterised by high protein and low carbohydrate intake in pregnancy was associated with a higher risk of GDM, which may provide important clues for dietary guidance during pregnancy to prevent GDM.

Red-emitting phosphor of Ca0.8Zn0.2TiO3:0.2 mol% Pr3+ was synthesized by the hydrothermal method with urea as a mineralizer. The crystalline structure, micromorphology, and luminescent properties of the resultant phosphor were investigated. Results show that elevated calcination temperature does not change the shape of particles that are hollow spheres with a shell thickness of 210–480 nm, and smaller particles are in the middle of the larger ones. The emission intensity at 612 nm originated from 1D2 → 3H4 transition of Pr3+ ions increases with the elevated calcination temperature due to a higher crystallinity. Excitation curves consist of two strong broad bands centered at about 330 and 380 nm and a weaker broad band range from 450 to 500 nm. The sample prepared by the hydrothermal method has better luminescent properties than that of its counterpart prepared by the solid-state method, especially the improvement of near-UV region (380 nm) excitation intensity.