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- Jin, Ying-Hui, et al.
(author)
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Chemoprophylaxis, diagnosis, treatments, and discharge management of COVID-19 : An evidence-based clinical practice guideline (updated version)
- 2020
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In: Military Medical Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2054-9369. ; 7:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the cause of a rapidly spreading illness, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), affecting more than seventeen million people around the world. Diagnosis and treatment guidelines for clinicians caring for patients are needed. In the early stage, we have issued "A rapid advice guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infected pneumonia (standard version)"; now there are many direct evidences emerged and may change some of previous recommendations and it is ripe for develop an evidence-based guideline. We formed a working group of clinical experts and methodologists. The steering group members proposed 29 questions that are relevant to the management of COVID-19 covering the following areas: chemoprophylaxis, diagnosis, treatments, and discharge management. We searched the literature for direct evidence on the management of COVID-19, and assessed its certainty generated recommendations using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Recommendations were either strong or weak, or in the form of ungraded consensus-based statement. Finally, we issued 34 statements. Among them, 6 were strong recommendations for, 14 were weak recommendations for, 3 were weak recommendations against and 11 were ungraded consensus-based statement. They covered topics of chemoprophylaxis (including agents and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) agents), diagnosis (including clinical manifestations, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), respiratory tract specimens, IgM and IgG antibody tests, chest computed tomography, chest x-ray, and CT features of asymptomatic infections), treatments (including lopinavir-ritonavir, umifenovir, favipiravir, interferon, remdesivir, combination of antiviral drugs, hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine, interleukin-6 inhibitors, interleukin-1 inhibitors, glucocorticoid, qingfei paidu decoction, lianhua qingwen granules/capsules, convalescent plasma, lung transplantation, invasive or noninvasive ventilation, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)), and discharge management (including discharge criteria and management plan in patients whose RT-PCR retesting shows SARS-CoV-2 positive after discharge). We also created two figures of these recommendations for the implementation purpose. We hope these recommendations can help support healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients.
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- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(author)
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Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
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In: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
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- Ye, Chen-Qing, et al.
(author)
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EIS analysis on chloride-induced corrosion behavior of reinforcement steel in simulated carbonated concrete pore solutions
- 2013
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In: Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry. - : Elsevier BV. - 1572-6657. ; 688, s. 275-281
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The corrosion behavior of reinforcement steel in simulated carbonated concrete pore (SCCP) solution containing different concentrations of chloride was studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and linear polarization resistance (LPR) measurements simultaneously, and the topographies of the steel specimens and the elemental distribution at corrosion area were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM)/electron microprobe analysis (EMPA). The results showed the capacitive loop and polarization resistance decreased with chloride increasing. Furthermore, when the chloride concentration reached a critical value, the Bode plots obviously exhibited two phase angle peaks indicating two time constants. However, when the chloride content exceeded a critical value, the phase angle peaks decreased to one phenomenal peak. An equivalent circuit with two RC loops was used to characterize the corrosion behavior of reinforcement steel in SCCP solution according to the measurements of EIS. Based on the dependence of the equivalent circuit elements on chloride content and immersion time, the formation, growth and breakdown of passive film of the steel were discussed. It was found that the EIS evaluation of corrosion behavior for reinforcement steel in SCCP solution was good agreement with the LPR and SEM measurements. The EMPA mapping revealed MnS inclusions at steel surface play a leading role in the initiation of pitting corrosion.
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- Guo, Hui-Hui, et al.
(author)
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Alleviation of allergic asthma by rosmarinic acid via gut-lung axis
- 2024
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In: Phytomedicine. - : Elsevier. - 0944-7113 .- 1618-095X. ; 126
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Asthma affects 3% of the global population, leading to over 0.25 million deaths. Due to its complexity, asthma is difficult to cure or prevent, and current therapies have limitations. This has led to a growing demand for alternative asthma treatments. We found rosmarinic acid (RosA) as a potential new drug candidate from natural medicine. However, RosA has poor bioavailability and remains mainly in the gastrointestinal tract after oral administration, suggesting the involvement of gut microbiota in its bioactivity. Purpose: To investigate the mechanism of RosA in alleviating allergic asthma by gut-lung axis. Methods: We used 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metabolites analysis to investigate RosA's modulation of gut microbiota. Techniques of molecular biology and metabolomics were employed to study the pharmacological mechanism of RosA. Cohousing was used to confirm the involvement of gut microbiota in RosA-induced improvement of allergic asthma. Results: RosA decreased cholate levels from spore-forming bacteria, leading to reduced 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT) synthesis, bronchoconstriction, vasodilation, and inflammatory cell infiltration. It also increased short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) levels, facilitating the expression of intestinal tight junction proteins to promote intestinal integrity. SCFAs upregulated intestinal monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs), thereby improving their systemic delivery to reduce Th2/ILC2 mediated inflammatory response and suppress eosinophil influx and mucus production in lung. Additionally, RosA inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS) production and translocation, leading to reduced TLR4-NF kappa B mediated pulmonary inflammation and oxidative stress. Conclusions: The anti-asthmatic mechanism of oral RosA is primarily driven by modulation of gut microbiotaderived 5-HT, SCFAs, and LPS, achieving a combined synergistic effect. RosA is a safe, effective, and reliable drug candidate that could potentially replace glucocorticoids for asthma treatment.
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