Recent advances in developing small-molecule inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus has caused havoc across the entire world. Even though several COVID-19 vaccines are currently in distribution worldwide, with others in the pipeline, treatment modalities lag behind. Accordingly, researchers have been working hard to understand the nature of the virus, its mutant strains, and the pathogenesis of the disease in order to uncover possible drug targets and effective therapeutic agents. As the research continues, we now know the genome structure, epidemiological and clinical features, and pathogenic mechanism of SARS-CoV-2. Here, we summarized the potential therapeutic targets involved in the life cycle of the virus. On the basis of these targets, small-molecule prophylactic and therapeutic agents have been or are being developed for prevention and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Analysis on the changing trend of nursing human resources in China from 1990 to 2019 / 中华医院管理杂志

Objective:To clarify the long-term trend of nursing human resource allocation in China, and provide basis for relevant departments to optimize nursing human resource allocation.Methods:Data were extracted from China′s health statistical yearbook from 1990 to 2019. Six indicators of the number of registered nurses, the number of registered nurses per 1 000 population, the ratio of registered nurses to health technicians, doctor-nurse ratio, hospital bed-nurse ratio and nurse-patient ratio were used to make a descriptive statistical analysis on the changing trend of nursing human resources in China.Results:From 1990 to 2019, the number of registered nurses increased from 0.970 million to 4.445 million in China, with an average annual growth rate of 5.37%, the average annual growth rate was 2.23% from 1990 to 2005, 9.96% from 2006 to 2013, and 8.21% from 2014 to 2019. The number of registered nurses per 1 000 population increased from 0.85 to 3.18, with a 4.65% annual growth rate, the doctor-nurse ratio increased from 1∶0.55 to 1∶1.15, with a 2.58% annual growth rate, the hospital bed-nurse ratio increased from 1∶0.33 to 1∶0.50, and the average annual growth rate was 1.44%. The proportion of registered nurses to health technicians increased from 24.87% in 1990 to 43.84% in 2019, however, the number of registered nurses in hospitals accounted for about 73.00% of registered nurses in health institutions.Conclusions:From 1990 to 2019, the overall allocation efficiency of nursing human resources in China has been significantly optimized, and indicators such as doctor-nurse ratio and hospital bed-nurse ratio have improved, but the growth rate is slowing down. The relevant departments need to take necessary measures to further increase the absolute and relative number of nurses to cope with the increasing service demand.

The associated factors of cesarean section during COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study in nine cities of China

BACKGROUND@#Improving and maintaining the health of mothers and newborns is indisputably a global priority, especially during a pandemic. This study intends to examine the factors associated with cesarean section (CS) during lockdown time.@*METHODS@#A total of 678 women who just gave birth within 7 days were enrolled from maternal and children hospitals in nine cities of China from April to May 2020. The delivery modes and potential influencing factors were investigated. The subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were used to examine the association of CS and risk factors among populations with different characteristics and to control for possible confounding, respectively.@*RESULTS@#The overall rate of cesarean delivery was 37.3%. In multi-variant model, maternal age > 30 years (OR, 95% CI = 1.71, 1.21-2.41), higher pre-gestational BMI (OR, 95% CI = 1.16, 1.10-1.23), living in regions with confirmed COVID-19 cases > 500 (OR, 95% CI = 2.45, 1.74-3.45), and excess gestational weight gain (OR, 95% CI = 1.73, 1.17-2.55) were associated with cesarean delivery. These trends of associations were not changes in sensitivity analysis and subgroup analysis. Cesarean delivery occurred more in women who got more nutrition instruction during the pandemic period in the univariant model; however, this association showed insignificance in the multiple-variant analysis.@*CONCLUSION@#A high cesarean delivery rate was found in uninfected women who experienced lockdown in their third trimester. During the COVID-19 pandemic, more medical support should be provided in severely affected regions to ensure and promote health in pregnancy.

Review of absolute quantification of brain metabolites by using multi-voxel 1H-MRS / 国际生物医学工程杂志

The technology of Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy(MRS) is a newly-developed mean for analyzing some specific nucleus and their compounds making use of the principles of magnetic resonance and the effects of chemical shift. Currently, among MRS applications, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1HMRS) is the most widely applied one developed from single voxel to three-dimensional multi-voxel scanning technique. It provides a lot of important information for clinical studies. This article mainly reviews the methods for absolute quantification measurement of brain metabolites using multi-voxel MRS.