Mutual Effects of Zinc Concentration and Ratio of Red-Blue Light on Growth and Nutritional Quality of Flowering Chinese Cabbage Sprouts

The nutritional quality and biomass of various sprouts can be enhanced by Zn and red-blue light, especially the Brassica sprouts. However, the combined effects of this two on sprouts are rarely reported. In this study, different Zn concentrations (0, 1.74, 3.48, 10.43 and 17.39 mM) were combined with two ratios of red-blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) (R: B = 1:2, 1R2B;R: B = 2:1, 2R1B, at 70 μmol m−2 s−1 PPFD, 14 h/10 h, light/dark) to investigate their mutual effects on the growth, mineral elements, and nutritional quality in flowering Chinese cabbage sprouts (FCCS). Fresh weight, dry weight, contents of organic Zn, soluble sugar, vitamin C, total flavonoids, total polyphenol, FRAP (ferric ion-reducing antioxidant power) and DPPH (radical inhibition percentage of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) were significantly increased by Zn supplement (10.43 and 17.39 mM) and 2R1B, while hypocotyl length and moisture content were decreased remarkably by Zn supplement. Total glucosinolates contents in the sprouts increased dramatically under 2R1B compared with 1R2B, while photosynthetic pigments contents decreased. Heat map and principal component analysis showed that 2R1B + 17.39 mM Zn was the optimal treatment for the accumulation of biomass and health-promoting compound in FCCS, suggesting that a suitable combination of light quality and Zn supplement might be beneficial to zinc-biofortified FCCS production.

Development of a multi-recombinase polymerase amplification assay for rapid identification of COVID-19, influenza A and B.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused extensive loss of life worldwide. Further, the COVID-19 and influenza mix-infection had caused great distress to the diagnosis of the disease. To control illness progression and limit viral spread within the population, a real-time reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR) assay for early diagnosis of COVID-19 was developed, but detection was time-consuming (4-6 h). To improve the diagnosis of COVID-19 and influenza, we herein developed a recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) method for simple and rapid amplification of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of COVID-19 and Influenza A (H1N1, H3N2) and B (influenza B). Genes encoding the matrix protein (M) for H1N1, and the hemagglutinin (HA) for H3N2, and the polymerase A (PA) for Influenza B, and the nucleocapsid protein (N), the RNA-dependent-RNA polymerase (RdRP) in the open reading frame 1ab (ORF1ab) region, and the envelope protein (E) for SARS-CoV-2 were selected, and specific primers were designed. We validated our method using SARS-CoV-2, H1N1, H3N2 and influenza B plasmid standards and RNA samples extracted from COVID-19 and Influenza A/B (RT-PCR-verified) positive patients. The method could detect SARS-CoV-2 plasmid standard DNA quantitatively between 102 and 105 copies/ml with a log linearity of 0.99 in 22 min. And this method also be very effective in simultaneous detection of H1N1, H3N2 and influenza B. Clinical validation of 100 cases revealed a sensitivity of 100% for differentiating COVID-19 patients from healthy controls when the specificity was set at 90%. These results demonstrate that this nucleic acid testing method is advantageous compared with traditional PCR and other isothermal nucleic acid amplification methods in terms of time and portability. This method could potentially be used for detection of SARS-CoV-2, H1N1, H3N2 and influenza B, and adapted for point-of-care (POC) detection of a broad range of infectious pathogens in resource-limited settings.

Risk factors for postoperative medical morbidity and 3-month mortality in elderly patients with hip fracture following hip arthroplasty during COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the current study was to investigate the incidence of postoperative medical complications and 3-month mortality in patients ≥ 70 years old with hip fracture following hip arthroplasty (HA) and independent risk factors associated with postoperative medical complications and 3-month mortality during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: A multicenter retrospective study was conducted, patients ≥ 70 years old with HA for hip fracture under general anesthesia were included during COVID-19 and before COVID-19 pandemic. The outcome was defined as postoperative medical complications and 3-month mortality. The baseline characteristics and risk factors were collected, multivariable logistic regression was used to identify independent risk factors for postoperative medical complications and 3-month mortality. RESULTS: A total of 1096 patients were included during COVID-19 pandemic and 1149 were included before COVID-19 pandemic in the study. Patients ≥ 70 years with hip fracture for HA had longer fracture to operation duration (7.10 ± 3.52 vs. 5.31 ± 1.29, P < 0.001), and the incidence of postoperative medical complications (21.90% vs. 12.53%, P < 0.001) and 3-month mortality (5.20% vs. 3.22%, P = 0.025) was higher during COVID-2019 pandemic. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that dementia (OR 2.73; 95% CI 1.37-5.44; P = 0.004), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (OR 3.00; 95% CI 1.92-4.71; P < 0.001), longer fracture to operation duration (OR 1.24; 95% CI 1.19-1.30; P < 0.001) were associated with increased risk for postoperative medical complications. COPD (OR 2.10; 95% CI 1.05-4.17; P = 0.035), dementia (OR 3.00; 95% CI 1.11-7.94; P = 0.031), postoperative medical complications (OR 4.99; 95% CI 2.68-9.28; P < 0.001), longer fracture to operation duration (OR 1.11; 95% CI 1.04-1.19; P = 0.002) were associated with increased risk for 3-month mortality. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, we found that postoperative medical morbidity and 3-month mortality in patients with hip fracture underwent HA were 21.90% and 5.20%, respectively, during the COVID-19. COPD, dementia and longer fracture to operation duration were associated with negative outcome in patients with hip fracture underwent HA during the COVID-19.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic-related quarantine on female sexual behavior: a cross-sectional study in China.

To investigate the impact and factors of home quarantine life on women's sexual lives and behaviors in different areas of China and analyze the prevalence of female sexual dysfunction (FSD) during the COVID-19 pandemic. We surveyed adult women who had a regular sexual life (including regular masturbation) and had been isolated at home for at least one month during the COVID-19 outbreak using online questionnaires. This survey recovered 678 complete questionnaires after screening. According to the findings, the overall score of the Female Sexual Function Inventory (FSFI) during the pandemic was 21.98 ± 6.38, the frequency of FSD was 61.9%, and the frequencies of FSD in Shanghai, Nanjing, and Ningxia were 60.6%, 75.2%, and 52.2%, respectively. The frequency of FSFI scores and other specific items (Desire, Arousal, Lubrication, Orgasm, Satisfaction, and Pain) varied significantly across the three regions (P < 0.05). The overall frequency of FSD in the masturbation population was 34.4%, which was lower than the frequency of FSD in women having paired sexual intercourse (60.1%) (p < 0.05). Further analysis revealed that the occurrence of FSD during the pandemic was related to different age stages, menopause, mode of delivery, level of anxiety and depression, and sexual lifestyles. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a great impact on people's spiritual and sexual lives, which are caused by multiple different variables related to both the individual and the environment. We should emphasize the importance of sexual health in epidemics, and having a harmonious and stable sex life will help us survive the boring life of isolation.

Use of personal protective equipment against coronavirus disease 2019 by healthcare professionals in Wuhan, China: cross sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the protective effects of appropriate personal protective equipment for frontline healthcare professionals who provided care for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19). DESIGN: Cross sectional study. SETTING: Four hospitals in Wuhan, China. PARTICIPANTS: 420 healthcare professionals (116 doctors and 304 nurses) who were deployed to Wuhan by two affiliated hospitals of Sun Yat-sen University and Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University for 6-8 weeks from 24 January to 7 April 2020. These study participants were provided with appropriate personal protective equipment to deliver healthcare to patients admitted to hospital with covid-19 and were involved in aerosol generating procedures. 77 healthcare professionals with no exposure history to covid-19 and 80 patients who had recovered from covid-19 were recruited to verify the accuracy of antibody testing. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Covid-19 related symptoms (fever, cough, and dyspnoea) and evidence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, defined as a positive test for virus specific nucleic acids in nasopharyngeal swabs, or a positive test for IgM or IgG antibodies in the serum samples. RESULTS: The average age of study participants was 35.8 years and 68.1% (286/420) were women. These study participants worked 4-6 hour shifts for an average of 5.4 days a week; they worked an average of 16.2 hours each week in intensive care units. All 420 study participants had direct contact with patients with covid-19 and performed at least one aerosol generating procedure. During the deployment period in Wuhan, none of the study participants reported covid-19 related symptoms. When the participants returned home, they all tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 specific nucleic acids and IgM or IgG antibodies (95% confidence interval 0.0 to 0.7%). CONCLUSION: Before a safe and effective vaccine becomes available, healthcare professionals remain susceptible to covid-19. Despite being at high risk of exposure, study participants were appropriately protected and did not contract infection or develop protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2. Healthcare systems must give priority to the procurement and distribution of personal protective equipment, and provide adequate training to healthcare professionals in its use.

Donor tolerability of convalescent plasma donation.

BACKGROUND: Since early 2020, convalescent plasma has been widely used for treating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). There is limited information regarding donor tolerability of convalescent plasma donation. In this study, we evaluated the short-term donor tolerability of convalescent plasma donation. METHODS: A prospective study of 309 convalescent plasma donation related adverse events were conducted at Wuhan Blood Center of China, from February 12 to April 1, 2020. Additionally, up to 28-day post-donation follow-ups were performed on the donors. RESULTS: Sixteen (5.2%) adverse events were reported in 309 donations. All of these were mild vasovagal without loss of consciousness. The frequency of adverse reactions was higher in donors with a per donation volume of >8 mL/kg body weight or ≥ 600 mL, <100 mm Hg in pre-donation systolic blood pressure, or less than 28 days from the onset of COVID-19 symptoms. There was no correlation to donation history, weight, sex, ABO blood type, pre-donation diastolic blood pressure, pulse, or hemoglobin. CONCLUSION: The donation of convalescent plasma is generally safe. Mitigation of risk factors associated with adverse events can further enhance donor tolerability of convalescent plasma donation.

Quality Assessment of the Chinese Clinical Trial Protocols Regarding Treatments for Coronavirus Disease 2019.

BACKGROUND: With the global spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an increasing number of clinical trials are being designed and executed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of various therapies for COVID-19. We conducted this survey to assess the methodological quality of registry protocols on potential treatments for COVID-19. METHODS: Clinical trial protocols were identified on the ClinicalTrials.gov and the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry. Protocols were screened by two investigators independently against pre-defined eligibility criteria. Quality of the included protocols was assessed according to the modified 14-item SPIRIT (Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials) 2013 Statement. RESULTS: We included 82 randomized controlled trial (RCT) protocols investigating treatment modalities for COVID-19. These ongoing trials are being conducted in 16 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities of China, and study interventions were either Western medicines (n = 56) or traditional Chinese medicine (n = 26). Findings of our quality assessment indicated that the existing trial protocols could be further improved on several aspects, including selection and definition of outcome measures, descriptions of study interventions and comparators, study subject recruitment time, definition of study inclusion and exclusion criteria, and allocation concealment methods. Descriptions of random sequence generation methodologies were accurate for the majority of included trial protocols (n = 64; 78.05%); however, reporting of allocation concealment remained unclear in 63 (76.83%) protocols. Therefore, the overall risk of selection bias across these RCTs was judged to be unclear. A total of 52 (63.41%) included RCT protocols were open-label trials and are thus associated with a high risk of performance bias and detection bias. CONCLUSION: Quality of currently available RCT protocols on the treatments for COVID-19 could be further improved. For transparency and effective knowledge translation in real-world clinically settings, it is important for trial investigators to standardize baseline treatments for patients with COVID-19 and assess clinically important core outcome measures. Despite eager anticipation from the public on the results of effectiveness trials in COVID-19, robust design, execution, and reporting of these trials should be regarded as high priority.

Characteristics and serological patterns of COVID-19 convalescent plasma donors: optimal donors and timing of donation.

BACKGROUND: The lack of effective treatments against the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has led to the exploratory use of convalescent plasma for treating COVID-19. Case reports and case series have shown encouraging results. This study investigated SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and epidemiological characteristics in convalescent plasma donors, to identify criteria for donor selection. METHODS: Recovered COVID-19 patients, aged 18-55 years, who had experienced no symptoms for more than 2 weeks, were recruited. Donor characteristics such as disease presentations were collected and SARS-CoV-2 N-specific IgM, IgG, and S-RBD-specific IgG levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Whereas levels of N-specific IgM antibody declined after recovery, S-RBD-specific and N-specific IgG antibodies increased after 4 weeks from the onset of symptoms, with no significant correlation to age, sex, or ABO blood type. Donors with the disease presentation of fever exceeding 38.5°C or lasting longer than 3 days exhibited higher levels of S-RBD-specific IgG antibodies at the time of donation. Of the 49 convalescent plasma donors, 90% had an S-RBD-specific IgG titer of ≥1:160 and 78% had a titer of ≥1:640 at the time of plasma donation. Of the 30 convalescent plasma donors, who had donated plasma later than 28 days after the onset of symptoms and had a disease presentation of fever lasting longer than 3 days or a body temperature exceeding 38.5°C, 100% had an S-RBD-specific IgG titer of ≥1:160 and 93% had a titer of ≥1:640. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that the S-RBD-specific IgG antibody reaches higher levels after 4 weeks from the onset of COVID-19 symptoms. We recommend the following selection criteria for optimal donation of COVID-19 convalescent plasma: 28 days after the onset of symptoms and with a disease presentation of fever lasting longer than 3 days or a body temperature exceeding 38.5°C. Selection based on these criteria can ensure a high likelihood of achieving sufficiently high S-RBD-specific IgG titers.