Many-body dissipative particle dynamics with energy conservation:temperature-dependent long-term attractive interaction

Heat and mass transfer during the process of liquid droplet dynamic behaviors has attracted much attention in decades.At mesoscopic scale,numerical simulations of liquid droplets motion,such as impacting,sliding,and coalescence,have been widely studied by using the particle-based method named many-body dissipative particle dynamics(MDPD).However,the detailed information on heat transfer needs further description.This paper develops a modified MDPD with energy conservation(MDPDE)by introducing a temperature-dependent long-term attractive interaction.By fitting or deriving the expressions of the strength of the attractive force,the exponent of the weight function in the dissipative force,and the mesoscopic heat friction coefficient about temperature,we calculate the viscosity,self-diffusivity,thermal conductivity,and surface tension,and obtain the Schmidt number Sc,the Prandtl number P r,and the Ohnesorge number Oh for 273 K to 373 K.The simulation data of MDPDE coincide well with the experimental data of water,indicating that our model can be used to simulate the dynamic behaviors of liquid water.Furthermore,we compare the equilibrium contact angle of droplets wetting on solid surfaces with that calculated from three interfacial tensions by MDPDE simulations.The coincident results not only stand for the validation of Young’s equation at mesoscale,but manifest the reliability of our MDPDE model and applicability to the cases with free surfaces.Our model can be extended to study the multiphase flow withcomplex heat and mass transfer.

Characteristics of Elderly-Onset Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients With COVID-19

This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of elderly-onset rheumatoid arthritis(EORA)patients with COVID-19.We ret-rospectively enrolled EORA patients diagnosed with COVID-19 from December 2022 through February 2023 and followed them up.Demographic characteristics of the patients and clinical data on COVID-19 were collected,and EORA-related data at the onset of rheu-matoid arthritis and during COVID-19 episodes were evaluated.A total of 102 EORA outpatients were enrolled and stratified into the COVID-19 group(n=60)and the non–COVID-19 group(n=42).In the COVID-19 group,56(93.3%)had symptoms,8(13.3%)had viral pneumonia,and 4(6.7%)developed severe COVID-19.Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that lack of COVID-19 vac-cination(P=0.016 and P=0.030,respectively)and having interstitial lung disease(P=0.013 and P=0.001,respectively)were inde-pendent risk factors for viral pneumonia and severe COVID-19.Compared with the general population,EORA patients did not show significantly higher susceptibility to COVID-19 or a higher risk of severe COVID-19.However,EORA patients with interstitial lung disease require special consideration during COVID-19 episodes.

Human menstrual blood-derived stem cells alleviate autoimmune hepatitis via JNK/MAPK signaling pathway in vivo and in vitro

Autoimmune hepatitis(AIH)is a severe globally distributed liver disease that could occur at any age.Human menstrual blood-derived stem cells(MenSCs)have shown therapeutic effect in acute lung injury and liver failure.However,their role in the curative effect of AIH remains unclear.Here,a classic AIH mouse model was constructed through intravenous injection with concanavalin A(Con A).MenSCs were intravenously injected while Con A injection in the treatment groups.The results showed that the mortality by Con A injection was significantly decreased by MenSCs treatment and liver function tests and histological analysis were also ameliorated.The results of phosphoproteomic analysis and RNA-seq revealed that MenSCs improved AIH,mainly by apoptosis and c-Jun N-terminal kinase/mitogen-activated protein signaling pathways.Apoptosis analysis demonstrated that the protein expression of cleaved caspase 3 was increased by Con A injection and reduced by MenSCs transplantation,consistent with the TUNEL staining results.An AML12 co-culture system and JNK inhibitor(SP600125)were used to verify the JNK/MAPK and apoptosis signaling pathways.These findings suggested that MenSCs could be a promising strategy for AIH.

Research progress on human infection with avian influenza H7N9

Since the first case of novel H7N9 infection was reported,China has experienced five epidemics of H7N9.During the fifth wave,a highly pathogenic H7N9 strain emerged.Meanwhile,the H7N9 virus continues to accumulate mutations,and its affinity for the human respiratory epithelial sialic acid 2-6 receptor has increased.Therefore,a pandemic is still possible.In the past 6 years,we have accumulated rich experience in dealing with H7N9,especially in terms of virus tracing,epidemiological research,key site mutation monitoring,critical disease mechanisms,clinical treatment,and vaccine development.In the research fields above,significant progress has been made to effectively control the spread of the epidemic and reduce the fatality rate.To fully document the research progress concerning H7N9,we reviewed the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of H7N9,the key gene mutations of the virus,and H7N9 vaccine,thus providing a scientific basis for further monitoring and prevention of H7N9 influenza epidemics.

1,5-Anhydroglucitol Predicts Mortality in Patients with HBV-Related Acute-on-chronic Liver Failure

Background and Aims:1,5-Anhydroglucitol(1,5AG)activ-ity has been reported in chronic liver disease.Hepatitis B vi-rus(HBV)-related acute-on-chronic liver failure(HBV-ACLF)patients have a high mortality.We aimed to discover the re-lationship between serum 1,5AG and the prognosis of HBV-ACLF.Methods:Serum 1,5AG levels were determined in 333 patients with HBV-ACLF,300 without diabetes were allo-cated to derivation(n=206)and validation cohorts(n=94),and 33 were recruited to evaluate 1,5AG in those with diabe-tes.Forty patients with chronic hepatitis B,40 with liver cir-rhosis,and 40 healthy people were controls in the validation cohort.Results:In the derivation and validation cohorts,serum 1,5AG levels were significantly lower in nonsurvivors than in survivors.The AUC of 1,5AG for 28-day mortality was 0.811.In patients with diabetes,serum 1,5AG levels were also significantly lower in nonsurvivors than in survi-vors.In multivariate Cox regression analysis,serum 1,5AG levels were independently associated with 28-day mortal-ity.A novel predictive model(ACTIG)based on 1,5AG,age,TB,cholesterol,and INR was derived to predict mortality.In ACTIG,the AUC for 28-day mortality was 0.914,which was superior to some prognostic score models.ACTIG was also comparable to those prognostic score models in pre-dicting 6-month mortality.In mice with D-galactosamine/lipopolysaccharide-induced liver failure,1,5AG levels were significantly reduced in serum and significantly increased in urine and liver tissue.Conclusions:Serum 1,5AG levels are a promising predictor of short-term mortality in HBV-ACLF patients.The 1,5AG distribution changed in mice with D-galactosamine/lipopolysaccharide-induced liver failure.

Value of Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing in Clinical Diagnosis and Targeted Therapy of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Infection

The purpose of this study was to assess the value of metagenomic next-generation sequencing(mNGS)for rapid diagnosis of diseases caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria(NTM).We retrospectively reviewed four NTM-infected cases diagnosed by smear microscopy,mycobacterial culture and mNGS methods.We found that the mNGS method not only had a shorter detection turnaround time(3–4 days)than Mycobacterium culture(15–20 days)but also had higher sensitivity and specificity to identify NTM compared with conventional detection methods.In addition,mNGS was able to identify coinfections by NTM and other bacteria,fungi or viruses.Overall,diagnosis of NTM by mNGS can provide timely and precise guidance for subsequent clinical treatment of NTM infections.