Effects of viral infection and microbial diversity on patients with sepsis:A retrospective study based on metagenomic next-generation sequencing

BACKGROUND: The study aims to investigate the performance of a metagenomic next-generationsequencing (NGS)-based diagnostic technique for the identifi cation of potential bacterial and viral infectionsand eff ects of concomitant viral infection on the survival rate of intensive care unit (ICU) sepsis patients.METHODS: A total of 74 ICU patients with sepsis who were admitted to our institution from February1, 2018 to June 30, 2019 were enrolled. Separate blood samples were collected from patients for bloodcultures and metagenomic NGS when the patients’ body temperature was higher than 38 °C. Patients’demographic data, including gender, age, ICU duration, ICU scores, and laboratory results, were recorded.The correlations between pathogen types and sepsis severity and survival rate were evaluated.RESULTS: NGS produced higher positive results (105 of 118;88.98%) than blood cultures(18 of 118;15.25%) over the whole study period. Concomitant viral infection correlated closelywith sepsis severity and had the negative effect on the survival of patients with sepsis. However,correlation analysis indicated that the bacterial variety did not correlate with the severity of sepsis.CONCLUSIONS: Concurrent viral load correlates closely with the severity of sepsis and thesurvival rate of the ICU sepsis patients. This suggests that prophylactic administration of antiviraldrugs combined with antibiotics may be benefi cial to ICU sepsis patients.

Effects of enteral immunonutrition on immune function in patients with multiple trauma

BACKGROUND：Enteral immunonutrition （EIN） refers to addition of some specific nutrients in enteral nutrition （EN）, which can help to increase the immune function, and reduce the inflammatory reaction and septic complications. This study aimed to determine whether EIN can improve the immune function in multiple trauma patients. METHODS：Thirty-two patients with multiple trauma who had been admitted to the general ICU of Changzheng Hospital, Shanghai, from March 2007 to May 2008, were randomly divided into two groups： an enteral immunonutrition group （EIN group, n=16） and an enteral nutrition group （EN group, n=16）. EIN suspension （RuiNeng produced by Sino-Swed Co., Ltd） and ordinary nutrition liquid （RuiSu produced by Sino-Swed Co., Ltd） were given to patients of the EIN group and EN group respectively for at least for 14 days. Peripheral blood lymphocyte count （TLC）, immunoglobulin （IgG, IgM, IgA）, and T-lymphocyte subsets （CD3, CD4, CD8, CD4 / CD8） were detected on the 1st day after grouping, and the 7th day and 14th day after nutritional support. RESULTS： TLC, IgG, IgM, IgA, CD4 and CD4/CD8 ratio were significantly higher in the EIN group on the 7th and 14th day than that on the 1st day （P〈0.05）, and continually increased with a prolonged time of EIN. The parameters of immune function in the EN group on the 7th day didn＇t change significantly compared with those on the 1st day after grouping; on the 14 th day, TLC, IgG, IgM, IgA, CD4 and CD4/CD8 ratio were significantly higher than those on the 1st day after grouping （P〈0.05）, but were significantly lower than those in the EIN group on the 14th day （P〈0.05）. CONCLUSION： Compared with the general formula EN, EIN is more helpful for the recovery of humoral and cellular immune function in the early post-multitraumatic phase.

Delivery efficiency of periadventitial approach in comparison of intravascular delivery: an assessment of pharmacokinetics in porcine arteries

Objective To investigate the delivery efficacy of periadventitial delivery of125I-iododeoxyuridine 125I-IUdR) in comparison of intravascular delivery to determine the optimal delivery method for inhibiting post-angioplasty restenosis. Methods In 8 pigs, one side carotid, subclavian and iliac arteries of each pig were injured by balloon angioplasty with a 20% overstretches. Then, 4 mCi of 125I-IUdR was delivered at each targeted vessel with periadventitial method in 4 pigs （periadventitial group） and with intravascular method via a porous balloon catheter in other 4 pigs （intravascular group）. The animals survived for 5 hours and the blood radioactivity was investigated prior to and hourly after procedure until sacrifice. The targeted vessels and renal arteries （for control） were harvested for gamma-counting and histological observation. Meanwhile, the radioactivity in thyroid, liver, bladder, small bowel and each kidney also were measured to determine the biodistribution of125I. The activities of125I presented in arterial and tissue specimens were compared between the two delivery groups. The targeted arteries were histologically observed and the ratio of intima to media （I∶M ratio） was calculated. Results The target arterial walls in the periadventitial group had 3.4 times as much of125I radioactivity as in the intravascular group, respectively （P=0.038）; the blood activity in intravascular group was significantly higher than periadventitial group immediate after procedure （P<0.05） and intravascular delivery resulted in much higher activity in urine than periadventitial delivery （P<0.05）. The systemic biodistributions of125I-IUdR in the organs were slightly higher in the intravascular group （P>0.05）. The mean I: M ratios in both groups were 0.05 without additional injury at the vessel wall. Conclusion The periadventitial delivery offered substantial advantage over intravascular approach with high local delivery efficacy. The apparent redistribution rate is more rapid following intravascular delivery.

Atlas of dynamic spectra of fast radio burst FRB 20201124A

Fast radio bursts(FRBs) are highly dispersed millisecond-duration radio bursts,[1,2]of which the physical origin is still not fully understood. FRB 20201124A is one of the most actively repeating FRBs. In this paper, we present the collection of 1863 burst dynamic spectra of FRB 20201124A measured with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope(FAST). The current collection, taken from the observation during the FRB active phase from April to June 2021, is the largest burst sample detected for any FRB so far. The standard PSRFITs format is adopted, including dynamic spectra of the burst, and the time information of the dynamic spectra, in addition, mask files help readers to identify the pulse positions are also provided. The dataset is available in Science Data Bank, with the link https://www.doi.org/10.57760/sciencedb.j00113.00076.

Scintillation Arc from FRB 20220912A

We present the interstellar scintillation analysis of fast radio burst(FRB)20220912A during its extremely active episode in 2022using data from the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope(FAST).We detect a scintillation arc in the FRB’s secondary spectrum,which describes the power in terms of the scattered FRB signals’time delay and Doppler shift.The arc indicates that the scintillation is caused by a highly localized region.Our analysis favors a Milky Way origin of the ionized interstellar medium(IISM)for the localized scattering medium but cannot rule out a host galaxy origin.We present our method for detecting the scintillation arc,which can be applied generally to sources with irregularly spaced bursts or pulses.These methods could help shed light on the complex interstellar environment surrounding the FRBs and in our Galaxy.