Since its establishment in 2014,Military Medical Research has come a long way in becoming a premier journal for scientific articles from various different specialties,with a special emphasis on topics with military re...Since its establishment in 2014,Military Medical Research has come a long way in becoming a premier journal for scientific articles from various different specialties,with a special emphasis on topics with military relevance.The field of military medicine may be obscure,and may not be readily encountered by the typical clinician on a day-today basis.This journal aims not only to pursue excellence in military research,but also to keep current with the latest advancements on general medical topics from each and every specialty.This editorial serves to recap and synthesize the existing progress,updates and future needs of military medical excellence,discussing foremostly the unique traits of literature published in this journal,and subsequently presenting the discourse regarding wartime and peacetime medicine,the role of the military in a public health emergency,as well as wound healing and organ regeneration.Special attention has been devoted to military topics to shed light on the effects of Chemical,Biological,Radiological and Explosive warfare,environmental medicine and military psychiatry,topics which rarely have a chance to be discussed elsewhere.The interconnectedness between military combat and soldier physical and mental well-being is intricate,and has been distorted by pandemics such as coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19).This journal has come a long way since its first article was published,steadily contributing to the existing knowledge pool on general medical topics with a military slant.Only with continuous research and sharing,can we build upon the work of the scientific community,with hopes for the betterment of patient care.展开更多
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is a newly identified member of the coronavirus family that has caused the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This rapidly evolving and unrelenting...Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is a newly identified member of the coronavirus family that has caused the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This rapidly evolving and unrelenting SARS-CoV-2has disrupted the lives and livelihoods of millions worldwide. As of 23 August 2021, a total of 211,373,303 COVID-19cases have been confirmed globally with a death toll of 4,424,341. A strong understanding of the infection pathway of SARS-CoV-2, and how our immune system responds to the virus is highly pertinent for guiding the development and improvement of effective treatments. In this review, we discuss the current understanding of neutralising antibodies(NAbs) and their implications in clinical practice. The aspects include the pathophysiology of the immune response,particularly humoral adaptive immunity and the roles of NAbs from B cells in infection clearance. We summarise the onset and persistence of IgA, IgM and IgG antibodies, and we explore their roles in neutralising SARS-CoV-2, their persistence in convalescent individuals, and in reinfection. Furthermore, we also review the applications of neutralising antibodies in the clinical setting—from predictors of disease severity to serological testing to vaccinations, and finally in therapeutics such as convalescent plasma infusion.展开更多
Multiple Omicron sub-lineages have emerged,with Omicron XBB and XBB.1.5 subvariants becoming the dominant variants globally at the time of this study.The key feature of new variants is their ability to escape humoral ...Multiple Omicron sub-lineages have emerged,with Omicron XBB and XBB.1.5 subvariants becoming the dominant variants globally at the time of this study.The key feature of new variants is their ability to escape humoral immunity despite the fact that there are limited genetic changes from their preceding variants.This raises the question of whether Omicron should be regarded as a separate serotype from viruses serologically clustered with the ancestral severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)virus.Here,we present cross-neutralization data based on a pseudovirus neutralization test using convalescent sera from naïve individuals who had recovered from primary infection by SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 strains/variants including the ancestral virus and variants Beta,Delta,Omicron BA.1,Omicron BA.2 and Omicron BA.5.The results revealed no significant cross-neutralization in any of the three-way testing for SARS-CoV-1,ancestral SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants.The data argue for the assignment of three distinct serotypes for the currently known human-infecting SARS-related coronaviruses.展开更多
Hand,foot and mouth disease(HFMD)is a major public health problem among children in the Asia-Pacific region.The optimal specimen for HFMD virological diagnosis remains unclear.Enterovirus A71(EV-A71)neutralizing antib...Hand,foot and mouth disease(HFMD)is a major public health problem among children in the Asia-Pacific region.The optimal specimen for HFMD virological diagnosis remains unclear.Enterovirus A71(EV-A71)neutralizing antibody titres detected in paired sera were considered the reference standard for calculating the sensitivity,specificity,positive and negative predictive value of throat swabs,rectal swabs,stool,blood samples and cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)by RT-PCR or ELISA assay.In this study,clinical samples from 276 HFMD patients were collected for analysing the sensitivity of different kind of specimens.Our results showed that stool had the highest sensitivity(88%,95%CI:74%–96%)and agreement with the reference standard(91%).The order of diagnostic yield for EV-A71 infection was stool samplerectal swab>throat swab>blood sample>CSF sample,and using a combination of clinical samples improved sensitivity for enterovirus detection.The sensitivity of ELISA for IgM antibody detection in sterile-site specimens was significantly higher than that of RT-PCR(serum/plasma:62%vs.2%,CSF:47%vs.0%)(P<0.002).In conclusion,our results suggest that stool has the highest diagnostic yield for EV-A71-infected HFMD.If stool is unavailable,rectal swabs can be collected to achieve a similar diagnostic yield.Otherwise,throat swabs may be useful in detecting positive samples.Although IgM in blood or CSF is diagnostically accurate,it lacks sensitivity,missing 40%–50%of cases.The higher proportion of severe cases and shorter interval between onset and sampling contributed to the increase in congruency between clinical testing and the serological reference standard.展开更多
Repurposing existing drugs to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection in airway epithelial cells(AECs)is a quick way to find novel treatments for COVID-19.Computational screening has found dicoumarol(DCM),a natural anticoagulant...Repurposing existing drugs to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection in airway epithelial cells(AECs)is a quick way to find novel treatments for COVID-19.Computational screening has found dicoumarol(DCM),a natural anticoagulant,to be a potential SARS-CoV-2 inhibitor,but its inhibitory effects and possible working mechanisms remain unknown.Using air-liquid interface culture of primary human AECs.展开更多
Effective containment of the COVID-19 pandemic requires rapid and accurate detection of the pathogen.Polymerase chain reaction(PCR)remains the gold standard for COVID-19 confirmation.In this article,we report the perf...Effective containment of the COVID-19 pandemic requires rapid and accurate detection of the pathogen.Polymerase chain reaction(PCR)remains the gold standard for COVID-19 confirmation.In this article,we report the performance of a cost-effective modular microfluidic reverse transcription(RT)-PCR and RT-loop mediated isothermal amplification(RTLAMP)platform,Epidax®,for the point-of-care testing and confirmation of SARS-CoV-2.This platform is versatile and can be reconfigured either for screening using endpoint RT-PCR or RT-LAMP tests or for confirmatory tests using realtime RT-PCR.Epidax®is highly sensitive and detects as little as 1 RNA copy perµL for real-time and endpoint RT-PCR,while using only half of the reagents.We achieved comparable results with those of a commercial platform when detecting SARS-CoV-2 viruses from 81 clinical RNA extracts.Epidax®can also detect SARS-CoV-2 from 44 nasopharyngeal samples without RNA extraction by using a direct RT-PCR assay,which shortens the sample-to-answer time to an hour with minimal user steps.Furthermore,we validated the technology using an RT-LAMP assay on 54 clinical RNA extracts.Overall,our platform provides a sensitive,cost-effective,and accurate diagnostic solution for lowresource settings.展开更多
文摘Since its establishment in 2014,Military Medical Research has come a long way in becoming a premier journal for scientific articles from various different specialties,with a special emphasis on topics with military relevance.The field of military medicine may be obscure,and may not be readily encountered by the typical clinician on a day-today basis.This journal aims not only to pursue excellence in military research,but also to keep current with the latest advancements on general medical topics from each and every specialty.This editorial serves to recap and synthesize the existing progress,updates and future needs of military medical excellence,discussing foremostly the unique traits of literature published in this journal,and subsequently presenting the discourse regarding wartime and peacetime medicine,the role of the military in a public health emergency,as well as wound healing and organ regeneration.Special attention has been devoted to military topics to shed light on the effects of Chemical,Biological,Radiological and Explosive warfare,environmental medicine and military psychiatry,topics which rarely have a chance to be discussed elsewhere.The interconnectedness between military combat and soldier physical and mental well-being is intricate,and has been distorted by pandemics such as coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19).This journal has come a long way since its first article was published,steadily contributing to the existing knowledge pool on general medical topics with a military slant.Only with continuous research and sharing,can we build upon the work of the scientific community,with hopes for the betterment of patient care.
基金supported by the National Medical Research Council,Singapore (NMRC COVID19RF2-0002)。
文摘Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is a newly identified member of the coronavirus family that has caused the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This rapidly evolving and unrelenting SARS-CoV-2has disrupted the lives and livelihoods of millions worldwide. As of 23 August 2021, a total of 211,373,303 COVID-19cases have been confirmed globally with a death toll of 4,424,341. A strong understanding of the infection pathway of SARS-CoV-2, and how our immune system responds to the virus is highly pertinent for guiding the development and improvement of effective treatments. In this review, we discuss the current understanding of neutralising antibodies(NAbs) and their implications in clinical practice. The aspects include the pathophysiology of the immune response,particularly humoral adaptive immunity and the roles of NAbs from B cells in infection clearance. We summarise the onset and persistence of IgA, IgM and IgG antibodies, and we explore their roles in neutralising SARS-CoV-2, their persistence in convalescent individuals, and in reinfection. Furthermore, we also review the applications of neutralising antibodies in the clinical setting—from predictors of disease severity to serological testing to vaccinations, and finally in therapeutics such as convalescent plasma infusion.
基金supported in part by grants from the National Medical Research Council(COVID19RF-001,COVID19RF-003,COVID19RF-0008,COVID19RF-0014,COVID19RF-0018,COVID19RF3-0060,MOH-000535/MOH-OFYIRG19nov-0002 and MOH-000505-02)SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medicine COVID-19 Rapid Response Research Grant(AM/COV001/2020)+3 种基金Collaborative Research Fund(C2103-20GF)Wellcome COVID-19 Grant on Understanding the Biological Significance SARS-CoV-2 Variants(226120/Z/22/Z)National Institute of Health NIAID(R01AI163118 and 5U01AI151797)National Public Health COVID Program of the Government of Monaco.
文摘Multiple Omicron sub-lineages have emerged,with Omicron XBB and XBB.1.5 subvariants becoming the dominant variants globally at the time of this study.The key feature of new variants is their ability to escape humoral immunity despite the fact that there are limited genetic changes from their preceding variants.This raises the question of whether Omicron should be regarded as a separate serotype from viruses serologically clustered with the ancestral severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)virus.Here,we present cross-neutralization data based on a pseudovirus neutralization test using convalescent sera from naïve individuals who had recovered from primary infection by SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 strains/variants including the ancestral virus and variants Beta,Delta,Omicron BA.1,Omicron BA.2 and Omicron BA.5.The results revealed no significant cross-neutralization in any of the three-way testing for SARS-CoV-1,ancestral SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants.The data argue for the assignment of three distinct serotypes for the currently known human-infecting SARS-related coronaviruses.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China(No.81525023)in whole or in part,by a Wellcome Trust fellowship awarded to LT[205228/Z/16/Z]supported by the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections(grant no.NIHR200907)at University of Liverpool in partnership with Public Health England(PHE),in collaboration with Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the University of Oxford.LT is based at the University of Liverpool.
文摘Hand,foot and mouth disease(HFMD)is a major public health problem among children in the Asia-Pacific region.The optimal specimen for HFMD virological diagnosis remains unclear.Enterovirus A71(EV-A71)neutralizing antibody titres detected in paired sera were considered the reference standard for calculating the sensitivity,specificity,positive and negative predictive value of throat swabs,rectal swabs,stool,blood samples and cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)by RT-PCR or ELISA assay.In this study,clinical samples from 276 HFMD patients were collected for analysing the sensitivity of different kind of specimens.Our results showed that stool had the highest sensitivity(88%,95%CI:74%–96%)and agreement with the reference standard(91%).The order of diagnostic yield for EV-A71 infection was stool samplerectal swab>throat swab>blood sample>CSF sample,and using a combination of clinical samples improved sensitivity for enterovirus detection.The sensitivity of ELISA for IgM antibody detection in sterile-site specimens was significantly higher than that of RT-PCR(serum/plasma:62%vs.2%,CSF:47%vs.0%)(P<0.002).In conclusion,our results suggest that stool has the highest diagnostic yield for EV-A71-infected HFMD.If stool is unavailable,rectal swabs can be collected to achieve a similar diagnostic yield.Otherwise,throat swabs may be useful in detecting positive samples.Although IgM in blood or CSF is diagnostically accurate,it lacks sensitivity,missing 40%–50%of cases.The higher proportion of severe cases and shorter interval between onset and sampling contributed to the increase in congruency between clinical testing and the serological reference standard.
基金The authors would like to thank the study participants who donated their samples for the advancement of scientific knowledge.The authors would also like to thank Dr.Jennie Wong(from the Medical and Scientific Communication,Research Support Unit,Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine,National University of Singapore,Singapore)for assistance in the language editing of this manuscript.This work was supported by The National High-Level Talents Program(X.X.T.),Local Innovative and Research Teams Project of Guangdong Pearl River Talents Program(2017BT01S155)Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health Open Project(X.X.T.)+2 种基金the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China(2022M710897,Y.P.)the Postdoctoral Startup Foundation of Guangzhou City(Y.P.)Zhongnanshan Medical Foundation of Guangdong Province(ZNSA-2020013,Z.Q.Z.).
文摘Repurposing existing drugs to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection in airway epithelial cells(AECs)is a quick way to find novel treatments for COVID-19.Computational screening has found dicoumarol(DCM),a natural anticoagulant,to be a potential SARS-CoV-2 inhibitor,but its inhibitory effects and possible working mechanisms remain unknown.Using air-liquid interface culture of primary human AECs.
基金the National University of Singapore(NUS),grant reference number NUSCOVID19RG-34.
文摘Effective containment of the COVID-19 pandemic requires rapid and accurate detection of the pathogen.Polymerase chain reaction(PCR)remains the gold standard for COVID-19 confirmation.In this article,we report the performance of a cost-effective modular microfluidic reverse transcription(RT)-PCR and RT-loop mediated isothermal amplification(RTLAMP)platform,Epidax®,for the point-of-care testing and confirmation of SARS-CoV-2.This platform is versatile and can be reconfigured either for screening using endpoint RT-PCR or RT-LAMP tests or for confirmatory tests using realtime RT-PCR.Epidax®is highly sensitive and detects as little as 1 RNA copy perµL for real-time and endpoint RT-PCR,while using only half of the reagents.We achieved comparable results with those of a commercial platform when detecting SARS-CoV-2 viruses from 81 clinical RNA extracts.Epidax®can also detect SARS-CoV-2 from 44 nasopharyngeal samples without RNA extraction by using a direct RT-PCR assay,which shortens the sample-to-answer time to an hour with minimal user steps.Furthermore,we validated the technology using an RT-LAMP assay on 54 clinical RNA extracts.Overall,our platform provides a sensitive,cost-effective,and accurate diagnostic solution for lowresource settings.