Etiology and Clinical Characteristics of Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) in Outpatients in Beijing, June 2010 to May 2011

BACKGROUND: Since May 2009, exposure of the population of Beijing, China to pH1N1 has resulted in an increase in respiratory illnesses. Limited information is available on the etiology and clinical characteristics of the influenza-like illness (ILI) that ensued in adults following the pH1N1 pandemic. METHODS: Clinical and epidemiological data of ILI in adults was collected. A total of 279 throat swabs were tested for twelve respiratory viruses using multiplex RT-PCR. Clinical characteristics of influenza A in outpatients versus test-negative patients were compared using Pearson's χ2 and the Mann-Whitney U test. 190 swabs were tested for pH1N1 by virus isolation. Consultation rates for ILI were compared between 2009 and 2010. RESULTS: One or two virus were detected in 29% of the samples. Influenza A virus (FLU-A) accounted for 22.9% (64/279). Other viruses were present at a frequency less than 3.0%. Cough was significantly associated with Influenza A virus infection (χ2, p<0.001). The positive rate of FLU-A was consistent with changes in the ILI rate during the same period and there was a significant reduction in the incidence of ILI in 2010 when compared to 2009. During the 2010-2011 influenza season, the incidence peaked in January 2011 in Beijing and north China. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to pH1N1 had no impact on typical influenza seasonal peaks, although FLU-A remained the predominant virus for 2010 in Beijing. Symptomatically, cough was associated with FLU-A infection. The positive rate of influenza virus was consistent with changes in the ILI rate during the same period and there was a significant reduction in the incidence of ILI in 2010 when compared to that of 2009

Systemic Infection and Limited Replication of SHIV Vaccine Virus in Brains of Macaques Inoculated Intracerebrally with Infectious Viral DNA

AbstractSHIV deleted in two accessory genes, ΔvpuΔnef SHIVPPC, functioned well as a vaccine against later challenge with highly pathogenic SHIVKU, and it was able to reach the brain after oral inoculation of live virus. In this study, the proviral genome cloned into a plasmid was inoculated as DNA intracerebrally and spread systemically. Few regions of the brain had detectable proviral DNA by real-time PCR. Two measures of virus replication, detection of viral mRNA expression and circular proviral DNA, were negative for those brain regions, with the exception of the infection site in the right parietal lobe, whereas lymphoid tissues were positive by both measures. Histopathological analyses of all the sampled brain and spinal cord regions did not reveal any abnormalities. Despite intracerebral inoculation of the viral DNA, the brain was not targeted for high levels of virus replication

Potential drug-drug interaction of olverembatinib (HQP1351) using physiologically based pharmacokinetic models

Olverembatinib (HQP1351) is a third-generation BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitor for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) (including T315I-mutant disease), exhibits drug-drug interaction (DDI) potential through cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes CYP3A4, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP1A2, and CYP2B6. A physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model was constructed based on physicochemical and in vitro parameters, as well as clinical data to predict 1) potential DDIs between olverembatinib and CYP3A4 and CYP2C9 inhibitors or inducers 2), effects of olverembatinib on the exposure of CYP1A2, CYP2B6, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, and CYP3A4 substrates, and 3) pharmacokinetics in patients with liver function injury. The PBPK model successfully described observed plasma concentrations of olverembatinib from healthy subjects and patients with CML after a single administration, and predicted olverembatinib exposure increases when co-administered with itraconazole (strong CYP3A4 inhibitor) and decreases with rifampicin (strong CYP3A4 inducer), which were validated by observed data. The predicted results suggest that 1) strong, moderate, and mild CYP3A4 inhibitors (which have some overlap with CYP2C9 inhibitors) may increase olverembatinib exposure by approximately 2.39-, 1.80- to 2.39-, and 1.08-fold, respectively; strong, and moderate CYP3A4 inducers may decrease olverembatinib exposure by approximately 0.29-, and 0.35- to 0.56-fold, respectively 2); olverembatinib, as a “perpetrator,” would have no or limited impact on CYP1A2, CYP2B6, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, and CYP3A4 enzyme activity 3); systemic exposure of olverembatinib in liver function injury with Child-Pugh A, B, C may increase by 1.22-, 1.79-, and 2.13-fold, respectively. These simulations inform DDI risk for olverembatinib as either a “victim” or “perpetrator”

An efficient disposable and flexible electrochemical sensor based on a novel and stable metal carbon composite derived from cocoon silk

Abstract(#br)The present work reports cocoon silk fibroin (SF)as a unique precursor for the in-situ fabrication of well-engineered, stable and leach free gold nanoparticle doped carbonaceous materials (AuNPs@NSC). In principle, at the molecular level, SF has a singular structure that can be converted to a N-doped aromatic carbon structure by heat treatment. The electrochemical properties of the prepared nanocomposite were examined by cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry. A flexible three electrode sensor system with AuNPs@NSC-modified working electrodes has been developed, to achieve easy operation and quick and accurate responses. The electrochemical results showed that the sensor made by the AuNPs@NSC-modified working electrode demonstrated high sensitivity for the detection of rutin, which is attributed to the good distribution of the AuNPs on the carbon matrix. Using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), the AuNPs@NSC electrode was found to have a linear response in the range of 0.11–250 μM and a comparably low limit of detection of 0.02 μM (S/N = 3). To ensure the accuracy and applicability of the sensors, the concentration of rutin in the commodity (rutin capsule, 10 mg/capsule) was examined, and the sensor provided high precision with a minimum relative error (RE) of 3.3%. These findings suggest that AuNPs@NSC can be considered to be a potential electrode material for the development of electrochemical devices and has great potential in extending their application to the flexible sensor field

Characteristics of transuranic nuclides incinerated in a small modular chloride fast reactor

BackgroundLiquid molten salt reactors that use chloride salts as fuel are characterized by the high solubility of heavy metals and a hard energy spectrum, hence are ideal for transmuting transuranic nuclides (TRU). A small modular reactor exhibits the characteristics of a modular design and construction, which is one of the future development directions for nuclear energy.PurposeThis study aims to investigate the TRU incineration characteristics of a small modular chloride fast reactor (sm-MCFR) that can be refueled online and applied to the disposal of TRU in nuclear waste produced by pressurized-water reactors.MethodsFirstly, a 50-MW sm-MCFR scheme was proposed, and its neutron properties, as well as the performance of TRU incineration, were explored using the Monca program TMCBurnup (TRITON MODEC Coupled Burnup Code), a combination of the SCALE 6.1 (Standardized Computer Analyses for Licensing Evaluation) and the high-precision point burn-up program MODEC (Molten Salt Reactor Specific DEpletion Code). Then, the analysis of critical parameters, burn-up evolution, and the transmutation efficiency of both TRU mixed with Depleted Uranium (DU) and TRU combined with 232Th were investigated, using a straightforward post-processing approach.ResultsThe findings of this study indicate that using TRU as fission fuel in the sm-MCFR requires the online addition of TRU. When the heavy metal balance is maintained, the effective multiplication factor (keff) is less than 1. Conversely, when the balance is not maintained, keff > 1, allowing continuous operation. When operating at full power for 40 years, the core's residual TRU content will be significantly higher than the initial fuel load, with 657 kg remaining for the TRU+Th mix and 725 kg for the TRU+DU mix. Notably, the sm-MCFR demonstrates efficient transmutation when TRU is added online without maintaining the heavy metal balance. Over 40 years at full power, the transmutation rates will be 41% for TRU+DU and 49% for TRU+Th, effectively reducing the production of long-lived small-actinide elements.ConclusionsThe sm-MCFR can effectively incinerate TRU and provide a feasible scheme for minimizing spent fuel

Isogeometric Analysis for Active Control of Piezoelectric Functionally Graded Plates in Thermal Environment

An isogeometric analysis (IGA) method is proposed for investigating the active shape and vibration control of functionally graded plates (FGPs) with surface-bonded piezoelectric materials in a thermal environment. A simple first-order shear deformation theory (S-FSDT) with four variables is used to describe the displacement field of the plates. To ensure the investigation of smart piezoelectric structure in the thermal environment closer to the actual situation, a modified piezoelectric constitutive equation with consideration of the temperature effect of dielectric and piezoelectric strain coefficients is implemented to replace the traditional linear piezoelectric constitutive equation. Meanwhile, the neutral surface is adopted to avoid the stretching-bending coupling. The accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed S-FSDT-based IGA method are verified by comparing with several existing numerical examples. Then, the static bending and open-loop control of the plates under mechanical and thermal loads are further studied. Finally, the active control including static bending control and vibration control of piezoelectric functionally graded plates (PFGPs) is also investigated by using a displacement-velocity feedback control law

Lattice Boltzmann Simulation of Coupling Heat Transfer between Solid and Gas Phases of Nanoporous Materials

In order to deeply study the heat conduction of nanoporous aerogel, a model of gas-solid heat conduction was established based on the microstructure of aerogel. The model was divided into two subdomains with uniform mesh because of the different gas-solid characteristics, and simulation was performed on each domain using the lattice Boltzmann method. The value of temperature on the boundaries of subdomains was determined by interpolation. Finally, the temperature distribution and the thermal conductivity were maintained. It can be concluded that when the gas-phase scale was fixed, the temperature distribution of the solid phase became more uniform when the scale increased; when the solid-phase scale was fixed, the temperature jump on the gas-solid interface decreased with the increase in the gas-phase scale; and the thermal conductivity of gas-solid coupling varied with the scale of the gas phase or solid phase, showing a scale effect in varying degrees