Disputas éticas sobre transplante de órgãos vivos e as soluções aplicáveis a estas disputas na China

Objectives: In this study, we examine the ethical issues concerning living organ transplant in China. We attempt to review and analyze the ethical disputes that the living organ transplant faces in China and try to find applicable solutions to these disputes. Design: Ethical Analysis. Setting: Living organ transplant in China. Results: The ideal approaches to solving the ethical disputes involve (1) preventing disease, strengthening physical fitness, and improving the health of the national citizen; (2) encouraging the citizens to donate their organs after death; and (3) developing new technologies for organ transplant. Realistic approaches to addressing the ethical disputes over the living organ transplant include choosing the lesser of two evils, reducing the harm to the donor as much as possible and improving the transplant quality. Conclusions: The living organ transplant in China is an expedient measure instead of an ideal option and should be conducted under strict laws and regulations.Objetivos: En este estudio, examinamos los temas éticos respecto al trasplante de órganos vivos en China. Tratamos de revisar y analizar las disputas éticas que enfrenta el trasplante de órganos vivos en China y tratamos de encontrar soluciones aplicables a estas disputas. Diseño: Análisis ético. Configuración: Trasplante de órganos vivos en China. Resultados: Las aproximaciones ideales para resolver las disputas éticas incluyen (1) prevenir la enfermedad, fortalecer el estado físico y mejorar la salud del ciudadano; (2) animar a los ciudadanos a donar sus órganos después de la muerte; y (3) desarrollar nuevas tecnologías para el trasplante de órganos. Entre las aproximaciones realistas para abordar las disputas éticas sobre el trasplante de órganos vivos se encuentra elegir el mal menor, reduciendo el daño al donante cuanto sea posible y mejorando la calidad del trasplante. Conclusiones: El trasplante de órganos vivos en China es una medida conveniente más que una opción ideal y debería realizarse bajo estrictas leyes y regulaciones.Objetivos: Neste estudo, examinamos as questões éticas relativas ao transplante de órgãos vivos na China. Vamos tentar rever e analisar os conflitos éticos que o transplante de órgãos vivos enfrenta na China e tentar encontrar soluções aplicáveis a estas disputas. Projeto: Análise ética. Configuração: Transplante de órgão vivo na China. Resultados: As abordagens ideais para resolver os conflitos éticos envolvem (1) prevenção de doenças, fortalecimento da aptidão física e melhora da saúde do cidadão nacional; (2) incentivar os cidadãos a doar seus órgãos após a morte; e (3) desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias para transplante de órgão. Abordagens realistas para enfrentar as disputas éticas sobre o transplante de órgão vivos incluem escolher o menor de dois males, reduzindo o dano ao doador o máximo possível e melhorar a qualidade do transplante. Conclusões: Transplantes de órgãos vivos na China é uma medida conveniente ao invés de uma opção ideal e deve ser conduzida sob estritas leis e regulamentos

A Study on the Influence of Patient Participation on Patient Trust-Based on Sample Survey in China

Trust plays a central role in a doctor – patient relationship, and patient’s trust in doctors is the most important factor in trust relationship between the doctor and the patient. By reviewing the existing studies, this study proposes that patient participation is an antecedent variable influencing patient trust, and the patient can take the initiative to participate in diagnostic activities with the aim of establishing and maintaining the psychological contract with the doctor, thereby strengthening doctor-patient trust. In this study, we propose the model on the relationship between the patient participation, the patient’s psychological contract and the patient trust, and then conduct an empirical study. The research findings indicate that patient participation is an antecedent variable for the patient’s psychological contract and patient trust; the patient’s psychological contract is a mediator variable between the patient participation and the patient’s trust in doctor; patient participation can be categorized as three dimensions: information search, responsible behavior, and interpersonal relationship. Thus, we should encourage patient participation, advocate the shared decision-making, and promote the synergic improvement of interpersonal trust and universal trust between doctors and patients

ChatGPT-powered Conversational Drug Editing Using Retrieval and Domain Feedback

Recent advancements in conversational large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, have demonstrated remarkable promise in various domains, including drug discovery. However, existing works mainly focus on investigating the capabilities of conversational LLMs on chemical reaction and retrosynthesis. While drug editing, a critical task in the drug discovery pipeline, remains largely unexplored. To bridge this gap, we propose ChatDrug, a framework to facilitate the systematic investigation of drug editing using LLMs. ChatDrug jointly leverages a prompt module, a retrieval and domain feedback (ReDF) module, and a conversation module to streamline effective drug editing. We empirically show that ChatDrug reaches the best performance on 33 out of 39 drug editing tasks, encompassing small molecules, peptides, and proteins. We further demonstrate, through 10 case studies, that ChatDrug can successfully identify the key substructures (e.g., the molecule functional groups, peptide motifs, and protein structures) for manipulation, generating diverse and valid suggestions for drug editing. Promisingly, we also show that ChatDrug can offer insightful explanations from a domain-specific perspective, enhancing interpretability and enabling informed decision-making. This research sheds light on the potential of ChatGPT and conversational LLMs for drug editing. It paves the way for a more efficient and collaborative drug discovery pipeline, contributing to the advancement of pharmaceutical research and development

The structure and catalytic mechanism of a pseudoknot-containing hammerhead ribozyme

We have determined the crystal structure of a pseudoknot (PK)-containing hammerhead ribozymethat closely resembles the pistol ribozyme, with essentially identical secondary structure andconnectivity. The activity is more sensitive to deletion of the of G8 2’OH than to the absence ofmagnesium ions, indicating that the catalytic mechanism is the same as the extended hammerhead,and distinct from the pistol ribozyme. Here we show that nucleophilic attack is almost perfectly in-line,and the G8 2’OH is well positioned to act as general acid, being directed towards the O5’ leavinggroup, and 2.9 Å away from it. Despite the similarity in overall structure to the pistol ribozyme, thelocal structure close to the cleavage site differs, and the PK hammerhead retains its uniquemechanistic identity and demonstrates enhanced activity over other hammerhead ribozymes understandard conditions

The structure and catalytic mechanism of a pseudoknot-containing hammerhead ribozyme

We have determined the crystal structure of a pseudoknot (PK)-containing hammerhead ribozymethat closely resembles the pistol ribozyme, with essentially identical secondary structure andconnectivity. The activity is more sensitive to deletion of the of G8 2’OH than to the absence ofmagnesium ions, indicating that the catalytic mechanism is the same as the extended hammerhead,and distinct from the pistol ribozyme. Here we show that nucleophilic attack is almost perfectly in-line,and the G8 2’OH is well positioned to act as general acid, being directed towards the O5’ leavinggroup, and 2.9 Å away from it. Despite the similarity in overall structure to the pistol ribozyme, thelocal structure close to the cleavage site differs, and the PK hammerhead retains its uniquemechanistic identity and demonstrates enhanced activity over other hammerhead ribozymes understandard conditions

Experimental Time-Optimal Universal Control of Spin Qubits in Solids

Quantum control of systems plays an important role in modern science and technology. The ultimate goal of quantum control is to achieve high-fidelity universal control in a time-optimal way. Although high-fidelity universal control has been reported in various quantum systems, experimental implementation of time-optimal universal control remains elusive. Here, we report the experimental realization of time-optimal universal control of spin qubits in diamond. By generalizing a recent method for solving quantum brachistochrone equations [X. Wang et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 170501 (2015)], we obtained accurate minimum-time protocols for multiple qubits with fixed qubit interactions and a constrained control field. Single- and two-qubit time-optimal gates are experimentally implemented with fidelities of 99% obtained via quantum process tomography. Our work provides a time-optimal route to achieve accurate quantum control and unlocks new capabilities for the emerging field of time-optimal control in general quantum systems.National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (Grants 2013CB921800 and 2016YFB0501603)National Natural Science Foundation (China) (Grants 11227901, 31470835, and 11275183)Chinese Academy of Sciences. Strategic Priority Research Program (Grant XDB01030400)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Project CCF-1350397

Synergy between "Probiotic" Carbon Quantum Dots and Ciprofloxacin in Eradicating Infectious Biofilms and Their Biosafety in Mice

Orally administrated probiotic bacteria can aid antibiotic treatment of intestinal infections, but their arrival at their intestinal target site is hampered by killing in the gastrointestinal tract and by antibiotics solely intended for pathogen killing. Carbon-quantum-dots are extremely small nanoparticles and can be derived from different sources, including bacteria. Here, we hypothesize that carbon-quantum-dots inherit antibacterial activity from probiotic source bacteria to fulfill a similar role as live probiotics in intestinal infection therapy. Physico-chemical analyses indicated that carbon-quantum-dots, hydrothermally derived from Bifidobacterium breve (B-C-dots), inherited proteins and polysaccharides from their source-bacteria. B-C-dots disrupted biofilm matrices of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium biofilms through extensive reactive-oxygen-species (ROS)-generation, causing a decrease in volumetric bacterial-density in biofilms. Decreased bacterial densities leave more open space in biofilms and have enhanced ciprofloxacin penetration and killing potential in an E. coli biofilm pre-exposed to probiotic B-C-dots. Pathogenic carbon-quantum-dots hydrothermally derived from E. coli (E-C-dots) did not disrupt pathogenic biofilms nor enhance E. coli killing potential by ciprofloxacin. B-C-dots were biosafe in mice upon daily administration, while E-C-dots demonstrated a decrease in white blood cell and platelet counts and an increase in C-reactive protein levels. Therefore, the way is paved for employing probiotic carbon-quantum-dots instead of viable, probiotic bacteria for synergistic use with existing antibiotics in treating intestinal infections

Liposomes with Water as a pH-Responsive Functionality for Targeting of Acidic Tumor and Infection Sites

A lipid named DCPA was synthesized under microwave-assisted heating. DCPA possesses a pyridine betaine, hydrophilic group that can be complexed with water through hydrogen bonding (DCPA-H2O). DCPA-H2O liposomes became protonated relatively fast already at p