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BackgroundSince December 2019, an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread rapidly in Wuhan and worldwide. However, previous studies on pregnant patients were limited. ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of pregnant and nonpregnant women with COVID-19. MethodsThis study retrospectively collected epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, imaging, management, and outcome data of 43 childbearing-age women patients (including 17 pregnant and 26 nonpregnant patients) who presented with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in Tongji Hospital, Wuhan, China from January 19 to March 2, 2020. Clinical outcomes were followed up to March 28, 2020. ResultsOf the 43 childbearing-age women in this study, none developed a severe adverse illness or died. The median ages of pregnant and nonpregnant women were 33.0 and 33.5 years, respectively. Pregnant women had a markedly higher proportion of history exposure to hospitals within 2 weeks before onset compared to nonpregnant women (9/17, 53% vs 5/26, 19%, P=.02) and a lower proportion of other family members affected (4/17, 24% vs 19/26, 73%, P=.004). Fever (8/17, 47% vs 18/26, 69%) and cough (9/17, 53% vs 12/26, 46%) were common onsets of symptoms for the two groups. Abdominal pain (n=4, 24%), vaginal bleeding (n=1, 6%), reduced fetal movement (n=1, 6%), and increased fetal movement (n=2, 13%) were observed at onset in the 17 pregnant patients. Higher neutrophil and lower lymphocyte percent were observed in the pregnant group compared to the nonpregnant group (79% vs 56%, P

This study introduced whole-exome sequencing (WES) in prenatal diagnosis of fetal bowel dilatation to improve the detection outcome when karyotype analysis and copy number variation sequencing (CNV-seq) were uninformative in detecting pathogenic variants. The work reviewed 28 cases diagnosed with fetal bowel dilatation and analyzed the results of karyotype analysis, CNV-seq, and WES. Among the 28 cases, the detection rate in cases with low risk of aneuploidy was 11.54% (3/26), which is lower than 100% (2/2) in cases with high risk of aneuploidy. Ten low-risk aneuploidy cases with isolated fetal bowel dilatation had normal genetic testing results, while the remaining 16 cases with other ultrasound abnormalities were detected for genetic variants at a rate of 18.75% (3/16). The detection rate of gene variation was 3.85% (1/26) by CNV-seq and 7.69% (2/26) by WES. This study suggested that WES could reveal more genetic risk in prenatal diagnosis of fetal bowel dilatation and has value in prenatal diagnosis to reduce birth defects.

Peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation by cobalt manganese spinel (Co-Mn) is always unsatisfactory due to the interference of co-existing anions in water. In this study, we used a sulfate-modification strategy to prepare a sea urchin-like Co-Mn catalyst (CoMn2O4-S) with abundant oxygen vacancies for counteracting the interference of anions in pollutant degradation. Compared with the conventional Co-Mn catalyst (CoMn2O4), CoMn2O4-S exhibited higher resistance to poisoning of NO3−, Cl−, and SO42− in PMS activation involved phenol degradation. Additionally, H2PO4− could even enhance phenol degradation by 150.2% for CoMn2O4-S/PMS system, in contrast to its induced 18.5% inhibition to CoMn2O4/PMS system. It was demonstrated that vacancies and sea urchin structure alleviated catalyst agglomeration for preserving catalytic sites and promoted catalyst surface modulation for radical diffusion, contributing to the enhanced stability in saline water. This work provides a facile strategy for overcoming the negative effects of co-existing anions on heterogeneous PMS-activation based water treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Left–right (LR) asymmetry disorders present a complex etiology, with genetic factors emerging as a primary contributor. This study aims to explore the genetic underpinnings of chromosomal variants and individual genes in fetuses afflicted with prenatal LR asymmetry disorder. Methods: Through a retrospective analysis conducted between 2020 and 2023 at Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, genetic outcomes of LR asymmetric disorder were scrutinized utilizing copy number variation sequencing (CNV-seq) and whole exome sequencing (WES) methodologies. Results: With a combination of CNV-seq and WES, 5 fetuses in 17 patients with LR asymmetry had chromosomal or genetic variants. CNV-seq revealed a 16p11.2 microdeletion syndrome in a situs inversus fetus presenting pathogenic and a 2q36.3 microduplication syndrome in a fetus with Heterotaxy presenting a variant of uncertain significance (VUS). WES identified NM_198075.4:c.755del in the LRRC56 gene and NM_001454.4:c.865_868dup in the FOXJ1 gene in two situs inversus cases, along with two variants in DNAH5 in two other fetuses. Further bioinformatics scrutiny was conducted to assess the protein structure and function prediction of these variants, ultimately indicating their potential pathogenicity. Conclusion: The study highlights that fetuses with LR asymmetric disorders may have copy number variants, underscoring the significance of mutations in LRRC56 and FOXJ1 in the development of LR asymmetry disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing non‐graphitic carbons with unique microstructure is a popular strategy to enhance the significant potential in practical applications of sodium‐ion batteries (SIB), while the electrochemical performance imbalances arising from their intricate active surface and porous structure pose significant challenges to its commercialization. Inspired by the structure of biological cell membranes, N/P co‐doped hard carbon nanospheres (NPCS) anodes with abundant ultramicropores (≈0.6 nm) are proposed and synthesized as robust sodium anodes. Based on density functional theory calculations, optimizing ultramicropores can enable small Na+ to be well confined within the pores and hinder large solvent molecules from invading and reacting, introducing N/P species contributes to the rapid adsorption/diffusion of Na+. In situ XRD and Raman analysis suggest that the nanoconfinement strategy induced by abundant ultramicropores and N/P co‐doping enables highly reversible electrochemical reactions. Electrochemical test confirms that the nanoconfinement strategy endows the NPCS anode with high reversible capacity (376.3 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1), superior initial coulombic efficiency (87.3% at 1.0 A g−1), remarkable rate capability (155.6 mAh g−1 at 50.0 A g−1) and excellent cycling stability (with capacity retention of ≈94.6% after 10 000 cycles), lightening a promising avenue for developing SIB with robust durability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To retrospectively analyze of factors influencing early preterm birth (EPB) and late preterm birth (LPB ) in pregnancy women with placenta previa complicated by placenta accreta spectrum disorders ( PAS ), and assess maternal and infant outcomes. Methods We included 590 cases of pregnancy women with placenta previa complicated by PAS who underwent cesarean sections at five hospitals in Wuhan and Xianning cities between January 2018 and June 2021. These patients were divided into three groups based on delivery gestational age : EPB, LPB, and term birth (TB). A multiple logistic regression model was employed to analyze the risk factors associated with EPB and LPB. Additionally, differences in early maternal and infant outcomes among these groups were examined. Results Among 590 pregnancy women with placenta previa complicated by PAS, the proportions of EPB and LPB were 9.7% and 54.4%. The use of uterine contraction inhibitors prior to cesarean section, vaginal bleeding, and previous cesarean sections history were identified as risk factors for both EPB and LPB. The proportion of severe postpartum hemorrhage was comparable between the EPB group and the LPB group ; however, the incidence of neonatal asphyxia, low birth weight infants, and the rate of newborns transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) within 24 hours after cesarean delivery were significantly higher in the EPB group compared to the LPB group. Conclusions Placenta previa complicated by PAS predominantly leads to LPB. The history of prior cesarean sections, uterine contractions, and vaginal bleeding prior to cesarean section, are significantly associated with both EPB and LPB. During the perinatal period, efforts should be made to extend gestational weeks under close monitoring to minimize the incidence of premature births and thereby improve early maternal and infant outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have been widely researched due to their abundant resource and inherent safety. However, the major challenge for further commercialization of SIBs is the absence of low-priced anode electrodes with high reversible capacity and durability. Herein, a hierarchical heterogeneous structure of FeS2/SnS2@C nanocubes with rich two-dimensional mosaic-like heterointerface and N/S co-doped carbon wrapping is constructed and synthesized, to achieve ultrahigh reversible capacity and long cycling stability as anode of SIBs. Combining x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ion diffusion kinetic analysis, and in situ x-ray diffraction, the exquisite hierarchical heterogeneous structure of FeS2/SnS2@C could promote charge/electrons transfer and accelerate ion diffusion kinetics. As expected, the FeS2/SnS2@C anode shows superior reversible capacity (867.5 mA h g−1 at 0.1 A g−1), good rate performance (718.9 mA h g−1 at 5.0 A g−1), and long cycle stability (738.0 mA h g−1 after 1200 cycles at 5.0 A g−1) with Na metal as counter electrode. This work proves that the effectiveness of heterojunction interfaces for promoting Na+ diffusion is highlighted by such capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]