Objective::To report the clinical maternal and fetal outcomes of pregnant women with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), along with any associated pregnancy complications, in Hong Kong, China, and to assess the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on these outcomes.Methods::This prospective registry-based observational study included pregnant women who were recruited through convenient sampling and had a laboratory-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection with a cycle threshold (Ct) value result available on admission to eight local hospitals in Hong Kong, China. Data on clinical symptoms, laboratory results, medical treatments, delivery timing and mode, and pregnancy complications were extracted from the Hospital Authority’s electronic medical record system. Maternal, fetal, and pregnancy outcomes were compared between unvaccinated pregnant women with COVID-19 and those who had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine before diagnosis. Nonparametric continuous variables and categorical variables were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test and the Pearson’s chi-squared test respectively. A P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results::A total of 164 pregnant women were included, of whom 78 (47.56%) were nulliparous. COVID-19 was diagnosed before 28 weeks’ gestation in 30 (18.29%), while 134 (81.71 %) were diagnosed at or after 28 weeks’ gestation. Sixty-two (37.80%) women received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. There were no significant differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated groups in the time interval between COVID-19 diagnosis and delivery, the Ct value, and the gestational age at infection onset or delivery ( P > 0.05). The majority of women were symptomatic at diagnosis regardless of vaccination status (55 (88.71%) in vaccinated group vs. 78 (76.47%) in unvaccinated group ( P = 0.052). Symptoms did not significantly differ between groups except for cough (62.90% vs. 47.06%, P = 0.049). The overall rate of severe COVID-19 in pregnant women was low. In total, 5 (3.05%) patients experienced severe COVID-19, with vaccinated patients more likely to receive low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) as part of their treatment (62.90% vs. 42.16%, P = 0.010). Ninety-two (56.10%) women had a spontaneous vaginal delivery, 7 (4.27%) had an instrumental delivery, and 44 (26.83%) and 21 (12.80%) underwent emergency and elective cesarean sections respectively. For fetal outcomes, 14 (8.48%) babies were born preterm and four (2.65% of nonpreterm babies, n = 151) had low birthweight. The median birthweight percentile was 52.18 th. There were no statistically significant differences in pregnancy complications or fetal outcomes between vaccinated and unvaccinated groups. Conclusion::The overall rate of severe COVID-19 in pregnant women was low. COVID-19 vaccination did not significantly impact maternal outcomes, except for the use of LMWH. Additionally, the study found no significant differences in fetal outcomes and pregnancy complications between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.

Objective::To report the clinical maternal and fetal outcomes of pregnant women with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), along with any associated pregnancy complications, in Hong Kong, China, and to assess the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on these outcomes.Methods::This prospective registry-based observational study included pregnant women who were recruited through convenient sampling and had a laboratory-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection with a cycle threshold (Ct) value result available on admission to eight local hospitals in Hong Kong, China. Data on clinical symptoms, laboratory results, medical treatments, delivery timing and mode, and pregnancy complications were extracted from the Hospital Authority’s electronic medical record system. Maternal, fetal, and pregnancy outcomes were compared between unvaccinated pregnant women with COVID-19 and those who had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine before diagnosis. Nonparametric continuous variables and categorical variables were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test and the Pearson’s chi-squared test respectively. A P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results::A total of 164 pregnant women were included, of whom 78 (47.56%) were nulliparous. COVID-19 was diagnosed before 28 weeks’ gestation in 30 (18.29%), while 134 (81.71 %) were diagnosed at or after 28 weeks’ gestation. Sixty-two (37.80%) women received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. There were no significant differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated groups in the time interval between COVID-19 diagnosis and delivery, the Ct value, and the gestational age at infection onset or delivery ( P > 0.05). The majority of women were symptomatic at diagnosis regardless of vaccination status (55 (88.71%) in vaccinated group vs. 78 (76.47%) in unvaccinated group ( P = 0.052). Symptoms did not significantly differ between groups except for cough (62.90% vs. 47.06%, P = 0.049). The overall rate of severe COVID-19 in pregnant women was low. In total, 5 (3.05%) patients experienced severe COVID-19, with vaccinated patients more likely to receive low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) as part of their treatment (62.90% vs. 42.16%, P = 0.010). Ninety-two (56.10%) women had a spontaneous vaginal delivery, 7 (4.27%) had an instrumental delivery, and 44 (26.83%) and 21 (12.80%) underwent emergency and elective cesarean sections respectively. For fetal outcomes, 14 (8.48%) babies were born preterm and four (2.65% of nonpreterm babies, n = 151) had low birthweight. The median birthweight percentile was 52.18 th. There were no statistically significant differences in pregnancy complications or fetal outcomes between vaccinated and unvaccinated groups. Conclusion::The overall rate of severe COVID-19 in pregnant women was low. COVID-19 vaccination did not significantly impact maternal outcomes, except for the use of LMWH. Additionally, the study found no significant differences in fetal outcomes and pregnancy complications between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.

There is no fast-acting treatment strate-gies against Alzheimer's disease(AD),in particular dementia-related wandering.N,N-dimethyltryptamine(DMT)is a natural psychedelic that may have rapid-onset nootropic effects.In this study,5×FAD transgenic mice which recapitulated amyloid neuropathological features of AD received one single injection of 6 or 12 mg·kg-1 DMT and tested at 0.5,1,and 2 h thereafter in Y-maze for spatial memory.5×FAD transgenic mice exhibited pro-nounced decreases in time spent,number entered,and distance travelled in the novel arm of Y-maze.DMT at 12 mg·kg-1 partially or completely reversed the three behavioral indices at multiple time points,up to 2 h post injection.The rapid-onset behavioral improvement was consistent with pharmacokinetic analysis of DMT,showing approximately 30 min to reach the maximum concentra-tion in the brain tissue.The transgenic mice also displayed dramatically impaired hippocampal long-term potentiation(LTP),an electrophysiological feature of memory forma-tion and consolidation.DMT potently enhanced LTP and restored intracellular calcium activity,expression and phosphorylation of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase Ⅱ(CaMK Ⅱ)and AMPA-type glutamate receptor 1(GluR1),the two key calcium-activated mediators involved in LTP induction.Adenosine triphosphate(ATP)is purinergic signalling molecules that are involved in LTP induction and maintenance.DMT rapidly increased mito-chondrial ATP dynamics in in vivo and in vitro models.These results suggest that DMT rapidly improve spatial memory and hippocampal LTP by restoring the CaMK Ⅱ-GluR1 signaling pathway and mitochondrial ATP produc-tion.It may be served as a fast-acting nootropic agent for the treatment of AD in particular wandering.

Background: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is associated with significant perioperative blood loss and postoperative allogenic blood transfusion. Tranexamic acid (TXA) reversibly blocks lysine binding sites on plasminogen molecules and inhibits plasmin formation. Comparisons of the efficacy and safety of intra-articular and intravenous TXA in primary TKA have not previously been reported. Methods: A prospective randomized trial was conducted in 150 patients who underwent TKA, and these patients were randomized into three groups. Patients in Group A were injected by intra-articular TXA according to body weight (20 mg/kg). Patients in Group B received a standard dose of intra-articular TXA (2000 mg), and those in Group C were infused with TXA according to body weight (20 mg/kg) before tourniquet deflation and again 3 h later. Baseline characteristics and data collected at blood transfusion were compared. Differences among four time points (baseline, day 0, day 2, and day 5) were carried out using ANOVA. Results: The hemoglobin levels at postoperative day 5 were 10.6 g/dL for Group A, 10.6 g/dL for Group B, and 10.7 g/dL for Group C. The drain output was 399 ml for Group A, 314 ml for Group B, and 305 ml for Group C (p = 0.03). Group C had significantly less drain output than Group A after post hoc comparisons (p = 0.05), whereas no significant difference was observed between Group A and B (p = 0.09) or between Group B and C. Conclusion The weight-adjusted dose of TXA administered intravenously significantly reduced the drain output but not the total blood loss when compared with the weight-adjusted dose of TXA administered intra-articularly. No significant difference was observed in the other parameters among the three groups.Trial registrationThe Joint CUHK-NTEC CREC, CRE-2013.644-T. Registered 1 March 2014.

Background: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is associated with significant perioperative blood loss and postoperative allogenic blood transfusion. Tranexamic acid (TXA) reversibly blocks lysine binding sites on plasminogen molecules and inhibits plasmin formation. Comparisons of the efficacy and safety of intra-articular and intravenous TXA in primary TKA have not previously been reported. Methods: A prospective randomized trial was conducted in 150 patients who underwent TKA, and these patients were randomized into three groups. Patients in Group A were injected by intra-articular TXA according to body weight (20 mg/kg). Patients in Group B received a standard dose of intra-articular TXA (2000 mg), and those in Group C were infused with TXA according to body weight (20 mg/kg) before tourniquet deflation and again 3 h later. Baseline characteristics and data collected at blood transfusion were compared. Differences among four time points (baseline, day 0, day 2, and day 5) were carried out using ANOVA. Results: The hemoglobin levels at postoperative day 5 were 10.6 g/dL for Group A, 10.6 g/dL for Group B, and 10.7 g/dL for Group C. The drain output was 399 ml for Group A, 314 ml for Group B, and 305 ml for Group C (p = 0.03). Group C had significantly less drain output than Group A after post hoc comparisons (p = 0.05), whereas no significant difference was observed between Group A and B (p = 0.09) or between Group B and C. Conclusion The weight-adjusted dose of TXA administered intravenously significantly reduced the drain output but not the total blood loss when compared with the weight-adjusted dose of TXA administered intra-articularly. No significant difference was observed in the other parameters among the three groups.Trial registrationThe Joint CUHK-NTEC CREC, CRE-2013.644-T. Registered 1 March 2014.

OBJECTIVEThis paper aimed to review the current literature on the surface modification of intraocular lenses (IOLs).

DATA SOURCESAll articles about surface modification of IOLs published up to 2015 were identified through a literature search on both PubMed and ScienceDirect.

STUDY SELECTIONThe articles on the surface modification of IOLs were included, but those on design modification and surface coating were excluded.

RESULTSTechnology of surface modification included plasma, ion beam, layer-by-layer self-assembly, ultraviolet radiation, and ozone. The main molecules introduced into IOLs surface were poly (ethylene glycol), polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane, 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine, TiO 2 , heparin, F-heparin, titanium, titanium nitride, vinyl pyrrolidone, and inhibitors of cytokines. The surface modification either resulted in a more hydrophobic lens, a more hydrophilic lens, or a lens with a hydrophilic anterior and hydrophobic posterior surface. Advances in research regarding surface modification of IOLs had led to a better biocompatibility in both in vitro and animal experiments.

CONCLUSIONThe surface modification is an efficient, convenient, economic and promising method to improve the biocompatibility of IOLs.

Animals ; Heparin ; chemistry ; Humans ; Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions ; Lenses, Intraocular ; Methacrylates ; chemistry ; Ozone ; chemistry ; Phosphorylcholine ; analogs & derivatives ; chemistry ; Ultraviolet Rays