IMPORTANCE Ocular manifestations and outcomes in children with confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 , relevant affecting factors, and differences in ocular disease between children and adults have yet to be fully understood. OBJECTIVE To investigate ocular manifestations and clinical characteristics of children with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cross-sectional study was conducted at Wuhan Children's Hospital in Wuhan, China. Children with COVID-19 confirmed by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus disease 2 nucleic acid tests of upper respiratory tract specimens between January 26 and March 18, 2020, were included. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Onset clinical symptoms and duration, ocular symptoms, and needs for medication. RESULTS A total of 216 pediatric patients were included, among whom 134 (62%) were boys, with a median (interquartile range) age of 7.25 (2.6-11.6) years. Based on the exposure history, 193 children (89.4%) had a confirmed (173 [80.1%]) or suspected (20 [9.3%]) family member with COVID-19 infection. The most common symptoms among symptomatic children were fever (81 [37.5%]) and cough (79 [36.6%]). Of 216 children, 93 (43.1%) had no systemic or respiratory symptoms. All children with mild (101 [46.8%]) or moderate (115 [53.2%]) symptoms recovered without reported death. Forty-nine children (22.7%) showed various ocular manifestations, of which 9 had ocular complaints being the initial manifestations of COVID-19. The common ocular manifestations were conjunctival discharge (27 [55.1%]), eye rubbing (19 [38.8%]), and conjunctival congestion (5 [10.2%]). Children with systemic symptoms (29.3% vs 14.0%; difference, 15.3%; 95% CI, 9.8%-20.7%; P = .008) or with cough (31.6% vs 17.5%; difference, 14.1%; 95% CI, 8.0%-20.3%; P = .02) were more likely to develop ocular symptoms. Ocular symptoms were typically mild, and children recovered or improved. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEIn this cross-sectional study, children hospitalized with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, presented with a series of onset symptoms including fever, cough, and ocular manifestations, such as conjunctival discharge, eye rubbing, and conjunctival congestion. Patients' systemic clinical symptoms or cough were associated with ocular symptoms. Ocular symptoms recovered or improved eventually.

Photodetectors which can work at both low and high temperatures are very important for the development of practical optoelectronic devices. Many studies have shown that low-dimensional semiconductors have more advantages in optoelectronic applications than their bulk forms. Here, we report the preparation of high-quality SbS nanowires (NWs) by a sulphur-assisted vapour transport method. The corresponding individual SbS NW based photodetectors exhibit good photoresponse in a wide spectral range from about 300 to 800 nm. The optimal photoresponse values are measured under the illumination of a 638 nm laser at room temperature: a high current ON/OFF ratio of about 210, a spectral responsivity of 1152 A W, a detectivity of 2 × 10 Jones, and rise and fall times of about 37 ms, respectively. More importantly, the temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity of SbS shows three variation regions which can be attributed to the interaction between the carrier mobility and carrier concentration. The temperature dependence of the photoresponse of the photodetectors shows that they have good adaptability to temperature, and they worked very well at a wide temperature range from 8 to 420 K. Our results indicate that low-dimensional SbS crystals are promising candidates for new multifunctional optoelectronic devices.

Probucol prevents atrial remodeling and suppresses AF development in alloxan-induced diabetic rabbits. Its inhibitory effects on oxidative stress, NF-κB, TGF-β, and TNF-α overexpression may contribute to its antiremodeling effects.

Purpose: A dual-regulated adenovirus variant CNHK500, in which human telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter drove the adenovirus 5 (Ad5) E1a gene and hypoxia-response promoter controlled the E1b gene, was engineered. This virus has broad anticancer spectrum and higher specificity compared with mono-regulated adenovirus CNHK300. The objective of the current study is to show its antitumor selectivity and therapeutic potential. Experimental Design: The antitumor specificity of human telomerase reverse transcriptase and hypoxia response promoters was evaluated in a panel of tumor and normal cells. Under the control of these promoters, the tumor-selective expression of E1a and E1b genes was evaluated. Further in vitro antitumor specificity and potency of this virus were characterized by viral replication and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Subsequently, hepatocellular carcinoma xenografts were established to evaluate CNHK500 antitumor efficacy in vivo by different routes of virus administration and different dosages. Results: Human telomerase reverse transcriptase and hypoxia response promoters were activated in a tumor-selective manner or under hypoxia treatment in a broad panel of cells. Selective adenoviral early gene expression, efficient viral replication, and oncolysis were observed in all tested cancer cells with more attenuated replication capacity in normal cells. Significant regression of hepatocellular carcinoma xenografts and prolonged survival were observed by either i.t. or i.v. administration. Conclusions: CNHK500 greatly reduced side effects in normal cells via dual control of adenoviral essential genes while still preserving potent antitumor efficacy on broad-spectrum cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. It can be used as a powerful therapeutic agent not only for liver cancers but also for other solid tumors.

Among numerous gene therapeutic strategies for cancer treatment, gene transfer by conditionally replicative adenovirus (CRAd) of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) may be useful because of the possibility that it will yield IFN-gamma-mediated antiangiogenesis, immune responses, and CRAd-mediated oncolysis. In this study, we constructed a human TERT promoter-mediated oncolytic adenovirus targeting telomerase-positive cancers and armed with a mouse or human IFN-gamma gene to generate novel immune gene-viral therapeutic systems, CNHK300-mIFN-gamma and CNHK300-hIFN-gamma, respectively. The systems can specifically target, replicate in, and lyse cancer cells, while sparing normal cells. The advantage of these systems is that the number of transgene copies and their expression increase markedly via viral replication within infected cancer cells, and replicated viral progeny can then infect additional cancer cells within the tumor mass. CNHK300-mIFN-gamma induced regression of xenografts in liver cancer models in both immunodeficient and immunocompetent mice by triplex mechanisms including selective oncolysis, antiangiogenesis, and immune responses. We conclude that combining immune gene therapy and oncolytic virotherapy can enhance antitumor efficacy as a result of synergism between CRAd oncolysis and transgene composite antitumor responses.

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Pioglitazone attenuates diabetes-induced structural and electrophysiological remodeling in the atria, thereby reducing the vulnerability to AF.