Rationale:Neonatal gastric perforation is a rare and life-threatening disorder in neonates and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. However, the exact mechanisms of neonatal gastric perforation remain unknown.Patient concerns:In this study, we reported 2 cases of neonatal gastric perforation and conducted a systematic review to analyze the prognostic factors for mortality.Diagnoses:Two neonates received a diagnosis of gastric perforation based on clinical presentation and imaging studies. The 2 patients underwent emergent surgery, which yielded favorable outcomes.Interventions:We reviewed 168 cases from the literature as well as our 2 cases to analyze whether mortality in neonatal gastric perforation is associated with sex, gestational age, operation type, perforation location, or timing of perforation.Outcomes:The results revealed that mortality was significantly higher in preterm neonates (n = 80, P < .01) and the mortality group had a lower birth weight (n = 73, P < .05). The timing of perforation in the preterm subgroup was significantly earlier than that in the full-term subgroup (n = 90, P < .05). The outcomes about mortality of gastric perforation were significantly associated with preterm neonates (adjusted odds ratio: 4.21, 95% confidence interval: 1.28–13.88, P < .05).Lessons:This study shows the prognostic factor of gastric perforation was significantly associated with preterm neonates. Furthermore, low-birth-weight full-term neonates had a relatively higher mortality rate than the normal-birth-weight full-term neonates. In addition, preterm neonates have an earlier timing of perforation.

Background With the continuous emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants that feature increased transmission and immune escape, there is an urgent demand for a better vaccine design that will provide broader neutralizing efficacy. Methods We report an mRNA-based vaccine using an engineered “hybrid” receptor binding domain (RBD) that contains all 16 point-mutations shown in the currently prevailing Omicron and Delta variants. Results A booster dose of hybrid vaccine in mice previously immunized with wild-type RBD vaccine induced high titers of broadly neutralizing antibodies against all tested SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs). In naïve mice, hybrid vaccine generated strong Omicron-specific neutralizing antibodies as well as low but significant titers against other VOCs. Hybrid vaccine also elicited CD8+/IFN-γ+ T cell responses against a conserved T cell epitope present in wild type and all VOCs. Conclusions These results demonstrate that inclusion of different antigenic mutations from various SARS-CoV-2 variants is a feasible approach to develop cross-protective vaccines.

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This paper presents a wireless biosignal acquisition system-on-a-chip (WBSA-SoC) specialized for electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring. The proposed system consists of three subsystems, namely, 1) the ECG acquisition node, 2) the protocol for standard IEEE 802.15.4 ZigBee system, and 3) the RF transmitter circuits. The ZigBee protocol is adopted for wireless communication to achieve high integration, applicability, and portability. A fully integrated CMOS RF front end containing a quadrature voltage-controlled oscillator and a 2.4-GHz low-IF (i.e., zero-IF) transmitter is employed to transmit ECG signals through wireless communication. The low-power WBSA-SoC is implemented by the TSMC 0.18-μm standard CMOS process. An ARM-based displayer with FPGA demodulation and an RF receiver with analog-to-digital mixed-mode circuits are constructed as verification platform to demonstrate the wireless ECG acquisition system. Measurement results on the human body show that the proposed SoC can effectively acquire ECG signals.

Aminobenzonitrile adsorption on silver nanoparticles (SNPs) was studied with SERS, SEIRA, and DFT. It was found that 4-aminobenzonitrile (4ABN) and 2-aminobenzonitirle (2ABN) could resonantly distribute an amino group charge so that the cyano group could strongly interact with the SNPs in the mono/multilayer. Cyano stretching frequency shifts in SEIRA spectra showed that a 4ABN multilayer interacted strongly with the SNPs when deposited using an alkane solvent with nonpolar bonds. 2ABN could interact with the SNPs even when deposition occurred using a solvent with polar bonds because intramolecular hydrogen-bonding in 2ABN limited solvation. 3-Aminobenzonitrile (3ABN) never interacted strongly with the SNPs in the multilayer because it could not resonantly distribute the amino group charge. 2ABN also formed C−H hydrogen-bonds with n-heptane, which could interact with both the amino and cyano groups of 2ABN. Charge transfer between adsorbed ABN isomers and the SNPs is evidenced in SERS spectra by the presence of nontotally symmetric vibrational bands that do not appear intense in Raman spectra of the ABN powders. It is anticipated that this work will affect applications where interactions of benzonitrile compounds with metal nanoparticles is important.