We provide a highly sensitive and selective assay to detect Hg 2+ in aqueous solutions using gold nanoparticles modified with quaternary ammonium group-terminated thiols at room temperature. The mechanism is the abstraction of thiols by Hg 2+ that led to the aggregation of nanoparticles. With the assistance of solar light irradiation, the detection limit can be as low as 30 nM, which satisfies the guideline concentration of Hg 2+ in drinking water set by the WHO. In addition, the dynamic range of detection is wide (3 × 10 -8 -1 × 10 -2 M). This range, to our best knowledge, is the widest one that has been reported so far in gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-based assays for Hg 2+ .We report a simple method to detect Hg 2+ in aqueous media by quaternary ammonium group-capped gold nanoparticles (QA-AuNPs). Hg 2+ poses severe threats to both human health and the environment. 1 Long-term exposure to high levels of Hg 2+ -based toxins leads to serious and permanent damage of the central nervous system and other organs. 2 Many of the settings required for such assays lack advanced resources, such as electricity. Highly sensitive and selective assays for Hg 2+ , without resorting to advanced instruments are urgently needed. Researchers have published a number of methods for detecting Hg 2+ , based on chemical sensors using small organic molecules, 3 thin films, 4,5 electrochemistry methods, 6,7 polymeric materials, 8 oligonucleotides, 9,10 proteins, 11 inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry, 12 and atomic absorption spectroscopy. 13 Most of these methods, however, have limitations with respect to sensitivity and selectivity or require complex instrumentation or at least electricity. In particular, methods that require no sophisticated starting materials and allow visual readout might be very useful for detecting Hg 2+ in resource-poor settings.AuNPs are increasingly employed for a wide spectrum of biological and biomedical applications. [14][15][16][17][18] Colorimetric assays based on AuNPs have attracted increasing consideration on account of their unique and size-dependent optical and electronic properties. Recently, DNA-functionalized AuNPs have been widely used as colorimetric sensors for a variety of targets, including metallic ions. [19][20][21][22][23] The thymine (T) bases in DNA sequences endow DNA-AuNP assays excellent selectivity for Hg 2+ that can interact with T-T mismatches to form T-Hg 2+ -T complexes. However, most DNA-AuNPs assays rely on accurate control of the detection conditions, such as temperature. In addition, DNA can be costly and difficult to handle.

Previous trial evidence suggested potential risk of serious urinary tract infections (UTIs) and genital infections in type 2 diabetes patients using sodium glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2) inhibitors. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effects of SGLT2 inhibitors on UTIs and genital infections in patients with type 2 diabetes. In total, 77 RCTs involving 50,820 participants were eligible. The meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) showed no significant difference in UTIs between SGLT2 inhibitors versus control (2,526/29,086 vs. 1,278/14,940; risk ratio (RR) 1.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.98 to 1.12; moderate quality evidence), but suggested increased risk of genital infections with SGLT2 inhibitors (1,521/24,017 vs. 216/12,552; RR 3.30, 95% CI 2.74 to 3.99; moderate quality evidence). Subgroup analyses by length of follow up (interaction p = 0.005), type of control (interaction p = 0.04) and individual SGLT2 inhibitors (interaction p = 0.03) also showed statistically significant differences in genital infections. The upcoming major trials may provide important additional insights on UTIs, and more efforts are needed to address comparative effects of each individual SGLT2 inhibitors on the infections.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is a global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2). The models that can accurately resemble human‐relevant responses to viral infection are lacking. Here, a biomimetic human disease model on chip that allows to recapitulate lung injury and immune responses induced by SARS‐CoV‐2 in vitro at organ level is created. This human alveolar chip reproduce the key features of alveolar‐capillary barrier by coculture of human alveolar epithelium, microvascular endothelium, and circulating immune cells under fluidic flow in normal and disease. Upon SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, the epithelium exhibits higher susceptibility to virus than endothelium. Transcriptional analyses show activated innate immune responses in epithelium and cytokine‐dependent pathways in endothelium at day 3 post‐infection, revealing the distinctive responses in different cell types. Notably, viral infection causes the immune cell recruitment, endothelium detachment, and increased inflammatory cytokines release, suggesting the crucial role of immune cells involved in alveolar barrier injury and exacerbated inflammation. Treatment with remdesivir can inhibit viral replication and alleviate barrier disruption on chip. This organ chip model can closely mirror human‐relevant responses to SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, which is difficult to be achieved by in vitro models, providing a unique platform for COVID‐19 research and drug development.