A lot of previous studies have recently reported that the gut microbiota influences the development of colorectal cancer (CRC) in Western countries, but the role of the gut microbiota in Chinese population must be investigated fully. The goal of this study was to determine the role of the gut microbiome in the initiation and development of CRC. We collected fecal samples of 206 Chinese individuals: 59 with polyp (group P), 54 with adenoma (group A), 51 with colorectal cancer (group CC), and 42 healthy controls (group HC).16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) was used to compare the microbiota community structures among healthy controls, patients with polyp, and those with adenoma or colorectal cancer. Our study proved that intestinal flora, as a specific indicator, showed significant differences in its diversity and composition. Sobs, Chao, and Ace indexes of group CC were significantly lower than those of the healthy control group (CC group: Sobs, Chao, and Ace indexes were 217.3 ± 69, 4265.1 ± 80.7, and 268.6 ± 78.1, respectively; HC group: Sobs, Chao, and Ace indexes were 228.8 ± 44.4, 272.9 ± 58.6, and 271.9 ± 57.2, respectively). When compared with the healthy individuals, the species richness and diversity of intestinal flora in patients with colorectal cancer were significantly reduced: PCA and PCoA both revealed that a significant separation in bacterial community composition between the CC group and HC group (with PCA using the first two principal component scores of PC1 14.73% and PC2 10.34% of the explained variance, respectively; PCoA : PC1 = 14%, PC2 = 9%, PC3 = 6%). Wilcox tests was used to analyze differences between the two groups, it reveals that Firmicutes (P=0.000356), Fusobacteria (P=0.000001), Proteobacteria (P=0.000796), Spirochaetes (P=0.013421), Synergistetes (P=0.005642) were phyla with significantly different distributions between cases and controls. The proportion of microorganism composition is varying at different stages of colon cancer development: Bacteroidetes (52.14%) and Firmicutes (35.88%) were enriched in the healthy individuals; on the phylum level, the abundance of Bacteroidetes (52.14%-53.92%-52.46%–47.06%) and Firmicutes (35.88%-29.73%-24.27%–25.36%) is decreasing with the development of health-polyp-adenomas-CRC, and the abundance of Proteobacteria (9.33%-12.31%-16.51%–22.37%) is increasing. PCA and PCOA analysis showed there was no significant (P<0.05) difference in species similarity between precancerous and carcinogenic states. However, the composition of the microflora in patients with precancerous lesions (including patients with adenoma and polyp) was proved to have no significant disparity (P<0.05). Our study provides insights into new angles to dig out potential biomarkers in diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer and to provide scientific advice for a healthy lifestyle for the sake of gut microbiota.

Healthcare workers at the frontline are facing a substantial risk of respiratory tract infection during the COVID-19 outbreak due to an extremely stressful work schedule and public health event. A well-established first-line defense on oropharyngeal microbiome could be a promising strategy to protect individuals from respiratory tract infections including COVID-19. The most thoroughly studied oropharyngeal probiotic product which creates a stable upper respiratory tract microbiota capable of preventing upper respiratory tract infections was chosen to evaluate the safety and efficacy on reducing episodes of upper respiratory tract infections for COVID-19 healthcare workers. To our knowledge to date, this is the very first study describing the beneficial effects of oropharyngeal probiotic been administered by healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this randomized controlled trial, we provided the probiotics to frontline medical staff who work in the hospitals in Wuhan and had been in close contact with hospitalized COVID-19 patients for prophylactic use on a daily basis. Our finding suggests that oropharyngeal probiotic administration significantly reduced the incidence of respiratory tract infections by 64.8%, reduced the time experiencing respiratory tract infections and oral ulcer symptoms by 78%, shortened the days absent from work by 95.5%, and reduced the time under medication where there is no record of antibiotic and anti-viral drug intake in the probiotic group. Furthermore, medical staff treated with Bactoblis experienced sustained protection from respiratory tract infections since the 10th day of oropharyngeal probiotic administration resulting in an extremely low incidence rate of respiratory tract infections.

Probiotics play an important role against infectious pathogens via their effects on the epithelium, the production of antimicrobial compounds, and competitive exclusion. Administration of probiotic supplements may reduce the risk of infectious diseases and the use of antibiotics, hence contributing to a reduction or a delay of the development of multi-resistant bacteria. Infection is a constant concern for people who experience recurrent infections, and antibiotic treatment usually fails due to antibiotic resistance. Therefore, an infection can lead to severe illness and hospitalization if left untreated. A growing number of studies have demonstrated promising results for a variety of probiotic strains used to prevent or treat acute and recurrent infectious diseases, but additional standardized clinical research is needed.

Objective: Researching the prognostic value of myocardial enzymes in COVID-19 patients. Materials & methods: We collected 113 confirmed COVID-19 patients. The dynamic changes of CK, LDH and α-HBDH in patients were studied retrospectively, the correlation between myocardial enzyme index, clinical classification and outcome of patients and its significance to prognosis. Results: There are significant statistical differences between LDH, α-HBDH, CK and the clinical classification, and patient’s outcome. In the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, LDH, α-HBDH and CK have a good diagnostic value for the death outcome of patients. Conclusion: LDH, α-HBDH and CK were the components of myocardial enzyme profiles, and our results found that they were significantly positively correlated with clinical classification and prognosis of COVID-19 patients. The values of LDH, α-HBDH and CK increased with the increase of the severity of admission clinical classification and the deterioration of outcome. Therefore, we propose that continuous monitoring of LDH, α-HBDH and CK indicators can warn the deterioration of COVID-19 to a certain extent, regardless of whether patients with cardiovascular diseases are combined or not, and prompt early intervention.

Objective：To explore the value of C-reactive protein (CRP) and lymphocyte (L) in the assessment of disease severity and prognosis of elderly COVID-19 patients.Methods: A total of 150 patients with COVID-19 confirmed by positive pathogen nucleic acid test in a designated hospital of COVID-19 in Wuhan were collected. Their demographic characteristics were analyzed. The dynamic changes of CRP and L in peripheral blood were retrospectively studied.Results: (1) Among the 150 hospitalized patients with severe and critical classification, males were more than females, and patients over 60 were more than patients under 60. Severe, critical, and dying patients were older. There were significant statistical differences between the age, gender and the clinical classification of patients admitted to hospital (P<0.05).（2）In 101 patients over 60 years old, the hospitalized patients with severe or critical types had significantly higher CRP than those with normal type (p<0.01). In the outcome of the elderly patients, the CRP of the patients with the outcomes of discharge, improvement, aggravation and death increased successively (p<0.01). According to the analysis of Logistic regression model, the increase of CRP constitutes a risk factor for death in elderly patients. (3) In the ROC curve analysis to distinguish the death outcome and non-death outcome of COVID-19 patients, the area under the curve (AUC) of CRP and L was 0.732 and 0.648 respectively. CRP and L had good diagnostic accuracy for the death outcome of patients. (4) Changes in CRP were correlated with changes in CT imaging and were consistent with changes in the course of the disease.Conclusions: (1) COVID-19 patients over 60 years old were clinically heavy at admission and had poor prognosis, especially elderly male patients. (2) CRP and L are important monitoring indicators of COVID-19 in elderly patients. Combined with CT examination and observation of their dynamic changes, CRP and L are of important clinical guiding value for the judgment of disease severity and the evaluation of prognosis.