Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second commonly diagnosed malignancy in men over the world. Although androgen deprivation therapy for advanced PCa patients has significantly improved their survival, the majority of these patients eventually develop castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Proscillaridin A (Pro A), a cardiac glycoside that is clinically used to treat various heart failure diseases, has been reported to have anticancer activity in several cancers. However, whether Pro A exerts an inhibitory effect on PCa...

A simple, eco-friendly and convenient procedure has been developed for the synthesis of diphenyl diselinides from readily available aryl boronic acids by reaction with SeO2 in the presence of iodine under simple conditions. The methodology is reported about 19 examples and applicable to a broad scope of aryl boronic acids containing electron-rich and electron-poor substituents. Apart from being milder and environmentally benign conditions, this synthetic protocol comprises a novel, reliable methodology to give good to...

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) accounts for approximately 10,000 annual cases of severe encephalitis in Europe and Asia and causes encephalitis in humans. In this study, we demonstrate TBEV appears to activate the interferon (IFN)-β dependent on RIG-I/MDA5. Both the IFN-β accumulation and the IFN stimulated genes (ISGs) transcription greatly delay. Further studies reveal that TBEV NS4A could block the phosphorylation and dimerization of STAT1/STAT2 to affect type I and II IFN-mediated STAT signalling. Additional data...

One of the major goals in HIV-1 vaccine development is to achieve properly folded and stabilized envelope glycoprotein (Env) trimers that mimic the native Env on the mature virion. Here, we design and characterize uncleaved prefusion-optimized (UFO) trimers for 12 Envs currently circulating in China. Biochemical and biophysical characterization of these UFO trimers identified two subtype B/Bʹ Envs, CNE6 and MG13, which exhibited the highest trimer content and stability at a level comparable to the...

One of the major goals in HIV-1 vaccine development is to achieve properly folded and stabilized envelope glycoprotein (Env) trimers that mimic the native Env on the mature virion. Here, we design and characterize uncleaved prefusion-optimized (UFO) trimers for 12 Envs currently circulating in China. Biochemical and biophysical characterization of these UFO trimers identified two subtype B/Bʹ Envs, CNE6 and MG13, which exhibited the highest trimer content and stability at a level comparable to the...

Human coronavirus NL63 (HCoV-NL63) is primarily associated with common cold in children, elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Outbreaks caused by HCoV-NL63 are rare. Here we report a cluster of HCoV-NL63 cases with severe lower respiratory tract infection that arose in Guangzhou, China, in 2018. Twenty-three hospitalized children were confirmed to be HCoV-NL63 positive, and most of whom were hospitalized with severe pneumonia or acute bronchitis. Whole genomes of HCoV-NL63 were obtained using next-generation sequencing. Phylogenetic and...

In this work, a novel xonotlite nanocomposite was synthesised with abandoned eggshell by hydrothermal method, and organic-modified with toluene diisocyanate (TDI) for the removal of Pb(II) and Cd(II) from wastewater. The xonotlite and organic-modified xonotlite were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunner-Emmet-Teller (BET) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) methods. The effect of solution pH, contact time, adsorbent dose, and initial concentrations were also investigated. The organic-modified xonotlite was found to...

A Bayesian group sequential design is proposed that performs survival comparisons within patient subgroups in randomized trials where treatment–subgroup interactions may be present. A latent subgroup membership variable is assumed to allow the design to adaptively combine homogeneous subgroups, or split heterogeneous subgroups, to improve the procedure’s within-subgroup power. If a baseline covariate related to survival is available, the design may incorporate this information to improve subgroup identification while basing the comparative test on the...

Tumorigenesis is closely related to the disorder of the cell cycle. The cell cycle progression includes the interphase (G0/G1, S, and G2 phase) and mitosis (M phase). CCND1 is a key protein that regulates the entry of the G0/G1 phase into the S phase. In our study, we found that the short form of Fas Apoptosis Inhibitory Molecule 1 (FAIM-S) could regulate the expression of CCND1 and had a tumor-suppressing role in non-small cell lung...

Different primers/probes sets have been developed all over the world for the nucleic acid detection of SARS-CoV-2 by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) as a standard method. In our recent study, we explored the feasibility of droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) for clinical SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid detection compared with qRT-PCR using the same primer/probe sets issued by Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) targeting viral ORF1ab or N gene, which showed that...

Quantitative real time PCR (RT-PCR) is widely used as the gold standard for clinical detection of SARS-CoV-2. However, due to the low viral load specimens and the limitations of RT-PCR, significant numbers of false negative reports are inevitable, which results in failure to timely diagnose, cut off transmission, and assess discharge criteria. To improve this situation, an optimized droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) was used for detection of SARS-CoV-2, which showed that the limit of detection...

Background: Novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) is prevalent around the world. We aimed to describe epidemiological features and clinical course in Shanghai. Methods: We retrospectively analysed 325 cases admitted at Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, between January 20 and February 29, 2020. Results: 47.4% (154/325) had visited Wuhan within 2 weeks of illness onset. 57.2% occurred in 67 clusters; 40% were situated within 53 family clusters. 83.7% developed fever during the disease course. Median times from...

Burkholderia pseudomallei: which causes melioidosis with high mortality in humans, has become a global public health concern. Recently, infection-driven lipid droplet accumulation has been related to the progression of host-pathogen interactions, and its contribution to the pathogenesis of infectious disease has been investigated. Here, we demonstrated that B. pseudomallei infection actively induced a time-dependent increase in the number and size of lipid droplets in human lung epithelial cells and macrophages. We also found that lipid...

We studied plasma antibody responses of 35 patients about 1 month after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Titers of antibodies binding to the viral nucleocapsid and spike proteins were significantly higher in patients with severe disease. Likewise, mean antibody neutralization titers against SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus and live virus were higher in the sicker patients, by ∼5-fold and ∼7-fold, respectively. These findings have important implications for those pursuing plasma therapy, isolation of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies, and determinants of immunity.

COVID-19 is caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection and was initially discovered in Wuhan. This outbreak quickly spread all over China and then to more than 20 other countries. SARS-CoV-2 fluorescent microsphere immunochromatographic test strips were prepared by the combination of time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay with a lateral flow assay. The analytical performance and clinical evaluation of this testing method was done and the clinical significance of the testing method was verified. The LLOD of SARS-CoV-2 antibody IgG...

Dynamic changes of RNA and antibodies in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients remain largely unknown, and influence factors for antibody production have not been fully clarified. In this study, consecutive throat swabs specimens (n = 1875) from 187 patients were collected to analyse the dynamic changes of RNA. Moreover, 162 serial serum samples from 31 patients were tested for seroconversion of IgM and IgG. Meanwhile, IgM and IgG were also detected in 409 COVID-19 patients and 389...

Macrophage differentiation is associated with tumorigenesis, including the tumorigenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Herein, we explored the value of macrophage differentiation-associated genes (MDGs) in the prognosis of HCC using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) databases. We performed multivariate Cox regression analyses to identify the hub genes affecting HCC patient prognoses. The correlations between hub genes and macrophage differentiation and immune checkpoint inhibitors (PD-1, PD-L1, and CTLA4)...

This study aimed to synthesize and characterize L-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) complexed Mn2+ nanoparticle (L-EGCG-Mn), a proof-of-concept pH-sensitive manganese core nanoparticle (NP), and compare its magnetic resonance (MR) properties with those of Gd-DTPA, both in vitro and in vivo. Reverse microemulsion was used to obtain the L-EGCG-Mn NPs. The physicochemical properties of L-EGCG-Mn were characterized using dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, and near-infrared fluorescence small animal live imaging. The in vitro relaxivity of L-EGCG-Mn incubated...

This study aimed to synthesize and characterize L-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) complexed Mn2+ nanoparticle (L-EGCG-Mn), a proof-of-concept pH-sensitive manganese core nanoparticle (NP), and compare its magnetic resonance (MR) properties with those of Gd-DTPA, both in vitro and in vivo. Reverse microemulsion was used to obtain the L-EGCG-Mn NPs. The physicochemical properties of L-EGCG-Mn were characterized using dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, and near-infrared fluorescence small animal live imaging. The in vitro relaxivity of L-EGCG-Mn incubated...

An ultra-sensitive spectrofluorimetry method was developed and validated for the rapid determination of ferrocyanide ions (hexacyanidoferrate(II), FeCN64-, FCNs) by using sulphur (S) and nitrogen (N) dual-doped fluorescence carbon nanoparticles (S,N-FCNPs) as nanoprobe. The fluorescence of S,N-FCNPs was strongly reduced due to the dynamic interaction between S,N-FCNPs and FeCNs. The developed method proved to be highly sensitive and selective for FeCNs detection with linearity in three concentration ranges over four orders of magnitude, covering 0.01–200.0 μg/mL....

An ultra-sensitive spectrofluorimetry method was developed and validated for the rapid determination of ferrocyanide ions (hexacyanidoferrate(II), FeCN64-, FCNs) by using sulphur (S) and nitrogen (N) dual-doped fluorescence carbon nanoparticles (S,N-FCNPs) as nanoprobe. The fluorescence of S,N-FCNPs was strongly reduced due to the dynamic interaction between S,N-FCNPs and FeCNs. The developed method proved to be highly sensitive and selective for FeCNs detection with linearity in three concentration ranges over four orders of magnitude, covering 0.01–200.0 μg/mL....

The Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that causes neonatal abnormalities and other disorders. Antibodies to the ZIKV envelope (E) protein can block infection. In this study, next-generation sequencing (NGS) of immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) mRNA transcripts was combined with single-cell PCR cloning of E-binding monoclonal antibodies for analysing antibody response in a patient from the early stages of infection to more than one year after the clearance of the virus. The patient's IgH...

In this work, a novel flexible photoelectrochemical immunosensor is developed to determine cardiac troponin I (cTnI) in serum. The flower-like ZnIn2S4 nanospheres (ZIS), as signal amplification material, were successfully synthesized by a solvothermal method. The ZIS and Bi2Se3 were modified on the indium tin oxide- polyethylene terephthalate (ITO-PET) electrode, which effectively accelerates the electronic transition and improved the photocurrent conversion efficiency (signal on). However, the binding of antigen–antibody proteins blocks the electron transfer, resulting in...

Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing K. pneumoniae (KPC-KP) have disseminated worldwide and emerged as major threats to public health. Of epidemiological significance, the international pandemic of KPC-KP is primarily associated with CG258 isolates and blaKPC-IncF plasmids. CRISPR-Cas system is an adaptive immune system that can hinder gene expansion driven by horizontal gene transfer. Because of blaKPC-IncF plasmids are favored by CG258 K. pneumoniae, it was of interest to examine the co-distribution of CRISPR and blaKPC-IncF plasmids...

In this work, a novel xonotlite nanocomposite was synthesised with abandoned eggshell by hydrothermal method, and organic-modified with toluene diisocyanate (TDI) for the removal of Pb(II) and Cd(II) from wastewater. The xonotlite and organic-modified xonotlite were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunner-Emmet-Teller (BET) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) methods. The effect of solution pH, contact time, adsorbent dose, and initial concentrations were also investigated. The organic-modified xonotlite was found to...