Biotemplated fabrication of N/O co-doped porous carbon confined spinel NiFe2O4 heterostructured mimetics for triple-mode sensing of antioxidants and ameliorating packaging properties.

In this work, shrimp shell-derived magnetic NiFe2O4/N, O co-doped porous carbon nanozyme with superior oxidase (OXD)-like activity was prepared and used for colorimetric/photothermal/smartphone dual-signal triple-mode detection of antioxidants in fruits and beverages. The magnetic NiFe2O4/N, O co-doped porous carbon (MNPC) material was triumphantly fabricated using a combined in-situ surface chelation and pyrolysis method. The resultant MNPC composite exhibits a superior OXD-like activity, which can effectively oxidize 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) for yielding colorimetric/temperature dual-signal (CTDS) in absence of H2O2. This CTDS output sensor was successfully used for the determination of ascorbic acid and tannic acid. The proposed CTDS sensor with good specificity and high sensitivity can satisfy different on-site analysis requirements. Interestingly, the MNPC as a sustainable filler was further used for improving packaging properties of polyvinyl alcohol film. In short, this work offers a large-scale and cheap method to fabricate magnetic carbon-based nanozyme for monitoring antioxidants and ameliorating packaging properties.

NIR-dye bridged human serum albumin reassemblies for effective photothermal therapy of tumor.

Human serum albumin (HSA) based drug delivery platforms that feature desirable biocompatibility and pharmacokinetic property are rapidly developed for tumor-targeted drug delivery. Even though various HSA-based platforms have been established, it is still of great significance to develop more efficient preparation technology to broaden the therapeutic applications of HSA-based nano-carriers. Here we report a bridging strategy that unfastens HSA to polypeptide chains and subsequently crosslinks these chains by a bridge-like molecule (BPY-Mal2) to afford the HSA reassemblies formulation (BPY@HSA) with enhanced loading capacity, endowing the BPY@HSA with uniformed size, high photothermal efficacy, and favorable therapeutic features. Both in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrate that the BPY@HSA presents higher delivery efficacy and more prominent photothermal therapeutic performance than that of the conventionally prepared formulation. The feasibility in preparation, stability, high photothermal conversion efficacy, and biocompatibility of BPY@HSA may facilitate it as an efficient photothermal agents (PTAs) for tumor photothermal therapy (PTT). This work provides a facile strategy to enhance the loading capacity of HSA-based crosslinking platforms in order to improve delivery efficacy and therapeutic effect.

A Protocol for Digitalized Collection of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Pulse Information Using Bionic Pulse Diagnosis Equipment.

Pulse diagnosis equipment used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has long been developed for collecting pulse information and in TCM research. However, it is still difficult to implement pulse taking automatically or efficiently in clinical practice. Here, we present a digital protocol for TCM pulse information collection based on bionic pulse diagnosis equipment, which ensures high efficiency, reliability and data integrity of pulse diagnosis information. A four-degree-of-freedom pulse taking platform together with a wrist bracket can satisfy the spatial positioning and angle requirements for individually adaptive pulse acquisition. Three-dimensional reconstruction of a wrist surface and an image localization model are combined to provide coordinates of the acquisition position and detection direction automatically. Three series elastic joints can not only simulate the TCM pulse taking method that "Three fingers in a straight line, the middle finger determining the 'Guan' location and finger pulp pressing on the radial artery," but also simultaneously carry out the force-controlled multi-gradient pressing process. In terms of pulse information integrity, this proposed protocol can generate rich pulse information, including basic individual information, pulse localization distribution, multi-gradient dynamic pulse force time series, and objective pulse parameters, which can help establish the fundamental data sets that are required as the pulse phenotype for subsequent comprehensive analysis of pulse diagnosis. The implementation of this scheme is beneficial to promote the standardization of the digitalized collection of pulse information, the effectiveness of detecting abnormal health status, and the promotion of the fundamental and clinical research of TCM, such as TCM pulse phenomics.

A natural compound hyperoside targets Salmonella Typhimurium T3SS needle protein InvG.

The antimicrobial actions of natural compounds derived from medicinal plants have been well documented. However, their detailed mechanisms underlying the action against microorganisms remain largely unexplored. Salmonella enterica is a common pathogen causing both gastrointestinal and systemic diseases. In Salmonella enterica, the type III secretion system (T3SS) is employed to export secreted effectors directly to the cytoplasm of host cells. Using a SipA-ß-lactamase reporter, we found that hyperoside (HYP) inhibited the activity of Salmonella T3SS needle protein InvG, prevented damage to host cells and protected mice against Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. It was also observed that HYP binds to InvG directly through hydrogen-bridged cations and hydrophobic interactions. The unique mechanism of antibacterial action of HYP suggested that it could be used as a potentially effective candidate for future antimicrobial regimens.

The Herbal Compound Thymol Targets Multiple Salmonella Typhimurium Virulence Factors for Lon Protease Degradation.

Many important bacterial pathogens are using the type III secretion system to deliver effectors into host cells. Salmonella Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) is a pathogenic Gram-negative bacterium with the type III secretion system as its major virulence factor. Our previous studies demonstrated that thymol, a monoterpene phenol derivative of cymene, inhibited S. Typhimurium invasion into mammalian cells and protected mice from infection. However, the antibacterial mechanism of thymol is not clear. In this study, we revealed that thymol interferes with the abundance of about 100 bacterial proteins through proteomic analysis. Among the 42 proteins whose abundance was reduced, 11 were important virulence factors associated with T3SS-1. Further analyses with SipA revealed that thymol directly interacts with this protein to induce conformational changes, which makes it susceptible to the Lon protease. In agreement with this observation, thymol effectively blocks cell invasion by S. Typhimurium. Thus, thymol represents a class of anti-virulence compounds that function by targeting pathogenic factors for degradation.

Calycosin Alleviates Injury in Airway Epithelial Cells Caused by PM 2.5 Exposure via Activation of AMPK Signalling.

METHODS: Phospho-AMP-activated protein kinase (p-AMPK) and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) were detected by western blot. Immunofluorescence staining was used to validate changes in the levels of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-кB) p65 nuclear translocation. Mice were administered intraperitoneally with calycosin one hour before anaesthesia and endotracheal instillation of PM 2.5. The extent of lung injury was evaluated in the H&E-stained lung sections. Apoptotic cells were detected by TUNEL staining. RESULTS: Administration of calycosin was increased in PM 2.5-treated B2B cells in a dose-dependent manner in vitro. Fluorescence signals from anti-NF-кB p65 were increased in nuclei of cells pretreated with calycosin. The level of p-AMPK was increased by calycosin in vitro and in vivo. After pretreatment with compound C, the inhibitory effects of calycosin on cytotoxicity, levels of inflammatory cytokines and p-AMPK, and levels of NF-кB p65 nuclear translocation were not significantly decreased in vitro or in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: Calycosin effectively decreased the release of inflammatory cytokines and alleviated injury caused by PM 2.5. These effects were mediated through activation of AMPK to suppress NF-κB signalling.

The protective role of Zingerone in a murine asthma model via activation of the AMPK/Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.

Asthma is one of the most common illnesses associated with chronic airway inflammation; however, there are currently no effective therapies apart from glucocorticoids. Zingerone (ZIN), an active compound isolated from ginger, has been reported to have a broad spectrum of pharmacological properties. In this study, Zingerone was administrated to H2O2-stimulated mouse airway epithelial cell line MLE12 cells and asthmatic mice. The concentration of cytokines was evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Hematoxylin-eosin (HE), Periodic Acid-Schiff (PAS) and Masson staining were used for histological analyses. Protein levels in cells or lung tissues were determined using western blot, immunohistochemistry staining. The results showed that treatment with Zingerone dramatically inhibited oxidative stress and the inflammatory response in MLE12 cells stimulated with H2O2 and asthmatic mice. Furthermore, Zingerone treatment could decrease the expression of phosphorylated (p)-IκBα and p65 (nuclear) and increase the expression of phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (p-AMPK), nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), and hemeoxygenase-1 (HO-1) to alleviate oxidative damage and inflammation both in vivo and in vitro. In addition, Zingerone treatment reduced the exudation and infiltration of inflammatory cells and suppressed goblet cell hyperplasia in a murine asthma model. Treatment with Zingerone also decreased the level of interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, IL-13, and increased the level of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) in the BALF and attenuated airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). However, inhibition of AMPK or Nrf2 suppressed the cellular protective, antioxidative, and anti-inflammatory properties of Zingerone. Taken together, these results demonstrate that Zingerone possesses the potential to relieve asthma via upregulating the AMPK/Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.

Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Jilin, China: A descriptive study.

Coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic. To add to the scarce information on this disease, here, we investigated the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 93 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Jilin, China from January 22 to March 15, 2020.We retrospectively investigated the demographic information, recent exposure history, clinical symptoms or signs, comorbidity, chest computed tomographic (CT) scan or X-ray results, laboratory test results, diagnostic classification, treatment, length of hospitalization, complications, and outcomes.Of the 93 patients, 54 were male and 39 female. More than half of these patients had a history of exposure to infected patients. The mean incubation period was 10.4 days in 87 patients, where the data was available. The 5 most common symptoms of illness onset were fever, cough, expectoration, fatigue, and dyspnea. One patient was asymptomatic. The imaging results were abnormal in majority of the patients. Almost one-third of the patients had lymphopenia. All patients received antiviral therapy, 84 patients were treated with antibiotics and 54 received different doses of the hormone for methylprednisolone. In addition, 72 patients used traditional Chinese medicine. Oxygen therapy, high nasal flow oxygen, non-invasive ventilator, invasive ventilator and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) were used symptomatically in different patients. Except 1 patient who died during treatment, all others were discharged.The average incubation time is prolonged in the present analysis, as compared to that in other reports. A few patients symptoms improved but CT exacerbated. Therefore, we suggest that close follow-up observation is still required after discharge.

Isoimperatorin Induces Apoptosis of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells via the MAPK/ERK1/2 Signaling Pathway.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of isoimperatorin on nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE2 cell apoptosis and the role of the MAPK/ERK1/2 signaling pathway in inducing apoptosis. METHODS: Real-time cellular analysis technology (RTCA) and MTT were used to detect cell proliferation; Annexin V-FITC/PI dual-fluorescence flow cytometry analysis, Hoechst 33342 staining, and mitochondrial membrane potential detection kit were used to detect cell apoptosis; western blot was used to detect protein expression. RESULTS: Different concentrations of isoimperatorin (10 µM, 20 µM, 20 µM, 20 µM, 20 µM, 20 µM, 20 µM, 20 . CONCLUSION: Isoimperatorin can induce nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE2 cell apoptosis through the MAPK/ERK1/2 signaling pathway.

Biotin-Modified Polylactic- co-Glycolic Acid Nanoparticles with Improved Antiproliferative Activity of 15,16-Dihydrotanshinone I in Human Cervical Cancer Cells.

15,16-Dihydrotanshinone I (DI), a natural compound isolated from a traditional Asian functional food Salvia Miltiorrhiza Bunge, is known for its anticancer activity. However, poor solubility of DI limits its desirable anticancer application. Herein, polylactic- co-glycolic acid (PLGA) was functionalized with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and biotin to form copolymers PEG-PLGA (PPA) and biotin-PEG-PLGA (BPA). DI was encapsulated in copolymers PPA and BPA to obtain DI-PPA-NPs (NPs = nanoparticles) and DI-BPA-NPs, respectively. The particle size and its distribution, encapsulation efficiency, and in vitro releasing capacity of DI-BPA-NPs were characterized by biophysical methods. MTT assay was used to evaluate the antiproliferative activity of free DI, DI-PPA-NPs, and DI-BPA-NPs in human cervical cancer Hela cells. DI-BPA-NPs showed the highest cytotoxicity on Hela cells with an IC50 value of 4.55 ± 0.631 µM, while it was 8.20 ± 0.849 and 6.14 ± 0.312 µM for DI and DI-PPA-NPs in 72 h, respectively. The superior antiproliferative activity was supported by the fact that DI-BPA-NPs could be preferentially internalized by Hela cells, owing to their specific interaction between biotin and overexpressed biotin receptors. In addition, DI-BPA-NPs effectively inhibited Hela cell proliferation by inducing G2/M phase cycle arrest and decreasing the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level by 31.50 ± 2.29% in 5 min. In summary, DI-BPA-NPs shows improved antiproliferative activity against human cervical cancer as comparing with free DI, demonstrating its application potential in cancer therapy.

[Inhibition of Yiqi Jiedu formula on proliferation of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells by MAPK/ERK signaling pathway].

To study the effect of aqueous extracts of Yiqi Jiedu formula (YQ) on the proliferation of CNE2 cells in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and investigate its mechanism to provide a new theoretical basis for the clinical application of YQ. CNE2 cells were treated with different concentrations (0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 0.25 g·L⁻¹) of YQ, positive control medicine (cisplatin 4.0 mg·L⁻¹), inhibitor PD98059 (50 µmol·L⁻¹), activator isoproterenol hydrochloride (20 µmol·L⁻¹), activator isoproterenol hydrochloride (ISO)+YQ 0.5 g·L⁻¹. Then cell labeling by using real-time analyzer (RTCA) and CCK 8 method were used to detect cell proliferation activity, and the half inhibitory concentration (IC50) was calculated. The cell cycle distribution was detected by fluorescence double dye flow cytometry PI staining, and Western blot method was used to detect the expression levels of related protein and MAPK/ERK signaling pathway. The results of RTCA and CCK-8 test showed that as compared with the control group, YQ group could effectively inhibit the proliferation of CNE2 cells (P<0.01), with a dose and time dependence, and 48 h IC50 value was 0.5 g·L⁻¹. The results of cell cycle showed that after 48 h of water extract treatment, the cell cycle was significantly changed, the proportion of G0/G1 was reduced, the ratio of G2/M increased, and the cell cycle was in G2/M period (P<0.01). Western blot results showed that after 48 h treatment with different concentrations of aqueous extract, cell cycle-related proteins cyclinD1, cyclinD3 and CDK2 expression levels were down-regulated; MAPK/ERK signaling pathway related protein p-c-Raf, p-MEK, p-ERK1/2 expression level significantly lower as compared with the control group (P<0.05). After adding activator and inhibitor in MAPK/ERK signaling pathway on this basis, the results showed that after adding activator ISO, cell proliferation was significantly higher than that in the Control group; the cycle related proteins cyclinD1, cyclinD3, and CDK2 expression levels were increased; at the same time, key protein p-c-Raf, p-MEK, p-ERK1/2 expression levels in the signal pathways were relatively increased. While after the addition of inhibitor PD98059, the cell proliferation was significantly lower than that in the Control group, and the expression level of corresponding protein was decreased, which was significantly different from the Control group (P<0.05). So YQ could block cell cycle and inhibit the proliferation of CNE2 cells mainly by reducing the expression of MAPK/ERK signaling pathway key protein p-c-Raf, p-MEK and p-ERK1/2.

Effect of dissolved oxygen on nitrogen and phosphorus removal and electricity production in microbial fuel cell.

Performance of a two-chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC) was evaluated with the influence of cathodic dissolved oxygen (DO). The maximum voltage, coulombic efficiency and maximum power density outputs of MFC decreased from 521 to 303 mV, 52.48% to 23.09% and 530 to 178 mW/m(2) with cathodic DO declining. Furthermore, a great deal of total phosphorus (TP) was removed owing to chemical precipitation (about 80%) and microbial absorption (around 4-17%). COD was first removed in anode chamber (>70%) then in cathode chamber (<5%). Most of nitrogen was removed when the cathodic DO was at low levels. Chemical precipitates formed in cathode chamber were verified as phosphate, carbonate and hydroxyl compound with the aid of scanning electron microscope capable of energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).