Serological and molecular survey of Toxoplasma gondii infection and associated risk factors in urban cats in Kunming, Southwest China.

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is a worldwide zoonotic parasite that can infect almost warm-blood animals, including humans, which seriously affect the health of host. Cats are known to be the only definitive host of T. gondii and continuously excrete highly infectious oocysts. This parasite carried by the companion animals leads to a great public health risk. However, there is little information on epidemiology of T. gondii in urban cats in Kunming, Southwest China. In the present study, a total of 231 serum and fecal samples were collected in Kunming aera, and then seroprevalence of T. gondii IgG antibodies in serum and molecular investigation in feces were analyzed to elucidate T. gondii infection in urban cats. The results revealed that 168 of 231 cats (72.7%) were positive for T. gondii antibodies, and 1 of 74 cat feces (1.4%) also showed a positive PCR for T. gondii DNA. The positive fecal sample was sequenced and then phylogenetically analyzed, and the isolate of T. gondii in the present study was closely related to T. gondii strain CN. In addition, the food, water and age of cats were identified as the risk factor for seropositivity. Overall, our findings indicate the widespread occurrence of T. gondii infection in urban cats in Kunming, Southwest China and identify food, water and age are the risk factors associated with T. gondii infection, which can provide effective information for developing strategies to prevent and control this zoonosis.

Dissolving microneedles for transdermal drug delivery in cancer immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy is an important approach in cancer treatment. Transdermal administration is emerging as a promising method for delivering immunotherapeutics. Dissolving microneedles are made mainly of soluble or biodegradable polymers and have garnered widespread attention due to their painlessness, safety, convenience, excellent drug loading capacity, and easy availability of various materials, making them an ideal transdermal delivery system. This review comprehensively summarized the preparation methods, materials, and applications of dissolving microneedles in cancer vaccines, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and adoptive cell therapy. Additionally, the challenges and perspectives associated with their future clinical translation are discussed.

Stimulus-Responsive Four-Stranded DNA Nanoring Assembly to Host Multiple Nanosilver Clusters for Cooperatively Enhanced Fluorescence Biosensing.

Exploring the ability of four-stranded DNA nanorings (fsDNRs) to host multiple nanosilver clusters (NAgCs) for cooperatively amplifiable fluorescence biosensing to a specific initiator (tI*) is fascinating. By designing three DNA single strands and three analogous stem-loop hairpins, we developed a functional fsDNR through sequential cross-opening and overlapped hybridization. Note that a substrate strand (SS) was programmed with six modules: two severed splits (sT and sT') of NAgCs template, two sequestered segments by a middle unpaired spacer, and a partition for tI*-recognizable displacement, while sT and sT' were also tethered in two ends of three hairpins. At first, a triple dsDNA complex with stimulus-responsiveness was formed to guide the specific binding to tI*, while the exposed toehold of the SS activated the forward cascade hybridization of three hairpins, until the ring closure in the tailored self-assembly pathway for forming the fsDNR. The resulting four duplexes forced each pair of sT/sT' to be merged as the parent template in four nicks, guiding the preferential synthesis of four clusters in the shared fsDNR, thereby cooperatively amplifying the green fluorescence signal for sensitive assay of tI*. Meanwhile, the topological conformation of fsDNR can be stabilized by the as-formed cluster adducts to rivet the pair of two splits in the nicks. Benefitting from the self-enhanced effect of multiple emitters, this label-free fluorescent sensing strategy features simplicity, rapidity, and high on-off contrast, without involving complicated nucleic acid amplifiers.

Experimental Study on Emergency Psychophysiological and Behavioral Reactions to Coal Mining Accidents.

Effective emergency responses are crucial for preventing coal mine accidents and mitigating injuries. This paper aims to investigate the characteristics of emergency psychophysiological reactions to coal mine accidents and to explore the potential of key indicators for identifying emergency behavioral patterns. Initially, virtual reality technology facilitated a simulation experiment for emergency escape during coal mine accidents. Subsequently, the characteristics of emergency reactions were analyzed through correlation analysis, hypothesis testing, and analysis of variance. The significant changes in physiological indicators were then taken as input features and fed into the three classifiers of machine learning algorithms. These classifications ultimately led to the identification of behavioral patterns, including agility, defensiveness, panic, and rigidity, that individuals may exhibit during a coal mine accident emergency. The study results revealed an intricate relationship between the mental activities induced by accident stimuli and the resulting physiological changes and behavioral performances. During the virtual reality simulation of a coal mine accident, subjects were observed to experience significant physiological changes in electrodermal activity, heart rate variability, electromyogram, respiration, and skin temperature. The random forest classification model, based on SCR + RANGE + IBI + SDNN + LF/HF, outperformed all other models, achieving accuracies of up to 92%. These findings hold promising implications for early warning systems targeting abnormal psychophysiological and behavioral reactions to emergency accidents, potentially serving as a life-saving measure in perilous situations and fostering the sustainable growth of the coal mining industry.

Using Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing to Diagnose Severe Pneumonia Due to Tropheryma Whipplei and Human Metapneumovirus: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Background: In addition to the well-known Whipple's disease (WD), Tropheryma Whipplei (TW) can also lead to acute pneumonia. There is no unified consensus on the susceptible population, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, diagnostic criteria, and treatment options for TW pneumonia. Clinical Presentation and Intervention: This is an elderly patient with multiple injuries caused by falling from a building, and was transferred to intensive care unit (ICU) for mechanical ventilation and empirical anti-infection treatment due to severe pneumonia, and then the results of targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS) in patient's bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) suggested TW and human metapneumovirus (HMPV) infection, and after switching to anti-infective therapy for TW, the patient was successfully extubated and transferred out of the ICU. Conclusion: This is the first case of using tNGS to diagnose severe pneumonia caused by TW and HMPV. We hope that our study can serve as a reference for the diagnosis and treatment of related cases in the future.

Diagnosis of bone marrow involvement in angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma should be based on both [18F]FDG-PET/CT and bone marrow biopsy findings.

OBJECTIVE: During the initial staging of certain lymphoma subtypes, 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ([18F]FDG-PET/CT) has become an alternative to bone marrow biopsy (BMB) for detecting bone marrow (BM) involvement. However, whether [18F]FDG-PET/CT can accurately detect BM involvement in angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) remains unknown. Our study aimed to assess the diagnostic and prognostic capability of [18F]FDG-PET/CT for detecting BM involvement in AITL. Methods: This retrospective study included 84 individuals newly diagnosed with AITL who underwent baseline BMB and [18F]FDG-PET/CT. "BM involvement" was defined as one or both of the following: 1) angioimmunoblastic T-cells detected in the BM; or 2) initially heightened focal uptake having disappeared on follow-up [18F]FDG-PET/CT. The ability of [18F]FDG-PET/CT to detect BM cancerous lesions was respectively analyzed by BM involvement confirmed by BMB or the aforementioned definition as the reference standard. The patients' clinical characteristics and survival and prognostic outcomes were respectively analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 84 participants, five (6.0%) displayed positive BMB and PET/BM results, 17 (20.2%) had BMB-positive but PET/BM-negative results, eight (9.5%) showed BMB-negative but PET/BM-positive outcomes, and 54 (64.3%) displayed negative BMB and PET/BM outcomes. Using pre-defined BM involvement as the reference standard, [18F]FDG-PET/CT exhibited a specificity of 100%, sensitivity of 40%, negative predictive value (NPV) of 75%, and positive predictive value (PPV) of 100%. In contrast, using BMB-detected BM involvement as reference, [18F]FDG-PET/CT exhibited a sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of 38.5%, 76.1%, 22.7%, and 87.1%, respectively. Among patients with PET/BM-positive and BMB-negative outcomes, 62.5% (5/8) underwent upstaging from III to IV. In 58.8% (10/17) of patients who were initially diagnosed with stage II/III disease based on the [18F]FDG-PET/CT results, repeat BMB resulted in upstaging to IV. PET/BM-negative patients had a higher 3-year progression-free survival rate (38.3% vs. 22.8%, p = 0.018) and 3-year overall survival rate (64.4% vs. 34.6%, p = 0.011) than PET/BM-positive patients. CONCLUSION: In AITL patients, PET/BM-positive results may obviate the necessity for repeat BMB to ascertain confirm BM involvement. PET/BM-negative results do not definitively exclude BM involvement. The combined use of [18F]FDG-PET/CT and BMB can increase the diagnostic accuracy of BM involvement for AITL patients.

Non-viral Gene Therapy for Melanoma Using Lysenin from Eisenia Foetida.

Earthworms, long utilized in traditional medicine, serve as a source of inspiration for modern therapeutics. Lysenin, a defensive factor in the coelom fluid of the earthworm Eisenia fetida, has multiple bioactivities. However, the inherent toxicity of Lysenin as a pore-forming protein (PFP) restricts its application in therapy. Here, a gene therapy strategy based on Lysenin for cancer treatment is presented. The formulation consists of polymeric nanoparticles complexed with the plasmid encoding Lysenin. After transfection in vitro, melanoma cells can express Lysenin, resulting in necrosis, autophagy, and immunogenic cell death. The secretory signal peptide alters the intracellular distribution of the expressed product of Lysenin, thereby potentiating its anticancer efficacy. The intratumor injection of Lysenin gene formulation can efficiently kill the transfected melanoma cells and activate the antitumor immune response. Notably, no obvious systemic toxicity is observed during the treatment. Non-viral gene therapy based on Lysenin derived from Eisenia foetida exhibits potential in cancer therapy, which can inspire future cancer therapeutics.

Establishment and methodological evaluation of a chemiluminescence assay for detection of anti-envelope protein (E1, E2) antibodies in the serum of hepatitis C virus-infected patients.

BACKGROUND: To establish a chemiluminescence method for detecting anti-E1 and anti-E2 antibodies in the serum of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. METHODS: The microplate was coated with recombinant envelope proteins E1 and E2 by indirect method, respectively, and the kits for detecting anti-E1 and anti-E2 antibodies were prepared. The methodological indexes were evaluated. RESULTS: The methodological indexes of the kits were as follows: precision test (the variation coefficient of anti-E1 antibody 6.71%-8.95% for within run and 9.91%-12.16% for between run, the variation coefficient of anti-E2 antibody 6.06%-8.44% for within run and 10.77%-13.98% for between run, respectively). The blank limit and detection limit were 1.18 RLIR and 3.16 RLIR for the anti-E1 antibody, and 1.26 RLIR and 3.32 RLIR for the anti-E2 antibody, respectively. The correlation coefficients (r) of anti-E1 and anti-E2 were 0.9963 and 0.9828, the analysis and measurement ranges (AMR) were 1.66-41.28 RLIR and 1.55-19.46 RLIR, and the average recovery was 96.4% and 93.7%, respectively. The rheumatoid factor and other positive serum samples had no interference or cross-reaction to the test, and the kits were stable within 15 months. The positive rates of anti-E1 and anti-E2 antibodies in 45 patients with HCV infection were 35.6% (16/45) and 44.4% (20/45), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The kits for detecting anti-E1 and anti-E2 meet the requirements of methodology, and can be used in screening diagnosis, disease monitoring, prognosis evaluation, disease mechanism, and epidemiological studies of HCV infection. The HCV envelope proteins E1 and E2 have an immune response in HCV-infected patients.

Fluorescence Biosensing Based on Bifurcated DNA Scaffold-Aggregated Ag Nanocluster via Responsive Conformation Switch of Quasi-Molecular Beacon.

To address the limitations of typical hairpin-structural molecular beacons, exploring the ability of a quasi-molecular beacon (qMB) to create label-free fluorescence biosensors is intriguing and remains a challenge. Herein, we propose the first example of modular qMB with the feature of a stimulation-responsive conformation switch to develop an aggregated Ag nanocluster (aAgNC) in a bifurcated DNA scaffold for fluorescently sensing a specific initiator (I*). This qMB was well designed to program four functional modules: I*-recognizable element adopting metastable stem-loop bihairpin structure and two DNA splits (exposed C3GT4 and locked C4AC4T) of aAgNC template that is separated by a tunable hairpin spacer for the customized combination of selective recognition and signaling readout. When presenting I* in an assay route, the specific hybridization induces the directional disassembly of the bihairpin unit, on which the qMB is configurationally switched to liberate the locked split. Thus, the bifurcated parent template pair of C3GT4/C4AC4T is proximal, affording in situ nucleation and clustering of emissive aAgNC. By collecting the fluorescence signal, the quantitative detection of I* is achieved. Benefiting from the ingenious programming of qMB, the recognizing and signaling integration actuates the construction of a facile and convenient fluorescent biosensor featuring rapid reaction kinetics, a wide linear range, high sensitivity, and specificity. This would provide a new paradigm to exploit versatile qMB-based biosensing platforms via stimulation-responsive conformation switches for developing various DNA-scaffolded Ag clusters.

Gas migration characteristics in vehicle tank under different ventilation conditions.

In recent years, due to the frequent occurrence of accidents in confined space operations, horizontal ammonia tank trucks with higher accident frequencies were selected for numerical simulation research through comparative analysis. The ammonia concentration variation characteristics of horizontal ammonia tank cars were simulated under four conditions: natural ventilation with 0° incoming air, natural ventilation with 45° incoming air, mechanical ventilation with extraction, and mechanical ventilation with compression. The results indicate that natural ventilation requires 48 h to reduce the ammonia concentration to a safe range for operation, while mechanical ventilation reduces the ammonia concentration to infinity and approaches zero within 30 min according to regulations, making the working environment safer; Set up monitoring points inside the tank to monitor the gas disturbance inside the tank at different wind speeds. Based on the ammonia concentration cloud map and the monitoring point wind speed, it can be concluded that local ammonia accumulation is more likely to occur on both sides of the tank due to poor ventilation. Comparing and analyzing the simulated values with theoretical calculations and experiments, it was found that there are differences in the degree of gas change but the overall trend is the same. This indicates that ventilation simulation and the determination of ammonia migration characteristics have practical significance for guiding on-site operations.

Albumin-bilirubin score as a predictor of all-cause mortality in patients with hepatitis B virus infection: An analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2018.

Objectives: The Albumin-Bilirubin (ALBI) score has been widely used to assess the prognosis in patients with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between ALBI score and all-cause mortality in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in general. Methods: Patients aged ≥ 18 years with previous or current HBV infection from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in the United States between 1999 and 2018 were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study. Weight univariate and multivariate Cox regression models were used to assess the relationship between ALBI score and all-cause mortality. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was utilized to assess the predictive effect of ALBI score for all-cause mortality. Results: A total of 3,666 patients were included, of whom 925 (23.53 %) patients died. Compared with ALBI score ≤ -2.6, HBV-infected patients with ALBI score > -2.6 [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.75; 95 % confidence interval (CI): 1.43-2.14] were corrected with a higher all-cause mortality risk after adjusting for confounders. Stratified analyses showed that higher ALBI score was related to a higher risk of all-cause mortality in different patients with HBV infection (All P < 0.05). Furthermore, the ALBI score had good predictive ability for 1-year (AUC = 0.816, 95 %CI: 0.754-0.878), 3-year (AUC = 0.808, 95 %CI: 0.775-0.841), 5-year (AUC = 0.809, 95 %CI: 0.783-0.835), and 10-year (AUC = 0.806, 95 %CI: 0.784-0.827) all-cause mortality. Conclusion: Higher ALBI score was related to a higher risk of all-cause mortality in patients with HBV infection, and the ALBI score showed a good predictive effect for short- and long-term all-cause mortality.

Ratiometric Fluorescence Biosensing of Tandem Biemissive Ag Clusters Boosted by Confined Catalytic DNA Assembly.

The reaction kinetics and yield of traditional DNA assembly with a low local concentration in homogeneous solution remain challenging. Exploring confined catalytic DNA assembly (CCDA) is intriguing to boost the reaction rate and efficacy for creating rapid and sensitive biosensing platforms. A rolling circle amplification (RCA) product containing multiple tandem repeats is a natural scaffold capable of guiding the periodic assembly of customized functional probes at precise sites. Here, we present a RCA-confined CCDA strategy to speed up amplifiable conversion for ratiometric fluorescent sensing of a sequence-specific inducer (I*) by using string green-/red-Ag clusters (sgAgCs and srAgCs) as two counterbalance emitters. Upon recognition of I*, CCDA events are operated by two toehold-mediated strand displacements and localized in repetitive units, thereby releasing I* for recycled signal amplification in the as-grown RCA concatemer. The local concentration of reactive species is increased to facilitate rapider dsDNA complex assembly and more efficient input-output conversion, on which the clustering template sequences of sgAgCs and srAgCs are blocked and opened, enabling srAgCs synthesis but opposite to sgAgCs. Thus, the fluorescence emission of srAgCs goes up, while sgAgCs go down. With the resultant ratio featuring inherent built-in correction, rapid, sensitive, and accurate quantification of I* at the picomolar level is achieved. Benefiting from efficient RCA confinement to enhance reaction kinetics and conversion yield, this CCDA-based strategy provides a new paradigm for developing simple and diverse biosensing methodologies.

Research on psychophysiological characteristics of construction workers during consciously unsafe behaviors.

Workers' unsafe behavior is a primary cause leading to falling accidents on construction sites. This study aimed to explore how to utilize psychophysiological characteristics to predict consciously unsafe behaviors of construction workers. In this paper, a psychological questionnaire was compiled to measure risky psychology, and wireless wearable physiological recorders were employed to real-timely measure the physiological signals of subjects. The psychological and physiological characteristics were identified by correlation analysis and significance test, which were then utilized to develop unsafe behavior prediction models based on multiple linear regression and decision tree regressor. It was revealed that unsafe behavior performance was negatively correlated with task-related risk perception, while positively correlated with hazardous attitude. Subjects experienced remarkable increases in skin conductivity, while notable decreases in the inter-beat interval and skin temperature during consciously unsafe behavior. Both models developed for predicting unsafe behavior were reliably and well-fitted with coefficients of determination higher than 0.8. Whereas, each model exhibited its unique advantages in terms of prediction accuracy and interpretability. Not only could study results contribute to the body of knowledge on intrinsic mechanisms of unsafe behavior, but also provide a theoretical basis for the automatic identification of workers' unsafe behavior.

Knockdown of LINC00702 inhibits the growth and induces apoptosis of breast cancer through the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are essential in many biological areas like cell growth and apoptosis. The role of recently discovered LINC00702 is yet to be explored. Therefore, we wanted to elucidate its role in breast cancer (BC) with bioinformatic and various methods. LINC00702 expression was predicted using bioinformatic analysis and confirmed by RT-qPCR. Furthermore, the impact of LINC00702 knockdown on BC progression was evaluated. High LINC00702 level could lead to a worse outcome in BC patients. Additionally, CCK-8, EdU,and Annexin V-APC7/AAD experiments showed that LINC00702 knockdown inhibited the growth of BT-474 and T-47D cells and promoted their apoptosis. Moreover, in vivo experiments showed that shLINC00702-2 significantly reduced tumor sizes and suppressed c-Myc and ß-catenin expressions. On the contrary, a rescue assay showed that HLY78, an activator of the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway, reversed the cell-inhibiting impact of LINC00702 knockdown. LINC00702 is an oncogenic lncRNA that promotes BC progression by stimulating the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway and downstream proteins, making it a promising target for further research on BC treatment.

Nickel-Regulated Composite Cathode with Balanced Triple Conductivity for Proton-Conducting Solid Oxide Fuel Cells.

Proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells (H-SOFCs) have the potential to be a promising technology for energy conversion and storage. To achieve high chemical compatibility and catalytic activity, nickel-doped barium ferrate with triple conducting ability is developed as cathodes for H-SOFCs, presenting an impressive electrochemical performance at intermediate temperatures. The cell performance with the optimized BaCe0.26 Ni0.1 Fe0.64 O3 -δ (BCNF10) composite cathode reaches an outstanding performance of 1.04 W cm-2 at 600 °C. The high electrocatalytic capacity of the nickel-doped barium ferrate cathode can be attributed to its significant proton conductivity which is confirmed through hydrogen permeation experiments. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations are further conducted to reveal that the presence of nickel can enhance processes of hydration formation and proton migration, leading to improve proton conductivity and electro-catalytic activity.

Apoptotic bodies of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells inhibit endometrial stromal cell fibrosis by mediating the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

Background: Intrauterine adhesions (IUAs) are a common illness of the uterine cavity. Endometrial fibrosis is the main pathological feature. In addition to a high recurrence rate, patients with severe IUAs have a low pregnancy rate. However, there are few effective treatments for IUAs. This study aims to confirm the influence of apoptotic bodies of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) on endometrial stromal cell fibrosis by mediating the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway and to provide new insight for the clinical treatment of IUAs. Methods: Human endometrial stromal cells (HESCs) were used to establish an IUA cell model by treatment with TGF-ß1, and a rat IUA model was established by the double injury method. Apoptosis of BMSCs was detected by TUNEL assays, and cell morphology was observed by the CM-DiI tracer. The morphology of apoptotic vacuoles and apoptotic bodies (ABs) was detected by TEM. We used Western blotting to detect the expression of histone H3.3, histone H2B, C3b, cyclin D1, C1QC, α-SMA, COL1A1, COL5A2, FN, CTGF, Wnt2b, c-MYC, CK-18 and VIM. The expression levels of α-SMA, COL1A1, COL5A2, FN and CTGF were detected by RT‒qPCR. The expression levels of α-SMA, COL1A1, FN and CTGF were detected by immunofluorescence. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of TGF-ß, CK-18 and VIM. Flow cytometry, cell scratch assays, CCK-8 assays, and H & E and Masson staining were used to detect the cell cycle, cell migration, cell proliferation, and endometrial pathology, respectively. Results: We found that ultraviolet light (UV) irradiation induced apoptosis of BMSCs and increased the production of ABs. TGF-ß1 treatment can induce HESCs to form extracellular matrix (ECM), and aggravate cell fibrosis, and adding ABs or FH535, an inhibitor of the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway, can inhibit TGF-ß1-induced HESC fibrosis. However, the inhibitory effect of ABs on TGF-ß1-induced fibrosis of HESCs was attenuated by the addition of LiCl. In the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway, LiCl is an activator after coculture with TGF-ß1. In vivo, IUA-induced narrowing of the uterine cavity was accompanied by intrauterine adhesions, increased deposition of collagen fibers, upregulation of TGF-ß1, VIM, α-SMA, COL1A1 and COL5A2, and downregulation of CK-18. These changes in expression were reversed after treatment with ABs or FH535. When ABs and LiCl were added at the same time, the inhibitory effect of ABs on IUA fibrosis was weakened. Conclusion: BMSC-derived ABs inhibit the fibrosis of HESCs by inhibiting the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway. These results provide a new direction for the clinical treatment of IUAs.

Fluorescent Features and Applicable Biosensing of a Core-Shell Ag Nanocluster Shielded by a DNA Tetrahedral Nanocage.

The DNA frame structure as a natural shell to stably shield the sequence-templated Ag nanocluster core (csAgNC) is intriguing yet challenging for applicable fluorescence biosensing, for which the elaborate programming of a cluster scaffold inside a DNA-based cage to guide csAgNC nucleation might be crucial. Herein, we report the first design of a symmetric tetrahedral DNA nanocage (TDC) that was self-assembled in a one-pot process using a C-rich csAgNC template strand and four single strands. Inside the as-constructed soft TDC architecture, the template sequence was logically bridged from one side to another, not in the same face, thereby guiding the in situ synthesis of emissive csAgNC. Because of the strong electron-repulsive capability of the negatively charged TDC, the as-formed csAgNC displayed significantly improved fluorescence stability and superb spectral behavior. By incorporating the recognizable modules of targeted microRNAs (miRNAs) in one vertex of the TDC, an updated TDC (uTDC) biosensing platform was established via the photoinduced electron transfer effect between the emissive csAgNC reporter and hemin/G-quadruplex (hG4) conjugate. Because of the target-interrupted csAgNC switching in three states with the spatial proximity and separation to hG4, an "on-off-on" fluorescing signal response was executed, thus achieving a wide linear range to miRNAs and a limit of detection down to picomoles. Without complicated chemical modifications, this simpler and more cost-effective strategy offered accurate cell imaging of miRNAs, further suggesting possible therapeutic applications.

A long trend of sexually transmitted diseases before and after the COVID-19 pandemic in China (2010-21).

BACKGROUND: The longer ongoing benefits of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in China are still unclear. We aimed to explore the changes in five STDs (AIDS, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, gonorrhoea, and syphilis) before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, from 2010 to 2021. METHODS: The number of the monthly reported cases of the five STDs were extracted from the website to construct the Joinpoint regression and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models. Eight indicators reflecting NPIs were chosen from the COVID-19 Government Response Tracker system. The STDs and eight indicators were used to establish the Multivariable generalised linear model (GLM) to calculate the incidence rate ratios (IRRs). RESULTS: With the exception of hepatitis B, the other four STDs (AIDS, hepatitis C, gonorrhoea, and syphilis) had a positive average annual percent change over the past 12years. All the ARIMA models had passed the Ljung-Box test, and the predicted data fit well with the data from 2010 to 2019. All five STDs were significantly reduced in 2020 compared with 2019, with significant estimated IRRs ranging from 0.88 to 0.92. In the GLM, using data for the years 2020 (February-December) and 2021, the IRRs were not significant after adjusting for the eight indicators in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that the incidence of the five STDs decreased rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. A recovery of STDs in 2021 was found to occur compared with that in 2020, but the rising trend disappeared after adjusting for the NPIs. Our study demonstrated that NPIs have an effect on STDs, but the relaxation of NPI usage might lead to a resurgence.

Modular DNA Tetrahedron Nanomachine-Guided Dual-Responsive Hybridization Chain Reactions for Discernible Bivariate Assay and Cell Imaging.

Engineering of multivariate biosensing and imaging platforms involved in disease plays a vital role in effectively discerning cancer cells from normal cells and facilitating reliable targeted therapy. Multiple biomarkers such as mucin 1 (MUC1) and nucleolin are typically overexpressed in breast cancer cells compared to normal human breast epithelium cells. Motivated by this knowledge, a dual-responsive DNA tetrahedron nanomachine (drDT-NM) is constructed through immobilizing two recognition modules, MUC1 aptamer (MA) and a hairpin H1* encoding nucleolin-specific G-rich AS1411 aptamer, in two separate vertexes of a functional DT architecture tethering two localized pendants (PM and PN). When drDT-NM identifiably binds bivariate MUC1 and nucleolin, two independent hybridization chain reactions (HCRM and HCRN) as amplification modules are initiated with two sets of four functional hairpin reactants. Among them, one hairpin for HCRM is dually ended by fluorescein and quencher BHQ1 to sense MUC1. The responsiveness of nucleolin is executed by operating HCRN utilizing another two hairpins programmed with two pairs of AS1411 splits. In the shared HCRN duplex products, the parent AS1411 aptamers are cooperatively merged and folded into G-quadruplex concatemers to embed Zn-protoporphyrin IX (ZnPPIX/G4) for fluorescence signaling readout, thereby achieving a highly sensitive intracellular assay and discernible cell imaging. The tandem ZnPPIX/G4 unities also act as imaging agents and therapeutic cargos for efficient photodynamic therapy of cancer cells. Based on drDT-NM to guide bispecific HCR amplifiers for adaptive bivariate detection, we present a paradigm of exquisitely integrating modular DNA nanostructures with nonenzymatic nucleic acid amplification, thus creating a versatile biosensing platform as a promising candidate for accurate assay, discernible cell imaging, and targeted therapy.

BMAL1 involved in autophagy and injury of thoracic aortic endothelial cells of rats induced by intermittent heat stress through the AMPK/mTOR/ULK1 pathway.

Physiological activities of the body exhibit an obvious biological rhythm. At the core of the circadian rhythm, BMAL1 is the only clock gene whose deletion leads to abnormal physiological functions. However, whether intermittent heat stress influences cardiovascular function by altering the circadian rhythm of clock genes has not been reported. This study aimed to investigate whether intermittent heat stress induces autophagy and apoptosis, and the effects of BMAL1 on thoracic aortic autophagy and apoptosis. An intermittent heat stress model was established in vitro, and western blotting and immunofluorescence were used to detect the expression of autophagy, apoptosis, the AMPK/mTOR/ULK1 pathway, and BMAL1. After BMAL1 silencing, RT-qPCR was performed to detect the expression levels of autophagy and apoptosis-related genes. Our results suggest that heat stress induces autophagy and apoptosis in RTAECs. In addition, intermittent heat stress increased the phosphorylation of AMPK and ULK1, but reduced the phosphorylation of mTOR, AMPK inhibitor Compound C reversed the phosphorylation of AMPK, mTOR, and ULK1, and Beclin1 and LC3-II/LC3-I were downregulated. Furthermore, BMAL1 expression was elevated in vitro and shBMAL1 decreased autophagy and apoptosis. We revealed that intermittent heat stress induces autophagy and apoptosis, and that BMAL1 may be involved in the occurrence of autophagy and apoptosis.