Orbicular-Donor-Acceptor System in N-doped Nanographene for Highly Efficient NIR-II Photothermal Therapy.

Developing stable and efficient photothermal agents (PTAs) for the second near-infrared window (NIR-II, 1 000-1700 nm) photothermal therapy (PTT) is highly desirable but remains challenging. Herein, a facile strategy to prepare NIR-II nano-PTA based on the ionic N-doped nanographene hexapyrrolohexaazacoronene (HPHAC) is reported featuring a specific orbicular-donor-acceptor (O-D-A) structure. Oxidizing HPHAC 1 to dication 1 causes a substantial decrease in its band gap, leading to a shift in absorption from the confined UV region to a broad absorption range that reaches up to 1400 nm.

Neonatal SHIV infection in rhesus macaques elicited heterologous HIV-1-neutralizing antibodies.

Infants and children infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 have been shown to develop neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) against heterologous HIV-1 strains, characteristic of broadly nAbs (bnAbs). Thus, having a neonatal model for the induction of heterologous HIV-1 nAbs may provide insights into the mechanisms of neonatal bnAb development. Here, we describe a neonatal model for heterologous HIV-1 nAb induction in pathogenic simian-HIV (SHIV)-infected rhesus macaques (RMs).

Modulation of Host Antiviral Innate Immunity by African Swine Fever Virus: A Review.

African swine fever (ASF), caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV), is a highly contagious and fatal disease found in swine. However, the viral proteins and mechanisms responsible for immune evasion are poorly understood, which has severely hindered the development of vaccines. This review mainly focuses on studies involving the innate antiviral immune response of the host and summarizes the latest studies on ASFV genes involved in interferon (IFN) signaling and inflammatory responses.

Wearable Near-Field Communication Sensors for Healthcare: Materials, Fabrication and Application.

The wearable device industry is on the rise, with technology applications ranging from wireless communication technologies to the Internet of Things. However, most of the wearable sensors currently on the market are expensive, rigid and bulky, leading to poor data accuracy and uncomfortable wearing experiences. Near-field communication sensors are low-cost, easy-to-manufacture wireless communication technologies that are widely used in many fields, especially in the field of wearable electronic devices.

Synthesis, Characterization of NR@SiO/PNIPAm-co-Ppa Composite Nanogel and Study On Its Application in Photodynamic Therapy.

In the present study, a novel composite nanogel based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and its application for photodynamic therapy is reported. First of all, nanoparticles of silica doped with Nile Red (NR) were prepared by Stöber method, then they were decorated by γ-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPS) to prepare MPS decorated NR@SiO nanoparticles, and finally they were copolymerized with N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) and Pyropheophorbide-a (Ppa) by free radical copolymerization, and composite nanogel of NR@SiO/PNIPAm-co-Ppa was fabricated. The microstructure of the as-prepared nanogel was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrum (FTIR), photoluminescence (PL), UV-Visible spectrophotometer (UV-Vis), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

Preparation, stimuli-response performance of HPC-PMAA/PpIX nanogels and their application in photodynamic therapy.

In the present study, a novel nanogel of HPC-PMAA/PpIX with thermo- and pH sensitive performance and its application in cancer photodynamic therapy is reported. HPC-PMAA/PpIX nanogels were prepared by free radical polymerization method with HPC as template, hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC), methyl acrylic acid (MAA), protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) and ,'-methylene bisacrylamide (BIS) as raw materials. The as-prepared nanogels were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), photoluminescence (PL) and UV-visible spectrophotometer (UV-vis), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

New SHIVs and Improved Design Strategy for Modeling HIV-1 Transmission, Immunopathogenesis, Prevention and Cure.

Previously, we showed that substitution of HIV-1 Env residue 375-Ser by bulky aromatic residues enhances binding to rhesus CD4 and enables primary HIV-1 Envs to support efficient replication as simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) chimeras in rhesus macaques (RMs). Here, we test this design strategy more broadly by constructing SHIVs containing ten primary Envs corresponding to HIV-1 subtypes A, B, C, AE and AG. All ten SHIVs bearing wildtype Env375 residues replicated efficiently in human CD4 T cells, but only one replicated efficiently in primary rhesus cells.

Recapitulation of HIV-1 Env-antibody coevolution in macaques leading to neutralization breadth.

Neutralizing antibodies elicited by HIV-1 coevolve with viral envelope proteins (Env) in distinctive patterns, in some cases acquiring substantial breadth. We report that primary HIV-1 envelope proteins-when expressed by simian-human immunodeficiency viruses in rhesus macaques-elicited patterns of Env-antibody coevolution very similar to those in humans, including conserved immunogenetic, structural, and chemical solutions to epitope recognition and precise Env-amino acid substitutions, insertions, and deletions leading to virus persistence. The structure of one rhesus antibody, capable of neutralizing 49% of a 208-strain panel, revealed a V2 apex mode of recognition like that of human broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) PGT145 and PCT64-35S.

Value of ambroxol in the treatment of asthmatic bronchitis.

Objective: To investigate the clinical effect of ambroxol in the treatment of asthmatic bronchitis.

Methods: One hundred and twenty patients with asthmatic bronchitis who were admitted to our hospital from June 2017 to August 2018 were selected as the research subjects and divided into a control group and an observation group according to random number table method, 60 in each group. The control group was treated with conventional treatment, while the observation group was treated with ambroxol in addition to conventional treatment.

Pharmacokinetic Characterizations of Ginsenoside Ocotillol, RT5 and F11, the Promising Agents for Alzheimer's Disease from American Ginseng, in Rats and Beagle Dogs.

Background: Ocotillol, RT5 and F11, the main active components of ocotillol type ginsenosides, have attracted a lot of attention due to their beneficial effects on neurodegenerative disease models of Alzheimer's disease. Pharmacokinetic (PK) is a bridge linking the herbal medicines and their pharmacological responses. However, few data are available regarding PK behaviors of ocotillol type ginsenosides.

Costunolide enhances sensitivity of K562/ADR chronic myeloid leukemia cells to doxorubicin through PI3K/Akt pathway.

Costunolide, a sesquiterpene lactone, a small molecular monomer extracted from Inula helenium, has been reported to possess antiproliferative effects on several cancer cell lines. The current study was designed to evaluate the effect of costunolide on sensitivity of K562/ADR chronic myeloid leukemia cells to doxorubicin. The antiproliferative effect of costunolide was assessed by CCK-8 assay.

A Self-Quenching System Based on Bis-Naphthalimide: A Dual Two-Photon-Channel GSH Fluorescent Probe.

A single fluorescent signal output often does not satisfy the detection accuracy requirements for bioactive compounds in biological systems. It is of great interest to develop a dual-channel turn-on fluorescence sensing system for self-validated detection. Herein, we report a self-quenching nanoparticle composed of dual two-photon dyes of naphthalimides, displaying almost no fluorescence at both channels, owing to aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ).

A hybrid flower pollination algorithm based modified randomized location for multi-threshold medical image segmentation.

Multi-threshold image segmentation is a powerful image processing technique that is used for the preprocessing of pattern recognition and computer vision. However, traditional multilevel thresholding methods are computationally expensive because they involve exhaustively searching the optimal thresholds to optimize the objective functions. To overcome this drawback, this paper proposes a flower pollination algorithm with a randomized location modification.

Density functional study of organocatalytic cross-aldol reactions between two aliphatic aldehydes: insight into their functional differentiation and origins of chemo- and stereoselectivities.

The chemo-, diastereo-, and enantioselectivities in proline and axially chiral amino sulfonamide-catalyzed direct aldol reactions between two enolizable aldehydes with different electronic nature have been studied with the aid of density functional theory (DFT) method. The potential energy profiles for the enamine formation between each aliphatic aldehyde and the catalyst confirm that two subject catalysts can successfully differentiate between 3-methylbutanal as an enamine component and α-chloroaldehydes as a carbonyl component. Transition states associated with the stereochemistry-determining C-C bond-forming step with the enamine intermediate addition to the aldehyde acceptor for proline and chiral amino sulfonamide-promoted aldol reactions are reported.