Innovative strategies for enhancing AuNP-based point-of-care diagnostics: Focus on coronavirus detection.

Highly pathogenic coronaviruses have consistently threatened humanity, encompassing SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 and others. Swift detection and accurate diagnosis play a crucial role in promptly identifying high-risk populations, enabling timely intervention, and effectively breaking the transmission chain to reduce casualties. However, the diagnostic "gold standard" reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) failed to meet the overwhelming demand during the pandemic due to insufficient equipment and trained personnel, impeding the effective control of viral spread.

Macroporous Directed and Interconnected Carbon Architectures Endow Amorphous Silicon Nanodots as Low-Strain and Fast-Charging Anode for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Fabricating low-strain and fast-charging silicon-carbon composite anodes is highly desired but remains a huge challenge for lithium-ion batteries. Herein, we report a unique silicon-carbon composite fabricated by uniformly dispersing amorphous Si nanodots (SiNDs) in carbon nanospheres (SiNDs/C) that are welded on the wall of the macroporous carbon framework (MPCF) by vertical graphene (VG), labeled as MPCF@VG@SiNDs/C. The high dispersity and amorphous features of ultrasmall SiNDs (~ 0.

Adhesive, Flexible, and Fast Degradable 3D-Printed Wound Dressings with a Simple Composition.

3D printing technology has revolutionized the field of wound dressings, offering tailored solutions with mechanical support to facilitate wound closure. In addition to personalization, the intricate nature of the wound healing process requires wound dressing materials with diverse properties, such as moisturization, flexibility, adhesion, anti-oxidation and degradability. Unfortunately, current materials used in digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing have been inadequate in meeting these crucial criteria.

Discovery of fecal microbial signatures in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of the gut microbiota in Chinese patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and healthy controls in Quanzhou aiming to explore the correlation between microbiome changes and AS activities.

Patients And Methods: In this study, high-throughput sequencing of the gene of 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) in fecal samples from 40 AS patients and 40 healthy controls, for a total of 80 participants (70 males, 10 females; mean age 33.7±10.

Methylated Septin 9 as a Promising Biomarker in the Diagnosis and Recurrence Monitoring of Colorectal Cancer.

Purpose: The clinical utility of plasma methylated septin 9 () DNA in screening and recurrence monitoring for colorectal cancer (CRC) is highly promising. The present study was performed to determine the diagnostic value of in CRC detection and recurrence monitoring in Chinese patients.

Methods: Overall, 616 patients newly diagnosed with CRC and 122 individuals with no evidence of disease were recruited from October 1, 2019, to May 31, 2021, at Fujian Medical University Union Hospital.

Efficacy of needle-knife combined with etanercept treatment regarding disease activity and hip joint function in ankylosing spondylitis patients with hip joint involvement: A randomized controlled study.

This study aimed to assess the efficacy of needle-knife (NK) combined with etanercept (NKCE) in attenuating pain, inflammation, disease activity, and improving hip joint function in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients with hip joint involvement.Totally, 90 patients with active AS involving unilateral hip joint were enrolled and randomly assigned in 1:1:1 ratio to receive NKCE, NK or conventional drugs (control). The ESR, CRP, hip joint pain Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score, bath ankylosing spondylitis disease activity index (BASDAI), bath ankylosing spondylitis functional index (BASFI), modified Harris hip score (mHHS), and range of motion (ROM) of affected hip joint were assessed at baseline (W0), after 1-week treatment (W1) and after 24-week treatment (W24).

Two-dimensional hierarchically porous carbon nanosheets for flexible aqueous supercapacitors with high volumetric capacitance.

Two-dimensional carbon nanomaterials can be assembled into a dense film and used for flexible supercapacitors, but the high packing density leads to restacking problems and poor volumetric capacitance. To address this challenge, we report two-dimensional hierarchically porous carbon (2D-HPC) consisting of micro-, meso-, and macro-pores on the 2D sheet, which shows superior capacitance and rate capability compared with a 2D carbon nanosheet consisting predominantly of micro-pores. A flexible supercapacitor fabricated with the 2D-HPC presents a high volumetric capacitance of 412 F cm, a high volumetric energy density of 9.

Hybrid hollow spheres of carbon@CoNiMoO as advanced electrodes for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors.

Combining pseudocapacitive materials with conductive substrates is an effective approach to enhance the overall performance of electrodes for supercapacitors. Herein, NiMoO4 nanosheets were grown on the surface of porous carbon nanospheres (PCNS) that were derived from cyclodextrin, resulting in PCNS@NiMoO4 hollow nanospheres. Co was further doped into NiMoO4 which gave rise to a composite PCNS@CoxNi1-xMoO4.

Cell surface expression of nucleolin mediates the antiangiogenic and antitumor activities of kallistatin.

Kallistatin is a unique serine proteinase inhibitor and heparin-binding protein. A previous study conducted by our group indicated that kallistatin has antiangiogenic and antitumoral activities. In the present study, we report that kallistatin specifically binds to membrane surface-expressed nucleolin with high affinity.

β-Elemene inhibits the proliferation of primary human airway granulation fibroblasts by down-regulating canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

Benign airway stenosis is a clinical challenge because of recurrent granulation tissues. Our previous study proved that a Chinese drug, β-elemene, could effectively inhibit the growth of fibroblasts cultured from hyperplastic human airway granulation tissues, which could slow down the progression of this disease. The purpose of the present study is to find out the mechanism for this effect.

Kallistatin protects against bleomycin-induced idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis by inhibiting angiogenesis and inflammation.

Aberrant angiogenesis and vascular remodeling are the main features of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Kallistatin is an anti-angiogenic peptide with known effects on endothelial cells. This study aimed to demonstrate that kallistatin has beneficial effects on bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis in a rat model by inhibiting angiogenesis.

Inhibition of integrin β3, a binding partner of kallistatin, leads to reduced viability, invasion and proliferation in NCI-H446 cells.

Background: Kallistatin is a serine proteinase inhibitor and heparin-binding protein. It is considered an endogenous angiogenic inhibitor. In addition, multiple studies demonstrated that kallistatin directly inhibits cancer cell growth.

[Advanced technologies in semen stain identification].

Semen stain identification is one of the crucial tasks for collection of criminal evidence by forensic techniques. Substances such as DNA and RNA contained in semen stains can serve as a source of personalized evidence targeting the suspect. Therefore, semen stain identification is vital to inferring the case attributes and the facts of the crime.

Two novel phenanthraquinones with anti-cancer activity isolated from Bletilla striata.

7-Hydroxy-2-methoxy-phenanthrene-3,4-dione and 3',7',7-trihydroxy-2,2',4'-trimethoxy-[1,8'-biphenanthrene]-3,4-dione, two novel compounds and four known compounds were isolated from Bletilla striata. The structures of the compounds were established on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis. The two compounds exhibited antiproliferative effects using the MTT test; these effects may be due to cell cycle arrest and inducing ROS generation.

Biological Evaluation of Ferrocenyl Olefins: Cancer Cell Growth Inhibition, ROS Production, and Apoptosis Activity.

The antiproliferative effects of various ferrocenyl olefins were evaluated against the cell lines MCF-7 (human breast cancer cells), DLD-1 (human colon adenocarcinoma cells), HUVEC (human umbilical vein endothelial cells), and A549 (human lung carcinoma cells), using the MTT test. IC50 values were determined. Compounds 8, 9, 11, and 12 with high antiproliferative activity were tested for their reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and cell cycle analysis was performed on A549 cells.

[The effect of Connexin43 downregulation on biological functions of HUVEC].

Connexin43 has been shown to play a pivotal role in wound healing process. Wound repair is enhanced by acute downregulation of connexin43, by increasing proliferation and migration of keratinocyte and fibroblast. Angiogenesis is also a central feature of wound repair, but little is known about the effects of connexin43 modulation on functions of endothelial cells.

[Ribozyme riboswitch based gene expression regulation systems for gene therapy applications: progress and challenges].

Robust and efficient control of therapeutic gene expression is needed for timing and dosing of gene therapy drugs in clinical applications. Ribozyme riboswitch provides a promising building block for ligand-controlled gene-regulatory system, based on its property that exhibits tunable gene regulation, design modularity, and target specificity. Ribozyme riboswitch can be used in various gene delivery vectors.

Neuroprotection by saponins.

Saponins, an important group of bioactive plant natural products, are glycosides of triterpenoid or steroidal aglycones. Their diverse biological activities are ascribed to their different structures. Saponins have long been recognized as key ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine.

The molecular mechanisms of TRAIL resistance in cancer cells: help in designing new drugs.

Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), which is capable of selectively inducing apoptosis of cancer cells, is a potential targeted drug for cancer therapy. Many clinical trials have verified the safety, tolerability, and therapeutic efficacy of TRAIL or TRAIL agonists in patients. However, the resistance to TRAIL in multiple cancer cells resulted in limited treatment response and poor prognosis.

[Expression of human long-acting FSH in CHO cell and its bioactivity in vivo].

Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is a pituitary glycoprotein hormone that is essential for the development of ovarian follicles and testicular seminiferous tubules. The relatively short half-life of FSH in vivo requires daily injections for more than 10 days that is inconvenient and possibly contribute to the stress perceived by the patients. The goal of the present study was to increase FSH glycosylation, in order to develop a long-acting recombinant FSH.

Cytotoxic activity of the alkaloids from Broussonetia papyrifera fruits.

Context: Broussonetia papyrifera (L.) Vent. (Moraceae), a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, has been extensively applied for many years to treat various diseases.

Protection effect of kallistatin on carbon tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis in rats via antioxidative stress.

Prolonged inflammation and oxidative stress are emerging as key causes of pathological wound healing and the development of liver fibrosis. We have investigated the effects of recombinant human kallistatin, produced in Pichia. pastoris, on preventing carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver fibrosis in rats.

[Recent progress of the aptamer-based antiviral drugs].

Aptamers are capable of binding a wide range of biomolecular targets with high affinity and specificity. It has been widely developed for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Because of unique three dimensional structures and cell-membrane penetration, aptamers inhibit virus infection not only through binding specific target, such as the viral envelope, genomic site, enzyme, or other viral components, but also can be connected to each other or with siRNA jointly achieve antiviral activity.