Direct, Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial Activity of Ag-Doped Hydroxyapatite against Fastidious Anaerobic Periodontal and Aerobic Dental Bacteria.

Periodontitis and caries, while seemingly innocuous medical conditions, actually pose significant challenges because of their potential etiology with far more serious conditions. Efficacious treatment is hindered by bacterial antibiotic resistance. Standard AgNPs are ineffective against periodontal anaerobic bacteria, because they require oxidative dissolution to release Ag ions, which are the actual antimicrobial agents, but oxidation is not possible under anaerobic conditions.

Monitoring yellow rust progression during spring critical wheat growth periods using multi-temporal Sentinel-2 imagery.

Background: Yellow rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici) is a devastating hazard to wheat production, which poses a serious threat to yield and food security in the main wheat-producing areas in eastern China.

Zwitterionic nanoparticles from indocyanine green dimerization for imaging-guided cancer phototherapy.

Indocyanine green (ICG), the only near-infrared (NIR) dye approved for clinical use, has received increasing attention as a theranostic agent wherein diagnosis (fluorescence) is combined with therapy (phototherapy), but suffers rapid hepatic clearance, poor photostability, and limited accumulation at tumor sites. Here we report that dimerized ICG can self-assemble to form zwitterionic nanoparticles (ZN-dICG), which generate fluorescence self-quenching but exhibit superior photothermal and photodynamic properties over ICG. The zwitterionic moieties confer ZN-dICG an ultralow critical micelle concentration and high colloidal stability with low non-specific binding in vivo.

Discovery of 4-(isopentyloxy)-3-nitrobenzamide derivatives as xanthine oxidase inhibitors through a non-anthraquinone exploration.

In our previous study, we reported a series of N-(9,10-anthraquinone-2-carbonyl) amino acid derivatives as novel inhibitors of xanthine oxidase (XO). Recognizing the suboptimal drug-like properties associated with the anthraquinone moiety, we embarked on a nonanthraquinone medicinal chemistry exploration in the current investigation. Through systematic structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies, we identified a series of 4-(isopentyloxy)-3-nitrobenzamide derivatives exhibiting excellent in vitro potency against XO.

Cationized orthogonal triad as a photosensitizer with enhanced synergistic antimicrobial activity.

Single-molecule-based synergistic phototherapy holds great potential for antimicrobial treatment. Herein, we report an orthogonal molecular cationization strategy to improve the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and hyperthermia generation of heptamethine cyanine (Cy7) for photodynamic and photothermal treatments of bacterial infections. Cationic pyridine (Py) is introduced at the meso‑position of the asymmetric Cy7 with intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) to construct an atypical electron-transfer triad, which reduces ΔE, circumvents rapid charge recombination, and simultaneously enhances intersystem crossing (ISC) based on spin-orbit charge-transfer ISC (SOCT-ISC) mechanism.

Case Report: Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for the Treatment of Generalized Eczema Occurring After COVID-19 Vaccination.

Adverse skin reactions caused by the COVID-19 vaccine have attracted considerable attention. As we all know, the development mechanism of some skin diseases is related to the gut and skin microbiome. A 78-year-old male patient who received the COVID-19 vaccine developed generalized eczema with multiple dense black patches over the body, a widespread rash, erosion, and scabs on his limbs, as well as facial edema.

Supramolecular prodrug-like nanotheranostics with dynamic and activatable nature for synergistic photothermal immunotherapy of metastatic cancer.

Synergistic photothermal immunotherapy has attracted widespread attention due to the mutually reinforcing therapeutic effects on primary and metastatic tumors. However, the lack of clinical approval nanomedicines for spatial, temporal, and dosage control of drug co-administration underscores the challenges facing this field. Here, a photothermal agent (Cy7-TCF) and an immune checkpoint blocker (NLG919) are conjugated via disulfide bond to construct a tumor-specific small molecule prodrug (Cy7-TCF-SS-NLG), which self-assembles into prodrug-like nano-assemblies (PNAs) that are self-delivering and self-formulating.

Action mechanisms and characteristics of miRNAs to regulate virus replication.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have the potential to be explored as antiviral products. It is known that miRNAs have different kinds of target mRNAs and different target sites in mRNAs, and that the action-modes of miRNAs at different target sites may be different. But there is no evidence demonstrating the significance of the differences for the regulation of viruses by miRNAs, which might be crucial for the exploration of miRNA-based antiviral products.

Persistent predominance of the Victoria lineage of influenza B virus during COVID-19 epidemic in Nanchang, China.

The sentinel hospital-based influenza-like illness (ILI) surveillance network was established in China since the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. This network plays important roles in monitoring influenza virus variation and identifying novel respiratory pathogens. In this study, we characterized the pathogen spectrum pattern (PSP) of ILI based on three sentinel hospitals and analyzed the significant change of PSP during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Cell-Membrane Coated Self-Immolative Poly(thiourethane) for Cysteine/Homocysteine-Triggered Intracellular HS Delivery.

Hydrogen sulfide (HS) is an important gaseous signaling molecule with unique pleiotropic pharmacological effects, but may be limited for clinical translation due to the lack of a reliable delivery form that delivers exogenous HS to cells at action site with precisely controlled dosage. Herein, we report the design of a poly(thiourethane) (PTU) self-immolative polymer terminally caged with an acrylate moiety to trigger release of HS in response to cysteine (Cys) and homocysteine (Hcy), the most used and independent indicators of neurodegenerative diseases. The synthesized PTU polymer was then coated with the red-blood-cell (RBC) membrane in the presence of solubilizing agent to self-assemble into nanoparticles with enhanced stability and cytocompatibility.

Surveillance, epidemiology, and impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 interventions on the incidence of enterovirus infections in Nanchang, China, 2010-2022.

Introduction: Pathogen spectrum of Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) has substantially changed in the past decade in China. Growing evidence has indicated that anti-COVID-19 nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) can support control of various infectious diseases, including intestinal diseases.

Methods: In this study, HFMD cases were enrolled from sentinel hospitals of Nanchang, Jiangxi province, and enteroviruses were genotyped using specific real time RT-PCR.

Near-Infrared Molecular Logic Gate for Construction and Quantification of Cell-Macromolecule Conjugates.

Engineering cell surfaces with macromolecules offers the potential to manipulate and control their phenotype and function for cell-based therapies. construction and real-time evaluation of cell-macromolecule conjugates are vital for characterizing their dynamics, mobility, and function but remain a great challenge. Herein, we design a near-infrared (NIR) heptamethine cyanine (LS)-bearing dibenzocyclooctyne (DBCO) and norbornene (NB) in its structure for rapid and selective bioorthogonal "click" coupling to azide-labeled cells and tetrazine-functionalized macromolecular precursors.

BK polyomavirus: latency, reactivation, diseases and tumorigenesis.

The identification of the first human polyomavirus BK (BKV) has been over half century, The previous epidemiological and phylogenetic studies suggest that BKV prevailed and co-evolved with humans, leading to high seroprevalence all over the world. In general, BKV stays latent and symptomless reactivation in healthy individuals. BKV has been mainly interlinked with BKV-associated nephropathy (BKVAN) in kidney-transplant recipients and hemorrhagic cystitis (HC) in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients (HSCTRs).

Engineering Au Nanoclusters for NIR-II Luminescence Imaging-Guided Photoactivatable Cancer Immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy is an advanced therapeutic strategy of cancer treatment but suffers from the issues of off-target adverse effects, lack of real-time monitoring techniques, and unsustainable response. Herein, an ultrasmall Au nanocluster (NC)-based theranostic probe is designed for second near-infrared window (NIR-II) photoluminescence (PL) imaging-guided phototherapies and photoactivatable cancer immunotherapy. The probe (AuMBA-NLG for short) is composed of atomically precise and NIR-II emitting AuMBA NCs (here MBA denotes water-soluble 4-mercaptobenzoic acid) conjugated with immune checkpoint inhibitor 1-cyclohexyl-2-(5H-imidazo[5,1-]isoindol-5-yl)ethanol (NLG919) via a singlet oxygen (O)-cleavable linker.

Ligand engineering of Au nanoclusters for NIR-II luminescent and photoacoustic imaging-guided cancer photothermal therapy.

Developing a high-performance noninvasive probe for precise cancer theranostics is very challenging but urgently required. Herein, a novel Au nanoclusters (NCs)-based probe was designed for cancer theranostics ligand engineering by conjugating photoluminescent (PL) Au NCs in the second near-infrared window (NIR-II, 1000-1700 nm) with aromatic photoacoustic (PA)/photothermal molecules through click chemistry. This design bypasses the incompatibility dilemma between photoluminescence (PL) attributes and PA/photothermal properties because the rigidity of the PA/photothermal molecules can lead to aggregation-induced emission (AIE) of the Au(i)-ligand shell of the Au NCs by constraining their nonradiative relaxation.

Zwitterionic rhodamine-CPT prodrug nanoparticles with GSH/HO responsiveness for cancer theranostics.

Fluorescently traceable prodrugs, which can monitor their biodistribution and track the kinetics of drug delivery in living cells, are promising for constructing theranostic medicines. However, due to their charge and hydrophobicity, most of the fluorescently traceable prodrugs exhibit high protein binding and non-specific tissue retention affecting distribution and toxicity, with high background signals. Herein, the zwitterionic rhodamine (RhB) and camptothecin (CPT) were bridged with a disulfide bond to construct a tumorous heterogeneity-activatable prodrug (RhB-SS-CPT).

Programmable multistage small-molecule nano-photosensitizer for multimodal imaging-guided photothermal therapy.

Photothermal therapy has become a promising approach as precision medicine to allow spatial control of therapeutic effect only in the site of interest. However, the full potential of PTT has not been realized due to the lack of simple photosensitizers (PSs) that can overcome multistage biological barriers and improve theranostic efficiency. Here, we develop a small molecule-based PS to enhance tumor-specific PTT by programming multistage transport and activation properties in molecular architecture.

A multicenter phase 2 trial of camrelizumab plus famitinib for women with recurrent or metastatic cervical squamous cell carcinoma.

This phase 2 study assesses the efficacy and safety of camrelizumab (an anti-PD-1 antibody) plus famitinib (anti-angiogenic agent) in women with pretreated recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03827837). Patients with histologically or cytologically confirmed cervical squamous cell carcinoma experiencing relapse or progression during or after 1-2 lines of systemic therapy for recurrent or metastatic disease are enrolled.

Lighting up Self-Quenching Nanoaggregates with Protein Corona for Simultaneous Intraoperative Imaging and Photothermal Theranostics of Metastatic Cancer.

Near-infrared (NIR) photothermal transduction agents (PTAs) with large rigid π-extended and planar structures are prone to aggregate in a physiological environment where their emission is often quenched due to the strong intermolecular dipole-dipole or π-π interactions. This aggregation-caused quenching effect greatly impedes their applications in image-guided photothermal theranostics. Herein, we made an interesting finding that engineering a bioinspired protein corona (PC), once thermodynamically stabilized in preferred orientations on PTA nanoaggregates, can produce brilliant NIR fluorescence with a high quantum yield (∼6.

Reducing thermal damage to adjacent normal tissue with dual thermo-responsive polymer via thermo-induced phase transition for precise photothermal theranosis.

Photothermal therapy has been extensively studied to improve the light-to-heat efficiency for tumor ablation, but could cause severe damage to adjacent healthy tissue due to the thermal transfer, the random distribution of photothermal agents (PTAs), or combination hereof. Herein, we solve this dilemma with a material design strategy to develop a P(AAm-co-AN)-b-P(NIPAM-co-DMAa)-b-P(AAm-co-AN) ABA triblock copolymer by RAFT polymerization, which exhibits both UCST and LCST dual thermo-responsive behaviors in aqueous solution. The P(AAm-co-AN) block with appropriate AN content allows to finely tune its UCST to ∼ 43°C, which can effectively co-assemble with camptothecin (CPT) and Cy7-TCF, a near-infrared (NIR) PTA, realizing the photo-activated "on-demand" release of CPT and Cy7-TCF.

Biangular-Combined Vegetation Indices to Improve the Estimation of Canopy Chlorophyll Content in Wheat Using Multi-Angle Experimental and Simulated Spectral Data.

Canopy chlorophyll content (CCC) indicates the photosynthetic functioning of a crop, which is essential for the growth and development and yield increasing. Accurate estimation of CCC from remote-sensing data benefits from including information on leaf chlorophyll and canopy structures. However, conventional nadir reflectance is usually subject to the lack of an adequate expression on the geometric structures and shaded parts of vegetation canopy, and the derived vegetation indices (VIs) are prone to be saturated at high CCC level.