Hydrogen bonding enhanced drug-polymer interaction for efficient drug loading and delivery.

A carrier design strategy of hydrogen bonding enhanced drug-carrier interaction is developed to prepare a polymeric nanomedicine with high drug loading content and superb loading efficiency. Moreover, a morphology transition from spherical to cylindrical micelles is observed upon increasing drug loading content, which can open up a new way for controlling the morphology of the polymeric nanomedicine.

Flexible Sensing Enabled Nondestructive Detection on Viability/Quality of Live Edible Oyster.

Environmental and physiological fluctuations in the live oyster cold chain can result in reduced survival and quality. In this study, a flexible wireless sensor network (F-WSN) monitoring system combined with knowledge engineering was designed and developed to monitor environmental information and physiological fluctuations in the live oyster cold chain. Based on the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan to identify the critical control points (CCPs) in the live oyster cold chain, the F-WSN was utilized to conduct tracking and collection experiments in real scenarios from Yantai, Shandong Province, to Beijing.

Arylazopyrazole as a photo-switch for controllable self-assembly of pillar[6]arene-based supramolecular amphiphiles.

A photo-responsive host-guest molecular recognition between a cationic pillar[6]arene host and an arylazopyrazole derived guest was established. Based on this novel recognition motif, a photo-controllable supra-amphiphile was constructed. The spontaneous aggregation can be reversibly controlled by irradiation with UV (365 nm) and green light (520 nm), leading to a switch between spherical nanoparticles and vesicle-like aggregates.

Characterization of Neutralizing Monoclonal Antibodies and Identification of a Novel Conserved C-Terminal Linear Epitope on the Hemagglutinin Protein of the H9N2 Avian Influenza Virus.

The H9N2 avian influenza virus (AIV) remains a serious threat to the global poultry industry and public health. The hemagglutinin (HA) protein is an essential protective antigen of AIVs and a major target of neutralizing antibodies and vaccines. Therefore, in this study, we used rice-derived HA protein as an immunogen to generate monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and screened them using an immunoperoxidase monolayer assay and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

An Improved Immunochromatographic Strip Based on Plant-Derived E2 for Detection of Antibodies against Classical Swine Fever Virus.

Vaccination is an effective method to control the spread of classical swine fever virus (CSFV), which is a major cause of economic losses to the swine industry. Although serological detection assays are commonly used to assess immune status, current methods for monitoring of antibodies (Abs) are time-consuming, expensive, and require cell culture and virus manipulation. To address these problems, the E2 protein of CSFV was expressed in transgenic rice seeds as a labeled antigen for the development of an immunochromatographic test strip (ICTS) for rapid, precise, and cost-effective detection of Abs.

[Expression of NDV HN protein in rice and development of a semi-quantitative rapid method for detection of antibodies].

The aim of this study was to develop a semi-quantitative immunochromatographic method for rapid detection of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) antibodies by expressing HN protein in rice endosperm bioreactor. The recombinant plasmid pUC57-HN was digested by Ⅰ and Ⅰ to retrieve the HN gene, while the intermediate vector pMP3 containing promoter, signal peptide and terminator was digested by Ⅰ and Ⅰ. The HN gene and the linearized pMP3 were purified and ligated to form a recombinant plasmid pMP3-HN1.

Repression of Akt3 gene transcription by the tumor suppressor RIZ1.

RIZ1 has been studied as a tumor suppressor and may play a role in metabolic diseases related to the Western style diet, such as cancer and obesity. The Akt pathway is known to play a role in both cancer and obesity, and a link between Akt and RIZ1 has also been found. To better understand the role of RIZ1 in obesity and cancer, we investigated how RIZ1 regulates the expression of Akt3.

Morphology-controllable fabrication of ordered platinum nanoshells with reduced symmetry.

This paper presents a novel method for fabricating an ordered array of metallic nanoshells with a controllable shape by a combination of a porous polymer template and a nanocrystal-seeded electroless plating technique. The morphology of hollow particles has a strong dependence on the seed-deposition time onto the surfaces of the original colloidal template. Using this method, ordered Pt nanobowls (bowl-shaped shells) and, alternatively, nanocups (cup-shaped shells) are prepared.