Research on X-ray security contraband identification technology based on lightweight YOLOv8.

Aiming at the difficulty of identification and localization in the detection of contraband targets in X-ray images, as well as the demand for upgrading and deployment of security equipment during the peak flow stage, a lightweight X-ray security contraband detection algorithm is proposed and optimized for YOLOv8. Firstly, the number of channels in the original network is reduced according to a predetermined ratio, which effectively reduces model parameters and computational complexity and achieves better results than the current mainstream lightweight methods, such as model pruning and detection backbone optimization. Secondly, due to the presence of objects of various scales and sizes in X-ray security inspection images, we introduced the BiFPN feature extraction strategy in the neck.

Thrombocytopenia in SFTS due to platelets with altered function undergoing cell death pathways.

Background: Thrombocytopenia is the major clinical feature associated with the severity of SFTS, but the mechanism by which it occurs remains unclear.

Methods: RNA transcriptome analyses were performed on platelets purified from SFTS patients and SFTSV-infected mice. The functions of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the platelets were characterized.

RNA viromes of Dermacentor nuttalli ticks reveal a novel uukuvirus in Qīnghăi Province, China.

Ticks are a major parasite on the Qīnghăi-Tibet Plateau, western China, and represent an economic burden to agriculture and animal husbandry. Despite research on tick-borne pathogens that threaten humans and animals, the viromes of dominant tick species in this area remain unknown. In this study, we collected Dermacentor nuttalli ticks near Qīnghăi Lake and identified 13 viruses belonging to at least six families through metagenomic sequencing.

Viromes of Haemaphysalis longicornis reveal different viral abundance and diversity in free and engorged ticks.

Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks, commonly found in East Asia, can transmit various pathogenic viruses, including the severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) that has caused febrile diseases among humans in Hubei Province. However, understanding of the viromes of H. longicornis was limited, and the prevalence of viruses among H.

Interactome profiling of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus glycoproteins.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is a biosafety level-4 pathogen requiring urgent research and development efforts. The glycoproteins of CCHFV, Gn and Gc, are considered to play multiple roles in the viral life cycle by interactions with host cells; however, these interactions remain largely unclear to date. Here, we analyzed the cellular interactomes of CCHFV glycoproteins and identified 45 host proteins as high-confidence Gn/Gc interactors.

Factors Associated with Maternal Healthcare Utilization Before and After Delivery Among Migrant Pregnant Women in China: An Observational Study.

Background: Effective healthcare utilization throughout pregnancy is essential in protecting mother and child health, but the maternal healthcare utilization and its associated factors among migrant women are still underexplored.

Methods: The data came from the 2018 China Migrants Dynamic Survey. Our analysis included 6337 pregnant migrant women.

Next-generation liquid biopsy instruments: Challenges and opportunities.

Conventional cancer diagnosis needs to excise diseased tissue from the patient's body for biopsy, causing severe injury to patients. Liquid biopsy (LB), with the superior advantage of minimal invasiveness, has shown its ability to cancer diagnosis in real-time and has been developing promising diagnostic instruments. However, until today, the developed instrument still cannot be an alternative to tissue biopsy in the majority of research and clinical settings.

Antiviral activity and mechanism of the antifungal drug, anidulafungin, suggesting its potential to promote treatment of viral diseases.

Background: The severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome disease (SFTS), caused by the novel tick-borne SFTS virus (SFTSV), was listed among the top 10 priority infectious disease by World Health Organization due to the high fatality rate of 5-30% and the lack of effective antiviral drugs and vaccines and therefore raised the urgent need to develop effective anti-SFTSV drugs to improve disease treatment.

Methods: The antiviral drugs to inhibit SFTSV infection were identified by screening the library containing 1340 FDA-approved drugs using the SFTSV infection assays in vitro. The inhibitory effect on virus entry and the process of clathrin-mediated endocytosis under different drug doses was evaluated based on infection assays by qRT-PCR to determine intracellular viral copies, by Western blot to characterize viral protein expression in cells, and by immunofluorescence assays (IFAs) to determine virus infection efficiencies.

Efficient bioparticle extraction using a miniaturized inertial microfluidic centrifuge.

Conventional bioparticle extraction requires labor-intensive operation, and expensive and bulky centrifuges. Herein, we report a miniaturized centrifuge by cascading four paralleled inertial spiral channels with a two-stage serpentine channel, allowing for the efficient washing and acquisition of concentrated bioparticles from background fluids. First, the effects of channel size and flow rate on particle focusing dynamics and solution exchange performances are explored to enable the optimization and wide application of our device.

Evidence of Human Exposure to Tamdy Virus, Northwest China.

We report the isolation of Tamdy virus from Hyalomma asiaticum ticks in northwest China and serologic evidence of human Tamdy virus infection in the same region. These findings highlight the need to further investigate a potential causal relationship between Tamdy virus and febrile illnesses of unknown etiology in that region.

Antibody neutralization to SARS-CoV-2 and variants after 1 year in Wuhan, China.

Most COVID-19 convalescents can build effective anti-SARS-CoV-2 humoral immunity, but it remains unclear how long it can maintain and how efficiently it can prevent the reinfection of the emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. Here, we tested the sera from 248 COVID-19 convalescents around 1 year post-infection in Wuhan, the earliest known epicenter. SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G (IgG) was well maintained in most patients and potently neutralizes the infection of the original strain and the B.

Viromes and surveys of RNA viruses in camel-derived ticks revealing transmission patterns of novel tick-borne viral pathogens in Kenya.

Tick-borne viruses (TBVs) capable of transmitting between ticks and hosts have been increasingly recognized as a global public health concern. In this study, ticks and serum samples from camels were collected using recorded sampling correlations in eastern Kenya. Viromes of pooled ticks were profiled by metagenomic sequencing, revealing a diverse community of viruses related to at least 11 families.

Occurrence of COVID-19 Symptoms During SARS-CoV-2 Infection Defines Waning of Humoral Immunity.

Approximately half of the SARS-CoV-2 infections occur without apparent symptoms, raising questions regarding long-term humoral immunity in asymptomatic individuals. Plasma levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and M (IgM) against the viral spike or nucleoprotein were determined for 25,091 individuals enrolled in a surveillance program in Wuhan, China. We compared 405 asymptomatic individuals who mounted a detectable antibody response with 459 symptomatic COVID-19 patients.

Tetrasubstituted imidazoles as incognito Toll-like receptor 8 a(nta)gonists.

Small-molecule modulators of TLR8 have drawn much interests as it plays pivotal roles in the innate immune response to single-stranded RNAs (ssRNAs) derived from viruses. However, their clinical uses are limited because they can invoke an uncontrolled, global inflammatory response. The efforts described herein culminate in the fortuitous discovery of a tetrasubstituted imidazole CU-CPD107 which inhibits R848-induced TLR8 signaling.

Declining Levels of Neutralizing Antibodies Against SARS-CoV-2 in Convalescent COVID-19 Patients One Year Post Symptom Onset.

Major advances have been made in understanding the dynamics of humoral immunity briefly after the acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, knowledge concerning long-term kinetics of antibody responses in convalescent patients is limited. During a one-year period post symptom onset, we longitudinally collected 162 samples from 76 patients and quantified IgM and IgG antibodies recognizing the nucleocapsid (N) protein or the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein (S).

A SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody with extensive Spike binding coverage and modified for optimal therapeutic outcomes.

COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 constitutes a global public health crisis with enormous economic consequences. Monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 can provide an important treatment option to fight COVID-19, especially for the most vulnerable populations. In this work, potent antibodies binding to SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein were identified from COVID-19 convalescent patients.

Structural basis for SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies with novel binding epitopes.

The ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) threatens global public health and economy unprecedentedly, requiring accelerating development of prophylactic and therapeutic interventions. Molecular understanding of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) would greatly help advance the development of monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapy, as well as the design of next generation recombinant vaccines. Here, we applied H2L2 transgenic mice encoding the human immunoglobulin variable regions, together with a state-of-the-art antibody discovery platform to immunize and isolate NAbs.

SARS-CoV-2 interacts with platelets and megakaryocytes via ACE2-independent mechanism.

Evidence suggests that platelets may directly interact with SARS-CoV-2, raising the concern whether ACE2 receptor plays a role in this interaction. The current study showed that SARS-CoV-2 interacts with both platelets and megakaryocytes despite the limited efficiency. Abundance of the conventional receptor ACE2 and alternative receptors or co-factors for SARS-CoV-2 entry was characterized in platelets from COVID-19 patients and healthy persons as well as human megakaryocytes based on laboratory tests or previously reported RNA-seq data.

Reviving chloroquine for anti-SARS-CoV-2 treatment with cucurbit[7]uril-based supramolecular formulation.

The wide-spreading SARS-CoV-2 virus has put the world into boiling water for more than a year, however pharmacological therapies to act effectively against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remain elusive. Chloroquine (CQ), an antimalarial drug, was found to exhibit promising antiviral activity and at a high dosage, thus CQ was approved by the FDA for the emergency use authorization (EUA) in the fight against COVID-19 in the US, but later was revoked the EUA status due to the severe clinical toxicity. Herein, we show that supramolecular formulation of CQ by a macrocyclic host, curcurbit[7]uril (CB[7]), reduced its non-specific toxicity and improved its antiviral activity against coronavirus, working in synergy with CB[7].

SARS-CoV-2 infection induces sustained humoral immune responses in convalescent patients following symptomatic COVID-19.

Long-term antibody responses and neutralizing activities in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection are not yet clear. Here we quantify immunoglobulin M (IgM) and G (IgG) antibodies recognizing the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike (S) or the nucleocapsid (N) protein, and neutralizing antibodies during a period of 6 months from COVID-19 disease onset in 349 symptomatic COVID-19 patients who were among the first be infected world-wide. The positivity rate and magnitude of IgM-S and IgG-N responses increase rapidly.

Novel SFTSV Phylogeny Reveals New Reassortment Events and Migration Routes.

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), the causative agent of a febrile human disease, was first identified from central and eastern provinces in China, and later in Japan and South Korea. Hubei Province is one of the major SFTS epidemic areas in the central part of China. This study reported the isolation of 11 new SFTSV strains from patients in Hubei Province collected in 2017.

Isolation, Characterization, and Phylogenetic Analysis of Two New Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus Strains from the Northern Region of Xinjiang Province, China.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) caused by the CCHF virus (CCHFV) is a tick-borne natural focal disease with a mortality rate of approximately 50%. CCHFV is widely prevalent in Africa, southern Asia, the Middle East, and southeast Europe. CCHF outbreaks have been reported previously in Xinjiang province, China, especially in its southern region.