The unique interplay of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and immunity and its potential implication for the sex- and age-related morbidity of severe COVID-19 patients.

Aged male patients are more vulnerable to severe or critical symptoms of COVID-19, but the underlying mechanism remains elusive. In this study, we analyzed previously published scRNA-seq data from a large cohort of COVID-19 patients, castrated and regenerated mice, and bulk RNA-seq of a RNAi library of 400 genes, and revealed that both immunity and OXPHOS displayed cell-type-, sex-, and age-related variation in the severe or critical COVID-19 patients during disease progression, with a more prominent increase in immunity and decrease in OXPHOS in myeloid cells in the males relative to the females (60-69 years old). Male severe or critical patients above 70 years old were an exception in that the compromised negative correlation between OXPHOS and immunity in these patients was associated with its disordered transcriptional regulation.

Three-liquid-phase salting-out extraction of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-rich oils from .

The TLPSOES parameters were optimized by response surface methodology using Box-Behnken design, which were 16.5% w/w of ammonium citrate, 17.5% w/w of ethanol, and 46% w/w of n-hexane at 70 min of stirring time.

Development of purification process for dual-function recombinant human heavy-chain ferritin by the investigation of genetic modification impact on conformation.

Ferritin is a promising drug delivery platform and has been functionalized through genetic modifications. This work has designed and expressed a dual-functional engineered human heavy-chain ferritin (HFn) with the inserted functional peptide PAS and RGDK to extend half-life and improve tumor targeted drug delivery. A facile and cost-effective two-step purification pathway for recombinant HFn was developed.

Coupling the fermentation and membrane separation process for polyamides monomer cadaverine production from feedstock lysine.

Nylon is a polyamide material with excellent performance used widely in the aviation and automobile industries, and other fields. Nylon monomers such as hexamethylene diamine and other monomers are in huge demand. Therefore, in order to expand the methods of nylon production, we tried to develop alternative bio-manufacturing processes which would make a positive contribution to the nylon industry.

Purification and characterization of the receptor-binding domain of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein from .

SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for a disruptive worldwide viral pandemic, and renders a severe respiratory disease known as COVID-19. Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 mediates viral entry into host cells by binding ACE2 through the receptor-binding domain (RBD). RBD is an important target for development of virus inhibitors, neutralizing antibodies, and vaccines.

Cost-effective purification process development for chimeric hepatitis B core (HBc) virus-like particles assisted by molecular dynamic simulation.

Inserting foreign epitopes to hepatitis B core (HBc) virus-like particles (VLPs) could influence the molecular conformation and therefore vary the purification process. In this study, a cost-effective purification process was developed for two chimeric HBc VLPs displaying Epstein-Barr nuclear antigens 1 (EBNA1), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) core. Both chimeric VLPs were expressed in soluble form with high production yields in .

Efficient co-production of propionic acid and succinic acid by using membrane separation coupled technology.

To improve the fermentation efficiency of , a semi-continuous coupled fermentation process was established to achieve co-production of propionic acid (PA) and succinic acid (SA). First, the optimal proportion of glucose (Glc) and glycerol (Gl) as a mixed carbon source was determined, and the feeding procedure of Gl was optimized to make more energy flow in the direction of product synthesis. Then, ZGD630 anion exchange resin was used for efficient adsorption of PA, thereby eliminating the feedback inhibition effect of PA.

Nanofiltration membrane for bio-separation: Process-oriented materials innovation.

Nanofiltration (NF) with advantages of high efficiency and low-cost has attracted increasing attentions in bio-separation. However, the large-scale application is limited by the inferior molecular selectivity, low chemical stability and serious membrane fouling. Many efforts, thus, have been devoted in NF materials design for specific applications to enhance the separation efficiency of bio-products and increase membrane life-time, as well as reduce the operating cost.

Efficient phenol degradation by laccase immobilized on functional magnetic nanoparticles in fixed bed reactor under high-gradient magnetic field.

Enzymatic degradation of emerging contaminants has gained great interest for the past few years. However, free enzyme often incurs high costs in practice. The immobilized laccase on the polyethylenimine (PEI)-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (FeO-NH-PEI-laccase) was fabricated to efficiently degrade phenolic compounds continuously in a newly fixed bed reactor under a high-gradient magnetic field.

Chitosan-based nanofragrance with antibacterial function applied to wallpaper.

Adding fragrances to the wallpaper can optimize our living environment and office environment. However, the poor adhesion and rapid release of fragrances on wallpapers have limited their application. In this study, vanillin was encapsulated in particles based on chitosan and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid), thereby achieving a slow release of the fragrance.

Effect of mesoporous silica nanoparticles-based nano-fragrance on the central nervous system.

Fragrances are widely used in our daily lives and can make us feel happy. However, traditional aromatic products release fragrance quickly and have a strong aroma. This not only worsens our scenting experience, but also severely shortens the useful life of fragrance products.

Green preparation of hydrogel particles-in-emulsions for simultaneous enhancement of humoral and cell-mediated immunity.

Emulsions are one of the most often used vaccine adjuvant formulations. Although they promote high humoral immunity, the induced cellular immunity is often poor, which restrict their application. To enhance the cellular immunity, some researchers have prepared mixed formulations by adding particles into the aqueous phase of emulsions.

Manipulation of pore structure during manufacture of agarose microspheres for bioseparation.

Agarose microspheres with a controllable pore structure were manufactured by varying agarose types and crosslinking degrees. Various agarose could tailor the gel formation of microspheres matrix and thus affect the final pore structures. Small pores in microspheres could be fabricated by agarose with a higher molecular weight, which was demonstrated by the packed column with lower distribution coefficient ( ) values measured by gel filtration chromatography.

Rapid and quantitative detection of Shiga toxin1 and Shiga toxin2 based on multiple targets UPT-LF assay.

Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) infection causes a series of diseases that are highly pathogenic and deadly in humans and animals, seriously endangering public health. Of the pathogenic factors within STEC, the two groups of (Stx) consisting Stx1 and Stx2 plays a prominent role in the pathogenesis of STEC infection. In this study, we developed single-target up-converting phosphor technology-based lateral flow assay (Stx-UPT-LFA) for the rapid detection of Stx1 and Stx2, respectively, and also developed a dual-target Stx1/2-UPT-LFA based on single-target strips to detect of Stx1 and Stx2 at the meantime within 20 min.

Preparation and evaluation of amphipathic lipopeptide-loaded PLGA microspheres as sustained-release system for AIDS prevention.

At present, AIDS drugs are typical inhibitors that cannot achieve permanent effects. Therefore, the research of blocking HIV infection is essential. Especially for people in the high-risk environment, long-term prevention is important, because HIV can easily infect cells once the drug is interrupted.

Characterization and stabilization in process development and product formulation for super large proteinaceous particles.

Super large proteinaceous particles (SLPPs) such as virus, virus like particles, and extracellular vesicles have successful and promising applications in vaccination, gene therapy, and cancer treatment. The unstable nature, the complex particulate structure and composition are challenges for their manufacturing and applications. Rational design of the processing should be built on the basis of fully understanding the characteristics of these bio-particles.

Biocatalytic membrane: Go far beyond enzyme immobilization.

Biocatalytic membrane takes advantages of reaction-separation integration as well as enzyme immobilization, which has attracted increasing attentions in online detection and biomanufacturing. However, the high preparation cost, inferior comprehensive performance, and low stability limit its applications. Thus, besides enzyme immobilization, more efforts should be made in biocatalytic membrane configuration design for a specific application to enhance the synergistic effect of reaction and separation and improve its operating stability.

Effects of incident light intensity and light path length on cell growth and oil accumulation in (Chlorophyta).

was cultured in different light path length under different incident light intensity to investigate the effect of light on alga growth as well as hydrocarbon and fatty acid accumulation. Results indicated that longer light path length required higher incident light intensity in order to meet the light requirement of algal growth and hydrocarbon accumulation during the course of cultivation. However, hydrocarbon profile was only affected by the incident light intensity and not influenced by the light path length.

Toward understanding the key enzymes involved in β-poly (L-malic acid) biosynthesis by ipe-1.

β-poly (L-malic acid) (PMLA) is a biopolyester which has attracted industrial interest for its potential application in medicine and other industries. A high dissolved oxygen concentration (DO) was beneficial for PMLA production, while the mechanisms of DO in PMLA biosynthesis by are still poorly understood. In this work, the amount of PMLA was first compared when ipe-1 were cultured under a high DO level (70% saturation) and a low DO level (10% saturation).

Role of oxygen supply in α, ω-dodecanedioic acid biosynthesis from n-dodecane by ipe-1: Effect of stirring speed and aeration.

α, ω-Dodecanedioic acid (DC) usually serves as a monomer of polyamides or some special nylons. During the biosynthesis, oxygenation cascaded in conversion of hydrophobic n-dodecane to DC, while the oxidation of n-dodecane took place in the intracellular space. Therefore, it was important to investigate the role of oxygen supply on the cell growth and DC biosynthesis.