Influence of storage solution, temperature, assay time and concentration on RT-qPCR nucleic acid detection for SARS-CoV-2 detection of SARS-CoV-2 by the RT-qPCR

Real-time reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is an important method for the early diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study investigated the effects of storage solution, temperature and detection time on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleic acid detection by RT-qPCR. Various concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 were added to inactive and non-inactive storage solution and the viral suspensions were stored at various temperatures (room temperature, 4, -20 and -80 °C). Then, at five different detection time points, the Ct values were determined by RT-qPCR. Active and inactive storage solutions and storage temperature have a great impact on the detection of N gene of SARS-CoV-2 at different concentration corridors but have little impact on the ORF gene. The storage time has a greater impact on the N gene and ORF gene at high concentrations but has no effect on the two genes at low concentrations. In conclusion, storage temperature, storage time and storage status (inactivated, non-inactivated) have no effect on the nucleic acid detection of SARS-CoV-2 at the same concentration. For different concentrations of SARS-CoV-2, the detection of N gene is mainly affected.

Multivariate Machine Learning Models of Nanoscale Porosity from Ultrafast NMR Relaxometry

Nanoporous materials are of great interest in many applications, such as catalysis, separation, and energy storage. The performance of these materials is closely related to their pore sizes, which are inefficient to determine through the conventional measurement of gas adsorption isotherms. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry has emerged as a technique highly sensitive to porosity in such materials. Nonetheless, streamlined methods to estimate pore size from NMR relaxometry remain elusive. Previous attempts have been hindered by inverting a time domain signal to relaxation rate distribution, and dealing with resulting parameters that vary in number, location, and magnitude. Here we invoke well-established machine learning techniques to directly correlate time domain signals to BET surface areas for a set of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) imbibed with solvent at varied concentrations. We employ this series of MOFs to establish a correlation between NMR signal and surface area via partial least squares (PLS), following screening with principal component analysis, and apply the PLS model to predict surface area of various nanoporous materials. This approach offers a high-throughput, non-destructive way to assess porosity in c.a. one minute. We anticipate this work will contribute to the development of new materials with optimized pore sizes for various applications.

The impact of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) on pulmonary function in US adults: a cross-sectional study based on NHANES (2007-2012)

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are a group of chemicals widely used in various applications to prevent or slow down the spread of fire. However, they have adverse effects on human health. There is a relative scarcity of population-based studies regarding BFRs, particularly their impact on the respiratory system. This study aimed to investigate the influence of BFRs on pulmonary function using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The study found that elevated serum concentrations of certain BFRs were associated with pulmonary ventilatory dysfunction. Adjusted analyses revealed positive correlations between PBDE47, PBDE183, and PBDE209 concentrations and ventilatory dysfunction. The analysis of mixed BFRs showed a positive relationship with pulmonary ventilation dysfunction, with PBDE47 making the most significant contribution. Our study demonstrates that both individual and combined BFRs exposure can lead to impaired pulmonary ventilation function. These findings provide evidence of the adverse effects of BFRs on lung function, emphasizing the importance of further investigating the potential health consequences of these compounds. Further large-scale longitudinal studies are needed to investigate this relationship in the future.

Synthesis and application of multifunctional lignin-modified cationic waterborne polyurethane in textiles

Waterborne polyurethanes (WPUs) often have limitations like inadequate weathering resistance and thermal stability. To overcome these shortcomings, lignin has been selected as a modifier for its abundant availability, renewability, and biocompatibility. This study synthesized a cationic WPU using isophorone diisocyanate and polyethylene glycol as raw materials. Hydrophilicity was attained through the inclusion of dihydroxyethyl dodecylamine as a chain extender, while the introduction of epoxy monomers and lignin served to modify the polyurethane. Furthermore, a dye dispersion for cotton fabric dyeing was prepared by combining the synthesized polyurethane, chitosan, and dyes. The cationic nature of the polyurethane played a crucial role in facilitating dye adhesion and uptake on the fabric surface, resulting in improved dyeing performance. The incorporation of epoxy side chains and chitosan cross-linking contributed to the excellent color fastness of the dyed fabrics. Moreover, the incorporation of lignin and chitosan endowed the fabric with antibacterial properties. Simultaneously, it provided effective UV protection, characterized by a high UV protection factor value for the fabrics. This lignin-modified WPU exhibits tremendous potential in applications such as textile coatings, adhesives, and color fixation agents. It effectively addresses the limitations of traditional WPUs and offers notable advantages, including a renewable source, cost-effectiveness, and biocompatibility.

Adenosine Triphosphate/Chitin Whisker/Phenylboronic Acid-Modified Wool Fabrics with Enhanced Dyeability

Promoting the uptake of dyes is an important part of the sustainable processing of wool products. This study presents an effective modification approach to enhance the dyeability of wool fabric with adenosine triphosphate as an activator, 3-carboxyphenyl boronic acid as a ligand-binding agent, and chitin whisker as a couple agent. The structure and surface morphology of the as-prepared wool fabric was characterized in detail. Natural luteolin and acid red 1 were used to dye the modified wool fabric, and the effect of different dyeing parameters on dyeing properties was discussed. The results indicated that the modified wool gained better surface color depth (K/S) and uptake without additional agents than the untreated wool fabric. When the modified wool fabric was dyed at 45 °C with luteolin and at 60 °C with acid red 1, the dyeing processes of the two dyes on the modified wool fabrics followed the Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Furthermore, the dyed modified wool fabrics possessed improved color fastness. Overall, this work offers a facile, effective, and sustainable way to improve the low-temperature dyeability of wool products.

Caffeinated beverages intake and risk of deep vein thrombosis: A Mendelian randomization study

This study aimed to explore the potential link between coffee and tea consumption and the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) through Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. Employing the MR, we identified 33 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as instrumental variables (IVs) for coffee intake and 38 SNPs for tea intake. The investigation employed the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method to evaluate the causal impact of beverage consumption on DVT risk. Additionally, MR-Egger and MR-PRESSO tests were conducted to assess pleiotropy, while Cochran's Q test gauged heterogeneity. Robustness analysis was performed through a leave-one-out approach. The MR analysis uncovered a significant association between coffee intake and an increased risk of DVT (odds ratio [OR] 1.008, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.001-1.015, P = 0.025). Conversely, no substantial causal effect of tea consumption on DVT was observed (OR 1.001, 95% CI = 0.995-1.007, P = 0.735). Importantly, no significant levels of heterogeneity, pleiotropy, or bias were detected in the instrumental variables used. In summary, our findings suggest a modestly heightened risk of DVT associated with coffee intake, while tea consumption did not exhibit a significant impact on DVT risk.

Analysis of the correlation between serum Klotho and FeNO: a cross-sectional study from NHANES (2007-2012)

BACKGROUND

Klotho is an anti-aging protein that has multiple functions and may play a key role in the pathogenesis and progression of chronic respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) is a non-invasive and novel biomarker that has the advantages of being simple, fast and reproducible. It can effectively assess the degree of airway inflammation in diseases such as asthma and COPD. Despite these insights, the relationship between serum Klotho levels and FeNO has not been explored yet.

METHODS

Leveraging data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) spanning 2007 to 2012, we investigated the correlation between FeNO and serum Klotho levels. This association was scrutinized both as continuous variables and within quartile distributions, utilizing the Kruskal-Wallis H test. The correlation between the two variables was assessed through Spearman rank analysis. Employing survey weight-adjusted linear regression models, we gauged the strength of these associations.

RESULTS

This study included 6,527 participants with a median FeNO level of 14.5 parts per billion (ppb). We found that FeNO levels varied significantly across different quartiles of Klotho protein (H = 7.985, P = 0.046). We also found a significant positive correlation between serum Klotho levels and FeNO levels in the whole population (Spearman's rho = 0.029, P = 0.019). This correlation remained significant after adjusting for covariates such as age, gender, lung function, smoking status, alcohol use, BMI, cardiovascular disease (including hypertension, heart failure, coronary heart disease, and myocardial infarction), diabetes, inflammatory markers, serum vitamin D level and BUN (P < 0.05 for all). Furthermore, this correlation was stronger at the high (K3) and super high (K4) levels of Klotho than at the low (K1) and medium (K2) levels (β = 1.979 ppb and β = 1.993 ppb for K3 and K4 vs. K1, respectively; 95% CI: 0.497 ~ 2.953 and 95% CI: 0.129 ~ 2.827, respectively; P = 0.007 and P = 0.032, respectively). The β coefficient for serum Klotho was 0.002 ppb/pg/ml.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study illuminates a positive correlation between serum Klotho levels and FeNO. Further study is needed to verify the causality of this association and elucidate the underlying mechanisms.

Low neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.5.2.48, BF.7.14, XBB.1 subvariants by homologous or heterologous booster

The recently mutated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 variant Omicron has very high infectivity and a strong ability to evolve and evade immunity. We collected six sets of sera from uninfected individuals and individuals recovering from breakthrough infections who completed homologous or heterologous booster immunization and assessed their susceptibility against the BA.5.2.48, BF.7.14, XBB.1.5, XBB.1.5.4, and XBB.1.16 subvariants. The results demonstrated that the Omicron variants possess an exceptional potential to evade the immune barriers strengthened by vaccine administration and natural infections in the population, particularly XBB.1.16, and showed that heterologous boosters exhibit higher vaccine efficacy compared with homologous boosters.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of prognostic indicators in patients with head and neck malignancy treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors

INTRODUCTION

Tumor immunotherapy has recently emerged as a crucial focal point in oncology treatment research. Among tumor immunotherapy approaches, tumor immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have attracted substantial attention in clinical research. However, this treatment modality has benefitted only a limited number of patients. We conducted a meta-analysis of various biomarkers to decipher their prognostic implications in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) who are treated with ICIs, and thus identify predictive markers with practical clinical relevance.

METHODS

A systematic search of electronic databases was conducted to identify clinical studies that examined the correlation between biomarkers and treatment outcomes in the HNSCC patients. The included articles were screened and analyzed to extract data regarding overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS).

RESULTS

The relationship between the biomarkers included in the summary and prognosis was as follows: HPV positivity was associated with improved OS (HR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.58-1.99), PFS (HR = 1.16, 95% CI = 0.81-1.67), and response (OR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.37-2.99). PD-L1 positivity was associated with OS (HR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.59-0.85), PFS (HR = 0.56 95% CI = 0.43-0.73), and response (OR = 2.16, 95% CI = 1.51-3.10). Neither HPV positivity nor PD-L1 positivity was associated with DCR. The following markers were collected for OS and PFS data and were associated with longer OS: lower Glasgow prognostic score (GPS/mGPS) grading, lower PS grading, high body mass index (BMI), low neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), low platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), high albumin (Alb), low lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Factors associated with better PFS were lower GPS/mGPS grading, lower PS grading, high BMI, low NLR, high absolute lymphocyte count, and low LDH. Hyperprogressive disease was associated with worse OS and PFS. Fewer clinical studies have been completed on the tumor microenvironment and hypoxia, microsatellite instability/DNA mismatch repair, and microbiome and systematic analysis is difficult.

CONCLUSION

In our meta-analysis, different immune checkpoint factors were associated with different prognoses in HNSCC patients receiving immunotherapy. HPV, PD-L1, BMI, Alb, HPD, PS, GPS/mGPS, LDH, NLR, and PLR predicted the ICI outcome in HNSCC patients.

The analysis of the genotype of Sapovirus outbreaks in Zhejiang Province

BACKGROUND

Sapovirus (SaV) infection is increasing globally. Concurrently, several SaV-outbreaks were observed in children of Zhejiang province, China, in recent years, In this study, the genotypes of Sapovirus from seven outbreaks in the Zhejiang province were analysed.

METHODS

A total of 105 faecal samples were collected from children aged between 4 and 17 years from the Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention between October 2021 and February 2023. Genotypes were processed using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Sanger sequencing, while next-generation sequencing was used to generate a complete viral genome. Deduced amino acid sequences were analysed to detect VP1 gene mutations.

RESULTS

In total, 60 SaV-positive patients were detected at a 57.14% (60/105) positivity rate. Positive rates in the seven outbreaks were: 22.22% (2/9), 15.00% (3/20), 93.10% (27/29), 84.21% (16/19), 28.57% (2/7), 53.33% (8/15) and 33.33% (2/6), respectively. Four genotypes were identified in the seven outbreaks, of which, GI.1 accounted for 14.29% (1/7), GI.2 accounted for 14.29% (1/7), GI.6 and GII.5 accounted for 14.29% (1/7), and GI.6 accounted for 57.14% (4/7). All patients were children and outbreaks predominantly occurred in primary schools and during cold seasons. Additionally, the complete sequence from the GI.6 outbreak strain showed high homology (identity: 99.99%) with few common substitutions (Y300S, N302S and L8M) in VP1 protein.

CONCLUSIONS

SaV genotype diversity was observed in the seven outbreaks, with GI.6 being the main SaV genotype in Zhejiang province. It demonstrated high homology and may provide a platform for SaV prevention and control measures.

Reactive high-spin iron(IV)-oxo sites through dioxygen activation in a metal-organic framework

In nature, nonheme iron enzymes use dioxygen to generate high-spin iron(IV)=O species for a variety of oxygenation reactions. Although synthetic chemists have long sought to mimic this reactivity, the enzyme-like activation of O2 to form high-spin iron(IV) = O species remains an unrealized goal. Here, we report a metal-organic framework featuring iron(II) sites with a local structure similar to that in α-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases. The framework reacts with O2 at low temperatures to form high-spin iron(IV) = O species that are characterized using in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform, in situ and variable-field Mössbauer, Fe Kβ x-ray emission, and nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopies. In the presence of O2, the framework is competent for catalytic oxygenation of cyclohexane and the stoichiometric conversion of ethane to ethanol.

Importation of a novel Indian Ocean lineage carrying E1-K211E and E2-V264A of Chikungunya Virus in Zhejiang Province, China, in 2019

The chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is widespread. In Zhejiang province, China, CHIKV infection is often associated with travelers from tropical and subtropical countries. In the present study, three CHIKV isolates from serum samples of travelers in Zhejiang province in 2019 were sequenced, and phylogenetically analyzed to study their molecular characteristics. Sequence analysis showed that the non-structural protein and the structural protein had 37 and 28 amino acid mutations, respectively; no mutation site was found at the E1-A226 residue, which could increase the adaptability of CHIKV to Aedes albopictus. All three samples carried two mutations, namely, E1-K211E and E2-V264A, which were introduced to Bangladesh around late 2015 and Thailand in early 2017. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that these three CHIKVs were Indian Ocean lineage of the East Africa/Central/South Africa genotype (ECSA) and that the MF773566 strain from Bangladesh (Australia/Bangladesh 2017) had the closest evolutionary relationship. The three CHICKs imported into Zhejiang province in 2019 belonged to the ECSA genotype and had multiple amino acid variation sites. The variation in the three samples provides a certain reference for the subsequent research on CHIKV evolution.

Fabrication of chitosan/phenylboronic acid/SiO2 hydrogel composite silk fabrics for enhanced adsorption and controllable release on luteolin

Due to the growing demand for self-health and safety, eco-friendly health textile products with natural colors and pharmacological functionalities have gained considerable popularity. Rapid adsorption and controlled release of active molecules are important issues for functional health textiles. In this study, a functionalized chitosan-based hydrogel composite silk fabric was prepared using chitosan, 3-carboxyphenylboronic acid, and 3-(2, 3-epoxypropyl oxygen) propyl silane by dip-pad and vacuum freeze-drying techniques. The results showed that the incorporation of chitosan/phenylboronic/SiO2 hydrogel into silk fibers improved the UV protection capacity, mechanical properties, and adsorption properties of silk fabrics. The effects of various parameters on the luteolin adsorption properties of silk fabrics were discussed, including metal salt types, salt dosage, pH value, dyeing temperature, initial luteolin concentration, and dyeing time. Under the dyeing temperature of 60 °C and pH of 6.8, the luteolin exhaustion of the composite silk was more than that of the untreated silk, and the adsorption process followed the quasi-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model. Furthermore, the luteolin-dyed composite silk materials exhibited strong antioxidant activity and controllable release behavior with various pH levels. The as-prepared chitosan-hydrogel composite silk could be a promising material for the sustained release of drugs in medical and healthcare textiles.

Epidemiology of hand, foot and mouth disease and genomic surveillance of coxsackievirus A10 circulating in Zhejiang Province, China during 2017 to 2022

BACKGROUND

Coxsackievirus A10 (CA10) is one of the etiological agents associated with hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD).

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to perform a retrospective analysis of the molecular epidemiological characteristics and genetic features of HFMD associated with CA10 infections in Zhejiang Province from 2017 to 2022.

STUDY DESIGN

Epidemiologic features were summarized. Throat swab specimens were collected and tested. The VP1 regions were sequenced for genotyping. CA10 positive samples were isolated. Whole genomes of CA10 isolations were sequenced. Nucleotide and amino acid changes were characterized. Phylogenetic trees were constructed.

RESULTS

The number of HFMD cases fluctuated from 2017 to 2022. Children aged below 3 years accounted for the majority (66.29%) and boys were more frequently affected than girls. Cases peaked in June. The positivity rate of HEV was 62.69%. A total of 90 strains of CA10 were isolated and 53 genomes were obtained. All CA10 in this study could be assigned to two genogroups, C (C2) and F (F1 and F3).

CONCLUSION

The clinical manifestations of HFMD associated with HEV are complex and diverse. CA10 infection may be emerging as a new and major cause of HFMD because an upward trend was observed in the proportion of CA10 cases after the use of EV71 vaccines. Different genogroups of CA10 had different geographic distribution patterns. Surveillance should be strengthened and further comprehensive studies should be continued to provide a scientific basis for HFMD prevention and control.

Vitamin D and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a two-sample mendelian randomization study

BACKGROUND

A prospective study of multiple small samples found that idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is often accompanied by a deficiency in Vitamin D levels. However, the causal relationship between the two remains to be determined. Therefore, our study aims to investigate the causal effect of serum 1,25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) on the risk of IPF through a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.

METHODS

Through data analysis from two European ancestry-based genome-wide association studies (GWAS), including 401,460 individuals for 25(OH)D levels and 1028 individuals for IPF, we primarily employed inverse-variance weighted (IVW) to assess the causal effect of 25(OH)D levels on IPF risk. MR-Egger regression test was used to determine pleiotropy, and Cochran's Q test was conducted for heterogeneity testing. Leave-one-out analysis was conducted to examine the robustness of the results.

RESULTS

158 SNPs related to serum 25(OH)D were used as instrumental variables (IVs). The MR analyses revealed no evidence supporting a causal association between the level of circulating 25(OH)D and the risk of IPF. The IVW method [OR 0.891, 95%CI (0.523-1.518), P = 0.670]; There was no significant level of heterogeneity, pleiotropy and bias in IVs. Cochran's Q test for heterogeneity (MR Egger P = 0.081; IVW P = 0.089); MR-Egger regression for pleiotropy (P = 0.774).

CONCLUSIONS

This MR Study suggests that genetically predicted circulating vitamin D concentrations in the general population are not causally related to IPF.

Delta (B.1.617.2) inactivated vaccine candidate elicited neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and circulating variants in rhesus macaques

•The Delta inactivated vaccine constructed in this study has high immunogenicity and good safety. •The inactivated vaccine has good cross-protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants. •The vaccine exhibited high productivity and good genetic stability in production.

Dabie bandavirus infection induces macrophagic pyroptosis and this process is attenuated by platelets

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging tick-borne infection with a high mortality rate in humans, which is caused by Dabie bandavirus (DBV), formerly known as SFTS virus. Clinical manifestations of SFTS are characterized by high fever, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, hemorrhage, gastrointestinal symptoms, myalgia and local lymph node enlargement with up to 30% case fatality rates in human. Macrophage depletion in secondary lymphoid organs have important roles in the pathogenic process of fatal SFTS, but its exact cell death mechanism remains largely unknown. Here, we showed for the first time that DBV infection induced macrophagic pyroptosis, as evidenced by swollen cells, pore-forming structures, accumulation of gasdermin D N-terminal (GSDMD-NT) as well as the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and IL-1β in human macrophages. In addition to the upregulation of pyronecrosis genes, the expressions of pyroptosis-related proteins (GSDMD, caspase-1 and IL-1β) were also elevated. To be noted, platelets were found to play a protective role in DBV-derived pyroptosis. Transcriptome analysis and in vitro studies demonstrated that platelets significantly reduced the gene expressions and protein production of pro-pyroptotic markers and inflammatory cytokines in macrophages, whereas platelets conferred a propagation advantage for DBV. Collectively, this study demonstrates a novel mechanism by which DBV invasion triggers pyroptosis as a host defense to remove replication niches in human macrophages and platelets provide an additional layer to reduce cellular death. These findings may have important implications to the pathogenesis of lethal DBV, and provide new ideas for developing novel therapeutics to combat its infection.

Molecular epidemiological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 in imported cases from 2021 to 2022 in Zhejiang Province, China

Backgrounds

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been a global threat since 2020. The emergence of the Omicron variant in 2021, which replaced Delta as the dominant variant of concern, has had a significant adverse impact on the global economy and public health. During this period, Zhejiang Province implemented dynamic zeroing and focused on preventing imported cases. This study aimed to gain clear insight into the characteristics of imported COVID-19 cases in Zhejiang Province.

Methods

We conducted a systematic molecular epidemiological analysis of 146 imported cases between July 2021 and November 2022 in Zhejiang Province. Virus samples with cycle threshold (Ct) value less than 32 were performed next generation sequencing. Basing the whole genome sequence obtained after quality control and assembly of reads, the whole genome variation map and phylogenetic tree were constructed and further analyzed.

Results

Our study identified critical months and populations for surveillance, profiled the variation of various lineages, determined the evolutionary relationships among various lineages of SARS-CoV-2, and compared the results in Zhejiang with those obtained worldwide during this period.

Conclusion

The continuous molecular epidemiological surveillance of imported cases of COVID-19 in Zhejiang Province during 2021 to 2022 is consistent with the global epidemic trend.

Unveiling the complexity of nanodiamond structures

Understanding nanodiamond structures is of great scientific and practical interest. It has been a long-standing challenge to unravel the complexity underlying nanodiamond structures and to resolve the controversies surrounding their polymorphic forms. Here, we use transmission electron microscopy with high-resolution imaging, electron diffraction, multislice simulations, and other supplementary techniques to study the impacts of small sizes and defects on cubic diamond nanostructures. The experimental results show that common cubic diamond nanoparticles display the (200) forbidden reflections in their electron diffraction patterns, which makes them indistinguishable from new diamond (n-diamond). The multislice simulations demonstrate that cubic nanodiamonds smaller than 5 nm can present the d-spacing at 1.78 Å corresponding to the (200) forbidden reflections, and the relative intensity of these reflections increases as the particle size decreases. Our simulation results also reveal that defects, such as surface distortions, internal dislocations, and grain boundaries can also make the (200) forbidden reflections visible. These findings provide valuable insights into the diamond structural complexity at nanoscale, the impact of defects on nanodiamond structures, and the discovery of novel diamond structures.

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1.1 is Highly Resistant to Antibody Neutralization of Convalescent Serum from the Origin Strain

The emergence and rapid spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant (BA.1.1) has attracted global attention. The numerous mutations in the spike protein suggest that it may have altered susceptibility to immune protection elicited by the existing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. We used a live virus neutralization test and SARS-CoV-2 pseudotype vesicular stomatitis virus vector-based neutralization assay to assess the degree of immune escape efficiency of the original, Delta (B1.617.2), and Omicron strains against the serum antibodies from 64 unvaccinated patients who had recovered from COVID-19 and the results were strongly correlated. The convalescent serum neutralization was more markedly reduced against the Omicron variant (9.4-57.9-fold) than the Delta variant (2.0-4.5-fold) as compared with the original strain. Our results demonstrate the reduced fusion and notable immune evasion capabilities of the Omicron variants, highlighting the importance of accelerating the development of vaccines targeting them.

LoC-SERS Platform Integrated with the Signal Amplification Strategy toward Parkinson's Disease Diagnosis

Multiplexed detection of Parkinson's disease (PD) biomarkers is of great significance for early diagnosis and personalized treatment. In this study, we fabricated a robust surface-enhanced Raman scattering-enabled lab-on-a-chip (LoC-SERS) platform for simultaneous quantification of α-synuclein, phosphorylated tau protein 181, osteopontin, and osteocalcin. Herein, the antibody-DNA conjugate was designed to introduce the catalytic hairpin self-assembly (CHA) amplification into the protein detection. Au nano-stars (AuNSs) modified with Raman reporter molecules and hairpin-structure DNA 1 were applied as the SERS nanotags. Au-coated silicon nanocone array (Au/SiNCA) fabricated based on the maskless plasma etching-prepared high-density Si nanocone array (SiNCA) and surface ion sputtering was used as the capture substrate after the modification of hairpin-structure DNA 2. Benefitting from the antibody-DNA conjugate-induced CHA amplification, numerous AuNSs can be connected to the Au/SiNCA surface, which significantly amplify the plasmonic coupling effect for ultrasensitive SERS detection, and the limit of detection was less than the pg/mL level. The application of highly uniform Au/SiNCA and antibody-DNA conjugate endows the LoC-SERS platform excellent analytical performance, including superior reproducibility, satisfactory universality, and high sensitivity. In addition, a 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced PD mice model was established, and satisfactory results were obtained in real sample analysis with the LoC-SERS platform, which may be enlightening for exploiting protein biomarkers in PD monitoring.

Detecting the Neuraminidase R294K Mutation in Avian Influenza A (H7N9) Virus Using Reverse Transcription Droplet Digital PCR Method

The R294K mutation in neuraminidase (NA) causes resistance to oseltamivir in the avian influenza virus H7N9. Reverse transcription droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (RT-dd PCR) is a novel technique for detecting single-nucleotide polymorphisms. This study aimed to develop an RT-dd PCR method for detecting the R294K mutation in H7N9. Primers and dual probes were designed using the H7N9 NA gene and the annealing temperature was optimized at 58.0 °C. The sensitivity of our RT-dd PCR method was not significantly different from that of RT-qPCR (p = 0.625), but it could specifically detect R294 and 294K in H7N9. Among 89 clinical samples, 2 showed the R294K mutation. These two strains were evaluated using a neuraminidase inhibition test, which revealed that their sensitivity to oseltamivir was greatly reduced. The sensitivity and specificity of RT-dd PCR were similar to those of RT-qPCR and its accuracy was comparable to that of NGS. The RT-dd PCR method had the advantages of absolute quantitation, eliminating the need for a calibration standard curve, and being simpler in both experimental operation and result interpretation than NGS. Therefore, this RT-dd PCR method can be used to quantitatively detect the R294K mutation in H7N9.

A Self-Healable and Recyclable Zwitterionic Polyurethane Based on Dynamic Ionic Interactions

Polyurethanes with self-healing and reprocessing capabilities are promising in eco-friendly applications. Here, a self-healable and recyclable zwitterionic polyurethane (ZPU) was developed by introducing ionic bonds between protonated ammonium groups and sulfonic acid moieties. The structure of the synthesized ZPU was characterized by FTIR and XPS. The thermal, mechanical, self-healing and recyclable properties of ZPU were also investigated in detail. Compared with cationic polyurethane (CPU), ZPU shows similar thermal stability. The physical cross-linking network formed between zwitterion groups can dissipate strain energy as a weak dynamic bond, endowing ZPU with outstanding mechanical and elastic recovery properties, including the high tensile strength of 7.38 MPa, high elongation at a break of 980%, and fast elastic recovery ability. Additionally, ZPU exhibits a healing efficiency of over 93% at 50 °C for 1.5 h as a result of the dynamic reconstruction of reversible ionic bonds. Furthermore, ZPU can be well reprocessed by solution casting and hot-pressing with a recovery efficiency above 88%. The excellent mechanical properties, fast repairing capability, and good recyclability not only enable polyurethane with a promising application in protective coatings for textiles and paints but also make it a superior candidate as stretchable substrates for wearable electronic devices and strain sensors.

Non-spike and spike-specific memory T cell responses after the third dose of inactivated COVID-19 vaccine

Background

During the COVID-19 epidemic, vaccination has become the most safe and effective way to prevent severe illness and death. Inactivated vaccines are the most widely used type of COVID-19 vaccines in the world. In contrast to spike-based mRNA/protein COVID-19 vaccines, inactivated vaccines generate antibodies and T cell responses against both spike and non-spike antigens. However, the knowledge of inactivated vaccines in inducing non-spike-specific T cell response is very limited.

Methods

In this study, eighteen healthcare volunteers received a homogenous booster (third) dose of the CoronaVac vaccine at least 6 months after the second dose. CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cell responses against a peptide pool from wild-type (WT) non-spike proteins and spike peptide pools from WT, Delta, and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 were examined before and 1-2 weeks after the booster dose.

Results

The booster dose elevated cytokine response in CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells as well as expression of cytotoxic marker CD107a in CD8⁺ T cells in response to non-spike and spike antigens. The frequencies of cytokine-secreting non-spike-specific CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells correlated well with those of spike-specific from WT, Delta, and Omicron. Activation-induced markers (AIM) assay also revealed that booster vaccination elicited non-spike-specific CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cell responses. In addition, booster vaccination produced similar spike-specific AIM⁺CD4⁺ and AIM⁺CD8⁺ T cell responses to WT, Delta, and Omicron, indicting strong cross-reactivity of functional cellular response between WT and variants. Furthermore, booster vaccination induced effector memory phenotypes of spike-specific and non-spike-specific CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells.

Conclusions

These data suggest that the booster dose of inactive vaccines broadens both non-spike-specific and spike-specific T cell responses against SARS-CoV-2.

Identification of immune- and autophagy-related genes and effective diagnostic biomarkers in endometriosis: a bioinformatics analysis

Background

To identify autophagy- and immune-related hub genes affecting the diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis.

Methods

Gene expression data were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) (GSE11691 and GSE120103 for training, and GSE7305 for validation). By overlapping the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) module genes, and autophagy-related genes (ARGs), and immune-related genes (IRGs) separately, hub genes were identified using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO)and support vector machine recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE). The hub genes were analyzed by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses. A hub gene-prediction model was constructed and assessed using five-fold cross-validation via five supervised machine-learning algorithms: random forest, the sequential minimal optimization (SMO), K-nearest neighbours (IBK), C4.5 decision tree (J48), and logistics regression. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was adopted to assess the identification ability of characteristic genes.

Results

1,116 DEGs were obtained from the training cohort, and 22 endometriosis-related IRGs were identified by overlapping the 1,116 DEGs, 3,222 module genes, and 1,793 IRGs. Meanwhile, 45 endometriosis-related ARGs were obtained (1,928 ARGs). Subsequently, nine IRG hub genes (BST2, CCL13, CD86, CSF1, FAM3C, GREM1, ISG20, PSMB8, and S100A11) and nine ARG hub genes (GSK3A, HTR2B, RAB3GAP1, ARFIP2, BNIP3, CSF1, MAOA, PPP1R13L, and SH3GLB2) were obtained by LASSO and SVM-RFE. GO analysis indicated that the ARG hub genes responded to the regulation of autophagy and mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization, and KEGG enrichment analysis involved serotonergic and dopaminergic synapses. GO analysis also indicated that the IRG hub genes responded to the regulation of leukocyte proliferation and mononuclear cell migration, and KEGG analysis showed enrichment involved in viral protein interaction with cytokines and cytokine receptors. The AUC of the random-forest algorithm of ARGs was 0.975 in the training cohort and 0.940 in the validation cohort, and the AUC of the SMO algorithm of IRGs was 0.907 in the training cohort and 0.8 in the validation cohort.

Conclusions

Seventeen hub genes are closely associated with endometriosis. These genes are potential autophagy- and immune-related biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis.

Immunological non-inferiority and safety of a quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine versus two trivalent inactivated influenza vaccines in China: Results from two studies

WHO UNIVERSAL TRIAL NUMBERS (UTNS)

U1111-1174-4615 and U1111-1174-4698.

CLINICALTRIALS.GOV

NCT04210349 and NCT03430089.

Expanding the "Library" of Metal-Organic Frameworks for Enzyme Biomineralization

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are advanced platforms for enzyme immobilization. Enzymes can be entrapped via either diffusion (into pre-formed MOFs) or co-crystallization. Enzyme co-crystallization with specific metals/ligands in the aqueous phase, also known as biomineralization, minimizes the enzyme loss compared to organic phase co-crystallization, removes the size limitation on enzymes and substrates, and can potentially broaden the application of enzyme@MOF composites. However, not all enzymes are stable/functional in the presence of excess metal ions and/or ligands currently available for co-crystallization. Furthermore, most current biomineralization-based MOFs have limited (acid) pH stability, making it necessary to explore other metal-ligand combinations that can also immobilize enzymes. Here, we report our discovery on the combination of five metal ions and two ligands that can form biocomposites with two model enzymes differing in size and hydrophobicity in the aqueous phase under ambient conditions. Surprisingly, most of the formed composites are single- or multiphase crystals, even though the reaction phase is aqueous, with the rest as amorphous powders. All 20 enzyme@MOF composites showed good to excellent reusability and were stable under weakly acidic pH values. The stability under weakly basic conditions depended upon the selection of enzyme and metal-ligand combinations, yet for both enzymes, 3-4 MOFs offered decent stability under basic conditions. This work initiates the expansion of the current "library" of metal-ligand selection for encapsulating/biomineralizing large enzymes/enzyme clusters, leading to customized encapsulation of enzymes according to enzyme stability, functionality, and optimal pH.

Immunogenicity and immune-persistence of the CoronaVac or Covilo inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine: a 6-month population-based cohort study

Background

Owing to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the emergency use of different types of COVID-19 vaccines, there is an urgent need to consider the effectiveness and persistence of different COVID-19 vaccines.

Methods

We investigated the immunogenicity of CoronaVac and Covilo, two inactivated vaccines against COVID-19 that each contain inactivated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The levels of neutralizing antibodies to live SARS-CoV-2 and the inhibition rates of neutralizing antibodies to pseudovirus, as well as the immunoglobulin (Ig)G and IgM responses towards the spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) protein of SARS-CoV-2 at 180 days after two-dose vaccination were detected.

Results

The CoronaVac and Covilo vaccines induced similar antibody responses. Regarding neutralizing antibodies to live SARS-CoV-2, 77.9% of the CoronaVac vaccine recipients and 78.3% of the Covilo vaccine recipients (aged 18–59 years) seroconverted by 28 days after the second vaccine dose. Regarding SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies, 97.1% of the CoronaVac vaccine recipients and 95.7% of the Covilo vaccine recipients seroconverted by 28 days after the second vaccine dose. The inhibition rates of neutralizing antibody against a pseudovirus of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant were significantly lower compared with those against a pseudovirus of wildtype SARS-CoV-2. Associated with participant characteristics and antibody levels, persons in the older age group and with basic disease, especially a chronic respiratory disease, tended to have lower anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroconversion rates.

Conclusion

Antibodies that were elicited by these two inactivated COVID-19 vaccines appeared to wane following their peak after the second vaccine dose, but they persisted at detectable levels through 6 months after the second vaccine dose, and the effectiveness of these antibodies against the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 was lower than their effectiveness against wildtype SARS-CoV-2, which suggests that attention must be paid to the protective effectiveness, and its persistence, of COVID-19 vaccines on SARS-CoV-2 variants.

A scalable solid-state nanoporous network with atomic-level interaction design for carbon dioxide capture

Carbon capture and sequestration reduces carbon dioxide emissions and is critical in accomplishing carbon neutrality targets. Here, we demonstrate new sustainable, solid-state, polyamine-appended, cyanuric acid-stabilized melamine nanoporous networks (MNNs) via dynamic combinatorial chemistry (DCC) at the kilogram scale toward effective and high-capacity carbon dioxide capture. Polyamine-appended MNNs reaction mechanisms with carbon dioxide were elucidated with double-level DCC where two-dimensional heteronuclear chemical shift correlation nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was performed to demonstrate the interatomic interactions. We distinguished ammonium carbamate pairs and a mix of ammonium carbamate and carbamic acid during carbon dioxide chemisorption. The coordination of polyamine and cyanuric acid modification endows MNNs with high adsorption capacity (1.82 millimoles per gram at 1 bar), fast adsorption time (less than 1 minute), low price, and extraordinary stability to cycling by flue gas. This work creates a general industrialization method toward carbon dioxide capture via DCC atomic-level design strategies.

An external quality assessment for the molecular testing of the SARS-CoV-2 virus genome in Zhejiang Province, China

The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the rapid expansion of laboratories that conduct SARS-CoV-2 tests. A provincial external quality assessment (EQA) scheme on SARS-CoV-2 tests was organized by Zhejiang Provincial CDC to assess the accuracy of the tests in individual CDC municipal and county laboratories in Zhejiang Province, China. Three positive samples in high, medium, and low concentrations, respectively, were prepared using the serial dilutions from the culture with the viral titer concentration of 1×10^6.3 TCID50/mL, and one negative sample were included. A total of 93 laboratories participated, contributing results from 36 distinct combinations of nucleic acid extraction methods and PCR reagents. There was 100% concordance among all laboratories for all EQA samples, and no false-positive or false-negative results were observed. The EQA survey provides confidence in the identification of infected individuals or asymptomatic populations and assurance for clinical and public health decision-making based on test results.

Covalent Organic Frameworks with Irreversible Linkages via Reductive Cyclization of Imines

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) show great potential for many advanced applications on account of their structural uniqueness. To address the synthetic challenges, facile chemical routes to engineer the porosity, crystallinity, and functionality of COFs are highly sought after. Herein, we report a synthetic approach that employs the Cadogan reaction to introduce nitrogen-containing heterocycles as the linkages in the framework. Irreversible indazole and benzimidazolylidene (BIY) linkages are introduced into COFs for the first time via phosphine-induced reductive cyclization of the common imine linkages following either stepwise or one-pot reaction protocols. The successful linkage transformation introduces new functionalities, as demonstrated in the case of BIY-COF, which displays excellent intrinsic proton conductivity without the need of impregnation with external proton transfer reagents. Such a general strategy will open the window to a broader class of functional porous crystalline materials.

An Up-To-Date Investigation Into the Correlation Between Proton Pump Inhibitor Use and the Clinical Efficacy of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Advanced Solid Cancers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background

Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized the current anticancer therapies, a considerable proportion of patients are found to hardly benefit from these drugs. Accumulating studies have demonstrated that concomitant proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use may affect the clinical efficacy of ICIs; however, their results are inconsistent. In this study, based on updated evidence, we aimed to perform a meta-analysis to clarify the prognostic significance of PPI use in advanced solid cancer patients receiving ICI therapy.

Methods

Eligible literature was searched using PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, EMBASE, and other network resources before July 2021. Clinical outcome was evaluated using overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). The correlation of PPI use with OS or PFS was determined based on hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results

A total of 17 studies enrolling 9,978 ICI-treated cancer patients were included in our meta-analysis. The global analysis demonstrated that PPI use was significantly correlated with worse OS [HR = 1.29 (1.10-1.50)] instead of PFS [HR = 1.19 (0.98-1.44)] in solid cancer patients receiving ICI therapy. In a subgroup analysis, the negative correlation of PPI use with ICI efficacy was significant in patients with non-small cell lung cancer [PFS, HR = 1.27 (1.10-1.47)] and urothelial carcinoma [OS, HR = 1.55 (1.31-1.84), PFS, HR = 1.52 (1.13-2.06)] and mixed cohorts containing multiple cancer types [OS, HR = 1.40 (1.16-1.69)], while an opposite result was observed in the PFS of patients with melanoma [HR = 0.48 (0.25-0.90)]. Moreover, the unfavorable prognostic impact of PPI use was also significant in patients over 65 years old [OS, HR = 1.28 (1.05-1.55), PFS, HR = 1.32 (1.12-1.56)] or those receiving anti-PD-1 [OS, HR = 1.37 (1.04-1.79)] or anti-PD-L1 therapies (OS, HR = 1.49 (1.30-1.69), PFS, HR = 1.34 (1.20-1.50). Finally, PPI use was significantly correlated with a worse prognosis in patients receiving PPIs 30 days before and/or after ICI initiation (OS, HR = 1.38 (1.18-1.62), PFS, HR = 1.23 (1.06-1.43)).

Conclusion

Although our global analysis revealed PPI use was not correlated with the PFS of ICI-treated patients, considering the results of our subgroup analysis, PPIs should be still cautiously used shortly before or during ICI therapy. Furthermore, more clinical validations and related mechanism investigations are of great necessity to clarify the clinical correlation of PPI use with ICI efficacy.

Systematic Review Registration

[https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/], PROSPERO [No. CRD42021243707].

Polyarylether-Based 2D Covalent-Organic Frameworks with In-Plane D-A Structures and Tunable Energy Levels for Energy Storage

The robust fully conjugated covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are emerging as a novel type of semi-conductive COFs for optoelectronic and energy devices due to their controllable architectures and easily tunable the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest occupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels. However, the carrier mobility of such materials is still beyond requirements due to limited π-conjugation. In this study, a series of new polyarylether-based COFs are rationally synthesized via a direct reaction between hexadecafluorophthalocyanine (electron acceptor) and octahydroxyphthalocyanine (electron donor). These COFs have typical crystalline layered structures, narrow band gaps as low as ≈0.65 eV and ultra-low resistance (1.31 × 10^-6 S cm^-1 ). Such COFs can be composed of two different metal-sites and contribute improved carrier mobility via layer-altered staking mode according to density functional theory calculation. Due to the narrow pore size of 1.4 nm and promising conductivity, such COFs and electrochemically exfoliated graphene based free-standing films are fabricated for in-plane micro-supercapacitors, which demonstrate excellent volumetric capacitances (28.1 F cm^-3 ) and excellent stability of 10 000 charge-discharge cycling in acidic electrolyte. This study provides a new approach toward dioxin-linked COFs with donor-acceptor structure and easily tunable energy levels for versatile energy storage and optoelectronic devices.

Deletion in KRT75L4 linked to frizzle feather in Xiushui Yellow Chickens

Bird feathers are the product of interactions between natural and artificial selection. Feather-related traits are important for chicken selection and breeding. Frizzle feather is characterized by the abnormally development of feathers in chickens. In the current study, frizzle feather characteristics were observed in a local breed called Xiushui Yellow Chicken in Jiangxi, China. To determine the molecular mechanisms that underlie frizzle feather in Xiushui Yellow Chicken, four populations of three breeds (Xiushui Yellow Chicken with frizzle feathers, Xiushui Yellow Chicken with normal feathers, Guangfeng White-Ear Yellow Chicken, and Ningdu Yellow Chicken) were selected for whole-genome resequencing. Using a comparative genome strategy and genome-wide association study, a missense mutation (g.5281494A>G) and a 15-bp deletion (g.5285437-5285451delGATGCCGGCAGGACG) in KRT75L4 were identified as candidate mutations associated with frizzle feather in Xiushui Yellow Chicken. Based on genotyping performed in a large Xiushui Yellow Chicken population, the g.5285437-5285451delGATGCCGGCAGGACG mutation in KRT75L4 was confirmed as the putative causative mutation of frizzle feather. These results deepen the understanding of the molecular mechanisms responsible for frizzle feather, as well as facilitating the molecular detection and selection of the feather phenotype in Xiushui Yellow Chickens.

Solution-processable and functionalizable ultra-high molecular weight polymers via topochemical synthesis

Topochemical polymerization reactions hold the promise of producing ultra-high molecular weight crystalline polymers. However, the totality of topochemical polymerization reactions has failed to produce ultra-high molecular weight polymers that are both soluble and display variable functionality, which are restrained by the crystal-packing and reactivity requirements on their respective monomers in the solid state. Herein, we demonstrate the topochemical polymerization reaction of a family of para-azaquinodimethane compounds that undergo facile visible light and thermally initiated polymerization in the solid state, allowing for the first determination of a topochemical polymer crystal structure resolved via the cryoelectron microscopy technique of microcrystal electron diffraction. The topochemical polymerization reaction also displays excellent functional group tolerance, accommodating both solubilizing side chains and reactive groups that allow for post-polymerization functionalization. The thus-produced soluble ultra-high molecular weight polymers display superior capacitive energy storage properties. This study overcomes several synthetic and characterization challenges amongst topochemical polymerization reactions, representing a critical step toward their broader application.

Chemically Stable Polyarylether-Based Metallophthalocyanine Frameworks with High Carrier Mobilities for Capacitive Energy Storage

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with efficient charge transport and exceptional chemical stability are emerging as an import class of semiconducting materials for opto-/electronic devices and energy-related applications. However, the limited synthetic chemistry to access such materials and the lack of mechanistic understanding of carrier mobility greatly hinder their practical applications. Herein, we report the synthesis of three chemically stable polyarylether-based metallophthalocyanine COFs (PAE-PcM, M = Cu, Ni, and Co) and facile in situ growth of their thin films on various substrates (i.e., SiO₂/Si, ITO, quartz) under solvothermal conditions. We show that PAE-PcM COFs thin films with van der Waals layered structures exhibit p-type semiconducting properties with the intrinsic mobility up to ∼19.4 cm² V^-1 s^-1 and 4 orders of magnitude of increase in conductivity for PAE-PcCu film (0.2 S m^-1) after iodine doping. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the carrier transport in the framework is anisotropic, with the out-of-plane hole transport along columnar stacked phthalocyanine more favorable. Furthermore, PAE-PcCo shows the redox behavior maximumly contributes ∼88.5% of its capacitance performance, giving rise to a high surface area normalized capacitance of ∼19 μF cm^-2. Overall, this work not only offers fundamental understandings of electronic properties of polyarylether-based 2D COFs but also paves the way for their energy-related applications.

Molecular Characterization of Dengue Virus Type 1 in Zhejiang in 2019

Dengue fever (DF) is a mosquito-borne viral disease caused by the dengue virus (DENV), which is considered one of the most important arboviruses in the world. This study aimed to determine the molecular, epidemiological, and phylogenetic characterization of 174 DENV-1 (132 indigenous cases and 42 imported cases) isolated from nine municipalities of Zhejiang province in 2019. The analyses of phylogenetics, haplotypes, and amino acid substitutions were conducted based on the full envelope (E) gene sequences. Sixty-four haplotypes were clustered into two main clades, with isolates from Wenzhou and Taizhou mainly clustered into clade I and Hangzhou and Ningbo cases clustered into clade II. Six sites of amino acid substitutions including A88T, F96L, M297V, T339S, I378L, and V436I were only observed in strains isolated from Ningbo and Hangzhou, while two sites of amino acid substitutions including V312L and V380I were observed in strains from Taizhou and Wenzhou. In our study, strains were in high homology with the strains from Southeast Asian countries, thus cases in Zhejiang were probably imported from Southeast Asian countries. The strains from different regions in Zhejiang were clustered in the same branch which may be caused by the continuous import of cases in the same country at different time periods. After the continuous outbreak in Zhejiang province, some sites of the dengue gene have mutated, and the effects need further study.

Quantitative analysis methods for studying fenestrations in liver sinusoidal endothelial cells. A comparative study

Liver Sinusoidal Endothelial Cells (LSEC) line the hepatic vasculature providing blood filtration via transmembrane nanopores called fenestrations. These structures are 50-300 nm in diameter, which is below the resolution limit of a conventional light microscopy. To date, there is no standardized method of fenestration image analysis. With this study, we provide and compare three different approaches: manual measurements, a semi-automatic (threshold-based) method, and an automatic method based on user-friendly open source machine learning software. Images were obtained using three super resolution techniques - atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and structured illumination microscopy (SIM). Parameters describing fenestrations such as diameter, area, roundness, frequency, and porosity were measured. Finally, we studied the user bias by comparison of the data obtained by five different users applying provided analysis methods.

Simultaneous Detection of Ebola Virus and Pathogens Associated With Hemorrhagic Fever by an Oligonucleotide Microarray

Ebola virus infection causes severe hemorrhagic fever, and its mortality rates varied from 25 to 90% in the previous outbreaks. The highly infectious and lethal nature of this virus highlights the need for reliable and sensitive diagnostic methods to distinguish it from other diseases present with similar clinical symptoms. Based on multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and oligonucleotide microarray technology, a cost-effective, multipathogen and high-throughput method was developed for simultaneous detection of Ebola virus and other pathogens associated with hemorrhagic fever, including Marburg virus, Lassa fever virus, Junin virus, Machupo virus, Rift Valley fever virus, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, malaria parasite, hantavirus, severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus, dengue virus, yellow fever virus, Chikungunya virus, influenza A virus, and influenza B virus. This assay had an excellent specificity for target pathogens, without overlap signal between the probes. The limit of detection was approximately 10³ pathogen copies/μl. A total of 60 positive nucleic acid samples for different pathogens were detected, a concordance of 100% was observed between microarray assay and real-time PCR analysis. Consequently, the described oligonucleotide microarray may be specific and sensitive assay for diagnosis and surveillance of infections caused by Ebola virus and other species of hemorrhagic fever pathogens.

Preparation and Characterization of Optically Active Polyurethane from Rotatory Binaphthol Monomer and Polyurethane Prepolymer

Optically active polymers are promising multifunctional materials with great application potentials. Herein, environmentally friendly optically active polyurethanes (OPUs) were obtained by introducing rotatory binaphthol monomer to polyurethane. The influence of binaphthol monomer content on the structure, mechanical properties, infrared emissivity, and thermal insulation of OPUs was studied intensively. Structure characterization indicated that the optically active polyurethanes have been successfully synthesized. The OPU synthesized with BIMOL and BDO at the mole ratio of 1:1 presented better thermal resistance. In addition, OPUs showed enhanced tensile strength and stretchability with the increase of BINOL content to a certain extent due to its rigid structural features and high molecular weight. The optically active polyurethanes showed lower infrared emissivity values (8-14 μm) than waterborne polyurethane (WPU), and the infrared emissivity decreased from 0.850 to 0.572 as the content of the BINOL monomer increased. Moreover, OPU4 exhibited the best heat insulation and cooling ability with about a 7 °C temperature difference. The thus-synthesized optically active polyurethanes provide an effective solution for developing highly effective thermal insulation materials.

Etiology and clinical characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 and other human coronaviruses among children in Zhejiang Province, China 2017-2019

BACKGROUND

A novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) emerging has put global public health institutes on high alert. Little is known about the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of human coronaviruses infections in relation to infections with other respiratory viruses.

METHODS

From February 2017 to December 2019, 3660 respiratory samples submitted to Zhejiang Children Hospital with acute respiratory symptoms were tested for four human coronaviruses RNA by a novel two-tube multiplex reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assays. Samples were also screened for the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 by reverse transcription-PCR analysis.

RESULTS

Coronavirus RNAs were detected in 144 (3.93%) specimens: HCoV-HKU1 in 38 specimens, HCoV-NL63 in 62 specimens, HCoV-OC43 in 38 specimens and HCoV-229E in 8 specimens. Genomes for SARS-CoV-2 were absent in all specimens by RT-PCR analysis during the study period. The majority of HCoV infections occurred during fall months. No significant differences in gender, sample type, year were seen across species. 37.5 to 52.6% of coronaviruses detected were in specimens testing positive for other respiratory viruses. Phylogenic analysis identified that Zhejiang coronaviruses belong to multiple lineages of the coronaviruses circulating in other countries and areas.

CONCLUSION

Common HCoVs may have annual peaks of circulation in fall months in the Zhejiang province, China. Genetic relatedness to the coronaviruses in other regions suggests further surveillance on human coronaviruses in clinical samples are clearly needed to understand their patterns of activity and role in the emergence of novel coronaviruses.

Imaging Sequences for Hyperpolarized Solids

Hyperpolarization is one of the approaches to enhance Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) signal by increasing the population difference between the nuclear spin states. Imaging hyperpolarized solids opens up extensive possibilities, yet is challenging to perform. The highly populated state is normally not replenishable to the initial polarization level by spin-lattice relaxation, which regular MRI sequences rely on. This makes it necessary to carefully "budget" the polarization to optimize the image quality. In this paper, we present a theoretical framework to address such challenge under the assumption of either variable flip angles or a constant flip angle. In addition, we analyze the gradient arrangement to perform fast imaging to overcome intrinsic short decoherence in solids. Hyperpolarized diamonds imaging is demonstrated as a prototypical platform to test the theory.

Novel Terahertz Spectroscopy Technology for Crystallinity and Crystal Structure Analysis of Cellulose

Crystallinity is an essential indicator for evaluating the quality of fiber materials. Terahertz spectroscopy technology has excellent penetrability, no harmful substances, and commendable detection capability of absorption characteristics. The terahertz spectroscopy technology has great application potential in the field of fiber material research, especially for the characterization of the crystallinity of cellulose. In this work, the absorption peak of wood cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, wood nano cellulose, and cotton nano cellulose were probed in the terahertz band to calculate the crystallinity, and the result compared with XRD and FT-IR analysis. The vibration model of cellulose molecular motion was obtained by density functional theory. The results showed that the average length of wood cellulose (WC) single fiber was 300 μm. The microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was bar-like, and the average length was 20 μm. The cotton cellulose nanofiber (C-CNF) was a single fibrous substance with a length of 50 μm, while the wood cellulose nanofiber (W-CNF) was with a length of 250 μm. The crystallinity of cellulose samples in THz was calculated as follows: 73% for WC, 78% for MCC, 85% for W-CNF, and 90% for C-CNF. The crystallinity values were obtained by the three methods which were different to some extent. The absorption peak of the terahertz spectra was most obvious when the samples thickness was 1 mm and mixed mass ratio of the polyethylene and cellulose was 1:1. The degree of crystallinity was proportional to the terahertz absorption coefficients of cellulose, the five-movement models of cellulose molecules corresponded to the five absorption peak positions of cellulose.

Hollow Mesoporous Microspheres Coating for Super-Hydrophobicity Wood with High Thermostability and Abrasion Performance

Super-hydrophobic phenomena generally exist in nature, and wood can also obtain hydrophobicity by specific processing on the surface, being like the construction of microscale rough surface or decoration with low surface energy materials. In this research, the formation of hydrophobic layers on wood surface was investigated without breaking the wood's original structure. The core-shell structure particles were prepared by penetrating orthosilicate and polystyrene into the hollow mesoporous microsphere structure with tetrahydrofuran. A wood sample was coated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) resin layer to enhance the adhesion of nano and micron hollow mesoporous microsphere on its surface. According to the surface structure of super-hydrophobic subjects in nature, the nano and micron hollow mesoporous microsphere were sprayed with different ratios several times to form a hydrophobic surface. The water contact angle could reach 150°, revealing that the hydrophobic behavior of the nano and micron hollow mesoporous microsphere coating was achieved. The microstructures of wood samples were examined by the scanning electron microscopy, and the chemical functional groups were investigated by the Fourier transform infrared; both verified that the hydrophobic surface was successfully coated. The thermogravimetric examination revealed the improved thermal stability of the hydrophobic wood. The scratch test was used to measure the abrasion resistance of the nano and micron hollow mesoporous microsphere coatings on wood surface. It was suggested that the nano and micron hollow mesoporous microsphere coating was an effective method to fabricate extremely hydrophobic wood products.