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Parvovirus B19 (B19V) infection can cause pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is a preferred treatment option. From July 2019 to March 2022, four patients with HIV infection were admitted to Guangzhou Eighth People’s Hospital with dizziness and fatigue and were diagnosed with PRCA. Blood investigations revealed severe anemia and the B19V genome. Therefore, the four patients were diagnosed with B19V-induced PRCA. All four patients received red blood cell transfusion in the setting of antiretroviral therapy, and two of the four patients received intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). After 3–7 months of treatment, all four patients recovered, although two did not receive IVIG. This suggests that IVIG is not always necessary for the treatment of PRCA in patients with HIV infection and that effective antiretroviral therapy and immunological reconstitution play an important role in the eradication of parvovirus.

The effects of radiofrequency (RF) heating on the activity, structure, and surface hydrophobicity of mushroom polyphenol oxidase (PPO) were examined and four kinetic models of inactivation (First-order model, Weibull model, Logistic model and Bi-phasic model) were fitted. The results demonstrated that RF heating could effectively inactivate PPO, logistic and Bi-phasic model attained the best fit. The circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence spectroscopy spectra revealed that RF heating at 65 °C for 180 s caused changes in the secondary and tertiary structures of PPO, reducing the α-helix content from 38.5% to 30.3% and red-shifting the emission peak wavelength of the maximum fluorescence intensity from 318 nm to 321 nm. RF heating also caused a significant enhancement of the surface hydrophobicity of the PPO (P < 0.05). The color test results showed that RF heating could inhibit the browning of mushrooms (P < 0.05). Thus, RF heating is an effective technique for the inactivation of enzymes and further research should be performed on RF heating applications to inactivate enzymes in the food industry.

Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestrisspores have strong stress resistance, and their spores cannot be eliminated by pasteurization, which is considered a major threat to the beverage industry. In this study, based on the spore control strategy of “germinate to eradicate”, the spores were germinated by multi-frequency thermosonication (MFTS) combined with germinant. The process parameters were optimized, and the underlying mechanism was explored. The results showed that when A. acidoterrestrisspores were treated with MFTS (60 °C, 20/40/50 kHz) and 300 mM AGFK for 30 min, incubated at 45 °C for 2 h, and heated to 80 °C for 20 min, a maximum 1.4 ± 0.04 log reduction can be achieved. The spores showed the darkest phase and the best germination effect after MFTS treatment, but leakage of proteins and electrolytes inside the spores were also caused. The surface of the vegetative cells formed by spore after MFTS treatment shrank extensively, and the shape was irregular. Spore resistance was reduced, making them more likely to die after pasteurization. This study could provide theoretical evidence for the technological innovation and practical application of A. acidoterrestrisspores hazard control in the beverage industry.

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the formation of atherosclerotic plaques, while macrophages as key players in plaque progression and destabilization are promising targets for atherosclerotic plaque imaging. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CE-MRI) has emerged as a powerful noninvasive imaging technique for the evaluation of atherosclerotic plaques within arterial walls. However, the visualization of macrophages within atherosclerotic plaques presents considerable challenges due to the intricate pathophysiology of the disease and the dynamic behavior of these cells. Biocompatible ferrite nanoparticles with diverse surface ligands possess the potential to exhibit distinct relaxivity and cellular affinity, enabling improved imaging capabilities for macrophages in atherosclerosis. In this work, we report macrophage-affinity nanoparticles for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of atherosclerosis via tailoring nanoparticle surface coating. The ultrasmall zinc ferrite nanoparticles (Zn0.4Fe2.6O4) as T1contrast agents were synthesized and modified with dopamine, 3,4-dihydroxyhydrocinnamic acid, and phosphorylated polyethylene glycol to adjust their surface charges to be positively, negatively, and neutrally charged, respectively. In vitro MRI evaluation shows that the T1relaxivity for different surface charged Zn0.4Fe2.6O4nanoparticles was three higher than that of the clinically used Gd-DTPA. Furthermore, in vivo atherosclerotic plaque MR imaging indicates that positively charged Zn0.4Fe2.6O4showed superior MRI efficacy on carotid atherosclerosis than the other two, which is ascribed to high affinity to macrophages of positively charged nanoparticles. This work provides improved diagnostic capability and a better understanding of the molecular imaging of atherosclerosis.

This study compares the performances of privatized banks from 43 countries during 1992–2007 by using two matching theories, Nearest-Neighbor Matching and Mahalanobis Metric Matching. The evidence demonstrates the following: first, the privatized banks outperform non-privatized banks in terms of return on equity, net interest margin and non-performance loan but are tied in terms of return on asset; second, in most cases, full privatization is more effective than partial privatization in improving bank performance; third, the results demonstrate that privatization through asset sales yield a better performance.