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Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses cause high mortality rates in wild birds and farmed poultry, and their potential for adaptation to humans remains a major pandemic threat (2). In [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic is a huge challenge to education systems. Most governments around the world have temporarily closed schools, universities, and colleges. At the same time, teachers and students are encouraged to use the online and distance learning programs and platforms as an alternative. In the present study, we proposed a series of innovative solutions in Medical Molecular Biology education during the COVID-19 pandemic in China, including a flipped classroom model, live streaming course, chat Apps, and scientific papers on COVID-19 as additional learning material. Our results demonstrated that these innovations not only help teachers to maintain the teaching process as usual but also be useful for protecting students from psychological trauma. Our study indicates that online education with a well-designed workflow for conducting provides an alternative approach for teachers to maintain quality education during the onset of the emerging crisis.

The 2022 multicountry monkeypox outbreak has been linked primarily to intimate contact among men who have sex with men (1,2). We describe a case of monkeypox in a traveler who [...]

An integrated and projected‐based laboratory course was described, integrating interconnected knowledge points and biochemistry and molecular biology techniques on a research project‐based system. The program, which served as an essential extension of theoretical courses to practice, was conducted with a sophomore of basic medical science who had completed the course in medical biochemistry and molecular biology. This course engaged students in learning "genetic manipulation" and "recombinant DNA technology" to understand the target gene's role in disease mechanics, thus altering evaluation and treatment for clinical disease. Students could master applied and advanced techniques, such as cell culture, transfection, inducing exogenous fusion protein expression, purifying protein and its concentration assay, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and western bot analysis. This laboratory exercise links laboratory practices with the methods of current basic research. Students need to complete the experimental design report and laboratory report, which could be advantageous for improving their ability to write lab summaries and scientific papers in the future. The reliability and validity analyses were conducted on the questionnaire, and we examined students' satisfaction with the course and their gains from the course. The student feedback was generally positive, indicating that the exercise helped consolidate theoretical knowledge, increase scientific research enthusiasm, and provide a powerful tool to be a better person and make informed decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In December 2020, a 61-year-old woman living with HIV/AIDS was tested for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection at a community testing center in California, USA; she produced [...]

Measles is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable, systemic viral disease caused by measles virus (MV), an enveloped, single-stranded, negativesense RNA virus in the genus Morbillivirus, family Paramyxoviridae. MV may cause persistent [...]

Real-time reverse transcription PCR (rRT-PCR) is the standard diagnostic method for coronavirus disease 2019, but it cannot differentiate between actively replicating and inactive virus. Active replication is a critical factor [...]

The ability of clinical laboratories to meet the demand for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing is critical for reducing coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-related illness, death, and economic impact. [...]

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a serious threat to public health and is accompanied by increased morbidity and mortality worldwide. Neuronal PAS domain protein2 (NPAS2) has been confirmed as an oncogene in LUAD; however, little is known about its molecular mechanism. Here, the expression level of NPAS2 was detected in LUAD cell lines and 16HBE cells. Gain‐ and loss‐of‐function experiments were performed. Cell Counting Kit‐8, colony formation, flow cytometry, wound‐healing and Transwell assays were conducted to assess cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion, respectively. Reprogramming of glucose metabolism was evaluated via oxygen consumption rate (OCR), complexes activities, lactic production and glucose consumption. The expression of critical proteins was examined by western blot. We demonstrated aberrant upregulation of NPAS2 and β‐arrestin‐1 (ARRB1) in LUAD cell lines. ARRB1 was found to be a critical transcription factor of NPAS2 with binding sites within the promoter region of NPAS2, thereby causing its transcriptional activation. Functional experiments revealed that NPAS2 depletion significantly inhibited the malignant behaviours of A549 cells by suppressing cell proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial‐mesenchymal transition and promoting cell apoptosis. Meanwhile, NPAS2 depletion increased OCR and activities of complexes (I, II, III and V), and reduced lactic acid production and glucose uptake in A549 cells, indicating that NPAS2 depletion inhibited aerobic glycolysis, accompanied by reduced expression of glycolytic enzymes. However, the changes caused by NPAS2 knockdown were partly restored by ARRB1 overexpression. In conclusion, our study suggests that ARRB1 could transcriptionally activate NPAS2, facilitating malignant activities and glycolysis, and ultimately promoting the progression of LUAD, proving a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of LUAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dengue virus (DENV) is a reemerging arbovirus with an expansive worldwide range (1). Recent modeling studies suggest wider dengue circulation in Africa than previously recognized (2). In addition, both major [...]

The rapid development and popularization of smart phones and mobile internet has created a new social lifestyle, and correspondingly prompts the transformation of network teaching from desktop computer to mobile teaching. This article has compared the pros and cons of Tsinghua Education Online and WeChat official account (WOA) in fulfilling teaching functions. We also described the construction of WOA platform with the example of WOA-based teaching in biochemistry and molecular biology. The platform can establish nearly 75 menu catalogs and 2,250 items, which is capable for the publication of any types of teaching materials and information. The WOA teaching is well accepted and becomes popular in China due to the free, interactive, attractive, adaptable, portable, sustainable, and more participatory teaching styles.

High specific capacity and long cycle life are the key to high-performance lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries, but they are hard to achieve simultaneously due to the notorious polysulfide shuttle effect. Transition metal oxide nanocatalysts are expected to help address the above issue, but their low conductivity and cumbersome synthesis process limit their application. Here, we propose a defect engineering strategy to induce electron rearrangement by heteroatom doping. Boron-doped spinel-type oxide (B-ZnCo2O4‑x) is synthesized by a two-step hydrothermal method for separator modification. The boron-produced oxygen vacancy (OV) increases unsaturated sites by changing the electron cloud density, and therefore, the B-ZnCo2O4‑x nanocatalyst can reduce the reaction energy barrier and accelerate the nucleation and activation rate of Li2S. Meanwhile, the unique pore defects effectively increase the Li+ flux and ensure battery performance at a high rate and high sulfur loading. The battery equipped with a B-ZnCo2O4‑x-modified separator delivered an initial specific capacity of 1108 mAh g–1 at 0.2 C and a capacity retention rate of 80.4% at 0.5 C after 200 cycles. In particular, at a high sulfur loading of 10.0 mg cm–2, the battery yielded a first-cycle capacity of 1321.9 mAh g–1. This work demonstrates that boron-doping-enabled defect engineering is an effective strategy to improve the catalytic activity of transition metal oxides for application in Li–S batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To promote polysulfide conversion in lithium sulfur batteries (LSB) and alleviate the shuttle effect, we designed and fabricated a novel catalyst of vanadium-doped graphite phase carbon nitride with nitrogen defects (V@gC3N4-ND) and high vanadium loading (3.46 at%) by defect engineering and two-step pyrolysis. Employing a V@gC3N4-ND modified separator, the LSB yielded capacities of 934 mA h g−1 at 1C and 404 mA h g−1 at 4C; the former was retained by 61% and 45% after 500 and 1000 cycles, respectively. In particular, the initial capacity of the battery reached 969 mA h g−1 at a sulfur loading of 10.0 mg cm−2. This work provides a facile route to the preparation of high-loading vanadium active site catalysts with nitrogen defects in the support, which are promising for high performance LSB applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the "shuttle effect" and low conversion kinetics of polysulfides, the cycle stability of lithium sulfur (Li−S) battery is unsatisfactory, which hinders its practical application. The Mott‐Schottky heterostructures for Li−S batteries not only provide more catalytic/adsorption active sites, but also facilitate electrons transport by a built‐in electric field, which are both beneficial for polysulfides conversion and long‐term cycle stability. Here, MXene@WS2 heterostructure was constructed by in‐situ hydrothermal growth for separator modification. In‐depth ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy and ultraviolet visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy analysis reveals that there is an energy band difference between MXene and WS2, confirming the heterostructure nature of MXene@WS2. DFT calculations indicate that the Mott‐Schottky MXene@WS2 heterostructure can effectively promote electron transfer, improve the multi‐step cathodic reaction kinetics, and further enhance polysulfides conversion. The built‐in electric field of the heterostructure plays an important role in reducing the energy barrier of polysulfides conversion. Thermodynamic studies reveal the best stability of MXene@WS2 during polysulfides adsorption. As a result, the Li−S battery with MXene@WS2 modified separator exhibits high specific capacity (1613.7 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C) and excellent cycling stability (2000 cycles with 0.0286 % decay per cycle at 2 C). Even at a high sulfur loading of 6.3 mg cm−2, the specific capacity could be retained by 60.0 % after 240 cycles at 0.3 C. This work provides deep structural and thermodynamic insights into MXene@WS2 heterostructure and its promising prospect of application in high performance Li−S batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interferon-alpha (IFN-[alpha]) and nucleot(s)ide analogs (NAs) are first-line drugs for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections. Generally, NAs target the reverse transcription of HBV pregenomic RNA, but they cannot eliminate covalently-closed-circular DNA (cccDNA). Although effective treatment with NAs can dramatically decrease HBV proteins and DNA loads, and even promote serological conversion, cccDNA persists in the nucleus of hepatocytes due to the lack of effective anti-cccDNA drugs. Of the medications currently available, only IFN-[alpha] can potentially target cccDNA. However, the clinical effects of eradicating cccDNA using IFN-[alpha] in the hepatocytes of patients with HBV are not proficient as well as expected and are not well understood. Herein, we review the anti-HBV mechanisms of IFN-[alpha] involving cccDNA modification as the most promising approaches to cure HBV infection. We expect to find indications of promising areas of research that require further study to eliminate cccDNA of HBV in patients. Keywords: Hepatitis B virus, interferon-[alpha], Covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), Chronic HBV infection, Deamination, Author(s): Gang Wang[sup.1], Jun Guan[sup.1], Nazif U. Khan[sup.1], Guojun Li[sup.2,3], Junwei Shao[sup.1], Qihui Zhou[sup.1], Lichen Xu[sup.1], Chunhong Huang[sup.1], Jingwen Deng[sup.1], Haihong Zhu[sup.1] and Zhi Chen[sup.1] Background For approximately 60 years, [...]