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Myricaria laxiflora (Tamaricaceae) is an endangered plant that is narrowly distributed in the riparian zone of the Three Gorges, along the Yangtze River, China. Using bright-field and epifluorescence microscopy, we investigated the anatomical and histochemical features that allow this species to tolerate both submerged and terrestrial environments. The adventitious roots of Myr. laxiflora had an endodermis with Casparian bands and suberin lamellae; the cortex and hypodermal walls had lignified thickenings in the primary structure. In the mature roots, the secondary structure had cork. The apoplastic barriers in stems consisted of a lignified fiber ring and a cuticle at the young stage and cork at the mature stage. The leaves had two layers of palisade tissue, a hyaline epidermis, sunken stomata, and a thick, papillose cuticle. Aerenchyma presented in the roots and shoots. Several Myr. laxiflora structures, including aerenchyma, apoplastic barriers in the roots and shoots, were adapted to riparian habitats. In addition, shoots had typical xerophyte features, including small leaves, bilayer palisade tissues, sunken stomata, a thick, papillose cuticle, and a hyaline epidermis. Thus, our study identified several anatomical features that may permit Myr. laxiflora to thrive in the riparian zone of the Three Gorges, China.

Ionic liquid salts (ILs) are generally recognized as additives in perovskite precursor solutions to enhance the efficiency and stability of solar cells. However, the success of ILs incorporation as additives is highly dependent on the precursor formulation and perovskite crystallization process, posing challenges for industrial‐scale implementation. In this study, a room‐temperature spin‐coated IL, n‐butylamine acetate (BAAc), is identified as an ideal passivation agent for formamidinium lead iodide (FAPbI3) films. Compared with other passivation methods, the room‐temperature BAAc capping layer (BAAc RT) demonstrates more uniform and thorough passivation of surface defects in the FAPbI3 perovskite. Additionally, it provides better energy level alignment for hole extraction. As a result, the champion n–i–p perovskite solar cell with a BAAc capping layer exhibits a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 24.76%, with an open‐circuit voltage (Voc) of 1.19 V, and a Voc loss of ≈330 mV. The PCE of the perovskite mini‐module with BAAc RT reaches 20.47%, showcasing the effectiveness and viability of this method for manufacturing large‐area perovskite solar cells. Moreover, the BAAc passivation layer also improves the long‐term stability of unencapsulated FAPbI3 perovskite solar cells, enabling a T80 lifetime of 3500 h when stored at 35% relative humidity at room temperature in an air atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ionic liquid salts (ILs) are generally recognized as additives in perovskite precursor solutions to enhance the efficiency and stability of solar cells. However, the success of ILs incorporation as additives is highly dependent on the precursor formulation and perovskite crystallization process, posing challenges for industrial-scale implementation. In this study, a room-temperature spin-coated IL, n-butylamine acetate (BAAc), is identified as an ideal passivation agent for formamidinium lead iodide (FAPbI 3 ) films. Compared with other passivation methods, the room-temperature BAAc capping layer (BAAc RT) demonstrates more uniform and thorough passivation of surface defects in the FAPbI 3 perovskite. Additionally, it provides better energy level alignment for hole extraction. As a result, the champion n-i-p perovskite solar cell with a BAAc capping layer exhibits a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 24.76%, with an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 1.19 V, and a Voc loss of ≈330 mV. The PCE of the perovskite mini-module with BAAc RT reaches 20.47%, showcasing the effectiveness and viability of this method for manufacturing large-area perovskite solar cells. Moreover, the BAAc passivation layer also improves the long-term stability of unencapsulated FAPbI 3 perovskite solar cells, enabling a T80 lifetime of  3500 h when stored at 35% relative humidity at room temperature in an air atmosphere., (© 2024 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Objective To prepare neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against envelope protein domain III of the four dengue virus serotypes (DENV-EDIII) and identify its specificity. Methods BALB/c mice were immunized with recombinant EDIII protein (rDENV-EDIII) of the four DENV serotypes. Hybridoma cells secreting DENV-EDIII antibodies were screened by indirect ELISA. The specificity of positive hybridoma cells were further tested by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA). The neutralizing activities of DENV-EDIII mAbs in vitro were determined by the enzyme-linked immunospot microneutralization test (ELISPOT-MNT). Results 6 mAbs specific for the EDIII of the four DENV serotypes and 11 mAbs specific for only one serotype of DENV-EDIII protein were obtained, of which one monoclonal antibody had a balanced strong neutralizing activity against the four DENV serotypes in vitro, and its 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC 50 ) for the four DENV serotypes was 0.05 μg/mL, 1.89 μg/mL, 0.02 μg/mL, 3.91 μg/mL, respectively. Conclusion A specific monoclonal antibody against DENV-EDIII is successfully screened and obtained to neutralize the four DENV serotypes.

Dengue virus (DENV) envelope [E] protein is the major surface protein of the virions that indued neutralizing antibodies. The domain III of envelope protein (EDIII) is an immunogenic region that holds potential for the development of vaccines; however, the epitopes of DENV EDIII, especially neutralizing B-cell linear epitopes, have not been comprehensively mapped. We mapped neutralizing B-cell linear epitopes on DENV-1 EDIII using 27 monoclonal antibodies against DENV-1 EDIII proteins from mice immunized with the DENV-1 EDIII. Epitope recognition analysis was performed using two set of sequential overlapping peptides (16m and 12m) that spanned the entire EDIII protein from DENV-1, respectively. This strategy identified a DENV-1 type- specific and a group-specific neutralizing epitope, which were highly conserved among isolates of DENV-1 and the four DENV serotypes and located at two regions from DENV-1 E, namely amino acid residues 309-320 and 381-392(aa 309-320 and 381-392), respectively. aa310 -319(310KEVAETQHGT319)was similar among the four DENV serotypes and contact residues on aa 309 -320 from E protein were defined and found that substitution of residues E309 , V312, A313 and V320 in DENV-2, -3, -4 isolates were antigenically silent. We also identified a DENV-1 type-specific strain-restricted neutralizing epitope, which was located at the region from DENV-1 E, namely amino acid residues 329-348 . These novel type- and group-specific B-cell epitopes of DENV EDIII may aid help us elucidate the dengue pathogenesis and accelerate vaccine design.

Objective: To investigate the characteristics and dynamic changes of serum neutralizing antibody response in patients with primary infection of dengue virus type 1 (DENV-1)., Methods: Serum samples were obtained from the same patients with primary infection of DENV-1 within 2 weeks after symptom onset in 2006 and in 2010. A group-specific DENV NS1 capture ELISA-based micro-neutralizing test (ELISA-MNT) capable of detecting neutralizing antibodies against all the 4 serotypes of DENV was used to test the neutralizing antibody titers against DENV in the serum samples. The neutralizing antibody titers against a standard strain and 2 clinically isolated strains of DENV-1 were detected in serum samples collected in 2010., Results: Cross-reactive neutralizing antibody response against all the 4 serotypes of DENV was found in both of the serum samples collected in 2006 and 2010, but the samples collected in 2006 showed stronger cross-reactive neutralizing antibody responses. The neutralizing antibody against DENV-2, rather than the anticipated DENV-1 antibody, had the highest titer in the samples collected in 2006, whereas the antibody against homologous DENV-1 had the highest titer in the samples obtained in 2010. The neutralizing antibody titers against the homologous DENV-1 was significantly higher in samples collected in 2010 (U=86.500, P=0.000), which also demonstrated significantly different neutralizing antibody titers against the 3 different strains of DENV-1 (Χ(2)=12.123, P=0.002)., Conclusion: The production of cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies between the 4 serotypes of DENV is a characteristic of DENV infection, particularly during early infection, but only the homologous neutralizing antibody increases obviously over time. The titers of the neutralizing antibodies against different strains, even of the same serotype, may differ distinctly.

Objective: To investigate the inhibitory effect of lentiviral vector-mediated short hairpin RNA targeting survivin (LV-survivin shRNA) on angiogenesis and growth of endometriosis-like lesions in chick en embryo chorioallantoic membrane., Methods: Eutopic endometrium from women with endometriosis was transplanted onto the non-vascular region of (CAM), where LV-survivin shRNA was delivered subsequently. The angiogenesis and the growth of endometriosis-like lesions in the CAM model were evaluated., Results: The angiogenesis and formation of endometriosis-like lesions were significantly suppressed in the CAM model by treatment with LV-survivin shRNA in comparison with those in the untreated CAM models and models treated with empty LV or DMEM (P<0.001). LV-survivin shRNA also caused a significantly higher cell apoptotic rate in the endometriosis-like lesions than the other treatments (P<0.001) and induced necrosis in the lesions., Conclusion: LV-survivin shRNA can effectively inhibit angiogenesis induced by the eutopic endometrium and markedly suppress the formation of endometriosis-like lesions in the CAM model.

We previously identified the major pathological changes in the respiratory and immune systems of patients who died of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) but gained little information on the organ distribution of SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV). In the present study, we used a murine monoclonal antibody specific for SARS-CoV nucleoprotein, and probes specific for a SARS-CoV RNA polymerase gene fragment, for immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, respectively, to detect SARS-CoV systematically in tissues from patients who died of SARS. SARS-CoV was found in lung, trachea/bronchus, stomach, small intestine, distal convoluted renal tubule, sweat gland, parathyroid, pituitary, pancreas, adrenal gland, liver and cerebrum, but was not detected in oesophagus, spleen, lymph node, bone marrow, heart, aorta, cerebellum, thyroid, testis, ovary, uterus or muscle. These results suggest that, in addition to the respiratory system, the gastrointestinal tract and other organs with detectable SARS-CoV may also be targets of SARS-CoV infection. The pathological changes in these organs may be caused directly by the cytopathic effect mediated by local replication of the SARS-CoV; or indirectly as a result of systemic responses to respiratory failure or the harmful immune response induced by viral infection. In addition to viral spread through a respiratory route, SARS-CoV in the intestinal tract, kidney and sweat glands may be excreted via faeces, urine and sweat, thereby leading to virus transmission. This study provides important information for understanding the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV infection and sheds light on possible virus transmission pathways. This data will be useful for designing new strategies for prevention and treatment of SARS., (Copyright 2004 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)