Search

Simple Summary: Nemognathinae is notable for its high diversity in Meloidae, yet our knowledge about its species in China remains restricted. Here, we describe a new genus and species and report three other species as new additions to the Chinese fauna. Based on our investigation of the types, we transfer the genus Oreomeloe from Meloini to Nemognathini. Finally, we present molecular phylogenies built on multi-locus data, which corroborate the systematic placement of Sinostenoria and Longizonitis. Our findings and treatment contribute to the understanding of Chinese Nemognathinae and resolve a pending issue in the taxonomy of Nemognathinae. Despite being the most widespread blister beetle subfamily, Nemognathinae is unfairly understudied in China. In this study, a new genus and species, Sinostenoria yangi Pan, from northern China is described and illustrated. The antennae, elytra, hind wings, and claws of the new genus form a truly unique set of characteristics never observed in other genera of Nemognathini Laporte de Castelnau, 1840. Three species from China are newly recorded and illustrated: Megatrachelus sibiricus (Tauscher, 1812), Zonitomorpha dollei (Fairmaire 1889), and Stenodera djakonovi Aksentjev, 1978. The genus Oreomeloe Tan, 1981, is transferred from the tribe Meloini Gyllenhal, 1910, to Nemognathini based on an examination of the types. Aiming to test the morphology-based placement of the new genus, we conducted molecular phylogenetic analyses using two mitochondrial (COI, 16S) and three nuclear markers (28S, CAD, ITS2). The results confirm our tribal assignment of the new genus and support a clade that consists of Sinostenoriagen. n., Longizonitis Pan and Bologna, 2018, Stenoria cf. grandiceps, and Ctenopus cf. persicus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ototoxic side effect of cisplatin is a main cause of sensorineural hearing loss. This side effect limits the clinical application of cisplatin and affects patients' quality of life. This study was designed to investigate the effect of apelin-13 on cisplatin-induced C57BL/6 mice hearing loss model and explore the potential underlying molecular mechanisms. Mice were intraperitoneally injected with 100 μg/kg apelin-13 2 h before 3 mg/kg cisplatin injection for 7 consecutive days. Cochlear explants cultured in vitro were pretreated with 10 nM apelin-13 2 h prior to 30 μM cisplatin treatment for another 24 h. Hearing test and morphology results showed that apelin-13 attenuated cisplatin-induced mice hearing loss and protected cochlear hair cells and spiral ganglion neurons from damage. In vivo and in vitro experimental results showed that apelin-3 reduced cisplatin-induced apoptosis of hair cells and spiral ganglion neurons. In addition, apelin-3 preserved mitochondrial membrane potential and inhibited ROS production in cultured cochlear explants. Mechanistic studies showed that apelin-3 decreased cisplatin-induced cleaved caspase 3 expression but increased Bcl-2; inhibited the expression of pro-inflammatory factors TNF-a and IL-6; and increased STAT1 phosphorylation but decreased STAT3 phosphorylation. In conclusion, our results indicate that apelin-13 could be a potential otoprotective agent to prevent cisplatin-induced ototoxicity by inhibiting apoptosis, ROS production, TNF-α and IL-6 expression, and regulating phosphorylation of STAT1 and STAT3 transcription factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Malaria is one of the major diseases affecting global health, while progress in malaria control and elimination has stagnated in some endemic countries. China has been certificated malaria free by World Health Organization in 2021, and will get more involved on global malaria elimination. Further discussion is needed on how to collaborate with the malaria endemic countries and provide effective help. This study was to investigate the perceptions of malaria endemic countries on China's contribution to global malaria elimination and to lay a foundation for further action. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with key informants including national malaria project managers and technicians from malaria endemic countries. Thematic framework approach was used to analyze the data. Results: Malaria endemic countries now face challenges in insufficient funds, technique, products, public health systems and inadequacy of international assistance. They hold a positive attitude towards cooperation with China and identified experience and technique exchange, personnel training, system building and scientific research cooperation as prioritized areas. Conclusions: China could make full use of its own advantages in technique transfer, health system improvement, information system construction, and health human resource training and take an active part in global malaria elimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Though the utilization of traditional medicine has been proposed for modern drug research and development (R&D), limited research has discussed its feasible paths. In this commentary, we summarized key factors for new drug R&D under limited resources by reviewing China's discovery of artemisinin, and raised suggestions to utilize traditional medicines in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Main text: We suggested that systematic utilization of traditional medicine, outstanding synergy of research units at all levels and timely information-sharing mechanism should be achieved to establish a comprehensive and efficient R&D system, especially under low-resource settings. In the case of artemisinin discovery, Chinese scientists integrated documented traditional medicine experiences and modern approaches to develop drug candidates timely. Due to limited R&D resources, China adopted a collaborative way, motivating nearly all domestic research units at different levels, to develop antimalarial products. Moreover, the excellent synergy among all units through efficient information-sharing mechanisms greatly avoided work repetition and accelerated the R&D process. Conclusion: Traditional medicines inspires drug discoveries in LMICs, while a comprehensive and efficient R&D system could accelerate its R&D process and save investment. The discovery of artemisinin in China gave a reliable pattern to promote sustainable development of traditional medicines and a good example to realize R&D of traditional medicine under low-resource settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) have increasingly become a threat to global health. Rapid, accurate, and reliable detection of HAI-related bacteria is urgently needed. Here, we presented a novel antimicrobial peptide-based surface-enhanced Raman scattering lateral flow assay (SERS-LFA) for the detection of multiple HAI-related bacteria. Antimicrobial peptide cecropin 1(CP1) was immobilized on the surface of Fe 3 O 4 @Au by the streptavidin-biotin system to capture Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) and Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7) simultaneously. The synthesized Fe 3 O 4 @Au-CP1 exhibits excellent broad-spectrum capturing ability, rapid magnetic enrichment function, and superior antibacterial activity. LFA strips enable the specific detection of two target bacteria in a quick and simple manner, with bacterial type differentiation via corresponding monoclonal antibodies sprayed. The highly sensitive SERS signals and the amplification effect of streptavidin-biotin significantly improved the sensitivity of detection. The LODs of P. aeruginosa and E. coli O157:H7 were 12 and 16 cells/mL, respectively. This assay also exhibited good specificity and reproducibility when applied to urine samples. Therefore, Fe 3 O 4 @Au-CP1-based SERS-LFA has great potential for detecting multiple bacteria after infection as well as regularly monitoring therapeutic efficacy. • CP1 was first utilized as a broad-spectrum recognition element in SERS-LFA to detect multiple bacteria simultaneously. • The amplification effect of the streptavidin-biotin system enhances the binding efficiency of Fe 3 O 4 @Au-CP1 to bacteria. • Fe 3 O 4 @Au-CP1 MNPs enable quick capture and enrichment of bacteria. • CP1-based SERS-LFA can achieve highly sensitive and quantitative detection for P. aeruginosa and E. coli O157:H7. • The LODs for P. aeruginosa and E. coli O157:H7 were 12 cells/mL and 16 cells/mL, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obtaining lignin-based graphite-like microcrystallites at a relatively low carbonization temperature is still very challenging. In this work, we report a new method based on condensed structures, for regulating graphite-like microcrystalline structures via the incorporation of 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) into the main structure of lignin. The effects of MDI on the thermal properties of lignin and the graphite-like microcrystalline structure of lignin-based ultrafine carbon fibers were extensively studied and investigated. The incorporation of MDI decreased the thermal stability of lignin, increased the carbon yield and enhanced the formation of graphite-like microcrystallites, which are beneficial for reducing energy consumption during the preparation of lignin-based carbon fibers. The modified lignin-based ultrafine carbon fibers (M-LCFs) demonstrated satisfactory electrochemical performance, including high specific capacitance, low charge transfer resistance, and good cycle performance. The M-LCFs-3/2 electrode had a specific capacitance of 241.3 F g−1 at a current density of 0.5 A g−1, and a residual ratio of 90.2 % after 2000 charge and discharge cycles. This study provides a new approach to control the graphite-like microcrystalline structure and electrochemical performance while also optimizing the temperature. • Lignin-based carbon fiber with graphite structure was prepared at a low temperature. • Condensed structure facilitate the formation of graphite-like structure. • MDI decreased the thermal stability of lignin and energy consumption of carbon fiber. • MDI-modified lignin shows fascinating application in supercapacitor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of simple methods for the isolation and quantification of exosomes in biological samples is important. By using the typical two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials, graphene oxide (GO), the present work first studied the interaction of liposomes with the nanocomposites formed by adsorbing HRP on the GO surface and found the presence of liposomes led to the release of HRP from the GO surface to the solution phase triggering the luminol-H 2 O 2 chemiluminescence (CL) reaction to emit light. Benefiting from the similarity of exosomes to liposomes in both composition and morphology aspects, the GO-HRP nanocomposites with a mass ratio of 120:1 and 160:1 were employed for the quantitative detection of exosomes in 100-fold diluted serum samples. The whole detection process took about 15 min and as low as 3.2 × 102 particles μL−1 of exosomes could be sensitively detected. In addition to GO-HRP nanocomposites, the CL responses of other nanocomposites obtained from adsorbing HRP on other 2D nanomaterials such as layered MoS 2 for exosomes were also tested. MoS 2 -HRP exhibited similar behavior and the LODs for the detection of exosomes were 5.8 × 102 particles μL−1. The proposed assays were a biomarker-independent quantitative method that achieved the quantification of exosomes in serum samples directly without an isolation process. [Display omitted] • A chemiluminescence method achieved rapid detection of exosomes based on 2D nanomaterial-enzyme composites. • The detection limit was as low as 3.2 × 102 particles μL−1 based on GO-HRP composites. • The detection limit was 5.8 × 102 particles μL−1 based on MoS 2 -HRP composites. • The assays achieved direct detection of exosomes in serum samples without isolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Point-of-care quantitative analysis of tracing microRNA disease-biomarkers remains a great challenge in the clinical diagnosis. In this paper, we developed a portable fluorescent lateral flow assay for ultrasensitive quantified detection of acute myocardial infarction related microRNAs in bio-samples. SiO 2 @DQD (bilayer quantum dots assembly with SiO 2 core) based fluorescent lateral flow strip was fabricated as the analysis tool. In order to quantify the tracing microRNA in biosamples, a catalytic hairpin assembly and CRISPR/Cas12a cascade amplification method was performed and combined with the fabricated SiO 2 @DQD lateral flow strip. Thus, our platform gathered double advantages of portability and ultrasensitive quantification. Based on our strips, target myocardial biomarker microRNA-133a can be detected with a detection limit of 0.32 fM, which was almost 1000-fold sensitive compared with previous reported microRNAs-lateral flow strips. Significantly, this portable fluorescent strip can directly detect microRNAs in serum without any pretreatment and PCR amplification steps. When spiked in serum samples, a recovery of 99.65 %-102.38 % can be obtained. Therefore, our method offers a potential tool for ultrasensitive quantification of diseases related microRNA in the point-of-care diseases diagnosis field. [Display omitted] • Ultrasensitive single-line based SERS lateral flow assay for multiple exosomal proteins analysis has been developed. • For the first time CHA and CRISPR/Cas12a strategy were combined with LFA to improve the sensitivity. • The LOD (0.3 fM) was almost 1000-fold sensitivity than the previous fluorescence strips for miRNAs. • MiRNAs can be directly detected in serum without pretreatment or PCR amplification. • This assay possesses universality for miRNAs related diseases diagnosis in clinical setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]