The continued threat of emerging, highly lethal infectious pathogens such as Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS‐CoV) calls for the development of novel vaccine technology that offers ...safe and effective prophylactic measures. Here, a novel nanoparticle vaccine is developed to deliver subunit viral antigens and STING agonists in a virus‐like fashion. STING agonists are first encapsulated into capsid‐like hollow polymeric nanoparticles, which show multiple favorable attributes, including a pH‐responsive release profile, prominent local immune activation, and reduced systemic reactogenicity. Upon subsequent antigen conjugation, the nanoparticles carry morphological semblance to native virions and facilitate codelivery of antigens and STING agonists to draining lymph nodes and immune cells for immune potentiation. Nanoparticle vaccine effectiveness is supported by the elicitation of potent neutralization antibody and antigen‐specific T cell responses in mice immunized with a MERS‐CoV nanoparticle vaccine candidate. Using a MERS‐CoV‐permissive transgenic mouse model, it is shown that mice immunized with this nanoparticle‐based MERS‐CoV vaccine are protected against a lethal challenge of MERS‐CoV without triggering undesirable eosinophilic immunopathology. Together, the biocompatible hollow nanoparticle described herein provides an excellent strategy for delivering both subunit vaccine candidates and novel adjuvants, enabling accelerated development of effective and safe vaccines against emerging viral pathogens.
To improve vaccination efforts against Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS‐CoV), a virus‐mimicking vaccine is herein prepared with a capsid‐like hollow polymeric nanoparticle loaded with STING agonists and coated in MERS‐CoV antigens. The viromimetic nanoparticle facilitates safe and effective vaccination against the lethal virus and offers a versatile platform for combatting emerging infectious threats.
Toss the F: A new series of IrIII complexes functionalized with pyridyltriazolate chromophores and a tripodal dicyclometalated phosphite achieved highly efficient blue phosphorescence without ...employing any fluorine substituents. OLEDs with dopant Ir(P C2)(bptz)(PMe2Ph) (see structure; bptz=3‐tert‐butyl‐5‐(2‐pyridyl)‐1,2,4‐triazolate; P C2=dicyclometalated phosphite tripod) show outstanding performance.
This study proposes a gradient-boosting-based machine learning approach for predicting the PM
concentration in Taiwan. The proposed mechanism is evaluated on a large-scale database built by the ...Environmental Protection Administration, and Central Weather Bureau, Taiwan, which includes data from 77 air monitoring stations and 580 weather stations performing hourly measurements over 1 year. By learning from past records of PM
and neighboring weather stations' climatic information, the forecasting model works well for 24-h prediction at most air stations. This study also investigates the geographical and meteorological divergence for the forecasting results of seven regional monitoring areas. We also compare the prediction performance between Taiwan, Taipei, and London; analyze the impact of industrial pollution; and propose an enhanced version of the prediction model to improve the prediction accuracy. The results indicate that Taipei and London have similar prediction results because these two cities have similar topography (basin) and are financial centers without domestic pollution sources. The results also suggest that after considering industrial impacts by incorporating additional features from the Taichung and Thong-Siau power plants, the proposed method achieves significant improvement in the coefficient of determination (R
) from 0.58 to 0.71. Moreover, for Taichung City the root-mean-square error decreases from 8.56 for the conventional approach to 7.06 for the proposed method.
Logos are one of the most important graphic design forms that use an ed shape to clearly represent the spirit of a community. Among various styles of ion, a particular golden‐ratio design is ...frequently employed by designers to create a concise and regular logo. In this context, designers utilize a set of circular arcs with golden ratios (i.e., all arcs are taken from circles whose radii form a geometric series based on the golden ratio) as the design elements to manually approximate a target shape. This error‐prone process requires a large amount of time and effort, posing a significant challenge for design space exploration. In this work, we present a novel computational framework that can automatically generate golden ratio logo ions from an input image. Our framework is based on a set of carefully identified design principles and a constrained optimization formulation respecting these principles. We also propose a progressive approach that can efficiently solve the optimization problem, resulting in a sequence of ions that approximate the input at decreasing levels of detail. We evaluate our work by testing on images with different formats including real photos, clip arts, and line drawings. We also extensively validate the key components and compare our results with manual results by designers to demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework. Moreover, our framework can largely benefit design space exploration via easy specification of design parameters such as ion levels, golden circle sizes, etc.
Transparent organic upconversion devices are shown in a night‐vision demonstration of a real object under near‐infrared (NIR) illumination in the dark. An extraordinarily high current gain – ...reflecting the on–off switching effect – greater than 15 000 at a driving voltage of 3 V is demonstrated, indicating the high sensitivity to NIR light and potential of using the proposed upconverter in practical applications. A maximum luminance exceeding 1500 cd m−2 at 7 V is achieved. Unlike previous studies, where 2D aperture projection is reported, the current study shows 3D images of real objects under NIR illumination in the dark.
Cirrhosis is a chronic liver disease whereby scar tissue replaces healthy liver parenchyma, leading to disruption of the liver architecture and hepatic dysfunction. Currently, there is no effective ...disease-modifying therapy for liver fibrosis. Recently, our group demonstrated that human umbilical cord blood (UCB) plasma possesses therapeutic effects in a rat model of acute liver failure.
In the current study, we tested whether exosomes (Exo) existed in UCB plasma and if they produced any antifibrotic benefits in a liver fibrosis model.
Our results showed that UCB-Exo improved liver function and increased matrix metalloproteinase/tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase degradation to reduce the degree of fibrosis. Moreover, UCB-Exo were found to suppress hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activity in vitro. These effects were associated with suppression of transforming growth factor-β/inhibitor of DNA binding 1 signaling.
These results further support that UCB-Exo have antifibrotic effects in mice with liver fibrosis and activated HSCs and may herald a new cell-free antifibrotic therapy.
Attachment to cellular surfaces is a major attribute among infectious pathogens for initiating disease pathogenesis. In viral infections, viruses exploit receptor–ligand interactions to latch onto ...cellular exterior prior to subsequent entry and invasion. In light of the selective binding affinity between viral pathogens and cells, nanoparticles cloaked in cellular membranes are herein employed for virus targeting. Using the influenza virus as a model, erythrocyte membrane cloaked nanoparticles are prepared and modified with magnetic functionalities (RBC-mNP) for virus targeting and isolation. To maximize targeting and isolation efficiency, density gradient centrifugation and nanoparticle tracking analysis were applied to minimize the presence of uncoated particles and membrane vesicles. The resulting nanoparticles possess a distinctive membrane corona, a sialylated surface, and form colloidally stable clusters with influenza viruses. Magnetic functionality is bestowed to the nanoparticles through encapsulation of superparamagnetic iron-oxide particles, which enable influenza virus enrichment via magnetic extraction. Viral samples enriched by the RBC-mNPs result in significantly enhanced virus detection by multiple virus quantification methods, including qRT-PCR, immunnochromatographic strip test, and cell-based titering assays. The demonstration of pathogen targeting and isolation by RBC-mNPs highlights a biologically inspired approach toward improved treatment and diagnosis against infectious disease threats. The work also sheds light on the efficient membrane cloaking mechanism that bestows nanoparticles with cell mimicking functionalities.
We present an in‐depth analysis of dyslipidemia management strategies for patients with diabetes mellitus in Taiwan. It critically examines the disparity between established guideline recommendations ...and actual clinical practices, particularly in the context of evolving policies affecting statin prescriptions. The focus is on synthesizing the most recent findings concerning lipid management in patients with diabetes mellitus, with a special emphasis on establishing consensus regarding low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol treatment targets. The article culminates in providing comprehensive, evidence‐based recommendations tailored to the unique needs of those living with diabetes mellitus in Taiwan. It underscores the criticality of personalized care approaches, which incorporate multifaceted factors, and the integration of novel therapeutic options to enhance cardiovascular health outcomes.
Background Autophagy-related proteins may predict postresection overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma ...(cHCC-CC). Methods We prospectively investigated how these proteins affect clinical prognosis in 40 patients who underwent hepatectomy for cHCC-CC from 2011 to 2019 at a Taiwanese hospital. Levels of autophagy-related proteins, namely LC3, Beclin-1, and p62, were immunohistochemically assessed in patient tumor and non-tumor tissues. Results We noted that LC3 expression was significantly correlated with mild clinicopathological characteristics, including macrovascular invasion, lymph node metastasis, American Joint Committee on Cancer and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stages, recurrence, and mortality. Ten patient showed tumor recurrence, and 15 patients died. Postresection 5-year OS and DFS rates were 43.7 and 57.4%, respectively. Cox regression analysis showed that high intratumoral LC3 expression was significantly associated with improved OS hazard ratio (HR; 95% confidence interval (CI)): (1.68-26.9), p = 0.007, but multiple tumors and microvascular invasion was significantly correlated with poor OS HR (95% CI): 0.03 (0.01-0.34), p = 0.004, and 0.07 (0.01-0.46), p = 0.006, respectively. Furthermore, high LC3 expression and cirrhosis had improved DFS HR (95% CI): 51.3 (2.85-922), p = 0.008, and 17.9 (1.05-306), p = 0.046, respectively. The 5-year OS and DFS rates were respectively 61.2 and 74.6% in high LC3 expression patients and 0 and 0% in those with low LC3 expression. Conclusion High LC3 expression in tumors is significantly associated with mild clinicopathological characteristics and favorable clinical prognosis in patients with cHCC-CC after resection. Keywords: Combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma, Autophagy, LC3, Prognosis, Predictive factors
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Smart city applications integrate the human, physical, and digital systems in a built environment with Internet of Things (IoT) resources, city models, and domain models. However, existing methods ...for the integration are suitable for individual applications and lack interoperability among application modules. This study analyzed existing integration strategies and developed an ontology for integrating the data modeling standards of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) CityGML, IndoorGML, and SensorThings API. To cope with the broad definition of "things" in the IoT, the proposed ontology supports multiple views of things, including the a-building-as-a-thing, a-room-as-a-thing, an-opening-as-a-thing, and a-device-as-a-thing views. Thus, the proposed ontology relates information from these three standards and supports semantic queries. We demonstrated the proposed solution in smart home, smart security, smart health care, and fire evacuation systems. Overall, the proposed solution can facilitate the integration of standard-based IoT resources and city models to support smart city applications.
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