Nowadays, adverse human reactions such as allergies and organ damage caused by antibiotics, as well as the drug resistance of bacteria have raised popular concern. Due to abuse in livestock ...production and aquaculture, many countries have established standards limiting the residual amounts of antibiotics in food. Therefore, it is necessary to develop analytical methods for the wholesale screening of antibiotics in animal-derived foods. Immunochromatographic assay (ICA) is suitable for simultaneously analyzing considerable numbers of samples at low cost, with high portability, and faster detection. This review introduces the current research status of ICA for eight categories of antibiotics including chloramphenicols (CAPs), tetracyclines (TCs), quinolones (QNs), sulfonamides (SAs), macrolides (MAs), aminoglycosides (AGs), lincosamides (LMs), and β-lactams in animal-derived foods. We summarize pre-treatment (extraction and clean-up) of ICA for the detection of antibiotics in animal-derived foods. Furthermore, the improved optimization strategies for weaknesses (low sensitivity and efficiency) are summarized. Trends in the development of ICA for detection of antibiotics are also reviewed.
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Xylenes and propylbenzenes (PBZs) are volatile aromatic hydrocarbons with high aquatic toxicity. Xylenes can be present in three isomers: o-xylene (OX), m-xylene (MX), and p-xylene (PX), while PBZs ...include two isomers: n-propylbenzene (n-PBZ) and isopropylbenzene (i-PBZ). Their accidental spills and improper discharges from petrochemical industries can cause severe contamination in water bodies posing potential ecological risks. In this study, the published acute toxicity data of these chemicals for aquatic species were collected to calculate hazardous concentrations protecting 95% species (HC5) using a species sensitivity distribution (SSD) approach. The acute HC5 values for OX, MX, PX, n-PBZ, and i-PBZ were estimated to be 1.73, 3.05, 1.23, 1.22, and 1.46 mg/L, respectively. The risk quotient (RQ) values calculated based on HC5 indicated their high risk (RQ: 1.23 ∼ 21.89) in groundwater, but low risk (RQ < 0.1) in natural seawater, river water, and lake water. When xylenes or PBZs leaked into the sea, they were expected to pose a high risk (RQ > 1) at the start and then a low risk (RQ < 0.1) after 10 days due to natural attenuation. These results may help to derive more reliable protection thresholds for xylenes and PBZs in aquatic environment and provide a basis for evaluating their ecological risks.
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•Water quality criteria of xylenes and PBZs are derived by PNECs with the SSD approach.•Ecological risk of xylenes and PBZs are evaluated by PAF and RQ methods.•Aquatic organisms are more sensitive to PBZs than xylenes.•Xylenes and PBZs cause high risk within 8 days in simulated accidental spills at sea.
Adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) experiments are a serviceable method for the industrial utilization of the microalgae, which can improve the phenotype, performance, and stability of microalgae to ...obtain strains containing beneficial mutations. In this article, we reviewed the research into the microalgae ALE test and assessed the improvement of microalgae growth, tolerance, metabolism, and substrate utilization by ALE. In addition, the principles of ALE and the key factors of experimental design, as well as the issues and drawbacks of the microalgae ALE method were discussed. In general, improving the efficiency of ALE and verifying the stability of ALE resulting strains are the primary problems that need to be solved in future research, making it a promising method for the application of microalgae biotechnology.
Surface sediments and clam Meretrix meretrix were collected from a northern estuarine region in Dongying City, China. Sediments were analysed for heavy metals (Hg, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn) and the ...clams were tested for metallothioneins (MTs) and lysosomal membrane stability (LMS). The heavy metal total concentrations decreased in the order of Cr>Zn>Cu>Pb>As>Cd>Hg. The results of Bureau Communautaire de Référence (BCR) sequential extraction of heavy metals showed that the geochemical speciation of all heavy metals was dominated by residual fraction. According to the responses of biomarkers in M. meretrix, the modified potential ecological risk index (PERI-B) can more accurately reflect heavy metals pollution. PERI-B showed all sediment samples have low or moderate risk, except at site S10 (considerable risk), and the main contribution of ecological risk heavy metals were Cd and Hg.
•Sediment physico-chemical properties controlled the distribution of heavy metals.•Most of heavy metals' sources were affected by anthropogenic contribution.•The geochemical fraction of all heavy metals was dominated by residual state.•The modified ecological risk index can better reflect heavy metals pollution.
Accurate analysis of paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) in shellfish is important to protect seafood safety and human health. In this study, the performance of different extraction protocols for PSTs ...from scallop tissues is compared and discussed, including regular extraction solvents hydrochloric acid (HCl) and acetic acid (AcOH) followed by heating and solid-phase extraction (SPE) purification, and a novel technique of matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) without heating. The possible conversion of C1/2 and GTX2/3 standards after heating, and the stability of PSTs in wet scallop tissues stored at −20 °C for a 6-month period are also explored. Results showed that the MSPD technique could effectively mitigate matrix interference, but its recoveries of PSTs were significantly lower than those of the HCl and AcOH extraction methods followed by carbon SPE purification. The molar concentrations of M-toxins obtained by the MSPD method were generally lower than those analyzed by the HCl and AcOH extraction methods, which demonstrated a weak chemical conversion of C1/2 and GTX2/3 due to the heating process. Most of the PSTs were relatively stable in scallop tissues during 1-month storage at −20 °C, while the concentrations of PSTs in scallop tissues obviously changed after 6 months due to the degradation and transformation of PSTs during long-term storage at −20 °C. This work helps improve our understanding of the performance of different extraction methods and the stability of PSTs in scallop tissues stored at −20 °C.
Treatment of severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is challenging. We performed a phase 2 trial to assess the efficacy and safety of human umbilical cord-mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) to ...treat severe COVID-19 patients with lung damage, based on our phase 1 data. In this randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trial, we recruited 101 severe COVID-19 patients with lung damage. They were randomly assigned at a 2:1 ratio to receive either UC-MSCs (4 × 10
cells per infusion) or placebo on day 0, 3, and 6. The primary endpoint was an altered proportion of whole lung lesion volumes from baseline to day 28. Other imaging outcomes, 6-minute walk test (6-MWT), maximum vital capacity, diffusing capacity, and adverse events were recorded and analyzed. In all, 100 COVID-19 patients were finally received either UC-MSCs (n = 65) or placebo (n = 35). UC-MSCs administration exerted numerical improvement in whole lung lesion volume from baseline to day 28 compared with the placebo (the median difference was -13.31%, 95% CI -29.14%, 2.13%, P = 0.080). UC-MSCs significantly reduced the proportions of solid component lesion volume compared with the placebo (median difference: -15.45%; 95% CI -30.82%, -0.39%; P = 0.043). The 6-MWT showed an increased distance in patients treated with UC-MSCs (difference: 27.00 m; 95% CI 0.00, 57.00; P = 0.057). The incidence of adverse events was similar in the two groups. These results suggest that UC-MSCs treatment is a safe and potentially effective therapeutic approach for COVID-19 patients with lung damage. A phase 3 trial is required to evaluate effects on reducing mortality and preventing long-term pulmonary disability. (Funded by The National Key R&D Program of China and others. ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04288102.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic poses a current world-wide public health threat. However, little is known about its hallmarks compared to other infectious diseases. Here, we report ...the single-cell transcriptional landscape of longitudinally collected peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in both COVID-19- and influenza A virus (IAV)-infected patients. We observed increase of plasma cells in both COVID-19 and IAV patients and XIAP associated factor 1 (XAF1)-, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-, and FAS-induced T cell apoptosis in COVID-19 patients. Further analyses revealed distinct signaling pathways activated in COVID-19 (STAT1 and IRF3) versus IAV (STAT3 and NFκB) patients and substantial differences in the expression of key factors. These factors include relatively increase of interleukin (IL)6R and IL6ST expression in COVID-19 patients but similarly increased IL-6 concentrations compared to IAV patients, supporting the clinical observations of increased proinflammatory cytokines in COVID-19 patients. Thus, we provide the landscape of PBMCs and unveil distinct immune response pathways in COVID-19 and IAV patients.
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•We generated a single-cell atlas of PBMCs in both COVID-19 and influenza patients•Plasma cells increase significantly in both COVID-19 and influenza patients•COVID-19 is featured with XAF1-, TNF-, and FAS-induced T cell apoptosis•COVID-19 activates distinct pathway (STAT1/IRF3) versus influenza (STAT3/NFκB)
COVID-19 and influenza are both respiratory infections with cytokine release syndrome. Zhu et al. use single-cell RNA sequencing of longitudinally collected PBMCs in both patients to reveal distinct immune response landscapes of the two diseases and identify virus-specific cell composition and immune response pathways.
Chemotherapy drug resistance frequently happens in more than 50% of bladder cancer patients and is the major obstacle for the bladder cancer therapy. Recent studies have shown that long noncoding RNA ...(lncRNA) is involved in the development of chemoresistance. In this study, we reported hypoxia inducible factor 1α‐antisense RNA 2 (HIF1A‐AS2), as a subtype‐specific hypoxia inducible lncRNA, is upregulated in bladder cancer cells and tissue after cisplatin (Cis) treatment. The induction of HIF1A‐AS2 in bladder cancer cells rendered resistance to Cis‐induced apoptosis. Silencing HIF1A‐AS2 in Cis‐resistant bladder cancer cells was re‐sensitized to Cis‐induced apoptosis. Mechanically, we found that HIF1A‐AS2 suppressed the transcription activity of p53 family proteins by promoting the expression of high‐mobility group A1 (HMGA1). The induction of HMGA1 physically interacts with p53, p63, and p73, and therefore constrains their transcriptional activity on Bax. Knockdown of HIF1A‐AS2 or HMGA1 rescued the expression of Bax, which therefore enhanced the killing effect of Cis. Furthermore, we also found that the expression of HIF1A‐AS2 was higher in the human bladder tumor tissues after Cis treatment, and was positive correlated to the expression of HIF1α and HMGA1. This study suggests that upregulated HIF1A‐AS2 hampers the p53 family proteins dependent apoptotic pathway to promote Cis resistance in bladder cancer. Our data suggested that HIF1A‐AS2 plays oncogenic roles and can be used as a therapeutic target for treating human bladder cancer.
In this study, we reported hypoxia inducible factor 1α‐antisense RNA 2 (HIF1A‐AS2) as a subtype‐specific hypoxia inducible long noncoding RNA, upregulated in bladder cancer cells and tissue after cisplatin (Cis) treatment. The induction of HIF1A‐AS2 in bladder cancer cells rendered resistant to Cis‐induced apoptosis.
Marine microalgae with high removal efficiency of phenol are needed for the remediation of polluted seawater in cases involving phenol spills. To achieve this purpose, adaptive laboratory evolution ...(ALE) was performed by a microalga Isochrysis galbana Parke MACC/H59, which is capable of degrading phenol at concentrations of less than 100 mg L−1 in 4 d. Two acclimation conditions were used: (i) 90 d at 100 mg L−1 phenol, and (ii) 90 d at 100 mg L−1 phenol followed by another 90 d at 200 mg L−1 phenol. By doing so, two strains (PAS-1 and PAS-2) could be obtained respectively. They grew rapidly at phenol concentrations up to 200 mg L−1 and 300 mg L−1, respectively, with a specific growth rate 2.52–3.40 times and 1.93–3.23 times that of the control (without phenol). Also, both strains had a higher removal capacity of phenol than the unacclimated alga. Phenol at an initial concentration of 200 mg L−1 was completely removed in 5 d thereby. For 300 mg L−1 phenol, a removal efficiency of 92% was achieved in 10 days by using PAS-2, with a removal rate constant of 30.01 d−1 (about twice that of PAS-1) and a half-life of 4.90 d (about half that of PAS-1), showing that a better strain may be obtained by extending the acclimation time. The enhancement of phenol biodegradation can be explained by the elevated activity of phenol hydroxylase (PH) in both strains. These results indicated that ALE could be an efficient tool used to enhance the tolerance and biodegradation of marine microalgae to phenol in seawater.
•Adaptive laboratory evolution was performed on a microalga Isochrysis galbana.•The phenol tolerance of acclimated alga was enhanced after acclimation.•The acclimated strains exhibited a higher removal capacity of phenol than the original alga.•The elevated activity of phenol hydroxylase led to the improvement.
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