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Background Ageing, chronic diseases, prolonged inactivity, and inadequate nutrition pose a severe threat to skeletal muscle health and function. To date, experimental evidence suggests that ageing‐related subclinical inflammation could be an important causative factor in sarcopenia. Although inflammatory signalling has been implicated in the pathogenesis of experimental animal models of sarcopenia, few studies have surveyed the clinical association between circulating factors and muscle mass in patients before and after lifestyle interventions. In this study, we evaluated whether proinflammatory cytokines are associated with the onset of sarcopenia, which circulating factors are associated with the severity of sarcopenia, and how these factors change after lifestyle interventions in sarcopenic elderly persons. Methods A total of 56 elderly subjects (age ≥ 60 years) with sarcopenia and 56 elderly non‐sarcopenic subjects, who met entry criteria and had given informed consent, were selected from the Peking Union Medical College Hospital multicentre prospective longitudinal sarcopenia study for testing relevant circulating factors. Thirty‐two elderly subjects from the sarcopenic cohort completed a 12 week intensive lifestyle intervention programme with whey supplements (30 g/day) and a personalized resistance training regimen. The levels of proinflammatory cytokines and metabolic hormones, pre‐intensive and post‐intensive lifestyle interventions, were measured. Results The sarcopenic group was significantly older (72.05 ± 6.54 years; P < 0.001), more likely to be inactive and female (57.1% of all sarcopenic patients), and had a higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes (16% higher risk). Compared with non‐sarcopenic subjects, serum interleukin (IL)‐6, IL‐18, tumour necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), TNF‐like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK), and leptin were significantly higher, while insulin growth factor 1, insulin, and adiponectin were significantly lower in sarcopenic patients (all P < 0.05). Logistic regression analyses revealed that high levels of TNF‐α (>11.15 pg/mL) and TWEAK (>1276.48 pg/mL) were associated with a 7.6‐fold and 14.3‐fold increased risk of sarcopenia, respectively. After adjustment for confounding variables, high levels of TWEAK were still associated with a 13.4‐fold increased risk of sarcopenia. Intensive lifestyle interventions led to significant improvements in sarcopenic patients' muscle mass and serum profiles of TWEAK, TNF‐α, IL‐18, insulin, and adiponectin (all P < 0.05). Conclusions High levels of the inflammatory cytokines TWEAK and TNF‐α are associated with an increased risk of sarcopenia, while the metabolic hormones insulin growth factor 1, insulin, and adiponectin are associated with a decreased risk of sarcopenia in our Chinese patient cohort. Intensive lifestyle interventions could significantly improve muscle mass, reduce inflammation, and restore metabolic hormone levels in sarcopenic patients. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02873676.

The VIIRS instrument (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on board the SNPP (Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership) satellite contains 11 narrow channels (M1–M11) in the 0.4–2.5 μm solar spectral region. The M9 channel is specifically designed for detecting thin cirrus clouds. It is centered at 1.378 μm with a width of 15 nm, which is located within a strong atmospheric water vapor band absorption region. In comparison with the corresponding MODIS Channel 26, the VIIRS M9 channel is narrower and more sensitive for cirrus detections. Because the radiances of the M9 channel over cirrus pixels are subjected to absorption by atmospheric water vapor molecules above and within the cirrus clouds, the water vapor absorption effect needs to be properly taken into consideration when using the M9 channel for quantitative removal of cirrus effects in other VIIRS channels in the 0.4–2.5 μm spectral range. In this article, we describe in detail an empirical technique for the retrieval of cirrus reflectances in the visible and near-IR (VNIR, 0.4–1.0 μm), where ice particles within cirrus clouds have negligible absorption effects, and in shortwave IR (SWIR, 1.0–2.5 μm) where ice particles’ absorption effects are observed. The descriptions include all elements leading to the development of the operational VIIRS cirrus reflectance algorithm, the journal literature backing up the approach, theoretical descriptions of the algorithm’s physics and mathematical background, and sample retrieval results from the VIIRS data. The SNPP VIIRS cirrus reflectance data products from 1 March 2012 to the present are available from a NASA data center.

•Low or high doses of VLP HPV vaccine were well tolerated in 9–45 year-old females.•Three HPV vaccinations elicited protective immune responses in 100% of vaccinees.•HPV vaccination did not result in any severe or serious adverse event.•Reactogenicity and immunogenicity were not affected by increasing dosage of HPV vaccine. We evaluated the safety and immunogenicity of high and low doses of a novel pichia pastoris-expressed bivalent (types 16 and 18) human papillomavirus (HPV) virus-like particle vaccine. In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 1 trial, we enrolled 160 healthy females aged 9–45 years in Guangxi, China who were randomized (1:1:2) to receive either low (0.5 mL) or high (1.0 mL) dosages of bivalent HPV vaccine, or placebo (aluminum adjuvant) in a 0, 2, 6 months schedule. Adverse events and other significant conditions that occurred within 30 days after each vaccination were recorded throughout the trial. Sera were collected at days 0, 60, 180 and 210 to measure anti-HPV 16/18 neutralizing antibodies. A total of 160 participants received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine and 152 completed the three dose vaccination series. Reporting rates of adverse events in placebo, low dose (0.5 mL) and high dose (1.0 mL) groups were 47.5 %, 55.0 % and 55.0 %, respectively. No serious adverse events occurred during this trial. 100 % of the participants who received three doses of the HPV vaccine produced neutralizing antibodies against HPV 16/18 vaccine. For HPV 16 and HPV 18, the geometric mean titers (GMTs) were similar between the low dose group (GMTHPV 16 = 10816 [95 % CI: 7824–14953]), GMTHPV 18 = 3966 [95 % CI: 2693–5841]) and high dose group (GMT HPV 16 = 14482 [95 % CI: 10848–19333], GMT HPV 18 = 3428 [95 % CI: 2533–4639]). The pichia pastoris-expressed bivalent HPV vaccine was safe and immunogenic in Chinese females aged 9–45 years. The low dosage (0.5 mL) was selected for further immunogenicity and efficacy study.

We assessed the safety, immunogenicity and antibody persistence of two- and three-dose schedules of the novel bivalent HPV16/18 vaccine (HPV-2, Walrinvax) in the per-protocol target population of initially seronegative 9–14 year-old girls, including a non-inferiority comparison with the three-dose schedule in 18–26 year-old women. This randomized phase 3b trial in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, involved healthy Chinese females in two age cohorts; 600 girls aged 9–14 years and 300 women aged 18–26 years. Girls were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either two (Months 0,6) or three (Months 0,2,6) intramuscular doses of HPV-2. All participants were monitored for immunogenicity as neutralizing antibodies up to 36 months. Primary objectives were non-inferiority analyses of immunogenicity between two- and three-dose girl groups and adult women at Month 7; safety assessments were based on participant-completed diary cards. All groups demonstrated marked increases in neutralizing antibodies against HPV 16 and 18 that persisted above baseline to 36 months. Month 7 responses in both girl groups were non-inferior to those in the women and were statistically higher after two-doses than girls or women who received three doses. GMTs waned after month 7, but then maintained a plateau level until month 36. Vaccination was well tolerated in all groups with no serious adverse events reported. Immune responses to two doses of HPV-2 vaccine in adolescent girls were non-inferior to those after three doses in young women, an age cohort in which clinical efficacy of HPV-2 against cervical cancer has been demonstrated.

Data from the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) instruments onboard the Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 satellite platforms are subject to contamination by cloud cover, with cirrus contributions being the most difficult to detect and mask. To help address this issue, a cirrus detection channel (Band 9) centered within the 1.375-μm water vapor absorption region was implemented on OLI, with a spatial resolution of 30 m. However, this band has not yet been fully utilized in the Collection 2 Landsat 8/9 Level 2 surface temperature data products that are publicly released by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The temperature products are generated with a single-channel algorithm. During the surface temperature retrievals, the effects of absorption of infrared radiation originating from the warmer earth’s surfaces by ice clouds, typically located in the upper portion of the troposphere and re-emitting at much lower temperatures (approximately 220 K), are not taken into consideration. Through an analysis of sample Level 1 TOA and Level 2 surface data products, we have found that thin cirrus cloud features present in the Level 1 1.375-μm band images are directly propagated down to the Level 2 surface data products. The surface temperature errors resulting from thin cirrus contamination can be 10 K or larger. Previously, we reported an empirical and effective technique for removing thin cirrus scattering effects in OLI images, making use of the correlations between the 1.375-μm band image and images of any other OLI bands located in the 0.4–2.5 μm solar spectral region. In this article, we describe a variation of this technique that can be applied to the thermal bands, using the correlations between the Level 1 1.375-μm band image and the 11-μm BT image for the effective removal of thin cirrus absorption effects. Our results from three data sets acquired over spatially uniform water surfaces and over non-uniform land/water boundary areas suggest that if the cirrus-removed TOA 11-μm band BT images are used for the retrieval of the Level 2 surface temperature (ST) data products, the errors resulting from thin cirrus contaminations in the products can be reduced to about 1 K for spatially diffused cirrus scenes.

Background The preservation or restoration of β cell function in type 1 diabetes (T1D) remains as an attractive and challengeable therapeutic target. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells with high capacity of immunoregulation, which emerged as a promising cell-based therapy for many immune disorders. The objective of this study was to examine the efficacy and safety of one repeated transplantation of allogeneic MSCs in individuals with T1D. Methods This was a nonrandomized, open-label, parallel-armed prospective study. MSCs were isolated from umbilical cord (UC) of healthy donors. Fifty-three participants including 33 adult-onset (≥ 18 years) and 20 juvenile-onset T1D were enrolled. Twenty-seven subjects (MSC-treated group) received an initial systemic infusion of allogeneic UC-MSCs, followed by a repeat course at 3 months, whereas the control group ( n = 26) only received standard care based on intensive insulin therapy. Data at 1-year follow-up was reported in this study. The primary endpoint was clinical remission defined as a 10% increase from baseline in the level of fasting and/or postprandial C-peptide. The secondary endpoints included side effects, serum levels of HbA1c, changes in fasting and postprandial C-peptide, and daily insulin doses. Results After 1-year follow-up, 40.7% subjects in MSC-treated group achieved the primary endpoint, significantly higher than that in the control arm. Three subjects in MSC-treated group, in contrast to none in control group, achieved insulin independence and maintained insulin free for 3 to 12 months. Among the adult-onset T1D, the percent change of postprandial C-peptide was significantly increased in MSC-treated group than in the control group. However, changes in fasting or postprandial C-peptide were not significantly different between groups among the juvenile-onset T1D. Multivariable logistic regression assay indicated that lower fasting C-peptide and higher dose of UC-MSC correlated with achievement of clinical remission after transplantation. No severe side effects were observed. Conclusion One repeated intravenous dose of allogeneic UC-MSCs is safe in people with recent-onset T1D and may result in better islet β cell preservation during the first year after diagnosis compared to standard treatment alone. Trial registration ChiCTR2100045434 . Registered on April 15, 2021—retrospectively registered, http://www.chictr.org.cn/

Phosphors emitting visible and near-infrared persistent luminescence have been explored extensively owing to their unusual properties and commercial interest in their applications such as glow-in-the-dark paints, optical information storage, and in vivo bioimaging. However, no persistent phosphor that features emissions in the ultraviolet C range (200–280 nm) has been known to exist so far. Here, we demonstrate a strategy for creating a new generation of persistent phosphor that exhibits strong ultraviolet C emission with an initial power density over 10 milliwatts per square meter and an afterglow of more than 2 h. Experimental characterizations coupled with first-principles calculations have revealed that structural defects associated with oxygen introduction-induced anion vacancies in fluoride elpasolite can function as electron traps, which capture and store a large number of electrons triggered by X-ray irradiation. Notably, we show that the ultraviolet C afterglow intensity of the yielded phosphor is sufficiently strong for sterilization. Our discovery of this ultraviolet C afterglow opens up new avenues for research on persistent phosphors, and it offers new perspectives on their applications in terms of sterilization, disinfection, drug release, cancer treatment, anti-counterfeiting, and beyond.

Nanotechnology has become more and more potentially used in diagnosis or treatment of diseases. Advances in nanotechnology have led to new and improved nanomaterials in biomedical applications. Common nanomaterials applicable in biomedical applications include liposomes, polymeric micelles, graphene, carbon nanotubes, quantum dots, ferroferric oxide nanoparticles, gold nanoparticles (Au NPs), and so on. Among them, Au NPs have been considered as the most interesting nanomaterial because of its unique optical, electronic, sensing and biochemical properties. Au NPs have been potentially applied for medical imaging, drug delivery, and tumor therapy in the early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases. This review focuses on some recent advances in the use of Au NPs as drug carriers for the intracellular delivery of therapeutics and as molecular nanoprobes for the detection and monitoring of target molecules.