spike development

Cultivating high-yield wheat under limited water resources is crucial for sustainable agriculture in semiarid regions. Amid water scarcity, plants activate drought response signaling, yet the delicate balance between drought tolerance and development remains unclear. Through genome-wide association studies and transcriptome profiling, we identified a wheat atypical basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor (TF), TabHLH27-A1, as a promising quantitative trait locus candidate for both relative root dry weight and spikelet number per spike in wheat...

BACKGROUND: Vaccination remains the cornerstone of defense against COVID-19 globally. This study aims to assess the safety and immunogenicity profile of innovative vaccines LYB001. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This was a randomized, double-blind, parallel-controlled trial, in 100 healthy Chinese adults (21 to 72 years old). Three doses of 30 or 60 µg of SARS-CoV-2 RBD-based VLP vaccine (LYB001), or the SARS-CoV-2 RBD-based protein subunit vaccine (ZF2001, control group) were administered with a 28-day interval...

Microbial surface transmission has aroused great attention since the pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Developing a simple in situ detection method for viruses on solid surfaces is of great significance for timely public health surveillance. Taking advantage of the natural structure of SARS-CoV-2, we reported the assembly of Au@AgNPs on the surface of a single virus by the specific aptamer-spike protein interaction. Multiple hotspots can be created between the neighboring Au@AgNPs for the highly sensitive surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) detection of SARS-CoV-2...

Human visual neurons rely on event-driven, energy-efficient spikes for communication, while silicon image sensors do not. The energy-budget mismatch between biological systems and machine vision technology has inspired the development of artificial visual neurons for use in spiking neural network (SNN). However, the lack of multiplexed data coding schemes reduces the ability of artificial visual neurons in SNN to emulate the visual perception ability of biological systems. Here, we present an artificial visual spiking neuron that enables rate and temporal fusion (RTF) coding of external visual information...

The global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has devastated public health and the global economy. New variants are continually emerging because of amino acid mutations within the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Existing neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) that target the receptor-binding domain (RBD) within the spike protein have been shown to have reduced neutralizing activity against these variants. In particular, the recently expanding omicron subvariants BQ 1...

BACKGROUND: Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is a fetal protein that can indicate congenital anomalies such as Down syndrome and spinal canal blockage when detected at abnormal levels in pregnant women. Current AFP detection methods rely on invasive blood or serum samples, which require sophisticated equipment. From the many solutions proposed, colorimetric paper-based assays excel in point-of-care settings. The concept of paper-based ELISA (p-ELISA) enhances traditional methods, aligning with the ASSURED criteria for diagnostics in resource-limited regions...

SARS-CoV-2 continues to threaten human health, antibody therapy is one way to control the infection. Because new SARS-CoV-2 mutations are constantly emerging, there is an urgent need to develop broadly neutralizing antibodies to block the viral entry into host cells. VNAR from sharks is the smallest natural antigen binding domain, with the advantages of small size, flexible paratopes, good stability, and low manufacturing cost. Here, we used recombinant SARS-CoV-2 Spike-RBD to immunize sharks and constructed a VNAR phage display library...

How breathing is generated by the preBötzinger complex (preBötC) remains divided between two ideological frameworks, and a persistent sodium current (INaP ) lies at the heart of this debate. Although INaP is widely expressed, the pacemaker hypothesis considers it essential because it endows a small subset of neurons with intrinsic bursting or "pacemaker" activity. In contrast, burstlet theory considers INaP dispensable because rhythm emerges from "preinspiratory" spiking activity driven by feed-forward network interactions...

Sweat lactate, a promising biomarker for assessing physical performance and health conditions, calls for noninvasive, convenient, and affordable detection methods. This study leverages molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) as a synthetic biorecognition element for lactate detection due to their affordability and high stability. Traditional MIPs-based electrochemical sensors often require external redox probes such as ferricyanide/ferrocyanide in the solution to signal the binding between analytes and MIPs, which restricts their applicability...

Middle East respiratory coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a newly emergent, highly pathogenic coronavirus that is associated with 34% mortality rate. MERS-CoV remains listed as priority pathogen by the WHO. Since its discovery in 2012 and despite the efforts to develop coronaviruses vaccines to fight against SARS-CoV-2, there are currently no MERS-CoV vaccine that has been approved. Therefore, there is high demand to continue on the development of prophylactic vaccines against MERS-CoV. Current advancements in vaccine developments can be adapted for the development of improved MERS-CoV vaccines candidates...

A rapid increase in antimicrobial resistant bacterial infections around the world is causing a global health crisis. The Gram-negative bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii is categorized as a Priority 1 pathogen for research and development of new antimicrobials by the World Health Organization due to its numerous intrinsic antibiotic resistance mechanisms and ability to quickly acquire new resistance determinants. Specialized phage enzymes, called depolymerases, degrade the bacterial capsule polysaccharide layer and show therapeutic potential by sensitizing the bacterium to phages, select antibiotics, and serum killing...

BACKGROUND: Public interest in gender affirmation surgery has surged over the last decade. This spike in interest, combined with extensive free online medical knowledge, has led many to the Internet for more information on this complicated procedure. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of online information on metoidioplasty. METHODS: Google Trends in searches on "metoidioplasty" from 2004 to present were assessed. "metoidioplasty" was searched on three popular search engines (Google, Yahoo, and Bing), and the first 100 websites from each search were extracted for inclusion (Fig...

The paucity of information on longevity of vaccine-induced immune responses and uncertainty of the correlates of protection hinder the development of evidence-based COVID-19 vaccination policies for new birth cohorts. Here, to address these knowledge gaps, we conducted a cohort study of healthy 5-12-year-olds vaccinated with BNT162b2. We serially measured binding and neutralizing antibody titers (nAbs), spike-specific memory B cell (MBC) and spike-reactive T cell responses over 1 year. We found that children mounted antibody, MBC and T cell responses after two doses of BNT162b2, with higher antibody and T cell responses than adults 6 months after vaccination...

The emergence and rapid spread of Mpox (formerly monkeypox) have caused significant societal challenges. Adequate and appropriate diagnostics procedures are an urgent necessity. Herein, we discover a pair of aptamers through the systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) that exhibit high affinity and bind to different sites towards the A29 protein of the Mpox virus. Subsequently, we propose a facile, sensitive, convenient CRISPR/Cas12a-mediated aptasensor for detecting the A29 antigen...

Artificial olfactory synaptic devices with low energy consumption and low detection limits are important for the further development of neuromorphic computing and intelligent robotics. In this work, an ultralow energy consumption and low detection limit imitation olfactory synaptic device based on organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) was prepared. The aggregation state of poly(diketopyrrolopyrrole-selenophene) (PTDPP) semiconductor films is modulated by adding unfavorable solvents and annealing treatments to obtain excellent charge transfer and gas synaptic properties...

In the present study, we address the limitations of conventional surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) techniques for sensitive and stable detection of melamine in food products, especially dairy. To overcome these challenges, we developed a novel SERS-active substrate by incorporating gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) onto carboxyl-functionalized two-dimensional (2D) MXene material doped with nitrides, specifically Au-Ti2 N-COOH. Our strategy leverages the unique physicochemical properties of MXene, a class of atomically thin, 2D transition metal carbides/nitrides, with tunable surface functionalities...

UNLABELLED: Chemical prototypes with broad-spectrum antiviral activity are important toward developing new therapies that can act on both existing and emerging viruses. Binding of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to the host angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor is required for cellular entry of SARS-CoV-2. Toward identifying new chemical leads that can disrupt this interaction, including in the presence of SARS-CoV-2 adaptive mutations found in variants like omicron that can circumvent vaccine, immune, and therapeutic antibody responses, we synthesized 5-chloro-3-(2-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)hydrazono)indolin-2-one (H2 L) from the condensation reaction of 5-chloroisatin and 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine in good yield...

BACKGROUND: Many Gram -negative bacteria other than Pseudomonas aeruginosa have been implicated in waterborne outbreaks but standardised laboratory detection methods for these organisms have not been established. AIM: We aimed to establish laboratory testing methodologies for six waterborne pathogens; Acinetobacter spp, Burkholderia spp, Cupriavidus spp, Delftia acidovorans, Elizabethkingia spp and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. METHODS: Water samples were spiked by UK Health Security Agency labs and sent to the Glasgow Royal Infirmary lab for analysis...

A methodology based on the use of asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) coupled to ICP-MS with size fraction-targeted isotope dilution analysis (IDA) has been developed, validated, and applied for the first time to determine the mass fraction of nanoscale silica (SiO2 ). For this purpose, 29 Si-enriched SiO2 nanoparticles, to be used as an IDA spike/internal standard, were synthesized and characterized in-house . Double IDA was used to quantify an aqueous suspension of Stöber silica particles of similar characteristics to those of the 29 SiO2 nanoparticle (NP) spike using a representative test material of natural Si isotopic composition as the calibrant...

BACKGROUND: In December 2019, the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) led to the COVID-19 pandemic, with millions of deaths worldwide. Vaccine breakthroughs in late 2020 resulted in the authorization of COVID-19 vaccines. While these vaccines have demonstrated efficacy, evidence from vaccine safety monitoring systems around the globe supported a causal association between COVID-19 vaccines, in particular those using mRNA technology, i.e., Moderna's mRNA-1273 and Pfizer-BioNTech's BNT162b2, and myocarditis...