Phylogenetic relationships among <i>Haemoproteus cyt b</i> lineages.

<p>Outgroup: human malaria parasite <i>P. falciparum</i>. Numbers located near branches indicate the Bayesian probability values. Previously described lineages are underlined. Lineages recovered from more than one individual are indicated. The number of individuals and host species in each lineage is shown in brackets. Survey sites are coded: BDGS, Badagongshan; NL, Nanling; HML, Houmiling; XHK, Xinhuikuan; JZS, Jizushan; DWS, Daweishan; PS, Pingshan.</p

Prevalence of haemosporidian infections in selected avian host families from Southern China.

<p>Number of species and individuals per family are shown in brackets. <i>Plasmodium</i> prevalence was not significantly different among families (<i>X</i>² = 1.122, <i>df</i> = 5, <i>p</i> = 0.952). <i>Haemoproteus</i> prevalence was significantly different among families (<i>X²</i> = 13.104, <i>df</i> = 5, <i>p</i> = 0.022).</p

Prevalence Patterns of Avian <i>Plasmodium</i> and <i>Haemoproteus</i> Parasites and the Influence of Host Relative Abundance in Southern China

<div><p>Infectious diseases threaten the health and survival of wildlife populations. Consequently, relationships between host diversity, host abundance, and parasite infection are important aspects of disease ecology and conservation research. Here, we report on the prevalence patterns of avian <i>Plasmodium</i> and <i>Haemoproteus</i> infections and host relative abundance influence based on sampling 728 wild-caught birds representing 124 species at seven geographically widespread sites in southern China. The overall prevalence of two haemoprotozoan parasites, <i>Plasmodium</i> and <i>Haemoproteus</i>, was 29.5%, with 22.0% attributable to <i>Haemoproteus</i> and 7.8% to <i>Plasmodium</i>. <i>Haemoproteus</i> prevalence differed significantly among different avian host families, with the highest prevalence in Nectariniidae, Pycnonotidae and Muscicapidae, whereas <i>Plasmodium</i> prevalence varied significantly among host species. Seventy-nine mitochondrial lineages including 25 from <i>Plasmodium</i> and 54 from <i>Haemoproteus</i> were identified, 80% of which were described here for the first time. The phylogenetic relationships among these parasites indicated stronger host-species specificity for <i>Haemoproteus</i> than <i>Plasmodium</i>. Well-supported host-family (Timaliidae) specific clades were found in both <i>Plasmodium</i> and <i>Haemoproteus</i>. The <i>Haemoproteus</i> tree shows regional subclades, whereas the <i>Plasmodium</i> clades are “scattered” among different geographical regions. Interestingly, there were statistically significant variations in the prevalence of <i>Plasmodium</i> and <i>Haemoproteus</i> among the geographical regions. Furthermore, the prevalence of <i>Plasmodium</i> and <i>Haemoproteus</i> were not significantly correlated with host relative abundance. Further efforts will focus on exploring the relationships between parasite prevalence and sex, age, and immune defense of the host.</p></div

Summary data for each sampling site.

<p>* Numbers in brackets representing sampling numbers of birds captured only used for analyzing the relationship between the parasites prevalence and host relative abundance.</p

An Efficient Strategy for Constructing Fluorescent Nanoprobes for Prolonged and Accurate Tumor Imaging

Activatable near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probes possess advantages of high selectivity, sensitivity, and deep imaging depth, holding great potential in the early diagnosis and prognosis assessment of tumors. However, small-molecule fluorescent probes are largely limited due to the rapid diffusion and metabolic clearance of activated fluorophores in vivo. Herein, we propose an efficient and reproducible novel strategy to construct activatable fluorescent nanoprobes through bioorthogonal reactions and the strong gold–sulfur (Au–S) interactions to achieve an enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, thereby achieving prolonged and high-contrast tumor imaging in vivo. To demonstrate the merits of this strategy, we prepared an activatable nanoprobe, hCy-ALP@AuNP, for imaging alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in vivo, whose nanoscale properties facilitate accumulation and long-term retention in tumor lesions. Tumor-overexpressed ALP significantly increased the fluorescence signal of hCy-ALP@AuNP in the NIR region. More importantly, compared with the small-molecule probe hCy-ALP-N3, the nanoprobe hCy-ALP@AuNP significantly improved the distribution and retention time in the tumor, thus improving the imaging window and accuracy. Therefore, this nanoprobe platform has great potential in the efficient construction of biomarker-responsive fluorescent nanoprobes to realize precise tumor diagnosis in vivo

Phylogenetic relationships among <i>Plasmodium cyt b</i> lineages.

<p>Outgroup: human malaria parasite <i>P. falciparum</i>. Numbers located near branches indicate the Bayesian probability values. Previously described lineages are underlined. Lineages recovered from more than one individual are indicated. The number of individuals and host species in each lineage is shown in brackets. Survey sites are coded: BDGS, Badagongshan; NL, Nanling; HML, Houmiling; XHK, Xinhuikuan; JZS, Jizushan; DWS, Daweishan; PS, Pingshan.</p

Map of southern China showing sampling sites.

<p>Sampling site names are coded: BDGS, Badagongshan; NL, Nanling; HML, Houmiling; XHK, Xinhuikuan; JZS, Jizushan; DWS, Daweishan; PS, Pingshan.</p

Colorimetric and Ratiometric Chemosensor for Visual Detection of Gaseous Phosgene Based on Anthracene Carboxyimide Membrane

In this work, we reported an anthracene carboxyimide-based chemosensor (AC-Phos) for colorimetric and ratiometric fluorescence detection of highly toxic phosgene, which displayed rapid response (<5 min) toward phosgene with a high selectivity and a low detection limit (2.3 nM). Furthermore, a facile testing membrane with a polystyrene immobilizing chemosensor has been fabricated for real-time visualizing of gaseous phosgene

Liver-Targeted Near-Infrared Fluorescence/Photoacoustic Dual-Modal Probe for Real-Time Imaging of <i>In Situ</i> Hepatic Inflammation

Early diagnosis of hepatic inflammation is the key to timely treatment and avoid the worsening of liver inflammation. Near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) probes have high sensitivity but low spatial resolution in lesion imaging, while photoacoustic (PA) imaging has good spatial location information. Therefore, the development of a NIRF/PA dual-modal probe integrated with high sensitivity and spatial location feedback can achieve an accurate early diagnosis of hepatic inflammation. Here, we report an activatable NIRF/PA dual-modal probe (hCy-Tf-CA) for the detection of the superoxide anion (O2·–) in early hepatic inflammation. hCy-Tf-CA showed high selectivity and sensitivity for detecting O2·– fluctuation in vitro. More importantly, by introducing hepatocyte-targeting cholic acid (CA), the probe successfully achieved accurate in situ imaging of acute inflammatory liver injury (AILI) and autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) in vivo. The introduced CA not only promotes the hepatic targeting accumulation of probes but also improves the performance of low background dual-modal imaging in vivo. Therefore, hCy-Tf-CA provides an effective strategy for significantly improving in situ imaging performance and holds great potential for early, sensitive, and accurate diagnosis of hepatic inflammation