Reactivation of Epstein–Barr virus by a dual-responsive fluorescent EBNA1-targeting agent with Zn2+-chelating function

EBNA1 is the only Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) latent protein responsible for viral genome maintenance and is expressed in all EBV-infected cells. Zn2+ is essential for oligomerization of the functional EBNA1. We constructed an EBNA1 binding peptide with a Zn2+ chelator to create an EBNA1-specific inhibitor (ZRL5P4). ZRL5P4 by itself is sufficient to reactivate EBV from its latent infection. ZRL5P4 is able to emit unique responsive fluorescent signals once it binds with EBNA1 and a Zn2+ ion. ZRL5P4 can selectively disrupt the EBNA1 oligomerization and cause nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) tumor shrinkage, possibly due to EBV lytic induction. Dicer1 seems essential for this lytic reactivation. As can been seen, EBNA1 is likely to maintain NPC cell survival by suppressing viral reactivation

Global Hunger: A Challenge to Agricultural, Food, and Nutritional Sciences

Hunger has been a concern for generations and has continued to plague hundreds of millions of people around the world. Although many efforts have been devoted to reduce hunger, challenges such as growing competitions for natural resources, emerging climate changes and natural disasters, poverty, illiteracy, and diseases are posing threats to food security and intensifying the hunger crisis. Concerted efforts of scientists to improve agricultural and food productivity, technology, nutrition, and education are imperative to facilitate appropriate strategies for defeating hunger and malnutrition. This paper provides some aspects of world hunger issues and summarizes the efforts and measures aimed to alleviate food problems from the food and nutritional sciences perspectives. The prospects and constraints of some implemented strategies for alleviating hunger and achieving sustainable food security are also discussed. This comprehensive information source could provide insights into the development of a complementary framework for dealing with the global hunger issue

Hong Kong Renal Registry 1995–1999

AbstractThis report was based on the data from the Renal Registry of the Hospital Authority of Hong Kong, accounted for 90% to 95% of all the patients on renal replacement therapy (RRT) in Hong Kong. Patients who received RRT under the private sectors were not included in this report. The data were as of 31 March 1999.There were 11 renal units, five satellite centers and four major renal transplant centers. The number of patients on RRT was 4268 [627 patients per million (pmp)], of which 58% (2490 patients, 360 pmp) were on peritoneal dialysis (PD), 13% (576 patients, 85 pmp) on hemodialysis (HD) and 28% (1202 patients, 177 pmp) with functioning kidney transplants (TX). The net increase of the number of patients on RRT from previous year was 10%. The incidence of end-stage renal failure was 762 (112 pmp). The median age of the existing patients on RRT was 52, of which 33% were above the age of 61 years. The median age of the new patients was 56 years, of which 50% were above the age of 61 years. The major causes of renal failure for existing patients were glomerulonephritis 32%, unknown 26% and diabetes 21%. For the new cases, 34% were due to diabetic nephropathy. Of all the patients on RRT, 10% were serologically positive for hepatitis B infection while 6% were positive for hepatitis C infection.Of all the patients on dialysis, 81% were on PD, of which 92% were on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Of the CAPD patients, 13% were still using “connect” systems, 75% were using “disconnect” systems and 12% using UV flash systems. Nineteen percent of all the patients on dialysis were on HD, of which 54% were on hospital based HD, 21% on satellite center based HD, 9% on charitable center based HD and 3% on home HD. Of the 1202 patients with kidney transplants, 629 (52%) were transplanted in Hong Kong. Of these, 325 (52%) were cadaveric kidney transplantation. For the year ending 31 March 1999, 113 patients (17 pmp) received a kidney transplantation, of which 58 transplants were performed in Hong Kong (30 cadaveric kidneys and 28 living related kidneys). Thirty-one percent of all the patients on RRT were receiving erythropoietin therapy.The annual crude mortality rate for all RRT was 7% (8% for PD, 14% for HD and 1.6% with TX). The major causes of death were cardiovascular (24%), infection (22%) and cerebral vascular accident (6%). The 1 and 5 year patient survivals for kidney transplants performed in Hong Kong between 1 April 1993 to 31 March 1998 were 98%, 96% for living related kidney and 94%, 89% for cadaveric kidney. The 1 and 5 year graft survivals were 92%, 88% (censored), 91%, 85% (not censored) for living related kidney and 89%, 83% (censored), 86%, 79% (not censored) for cadaveric kidney. The overall peritonitis rate for all CAPD systems for the 7 months ending 31 March 1999 was one episode per 21 months. The peritonitis rate of the new disconnect systems was one episode per 20 to 27 months.The point prevalence rate of RRT (1997 data) for Hong Kong was within 15% range of that for Australia, Canada and most European countries, but only 40% to 60% of that for Japan, USA and Taiwan. The percentage of dialysis patients being treated with PD was highest in the world

Variations in the Efficacy of Resistant Maltodextrin on Body Fat Reduction in Rats Fed Different High-Fat Models

Many studies have utilized a variety of methods to induce obesity in rodents, but they often received inconsistent results. The present study intended to use resistant maltodextrin (RMD) as a means to investigate the variations in its efficacy on body fat accumulation under the influence of four high-fat (HF) models of 23% or 40% total fat, comprising soybean oil, lard, and/or condensed milk. Results indicated that integrating condensed milk into the diets could help increase diet intake, boost energy intake, increase weight gain, and enhance fat formation. Supplementation of RMD (2.07 g/kg) notably reduced total body fat levels in three HF models, with the exception of a condensed-milk-added 40%-fat diet that may have misrepresented the functions of RMD. The uses of the 23% HF diets, with and without milk, and the milk-free 40% HF diet were therefore recommended as suitable models for antiobesity evaluations of RMD, or other fiber-rich products

Lanthanide–Cyclen–Camptothecin Nanocomposites for Cancer Theranostics Guided by Near-Infrared and Magnetic Resonance Imaging

We have devised a molecular-to-micellar strategy to incorporate a lanthanide nanoplatform for the delivery of an anticancer drug that simultaneously offers hybrid near-infrared (NIR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) capabilities with defined lanthanide(III) ratio control. This cancer-selective lanthanide-based self-assembled nanocomposite (LnNPs) has been synthesized by conjugating lanthanide–cyclen complexes (cycLn) with a well-known drug–camptothecin (CPT) through a redox-sensitive disulfide bond (−ss–). By accurately controlling the ratio of Gd(III) and Yb(III) complexes, we prepared hybrid nanoparticles (Gd/YbNPs) with both NIR and MR imaging properties. The enhanced stability at ultralow critical aggregation concentrations (CACs), simultaneous optical and MR imaging, improved delivery/chemotherapeutic efficiency, and cancer cell selectivity of such nanomicellar theranostic prodrugs in vitro and in vivo have thus been achieved and validated. The work provides a blueprint combining a stimuli-activated NIR luminescence and real-time MR imaging into a safe and biocompatible nanoplatform for selective cancer treatment

Multimodal Visualization of Bioorthogonal Systems by Off–On Luminescence and Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract Bioorthogonal chemistry is a rising field investigating chemical reactions in physiological environments with high specificity. However, only very few examples concern the real‐time monitoring of bioorthogonal reactions by luminescence or magnetic relaxivity. To fill this gap, herein, the Eu(III)‐based complex is reported as a small‐molecule optical imaging agent which shows off–on luminescence and provides quantitative analysis for the progress of the bioorthogonal reaction. The characteristic signal is achieved through efficient energy harvesting and transferring to the Eu(III) from the expansion of the conjugated system of the antenna. Moreover, the gadolinium(III) counterpart significantly enhances relaxivity in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after the bioorthogonal reaction since the rotational correlation time is shortened with increased molecular sizes and weights