Physical Characterization and Volatile Organic Compound Monitoring of Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate under Mechanical Recycling

In this study, physical characterization and monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were investigated on recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) from a mechanical recycling process and rPET bottles made with different rPET contents, with the aim of tracing the source of rPET and assessing its safety when use as a food contact material. It was found that rPET had a similar thermal stability to that of virgin PET (vPET). rPET bottles did not show any significant changes in groups or structure and exhibit similar crystallization and melting behaviors to vPET. However, there were minor mechanical scratches in the surface micromorphology of rPET bottles, and the color of rPET bottles became darker, greener and yellower as the content of recycled material increased. The solid-state polycondensation process was found to play an important role in the removal of VOCs, as detected by headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-GC-MS), resulting in a very small amount of residual VOCs in rPET. Four VOCs (acetaldehyde, glycol and nonanal at levels less than 1.00 mg/kg; 2-methyl-1,3 dioxolane at levels of 1.72-5.76 mg/kg) were detected in the rPET bottles. This study shows that rPET bottles are qualified for reuse in food contact in terms of thermal properties, structure, morphology and VOC residues, although there is variability in color

Rapid lateral flow immunoassay for fluorescence detection of canine distemper virus (CDV)

Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a highly contagious and potentially lethal virus that affects dogs and other members of the Canidae family, including wolves, foxes, and coyotes. Here, we present a fluorescent lateral flow immunoassay (FLFA) platform for the detection of CDV, which utilizes fluorescent microspheres - fusion protein monoclonal antibody (mAb)-labeled monoclonal antibody. The assay detected CDV within 5 min, with a detection limit threshold of 3 × 102 TCID50/mL. Notably, the assay demonstrated no cross-reactivity with canine parvovirus, canine coronavirus, canine adenovirus, feline calicivirus, feline herpesvirus, or feline parvovirus. Field and clinical applicability of the assay was evaluated using 63 field samples, including 30 canine fecal samples, 18 swab samples, and 15 blood samples. The coincidence rate between the detection results of clinical samples obtained through FLFA and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was 96.83%. Thus, this assay offers a significant advancement for the rapid diagnosis of CDV at the point of care

The global landscape of immune-derived lncRNA signature in colorectal cancer

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a highly heterogeneous cancer. This heterogeneity has an impact on the efficacy of immunotherapy. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been found to play regulatory functions in cancer immunity. However, the global landscape of immune-derived lncRNA signatures has not yet been explored in colorectal cancer.Methods: In this study, we applied DESeq2 to identify differentially expressed lncRNAs in colon cancer. Next, we performed an integrative analysis to globally identify immune-driven lncRNA markers in CRC, including immune-associated pathways, tumor immunogenomic features, tumor-infiltrating immune cells, immune checkpoints, microsatellite instability (MSI) and tumor mutation burden (TMB).Results: We also identified dysregulated lncRNAs, such as LINC01354 and LINC02257, and their clinical relevance in CRC. Our findings revealed that the differentially expressed lncRNAs were closely associated with immune pathways. In addition, we found that RP11-354P11.3 and RP11-545G3.1 had the highest association with the immunogenomic signature. As a result, these signatures could serve as markers to assess immunogenomic activity in CRC. Among the immune cells, resting mast cells and M0 macrophages had the highest association with lncRNAs in CRC. The AC006129.2 gene was significantly associated with several immune checkpoints, for example, programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and B and T lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA). Therefore, the AC006129.2 gene could be targeted to regulate the condition of immune cells or immune checkpoints to enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy in CRC patients. Finally, we identified 15 immune-related lncRNA-generated open reading frames (ORFs) corresponding to 15 cancer immune epitopes.Conclusion: In conclusion, we provided a genome-wide immune-driven lncRNA signature for CRC that might provide new insights into clinical applications and immunotherapy

Comprehensive Characterization of Somatic Mutations Impacting lncRNA Expression for Pan-Cancer

Somatic mutations have long been recognized as an important feature of cancer. However, analysis of somatic mutations, to date, has focused almost entirely on the protein coding regions of the genome. The potential roles of somatic mutations in human long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are therefore largely unknown, particularly their functional significance across different cancer types. In this study, we characterized some lncRNAs whose expression was affected by somatic mutations (defined as MutLncs) and constructed global MutLnc landscapes across 17 cancer types by systematically integrating multiple levels of data. MutLncs were commonly downregulated and carried low mutation frequencies and non-silent mutations in most cancer types. Co-occurrence analysis in pan-cancer highlighted combined patterns of specific MutLncs, suggesting that a number of MutLncs influence diverse cancer types through combination effects. Several conserved and cancer-specific functions of MutLncs were determined. We further explored the somatic mutations affecting lncRNA expression via mixed and unmixed effects, which led to specific functions in pan-cancer. Survival analysis indicated that MutLncs and co-occurrence pairs can potentially serve as cancer biomarkers. Clarification of the specific roles of MutLncs in human cancers could be beneficial for understanding the molecular pathogenesis of different cancer types and developing the appropriate treatments