China's adaptive response to climate change through air-conditioning

Studies have shown that the soaring demand for air conditioners in recent years is closely related to the worsening global warming; however, little evidence has been provided for China. This study uses weekly data of 343 Chinese cities to investigate how air conditioner sales respond to climate variability. We detected a U-shaped relationship between air-conditioning and temperature. An additional day with average temperature above 30°C increases weekly sales by 16.2%. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the adoption of air-conditioning is different for south and north China. By combining our estimates with shared socioeconomic pathway scenarios, we project China's mid-century air conditioner sales and the resulting electricity demand. Under the fossil-fueled development scenario, air conditioner sales in the Pearl River Delta would rise by 71% (65.7%-87.6%) in summer. On average, the per capita electricity demand for air-conditioning will surge by 28% (23.2%-35.4%) in China by mid-century.

Fluorophore-based host-guest assembly complexes for imaging and therapy

Recently, supramolecular chemistry with its unique properties has received considerable attention in many fields. Supramolecular fluorescent systems constructed on the basis of macrocyclic hosts are not only effective in overcoming the limitations of imaging and diagnostic reagents, but also in enhancing their performances. This paper summarizes the recent advances in supramolecular fluorescent systems based on host-guest interactions and their application in bioimaging and therapy as well as the challenges and prospects in developing novel supramolecular fluorescent systems.

"Four-In-One" Design of a Hemicyanine-Based Modular Scaffold for High-Contrast Activatable Molecular Afterglow Imaging

Afterglow luminescence (long persistent luminescence) holds great potential for nonbackground molecular imaging. However, current afterglow probes are mainly nanoparticles, and afterglow imaging systems based on organic small molecules are still lacking and have rarely been reported. Moreover, the lack of reactive sites and a universal molecular scaffold makes it difficult to design activatable afterglow probes. To address these issues, this study reports a novel kind of hemicyanine-based molecule scaffolds with stimuli-responsive afterglow luminescence, which is dependent on an intramolecular cascade photoreaction between ¹O₂ and the afterglow molecule to store the photoenergy for delayed luminescence after light cessation. As a proof of concept, three modular activatable molecular afterglow probes (MAPs) with a "four-in-one" molecular design by integrating a stimuli-responsive unit, ¹O₂-generating unit, ¹O₂-capturing unit, and luminescent unit into one probe are customized for quantification and imaging of targets including pH, superoxide anions, and aminopeptidase. Notably, MAPs show higher sensitivity in afterglow imaging than in fluorescence imaging because the responsive unit simultaneously controls the initiation of fluorescence (S₁ to S₀) and ¹O₂ generation (S₁ to T₁). Finally, MAPs are applied for high-contrast afterglow imaging of drug-induced hepatotoxicity, which is poorly evaluated in clinics and drug discovery. By reporting the sequential occurrence of oxidative stress and upregulation of aminopeptidase, such activatable afterglow probes allow noninvasive imaging of hepatotoxicity earlier than the serological and histology manifestation, indicating their promise for early diagnosis of hepatotoxicity.

Tuning the Cellular Uptake and Retention of Rhodamine Dyes by Molecular Engineering for High-Contrast Imaging of Cancer Cells

Probes allowing high-contrast discrimination of cancer cells and effective retention are powerful tools for the early diagnosis and treatment of cancer. However, conventional small-molecule probes often show limited performance in both aspects. Herein, we report an ingenious molecular engineering strategy for tuning the cellular uptake and retention of rhodamine dyes. Introduction of polar aminoethyl leads to the increased brightness and reduced cellular uptake of dyes, and this change can be reversed by amino acetylation. Moreover, these modifications allow cancer cells to take up more dyes than normal cells (16-fold) through active transport. Specifically, we further improve the signal contrast (56-fold) between cancer and normal cells by constructing activatable probes and confirm that the released fluorophore can remain in cancer cells with extended time, enabling long-term and specific tumor imaging.

Molecular Engineering of pH-Responsive NIR Oxazine Assemblies for Evoking Tumor Ferroptosis via Triggering Lysosomal Dysfunction

Ferroptosis, a newly discovered form of regulated cell death, is emerging as a promising approach to tumor therapy. However, the spatiotemporal control of cell-intrinsic Fenton chemistry to modulate tumor ferroptosis remains challenging. Here, we report an oxazine-based activatable molecular assembly (PTO-Biotin Nps), which is capable of triggering the lysosomal dysfunction-mediated Fenton pathway with excellent spatiotemporal resolution via near-infrared (NIR) light to evoke ferroptosis. In this system, a pH-responsive NIR photothermal oxazine molecule was designed and functionalized with a tumor-targeting hydrophilic biotin-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chain to engineer well-defined nanostructured assemblies within a single-molecular framework. PTO-Biotin Nps possesses a selective tropism to lysosome accumulation inside tumor cells, accommodated by its enhanced photothermal activity in the acidic microenvironment. Upon NIR light activation, PTO-Biotin Nps promoted lysosomal dysfunction and induced cytosolic acidification and impaired autophagy. More importantly, photoactivation-mediated lysosomal dysfunction via PTO-Biotin Nps was found to markedly enhance cellular Fenton reactions and evoke ferroptosis, thereby improving antitumor efficacy and mitigating systemic side effects. Overall, our study demonstrates that the molecular engineering approach of pH-responsive photothermal oxazine assemblies enables the spatiotemporal modulation of the intrinsic ferroptosis mechanism, offering a novel strategy for the development of metal-free Fenton inducers in antitumor therapy.

Engineering of a novel D-A type fluorophore with hydrogen bond-induced enhanced emission property for sensitively detecting endogenous HOCl in living cells and tissues

Fluorescence imaging has been widely employed for biomedical research and clinical diagnostics. With ease of synthesis and excellent photophysical properties, D-A type fluorophores are widely designed for fluorescence imaging. However, traditional D-A type fluorophores are solvatochromic which reduces the fluorescence brightness in the biological system. To solve this problem and build on our previous work, we devised a novel HIEE fluorophore MTC with typical anti-solvatochromic fluorescence. Furthermore, the activated fluorescent probe designed based on MTC showed excellent imaging performance. We believe that the strategy based on the fluorophores with typical anti-solvatohromic fluorescence can be a useful platform for designing fluorescent probes for high-brightness imaging in the biological system.

Family of hNQO1 Activatable Near-Infrared Fluoro-Photoacoustic Probes for Diagnosis of Wound Infection and Ulcerative Colitis

Bacterial infections can easily occur when patients mishandle wounds or eat moldy food. The prompt diagnosis of a bacterial infection could effectively reduce the risk of possible anatomical damage. However, non-invasive early detection of bacterial infections is difficult to achieve due to the lack of favorable tools. Here, we designed two hNQO1 fluorescent probes (RX2 and RX3) to visualize bacterial infection after deep learning on the pathogenesis of bacterial infection. RX2 and RX3 enable early detection of bacterial infection and are verified to be, respectively, suitable for fluorescence imaging (FLI) and photoacoustic imaging (PAI) by comparing the signal-to-background ratio of both probes in a mouse model of myositis caused by Escherichia coli infection. In view of the difference in penetration depth between the two imaging modalities, we further applied RX2 for FLI of E. coli-infected wounds and RX3 for PAI of E. coli-infected inflammatory bowel disease, suggesting the great potential of both probes for early diagnosis of bacterial infections.

De Novo Design of Activatable Photoacoustic/Fluorescent Probes for Imaging Acute Lung Injury In Vivo

Effective monitoring of the physiological progression of acute lung injury (ALI) in real time is crucial for early theranostics to reduce its high mortality. In particular, activatable fluorescence and photoacoustic molecule probes have attracted attention to assess ALI by detecting related indicators. However, the existing fluorophores often encounter issues of low retention in the lungs and slow clearance from the body, which compromise the probe's actual capability for in situ imaging by intravenous injection in vivo. Herein, a novel near-infrared hemicyanines fluorophore (FJH) bearing a quaternary ammonium group was first developed by combining with the rational design and screening strategy. The properties of good hydrophilicity and blood circulation effectively enable FJH accumulation for lung imaging. Inspired by the high retention efficiency, the probe FJH-C that turns on fluorescence and photoacoustic signals in response to the ALI indicator (esterase) was subsequently synthesized. Notably, the probe FJH-C successfully achieved the selectivity and sensitivity toward esterase in vitro and in living cells. More importantly, FJH-C can be further used to assess lipopolysaccharides and silica-induced ALI through the desired fluo-photoacoustic signal. Therefore, this study not only shows the first activatable probe for real-time imaging of lung function but also highlights the fluorophore structure with high lung retention. It is believed that FJH and FJH-C can serve as an efficient platform to reveal the pathological progression of other lung diseases for early diagnosis and medical intervention.

DNA-Templated Anchoring of Proteins for Programmable Cell Functionalization and Immunological Response

Membrane protein engineering exhibits great potential for cell functionalization. Although genetic strategies are sophisticated for membrane protein engineering, there still exist some issues, including transgene insertional mutagenesis, laborious, complicated procedures, and low tunability. Herein, we report a DNA-templated anchoring of exogenous proteins on living cell membranes to realize programmable functionalization of living cells. Using DNA as a scaffold, the model cell membranes are readily modified with proteins, on which the density and ratio of proteins as well as their interactions can be precisely controlled through predictable DNA hybridization. Then, the natural killer (NK) cells were engineered to gain the ability to eliminate the immune checkpoint signaling at the NK-tumor synapse, which remarkably promoted NK cell activation in immunotherapy. Given the versatile functions of exogenous proteins and flexible designs of programmable DNA, this method has the potential to facilitate membrane-protein-based cell engineering and therapy.

Construction and Application of DNAzyme-based Nanodevices

The development of stimuli-responsive nanodevices with high efficiency and specificity is very important in biosensing, drug delivery, and so on. DNAzymes are a class of DNA molecules with the specific catalytic activity. Owing to their unique catalytic activity and easy design and synthesis, the construction and application of DNAzymes-based nanodevices have attracted much attention in recent years. In this review, the classification and properties of DNAzyme are first introduced. The construction of several common kinds of DNAzyme-based nanodevices, such as DNA motors, signal amplifiers, and logic gates, is then systematically summarized. We also introduce the application of DNAzyme-based nanodevices in sensing and therapeutic fields. In addition, current limitations and future directions are discussed.

Evolving an Ultra-Sensitive Near-Infrared β-Galactosidase Fluorescent Probe for Breast Cancer Imaging and Surgical Resection Navigation

Early diagnosis and therapy are clinically crucial in decreasing mortality from breast carcinoma. However, the existing probes have difficulty in accurately identifying the margins and contours of breast carcinoma due to poor sensitivity and specificity. There is an urgent need to develop high-sensitive fluorescent probes for the diagnosis of breast carcinoma and for differentiating tumors from normal tissues during surgery. β-Galactosidase is a significant biomarker, whose overexpression is closely associated with the progression of breast tumors. Herein, we have constructed a β-galactosidase-activated fluorescent probe NIR-βgal-2 through rational design and molecular docking engineering simulations. The probe displayed superior sensitivity (detection limit = 2.0 × 10^-3 U/mL), great affinity (K_m = 1.84 μM), and catalytic efficiency (k_cat/K_m = 0.24 μM^-1 s^-1) for β-galactosidase. Leveraging this probe, we demonstrated the differentiation of cancer cells overexpressing β-galactosidase from normal cells and then applied the probe for intraoperative guided excision of breast tumors. Moreover, we exhibited the application of NIR-βgal-2 for the successful resection of orthotopic breast tumors by "in situ spraying" and monitored a good prognostic recovery. This work may promote the application of enzyme-activated near-infrared fluorescent probes for the development of carcinoma diagnosis and image-guided surgery.

[Management and short-term outcomes of neonates born to mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant]

Objective: To summarize the management and short-term outcomes of neonates delivered by mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. Methods: A retrospective study was performed on 158 neonates born to mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant admitted to the isolation ward of Children's Hospital of Fudan University from March 15^th, 2022 to May 30^th, 2022. The postnatal infection control measures for these neonates, and their clinical characteristics and short-term outcomes were analyzed. They were divided into maternal symptomatic group and maternal asymptomatic group according to whether their mothers had SARS-CoV-2 symptoms. The clinical outcomes were compared between the 2 groups using Rank sum test and Chi-square test. Results: All neonates were under strict infection control measures at birth and after birth. Of the 158 neonates, 75 (47.5%) were male. The gestational age was (38⁺³±1⁺³) weeks and the birth weight was (3 201±463)g. Of the neonates included, ten were preterm (6.3%) and the minimum gestational age was 30⁺¹ weeks. Six neonates (3.8%) had respiratory difficulty and 4 of them were premature and required mechanical ventilation. All 158 neonates were tested negative for SARS-COV-2 nucleic acid by daily nasal swabs for the first 7 days. A total of 156 mothers (2 cases of twin pregnancy) infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, the time from confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection to delivery was 7 (3, 12) days. Among them, 88 cases (56.4%) showed clinical symptoms, but none needed intensive care treatment. The peripheral white blood cell count of the neonates in maternal symptomatic group was significantly higher than that in maternal symptomatic group (23.0 (18.7, 28.0) × 10⁹ vs. 19.6 (15.4, 36.6) × 10⁹/L, Z=2.44, P<0.05). Conclusions: Neonates of mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant during third trimester have benign short-term outcomes, without intrauterine infection through vertical transmission. Strict infection control measures at birth and after birth can effectively protect these neonates from SARS-CoV-2 infection.

[Diagnostic value of rapid antigen testing for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection]

Objective: To investigate the diagnostic value of rapid antigen test based on colloidal gold immunochromatographic assay for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection in symptomatic patients. Methods: From May 20 to June 5 2022, 76 hospitalized children and their 55 accompanying family members with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in the COVID-19 isolation unit of the Children's Hospital of Fudan University (designated referral hospital for SARS-CoV-2 infection in Shanghai) enrolled. Their nasopharyngeal swab specimens were consecutively collected. The samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid by real-time quantitative. SARS-CoV-2 antigen was tested by immunochromatography. The correlation between the antigen detection results and the change of the cycle threshold (Ct) values were evaluated, as well as the sensitivity and specificity of SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection at different periods after the onset of the disease. Kappa consistency test was conducted to investigate the consistency between the 2 diagnostic methods. Results: Of the enrolled SARS-CoV-2 symptomatic infections, 76 were children, including 41 males and 35 females, with an age of 5 (2, 9) years; 55 were accompanying families, including 8 males and 47 females, with an age of 38 (32, 41) years. All 478 samples were simultaneously tested for SARS-CoV-2 antigen and nucleic acid. In any period from disease onset to negative conversion of viral nucleic acid, the overall sensitivity of the rapid antigen test was 48.2% (119/247), the specificity was 98.3% (227/231), and antigen test and nucleic acid test showed moderate consistency (κ=0.46, P<0.05). The sensitivity of antigen test was 100% (82/82) when the Ct value was ≤25. And the sensitivity of antigen test was 8/10, 4/15 and 8.3% (3/36) when the Ct value was 26, 30 and 35, respectively. All antigen tests were negative when Ct value was >35. During the period of 1-2 days, 3-5 days, 6-7 days, 8-10 days and >10 days after onset, the sensitivity and specificity of SARS-CoV-2 antigen test were 5/8 and 5/5, 90.2% (37/41) and 5/5, 88.9% (24/27) and 2/5, 45.0% (36/80) and 94.1% (32/34), 18.7% (17/91) and 98.9% (183/185) respectively. The Ct values of nasopharyngeal swabs were<26 during 2 to 7 days after onset, 28.7±5.0 on day 8, 34.5±2.9 on day 13 and > 35 after 14 days, respectively. Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 antigen test in the patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection shows acceptable sensitivity and specificity within 7 days after onset of disease, and the sensitivity was positively correlated with viral load and negatively correlated with onset time.

Pharmacogenomic Profiling of Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia to Identify Therapeutic Vulnerabilities and Inform Functional Precision Medicine

Despite the expanding portfolio of targeted therapies for adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), direct implementation in children is challenging due to inherent differences in underlying genetics. Here we established the pharmacologic profile of pediatric AML by screening myeloblast sensitivity to approved and investigational agents, revealing candidates of immediate clinical relevance. Drug responses ex vivo correlated with patient characteristics, exhibited age-specific alterations, and concorded with activities in xenograft models. Integration with genomic data uncovered new gene-drug associations, suggesting actionable therapeutic vulnerabilities. Transcriptome profiling further identified gene-expression signatures associated with on- and off-target drug responses. We also demonstrated the feasibility of drug screening-guided treatment for children with high-risk AML, with two evaluable cases achieving remission. Collectively, this study offers a high-dimensional gene-drug clinical data set that could be leveraged to research the unique biology of pediatric AML and sets the stage for realizing functional precision medicine for the clinical management of the disease.

SIGNIFICANCE

We conducted integrated drug and genomic profiling of patient biopsies to build the functional genomic landscape of pediatric AML. Age-specific differences in drug response and new gene-drug interactions were identified. The feasibility of functional precision medicine-guided management of children with high-risk AML was successfully demonstrated in two evaluable clinical cases. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 476.

Pass-through of diesel taxes and the effect on carbon emissions: Evidence from China

As one of the most important instruments for reducing emissions from fossil fuels, taxes have been widely used in government battles against air pollution and climate change across the world. However, the pass-through of taxes and their effect on emissions are not evident in all situations. This study investigates the pass-through of diesel consumption taxes to retail prices and estimates the consequent effect on diesel consumption and carbon emissions in China. The results show that the pass-through rate of diesel taxes in China is around 0.49. Also, there is a significant effect of an oil company's market share on the pass-through rate. Based on the pass-through rate and estimated price elasticity, we conduct further estimations of the impact on diesel consumption and carbon emissions and find that the increase in the diesel consumption tax in 2014/2015 reduces 1.64% of annual diesel consumption and 0.096% of annual carbon emissions in China.

Brain-targeted Near-Infrared Nanobeacon for In Situ Monitoring H2S Fluctuation during Epileptic Seizures

Epilepsy is a neurological brain disease, and its recurrent seizures are related to the reductive substance-powered antioxidant defense system (ADS). However, until now, there has been no report on the study of in situ antioxidant fluctuation during epilepsy of varying severity. In this work, hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) was selected as the model target, a H₂S-responsive near-infrared fluorophore was designed and synthesized, and an amphiphilic molecule was synthesized and modified with angiopep-2 peptide at its hydrophilic terminus. A nanobeacon termed as BFPP was prepared by the formation of micelles with the package of the fluorophore. The nanobeacon was sensitive to H₂S, with a low detection limit of 17 nM. The H₂S fluctuation in cells can be monitored by fluorescence imaging. In addition, angiopep-2 peptide at the surface of BFPP helps it cross the blood-brain barrier, and near-infrared fluorescence improves in vivo imaging. BFPP revealed that H₂S was at a moderate level in the normal brain, but its level was obviously elevated during mild epilepsy because of the activation of the ADS while significantly suppressed during severe epilepsy due to neuronal damage. This approach is generally accessible for other targets by altering the responsive fluorophore, with significance for in situ analysis of brain pathology.