The Chinese University of Hong Kong

About: The Chinese University of Hong Kong is a education organization based out in Hong Kong, China. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cancer. The organization has 43411 authors who have published 93672 publications receiving 3066651 citations.

Antitumor polysaccharides from mushrooms: a review on their isolation process, structural characteristics and antitumor activity

Abstract: Mushrooms have been valued as edible and medicinal resources, and antitumor substances have been identified in many mushroom species. Polysaccharides are the best known and most potent mushroom-derived substances with antitumor and immunomodulating properties. Although the isolation process, structural characterization and antitumor activity of mushroom polysaccharides have been extensively investigated in the past three decades, the relationship between the antitumor activity and the chemical composition as well as the high order structure of their active components is still not well established. These studies are still in progress in many laboratories, and the role of polysaccharides as antitumor agent is especially under intense debate. The purpose of the present review is to summarize the available information, and to reflect the current status of this research area with a view for future direction.

Facile Synthesis of Nitrogen-Doped Graphene via Pyrolysis of Graphene Oxide and Urea, and its Electrocatalytic Activity toward the Oxygen-Reduction Reaction

Abstract: excellent thermal conductivity, [ 2 ] and a high optical transparency. [ 3 ] These properties lead to very promising applications of graphene in electronic devices, [ 4 ] transparent electrodes, [ 5 ] and energy-storage devices. [ 6 , 7 ] Recently, it was found that graphene has an extraordinary catalytic activity. [ 8–14 ] For example, N-doped graphene has a high catalytic activity toward the oxygen-reduction reaction (ORR). [ 8 ] Furthermore, graphene oxide (GO), an important derivative of graphene, is an effi cient catalyst for oxidation and hydration reactions of various alcohols, [ 9 ] whereas reduced GO can be used for catalyzing the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene. [ 10 ] Studies have shown that the heteroatoms in graphene derivatives, such as N and O, play a critical role in their catalytic activities. [ 10 , 15 , 16 ] Thus, the introduction of dopants into the graphene lattice has been the focus of much research in order to achieve a high catalytic activity toward target reactions. Among various doped graphenes, nitrogen-doped graphene (NG) has attracted much attention because of its high catalytic activity toward the ORR – the electrode reaction that often limits the performance of the cathode in a fuel cell or a metalair battery. Conventional Pt-based catalysts have a high intrinsic catalytic activity toward the ORR, but suffer from the drawbacks of high cost, poor long-term stability, and susceptibility to the crossover effect, which hinder the commercial viability of Ptloaded fuel cells. [ 17 ] Thus the search for an alternative catalyst, such as NG, is of great importance in replacing these expensive Pt-based catalysts. To prepare NG, chemical-vapor deposition in the presence of N-containing precursors is the most-common method; [ 18 ] arc discharge of graphite electrodes in a H 2 /pyridine or H 2 /NH 3 atmosphere can also produce NG. [ 19 ] However, the extremely low yield and high cost of these methods limit their application only to fundamental studies. Later, it was found that GO can be

Immunomodulation and Anti-Cancer Activity of Polysaccharide- Protein Complexes

Abstract: In the last three decades, numerous polysaccharides and polysaccharide-protein complexes have been isolated from mushrooms and used as a source of therapeutic agents. The most promising biopharmacological activities of these biopolymers are their immunomodulation and anti-cancer effects. They are mainly present as glucans with different types of glycosidic linkages such as (1-->3), (1-->6)-beta-glucans and (1-->3)-alpha-glucans, and as true herteroglycans, while others mostly bind to protein residues as polysaccharide-protein complexes. Three antitumor mushroom polysaccharides, i.e. lentinan, schizophyllan and protein-bound polysaccharide (PSK, Krestin), isolated respectively, from Lentinus edodes, Schizophyllum commune and Coriolus versicolor, have become large market items in Japan. Lentinan and schizophyllan are pure beta-glucans, whereas PSK is a protein-bound beta-glucan. A polysaccharide peptide (PSP), isolated from a strain of Coriolus versicolor in China, has also been widely used as an anti-cancer and immunomodulatory agent. Although the mechansim of their antitumor action is still not completely clear, these polysaccharides and polysaccharide-protein complexes are suggested to enhance cell-mediated immune responses in vivo and in vitro and act as biological response modifiers. Potentiation of the host defense system may result in the activation of many kinds of immune cells that are vitally important for the maintenance of homeostasis. Polysaccharides or polysaccharide-protein complexes are considered as multi-cytokine inducers that are able to induce gene expression of vaious immunomodulatory cytokines and cytokine receptors. Some interesting studies focus on investigation of the relationship between their structure and antitumor activity, elucidation of their antitumor mechanism at the molecular level, and improvement of their various biological activities by chemical modifications.

The 2015 Ukraine Blackout: Implications for False Data Injection Attacks

Abstract: In a false data injection attack (FDIA), an adversary stealthily compromises measurements from electricity grid sensors in a coordinated fashion, with a view to evading detection by the power system bad data detection module. A successful FDIA can cause the system operator to perform control actions that compromise either the physical or economic operation of the power system. In this letter, we consider some implications for FDIAs arising from the late 2015 Ukraine Blackout event.

Blood-based tumor mutational burden as a predictor of clinical benefit in non-small-cell lung cancer patients treated with atezolizumab

Abstract: Although programmed death-ligand 1–programmed death 1 (PD-L1–PD-1) inhibitors are broadly efficacious, improved outcomes have been observed in patients with high PD-L1 expression or high tumor mutational burden (TMB). PD-L1 testing is required for checkpoint inhibitor monotherapy in front-line non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, obtaining adequate tumor tissue for molecular testing in patients with advanced disease can be challenging. Thus, an unmet medical need exists for diagnostic approaches that do not require tissue to identify patients who may benefit from immunotherapy. Here, we describe a novel, technically robust, blood-based assay to measure TMB in plasma (bTMB) that is distinct from tissue-based approaches. Using a retrospective analysis of two large randomized trials as test and validation studies, we show that bTMB reproducibly identifies patients who derive clinically significant improvements in progression-free survival from atezolizumab (an anti-PD-L1) in second-line and higher NSCLC. Collectively, our data show that high bTMB is a clinically actionable biomarker for atezolizumab in NSCLC. A blood-based DNA sequencing assay to infer tumor mutational burden in the absence of tumor biopsy predicts response to PD-L1 blockade in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.