The COVID‐19 pandemic has taken a significant toll on people worldwide, and there are currently no specific antivirus drugs or vaccines. Herein it is a therapeutic based on catalase, an antioxidant enzyme that can effectively breakdown hydrogen peroxide and minimize the downstream reactive oxygen species, which are excessively produced resulting from the infection and inflammatory process, is reported. Catalase assists to regulate production of cytokines, protect oxidative injury, and repress replication of SARS‐CoV‐2, as demonstrated in human leukocytes and alveolar epithelial cells, and rhesus macaques, without noticeable toxicity. Such a therapeutic can be readily manufactured at low cost as a potential treatment for COVID‐19.

No abstract

Near-infrared (NIR) light-triggered shape memory polymers are expected to have a more promising prospect in biomedical applications compared with traditional heat-triggered shape memory polymers. In this work, a new kind of polyurethane with NIR light-triggered shape memory property was prepared by using polycaprolactone (PCL), polydopamine nanoparticles (PDANPs), hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), and 1,4-butanediol (BDO). The synthesized PCL–PDA polyurethanes, especially when the weight content of PDANPs was 0.17%, showed excellent mechanical properties because the PDANPs were well-dispersed in polyurethanes by the chain extension reaction. Moreover, it also showed an NIR light-triggered rapid shape recovery because of the photothermal effect of polydopamine. The in vitro and in vivo tests showed that the PCL–PDA polyurethane would not inhibit cell proliferation nor induce a strong host inflammatory response, revealing the non-cytotoxicity and good biocompatibility of the material. In addition, the PCL–PDA polyurethane exhibited excellent in vivo NIR light-triggered shape memory performance under an 808 nm laser with low intensity (0.33 W cm–2), which was harmless to the human skin. These results demonstrated the potential of the PCL–PDA polyurethane in biomedical implant applications.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a significant toll on people worldwide, and there are currently no specific antivirus drugs or vaccines. We report herein a therapeutic based on catalase, an antioxidant enzyme that can effectively breakdown hydrogen peroxide and minimize the downstream reactive oxygen species, which are excessively produced resulting from the infection and inflammatory process. Catalase assists to regulate production of cytokines, protect oxidative injury, and repress replication of SARS-CoV-2, as demonstrated in human leukocytes and alveolar epithelial cells, and rhesus macaques, without noticeable toxicity. Such a therapeutic can be readily manufactured at low cost as a potential treatment for COVID-19.

A serious leaf disease caused by Colletotrichum dematium was found during the cultivation of Sarcandra glabra in Jingxi, Rong'an, and Donglan Counties in Guangxi Province, which inflicted huge losses to plant productivity. Biological control gradually became an effective control method for plant pathogens. Many studies showed that the application of actinomycetes in biological control has been effective. Therefore, it may be of great significance to study the application of actinomycetes on controlling the diseases caused by S. glabra. Strains of antifungal actinomycetes capable of inhibiting C. dematium were identified, isolated and screened from healthy plants tissues and the rhizospheres in soils containing S. glabra. In this study, 15 actinomycetes strains were isolated and among these, strains JT-2F, DT-3F, and JJ-3F, appeared to show antagonistic effects against anthracnose of S. glabra. The strains JT-2F and DT-3F were isolated from soil, while JJ-3F was isolated from plant stems. The antagonism rate of strain JT-2F was 86.75%, which was the highest value among the three strains. Additionally, the JT-2F strain also had the strongest antagonistic activity when the antagonistic activities were tested against seven plant pathogens. Strain JT-2F is able to produce proteases and cellulase to degrade the protein and cellulose components of cell walls of C. dematium, respectively. This results in mycelia damage which leads to inhibition of the growth of C. dematium. Strain JT-2F was identified as Streptomyces tsukiyonensis based on morphological traits and 16S rDNA sequence analysis.