A collaboration between theoretical physicists Dr Chengkang ZHOU and Professor Zi Yang MENG from the Department of Physics at The University of Hong Kong(HKU),along with experimentalists Zhenyuan ZENG and Professor Shiliang LI at the Institute of Physics(IOP),Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS),and Professor Kenji NAKAJIMA from J-PARC Center,Japan,has led to adiscovery in the realm of quantum physics.Their study,published in arecent issue of Nature Physics,sheds light on the long-anticipated emergence of quasiparticles,akin to the famous Dirac particles obeying the relativistic Dirac equation.These quasiparticles,known as Dirac spinons,were theorised to exist within anovel quantum state called aquantum spin liquid state.Quasiparticles are intriguing entities that emerge from collective behaviour within materials,which can be treated like agroup of particles.The Dirac spinons,specifically,are expected to exhibit unique characteristics similar to Dirac particles in high-energy physics and the Dirac electrons in graphene and quantum moire materials,such as alinear dispersion relation between energy and momentum.But such spin-½charge neutral quasiparticles have not been seen in quantum magnets till this work.‘“To find Dirac spinons in quantum magnets has been the dream of generations of condensed matter physicists;now that we have seen the evidence of them,one can start to think about the countless potential applications of such highly entangled quantum material.Who knows,maybe one day people will build quantum computers with it,just as people have been doing in the past half-century with silicon,’”said Professor Meng,HKU physicist and one of the corresponding authors of the paper.The team‘s investigation focused on aunique material known as YCu3-Br,characterised by akagome lattice structure leading to the appearance of these elusive quasiparticles.Previous studies had hinted at the material‘s potential to exhibit aquantum spin liquid state,making it an ideal candidate for exploration.In order to enable the observation of spinons in YCu3-Br,the research team overcame numerous challenges by assembling approximately 5000 single crystals together,meeting the requirements for conducting experiments such as inelastic neutron scattering(see Fig.1d).Using advanced techniques like inelastic neutron scattering,the team probed the material‘s spin excitations and observed intriguing conical spin continuum patterns,reminiscent of the characteristic Dirac cone.While directly detecting single spinon proved challenging due to experimental limitations,the team compared their findings with theoretical predictions,revealing distinct spectral features indicative of the presence of spinons in the material.Finding spectral evidence of Dirac spinon excitations has always been achallenge.This discovery provides compelling evidence for the existence of aDirac quantum spin liquid state,which can be akin to aclear cry cutting through the fog of spectral investigation on the quantum spin liquid state.The findings not only advance our fundamental understanding of condensed matter physics but also open doors for further exploration into the properties and applications of YCu3-Br.Characterised by the presence of fractional spinon excitations,the quantum spin liquid state is potentially relevant to high-temperature superconductivity and quantum information.In this state,the spins are highly entangled and remain disordered even at low temperatures.Therefore,investigating the spectral signals arising from spinons obeying the Dirac equation would provide abroader understanding of the quantum spin liquid state of matter.Such understanding also serves as aguidepost toward its broader applications,including the exploration of high-temperature superconductivity and quantum information.For adetailed explanation of the research,please visit here:https://www.scifac.hku.hk/page/detail/8595 The journal paper entitled‘Spectral evidence for Dirac spinons in akagome lattice antiferromagnet’can be accessed from here:https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-024-02495-z The study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China,the Chinese Academy of Sciences and grants from Hong Kong Research Grants Council.Neutron scattering measurements were performed on AMATERAS,J-PARC. 查看详细>>

A team of international researchers led by The University of Hong Kong(HKU)and The University of Science and Technology(HKUST)has made asignificant discovery in the field of quantum materials,uncovering the controllable nonlinear Hall effect in twisted bilayer graphene.The findings,published as an Editors‘Suggestion article in the prestigious physics journal Physical Review Letters,shed new light on the unique properties of two-dimensional quantum moirématerials and hold promise for awide range of applications in industries such as new materials and quantum information to achieve terahertz detection with ultra-high sensitivity at room temperature.The team,composed of PhD student Xu ZHANG and his advisor Dr Zi Yang MENG from the Department of Physics at HKU;Professor Ning WANG from the Department of Physics at HKUST and his postdoctoral researchers Meizhen HUANG and Zefei WU(currently an Associate Researcher at the University of Manchester);as well as Professor Kai SUN from The University of Michigan,conducted in-depth research using acombination of theory,computation,and experiments.They discovered that by adjusting the dispersion of the topological flat bands in twisted bilayer graphene,the Berry curvature dipole moments,which play acrucial role in the Hall effect(details can be found in the Supplementary Note),can be easily controlled and manipulated.Using avertically applied electric field,the researchers found the dispersion of the flat bands in twisted graphene can be easily tuned and observed aclear nonlinear voltage response in the longitudinal direction when atransverse driving current was applied.The response varied significantly with the adjustment of the applied field,strain and twist angles,exhibiting increases,decreases,and changes in direction.These experimental observations confirmed the sensitivity of the nonlinear transport behaviour to the sliding of the Berry curvature hotspots in the topological flat bands,perfectly explained by their theoretical calculations(details can be found in the Supplementary Note).The researchers also investigated the role of the moirépotential and twist angle in the controllable nonlinear Hall effect of twisted bilayer graphene.They found that the strength of the moirépotential played acrucial role in determining the magnitude of the observed nonlinear response.By varying the twist angle between the layers of graphene,the researchers were able to manipulate the moirépotential and consequently control the nonlinear transport behaviour.The controllable nonlinear Hall effect demonstrated in twisted bilayer graphene holds great potential for the realisation of quantum Hall materials and nonlinear Hall effects in new experimental platforms.Unlike traditional electronic devices,the nonlinear Hall effect in graphene,driven by low-frequency currents,does not have voltage threshold or transition time limitations.This opens up possibilities for applications in frequency multiplication and rectification using low-frequency currents,especially in the terahertz frequency range with significant response and ultra-high sensitivity at room temperature(details can be found in the Supplementary Note).This discovery of the controllable nonlinear Hall effect in twisted bilayer graphene represents asignificant advancement in the field of quantum materials.It paves the way for further exploration and applications in condensed matter physics,new materials,and quantum information.This collaborative research between top institutions also underscores the importance of interdisciplinary cooperation in pushing the boundaries of scientific knowledge.This research was supported by the Area of Excellence Scheme(AoE 2D materials)and the Collaborative Research Fund(CRF many-body paradigm in quantum moirématerial research)of the Hong Kong Research Grants Council,highlighting the forward-looking perspective and support of the Hong Kong government in the research of two-dimensional quantum materials,especially quantum moirématerials such as twisted graphene.The large-scale numerical calculations conducted in this study were performed on the High-Performance Computing Platform HPC2021 at the Information Technology Services,HKU,and the‘Blackbody’supercomputer at the Department of Physics at HKU. 查看详细>>

In the relentless battle against antibiotic-resistant superbugs,science continues to unveil ingenious strategies to address their vulnerability.Like other bacteria,superbugs have aunique weakness–their dependence on iron for growth and survival.Iron serves as an essential nutrient that bacteria utilise for various cellular processes,including DNA replication,energy production,and other vital functions.In essence,iron is like a‘food’for bacteria.Building upon this understanding,a research team led by Professor Hongzhe SUN from the Department of Chemistry,The University of Hong Kong(HKU),introduced a‘Dual Trojan Horse’strategy,where ametal-based-drug and sideromycins,a class of antibiotic structurally resembling iron,work together in combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria.This approach allows these antibiotics to be delivered into bacterial cells through apathway that mimics iron uptake.When bacteria encounter sideromycins,they are deceived into believing they are acquiring iron,prompting them to usher these compounds into their cells.This strategy not only enhances the effectiveness of sideromycins but also prolongs their lifespan,marking asignificant advancement in our battle against antibiotic resistance.These promising results were successfully replicated in alive mice model,introducing an innovative strategy to combat antimicrobial resistance,offering hope in the fight against superbugs in clinic.These findings have recently been published ain Nature Communications entitled‘Metallo-sideromycin as adual functional complex for combating antimicrobial resistance(AMR)’.‘We are short of new antibiotics,and infection caused by resistant bacteria(i.e.superbugs)may lead to another pandemic.We have uncovered adual Trojan Horse strategy to restore antibiotics activity,such as cefiderocol,and hope to provide anovel arsenal for combating antimicrobial resistance,’commented Professor Sun.Research Background Antimicrobial resistance(AMR)in bacterial infections has emerged as asignificant global health concern.The overuse and misuse of existing antibiotics have accelerated the acquired drug resistance in bacteria,resulting in resistance to almost all antibiotics used in clinical settings across various bacteria strains.Gram-negative bacterial infections,such as those caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa,pose significant challenges in treatment due to their complicated structure.For example,the high resistance of P.aeruginosa against conventional antibiotics can be attributed in part to the limited permeability of the outer membrane(OM)and the expression of‘efflux pump’,specialised proteins within bacteria that actively remove antibiotics,thus reducing their effectiveness.These factors collectively impede the accumulation of antibiotics at the bacterial target site.Gram-negative bacteria,including Pseudomonas aeruginosa,can cause arange of infections in humans.These infections often affect the respiratory system,leading to pneumonia or lung infections,as well as urinary tract infections.They can also lead to skin and soft tissue infections,bloodstream infections(sepsis),and infections in wounds or surgical sites.In severe cases,these infections can be particularly challenging to treat due to the bacteria‘s resistance to antibiotics,making them asignificant health concern.For these reasons,there is now an urgent need for both new antibiotic discovery and other modifications or strategies to enhance or prolong the antibacterial activity of existing clinical antibiotics.Sideromycin is anovel type of antibiotic where the parent antibiotics or prodrug incorporates asiderophore molecule that utlises iron transport system for delivery.This incorporation enables the active transport of the antibiotic into bacterial cell through nutrient pathways.Cefiderocol(FetrojaÒ)is arecently FDA-approved sideromycin antibiotic in 2019.The antibacterial activity of cefiderocol is improved under the iron-deficient condition because of the enhanced uptake of cefiderocol,with acomponent of catechol,which coordinate with iron and facilitate the transportation of cefiderocol-iron complex in P.aeruginosa. 查看详细>>

A team from the Department of Urban Planning and Design of the University of Hong Kong(HKU)has won the prestigious First Prize under the Innovation category at Baidu‘s 2023 National Large Model Application Innovation Challenge Competition in Artificial Intelligence.Led by Assistant Professor Dr.Jun Ma,the award-winning team comprises Master of Urban Analytics(MUA)students Huiyuan Xue,Peizhuo Guo,and Yiyan Li.Held by China’s largest search engine Baidu,the highly competitive national event aims to foster creative and innovative ideas in developing cutting-edge solutions and applications through large generative AI models.With the rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence technology and products,the competition has drawn more than 2,500 teams comprising experts,scholars,and students from renowned universities,research institutions,and technology giants such as Baidu,Alibaba,Tencent,and Google,to compete under two categories:Innovation and Challenge.Given the intense competition,two first prizes were awarded under the Innovation category this year.HKU’s award-winning project,titled"Application of Large Language Models in Compliance Control for Architectural Design Models",seeks to revolutionise the model evaluation process in the building and construction industry by utilising Large Language Models.“Currently,building plans submitted through Building Information Modelling(BIM),in accordance with statutory building regulations,undergo amanual verification process for approval by relevant authorities.The process is labour-intensive and time-consuming.By harnessing the capabilities of advanced Large Language Models like ChatGPT and Wenxinyiyan,we can automate this procedure and significantly expedite the inspection process.This transformation will substantially diminish the workload associated with model verification for both governmental bodies and private companies,thereby revolutionising the building and construction sector.,”said Dr Jun Ma.Launched in 2020,HKU’s Master of Urban Analytics programme aims to equip students with the latest urban science theories and analytical methods for smart planning and management of cities.This recent victory at Baidu‘s national competition is atestament to the programme‘s success in preparing its students to become future leaders in the rapidly evolving field of urban analytics.For more details about the competition,please visit:https://aistudio.baidu.com/competition/detail/998/0/introduction 查看详细>>

A collaborative research team led by Interim Head of Physics Professor Shuang ZHANG from The University of Hong Kong(HKU),along with National Center for Nanoscience and Technology,Imperial College London and University of California,Berkeley,has proposed anew synthetic complex frequency wave(CFW)approach to address optical loss in superimaging demonstration.The research findings were recently published in the prestigious academic journal Science.Imaging plays an important role in many fields,including biology,medicine and material science.Optical microscopes use light to obtain imaging of miniscule objects.However,conventional microscopes can only resolve feature sizes in the order of the optical wavelength at best,known as the diffraction limit.To overcome the diffraction limit,Sir John Pendry from Imperial College London introduced the concept of superlenses,which can be constructed from negative index media or noble metals like silver.Subsequently,Professor Xiang ZHANG,the current President and Vice-Chancellor of HKU,along with his then team at the University of California,Berkeley,experimentally demonstrated superimaging using both asilver thin film and asilver/dielectric multilayer stack.These works have extensively promoted the development and application of superlens technology.Unfortunately,all superlenses suffer from inevitable optical loss,which converts optical energy into heat.This significantly affects the performance of optical devices,such as superimaging lenses,which rely on the faithful delivery of information carried by light waves.Optical loss has been the main limiting factor that has constrained the development of nanophotonics for the past three decades.Many applications,including sensing,superimaging,and nanophotonic circuits,would greatly benefit if this problem could be solved.Professor Shuang Zhang,corresponding author of the paper and also Interim Head of HKU Department of Physics,explained the research foci,‘To solve the optical loss problem in some important applications,we have proposed apractical solution—using anovel synthetic complex wave excitation to obtain virtual gain,and then offset the intrinsic loss of the optical system.As averification,we applied this approach to the superlens imaging mechanism and theoretically improved imaging resolution significantly.’‘We further demonstrated our theory by conducting experiments using hyperlenses made of hyperbolic metamaterials in the microwave frequency range and polariton metamaterials in the optical frequency range.As expected,we obtained excellent imaging results consistent with our theoretical predictions,’added Dr Fuxin GUAN,the paper’s first author and aPostdoctoral Fellow at HKU. 查看详细>>

In human society,reward and punishment are introduced as an incentive to induce cooperation.However,some people still try to cheat to win.So,is there asystem with clear rewards and punishments in the world of other organisms?The answer is‘yes’.Corals may‘punish’the algae that live inside them by cutting off their food supply if such algae become selfish and renege on their part of the resource-sharing deal with the coral as part of their symbiosis–a mutually beneficial relationship.These are the findings of Dr Shelby MCILROY of the Swire Institute of Marine Science(SWIMS)and the School of Biological Sciences at The University of Hong Kong(HKU)and her collaborators..In the coral-algae relationship,the two sides–the coral host,and the algal symbiont,share and recycle nutrients they cannot access on their own.But this relationship is open to abuse.Corals can host several species of symbiotic algae at the same time,but not all algal species are honest.Some take advantage of their host by keeping more nutrients for their own needs instead of passing them to the coral.In this way,the selfish algae gain an advantage over more beneficial species that grow slower because they share their nutrients more generously.This cheating ultimately undermines the long-term health and growth of the coral itself.In other symbiotic relationships,for example,between trees and fungi,the cheated hosts can interfere and punish their dishonest partners.However,until McIlroy’s latest research came out in the journal Microbiome,it has been difficult to determine if or how corals could do the same with their algae.Using stable isotope techniques,McIlroy was able to unravel the flow of nutrients between different species of algae in their host,a Caribbean coral species.‘Stable isotopes combined with genetic techniques allow us to track the currency exchange between the partners.In this case,the currency is nutrients,in the form of carbon and nitrogen,’McIlory explained.The results showed that the coral might indeed punish the cheats and reward the honest partners.‘Our study showed that corals seem to limit the supply of nutrients to the symbiotic algae that are less beneficial to them,as away of fostering more beneficial algal symbionts,’McIlroy added.Understanding how corals control and manipulate their symbiotic algae is now crucially important for coral survival.Because of climate change,the seas are becoming too hot for the algae living inside the coral.When water temperatures spike,algae die,and so does the coral itself–a phenomenon known as bleaching.Episodes of bleaching are now becoming increasingly common,and most of the world’s coral reefs are now threatened by it.If scientists could get the coral to host the species of algae that can handle higher temperatures–a form of‘coral probiotics’,it could prevent bleaching and buy more time for corals threatened by the warming of the oceans.‘We may have the ability to intervene and help corals resist bleaching by exposing them to more thermally tolerant partners.But we need to understand the biology of corals and how they might react to these interventions so that we can work effectively and efficiently.There’s no time to lose.’McIlroy concluded. 查看详细>>

The Law,Innovation,Technology&Entrepreneurship Lab(LITE Lab)at the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong(HKU)was presented with the 2022 Legal Innovation in Operations(LIO)Projects award by the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium(CLOC).This is the first time auniversity programme and an Asia-Pacific initiative has been named awinner of the global CLOC LIO Project Awards.Attended by around 2,500 legal service professionals,the award ceremony took place at the GLOC Global Institute 2022 in Las Vegas.“CLOC stands for creativity and innovation,and we are proud to recognize those who demonstrate these values in the relentless pursuit of transformation at scale in legal operations,”said Mike Haven,president of CLOC’s Board of Directors and Head of Legal Operations and Associate General Counsel for Intel.LITE Lab HKU received its CLOC LIO Project Award for its“innovation-focused experiential student/client business challenge”.“It is an honour to have received this award from CLOC for our pioneering win-win initiative to better prepare our next generation of legal professionals in away that also positively impacts under-resourced organisations and the current legal profession in their legal innovation and technology journeys,“said LITE Lab’s founding executive director Mr Brian Tang.“This prestigious award would not have been possible without the trust and genuine collaboration of the general counsel and legal operations leaders at our inaugural project partners FedEx Express,HSBC and Goodman Asia,together with ecosystem partners such as Association of Corporate Counsel–Hong Kong,Clifford Chance,and agrowing number of no/low code platforms,to whom we are most grateful.We look forward to exploring further collaborations with other interested parties to expand our impact globally,”Mr Tang said.Launched in 2019,LITE Lab is an interdisciplinary and experiential programme that fosters law,innovation,technology and entrepreneurship(LITE)at the HKU Faculty of Law.By collaborating with ecosystem partners such as Cyberport,Hong Kong Science&Technology Park,HKU’s iDendron,and Fintech Association of Hong Kong,LITE Lab HKU curated and introduced avariety of new courses that enable undergraduate and postgraduate students to work with students from six of HKU’s ten faculties and real-world under-resourced project partners to tackle real world legal innovation and technology issues of such tech startups,social entrepreneurs,NGOs and legal departments.In its inaugural year,LITE Lab’s Lawtech&Regtech Sandbox partnered undergraduate law students with the legal and operations departments of project partners to co-design proof-of-concept legal triage and document automation using no/low code tools to address their real-world painpoints.This win-win university-industry collaboration assisted with the digital transformation journeys of students and legal departments alike,and some of the student prototypes have even been implemented.Details of LITE Lab’s award-winning LIO Project submission can be viewed here.According to Shogo Osaka,Managing Director Legal of LITE Lab’s project partner FedEx Express North Pacific,“The co-design project with LITE Lab has offered us agreat opportunity to transform some legal-tech ideas into reality.Through collaboration with the law students to design and develop proof-of-concept tools,we not only achieved atangible benefit to automate repetitive tasks but also enjoyed arewarding experience of supporting the students’growth.” 查看详细>>

In apaper recently published in Methods in Ecology and Evolution,researchers in the Conservation Forensics Lab at The University of Hong Kong have outlined apowerful new tool for monitoring trade of rare and endangered fish species in Hong Kong wet markets.Using environmental DNA(eDNA)present in the drain runoff water of fish markets,researchers were able to extract and sequence enough DNA to identify over 100 species of fish that had passed through the market.Various types of vulnerable or endangered species were detected by the eDNA method in the study,including Epinephelus fuscoguttatus,a type of brown marbled grouper which is listed as vulnerable and decreasing according to The International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN),and three eel species including Anguilla japonica and Anguilla rostrata,which are listed as endangered by IUCN,as well as CITES(Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora)-listed European eel,Anguilla anguilla.Two types of bream were detected including the golden threadfin bream(Nemipterus virgatus)which is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN,and the Okinawa seabream(Acanthopagus sivicolus),listed as vulnerable and decreasing by the IUCN.Metabarcoding Allows Identification of Species At Once Barcoding is acommon method of species identification,wherein certain regions of an organism’s genome are sequenced and used to identify the organism in question.Each species has its own unique‘barcode’,which can provide amore reliable form of identification than traditional morphology-based methods.This technique can be expanded to identifying many species at once(known as metabarcoding)thanks to advanced high-throughput sequencing technology.Even the small amounts of DNA shed from plants and animals into the environment(eDNA)are sufficient for metabarcoding which enables identification of mixed communities of species that may have been present in the area.In this study,researchers in the Conservation Forensics Lab aimed to develop amethod for identifying fish species traded in Hong Kong markets that does not rely on having fish taxonomy experts spend hours visually identifying every fish on sale.Further,many fish vendors are often reluctant to permit lengthy inspections of their wares,as endangered fish species can often be found for sale in Hong Kong markets.The method outlined in the paper compared the two most common types of eDNA capture:filtration and precipitation.In the filtration method,one litre of water collected from the drains in three wet markets was collected and passed through afine filter,which captured tissue,blood,and other cellular debris holding enough DNA to make an identification of the fish species that shed it.The precipitation method used even less water,enabling identification of fish species present by chemical precipitation of eDNA present in cellular debris from 45 ml of drain runoff.After the drain water was collected,eDNA was extracted and sequenced and fish species present in the three wet markets investigated over a5-day period were identified.To confirm the results,an expert fish taxonomist performed avisual survey,and the overlap of species detections were compared.High Reliability and Easy to Adapt While it is impossible to be 100%certain in identifying every single species present with either method,the advantages of aDNA-based survey method are numerous.Chiefly,DNA-based IDs can be more reliable than morphological IDs,and this is especially true when fish are sold butchered or belong to certain similar-looking genera and families.The DNA extraction method outlined in the paper is also very simple and can easily be executed by anyone with basic molecular lab training of several hours.Visual surveys require hours and hours of extensive work by multiple expert taxonomists,which has been afactor holding back rollout of regular surveys in Hong Kong.‘We hope that our method will not only encourage local authorities to adopt more high-tech solutions to monitoring and combatting the illegal wildlife trade in Hong Kong,but also help expand the use of eDNA and metabarcoding further into urban contexts,’said John LRICHARDS,co-author of the journal paper. 查看详细>>

A research team at LKS Faculty of Medicine,The University of Hong Kong(HKUMed)discovered that exosomes derived fromγδ-T cells(γδ-T-Exos)synergised with radiotherapy can control nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC)by overcoming the radioresistance of NPC cancer stem cells(CSCs)and preserve their tumour-killing and Tcell-promoting activities in the immunosuppressive NPC microenvironment.This study provides aproof of concept for anovel and potent strategy by combiningγδ-T-Exos with radiotherapy in the control of NPC.The ground-breaking findings have been published in the leading academic journal,Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer.Nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC)is one of the most aggressive Epstein-Barr virus(EBV)-associated tumours,which are very prevalent in East Asia,including Hong Kong.Radiotherapy is the first-line treatment for NPC,but its therapeutic efficacy is poor in some patients due to radioresistance.Adoptive Tcell-based immunotherapy has also shown promise to control NPC;however,its anti-tumour efficacy may be attenuated by an immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment.Exosomes are endosome-originated small extracellular vesicles that mediate intercellular communication.Compared with cell-based therapy,cell-free exosomes have advantages with higher safety,easier storage and lower costs.In aprevious study,researchers have demonstrated thatγδ-T-Exos could effectively control the progression of EBV-associated tumours.However,it remains unknown whetherγδ-T-Exos have synergistic effect with radiotherapy and preserve their anti-tumour activities against NPC in an immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment.Herein,the research team found thatγδ-T-Exos not only effectively interacted with NPC cells and induced tumour cell death in vitro,which was mainly mediated by Fas/Fas ligand(FasL)and death receptor 5(DR5)/tumour necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand(TRAIL)pathways,but also controlled NPC tumour growth and prolonged tumour-bearing mice survival in vivo.Furthermore,γδ-T-Exos selectively targeted the radioresistant CD44+/high CSCs and induced profound cell apoptosis.The combination ofγδ-T-Exos with radiotherapy overcame the radioresistance of CD44+/high NPC cells and significantly improved its therapeutic efficacy against NPC in vitro and in vivo.In addition,γδ-T-Exos promoted T-cell migration into NPC tumours by upregulating CCR5 on Tcells that were chemoattracted by CCR5 ligands in the NPC tumour microenvironment.Although NPC tumour cells secreted abundant tumour growth factor beta(TGF-β)to suppress T-cell responses,γδ-T-Exos preserved their direct anti-tumour activities and overcame the immunosuppressive NPC microenvironment to amplify T-cell anti-tumour immunity. 查看详细>>

A recent study by the School of Public Health,LKS Faculty of Medicine of The University of Hong Kong(HKUMed)found that the Omicron BA.1 SARS-CoV-2 variant is more stable than its ancestral strain on smooth and porous surfaces.It can be recovered from smooth surfaces up to seven days after incubation.The findings are now published in BioRxiv.The stability of the ancestral strain of SARS-CoV-2 and Omicron BA.1 SARS-CoV-2 variant was examined on five different surfaces,i.e.stainless steel,polypropylene,glass,tissue paper and printing paper.It was found that the Omicron BA.1 SARS-CoV-2 variant could still be recovered from smooth surfaces on day 7after incubation.By contrast,no infectious ancestral SARS-CoV-2 strain,except in one of the three treated glass samples,was recoverable on day 4post-incubation.Similarly,the Omicron BA.1 SARS-CoV-2 variant could be recovered on the surface of tissue paper and printing paper after 30 minutes post-incubation,while the ancestral strain would be irrecoverable after 5-15 minutes.One of the corresponding authors of the study,Professor Leo Poon Lit-man,Professor and Head of Division of Public Health Laboratory Sciences,School of Public Health,HKUMed,called on members of the public to pay close attention to personal and household hygiene.‘Washing hands frequently and thoroughly,cleaning surfaces with 1:99 diluted household bleach,especially for families with infected patients,is effective in minimising the chance of being infected by contaminated surfaces,’said Professor Poon. 查看详细>>