The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection caused pneumonia. we retrospectively analyzed the virus presence in the pharyngeal swab, blood, and the anal swab detected by real-time PCR in the clinical lab. Unexpectedly, the 2109-nCoV RNA was readily detected in the blood (6 of 57 patients) and the anal swabs (11 of 28 patients). Importantly, all of the 6 patients with detectable viral RNA in the blood cohort progressed to severe symptom stage, indicating a strong correlation of serum viral RNA with the disease severity (p-value = 0.0001). Meanwhile, 8 of the 11 patients with annal swab virus-positive was in severe clinical stage. However, the concentration of viral RNA in the anal swab (Ct value = 24 + 39) was higher than in the blood (Ct value = 34 + 39) from patient 2, suggesting that the virus might replicate in the digestive tract. Altogether, our results confirmed the presence of virus RNA in extra-pulmonary sites. ARTICLE HISTORY

Twenty-three phenolic compounds were isolated from a butanol extract of Canadian maple syrup (MS-BuOH) using chromatographic methods. The compounds were identified from their nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectral data as 7 lignans [lyoniresinol (1), secoisolariciresinol (2), dehydroconiferyl alcohol (3), 5'-methoxy-dehydroconiferyl alcohol (4), erythro-guaiacylglycerol-β-O-4'-coniferyl alcohol (5), erythro-guaiacylglycerol-β-O-4'-dihydroconiferyl alcohol (6), and [3-[4-[(6-deoxy-α-l-mannopyranosyl)oxy]-3-methoxyphenyl]methyl]-5-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)dihydro-3-hydroxy-4-(hydroxymethyl)-2(3H)-furanone (7)], 2 coumarins [scopoletin (8) and fraxetin (9)], a stilbene [(E)-3,3'-dimethoxy-4,4'-dihydroxystilbene (10)], and 13 phenolic derivatives [2-hydroxy-3',4'-dihydroxyacetophenone (11), 1-(2,3,4-trihydroxy-5-methylphenyl)ethanone (12), 2,4,5-trihydroxyacetophenone (13), catechaldehyde (14), vanillin (15), syringaldehyde (16), gallic acid (17), trimethyl gallic acid methyl ester (18), syringic acid (19), syringenin (20), (E)-coniferol (21), C-veratroylglycol (22), and catechol (23)]. The antioxidant activities of MS-BuOH (IC50>1000 μg/mL), pure compounds, vitamin C (IC50=58 μM), and a synthetic commercial antioxidant, butylated hydroxytoluene (IC50=2651 μM), were evaluated in the diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. Among the isolates, the phenolic derivatives and coumarins showed superior antioxidant activity (IC50<100 μM) compared to the lignans and stilbene (IC50>100 μM). Also, this is the first report of 16 of these 23 phenolics, that is, compounds 1, 2, 4-14, 18, 20, and 22, in maple syrup.

Dietary phytochemicals are known to exhibit a variety of anticarcinogenic properties. This study investigated the chemopreventive activity of blueberry extract in triple-negative breast cancer cell lines in vitro and in vivo. Blueberry decreased cell proliferation in HCC38, HCC1937, and MDA-MB-231 cells with no effect on the nontumorigenic MCF-10A cell line. Decreased metastatic potential of MDA-MB-231 cells by blueberry was shown through inhibition of cell motility using wound-healing assays and migration through a polyethylene terephthalate membrane. Blueberry treatment decreased the activity of matrix metalloproteinase-9 and the secretion of urokinase-type plasminogen activator while increasing tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 secretion in MDA-MB-231 conditioned medium as shown by Western blotting. Cell signaling pathways that control the expression/activation of these processes were investigated via Western blotting and reporter gene assay. Treatment with blueberry decreased phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT and NFκB activation in MDA-MB-231 cells, where protein kinase C and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) were not affected. In vivo, the efficacy of blueberry to inhibit triple-negative breast tumor growth was evaluated using the MDA-MB-231 xenograft model. Tumor weight and proliferation (Ki-67 expression) were decreased in blueberry-treated mice, where apoptosis (caspase-3 expression) was increased compared with controls. Immunohistochemical analysis of tumors from blueberry-fed mice showed decreased activation of AKT and p65 NFκB signaling proteins with no effect on the phosphorylation of ERK. These data illustrate the inhibitory effect of blueberry phytochemicals on the growth and metastatic potential of MDA-MB-231 cells through modulation of the PI3K/AKT/NFκB pathway. Cancer Res; 70(9); 3594-605.