Advancing MicroRNA Detection: Enhanced Biotin-Streptavidin Dual-Mode Phase Imaging Surface Plasmon Resonance Aptasensor.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are novel tumor biomarkers owing to their important physiological functions in cell communication and the progression of multiple diseases. Due to the small molecular weight, short sequence length, and low concentration levels of miRNA, miRNA detection presents substantial challenges, requiring the advancement of more refined and sensitive techniques. There is an urgent demand for the development of a rapid, user-friendly, and sensitive miRNA analysis method. Here, we developed an enhanced biotin-streptavidin dual-mode phase imaging surface plasmon resonance (PI-SPR) aptasensor for sensitive and rapid detection of miRNA. Initially, we evaluated the linear sensing range for miRNA detection across two distinct sensing modalities and investigated the physical factors that influence the sensing signal in the aptamer-miRNA interaction within the PI-SPR aptasensor. Then, an enhanced biotin-streptavidin amplification strategy was introduced in the PI-SPR aptasensor, which effectively reduced the nonspecific adsorption by 20% and improved the limit of detection by 548 times. Furthermore, we have produced three types of tumor marker chips, which utilize the rapid sensing mode (less than 2 min) of PI-SPR aptasensor to achieve simultaneous detection of multiple miRNA markers in the serum from clinical cancer patients. This work not only developed a new approach to detect miRNA in different application scenarios but also provided a new reference for the application of the biotin-streptavidin amplification system in the detection of other small biomolecules.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practice toward tuberculosis in high school students in Qingdao, China.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study is to assess the levels of knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) related to TB, and to analyze the differences among various demographic groups. METHODOLOGY: A total of 621 students enrolled in Qingdao High School, coming from high TB burden settings. The cross-sectional study was conducted from May to July of 2022. Participants completed an online questionnaire. Differences in knowledge and practice based on participant characteristics were analyzed using the Wilcoxon rank test and Kruskal-Wallis rank test. Group differences were assessed using a rank-based analysis of variance. RESULTS: The mean percentage of correct answers for TB knowledge and practice was 82.09% and 83.25%, respectively. Grade Three students showed higher knowledge and practice scores than Grade One or Grade Two students (t = -3.9935, p = 0.0002, t = 3.4537, p = 0.0018. 8.58 vs 7.94, 8.58 vs 8.23. t = 3.4562, p = 0.0018, t = -2.8688, p = 0.0128. 1.78 vs 1.61, 1.78 vs 1.64). A significant majority (78.42%) of students expressed fear of being affected by TB. 49.28% of the students would support and help TB patients. 88.08% of participants had heard of TB, with 72.94% learning about it at school, mainly through visual aids like posters. Information was predominantly obtained from online sources (websites, microblogs, WeChat, etc.). CONCLUSIONS: It is recommended to develop a TB curriculum for lower-grade students to enhance awareness of TB prevention through various means, including the internet and social media.

Fascia iliaca compartment block mitigates the fluctuations in heart rate variability and reduces pain with opioid consumption in elderly individuals with hip fractures: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Hip fractures, commonly known as the "terminal fracture of life," frequently necessitate prompt surgical intervention and are accompanied by significant perioperative pain. Objective: This investigation was performed to assess the impact of fascia iliaca compartment block (FICB) on heart rate variability during the perioperative period in elderly individuals with hip fractures. Design: Single-center, randomized, controlled clinical trial. Setting: The study was conducted from September 2021 to February 2023 at one tertiary care hospital in China. Participants: Patients aged ≥60 years who underwent general anesthesia for hip fracture surgery were screened for enrollment. Eighty patients were initially assessed for eligibility, 70 underwent randomization, and 62 were included in the final analysis. Methods: Preoperatively, the patients were randomly allocated to either receive (Group F) or not receive (Group C) ultrasound-guided suprainguinal FICB. The primary endpoint was heart rate variability indicators at the corresponding time points. The secondary endpoints included the mean arterial pressure and heart rate measured at different time points [upon admission to the operating room (T1), during positioning (T2), at the time of skin incision (T3), 30 min after the start of surgery (T4), and 6 h postoperatively (T5)] and visual analogue scale (VAS) score, dose of oral pain medication over 24 h, and satisfaction scores were valued. Results: Compared with Group C, Group F had a significantly reduced low-frequency band, high-frequency band, and low-/high-frequency band ratio at T3, T4, and T5 (P < 0.05). Group F also had a lower heart rate at T2, T3, T4, and T5 (P < 0.05). Moreover, Group F had lower flurbiprofen dosages at 24 h postoperatively (P < 0.05) and lower resting VAS scores at 6 and 24 h postoperatively (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Utilization of ultrasound-guided FICB has the potential to yield efficacious analgesic effects, mitigate the pronounced fluctuations in heart rate induced by surgical stimulation, and maintain autonomic function stability to a certain degree.

Highly-Adaptable Optothermal Nanotweezers for Trapping, Sorting, and Assembling across Diverse Nanoparticles.

Optical manipulation of various kinds of nanoparticles is vital in biomedical engineering. However, classical optical approaches demand higher laser power and are constrained by diffraction limits, necessitating tailored trapping schemes for specific nanoparticles. They lack a universal and biocompatible tool to manipulate nanoparticles of diverse sizes, charges, and materials. Through precise modulation of diffusiophoresis and thermo-osmotic flows in the boundary layer of an optothermal-responsive gold film, highly adaptable optothermal nanotweezers (HAONTs) capable of manipulating a single nanoparticle as small as sub-10 nm are designed. Additionally, a novel optothermal doughnut-shaped vortex (DSV) trapping strategy is introduced, enabling a new mode of physical interaction between cells and nanoparticles. Furthermore, this versatile approach allows for the manipulation of nanoparticles in organic, inorganic, and biological forms. It also offers versatile function modes such as trapping, sorting, and assembling of nanoparticles. It is believed that this approach holds the potential to be a valuable tool in fields such as synthetic biology, optofluidics, nanophotonics, and colloidal science.

CRISPR-powered optothermal nanotweezers: Diverse bio-nanoparticle manipulation and single nucleotide identification.

Optothermal nanotweezers have emerged as an innovative optical manipulation technique in the past decade, which revolutionized classical optical manipulation by efficiently capturing a broader range of nanoparticles. However, the optothermal temperature field was merely employed for in-situ manipulation of nanoparticles, its potential for identifying bio-nanoparticles remains largely untapped. Hence, based on the synergistic effect of optothermal manipulation and CRIPSR-based bio-detection, we developed CRISPR-powered optothermal nanotweezers (CRONT). Specifically, by harnessing diffusiophoresis and thermo-osmotic flows near the substrate upon optothermal excitation, we successfully trapped and enriched DNA functionalized gold nanoparticles, CRISPR-associated proteins, as well as DNA strands. Remarkably, we built an optothermal scheme for enhancing CRISPR-based single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) detection at single molecule level, while also introducing a novel CRISPR methodology for observing nucleotide cleavage. Therefore, this innovative approach has endowed optical tweezers with DNA identification ability in aqueous solution which was unattainable before. With its high specificity and feasibility for in-situ bio-nanoparticle manipulation and identification, CRONT will become a universal tool in point-of-care diagnosis, biophotonics, and bio-nanotechnology.

Wavelength sequential selection technique for high-throughput multi-channel phase interrogation surface plasmon resonance imaging sensing.

Phase interrogation surface plasmon resonance (P-SPR) biosensors have the highest sensitivity among different types of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensors. However, P-SPR sensors have small dynamic detection range and complex device configuration. To solve these two problems, we designed a multi-channel P-SPR imaging (mcP-SPRi) sensing platform based on a common-path ellipsometry scheme. A wavelength sequential selection (WSS) technique for P-SPRi sensing is developed to select the optimal sensing wavelengths according to different refractive indexes (RIs) of the samples, so the inconsistency of SPR signal response for different biomolecule types caused by the small dynamic detection range is eliminated. And a dynamic detection range of 3.7×10-3 RIU is achieved, which is the largest among the current mcP-SPRi biosensors. Remarkably, the individual SPR phase image acquisition time has been greatly reduced to 1s by using WSS method instead of whole spectrum scanning, which enables the high-throughput mcP-SPRi sensing.

Surface Plasmon Resonance Microscopy Based on Total Internal Reflection.

Surface plasmon resonance microscopy (SPRM) has been widely employed in biological fields because of its high spatial resolution and label-free detection modality. In this study, SPRM based on total internal reflection (TIR) is studied via a home-built SPRM system, and the principle of imaging of a single nanoparticle is analyzed as well. By designing a ring filter and combining it with the deconvolution algorithm in Fourier space, the parabolic tail of the nanoparticle image is removed, in which a spatial resolution of 248 nm is obtained. In addition, we also measured the specific binding between the human IgG antigen and goat anti-human IgG antibody using the TIR-based SPRM. The experimental results have proved that the system can image sparse nanoparticles and monitor biomolecular interactions.

Transmission of tuberculosis in an incarcerated population during the subclinical period: A cross-sectional study in Qingdao, China.

Objectives: As a closed gathering place, prison is the cradle of tuberculosis (TB) outbreak. Therefore, the analysis of the prevalence rate and risk factors of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in prison will be a necessary measure to intervene in the spread of tuberculosis. Methods: In this study, we consecutively recruited 506 adult prisoners in Qingdao to carry out this cross-sectional study. TB and LTBI were screened by IGRA, X-ray, X-pert, sputum smear and culture. Results: A total of 17 TB, 101 LTBI and 388 HC were identified, with an infection rate of 23.32% (118/506) and a TB incidence rate of 3282/100,000 population. Age, malnutrition and inmates living with TB prisoners were risk factors for LTBI. Additionally, most TB cases (70.59%, 12/17) were subclinical tuberculosis (STB), contributing significantly to TB transmission. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that the transmission efficiency of asymptomatic patients is not essentially different from that of symptomatic patients, indicating that TB transmission occurs during the subclinical period. Our findings highlight the need to strengthen active case-finding strategies to increase TB case detection in this population.

Propofol decreases etomidate-related myoclonus in gastroscopy.

OBJECTIVE: Myoclonus, a common complication during intravenous induction with etomidate, is bothersome to both anesthesiologists and patients. This study explored the preventive effect of pretreatment with propofol on etomidate-related myoclonus. METHODS: This was a prospective, double-blind, clinical, randomized controlled study. Totally, 363 patients who were scheduled for a short-duration, painless gastrointestinal endoscopy were divided into 5 groups. Four groups received 0 mg/kg (E group), 0.25 mg/kg (LPE group), 0.50 mg/kg (MPE group), or 0.75 mg/kg (HPE group) propofol pretreatment before etomidate anesthesia. Another group only received 1 to 2 mg/kg of propofol (P group) as anesthesia. The incidence and severity of myoclonus, patient circulation and respiratory status, and intraoperative and postoperative complications were recorded. RESULTS: The incidence of myoclonus in the LPE group (26.8%), MPE group (16.4%), HPE group (14.9%), and P group (0) was lower than the E group (48.6%, P < .05). The incidence of grade 1, 2, and 3 of myoclonus in the LPE group, MPE group, HPE group, and P group was significantly lower than the E group, and that in the P group was lower than the LPE group (P < .05). The incidence of hypoxemia in the P group was higher than the E group, and the incidence of adverse events in the HPE group and P group was lower than the E group (P < .05). DISCUSSION: Pretreatment with propofol was feasible for preventing etomidate-related myoclonus. Furthermore, as propofol dosage increased, its effect on reducing the incidence and severity of myoclonic movements induced by etomidate increased.