Bioinspired Materials for Wearable Devices and Point-of-Care Testing of Cancer.

Wearable, point-of-care diagnostics, and biosensors are on the verge of bringing transformative changes in detection, management, and treatment of cancer. Bioinspired materials with new forms and functions have frequently been used, in both translational and commercial spaces, to fabricate such diagnostic platforms. Engineered from organic or inorganic molecules, bioinspired systems are naturally equipped with biorecognition and stimuli-sensitive properties. Mechanisms of action of bioinspired materials are deeply connected with thermodynamically or kinetically controlled self-assembly at the molecular and supramolecular levels. Thus, integration of bioinspired materials into wearable devices, either as triggers or sensors, brings about unique device properties usable for detection, capture, or rapid readout for an analyte of interest. In this review, we present the basic principles and mechanisms of action of diagnostic devices engineered from bioinspired materials, describe current advances, and discuss future trends of the field, particularly in the context of cancer.

An Exploration of Social Norms That Restrict Girls' Sexuality and Facilitate Child Marriage in Bangladesh to Inform Policies and Programs.

PURPOSE: Despite international commitments and increases in education and economic opportunities for girls and young women, child marriage persists and, in some contexts, reductions have stagnated. In order to accelerate and sustain progress, a better understanding of the social norms that continue to support the practice is required. METHODS: This qualitative study used 20 in-depth interviews with adolescent girls and another 10 with boys, a total of 16 focus group discussions with girls, boys, and parents of adolescent girls, and 8 key informant interviews with community leaders, to identify and understand the expectations that support the practice of child marriage, in communities in northern Bangladesh. RESULTS: Expectations that girls will restrict their mobility, limit their engagement with male peers, and take extremely limited decision-making roles in their marriage reinforce the practice of child marriage. Girls, and their families, that are considered at risk of or are perceived to have violated these norms face immense pressure for early marriage to mitigate damage to both their own and their families' reputations. DISCUSSION: Social norms that are primarily engineered to control girls' sexuality continue to underpin the practice of child marriage in Bangladesh. Efforts to reduce child marriage such as through increased education or economic opportunities must also address these norms if substantial reductions are to be achieved and sustained in the long-term.

The Common Bean V Gene Encodes Flavonoid 3'5' Hydroxylase: A Major Mutational Target for Flavonoid Diversity in Angiosperms.

The classic V (violet, purple) gene of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) functions in a complex genetic network that controls seed coat and flower color and flavonoid content. V was cloned to understand its role in the network and the evolution of its orthologs in the Viridiplantae. V mapped genetically to a narrow interval on chromosome Pv06. A candidate gene was selected based on flavonoid analysis and confirmed by recombinational mapping. Protein and domain modeling determined V encodes flavonoid 3'5' hydroxylase (F3'5'H), a P450 enzyme required for the expression of dihydromyricetin-derived flavonoids in the flavonoid pathway. Eight recessive haplotypes, defined by mutations of key functional domains required for P450 activities, evolved independently in the two bean gene pools from a common ancestral gene. V homologs were identified in Viridiplantae orders by functional domain searches. A phylogenetic analysis determined F3'5'H first appeared in the Streptophyta and is present in only 41% of Angiosperm reference genomes. The evolutionarily related flavonoid pathway gene flavonoid 3' hydroxylase (F3'H) is found nearly universally in all Angiosperms. F3'H may be conserved because of its role in abiotic stress, while F3'5'H evolved as a major target gene for the evolution of flower and seed coat color in plants.