Fluorescent Probes with Variable Intramolecular Charge Transfer: Constructing Closed-Circle Plots for Distinguishing D2O from H2O.

It is difficult to distinguish between H2O and D2O due to their very similar properties. Triphenylimidazole derivatives with carboxyl groups (TPI-COOH-2R) show intramolecular charge transfer that responds to polarities and pH of solvents. Here, a series of TPI-COOH-2R with very high photoluminescence quantum yields (73-98%) were synthesized to distinguish D2O from H2O by the method of wavelength-changeable fluorescence. In a mixed THF/water solution, the increase of H2O and D2O contents will separately induce different pendulum-type fluorescence variations and form plots of closed circles with the same starting and ending points from which a THF/water ratio that displays the most different emission wavelengths (up to 53 nm with an LOD of 0.064 vol %) can be determined to further distinguish D2O from H2O. This is proved to be originated from the various Lewis acidities between H2O and D2O. The results of theoretical calculations and experiments suggest that, for different substituent groups in TPI-COOH-2R, an appropriate electron-donating effect is beneficial to distinguish between H2O and D2O, while the electron-pulling effect is adverse. Moreover, because the potential hydrogen/deuterium exchange does not affect the as-responsive fluorescence, this method is reliable. And this work provides a new strategy for the design of fluorescent probes for D2O.

The Efficient Synthesis and Anti-Fatigue Activity Evaluation of Macamides: The Unique Bioactive Compounds in Maca.

Macamides are a class of amide alkaloids that are only found in maca and are widely considered to be its bioactive marker compounds. More than thirty macamide monomers have been identified in recent years; however, it is difficult to obtain a single macamide monomer from the maca plant because of their similar structures and characteristics. We used the carbodiimide condensation method (CCM) to efficiently synthesize five typical macamides, including N-benzyl-hexadecanamide (NBH), N-benzyl-9Z,12Z,15Z-octadecenamide, N-(3-methoxybenzyl)-9Z,12Z-octadecenamide, N-benzyl-9Z,12Z-octadecenamide, and N-(3-methoxybenzyl)-9Z,12Z,15Z-octadecadienamide. All the synthesized macamides were purified by a one-step HPLC with a purity of more than 95%. NBH is the most abundant macamide monomer in natural maca, and it was selected to evaluate the anti-fatigue effects of macamides. The results indicated that NBH could enhance the endurance capacity of mice by increasing liver glycogen levels and decreasing blood urea nitrogen, lactate dehydrogenase, blood ammonia, and blood lactic acid levels. Macamides might be the active substances that give maca its anti-fatigue active function.

Transcriptome and metabolome reveal the accumulation of secondary metabolites in different varieties of Cinnamomum longepaniculatum.

BACKGROUND: Cinnamomum longepaniculatum (Gamble) N. Chao ex H. W. Li, whose leaves produce essential oils, is a traditional Chinese medicine and economically important tree species. In our study, two C. longepaniculatum varieties that have significantly different essential oil contents and leaf phenotypes were selected as the materials to investigate secondary metabolism. RESULT: The essential oil content and leaf phenotypes were different between the two varieties. When the results of both transcriptome and metabolomic analyses were combined, it was found that the differences were related to phenylalanine metabolic pathways, particularly the metabolism of flavonoids and terpenoids. The transcriptome results based on KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that pathways involving phenylpropanoids, tryptophan biosynthesis and terpenoids significantly differed between the two varieties; 11 DEGs (2 upregulated and 9 downregulated) were associated with the biosynthesis of other secondary metabolites, and 12 DEGs (2 upregulated and 10 downregulated) were related to the metabolism of terpenoids and polyketides. Through further analysis of the leaves, we detected 196 metabolites in C. longepaniculatum. The abundance of 49 (26 downregulated and 23 upregulated) metabolites differed between the two varieties, which is likely related to the differences in the accumulation of these metabolites. We identified 12 flavonoids, 8 terpenoids and 8 alkaloids and identified 4 kinds of PMFs from the leaves of C. longepaniculatum. CONCLUSIONS: The combined results of transcriptome and metabolomic analyses revealed a strong correlation between metabolite contents and gene expression. We speculate that light leads to differences in the secondary metabolism and phenotypes of leaves of different varieties of C. longepaniculatum. This research provides data for secondary metabolite studies and lays a solid foundation for breeding ideal C. longepaniculatum plants.

Impact of fertility on the longevity of older rural Chinese women: an analysis of a longitudinal survey.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluates the impact of fertility during the childbearing period on the longevity of older rural Chinese women and verifies whether any trade-off exists between women's longevity and their number of children to provide empirical evidence for improving health intervention policies and formulating active fertility policies in low-fertility countries. METHODS: Based on the data of the deaths of 1623 older adults aged 65 and above during 2014-2018 in the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, this study explores the relationship between the number of children born and older rural women's longevity using the ordinary least squares method. Furthermore, the impact of fertility on the longevity of men and women in rural and urban areas, along with other reproductive behaviours on older rural women's longevity, were analysed. RESULTS: There was a significant negative correlation between the number of children born and women's longevity (ß = - 0.555, p < 0.05). Additionally, their longevity exhibited a decreasing trend with having birthed more sons and an increasing trend with more daughters. Age at first and last births had a significant positive relationship with rural women's longevity; however, the effect of fertility on the longevity of older rural and urban men and older urban women was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: It is confirmed that there is a trade-off between fertility and longevity for rural women in China. Future research should focus on compensating for the decline in female longevity caused by the number of children born and promote the concept of a healthy pregnancy, scientific nurture, and gender equality in fertility.

Detector-Free Photothermal Bar-Chart Microfluidic Chips (PT-Chips) for Visual Quantitative Detection of Biomarkers.

The volumetric bar-chart microfluidic chips (V-Chips) driven by chemical reaction-generated gas provide a promising platform for point-of-care (POC) visual biomarker quantitation. However, multiple limitations are encountered in conventional V-Chips, such as costly and complex chip fabrication, complicated chip assembly, and imprecise controllability of gas production. Herein, we introduced nanomaterial-mediated photothermal effects to V-Chips, and for the first time developed a new type of V-Chip, photothermal bar-chart microfluidic chip (PT-Chip), for visual quantitative detection of biochemicals without any bulky and costly analytical instruments. Immunosensing signals were converted to visual readout signals via photothermal effects, the on-chip bar-chart movements, enabling quantitative biomarker detection on a low-cost polymer hybrid PT-Chip with on-chip scale rulers. Four different human serum samples containing a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) as a model analyte were detected simultaneously using the PT-Chip, with a limit of detection of 2.1 ng/mL, meeting clinical diagnostic requirements. Although no conventional signal detectors were used, it achieved comparable detection sensitivity to absorbance measurements with a microplate reader. The PT-Chip was further validated by testing human whole blood without the color interference problem, demonstrating the good analytical performance of our method even in complex matrices and thus the potential to fill the gap in current clinical diagnostics that is incapable of testing whole blood. This new PT-Chip driven by nanomaterial-mediated photothermal effects opens a new horizon of microfluidic platforms for instrument-free diagnostics at the point-of-care.

miR-217 alleviates high-glucose-induced vascular smooth muscle cell dysfunction via regulating ROCK1.

MicroRNA-217 (miR-217) has been recently reported to be abnormally expressed during atherosclerosis. Nonetheless, it still remains unknown whether miR-217 can regulate inflammation, proliferation, migration, and apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in high-glucose condition. Sprague Dawley rats were used for establishing diabetic animal models. miR-217 mimics and miR-217 inhibitors were transfected into VSMCs. The miR-217 and ROCK1 expressions were measured by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. VSMCs' proliferation, migration, cell cycle, and apoptosis were validated using the Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, Transwell assay, and flow cytometry analysis, respectively. The binding sites between miR-217 and the 3'-untranslated region of ROCK1 were predicted via miRanda, PicTar, TargetScan, and microT databases, and the targeting relationship was confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter experiments. miR-217 was found to be upregulated in VSMCs treated by high glucose and aorta VSMCs of diabetic rats. Transfection of miR-217 mimics significantly induced VSMCs cycle arrest, inhibition of proliferation, reduction of migration, and enhancement of apoptosis. The bioinformatics analysis and dual-luciferase reporter experiments identified ROCK1 as a direct target of miR-217. miR-217 inhibits excessive proliferation and migration of VSMCs induced by high glucose by targeting ROCK1.

Preemptive analgesic effectiveness of single dose intravenous ibuprofen in infants undergoing cleft palate repair: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Correction surgery for cleft palate is recommended between 9 and 18 months of age. Patients suffer from acute pain after palatoplasty. Clinicians are hesitant to use opioids for analgesia concerning the potential high risk of respiratory adverse events. Intravenous ibuprofen perhaps be a suitable adjuvant to pain relief. We try to assess whether preoperative administration of intravenous ibuprofen can decrease opioid requirements following cleft palate repair in infants. METHODS: This single center prospective randomized clinical trial was performed from February to April 2021 at Department of Anesthesiology in Shanghai Children's Medical Center. Forty patients ASA I-II, aged 9-24 months with isolated cleft palate and undergoing palatoplasty were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive either a single dose of 10 mg/kg ibuprofen intravenously or normal saline at induction. Children and infants postoperative pain scale (CHIPPS) was used for pain assessment. Those patients CHIPPS pain score equal or higher than 4 received analgesic rescue with titrating intravenous fentanyl 0.5 µg/kg and repeated in 10 min if required. The primary outcome was the amount of postoperative fentanyl used for rescue analgesia in postanesthesia care unit (PACU). RESULTS: Patients (n = 20 in each group) in IV-Ibuprofen group required less postoperative fentanyl than those in placebo group (p<0.001). There was no significant difference between two groups in first rescue analgesia time (p = 0.079) and surgical blood loss (p = 0.194). No incidence of obvious adverse events had been found within the first 24 h after surgery in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Preemptive intravenous administration ibuprofen 10 mg/kg at induction had a significant opioid sparing effect in early postoperative period without obvious adverse effects in infants undergoing palatoplasty. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CHICTR, CTR2100043718, 27/02/2021 http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=122187.

Neuroprotection of N-benzyl Eicosapentaenamide in Neonatal Mice Following Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury.

Maca (Lepidium meyenii) has emerged as a popular functional plant food because of its medicinal properties and nutritional value. Macamides, as the exclusively active ingredients found in maca, are a unique series of non-polar, long-chain fatty acid N-benzylamides with multiple bioactivities such as antifatigue characteristics and improving reproductive health. In this study, a new kind of macamide, N-benzyl eicosapentaenamide (NB-EPA), was identified from maca. We further explore its potential neuroprotective role in hypoxic-ischemic brain injury. Our findings indicated that treatment with biosynthesized NB-EPA significantly alleviates the size of cerebral infarction and improves neurobehavioral disorders after hypoxic-ischemic brain damage in neonatal mice. NB-EPA inhibited the apoptosis of neuronal cells after ischemic challenge. NB-EPA improved neuronal cell survival and proliferation through the activation of phosphorylated AKT signaling. Of note, the protective property of NB-EPA against ischemic neuronal damage was dependent on suppression of the p53-PUMA pathway. Taken together, these findings suggest that NB-EPA may represent a new neuroprotectant for newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.

[Association between serum uric acid and subclinical cardiac damage in children with primary hypertension].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the condition of subclinical cardiac damage in children with primary hypertension and the association between serum uric acid and subclinical cardiac damage. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of 55 children who were hospitalized and diagnosed with primary hypertension in the Department of Cardiology, Children's Hospital of Soochow University from January 2015 to June 2020. Forty-five healthy children, matched for age and sex, were enrolled as the control group. The two groups were compared in terms of clinical features, laboratory examination, and parameters for left ventricular structure, systolic function, and diastolic function. The correlation of serum uric acid with the parameters for left ventricular structure, systolic function, and diastolic function in children with primary hypertension was analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the hypertension group had significantly higher left ventricular mass (LVM), left ventricular mass index (LVMI), and relative wall thickness (RWT) (P < 0.05). Among the children with primary hypertension, 20 (36%) had left ventricular hypertrophy. The hypertension group had significantly larger left atrial diameter and aortic root diameter than the control group (P < 0.05). The hypertension group had a significantly higher ratio of early diastolic mitral inflow velocity to early diastolic mitral annular velocity than the control group (P < 0.05). The correlation analysis showed that in children with primary hypertension, serum uric acid was positively correlated with LVM (r=0.534, P < 0.01), left atrial diameter (r=0.459, P < 0.01), and aortic root diameter (r=0.361, P=0.010). After adjustment for blood pressure, serum uric acid was still positively correlated with the above parameters (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Children with primary hypertension may have subclinical cardiac damage such as left ventricular hypertrophy, left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, left atrial enlargement, and proximal aortic dilation. Elevated serum uric acid is significantly associated with cardiac damage in children with primary hypertension.

Low-Cost Quantitative Photothermal Genetic Detection of Pathogens on a Paper Hybrid Device Using a Thermometer.

Tuberculosis (TB), one of the deadliest infectious diseases, is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and remains a public health problem nowadays. Conventional MTB DNA detection methods require sophisticated infrastructure and well-trained personnel, which leads to increasing complexity and high cost for diagnostics and limits their wide accessibility in low-resource settings. To address these issues, we have developed a low-cost photothermal biosensing method for the quantitative genetic detection of pathogens such as MTB DNA on a paper hybrid device using a thermometer. First, DNA capture probes were simply immobilized on paper through a one-step surface modification process. After DNA sandwich hybridization, oligonucleotide-functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were introduced on paper and then catalyzed the oxidation reaction of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB). The produced oxidized TMB, acting as a strong photothermal agent, was used for the photothermal biosensing of MTB DNA under 808 nm laser irradiation. Under optimal conditions, the on-chip quantitative detection of the target DNA was readily achieved using an inexpensive thermometer as a signal recorder. This method does not require any expensive analytical instrumentation but can achieve higher sensitivity and there are no color interference issues, compared to conventional colorimetric methods. The method was further validated by detecting genomic DNA with high specificity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first photothermal biosensing strategy for quantitative nucleic acid analysis on microfluidics using a thermometer, which brings fresh inspirations on the development of simple, low-cost, and miniaturized photothermal diagnostic platforms for quantitative detection of a variety of diseases at the point of care.

One-Step Surface Modification to Graft DNA Codes on Paper: The Method, Mechanism, and Its Application.

Glass slides have been widely used for DNA immobilization in DNA microarray and numerous bioassays for decades, whereas they are faced with limitations of low probe density, time-consuming modification steps, and expensive instruments. In this work, a simple one-step surface modification method using 3-aminopropyl trimethoxysilane (APTMS) has been developed and applied to graft DNA codes on paper. Higher DNA immobilization efficiency was obtained in comparison with that in a conventional method using glass slides. Fluorescence detection, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), infrared spectra (FT-IR), and pH influence studies were employed to characterize the surface modification and subsequent DNA immobilization, which further reveals a mechanism in which this method lies in ionic interactions between the positively charged APTMS-modified paper surface and negatively charged DNA probes. Furthermore, an APTMS-modified paper-based device has been developed to demonstrate application in low-cost detection of a foodborne pathogen, Giardia lamblia, with high sensitivity (the detection limit of 22 nM) and high specificity. Compared with conventional methods using redundant cross-linking reactions, our method is simpler, faster, versatile, and lower-cost, enabling broad applications of paper-based bioassays especially for point-of-care detection in resource-poor settings.

Gold Nanoparticle Aggregation-Induced Quantitative Photothermal Biosensing Using a Thermometer: A Simple and Universal Biosensing Platform.

A simple, low-cost, and universal gold nanoparticle (AuNP) aggregation-induced photothermal biosensing platform has been developed for the first time and applied for the visual quantitative genetic detection using a common thermometer. By exploiting the photothermal effect of target-induced gold nanoparticle aggregation, visual quantitative biochemical analysis can be achieved by simply recording temperature signals using a common thermometer. Compared to conventional genetic testing methods, it is label- and amplification-free and can be completed in 40 min without the aid of any advanced analytical instruments. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) DNA was used as a model target to demonstrate the application of this photothermal biosensing platform. Although no costly instrument was used, high sensitivity and specificity were achieved with the limit of detection (LOD) of 0.28 nM, which was nearly 10-fold lower than that of the colorimetric method using a spectrometer. This AuNP aggregation-induced photothermal biosensing strategy provides a simple, low-cost, and universal platform for broad application of visual quantitative detection of nucleic acids and many other biomolecules, particularly in point-of-care (POC) biosensing applications.

Mutations in C1orf194, encoding a calcium regulator, cause dominant Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is a hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy exhibiting great clinical and genetic heterogeneity. Here, the identification of two heterozygous missense mutations in the C1orf194 gene at 1p21.2-p13.2 with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease are reported. Specifically, the p.I122N mutation was the cause of an intermediate form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, and the p.K28I missense mutation predominately led to the demyelinating form. Functional studies demonstrated that the p.K28I variant significantly reduced expression of the protein, but the p.I122N variant increased. In addition, the p.I122N mutant protein exhibited the aggregation in neuroblastoma cell lines and the patient's peroneal nerve. Either gain-of-function or partial loss-of-function mutations to C1ORF194 can specify different causal mechanisms responsible for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease with a wide range of clinical severity. Moreover, a knock-in mouse model confirmed that the C1orf194 missense mutation p.I121N led to impairments in motor and neuromuscular functions, and aberrant myelination and axonal phenotypes. The loss of normal C1ORF194 protein altered intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis and upregulated Ca2+ handling regulatory proteins. These findings describe a novel protein with vital functions in peripheral nervous systems and broaden the causes of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, which open new avenues for the diagnosis and treatment of related neuropathies.

P53 Activated by ER Stress Aggravates Caerulein-Induced Acute Pancreatitis Progression by Inducing Acinar Cell Apoptosis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a severe pancreatic disorder that remains associated with high mortality due to a lack of effective drugs and management strategies. This study aimed to investigate the molecular pathogenic mechanisms of AP involving p53 and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathways. METHODS: Expression of PRSS1 and p53 in human AP tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. AP was induced with caerulein in humanized PRSS1 transgenic mice, and its severity was verified by histological imaging, evaluation of edema, serum amylase, and trypsin activity assays. A transferase-mediated d-UTP nick end-labeling assay was performed to evaluate acinar cell apoptosis associated with AP. The expression of ER stress genes was assessed by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting. RESULTS: PRSS1 and p53 were highly expressed in human AP tissues. Expression of human PRSS1 in caerulein-treated mice induced significant acinar cell apoptosis and AP progression. P53 knockout significantly suppressed AP progression in humanized PRSS1 transgenic mice. The ER stress pathway was activated by PRSS1 and mediated the progression of AP in mouse pancreatic tissues. Application of a p53 inhibitor effectively ameliorated caerulein-induced AP in PRSS1 transgenic mice, while a p53 activator promoted the progression of AP. CONCLUSION: P53, which was activated by the ER stress pathway, promoted the progression of AP in mice expressing PRSS1 by inducing acinar cell apoptosis.

microRNA-605 rs2043556 polymorphisms affect clopidogrel therapy through modulation of CYP2B6 and P2RY12 in acute coronary syndrome patients.

Clopidogrel therapy reduces the occurrence of major vascular events in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients, but treatment efficacy is variable. The present study aims to determine the mechanisms that underlie associations between certain miRNA polymorphisms and clinical outcomes of clopidogrel therapy. Our study focused on 9 miRNA single nucleotide polymorphisms in addition to CYP2C19*2 and CYP2C19*3. We found that the miR-605 rs2043556 AG genotype significantly decreased the risk of acute myocardial infarction (odds ratio, OR = 0.13, 95%CI 0.02-0.96, P = .045) and that the rs2043556 GG genotype significantly decreased the risk of unstable angina (OR = 0.19, 95%CI 0.05-0.65, P = .008) in ACS patients receiving clopidogrel therapy for more than one year. Dual-luciferase analysis indicated that miR-605 significantly decreased the mRNA expression of CYP2B6 and P2RY12 (P < .01). In cells treated with miR-605-A, the protein and mRNA expression of CYP2B6 and P2RY12 were significantly lower than that of cells treated with miR-605-G (P < .05). The results demonstrate that miR-605 targets the mRNA of the CYP2B6 and P2RY12 genes, and that rs2043556 A/G polymorphisms in miR-605 modulate the mRNA and protein expression of CYP2B6 and P2RY12 differently, which may impact the effect of clopidogrel in ACS patients.

Strong interaction between Au nanoparticles and porous polyurethane sponge enables efficient environmental catalysis with high reusability.

A novel and recoverable platform of polyurethane (PU) sponge-supported Au nanoparticle catalyst was obtained by a water-based in-situ preparation process. The structure, chemical, and morphology properties of this platform were characterized by XRD, TGA, SEM, FT-IR, and XPS. The Au/PU sponge platform exhibited excellent catalytic performances in catalytic reductions of p-nitrophenol and o-nitroaniline at room temperature, and both catalytic reactions could be completed within 4.5 and 1.5 min, respectively. Furthermore, the strong interaction between Au nanoparticles and the PU sponge enabled the catalyst system to maintain a high catalytic efficiency after 5 recycling times, since the PU sponge reduced the trend of leaching and aggregation of Au nanoparticles. The unique nature of Au nanoparticles and the porous PU sponge along with their strong interaction resulted in a highly efficient, recoverable, and cost-effective multifunctional catalyst. The AuNP/Sponge nanocatalyst platform has great potential for wide environmental and other catalytic applications.

Characterization of a Novel 71.8 kb α0-Thalassemia Deletion and Subsequent Summary of a Practical Procedure for Thalassemia Molecular Diagnosis.

Thalassemia is the most common monogenic disorder around the world. Based on the principle of genotype-phenotype correlation, identification of thalassemia mutations is the essential prerequisite for clinical diagnosis and management. Because only common mutations are routinely detected, the identification of rare or undetermined mutations is a challenge for clinical laboratories. Herein, a proband presenting with inconsistent phenotype-genotype correlation after routine molecular screening was investigated by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA), targeted-next generation sequencing (targeted-NGS), gap-polymerase chain reaction (gap-PCR) and Sanger sequencing. Eventually, a novel 71.8 kb deletion (- -71.8) was identified and characterized, which included HBZ (ζ), HBA2 (α2), and HBA1 (α1) genes and was causing α0-thalassemia (α0-thal). Furthermore, we summarized a practical procedure based on accumulated experience in studies and clinical practice, which can be a guide for molecular screening and clinical diagnosis of thalassemia, especially for identification of undetermined or novel mutations.

Resveratrol reverses the negative effect of alcohol on hydroxyapatite-coated implant osseointegration in senile female rats.

Previous studies have demonstrated the damaging effect of alcohol (ALH) consumption on bone tissue and bone metabolism. Resveratrol (RES) promotes osteoblast proliferation and inhibits osteoclast proliferation and positively affects bone regeneration; however, reports about effects of RES on osseointegration in aged female rats with ALH consumption are limited. This study was designed to investigate the impact of treatment with RES on osseointegration for aged female rats with ALH consumption. This study included 30 female Sprague-Dawley rats (22 months old), weighing approximately 520 g. All animals were randomly divided into 3 groups of 10: a control group (CON) receiving saline, a group receiving ALH and a group receiving ALH + RES until death after 12 weeks. The results of enhanced osseointegration in senile female rats with RES consumption were evaluated by histology, microcomputerized tomography (micro-CT), gene expression analysis and a biomechanical test. The results of this study indicated that ALH + RES showed stronger effects on the improvement of osseointegration in senile female rats with ALH consumption. The ALH + RES produced stronger effects on bone volume per total volume (BV/TV), mean trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), mean trabecular number (Tb.N) and mean trabecular separation (Tb.Sp), connective tissue density (Conn.D) and maximum push-out force for implants, and regulation of osteogenesis and bone resorption-related gene expression. These results seem to indicate that RES intervention reverses the negative effect of alcohol on hydroxyapatite-coated implant osseointegration in senile female rats with ALH consumption.

A smartphone-based on-site nucleic acid testing platform at point-of-care settings.

We developed a smartphone-based on-site nucleic acid testing (NAT) platform that can image and analyze lateral flow nucleic acid assays at point-of-care settings. An inexpensive add-on was devised to run lateral flow assays while providing homogeneous ambient light for imaging. In addition, an Android app with a user-friendly interface was developed for the result analysis and management. Linear color calibration is implemented inside the app to minimize the colorimetric reaction difference between smartphones. A relationship function between nucleic acid concentration and colorimetric reaction was established and evaluated by leave-one-out cross validation. The predicted concentration and true concentration showed a good agreement with an R-squared value of 0.96. This smartphone-based NAT platform can be used to diagnose infectious diseases and monitor disease progression, and assess treatment efficacy, especially for resource-limited settings.

Recent advances in microfluidic platforms for single-cell analysis in cancer biology, diagnosis and therapy.

Understanding molecular, cellular, genetic and functional heterogeneity of tumors at the single-cell level has become a major challenge for cancer research. The microfluidic technique has emerged as an important tool that offers advantages in analyzing single-cells with the capability to integrate time-consuming and labour-intensive experimental procedures such as single-cell capture into a single microdevice at ease and in a high-throughput fashion. Single-cell manipulation and analysis can be implemented within a multi-functional microfluidic device for various applications in cancer research. Here, we present recent advances of microfluidic devices for single-cell analysis pertaining to cancer biology, diagnostics, and therapeutics. We first concisely introduce various microfluidic platforms used for single-cell analysis, followed with different microfluidic techniques for single-cell manipulation. Then, we highlight their various applications in cancer research, with an emphasis on cancer biology, diagnosis, and therapy. Current limitations and prospective trends of microfluidic single-cell analysis are discussed at the end.