Programmable photoacoustic manipulation of microparticles in liquid.

Particle manipulation through the transfer of light or sound momentum has emerged as a powerful technique with immense potential in various fields, including cell biology, microparticle assembly, and lab-on-chip technology. Here, we present a novel method called Programmable Photoacoustic Manipulation (PPAM) of microparticles in liquid, which enables rapid and precise arrangement and controllable transport of numerous silica particles in water. Our approach leverages the modulation of pulsed laser using digital micromirror devices (DMD) to generate localized Lamb waves in a stainless steel membrane and acoustic waves in water. The particles undergo a mechanical force of about several µN due to membrane vibrations and an acoustic radiation force of about tens of nN from the surrounding water. Consequently, this approach surpasses the efficiency of optical tweezers by effectively countering the viscous drag imposed by water and can be used to move thousands of particles on the membrane. The high power of the pulsed laser and the programmability of the DMD enhance the flexibility in particle manipulation. By integrating the benefits of optical and acoustic manipulation, this technique holds great promise for advancing large-scale manipulation, cell assembly, and drug delivery.

Programmable spin and transport of a living shrimp egg through photoacoustic pressure.

In the fields of biomedicine and microfluidics, the non-contact capture, manipulation, and spin of micro-particles hold great importance. In this study, we propose a programmable non-contact manipulation technique that utilizes photoacoustic effect to spin and transport living shrimp eggs. By directing a modulated pulsed laser toward a liquid-covered stainless-steel membrane, we can excite patterned Lamb waves within the membrane. These Lamb waves occur at the interface between the membrane and the liquid, enabling the manipulation of nearby particles. Experimental results demonstrate the successful capture, spin, and transport of shrimp eggs in diameter of 220 µm over a distance of about 5 mm. Calculations indicate that the acoustic radiation force and torque generated by our photoacoustic manipulation system are more than 299.5 nN and 41.0 nN·mm, respectively. The system surpasses traditional optical tweezers in terms of force and traditional acoustic tweezers in terms of flexibility. Consequently, this non-contact manipulation system significantly expands the possibilities for applications in various fields, including embryo screening, cell manipulation, and microfluidics.

Mice lacking the proton channel Hv1 exhibit sex-specific differences in glucose homeostasis.

Sex as a physiologic factor has a strong association with the features of metabolic syndrome. Our previous study showed that loss of the voltage-gated proton channel Hv1 inhibits insulin secretion and leads to hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance in male mice. However, there are significant differences in blood glucose between male and female Hv1-knockout (KO) mice. Here, we investigated the differences in glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity between male and female KO mice and how sex steroids contribute to these differences. We found that the fasting blood glucose in female KO mice was visibly lower than that in male KO mice, which was accompanied by hypotestosteronemia. KO mice in both sexes exhibited higher expression of gluconeogenesis-related genes in liver compared with WT mice. Also, the livers from KO males displayed a decrease in glycolysis-related gene expression and an increase in gluconeogenesis-related gene expression compared with KO females. Furthermore, exogenous testosterone supplementation decreased blood glucose levels in male KO mice, as well as enhancing insulin signaling. Taken together, our data demonstrate that knockout of Hv1 results in higher blood glucose levels in male than female mice, despite a decreased insulin secretion in both sexes. This sex-related difference in glucose homeostasis is associated with the glucose metabolism in liver tissue, likely due to the physiological levels of testosterone in KO male mice.

CD4+ T Cells Promote IgG Production in MHC-Independent and ICAM-1-Dependent Manners in Pristane-Induced Lupus Mice.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease characterized by autoantibody production and chronic inflammation. The etiology and pathogenesis of SLE are complicated in which dysfunction of CD4+ T cells is largely engaged. In this study, we investigated the manners of CD4+ T cells in antibody production in a lupus-like mouse model through peritoneal injection of pristane reagent. With the increase in total IgG/IgM and autoantibody production after 6 months, CD4+ T cells exhibited activated phenotypes with the elevated CD44, ICOS, OX40, and PD-1 expression. Pristane injection induced the increase in IgM levels in both wild-type and T cell-deficient TCRα -/- mice whereas IgG, IgG1, and IgG2a production was impaired. When adoptively transferring CD4+ T cells into T cell-deficient mice or coculturing CD4+ T cells and B cells in vitro, it was found that CD4+ T cells derived from pristane-treated mice could help the production of total IgG as well as IgG1/IgG2a in a more efficient manner both in vivo and in vitro. While MHC was dispensable for IgG production, ICAM-1 likely functioned as an attenuating factor for IgG production. Our study thus reveals that CD4+ T cells in pristane-treated mice play important roles in IgG production, which implies the critical roles in the induction of pathological autoantibodies in MHC-independent and ICAM-1-dependent manners.

Efficient Degradation of Congo Red in Water by UV-Vis Driven CoMoO4/PDS Photo-Fenton System.

In order to improve the catalytic activity of cobalt molybdate (CoMoO4), a PDS-activated and UV-vis assisted system was constructed. CoMoO4 was prepared by coprecipitation and calcination, and characterized by XRD, FTIR, Raman, SEM, TEM, XPS, TGA Zeta potential, BET, and UV-Vis DRS. The results showed that the morphology of the CoMoO4 nanolumps consisted of stacked nanosheets. XRD indicated the monoclinic structures with C2/m (C32h, #12) space group, which belong to α-CoMoO4, and both Co2+ and Mo6+ ions occupy distorted octahedral sites. The pH of the isoelectric point (pHIEP) of CMO-8 at pH = 4.88 and the band gap of CoMoO4 was 1.92 eV. The catalytic activity of CoMoO4 was evaluated by photo-Fenton degradation of Congo red (CR). The catalytic performance was affected by calcination temperature, catalyst dosage, PDS dosage, and pH. Under the best conditions (0.8 g/L CMO-8, PDS 1 mL), the degradation efficiency of CR was 96.972%. The excellent catalytic activity of CoMoO4 was attributed to the synergistic effect of photo catalysis and CoMoO4-activated PDS degradation. The capture experiments and the ESR showed that superoxide radical (·O2-), singlet oxygen (1O2), hole (h+), sulfate (SO4-·), and hydroxyl (·OH-) were the main free radicals leading to the degradation of CR. The results can provide valuable information and support for the design and application of high-efficiency transition metal oxide catalysts.

Improved direct compression properties of Gardeniae fructus water extract powders via fluid bed-mediated surface engineering.

Direct compression (DC) attracts increasing attention for tablet manufacturing; however, its application in medicinal plant tablets is still extremely limited. In this work, eight kinds of the Gardeniae fructus water extract powder (GF)-based composite particles (CPs) were prepared with different cohesive surface engineering materials, including dextran, inulin, hypromellose, and povidone, alone or in combination with mannitol and colloidal silica. Their physical properties and compacting parameters were characterized comprehensively. All the CPs showed marked improvement in tabletability, which is about 2-4 times higher than that of GF and physical mixtures (PMs). Specifically, the CPs showed a 7.45-26.48 times higher hardness (Ha) value and a 1.26-2.74 times higher cohesiveness (Co) value than PMs. In addition, all the CPs (angle of repose being from 34.27° to 38.46°) showed better flowability than PMs (35.49° to 53.53°) and GF (51.86°). These results demonstrated that (i) fluid-bed coating was not a simple process of superposition and transmission of the physical properties of raw materials; and (ii) all the surface engineering materials studied could improve the DC properties of problematic GF to some degree. As a whole, through the design of fluid-bed coating CPs, qualified tablets with high GF loadings (up to 93%) were produced via DC.

BODIPY-Appended Pt(II) Complexes with High Toxicities and Anti-chemoresistance Performances in a Cisplatin Resistant In Vivo Model.

Two novel fluorophore (BODIPY)-bearing complexes, pyriplatin (mCBP) and pyrimidine-chelated cisplatin (dCBP), were synthesized and characterized. The additional BODIPY-pyridine/pyridimine motifs of the two Pt(II) complexes resulted in stronger interactions with DNA in comparison with those of cisplatin. mCBP and cisplatin caused relative decreases in life span and body length in a cisplatin resistant in vivo model, N2 (wild-type) Caenorhabditis elegans. In contrast, dCBP resulted in a dramatic reduction in the two physiological parameters in N2 C. elegans, indicating high toxicity and sensitivity. The resistance factors (RF) of cisplatin, mCBP, and dCBP were determined to be 2.46, 1.04, and 0.91, respectively. The increasing RF folds for mCBP and dCBP against cisplatin were 2.36 and 2.70, respectively. This suggested they were featured with improved anti-chemoresistance capabilities. It is noteworthy that dCBP showed lowest lethal concentration (LC50) values of 0.56 and 0.61 mM in cisplatin resistant and sensitive in vivo models, respectively. Upregulation of several evolutionary conservation genes that regulate cisplatin chemoresistance through cisplatin effluxing, the DNA damage response, the unfolded protein response, and detoxification (asna-1, parp-1, enpl-1, and skn-1) was observed upon exposure to cisplatin but not to mCBP and dCBP. This could explain the improved anti-chemoresistance performances of synthesized Pt(II) complexes.

Elastin is a key factor of tumor development in colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common cancer and a leading cause of death worldwide. Extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins regulate tumor growth and development in CRC. Elastin (ELN) is a component of ECM proteins involved in the tumor microenvironment. However, the role of ELN in CRC remains unclear. METHODS: In this study, we analyzed ELN gene expression in tumors from CRC patients and adjacent non-tumor colon tissues and healthy controls from two existing microarray datasets. ELN protein was measured in human normal colon cells and colon cancer epithelial cells and tumor development was assessed in colon epithelial cells cultured in medium with or without ELN peptide on plates coated with ELN recombinant protein. Control plates were coated with PBS only. RESULTS: We found ELN gene expression was increased in tumors from CRC patients compared to adjacent non-tumor tissues and healthy controls. ELN protein was increased in cancer cells compared to normal colon epithelial cells. Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-ß) was a key cytokine to induce production of ECM proteins, but it did not induce ELN expression in colon cancer cells. Matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) gene expression was increased, but that of MMP12 (elastase) did not change between CRC patients and control. Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 3 (TIMP3) gene expression was decreased in colon tissues from CRC patients compared to healthy controls. However, MMP9, MMP12 and TIMP3 proteins were increased in colon cancer cells. ELN recombinant protein increased proliferation and wound healing in colon cancer epithelial cells. This had further increased in cancer cells incubated in plates coated with recombinant ELN coated plate and in culture media containing ELN peptide. A potential mechanism was that ELN induced epithelial mesenchymal transition with increased alpha-smooth muscle actin and vimentin proteins but decreased E-cadherin protein. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) mRNA was also increased in CRC patients compared to controls. ELN recombinant protein induced further increases in TNF protein in mouse bone marrow derived macrophages after lipopolysaccharide stimulation. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest ELN regulates tumor development and the microenvironment in CRC.

[Scaled-up production and application of co-processed excipient mannitol-HPMC in traditional Chinese medicine].

Spray drying technology was used to produce co-processed excipients mannitol- hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), and study the scaled-up production. The consistency of powder and tablet properties before and after scale-up of co-processed excipients was compared, and their applicability in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) powder's direct compression was tested on five TCM extracts such as gardenia extract and Radix Paeoniae Alba extract. It was shown that after scaled-up production, the key properties of co-processed excipients had little changes (such as compactability, disintegrating time, and lubrication sensitivity) or improvement (such as flowability and yield). As compared to commercially available spray-dried mannitol, co-processed excipients achieved better compactability and higher drug loading for direction compression of TCM powder. In conclusion, the mannitol-HPMC co-processed excipient, with excellent physicomechanical properties, is promising to be explored as a new excipient for direct powder compression.

Co-spray Drying with HPMC as a Platform to Improve Direct Compaction Properties of Various Tablet Fillers.

Many commonly used tablet fillers are not suitable for direct compaction process due to insufficient properties, mainly of flowability and compactability. This work therefore aimed to use co-spray drying with HPMC as a platform to improve direct compaction properties of various tablet fillers. Starch, calcium hydrogen phosphate dihydrate (DCPD), and mannitol were chosen as a representative of three types of commonly used fillers (i.e. organic macromolecules, water-insoluble inorganic salts, and water-soluble small molecular carbohydrates), respectively. The five-level central composite design-response surface methodology was used (i) to investigate the effects of HPMC level and solid content of the feed on various powder, tableting, and tablet properties of composite excipients, and (ii) to optimize the composition. The results showed that the impacts of the two factors on various properties of composite excipients showed great similarity, despite of significantly different primary properties of the parent fillers, and the HPMC level was the main contributor to the majority of the impacts. An increase in HPMC level significantly improved tablet tensile strength and various tableting parameters. For all the three fillers, their optimized composite excipients provided by the established models showed excellent performances as predicted. The platform suggested is confirmed to be effective and promising.

Isolation and characterization of a cryptogein-like gene from drought and salt-treated Alternanthera philoxeroides roots.

Alligator weed, Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart.) Grisb, is an amphibious plant with long thick fleshy roots that develop from adventitious roots under drought conditions. To clone differentially-expressed genes from the roots of A. philoxeroides we applied both mRNA differential display and rapid amplification of cDNA ends techniques. A cryptogein-like gene of A. philoxeroides, designated as ApCL, was cloned. On the basis of semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis results, we demonstrated that the ApCL gene was upregulated under drought and salt stress conditions. After ApCL was transferred to Pichia pastoris GS115 and its resistance to drought and salt then increased by >100 %. Therefore, the ApCL gene of A. philoxeroides was likely involved in drought and salt tolerance responses.

Positive feed-forward regulation of nitrate uptake by rice roots and its molecular mechanism.

To investigate the positive feed-forward regulatory mechanism of nitrate uptake by rice, its responses to various light and carbohydrates were compared. In order to measure nitrate uptake in real time, the non-invasive method was used. The results showed that net nitrate uptake increased in the light and decreased in the dark, and finally reached a steady state after about 5 h. Based on it, carbohydrates effects could be investigated without considering light effects. After sucrose addition for 2 h, net nitrate uptake increased by about 80% without a lag, while glucose, fructose and raffinose had a slight effect with a lag and other sugars had no effect. It provided an evidence that sucrose was a positive feed-forward signal molecule of nitrate uptake by rice roots. To further analyze the effect of sucrose on the expression of high affinity nitrate transporter genes OsNRT2.1, OsNRT2.2, OsNRT2.3a and OsNRT2.3b, qRT-PCR was used to further verify after treated with 10 mM sucrose. The results revealed that these genes expression was immediately up-regulated, which indicated that these genes were post transcriptionally regulated. Further, 15N exchange dynamics analyzed N transport. It is benefit for increasing nitrate uptake by rice and improving its yield.

Programmable photoacoustic patterning of microparticles in air.

Optical and acoustic tweezers, despite operating on different physical principles, offer non-contact manipulation of microscopic and mesoscopic objects, making them essential in fields like cell biology, medicine, and nanotechnology. The advantages and limitations of optical and acoustic manipulation complement each other, particularly in terms of trapping size, force intensity, and flexibility. We use photoacoustic effects to generate localized Lamb wave fields capable of mapping arbitrary laser pattern shapes. By using localized Lamb waves to vibrate the surface of the multilayer membrane, we can pattern tens of thousands of microscopic particles into the desired pattern simultaneously. Moreover, by quickly and successively adjusting the laser shape, microparticles flow dynamically along the corresponding elastic wave fields, creating a frame-by-frame animation. Our approach merges the programmable adaptability of optical tweezers with the potent manipulation capabilities of acoustic waves, paving the way for wave-based manipulation techniques, such as microparticle assembly, biological synthesis, and microsystems.

LcINH1 as an inhibitor of cell wall invertase LcCWIN5 regulates early seed development in Litchi chinensis Sonn.

Sugar signal mediated by Cell wall invertase (CWIN) plays a central role in seed development. In higher plants, invertase inhibitors (INHs) suppress CWIN activities at a post-translational level. In Litchi chinensis cultivar 'Nuomici', impaired CWIN expression is associated with seed abortion. Here, the expression of LcINH1 was significantly higher in the funicle of seed-aborting cultivar 'Nuomici' than big-seeded cultivar 'Heiye'. Promoter analyses found LcINH1 contained a 404 bp repeat fragment with an endosperm regulatory element of Skn-1_motif. LcINH1 and LcCWIN2/5 were located in plasma membrane. LcINH1 was able to interact with LcCWIN5, but not with LcCWIN2. In vitro enzyme activity assay demonstrated that LcINH1 could inhibit CWIN activity. Silencing LcINH1 in 'Nuomici' resulted in normal seed development, paralleled increased CWIN activities and glucose levels. Transcriptome analysis identified 1079 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in LcINH1-silenced fruits. KEGG analysis showed significant enrichment of DEGs in pathways related to transporters and plant hormone signal transduction. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis indicated that the turquoise module was highly correlated with fructose content, and LcSWEET3b was closely associated with early seed development. These findings suggest that LcINH1 regulate LcCWIN5 activity at the post-translational level to alter sucrose metabolism, thereby affecting early seed development in litchi.

Sleep deprivation during pregnancy leads to poor fetal outcomes in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Sleep deprivation is a common problem during pregnancy, but its impact on the fetus remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the effect of sleep deprivation during pregnancy on fetal outcomes and its mechanism in Sprague-Dawley rats. Sleep deprivation was performed from gestational day(GD) 1-19 using a multiplatform method for 18 h/day. Rats were sacrificed on GD20, and their blood and placentas were collected. Fetal and placental parameters were ascertained. Melatonin, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and corticosterone were also measured in serum. The levels of arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT) and two melatonin receptors MT1 and MT2, in placental tissues were detected by western blotting. The inflammatory status and oxidative stress in serum and placentas were investigated. Miscarriage and intrauterine growth restriction were observed in the sleep deprivation group. Sleep deprivation resulted in an increased fetal absorption rate, while fetal weight, crown-rump length and placental weight were reduced. Placental histopathology showed that the labyrinth ratio in the sleep deprivation group was significantly reduced, with hypoplastic villi and obviously decreased blood vessels. Sleep deprivation decreased melatonin in serum and the expression of AANAT, MT1 and MT2 in placental tissues, elevated the oxidative stress products 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and malondialdehyde(MDA) in serum and 4-hydroxynonenal (4HNE) in the placenta, and decreased the antioxidants superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in serum. Serum proinflammatory cytokines including interleukin-1-beta (IL-1ß), interleukin-6 (IL-6), necrotizing factor-alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin-8(IL-8), were all elevated by sleep deprivation, and the inflammatory regulatory factor nuclear factor-κB p65 (NF-κB p65) in the placenta was enhanced when examined by immunohistochemistry. Corticosterone levels were comparable between the two groups, although ACTH levels were elevated significantly in the sleep deprivation group. Our study revealed that sleep deprivation during pregnancy can adversely impact fetal outcomes. Melatonin may play an important role in this pathology through the oxido-inflammatory process.

Research Note: A novel peptide-based ELISA for efficient detection of antibody against chicken infectious anemia virus.

Chicken infectious anemia virus (CIAV) is the pathogen of chicken infectious anemia. Currently, due to the lack of effective diagnostics technology and prevention approach, CIAV has spread globally and caused huge economic losses to poultry industry. In this study, a novel peptide-based ELISA (pELISA) for efficient detection of antibody against CIAV was developed. The peptide (25CRLRRRYKFRHRRRQRYRRRAF45) used in pELISA was highly conserved in VP1 protein of different CIAV isolates. The specificity and reproducibility showed that the pELISA only reacted with sera against CIAV, not with sera against other pathogens tested, and the CV of the intra-/inter-assay of the pELISA was 6.8 to 9.22%. Moreover, the comparison assay using 56 clinical samples showed that the positive rate of the pELISA and the commercial ELISA kit (IDEXX) was 85.7 and 80.4%, respectively. The pELISA generated here provides a rapid and efficient serological detection method for diagnosis of CIAV infection and evaluation of the efficacy of CIAV vaccination.

Kneading-Dough-Inspired Quickly Dispersing of Hydrophobic Particles into Aqueous Solutions for Designing Functional Hydrogels.

Hydrogels containing hydrophobic materials have attracted great attention for their potential applications in drug delivery and biosensors. This work presents a kneading-dough-inspired method for dispersing hydrophobic particles (HPs) into water. The kneading process can quickly mix HPs with polyethyleneimine (PEI) polymer solution to form "dough", which facilitates the formation of stable suspensions in aqueous solutions. Combining with photo or thermal curing processes, one type of HPs incorporated PEI-polyacrylamide (PEI/PAM) composite hydrogel exhibiting good self-healing ability, tunable mechanical property is synthesized. The incorporating of HPs into the gel network results in the decrease in the swelling ratio, as well as the enhancement of the compressive modulus by more than five times. Moreover, the stable mechanism of polyethyleneimine-modified particles has been investigated using surface force apparatus, where the pure repulsion during approaching contributes to the good stability of the suspension. The stabilization time of the suspension is dependent on the molecular weight of PEI: the higher the molecular weight is, the better the stability of the suspension will be. Overall, this work demonstrates a useful strategy to introduce HPs into functional hydrogel networks. Future research can be focused on understanding the strengthening mechanism of HPs in the gel networks.

Investigation for Anxiety and Depression Situation in Couples Receiving in vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer (IVF-ET) with Donor Sperm and Associated Influencing Factors.

Background: This study aimed to explore the current situation of anxiety and depression on day of transfer in couples receiving in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) with donor sperm and analyze its influencing factors. Methods: This study selected 187 IVF-ET administered couples who received donor sperm from our Hospital from August 2021 to July 2022. On the day of IVF-ET with donor sperm transplantation, patients were investigated with general data questionnaire, self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and self-rating depression scale (SDS) to analyze their anxiety and depression scores and their influencing factors. Results: Scores of anxiety and depression on the day of transplantation in patients receiving IVF-ET with donor sperm were 43.98±6.80 and 46.03±10.61 respectively, which were higher compared to levels of Chinese health norm (P<0.05). The anxiety score of patients' spouses was 41.23±6.69 and depression score was 44.23±11.65, which were higher compared to levels of Chinese health norm (P<0.05). Score of anxiety and depression of women was significantly higher compared to those of their spouse (P<0.05). Anxiety and depression scores of women in non-pregnant group were significantly higher compared to those in pregnant group (P<0.05). Regression analysis showed that education level and annual family income were influencing factors of anxiety and depression scores of IVF-ET with donor sperm couples on the day of transfer, and number of eggs taken and transfer times were influencing factors of depression scores of IVF-ET with donor sperm patients on the day of transfer. Conclusion: Psychological state of couples receiving IVF-ET with donor sperm was significantly affected, especially in female side. Medical staff should focus on patients with low education level, low family income, and more times of transfer and egg retrieval, and take targeted intervention measures to keep them in good psychological state, which is conducive to improving pregnancy outcome.