Overall Spontaneous Water Splitting for Calcium Bismuthate Ca(BiO2)2: Flexible-Electronic-Controlled Band Edge Position and Adsorption-Site-Modulated Bond Strength.

Eco-friendly photocatalysts for water splitting, highly efficient in oxygen/hydrogen evolution reactions, hold great promise for the storage of inexhaustible solar energy and address environmental challenges. However, current common photocatalysts rarely exhibit both H2 and O2 production performances unless some regulatory measures, such as strain engineering, are implemented. Additionally, the extensive utilization of flexible electronics remains constrained by their high Young's modulus. Herein, on the basis of density functional theory calculations, we identify a novel spontaneous oxygen-producing two-dimensional Ca(BiO2)2 material, which can efficiently regulate the electronic structures of the surface active sites, optimize the reaction pathways, reduce the reaction energy barriers, and boost the overall water-splitting activity through biaxial strain modulation. In detail, an unstrained Ca(BiO2)2 monolayer not only possesses a suitable band gap value (2.02 eV) to fulfill the photocatalytic water-splitting band edge relationships but also holds favorable transport properties, excellent optical absorption across the visible light spectrum, and spontaneous oxygen production under neutral conditions. More excitingly, under application of a 7% biaxial tensile strain modulation with an ideal biaxial strength of 32.35 GPa nm, the Ca(BiO2)2 monolayer not only maintains its structural integrity but also exhibits a completely spontaneous reaction for photocatalytic hydrogen precipitation with superior optical absorption. This can primarily be attributed to the substantial reduction of the potential barrier through strain engineering as well as the weakening of bond energy resulting from changes of the adsorption site as calculated by crystal orbital Hamiltonian population analysis. This flexible stretchable electronic modulated the photocatalyst behavior and bond energy of O-Bi and O-Ca interactions, offering outstanding potential for photocatalytic water spontaneous oxygen and hydrogen evolution among all of the reported metal oxides, and is more likely to become a promising candidate for future flexible electronic devices.

A time-resolved luminescence aptasensor of ofloxacin based on rolling circle amplification and magnetic separation.

A novel sensitive, competitive, and time-resolved luminescence sensor for the detection of ofloxacin (OFL) was developed in this study. The sensor used OFL-specific aptamer as a recognition molecule and rolling circle amplification (RCA) as a signal amplification tool. In this way, the time-resolved luminescence can not only avoid background noise from sample, but also provide robust luminescence for detection. Besides, the separation and enrichment of target veterinary drug can be conducted assisted by magnetic treatment. Under optimal conditions, the logarithmic correlation between the concentration of OFL and the luminescence intensity was found to be linear in the range of 5 × 10-11-5 × 10-8 mol L-1 (R2 = 0.9988), with a detection limit (LOD) of 32.1 pmol L-1. Furthermore, this method was applied to the determination of OFL in chicken and pork samples, exhibiting good recovery (72.5-100%) and repeatability (RSD < 10.0%). These results confirm that this novel established method has good application potential for the detection of OFL in food samples.

Clinical significance of UGT1A1 polymorphism and expression of ERCC1, BRCA1, TYMS, RRM1, TUBB3, STMN1 and TOP2A in gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: Individualized therapeutic regimen is a recently intensively pursued approach for targeting diseases, in which the search for biomarkers was considered the first and most important. Thus, the goal of this study was to investigate whether the UGT1A1, ERCC1, BRCA1, TYMS, RRM1, TUBB3, STMN1 and TOP2A genes are underlying biomarkers for gastric cancer, which, to our knowledge, has not been performed. METHODS: Ninety-eight tissue specimens were collected from gastric cancer patients between May 2012 and March 2015. A multiplex branched DNA liquidchip technology was used for measuring the mRNA expressions of ERCC1, BRCA1, TYMS, RRM1, TUBB3, STMN1 and TOP2A. Direct sequencing was performed for determination of UGT1A1 polymorphisms. Furthermore, correlations between gene expressions, polymorphisms and clinicopathological characteristics were investigated. RESULTS: The expressions of TYMS, TUBB3 and STMN1 were significantly associated with the clinicopathological characteristics of age, gender and family history of gastric cancer, but not with differentiation, growth patterns, metastasis and TNM staging in patients with gastric cancer. No clinical characteristics were correlated with the expressions of ERCC1, BRCA1, RRM1 and TOP2A. Additionally, patients carrying G allele at -211 of UGT1A1 were predisposed to developing tubular adenocarcinoma, while individuals carrying 6TAA or G allele respectively at *28 or -3156 of UGT1A1 tended to have a local invasion. CONCLUSIONS: The UGT1A1 polymorphism may be useful to screen the risk population of gastric cancer, while TYMS, TUBB3 and STMN1 may be potential biomarkers for prognosis and chemotherapy guidance.

Integrated bioinformatics analysis identified leucine rich repeat containing 15 and secreted phosphoprotein 1 as hub genes for calcific aortic valve disease and osteoarthritis.

Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) and osteoarthritis (OA) are common diseases in the ageing population and share similar pathogenesis, especially in inflammation. This study aims to discover potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets in patients with CAVD and OA. Three CAVD datasets and one OA dataset were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. We used bioinformatics methods to search for key genes and immune infiltration, and established a ceRNA network. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to verify the expression of candidate genes in human and mice aortic valve tissues. Two key genes obtained, leucine rich repeat containing 15 (LRRC15) and secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1), were further screened using machine learning and verified in human and mice aortic valve tissues. Compared to normal tissues, the infiltration of immune cells in CAVD tissues was significantly higher, and the expressions of LRRC15 and SPP1 were positively correlated with immune cells infiltration. Moreover, the ceRNA network showed extensive regulatory interactions based on LRRC15 and SPP1. The authors' findings identified LRRC15 and SPP1 as hub genes in immunological mechanisms during CAVD and OA initiation and progression, as well as potential targets for drug development.

Determination of aflatoxin B1 in Pixian Douban based on aptamer magnetic solid-phase extraction.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is considered as the most prevalent and toxic mycotoxin in food, and is the indispensable index in the monitoring of Pixian Douban, a traditional chinese fermented bean paste from Sichuan. However, the effeciency of AFB1 detection in Pixian Douban is influenced by the traditional extraction, which is usually complex and time consuming. Therefore, an aptamer-based magnetic solid-phase extraction method was designed for the pretreatment of AFB1 in this sample, for which Fe3O4 was synthesized via the solvothermal method and then a Fe3O4@SiO2-NH2 with a core-shell structure was prepared, followed by an AFB1-aptamer attachment. The validation was performed via an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and compared with HPLC-MS/MS. The linearity range of this method was 0.5-2.0 ng mL -1 with R 2 of 0.981, and recoveries of AFB1 ranged from 80.19% to 113.92% with RSDs below 7.28% with no significant differences compared to HPLC-MS/MS. The three-time reusability efficiencies of aptamer-MNPs were averaged at 78.24%. The results proved that aptamer-MNPs were high-performance adsorbents for extracting and enriching AFB1, facilitating quick and effective detection of AFB1 in Pixian DouBan samples.

Simultaneous determination of eight biogenic amines in the traditional Chinese condiment Pixian Douban using UHPLC-MS/MS.

A UHPLC-MS/MS method was developed to simultaneously determine eight biogenic amines (BAs) in Pixian Douban. Under optimal conditions, the linear ranges of determination were 5-1000 µg/L (that of spermine was 8-1000 µg/L). Correlation coefficients ranged from 0.9955 to 0.9987. The limits of detection were 0.11-5.5 µg/L. The matrix effect and analytical performance of the present method were evaluated, and the eight BAs were analyzed by this method in 19 samples, indicating the potential pollution of BAs in chili oil Pixian Douban.

A sensitive aptasensor based on rolling circle amplification and G-rich ssDNA/terbium (III) luminescence enhancement for ofloxacin detection in food.

As the light-harvesting "antenna", G-rich oligonucleotides (such as the G-quadruplex) can interact with lanthanide (III) to bring a luminescent enhancement response. In this study, phenomenon of luminescent enhancement of G-triplex/terbium (III) (G3/Tb3+) and interaction between G3 and Tb3+ were first reported and characterized. Based on G3/Tb3+ luminescence, a label-free aptasensor for the detection of ofloxacin (OFL) residues in the food was developed. The OFL triggered the action of rolling circle amplification (RCA) allowed for the amplification product of G3-forming sequences in the single-stranded DNA, which promoted the conformational transition of the G3/Tb3+ complexes once the addition of Tb3+. Under the optimal conditions, the logarithmic correlation between the G3/Tb3+ luminescence intensity and the concentration of OFL was found to be linear in the range of 5-1000 pmol L-1 (R2 = 0.9949). The limit of detection was 0.18 pmol L-1 (3σ/slope). Additionally, the good recoveries of 90.19-108.89 % and the relative standard deviations values of 0.59-5.87 % were obtained in the application of the aptasensor detecting OFL in the practical samples. These results confirmed that the present aptasensor has a good analytical performance and bright prospect for detecting ofloxacin residues in food.

Upregulation of COL8A1 indicates poor prognosis across human cancer types and promotes the proliferation of gastric cancer cells.

Gastric cancer (GC) was one of the most common types of the digestive system. COL8A1 was reported to be associated with cancer progression. The present study showed COL8A1 was overexpressed and correlated to shorter overall survival (OS) time across human cancer types. Specially, our results showed COL8A1 was up-regulated in advanced stage GC compared to low stage GC samples. Higher expression of COL8A1 was significantly correlated to shorter OS time in patients with GC. Bioinformatics analysis revealed COL8A1 was involved in regulating cell proliferation and metastasis. Experimental validations of COL8A1 showed that silencing of COL8A1 could significantly suppressed cell proliferation, migration and invasion in GC. These results provided a potential target for the clinical prognosis and treatment of gastric cancer.

[Efficacy comparison of lymph node dissection patterns of the reverse and the cabbage in hand-assisted laparoscopic D2 radical gastrectomy].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical efficacy of the lymph node dissection patterns of the reverse and the traditional cabbage in hand-assisted laparoscopic D2 radical gastrectomy (HALG). METHODS: From December 2010 to October 2013, 194 patients with HALG in Chengdu Military General Hospital were enrolled in this study. According to the pattern of lymph node dissection, 108 patients were performed with the reverse procedure which took spleen as starting point, from left to right, and 86 patients were performed with the traditional cabbage procedure which took the abdominal cavity as the center, from both sides to middle. A retrospective comparative analysis was made on the intra- and post-operative data between the two groups. RESULTS: All the patients were successfully performed with HALG, and no peri-operative death occurred. There were no significant differences in the incision length [(7.0 ± 0.2) cm vs. (6.9 ± 0.3) cm], the operative time [(170.9 ± 33.8) minute vs. (174.6 ± 22.4) minute], dissected lymph node number (17.6 ± 7.5 vs. 17.1 ± 5.8) and post-operative complications [(6.5%(7/108) vs. 8.1%(7/86)] between the reverse group and cabbage group (all P>0.05). However, less blood loss [(204.6 ± 98.2) ml vs. (259.1 ± 122.6) ml, P<0.01] and shorter postoperative hospital stay [(9.0 ± 1.7) day vs. (10.5 ± 4.0) day, P<0.01] were observed in reverse group as compared to cabbage group. During 1 to 6 months follow-up, no death case was found in reverse group, while 1 case died due to upper gastrointestinal bleeding 48 days after operation in cabbage group. CONCLUSION: Efficacy is similar between the two HALG procedures in lymph node dissection, while reverse procedure has certain advantages, such as less blood loss and faster recovery.

Gastric-jejunum pouch side-to-end anastomosis: a novel and safe operation of gastrojejunostomy for preventing reflux gastritis.

PURPOSE: This study aims to introduce a simple operation method of gastrojejunostomy for preventing reflux esophagitis --gastric-jejunum pouch side-to-end anastomosis. METHODS: Based on Billroth II anastomosis (Billroth II) method, we designed a new technique of anastomosis between stomach wall and jejunal pouch. The technique was named gastric-jejunum pouch side-end anastomosis. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data which was collected from March 2012 to February 2014. Among all the recruited 66 patients, 51 gastric cancer patients and 7 pyloric obstruction patients were implemented with hand-assisted laparoscopic distal gastrectomy plus D2 lymph node dissection. The remaining 8 patients were malignant pyloric obstruction; they were treated with small exploratory incision on the upper abdomen and distal gastric partial transection. All the patients were treated with gastric-jejunum pouch side-to-end anastomosis. RESULTS: The surgical incision was small, the operative time was short, their bleeding volume was little, the recovery time of the bowel function and hospitalization time was relatively short. Postoperatively, there was neither mortality and gastroparesis, nor anastomotic leakage and jejunal pouch leakage. Minor postoperative complications were detected followed up for 12 months, no acid reflux and reflux esophagitis symptoms was reported. CONCLUSIONS: Gastric -jejunum pouch side-to-end anastomosis is a simple operation technique with highly surgical safety.