Antibody-Oriented Strategy and Mechanism for the Preparation of Fluorescent Nanoprobes for Fast and Sensitive Immunodetection.

Nanoprobes have been widely used in biomedical engineering. However, antibodies are generally conjugated onto nanoparticles disorderly, which reduces their antigen recognition ability. The existing antibody orientation approaches are usually complex. Here, we developed and demonstrated a simple antibody-oriented strategy for the lateral flow immunoassay of cardiac troponin I by conjugating antibodies onto polystyrene nanospheres at the optimal pH. The binding amount and orientation of antibodies as well as the detection sensitivity were significantly improved. Although pH regulation is commonly used to optimize antibody conjugation, this paper illustrates the mechanism of its antibody orientation enhancement ability for the first time and reveals the important influences of the density, the charge distribution and hydrophilicity of the antibody, the control of the velocities of physical adsorption and chemical coupling, and other factors on antibody orientation. It is of great significance to understand and regulate antibody conjugation on the surface of micro- or nanospheres to construct high-performance probes for in vitro diagnosis applications.

Pretreatment quality of life as a predictor of survival for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with IMRT.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the prognostic significance of pretreatment quality of life for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy. METHODS: We performed a prospective, longitudinal study on 554 newly diagnosed patients with NPC from April 2011 to January 2015. A total of 501 consecutive NPC patients were included. Patients were asked to complete the EORTC QLQ-C30 (version 3.0) and QLQ-H&N35 questionnaires before treatment. RESULTS: Global health status among QLQ-C30 correlates with EBV DNA(P = 0.019). In addition, pretreatment appetite loss was significantly correlated with EBV DNA(P = 0.02). Pretreatment teeth, opening mouth, feeding tube was significantly correlated with EBV DNA, with P value of 0.003, < 0.0001, and 0.031, respectively. In multivariate analysis, pretreatment cognitive functioning of QLQ-C30 was significantly associated with LRFS, with HR of 0.971(95%CI 0.951-0.990), P = 0.004. Among scales of QLQ-H&N35 for multivariate analysis, pretreatment teeth (P = 0.026) and felt ill (P = 0.012) was significantly associated with PFS, with HR of 0.984 (95%CI 0.971-.998) and 1.004 (95%CI 1.001-1.007), respectively. Felt ill of QLQ-H&N35 was significantly associated with DMFS, with HR of 1.004(95%CI 1.000-1.007), P = 0.043. There is no QoL scale significantly associated with OS after multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, our analysis confirms that pretreatment teeth and felt ill was significantly associated with PFS in NPC patients treated with IMRT. In addition, the posttreatment EBV DNA was significantly associated with OS.

Evaluation of direct and indirect additive manufacture of maxillofacial prostheses.

The efficacy of computer-aided technologies in the design and manufacture of maxillofacial prostheses has not been fully proven. This paper presents research into the evaluation of direct and indirect additive manufacture of a maxillofacial prosthesis against conventional laboratory-based techniques. An implant/magnet-retained nasal prosthesis case from a UK maxillofacial unit was selected as a case study. A benchmark prosthesis was fabricated using conventional laboratory-based techniques for comparison against additive manufactured prostheses. For the computer-aided workflow, photogrammetry, computer-aided design and additive manufacture (AM) methods were evaluated in direct prosthesis body fabrication and indirect production using an additively manufactured mould. Qualitative analysis of position, shape, colour and edge quality was undertaken. Mechanical testing to ISO standards was also used to compare the silicone rubber used in the conventional prosthesis with the AM material. Critical evaluation has shown that utilising a computer-aided work-flow can produce a prosthesis body that is comparable to that produced using existing best practice. Technical limitations currently prevent the direct fabrication method demonstrated in this paper from being clinically viable. This research helps prosthesis providers understand the application of a computer-aided approach and guides technology developers and researchers to address the limitations identified.

Case report: Resection of a massive primary sacrococcygeal mature teratoma in an adult using 3-dimensional reconstruction and mixed reality technology.

Introduction: Teratomas are rare neoplasms that arise from pluripotent germ cells. Sacrococcygeal teratomas are often diagnosed in infants but are rare in adults; a mature teratoma can contain hair, teeth, bony tissue, and other mature tissue types. Herein, we report for the first time a patient with a teratoma containing intact bones that formed a pseudoarthrosis. Case report: A 49-year-old woman was admitted to hospital after a massive life-long sciatic tumor had begun to grow larger over the past year. A 16 cm × 25 cm solid mass with a clear boundary was palpable in the sacrococcygeal region. Radiography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging indicated a sacrococcygeal teratoma, although blood alpha-fetoprotein levels were normal. The teratoma was completely excised using 3-dimensional reconstruction mixed reality (MR) technology with no notable complications. Postoperative pathological examination of the excised lesion confirmed a mature teratoma. Interestingly, two intact irregular bones that formed a pseudoarthrosis were isolated; one was 11 cm and the other 6 cm. The patient is currently healthy and has experienced no recurrences. Conclusion: Sacrococcygeal teratomas are rare, especially in adults, and often comprised lots of components, such as fat, bony tissue. However, it's first reported that formation of pseudoarthrosis in this case so far. It is difficult for surgeons to achieve complete excision without complications owing to the complex anatomic structure of the sacrum. The 3-dimensional reconstruction and mixed reality (MR) technology based on computed tomography can provide spatial visualization, which allows surgeons to examine the teratoma at different angles preoperatively. Combining 3-dimensional reconstruction and mixed reality (MR) technology in this case facilitated complete resection and prevented recurrence.

Fabrication and Characterization of Stable Soy ß-Conglycinin-Dextran Core-Shell Nanogels Prepared via a Self-Assembly Approach at the Isoelectric Point.

The preparation of soy ß-conglycinin-dextran nanogels (∼90 nm) went through two stages, which are safe, facile, and green. First, amphiphilic graft copolymers were formed by dextran covalently attaching to ß-conglycinin via Maillard dry-heating reaction. Second, the synthesized conjugates were heated above the denaturation temperature at the isoelectric point (pH4.8) so as to assemble nanogels. The effects of pH, concentration, heating temperature, and time on the fabrication of nanogels were examined. The morphology study displayed that the nanogels exhibited spherical shape with core-shell structures, which was reconfirmed by zeta-potential investigation. Both circular dichroism spectra and surface hydrophobicity analyses indicated that the conformations of ß-conglycinin in the core of nanogels were changed, and the latter experiment further revealed that the hydrophobic groups of ß-conglycinin were exposed to the surface of protein. The nanogels were stable against various conditions and might be useful to deliver hydrophobic bioactive compounds.