High-altitude exposure decreases bone mineral density and its relationship with gut microbiota: Results from the China multi-ethnic cohort (CMEC) study.

BACKGROUND: Geographic altitude is a potent environmental factor for human microbiota and bone mineral density. However, little evidence exists in population-based studies with altitude diversity ranges across more than 3000 m. This study assessed the associations between a wide range of altitudes and bone mineral density, as well as the potential mediating role of microbiota in this relationship. METHODS: A total of 99,556 participants from the China Multi-Ethnic Cohort (CMEC) study were enrolled. The altitude of each participant was extracted from global Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) 4 data. Bone mineral density was measured by calcaneus quantitative ultrasound index (QUI). Stool samples were collected for 16S rRNA gene sequencing (n = 1384). The metabolites of gut microbiota, seven kinds of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), were detected by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS, n = 128). After screening, 73,974 participants were selected for the "altitude-QUI" analysis and they were placed into the low-altitude (LA) and high-altitude (HA) groups. Additionally, a subgroup (n = 1384) was further selected for the "altitude-microbiota-QUI" analysis. Multivariate linear regression models and mediation analyses were conducted among participants. RESULTS: A significant negative association between high-altitude and QUI was obtained (mean difference = -0.373 standard deviation [SD], 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.389, -0.358, n = 73,974). The same negative association was also observed in the population with microbiota data (mean difference = -0.185 SD, 95%CI: -0.360, -0.010, n = 1384), and a significant mediating effect of Catenibacteriumon on the association between altitude and QUI (proportion mediated = 25.2%, P = 0.038) was also noticed. Additionally, the acetic acid, butyric acid, and total amount of seven SCFAs of the low-altitude group were significantly higher than that of the high-altitude group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: High-altitude exposure may decrease bone mineral density in adults, thus increasing the risk of osteoporosis. The modulation of gut microbiota may be a potential strategy for alleviating the decrease of bone mineral density.

One-step electrodeposition preparation of polyaniline/f-MWCNTs as electrochemical sensors for detection of 10-hydroxycamptothecine.

In our work, one-step electro-deposition method was adopted to produce polyaniline (PANI) and functional multiwalled carbon nanotubes (f-MWCNTs) films on glass carbon electrodes, and the modified electrodes were applied as an electrochemical sensor for determination of 10-hydroxycamptothecine (10-HCPT). The f-MWCNTs were handled by ultrasound processing in concentrated oxidizing acid solution, which can obtain a wonderful dissolution in water and attach new functional groups, such as -COOH and -OH. Then, aniline monomer could polymerize on the surface easily. The surface characterization was investigated using various techniques including scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction, and electro-catalytic properties were characterized by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Under optimal conditions, the resulting of PANI/f-MWCNTs sensor showed a wide linear range (3 × 10-9 to 7 × 10-7 mol L-1 ) and a low detection limit (1 × 10-9 mol L-1 ), which is attributing to its large special surface area and good conductivity. Moreover, the modified electrodes are convenient to fabricate, which can be used to detect 10-HCPT in urine samples successfully.

Ultrahigh-order mode-assisted hybrid optoelectronic bistability with an ultralow threshold.

A hybrid optoelectronic bistability is realized with the assistance of an ultrahigh-order mode (UHM) excited in a symmetrical metal-cladding waveguide (SMCW). PMN-PT ceramics is selected as the guiding layer, which possesses the voltage modulated refractive index and thickness by means of an electro-optical effect and converse-piezoelectric effect. An amplified voltage signal translated from the intensity of reflected light is exerted on the guiding layer, whose parameter variations can alter the resonance condition of the UHM and finally lead to a dramatic change in the intensity of the reflected light. Since the full width at half-maximum of the UHM is extremely narrow, a hysteresis behavior with a milliwatt threshold between the incident light and the reflected light can be achieved when a positive feedback is established. Our bistability configuration is simple and not limited to TM polarization.

A sandwich-configuration electrochemiluminescence immunoassay based on Cu2O@OMC-Ru nanocrystals and OMC-MoS2 nanocomposites for determination of alpha-fetoprotein.

A sandwich-format electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunosensor has been developed for alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) detection based on the use of ordered mesoporous carbon-molybdenum disulfide (OMC-MoS2) as a sensor platform and cuprous oxide @ ordered mesoporous carbon-Ru(bpy)32+ (Cu2O@OMC-Ru) composites as signal tags. OMC alongside MoS2 plays a synergistic role in improving the electrochemical performance of the electrode in the electron transfer process. The uniform cubic-shaped Cu2O@OMC-Ru nanocrystals display excellent luminous efficiency, with a signal amplification strategy of OMC-MoS2 synergistic enhancement and Cu2O@OMC which is capable of immobilizing more Ru(bpy)32+ serving as a tracing tag to label antibodies. A detectable ECL emission at a Cu2O@OMC-Ru nanocrystals modified electrode is initiated at an applied voltage of +1.15 V (scanning range: 0-1.2 V), in the presence of the tripropylamine (TPA) as coreactant. With the increase in AFP concentration, the loading of Cu2O@OMC-Ru at the electrode increases. Afterward, the ECL detection of AFP shows a wide linear range from 0.1 pg/mL to 10 ng/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.9964 and a detection limit of 0.011 pg/mL (S/N = 3) under the optimal experimental conditions. The recoveries were in the range 91.2-97.1% with RSD varying from 4.8 to 8.5%. Overall, the novel immunosensor has been successfully applied to the analysis of human serum samples, indicating a great potential for application in clinical diagnostics.

Electrochemical immunoassay for the carcinoembryonic antigen based on Au NPs modified zeolitic imidazolate framework and ordered mesoporous carbon.

An electrochemical immunoassay for the carcinoembryonic antigen is described. It is based on the use of Au NPs modified zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8) and ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC). Au NPs@ZIF-8 was synthesized by reduction of chloroauric acid. It serves as immobilization support nanocarrier to increase antibody loading due to its large surface area. OMC was dropped on a glassy carbon electrode to improve electrochemical signals due to enhanced electrical conductivity. Differential pulse voltammetry was carried out to record electrochemical responses (best measured at 0.26 V vs. Ag/AgCl). The immunosensor demonstrated excellent electrochemical performance with a linear determination range of 5 pg mL-1 to 400 ng mL-1 and a determination limit of 1.3 pg mL-1 (S/N = 3). The sensor also exhibited high selectivity, good stability, and acceptable reproducibility. Graphical abstract Scheme 1 Schematic representation of fabrication of the immunosensor for CEA determination.

MXenes-Au NPs modified electrochemical biosensor for multiple exosome surface proteins analysis.

As a novel class of non-invasive biomarkers, exosome-carried proteins are essential in early detection and precise cancer diagnosis. In the study, we developed an electrochemical biosensor based on MXenes-Au NPs modification to assess the differential expression of EGFR, CEA, and EpCAM proteins of exosomes. This sensor has sensitively detected tumor biomarkers in the exosomes generated by various tumor cells (including A549, MCF-7, PC-3, and HeLa). Building a biosensor that can distinguish minute differences of proteins in various derived-from exosomes is crucial for addressing the issues with early and accurate cancer detection.

Sensitive detection of prostate-specific antigen based on dual signal amplification of Fc@MgAl-LDH and NH2-MIL-101(Fe).

An electrochemiluminescence sensor was proposed for detection of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) based on dual-amplification strategy of ferrocenecarboxylic acid@MgAl layered double hydroxides (Fc@MgAl-LDH) and NH2-MIL-101(Fe). An (Au NPs/Fc@MgAl-LDH)n multilayer nanofilm was fabricated by a layer-by-layer self-assembly between positively charged Fc@MgAl-LDH nanosheets and negatively charged Au NPs. The multilayer nanofilms acted as nanocarriers for antibody loading and enhancers to catalyze H2O2 decomposition. NH2-MIL-101(Fe) promoted the production of reactive oxygen species due to peroxidase-mimicking activity and increased immobilization of antibodies. This sensor showed a linear detection range of 0.05 pg mL-1 to 50 ng mL-1 with a low detection limit of 0.034 pg mL-1. Moreover, the detection results from this sensor were consistent with data collected from a commercial immunoassay analyzer. The sensor had significant potential for PSA detection in clinical diagnostics.

An ultrasensitive disposable sandwich-configuration electrochemical immunosensor based on OMC@AuNPs composites and AuPt-MB for alpha-fetoprotein detection.

Early finding and diagnosis are critical for prevention and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is a typical biomarker of HCC. Since AFP level can reflect the severity of HCC, it is essential to ensure the accurate detection of AFP. In this study, through a combination of the advantages exhibited by ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC)@gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) composites and AuPt-methylene blue (AuPt-MB), a disposable ultrasensitive sandwich-configuration electrochemical immunosensor for determination of AFP was designed. Characterized by excellent conductivity, highly ordered pore distribution and great surface area, OMC can be effective in promoting electron transfer and loading a large number of AuNPs. In the meantime, AuNPs can also immobilize AFP-Ab1 through Au-N bonds. As a new redox-active species, rod-like AuPt-MB demonstrates high conductivity, uniform morphology and excellent biocompatibility, which makes it capable not only to fix AFP-Ab2, but also to release electrochemical signals. A wide linearity of 10 fg mL-1-100 ng mL-1 and a low detection limit of 3.33 fg mL-1 (S/N = 3) were obtained. Moreover, the proposed immunosensor exhibited acceptable selectivity, high stability and reproducibility. The excellent performance in detecting serum samples endows the proposed immunosensor with broad prospects of extensive application in the detection of disease biomarkers.

Spherical carrier amplification strategy for electrochemical immunosensor based on polystyrene-gold nanorods @L-cysteine/MoS2 for determination of tacrolimus.

A novel sensitive electrochemical immunosensor has been designed for determination of tacrolimus (Tac) based on spherical carrier amplification strategy. In this work, a spherical signal carrier was prepared by conjugating gold nanorods (AuNRs) functionalized L-cysteine (AuNRs@L-Cys) onto polystyrene nanoparticles (PS) to form a nanostructure, greatly increasing the amount of loaded capture antibodies. The PS was a stable spherical functional polymer with large specific surface area and was labeled with AuNRs@L-Cys via coupling reagent to increase active groups, biocompatibility and conductivity. The capture antibodies could be attached on the PS- AuNRs@L-Cys via linkage reagent glutaraldehyde (GA). Furthermore, single-layer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) fixed by chitosan were utilized to construct the base of this immunosensor, increasing the carrying capacity and stability of the electrode. After electrochemical reduction, the conductivity and electron transfer rate of MoS2 were obviously improved, which offered a platform for this immunosensor and further amplified the signal. Under the optimized conditions, the proposed immunosensor revealed a linear Tac-concentration behavior from 1.0 to 30 ng mL-1 with a detection limit of 0.17 ng mL-1 (S/N = 3). The immunoassay was successfully applied to the quantification of Tac in serum samples with acceptable precision. The results indicated that a potentially analytical platform may be used to recognize the concentration of other drugs.

Electrochemical strategy with zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 and ordered mesoporous carbon for detection of xanthine.

An accurate, safe, environmentally friendly, fast and sensitive electrochemical biosensors were developed to detect xanthine in serum. The metal-organic framework ZIF-8 was synthesised and elemental gold was supported on the surface of ZIF-8 by reduction method to synthesise Ag-ZIF-8. The mesoporous carbon material and the synthesised Ag-ZIF-8 were, respectively, applied to a glassy carbon electrode to construct biosensors. The constructed biosensor has a good linear relation in the range of 1-280 µmol l-1 of xanthine and the detection limit is 0.167 µmol l-1. The relative standard deviation value in serum samples was <5%, and the recoveries were 96-106%, indicating the good selectivity, stability and reproducibility of this electrochemical biosensor.

A sandwich-type ECL immunosensor based on signal amplification using a ZnO nanorods-L-cysteine-luminol nanocomposite for ultrasensitive detection of prostate specific antigen.

An ultrasensitive sandwich-type electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunosensor was developed for detection of prostate specific antigen (PSA) using an amplification strategy based on ZnO nanorods-l-cysteine-luminol nanocomposites and the biotin-streptavidin system. The biotin-streptavidin system served as a capture probe to increase the number of antibodies. ZnO nanorods not only acted as a nanocarrier that increased the number of luminol molecules and secondary antibodies, but also enhanced the ECL signal of luminol-H2O2 system by promoting H2O2 decomposition, which can further increase ECL intensity. Under optimized conditions, the proposed immunosensor demonstrated excellent analytical performance with a wide linear detection range of 0.03 pg mL-1 to 30 ng mL-1 and a detection limit of 0.01 pg mL-1 (the detection limit in real samples was 0.021 pg mL-1). This method exhibited excellent stability, reproducibility, and selectivity. In addition, the results of PSA determinations in human serum samples obtained using the proposed immunosensor were consistent with data collected using the commercial chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzer.

Corrigendum: A Novel Phage PD-6A3, and Its Endolysin Ply6A3, With Extended Lytic Activity Against Acinetobacter baumannii.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.03302.].

Ambient fine particulate pollution and daily morbidity of stroke in Chengdu, China.

INTRODUCTION: Association has been reported between ambient fine particulate matter (PM) and adverse outcomes of cerebrovascular events. However, it remains unclear that whether short-term exposure to PM relates to stroke and the lag of health effects. This triggers us to examine the relationship between PM and population stroke morbidity in Chengdu. METHODS: The daily average concentration of atmospheric pollutants and meteorological factors and daily morbidity of stroke in Chengdu (2013-2015) were collected. Based on time series analysis-generalized additive models (GAM), single-pollutant, two-pollutant and multi-pollutant model were established. The effects of atmospheric PM2.5 (defined as PM less than 2.5µm in aerodynamic diameter), PMc(defined as PM less than 10µm and more than 2.5µm in aerodynamic diameter) and PM10 (defined as PM less than 10µm in aerodynamic diameter) concentration on the daily mortality of stroke were analyzed, respectively. RESULTS: The three-year mean concentrations of PM2.5, PMc and PM10 for air pollutants were 75.9, 43.9 and 119.7 µg/m3, respectively. PM2.5 on the current day (lag0) and with a moving average of 0-1 days were significantly associated with the increasing risk of stroke morbidity, and PM2.5 with a lag of 0-1 days had greater association, whereas for PMc and PM10 there were no significant association observed. In our study, every 10µg/m3 increase of PM2.5 was associated with 0.69% percent change in stroke morbidity (95%CI: 0.01~1.38). For females, every 10µg/m3 increase of PM2.5 contributes to 0.80% percent change of onset. And for the group of age less than 65, we observed 0.78% higher risk every 10µg/m3 increase of PM2.5. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that short-term exposure to PM2.5 within 1 day is associated with the onset of stroke, and the younger people (age<65) and females are more sensitive than older people and males.

A Novel Phage PD-6A3, and Its Endolysin Ply6A3, With Extended Lytic Activity Against Acinetobacter baumannii.

With widespread abuse of antibiotics, bacterial resistance has increasingly become a serious threat. Acinetobacter baumannii has emerged as one of the most important hospital-acquired pathogens worldwide. Bacteriophages (also called "phages") could be used as a potential alternative therapy to meet the challenges posed by such pathogens. Endolysins from phages have also been attracting increasing interest as potential antimicrobial agents. Here, we isolated 14 phages against A. baumannii, determined the lytic spectrum of each phage, and selected one with a relatively broad host range, named vB_AbaP_PD-6A3 (PD-6A3 for short), for its biological characteristics. We over-expressed and purified the endolysin (Ply6A3) from this phage and tested its biological characteristics. The PD-6A3 is a novel phage, which can kill 32.4% (179/552) of clinical multidrug resistant A. baumannii (MDRAB) isolates. Interestingly, in vitro, this endolysin could not only inhibit A. baumannii, but also that of other strains, such as Escherichia coli and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). We found that lethal A. baumannii sepsis mice could be effectively rescued in vivo by phage PD-6A3 and endolysin Ply6A3 intraperitoneal injection. These characteristics reveal the promising potential of phage PD-6A3 and endolysin Ply6A3 as attractive candidates for the control of A. baumannii-associated nosocomial infections.

[Emergy evaluation and dynamic measurement analysis of agro-ecosystems in Sichuan Province of Southwest China].

Agro-ecosystem is the most basic system for human beings survival, while the analysis of the structure and function of the system is the key to solve the problems of agro-ecological environment. In this paper, emergy theory and related economic measurement methods including data envelopment analysis, cointegration test, and error correction model were applied to quantitatively analyze the operation dynamics, environmental loading, operation efficiency, and input-output relation of the agro-ecosystems in Sichuan Province and its 21 cities in 1997-2009. In the study period, Sichuan Province was in the transition period from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture. The agricultural mechanization level of the Province improved constantly, resources utilization efficiency enhanced continually, overall structural dominant degree was better, but the over-reliance on economic emergy input caused the sustainability of the system weakened gradually. The development status of the agro-ecosystems in the Province varied among regions. Chengdu Plain and Western Sichuan Highland were either in overexploited or in underutilized, while the hilly areas were full of vitality and development potential, tended to be the important areas for the future development of Sichuan agriculture. Generally, the operation efficiency of the agro-ecosystems in the Province was relatively low, with the situation differed in different regions due to the lower technical efficiency or improper scale. There was a long-term equilibrium between the economic emergy indices and output emergy, but the short-term emergy input didn't reach the ideal output.