Phytochemical analysis and hepatotoxicity assessment of braised Polygoni Multiflori Radix (Wen-He-Shou-Wu).

Polygoni Multiflori Radix (PMR) is a medicinal herb commonly used in China and Eastern Asia. Recently, the discovery of hepatotoxicity in PMR has received considerable attention from scientists. Processing is a traditional Chinese medicine technique used for the effective reduction of toxicity. One uncommon technique is the braising method-also known as 'Wen-Fa' in Chinese-which is used to prepare tonics or poisonous medications. Braised PMR (BPMR)-also known as 'Wen-He-Shou-Wu'-is one of the processed products of the braising method. However, the non-volatile components of BPMR have not been identified and examined in detail, and therefore, the hepatotoxic advantage of BPMR remains unknown. In this study, we compared the microscopic characteristics of different samples in powder form using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), investigated the non-volatile components, assessed the effects of different processed PMR products on the liver, and compared the differences between BPMR and PMR Praeparata recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2020 edition). We found that the hepatotoxicity of BPMR was dramatically decreased, which may be related to an increase in polysaccharide content and a decrease in toxic substances. The present study provides an important foundation for future investigations of the processing mechanisms of BPMR.

Effects of Nd:YAG laser irradiation at different energy densities on dentin bond durability under simulated pulpal pressure.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effects of Nd:YAG laser irradiation on the microstructures of dentin surfaces and the long-term bond strength of dentin under simulated pulpal pressure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Under simulated pulp pressure, 30 freshly extracted caries-free third molars were cut into 2-mm-thick dentin samples and then divided into five groups: the control and laser groups (93.3 J/cm2; 124.4 J/cm2; 155.5 J/cm2; 186.6 J/cm2). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and Vickers hardness were used to analyze the surface morphology, composition, and mechanical properties of the dentin before and after laser irradiation. Another 80 caries-free third molars were removed and treated as described above, and the resin was bonded to the dentin surface with Single Bond Universal (SBU) adhesive in self-etch mode to make stick specimens. Microtensile bond strength (µTBS), confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and interfacial silver nanoleakage tests before and after 10,000 times thermocycling were then performed to analyze the bonding properties and interfacial durability of each group. RESULTS: SEM observations revealed that the surfaces of all laser group specimens were rough with open dentin tubules. Laser irradiation altered the surface composition of dentin while removing some collagen fibers but did not affect its surface hardness or crystallographic characteristics. Furthermore, laser irradiation with an energy density of 124.4 J/cm2 significantly promoted the immediate and aging bond strengths and reduced nanoleakage compared to those of the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Under simulated pulp pressure, Nd:YAG laser pretreatment altered the chemical composition of dentin and improved the immediate and long-term bond strength. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study investigated the optimal parameters for Nd:YAG laser pretreatment of dentin, which has potential as a clinical method to strengthen bonding.

Solid-liquid-gas reaction accelerated by gas molecule tunnelling-like effect.

Solid-liquid-gas reactions are ubiquitous and are encountered in both nature and industrial processes1-4. A comprehensive description of gas transport in liquid and following reactions at the solid-liquid-gas interface, which is substantial in regard to achieving enhanced triple-phase reactions, remains unavailable. Here, we report a real-time observation of the accelerated etching of gold nanorods with oxygen nanobubbles in aqueous hydrobromic acid using liquid-cell transmission electron microscopy. Our observations reveal that when an oxygen nanobubble is close to a nanorod below the critical distance (~1 nm), the local etching rate is significantly enhanced by over one order of magnitude. Molecular dynamics simulation results show that the strong attractive van der Waals interaction between the gold nanorod and oxygen molecules facilitates the transport of oxygen through the thin liquid layer to the gold surface and thus plays a crucial role in increasing the etching rate. This result sheds light on the rational design of solid-liquid-gas reactions for enhanced activities.

PCT, IL-6, and IL-10 facilitate early diagnosis and pathogen classifications in bloodstream infection.

BACKGROUND: In the diagnosis of bloodstream infection (BSI), various inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), interleukins (IL), white blood cell count (WBC), neutrophil percentage (NE%), platelet count (PLT), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) have been extensively utilized. However, their specific roles in distinguishing BSI from local bacterial infection (LBI) and in classifying BSI pathogens remain uncertain. METHODS: A historical cohort study was conducted, involving the enrollment of 505 patients with BSI and 102 patients with LBI. To validate the reliability of the clinical data obtained from this cohort, mouse models of BSI were utilized. RESULTS: Our findings revealed that patients with BSI had significantly higher levels of inflammatory markers, including CRP, PCT, IL-6, IL-10, WBC, NE%, and ESR, compared to those with LBI (p < 0.05). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis demonstrated that CRP, PCT, IL-6, IL-10, ESR and NE% exhibited excellent diagnostic efficacy for BSI. Additionally, we observed significant differences in CRP, PCT, IL-6, and IL-10 levels between patients with BSI caused by Gram-positive bacteria (GP-BSI) and Gram-negative bacteria (GN-BSI), but no significant variations were found among specific bacterial species. Furthermore, our study also found that CRP, PCT, and IL-10 have good discriminatory ability for vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), but they show no significant diagnostic efficacy for other multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) such as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA), and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In our mouse model experiments, we observed a remarkable increase in PCT, IL-6, and IL-10 levels in mice with GN-BSI compared to those with GP-BSI. CONCLUSION: Our study has confirmed that PCT, IL-6, and IL-10 are efficient biomarkers for distinguishing between BSI and LBI. Furthermore, they can be utilized to classify BSI pathogens and differentiate between VRE and vancomycin-susceptible Enterococcus. These findings are extremely valuable for clinicians as they enable timely initiation of empiric antibiotic therapies and ultimately lead to improved clinical outcomes for patients with BSI.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between sarcopenia and myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between sarcopenia and the development of myocardial infarction. METHODS: PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase were searched for studies on the association between sarcopenia and myocardial infarction from their inception until November 26, 2022. The fixed-effects model was used to calculate the combined risk ratio (RR) of sarcopenia in patients with myocardial infarction. Sensitivity analysis was used to test the robust of the combined result, and funnel plot were used to test publication bias. RESULTS: Five studies were included finally. There was no significant association between sarcopenia and risk of developing myocardial infarction [RR = 1.01; 95% CI = 0.94, 1.08; P = 0.317]. The sensitivity analysis showed robust of the combined result. The funnel plot showed no significant publication bias. CONCLUSION: Limited evidence suggests no definitive association between sarcopenia and risk of myocardial infarction.

Effects of Er: YAG, Er,Cr: YSGG, and Nd: YAG laser irradiation and adhesive systems on the immediate and long-term bond strength of dentin: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

At present, lasers are increasingly used in the oral clinical field, and research and applications in dental hard tissue treatment are also increasing. The effect of laser etching dentin on the bonding strength of composite resin reported in the literature is still inconclusive. The purpose of this review was to evaluate whether laser etching can improve the immediate and long-term bonding strength of dentin and investigate the effect of different types of adhesives on the bonding strength of dentin. Two reviewers performed a literature search up from January 2012 to November 2021 in four databases: MEDLINE (PubMed), Web of Science, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library. A total of 25 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The Cochrane Collaboration Bias Risk Assessment tool was used to evaluate the quality of the included literature, and an analysis was carried out using Review Manager Software version 5.3. The aging bond strength of dentin after erbium (Er): yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) laser treatment was significantly lower than that of dentin in the bur group (P < 0.00001). At the same time, the bond strength of dentin immediately and aging after (Er), chromium-doped (Cr): yttrium scandium gallium garnet (YSGG) laser treatment was lower than that of dentin in the bur group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the immediate and aging bonding strength among samples in the Er: YAG laser, Er, Cr: YSGG laser, and blank control groups (no laser or bur). The aging bond strength of samples after neodymium-doped (Nd): YAG laser treatment was higher than that of samples in the blank control group (P < 0.05); in addition, the performance of self-etching adhesive was slightly better than that of acid etching adhesive. Regardless of the applied surface treatment and the adhesive employed, dentin after aging showed significant bond degradation (P < 0.05). There was high heterogeneity of bond strength between different groups, and the small number of studies and the contradictory results may be the main reasons for this outcome.

Efficacy and safety comparison between axillary lymph node dissection with no axillary surgery in patients with sentinel node-positive breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to study the evidence on the efficacy and safety of omitting axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) for patients with clinically node-negative but sentinel lymph node (SLN)-positive breast cancer using all the available evidence. METHODS: The Embase, Medline, and Cochrane Library databases were searched through February 25, 2023. Original trials that compared only the sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) with ALND as the control group for patients with clinically node-negative but SLN-positive breast cancer were included. The primary outcomes were axillary recurrence rate, total recurrence rate, disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS). Meta-analyses were performed to compare the odds ratio (OR) in rates and the hazard ratios (HR) in time-to-event outcomes between both interventions. Based on different study designs, tools in the revised Cochrane risk of bias tool were used for randomized trials and the risk of bias in nonrandomized studies of interventions to assess the risk of bias for each included article. Funnel plots and Egger's test were used for the publication's bias assessment. RESULTS: In total, 30 reports from 26 studies were included in the systematic review (9 reports of RCTs, 21 reports of retrospective cohort studies). According to our analysis, omitting ALND in patients with clinically node-negative but SLN-positive breast cancer had a similar axillary recurrence rate (OR = 0.95, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.76-1.20), DFS (HR = 1.02, 95% CI: 0.89-1.16), and OS (HR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.92-1.03), but caused a significantly lower incidence of adverse events and benefited in locoregional recurrence rate (OR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.59-0.97) compared with ALND. CONCLUSION: For patients with clinically node-negative but SLN-positive breast cancer (no matter the number of the positive SLN), this review showed that SLNB alone had a similar axillary recurrence rate, DFS, and OS, but caused a significantly lower incidence of adverse events and showed a benefit for the locoregional recurrence compared with ALND. An OS benefit was found in the Macro subset that used SLNB alone versus complete ALND. Therefore, omitting ALND is feasible in this setting. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CRD 42023397963.

Where will corporate capital flow to? Revisiting the impact of China's pilot carbon emission trading system on investment.

As a policy instrument to address climate change, the Carbon Emissions Trading System (ETS) will directly affect the location choice and development strategies of high-emitting firms' off-site investments, which is crucial to achieve optimal allocation of capital factors and coordinated development among regions. Using data of Chinese listed companies from 2007 to 2020, this study assesses for the first time the impact of Carbon Emissions Trading System on regulated firms' off-site investment strategies at the firm level using the Heterogeneity-Robust Difference-in-differences approach. The estimation results indicate that (1) the Carbon Emissions Trading System leads to about 20% reduction in off-site investment by regulated firms, which is mainly reflected in cross-city investment; (2) the heterogeneous investment effect is more obvious in private enterprise groups, but not in state-owned enterprise groups. Government intervention influenced the investment decisions of enterprise groups to make their development strategies more consistent with local economic growth objectives; (3) regulated enterprise groups significantly expanded their production layout locally and reduced off-site production investment; (4) the Carbon Emissions Trading System will promote long-term performance improvement of regulated firms. The above results are enlightening for the construction of Carbon Emissions Trading System in China and provide a new perspective for theoretically assessing the impact of Carbon Emissions Trading System on the competitiveness of enterprises.

Digital economy, industrial transformation and upgrading, and spatial transfer of carbon emissions: The paths for low-carbon transformation of Chinese cities.

Under the background of increasingly fierce global economic competition and severe climate change, seeking new soft resource input is the key for China to break through the bottleneck of economic transformation. Based on the data from 278 Chinese cities from 2006 to 2019, multi-dimensional empirical tests were conducted to investigate the relationship between digital economy (DE) and spatial transfer of carbon emissions (CE). The results show that DE directly reduced CE. Mechanism analysis shows that DE reduced CE through local industrial transformation and upgrading (ITU). Spatial analysis shows that DE reduced local CE while aggravating neighboring CE. The spatial transfer of CE was attributed to the fact that when DE promoted the local ITU, it induced the transfer of the backward and polluting industries to neighboring regions, resulting in the spatial transfer of CE. Moreover, the spatial transfer effect of CE was maximum at 200 km. However, in recent years, rapid DE development has weakened the spatial transfer effect of CE. The results can provide insights into understanding the carbon refuge effect of industrial transfer in China in the context of DE and facilitate formulating appropriate industrial policies to promote inter-regional carbon reduction synergy. Thus, this study can provide a theoretical reference for achieving the dual-carbon target of China and the green economic recovery of other developing countries.

Simultaneous Detection of Bladder Cancer Exosomal MicroRNAs Based on Inorganic Nanoflare and DNAzyme Walker.

Bladder cancer (BC) is one of the most common cancers in the world, with high morbidity and mortality. It is essential to develop a non-invasive, highly accurate, and simple method for BC diagnosis. This work proposed a fluorescent biosensor based on inorganic nanoflares combined with a DNAzyme walker for the simultaneous detection of BC exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs). This biosensor was constructed on the Au nanoparticle (AuNP) modified with the carbon dot (CD)-labeled substrates and DNAzyme strands (AuNP@CDs inorganic nanoflares-DNAzyme, APCD). In the presence of target miRNAs, DNAzyme was activated and then cleaved the CD-labeled substrates and automatically walked along the AuNP, allowing fluorescence recovery. Due to the structure and functional composition, the APCD biosensors demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity, with the reached limit of detection for a single miRNA at the femtomolar level and wide linear range from 50 fM to 10 nM. Furthermore, the simultaneous analysis of BC-related exosomal miR-133b and miR-135b in clinical serum specimens was achieved and consistent with qRT-PCR, suggesting it is a potential method for the diagnosis of BC and other cancers.

Cognitive impairment is associated with sarcopenia mainly related to attention and calculation in hospitalized Chinese elderly men.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Sarcopenia and cognitive impairment are the most prevalent causes of disability in older individuals. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of sarcopenia and the association between cognitive impairment and sarcopenia in older patients. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was undertaken, comprised 250 male patients aged 65 and over. Sarcopenia was defined using the diagnostic recommended consensus by the Asian Working Group for sarcopenia, and the participants were classified into the sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia groups according to this definition. The cognitive functions of older patients were assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). After bivariate analyses, a multivariate logistic regression model was constructed to determine the association of study variables with sarcopenia. RESULTS: The prevalence of sarcopenia and cognitive impairment was 20.8% and 19.6% respectively. Additionally, we found 10.8% patients had nutritional risk, 19.6% patients had cognitive impairment in this study. Multivariate analysis identified age (OR: 1.11, 95% Cl 1.03, 1.19, p=0.008), cognitive impairment (OR: 4.06, 95% Cl 1.42, 11.6, p=0.009) and nutritional risk (OR: 13.7, 95% Cl 3.06, 61.2, p=0.001) were significantly associated with sarcopenia. The prevalence of sarcopenia significantly increased stepwise with lower MMSE score. Additionally, the score on the attention and calculation (OR=0.68, 95% Cl: 0.51, 0.91, p=0.009) subsection of the MMSE was associated with the presence of sarcopenia. MMSE score was correlated with the fat free mass, handgrip strength (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive impairment, especially in the calculation and attention, and nutritional risk, are associated with sarcopenia in hospitalized Chinese male elderly. Adequate nutritional support may be the key to solving these diseases.

BcSas2-Mediated Histone H4K16 Acetylation Is Critical for Virulence and Oxidative Stress Response of Botrytis cinerea.

Histone acetyltransferase plays a critical role in transcriptional regulation by increasing accessibility of target genes to transcriptional activators. Botrytis cinerea is an important necrotrophic fungal pathogen with worldwide distribution and a very wide host range, but little is known of how the fungus regulates the transition from saprophytic growth to infectious growth. Here, the function of BcSas2, a histone acetyltransferase of B. cinerea, was investigated. Deletion of the BcSAS2 gene resulted in significantly reduced acetylation levels of histone H4, particularly of H4K16ac. The deletion mutant ΔBcSas2.1 was not only less pathogenic but also more sensitive to oxidative stress than the wild-type strain. RNA-Seq analysis revealed that a total of 13 B. cinerea genes associated with pathogenicity were down-regulated in the ΔBcSas2.1 mutant. Independent knockouts of two of these genes, BcXYGA (xyloglucanase) and BcCAT (catalase), led to dramatically decreased virulence and hypersensitivity to oxidative stress, respectively. Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by quantitative PCR confirmed that BcSas2 bound directly to the promoter regions of both these pathogenicity-related genes. These observations indicated that BcSas2 regulated the transcription of pathogenicity-related genes by controlling the acetylation level of H4K16, thereby affecting the virulence and oxidative sensitivity of B. cinerea.

Sarcopenia is associated with hypertension in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Sarcopenia, particularly low handgrip strength has been observed and correlated in association with hypertension among the older people. However, the results reported in different studies were inconsistent. In the current study, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to reveal the significant association between sarcopenia, handgrip strength, and hypertension in older adults. METHODS: PubMed, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases were searched from inception to 15 November 2019 to retrieve the original research studies that addressed the association between sarcopenia, handgrip strength, and hypertension. All the relevant data were retrieved, analyzed, and summarized. RESULTS: Twelve articles met the inclusion criteria and a total of 21,301 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Eight eligible studies have reported the odd ratios (ORs) of hypertension and sarcopenia, and the ORs ranged from 0.41 to 4.38. When pooled the ORs together, the summarized OR was 1.29 [95% confidence interval (CI) =1.00-1.67]. The summarized OR for the Asian group 1.50 (95% CI = 1.35-1.67) was significantly higher than that of Caucasian group 1.08 (95% CI = 0.39-2.97). Eleven studies have provided the data on association between handgrip strength and hypertension. The overall OR and 95% CI was 0.99 (95% CI = 0.80-1.23), showing no significant association. CONCLUSION: Sarcopenia was associated with hypertension, but no correlation was found between handgrip strength and hypertension in older adults.

Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Enterobacteriaceae: determination of disk content and Kirby-Bauer breakpoint for ceftazidime/avibactam.

BACKGROUND: Detection of ceftazidime/avibactam (CAZ/AVI) antibacterial activity is absolutely vital with the rapid growth of carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). But now, there is no available automated antimicrobial susceptibility testing card for CAZ/AVI, so Kirby-Bauer has become an economical and practical method for detecting CAZ/AVI antibacterial activity against Enterobacteriaceae. RESULT: In this study, antimicrobial susceptibility testing of CAZ/AVI against 386 Enterobacteriaceae (188 Klebsiella pneumoniae, 122 Escherichia coli, 76 Enterobacter cloacae) isolated from clinical patients was performed by broth microdilution. Of the 386 strains, 54 extended spectrum ß lactamases negative (ESBL(-)), 104 extended spectrum ß lactamases positive (ESBL(+)), 228 CRE. 287 isolates were susceptible to CAZ/AVI and 99 isolates were resistant to CAZ/AVI. At the same time, to obtain optimal content avibactam (AVI) disk containing ceftazidime (30 µg), inhibition zone diameter of four kinds of ceftazidime (30 µg) disk containing different AVI content (0 µg, 10 µg, 25 µg, 50 µg) were tested by Kirby-Bauer method. The microdilution broth method interpretation was used as the standard to estimate susceptible or resistance and then coherence analysis was carried out between Kirby-Bauer and broth microdilution. The result shows the inhibition zone diameter of 30 µg/50 µg disk, susceptible isolates: 20.5 mm-31.5 mm, resistance isolates: 8.25 mm-21.5 mm. The inhibition zone diameter of 30 µg/25 µg disk, susceptible isolates: 19.7 mm-31.3 mm, resistance isolates: 6.5 mm-19.2 mm. The inhibition zone diameter of 30 µg/10 µg disk, susceptible isolates: 19.5 mm-31 mm, resistance isolates: 6.5 mm-11 mm. The inhibition zone diameter of ceftazidime (30 µg), susceptible isolates: 6.5 mm-27.5 mm, resistance isolates 6.5 mm. CONCLUSION: Our results show that 30 µg/50 µg, 30 µg/25 µg, 30 µg/10 µg CAZ/AVI disk have significant statistical differences to determinate CAZ/AVI antibacterial activity, but for 30 µg/50 µg disk, there has a cross section between susceptible isolates (minimum 20.5 mm) and resistance isolates (maximum 21.5 mm). For 30 µg/25 µg disk, it is hard to distinguish the difference between susceptible isolates (minimum 19.7 mm) and resistance isolates (maximum 19.2 mm), so 30 µg/10 µg CAZ/AVI disk is more conducive to determinate antibacterial activity.

Intrinsic Effects of Gold Nanoparticles on Oxygen-Glucose Deprivation/Reperfusion Injury in Rat Cortical Neurons.

This study aimed to investigate the potential effects of gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) on rat cortical neurons exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R) and to elucidate the corresponding mechanisms. Primary rat cortical neurons were exposed to OGD/R, which is commonly used in vitro to mimic ischemic injury, and then treated with 5- or 20-nm Au-NPs. We then evaluated cell viability, apoptosis, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial respiration in these neurons. We found that 20-nm Au-NPs increased cell viability, alleviated neuronal apoptosis and oxidative stress, and improved mitochondrial respiration after OGD/R injury, while opposite effects were observed for 5-nm Au-NPs. In terms of the underlying mechanisms, we found that Au-NPs could regulate Akt signaling. Taken together, these results show that 20-nm Au-NPs can protect primary cortical neurons against OGD/R injury, possibly by decreasing apoptosis and oxidative stress, while activating Akt signaling and mitochondrial pathways. Our results suggest that Au-NPs may be potential therapeutic agents for ischemic stroke.

Activation of autophagy contributes to the renoprotective effect of postconditioning on acute kidney injury and renal fibrosis.

Ischemia/Reperfusion injury contributes to acute kidney injury (AKI) and subsequent chronic kidney disease (CKD) including renal fibrosis. Autophagy is a cytoplasmic components degradation pathway that has complex function in the development of various diseases such as fibrosis in kidney. Our previous work demonstrated that postconditioning (POC) showed excellent therapeutic effect on renal fibrosis via inhibiting the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) after reperfusion. But the connection of autophagy and POC in the renoprotective effect remains unclear. Here, we defined the relevance of autophagy and POC in the protective effect on AKI and subsequent renal fibrosis. We found that at two days after I/R injury, POC largely reduced renal tubular epithelial cell apoptosis and improved renal function; autophagy was significantly activated in kidneys of the POC rats. At two months after reperfusion, the I/R injury rats displayed severe renal fibrosis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), whereas these were remarkably attenuated in the POC treated rats. Overall, our results demonstrated that POC could reduce renal damage and attenuate the degree of EMT after I/R injury via enhanced activation of autophagy.

Functionalized Au@Ag-Au nanoparticles as an optical and SERS dual probe for lateral flow sensing.

Lateral flow assay strips (LFASs) with Au nanoparticles (NPs) have been widely used as a probe for biomarkers in point-of-care testing; however, there still remain challenges in detection sensitivity and quantitative analysis. In this study, we developed a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based LFAS for quantitative analysis of a biomarker in the low concentration range. Moreover, apart from conventional Au NPs, three other types of citrate-capped Au-Ag bimetallic NPs: Au core with Ag shell NPs (Au@Ag NPs), rattle-like Au core in Ag-Au shell NPs (Au@Ag-Au NPs) and Ag-Au NPs were prepared and functionalized, and their solution-based SERS activities were comprehensively studied by experimental measurement and theoretical analysis. The results clearly indicated that the citrate-capped Au@Ag-Au NPs exhibited the highest SERS activity among the probes tested. Au@Ag-Au NPs were used as both optical and SERS probes in a SERS-based LFAS. In the presence of the analyte at high concentrations, a purple color appeared in the test zone. Highly sensitive and quantitative analysis was realized by measurement of SERS signals from the test lines. One of the most specific markers for cardiac injury, cardiac troponin I (cTnI), was chosen as the detection model. The detection limit of the SERS-based LFAS for cardiac troponin I was 0.09 ng/mL, lowered by nearly 50 times compared with visual results, and could be further lowered by optimization. These results demonstrated that the SERS-based LFAS using citrate-capped Au@Ag-Au NPs as probes can be a powerful tool for highly sensitive and quantitative detection of biomarkers. Graphical abstract A surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based lateral flow assay strip using rattle-like Au core in Ag-Au shell (Au@Ag-Au) nanoparticles as probes was developed for quantitative analysis of a biomarker, with a detection limit nearly 50 times lower than that of visual assessment. C control line, T test line.

Simultaneous production of single cell oil and fumaric acid by a newly isolated yeast Aureobasidium pullulans var. aubasidani DH177.

Microbial oils can be used for biodiesel production and fumaric acid (FA) is widely used in the food and chemical industries. In this study, the production of lipids and FA by Aureobasidium pullulans var. aubasidani DH177 was investigated. A high initial carbon/nitrogen ratio in the medium promoted the accumulation of lipids and FA. When the medium contained 12.0% glucose and 0.2% NH4NO3, the yeast strain DH177 accumulated 64.7% (w/w) oil in its cells, 22.4 g/l cell biomass and 32.3 g/l FA in a 5-L batch fermentation. The maximum yields of oil and FA were 0.12 g/g and 0.27 g/g of consumed sugar, respectively. The compositions of the produced fatty acids were C14:0 (0.6%), C16:0 (24.9%), C16:1 (4.4%), C18:0 (2.1%), C18:1 (57.6%), and C18:2 (10.2%). Biodiesel obtained from the extracted oil burned well. This study provides the pioneering utilization of the yeast strain DH177 for the integrated production of oil and FA.

Micro/Nanoscale Thermometry for Cellular Thermal Sensing.

Temperature is a key parameter to regulate cell function, and biochemical reactions inside a cell in turn affect the intracellular temperature. It's vitally necessary to measure cellular temperature to provide sufficient information to fully understand life science, while the conventional methods are incompetent. Over the last decade, many ingenious thermometers have been developed with the help of nanotechnology, and real-time intracellular temperature measurement at the micro/nanoscale has been realized with high temporal-spatial resolution. With the help of these techniques, several mechanisms of thermogenesis inside cells have been investigated, even in subcellular organelles. Here, current developments in cellular thermometers are highlighted, and a picture of their applications in cell biology is presented. In particular, temperature measurement principle, thermometer design and latest achievements are also introduced. Finally, the existing opportunities and challenges in this ongoing field are discussed.

Ultrafast Preparation of Monodisperse Fe3 O4 Nanoparticles by Microwave-Assisted Thermal Decomposition.

Thermal decomposition, as the main synthetic procedure for the synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles (NPs), is facing several problems, such as high reaction temperatures and time consumption. An improved a microwave-assisted thermal decomposition procedure has been developed by which monodisperse Fe3 O4 NPs could be rapidly produced at a low aging temperature with high yield (90.1 %). The as-synthesized NPs show excellent inductive heating and MRI properties in vitro. In contrast, Fe3 O4 NPs synthesized by classical thermal decomposition were obtained in very low yield (20.3 %) with an overall poor quality. It was found for the first time that, besides precursors and solvents, magnetic NPs themselves could be heated by microwave irradiation during the synthetic process. These findings were demonstrated by a series of microwave-heating experiments, Raman spectroscopy and vector-network analysis, indicating that the initially formed magnetic Fe3 O4 particles were able to transform microwave energy into heat directly and, thus, contribute to the nanoparticle growth.