Bubble-blowing-inspired sub-micron thick freestanding silk films for programmable electronics.

Thin film electronics that are capable of deforming and interfacing with nonplanar surfaces have attracted widespread interest in wearable motion detection or physiological signal recording due to their light weight, low stiffness, and high conformality. However, it is still a challenge to fabricate freestanding thin film substrates or matrices with only sub-micron thickness in a simple way, especially for those materials with metastable conformations, like regenerated silk protein. Herein, we developed a dip-coating method for the fabrication of sub-micron thick freestanding silk films inspired by blowing soap bubbles. Using a closed-loop frame to dip-coat in a concentrated silk fibroin aqueous solution, the substrate-free silk films with a thickness as low as hundreds of nanometres (∼150 nm) can be easily obtained after solvent evaporation. The silk films have extremely smooth surfaces (Rq < 3 nm) and can be tailored with different geometric shapes. The naturally dried silk films possess random coil dominated uncrystallized secondary structures, exhibiting high modulation ability and adaptability, which can be conformally attached on wrinkled skin or wrapped on human hair. Considering the methodological advantages and the unique properties of the obtained sub-micron thick silk films, several thin film based programmable electronics including transient/durable circuits, skin electrodes, transferred skin light-emitting devices and injectable electronics are successfully demonstrated after being deposited with gold or conducting polymer layers. This research provides a new avenue for preparing freestanding thin polymer films, showing great promise for developing thin film electronics in wearable and biomedical applications.

The relationship between c-reactive protein gene +1444C/T, 3407T/C polymorphisms and colorectal cancer susceptibility.

AIM: The present study was conducted to analyze the relationship between c-reactive protein (CRP) gene +1444C/T, 3407T/C (rs2808630) polymorphisms and colorectal cancer susceptibility. METHODS: A total of 142 colorectal cancer patients and 127 healthy controls were recruited into this case-control study. The genotypes of CRP gene +1444C/T, rs2808630 polymorphisms were tested by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and the genotypes distributions of polymorphisms in controls was assessed whether conformed to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). The calculation of odds ratio (OR) with its 95% confidence interval (95% CI) is used for evaluating the association strength of gene polymorphism and disease. RESULTS: Through the testing of χ2, the genotypes distributions were consistent with HWE in the control group. We identified that only CC genotype frequency in CRP rs2808630 had a significant difference in cases and controls (P = 0.03) and people who carried CC genotype had a low risk suffering from colorectal cancer, compared with TT genotype carriers (OR = 0.35, 95% CI = 0.14-0.90). However, the other genotypes in rs2808630 and even the genotypes CRP +1444C/T polymorphism were all not associated with the generation of colorectal cancer. CONCLUSION: CRP rs2808630 polymorphism was related to the decreased risk of colorectal cancer, but not +1444C/T polymorphism.

Silk-Fibroin-Assisted Cathodic Electrolytic Deposition of Calcium Phosphate for Biomedical Applications.

The biological responses of artificial biomaterials are affected strongly by its interfacial topography, especially from nano- to microscale. The structure controllability is essential for the design and synthesis of novel biomedical materials. Herein, the effect of soluble silk fibroin (SF) on the cathodic electrolytic deposition (ELD) behavior of octacalcium phosphate (OCP) coating is studied. It is observed that the addition of soluble SF does not change the inorganic phase of the coating (OCP), but it has a remarkable effect on the microstructure of the deposited coating. As a result, the OCP/SF composite coating possessed a micro/nano multilevel structure is finely constructed on titanium implant by using ELD technology. Such OCP/SF composite coating significantly promotes preosteoblast cells adhesion, spreading and proliferation. In general, effects have been made to produce an in-depth understanding of protein incorporated ELD technology to extend its application in the biomedical field. It provides a promising strategy to design and synthesize biomaterials with specific biomimetic structures and functions.

Non-Point Source Pollutant Load Variation in Rapid Urbanization Areas by Remote Sensing, Gis and the L-THIA Model: A Case in Bao'an District, Shenzhen, China.

Urban sprawl is a major driving force that alters local and regional hydrology and increases non-point source pollution. Using the Bao'an District in Shenzhen, China, a typical rapid urbanization area, as the study area and land-use change maps from 1988 to 2014 that were obtained by remote sensing, the contributions of different land-use types to NPS pollutant production were assessed with a localized long-term hydrologic impact assessment (L-THIA) model. The results show that the non-point source pollution load changed significantly both in terms of magnitude and spatial distribution. The loads of chemical oxygen demand, total suspended substances, total nitrogen and total phosphorus were affected by the interactions between event mean concentration and the magnitude of changes in land-use acreages and the spatial distribution. From 1988 to 2014, the loads of chemical oxygen demand, suspended substances and total phosphorus showed clearly increasing trends with rates of 132.48 %, 32.52 % and 38.76 %, respectively, while the load of total nitrogen decreased by 71.52 %. The immigrant population ratio was selected as an indicator to represent the level of rapid urbanization and industrialization in the study area, and a comparison analysis of the indicator with the four non-point source loads demonstrated that the chemical oxygen demand, total phosphorus and total nitrogen loads are linearly related to the immigrant population ratio. The results provide useful information for environmental improvement and city management in the study area.

SOX10 is a novel oncogene in hepatocellular carcinoma through Wnt/ß-catenin/TCF4 cascade.

SOX (high mobility group) genes play an important role in a number of developmental processes. Potential roles of SOXs have been demonstrated in various neoplastic tissues as tumor suppressors or promoters depending on tumor status and types. The aim of this study was to investigate the function role of SOXs in the human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The gene expression changes of SOXs in HCC tissues compared with those in noncancerous hepatic tissues were detected using real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (QRT-PCR) analysis and immunohistochemistry. In addition, we identified the gene SOX10 that was significantly upregulated in HCC by QRT-PCR analysis and immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, we discovered that SOX10 promoted cancer cell proliferation in vitro, and SOX10 expression correlated with elevated ß-catenin levels in HCC, and ß-catenin function was required for SOX10's oncogenic effects. Mechanistically, SOX10 facilitates TCF4 to bind to ß-catenin and form a stable SOX10/TCF4/ß-catenin complex and trans-activate its downstream target gene. SOX10 mutations that disrupt the SOX10-ß-catenin interaction partially prevent its function in tumor cells. All in all, SOX10 is a commonly activated tumor promoter that activates Wnt/ß-catenin signaling in cancer cells of HCC.

[GIS and L-THIA based analysis on variations of non-point pollution in the Guanlan River watershed, Shenzhen].

In order to reveal the influence of land use change, on the non-point source pollution load during the rapid urbanization process in the Guanlan River watershed, Shenzhen, Guangdong, with the support of GIS, L-THIA model was used to analyze the changes in spatial distribution of non-point source pollution load in the river watershed from 1996 to 2008. The parameters in L-THIA model were revised according to the environmental conditions of the study region. The results showed that during the urbanization from 1996 to 2008, the load of major pollutants, namely TN, TP and COD, showed an obviously increasing trend with increase rates being 62.78%, 59.73% and 55.40%, respectively, and the distribution of areas with high pollution load was expanding along the river and the main roads, and then connected into large areas. The total load of SS was decreased by 7.59%. This was caused by the reduction of land for development, which was the land use pattern with high SS output. Therefore, in order to control the non-point pollution effectively, the Guanlan River watershed could be divided into four pollution control areas according to the distribution of pollution load and different land use patterns. The results of this research would provide scientific references for non-point source pollution control in the Guanlan River watershed.