Clonal integration benefits Calystegia soldanella in heterogeneous habitats.

Land-use change and tourism development have seriously threatened the ecosystems of coastal protection forests and beaches. Light and nutrients are spatially heterogeneously distributed between the two ecosystems. Clonal plants, such as Calystegia soldanella, which play a crucial role in maintaining the ecological stability of coastal habitats, are likely to encounter diverse environments. In this study, we investigated clonal integration and the division of labour in C. soldanella under heterogeneous (high nutrient and low light [HNLL]; low nutrient and high light [LNHL]) and homogeneous habitats. We cultivated pairs of connected and severed ramets of C. soldanella in these environments. Our results showed the total biomass (TB) of connected ramets was higher than that of severed ramets in heterogeneous environments, suggesting clonal integration enhances growth in heterogeneous habitats. The root shoot ratio was significantly lower in HNLL than in LNHL conditions for connected ramets, demonstrating a division of labour in growth under heterogeneous conditions. However, parameters of clonal propagation of C. soldanella did not significantly differ between connected and severed ramets in heterogeneous environments, indicating no division of labour in clonal propagation. In homogeneous environments, the growth of C. soldanella did not benefit from clonal integration. Connected ramets in heterogeneous habitats exhibited higher TB than in homogeneous habitats. The TB of one ramet in HNLL was consistently higher than that in LNHL, irrespective of ramet's states, which suggests that high soil nutrients may enhance the growth. We conclude that C. soldanella has the capability of clonal integration to achieve high biomass in heterogeneous but not in homogeneous conditions, and the establishment of coastal protection forests (high nutrient and low light) may foster the growth of C. soldanella.

Europe PMC in 2023.

Europe PMC (https://europepmc.org/) is an open access database of life science journal articles and preprints, which contains over 42 million abstracts and over 9 million full text articles accessible via the website, APIs and bulk download. This publication outlines new developments to the Europe PMC platform since the last database update in 2020 (1) and focuses on five main areas. (i) Improving discoverability, reproducibility and trust in preprints by indexing new preprint content, enriching preprint metadata and identifying withdrawn and removed preprints. (ii) Enhancing support for text and data mining by expanding the types of annotations provided and developing the Europe PMC Annotations Corpus, which can be used to train machine learning models to increase their accuracy and precision. (iii) Developing the Article Status Monitor tool and email alerts, to notify users about new articles and updates to existing records. (iv) Positioning Europe PMC as an open scholarly infrastructure through increasing the portion of open source core software, improving sustainability and accessibility of the service.

Utilizing AAV-mediated LEAPER 2.0 for programmable RNA editing in non-human primates and nonsense mutation correction in humanized Hurler syndrome mice.

BACKGROUND: The endogenous adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADAR) have been harnessed to facilitate precise adenosine-to-inosine editing on RNAs. However, the practicability of this approach for therapeutic purposes is still ambiguous due to the variable expression of intrinsic ADAR across various tissues and species, as well as the absence of all-encompassing confirmation for delivery methods. RESULTS: In this study, we demonstrate that AAV-mediated delivery of circular ADAR-recruiting RNAs (arRNAs) achieves effective RNA editing in non-human primates at dosages suitable for therapy. Within a time frame of 4 to 13 weeks following infection, the editing efficiency in AAV-infected cells can reach approximately 80%, with no discernible toxicity, even at elevated dosages. In addition, when AAV-delivered circular arRNAs are systematically administered to a humanized mouse model of Hurler syndrome, it rectifies the premature stop codon precisely and restores the functionality of IDUA enzyme encoded by the Hurler causative gene in multiple organs. CONCLUSIONS: These discoveries considerably bolster the prospects of employing AAV-borne circular arRNAs for therapeutic applications and exploratory translational research.

Delivery of hydroxycamptothecin via sonoporation: An effective therapy for liver fibrosis.

Hepatic fibrosis is the common pathway for most chronic liver diseases, characterized by excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. It has been shown that fibrotic ECM significantly hindered passage of nanoparticles. Efforts have been made by decorating degrading enzymes on surfaces of nanosized delivery vehicles to improve drug delivery. However, these strategies are restricted by limiting shelf-life. Inspired by the application of sonoporation in assisting drug delivery through blood-brain barrier and tumor tissues, we investigated whether sonoporation can be an alternative strategy in improving drug delivery for fibrotic diseases. Hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT), a potential drug in treating liver fibrosis, was selected as a model drug to evaluate the drug delivery efficiency and therapeutic effect among three delivery strategies, i.e., (1) injection solution, (2) delivery through liposomes, and (3) delivery via sonoporation. Our study showed that in addition to the improved drug delivery efficiency, the combination of HCPT and sonoporation led to synergistic effect and the mechanisms were investigated. The treatment group of HCPT delivered with sonoporation achieved the most significant attenuation in liver fibrosis among the three delivery strategies.

Effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on microorganism of phenanthrene and pyrene contaminated soils.

A pot experiment was performed to investigate the effect of phytoremediation (CK, using tall fescue), fungi remediation (GV, using Glomus versiforme), bacterial remediation (PS, using Pseudomonas fluorescens Ps2-6), and microbial-phytoremediation (GVPS, using three species) on removing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and the microbial diversity in soils. Inoculation with G. versiforme and P. fluorescens could increase the biomass of tall fescue and the accumulation of phenanthrene (PHE) and pyrene (PYR) in plants. Among them, the highest PHE and PYR removal efficiencies and highest biomass of tall fescue were observed in the GVPS treatment and the microbial diversity in contaminated soil was changed, the result revealed that Proteobacteria and Ascomycota were the dominant bacterial phylum and fungal phylum in all treatments, while more Proteobacteria were detected in GVPS treatment. At the genus level, the abundance of Sphingomonas (3.17%), Pseudomonas (2.05%), and Fusarium (8.65%) treated with GVPS increased compared with other treatments. These pieces of evidence contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in the combined microbial-phytoremediation strategies for PAHs-contaminated soils, especially the effects of microbial-phytoremediation on rhizosphere microbial diversity.

Inoculation with G. versiforme and P. fluorescens could increase PHE and PYR removal efficiencies, the biomass of tall fescue, microbial diversity, and the abundance of Proteobacteria, Sphingomonas, Pseudomonas, and Fusarium in (PHE + PYR)-contaminated soils.

Identifying Key Factors Associated with Green Justice in Accessibility: A Gradient Boosting Decision Tree Analysis.

Park green space (PGS) provides numerous environmental and health benefits for urban residents, and raises the issue of green justice for its uneven distribution in cities. Previous studies focus more on the measurements of spatial equity in accessibility, but are limited in exploring its impacts-especially the nonlinear influence. This study first measures accessibility and equity in two traffic modes, and then explores the nonlinear influence of multidimensional factors by using the gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) model across the central urban area of Wuhan. The results show significant spatial disparities in spatial accessibility and equity by walking and driving within 15 min. Multidimensional factors-including characteristics of PGS, the built environment, and socioeconomic factors-present stronger nonlinear influences on spatial accessibility and equity, and the nonlinear influence indicates that the contributions of the built environment and socioeconomic factors are greater than those of park characteristics, accounting for at least 79.76%. The key variables affecting the accessibility and equity are not completely consistent, leading to synergistic and heterogeneous effects, which may provide policy implications for streets where accessibility and equity are mismatched. These findings could provide guidance for PGS planning by decision-makers to improve the living environment and urban health.

Trait value and phenotypic integration contribute to the response of exotic Rhus typhina to heterogeneous nitrogen deposition: A comparison with native Rhus chinensis.

The temporal heterogeneity of nitrogen availability in soils is increasing due to agricultural deposition. We here compared the effects of gradually increasing nitrogen deposition rate and its increasing temporal heterogeneity patterns on the functional traits of seedlings of exotic species Rhus typhina and the native species Rhus chinensis. Nitrogen deposition rates of 0, 8, 20 g N m-2 year-1 and constant, single-peak, and double-peak nitrogen were added to simulate deposition rate and temporal heterogeneity. After 60 days of treatment, R. typhina seedlings had several advantageous growth trait values, such as higher total biomass production, but lower phenotypic plasticity than R. chinensis seedlings. R. typhina seedlings also had higher phenotypic integration, measured as the correlation among functional traits. The increased nitrogen deposition rate affected several traits of the two species differently. Thus, while R. chinensis seedlings allocated more biomass to leaves and less to roots with increasing N deposition, R. typhina seedlings had stable biomass allocation among all N treatments. Chlorophyll content, leaf phosphorus concentration, and water use efficiency increased, but the maximum net photosynthetic rate decreased, with N availability in R. chinensis, but not in R. typhina. Temporal heterogeneity had no significant effect on the total biomass of R. typhina and R. chinensis seedlings. Overall, the performance of R. typhina is better than that of R. chinensis seedlings under different nitrogen deposition treatments, which is due to the significantly advantageous trait values and greater phenotypic integration of R. typhina seedlings, whereas R. chinensis seedlings have higher phenotypic plasticity.

[Diversity and Community Structure of Airborne Fungi in Different Working Areas of Composting Plants].

Composting plants are an important source of airborne fungi. At present, no research has been reported on differences in the types and abundance of escaped fungi in different working areas, which makes it very difficult to comprehensively assess the ecological health risks of the air in composting plants. In light of this situation, this study collected air samples from the composting, packaging, office, and downwind areas of the composting plants and used high-throughput sequencing technology to analyze and compare the biological diversity and community structure of airborne fungi in the four areas. The source of airborne fungi in offices and downwind areas was further traced. The results showed that the highest abundance and diversity of airborne fungi were found in the packing and composting areas of the composting plants. Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were two fungal phyla with the highest relative abundance in the four regions. Overall, the distribution of dominant fungal genera differed; Trichocomaceae and Davidiella were the dominant genera in three areas of the composting plants. Among the 136 detected fungal genera, the number of endemic airborne fungal genera in the composting and packaging area was the largest, and 52.94% of the fungal genera was shared by the four areas. At the level of fungal genera, the community structures in the air in three areas of the composting plants were similar. The statistical difference analysis results of the key genera in different areas of the composting plants showed that the number of different fungal genera between the downwind, packaging, and composting areas was the largest, and no statistically different fungal genera were detected in the air between the packaging and composting areas. The Source Tracker analysis results showed that the contribution percentage of the packaging and composting areas to the airborne fungi in the office and downwind areas was between 9.52%-15.85%. The results of this study will provide basic data for evaluating the relationship between airborne fungal exposure and human health in different areas of the composting plant, as well as its ecological impact on the surrounding air environment.

Measuring spatio-temporal disparity of location-based accessibility to emergency medical services.

The importance and sensitivity of the time dimension in the emergency medical service (EMS) field have been widely recognized in recent years. However, the EMS spatio-temporal disparity remains partially uncovered in traditional accessibility measurements due to EMS's context-sensitive characteristics and demand specificity. In this study, we obtained dynamic traffic conditions and realistic EMS demand from online map services and historical emergency calls-out data, and then developed three location-based spatio-temporal EMS accessibility measurements. The empirical results demonstrate that the three different spatio-temporal EMS accessibility have a complex relationship, and are beneficial for measuring the EMS spatio-temporal disparity in different scenarios with distinct competitive effects. Ultimately, we emphasized four original EMS accessibility patterns, which helped us uncover significantly well-served or underserved areas. This study contributes to optimize the layout of EMS resources by understanding the regularity of EMS spatio-temporal disparity.

A PD-1 peptide antagonist exhibits potent anti-tumor and immune regulatory activity.

Antibodies blocking the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway have achieved great success. However, some disadvantages of antibodies have been found, which limit their clinical applications. Peptide antagonists are alternatives to antibodies in PD-1/PD-L1 blockage, but successful studies in this area are limited. A PD-1 targeting peptide, P-F4, was identified using phage display. P-F4 bound PD-1 with an affinity of 0.119 µM, inhibited PD-1/PD-L1 interaction at the cellular level and modulated T cell activity in vitro. We have overcome the poor solubility and rapid degradation problems of this peptide by packaging P-F4 in nanoparticles. In vivo experiments demonstrated that P-F4 nanoparticles could strongly inhibit tumor growth in a CT26 mouse model. Further research revealed that treatment of P-F4 nanoparticles increased CD8+T cells and reduced Tregs in the tumor microenvironment and tumor-draining lymph nodes. It was shown that treatment of P-F4 nanoparticles also increased lymphocytic activities, including proliferation, cytokine secretion and cytolytic activity. Moreover, computer modeling suggested that the P-F4 binding site to PD-1 overlaps with the PD-L1 binding surface. In this study, a peptide candidate for cancer immunotherapy was provided, and its working mechanisms were studied.

Sulfamethoxazole affects the microbial composition and antibiotic resistance gene abundance in soil and accumulates in lettuce.

Pot experiments were set up to simulate the soil contamination by three initial concentrations of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) (S1, 100 mg/kg; S2, 200 mg/kg; S3, 300 mg/kg). The content of SMX in soil and its accumulation in lettuce were analysed. Additionally, the effects of SMX on soil microorganisms and antibiotic resistance genes were studied by Illumina high-throughput sequencing and droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR). The results demonstrated that the SMX content in soil reduced by 97%, 86% and 75% in the S1, S2 and S3 treatment groups after 120 days, respectively. The accumulated SMX in lettuce was positively correlated with the initial concentration of SMX in soil. SMX contamination significantly reduced the bacterial diversity and altered the composition of bacterial and fungal communities in soil. The dominant bacterial and fungal genera in the SMX-contaminated soil were obviously different from those in the control soil. The relative abundance of sul1 (sulfonamide resistance gene) remarkably increased in the SMX-contaminated soil, while that of other ARGs, such as sul2 and tetracycline and quinolone resistance genes, showed no significant change.

Identification of a peptide for folate receptor alpha by phage display and its tumor targeting activity in ovary cancer xenograft.

The expression level of folate receptor alpha (FRα) is located highly rate in ovarian cancer though it is remained absent in normal tissues. This highly tumor restricted expression profile makes FRα a promising target for tumor therapy and diagnosis. In this research we report a FRα binding peptide C7(Met-His-Thr-Ala-Pro-Gly-Trp-Gly-Tyr-Arg-Leu-Ser) discovered by phage display and this peptide showed specific binding to FRα expressing cells by cell ELISA and flow cytometry. Tumor targeting ability of C7 was proved in vivo by both phage homing experiment and fluorescence imaging. C7 can be internalized by SKOV3 cells and its affinity to FRα was determined by MST. The molecular recognition was revealed by structure modeling, suggesting its binding mode with FRα.

A fusion antitumor peptide regulates proliferation and apoptosis of endothelial cells.

The present research has been carried out to elicit the mechanism of antiangiogenic activity of a fusion peptide P2. Peptide P2 was designed by the connection of a heptapeptide MMP inhibitor to ES-2, a fragment of Endostatin. In a previous study, P2 demonstrated strong antiangiogenic and antitumor effect, and the current work explains the antiangiogenic mechanism of P2 through endothelial cell proliferation and apoptosis. In our study, it was shown that P2 inhibited HUVECs proliferation at a low serum concentration and this effect might be achieved through arresting cell cycle by decreasing the expression level of Cyclin D1. In addition, P2 was found to induce apoptosis of HUVECs. Using Western blot, it was indicated that P2 induced the cleavage of Caspase-3, the hallmark protease of apoptosis. The activation and expression of the upstream regulator Caspase-9 can also be affected by P2 treatment. Furthermore, P2 reduced the protein level of antiangiogenic factors Bcl-xL and Bcl-2. These results revealed that P2 regulates endothelial cell apoptosis through intrinsic apoptotic pathway.

Discovery of a polystyrene binding peptide isolated from phage display library and its application in peptide immobilization.

Phage peptide display is a powerful technique for discovery of various target-specific ligands. However, target-unrelated peptides can often be obtained and cause ambiguous results. Peptide PB-TUP has been isolated repeatedly in our laboratory on different targets and we conducted a research on PB-TUP phage to investigate their binding properties and rate of propagation. ELISA and phage recovery assay demonstrated that PB-TUP phage had a significant superior affinity to polystyrene solid surface compared with control phage clones. In this study, some incidental bindings are excluded like blocking agents and non-specific binding of secondary antibodies. Propagation rate assays of the selected phage clones showed that the growth rate of PB-TUP phage was not superior to the control phages. Furthermore, the binding of PB-TUB to polystyrene was concentration dependent and varied with solution pH. Molecular modeling revealed that stable structures of α-helix and ß-turn may contribute to the binding of PB-TUP to polystyrene plate. The PB-TUP sequence was fused to the N-terminus of peptide P2 and the fusion peptide significantly increased the binding affinity to polystyrene. The fusion peptide also enhanced the cell adhesion ability of peptide P2 with human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC). The addition of the polystyrene binding peptide provided a convenient method for peptide immobilization.

CpG oligodeoxynucleotides augment antitumor efficacy of folate receptor α based DNA vaccine.

Folate receptor α (FRα) is overexpressed in a variety of solid tumors and has become an attractive target antigen for immunotherapy purposes. A DNA vaccine was generated by ligation of FRα cDNA into the eukaryotic vector pcDNA3.1. Expression of FRα was confirmed in transiently transfected B16 cells. B16 cell lines that stably express FRα were set up by G418 selection. A total of 100 µg purified plasmid DNA alone or in combination with CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG ODN) was injected intramuscularly in C57BL/6 mice four times at one week intervals. ELISA analysis confirmed that high titers of antibodies against FRα existed in the sera of the experimental animals. Specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity against FRα-expressing B16 cells was found and FRα specific lymphocyte proliferation was detected. Coinjection of CpG ODN increased both humoral and cellular immune responses. In the protective model, in which C57BL/6 mice were immunized with the FRα DNA vaccine four weeks before tumor cell inoculation, the growth of tumor was significantly inhibited, and the presence of CpG ODN further increased the inhibitory effect. FRα DNA vaccine alone did not show a significant inhibitory effect in the therapeutic model, in which the DNA vaccine was immediately injected after tumor inoculation. However, FRα DNA vaccine plus CpG ODN showed a significant inhibitory effect in tumor growth. Survival curves for both animal experiments confirmed that mice immunized with pcDNA3.1/FRα plus CpG ODN had a significantly prolonged survival period than that of the pcDNA3.1 control group, the CpG ODN group or the pcDNA3.1/FRα group. The above showed that human FRα based DNA vaccination with CpG ODN as an adjuvant was effective in growth inhibition of a FRα expressing tumor in mice and deserves further evaluation as a possible immunotherapy.

Subpath analysis of each subtype of head and neck cancer based on the regulatory relationship between miRNAs and biological pathways.

The aim of the present study was to explore the potential mechanisms involved in each subtype of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) via subpath analysis and to investigate their relevance in the prevention of HNSCC. Gene expression profiles of GSE6631 and GSE39366 containing 44 and 168 HNSCC samples, respectively, were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from samples in GSE6631 and GSE393666 were screened using the Detection of Imbalanced Differential Signal (DIDS) method respectively. DEGs in GSE39366 were matched with the DEGs in GSE6631 and were used to classify the subtypes of HNSCC based on hierarchical clustering analysis. Furthermore, DEGs were separated into different subtypes and then the pathway information was analyzed. The regulated miRNAs for the DEGs in each subtype were analyzed to select the significant subpaths. Totally, 1,095 DEGs from GSE6631 and 2,528 DEGs from GSE39366 were screened. Samples in GSE39366 were separated into four subtypes. Specific genes in each subtype and DEGs in the common gene set involved in a variety of pathways were identified. In addition, the significant miRNA-target-pathway subpath of each subtype of HNSCC and the common gene set of HNSCC were also enriched. Our data suggest that human papillomavirus (HPV) is positively correlated with HNSCC in subtype 2. Several miRNAs (miRLet-7A, miR-1, miR-206, miR-153, miR-519A and miR-506) and their target genes (CYP46A1, BPNT1, MCM7 and COL5A1) are crucial for HNSCC prevention via different pathways and may provide further knowledge of the mechanisms involved in the progression of HNSCC.

[Establishment of C26 cell strain stably expressing folate receptor α].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a C26 cell strain stably expressing folate receptor α (FRα) for the subsequent study of FRα DNA vaccine. METHODS: C26 cells were transfected with previously constructed recombinant eukaryotic expressing vector pcDNA3.1-FRα by LipofectamineTM2000. Afterwards the cells were subjected to G418 (500 mg/mL) selection to get G418 resistant cells. And then single cell cloning was performed to generate monoclonal cell strain. The gene and protein expression levels of FRα of the monoclonal cell strain were further analyzed by reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and fluorescence microscopy. The cells were cultured for several generations, and the mRNA expression of FRα was analyzed by RT-PCR at different generations to determine whether the transfected gene was stable or not during cell passaging. RESULTS: After transfection, G418 selection and single cell cloning, the monoclonal cell strain were established and proved to be able to express FRα mRNA and protein and keep the stability of FRα expression after several generations. CONCLUSION: We have established the cell strain stably expressing FRα, which offer a tool to evaluate the effect of DNA vaccine based on FRα.

Effects of histamine on ciliary beat frequency of ciliated cells from guinea pigs nasal mucosa.

We aimed to investigate the effect of histamine on ciliary beat frequency (CBF) through combining high-speed digital microscopy and patch-clamp technology. Ciliated cells were obtained from septum and turbinate of 90-120-day-old healthy male guinea pigs. Tight seal was formed by applying negative pressure on the glass electrode after the drawing and pushing progress. Then, we enrolled high-speed digital microscopy to measure CBF before and after treatment with histamine of different concentrations ranging from 10(-6) to 10(-1) mol/L in Hank's solution and D-Hank's solution as well as after administrating adenosine triphosphate. One-way ANOVA, Student's t test or Kruskal-Wallis test was used for statistical comparisons. Glass electrode fix up ciliated cell is available at tip diameter of 2-5 µm and negative pressure of 10-20 cmH2O column. The baseline CBF in Hank's solution was higher than in D-Hank's solution. Treatment with 10(-6)-l0(-3) mol/L histamine of concentrations can stimulate a rise of CBF. Nevertheless, CBF in all groups decreased to baseline CBF within 20 min. Generally, 10(-2) mol/L histamine can stimulate a rise of CBF; meanwhile, the high concentration of histamine killed 50% ciliated cell. Histamine at 10(-1) mol/L killed all ciliated cells. Ciliary beating activity decreased in Ca(2+)-free solution. Moreover, adenosine triphosphate could increase CBF effectively after the stimulation effect of histamine. We construct an effective technology integrating patch-clamp technique with CBF measurements on ciliated cells. Extracellular histamine stimulation could increase CBF effectively.

Simultaneous removal of nitrate and pentachlorophenol from simulated groundwater using a biodenitrification reactor packed with corncob.

Both nitrate and pentachlorophenol (PCP) are familiar pollutants in aqueous environment. This research is focused on the simultaneous removal of nitrate and PCP from simulated contaminated groundwater using a laboratory-scale denitrification reactor packed with corncob as both carbon source and biofilm support. The reactor could be started up readily, and the removal efficiencies of nitrate and PCP reached up to approximately 98% and 40-45% when their initial concentrations were 50 mg N/L and 5 mg/L, respectively, after 15-day continuous operation at 10 h of hydraulic retention time (HRT) and 25 °C. Approximately 91% of PCP removal efficiency was achieved, with 2.47 mg/L of chloride ion release at 24 h of HRT. Eighty-two percent of chlorine in PCP removed was ionized. The productions of 3-chlorophenol and phenol and chloride ion release indicate that the reductive dechlorination reaction is a major degradation pathway of PCP under the experimental conditions.

A novel nonenzymatic hydrogen peroxide sensor based on LaNi0.5Ti0.5O3/CoFe2O4 modified electrode.

A novel nonenzymatic hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) sensor based on LaNi(0.5)Ti(0.5)O(3)/CoFe(2)O(4) nanoparticles modified glassy carbon electrode (LNT-CFO/GCE) was proposed. Perovskite-type nanocomposite oxide LaNi(0.5)Ti(0.5)O(3)/CoFe(2)O(4) was synthesized by sol-gel method and characterized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The electrochemical properties of the modified electrode were studied by cyclic voltammetry and amperometry, which showed an excellent electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of H(2)O(2). Under the optimum conditions, the linear response was obtained in the range of 0.1 µM to 8.2 mM, with the correlation coefficient of 0.997. The sensitivity of the modified electrode was calculated to be 3.21 µA µM(-1) cm(-2) and the detection limit was 23 nM (based on the S/N=3).