Natural and polyanionic heparin polysaccharide functionalized upconversion nanoparticles for highly sensitive and selective ratiometric detection of pesticide.

Pesticide contamination is a global concern, threatening human health and food safety. Herein, we developed heparin (HEP) functionalized upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs)-based ratiometric nanosensor for the sensitive detection of 2,6-dichloro-4-nitroaniline (DCN) pesticide via inner filter effect. The strategy for HEP functionalization of UCNPs is based on adjusting the surface potentials of UCNPs with polyanionic HEP through the electrostatic interaction. UCNPs (NaYbF4:Gd/Y/Tm@NaYbF4@NaYF4) was designed with core-shell-shell structure and extra sensitizer layer for efficient and strong upconversion luminescence (UCL) in the range of UV to NIR. After incorporation of DCN, the upconverted UV emission of UCNPs-HEP ratiometric nanosensor was considerably quenched with the NIR UCL at 800 nm remaining unchanged as internal standard. The UCNPs-HEP ratiometric nanosensor can achieve outstandingly selective and sensitive detection of DCN at the wide linear range of 5-300 µM with a detection limit of 0.41 µM. The remarkable applicability of the UCNPs-HEP ratiometric nanosensor was verified in apple, cucumber and grapes samples. The developed UCNPs-HEP ratiometric nanosensor with excellent biocompatibility and water dispersion capability, is promising for convenient, selective and sensitive sensing of DCN towards food and aqueous samples.

Highly water-soluble and biocompatible hyaluronic acid functionalized upconversion nanoparticles as ratiometric nanoprobes for label-free detection of nitrofuran and doxorubicin.

Antibiotic detection is crucial and challenging because the widespread consumption of antibiotics has shown extensive harmful effects on food, environment and human health. Here, we propose highly water-soluble and biocompatible hyaluronic acid (HYA) functionalized upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) for ratiometric detection of multiple antibiotics. The ultraviolet upconversion luminescence (UCL) from UCNPs was significantly quenched by nitrofurazone (NFZ)/nitrofurantoin (NFT), and blue UCL was quenched by doxorubicin (DOX), while red UCL remained unchanged for internal reference. The UCNPs-HYA nanoprobes exhibit excellently sensitive and selective NFZ, NFT and DOX detection in linear range of 2.5-100 µM, 2.5-80 µM, and 2.5-200 µM with the LOD at 0.28 µM (55 µg/kg), 0.20 µM (48 µg/kg) and 0.17 µM (97 µg/kg), respectively. The nanoprobes achieved detecting real samples of NFZ in lake water, liquid milk and chicken meat with satisfactory results, and UCL bioimaging of DOX in HeLa cells. The UCNPs-HYA ratiometric nanoprobes are promising for food samples detection and potential biosensing in the cellular environment.

Up-regulated and hypomethylated genes are causative factors and diagnostic markers of osteoporosis.

BACKGROUND: Due to the lack of sensitive diagnostic biomarkers for osteoporosis (OP), there is an urgent need to identify and uncover biomarkers associated with the disease in order to facilitate early clinical diagnosis and effective intervention strategies. METHODS: GEO2R was employed to conduct a screening of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) within the transcriptome sequencing data obtained from blood samples of OP patients within the GSE163849 dataset. Subsequently, we conducted expression confirmation of the identified DEGs using an additional dataset, GSE35959. To further explore Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment, MicroRNA (miRNA) interactions, and drug predictions, we employed the DAVID, miRTarBase, and DrugBank databases. For validation purposes, clinical OP samples paired with normal controls were collected from the Pakistani population. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was employed to assess the expression levels of DEGs and miRNA, while targeted bisulfite sequencing (bisulfite-seq) analysis was used to investigate methylation patterns. DNA and RNA from clinical OP and normal control samples were extracted using appropriate methods. RESULTS: Out of total identified 269 DEGs, EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor), HMOX1 (heme oxygenase-1), PGR (progesterone receptor), CXCL10 (C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10), CCL5 (C-C motif chemokine ligand 5), and IL12B (interleukin 12B) were prioritized as top DEGs in OP patients. Expression validation of these genes on additional Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset and Pakistani OP patients revealed consistent significant up-regulation of these genes in OP patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis demonstrated that these DEGs displayed considerable diagnostic accuracy for detecting OP. Targeted bisulfite-seq analysis further revealed that EGFR, HMOX1, PGR, CXCL10, CCL5, and IL12B were hypomethylated in OP patients. Moreover, has-miR-27a-5p, a common expression regulator of the EGFR, HMOX1, PGR, CXCL10, CCL5, and IL12B was also significantly down-regulated in OP patients. CONCLUSION: The DEGs that have been identified hold significant potential for the future development of diagnostic and treatment approaches for OP in preclinical and clinical applications.

Surface crafting and entrapment of CsPbBr3 perovskite QDs in ZIF-8 for ammonia recognition.

The substantial optical features of perovskite quantum dots (PQD) lead to rapid growth in the investigation of their surface and lattice doping for optoelectronic and biochemical sensor advancements. Herein, we have used the surface ligand crafting model of PQD by ammonia and its optimum response to recognise ammonia in the sensing cellulose paper. The PQD with acetyl amine and octanoic acid capped were synthesized and entrapped in zeolites imidazole framework to delay the instant quenching and envisaged response to ammonia with high sensitivity. The hybrid perovskite quantum dots and Zeolite imidazolate framework-8 (PQD@ZIF-8) materials were further immersed in cellulose paper for solid-state sensor fabrication for the detection of ammonia by naked-eye and a Xiaomi Note-5 mobile camera. The ammonia was measured with high sensitivity at ambient conditions, with a detection limit of 16 ppm and a linear detection range of 1 to 500 ppm. This research provides a new platform for designing sensor selectivity and sensitivity, which could be used to further develop fluorescent nanomaterials-based sensors for small molecule detection.

Naringenin: A flavanone with anti-inflammatory and anti-infective properties.

Although a growing body of research has recently shown how crucial inflammation and infection are to all major diseases, several of the medications currently available on the market have various unfavourable side effects, necessitating the development of alternative therapeutic choices. Researchers are increasingly interested in alternative medications or active components derived from natural sources. Naringenin is a commonly consumed flavonoid found in many plants, and since it was discovered to have nutritional benefits, it has been utilized to treat inflammation and infections caused by particular bacteria or viruses. However, the absence of adequate clinical data and naringenin's poor solubility and stability severely restrict its usage as a medicinal agent. In this article, we discuss naringenin's effects and mechanisms of action on autoimmune-induced inflammation, bacterial infections, and viral infections based on recent research. We also present a few suggestions for enhancing naringenin's solubility, stability, and bioavailability. This paper emphasizes the potential use of naringenin as an anti-inflammatory and anti-infective agent and the next prophylactic substance for the treatment of various inflammatory and infectious diseases, even though some mechanisms of action are still unclear, and offers some theoretical support for its clinical application.

Alkali treatment of layered double hydroxide nanosheets as highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting.

Efficient and economic bifunctional electrocatalyst for water splitting to produce hydrogen is urgently required. The layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have shown superior activity for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) for water electrolysis, while their hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity remains challenging. Herein, we report an alkali hydrothermal-treatment strategy to enhance the HER as well as OER performance of NiCo-LDH. This method can create metal vacancies and newly formed Ni/Co(OH)2 phase over NiCo-LDH, tune the electronic structure, and improve the electrical conductivity, thereby improving the electrochemical activity. The NiCo-LDH-OH catalyst delivers a current density of 10 mA cm-2 at an overpotential of 180 mV for HER and an overpotential of 317 mV for OER, which is greatly reduced compared to the pristine NiCo-LDH (295 mV for HER and 336 mV for OER). When assembled into an electrolyzer both as a cathode and anode, it demonstrates superior activity for overall water splitting with no obvious decay after 20 h. This work paves a new path for fabricating efficient LDHs-based HER/OER bifunctional catalysts.

Upconversion luminescent nanomaterials: A promising new platform for food safety analysis.

Foodborne diseases have become a significant threat to public health worldwide. Development of analytical techniques that enable fast and accurate detection of foodborne pathogens is significant for food science and safety research. Assays based on lanthanide (Ln) ion-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) show up as a cutting edge platform in biomedical fields because of the superior physicochemical features of UCNPs, including negligible autofluorescence, large signal-to-noise ratio, minimum photodamage to biological samples, high penetration depth, and attractive optical and chemical features. In recent decades, this novel and promising technology has been gradually introduced to food safety research. Herein, we have reviewed the recent progress of Ln3+-doped UCNPs in food safety research with emphasis on the following aspects: 1) the upconversion mechanism and detection principles; 2) the history of UCNPs development in analytical chemistry; 3) the in-depth state-of-the-art synthesis strategies, including synthesis protocols for UCNPs, luminescence, structure, morphology, and surface engineering; 4) applications of UCNPs in foodborne pathogens detection, including mycotoxins, heavy metal ions, pesticide residue, antibiotics, estrogen residue, and pathogenic bacteria; and 5) the challenging and future perspectives of using UCNPs in food safety research. Considering the diversity and complexity of the foodborne harmful substances, developing novel detections and quantification techniques and the rigorous investigations about the effect of the harmful substances on human health should be accelerated.

Supportive psychological intervention on psychological disorders in clinical medicine students with English Learning Difficulties: A protocol of systematic review.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to examine the effect of supportive psychological intervention (SPI) on psychological disorders (PD) in clinical medicine students (CMS) with English Learning Difficulties (ELD). METHODS: We will perform a comprehensive literature search from the following databases: Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. All databases will be performed from their inception to the present without language limitation by 2 independent reviewers. We will also look for grey literature, such as conference proceedings, dissertations or theses. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale will be used to assess study quality, and RevMan 5.3 software will be applied to carry out statistical analysis. RESULTS: This study will summarize the most recent evidence to assess the effect of SPI on PD in CMS with ELD. CONCLUSION: This study may provide helpful evidence of SPI on PD in CMS with ELD. OSF REGISTRATION NUMBER:: osf.io/tah2s.

Circ_0109046 Promotes the Progression of Endometrial Cancer via Regulating miR-136/HMGA2 Axis.

BACKGROUND: Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the most common gynecological malignancies. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play crucial roles in the occurrence and development of tumors. This research aimed to explore the function and potential mechanism of human serum albumin (hsa)_circ_0109046 in EC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The abundance of circ_0109046, microRNA-136 (miR-136) and high-mobility group AT-hook 2 (HMGA2) was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction or Western blot. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and colony formation assays were employed to assess cell proliferation. Transwell assay was used to measure cell migration and invasion. The levels of E-cadherin, Vimentin and N-cadherin were examined by Western blot. The binding association among circ_0109046, miR-136 and HMGA2 was verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay, RNA pull-down assay and RNA immunoprecipitation assay. Xenograft assay was performed to test tumor growth in vivo. RESULTS: Circ_0109046 and HMGA2 were up-regulated, and miR-136 was down-regulated in EC tissues and cells. Knockdown of circ_0109046 impeded the proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of EC cells. Moreover, miR-136 knockdown reversed the suppression of circ_0109046 silencing on EC development. HMGA2 overexpression abolished the inhibition of miR-136 on EC progression. Besides, depletion of circ_0109046 inhibited EC growth in vivo. CONCLUSION: Circ_0109046 accelerated EC progression via modulating miR-136/HMGA2 axis, indicating that circ_0109046 might be a promising therapeutic target for EC.

PAA Modified Upconversion Nanoparticles for Highly Selective and Sensitive Detection of Cu2+ Ions.

Detection of the Cu2+ ions is crucial because of its environmental and biological implications. The fluorescent-based organic sensors are not suitable for Cu2+ detection due to their short penetration depth caused by the UV/visible excitation source. Therefore, we have demonstrated a highly sensitive and selective near-infrared (NIR) excitable poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) coated upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) based sensor for Cu2+ detection. We construct the PAA modified Na(Yb, Nd)F4@Na(Yb, Gd)F4:Tm@NaGdF4 core-shell-shell structured UCNPs based sensor via a co-precipitation route. The upconversion emission intensity of the PAA-UCNPs decreases linearly with the increase in the Cu2+ concentration from 0.125 to 3.125 µM due to the copper carboxylate complex formation between Cu2+ and PAA-UCNPs. The calculated detection limit of the PAA-UCNPs based sensor is 0.1 µM. The PAA-UCNPs based sensor is very sensitive and selective toward detecting the Cu2+ ions, even when the Cu2+ co-exist with other metal ions. The EDTA addition has significantly reversed the upconversion emission quenching by forming the EDTA-Cu2+ complex based on their greater affinity toward the Cu2+. Therefore, the PAA-UCNPs based sensor can be a promising candidate for Cu2+ detection because of their higher sensitivity and selectivity under 980 nm NIR excitation.

Modified EDTA selectively recognized Cu2+ and its application in the disaggregation of ß-amyloid-Cu (II)/Zn (II) aggregates.

The accumulation of the ß-amyloid (Aß) aggregates induced by Cu2+/Zn2+ in conjunction with toxicity is closely related to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Herein, we intended to improve the efficiency and selectivity of traditional chelator ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) combined with a fluorescent group 4-aminosalicylic acid (4-ASA)to acquire a novel potential chelator 4,4'-((2,2'-(ethane-1,2-diylbis((carboxymethyl)azanediyl))bis(acetyl))bis(azanediyl))bis(2-hydroxybenzoic acid) (EDTA-ASA) capable of disaggregating Aß-Cu(II)/ Zn(II) aggregates. EDTA-ASA combines 4-ASA as fluorophore and multidentate amino nitrogen, hydroxyl and carboxyl groups to chelate Cu2+ from Aß-Cu (II) aggregates. The specific selectivity of EDTA-ASA towards Cu2+ in Tris-HCl buffer solution was investigated by fluorescence measurements. It exhibits high recognition towards Cu2+ with no significant interference of other competitive metal ions, which overcomes the deficiencies of EDTA. Importantly, the binding sites and binding mode for Cu2+ were clarified through DFT calculations. The thioflavin-T (ThT) fluorescence analyses and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results have revealed EDTA-ASA exhibited an enhanced disaggregation capability on Aß-Cu (II)/Zn (II) aggregates in comparison to EDTA. The Cu2+ chelating affinity was sufficient for EDTA-ASA to sequester Cu2+ from Aß-Cu (II) aggregates.

[On-Site Analysis of Heavy Metals in Water with Handheld X-Ray Fluorescence and Pre-Concentration Device without External Power Supply].

Currently, increasing importance has been attached to heavy metal pollution of water environment. In order to help geologist and environmentalist to obtain on-site experimental data, there is an urgent need to develop portable analysis techniques of water quality, which can be used to give an timely and accurate assessment of water quality of the contaminated area with low cost and to monitor water environment conveniently in daily preventing and controlling work of water pollution. Based on adsorption with Purolite S930 chelating resin at pH 4 and thin-film sample preparation technique, a rapid and simple on-site-oriented analysis method of heavy metal ions, namely Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb in aqueous solutions, was developed utilizing a handheld energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence in this paper. The correlation coefficients of the calibration curves were greater than 0.992 for all six metal ions, the lower limits of detection were between 5.8 and 18.6 µg·L-1. Precision tests carried out on multi-element mixed solutions showed that the relative standard deviations (RSD, n=10) were better than 15%. The method has been used on-site to analysis 21 water samples collected from different river or well sites near a mining area northeast China. Out of the five underground water samples one was found contaminated by Cu and Zn (Class Ⅲ), one by Zn and Fe (Class Ⅱ), and one by Fe(in between Class Ⅱ to Ⅲ). Surface water samples showed better qualities. But two out of the sixteen were found to be contaminated by Mn heavily (Class Ⅳ). Laboratory ICPMS was used to analyze the same samples. The results for Cu, Ni and Pb were coincident with the on-site data in general. But for Zn and Mn with higher concentrations, on-site data were lower than that by ICPMS. The reason for that might be the inclusion of the fine suspending particles in the samples by ICPMS. We conclude that the on-site data were effective. With the described method, an overall data acquisition time, including sampling, processing and measuring, can be within 12 hours for a batch of 10 samples. The pre-concentration device and the XRF instrument are both small, light, portable and can operate without external power supply. So, the method is suitable for on-site water sample analysis, especially in remote areas.

Increased antenna effect of the lanthanide complexes by control of a number of terdentate N-donor pyridine ligands.

Three europium complexes with the terdentate N-donor ligand 2,6-bis(1H-pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine (L) have been synthesized, and their crystal structures have been determined. The ligand/metal ratios in these complexes are 3, 2, and 1. The photophysical properties of the complexes indicate more efficient ligand sensitization of europium emission for the homoleptic complex.

Understanding Eu(3+) emission spectra in glass.

The emission spectra of the tripositive lanthanide ion Eu(3+) have often been employed to probe its environment in the solid state, and the intensity ratio of magnetic dipole ((5)D(0)-->(7)F(1)) and forced electric dipole ((5)D(0)-->(7)F(2)) transitions has been used to estimate the "degree of asymmetry" of a crystal site. From the site-selective, low temperature emission spectra of Eu(3+) doped into a glass, a new empirical relation has been found between the width of spectral features and the relative intensity of the (5)D(0)-->(7)F(0) zero phonon line. In order to explain the observations from experiments with excitation at different wavelengths, a generic quantitative relation has been developed from basic theory and validated from our experimental results. This work gives a deeper insight and understanding of the spectral characteristics of Eu(3+) electronic spectra in the visible region.

[Determination of As, Sb, Bi, Cd and Sn in soils and sediments by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry after sublimation separation as iodides].

A method was developed for the determination of As, Sb, Bi, Cd and Sn in degrees C, iodides of As, Sb, Bi, Cd and Sn were formed and sublimated from the sample matrix and then extracted by diluted HCl. The prepared solution was determined by ICP-AES. The sample treatment procedure, such as the ratio of NH4 I to sample, and sublimation and extraction conditions, was studied. The instrument determination parameters, including ICP power, Ar gas flow rate, spectral wavelengths, background subtraction, spectral interferences correction and internal standard, were selected and optimized. The established procedure is rapid and simple, the detection limits for the five elements are in the range of 0.01-0.35 microg x g(-1), and the analytical results for soil and sediment reference materials were in good agreement with the reference values.

[Determination of Si, Al and other in biological samples by ICP-AES with fusion with LiBO2 after dry ashing].

An alkaline sample digestion procedure using fusion with lithium metaborate (LiBO2) after dry ashing was developed. Silicon, aluminium and other, a total of 10 elements in different kinds of biological samples, were measured by ICP-AES. The detection limit of this method was 0.15 microg x mL(-1) for Si and 0.03 microg x mL(-1) for Al. The accuracy and precision of the method were demonstrated by analyzing certified reference materials poplar leaves (GBW07604). The precision was less than 3% and the accuracy was -0.03% for Si and -3% for Al. This method was applied to the certification of a series of ten biological reference materials. The results were satisfied.