[Fluid-solid coupling model and analysis on pulse wave propagation properties of iliac artery].

In this work, we investigated the influence of the bifurcation geometry of the iliac artery on the propagation properties of the pulse wave, and applied software to establish the straight bifurcation and curved bifurcation bi-directional fluid-solid coupling finite element analysis models based on the iliac artery, and compared and analyzed the influence of the bifurcation angle of the blood vessel on the propagation characteristics of the pulse wave. It was found that the bifurcation geometry had a significant effect on the pulse wave propagation in the iliac arteries, and the pressure and velocity pulse wave amplitudes predicted by these two models had a good agreement with that before the vessel bifurcation in a cardiac cycle. The curvilinear bifurcation model predicted the pulse wave amplitude to be lower and the pressure drop to be smaller after the bifurcation, which was more in line with the actual situation of the human body. In addition, the bifurcation point is accompanied by the stress concentration phenomenon in the vessel wall, and there is a transient increase in the velocity pulse waveform amplitude, which was consistent with the fact that the bifurcation site is prone to phenomena such as arterial stenosis and hardening. The preliminary results of this paper will provide some reference for the use of pulse waveforms in the diagnosis of arterial diseases.

Pcolce2 overexpression promotes supporting cell reprogramming in the neonatal mouse cochlea.

Hair cell (HC) damage is a leading cause of sensorineural hearing loss, and in mammals supporting cells (SCs) are unable to divide and regenerate HCs after birth spontaneously. Procollagen C-endopeptidase enhancer 2 (Pcolce2), which encodes a glycoprotein that acts as a functional procollagen C protease enhancer, was screened as a candidate regulator of SC plasticity in our previous study. In the current study, we used adeno-associated virus (AAV)-ie (a newly developed adeno-associated virus that targets SCs) to overexpress Pcolce2 in SCs. AAV-Pcolce2 facilitated SC re-entry into the cell cycle both in cultured cochlear organoids and in the postnatal cochlea. In the neomycin-damaged model, regenerated HCs were detected after overexpression of Pcolce2, and these were derived from SCs that had re-entered the cell cycle. These findings reveal that Pcolce2 may serve as a therapeutic target for the regeneration of HCs to treat hearing loss.

AAV-mediated Gpm6b expression supports hair cell reprogramming.

Irreversible damage to hair cells (HCs) in the cochlea leads to hearing loss. Cochlear supporting cells (SCs) in the murine cochlea have the potential to differentiate into HCs. Neuron membrane glycoprotein M6B (Gpm6b) as a four-transmembrane protein is a potential regulator of HC regeneration according to our previous research. In this study, we found that AAV-ie-mediated Gpm6b overexpression promoted SC-derived organoid expansion. Enhanced Gpm6b prevented the normal decrease in SC plasticity as the cochlea develops by supporting cells re-entry cell cycle and facilitating the SC-to-HC transformation. Also, overexpression of Gpm6b in the organ of Corti through the round window membrane injection facilitated the trans-differentiation of Lgr5+ SCs into HCs. In conclusion, our results suggest that Gpm6b overexpression promotes HC regeneration and highlights a promising target for hearing repair using the inner ear stem cells combined with AAV.

AAV-Mediated Gene Therapy Restores Hearing in Patients with DFNB9 Deafness.

Mutations in OTOFERLIN (OTOF) lead to the autosomal recessive deafness 9 (DFNB9). The efficacy of adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated OTOF gene replacement therapy is extensively validated in Otof-deficient mice. However, the clinical safety and efficacy of AAV-OTOF is not reported. Here, AAV-OTOF is generated using good manufacturing practice and validated its efficacy and safety in mouse and non-human primates in order to determine the optimal injection dose, volume, and administration route for clinical trials. Subsequently, AAV-OTOF is delivered into one cochlea of a 5-year-old deaf patient and into the bilateral cochleae of an 8-year-old deaf patient with OTOF mutations. Obvious hearing improvement is detected by the auditory brainstem response (ABR) and the pure-tone audiometry (PTA) in these two patients. Hearing in the injected ear of the 5-year-old patient can be restored to the normal range at 1 month after AAV-OTOF injection, while the 8-year-old patient can hear the conversational sounds. Most importantly, the 5-year-old patient can hear and recognize speech only through the AAV-OTOF-injected ear. This study is the first to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of AAV-OTOF in patients, expands and optimizes current OTOF-related gene therapy and provides valuable information for further application of gene therapies for deafness.

Stem Cell-Based Hair Cell Regeneration and Therapy in the Inner Ear.

Hearing loss has become increasingly prevalent and causes considerable disability, thus gravely burdening the global economy. Irreversible loss of hair cells is a main cause of sensorineural hearing loss, and currently, the only relatively effective clinical treatments are limited to digital hearing equipment like cochlear implants and hearing aids, but these are of limited benefit in patients. It is therefore urgent to understand the mechanisms of damage repair in order to develop new neuroprotective strategies. At present, how to promote the regeneration of functional hair cells is a key scientific question in the field of hearing research. Multiple signaling pathways and transcriptional factors trigger the activation of hair cell progenitors and ensure the maturation of newborn hair cells, and in this article, we first review the principal mechanisms underlying hair cell reproduction. We then further discuss therapeutic strategies involving the co-regulation of multiple signaling pathways in order to induce effective functional hair cell regeneration after degeneration, and we summarize current achievements in hair cell regeneration. Lastly, we discuss potential future approaches, such as small molecule drugs and gene therapy, which might be applied for regenerating functional hair cells in the clinic.

Nanopore long-read RNA sequencing reveals functional alternative splicing variants in human vascular smooth muscle cells.

Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are the major contributor to vascular repair and remodeling, which showed high level of phenotypic plasticity. Abnormalities in VSMC plasticity can lead to multiple cardiovascular diseases, wherein alternative splicing plays important roles. However, alternative splicing variants in VSMC plasticity are not fully understood. Here we systematically characterized the long-read transcriptome and their dysregulation in  human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) by employing the Oxford Nanopore Technologies long-read RNA sequencing in HASMCs that are separately treated with platelet-derived growth factor, transforming growth factor, and hsa-miR-221-3P transfection. Our analysis reveals frequent alternative splicing events and thousands of unannotated transcripts generated from alternative splicing. HASMCs treated with different factors exhibit distinct transcriptional reprogramming modulated by alternative splicing. We also found that unannotated transcripts produce different open reading frames compared to the annotated transcripts. Finally, we experimentally validated the unannotated transcript derived from gene CISD1, namely CISD1-u, which plays a role in the phenotypic switch of HASMCs. Our study characterizes the phenotypic modulation of HASMCs from an insight of long-read transcriptome, which would promote the understanding and the manipulation of HASMC plasticity in cardiovascular diseases.

High PIVKA-II level and ASAP score predict 1-year risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in non-cirrhotic chronic hepatitis B patients.

Protein induced by Vitamin K absence or antagonists-II (PIVKA-II) is a diagnostic marker of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We aimed to investigate the predictive role of PIVKA-II and ASAP score for development of HCC in 1 year among untreated patients of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). We conducted this case-control study to include untreated CHB patients followed at the National Taiwan University Hospital and grouped into HCC and matched non-HCC groups. Their archived serum samples were assayed for PIVKA-II levels 1 year before HCC, at HCC or their last serum sample. A total of 69 HCC cases and 102 non-HCC controls were recruited. Baseline PIVKA-II level was significantly higher in the HCC group than in the control group and it could predict HCC development in 1 year with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.76. Multivariable analysis adjusting age, sex, liver function and alpha-fetoprotein level showed that baseline PIVKA-II ≥31 mAU/mL (vs. <31 mAU/mL) increased 12.5-fold risk (95% CI: 4.9-31.7) of HCC in 1 year, and even in patients with normal alpha-fetoprotein levels. The ASAP score, a combination of age, sex, alpha-fetoprotein and PIVKA-II, increases the predictability for HCC in 1 year. We concluded that both high PIVKA-II level and ASAP score may predict HCC development in 1 year in untreated CHB patients, especially in patients with normal alpha-fetoprotein level.

Cadmium accelerates autophagy of osteocytes by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

Cadmium (Cd) can damage bone cells and cause osteoporosis. Osteocytes are the most numerous bone cells and also important target cells for Cd-induced osteotoxic damage. Autophagy plays important role in the progression of osteoporosis. However, osteocyte autophagy in Cd-induced bone injury is not well characterized. Thus, we established a Cd-induced bone injury model in BALB/c mice and a cellular damage model in MLO-Y4 cells. Aqueous Cd exposure for 16 months showed an increase in plasma alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and increase in urine calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) concentrations in vivo. Moreover, expression level of autophagy-related microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B-light chain 3 II (LC3II) and autophagy-related 5 (ATG5) proteins were induced, and the expression of sequestosome-1 (p62) was reduced, along with Cd-induced trabecular bone damage. In addition, Cd inhibited the phosphorylation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), protein kinase B (AKT), and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K). In vitro, 80 µM Cd concentrations exposure upregulated LC3II protein expression, and downregulated of p62 protein expression. Similarly, we found that treatment with 80 µM Cd resulted in a reduction in the phosphorylation levels of mTOR, AKT, and PI3K. Further experiments revealed that addition of rapamycin, an autophagy inducer, enhanced autophagy and alleviated the Cd-induced damage to MLO-Y4 cells. The findings of our study reveal for the first time that Cd causes damage to both bone and osteocytes, as well as induces autophagy in osteocytes and inhibits PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling, which could be a protective mechanism against Cd-induced bone injury.

Exosome-Based Carrier for RNA Delivery: Progress and Challenges.

In the last few decades, RNA-based drugs have emerged as a promising candidate to specifically target and modulate disease-relevant genes to cure genetic defects. The key to applying RNA therapy in clinical trials is developing safe and effective delivery systems. Exosomes have been exploited as a promising vehicle for drug delivery due to their nanoscale size, high stability, high biocompatibility, and low immunogenicity. We reviewed and summarized the progress in the strategy and application of exosome-mediated RNA therapy. The challenges of exosomes as a carrier for RNA drug delivery are also elucidated in this article. RNA molecules can be loaded into exosomes and then delivered to targeted cells or tissues via various biochemical or physical approaches. So far, exosome-mediated RNA therapy has shown potential in the treatment of cancer, central nervous system disorders, COVID-19, and other diseases. To further exploit the potential of exosomes for RNA delivery, more efforts should be made to overcome both technological and logistic problems.

Association between growth differentiation factor 15 levels and gestational diabetes mellitus: A combined analysis.

Objective: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common glucose metabolism disease occurs in pregnancy that affects both maternal and neonatal health. Recently, increasing studies have attached importance to the relationship between growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) and GDM, but the results were inconclusive. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to examine the association between GDF-15 and GDM. Materials and methods: A systematical search was performed in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), PubMed and Google Scholar till Oct 27, 2022. We first calculated the mean and standard deviation of GDF-15 expression levels from the included eligible datasets and articles. Then, a meta-analysis was conducted to depict the difference in GDF-15 mRNA or GDF-15 protein expression between case and control groups by using conservative random effect model. Moreover, the potential publication bias was checked with the aid of Begg's test and Egger's test. Finally, sensitivity analyses were performed by changing the inclusion criteria. Results: In summary, 12 GEO datasets and 5 articles were enrolled in our study, including 789 GDM patients and 1202 non-GDM pregnant women. It was found that the expression levels of GDF-15 mRNA and GDF-15 protein in late pregnancy were significantly higher in GDM patients compared with non-GDM pregnant women, with the standard mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of 0.48 (0.14, 0.83) and 0.82 (0.32-1.33), respectively. Meanwhile, a slightly weakened association between GDF-15 protein levels and GDM was also observed in the middle pregnancy, with SMD (95% CI) of 0.53 (0.04-1.02). Conclusion: In all, our results suggested that the expression levels of GDF-15 were significantly higher in GDM patients compared with non-GDM pregnant women, especially in the late pregnancy.

Evolution of m6A-related genes in insects and the function of METTL3 in silkworm embryonic development.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) plays a key role in many biological processes. However, the function and evolutionary relationship of m6A-related genes in insects remain largely unknown. Here we analysed the phylogeny of m6A-related genes among 207 insect species and found that m6A-related genes are evolutionarily conserved in insects. Subcellular localization experiments of m6A-related proteins in BmN cells confirmed that BmYTHDF3 was localized in the cytoplasm, BmMETTL3, BmMETTL14, and BmYTHDC were localized in the nucleus, and FL2D was localized to both the nucleus and cytoplasm. We examined the expression patterns of m6A-related genes during the embryonic development of Bombyx mori. To elucidate the function of BmMETTL3 during the embryonic stage, RNA sequencing was performed to measure changes in gene expression in silkworm eggs after BmMETTL3 knockdown, as well as in BmN cells overexpressing BmMETTL3. The global transcriptional pattern showed that knockdown of BmMETTL3 affected multiple cellular processes, including oxidoreductase activity, transcription regulator activity, and the cation binding. In addition, transcriptomic data revealed that many observed DEGs were associated with fundamental metabolic processes, including carbon metabolism, purine metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis, and the citrate cycle. Interestingly, we found that knockdown of BmMETTL3 significantly affected Wnt and Toll/Imd pathways in embryos. Taken together, these results suggest that BmMETTL3 plays an essential role in the embryonic development of B. mori, and deepen our understanding of the function of m6A-related genes in insects.

Single-cell analysis reveals lysyl oxidase (Lox)+ fibroblast subset involved in cardiac fibrosis of diabetic mice.

INTRODUCTION: Myocardial fibrosis and cardiac dysfunction are the main characteristics of diabetic heart disease. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying diabetic myocardial fibrosis remain unclear. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the heterogeneity of cardiac fibroblasts in diabetic mice and its possible mechanism in the development of diabetic myocardial fibrosis. METHODS: We established a diabetic mouse model by injecting mice with streptozotocin. The overall cell profiles in diabetic hearts were analyzed using single-cell RNA transcriptomic techniques. Cardiac function was evaluated by echocardiography. Cardiac fibrosis was assessed by Masson's trichrome and Sirius red staining. Protein expression was analyzed using Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining. RESULTS: A total of 11,585 cells were captured in control (Ctrl) and diabetic (DM) hearts. Twelve cell types were identified in this study. The number of fibroblasts was significantly higher in the DM hearts than in the Ctrl group. The fibroblasts were further re-clustered into nine subsets. Interestingly, cluster 4 fibroblasts were significantly increased in diabetic hearts compared with other fibroblast clusters. Lysyl oxidase (Lox) was highly expressed in DM fibroblasts (especially in cluster 4). Beta-aminopropionitrile, a Lox inhibitor, inhibited collagen expression and alleviated cardiac dysfunction in the diabetic group. Lysyl oxidase inhibition also reduced high glucose-induced collagen protein upregulation in primary fibroblasts. Moreover, a TGF-ß receptor inhibitor not only prevented an increase in Lox and Col I but also inhibited the phosphorylation of Smad2/3 in fibroblasts. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed the heterogeneity of cardiac fibroblasts in diabetic mice for the first time. Fibroblasts with high expression of Lox (cluster 4 fibroblasts) were identified to play a crucial role in fibrosis in diabetic heart disease. The findings of this study may provide a possible therapeutic target for interstitial fibrosis.

BTBD10 inhibits glioma tumorigenesis by downregulating cyclin D1 and p-Akt.

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of BTBD10 in glioma tumorigenesis. The mRNA and protein levels of BTBD10 in 52 glioma tissues and eight normal brain tissues were determined using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blot analysis, respectively. U251 human glioblastoma cells were infected with BTBD10-expressing or control lentiviruses. Cell growth was evaluated using the methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay. Cell apoptosis and cell cycle distribution were analyzed using flow cytometry. Cyclin D1 and p-Akt levels were determined using western blot analysis. The results showed that BTBD10 mRNA and protein levels were significantly lower in glioma tissues than in normal brain tissues. Additionally, BTBD10 levels were significantly lower in high-grade gliomas than in low-grade tumors. Compared with control cells, U251 cells overexpressing BTBD10 exhibited decreased cell proliferation, increased cell accumulation at the G0/G1 phase, increased cell apoptosis, and decreased levels of cyclin D1 and p-Akt. These findings show that BTBD10 is downregulated in human glioma tissue and that BTBD10 expression negatively correlates with the pathological grade of the tumor. Furthermore, BTBD10 overexpression inhibits proliferation, induces G0/G1 arrest, and promotes apoptosis in human glioblastoma cells by downregulating cyclin D1- and Akt-dependent signaling pathways.

Amphiphilic Aminated Derivatives of [60]Fullerene as Potent Inhibitors of Tumor Growth and Metastasis.

Malignant proliferation and metastasis are the hallmarks of cancer cells. Aminated [70]fullerene exhibits notable antineoplastic effects, promoting it a candidate for multi-targeted cancer drugs. It is an urgent need to reveal the structure-activity relationship for antineoplastic aminated fullerenes. Herein, three amphiphilic derivatives of [60]fullerene with clarified molecular structures are synthesized: TAPC-4, TAPC-3, and TCPC-4. TAPC-4 inhibits the proliferation of diverse tumor cells via G0/G1 cell cycle arrest, reverses the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and abrogates the high mobility of tumor cells. TAPC-4 can be excreted from the organism and achieves an in vivo inhibition index of 75.5% in tumor proliferation and 87.5% in metastatic melanoma with a wide safety margin. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the amphiphilic molecular structure and the ending amino groups promote the targeting of TAPC-4 to heat shock protein Hsp90-beta, vimentin, and myosin heavy chain 9 (MYH9), probably resulting in the alteration of cyclin D1 translation, vimentin expression, and MYH9 location, respectively. This work initially emphasizes the dominant role of the amphiphilic structure and the terminal amino moieties in the antineoplastic effects of aminated fullerenes, providing fundamental support for their anti-tumor drug development.

Clairvoyant Melon Maturity Detection Enabled by Doctor-Blade-Coated Photonic Crystals.

Climacteric fruits are harvested before they are ripened to avoid adverse damages during transport. The unripe fruits can undergo ripening processes associated with rind color changes on exposure to ethanol vapors. Although rind coloration is a common indicator showing fruit maturity, the attribute does not provide reliable assessment of maturity especially for melons. Herein, we report the achievement of sensitive and reversible melon maturity detection using macroporous hydrogel photonic crystals self-assembled by a roll-to-roll compatible doctor-blade-coating technology. The consumption of applied ethanol vapor during melon ripening results in less condensation of ethanol vapor in the pores (250 nm in diameter), leading to a distinct blue-shift of the optical stop band from 572 to 501 nm and an obvious visual colorimetric readout from yellow green to blue. Moreover, the dependence of the color change on Brix value within the melon has also been evaluated in the study.

Rapid and dynamic detection of antimicrobial treatment response using spectral amplitude modulation in MZO nanostructure-modified quartz crystal microbalance.

We report a dynamic and rapid detection of the response of S. epidermidis to various antimicrobial treatments utilizing the real-time spectral amplitude modulations of the magnesium zinc oxide nanostructure-modified quartz crystal microbalance (MZOnano-QCM) biosensor. The sensor consists of a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) with magnesium zinc oxide (MZO) nanostructures grown directly on the sensing electrode using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Combining the high sensitivity detection of bacteria provided by the MZO nanostructures with the QCM's dynamic acoustic spectrum makes a highly-sensitive dynamic biosensor well-suited for monitoring viscoelastic transitions during drug treatment compared to the QCM's conventional frequency shift signals. We demonstrated dynamically monitoring the response of S. epidermidis to various concentrations of the drug ciprofloxacin, and response to three different antimicrobials vancomycin, oxacillin, and ciprofloxacin, using spectral amplitude modulations of the MZOnano-QCM. Our results indicate that the amplitude modulations exhibit high sensitivity to S. epidermidis response to different drug treatments compared to the conventional frequency shift signals of the device, allowing for rapid determination (within 1.5 h) of the efficacy of the antimicrobial drug. The high sensitivity demonstrated by the spectral amplitude modulations is attributed to the direct relationship of these signals to the viscoelastic transitions of the bacterial cells on the device's sensing area while responding to drug treatment. This relationship is established by the Butterworth-Van-Dyke (BVD) model of the MZOnano-QCM. Standard microbiological protocols and assays were performed to determine the optimal drug dosages and the minimum inhibitory concentrations to serve as the benchmark for the sensor data.

Water-Soluble Chemical Vapor Detection Enabled by Doctor-Blade-Coated Macroporous Photonic Crystals.

Water-soluble chemicals, involving a wide range of toxic chemicals in aqueous solutions, remain essential in both daily living or industrial uses. However, most toxicants are evaporated with water through their use and thus cause deleterious effects on the domestic environment and health in humans. Unfortunately, most current low-dose chemical vapor detection technologies are restricted by the use of sophisticated instruments and unable to promptly detect the quantity of diverse toxicants in a single analysis. To address these issues, this study reports the development of simple and fast chemical vapor detection using doctor-blade-coated macroporous poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)/poly(ethoxylated trimethylolpropane triacrylate) photonic crystals, in which the poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) has strong affinity to insecticide vapor owing to a favorable Gibbs free energy change for their mixing. The condensation of water-soluble chemical vapor therefore results in a significant reflection peak shift and an obvious color change. The visual colorimetric readout can be further improved by increasing the lattice spacing of the macroporous photonic crystals. Furthermore, the dependence of the reflection peak position on vapor pressure under actual conditions and the reproducibility of vapor detecting are also evaluated in this study.

Self-Assembled Mechanochromic Shape Memory Photonic Crystals by Doctor Blade Coating.

Mechanochromic shape memory photonic crystals can memorize their original structures and recover the inherent structural colors in response to external stimuli; thereby they have rendered various important optical applications. Unfortunately, most existing shape memory polymers are thermoresponsive, and the corresponding mechanochromic characteristics are limited by the heat-demanding programming process. Besides that, a great majority of current fabrication methodologies suffer from low throughput, hindering the practical applications. Herein, a scalable technology is developed to engineer macroporous shape memory photonic crystals by self-assembling silica colloidal crystals in a polyurethane acrylate/polyethoxylated trimethylolpropane triacrylate/poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate matrix, followed by a wet etching treatment to selectively remove silica colloids. The as-created photonic crystals display a brilliant structural color, which is reversibly tunable with mechanical deformation at ambient conditions. Upon stretching, the reduced interlayer lattice spacing of the photonic crystals leads to a blueshift of the reflection peak position and a significant color change. Importantly, the stretched macroporous film can fix its temporary structures without applying any contact force and simultaneously recover its original configuration and appearance by applying ethanol evaporation-induced capillary pressures. The reversibility and the dependence of templated silica colloid size on mechanochromic characteristics have also been investigated in the research.

Anterior Clinoidal Meningiomas: Meningeal Anatomical Considerations and Surgical Implications.

Objective: Surgical removal of anterior clinoidal meningiomas (ACMs) remains a challenge because of its complicated relationship with surrounding meninges, major arteries and cranial nerves. This study aims to define the meningeal structures around the anterior clinoid process (ACP) and its surgical implications. Methods: Five dry skulls and 19 cadavers were used in the anatomical study. Cadavers were prepared as transverse, coronal, and sagittal plastinated sections, and the meningeal architecture around the ACP was studied with dissecting and confocal microscopies. The database of meningiomas in one single center was retrospectively reviewed, and the patients with ACMs were collected for clinical analysis. Results: The superior, lateral, medial surfaces, and the tip of ACP were covered by different layers and types of meninges. The ACMs were classified into four main types based on the sites of origin, possible extending pathways following meningeal dura. In the retrospective cohort of 131 ACMs, the percentage of types I, IIa, IIb, III, and IV were 42.0% (55/131), 19.8% (26/131), 9.2% (12/131), 16.8% (22/131), and 12.2% (16/131), respectively. We found that types IIa and I had higher chances for achieving Simpson grade 1-2 resection (92.3 and 85.4%, respectively), followed by type III (54.5%) and type IV (31.3%), while type IIb showed little chance of Simpson grade 1-2 resection. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed ACM classification and tumor size (<3 cm) to be independent risk factors for achieving more extensive resection. Conclusion: The meningeal architecture around the ACP may guide and determine the origin and extension of ACMs. The classification based on the meningeal architecture helps to understand surgical anatomy as well as predicting surgical outcomes.

Early stage detection of Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilm formation using MgZnO dual-gate TFT biosensor.

Early stage detection of biofilm formation is an important aspect of microbial research because once formed, biofilms show serious tolerance to antibiotics in contrast to the free-floating bacteria, which significantly increases the difficulty for clinical treatment of bacterial infections. The early stage detection technology is desired to improve the efficiency of medical treatments. In this work, we present a biosensor consisting of a magnesium zinc oxide (MZO) dual gate thin-film transistor (DGTFT) as the actuator and an MZO nanostructure (MZOnano) array coated conducting pad as the extended sensing gate for the early stage detection of Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) biofilm formation. S. epidermidis bacteria were cultured in vitro on the nanostructure modified sensing pad. Charge transfer occurs between microbial cells and the MZOnano during the initial bacterial adhesion stage. Such electrical signals, which represent the onset of biofilm formation, were dynamically detected by the DGTFT where the top gate electrode was connected to the extended MZOnano sensing pad and the bottom gate was used for biasing the device into the optimum characteristic region for high sensitivity and stable operation. The testing results show that a current change of ~80% is achieved after ~200 min of bacterial culturing. A crystal violet staining-based assay shows that tiny bacterial microcolonies just start to form at 200 min, and that it would take approximately 24 h to form matured biofilms. This technology enables medical professionals to act promptly on bacterial infection before biofilms get fully established.