Highly luminescent nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon dots for Sn2+ and S2- sensing and dual-mode anti-counterfeiting.

The preparation of nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon dots (N, S-CDs) with highly bright orange-red fluorescence is reported through a facile solvothermal approach with naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride as starting material. The N, S-CDs exhibited superior properties, including intense long-wavelength emission with a narrow full width at half maxima (FWHM) of 33 nm, high fluorescence quantum yield (QY) of 60.5% in aqueous solution, excitation-independent emission behavior, and excellent water dispersibility. In addition, sulfide ions (S2-) could selectively recover the fluorescence of N, S-CDs quenched by Sn2+. The selective experiment suggested that the N, S-CDs/Sn2+ complex could be used as a fluorescence-enhancement sensor for sulfide ions (S2-), with the linear range of 5-50 µM and the LOD of 0.35 µM. The practicality and feasibility of this sensor for the determination of sulfide ions in tap and lake water were verified with good recoveries. Furthermore, because of their highly bright fluorescence and strong water solubility, the N, S-CDs could be easily fabricated into fluorescent ink and transparent films, demonstrating the promising application in anti-counterfeiting. Therefore, the designed N, S-CDs exhibited the advantages of facile preparation, intense fluorescence, high stability, easy processing, and selective fluorescence change for specific analytes, which showed high potential in fluorescence detection and anti-counterfeiting.

Adult extrarenal teratoid Wilms' tumor: A case report and review of literature.

ABSTRACT: A 19-year-old woman presented with painless lower abdominal discomfort and a cystic-solid mass measuring 15.9 cm on the right ovary. She subsequently underwent laparoscopic right ovarian cystectomy. Microscopic examination of the mass showed the typical morphological features of Wilms' tumor and the predominance of teratoid elements constituting more than 50% of the tumor. To date, few cases of extrarenal teratoid Wilms' tumor (TWTs) in adults have been reported in the literature. The case presented in the present is the third reported case of adult extrarenal TWT occurring in ovary.

Iron porphyrin-based porous organic polymer with high peroxidase-like activity as colorimetric sensor for glutathione and ascorbic acid assay.

A new iron porphyrin-based organic polymer (Fe-POP) was synthesized through the William ether reaction. The as-prepared Fe-POP presented high chemical stability, wide pore distribution, high iron content, and strong affinity with 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), which contributed to its excellent peroxidase-mimicking performance. In the presence of H2O2, Fe-POP could catalyze the transparent TMB into blue ox-TMB, which could be easily distinguished by the naked eyes. Moreover, glutathione (GSH) and ascorbic acid (AA) could convert blue ox-TMB into colorless TMB due to the inhibitory effect of GSH/AA to the catalytic oxidation of TMB. Based on this phenomenon, a rapid and sensitive colorimetric method for the assay of H2O2, GSH, and AA was developed using Fe-POP as sensor. The detection limits of H2O2, GSH, and AA  were 1.37, 0.44, and 0.33 µM, respectively. Finally, the colorimetric method based on Fe-POP was used to evaluate the GSH and AA content in real samples, which provided the guidance for GSH and AA supplements in our daily diet, suggesting the significant potential of Fe-POP in practical applications.

Non-SMC condensin I complex subunit H promotes the malignant progression and cisplatin resistance of breast cancer MCF-7 cells.

Breast cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed types of cancer worldwide. The present study aimed to investigate the role and underlying regulatory mechanism of non-structural maintenance of chromosome condensin I complex subunit H (NCAPH) in the malignant progression and cisplatin (DDP) resistance of breast cancer cells. Therefore, the mRNA and protein expression levels of NCAPH were first determined in breast cancer cells via reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and western blotting. Furthermore, following transfection of NCAPH interference plasmids, the effect of NCAPH knockdown on cell proliferation, migration, invasion were also assessed using CCK-8, wound healing and Transwell assays. Apoptosis was evaluated using TUNEL assay, and western blotting was performed in breast cancer cells and DDP-resistant breast cancer cells. The association between NCAPH and its downstream target, aurora kinase B (AURKB), was verified using bioinformatic analysis and the co-immunoprecipitation assay. Furthermore, the effect of AURKB overexpression on the aforementioned processes and the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway were also assessed. The results demonstrated that NCAPH mRNA and protein expression levels were significantly upregulated in breast cancer cells, whereas NCAPH knockdown significantly attenuated the proliferation, migration and invasion of breast cancer cells. NCAPH silencing also exacerbated the apoptosis of DDP-resistant breast cancer cells. AURKB mRNA and protein expression levels were also significantly upregulated in MCF-7 cells, whereas its overexpression significantly reversed the effects of NCAPH knockdown on breast cancer cells and the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. Overall, NCAPH knockdown significantly downregulated AURKB mRNA and protein expression levels to block the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway and inhibited breast cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and aggravate DDP-resistant breast cancer cell apoptosis, indicating that NCAPH may serve as a promising therapeutic target for breast cancer.

Red-Emissive Sulfur-Doped Carbon Dots for Selective and Sensitive Detection of Mercury (II) Ion and Glutathione.

Carbon dots (CDs) show great potential in bioimaging and biosensing because of their good biocompatibility and excellent optical properties. However, CDs with intense red emissions for sensitive and selective detection are rarely reported. Herein, we prepared the red-emissive carbon dots (RCDs) through a facile hydrothermal method using tetra (4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin (TCPP) and thiourea as starting materials. The obtained RCDs were characterized by TEM, XRD, and XPS. RCDs exhibited high water solubility and strong red emission (λem = 650 nm), with the fluorescence quantum yield as high as 26.7%, which was greatly higher than that of TCPP. Moreover, the as-prepared RCDs could be acted as a highly selective and sensitive probe for the detection of Hg2+ and glutathione (GSH) through the fluorometric titration method. The detection limits of Hg2+ and GSH were calculated to be 1.73 and 1.6 nM, respectively. The cellular experiments demonstrated the good biocompatibility of RCDs and their feasibility in bioimaging. Thus, this work provided a simple strategy to design and synthesize the highly red-emissive carbon dots, which showed promising application in biological and environmental assays.

A new species of the genus Achalinus (Squamata: Xenodermatidae) from southeastern Yunnan Province, China.

A new species of the xenodermatid snake genus Achalinus Peters, 1869 is described from Yunnan Province, Southwest China, based on a single male specimen. The new species is assigned to the genus Achalinus on the basis of absence of preocular and postocular, subcaudals arranged in single row, and results of phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial DNA CO1 sequence data. Achalinus pingbianensis sp. nov. differs from its congeners by the combination of following morphological characters: absence of a loreal, internasals subequal to that between prefrontals and dorsal scales strongly keeled, 23 rows throughout. Currently, 13 species are in the genus Achalinus, further taxonomical and phylogenetic studies based on more extensive samples and more markers will help understand the cryptic diversity and clarify their interspecific relationships.

Prevalence and distribution of human papillomavirus genotypes among women with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion and invasive cervical cancer in Ganzhou, China.

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection can lead to the development of cervical cancer. This study assessed the genotype distribution of HPV of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) and invasive cervical cancer (ICC) in Ganzhou population. METHODS: A total of 935 females who got HPV testing from January 2016 to July 2018 in the maternal and child health hospital of Ganzhou were enrolled in the study, including 806 HSIL and 129 ICC. HPV detection and genotyping were tested by HPV Geno-Array test kit. RESULTS: The overall HPV-positive rate was 74.0% in Ganzhou. Among the HSIL and ICC patients, the positive rates of HPV detection were 75.6% and 64.3%. Among the HSIL individuals, the most prevalent hr-HPV genotype was HPV 16. And the 4 common subtypes in decreasing order were HPV 52, 58, 33, and 18. Of the ICC patients, the most frequently hr-HPV subtype was HPV 16 followed by 18, 52, 58, and 59. Among the squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) patients, for hr-HPV genotypes, HPV 16, 18, 52, 58, and 59 were five most common subtypes. In patients with adenocarcinoma (ADC), the most common hr-HPV genotype was HPV 18, followed by HPV 16, 52, 56, 68, 73. And, we found U-shaped and S-shaped curves in the HPV distribution of different age groups. CONCLUSION: The prevalence and distribution of HPV genotypes in Ganzhou differed from other regions of China and Western countries. These results can serve as valuable reference for HPV vaccination programs for Ganzhou women.