Abortive reaction leads to selective adsorbate rotation.

Electron-induced dissociation of a fluorocarbon adsorbate CF3 (ad) at 4.6 K is shown by Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy (STM) to form directed energetic F-atom 'projectiles' on Cu(110). The outcome of a collision between these directed projectiles and stationary co-adsorbed allyl 'target' molecules was found through STM to give rotational excitation of the target allyl, clockwise or anti-clockwise, depending on the chosen collision geometry. Molecular dynamics computation linked the collisional excitation of the allyl target to an 'abortive chemical reaction', in which the approach of the F-projectile stretched an H-C bond lifting the allyl above the surface, facilitating isomerization from 'Across' to 'Along' a Cu row.

Paper/PMMA hybrid device with a microvalve-controlled design for exosome isolation and analysis.

This study proposes a paper/PMMA hybrid device designed to isolate exosomes and extract exosomal miRNA, followed by quantitative analysis. It aims to provide simplified and convenient sample preparation for potential point-of-care testing (POCT) processes. In contrast to previous work conducted by our research team, which focused on isolating exosomes and exosomal nucleic acids, this study introduces a novel approach by integrating paper and a PMMA mold with a microvalve controlled design. This innovative method enables the entire process to be performed on paper. The pressure on the paper could be adjusted by turning the screw upon the valve to change the pore size and permeability of the paper, which achieved the effect of controlling the flow rate of fluids. The paper was designed to have an immunoaffinity area for capturing exosomes and a sol-gel silica coating area for extracting miRNA. The paper-based ELISA (p-ELISA) exhibited a limit of detection and a limit of quantitation of 6 × 107 and 5.4 × 108 particles/mL, respectively, for exosome measurement. The reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) revealed that the Ct (threshold cycle) value for quantifying the miR-21 in the miRNAs extracted by the proposed paper/PMMA hybrid device was comparable to the Ct value of the commercial extraction kit. The developed paper/PMMA hybrid device with a microvalve-controlled design should be incorporated into the POCT system to extract exosomal miRNAs.

Fabry-Pérot Phonon Polaritons in Boron Nitride Nanotube Resonators.

Phonon polaritons (PhPs) offer extreme confinement of optical fields and strong dispersion in the mid-infrared spectral region. To study the propagation and interference of PhPs in a 1-D system, we employ scattering scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM), analytical, and computational techniques to describe the resonance behavior observed in boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs). In BNNTs of a sufficiently small length, the reflected standing waves from both terminals strongly interfere with one another, leading to large constructive enhancement at select wavelengths through the Fabry-Pérot interference. This 1-D nanoresonant behavior illustrates methods to increase and localize field strength at positions on a BNNT nanotube.

Isoamylamine Induces B16-F1 Melanoma Cell Autophagy by Upregulating the 5' Adenosine Monophosphate-Activated Protein Pathway.

Isoamylamine (IA) is an aliphatic monoamine molecule present in cheese, eggs, and wine. It belongs to the family of polyamines and also can be synthesized endogenously. It has been known that regulation of polyamines in cells is related to cell cycle and tumor formation. Malignant melanoma is difficult to treat and easily resistant to chemotherapy/radiotherapy through autophagy. In this study, we aim to clarify whether IA has a growth control effect on melanoma tumor cells and the regulatory mechanism. We treated B16-F1 melanoma cells with IA at concentrations of 0, 200, 400, and 600 ppm for 24 h. The 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was checked for cell viability and results showed that IA has an inhibitory effect on B16-F1 melanoma cells. The signaling molecules, which included Raf/MEK/ERK, were activated, while MSK1 and protein kinase B (AKT) were suppressed. Autophagy was also confirmed to be induced by IA. The acridine orange stain-positive cells were increased and BECN-1/LC3 upregulated. The data also showed that the autophagy regulatory molecule, 5'-adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), was induced after IA treatment, so we used dorsomorphin to inhibit AMPK and found that it could suppress autophagy. In conclusion, IA has an effect of inducing autophagy in B16-F1 cells and it is regulated through AMPK.