Custom-Made Piezoelectric Solid Solution Material for Cancer Therapy.

Piezoelectric material-mediated sonodynamic therapy (SDT) has received considerable research interest in cancer therapy. However, the simple applications of conventional piezoelectric materials do not realize the full potential of piezoelectric materials in medicine. Therefore, the energy band structure of a piezoelectric material is modulated in this study to meet the actual requirement for cancer treatment. Herein, an elaborate PEGylated piezoelectric solid solution 0.7BiFeO3 -0.3BaTiO3 nanoparticles (P-BF-BT NPs) is synthesized, and the resultant particles achieve excellent piezoelectric properties and their band structure is tuned via band engineering. The tuned band structure of P-BF-BT NPs is energetically favorable for the synchronous production of superoxide radicals (•O2 - ) and oxygen (O2 ) self-supply via water splitting by the piezoelectric effect. Besides, the P-BF-BT NPs can initiate the Fenton reaction to generate hydroxyl radical (•OH), and thus, chemodynamic therapy (CDT) can be augmented by ultrasound. Detailed in vitro and in vivo research has verified the promising effects of multimodal imaging-guided P-BF-BT NP-mediated synergistic SDT/CDT by the piezo-Fenton process in hypoxic tumor elimination, accompanied by high therapeutic biosafety. The current demonstrates a novel strategy for designing and synthesizing "custom-made" piezoelectric materials for cancer therapy in the future.

Smart Programmable Scalable Dual-Mode Diagnostic Logic Nanoflare Strategy for Dual-Tumor Marker Detection.

Compared with the single-marker detection scheme, the detection of multiple targets in the complex cell and biological environment can obtain more reliable detection results. Herein, we detected miRNA-21 and APE1 in two modes, AND and OR, respectively, based on gold nanoflares and simple logic components. In both modes, DNAzyme and APE1 can get rich fluorescence recovery results by breaking the DNA strands from the gold nanorods (AuNRs) and unquenching under different conditions. In vivo and in vitro experiments suggest that both nanoflares exhibit excellent biocompatibility and make efficient and sensitive judgments on the two targets. This strategy emphasizes the reuse nature of enzymes, and a small amount of target can generate a large amount of fluorescent signal in the logic device, which greatly reduces the detection limit when monitoring low-abundance targets. Since the short-stranded DNA component of the detection device is simple in composition and easy to program its probe sequence, it can be expanded into a detection system for the detection of other sets of related markers, which increases its potential for clinical application.

[Myanmar jadeitite low-temperature metamorphic water-rock reaction: eveidence from microscopic fourier transform infrared spectroscopy].

Weathering & transporting and depositing processes may improve the quality of some natural low-quality jadeite through reaction with surrounding water fluids. But the mechanism of such water-rock reaction has not been known clearly to date. Applying microscopic Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (Micro-FTIR), this paper carried out comparatively in-situ research of jadeites' mineral composition before and after water-rock reaction. The results show that water-rock reaction cannot impact jadeites in their major and minor element composition, but greatly change their water content. Jadeites became richer, with even several times increase, in water content, after experiencing water-rock reaction, and hence show a shift of absorption peak at 3 550 cm(-1) to higher frequency. The mineral crystals of these jadeites showed reglar variation in water content from core to edge, and these jadeites have more water in marginal area than in center area, being opposite to the change in water content in jadeite during high temperature and pressure metamorphic process, hence implying that there are different mechanism and shift direction for H+/OH of jadeite between high pressure metamorphic process and low temperature water-rock reaction. We think that this finding may contribute to understanding the behavior of water in jadeite during metamorphic process and the mechanism of jadeite quality improvement.

Proximity hybridization induced molecular machine for signal-on electrochemical detection of α-synuclein oligomers.

α-synuclein oligomer is a marker of Parkinson's disease. The traditional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for α-synuclein oligomer detection is not conducive to large-scale application due to its time-consuming, high cost and poor stability. Recently, DNA-based biosensors have been increasingly used in the detection of disease markers due to their high sensitivity, simplicity and low cost. In this study, based on the DNAzyme-driven DNA bipedal walking method, we developed a signal-on electrochemical sensor for the detection of α-syn oligomers. Bipedal DNA walkers have a larger walking area and faster walking kinetics, providing higher amplification efficiency compared to conventional DNA walkers. The DNA walker is driven via an Mg2+-dependent DNAzyme, and the binding-induced DNA walker will continuously clamp the MB, resulting in the proliferation of Fc confined near the GE surface. The linear range and limit of detection were 1 fg/mL to 10 pg/mL and 0.57 fg/mL, respectively. The proposed signal-on electrochemical sensing strategy is more selective. It will play a significant role in the sensitive and precise electrochemical analysis of other proteins.

Oxygen vacancy-enhanced catalytic activity of hyaluronic acid covered-biomineralization nanozyme for reactive oxygen species-augmented antitumor therapy.

Insufficient hydrogen peroxide content in tumor cells, unsuitable pH and low efficiency of commonly used metal catalysts severely affect the efficiency of chemodynamic therapy, resulting in unsatisfactory efficacy of chemodynamic therapy alone. For this purpose, we designed a composite nanoplatform capable of targeting tumors and selectively degrading in the tumor microenvironment (TME) to address these issues. In this work, we synthesized Au@Co3O4 nanozyme inspired by crystal defect engineering. The addition of Au determines the formation of oxygen vacancies, accelerates electron transfer, and enhances redox activity, thus significantly enhancing the superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like and catalase (CAT)-like catalytic activities of the nanozyme. Subsequently, we camouflaged the nanozyme using a biomineralized CaCO3 shell to avoid damage to normal tissues by the nanozyme while effectively encapsulating the photosensitizer IR820, and finally the tumor targeting ability of the nanoplatform was enhanced by the modification of hyaluronic acid. Under near-infrared (NIR) light irradiation, the Au@Co3O4@CaCO3/IR820@HA nanoplatform not only visualizes the treatment with multimodal imaging, but also plays a photothermal sensitizing role through various strategies, while enhancing the enzyme catalytic activity, cobalt ion-mediated chemodynamic therapy (CDT) and IR820-mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT), and achieving the synergistic enhancement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation.

[Micro-FTIR mapping tracer for the heterogeneity growth of nitrogen impurities in natural diamond from three localities in China].

The geographic locality determination of diamonds is of great significance in understanding the mantle evolution, restricting the illegal trade of conflict diamonds, etc. In the present article, the in-situ analysis of micro-FTIR surface scan technique was first applied to analyze 14 IaAB natural diamond specimens from China's three commercial localities. According to the FTIR spectra of diamonds, the nitrogen contents were calculated (1616 data points of FTIR) and used for mapping tracer. Th results showed that the nitrogen contents and its aggregation often varied in the process of diamond growth, and the nitrogen contents in initial nucleation stage could be higher or lower than in other stages. It is not an unidirectional variation for nitroge contents in different growth stages, indicating that the carbon and nitrogen had a complex exchange with mantle fluid during the diamond's crystallization course. It was regionally different between the diamonds from the three localities in the frequency distribution of nitrogen contents and NB%/N(T). Micro-FTIR mapping is more intuitive than the method of selecting discontinuous points, and it can trace the heterogeneous growth of nitrogen impurities in natural diamonds consecutively.

Proximity hybridization induced rolling circle amplification for label-free SERS detection of the depression marker human apolipoprotein A4.

A new label-free method was developed for SERS detection of human apolipoprotein A4. Rolling circle amplification (RCA) was used, which could induce the production of AuNPs (poly adenine and adsorption gold nanoparticles). When there were two DNA labeled antibodies and target protein, MB1 (molecular beacon 1) was unfolded and the substrate was modified in the homogeneous solution, and the proximate complex was formed. The unfolded molecular beacon worked as a primer in the hybridization with the RCA template to start RCA, which could produce many long sequences of DNA containing amounts of adenines. The AuNPs were bound with the long-repeated adenine in the RCA product, causing accumulation of AuNPs on the surface of the electrode. It was indicated that the spectral characteristics of adenine at 736 cm-1 strongly dominated the SERS spectrum of DNA. Adenine worked as an internal marker for detecting human apolipoprotein A4 by using label-free SERS method. When the conditions were optimal, the detection of human apolipoprotein A4 was carried out from 10 pg mL-1 to 1000 ng mL-1, and the detection limit was low (4.1 pg mL-1). Meanwhile, the specificity was also excellent because the antibody could specifically bind with the corresponding antigen. In addition, since adenine was dominant in SERS spectra and the affinity between AuNPs and poly adenine was high, the detection procedure could be performed without any sophisticated modification. This method might provide a promising strategy for diagnosis in clinical practice.

Multitarget Reaction Programmable Automatic Diagnosis and Treatment Logic Device.

Accurate diagnosis and precise and effective treatment are currently the two magic weapons for dealing with cancer. However, a single marker is often associated with multiple cellular events, which is not conducive to accurate diagnosis, and overly mild treatment methods often make the treatment effect unsatisfactory. In this paper, we construct a Au/Pd octopus nanoparticle-DNA nanomachine (Au/Pd ONP-DNA nanomachine) as a fully automatic diagnosis and treatment logic system. In this system, multiple DNA components are targeting detection units, Au/Pd ONPs act as carriers, and Au/Pd ONPs with an 808 nm laser is the treatment unit. In order to achieve the purpose of precise treatment, we will detect two secondary markers under the premise of detecting one major tumor marker. When all of the designated targets are detected (the logic system input is (1, 1, 1), and the output is (1, 1)), the 808 nm laser can be programmed to automatically radiate tumors and perform photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy. In vivo and in vitro experiments show that this logic system not only can accurately identify tumor cells but also has considerable therapeutic effects.

[Raman spectra and its application of graphite enclaves in nephrite-jades in Xiuyan, Liaoning].

Xiuyan, Liaoning was an important locality of jade material of the Red Mountain Culture in the Neolithic Age in Chinese history where there are two types of raw material of nephrite jades, namely gravel nephrite jade (Hemo Yu in Chinese) and old nephrite jade (Lao Yu in Chinese). In the present paper, Laser Raman spectrum technique was applied to analyze the graphite enclaves in the nephrite jades of the two types of materials. The results show that the graphite enclaves in the two types of jades have different characteristics of Raman spectra, indicating that they probably were formed under different geological conditions, or originated from different ore-forming periods or were exploited from different section of ore body. Hence, laser Raman spectrum technique could be used as a supplementary measure for nondestructive detection to determine the occurrence of jades.

[Study on the vibrational spectra characterization of synthetic jadeite jade made by General electric Company].

The object of the present study is the synthetic jadeite jade produced by American General Electric Corporation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Laser Raman spectroscopy were used to test its spectral properties in order to examine the feature of this kind of synthetic jadeite jade by vibrational spectroscopy and to figure out the mark for discriminate synthetic jadeite jade from natural jadeite jade. The study shows that GE synthetic jadeite jade is identical with natural jadeite jade in the main on fingerprint region in FTIR; There are clearly differences in the 2 000 -4 000 cm(-1) functional region in FTIR: a group of frequencies at 3 375, 3 471 and 3 614 cm(-1) indicate vibration absorption of O-H. GE synthetic jadeite jade has proven consistent with natural jadeite jade in the laser Raman spectra by a group of sharp scattering peaks at 376, 700, 989 and 1 039 cm(-1). In addition these scattering peaks show an intact crystal shape. The FTIR peaks and Raman spectral peaks shift to higher frequencies showing GE synthetic jadeite jade lacking isomorphism of heavy positive ions.

Depletion of NFBD1/MDC1 Induces Apoptosis in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells Through the p53-ROS-Mitochondrial Pathway.

NFBD1, a signal amplifier of the p53 pathway, is vital for protecting cells from p53-mediated apoptosis and the early phase of DNA damage response under normal culture conditions. Here we investigated its expression in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), and we describe the biological functions of the NFBD1 gene. We found that NFBD1 mRNA and protein were more highly expressed in NPC tissues than in nontumorous tissues. To investigate the function of NFBD1, we created NFBD1-depleted NPC cell lines that exhibited decreased cellular proliferation and colony formation, an increase in their rate of apoptosis, and an enhanced sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents compared with in vitro controls. However, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) and downregulation of p53 expression could partially reverse the apoptosis caused by the loss of NFBD1. Further analysis showed that loss of NFBD1 resulted in increased production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) depending on p53, which subsequently triggered the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. Using a xenograft model in nude mice, we showed that silencing NFBD1 also significantly inhibited tumor growth and led to apoptosis. Taken together, our data suggest that inhibition of NFBD1 in NPC could be therapeutically useful.

[Study on the wax enhancement for the unearthed jade wares by FTIR technique from ancient tombs of Shang-Zhou period in Henglingshan site of Boluo county Guangdong Province].

The ancient tombs of Henglingshang site in boluo county are the most significant graveyard site of Shang-Zhou period in Guangdong province as yet. Based on a series of scientific studies on the jade samples from these tombs, the authors found that there are 2-3 characteristic peaks at 2,960 cm(-1) (quite poor), 2,920 and 2,853 cm(-1) in the infrared spectra. According to the tests and analyses of the infrared spectra of pure waxes and other modern jade wares treated with wax, the authors believe that these unearthed jade wares were enhanced with wax and the ancestors of Lingnan region in Shang-Zhou period (1600B.C.-221 B.C.) probably understood treating jade wares with wax to enhance their appearance.

[A case of vocal cord contact granuloma after vocal cord polyp surgery].

The vocal cord polyp is easy to relapse after surgery, but if the patient has recurrence in a short term, it is necessary to consider it as postoperative vocal cord contact granuloma. If the patients with contact granuloma after surgical treatment had severe impact on the pronunciation, it is necessary to be operated and confirmed by pathology and given the treatment of acid suppression, in order to avoid postoperative recurrence.