Hetero-Polycrystalline Membranes with Narrow and Rigid Pores for Molecular Sieving.

Molecular sieving membranes have great potential for energy-saving separations, but they suffer from permeability-selectivity trade-off limitation. In this report, simultaneous hetero-crystallization and hetero-linker coordination of metal-organic framework (MOF) hollow fiber membranes through one-pot synthesis for precise gas separation is reported. It is found that the hetero-polycrystalline membranes consist of 2D and 3D MOF phases and are defect-free and roughly orientated, hetero-linker exchange of 3D phase by larger geometric ones can narrow transport pathway, and framework rigidification occurs and thus fixes MOF channels. The prepared membranes are robust and reproducible, and exhibit substantially improved performance, with H2 /CO2 , H2 /N2 , and H2 /CH4 selectivities up to 361, 482, and 541, respectively, accompanied by high H2 permeance over 1100 gas permeation units, which can easily outclass trade-off upper bounds of state-of-the-art membranes.

Promoting cell growth for bio-chemicals production via boosting the synthesis of L/D-alanine and D-alanyl-D-alanine in Bacillus licheniformis.

Metabolic engineering is a substantial approach for escalating the production of biochemical products. Cell biomass is lowered by system constraints and toxication carried on by the aggregation of metabolites that serve as inhibitors of product synthesis. In order to increase the production of biochemical products, it is important to trace the relationship between alanine metabolism and biomass. According to our investigation, the appropriate concentration of additional L/D-alanine (0.1 g/L) raised the cell biomass (OD600) in Bacillus licheniformis in contrast to the control strain. Remarkably, it was also determined that high levels of intracellular L/D-alanine and D-alanyl-D-alanine were induced by the overexpression of the ald, dal, and ddl genes to accelerate cell proliferation. Our findings clearly revealed that 0.2 g/L of L-alanine and D-alanine substantially elevated the titer of poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) by 14.89% and 6.19%, correspondingly. And the levels of γ-PGA titer were hastened by the overexpression of the ald, dal, and ddl genes by 19.72%, 15.91%, and 16.64%, respectively. Furthermore, overexpression of ald, dal, and ddl genes decreased the by-products (acetoin, 2,3-butanediol, acetic acid and lactic acid) formation by about 14.10%, 8.77%, and 8.84% for augmenting the γ-PGA production. Our results also demonstrated that overexpression of ald gene amplified the production of lichenysin, pulcherrimin and nattokinase by about 18.71%, 19.82% and 21.49%, respectively. This work delineated the importance of the L/D-alanine and D-alanyl-D-alanine synthesis to the cell growth and the high production of bio-products, and provided an effective strategy for producing bio-products.

Risk factors for foot ulcer recurrence in patients with comorbid diabetic foot osteomyelitis and diabetic nephropathy: A 3-year follow-up study.

This study aimed to explore the risk factors for foot ulcer recurrence in patients with comorbid diabetic foot osteomyelitis (DFO) and diabetic nephropathy (DN). This is a prospective cohort study. Between May 2018 and May 2021, we selected 120 inpatients with comorbid severe diabetic foot infection (PEDIS Grade 3 or above) and DN for inclusion in our study. All cases were followed up for 36 months. The study outcomes were whether foot ulcer recurred and the time to recurrence. The risk factors of ulcer recurrence were analysed by comparing the data of the three groups. According to the recurrence of foot ulcer, the participants were divided into three groups: Group A (no foot ulcer recurrence, n = 89), Group B (foot ulcer recurrence within 12-36 months, n = 19) and Group C (foot ulcer recurrence within 6-12 months, n = 12). The multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that urine albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) (HR: 1.008, 95% CI: 1.005-1.011, P < .001) and vibration perception threshold (VPT) (HR: 1.064, 95% CI: 1.032-1.096, P < .001) were identified as independent risk factors. Kaplan-Meier curves showed a significant positive association between UACR or VPT and the risk of foot ulcer recurrence (log rank, all P < .05). Areas under the ROC curves for UACR, VPT and the combination of UACR and VPT were 0.802, 0.799 and 0.842, respectively. The best cut-off values of UACR and VPT were 281.51 mg/g and 25.12 V, respectively. In summary, elevated UACR and VPT were independent risk factors. The best clinical cut-off values of UACR and VPT for prediction of foot ulcer recurrence were 281.51 mg/g and 25.12 V, respectively. Besides, our results suggested that microcirculation disorders rather than macrovascular complications play a major role in the recurrence of foot ulcer in patients with comorbid DFO and DN.

Metformin pre-treatment of stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth promotes migration and angiogenesis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells for tissue engineering.

BACKGROUND AIMS: Stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) play a significant role in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Angiogenesis is crucial in tissue regeneration and a primary target of regenerative medicine. As a first-line anti-diabetic drug, metformin demonstrates numerous valuable impacts on stem cells. This study aimed to explore metformin's impact and mechanism of action on SHED-mediated angiogenesis. METHODS: First, cell proliferation; flow cytometry; osteogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic induction; and proteomics analyses were conducted to explore the role of metformin in SHED. Subsequently, migration and tube formation assays were used to evaluate chemotaxis and angiogenesis enhancement by SHED pre-treated with metformin under co-culture conditions in vitro, and relative messenger RNA expression levels were determined by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Finally, nude mice were used for in vivo tube formation assay, and sections were analyzed through immunohistochemistry staining with anti-human CD31 antibody. RESULTS: Metformin significantly promoted SHED proliferation as well as osteogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic differentiation. Proteomics showed that metformin significantly upregulated 124 differentially abundant proteins involved in intracellular processes, including various proteins involved in cell migration and angiogenesis, such as MAPK1. The co-culture system demonstrated that SHED pre-treated with metformin significantly improved the migration and angiogenesis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells. In addition, SHED pre-treated with metformin possessed greater ability to promote angiogenesis in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, the authors' findings illustrate metformin's mechanism of action on SHED and confirm that SHED pre-treated with metformin exhibits a strong capacity for promoting angiogenesis. This helps in promoting the application of dental pulp-derived stem cells pre-treated with metformin in regeneration engineering.

Strong Electrochemiluminescence from MOF Accelerator Enriched Quantum Dots for Enhanced Sensing of Trace cTnI.

The development of a sensitive and practical electrochemiluminescence (ECL) bioassay relies on the use of ECL signal tags whose signal intensity is high and stable. In this work, strong ECL emission was achieved from metal organic framework (MOF) accelerator enriched quantum dots (CdTe), which were applied as an efficient ECL signal tag for trace biomarker detection. It is particularly noteworthy that a novel mechanism to drastically enhance the ECL intensity of CdTe is established because isoreticular metal organic framework-3 (IRMOF-3) with 2-amino terephthalic acid (2-NH2-BDC) as the organic ligand not only allows for loading a large amount of CdTe via the encapsulating effect and internal/external decoration but also functions as a novel coreactant accelerator for promoting the conversion of coreactant S2O82- into the sulfate radical anion (SO4•-), further boosting the ECL emission of CdTe. On the basis of the simple sandwich immunoreaction approach, cardiac troponin-I antigen (cTnI), a kind of biomarker related with myocardial infarction, was chosen as a detection model using an IRMOF-3-enriched CdTe labeled antibody as the signal probe. This immunosensor demonstrated desirable assay performance for cTnI with a wide response range from 1.1 fg mL-1 to 11 ng mL-1 and a very low detection limit (0.46 fg mL-1). This suggested that the IRMOF-3-enriched CdTe nanocomposite strategy can integrate the coreactant accelerator and luminophore to significantly enhance the ECL intensity and stability, providing a direction for promising ECL tag preparation with broad applications.

Electrochemiluminescent carbon dot-based determination of microRNA-21 by using a hemin/G-wire supramolecular nanostructure as co-reaction accelerator.

An efficient coreaction accelerator scheme is introduced in an electrochemiluminescence (ECL) based method for sensitive determination of microRNA-21. It is making use of a domino type hemin/G-wire supramolecular DNA nanostructure (where "G-wire" represents a guanine-rich DNA structure) without a base pairing dependence. A glassy carbon electrode was modified with carbon dots (prepared from fullerene) and TiO2 nanoneedles. In the first step, a first hairpin 1 (H1) binds to microRNA-21 to form the hybridized complex in solution. This is followed by a T7 exonuclease (T7 Exo)-assisted target recycling to obtain a simulated target which can unfold hairpin 2 (H2) to form a double-stranded structure. After cleavage by T7 Exo, the G-rich sequences in H2 re-fold into G-quadruplexes on the electrode to form hemin/G-wire supramolecular nanostructure with the strand 1 (S1, a custom-made G-rich sequence) and hemin. As a result, the hemin/G-wire catalyzes the reaction of peroxothiosulfate that generates ECL. Thus, the signal is strongly enhanced. The method allows for the determination of microRNA-21 with a detection limit as low as 0.1 fM. It is conceived to represent a valuable tool in cancer research. Graphical abstract The hemin/G-wire supramolecular nanostructures assembled on a carbon dot (CD)-based glassy carbon electrode (GCE), thereby achieving electrochemiluminescence (ECL) signal amplification of the CD/S2O82- system and sensitive detection of microRNA-21.

Electrochemiluminescence of Supramolecular Nanorods and Their Application in the "On-Off-On" Detection of Copper Ions.

In this work, an "on-off-on" switch system has been successfully applied through the construction of an electrochemiluminscent biosensor for copper ion (Cu(2+) ) detection based on a new electrochemiluminescence (ECL) emitter of supramolecular nanorods, which was achieved through supramolecular interactions between 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic acid (PTCA) and aniline. The initial "signal-on" state with strong and stable ECL emission was obtained by use of the supramolecular nanorods with a new signal amplification strategy involving a co-reaction accelerator. In addition, ECL quencher probes (Fc-NH2 /Cu-Sub/nano-Au) were fabricated by immobilizing aminoferrocene (Fc-NH2 ) on Cu-substrate strand modified Au nanoparticles. The quencher probes were hybridized with the immobilized Cu-enzyme strand to form Cu(2+) -specific DNAzyme. Similarly, the "signal-off" state was obtained by the high quenching effect of Fc-NH2 on the ECL of the excited-state PTCA ((1) PTCA*). As expected, the second "switch-on" state could achieved by incubating with the target Cu(2+) , owing to the Cu(2+) -specific DNAzyme, which was irreversibly cleaved, resulting in the release of the quencher probes from the sensor interface. Herein, on the basis of the ECL intensity changes (ΔIECL ) before and after incubating with the target Cu(2+) , the prepared Cu(2+) -specific DNAzyme-based biosensor was used for the determination of Cu(2+) concentrations with high sensitivity, excellent selectivity, and good regeneration.

[Fuzheng Huayu recipe promotes the fenestration of capillarization in liver sinusoidal endothelial cells].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of Fuzheng Huayu (FZHY) recipe on the fenestration of capillarization in liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs).
 METHODS: Ten Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were fed with 0.46 g/kg FZHY powder by intragastric administration. Two hours later, a second gavage were given to the rats. The serum from rat heart at 1 hour after second gavage was collected (FZHY group, n=10). Another ten SD rats was administrated with distilled water through the same process and served as the control (control group, n=10). The serum from both groups were separately diluted with Dulbecco minimum essential medium (DMEM) for 10% and served as the culture medium for LSECs. At the different conditions, the vWF and CD31 expressions were detected by immunocytochemistry and Western blot, while the changes of LSECs fenestrae structure were observed under scanning electron microscopy.
 RESULTS: 1) Immunocytochemistry and Western blot showed that the vWF and CD31 protein levels were lower in LSECs in the FZHY group than those in the control group. The gray levels of vWF and CD31 protein were 0.548±0.020 and 0.262±0.010 in the FZHY group, and 0.845±0.090 and 0.383±0.010 in the control group respectively, with statistical significant difference (t=5.18, 9.61, both P<0.05). 2) The results from scanning electron microscopy showed that the fenestration of LSECs was closed and almost lost in the control group, but many fenestra appeared in the LSECs in the FZHY group.
 CONCLUSION: FZHY recipe can suppress the expression of vWF and CD31, increase the fenestrae on the LSECs surface and reverse the capillarization of LSECs.

GPX4 inhibits apoptosis of thyroid cancer cells through regulating the FKBP8/Bcl-2 axis.

GPX4 has attracted much attention as a key molecule of cell ferroptosis, but its role in cell apoptosis is rarely reported, and its role in apoptosis of thyroid cancer (TC) cell has not been reported. The analysis of TCGA database showed that both GPX4 and FKBP8 were highly expressed in TC tumor tissues; The expression of GPX4 and FKBP8 were positively correlated. The immunohistochemical analysis further confirmed that GPX4 and FKBP8 were highly expressed in TC tumor tissues. In addition, the high expression of GPX4 and FKBP8 were both significantly correlated with the poor prognosis of TC. Silencing GPX4 significantly inhibited the proliferation, induced apoptosis of TC cells, and reduced tumor growth in mice. The co-immunoprecipitation assay revealed a physical interaction between GPX4 and FKBP8 observed in the TC cells. Knockdown of FKBP8 significantly inhibited the proliferation and induced apoptosis of TC cells. Rescue experiments suggested that knockdown of FKBP8 could reverse the strengthens of cell proliferation and apoptosis and the higher expression of FKBP8 and Bcl-2 caused by overexpression of GPX4. Our results suggest that the GPX4/FKBP8/Bcl-2 axis promotes TC development by inhibiting TC cell apoptosis, which provides potential molecular targets for TC therapeutic strategies.

[Diagnostic implications of atypical squamous cells of unknown significance with abnormal DNA ploidy for early cervical lesions].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical significance of atypical squamous cells of unknown significance (ASCUS) with abnormal DNA ploidy in the early diagnosis of cervical lesions. METHODS: Eight thousand four hundred and forty-eight patients were included in this study and all had DNA quantitative analysis and cervical liquid-based cytology. Among 1041 cases with DNA aneuploidy and/or abnormal cervical liquid-based cytology and additional cervical biopsy, histological review was performed in 247 ASCUS cases with abnormal DNA ploidy. RESULTS: (1) Among 8448 cases, 7877 were normal or benign, 426 were ASCUS, 45 were ASC-H, 55 were LSIL and 22 were HSIL by TBS diagnosis. The presence of 1-2 abnormal DNA ploidy cells was detected in 15.3% (65/426) of ASCUS, 11.1% (5/45) of ASC-H, 9.1% (5/55) of LSIL, and 0 (0/22) of HSIL. The presence of ≥ 3 abnormal DNA ploidy cells was detected in 39.0% (166/426) of ASCUS, 75.6% (34/45) of ASC-H, 76.4% (42/55) of LSIL, and 95.5% (21/22) of HSIL. (2) A total of 67 cases of CIN 2, CIN 3 or cancers were found in 247 patients with ASCUS by colposcopy biopsies, of which 13.9% (5/36) had 1-2 abnormal DNA ploidy cells, 45.5% (56/123) had ≥ 3 abnormal DNA ploidy cells and 6.8% (6/88) had normal DNA polidy. ASCUS with 1-2 abnormal DNA ploidy cells and with ≥ 3 abnormal DNA ploidy cells were compared. The difference was statistically significant (χ(2) = 11.79, P < 0.01). But the difference between ASCUS with 1-2 abnormal DNA ploidy cells and normal DNA ploidy had no statistical significance (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: ASCUS with ≥ 3 abnormal DNA ploidy cells has higher risk for developing CIN 2, CIN 3 or invasive carcinoma. The application of DNA quantitative analysis and cervical liquid-based cytology test can help in guiding clinical follow-up and treatment options in patients with ASCUS.

Sparganosis of a thoracic vertebra misdiagnosed as bone metastasis from lung cancer.

Sparganosis is a rare parasitic infection caused by plerocercoid tapeworm larvae. We described a case of a 27-year-old man presenting with numbness in both legs and masses in the right lung and spine, initially thought to have spinal metastasis from lung cancer. However, after pathological and parasitological examinations, the patient was found to have spinal sparganosis, likely due to a history of consuming raw frogs. The patient was successfully treated with praziquantel, resulting in the recovery of muscle strength in his legs. This case highlights the importance of considering spinal sparganosis as a differential diagnosis in patients with spinal masses, especially those with a history of consuming raw or undercooked frogs. Accurate diagnosis and early treatment are crucial for managing this infection.

Electrical Contact Performance of Cu Alloy under Vibration Condition and Acetal Glue Environment.

In view of the serious sliding electrical contact performance caused by external vibration and environmental contaminant, a study on the tribological characteristic and contact resistance of Cu alloy was conducted using a self-developed micro-load reciprocating electric contact device. Various glue concentrations (0%, 10%, 30%, and 50%) were prepared with anhydrous ethanol and deposited on the surface of a pure copper block via the deposition method. An external vibration source was installed on the sliding module to achieve vertical vibration. The results indicate that the final contact resistance and coefficient of friction (COF) in direct metal contact are about 0.01 Ω and 0.3, respectively. At this time, the wear volume is 2 to 3 orders of magnitude higher than the condition with glue residual. As glue concentration is above 10%, residual glue on the surface of Cu alloy hinders efficient contact between friction pairs, resulting in higher contact resistance. Glue exhibits lubrication, anti-wear, and insulation properties. External vibration causes friction pairs to briefly separate, leading to a lower glue removal capacity than that under non-vibration conditions. The contact resistance with glue addition under vibration conditions is higher than that under non-vibration conditions at 3 × 104 cycles. The dominant oxide product is CuO, which has a limited effect on contact resistance.

Selectively Metalizable Low-Temperature Cofired Ceramic for Three-Dimensional Electronics via Hybrid Additive Manufacturing.

With increasing interest in the rapid development of customized ceramic electronics, hybrid additive manufacturing (HAM) technology has become a competent alternative to traditional solutions such as printed circuit boards and cofired ceramic technology. Herein, the novel HAM technology is proposed by combining a dispensing three-dimensional (3D) printing process and selectively laser-activated electroless plating for fabricating 3D fully functional ceramic electronic products. An appropriative 3D-printable and metalizable low-temperature cofired ceramic slurry is developed to build the green body of ceramic electronics. After the debinding and sintering process, the 3D ceramic structure can be selectively laser-activated and then electrolessly plated to achieve electronic functionality. The thickness of the plated copper layer approaches 10 µm after 4 h of plating, and the electrical conductivity is 5.5 × 107 S m-1, which is close to pure copper (5.8 × 107 S m-1). To reduce the surface roughness of the laser-activated ceramic surface and thereby enhance the conductivity of the copper layer, the laser parameters are optimized as a 1250 mm s-1 scan speed, a 0.4 W laser power, and a 20 kHz laser-spot frequency. A high-power 3D light-emitting diode circuit board with an internal cooling channel is successfully developed to prove the feasibility of this HAM technology for customizing fully functional 3D conformal ceramic electronics.

Construction of a prognostic assessment model for colon cancer patients based on immune-related genes and exploration of related immune characteristics.

Objectives: To establish a novel risk score model that could predict the survival and immune response of patients with colon cancer. Methods: We used The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database to get mRNA expression profile data, corresponding clinical information and somatic mutation data of patients with colon cancer. Limma R software package and univariate Cox regression were performed to screen out immune-related prognostic genes. GO (Gene ontology) and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) were used for gene function enrichment analysis. The risk scoring model was established by Lasso regression and multivariate Cox regression. CIBERSORT was conducted to estimate 22 types of tumor-infiltrating immune cells and immune cell functions in tumors. Correlation analysis was used to demonstrate the relationship between the risk score and immune escape potential. Results: 679 immune-related genes were selected from 7846 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). GO and KEGG analysis found that immune-related DEGs were mainly enriched in immune response, complement activation, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction and so on. Finally, we established a 3 immune-related genes risk scoring model, which was the accurate independent predictor of overall survival (OS) in colon cancer. Correlation analysis indicated that there were significant differences in T cell exclusion potential in low-risk and high-risk groups. Conclusion: The immune-related gene risk scoring model could contribute to predicting the clinical outcome of patients with colon cancer.

Clinical retrospective study on the expression of the PD-L1 molecule in sporadic colorectal cancer and its correlation with K-ras gene mutations in Chinese patients.

OBJECTIVE: To detect the expression of PD-L1 and K-ras gene status in colorectal cancer tissues and analyze the relationship between PD-L1 expression and the clinicopathological features and K-ras gene status in colorectal cancer. METHODS: Two hundred fifty colorectal cancer tissues were collected from the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University. The normal intestinal mucosal tissues of 20 patients were randomly selected for inclusion in the control group. PD-L1 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry. K-ras gene mutation in colorectal cancer tissues was detected by sequencing. The clinical significance of PD-L1 expression and relationship between PD-L1 expression and K-ras gene mutation were analyzed. RESULTS: The immunohistochemistry assay showed that PD-L1 was highly expressed in colorectal cancer. The positive expression of PD-L1 was increased with lymph node metastasis and high TNM stage. The 5-year survival rate of PD-L1-positive patients was significantly lower than that of PD-L1-negative patients. The K-ras gene mutation rate was 35.6%, and the main mutation site was in codon 12. The positive PD-L1 expression rate in patients with K-ras gene mutations was significantly higher than that in patients with wild-type K-ras gene mutations. CONCLUSION: PD-L1 is highly expressed in colorectal cancer, and its expression is related to metastasis and tumor stage. PD-L1 expression is closely related to K-ras gene mutation, and the K-ras gene status may affect PD-L1 expression. TRIAL REGISTRATION: retrospectively registered.

HMGB1 Inhibits HNF1A to Modulate Liver Fibrogenesis via p65/miR-146b Signaling.

High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is essential for the pathogenesis of liver injury and liver fibrosis. We previously revealed that miR-146b promotes hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) activation and proliferation. Nevertheless, the potential mechanisms are still unknown. Herein, HMGB1 increased HSCs proliferation and COL1A1 and α-SMA protein levels. However, the knockdown of miR-146b inhibited HSCs proliferation and COL1A1 and α-SMA protein levels induced via HMGB1 treatment. miR-146b was upregulated by HMGB1 and miR-146b targeted hepatocyte nuclear factor 1A (HNF1A) 3'-untranslated region (3'UTR) to modulate its expression negatively. Further, we confirmed that HMGB1 might elicit miR-146b expression via p65 within HSCs. Knockdown or block of HMGB1 relieved the CCl4-induced liver fibrosis. In fibrotic liver tissues, miR-146b expression was positively correlated with p65 mRNA, but HNF1A mRNA was inversely correlated with p65, and miR-146b expression. In summary, our findings suggest that HMGB1/p65/miR-146b/HNF1A signaling exerts a crucial effect on liver fibrogenesis via the regulation of HSC function.

Electrochemical synthesis of silver nanoclusters on electrochemiluminescent resonance energy transfer amplification platform for Apo-A1 detection.

Herein, a novel electrochemiluminescence resonance energy transfer (ERET) strategy between in situ electrogenerated silver nanoclusters (AgNCs) as the donor and Ru(bpy)2(5-NH2-1,10-phen)Cl2 (Ru(II)) as the acceptor was reported, which was applied for the construction of a ultrasensitive immunosensor for the determination of apolipoprotein-A1 (Apo-A1). Notably, the Ag NCs were in suit electro-reducted on glassy carbon electrode (GCE) based on a simple, fast and controllable electrochemical technique, which acted as not only biocompatible ECL emitters, but also protein immobilization platform via Ag-N or Ag-S bond. Subsequently, the acceptor probe was constructed by modifying Ru(II) and secondary antibody on the nanocarriers of carboxyl-functionalized MWCNTs. Based on the sandwiched immunoassay method, the ECL signals declining at 449nm (Ag NCs) and the increasing at 650nm (Ru(II)) both reflect the amount of Apo-A1. By measuring the ratio of ECL650nm/ECL449nm, we could accurately quantify the concentration of Apo-A1 in range from 1.0pg/mL to 1.0ng/mL and limit of detection down to 0.33pg/mL, which opened up a new research direction for ultrasensitive ECL bioanalysis based metal NCs.

A sensitive electrochemiluminescent aptasensor based on perylene derivatives as a novel co-reaction accelerator for signal amplification.

Herein, a novel signal amplification strategy was designed using the perylene derivative as the co-reaction accelerator toward graphene-CdTe quantum dots (G-CdTe)/S2O8(2-) system to construct a highly sensitive electrochemiluminescent (ECL) aptasensor for thrombin (TB) detection. Firstly, the G-CdTe nanocomposites were prepared by one-step method of in situ generating CdTe quantum dots onto the surface of the graphene oxide by using 3-mercaptopropionic acid as the CdTe QDs stabilizer. Then, a kind of perylene derivative (PTC-Lys), was synthesized by covalently binding L-lysine to 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic acid, which was further immobilized onto the G-CdTe by the π-π* stacking and cross-linked the detection thrombin aptamer (TBA II) to obtain the TBA II/PTC-Lys/G-CdTe signal probes. It is worth pointing out that PTC-Lys acting as an efficient co-reaction accelerator interacted with the co-reactant of S2O8(2-) rather than G-CdTe to promote the more oxidant mediators of SO4(•-), which could further react with G-CdTe to produce excited state species G-CdTe* for emitting light. Compared with the G-CdTe/S2O8(2-) ECL system, our proposed strategy with the introduction of co-reaction accelerator of PTC-Lys exhibited ultra-high sensitivity to quantify the concentration of TB from 1.0×10(-7)nM to 10nM with a detection limit of 34aM.

Target-catalyzed hairpin assembly and intramolecular/intermolecular co-reaction for signal amplified electrochemiluminescent detection of microRNA.

Herein, a new electrochemiluminescence (ECL) strategy for enzyme-free microRNA-21 (miR-21) amplified detection was designed based on target-catalyzed hairpin assembly by combining the signal-amplification capability of both intramolecular and intermolecular ECL co-reaction. In this strategy, two hairpin DNA probes of H1 and H2 were designed as capture probes and detection probes, respectively. To be specific, the capture probes of H1 were immobilized on the multilayer interface of AuNPs and thiosemicarbazide (TSC) assembly on the single-walled carbon nanohorns decorated electrode, while the detection probes of H2 was anchored on the nanocarriers of gold nanoparticals functionalized reduced graphene oxide (Au-rGO) which were tagged with the self-enhanced ruthenium complex (PEI-Ru(ΙΙ)) in advance. Based on the target-catalyzed hairpin assembly, target miR-21 could trigger the hybridization of H1 and H2 to further be released for initiating the next hybridization process to capture a large number of H2 bioconjugates on the sensing surface. Herein, the TSC was used not only as a coupling reagent to attach the AuNPs via Au-S and Au-N bonds but also as a novel intermolecular coreactant to enhance the ECL intensity, and the PEI-Ru(ΙΙ) as emitters exhibited enhanced ECL efficiency. Therefore, a strong ECL signal was achieved by the dual amplification strategies of target recycle and the intramolecular/intermolecular co-reaction of PEI-Ru(ΙΙ) and TSC. The designed protocol provided an ultrasensitive ECL detection of miR-21 down to the sub-femtomolar level with a linear response about 6 orders of magnitude (from 1.0 × 10(-16)M to 1.0 × 10(-11)M) with a relatively low detection limit of 0.03 fM (S/N=3).

Hybrid Decompression Technique Versus Anterior Cervical Corpectomy and Fusion for Treating Multilevel Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy: Which One Is Better?

BACKGROUND: The hybrid decompression technique (corpectomy combined with discectomy) and anterior cervical corpectomy with fusion (ACCF) both provide good neurological recovery and disease stabilization for the treatment of multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). However, no single study has been large enough to determine definitively which one is superior for this condition. OBJECTIVE: A meta-analysis was conducted to compare the clinical efficacy and safety of the hybrid decompression technique versus ACCF for the treatment of multilevel CSM. METHODS: Electronic databases such as PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Library were selected to search for potentially relevant trials up to April 2015 that compared the outcomes of the hybrid technique with ACCF for the treatment of multilevel CSM. Data extraction and quality assessment were performed according to Cochrane Collaboration guidelines. The outcome assessments were duration of surgery, blood loss, Cobb angle of C2-C7, segment angle, fusion rate, Japanese Orthopedics Association score, Neck Disability Index, and complications. The results were expressed as the odds ratio (OR) for dichotomous outcomes and the mean difference (MD) for continuous outcomes with a 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: Five controlled clinical trials published between 2009 and 2013, involving 356 patients (hybrid, 196; ACCF, 160) with 3- or 4-level CSM were retrieved in this study. Overall, there were significant differences between the 2 treatment groups for blood loss (MD = -38.69, 95% CI = -54.62 to -22.76, P < 0.01), fusion rate (OR = 2.56, 95% CI = 1.11 to 5.93, P = 0.03), and complications (OR = 0.25, 95% CI = 0.15 to 0.43, P < 0.01). However, no significant differences were found for duration of surgery (MD = -4.50, 95% CI = -22.902 to 13.91, P = 0.63), Cobb angle of C2-C7 after surgery (MD = 3.32, 95% CI = -3.72 to 10.37, P = 0.35), segment angle after surgery (MD = 2.87, 95% CI = -2.47 to 8.21, P = 0.29), Japanese Orthopedics Association score (MD = -0.07, 95% CI = -0.36 to 0.22, P = 0.62), or Neck Disability Index (MD = -0.86, 95% CI = -3.26 to 1.54, P = 0.48). CONCLUSION: Based on this meta-analysis, both the hybrid technique and ACCF can achieve good results for CSM. However, the hybrid technique is associated with significantly less blood loss, complications, and a higher fusion rate than ACCF.