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A novel surface modification technology for microfluidic disks was developed for multichannel blood-typing detection and irregular antibody screening. The antifouling material, poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGMA), was used to modify the surface of the microfluidic disk for improving its hydrophilicity and blood compatibility. With the modification of PEGMA, the hydrophilicity was sufficiently improved with a 44.5% reduction of water contact angle. The modified microfluidic disk also showed good biocompatibility with a reduction of hemolytic index (from 3.4% to 1.2%) and platelet adhesion (from 4.6 × 104/cm2 to 1.9 × 104/cm2). Furthermore, the PEGMA modification technique conducted on the microfluidic disk achieved successful adjustment of burst frequency for each chamber in the microchannel, allowing a sequential addiction of reagents in the test protocol of manual polybrene (MP) blood typing. Clinical studies showed that the proposed MP microfluidic disk method not only performed at extremely high consistency with the traditional tube method in the identification of ABO/RhD blood types, but also accomplished an effective screening method for detecting irregular antibodies. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that the easily mass-produced MP microfluidic disk exhibited good blood-typing sensitivity and was suitable for clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the development of membranes for leukocytes depletion from model hydrogel interfaces. We first designed hydrogels from 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) and poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMA) to form poly(DMAEMA- co -PEGMA), and [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]trimethylammonium chloride (TMA) and PEGMA to form poly(TMA- co -PEGMA). After characterizing the actual chemical composition of the hydrogels by XPS, efforts were made on studying the effect of the nature and content of amine functional group on the hydrophilicity and the surface charge of the gels. The adhesion of fibrinogen and blood cells was then methodically studied. Both types of gel are positively charged at pH 7.4, promoting fibrinogen and cell attachment. However, for the particular composition of 64% of DMAEMA in the hydrogel, results reveal that the adhesion of leukocytes was more important than that of erythrocytes and thrombocytes, thus suggesting that the control of the surface charge could lead to the selective adhesion of leukocytes. Based on these results, membranes were developed and tested in blood filtration for leukocyte depletion. Results prove that polypropylene membranes modified with a poly(DMAEMA- co -PEGMA) layer, containing 64% of DMAEMA can effectively lead to leukocyte depletion during blood filtration (99.6%) still maintaining a high erythrocytes recovery (98%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A PEGylated 96-well polystyrene (PS)microplate was first introducedfor applications in high-throughput screening for selective bloodtyping to minimize the risks in blood transfusions. Herein, we presenta hemocompatible PS 96-well microplate with adjustable PEGylated hyperbranchbrush coverage prepared by ozone pretreated activation and thermallyinduced surface PEGylation. The grafting properties, hydration capacity,and blood compatibility of the PEGylated hyperbrush immobilized PSsurfaces in human blood were illustrated by the combined chemicaland physical properties of the surface, and the dependence of thespecific absorption of human plasma fibrinogen onto the PEGylatedsurfaces on the grafting density was analyzed by monoclonal antibodies.The surface coverage of PEGylated brushes plays a major role in thebioadhesive properties of modified PS microplates, which in turn controlthe level of agglutination sensitivity in blood typing. The bioadhesiveresistance toward proteins, platelets, and erythrocytes in human wholeblood showed a correlation to the controlled hydration propertiesof the PEGylated hyperbrush-modified surfaces. Therefore, we suggestedthat the surface coverage of PEGylated hyperbrushes on PS surfacescan increase the sensitivity of cross-matching blood agglutinationby up to 16-fold compared to that of the conventional 96-well virginPS due to the regulated biorecognition of hematocrit and antibodiesof the PEGylated hyperbrush-modified surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Tungsten oxide–titania composite thin films with different W/Ti atomic ratios were prepared and characterized in this study. Surface morphology, composition and structure of the composite thin films were investigated by scanning electron microscope with an energy dispersive spectrometer, X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscope analyses. Electrochromic properties including transmittance modulation ability, coloration efficiency and coloring/bleaching response time of these thin films were examined using cyclic voltammetry and double-potential-step experiment with in-situ ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy measurement. The presence of titania in the composite thin film could inhibit the crystal growth of tungsten oxide, which enhances the transmittance modulation ability and coloration efficiency but prolongs the coloring/bleaching response time of the composite thin film. The tungsten oxide–titania composite thin film (WTi-30) with a W/Ti atomic ratio of 78/22 exhibited better transmittance modulation ability (57.5%) and coloration efficiency (49.2cm2/C) than a pristine tungsten trioxide thin film (53.6%, 36.2cm2/C). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a large family of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that play a critical role in innate immunity. TLRs are activated when they recognize microbial associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) of bacteria, viruses, or fungus. In the present study, two TLRs were isolated from the mantle of the hard-shelled mussel (Mytilus coruscus) and designated McTLR2 and McTLR3 based on their sequence similarity and phylogenetic clustering with Crassostrea gigas , CgiTLR2 and CgiTLR3, respectively. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis demonstrated that McTLR2 and McTLR3 were constitutively expressed in many tissues but at low abundance. • Two toll-like receptors (McTLR2 and McTLR3) were identified and characterized in Mytilus coruscus. • The two TLRs had a widespread tissue distribution. • McTLR2 was the most abundant in haemocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limb‐girdle muscular dystrophy recessive 1 (LGMDR1), previously known as LGMD2A, is a specific LGMD caused by a gene mutation encoding the calcium‐dependent neutral cysteine protease calpain‐3 (CAPN3). In our study, the compound heterozygosity with two missense variants c.635 T > C (p.Leu212Pro) and c.2120A > G (p.Asp707Gly) was identified in patients with LGMDR1. However, the pathogenicity of c.635 T > C has not been investigated. To evaluate the effects of this novel likely pathogenic variant to the motor system, the mouse model with c.635 T > C variant was prepared by CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technique. The pathological results revealed that a limited number of inflammatory cells infiltrated the endomyocytes of certain c.635 T > C homozygous mice at 10 months of age. Compared with wild‐type mice, motor function was not significantly impaired in Capn3 c. 635 T > C homozygous mice. Western blot and immunofluorescence assays further indicated that the expression levels of the Capn3 protein in muscle tissues of homozygous mice were similar to those of wild‐type mice. However, the arrangement and ultrastructural alterations of the mitochondria in the muscular tissues of homozygous mice were confirmed by electron microscopy. Subsequently, muscle regeneration of LGMDR1 was simulated using cardiotoxin (CTX) to induce muscle necrosis and regeneration to trigger the injury modification process. The repair of the homozygous mice was significantly worse than that of the control mice at day 15 and day 21 following treatment, the c.635 T > C variant of Capn3 exhibited a significant effect on muscle regeneration of homozygous mice and induced mitochondrial damage. RNA‐sequencing results demonstrated that the expression levels of the mitochondrial‐related functional genes were significantly downregulated in the mutant mice. Taken together, the results of the present study strongly suggested that the LGMDR1 mouse model with a novel c.635 T > C variant in the Capn3 gene was significantly dysfunctional in muscle injury repair via impairment of the mitochondrial function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is an interstitial lung disease with unknown etiology. Oxytropis falcata Bunge (O. falcata) is a 1–35 cm high perennial clustered herb, also known as edaxia, has viscosity and a special smell, and is mainly distributed in the western areas of China. The root of O. falcata has a diameter of 6 mm, is straight and deep, dark red and its stems are shortened, woody and multibranched. O. falcata has heat-clearing, detoxification, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, hemostatic and antitumor activities. Furthermore, O. falcata has excellent anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, and it is one of the three major anti-inflammatory drugs in Tibetan medicine, known as "the king of herbs". Total flavonoids of Oxytropis falcata Bunge (FOFB) were previously extracted, and their pharmacological activities are consistent with those of the whole herb. In this study, FOFB was extracted from O. falcata by ethanol extraction, and the mechanism of FOFB on IPF was verified by in vivo and in vitro experiments. In this study, we aimed to observe the effects of FOFB on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. In in vivo experiments, an IPF rat model was established by bleomycin induction. The rats were treated with FOFB (100, 200, 400 mg kg−1·d−1) for 4 weeks. Masson staining and the expression of TGF-β, p-Smad2, p-Smad3 and Smad7 in the lung tissue of rats were detected. In in vitro experiments, we perfused normal rats with FOFB (100, 200, 400 mg kg−1·d−1) and obtained the corresponding drug-containing serum. The HFL-1 cell model induced by TGF-β1 was used to detect the corresponding indices through intervention with drug-containing serum. The best intervention time for drug-containing serum was detected by the CCK-8 method. Changes in apoptosis, cytoskeleton and rough endoplasmic reticulum structure were detected. Finally, the expression of TGF-β, p-Smad2, p-Smad3 and Smad7 in cells was examined. In vivo, Masson staining indicated that the degree of pulmonary fibrosis increased significantly, the expression of TGF-β, p-smad2 and p-Smad3 increased significantly, and the expression of Smad7 decreased in the model group. We found that the degree of pulmonary fibrosis gradually decreased and that the inhibition of the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway became more obvious with increasing FOFB dose. FOFB (400 mg kg−1·d−1) significantly improved the degree of pulmonary fibrosis in rats. In in vitro experiments, the CCK-8 results showed that 120 h was the best intervention time for drug-containing serum. In the model group, there was no obvious apoptosis or changes in microfilaments and microtubules, the number of rough endoplasmic reticulum increased, and the expression of TGF-β, p-Smad2 and p-Smad3 increased significantly, while the expression of Smad7 decreased significantly. We found that with the increase in drug-containing serum concentration, the apoptosis, cytoskeleton and degree of destruction of the rough endoplasmic reticulum in the HFL-1 cell model also increased, and the inhibition of the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway became more pronounced; the effect of the drug-containing serum administered with FOFB (400 mg kg−1·d−1) was the most significant. The results suggest that FOFB can improve the occurrence and development of IPF. The effect of FOFB on IPF may be mediated by inhibition of the TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway. [Display omitted] • FOFB has good anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrosis and anti-tumor effects. • Pirfenidone and Nintedanib treat IPF with high side effects. • FOFB might improve the symptoms of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is an interstitial lung disease with unknown etiology. O. falcata has heat-clearing, detoxification, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, hemostatic and antitumor activities. Furthermore, O. falcata has excellent anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, and it is one of the three major anti-inflammatory drugs in Tibetan medicine, known as "the king of herbs". Total flavonoids of Oxytropis falcata Bunge (FOFB) were previously extracted, and their pharmacological activities are consistent with those of the whole herb. In this study, FOFB was extracted from O. falcata by ethanol extraction, and the mechanism of FOFB on IPF was verified by in vivo and in vitro experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]