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Background The NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2 and CUC2) domain protein plays an important role in plant growth and development. The function of members of NAC gene family has been deeply studied in many plants. However, the evolutionary relationships and characteristics of NAC family genes in Dendrobium catenatum (D.candidum) unclear. Results In this study, we identified 33 NAC genes in D.catenatum, all contain NAM conservative domain. Subcellular localization predictions indicated that all the DcNAC proteins are localized to the nucleus. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that the DcNAC gene family could be divided into four groups. Then, the amino-acid composition, physicochemical properties, gene structure, motif, and promoter cis-acting elements were analyzed, the evolutionarily conservative gene DcNAC043 was found. Using qRT-PCR, DcNAC043 was proved to respond to drought stress induction in D.catenatum. At the same time, phloroglucinol staining proved that the expression of DcNAC043 in the plant was up-regulated, which could increase the lignin content in the plant. Conclusions We identified 33 NAC genes in D.catenatum, which supplemented the relevant information of NAC gene family in D.catenatum. At the same time, the gene function of DcNAC043 and its contribution to the response of Dendrobium to drought stress were verified. These results provide a comprehensive evolutionary history of NAC genes in D.catenatum, and insight into the biological functions of DcNAC043 genes in response to drought stress.

Additional file 1: Table S1. Polymorphic residues in the E protein among Chongming Tembusu virus strains, FX2010 strain, and the live attenuated vaccine strain FX2010-180P derived from FX2010. Table S2. Seroprevalence of Tembusu virus antibodies in different poultries and directions in Chongming Island in 2021.

Bone regeneration is a coordinated process involving connections between blood vessels and osteocytes. Angiogenesis and osteogenesis are tightly connected throughout the progression of bone regeneration. This study aimed to explore the underlying mechanism of metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1)-regulated angiogenesis during bone regeneration. Gene and protein expression was detected by quantitative real-time PCR and western blot assay. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFA) secretion was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. To evaluate the effect of osteogenic differentiation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and alizarin red staining assays were performed. Proliferation was detected by 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Migration and angiogenesis were measured using Transwell and tube formation assays. A dual luciferase reporter assay was performed to confirm the binding relationship among MALAT1, miR-494, and specificity protein 1 (SP1). Expression levels of MALAT1, SP1, and VEGFA were elevated and miR-494 was suppressed in MC3T3-E1 cells after culture in osteogenic medium. MALAT1 knockdown suppressed the osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1, since ALP activity, mineralized nodules, and expression of the osteodifferentiated markers runt-related transcription factor 2 and osterix were restrained. In addition, MALAT1 silencing inhibited angiogenesis during bone regeneration, as the proliferation, migration, and capillary tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells were blocked. Furthermore, miR-494 was directly targeted by MALAT1 and regulated the SP1/Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2)/bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) axis by targeting SP1. Furthermore, miR-494 overexpression inhibited angiogenesis and osteogenic differentiation. Moreover, SP1 overexpression or miR-494 inhibition rescued the regulatory effect of sh-MALAT1 on angiogenesis and osteogenic differentiation. Taken together, these findings indicate that MALAT1 promotes angiogenesis and osteogenic differentiation by targeting miR-494 and activating the SP1/TLR2/BMP2 pathway, suggesting a novel target for bone regeneration therapy by promoting angiogenesis.

Driven by the massive demand in recent years, the production of β-alanine has significantly progressed in chemical and biological ways. Although the chemical method is relatively mature compared to biological synthesis, its high cost of waste disposal and environmental pollution does not meet the environmental protection standard. Hence, the biological method has become more prevalent as a potential alternative to the chemical synthesis of β-alanine in recent years. As a result, the aspartate pathway from L-aspartate to β-alanine (the most significant rate-limiting step in the β-alanine synthesis) catalyzed by L-aspartate-α-decarboxylase (ADC) has become a research hotspot in recent years. Therefore, it is vital to comprehensively understand the different enzymes that possess a similar catalytic ability to ADC. This review will investigate the exploratory process of unique synthesis features and catalytic properties of ADC/ADC-like enzymes in particular creatures with similar catalytic capacity or high sequence homology. At the same time, we will discuss the different β-alanine production methods which can apply to future industrialization.

Background: The present work is an effort to develop a novel propofol (PPF) and remifentanil (RFT) co-loaded nanoemulsion (NME) for the treatment of anesthetic effects. Methods: The PPF/RFT NME was prepared via the high pressure homogenization method. Its physicochemical properties were assessed to ensure good quality and suitability for i.v. administration. We also studied the in vivo pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of PPF/RFT NME in dogs with an optimized formulation. Results: In this study, the results showed that the mean particle size of PPF/RFT NME was 124.2 nm and the zeta potential was −20.6 mV. In the stability test, the NME maintained a good round shape, and did not demonstrate any significant changes in physicochemical characteristics. In terms of the in vitro release, the early burst release of the NME preparations containing PPF or RFT was ideal in clinical practice, where a loading dose or a rapid onset of the drug was required. Based on histopathological observations, no histological change occurred to the rat organs after the administration of PPF/RFT NME. In regard to pharmacodynamics, compared with the combination group at the same dose, PPF/RFT NME could make animals enter the anesthetic state faster and the anesthetic effects last longer. In addition, vital signs of PPF/RFT NME could be maintained in a good state while better effects were delivered. Conclusions: In this study, PPF and RFT were used to prepare a compound NME. This could reduce the anesthesiologist's administration time and make the anesthesia process more efficient.

Background Sepsis is a life-threatening disease with a limited effectiveness and the potential mechanism remains unclear. LncRNA NEAT-2 plays an important role in tumor proliferation, invasion and metastasis, and also involved in the regulation of cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to investigate the function of NEAT-2 in sepsis. Methods We built sepsis animal model with Male Balb/C mice induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). A total of 54 mice were randomly assigned into eight groups: sham operation group (n = 18), CLP group (n = 18), CLP plus si-control group (n = 3), CLP plus si-NEAT2 group (n = 3), CLP plus mimic control group (n = 3), CLP plus miR-320 group (n = 3), CLP plus normal saline group (n = 3), and normal control group (n = 3). The number of peripheral endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), the expression level of NEAT-2 and miR-320 were detected during progression of sepsis, as well as the number of peripheral EPCs and level of TNF-α, IL-6, VEGF, ALT, AST and Cr. In addition, the function of EPCs was evaluated after NEAT-2 knockdown and miR-320 overexpression in vitro. Results The number of circulating EPCs increased significantly in sepsis. NEAT-2 expression was significantly increased in the progress of sepsis, accompanied with miR-320 downregulated. NEAT-2 knockdown and miR-320 overexpression attenuated hepatorenal function and increased cytokines in sepsis. Moreover, NEAT-2 knockdown and miR-320 overexpression decreased the proliferation, migration and angiogenesis of endothelial progenitor cells in vitro. Conclusions LncRNA-NEAT2 regulated the number and function of endothelial progenitor cells via miR-320 in sepsis.

The novel amphiphilic acylated dextran-g-polyisobutylene (AcyDex-g-PIB) graft copolymers with different branch lengths (Mn,PIB, 2600–5800 g/mol) and grafting numbers (GN, 5–28 per 1000 Dex monosaccharide) were successfully synthesized via the nucleophilic substitution of the hydroxyl (―OH) side groups along AcyDex backbone by the living PIB-THF4+ chains prepared through cationic polymerization. The crystallization of AcyDex backbone in AcyDex-g-PIB graft copolymers was confined due to the presence of PIB branches and the morphology changed from short rod-like crystals to fragment-like crystals with increasing Mn,PIB and GN. The obvious microphase separation occurred due to the incompatibility between hard AcyDex backbone and soft PIB branches. AcyDex-g-PIB graft copolymers exhibit excellent biocompatibility towards HeLa cells and good hemocompatibility with red blood cells (RBCs), both of which increase with increasing GN. The increases of water contact angle and roughness on the surface of the graft copolymers with increasing Mn,PIB and GN manifest the anti-protein adsorption performance. The amphiphilic AcyDex-g-PIB graft copolymers could self-assemble in aqueous solution into nanospheres, which can be used as pH-sensitive drug carriers and can release 100% of the loaded drug within 72 h at pH=7.4. AcyDex-g-PIB graft copolymers bearing silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs, 0.8 wt%–3.9 wt%, 4.5–9.5 nm) show good antibacterial properties. This kind of amphiphilic graft copolymer would have a promising prospect in biological and medical fields.

Liquid food containers commonly suffer from inevitable contamination and even biofilm formation due to the adhesion of food residuals or saliva, which requires detergents to clean. Although previously reported superhydrophobic and omniphobic coatings can resist the adhesion of liquids, the requirements of specific nanostructures or infused lubricants limit their applications in food containers. Here, by grafting smooth glass containers with "liquid like" polydimethylsiloxane brushes, we developed a unique approach for preparing a slippery coating that could exhibit highly robust repellency to various liquid foods. The coating was highly transparent and did not induce a significant alteration of the smooth surface. The "liquid like" coating could effectively prevent the adhesion of various liquid foods and inhibit the formation of bacterial biofilms, without the use of detergents for cleaning. Moreover, this coating could resist mechanical damage from friction, and displayed high biocompatibility with biological cells. The slipperiness, smoothness, robustness and biocompatibility of the "liquid like" coating was highly beneficial to practical applications as self-cleaning glass container, which has been challenging to achieve by conventional superhydrophobic or omniphobic coatings. Our study introduced a versatile strategy to functionalize biocompatible surfaces for food containers which reduced the contamination of residues and the use of detergents, and may be beneficial to human and environmental health.

Dexmedetomidine (DEX) could serve as an adjuvant analgesic during cancer therapies. Abnormal expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) could lead to cancer development. This study was aimed to explore the roles of DEX in ovarian cancer (OC) development. OC cell lines SKOV3 and HO-8910 were treated with DEX, after which OC development and the miR-185, SOX9, and Wnt/β-catenin pathway were measured. DEX-treated HO-8910 cells were transfected with miR-185 mimic, miR-185 antisense or miR-185 antisense + silenced SOX9 to further measure the OC cell growth. The target relation between miR-185 and SOX9 was identified, and SOX9 and Wnt/β-catenin pathway were protein levels detected after miR-185 transfection. The role of miR-185 in OC in vivo was also measured. Our study found DEX had a dose-dependent inhibition on OC growth, and DEX promoted miR-185 but suppressed SOX9 expression in OC cells. miR-185 targeted SOX9. After interfering with miR-185 expression, HO-8910 cell proliferation, invasion, migration, and apoptosis were affected. SOX9 knockdown repressed OC development and Wnt/β-catenin pathway. The volume, weight, positive rate of Ki67, CyclinD1, p53 and the degree of tumor necrosis were affected by miR-185 expression. This study demonstrated that DEX could inhibit OC development via upregulating miR-185 expression and inactivating the SOX9/Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Poly(styrene-b-isobutylene-b-styrene) triblock copolymer (SIBS), a kind of thermoplastic elastomer with biocompatibility and biostability containing fully saturated soft segments, could be synthesized via living cationic copolymerization. A novel poly[(styrene-co-methylstyrene)-b-isobutylene-b-(styrene-co-methylstyrene)]-g-polytetrahydrofuran (M-SIBS-g-PTHF) block graft copolymer was prepared to increase the polarity and service temperature of SIBS by grafting polar PTHF segments onto SIBS. A series of the above block graft copolymers with average grafting numbers from 2 to 6 and molecular weights of PTHF branches ranging from 200 g·mol−1 to 4200 g·mol−1 were successfully synthesized via living cationic ring-opening polymerization of tetrahydrofuran (THF) coinitiated by AgClO4. The introduction of PTHF branches led to an obvious microphase separation due to thermodynamic incompatibility among the three kinds of segments of polyisobutylene (PIB), polystyrene (PS) and PTHF. Moreover, the microphase separation promotes the rearrangement of PTHF branches to form the nanocrystallization-locked physically cross-linked network after storage at room temperature for 2 months, leading to insolubility of the copolymers even in good solvents. The melting temperature and enthalpy of PTHF nanocrystallization locked in hard domains of M-SIBS-g5-PTHF-1.1k block graft copolymer increased remarkably up to 153 °C and 117.0 J·g−1 by 23 °C and 11.6 J·g−1 respectively after storage for long time. Storage modulus (G′) is higher than loss modulus (G″) of M-SIBS-g-PTHF block graft copolymer at temperatures ranging from 100 °C to 180 °C, which is much higher than those of the SIBS triblock copolymer. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of high performance M-SIBS-g-PTHF block graft copolymers containing segments of PIB, PS and PTHF with nanocrystallization-locked architecture.

It is challenging to deal with the optimal scheduling problem of the multi-regional integrated energy system (MIES) precisely and efficiently due to its multi-dimensional nonlinear characteristics. This article proposes an iterative linearization approach to solve the complicated and nonlinear MIES optimization problem with a well-balanced trade-off between accuracy and computation efficiency. In particular, the proposed approach is a combination of the modified piecewise linearization (PWL) tactic and the sequential linear programming (SLP) algorithm. The modified PWL method is developed to improve the speed-accuracy trade-off of the linearization, while the SLP algorithm is used to linearize the multi-dimensional nonlinear functions and narrow the approximation error iteratively. In this way, accurate but highly nonlinear formulations such as heat network models in the variable flow and variable temperature (VF-VT) mode can be considered in the optimization and solved efficiently. Finally, the effectiveness of the given approach is validated in a day-ahead optimal scheduling case of a four-region MIES.

Based on aging Japanese society, there has been a strong desire for development of rehabilitation devices that patients can use at home. The purpose of this study is to develop a home-based compact, lightweight, flexible, and safe rehabilitation device. In this study, a flexible robot arm for wrist rehabilitation that can be used, while patients hold the top of the robot arm, is proposed and tested. The proposed robot arm consists of three extension type flexible pneumatic actuators (EFPAs) restrained by 22 PET sheets. To achieve suitable bending stiffness of the robot arm, three EFPAs are restrained so as to form a tetrahedral shape. The robot arm can bend toward each radial direction. In this paper, the construction and operational principles of the tested robot arm are described. Additionally, the analytical model of the robot arm for attitude control is also described. In addition, the tracking control using the robot arm for the desired orbit is performed. As a result, the tested robot arm can trace the desired orbit based on the model. It is confirmed that the robot arm has the possibility for application as a wrist rehabilitation device for patients.

Background This study is to investigate if non-intubated anaesthesia combined with paravertebral nerve block (PVNB) can enhance recovery in children undergoing video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). Methods A randomized controlled trial including 60 patients aged 3 to 8 years old who underwent elective VATS was performed. They were randomly assigned to receive non-intubated anaesthesia combined with PVNB or general anaesthesia with tracheal intubation (1:1 ratio). The primary outcome was the length of postoperative in-hospital stay. The secondary outcomes included emergence time, the incidence of emergence delirium, time to first feeding, time to first out-of-bed activity, pain score and in-hospital complications. Results The non-intubated group had shorter postoperative in-hospital stay than the control group (4 days [IQR, 4-6] vs 5 days [IQR, 5-8], 95% CI 0-2; P = .013). When compared to the control group, the incidence of emergence delirium (odds ratio [OR] 3.39, 95% CI 1.01-11.41; P = .043), emergence time, duration in the PACU, time to first eating food, first out-of-bed activity, pain score and consumption of sufentanil (at 6 and 12 hours after surgery) were decreased in the intervention group. In contrast, the incidence of airway complications was higher in the control than the intervention group (27.6% vs 6.9%, P = .037). There was no statistical significance in the occurrence of PONV, pneumothorax and other complications between the two groups. Conclusions Non-intubated anaesthesia combined with PVNB enhances recovery in paediatric patients for video-assisted thoracic surgery although further multi-centre study is needed.

Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) elastomers based on polyoxytetramethylene glycol (PTMG) with 2000 g·mol–1 as soft segments (SSs) and isocyanates as well as their reaction with butanediol as hard segments (HSs) were synthesized. The three-dimensional supramolecular networks were constructed in TPU by the formation of physical HSs-rich domains via microphase separation, hydrogen bonding, and microcrystallization, which are dominated by the chemical structure of HSs. The robust stretchable TPU with an excellent tensile strength of 32 MPa and elongation of 1378% at break could be successfully prepared, and no crystallization happened to keep the elasticity even at a low temperature (−90 °C) when the steric semisymmetric bis(4-isocyanatocyclohexyl)methane (HMDI) was introduced into HSs-rich domains. The crystallinity and ordered hydrogen bonding content decreased in HSs-rich domains with increases in steric hindrance and asymmetry of diisocyanates. A new approach was developed to construct the high-performanc...

Bioactive functional probiotics play an important role in many health applications such as maintaining skin health and the immunity of the human host. Artificial supplementation of probiotics would enhance immune functions as well as regulate skin health. However, simple and effective methods to deliver probiotics into the dermis to regulate local dermal tissue are still lacking. Furthermore, microneedles have been used for transdermal drug delivery in a pain-free manner, yet there were few reported methods to deliver living microbes via microneedles. In this work, we developed a technique to deliver bioactive functional probiotics, using lactobacillus as the model probiotic, into local dermis by dissolvable microneedles. The transdermal delivery of probiotics might enhance local skin regulation and immunity, and dissolvable microneedles served as a safe and pain-free tool for dermal microbial delivery. Lactobacillus was encapsulated in dissolvable microneedles with high viability by a centrifugation casting method. The microneedles rapidly dissolved after skin penetration, releasing the lactobacillus into the subcutaneous space, without causing local tissue irritation. The lactobacillus was functionally bioactive following transdermal delivery, actively synthesizing lactic acid both ex vivo and in vivo. Our technique provided a safe, effective, and convenient approach for the transdermal delivery of probiotics into local skin, with the potential to improve skin health and immunity.

The amphiphilic acylated chitosan-g-polyisobutylene copolymers (ACS-g-PIB) could be achieved via highly effective nucleophilic substitution of living PIB chains carrying the oxonium ion (PIB-THFn+)...

Materials for biodevices and bioimplants commonly suffer from unwanted but unavoidable biofouling problems due to the nonspecific adhesion of proteins, cells, or bacteria. Chemical coating or physical strategies for reducing biofouling have been pursued, yet highly robust antibiofouling surfaces that can persistently resist contamination in biological environments are still lacking. In this study, we developed a facile method to fabricate a highly robust slippery and antibiofouling surface by conjugating a liquid-like polymer layer to a substrate. This slippery liquid-attached (SLA) surface was created via a one-step equilibration reaction by tethering methoxy-terminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS-OCH3) polymer brushes onto a substrate to form a transparent "liquid-like" layer. The SLA surface exhibited excellent sliding behaviors toward a wide range of liquids and small particles and antibiofouling properties against the long-term adhesion of small biomolecules, proteins, cells, and bacteria. Moreover, in contrast to superomniphobic surfaces and liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) requiring micro/nanostructures, the SLA layer could be obtained on smooth surfaces and maintain its biofouling resistance under abrasion with persistent stability. Our study offers a simple method to functionalize surfaces with robust slippery and antibiofouling properties, which is promising for potential applications including medical implants and biodevices.

One-dimensional nanoneedle-like arrays have emerged as an attractive tool for penetrating the cell membrane to achieve intracellular applications including drug delivery, electrical recording, and biochemical detection. Hollow nanoneedles, also called nanostraws (NSs), combined with nanoelectroporation have been demonstrated as a powerful platform for intracellular drug delivery and extraction of intracellular contents. However, the fabrication technique of nanostraws still requires complicated and expensive atomic layer deposition and etching processes and fails to produce conductive nanostraws. Herein, we developed a commonly accessible and versatile electrodeposition approach to controllably fabricate conductive nanostraw arrays based on various types of metal or conductive polymer materials. Representatively, Pt nanostraws (Pt NSs) with 400 nm diameter were further integrated with a low-voltage nanoelectroporation system to achieve cell detection, intracellular drug delivery, and sensing of intracellular enzymes. Both theoretical simulations and experimental results revealed that the conductive nanostraws in direct contact with cells could induce high-efficiency cell electroporation at relatively low voltage (∼5 V). Efficient delivery of reagents into live cells with spatial control and repeated extraction of intracellular enzymes (e.g., caspase-3) for temporal monitoring from the same set of cells were demonstrated. This work not only pioneers a new avenue for universal production of conductive nanostraws on a large scale but also presents great potential for developing nanodevices to achieve a variety of biomedical applications including cell re-engineering, cell-based therapy, and signaling pathway monitoring.

AIM To study analgesic effects of dexmedetomidine or sufentanil, both combined with ropivacaine, in epidural analgesia during labor. METHODS We recruited 160 primigravidae with full-term pregnancy who received epidural anesthesia during labor and randomized them into four groups to receive epidural administration of ropivacaine combined with sufentanil (RS1 and RS2 groups) or with dexmedetomidine (RD1 and RD2 groups). Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate before anesthesia (T1 ), 15 min after anesthesia induction (T2 ), on delivery (T3 ) and 2 h postpartum (T4 ), together with visual analogue scale scores, Bromage scores, Ramsay scores, adverse reactions during analgesia and urinary retention at 6 and 24 h postpartum were recorded; the pH, PCO2 and PO2 of umbilical cord arterial blood and Apgar scores at 1, 5 and 10 min after childbirth were assessed. RESULTS RS1 group had significantly lower systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate than RD1 group at T2 and T3 (all P

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to explore the effect of dexmedetomidine (DEX)-mediated insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) signal pathway on immune function and cancer cell invasion and migration in rats with ovarian cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS Forty rats with ovarian cancer were divided into 4 groups: model group, and low dose (0.2 μg/kg/hour DEX), medium dose (1.0 μg/kg/hour DEX), and high dose (5.0 μg/kg/hour DEX) DEX groups. In addition, 10 Fischer344 rats were selected as a normal group. Human NUTU-19 poorly differentiated epithelial ovarian cancer cell line cells were divided into 4 groups: a blank group and low dose, medium dose, and high dose DEX NUTU-19 groups. RESULTS Compared with the normal group, in the other groups the serum interleukin (IL)-2 and interferon gamma (INF-γ) levels, CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ percentages, CD4⁺/CD8⁺ ratio, and transformation rate of splenic lymphocytes were decreased, and the serum tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) level, IGF2, insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R), insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) mRNA, and protein expressions in ovarian tissue were increased (all P

[Image: see text] The intracellular delivery of biomolecules is of significant importance yet challenging. In addition to the conventional delivery of nanomaterials that rely on biochemical pathways, vertical nanowires have been recently proposed to physically penetrate the cell membrane, thus enabling the direct release of biomolecules into the cytoplasm circumventing endosomal routes. However, due to the inherent attachment of the nanowires to a planar 2D substrate, nanowire cell penetrations are restricted to in vitro applications, and they are incapable of providing solution-based delivery. To overcome this structural limitation, we created polyethylenimine-functionalized microparticles covered with nanospikes, namely, “spiky particles”, to deliver biomolecules by utilizing the nanospikes to penetrate the cell membrane. The nanospikes might penetrate the cell membrane during particle engulfment, and this enables the bound biomolecules to be released directly into the cytosol. TiO(2) spiky particles were fabricated through hydrothermal routes, and they were demonstrated to be biocompatible with HeLa cells, macrophage-like RAW cells, and fibroblast-like 3T3-L1 cells. The polyethylenimine-functionalized spiky particles provided direct delivery of fluorescent siRNA into cell cytosol and functional siRNA for gene knockdown as well as successful DNA plasmid transfection which were difficult to achieve by using microparticles without nanospikes. The spiky particles presented a unique direct cell membrane penetrant vehicle to introduce biomolecules into cell cytosol, where the biomolecules might bypass conventional endocytic degradation routes.

Detection of H2O2 in bio-fluids plays an important role in early-diagnosis of many diseases, and thus the development of electrochemical H2O2 sensors has been explored. However, constructing robust sensors that could self-clean and avoid biofouling is still challenging, because the complex compositions of bio-fluids could easily absorb to or even passivate the sensor electrode. In this work, we reported the development of H2O2 electrochemical sensor based on hierarchical vertical graphene/nanorods structure (vG/NRs) with self-cleaning and anti-biofouling properties. The hierarchical vG/NRs structure consisted of ZnO nanorods branched on vertical graphene nanowalls, which were fabricated through multiple steps of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition and hydrothermal growth. The hierarchical vG/NRs after fluorination (vG/NRs-F) displayed excellent liquid repellence and anti-platelet adhesion properties. The vG/NRs-F was utilized as working electrodes and integrated as electrochemical sensors. H2O2 molecules in solution could access to the vG/NRs surface, inducing electrochemical signals for detection with reasonable sensitivity and selectivity. Meanwhile, the vG/NRs-F electrode could resist the contamination of biocomponents in blood serum after sensing experiment, enabling stable sensing of H2O2 without interfering by biofouling. Our work offers a promising strategy to design self-cleaning and anti-biofouling sensors with extended applicability for detection in complex biological fluids.

The development and applications of disruptive technology is introduced in this paper. The effect of subversive terrorist attack mode is investigated, the demand for disruptive technology of anti-terrorist forces is discussed as such technology is applied to the efforts against terrorism. Besides, the development orientations of the disruptive technologies applied in anti-terrorism and worth-noting issues in future anti-terrorist operations are pointed out.

Electrophysiological study is an essential and significant strategy to explore the biological mechanism of electrogenic cells. Current advanced nanodevices can achieve the high-fidelity intracellular electrophysiological recordings, and most of detection systems record the extracellular and intracellular action potentials (EAPs and IAPs) in an asynchronous or isolated manner, so it is demanded to develop the platform to reveal correlation between EAP and IAP recording. Here, we establish a utility strategy to achieve synchronized intracellular and extracellular recording of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes by low-voltage three-dimensional (3D) nanoroded electroporation. By integrating the advantages of nanodevice and microdevice, 3D nanoroded microdevice is developed to achieve the high-throughput large-scale synchronous intracellular and extracellular electrophysiological study. By applying low-voltage electroporation, intracellular and extracellular signals can be synchronously acquired from intracellular access and extracellular coupling, respectively. Recorded synchronized signals contain both typical EAPs and IAPs, which have good synchronicity in spatiotemporal dimensions at each recording site. Moreover, correlation between both signals is further bridged in experimental and simulated way. This intracellular electrophysiological platform presents unique advantages over the conventional system to achieve the synchronized intracellular and extracellular electrophysiological study at membrane voltage level.

Biosensors that can automatically and continuously track fluctuations in biomarker levels over time are essential for real-time sensing in biomedical and environmental applications. Although many electrochemical sensors have been developed to quickly and sensitively monitor biomarkers, their sensing stability in complex biofluids is disturbed by unavoidable nonspecific adhesion of proteins or bacteria. Recently, various substrate surface modification techniques have been developed to resist biofouling, yet functionalization of electrodes in sensors to be anti-biofouling is rarely achieved. Here, we report an integrated three-electrode system (ITES) modified with a "liquid-like" polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) brush that can continuously and stably monitor reactive oxygen species (ROS) in complex fluids. Based on the slippery "liquid-like" coating, the modified ITES surface could prevent the adhesion of various liquids as well as the adhesion of proteins and bacteria. The "liquid-like" coating does not significantly affect the sensitivity of the electrode in detecting ROS, while the sensing performance could remain stable and free of bacterial attack even after 3 days of incubation with bacteria. In addition, the PDMS brush-modified ITES (PMITES) could continuously record ROS levels in bacterial-rich fluids with excellent stability over 24 h due to the reduced bacterial contamination on the electrode surface. This technique offers new opportunities for continuous and real-time monitoring of biomarkers that will facilitate the development of advanced sensors for biomedical and environmental applications.

This paper is concerned with the bipartite consensus problem of sampled-data coupled harmonic oscillators by predictor factor under the fixed topology. Compared with the existing distributed protocol for synchronization in networks of coupled harmonic oscillators based on the sampled-data measurement, we propose a distributed bipartite consensus control protocol in which positive and negative interaction weights coexist. For structurally balanced networks, we improve the convergence rate of the network via predictor factor. Necessary and sufficient conditions are obtained for the well designed protocol to achieve bipartite consensus by using frequency-domain analysis and matrix theory. Finally, examples are shown to validate the convergence conditions.

The detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) has achieved promising progress for early diagnosis and disease analysis. Microfluidic chip techniques have recently promoted the technologies of CTC sorting and analysis, yet seldom can the microfluidic chips for CTC enrichment via antibody-free capture provide in situ regulation of both extracellular and intracellular activity, which would be advantageous for cell-based pharmaceutical therapeutics and screening. Herein, we have demonstrated a hybrid TiO2/ZnO branched microtube array (HBMTA)-sandwiched hydrodynamic device that integrates the multiple functions of selective enrichment of adherent tumor cells in an antibody-free manner and in situ delivery to the extracellular and intracellular spaces of the enriched tumor cells. More than 90% cancer cells were enriched on the device due to their preferential adhesion with the nano-branches of HBMTA, while more than 91% blood cells were eliminated from the device by constant hydrodynamic fluid shearing. For in situ regulation, temporally and spatially controlled extracellular delivery to the enriched tumor cells could be precisely achieved through the hollow structures of the HBMTA. In addition, reagents (e.g. propidium iodide) could be delivered into the intracellular spaces of enriched tumor cells by coupling an electric field to nondestructively perforate the cell membrane. Our study not only offers a promising and facile strategy for antibody-free isolation of tumor cells, but also provides unique opportunities to facilitate cancer research, including antitumor drug screening and personalized therapeutics.

Indoor localization technology has always been a research hotspot in industry and academia. Indoor localization research using channel state information (CSI) of Wi-Fi signals has also received more and more attention. The existing Angle of Arrival (AoA) estimation method has a low signal-to-noise ratio and a large AoA estimation error in the case of non-line-of-sight or long-distance signal transmission. This paper introduces multiple input multiple output (MIMO) CSI-based AoA localization. The customized software radio equipment with 4 ×4 antenna array is used for MIMO CSI collection, combined estimation of AoA and Time of Flight (ToF) AoA measurement and indoor positioning. Experiment results show that the localization result of the AoA estimation method adopted in this paper is more accurate than the localization result of the AoA estimation method in SpotFi.

Additional file 1 : Supplementary Material Flow diagram of patients enrollment and study design

Microbial biochemicals have been indicated as the primary stimulators of innate immunity, the first line of the body’s defence against infections. However, the influence of topological features on a microbe’s surface on immune responses remains largely unknown. Here we demonstrate the ability of TiO2 microparticles decorated with nanospikes (spiky particles) to activate and amplify the immune response in vitro and in vivo. The nanospikes exert mechanical stress on the cells, which results in potassium efflux and inflammasome activation in macrophages and dendritic cells during phagocytosis. The spiky particles augment antigen-specific humoral and cellular immune responses in the presence of monophosphoryl lipid A and elicit protective immunity against tumour growth and influenza viral infection. The study offers insights into how surface physical cues can tune the activation of innate immunity and provides a basis for engineering particles with increased immunogenicity and adjuvanticity.

BACKGROUND Moderate to deep sedation is required for an auditory brainstem response test when high-intensity stimulation is used. Chloral hydrate is the most commonly used sedative, whereas intranasal dexmedetomidine is increasingly used in pediatric non-painful procedural sedations. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to compare the sedation success rate after oral chloral hydrate at 50 mg kg-1 and intranasal dexmedetomidine at 3 μg kg-1 plus buccal midazolam at 0.1 mg kg-1 for an auditory brainstem response test. METHODS Children who required an auditory brainstem response test were recruited and randomly assigned to receive oral chloral hydrate at 50 mg kg-1 and intranasal placebo, or intranasal dexmedetomidine at 3 μg kg-1 with buccal midazolam 0.1 mg kg-1 . The primary outcome was the rate of successful sedation for auditory brainstem response tests. RESULTS Fifty-seven out of 82 (69.5%) were successfully sedated after chloral hydrate, while 70 out of 78 (89.7%) children were successfully sedated with dexmedetomidine plus midazolam combination, with the odd ratio (95% CI) for successful sedation between dexmedetomidine plus midazolam combination and chloral hydrate estimated to be 3.84 (1.61-9.16), P = 0.002. Dexmedetomidine plus midazolam was associated with quicker onset with median onset time 15 (IQR 11.0-19.8) for dexmedetomidine plus midazolam and 20 (IQR 15.0-27.0) for chloral hydrate respectively, with difference between median (95% CI) of 5 [3-8], P

Techniques used to understand the dynamic expression of intracellular proteins are critical in both fundamental biological research and biomedical engineering. Various methods for analyzing proteins have been developed, but these methods require the extraction of intracellular proteins from the cells resulting in cell lysis and subsequent protein purifications from the lysate, which limits the potential of repetitive extraction from the same set of viable cells to track dynamic intracellular protein expression. Therefore, it is crucial to develop novel methods that enable nondestructive and repeated extraction of intracellular proteins. This work reports a hollow nanoneedle-electroporation system for the repeated extraction of intracellular proteins from living cells. Hollow nanoneedles with ∼450 nm diameter were fabricated by a material deposition and etching process, followed by integration with a microfluidic device. Long-lasting electrical pulses were coupled with the nanoneedles to permeate the cell membrane, allowing intracellular contents to diffuse into the microfluidic channels located below the cells via hollow nanoneedles. Using lactate dehydrogenase B (LDHB) as the model intracellular protein, the nanoneedle-electroporation system effectively and repeatedly extracted LDHB from the same set of cells at different time points, followed by quantitative analysis of LDHB via standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Our work demonstrated an efficient method to nondestructively probe intracellular protein levels and monitor the dynamic protein expression, with great potential to help understanding cell behaviors and functions.

In situ effective separation of oil pollutants including oil spills and oil emulsions from water is an emerging technology yet remains challenging. Hydrophobic micro- or nano-materials with ferromagnetism have been explored for oil removal, yet the separation efficiency of an oil emulsion was compromised due to the limited dispersion of hydrophobic materials in water. A surfactant coating on microparticles prevented particle aggregation, but reduced oil absorption and emulsion cleaning ability. Recently, polystyrene microbeads covered with nanospikes have been reported to display anomalous dispersion in phobic media without surfactants. Inspired by this phenomenon, here magnetic microparticles attached with nanospikes were fabricated for enhanced separation of oil emulsions from water. In this design, the particle surfaces were functionalized to be superhydrophobic/superoleophilic for oil absorption, while the surface of the nanospikes prevented particle aggregation in water without compromising surface hydrophobicity. The magnetic spiky particles effectively absorbed oil spills on the water surface, and readily dispersed in water and offered facile cleaning of the oil emulsion. In contrast, hydrophobic microparticles without nanospikes aggregated in water limiting the particle-oil contact, while surfactant coating severely reduced particle hydrophobicity and oil absorption ability. Our work provides a unique application scope for the anomalous dispersity of microparticles and their potential opportunities in effective oil-water separation.

Student pose information plays an important role in teaching management and evaluation. Thus, it is meaningful to acquire student pose information fast and precisely. Although the pose estimation techniques are well-studied recently, it is still challenging to apply existing methods to handle this task due to heavy occlusion in the educational environment. Different from the pose estimation, we consider pose detection as a specific problem of object detection. However, compared with generic object detection problems, pose detection usually suffers from poor detection performance due to the challenges of similar categories, object with small sizes, quantity imbalance of categories, etc. To address these issues, we propose a new pose detection method based on a single-stage object detector. We present a multi-scale feature enrichment branch to obtain balanced and robust features. Then we adopt an adaptive fusion mechanism to learn complementary spatial features, making our feature extractor more discriminative. Besides, an adaptive positive sample training strategy is adopted to select robust positive samples and make full use of high-quality predicted positive samples when training by the adaptive Smooth L1 loss. Experimental results show that the proposed method obviously outperforms other single-stage object detection methods on the real classroom pose datasets.

Nanowire thin films exhibiting superhydrophobicity or even superomniphobicity can protect themselves from liquid contamination. However, high contact angle of these thin films with liquid droplets limits the interfacial area between liquids and nanowire network, which is unfavorable for applications such as sensing suspended liquid droplets. In this study, slippery surface based on lubricant infused hierarchical Si nanowire film was developed, which provided low contact angle with liquid droplet, while possessing liquid repellent properties upon slight tilting. Si nanowire films were fabricated through chemical vapor deposition and were further branched with ZnO nanospikes for enhanced immobilization of lubricant. These hierarchical nanowire films were functionalized to enhance their superhydrophobicity and were further infused with perfluorinated lubricant to produce slippery surface. These infused slippery surfaces exhibited low contact angles with blood and corn oil along with high repellency towards these liquids. This study offers a promising approach for creating nanowire films that avoid liquid contamination.