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• A portable and wireless point-of-need detection system for microcystin-LR (MC-LR) quantitation was developed and validated. • The detection system consisted of three main parts: screen printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs), smartphone-controlled electrochemical analyzer (SCEA), and Android's smartphone. • A spatiotemporal mapping of MC-LR field detection was conducted to further validate the feasibility of the SCEA for on-site screening. The development of rapid and in situ detection method for microcystin-LR (MC-LR) with portable, reliable, and easy to use devices are highly demanded, but it is still deficient. In this study, a portable and wireless point-of-need detection system for microcystin-LR (MC-LR) quantitation was developed and validated. The whole system consisted of three main parts: screen printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs), smartphone-controlled electrochemical analyzer (SCEA), and Android's smartphone. The SCEA was a homemade ARM STM32 microcontroller-based electrochemical analyzer, which have similar performance compared with a commercially available electrochemical workstation. A smartphone installed with a user-friendly application was employed to control the analyzer, receive and analyze data, and display detection results in real-time. This system can accurately quantitate MC-LR in the range of 0.001–100 μg/L with a detection limit of 0.00011 μg/L, and the results were consistent with LC–MS/MS. In addition, a preliminary MC-LR contamination map was generated using this smartphone-based platform by measuring water samples at 6 reservoirs located in Pearl River Delta (Guangdong Province, China). The cost-effective, reliable and easy-to-use smartphone-based detection system reported here can facilitate active toxicant screening to guarantee the safety of the drinking water, particularly in resource-limited area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • A flexible microneedle electrode array-based biosensor (MEAB) was fabricated. • A homemade multi-channel portable electrochemical analyzer (MPEA) was developed. • Simultaneous detection of glucose, uric acid and cholesterol was achieved by using MPEA and MEAB. Abstract The development of versatile and low-cost biosensor system for rapid and simultaneous detection of multiple blood metabolites is highly demanded for home healthcare. We developed a flexible microneedle electrode array-based biosensor (MEAB) and a multi-channel portable electrochemical analyzer (MPEA) for the simultaneous detection of glucose, uric acid, and cholesterol. Microneedle electrode array (MEA) was fabricated on the flexible substrate using magnetorheological drawing lithography, followed by sputter coated with Au/Ti film. Then, through biofunctionalized with glucose oxidase, uricase and cholesterol oxidase, MEA was conditioned as a biosensor for simultaneous detection of glucose, uric acid and cholesterol. MEAB demonstrated excellent sensing performance with a wide linear range (glucose, 2–12 mM; uric acid, 0.1–1.2 mM; cholesterol, 1–12 mM), low detection limit (glucose, 260 μM; uric acid, 4 μM; cholesterol, 440 μM), and rapid response time (∼4 s). MPEA, a homemade ARM STM32 microcontroller-based electrochemical analyzer, was validated to be comparable to that of the commercial electrochemical workstation. MPEA integrated with flexible MEAB could accurately and simultaneously detect glucose, uric acid, and cholesterol levels in serum, and the results were consistent with the portable electrochemical device. The ease-of-use of the reported biosensor system will facilitate effective monitoring of blood metabolites at home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 20-month prospective study was conducted to investigate the effect of motorcycle crash experience on changes in risk taking among 2514 urban and 2304 rural students in Taiwan. Risk taking was assessed using a 14-item self-administered questionnaire at the beginning and end of the study. A risk-taking score for each student at the initial and the last follow-up assessments was generated from adding up points across all 14 items. For exposure variables, the study documented past motorcycle crash history at the initial assessment and collected detailed information about any motorcycle crash involvement that occurred during the study period. A general linear mixed model was applied to assess the effects of prior and recent crash involvements on the path of risk-taking behavior. The results show that at the initial assessment, students with crash experience had higher risk-taking levels than those without crash experience. However, crash experience, irregardless of whether it was measured in terms of crash history prior to the study, crash frequency, time elapsed since the last crash, or crash severity, did not significantly change the risk-taking path among students, even though its effect differed between urban and rural areas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We investigated the effects of clenbuterol, a β2-adrenoceptor agonist with known anabolic and neuroprotective properties, on G93A-SOD1 mice, a transgenic murine model of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Relative to saline-treated vehicle controls (0.2ml/kg/day; i.p.), early pathologic G93A-SOD1 mice treated with clenbuterol (1.5mg/kg/day; i.p.) demonstrated a delayed onset of hindlimb signs as measured by rotarod performance, slowed disease progression, as well as trends toward mitigated losses of lumbar motoneurons and body weight. Responses in female G93A-SOD1 mice were favorable to those of males, suggesting synergistic effects between clenbuterol and sex-specific factors. Overall, our data suggest that clenbuterol offers therapeutic effects on ALS-related neuromuscular degeneration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]