Spider silk is a promising material with great potential in biomedical applications due to its incredible mechanical properties and resistance to degradation of commercially available bacterial ...strains. However, little is known about the bacterial communities that may inhabit spider webs and how these microorganisms interact with spider silk. In this study, we exposed two exopolysaccharide-secreting bacteria, isolated from webs of an orb spider, to major ampullate (MA) silk from host spiders. The naturally occurring lipid and glycoprotein surface layers of MA silk were experimentally removed to further probe the interaction between bacteria and silk. Extensibility of major ampullate silk produced by Triconephila clavata that was exposed to either Microbacterium sp. or Novosphigobium sp. was significantly higher than that of silk that was not exposed to bacteria (differed by 58.7%). This strain-enhancing effect was not observed when the lipid and glycoprotein surface layers of MA silks were removed. The presence of exopolysaccharides was detected through NMR from MA silks exposed to these two bacteria but not from those without exposure. Here we report for the first time that exopolysaccharide-secreting bacteria inhabiting spider webs can enhance extensibility of host MA silks and silk surface layers play a vital role in mediating such effects.
Abstract
Background
Epidural anesthesia (EA) is the regional anesthesia technique preferred over spinal anesthesia for pregnant women requiring cesarean section and post-operative pain control. EA ...failure requires additional sedation or conversion to general anesthesia (GA). This may be hazardous during sedation or GA conversion because of potentially difficult airways. Therefore, this retrospective study aimed to determine the risk factors for epidural failure during cesarean section anesthesia.
Methods
We retrospectively analyzed parturients who underwent cesarean section under EA and catheterization at the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan between January 1 and December 31, 2018. Patient data were collected from the medical records. EA failure was defined as the administration of any intravenous anesthetic at any time during a cesarean section, converting it into GA.
Results
A total of 534 parturients who underwent cesarean section were recruited for this study. Of them, 94 (17.6%) experienced EA failure during cesarean section. Compared to the patients with successful EA, those with EA failure were younger (33.0 years vs. 34.7 years), had received EA previously (60.6% vs. 37%), were parous (72.3% vs. 55%), and had a shorter waiting time (14.9 min vs. 16.5 min) (
p
< 0.05). Younger age (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.86–0.95), history of epidural analgesia (OR 2.61, 95% CI 1.38–4.94), and shorter waiting time (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.87–0.97) were estimated to be significantly associated with a higher risk of epidural anesthesia failure.
Conclusion
The retrospective study found that parturients of younger age, previous epidural catheterization history, and inadequate waiting time may have a higher risk of EA failure. Previous epidural catheterization increased the risk of EA failure by 2.6-fold compared to patient with no history of catheterization.
Highlights
Carbon-based gradient resistance element structure is proposed for the construction of multifunctional touch sensor, which will promote wide detection and recognition range of multiple ...mechanical stimulations.
Multifunctional touch sensor with gradient resistance element and two electrodes is demonstrated to eliminate signals crosstalk and prevent interference during position sensing for human–machine interactions.
Biological sensing interface based on a deep-learning-assisted all-in-one multipoint touch sensor enables users to efficiently interact with virtual world.
Human–machine interactions using deep-learning methods are important in the research of virtual reality, augmented reality, and metaverse. Such research remains challenging as current interactive sensing interfaces for single-point or multipoint touch input are trapped by massive crossover electrodes, signal crosstalk, propagation delay, and demanding configuration requirements. Here, an all-in-one multipoint touch sensor (AIOM touch sensor) with only two electrodes is reported. The AIOM touch sensor is efficiently constructed by gradient resistance elements, which can highly adapt to diverse application-dependent configurations. Combined with deep learning method, the AIOM touch sensor can be utilized to recognize, learn, and memorize human–machine interactions. A biometric verification system is built based on the AIOM touch sensor, which achieves a high identification accuracy of over 98% and offers a promising hybrid cyber security against password leaking. Diversiform human–machine interactions, including freely playing piano music and programmatically controlling a drone, demonstrate the high stability, rapid response time, and excellent spatiotemporally dynamic resolution of the AIOM touch sensor, which will promote significant development of interactive sensing interfaces between fingertips and virtual objects.
Ataxia telangiectasia mutated （ATM） mediates DNA damage response by controling irradiation-induced foci formation, cell cycle checkpoint, and apoptosis. However, how upstream signaling regulates ATM ...is not completely understood. Here, we show that upon irradiation stimulation, ATM associates with and is phosphorylated by epidermal growth factor receptor （EGFR） at Tyr370 （Y370） at the site of DNA double-strand breaks. Depletion of endogenous EGFR impairs ATM-mediated foei formation, homologous recombination, and DNA repair. Moreover, pretreatment with an EGFR kinase inhibitor, gefitinib, blocks EGFR and ATM association, hinders CHK2 activation and subsequent foci formation, and increases radiosensitivity. Thus, we reveal a critical mechanism by which EGFR directly regulates ATM activation in DNA damage response, and our results suggest that the status of ATM Y370 phosphorylation has the potential to serve as a biomarker to stratify patients for either radiotherapy alone or in combination with EGFR inhibition.
The molecular pathogenesis of malignant gliomas, characterized by diverse tumor histology with differential prognosis, remains largely unelucidated. An APOBEC3 deletion polymorphism, with a deletion ...in APOBEC3B, has been correlated to risk and prognosis in several cancers, but its role in glioma is unclear. The authors aimed to examine the clinical relevance of the APOBEC3 deletion polymorphism to glioma risk and survival in a glioma patient cohort in Taiwan.
The authors detected deletion genotypes in 403 glioma patients and 1365 healthy individuals in Taiwan and correlated the genotypes with glioma risk, clinicopathological factors, patient survival, and patient sex. APOBEC3 gene family expression was measured and correlated to the germline deletion. A nomogram model was constructed to predict patient survival in glioma.
The proportion of APOBEC3B-/- and APOBEC3B+/- genotypes was higher in glioblastoma (GBM) patients than healthy individuals and correlated with higher GBM risk in males. A higher percentage of cases with APOBEC3B- was observed in male than female glioma patients. The presence of APOBEC3B-/- was correlated with better overall survival (OS) in male astrocytic glioma patients. No significant correlation of the genotypes to glioma risk and survival was observed in the female patient cohort. Lower APOBEC3B expression was observed in astrocytic glioma patients with APOBEC3B-/- and was positively correlated with better OS. A 5-factor nomogram model was constructed based on male patients with astrocytic gliomas in the study cohort and worked efficiently for predicting patient OS.
The germline APOBEC3 deletion was associated with increased GBM risk and better OS in astrocytic glioma patients in the Taiwan male population. The APOBEC3B deletion homozygote was a potential independent prognostic factor predicting better survival in male astrocytic glioma patients.
Abstract
Fine particulate matter 2.5 (PM
2.5
) induces free radicals and oxidative stress in animals, leading to a range of illnesses. In this study,
Ganoderma Microsporum
immunomodulatory (GMI) ...proteins were administered to alleviate PM
2.5
-induced inflammatory responses in mother rats, and PM
2.5
-induced inflammatory responses and neurological damage in their offspring. The results suggested that GMI administration decreased the risk of neurological disorders in mother rats and their offspring by reducing the white blood cell count, lessening inflammatory responses and PM
2.5
-induced memory impairment, and preventing dendritic branches in the hippocampi from declining and microRNAs from PM
2.5
-induced modulation.
We previously identified matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) as one of the most promising salivary biomarkers for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and developed a sensitive ELISA for MMP-1 with ...good performance in detection of OSCC using a cohort of 1160 saliva samples.
A time-saving rapid strip test (RST) for MMP-1 was developed in this study and its diagnostic performance compared with ELISA using saliva samples from a new cohort of 603 subjects (171 healthy controls, 236 patients with oral potentially malignant disorders, and 196 OSCC patients).
Salivary MMP-1 levels measured using RST and ELISA were highly comparable and both assays could effectively distinguish between OSCC and non-cancerous groups. Similar to ELISA, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of the MMP-1 RST was effective in identifying patients with OSCC at different oral cavity sites and stages.
Salivary MMP-1 can be sensitively detected using both RST and ELISA methods. Our newly developed point-of-care MMP-1 RST is a promising in vitro diagnostic device (IVD) that may serve as a novel auxiliary tool in the routine clinical detection and monitoring of OSCC.
In this study, the development of a reflected-type localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) based optical fiber biosensor is presented. The gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and graphene oxide (GO) are ...sequentially modified on the surface of fiber probes to form a nanocomposite film using self-assembly method. Compared with AuNPs fiber probe, the refractive index sensitivity (RIS) of GO/AuNPs fiber probe is improved from 29.6 nm/RIU to 79 nm/RIU in the refractive index range from 1.33 to 1.38. After that, the fiber probes are immobilized with anti-mouse IgG for the immunoassay, and the response time is 30 minutes. Due to the advantages of good biocompatibility as well as physical and optical properties of GO, the GO/AuNPs fiber probe shows a quicker reaction and larger resonant wavelength shift, which are compared with AuNPs fiber probe in measuring different concentrations of mouse IgG. In addition, the GO/AuNPs fiber probe exhibits a better sensitivity (150.4 nm/<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mu \text{g} </tex-math></inline-formula> mL −1 ), linearity (R 2 = 0.998) and a lower limit of detection (4.3 ng/mL) in a low concentration of mouse IgG detection, which suggests that GO has huge potentials of biosensing applications in the future.
Studies on prognostic factors for patients undergoing surgery to treat solitary liver metastases originating from colorectal cancer (CRC) are limited. This study aimed to analyze significant ...prognostic factors associated with tumor recurrence and long-term survival after liver resection for solitary colorectal liver metastasis.
Data from 230 patients with solitary liver metastases from CRC who received liver resection between 2010 and 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were accessed with the Kaplan–Meier method and log-rank test. Cox regression multivariate analysis identified independent variables associated with RFS and OS. Nomograms were developed to predict patient outcomes after surgery.
The 3- and 5-year OS rates were 72.3% and 59.8%, respectively. The 3- and 5-year RFS rates were 40.0% and 27.1%, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed age ≥ 70 years, resection margin width < 10 mm, initial N2 stage, hypoalbuminemia before surgery, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) ≥ 3 after surgery as independent prognostic factors for OS. For RFS, initial N2 stage, hypoalbuminemia before surgery, NLR ≥ 3 after surgery, elevated carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels after surgery, and CEA ratio (after/before liver resection) < 0.3 were identified as independent prognostic factors.
This study demonstrated that initial N2 stage, hypoalbuminemia before liver resection, and NLR ≥ 3 after liver resection exert a significant association on the RFS and OS of patients undergoing surgery for solitary liver metastases from CRC. Thus, upfront chemotherapy, prompt postoperative chemotherapy, and intensive postoperative surveillance are mandatory for patients having these adverse factors.
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