The double-strand DNA (dsDNA) can act as an efficient template for the formation of copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs) with high fluorescence, whereas the single-strand DNA (ssDNA) cannot support the ...formation of Cu NPs. This difference in fluorescent signal generation can be used for the detection of nuclease cleavage activity. Thus, a label-free strategy for sensitive detection of nuclease has been developed. The sensor contains a complete complementary dsDNA which acts as a template for the formation of Cu NPs and generation of fluorescence signal. The enzyme S1 nuclease was taken as the model analyte. Upon addition of S1 nuclease into the sensing system, the DNA was cleaved into fragments, preventing the formation of the Cu NPs and resulting in low fluorescence. In order to achieve the system's best sensing performance, a series of experimental conditions were optimized. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the sensor exhibits excellent performance (e.g., a detection limit of 0.3 U mL⁻¹ with high selectivity). This possibly makes it an attractive platform for the detection of S1 nuclease and other biomolecules.
•NLRC5 overexpression in synovial tissues and cells of AA animal models.•NLRC5 overexpression accompanied by high expression of inflammatory cytokine and cell proliferation of FLSs.•NLRC5 silencing ...inhibits inflammatory cytokine expression and cell proliferation of FLSs.•High NLRC5 expression induces high NF-кB activation and NF-кB signaling pathway was inhibited after NLRC5 silencing.•NLRC5 plays a critical role in RA progression via the NF-кB signaling pathway.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease and the pathogenesis remains unclear. Previous studies suggested that fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) play an important role in RA pathogenesis, including the injury of cartilage, the hyperplasia of the synovium and the release of inflammatory cytokines. We used complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) induced rats as animal models for studying the RA pathogenesis. NLRC5 as the largest member of the NLR family has been reported to play a critical role in regulating immune responses. Increasing evidence suggests that NLRC5 is an pivotal negative modulator of inflammatory pathways. We investigated the mechanisms and signaling pathways of NLRC5 in RA progression. Significantly increased expression of NLRC5 was found in AA rats synovial tissues and cells. And high expression of inflammatory cytokine and cell proliferation of FLSs accompanied with NLRC5 overexpression, but inhibited in cells with NLRC5 silencing treatment. Interestingly, we found that overexpression of NLRC5 also coordinated the activation of NF-κB signaling pathway. These results suggested that NLRC5 promotes RA progression via the NF-κB signaling pathway potentially.
A new and facile strategy using double-stranded DNA-copper nanoparticles (dsDNA-Cu NPs) as fluorescence reporters for the highly sensitive and selective detection of l-histidine was demonstrated. In ...the dsDNA-Cu NPs-based sensing system, the fluorescence was quenched considerably upon the addition of l-histidine. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the probe exhibits excellent performance (e.g., a satisfactory detection limit of 5μM and high specificity). Our in situ method requires no covalent attachment of DNA to a fluorophore, which could significantly reduce the cost and simplify the procedure for l-histidine detection. Moreover, the proposed sensing system could be applicable for the detection of target biomolecule in complex biological samples. These striking properties make it an attractive platform for the direct detection of l-histidine.
► Double-stranded DNA-copper nanoparticles sensing system was proposed for l-histidine detection. ► The probe was based on l-histidine-induced fluorescence quenching. ► This probe is simple and cost-efficient in design and operation.
Background
With the exploding prevalence of obesity, many children are at risk of developing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Using anthropometric and laboratory parameters, our study aimed to ...develop a model to quantitatively evaluate liver fat content (LFC) in children with obesity.
Methods
A well-characterized cohort of 181 children between 5 and 16 years of age were recruited to the study in the Endocrinology Department as the derivation cohort. The external validation cohort comprised 77 children. The assessment of liver fat content was performed using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Anthropometry and laboratory metrics were measured in all subjects. B-ultrasound examination was carried out in the external validation cohort. The Kruskal-Wallis test, Spearman bivariate correlation analyses, univariable linear regressions and multivariable linear regression were used to build the optimal predictive model.
Results
The model was based on indicators including alanine aminotransferase, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, triglycerides, waist circumference and Tanner stage. The adjusted
R
2
of the model was 0.589, which presented high sensitivity and specificity both in internal sensitivity of 0.824, specificity of 0.900, area under curve (AUC) of 0.900 with a 95% confidence interval: 0.783–1.000 and external validation (sensitivity of 0.918 and specificity of 0.821, AUC of 0.901 with a 95% confidence interval: 0.818–0.984).
Conclusions
Our model based on five clinical indicators was simple, non-invasive, and inexpensive; it had high sensitivity and specificity in predicting LFC in children. Thus, it may be useful for identifying children with obesity who are at risk for developing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
PSA is a member of low abundance proteins and serves as a critical indicator of the development and therapy efficacy for prostate cancer. In this study, a facile and high sensitive method was ...developed for serum PSA detection by integrating the immunomagnetic separation and cation exchange based signal amplification. On the basis of nanoparticle preparation and immunoprobe construction, PSA in serum was captured, separated by the immunomagnetic probe and then interacted with the quantum dots (QDs) based immunofluorescence probe; Zn2+ inside QDs was replaced by Ag+ within seconds, after which fluorescence signal was amplified by Fluozin-3, the Zn2+ responsive dye. Under optimized conditions, low detection limit (1.56pg/mL), wide linear range (1.56–25ng/mL) and good repeatability (intra-coefficient variation=3.18%) were achieved, which is superior to commercialized ELISA kit. These results demonstrated the potential of our high sensitive method for PSA detection in clinical.
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•Combine magnetic separation with cation exchange amplification for PSA detection.•Implement SPAAC strategy in the construction of detection probes.•Measure serum PSA down to 1.56pg/mL with wider linear range than ELISA kit.
Abstract Humor training has been applied to educational and clinical cases and has been found to be effective, but humor training for individuals with autism is relatively rare. The present study ...proposed a humor-knowledge and humor-skill training workshop to enhance the humor comprehension and appreciation of individuals with autism and examined the effects of the training. Participants were 20 adolescents with autism and average intelligence (above 70 in WAIS-III). They were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. Both questionnaire of joke comprehension and appreciation and a humor style questionnaire were used as instruments. The results supported the effectiveness of the 15-hour training. The comprehension and appreciation of nonsense humor were significantly increased in the experimental group in comparison with the control group, although the incongruity-resolution jokes remained difficult to comprehend. The tendency to use affiliative humor was greater among individuals with autism in the experimental group, suggesting that the appreciation of humor can be learned.
Solvothermal reactions of Cd(II) salts with biphenyl-3,4′,5-tricarboxylic acid (H3L) and melamine (MA) afford a new coordination polymer, namely Cd3(L)2(MA)2(H2O)2n (1). Single crystal X-ray analysis ...reveals that compound 1 displays a new 2D→3D polythreaded motif directed by intermolecular hydrogen bonds, in which large opened windows of each (3,6)-connected layer are threaded by two dangling MA molecules from adjacent layers in the opposite direction. In addition, the luminescent property of 1 was also investigated in the solid state at room temperature.
Presented here is a new 2D→3D polythreaded framework directed by intermolecular hydrogen bonds, in which large opened windows of each (3,6)-connected layer are threaded by two dangling MA molecules of two adjacent layers from two opposite directions. Display omitted
•Compound 1 is a new 2D→3D polythreaded framework.•This polythreading is directed by intermolecular hydrogen-bonds.•Compound 1 shows intense ligand-centered luminescence.
Modified polyacrylamide-based cryogels were synthesized, by adding acrylic acid, allyl amine or both in the prepolymerizing solutions. These fluffy porous materials are easily humidified by water and ...infiltrated by glyceride. All the three polymers were catalytically active for the transesterification of glyceryl oleate. Therein the basic cryogel exhibited the highest conversion of glyceride (88.4 %) and yield of methyl oleate about 64.0 %. Certainly there is still room for improvement. Cryogel catalysts could be promising due to the inherent features of these materials: macroporous structures, adjustable hydrophilicity and hydrophobility, and flexible choice and combination of catalytic groups.
Graphical Abstract
A universal sensing platform for fluorescence turn-on detection of biomolecules is developed based on Fenton reaction triggered molecular beacon cleavage. Due to its high quenching efficiency, ...molecular beacons (MBs)-based sensing systems usually show low background fluorescence and large signal-to-background ratio. Glucose is chosen as a model biomolecule for constructing an MB-based fluorescence sensing system. In the presence of glucose, the glucose oxidase will bind with it and catalyze the oxidation to generate H2O2, which is further decomposed to produce OH through the Fe2+-catalyzed Fenton reaction. Then, in-situ-generated OH can trigger the cleavage of the MB, and its fluorescence intensity will be dramatically increased because of the complete separation of the fluorophore from the quencher. By employing molecular beacon as both recognition and reporter probes to low background signal, the proposed biosensors showed high sensitivity to targets. It also exhibited high selectivity owing to the high specificity of the enzymatic oxidation, which make it valuable for the detection of target biomolecule in complex biological samples.
► A universal sensing platform for fluorescence detection of biomolecules is developed. ► The proposed sensing system is based on a Fenton reaction triggered molecular beacon cleavage strategy. ► It shows a “turn-on” fluorescence response to target biomolecule with high sensitivity. ► It also exhibits high selectivity owing to the high specificity of the enzymatic oxidation.
The epididymis and efferent ducts play major roles in sperm maturation, transport, concentration and storage by reabsorbing water, ions and proteins produced from seminiferous tubules. Gpr48-null ...male mice demonstrate reproductive tract defects and infertility. In the present study, we found that estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) was dramatically reduced in the epididymis and efferent ducts in Gpr48-null male mice. We further revealed that ERalpha could be upregulated by Gpr48 activation via the cAMP/PKA signaling pathway. Moreover, we identified a cAMP responsive element (Cre) motif located at -1307 to -1300 bp in the ERalpha promoter that is able to interact with Cre binding protein (Creb). In conclusion, Gpr48 participates in the development of the male epididymis and efferent ducts through regulation of ERalpha expression via the cAMP/PKA signaling pathway.
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