Liquid biopsy enables noninvasive and dynamic analysis of molecular or cellular biomarkers, and therefore holds great potential for the diagnosis, prognosis, monitoring of disease progress and ...treatment efficacy, understanding of disease mechanisms, and identification of therapeutic targets for drug development. In this review, the recent progress in nanomaterials, nanostructures, nanodevices, and nanosensors for liquid biopsy is summarized, with a focus on the detection and molecular characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and extracellular vesicles (EVs). The developments and advances of nanomaterials and nanostructures in enhancing the sensitivity, specificity, and purity for the detection of CTCs and EVs are discussed. Sensing techniques for signal transduction and amplification as well as visualization strategies are also discussed. New technologies for the reversible release of the isolated CTCs and EVs and for single‐CTC/EV analysis are summarized. Emerging microfluidic platforms for the integral on‐chip isolation, detection, and molecular analysis are also included. The opportunities, challenges, and prospects of these innovative materials and technologies, especially with regard to their feasibility in clinical applications, are discussed. The applications of nanotechnology‐based liquid biopsy will bring new insight into the clinical practice in monitoring and treatment of tumor and other significant diseases.
Nanotechnologies for biological detection have evolved from the individual nanomaterial and nanostructure to integrated nanobased platforms and devices. Improvements in these nanotechnologies enable efficient isolation, detection, and multifunctional analysis of circulating tumor cells and extracellular vesicles, and provide strong opportunities for the early diagnosis, real‐time monitoring, and prognosis evaluation of cancer.
Adiponectin is an adipocytokine with anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties. Our previous study has shown that blood adiponectin levels were inversely correlated to the risk of nasopharyngeal ...carcinoma (NPC), and that adiponectin could directly suppress the proliferation of NPC cells. However, the effect of adiponectin on NPC metastasis remains unknown. Here, we revealed in clinical studies that serum adiponectin level was inversely correlated with tumor stage, recurrence, and metastasis in NPC patients, and that low serum adiponectin level also correlates with poor metastasis-free survival. Coculture with recombinant adiponectin suppressed the migration and invasion of NPC cells as well as epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). In addition, recombinant adiponectin dampened the activation of NF-κB and STAT3 signaling pathways induced by adipocyte-derived proinflammatory factors such as leptin, IL-6, and TNF-α. Pharmacological activation of adiponectin receptor through its specific agonist, AdipoRon, largely stalled the metastasis of NPC cells. Taken together, these findings demonstrated that adiponectin could not only regulate metabolism and inhibit cancer growth, but also suppress the metastasis of NPC. Pharmacological activation of adiponectin receptor may be a promising therapeutic strategy to stall NPC metastasis and extend patients’ survival.
Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are attractive for the removal of industrial dyes from aqueous pollution. However, effective simultaneous removal of oppositely charged dye ions is still a challenge. ...We find that zirconium–metalloporphyrin mesoMOF (PCN-222/MOF-545) exhibits excellent adsorption/removal capacities for numerous anionic and cationic dyes individually and together in solution. PCN-222 is fabricated by solvothermal synthesis and characterized by powder XRD and FT-IR methods to confirm its structure. N 2 adsorption/desorption indicates PCN-222 has a large pore size of 3.2 nm and a surface area of 2336 m 2 g −1 . The zeta potential measurement shows that PCN-222 has a slight basic isoelectric point at pH 8 with appropriate potentials of 23.5 and −13.6 mV in the range of pH 3–10. These features facilitate the dual-function of PCN-222 toward anionic and cationic dyes, or even their complexes. The results show that PCN-222 has a maximum loading efficacy of 906 mg g −1 for anionic methylene blue (MB) and 589 mg g −1 for cationic methyl orange (MO) in a single dye system. Interestingly, when MB and MO co-exist in solution, they mutually enhance the capability by 36.8% (1239 mg g −1 ) for MB and 73.5% (1022 mg g −1 ) for MO. The adsorption kinetics, isotherms, stability and reusability of PCN-222 are reported. The results reveal that no significant changes of either crystal structure or loading capacity are observed up to eight recycles during the removal of MO and MB in solution. The adsorption efficacies of eight representative dyes are presented. Compared with previously published data, the capacity of PCN-222 ranks at the top. We prepared a facile adsorption chromatography column to demonstrate the broad application potentials of PCN-222 in dye removal from aqueous pollution. Finally, we propose a push–pull mechanism to explain the mutual enhancement of adsorption in a mixture dye solution.
Brain image segmentation algorithm based on deep learning is a research hotspot at present. In this paper, firstly, the significance of brain image segmentation and the content of related brain image ...segmentation algorithm are systematically described, highlighting the advantages of brain image segmentation algorithms based on deep learning. Then, this paper introduces current brain image segmentation algorithms based on deep learning from three aspects: the brain image segmentation algorithms based on problems existent to brain image, the brain image segmentation algorithms based on prior knowledge guidance and the application of general deep learning models in brain image segmentation, so as to enable researchers in relevant fields to understand current research progress more systematically. Finally, this paper provides a general direction for the further research of brain image segmentation algorithm based on deep learning.
Gut microbiota dysbiosis, associated with insulin resistance, weak intestinal barrier integrity, and inflammation, may also play a role in the development of dietary-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver ...disease (NAFLD). This study investigates the effects of dietary
Lactobacillus plantarum
NA136 administration on gut microbiota composition in an insulin-resistant C57BL/6J mouse NAFLD model. Comparison of mice with and without
L. plantarum
NA136 treatment revealed that
L. plantarum
NA136 treatment not only relieved insulin resistance but also significantly increased relative proportions of
Desulfovibrio
,
Alistipe
s,
Prevotella
, and
Enterorhabdus
in gut microbiota of NAFLD mice. Meanwhile,
L. plantarum
NA136 administration also inhibited pathogenic bacterial growth, while promoting growth of probiotics such as
Allobaculum
,
Lactobacillus
, and, most markedly,
Bifidobacterium
. Moreover,
L. plantarum
NA136 treatment of NAFLD mice improved intestinal barrier integrity and attenuated high-fat and fructose diet (HFD/F)-induced inflammation. These results implicate gut-liver-axis-dependent microbiota modulation as the underlying mechanism for
L. plantarum
NA136-induced amelioration of NAFLD.
Key points
• L. plantarum NA136 corrects gut microbiota disorders caused by a high-fat and fructose diet.
• L. plantarum NA136 strengthens the intestinal barrier and reduces inflammation in the liver.
• L. plantarum NA136 relieves NAFLD by improving the gut-liver axis.
Ras homolog enriched in brain (Rheb) is a small GTPase that regulates cell growth, differentiation, and survival by upregulating mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling. The role ...of Rheb/mTORC1 signaling in the activation of kidney fibroblasts and the development of kidney fibrosis remains largely unknown. In this study, we found that Rheb/mTORC1 signaling was activated in interstitial myofibroblasts from fibrotic kidneys. Treatment of rat kidney interstitial fibroblasts (NRK-49F cell line) with TGFβ1 also activated Rheb/mTORC1 signaling. Blocking Rheb/mTORC1 signaling with rapamycin or Rheb small interfering RNA abolished TGFβ1-induced fibroblast activation. In a transgenic mouse, ectopic expression of Rheb activated kidney fibroblasts. These Rheb transgenic mice exhibited increased activation of mTORC1 signaling in both kidney tubular and interstitial cells as well as progressive interstitial renal fibrosis; rapamycin inhibited these effects. Similarly, mice with fibroblast-specific deletion of Tsc1, a negative regulator of Rheb, exhibited activated mTORC1 signaling in kidney interstitial fibroblasts and increased renal fibrosis, both of which rapamycin abolished. Taken together, these results suggest that Rheb/mTORC1 signaling promotes the activation of kidney fibroblasts and contributes to the development of interstitial fibrosis, possibly providing a therapeutic target for progressive renal disease.
In engineering, the stress state of expanded tubes is crucial for ensuring structural integrity and preventing stress corrosion cracking. The analysis of stresses and strains in tubes subjected to ...mechanical expansion using an ogive bullet is essential, yet existing theoretical methods for estimating the stress distributions, especially with spherical and ogive shapes, are sparse. This study explores the expansion of 3/8 inch copper and stainless-steel tubes using an expanding bullet, where tangential and longitudinal strains are measured. A novel analytical approach is introduced to evaluate the stresses and strains, segmenting the tube into three zones, each analyzed with a distinct theory. Validation is achieved through an axisymmetric finite element model that employs a multi-linear kinematic hardening material behavior. The analytical model also estimates the expanding mandrel’s push force, which is then compared with the results from numerical simulations and experimental data, showing good agreement across methods.
Real-time tool tracking in minimally invasive-surgery (MIS) has numerous applications for computer-assisted interventions (CAIs). Visual tracking approaches are a promising solution to real-time ...surgical tool tracking, however, many approaches may fail to complete tracking when the tracker suffers from issues such as motion blur, adverse lighting, specular reflections, shadows, and occlusions. We propose an automatic real-time method for two-dimensional tool detection and tracking based on a spatial transformer network (STN) and spatio-temporal context (STC). Our method exploits both the ability of a convolutional neural network (CNN) with an in-house trained STN and STC to accurately locate the tool at high speed. Then we compared our method experimentally with other four general of CAIs' visual tracking methods using eight existing online and in-house datasets, covering both in vivo abdominal, cardiac and retinal clinical cases in which different surgical instruments were employed. The experiments demonstrate that our method achieved great performance with respect to the accuracy and the speed. It can track a surgical tool without labels in real time in the most challenging of cases, with an accuracy that is equal to and sometimes surpasses most state-of-the-art tracking algorithms. Further improvements to our method will focus on conditions of occlusion and multi-instruments.
The application of minimally invasive surgical tool detection and tracking technology based on deep learning in minimally invasive surgery is currently a research hotspot. This paper firstly expounds ...the relevant technical content of the minimally invasive surgery tool detection and tracking, which mainly introduces the advantages based on deep learning algorithm. Then, this paper summarizes the algorithm for detection and tracking surgical tools based on fully supervised deep neural network and the emerging algorithm for detection and tracking surgical tools based on weakly supervised deep neural network. Several typical algorithm frameworks and their flow charts based on deep convolutional and recurrent neural networks are summarized emphatically, so as to enable researchers in relevant fields to understand the current research progress more systematically and provide reference for minimally invasive surgeons to select navigation technology. In the end, this paper provides a general direction for the furthe
Intraoperative detection and tracking of minimally invasive instruments is a prerequisite for computer- and robotic-assisted surgery. Since additional hardware, such as tracking systems or the robot ...encoders, are cumbersome and lack accuracy, surgical vision is evolving as a promising technique to detect and track the instruments using only endoscopic images. The present paper presents a review of the literature regarding image-based laparoscopic tool detection and tracking using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and consists of four primary parts: (1) fundamentals of CNN; (2) public datasets; (3) CNN-based methods for the detection and tracking of laparoscopic instruments; and (4) discussion and conclusion. To help researchers quickly understand the various existing CNN-based algorithms, some basic information and a quantitative estimation of several performances are analyzed and compared from the perspective of 'partial CNN approaches' and 'full CNN approaches'. Moreover, we highlight the challenges related to research of CNN-based detection algorithms and provide possible future developmental directions.
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