BCR/ABL fusion gene has been discovered as an important and reliable biomarker for early diagnosis of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Herein, a novel and switching electrochemiluminescence (ECL) ...biosensor was developed for ultrasensitive determination of the fusion gene based on the self-enhanced polyethyleneimine-luminol (PEI-Lum) hydrogels coupled with target-initiated DNAzyme motor. The facilely prepared PEI-Lum hydrogels could not only immobilize enormous luminol but shorten the distance of binary system, thus facilitating the mass and electron transfer efficiency of the sensing interface, so that the enhanced ECL signal was achieved. Moreover, the engineering DNA motor was powered by Mg2+-dependent DNAzyme for isothermal DNA signal amplification. As a result, the fabricated ECL biosensor enabled highly sensitive detection of BCR/ABL fusion gene with a broad linear range from 10.0 fM to 10.0 nM and a low detection limit of 3.75 fM (S/N = 3). Significantly, the developed biosensing method provides a potential tool for nucleic acid analysis in clinical diagnosis and a new avenue to design high-efficient ECL nanomaterials.
•The biosensor combined the self-enhanced PEI-Lum ECL hydrogels and target-initiated DNAzyme motor for signal amplification.•The PEI-Lum hydrogels could facilitate the mass and electron transfer efficiency for achieving efficient ECL emission.•The designed Mg2+ DNAzyme-powered DNA motor possessed good stability and signal amplification efficiency.
This study analysed the variations of relative humidity (RH) over the past 60 years in Shenzhen—an emerging megacity located in the Pearl River Delta region of China. The analysis revealed three ...stages of mean annual RH in Shenzhen since 1961: (1) a stable period with little change from 1961 to 1980; (2) a fluctuating downward trend from 1981 to 2008, with a linear transformation of −2.5%/decade, explained by a decrease in water-retention capacity in the underlying surface caused by the rapid expansion of the urban and built-up land area in Shenzhen; and (3) a fluctuating, rapid upward trend since 2009, with a linear transformation of 5.2%/decade. The rising RH after 2008 was related to policies of the Shenzhen government that were commenced in 2004, aimed at improving the city's ecological environment. The policies included increasing vegetation cover and improving environmental quality coinciding with the gradual expansion of the urban and built-up areas. The resulting increase in water-retention in the underlying surface produced the gradual increase in RH. The data concerning variations in RH and their causes in Shenzhen show that the orderly expansion of urban and built-up land areas, and ecological environmental improvements can be achieved concurrently in densely populated cities, allowing elements of the local climate to return to their natural state to some extent.
•The humidity in Shenzhen has decreased since 1980 and then increased since 2008.•The increase of NDVI is why the humidity has increased.•Urban eco-environmental policies are the key reason to the increase of NDVI.
Abstract Magnetic targeting that utilizes a magnetic field to specifically delivery theranostic agents to targeted tumor regions can greatly improve the cancer treatment efficiency. Herein, we load ...chlorin e6 (Ce6), a widely used PS molecule in PDT, on polyethylene glycol (PEG) functionalized iron oxide nanoclusters (IONCs), obtaining IONC–PEG–Ce6 as a theranostic agent for dual-mode imaging guided and magnetic-targeting enhanced in vivo PDT. Interestingly, after being loaded on PEGylated IONCs, the absorbance/excitation peak of Ce6 shows an obvious red-shift from ∼650 nm to ∼700 nm, which locates in the NIR region with improved tissue penetration. Without noticeable dark toxicity, Ce6 loaded IONC–PEG (IONC–PEG–Ce6) exhibits significantly accelerated cellular uptake compared with free Ce6, and thus offers greatly improved in vitro photodynamic cancer cell killing efficiency under a low-power light exposure. After demonstrating the magnetic field (MF) enhanced PDT using IONC–PEG–Ce6, we then further test this concept in animal experiments. Owing to the strong magnetism of IONCs and the long blood-circulation time offered by the condensed PEG coating, IONC–PEG–Ce6 shows strong MF-induced tumor homing ability, as evidenced by in vivo dual modal optical and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. In vivo PDT experiment based magnetic tumor targeting using IONC–PEG–Ce6 is finally carried out, achieving high therapeutic efficacy with dramatically delayed tumor growth after just a single injection and the MF-enhanced photodynamic treatment. Considering the biodegradability and non-toxicity of iron oxide, our IONC–PEG–Ce6 presented in this work may be a useful multifunctional agent promising in photodynamic cancer treatment under magnetic targeting.
Repeat firing produces uncertainty about stabilizing lithium disilicate glass-ceramic (LDGC) material properties, even though prolonged holding time can enhance the mechanical property of LDGC during ...a single firing cycle. However, the effect of prolonged holding time and repeat firing on the mechanical property and microstructure of LDGC is not fully understood. In the present study, three groups of LDGC material were created: (i) extension of holding time (7 vs. 14 vs. 28 min) at 780–800 °C; (ii) holding time extension (7 vs. 14 min) and dual sintering at 800–820 °C, respectively; (iii) dual sintering with prolonged holding time (7 vs. 14 min) at 820–840 °C. The nano-indenter test revealed that prolonged holding time (14 and 28 min) promoted the enhancement of LDGC hardness and Young’s modulus. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed that prolonged holding time increased and stabilized LD phase in LDGC, as well as induced residual compressive stress. Scanning electron microscopy showed that prolonged holding time increased LD crystal grains homogeneously and facilitated LDGC to form dense interlocking structure without enlarging crystal size grains significantly. In contrast, LDGC that dual sintered alone at 820–840 °C possessed inferior mechanical properties, coupled with heterogeneous crystal phases, residual tensile stress, and melted crystals grains in the porous microstructure. Interestingly, these deteriorated properties of LDGC caused by dual sintering alone could be counteracted by prolonging the holding time. Nevertheless, the LDGC materials displayed an excellent biocompatibility throughout the study. This study identified that prolonged holding time during repeated firing cycles stabilized LD phase and crystal grain size of LDGC, thus enhanced the mechanical properties, which provided a new insight to extend the repeat fired restoration longevity of LDGC.
Graphical abstract
Hybrid dc circuit breaker (HCB) is an effective device for interrupting dc fault currents in dc grids. Conventional two-port HCB requires too many insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) in series ...in its main breaker, resulting in considerable costs. Recently proposed multiport hybrid dc circuit breakers (multiport HCBs, and the number of ports is greater than or equal to 2) interrupt fault currents on multiple lines using only one shared main breaker, significantly reducing the implementation costs but losing some fault handling capabilities. To overcome these obstacles, we propose a novel high-performance economical multiport hybrid dc circuit breaker (MP-HCB) in this article. The topology and its control method are proposed. Due to the designed ring-connection structure, the proposed MP-HCB can avoid dc bus fault, and thus is more reliable. The electrical stresses of the breaker are theoretically analyzed, and the parameters are determined to make the MP-HCB capable of multiple-line faults. Compared with the typical two-port HCB and the existing multiport HCBs, the proposed MP-HCB can achieve full fault current interruption capability with lower costs. To protect a dc node connecting with three lines, the cost of the semiconductors of the proposed MP-HCB is only 1/3 of the typical two-port HCB and 1/2 of the existing multiport HCB. Finally, the performances of the proposed MP-HCB are verified via a four-terminal HVdc system in power systems computer aided design/ electromagnetic transients including DC (PSCAD/EMTDC).
Urbanization has not only promoted economic development, but also significantly changed land use and development strategy. The environmental problems brought by urbanization threaten ecological ...security directly. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce changes in land use when constructing an ecological security pattern. This study takes the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, one of the most economically developed regions in China, as the research area. Based on its land use status, the Cellular Automata–Markov model was used to predict the quantitative change and transfer of land-use types in 2025, and three types of land-use patterns were simulated under different scenarios. Combined with the pressure–state–response model, the Entropy TOPSIS comprehensive evaluation model is used to evaluate the three phases in the years of 2005, 2010, and 2015, and the results indicated that the safety level dropped from 85.45% to 82.94%. Five spatial associations were obtained from the spatial autocorrelation analysis using GeoDA, and the clustering distribution of the three phases was roughly the same. Based on the requirements of “Natural Growth” scenario, “Urban Sprawl” scenario, and “Ecological Protection” scenario, the transfer matrix of the various land-use types were modified rationally. The results of scenario simulations illustrated that the level of urbanization was inversely proportional to the level of ecological security. The surrounding cities in the northern part of Taihu Lake were developing rapidly, with low levels of ecological security. The hilly cities in the southern part, in contrast, developed slowly and had a high level of ecological security. Based on the temporal and spatial changes in the ecosystem, an ecosystem optimization model was proposed to determine the ecological functional areas. The nature of each functional area provided the basis to formulate urban construction and management plans and achieve sustainable urban development.
Interferon regulatory factor 8 (
IRF8
) is a key regulator of innate immune receptor signaling that resists pathogen invasion by regulating cell growth and differentiation. Porcine epidemic diarrhea ...virus (PEDV) targets the intestine and damages the mucosal barrier. However, whether
IRF8
regulates PEDV replication remains unclear. We revealed that PEDV infection activated
IRF8
expression. Moreover,
IRF8
deletion drastically promoted PEDV replication and invasion, increasing the virus copies and titers. Hypomethylation enrichment of activating protein (AP)-2α was significantly negatively correlated with high
IRF8
expression, and AP-2α directly targeted the
IRF8
promoter to regulate PEDV replication. Furthermore,
IRF8
overexpression decreased the cellular reactive oxygen species levels and mitochondrial membrane potential and increased the antioxidant enzyme activities to alleviate PEDV-induced oxidative damage.
IRF8
overexpression suppressed apoptotic gene expression, thereby inhibiting apoptosis in response to PEDV stimulation. Taken together, this study demonstrates that AP-2α is involved in PEDV-induced epigenetic modification of
IRF8
to reduce cell apoptosis and oxidative stress and facilitate host resistance to PEDV in the intestinal epithelium.
The neurogenic bowel dysfunction is a kind of familiar sequelae of the spinal cord injury (SCI), occurring in 70 to 80 percent of the SCI patients. The nursing intervention based on quantitative ...evaluation is to fully consider and assess the disease condition of patients, implement the personalized programs of nursing intervention, meet the patient's nursing needs to the maximum extent, improve the quality of nursing, and then facilitate the rehabilitation of patients. Our aim is to implement this program to evaluate the impact of this nursing intervention based on quantitative evaluation on the quality of life and bowel function in the neurogenic bowel dysfunction patients after SCI.
The experiment is a randomized clinical research which will be implemented from May 2021 to October 2021 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University. The experiment was granted through the Research Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University (No.100238765). Fifty neurogenic bowel dysfunction patients after SCI confirmed via the imaging are included in this study. The patients with the history of bowel diseases or patients who are unwilling to cooperate with the evaluation will be excluded. The primary outcomes are bowel function recovery and satisfaction of the patients. The secondary outcomes are quality of life evaluated by SF-36 questionnaire. The questionnaire involves physical pain, role physiology, physiological functions, social functions, vitality, general health, mental health and role-motional.
Comparison of clinical parameters between the 2 groups will be shown in Table 1.
Nursing intervention based on the quantitative evaluation can improve the quality of life and recovery of intestinal function for the neurogenic intestinal dysfunction patients after SCI.
researchregistry6143.
The emission of greenhouse gases, especially CO2, is the main factor causing global warming. Due to incomplete statistical data on energy consumption at and below the urban scale of ...Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH), in this study, Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) and Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (NPP-VIIRS) data were combined, and a neural network model and weighted average method based on DN (Digital Number) value were used to obtain CO2 emissions at the municipal and county scales with a resolution of 1 km × 1 km from 2000–2019. Next, a spatial-temporal analysis model and spatial econometric model were used to study the CO2 emissions at different scales of BTH. This study also solved the problem that STIRPAT analysis cannot be carried out due to insufficient urban statistical CO2 emissions data. The results show that the energy CO2 emissions in BTH present a distribution pattern of “East greater than West”, with a trend of first rising and then slowing down. Moreover, the rapid growth areas are mainly located in Chengde and Tianjin. The degree of regional spatial aggregation decreased year by year from 2000–2019. Population, affluence and technology factors were positively correlated with CO2 emissions in Tianjin and Hebei. For Beijing, in addition to foreign investment, factors such as urbanization rate, energy intensity, construction and transportation factors all contributed to the increase in CO2 emissions. Among them, the growth of population is the main reason for the increase of CO2 at the urban scale in BTH. Finally, based on the research results and the specific situation of the cities, corresponding policies and measures are proposed for the future low-carbon development of the cities.
Antipsychotic pharmacotherapy is strongly obesogenic and is associated with increased oxidative stress in patients with schizophrenia. However, whether these changes reflect psychopathology, ...antipsychotic efficacy, or some other factor is not known. Our study aims to investigate the degree of oxidative stress in different BMI categories and to identify clinical symptomatology that may be paired with increased oxidative stress in a schizophrenia population. To this end, we performed a cross-sectional study and recruited 89 long-term inpatients with schizophrenia and collected the following variables: plasma malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), routine biochemical analysis, and psychopathology through the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). The results indicate that the levels of the lipid peroxidation product, MDA, were significantly higher in the high BMI group than the low (normal) BMI group. As expected, high BMI was associated with an atherogenic lipid profile; however, it was also associated with fewer psychopathological symptoms. Multiple regression analysis found that MDA levels, the PANSS general psychopathology subscore, and triglyceride levels (all p < 0.05) were independent contributors to the BMI in patients. These results suggested that oxidative stress may play an important role in antipsychotic-induced weight gain. Further investigations using the longitudinal design in first-episode schizophrenia patients are needed to explore the beneficial effect of antioxidants on the abnormal lipid metabolism mediated by antipsychotic treatment.
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