Exploitation of the intrinsic electrical properties of particles has recently emerged as an appealing approach for trapping and separating various scaled particles. Initiative particle manipulation ...by dielectrophoresis (DEP) showed remarkable advantages including high speed, ease of handling, high precision and being label-free. Herein, we provide a general overview of the manipulation of polystyrene (PS) beads and related particles
via
DEP; especially, the wide applications of these manipulated PS beads in the quantitative evaluation of device performance for model validation and standardization have been discussed. The motion and polarizability of the PS beads induced by DEP were analyzed and classified into two categories as positive and negative DEP within the time and space domains. The DEP techniques used for bioparticle manipulation were demonstrated, and their applications were conducted in four fields: trapping of single-sized PS beads, separation of multiple-sized PS beads by size, separation of PS beads and non-bioparticles, and separation of PS beads and bioparticles. Finally, future perspectives on DEP-on-a-chip have been proposed to discriminate bio-targets in the network of microfluidic channels.
Exploitation of the intrinsic electrical properties of particles has recently emerged as an appealing approach for trapping and separating various scaled particles.
Summary
The cost-effectiveness of a less intensive fracture liaison service is unknown. We evaluated a fracture liaison service that had been educating and referring patients for secondary prevention ...of osteoporotic fractures for 6 years. Our results suggest that a less intensive fracture liaison service, with moderate effectiveness, can still be worthwhile.
Introduction
Fragility fractures are common among older patients; the risk of re-fracture is high but could be reduced with treatments; different versions of fracture liaison service have emerged to reduce recurrent osteoporotic fractures. But the cost-effectiveness of a less intensive model is unknown. The objective of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of the Ontario Fracture Clinic Screening program, a fracture liaison service that had been educating and referring fragility fracture patients across Ontario, Canada to receive bone mineral density testing and osteoporosis treatments since 2007.
Methods
We developed a Markov model to assess the cost-effectiveness of the program over the patients’ remaining lifetime, using rates of bone mineral density testing and osteoporosis treatment and cost of intervention from the program, and supplemented it with the published literature. The analysis took the perspective of a third-party health-care payer. Costs and benefits were discounted at 5 % per year. Sensitivity analyses assessed the effects of different assumptions on the results.
Results
The program improved quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) by 4.3 years and led to increased costs of CAD $83,000 for every 1000 patients screened, at a cost of $19,132 per QALY gained. The enhanced model, the Bone Mineral Density (BMD) Fast Track program that includes ordering bone mineral density testing, was even more cost-effective ($5720 per QALY gained).
Conclusions
The Ontario Fracture Clinic Screening program appears to be a cost-effective way to reduce recurrent osteoporotic fractures.
The purpose of overviewing research and development status of dependable, efficient, and portable and miniaturized surface acoustic wave (SAW) is to propose practical devices for biosensing and ...medical diagnosis. SAW Love-mode sensors fortunately have a great deal of attention during last two decades. Several periodic structure models of SAW devices were reviewed, especially interdigital transducers (IDTs), wave guiding layers, patterned-ZnO. SAW devices based on such periodic wave guiding layers and patterned-ZnO were demonstrated with superior performance, much better than conventional SAW devices. Both 2D and 3D models of phononic-crystal-based SAW devices can be respectively fabricated by an array of periodic cylindrical holes and pillars, which allowed SAW devices to have both higher Q-factor and GHz-level frequency. Ring waveguide and spherical SAW devices would have potential applications and implementation in biosensing. ZnO is one of attractive guiding-layer materials. Its nanostructures, such as nanowires, nanorods and nanofibers provided with excellent properties, will make nanoscaled SAW devices contribute to be much more sensitive in biosensors. A range of applications based on SAW and ZnO guiding-layer would be therefore expected among of immunochemical analysis, in-situ virus or bacteria determination, microfluidic automation, and cell manipulation.
•Simultaneous biosensing approach base on surface acoustic wave.•Surface acoustic wave sensing models with nanostructures.•Implementation of guiding layers of surface acoustic wave.
Since its discovery in 2012, ferroptosis has been well characterized by the accumulation of lipid peroxides due to the failure of glutathione-dependent antioxidant defenses. It is known as an ...iron-dependent form of programmed cell death, which is distinct from other forms of cell death such as apoptosis and necrosis. Nonetheless, little is known about the ferroptotic agent-induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response and its role in cell death. Recent studies reveal that the ferroptotic agent-induced ER stress response plays an important role in the cross-talk between ferroptosis and other types of cell death. Ferroptotic agents induce the unfolded protein response and subsequently ER stress-mediated activation of the PERK-eIF2α-ATF4-CHOP pathway. CHOP (C/EBP homologous protein) signaling pathway-mediated p53-independent PUMA (p53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis) expression is involved in the synergistic interaction between ferroptosis and apoptosis. This review highlights the recent literature on ferroptotic and apoptotic agent interactions through the ER stress-mediated PERK-eIF2α-ATF4-CHOP-PUMA pathway and implicates combined treatment to effectively enhance tumoricidal efficacy as a novel therapeutic strategy for cancer.
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Byonic is the name of a software package for peptide and protein identification by tandem mass spectrometry. This software, which has only recently become commercially available, facilitates a much ...wider range of search possibilities than previous search software such as SEQUEST and Mascot. Byonic allows the user to define an essentially unlimited number of variable modification types. Byonic also allows the user to set a separate limit on the number of occurrences of each modification type, so that a search may consider only one or two chance modifications such as oxidations and deamidations per peptide, yet allow three or four biological modifications such as phosphorylations, which tend to cluster together. Hence, Byonic can search for tens or even hundreds of modification types simultaneously without a prohibitively large combinatorial explosion. Byonic's Wildcard Search allows the user to search for unanticipated or even unknown modifications alongside known modifications. Finally, Byonic's Glycopeptide Search allows the user to identify glycopeptides without prior knowledge of glycan masses or glycosylation sites.
During pregnancy, the mother must adapt her body systems to support nutrient and oxygen supply for growth of the baby
and during the subsequent lactation. These include changes in the cardiovascular, ...pulmonary, immune and metabolic systems of the mother. Failure to appropriately adjust maternal physiology to the pregnant state may result in pregnancy complications, including gestational diabetes and abnormal birth weight, which can further lead to a range of medically significant complications for the mother and baby. The placenta, which forms the functional interface separating the maternal and fetal circulations, is important for mediating adaptations in maternal physiology. It secretes a plethora of hormones into the maternal circulation which modulate her physiology and transfers the oxygen and nutrients available to the fetus for growth. Among these placental hormones, the prolactin-growth hormone family, steroids and neuropeptides play critical roles in driving maternal physiological adaptations during pregnancy. This review examines the changes that occur in maternal physiology in response to pregnancy and the significance of placental hormone production in mediating such changes.
Imbalances in gut and reproductive tract microbiota composition, known as dysbiosis, disrupt normal immune function, leading to the elevation of proinflammatory cytokines, compromised ...immunosurveillance and altered immune cell profiles, all of which may contribute to the pathogenesis of endometriosis. Over time, this immune dysregulation can progress into a chronic state of inflammation, creating an environment conducive to increased adhesion and angiogenesis, which may drive the vicious cycle of endometriosis onset and progression. Recent studies have demonstrated both the ability of endometriosis to induce microbiota changes, and the ability of antibiotics to treat endometriosis. Endometriotic microbiotas have been consistently associated with diminished Lactobacillus dominance, as well as the elevated abundance of bacterial vaginosis-related bacteria and other opportunistic pathogens. Possible explanations for the implications of dysbiosis in endometriosis include the Bacterial Contamination Theory and immune activation, cytokine-impaired gut function, altered estrogen metabolism and signaling, and aberrant progenitor and stem-cell homeostasis. Although preliminary, antibiotic and probiotic treatments have demonstrated efficacy in treating endometriosis, and female reproductive tract (FRT) microbiota sampling has successfully predicted disease risk and stage. Future research should aim to characterize the “core” upper FRT microbiota and elucidate mechanisms behind the relationship between the microbiota and endometriosis.
Previous studies have demonstrated that a small subset of cancer cells is capable of tumor initiation. The existence of tumor initiating cancer stem cells (CSCs) has several implications in terms of ...future cancer treatment and therapies. However, recently, several researchers proposed that differentiated cancer cells (non-CSCs) can convert to stem-like cells to maintain equilibrium. These results imply that removing CSCs may prompt non-CSCs in the tumor to convert into stem cells to maintain the equilibrium. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) has been found to play an important role in the inducible formation of CSCs and their dynamic equilibrium with non-stem cells. In this study, we used CSC-like human breast cancer cells and their alternate subset non-CSCs to investigate how IL-6 regulates the conversion of non-CSCs to CSCs. MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-453 CSC-like cells formed mammospheres well, whereas most of non-stem cells died by anoikis and only part of the remaining non-stem cells produced viable mammospheres. Similar results were observed in xenograft tumor formation. Data from cytokine array assay show that IL-6 was secreted from non-CSCs when cells were cultured in ultra-low attachment plates. IL-6 regulates CSC-associated OCT-4 gene expression through the IL-6-JAK1-STAT3 signal transduction pathway in non-CSCs. Inhibiting this pathway by treatment with anti-IL-6 antibody (1μg/ml) or niclosamide (0.5–2μM)/LLL12 (5–10μM) effectively prevented OCT-4 gene expression. These results suggest that the IL-6-JAK1-STAT3 signal transduction pathway plays an important role in the conversion of non-CSCs into CSCs through regulation of OCT-4 gene expression.
► Non-stem cancer cells secrete IL-6 under mammosphere culture conditions. ► The IL-6-JAK1-STAT3 signal transduction pathway activates OCT-4 gene expression. ► Conversion of non-CSCs into CSCs occurs through regulation of OCT-4 gene expression.
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