Three-Dimensional (3D) Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) Substrates for Sensing Low-Concentration Molecules in Solution.

The use of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) in liquid solutions has always been challenging due to signal fluctuations, inconsistent data, and difficulties in obtaining reliable results, especially at very low analyte concentrations. In our study, we introduce a new method using a three-dimensional (3D) SERS substrate made of silica microparticles (SMPs) with attached plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs). These SMPs were placed in low-concentration analyte solutions for SERS analysis.

Safety and Feasibility of Hippocampal Sparing Cranial Radiation in Pediatric and Adolescent Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Patients: A Prospective Study.

Introduction Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) constitutes a significant portion of pediatric malignancies, with central nervous system (CNS) relapse posing a considerable threat to patient outcomes. While cranial radiation therapy (CRT) has been utilized to mitigate CNS relapse, it is associated with neurocognitive (NC) side effects. This study explores the feasibility and safety of using volumetric arc therapy (VMAT) with hippocampal sparing (HS) during cranial radiation therapy for ALL patients, aiming to reduce these side effects.

Differentiation of Salivary Gland and Salivary Gland Tumor Tissue via Raman Imaging Combined with Multivariate Data Analysis.

Salivary gland tumors (SGTs) are a relevant, highly diverse subgroup of head and neck tumors whose entity determination can be difficult. Confocal Raman imaging in combination with multivariate data analysis may possibly support their correct classification. For the analysis of the translational potential of Raman imaging in SGT determination, a multi-stage evaluation process is necessary.

Marvels of Bacilli in soil amendment for plant-growth promotion toward sustainable development having futuristic socio-economic implications.

Microorganisms are integral components of ecosystems, exerting profound impacts on various facets of human life. The recent United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Science Summit emphasized the critical importance of comprehending the microbial world to address global challenges, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In agriculture, microbes are pivotal contributors to food production, sustainable energy, and environmental bioremediation.

Genome-wide analysis of glutamate receptor gene family in allopolyploid Brassica napus and its diploid progenitors.

Ionotropic glutamate receptors are ligand-gated nonselective cation channels that mediate neurotransmission in the central nervous system of animals. Plants possess homologous proteins called glutamate receptor-like channels (GLRs) which are involved in vital physiological processes including seed germination, long-distance signaling, chemotaxis, Ca signaling etc. Till now, a comprehensive genome-wide analysis of the GLR gene family members in different economically important species of Brassica is missing.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy in technically unresectable head and neck cancers: a retrospective audit.

Background: The data regarding the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in technically unresectable head and neck cancer (HNC) is limited and real-world studies are needed to look for the efficacy and toxicities of this approach.

Patients And Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted in the Medical Oncology department of our hospital. All technically unresectable HNC patients who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy between May 2018 and May 2020 were included in this analysis.

Gradient SERS Substrates with Multiple Resonances for Analyte Screening: Fabrication and SERS Applications.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) provides a strong enhancement to an inherently weak Raman signal, which strongly depends on the material, design, and fabrication of the substrate. Here, we present a facile method of fabricating a non-uniform SERS substrate based on an annealed thin gold (Au) film that offers multiple resonances and gap sizes within the same sample. It is not only chemically stable, but also shows reproducible trends in terms of geometry and plasmonic response.

Interplay between gene expression and gene architecture as a consequence of gene and genome duplications: evidence from metabolic genes of .

Unlabelled: Gene and genome duplications have been widespread during the evolution of flowering plant which resulted in the increment of biological complexity as well as creation of plasticity of a genome helping the species to adapt to changing environments. Duplicated genes with higher evolutionary rates can act as a mechanism of generating novel functions in secondary metabolism. In this study, we explored duplication as a potential factor governing the expression heterogeneity and gene architecture of Primary Metabolic Genes (PMGs) and Secondary Metabolic Genes (SMGs) of .

Anisotropic and Amphiphilic Mesoporous Core-Shell Silica Microparticles Provide Chemically Selective Environments for Simultaneous Delivery of Curcumin and Quercetin.

Porous silica materials are often used for drug delivery. However, systems for simultaneous delivery of multiple drugs are scarce. Here we show that anisotropic and amphiphilic dumbbell core-shell silica microparticles with chemically selective environments can entrap and release two drugs simultaneously.

Determination and Monitoring of Quality Parameters: A Detailed Study of Optical Elements of a Lens-Based Raman Spectrometer.

A lens-based Raman spectrometer is characterized by studying the optical elements in the optical path and we study the measure of aberration-diffraction effects. This is achieved by measuring the spectral resolution (SR) thus encompassing almost all optical elements of a spectrometer that are mostly responsible for such effects. An equation for SR is used to determine the quality factor which measures aberration/diffraction effects occurring in a spectrometer.

Chemical Imaging of Single Anisotropic Polystyrene/Poly (Methacrylate) Microspheres with Complex Hierarchical Architecture.

Monodisperse polystyrene spheres are functional materials with interesting properties, such as high cohesion strength, strong adsorptivity, and surface reactivity. They have shown a high application value in biomedicine, information engineering, chromatographic fillers, supercapacitor electrode materials, and other fields. To fully understand and tailor particle synthesis, the methods for characterization of their complex 3D morphological features need to be further explored.

Systematic Investigation of Polyurethane Biomaterial Surface Roughness on Human Immune Responses .

It has been widely shown that biomaterial surface topography can modulate host immune response, but a fundamental understanding of how different topographies contribute to pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory responses is still lacking. To investigate the impact of surface topography on immune response, we undertook a systematic approach by analyzing immune response to eight grades of medical grade polyurethane of increasing surface roughness in three models of the human immune system. Polyurethane specimens were produced with defined roughness values by injection molding according to the VDI 3400 industrial standard.

Flexible plasmonic graphene oxide/heterostructures for dual-channel detection.

Graphene oxide (GO) films are deposited on flexible Kapton substrates and selectively modified to conductive reduced graphene oxide (rGO) electrodes using laser patterning. Based on this, we design, fabricate, and test a flexible sensor integrating laser-reduced GO with silver plasmonic nanostructures. The fabricated device results in dual transduction channels: for electrochemical and plasmonic nanostructure-based surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) detection.

The role of a plasmonic substrate on the enhancement and spatial resolution of tip-enhanced Raman scattering.

Since the first report in the early 2000s, there have been several experimental configurations that have demonstrated enhancement and spatial resolution of tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS). The combination of a plasmonic substrate and a metallic tip is one suitable approach to achieve even higher enhancement and lateral resolution. In this contribution, we demonstrate TERS on a monolayer of MoS on an array of Au nanodisks.

Probing interlayer excitons in a vertical van der Waals p-n junction using a scanning probe microscopy technique.

Two dimensional (2D) semiconductors feature exceptional optoelectronic properties controlled by strong confinement in one dimension. In this contribution, we studied interlayer excitons in a vertical p-n junction made of bilayer n-type MoS and few layers of p-type GaSe using current sensing atomic force microscopy (CSAFM). The p-n interface is prepared by mechanical exfoliation onto highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG).

The role of introns in the conservation of the metabolic genes of Arabidopsis thaliana.

In Arabidopsis thaliana, primary metabolic genes (PMGs) are more evolutionarily conserved and intron-rich than secondary metabolic genes. We observed that PMGs are more primitive and pan-taxonomically persistent as compared to secondary (SMGs) and non-metabolic genes (NMGs). This difference in primitiveness and persistence is primarily correlated with intron number and is independent of gene expression level.

Computational analysis of the glutamate receptor gene family of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) function as glutamate-activated ion channels in rapid synaptic transmission in animals. Arabidopsis thaliana possess 20 glutamate receptor-like genes (AtGLRs) in its genome which are involved in many functions including light signal transduction and calcium homeostasis. However, little is known about the physico-chemical, functional and structural properties of AtGLRs.

Evolutionary Rate Heterogeneity of Primary and Secondary Metabolic Pathway Genes in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Primary metabolism is essential to plants for growth and development, and secondary metabolism helps plants to interact with the environment. Many plant metabolites are industrially important. These metabolites are produced by plants through complex metabolic pathways.

[Computational analysis of a cys-loop ligand gated ion channel from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii].

Plants possess several neurotransmitters with well-known physiological roles. Currently only receptors for glutamate were reported to be found in plants, while receptors for acetylcholine, serotonin and GABA have not yet been reported. In animals, these neurotransmitters act via one class of ligand binding ion channels called Cys-loop receptors which play a major role in fast synaptic transmission.

A computerized spectrophotometric instrumental system to determine the "vertical velocity" of sperm cells: a novel concept.

Background: The presently available cell motility-analyzers measure primarily the "horizontal" velocity and there is no instrument available for "vertical" velocity measurement. This development was based on the turbidimetric method of sperm motility analysis.

Methods: Sperm was layered at the bottom of the cuvette containing buffer solution and exposed to the spectrophotometric light path at different heights to track the vertically moving sperms.