Multiplexed electrical detection of whole viruses from plasma in a microfluidic platform.

The advancement of point-of-care diagnostics is crucial to improving patient outcomes, especially in areas with low access to hospitals or specialized laboratories. In particular, rapid, sensitive, and multiplexed detection of disease biomarkers has great potential to achieve accurate diagnosis and inform high quality care for patients. Our Coulter counting and immunocapture based detection system has previously shown its broad applicability in the detection of cells, proteins, and nucleic acids.

Real-time bottom-up characterization of protein mixtures enabled by online microdroplet-assisted enzymatic digestion (MAED).

Enzymatic digestion remains one of the "rate-determining steps" in the bottom-up analysis of proteins. However, by performing digestion in microdroplets generated from electrosonic spray, the reaction could be accelerated to a timescale lower than milliseconds. Here, we describe a simple and rapid online digestion platform named online microdroplet-assisted enzymatic digestion (MAED).

Electrochemical point-of-care devices for the diagnosis of sepsis.

Sepsis is a life-threatening dysfunction of organ systems caused by a dysregulated immune system because of an infectious process. It remains one of the leading causes of hospital mortality and of hospital readmissions in the United States. Mortality from sepsis increases with each hour of delayed treatment, therefore, diagnostic devices that can reduce the time from the onset of a patient's infection to the delivery of appropriate therapy are urgently needed.

Next-generation pathology practices with mass spectrometry imaging.

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is a powerful technique that reveals the spatial distribution of various molecules in biological samples, and it is widely used in pathology-related research. In this review, we summarize common MSI techniques, including matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization and desorption electrospray ionization MSI, and their applications in pathological research, including disease diagnosis, microbiology, and drug discovery. We also describe the improvements of MSI, focusing on the accumulation of imaging data sets, expansion of chemical coverage, and identification of biological significant molecules, that have prompted the evolution of MSI to meet the requirements of pathology practices.

Remodeling nanoDESI Platform with Ion Mobility Spectrometry to Expand Protein Coverage in Cancerous Tissue.

Nanospray desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry is an ambient ionization technique that is capable of mapping proteins in tissue sections. However, high-abundant molecules or isobaric interference in biological samples hampers its broad applications in probing low-abundant proteins. To address this challenge, herein we demonstrated an integrated module that coupled pneumatic-assisted nanospray desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry with high-field asymmetric ion mobility spectrometry.

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Visual Hallucinations in Patients with Vascular Cognitive Impairment.

Visual hallucinations (VHs) are striking features for dementia, especially dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). We aimed to study the frequency and associated factors of VH in vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) and investigate the feasibility of clinically diagnosing the mixed pathology of VCI with DLB. This is a multicentre registration study.

Counteracting Cisplatin-Induced Testicular Damages by Natural Polyphenol Constituent Honokiol.

Cisplatin, despite its anti-cancer ability, exhibits severe testicular toxicities when applied systemically. Due to its wide application in cancer treatment, reduction of its damages to normal tissue is an imminent clinical need. Here we evaluated the effects of honokiol, a natural lipophilic polyphenol compound, on cisplatin-induced testicular injury.

Precision biomarker discovery powered by microscopy image fusion-assisted high spatial resolution ambient ionization mass spectrometry imaging.

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) using the ambient ionization technique enables a direct chemical investigation of biological samples with minimal sample pretreatment. However, detailed morphological information of the sample is often lost due to its limited spatial resolution. In this study, predictive high-resolution molecular imaging was produced by the fusion of ambient ionization MSI with optical microscopy of routine hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining.

Predicting Breast Cancer by Paper Spray Ion Mobility Spectrometry Mass Spectrometry and Machine Learning.

Paper spray ionization has been used as a fast sampling/ionization method for the direct mass spectrometric analysis of biological samples at ambient conditions. Here, we demonstrated that by utilizing paper spray ionization-mass spectrometry (PSI-MS) coupled with field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS), predictive metabolic and lipidomic profiles of routine breast core needle biopsies could be obtained effectively. By the combination of machine learning algorithms and pathological examination reports, we developed a classification model, which has an overall accuracy of 87.

Multimodal Imaging of Amyloid Plaques: Fusion of the Single-Probe Mass Spectrometry Image and Fluorescence Microscopy Image.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases. The formation of amyloid plaques by aggregated amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides is a primary event in AD pathology. Understanding the metabolomic features and related pathways is critical for studying plaque-related pathological events (e.

Intravenous Thrombolysis in Acute Ischemic Stroke After Idarucizumab Reversal of Dabigatran Effect: Analysis of the Cases From Taiwan.

Background: Asians with atrial fibrillation carry a higher risk of ischemic stroke than non-Asians even under treatment of nonvitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants. The purpose of the study was to observe the feasibility of intravenous thrombolytic therapy after administering a reversal agent, idarucizumab, in dabigatran-treated patients with acute ischemic stroke in Taiwan.

Methods: Dabigatran-treated patients with acute ischemic stroke who received intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) after idarucizumab reversal were enrolled in the retrospective nationwide study.

Nucleotide-Dependent Bioautocatalytic Timer Reaction.

We describe a biochemical timer composed of three biocatalytic reactions involving three types of adenylate nucleotides: adenosine triphosphate (ATP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP), and adenosine monophosphate (AMP). The timer is triggered by a small amount of ATP or ADP. An abrupt increase in the ATP concentration (following numerous amplification cycles) leads to a sudden increase of luminescence from the reaction mixture.

Facile multi-dimensional profiling of chemical gradients at the millimetre scale.

A vast number of conventional physicochemical methods are suitable for the analysis of homogeneous samples. However, in various cases, the samples exhibit intrinsic heterogeneity. Tomography allows one to record approximate distributions of chemical species in the three-dimensional space.

Process dependence of morphology and microstructure of cyanine dye J-aggregate film: correlation with absorption, photo- and electroluminescence properties.

Cyanine dye J-aggregate films are a class of absorbing and luminescent materials which have been extensively applied in the polariton-based research. Here we systematically study the DEDOC cyanine dyes J-aggregate films made by layer-by-layer assembly and spin-coating processes to establish a clear correlation between the film structure and the absorption and luminescence properties. From detailed analyses of morphology, optical spectra, and light-emitting diode characteristics, we demonstrate that layer-by-layer assembled film has higher degrees of homogeneity and molecular packing quality than spin-coated film, leading to a higher absorption coefficient, more uniform luminescence, and a greater electroluminescence quantum efficiency with maximized thickness.

Adjustable exciton-photon coupling with giant Rabi-splitting using layer-by-layer J-aggregate thin films in all-metal mirror microcavities.

Developing of highly absorbing thin films is essential for exploration of light-matter interaction and polariton-based applications. We demonstrate here layer-by-layer assembled J-aggregate thin films of (DEDOC) cyanine dyes that have high absorption coefficient and controlled thicknesses, leading to adjustable exciton-photon coupling and Rabi splitting exceeding 400 meV at room temperature in all-metal mirror microcavities.

Feasibility of a novel two-piece nasogastric feeding tube for patients with dysphagia.

Introduction: The exposed section of a traditional nasogastric (NG) tube can interfere with patients' social activities and thereby result in distress. This study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility and safety of a novel two-piece NG tube for patients with dysphagia.

Methods: Ten patients with dysphagia were recruited between November 2011 and May 2012.

Low-level laser effects on simulated orthodontic tension side periodontal ligament cells.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze proliferation, inflammation, and osteogenic effects on periodontal ligament (PDL) cells after low-level laser therapy (LLLT) under simulated orthodontic tension conditions.

Background Data: Low-level lasers affect fibroblast proliferation and collagen synthesis and reduce inflammation. Few studies have focused on the LLLT changes in the PDL caused by moving teeth.

Evaluation of human osteosarcoma cell line genotoxicity effects of mineral trixoide aggregate and calcium silicate cements.

Introduction: Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and calcium silicate (CS) cements exhibit acceptable levels of cytocompatibility. The aim of the present study was to evaluate MTA and CS cement genotoxicity in a human osteosarcoma cell line (MG63).

Methods: A mitochondrial colorimetric assay was used to evaluate the MG63 survival rate.

Expression of the inflammatory marker cyclooxygenase-2 in dental pulp cells cultured with mineral trioxide aggregate or calcium silicate cements.

Introduction: Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and calcium silicate (CS) cements exhibit acceptable physical and chemical properties. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of MTA and CS cements on inflammatory reactions in primary cultured human dental pulp cells.

Methods: The mitochondrial colorimetric assay was used to evaluate pulp cell survival rates.

Comparison of calcium and silicate cement and mineral trioxide aggregate biologic effects and bone markers expression in MG63 cells.

Bone cell (MG63) biocompatibility and bone marker expression were compared after calcium and silicate base cement (CS) and mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) treatment. X-ray diffraction was used to identify material surface structure, and tetrazolium bromide colorimetric assay was used to evaluate the cell viability. The relative mitogen activation protein kinase expression was compared with Western blot, and bone marker expression was evaluated with reverse transcriptase polymerization chain reaction.