Dysregulated HIC1 and RassF1A expression in vitro alters the cell cytoskeleton and exosomal Piwi-interacting RNA.

HIC1 and RassF1A methylation, which cause loss of gene function, are found in various cancers, including renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and could alter cell stiffness and the content of extracellular vesicles (EVs). These physiological changes may provide a tumoral survival advantage and thus could serve as cellular biomarkers for monitoring cell transformation, although direct associations between these changes and cell transformation remain to be established. As we found HIC1 and RassF1A methylation and expression changes in RCC samples, we examined the effects of gain and loss of HIC1 and RassF1A expression on cell DNA content, cytoskeletal structure, and Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) expression in EVs.

Measurements of an Effective Longitudinal Coherence Length in Transmission Small Angle X-ray Scatterings.

The notion of an effective longitudinal coherence length with its value much greater than λ2/(2Δλ) has been adopted in small-angle X-ray scattering communities for years, where λ and Δλ denote the incident wavelength and its spread, respectively. Often the implications of the effective longitudinal coherence length do not even enter considerations in the designing and data treatment of small-angle scattering experiments. In this work, conventional transmission small-angle X-ray scattering (tSAXS) was performed to reveal a clear angular dependence on effective longitudinal coherence length.

Ag Nanostructures with Spikes on Adhesive Tape as a Flexible Sers-Active Substrate for In Situ Trace Detection of Pesticides on Fruit Skin.

Nanostructures with spikes (NSPs) have been a subject of several surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) applications owing to their significant Raman signal enhancement brought about by the combined effects of interspike coupling and the accumulated induction on the tips of spikes. Thus, NSPs offer great potential as a SERS-active substrate for relevant applications that require a high density of enhanced "hot spots". In this study, Ag NSPs were synthesized in varying degrees of agglomeration and were thereafter deposited onto a transparent adhesive tape as a flexible substrate for SERS applications, specifically, in the detection of trace amounts of pesticides.

Gold Nanoparticle-Coated ZrO₂-Nanofiber Surface as a SERS-Active Substrate for Trace Detection of Pesticide Residue.

Trace detection of common pesticide residue is necessary to assure safety of fruit and vegetables, given that the potential health risk to consumers is attributed to the contamination of the sources. A simple, rapid and effective means of finding the residue is however required for household purposes. In recent years, the technique in association with surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has been well developed in particular for trace detection of target molecules.