Evidence of the use of silk by bronze age civilization for sacrificial purposes in the Yangtze River basin of China.

Silk was the driving force behind the opening of the Silk Road, positioning this material as a global commodity that greatly influenced the progress of human civilization. Due to the natural protein properties of silk, the internal structure and external characteristics of silk cultural relics are irreversibly destroyed during the process of burial or when passed down through the generations until the production information and material components completely disappear, making it difficult to obtain direct archaeological evidence for pinpointing the origin of silk. The sacrificial pits at the Sanxingdui archaeologcal site, located in Guanghan, Sichuan, China, have been found with layers of ash above the layers of artifacts and some bronzes with fabric traces.

Reduced representative methylome profiling of cell-free DNA for breast cancer detection.

Background: Whole-genome methylation sequencing of cfDNA is not cost-effective for tumor detection. Here, we introduce reduced representative methylome profiling (RRMP), which employs restriction enzyme for depletion of AT-rich sequence to achieve enrichment and deep sequencing of CG-rich sequences.

Methods: We first verified the ability of RRMP to enrich CG-rich sequences using tumor cell genomic DNA and analyzed differential methylation regions between tumor cells and normal whole blood cells.

Effect of cocooning conditions on the structure, carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of silks.

The stable isotope technique provides the possibility to trace ancient textiles because the technique is associated with advantages such as trace indication, fast detection, and accurate results. Since different cocooning conditions may impact cocoons even under identical habitats, it is important to investigate the effects of different cocooning temperatures and humidity on the isotope incorporation values in the cocoons. In this study, silk fibers were reeled under different conditions of temperature and humidity, followed by analysis of the secondary structure of cocoon proteins and isotope incorporation patterns.

An ultrasensitive MXene-based electrochemical immunosensor for the detection and species identification of archaeological silk microtraces.

The origin and dissemination of silk have been hotly debated in the field of archaeology, and the key to resolving this controversy lies in the detection and species identification of ancient silk microtraces. Herein, a taxonomically specific anti-fibroin monoclonal antibody was successfully prepared and a layer-by-layer self assembly electrochemical immunosensor was innovatively proposed for detecting silk traces based on flexible carbon cloth. The immunosensor possessed a broad linear range of 10-10 ng mL and a detection limit of 2.

A pilot study of stable isotope fractionation in Bombyx mori rearing.

Hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen isotopes derived from three different strains of silkworms at different life stages involved in silkworm rearing, were measured to understand the fractionation characteristics of stable isotopes at different stages of silkworm development, and to trace the movement of these isotopes from food to larva to excrement and finally to silk. We found that silkworm strain had little effect on δH, δO and δC values. However, a large difference was found in the δN levels of newly-hatched silkworms between Jingsong Haoyue and Hua Kang No.

Hepatocellular carcinoma detection via targeted enzymatic methyl sequencing of plasma cell-free DNA.

Background: Epigenetic variants carried by circulating tumor DNA can be used as biomarkers for early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by noninvasive liquid biopsy. However, traditional methylation analysis method, bisulfite sequencing, with disadvantages of severe DNA damage, is limited in application of low-amount cfDNA analysis.

Results: Through mild enzyme-mediated conversion, enzymatic methyl sequencing (EM-seq) is ideal for precise determination of cell-free DNA methylation and provides an opportunity for HCC early detection.

Ultrasensitive dual enhanced electrochemical immunosensor to detect ancient wool relics.

The identification of ancient wool is of great significance in archaeology; however, conventional methods are unwieldy or even ineffective when testing contaminated or severely degraded ancient samples. Therefore, it is highly desirable to develop an ultrasensitive detection method for ancient wool. In this study, an ultrasensitive electrochemical immunosensor is proposed and developed to detect ancient wool, where graphene oxide (GO), aldehyde-functionalized ionic liquid (AFIL) composites and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are synthesized as efficient signal amplifiers.

Rapid Enrichment and Detection of Silk Residues from Tombs by Double-Antibody Sandwich ELISA Based on Immunomagnetic Beads.

The extraction and identification of silk residues in tombs is of great significance for studying the distribution and spread of early silk. However, the complex organic matter in the tomb hinders the accurate identification of silk. In this study, a double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on immunomagnetic beads (IMBs) was developed for the rapid enrichment and detection of silk residues.

Proteomics and Immunology Provide Insight into the Degradation Mechanism of Historic and Artificially Aged Silk.

The process and mechanism of silk degradation is still a bewildering mystery in the investigation and conservation of cultural relics, which rely on the development of accurate and tailored analysis technologies. Here, two advanced approaches, proteomics and immunology, were developed for determining the deterioration behavior of historic silk fabrics and artificially aged samples from the molecular to the holistic level. The surface morphology and secondary structure of silk were destroyed during degradation.

Ultrasensitive Electrochemical Immunosensor Reveals the Existence of Silk Products on the Maritime Silk Road.

The Maritime Silk Road was the major trade route between eastern and western civilizations in the Middle Ages. However, hardly any silk products have been found along the transoceanic trade route. Thus, the extrasensitive detection of silk relic traces has tremendous importance in research regarding the Maritime Silk Road.

Tailored monoclonal antibody as recognition probe of immunosensor for ultrasensitive detection of silk fibroin and use in the study of archaeological samples.

The ultrasensitive detection of fibroin in unearthed silk relics has great significance for investigating the origin and transmission of silk. In this study, an anti-fibroin monoclonal antibody was successfully prepared through animal immunization. Next, a label-free electrochemical immunosensor was fabricated using layer-by-layer self-assembly technology, and an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was proposed.

Comparative analysis of proteins from Bombyx mori and Antheraea pernyi cocoons for the purpose of silk identification.

Achieving efficient identification of silk protein requires highly sensitive analytical techniques and favorable extraction methods, which is of great significance to the research of ancient silk, especially for the controversial issue of the silk origin. In this paper, proteomics and western blot were proposed to analyze the silk proteins of Bombyx mori (B. mori) and Antheraea pernyi (A.

Degradation Behavior and Immunological Detection of Silk Fibroin Exposure to Enzymes.

The degradation behavior of silk fibroin (SF) is a significant and intriguing subject in the area of archaeological ancient silk research. In the present study, the immunological detection techniques combined with traditional characterization methods, jointly studied the degradation process of SF from Bombyx mori (B. mori) and Antheraea pernyi (A.

Species identification of Bombyx mori and Antheraea pernyi silk via immunology and proteomics.

In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the origin, transmission and communication of silk. However, this is still an unsolved mystery in archaeology. The identification of silk-producing species, especially silk produced by Bombyx mori (B.

Sesquiterpenes from Cyperus rotundus and 4α,5α-oxidoeudesm-11-en-3-one as a potential selective estrogen receptor modulator.

Estrogenic activity-oriented fractionation and purification of methanol extract from the rhizome of Cyperus rotundus, a well-known traditional herbal medicine, led to the isolation of six sesquiterpenes. 4α,5α-Oxidoeudesm-11-en-3-one (2) and cyper-11-ene-3,4-dione (3) together with four known sesquiterpenes, cyperotundone (1), caryophyllene α-oxide (4), α-cyperone (5), and isocyperol (6) were obtained from the hexane and dichloromethane fractions. Compounds 2 and 3 were newly isolated from natural resources in particular.

Species Identification of Silks from Bombyx mori, Eri Silkworm and Chestnut Silkworm Using Western Blot and Proteomics Analyses.

Species identification is of key significance for exploring the origin and transmission of ancient silks. In this study, two novel methods, i.e.

Development of an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay and Gold-Labelled Immunochromatographic Strip Assay for the Detection of Ancient Wool.

The identification of ancient wool is of great importance in archaeology. Despite lots of meaningful information can be achieved by conventional detection methods, that is, light and electron microscopy, spectroscopy, and chromatography, the efficacy is likely to be limited in the detection of ancient samples with contamination or severe degradation. In this work, an immunoassay was proposed and performed for the identification of ancient wool.

Discerning Silk Produced by Bombyx mori from Those Produced by Wild Species Using an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay Combined with Conventional Methods.

Recently, much interest has been paid to the separation of silk produced by Bombyx mori from silk produced by other species and tracing the beginnings of silk cultivation from wild silk exploitation. In this paper, significant differences between silks from Bombyx mori and other species were found by microscopy and spectroscopy, such as morphology, secondary structure, and amino acid composition. For further accurate identification, a diagnostic antibody was designed by comparing the peptide sequences of silks produced by Bombyx mori and other species.

Lanthanide-Labeled Immunochromatographic Strip Assay for the On-Site Identification of Ancient Silk.

The on-site identification of ancient silks has long been a key challenge in archeology. Therefore, a rapid, cost-effective, sensitive analytical approach is highly desirable. In this paper, a lanthanide-labeled immunochromatographic strip which is suitable for the on-site identification of ancient silks is described.

An adaptive detection method for fetal chromosomal aneuploidy using cell-free DNA from 447 Korean women.

Background: Noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) using massively parallel sequencing of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is increasingly being used to predict fetal chromosomal abnormalities. However, concerns over erroneous predictions which occur while performing NIPT still exist in pregnant women at high risk for fetal aneuploidy. We performed the largest-scale clinical NIPT study in Korea to date to assess the risk of false negatives and false positives using next-generation sequencing.

Identification of Proteinaceous Binders in Ancient Tripitaka by the Use of an Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay.

Proteinaceous materials, such as ovabumin and collagen, were commonly used as binding media, and as adhesives and protective coatings. However, the identification of ancient proteinaceous binders is a great challenge for archaeologists, due to their limited sample size, complex combinations of various ingredients and reduced availability of the binder during the process of protein degradation. In this paper, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) provides to be a particularly promising method for the detection of proteinaceous binding materials in ancient relics.

Identification of Ancient Silk Using an Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay and Immuno-fluorescence Microscopy.

The identification of ancient silk is of great importance in both archaeology and academia. In the present work, a specific antibody having the characteristics of low cost, easy operation and extensive applicability was developed directly through immunizing rabbits with complete antigen (silk fibroin, SF). Then, antibody-based immunoassays, i.

Development of an enzyme-linked-immunosorbent-assay technique for accurate identification of poorly preserved silks unearthed in ancient tombs.

We report the preparation of a specific fibroin antibody and its use for the identification of unearthed ancient silk relics. Based on the 12-amino-acid repeat sequence "GAGAGSGAGAGS", which is found in fibroin of the silkworm Bombyx mori, a specific antibody against fibroin was prepared in rabbits through peptide synthesis and carrier-protein coupling. This antibody was highly specific for fibroin found in silk.

The feasibility study of non-invasive fetal trisomy 18 and 21 detection with semiconductor sequencing platform.

Objective: Recent non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) technologies are based on next-generation sequencing (NGS). NGS allows rapid and effective clinical diagnoses to be determined with two common sequencing systems: Illumina and Ion Torrent platforms. The majority of NIPT technology is associated with Illumina platform.