A non-FRET DNA reporter that changes fluorescence colour upon nuclease digestion.

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) reporters are commonly used in the final stages of nucleic acid amplification tests to indicate the presence of nucleic acid targets, where fluorescence is restored by nucleases that cleave the FRET reporters. However, the need for dual labelling and purification during manufacturing contributes to the high cost of FRET reporters. Here we demonstrate a low-cost silver nanocluster reporter that does not rely on FRET as the on/off switching mechanism, but rather on a cluster transformation process that leads to fluorescence color change upon nuclease digestion.

Assessing the efficacy of coproduction to better understand the barriers to achieving sustainability in NHS chronic kidney services and create alternate pathways.

Context: Too many people living with chronic kidney disease are opting for and starting on hospital-based dialysis compared to a home-based kidney replacement therapy. Dialysis services are becoming financially unsustainable.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of coproductive research in chronic kidney disease service improvement to achieve greater sustainability.

Factors affecting evaporation rates of tear film components measured in vitro.

Objectives: With increasing age and in patients affected with dry-eye symptoms, the human tear film becomes more unstable and exhibits shorter tear break-up times. We examined whether the inclusion of proteins and lipids to water affected the evaporation rates measured in vitro and could account for the lower rates reported previously from in vivo measurements. The impact of temperature, air flow, and humidity on the evaporation rate of tears was measured in vitro.