A Machine Vision Perspective on Droplet-Based Microfluidics.

Microfluidic droplets, with their unique properties and broad applications, are essential in in chemical, biological, and materials synthesis research. Despite the flourishing studies on artificial intelligence-accelerated microfluidics, most research efforts have focused on the upstream design phase of microfluidic systems. Generating user-desired microfluidic droplets still remains laborious, inefficient, and time-consuming.

SERS-Based Droplet Microfluidic Platform for Sensitive and High-Throughput Detection of Cancer Exosomes.

Exosomes, nanosized extracellular vesicles containing biomolecular cargo, are increasingly recognized as promising noninvasive biomarkers for cancer diagnosis, particularly for their role in carrying tumor-specific molecular information. Traditional methods for exosome detection face challenges such as complexity, time consumption, and the need for sophisticated equipment. This study addresses these challenges by introducing a novel droplet microfluidic platform integrated with a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)-based aptasensor for the rapid and sensitive detection of HER2-positive exosomes from breast cancer cells.

Ataxin-2: a powerful RNA-binding protein.

Ataxin-2 (ATXN2) was originally discovered in the context of spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2), but it has become a key player in various neurodegenerative diseases. This review delves into the multifaceted roles of ATXN2 in human diseases, revealing its diverse molecular and cellular pathways. The impact of ATXN2 on diseases extends beyond functional outcomes; it mainly interacts with various RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) to regulate different stages of post-transcriptional gene expression in diseases.

Microfluidic Chip-Assisted Upconversion Luminescence Biosensing Platform for Point-of-Care Virus Diagnostics.

Epidemics caused by multiple viruses continue to emerge, which have brought a terrible impact on human society. Identification of viral infections with high sensitivity and portability is of significant importance for the screening and management of diseases caused by viruses. Herein, a microfluidic chip (MFC)-assisted upconversion luminescence biosensing platform is designed and fabricated for point-of-care virus detection.

Design and Scalable Fabrication of Liquid Metal and Nano-Sheet Graphene Hybrid Phase Change Materials for Thermal Management.

Here, a paraffin/liquid metal (LM)/graphene hybrid thermal composite material with a high thermal-conductivity as well as  high latent heat is developed. The paraffin is encapsulated in calcium alginate, which produces leakage-free phase change material (PCM) capsules. LM is filled among the gaps of PCM capsules to enhance overall heat conduction.

A Water-Area Recognition Approach Based on "Tuned" Texture Mask and Cuckoo Search Algorithm.

Texture feature extraction is a key topic in many applications of image analysis; a lot of techniques have been proposed to measure the characteristics of this field. Among them, texture energy extracted with a mask is a rotation and scale invariant texture descriptor. However, the tuning process is computationally intensive and easily trap into the local optimum.

Targeting specificity and pharmacokinetics of asialoorosomucoid, a specific ligand for asialglycoprotein receptor on hepatocyte.

Objective: To testify that the asialoorosomucoid (ASOR) prepared by us has liver-targeting specificity and to investigate its pharmacokinetic characteristics.

Methods: The distribution of 125I-ASOR in vivo was determined by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and immunohistochemical technique after 125I-ASOR was injected into Sprague-Dawley (S-D) rats through their caudal veins. In vitro, different doses of pEGFP-N1 plasmid were transfected into both HepG2 cells and HT1080 cells with the use of ASOR-poly-L-lysine.

Changes in the expression of angiotensin II type 1 receptor in the development of liver fibrosis.

Objective: To detect the expression of angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) in the different stages of human liver fibrosis.

Methods: The morphology and ultrastructure of hepatic stellate cells (HSC) in hepatic sinusoids were studied by transmission electron microscopy, collagen I (col I) was tested by immunohistochemical method, an indirect immunofluorescence labeling method was used to detect AT1R, and semiquantitative RT-PCR was used to detect AT1R mRNA.

Results: Positive expression of AT1R was mainly distributed in the periphery of hepatic lobules and in the cytoplasm of HSC in the sinusoids.