Clinical characteristics of Guillain-Barré syndrome in Shenzhen: a retrospective study.

Background: Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a group of immune-mediated peripheral neuropathies that causes acute flaccid paralysis. The global incidence of GBS was 0.6-4/100 000, and the incidence in China was 0.

Right-to-left shunt detection synchronized contrast transcranial Doppler combined with contrast transthoracic echocardiography: A preliminary study.

Background: Patent foramen ovale (PFO)-related right-to-left shunts (RLSs) have been implicated in cryptogenic stroke and migraine, with larger shunts posing a higher risk. When used individually to detect RLS, contrast transcranial Doppler (cTCD) and contrast transthoracic echocardiography (cTTE) may yield false-negative results. Further, the literature exposes gaps regarding the understanding of the limitations of cTCD and cTTE, presents conflicting recommendations on their exclusive use, and highlights inefficiencies associated with nonsynchronous testing.

Examining the Role of GLU/GABA to GLN Metabolic Cycle in the Pathogenesis of Post-Stroke Depressive Disorder and Insomnia.

Objective: This study aims to elucidate the potential links between the GLU/GABA to GLN metabolic cycle disruptions and the onset of depressive and insomnia disorders following a stroke. We particularly focus on understanding if these disorders share a common underlying pathogenic mechanism.

Methods: We examined 63 patients with post-stroke insomnia, 62 patients with post-stroke depression, and 18 healthy individuals.

An investigation on the changes of serum CCK-8, substance P, and 5-HT in patients with post-stroke insomnia.

Background: At present, the pathogenesis of post-stroke insomnia (PSI) is still inconclusive.

Objective: To explore the changes and significance of serum cholecystokinin-8 (CCK-8), substance P (SP), and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in patients with PSI.

Methods: Ninety-one patients with stroke were selected as the research subjects, and according to the score of the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), they were divided into the insomnia group and the non-insomnia group.

Chemical Structure and Shape Enhance MR Imaging-Guided X-ray Therapy Following Marginative Delivery.

Ineffective site-specific delivery has seriously impeded the efficacy of nanoparticle-based drugs to a disease site. Here, we report the preparation of three different shapes (sphere, scroll, and oblate) to systematically evaluate the impact of the marginative delivery on the efficacy of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging-guided X-ray irradiation at a low dose of 1 Gy. In addition to the shape effect, the therapeutic efficacy is investigated for the first time to be strongly related to the structure effect that is associated with the chemical activity.

Efficient DNA-Driven Nanocavities for Approaching Quasi-Deterministic Strong Coupling to a Few Fluorophores.

Strong coupling between light and matter is the foundation of promising quantum photonic devices such as deterministic single photon sources, single atom lasers, and photonic quantum gates, which consist of an atom and a photonic cavity. Unlike atom-based systems, a strong coupling unit based on an emitter-plasmonic nanocavity system has the potential to bring these devices to the microchip scale at ambient conditions. However, efficiently and precisely positioning a single or a few emitters into a plasmonic nanocavity is challenging.

Clinical characterization and prognostic implications of metabolic syndrome in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis at a Chinese center.

Objective: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a common clinical condition associated with cardiovascular disease in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD); however, its prognostic implication among patients receiving PD remains controversial.

Methods: In a prospective study from January 2013 and June 2016, we enrolled 190 patients undergoing PD and followed them for 46.4 ± 30.

Epidemiology of fetal cerebral ventriculomegaly and evaluation of chromosomal microarray analysis versus karyotyping for prenatal diagnosis in a Chinese hospital.

Objective: To evaluate the efficiency and incremental value of chromosomal microarray analysis as compared with standard karyotyping for the identification of genomic abnormalities in fetal DNA.

Methods: This retrospective study enrolled female patients with ultrasonographically diagnosed fetal ventriculomegaly. The prevalence, associated anomalies and clinical outcomes of ventriculomegaly were evaluated based on data from a single maternal and child health hospital in southwest China.

Hierarchical Nanoparticle Assemblies Formed via One-Step Catalytic Stamp Pattern Transfer.

The one-step catalytic stamp pattern transfer process is described for producing arrays of hierarchical nanoparticle assemblies. The method simply combines in situ nanoparticle synthesis triggered by free residual Si-H groups on PDMS stamps and the lift-off pattern transfer technique. No additional nanoparticle synthesis procedure is required before the pattern transfer process.

Global analysis of population stratification using a smart panel of 27 continental ancestry-informative SNPs.

Over the last decade, several panels of ancestry-informative markers have been proposed for the analysis of population genetic structure. The differentiation efficiency depends on the discriminatory ability of the included markers and the reference population coverage. We previously developed a small set of 27 autosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for analyzing African, European, and East Asian ancestries.

A novel STAT3 inhibitor negatively modulates platelet activation and aggregation.

The signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) plays a critical role in platelet functions. This study sought to understand the effects of the STAT3 inhibitor SC99 on platelet activation and aggregation. Immunoblotting assays were applied to measure the effects of SC99 on the STAT3 signaling pathway.

Facile Functionalization of Polymer Surfaces in Aqueous and Polar Organic Solvents via 3-Mercaptopropylsilatrane.

Surface modification of a polymer substrate with a mercapto functionality is crucial in many applications such as flexible circuitry and point-of-care biosensors. We present here a novel bifunctional molecular adhesive, 3-mercaptopropylsilatrane (MPS), as an interface between polymer and metal surfaces. Under ambient conditions, surface modification of polymer surfaces with a mercapto functionality can be achieved with low concentration (0.

Identification of vaginal fluid, saliva, and feces using microbial signatures in a Han Chinese population.

In recent years, forensic scientists have focused on the discrimination of body fluids using microbial signatures. In this study, we performed PCR-based detection of microbial signatures of vaginal fluid, saliva, and feces in a Han Chinese population. We investigated the 16S rRNA genes of Lactobacillus crispatus, Lactobacillus gasseri, Lactobacillus jensenii, Lactobacillus iners, and Atopobium vaginae in vaginal fluid, the 16S rRNA and the glucosyltransferase enzyme genes of Streptococcus salivarius and Streptococcus mutans in saliva, and the 16S rRNA genes of Enterococcus species, the RNA polymerase β-subunit gene of Bacteroides uniformis and Bacteroides vulgatus, and the α-1-6 mannanase gene of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron in feces.

The association of CYP1A1 genetic polymorphisms and additional gene-gene interaction with ischemic stroke in the eastern Han of China.

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between CYP1A1 gene polymorphism and ischaemic stroke (IS) risk, and the impact of gene-gene interaction on IS risk based on a Chinese Han case-control study. A total of 1162 subjects (612 men and 550 women), with a mean age of 63.1 ± 12.

Steroid Probes Conjugated with Protein-Protected Gold Nanocluster: Specific and Rapid Fluorescence Imaging of Steroid Receptors in Target Cells.

Steroid ligands can easily diffuse through the cell membrane and this property makes it feasible to be used for in-situ staining of the nuclear receptors. However, nonspecific binding of the internalized ligand probe with the cellular components has caused serious interferences for the detection of receptor-expressing cells. We report a novel gold nanocluster (AuNC)-conjugated estrogen probe that can eliminate nonspecific internalization and accelerate nuclear localization to achieve selective and rapid detection of estrogen receptors (ERs) in live cells.

Speckle noise removal applied to ultrasound image of carotid artery based on total least squares model.

An ultrasonic image speckle noise removal method by using total least squares model is proposed and applied onto images of cardiovascular structures such as the carotid artery. On the basis of the least squares principle, the related principle of minimum square method is applied to cardiac ultrasound image speckle noise removal process to establish the model of total least squares, orthogonal projection transformation processing is utilized for the output of the model, and the denoising processing for the cardiac ultrasound image speckle noise is realized. Experimental results show that the improved algorithm can greatly improve the resolution of the image, and meet the needs of clinical medical diagnosis and treatment of the cardiovascular system for the head and neck.

Dantrolene enhances the protective effect of hypothermia on cerebral cortex neurons.

Therapeutic hypothermia is the most promising non-pharmacological neuroprotective strategy against ischemic injury. However, shivering is the most common adverse reaction. Many studies have shown that dantrolene is neuroprotective in in vitro and in vivo ischemic injury models.

Engineered Nanostructures of Haptens Lead to Unexpected Formation of Membrane Nanotubes Connecting Rat Basophilic Leukemia Cells.

A recent finding reports that co-stimulation of the high-affinity immunoglobulin E (IgE) receptor (FcεRI) and the chemokine receptor 1 (CCR1) triggered formation of membrane nanotubes among bone-marrow-derived mast cells. The co-stimulation was attained using corresponding ligands: IgE binding antigen and macrophage inflammatory protein 1α (MIP1 α), respectively. However, this approach failed to trigger formation of nanotubes among rat basophilic leukemia (RBL) cells due to the lack of CCR1 on the cell surface (Int.

In situ fabrication of cleavable peptide arrays on polydimethylsiloxane and applications for kinase activity assays.

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is widely used for microfabrication and bioanalysis; however, its surface functionalization is limited due to the lack of active functional groups and incompatibility with many solvents. We presented a novel approach for in situ fabrication of cleavable peptide arrays on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) viatert-butyloxycarbonyl (t-Boc)/trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) chemistry using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as the anchor and a disulfide/amine terminated hetero-polyethylene glycol as the cleavable linker. The method was fine tuned to use reagents compatible with the PDMS.

Particle Lithography Enables Fabrication of Multicomponent Nanostructures.

Multicomponent nanostructures with individual geometries have attracted much attention because of their potential to carry out multiple functions synergistically. The current work reports a simple method using particle lithography to fabricate multicomponent nanostructures of metals, proteins, and organosiloxane molecules, each with its own geometry. Particle lithography is well-known for its capability to produce arrays of triangular-shaped nanostructures with novel optical properties.

Near-field scanning optical microscopy enables direct observation of Moiré effects at the nanometer scale.

This work reports probing the Moiré effect directly at the nanometer scale via near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM). Periodic metal nanostructures of Au and Cu have been produced sequentially using particle lithography, and the overlapped regions serve as Moiré patterns at nanometer scale. The Moiré effect in these regions can be directly visualized from NSOM images, from which periodicity and structural details are accurately determined.

Nanostructures of designed geometry and functionality enable regulation of cellular signaling processes.

Extracellular matrices (ECM) triggered cellular signaling processes often begin with the clustering of the cellular receptors such as integrin and FcεRI. The sizes of these initial protein complexes or clusters are tens to 100 nm in dimension; therefore, engineered nanostructures could provide effective mimics of ECM for investigation and control of the initial and downstream specific signaling processes. This current topic discusses recent advances in nanotechnology in the context of design and production of matching chemical functionality and geometry for control of specific cellular signaling processes.

Engineered nanostructures of antigen provide an effective means for regulating mast cell activation.

Nanostructures containing 2,4-dinitrophenyl (DNP) as antigen were designed and produced to investigate antibody-mediated activation of mast cells. The design consists of nanogrids of DNP termini inlaid in alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). Using scanning probe-based nanografting, nanometer precision was attained for designed geometry, size, and periodicity.