Development of Stabilizing Solution for Long-Term Storage of Bacteriophages at Room Temperature and Application to Control Foodborne Pathogens.

Bacteriophages (phages) have gained considerable attention as effective antimicrobial agents that infect and kill pathogenic bacteria. Based on this feature, phages have been increasingly used to achieve food safety. They are stored in a medium or buffer to ensure stability; however, they cannot be directly applied to food under these conditions due to reasons such as regulatory considerations and concerns about marketability.

A review of nucleic acid-based detection methods for foodborne viruses: Sample pretreatment and detection techniques.

Viruses are major pathogens that cause food poisoning when ingested via contaminated food and water. Therefore, the development of foodborne virus detection technologies that can be applied throughout the food distribution chain is essential for food safety. A common nucleic acid-based detection method is polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which has become the gold standard for monitoring food contamination by viruses due to its high sensitivity, and availability of commercial kits.

Paper-Based Radial Flow Assay Integrated to Portable Isothermal Amplification Chip Platform for Colorimetric Detection of Target DNA.

Unlabelled: A novel integrated detection system that introduces a paper-chip-based molecular detection strategy into a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchip and temperature control system was developed for on-site colorimetric detection of DNA. For the paper chip-based detection strategy, a padlock probe DNA (PLP)-mediated rolling circle amplification (RCA) reaction for signal amplification and a radial flow assay according to the Au-probe labeling strategy for visualization were optimized and applied for DNA detection. In the PDMS chip, the reactions for ligation of target-dependent PLP, RCA, and labeling were performed one-step under isothermal temperature in a single chamber, and one drop of the final reaction solution was loaded onto the paper chip to form a radial colorimetric signal.

Rolling Circle Amplification-based Copper Nanoparticle Synthesis on Cyclic Olefin Copolymer Substrate and Its Application in Aptasensor.

Unlabelled: This study aimed to develop a label-free fluorescent aptasensor for the detection of diazinon (DZN) on a cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) substrate. The aptasensor design was based on rolling circle amplification (RCA) technology and the use of self-assembled copper nanoparticles (CuNPs). A dual-function (DF) probe, capable of binding to circular DNA and an aptamer, was designed and immobilized on a COC-bottom 96-well plate.

The Chloroplast Phylogenomics and Systematics of (Poaceae).

The genus Willd. (Chloridoideae) is widely distributed from the temperate regions of Northeast Asia-including China, Japan, and Korea-to the tropical regions of Southeast Asia. Among these, four species- Steud.

Trends in sensor development toward next-generation point-of-care testing for mercury.

Mercury is one of the most common heavy metals and a major environmental pollutant that affects ecosystems. Since mercury and its compounds are toxic to humans, even at low concentrations, it is very important to monitor mercury contamination in water and foods. Although conventional mercury detection methods, including inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, atomic absorption spectroscopy, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, exhibit excellent sensitivity and accuracy, they require operation by an expert in a sophisticated and fully controlled laboratory environment.

Selective Binding and Elution of Aptamers for Pesticides Based on Sol-Gel-Coated Nanoporous Anodized Aluminum Oxide Membrane.

Sol-gel-based mesopores allow the entry of target small molecules retained in their cavity and aptamers to bind to target molecules. Herein, sol-gel-based materials are applied to screen-selective aptamers for small molecules, such as pesticides. To enhance the efficiency of aptamer screening using a sol-gel, it is necessary to increase the binding surface.

3D-printed rolling circle amplification chip for on-site colorimetric detection of inorganic mercury in drinking water.

A point-of-care testing chip was developed for the colorimetric detection of inorganic mercury ion (Hg). The disposable chip fabricated by three-dimensional printing technology contains DNAzymes produced by rolling circle amplification (RCA); a color change caused by the enzymatic reaction between DNAzymes and the peroxidase substrate 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) is measured using a portable spectrophotometer. In the "turn-off"-type RCA reaction, the annealing of the T(12) primer that initiates the RCA reaction is blocked by the interaction of thymine with Hg; thus, the amount of amplified DNAzymes causing a color change is decreased depending on Hg concentration.

Radial Flow Assay Using Gold Nanoparticles and Rolling Circle Amplification to Detect Mercuric Ions.

A novel colorimetric assay employing oligonucleotide-conjugated gold nanoparticle (AuNP probes) and rolling circle amplification (RCA) was developed for simple detection of mercuric ions (Hg). The thymine-Hg-thymine (T-Hg-T) coordination chemistry makes our detection system selective for Hg. In the presence of Hg, the thymine 12-mer oligonucleotide is unable to act as a primer for RCA due to the formation of T-Hg-T before the RCA reaction.

Outcomes of complex lung disease based on clinical phenotype.

The effect of the clinical phenotype of complex (MAC) lung disease on treatment outcome and redevelopment of nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease after treatment completion has not been studied systematically.We evaluated 481 treatment-naïve patients with MAC lung disease who underwent antibiotic treatment for ≥12 months between January 2002 and December 2013.Out of 481 patients, 278 (58%) had noncavitary nodular bronchiectatic (NB) disease, 80 (17%) had cavitary NB disease and 123 (25%) had fibrocavitary disease.

Inverse Correlation between Extracellular DNase Activity and Biofilm Formation among Chicken-Derived Strains.

and are important foodborne pathogenic bacteria, particularly in poultry meat. In this study, the presence of extracellular DNase activity was investigated for biofilm-deficient strains versus biofilm-forming strains isolated from chickens, to understand the relationship between extracellular DNase activity and biofilm formation. A biofilm-forming reference strain, NCTC11168, was co-incubated with biofilm non-forming strains isolated from raw chickens or their supernatants.

Risk score model for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in treatment-naïve patients receiving oral antiviral treatment for chronic hepatitis B.

Background/aims: This study aimed to develop and validate a risk prediction model for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in treatment-naïve patients receiving oral antiviral treatment for chronic hepatitis B (CHB).

Methods: We investigated 2,061 Korean treatment-naïve patients with CHB treated with entecavir as an initial therapy. A risk score model for HCC development was developed based on multivariable Cox regression model in a single center (n=990) and was validated using the time-dependent area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) in three other centers (n=1,071).

Dynamic prognostication using conditional survival analysis for patients with operable lung adenocarcinoma.

Purpose: To evaluate conditional survival among patients with surgically resected stage I-IIIa lung adenocarcinoma and identify changes in prognostic contributions for various prognostic factors over time.

Patients And Methods: We performed conditional survival analysis at each t0 (=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 years) for 723 consecutive patients who underwent surgical resection for lung adenocarcinoma, stratified by various clinico-demographic features, as well as pathologic and imaging (tumor-shadow disappearance ratio [TDR] on CT and maximum standardized uptake value [SUVmax] on PET) characteristics. Uni- and multivariableCox regression analyses were performed to evaluate relationships between those variables and conditional survival.

A nCounter CNV Assay to Detect HER2 Amplification: A Correlation Study with Immunohistochemistry and In Situ Hybridization in Advanced Gastric Cancer.

Aim: Screening amplified genes for targeted therapy with high-throughput technology is very important. The NanoString nCounter system allows multiplexed digital quantification of target molecules through the use of color-coded barcodes with the great advantage that formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue can be utilized.

Methods: We tested nCounter custom copy number variation (CNV) panels in 220 gastric cancer samples and evaluated the utility of this method as a screening tool for the detection of CNV using HER2.

Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction as a Mechanism of Angina in Severe AS: Prospective Adenosine-Stress CMR Study.

Background: Although a common symptom in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) without obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD), little is known about the pathogenesis of exertional angina.

Objectives: This study sought to prove that microvascular dysfunction is responsible for chest pain in patients with severe AS and normal epicardial coronary arteries using adenosine-stress cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging.

Methods: Between June 2012 and April 2015, 117 patients with severe AS without obstructive CAD and 20 normal controls were enrolled prospectively.

A Whole-Cell Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensor Based on a Leucine Auxotroph of Escherichia coli Displaying a Gold-Binding Protein: Usefulness for Diagnosis of Maple Syrup Urine Disease.

We developed a whole-cell surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor based on a leucine auxotroph of Escherichia coli displaying a gold-binding protein (GBP) in response to cell growth and applied this sensor to the diagnosis of maple syrup urine disease, which is represented by the elevated leucine level in blood. The leucine auxotroph was genetically engineered to grow displaying GBP in a proportion to the concentration of target amino acid leucine. The GBP expressed on the surface of the auxotrophs directly bound to the golden surface of an SPR chip without the need for any additional treatment or reagents, which consequently produced SPR signals used to determine leucine levels in a test sample.

Aptamer-based cell imaging reagents capable of fluorescence switching.

We describe an aptamer-conjugated polydiacetylene imaging probe (ACP) that shows highly specific fluorescence switching upon binding to epithelial cancer cells that overexpress the tumor biomarker protein EpCAM (epithelial cell adhesion molecule) on their surface.

Cell-based method utilizing fluorescent Escherichia coli auxotrophs for quantification of multiple amino acids.

A cell-based assay system for simultaneous quantification of the three amino acids, phenylalanine (Phe), methionine (Met), and leucine (Leu) in a single biological sample, was developed and applied in the multiplex diagnosis of three key metabolic diseases of newborn babies. The assay utilizes three Escherichia coli auxotrophs, which grow only in the presence of the corresponding target amino acids and which contain three different fluorescent reporter plasmids that produce distinguishable fluorescence signals (red, green, and cyan) in concert with cell growth. To mixtures of the three auxotrophs, immobilized on agarose gels arrayed on a well plate, is added a test sample.

Highly efficient colorimetric detection of target cancer cells utilizing superior catalytic activity of graphene oxide-magnetic-platinum nanohybrids.

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) have most widely been applied in immunoassays for several decades. However, several unavoidable limitations (e.g.

Cell-based galactosemia diagnosis system based on a galactose assay using a bioluminescent Escherichia coli array.

A new cell-based galactose assay system, which is comprised of two bioluminescent Escherichia coli strains immobilized within an agarose gel arrayed on a well plate, has been developed. For this purpose, a galT knockout strain [galT(-) cell] of E. coli was genetically constructed so that cell growth is not promoted by galactose but rather by glucose present in a sample.

A highly efficient colorimetric immunoassay using a nanocomposite entrapping magnetic and platinum nanoparticles in ordered mesoporous carbon.

Nanocomposite to achieve ultrafast immunoassay: a new synergistically integrated nanocomposite consisting of magnetic and platinum nanoparticles, simultaneously entrapped in mesoporous carbon, is developed as a promising enzyme mimetic candidate to achieve ultrafast colorimetric immunoassays. Using new assay system, clinically important target molecules, such as human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and diarrhea-causing rotavirus, can be detected in only 3 min at room temperature with high specificity and sensitivity.

A novel colorimetric immunoassay utilizing the peroxidase mimicking activity of magnetic nanoparticles.

A simple colorimetric immunoassay system, based on the peroxidase mimicking activity of Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), has been developed to detect clinically important antigenic molecules. MNPs with ca. 10 nm in diameter were synthesized and conjugated with specific antibodies against target molecules, such as rotaviruses and breast cancer cells.

A label-free method for detecting biological thiols based on blocking of Hg2+-quenching of fluorescent gold nanoclusters.

A novel, label-free, fluorescent, turn-on sensor for biological thiol detection that uses highly fluorescent gold nanoclusters (AuNCs), prepared by a bovine serum albumin (BSA)-templated green synthetic route, has been developed. The assay relies on blocking Hg(2+)-induced quenching of the fluorescence of AuNCs, caused by metallophilic Hg(2+)-Au(+) interactions, through selective coordination of biological thiols with Hg(2+) ions. Biological thiols entrap added Hg(2+) ions via a robust Hg-S interaction.

Effective peroxidase-like activity of a water-solubilized Fe-aminoclay for use in immunoassay.

In this study, we developed a colorimetric sensor for the determination of the peroxidase-like activity of Fe-aminoclay, which was used as a novel way of immunoassay for lung cancer was examined. Fe-aminoclay was synthesized by a facile sol-gel reaction under ambient conditions, with both amino sites and Fe surface exposed outside. This Fe-aminoclay, which exhibits strong peroxidase-like activity particularly over a wide pH range, was explored as a robust and rugged replacement of peroxidase enzymes.