The Effects of Different Durations of Night-Time Supplementary Lighting on the Growth, Yield, Quality and Economic Returns of Tomato.

To achieve higher economic returns, we employ inexpensive valley electricity for night-time supplementary lighting (NSL) of tomato plants, investigating the effects of various durations of NSL on the growth, yield, and quality of tomato. Tomato plants were treated with supplementary light for a period of 0 h, 3 h, 4 h, and 5 h during the autumn-winter season. The findings revealed superior growth and yield of tomato plants exposed to 3 h, 4 h, and 5 h of NSL compared to their untreated counterparts.

Ordered Nanopillar Arrays of Low Dynamic Noise Dry Bioelectrodes for Electrocardiogram Surface Monitoring.

Flexible bioelectric dry electrodes are an important part of long-term medical healthcare monitoring systems. In this study, a new method is proposed for the preparation of dry electrodes with micronanopillar arrays structured by designing dimensionally tunable anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) templates, by which polyaniline/thermoplastic polyurethane single-layer micronanopillar array structured dry electrodes (PANI/TPU-SE) and polyaniline/thermoplastic polyurethane double-layer micronanopillar array structured dry electrodes (PANI/TPU-DE) are prepared. Compared with the planar structure, the micronanopillar array structure can reduce the contact gap between the electrode and skin and increase the contact area, thus exhibiting lower contact impedance and higher signal quality.

Flexible and high-performance piezoresistive strain sensors based on multi-walled carbon nanotubes@polyurethane foam.

Flexible wearable pressure sensors have attracted special attention in the last 10 years due to their great potential in health monitoring, activity detection and as electronic skin. However, it is still a great challenge to develop high sensitivity, fast response, and good reliable stability through a simple and reproducible large-scale fabrication process. Here, we develop a simple and efficient method to fabricate three-dimensional (3D) light-weight piezoresistive sensing materials by coating multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on the surface of polyurethane (PU) foam using a dip-spin coating process.

Development of High-Sensitivity Piezoresistive Sensors Based on Highly Breathable Spacer Fabric with TPU/PPy/PDA Coating.

In recent years, the research of flexible sensors has become a hot topic in the field of wearable technology, attracting the attention of many researchers. However, it is still a difficult challenge to prepare low-cost and high-performance flexible sensors by a simple process. Three-dimensional spacer fabric (SF) are the ideal substrate for flexible pressure sensors due to its good compression resilience and high permeability (5747.

Fructus Xanthii-Inspired Low Dynamic Noise Dry Bioelectrodes for Surface Monitoring of ECG.

The microstructured surfaces of bioelectrical dry electrodes are important aspects of dry electrode design. However, traditional surfaces for microstructured bioelectrical dry electrodes are costly to produce and require complex fabrication methods. In this study, a novel stacked-template method is proposed for the first time, rapidly producing microstructured dry electrodes at a low cost and with a large surface area.

MiRNA Quantitation with Microelectrode Sensors Enabled by Enzymeless Electrochemical Signal Amplification.

Quantification of circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) is of great interest because of their potentials as disease biomarkers. Currently, quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and microarray are considered mainstream techniques for miRNA identification and quantitation. However, these techniques are challenged by the low levels and wide dynamic range (from aM to nM) of miRNAs in a physiological sample, as well as the difficulty in the implementation in point-of-care settings.

Near-Infrared Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence from Aqueous Soluble Lipoic Acid Au Nanoclusters.

Strong electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) is detected from dithiolate Au nanoclusters (AuNCs) in aqueous solution under ambient conditions. A novel mechanism to drastically enhance the ECL is established by covalent attachment of coreactants N,N-diethylethylenediamine (DEDA) onto lipoic acid stabilized Au (Au-LA) clusters with matching redox activities. The materials design reduces the complication of mass transport between the reactants during the lifetime of radical intermediates involved in conventional ECL generation pathway.

Proceedings of the Second Shanthi V. Sitaraman Intestinal Pathobiology Symposium.

On March 18 and 19, 2015, the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University hosted the Second Shanthi V. Sitaraman Intestinal Pathobiology Symposium in memory of Dr. Shanthi V.

Microelectrode miRNA sensors enabled by enzymeless electrochemical signal amplification.

Better detections of circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) as disease biomarkers could advance diseases diagnosis and treatment. Current analysis methods or sensors for research and applications are challenged by the low concentrations and wide dynamic range (from aM to nM) of miRNAs in a physiological sample. Here, we report a one-step label-free electrochemical sensor comprising a triple-stem DNA-redox probe structure on a gold microelectrode.

2-Quinoxalinol diamine Cu(II) complex: facilitating catalytic oxidation through dual mechanisms.

The Cu(II) complex 1, Cu(II)-6-N-3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylidene-6,7-quinoxalinol-diamine, has been developed to address problems with current methods of catalytic oxidation using tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP). Complex 1 demonstrated an increased capability to utilize TBHP while limiting interference from free radical reactions and was demonstrated to be highly effective in the oxidations of a variety of olefins.

Detection of ferrocenemethanol and molecular oxygen based on electrogenerated chemiluminescence quenching at a bipolar electrode.

Small molecules, such as ferrocenemethanol (FcMeOH) and O2, that are capable of quenching the Ru(bpy)3(2+) excited state via energy or electron transfer can be quantitatively detected in a bipolar electrochemical cell based on the attenuation of steady-state electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL). FcMeOH quenches ECL generated by the Ru(bpy)3(2+) oxalate coreactant system, exhibiting a linear dependence on [FcMeOH] with a Stern-Volmer slope of 921 M(-1), corresponding to a quenching rate constant of 2 × 10(9) M(-1) s(-1). We used the bipolar ECL quenching platform to measure dissolved O2 and validated the results using a standard Clark electrode.

Ultrasensitive microfluidic solid-phase ELISA using an actuatable microwell-patterned PDMS chip.

Quantitative detection of low abundance proteins is of significant interest for biological and clinical applications. Here we report an integrated microfluidic solid-phase ELISA platform for rapid and ultrasensitive detection of proteins with a wide dynamic range. Compared to the existing microfluidic devices that perform affinity capture and enzyme-based optical detection in a constant channel volume, the key novelty of our design is two-fold.

Quantitative microfluidic biomolecular analysis for systems biology and medicine.

In the postgenome era, biology and medicine are rapidly evolving towards quantitative and systems studies of complex biological systems. Emerging breakthroughs in microfluidic technologies and innovative applications are transforming systems biology by offering new capabilities to address the challenges in many areas, such as single-cell genomics, gene regulation networks, and pathology. In this review, we focus on recent progress in microfluidic technology from the perspective of its applications to promoting quantitative and systems biomolecular analysis in biology and medicine.

Programmable active droplet generation enabled by integrated pneumatic micropumps.

In this work we have investigated the integrated diaphragm micropump as an active fluidic control approach for the on-demand generation of droplets with precisely defined size, frequency and timing. In contrast to valve-actuated devices that only modulate the flow of the dispersed phase being continuously injected, this integrated micropump allows the combination of fluidic transport and modulation to achieve active control of droplet generation. A distinct characteristic of this method compared to the valve modulated droplet formation processes is that it enables independent control of droplet generation frequency by adjusting the pumping frequency and droplet size by flow conditions.

Allylic C-H activations using Cu(II) 2-quinoxalinol salen and tert-butyl hydroperoxide.

Using a Cu(II) 2-quinoxalinol salen complex as the catalyst and tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as the oxidant, allylic activations of olefin substrates can be converted to the corresponding enones or 1,4-enediones. Excellent yields can be achieved (up to 99%) within a very short reaction time and with great tolerance for additional functional groups. Possible mechanistic pathways have been characterized using Raman spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and theoretical calculations.

Quantitation of femtomolar protein levels via direct readout with the electrochemical proximity assay.

We have developed a separation-free, electrochemical assay format with direct readout that is amenable to highly sensitive and selective quantitation of a wide variety of target proteins. Our first generation of the electrochemical proximity assay (ECPA) is composed of two thrombin aptamers which form a cooperative complex only in the presence of target molecules, moving a methylene blue (MB)-conjugated oligonucleotide close to a gold electrode. Without washing steps, electrical current is increased in proportion to the concentration of a specific target protein.

Electrochemical sensors based on molecularly imprinted polymers grafted onto gold electrodes using click chemistry.

We have developed a three-step method to graft molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) thin films onto Au electrodes. In the first step, propargyl acrylate is clicked onto an azidoundecanethiol (N(3)(CH(2))(11)SH)/decanethiol mixed self-assembled monolayer (SAM). Then, by applying UV light (365 nm) in the presence of N,N'-methylenebis(acrylamide) (MAAM) and azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as the radical initiator, polymerization was carried out directly on the electrode surface in the presence of an electroactive template molecule, hydroquinone (HQ).