The combination of DNA nanostructures and materials for highly sensitive electrochemical detection.

Due to the wide range of electrochemical devices available, DNA nanostructures and material-based technologies have been greatly broadened. They have been actively used to create a variety of beautiful nanostructures owing to their unmatched programmability. Currently, a variety of electrochemical devices have been used for rapid sensing of biomolecules and other diagnostic applications.

Broadband nanostructured fiber mode convertors enabled by inverse design.

Nanostructured fiber devices enabling mode conversion between arbitrary fiber modes are proposed and numerically validated. The intra-fiber nanostructures are optimized by the inverse design algorithm. We demonstrate a set of designs of nanophotonic fibers that can facilitate high-purity conversion from the fundamental mode to higher-order modes up to 3 orders for both LP and OAM modes inside the fibers.

Vertically Aligned Graphene Prepared by Photonic Annealing for Ultrasensitive Biosensors.

Graphene exhibits excellent physical, electronic, and chemical properties that are highly desirable for biosensing applications. However, most graphene biosensors are based on graphene lying flat on a substrate and therefore do not utilize its maximum specific surface area for ultrasensitive detection. Herein, we report the novel use of photonic annealing on a flexographically printed graphene-ethyl cellulose composite to produce vertically aligned graphene (VAG) biosensors for ultrasensitive detection of algal toxins in drinking water.

Recent Advances on Electrochemical Sensors for the Detection of Organic Disinfection Byproducts in Water.

Irreversible organ damage or even death frequently occurs when humans or animals unknowingly drink contaminated water. Therefore, in many countries drinking water is disinfected to ensure removal of harmful pathogens from drinking water. If upstream water treatment prior to disinfection is not adequate, disinfection byproducts (DBPs) can be formed.

Involvement of the Nonneuronal Cholinergic System in Bone Remodeling in Rat Midpalatal Suture after Rapid Maxillary Expansion.

Few studies sought to analyze the expression and function of the nonneuronal acetylcholine system in bone remodeling in vivo due to the lack of suitable models. We established a rat maxilla expansion model in which the midline palatine suture of the rat was rapidly expanded under mechanical force application, inducing tissue remodeling and new bone formation, which could be a suitable model to investigate the role of the nonneuronal acetylcholine system in bone remodeling in vivo. During the expansion, the expression pattern changes of the nonneuronal cholinergic system components and the mRNA levels of OPG/RANKL were detected by immunohistochemistry or real-time PCR.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Ursolic acid Derivatives as Potential Anticancer Prodrugs.

Ursolic acid (UA) is a natural product which has been shown to possess a wide range of pharmacological activities, in particular those with anticancer activity. In this study, 13 novel ursolic acid derivatives were designed and synthesized in an attempt to further improve compound potency. The structures of the newly synthesized compounds were confirmed using mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy, and (1) H NMR.

Effect of heterologous bone marrow mononuclear cell transplantation on midpalatal expansion in rats.

The aim of this study was to explore whether bone marrow mononuclear cell (BMMC) transplantation is able to accelerate the bone remodeling induced by midpalatal expansion in rats. A total of 48 male Sprague-Dawley rats (mean weight, 208.36±7.

Expression of non-neuronal cholinergic system in maxilla of rat in vivo.

Background: Acetylcholine (ACh) is known to be a key neurotransmitter in the central and peripheral nervous systems, which is also produced in a variety of non-neuronal tissues and cell. The existence of ACh in maxilla in vivo and potential regulation role for osteogenesis need further study.

Results: Components of the cholinergic system (ACh, esterase, choline acetyltransferase, high-affinity choline uptake, n- and mAChRs) were determined in maxilla of rat in vivo, by means of Real-Time PCR and immunohistochemistry.