Methylene Blue: An FDA-Approved NIR-II Fluorogenic Probe with Extremely Low pH Responsibility for Hyperchlorhydria Imaging.

Methylene blue (MB) is an FDA (Food and Drug Administration)-approved contrast agent with donor-acceptor (D-A) structure integrated with carbonyl-containing nitrogen-heterocycles. MB can be converted into MBH (protonated MB) by protonation, which not only induces the fluorescence emission red-shifted from the first near-infrared window (NIR-I, 650-950 nm) to the second near-infrared window (NIR-II, 1000-1700 nm) but also achieves ACQ-to-AIE conversion. MB has been successfully demonstrated in hyperacidemia imaging with an extremely low pH value (<1).

A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Continuous Heparin Infusion to Prevent Asymptomatic Catheter-related Thrombosis at Discharge in Infants After Cardiac Surgery: The CHIP-CRT Trial.

Objectives: There are conflicting results in preventing catheter-related thrombosis (CRT). Continuing infusion of unfractionated heparin (UFH) was a potential option for CRT. This study was to determine the effect of continuous UFH infusion on asymptomatic CRT at discharge in infants after cardiac surgery.

Design and Application of Portable Centrifuge Inspired by a Hand-Powered Spinning Top.

Traditional centrifuges, extensively employed in biology, chemistry, medicine, and other domains for tasks such as blood separation and pathogen extraction, have certain limitations. Their high cost, substantial size, and reliance on electricity restrict their range of application. Contemporary centrifuges, inspired by everyday items like paper trays and egg beaters, boast characteristics such as ease of operation, independence from electricity, and portability.

Research progress of electrode shapes in EWOD-based digital microfluidics.

Digital microfluidics (DMF) is an innovative technology used for precise manipulation of liquid droplets. This technology has garnered significant attention in both industrial applications and scientific research due to its unique advantages. Among the key components of DMF, the driving electrode plays a role in facilitating droplet generation, transportation, splitting, merging, and mixing.

Highly paralleled emulsion droplets for efficient isolation, amplification, and screening of cancer biomarker binding phages.

Based on the linkage of genotype and phenotype, display technology has been widely used to generate specific ligands for profiling, imaging, diagnosis and therapy applications. However, due to the lack of effective monoclonal manipulation and affinity evaluation methods, traditional display technology has to undergo tedious steps of selection, clone isolation, amplification, sequencing, synthesis and characterization to obtain the binding sequences. To directly acquire high-affinity clones, we propose a double monoclonal display approach (dm-Display) for peptide screening based on highly paralleled monoclonal manipulation in emulsion droplets.

Inhibition of protein FAK enhances 5-FU chemosensitivity to gastric carcinoma p53 signaling pathways.

The small molecule drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is widely used in the treatment for gastric cancer (GC), however, it exerts poor efficacy and is associated with acquired and intrinsic resistance. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK), a non-receptor tyrosine kinase, plays a key role in adhesion, migration, and proliferation of gastric carcinoma cells, suggesting that this kinase may be a promising therapeutic target. Differentially expressed FAK in GC tissue was detected by RT-qPCR and TCGA database analysis.

A universal aptasensing platform based on cryonase-assisted signal amplification and graphene oxide induced quenching of the fluorescence of labeled nucleic acid probes: application to the detection of theophylline and ATP.

This study describes a universal fluorometric method for sensitive detection of analytes by using aptamers. It is based on the use of graphene oxide (GO) and cryonase-assisted signal amplification. GO is a strong quencher of FAM-labeled nucleic acid probes, while cryonase digests all types of nucleic acid probes.

Selection and identification of transferrin receptor-specific peptides as recognition probes for cancer cells.

Since the transferrin receptor (CD71 or TFRC) is known to be highly expressed in numerous cancers, CD71 has become an attractive target in cancer research. Acquiring specific molecular probes for CD71, such as small molecular ligands, aptamers, peptides, or antibodies, is of great importance for cancer cell recognition and capture. In this work, we chose CD71 as the target for phage display, and after four rounds of positive selection and one round of negative selection, the specific phage library was enriched.

Advance in phage display technology for bioanalysis.

Phage display technology has emerged as a powerful tool for target gene expression and target-specific ligand selection. It is widely used to screen peptides, proteins and antibodies with the advantages of simplicity, high efficiency and low cost. A variety of targets, including ions, small molecules, inorganic materials, natural and biological polymers, nanostructures, cells, bacteria, and even tissues, have been demonstrated to generate specific binding ligands by phage display.

Effects of vildagliptin versus saxagliptin on daily acute glucose fluctuations in Chinese patients with T2DM inadequately controlled with a combination of metformin and sulfonylurea.

Objective The present study aimed to compare the effects of the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors vildagliptin and saxagliptin on 24 hour acute glucose fluctuations in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) inadequately controlled with a combination of metformin and sulfonylurea. Research design and methods This was a 24 week, prospective, randomized, open-label, active-controlled study. Patients (N = 73) with T2DM who had inadequate glycemic control (HbA1c 7.

Evolution of DNA aptamers for malignant brain tumor gliosarcoma cell recognition and clinical tissue imaging.

Gliosarcoma, a variant of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is a highly invasive malignant tumor. Unfortunately, this disease still marked by poor prognosis regardless of modern treatments. It is of great significance to discover specific molecular probes targeting gliosarcoma for early cancer diagnosis and therapy.

A signal-on split aptasensor for highly sensitive and specific detection of tumor cells based on FRET.

We present here a signal-on fluorescence biosensor for highly sensitive and specific detection of tumor cells with a split aptamer based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). This sensor holds considerable potential for simple, rapid, sensitive and specific tumor cell detection in early clinical diagnosis.

Cell-SELEX based selection and optimization of DNA aptamers for specific recognition of human cholangiocarcinoma QBC-939 cells.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a very aggressive biliary tract malignancy with no efficient early diagnosis and therapeutics available, so there is a call for effective molecular probes. Herein, we performed cell-based systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (cell-SELEX) to obtain aptamers for the specific recognition of human cholangiocarcinoma QBC-939 cells. By coordinating sequence homology analysis and secondary structure analysis, we successfully obtained two aptamers with dissociation constants (Kd) in the low nanomolar range.

Discrimination of hemoglobins with subtle differences using an aptamer based sensing array.

Discrimination of hemoglobins with subtle differences was achieved using an aptamer based sensing array. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) showed that the sensing array can discriminate human hemoglobins from hemoglobins of different species.

In vivo evaluation of renal function using diffusion weighted imaging and diffusion tensor imaging in type 2 diabetics with normoalbuminuria versus microalbuminuria.

This work aims to estimate the value of diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in detecting early-stage kidney injury in type 2 diabetic patients with normoalbuminuria (NAU) versus microalbuminuria (MAU) prospectively. A total of 30 T2DM patients with normal kidney function were recruited and assigned to the NAU group (n = 14) or MAU group (n = 16) according to 8 h overnight urinary albuminuria excretion rate (AER) results. A contemporary cohort of health check-up recipients were included as controls (n = 12).

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs)-assisted cell-systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (cell-SELEX) for improving screening efficiency.

Separating the specific from the nonspecific bound single-strand DNA (ssDNA) is the most important step to improve the efficiency of selection procedure. However, most cell-SELEX protocols (where SELEX = systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment) use simply washing only, which leads to incomplete separation. It is well-established that ssDNAs can be adsorbed on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs).

Proximity-dependent protein detection based on enzyme-assisted fluorescence signal amplification.

In this paper, we develop a sensitive fluorescence method for protein detection based on proximity extension and enzyme-assisted signal amplification. In this novel method, pairs of proximity probes are designed, and the recognition elements are integrated into the proximity probes. Then proteins are detected by transforming aptamer or antibody-protein binding signals into DNA detection based on proximity effect.

Gene expression changes in patients with fulminant type 1 diabetes.

Background: Fulminant type 1 diabetes (F1D) is a complex disease. Microarray analysis was used to identify gene expression changes and obtain understanding of the underlying mechanisms.

Methods: Microarray analysis was performed on peripheral blood mononuclear cells from six F1D patients and six matched healthy subjects.

Abnormal DNA methylation in CD4+ T cells from people with latent autoimmune diabetes in adults.

Aberrant DNA methylation in T cells has been linked to pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. To investigate genomic and gene-specific DNA methylation levels in CD4(+) T cells from patients with latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA), and to investigate changes in the expression of genes that regulate methylation as well as the autoimmune-related gene FOXP3 in these patients. Global CD4(+) T cell DNA methylation was measured in 15 LADA patients and 11 healthy controls using a methylation quantification kit.

Amplified electrochemical DNA sensor using peroxidase-like DNAzyme.

A novel electrochemical DNA sensor was developed here by using peroxidase-like G-quadruplex-based DNAzyme as a biocatalytic label. A hairpin structure including the G-quadruplex-based DNAzyme in a caged configuration and the target DNA probe were immobilized on Au-electrode surface. Upon hybridization with the target, the hairpin structure was opened, and the G-quadruplex-based DNAzyme was generated on the electrode surface, triggering the electrochemical oxidization of hydroquinone by H(2)O(2), which provide a quantitative measure for the detection of the target DNA.

[Killer cell immunoglobin-like receptor and its ligand gene polymorphisms in Hunan Han patients with type 1 diabetes].

Objective: To investigate the association of Killer cell immunoglobin-like receptor (KIR) gene and KIRs'ligand (HLA-C) gene polymorphisms with type 1 diabetes (T1DM).

Methods: Using polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primer (PCR-SSP) to detect KIR and HLA-C genotype in 180 T1DM patients and 199 healthy controls from Hunan Han population.

Results: (1) The frequencies of KIR 2DL1 (98.