Fabrication of CuO nanoparticles-decorated 3D N-doped porous carbon as electrochemical sensing platform for the detection of Sudan I.

In this study, a sensitive and selective electrochemical sensing platform for the detection of Sudan I was developed with CuO nanoparticles-decorated 3D N-doped porous carbon (CuO/3DNPC). 3D N-doped porous carbon (3DNPC) was first prepared by calcining the precursors of 3D integrated polysaccharides, and then it was decorated with CuO nanoparticles by hydrothermal method. The CuO/3DNPC modified electrode showed high sensitivity and wide linear range for the detection of Sudan I due to the excellent electrocatalytic activity of CuO and the accelerated electron transfer by 3DNPC.

A Sensitive Electrochemiluminescence Sensor for Brilliant Blue FCF Using Ru(bpy) Immobilized Zn-MOF.

A novel electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensor for detection of brilliant blue FCF (BB) has been developed using Ru@Zn-MOF/nafion modified GCE (glass carbon electrode) in this research. Different from conventional method for usage of Ru(bpy) in solution-phase, Ru(bpy) here was immobilized on a zinc-metal-organic-framework (Zn-MOF). After adding BB, a significant quenching phenomenon of ECL intensity was observed.

A Sensitive Near-Infrared Fluorescent Probe for Detecting Heavy Metal Ag⁺ in Water Samples.

Silver is a common catalyst in industrial production, and the frequent use of Ag⁺ can cause water pollution. Thus, the detection of Ag⁺ in the environment is necessary to determine the level of pollution from silver. In this work, we designed a new, highly selective near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe QCy to detect Ag⁺.

Preparation of Conductive Polyester Fibers Using Continuous Two-Step Plating Silver.

Polyester fibers are used in various fields, due to their excellent mechanical and chemical stability. However, the lack of conductivity limits their application potential. In order to prepare conductive polyester fibers, silver is one of the most widely used materials to coat the surface of the fibers.

Parametric design of patient-specific fixation plates for distal femur fractures.

To facilitate the creation, modification, and optimization of patient-specific plates for distal femur fractures, a novel approach was proposed for the rapid and convenient design of patient-specific plates for patients' fractured femurs using feature parameterization. First, several femur parameter values were obtained for a specific patient and used to construct a restored surface model of the fractured femur. Next, combined with the particular femur anatomy and the fracture, a parameterized plate with a suitable shape was created automatically based on the parameter maps between the femur and plate.

Laser-Induced Silver Seeding on Filter Paper for Selective Electroless Copper Plating.

The generation of a flexible printed circuit board on polymer fabrics has been a challenge over the last decade. In this work, a copper pattern was obtained on a soft substrate of filter paper/polyacrylonitrile (FP/PAN) film, where the filter paper was commercially available. The pattern of Ag particles was first produced on an Ag⁺-doped FP/PAN composite film, followed by electroless plating of copper using the metal silver particles as seeds.

Developing a radiosensitivity gene signature for Caucasian patients with breast cancer.

Adjuvant radiotherapy is an important clinical treatment option for patients with breast cancer. However, for Caucasian patients, the clinical benefit of adjuvant radiotherapy can differ from African‑American patients with respect to the overall survival. The goal of the current study was to develop a gene signature and to pre‑identify patients likely to benefit from radiotherapy.

Spatially confined luminescence process in tip-modified heterogeneous-structured microrods for high-level anti-counterfeiting.

Recent years have witnessed the progress of lanthanide-doped materials from fundamental material synthesis to targeted practical applications such as optical applications in photodetection, anti-counterfeiting, volumetric display, optical communication, as well as biological imaging. The unique compositions and structures of well-designed lanthanide ion-doped materials could expand and strengthen their application performances. Herein, we report dual-mode luminescent crystalline microrods that spatially confine upconversion and downconversion photophysical process within defined regions using the specially designed heterogeneous structure.

Enriching ruminal polysaccharide-degrading consortia via co-inoculation with methanogenic sludge and microbial mechanisms of acidification across lignocellulose loading gradients.

Using lignocellulosic materials as substrates, ruminal microbiota were co-inoculated with anaerobic sludge at different loading rates (LR) to study the microbial community in the semi-continuous mode. The results indicated that the highest CH yield reached 0.22 L/g volatile solid at LR of 4 g/L/day, which obtained 56-58% of the theoretical value.

Determination of Brilliant Blue FCF by a Novel Solid-state ECL Quenching Sensor of Ru(bpy)-poly(sulfosalicylic acid)/GCE.

A novel solid-state electrochemiluminescence (ECL) quenching sensor was constructed for determination of brilliant blue FCF (BB FCF). Under a simple electropolymerization step, poly(sulfosalicylic acid) (PSSA) film attached luminophore Ru(bpy) was successfully formed on the surface of a glass carbon electrode [Ru(bpy)-PSSA/GCE], which exhibited excellent ECL behavior. A high quenching effect on the ECL signal of the Ru(bpy)-PSSA/GCE was obtained with the presence of low concentration of BB FCF.

The length of pre-existing fissures effects on the mechanical properties of cracked red sandstone and strength design in engineering.

It is important to study the mechanical properties of cracked rock to understand the engineering behavior of cracked rock mass. Consequently, the influence of the length of pre-existing fissures on the strength, deformation, acoustic emission (AE) and failure characteristics of cracked rock specimen was analyzed, and the optimal selection of strength parameter in engineering design was discussed. The results show that the strength parameters (stress of dilatancy onset and uniaxial compressive strength) and deformation parameters (axial strain and circumferential strain at dilatancy onset and peak point) of cracked rock specimen decrease with the increase of the number of pre-existing fissures, and the relations which can use the negative exponential function to fit.

Effects of co-inoculating rice straw with ruminal microbiota and anaerobic sludge: digestion performance and spatial distribution of microbial communities.

Ruminal microbiota (RM) were co-inoculated with anaerobic sludge (AS) at different ratios to study the digestion of rice straw in batch experiments. The CH yield reached 273.64 mL/g volatile solid (VS) at a co-inoculum ratio of 1:1.

A Novel Computer-Aided Approach for Parametric Investigation of Custom Design of Fracture Fixation Plates.

The present study proposes an integrated computer-aided approach combining femur surface modeling, fracture evidence recover plate creation, and plate modification in order to conduct a parametric investigation of the design of custom plate for a specific patient. The study allows for improving the design efficiency of specific plates on the patients' femur parameters and the fracture information. Furthermore, the present approach will lead to exploration of plate modification and optimization.

Investigation of the weak binding of a tetrahistidine-tagged peptide to quantum dots by using capillary electrophoresis with fluorescence detection.

Capillary electrophoresis with fluorescence detection was utilized to probe the self-assembly between cyanine group dye labeled tetrahistidine containing peptide and CdSe/ZnS quantum dots, inside the capillary. Quantum dots and cyanine group dye labeled tetrahistidine containing peptide were injected into the capillary one after the other and allowed to self-assemble. Their self-assembly resulted into a measurable Förster resonance energy transfer signal between quantum dots and cyanine group dye labeled tetrahistidine containing peptide.

Metal-Free Remote C-H Bond Amidation of 8-Amidoquinolines on the C5 Position under Mild Conditions.

An efficient and facile process was developed for the remote C-H bond amidation of 8-aminoquinoline scaffolds on the C5 position which is geometric. The method only made use of PhI(OAc)2 as a mediator and showed good tolerance toward numerous dibenzenesulfonimides and amides, giving the corresponding products in moderate to excellent yield.

Construction of Electrochemical Chiral Interfaces with Integrated Polysaccharides via Amidation.

Polysaccharides of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and chitosan (CS) were integrated together via amidation reactions between the carboxyl groups on sodium CMC and the amino groups on CS. Compared with individual sodium CMC and CS, the integrated polysaccharides with a mass ratio of 1:1, CMC-CS (1:1), exhibited a three-dimensional (3D) porous network structure, resulting in a significantly enhanced hydrophility due to the exposed polar functional groups in the CMC-CS (1:1). Chiral interfaces were constructed with the integrated polysaccharides and used for electrochemical enantiorecognition of tryptophan (Trp) isomers.

Simultaneous detection of assembly and disassembly of multivalent HA tag and anti-HA antibody in single in-capillary assay.

Herein, we have developed an in-capillary assay for simultaneous detection of the assembly and disassembly of the multivalent HA tag peptide and antibody. HA tag with hexahistidine at C terminus (YPYDVPDYAG4 H6 , termed YPYDH6 ) was conjugated with quantum dots (QDs) by metal-affinity force to form a multivalent HA tag (QD-YPYDH6 ). QD-YPYDH6 and monoclonal anti-HA antibody (anti-HA) were sequentially injected into the capillary.

Simultaneous monitoring of quantum dots and their assembly and disassembly with PreScission protease using capillary electrophoresis with fluorescence detection.

A novel assay was developed for the simultaneous monitoring of quantum dots and their assembly and disassembly with PreScission protease using capillary electrophoresis with fluorescence detection. Quantum dots and PreScission protease were injected into a capillary sequentially, then mixed and assembled via a thioether bond upon coupling to glutathione S-transferase tag inside the capillary. The in-capillary assembly was influenced by the molar ratio and the time interval of injection.

In-capillary detection of fast antibody-peptide binding using fluorescence coupled capillary electrophoresis.

Herein, we report a technique for detecting the fast binding of antibody-peptide inside a capillary. Anti-HA was mixed and interacted with FAM-labeled HA tag (FAM-E4 ) inside the capillary. Fluorescence coupled capillary electrophoresis (CE-FL) was employed to measure and record the binding process.