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Highlights • Endometrial apoptosis plays an important role in early embryo implantation. • Altered endometrial HIF-1α expression and angiogenesis contribute to implantation failure. • Endometrial injury increases endometrial HIF-1α expression and angiogenesis in patients with recurrent implantation failure. Abstract Research question The aim of this study was to compare expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF-1α), angiogenesis and apoptosis in endometrial tissue near the implantation window of women with recurrent implantation failure (RIF) and in fertile control women, and to describe possible mechanisms of endometrial injury. Design A controlled clinical study was conducted. Endometrial tissue specimens were obtained from 20 women undergoing IVF who had had at least three previous failed treatment cycles; normal endometrial specimens were obtained from 10 fertile control women. Results HIF-1α expression was down-regulated in the endometrium of women with RIF compared with that of control women. In addition, micro-vessel density (MVD) was much lower in the endometrium of women with RIF than in that of the control women. Apoptosis was significantly reduced in the endometrium of the RIF group compared with the control group. Endometrial injury increased HIF-1α expression and MVD in endometrial samples of the RIF group, but apoptosis was not significantly altered. Conclusions HIF-1α expression, MVD and endometrial apoptosis were reduced in the peri-implantation endometrium of women with RIF. This suggests that altered endometrial HIF-1α expression and angiogenesis may contribute to implantation failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hybrid super absorbent resin (SAR), Poly(acrylicacid-co-acrylamide-co-2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propane sulfonic acid) based on zeolite synthesized from solid waste slag (P(AA-co-AM-co-AMPS)/zeolite) was synthesized. The chemical and structural characteristics of the materials were examined through FTIR, XRD, and SEM studies. In the presence of zeolite, the flat surface of the composite transformed into interconnected porous structure. The deionized water equilibrium swelling capacity of the hybridized SAR (835.79 g/g) was higher than that of the pure SAR (524.53 g/g). As much as 40 % of the water was released from the fully swollen hybrid SAR when it was centrifuged. P(AA-co-AM-co-AMPS)/zeolite had a swelling loss rate just of 27.64 % after five swelling/drying cycles. In addition, it still had good absorption in ionic salt solutions of different concentrations and good water retention at different temperatures. This confirmed that the hybridized SAR had excellent water holding capacity and salt solution adsorption. The FTIR and XRD results showed that the excellent performance of the hybridized SAR may originate from the interconnection of the zeolite and the pure SAR. The P(AA-co-AM-co-AMPS)/zeolite may be utilized as an agricultural water retaining agent. [Display omitted] • Zeolite was used agent for the synthesis of a hybrid super absorbent resin. • The hybrid super absorbent resin demonstrated rapid water absorption ability. • The swollen hybrid super absorbent resin had a superior capacity to release water. • Through five swelling/drying cycles, it had a swelling loss rate just of 27.64 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have been widely employed for metal ion adsorption owing to their inherent advantages, encompassing low crystal density, well-organized organic unit structures, adjustable pore size, and remarkable structural stability. However, it is still a great challenge to design excellent COFs with high adsorption and advanced purification capabilities for Pb2+ and Cd2+ ions. Herein, hydrazine-linked COFs (COF-TCH) were prepared for effective adsorption and advanced purification of metal ions. The adsorption capacity of COF-TCH for Pb2+ and Cd2+ ions are 395.3 and 153.5 mg/g, respectively. Moreover, the Pb2+ and Cd2+ ions in water can be treated from 75 and 30 mg L−1 to less than 0.01 and 0.003 mg L−1, respectively, indicating the excellent adsorption and advanced purification capability of COF-TCH. This is a rare example of COFs adsorbent that deeply purify water to meet the guideline values in drinking water for the World Health Organization. FT-IR, XPS and quantum mechanics calculation were performed to understand the adsorption mechanism. The remarkable adsorption and advanced purification capability of COF-TCH for Pb2+ and Cd2+ ions can be attributed to the synergistic interaction between the amine and thione groups, which can easily complex with Pb2+ and Cd2+ ions to form stable five-membered ring structure in COF-TCH. In addition, COF-TCH still remains an adsorption capacity of over 90% after ten adsorption-desorption cycles, indicating its excellent reusability and stability. COF-TCH with high adsorption and advanced purification capability, high stability, low cost and reusability has enormous practical application potential in high-performance remediation of Pb2+ and Cd2+ contaminated water. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing sensing platforms that simultaneously integrate high sensitivity and accuracy has been a promising but challenging task for the detection of protein biomarkers in clinical samples. Herein, we engineered an Au nanostar-based liquid phase interfacial ratiometric SERS platform with programmable entropy-driven DNA circuits to detect the protein biomarker Mucin 1 (MUC1) in clinical samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limbal stem cells are essential for continuous corneal regeneration and injury repair. METTL3-catalyzed N6-methyladenosine (m6A) mRNA modifications are involved in many biological processes and play a specific role in stem cell regeneration, while the role of m6A modifications in corneal injury repair remains unknown. In this study, we generated a limbal stem cell-specific METTL3 knockout mouse model and studied the role of m6A in repairing corneal injury caused by alkali burn. The results showed that METTL3 knockout in the limbal stem cells promotes the in vivo cell proliferation and migration, leading to the fast repair of corneal injury. In addition, m6A modification profiling identified stem cell regulatory factors AHNAK and DDIT4 as m6A targets. Our study reveals the essential functions of m6A RNA modification in regulating injury repair and provides novel insights for clinical therapy of corneal diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Facile room-temperature synthesis thiourea-based COFs without catalyst. • Coating of thiourea-based COFs on Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles within about 30 minutes. • The prepared magnetic adsorbent has excellent resistance to matrix interference. • Figures of merit: LOD (0.34–0.56 ng L−1), Linearity range (1.12–1000 ng L−1), RSD (<4.9 %). • The proposed method can be applied to complex water and biological samples. The complex and cumbersome preparation of magnetic covalent organic frameworks (COFs) nanocomposites on a small scale limits their application. Herein, a rapid and easy route was employed for the preparation of magnetic thiourea-based COFs nanocomposites. COFs were coated on Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles at room temperature without a catalyst within approximately 30 min. This method is suitable for the large-scale preparation of magnetic adsorbent. Using the as-prepared magnetic adsorbent (Fe 3 O 4 @COF-TpTU), we developed a simple, efficient, and sensitive magnetic solid-phase extraction-high performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (MSPE-HPLC-ICP-MS) for the enrichment and determination of mercury species, including Hg2+, methylmercury (MeHg), and ethylmercury (EtHg). The effects of the experimental parameters on the extraction efficiency, including solution pH, adsorption and desorption time, composition and volume of the elution solvent, salinity, coexisting ions, and dissolved organic matter, were comprehensively investigated. Under optimised conditions, the limits of detection in the developed method were 0.56, 0.34, and 0.47 ng L−1 with enrichment factors of 190, 195, and 180-fold for Hg2+, MeHg, and EtHg, respectively. The satisfactory spiked recoveries (97.0–103%) in real water samples and high consistency between the certified and determined values in a certified reference material demonstrate the high accuracy and reproducibility of the developed method. The as-proposed method with simple operation, high sensitivity, and excellent anti-matrix interference performance was successfully applied to the enrichment and determination of trace levels of mercury species in the natural samples with complicated matrices, such as underground water, surface water, seawater and biological samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple and sensitive detection of telomerase activity is of vital importance for both early diagnosis and therapy of malignant tumors. Inspired by DNA-biobarcode amplification reported by Chad A. Mirkin, we developed a facile DNA-biobarcode-like SERS-based copper-mediated signal amplification strategy for sensitive detection of telomerase activity. In this strategy, a duplex DNA constructed by hybridization of a copper oxide nanoparticle (CuO NP)-labeled reporting sequence (RS) with the telomerase primer sequence (TS) is ingeniously designed, and anchored on the magnetic bead (MB) to build the CuO NPs-encoded magnetic bead (MB-CuO NPs) detection probe. Upon selective sensing of telomerase, telomerase elongation reaction and structure change of TS products make the CuO NP-RS displace and separate from MB. The separated CuO NPs are dissolved into a mass of Cu2+, which prompt monodisperse dopamine-functionalized AgNPs (D-AgNPs) signal probe into aggregation, resulting in color changes and significantly enhancing of SERS signal. The SERS signal increases with the increase of Cu2+, which is directly proportional to the telomerase. Benefiting from the transformation of CuO NP to Cu2+ with a high amplification effect, this strategy could realize the telomerase activity measurement down to 3 HeLa cells and a dynamic range of 10–10000 cells. It shows a significant improvement of sensitivity without need for other enzymes and elaborate design, which escapes from the complicated manipulations and design in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA amplification techniques. Moreover, with this strategy, telomerase activities of different cell lines and telomerase inhibitors screening were successfully performed. Significantly, it can also be utilized for visual detection of telomerase, which validates the potential on-site application and its application as point-of-care testing (POCT) for efficient monitoring. Given the high-performance for telomerase analysis, the strategy has a promising application in biological detection and clinical diagnosis, as well as point-of-care tests. [Display omitted] • A SERS based copper-mediated signal amplification strategy is developed for detection of telomerase activity. • CuO high amplification effect and controllable D-AgNPs low nonspecificity are involved. • The telomerase activity could be PCR-free and reliably monitored at 3 cells. • The strategy successfully distinguishes cancer cells from normal cells and screens of anticancer drugs. • The strategy can be used for visual detection of telomerase for on-site application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]