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Periodontitis is an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease. Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide (Pg-LPS) was considered to be one of the main virulence factors. In addition, vascular smooth muscle cells transform into osteoblast-like cells in an arterial calcification process under chronic inflammatory conditions. The present study aimed to determine the calcification induced by Pg-LPS in human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells (HUASMCs) co-cultured with human periodontal ligament cells (HPDLCs). An in vitro co-culture system was established using Transwell inserts. HUASMC proliferation and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity were measured with a Cell Counting Kit-8 and an ALP kit, respectively. Calcium nodule formation was detected using alizarin red S staining. The effects of Pg-LPS on the mRNA expression of the calcification genes of ALP, core-binding factor α1 (Runx2) and bone sialoprotein (BSP) were assessed using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. The results indicated that Pg-LPS increased HUASMC proliferation and ALP activity. Furthermore, among all of the groups, calcium nodule formation was most extensive in co-cultured cells in the mineralization-inducing medium containing Pg-LPS. In addition, the expression of specific osteogenic genes (Runx2, ALP and BSP) significantly increased in the presence of Pg-LPS and mineralization-inducing medium, which was further enhanced in co-culture with HPDLCs. In conclusion, co-culture with HPDLCs increased the effect of Pg-LPS to stimulate the calcification of HUASMCs. It was suggested that besides the inflammation, periodontitis may promote the occurrence of vascular calcification. The study indicated that periodontal treatment of subgingival scaling to reduce and/or control Porphyromonas gingivalis may decrease the occurrence or severity of vascular calcification.

Arsanilic acid (ASA) residue, which is the most common contaminant in edible animal tissues such as pork and liver, has caused environmental and food-safety concerns. In this study, direct and indirect competitive fluorescence-linked immunosorbent assays (dc-FLISA and ic-FLISA) incorporating quantum dots (QDs) as the fluorescent label were developed for the first time to detect ASA residues in edible pork and animal liver. Monoclonal antibodies against ASA and rabbit anti-mouse antibody were conjugated to orange QDs with excitation wavelengths at 450 nm, and the QD-Abs served as detection probes. The limits of detection for dc-FLISA and ic-FLISA were 0.11 ng/mL and 0.001 ng/mL, respectively. QD-FLISA was used to analyse spiked samples; recoveries ranged from 80.2%-91.2% in dc-FLISA and 82.5%-91.2% in ic-FLISA, and the coefficients of variations (CV) were less than 12%. Compared with conventional indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA), the QD-FLISA described here was more sensitive and accurate in the analysis of ASA residues in animal tissues. Moreover, the results of QD-FLISA correlated well with HPLC. These results indicate that dc-FLISA and ic-FLISA are sensitive and reliable for detection of ASA residues in edible animal tissues.

As their service life increases, cement-based materials inevitably undergo microcracking and local damage. In response to this problem, this study used phacoemulsification-solvent volatilization to prepare a multifunctional sustained-release microcapsule (SFRM) with self-healing and flame-retardant characteristics. The synthesis of SFRM is based on the modification of ethyl cellulose with nano-SiO

Government social media is widely used for providing updates to and engaging with the public in the COVID-19 pandemic. While Facebook is one of the popular social media used by governments, there is only a scant of research on this platform. This paper aims to understand how government social media should be used and how its engagement changes in prodromal, acute and chronic stages of the pandemic. We collected 1664 posts and 10,805 comments from the Facebook pages of the Macao government from 1 January to 31 October 2020. Using word frequency and content analysis, the results suggest that the engagement was relatively low at the beginning and then surged in the acute stage, with a decreasing trend in the chronic stage. Information about public health measures maintained their engagement in all stages, whereas the engagement of other information was dropping over time. Government social media can be used for increasing vigilance and awareness in the prodromal stage, disseminating information and increasing transparency in the acute stage, and focusing on mental health support and recovery policies in the chronic stage. Additionally, it can be a tool for controlling rumors, providing regular updates and fostering community cohesion in public health crises.

Social media engagement is a vehicle for effective communication and engagement between governments and individuals, especially in crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, it can be used to communicate resilience measures and receive feedback. This research aims to investigate public social media engagement with resilience measures related to COVID-19 in Macao. We examined 1107 posts and 791 comments about the government’s face mask supply and consumption voucher schemes on Facebook. Using the Crisis Lifecycle model, we partitioned the data and analyzed the content and engagement of related posts, as well as the word semantics in user comments. Our findings show that social media engagement in these resilience measures is high and positive in the early stages of the pandemic, suggesting social media’s potential in mobilizing society, preserving social resilience, and serving as a two-way communication tool in public health emergencies.

BACKGROUND Government social media is widely used for providing updates to and engaging with the public in the COVID-19 pandemic, and Facebook is one of the popular social media platforms used by governments. However, there is only a scant of research focusing on these two areas. As the global pandemic has been easing in some places, users also react differently on social media to the messages from governments, which prompts more research in the post-pandemic time. OBJECTIVE This study aims to understand how government social media is used and how its engagement changes in different stages throughout the pandemic. Macao is one of the jurisdictions in the world that has suppressed the transmissions of COVID-19. The case study of Macao can also provide insights for the recovery period after the pandemic. METHODS Posts from the Facebook pages owned by the Macao Government were analyzed. Data were grouped into the prodromal, acute and chronic stages using Fink’s crisis management model, and qualitative content analysis was used to classify data into categories. The average values of the engagement (i.e., the numbers of emotions, comments and shares) were compared. RESULTS 1,664 posts from January 1st, 2020 to October 31st, 2020 were analyzed. The engagement was relatively low at the beginning and then surged in the acute stage, with a decreasing trend in the chronic stage. Information about latest updates, press conferences, community resilience and appreciation could maintain their engagement in the entire duration. Posts for controlling rumors attracted positive engagement and a high number of shares. The focuses of the public changed throughout the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS Government social media should be used with different focuses in different stages of the pandemic, for example, increasing vigilance and awareness in the prodromal stage, disseminating updates and seeking feedback in the acute stage, and focusing on mental health support and recovery policies in the chronic stage. Additionally, government social media can be an effective tool for controlling rumors, providing updates and fostering community engagement in massive public health crises.

Periodontitis is an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease. Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide (Pg-LPS) was considered to be one of the main virulence factors. In addition, vascular smooth muscle cells transform into osteoblast-like cells in an arterial calcification process under chronic inflammatory conditions. The present study aimed to determine the calcification induced by Pg-LPS in human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells (HUASMCs) co-cultured with human periodontal ligament cells (HPDLCs). An in vitro co-culture system was established using Transwell inserts. HUASMC proliferation and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity were measured with a Cell Counting Kit-8 and an ALP kit, respectively. Calcium nodule formation was detected using alizarin red S staining. The effects of Pg-LPS on the mRNA expression of the calcification genes of ALP, core-binding factor α1 (Runx2) and bone sialoprotein (BSP) were assessed using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. The results indicated that Pg-LPS increased HUASMC proliferation and ALP activity. Furthermore, among all of the groups, calcium nodule formation was most extensive in co-cultured cells in the mineralization-inducing medium containing Pg-LPS. In addition, the expression of specific osteogenic genes (Runx2, ALP and BSP) significantly increased in the presence of Pg-LPS and mineralization-inducing medium, which was further enhanced in co-culture with HPDLCs. In conclusion, co-culture with HPDLCs increased the effect of Pg-LPS to stimulate the calcification of HUASMCs. It was suggested that besides the inflammation, periodontitis may promote the occurrence of vascular calcification. The study indicated that periodontal treatment of subgingival scaling to reduce and/or control Porphyromonas gingivalis may decrease the occurrence or severity of vascular calcification.

Cancer stem cells are closely associated with tumor metastasis or recurrence. According to previous literature reports, microRNA (miR)‑26a has an inhibitory effect on head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), and the long non‑coding RNA (lncRNA) non‑coding RNA activated by DNA damage (NORAD) has been found to interact with miR‑26a‑5p. The present study aimed to investigate the regulation and mechanism of NORAD and miR‑26a‑5p in the epithelial‑mesenchymal transition (EMT) of HNSCC stem cells. An ALDEFLUOR stem cell detection kit, a flow cytometer, a self‑renewal ability test and western blotting were used to sort and identify HNSCC stem cells. The ENCORI website and a dual‑luciferase assay were used to assess the relationship between genes. The mRNA and protein expression levels of NORAD, miR‑26a‑5p and EMT‑related genes were detected via reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR and western blotting. Functional experiments (MTT assay, flow cytometry, wound healing assay and Transwell assay) were conducted to analyze the effects of NORAD and miR‑26a‑5p on HNSCC stem cells. The successfully sorted aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH)+ cells had a self‑renewal capacity and displayed upregulated expression levels of CD44, Oct‑4 and Nanog. NORAD knockdown, achieved using small interfering (si)RNA, downregulated the expression levels of tumor markers in ALDH+ cells. siNORAD inhibited cell vitality, migration and invasion, as well as promoted apoptosis, increased the expression of epithelial cell markers and decreased the expression of interstitial cell markers in HNSCC stem cells. miR‑26a‑5p was a downstream gene of NORAD, and knockdown of miR‑26a‑5p partially offset the regulatory effect of siNORAD on HNSCC stem cells. Collectively, the present study demonstrated that NORAD knockdown attenuated the migration, invasion and EMT of HNSCC stem cells via miR‑26a‑5p.

Amyloid-beta (Aβ) is a critical etiological factor for late-onset familial Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, an early-onset AD has been found to be related with an Aβ mutation in glutamic acid 22-to-lysine (Italian type E22K). Why only one single point mutation at E22 residue induces AD remains unclear. Here, we report that a Chinese familial AD pedigree with E22K mutation was associated with higher levels of serum hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and lower activity of catalase (a H2O2 degrading enzyme) than controls. Further, we found that E22K binding with catalase caused more severe H2O2 accumulation in the brains of E22K-injected rats than Aβ-injected rats. Unexpectedly, H2O2 bound with the mutation site 22K residue of E22K and elicited more rapid aggregation of E22K than Aβ in vitro. Moreover, H2O2 acted with E22K synergistically to induce higher cellular toxicity than with Aβ. Notably, intrahippocampal infusion of E22K led to more severe plaque deposition, neuron death, and more rapid memory decline than Aβ-injected rats. However, L-cysteine, a H2O2 scavenger, not only prevented self-aggregation of E22K but also reduced H2O2-promoted E22K assembly in vitro; subsequently, it alleviated Alzheimer-related phenotypes. Hence, E22K binding with catalase promotes the early onset of familial AD, and L-cys may reverse this disease.

During transportation and storage, coal produces a lot of dust, which pollutes the environment and threatens the occupational health of workers. Although many dust suppressants have been developed for dust prevention at work, the implementation of current dust suppressants does not meet the requirements due to various factors such as the hydrophobic nature of coal dust and a harsh external environment. In this study, hydroxyethyl cellulose, acrylamide, and stearyl methyl acrylate were used for micelle polymerization to prepare an environmental protection dust suppressant for preventing dust during coal storage and transportation. The microstructure of the reactants and the products was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared as well as scanning electron microscopy. The strength and self-healing tensile properties of binder coal were taken as indicators to determine the best synthesis dosage and conditions. The dust suppressant particles are applied to the dust accumulation area, contact each other after water absorption, and swell to complete the healing, to achieve the purpose of dust control. The evaluation of the relevant properties of the dust suppressant reveals that the dust suppressant has a good covering effect, an excellent dust suppressant performance, and a significant dust suppression action.

A novel tumor-targeting and release-controllable drug delivery nano-platform with persistent luminescence was constructed for imaging-guided cancer chemotherapy. The persistent luminescent drug delivery nano-platform employed the persistent luminescent nanoparticles ZnGa2O4:Cr3+,Sn4+ (ZGCS) to realize the repeatable luminescence imaging of cells or tissues with high signal-to-noise ratio. Mesoporous silica (MS) was coated on the ZGCS surface to load drugs, and hyaluronic acid (HA) acted as gatekeeper and targeting moiety. The proposed nano-platform could repeatedly be excited to produce persistent luminescence under red light (550 nm) irradiation to realize repeatable luminescence imaging of cells or tissues without in situ excitation, and simultaneously possessed an excellent tumor-targeting ability towards CD-44 over-expressing cancer cells and controllable drug release with hyaluronic acidase (Hyal-1) response. By using the nano-platform, we have successfully delivered the non-fluorescent chemotherapeutic drug, paclitaxel (Ptx), into human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7 cells) with a loading capacity of 0.187 mg mg−1 and Hyal-1 responsive controllable-release, and simultaneously, we monitored the distribution of the nano-platform and the release of Ptx in target cells by luminescence-imaging. The combination of excellent persistent luminescence feature, tumor-targeting ability and controllable drug release makes this nano-platform a promising tool for imaging-guided cancer chemotherapy, which will greatly enhance the chemotherapeutic efficiency of the drug and reduce the side effects.

Background Research indicates that abnormal embolism caused by patent foramen ovale (PFO) may play an important role in cryptogenic stroke (CS). However, most researches has focused on young patients, and whether abnormal embolism caused by PFO also plays an important role in elderly CS is uncertain. The purpose of this study is to analyze the clinical characteristics of elderly patients with PFO, and to explore the correlation between elderly PFO and ischemic stroke.Methods 62 elderly patients diagnosed with ischemic stroke admitted to Qilu Hospital of Shandong University from April 2014 to April 2019 were selected as the Test Group. 62 non-stroke patients in our hospital's physical examination center and outpatient clinic were selected as the Control Group. Collect clinical data of patients for retrospective analysis.Results The incidence of PFO in the Test Group was significantly higher than that in the Control Group, the difference was statistically significant (p p p

Dysregulation of formaldehyde (FA) has been implicated in the development of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Elevated FA levels in Alzheimer's patients and animal models are associated with impaired cognitive functions. However, the exact role of FA in AD remains unknown. We now identified that oxidative demethylation at serine8/26 of amyloid-beta protein (Aβ) induced FA generation and FA cross-linked with the lysine28 residue in the β-turn of Aβ monomer to form Aβ dimers, and then accelerated Aβ oligomerization and fibrillogenesis in vitro. However, Aβ42 mutation in serine8/26, lysine28 abolished Aβ self-aggregation. Furthermore, Aβ inhibited the activity of formaldehyde dehydrogenase (FDH), the enzyme for FA degradation, resulting in FA accumulation. In turn, excess of FA stimulated Aβ aggregation both in vitro and in vivo by increasing the formation of Aβ oligomers and fibrils. We found that degradation of FA by formaldehyde scavenger-NaHSO3 or coenzyme Q10 reduced Aβ aggregation and ameliorated the neurotoxicity, and improved the cognitive performance in APP/PS1 mice. Our study provides evidence that endogenous FA is essential for Aβ self-aggregation and scavenging FA could be an effective strategy for treating AD.

We herein reported on novel phosphatidylserine-functionalized Fe

BackgroundMorning urine formaldehyde concentrations could predict the severe degree of dementia in patients with post-stroke dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. However, the routinely available technique of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for detecting urine formaldehyde requires expensive and sophisticated equipment.MethodsWe established a fluorescence spectrophotometric method by using a formaldehyde-specific fluorescent probe-NaFA (λex/em = 430/543 nm). As a standard reference method, the same batch of urine samples was analysed by HPLC with a fluorescence detector (λex/em = 346/422 nm). Then we compared the limits of detection and the limits of quantization detected by these two methods and addressed the relationship between urine formaldehyde and human cognitive ability. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Clinical Dementia Rating and Activities of Daily Living scale were used to evaluate cognition function in 30 Alzheimer’s disease patients and 52 healthy age-matched controls.ResultsLimits of detection and limits of quantization (1.27 and 2.48 μM) of the NaFA probe method were more accurate than Fluo-HPLC (1.52 and 2.91 μM). There was no difference in the detected formaldehyde values within day and day-to-day. Notably, only 3/82 urine formaldehyde concentrations detected by NaFA probe were below zero, while 12/82 of the values analysed by Fluo-HPLC were abnormal. More importantly, there were negatively correlated between urine formaldehyde concentrations detected by NaFA probe and MMSE scores, but positively correlated with Clinical Dementia Rating scores in Alzheimer’s disease patients.ConclusionsThis detecting urine formaldehyde method by NaFA probe was more rapid, sensitive and accurate than Fluo-HPLC.

Subjective cognitive decline (SCD), characterized by a very early and subtle cognitive decline prior to the appearance of objective cognitive impairment, is considered to be the preclinical manifestation of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Given the lack of significant abnormalities in standardized neuropsychological assessments for individuals with SCD, biochemical and neuroimaging biomarkers may be important indicators of the preclinical stage of AD. The application of various biomarkers derived from the cerebrospinal fluid and neuroimaging thus has the potential to make AD-related pathology detectable in vivo. In this review, we discuss the conceptual evolution of SCD as an entity and further elucidate characteristic cerebrospinal fluid and neuroimaging biomarkers of SCD.

5-Methylcytosine (5 mC) is considered to play a key regulating role in gene transcription and can be oxidized by ten–eleven translocation (TET) dioxygenases to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5 hmC). In order to better understand the function of 5 mC in gene transcription and the mechanism of demethylation, sensitive and selective methods must be developed for detecting 5 mC, the TET 1 protein and T4 β-glucosyltransferase (β-GT). In this work, a novel electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensor was fabricated for the quantification of 5 mC, TET 1 protein and β-GT activities, as well as inhibitor screening, based on the interaction of chemically excited gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) with H2O2. The ECL biosensor was constructed on an Au nanoparticle (AuNP) decorated glassy carbon electrode, to which BSA coated AuNCs and thiol-containing probe DNA was subsequently attached. Hybridization with target 5 mC-DNA, was followed by demethylation by TET 1 and glycosylation by β-GT. After reaction of the glycosyl group with 4-carboxyphenylboronic acid, horseradish-peroxidase was then grafted to the DNA backbone to catalyze H2O2 reduction and the oxidation of hydroquinone to benzoquinone. The ECL of the chemically excited AuNCs was attenuated in the presence of H2O2, with more H2O2 being decomposed in the presence of 5 mC DNA, TET-1 or β-GT, leading to an enhanced ECL response. The proposed assay demonstrated high selectivity for 5 mC-DNA detection in the concentration range 0.01 nM–50 nM, with a detection limit of 3.46 pM. The applicability of this biosensor was confirmed by the evaluation of blood serum, with the developed biosensor having great potential in drug discovery.

Photoelectrocatalytic reduction of CO2 was investigated over Pd nanoparticles (NPs) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) co-modified anodic TiO2 nanotubes arrays (TNTs) which were grown on a soft Ti wire. Under irradiation, aligned TNTs grown around Ti wire provide orientated pathways for electron transferring to Pd/RGO layers where Pd NPs act as electrons trapping centers and RGO layers function as storage interface with rich electrons for reducing CO2. It is proposed that the ionization of CO2 to CO32– in aqueous system is the vital process for the following reduction of CO2. Moreover, the integrity enables the resulting Pd/RGO/TNTs/Ti wire a superior cathode in an electrochemical cell, improving the efficiency in CO2 conversion assisted by external potential. The highest yields of methanol and ethanol were 1624 and 536 nmol/cm2 h, respectively.

An ultrasensitive sandwiched electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunosensor was developed for 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) detection in genomic DNA by using Fe3O4@SiO2 core-shell magnetic nanomaterial as a immobilization matrix for anti-5hmC antibody, PAMAM conjugated avidin and Ru(bpy)2(phen-5-NH2)(PF6)2 as signal amplification unit. Importantly, Fe3O4@SiO2 nanoparticles were verified to not only possess enormous surface for loading antibody by amido link, but also exhibit excellent bioactivity. With the dual signal amplification strategy, the ECL immunosensor showed wide detection range from 0.1 to 30nM with low detection limit of 0.047nM (S/N = 3). Based on the specific immunoreaction, the developed method also illustrated excellent detection selectivity. The fabricated immunosensor was also applied to detect the 5hmC in genomic DNA of cancer tissue, which indicated that the immunosensor possess potential applications in clinical detection.

A novel, simple and sensitive photoelectrochemical (PEC) immunosensing platform was constructed for detecting N6-methyladenosine (m6A) based on the carboxylated CN and avidin functionalized Ru@SiO2 (ARS) nanocomposite. Herein, the N6-methyladenosine-5'-triphosphate (m6ATP) was selected as the detection target molecule, m6A antibody was used as recognition unit for m6A, the carboxylated g-C3N4 (CN) was not only used as the photoactive substance, but the substrate for the m6A antibody immobilization, ARS was synthesized and used as signal amplification unit to improve the photocurrent of CN, Phos-tag-biotin was employed as bridge of m6ATP and Ru@SiO2 through the specific interaction between phosphate group of m6ATP and Phos-tag, biotin and avidin, respectively. Under the optimal condition, the fabricated PEC biosensor showed a linear range of 0.01-10nM and high detection sensitivity with low detection limit of 3.23pM for m6ATP. Besides, the developed strategy was also successfully applied to evaluate the content of m6A in human serum samples.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is an enigmatic and abundant internal modification in eukaryotic messenger RNA (mRNA), which could affect various aspects of RNA metabolism and mRNA translation. Herein, a novel photoelectrochemical (PEC) immunosensor was constructed for m6A detection based on the inhibition of Cu2+ to the photoactivity of g-C3N4/CdS quantum dots (g-C3N4/CdS) heterojunction, where g-C3N4/CdS heterojunction was used as photoactive material, anti-m6A antibody as recognition unit for m6A-containing RNA, Phos-tag-biotin as link unit and avidin functionalized CuO as PEC signal indicator. When CuO was captured on electrode through biotin-avidin affinity reaction and then treated with HCl, Cu2+ could be released and CuxS would be formed based on the selective interaction between CdS and Cu2+, leading the photocurrent obviously decreased. Under the optimal detection conditions, the PEC biosensor displayed a linear range of 0.01-10nM and a low detection limit of 3.53 pM for methylated RNA determination. Furthermore, the developed method could also be used to detect the expression level of m6A methylated RNA in serum samples of breast cancer patient before and after operative treatment. The proposed assay strategy has a great potential for detecting the expression methylation level of RNA in real sample.

The present study described the characteristics of three cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in China and analyzed their clinical presentations. The clinical information of the three cases was collected and analyzed. Blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens of the patients were collected for detection of the prion protein (PRNP) gene and 14–3-3 protein levels. Dynamic changes of electroencephalograms (EEGs) and brain magnetic resonance images (MRIs) were also observed. All the three cases were sporadic CJD cases. They presented with symptoms including hyposthenia, progressive memory loss, truncal and limb ataxia, dysarthria, lowered vision acuity, bucking, language disorders, myoclonia and akinetic mutism state. One of the three cases was associated with a prolonged duration of >6 years. The EEG of two cases showed slow biphasic waves. The diffusion-weighted MRI sequence revealed abnormal hyperintensity and bilateral ribboning in the cortex. Two patients tested positive for the 14–3-3 protein in the CSF. All patients were of methionine homozygosity at codon 129 in the gene encoding PRNP protein and one patient had a mutation. The CJD cases showed differences in terms of symptoms and disease duration. Subacute onset was common and with attentive nursing and supportive treatments, one of the patients had a prolonged survival time of >6 years.

5-Hydroxymethylcytosine in DNA (5hmC-DNA) plays an important biological role in sculpting the epigenetic landscape. Its presence is linked to diseases, especially cancers. The authors describe an amperometric biosensor for the determination of 5hmC. It is based on a chemical modification of the hydroxy group of 5hmC in the DNA sequence. Enzymatic signal amplification is accomplished by using DNA methyltransferase (M.HhaI-DNA-cytosine-5-methyltransferase) to achieve chemical modification. A graphene-perylenetetracarboxylic acid nanocomposite was used to modify a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) that acts as a substrate electrode. A composite consisting of horseradish peroxidase on silica/poly(acrylic acid) brushes is employed as the signal amplification unit. Under the optimized conditions, there is a linear response to the logarithm of the 5hmC-DNA concentration in the range from 0.5 to 30 nM, with a 0.23 nM detection limit (at an S/N ratio of 3) in the potential range from −0.3 V to -0.8 V at 100 mV/s. The bioassay has excellent specificity and can even discriminate the similar base 5mC.

DNA methylation is one of the important epigenetics events, and it is responsible for transcription, genomic imprinting and cellular differentiation. Aberrant DNA methylation is always contacted with various diseases. Herein, a simple and low-cost photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensing method is proposed for detection of DNA methylation, assay of DNA methyltransferase (MTase) activity and screening of MTase inhibitor, which is based on M. SssI MTase-HpaII endonuclease system. The graphite-like C3N4 (g-C3N4) and CdS quantum dots (CdS QDs) are used as photoactive materials. After the double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) was treated with M. SssI MTase in the presence of S-adenosylmethionine, the methylated dsDNA cannot be digested by HpaII endonuclease and dithiol group at the terminal of dsDNA can be retained. As a result, CdS QDs could be coupled successfully with methylated dsDNA between the reaction of CdS QDs with dithiol of dsDNA, achieving the amplification of PEC response. Thus, the photocurrent of PEC biosensor is consistent with the M. SssI activity. The increased photocurrent was in proportion to M. SssI activity in the linear range from 1 to 80 U/mL with a detection limit of 0.316 U/mL. Furthermore, the effects of atrazine and azamethipos on M. SssI MTase activity were investigated, which might provide useful information on carcinogenic mechanism of pesticide. The PEC biosensor has potential to screen of DNA MTase inhibitor, providing valuable information for anti-cancer drug research and also for cancer therapy.

For rapidly and sensitively determining ultra-trace methyl mercury (MeHg) in aqueous environment, we herein synthesized a MeHg ion-imprinted magnetic nanoparticle (MeHg IIMN) to simply and specifically extract/concentrate ultra-trace MeHg from water samples. The MeHg IIMN employed core-shell Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 nanoparticles (Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 NPs) as supporting structure, the complex ion of 1-pyrrolidinecarbodithioic acid and MeHg (PDC-CH 3 Hg + ) as template, methacrylic acid (MAA) as functional monomer and trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TMPTM) as cross linker. The MeHg IIMN offered obvious advantages such as low cost, easy manipulation, better specificity and stability, and recycling characteristics. It can be used to separate/concentrate ultra-trace MeHg from natural water sample within 30 min with a recovery >95%, an enrichment factor of 250, a relative standard deviation (RSD, n = 5)

N6-methyladenosine (m6A), a kind of RNA methylation form and important epigenetic event, plays crucial roles in many biological progresses. Thus it is essential to quantitatively detect m6A in complicated biological samples. Herein, a simple and sensitive electrochemical method was developed for m6A detection using N6-methyladenosine-5′-triphosphate (m6ATP) as detection target molecule. In this detection strategy, anti-m6A antibody was selected as m6A recognition and capture reagent, silver nanoparticles and amine-PEG3-biotin functionalized SiO2 nanospheres (Ag@SiO2) was prepared and used as signal amplification label, and phos-tag-biotin played a vital role of “bridge” to link m6ATP and Ag@SiO2 through the two forms of specific interaction between phosphate group of m6ATP and phos-tag, biotin and streptavidin, respectively. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the immunosensor presented a wide linear range from 0.2 to 500 nM and a low detection limit of 0.078 nM (S/N=3). The reproducibility and specificity were acceptable. Moreover, the developed method was also validated for detect m6A content in human cell lines. Importantly, this detection strategy provides a promising immunodetection platform for ribonucleotides and deoxyribonucleotides with the advantages of simplicity, low-costing, specificity and sensitivity.

This study aims to synthesize a dust suppressant for controlling coal dust pollution in open yards using natural polymers. Guided by graft copolymerization theory, potassium persulfate acts as an initiator to excite the free radicals of collagen and sodium alginate, allowing them to combine with acrylic acid and acrylamide to form a new polymer. The TG curve indicates that the thermal stability of the polymer is superior to that of the raw material. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images show that the product can reduce the generation of dust by bonding the pulverized coal. With CCD method, when the monomer concentration increases in a certain range, the cohesive ability of the product to coal increases first and then decreases. Initiators and crosslinkers showed the same pattern. A series of performance experiments show that the product has a dust suppression rate of 98.7% at a wind speed of 14 m/s, and maintain one of 94.5% at a wind speed of 8 m/s after a rainstorm. In addition, there was no significant loss in dust suppression performance and compressive strength of the solidified layer after wind and rain. Sunlight, low temperature, and high temperature have little influence on the dust suppression effect of the product, which indicates that the product has better weather resistance and helps to suppress dust for a longer time in open air conditions.

To evaluate the shear bond strength between denture base and artificial teeth subjected to five different modifications on the ridge surface.30 acrylic central anterior teeth were randomly divided into five groups (n= 6). The ridge surface of these teeth were treated with different methods: (1) No treatment applied; (2) Monomer wetting; (3) Grinding; (4) Grinding followed by sandblasting; (5) Grinding followed by monomer wetting. After the ridge surface of the teeth were treated, they were packed with denture base resin. The shear bond strength between acrylic teeth and denture base resin was performed using a universal testing machine. The data was statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA (P0.05).The monomer wetting group showed the highest shear bond strength values, and the grinding followed by sandblasting group was the lowest, both were statistically significant compared to each other. There were no statistical differences between the other groups.Treating the surface of the denture ridge with a monomer provided the highest shear bond strength values, and the grinding followed by sandblasting group was the lowest, statistically significant compared to each other.

Suitable content of iron is essential for human body, but iron overload is associated with many kinds of diseases including chronic liver damage. Recently, researchers find that iron overload promotes hepatocyte autophagy and apoptosis. However, the mechanism of iron overload in liver damage remains unclear. In this study, Lo2 cells were selected as the research object, iron dextran was a model drug, and astragaloside IV was a therapeutic drug to explore the role of iron overload. MTT assay and Annexin/PI double staining were used to measure cell viability and apoptosis. Ultrastructure was observed by transmission electron microscopy. The expression levels of apoptosis and autophagy-related proteins were determined by real-time PCR and Western Blot. The results showed that iron dextran could significantly inhibit Lo2 cell viability and increase the apoptosis rate, while astragaloside IV could reverse the inhibition of Lo2 cell viability and decrease the apoptosis rate. Transmission electron microscopy showed a significant increase in the number of autophagosomes after administration of iron dextran, and the application of astragaloside IV reduced the production of autophagosomes. LC3II/I was significantly upregulated in the model group but decreased in the astragaloside IV treatment group, and P62 showed the opposite trend. Iron dextran significantly upregulated the expression of Bax and downregulated Bcl2, while astragaloside IV reversed this trend. Finally, the inhibition of hepcidin caused by iron dextran was counteracted by astragaloside IV. In conclusion, the experimental results show that the iron overload model mainly induces excessive autophagy and apoptosis of hepatocytes, thus causing damage to hepatocytes, but astragaloside IV plays a certain therapeutic role in reversing this damage.

Coal seam water injection fracturing can achieve the gap formation of the coal seam and increase the porosity of the coal seam. The water injection fracturing fluid wetting the coal body can wet the coal body in advance, reducing the generation of coal dust during coal mining, as well as play a preventive role in many coal mine accidents and optimize the safety state of the coal mine. To further improve the water injection efficiency of the coal seam. In this paper, erucic acid, N,N-dimethyl-1,3-propanediamine and epichlorohydrin were used as raw materials to synthesize a bisamido cationic surfactant under acidic conditions, and mixed with a KCl solution to prepare a clean fracturing fluid that can be used in the water wetting of a coal seam. The functional groups and microstructure changes of the product are observed by FTIR and SEM. Related performance experiments show that the product has the advantages of good shear stability viscosity, low filtration loss, good gel breaking performance and strong wettability. The analysis of the cleanability shows that the gel breaking liquid has a low residue content and good compatibility. Therefore, the product is an ideal clean fracturing fluid for water injection fracturing of coal seam.

To meet urgent demands for efficient resources and sustainable development, an experimental study on combined physicochemical modification of coal was carried out. After 49 tests analyzed of single-factor experiment and orthogonal experiment, it was found that MW (mine water), 6% SLS (sodium N-lauroyl sarcosinate), 10% HNO3 and 3% [Bmim]Cl (1-Butyl-3-methylimidazole chloride), freeze-thaw cycle 8 times, and freeze-thaw time of 1.25 h each time was the best physicochemical modification scheme. Compared with raw coal, the wettability, porosity and permeability of the treated coal are significantly increased. Under the synergy of the combined physicochemical modification (including hydrogen bonding and tight filling) and the multi-field coupling (including temperature field, stress field and deformation field), the porosity is at an increase rate of 335.65%; the permeability is at an increase rate of 882.24%; while surface tension of the compound reagent is reduced to 16.24 mN/m. Furthermore, the relative content of C–C bonds and C–H bonds on coal surface increases greatly, while the relative content of C-O and COO decreased gradually, with a decrease rate of 57.61%. The results of this paper are beneficial to achieve efficient co-mining of coal and coalbed methane, and further improve safety and efficient production levels of coal mines.

With the increasing popularity of online ride platforms, more and more historical data can be used in the field of intelligent transportation. However, the taxi behavior of users is difficult to predict and has a great relationship with time and geographical location, which makes the supply and demand of vehicles show an imbalance. Reasonable vehicle scheduling can not only increase driver’s income, improve service quality, but also make effective use of traffic resources. In this paper, a grid-based scheduling model is proposed. By gridding maps, the computational complexity of Donger is reduced to output vehicle scheduling actions quickly. The problem of vehicle supply and demand imbalance can be effectively solved by correcting model parameters based on return loss function. In this paper, the model is optimized from three aspects: loss function, learning rate and grid scale. The goal is to maximize the sum of orders. Compared with the traditional machine learning model, the model proposed in this paper can have deeper features and thus obtain higher prediction accuracy. The experimental results on a large number of real historical taxi order datasets show that the proposed model has high prediction accuracy.

Background This study was aimed to investigating the frequency of Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) alterations in patients with gastric signet ring cell carcinoma (SRC) and the correlations between ALK alterations and the clinical-pathological features. Methods The expression of ALK protein was first determined in paraffin-embedded tissue specimens (FFPE) from 177 pathologically confirmed SRC patients by Ventana Immunohistochemistry (IHC). Then patients with ALK positive detected by IHC were assayed in ALK rearrangement by Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization (FISH). Results We assessed 4 of 177 cases (2.3%) as positive by IHC. 3 of the 4 patients had T4 tumors and positive nodal status, and 1 of them had metastasis. All of them were HER2 negative. All of the 4 patients were positive for ALK rearrangement using the standard criteria of FISH. Couclusion Our analysis showed that about 2.3% of Chineses SRC patients treated in our hospital were ALK positive. Ventana IHC and FISH were both of the reliable approaches in SRC patients. Patients with ALK positive seemed to have deep infiltrated and positive lymph nodes and HER2 negative.

Mesh of TiO2/graphene/Cu2O was fabricated by chemical vapor deposition of graphene following electrochemical deposition of Cu2O on anodized Ti soft wire bearing TiO2 nanotubes. The mesh of TiO2/graphene/Cu2O was applied in photoelectrocatalytic oxidation of bisphenol A (BPA). The as-prepared TiO2/graphene/Cu2O mesh was used as both catalyst and electrode. Under visible light irradiation, BPA was effectively oxidized through photoelectrocatalysis over the TiO2/graphene/Cu2O mesh. Three main intermediates were evidenced during photoelectrocatalytic degradation of BPA, and no toxic products were determined. A detailed pathway of BPA degradation by TiO2/G/Cu2O is proposed based on the identified intermediates.

In view of the inevitable microcracks and local damage of concrete materials, a new type of self-healing microcapsule material was proposed. The SA/MPF-E44 composite microcapsule material with sodium alginate/melamine phenolic resin as the shell and epoxy resin as the core was prepared by in situ polymerization. The surface morphology of the microcapsules was observed by optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. The particle size analysis was performed using a Malvern analyzer. By performing Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and a differential scanning calorimetry analysis, the functional group changes and thermal stability of the composite microcapsules were studied. The compression resistance and repair performance of cement mortar specimens with different dosage of microcapsules were tested by a uniaxial compression experiment. It can be concluded that the composite microcapsules have the characteristics of a small particle size, and the coverage rate has increased significantly. The average particle diameter is approximately 55.24 μm, and the coating ratio is 64.93%. When the microcapsule content is 4%, the microcapsule has the best compression and repair performance. The self-healing behavior of the epoxy resin and curing agent in cracks was studied by a molecular dynamics simulation. Finally, it is shown that SA/MPF composite microcapsules have certain advantages in cost and eco-efficiency, and have good self-healing ability for microcracks in concrete materials.

The influence of the anionic surfactant sodium fatty alcohol polyoxyethylene ether carboxylate (AEC) on the wettability of coal surfaces was studied by combining molecular dynamics simulations and experimental research. First, a molecular dynamics simulation of the AEC adsorption process on a low-rank coal surface was carried out. The simulation results show that AEC promotes the adsorption of water molecules on the coal surface, moves more water molecules to the coal surface, and improves the mobility of water molecules; AEC molecules were detected at the coal-water interface. After adsorption, the AEC molecules were connected to each other through alkyl chains to form a spherical-like structure, which covered the coal surface laterally. The calculated interaction energy between coal and water is negative, which shows that the adsorption process is spontaneous, and AEC enhances the interaction between coal and water. Second, the abovementioned simulation results are verified by experiments. The adsorption experiments show that AEC adsorbs on the lignite surface by monolayer adsorption, which can be described by the Langmuir isothermal adsorption equation; the contact angle first increases and then decreases, reaching a maximum near the critical micelle concentration (CMC). The XPS analysis shows that the change in the content of the oxygen-containing functional groups is the main reason for the wettability of the lignite surface. Among these oxygen-containing functional groups, the C-O group has the most significant effect on the wettability.

As a significant potential biomarker for early disease diagnostics, the detection of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) has garnered widespread attention. In this work, a simple and sensitive electrochemiluminescence (ECL) was developed for 5hmC detection. After substrate electrode preparation, anti-5hmC antibody was captured on electrode surface by the formation of amide bond. Then, through immunoreaction, 5hmC was specifically recognized and captured. Utilizing the crosslink effect of Zr4+ with phosphoric acid recognition, aminomethyl phosphate was modified on electrode to further capture PAMAM-silver nanoclusters/Nitrogen-doped graphene nanocomposite (PAMAM-Ag-NG), where this nanocomposite was employed as ECL signal probe. The designed immunosensor showed a linear concentration range from 10 pM to 30 nM with a low detection limit of 2.47 pM (S/N = 3). This method presented good selectivity and reproducibility. To prove the applicability, this method was further used to study the influence of phytohormone and avian leukemia virus on 5hmC content in maize seedling leaves and chicken fibroblast cells, respectively.

The incomplete and uneven dust removal of a pulse filter greatly reduces the dust removal efficiency, which affects the efficiency, service life, and running resistance of dust removers. Therefore, due to improve the pulse cleaning effect, an agglomerant developed by free radical polymerization was added during dust removal. The optimal process conditions were determined by measuring the viscosity, surface tension, and atomization effect of the agglomerant solution. The phases, chemical composition, surface morphology, and morphology of the agglomerant and coal dust were characterized by infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Molecular dynamics simulations were used to study the interaction mechanism between the agglomerant and coal dust. Finally, the dust removal performance under water mist conditions and agglomerate solution atomization was tested using a pulse filter. The results showed that a 0.3 % agglomerant solution effectively reduced the surface tension of the solution and displayed good wetting and bonding properties. Compared with water misting, the agglomerant solution subjected to an atomization rate of 2400 m3/h prolonged the filtration period, reduced the filtration resistance, and reduced the dust emission concentration. These results have important theoretical and practical significance for improving the dust removal effect of pulse filters.

Vanadium and its compounds exhibit concentration- and time-dependent anticancer effects on various types of tumor; however, the effects of sodium orthovanadate (SOV) on anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) have not yet been reported. In the present study, the anticancer effects of SOV on ATC were evaluated. In vitro experiments, including cell viability assays, plate colony formation assays, cell cycle analysis and apoptosis analysis were used to study the role of SOV in ATC. Using in vivo experiments, the effects of SOV on the growth and apoptosis of an ATC-xenograft tumor were studied by comparing the SOV-treatment with the control group. The results revealed that treatment of the human ATC cell line 8505C with SOV inhibited cell viability, induced G2/M phase cell cycle arrest, stimulated apoptosis and reduced mitochondrial membrane potential in a concentration-dependent manner. These findings were confirmed in vivo in a nude mouse ATC xenograft model. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that SOV inhibited human ATC by regulating proliferation, cell cycle progression and apoptosis, thus suggesting that SOV may be considered a novel option for the treatment of ATC.

A nanocomposite was prepared from β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) functionalized graphene oxide and magnetic nanoparticles (GO/Fe3O4/β-CD). In parallel, a polyamidoamine dendrimer conjugated to avidinylated alkaline phosphatase (PAMAM-avidin-ALP) was prepared and exploited as a signal amplification unit in a voltammetric immunoassay for 5-methylcytosine (5mC) in genomic DNA. The GO/Fe3O4/β-CD as a substrate material exhibited good solubility, electrical conductivity and large surface. This is beneficial for the further modification of antibodies (Ab) by host-guest interaction and amide bonds. By taking advantage of three-dimensional structure to capture avidin-ALP by amide linkages, PAMAM was used as a catalytic signal amplification element in this assay. Under the optimized condition and at a typical working potential of 0.94 V, the response to 5mC is linear in the 0.01–50 nM concentration range with a detection limit of 3.2 pM (at S/N = 3). The method is stable, selective and reproducible. It was applied to the determination of 5mC in genomic DNA of human tissue.

Additional file 1. Supplementary information containing Table S1–2, Materials S1 and Figure S1–8.

Node importance is a key factor affecting the overall operation efficiency of a railway freight transportation network (RFTN) that can be measured with the indicators of Hub and PageRank. Based on complex network theory and the national railway cargo exchange data of China’s provinces, this study constructs an RFTN model with the 31 provinces as the nodes and measures the values of Hub and PageRank for the 31 provinces. Then, the time evolution law of the importance of the provincial nodes is analyzed comprehensively, and, using a regression model, the influencing factors of the importance of the provincial nodes are identified. The results show the following. (1) The uneven distribution of natural resources will affect the spatial changes in the importance of RFTN nodes. The Hub values tended to cluster around the average, and the economic structure of the output-oriented provinces improved as a whole. At the same time, the PageRank values of many provinces in the central and western regions significantly increased, and those provinces exhibited more frequent exchanges of goods with other provinces and closer economic ties with other regions. (2) The traffic fixed asset investments and the population density have the most obvious influences on the importance of the provincial nodes with a positive effect. In contrast, the railway freight concentration (RFC) coefficient, geographical location (longitude and latitude), and coastal region all have negative effects on the importance of provincial nodes. The results of this study provide scientific decision-making support for the reasonable establishment and distribution of RFTN hubs in China.

The resistance to sorafenib highly affects its clinical benefits for treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Sodium orthovanadate (SOV) is a phosphate analog that displays anti-cancer activities against various types of malignancies including HCC. The present study has demonstrated that SOV is able to overcome sorafenib resistance and strengthens sorafenib in suppressing sorafenib-resistant HCC cells in vitro and in animal models. Similar to its action on parental HCC cells, SOV induced cell cycle arrest at G2/M phases by regulating cyclin B1 and cyclin-dependent kinase 1, and apoptosis by reducing mitochondrial membrane potential, in sorafenib-resistant HCC cells. More importantly, SOV inhibited ATPase activity, which was significantly elevated in sorafenib-resistant HCC cells. SOV also reduced the expression of HIF-1α and HIF-2α and their nuclear translocation, resulting in downregulation of their downstream factors including vascular endothelial growth factor, lactate dehydrogenase-A and glucose transporter 1. Its ability to inhibit ATPase activity and hypoxia-inducible pathways enabled SOV to efficiently suppress both normoxic and hypoxic cells, which compose cancer cell populations inside sorafenib-resistant HCC tumors. The present results indicate that SOV may be a potent candidate drug for overcoming the resistance to sorafenib in treating HCC.

PGC1α acts as a central regulator of mitochondrial metabolism, whose role in cancer progression has been highlighted but remains largely undefined. Especially, it is completely unknown about the effect of PGC1α on cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Here we showed that PGC1α overexpression had no impact on CCA growth despite the decreased expression of PGC1α in CCA compared with adjacent normal tissue. Instead, PGC1α overexpression-promoted CCA metastasis both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, for the first time, we illuminated that PGC1α reversed the Warburg effect by upregulating the expression of pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 alpha 1 subunit and mitochondrial pyruvate carrier 1 to increase pyruvate flux into the mitochondria for oxidation, whereas simultaneously promoting mitochondrial biogenesis and fusion to mediate the metabolic switch to oxidative phosphorylation. On the one hand, enhanced mitochondrial oxidation metabolism correlated with elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) production; on the other hand, increased PGC1α expression upregulated the expression levels of mRNA for several ROS-detoxifying enzymes. To this end, the ROS levels, which were elevated but below a critical threshold, did not inhibit CCA cells proliferation. And the moderately increased ROS facilitated metastatic dissemination of CCA cells, which can be abrogated by antioxidants. Our study suggests the potential utility of developing the PGC1α-targeted therapies or blocking PGC1α signaling axis for inhibiting CCA metastasis.

To extract and pre-concentrate ultra-trace methyl mercury (MeHg) from natural water, a novel MeHg ion imprinted silica microsphere (MeHg IISM) was designed and synthesized by using silica microspheres as a supporting material, the complex ion of 1-pyrrolidinecarbodithioic acid and MeHg (PDC–CH3Hg+) as a template, methacrylic acid (MAA) as a functional monomer, azodiisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as an initiator, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TMPTM) as a cross-linking agent and ethanol as a solvent. The as prepared MeHg IISM is easy to fabricate with low cost, and has excellent stability, specificity and adsorption capacity. It can be used to specifically extract and pre-concentrate ultra-trace MeHg from natural water samples with a recovery of 92–105%, a intraday relative standard deviation (RSD, n = 5)

We herein reported on novel phosphatidylserine-functionalized Fe3O4@SiO2 NPs (nanoparticles) and enzyme-encapsulated liposomes for the visual detection of Cu2+ by employing phosphatidylserine for Cu2+ recognition and the enzymatic catalysis/oxidation of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine sulfate (TMB) as a signal generator. Phosphatidylserine (1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-L-serine, DOPS) was covalently assembled on the Fe3O4@SiO2 NP surface to obtain DOPS-functionalized Fe3O4@SiO2 NPs, and was used to encapsulate horseradish peroxidase (HRP) to form HRP-encapsulated DOPS liposomes. It was demonstrated that DOPS-functionalized Fe3O4@SiO2 NPs can specifically bind HRP-encapsulated DOPS liposomes in the presence of Cu2+ at basic pH. The HRP-encapsulated DOPS liposome bound on the DOPS-functionalized Fe3O4@SiO2 NPs was then separated from solution with a magnet. Upon the addition of TMB–H2O2 solution, the HRP-encapsulated DOPS liposome bound on the DOPS-functionalized Fe3O4@SiO2 NPs was broken to release HRP, and the released HRP catalyzes the H2O2-mediated oxidation of TMB, which gives rise to a change from colourless to blue in solution colour and a new absorption peak at 652 nm. This provided a sensing platform for the sensitive, specific and field-portable colorimetric detection of Cu2+. By using the sensing platform, a selective and sensitive visual sensor for the detection of Cu2+ was developed. The proposed method has outstanding advantages including adequate sensitivity (the sensitivity can be improved by using a greater volume of the water sample), shorter analysis time, relatively low cost, operation at room temperature and stronger resistibility to the matrix. It can be used to detect as little as 0.1–0.5 μM of Cu2+ in river water using naked-eye observation and 0.05 μM of Cu2+ in river water using UV-visible spectrophotometry when 2 mL of the water sample was used for detection, within 15 min and with a recovery of 95–101% and a RSD < 5% (n = 5). A visual detection limit of 0.1–0.5 μM is much lower than the maximum allowable level of Cu2+ (∼20 μM) in drinking water defined by the USA EPA. The above features make our sensor a promising approach for the rapid and on-site detection of trace free copper ions in aqueous environments by only naked-eye observation.