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Four o‐carborane‐based aggregation‐induced emission molecules with ultra‐large Stokes shifts were designed and synthesized. To explore the origin of the ultra‐large Stokes shifts (Δλ ≈ 268–294 nm) of the four target molecules, a new molecule named CZ‐Ph‐PO was synthesized by replacing the o‐carborane unit in CZ‐CB‐PO with a benzene ring. It was found that the ultra‐large Stokes shift was the result of the combined action of diphenylphosphinyl and o‐carborane, in which o‐carborane was the key group. In addition, combined with the single crystal structure analysis, the effect of halogens on molecular photophysical properties was investigated. Our work provides a reference for the design and synthesis of o‐carborane‐based fluorescent molecules with ultra‐large Stokes shifts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caffeine (CAF) is a common central nervous system stimulant. However, the excessive intake of CAF can cause physical discomfort to consumers and affect the health of drinkers. Chlorogenic acid (CGA) is a powerful antioxidant with antiinflammatory and antiobesity properties. Here, we used an artificial neural network (ANN) for the intelligent sensing and electrochemical measurements of CAF and CGA by differential pulse voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry. The measurement error of the electrochemical method for detecting CAF concentrations could be eliminated using a large amount of electrochemical measurement data for ANN training. The CAF and CGA concentrations were sensed with an accuracy of nearly 90%. A sample of real coffee was also sensed with an accuracy rate of over 90%. The results showed that this method can effectively eliminate the errors of electrochemical measurement methods and instruments, and the accuracy rate of calibration line measurements exceeded that of the traditional electrochemical method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Colibactin is a nonribosomal peptide-polyketide synthesized by multi-enzyme complexes encoded by the pks gene cluster. Colibactin-producing Escherichia coli have been demonstrated to induce host DNA damage and promote colorectal cancer (CRC) development. In Taiwan, the occurrence of pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) has been suggested to correlate with an increasing risk of CRC, and Klebsiella pneumoniae is the predominant PLA pathogen in Taiwan Methodology/Principal Findings: At the asn tRNA loci of the newly sequenced K. pneumoniae 1084 genome, we identified a 208-kb genomic island, KPHPI208, of which a module identical to the E. coli pks colibactin gene cluster was recognized. KPHPI208 consists of eight modules, including the colibactin module and the modules predicted to be involved in integration, conjugation, yersiniabactin production, microcin production, and unknown functions. Transient infection of BALB/c normal liver cells with K. pneumoniae 1084 increased the phosphorylation of histone H2AX, indicating the induction of host DNA damage. Colibactin was required for the genotoxicity of K. pneumoniae 1084, as it was diminished by deletion of clbA gene and restored to the wild type level by trans-complementation with a clbA coding plasmid. Besides, BALB/c mice infected with K. pneumoniae 1084 exhibited enhanced DNA damage in the liver parenchymal cells when compared to the isogenic clbA deletion mutant. By PCR detection, the prevalence of pks-positive K. pneumoniae in Taiwan is 25.6%, which is higher than that reported in Europe (3.5%), and is significantly correlated with K1 type, which predominantly accounted for PLA in Taiwan. Conclusions: Our knowledge regarding how bacteria contribute to carcinogenesis has just begun. The identification of genotoxic K. pneumoniae and its genetic components will facilitate future studies to elucidate the molecular basis underlying the link between K. pneumoniae, PLA, and CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an autoimmune and chronic inflammatory disorder, is an incurable disease. We developed a peptide-based electrochemical sensor using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy that can be used to detect autoantibodies for RA diagnostics. We first validated that the developed peptide showed high sensitivity and could compliment the current gold standard method of an anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (anti-CCP) ELISA. The developed peptide can be modified on the nanogold surface of the working electrode of sensing chips through the method of a self-assembling monolayer. The sensing process was first optimized using a positive control cohort and a healthy control cohort. Subsequently, 10 clinically confirmed samples from RA patients and five healthy control samples were used to find the threshold value of the impedance between RA and healthy subjects. Furthermore, 10 clinically confirmed samples but with low values of anti-CCP autoantibodies were used to evaluate the sensitivity of the present method compared to the conventional method. The proposed method showed better sensitivity than the current conventional anti-CCP ELISA method. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]