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Two acid-catalyzed tandem reactions between 4-hydroxy-1-methylquinolin-2(1H)-one and propargylic alcohols are described.

Introduction: The treatment of renal artery aneurysms (RAAs) includes surgical repair and endovascular techniques. Surgical repair is divided into open surgery repair and laparoscopic surgery repair. Laparoscopic RAA has fewer postoperative complications than open surgery. Some experiences with robotic RAA repair via transperitoneal access have been recently reported. However, no report could be found on the treatment of retroperitoneal RAA with the da Vinci robot-assisted surgery thus far. Case Presentation: Here, the surgical management of an 8.6-mm right-sided RAA via robot-assisted laparoscopic retroperitoneal approach in a 58-year-old man who presented with flank discomfort is reported. The aneurysm was resected, and the renal artery was reconstructed. The total operative time was 2 h with a warm ischemia time of 25 min, and the estimated surgical blood loss was 50 mL. The patient resumed a regular diet on postoperative day 2, and the hospital stay lasted 5 days. No intraoperative nor postoperative morbidity was reported. Follow-up imaging and functional analysis demonstrated resolution of the aneurysm and preservation of renal function after 2.5 months. Conclusions: Robot-assisted laparoscopic retroperitoneal RAA repair is flexible and safe. The greatest advantage of retroperitoneal surgery is direct access to the renal artery. Furthermore, it could reduce the injury in the abdominal organs and avoid abdominal adhesion. This approach may also allow for improved postoperative recovery, reduce the morbidity correlated with transperitoneal RAA, and thus may be considered as an alternative to transperitoneal surgery for RAAs in the future.

Two acid-catalyzed tandem reactions between 4-hydroxy-1-methylquinolin-2(1

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been extensively studied in tumor development and treatment. CircZNF609 (hsa_circ_0000615) has been shown to serve as an oncogene in all kinds of solid tumors and may act as the novel biomarker in tumor diagnosis and therapy in tumor early diagnosis and therapy. However, the underlying character and mechanism of circZNF609 in cisplatin chemosensitivity and bladder cancer (BCa) development were unknown. The expression level of cell division cycle 25B (CDC25B), microRNA 1200 (miR-1200), and circZNF609 in BCa cells and tissues depended on quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). CDC25B protein level was assayed with Western blot. Functional assays in vitro and in vivo had been conducted to inspect the important role of circZNF609 on BCa progression and cisplatin chemosensitivity in BCa. RNA sequencing and online databases were used to predict the interactions among circZNF609, miR-1200, and CDC25B. Mechanistic exploration was confirmed by RNA pull-down assay, RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and Dual luciferase reporter assay. CircZNF609 expression was increased significantly in BCa cell lines and tissues. For BCa patients, increased expression of circZNF609 was correlated with a worse survival. In vitro and in vivo, enforced expression of circZNF609 enhanced BCa cells proliferation, migration, and cisplatin chemoresistance. Mechanistically, circZNF609 alleviated the inhibition effect on target CDC25B expression by sponging miR-1200. CircZNF609 promoted tumor growth through novel circZNF609/miR-1200/CDC25B axis, implying that circZNF609 has significant potential to act as a new diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target in BCa. Enhancing cisplatin sensitivity is an important direction for bladder cancer management. 1. This research reveals that circZNF609 improves bladder cancer progression and inhibits cisplatin sensitivity by inducing G1/S cell cycle arrest via a novel miR-1200/CDC25B cascades. 2. CircZNF609 was confirmed associated with worse survival of bladder cancer patients. 3. CircZNF609 act as a prognostic biomarker for bladder cancer treatment.

In this paper, we developed a red-emitting fluorescent probe TPSN based on triphenylamine-functionalized benzothiazole salts. TPSN exhibits a strong luminescence emission at about 637 nm in viscous media. Moreover, the fluorescence intensity of TPSN enhances approximately 94-fold from water to 99% glycerol. Cell imaging experiments reveals that TPSN presents high specificity for mitochondrial localization. The related mechanism study indicates that the localization property of TPSN is independent of the mitochondrial membrane potential. As a result, TPSN offers a promising tool to monitor the mitochondria viscosity in living cells.

Metal complexes are expected to serve as efficient imaging probes to understand the biological process. In this work, a series of new ZnX2 (X = Cl, Br, I) complexes (DMT-ZnCl2, DMT-ZnBr2 and DMT-ZnI2) based on terpyridine were synthesized and fully characterized. X-ray crystal structure analysis demonstrate that the coplanarity within the molecules presents a certain regularity (DMT-ZnCl2 > DMT-ZnBr2 > DMT-ZnI2). The photophysical studies demonstrate the absorption bands showed a regular bathochromic-shift from DMT-ZnCl2 to DMT-ZnI2 along with the fluorescence intensity and the quantum yields decreasing. Biological tests reveal that all the Zn(II) complexes possess low cytotoxicity, good membrane permeability and good photostability, and exhibit a strong fluorescence in the cytosolic space in living Hela cells. Given mentioned above, the Zn(II) complexes can act as a promising candidate for biological imaging agent.

A series of novel quinoline derivatives L1–L3 with a D π A type were developed as a fluorescent viscosity probe in vitro. L1–L3 displayed very weak emission in nonviscous media and remarkable fluorescence enhancement with the viscosity augment in the water/glycerol system, especially for L2. Different substituent units exhibit a considerable influence on the photophysical properties and response sensitivity of the probes to viscosity. Probes L1–L3 exhibited a direct linear relationship well between log (I/I0) and the log η, which allowed us to quantitatively measure the environmental viscosity. Moreover, L2 modified with 1-butoxy-2-methoxybenzene has been certified to be more sensitive to viscosity because of moderate electron-donating ability. Cell imaging experiments illustrated that L1–L3 is suitable for visualizing the viscosity changes in living cells. As a result, the present work offers a strategy for rationally designing fluorescence probe for viscosity detection in living cells.

In this paper, two novel benzothiazole derivatives EtSN and OAcSN with a D–π–A configuration were developed as fluorescent probes for the detection of HSO3−. Compared with OAcSN, probe EtSN, bearing ester group, displayed a lower detection limit and faster response time. Upon treatment with HSO3−, EtSN and OAcSN displayed noticeable color change from yellow (EtSN)/red (OAcSN) to coreless, respectively. Competitive experiments indicated that EtSN and OAcSN had higher fluorescence selectivity towards HSO3− than other analytes. The sensing mechanism was further illustrated by 1H NMR and TD-DFT.

Sensitive and accurate detection of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is of great significance since it is regarded as a biomarker for prostate diseases. Herein, a facile strategy for the design of highly efficient electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensor was proposed for PSA assay. Carboxylated graphitic carbon nitride (g-C

The treatment of renal artery aneurysms (RAAs) includes surgical repair and endovascular techniques. Surgical repair is divided into open surgery repair and laparoscopic surgery repair. Laparoscopic RAA has fewer postoperative complications than open surgery. Some experiences with robotic RAA repair via transperitoneal access have been recently reported. However, no report could be found on the treatment of retroperitoneal RAA with the da Vinci robot-assisted surgery thus far.Here, the surgical management of an 8.6-mm right-sided RAA via robot-assisted laparoscopic retroperitoneal approach in a 58-year-old man who presented with flank discomfort is reported. The aneurysm was resected, and the renal artery was reconstructed. The total operative time was 2 h with a warm ischemia time of 25 min, and the estimated surgical blood loss was 50 mL. The patient resumed a regular diet on postoperative day 2, and the hospital stay lasted 5 days. No intraoperative nor postoperative morbidity was reported. Follow-up imaging and functional analysis demonstrated resolution of the aneurysm and preservation of renal function after 2.5 months.Robot-assisted laparoscopic retroperitoneal RAA repair is flexible and safe. The greatest advantage of retroperitoneal surgery is direct access to the renal artery. Furthermore, it could reduce the injury in the abdominal organs and avoid abdominal adhesion. This approach may also allow for improved postoperative recovery, reduce the morbidity correlated with transperitoneal RAA, and thus may be considered as an alternative to transperitoneal surgery for RAAs in the future.

Background: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are noncoding RNAs that have the structure of a covalently closed loop. Increasing data has proved that circRNA can influence the development and progression of tumors. CircFAM114A2 is generated from several exons of FAM114A2. However, the function and mechanisms of circFAM114A2 in bladder cancer (BCa) remain unclear. This research aimed to reveal that circFAM114A2 inhibits bladder cancer progression and improves sensitivity of cisplatin chemotherapy by inducing G1/S cell cycle arrest via novel miR-222-3p/P27 and miR-146a-5p/P21 cascades.Methods: Here, to elucidate the potential roles of circFAM114A2 in BCa, we conducted RNA-sequencing on 5 pairs of BCa samples and screened for circRNAs. CircRNAs, microRNAs (miRNAs) and mRNAs, as well as levels of P27 and P21, in human cells and tissues were detected by qRT-PCR and western blot, respectively. CircRNA-miRNA interactions and miRNA-downstream mRNAs interactions were investigated by RNA pull-down assay and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) or luciferase reporter assays, respectively. Then, the function of circFAM114A2 in BCa was explored using cell proliferation, cell cycle and tumorigenesis assays in nude mice. Finally, the function of circFAM114A2 in cisplatin chemo-sensitivity in BCa was detected by IC50 and tumor formation of xenograft in cisplatin-treated nude mice. Results: We discovered that circFAM114A2 levels were decreased in BCa cell lines and tissues. According to follow-up data, BCa patients with higher circFAM114A2 expression had better survival. Importantly, the levels of circFAM114A2 were associated with the histological grade of BCa. Overexpression of circFAM114A2 inhibited cell proliferation and increased sensitivity to cisplatin chemotherapy. Mechanistically, circFAM114A2 directly sponged miR-222-3p/miR-146a-5p and subsequently influenced the expression of the downstream target genes P27/P21, which, in turn, inhibited progression of BCa.Conclusions: CircFAM114A2 acted as a tumor suppressor through a novel circFAM114A2/miR-222-3p/P27 and circFAM114A2/miR-146a-5p/P21 pathway. CircFAM1142 has therefore great potential as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for BCa.

A novel water-soluble fluorescent probe L based on indole salts has been designed, synthesized and fully characterized. The systematic investigations demonstrated that probe L shows red emission and the fluorescence intensity is linear with the viscosity of the medium. Probe L is able to selectively accumulate in mitochondria within 1 min without any additional reagents for membrane permeabilization. It has been used to distinguish the viscosity differences between mitochondria in normal and nystatin-treated HeLa cells. In addition, due to the good photostability, probe L can be used to monitor the dynamics of mitochondria. These results support that probe L might provide a promising approach for the fluorescence detection of mitochondrial viscosity in living biological systems.

A signal-on photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensing platform was developed here for the highly sensitive detection of a cancer marker type IV collagenase, which relied on the exciton energy transfer (EET) between CdTe quantum dots (QDs) and Ag nanoparticles (NPs) combined with the catalytic hydrolysis of a protease. A special sequence peptide chain with positively charged arginines at one end and a cysteine-labeled terminal at the other end, which could be modified with Ag NPs, was designed and synthesized. CdTe QDs and synthetic peptide were assembled onto the surface of indium–tin oxide (ITO) electrodes by means of a layer-by-layer self-assembly technology. The as-obtained modified electrodes generated a lower photocurrent under irradiation due to the effect of EET. The photocurrent intensity increased due to the addition of type IV collagenase, which could specifically hydrolytically cleave Gly–Pro–Ala, leading to Ag NPs being away from the electrode surface. Thus, a signal-on PEC biosensor could be obtained. Under optimum conditions, the PEC biosensor for type IV collagenase exhibited a linear range from 0.5 to 50 μg mL−1 and sensitivity of 96 ng mL−1. The peptide-QD-based PEC detection against type IV collagenase showed a promising potential for other protease or kinase detection when we changed the substrate of the peptide.

Additional file 1: Table S1. The alterations frequency of m6A regulators across 15 cancer types.

Effects of dietary Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) exposure and dietary vitamin A supplementation on Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis were studied with the aim to explain dietary PCB toxicity and toxic alleviation by vitamin A intake in crab. Four diets were used including three experimental diets containing 0, 80000 or 240000 IU/kg vitamin A with each experimental diet containing 10 mg PCB/kg diet, and a control diet (without vitamin A and PCB supplementation) in 56 days feeding trial. Crabs fed the PCB-only diet had significantly lower weight gain than those fed the control diet. No significant difference was observed in crab survival among all groups. Crabs fed the PCB-only diet had a significantly higher malondialdehyde content and antioxidase superoxide dismutase activity in the serum and hepatopancreas, and higher erythromycin N-demethylase and glutathione S-transferase activities in the hepatopancreas than those fed the control diet. However, supplementation of dietary vitamin A decreased the levels of all these parameters. The hepatopancreatic cytochrome P450 2 and 4 (CYP2, CYP4), fatty acid binding proteins 3 and 10 (FABP3, FABP10) and intracellular lipolytic enzyme (IL) Messenger Ribonucleic Acid (mRNA) levels in the PCB-only group were significantly higher than those in the control group, and dietary 240000 IU/kg vitamin A supplementation decreased hepatopancreatic CYP4, FABP3, FABP10 and IL enzyme mRNA level. The crabs fed 80000 IU/kg vitamin A supplementation diet had the highest level of retinoid X receptor mRNA in the hepatopancreas. The structure of the hepatopancreas was damaged and the deposit of lipid droplets decreased with dietary PCB exposure. Both levels of vitamin A supplementation alleviated the damage and increased lipid droplets in the hepatopancreas. Dietary PCB exposure significantly reduced total hemocyte count (THC), and phenoloxidase, acid phosphatase activities in the serum. Post-challenge survival of crab in the experimental PCB-only diet group was low compared with that in the control. Supplementation of 240000 IU/kg vitamin A significantly increased the THC and phenoloxidase activity in the serum and post-challenge survival compared with those in the PCB-only group. This study indicates that dietary vitamin A can improve the antioxidant capacity, immune response, detoxification enzymes activities, energy metabolism and hepatopancreas tissue structure of Chinese mitten crab fed PCB contaminated diets.

In this work, a multiplexed electrochemical immunosensor was developed for sensitive detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and α-fetoprotein (AFP) using silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) or gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) coated-carbon nanospheres (CNSs) as labels. CNSs were employed as the carrier for the immobilization of nanoparticles (Ag NPs or Au NPs), thionine (Thi), and secondary antibodies (Ab2) due to their good monodispersity and uniform structure. Au NPs reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites were used as sensing substrate for assembling two primary antibodies (Ab1). In the presence of target proteins, two labels were attached onto the surface of the rGO/Au NPs nanocomposites via a sandwich immunoreaction. Two distinguishable peaks, one at +0.16 V (corresponding to Ag NPs) and another at -0.33 V (corresponding to Thi), were obtained in differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The peak difference was approximately 490 mV, indicating that CEA and AFP can be simultaneously detected in a single run. Under optimal conditions, the peak currents were linearly related to the concentrations of CEA or AFP in the range of 0.01-80 ng ml(-1). The detection limits of CEA and AFP were 2.8 and 3.5 pg ml(-1), respectively (at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3). Moreover, when the immunosensor was applied to serum samples, the results obtained were in agreement with those of the reference method, indicating that the immunosensor would be promising in the application of clinical diagnosis and screening of biomarkers.

A photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensor for determination of copper (II) ion has been developed. The indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode modified by ZnS quantum dots (QDs) was used as working electrode and dopamine (DA) as detection solution. When different amounts of Cu2+ were added, the polydopamine-copper (II) complex (PDA-Cu (II)) was in suit formed and attached tightly to the surface of ITO electrode based on the interaction between copper (II) and dopamine (DA) under weakly alkaline (pH 8.00) solution. The detection of Cu2+ was achieved by means of the decreasing photocurrent. The linear range of 1 - 1000 pM and sensitivity of 0.45 pM were obtained. In addition, the formation of PDA-Cu (II) was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). Thus, a PEC sensor based on the change of electrode surface state can realize the sensitive detection of Cu2+.

A multiple immunosensor was developed for simultaneous detection of prostate specific antigen (PSA), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and α-fetoprotein (AFP). In this sensing platform, metal ions functionalized gold nanoparticles-carbon nanospheres (CNSs@Au NPs) nanocomposites were firstly synthesized not only as an efficient immunoprobe but also as signal amplifier. Herein, CNSs@Au NPs with large specific surface area and excellent biocompatibility provided a good vehicle to load much more second antibodies. Metal ions (Pb2+、Cd2+、Zn2+) were fixed the surface of nanocomposites via strong binding capacity with amino-groups of second antibodies to form a signal amplifying system. Meanwhile, immunosensor was prepared by depositing Au NPs and coating primary antibodies on the glassy carbon electrode. In the existence of target analytes and immunoprobes, the immunosensor could simultaneously respond to multiple analyte targets and three distinguishable signal peaks of square wave voltammetry (SWV) were obtained. Under appropriate experimental conditions, the proposed immunosensor exhibited wider measurement linear ranges for three markers (PSA, 0.01 to 100 ng mL−1, CEA and AFP, 0.01 to 80 ng mL−1) with a low detection limits of PSA (3.6 pg mL−1), CEA (3.0 pg mL−1) and AFP (2.6 pg mL−1, S/N = 3). Finally, the as-prepared immunosensor was assessed with human serum samples. Compared with the reference method, no obvious difference was observed, indicating our immunosensor had a potential application in early clinical diagnosis of tumor markers.

For the sparse signal reconstruction problem in compressive sensing, we propose a projection-type algorithm without any backtracking line search based on a new formulation of the problem. Under suitable conditions, global convergence and its linear convergence of the designed algorithm are established. The efficiency of the algorithm is illustrated through some numerical experiments on some sparse signal reconstruction problem.

In this paper, a simple and sensitive photoluminescence method is developed for the hydroquinone quantitation by using graphene quantum dots which simultaneously serve as a peroxidase-mimicking catalyst and a photoluminescence indicator. In the presence of dissolved oxygen, graphene quantum dots with intrinsic peroxidase-mimicking catalytic activity can catalyze the oxidation of hydroquinone to produce p- benzoquinone, an intermediate, which can efficiently quench graphene quantum dots' photoluminescence. Based on this effect, a novel fluorescent platform is proposed for the sensing of hydroquinone, and the detection limit of 5 nM is found.

A new turn-on luminescence energy transfer (LET) system has been designed for the detection of prostate specific antigen (PSA, a cancer marker) that utilizes Mn 2+ -enhanced long wavelength luminescence NaYF 4 : Yb, Er upconversion nanorods as the donor and gold nanorods as the acceptor. The Mn 2+ -doped NaYF 4 :Yb,Er upconversion luminescence nanorods with an emission peak located in the red region were synthesized. The presence of Mn 2+ markedly increased the luminescence intensity over that of the NaYF 4 :Yb, Er upconversion nanomaterials (excited by a 980 nm continuous wavelength laser). The surfaces of Mn 2+ -doped NaYF 4 :Yb, Er upconversion nanorods were modified with poly(acrylic acid). Antibodies against prostate specific antigen were bound to the surface of the carboxyl-functionalized upconversion nanorods, which acted as the energy donor in this LET system. Gold nanorods with an absorption band at ~666 nm were synthesized by the seed growth method, acted as the energy acceptor. The emission band of the upconversion nanorods overlapped well with the absorption band of the gold nanorods. The luminescence was quenched because of the electrostatic interactions that shortened the distance between the donor (negatively charged) and the accepter (positively charged).When the PSA antigen was added into the system, the energy acceptor and the energy donors were separated because the binding affinity between PSA and anti-PSA was greater than the electrostatic interactions, and thereby the luminescence was recovered. The linear range of detecting PSA was from 0.1172 to 18.75 ng/mL ( R =0.995), with a limit of detection for PSA as low as 0.1129 ng/mL. The method was successfully applied to the sensing of PSA in human serum samples.

We describe an electrochemical immunosensor for the simultaneous determination of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and prostate specific antigen (PSA) via a modified glassy carbon electrode. Silica nanoparticles (200–300 nm i.d.) with good monodispersity and uniform shape were synthesized, and the following species were then consecutively immobilized on their surface: gold nanoparticles (AuNPs; 5–15 nm i.d.), secondary antibody (Ab2) and the redox-probes Azure A or ferrocenecarboxy acid (Fc). In parallel, two types of primary antibodies (Ab1) were co-immobilized on the surface of the dissolved reduced graphene oxide sheets (rGO) that were also decorated with AuNPs. In the presence of antigens (AFP or PSA), the Ab2/Si@AuNPs carrying Azure A and Fc are attached to the AuNP/rGO conjugate via a sandwich type immunoreaction. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was employed to measure the resulting changes in the signal of Fc or Azure A. Two well-resolved oxidation peaks, one at −0.48 V (corresponding to Azure A) and other at + 0.12 V (corresponding to Fc; both vs. SCE) can be observed in the DPV curves. Under optimal conditions, AFP and PSA can be simultaneously determined in the range from 0.01 to 25 ng mL‾1 for AFP, and from 0.012 to 25 ng mL‾1 for PSA. The detection limits are 3.3 pg mL‾1 for AFP and 4.0 pg mL‾1 for PSA (at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3). The method was applied to (spiked) real sample analysis, and the recoveries are within 96.0 and 107.2 % for PSA, and within 100.9 and 105.8 % for AFP, indicating that this dual immunosensor matches the requirements of clinical analysis.

The impact of dietary α-tocopherol on juvenile Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis was experimentally evaluated in a 10-week study. Crab were fed with nine diets including three levels of α-tocopherol (0, 100 and 300 mg kg−1 diet) and three levels of fish oil oxidation (fresh, moderate and high) in triplicates. Fresh and moderate oil oxidization enhanced weight gain, but moderate and high oil oxidization lowered survival and feed efficiency. The 100-mg α-tocopherol kg−1 diet resulted in higher hepatopancreas MDA than other α-tocopherol diets. High oil oxidization led to the lowest serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPH-PX). The serum SOD and GPH-PX activities in crab fed 100 mg α-tocopherol were higher than in those fed other α-tocopherol diets. The diet without α-tocopherol addition lowered lysozyme and phenoloxidase (PO) activities compared to other α-tocopherol diets. Fresh fish oil diet increased PO activity compared to oxidized oils. High oil oxidization caused significantly more mortality than fresh or moderate oxidization after 7-d postchallenge with Aeromonas hydrophila. Supplementation with α-tocopherol significantly enhanced resistance to bacterial infection. This study indicates that α-tocopherol can protect lipid from peroxidation and enhance disease resistance.

In this study, a novel fluoroimmunoassay protocol for simultaneous detection of two tumor markers is described. The new approach employed magnetic beads as a carrier for the antibody immobilization, while CdTe quantum dots (CdTe QDs) and gold nanoclusters (Au NCs) coated-silica nanospheres were used as labels. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) were adopted as model proteins. After a typical sandwich-type immunoreaction, the immunocomplex exhibited two distinguishable fluorescence peaks at 550 nm and 655 nm corresponding to CdTe QDs and Au NCs, respectively. Under optimal conditions, fluorescence intensities were linearly increased to the concentration of CEA and AFP in the range of 0.1–400 ng mL−1, the detection limit of fluoroimmunoassay is 0.04 ng mL−1 for CEA and 0.08 ng mL−1 for AFP, respectively. The proposed method was evaluated with human serum, and the determination values obtained were in accordance with reference methods reported. These results demonstrated that the new method can be applied to the determination of two tumor markers in clinical samples.

In this work, we designed a novel sandwich-type electrochemical immunosensor for simultaneous detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) using non-enzymatic multiple-label method. Firstly, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) decorated reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-carried prussian blue (PB) and AuNPs decorated rGO-carried thionine (Thi) (denoted as AuNPs-PB@rGO and AuNPs-Thi@rGO, respectively) were employed as distinguishable signal tags, which were utilized to load anti-CEA (Ab 2,1 ) and anti-AFP (Ab 2,2 ), respectively. Subsequently, hierarchically aloe-like gold microstructures (HAG) with large effective area were used to immobilize the capture antibodies anti-CEA (Ab 1,1 ) and anti-AFP (Ab 1,2 ), which effectively enhanced the performance of the immunosensor. Experimental results revealed that the sandwich-type immunosensor can permit the simultaneous detection of CEA and AFP with linear range of 0.6–80 ng mL −1 for two analytes, the detection limit was 0.12 ng mL −1 for CEA and 0.08 ng mL −1 for AFP (at a signal to noise ratio of 3), respectively. The immunosensor was applied to real sample analysis, and the recovery was within 95.9%–105.6% for CEA and 95.6%–105.4% for AFP. In addition, the immunosensor exhibited good reproducibility and stability, suggesting the immunosensor offered potential in analysis of biological samples.

Most urban rivers play an important role in urban flood control and drainage in China, but pollution is fast becoming an issue of greater importance in water management. In this study, 63 zooplankton species were recorded in four downtown rivers in Shanghai between November 2007 and October 2008. Of these, 44 species belonged to the Rotifera, 13 to Cladocera, and six to Copepoda. The three most frequently occurring zooplankton (Brachionus calyciflorus, Microcyclops leuckarti, and Asplanchna priodonta) accounted for 80.00%, 76.84%, and 53.68%, respectively. Rotifera were found to be dominant, comprising 86.26% of total zooplankton, while cladoceran and copepod abundance amounted to 5.08% and 8.67%, respectively. Water temperature, salinity, electrical conductivity, and total nitrogen were of the greatest significance in the occurrence of zooplankton. Two species (Schmackeria forbesi and Lepadella ovalis) were notably more sensitive to environmental factors such as salinity and electrical conductivity than other species. The population size and community were inversely correlated with the increasing nutrient levels of the four rivers, suggesting that the water quality of the four rivers had been gradually recovering from a severe eutrophic state and that water conditions of the rivers had been gradually improved.

In this study, a novel tracer, horseradish peroxidase (HRP) functionalized nanocomposites, was designed to label the signal antibodies for the detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) using an electrochemical immunosensor. To construct high-performance immunosensor, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) dotted thionine functionalized carbon nanotubes (Thi-CNTs), which could increase the surface area, was used to immobilize the primary antibody (Ab1). The preparation of the HRP functionalized nanocomposites and labeling of signal antibody were performed by one pot assembly of HRP and signal antibody on AuNPs onto polyaniline (PAN) functionalized carbon nanotubes (AuNPs-PAN@CNTs). The high content HRP on the surface of the AuNPs-PAN@CNTs amplified the detectable signal for sandwich-type immunoassay. Electrochemical impedance spectra and cyclic voltammetry are used to investigate the assemble process of the immunosensor. Furthermore, differential pulse voltammetry was utilized to monitor the response signal of immunosensor. Under the optimal conditions, the immunosensor displayed an excellent linear response for the detection of CEA ranging from 0.02 to 80.0 ng mL-1 with a detection limit of 0.008 ng mL-1 (at 3 σ). In addition, the immuosensor was applied to serum samples, and the results obtained were agreement with the reference values.