Search

RNA interference (RNAi) is currently under fast development, which brings improved crop quality and new activity against pests in agriculture, by producing RNAs to specifically inhibit gene expression. This technology, in turn, creates a pressing need for sensitive and specific analytical methods of exogenous RNA molecules in genetically modified (GM) crops for safety assessment and regulation of RNAi plants and their products. In this work, we developed a novel RNA electrochemical biosensor for the analysis of GM maize samples based on a polyA-DNA capturing probe containing three DNA segments: the central polyA segment combined onto a gold electrode surface with adjustable configuration and density, and two flanking DNA probes simultaneously captured the RNA targets through hybridization. Both the assembling and hybridization capability of our probe were demonstrated, and we systematically optimized the analytical conditions. Finally, the ultrasensitive detection of 10 fM RNA was realized without any amplification processes, and the specificity was verified by analyzing non-target maize samples. Our electrochemical biosensor provided a reliable and convenient measurement strategy for RNAi safety and quality assessment, and more importantly, our PAP (probe-polyA-probe) capturing probe exhibited an innovative design for the detection of large RNA molecules with complex secondary structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) bilayer antireflective coating (ARC) is designed based on polymeric microphase separation and matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE). The spin-coated layer shows subwavelength porous network structures, after phase separation via annealing and removal of the polystyrene (PS) phase, while the MAPLE deposited surface layer exhibits a biomimic moth-eye structure on glass to trap the incident light. The elaborate spin coated structure can be controlled flexibly by changing the ratio of mixture, annealing time and temperature, and the moth-eye structure can also be tuned by deposition parameters. The transmittance of the ARC presents a maximum of 95.64% and an average of 94.81% in visible range. The moth-eye structure on glass substrate formed by nanoglobules makes positive contributions to the improvement of transmittance according to UV–Vis result and simulation. The wetting motion of PMMA globules is observed as well by the comparison of AFM surface morphologies and cross-sectional profiles of globules on glass and polymer thin film. This work is a novel attempt to fabricate bilayer ARC with two different structures by a single polymeric material and will provide new route for fabrication of multilayer ARCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of drainage tube placement on postoperative pain, recovery, and opioid consumption within a 72-hour period following unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA)., Methods: Patients with medial knee osteoarthritis who underwent UKA from January 2019 to August 2020 were enrolled in the study and divided into two groups based on whether they received a drain postoperatively., Results: The drainage group had significantly lower VAS scores on day 1, day 2, and day 3, in addition to significantly smaller changes in the circumference of the knee joint within 3 days postoperatively (P <0.05). The ROM in the drainage group significantly increased at 3 days and 1 month post-surgery, with a statistically significant difference in morphine consumption between the two groups at 3 days (P<0.05). The incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (5 cases) and wound bleeding (1 case) was lower in the drainage group compared to the non-drainage group (P<0.05)., Conclusions: The placement of a drainage tube in UKA may reduce the swelling of knee joint and pain, which not only reduces the use of Opioid but also facilitates early functional activities of the knee joint. Level of Evidence III; Retrospective Comparative Study. , Competing Interests: All authors declare no potential conflict of interest related to this article.