Capture efficiency of Escherichia coli in fimbriae-mediated immunoimmobilization

Capturing pathogens on a sensor surface is one of the most important steps in the design of a biosensor. The efficiency of a biosensor at capturing pathogens has direct bearing on its sensitivity. In this work we investigated the capturing of Escherichia coli on substrates modified with antibodies targeting different types of fimbriae: K88ab (F4), K88ac (F4), K99 (F5), 987P (F6), F41, and CFA/I. The results suggest that all these fimbriae can be used for the efficient immobilization of living E. coli cells. The immobilization efficiency was affected by the purity and clone type of the antibody and the fimbriae expression level of the bacteria. For a specific fimbriae type, a higher immobilization efficiency was often observed with the monoclonal antibodies. Immunoimmobilization was utilized in an antibody microarray immersed in a mixed culture of pathogens to demonstrate the rapid and simultaneous label-free detection of multiple pathogens within less than 1 h using a single test. The capture rate of living pathogens exceeds a single bacterium per 100 × 100 μm(2) area per 0.5 h of incubation for a bulk concentration of 10(5) cfu/mL.     

Mechanical behavior of a pH-sensitive hydrogel ring used in a micro-optical device

A hydrogel is a polymer network that can absorb a large quantity of solvent and swell due to a physical or chemical stimulus. Hydrogels are more and more used as smart materials in recent micro-applications. This fact requires the development of adequate models and simulation tools for their large deformation behavior. These models must also predict the onset of instabilities, such as folding or creasing. In this work, we study an interesting application of adaptive optical microsystem using a previously developed theory of inhomogeneous large deformation of a pH-sensitive hydrogel. The devices function is based on the swelling of a ring made of a pH-sensitive hydrogel. The latter controls the focal length of the liquid microlens. Our aim is to analyze major design parameters that affect the hydrogel ring behavior and the function of the micro-optical device. The problem is solved numerically with the finite element commercial software ABAQUS. Various modes of large deformation and the influence of the rings aspect ratio on the behavior of the micro-device are investigated. Results show that, for relatively short rings, a stable swelling takes place. Rings with a relatively big aspect ratio can have an unstable swelling with the propagation of a creasing instability. (© 2012 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Resonant behavior of a membrane of a dielectric elastomer

This paper analyzes a membrane of a dielectric elastomer, prestretched and mounted on a rigid circular ring, and then inflated by a combination of pressure and voltage. Equations of motion are derived from a nonlinear field theory, and used to analyze several experimental conditions. When the pressure and voltage are static, the membrane may attain a state of equilibrium, around which the membrane can oscillate. The natural frequencies can be tuned by varying the prestretch, pressure, or voltage. A sinusoidal pressure or voltage may excite superharmonic, harmonic, and subharmonic resonance. Several modes of oscillation predicted by the model have not been reported experimentally, possibly because these modes have small deflections, despite large stretches.     

Large deformation and electrochemistry of polyelectrolyte gels

Immersed in an ionic solution, a network of polyelectrolytes imbibes the solution and swells, resulting in a polyelectrolyte gel. The swelling is reversible, and the amount of swelling is regulated by ionic concentrations, mechanical forces, and electric potentials. This paper develops a field theory to couple large deformation and electrochemistry. A specific material model is described, including the effects of stretching the network, mixing the polymers with the solvent and ions, and polarizing the gel. We show that the notion of osmotic pressure in a gel has no experimental significance in general, but acquires a physical interpretation within the specific material model. The theory is used to analyze several phenomena: a gel swells freely in an ionic solution, a gel swells under a constraint of a substrate, electric double layer at the interface between the gel and the external solution, and swelling of a gel of a small size.     

以新型模板方法合成中孔SiO_2分子筛(英文)

以廉价、生物可降解的两性表面活性剂十四烷基甜菜碱作为模板剂,以正硅酸乙酯为硅源,在酸性条件下成功地合成了具有螺旋状孔道结构的 SiO_2中孔分子筛 .热重表征结果说明,采用溶剂萃取（乙醇的水溶液为萃取剂）的方法,近乎 100％的模板剂可以脱除回收 .     

Synthesis and Photophysical Properties of C60‐carbazole Adducts

Three C₆₀‐carbazole adducts have been synthesized by 1, 3‐dipolar cycloaddition reaction. Intramolecular energy/electron transfer from carbazole to C₆₀ was observed by steady‐state absorption and fluorescence spectra. The fluorescence spectra of these adducts were similar to each other and dependent on the excitation wavelength and solvent.     

FeZSM-5/N2O催化氧化苯制苯酚

苯一步氧化制苯酚,是有机物氧化合成中富有挑战性的研究课题之一。该文着重论述了在FeZSM-5及其一系列沸石催化剂上,应用氧化亚氮作为氧化剂使苯直接氧化制苯酚的研究进展。这一系列催化剂体系的特殊之处在于通过氧化亚氮在沸石分子筛上的分解获得具有催化活性的a－氧。详细讨论了在沸石分子筛上形成特殊结构的铁氧化物作为催化活性中心这一观点。由于这种催化体系对苯直接氧化制苯酚的反应有着很高的选择性,因此,这种比较经济和安全的制备苯酚的方法引起了人们的广泛关注。     

Catalytic Combustion of Methane over Ti-Pillared Clay Supported Copper Catalysts

A natural montmorillonite, produced from Laiyang of Shandong Province, was pillared by Tipolycations to form Ti-pillared clay (Ti-PILC), and characterized by BET surface area, infrared spectra and thermal analysis. The characterization results show that Ti-PILC has a larger surface area and more hydroxyl groups than that of the natural clay, thus was used as the catalytic carriers to prepare supported Cu catalysts (Cu/TiopILC). The 20%Cu/Ti-PILC with 10mmol/g of Ti/clay shows a high catalytic performance of methane combustion in the temperature range of 400-500℃.     

2-[2-(7H-二苯并[a,g]咔唑)-乙氧基]-乙基氯甲酸酯对脂肪胺类化合物的荧光标记及质谱鉴定

利用新型荧光标记试剂2-[2-(7H-二苯并[a,g]咔唑-乙氧基)-乙基氯甲酸酯作为柱前衍生化试剂, 在Eclipse XDB-C8反相色谱柱上,采用梯度洗脱,实现了12种脂肪胺类化合物完全基线分离.检测最佳激发和发射波长分别为300和400 nm.通过荧光检测及离子阱大气压化学电离源(APCI Source)正离子模式实现了在线的柱后质谱鉴定.对土壤中脂肪胺类化合物的测定快速、准确,具有良好的重现性.荧光定量检测的回归系数大于0.9991; 检出限为10.1～0.3 fmol.     

Non-Gaussian water diffusion kurtosis imaging of prostate cancer

Purpose

To evaluate the non-Gaussian water diffusion properties of prostate cancer (PCa) and determine the diagnostic performance of diffusion kurtosis (DK) imaging for distinguishing PCa from benign tissues within the peripheral zone (PZ), and assessing tumor lesions with different Gleason scores.

Materials and Methods

Nineteen patients who underwent diffusion weighted (DW) magnetic resonance imaging using multiple b-values and were pathologically confirmed with PCa were enrolled in this study. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) was derived using a monoexponential model, while diffusion coefficient (D) and kurtosis (K) were determined using a DK model. Differences between the ADC, D and K values of benign PZ and PCa, as well as those of tumor lesions with Gleason scores of 6, 7 and ≥ 8 were assessed. Correlations between parameters D and K in PCa were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. ADC, D and K values were correlated with Gleason scores of 6, 7 and ≥ 8, respectively.

Results

ADC and D values were significantly (p < 0.001) lower in PCa (0.79 ± 0.14 μm²/ms and 1.56 ± 0.23 μm²/ms, respectively) compared to benign PZ (1.23 ± 0.19 μm²/ms and 2.54 ± 0.24 μm²/ms, respectively). K values were significantly (p < 0.001) greater in PCa (0.96 ± 0.20) compared to benign PZ (0.59 ± 0.08). D and K showed fewer overlapping values between benign PZ and PCa compared to ADC. There was a strong negative correlation between D and K values in PCa (Pearson correlation coefficient r = − 0.729; p < 0.001). ADC and K values differed significantly in tumor lesions with Gleason scores of 6, 7 and ≥ 8 (p < 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively), although no significant difference was detected for D values (p = 0.325). Significant correlations were found between the ADC value and Gleason score (r = − 0.828; p < 0.001), as well as the K value and Gleason score (r = 0.729; p < 0.001).

Conclusion

DK model may add value in PCa detection and diagnosis. K potentially offers a new metric for assessment of PCa.