Dye-doped polymer-coated optical fiber optofluidic laser for refractive index sensing.

In this work, we reported an organic dye-doped polymer-coated optical fiber optofluidic laser (FOFL) that supports whispering gallery mode (WGM) laser emission. The dye-doped polymer was coated on the outer surface of single-mode fibers (SMFs) using a simple method to fabricate a uniform and consistent solid gain film. By using coated fibers as optical microcavities for lasers, a low lasing threshold of about 0.

An Enzyme-Catalyzed Optical Fiber Optofluidic Laser Sensor for Cholesterol Detection Using Rhodamine B Hydrazide.

A method for the determination of cholesterol using rhodamine derivatives as chromogenic substrates was proposed in this study. The oxidation of rhodamine B hydrazide (RBH) by hydrogen peroxide (HO) was catalyzed by a peroxide-mimicking enzyme to produce the fluorescent product. The reaction was further combined with the oxidase system to achieve indirect determination of cholesterol concentration, which can be catalyzed by cholesterol oxidase to produce HO as an intermediate product.

Optical fiber fluorescence Cu sensing technology based on CdSe/ZnS quantum dots: Large detection range, low detection limit.

Background: Copper ion (Cu), a crucial heavy metal ion, is closely associated with human health and the ecological environment. Imbalances in Cu can result in health issues for humans and damage to the ecosystem. Therefore, it is essential to detect Cu in the environment.

Mortality risk of patients with intestinal obstruction.

Background: Intestinal obstruction represents a severe intestinal disease associated with higher mortality rates. However, the determinants of mortality in patients with intestinal obstruction remain inadequately understood. This study sought to elucidate the potential risk factors associated with mortality in the context of intestinal obstruction during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In-situ and label-free measurement of cytochrome C concentration with a TiC-MXene sensitized fiber-optic MZI sensor.

Background: The concentration of cytochrome C is demonstrated to be an effective indicator of the microbial corrosion strength of metals. Traditional cytochrome C sensor can detect cytochrome C with a low detection limit, but their use is limited by their high cost, cumbersome operation, and susceptibility to malignant environments. In addition, studies on the monitoring of cytochrome C in the field of microbial corrosion has still not been carried out.

Optofluidic lasers and their applications in biochemical sensing.

Optofluidic laser (OFL) technology, as an emerging technology combining microfluidics and laser technology, offers many unique advantages in sensing applications and has become a research hotspot for highly-sensitive intracavity biochemical analysis. Biochemical sensors based on OFLs can detect changes in biochemical parameters by using significant changes in laser output characteristics, so as to achieve high detection sensitivity. Here, we provide an overview of OFLs with a focus on their constructions, the design of OFL-based biochemical sensors, and their applications in biochemical analysis.

Dual-channel in-fiber SPR sensor for simultaneous and highly sensitive measurement of salinity and temperature.

In this Letter, an in-fiber dual-channel surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor is reported that uses polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-filled C-type microstructured optical fiber (COF). The COF is made of HF-acid-etched single-sided hole optical fiber (SSHF), and its inner and outer sides are coated with gold film to stimulate SPR. The inner channel is filled with PDMS and acts as the temperature measurement channel, and the outer channel is directly in contact with the salt solution and acts as the salinity measurement channel.

Comprehensive analysis of the differences between left- and right-side colorectal cancer and respective prognostic prediction.

Background: Previous studies have reported that the tumor heterogeneity and complex oncogenic mechanisms of proximal and distal colon cancer (CRC) are divergent. Therefore, we aim to analyze the differences between left-sided CRC (L_cancer) and right-sided CRC (R_cancer), as well as constructing respective nomograms.

Methods: We enrolled 335 colon cancer patients (146 L_cancer patients and 189 R_cancer patients) from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data sets, and 102 pairs of color cancer tissue and adjacent normal tissue (51 L_cancer patients and 51 R_cancer patients) from our hospital.

Optical fiber SPR biosensor based on gold nanoparticle amplification for DNA hybridization detection.

An optical fiber SPR biosensor based on multimode fiber (MMF)- hollow core fiber (HCF)-MMF is proposed and experimentally confirmed for in situ DNA hybridization analysis. In order to improve the sensitivity of DNA hybridization detection, a sandwich model based on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) amplification is proposed. In this model, the probe DNA (pDNA) is first modified on the optical fiber sensing area by covalent bonding, and then the biotinylated target DNA (tDNA) is modified on the AuNPs by the high affinity between biotin and streptavidin.

Highly sensitive salinity sensor based on Mach-Zehnder interferometer with double-C fiber.

This paper proposes a highly sensitive, compact, and low-cost optical fiber salinity sensor based on the Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The sensor is constructed using a single mode fiber (SMF) - no-core fiber - double-C fiber (DCF) - NCF-SMF structure, with the DCF prepared by etching the dual side-hole fiber with HF acid. The DCF's large-size exposed microfluidic channels solve the previous microstructured optical fiber's challenging liquid filling and replacement problems.

A plug-and-play optical fiber SPR sensor for simultaneous measurement of glucose and cholesterol concentrations.

A plug-and-play surface plasmon resonance (SPR) dual-parameter optical fiber biosensor is reported, in which Au film was firstly coated on the fiber surface for exciting SPR and the end half of the Au film was modified with Au nanoparticles to generate double SPR resonance valleys. For simultaneous detecting of glucose and cholesterol concentrations, modified P-mercaptophenylboronic acid (PMBA) and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) were subsequently coated on the surface of sensor probe. Due to the cis-diol structure of glucose, it can interact with PMBA, leading to a red shift of one SPR resonant valley, whose maximum wavelength shift is 11.

Lattice Boltzmann model for conjugate heat transfer across thin walls.

A lattice Boltzmann (LB) model with an efficient and accurate interface treatment for conjugate heat transfer across a thin wall between two different media is developed. The proposed interface treatment avoids fine meshing and computation within the thin layer; instead, the energy balance within the thin layer and the conjugate conditions on each interface are utilized to construct explicit updating schemes for the microscopic distribution functions of the LB model at the interior lattice nodes of the two media next to the thin layer. The proposed interface schemes reduce to the standard interface scheme for conjugate conditions in the literature in the limit of zero thickness of the thin layer, and thus it can be considered a more general interface treatment.

Anomalous sub-diffusion of water in biosystems: From hydrated protein powders to concentrated protein solution to living cells.

Water is essential to life and its translational motion in living systems mediates various biological processes, including transportation of function-required ingredients and facilitating the interaction between biomacromolecules. By combining neutron scattering and isotopic labeling, the present work characterizes translational motion of water on a biomolecular surface, in a range of systems: a hydrated protein powder, a concentrated protein solution, and in living () cells. Anomalous sub-diffusion of water is observed in all samples, which is alleviated upon increasing the water content.

Multiple-time-scaling lattice Boltzmann method for the convection diffusion equation.

A multiple-time-scaling (MTS) strategy that decouples the time discretization in different domains and enables flexible time-step coarsening, refinement, and stretching in the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for the convection diffusion equation is developed. The key in the multiple-time scaling is the satisfaction of physical interface conditions without nested iterations in each time step by implementing appropriate interface schemes for the distribution functions in the LBM. The applicability and second-order accuracy of the MTS-LBM approach is demonstrated with two numerical tests.

Optimizing Micromixer Surfaces To Deter Biofouling.

Using computational modeling, we show that the dynamic interplay between a flowing fluid and the appropriately designed surface relief pattern can inhibit the fouling of the substrate. We specifically focus on surfaces that are decorated with three-dimensional (3D) chevron or sawtooth "micromixer" patterns and model the fouling agents (e.g.

Pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease mediated by YAP.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of the interaction between Yes-associated protein (YAP) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)/Smad signaling pathways in the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Methods: Serum samples of monkeys with biopsy-proven NAFLD and healthy normal monkeys were used to measure fasting plasma glucose (FPG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), triglyceride (TG) and albumin (ALB) with the BECKMAN CX5 PRO. Hematoxylin-eosin staining (H&E) was used for pathologic analysis, Masson trichrome staining was used to assess for fibrosis staging, and Oil Red O staining was used to detect lipid droplet deposition.

Pilot study: molecular risk factors for diagnosing sporadic Parkinson's disease based on gene expression in blood in MPTP-induced rhesus monkeys.

Clinical diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the classical features of tremor, bradykinesia and rigidity, which are present only when more than 70%-80% degeneration of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra. The lack of means for early diagnosis of PD has elicited interest in searching for its risk factors, which, by now, are almost obtained at a single time point in PD process, and little developing risk factors, obtained from completely normal situation to the onset or even advanced stage of PD in individual person which could monitor the progress of PD, are present. Here we have detected some potential factors in the blood of MPTP induced PD monkeys along with the progress of the disease.

Effects of soy isoflavones on testosterone synthetase in diet-induced obesity male rats.

Obesity is a complex metabolic disease, which causes serious impairment to the health of people. This study aimed to determine the influence of different-doses of soy isoflavones (SIF) on testicular morphology, testosterone levels and the expression of genes and proteins related to testosterone synthesis in diet-induced obesity (DIO) male rats. We used high-fat diet (HFD) to establish a DIO male rat model, then obese rats orally received SIF at doses of 0, 50, 250 and 500 mg/kg per day for four weeks.

Changes in blood anti-oxidation enzyme levels in MPTP-treated monkeys.

Oxidative stress has been implicated in a range of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular, Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the pathogenic mechanism of its influence on PD progression remains unclear. In order to clarify this, PD models are generated by 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) intramuscular injection in eight rhesus monkeys.

Effects of tangential-type boundary condition discontinuities on the accuracy of the lattice Boltzmann method for heat and mass transfer.

We present a systematic study on the effects of tangential-type boundary condition discontinuities on the accuracy of the lattice Boltzmann equation (LBE) method for Dirichlet and Neumann problems in heat and mass transfer modeling. The second-order accurate boundary condition treatments for continuous Dirichlet and Neumann problems are directly implemented for the corresponding discontinuous boundary conditions. Results from three numerical tests, including both straight and curved boundaries, are presented to show the accuracy and order of convergence of the LBE computations.

Solar Thermochemical Energy Storage Through Carbonation Cycles of SrCO3/SrO Supported on SrZrO3.

Solar thermochemical energy storage has enormous potential for enabling cost-effective concentrated solar power (CSP). A thermochemical storage system based on a SrO/SrCO3 carbonation cycle offers the ability to store and release high temperature (≈1200 °C) heat. The energy density of SrCO3/SrO systems supported by zirconia-based sintering inhibitors was investigated for 15 cycles of exothermic carbonation at 1150 °C followed by decomposition at 1235 °C.

Conjugate heat and mass transfer in the lattice Boltzmann equation method.

An interface treatment for conjugate heat and mass transfer in the lattice Boltzmann equation method is proposed based on our previously proposed second-order accurate Dirichlet and Neumann boundary schemes. The continuity of temperature (concentration) and its flux at the interface for heat (mass) transfer is intrinsically satisfied without iterative computations, and the interfacial temperature (concentration) and their fluxes are conveniently obtained from the microscopic distribution functions without finite-difference calculations. The present treatment takes into account the local geometry of the interface so that it can be directly applied to curved interface problems such as conjugate heat and mass transfer in porous media.

In vitro protective effects of pyrroloquinoline quinone on methylmercury-induced neurotoxicity.

Methylmercury (MeHg), as a well-known neurotoxicant, has been implicated to induce massive neurodegeneration. Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) is a novel redox cofactor and also exists in various plants and animal tissues. In vivo as well as in vitro experimental studies have shown that PQQ functions as an essential nutrient or antioxidant.