Chiral MOF Derived Wearable Logic Sensor for Intuitive Discrimination of Physiologically Active Enantiomer.

Chiral sensors have attracted growing interest due to their application in health monitoring. However, rational design of wearable logic chiral sensors remains a great challenge. In this work, a dual responsive chiral sensor RT@CDMOF is prepared through in situ self-assembly of chiral γ-cyclodextrin metal-organic framework (CDMOF), rhodamine 6G hydrazide (RGH), and tetracyanovinylindane (TCN). The embedded RGH and TCN inherit the chirality of host CDMOF, producing dual changes both in fluorescence and reflectance. RT@CDMOF is explored as a dual channel sensor for chiral discrimination of lactate enantiomers. Comprehensive mechanistic studies reveal the chiral binding process, and carboxylate dissociation is confirmed by impedance and solid-state 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). A flexible membrane sensor is successfully fabricated based on RT@CDMOF for wearable health monitoring. Practical evaluation confirms the potential of fabricated membrane sensor in point-of-care health monitoring by indexing the exercise intensity. Based on above, a chiral IMPLICATION logic unit can be successfully achieved, demonstrating the promising potential of RT@CDMOF in design and assembly of novel smart devices. This work may open a new avenue to the rational design of logic chiral sensors for wearable health monitoring applications.

Effectiveness of bisphosphonates on bone mineral density in osteopenic postmenopausal women: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Various bisphosphonate agents have been proven to be effective in preventing bone loss and fracture in osteopenic postmenopausal women. This study was designed to compare the effectiveness of various BPs on preventing the loss of bone mineral density (BMD) for postmenopausal women with osteopenia. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were screened up to identify randomized controlled trails comparing effectiveness of BPs or placebo on the BMD of postmenopausal women with osteopenia. Network meta-analysis and standard pair-wise meta-analyses were performed. The main outcomes include the percentage changes of 6-, 12-, 24-, and 36-month BMD at lumbar, total hip and femoral neck, and frequencies of new fractures and severe adverse events. RESULTS: Fourteen randomized controlled trials were eligible, involving 11,540 participants. No significant difference was presented among the available interventions for the 6-month BMD at 3 different sites, but the magnitudes of differences among the treatment regimens became gradually increased along with the extending of follow-up periods. Daily aledronate of more than 5 mg provided the maximal percentage increase on BMD of femoral neck and lumbar spine, while zoledronate provided maximal change on BMD of total hip, at different follow-up periods. This network meta-analysis also demonstrated similar frequencies of new clinical fractures and severe adverse events among different interventions. CONCLUSIONS: A ranking spectrum depicting the effectiveness on BMD percentage change following interventions with different bisphosphonate regimens was provided. Generally, regimens with zoledronate and aledronate were found to be the most effective interventions in the 3 sites at different end points.

Nanosphere [Ag(SR)]n: coordination polymers of Ag+ with a combination of hydrophilic and hydrophobic thiols.

We propose to create nanospheres in aqueous solutions from coordination polymers of Ag+ with a combination of a hydrophilic and a hydrophobic thiol, of diameter ca. 2.7 nm in the case of using cysteine and n-butanethiol. A spectral probe for the formation of the nanospheres is a reversal of the CD signal at 253 nm from negative in the case of cysteine alone to positive when cysteine and n-BuSH are both employed, together with an amplification.

Chiral Recognition by Flexible Coordination Polymers of Ag+ with a Cysteine-Based Chiral Thiol Ligand That Bears a Binding Site.

We report a new scheme for chiral recognition using coordination polymers of Ag+ with a chiral thiol ligand that contains a binding group. N-Benzoyl-l-cysteine ethyl ester equipped with a boronic acid group at the para position of the phenyl ring forms coordination polymers with Ag+ in alkaline aqueous solutions that exhibit excellent selectivity toward a d-glucose enantiomer over l-glucose, while the coordination polymers from the d-cysteine-based thiol ligand are specific for l-glucose. It is assumed that a conformation change occurs upon interaction of a saccharide molecule with the polymeric chain receptor, for which the next binding is promoted, leading to the highly effective chiral recognition, despite the flexible nature of the polymeric receptor.

Effect of comprehensive rehabilitation nursing intervention on hemiplegia patients in sequela stage of stroke.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical effect of comprehensive rehabilitation nursing intervention on hemiplegia patients in the sequela stage of stroke. METHODS: Patients with knee reflex after stroke were divided into the treatment group and the control group. Patients in the control group received Activities of Daily Living (ADL) training. Patients in the treatment group received comprehensive rehabilitation training in addition to the ADL training of the control group, including joint flexion and extension training, active resistance training, low-frequency electrotherapy, and standing training. The knee reflex angle and ankle dorsiflexion angle of patients in both groups were measured before and after 4 weeks of treatment. Also, the Manual Muscle Testing (MMT) scale, the modified Ashworth scale, the Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA), and Barthel index (lower limb) rating scale of patients in both groups were compared. RESULTS: It was found that there was significant difference between the two groups in the changes of knee and ankle joint angles after treatment (P < 0.05). In the Ashworth and MMT (Manual Muscle Testing) grading analysis of patients, it was found that the Ashworth grading of quadriceps femoris and triceps leg improved significantly before and after treatment (P < 0.01). There was significant difference in MMT grade between the two groups after treatment of quadriceps and hamstring muscles (P < 0.05). There was significant difference in satisfaction degree of pain control or relief methods (P < 0.05). In the analysis of Fugl-Meyer and Barthel integral effects of lower limbs for the patients with knee reflex before and after treatment, a significant difference (P < 0.05) was found in the Fugl-Meyer motor function and Barthel index scores of the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, the results suggested that comprehensive rehabilitation nursing could promote the treatment of sequelae of hemiplegia. Although there were some shortcomings in the experimental process, it still provided a reliable basis for the clinical treatment of sequelae of stroke.

Sensing Active Heparin by Counting Aggregated Quantum Dots at Single-Particle Level.

Developing highly sensitive and highly selective assays for monitoring heparin levels in blood is required during and after surgery. In previous studies, electrostatic interactions are exploited to recognize heparin and changes in light signal intensity are used to sense heparin. In the present study, we developed a quantum dot (QD) aggregation-based detection strategy to quantify heparin. When cationic micelles and fluorescence QDs modified with anti-thrombin III (AT III) are added into heparin sample solution, the AT III-QDs, which specifically bind with heparin, aggregate around the micelles. The aggregated QDs are recorded by spectral imaging fluorescence microscopy and differentiated from single QDs based on the asynchronous process of blue shift and photobleaching. The ratio of aggregated QD spots to all counted QD spots is linearly related to the amount of heparin in the range of 4.65 × 10 -4 U/mL to 0.023 U/mL. The limit of detection is 9.3 × 10 -5 U/mL (∼0.1 nM), and the recovery of the spiked heparin at 0.00465 U/mL (∼5 nM) in 0.1% human plasma is acceptable.

Counting quantum dot aggregates for the detection of biotinylated proteins.

We develop a method to quantify the quantum dots (QDs) in QD aggregates in aqueous solution by recording the entire process of blue shifting and photobleaching under continuous illumination and utilize this method to detect the biotinylated proteins based on counting the degree of aggregation (DOA).

Investigating the photostability of quantum dots at the single-molecule level.

Quantum dots (QDs) have shown great potential to provide spatial, temporal, and structural information for biological systems. However, blinking, photobleaching, and spectral blueshift are adverse effects on their practical applications in biomedical research. An investigation of the effects of six reducing agents including cysteine (Cys), 1,4-dithiothreitol (DTT), ethyl gallate (EG), L-glutathione (GSH), mercaptoacetic acid (MAA), and thiourea (TU) on the photostability of single QDs was studied. Our experiments demonstrate that both DTT and EG effectively inhibit blinking, photobleaching, and spectral blueshift. GSH molecules block blinking and photobleaching of QDs. The other reagents, Cys, MAA, and TU, only have the ability to counteract blinking. Possible explanations are given on the basis of research evidence. The results suggest possibilities for significant improvements in QDs for biological applications by adjusting the environmental conditions.