Molecularly imprinted polymer based on MWCNTs-QDs as fluorescent biomimetic sensor for specific recognition of target protein

A novel molecularly imprinted optosensing material based on multi-walled carbon nanotube-quantum dots (MWCNT-QDs) has been designed and synthesized for its high selectivity, sensitivity and specificity in the recognition of a target protein bovine serum albumin (BSA). Molecularly imprinted polymer coated MWCNT-QDs using BSA as the template (BMIP-coated MWCNT-QDs) exhibits a fast mass-transfer speed with a response time of 25 min. It is found that the BSA as a target protein can significantly quench the luminescence of BMIP-coated MWCNT-QDs in a concentration-dependent manner that is best described by a Stem-Volmer equation. The K-SV for BSA is much higher than bovine hemoglobin and lysozyme, implying a highly selective recognition of the BMIP-coated MWCNT-QDs to BSA. Under optimal conditions, the relative fluorescence intensity of BMIP-coated MWCNT-QDs decreases linearly with the increasing target protein BSA in the concentration range of 5.0 x 10(-7)-35.0 x 10(-7) M with a detection limit of 80 nM

Helium/oxygen atmospheric pressure plasma jet treatment for hydrophilicity improvement of grey cotton knitted fabric

The influence of atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) treatment on the hydrophilicity of grey cotton knitted fabric (GCKF) was investigated. For comparison, specimens which had undergone different treatments were tested by contact angle measurement, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), fourier-transform infrared attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results imply that helium/oxygen APPJ could improve the hydrophilicity of GCKF by modifying the surface properties. In addition, combining dewaxing processes with He/O2 APPJ treatment was found to tremendously improve the hydrophilicity of GCKF. The mechanism of this was also confirmed by Ruthenium Red staining which showed most of pectic substances inside the cotton fiber existed beneath the waxy layer and on top of the cellulose microfibril

Mechanical Analysis and Experimental Studies of the Transverse Strain in Wrinkled Metallic Thin Films

The wrinkling structures, which can greatly improve the stretchability of the metallic thin films, have been widely used in the preparation of stretchable devices. However, the artificial wrinkling structures are often accompanied by the generation of microcracks, which seriously affect the performance of the devices. In this work, by establishing the corresponding model, the transverse strain of the longitudinally prestrained continuous film and the strip film is mechanically analyzed, which is verified by experimental results; for the strain of blank substrate, the error of the model was about 3.7%. It is difficult to avoid the generation of microcracks with continuous films, but strip films can avoid the generation of microcracks to a certain extent. The experimental results illustrate the various factors affecting the generation of microcracks. The transverse strain of the film is proportional to the substrate’s Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, thickness, and prestrain and is basically inversely proportional to the strip film’s Young’s modulus, thickness, and strip interval. Our results provide deeper knowledge for choosing proper metallic materials to fabricate stretchable wrinkled devices

Mechanical Analysis and Experimental Studies of the Transverse Strain in Wrinkled Metallic Thin Films

The wrinkling structures, which can greatly improve the stretchability of the metallic thin films, have been widely used in the preparation of stretchable devices. However, the artificial wrinkling structures are often accompanied by the generation of microcracks, which seriously affect the performance of the devices. In this work, by establishing the corresponding model, the transverse strain of the longitudinally prestrained continuous film and the strip film is mechanically analyzed, which is verified by experimental results; for the strain of blank substrate, the error of the model was about 3.7%. It is difficult to avoid the generation of microcracks with continuous films, but strip films can avoid the generation of microcracks to a certain extent. The experimental results illustrate the various factors affecting the generation of microcracks. The transverse strain of the film is proportional to the substrate’s Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, thickness, and prestrain and is basically inversely proportional to the strip film’s Young’s modulus, thickness, and strip interval. Our results provide deeper knowledge for choosing proper metallic materials to fabricate stretchable wrinkled devices

Genetic associations with longevity are on average stronger in females than in males

It is long observed that females tend to live longer than males in nearly every country. However, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. In this study, we discovered that genetic associations with longevity are on average stronger in females than in males through bio-demographic analyses of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) dataset of 2178 centenarians and 2299 middle-age controls of Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Study (CLHLS). This discovery is replicated across North and South regions of China, and is further confirmed by North-South discovery/replication analyses of different and independent datasets of Chinese healthy aging candidate genes with CLHLS participants who are not in CLHLS GWAS, including 2972 centenarians and 1992 middle-age controls. Our polygenic risk score analyses of eight exclusive groups of sex-specific genes, analyses of sex-specific and not-sex-specific individual genes, and Genome-wide Complex Trait Analysis using all SNPs all reconfirm that genetic associations with longevity are on average stronger in females than in males. Our discovery/replication analyses are based on genetic datasets of in total 5150 centenarians and compatible middle-age controls, which comprises the worldwide largest sample of centenarians. The present study's findings may partially explain the well-known male-female health-survival paradox and suggest that genetic variants may be associated with different reactions between males and females to the same vaccine, drug treatment and/or nutritional intervention. Thus, our findings provide evidence to steer away from traditional view that “one-size-fits-all” for clinical interventions, and to consider sex differences for improving healthcare efficiency. We suggest future investigations focusing on effects of interactions between sex-specific genetic variants and environment on longevity as well as biological function