Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

A wireless and battery-free wound infection sensor based on DNA hydrogel

The confluence of wireless technology and biosensors offers the possibility to detect and manage medical conditions outside of clinical settings. Wound infections represent a major clinical challenge in which timely detection is critical for effective interventions, but this is currently hindered by the lack of a monitoring technology that can interface with wounds, detect pathogenic bacteria, and wirelessly transmit data. Here, we report a flexible, wireless, and battery-free sensor that provides smartphone-based detection of wound infection using a bacteria-responsive DNA hydrogel. The engineered DNA hydrogels respond selectively to deoxyribonucleases associated with pathogenic bacteria through tunable dielectric changes, which can be wirelessly detected using near-field communication. In a mouse acute wound model, we demonstrate that the wireless sensor can detect physiologically relevant amounts of Staphylococcus aureus even before visible manifestation of infection. These results demonstrate strategies for continuous infection monitoring, which may facilitate improved management of surgical or chronic wounds.Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)Ministry of Health (MOH)National Medical Research Council (NMRC)Published versionJ.S.H. acknowledges support from grants from the National Research Foundation Singapore (NRFF2017-07 and AISG-GC-2019-002), Ministry of Education Singapore (MOE2016-T3-1-004), and Institute for Health Innovation and Technology. D.L.B. acknowledges support from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) under its Industry Alignment Fund–Pre-Positioning Programme (IAF-PP) grant (H17/01/a0/0C9) as part of the Wound Care Innovation for the Tropics Programme, IAF-PP grant (H17/01/a0/004), and Skin Research Institute of Singapore, Phase 2: SRIS@Novena. H.L. acknowledges support from the Wound Care Innovation for the Tropics Programme, A*STAR IAF-PP grant (H19/01/a0/0GG9), Skin Innovation grant (SIG18005), MOE AcRF Tier 1 grant (R-143-000-B79-114), and Singapore Ministry of Health’s National Medical Research Council OF-IRG (MOH-000612-00). W.L. acknowledges support from MOE AcRF Tier 1 grant (R-221-000-093-133). B.C.K.T. acknowledges support from National University of Singapore Startup Grant (NUS-2017-01) and Agency of Science Technology and Research Singapore (A18A1B0045). H. Yao acknowledges Research Scholarship from NUS Materials Science and Engineering. Y.G. acknowledges support from the EMULSION Programme H18/01/A0/017 (IAF-PP, A*STAR). S.M.P.K. acknowledges support from the National Research Foundation Singapore, under its NRF Large Equipment Grants–Grant Addendum 3: Operations of the Singapore Synchrotron Light Source (SSLS)

Imported monkeypox, Singapore

In May 2019, we investigated monkeypox in a traveler from Nigeria to Singapore. The public health response included rapid identification of contacts, use of quarantine, and postexposure smallpox vaccination. No secondary cases were identified. Countries should develop surveillance systems to detect emerging infectious diseases globally.Published versio

Overall survival by HBV or HCV co-infection status.

<p>Overall survival by HBV or HCV co-infection status.</p