Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Sportverletz Sportschaden 2018 Dec 11;32(4):243-250. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Muscle Research Center Erlangen, Interdisciplinary Center for Muscle Research, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany.

Delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a type of ultrastructural muscle injury. The manifestation of DOMS is caused by eccentric or unfamiliar forms of exercise. Clinical signs include reduced force capacities, increased painful restriction of movement, stiffness, swelling, and dysfunction of adjacent joints. Read More

Obes Facts 2018 Dec 11;11(6):440-453. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Nutrition Postgraduate Program, Center for Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal,

Objective: This study evaluated the effect of a protein, the isolated Trypsin Inhibitor (TTI) from Tamarindus indica L. seed, as a CCK secretagogue and its action upon food intake and leptin in obese Wistar rats.

Methods: Three groups of obese rats were fed 10 days one of the following diets: Standard diet (Labina®) + water; High Glycemic Index and Load (HGLI) diet + water or HGLI diet + TTI. Read More

Phys Med Biol 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Bilkent University, Bilkent, Ankara, ankara, TURKEY.

Non-quadrature radio frequency (RF) excitation has been widely studied in the fields of RF shimming, local SAR estimation, and MR-EPT with the use of multi-channel transceiver arrays. These studies generally require the retrieval of the complex transmit field B₁⁺, which can be accomplished by acquiring its magnitude and phase in different steps. Magnitude of the transmit field is acquired with the conventional methods which give accurate results for both quadrature and non-quadrature excitations. Read More

Forensic Sci Int 2018 Nov 26;294:204-210. Epub 2018 Nov 26.

Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel. Electronic address:

The literature view regarding the composition of deposited fingermarks has long been that the average water content is in the range of 98-99wt.%. This value has recently been challenged by Kent, claiming that it should be 20wt. Read More

Cancer Epidemiol 2018 Dec 8;58:104-110. Epub 2018 Dec 8.

Department of Bioinformatics & Applied Sciences, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, 211015, India. Electronic address:

Pancreatic cancer remains the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the world, and will continue to become the number two cause of cancer-related death unless a remarkable breakthrough is achieved. With a slim chance of early diagnosis, surgery can only provide a median survival of 17-23 months. The presence of a dense stroma makes this cancer resilient to chemotherapy, with very few potent inhibitors like nab paclitaxelin available that can work in combination with chemotherapeutic agents. Read More

Hum Mov Sci 2018 Dec 8;63:138-147. Epub 2018 Dec 8.

Physical Therapy Section, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil. Electronic address:

Objective: To examine whether a brief reaching training with sticky mittens was effective to improve reaching behavior in newly reaching preterm infants.

Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, twenty four 5-month-old (±16-week-old corrected age) preterm infants were randomly allocated into experimental or control groups. Infants were assessed three times in a single session: pretraining (immediately before training), posttraining (immediately after training), and retention (4 min after the posttraining). Read More

J Hosp Infect 2018 Dec 8. Epub 2018 Dec 8.

Southampton, UK.

Background: Widespread antibiotic resistance has led to fears that we are entering a pre-antibiotic era and the relatively simple premise of hand washing to reduce transfer of bacteria and viruses has never been more important. Much of the emphasis has been on handwashing technique, type of soap and maintaining compliance but effective drying of the hands is just as important.

Aim: To compare the efficacy of drying washed hands with a jet air dryer or paper towels to remove transient bacterial contamination and to determine the effect on residential flora. Read More

Int J Biol Macromol 2018 Dec 8. Epub 2018 Dec 8.

Medical Biology Research Center (MBRC), Kermanshah University of Medical Science, Kermanshah, Iran. Electronic address:

From that time AgNPs become one of the most accessible and important antibacterial agents in our world, thousands of papers published regarding investigating all aspects of these materials. When the time elapsed and novel methods contrived to follow the fingerprint of AgNPs in the in vivo models, some critical concerns and arguments also appeared between researchers about the safety of these compounds for living cells. The paper by Dehvari and Ghahaghaei published in Volume 108 International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, pages 1128-1139 (Dehvari and Ghahghaei, 2018) suffered from some errors from safety concerns to obscurities in the results and the application of paper for applicable uses in medicine or elsewhere. Read More

J Immunol Methods 2018 Dec 8. Epub 2018 Dec 8.

University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, The University of Queensland, Translational Research Institute, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia. Electronic address:

Current HLA-typing methods are typically designed to provide exquisitely-detailed identification of multiple HLA-alleles to satisfy the requirements for organ and bone marrow transplantation or genetic studies. Many human immunological studies, on the other hand, focus around only a small number of HLA alleles that are abundant or of relevance to specific diseases. Consequently, for such studies, many HLA typing approaches are not cost-effective and are potentially complicated, slow and not easily performed in-house. Read More

Biochim Biophys Acta Bioenerg 2018 Dec 8. Epub 2018 Dec 8.

Laboratory of Biophysics, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands; MicroSpectroscopy Research Facility, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands. Electronic address:

During the millions of years of evolution, photosynthetic organisms have adapted to almost all terrestrial and aquatic habitats, although some environments are obviously more suitable for photosynthesis than others. Photosynthetic organisms living in low-light conditions require on the one hand a large light-harvesting apparatus to absorb as many photons as possible. On the other hand, the excitation trapping time scales with the size of the light-harvesting system, and the longer the distance over which the formed excitations have to be transferred, the larger the probability to lose excitations. Read More

J Dtsch Dermatol Ges 2018 Dec;16(12):1459-1476

While epidemic typhus caused by Rickettsia prowazekii posed a significant threat in Europe before and throughout World War II due to its high mortality, the condition fortunately no longer plays a significant role. Nevertheless, rickettsioses, such as African tick bite fever, have been increasingly diagnosed in travelers returning from sub-Saharan Africa. Caused by Rickettsia africae, African tick bite fever presents with characteristic cutaneous findings such as eschar (tache noir) and a rash. Read More

Phytother Res 2018 Dec 9. Epub 2018 Dec 9.

The Ben May Department for Cancer Research, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Protopanaxadiol (PPD), a ginseng metabolite generated by the gut bacteria, was shown to induce colorectal cancer cell death and enhance the anticancer effect of chemotherapeutic agent 5-FU. However, the mechanism by which PPD promotes cancer cell death is not clear. In this manuscript, we showed that PPD activated p53 and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and induced expression of BH3-only proteins Puma and Noxa to promote cell death. Read More

Obes Rev 2018 Dec 10. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Center of Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.

Obesity is a major problem in the modern world causing a higher risk for various cerebrovascular diseases causing a profound individual and societal burden. The neurobiological foundation bears potential to understand the complex interaction of individual differences in brain structure and function and ingestive behaviour. This systematic review was performed on the current evidence of structural abnormalities in grey matter volume (GMV) in patients with obesity based on studies published until December 2017, which were selected through search in PubMed, CENTER (Cochrane Library), PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Ovid MEDLINE. Read More

Australas J Dermatol 2018 Dec 9. Epub 2018 Dec 9.

Department of Dermatology, Circle Treatment Centre, Nottingham, UK.

J Cell Physiol 2018 Dec 7. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Department of Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University affiliated to The Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, China.

The balance between Ang II/AT1R and Ang-(1-7)/Mas plays a pivotal role in the development of lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome. However, the mechanisms underlying the balancing process still remain unclear. Here we investigated the roles of nuclear factor (NF)-κB and p53 in regulating AT1R and Mas expression. Read More

J Orthop Res 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Clinic of Orthopaedics and Sportsorthopaedics, Klinikum rd. Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany.

(1) Can iliosacral osseous corridor diameters in sacral dysmorphism be enlarged by in-out-in screw placement at the posterior iliosacral recessus? (2) Are lumbosacral transitional vertebra (LSTV) the anatomical cause for sacral dysmorphism? (3) Are there sex-specific differences in sacral dysmorphism? 594 multislice CT scans were screened for sacral dysmorphism and 55 data-sets selected. Each pelvis was segmented manually and cylindrical iliosacral corridors (S1 and S2 vertebra) were semi-automatically determined. Corridor trajectories, -diameters and -lengths were measured. Read More

J Dermatol 2018 Dec 10. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Department of Dermatology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.

Genes Chromosomes Cancer 2018 Dec 9. Epub 2018 Dec 9.

Cell Biology, Research Institute for Oncology and Hematology, CancerCare Manitoba, The University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.

Research into the three-dimensional (3D) organization of the cancer cell genome started over 100 years ago. We follow an exciting avenue of research in this field, from Hansemann's early observations of aberrant mitoses and nuclei in cancer cells in the late 19 century to Boveri's theory of the cancer cell in the early 20 century, to current views of nuclear organization and its changes in cancer. Molecular and imaging methods go hand in hand with providing us with a better understanding of the spatial nature of the cancer cell genome. Read More

Adv Mater 2018 Dec 9:e1806386. Epub 2018 Dec 9.

State Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement Technology and Instruments, Department of Precision Instrument, Tsinghua University, Haidian district, Beijing, 100084, China.

Muscles and joints make highly coordinated motion, which can be partly mimicked to drive robots or facilitate activities. However, most cases primarily employ actuators enabling simple deformations. Therefore, a mature artificial motor system requires many actuators assembled with jointed structures to accomplish complex motions, posing limitations and challenges to the fabrication, integration, and applicability of the system. Read More

J Mass Spectrom 2018 Dec 7. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

University of Liège, Department of Chemistry, Organic & Biological Analytical Chemistry Group, Allée du 6 aout, B6c, B-4000, Liège (Sart Tilman), Belgium.

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry is a powerful separation tool for complex petroleum product analysis. However, the most commonly used electron ionization (EI) technique often makes the identification of the majority of hydrocarbons impossible due to the exhaustive fragmentation and lack of molecular ion preservation, prompting the need of soft-ionization energies. In this study, three different soft-ionization techniques including photo ionization (PI), chemical ionization (CI), and field ionization (FI) were compared against EI to elucidate their relative capabilities to reveal different base oil hydrocarbon classes. Read More

Catheter Cardiovasc Interv 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Department of Cardiology, American Hospital of Paris and Hôpital Foch, Suresnes, France.

Since its introduction by Lucien Campeau three decades ago, percutaneous radial artery approach at the forearm has been shown to provide advantages over the femoral approach and has become the standard approach for coronary angiography and intervention. Though infrequent, vascular complications still remain, mainly radial artery occlusion. Therefore, a more distal radial approach at the snuffbox or at the dorsum of hand has been suggested, initially by anethesiologists for perioperative patient monitoring, and more recently by Babunashvili et al. Read More

Proteomics 2018 Dec 7:e1800248. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Platelet Proteomics Group. Center for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), Universidade Santiago de Compostela, and Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago (IDIS), Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Plasma-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been extensively described as putative biomarkers in different diseases. Interestingly, increased levels of EVs subpopulations are well-known to associate with obesity. The goal of this study was to identify EVs-derived biomarkers in plasma from obese patients in order to predict the development of pathological events associated with obesity. Read More

Am J Bot 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Universidad de Sevilla, Apdo. 1095, 41080, Sevilla, Spain.

Premise Of The Study: Although an evolutionary link between breeding system and dispersibility has been proposed, to date empirical data and theoretical models of plants show contrasting trends.

Methods: We tested two competing hypotheses for the association between breeding systems and dispersibility in the heterocarpic Hypochaeris salzmanniana (Asteraceae) by using both an experimental approach and surveys over 2 years of five natural populations along an environmental cline with a gradient of pollinator availability.

Key Results: Hypochaeris salzmanniana produced two types of fruits, beaked (BF) and nonbeaked (NBF), which differ in their dispersal ability. Read More

Handchir Mikrochir Plast Chir 2018 Dec 10. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Klinik und Poliklinik für Plastische, Hand- und Wiederherstellungschirurgie, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover.

Introduction: This report serves to publicize the research of academic institutions for Plastic Surgery within our society DGPRÄC in 2017/2018 and sequels the funding report of 2015/2016. Applications to public, non-public, or industrial funding organizations were evaluated. At the same time, this paper analyses the number of approved DFG applications in Plastic, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery in the GEPRIS system. Read More

Exp Suppl 2018 ;108:85-110

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Mainz, Mainz, Germany.

Traumatic injury as one of the world's most relevant but neglected health concerns results in modulated inflammasome activity, which is closely linked to the development of post-injury complications. Cytokine-producing capacity of cells is important for the appropriate immune response to trauma and requires not only synthesis and transcription of inflammasome components but also their activation. Unfortunately, the precise role of inflammasome in trauma is still largely unknown. Read More

J Clin Monit Comput 2018 Dec 8. Epub 2018 Dec 8.

Department of Anesthesiology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 1211 21st Avenue South, MAB 422F, Nashville, TN, 37212, USA.

The prevention and treatment of hypothermia is an important part of routine anesthesia care. Avoidance of perioperative hypothermia was introduced as a quality metric in 2010. We sought to assess the integrity of the perioperative hypothermia metric in routine care at a single large center. Read More

J Neurol 2018 Dec 7. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Department of Neurology, Sjællands Universitetshospital, Sygehusvej 10, 4000, Roskilde, Denmark.

Background And Aims: Metronidazole, a commonly used antibiotic drug, can cause adverse effects in the central nervous system termed metronidazole-induced encephalopathy, leading to diagnostic challenges. The condition is rare and a detailed description of its phenotype is lacking. In this systematic review we investigated the clinical features of metronidazole-induced encephalopathy to promote recognition and elaborate the description. Read More

Curr Med Sci 2018 Dec 7;38(6):941-948. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Department of Hand Surgery, Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Beijing, 100035, China.

The computer-assisted surgery (CAS) has significantly improved the accuracy, reliability and outcomes of traumatic, spinal, nerve surgery and many other operations with a less invasive way. The application of CAS for scaphoid fractures remains experimental. The related studies are scanty and most of them are cadaver researches. Read More

Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2018 Dec 10. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head Neck Surgery, UMAE, IMSS, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

Purpose: To present a modified method of local infiltration (MMLI) for endoscopic stapes surgery to reduce surgical time, bleeding and complications.

Materials And Methods: This study involved 70 patients who underwent stapes surgery for otosclerosis by endoscopic and microscopic approaches. The MMLI was applied as follows: local infiltration was performed with one hand while the other hand inserted the endoscope into the ear canal to observe vasoconstriction signs on the monitor; the single site of infiltration was located at the center of the anterior conchal cartilage. Read More

Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 2018 Dec 8. Epub 2018 Dec 8.

BC Cancer Vancouver Centre, 600-10th Ave W, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4E6, Canada.

Purpose: Regorafenib is an oral multi-kinase inhibitor that offers an OS benefit to patients with mCRC refractory to standard therapy (Grothey et al., in Lancet 381:303-312, 2013), but comes with potential significant toxicities including grade 3 hand-foot skin reaction (HFSR). The pathogenesis of regorafenib-induced HFSR is not well established, but may be related to alterations in the capillary endothelium. Read More

Int J Comput Assist Radiol Surg 2018 Dec 10. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Amsterdam UMC, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Physics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Purpose: 3D-printed patient-specific instruments (PSIs), such as surgical guides and implants, show great promise for accurate navigation in surgical correction of post-traumatic deformities of the distal radius. However, existing costs of computer-aided design and manufacturing process prevent everyday surgical use. In this paper, we propose an innovative semiautomatic methodology to streamline the PSIs design. Read More

World J Urol 2018 Dec 10. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Department of Urology, Policlinico San Martino Hospital, University of Genova, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16130, Genova, Italy.

Purpose: To evaluate a five-step training model for transperineal prostate biopsies (TPPB) and the differences in terms of the detection rate (DR) and the ease of execution when using either the "fan technique" (FT) or the use of a Free Hand technique (FH).

Methods: A prospective observational randomised study was conducted from September 2015 to November 2017. Six naïve residents, who underwent the same five-steps training model, were randomly subdivided into two different groups of three residents based on the selected TPPB technique: A (FT) and B (FH). Read More

Methods Mol Biol 2019 ;1916:81-85

Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroscience, Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can occur in several psychiatric illnesses such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and it is more prevalent in children. This condition is characterized by repeated and apparently meaningless behaviors such as frequent hand washing, counting, tapping, and rocking. This can disrupt normal socialization and in some cases lead to self-harm. Read More

Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol 2018 Dec 7. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Traumatology, Grenoble South University Hospital, 38130, Echirolles, France.

Introduction: Damage to the common peroneal nerve is the most frequent nerve injury in lower limb traumas. Our objective was to assess the motor and sensory recovery levels and the functional outcomes after remedial surgery for common peroneal nerve trauma, through either neurolysis, direct suture or nerve graft.

Methods: This is a transversal, observational study of a monocentric cohort of 20 patients who underwent surgery between January 2004 and June 2016, which included 16 men and 4 women whose median age was 35 ± 11 years. Read More

Cell Tissue Bank 2018 Dec 7. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Molecular-Cellular Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Regenerative medicine as a background of stem cell research and therapy has a long history. A wide variety of diseases including Parkinson's disease, heart diseases, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, diabetes mellitus and etc. are candidate to be treated using different types of stem cells. Read More

Surg Endosc 2018 Dec 10. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Department of General and Visceral Surgery, University Hospital Basel, Spitalstrasse 21, 4031, Basel, Switzerland.

Background: Paraesophageal hernias (PEH) tend to occur in elderly patients and the assumed higher morbidity of PEH repair may dissuade clinicians from seeking a surgical solution. On the other hand, the mortality rate for emergency repairs shows a sevenfold increase compared to elective repairs. This analysis evaluates the complication rates after elective PEH repair in patients 80 years and older in comparison with younger patients. Read More

Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 2018 Dec 8. Epub 2018 Dec 8.

CELLTRION Healthcare Co. Ltd, Incheon, Republic of Korea.

Purpose: To investigate the safety and efficacy of 30-min maintenance infusions of trastuzumab in advanced gastric cancer positive for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2).

Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted across five Korean hospitals in patients with HER2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma treated with first-line, 3-weekly trastuzumab plus chemotherapy. The first dose of trastuzumab (8 mg/kg) was administered as a 90-min infusion, with all subsequent maintenance infusions (6 mg/kg) given over 30 min. Read More

Parasitol Res 2018 Dec 7. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Laboratório de Pesquisa em Parasitologia, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Ipiranga 2752, Porto Alegre, RS, 90610-000, Brazil.

Trichomoniasis is the most common non-viral sexually transmitted disease worldwide and can lead to serious consequences in reproductive health, cancer, and HIV acquisition. The current approved treatment present adverse effects and drug resistance data on this neglected parasitic infection is underestimated. Chalcones are a family of molecules that present biological applications, such as activity against many pathogenic organisms including protozoan pathogens. Read More

Radiat Prot Dosimetry 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Nuclear Technology Research Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI), 2-11-1 Iwado-kita, Komae, Tokyo, Japan.

Two types of dose were proposed for use in the treatment planning of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) for expressing its high relative biological effectiveness (RBE). On one hand, the RBE-weighted dose is the sum of the absorbed doses weighted by fixed RBE for each dose component of BNCT. On the other hand, photon-isoeffective dose is the photon dose to give the same biological effect calculated considering the dose dependence of RBE and the synergetic effect between different types of radiation. Read More

Endocrinology 2018 Dec 10. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

Obesity and an unhealthy nutrition are on the rise and affect also women in childbearing age and hence, during pregnancy. Despite normal or even high birth weight the offspring suffers from long term metabolic risks. We hypothesized that fetal growth is disturbed during different intrauterine phases. Read More

Gerontologist 2018 Dec 7. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Department of Economics, Farmer School of Business.

Background And Objectives: To examine whether nursing homes (NHs) provide better quality when unemployment rates rise (countercyclical) and explore mechanisms contributing to the relationship between quality and unemployment rates.

Research Design And Methods: The study uses the data on privately owned, freestanding NHs in the continental United States that span a period from 2001 through 2015. The empirical analysis relies on panel fixed-effect regressions with the key independent variable being the county-level unemployment rate. Read More

Clin Infect Dis 2018 Dec 10. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Clinical Microbiology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

This cohort study describes mortality predictors of necrotizing fasciitis (NF). Higher age, chronic kidney disease and higher Charlson score increased mortality rate. Mortality was more than three times higher in monomicrobial gram-negative NF than in type I or type II NF. Read More

Aesthet Surg J 2018 Dec 10. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Department of Plastic Surgery, Loma Linda Medical University, Loma Linda, CA.

Background: Numerous methodologies have been suggested to enhance fat graft survival, but few long-term studies are available.

Objectives: The authors of this institutional review board-approved study investigated the safety and efficacy of utilizing platelet-rich plasma (PRP).

Methods: Each of 10 patients received equal volumes of syringe-harvested, centrifuged fat to opposing midfaces with a lateral submuscular aponeurotic system-plication or no face lift and hands that were combined with equal volumes of either concentrated PRP or normal saline. Read More

Lab Chip 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

School of Mechanical Engineering and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, Southeast University, Nanjing, 211189, China.

Precise, portable, low-cost sample injection is strongly demanded for use in point-of-care testing devices in resource-poor settings; however, current microfluidic sample injection techniques are often expensive, bulky and electricity-powered. To address this issue, we propose a novel syringe flow-stabilizer for hand-powered, precise, continuous-flow microfluidic sample injection. Our syringe flow-stabilizer applies the principle of passive flow-resistance compensation to stabilize the unstable sample flow and has the special advantages of easy-to-use, simple structure, low cost and high stability. Read More

Dalton Trans 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Institut des Molécules et Matériaux du Mans (IMMM), UMR 6283 CNRS, Le Mans Université, Le Mans, Cedex 9, France.

Solid state NMR signals are very sensitive to the local environment of the observed nucleus; however, their interpretation is not straightforward. On the other hand, first-principles DFT calculations of NMR parameters can now be applied to periodic compounds to predict NMR parameters. Thus, ab initio calculations can help to interpret the NMR spectra exhibited by complex materials, to assign NMR lines to structural environments, and even to enlighten the environmental factors influencing the NMR parameters for a given nucleus. Read More

Chem Commun (Camb) 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff, Cymru/Wales CF10 3AT, UK.

The catalytic activity of tris(3,4,5-trifluorophenyl)borane has been explored in the 1,2-hydroboration reactions of unsaturated substrates. Under conventional conditions, the borane was found to be active only in the hydroboration of aldehyde, ketone and imine substrates, with alkenes and alkynes not being reduced effectively. The use of microwave irradiation on the other hand has permitted alkenes and alkynes to be hydroborated in good yields. Read More

Nanoscale 2018 Dec 10. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, Research Center for Bioengineering and Sensing Technology, School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China.

This study reports the utilization of thiol-induced chemical etching of aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-active Au nanoclusters (NCs) for the facile, sensitive, and selective detection of cysteine. The AIE-active Au NCs were formed in an acidic solution containing excess Au(i)-thiolate complexes. At an acidic pH (2. Read More

Nanoscale 2018 Dec 10. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Lumière, nanomatériaux et nanotechnologies (L2n), Institut Charles Delaunay, CNRS, Université de Technologie de Troyes, 12 rue Marie Curie, CS 42060, 10004 Troyes Cedex, France.

The control of quantum dot (QD) photoluminescence (PL) is a challenge for many applications. It is well known that plasmonic resonances can enhance this PL. In this work, we couple QDs with silver nanoparticles and immerse the system in a photochromic organic material. Read More

Nanoscale 2018 Dec 10. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona, ICMAB-CSIC, Campus UAB, E-08193 Bellaterra, Spain.

Nanostructured indium tin oxide (ITO) surfaces present an interesting yet unusual combination of properties (high electrical conductivity and optical transparency) at a high surface-to-volume ratio. Thus, previous studies presented nanostructured ITO electrodes as potentially suitable platforms for electrochemical biosensors, but still there is a lack of research on the optimization of preparation methods for such electrodes. We present a systematic study on the properties of nanostructured ITO electrodes prepared by physical deposition, where the substrate temperature was tuned for achieving the best combination of structural properties (namely electrical conductivity and optical transparency) and electrochemical performance. Read More

Org Biomol Chem 2018 Dec 10. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Henan Key Laboratory of Organic Functional Molecule and Drug Innovation, Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province for Green Manufacturing of Fine Chemicals, Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Media and Reactions, Ministry of Education, School of Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, Henan 453007, P. R. China.

In this paper, a selective synthesis of pyrrolidin-2-ones and 3-iodopyrroles via the cascade reactions of N-substituted piperidines is presented. Mechanistically, the formation of pyrrolidin-2-ones involves a domino process including the in situ formation of pyrrolidine-2-carbaldehyde followed by carboxylic acid formation, decarboxylation and ipso-oxidation. On the other hand, 3-iodopyrroles are believed to be formed via the initial generation of pyrrolidine-2-carbaldehyde followed by carboxylic acid formation, decarboxylation, dehydrogenation, iodination and aromatization. Read More