Sample preparation

We examined the integrity of flash-frozen and cryo-sectioned cardiac muscle preparations (introduced by Feng and Jin, 2020) by assessing tension transients in response to sinusoidal length changes at varying frequencies (1-100 Hz) at 25 °C. Using 70-μm-thick sections, we isolated fiber preparations to study cross-bridge (CB) kinetics: preparations were activated by saturating Ca2+ as well as varying concentrations of ATP and phosphate (Pi). Our results showed that, compared to ordinary skinned fibers, in-series stiffness decreased to 1/2, which resulted in a decrease of isometric tension to 62%, but CB kinetics and Ca2+ sensitivity were little affected...

Cost-effective and environmentally friendly Fe-based active materials offer exceptionally high energy capacity in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to their multiple electron redox reactions. However, challenges, such as morphology degradation during cycling, cell pulverization, and electrochemical stability, have hindered their widespread use. Herein, we demonstrated a simple salt-assisted freeze-drying method to design a double-shelled Fe/Fe3 C core tightly anchored on a porous carbon framework (FEC). The shell consists of a thin Fe3 O4 layer (≈2 nm) and a carbon layer (≈10 nm) on the outermost part...

Hierarchical structure-within-structure assemblies offer a route toward increasingly complex and multifunctional materials while pushing the limits of block copolymer self-assembly. We present a detailed study of the self-assembly of a series of fluorinated high-χ block copolymers (BCPs) prepared via postmodification of a single poly(styrene)- block -poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (S- b -G) parent polymer with the fluorinated alkylthiol pendent groups containing 1, 6, or 8 fluorinated carbons (termed trifluoro-ethanethiol (TFET), perfluoro-octylthiol (PFOT), and perfluoro-decylthiol (PFDT), respectively)...

Caffeine is present in a large number of beverages and is an additive used in dietary supplements. Therefore, the concern about its quality and safety for consumers has been increasing and hence requires faster and simpler analytical methods to determine the caffeine amount. The high-throughput analysis is an appropriate solution to pharmaceuticals, bioanalysis, forensic and food laboratory routines. In this sense, Venturi easy ambient sonic-spray ionization mass spectrometry (V-EASI-MS), a specific ambient ionization source, is suitable to enable direct analysis of sample solutions in real time and is appropriate to be coupled to liquid chromatography (LC)...

This study presents the development and validation of a comprehensive high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) methodology for the detection of 771 pesticides in olive oil, using liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization, operating in positive and negative mode, and gas chromatography with atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization in positive mode, both coupled to quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-(ESI)-/GC-(APCI)-QTOF MS). Special reference is made to the post-acquisition evaluation step, in which all LC/GC-HRMS analytical evidence ( i...

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine the staining conditions and appropriate fan1 start time (FAN1ST) for Sysmex SP-50 to produce blood smears (BS) that reflect the true lymphocyte morphology of patient samples. METHODS: Using different start times of fan1, we obtained a set of 84 blood smear slides from 21 blood samples and measured 10,920 lymphocyte areas, which were then converted to compare lymphocyte sizes. We also performed a leukocyte differential count using Sysmex DI-60 on 202 blood smear slides prepared before and after the change in staining conditions and compared the results...

One-dimensional metal halide perovskites are among the most promising candidate materials for optoelectronic devices. However, the heterogeneity and fast degradation of perovskite nanowires (NWs) and nanorods (NRs) synthesized using conventional approaches impose a bottleneck for their optoelectronic applications. Recently, all-inorganic perovskite CsPbBr3 NRs with tailored dimensions, crafted using an amphiphilic bottlebrush-like block copolymer (BBCP) as nanoreactors, have demonstrated enhanced stabilities...

Ochratoxin A (OTA) contamination in grape juice has attracted widespread concern as OTA can lead to kidney disease and cause adverse neurological effects. An effective method to remove OTA is to make use of highly adsorbent materials that are able to remove the toxic contaminant. Recently, inactivated Lactobacillus plantarum- based biosorbents have shown to be an efficient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly bioremediation method in removing toxic pollutants such as OTA. We used five chemical thiol-modification methods to improve the adsorption efficiency of OTA in grape juice...

Human skin emits a series of volatile compounds from the skin due to various metabolic processes, microbial activity, and several external factors. Changes in the concentration of skin volatile metabolites indicate many diseases, including diabetes, cancer, and infectious diseases. Researchers focused on skin-emitted compounds to gain insight into the pathophysiology of various diseases. In the case of skin volatolomics research, it is noteworthy that sample preparation, sampling protocol, analytical techniques, and comprehensive validation are important for the successful integration of skin metabolic profiles into regular clinical settings...

The experiments reported in this research paper aimed to evaluate the physico-chemical and sensory characteristics, microbial quality and antioxidant potential of goat's milk paneer during storage (0-12 d, 4 ± 1°C). The juices from five different citrus fruits were used as coagulant (treatments) to make goat's milk paneer. The pH of all paneer samples decreased during storage whereas titratable acidity increased. Ash (%) fat (%) and protein (%) of paneer increased slightly during storage, whereas sensory perception decreased...

BACKGROUND: Cannabis use before the COVID-19 pandemic for many involved sharing prepared cannabis for inhalation, practices that were less prevalent during the pandemic. State-level COVID-19 containment policies may have influenced this decrease. This study examined the extent to which the intensity of state-level COVID-19 policies were associated with individual-level cannabis sharing. Findings have the potential to guide harm reduction policies for future respiratory pandemics and seasonal respiratory virus waves...

The structure and Li conductivity has been investigated in the Li1+ x Ti2- x In x (PO4 )3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 2) series prepared by the ceramic route at 900 °C. The XRD patterns of 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2 samples show the presence of rhombohedral (S.G. R 3̅ c ); those of 0.2 ≤ x ≤ 1 samples display both rhombohedral and orthorhombic (S.G. Pbca ), and 1 ≤ x ≤ 2 samples exhibit only monoclinic (S.G. P 21 / n ) phases. At intermediate compositions, the secondary LiTiPO5 phase was detected...

Pazopanib is a multi-kinase inhibitor used to treat advanced/metastatic renal cell carcinoma and advanced soft tissue tumors; however, side effects such as diarrhea and hypertension have been reported, and dosage adjustment based on drug concentration in the blood is necessary. However, measuring pazopanib concentrations in blood using the existing methods is time-consuming; and current dosage adjustments are made using the results of blood samples taken at the patient's previous hospital visit (approximately a month prior)...

A fast and simple dispersive solid phase extraction method is described for nitrophenols determination in water samples by using gas chromatography-nitrogen phosphorous detector. Firstly, the Poly(amidoamine) grafted Fe3 O4 magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized in different generations by successive addition of butyl acrylate and ethylenediamine. After characterization, the prepared dendrimer was utilized as an adsorbent for magnetic solid phase extraction of 2-nitrophenol, 3-nitrophenol, and 4-nitrophenol to benefit large number of surface amine interaction sites...

This study aims to systematically review the clinical features and outcome indicators in randomized controlled trial(RCT) of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) intervention in septic kidney injury and provide a reference for optimizing clinical study design and building the core outcome set(COS) of TCM treatment of septic kidney injury. Computer searches were conducted on PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMbase, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, and SinoMed to find published RCT of TCM intervention in septic kidney injury in the past five years, extract the basic characteristics, intervention measures, outcome indicators, and other data of included studies, and conduct descriptive analysis...

A total of 11 active ingredients including psoralen, isopsoralen, bakuchiol, bavachalcone, bavachinin, corylin, coryfolin, isobavachalcone, neobavaisoflavone, bakuchalcone, and corylifol A from Psoraleae Fructus in the plasma samples of diabetic and normal rats were simultaneously determined by UHPLC-MS/MS. The pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated to elucidate the pharmacokinetic profiles of coumarins, flavonoids, and monoterpene phenols in normal and diabetic rats. The rat model of type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM) was induced by a high-sugar and high-fat diet combined with injection of 1% streptozotocin every two days...

A research strategy combining transcriptome data mining and experimental verification was adopted to identify the marker genes characterizing the syndrome elements of phlegm, stasis, and deficiency in steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head(SONFH). Firstly, the common differentially expressed gene sets of SONFH with the syndromes of phlegm-stasis obstructing collaterals, vessel obstruction, and liver-kidney deficiency were obtained from the clinical transcriptomic analysis of a previous study. The differential expression trend analysis and functional gene mining were then employed to predict the candidate marker gene sets representing phlegm, stasis, and deficiency...

An evidence map was established to comprehensively sort out the clinical research in the treatment of post-acute myocardial infarction heart failure(P-AMI-HF) with Chinese patent medicines, so as to reveal the distribution of evidence in this field. CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, SinoMed, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMbase were searched for the randomized controlled trial(RCT), systematic reviews/Meta-analysis, and guidelines/consensus in this field. The evidence was analyzed and displayed in the form of a combination of text, charts, bubble charts, and bar charts, and the quality of RCT, systematic reviews/Meta-analysis, and guidelines/consensus were evaluated by RoB 1...

This study explored the existence forms(original constituents and metabolites) of Tiantian Capsules, Aloe, and Tiantian Capsules without Aloe in rats for the first time, aiming to clarify the contribution of Aloe to the existence form of Tiantian Capsules. Rats were administrated with corresponding drugs by gavage once a day for seven consecutive days. All urine and feces samples were collected during the seven days of administration, and blood samples were collected 0.5, 1, and 1.5 h after the last administration...

Cervi Cornu is the ossified antler, or the base antler that falls off in the spring of the following year after the pilose antler is sawn off from Cervus elaphus or C. nippon, as a precious traditional Chinese medicine, has been recognized for its medicinal value and widely used in clinical practice. However, the origins of Cervi Cornu are miscellaneous, and Cervi Cornu is even mixed with adulterants in the market. Currently, there is a shortage of ways to identify Cervi Cornu and no standard to control the quality of Cervi Cornu...