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Lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) is a convenient tool for rapid field-based control of various bacterial targets. However, for many applications, the detection limits obtained by LFIA are not sufficient. In this paper, we propose enlarging gold nanoparticles’ (GNPs) size to develop a sensitive lateral flow immunoassay to detect Ralstonia solanacearum. This bacterium is a quarantine organism that causes potato brown rot. We fabricated lateral flow test strips using gold nanoparticles (17.4 ± 1.0 nm) as a label and their conjugates with antibodies specific to R. solanacearum. We proposed a signal enhancement in the test strips’ test zone due to the tetrachloroauric (III) anion reduction on the GNP surface, and the increase in size of the gold nanoparticles on the test strips was approximately up to 100 nm, as confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. Overall, the gold enhancement approach decreased the detection limit of R. solanacearum by 33 times, to as low as 3 × 104 cells∙mL–1 in the potato tuber extract. The achieved detection limit allows the diagnosis of latent infection in potato tubers. The developed approach based on gold enhancement does not complicate analyses and requires only 3 min. The developed assay together with the sample preparation and gold enlargement requires 15 min. Thus, the developed approach is promising for the development of lateral flow test strips and their subsequent introduction into diagnostic practice.

A simple approach was proposed to decrease the detection limit of sandwich lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) by changing the conditions for binding between a polyvalent antigen and a conjugate of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) with antibodies. In this study, the potato virus Y (PVY) was used as the polyvalent antigen, which affects economically important plants in the Solanaceae family. The obtained polyclonal antibodies that are specific to PVY were characterized using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). For LFIA, the antibodies were conjugated with GNPs with a diameter of 17.4 ± 1.0 nm. We conducted LFIAs using GNP conjugates in a dried state on the test strip and after pre-incubation with a sample. Pre-incubating the GNP conjugates and sample for 30 s was found to decrease the detection limit by 60-fold from 330 ng∙mL−1 to 5.4 ng∙mL−1 in comparison with conventional LFIA. The developed method was successfully tested for its ability to detect PVY in infected and uninfected potato leaves. The quantitative results of the proposed LFIA with pre-incubation were confirmed by ELISA, and resulted in a correlation coefficient of 0.891. The proposed approach is rapid, simple, and preserves the main advantages of LFIA as a non-laboratory diagnostic method.

Glucose metabolism (GM) disturbances are well-known risk factors for the development of breast cancer (BC). The GM regulator metformin is used as an adjunctive therapy for BC. Another potent modulator of GM in BC cells is the microbiota, particularly bifidobacteria. The combined action of these factors may lead to unpredictable effects on the sensitivity of malignant cells to antitumor agents. Aim. To investigate the effect of Bifidobacterium animalis on the sensitivity of BC cells to the cytotoxic/cytostatic effects of metformin. Materials and Methods. The impact of B. animalis on GM in BC cells was determined by biochemical methods (glucose consumption and lactate production rate, intracellular lactate dehydrogenase activity). Cell viability was evaluated using the trypan blue exclusion test. Results. Co-cultivation of BC cells with B. animalis leads to enhanced glycolysis in malignant cells. These metabolic phenotype changes are accompanied by alterations in the sensitivity of BC cells to metformin. Only in MCF-7 cells treated with B. animalis was a significant enhancement of the antitumor effects of metformin observed compared to cells incubated with either metformin or B. animalis alone. Conclusions. Exposure of MCF-7 cells to B. animalis increases their sensitivity to the anti-proliferative effects of metformin, which is a result of GM reprogramming

Cancer cells showing low apoptotic effects following oxidative stress‐induced DNA damage are mainly affected by growth arrest. Thus, recent studies focus on improving anti‐cancer therapies by increasing apoptosis sensitivity. We aimed at identifying a universal molecule as potential target to enhance oxidative stress‐based anti‐cancer therapy through a switch from cell cycle arrest to apoptosis. A cDNA microarray was performed with hydrogen peroxide‐treated oesophageal squamous epithelial cancer cells TE7. This cell line showed checkpoint activation via p21WAF1, but low apoptotic response following DNA damage. The potential target molecule was chosen depended on the following demands: it should regulate DNA damage response, cell cycle and apoptosis. As the transcription factor ATF2 is implicated in all these processes, we focused on this protein. We investigated checkpoint activation via ATF2. Indeed, ATF2 knockdown revealed ATF2‐triggered p21WAF1 protein expression, suggesting p21WAF1 transactivation through ATF2. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), we identified a hitherto unknown ATF2‐binding sequence in the p21WAF1 promoter. p‐ATF2 was found to interact with p‐c‐Jun, creating the AP‐1 complex. Moreover, ATF2 knockdown led to c‐Jun downregulation. This suggests ATF2‐driven induction of c‐Jun expression, thereby enhancing ATF2 transcriptional activity via c‐Jun‐ATF2 heterodimerization. Notably, downregulation of ATF2 caused a switch from cell cycle arrest to reinforced apoptosis, presumably via p21WAF1 downregulation, confirming the importance of ATF2 in the establishment of cell cycle arrest. 1‐Chloro‐2,4‐dinitrobenzene also led to ATF2‐dependent G2/M arrest, suggesting that this is a general feature induced by oxidative stress. As ATF2 knockdown also increased apoptosis, we propose ATF2 as a target for combined oxidative stress‐based anti‐cancer therapies.

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction and Background Detailed Description of the Technique Applications in Processing/Fabrication of Ceramics and Composites General Discussion Concluding Remarks and Future Directions Acknowledgments References

The authors propose that when consumers' local identity is accessible, they are less likely to be price sensitive because of a sacrifice mindset. Six studies using divergent measures of the independent and dependent variables as well as diverse samples (students and nonstudents, U.S. and Chinese residents, primary and secondary data) produce consistent results. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate the mediating role of a sacrifice mindset by both measuring and manipulating this construct; they also identify boundary conditions of the association between a consumer's local identity and price sensitivity. Previous research has shown that consumers with a local identity display lower price sensitivity to brands with a local origin. In contrast, the results from this research show that consumers with a local identity display lower price sensitivity even to products with an ambiguous origin. Firms using a globalization strategy can try to activate consumers' local identity to make them less price sensitive to their brands, without having to position the brands as local.

Snow is an important component of water storage in the Himalayas. Previous snowmelt studies in the Himalayas have predominantly relied on remotely sensed snow cover. However, snow cover data provide no direct information on the actual amount of water stored in a snowpack, i.e., the snow water equivalent (SWE). Therefore, in this study remotely sensed snow cover was combined with in situ observations and a modified version of the seNorge snow model to estimate (climate sensitivity of) SWE and snowmelt runoff in the Langtang catchment in Nepal. Snow cover data from Landsat 8 and the MOD10A2 snow cover product were validated with in situ snow cover observations provided by surface temperature and snow depth measurements resulting in classification accuracies of 85.7 and 83.1 % respectively. Optimal model parameter values were obtained through data assimilation of MOD10A2 snow maps and snow depth measurements using an ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF). Independent validations of simulated snow depth and snow cover with observations show improvement after data assimilation compared to simulations without data assimilation. The approach of modeling snow depth in a Kalman filter framework allows for data-constrained estimation of snow depth rather than snow cover alone, and this has great potential for future studies in complex terrain, especially in the Himalayas. Climate sensitivity tests with the optimized snow model revealed that snowmelt runoff increases in winter and the early melt season (December to May) and decreases during the late melt season (June to September) as a result of the earlier onset of snowmelt due to increasing temperature. At high elevation a decrease in SWE due to higher air temperature is (partly) compensated by an increase in precipitation, which emphasizes the need for accurate predictions on the changes in the spatial distribution of precipitation along with changes in temperature.

Shale gas reservoir is a complex multi-scale system containing micro-nanopores and micro-fractures. Understanding shale gas transport mechanism in fractured porous media is important to predict shale gas production performance accurately. This paper established a shale gas production prediction model, considering gas rarefaction effects, adsorption, diffusion, and stress sensitivity. The variation in production and drainage patterns with production time by multi-stage and multi-cluster fracturing considering fracture hit was studied by using this model. In addition, the influences of connecting hydraulic fractures, natural fracture conductivity, and stress sensitivity on shale gas production are discussed. When the spacing between the connecting fractures exceeds 4 stages (176 m), the production of the child well and parent well tends to be stable as the spacing between connecting hydraulic fractures increases. The child well production decreases, and the parent well production increases by considering fracture hits. The cumulative production of both parent and child wells increases with the increase in natural fracture conductivity. The results show that the production of parent and child wells considering stress sensitivity is, respectively, 14.31% and 18.73% lower than that without considering stress sensitivity. The key findings of this study can be expected to provide theoretical supports for the shale gas transport mechanisms in fractured porous media.

In the post-antibiotic era the issue of bacterial resistance refers not only to antibiotics themselves but also to common antiseptics like octenidine dihydrochloride (OCT). This appears as an emerging challenge in terms of preventing staphylococcal infections, which are both potentially severe and easy to transfer horizontally. Essential oils have shown synergisms both with antibiotics and antiseptics. Therefore the aim of this study was to investigate the impact of lavender essential oil (LEO) on OCT efficiency towards methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains (MRSA). The LEO analyzed in this study increased the OCT’s susceptibility against MRSA strains. Subsequent FTIR analysis revealed cellular wall modifications in MRSA strain cultured in media supplemented with OCT or LEO/OCT. In conclusion, LEO appears to be a promising candidate for an efficient enhancer of conventional antiseptics.