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Optical probes that specifically and sensitively change the optical properties upon contact with targets have become irreplaceable tools in fundamental biology and medicine. Semiconducting polymer dots (Pdots) have emerged as popular optical nanoplatforms because of their excellent characteristics, such as tunable luminescence, high brightness, superior stability and biocompatibility, for biological applications. In particular, facile surface and intra-particle modifications enable Pdots to detect various biological parameters, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), typical metal ions, pH values, temperature and a variety of biomolecules. In this review, we provide a brief overview of the preparation and bio-functionalization strategies of Pdots. This review focuses on the applications of Pdots as optical probes in biosensors and describes the challenges in this field.Multiple myeloma (MM), known as a tumor of plasma cells, is not only refractory but also has a high relapse rate, and is the second-most common hematologic tumor after lymphoma. It is often accompanied by multiple osteolytic damage, hypercalcemia, anemia, and renal insufficiency. In terms of diagnosis, conventional detection methods have many limitations, such as it is invasive and time-consuming and has low accuracy. Measures to change these limitations are urgently needed. At the therapeutic level, although the survival of MM continues to prolong with the advent of new drugs, MM remains incurable and has a high recurrence rate. With the development of nanotechnology, nanomedicine has become a powerful way to improve the current diagnosis and treatment of MM. In this review, the research progress and breakthroughs of nanomedicine in MM will be presented. Meanwhile, both superiorities and challenges of nanomedicine were discussed. As a new idea for the diagnosis and treatments of MM, nanomedicine will play a very important role in the research field of MM.Norbornene-based rhodamine derivative (NR) was observed as an “off-on” probe for Fe3+ ions both colorimetrically and fluorimetrically in an aqueous environment. NR and its homopolymer (PNR) were capable of detecting Fe3+ ions with high selectivity and sensitivity in an aqueous environment. For NR and PNR the limit of detection (LOD) towards Fe3+ ions was found to be 49 nM and 19 nM, respectively, making these materials highly efficient. Most interestingly, PNR has more efficacy towards the detection of Fe3+ ions than NR, which is expected due to the favorable side-chain interaction in the presence of multiple sensing motifs between the polymer chains. The sensing behavior was thoroughly studied via spectroscopic techniques. We hypothesized that the Fe3+ ion was expected to induce the spirolactam ring-opening of the rhodamine unit due to its Lewis acid nature and preferable interactions with the N and O atoms present in NR as well as PNR.

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have elevated nasopharyngeal resistances due to increased turbulent airflow. The study aims to investigate the effect of oropharyngeal surgery on nasal resistance in patients with various severity levels of OSA.

Patients with greater or equal to 5 events hourly on the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) were enrolled. Patients with retropalatal obstruction underwent uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, while patients with concurrent retrolingual obstruction under- went uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) plus tongue base suspension. Before surgery and after surgery, subjective outcomes were assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS), and objective outcomes were assessed using overnight polysomnography and rhinomanometry. The limitation of the study was that UPPP instead of expansion sphincter pharyngoplasty was performed in this study.

Sixty-two patients were enrolled, while 30 patients were diagnosed as mild OSA (group Mild) and 32 patients were mo- derate-severe OSA (group MS). Tle treatment for postural nasal obstruction in patients with moderate-severe OSA.The latest statistics show that rates of morbidity and mortality for hepatocellular carcinoma are gradually increasing over time. Accumulating evidence indicates that circular RNAs (circRNAs) participate in the regulation of gene transcription and translation and exert a crucial role in endogenous RNA network. see more circRNAs are implicated in the pathogenesis of numerous tumors including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), gastric carcinoma and bladder cancer. Of note, the effect of circRNAs in HCC has drawn increasing public attention. Previous studies revealed that the function of circRNAs mainly consists of sponges of miRNA and RNA-binding proteins, alternative splicing of pre-mRNAs, transcriptional and translational regulators, and potential to encode proteins. In addition, recent research data indicate that the expression level of circRNAs is closely correlated with metastasis, invasion, and occurrence of HCC in patients. These findings imply that circRNAs may be useful as biomarkers for diagnosis and prediction of prognosis of HCC. In this review, we have systemically summarized current viewpoints regarding the role of circRNAs expression in HCC to provide an important reference illustrating the underlying mechanism of HCC.

Healthy city and safe community programs are the most common initiatives gaining increasing appeal in various communities to improve safety and health, independently. The aim of this study was to develop a joint application model of safe community and healthy city.

A comprehensive literature review was conducted on healthy city and safe community programs using PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Science Direct and also related websites such as WHO regional offices in 2018. The preliminary list of joint model dimensions and topics were extracted and then assessed by the expert through two rounds of decision Delphi and four expert panel sessions. Eventually, the visual model was developed and approved by the experts.

Literature review resulted in the identification of 11 programs on safety and health promotion in the community of which 35 topics were extracted. After investigating the topics accordance, they were judged (correction, merging or eliminating) by experts through Delphi rounds and panel sessions.