Fabrication of a Pt nanoparticle surface on an aluminum substrate to achieve excellent superhydrophobicity and catalytic activity

A superhydrophobic Pt–Al₂O₃/Al surface with excellent application characteristics has been fabricated on an aluminium substrate by a chemical method and annealing process.

Semi-dominant mutation in the cysteine-rich receptor-like kinase gene, ALS1, conducts constitutive defence response in rice

Plants have evolved a sophisticated two-branch defence system to prevent the growth and spread of pathogen infection. The novel Cys-rich repeat (CRR) containing receptor-like kinases, known as CRKs, were reported to mediate defence resistance in plants. For rice, there are only two reports of CRKs. A semi-dominant lesion mimic mutant als1 (apoptosis leaf and sheath 1) in rice was identified to demonstrate spontaneous lesions on the leaf blade and sheath. A map-based cloning strategy was used for fine mapping and cloning of ALS1, which was confirmed to be a typical CRK in rice. Functional studies of ALS1 were conducted, including phylogenetic analysis, expression analysis, subcellular location and blast resistance identification. Most pathogenesis-related (PR) genes and other defence-related genes were activated and up-regulated to a high degree. ALS1 was expressed mainly in the leaf blade and sheath, in which further study revealed that ALS1 was present in the vascular bundles. ALS1 was located in the cell membrane of rice protoplasts, and its mutation did not change its subcellular location. Jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA) accumulation were observed in als1, and enhanced blast resistance was also observed. The mutation of ALS1 caused a constitutively activated defence response in als1. The results of our study imply that ALS1 participates in a defence response resembling the common SA-, JA- and NH1-mediated defence responses in rice.

Etching gas-sieving nanopores in single-layer graphene with an angstrom precision for high-performance gas mixture separation

One of the bottlenecks in realizing the potential of atom-thick graphene membrane for gas sieving is the difficulty in incorporating nanopores in an otherwise impermeable graphene lattice, with an angstrom precision at a high-enough pore density. We realize this design by developing a synergistic, partially decoupled defect nucleation and pore expansion strategy using O₂ plasma and O₃ treatment. A high density (ca. 2.1 × 10¹² cm^-2) of H₂-sieving pores was achieved while limiting the percentage of CH₄-permeating pores to 13 to 22 parts per million. As a result, a record-high gas mixture separation performance was achieved (H₂ permeance, 1340 to 6045 gas permeation units; H₂/CH₄ separation factor, 15.6 to 25.1; H₂/C₃H₈ separation factor, 38.0 to 57.8). This highly scalable pore etching strategy will accelerate the development of single-layer graphene-based energy-efficient membranes.

[The treatment of nose-eye correlated diseases with external nasal incision combined with nasal cavity approach surgery through endoscope]

Objective:To explore the indications and characteristics for the treatment of nose-eye correlated diseases with endoscopic surgery through external nasal incision combined with nasal cavity approach.Method:The clinical data of 13 patients whom hospitalized in our department and treated by endoscopic surgery through external nasal incision combined with nasal cavity approach since October 2011, were retrospectively analyzed and the characteristics of different pathological changes, clinical manifestations, surgical approach and follow-up results were summarized.Four cases of patients underwent endoscopic surgery through nasal cavity and lacrimal caruncle conjunctival incision, 4 cases received bone fracture reduction and DCR with endoscope through double path of nasal cavity and the original trauma wound, 2 cases with endoscopic bone tumor resection through nasal cavity and external nasal incision, the rest of the 3 cases with endonasal endoscopic and peri-orbit incision surgery.Result:Two cases of tumor patients showed no recurrence followed up for 1.5 to 2 years; the diplopia disappeared in 2 cases of orbital medial wall fracture; surgeries of 4 cases of orbital wall fracture with lacrimal duct obstruction patients, 3 cases succeeded, 1 case failed and change into dacryocystorhinotomy with external nasal incision, and epiphora of all patients vanished; all of the patients of sinus osteoma, foreign bodies and abscess were cured and symptoms disappeared; the symptoms of ectopic meningioma patient gradually died down with eyebrow scars left.Conclusion:The surgery with external nasal incision combined with nasal cavity approach through endoscope to treat noseeye correlated diseases can effectively deal with relevant pathological changes, with the advantages of clear operation field and less damage, but its exact indications and surgical methods still need to be further explored.

Whi2 is a conserved negative regulator of TORC1 in response to low amino acids

Yeast WHI2 was originally identified in a genetic screen for regulators of cell cycle arrest and later suggested to function in general stress responses. However, the function of Whi2 is unknown. Whi2 has predicted structure and sequence similarity to human KCTD family proteins, which have been implicated in several cancers and are causally associated with neurological disorders but are largely uncharacterized. The identification of conserved functions between these yeast and human proteins may provide insight into disease mechanisms. We report that yeast WHI2 is a new negative regulator of TORC1 required to suppress TORC1 activity and cell growth specifically in response to low amino acids. In contrast to current opinion, WHI2 is dispensable for TORC1 inhibition in low glucose. The only widely conserved mechanism that actively suppresses both yeast and mammalian TORC1 specifically in response to low amino acids is the conserved SEACIT/GATOR1 complex that inactivates the TORC1-activating RAG-like GTPases. Unexpectedly, Whi2 acts independently and simultaneously with these established GATOR1-like Npr2-Npr3-Iml1 and RAG-like Gtr1-Gtr2 complexes, and also acts independently of the PKA pathway. Instead, Whi2 inhibits TORC1 activity through its binding partners, protein phosphatases Psr1 and Psr2, which were previously thought to only regulate amino acid levels downstream of TORC1. Furthermore, the ability to suppress TORC1 is conserved in the SKP1/BTB/POZ domain-containing, Whi2-like human protein KCTD11 but not other KCTD family members tested.

Yeast and human cells respond to declining levels of available nutrients to prepare ahead for leaner times. The detailed mechanisms of nutrient sensing are not well understood, but defects in these processes have key roles in diseases such as cancer. The evolutionarily conserved protein complex TORC1 is the control hub for responding to both high and low nutrients, particularly amino acids. We identified yeast Whi2 and the human tumor suppressor KCTD11 as novel suppressors of TORC1 activity in low amino acid conditions, and we investigated the detailed mechanisms for Whi2. Unexpectedly, Whi2 works differently from the usual mechanism where TORC1 is controlled by the SEACIT-Gtr complex (mammalian GATOR1-RAG complex). Furthermore, both the Whi2 and the SEACIT-Gtr pathways work independently and together in parallel to suppress TORC1. For this function, Whi2 requires its binding partners, the yeast protein phosphatases Psr1 and Psr2, which were previously thought to function downstream of TORC1 in amino acid signaling. These studies have important implications for human KCTD11 to help advance the understanding of its pathological role.

Fabrication of graphene/copper–nickel foam composite for high performance supercapacitors

An rGO/PDA/CNF composite electrode is fabricated by an immersing and annealing process and exhibits superior electrochemical performance.

Synthesis of a Pt/reduced graphene oxide/polydopamine composite material for localized surface plasmon resonance and methanol electrocatalysis

Pt NPs are synthesized and loaded with rGO onto ITO using polydopamine. The strongest LSPR effect corresponds to the optimal catalyst. The catalyst has a good anti-poison property against CO and shows good cycle stability.

Total synthesis of teixobactin and its stereoisomers

The total syntheses of teixobactin and a series of its stereoisomers at positions 2, 5, 6, 10 and 11 were achieved via a combined strategy of solution and solid phase peptide synthesis.

High throughput in vitro and in vivo screening of inland waters of Southern California

The impact of unmonitored contaminants, also known as contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), on freshwater streams remains largely uncharacterized. Water samples from 31 streams representing urban, agricultural and undeveloped (i.e., open space) land use in Southern California (USA) were analyzed for in vitro and in vivo bioactivity. The extent and magnitude of bioactivity screened using endocrine-responsive cell bioassays and a fish embryo screening assay were low. In contrast, a wider gradient of responses for the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) assay was observed, which was negatively correlated with a measure of benthic community structure. Both aromatic and non-aromatic CECs were tentatively identified in these samples, but polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), known AhR agonists in urban environments, were not present at detectable levels. These results suggest that a combination of in vitro and in vivo show potential as screening techniques for biological condition in situ, but that more advanced, comprehensive analytical methods are needed to identify bioactive contaminants.

Negative Differential Conductance & Hot-Carrier Avalanching in Monolayer WS2 FETs

The high field phenomena of inter-valley transfer and avalanching breakdown have long been exploited in devices based on conventional semiconductors. In this Article, we demonstrate the manifestation of these effects in atomically-thin WS2 field-effect transistors. The negative differential conductance exhibits all of the features familiar from discussions of this phenomenon in bulk semiconductors, including hysteresis in the transistor characteristics and increased noise that is indicative of travelling high-field domains. It is also found to be sensitive to thermal annealing, a result that we attribute to the influence of strain on the energy separation of the different valleys involved in hot-electron transfer. This idea is supported by the results of ensemble Monte Carlo simulations, which highlight the sensitivity of the negative differential conductance to the equilibrium populations of the different valleys. At high drain currents (>10 μA/μm) avalanching breakdown is also observed, and is attributed to trap-assisted inverse Auger scattering. This mechanism is not normally relevant in conventional semiconductors, but is possible in WS2 due to the narrow width of its energy bands. The various results presented here suggest that WS2 exhibits strong potential for use in hot-electron devices, including compact high-frequency sources and photonic detectors.

[The study of locating facial nerve precisely in middle ear surgery based on clinical anatomy]

Objective:To investigate the methods of locating facial nerve precisely in middle ear surgery through the observation and measurement of the facial nerve and surrounding anatomical structures and to provide reference for the middle ear surgery.Method:Combined surgical approach on 15 cases (30 sides) fresh adult cadaveric specimens were dissected, observed the characteristics of facial nerve and its shape and spatial relationship of the surrounding structures, and measured the distance between the facial nerve and its surrounding structures.Result:The shortest distance from the midpoint of the posterior wall of external auditory canal (annulus level) to the vertical segment of the facial nerve was (3.37±0.34)mm, the shortest distance from the leading edge of the sigmoid sinus to the vertical segment of facial nerve was (7.40±0.71)mm, the shortest distance from the lateral margin of jugular bulb to the facial nerve was (5.58±0.79)mm, the shortest distance from Henle crest to the pyramidal segment of facial nerve was (12.76±1.24)mm, the shortest distance between the pyramidal segment of facial nerve and the posterior short limb of incus was (1.56±0.35)mm, the shortest distance between the pyramidal segment of facial nerve and the lower edge of posterior semicircular canal was (2.56±0.41) mm, the shortest distance between the lower edge of horizontal semicircular canal and the horizontal segment of facial nerve was (1.28±0.32) mm, the shortest distance between the upper edge of vestibular window and the horizontal segment of facial nerve was (0.67±0.15)mm.Conclusion:A good command of the anatomy of temporal bone as well as the methods of locating facial nerve will provide the key to reduce the probability of iatrogenic facial nerve injury in middle ear surgery.

Healing Effect of Controlled Anti-Electromigration on Conventional and High-Tc Superconducting Nanowires

The electromigration process has the potential capability to move atoms one by one when properly controlled. It is therefore an appealing tool to tune the cross section of monoatomic compounds with ultimate resolution or, in the case of polyatomic compounds, to change the stoichiometry with the same atomic precision. As demonstrated here, a combination of electromigration and anti-electromigration can be used to reversibly displace atoms with a high degree of control. This enables a fine adjustment of the superconducting properties of Al weak links, whereas in Nb the diffusion of atoms leads to a more irreversible process. In a superconductor with a complex unit cell (La_2-x Ce_x CuO₄ ), the electromigration process acts selectively on the oxygen atoms with no apparent modification of the structure. This allows to adjust the doping of this compound and switch from a superconducting to an insulating state in a nearly reversible fashion. In addition, the conditions needed to replace feedback controlled electromigration by a simpler technique of electropulsing are discussed. These findings have a direct practical application as a method to explore the dependence of the characteristic parameters on the exact oxygen content and pave the way for a reversible control of local properties of nanowires.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the diagnosis of orbital space-occupying lesions

AIM

To summarise the sonographic findings and assess the feasibility of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) as an imaging method for the diagnosis of orbital space-occupying lesions.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This was a prospective study of 53 patients who underwent orbital ultrasound at Xijing Hospital. Two-dimensional ultrasound, colour Doppler flow imaging (CDFI), and CEUS imaging were obtained and compared in patients with orbital haemangioma, pseudotumour, melanoma of the choroid, and retinoblastoma.

RESULTS

CEUS imaging cannot only visualise the location, shape, border, acoustic properties of a lesion, and interactions between the lesion and surrounding tissues, but also display the microvasculature and tissue perfusion within the lesion. The information obtained from CEUS imaging is valuable for diagnosis and differential diagnosis of orbital space-occupying lesions.

CONCLUSION

CEUS imaging allowed better visualisation of the lesions, enabled detection of vascular changes, increased the signal-to-noise ratio, and increased the sensitivity of detection of changes in perfusion in the microcirculation. It has relatively high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of orbital space-occupying lesions and increases the accuracy of diagnosis.

Tumour-activated liver stromal cells regulate myeloid-derived suppressor cells accumulation in the liver

Regulating mechanisms underlying hepatic myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) accumulation remain to be described. Here, we provide evidence for the involvement of tumour-activated liver stromal cells in the process of hepatic MDSCs migration and accumulation. Our data showed an elevated frequency of MDSCs in the liver of tumour-bearing mice. Moreover, tumour-activated liver stromal cells promote MDSC migration into the liver site. Further investigation indicated higher levels of cytokine and chemokine expression in liver stromal cells after exposure to the tumour-conditioned supernatant. Notably, the expression levels of proinflammatory factors, mainly including macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) and stromal-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), increased after treatment with tumour-conditioned supernatant, and blockade of MCP-1 or SDF-1 decreased the proportion of tumour infiltrated MDSCs in mice co-transplanted with liver stromal cells and tumour cells, but not in mice with only tumour cells injection. These findings demonstrate that tumour-activated liver stromal cells produce higher levels of chemokines and cytokines, which may contribute to MDSC accumulation into the liver site in patients with liver cancer.

Simultaneous detection of 45 fusion genes in leukemia by dual-color fluorescence real-time PCR

INTRODUCTION

Detection of recurrent genetic abnormalities is of great significance for a refined diagnosis and assessment of prognosis in leukemia. Conventional nested reverse transcription PCR is labor intensive and time-consuming.

METHODS

We have developed a novel dual-color TaqMan probe-based real-time PCR method for the simultaneous screening of 45 fusion transcripts in 12 parallel reactions. The method was tested and validated with cell lines carrying known fusion transcripts and patient samples.

RESULTS

A multiplex real-time PCR method was successfully developed for rapid detection of 45 fusion genes and validated for 15 of the more commonly detected fusion genes. Intra-assay reproducibility assessed for the most frequent rearrangements ranged from 0.41% to 0.74% for the coefficient of variation (CV) of cycle threshold (Ct) and the interassay reproducibility ranged from 1.62% to 2.83% in five separate experiments. The lowest detection limit for the translocations tested ranged between 1 : 16 000 and 1 : 32 000. Validation of the method with 213 patient samples showed 100% specificity and excellent consistence with conventional nested RT-PCR.

CONCLUSION

Overall, we believe that this method is easily applicable, cost-effective, and clinically useful for a rapid screening of fusion genes in the initial diagnostic phase of leukemia. Its use can also be extended to the monitoring of minimal residual disease.

[Endonasal endoscopic surgery in treatment of medial recus muscle entrapment: the management and effectiveness]

Objective:To explore the indications , surgery method and effect for the treatment of medial rectus muscle entrapment with endoscopic surgery.Method: Eight medial rectus muscle entrapment patients were enrolled in this study,3 cases underwent obital medial wall fracture reposition and medial rectus muscle adhesion decomposition surgery through endonasal endoscope,and 5 cases received obital medial wall fracture reposition surgery with endoscope through nasal cavity and lacrimal caruncle conjunctival incision. Result:The diplopia disappeared and eyeball abduction function recovered in 6 cases of medial rectus muscle entrapment patients within 2 months,and 1 case with each surgery had mild diplopia and eyeball incomplete abduction left.Conclusion:Adopting endonasal endoscopic surgery or dual approaches surgery with endonasal endoscopic and transcaruncular surgery were ideal methods for medial rectus muscle entrapment diseases.Surgery with endoscope has the characteristics of clear field and less damage.The surgery should be performed whithin 3 weeks, and the entrapment of medial rectus muscle can be resoved effectively.

Thermally Assisted Nonvolatile Memory in Monolayer MoS2 Transistors

We demonstrate a novel form of thermally-assisted hysteresis in the transfer curves of monolayer MoS₂ FETs, characterized by the appearance of a large gate-voltage window and distinct current levels that differ by a factor of ∼10². The hysteresis emerges for temperatures in excess of 400 K and, from studies in which the gate-voltage sweep parameters are varied, appears to be related to charge injection into the SiO₂ gate dielectric. The thermally-assisted memory is strongly suppressed in equivalent measurements performed on bilayer transistors, suggesting that weak screening in the monolayer system plays a vital role in generating its strongly sensitive response to the charge-injection process. By exploiting the full features of the hysteretic transfer curves, programmable memory operation is demonstrated. The essential principles demonstrated here point the way to a new class of thermally assisted memories based on atomically thin two-dimensional semiconductors.

[Outcomes of total deafness type of idiopathic suddendeafness in different ages]

Objective:This retrospective study was aimed to investigate the characteristics of hearing recovery in the complete deafness type of SSNHL(≥81 dBHL) in patients with different ages.Method:Clinical outcomes of 179 total deafness type of idiopathic sudden deafness were compared.Patients were divided into 5 groups according to age,they were,pediatric group(13 years or less),youthful group(14-44 years),middle-aged group(45-59 years),presenium group(60-74 years),senectitude group(75 years or higher).Patients were divided into 3 groups according to the initial degree of hearing loss: 81 dB group (81-89 dBHL),90 dB group(90- 99 dBHL),100 dB group(100 dBHL or higher).Routine comprehensive treatment including corticosteroids,the inner ear microcirculation improvement drugs,neurotrophic drugs,saturationoxygen and hyperbaric oxygen therapy,etc.was applied.Patients were treated in accordance with the age and body weight.Result:The percentage of youthful group(83/179,46.4%) was highest(P<0.05),middle-aged group(57/179,31.8%)followed(P<0.05),presenium group(26/179,14.5%)was lower(P<0.05),pediatric group(8/179,4.5%) and senectitude group(5/179,2.8%)were the lowest.No a complete recovery in either pediatric group or senectitude group.A complete recovery was rare in the other groups.Recovery rate of the different aged groups was similar(P>0.05).The percentage of 100 dB group(108/179,60.3%) was highest(P<0.05).The percentage of 81 dB group(39/179,21.8%)was similar to 90 dB group(32/179,17.9%)(P>0.05).Recovery rate was similar in 81 dB group(25/39,64.1%)and 90 dB group(18/32,56.2%)(P>0.05).Recovery rate of both 81 dB group and 90 dB group were greater than 100 dB group(24/108,22.2%)(P<0.05).The 100 dB group reduced the satisfactory recovery effects.There were no differences in the proportion of the patients with dizziness(95/179,53.1%)and without dizziness(84/179,46.9%)(P>0.05).Recovery rate of patients without dizziness(43/84,51.2%) was greater than with dizziness(24/95,25.3%)(P<0.05).The percentage of the patients without dizziness(31/39,79.5%)in 81 dB group was the highest(P<0.05),90 dB group(18/32,56.2%)followed(P<0.05).The percentage of the patients with dizziness in 100 dB group(73/108,67.6%)was highest(P<0.05).Recovery rate was similar in the patients without dizziness of 81 dB group(21/31,67.7%)and 90 dB group(11/18,61.1%)(P>0.05).Recovery rate of the above two groups was greater than that of 100 dB group(11/35,31.4%)(P<0.05).Conclusion:Recovery rate of the different aged groups was similar.The percentage of the patients with dizziness in 100 dB group was highest.Initial hearing threshold in excess of 100 dB reduced the satisfactory recovery in patients with total deafness type of SSNHL.Our results provided a good reference for other clinicians.

Tristetraprolin: a novel mediator of the anticancer properties of resveratrol

Resveratrol is a natural compound that exhibits anticancer properties. Previous studies have proved that it can inhibit the proliferation of breast cancer cell lines and upregulate some cytokines such as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The initiation and progression of cancer are associated with the abnormal expression of multiple cytokines. Tristetraprolin (TTP), an mRNA-binding protein, is one of the key proteins that participate in regulating cytokine expression. Two different proliferation assays on MCF-7 cells showed that the cell proliferation rate significantly reduced following treatment with resveratrol. Most importantly, we found that resveratrol promoted TTP expression at both the mRNA and protein level in a dose- and time-dependent manner. In addition, the expression of COX-2 and VEGF were significantly suppressed by resveratrol while that of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was upregulated. Lastly, the effects of resveratrol on both MCF-7 proliferation and expression of COX-2, VEGF, and iNOS were significantly inhibited by TTP knockdown, indicating that TTP mediates the anticancer properties of resveratrol. In summary, we conclude that resveratrol inhibits the proliferation of MCF-7 cells by TTP upregulation, which is associated with downregulation of COX-2 and VEGF and upregulation of iNOS.