Diagnostic exome sequencing in children: A survey of parental understanding, experience and psychological impact

Clinical exome sequencing (CES) is increasingly being used as an effective diagnostic tool in the field of pediatric genetics. We sought to evaluate the parental experience, understanding and psychological impact of CES by conducting a survey study of English-speaking parents of children who had diagnostic CES. Parents of 192 unique patients participated. The parent's interpretation of the child's result agreed with the clinician's interpretation in 79% of cases, with more frequent discordance when the clinician's interpretation was uncertain. The majority (79%) reported no regret with the decision to have CES. Most (65%) reported complete satisfaction with the genetic counseling experience, and satisfaction was positively associated with years of genetic counselor (GC) experience. The psychological impact of CES was greatest for parents of children with positive results and for parents with anxiety or depression. The results of this study are important for helping clinicians to prepare families for the possible results and variable psychological impact of CES. The frequency of parental misinterpretation of test results indicates the need for additional clarity in the communication of results. Finally, while the majority of patients were satisfied with their genetic counseling, satisfaction was lower for new GCs, suggesting a need for targeted GC training for genomic testing.

Photocatalytic degradation of norfloxacin on different TiO2−X polymorphs under visible light in water

Reduced TiO₂ (TiO_2−X) materials with different crystallographic structures were prepared and characterized.

Effects of DMSO and glycerol additives on the property of polyamide reverse osmosis membrane

The polyamide reverse osmosis (RO) membranes were prepared through interfacial polymerization of m-phenylenediamine (MPD) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC). The use of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and glycerol as additives for the formation of thin-film composite (TFC) was investigated. We studied the effect of DMSO and glycerol addition on membrane property and RO performance. Microscopic morphology was examined by atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The surface hydrophilicity was characterized on the basis of water contact angle and surface solid-liquid interfacial free energy (-ΔG_SL). Water flux and salt rejection ability of the membranes prepared with or without the additives were evaluated by cross-flow RO tests. The results reveal that the addition of DMSO and glycerol strongly influences the property of the TFC RO membrane. Compared to the MPD/TMC membrane fabricated without DMSO and glycerol, the MPD/TMC/DMSO/glycerol membrane has a rougher surface and is more hydrophilic, showing smaller water contact angle and larger -ΔG_SL value. Without decrease in salt rejection ability, the MPD/TMC/DMSO/glycerol membrane shows water flux significantly larger than that of the MPD/TMC membrane. The unique property of the MPD/TMC/DMSO/glycerol membrane is attributed to the cooperative effect of DMSO and glycerol on membrane structure during the interfacial polymerization process.

Fabrication of 2D sheet-like BiOCl/carbon quantum dot hybrids via a template-free coprecipitation method and their tunable visible-light photocatalytic activities derived from different size distributions of carbon quantum dots

A series of two-dimensional (2D) interlaced BiOCl/carbon quantum dot composites (denoted as BiOCl/CQD composites) were synthesized by a template-free coprecipitation method at room temperature, and the influence of different particle size distributions of the CQDs on the physiochemical properties and photocatalytic activities of the BiOCl/CQD composites was studied. CQDs can change the morphology and increase the specific surface area of the BiOCl/CQD composites. Moreover, the particle size distribution of the CQDs (CQD loading amount) has some effect on the light absorption, separation of photogenerated charge carriers, and photocatalytic performance of  the BiOCl/CQD composites. The optimized size distribution of the CQDs is 50-150 nm. BiOCl/CQD (50-150 nm) composites showed the best improvement of light absorption and the highest photocurrent density of 0.44 μA cm(-2), and exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity with almost 100% 2-nitrophenol removal under visible-light irradiation. The high efficacy of BiOCl/CQD (50-150 nm) composites could be attributed to their excellent light absorption and highly effective separation of photogenerated charge carriers.

Sol-hydrothermal synthesis of inorganic-framework molecularly imprinted TiO2/SiO2 nanocomposite and its preferential photocatalytic degradation towards target contaminant

Inorganic-framework molecularly imprinted TiO2/SiO2 nanocomposite (MIP-TiO2/SiO2) was successfully prepared by sol-hydrothermal method using 4-nitrophenol as template. The morphology, structure, optical property, zeta-potential and photocurrent of MIP-TiO2/SiO2 were characterized. The adsorption performance and photocatalytic selectivity were also studied. MIP-TiO2/SiO2 shows higher adsorption capacity and selectivity than the non-imprinted TiO2/SiO2 (NIP-TiO2/SiO2). Kinetics results show that the adsorption equilibrium of 4-nitrophenol on MIP-TiO2/SiO2 is established within 20 min, and the adsorption process obeys the pseudo-second-order model. Moreover, MIP-TiO2/SiO2 can completely degrade 4-nitrophenol within 30 min, while NIP-TiO2/SiO2 takes 110 min. It was found that the MIP-TiO2/SiO2 photocatalyst shows molecular recognition ability, leading to selective adsorption and molecular recognitive photocatalytic degradation of 4-nitrophenol. Furthermore, because of its inorganic framework, MIP-TiO2/SiO2 shows excellent reusability.

Facile one-step synthesis of inorganic-framework molecularly imprinted TiO2/WO3 nanocomposite and its molecular recognitive photocatalytic degradation of target contaminant

Inorganic-framework molecularly imprinted TiO2/WO3 nanocomposites with molecular recognitive photocatalytic activity were first prepared successfully by a facile one-step sol-gel method using 2-nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol as template molecules, and tetrabutyl orthotitanate as titanium source as well as the precursor of functional monomer which could complex with template molecules. The template molecules could be completely removed by means of high-temperature calcination, avoiding the traditional extraction procedures that are time- as well as solvent-consuming. Compared to nonimprinted TiO2/WO3, the molecularly imprinted TiO2/WO3 shows a much higher adsorption capacity and selectivity toward the template molecules. The enhancement in terms of adsorption capacity and selectivity can be attributed to the chemical interaction between target molecules and imprinted cavities, as well as size matching between imprinted cavities and target molecules. The photocatalytic activity of molecularly imprinted TiO2/WO3 toward the target molecules is more than two times that of non-imprinted TiO2/WO3, a result of selective adsorption of target molecules on molecularly imprinted TiO2/WO3. The formation pathway of intermediate products in 2-nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol degradation process was provided. Moreover, molecularly imprinted TiO2/WO3 exhibits high stability. The results indicate that inorganic-framework molecularly imprinted TiO2/WO3 nanocomposites have a promising prospect in the treatment of wastewater for irrigation.

Large-Scale Synthesis of Carbon Nanomaterials by Catalytic Chemical Vapor Deposition: A Review of the Effects of Synthesis Parameters and Magnetic Properties

The large-scale production of carbon nanomaterials by catalytic chemical vapor deposition is reviewed in context with their microwave absorbing ability. Factors that influence the growth as well as the magnetic properties of the carbon nanomaterials are discussed.

Fabrication and Optical Behaviors of Core-Shell ZnS Nanostructures

Novel core-shell nanostructures comprised of cubic sphalerite and hexagonal wurtzite ZnS have been synthesized at 150°C by a simple hydrothermal method. The results of HR-TEM and SAED investigation reveal that the cores of hexagonal wurtzite ZnS (ca. 200 nm in average diameter) are encapsulated by a shell of cubic sphalerite ZnS. The FE-SEM image of the nanomaterials shows a surface tightly packed with nanoparticles (<10 nm in size). The optical properties of the fabricated material have been studied in terms of ultraviolet-visible absorption and photoluminescence. Furthermore, a possible mechanism for the fabrication of the core-shell nanostructures has been presented.

Controllable Synthesis of Single-Crystalline CdO and Cd(OH)2Nanowires by a Simple Hydrothermal Approach

Single-crystalline Cd(OH)2 or CdO nanowires can be selectively synthesized at 150 °C by a simple hydrothermal method using aqueous Cd(NO3)2 as precursor. The method is biosafe, and compared to the conventional oil-water surfactant approach, more environmental-benign. As revealed by the XRD results, CdO or Cd(OH)2 nanowires can be generated in high purity by varying the time of synthesis. The results of FESEM and HRTEM analysis show that the CdO nanowires are formed in bundles. Over the CdO-nanowire bundles, photoluminescence at ~517 nm attributable to near band-edge emission of CdO was recorded. Based on the experimental results, a possible growth mechanism of the products is proposed.

Effect of the insect pathogenic bacterium Photorhabdus on insect phagocytes

Photorhabdus are insect pathogenic bacteria that replicate within the insect haemocoel following release from their entomopathogenic nematode symbionts. To investigate how they escape the cellular immune response we examined the effects of two strains of Photorhabdus, W14 and K122, on Manduca sexta phagocytes (haemocytes), in vitro and in vivo. Following injection of Esherichia coli into Manduca larvae, these non-pathogenic bacteria are rapidly cleared from the haemolymph and the number of free haemocytes transiently increases. In contrast, following injection of either strain of pathogenic Photorhabdus, the bacteria grow rapidly while the number of haemocytes decreases dramatically. In vitro incubation of haemocytes with either Photorhabdus supernatant reduced haemocyte viability, and the W14 supernatant caused distinct changes in the actin cytoskeleton morphology of different haemocyte cell types. In phagocytosis assays both Photorhabdus strains can inhibit their own phagocytosis whether the bacterial cells are alive or dead. Further, the supernatant of W14 also contains a factor capable of inhibiting the phagocytosis of labelled E. coli. Together these results suggest that Photorhabdus evades the cellular immune response by killing haemocytes and suppressing phagocytosis by mechanisms that differ between strains.