[Clinical application of vacuum sealing drainage combined with chymotrypsin in the treatment of post-traumatic mandibular osteomyelitis]

This article introduces the combined application of vacuum sealing drainage (VSD) and chymotrypsin in the treatment of post-operative mandibular osteomyelitis. The lesion was washed by chymotrypsin (4000U) and saline (500 ml). VSD is effective in the treatment of traumatic mandibular osteomyelitis. This study investigates the effect of VSD combined with chymotrypsin in the treatment of patients with osteomyelitis after mandibular trauma. It is proved that it has a good effect in ensuring drainage, controlling infection and retaining internal fixation, and can create a good environment for fracture healing.

[Analysis of measles immunity level and serological susceptibility among Yunnan residents aged ≥20 years]

Objective: To evaluate the population immunity to measles and explore the factors associated with measles susceptibility in Yunnan residents aged ≥20 years. Methods: 2 689 residents aged ≥20 years were selected by multistage stratified systematic randomized sampling in 252 villages of 42 counties in Yunnan Province between June and September in 2015. Each subject was surveyed by the same questionnaire, including general information, measles contained vaccine history, measles history, and 5 ml blood sample of each subject was collected. Serum IgG antibodies against measles virus were measured by ELISA. Positive was defined as the antibody concentration ≥250 mU/ml, and negative as <250 mU/ml. Non-conditional logistic regression model was used analyze the factors associated with measles susceptibility in adults. Results: Among 2 689 subjects, 1 214 were males (45.15%), and the overall positive rate of measles IgG antibody was 89.77%. Compared with subjects from the region where economic development was low, subjects from the region where economic development was moderate were likely to be susceptible to measles virus (OR=1.81, 95%CI: 1.33-2.47). Four age groups had higher risk of being susceptible to measles virus (compared with ≥40 years: 20-24 years old, OR=2.04, 95%CI: 1.26-3.31; 25-29 years old, OR=3.72, 95%CI: 2.37-5.86; 30-34 years old, OR=1.94, 95%CI: 1.22-3.09; 35-39 years old, OR=1.81, 95%CI: 1.07-3.05). Conclusion: Our results suggest that the serological susceptibility in adults (20-39 years), especially adults from the regions where the economic development was moderate, should be concerned. The additional vaccination strategy targeting young adults is important for reducing the risk of measles infection.

Water-transport and Intracellular Ice Formation of Porcine Adipose-derived Stem Cells during Freezing

BACKGROUND

Water transport and intracellular ice formation are important processes that relate to cryoinjury of cells upon freezing. To date, no study is reported on the characteristics of water transport and intracellular ice formation in porcine adipose-derived stem cells (pADSC).

OBJECTIVE

To study water transport and intracellular ice formation upon freezing of pADSCs at different cooling rates.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The pADSCs were isolated using collagenase digestion from a subcutaneous adipose tissue of a 28-day-old Landrace pig. Freeze experiments were performed in a gas tight chamber of cryomicroscopy stage at different cooling rates between 40°C and -150°C.

RESULTS

Water permeability coefficient L_pg and the activation energy E_LP decrease with increasing cooling rates for pADSCs. The probability of intracellular ice formation increases with increasing cooling rates, being 0.35, 0.4 and 0.5 for cooling rates at 20, 30 and 60 °C/min respectively.

CONCLUSION

Based on the characteristics of water transport and intracellular ice formation in pADSCs, slow freezing is perhaps more suitable for pADSC cryopreservation.

A Low-cost Easy-to-Fabricate Sandwich-Structured Microdevice for Controllable Removal of Extracellular Cryoprotective Agents with High Efficiency

　　BACKGROUND: Osmotic shock upon the addition and removal of cryoprotectant agent (CPA) is a major source of cell damage during cryopreservation.

OBJECTIVE

Microfluidic device offers a new platform for CPA loading and unloading. The micro scale dimension makes possible to perform a detailed analysis and controllable removal of CPA with many advantages.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A microfluidic device was developed for extracting dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) from the sample streamline. The device has two parallel channels separated by a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane and serves as the stable environment for CPA removal. A diffusion-based simulation model was used to characterize the CPA extraction. To support the experimental design and device optimization we developed analogous scheme to simulate by COMSOL Multiphysics.

RESULTS AND CONCUSION

The device can extract cryoprotectant in a mesoscale volume from cells and simplify the post-thaw sample handling. It has sufficient control on loading/unloading of CPAs by controlling the flow rate of cell stream/wash stream solutions via syringe pumps. Compared to other customary devices, this device is easy to fabricate and assemble, with features of high precision, reusability and low cost.

A Smart Box with Adjustable Cooling Rate for Cryopreservation

BACKGROUND

The box-in-box (BIB) has recently been developed as a reliable low-cost device with a passively controlled cooling rate. However, the typical box-in-box design is only applicable to -80°C freezer. The transfer process to liquid nitrogen may affect the quality of the sample.

OBJECTIVE

To develop a smart cooling BIB that can be immersed directly into liquid nitrogen.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Different thickness and materials of the box were used to alter the cooling rate. Experiments were carried out to measure the cooling rate and modeling was performed to verify experimental results.

RESULTS

The average cooling rate of the solid cassette with a wall thickness of 10 mm was 7°C/min. The average cooling rate of the hollow boxes was about 2.5°C/min and 1.5°C/min for polystyrene box and aerogel box, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The cooling rate of the internal sample can be controlled by controlling the thickness of the box as well as by changing the filling material of the hollow box for cooling by immersion into liquid nitrogen.

[Analysis of clinical features of 23 patients with POEMS syndrome]

OBJECTIVE

To describe the endocrine abnormalities in patients with POEMS syndrome in order to identify more patients with POEMS syndrome among those who have endocrine dysfunctions.

METHODS

We searched the inpatient medical record system of Peking University People's Hospital with "POEMS syndrome". Finally the data from 23 patients were analyzed. Epidata 3.0 was used for data entering and SPSS 19.0 was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

The median age of all the 23 patients was 47 years. The ratio of male to female was 1.88:1. Polyneuropathy was the most common initial symptom which accounted for 56.5% in the 23 patients. The median duration from the initial symptoms to diagnosis as POEMS syndrome was 30 months. Among all the departments, the number of confirmed cases was highest in the department of neurology. The median duration from the onset of initial symptoms (6 months) to the diagnosis made in neurology department was also significantly shorter than in other departments. Among all the 23 patients, 100.0% of them had polyneuropathy, 82.6% had organomegaly, 95.7% had endocrinopathy, 52.2% were M protein positive, 91.3% had skin changes, 45.5% had papilledema, 43.5% had extravascular volume overload, 43.5% had platelet elevation and 17.4% had Castleman disease. Among all the patients with endocrinopathy, the incidence of hyperprolactinemia was 60.0% which was the highest one followed by thyroid dysfunction and adrenal dysfunction. Among the patients who had endocrine system dysfunctions, most of them had two target endocrine glands involved (36.5%).

CONCLUSION

Endocrinopathy is an important component of POEMS syndrome and it is of great importance to pay more attention to POEMS syndrome in patients with thyroid dysfunction, adrenal dysfunction, gonadal dysfunction, parathyroid dysfunction, hyperprolactinemia and glucose intolerance, especially in patients with two or more target gland dysfunctions. Symptoms and signs of polyneuropathy should be assessed carefully to reduce misdiagnosis of POEMS syndrome. Evaluation of the endocrine system should also be done in patients diagnosed with POEMS syndrome in order to treat the patients properly.

Unique Trapped Dimer State of the Photogenerated Hole in Hybrid Orthorhombic CH3NH3PbI3 Perovskite: Identification, Origin, and Implications

Revealing the innate character and transport of the photogenerated hole is essential to boost the high photovoltaic performance in the lead-based organohalide perovskite. However, knowledge at the atomic level is currently very limited. In this work, we systematically investigate the properties of the photogenerated hole in the orthorhombic CH₃NH₃PbI₃ using hybrid functional PBE0 calculations with spin-orbit coupling included. An unexpected trapping state of the hole, localized as I₂^- (I dimer), is uncovered, which was never reported in photovoltaic materials. It is shown that this localized configuration is energetically more favorable than that of the delocalized hole state by 191 meV and that it can highly promote the diffusion of the hole with an energy barrier as low as 131 meV. Furthermore, the origin of I dimer formation upon trapping of the hole is rationalized in terms of electronic and geometric effects, and a good linear correlation is found between the hole trapping capacity and the accompanying structural deformation in CH₃NH₃PbX₃ (X = Cl, Br, and I). It is demonstrated that good CH₃NH₃PbX₃ materials for the hole diffusion should have small structural deformation energy and weak hole trapping capacity, which may facilitate the rational screening of superior photovoltaic perovskites.

[Clinical significance of drug resistance-associated mutations in treatment of hepatitis C with direct-acting antiviral agents]

Direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) achieve a high sustained virologic response rate in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection. However, drug resistance-associated mutations play an important role in treatment failure and have attracted more and more attention. This article elaborates on the clinical significance of drug resistance-associated mutations from the aspects of their definition, association with genotype, known drug resistance-associated mutations and their prevalence rates, the impact of drug resistance-associated mutations on treatment naive and treatment-experienced patients, and the role of clinical detection, in order to provide a reference for clinical regimens with DAAs and help to achieve higher sustained virologic response rates.

Molecular characterisation of the broad-spectrum resistance to powdery mildew conferred by the Stpk-V gene from the wild species Haynaldia villosa

A key member of the Pm21 resistance gene locus, Stpk-V, derived from Haynaldia villosa, was shown to confer broad-spectrum resistance to wheat powdery mildew. The present study was planned to investigate the resistance mechanism mediated by Stpk-V. Transcriptome analysis was performed in Stpk-V transgenic plants and recipient Yangmai158 upon Bgt infection, and detailed histochemical observations were conducted. Chromosome location of Stpk-V orthologous genes in Triticeae species was conducted for evolutionary study and over-expression of Stpk-V both in barley and Arabidopsis was performed for functional study. The transcriptome results indicate, at the early infection stage, the ROS pathway, JA pathway and some PR proteins associated with the SA pathway were activated in both the resistant Stpk-V transgenic plants and susceptible Yangmai158. However, at the later infection stage, the genes up-regulated at the early stage were continuously held only in the transgenic plants, and a large number of new genes were also activated in the transgenic plants but not in Yangmai158. Results indicate that sustained activation of the early response genes combined with later-activated genes mediated by Stpk-V is critical for resistance in Stpk-V transgenic plants. Stpk-V orthologous genes in the representative grass species are all located on homologous group six chromosomes, indicating that Stpk-V is an ancient gene in the grasses. Over-expression of Stpk-V enhanced host resistance to powdery mildew in barley but not in Arabidopsis. Our results enable a better understanding of the resistance mechanism mediated by Stpk-V, and establish a solid foundation for its use in cereal breeding as a gene resource.

Peginterferon is preferable to entecavir for prevention of unfavourable events in patients with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B: A five-year observational cohort study

At present, the long-term effects of pegylated interferon-α (PEG-IFN-α) and entecavir (ETV) are controversial. Studies directly compared the long-term outcomes of these two drugs have not been completed. This study was designed to compare the clinical outcomes of PEG-IFN-α vs ETV therapy in Chinese patients with chronic HBV infection. From September 2008 to December 2016, a large, observational, open-label, prospective cohort study of HBeAg-positive patients with CHB who received PEG-IFN-α or ETV therapy was carried out at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. Cumulative incidences of unfavourable events were calculated with respect to treatment type. Based on the REACH-B model, we compared the observed incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with the expected incidence in each group. PEG-IFN-α-treated patients showed a lower cumulative incidences of unfavourable events and cirrhosis than those treated with ETV (P = .031; P = .044, respectively). Impact factor exploration indicated that treatment type and platelet count are significantly associated with the occurrence of unfavourable events. Based on the REACH-B model, a lower observed cumulative incidence of HCC was observed in PEG-IFN-α-treated patients than predicted (P = .038). However, there was no significant difference of the cumulative HCC incidence between the observed and the predicted cases for ETV-experienced patients (P = .36). Treatment with PEG-INF-α leads to a lower incidence of unfavourable events including cirrhosis and HCC than ETV in patients with HBV. Treatment type and baseline platelet count may be two important factors associated with the long-term clinical outcomes of patients with CHB.

[A new challenge in clinical practice: resistance to directly acting antivirals in hepatitis C treatment]

Directly acting antivirals (DAAs) is a major treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) overseas. But DAAs resistance is getting more and more clinicians' attention. DAAs have not been approved in China to date, even though some of them are in clinical trials. However, a good knowledge of DAAs resistance is important on optimizing HCV treatment regimens, increasing sustained virological response (SVR) and decreasing treatment failure in clinical. In this review, DAAs resistance mechanism and virologic barrier to resistance, the prevalence of pre-existing DAAs resistance-associated variants (RAVs), the impact of RAVs on treatment outcome, the options of treatment regimens after resistance and drug resistance testing are discussed, hoping to provide some help for DAAs' standardized treatment in China in the future.

[Current status of treatment of chronic hepatitis C and related challenges in the "Pre-DAA Era" in China]

The condition of chronic hepatitis C is becoming more and more serious in China, and its disease burden and social and economic burdens are growing heavier. Currently, the standard regimen for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in China is the PR regimen, namely pegylated interferon combined with ribavirin; however, there are still many shortcomings in this regimen. In the world, there is rapid clinical progress in direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) for the treatment of hepatitis C, and DAAs will soon be approved and marketed in China, ushering the "DAA Era" of hepatitis C treatment. This article reviews the disease burden of chronic hepatitis C and problems in the standard regimen in clinical treatment and briefly introduces the advantages and challenges of DAAs regimens, in order to provide a reference for the upcoming "DAA Era" of hepatitis C treatment in China.

Metabolic and spatio-taxonomic response of uncultivated seafloor bacteria following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

The release of 700 million liters of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over a few months in 2010 produced dramatic changes in the microbial ecology of the water and sediment. Here, we reconstructed the genomes of 57 widespread uncultivated bacteria from post-spill deep-sea sediments, and recovered their gene expression pattern across the seafloor. These genomes comprised a common collection of bacteria that were enriched in heavily affected sediments around the wellhead. Although rare in distal sediments, some members were still detectable at sites up to 60 km away. Many of these genomes exhibited phylogenetic clustering indicative of common trait selection by the environment, and within half we identified 264 genes associated with hydrocarbon degradation. Alkane degradation ability was near ubiquitous among candidate hydrocarbon degraders, whereas just three harbored elaborate gene inventories for the degradation of alkanes and aromatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Differential gene expression profiles revealed a spill-promoted microbial sulfur cycle alongside gene upregulation associated with PAH degradation. Gene expression associated with alkane degradation was widespread, although active alkane degrader identities changed along the pollution gradient. Analyses suggest that a broad metabolic capacity to respond to oil inputs exists across a large array of usually rare indigenous deep-sea bacteria.

Concurrent chemoradiotherapy with weekly nedaplatin versus radiotherapy alone in elderly patients with non-small-cell lung cancer

PURPOSE

We conduct this study to compare the efficacy and toxicity of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) concurrent weekly nedaplatin (NDP) versus IMRT alone in the stage III/IV non-surgical elderly patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

METHODS

117 patients were enrolled into our study. The patients were assigned into two different groups: radiotherapy (RT) group and chemoradiotherapy (CRT) group. Patients in RT group were treated with IMRT at a single daily dose of 2 Gy for 5 days per week, totally 52-66 Gy. The CRT group, IMRT concurrent weekly NDP at a dose of 25 mg/m².

RESULTS

In CRT group, the median survival was 11.0 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.894-13.106 months) and in RT group, it was 7.0 months (95% CI 5.771-8.229 months). The 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, survival rates in the combined treatment arm were higher than the radiation therapy arm (46.8 vs 25.9%, 25.1 vs 11.8%, 14.7 vs 8.0%; p < 0.001). The Cox's multiple regression analysis showed that CRT had significantly better overall survival than RT (HR 0.523; 95.0% CI 0.338-0.807; p = 0.003). The objective response rate provided that 73.3% treated with CRT compared with 51.1% (p = 0.018) received RT alone. Of the hematologic toxicities, leukocytes (35.0 vs 0%; p < 0.001), neutrophils (33.3 vs 0%; p < 0.001) were significantly more common in the CRT group than the RT group.

CONCLUSIONS

We first discovered that NDP concurrent IMRT for treating stage III/IV non-surgical elderly patients with NSCLC was good curative effect of better objective response rate and well-tolerated. However, within the low number of patients, only stage IV gained a survival benefit.

Molecular and hydrodynamic properties of human epidermal growth factor receptor HER2 extracellular domain and its homodimer: Experiments and multi-scale simulations

BACKGROUND

In a broad range of human carcinomas gene amplification leads to HER2 overexpression, which has been proposed to cause spontaneous dimerization and activation in the absence of ligand. This makes HER2 attractive as a therapeutic target. However, the HER2 homodimerization mechanism remains unexplored. It has been suggested that the "back-to-back" homodimer does not form in solution. Notwithstanding, very recently the crystal structure of the HER2 extracellular domain homodimer formed with a "back-to-head" interaction has been resolved. We intend to explore the existence of such interactions.

METHODS

A combination of experiments, molecular dynamics and hydrodynamic modeling were used to monitor the transport properties of HER2 in solution.

RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS

We have detected the HER2 extracellular domain homodimer in solution. The results show a high degree of molecular flexibility, which ultimately leads to quite higher values of the intrinsic viscosity and lower values of diffusion coefficient than those corresponding to globular proteins. This flexibility obeys to the open conformation of the receptor and to the large fluctuations of the different domains. We also report that for obtaining the correct hydrodynamic constants from the modeling one must consider the glycosylation of the systems.

GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE

Conformational features of epidermal growth factor receptors regulate their hydrodynamic properties and control their activity. It is essential to understand the dynamics of these systems and the role of the specific domains involved. To find biophysical correlations between dynamics and macroscopic transport properties is of general interest for researches working in this area. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Biochemistry of Synthetic Biology - Recent Developments" Guest Editor: Dr. Ilka Heinemann and Dr. Patrick O'Donoghue.

Clinical application of a gadolinium-based capsule as an MRI contrast agent in slow transit constipation diagnostics

BACKGROUND

As a traditional method for the assessment of colon dynamics, radio-opaque markers (ROMs) are limited in clinical use because of their ionizing radiation. We compared the accuracy and applicability of gadolinium-based capsules with ROMs in the measurement of colon dynamics in healthy controls and slow transit constipation (STC) patients.

METHODS

Seven patients with STC and nine healthy controls under a normal diet orally consumed ROMs and gadolinium-based capsules simultaneously. All subjects underwent X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Healthy control images were acquired at 12, 24, and 48 h, and STC patient images were acquired at 24, 48, and 72 h. The scores based on the position of the labeling capsules and ROMs in the colon and the colon transit times (CTTs) in the two groups were compared.

KEY RESULTS

The CTTs obtained via the ROMs were 34.7±17.4 and 67.3±6.5 h in the healthy controls and STC patients, respectively (P<.05). The CTTs obtained via MRI were 30.9±15.9 and 74.1±7.2 h in the healthy controls and STC patients, respectively (P<.05). The CTTs of the STC patients were significantly longer than the healthy controls. The correlation (r_s ) between the scores based on the position of the labeling capsule and ROMs in the healthy group and the STC patients was .880 (P<.05) and .889 (P<.05), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS AND INFERENCES

As a MRI contrast label, gadolinium-based capsules exhibit results comparable to ROMs in colon motility measurements.

[Role of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in hepatitis B virus replication and its possible mechanism of action]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the role of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) in hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication and its possible mechanism of action.

METHODS

Tissue microarray, quantitative real-time PCR, and Western blot were performed to analyze the differences in G6PD expression levels in the HBV-positive and HBV-negative liver tissues, HepG2.2.15 cells, and HepG2 cells. The siRNA transfection technique was used to knock down G6PD gene in HepG2.2.15 cells for 48 hours. Chemiluminescence was used for HBsAg and HBeAg quantification in supernatant, and quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure HBV DNA, type I interferon (IFN), and downstream IFN-stimulated genes. The t-test was used for comparison between groups.

RESULTS

G6PD expression was significantly upregulated in the HBV-positive liver tissues and cells compared with HBV-negative liver tissues and cells, and the stain intensity and immunohistochemical scores were 89.69±54.92 and 31.90±18.62, respectively (P < 0.05). After G6PD expression in HepG2.2.15 cells was interfered by siRNA, the quantitative levels of HBV DNA, HBsAg, and HBeAg in supernatant were reduced significantly, and the mRNA expression levels of IFNα1, IFNβ1, and five downstream IFN-stimulated genes (OAS1, ISG15, OAS3, EIF2α, and PKR) increased significantly (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

G6PD plays a vital role in HBV replication, and its mechanism of action in regulating HBV replication may be related to type I IFN signaling pathway.

Siglec-7 Defines a Highly Functional Natural Killer Cell Subset and Inhibits Cell-Mediated Activities

Sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectin-7 (Siglec-7) is an inhibitory receptor expressed on natural killer (NK) cells. In this study, we investigated the relationship between Siglec-7 expression and NK cell functions. Siglec-7 was highly expressed on NK cells and was preferentially expressed by mature NK cells from peripheral blood of healthy adults. Siglec-7(+) NK cells displayed higher levels of activating receptors CD38, CD16, DNAM1, NKp30 and NKp46, but lower levels of inhibitory receptors such as NKG2A and CD158b, compared with Siglec-7(-) NK cells. Functional tests showed that Siglec-7(+) NK cells displayed more CD107a degranulation and IFN-γ production than Siglec-7(-) NK cells. Siglec-7 inhibited NK cell functions when interacting with specific antibodies. These data suggest that Siglec-7 defines a highly functional NK cell subset and suppresses NK cell-mediated functions when cross-linked with specific antibodies.

A rational catalyst design of CO oxidation using the bonding contribution equation

A rational design of heterogeneous catalysts is an important yet challenging task.

Formulating the bonding contribution equation in heterogeneous catalysis: a quantitative description between the surface structure and adsorption energy

The relation between the surface structure and adsorption energy of adsorbates is of great importance in heterogeneous catalysis.

Selective hydrogenation of acetylene over Cu(211), Ag(211) and Au(211): Horiuti–Polanyi mechanism vs. non-Horiuti–Polanyi mechanism

The Horiuti–Polanyi and non-Horiuti–Polanyi mechanisms are thoroughly examined and compared for the hydrogenation of C₂ hydrocarbons using DFT calculations.

Significant enhancement of the selectivity of propylene epoxidation for propylene oxide: a molecular oxygen mechanism

As an attractive and environmentally friendly process for propylene oxide (PO) production, direct epoxidation of propylene (DEP) with molecular oxygen catalyzed by metal-based catalysts such as Ag and Cu has drawn much attention, but remains one of the biggest challenges in chemistry.

Cryomicroscopic analysis of intracellular ice formation in porcine iliac endothelial cells upon cooling

　　BACKGROUND: Intracellular ice formation (IIF) plays an important role in cryopreservation and cryosurgery. IIF in porcine iliac endothelial cells (PIECs) has not been fully investigated.

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the phenomenon of IIF in PIECs during freezing.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The cryomicroscopy system was used for observation of the cell morphology and for the count of IIF during freezing, while the theoretical model for probability IIF (PIF) was used to determine the nucleation kinetic and thermodynamic parameters.

RESULTS

PIF was observed at 40, 80 and 100 degree C/min upon cooling and 100 degree C/min upon warming, in the presence and absence of 1 M dimethyl sulfoxide (Me2SO). The kinetic and thermodynamic parameters were obtained by fitting the PIF model to experimental data.

CONCLUSION

PIF increases along with the increased cooling rate. The addition of 1 M dimethyl sulfoxide (Me2SO) decreases the onset IIF temperature, but increases PIF. Cooling rate and Me2SO concentration significantly affect IIF. The finding has significant implications in both cryopreservation and cryosurgery.

Characterization of high-performance organic dyes for dye-sensitized solar cell: a DFT/TDDFT study

Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is currently a promising technology that makes solar energy efficient and cost-effective to harness. In DSSC, metal-free dyes such as indoline-containing D149 and D205 have been proven to be potential alternatives for traditional metal organic dyes. In this work, a DFT/TDDFT characterization for D149 and D205 was carried out using different functionals, including B3LYP, MPW1K, CAM–B3LYP, and PBE0. Three different conformers for D149 and four different conformers for D205 were identified and calculated in a vacuum. The performance of different functionals on calculating the maximum absorbance of the dyes in a vacuum and five common solvents (acetonitrile, chloroform, ethanol, methanol, and THF) were examined and compared to determine the suitable computational setting for predicting properties of these two dyes. Furthermore, deprotonated D149 and D205 in solvents were also considered, and the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) were calculated, which elucidates the substitution effect on the rhodanine ring of D149 and D205 dyes on their efficiency. Finally, D149 and D205 molecules were confirmed to be firmly anchored on ZnO surface by periodic DFT calculations. These results shed light on the design of new, highly efficient metal-free dyes.

Clinical application of whole-genome low-coverage next-generation sequencing to detect and characterize balanced chromosomal translocations

Individuals carrying balanced translocations have a high risk of birth defects, recurrent spontaneous abortions and infertility. Thus, the detection and characterization of balanced translocations is important to reveal the genetic background of the carriers and to provide proper genetic counseling. Next-generation sequencing (NGS), which has great advantages over other methods such as karyotyping and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), has been used to detect disease-associated breakpoints. Herein, to evaluate the application of this technology to detect balanced translocations in the clinic, we performed a parental study for prenatal cases with unbalanced translocations. Eight candidate families with potential balanced translocations were investigated using two strategies in parallel, low-coverage whole-genome sequencing (WGS) followed-up by Sanger sequencing and G-banding karyotype coupled with FISH. G-banding analysis revealed three balanced translocations, and FISH detected two cryptic submicroscopic balanced translocations. Consistently, WGS detected five balanced translocations and mapped all the breakpoints by Sanger sequencing. Analysis of the breakpoints revealed that six genes were disrupted in the four apparently healthy carriers. In summary, our result suggested low-coverage WGS can detect balanced translocations reliably and can map breakpoints precisely compared with conventional procedures. WGS may replace cytogenetic methods in the diagnosis of balanced translocation carriers in the clinic.