A Novel DNA Synthesis Platform Design with High-Throughput Paralleled Addressability and High-Density Static Droplet Confinement

Using DNA as the next-generation medium for data storage offers unparalleled advantages in terms of data density, storage duration, and power consumption as compared to existing data storage technologies. To meet the high-speed data writing requirements in DNA data storage, this paper proposes a novel design for an ultra-high-density and high-throughput DNA synthesis platform. The presented design mainly leverages two functional modules: a dynamic random-access memory (DRAM)-like integrated circuit (IC) responsible for electrode addressing and voltage supply, and the static droplet array (SDA)-based microfluidic structure to eliminate any reaction species diffusion concern in electrochemical DNA synthesis. Through theoretical analysis and simulation studies, we validate the effective addressing of 10 million electrodes and stable, adjustable voltage supply by the integrated circuit. We also demonstrate a reaction unit size down to 3.16 × 3.16 μm2, equivalent to 10 million/cm2, that can rapidly and stably generate static droplets at each site, effectively constraining proton diffusion. Finally, we conducted a synthesis cycle experiment by incorporating fluorescent beacons on a microfabricated electrode array to examine the feasibility of our design.

Investigating the Association between the Autophagy Markers LC3B, SQSTM1/p62, and DRAM and Autophagy-Related Genes in Glioma

High-grade gliomas are extremely fatal tumors, marked by severe hypoxia and therapeutic resistance. Autophagy is a cellular degradative process that can be activated by hypoxia, ultimately resulting in tumor advancement and chemo-resistance. Our study aimed to examine the link between autophagy markers' expression in low-grade gliomas (LGGs) and high-grade gliomas (HGGs). In 39 glioma cases, we assessed the protein expression of autophagy markers LC3B, SQSTM1/p62, and DRAM by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and the mRNA expression of the autophagy genes PTEN, PI3K, AKT, mTOR, ULK1, ULK2, UVRAG, Beclin 1, and VPS34 using RT-qPCR. LC3B, SQSTM1/p62, and DRAM expression were positive in 64.1%, 51.3%, and 28.2% of glioma cases, respectively. The expression of LC3B and SQSTM1/p62 was notably higher in HGGs compared to LGGs. VPS34 exhibited a significant differential expression, displaying increased fold change in HGGs compared to LGGs. Additionally, it exhibited robust positive associations with Beclin1 (rs = 0.768), UVRAG (rs = 0.802), and ULK2 (rs = 0.786) in HGGs. This underscores a potential association between autophagy and the progression of gliomas. We provide preliminary data for the functional analysis of autophagy using a cell culture model and to identify potential targets for therapeutic interventions.

True Nonvolatile High-Speed DRAM Cells Using Tailored Ultrathin IGZO

Severe power consumption in the continuous scaling of Silicon-based dynamic random access memory (DRAM) technology quests for a transistor technology with a much lower off-state leakage current. Wide bandgap amorphous oxide semiconductors, especially indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (IGZO) exhibit many orders of magnitude lower off-state leakage. However, they are typically heavily n-doped and require negative gate voltage to turn off, which prevents them from true nonvolatile operation. The efforts on doping density reduction typically result in mobility degradation and high Schottky barriers at contacts, causing severe degradation of on-current and operation speed of the DRAM cells. Here, high-speed true nonvolatile DRAM cells are successfully demonstrated by deep suppression of doping density in the IGZO channel using in situ oxygen ion beam treatment and ohmic contact engineering by inserting a thin In-rich indium-tin-oxide (ITO) at contact regions. A record high on-current of 40 µA µm^-1  at a large positive threshold voltage of 1.78 V enables the first true nonvolatile DRAM with the fastest write speed of 10 ns and data retention up to 25 h under power interruption, five orders of magnitude higher than the previously projected values.

Conservative interventions may have little effect on reducing diastasis of the rectus abdominis in postnatal women - A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Diastasis of the rectus abdominis muscle (DRAM) commonly occurs in pregnancy and postnatally. Physiotherapists routinely guide women in its management, although the effectiveness of these treatments is unknown.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the effectiveness of conservative interventions to reduce the presence and width of DRAM in pregnant and postnatal women.

DATA SOURCES

EMBASE, Medline, CINAHL, PUBMED, AMED and PEDro searched until August 2021.

STUDY SELECTION/ELIGIBILITY

Randomised control trials examining any conservative interventions to manage DRAM during the ante- and postnatal periods were included.

STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS METHODS

Methodological quality was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool. Meta-analyses were performed using a random effects model to calculate mean differences (MD) and odds ratios (OR). A GRADE approach determined the certainty of evidence for each meta-analysis.

RESULTS

Sixteen trials with 698 women during the postnatal period were included. No trials evaluated interventions during the antenatal period. All interventions included some form of abdominal exercise. Other interventions included abdominal binding, kinesiotape and electrical stimulation. There was moderate certainty evidence from six trials (n = 161) that abdominal exercise led to a small reduction in inter-recti distance (MD -0.43 cm, 95% CI -0.82 to -0.05) in postnatal women compared to usual care.

LIMITATIONS

Three of the 16 trials had a low risk of bias.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Conservative interventions do not lead to clinically significant reductions in inter-recti distance in women postnatally but abdominal exercises may have other physical and psychosocial benefits in the management of DRAM. Systematic Review Registration Number PROSPERO (CRD42020172529).

Umbilical hernia: could it be the 'canary in the coal mine' for a more significant abdominal wall problem?

BACKGROUND

A considerable proportion of incisional hernias presenting to this unit evolve following simple umbilical hernia repair. Our aim was to review our series of complex ventral hernia repairs and identify the frequency of this problem. Our secondary aim was to encourage surgeons to evaluate whether any of the factors that increase the risk of recurrent hernia may be present, prior to undertaking an umbilical hernia repair.

METHODS

Observational retrospective review of a prospectively maintained single-surgeon database of consecutive patients undergoing surgery for recurrent ventral hernia. Patients presenting with recurrence at the site of a previous umbilical hernia repair were identified and their demographic data collected and analysed. A review of the published literature was performed. Patient and surgeon factors contributing to recurrence were identified and discussed.

RESULTS

Of 386 patients undergoing surgery for a recurrent ventral hernial, 102 (26.4%) were initially managed as 'simple' umbilical hernias repaired with a mesh patch or primary suture repair. 71 (69.6%) patients had undergone one or more subsequent hernia repairs prior to referral to our unit with 16 (15.6%) having had three or more repairs prior to referral.

CONCLUSION

Recurrence rates after umbilical hernia repair are likely to be much higher than surgeons and patients appreciate. There are many aspects to consider in the repair of a 'simple' umbilical hernia and we seek promote a discussion amongst surgeons that umbilical hernias be assessed as a major abdominal wall condition and not relegated to minor surgery status.

Reconfigurable Architecture and Dataflow for Memory Traffic Minimization of CNNs Computation

Computation of convolutional neural network (CNN) requires a significant amount of memory access, which leads to lots of energy consumption. As the increase of neural network scale, this phenomenon is further obvious, the energy consumption of memory access and data migration between on-chip buffer and off-chip DRAM is even much more than the computation energy on processing element array (PE array). In order to reduce the energy consumption of memory access, a better dataflow to maximize data reuse and minimize data migration between on-chip buffer and external DRAM is important. Especially, the dimension of input feature map (ifmap) and filter weight are much different for each layer of the neural network. Hardware resources may not be effectively utilized if the array architecture and dataflow cannot be reconfigured layer by layer according to their ifmap dimension and filter dimension, and result in a large quantity of data migration on certain layers. However, a thorough exploration of all possible configurations is time consuming and meaningless. In this paper, we propose a quick and efficient methodology to adapt the configuration of PE array architecture, buffer assignment, dataflow and reuse methodology layer by layer with the given CNN architecture and hardware resource. In addition, we make an exploration on the different combinations of configuration issues to investigate their effectiveness and can be used as a guide to speed up the thorough exploration process.

Gateless and Capacitorless Germanium Biristor with a Vertical Pillar Structure

For the first time, a novel germanium (Ge) bi-stable resistor (biristor) with a vertical pillar structure was implemented on a bulk substrate. The basic structure of the Ge pillar-typed biristor is a p-n-p bipolar junction transistor (BJT) with an open base (floating), which is equivalent to a gateless p-channel metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). In the pillar formation, we adopted an amorphous carbon layer to protect the Ge surface from both physical and chemical damage by subsequent processes. A hysteric current-voltage (I-V) characteristic, which results in a sustainable binary state, i.e., high current and low current at the same voltage, can be utilized for a memory device. A lower operating voltage with high current was achieved, compared to a Si biristor, due to the low energy bandgap of pure Ge.

Autophagy-mediated cytoplasmic accumulation of p53 leads to apoptosis through DRAM-BAX in cadmium-exposed human proximal tubular cells

The tumor suppressor p53 is involved in cadmium (Cd)-induced apoptosis and autophagy. However, the regulatory mechanisms of p53 in Cd-induced kidney injury are not well established. Here, we report the role of autophagy in Cd-induced p53 induction in human proximal tubular cells (HK-2). HK-2 cells treated with Cd induced the expression of p53, DNA damage autophagy modulator (DRAM), and Bcl-2-associated X protein (BAX), as well as caused poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase 1 (PARP-1) cleavage. Cd exposure also induced autophagy with the accumulation of monomeric p62 and multiple high molecular weight form (HMW)-p62. The expression levels of p53, p62, microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B-light chain 3 (LC3)-1, and LC3-II were similar in the sense that they increased up to 12 h and then gradually decreased. DRAM and BAX levels began to increase post autophagy induction and continued to increase, indicating that autophagy preceded apoptosis. While the genetic knockdown of p53 downregulated HWM-p62, DRAM, and BAX, the expression levels of these proteins were upregulated by p53 overexpression. The genetic knockdown of p62 downregulated p53, autophagy, DRAM, and BAX. The inhibition of autophagy through pharmacological and genetic knockdown reduced p53 and inhibited Cd-induced apoptosis. Collectively, Cd induces apoptosis through p53-mediated DRAM-BAX signaling, which can be regulated by autophagy.

Establishing measurement properties in the assessment of inter-recti distance of the abdominal muscles in a postnatal women

BACKGROUND

Diastasis of the rectus abdominis muscle is often evaluated in clinical practice but it is unknown which clinical method has the best measurement properties.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to determine: (i) the criterion validity of the callipers, tape measure and finger-width to evaluate the inter-recti distance of the abdominal muscles compared to ultrasound; and (ii) inter-rater and retest reliability of these methods.

DESIGN

Measurement study.

METHODS

Two physiotherapists assessed the inter-recti distance of rectus abdominis on 50 women postnatally using the three clinical methods. These measurements were compared to ultrasound and assessed for inter-rater and retest reliability.

RESULTS

Callipers had very good positive correlations with ultrasound (r = 0.85 to 0.99) and narrow limits of agreement (LOA) (<6 mm). Finger-width and tape measure had moderate to very good correlation with ultrasound (tape measure r = 0.82 to 0.98; finger-width r = 0.75 to 0.98) with wider limits of agreement (tape measure LOA <8 mm; finger-width LOA <18 mm). Callipers demonstrated excellent inter-rater (ICC = 0.80 to 0.99) and retest (ICC = 1.00) reliability. Inter-rater reliability testing was very good for tape measure (ICC = 0.80 to 0.97) and moderate to very good (ICC = 0.44 to 0.85) for finger-width. Retest reliability demonstrated very good reliability (ICC = 0.99 to 1.00) for both finger-width and tape measure. The largest inter-recti distances, strongest correlations and reliability were found at the level of the lower umbilicus.

CONCLUSION

Callipers, tape measure and finger-width are valid and reliable methods of measuring inter-recti distance in postnatal women. Validity, and relative and absolute reliability were found to be the strongest using the callipers.

In-DRAM Cache Management for Low Latency and Low Power 3D-Stacked DRAMs

Recently, 3D-stacked dynamic random access memory (DRAM) has become a promising solution for ultra-high capacity and high-bandwidth memory implementations. However, it also suffers from memory wall problems due to long latency, such as with typical 2D-DRAMs. Although there are various cache management techniques and latency hiding schemes to reduce DRAM access time, in a high-performance system using high-capacity 3D-stacked DRAM, it is ultimately essential to reduce the latency of the DRAM itself. To solve this problem, various asymmetric in-DRAM cache structures have recently been proposed, which are more attractive for high-capacity DRAMs because they can be implemented at a lower cost in 3D-stacked DRAMs. However, most research mainly focuses on the architecture of the in-DRAM cache itself and does not pay much attention to proper management methods. In this paper, we propose two new management algorithms for the in-DRAM caches to achieve a low-latency and low-power 3D-stacked DRAM device. Through the computing system simulation, we demonstrate the improvement of energy delay product up to 67%.

DRAM is Involved in Hypoxia/Ischemia-Induced Autophagic Apoptosis in Hepatocytes

Liver hypoxia/ischemia injury leads to acute liver injury, delayed graft dysfunction, and failure during liver transplantation. Previous studies showed that autophagy is involved in liver hypoxia/ischemia injury. Our and others’ studies have found that the damage-regulated autophagy modulator (DRAM) could induce the autophagic apoptosis. However, the role of DRAM regulating autophagy in liver hypoxia/ischemia injury remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine whether DRAM is involved in oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD)-induced hepatocyte autophagic apoptosis. Normal hepatocytes (HL-7702) were treated with OGD while Balb/c mice underwent surgery to induce 70% liver ischemia. To evaluate the role of DRAM in hypoxia/ischemia-induced hepatic injury, DRAM siRNA was used to knockdown DRAM expression in cultured hepatocytes and a recombinant adenovirus vector expressing DRAM was used to overexpress DRAM in cultured hepatocytes in vitro and in the liver in vivo. Hepatic injury was analyzed by histopathological methods and measurement of hepatocyte enzyme release. Cell apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry and TUNEL staining. Several autophagic biomarkers were observed by western blot analysis. OGD and 70% hepatic ischemia significantly induced cell autophagy, apoptosis and DRAM expression in hepatocytes in vitro and in vivo. OGD-induced autophagic apoptosis was inhibited by 3-Methyladenine (3-MA). OGD-induced injury and autophagy in HL-7702 cells were significantly attenuated by DRAM knockdown but aggravated by DRAM overexpression in vitro. Similarly, DRAM overexpression increased ischemia-induced liver injury and hepatic apoptosis in vivo. Our data demonstrate that hypoxia/ischemia induces hepatic injury through a DRAM-dependent autophagic apoptosis pathway. These data also suggest that DRAM plays an important role in ischemia-induced liver injury and hepatocyte apoptosis.

Morphotropic Phase Boundary of Hf1- xZr xO2 Thin Films for Dynamic Random Access Memories

The utilization of the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) between the newly found ferroelectric orthorhombic phase and the tetragonal phase in an HfO₂-ZrO₂ solid solution is suggested for a high-capacitance dielectric capacitor. Being different from other high- k dielectrics, where the k value decreases with decreasing film thickness, these films (Hf/Zr ratio = 6:4, 5:5, 3:7) showed increasing k values with decreasing film thicknesses in the ∼5-20 nm range. Among them, Hf_0.5Zr_0.5O₂ and Hf_0.3Zr_0.7O₂ films showed 47 and 43 peak k values at 6.5 and 9.2 nm thicknesses, respectively, suggesting the involvement of the MPB phenomenon. For the systematic understanding of this peculiar phenomenon, the phase evolution of the HfO₂-ZrO₂ solid solution is presented based on experimental observations. The detailed electrical tests of the films with different compositions and thicknesses demonstrated that the characteristic feature of this material system is consistent with the involvement of the MPB depending on the composition and thickness. Through the optimization of the annealing process for crystallization, a 0.62 nm minimum equivalent oxide thickness was reported for the 6.5 nm thick Hf_0.5Zr_0.5O₂ film, which is highly promising for the future dynamic random access memories. This work provided a breakthrough method for overcoming the fundamental limitation of a decreasing k value with a decreasing film thickness of other high- k dielectrics.

Effect of Growth Temperature during the Atomic Layer Deposition of the SrTiO3 Seed Layer on the Properties of RuO2/SrTiO3/Ru Capacitors for Dynamic Random Access Memory Applications

The atomic layer deposition process of SrTiO₃ (STO) films at 230 °C was studied with Sr(ⁱPr₃Cp)₂ and Ti(CpMe₅)(OMe)₃ (Pr, Cp, and Me are propyl, cyclopentadienyl, and methyl groups, respectively) on Ru substrates. The growth behavior and properties of STO films grown at 230 °C were compared with those deposited at 370 °C. With the limited over-reaction of the Sr precursor during the initial growth stage at a lower temperature, the cation composition was more controllable, and the surface morphology after crystallization annealing at 650 °C had more uniform grains with fewer defects. Here, the excess reaction of the Sr precursor means the chemical-vapor-deposition-like growth of the SrO component mediated through the thermal decomposition of the adsorbed Sr precursor molecules. It was by the reaction of the Sr precursor with the oxygen supplied from the partly oxidized Ru substrate. The second STO was grown at 370 °C (main layer) on the annealed first STO layer (crystallized seed layer) to lead to the in situ crystallization of the main layer. Due to the improved microstructure of STO films induced by the seed layer deposited at 230 °C, the bulk dielectric constant of 167 was obtained for the main layer, which was higher than the value of 101 where the seed layer was deposited at 370 °C, even though the crystallization annealing condition of the seed layer and the deposition condition of the main layer were consistent. The seed layer grown at 230 °C, however, had a lower dielectric constant of only ∼49, whereas the high-temperature seed layer had a dielectric constant of ∼106. Therefore, the low-temperature seed layer posed a severe limitation in acquiring an advanced capacitor property with the involvement of a low-dielectric interfacial layer.

Effect of autophagy gene DRAM on proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis, and autophagy of osteoblast in osteoporosis rats

OBJECTIVE

The research aimed at detecting the autophagy level of osteoblast in osteoporosis rat, and investigating the effect of autophagy gene damage-regulated autophagy modulator (DRAM) on osteoblast proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis, and autophagy.

METHODS

The level of osteocalcin (OCN) and C-telopeptide (CTX) in serum of ovariectomized (OVX) rats was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The Oil Red-O staining was used to observing bone histological changes. The messenger RNA level and protein expression level of Runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2; osteoblast markers) and other autophagy-related genes were revealed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blot. The changes of autophagy in osteoblasts were detected by immunofluorescence staining. The following experiments were performed in osteoblasts of OVX rats through transfected with silencing DRAM to detecting cell proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis by Cell Counting Kit-8 assays and flow cytometry.

RESULTS

The result of ELISA showed a significantly elevated of OCN and CTX in OVX rats as well a high fat content compared with sham-operated rats. The expression of Runx2 in bone of proximal tibia was higher by qRT-PCR and western blot analysis. The immunofluorescence staining and transmission electron microscope observe revealed that pcDNA3-DRAM could promote the autophagy in OVX rats. Besides that, overexpression of DRAM inhibited cell proliferation, promoted apoptosis, and enhanced autophagy in osteoblasts. The results of Oil Red-O staining indicated that overexpression of DRAM enhanced lipid accumulation in osteoporosis rats.

CONCLUSIONS

The autophagy level of OVX rats was weakened, but overexpressed DRAM could increase the autophagy level of osteoblast, suppress proliferation, and induce apoptosis of osteoblast.

The Optimization of Spacer Engineering for Capacitor-Less DRAM Based on the Dual-Gate Tunneling Transistor

The DRAM based on the dual-gate tunneling FET (DGTFET) has the advantages of capacitor-less structure and high retention time. In this paper, the optimization of spacer engineering for DGTFET DRAM is systematically investigated by Silvaco-Atlas tool to further improve its performance, including the reduction of reading "0" current and extension of retention time. The simulation results show that spacers at the source and drain sides should apply the low-k and high-k dielectrics, respectively, which can enhance the reading "1" current and reduce reading "0" current. Applying this optimized spacer engineering, the DGTFET DRAM obtains the optimum performance-extremely low reading "0" current (10^-14A/μm) and large retention time (10s), which decreases its static power consumption and dynamic refresh rate. And the low reading "0" current also enhances its current ratio (10⁷) of reading "1" to reading "0". Furthermore, the analysis about scalability reveals its inherent shortcoming, which offers the further investigation direction for DGTFET DRAM.

Overexpression of apoptosis-inducing factor mitochondrion-associated 1 (AIFM1) induces apoptosis by promoting the transcription of caspase3 and DRAM in hepatoma cells

Full-length apoptosis-inducing factor mitochondrion-associated 1 (AIFM1) (∼67 kDa) induces apoptosis in a caspase-independent manner when it is cleaved at its N-terminus to produce truncated AIFM1 (∼57 kDa). Here, we produced recombinant adenovirus AIFM1 (rAd-AIFM1) encoding full-length AIFM1 to detect whether full-length AIFM1 suppresses cell growth and induces apoptosis of hepatoma cell lines (HepG2 and Hep3B). Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most difficult cancers to treat worldwide. The MTT assay demonstrated that full-length AIFM1 inhibited the growth of hepatoma cells because rAd-AIFM1 infection suppressed the proliferation of HepG2 and Hep3B cells. TUNEL assay demonstrated that full-length AIFM1 overexpression induced apoptosis in HepG2 and Hep3B cells infected with rAd-AIFM1, suggesting an apoptosis-inducing ability of full-length AIFM1. Our data further showed that the expression of two pro-apoptotic genes, caspase3 and DRAM, were involved in full-length AIFM1 infection-induced apoptosis, and full-length AIFM1 could also positively regulate the transcription of caspase3 and DRAM. Thus, overexpression of full-length AIFM1 can induce caspase-dependent apoptosis and suppresses cell growth of hepatoma cells. Our data uncover a potential role of rAd-AIFM1 in HCC gene therapy.

p53-Dependent PUMA to DRAM antagonistic interplay as a key molecular switch in cell-fate decision in normal/high glucose conditions

Background

As an important cellular stress sensor phosphoprotein p53 can trigger cell cycle arrest and apoptosis and regulate autophagy. The p53 activity mainly depends on its transactivating function, however, how p53 can select one or another biological outcome is still a matter of profound studies. Our previous findings indicate that switching cancer cells in high glucose (HG) impairs p53 apoptotic function and the transcription of target gene PUMA.

Methods and results

Here we report that, in response to drug adriamycin (ADR) in HG, p53 efficiently induced the expression of DRAM (damage-regulated autophagy modulator), a p53 target gene and a stress-induced regulator of autophagy. We found that ADR treatment of cancer cells in HG increased autophagy, as displayed by greater LC3II accumulation and p62 degradation compared to ADR-treated cells in low glucose. The increased autophagy in HG was in part dependent on p53-induced DRAM; indeed DRAM knockdown with specific siRNA reversed the expression of the autophagic markers in HG. A similar outcome was achieved by inhibiting p53 transcriptional activity with pifithrin-α. DRAM knockdown restored the ADR-induced cell death in HG to the levels obtained in low glucose. A similar outcome was achieved by inhibition of autophagy with cloroquine (CQ) or with silencing of autophagy gene ATG5. DRAM knockdown or inhibition of autophagy were both able to re-induce PUMA transcription in response to ADR, underlining a reciprocal interplay between PUMA to DRAM to unbalance p53 apoptotic activity in HG. Xenograft tumors transplanted in normoglycemic mice displayed growth delay after ADR treatment compared to those transplanted in diabetics mice and such different in vivo response correlated with PUMA to DRAM gene expression.

Conclusions

Altogether, these findings suggest that in normal/high glucose condition a mutual unbalance between p53-dependent apoptosis (PUMA) and autophagy (DRAM) gene occurred, modifying the ADR-induced cancer cell death in HG both in vitro and in vivo.

The Programming Optimization of Capacitorless 1T DRAM Based on the Dual-Gate TFET

The larger volume of capacitor and higher leakage current of transistor have become the inherent disadvantages for the traditional one transistor (1T)-one capacitor (1C) dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Recently, the tunneling FET (TFET) is applied in DRAM cell due to the low off-state current and high switching ratio. The dual-gate TFET (DG-TFET) DRAM cell with the capacitorless structure has the superior performance-higher retention time (RT) and weak temperature dependence. But the performance of TFET DRAM cell is sensitive to programming condition. In this paper, the guideline of programming optimization is discussed in detail by using simulation tool-Silvaco Atlas. Both the writing and reading operations of DG-TFET DRAM depend on the band-to-band tunneling (BTBT). During the writing operation, the holes coming from BTBT governed by Gate2 are stored in potential well under Gate2. A small negative voltage is applied at Gate2 to retain holes for a long time during holding "1". The BTBT governed by Gate1 mainly influences the reading current. Using the optimized programming condition, the DG-TFET DRAM obtains the higher current ratio of reading "1" to reading "0" (10⁷) and RT of more than 2 s. The higher RT reduces the refresh rate and dynamic power consumption of DRAM.

DRAM Is Involved in Regulating Nucleoside Analog-Induced Neuronal Autophagy in a p53-Independent Manner

The widespread use of combined anti-retroviral therapy (cART) has not decreased the prevalence of HIV-1-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND), a type of neurodegenerative disease, even though cART effectively inhibits virus colonization in the central nervous system. Therefore, anti-retroviral agents cannot be fully excluded from the pathogenesis of HAND. Our previous study reported that long-term nucleoside analogue (NA) exposure induced mitochondrial toxicity in the cortical neurons of HAND patients and mice, but the exact mechanism of NA-associated neurotoxicity has remained unclear. Alteration of autophagy can result in protein aggregation and the accumulation of dysfunctional organelles, which are hallmarks of some neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, we first found increased autophagy in cortical autopsy specimens of AIDS patients. We then found that a low dose of NAs could stimulate autophagy in primary cultured neurons, while a high dose of NAs could induce only neuronal apoptosis. The level of NA-induced Bcl-2 and Bax expressions determined whether neuronal autophagy or apoptosis occurred. Furthermore, the level of NA-induced neuronal apoptosis correlated with the dysfunction of cellular DNA polymerase gamma. Damage-regulated autophagy modulator (DRAM) overexpression was also involved in NA-induced neuronal autophagy. p53 played a role in the regulation of NA-induced neuronal apoptosis, but its role in NA-associated neuronal autophagy was uncertain. Our results suggest that DRAM is involved in the regulation of NA-induced neuronal autophagy in a p53-independent manner. Further research is needed to investigate the underlying mechanism.

Emerging Applications for High K Materials in VLSI Technology

The current status of High K dielectrics in Very Large Scale Integrated circuit (VLSI) manufacturing for leading edge Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) and Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) applications is summarized along with the deposition methods and general equipment types employed. Emerging applications for High K dielectrics in future CMOS are described as well for implementations in 10 nm and beyond nodes. Additional emerging applications for High K dielectrics include Resistive RAM memories, Metal-Insulator-Metal (MIM) diodes, Ferroelectric logic and memory devices, and as mask layers for patterning. Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is a common and proven deposition method for all of the applications discussed for use in future VLSI manufacturing.

Dealcoholated red wine induces autophagic and apoptotic cell death in an osteosarcoma cell line

Until recently, the supposed preventive effects of red wine against cardiovascular diseases, the so-called "French Paradox", has been associated to its antioxidant properties. The interest in the anticancer capacity of polyphenols present in red wine strongly increased consequently to the enormous number of studies on resveratrol. In this study, using lyophilized red wine, we present evidence that its anticancer effect in a cellular model is mediated by apoptotic and autophagic cell death. Using a human osteosarcoma cell line, U2Os, we found that the lyophilized red wine was cytotoxic in a dose-dependent manner with a maximum effect in the range of 100-200 μg/ml equivalents of gallic acid. A mixed phenotype of types I/II cell death was evidenced by means of specific assays following treatment of U2Os with lyophilized red wine, e.g., autophagy and apoptosis. We found that cell death induced by lyophilized red wine proceeded through a mechanism independent from its anti-oxidant activity and involving the inhibition of PI3K/Akt kinase signaling. Considering the relative low concentration of each single bioactive compound in lyophilized red wine, our study suggests the activation of synergistic mechanism able to inhibit growth in malignant cells.

Analysis of primary resistance mutations to HIV-1 entry inhibitors in therapy naive subtype C HIV-1 infected mother-infant pairs from Zambia

BACKGROUND

Small molecular CCR5 inhibitors represent a new class of drugs for treating HIV-1 infection. The evaluation of the primary resistance mutations associated with entry inhibitors during HIV-1 perinatal transmission is required because they may have a profound impact on the clinical management in MTCT.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the primary resistance mutations to maraviroc and vicriviroc during perinatal transmission and analyze the sensitivity of Env derived from mother-infant pairs to maraviroc.

STUDY DESIGN

Nine MIPs infected by subtype C HIV-1 were recruited to analyze the prevalence and transmission of primary resistance mutations to maraviroc and vicriviroc. Moreover, Env derived from six MIPs were employed to construct provirus clones and to analyze the sensitivity to maraviroc.

RESULTS

Mutations A316T, conferring partial resistance to maraviroc, T307I and R315Q, both conferring partial resistance to vicriviroc are prevalent in mother and infant cohorts, indicating the transmission of primary resistance mutations during HIV-1 perinatal transmission. However, the mutations of acutely infected mothers seem to directly transmit to their corresponding infants, while some mutations at low frequency of chronically infected mothers would be lost during transmission. Moreover, provirus clones derived from acutely infected MIPs are less susceptible to maraviroc than those from chronically infected MIPs.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study suggests that the transmission mode of primary resistance mutations and the sensitivity to maraviroc are dependent on infection status of MIPs either acutely or chronically infected. These results may indicate that higher dose of maraviroc could be needed for treatment of acutely infected MIPs compared to chronically infected MIPs.

Crosstalk between apoptosis, necrosis and autophagy

Apoptosis and necrosis are the two major modes of cell death, the molecular mechanisms of which have been extensively studied. Although initially thought to constitute mutually exclusive cellular states, recent findings reveal cellular contexts that require a balanced interplay between these two modes of cellular demise. Several death initiator and effector molecules, signaling pathways and subcellular sites have been identified as key mediators in both processes, either by constituting common modules or alternatively by functioning as a switch allowing cells to decide which route to take, depending on the specific situation. Importantly, autophagy, which is a predominantly cytoprotective process, has been linked to both types of cell death, serving either a pro-survival or pro-death function. Here we review the recent literature that highlights the intricate interplay between apoptosis, necrosis and autophagy, focusing on the relevance and impact of this crosstalk in normal development and in pathology. This article is part of a Special Section entitled: Cell Death Pathways.

Overexpression of DRAM enhances p53-dependent apoptosis

Tumor suppressor p53-dependent apoptosis is thought to be one of the most important tumor-suppressive mechanisms in human tumorigenesis. Till date, "super p53" mutants exhibiting more potent ability to induce apoptosis than wild-type p53 have been reported. These super p53s may provide a clue for development of novel therapeutic targets. However, the major mechanism underlying the super p53-dependent apoptosis remains unclear. To identify critical gene(s) in this mechanism, we performed a comprehensive and comparative expression analysis in p53-null Saos-2 cells with conditional expression of wild-type p53 and S121F, which was previously reported as a super p53 mutant. We identified damage-regulated autophagy modulator (DRAM) as one of the genes that were more upregulated by S121F than wild-type p53. Although knockdown of DRAM was not sufficient for reducing the ability of S121F to induce apoptosis, DRAM overexpression enhanced the ability in a wild-type p53-dependent manner. Here, we show that DRAM is an important gene for the enhancement of p53-dependent apoptosis. Additional analysis of the mechanism of super p53-dependent apoptosis may lead to the identification of novel drug targets for cancer therapy.