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Our aim was to develop an accurate, highly sensitive method for HBV genotype determination and detection of genotype mixtures. We examined the preS and 5′ end of the HBV X gene (5X) regions of the HBV genome using next-generation sequencing (NGS). The 1852 haplotypes obtained were subjected to genotyping via the Distance-Based discrimination method (DB Rule) using two sets of 95 reference sequences of genotypes A–H. In clinical samples from 125 patients, the main genotypes were A, D, F and H in Caucasian, B and C in Asian and A and E in Sub-Saharan patients. Genotype mixtures were identified in 28 (22.40%) cases, and potential intergenotypic recombination was observed in 29 (23.20%) cases. Furthermore, we evaluated sequence conservation among haplotypes classified into genotypes A, C, D, and E by computing the information content. The preS haplotypes exhibited limited shared conserved regions, whereas the 5X haplotypes revealed two groups of conserved regions across the genotypes assessed. In conclusion, we developed an NGS-based HBV genotyping method utilizing the DB Rule for genotype classification. We identified two regions conserved across different genotypes at 5X, offering promising targets for RNA interference-based antiviral therapies.

The ability to spatially resolve the carrier mobility profile along the cross section of micrometer-thin solar cells is vital, both for fundamental studies in photovoltaics and as quality control for reproducibly obtaining high conversion efficiencies in commercial solar cell modules. Presently, no technique capable of such an endeavor is available to the best of our knowledge. Here, we introduce a novel method capable of profiling the carrier mobility along the z axis in thin-film photovoltaics. Our setup is based on the integration of photogenerated charge extraction by linearly increasing voltage (p-CELIV) with a scanning confocal optical microscope (SCOM) toward a confocal and cross-sectional p-CELIV (cs-p-CELIV) system. As monomolecular recombination of excess carriers is the most frequent radiative pathway for electrons and holes in solar cells at low power density of illumination, while multimolecular recombination dominates at high power, enhanced multimolecular recombination occurs at the SCOM focal plane. Thus, the cs-p-CELIV signal provides enhanced information on the mobility of all of the cross-sectional layers except the focal plane. By scanning the focal plane along the z axis, the mobility profile can be derived. To demonstrate our technique, we use it to investigate the carrier mobility in three hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells. The mobility profiles obtained by cs-p-CELIV correlate well with well-known depletion layer effects and the H content profile in a-Si:H, which is measured independently. Our findings are in excellent agreement with models suggesting a critical role of Si–H bonding in locally determining the carrier mobility in a-Si:H. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competitive game-based learning within Second Life enables effective teaching of basic radiological anatomy and radiological signs to medical students, with good acceptance and results when students participate voluntarily, but unknown in a compulsory context. The objectives of this study were to reproduce a competitive online game based on self-guided presentations and multiple-choice tests in a mandatory format, to evaluate its development and student perceptions compared to a voluntary edition in 2015 (N = 90). In 2016 and 2017, respectively, 191 and 182 third-year medical students participated in the game as a mandatory course activity. The mean (±SD) score of the game was 74.7% (±19.5%) in 2015, 71.2% (±21.5%) in 2016, and 67.5% (±21.5%) in 2017 (P < 0.01). Participants valued positively the organization and educational contents but found the virtual world less attractive and the game less interesting than in the voluntary edition. The experience globally was rated with 8.2 (±1.5), 7.8 (±1.5), and 7.1 (±1.7) mean points (±SD) in a ten-point scale, in the 2015, 2016, and 2017 editions, respectively (P < 0.05). Competitive learning games within virtual worlds like Second Life have great learning potential in radiology, but the mean score in the game decreased, acceptance of virtual world technology was lower, and opinion about the game was worse with a compulsory participation, and even worse when dropouts were not allowed. Under the conditions in which this study was conducted, learning games in three-dimensional virtual environments should be voluntary to maintain adequate motivation and engagement of medical students.

A osteoartropatia hipertrófica tem sido mais freqüentemente associada a câncer de pulmão. Raramente tem sido relacionada a doença metastática pulmonar, especialmente em osteossarcomas, sarcomas de partes moles, tumores do nasofaringe e uterinos. Os autores relatam o primeiro caso de uma síndrome de osteoartropatia relacionada a um carcinoma mucoepidermóide da glândula parótida metastático para pulmão. A evidência desta síndrome sugeriu a presença de patologia intratorácica. A ressecção de múltiplos nódulos pulmonares trouxe alívio transitório dos sintomas.

Entre agosto/83 e dezembro/85, oitenta e três pacientes portadores de câncer de mama avançado e resistente a múltiplos agentes quimioterápicos foram tratados com Mitomicina C 10mg/m2 iv 6/6 semanas e Vimblastina 6mg/m2 iv 3/3 semanas. Setenta e dois pacientes eram avaliáveis quanto à resposta. Observou-se resposta completa em 3 pacientes (4,1 %), resposta parcial em 7 pacientes (9,7%) e doença estabilizada por 3 ou mais meses em 23 pacientes (31,9%). A toxicidade foi considerada moderada, consistindo principalmente de mielossupressão, neurotoxicidade e náuseas. A combinação Mitomicina C e Vimblastina beneficiou um número significativo de pacientes portadores de câncer de mama refratário, podendo ser considerada especialmente naqueles com um bom "performance status".

In this work, we determine the dissociation line of the nitrogen (N2) hydrate by computer simulation using the TIP4P/Ice model for water and the TraPPE force field for N2. We use the solubility method proposed recently by some of us to evaluate the dissociation temperature of the hydrate at different pressures, from 500 to 1500 bar. Particularly, we calculate the solubility of N2 in the aqueous solution when it is in contact with a N2-rich liquid phase and when in contact with the hydrate phase via planar interfaces as functions of temperature. Since the solubility of N2 decreases with temperature in the first case and increases with temperature in the second case, both curves intersect at a certain temperature that determines the dissociation temperature at a given pressure. We find a good agreement between the predictions obtained in this work and the experimental data taken from the literature in the range of pressures considered in this work. From our knowledge of the solubility curves of N2 in the aqueous solution, we also determine the driving force for nucleation of the hydrate, as a function of temperature, at different pressures. In particular, we use two different thermodynamic routes to evaluate the change in chemical potential for hydrate formation. Although the driving force for nucleation slightly decreases (in absolute value) when the pressure is increased, our results indicate that the effect of pressure can be considered negligible in the range of pressures studied in this work. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time the driving force for nucleation of a hydrate that exhibits crystallographic structure sII, along its dissociation line, is studied from computer simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we introduce the notions of generalized fractional integrals for the interval-valued functions (IVFs) of two variables. We establish Hermite-Hadamard (H-H) type inequalities and some related inequalities for co-ordinated convex IVFs by using the newly defined integrals. The fundamental benefit of these inequalities is that these can be turned into classical H-H inequalities and Riemann-Liouville fractional H-H inequalities, and new kk-Riemann-Liouville fractional H-H inequalities can be obtained for co-ordinated convex IVFs without having to prove each one separately.

The GEMINI consortium sequenced 1,000 cases of idiopathic male infertility and identified a plausible Mendelian cause in 20% of cases. The infertility genes can be grouped by expression pattern, facilitating their interpretation and follow-up.

The Dominican Republic is a uniquely valuable context in which to study children's racial stereotyping and prejudice, in part because multiracial individuals comprise the majority of the population and race is viewed largely as a continuous rather than dichotomous construct. In two studies, we use developmental and social theories to ground an exploration of Dominican children's racial biases. In studies 1 (n = 54; ages 6-11) and 2 (n = 122; ages 6-11), children were given measures of racial identity, preference, stereotyping, and/or status. As expected, children identified their own race in a manner consistent with others (e.g., their teachers). Across a variety of tasks, children failed to consistently favor members of a specific racial group--as indicated by differing levels of racial stereotyping and associations of social status with different races. They did, however, sometimes systematically express greater liking of individuals of mixed racial heritage, a finding that was contingent on the modality of assessment (i.e., whether race was framed as a continuous vs. dichotomous category, and measured via nonforced vs. forced-choice methods). Implications for current theories of racial attitude development are discussed.

Abstract Rationale and objective Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), usually diagnosed after the 6th decade, frequently suffer from comorbidities. Whether COPD patients 50 years or younger (Young COPD) have similar comorbidities with the same frequency and mortality impact as aged-matched controls or older COPD patients is unknown. Methods We compared comorbidity number, prevalence and type in 3 groups of individuals with ≥ 10 pack-years of smoking: A Young (≤ 50 years) COPD group (n = 160), an age-balanced control group without airflow obstruction (n = 125), and Old (> 50 years) COPD group (n = 1860). We also compared survival between the young COPD and control subjects. Using Cox proportional model, we determined the comorbidities associated with mortality risk and generated Comorbidomes for the “Young” and “Old” COPD groups. Results The severity distribution by GOLD spirometric stages and BODE quartiles were similar between Young and Old COPD groups. After adjusting for age, sex, and pack-years, the prevalence of subjects with at least one comorbidity was 31% for controls, 77% for the Young, and 86% for older COPD patients. Compared to controls, “Young” COPDs’ had a nine-fold increased mortality risk (p

Probing the population of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus in an oligotrophic water column habitat at increasing depths reveals that light-harvesting quantum efficiency increases with depth.

Naturally derived polysaccharide-based hydrogels, such as alginate, are frequently used in the design of bioinks for 3D bioprinting. Traditionally, the formulation of such bioinks requires the use of pre-reticulated materials with low viscosities, which favour cell viability but can negatively influence the resolution and shape fidelity of the printed constructs. In this work, we propose the use of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) as a rheological modifier to improve the printability of alginate-based bioinks whilst ensuring a high viability of encapsulated cells. Through rheological analysis, we demonstrate that the addition of CNCs (1% and 2% (w/v)) to alginate hydrogels (1% (w/v)) improves shear-thinning behaviour and mechanical stability, resulting in the high-fidelity printing of constructs with superior resolution. Importantly, LIVE/DEAD results confirm that the presence of CNCs does not seem to affect the health of immortalised chondrocytes (TC28a2) that remain viable over a period of seven days post-encapsulation. Taken together, our results indicate a favourable effect of the CNCs on the rheological and biocompatibility properties of alginate hydrogels, opening up new perspectives for the application of CNCs in the formulation of bioinks for extrusion-based bioprinting.

The recent demonstration of the existence of an intimate relationship between the chiral structure of some materials and the spin polarization of electrons transmitted through them, what has been called the chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect, is sparking interest in many related phenomena. One of the most notorious is the possibility of using magnetic materials to apply enantioselective interactions on chiral molecules and chemical reactions involving them. In this work, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has been used to characterize the adsorption and growth kinetics of enantiopure organic molecules on magnetic (Co) and non-magnetic (Cu) substrates. While on these latter, no significant enantiosensitive effects are found, on spin-polarized, in-plane magnetized Co surfaces, the two enantiomers have been found to deposit differently. The observed effects have been interpreted as the result of one of the enantiomers being adsorbed in a transient, weakly bound physisorbed-like state with higher mobility due to limited, spin-selective charge transfer between it and the substrate. The study of these phenomena can provide insight into the fundamental mechanisms responsible for the CISS effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]