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Development of multi-functional water-sensitive shape memory material is crucial for applications in smart textiles, artificial intelligence, and biomedical areas. However, it remains a great challenge to achieve good biocompatibility, rapid water response, and robust mechanical strength in one single material. In this respect, we report a green approach to produce a series of multi-functional water-sensitive memory films (named MCP films) from sisal cellulose microcrystals (MSF-g-COOH), peach gum polysaccharide (PGP), citric acid (CA), and graphene nanosheets (GN). After crosslinking with CA, MCP films exhibit excellent water-induced shape memory and rapid pH stimulus response. More importantly, MCP films can effectively amplify different external motion stimuli by converting them into independent electrical signals to achieve accurate and continuous perception of bending. A high-performance resistive bending sensor was further fabricated from the MCP films to mimic natural human skin. The resistive bending sensor exhibited excellent water-responsive shape memory, self-adhesion, and bending sensitivity, which can be used in electronic skin, human-machine interactions, intelligent wearable devices, personalized health monitoring and other applications. Our work successfully demonstrates the application of the water-sensitive shape memory films in electronic skin and health-monitoring components, and fills the gap between material design and high-performance devices.

Vibroseis is an important deep seismic exploration method, and the vibrator is a unique tool used to transmit scanning signals underground. However, seismic waves recorded by receivers often contain many kinds of noises, such as vibration noise, which are detrimental to the perception of the source signal. This work attempts to eliminate vibration noise by improving the vibrator structure, while retaining the signals’ energy. Hydraulic oil ducts in traditional piston vibrators are set on one side of the hammer. When oil is delivered at high pressure into the oil duct, a horizontal torque is exerted on the hammer, causing it to shake and produce noise. The vibrator’s force analysis shows that the torque on the hammer generates a horizontal force on the four upright columns causing them to bend, as is evident from the deformation results. The vibrator structure can be improved by setting the hydraulic oil ducts in the piston rod in such a way that the hammer is structurally symmetrical on both sides, and the high oil pressure does not produce horizontal interference force. Finite element analysis shows that the columns do not deform in such a design. The vibration simulation experiment proves that deviation between actual output force and theoretical output force is reduced.

The hydraulic system is the control center of aircraft, the performance of which is critically dependent on the purity of the oil that flows through it. Contamination of hydraulic system oil has been known to be the primary cause of catastrophic failure and accidents. A review of literature in the area of hydraulic oil contamination reveals three facts: (i) there is a dearth of effective methods to prevent intrusion of external contaminants into the hydraulic oil, (ii) there are no effective purification methods for liquid and gaseous contaminants of oil, and (iii) there is an absence of real-time monitoring for major contaminants. This work systematically reviews the hazards, sources, and removal methods of major contaminants, especially of gaseous contaminants. An active method to control oil contamination is proposed instead of the existing passive maintenance techniques that are ridden with problems. In a case study of aviation hydraulic system, our active control system comprises (i) a closed hydraulic circuit and a closed oil tank to prevent the intrusion of external contaminants, (ii) a vacuum centrifuge to efficiently remove contaminants without creating consumption costs, and (iii) monitoring devices installed to actively monitor the contaminant content in oil during operation. The results from the purification experiments and three-dimensional modeling indicate that the active control of hydraulic oil contamination can effectively remove 98.4% solid contaminants and reduce the water content below 50 ppm, and in particular reduce the gas content below 2%. It is obvious that this method can improve the continuous operation capability of aviation hydraulic systems and extend the intermaintenance period of aircrafts by reducing the contaminant content in oil.

Antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections have become a serious public health threat. In an effort to address this threat, we develop an imidazolium-functionalized conjugated polyelectrolyte that exhibits profound light-activated biocidal activity. Here we report the synthesis, photophysical properties, and biocidal activity of a regioregular head-to-tail polythiophene substituted with cationic imidazolium units (P3HT-Im) prepared by Grignard metathesis controlled polymerization. In water, P3HT-Im has a broad absorption in the visible region and exhibited a remarkably high biocidal efficiency with both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria at sub-microgram per milliliter concentrations. Moreover, mammalian cell studies suggest that P3HT-Im is nontoxic to mammalian cells at concentrations of ≤20 μg/mL over a short time scale (≤1 h) in the dark and light, and the targeting rate-dependent selective mechanism is revealed. This study demonstrates the capability of P3HT-Im to achieve selective imaging and in...

The heavy metals accumulation in soil and kiwi fruit plant in Western Hunan Province main kiwifruit planting base were analyzed, such as As, Pb, Hg, Cd, Cr. The results showed that the accumulation of heavy metals in soil of 6 kiwifruit planting areas were not obvious. The contents of heavy metals in most of areas of Western Hunan Province were below the national standard, except one area where the soil contents of cadmium (4.900 mg·kg-1), mercury (0.634 mg·kg-1)were exceeded. At the same time, the comprehensive pollution index of heavy metals was less than 0.7 in these areas. There were 5 bases with no pollution of heavy metal, all which the kiwifruit could be safely produced in line with the requirements of the green kiwifruit planting base soil standards. At these areas, the contents of various heavy metals(except cadmium and mercury)were small in the branches and leaves of kiwifruit; kiwifruit had a very well capacity to absorb the cadmium when the cadmium content of its branches reached 12.73%. The heavy metal contents of the kiwifruit in the 6 regions, which belonging to the pollutionfree green fruits, were below or far lower than the national standard. According to the comprehensive analysis, the soil condition of the main cultivated land in Western Hunan Province was good, and the fruit had no heavy metal residues.

Exosomes are extracellular vesicles (50-100 nm) circulating in biofluids as intercellular signal transmitters. Although the potential of cancerous exosomes as tumor biomarkers is promising, sensitive and rapid detection of exosomes remains challenging. Herein, we combined the strengths of advanced aptamer technology, DNA-based nanostructure, and portable electrochemical devices to develop a nanotetrahedron (NTH)-assisted aptasensor for direct capture and detection of hepatocellular exosomes. The oriented immobilization of aptamers significantly improved the accessibility of an artificial nucleobase-containing aptamer to suspended exosomes, and the NTH-assisted aptasensor could detect exosomes with 100-fold higher sensitivity when compared to the single-stranded aptamer-functionalized aptasensor. The present study provides a proof-of-concept for sensitive and efficient quantification of tumor-derived exosomes. We thus expect the NTH-assisted electrochemical aptasensor to become a powerful tool for comprehensive exosome studies.

The structural, electronic and magnetic properties of Au n+1 and Au n Ni (n = 1–9) clusters have been investigated using an unbiased CALYPSO structure searching method in conjunction with density functional theory. The structural searches show that Ni atom in the lowest energy Au n Ni cluster favors the most highly coordinated position. The ground state Au n+1 and Au n Ni clusters possess a planar structure, except for Au 6 Ni and Au 8 Ni. Vibrational spectra and photoelectron spectra are predicted to identify their structures in the future. The relative stability and chemical activity are analyzed based on the averaged binding energy, dissociation energy and energy gap for the most stable clusters. It is found that the dopant atom can enhance the thermal stability of the gold clusters. The magic number of stability is 5 for both Au n+1 and Au n Ni clusters. The substitution of a Ni atom for an Au atom significantly decreases energy gap of Au n clusters with even n. The magnetism calculations show that the magnetic moments of Ni atom in Au n Ni clusters are reduced by 0.56–2 μ B . This reduction may be attributed to the internal charge transfer from 4 s to 3 d orbital.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an effective and noninvasive therapeutic strategy employing light-triggered singlet oxygen (SO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) to kill lesional cells. However, for effective in vivo delivery of PDT agent into the cancer cells, various biological obstacles including blood circulation and condense extracellular matrix (ECM) in the tumor microenvironment (TME) need to be overcome. Furthermore, the enormous challenge in design of smart drug delivery systems is meeting the difference, even contradictory required functions, in different steps of the complicated delivery process. To this end, we present that TME-activatable circular pyrochlorophyll A (PA)-aptamer-PEG (PA-Apt-CHO-PEG) nanostructures, which combine the advantages of PEG and aptamer, would be able to realize efficient in vivo imaging and PDT. Upon intravenous (i.v.) injection, PA-Apt-CHO-PEG shows "stealth-like" long circulation in blood compartments without specific recognition capacity, but once inside solid tumor, PA-Apt-CHO-PEG nanostructures are cleaved and then form PA-Apt Aptamer-drug conjugations (ApDCs) in situ, allowing deep penetration into the solid tumor and specific recognition of cancer cells, both merits, considering anticipated future clinical translation of ApDCs.

To determine the incidence and mutational types of fatty acid oxidation disorders (FAOD) in central-northern region of Guangxi.A total of 62 953 neonates were screened for FAOD during December 2012 and December 2017. Acyl-carnitine profiling of neonatal blood sample was performed by tandem mass spectrometry using dry blood spots on a filter paper. The diagnosis of FAOD was confirmed by organic acid profiling of urea and genetic testing.Eighteen cases of FAOD were diagnosed among the 62 953 neonates. Among these, primary carnitine deficiency (PCD) was the most common type (n=13), which was followed by short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (SCADD) (n=2), medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MCADD) (n=1), multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MADD) (n=1), and carnitine palmitoyltransferase II deficiency (CPT II D) (n=1). Genetic testing has revealed two previously unreported variants, i.e., c.337G to A (p.Gly113Arg) of ACADS gene and c.737G TO T (p.Gly246Val) of ETFA gene.PCD is the most common FAOD in central-northern Guangxi. Tandem mass spectrometry combined with genetic testing may facilitate early diagnosis of FAOD.

3D structures assembled from multiple components have attracted increasing research interest based on their enriched functionalities and broadened applications. Here, we report a bottom-up strategy to fabricate 3D halos through the co-assembly of Fe

To screen for potential variants of GCDH gene in 3 patients clinically diagnosed as glutaric aciduria type Ⅰ.GCDH gene variants was detected by Sanger sequencing among the three children and their family members.Sanger sequencing showed that patient 1 carried compound heterozygosity variants of c.532GA (p.Gly178Arg) and c.655GA (p.Ala219Thr) of the GCDH gene, while his father and mother respectively carried heterozygous c.532GA(p.Gly178Arg) and c.655GA (p.Ala219Thr) variants. Patient 2 carried c.532GA (p.Gly178Arg) and a novel c.1060GT (p.Gly354Cys) compound heterozygous variant, while his father and mother respectively carried heterozygous c.532GA (p.Gly178Arg) and c.1060GT (p.Gly354Cys) variant. Patient 3 carried homozygous c.532GA (p.Gly178Arg) variant of the GCDH gene, for which both of his parents were heterozygous carriers.The GCDH gene variant probably underlie the glutaric aciduria type Ⅰ among the 3 patients. Identifcation of the novel variant has enriched the spectrum of GCDH gene variants.

α-thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder commonly caused by deletions or point mutations involving one or both α-globin genes. Recent studies shed new light on the critical role of upstream enhancers multi-species conserved sequences (MCSs) in the ordered regulation of α-globin gene expression. Herein, we reported two unrelated probands with deletions in α-globin genes and MCSs, respectively. The proband from Family A is a compound heterozygote carrying a known α

To explore the molecular pathogenesis for a pedigree affected with hypocalcemia secondary to hypomagnesemia.Sanger sequencing was used to detect potential variant of the TRPM6 gene in the patient and their parents.The results showed that the patient has carried novel homozygous c.3311CT (p.Pro1104Leu) variant of the TRMP6 gene, for which both of his parents were heterozygous carriers. Analysis of protein functions using software predicted high risk of pathogenicity.The homozygous c.3311CT (p.Pro1104Leu) variant of the TRPM6 gene probably underlies the disease in this patient.

To screen long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) related to glucokinase regulatory protein gene (GCKR), its differential expression was analyzed in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and control samples. The correlation of lncRNA with GCKR was verified and its potential value as a molecular marker of T2DM was assessed.Lymphocyte RNA was extracted from five patients with T2DM and five patients with non-T2DM. The expression profiles of circulating lncRNAs and mRNAs were obtained by microarray. Bioinformatics analysis was used to screen lncRNAs associated with the GCKR gene in 127 patients with T2DM and 130 patients with non-T2DM were selected. The expression levels of the GCKR gene and lncRNA (ENST00000588707.1 and TCONS_00004187) in the T2DM group and control group were verified by real-time PCR. Additionally, a correlation analysis was conducted. The value of circulating ENST00000588707.1 and TCONS_00004187 as biomarkers for the diagnosis of T2DM was performed by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.We identified 68 lncRNAs and 74 mRNAs differentially expressed from the expression profile. Compared with the control group, the expression levels of the GCKR gene and lncRNA ENST00000588707.1 and TCONS_00004187 in the T2DM group were significantly lower (P 0.05). The correlation analysis revealed that ENST00000588707.1 and TCONS_00004187 were correlated with GCKR gene expression and glycolipid metabolism (P 0.05). ROC analysis showed that the area under the curve value of ENST00000588707.1 between T2DM patients and non-T2DM patients was 0.816 (95% CI: 0.764-0.869, sensitivity 72.0%, specificity 80.3%) and the AUC value of TCONS_00004187 was 0.826 (95% CI: 0.774-0.879, sensitivity 81.6%, specificity 61.3%).lncRNA ENST0000588707.1 and TCONS_00004187 could serve as potential biomarkers for T2DM, which could involve in glycolipid metabolism by regulating the GCKR gene.

To carry out mutation analysis and prenatal diagnosis for a family affected with primary carnitine deficiency.Genomic DNA of the proband was extracted from peripheral blood sample 10 days after birth. The 10 exons and intron/exon boundaries of the SLC22A5 gene were subjected to PCR amplification and Sanger sequencing. The proband's mother was pregnant again two years after his birth. Fetal DNA was extracted from amniocytes and subjected to PCR and Sanger sequencing.Tandem mass spectrometric analysis of the proband revealed low level of plasma-free carnitine whilst organic acids in urine was normal. Compound heterozygous SLC22A5 mutations c.1195CT (inherited from his father) and c.517delC (inherited from his mother) were detected in the proband. Prenatal diagnosis has detected no mutation in the fetus. The plasma-free carnitine was normal after birth.Appropriate genetic testing and prenatal diagnosis can prevent further child with carnitine deficiency. The identification of c.517delC, a novel mutation, enriched the spectrum of SLC22A5 mutations.

This study investigated the in vitro stability of a novel sclerosant, bleomycin polidocanol foam (BPF), for venous malformation (VM) sclerotherapy.The study was designed with control groups treated with polidocanol (0.5%, 1%, and 3%) only. The experimental groups included 21 BPFs, which was made by dissolving bleomycin at seven different concentrations (0.1%-1.5%) in polidocanol (0.5%, 1%, and 3%). The Tessari method was used to prepare sclerosant foam with a liquid:gas ratio of 1:4 at room temperature in vitro. The foam stability was measured for each group. The decay process, one component of foam stability, was recorded with a camera. Foam decay process experiments were performed 10 times per group. The stability indices included drainage rate, drainage time, half life, and microscopic measurement of the foams (mean bubble diameter, minimum and maximum bubble diameters, wall thickness, and bubble diameter distribution).Compared with the control groups, the half lives of BPFs mainly increased significantly with the addition of bleomycin (p .001). BPF with 3% polidocanol and 0.1% bleomycin recorded the highest half life (246 ± 1.6 sec), and this group also achieved the smallest bubble diameter and wall thickness (69.9 μm and 5.80 μm) among the experimental groups. For the same polidocanol concentration, the bubble diameter and wall thickness increased when bleomycin was added.Bleomycin concentrations account for different BPF stability. BPF stability mainly increased significantly with the addition of a small amount of bleomycin but this advantage was no longer apparent with increasing bleomycin dose.

To identify potential mutation in a child clinically diagnosed as Noonan syndrome and to provide genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis for his family.Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples of the patient and his parents, and amniotic fluid was taken from the mother during the second trimester. Next generation sequencing (NGS) was used to screen potential mutations from genomic DNA. Suspected mutation was verified by Sanger sequencing.A heterozygous c.4AG (p.Ser2Gly) mutation of the SHOC2 gene was identified in the patient but not among other family members including the fetus.The Noonan syndrome is probably caused by the c.4AG mutation of the SHOC2 gene. NGS is helpful for the diagnosis of complicated genetic diseases. SHOC2 gene mutation screening is recommended for patient suspected for Noonan syndrome.

NEC is a common intestinal inflammatory disease, which induces high morbidity and mortality, of neonates, especially in the premature newborns and very low birth weight (VLBW) infants (

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is one of the most common X-linked enzymopathies caused by G6PD gene variant. We aimed to provide the characteristics of G6PD deficiency and G6PD gene variant distribution in a large Chinese newborn screening population. We investigated the prevalence of G6PD in China from 2013 to 2017. Then, we examined G6PD activity and G6PD gene in representative Chinese birth cohort to explore the distribution of G6PD gene variant in 2016. We then performed multicolor melting curve analysis to classify G6PD gene variants in 10,357 neonates with activity-confirmed G6PD deficiency, and DNA Sanger sequencing for G6PD coding exons if hot site variants were not found. The screened population, organizations, and provinces of G6PD deficiency were increased from 2013 to 2017 in China. The top five frequency of G6PD gene variants were c.1376G>T, c.1388G>A, c.95A>G, c.1024C>T, and c.871G>A and varied in different provinces, with regional and ethnic features, and four pathogenic variant sites (c.152C>T, c.290A>T, c.697G>C, and c.1285A>G) were first reported. G6PD deficiency mainly occurs in South China, and the frequency of G6PD gene variant varies in different regions and ethnicities.

Planting arrangements affect radiation use efficiency (RUE) and competitiveness of intercrop species in intercropping systems. Here, we reveal that narrow‐wide‐row planting arrangement in maize‐soybean relay‐intercropping system increases the dry matter and competitiveness of soybean, increased the RUE of maize and soybean, and compensates the yield loss of maize by substantially increasing the yield of soybean. In this field study, maize was planted with soybean in different planting arrangements (P1, 20:180, P2, 40:160; P3, 60:140, and P4, 80:120) of relay intercropping, all the relay‐intercropping treatments were compared with sole crops of maize (SM) and soybean (SS). Results showed that P1 improved the total RUE 3.26 g/MJ (maize RUE + soybean RUE) of maize and soybean in relay‐intercropping system. Compared to P4, treatment P1 increased the soybean competition ratio (CR) values (by 55%) but reduced the maize CR values (by 29%), which in turn significantly improved the yield of soybean by maintaining the maize yield. Generally, in P1, soybean produced 82% of SS yield, and maize produced 88% of SM yield, and it achieved the land equivalent ratio of 1.7. These results suggest that by maintaining the appropriate planting distances between maize and soybean we can improve the competitiveness and yield of intercrop species in relay‐intercropping system.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the screening indices and their cut-off values for full-term neonates carrying β-thalassemia gene. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 1 193 full-term neonates who underwent β-thalassemia screening (hemoglobin analysis with dried blood spots on neonatal heel blood filter paper and mutation detection of 17 β-globin genes). A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between screening indices and β-thalassemia gene, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the value of screening indices in determining the presence or absence of β-thalassemia gene. RESULTS: Of the 1 193 neonates, 638 carried β-thalassemia gene. Of the 1 193 neonates, 637 (53.39%) had no HbA(2), among whom 310 carried β-thalassemia gene and 327 did not carry this gene; 556 (46.61%) had HbA(2), among whom 328 carried β-thalassemia gene and 228 did not carry this gene. As for the neonates without HbA(2), the β-thalassemia gene group had a significantly lower HbA level and a significantly higher HbF level than the β-thalassemia gene-negative group (P < 0.01). As for the neonates with HbA(2), the β-thalassemia gene group had a significantly lower HbA level and significantly higher HbF and HbA(2)/HbA ratio than the β-thalassemia gene-negative group (P < 0.01). In the neonates without HbA(2), HbA, gestational age, and HbA combined with gestational age had an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.865, 0.515, and 0.870, respectively, in determining the presence or absence of β-thalassemia gene (P < 0.01), and HbA and HbA combined with gestational age had a similar AUC and a certain diagnostic value. In the neonates with HbA(2), HbA, HbA(2)/HbA ratio, and HbA combined with HbA(2)/HbA ratio had an AUC of 0.943, 0.885, and 0.978, respectively, in determining the presence or absence of β-thalassemia gene. The HbA combined with HbA(2)/HbA ratio had the largest AUC. In the neonates without HbA(2), HbA had the largest AUC in determining the presence or absence of β-thalassemia gene at the cut-off value of 11.6%, with a sensitivity of 85.81% and a specificity of 79.82%. In the neonates with HbA(2), an HbA of 16.1%-22.0% and an HbA(2)/HbA ratio of > 1.4 had the largest AUC in determining the presence or absence of β-thalassemia gene, with a sensitivity of 91.38% and a specificity of 91.89%. CONCLUSIONS: HbA and HbA(2)/HbA ratio are effective indices for screening out full-term neonates carrying β-thalassemia gene.

As the penetration of solar energy into electrical power and energy system expands in recent years over the world, accurate solar irradiance forecasting is becoming highly important. However, the existing solar irradiance forecasting methods based on soft-computing techniques are modeled as black-boxes, which are generally expressed by typical unreadable functions such as sigmoid. These functions are difficult to interpret the prediction results. Therefore, a new direct explainable neural network consisting of one input layer, two linear layers and one nonlinear layer, is innovatively proposed for solar irradiance forecasting. The proposed explainable neural network is basically a feed-forward neural network, using ridge function as the activation function to interpret the solar feature mapping. The training process of direct explainable neural network is designed based on back-propagation algorithm. It consists of data preprocessing, error-estimation pretraining and parameter fine-tuning. The main advantage of the proposed explainable neural network is that it can theoretically extract the nonlinear mapping features in solar irradiance, thereby providing a clear explanation of the relationship between the input and the output of the forecasting model. Solar irradiance samples from Lyon in France are used to simultaneously assess the forecasting accuracy and interpretability of the proposed explainable neural network. The experimental results demonstrate that direct explainable neural network not only exhibits a better prediction performance than traditional neural networks such as support vector regression, but also mathematically interprets how the input of the forecasting model affects the final prediction results, showing that the proposed explainable neural network has a high application potential in the real world.

Copy number variations (CNVs) can cause many genetic disorders and the structure analysis of unknown CNVs is important for clinical diagnosis. The human α-globin gene cluster lies close to the telomere of the short arm on chromosome 16. Copy number variations of this region produce excessive or insufficient α-globin chains which imbalances the β-globin chains, resulting in thalassemia. However, these CNVs usually cannot be precisely defined by traditional methods. Here, we designed a technique strategy and applied it to identify two CNVs involving the α-globin gene cluster causing thalassemia in two Chinese families. A novel 282 kb duplication (αααα(282)) was identified in family A and a novel 235 kb deletion (--(235)) in family B. Proband A is a coinheritance of β(CD41-42) and αααα(282) and showed severe β-thalassemia intermedia phenotype. Proband B is a compound heterozygote of --(235)/α(CS)α genotype and was diagnosed with hemoglobin H disease. The clinical phenotypic features of the CNVs carriers were described, together with a complete picture of molecular structure of these rearrangements. Two CNVs are novel rearrangements in α-globin clusters and the αααα(282) is the first to identify the exact insert position of a duplication region from the telomere on chromosome 16. In a conclusion, successful identification and characterization of these two novel CNVs not only demonstrates the precision and effectiveness of our strategy in analyzing the structure of unknown CNVs, but also extended the spectrum of thalassemia and provide new examples for studying genomic recombination.

A highly efficient nanozyme system, termed hollow multipod Cu(OH)2 superstructure (HMPS), has been developed via direct conversion from irregular nanoparticles. The HMPS displayed a body size around 150 nm and branch lengths in the range of 150–250 nm. Based on the excellent catalytic properties of HMPS, we developed a simple and highly sensitive colorimetric assay to detect urine glucose, and the results are in good agreement with hospital examination reports.

The heat transfer performance of oscillating heat pipes (OHPs) with LiCl solution was investigated experimentally at the concentration of 5wt%, 10wt% and 15wt% with the heat input ranging from 10 to 100 W and the filling ratio (FR) of 45%, 55%, 62%, 70%, 80%, and 90%. OHP with different concentrations of LiCl solution can improve the heat transfer performance compared with deionized water (DW) in most conditions, because of the combined positive effects of bubble characteristics, absorption and generation mechanism, two-phase flow, mass transfer, and other behaviors caused by hygroscopicity of LiCl solution. At an appropriate filling ratio (62% and 70%), the addition of LiCl in DW reduces the thermal resistance of OHP. The thermal resistance of a 62% volume of 10wt% LiCl solution reduces up to 61% compared with DW. At low filling ratio (45% and 55%), LiCl solution can reduce the temperature of the evaporation section and improve the anti-dry-out ability; simultaneously, the higher the concentration, the better the effect. It is due to the low water activity and the characteristics of bubble generation and growth in LiCl solution. At increased filling ratio (80% and 90%), the reduction of the gas phase space inside the OHP and the slowing down of the working fluid make the effect of adding LiCl less on the heat transfer performance, 5wt% LiCl solution performs better than the other concentrations.

Yolk-shell nanostructures have attracted considerable attention because of their unique properties and promising applications. Yet, synthesis of well-defined yolk-shell structures with controllable composition remains a major challenge. Here, we report a general method to fabricate Au NP @ Ni(OH)2 yolk-shell NPs. Au cores with various diameters and shapes can be successfully encapsulated into the Ni(OH)2 shells by a similar approach. When the diameter of the core Au NPs changed from ~15 to ~90 nm, the size of the yolk-shell NPs accordingly grew from ~110 to ~380 nm, however, the shell thickness of the final yolk-shell NPs is in the narrow range of 18–20 nm. The synergistic contribution from both Au and Ni(OH)2 has endowed the yolk-shell heterostructure with enhanced catalytic activity. As shown in the oxygen-evolution reactions (OER) tests, the OER activity of Au NP @ Ni(OH)2 yolk-shell NPs is 8.7 and 86-fold higher than that of hollow Ni(OH)2 NPs alone and Au NP @C (5%) (Au NPs (5%) mixed with Carbon Black), respectively. In general, our method provides a simple and novel strategy towards the fabrication of yolk-shell structures with superior catalytic activity for OER.

Infantile hemangiomas (IH) undergo rapid growth during early infancy followed by gradual involution. After involution, a part of IH remain as residual lesions. Since 2008, oral propranolol has been widely used in the treatment of IH. However, long-term outcome of IH treated with propranolol remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate the sequelae of IH treated with propranolol. In this study, propranolol was given at a dose of 2 mg/kg per day at the age of 3.8 ± 2.5 months and follow-up visits were arranged to continue at least through the age of 4 years. Types of sequela were recorded and classified as four degrees ("none", "minimal", "significant" and "severe" at last visit), then subsequent therapy was evaluated with the help of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A total of 73 patients with complete follow up were enrolled in the study. The most common types of sequela were telangiectasia, fibrofatty tissue and erythema. Significant and severe sequelae were observed in 72.4% of treated IH; superficial IH led to more but not significantly significant and severe sequelae than mixed IH (P > 0.05). Despite propranolol treatment, surgery was still needed in 37.5% of IH at a mean age of 70.3 months, and for the main reason of surgery, fibrofatty or hemangioma residua, MRI was useful for us to choose an appropriate surgical procedure.

Metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains a main cause of death for NPC patients even though great advances have been made in therapeutic approaches. An in-depth study into the molecular mechanisms of NPC metastasis will help us combat NPC. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is an evident feature of nonkeratinizing NPC and is strongly associated with tumor metastasis. Recently, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) have become a hot topic of research due to their epigenetic regulatory roles in NPC metastasis. The EBV products, lncRNAs and miRNAs can target each other and share several common signaling pathways, which form an interconnected, complex molecular regulatory network. In this review, we discuss the features of this regulatory network and summarize the molecular mechanisms of NPC metastasis, focusing on EBV, lncRNAs and miRNAs with updated knowledge.

In this work, a simple, rapid, and highly sensitive colorimetric assay for the determination of glutathione (GSH) was developed. It employs human serum albumin (HSA)-templated MnO

BACKGROUND: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a common birth defect originating from both environmental and genetic factors. An overabundance of copy number variations (CNVs) affecting cardiac‐related genes has previously been detected in individuals with CHD. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if the presence of CNVs in the 22q11.2 region, and to determine whether GATA4, NKX2‐5, TBX5, BMP, and CRELD1 genes contributed toward the pathogenesis of isolated incidences of CHDs in southwest China. METHODS: In total 167 patients from southwest China with sporadic CHD were studied, including 121 patients with ventricular septal defect (VSD), 24 with atrial septal defect (ASD), 12 with tetralogy of fallot (TOF), six VSD cases with TOF, two cases with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), and two VSD cases with ASD. 22q11.2, GATA4, NKX2‐5, TBX5, BMP4, and CRELD1 regions were screened using MLPA and copy number variation sequencing (CNV‐Seq). RESULTS: A 2.5‐2.8 Mb deletion in the 22q11.2 region was identified in 5 patients with CHD. Two of these patients were diagnosed with VSD, while two had VSD and ASD, and the other had TOF. 5 patients correspond to the same classical DiGeorge syndrome. A 0.86 Mb duplication in the 22q11.2 region was identified in a PDA patient, whom was without extracardiac symptoms. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that copy number variation in the 22q11.2 region is common in CHD patients in southwest China. Regardless of the presence or absence of extracardiac symptoms, results also indicate that it is necessary to perform prenatal screening for CHD.

To screen for carriers of SMN1 gene mutation, which underlies spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), in 4931 pregnant women from Liuzhou region of Guangxi, and to determine the carrier rate.Combined denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) and multiple PCR techniques were used to detect the copy number of SMN1 gene. The carrier frequency was calculated. The spouse of the carrier was also screened, and prenatal diagnosis was provided to the couples who were both positive.Among the 4931 pregnant women, 61 were found to harbor only one copy of the SMN1 gene, which yielded a carrier rate of 1.2%. Subsequent testing has identified 1 fetus carrying homozygous deletions of the SMN1 gene.The carrier rate of SMA mutation in Liuzhou region is slightly lower than that of other regions of southern China. DHPLC can effectively screen the carriers of SMA mutation and provide a basis for genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis.

To investigate the relationship between a GCKR rs780094 polymorphism and lipid profiles in the Xinjiang Uygur population in China. 980 type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients, 1017 hyperuricemia (HUA) and 1185 healthy controls were included in this study. After genotyping of rs780094 by Sequenom Mass ARRAY system, chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were used for association analysis as well as a genotype-phenotype analysis. We found that the serum concentration of TC (P

Echinococcus granulosus is an important zoonotic parasite globally causing cystic echinococcosis (CE) in humans and animals. In this study, prevalence of CE and variation of cox1 gene sequence were analyzed with isolates E. granulosus collected from different areas in northern Xinjiang, China. The survey showed that 3.5% of sheep and 4.1% of cattle were infected with CE. Fragment of cox1 was amplified from all the positive sheep and cattle samples by PCR. In addition, 26 positive samples across the 4 areas were included. The isolates were all E. granulosus sensu stricto (s.s.) containing 15 haplotypes (Hap1-15), and clustered into 2 genotypes, G1 (90.1%, 91/101) and G3 (9.9%, 10/101). Hap1 was the most common haplotype (48.5%, 49/101). Hap9 were found in humans samples, indicating that sheep and cattle reservoir human CE. It is indicate that E. granulosus may impact on control of CE in livestock and humans in the region.

Capillary malformation-arteriovenous malformation (CM-AVM) is a clinical entity newly identified in 2003 that is caused by mutation of the RASA-1 gene, which encodes the protein p120-RasGAP. To date, most of the clinical reports on CM-AVM in the literature involve samples entirely consisting of Caucasians of European and North American descent, while reports from China or East Asia are few. Here, we describe a genetic clinical report of CM-AVM. Sequencing revealed a novel stop mutation in the RASA-1 gene causing loss of function (LOF) of the RasGAP domain. To our knowledge, this is the first genetic clinical report of a CM-AVM patient in East Asia. This report may extend our understanding and support further studies of CM-AVM in East Asia. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s41065-018-0062-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BACKGROUND Port-wine macrocheilia (PWM) involves a congenital, progressive capillary malformation that results in soft-tissue hypertrophy in the lips. Its aetiology has not yet been fully elucidated. OBJECTIVES To investigate frequencies of GNAQ mutation in different tissues from patients with PWM, including skin, mucosa, gland and muscle, using samples obtained during cheiloplasty. METHODS Targeted next-generation sequencing of GNAQ was designed and performed to assess DNA extracted from 80 different affected tissues from 20 patients with PWM. RESULTS The GNAQ R183Q mutation was not detected in gland samples but was found in 90%, 95% and 95% of the skin, mucosal and muscle samples, respectively. The lowest levels of mutations were found in the glands (P < 0·001 vs. skin, mucosa and muscle), and levels were second lowest in the skin (P = 0·023 vs. mucosa; P = 0·012 vs. muscle). The mutation frequencies in mucosa and muscle were the highest and showed no statistically significant difference (P = 0·92). CONCLUSIONS In patients with PWM, GNAQ was mutated in all tissues except for glands. PWM is congenital, and all tissue layers exhibit primary hypertrophy rather than acquired or partially related hypertrophy. Given the advantages of mucosal biopsy, including practicality, lack of scarring and rapid healing, GNAQ mutation in the lip mucosa may be a useful predictor for early-stage PWM in patients with port-wine stains affecting the lips.

A DNA reaction network is like a biological algorithm that can respond to "molecular input signals", such as biological molecules, while the artificial cell is like a microrobot whose function is powered by the encapsulated DNA reaction network. In this work, we describe the feasibility of using a DNA reaction network as the computational core of a protocell, which will perform an artificial immune response in a concise way to eliminate a mimicked pathogenic challenge. Such a DNA reaction network (RN)-powered protocell can realize the connection of logical computation and biological recognition due to the natural programmability and biological properties of DNA. Thus, the biological input molecules can be easily involved in the molecular computation and the computation process can be spatially isolated and protected by artificial bilayer membrane. We believe the strategy proposed in the current paper, i.e., using DNA RN to power artificial cells, will lay the groundwork for understanding the basic design principles of DNA algorithm-based nanodevices which will, in turn, inspire the construction of artificial cells, or protocells, that will find a place in future biomedical research.

This study aimed to analyze the clinical phenotype of chromosome 9p deletion or duplication and its relationship with karyotype. A patient, female, aged 6 months, visited the hospital due to motor developmental delay. Karyotype analysis identified abnormalities of chromosome 9 short arm, and high-throughput sequencing found 9p24.3-9p23 deletion and 9p23-9p13.1 duplication. Her parents had a normal karyotype. Karyotype analysis combined with high-throughput sequencing is of great significance for improving the efficiency of etiological diagnosis in children with motor developmental delay or multiple congenital deformities and mental retardation.

Background: Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is one of the most common X-linked enzymopathies caused by G6PD gene mutation. We aimed to provide the characteristics of G6PD deficiency and G6PD gene mutation distribution in a large Chinese newborn screening (NBS) population. Methods: We collected screening information of all the NBS centers around China, from January 2013 to December 2017. G6PD activity fluorescence screenings and G6PD/6PGD tests were performed in 1,764,299 birth population from 29 centers in 12 representative provinces in 2016. We then performed multicolour melting curve analysis (MMCA) to classify G6PD gene mutations in 10,357 neonates with activity-confirmed G6PD deficiency, and DNA Sanger sequencing for G6PD coding exons if hot site mutations were not found. Finally, we investigated G6PD gene mutation with MMCA in 6,443 female and 7,358 male neonates with normal G6PD activity respectively. Findings: The screened population, organizations and provinces of G6PD deficiency were increased from 2013 to 2017 in China, high in South and low in North. The top 5 frequency of G6PD gene mutations were c.1376G>T, c.1388G>A, c.95A>G, c.1024C>T, and c.871G>A and varied in different provinces, with regional and ethnic features, and 4 pathogenic mutation sites (c.152C>T, c.290A>T, c.697G>C, and c.1285A>G ) were firstly reported. Three hundred and seventy-two (372/6,443, 5·77%) female neonates with normal G6PD activity were detected as G6PD gene heterozygotes and 50 (17·42%, 50/287) female G6PD heterozygotes showed G6PD deficiency symptom in two years, suggesting that a supplementary NBS strategy of G6PD gene first screening for female G6PD deficiency in high-incidence regions of South China. Interpretation: G6PD deficiency mainly occurs in South China, and the frequency of G6PD gene mutation varies in different regions and ethnicities. Our suggested NBS strategy for G6PD deficiency could enhance the detection rate of female G6PD heterozygotes. Funding Statement: This work is partially financial supported by Natural Scientific Foundation of China (81570142), and the Ministry of Science and Technology (2016YFA0101300, 2017YFC1001700). Declaration of Interests: All the authors have nothing to disclose. Ethics Approval Statement: This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committees of Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University and registered on Chinese Clinical Trail Registry (ChiCTR-SOC-17014057).