[Analysis of the short-and medium-term curative effect of TIPS approach combined with AngioJet thrombus aspiration technology treatment in acute portal vein thrombosis].

Objective: To evaluate the short- and medium-term clinical efficacy of TIPS approach combined with AngioJet thrombus aspiration technology treatment in acute portal vein thrombosis. Methods: 63 cases with acute portal vein thrombosis treated in our center from May 2017 to July 2019 were studied retrospectively, including 49 males and 14 females, aged 35-61 (46 ± 5) years. TIPS approach (with/without) combined with Angiojet thrombus aspiration and gastroesophageal varices embolization was performed simultaneously according to the patient's condition. Regular follow-up for 3-33 (22 ± 3) months after surgery was used to observe the curative effect. Results: The technical success rate was 100%. Portal vein and superior mesenteric vein blood flow were returned to normal after the operation. Two cases of biliary tract injury were untreated. Simultaneously, two cases of intrahepatic arteriovenous fistula were treated with superselective arterial embolization. During the follow-up period, 47 cases (74.61%) had complete portal vein recanalization, 13 cases (20.63%) had partial recanalization, 3 cases (4.76%) had complete portal cavernoma, 7 cases (11.11%) had symptomatic hepatic encephalopathy, 1 case had received artificial liver treatment (1.59%), 1 case had peptic ulcer (11.11%), 6 cases (9.52%) had lost to follow-up, and there was no portal hypertension-related bleeding or death. Conclusion: TIPS approach combined with AngioJet thrombus aspiration technology is safe, effective and feasible in the treatment of acute portal vein thrombosis, and the short- and medium-term clinical effects are satisfactory.

Premelting hcp to bcc Transition in Beryllium.

Beryllium (Be) is an important material with wide applications ranging from aerospace components to x-ray equipment. Yet a precise understanding of its phase diagram remains elusive. We have investigated the phase stability of Be using a recently developed hybrid free energy computation method that accounts for anharmonic effects by invoking phonon quasiparticles. We find that the hcp → bcc transition occurs near the melting curve at 0

Twenty-seven-year nonunion of a Hoffa fracture in a 46-year-old patient.

A Hoffa fracture is an uncommon clinical entity typically seen in adults after high-energy trauma. Nonunion of a Hoffa fracture appears to be even more uncommon. To our knowledge, only three cases of nonunion of a Hoffa fracture have been documented in the literature to date, including two children and one adult. This article presents a case of an adult who had nonunion of a Hoffa fracture for 27 years and was treated by open reduction and internal fixation, and the varus deformity corrected with xenogenous bone graft. An excellent result has been achieved to date. This unusual case reminds us that we cannot neglect the possibility of nonunion of a cancellous bone fracture, especially the Hoffa fractures of the medial femoral condyle if they are treated nonoperatively. It also demonstrates that internal fixation with bone graft is effective, even for the 27-year Hoffa fracture.

Phylogenetic analyses of vector mosquito basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors.

Basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors play critical roles in the regulation of a wide range of developmental processes in higher organisms and have been identified in more than 20 organisms. Mosquitoes are important vectors of certain human diseases. In this study, Aedes aegypti, Anopheles gambiae str. PEST and Culex quinquefasciatus genomes were found to encode 55, 55 and 57 bHLH genes, respectively. Further phylogenetic analyses and OrthoDB and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes orthology database searches led us to define orthology for all the identified mosquito bHLHs successfully. This provides useful information with which to update annotations to 40 Ae. aegypti, 55 An. gambiae and 38 C. quinquefasciatus bHLH genes in VectorBase. The mosquito lineage has more bHLH genes in the Atonal, neurogenin (Ngn) and Hes-related with YRPW motif (Hey) families than do other insect species, suggesting that mosquitoes have evolved to be more sensitive to vibration, light and chemicals. Mosquito bHLH genes generally have higher evolutionary rates than other insect species. However, no pervasive positive selection occurred in the evolution of insect bHLH genes. Only episodic positive selection was found to affect evolution of bHLH genes in 11 families. Besides, coding regions of several Ae. aegypti bHLH motifs have unusually long introns in which multiple copies of transposable elements have been identified. These data provide a solid basis for further studies on structures and functions of bHLH proteins in the regulation of mosquito development and for prevention and control of mosquito-mediated human diseases.

Polarization due to emergent polarity in elemental semiconductor thinfilms under bending.

Polarization via strain engineering provides a facial way to functionalize materials. We investigate the origin of electronic polarization in the bent elemental semiconductor thinfilms by combining analytical modeling with quantum mechanical simulation. A bond orbital model reveals a polarity of covalent bonds induced by strain gradient such that polarization along the strain gradient dimension can be induced, giving rise to the flexoelectric effect. At strain gradient1/R=0.01 nm-1, the net charge differences between the two sides are5×10-4e,2.5×10-3eand7.2×10-3efor C, Si and Ge films respectively. On the other hand, due to the emergent bond polarity, the polarization can be effectively tuned by normal strain applied to the bent film, mimicking the piezoelectric effect. Simulations using the generalized Bloch theorem strongly support this revelation. Findings have important implications for delineating the formation of polarization and related phenomena in semiconductors.

Bending ultrathin graphene at the margins of continuum mechanics.

Deviations from continuum mechanics are always expected in nanoscale structures. We investigate the validity of the plate idealization of ultrathin graphene by gaining insight into the response of chemical bonds to bending deformations. In the monolayer, a bond orbital model reveals the breakdown of the plate phenomenology. In the multilayer, objective molecular dynamics simulations identify the validity margin and the role of discreteness in the plate idealization. Our result has implications for a broad class of phenomena where the monolayer easily curves, and for the design of mass and force detection devices.

Helical nanotube structures of MoS2 with intrinsic twisting: an objective molecular dynamics study.

Objective molecular dynamics combined with density-functional-based tight binding makes it possible to compute chiral nanotubes as axial-screw dislocations. This enables the surprising revelation of a large catalog of MoS2 nanotubes that lack the prescribed translational symmetry and exhibit chirality-dependent electronic band gaps and elastic constants. Helical symmetry is the natural property to rely on when studying quasi-one-dimensional nanomaterials formally derived or grown via screw dislocations.

Modulating the optical and electronic properties of highly symmetric Si quantum dots.

The optical and electronic properties of quantum dots are critically influenced by the electronic states around the last occupied first empty levels. Using density functional theory calculations we show three alternative ways to alter the optical response of highly stable, highly symmetric hydrogen-terminated fullerene and polycrystalline Si quantum dots: small shape changes, applied uniaxial strain and exohedral doping. The demonstrated effectiveness renders symmetry lowering, the common theme of these processes, as a promising concept for deliberately adjusting optical response.

Dislocation onset and nearly axial glide in carbon nanotubes under torsion.

The torsional plastic response of single-walled carbon nanotubes is studied with tight-binding objective molecular dynamics. In contrast with plasticity under elongation and bending, a torsionally deformed carbon nanotube can slip along a nearly axial helical path, which introduces a distinct (+1,-1) change in wrapping indexes. The low energy realization occurs without loss in mass via nucleation of a 5-7-7-5 dislocation dipole, followed by glide of 5-7 kinks. The possibility of nearly axial glide is supported by the obtained dependence of the plasticity onset on chirality and handedness and by the presented calculations showing the energetic advantage of the slip path and of the initial glide steps.

Synthesis of Drosophila melanogaster acetylcholinesterase gene using yeast preferred codons and its expression in Pichia pastoris.

To improve the expression level of recombinant Drosophila melanogaster AChE (R-DmAChE) in Pichia pastoris, the cDNA of DmAChE was first optimized and synthesized based on the preferred codon usage of P. pastoris. The synthesized AChE cDNA without glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) signal peptide sequence was then ligated to the P. pastoris expression vector, generating the plasmid pPIC9K/DmAChE. The linearized plasmid was homologously integrated into the genome of P. pastoris GS115 via electrotransformation. Finally seven transformants with high expression level of R-DmAChE activity were obtained. The highest production of R-DmAChE in shake-flask culture after 5-day induction by methanol was 718.50 units/mL, which was about three times higher than our previous expression level of native DmAChE gene in P. pastoris. Thus, these new strains with the ability to secret R-DmAChE in the medium could be used for production of R-DmAChE to decrease the cost of the enzyme expense for rapid detection of organophosphate and carbamate insecticide residues.

[T-bet in peripheral T-cell lymphoma].

Objective: To evaluate the expression of transcription factor T-bet (T-box expressed in T cells) and explore its effects on prognosis in peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL). Methods: This study included 109 previously untreated patients diagnosed with PTCL in the pathology system at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 2007 to 2013. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded blocks and clinical information of these patients were collected. T-bet expression was examined by immunohistochemical stain, while its relationship with clinical feature and prognosis was analyzed. Results: 109 PTCL patients included 60 PTCL-not other specified (PTCL-NOS) cases and 18 NK/T-cell lymphoma. The positive rate of T-bet was 42.2% overall, 43.3% in PTCL-NOS and 44.4% in NK/T lymphoma. T-bet high expression wasn't correlated with OS in PTCL patients (P=0.586) by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Further stratification by pathological subgroup implied a correlation of T-bet high expression with better survival in NK/T lymphoma (P=0.004), but not in PTCL-NOS (P=0.309). Multivariate analysis confirmed that high ECOG score (≥2) was an independent predictor of overall survival (HR=5.907, 95%CI 2.399~14.549, P<0.001 ). Conclusion: T-bet was detected in several PTCL subgroups with diversities, which is positively correlated with overall survival in NK/T-cell lymphoma.

Carbon-based molecular devices: Fano effects controlled by the molecule length and the gate voltage.

Fano effect is an important quantum phenomenon in mesoscopic systems, which arises from an interference between the localized state and the extended state. Here we observe an obvious Fano effect near the Fermi level in an all-carbon molecular device consisting of an acene molecule sandwiched between two zigzag graphene nanoribbon (ZGNR) electrodes. By increasing the length of the molecule, an extended state gradually evolves into a localized state. With the aid of the nearby extended state, a Fano effect is achieved. Using a gate voltage, we can easily tune the Fano effect induced by the single-transmission channel. When the spin degree of freedom is involved, the all-carbon device can show a half-metallic property with positive or negative 100% spin polarization at the Fermi level under the gate voltage; meanwhile the spin thermoelectric effect can also be enhanced.

Stability of polycrystalline and wurtzite Si nanowires via symmetry-adapted tight-binding objective molecular dynamics.

The stability of the most promising ground state candidate Si nanowires with less than 10 nm in diameter is comparatively studied with objective molecular dynamics coupled with nonorthogonal tight-binding and classical potential models. The computationally expensive tight-binding treatment becomes tractable due to the substantial simplifications introduced by the presented symmetry-adapted scheme. It indicates that the achiral polycrystalline of fivefold symmetry and the wurtzite wires of threefold symmetry are the most favorable quasi-one-dimensional Si arrangements. Quantitative differences with the classical model description are noted over the whole diameter range. Using a Wulff energy decomposition approach it is revealed that these differences are caused by the inability of the classical potential to accurately describe the interaction of Si atoms on surfaces and strained morphologies.

[Immunogold localization of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carborylsae/oxygenase in chloroplasts of Chlorella].

Ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) is a first key enzyme in the Calvin Circle of plant cell photosynthesis. This paper mainly studied gold immunolocalization of Rubisco of Chlorella spp. 640909, and the Native-PAGE and, SDS-PAGE and Western bloting analysis, as well as the observation to pyrenoid ultra structure. The Native-PAGE result showed a main band, evidenced as the Rubisco band by the Western blot with the antibody against the Rubisco from C. prototothecoides, The special immunoacton of Rubisco from Chlorella spp. 640909 and the antibody to large subunit of Rubisco from C. prothecoides showed the large subunit proteins of Rubisco in the two species of Chlorella shared the high homology. The SDS-PAGE and Western blotting maps showed the molecule weight of the large subunit of Rubisco of Chlorella spp. 640909 was about 55 KD. The shape of pyrenoid ultra structure of the electronic microscope was oblong, and was embedded in starch sheath, with 2 swelling thylakoids through out a center portrait channel of the pyrenoid. There were some connections between pyrenoid and the chloroplast stroma. The distribution of the large subunits and the whole Rubisco in the chloroplast of Chrolella spp. 640909 was studied by immunoelectron microscopy by embedded sections with antibody to large subunit and whole enzyme followed by second antibody, goad anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G conjugated to 10 nm gold particles(Sigma production). The result showed the antibodies against large subunit and whole enzyme heavily labeled the pyrenoid, as well as starch sheath region, whereas the thylakoid region of the plastid was lightly labeled. And the whole Rubisco antibody labeled the pyrenoid surface more heavily than the large subunit antibody did. It is demonstrated the pyrenoid and starch sheath have the photosynthesis function. Rubisco concentrating in pyrenoid and starch sheath is valuable to fix CO2 for photosynthesis in algae.