Unveiling the enhanced electrocatalytic activity at electrochemically synthesized Pt-WOx hybrid nanostructure interfaces.

Here we report a simple synthesis strategy for Pt-WOx hybrid nanostructures using a metal-dissolution-based electrodeposition technique. The hybrid nanostructures demonstrate an excellent catalytic hydrogen evolution reaction performance with an approximately 17 times higher Pt mass activity and a 7.4 times higher turnover frequency than those of commercial Pt catalysts. The enhanced electrocatalytic performance is related to the creation of Pt-WOx interfacial sites.

Purification, characterization and molecular cloning of Vibrio fluvialis hemolysin.

Hemolysin of Vibrio fluvialis (VFH) was purified from culture supernatants by ammonium sulfate precipitation and successive column chromatographies on DEAE-cellulose and Mono-Q. N-terminal amino acid sequences of the purified VFH were determined. The purified protein exhibited hemolytic activity on many mammalian erythrocytes with rabbit erythrocytes being the most sensitive to VFH. Activity of the native VFH was inhibited by the addition of Zn2+, Ni2+, Cd2+ and Cu2+ ions at low concentrations. Pores formed on rabbit erythrocytes were approximately 2.8-3.7 nm in diameter, as demonstrated by osmotic protection assay. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the vfh gene revealed an open reading frame (ORF) consisting of 2200 bp which encodes a protein of 740 amino acids with a molecular weight of 82 kDa. Molecular weight of the purified VFH was estimated to be 79 kDa by SDS-PAGE and N-terminal amino acid sequence revealed that the 82 kDa prehemolysin is synthesized in the cytoplasm and is then secreted into the extracellular environment as the 79 kDa mature hemolysin after cleavage of 25 N-terminal amino acids. Deletion of 70 amino acids from the C-terminus exhibited a smaller hemolytic activity, while deletion of 148 C-terminal amino acids prevented hemolytic activity.

Dual priming oligonucleotide-based multiplex PCR analysis for detection of BRAFV600E mutation in FNAB samples of thyroid nodules in BRAFV600E mutation-prevalent area.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the diagnostic value of dual priming oligonucleotide (DPO)-based multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of BRAF(V600E) mutations in ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (US-FNAB) of thyroid nodules. METHODS: Our institutional review board approved this retrospective study, and informed consent was not required from patients. The 130 patients underwent US-FNAB to evaluate BRAF status in thyroid nodules. In FNAB washouts, DPO-based multiplex PCR, direct DNA sequencing, and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) were used to detect BRAF(V600E). The diagnostic performance of these methods was calculated. We compared cytologic results by BRAF status. RESULTS: Diagnostic accuracy and sensitivity were highest when screening with DPO-based multiplex PCR. BRAF(V600E) positivity was a useful marker at thyroid nodules with "suspicious for papillary thyroid carcinoma" or "inadequate" cytological result. CONCLUSIONS: DPO-based multiplex PCR may be an alternative to direct DNA sequencing because of its high sensitivity, high accuracy, and simplicity. BRAF(V600E) may be a useful additional diagnostic marker in BRAF(V600E)-prevalent areas.

Detection of a novel CBFB/MYH11 variant fusion transcript (K-type) showing partial insertion of exon 6 of CBFB gene using two commercially available multiplex RT-PCR kits.

We report on a 20-year-old man with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) showing a distinct novel CBFB/MYH11 variant fusion transcript. Initial results of bone marrow, chromosome, and flow cytometric analyses were not in accordance with the diagnosis of acute myelomonocytic leukemia with eosinophilia (AML-M4Eo) or AML with a CBFB/MYH11 rearrangement. However, results from 2 commercially available multiplex reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests repeatedly showed an unusual PCR product from his bone marrow specimen. Not only does this case show a partial insertion of exon 6 of the CBFB (ENSG00000067955) gene, but it also involves novel breakpoints within both exon 6 of the CBFB gene and exon 28 (previously exon 7) of the MYH11 (ENSG00000133392) gene, which is regarded as a previously non-reported, new type (K-type) of CBFB/MYH11 fusion transcript. In addition, our study result was in agreement with the recent report of Schnittger et al. that rare fusion transcripts of CBFB/MYH11 are correlated with an atypical cytomorphology and other aberrant characteristics. Therefore, multiplex RT-PCR and sequence analysis of these atypical products should be performed to diagnose atypical AML with CBFB/MYH11 rearrangement, to predict prognosis of these patients as well as to elucidate the molecular mechanism.

Acute promyelocytic leukemia in early pregnancy with translocation t(15;17) and variant PML/RARA fusion transcripts.

A 32-year-old pregnant woman in the 13th gestational week was brought to Severance Hospital with gum bleeding and easy bruising. Initial laboratory results revealed anemia and thrombocytopenia. In a peripheral blood smear, 81% of leukocytes were large, abnormal promyelocytes. Bone marrow aspiration showed a hypercellular marrow with packed leukemic promyelocytes, and chromosome study revealed a karyotype of 46,XX,t(15;17)(q22;q21)[10]/46,XX[10]. In addition, variant fusion transcripts of PML/RARA were detected in the marrow specimen. The patient was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) and was treated with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and idarubicin. One month from the patient's initial diagnosis a follow-up bone marrow examination was performed, revealing complete remission (CR). We know of no previous reports of APL during pregnancy associated with variant PML/RARA fusion transcripts. Here, we describe a novel case of APL in a pregnant woman with a t(15;17) translocation and variant fusion transcripts.

Identification of an iron-regulated hemin-binding outer membrane protein, HupO, in Vibrio fluvialis: effects on hemolytic activity and the oxidative stress response.

In pathogenic bacteria, iron acquisition is important for colonization and proliferation in the host under iron-limited conditions. The ability of Vibrio spp. to acquire iron is often critical to their virulence, causing gastroenteritis or excessive watery diarrhea in humans. In the study described here, we cloned the 2,100-bp heme utilization protein gene hupO in Vibrio fluvialis. HupO had high homology to iron-regulated outer membrane receptor proteins in Vibrio sp. and contained motifs that are common to bacterial heme receptors, including a consensus TonB box, a FRAP domain, and an NPNL domain. To characterize the hemin-binding activity of HupO, we purified the recombinant HupO protein (rHupO) from Escherichia coli by using an overexpression system. HupO was found to bind to hemin but not to hemoglobin. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blotting demonstrated that the 77-kDa outer membrane protein HupO of V. fluvialis was induced under iron-restricted conditions. We constructed a hupO mutant, HP1, to investigate the biochemical function of HupO in V. fluvialis. The hemolytic activity of HP1 was reduced compared to that of wild-type cells and, when exposed to hydrogen peroxide, significantly lower numbers of HP1 survived than was the case in the wild type. These results suggest that HupO is associated with virulence expression in V. fluvialis through stimulation of hemolysin production and resistance to oxidative stress. In experimentally infected mice, the 50% lethal dose value of the wild-type was lower than that of the mutant, HP1.