The Control of the Expansion or Compression of Colloidal Crystals Lattice with Salt Solution.

Tuning the lattice spacing or stop bands holds great significance in the design and application of materials with colloidal crystals. Typically, particle surface modifications or the application of external physical fields are needed. In this study, we demonstrated the ability to expand or compress the lattice of colloidal crystals simply by utilizing a salt solution, without the need for any special treatments to the colloidal particles. We found that by only considering the diffusiophoresis effect we cannot explain the reversion of lattice expansion to lattice compression with the increase in the salt concentration and that the diffusioosmotic flow originating from the container wall must be taken into account. Further analysis revealed that variations in the salt concentration altered the relative amplitudes between diffusiophoresis and diffusioosmosis through changing the zeta potentials of the particles and the wall, and the competition between the particle diffusiophoresis and wall diffusioosmosis lay at the center of the underlying mechanism.

Template-induced crystallization of charged colloids: a molecular dynamics study.

By using a large enough number of particles and implementing a parallel algorithm on the CUDA platform, we have performed brute-force molecular dynamics simulations to study the template-induced heterogeneous crystallization in charged colloids. Six kinds of templates, whose patterns include the planes of fcc(100), fcc(110), fcc(111), bcc(100), bcc(110) and bcc(111), have been implanted into the middle of the simulation box. Except the fcc(111) template, whose structure benefits not only fcc but also hcp crystals resulting in a similar behavior to homogeneous crystallization, bcc-type templates favor the formation of bcc crystals and bcc-like precursors while fcc-type templates favor the formation of fcc crystals and fcc-like precursors. Therefore, for fcc(100) and fcc(110) templates, heterogeneous crystallization will definitely result in a fcc crystallite. However, the results of heterogeneous crystallization that are induced by bcc-type templates are subtly different at different state points. At the state points where the interaction strength of charged colloids is weak and the fcc phase is thermodynamically stable, the bcc crystals formed with the promotion of bcc-type templates are not stable so as to tend to transform into fcc or hcp crystals. When the interaction strength of charged colloids is high, the predominant bcc crystals formed with the promotion of bcc-type templates can always persist within the time scale of simulation although not bcc but fcc crystals are thermodynamically stable.

Light Amplification in Fe-Doped CsPbBr3 Crystal Microwire Excited by Continuous-Wave Laser.

Electrically pumped halide perovskite laser diodes remain unexplored, and it is widely acknowledged that continuous-wave (CW) lasing will be a crucial step. Here, we demonstrate room-temperature amplified spontaneous emission of Fe-doped CsPbBr3 crystal microwire excited by a CW laser. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectra indicate that the Fe dopant forms a shallow level trap states near the band edge of the lightly doped CsPbBr3 microcrystal. Pump intensity-dependent time-resolved PL spectra show that the introduced Fe dopant level makes the electron more stable in excited states, suitable for the population inversion. The emission peak intensity of the lightly Fe-doped microwire increases nonlinearly above a threshold of 12.3 kW/cm2 under CW laser excitation, indicating a significant light amplification. Under high excitation, the uniform crystal structure and surface outcoupling in Fe-doped perovskite crystal microwires enhanced the spontaneous emission. These results reveal the considerable promise of Fe-doped perovskite crystal microwires toward low-cost, high-performance, room-temperature electrical pumping perovskite lasers.

Comparison of RetinaNet-Based Single-Target Cascading and Multi-Target Detection Models for Administrative Regions in Network Map Pictures.

There is a critical need for detection of administrative regions through network map pictures in map censorship tasks, which can be implemented by target detection technology. However, on map images there tend to be numerous administrative regions overlaying map annotations and symbols, thus making it difficult to accurately detect each region. Using a RetinaNet-based target detection model integrating ResNet50 and a feature pyramid network (FPN), this study built a multi-target model and a single-target cascading model from three single-target models by taking Taiwan, Tibet, and the Chinese mainland as target examples. Two models were evaluated both in classification and localization accuracy to investigate their administrative region detection performance. The results show that the single-target cascading model was able to detect more administrative regions, with a higher f1_score of 0.86 and mAP of 0.85 compared to the multi-target model (0.56 and 0.52, respectively). Furthermore, location box size distribution from the single-target cascading model looks more similar to that of manually annotated box sizes, which signifies that the proposed cascading model is superior to the multi-target model. This study is promising in providing support for computer map reading and intelligent map censorship.

Microfluidic Synthesis, Doping Strategy, and Optoelectronic Applications of Nanostructured Halide Perovskite Materials.

Halide perovskites are increasingly exploited as semiconducting materials in diverse optoelectronic applications, including light emitters, photodetectors, and solar cells. The halide perovskite can be easily processed in solution, making microfluidic synthesis possible. This review introduces perovskite nanostructures based on micron fluidic channels in chemical reactions. We also briefly discuss and summarize several advantages of microfluidics, recent progress of doping strategies, and optoelectronic applications of light-sensitive nanostructured perovskite materials. The perspective of microfluidic synthesis of halide perovskite on optoelectronic applications and possible challenges are presented.

Correction to "Molecular Dynamics Simulation of the Soret Effect on Two Binary Liquid Solutions with Equimolar n-Alkane Mixtures".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c04926.].

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of the Soret Effect on Two Binary Liquid Solutions with Equimolar n-Alkane Mixtures.

Molecular dynamics is employed to simulate the Soret effect on two binary liquid solutions with equimolar mixtures: normal pentane (n-pentane, nC-5) and normal heptane (n-heptane, nC-7) molecules plus normal decane (n-decane, nC-10) and normal pentane molecules. Moreover, two coarse-grained force field (the CG-FF) potentials, which may depict inter-/intramolecular interactions fairly well among n-alkane molecules, are developed to fulfill such investigations. In addition, thermal diffusion for the mass fraction of each of these n-alkane molecules is simulated under an effect of a weak thermal gradient (temperature difference) exerting on solution systems from their hot to cold boundary sides. Finally, quantities of the Soret coefficient (SC) for two binary solutions are calculated by means of the developed CG-FF potentials, so as to improve the calculation rationality. As a result, first, it is found that molecules with light molar masses will migrate toward the hot boundary side, while those with heavy molar masses will migrate toward the cold boundary one ; second, the SC quantities indicate that they match relevant experimental determinations fairly well, i.e., trends of these SC quantities show inverse proportionality to the thermal gradient on the systems.

The potential of glutamine metabolism-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) as prognostic biomarkers in multiple myeloma patients.

Background: Glutamine (Gln) metabolism has been confirmed as an important fuel in cancer metabolism. This study aimed to uncover potential links of Gln with long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and the prognostic value of Gln-associated lncRNAs in multiple myeloma (MM) patients. Methods: The RNA-seq expression profile and corresponding clinical data of gastric cancer obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Unsupervised consensus clustering was used to cluster MM samples based on Gln-associated lncRNAs. The overall survival (OS), biological pathways, and immune microenvironment were compared in different subtypes. Differential analysis was utilized to identify differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) in different subtypes. A risk model was constructed based on DElncRNAs by using Cox regression, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), and the stepAIC algorithm. Results: We screened 50 Gln-associated lncRNAs and identified 3 molecular subtypes (clust1, clust2, and clust3) based on lncRNA expression profiles. Clust3 subtype showed the worst prognosis and highest enrichment of Gln metabolism pathway. Angiogenesis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and cell cycle-related pathways were relatively activated in clust3. Then, we identified 11 prognostic DElncRNAs for constructing the risk model. The MM samples were divided into high- and low-risk groups with distinct prognosis according to the risk score. The risk score was significantly associated with cell cycle and infiltration of many immune cells. Conclusions: This study characterized the role of Gln-associated lncRNAs in Gln metabolism contributing for tumor-related pathways and immune microenvironment in MM patients. The 11 lncRNAs in the risk model may serve as potential targets for exploring the mechanism of Gln metabolism or serve as potential biomarkers for MM prognosis.

Landslide Susceptibility Mapping by Fusing Convolutional Neural Networks and Vision Transformer.

Landslide susceptibility mapping (LSM) is an important decision basis for regional landslide hazard risk management, territorial spatial planning and landslide decision making. The current convolutional neural network (CNN)-based landslide susceptibility mapping models do not adequately take into account the spatial nature of texture features, and vision transformer (ViT)-based LSM models have high requirements for the amount of training data. In this study, we overcome the shortcomings of CNN and ViT by fusing these two deep learning models (bottleneck transformer network (BoTNet) and convolutional vision transformer network (ConViT)), and the fused model was used to predict the probability of landslide occurrence. First, we integrated historical landslide data and landslide evaluation factors and analysed whether there was covariance in the landslide evaluation factors. Then, the testing accuracy and generalisation ability of the CNN, ViT, BoTNet and ConViT models were compared and analysed. Finally, four landslide susceptibility mapping models were used to predict the probability of landslide occurrence in Pingwu County, Sichuan Province, China. Among them, BoTNet and ConViT had the highest accuracy, both at 87.78%, an improvement of 1.11% compared to a single model, while ConViT had the highest F1-socre at 87.64%, an improvement of 1.28% compared to a single model. The results indicate that the fusion model of CNN and ViT has better LSM performance than the single model. Meanwhile, the evaluation results of this study can be used as one of the basic tools for landslide hazard risk quantification and disaster prevention in Pingwu County.

Diffusion and convection in nature.

We present the Topical Issue 'Diffusion and Convection in Nature'.

Sequential P-GEMOX and radiotherapy for early-stage extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma: A multicenter study.

Extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma, nasal-type (ENKTL) is a distinct subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and most of the patients presented localized disease. Combined modality therapy (CMT), namely chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy, has been recommended for patients with early-stage ENKTL. However, the optimal CMT has not been fully clarified. This study reports the efficacy and toxicity of sequential P-GEMOX (pegaspargase, gemcitabine and oxaliplatin) and radiotherapy in a large Chinese cohort comprising of 202 patients diagnosed with early-stage ENKTL from six medical centers. The observed best overall response rate was 96.0% and 168 (83.2%) patients achieved complete remission. With a median follow-up of 44.1 months, the 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 74.6% and 85.2%, respectively. Multivariate analysis suggested that extensive primary tumor (PFS, hazard ratio [HR] 3.660, 95% CI 1.820-7.359, p < 0.001; OS, HR 3.825, 95% CI 1.442-10.148, p = 0.007) and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ≥ 2 (PFS, 3.042, 95% CI 1.468-6.306, p = 0.003; OS, HR 3.983, 95% CI 1.678-9.457, p = 0.02) were independent prognostic factors for survival outcomes. Among the established prognostic models for ENKTL, the nomogram-revised risk index model had optimal prognostic risk stratification ability (PFS, p < 0.001; OS, p < 0.001) and relatively balanced population distribution. The adverse events of this CMT were well-tolerated and manageable. In conclusion, sequential P-GEMOX and radiotherapy showed favorable efficacy with acceptable toxicity, and could be an effective treatment option for early-stage ENKTL patients.

Evolution of concentration and phase structure of colloidal suspensions in a two-ends-open tube during drying process.

We investigated the evolution of concentration and phase structure of colloidal suspensions in a two-ends-open tube during drying process. The volume fraction and crystal structure of suspension in the capillary tube were determined by reflection spectrometer during drying process. Our experimental results show: (a) evaporation takes place in two directions of the tube, though much stronger in one direction than the other; (b) during drying process, colloidal suspension column along the tube can be divided into four regions, namely, the close packed region, concentrated region, initial concentration region and dilution region. A new model describing the evolution of concentration profile was proposed and the calculated results based on the model are in good agreement with the experimental ones. According to solute conservation, we also present a simple way to estimate the concentration of close packed region.

Entire crystallization process of Lennard-Jones liquids: A large-scale molecular dynamics study.

By using a graphics processing unit-accelerated parallel algorithm on a compute unified device architecture platform, we perform large-scale molecular dynamics simulations in a Lennard-Jones system to observe the entire crystallization process, including metastable stage, critical nuclei formation, and the stage of crystal growth. Although the intermediated precursors that play a role in determining the polymorphs are predominantly bcc ordered, the polymorph selection is rather different at different stages. The precursors that have a relatively high orientational order will be on average in a denser region than uniform liquids, but microscopically the crystal nucleation happens without a density change. The average density of nuclei first increases significantly, and then almost keeps independent on the crystallite size after the growing post-critical nucleus becomes large enough. With such a large enough system, the crystal growth rate is able to be calculated directly by doing a linear fit to the temporal evolution of growing crystallite size. The obtained value of the growth rate indicates that the actual crystal growth in the Lennard-Jones system where the crystal-liquid interface has several kinds of structures is possibly driven by both collision-controlled and diffusion-controlled mechanisms.

Efficient Multiple Sequences Alignment Algorithm Generation via Components Assembly Under PAR Framework.

As a key algorithm in bioinformatics, sequence alignment algorithm is widely used in sequence similarity analysis and genome sequence database search. Existing research focuses mainly on the specific steps of the algorithm or is for specific problems, lack of high-level abstract domain algorithm framework. Multiple sequence alignment algorithms are more complex, redundant, and difficult to understand, and it is not easy for users to select the appropriate algorithm; some computing errors may occur. Based on our constructed pairwise sequence alignment algorithm component library and the convenient software platform PAR, a few expansion domain components are developed for multiple sequence alignment application domain, and specific multiple sequence alignment algorithm can be designed, and its corresponding program, i.e., C++/Java/Python program, can be generated efficiently and thus enables the improvement of the development efficiency of complex algorithms, as well as accuracy of sequence alignment calculation. A star alignment algorithm is designed and generated to demonstrate the development process.

Research on Components Assembly Platform of Biological Sequences Alignment Algorithm.

After years of development, the complexity of the biological sequence alignment algorithm is gradually increasing, and the lack of high abstract level domain research leads to the complexity of its algorithm development and improvement. By applying the idea of software components to the design and development of algorithms, the development efficiency and reliability of biological sequence alignment algorithms can be effectively improved. The component assembly platform applies related assembly technology, which simplifies the operation difficulty of component assembly and facilitates the maintenance and optimization of the algorithm. At the same time, a friendly visual interface is used to intuitively complete the assembly of algorithm components, and an executable sequence alignment algorithm program is obtained, which can directly carry out alignment computing.

Determination of Bulk Modulus for a Colloidal Crystal with Highly Charged Particles by DC Electric Field.

In this study, bulk modulus of a colloidal crystal formed by highly charged particles is experimentally determined by applying direct current electric field. A theoretical expression is also proposed to independently predict the bulk modulus based on van't Hoff's law of osmotic pressure and the theory of Ohshima. The experimental result thus obtained agrees well with the theoretical expectation. In addition, results from both above-mentioned methods coincide with that inferred from the static structure factor.

Downregulation of miR-152 contributes to DNMT1-mediated silencing of SOCS3/SHP-1 in non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Understanding the molecular mechanisms for the development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) will improve our ability to cure the patients. qRT-PCR was applied for the examination of the efficiency of shRNA for DNMT1, the expression of suppressor genes, miRNA-152. The MTT analysis, cell cycle analysis, clonal formation, and apoptotic analysis were used to examine the functions of DNMT1 and miR-152 in lymphoma cells. Methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP) was used to examine the methylation of tumor suppressor genes. The dual luciferase assay and western blot were used to validate if DNMT1 is the target of miR-152. For the in vivo experiments, the lymphoma cells were injected into the nude mice for quantification of the tumor growth after transfection of miR-152 mimics. Knockdown of DNMT1 by shRNA (sh-DNMT1) in OCI-Ly10 and Granta-159 cells significantly upregulated the expression of tumor suppressor genes (SOCS3, BCL2L10, p16, p14, and SHP-1) via decreasing their methylation level. At the cellular level, we found sh-DNMT1 inhibited the proliferation, clonal formation and cell cycle progression and induced the cell apoptosis of lymphoma cells. Furthermore, we found miR-152 can downregulates the expression of DNMT1 via directly targeting the gene. Overexpression of miR-152 also increased the expression of tumor suppressor genes SOCS3 and SHP-1. And miR-152 also can inhibit the cell proliferation and induce the cell apoptosis. Moreover, we found overexpression of miR-152 significantly repressed the tumor growth with decreased DNMT1 expression and increased expression of tumor suppressor genes in vivo. Our study demonstrates that miR-152 can inhibit lymphoma growth via suppressing DNMT1-mediated silencing of SOCS3 and SHP-1. These data demonstrate a new mechanism for the development of NHL and this may provide a new therapeutic target for NHL.

Crystal nucleation and metastable bcc phase in charged colloids: A molecular dynamics study.

The dynamic process of homogenous nucleation in charged colloids is investigated by brute-force molecular dynamics simulation. To check if the liquid-solid transition will pass through metastable bcc, simulations are performed at the state points that definitely lie in the phase region of thermodynamically stable fcc. The simulation results confirm that, in all of these cases, the preordered precursors, acting as the seeds of nucleation, always have predominant bcc symmetry consistent with Ostwald's step rule and the Alexander-McTague mechanism. However, the polymorph selection is not straightforward because the crystal structures formed are not often determined by the symmetry of intermediate precursors but have different characters under different state points. The region of the state point where bcc crystal structures of large enough size are formed during crystallization is narrow, which gives a reasonable explanation as to why the metastable bcc phase in charged colloidal suspensions is rarely detected in macroscopic experiments.

Nanocomposite Porous Microcarriers Based on Strontium-Substituted HA- g-Poly(γ-benzyl-l-glutamate) for Bone Tissue Engineering.

Porous microcarriers have aroused increasing attention recently, which can create a protected environment for sufficient cell seeding density, facilitate oxygen and nutrient transfer, and well support the cell attachment and growth. In this study, porous microcarriers fabricated from the strontium-substituted hydroxyapatite- graft-poly(γ-benzyl-l-glutamate) (Sr10-HA- g-PBLG) hybrid nanocomposite were developed. The surface grating of PBLG, the micromorphology and element distribution, mechanical strength, in vitro degradation, and Sr2+ ion release of the obtained Sr10-HA- g-PBLG porous microcarriers were investigated, respectively. The grafting ratio and the molecular weight of the grafted PBLG of Sr10-HA- g-PBLG could be effectively controlled by varying the initial ratio of BLG-NCA to Sr10-HA-NH2. The microcarriers exhibited a highly porous and interconnected microstructure with the porosity of about 90% and overall density of 1.03-1.06 g/cm3. Also, the degradation rate of Sr10-HA-PBLG microcarriers could be effectively controlled and long-term Sr2+ release was obtained. The Sr10-HA-PBLG microcarriers allowed cells adhesion, infiltration, and proliferation and promoted the osteogenic differentiation of rabbit adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs). Successful healing of femoral bone defect was proved by injection of the ADSCs-seeded Sr10-HA-PBLG microcarriers in a rabbit model.

Sr-HA-graft-Poly(γ-benzyl-l-glutamate) Nanocomposite Microcarriers: Controllable Sr2+ Release for Accelerating Osteogenenisis and Bony Nonunion Repair.

The microcarrier system offers an attractive method for cellular amplification and phenotype enhancement in the field of bone tissue engineering. However, it remains a challenge to fabricate porous microcarriers with osteoinductive activity for speedy and high-quality osseointegration in regeneration of serious complication of bone fracture, like nonunion. Here, we present a facile method for the first time manufacture microcarriers with osteogenic effects and properties based on well controlled and long-term Sr2+ release. At first, strontium-substituted hydroxyapatite was prepared (Sr-HA) and a novel Sr-HA-graft-poly(γ-benzyl-l-glutamate) (Sr-HA-PBLG) nanocomposite was synthesized. Then, the microcarriers with highly interconnected macropores were fabricated by a double emulsion method, which allowed cells to adhere and proliferate and secrete extracellular matrix. Besides, the microcarriers with a relatively uniform diameter of 271.5 ± 45.0 µm are feasible for injection. The Sr-HA-PBLG microcarriers efficiently promoted osteogenic gene expression in vitro. With injection of the Sr-HA-PBLG microcarriers loading adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) into the nonunion sites, bone regeneration was observed at 8 weeks after injection in a mice model.