Formation of ripples in atomically thin MoS2 and local strain engineering of electrostatic properties.

Ripple is a common deformation in two-dimensional materials due to localized strain, which is expected to greatly influence the physical properties. The effects of the ripple deformation in the MoS2 layer on their physics, however, are rarely addressed experimentally. We here grow atomically thin MoS2 nanostructures by employing a vapor phase deposition method without any catalyst and observed the ripples in MoS2 nanostructures. The MoS2 ripples exhibit quasi-periodical ripple structures in the MoS2 surface. The heights of the ripples vary from several angstroms to tens of nanometers and the wavelength is in the range of several hundred nanometers. The growth mechanism of rippled MoS2 nanostructures is elucidated. We have also simultaneously investigated the electrostatic properties of MoS2 ripples by using Kelvin probe force microscopy, which shows inhomogeneous surface potential and charge distributions for MoS2 ripple nanostructures with different local strains.

Molecular prenatal diagnosis of alpha-thalassemia using real-time and multiplex polymerase chain reaction methods.

Molecular analysis of two fetuses at high risk of alpha-thalassemia (alpha-thal), and their family members, was performed using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with SYBR Green 1 (SYBR-PCR) dye combined with dissociation curve analysis and multiplex PCR (m-PCR) and DNA sequencing techniques. The genotype of the fetus from one family was --SEA/--SEA (Southeast Asian deletion), which produces hydrops fetalis syndrome. The genotype of the parents was --SEA/alphaalpha. A boy with Hb H disease and his sibling fetus from the other family had the genotype --SEA/alphaCSalpha [the Hb Constant Spring (CS) mutation: alpha142, Term-->Gln (TAA>CAA in alpha2)] and alphaalpha/alphaalpha (normal), respectively. The diagnosis, based on SYBR-PCR combined with dissociation curve analysis, was in agreement with the results from the m-PCR method. This indicates that these are alternative and reliable assays for the molecular diagnosis of deletional alpha-thal.

NLRP3 inflammasome activation results in liver inflammation and fibrosis in mice infected with Schistosoma japonicum in a Syk-dependent manner.

Granulomatous and fibrosing inflammation in response to soluble egg antigen (SEA) from Schistosoma japonicum (S. japonicum) is the main pathological process of S. japonicum infection. Inflammasome activation has recently been implicated in the pathogenesis of liver disease. However, the role of inflammasome activation in schistosomiasis-associated liver fibrosis (SSLF) has not been extensively studied. In this study, it is demonstrated that the NLRP3 inflammasome is markedly activated in mouse HSCs both in vivo and in vitro during S. japonicum infection. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome significantly alleviates the liver inflammation and collagen deposition that are induced by infection with S. japonicum. The mechanism of SEA-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation is studied in isolated, cultured mouse HSCs and it is shown that SEA-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation in HSCs is dependent upon the activities of spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk), an enzyme usually associated with a pathogen recognition receptor for fungal pathogens. Moreover, it is demonstrated that Dectin-1 and JNK signaling are also involved in SEA-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation in HSCs. These data shed new light on the mechanisms of NLRP3 inflammasome activation during an infection with S. japonicum, and further characterize its role in schistosomiasis-associated liver fibrosis (SSLF).

MiR-375 and Doxorubicin Co-delivered by Liposomes for Combination Therapy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is one of the most frequently used anti-cancer drugs and the front line option for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment. However, the clinical applications of DOX are restricted largely due to its toxicity and chemoresistance. Here, we report that miR-375 and DOX were co-delivered by liposomes (named L-miR-375/DOX-NPs) for combination therapy of HCC and drug resistance reversion of DOX. In vitro, L-miR-375/DOX-NPs could deliver DOX and miR-375 efficiently and simultaneously into HCC cells and ensure the successful release of mature miR-375 and DOX. Then, the released miR-375 suppressed the malignant hallmarks of HCC by significantly decreasing the expression of AEG-1, YAP1, and ATG7, while the released DOX evidently accelerated cell apoptosis and blocked cycle at a G2/M stage by activating the P53/Bax/Bcl-2, caspase-3, and P-JNK, P-P38 pathway. Furthermore, miR-375 dramatically inhibited drug resistance of DOX by reducing the expression of multidrug resistance gene 1 (MDR1). In vivo, L-miR-375/DOX-NPs exhibited enhanced anti-tumor efficiency in xenograft HCC mouse models with mild adverse effects compared with doxorubicin or miR-375 alone. In conclusion, our research demonstrated that L-miR-375/DOX-NPs had significant synergetic anti-tumor effects and added values in overcoming drug resistance, which may represent a promising approach for the therapy of HCC.

[Effects of Hydraulic Loading Rate on the Removal of Pollutants from an Integrated Biological Settling Tank].

Based on the designing concepts of rotating biological disk and settling tank, a hybrid biological purification and settling tank was developed to achieve simultaneous removal of turbidity causing materials, organic matters, NH4+-N, and TP. Experimental results showed that under certain rotary speed and water quality conditions, the removal rates of both turbidity and organic matters and NH4+-N were relatively stable first and then started to decrease with the increase of hydraulic loading rate. The highest value was achieved at 0.036 g·(m2·d)-1 and 0.064 g·(m2·d)-1 respectively. Compared with turbidity and TOC and NH4+-N, the removal rate of TP was greatly influenced by hydraulic loading rate. The average TP removal was the worst at 0.064 g·(m2·d)-1. Appropriately decreasing or increasing the hydraulic load was helpful to the phosphorus removal process. Further study showed that nitrification and dephosphorization processes competed for the limited carbon source and DO in the water phase. Along the flow direction, the surface of the disc populations of microorganisms with good coordination and distribution along the characteristics ensured that the process still had certain decontamination effect under the condition of unfavorable hydraulic load, which indicated that the biological settling tank had a capacity in resisting organic loading rate shock and could be used in enhancing pollutant removal in treating micro-polluted water.

Mathematical model and computer simulation on moving precipitate boundary electrophoresis for offline sample pre- concentration of heavy metal ion.

In this paper, a mathematical model and computer simulator were developed for offline sample pretreatment of heavy metal ion based on moving precipitate boundary (MPB) electrophoresis. The simulation indicates that (i) the program can easily accomplish numerical computations, such as the velocities of MPB and elution boundary (EB), and enrichment factor (EF) etc; (ii) the simulator can vividly imitate the dynamics of MPB, EB, precipitate zone, and precipitate-elution; and (iii) the software may simply optimized experimental conditions via the influence factors (e.g., voltage, hydroxyl, hydrogen and metal ions) on the EF. As a proof of concept, copper ion and its precipitate with definite blue color were, respectively chosen as mode heavy metal ion and alkaline precipitate for the relevant experiments of MPB-based sample preconcentration of heavy metal ion in large tube. All of the experimental results manifest the validity of developed mathematical model and the relevant simulation results. The model and simulator advanced herein are of clear significance to the optimization of experimental conditions and understanding of offline MPB- based sample condensation of heavy metal ion.

[Trace analysis of heavy metal ions in electroplate waste water by capillary electrophoresis with visual offline sample stacking via moving neutralization boundary].

A moving neutralization boundary (MNB) was developed as a novel model of visual offline sample stacking for the trace analysis of heavy metal ions (HMIs) by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). In the stacking system, the motion direction of MNB to cathode was used with 2.1 mmol/L HCl-98 mmol/L KCl-trace metal ions in the anodic solution and 4.0 mmol/L NaOH-96 mmol/L KCl in the cathodic solution. The voltage was constant at 180 V and the flow rate of the anolyte and catholyte was 1 mL/min. The metal ions in the gel after stacking were detected by capillary electrophoresis. The calibration curves showed good linear relationship (r > or = 0.998 5) in the concentration range used in the experiments. The pre-concentration factors were up to 80 - 150 and the limits of detection (LODs) were 0.163, 0.256, 0.077, 0.153, 0.203, 0.062 and 0.142 mg/L for Cu(II), Zn(II), Ni(II), Mg(II), Ca(II), Cr(III) and Fe(III), respectively, obviously lower than the national standards. The intra-day and inter-day assay precisions were good (the relative standard deviations (RSDs) less than 7.42%). Finally, the developed method has been successfully used for the stacking and the detection of heavy metal ions in electroplate waste water.

Visual offline sample stacking via moving neutralization boundary electrophoresis for analysis of heavy metal ion.

In this paper, a moving neutralization boundary (MNB) electrophoresis is developed as a novel model of visual offline sample stacking for the trace analysis of heavy metal ions (HMIs). In the stacking system, the cathodic-direction motion MNB is designed with 1.95-2.8mM HCl+98 mM KCl in phase alfa and 4.0mM NaOH+96 mM KCl in phase beta. If a little of HMI is present in phase alfa, the metal ion electrically migrates towards the MNB and react with hydroxyl ion, producing precipitation and moving precipitation boundary (MPB). The alkaline precipitation is neutralized by hydrogen ion, leading to a moving eluting boundary (MEB), release of HMI from its precipitation, circle of HMI from the MEB to the MPB, and highly efficient visual stacking. As a proof of concept, a set of metal ions (Cu(II), Co(II), Mn(II), Pb(II) and Cr(III)) were chosen as the model HMIs and capillary electrophoresis (CE) was selected as an analytical tool for the experiments demonstrating the feasibility of MNB-based stacking. As shown in this paper, (i) the visual stacking model was manifested by the experiments; (ii) there was a controllable stacking of HMI in the MNB system; (iii) the offline stacking could achieve higher than 123 fold preconcentration; and (iv) the five HMIs were simultaneously stacked via the developed stacking technique for the trace analyses with the limits of detection (LOD): 3.67×10(-3) (Cu(II)), 1.67×10(-3) (Co(II), 4.17×10(-3) (Mn(II)), 4.6×10(-4) (Pb(II)) and 8.40×10(-4)mM (Cr(III)). Even the off-line stacking was demonstrated for the use of CE-based HMI analysis, it has potential applications in atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and ion chromatography (IC) etc.

[Acupuncture for post-stroke depression: a randomized controlled trial].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for post-stroke depression (PSD). METHODS: The randomized, double-blind control study was designed. 43 post-stroke patients with current major depression episode (DSM-IV) were randomly assigned to an observation group (23 cases) and a control group (20 cases). The conventional symptomatic, supportive and anti-infection treatment in neurological internal medicine was applied to all of the cases in two groups. In observation group, acupuncture was applied to Baihui (GV 20), Yintang (EX-HN 3), Sishencong (EX-HN 1), Taichong (LR 3), etc. Additionally, the placebo was taken orally. In control group, acupuncture was applied to non-acupoint spots (5 mm lateral to the acupoints selected in observation group) with shallow needling technique. Moreover, Fluoxetine was taken orally. The treatment lasted for 6 weeks. Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), Asberg antidepressant side effect scale (ASES), adverse response of acupuncture and efficacy were compared between two groups. RESULTS: The total effective rate was 73.9% (17/23) in observation group and was 80.0% (16/20) in control group, indicating equivalent efficacy between two groups. After treatment, HAMD score was reduced remarkably as compared with that before treatment in two groups (P < 0.05). ASES scores in 4 weeks of treatment and after treatment in observation group and ASES score after treatment in control group were reduced remarkably as compared with those before treatment (all P < 0.05). ASES scores in 4 weeks of treatment and after treatment in observation group were reduced much more remarkably as compared with those in control group (both P < 0.05). The incidences of adverse response of acupuncture were 13.0% (3/23) and 15.0% (3/20) respectively in observation group and control group, indicating that the adverse response was transient and had not recurred after symptomatic measures. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture for PSD is as effective as fluoxetine, without obvious drug-induced adverse reaction involved.