Antisymmetric Seebeck Effect in a Tilted Weyl Semimetal.

Tilting the Weyl cone breaks the Lorentz invariance and enriches the Weyl physics. Here, we report the observation of a magnetic-field-antisymmetric Seebeck effect in a tilted Weyl semimetal, Co_{3}Sn_{2}S_{2}. Moreover, it is found that the Seebeck effect and the Nernst effect are antisymmetric in both the in-plane magnetic field and the magnetization. We attribute these exotic effects to the one-dimensional chiral anomaly and phase space correction due to the Berry curvature. The observation is further reproduced by a theoretical calculation, taking into account the orbital magnetization.

A new locus for autosomal dominant congenital coronary cataract in a Chinese family maps to chromosome 3q.

PURPOSE: To identify the genetic defect in an autosomal dominant congenital coronary cataract family (ADCCC). METHODS: A Chinese family with ADCC was identified and characterized. All the members were genotyped with microsatellite markers at genes and loci that were considered to be associated with hereditary cataracts. Linkage analysis was performed after genotyping. Two-point Logarithm of odds (LOD) scores were calculated using MLINK software, from the LINKAGE program package. Multipoint parametric and non-parametric linkage were performed via the program MERLIN. RESULTS: Linkage analysis provided evidence for a genetic locus for the ADCC on chromosome 3q. The maximum Two-point LOD score was 3.01 (theta=0) for two close markers. CONCLUSIONS: The mapping of the congenital cataracts in a Chinese family locus to chromosome 3q.

Complement 5b-9 complex-induced alterations in human RPE cell physiology.

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence shows that complements are closely related to the occurrence of choroidal neovascularization (CNV). We studied the effect of complement 5b-9 complex (C5b-9) on membrane permeability and molecular biological behavior in cultured human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells and considered the role of C5b-9 in CNV. MATERIAL/METHODS: Human RPE cells were exposed to different concentrations of C5b-9 for 24 hours, then observed through light and electron microscopy. The dynamics of calcium ion change in cells exposed to sublysis C5b-9 were analyzed by confocal laser scanning microscope, and the amount of VEGF and TGF-beta2 mRNA was determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) RESULTS: RPE cells were destroyed when exposed to 80 microg/ml and 40 microg/ml C5b-9. The structure of RPE cells was not obviously changed when exposed to 20 microg/ml or less C5b-9; however, pigment granules are released from the cell membrane when observed using electron microscopy. In most of the cells, calcium fluorescence intensity increased rapidly after the deposition of C5b-9, to a peak at 4 min, lasted for about 6 min, and then began to decrease. The expression of VEGF and TGF- beta2 mRNA in RPE cells with C5b-9 was increased at 4 h and decreased at 24 h, but they were higher than in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: These observations suggest C5b-9 can induce a change in membrane permeability, an increase in cytoplasmic calcium ion concentration, and significant up-regulation of angiogenic factors in cultured RPE cells, which may be one of many potential mechanisms of CNV formation.