Atomically thin two‐dimensional (2D) materials have emerged as promising candidates for efficient energy harvesting from ionic gradients. However, the exploration of robust 2D atomically thin ...nanopore membranes, which hold sufficient ionic selectivity and high ion permeability, remains challenging. Here, the single‐layer hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanopores are demonstrated as various high‐performance ion‐gradient nanopower harvesters. Benefiting from the ultrathin atomic thickness and large surface charge (also a large Dukhin number), the hBN nanopore can realize fast proton transport while maintaining excellent cation selectivity even in highly acidic environments. Therefore, a single hBN nanopore achieves the pure osmosis‐driven proton‐gradient power up to ≈3 nW under 1000‐fold ionic gradient. In addition, the robustness of hBN membranes in extreme pH conditions allows the ionic gradient power generation from acid‐base neutralization. Utilizing 1 m HCl/KOH, the generated power can be promoted to an extraordinarily high level of ≈4.5 nW, over one magnitude higher than all existing ionic gradient power generators. The synergistic effects of ultrathin thickness, large surface charge, and excellent chemical inertness of 2D single‐layer hBN render it a promising membrane candidate for harvesting ionic gradient powers, even under extreme pH conditions.
An atomically thin 2D hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanopore with an ultrahigh surface charge for highly efficient ionic gradient power harvesting is demonstrated. Benefiting from ultrafast ion transport and excellent cation selectivity, a single hBN nanopore reaches an unprecedented nanowatt level under various ionic gradients, more than ten times higher than all the state‐of‐the‐art single‐pore devices.
A unique “clean‐lifting transfer” (CLT) technique that applies a controllable electrostatic force to transfer large‐area and high‐quality CVD‐grown graphene onto various rigid or flexible substrates ...is reported. The CLT technique without using any organic support or adhesives can produce residual‐free graphene films with large‐area processability, and has great potential for future industrial production of graphene‐based electronics or optoelectronics.
There are various methods of fixation for anterior pelvic ring fractures. We report our experience with modified pedicle screw-rod fixation (MPSRF) via a minimally invasive method. Fourteen patients ...with anterior pelvic ring fracture were treated by internal fixation (conventional plate fixation, n = 7; MPSRF, n = 7). Intraoperative blood loss, operative time, post-operative fracture reduction grading by radiography, and complication rates were compared and statistically analyzed. Patients treated with MPSRF had a shorter operative time (-36 min, P = 0.378) and significantly less blood loss (-264 ml, P = 0.026) than patients in the conventional plate fixation group. Postoperative radiological evaluations were similar between the groups (P > 0.05). The complication rate was lower in the MPSRF group (1/7 patients) than in the plate fixation group (2/7 patients). Modified pedicle screw-rod fixation is a viable treatment for anterior pelvic ring fixation and can reduce blood loss.
Metallic nanostructure-based surface plasmon sensors are capable of real-time, label-free, and multiplexed detections for chemical and biomedical applications. Recently, the studies of aluminum-based ...biosensors have attracted a large attention because aluminum is a more cost-effective metal and relatively stable. However, the intrinsic properties of aluminum, having a large imaginary part of the dielectric function and a longer evanescent length, limit its sensing capability. Here we show that capped aluminum nanoslits fabricated on plastic films using hot embossing lithography can provide tailorable Fano resonances. Changing height of nanostructures and deposited metal film thickness modulated the transmission spectrum, which varied from Wood's anomaly-dominant resonance, asymmetric Fano profile to surface plasmon-dominant resonance. For biolayer detections, the maximum surface sensitivity occurred at the dip of asymmetric Fano profile. The optimal Fano factor was close to -1.3. The wavelength and intensity sensitivities for surface thickness were up to 2.58 nm/nm and 90%/nm, respectively. The limit of detection (LOD) of thickness reached 0.018 nm. We attributed the enhanced surface sensitivity for capped aluminum nanoslits to a reduced evanescent length and sharp slope of the asymmetric Fano profile. The protein-protein interaction experiments verified the high sensitivity of capped nanostructures. The LOD was down to 236 fg/mL.
This paper describes a video coding technology proposal submitted by MediaTek in April 2018 in response to a joint call for proposals (CfP) issued by ITU-T VCEG and ISO/IEC MPEG. The proposal uses ...the conventional block-based hybrid coding approach with a breakthrough design of block structure, substantial improvements of coding tools, and new inventions of loop filtering techniques. First, the block structure is designed using a highly flexible partitioning scheme, where each coding tree unit in a picture is split into multiple coding units (CUs) by a recursive quaternary tree followed by a recursive binary-ternary tree. The prediction unit (PU) and transform unit (TU) concepts are unified with the CU concept, i.e., PU and TU are basically the same as CU. Moreover, inter prediction, intra prediction, transform, quantization, in-loop filtering, and entropy coding are all improved. Finally, new loop filtering techniques are invented, where the proposed convolutional neural network loop filtering is of particular interest. The proposed video codec achieves 43.81% average bit rate savings based on objective measures compared to the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) anchors and is among the best-performing CfP responses both objectively and subjectively. It has been partially adopted into the working draft of the Versatile Video Coding (VVC) standard.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are valuable sources for the discovery of useful cancer biomarkers. This study explores the potential usefulness of tumor cell-derived EV membrane proteins as plasma ...biomarkers for early detection of colorectal cancer (CRC). EVs were isolated from the culture supernatants of four CRC cell lines by ultracentrifugation, and their protein profiles were analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Bioinformatics analysis of identified proteins revealed 518 EV membrane proteins in common among at least three CRC cell lines. We next used accurate inclusion mass screening (AIMS) in parallel with iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomic analysis to highlight candidate proteins and validated their presence in pooled plasma-generated EVs from 30 healthy controls and 30 CRC patients. From these, we chose 14 potential EV-derived targets for further quantification by targeted MS assay in a separate individual cohort comprising of 73 CRC and 80 healthy subjects. Quantitative analyses revealed significant increases in ADAM10, CD59 and TSPAN9 levels (2.19- to 5.26-fold, p < 0.0001) in plasma EVs from CRC patients, with AUC values of 0.83, 0.95 and 0.87, respectively. Higher EV CD59 levels were significantly correlated with distant metastasis (p = 0.0475), and higher EV TSPAN9 levels were significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (p = 0.0011), distant metastasis at diagnosis (p = 0.0104) and higher TNM stage (p = 0.0065). A two-marker panel consisting of CD59 and TSPAN9 outperformed the conventional marker CEA in discriminating CRC and stage I/II CRC patients from healthy controls, with AUC values of 0.98 and 0.99, respectively. Our results identify EV membrane proteins in common among CRC cell lines and altered plasma EV protein profiles in CRC patients and suggest plasma EV CD59 and TSPAN9 as a novel biomarker panel for detecting early-stage CRC.
Objective
The weight losses after bariatric surgery are modulated by multiple factors in people with obesity. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to show significant regulatory roles in adipose ...tissue. However, a serum miRNA signature to serve as a biomarker of sustained weight losses following bariatric surgery has not yet been established.
Methods
MiRNA microarray was used to identify differentially expressed miRNAs in the serum of patients with an effective response after bariatric surgery compared with those without. Excess weight loss > 55% at 6 months after surgery was defined as an effective response.
Results
Three miRNAs were shown to have a significantly differential expression between patients with or without an effective response following bariatric surgery. The miR‐31‐5p was downregulated, whereas miR‐328‐3p and miR‐181a‐5p were upregulated in the patients with effective responses compared with those without effective responses. Panels of the serum ratios of miR‐328‐3p/miR‐31‐5p or miR‐181a‐5p/miR‐31‐5p and individual BMI value exhibited good performance in preoperative prediction of treatment effectiveness. Bioinformatic analysis depicted that predicted targets of these miRNAs were involved in the regulation of the AMP‐activated protein kinase signaling pathway.
Conclusions
A circulating miRNA signature with clinical variables (BMI) can be a clinical biomarker to predict effectiveness following bariatric surgery.
Avian-origin influenza A (H7N9) viruses emerged as human pathogens in China in early 2013 and have killed >100 persons. Influenza vaccines are mainly manufactured using egg-based technology which ...could not meet the surging demand during influenza pandemics. In this study, we evaluated cell-based influenza H7N9 vaccines in ferrets. An egg-derived influenza H7N9 reassortant vaccine virus was adapted in MDCK cells. Influenza H7N9 whole virus vaccine antigen was manufactured using a microcarrier-based culture system. Immunogenicity and protection of the vaccine candidates with three different formulations (300 μg aluminum hydroxide, 1.5 μg HA, and 1.5 μg HA plus 300 μg aluminum hydroxide) were evaluated in ferrets. In ferrets receiving two doses of vaccination, geometric mean titers of hemagglutination (HA) inhibition and neutralizing antibodies were <10 and <40 for the control group (adjuvant only), 17 and 80 for the unadjuvanted (HA only) group, and 190 and 640 for the adjuvanted group (HA plus adjuvant), respectively. After challenge with wild-type influenza H7N9 viruses, virus titers in respiratory tracts of the adjuvanted group were significantly lower than that in the control, and unadjuvanted groups. MDCK cell-derived influenza H7N9 whole virus vaccine candidate is immunogenic and protective in ferrets and clinical development is highly warranted.
MicroRNA-21 (miR-21) is one of the most frequently upregulated miRNAs in liver diseases such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, mechanistic ...pathways that connect NAFLD and HCC remain elusive. We developed a doxycycline (Dox)-inducible transgenic zebrafish model (LmiR21) which exhibited an upregulation of miR-21 in the liver, which in turn induced the full spectrum of NAFLD, including steatosis, inflammation, fibrosis, and HCC, in the LmiR21 fish. Diethylnitrosamine (DEN) treatment led to accelerated liver tumor formation and exacerbated their aggressiveness. Moreover, prolonged miR-21 expression for up to ten months induced nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-related HCC (NAHCC). Immunoblotting and immunostaining confirmed the presence of miR-21 regulatory proteins (i.e., PTEN, SMAD7, p-AKT, p-SMAD3, and p-STAT3) in human nonviral HCC tissues and LmiR21 models. Thus, we demonstrated that miR-21 can induce NAHCC via at least three mechanisms: First, the occurrence of hepatic steatosis increases with the decrease of
,
, and activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway; second, miR-21 induces hepatic inflammation (or NASH) through an increase in inflammatory gene expression via STAT3 signaling pathways, and induces liver fibrosis through hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation and collagen deposition via TGF-β/Smad3/Smad7 signaling pathways; finally, oncogenic activation of Smad3/Stat3 signaling pathways induces HCC. Our LmiR21 models showed similar molecular pathology to the human cancer samples in terms of initiation of lipid metabolism disorder, inflammation, fibrosis and activation of the PI3K/AKT, TGF-β/SMADs and STAT3 (PTS) oncogenic signaling pathways. Our findings indicate that miR-21 plays critical roles in the mechanistic perspectives of NAHCC development via the PTS signaling networks.
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