Match statistics for sequence-based alleles in profiles from forensic PCR-mps kits

The first autosomal sequence-based allele (aka SNP-STR haplotype) frequency database for forensic massively parallel sequencing (MPS) has been published, thereby removing one of the remaining barriers to implementing MPS in casework. The database was developed using a specific set of flank trim sites. If different trim sites or different kits with different primers are used for casework, then SNP-STR haplotypes may be detected that do not have frequencies in the database. We describe a procedure to address calculation of match probabilities when casework samples are generated using an MPS kit with different trim sites than those present in the relevant population frequency database. The procedure provides a framework for comparison of any MPS kit or database combination while also accommodating comparison of MPS and CE profiles.     

Dielectrophoretic ultra-high-frequency characterization and in silico sorting on uptake of rare earth elements by Cupriavidus necator

Rare earth elements (REEs) are widely used across different industries due to their exceptional magnetic and electrical properties. In this work, Cupriavidus necator is characterized using dielectrophoretic ultra-high-frequency measurements, typically in MHz range to quantify the properties of cytoplasm in C. necator for its metal uptake/bioaccumulation capacity. Cupriavidus necator, a Gram-negative bacteria strain is exposed to REEs like europium, samarium, and neodymium in this study. Dielectrophoretic crossover frequency experiments were performed on the native C. necator species pre- and post-exposure to the REEs at MHz frequency range. The net conductivity of native C. necator, Cupriavidus europium, Cupriavidus samarium, and Cupriavidus neodymium are 15.95 ± 0.029 μS/cm, 16.15 ± 0.028 μS/cm, 16.05 ± 0.029 μS/cm, 15.61 ± 0.005 μS/cm respectively. The estimated properties of the membrane published by our group are used to develop a microfluidic sorter by modeling and simulation to separate REE absorbed C. necator from the unabsorbed native C. necator species using COMSOL Multiphysics commercial software package v5.5.     

二维金属有机框架材料的合成及电催化应用

二维金属有机框架材料(MOFs)由于具备高比表面积、 多孔性以及丰富的活性位点等优异特性而受到广泛关注, 并且在电催化领域展现出巨大的应用潜力. 研究者们已在二维MOFs的可控制备与电催化性能调控方面取得许多突破性进展, 显示出相关研究对开发高性能电催化剂的关键作用. 本文总结了二维MOFs的自上而下和自下而上合成策略以及二维MOFs衍生物的典型合成方法, 概述了二维MOFs在各尺度下的电催化性能调控策略, 并介绍了各种合成方法和调控策略在电催化中的应用. 最后讨论了该领域面临的挑战, 并对未来的发展方向进行了展望.     

Bi2WO6基光催化剂在环境和能源领域的最新研究进展

随着全球经济的快速发展与人口的日益膨胀,随之而来的能源消耗与环境污染也日益成为一个严峻的挑战.半导体光催化技术能够将低密度的太阳能转化为高密度的化学能,此外它能够通过产生活性自由基来降解空气或水中的污染物,因此在解决上述问题中具有巨大潜力,被认为是有着广阔前景的绿色无污染的能源转化和环境修复手段.在过去几十年的研究中,一些光催化剂表现出了较好的光催化活性,如TiO2和ZnO等.然而,由于它们的宽带隙,仅仅在紫外光下具有活性,这极大地限制了其对太阳光的利用.为了尽可能地利用太阳能,研究者们开发了许多具有可见光活性的光催化剂.钨酸铋(Bi2WO6)作为一种典型的Aurivillius层状钙钛矿材料,因具有独特的层状结构、良好的可见光催化活性、高的热稳定性和光化学稳定性及环境友好性等特点而备受关注.然而,有限的光吸收和光生载流子的快速复合阻碍了Bi2WO6光催化性能的进一步提高.因此,研究者们进行了大量的研究,致力于进一步增强Bi2WO6光催化剂的活性.本文对Bi2WO6基光催化剂的最新研究进展进行了系统综述.首先介绍了Bi2WO6的晶体结构、光学性质和光催化基本原理.然后,基于Bi2WO6的改性策略,包括形貌控制、原子调控和复合材料制备,重点讨论了Bi2WO6在水分解、污染物处理、空气净化、杀菌消毒、二氧化碳还原、选择性有机合成等领域的光催化应用.最后,对Bi2WO6基光催化剂当前面临的挑战和未来的发展作了展望和总结,提出了Bi2WO6光催化剂未来的一些研究方向,包括(1)大规模、精确可控地合成Bi2WO6,特别是高活性晶面、多孔结构和量子点的设计;(2)精确调控原子位置,利用先进的技术手段进一步揭示活性位点上的光催化过程;(3)发展原位表征技术来观察复合光催化剂的界面电荷动力学以及开发新型Bi2WO6基复合体系.(4)通过机械应力、温度梯度以及电场等外场的耦合提高Bi2WO6的光催化性能;(5)进一步深入研究Bi2WO6在不同领域的光催化应用,特别是在肿瘤治疗和太阳能燃料制备方面,一些新的应用如固氮等也值得探索.期望本综述能够为Bi2WO6和其他高效光催化材料的设计提供一些指导和帮助.     

早期视网膜分支静脉阻塞患者倍频固体激光治疗对临床疗效及CMT值变化的影响

本文探讨了早期视网膜分支静脉阻塞患者倍频固体激光治疗对临床疗效及黄斑中心视网膜厚度(CMT)值变化的影响。将因视网膜分支静脉阻塞行激光治疗的30例患者纳入激光组,同期行常规治疗的30例患者纳入对照组,对比两组临床疗效、视力、CMT值变化、眼底荧光血管造影(FFA)检查渗透率及并发症。结果显示,治疗后激光组患者临床治疗总有效率、各个时间点视力变化、CMT值及FFA检查渗透发生率均优于对照组(P<0.05),两组患者均随访6个月,并发症比较差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。说明早期视网膜分支静脉阻塞患者使用倍频固体激光治疗临床效果显著,可有效提高其视力水平,降低CMT值。     

高频燃烧红外吸收法测定铅精矿中的硫

利用高频燃烧红外吸收碳硫仪测定铅精矿中的硫含量。低硫含量(S<5%)铅精矿样品直接称样测定;高硫含量(S>5%)铅精矿样品添加稀释剂后称样测定。对样品称样量、助熔剂类型及用量等条件进行了研究,获得最佳分析条件。通过空白实验测得方法检出限为0.0010%,利用铅精矿有证标准物质进行精密度和准确度验证,方法的标准偏差在0.295%~1.3%之间,结果表明该方法精密度高、准确度好,能够满足铅精矿中硫含量的快速准确测定。     

Allosteric Modulation of the CB1 Cannabinoid Receptor by Cannabidiol—A Molecular Modeling Study of the N-Terminal Domain and the Allosteric-Orthosteric Coupling

The CB₁ cannabinoid receptor (CB₁R) contains one of the longest N termini among class A G protein-coupled receptors. Mutagenesis studies suggest that the allosteric binding site of cannabidiol (CBD) involves residues from the N terminal domain. In order to study the allosteric binding of CBD to CB₁R we modeled the whole N-terminus of this receptor using the replica exchange molecular dynamics with solute tempering (REST2) approach. Then, the obtained structures of CB₁R with the N terminus were used for ligand docking. A natural cannabinoid receptor agonist, Δ⁹-THC, was docked to the orthosteric site and a negative allosteric modulator, CBD, to the allosteric site positioned between extracellular ends of helices TM1 and TM2. The molecular dynamics simulations were then performed for CB₁R with ligands: (i) CBD together with THC, and (ii) THC-only. Analyses of the differences in the residue-residue interaction patterns between those two cases allowed us to elucidate the allosteric network responsible for the modulation of the CB₁R by CBD. In addition, we identified the changes in the orthosteric binding mode of Δ⁹-THC, as well as the changes in its binding energy, caused by the CBD allosteric binding. We have also found that the presence of a complete N-terminal domain is essential for a stable binding of CBD in the allosteric site of CB₁R as well as for the allosteric-orthosteric coupling mechanism.     

Enhanced Static Modulated Fourier Transform Spectrometer for Fast Approximation in Field Application

We discuss the data sampling frequency, the spectral resolution, and the limit for non-aliasing in the static modulated Fourier transform spectrometer based on a modified Sagnac interferometer. The measurement was performed in a very short 4 ms, which is applicable for real time field operation. The improved spectrometer characteristics were used to investigate the spectral properties of an InGaAs light emitting diode. In addition, The measured spectral peak was shifted from 6420 cm⁻¹ to 6365 cm⁻¹, as the temperature increased from 25 °C to 40 °C, when the operating current is fixed to be 0.55 A. As the applied current increased from 0.30 A to 0.55 A at room temperature, the spectral width was broadened from 316 cm⁻¹ to 384 cm⁻¹. Compared to the conventional Fourier transform spectrometer, the measured spectral width by the static modulated Fourier transform spectrometer showed a deviation less than 10%, and the spectral peak shift according to the temperature rise showed a difference within 2%.     

Combining linear polarization spectroscopy and the Representative Layer Theory to measure the Beer–Lambert law absorbance of highly scattering materials

Visible and Near Infrared (Vis–NIR) Spectroscopy is a powerful non destructive analytical method used to analyze major compounds in bulk materials and products and requiring no sample preparation. It is widely used in routine analysis and also in-line in industries, in-vivo with biomedical applications or in-field for agricultural and environmental applications. However, highly scattering samples subvert Beer–Lambert law's linear relationship between spectral absorbance and the concentrations. Instead of spectral pre-processing, which is commonly used by Vis–NIR spectroscopists to mitigate the scattering effect, we put forward an optical method, based on Polarized Light Spectroscopy to improve the absorbance signal measurement on highly scattering samples. This method selects part of the signal which is less impacted by scattering. The resulted signal is combined in the Absorption/Remission function defined in Dahm's Representative Layer Theory to compute an absorbance signal fulfilling Beer–Lambert's law, i.e. being linearly related to concentration of the chemicals composing the sample. The underpinning theories have been experimentally evaluated on scattering samples in liquid form and in powdered form. The method produced more accurate spectra and the Pearson's coefficient assessing the linearity between the absorbance spectra and the concentration of the added dye improved from 0.94 to 0.99 for liquid samples and 0.84–0.97 for powdered samples.     

Simple and Sensitive Voltammetric Determination of Esculetin Using Electrochemically Reduced Graphene Oxide Modified Electrode

A simple and sensitive voltammetric sensor for esculetin, based on electrochemically reduced graphene oxide film modified glassy carbon electrode, was reported for the quantitative determination of esculetin in the Chinese traditional herbal drug Viola yedoensis Makino. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were employed to study the characteristic of the graphene oxide film. The electrochemical behavior of esculetin on this sensor was investigated in pH 3.0 phosphate buffer solution by cyclic voltammetry. Significant advantages were achieved by the excellent conductivity and the high surface‐to‐volume ratio of electrochemically reduced graphene oxide. A calibration plot of oxidation peak currents versus esculetin concentrations was linear in the range of 4.0 ξ 10^‐8 mol L^‐1 to 5.0 ξ 10^‐6 mol L^‐1 with a detection limit of 2.0 ξ 10^‐8 mol L^‐1. The practical application of the present sensor was demonstrated by determining the concentration of esculetin in real sample with no interference.