Rujifang inhibits triple-negative breast cancer growth via the PI3K/AKT pathway.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Rujifang (RJF) constitutes a traditional Chinese medicinal compound extensively employed in the management of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, information regarding its potential active ingredients, antitumor effects, safety, and mechanism of action remains unreported. AIM OF THE STUDY: To investigate the efficacy and safety of RJF in the context of TNBC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We employed the ultra high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray four-pole time-of-flight mass spectrometry technique (UPLC/Q-TOF-MS/MS) to scrutinize the chemical constituents of RJF. Subcutaneously transplanted tumor models were utilized to assess the impact of RJF on TNBC in vivo. Thirty female BLAB/c mice were randomly divided into five groups: the model group, cyclophosphamide group, and RJF high-dose, medium-dose, and low-dose groups. A total of 1 × 106 4T1 cells were subcutaneously injected into the right shoulder of mice, and they were administered treatments for a span of 28 days. We conducted evaluations on blood parameters, encompassing white blood cell count (WBC), red blood cell count (RBC), hemoglobin (HGB), platelet count (PLT), neutrophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes, as well as hepatorenal indicators including alkaline phosphatase (ALP), glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT), glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT), albumin, and creatinine (CRE) to gauge the safety of RJF. Ki67 and TUNEL were detected via immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence, respectively. We prepared RJF drug-containing serum for TNBC cell lines and assessed the in vitro inhibitory effect of RJF on tumor cell growth through the CCK8 assay and cell cycle analysis. RT-PCR was employed to detect the mRNA expression of cyclin-dependent kinase and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors in tumor tissues, and Western blot was carried out to ascertain the expression of cyclin and pathway-related proteins. RESULTS: 100 compounds were identified in RJF, which consisted of 3 flavonoids, 24 glycosides, 18 alkaloids, 3 amino acids, 8 phenylpropanoids, 6 terpenes, 20 organic acids, and 18 other compounds. In animal experiments, both CTX and RJF exhibited substantial antitumor effects. RJF led to an increase in the number of neutrophils in peripheral blood, with no significant impact on other hematological indices. In contrast, CTX reduced red blood cell count, hemoglobin levels, and white blood cell count, while increasing platelet count. RJF exhibited no discernible influence on hepatorenal function, whereas Cyclophosphamide (CTX) decreased ALP, GOT, and GPT levels. Both CTX and RJF reduced the expression of Ki67 and heightened the occurrence of apoptosis in tumor tissue. RJF drug-containing serum hindered the viability of 4T1 and MD-MBA-231 cells in a time and concentration-dependent manner. In cell cycle experiments, RJF diminished the proportion of G2 phase cells and arrested the cell cycle at the S phase. RT-PCR analysis indicated that RJF down-regulated the mRNA expression of CDK2 and CDK4, while up-regulating that of P21 and P27 in tumor tissue. The trends in CDKs and CDKIs protein expression mirrored those of mRNA expression. Moreover, the PI3K/AKT pathway displayed downregulation in the tumor tissue of mice treated with RJF. CONCLUSION: RJF demonstrates effectiveness and safety in the context of TNBC. It exerts anti-tumor effects by arresting the cell cycle at the S phase through the PI3K-AKT pathway.

A follow-up study on factors affecting the recovery of patients with hypothyroidism in different selenium environments.

BACKGROUND: Hypothyroidism is a major manifestation of autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD). We previously reported that a low selenium (Se) status was linked to an elevated prevalence of thyroid diseases. We hypothesized that Se status may also influence the restoration of thyroid function. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the recovery of thyroid function in patients with (sub-)clinical hypothyroidism, with a specific focus on Se status. METHODS: We conducted a 6-year prospective cohort study comparing two counties with different Se concentrations. Demographic and disease data were collected from 1,190 individuals (549 Se-adequate and 641 Se-deficient) who completed a follow-up study in 2019. In addition, urinary iodine (I) levels, thyroid function, and serum and nail Se levels were measured. Logistic regression was used to investigate the relationship between Se deficiency and recovery of thyroid function. RESULTS: Sex and smoking status was similar between the two counties studied. Thyroid function recovery rate was significantly higher in Se-deficient counties (46.0% vs. 30.6%, P = 0.008). In the multivariate analysis, our results show that female sex (odds ratio [OR] (95% confidence interval [CI]) = 1.875 (1.080-3.257), P = 0.026] and increasing age [OR (95%CI) = 1.028(1.007-1.049), P = 0.009] were associated with the recovery rate. Additionally, our study revealed that while Se status was significant in the univariate analysis, this association appeared to disappear in the multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Female sex and increasing age have unfavorable effects on the recovery of thyroid function in patients over 30 years of age with (sub-) clinical hypothyroidism.

The maternal phylogenetic insights of Yunnan Miao group revealed by complete mitogenomes.

The Miao group is one of the representative Hmong-Mien-speaking populations and primarily scattered in southern China and Southeast Asia, which has experienced massive migrations in history and thus forms distinctive evolutionary genetics. Yet, the genetic explorations of Miao group are relatively limited based on complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome), especially for the Miao group from Yunnan Province (YNM). Here, we sequenced complete mitogenomes of 132 Miao individuals from Yunnan Province using massively parallel sequencing method. Total 132 Miao individuals could be allocated to 119 various haplotypes, which were mainly dominated by haplogroups prevalent in southern East Asia (B, F, M7 and R9), and rarely occupied by northern lineages (A, D, G and M8). In order to dissect the genetic background of YNM more comprehensively, we introduced 99 published population data with 7135 complete mitochondrial sequences for population genetic comparisons. YNM exhibited closer genetic relationships with Hmong-Mien, Tai-Kadai, Sino-Tibetan and Austroasiatic populations, especially for Hmong-Mien populations; we further speculated that Miao group might have certain direct or indirect gene exchanges with ancient Baiyue groups. Several maternal lineages, such as B5a1c1a, F1g1, B4a5 and D4e1a3, were found to be specifically shared by YNM and other Hmong-Mien populations, and these matrilineal expansions occurred roughly during the Neolithic period. Eventually, according to the population dynamic analyses of YNM, the population size began to emerge recovery âˆ¼1-0.5 kya after a long-term population reduction âˆ¼1-5 kya, during which the B5a1c1a haplogroup manifested relatively apparent lineage expansion.

Ancestral Information Analysis of Chinese Korean Ethnic Group via a Novel Multiplex DIP System.

Deletion/insertion polymorphism (DIP) is one of the more promising genetic markers in the field of forensic genetics for personal identification and biogeographic ancestry inference. In this research, we used an in-house developed ancestry-informative marker-DIP system, including 56 autosomal diallelic DIPs, three Y-chromosomal DIPs, and an Amelogenin gene, to analyze the genetic polymorphism and ancestral composition of the Chinese Korean group, as well as to explore its genetic relationships with the 26 reference populations. The results showed that this novel panel exhibited high genetic polymorphism in the studied Korean group and could be effectively applied for forensic individual identification in the Korean group. In addition, the results of multiple population genetic analyses indicated that the ancestral component of the Korean group was dominated by northern East Asia. Moreover, the Korean group was more closely related to the East Asian populations, especially to the Japanese population in Tokyo. This study enriched the genetic data of the Korean ethnic group in China and provided information on the ancestry of the Korean group from the perspective of population genetics.

Application of microfluidic technologies in forensic analysis.

The application of microfluidic technology in forensic medicine has steadily expanded over the last two decades due to the favorable features of low cost, rapidity, high throughput, user-friendliness, contamination-free, and minimum sample and reagent consumption. In this context, bibliometric methods were adopted to visualize the literature information contained in the Science Citation Index Expanded from 1989 to 2022, focusing on the co-occurrence analysis of forensic and microfluidic topics. A deep interpretation of the literature was conducted based on co-occurrence results, in which microfluidic technologies and their applications in forensic medicine, particularly forensic genetics, were elaborated. The purpose of this review is to provide an impartial evaluation of the utilization of microfluidic technology in forensic medicine. Additionally, the challenges and future trends of implementing microfluidic technology in forensic genetics are also addressed.

Exploration of the ancestral inference effectiveness of 126 AI-SNPs and the genetic feature of Inner Mongolian Manchu group.

In addition to the validated ancestry-informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (AI-SNPs) in classic panels, there are many new potential AI-SNPs yet to be explored. Moreover, the search for AI-SNPs with highly discriminative power for ancestry inference in inter- and intra-continental populations has become a realistic need. In this study, 126 novel AI-SNPs were selected to distinguish the African, European, Central/South Asian and East Asian populations, and a random forest model was introduced to assess the performance of the AI-SNP set. This panel was further used in the genetic analysis of the Manchu group in Inner Mongolia, China, based on 79 reference populations from seven continental regions. Results showed that the 126 AI-SNPs were able to achieve the ancestry informative inference for African, East Asian, European, and Central/South Asian populations. Population genetic analyses indicated that the Manchu group in Inner Mongolia was genetically typical of East Asian populations and was more closely related to the northern Han Chinese and Japanese than to other Altaic-speaking populations. Overall, this study provided a selection of new promising loci of ancestry inference for major intercontinental populations and intracontinental subgroups, as well as genetic insights and valuable data for dissecting the genetic structure of the Inner Mongolian Manchu group.

Research Progress of Laser Cladding on the Surface of Titanium and Its Alloys.

Titanium (Ti) and its alloys have been widely employed in aeronautical, petrochemical, and medical fields owing to their fascinating advantages in terms of their mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, biocompatibility, and so on. However, Ti and its alloys face many challenges, if they work in severe or more complex environments. The surface is always the origin of failure for Ti and its alloys in workpieces, which influences performance degradation and service life. To improve the properties and function, surface modification becomes the common process for Ti and its alloys. The present article reviews the technology and development of laser cladding on Ti and its alloys, according to the cladding technology, cladding materials, and coating function. Generally, the laser cladding parameters and auxiliary technology could influence the temperature distribution and elements diffusion in the molten pool, which basically determines the microstructure and properties. The matrix and reinforced phases play an important role in laser cladding coating, which can increase the hardness, strength, wear resistance, oxidation resistance, corrosion resistance, biocompatibility, and so on. However, the excessive addition of reinforced phases or particles can deteriorate the ductility, and thus the balance between functional properties and basic properties should be considered during the design of the chemical composition of laser cladding coatings. In addition, the interface including the phase interface, layer interface, and substrate interface plays an important role in microstructure stability, thermal stability, chemical stability, and mechanical reliability. Therefore, the substrate state, the chemical composition of the laser cladding coating and substrate, the processing parameters, and the interface comprise the critical factors which influence the microstructure and properties of the laser cladding coating prepared. How to systematically optimize the influencing factors and obtain well-balanced performance are long-term research issues.

Comprehensive evaluations of individual discrimination, kinship analysis, genetic relationship exploration and biogeographic origin prediction in Chinese Dongxiang group by a 60-plex DIP panel.

BACKGROUND: Dongxiang group, as an important minority, resides in Gansu province which is located at the northwest China, forensic detection system with more loci needed to be studied to improve the application efficiency of forensic case investigation in this group. METHODS: A 60-plex system including 57 autosomal deletion/insertion polymorphisms (A-DIPs), 2 Y chromosome DIPs (Y-DIPs) and the sex determination locus (Amelogenin) was explored to evaluate the forensic application efficiencies of individual discrimination, kinship analysis and biogeographic origin prediction in Gansu Dongxiang group based on the 60-plex genotype results of 233 unrelated Dongxiang individuals. The 60-plex genotype results of 4582 unrelated individuals from 33 reference populations in five different continents were also collected to analyze the genetic background of Dongxiang group and its genetic relationships with other continental populations. RESULTS: The system showed high individual discrimination power, as the cumulative power of discrimination (CPD), cumulative power of exclusion (CPE) for trio and cumulative match probability (CMP) values were 0.99999999999999999999997297, 0.999980 and 2.7029E- 24, respectively. The system could distinguish 98.12%, 93.78%, 82.18%, 62.35% and 39.32% of full sibling pairs from unrelated individual pairs, when the likelihood ratio (LR) limits were set as 1, 10, 100, 1000 and 10,000 based on the simulated family samples, respectively. Additionally, Dongxiang group had the close genetic distances with populations in East Asia, especially showed the intimate genetic relationships with Chinese Han populations, which were concluded from the genetic affinities and genetic background analyses of Dongxiang group and 33 reference populations. In terms of the effectiveness of biogeographic origin inference, different artificial intelligent algorithms possessed different efficacies. Among them, the random forest (RF) and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) algorithm models could accurately predict the biogeographic origins of 99.7% and 90.59% of three and five continental individuals, respectively. CONCLUSION: This 60-plex system had good performance for individual discrimination, kinship analysis and biogeographic origin prediction in Dongxiang group, which could be used as a powerful tool for case investigation.

Genetic polymorphisms and population genetic analyses of 57 autosomal InDel loci in Hubei Tujia group.

Introduction: The Tujia is the eighth most populous population in China, but its genetic structure has not been fully studied. Methods: In this study, we utilized 57 autosomal Insertion/deletion (InDel) loci to evaluate the genetic polymorphisms and efficiency of forensic applications in the Chinese Hubei Tujia group, and analyzed the genetic structure variances among the studied group and other 26 different reference populations from five continents in 1000 Genomes Project (1KG). Results: The results showed that 57 InDels have no significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and linkage equilibrium. The combined power of discrimination (CPD) and the combined probability of exclusion (CPE) values for 57 InDels were 0.99999999999999999999999699822 and 0.999975177214539 in the Hubei Tujia group, respectively. In addition, the results of genetic structure analyses indicated that the Hubei Tujia group has close genetic relationships with the Chinese Han population and other East Asian populations. Discussion: These 57 autosomal InDels can be used as reliable tools for forensic individual identification and paternity testing, and are more suitable for East Asian populations. Furthermore, three InDels (rs72085595, rs145941537, and rs34529639) are promising for inferring ancestral information.

Genetic polymorphisms of 44 Y chromosomal genetic markers in the Inner Mongolia Han population and its genetic relationship analysis with other reference populations.

Y chromosomal genetic markers in the non-recombining region are commonly used for human evolution research, familial searching, and forensic male differentiation since they strictly follow paternal inheritance. Y chromosomal short tandem repeats (Y-STRs) possess extraordinarily advantages in forensic applications because of their high polymorphisms and special genetic pattern. Here, we assessed the genetic diversities of 41 Y-STRs and three Y chromosomal insertion/deletion (Y-InDels) loci in the Chinese Inner Mongolia Han population; besides, genetic differentiation analyses among the studied Han population and other previously reported populations were conducted based on 27 same Y-STRs. Totally, 425 alleles were observed in 324 Inner Mongolia Han individuals for these Y-markers. Gene diversities of these Y-markers distributed from 0.0306 to 0.9634. The haplotype diversity and discriminatory capacity of these Y-markers in the Inner Mongolia Han population were 0.9999 and 0.98457, respectively. Haplotype resolution comparisons of different Y-marker groups in the studied Han population revealed that higher haplotype resolution could be achieved for these 44 Y-markers. Population genetic analyses of the Inner Mongolia Han population and other reference populations demonstrated that the studied Han population had relatively closer genetic affinities with Northern Han Chinese populations than Southern Han and other minority groups. To sum up, these 44 Y-markers can be utilized as a valuable tool for male differentiation in the Inner Mongolia Han population.

A Research on Delayed Thermal Depolarization, Electric Properties, and Stress in (Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3-Based Ceramic Composites.

Depolarization behavior is one of the main shortcomings of (Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3-based ceramics. Considering the undesirable efficiency of traditional modification methods, in this paper a series of 0-3 type ceramic composites 0.85(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3-0.11(Bi0.5K0.5)TiO3-0.04BaTiO3-x mol% ZnO (BNKT-BT-xZnO)) were synthesized by introducing ZnO nanoparticles. The results of the X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) demonstrate that the majority of ZnO nanoparticles grow together to form enrichment regions, and the other Zn2+ ions diffuse into the matrix after sintering. With ZnO incorporated, the ferroelectric-ergodic relaxor transition temperature, TF-R, and depolarization temperature, Td, increase to above 120 °C and 110 °C, respectively. The research on temperature-dependent P-E loops verifies an attenuated ergodic degree induced by ZnO incorporation. For this reason, piezoelectric properties can be well-maintained below 110 °C. The electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) was employed to investigate the stress effect. Orientation maps reveal the random orientation of all grains, excluding the impact of texture on depolarization. The local misorientation image shows that more pronounced strain appears near the boundaries, implying stress is more concentrated there. This phenomenon supports the hypothesis that potential stress suppresses depolarization. These results demonstrate that the depolarization behavior is significantly improved by the introduction of ZnO. The composites BNKT-BT-xZnO are promising candidates of lead-free ceramics for practical application in the future.

Phase-field simulation on the interaction of oxygen vacancies with charged and neutral domain walls in hexagonal YMnO3.

A three-dimensional model of the interaction between the charged or neutral domain walls and oxygen vacancies in the hexagonal manganite YMnO3was proposed, and simulated using Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire (LGD) theory, dynamic diffusion equation and Maxwell's equation. The calculation proves that stiffness anisotropic factors can adjust the domain wall state and ultimately affect the distribution of oxygen vacancies. The head-to-head domain wall corresponds to low oxygen vacancy density, and the tail-to-tail domain wall corresponds to high oxygen vacancy density. The electrostatic field generated by the bound charge is the key factor leading to the change of oxygen vacancy distribution. Finally,e-index lawNd=aeb*dP/dzcan fit the relationship between the oxygen vacancy concentration and the polarization gradient alongzdirection. Our theory provides a new way to modulate the distribution of oxygen vacancies through domain wall morphology in hexagonal YMnO3.

Neuroprotective effects of curcumin via autophagy induction in 6-hydroxydopamine Parkinson's models.

Curcumin, a polyphenolic compound extracted from curcuma longa, acts as a nontoxic matter with anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects as well as antiproliferative activities. Here, our research aimed to explore the neuroprotective effects of curcumin both in the 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-lesioned rat model of Parkinson's disease (PD) in vivo and 6-OHDA-lesioned PC12 cells in vitro. In vitro, 6-OHDA caused a distinct decrease in cell viability of PC12 cells (150 µM). With the incubation of curcumin (1 µM), 6-OHDA-induced apoptosis was suppressed, increasing the autophagy markers (LC3-II/LC3-I, Beclin-1) and inhibiting phosphor-AKT/AKT, phosphor-mTOR/mTOR. In vivo, curcumin (50 mg/kg) reduced the accumulation of a-synuclein and led to higher parkinsonian disability scores in 6-OHDA-lesioned PD rats, contributing to induction of autophagy through inhibiting AKT/mTOR signal pathway. Moreover, treatment with autophagy inhibitors, such as 3-MA and chloroquine, abolished the neuroprotective effects of curcumin as evidence by compromised autophagy and declined motor behavior in PD rats. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that curcumin repressed PC12 cell death in vitro and improved parkinsonian disability scores in vivo by inhibiting AKT/mTOR signaling pathway which mediated by autophagy, indicating a potential value of curcumin in the therapeutic intervention of Parkinson's disease.

Development a multiplex panel of AISNPs, multi-allelic InDels, microhaplotypes, and Y-SNP/InDel loci for multiple forensic purposes via the NGS.

Recently, next generation sequencing has shown the promising application value in forensic research. In this study, we constructed a multiplex amplification system of different molecular genetic markers based on the previous selected ancestry informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), multi-allelic insertion/deletion (InDel) polymorphisms, microhaplotypes, and Y-chromosomal SNP/InDel loci, and evaluated forensic efficiencies of the system in Chinese Shaanxi Han, Chinese Hui, and Chinese Mongolian groups via the next generation sequencing platform. Ancestry information analyses of Shaanxi Han, Hui, and Mongolian groups revealed that most Mongolian individuals could be differentiated from Shaanxi Hans and Huis based on the selected ancestry informative SNPs. Multi-allelic InDels and microhaplotypes showed the multiple allele variations and possessed relatively high genetic polymorphisms in these three groups, indicating these loci could provide higher forensic efficiencies for individual identification and paternity testing. Based on Y-chromosomal SNPs, different haplogroup distributions were observed among Shaanxi Han, Hui, and Mongolian groups. In conclusion, the self-developed system could be used to simultaneously carry out the individual identification, paternity analysis, mixture deconvolution, forensic ancestry information analysis, and Y-chromosomal haplogroup inference, which could provide more valuable investigative clues in forensic practices.

Comprehensive Insights Into Forensic Features and Genetic Background of Chinese Northwest Hui Group Using Six Distinct Categories of 231 Molecular Markers.

The Hui minority is predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking Islamic adherents distributed throughout China, of which the individuals are mainly concentrated in Northwest China. In the present study, we employed the length and sequence polymorphisms-based typing system of 231 molecular markers, i.e., amelogenin, 22 phenotypic-informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (PISNPs), 94 identity-informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (IISNPs), 24 Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (Y-STRs), 56 ancestry-informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (AISNPs), 7 X-chromosomal short tandem repeats (X-STRs), and 27 autosomal short tandem repeats (A-STRs), into 90 unrelated male individuals from the Chinese Northwest Hui group to comprehensively explore its forensic characteristics and genetic background. Total of 451 length-based and 652 sequence-based distinct alleles were identified from 58 short tandem repeats (STRs) in 90 unrelated Northwest Hui individuals, denoting that the sequence-based genetic markers could pronouncedly provide more genetic information than length-based markers. The forensic characteristics and efficiencies of STRs and IISNPs were estimated, both of which externalized high polymorphisms in the Northwest Hui group and could be further utilized in forensic investigations. No significant departure from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) expectation was observed after the Bonferroni correction. Additionally, four group sets of reference population data were exploited to dissect the genetic background of the Northwest Hui group separately from different perspectives, which contained 26 populations for 93 IISNPs, 58 populations for 17 Y-STRs, 26 populations for 55 AISNPs (raw data), and 109 populations for 55 AISNPs (allele frequencies). As a result, the analyses based on the Y-STRs indicated that the Northwest Hui group primarily exhibited intimate genetic relationships with reference Hui groups from Chinese different regions except for the Sichuan Hui group and secondarily displayed close genetic relationships with populations from Central and West Asia, as well as several Chinese groups. However, the AISNP analyses demonstrated that the Northwest Hui group shared more intimate relationships with current East Asian populations apart from reference Hui group, harboring the large proportion of ancestral component contributed by East Asia.

Improved Non-Piezoelectric Electric Properties Based on La Modulated Ferroelectric-Ergodic Relaxor Transition in (Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3-Ba(Ti, Zr)O3 Ceramics.

The characteristic transition from ferroelectric (FE) to ergodic relaxor (ER) state in (Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3 (BNT) based lead-free ceramics provides an efficient approach to bring a highly ordered phase back to a disordered one. It would be rational to utilize this transition to improve relevant non-piezoelectric properties based on domain decomposition. In this work, different La contents were introduced to 0.93(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3-0.07Ba(Ti0.945Zr0.055)O3 ceramics (BNT-BZT-xLa) to induce evolution of ergodic degree. The results reveal that with increasing La content, both the FE-ER transition temperature TF-R and depolarization temperature Td shift towards room temperature, implying a deepened ergodic degree. By modulation of ergodic degree, thermally stimulated depolarization current experiment shows a higher current density peak, and corresponding pyroelectric coefficient increases from 2.46 to 2.81 µC/(cm2∙°C) at Td. For refrigeration, the indirect measurement demonstrates the ΔT maximum increases from 1.1 K to 1.4 K, indicating an enhanced electrocaloric effect. Moreover, the optimized energy storage effect is observed after La doping. With appearance of "slimmer" P-E loops, both calculated recoverable energy storage density Wrec and storage efficiency η increase to 0.23 J/cm3 and 22.8%, respectively. These results denote La doping conduces to the improvement of non-piezoelectric properties of BNT-based ceramics in a certain range. Therefore, La doping should be an adopted modification strategy for lead-free ceramics used in areas like refrigerator and pulse capacitors.

Multifunctional, Robust, and Porous PHBV-GO/MXene Composite Membranes with Good Hydrophilicity, Antibacterial Activity, and Platelet Adsorption Performance.

The limitations of hydrophilicity, strength, antibacterial activity adsorption performance of the biobased and biocompatible polymer materials, such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), significantly restrict their wider applications especially in medical areas. In this paper, a novel composite membrane with high antibacterial activity and platelet adsorption performance was prepared based on graphene oxide (GO), MXene and 3-hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate (PHBV), which are medium-chain-length-copolymers of PHA. The GO/MXene nanosheets can uniformly inset on the surface of PHBV fibre and give the PHBV-GO/MXene composite membranes superior hydrophilicity due to the presence of hydroxyl groups and terminal oxygen on the surface of nanosheets, which further provides the functional site for the free radical polymerization of ester bonds between GO/MXene and PHBV. As a result, the tensile strength, platelet adsorption, and blood coagulation time of the PHBV-GO/MXene composite membranes were remarkably increased compared with those of the pure PHBV membranes. The antibacterial rate of the PHBV-GO/MXene composite membranes against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria can reach 97% due to the antibacterial nature of MXene. The improved strength, hydrophilicity, antibacterial activity and platelet adsorption performance suggest that PHBV-GO/MXene composite membranes might be ideal candidates for multifunctional materials for haemostatic applications.

Developmental validations of a self-developed 39 AIM-InDel panel and its forensic efficiency evaluations in the Shaanxi Han population.

Most of insertion/deletion polymorphisms are diallelic molecular markers characterized as small amplicon sizes, high inter-population diversities, and low mutation rates, which make them the promising genetic markers in biogeographic ancestor inference field. The developmental validations of a 39 ancestry informative marker-insertion/deletion (AIM-InDel) panel and the genetic polymorphic investigations of this panel were performed in the Shaanxi Han population of China. The developmental validation included the optimizations of PCR-related indicators, repeatability, reproducibility, precision, accuracy, sensitivity, species specificity, stability of the panel, and the abilities in analyzing degraded, casework, and mixture samples, and the present results demonstrated that this 39 AIM-InDel panel was robust, sensitive, and accurate. For the population diversity analyses, the combined discrimination power value of 38 AIM-InDel loci except for rs36038238 locus was 0.999999999931257, indicating that this novel panel was highly polymorphic, biogeographic informative, and could be also used in individual identifications in the Shaanxi Han population.

A Novel Panel of 43 Insertion/Deletion Loci for Human Identifications of Forensic Degraded DNA Samples: Development and Validation.

Insertion/deletion polymorphism is a promising genetic marker in the forensic genetic fields, especially in the forensic application of degraded sample at crime scene. In this research, a novel five-dye multiplex amplification panel containing 43 highly polymorphic Insertion/deletion (InDel) loci and one Amelogenin gene locus is designed and constructed in-house for the individual identification in East Asian populations. The amplicon sizes of 43 InDel loci are less than 200 bp, which help to ensure that full allele profiles can be obtained from degraded DNA sample. A series of optimizations and developmental validations including optimization of PCR conditions, detection efficiency of the degraded and casework samples, sensitivity, reproducibility, precision, tolerance for inhibitors, species specificity and DNA mixtures are performed according to the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM) guideline. The results of the internal validation demonstrated that this novel InDel panel was a reliable, sensitive and accurate system with good tolerances to different inhibitors, and performed the considerable detection efficiency for the degraded or mixed samples, which could be used in the forensic applications.