Transfer-Free Analog and Digital Flexible Memristors Based on Boron Nitride Films.

The traditional von Neumann architecture of computers, constrained by the inherent separation of processing and memory units, faces challenges, for instance, memory wall issue. Neuromorphic computing and in-memory computing offer promising paradigms to overcome the limitations of additional data movement and to enhance computational efficiency. In this work, transfer-free flexible memristors based on hexagonal boron nitride films were proposed for analog neuromorphic and digital memcomputing. Analog memristors were prepared; they exhibited synaptic behaviors, including paired-pulse facilitation and long-term potentiation/depression. The resistive switching mechanism of the analog memristors were investigated through transmission electron microscopy. Digital memristors were prepared by altering the electrode materials, and they exhibited reliable device performance, including a large on/off ratio (up to 106), reproducible switching endurance (>100 cycles), non-volatile characteristic (>60 min), and effective operating under bending conditions (>100 times).

Research trends and hot spots in global nanotechnology applications in liver cancer: a bibliometric and visual analysis (2000-2022).

Background: Liver cancer (LC) is one of the most common malignancies. Currently, nanotechnology has made great progress in LC research, and many studies on LC nanotechnology have been published. This study aims to discuss the current status, hot spots, and research trends in this field through bibliometric analysis. Methods: The Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database was searched for papers related to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) included from January 2000 to November 2022, and its research hotspots and trends were visualized and analyzed with the help of VOSviewer. In addition, a search was conducted to find LC papers related to nanotechnology. Then we used the visual analysis software VOSviewer and CiteSpace to evaluate the contributions of countries/regions, authors, and journals related to the topic and analyze keywords to understand the research priorities and hot spots in the field as well as the development direction. Results: There are 1908 papers in the highly cited literature on LC, and its research hotspots are pathogenesis, risk factors, and survival rate. The literature on the application of nanotechnology in LC had 921 papers. Among them, China (n=560, 60.8%) and the United States (n=170, 18.5%) were the countries with the highest number of published papers. Wang Yan (n=11) and Llovet JM (n=131) were the first authors and co-cited authors, respectively. The International Journal of Nanomedicine was the most prolific academic journal (n=41). In addition to "hepatocellular carcinoma" and "nanoparticles", the most frequent keyword was "drug delivery". In recent years, "metastasis" and "diagnosis" appeared in the keyword bursts. This indicates that the application of nanoparticles in the early diagnosis and drug delivery of LC (including liver metastasis) has a good prospect. Conclusion: Nanotechnology has received more and more attention in the medical field in recent years. As nanoparticles are easily localized in organelles and cells, they can increase drug permeability in tumor tissues, improve drug delivery efficiency and reduce drug toxicity. Our research results were the first scientific evaluation of the application of nanotechnology in LC, providing scholars with research hotspots and development trends.

Circulating lnc-LOC as a novel noninvasive biomarker in the treatment surveillance of acute promyelocytic leukaemia.

BACKGROUND: Acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) is a unique subtype of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) characterized by haematopoietic failure caused by the accumulation of abnormal promyelocytic cells in bone marrow (BM). However, indispensable BM biopsy frequently afflicts patients in leukaemia surveillance, which increases the burden on patients and reduces compliance. This study aimed to explore whether the novel circulating long noncoding RNA LOC100506453 (lnc-LOC) could be a target in diagnosis, assess the treatment response and supervise the minimal residual disease (MRD) of APL, thereby blazing a trail in noninvasive lncRNA biomarkers of APL. METHODS: Our study comprised 100 patients (40 with APL and 60 with non-APL AML) and 60 healthy donors. BM and peripheral blood (PB) sample collection was accomplished from APL patients at diagnosis and postinduction. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was conducted to evaluate lnc-LOC expression. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was implemented to analyse the value of lnc-LOC in the diagnosis of APL and treatment monitoring. For statistical analysis, the Mann-Whitney U test, a t test, and Spearman's rank correlation test were utilized. RESULTS: Our results showed that BM lnc-LOC expression was significantly different between APL and healthy donors and non-APL AML. lnc-LOC was drastically downregulated in APL patients' BM after undergoing induction therapy. Lnc-LOC was upregulated in APL cell lines and downregulated after all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA)-induced myeloid differentiation, preliminarily verifying that lnc-LOC has the potential to be considered a treatment monitoring biomarker. PB lnc-LOC was positively correlated with BM lnc-LOC in APL patients, non-APL AML patients and healthy donors and decreased sharply after complete remission (CR). However, upregulated lnc-LOC was manifested in relapsed-refractory patients. A positive correlation was revealed between PB lnc-LOC and PML-RARα transcript levels in BM samples. Furthermore, we observed a positive correlation between PB lnc-LOC and BM lnc-LOC expression in APL patients, suggesting that lnc-LOC can be utilized as a noninvasive biomarker for MRD surveillance. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that PB lnc-LOC might serve as a novel noninvasive biomarker in the treatment surveillance of APL, and it innovated the investigation and application of newly found lncRNAs in APL noninvasive biomarkers used in diagnosis and detection.

Chronic Pediatric Immune Thrombocytopenia Is Not Associated With Herpes Virus Infection Status.

Background: Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is characterized by non-chronic (transient, <12 months) and chronic (≥12 months) decline in the number of platelets. Herpes virus infections have been shown, in many studies, to be associated with the development of ITP. However, it remains unclear whether the herpes virus infection status is associated with the chronic ITP. Methods: We reviewed 480 primary pediatric patients with ITP in the period from January 2017 to December 2019. The prevalence of herpes virus antibodies including the Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), Herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2), and Epstein Barr virus were recorded. The levels of serum complement C3 and C4, T (CD3+, CD4+, CD8+), B (CD19+) lymphocytes, and natural killer (CD16+ 56+) cells were also analyzed. Multivariate analysis was used to evaluate the associations between chronic ITP and herpes virus infection status. Results: Compared with non-chronic, patients with chronic ITP had older age (≥3 years), lower levels of hemoglobin and complement C3, and lower probability of CMV and HSV-2 infections (IgM positive; p < 0.05). Patients with herpes virus infection had lower serum platelet counts (p < 0.001), lower complement C3 levels and lower CD4+/CD8+ cells ratio (p < 0.05). Furthermore, platelet counts were positively correlated with CD4+/CD8+ cells ratios (r = 0.519; p = 0.0078), and negatively correlated with T cells (CD3+: r = -0.458, p = 0.0213; CD8+: r = -0.489, p = 0.0131). Multivariate analysis showed that age (OR, 1.644; 95%CI, 1.007-2.684; p = 0.047) was an adverse risk factor for chronic ITP and CMV IgM positive (OR, 0.241; 95%CI, 0.072-0.814; p = 0.022) had lower risk of chronic ITP development, while other herpes virus infection statuses and clinical features were not. Conclusion: Although herpes virus infections were associated with the onset of ITP, our findings indicated that herpes virus infection status might not be a risk factor for chronic ITP.

Steep Subthreshold Swing and Enhanced Illumination Stability InGaZnO Thin-Film Transistor by Plasma Oxidation on Silicon Nitride Gate Dielectric.

In this paper, an InGaZnO thin-film transistor (TFT) based on plasma oxidation of silicon nitride (SiNx) gate dielectric with small subthreshold swing (SS) and enhanced stability under negative bias illumination stress (NBIS) have been investigated in detail. The mechanism of the high-performance InGaZnO TFT with plasma-oxidized SiNx gate dielectric was also explored. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results confirmed that an oxygen-rich layer formed on the surface of the SiNx layer and the amount of oxygen vacancy near the interface between SiNx and InGaZnO layer was suppressed via pre-implanted oxygen on SiNx gate dielectric before deposition of the InGaZnO channel layer. Moreover, the conductance method was employed to directly extract the density of the interface trap (Dit) in InGaZnO TFT to verify the reduction in oxygen vacancy after plasma oxidation. The proposed InGaZnO TFT with plasma oxidation exhibited a field-effect mobility of 16.46 cm2/V·s, threshold voltage (Vth) of -0.10 V, Ion/Ioff over 108, SS of 97 mV/decade, and Vth shift of -0.37 V after NBIS. The plasma oxidation on SiNx gate dielectric provides a novel approach for suppressing the interface trap for high-performance InGaZnO TFT.

Sub-bandgap absorption and photo-response of molybdenum heavily doped black silicon fabricated by a femtosecond laser.

Molybdenum (Mo)-doped black silicon (Si) is obtained by using femtosecond laser irradiation. The concentration of Mo atoms at the depth from 10 to 200 nm has exceeded 1019cm-3. In contrast, the carrier concentration in the Mo-doped layer is lower than 1015cm-3. The surface morphologies with ripple and conical spike microstructures are formed by changing the pulsed laser fluences. The Mo-doped Si samples exhibit a sub-bandgap (1100∼2500nm) absorptance of more than 60% at a wavelength of 1310 nm. A Mo-doped Si photodetector is made, and the responsivity of the device for 1310 nm is up to 76 mA/W at a -10V bias.

Higher Red Blood Cell Distribution Width is a Poor Prognostic Factor for Patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.

PURPOSE: Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) has been considered as a potential indicator of the effects of treatment or as a prognostic indicator for various malignancies. Most chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients are in the chronic phase, but some have transformed to accelerated phase or blast phase (blast crisis). However, the clinical significance of RDW in CML remains limited. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In the present study, detailed clinical information and the RDW of 168 healthy people and 153 CML patients (106 patients for the training cohort and 47 patients for the validation cohort) were retrospectively assessed. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis demonstrated that patient age (OR, 1.081; 95CI% 1.039~1.125; p < 0.001), platelet counts (OR, 0.997; 95CI% 0.994~0.999; p = 0.001) and RDW at admission (OR,1.469; 95CI% 1.121~1.925; p = 0.005) were significantly associated with the patients with advanced phase. Among CML patients in the chronic phase, higher RDW was significantly associated with overall survival (OS; p = 0.0008) and the event-free survival (EFS; p = 0.0221) among CML patients with chronic phase, but not with Transformation-free survival (TFS; p = 0.0821). Furthermore, higher RDW was associated with higher mortality compared to patients with low RDW (CML-associated deaths; p < 0.0001). In addition, a decline in RDW is associated with the treatment of CML patients with tyrosine kinase inhibitors, especially at 6 and 12 months after the start of treatment. CONCLUSION: Higher RDW is a potential prognostic biomarker for chronic CML patients.

Generation of a human induced pluripotent stem cell line with Cas9 driven by Tet-on operator via AAVS1 safe harbor gene-editing.

Human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells expressing Cas9 protein are valuable for the pathogenic mechanism study and drug discovery. These cells can be efficiently induced to differentiate into disease cell models with specific mutations through adding designed sgRNAs. Here, we generated a human gene-editable iPS cell line by gene editing method that Cas9 gene driven by Tet-on operator was perfectly integrated into the human AAVS1 safe harbor locus. The established Cas9 expression iPS cell line named as WMUi013-A can express endogenous pluripotent markers, has the ability to differentiate into the three germ layers, and possesses a normal karyotype.

Generation of an urine-derived induced pluripotent stem cell line from a 5-year old X-linked Alport syndrome (X-LAS) patient.

The gene mutations of the collagen type IV alpha 5 chain (COL4A5) can lead to the inherited haematuria to end-stage renal disease X-linked Alport syndrome (X-LAS). The urine cells of a 5-year-old male X-LAS patient carrying a hemizygous COL4A5 gene mutation p.G1433V (c.4298G>T) were reprogrammed to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) with Sendai virus reprogramming kit containing OCT4, SOX2, c-MYC, and KLF4 Yamanaka factors. The generated iPSC line WMUi015-A stably expressed pluripotent markers, maintained a normal karyotype (46, XY), and had differentiation potential into three germ layers in vitro.

Development and validation of a simple and rapid method for hepatitis C virus genotyping based on one-step RT-qPCR.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections caused by different subtypes require different treatments; therefore, rapid and cost-effective genotyping methods for the diagnosis of HCV are greatly needed. In the present study, a new method to diagnose HCV subtypes that depends on a one-step quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) and TaqMan fluorescence probe technique is described. Five pairs of primers and five probes were designed, which were able to detect five genotypes in three reaction tubes. One reaction was used to detect the 1b subtype, one was used to detect the 2a and 6a subtypes, and the other was used to detect the 3a and 3b subtypes. Rigorous performance validation was implemented for five aspects: Precision, sensitivity, accuracy, specificity and anti-interference. The HCV subtype that infected 289 patients was evaluated in the present study via RT-qPCR and verified by sequencing. The results revealed that the 1b subtype accounted for 45% of infections, the 2a subtype accounted for 9% of infections, the 3a subtype accounted for 13% of infections, the 3b subtype accounted for 18% of infections, and the 6a subtype accounted for 15% of infections. The analytical sensitivity for the detection of each of the five HCV subtypes was 1,000 IU/ml. The new method performed well in the performance validation mentioned above, indicating its effectiveness as a HCV genotyping method. RT-qPCR has mitigated some of the former challenges of existing HCV genotyping methods, including the time commitment, expense, and inaccuracy of such methods. The performance validation of this new method showed that RT-qPCR is reliable enough to be widely applied in China for HCV genotyping.

miR-638 in circulating leukaemia cells as a non-invasive biomarker in diagnosis, treatment response and MRD surveillance of acute promyelocytic leukaemia.

BACKGROUND: MicroRNA (miRNA) expression has been implicated in leukaemia. In recent years, miRNAs have been under investigation for their potential as non-invasive biomarkers in acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL). We investigated whether miR-638 in circulating leukaemia cells is a non-invasive biomarker in diagnosis, assessment of the treatment response and minimal residual disease (MRD) surveillance of APL. METHODS: Sixty cases of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), including 30 cases of APL and 30 cases of non-APL AML, were selected. Thirty healthy controls were also selected. Bone marrow (BM) and peripheral blood (PB) samples were collected from APL patients at diagnosis and post-induction. Microarray analysis and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) were performed for miRNA profiling and miR-638 expression analysis, respectively. For statistical analysis, Mann-Whitney U test, Wilcoxon Signed Rank test, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and Spearman's rho correlation test were used. RESULTS: Both microarray and qRT-PCR data showed that miR-638 was significantly upregulated in BM after APL patients received induction therapy. Moreover, miR-638, which is specifically downregulated in APL cell lines, was upregulated after all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA)-induced myeloid differentiation. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses revealed that miR-638 could serve as a valuable biomarker for differentiating APL from controls or non-APL AML. Furthermore, miR-638 expression was sharply increased after induction therapy and complete remission (CR). An inverse correlation was observed between miR-638 and PML-RARα transcripts levels in BM samples, while a positive correlation was revealed between PB miR-638 and BM miR-638 levels in APL patients after induction therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggested that miR-638 may serve as a potential APL biomarker for diagnosis and assessment of the response to targeted therapy, and PB miR-638 could be used for non-invasive MRD surveillance in APL.

Revision of serum ALT upper limits of normal facilitates assessment of mild liver injury in obese children with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

BACKGROUND: The serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level is a critical parameter for evaluating liver injury in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, the currently accepted upper limits of normal (ULN) for serum ALT (ULN-ALT) are debated, as they may be excessively high. METHODS: A total of 1638 children aged 6-16 years, comprising 507 children with normal BMI (500 healthy children and 7 children with NAFLD), 199 overweight children, and 932 obese children, were included in the analysis. We re-evaluated the ULN-ALT in 500 healthy Chinese children using the 95th percentiles of serum ALT levels as revised ULN-ALT. Fatty liver was identified by ultrasound examination. RESULTS: Significant positive correlations between serum ALT levels and body mass index (BMI) were detected in overweight boys (r = .399, P < .001), obese boys (r = .398, P < .001), and obese girls (r = .392, P < .001). The prevalence percentages of NAFLD were 93.6%, 75.8%, and 37.9% in obese boys with serum ALT levels of >50, 25-50, and ≤25 U/L and were 81.6%, 67.9%, and 20.6% in obese girls with serum ALT levels of >40, 20-40, and ≤20 U/L, respectively. CONCLUSION: Serum ALT levels significantly correlated with abnormal BMI values in children, suggesting a rigorous BMI threshold is needed to establish the cutoffs for serum ULN-ALT in children. Besides, the revised serum ULN-ALT can uncover mild liver injury in obese children with NAFLD.

Non-phase-separated 2D B-C-N alloys via molecule-like carbon doping in 2D BN: atomic structures and optoelectronic properties.

Two-dimensional (2D) B-C-N alloys have recently attracted much attention but unfortunately, Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) B-C-N alloys typically phase separate. In spite of that, our analysis of the B-C-N alloy fabricated by electron-beam irradiation suggests that non-phase-separated B-C-N may in fact exist with a carbon concentration up to 14 at%. While this analysis points to a new way to overcome the phase-separation in 2D B-C-N, by first-principles calculations, we show that these B-C-N alloys are made of motifs with even numbers of carbon atoms, in particular, dimers or six-fold rings (in a molecule-like form), embedded in a 2D BN network. Moreover, by tuning the carbon concentration, the band gap of the B-C-N alloys can be reduced by 35% from that of BN. Due to a strong overlap of the wavefunctions at the conduction band and valance band edges, the non-phase-separated B-C-N alloys maintain the strong optical absorption of BN.

Genome­wide profiling of lncRNA expression patterns in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia with differentiation therapy.

Long non­coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are crucial factors in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cell differentiation. However, their expression patterns and regulatory functions during all­trans­retinoic acid (ATRA)­induced APL differentiation remain to be fully elucidated. The profile of dysregulated lncRNAs between three bone marrow (BM) samples from patients with APL post­induction and three BM samples from untreated matched controls was examined with the Human Transcriptome Array 2.0. The dysregulated lncRNA expression of an additional 27 APL BM samples was validated by reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT­qPCR) analysis. The lncRNA functions were predicted through co­expressed messenger RNA (mRNA) annotations. Co­expressed lncRNA­mRNA networks were constructed to analyze the functional pathways. In total, 825 lncRNAs and 1,218 mRNAs were dysregulated in the treated APL BM group, compared with the untreated APL BM group. The expression of 10 selected lncRNAs was verified by RT­qPCR analysis. During APL differentiation, NONHSAT076891 was the most upregulated lncRNA, whereas TCONS_00022632­XLOC_010933 was the most downregulated. Functional analysis revealed that several lncRNAs may exert activities in biological pathways associated with ATRA­induced APL differentiation through cis and/or trans regulation of mRNAs. The findings of the present study assist in explaining the contributions of lncRNAs in APL myeloid differentiation and improve current knowledge on the potential mechanisms regarding dysregulated lncRNA expression in ATRA­induced APL differentiation.

Investigation of the local dispersion change in anomalous dispersion microcavity and quantitative analysis of the phase-matching in Kerr comb generation.

We numerically simulate Kerr comb generation in an anomalous dispersion microcavity by modal expansion method and demonstrate that the initiation of comb generation is affected by the change of local dispersion possibly caused by avoided mode crossings. We also quantitatively analyze the instantaneous phase matching of different modes and reveal the characteristics of energy distribution in different modes in the dynamics of comb generation. We demonstrate that the local dispersion change can control the Kerr comb to transform between Type I and Type II combs. We also find that local dispersion is closely related to the stability of the power of Kerr comb lines, something that can change the dynamical state of the system near the Hamiltonian-Hopf bifurcation under an anomalous dispersion regime from a quasi-periodic oscillation state to a periodic state (Turing patterns).

Efficacy of sulbactam for the treatment of Acinetobacter baumannii complex infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Meta-analyses that ignore the full programme of clinical trials may lead to a misleading interpretation. We did a comprehensive meta-analysis to explore the efficacy of sulbactam for the treatment of Acinetobacter baumannii complex infection. We searched electronic databases, including Pubmed and Embase up to April 24, 2016, to identify relevant published trials. Clinical trial registries were likewise searched to identify completed unpublished studies. Primary outcomes of interest were the clinical and microbiological efficacy and in-hospital mortality. Effect model was based on heterogeneity across studies. Altogether 12 observational trials, comprising about 1500 patients, were included. Compared with control group, the clinical response (OR 1.16, 95% CI 0.77-1.75), bacteriological response (OR 1.71, 95% CI 0.89-3.29) and in-hospital mortality (OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.57-1.01) of sulbactam-based therapy group achieved similar therapeutic in A. baumannii complex infection. Subgroup analysis showed the clinical response (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.11-2.48) of A. baumannii complex infection favored high-dose sulbactam group. In conclusion, our findings suggested that the overall therapy effect of sulbactam was no more superior than alternative therapeutics. However, when taking consideration of the dose factor, we found that high dosage regimen of sulbactam showed an obvious advantage in the treatment of A. baumannii complex infection.

Evaluation of miR-182/miR-100 Ratio for Diagnosis and Survival Prediction in Bladder Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Abnormal expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) plays an important role in development of several cancer types, including bladder cancer (BCa). However, the relationship between the ratio of miR-181/miR-100 and the prognosis of BCa has not been studied yet. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of miR-182, miR-100 and their clinical significance in BCa. METHODS: Upregulation of miR-182 and down-regulation of miR-100 were validated in tissue specimens of 134 BCa cases compared with 148 normal bladder epithelia (NBE) specimens  using TaqMan-based real-time reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). The diagnostic and prognostic evaluation of miR-182, miR-100, and miR-182/miR-100 ratio was also performed. RESULTS: miR-182 was upregulated in BCa and miR-100 was down-regulated in BCa compared with NBE (P < 0.001). The areas under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs-ROC) for miR-182 and miR-100 were 0.913 and 0.810, respectively. However, miR-182/miR-100 ratio increased the diagnostic performance, yielding an AUC of 0.981 (97.01% sensitivity and 90.54% specificity). Moreover, miR-182/miR-100 ratio was associated with pT-stage, histological grade, BCa recurrence and carcinoma in situ (P < 0.05 for all). Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that miR-182/miR-100 ratio was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (Hazard ratio: 7.142; 95% CI: 2.106 - 9.891; P < 0.01). Furthermore, Kaplan-Meier curve analysis revealed that high-level of miR-182/miR-100 ratio was significantly correlated with shortened survival time for BCa patients (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The miR-182/miR-100 ratio may serve as a novel promising biomarker for diagnosis and survival prediction in BCa. Further studies are needed to elucidate the role of miR-182/miR-100 ratio as a non­invasive diagnostic tool for BCa.

Design of a polymer-filled silicon nitride strip/slot asymmetric hybrid waveguide for realizing both flat dispersion and athermal operation.

An asymmetric strip/slot hybrid silicon nitride waveguide is designed to simultaneously realize athermal operation and flat dispersion. The slot filling and upper cladding materials are negative thermal-optical coefficient (TOC), low refractive index polyurethane acrylate, while the left and right cladding layers are positive TOC, high refractive index silicon nitride. With suitable waveguide parameter selection, an optimum strip/slot hybrid silicon nitride waveguide exhibits an effective TOC of 1.263×10-7/K at 1550 nm, flattened dispersion in the wavelength range from 1200 to 1800 nm with the maximum dispersion of 30.51 ps/(nm·km), and a minimum of 10.89 ps/(nm·km). The proposed hybrid waveguide has great potential in building up broadband athermal microresonator optical frequency combs.

Observation of Considerable Upconversion Enhancement Induced by Cu2-xS Plasmon Nanoparticles.

Localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) are achieved in heavily doped semiconductor nanoparticles (NPs) with appreciable free carrier concentrations. In this paper, we present the photonic, electric, and photoelectric properties of plasmonic Cu2-xS NPs/films and the utilization of LSPRs generated from semiconductor NPs as near-infrared antennas to enhance the upconversion luminescence (UCL) of NaYF4:Yb(3+),Er(3+) NPs. Our results suggest that the LSPRs in Cu2-xS NPs originate from ligand-confined carriers and that a heat treatment resulted in the decomposition of ligands and oxidation of Cu2-xS NPs; these effects led to a decrease of the Cu(2+)/Cu(+) ratio, which in turn resulted in the broadening, decrease in intensity, and red-shift of the LSPRs. In the presence of a MoO3 spacer, the UCL intensity of NaYF4:Yb(3+),Er(3+) NPs was substantially improved and exhibited extraordinary power-dependent behavior because of the energy band structure of the Cu2-xS semiconductor. These findings provide insights into the nature of LSPR in semiconductors and their interaction with nearby emitters and highlight the possible application of LSPR in photonic and photoelectric devices.

Stepwise discriminant function analysis for rapid identification of acute promyelocytic leukemia from acute myeloid leukemia with multiparameter flow cytometry.

Diagnosis of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) has been accelerated by multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC). However, diagnostic interpretation of MFC readouts for APL depends on individual experience and knowledge, which inevitably increases the risk of arbitrariness. We appraised the feasibility of using stepwise discriminant function analysis (SDFA) based on MFC to optimize the minimal variables needed to distinguish APL from other acute myeloid leukemia (AML) without complicated data interpretation. Samples from 327 patients with APL (n = 51) and non-APL AML (n = 276) were randomly allocated into training (243 AML) and test sets (84 AML) for SDFA. The discriminant functions from SDFA were examined by correct classification, and the final variables were validated by differential expression. Finally, additional 20 samples from patients with atypical APL and AML confusable with APL were also identified by SDFA method and morphological analysis. The weighed discriminant function reveals seven differentially expressed variables (CD2/CD9/CD11b/CD13/CD34/HLA-DR/CD117), which predict a molecular result for APL characterization with an accuracy that approaches 99% (99.6 and 98.8% for AML samples in training and test sets, respectively). Furthermore, the SDFA outperformed either single variable analysis or the more limited 3-component analysis (CD34/CD117/HLA-DR) via separate SDFA, and was also superior to morphological analysis in terms of diagnostic efficacy. The established SDFA based on MFC with seven variables can precisely and rapidly differentiate APL and non-APL AML, which may contribute to the urgent initiation of all-trans-retinoic acid-based APL therapy.