Novel variations in TENT5D lead to teratozoospermia in infertile patients.

PURPOSE: Teratozoospermia is the main pathogenic factor of male infertility. However, the genetic etiology of teratozoospermia is largely unknown. This study aims to clarify the relationship between novel variations in TENT5D and teratozoospermia in infertile patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two infertile patients were enrolled. Routine semen analysis of patients and normal controls was conducted with the WHO guidelines. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was conducted to identify pathogenic variants in the two patients. Morphology and ultrastructure analysis of spermatozoa in the two patients was determined by Papanicolaou staining, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The functional effect of the identified variants was analyzed by immunofluorescence staining and western blotting. The expression of TENT5D in different germ cells was detected by immunofluorescence staining. RESULTS: Two new hemizygous variations, c.101C > T (p.P34L) and c.125A > T (p.D42V), in TENT5D were detected in two patients with male infertility. Morphology analysis showed abnormalities in spermatozoa morphology in the two patients, including multiple heads, headless, multiple tails, coiled, and/or bent flagella. Ultrastructure analysis showed that most of the spermatozoa exhibited missing or irregularly arranged '9+2' structures. Further functional experiments confirmed the abrogated TENT5D protein expression in patients. In addition, both p.P34L and p.D42V substitutions resulted in a conformational change of the TENT5D protein. We precisely analyzed the subcellular localization of TENT5D in germ cells in humans and mice. And we found that TENT5D was predominantly detected in the head and flagellum of elongating spermatids and epididymal spermatozoa. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed further evidence of a relationship between TENT5D mutation and human male infertility, providing new genetic insight for use in the diagnosis and treatment of male infertility.

First-principles study of phase transition in theα-In2Se3/metal heterostructures.

With the discovery of two-dimensional (2D) ferroelectric materials such as CuInP2S6andα-In2Se3, the ferroelectric field effect transistors (Fe-FETs) based on these materials have entered a rapid-development period. The metal/semiconductor contact is an unavoidable topic in the construction of devices. In this paper, heterostructuresα-In2Se3/metals (Pd, Pt, Cu, Ag and Au) are discussed. According to different stacking types, the structures and energy of 160 heterostructures are calculated and compared. Whenα-In2Se3contacts with the Pd, Pt and Cu, theα-In2Se3may transforms intoß-In2Se3. This phenomenon has hardly been mentioned or analyzed in previous reports. Contacting with the Au and Ag, theα-In2Se3maintains the original structure. The internal physical mechanism of phase transition is explained from the binding energy and the charge transfer. The paper provides sufficient theoretical support for research and development of the Fe-FETs based onα-In2Se3.

Theoretical study on the tunable electronic band structure of Cs2PbI2Cl2/CsPbBr3 halide perovskite heterostructure driven by ferroelectric polarization modulation.

Ferroelectric polarizationhas been considered to be an key factor to tune the structural and photoelectric properties of perovskites and their heterostructures. While there has been growing researches made in the novel phenomena originating from interface formed between oxide perovskites, the effects of ferroelectric polarization on the electronic properties of halide perovskites and their heterostructures are rarely studied. Herein, by using first-principles calculations, all-inorganic halide perovskite heterostructure composed of 3D perovskite tetragonal CsPbBr3 and 2D Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) perovskite Cs2PbI2Cl2 is constructed for disclosing the relationship between the intrinsic polarization of tetragonal CsPbBr3 and electronic band structure of heterostructure. Cs atoms and Pb atoms of tetragonal CsPbBr3 in heterostructure are artificially moved away from the equivalent centers to simulate increased polarization. Our results show that with the spontaneous polarization of tetragonal CsPbBr3 increasing, the bandgap of heterostructure decreases, and the band alignment switches from staggered type-II to broken-gap type-III. Moreover, large cation-anion displacements along z-direction in tetragonal CsPbBr3 can be observed when tensile strains (≥5%) are applied, indicating a increased ferroelectric polarization, which also facilitates the decreasing of bandgap in heterostructure and the type-II-type-III transition of band alignment. Our study suggests that control over the polarization of ferroelectric materials is of great importance to tune the photoelectric properties of perovskite-based devices.

Analgesic effect of electroacupuncture on chronic pelvic pain in patients with sequelae of pelvic inflammatory disease / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on chronic pelvic pain in patients with sequelae of pelvic inflammatory disease.@*METHODS@#A total of 144 patients with chronic pelvic pain were randomly divided into an observation group (72 cases, 10 cases dropped off) and a control group (72 cases, 9 cases dropped off). The patients in the control group were treated with ibuprofen sustained-release capsules 10 days before menstruation, 0.3 g each time, once a day. On the basis of the treatment of the control group, the patients in the observation group were treated with EA at Guanyuan (CV 4), Shuidao (ST 28), Guilai (ST 29), Shenshu (BL 23) and Ciliao (BL 32), disperse-dense wave, 2 Hz/15 Hz of frequency, once a day. The patients in both groups were treated for 10 days per menstrual cycle for 3 menstrual cycles. The visual analogue scale (VAS) scores of lower abdomen and lumbosacral area, local sign score, quality of life scale score and pain disappearance rate were compared between the two groups before and after treatment.@*RESULTS@#The VAS scores of lower abdomen and lumbosacral area as well as each item score and total score of local signs in the observation group after treatment were significantly lower than those before treatment and those in the control group (@*CONCLUSION@#EA can relieve the pain symptoms in patients with chronic pelvic pain and improve their quality of life.

Acupuncture combined with western medication on chronic pelvic pain after pelvic inflammatory disease: a multi-center randomized controlled trial / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To compare the therapeutic effect between acupuncture combined with ibuprofen sustained-release capsule and simple ibuprofen sustained-release capsule on chronic pelvic pain (CPP) after pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).@*METHODS@#A total of 144 patients were randomized into an observation group (72 cases, 10 cases dropped off) and a control group (72 cases, 9 cases dropped off). Ibuprofen sustained-release capsule was given orally in the control group, one capsule a time. On the basis of the treatment in the control group, acupuncture was applied at Guanyuan (CV 4), Shuidao (ST 28), Guilai (ST 29), Shenshu (BL 23) and Ciliao (BL 32), and Shuidao (ST 28), Guilai (ST 29), Shenshu (BL 23) and Ciliao (BL 32) were connected to electroacupuncture in the observation group. The treatment was given 10 days before menstruation, once a day for 3 menstrual cycles in both groups, and the follow-up was adopted 3 menstrual cycles after treatment. The visual analogue scale (VAS) scores of hypogastrium and lumbosacral region before treatment, after treatment, and at the follow-up, the score of local signs and the score of World Health Organization quality of life questionnaire-brief version (WHOQOL-BREF) before and after treatment were observed in the both groups.@*RESULTS@#After treatment and at the follow-up, the VAS scores of hypogastrium and lumbosacral region were decreased compared before treatment in both groups (@*CONCLUSION@#Acupuncture combined with ibuprofen sustained-release capsule can effectively improve the symptoms, signs and quality of life in patients with CPP after PID, the therapeutic effect is superior to simple ibuprofen sustained-release capsule.

Theoretical study on the effect of the optical properties and electronic structure for the Bi-doped CsPbBr3.

Metal doping, including Bi, Yb, Eu, Sb and so on, are important means to improve the photoelectric properties and stability of metal halide perovskite materials. Among these works, Bi-doped CsPbBr3 especially has attracted much attention for both experimental and theoretical investigation. But there are still some arguments to be solved. One view thinks that Bi doping in CsPbBr3 not only influences the band structure, but also improves the charge transfer (Raihana et al 2017 J. Am. Chem. Soc. 139 731-7). The other supported the points that there are no changes in the valence band structure of Bi-doped CsPbBr3 and the concept of the band-gap engineering in Bi-doped CsPbBr3 halide perovskite is not valid (Olga et al 2018 J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 9 5408-11). They also have different opinions for the reason of the red-shift phenomenon caused by Bi-doped CsPbBr3. In this work, the density functional theory (DFT) based first-principles methods is adopted to investigate the effect of the optical properties and electronic structure for Bi doping CsPbBr3. The calculated results clarify that the red-shift phenomenon is caused by the slight reduction of band gap and the transition levels of Bii and BiPb defects. The values of red-shift also were estimated about 150 meV for Bii defects, which is close the experimental value of about 140 meV. Moreover, our studies also show that the Bi doping does not affect the valence bands, but Bii defects change the electron distribution of the conduction band. Our work and experimental results support and confirm each other, which provides a useful reference for the study of Sb-doped CsPbBr3, Eu-doped CsPbBr3 and so on.

The energy band engineering for the high-performance infrared photodetectors constructed by CdTe/MoS2 heterojunction.

Recently, the traditional infrared photodetectors (PDs) shows limited application in various areas, due to the narrow band-gap, high cost and even complex manufacturing process. In this situation, scientist have paid much attention to achieve the ultra broadband PDs from the deep ultraviolet to the near infrared. The energy band engineering for two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals heterojunction with free chemical dangling bonds is an effective method to fabricate High-performance Photodetectors. In this work, we employ density functional calculation to construct a type-II CdTe/MoS2 heterostructure and calculate its electronic properties. The results reveal that the CdTe/MoS2 has the narrow band gap of 0.64 eV and electrons transfer from the CdTe to MoS2 layer, which promotes the separation of photogenerated carriers and enhance the photoelectron conversion efficiency. Driven by the smaller band gap, it can respond to near infrared, visible and ultraviolet light, demonstrating it the promising application for solar cell. Furthermore, the analysis of molecules adsorption and band edge alignment indicates that the CdTe/MoS2 is prone to capture H2O and release the H2 molecules, which is conductive to the photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen generation. Our work suggests that the CdTe/MoS2 heterostructure is a potential candidate as a solar cell and even photocatalyst, and also provides a new sight for experimental and theoretical research to design a highly efficient device.

The influence of electrode for electroluminescence devices based on all-inorganic halide perovskite CsPbBr3.

Electroluminescence devices based on all-inorganic halide perovskite material with excellent luminescence performance have been studied extensively in recent years. However, the important role for the electrodes of electroluminescence devices is payed few attention by theoretical and experimental studies. Appropriate electrodes can reduce the Schottky barrier height to decrease the energy loss, and prevent the metal impurities from diffusing into the perovskite material to generate deep traps levels, which improves the luminous efficiency and lifetime of devices. In this paper, not only the interface effects between CsPbBr3 and common metal electrode (Ag, Au, Ni, Cu and Pt) are studied by first-principle calculations, but also the diffusion effects of metal electrode atom into the CsPbBr3 layer are also explored by nudged elastic band calculations. The calculated results show the metal Ag is more suitable for the cathode for CsPbBr3 electroluminescence devices, while the metal Pt is more applicable for the anode. Based on the overall consideration about the interface effects and diffusion effects of the CsPbBr3-metal electrode junctions, the essential principle is analyzed. The work provides theoretical guidance for how to select the right electrode for the electroluminescence performance of all-inorganic halide perovskite. The critical factor of Schottky barrier height between the electrode and the light-emitting semiconductor, and transition level generated by metal impurities also provide a valuable reference how to select the suitable electrodes for other electroluminescence devices.

Band alignment engineering: ultrabroadband photodetection with SnX2 (X = S, Se)/ZnS heterostructures.

Ultrabroadband mid-frequency infrared photodetectors have important applications in surveillance, medical diagnosis, bioimaging and navigation aids. Thus, researchers hope to detect mid-infrared radiation with larger wavelength. However, due to the limitation of room temperature, it is difficult for these detectors to detect mid-infrared with 4 µm or larger wavelength. Therefore, at room temperature, how to realize mid-infrared detection in a wide range has become an urgent problem to be solved. In this paper, the band structure of SnX2 (X = S,Se)/ZnS and SnS2(1-ŋ)Se2ŋ /ZnS was studied by the density functional theory based first-principles methods. Under the specific stacking procedure, changing the [Formula: see text] of SnS2(1-ŋ)Se2ŋ , the band gap of heterojunctions can be continuously tuned from 0 to 0.97 eV. Amazingly, the band structure maintains the characteristics of a type-II heterojunction. The photodetection in our work is estimated for wavelengths from 1.2 µm to 10 µm, covering a wide wavelength range of mid-infrared. Such a wide range is considerable in current research. The characteristics of type-II band structure and the wide detection range imply that SnX2 /ZnS has great potential in mid-frequency infrared detection. Our work may provide some breakthroughs for the research of multiband photodetectors at room temperature.

Characterization of glycerophospholipid molecular species in muscles from three species of cephalopods by direct infusion-tandem mass spectrometry.

More than 200 molecular species of glycerophospholipids (GP) including glycerophosphocholine (GPC), glycerophosphoethanolamine (GPE), glycerophosphoserine (GPS), lysoglycerophosphocholine (LGPC), lysoglycerophosphoethanolamine (LGPE) and lysoglycerophosphoserine (LGPS), as well as 18 kinds of sphingomyelin (SM) were characterized by using a direct infusion-tandem mass (MS/MS) spectrometry method for lipids from the muscles of cephalopods Sepiella maindroni, Octopus ocellatus and Loligo chinensis for the first time. The majority of the GP molecular species contained long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFA), especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Therefore, cephalopods can be a good possible source of dietary GP carrying n-3 LC-PUFA. The total lipids were composed of phospholipid (PL, 72.29-83.32 wt% of total lipids), cholesterol (12.70-23.60 wt% of total lipids), triacylglycerol (1.86-2.93 wt% of total lipids), diacylglycerol (0.15-1.09 wt% of total lipids), monoacylglycerol (0.06-0.18 wt% of total lipids) and free fatty acid (0.72-1.86 wt% of total lipids). For PL, phosphatidylcholine (44.47-62.30 mol%), phosphatidylethanolamine (22.57-39.08 mol%), phosphatidylserine (6.15-10.18 mol%), phosphatidylglycerol (0.68-3.11 mol%), phosphatidylinositol (2.41-7.15 mol%) and lysophosphatidylcholine (1.84-5.24 mol%) were detected. Furthermore, the total lipids from the muscles of cephalopods Sepiella maindroni, Octopus ocellatus and Loligo chinensis contained 41.80-50.02 mol% of saturated fatty acids, 11.53-21.54 mol% of monounsaturated fatty acids and 36.67-40.82 mol% of PUFA, whilst DHA (15.25-26.71 mol%) and EPA (6.29-16.57 mol%) were found to account for the majority of the PUFA. With these data presented, cephalopod muscle can be considered as a healthy food for humans.

Asymmetric Structure Design of Electrolytes with Flexibility and Lithium Dendrite-Suppression Ability for Solid-State Lithium Batteries.

Solid polymer electrolytes can be used to construct solid-state lithium batteries (SSLBs) using lithium metals as the anode. However, the lifespan and safety problems of SSLBs caused by lithium dendrite growth have hindered their practical application. Here, we have designed and prepared a rigid-flexible asymmetric solid electrolyte (ASE) that is used in building SSLBs. The ASE can inhibit efficiently the growth of lithium dendrites and lead to a long cycle life of SSLBs due to the hierarchical structure of a combination of "polymer-in-ceramic" (i.e., rigid ceramic layer of Li6.4La3Zr1.4Ta0.6O12) and "LiBOB-in-polymer" (i.e., soft polymer-layer of polyethylene oxide and LiBOB components). The results demonstrated that a symmetrical battery with ASE (Li|ASE|Li) can be steadily cycled for more than 2000 h and yielded a flat plating/stripping voltage profile under a current density of 0.1 mA cm-2. As a consequence, the SSLB of LiFePO4|ASE|Li delivered a specific capacity of 155.1 mA h g-1 with a capacity retention rate up to 90.2% after 200 cycles with the Coulombic efficiency over 99.6% per cycle. This asymmetric structure combines the advantages of ceramics and polymers, providing an ingenious solution for building rigid and flexible solid electrolytes.

Pressure-induced strong ferroelectric polarization in tetra-phase perovskite CsPbBr3.

Ab initio simulations combined with the Berry phase method are employed to investigate ferroelectric polarization of tetragonal CsPbBr3 crystals by applying hydrostatic pressure varying from 0 to 19 GPa; we find that the object research belongs to the P4mm space group. The calculated results show that the materials undergo a paraelectric-ferroelectric phase transition when the pressure increases to a critical value 15 GPa. The polarization is strongly enhanced and attains a high value of about 23 µC cm-2, owing to the increase in the ionic and electric contributions to the polarization under compressive strain. We present a detailed theoretical investigation to analyze the origin of polarization. The ionic polarization is mainly ascribed to the central displacements of Pb2+ cations and Br- anions induced by a highly distorted octahedral PbBr6- framework. Electronic structure calculations suggest that asymmetric hopping p orbital electrons of Br(3) ions are responsible for the enhancement in electric polarization. These discoveries suggest that tetragonal CsPbBr3 has significant potential in future ferroelectric applications, and this can broaden the application field from optoelectronics to ferroelectrics.

Layer-dependent transport and optoelectronic property in two-dimensional perovskite: (PEA)2PbI4.

Recently, two-dimensional (2D) layered organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites have attracted a huge amount of interest due to their unique layered structure, and potential optical properties. However, amongst researchers it has long been disputed as to whether it is suitable for use as a photovoltaic material or light-emitting device. Here, we present a detailed theoretical investigation to discuss the photovoltaic and optoelectronic properties of a novel synthetic 2D layered perovskite (PEA)2PbI4. Based on the calculated geometric and electronic structure, charge carrier mobilities of the 2D layered (PEA)2PbI4 are predicted theoretically. In addition, the linear dichroism and exciton binding energies are also calculated. We found that the carrier mobilities of the 2D layered (PEA)2PbI4 reach the same order of magnitude as those of the optoelectronic material MoS2, but smaller than those of the photovoltaic material MAPbI3 and Si crystal, whereas exciton binding energies (Eb) enlarge with the thinning layers, being obviously higher than MAPbI3 and Si crystal. Moreover, the system exhibits a strong linear dichroism, suggesting weak absorption along the c axis in the visible spectrum, which is detrimental to photovoltaics. Our work provides a theoretical basis to prove that ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) materials may be potential candidates for optoelectronic detection devices, rather than solar absorbers.

Tuning the Schottky rectification in graphene-hexagonal boron nitride-molybdenum disulfide heterostructure.

It was still a great challenge to design high performance of rectification characteristic for the rectifier diode. Lately, a new approach was proposed experimentally to tune the Schottky barrier height (SBH) by inserting an ultrathin insulated tunneling layer to form metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) heterostructures. However, the electronic properties touching off the high performance of these heterostructures and the possibility of designing more efficient applications for the rectifier diode were not presently clear. In this paper, the structural, electronic and interfacial properties of the novel MIS diode with the graphene/hexagonal boron nitride/monolayer molybdenum disulfide (GBM) heterostructure had been investigated by first-principle calculations. The calculated results showed that the intrinsic properties of graphene and MoS2 were preserved due to the weak van der Waals contact. The height of interfacial Schottky barrier can be tuned by the different thickness of hBN layers. In addition, the GBM Schottky diode showed more excellent rectification characteristic than that of GM Schottky diode due to the interfacial band bending caused by the epitaxial electric field. Based on the electronic band structure, we analyzed the relationship between the electronic structure and the nature of the Schottky rectifier, and revealed the potential of utilizing GBM Schottky diode for the higher rectification characteristic devices.

3D web freestanding RuO2-Co3O4 nanowires on Ni foam as highly efficient cathode catalysts for Li-O2 batteries.

The mechanism of Li-O2 batteries is based on the reactions of lithium ions and oxygen, which hold a theoretical higher energy density of approximately 3500 W h kg-1. In order to improve the practical specific capacity and cycling performance of Li-O2 batteries, a catalytically active mechanically robust air cathode is required. In this work, we synthesized a freestanding catalytic cathode with RuO2 decorated 3D web Co3O4 nanowires on nickel foam. When the specific capacity was limited at 500 mA h g-1, the RuO2-Co3O4/NiF had a stable cycling life of up to 122 times. The outstanding performance can be primarily attributed to the robust freestanding Co3O4 nanowires with RuO2 loading. The unique 3D web nanowire structure provides a large surface for Li2O2 growth and RuO2 nanoparticle loading, and the RuO2 nanoparticles help to promote the round trip deposition and decomposition of Li2O2, therefore enhancing the cycling behavior. This result indicates the superiority of RuO2-Co3O4/NiF as a freestanding highly efficient catalytic cathode for Li-O2 batteries.

Lower and upper bounds for entanglement of Rényi-α entropy.

Entanglement Rényi-α entropy is an entanglement measure. It reduces to the standard entanglement of formation when α tends to 1. We derive analytical lower and upper bounds for the entanglement Rényi-α entropy of arbitrary dimensional bipartite quantum systems. We also demonstrate the application our bound for some concrete examples. Moreover, we establish the relation between entanglement Rényi-α entropy and some other entanglement measures.

Optical scheme for simulating post-quantum nonlocality distillation.

An optical scheme for simulating nonlocality distillation is proposed in post-quantum regime. The nonlocal boxes are simulated by measurements on appropriately pre- and post-selected polarization entangled photon pairs, i.e. post-quantum nonlocality is simulated by exploiting fair-sampling loophole in a Bell test. Mod 2 addition on the outputs of two nonlocal boxes combined with pre- and post-selection operations constitutes the key operation of simulating nonlocality distillation. This scheme provides a possible tool for the experimental study on the nonlocality in post-quantum regime and the exact physical principle precisely distinguishing physically realizable correlations from nonphysical ones.

Deterministic generation of large scale atomic W states.

We present a deterministic scheme for generating large-scale atomic W states in a cavity QED system via a simple expansion mechanism, which is realized only by a detuned interaction between two identical atoms and a vacuum cavity mode. With the presented scheme, a W-type Bell pair can be created and an n-atom W state can be expanded to a 2n-atom W state with a unit probability of success in principle. No multi-atom gates, quantum memories or quantum non-demolition measurements are required, greatly simplifying the experimental realization of the scheme. The feasibility analysis shows that our expansion scheme can be implemented with state-of-the-art technologies. Our scheme enables advances not only in quantum information and communication but also in quantum thermodynamics, where atomic W states plays a crucial role.

Monogamy relation of multi-qubit systems for squared Tsallis-q entanglement.

Tsallis-q entanglement is a bipartite entanglement measure which is the generalization of entanglement of formation for q tending to 1. We first expand the range of q for the analytic formula of Tsallis-q entanglement. For , we prove the monogamy relation in terms of the squared Tsallis-q entanglement for an arbitrary multi-qubit systems. It is shown that the multipartite entanglement indicator based on squared Tsallis-q entanglement still works well even when the indicator based on the squared concurrence loses its efficacy. We also show that the µ-th power of Tsallis-q entanglement satisfies the monogamy or polygamy inequalities for any three-qubit state.

Optical simulation of a Popescu-Rohrlich Box.

It is well known that the fair-sampling loophole in Bell test opened by the selection of the state to be measured can lead to post-quantum correlations. In this paper, we make the selection of the results after measurement, which opens the fair- sampling loophole too, and thus can lead to post-quantum correlations. This kind of result-selection loophole can be realized by pre- and post-selection processes within the "two-state vector formalism", and a physical simulation of Popescu-Rohrlich (PR) box is designed in linear optical system. The probability distribution of the PR has a maximal CHSH value 4, i.e. it can maximally violate CHSH inequality. Because the "two-state vector formalism" violates the information causality, it opens the locality loophole too, which means that this kind of results selection within "two-state vector formalism" leads to both fair- sampling loophole and locality loophole, so we call it a comprehensive loophole in Bell test. The comprehensive loophole opened by the results selection within "two-state vector formalism" may be another possible explanation of why post-quantum correlations are incompatible with quantum mechanics and seem not to exist in nature.