Search

Supplementary Fig. S2 from The antitumoral effect of Paris Saponin I associated with the induction of apoptosis through the mitochondrial pathway

Rhizoma Paridis, a traditional Chinese medicine, has shown promise in cancer prevention and therapy. In the present study, we isolated Paris Saponin I (PSI), an active component of Rhizoma paridis, and evaluated its effects on a panel of human cell lines and in a mouse model of human ovarian cancer to explore the mechanisms of its activity. PSI had more potent and selective cytotoxic effects on tumor cell lines than etoposide had, promoting dramatic G2-M phase arrest and apoptosis in SKOV3 cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, PSI treatment increased levels of Bax, cytochrome c, activated caspase-3, active caspase-9, and cleaved poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase and decreased both Bcl-2 expression levels and extracellular signal–regulated kinase-1/2 activity. We also assessed the antitumor efficacy of i.p. and p.o. PSI administration in mice bearing SKOV3 tumors; both significantly inhibited the growth of SKOV3 cells in a subcutaneous xenograft mouse model (by 66% and 52%, respectively). These results indicate that PSI mediates its effects via mitochondrial apoptosis, mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways, and G2-M cell cycle arrest. Most important, the efficacy of PSI in xenografts when administered p.o. or i.p. suggests its clinical potential. Thus, PSI is a potent antitumor compound and should be developed as a natural agent for cancer therapy.[Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(5):1179–88]

Amomi Fructus (Sharen, AF) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) from three source species (or subspecies) includingWurfbainia villosavar.villosa(WVV),W. villosavar.xanthioides(WVX) orW. longiligularis(WL). Among them, WVV has been transplanted from its top-geoherb region Guangdong to its current main production area Yunnan for more than 50 years in China. However, the genetic and transcriptomic differentiation among multiple AF source (sub)species and between the origin and transplanted populations of WVV is unknown. In our study, the observed overall higher expression of terpenoid biosynthesis genes in WVV than that of WVX supplied possible evidence for the better pharmacological effect of WVV. We also screened ten candidateborneol dehydrogenase(BDH) genes that potentially catalyzed borneol into camphor in WVV. TheBDHgenes may experience independent evolution after acquiring the ancestral copies and the followed tandem duplications might account for the abundant camphor content in WVV. Furthermore, four populations of WVV, WVX and WL are genetically differentiated and the gene flow from WVX to WVV in Yunnan contributed to the increased genetic diversity in the introduced population (WVV-JH) compared to its top-geoherb region (WVV-YC), which showed the lowest genetic diversity and might undergo genetic degradation. In addition,TPSandBDHgenes were selected among populations of multiple AF source (sub)species and between the top-geoherb and non-top-geoherb regions, which might explain the metabolite difference of these populations. Our findings provide important guidance for the conservation, genetic improvement, industrial development of the three source (sub)species, and identifying top-geoherbalism with molecular markers and proper clinical application of AF.

As abscisic acid (ABA) receptor, the pyrabactin resistance 1-like (PYR/PYL) protein (named PYL for simplicity) plays an important part to unveil the signal transduction of ABA and its regulatory mechanisms. Glycyrrhiza uralensis, a drought-tolerant medicinal plant, is a good model for the mechanism analysis of ABA response and active compound biosynthesis. However, knowledge about PYL family in G. uralensis remains largely unknown. Here, 10 PYLs were identified in G. uralensis genome. Characterization analysis indicated that PYLs in G. uralensis (GuPYLs) are relatively conserved. Phylogenetic analysis showed that GuPYL1-3 belongs to subfamily I, GuPYL4-6 and GuPYL10 belong to subfamily II and GuPYL7-9 belongs to subfamily III. In addition, transcriptome data presented various expression levels of GuPYLs under different exogenous ABA stresses. The expression pattern of GuPYLs was verified by Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The study proved that GuPYL4, GuPYL5, GuPYL8 and GuPYL9 genes are significantly up-regulated by ABA stress and the response process is dynamic. This study paves the way for elucidating the regulation mechanism of ABA signal to secondary metabolites and improving the cultivation and quality of G. uralensis using agricultural strategies.

Arctium lappa, commonly called burdock, has a long medicinal and edible history. It has recently gained increasing attention because of its economic value. In this study, we obtained the complete chloroplast genome of A. lappa by Illumina Hiseq. The complete chloroplast genome of A. lappa is a typical circular structure with 152 708 bp in length. The GC content in the whole chloroplast genome of A. lappa is 37.7%. A total of 37 tRNA genes, 8 rRNA genes, and 87 protein-coding genes were successfully annotated. And the chloroplast genome contains 113 unique genes, 19 of which are duplicated in the inverted repeat. The distribution of 39 simple sequence repeats was analysed, and most of them are in the large single-copy (LSC) sequence. An inversion comprising 16 genes was found in the LSC region, which is 26 283 bp long. We performed multiple sequence alignments using 72 common protein-coding genes of 29 species and constructed a Maximum Parsimony (MP) tree. The MP phylogenetic result shows that A. lappa grouped together with Carthamus tinctorius, Centaurea diffusa, and Saussurea involucrata. The chloroplast genome of A. lappa is a valuable resource for further studies in Asteraceae.

Camphor tree [Cinnamomum camphora (L.) J. Presl], a species in the magnoliid family Lauraceae, is known for its rich volatile oils and is used as a medical cardiotonic and as a scent in many perfumed hygiene products. Here, we present a high-quality chromosome-scale genome of C. camphora with a scaffold N50 of 64.34 Mb and an assembled genome size of 755.41 Mb. Phylogenetic inference revealed that the magnoliids are a sister group to the clade of eudicots and monocots. Comparative genomic analyses identified two rounds of ancient whole-genome duplication (WGD). Tandem duplicated genes exhibited a higher evolutionary rate, a more recent evolutionary history and a more clustered distribution on chromosomes, contributing to the production of secondary metabolites, especially monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, which are the principal essential oil components. Three-dimensional analyses of the volatile metabolites, gene expression and climate data of samples with the same genotype grown in different locations showed that low temperature and low precipitation during the cold season modulate the expression of genes in the terpenoid biosynthesis pathways, especially TPS genes, which facilitates the accumulation of volatile compounds. Our study lays a theoretical foundation for policy-making regarding the agroforestry applications of camphor tree.

Camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora (L.) J. Presl), a species in the magnoliid family Lauraceae, is known for its rich volatile oils and is used as a medical cardiotonic and as a scent in many perfumed hygiene products. Here, we present a high-quality chromosome-scale genome of C. camphora with a scaffold N50 of 64.34 Mb and an assembled genome size of 755.41 Mb. Phylogenetic inference revealed that the magnoliids are a sister group to the clade of eudicots and monocots. Comparative genomic analyses identified two rounds of ancient whole-genome duplication (WGD). Tandem duplicated genes exhibited a higher evolutionary rate, a more recent evolutionary history and a more clustered distribution on chromosomes, contributing to the production of secondary metabolites, especially monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, which are the principal essential oil components. Three-dimensional analyses of the volatile metabolites, gene expression and climate data of samples with the same genotype grown in different locations showed that low temperature and low precipitation during the cold season modulate the expression of genes in the terpenoid biosynthesis pathways, especially TPS genes, which facilitates the accumulation of volatile compounds. Our study lays a theoretical foundation for policy-making regarding the agroforestry applications of camphor tree.

The transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have drawn considerable attention because their unique application in novel quantum optoelectronic devices . Here, we design the MoS 2 -like Janus InSeF film and stacked two different layers to form hereostructures. The first principles study results show that F bonds to In, with the atoms in the sequence of F-In-Se-Se-In-F. The calculated band structures shows a semiconducting character with a gap of 0.58 eV. The band gap is sensitive to strains, varied from 0 to 1.23 eV. Remarkably, this film can turn from a normal insulator to topological insulator (TI) under appropriate compressive strain. Also, we find a direct-to-indirect band gap transition, if the tensile strain growing. These results mean that it provides an ideal platform to realize low-dissipation quantum and spintronic devices based on InSeF films.

The level of hardware or information security can be increased by applying physical unclonable functions (PUFs), which have a high complexity and unique nonreplicability and are based on random physical patterns generated by nature, to anticounterfeiting and encryption technologies. The preparation of PUFs should be as simple and convenient as possible, while maintaining the high complexity and stability of PUFs to ensure high reliability in use. In this study, an all-inorganic perovskite single-crystal array with a controllable morphology and a random size was prepared by a one-step recrystallization method in a solvent atmosphere to generate all-photonic cryptographic primitives. The nondeterministic size of the perovskite nanorods mainly arises from crystal growth in an indeterminate direction, producing a high entropy for the system. The cavity-size-dependent lasing emission behavior of perovskite single crystals was investigated as a preliminary exploration of the generation of all-photonic cryptographic primitives. The lasing-mode number was positively correlated with the length of the perovskite nanorods. Therefore, the prepared perovskite nanorod array with random sizes can be transformed into a quaternary cryptographic key array following encoding rules based on the lasing-mode number. Superior lasing stability was observed for the all-inorganic perovskite under continuous excitation, demonstrating the high reliability of this system.

Methylmalonic acidemia combined with homocysteinemia and cobalamin C type (MMA-CblC, MIM # 277400) is a rare inherited disease with cobalamin metabolic disorder, which are caused by deficiency in the MMACHC gene. A couple with a proband child carried with compound heterozygous mutations of MMACHC (c.609G>A and c.567 dup T, NM_015506) sought for assisted reproductive technology to avoid the transmission of pathogenic genetic variants and unnecessary induction of labor. Thus, in vitro fertilization (IVF), preimplantation genetic testing (PGT), and prenatal genetic diagnosis were applied to fulfill this clinical demand. In this study, seven embryos were biopsied and carried out whole-genome amplification using multiple annealing and looping-based amplification cycle (MALBAC) method. Sanger sequencing together with copy number variation (CNV) analysis and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) haplotyping was conducted to detect the mutated alleles and chromosomal abnormalities simultaneously. Three embryos (E07, E06, and E02) were confirmed without CNVs and inherited mutations at MMACHC gene. Embryo E07 with the best embryo ranking of 5BB was selected preferentially to transfer which led to a successful pregnancy and an unaffected live birth. Prenatal genetic diagnosing with amniotic fluid cells, Sanger sequencing with cord blood cells, and neonate MMA screening further verified our successful application of PGT in preventing mutated allele transmission for this rare inherited disease.

To discuss combinations of traditional screening and noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS) and to compare which traditional screening is the most suitable first-line screening approach to NIPS, pregnant women were recruited in this retrospective observational study. Pregnant women underwent one of four traditional screening tests. The 9 contingent models were combined by high risk cut-offs of 1:50, 1:100, 1:270 and intermediate risk cut-offs of 1:1000, 1:1500, 1:2000. We analyzed cost and performance of various screening models with contingent screening of different risk cut-offs. Compared with other screening tests, combined first-trimester screening (CFTS) had the lowest proportion of high risk (≥1:270) with the highest detection rate (DR) (78.79%) and the lowest proportion of intermediate risk (1:271~1:1000). When intermediate risk was 1:51 ~1:1500, CFTS as first-line screening had the lowest cost with DR of 93.94%. Other screening tests as the first-line screening with intermediate risk of 1:51~1:1000 had the lowest cost, there DR were 90.91%, 84.62%, 91.67%, respectively. Our study demonstrated if only one traditional screening was allowed to screen pregnant women, CFTS was recommended as the first choice. According to local health and economic conditions, adopting appropriate traditional screening with suitable cut-offs as first-line screening will contributed to a cost-effective screening model.

Previous studies of DNA barcoding Dioscorea species have shown that the identification efficiency was low. In this study, the complete chloroplast genomes of D. opposite and D. collettii were sequenced using Illumina HiSeq 2000. Genome structure and content and high variation regions were analyzed. The complete chloroplast genome lengths of D. opposite and D. collettii were 152963 and 153870 bp, which include four parts: two inverted repeats (IRs), one large single copy (LSC) and one small single copy (SSC). Both of D. opposite and D. collettii encoded 125 genes, including 87 protein coding genes, 30 tRNA genes and eight rRNA genes. The GC contents of D. opposite and D. collettii were 37.04% and 37.17%, respectively. The result showed that the sequence variation of non-coding regions is higher than that of the protein coding region and the variations of the LSC and SSC are higher than that of the IRs. Ten molecular markers of Dioscorea , which include five protein coding regions and five non-coding regions were screened to be used as the potential DNA barcodes for authenticating Dioscorea species. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the chloroplast genome can be used as an ultra-barcode to distinguish Dioscorea species from each other. This study laid the foundation for super barcode utilization in the Dioscorea and provided a molecular basis for further investigation on this important medicinal species.

Segregation is a phenomenon of inhomogeneous distribution of constituent elements during crystallization and could be found in alloy, polymers, colloid, etc. Some researchers have also found component segregation in perovskite crystals. Until now, the existing research reports are all about the halogen segregation of perovskite at the micro level, while the research about the component segregation of perovskite at the macro level is blank, leaving no relevant application developed. Therefore, we can broaden the PUFs-based application of perovskite crystals by employing the multi-wavelength emission property arising from component macrosegregation. We synthesized perovskite crystal arrays with macroscopic composition segregation in one step by surface-tension-confined evaporative self-assembly. The macrosegregation in perovskite crystals prepared with different halogen ratios and temperature was surveyed. The photoluminescence spectra of perovskite crystals were investigated. Perovskite crystals with composition segregation could generate physically unclonable cryptographic primitives, which were made by a simple and random process and difficult to replicate. According to the number of peaks in the spectrum, we converted the optical response into quaternary cryptographic keys, and demonstrated the randomness and stability of the system. This study excavated the application prospect of macroscopic component segregation perovskite in all-photonic cryptographic primitives.

Numerous variations are known to occur in the chloroplast genomes of parasitic plants. We determined the complete chloroplast genome sequences of two hemiparasitic species, Taxillus chinensis and T. sutchuenensis, using Illumina and PacBio sequencing technologies. These species are the first members of the family Loranthaceae to be sequenced. The complete chloroplast genomes of T. chinensis and T. sutchuenensis comprise circular 121,363 and 122,562 bp-long molecules with quadripartite structures, respectively. Compared with the chloroplast genomes of Nicotiana tabacum and Osyris alba, all ndh genes as well as three ribosomal protein genes, seven tRNA genes, four ycf genes, and the infA gene of these two species have been lost. The results of the maximum likelihood and neighbor-joining phylogenetic trees strongly support the theory that Loranthaceae and Viscaceae are monophyletic clades. This research reveals the effect of a parasitic lifestyle on the chloroplast structure and genome content of T. chinensis and T. sutchuenensis, and enhances our understanding of the discrepancies in terms of assembly results between Illumina and PacBio.

The electronic and magnetic properties of transition metal (TM) atoms (V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) adsorption on stanene are investigated by first-principles calculations. The results indicate that the TM atoms prefer to be relaxed on a H site on stanene except V atom which lies on the valley site. Fe-absorbed stanene is a spin gapless semiconductor with up-spin electron and down-spin hole carriers allowing the coexistence of charge current and the pure spin current. Co-absorbed stanene lies in the half metal phase. The V-, Cr-, Mn-, and Cu-absorbed stanene turn the stanene into metal, while Ni- and Zn-absorbed stanene open a narrow band gap. For V-, Cr-, Mn-, Fe-, and Co-absorbed stanene, the magnetic moment of the TM will survive while the Ni-, Cu-, and Zn-absorbed stanene will be non-magnetic material. These findings may have great potential in the design of new electrically controllable spintronic devices.

Introduction: In recent years, many studies have focused on the association between plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 gene 4G/5G polymorphism and risk of allergic diseases, but the results have been inconclusive. Objective: We conducted this meta-analysis to study the exact relationship between PAI-1 polymorphism and susceptibility to allergic diseases. Methods: All eligible studies were determined by an electronic literature search. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of association under all of the models. Results: A total of 14 studies involving 2,327 cases and 2,838 controls were included in this meta-analysis. Overall, we found a significant association between PAI-1 polymorphism and risk of allergic diseases (4G/4G + 4G/5G vs. 5G/5G: OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.39–2.22, p < 0.00001). In a subgroup analysis by ethnicity, we found a markedly increased risk in Asians (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.26–2.09, p = 0.0002) and Caucasians (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.26–2.52, p = 0.001). In addition, significant associations between PAI-1 polymorphism and risk of allergic diseases were observed in both adults (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.23–2.38, p = 0.001) and children (OR 1.87, 95% CI 1.42–2.46, p < 0.00001). In a subgroup analysis by different allergic diseases, a significantly increased risk was found for asthma (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.33–2.39, p = 0.001) but not for rhinitis (OR 1.51, 95% CI 0.79–2.89, p = 0.22). Conclusion: This meta-analysis demonstrated that PAI-1 gene 4G/5G polymorphism was associated with an increased risk of allergic diseases.

To assess the value of copy number variation analysis based on next generation sequencing (CNV-seq) in prenatal diagnosis for women at advanced maternal age.A prospective analysis was carried out for women who underwent amniocentesis at 18~36 weeks of gestation for fetal CNV-seq for advanced maternal age.For 1461 unrelated Chinese women with a singleton pregnancy, CNV-seq was performed for all samples successfully. The proportion of chromosomal abnormalities was 2.3% (34/1461), of which 44.12% were submicroscopic copy number variations (5 Mb).Pregnant women at an advanced maternal age should be informed for not only common trisomies but all pathogenic chromosomal aberrations. NGS was a sensitive and accurate approach for detecting CNVs.

Ephedrae Herba and Ephedrae Radix et Rhizoma (Mahuang) have been used as Chinese herbal medicines. Ephedra plants mainly live in deserts and have good governance of desertification. Despite their important medicinal and environmental protection value, dietary supplements containing ephedrine from Ephedra species may threaten the health of people. Morphological resemblance amongst species causes difficulty in identifying the original species of Ephedra herbs. Chloroplast (CP) genome shows good prospects in identification and phylogenetic analysis. This study introduced the structures of the CP genomes of three Ephedra species and analysed their phylogenetic relationships. Three complete CP genomes of Ephedra showed four-part annular structures, namely, two single-copy regions and two inverted repeat regions. The entire CP genomes of three Ephedra species in terms of size were 109,550 bp (E. sinica), 109,667 bp (E. intermedia), and 109,558 bp (E. equisetina). Each CP genome of the three Ephedra species encoded 118 genes, including 73 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes and 8 ribosomal RNA genes. Eleven high-variation regions were screened through mVISTA to be potential specific DNA barcodes for identifying Ephedra species. Maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony trees showed that CP genomes could be used to identify Ephedra species. The Ephedra species had a close phylogenetic relationship with Gnetum species and Welwitschia mirabilis. This research provided valuable information for the identification and phylogenetic analysis of gymnosperms and drug safety of Ephedra.

Opening a sizable band gap in the zero-gap silicene is a key issue for its application in nanoelectronics. We design new 2D silicene and GaP heterobilayer (Si/GaP HBL) composed of silicene and monolayer (ML) GaP. Based on first-principles calculations, we find that the interaction energies are in the range of −295.5 to −297.5 meV per unit cell, indicating a weak interaction between silicene and gallium phosphide (GaP) monolayer. The band gap changes ranging from 0.06 to 0.44 eV in hybrid HBLs. An unexpected indirect–direct band gap crossover is also observed in HBLs, dependent on the stacking pattern. These provide a possible way to design effective FETs out of silicene on GaP monolayer.

We study the geometric and electronic properties of germanene adsorbed with several small organic molecules (SOMs) by using first-principles calculations. The adsorption energies are found in the range from −0.459 to −0.231 eV, higher than those of SOMs adsorbed on graphene and silicene, indicating strong interactions between organic molecules and germanene. These lead to a large enhancement of band gap of germanene with sizable values of 3.9–81.9 meV due to the sublattice symmetry breaking. Noticeably, the characteristics of Dirac cone with low effective mass and high electron mobility are preserved. These findings provide a possible way to design germanene based optoelectronic devices.

The electronic structure and optical properties of the MoS2/ZnTe monolayer have been investigated through first-principles calculations. According to the different atoms’ parallelism, we have discussed five interface growth configurations: Te–Mo, Te–S, Hollow, Zn–Mo, and Zn–S systems. It has been shown that the monolayer MoS2/ZnTe exhibits semiconducting behavior and the band gap of MoS2 can be effectively tuned to 1.60 or 1.28 eV in MoS2 and ZnTe heterobilayer. An unexpected direct–indirect band gap transition is also observed, which is dependent on the stacking pattern and interlayer spacing on MoS2. The optical properties of MoS2/ZnTe heterobilayer reflect the phenomenon of red shift. The absorption edge of pure monolayer molybdenum disulfide is 0.8 eV, while the absorption edges of Te–Mo, Te–S, Hollow, Zn–Mo, and Zn–S systems become 0 eV. As a potential material, these provide a possible way to design effective FETs out of MoS2 on a ZnTe monolayer.

Two-dimensional multiferroic materials with controllable ferromagnetism and ferroelasticity are an interesting topic and offer unprecedent opportunities for achieving long-sought controllable spintronic devices. However, the reported proposals on hypothetical materials are rarely realized experimentally so far. We perform first-principles calculations to find that the non-dispersive nature of the valence band maximum with a Mexican-hat-like band in monolayer α-PbO can be as a prototype to realize either ferromagnetism or ferroelasticity under p-type doping. Remarkably, a multiferroic phase coexisting with ferromagnetism and ferroelasticity can be obtained for hole densities in the range of 1.22–3.48 × 1014 cm−2. Also, the Curie temperature, structural stability, and exfoliation energy of α-PbO are discussed. These interesting mechanical, electronic, and magnetic properties in α-PbO provide an ideal platform to research physics and high-performance multi-functional devices.

In this experiment, ‘Huangguogan’ introduced from Shimian to Jiangyou was used as the materialand Shimian ‘Huangguogan’ as the reference. The adaptability of ‘Huangguogan’ was studied from three aspects: site climate conditions, basic indicators of tree bodyand fruit quality. The results showed that the overall situation of Shimian ‘Huangguogan’ was better than Jiangyou ‘Huangguogan’, especially the internal quality of the fruit, which indicated that Jiangyou was not suitable to introduce ‘Huangguogan’.

The two-dimensional (2D) effect is observed in experiments and simulations of long-rod penetration. Different nose shapes may occur in the penetration of long rods made by different materials, which will have an effect on the penetration performances. Base on the 2D model established in authors’ previous work, combining with the experimental and simulation results, the 2D effect of long-rod penetration is analyzed in present paper. According to the analysis, the basic assumption of the 2D model, the nose shape of long rods keeps invariant during the primary phase, is verified. In addition, the 2D model can briefly reflect the 2D effect shown in experiments and simulations.

In this study, we successively and parallelly slide a solvent strip on a polydimethylsiloxane microwell array to dilute the solution within the microwells. A total of 60 concentration gradients were generated one by one along the sliding direction within minutes while simultaneously forming 60 microwells with the same concentration perpendicular to the sliding direction. Using theoretical calculations, simulated predictions and experimental verification, we could regulate the concentration gradient on the microwell array by tuning the parameters of the sliding head and sliding speed. Afterwards, we cultured human non-small cell lung cancer cells and produced an anticancer drug concentration gradient on the microwell array by this sliding method. The cell viability was examined to demonstrate the potential of this method for high-throughput cell-based drug testing and screening, and this open microwell array method may enable further analysis during a drug-screening process.

Based on first-principles hybrid functional calculations, we demonstrate the formation of two-dimensional (2D) topological insulators (TIs) of Pb/Sb honeycombs on Ge(111) semiconductor surface. We show that 1/3 Cl-covered Ge(111) surface offers an ideal template for metal deposition. When Pb and Sb atoms are deposited on Cl–Ge(111) surface, they spontaneously form a hexagonal lattice (Pb/Sb@Cl–Ge(111)). The Pb/Sb@Cl–Ge(111) exhibits a 2D TI state with large bulk gap of 0.27 eV for Pb@Cl–Ge(111) and 0.81 eV for Sb@Cl–Ge(111). The mechanism of 2D TI state is the substrate orbital-filtering effect that effectively removes the pz bands of Pb(Sb) away from the Fermi level, leaving behind only the px and py orbitals at the Fermi level. Our findings pave another way for future design of 2D topological insulators on conventional semiconductor surface, which promotes the application of 2D TIs in spintronics and quantum computing devices at room-temperature.

More than 30 Ligularia Cass. (Asteraceae) species have long been used in folk medicine in China. Morphological features and common DNA regions are both not ideal to identify Ligularia species. As some Ligularia species contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), which are hazardous to human and animal health and are involved in metabolic toxification in the liver, it is important to find a better way to distinguish these species. Here, we report complete chloroplast (CP) genomes of six Ligularia species, L. intermedia, L. jaluensis, L. mongolica, L. hodgsonii, L. veitchiana, and L. fischeri, obtained through high-throughput Illumina sequencing technology. These CP genomes showed typical circular tetramerous structure and their size ranges from 151,118 bp to 151,253 bp. The GC content of each CP genome is 37.5%. Every CP genome contains 134 genes, including 87 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, eight rRNA genes, and two pseudogenes (ycf1 and rps19). From the mVISTA, there were no potential coding or non-coding regions to distinguish these six Ligularia species, but the Maximum Likelihood (ML) tree of the six Ligularia species and other related species showed that the whole CP genome can be used as a super-barcode to identify these six Ligularia species. This study provides invaluable data for species identification, allowing for future studies on phylogenetic evolution and safe medical applications of Ligularia.

Using first-principles calculations, we studied the geometric and band structures of 20 possible configurations of buckled hydrogenated SnPb alloy (SnxPb8−xH8) films. The configurations are topological insulators (TIs) when x ≥ 1. When x increases from 1 to 7, the band gap increases from 0.087 eV to 0.98 eV. The topological characteristics are suggested by s–pxy band inversion and confirmed by helical edge states, which are time-reversal symmetry protected. According to spin–orbit coupling (SOC) analysis results, we draw the conclusion that the Pb atoms have greater SOC strength than the Sn atoms, so when the number ratio of Pb and Sn atoms is greater than 1/12 the SOC strength is large enough to trigger the band inversion between the s and pxy orbitals, causing the SnPb alloy film to turn into a topological insulator (TI) from a normal band insulator (NI). We give a simple rule for the topological criterion of hydrogenated SnPb alloy films by comparing the ratio of Pb and Sn atoms. This would provide a useful reference for the design of topological devices based on NI–TI hetero-junctions for experiments.

High-throughput measurements can be achieved using droplet-based assays. In this study, we exploited the principles of wetting behavior and capillarity to guide liquids sliding along a solid surface with hybrid wettability. Oil-covered droplet arrays with uniformly sized and regularly shaped picoliter droplets were successfully generated on hydrophilic-in-hydrophobic patterned substrates. More than ten thousand 31-pL droplets were generated in 5 s without any sophisticated instruments. Covering the droplet arrays with oil during generation not only isolated the droplets from each other but also effectively prevented droplet evaporation. The oil-covered droplet arrays could be stored for more than 2 days with less than 35% volume loss. Single microspheres, microbial cells, or mammalian cells were successfully captured in the droplets. We demonstrate that Escherichia coli could be encapsulated at a certain number (1-4) and cultured for 3 days in droplets. Cell population and morphology were dynamically tracked within individual droplets. Our droplet array generation method enables high-throughput processing and is facile, efficient, and low-cost; in addition, the prepared droplet arrays have enormous potential for applications in chemical and biological assays.

Based on first-principles calculations, we study the electronic structure, magnetic properties and optical properties of transition metal (TM) doped SnO2NSs. Computational results indicate that pristine SnO2NSs is a direct gap semiconductor with nonmagnetic states. Cr, Mn, Fe atom doping can induce 2μB, −3μB and 2μB magnetic moment, respectively, while Ni atom doped SnO2NSs keeps the nonmagnetic states. More interestingly, Fe doped SnO2NSs becomes an indirect gap semiconductor, and the Cr, Mn and Ni atom doping maintain the character of direct gap semiconductor. For optical properties, the optical absorption edge shows red shift phenomenon for a TM atom (Cr, Mn, Fe or Ni) doped SnO2NSs. In addition, the tensity of absorption, reflection and refraction coefficient are enhanced significantly in the visible light region, which may be very useful for the design of solar cells, photoelectronic devices and photocatalysts.

The electronic structures and optical properties of pristine and transition-metal (TM) atom doped ZnSe nanosheets (ZnSeNSs) have been studied based on first-principles calculations. The results indicate that the pristine ZnSeNSs are nonmagnetic direct gap semiconductors, while Mn, Fe or Co doped ZnSeNSs are all spin-polarized, and the Cr doped one is half-metallic with 100% spin-polarized currents. Cr or Co doped ZnSeNSs can improve the absorption properties and broaden the absorption range, compared to pristine, Fe or Mn doped ZnSeNSs. Moreover, red-shift phenomena are observed. These results can provide an important reference for designing and fabricating infrared and visible photoelectric nanodevices.

Dendrobium officinale is an extremely valuable orchid used in traditional Chinese medicine, so sought after that it has a higher market value than gold. Although the expression profiles of some genes involved in the polysaccharide synthesis have previously been investigated, little research has been carried out on their alternatively spliced isoforms in D. officinale. In addition, information regarding the translocation of sugars from leaves to stems in D. officinale also remains limited. We analyzed the polysaccharide content of D. officinale leaves and stems, and completed in-depth transcriptome sequencing of these two diverse tissue types using second-generation sequencing (SGS) and single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology. The results of this study yielded a digital inventory of gene and mRNA isoform expressions. A comparative analysis of both transcriptomes uncovered a total of 1414 differentially expressed genes, including 844 that were up-regulated and 570 that were down-regulated in stems. Of these genes, one sugars will eventually be exported transporter (SWEET) and one sucrose transporter (SUT) are expressed to a greater extent in D. officinale stems than in leaves. Two glycosyltransferase (GT) and four cellulose synthase (Ces) genes undergo a distinct degree of alternative splicing. In the stems, the content of polysaccharides is twice as much as that in the leaves. The differentially expressed GT and transcription factor (TF) genes will be the focus of further study. The genes DoSWEET4 and DoSUT1 are significantly expressed in the stem, and are likely to be involved in sugar loading in the phloem.

The family Aristolochiaceae, comprising about 600 species of eight genera, is a unique plant family containing aristolochic acids (AAs). The complete chloroplast genome sequences of Aristolochia debilis and Aristolochia contorta are reported here. The results show that the complete chloroplast genomes of A. debilis and A. contorta comprise circular 159,793 and 160,576 bp-long molecules, respectively and have typical quadripartite structures. The GC contents of both species were 38.3% each. A total of 131 genes were identified in each genome including 85 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, eight rRNA genes and one pseudogene (ycf1). The simple-sequence repeat sequences mainly comprise A/T mononucletide repeats. Phylogenetic analyses using maximum parsimony (MP) revealed that A. debilis and A. contorta had a close phylogenetic relationship with species of the family Piperaceae, as well as Laurales and Magnoliales. The data obtained in this study will be beneficial for further investigations on A. debilis and A. contorta from the aspect of evolution, and chloroplast genetic engineering.

Under external transverse electronic fields and hydrogen passivation, the electronic structure and band gap of tin dioxide nanoribbons (SnO2NRs) with both zigzag and armchair shaped edges are studied by using the first-principles projector augmented wave (PAW) potential with the density function theory (DFT) framework. The results showed that the electronic structures of zigzag and armchair edge SnO2NRs exhibit an indirect semiconducting nature and the band gaps demonstrate a remarkable reduction with the increase of external transverse electronic field intensity, which demonstrate a giant Stark effect. The value of the critical electric field for bare Z-SnO2NRs is smaller than A-SnO2NRs. In addition, the different hydrogen passivation nanoribbons (Z-SnO2NRs-2H and A-SnO2NRs-OH) show different band gaps and a slightly weaker Stark effect. The band gap of A-SnO2NRs-OH obviously is enhanced while the Z-SnO2NRs-2H reduce. Interestingly, the Z-SnO2NRs-OH presented the convert of metal-semiconductor-metal under external transverse electronic fields. In the end, the electronic transport properties of the different edges SnO2NRs are studied. These findings provide useful ways in nanomaterial design and band engineering for spintronics.

This study systematically investigates the light-extraction efficiency (LEE) of GaN-based thin-film flip-chip light-emitting diodes (TFFC LEDs) with deeply etched photonic crystals (PhC). The optimal structure can be obtained by scanning the structural parameters using a three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain simulation. The concentration of the internal emission pattern within a limited extraction cone is significantly influenced by several structural parameters. The light-collection enhancement within an extraction cone explains the peak LEE caused by optimized structural parameters such as the p-GaN thickness, the air-hole depth, the lattice constant and the filling factor. The maximum extraction efficiency can reach 65% in the case of a p-GaN thickness of 140 nm, air-hole depth of 240 nm, lattice constant of 350 nm and filling factor of 0.40. Additionally, fabricating the optimal electrical contacts on the planar top surface of the n side can contribute to a higher potential enhancement.

1-calcium phosphate-uracil (1-CP-U), a synthetic pyrimidine derivative, has been documented to demonstrate a variety of different biological activities. However, the potency and mechanisms of this agent’s anti-cancer activity have not been elucidated to date. In the present study, the anti-cancer effects of 1-CP-U were examined in a range of in vitro assays. Different cell lines were treated with 1-CP-U at varied concentrations (0.7, 1.0, 1.4 μmol/l) for indicated durations. The cell proliferation was then examined by MTT assay. The cellular apoptotic effects were detected by Hoechst 33342 and Annexin V/propidium iodide staining, while the capacity of 1-CP-U on invasion and migration were examined by cell invasion and wound healing assays. The expression of matrix metalloproteinase proteins, as well as pro- and antiapoptotic proteins was detected by western blotting analysis. The results identified that 1-CP-U was able to inhibit the viability of SKOV3, HeLa, SMMC-7721 and A549 cell lines in a dose- and time-dependent manner, while it exerted only marginal toxic effects on non-cancerous cells. The IC50 concentration of 1-CP-U for tumor cell lines was ~1.0 μmol/l. The growth inhibition induced by 1-CP-U was accompanied by a broad spectrum of pro-apoptotic activities, in which different cell lines varied in their sensitivity to 1-CP-U. Meanwhile, the increased expression of the pro-apoptotic protein B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2)-associated X and a marked reduction of Bcl-2 levels were associated with increased 1-CP-U concentrations. Additionally, anti-migration and anti-invasion effects of 1-CP-U were evidently associated with the downregulation of matrix metalloproteinase proteins. Of note, it was observed that 1-CP-U significantly inhibited both the migration and invasion at a lower concentration, as compared with the dose required to achieve significant inhibition of apoptosis. These results indicated that 1-CP-U appeared to be a more effective inhibitor of cell migration and invasion, rather than of apoptosis. In conclusion, the present study was the first, to the best of our knowledge, to demonstrate the function of 1-CP-U in tumor proliferation, apoptosis and invasion with specific effects against cancer cells in vitro, suggesting 1-CP-U as a potential novel anticancer agent.

To improve light extraction efficiency (LEE) of the GaN-based LEDs, it has become a practical technique to form 2D periodic micro/nanostructure arrays in an n- or p-GaN layer. However, the fabrication of micro/nanostructure arrays in the thinner p-GaN layer can deteriorate the electrical characteristics, sometimes even damage the QWs active region. In this study, numerical simulations based on the Monte Carlo ray tracing method were carried out to investigate the influence of the different periodic arrays in the thicker n-GaN layer on the LEE of the LEDs. To find the optimal structure, the study was divided into three parts. Firstly, the parametrical influence of the different periodic arrays on the LEE was numerically simulated. The results showed that micro-cone arrays can effectively enhance the LEE and the maximum LEE can be obtained as the bottom of each cone pattern was in contact with adjacent cones. Secondly, by comparing micro-cone arrays with micro-pyramid arrays, the micro-cone arrays were superior to micro-pyramid arrays in terms of enhancing LEE. Lastly, the truncated cone arrays and truncated cone hole arrays with different upper radius were studied. The results indicated that the truncated cone arrays in top radius of less than 0.4 µm showed a certain enhancement of the LEE and about 3 times LEE improvement was obtained as R t o p = 0.2 μ m and h = 1.0 μ m , compared with the planar flip-chip LEDs. Our results will provide important theoretical implications in development of high-power and high-brightness LEDs.