DNA molecule stretching through thermo-electrophoresis and thermal convection in a heated converging-diverging microchannel

A novel DNA molecule stretching technique is developed and tested herein. Through a heated converging-diverging microchannel, thermal convection and thermophoresis induced by regional heating are shown to significantly elongate single DNA molecules; they are visualized via a confocal laser scanning microscopy. In addition, electrophoretic stretching is also implemented to examine the hybrid effect on the conformation and dynamics of single DNA molecules. The physical properties of the DNA molecules are secured via experimental measurements

Mechanism of Evolution Shared by Gene and Language

We propose a general mechanism for evolution to explain the diversity of gene and language. To quantify their common features and reveal the hidden structures, several statistical properties and patterns are examined based on a new method called the rank-rank analysis. We find that the classical correspondence, "domain plays the role of word in gene language", is not rigorous, and propose to replace domain by protein. In addition, we devise a new evolution unit, syllgram, to include the characteristics of spoken and written language. Based on the correspondence between (protein, domain) and (word, syllgram), we discover that both gene and language shared a common scaling structure and scale-free network. Like the Rosetta stone, this work may help decipher the secret behind non-coding DNA and unknown languages.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures, 3 tabl

Lobocrassins A–E: New Cembrane-Type Diterpenoids from the Soft Coral Lobophytum crassum

Five new cembrane-type diterpenoids, lobocrassins A–E (1–5), were isolated from the soft coral Lobophytum crassum. The structures of cembranes 1–5 were established by spectroscopic and chemical methods and by comparison of the spectral data with those of known cembrane analogues. Lobocrassin A (1) is the first cembranoid possessing an α-chloromethyl-α-hydroxy-γ-lactone functionality and is the first chlorinated cembranoid from soft corals belonging to the genus Lobophytum. Lobocrassins B (2) and C (3) were found to be the stereoisomers of the known cembranes, 14-deoxycrassin (6) and pseudoplexaurol (7), respectively. Lobocrassin B (2) exhibited modest cytotoxicity toward K562, CCRF-CEM, Molt4, and HepG2 tumor cells and displayed significant inhibitory effects on the generation of superoxide anion and the release of elastase by human neutrophils

Nardosinane-Type Sesquiterpenoids from the Formosan Soft Coral Paralemnalia thyrsoides

Five new nardosinane-type sesquiterpenoids, paralemnolins Q–U (1–5), along with three known compounds (6–8), were isolated from the Formosan soft coral Paralemnalia thyrsoides. The structures of new metabolites were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic methods, and the absolute configuration of 1 was determined by the application of Mosher’s method on 1. Among these metabolites, 1 and 3 are rarely found nardosinane-type sesquiterpenoids, possessing novel polycyclic structures. Compounds 1, 3, 6 and 7 were found to possess neuroprotective activity

Terpenoids from the Octocorals Menella sp. (Plexauridae) and Lobophytum crassum (Alcyonacea)

A new germacrane-type sesquiterpenoid, menelloide E (1), and a new cembrane-type diterpenoid, lobocrassin F (2), were isolated from the octocorals Menella sp. and Lobophytum crassum, respectively. The structures of terpenoids 1 and 2 were determined by spectroscopic and chemical methods and compound 2 was found to display a significant inhibitory effect on the release of elastase by human neutrophils

Performance evaluation on an air-cooled heat exchanger for alumina nanofluid under laminar flow

This study analyzes the characteristics of alumina (Al2O3)/water nanofluid to determine the feasibility of its application in an air-cooled heat exchanger for heat dissipation for PEMFC or electronic chip cooling. The experimental sample was Al2O3/water nanofluid produced by the direct synthesis method at three different concentrations (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 wt.%). The experiments in this study measured the thermal conductivity and viscosity of nanofluid with weight fractions and sample temperatures (20-60°C), and then used the nanofluid in an actual air-cooled heat exchanger to assess its heat exchange capacity and pressure drop under laminar flow. Experimental results show that the nanofluid has a higher heat exchange capacity than water, and a higher concentration of nanoparticles provides an even better ratio of the heat exchange. The maximum enhanced ratio of heat exchange and pressure drop for all the experimental parameters in this study was about 39% and 5.6%, respectively. In addition to nanoparticle concentration, the temperature and mass flow rates of the working fluid can affect the enhanced ratio of heat exchange and pressure drop of nanofluid. The cross-section aspect ratio of tube in the heat exchanger is another important factor to be taken into consideration

Clinical impact of pharmacogenetic risk variants in a large chinese cohort.

Incorporating pharmacogenetics into clinical practice promises to improve therapeutic outcomes by optimizing drug selection and dosage based on genetic factors affecting drug response. A key advantage of PGx-guided therapy is to decrease the likelihood of adverse events. To evaluate the clinical impact of PGx risk variants, we performed a retrospective study using genetic and clinical data from the largest Han Chinese cohort, comprising 486,956 individuals, assembled by the Taiwan Precision Medicine Initiative. We found that nearly all participants carried at least one genetic variant that could affect drug response, with many carrying multiple risk variants. Here we show the detailed analyses of four gene-drug pairs, azathioprine (NUDT15/TPMT), clopidogrel (CYP2C19), statins (ABCG2/CYP2C9/SLCO1B1), and NSAIDs (CYP2C9), for which sufficient data exists for statistical power. While the results validate previous findings that PGx risk variants are significantly associated with drug-related adverse events or ineffectiveness, the excess risk of adverse events or lack of efficacy is small compared to that found in those without the PGx risk variants, and most patients with PGx variants do not suffer from adverse events. Our results point to the complexity of implementing PGx in clinical practice and the need for integrative approaches to optimize precision medicine