High-yield parallel fabrication of quantum-dot monolayer single-electron devices displaying Coulomb staircase, contacted by graphene.

It is challenging for conventional top-down lithography to fabricate reproducible devices very close to atomic dimensions, whereas identical molecules and very similar nanoparticles can be made bottom-up in large quantities, and can be self-assembled on surfaces. The challenge is to fabricate electrical contacts to many such small objects at the same time, so that nanocrystals and molecules can be incorporated into conventional integrated circuits. Here, we report a scalable method for contacting a self-assembled monolayer of nanoparticles with a single layer of graphene. This produces single-electron effects, in the form of a Coulomb staircase, with a yield of 87 ± 13% in device areas ranging from 2 to 16 μm2, containing up to 650,000 nanoparticles. Our technique offers scalable assembly of ultra-high densities of functional particles or molecules that could be used in electronic integrated circuits, as memories, switches, sensors or thermoelectric generators

22q11.2 Deletions in Patients with Conotruncal Defects: Data from 1,610 Consecutive Cases

BACKGROUND: The 22q11.2 deletion syndrome is characterized by multiple congenital anomalies including conotruncal cardiac defects. Identifying the patient with a 22q11.2 deletion (22q11del) can be challenging because many extracardiac features become apparent later in life. We sought to better define the cardiac phenotype associated with a 22q11del to help direct genetic testing. METHODS: 1,610 patients with conotruncal defects were sequentially tested for a 22q11del. Counts and frequencies for primary lesions and cardiac features were tabulated for those with and without a 22q11del. Logistic regression models investigated cardiac features that predicted deletion status in tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). RESULTS: Deletion frequency varied by primary anatomic phenotype. Regardless of the cardiac diagnosis, a concurrent aortic arch anomaly (AAA) was strongly associated with deletion status (OR 5.07, 95% CI: 3.66–7.04). In the TOF subset, the strongest predictor of deletion status was an AAA (OR 3.14, 95% CI: 1.87–5.27, p <0.001), followed by pulmonary valve atresia (OR 2.03, 95% CI: 1.02–4.02, p= 0.04). Among those with double outlet right ventricle and transposition of the great arteries, only those with an AAA had a 22q11del. However, five percent of patients with an isolated conoventricular ventricular septal defect and normal aortic arch anatomy had a 22q11del, while no one with an IAA-A had a 22q11del. CONCLUSION: A subset of patients with conotruncal defects are at risk for a 22q11del. A concurrent AAA increases the risk regardless of the intracardiac anatomy. These findings help direct genetic screening for the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome in the cardiac patient