Ion Write Microthermotics: Programing Thermal Metamaterials at the Microscale.

Considerable advances in manipulating heat flow in solids have been made through the innovation of artificial thermal structures such as thermal diodes, camouflages, and cloaks. Such thermal devices can be readily constructed only at the macroscale by mechanically assembling different materials with distinct values of thermal conductivity. Here, we extend these concepts to the microscale by demonstrating a monolithic material structure on which nearly arbitrary microscale thermal metamaterial patterns can be written and programmed. It is based on a single, suspended silicon membrane whose thermal conductivity is locally, continuously, and reversibly engineered over a wide range (between 2 and 65 W/m·K) and with fine spatial resolution (10-100 nm) by focused ion irradiation. Our thermal cloak demonstration shows how ion-write microthermotics can be used as a lithography-free platform to create thermal metamaterials that control heat flow at the microscale

Charge-spin correlation in van der Waals antiferromagenet NiPS3

Strong charge-spin coupling is found in a layered transition-metal trichalcogenide NiPS3, a van derWaals antiferromagnet, from our study of the electronic structure using several experimental and theoretical tools: spectroscopic ellipsometry, x-ray absorption and photoemission spectroscopy, and density-functional calculations. NiPS3 displays an anomalous shift in the optical spectral weight at the magnetic ordering temperature, reflecting a strong coupling between the electronic and magnetic structures. X-ray absorption, photoemission and optical spectra support a self-doped ground state in NiPS3. Our work demonstrates that layered transition-metal trichalcogenide magnets are a useful candidate for the study of correlated-electron physics in two-dimensional magnetic material.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figur

A standardized extract of Rhynchosia volubilis Lour. exerts a protective effect on benzalkonium chloride-induced mouse dry eye model

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE In contrast to other leguminous plants generally used as food, Rhynchosia volubilis Loureiro, a small soybean with a black seed coat, has been used as a traditional oriental remedy for various human diseases in Eastern Asia. In this study, we demonstrated the protective effect of R. volubilis against dry eye disease. AIM OF THE STUDY We aimed to investigate whether a standardized ethanol extract of R. volubilis (EERV) can protect the cornea in a benzalkonium chloride (BAC)-induced mouse dry eye model. MATERIALS AND METHODS Experimental dry eye was induced by the instillation of 0.2% BAC on mouse cornea. A standardized ethanol extract of R. volubilis (EERV) was orally administered following BAC treatment. The positive control group was treated with commercial eye drops. Fluorescein staining, tear break-up time (BUT), and hematoxylin and eosin staining were evaluated on the ocular surface. Squamous metaplasia and apoptosis in the corneal epithelial layer were detected by immunostaining. Furthermore, the protein expression of cytochrome c, Bcl-2, and Bax was determined. RESULTS EERV treatment significantly improved fluorescein scoring, BUT, and smoothness in the cornea compared to the vehicle group. In addition, EERV inhibited squamous metaplasia and apoptosis in the cornea. The expression of cytochrome c and Bax was upregulated, while that of Bcl-2 was downregulated in the vehicle group compared with that in the control group. However, EERV treatment inhibited the expression of cytochrome c and Bax, while that of Bcl-2 was improved. CONCLUSION Standardized EERV could be a beneficial candidate for the treatment of dry eye disease

Pathogen-induced binding of the soybean zinc finger homeodomain proteins GmZF-HD1 and GmZF-HD2 to two repeats of ATTA homeodomain binding site in the calmodulin isoform 4 (GmCaM4) promoter

Calmodulin (CaM) is involved in defense responses in plants. In soybean (Glycine max), transcription of calmodulin isoform 4 (GmCaM4) is rapidly induced within 30 min after pathogen stimulation, but regulation of the GmCaM4 gene in response to pathogen is poorly understood. Here, we used the yeast one-hybrid system to isolate two cDNA clones encoding proteins that bind to a 30-nt A/T-rich sequence in the GmCaM4 promoter, a region that contains two repeats of a conserved homeodomain binding site, ATTA. The two proteins, GmZF-HD1 and GmZF-HD2, belong to the zinc finger homeodomain (ZF-HD) transcription factor family. Domain deletion analysis showed that a homeodomain motif can bind to the 30-nt GmCaM4 promoter sequence, whereas the two zinc finger domains cannot. Critically, the formation of super-shifted complexes by an anti-GmZF-HD1 antibody incubated with nuclear extracts from pathogen-treated cells suggests that the interaction between GmZF-HD1 and two homeodomain binding site repeats is regulated by pathogen stimulation. Finally, a transient expression assay with Arabidopsis protoplasts confirmed that GmZF-HD1 can activate the expression of GmCaM4 by specifically interacting with the two repeats. These results suggest that the GmZF-HD1 and –2 proteins function as ZF-HD transcription factors to activate GmCaM4 gene expression in response to pathogen

A Prospective Population-based Study of Total Nasal Resistance in Korean Subjects

ObjectivesRhinomanometry is a widely accepted method for objective assessment of nasal patency. However, few studies have reported the values of otherwise healthy population for nasal resistance in East Asians. The purpose of this study was to measure normal total nasal resistance (TNR) values in a large sample of Korean adults and to reveal parameters contributing to TNR values.MethodsSubjects were enrolled from a cohort of the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study. They were evaluated by anthropometry, questionnaire, and active anterior rhinomanometry at transnasal pressures of 100 and 150 Pascal (Pa).ResultsThe study sample consisted of 2,538 healthy subjects (1,298 women and 1,240 men) aged 20 to 80 years. Normal reference TNR values were 0.19±0.08 Pa/cm3/second at 100 Pa and 0.22±0.09 Pa/cm3/second at 150 Pa. The TNR of women was significantly higher than that of men (P<0.0001). TNR decreased with increasing age in both genders (P<0.05). In women, lower body weight was related to increasing TNR. In men, current smokers had higher TNR than ex-smokers and never smokers.ConclusionThe results of the present study provide information regarding the values of otherwise healthy population of TNR and parameters associated with TNR in Korean adults

The diagnostic application of targeted re-sequencing in Korean patients with retinitis pigmentosa

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited.Abstract Background Identification of the causative genes of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is important for the clinical care of patients with RP. However, a comprehensive genetic study has not been performed in Korean RP patients. Moreover, the genetic heterogeneity found in sensorineural genetic disorders makes identification of pathogenic mutations challenging. Therefore, high throughput genetic testing using massively parallel sequencing is needed. Results Sixty-two Korean patients with nonsyndromic RP (46 patients from 18 families and 16 simplex cases) who consented to molecular genetic testing were recruited in this study and targeted exome sequencing was applied on 53 RP-related genes. Causal variants were characterised by selecting exonic and splicing variants, selecting variants with low allele frequency (below 1 %), and discarding the remaining variants with quality below 20. The variants were additionally confirmed by an inheritance pattern and cosegregation test of the families, and the rest of the variants were prioritised using in-silico prediction tools. Finally, causal variants were detected from 10 of 18 familial cases (55.5 %) and 7 of 16 simplex cases (43.7 %) in total. Novel variants were detected in 13 of 20 (65 %) candidate variants. Compound heterozygous variants were found in four of 7 simplex cases. Conclusion Panel-based targeted re-sequencing can be used as an effective molecular diagnostic tool for RP