Ion Permeability of Polydopamine Films Revealed Using a Prussian Blue-Based Electrochemical Method

Polydopamine (PDA) is fast becoming a popular surface modification technique. Detailed understanding of the ion permeability properties of PDA films will improve their applications. Herein, we report for the first time the thickness-independent ion permeability of PDA films using a Prussian blue (PB)-based electrochemical method. In this method, PDA films are deposited via ammonium persulfate-induced dopamine polymerization onto a PB electrode. The ion permeability of the PDA films can thus be detected by observing the changes in electrochemical behaviors of the PB coated by PDA films. On the basis of this method, it was unexpectedly found that the PDA films with thickness greater than 45 nm (e.g., ∼60 and ∼113 nm) can exhibit pH-switchable but thickness-insensitive permeability to monovalent cations such as potassium and sodium ions. These observations clearly indicate the presence of a continuous network of interconnected intermolecular voids within PDA films, regardless of film thickness

Relationship of the Tarim Craton to the Central Asian Orogenic Belt: insights from Devonian intrusions in the northern margin of Tarim Craton, China

<p>The boundary and relation of the Tarim Craton to the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) and its role in the formation history of the CAOB remain controversial. This article presents ages and Hf-in-zircon isotopic and geochemical results for gabbroic, dioritic, and granitic plutons from the northern margin of Tarim Craton (NMTC), and discusses their petrogenesis and tectonic regimes as well as the boundary between the CAOB and the Tarim Craton. These plutons yield zircon ages of 424–385 Ma. In the Quruqtagh zone south of the Xinger Fault, the gabbroic pluton shows enrichment in LREEs and LILEs, depletion in HFSEs and positive <i>ε</i>_Hf(<i>t</i>) values (+4.0 to +11.4), suggesting that parental magmas of gabbros were likely derived by partial melting of a depleted mantle wedge previously metasomatized by slab-derived aqueous fluids. In the Hulashan Zone north of the Xinger Fault, the studied rocks include one dioritic pluton and three granitic plutons. The geochemical characteristics and petrogenesis of the dioritic pluton are similar to those of the studied gabbroic with positive <i>ε</i>_Hf(<i>t</i>) values (+3.0 to +9.4). The three granitic plutons display relative depletion in HFSEs and enrichment in LILEs. Their variable <i>ε</i>_Hf(<i>t</i>) values range from −2.1 to +8.9, with <i>T</i>_DM2 ages of 858–1503 Ma, suggesting complex crustal sources with different proportions of juvenile and ancient materials. This article confirms and evidences an Andean-style active continental margin of the Tarim Craton due to southward subduction of the South Tianshan Ocean. Furthermore, our Hf isotopic data, together with regional data from the literature, show that the Hulashan zone to the north to the Xinger Fault has younger continental materials in deep than these of NMTC south of the fault, and is similar to microcontinental fragments in the CAOB. This suggests that the Xinger fault may be the boundary between the Tarim Craton and Tianshan orogen.</p

Patient characteristics and radiosurgical parameters.

a<p>Alpha-fetoprotein;</p>b<p>The Radiation Therapy Oncology Group recursive partitioning analysis.</p

Phylogeny of the OBPs (A) and CSPs (B) from the German cockroach and their homologs.

<p>The unrooted consensus trees with 1000 bootstrap replicates are generated in MEGA6 <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0106932#pone.0106932-Tamura1" target="_blank">[39]</a> using the neighbor-joining method. The tree is drawn to scale, with branch lengths in the same units as those of the evolutionary distances used to infer the phylogenetic tree. All positions containing gaps and missing data are eliminated. GenBank accession numbers and species names of the sequences used here are shown in the phylogenetic trees. German cockroach OBPs and CSPs (marked by •) are in bolds.</p

Kaplan-Meier estimates of overall survival.

<p>The median overall survival time after GKS was 5.0±0.93 months (95% CI 3.2–6.8). The actuarial survival rates were 92.9, 85.7, 57.1, 42.9, 35.7, and 28.6% at 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 months after GKS, respectively.</p

Survival estimates based on the total volume of brain metastases and the alpha-fetoprotein level.

<p>(A) Estimates differed significantly for volumes of brain metastases >14 cm3 using the Cox proportional hazards model with backward stepwise variable selection (HR = 37.461; 95% CI 2.381–589.472; p = 0.010). (B) Estimates differed significantly for AFP levels >400 ng/mL using the Cox proportional hazards model with backward stepwise variable selection (HR = 6.223; 95% CI 1.131–34.236; p = 0.036).</p

Summary statistics of the ESTs generated from the German cockroach through pyrosequencing.

<p>Summary statistics of the ESTs generated from the German cockroach through pyrosequencing.</p

Length distribution of clean reads (A) produced by 454 pyrosequencing and the assembled unigenes (B).

<p>Length distribution of clean reads (A) produced by 454 pyrosequencing and the assembled unigenes (B).</p

<i>De Novo</i> Transcriptome of the Hemimetabolous German Cockroach (<i>Blattella germanica</i>)

<div><p>Background</p><p>The German cockroach, <i>Blattella germanica</i>, is an important insect pest that transmits various pathogens mechanically and causes severe allergic diseases. This insect has long served as a model system for studies of insect biology, physiology and ecology. However, the lack of genome or transcriptome information heavily hinder our further understanding about the German cockroach in every aspect at a molecular level and on a genome-wide scale. To explore the transcriptome and identify unique sequences of interest, we subjected the <i>B. germanica</i> transcriptome to massively parallel pyrosequencing and generated the first reference transcriptome for <i>B. germanica</i>.</p><p>Methodology/Principal Findings</p><p>A total of 1,365,609 raw reads with an average length of 529 bp were generated via pyrosequencing the mixed cDNA library from different life stages of German cockroach including maturing oothecae, nymphs, adult females and males. The raw reads were <i>de novo</i> assembled to 48,800 contigs and 3,961 singletons with high-quality unique sequences. These sequences were annotated and classified functionally in terms of BLAST, GO and KEGG, and the genes putatively coding detoxification enzyme systems, insecticide targets, key components in systematic RNA interference, immunity and chemoreception pathways were identified. A total of 3,601 SSRs (Simple Sequence Repeats) loci were also predicted.</p><p>Conclusions/Significance</p><p>The whole transcriptome pyrosequencing data from this study provides a usable genetic resource for future identification of potential functional genes involved in various biological processes.</p></div

The results of statistical analyses for overall survival.

a<p>Alpha-fetoprotein;</p>b<p>The Radiation Therapy Oncology Group recursive partitioning analysis.</p