Notes

Congenital kyphosis as a result of entire body agenesis through Old Egypt.
A parameter, named mixing performance cost (Mec), is proposed to evaluate the cost-performance of micromixers. Compared with the zigzag, square-wave and other improved serpentine micromixers, the ellipse curve micromixer produces lower pressure drop while have the capability to maintain excellent mixing performance. The ellipse curve micromixer is proved to be more cost-effective for rapid mixing in complex microfluidic systems.Forensic science requires a fast, sensitive, and anti-interfering imaging tool for on-site investigation and bio-analysis. The aggregation-induced emission (AIE) phenomenon exhibits remarkable luminescence properties (large Stokes shift, diverse molecular structures, and high photo-stability), which can provide a viable solution for on-site analysis, while at the same time overcoming the problem of aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ). Based on the outstanding performance in chemical analysis and bio-sensing, AIE materials have great prospects in the field of forensic science. Therefore, the application of AIE in forensic science has been summarized for the first time in this article. After a brief introduction to the concept and development of AIE, its applications in the determination of toxic or hazardous substances, based on data on poisoning deaths, has been summarized. Subsequently, besides the bio-imaging function, other applications of AIE in analyzing markers related to forensic genetics, forensic pathology, (focusing on the corpse) and clinical forensics (focusing on the living) have been discussed. In addition, applications of AIE molecules in criminal investigations, including recognition of fingerprints and blood stains, detection of explosives and chemical warfare agents, and anti-counterfeiting have also been presented. It is hoped that this review will light up the future of forensic science by stimulating more research work on the suitability of AIE materials in advancing forensic science.Heavy metal contamination of drinking water is a major global issue. Research reports across the globe show contamination of heavy metals higher than the set standards of the World Health Organization (WHO) and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). To our knowledge, no electrochemical sensor for heavy metals with parts per trillion (PPT) limits of detection (LOD) in as-is tap water has been reported or developed. Here, we report a microelectrode that consists of six highly densified carbon nanotube fiber (HD-CNTf) cross sections called rods (diameter ∼69 μm and length ∼40 μm) in a single platform for the ultra-sensitive detection of heavy metals in tap water and simulated drinking water. The HD-CNTf rods microelectrode was evaluated for the individual and simultaneous determination of trace level of heavy metal ions i.e. Cu2+, Pb2+ and Cd2+ in Cincinnati tap water (without supporting electrolyte) and simulated drinking water using square wave stripping voltammetry (SWSV). The microsensor exhibited a broad linear detection range with an excellent limit of detection for individual Cu2+, Pb2+ and Cd2+ of 6.0 nM, (376 ppt), 0.45 nM (92 ppt) and 0.24 nM (27 ppt) in tap water and 0.32 nM (20 ppt), 0.26 nM (55 ppt) and 0.25 nM (28 ppt) in simulated drinking water, respectively. The microelectrode was shown to detect Pb2+ ions well below the WHO and EPA limits in a broad range of water quality conditions reported for temperature and conductivity in the range of 5 °C-45 °C and 55 to 600 μS/cm, respectively.Further improving the proteomic identification coverage and reliability is still challenging in the mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics. Herein, we combine VAILase and trypsin digestion with 193-nm ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) and higher-energy collision dissociation (HCD) to improve the performance of bottom-up proteomics. As VAILase exhibits high complementarity to trypsin, the proteome sequence coverage is improved obviously whether with HCD or 193-nm UVPD. The high diversity of fragment ion types produced by UVPD contributes to the improvements of identification reliability for both trypsin- and VAILase-digested peptides with an average XCorr score improvement of 10%.Metal trace elements accumulate in soils mainly because of anthropic activities, leading living organisms to develop strategies to handle metal toxicity. Plants often associate with root endophytic fungi, including nonmycorrhizal fungi, and some of these organisms are associated with metal tolerance. The lack of synthetic analyses of plant-endophyte-metal tripartite systems and the scant consideration for taxonomy led to this review aiming (1) to inventory non-mycorrhizal root fungal endophytes described with respect to their taxonomic diversity and (2) to determine the mutualistic roles of these plant-fungus associations under metal stress. More than 1500 species in 100 orders (mainly Hypocreales and Pleosporales) were reported from a wide variety of environments and hosts. RBPJ Inhibitor-1 research buy Most reported endophytes had a positive effect on their host under metal stress, but with various effects on metal uptake or translocation and no clear taxonomic consistency. Future research considering the functional patterns and dynamics of these associations is thus encouraged.The causative agent of crayfish plague, Aphanomyces astaci (Saprolegniales, Oomycota), is one of the 100 world's worst invasive alien species and represents a major threat to freshwater crayfish species worldwide. A better understanding of the biology and epidemiology of A. astaci relies on the application of efficient tools to detect the pathogen and assess its genetic diversity. In this study, we validated the specificity of two recently developed PCR-based approaches used to detect A. astaci groups. The first relies on the analysis of mitochondrial ribosomal rnnS (small) and rnnL (large) subunit sequences and the second, of sequences obtained by using genotype-specific primers designed from A. astaci whole genome sequencing. For this purpose, we tested the specificity against 76 selected isolates, including other oomycete species and the recently described species Aphanomyces fennicus, which, when used in nrITS-based specific tests for A. astaci, is known to result in a false positive. Under both approaches, we were able to efficiently and accurately identify A.
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