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BackgroundIdentification of gene variants plays an important role in research on and diagnosis of genetic diseases. A combination of enrichment of targeted genes and next-generation sequencing (targeted DNA-HiSeq) results in both high efficiency and low cost for targeted sequencing of genes of interest.Methodology/Principal FindingsTo identify mutations associated with genetic diseases, we designed an array-based gene chip to capture all of the exons of 193 genes involved in 103 genetic diseases. To evaluate this technology, we selected 7 samples from seven patients with six different genetic diseases resulting from six disease-causing genes and 100 samples from normal human adults as controls. The data obtained showed that on average, 99.14% of 3,382 exons with more than 30-fold coverage were successfully detected using Targeted DNA-HiSeq technology, and we found six known variants in four disease-causing genes and two novel mutations in two other disease-causing genes (the STS gene for XLI and the FBN1 gene for MFS) as well as one exon deletion mutation in the DMD gene. These results were confirmed in their entirety using either the Sanger sequencing method or real-time PCR.Conclusions/SignificanceTargeted DNA-HiSeq combines next-generation sequencing with the capture of sequences from a relevant subset of high-interest genes. This method was tested by capturing sequences from a DNA library through hybridization to oligonucleotide probes specific for genetic disorder-related genes and was found to show high selectivity, improve the detection of mutations, enabling the discovery of novel variants, and provide additional indel data. Thus, targeted DNA-HiSeq can be used to analyze the gene variant profiles of monogenic diseases with high sensitivity, fidelity, throughput and speed.

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High-performance lithium-ion batteries are commonly built with heterogeneous composite electrodes that combine multiple active components for serving various electrochemical and structural functions. Engineering these heterogeneous composite electrodes toward drastically improved battery performance is hinged on a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of multiple active components and their synergy or trade-off effects. Herein, we report a rational design, fabrication, and understanding of yolk@shell Bi 2 S 3 @N-doped mesoporous carbon (C) composite anode, consisting of a Bi 2 S 3 nanowire (NW) core within a hollow space surrounded by a thin shell of N-doped mesoporous C. This composite anode exhibits desirable rate performance and long cycle stability (700 cycles, 501 mAhg −1 at 1.0 Ag −1 , 85% capacity retention). By in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction, and NMR experiments and computational modeling, we elucidate the dominant mechanisms of the phase transformation, structural evolution, and lithiation kinetics of the Bi 2 S 3 NWs anode. Our combined in situ TEM experiments and finite element simulations reveal that the hollow space between the Bi 2 S 3 NWs core and carbon shell can effectively accommodate the lithiation-induced expansion of Bi 2 S 3 NWs without cracking C shells. This work demonstrates an effective strategy of engineering the yolk@shell-architectured anodes and also sheds light onto harnessing the complex multistep reactions in metal sulfides to enable high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

Layered transition metal oxides are the most important cathode materials for Li/Na/K ion batteries. Suppressing undesirable phase transformations during charge-discharge processes is a critical and fundamental challenge towards the rational design of high-performance layered oxide cathodes. Here we report a shale-like NaxMnO2 (S-NMO) electrode that is derived from a simple but effective water-mediated strategy. This strategy expands the Na+ layer spacings of P2-type Na0.67MnO2 and transforms the particles into accordion-like morphology. Therefore, the S-NMO electrode exhibits improved Na+ mobility and near-zero-strain property during charge-discharge processes, which leads to outstanding rate capability (100 mAh g−1 at the operation time of 6 min) and cycling stability (>3000 cycles). In addition, the water-mediated strategy is feasible to other layered sodium oxides and the obtained S-NMO electrode has an excellent tolerance to humidity. This work demonstrates that engineering the spacings of alkali-metal layer is an effective strategy to stabilize the structure of layered transition metal oxides.

Three-dimensional printing is one of the most promising techniques for the manufacturing of scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. However, a pure scaffold is limited by its biological properties. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been shown to have the potential to improve the osteogenic effect. In this study, we improved the biological properties of scaffolds by coating 3D-printed polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds with freeze-dried and traditionally prepared PRP, and we evaluated these scaffolds through in vitro and in vivo experiments. In vitro, we evaluated the interaction between dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) and the scaffolds by measuring cell proliferation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and osteogenic differentiation. The results showed that freeze-dried PRP significantly enhanced ALP activity and the mRNA expression levels of osteogenic genes (ALP, RUNX2 (runt-related gene-2), OCN (osteocalcin), OPN (osteopontin)) of DPSCs (p < 0.05). In vivo, 5 mm calvarial defects were created, and the PRP-PCL scaffolds were implanted. The data showed that compared with traditional PRP-PCL scaffolds or bare PCL scaffolds, the freeze-dried PRP-PCL scaffolds induced significantly greater bone formation (p < 0.05). All these data suggest that coating 3D-printed PCL scaffolds with freeze-dried PRP can promote greater osteogenic differentiation of DPSCs and induce more bone formation, which may have great potential in future clinical applications.

Highly efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution (PHE) is highly desirable for addressing the global energy crisis and environmental problems. Although much attention has been given to electron-hole separation, ridding photocatalysts of poor efficiency remains challenging. Here, a two-electron catalytic reaction is developed by utilizing the distinct trion behavior of ReS and the efficient reduction of two H (2H + 2e → H ) is realized. Due to the monolayer-like structure of the catalyst, the free electrons in ReS can be captured by the tightly bound excitons to form trions consisting of two electrons and one hole. These trions can migrate to the surface and participate in the two-electron reaction at the abundant active sites. As expected, such a two-electron catalytic reaction endows ReS with a PHE rate of 13 mmol g h under visible light irradiation. Meanwhile, this reaction allows the typically poor PHE efficiency of pure transition metal dichalcogenides to be overcome. The proposed two-electron catalytic reaction provides a new approach to the design of photocatalysts for PHE.

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