Molecular Genetics of Conjunctival Melanoma and Prognostic Value of TERT Promoter Mutation Analysis

The aim of this study was exploration of the genetic background of conjunctival melanoma (CM) and correlation with recurrent and metastatic disease. Twenty-eight CM from the Rotterdam Ocular Melanoma Study group were collected and DNA was isolated from the formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissue. Targeted next-generation sequencing was performed using a panel covering GNAQ, GNA11, EIF1AX, BAP1, BRAF, NRAS, c-KIT, PTEN, SF3B1, and TERT genes. Recurrences and metastasis were present in eight (29%) and nine (32%) CM cases, respectively. TERT promoter mutations were most common (54%), but BRAF (46%), NRAS (21%), BAP1 (18%), PTEN (14%), c-KIT (7%), and SF3B1 (4%) mutations were also observed. No mutations in GNAQ, GNA11, and EIF1AX were found. None of the mutations was significantly associated with recurrent disease. Presence of a TERT promoter mutation was associated with metastatic disease (p-value = 0.008). Based on our molecular findings, CM comprises a separate entity within melanoma, although there are overlapping molecular features with uveal melanoma, such as the presence of BAP1 and SF3B1 mutations. This warrants careful interpretation of molecular data, in the light of clinical findings. About three quarter of CM contain drug-targetable mutations, and TERT promoter mutations are correlated to metastatic disease in CM.     

Dynamic “Molecular Portraits” of Biomembranes Drawn by Their Lateral Nanoscale Inhomogeneities

To date, it has been reliably shown that the lipid bilayer/water interface can be thoroughly characterized by a sophisticated so-called “dynamic molecular portrait”. The latter reflects a combination of time-dependent surface distributions of various physicochemical properties, inherent in both model lipid bilayers and natural multi-component cell membranes. One of the most important features of biomembranes is their mosaicity, which is expressed in the constant presence of lateral inhomogeneities, the sizes and lifetimes of which vary in a wide range—from 1 to 10³ nm and from 0.1 ns to milliseconds. In addition to the relatively well-studied macroscopic domains (so-called “rafts”), the analysis of micro- and nanoclusters (or domains) that form an instantaneous picture of the distribution of structural, dynamic, hydrophobic, electrical, etc., properties at the membrane-water interface is attracting increasing interest. This is because such nanodomains (NDs) have been proven to be crucial for the proper membrane functioning in cells. Therefore, an understanding with atomistic details the phenomena associated with NDs is required. The present mini-review describes the recent results of experimental and in silico studies of spontaneously formed NDs in lipid membranes. The main attention is paid to the methods of ND detection, characterization of their spatiotemporal parameters, the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of their formation. Biological role of NDs in cell membranes is briefly discussed. Understanding such effects creates the basis for rational design of new prospective drugs, therapeutic approaches, and artificial membrane materials with specified properties.     

A Strategy of Liquid-Grafted Slippery Sponges with Simultaneously Enhanced Absorption and Desorption Performances for Crude Oil Spill Remediation

Crude oil spill accidents pose a worldwide environmental threat. Oleophilic and hydrophobic absorbents that can selectively absorb oil from water have shown promising application potential in oil spill remediation. Simultaneous optimization of the absorption and desorption speed of absorbents towards oil is highly desirable for their recyclable usage, but remains a great challenge, because these two properties are generally conflicting. Here, a facile and ingenious strategy is proposed to tackle the above challenge via surface modification of porous sponges with highly flexible linear polydimethylsiloxane (LPDMS) brushes. The LPDMS brushes feature liquid-like properties at room temperature owing to its extremely low glass transition temperature, and act as a covalently-grafted lubrication layer throughout the 3D network channels of the sponge, which can minimize contact angle hysteresis and reduce friction between oil and sponge channel. Compared to the prevalent cross-linked polydimethylsiloxane (CPDMS) modification strategy, sponges modified with LPDMS brushes not only shows significantly enhanced absorption speed, but also exhibits superior desorption dynamics towards viscous crude oils. The design strategy of slippery sponges with liquid-like molecules may open a new avenue for developing advanced absorbents with simultaneously enhanced absorption and desorption performances for liquid separation and purification applications.     

Efficient Linear dsDNA Tagging Using Deoxyuridine Excision**

Site-specific strategies for exchanging segments of dsDNA are important for DNA library construction and molecular tagging. Deoxyuridine (dU) excision is an approach for generating 3’ ssDNA overhangs in gene assembly and molecular cloning procedures. Unlike approaches that use a multi-base pair motif to specify a DNA cut site, dU excision requires only a dT→dU substitution. Consequently, excision sites can be embedded in biologically active DNA sequences by placing dU substitutions at non-perturbative positions. In this work, I describe a molecular tagging method that uses dU excision to exchange a segment of a dsDNA strand with a long synthetic oligonucleotide. The core workflow of this method, called deoxyUridine eXcision-tagging (dUX-tagging), is an efficient one-pot reaction: strategically positioned dU nucleotides are excised from dsDNA to generate a 3’ overhang so that additional sequence can be appended by annealing and ligating a tagging oligonucleotide. The tagged DNA is then processed by one of two procedures to fill the 5’ overhang and remove excess tagging oligo. To facilitate its widespread use, all dUX-tagging procedures exclusively use commercially available reagents. As a result, dUX-tagging is a concise and easily implemented approach for high-efficiency linear dsDNA tagging.     

APPLICATION OF MOLECULAR ORBITAL THEORY TO ANALYSIS OF PHASE STABILITY FOR ALLOYS

The critical _d vahues ( _ ) of the γ/(γ+σ).γ/(γ+μ) and γ/(γ+γ') phase boundaries insome ternar alloy phase diagrams at various temperatures are calculated by averaging the _d values of sererai selected characteristic points at the phase boundaries.Approxmateequations for the temperature dependence of the critical _d of γ/(γ+σ).γ/(γ+μ) andγ/(γ+γ') phase boundaries are established.The accuracy of the analysis is discussed in detail.It is found for the first time that the average value of the bondorder _ at the phase boundaries ts also approximatelr a constant and therefore a criticalaverage bond order _ like - can be introduced for the analysts of phase stability     

分子动力学在材料科学中的应用

分子动力学方法是进行物质原子或分子层次计算机模拟时所采用的一种基本方法。通过分子动力学模拟，可以给出原子尺度上材料及其演化过程细节的可能性，具有无先例的准确性，使材料设计和性能预测成为可能。本文分析了分子动力学模拟的基本原理和算法；综述了分子动力学在材料科学中的应用，介绍了最近发展的第一原理分子动力学模拟，指出材料科学中第一原理分子动力学模拟的应用还有待进一步发展。     

镍系聚丁二烯橡胶生产技术进展

介绍了近几年国内外镍系顺丁橡胶生产技术的进展情况，内容涉及分子量调节技术、催化剂配置技术、节能降耗的气相聚合、本体聚合工艺及橡胶后处理过程中使用的热泵技术、螺杆挤压工艺，同时也对国内外顺丁橡胶新型防老剂的使用情况及其新品种的开发进行了简要介绍。     

高性能纤维的弯曲疲劳断裂研究

在自制弯曲疲劳装置上 ,对 3种高强对位芳纶及超高相对分子质量聚乙烯纤维 (Dyneema SK65 )进行双面弯曲疲劳试验。结果表明 ,Twaron 2 0 0 0弯曲疲劳寿命的自然对数与预加应力、弯曲角度呈线性关系 ,Dyneema SK65弯曲疲劳寿命明显长于对位芳纶 ,Twaron 2 0 0 0 ,Kevlar 12 9相近 ,都比Kevlar 2 9略长 ;高强型对位芳纶的弯曲疲劳断裂断口芯层呈现出“毛笔头”或“拔丝形”原纤化分裂形态 ,超高相对分子质量聚乙烯纤维弯曲疲劳断裂断口有明显的脆性折断形态 ,无原纤出现。     

低截留分子质量新型聚芳醚腈酮超滤膜的研制

以新型聚芳醚腈酮为膜材料 ,以N -甲基 - 2 -吡咯烷酮 (NMP)为溶剂 ,研究了聚合物浓度、添加剂种类及含量、凝胶浴温度等对超滤膜性能的影响。结果表明 ,聚合物质量分数以 1 2 %～ 1 3 %为合适的制膜浓度 ,以聚乙二醇PEG - 4 0 0为添加剂时获得了高截留率和高水通量的超滤膜。随着凝胶浴温度的升高 ,水通量明显增大 ,而截留率有所下降 ,而共聚物的浓度增加则有相反的效果。制得的超滤膜具有较低的截留分子量 (PEG- 2 0 0 0 ) ,将制得的超滤膜用于达旦黄、黄X-G等染料的分离 ,截留率均达 90 %以上