Dopant Evolution in Electrocatalysts after Hydrogen Oxidation Reaction in an Alkaline Environment.

Introduction of interstitial dopants has opened a new pathway to optimize nanoparticle catalytic activity for, e.g., hydrogen evolution/oxidation and other reactions.

In-depth circulating tumor DNA sequencing for prognostication and monitoring in natural killer/T-cell lymphomas.

Background: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) quantitation and current imaging modalities are used for diagnosis and disease monitoring in Extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma (ENKTL) but have limitations. Thus, we explored the utility of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) as a diagnostic biomarker.

Methods: Through in-depth sequencing of 118 blood samples collected longitudinally at different time points from 45 patients, we examined the mutational profile of each sample, estimated its impact on the clinical outcome, and assessed its role as a biomarker in comparison with EBV DNA quantitation.

Electrodeposited Sn-Cu@Sn dendrites for selective electrochemical CO reduction to formic acid.

Large-scale CO electrolysis can be applied to store renewable energy in chemicals. Recent developments in gas diffusion electrodes now enable a commercially relevant current density. However, the low selectivity of the CO reduction reaction (CORR) still hinders practical applications.

Gas-Permeable Iron-Doped Ceria Shell on Rh Nanoparticles with High Activity and Durability.

Strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) is a promising strategy to control the structure of the supported metal catalyst. Especially, encapsulating metal nanoparticles through SMSI can enhance resistance against sintering but typically blocks the access of reactants onto the metal surface. Here, we report gas-permeable shells formed on Rh nanoparticles with enhanced activity and durability for the surface reaction.

Controlled Doping of Electrocatalysts through Engineering Impurities.

Fuel cells recombine water from H and O thereby can power, for example, cars or houses with no direct carbon emission. In anion-exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs), to reach high power densities, operating at high pH is an alternative to using large volumes of noble metals catalysts at the cathode, where the oxygen-reduction reaction occurs. However, the sluggish kinetics of the hydrogen-oxidation reaction (HOR) hinders upscaling despite promising catalysts.

Highly Durable Heterogeneous Atomic Catalysts.

ConspectusSingle-atom catalysts (SACs), in which surface metal atoms are isolated on the surface of a support, have received a tremendous amount of attention recently because this structure would utilize precious metals fully, without occluding atoms inside nanoparticles, and enable unique surface reactions which typical nanoparticle catalysts cannot induce. Various synthesis methods and characterization techniques have been reported that yield enhanced activity and selectivity. The single-atom structures were realized on various supports such as metal oxide/carbide/nitride, porous materials derived from zeolite or metal-organic frameworks, and carbon-based materials.

Lens-Shaped Carbon Particles with Perpendicularly-Oriented Channels for High-Performance Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells.

Two-dimensional sheet-like mesoporous carbon particles are promising for maximizing the number of active sites and the mass transport efficiency of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Herein, we develop a series of lens-shaped mesoporous carbon (LMC) particles with perpendicularly oriented channels (diameter = 60 nm) and aspect ratios (ARs) varying from 2.1 to 6.

Quasi-graphitic carbon shell-induced Cu confinement promotes electrocatalytic CO reduction toward C products.

For steady electroconversion to value-added chemical products with high efficiency, electrocatalyst reconstruction during electrochemical reactions is a critical issue in catalyst design strategies. Here, we report a reconstruction-immunized catalyst system in which Cu nanoparticles are protected by a quasi-graphitic C shell. This C shell epitaxially grew on Cu with quasi-graphitic bonding via a gas-solid reaction governed by the CO (g) - CO (g) - C (s) equilibrium.

Recurrent somatic mutations and low germline predisposition mutations in Korean ALL patients.

In addition to somatic mutations, germline genetic predisposition to hematologic malignancies is currently emerging as an area attracting high research interest. In this study, we investigated genetic alterations in Korean acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (ALL) patients using targeted gene panel sequencing. To this end, a gene panel consisting of 81 genes that are known to be associated with 23 predisposition syndromes was investigated.

Controlling the Oxidation State of Pt Single Atoms for Maximizing Catalytic Activity.

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) have emerged as promising materials in heterogeneous catalysis. Previous studies reported controversial results about the relative level in activity for SACs and nanoparticles (NPs). These works have focused on the effect of metal atom arrangement, without considering the oxidation state of the SACs.

Changes in the oxidation state of Pt single-atom catalysts upon removal of chloride ligands and their effect for electrochemical reactions.

Single atomic Pt supported on TiC was prepared from chloride Pt precursors, then the chloride ligands were intentionally removed by increasing the reduction temperature. The 0.2 wt% Pt/TiC catalyst reduced at 300 °C had more reduced Pt single-atoms with fewer chloride ligands and exhibited the highest currents for H2O2 formation in the electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction.

Comprehensive Laboratory Analysis of Korean Acute Alcoholic Intoxication Patients Reveals the Need for a National Hepatitis B Virus Vaccination Program in Korea.

Background: Acute alcoholic intoxication patients (AAIP) are a common public health problem. The aim of this study was to perform a comprehensive laboratory analysis for these patients to investigate the co-morbid medical problem.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed laboratory findings of AAIP who were transferred to the emergency department (ED) from January 2017 to June 2017.

Prognostic Implications of Monosomies in Patients With Multiple Myeloma.

Background: Cytogenetic analysis aides in risk stratification for patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Although several cytogenetic aberrations have been reported to be prognostic, less is known about the association between the presence of monosomies and prognosis. The present study evaluated the prevalence and prognostic implications of monosomies in patients with MM.

Detection of MYD88 L265P in patients with lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma/Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia and other B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas.

Background: Recent studies have identified a high prevalence of the L265P mutation in lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL)/Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM) cases, whereas low frequencies have been observed in other B cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs).

Methods: We evaluated the sensitivity of the mutant enrichment 3'-modified oligonucleotide (MEMO)-PCR technique, a new detection method. We examined the L265P mutation in a series of Korean patients with LPL/WM and other B cell NHLs in bone marrow aspirates, using the MEMO-PCR technique.

Mutation profiling of 19 candidate genes in acute myeloid leukemia suggests significance of DNMT3A mutations.

We selected 19 significantly-mutated genes in AMLs, including FLT3, DNMT3A, NPM1, TET2, RUNX1, CEBPA, WT1, IDH1, IDH2, NRAS, ASXL1, SETD2, PTPN11, TP53, KIT, JAK2, KRAS, BRAF and CBL, and performed massively parallel sequencing for 114 patients with acute myeloid leukemias, mainly including those with normal karyotypes (CN-AML). More than 80% of patients had at least one mutation in the genes tested. DNMT3A mutation was significantly associated with adverse outcome in addition to conventional risk stratification such as the European LeukemiaNet (ELN) classification.

A Novel Hemoglobin Variant Associated with Congenital Erythrocytosis: Hb Seoul [β86(F2)Ala→Thr] (HBB:c.259G>A).

We report the identification of a novel hemoglobin (Hb) variant [β86(F2)Ala→Thr; HBB: c.259G>A], Hb Seoul, causing congenital erythrocytosis due to high oxygen affinity. The patient was a 33-year-old Korean man with isolated erythrocytosis.

Mutant Enrichment with 3'-Modified Oligonucleotides (MEMO)-Quantitative PCR for Detection of NPM1 Mutations in Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Background: Detection of NPM1 mutations in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is important for risk stratification, treatment decision, and therapeutic monitoring. We have designed a real-time PCR method implementing the Mutant enrichment with 3'-modified oligonucleotides (MEMO) technique to detect NPM1 mutations and validated its utility in clinical samples.

Methods: Sensitivity and linearity were evaluated using serially diluted NPM1-positive samples.