Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to study Pt/Au clusters of different size, structure, and composition as well as their interactions with a CO molecule. Among the Pt/Au isomers studied here, the planar structure is the most stable structure in many Pt compositions, although three-dimensional structures become more stable with increasing Pt composition. Furthermore, structures with the Pt atoms surrounded by Au atoms are more stable among homotops. However, these conclusions will be altered if ligands are attached to the Pt/Au bimetallic clusters, as evidenced from the results of CO adsorption. When both Au and Pt sites are exposed, CO adsorption at the Pt site is stronger. If only a Au site is available for CO adsorption, the strongest adsorption occurs at approximately 25% Pt composition, which may correlate with the experimentally observed reactivity of the core-shell structured Pt/Au nanoparticles.

We demonstrate a sensitive radio frequency ͑rf͒ device to detect small dielectric property changes in microfluidic channel. The device consists of an on-chip Wilkinson power divider and a rat-race hybrid, which are built with planar microstrip lines and thin film chip resistors. Interference is used to cancel parasitic background signals. As a result, the measurement sensitivity is improved by more than 20 dB compared with conventional transmission lines. Compared with an ultrasensitive slot antenna/cuvette assembly ͓K. M. Taylor and D. W. van der Weide, IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech. 53, 1576 ͑2005͔͒, the proposed rf device is two times more sensitive.

Thymosin β 10 (TMSB10) has been demonstrated to be overexpressed and function as an oncogene in most types of human cancer including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In our study, we present more evidence about the clinical significance and biological function of TMSB10 in HCC. First, we observed levels of TMSB10 expression were obviously increased in HCC tissues compared with normal liver tissues at The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets. Furthermore, we confirmed that TMSB10 mRNA and protein levels were also increased in HCC tissue samples compared with normal adjacent normal liver tissue samples. In addition, we found high TMSB10 expression was remarkably associated with the advanced tumor stage, large tumor size, distant metastasis, and poor prognosis, and acted as an independent factor for predicting poor overall survival in HCC patients. Loss-of-function studies suggested silencing of TMSB10 expression dramatically reduced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in HCC. In conclusion, TMSB10 may hold promise as a tumor biomarker for predicting prognosis and a potential target for developing a novel therapeutic strategy.

Silicon microstrip line devices with 260 nm planar microfluidic channels are fabricated and used to investigate water dielectric saturation effects. Microwave scattering parameter measurements are conducted from 1 to 16 GHz under different uniform dc electric fields. When the applied dc field is increased to approximately 1 MV/cm, the measured transmission coefficient S(21) is increased up to 18 dB, which indicates a large change in water dielectric properties. Extracted water permittivity (epsilon=epsilon'+jepsilon") shows that epsilon' and epsilon" are changed up to 70% and 50%, respectively.

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