Electroluminescence explored internal behavior of carriers in InGaAsP single-junction solar cell

The internal behaviors of carriers in InGaAsP single-junction solar cell are investigated by using electroluminescence(EL) measurements. Two emission peaks can be observed in current-dependent electroluminescence spectra at low temperatures, and carrier localization exists for both peaks under low excitation. The trends of power index α extracted from excitation-dependent EL spectra at different temperatures imply that there exists a competition between Shockley–Read–Hall recombination and Auger recombination. Auger recombination becomes dominant at high temperatures, which is probably responsible for the lower current density of InGaAsP solar cell. Besides, the anomalous “S-shape” tendency with the temperature of band-edge peak position can be attributed to potential fluctuation and carrier redistribution, demonstrating delocalization, transfer, and redistribution of carriers in the continuum band-edge. Furthermore, the strong reduction of activation energy at high excitations indicates that electrons and holes escaped independently, and the faster-escaping carriers are holes.

Loss of heterozygosity and microsatellite instabilities of fragile histidine triad gene in gastric carcinoma

AIM： To detect the loss of heterozygosity （LOH） and microsatellite instabilities （MSI） of fragile histidine triad （FHIT） gene in gastric carcinoma and to study their association with the clinical pathological characteristics of gastric carcinoma. METHODS： LOH and MSI of FHIT gene were detected at four microsaterllite loci D3SI3H, D3S4103, D3SI481 and D3S1234 using PCR in matched normal and cancerous tissues from 50 patients with primary gastric cancer. RESULTS： The average frequency of LOH and MSI of FHIT gene in gastric cancer was 32.4% and 26.4% respectively. LOH and MSI of FHIT gene in gastric cancer had no association with histological, Borrmann, and Lauren＇s classification. LOH of FHIT gene in gastric cancer was related to invasive depth. The frequency of FHIT LOH in gastric cancer with serosa-penetration was obviously higher than that in gastric cancer without serosa-penetration （73.5% vs 37.5%, P 〈 0.05）. MSI of FHIT gene in gastric cancer was associated with the lymph node metastasis. The frequency of MSI in gastric cancer without lymph node metastasis was significantly higher than that in gastric cancer with lymph node metastasis （66.7% vs 34.3%, P 〈 0.05）. CONCLUSION： LOH of FHIT gene is correlated with invasive depth of gastric carcinoma. MSI of FHIT gene is correlated with lymph node metastases. LOH and MSI of FHIT gene play an important role in carcinogenesis of gastric cancer.

PRELIMINARY DNA IDENTIFICATION FOR THE TSUNAMI VICTIMS IN THAI-LAND

The 2004 Southeast Asia Tsunami killed nearly 5,400 people in Southern Thailand, including foreign tourists and local residents. To recover DNA evidence as much as possible from the seriously decomposed bodies, we explored procedures of sample preparation from both bone and tooth samples as well as both mitochondrial and nuclear markers. Despite having failed to recover enough DNA for nuclear marker typing, we succeeded in obtaining fully informative results for mitochondrial markers （HV1 and HV2） from 258 tooth samples with a success rate of 51% （258/507）. Using an organic DNA extraction method coupled with an ultrafiltration step, we obtained 16 STR （including 13 CODIS loci, one sex discrimination locus, and two Identifiler loci） profiles for 834 samples with a success rate of 79% （834/1,062）. In addition, by comparing the allelic frequencies between the typed samples as a group and other index populations, we conclude that the Thai tsunami victims are a combined group of several populations. Our results provide valuable evidence and protocols for the future forensic practice.