Measurement of charge transfer potential barrier in pinned photodiode CMOS image sensors

The charge transfer potential barrier （CTPB） formed beneath the transfer gate causes a noticeable image lag issue in pinned photodiode （PPD） CMOS image sensors （CIS）, and is difficult to measure straightforwardly since it is embedded inside the device. From an understanding of the CTPB formation mechanism, we report on an alternative method to feasibly measure the CTPB height by performing a linear extrapolation coupled with a horizontal left-shift on the sensor photoresponse curve under the steady-state illumination. The theoretical study was pertbrmed in detail on the principle of the proposed method. Application of the measurements oil a prototype PPD-CIS chip with an array of 160 ×160 pixels is demonstrated. Such a method intends to shine new light oil the guidance for the lag-free and high-speed sensors optimization based on PPD devices.

Potential of electron transfer and its application in dictating routes of biochemical processes associated with metabolic reprogramming

Metabolic reprogramming,such as abnormal utilization of glucose,addiction to glutamine,and increased de-novo lipid synthesis,extensively occurs in proliferating cancer cells,but the underneath rationale has remained to be elucidated.Based on the concept of the degree of reduction of a compound,we have recently proposed a calculation termed as potential of electron transfer(PET),which is used to characterize the degree of electron redistribution coupled with metabolic transformations.When this calculation is combined with the assumed model of electron balance in a cellular context,the enforced selective reprogramming could be predicted by examining the net changes of the PET values associated with the biochemical pathways in anaerobic metabolism.Some interesting properties of PET in cancer cells were also discussed,and the model was extended to uncover the chemical nature underlying aerobic glycolysis that essentially results from energy requirement and electron balance.Enabling electron transfer could drive metabolic reprogramming in cancer metabolism.Therefore,the concept and model established on electron transfer could guide the treatment strategies of tumors and future studies on cellular metabolism.

Microsatellite Development and Potential Application in Authentication, Conservation, and Genetic Improvement of Chinese Medicinal Plants

Medicinal plants are popular and widely used as a major source of herbal drugs and pharmaceutical compounds. Ever-growing demands make medicinal plants faced to several problems including efficacy and safety to meet business requirements, conservation, and artificially assisted breeding. As a powerful molecular tool, microsatellites offer the great potentials for various purposes in plants. This review provides a scenario of microsatellites in medicinal plants including development from genomic or expressed sequence tag libraries, cross-species transferability, genotyping, and potential applications. We emphasized on the authentication of medicinal plants by microsatellite markers.