耦合生物细胞体系中噪声诱导钙信号的传递和增强

研究了耦合细胞体系中钙振荡的动力学行为,发现体系的一端受到噪声扰动时,能够产生噪声诱导的钙振荡信号,这种信号在沿着耦合体系有效传递的同时,信号本身也能显著增强,并且在体系的另一端能够得到一个规则的信号.分别讨论了耦合强度、噪声强度和耦合方式对信号传递的影响,发现存在合适的耦合强度和噪声强度更有利于钙信号的传递和增强,与以往不同的是,还分别从信号和噪声背景两方面给出了定性的解释;同时发现单向耦合比双向耦合更有利于信号的传递和增强.     

生物构型对耦合Hindmarsh-Rose神经元系统响应能力的影响

利用Hindmarsh-Rose神经元模型研究了真实的生物细胞连接构型对耦合神经元系统响应能力的影响. 外界刺激信号通过细胞耦合从受刺激的神经元传递到其他神经元,合适的生物构型可以提高系统对刺激信号的响应能力和敏感度;同时,生物构型还会影响神经元系统的同步能力以及选择效应. 模拟的结果可以帮助我们理解面对不同外界刺激,生物体会协调自身结构,选择最佳的构型予以响应.     

活细胞中的化学物理-光学观测和控制细胞内信号转导（英文）

在活细胞拥挤的微环境中生物大分子之间存在着不间断的物理和化学相互作用.细胞功能直接取决于其内部的分子组成和分子间相互作用.不仅不同种细胞之间的化学和物理性质千差万别,同一细胞内的物理特性也会受环境影响不断产生动态变化.而这种动态变化的化物特性对于细胞适应环境的改变至关重要.通常环境的改变会引起细胞产生不同响应,比如改变其基因的转录和翻译.是否形成正确的细胞响应取决于细胞对外部环境信息的准确解读.而这种解读通常是通过细胞内信号转导途径来实现.一个化学或物理的信号会通过刺激一系列细胞内的生化反应将外部环境的信息准确地传递到细胞内部.由于信号传导过程经常需要穿跨各亚细胞空间的复杂路径,所以细胞内信号转导的实际功用就是一座连接外部环境与细胞内部的桥梁.了解信号分子在细胞微环境中的化物状态将有助于阐释细胞功能.当今实验和理论工具的发展已使得在活细胞这样的微环境中探索纷繁的分子化物性质成为可能.本文总结如何利用新兴的光学显微镜和光遗传技术去观测甚至控制生物信号在细胞内的传导过程.确信这些技术已经为精确控制生物体中分子的化学和物理性质提供了前所未有的机遇.希望本文可以为有兴趣研究生物和医学问题的化学物理研究人员抛砖引玉.     

细胞丛状化分布对二维耦合体系尺度选择效应的影响

采用随机模拟方法对体系的化学朗之万方程进行了数值模拟，考察了二维耦合细胞体系中，细胞的丛状化分布对于因内噪声作用而产生的尺度选择效应所带来的影响.研究发现，当体系处于Hopf分岔点附近时，由于耦合作用使得处于最佳状态的一定数目的细胞呈现丛状化聚集在一起，而这种丛状化分布的“团队精神”可以极大地提高体系的工作效率，表现为体系对外界刺激信号的响应能力(信噪比)达到极大值.同时还观察到，体系对外界刺激最为敏感时对应的最佳细胞丛尺度大小不随耦合强度的改变而变化，而体系输出信号的信噪比，随着耦合强度的增加有增大趋势.这些现象表明，细胞的丛状化分布将极大地增强细胞中钙离子信号对外界刺激的响应效果.生物体系本身可能具有这种特性，并利用它来改善和提高感受外界信息的能力.     

Bcl-2蛋白抑制钙信号的建模与全局动力学分析

钙离子(Ca~(2+))是生物体内一种"生死攸关"的信号分子,Bcl-2蛋白可以直接或间接调节IP_3R通道释放Ca~(2+)的能力,借此决定细胞命运.本文基于新近的实验成果,针对Bcl-2蛋白间接调控Ca~(2+)的信号通路建立数学模型,得到了与实验数据相符合的结果,从理论上证明了Bcl-2蛋白对钙信号有抑制作用.在对模型进行鲁棒性检验之后,本文对该信号通路中一些关键组分的作用进行了预测.以[IP_3]和[Bcl-2]为双分岔参数分析的结果表明Bcl-2对刺激强度能产生Ca~(2+)振荡的区域有重要影响.以蛋白磷酸酶1[PP1]和蛋白激酶A[PKA]为单分岔参数分析的结果揭示:PP1可以有效地抑制钙信号,而PKA对钙信号的促进作用有一定的局限性.模型结果表明,不同浓度组合的IP_3,Bcl-2和PKA会对钙信号发挥复杂的调控作用.本文不仅对相关生物学实验有一定的指导作用,而且可为治疗因钙信号失调而导致的疾病提供思路.     

单个心肌细胞内钙波的微观动力学研究

利用基于近场光学原理构建的全内反射荧光显微镜研究了大鼠单个心肌细胞中的钙信号. 利用这种显微镜的快速成像和高信噪比的特点，观察到单个细胞中复杂的二维钙波斑图. 分析了单个钙信号释放事件在钙波形成、运动过程中的作用. 建立在fire-diffuse-fire模型基础上的模拟显示，由基本钙释放事件组成的钙波可以在心肌细胞中稳定存在. 此研究对进一步认识活体可激发系统的微观动力学行为有指导意义. 关键词： 近场光学 全内反射荧光显微镜 心肌细胞 钙波     

单个纳米粒子对聚合物结晶行为的影响

采用粗粒化模型,应用分子动力学方法研究了单个纳米粒子对聚合物结晶行为的影响.通过改变纳米粒子与聚合物单体之间作用方式(吸引作用或排斥作用)、纳米粒子与聚合物单体之间作用强度和聚合物分子链的长度,计算整个系统和局部区域的有序参数,研究了三个不同因素下纳米粒子对聚合物结晶行为的不同影响.研究表明,在聚合物基体中添加单个纳米粒子,纳米粒子对整个系统的结晶影响不明显,但是纳米粒子对其周围聚合物单体的结晶存在局部强化作用.当纳米粒子与聚合物单体之间为吸引作用且作用强度较大时,纳米粒子对聚合物结晶表现出明显的局部强化作用,聚合物分子链长度也有着一定的影响,在较大吸引作用强度下,长链样本比短链样本有着更为显著的局部强化作用.     

Bhabha散射中的完整电弱效应与标准模型的完美性问题

本文在电弱统一标准模型(SM)的理论框架中, 对Bhabha散射问题作了全新的理论分析与深入研究.在具体研究方法上采用了量子场论微扰理论中的一种全新计算模式——重整化链图传播子理论, 并应用到Bhabha散射的计算研究中. 在SM中, 本文需要考虑Bhabha散射内部过程的完整电弱作用效应, 为此应寻求出由光子gamma 和中间玻色子Z_0构成的复杂混合圈链图重整化传播子, 然后利用这类传播子计算出Bhabha散射中由混合圈链图传播子传递完整电弱作用下的反应截面. 这一理论计算结果与实验值在实验观测误差范围内吻合较好. 本文这一重要研究结果不但从另一个侧面证实了SM理论描述电弱作用下的粒子反应的精确性; 而且也暗示SM理论应该是一个十分完美的理论, 理论终极预言的且被学术界长期特别关注的希格斯“神秘粒子”最终被寻找到的可能性应该是十分大的.     

Bhabha散射中的完整电弱效应与标准模型的完美性问题

本文在电弱统一标准模型(SM)的理论框架中,对Bhabha散射问题作了全新的理论分析与深入研究.在具体研究方法上采用了量子场论微扰理论中的一种全新计算模式——重整化链图传播子理论,并应用到Bhabha散射的计算研究中.在SM中,本文需要考虑Bhabha散射内部过程的完整电弱作用效应,为此应寻求出由光子γ和中间玻色子Z0构成的复杂混合圈链图重整化传播子,然后利用这类传播子计算出Bhabha散射中由混合圈链图传播子传递完整电弱作用下的反应截面.这一理论计算结果与实验值在实验观测误差范围内吻合较好.本文这一重要研究结果不但从另一个侧面证实了SM理论描述电弱作用下的粒子反应的精确性;而且也暗示SM理论应该是一个十分完美的理论,理论终极预言的且被学术界长期特别关注的希格斯"神秘粒子"最终被寻找到的可能性应该是十分大的.     

阈下激励与噪声联合作用下肝细胞系统的内钙时空随机共振问题

研究阈下周期信号激励对耦合肝细胞系统内钙离子浓度（［Ca²⁺］)的时空随机共振性质的影响.当阈下激励的频率等于确定性系统在Hopf分岔点附近的频率时,它就会极大地提高随机耦合系统内发生［Ca²⁺］喷发的细胞的比例,通过对喷发比的自相关函数计算得知阈下激励增强了系统在高斯白噪声作用下［Ca²⁺］的时间共振性.通过数值模拟得知,对于不同耦合强度,都存在最优噪声强度使得随机系统内［Ca²⁺］时间共振达到最佳,并且随着细胞间耦 关键词： 钙振动 噪声 阈下激励 随机共振     

Random shortcuts induce phase synchronization in complex Chua systems

This paper studies how phase synchronization in complex networks depends on random shortcuts, using the piecewise-continuous chaotic Chua system as the nodes of the networks. It is found that for a given coupling strength, when the number of random shortcuts is greater than a threshold the phase synchronization is induced. Phase synchronization becomes evident and reaches its maximum as the number of random shortcuts is further increased. These phenomena imply that random shortcuts can induce and enhance the phase synchronization in complex Chua systems. Furthermore, the paper also investigates the effects of the coupling strength and it is found that stronger coupling makes it easier to obtain the complete phase synchronization.     

Amplified Signal Response by Neuronal Diversity on Complex Networks

The effect of diversity on dynamics of coupled FitzHugh-Nagumo neurons on complex networks is numerically investigated, where each neuron is subjected to an external subthreshold signal. With the diversity the network is a mixture of excitable and oscillatory neurons, and the diversity is determined by the variance of the system＇s parameter. The complex network is constructed by randomly adding long-range connections （shortcuts） on a nearest-neighbouring coupled one-dimensional chain. Numerical results show that external signals are maximally magnified at an intermediate value of the diversity, as in the case of well-known stochastic resonance, burthermore, the effects of the number of shortcuts and coupled strength on the diversity-induced phenomena are also discussed. These findings exhibit that the diversity may play a constructive role in response to external signal, and highlight the importance of the diversity on such complex networks.     

利用Fura-2/AM荧光探针法和LCSM法研究受磁场处理S.aureus细胞Ca2+的跨膜行为

研究受脉冲磁场处理金黄色葡萄球菌(S.aureus)细胞Ca2+的跨膜行为,为此研究了表征S.aureus胞内Ca2+浓度变化Fura-2/AM荧光探针检测法,并检测了不同脉冲数下经脉冲磁场处理后S.aureus细胞荧光强度的变化,采用激光共聚焦扫描显微镜(LCSM)观察了经脉冲磁场处理前后S.aureus胞内Ca2+浓度的变化。研究结果表明,Fura-2/AM可成功的负载于S.aureus中,可以应用于S.aureus胞内游离钙离子浓度变化的测定。经脉冲磁场处理后,S.aureus胞内钙离子浓度显著上升,且与活菌数的减少高度相关,相关度达到-0.989 15;胞内光点显著增多,光点荧光强度明显增大,说明大量胞外钙离子跨膜进入胞内。因此,可以判断微生物细胞膜通透性的改变和胞内Ca2+浓度的上升是高强度脉冲磁场具有杀菌作用的重要原因。     

Synchronization in complex networks by time-varying couplings

Synchronization in networks of complex topologies using couplings of time-varying strength is numerically investigated. The time-dependencies of coupling strengths are coupled to the dynamics of the nodes in a way to enhance synchronization. By time-varying couplings, oscillators are found to take quite a short time to reach synchronization state when the couplings are relatively strong. Even when a nearly regular networks of large-size with few shortcuts is difficult to be synchronized by fixed couplings, the time-varying couplings can easily enhance the emergence of synchronization.     

Enhanced Synchronization of Intercellular Calcium Oscillations by Noise Contaminated Signals

We consider the dynamics of locally coupled calcium oscillation systems, each cell is subjected to extracellular contaminated signal, which contains common sub-threshold signal and independent Gaussian noise. It is found that intermediate noise can enhance synchronized oscillations of calcium ions, where the frequency of noise-induced oscillations is matched with the one of sub-threshold external signal. We show that synchronization is enhanced as a result of the entrainment of external signal. Furthermore, the effect of coupling strength is considered. We find above-mentioned phenomenon exists only when coupling strength is very small. Our findings may exhibit that noise can enhance the detection of feeble external signal through the mechanism of synchronization of intercellular calcium ions.     

Components of released liquid from ultrasonic waste activated sludge disintegration

Ultrasound can be applied as a pretreatment to disintegrate sludge. In this paper, by observing the solution concentration of polysaccharide, protein, DNA, Ca and Mg before and after disintegration, the main components in the released liquid are analyzed. It has been found that the predominant component of the released liquid in this research is protein. Ultrasound can destroy the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), which is important to the sludge flocs structure. Ca2+ and Mg2+, which play a key role in binding the EPS are released into the aqueous phase. As a result, the sludge flocs are loosened. Under the effect of the hydraulic shear force, the sludge is disintegrated. Then the hydraulic shear forces destroy the cell walls, the substances inside the cells are released into the aqueous phase.     

Effect of ultrasonic exposure on Ca2+-ATPase activity in plasma membrane from Aloe arborescens callus cells

We investigated the effect of ultrasound on plasma membrane (PM) Ca2+-ATPase activity of Aloe arborescens callus cells in solid culture. The calluses were exposed by a 20 kHz digital sonifier at the powers of 2 and 10 W from the effective exposure times of 2-10 s. PM Ca2+-ATPase activity was almost significantly higher at 2 W both in continuous wave and 10% duty cycle than that of the control (no ultrasound) at effective exposure times of 5 and 10 s. However, its activity decreased at 10 W in continuous wave exposure. It is possible that the PM Ca2+-ATPase configuration or structure may be partly damaged by high-energy ultrasound at 10 W. Our results showed that low-energy ultrasound exposure was a useful physical field to stimulate A. arborescens callus cells to adapt environmental stress through PM Ca2+-ATPase activity increase.     

Astrocyte signaling in the presence of spatial inhomogeneities

Astrocytes, a special type of glial cells, were considered to have just a supporting role in information processing in the brain. However, several recent studies have shown that they can be chemically stimulated by various neurotransmitters, such as ATP, and can generate Ca2+ and ATP waves, which can propagate over many cell lengths before being blocked. Although pathological conditions, such as spreading depression and epilepsy, have been linked to abnormal wave propagation in astrocytic cellular networks, a quantitative understanding of the underlying characteristics is still lacking. Astrocytic cellular networks are inhomogeneous, in the sense that the domain they occupy contains passive regions or gaps, which are unable to support wave propagation. Thus, this work focuses on understanding the complex interplay between single-cell signal transduction, domain inhomogeneity, and the characteristics of wave propagation and blocking in astrocytic cellular networks. The single-cell signal transduction model that was employed accounts for ATP-mediated IP3 production, the subsequent Ca2+ release from the ER, and ATP release into the extracellular space. The model is excitable and thus an infinite range of wave propagation is observed if the domain of propagation is homogeneous. This is not always the case for inhomogeneous domains. To model wave propagation in inhomogeneous astrocytic networks, a reaction-diffusion framework was developed and one-gap as well as multiple-gap cases were simulated using an efficient finite-element algorithm. The minimum gap length that blocks the wave was computed as a function of excitability levels and geometric characteristics of the inhomogeneous network, such as the length of the active regions (cells). Complex transient patterns, such as wave reflection, wave trapping, and generation of echo waves, were also predicted by the model, and their relationship to the geometric characteristics of the network was evaluated. Therefore, the proposed model can help in the formulation of testable hypotheses to explain the observed abnormal wave propagation in pathological situations.     

Noise induced intercellular propagation of calcium waves

In this paper, we investigate the spatiotemporal dynamics of a bidirectional coupled chain of cells, in which a cell is subjected to an external noise. Noisy oscillations of calcium (Ca²⁺), that is, a bursting-like phenomenon induced by noise with fluctuations in the baseline values of calcium, are induced in the first cell and propagated along the chain with noise suppression. This phenomenon of noise suppression is further investigated by computing the normalized fluctuation of pulse durations. It is therefore found that the noise induced coherence resonance phenomenon occurs at the cellular level. Coherence biresonance behaviour appears in the transmission of noise induced oscillations at appropriate noise intensity or noise coupling (for low noise intensity) and the information flow in each cell can be simultaneously optimized at the optimal value of noise or coupling.