Toehold‐initiated Rolling Circle Amplification for Visualizing Individual MicroRNAs In Situ in Single Cells

The ability to quantitate and visualize microRNAs (miRNAs) in situ in single cells would greatly facilitate the elucidation of miRNA‐mediated regulatory circuits and their disease associations. A toehold‐initiated strand‐displacement process was used to initiate rolling circle amplification of specific miRNAs, an approach that achieves both stringent recognition and in situ amplification of the target miRNA. This assay, termed toehold‐initiated rolling circle amplification (TIRCA), can be utilized to identify miRNAs at physiological temperature with high specificity and to visualize individual miRNAs in situ in single cells within 3 h. TIRCA is a competitive candidate technique for in situ miRNA imaging and may help us to understand the role of miRNAs in cellular processes and human diseases in more detail.     

A Supercharged Fluorescent Protein as a Versatile Probe for Homogeneous DNA Detection and Methylation Analysis

Supercharged proteins are a new class of functional proteins with exceptional stability and potent ability to deliver bio‐macromolecules into cells. As a proof‐of‐principle, a novel application of supercharged proteins as a versatile biosensing platform for nucleic acid detection and epigenetics analysis is presented. Taking supercharged green fluorescent protein (ScGFP) as the signal reporter, a simple turn‐on homogenous method for DNA detection has been developed based on the polyionic nanoscale complex of ScGFP/DNA and toehold strand displacement. This assay shows high sensitivity and potent ability to detect single‐base mismatch. Furthermore, combined with bisulfite conversion, this ScGFP‐based assay was further applied to analyze site‐specific DNA methylation status of genomic DNA extracted from real human colon carcinoma tissue sample with ultrahigh sensitivity (4 amol methylated DNA).     

A finite element method based comparative fracture assessment of carbon black and silica filled elastomers: Reinforcing efficacy of carbonaceous fillers in flexible composites

This study is focused on numerical investigation on fracture behaviors of carbon black (CB) and silica filled elastomeric composites. Finite element analysis (FEA) in compliance with multi-specimen method is used to calculate J-integral and geometry factor of the rubber composites up to a displacement of 20 mm for single edge notch in tension (SENT) and double edge notch in tension (DENT) specimens. An empirical relationship between crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) and crack advancement is established depending on notch to width ratio (NWR). The stress contours across the notches for SENT and DENT specimens is discussed briefly. It is found that fracture propagation resistance of CB filled elastomer is 125% more than that of silica filled elastomer. Although, Silica filled elastomer have good tensile strength and crosslink density but it fails to replace carbon black in terms of fracture properties. The critical J-integral for CB filled elastomer is 18.7% and 32.2% more than silica filled elastomer for SENT and DENT specimens respectively. The effect of specimen type on various fracture properties is also explored. The factor of safety is found to be significantly more in case of CB filled elastomers making them less vulnerable to crack propagation and catastrophic failure.     

模拟相变问题的精细积分边界元法

将精细积分边界元法和界面追踪法相结合求解相变问题。因为边界元法只需要将待求解空间域的边界离散,方便连续追踪移动界面位置和重构网格,所以边界元法适合应用于移动边界问题的模拟。首先,利用精细积分边界元法在固相区域和液相区域分别求解相应的瞬态热传导控制方程,从而求得温度场和边界热流密度。然后,根据固-液相变界面上的能量平衡方程,利用热流密度求得相变界面的移动速度,再采用界面追踪法预测移动相变界面的位置变化。最后,给出了几个数值算例,并通过与参考解的对比验证本文方法的准确性。     

Enhanced multi‐objective optimization of a dimpled channel through evolutionary algorithms and multiple surrogate methods

Using a multi‐objective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA) and enhanced surrogate approximations, the present study demonstrates the numerical analysis and optimization of staggered‐dimple channels. Two surrogates, the response surface approximation (RSA) model and the Kriging (KRG) model, are applied in light of the surrogate fidelity of the approximate analysis. An enhanced Pareto‐optimal front is obtained by performing local resampling of the Pareto‐optimal front, which provides relatively more accurate Pareto‐optimal solutions in the design space for each surrogate model. Three dimensionless design variables are selected, which are related to geometric parameters, namely, the channel height, dimple print diameter, dimple spacing, and dimple depth. Two objective functions are selected that are related to the heat transfer and pressure loss, respectively. The objective‐function values are numerically evaluated through Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes analysis at the design points that are selected through the Latin hypercube sampling method. Using these numerical simulations two surrogates, viz, the RSA and Kriging models, are constructed for each objective function and a hybrid MOEA is applied to obtain the Pareto‐optimal front. For the particular implementation of surrogate models, it is observed that Pareto‐optimal predictions of the RSA model are better than those of the KRG model, whereas the KRG model predicts equally well at the off‐Pareto‐region (region away from the Pareto‐optimal solutions), which is not the case with the RSA model. The local resampling of the Pareto‐optimal front increases the fidelity of the approximate solutions near the Pareto‐optimal region. The ratios of the channel height to the dimple print diameter and of the dimple print diameter to the dimple pitch are found to be more sensitive along the Pareto‐optimal front than the ratio of the dimple depth to the print diameter. The decrease of the ratio of the channel height to the dimple diameter and the increase of the ratio of the dimple print diameter to the pitch lead to greater heat transfer at the expense of the pressure loss, whereas the ratio of the dimple depth to the print diameter is rather insensitive to Pareto‐optimal solutions. Pareto‐optimal solutions at higher values of the Nusselt number are associated with higher values of the pressure loss due to the increased recirculation, mixing of fluid and vorticity generation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Digital holographic cameras and data processing for remote monitoring and measurements of mechanical parts

Fast growing technology and requirements for testing of different types of materials and devices require new methods and systems for investigation of their parameters. Among the quantities of high interest are shape, deformation, roughness, local materials constants, displacement, and strain fields of elements under load. In the paper, we present novel solutions for digital holographic cameras, which allow for remote monitoring and measurement of the above mentioned quantities at small mechanical objects or at restricted areas of interest at big structures. The systems have compact design, “black box” measurement approach, and allows for fast and accurate measurements performed directly at the element and often in outdoor environment. The principles of digital and optoelectronic reconstruction and phase manipulation are described together with the exemplary measurement results obtained by means of the cameras presented.     

Three-dimensional analytical solution for a transversely isotropic functionally graded piezoelectric circular plate subject to a uniform electric potential difference

This paper studies the problem of a functionally graded piezoelectric circular plate subjected to a uniform electric potential difference between the upper and lower surfaces. By assuming the generalized displacements in appropriate forms, five differential equations governing the generalized displacement functions are derived from the equilibrium equations. These displacement functions are then obtained in an explicit form, which still involve four undetermined integral constants, through a step-by-step integration which properly incorporates the boundary conditions at the upper and lower surfaces. The boundary conditions at the cylindrical surface are then used to determine the integral constants. Hence, three-dimensional analytical solutions for electrically loaded functionally graded piezoelectric circular plates with free or simply-supported edge are completely determined. These solutions can account for an arbitrary material variation along the thickness, and thus can be readily degenerated into those for a homogenous plate. A numerical example is finally given to show the validity of the analysis, and the effect of material inhomogeneity on the elastic and electric fields is discussed. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 10472102 and 10432030) and the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (Grant No. 20060335107)     

曝光系统离焦对平面全息光栅衍射波前的影响

波前像差是衍射光栅的重要技术指标，它直接影响光栅的分辨率。由光致刻蚀剂记录两束相干光干涉条纹是制作全息光栅的关键步骤。为了提高全息光栅曝光系统调整精度、减小离焦、降低光栅的衍射波前像差，从离焦对反射球面准直镜的准直光平行度的影响程度出发，分析了准直光平行度对全息光栅衍射波前像差的影响。理论分析和数值模拟结果表明，准直镜调整误差直接决定全息光栅衍射波前像差大小。以3种不同刻线密度光栅为例，得出了准直镜调整误差的允许变化范围。     

Neutron scattering by anharmonic crystals and the effect of sublattice displacements

A theory has been given for the scattering of neutrons by anharmonic crystals, for which terms of the typeV ⁽³⁾ (k _1j1; —k _1j1;o _j) which contribute to the sublattice displacements are not neglected. Using the standard perturbation theory in the interaction picture or Green’s function method, an expression has been derived for the differential scattering cross-section which brings in the shift and the width of the phonons in one-phonon energy exchange processes. It is shown that the sublattice displacements will modify the phase factor arising from the scattering by any atom in the unit cell, and the Debye-Waller factor also gets altered both by the sublattice displacements as well as by higher order terms arising from anharmonicity. It is shown that the differential scattering cross-section contains a term linearly depending on the third order anharmonicity coefficientV ⁽³⁾ (k _1j1;k _2j2;k _3j3) and neutron scattering by crystals should provide a useful method for evaluating the third order anharmonicity coefficients.     

Gauge-Invariant Regularization of Quantum Field Theory on the Light Front

We briefly describe problems of the Hamiltonian approach for quantizing gauge fields on the light front for space–time bounded by the inequality |x ^–|L with periodic boundary conditions in the variable x ^– imposed on all fields (the DLCQ method). With these restrictions, we consider the gauge-invariant ultraviolet regularization by passing to a lattice in transverse coordinates. We remove the remaining ultraviolet divergences in the longitudinal momentum p _– by imposing a gauge-invariant finite-mode regularization. It turns out that the canonical formalism on the light front with such a regularization imposed does not contain the usual most complicated second-class constraints between zero and nonzero modes of fields. The described scheme can be used both to regularize the standard gauge theory and to provide a gauge-invariant formulation of effective low-energy models on the light front. Because the manifest Lorentz invariance is broken in our formalism, the vacuum state is poorly defined. We discuss this problem, in particular, in relation to the problem of passing to the continuous space limit.