Ratiometric Detection of microRNA Using Hybridization Chain Reaction and Fluorogenic Silver Nanoclusters

miRNA (miR)-155 is a potential biomarker for breast cancers. We aimed at developing a nanosensor for miR-155 detection by integrating hybridization chain reaction (HCR) and silver nanoclusters (AgNCs). HCR serves as an enzyme-free and isothermal amplification method, whereas AgNCs provide a built-in fluorogenic detection probe that could simplify the downstream analysis. The two components were integrated by adding a nucleation sequence of AgNCs to the hairpin of HCR. The working principle was based on the influence of microenvironment towards the hosted AgNCs, whereby unfolding of hairpin upon HCR has manipulated the distance between the hosted AgNCs and cytosine-rich toehold region of hairpin. As such, the dominant emission of AgNCs changed from red to yellow in the absence and presence of miR-155, enabling a ratiometric measurement of miR with high sensitivity. The limit of detection (LOD) of our HCR-AgNCs nanosensor is 1.13 fM in buffered solution. We have also tested the assay in diluted serum samples, with comparable LOD of 1.58 fM obtained. This shows the great promise of our HCR-AgNCs nanosensor for clinical application.     

煤直接液化油中混合酚的分离研究

利用分子筛择形特点，对煤直接液化油中的混合酚实施高效分离。本研究选取间甲酚和对甲酚作为分离煤直接液化油馏分段混合酚的模型化合物，采用化学液相沉积法对HZSM-5吸附剂的孔口结构进行改变，分析分子筛硅铝比及颗粒粒径对模型化合物间甲酚和对甲酚吸附分离性能的影响，以获得高性能固相吸附剂，并将其应用于180-190℃馏分段混合酚分离。结果表明，当分子筛硅铝比为25、粒径为3-5 μm时，分子筛的孔口结构调节效果最优；当正硅酸乙酯的最小用量为0.2 mL/g时，固相吸附剂的吸附量为0.03 g/g，对甲酚选择性高于95%。由于外表面沉积物对吸附剂的孔口结构变化，导致对甲酚选择性的提高。进一步采用HZSM-5（1）吸附剂对真实煤直接液化油混合酚的分离中发现，苯酚和对甲酚的选择性均达到100%。     

Formation of low-temperature deformation-induced segregations of nickel in Fe–Ni-based austenitic alloys

ABSTRACT

The authors present the results of an investigation in Fe–Ni-Cr austenitic alloys of the low-temperature deformation-induced segregations of nickel that form in the micro regions being (i) located close to grain- and subgrain boundaries and (ii) characteristic of the concentration and magnetic inhomogeneities indicated by the appearance of a dark diffraction contrast at the electron diffraction patterns taken from these regions typical (at the same time) of an enhanced value of Curie temperature. The observed effects were connected with the micro distortions caused by the local change of lattice parameter because of an increase in nickel concentration, as well as in the result of a magnetostriction dilatation. Using methods of the X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (XEDS) and atomic-probe body-section radiography (tomography – APT) has made it possible to determine the borders of those regions of austenite that were characteristic of an enhanced concentration of nickel in the fields of the localisation of a deformation-induced segregation of nickel in the vicinity of grain (subgrain) boundaries of austenitic alloys of the types Fe–13Cr–30Ni and Fe–37Ni–3Ti.     

Response surface methodology toward the optimization of high-energy carotenoid extraction from Aristeus antennatus shrimp

High-energy assisted extraction techniques, like ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) and microwave assisted extraction (MAE), are widely applied over the last years for the recovery of bioactive compounds such as carotenoids, antioxidants and phenols from foods, animals and herbal natural sources. Especially for the case of xanthophylls, the main carotenoid group of crustaceans, they can be extracted in a rapid and quantitative way with the use of UAE and MAE.     

基于科赫曲线分形结构太赫兹带通滤波器

太赫兹滤波器是太赫兹通信、太赫兹成像和太赫兹检测等太赫兹应用系统中不可或缺的功能器件。按照不同的分类方式,滤波器有不同的种类,常见的按照选频功能可分为高通滤波器、低通滤波器、带阻滤波器和带通滤波器。为了实现在太赫兹波段的滤波效果,世界各地的研究人员利用不同的结构、材料和控制方式实现了功能各异的太赫兹滤波器,但是考虑到设计的器件要应用到太赫兹系统中,成本低廉、结构简单、性能优越的太赫兹滤波器一直是研究人员的追求。分形概念自提出以来在很多研究领域都有了快速发展,但是在太赫兹波段的应用还不是很常见,特别是应用于太赫兹功能器件的设计。引入分形中科赫曲线的概念设计并制备了一种新型的太赫兹带通滤波器,该滤波器是在金属薄膜上刻蚀出科赫曲线分形结构,当太赫兹波垂直入射到该滤波器时候实现了在太赫兹波段的窄带滤波。在滤波器的设计过程中,追求理论与实验相结合,首先在电磁仿真软件中建立科赫曲线分形结构滤波器模型进行计算,探究分形结构应用于太赫兹波段进行滤波的可行性,在进行多次计算之后得到优化后的尺寸和结构,然后根据优化后的尺寸加工出科赫曲线分形结构太赫兹滤波器样品,并且将样品放在太赫兹时域光谱系统中进行实验测量,得到实验数据后与仿真结果进行比较。在仿真中利用了时域有限差分法模拟科赫曲线分形结构太赫兹带通滤波器的传输特性,优化后的仿真结果表明:滤波器的谐振频率为0.715 THz,透射系数能够达到0.92,-3 dB带宽为21.9 GHz,将仿真得到的散射参数进行S参数反演得到了太赫兹滤波器样品的电磁参数,这在理论上分析了太赫兹波在谐振点处产生透射增强的原因。利用飞秒激光微加工系统制备了尺寸优化后的科赫曲线分形结构太赫兹带通滤波器样品,然后使用太赫兹时域光谱系统对样品的传输特性进行测试,对实验得到的时域数据进行快速傅里叶变换之后得到频域数据,再把频域数据进行归一化处理后与之前的电磁仿真结果进行对比,发现实验测得的结果与电磁软件仿真得到的结果较为吻合。     

熵的一种通俗教法

熵如力、能量和动量一样是物理学中一个重要概念,若能用一种通俗易懂的方法设计熵的教学,对文科物理的教学有重要意义.为此本文提出了一种通俗的熵的教法,这一教法不需要学生学习热力学第二定律也可以建立熵的概念.具体教学设计如下:通过日常生活例子引入熵的概念(也就是玻尔兹曼熵),设计两个例子让学生会计算熵,通过具体问题的讨论让学生充分理解熵的意义,通过一个实例由玻尔兹曼熵引入克劳修斯熵公式,设计一个演示实验强化教学效果,将熵与环境保护联系起来融入人文情怀,最后还强调了熵计算的不同层次.教学设计完全采用基于问题学习(PBL)的教学模式.     

The Szegö kernel on a class of non-compact CR manifolds of high codimension

We generalize Nagel’s formula for the Szegö kernel and use it to compute the Szegö kernel on a class of non-compact CR manifolds whose tangent space decomposes into one complex direction and several totally real directions. We also discuss the control metric on these manifolds and relate it to the size of the Szegö kernel.