Optical and dielectric properties of an isothiocyanato liquid crystal compound and comparison of its behavior with that of a homologous member

The properties of an isothiocyanato liquid crystal compound (code name S1) has been studied with a view to compare its behavior with that of another member of its homologous series (code name S5). Optical properties, such as refractive index, polarisability, and their anisotropies, have been evaluated with varying temperature and the orientational order experimentally determined from the study of polarisability anisotropy and compared with theoretically computed values. Dielectric studies have been conducted to determine not only the dielectric anisotropy but also the effective molecular dipole moment and its temperature dependence. The temperature variation of the angle of inclination (β) of molecular dipole moment with the director direction has also been determined and compared with that of S5. In order to determine the nature of molecular association in the mesophase, the molecular correlation factor (g) has been estimated from the measurements of dipole moments of compound in solution and compared with the values obtained for S5.     

Uniform asymptotics for a multi-dimensional time-dependent risk model with multivariate regularly varying claims and stochastic return

This paper is devoted to asymptotic analysis for a multi-dimensional risk model with a general dependence structure and stochastic return driven by a geometric Lévy process. We take into account both the dependence among the claim sizes from different lines of businesses and that between the claim sizes and their common claim-number process. Under certain mild technical conditions, we obtain for two types of ruin probabilities precise asymptotic expansions which hold uniformly for the whole time horizon.     

三基色白光LED的司辰节律因子研究

采用司辰节律因子模型,通过计算三基色白光LED光源在不同工作电流下的司辰节律因子,对可调色温的三基色白光LED光源进行非视觉效应研究。为了获取与自然光非视觉效应类似的LED白光,建立了司辰节律因子和相关色温分别相对于工作电流的关系模型,从而已知自然光的司辰节律因子和相关色温,就可以确定三基色LED的工作电流。通过测试一天内不同时刻的自然光光谱,根据上述模型推算出了三基色LED的工作电流。在所推算的三基色电流下,测试了白光LED光谱参数并计算了相应的司辰节律因子。与自然光司辰节律因子的对比结果表明,理论值和实验值的误差在1.1%以内,证实该方法具有可行性。本文所呈现的方法对于利用三基色白光LED模拟自然光具有一定的指导意义。     

多层对称薄膜的光子晶体光波导设计

基于多层对称薄膜的反射镜作用,设计了一种工作波长位于1550nm附近的基于周期性多层膜的光子晶体光波导。由平板波导的相关理论分析了波长在1515~1587nm范围内电磁波在波导中的传输性质。研究表明TE模和TM模在波导都是基模传输,其功率约束因子(Γ)限制在0.99~1之间,说明波导近乎完全将光波限制在其中传输。在控光能力上这种结构要比普通的三层薄膜波导更具优势。利用周期性多层膜的光子带隙结构,可以构造具有超低损耗的全向带隙介质光波导。     

Renaturation with simultaneous purification of rhG-CSF from Escherichia coli by ion exchange chromatography

Protein refolding is a key step for the production of recombinant proteins, especially at large scales, and usually their yields are very low. Application of liquid chromatography to protein refolding is an exciting step forward for this field. In this work, recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) expressed in Escherichia coli was renatured with simultaneous purification by ion exchange chromatography (IEC) with a Q Sepharose FF column. Several chromatographic parameters affecting the refolding yield of the denatured/reduced rhG-CSF, such as the urea concentration, pH value, concentration and ratio of reduced/oxidized glutathione in the mobile phase, as well as the flow rate of the mobile phase, were investigated in detail and indicated that the urea concentration and the pH value were of great importance. At the optimal conditions, the renatured and purified rhG-CSF was found to have a specific bioactivity of 3.0 x 10(8) IU/mg, a purity of 96%, and a mass recovery of 49%. Compared with the usual dilution method, the IEC method developed here is more effective for rhG-CSF refolding in terms of specific bioactivity and mass recovery.     

Estimation of binding constants of receptors and ligands by affinity capillary electrophoresis

An estimation method for determination of binding constants of receptors to ligands by affinity capillary electrophoresis was evaluated. On the basis of the theories of pseudostationary phase or so-called dynamic stationary phase, the retention factor (k) was used to represent the interaction between the receptor and ligand. k could be easily deduced from the migration times of the ligand and the receptor. Then, with the linear relationship of k versus the concentration of ligand in the running buffer, the binding constant K _b was calculated from the slope and intercept. In order to test its feasibility, the calculation method was demonstrated using three model systems: the interactions between vancomycin and N-acetyl-d-Ala-d-Ala, ristocetin and N-acetyl-d-Ala-d-Ala, and carbonic anhydrase B and an arylsulfonamide. Estimated binding constants were compared with those determined by other techniques. The results showed that this estimation method was reliable. This calculation method offers a simple and easy approach to estimating binding constants of ligands to receptors.     

Comparison of planar SDS-PAGE,CGE-on-a-chip,and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry for analysis of the enzymatic de-<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-glycosylation of antithrombin III and coagulation factor IX with PNGase F

Three different analytical techniques (planar SDS-PAGE, CGE-on-a-chip and MALDI-TOF-MS) applied for determination of the molecular weight of intact and partly and completely de-N-glycosylated human serum glycoproteins (antithrombin III and coagulation factor IX) have been compared. N-Glycans were removed from the protein backbone of both complex glycoproteins using PNGase F, which cleaves all types of asparagine-attached N-glycan provided the oligosaccharide has at least the length of a chitobiose core unit. Two of the applied techniques were based on gel electrophoretic separation in the liquid phase while the third technique was the gas-phase technique mass spectrometry. It was demonstrated that the enzymatic de-N-glycosylation generally worked well (completely or partially) with both glycoproteins (one containing only N-glycans and the second N- and O-glycans). All three methods were suitable for monitoring the de-N-glycosylation progress. While the molecular weights determined with MALDI-TOF-MS were most accurate, both gel electrophoretic methods provided molecular weights that were too high because of the attached glycan structures. Figure CGE-on-a-chip, SDS-PAGE and MALDI mass spectrometric pattern obtained from therapeutic glycoprotein     

Characterization of a putative Xylella fastidiosa diffusible signal factor by HRGC-EI-MS

Xylella fastidiosa (X.f.) is a plant pathogen with high levels of genomic similarity to Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (X.c.c.). It has been shown that X. fastidiosa synthesizes a putative diffusible signal factor (X.f.-DSF) that activates regulation of pathogenicity factor (rpf) genes in a X.c.c. reporter system, which might be involved in the regulation of pathogenesis associated genes as in X.c.c., as well as in quorum-sensing. The nature of the X.f.-DSF is not known, whereas the X.c.c.-DSF has been identified as cis-11-methyl-2-dodecenoic acid. In this work, the chemical nature of a putative X.f.-DSF molecule, able to restore endoglucanase activity in a X.c.c. rpfF mutant, was investigated as if it was a fatty acid derivative. Bioassays with X.c.c. reporter bacterium and X.f. culture extracts, based on endoglucanase restoration activity, were also carried out in order to confirm the DSFs molecules similarities. For this reason, a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method was developed with standard fatty acids methyl esters mixtures. The retention time, as well as the fragmentation patterns, of each standard was used to identify the DSF molecule synthesized by X.f. in the culture medium. Typical ester fragmentation patterns (the derivatized analyte) were observed, such as: McLafferty rearrangement and migration of the Hdelta followed by 1,4-hydrogen shift and cleavage of the bond Cbeta-Cgamma, confirming the nature of this molecule. This confirmation was corroborated by the common peaks in both spectra. Besides, the observed retention time reinforces our conclusion since it corresponds to a methyl ester with 15 carbons. Since the X.f.-DSF molecule was tentatively identified as 12-methyl-tetradecanoic acid (by mass spectra library comparison), this standard compound was also analyzed, strongly suggesting that this is the identification of such a molecule. To our knowledge, this is the first time a DSF produced by X.f. has been characterized.