High resolution heteronuclear correlation NMR spectroscopy between quadrupolar nuclei and protons in the solid state

A high resolution two-dimensional solid state NMR experiment is presented that correlates half-integer quadrupolar spins with protons. In this experiment the quadrupolar nuclei evolve during t1 under a split-t1, FAM-enhanced MQMAS pulse scheme. After each t1 period ending at the MQMAS echo position, single quantum magnetization is transferred, via a cross polarization process in the mixing time, from the quadrupolar nuclei to the protons. High-resolution proton signals are then detected in the t2 time domain during wPMLG5* homonuclear decoupling. The experiment has been demonstrated on a powder sample of sodium citrate and 23Na-1H 2D correlation spectra have been obtained. From the HETCOR spectra and the regular MQMAS spectrum, the three crystallographically inequivalent Na+ sites in the asymmetric unit were assigned. This MQMAS-wPMLG HETCOR pulse sequence can be used for spectral editing of half-integer quadrupolar nuclei coupled to protons.     

红螺菌吸附重金属红外光谱及原子力成像比较研究

研究了红螺菌对Cu2 、Cr6 的吸附行为.结果表明,在pH 2.9,35℃微光厌氧条件下,菌体对40mg/L Cu2 、Cr6 最大吸附率分别为94%、83.2%.利用红外光谱、原子力成像等方法,对吸附Cu2 、Cr6 前后的红螺茵进行了研究.红外光谱表明,羟基峰位红移,吸附Cu2 后峰位移动为22cm-1,吸附Cr6 后移动28cm-1,其它峰没有漂移,并且峰形基本保持不变,说明吸附后菌体的主要成分及结构保持完整.原子力成像表明,吸附前胞外聚合物分散分布,吸附后胞外聚合物出现交联,形成一个新的二维网状结构,并且吸附Cu2 后的交联程度比吸附Cr6 高.     

Sensitivity enhancement of the central-transition signal of half-integer spin quadrupolar nuclei in solid-state NMR: features of multiple fast amplitude-modulated pulse transfer

Sensitivity enhancement of solid-state NMR spectrum of half-integer spin quadrupolar nuclei under both magic-angle spinning (MAS) and static cases has been demonstrated by transferring polarisation associated with satellite transitions to the central m=-1/2-->1/2 transition with suitably modulated radio-frequency pulse schemes. It has been shown that after the application of such enhancement schemes, there still remains polarisation in the satellite transitions that can be transferred to the central transition. This polarisation is available without having to wait for the spin system to return to thermal equilibrium. We demonstrate here the additional sensitivity enhancement obtained by making use of this remaining polarisation with fast amplitude-modulated (FAM) pulse schemes under both MAS and static conditions on a spin-3/2 and a spin-5/2 system. Considerable signal enhancement is obtained with the application of the multiple FAM sequence, denoted as m-FAM. We also report here some of the salient features of these multiple FAM sequences with respect to the nutation frequency of the pulses and the spinning frequency.     

基于模糊神经网络的结构非模型主动控制

本文将模糊人工神经网络运用到结构的主动控制中，用模糊联想记忆（ＦＡＭ）神经网络作为控制器，对在地震力下的结构振动进行主动控制，控制过程中无须引入结构的运动模型和精确参数。数值仿真的结果表明，该控制系统具有适应能力强，消振迅速且效果良好的特点。     

带相反电荷高分子和表面活性剂复合物膜在空气/水界面上的特性

利用原子力显微镜技术、表面压松弛法对带相反电荷高分子和表面活性剂在气/水界面形成的界面复合物膜进行了特性研究.原子力显微镜研究结果表明,部分水解聚丙烯酰胺(HPAM)/十六烷基三甲基溴化铵(CTAB)所形成的界面复合物膜呈现出“团”状聚集体形貌.两性聚丙烯酰胺与CTAB形成的界面复合物膜呈现出“纤维丝”的聚集体形貌.亚相中盐的存在对界面复合物的形貌有很大影响.表面压松弛实验则进一步表明界面复合物膜形貌结构的变化对其膜稳定性有直接的影响.     

Selection of aptamers by systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment: addressing the polymerase chain reaction issue

Aptamers are DNA oligonucleotides capable of binding different classes of targets with high affinity and selectivity. They are particularly attractive as affinity probes in multiplexed quantitative analysis of proteins. Aptamers are typically selected from large libraries of random DNA sequences in a general approach termed systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX). SELEX involves repetitive rounds of two processes: (i) partitioning of aptamers from non-aptamers by an affinity method and (ii) amplification of aptamers by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). New partitioning methods, which are characterized by exceptionally high efficiency of partitioning, have been recently introduced. For the overall SELEX procedure to be efficient, the high efficiency of new partitioning methods has to be matched by high efficiency of PCR. Here we present the first detailed study of PCR amplification of random DNA libraries used in aptamer selection. With capillary electrophoresis as an analytical tool, we found fundamental differences between PCR amplification of homogeneous DNA templates and that of large libraries of random DNA sequences. Product formation for a homogeneous DNA template proceeds until primers are exhausted. For a random DNA library as a template, product accumulation stops when PCR primers are still in excess of the products. The products then rapidly convert to by-products and virtually disappear after only 5 additional cycles of PCR. The yield of the products decreases with the increasing length of DNA molecules in the library. We also proved that the initial number of DNA molecules in PCR mixture has no effect on the by-products formation. While the increase of the Taq DNA polymerase concentration in PCR mixture selectively increases the yield of PCR products. Our findings suggest that standard procedures of PCR amplification of homogeneous DNA samples cannot be transferred to PCR amplification of random DNA libraries: to ensure efficient SELEX, PCR has to be optimized for the amplification of random DNA libraries.     

Use of SPAM and FAM pulses in high-resolution MAS NMR spectroscopy of quadrupolar nuclei

The merits of SPAM and FAM pulses for enhancing the conversion of triple- to single-quantum coherences in the two-dimensional MQMAS experiment are compared using (87)Rb (spin I=3/2) and (27)Al (I=5/2) NMR of crystalline and amorphous materials. Although SPAM pulses are more easily optimized, our experiments and simulations suggest that FAM pulses yield greater signal intensity in all cases. In conclusion, we argue that, as originally suggested, SPAM and FAM pulses are best implemented in phase-modulated whole-echo MQMAS experiments and that the use of SPAM pulses to record separate echo and antiecho data sets, which are then combined, generally yields lower signal-to-noise ratios.     

New FRET primers for quantitative real-time PCR

FRET primer real-time PCR chemistry depends on internally labeled primers with FRET dyes linked to their 3′ end. The best distance between the FRET dyes for obtaining the largest signal and the lowest background is six nucleotides. In this study the forward primer was labeled with FAM and the reverse primer with Texas red; the labeled primers meet in cycle two of PCR. At the end of the elongation step FAM is excited to emit fluorescence which will excite Texas red to emit new fluorescence that correlates directly with the quantity of PCR product accumulated. FRET primer techniques amplify short amplicons with unique thermal cycling steps, 0 s at 85 °C for denaturation, 7 s for annealing, and 2 s for elongation. The FRET primer technique was very efficient (92.6, 97.2, and 100%), correlation coefficients were high (1.0, 0.999, and 0.999), and total run time was very short (20, 45, and 40 min per 40 cycles with LightCycler, iCycler, and RotorGene 3000, respectively). When FRET-labeled primers were compared with similar but unlabeled primers it was observed that the FRET primer technique had a lower Ct value and was more efficient than use of unlabeled primers detected by use of SYBR Green I. Figure Schematic diagram of FRET prime real-time PCR Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Electrochemical Detection of FAM134B Mutations in Oesophageal Cancer Based on DNA‐Gold Affinity Interactions

Inexpensive, simple and rapid DNA sensors capable of accurate and sensitive detection of cancer specific point mutations in DNA biomarkers are crucial for the routine screening of genetic mutations in cancer. Conventional approaches based on sequencing, mass spectroscopy, and fluorescence are highly effective, but they are tedious, slow and require labels and expensive equipment. Recent electrochemistry based approaches mostly rely on conventional DNA biosensing using recognition and transduction layers, and hence limited by the complicated steps of sensor fabrication associated with surface cleaning, self‐assembled monolayer formation, and target hybridization. Herein we report a relatively simple and inexpensive method for detecting point mutation in cancer by using the direct adsorption of purified DNA sequences onto an unmodified gold surface. The method relies on the base dependent affinity interaction of DNA with gold. Since the affinity interaction (adsorption) trend of DNA bases follows as adenine (A) > cytosine (C) > guanine (G)> thymine (T), two DNA sequences with different DNA base compositions (i. e., amplified mutated sequences will be distinctly different than its original sequence) will have different adsorption affinity towards gold. The amount of mutation sites on a DNA sequence is quantified by monitoring the electrochemical current as a function of the relative adsorption level of DNA samples onto a bare gold electrode. This method can successfully distinguish single point mutation in DNA from oesophageal cancer. We demonstrated the clinical utility of this approach by detecting different levels of mutations in tissue samples (n=9) taken from oesophageal cancer patients. Finally, the method was validated with High Resolution Melt (HRM) curve analysis and Sanger Sequencing.     

Measurement uncertainty and trade: an example from the petroleum industry

The petroleum industry is and always has been one of the major players in global trade. The price of products depends largely on their characteristics, defined by specifications. Consequently the testing of these specifications and the acceptance of the results by all partners is a crucial pre-requisite for global trade. In the field of petroleum products this issue has been dealt with for decades by using internationally accepted standard test methods, which also define the required accuracy and measurement uncertainty, or the precision. Therefore the petroleum industry may well serve as an example of how measurement uncertainties can be treated and what impact they have on global trade.Presented at the Metro Trade Workshop on Traceability and Measurement Uncertainty in Testing, 30–31 January 2003, Berlin, Germany