Dynamic-light-scattering-based sequence-specific recognition of double-stranded DNA with oligonucleotide-functionalized gold nanoparticles

An ultrasensitive and simple dynamic-light-scattering (DLS) assay for the sequence-specific recognition of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) was developed based on detection of the average diameter change of Au nanoparticle (AuNP) probes modified with oligonucleotides 5'-TTTCTCTTCCTT- CTCTTC-(T)(12)-SH-3' (Oligo 1) and 5'-TTCTTTCTTTTCTTTTTC-(T)(12)- SH-3' (Oligo 2). The target dsDNA was composed of two complementary oligonucleotides: 5'-AAAGAGAAGGAAGAGAAGAAGAAAGAAAAGAAAAAG-3' (Oligo 3) and 3'-TTTCTCTTCCTTCTCTTCTTCTTTCTTTTCTTTTTC-5' (Oligo 4). Hybridization of the two AuNPs-Oligo probes with the target dsDNA induced aggregation of the target dsDNA by forming triplex DNA, which accordingly increased the average diameter. This diameter change could then be detected by DLS. The average diameter was proportional to the target dsDNA concentration over the range from 593 fM to 40 pM, with a detection limit of 593 fM. Moreover, the assay had good sequence specificity for the target dsDNA.     

Electromagnetic field produced in high-energy small collision systems within charge density models of nucleons

Recent experiments show that \begin{document}$ \Delta\gamma $\end{document}, an observable designed to detect the chiral magnetic effect (CME), in small collision systems (\begin{document}$ p+A $\end{document}) is similar to that in heavy ion collisions (\begin{document}$ A+A $\end{document}). This introduces a challenge to the existence of the CME because it is believed that no azimuthal correlation exists between the orientation of the magnetic field (\begin{document}$ \Phi_B $\end{document}) and participant plane (\begin{document}$ \Phi_2 $\end{document}) in small collision systems. In this work, we introduce three charge density models to describe the inner charge distributions of protons and neutrons and calculate the electric and magnetic fields produced in small \begin{document}$ p+A $\end{document} collisions at both RHIC and LHC energies. Our results show that the contribution of the single projectile proton is the main contributor to the magnetic field after averaging over all participants. The azimuthal correlation between \begin{document}$ \Phi_B $\end{document} and \begin{document}$ \Phi_2 $\end{document} is small but not vanished. Additionally, owing to the large fluctuation in field strength, the magnetic-field contribution to \begin{document}$ \Delta\gamma $\end{document} may be large.     

Probing top-quark operators with precision electroweak measurements

In the standard model effective field theory, operators involving the top quark are generally difficult to probe and can generate sizable loop contributions to electroweak precision observables measured by past and future lepton colliders. Could the high precision of electroweak measurements compensate for loop suppression and provide competitive reaches on these operators? Would the inclusion of these contributions introduce too many additional parameters for a meaningful global electroweak analysis to be performed? In this paper, we perform a detailed phenomenological study to address these two important questions. Focusing on eight dimension-6 operators that generate anomalous couplings between electroweak gauge bosons and third-generation quarks, we calculate their one loop contributions to \begin{document}$ e^+e^- \to f\bar{f} $\end{document} processes, both on and off the Z-pole, and the \begin{document}$ e^-e^+ \to WW $\end{document} process. A global analysis is performed with these eight operators and those that contribute to the above processes at tree level using measurements at the LEP, SLC, and several low energy experiments. We find that although current electroweak precision measurements are sensitive to the one-loop effects of top-quark operators, it is difficult to separate them from the operators that contribute at tree level, making a global analysis rather challenging. Under further assumptions (for instance, new physics contributes to only third generation quark operators and the S and T parameters), competitive reaches may be obtained in a global fit. Another important finding of our study is that the two operators that generate the dipole interactions of the bottom quark have a significant impact on the Z-pole measurements and should not be omitted. We also discuss the implications of the recently reported W-boson mass measurement at the CDF for our results. Finally, we estimate the reaches of future lepton colliders in probing top-quark operators with precision electroweak measurements.     

一种激光外差多普勒玻璃厚度测量方法

提出了一种应用激光外差测量技术结合激光多普勒技术的玻璃厚度测量方法.论述了该方法的理论依据,并结合实际应用介绍了外围硬件电路的设计方法,运用Matlab软件结合FFT技术进行了数值仿真实验,结果表明该方法在测量1~10 mm的平板玻璃时,误差小于1%.     

Theoretical Study on Destruction Mechanism of 2,3,7,8-TCDD by O3 and NO3

采用B3LYP/6-31G(d)方法优化获得O₃及NO₃降解2,3,7,8-TCDD反应通道上驻点的几何构型, 得到微观反应进程,并采用MP2/6-311G(d,p)//B3LYP/6-31G(d)方法计算得到相关反应的活化能. 研究表明,O₃和NO₃采用不同的方式对2,3,7,8-TCDD进行降解. O₃通过臭氧加成及碳碳双键断裂使2,3,7,8-TCDD降解,而NO₃通过氯取代反应使得2,3,7,8-TCDD上2,3,7,8取代位置上的氯原子被取代为氧原子,从而达到有效降解的目的. O₃降解2,3,7,8-TCDD的反应能垒显著小于NO₃降解2,3,7,8-TCDD的反应能垒,表明O₃降解2,3,7,8-TCDD的能力显著高于NO₃.     

Sensor resolution enhancement for remote imaging by synthesizing mask-based camera array images

In this paper, we propose an architecture based on camera array with masks to enhance the sensor resolution of remote imaging system. The sensor resolution is enhanced by multiplexing the sensor images of each camera, in which the angular resolution bandwidth is converted using masks to expand the spatial resolution bandwidth. The improvement of the sensor resolution depends on the number of cameras in the array. The theory of improving the sensor resolution is discussed both in Fourier domain and spatial domain. We verify resolution enhancement of the architecture by ray-tracing imaging simulation. A simulation model is built to verify the resolution-enhancing ability of the camera array architecture. From each camera in the array, we get a resolution-limited image. The reconstructed image is synthesized from all the images of the cameras. The post-synthesized image has finer information details compared with the images of each camera. The resolution improvement varies with the object distance. The optimal resolution improvement of the reconstructed image is equal to the total sensor pixels of the camera array.     

极限下限分析的正交基无单元Galerkin法

基于极限分析的下限定理,建立了用正交基无单元Galerkin法进行理想弹塑性结构极 限分析的整套求解算法．下限分析所需的虚拟弹性应力场可由正交基无单元Galerkin法直接 得到,所需的自平衡应力场由一组带有待定系数的自平衡应力场基矢量的线性组合进行模 拟．这些自平衡应力场基矢量可由弹塑性增量分析中的平衡迭代得到．通过对自平衡应力场 子空间的不断修正,整个问题的求解将化为一系列非线性数学规划子问题,并通过复合形法 进行求解．算例表明该方法有效地克服了维数障碍问题,使计算效率得到了充分的提高,是 切实可行的．     

Reply to Correspondence on “Structural Insight into the Catalytic Mechanism of the Endoperoxide Synthase FtmOx1′′

The high-resolution X-ray crystal structure of the ternary complex FtmOx1 ⋅ 2OG ⋅ fumitremorgin B and the catalytic mechanism were recently reported by us (DOI 10.1002/anie.202112063 ). In their Correspondence, Zhang, Costello, Liu et al. criticize our work in several aspects. Herein, we address these questions one by one. These structural clarifications and new computational results further support the CarC-like mechanistic model.     

Pressure-induced metallization in the absence of a structural transition in the layered transition-metal dichalcogenide ZrSe2

First-principles calculations were carried out on the ZrSe₂ compound, which has been of interest owing to its technologically important physical properties. The structural, electronic and optical properties of this compound were investigated under pressure through the plane wave pseudopotential approach within the framework of density functional theory. A comparison between the computed crystal structure parameters and the corresponding experimental counterparts shows a very good agreement between them. Fitting the pressure–volume data using the third-order Birch–Murnaghan equation of state yielded a bulk modulus B₀ = 38.17 GPa and a pressure derivative of bulk modulus  = 8.2 for hexagonal ZrSe₂. The relationship between the band structure and pressure is revealed. We calculated the total density of state (TDOS) under different pressures and partial density of state (PDOS) from 0 to 10 GPa. According to our calculations, metallization of hexagonal ZrSe₂ is predicted to occur at around 10 GPa and pressure-induced band-gap engineering reveals the transformation of the indirect to direct band gap with increasing pressure. Furthermore, optical properties, such as the complex dielectric function, refractive index and reflectivity spectra of this compound, were studied for incident electromagnetic waves in an energy range up to 45 eV. The contributions to various transition peaks in the optical spectra are analyzed and discussed with the help of the energy-dependent imaginary part of the dielectric function.