A DNA crystal designed to contain two molecules per asymmetric unit

We describe the self-assembly of a DNA crystal that contains two tensegrity triangle molecules per asymmetric unit. We have used X-ray crystallography to determine its crystal structure. In addition, we have demonstrated control over the colors of the crystals by attaching either Cy3 dye (pink) or Cy5 dye (blue-green) to the components of the crystal, yielding crystals of corresponding colors. Attaching the pair of dyes to the pair of molecules yields a purple crystal.     

Morphine-induced conditioned place preference in mice: Metabolomic profiling of brain tissue to find “molecular switch” of drug abuse by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

Conditioned place preference (CPP) is a widely used model to explore the mechanism of context-dependent learning. In this work, we developed a GC–MS method to investigate the metabolites in mice brain which was used to study the mechanism of context-dependent learning associated with rewarding effect of morphine. Metabolites were extracted from brain tissues and derivatized followed by analysis by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC–MS). In total, 69 peaks were identified as known compounds. By a Wilcoxon ran sum test with p value ≤0.05, 21 metabolites were selected and considered as the potential biomarkers of morphine in mice brain. Using principal component analysis (PCA) and receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curves, a model was constructed with a combination of these 21 metabolic markers. Multivariate statistics of the model yielded separation between the two groups with an area under the curve value of 0.947. Some metabolites were further discussed in detail about their pathway. Results showed that our technique can be successfully applied to profile for biomarkers and in understanding molecular mechanisms of drug abuse.     

TRIM45 causes neuronal damage by aggravating microglia-mediated neuroinflammation upon cerebral ischemia and reperfusion injury

Excessive and unresolved neuroinflammation is a key component of the pathological cascade in brain injuries such as ischemic stroke. Tripartite motif-containing 45 (TRIM45) is a ubiquitin E3 ligase involved in various critical biological processes. However, the role of TRIM45 in cerebral ischemia remains unknown. Here, we found that the TRIM45 protein was highly expressed in the peri-infarct areas of mice subjected to cerebral ischemia and reperfusion injury induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion. This study systemically evaluated the putative role of TRIM45 in the regulation of neuroinflammation during ischemic injury and the potential underlying mechanisms. We found that TRIM45 knockdown significantly decreased proinflammatory cytokine and chemokine production in primary cultured microglia challenged with oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD/R) treatment. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that TRIM45 constitutively interacted with TAB2 and consequently facilitated the Lys-63-linked polyubiquitination of TAB2, leading to the formation of the TAB1–TAK1–TAB2 complex and activation of TAK1, which was ultimately followed by activation of the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway. In an in vitro coculture Transwell system, downregulation of TRIM45 expression also inhibited the OGD/R-induced activation of microglia and alleviated neuronal apoptosis. More importantly, microglia-specific knockdown of TRIM45 in mice significantly reduced the infarct size, mitigated neurological deficit scores, and improved cognitive function after ischemic stroke. Taken together, our study reveals that the TRIM45–TAB2 axis is a crucial checkpoint that controls NF-κB signaling in microglia during cerebral ischemia and reperfusion injury. Therefore, targeting TRIM45 may be an attractive therapeutic strategy.Subject terms: Cell death in the nervous system, Stroke     

Bi-2223/Ag异质结的光生电压效应研究

在50 ～ 340 K不同温度下,利用紫色激光(λ=405 nm)对银/铋锶钙铜氧2223异质结界面进行辐照,观测到明显的光生电压效应,发现光生电压的极性分别在超导转变温度TC与320 K附近发生了反转,排除了激光产生的热电势是产生光生电压的原因,分析表明银/铋锶钙铜氧2223异质结界面处存在内建电场:光生电压由异质结界面处的内建电场分离光生电子-空穴对产生的.超导转变温度TC之下以及320 K以上,内建电场方向从超导体指向金属电极;超导转变温度TC与反向温度320 K之间,内建电场从金属指向超导体.     

一类特殊分块矩阵为循环矩阵的循环分块矩阵的几个性质

本文给出一类特殊分块矩阵为循环矩阵的循环分块矩阵的几个性质。     

Nonnormality and stochastic differential equations

A highly nonnormal Jacobian may give rise to large transients. This behaviour has been shown to have implications for (a) the relevance of linearising a nonlinear system and (b) the timestep restrictions required to keep a numerical method stable. Here, we show that nonnormality also manifests itself for stochastic differential equations. We give an example of a family of systems that is stable without noise, but can be made exponentially unstable in mean-square by a noise perturbation that shrinks to zero as the nonnormality increases. We then show via finite-time convergence theory that an Euler approximation shares the same property, giving a discrete analogue of the result. In memory of Germund Dahlquist (1925–2005).AMS subject classification (2000) 65C30, 34F05     

用光波导光模光谱技术研究DNA-DNA结合蛋白相互作用

探讨了应用光波导光模光谱(Optical waveguide lightmode spectroscopy,OWLS)技术研究DNA-DNA结合蛋白相互作用的可行性和灵敏性。以固定在传感器芯片表面的DNA探针为捕捉分子,溶液中同时含有探针结合序列和NF—κB结合位点序列的寡核苷酸与NF-κB亚单位p50同源二聚体形成的DNA-蛋白质复合物为检测分子,用光波导光模光谱检测技术建立非标记DNA-DNA结合蛋白相互作用检测研究体系。利用这一体系对不同样品中NF-κB p50浓度和具不同NF-κB结合位点序列的寡核苷酸与NF-κB p50亲合和力进行检测。样品中低至0．33 nmol/1的NF-κB p50被光波导光模光谱检测出,不同的NF-κB结合序列与NF-κB p50亲合力有显著的差异。研究发现,光波导光模光谱技术可以用于DNA-DNA结合蛋白相互作用研究,所建立的非标记检测研究体系可以进行样品中结合蛋白含量高灵敏检测和核酸序列与结合蛋白的亲合力的检测研究。     

光纤型宽带可调连续波差频产生中红外激光器

报道一种新型光纤化宽带可调连续波中红外激光器系统,该激光系统采用准相位匹配(QPM)的差频产生(DFG)技术,非线性晶体为多周期的周期性极化掺镁铌酸锂晶体(PPMgLN),掺镱光纤激光器(YDFL)用作抽运光源,可调激光器经掺铒光纤放大器(EDFA)功率提升后作为信号光源。利用建立的准相位匹配-差频产生系统,获得了连续波中红外差频光输出;实验发现,温度导致相位失谐的半峰全宽(FWHM)为4.5℃;通过优化选择晶体周期,并结合调节信号光波长和控制温度,该准相位匹配-差频产生系统可在3.1~3.6μm内连续调谐。     

求解参数识别反问题的同伦正则化方法

提出了求解参数识别反问题的同伦正则化方法,给出了相应的收敛性定理.数值结果表明该方法是一种快速的大范围收敛方法.