Nitrogenase Fe Protein: A Multi-Tasking Player in Substrate Reduction and Metallocluster Assembly

The Fe protein of nitrogenase plays multiple roles in substrate reduction and metallocluster assembly. Best known for its function to transfer electrons to its catalytic partner during nitrogenase catalysis, the Fe protein is also a key player in the biosynthesis of the complex metalloclusters of nitrogenase. In addition, it can function as a reductase on its own and affect the ambient reduction of CO₂ or CO to hydrocarbons. This review will provide an overview of the properties and functions of the Fe protein, highlighting the relevance of this unique FeS enzyme to areas related to the catalysis, biosynthesis, and applications of the fascinating nitrogenase system.     

Blending to Make Nonhealable Polymers Healable: Nanophase Separation Observed by CP/MAS 13C NMR Analysis

Can commodity polymers are made to be healable just by blending with self-healable polymers? Here we report the first study on the fundamental aspect of this practically challenging issue. Poly(ether thiourea) (PTUEG₃; T_g=27 °C) reported in 2018 is extraordinary in that it is mechanically robust but can self-heal even at 12 °C. In contrast, poly(octamethylene thiourea) (PTUC₈; T_g=50 °C), an analogue of PTUEG₃, cannot heal below 92 °C. We found that their polymer blend self-healed in a temperature range above 32 °C even when its PTUEG₃ content was only 20 mol %. Unlike PTUEG₃ alone, this polymer blend, upon exposure to high humidity, barely plasticized, keeping its excellent mechanical properties due to the non-hygroscopic nature of the PTUC₈ component. CP/MAS ¹³C NMR analysis revealed that the polymer blend was nanophase-separated, which possibly accounts for why such a small amount of PTUEG₃ provided the polymer blend with humidity-tolerant self-healable properties.     

Determination of aranidipine and its active metabolite in human plasma by liquid chromatography/negative electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

A simple, sensitive and rapid high-performance liquid chromatography/negative electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the assay of aranidipine (AR) and its active metabolite (AR-M) in human plasma. Following a liquid-liquid extraction, the analytes were separated using an isocratic mobile phase on a reversed-phase column and analyzed by mass spectrometry in the multiple reaction monitoring mode using the respective [M-H]- ions, m/z 387.0 --> 164.0 for AR, m/z 389.1 --> 208.1 for AR-M and m/z 359.0 --> 121.8 for the internal standard. The assay exhibited a linear dynamic range of 0.02-10 ng x mL(-1) for AR and 0.2-100 ng x mL(-1) for AR-M in human plasma. The limits of quantitation were 0.02 ng x mL(-1) for AR and 0.2 ng x mL(-1) for AR-M. Acceptable precision and accuracy were obtained for concentrations over the standard curve range. A run time of 2.8 min for each sample exhibited its high-throughout analysis ability. The validated method can be applied to analyze human plasma samples for pharmacokinetic studies.     

室内空气污染及其检测方法

介绍室内空气污染的来源、污染成分对人体健康的危害，以及有关标准对某些污染物的限量值。介绍了CO、CO2、VOC、甲醛、NH3、O3的标准检测方法和现场检测方法及其原理。     

Coherent optical OFDM scheme with inter-carrier interference self-cancellation and common phase error compensation

Schemes integrating inter-carrier interference （ICI） self-cancellation and common phase error （CPE） com- pensation for coherent optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing （CO-OFDM） systems are investi- gated. The purpose of our research is to counteract the impacts of laser phase noise and fiber nonlinearity. We propose two ICI self-cancellation-based CO-OFDM schemes, and adopt a pilot-aided decision feedback （DFB） loop for CPE compensation. The proposed schemes are compared with conventional CO-OFDM schemes at the same spectral efficiency. Simulations show that our schemes can not only enhance laser linewidth tolerance of the CO-OFDM system, but also present strong robustness against fiber nonlinearity.     

Extremal properties of t-SEEDs and recursive constructions

A t-spontaneous emission error design, called t-SEED for short, is a combinatorial design introduced by Beth et al. (Des Codes Cryptogr 29:51–70, 2003) in relation to a quantum jump code. In this article, firstly, it is shown that an optimal t-SEED attaining a given upper bound is a large set of Steiner t-designs. Secondly, we present some recursive constructions of t-SEEDs. Moreover, an application to secret sharing scheme by utilizing the properties of a t-SEED is also discussed.     

Three-dimensional optical logic devices using spatial multiwaveguide system

Based on the weakly coupled-mode theory, the coupled-mode equations of the spatial multiwaveguide system are presented in general. The intensity distribution in each waveguide is determined by numerical method. Optical logic devices based on spatial multiwaveguide system are proposed. The analysis results show that the spatial multiwaveguide system permits different Boolean logic states obtained by phase modulation.. Applications of the logic devices include optical calculation, optical interconnection, and spatial optical signal processing.     

Nanomolar fluorescent detection of c-di-GMP using a modular aptamer strategy

C-di-GMP regulates important processes involved in biofilm formation and virulence factors production in several bacteria. Herein we report a simple fluorescent strategy that allows for the detection of c-di-GMP (as low as 320 nM) using a Vc2 class I riboswitch domain as the sensing region and spinach as the fluorescent reporting module.     

多模干涉耦合器一般成像位置分析

自映像效应是多模波导的一个重要特性,利用多模波导自映像效应制成的多模干涉耦合器被广泛地应用于集成光学回路中。然而根据以往的文献要得出多模干涉耦合器的成像位置要经过一系列复杂的计算。根据多模干涉耦合器的自映像原理,对多模干涉耦合器的成像位置进行分析。成像位置与输入场位置和位置数密切相关,给出了成像位置的解析表达式,得出奇数、偶数的位置数的成像位置分别对应相同,并且奇、偶数的位置数所对应的成像位置之和为多模波导宽度的成像规律。用导模传输分析法验证了表达式和成像规律的正确性。根据成像位置的表达式和成像规律可以直接得出任意输入场位置和位置数所对应的成像位置。为一维和二维限制的多模干涉耦合器的设计提供了理论基础。