量子点成像的新研究进展

量子点(又称纳米荧光颗粒)在生物学研究中特别是在生物医学成像方面的应用,已引起广泛关注。通过荧光成像可观察量子点标记分子与其靶标的相互作用,实时观测其在活细胞及活体中的运行轨迹,实现对细胞水平及在体层次的研究。本文综述了近两年量子点在光学成像中应用的新进展,展望了其应用前景。     

Poly(styrene-co-p-(hexafluoro-2-hydroxy-2-propyl)-styrene) blends with syndiotactic and/or isotactic poly(methyl methacrylate)

A modified polystyrene, poly(styrene-co-p-(hexafluoro-2-hydroxy-2-propyl)styrene) (FPS), was blended with syndiotactic and/or isotactic poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) in toluene. Blends were prepared under different conditions to control the self-aggregation of the PMMA segments. The formation of hydrogen bonding and the attendant changes in the aggregation or crystallization of PMMA segments were determined in the solid state by means of FTIR and DSC. The results indicate that for the binary blends, the aggregation of PMMA segments is diminished by hydrogen bonding interaction with either s-PMMA or i-PMMA, and that the interaction is stronger with the s-PMMA blends. For the ternary blends, FPS/s-PMMA/i-PMMA, the preference for stereocomplexation in the system with hydrogen bonding may be attributed to the “kink-nucleated” mechanism, which needs relatively short chain lengths of PMMA segments. Regardless of the order of addition of the components, the formation of crystalline stereocomplexes of s- and i-PMMA could be readily detected. Therefore, the miscibility of the polymer blends is dependent on the competition between the self-aggregation of the s- or i-PMMA segments, stereocomplexation and the hydrogen bonding interaction of PMMA segments with FPS.     

CONTINUUM TOPOLOGY OPTIMIZATION FOR MONOLITHIC COMPLIANT MECHANISMS OF MICRO-ACTUATORS

A multi-objective scheme for structural topology optimization of distributed compliant mechanisms of micro-actuators in MEMS condition is presented in this work, in which mechanical flexibility and structural stiffness are both considered as objective functions. The compliant micro-mechanism developed in this way can not only provide sufficient output work but also have sufficient rigidity to resist reaction forces and maintain its shape when holding the work-piece. A density filtering approach is also proposed to eliminate numerical instabilities such as checkerboards, mesh-dependency and one-node connected hinges occurring in resulting mechanisms. SIMP is used as the interpolation scheme to indicate the dependence of material modulus on element-regularized densities. The sequential convex programming method, such as the method of moving asymptotes (MMA), is used to solve the optimization problem. The validation of the presented methodologies is demonstrated by a typical numerical example.     

平面波超声成像中的波束合成方法研究进展

平面波成像通过单次全孔径发射-接收即可获取整幅图像,将成像帧频显著地提升至1000帧/秒以上.然而,平面波成像过程中发射的非聚焦波束将导致回波信号信噪比降低,进而使图像的分辨率和对比度变差.通过多角度相干复合成像技术可以改善平面波成像的图像质量,但是会以牺牲帧频为代价.因此研究人员们开始将新型波束合成技术引入平面波成像...     

近红外荧光探针检测金属离子、小分子和生物大分子

荧光探针技术是近年来发展迅速的一种荧光分析方法,具有灵敏度高、选择性好、操作简便和响应迅速等特点,受到环境及生命科学领域的青睐.随着荧光探针技术的发展,近红外一区荧光探针由于具有发射波长长(600～ 900 nm)、对细胞损伤小、组织穿透性强和自发荧光背景低等优点,被广泛应用于细胞、组织等复杂生物体系中生物分子的检测、...     

一维光子晶体缺陷模激光器的放大特性

光子晶体中引入缺陷后将形成缺陷模,这些缺陷模在增益介质中将被放大形成激光。基于麦克斯韦方程和速率方程相结合的模型,用时域有限差分法(FDTD)计算和分析了一维单缺陷光子晶体激光器中缺陷模的空间分布和频谱特性,以及这些缺陷模的放大特性,主要研究了缺陷层的厚度、晶体层数对缺陷模放大特性的影响。模拟结果显示,类似于传统激光腔的腔模,这些缺陷模能够被放大,形成激光。调整缺陷层的厚度、晶体层数等结构参量,将改变缺陷模的谐振,激射频率以及空间分布,这将直接影响激射阈值和饱和特性。增加晶体的层数,激光器的阈值将降低,饱和值将增加,但晶体层数增加到一定限度时,这种增减趋势变弱。模拟结果证明了有效层数的存在。     

Development of Optogenetic Dual-Switch System for Rewiring Metabolic Flux for Polyhydroxybutyrate Production

Several strategies, including inducer addition and biosensor use, have been developed for dynamical regulation. However, the toxicity, cost, and inflexibility of existing strategies have created a demand for superior technology. In this study, we designed an optogenetic dual-switch system and applied it to increase polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) production. First, an optimized chromatic acclimation sensor/regulator (RBS10–CcaS#10–CcaR) system (comprising an optimized ribosomal binding site (RBS), light sensory protein CcaS, and response regulator CcaR) was selected for a wide sensing range of approximately 10-fold between green-light activation and red-light repression. The RBS10–CcaS#10–CcaR system was combined with a blue light-activated YF1–FixJ–PhlF system (containing histidine kinase YF1, response regulator FixJ, and repressor PhlF) engineered with reduced crosstalk. Finally, the optogenetic dual-switch system was used to rewire the metabolic flux for PHB production by regulating the sequences and intervals of the citrate synthase gene (gltA) and PHB synthesis gene (phbCAB) expression. Consequently, the strain RBS34, which has high gltA expression and a time lag of 3 h, achieved the highest PHB content of 16.6 wt%, which was approximately 3-fold that of F34 (expressed at 0 h). The results indicate that the optogenetic dual-switch system was verified as a practical and convenient tool for increasing PHB production.     

Characterisation of Flavour Attributes in Egg White Protein Using HS-GC-IMS Combined with E-Nose and E-Tongue: Effect of High-Voltage Cold Plasma Treatment Time

Egg white protein (EWP) is susceptible to denaturation and coagulation when exposed to high temperatures, adversely affecting its flavour, thereby influencing consumers’ decisions. Here, we employ high-voltage cold plasma (HVCP) as a novel nonthermal technique to investigate its influence on the EWP’s flavour attributes using E-nose, E-tongue, and headspace gas-chromatography-ion-mobilisation spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) due to their rapidness and high sensitivity in identifying flavour fingerprints in foods. The EWP was investigated at 0, 60, 120, 180, 240, and 300 s of HVCP treatment time. The results revealed that HVCP significantly influences the odour and taste attributes of the EWP across all treatments, with a more significant influence at 60 and 120 s of HVCP treatment. Principal component analyses of the E-nose and E-tongue clearly distinguish the odour and taste sensors’ responses. The HS-GC-IMS analysis identified 65 volatile compounds across the treatments. The volatile compounds’ concentrations increased as the HVCP treatment time was increased from 0 to 300 s. The significant compounds contributing to EWP characterisation include heptanal, ethylbenzene, ethanol, acetic acid, nonanal, heptacosane, 5-octadecanal, decanal, p-xylene, and octanal. Thus, this study shows that HVCP could be utilised to modify and improve the EWP flavour attributes.     

Dimerization of Acetylene to Monovinylacetylene (MVA) by Bimetallic Zr/Cu Catalyst in Nieuwland Catalytic System

Nieuwland catalyst is a key step in the dimerization of acetylene. Various zirconium metal additives incorporating Nieuwland catalysts were prepared, and their catalytic performances were assessed in acetylene dimerization. Different characterization techniques (i.e., thermogravimetric analysis, temperature-programmed reduction, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, hydrogen ion concentration measurement and transmission electron microscopy) were employed in this study. The best catalytic performance was obtained over zirconium-acetylacetonate-incorporated Nieuwland catalysts, with an acetylene conversion of 53.3% and a monovinylacetylene selectivity of 87.4%. Based on these results, the zirconium acetylacetonate additive could reduce the types of transition state complexes, and it could also change the morphology of the catalyst. In addition, the additives could significantly inhibit the occurrence of trimerization products and polymers. Hence, the conversion of acetylene, monovinylacetylene selectivity, and stability of the Nieuwland catalysts were enhanced.