Template‐Directed Copying of RNA by Non‐enzymatic Ligation

The non‐enzymatic replication of the primordial genetic material is thought to have enabled the evolution of early forms of RNA‐based life. However, the replication of oligonucleotides long enough to encode catalytic functions is problematic due to the low efficiency of template copying with mononucleotides. We show that template‐directed ligation can assemble long RNAs from shorter oligonucleotides, which would be easier to replicate. The rate of ligation can be greatly enhanced by employing a 3′‐amino group at the 3′‐end of each oligonucleotide, in combination with an N‐alkyl imidazole organocatalyst. These modifications enable the copying of RNA templates by the multistep ligation of tetranucleotide building blocks, as well as the assembly of long oligonucleotides using short splint oligonucleotides. We also demonstrate the formation of long oligonucleotides inside model prebiotic vesicles, which suggests a potential route to the assembly of artificial cells capable of evolution.     

Enzyme-free and DNA-based universal platform for the construction of various logic devices based on graphene oxide and G-quadruplex

In the fields of biocomputing and biomolecular, DNA molecules are applicable to be regarded as data of logical computing platform that uses elaborate logic gates to perform a variety of tasks. Graphene oxide (GO) is a type of novel nanomaterial, which brings new research focus to materials science and biosensors due to its special selectivity and excellent quenching ability. G-quadruplex as a unique DNA structure stimulates the intelligent application of DNA assembly on the strength of its exceptional binding activity. In this paper, we report a universal logic device assisted with GO and G-quadruplex under an enzyme-free condition. Integrated with the quenching ability of GO to the TAMRA (fluorophore, Carboxytetramethylrhodamine) and the enhancement of fluorescence intensity produced by the peculiar binding of G-quadruplex to the NMM (N-methylmesoporphyrin IX), a series of basic binary logic gates (AND. OR. INHIBIT. XOR) have been designed and verified through biological experiments. Given the modularity and programmability of this strategy, two advanced logic gates (half adder and half subtractor) were realized on the basis of the same work platform. The fluorescence signals generated from different input combinations possessed satisfactory results, which provided proof of feasibility. We believe that the proposed universal logical platform that operates at the nanoscale is expected to be utilized for future applications in molecular computing as well as disease diagnosis.     

少子寿命和表面形貌与多孔硅发光性能的关系

研究了不同时间腐蚀的多孔硅的光致发光性能与多孔硅的表面形貌和少子寿命之间的关系。结果表明,多孔硅的发光来自与氧空位有关的缺陷,而多孔硅表面的氢原子能够钝化多孔硅表面的非辐射中心从而提高多孔硅的发光效率。多孔硅的空隙度随腐蚀时间的延长而增大,这也导致了多孔硅的少子寿命的降低,从而造成多孔硅的光致发光效率随多孔硅空隙度的增大以及少子寿命的降低而提高。另外,原子力显微照片表明长时间的腐蚀使多孔硅表面层被化学腐蚀,从而降低了多孔硅表面的粗糙度。     

The Cradle-to-Cradle Life Cycle Assessment of Polyethylene terephthalate: Environmental Perspective

Over the last several years, the number of concepts and technologies enabling the production of environmentally friendly products (including materials, consumables, and services) has expanded. One of these ways is cradle-to-cradle (C2C) certified^TM. Life cycle assessment (LCA) technique is used to highlight the advantages of C2C and recycling as a method for reducing plastic pollution and fossil depletion by indicating the research limitations and gaps from an environmental perspective. Also, it estimates the resources requirements and focuses on sound products and processes. The C2C life cycle measurements for petroleum-based poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) bottles, with an emphasis on different end-of-life options for recycling, were taken for mainland China, in brief. It is considered that the product is manufactured through the extraction of crude oil into ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid. The CML analysis method was used in the LCIA for the selected midpoint impact categories. LCA of the product has shown a drastic aftermath in terms of environmental impacts and energy use. But the estimation of these consequences is always dependent on the system and boundary conditions that were evaluated throughout the study. The impacts that burden the environment are with the extraction of raw material, resin, and final product production. Minor influences occurred due to the waste recycling process. This suggests that waste degradation is the key process to reduce the environmental impacts of the production systems. Lowering a product’s environmental impact can be accomplished in a number of ways, including reducing the amount of materials used or choosing materials with a minimal environmental impact during manufacture processes.     

中国的百岁老人研究Ⅱ.百岁老人的死亡率、生存率和发展趋势

根据全国人口普查资料,用指数函数拟合法计算了中国百岁老人的死亡率和生存率,得出中国人口的最高自然寿限为120岁,并预测到2010年中国百岁老人绝对数将达4万多人,届时每百万人口中将有30位百岁老人,比2000年增加1倍以上。     

自旋因式化法推求同科电子组态原子光谱项

以同科电子i3组态光谱项推求为例,提出了用自旋因式化方法推求同科电子光谱项的一般方法.该法较为简单、适用,易于推广,可求出任一基态或激发态原子或离子光谱项.     

低频液体表面波激光衍射条纹的特征

用激光衍射法实现了低频液体表面波稳定、清晰、反衬度非常高的条纹,并发现了缺级现象.理论上分析了表面波的光衍射效应,得到了衍射光场和表面波之间的解析表达式,表达式包括衍射因子和干涉因子.通过对衍射因子和干涉因子的分析,得到衍射条纹空间分布与表面波波长的关系、条纹的半角宽度与入射激光光斑覆盖表面波的个数和入射方向的关系、衍射光强度与表面波振幅的关系,并解释了条纹缺级现象.     

水系钠离子电池的研究进展及实用化挑战

水系钠离子电池因其安全性高、成本低、环境友好等突出优势近些年来受到了广泛而深入的研究,在取得巨大进展的同时也逐步开始了产业化进程.但是与有机体系二次电池相比,水系钠离子电池仍然极大地受限于电解液较窄的电化学稳定窗口和电极材料较差的循环稳定性.迄今为止,如何解决上述问题依然是这一领域发展的关键.本综述主要概述了水系钠离子...     

化学计量学在生命科学研究中的应用

对近十年来化学计量学在生命科学领域相关研究中的应用进行了综述,主要对其在DNA、蛋白质及氨基酸这三大生命物质有关研究中的使用展开了评述和讨论,参考文献59篇。     

Are Words the Quanta of Human Language? Extending the Domain of Quantum Cognition

In previous research, we showed that ‘texts that tell a story’ exhibit a statistical structure that is not Maxwell–Boltzmann but Bose–Einstein. Our explanation is that this is due to the presence of ‘indistinguishability’ in human language as a result of the same words in different parts of the story being indistinguishable from one another, in much the same way that ’indistinguishability’ occurs in quantum mechanics, also there leading to the presence of Bose–Einstein rather than Maxwell–Boltzmann as a statistical structure. In the current article, we set out to provide an explanation for this Bose–Einstein statistics in human language. We show that it is the presence of ‘meaning’ in ‘texts that tell a story’ that gives rise to the lack of independence characteristic of Bose–Einstein, and provides conclusive evidence that ‘words can be considered the quanta of human language’, structurally similar to how ‘photons are the quanta of electromagnetic radiation’. Using several studies on entanglement from our Brussels research group, we also show, by introducing the von Neumann entropy for human language, that it is also the presence of ‘meaning’ in texts that makes the entropy of a total text smaller relative to the entropy of the words composing it. We explain how the new insights in this article fit in with the research domain called ‘quantum cognition’, where quantum probability models and quantum vector spaces are used in human cognition, and are also relevant to the use of quantum structures in information retrieval and natural language processing, and how they introduce ‘quantization’ and ‘Bose–Einstein statistics’ as relevant quantum effects there. Inspired by the conceptuality interpretation of quantum mechanics, and relying on the new insights, we put forward hypotheses about the nature of physical reality. In doing so, we note how this new type of decrease in entropy, and its explanation, may be important for the development of quantum thermodynamics. We likewise note how it can also give rise to an original explanatory picture of the nature of physical reality on the surface of planet Earth, in which human culture emerges as a reinforcing continuation of life.