Deletion of yeast CWP genes enhances cell permeability to genotoxic agents

We have previously reported the development of a novel genotoxic testing system based on the transcriptional response of the yeast RNR3-lacZ reporter gene to DNA damage. This system appears to be more sensitive than other similar tests in microorganisms, and is comparable with the Ames test. In an effort to further enhance detection sensitivity, we examined the effects of altering major cell wall components on cell permeability and subsequent RNR3-lacZ sensitivity to genotoxic agents. Although inactivation of single CWP genes encoding cell wall mannoproteins had little effect, the simultaneous inactivation of both CWP1 and CWP2 had profound effects on the cell wall structure and permeability. Consequently, the RNR3-lacZ detection sensitivity is markedly enhanced, especially to high molecular weight compounds such as 4-nitroquinoline-N-oxide (> sevenfold) and phleomycin (> 13-fold). In contrast, deletion of genes encoding representative membrane components or membrane transporters had minor effects on cell permeability. We conclude that the yeast cell wall mannoproteins constitute the major barrier to environmental genotoxic agents and that their removal will significantly enhance the sensitivity of RNR-lacZ as well as other yeast-based genotoxic tests.

Bifunctional enzyme FBPase/SBPase is essential for photoautotrophic growth in cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp PCC 6803

From a random insertion mutant library of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, a mutant defective in photoautotrophic growth was obtained. The interrupted gene was identified to be slr2094 (rbpl), which encodes the fructose-1,6-biphosphatase (FBPase)/sedoheptulose-1,7-biphosphatase (SBPase) bifunctional enzyme (F-I). Two other independently constructed slr2094 mutants showed an identical phenotype. The FBPase activity was found to be virtually lacking in an slr2094 mutant, which was sensitive to light under mixotrophic growth conditions. These results indicate that slr2094 is the only active FBPase-encoding gene in this cyanobacterium. Inactivation of photosystem II by interrupting psbB in slr2094 mutant alleviated the sensitiveness to light. This report provides the direct genetic evidence for the essential role of F-I in the photosynthesis of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. (c) 2007 National Natural Science Foundation of China and Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier Limited and Science in China Press. All rights reserved.

Optimization by orthogonal array design and humoral immunity of the bivalent vaccine against Aeromonas hydrophila and Vibrio fluvialis infection in crucian carp (Carassius auratus L.)

Aeromonas hydrophila and Vibrio fluvialis are the causative agents of a serious haemorrhagic septicaemia that affects a wide range of freshwater fish in China. In order to develop a bivalent anti-A. hydrophila and anti-V. fluvialis formalin-killed vaccine to prevent this disease, an orthogonal array design (OAD) method was used to optimize the production conditions, using three factors, each having three levels. The effects of these factors and levels on the relative per cent survival for crucian carp were quantitatively evaluated by analysis of variance. The final optimized formulation was established. The data showed that inactivation temperature had a significant effect on the potency of vaccine, but formalin concentration did not. The bivalent vaccine could elicit a strong humoral response in crucian carp (Carassius auratus L.) against both A. hydrophila and V. fluvialis simultaneously, which peaked at 3 or 5 weeks respectively. Antibody titres remained high until week 12, the end of the experiment, after a single intraperitoneal injection. The verification experiment confirmed that an optimized preparation could provide protection for fish at least against A. hydrophila infection, and did perform better than the non-optimized vaccine judged by the antibody levels and protection rate, suggesting that OAD is of value in the development of improved vaccine formulations.

alr0117, a two-component histidine kinase gene, is involved in heterocyst development in Anabaena sp PCC 7120

Anabaena sp. PCC; 7120 was mutagenized by transposon Tn5-1087b, generating a mutant whose heterocysts lack the envelope polysaccharide layer. The transposon was located between nucleotides 342 and 343 of alr0117, a 918 bp gene encoding a histidine kinase for a two-component regulatory system. Complementation of the mutant with a DNA fragment containing alr0117 and targeted inactivation of the gene confirmed that alr0117 is involved in heterocyst development. RT-PCR showed that alr0117 was constitutively expressed in the presence or absence of a combined-nitrogen source. hepA and patB, the two genes turned on during wild-type heterocyst development, were no longer activated in an alr0117-null mutant. The two-component signal transduction system involving alr0117 may control the formation of the envelope polysaccharide layer and certain late events essential to the function of heterocysts.

Nuclear transfer in leach (Paramisgurnus dabryanus Sauvage) by cell-to-cell electrofusion

To study nuclear transfer in the leach (Paramisgurnus dabryanus Sauvage), blastula and gastrula cells were fused with UV-inactivated oocytes by cell-to-cell electrofusion. To facilitate nuclear transfer, blastula and gastrula cells were cultured or incubated at 4 degreesC in different solutions. TC-199 medium supplemented with 20% calf serum was the best culture solution, and effectively retained the totipotence of blastula or gastrula cells for up to 10 days, It was found that gastrula cells incubated at 4 degreesC had the same totipotence as blastula cells, The optimal UV dosage for inactivation of the oocyte chromatin was 180-240 mJ cm(-2). Electrofusion was carried out in a cone-shaped fusion chamber, which permitted the recipient oocyte and the donor blastula cell to contact one another. The electrofusion procedure resulted in a 10% success rate of normal-appearing fish. Genetic analysis indicated that the nuclear material originated from the donor cell (blastomere) and the oocyte pronucleus did not take part in development.

Compact four-channel reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer using silicon photonic wire

We designed and fabricated a four-channel reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer based on silicon photonic wire waveguide, which is controlled through the thermo-optic effect. The effective footprint of the device is about 1000 x 500 mu m(2). The minimum insertion loss including the transmission loss and coupling loss is about 10.7 dB. The tuning bandwidth is about 17 nm, the average tuning efficiency about 6.11 mW/nm and the tuning speed about 24.5 kHz. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Four-channel reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer based on photonic wire waveguide

We designed and fabricated a four-channel reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer based on silicon photonic wire waveguide controlled through thermo-optic effect. The effective footprint of the device is about 1000 x 500 mu m(2). The minimum insertion loss is about 10.7 dB and the tuning bandwidth about 17 nm. The average tuning power efficiency is about 6.187 mW/nm and the tuning speed about 24.4 kHz. The thermo-optic polarization-rotation effect is firstly reported in this paper. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America

Fabrication of a 4x4 strictly nonblocking SOI switch matrix

A 4 x 4 strictly nonblocking thermo-optical switch matrix based on Mach-Zehnder (MZ) switching unit was designed and fabricated in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer. The paired multi-mode interferometers (MMI) were used as power splitters and combiners in MZ structures. The device presents an average insertion loss of 17 dB and an average crosstalk of 16.5 dB. The power consumption needed for operation is reduced to 0.288 W by adding isolating trenches. The switching time of the device is about 15 mu s, which is much faster than that of silica-based switches. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Silicon-on-insulator-based waveguide switch with fast response

Based on thermo-optical effect of silicon, a 2 x 2 switch is fabricated in silicon-on-insulator by chemical etching. The switch presents an extinction ratio of 26 dB and a power consumption of 169 mW. The response time F similar to 10.5 mus.

Influence of the cavity on the low-temperature photoluminescence of SiGe/Si multiquantum wells grown on a silicon-on-insulator substrate

The influences of the cavity on the low-temperature photoluminescence of Si0.59Ge0.41/Si multiquantum wells grown on silicon-on-insulator substrates are discussed. The positions of the modulated photoluminescence (PL) peaks not only relate to the nature of SiGe/Si multiquantum wells, but also relate to the characteristic of the cavity. With increasing temperature, a redshift of the modulated PL peak originating from the thermo-optical effect of the cavity is observed.

Thermodynamics and kinetics analysis of in-situ synthesizing AlN

AIN powders were prepared by in-situ synthesis technique. It is a reaction of binary molten Al-Mg alloys with highly pure nitrogen. It was confirmed through thermodynamics calculation that Mg element in Al-Mg alloys can decrease oxygen content in the reacting system. Thus, nitridation reaction can be performed to form AIN. Moreover, an analysis of kinetics shows that the nitridation reaction of Al-Mg alloys can be accelerated and transferred rapidly with the increment of Mg content.

Stimulated luminescence and photo-gated hole burning in BaFCl0.8Br0.2 : Sm2+,Sm3+ phosphors

The photo- and thermo-stimulated luminescence (PSL and TSL) of BaFCl0.8Br0.2:Sm2+,Sm3+ phosphors were investigated. It is found that the stimulated luminescence intensity of Sm2+ is almost equal to that of Sm3+ even if the content of Sm2+ is much lower than that of Sm3+. Only the stimulated luminescence of Sm2+ is observed in the sample in which the content of Sm2+ is much higher than Sm3+, demonstrating that the PSL or TSL efficiency of Sm2+ is much higher than that of Sm3+. This is attributed to the effective overlap of the e-h emission with the absorption of Sm2+ centers which may make the energy transfer from the electron-hole pairs to Sm2+ effectively. In BaFCl0.8Br0.2:Sm2+,Sm3+ the stimulated luminescence is considered to be occurred via the recombination of photoreleased electrons with the [Sm2+ + h] or [Sm3+ + h] complex and the energy transfer from the electron-hole pairs to the luminescence centers (Sm2+ and Sm3+) is concerned to be the major step to determine the stimulated luminescence efficiency. The X-ray-induced stimulated luminescence is compared and connected to the photon gated hole burning. The net result of the two processes is quite similar and may be comparable. It is suggested from the observations of stimulated luminescence that electron migration between Sm2+ and Sm3+ is not the major process, color centers may play an important role in hole burning. The information from stimulated luminescence is helpful for the understanding of the hole burning mechanism. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Uncooled Submarine Pump Laser Module at 980 nm

We present a new generation 980 nm submarine pump module that consists of a hermitically sealed 8-pin ceramic MiniDIL package without thermo-electric cooler.

Recent progresses of SOI-based photonic devices - art. no. 60201R

SOI (Silicon on Insulator) based photonic devices, including stimulated emission from Si diode, RCE (Resonant Cavity Enhanced) photodiode with quantum structure, MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) optical modulator with high frequency, SOI optical matrix switch and wavelength tunable filter are reviewed in the paper. The emphasis will be played on our recent results of SOI-based thermo-optic waveguide matrix switch with low insertion loss and fast response. A folding re-arrangeable non-blocking 4x4 matrix switch with total internal reflection (TIR) mirrors and a first blocking 16 x 16 matrix were fabricated on SOI wafer. The extinction ratio and the crosstalk are better. The insertion loss and the polarization dependent loss (PDL) at 1.55 mu m increase slightly with longer device length and more bend and intersecting waveguides. The insertion losses are expected to decrease 2-3 dB when anti-reflection films are added in the ends of the devices. The rise and fall times of the devices are 2.1 mu s and 2.3 mu s, respectively.

Novel compact SOI-based reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer using microring resonators - art. no. 60190L

Novel compact design for 4-channel SOI-based reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer using microring resonators is presented and analyzed. Microring resonators have two important attributes as a key new technology for future optical communications, namely functionality and compactness. Functionality refers to the fact that a wide range of desirable filter characteristics can be synthesized by coupling multiple rings. Compactness refers the fact that ring resonators with radii about 30 mu m can lead to large scale integration of devices with densities on the order of 10(4) similar to 10(5) devices per square centimeter. A 4-channel reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer comprises a grid-like array of ridge waveguides which perpendicularly cross through each other. SOI-based resonators consisted of multiple rings at each of the cross-grid nodes serve as the wavelength selective switch, and they can switch an optical signal between two ports by means of tuning refractive index of one of the rings. The thermo-optic coefficient of silicon is 1.86x 10(-4) /K. Thus a temperature rise of 27K will increase the refractive index by 5 x 10(-3), which is enough to cause the switching of our designed microring resonators. The thermo-optic effect is used to suppress the resonator power transfer, rather than to promote loss. Thus, the input signal only suffers small attenuation and simultaneously low crosstalk can be achieved by using multiple rings.