Comparing the Performance of Biomimetic Pattern Recognition with W8 and SVM on Prediction of Horizontal Gene Transfers in Bacteria Genomes

National Natural Science Foundation of China 60753001

Multiple energy transfers in rare earth complex-doped SiO2 spheres

Silica spheres doped with Eu(TTFA)(3) and/or Sm(TTFA)(3) were synthesized by using the modified Stober method. The transmission electron microscope image reveals that the hybrid spheres have smooth surfaces and an average diameter of about 210 nm. Fluorescence spectrometer was used to analyze the fluorescence properties of hybrid spheres. The results show that multiple energy transfer processes are simultaneously achieved in the same samples co-doped with Eu (TTFA)(3) and Sm(TTFA)(3), namely between the ligand and Eu3+ ion, the ligand and Sm3+ ion, and Sm3+ ion and Eu3+, ion. Energy transfer of Sm3+-> Eu3+, in the hybrid spheres leads to fluorescence enhancement of Eu3+ emission by approximately an order of magnitude. The lifetimes of the hybrid spheres were also measured.

Analytical intercomparison results from the 1990 Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission open-ocean baseline survey for trace metals: Atlantic Ocean

“Dissolved” (< 0.4 μm filtered) and “total dissolvable” (unfiltered) trace element samples were collected using “clean” sampling techniques from four vertical profiles in the eastern Atlantic Ocean on the first IOC Trace Metals Baseline expedition. The analytical results obtained by 9 participating laboratories for Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, and Se on samples from station 4 in the northeast Atlantic have been evaluated with respect to accuracy and precision (intercomparability). The data variability among the reporting laboratories was expressed as 2 × SD for a given element and depth, and was comparable to the 95% confidence interval reported for the NASS seawater reference standards (representing analytical variability only). The discrepancies between reporting laboratories appear to be due to inaccuracies in standardization (analytical calibration), blank correction, and/or extraction efficiency corrections.Several of the sampling bottles used at this station were not adequately pre-cleaned (anomalous Pb results). The sample filtration process did not appear to have been a source of contamination for either dissolved or particulate trace elements. The trace metal profiles agree in general with previously reported profiles from the Atlantic Ocean. We conclude that the sampling and analytical methods we have employed for this effort, while still in need of improvement, are sufficient for obtaining accurate concentration data on most trace metals in the major water masses of the oceans, and to enable some evaluation of the biogeochemical cycling of the metals.

Laboratory Study on Sediment Diffusion and Deposition into Blind Channels

Any waterway with one end closed and the other open is generally called a blind channel. The main flow tends to expand, separate, and cause circulation at the mouth of blind channels. The main flow continuously transfers momentum and sediment into the circulation region through the turbulent mixing region (TMR) between them, thus leading to a large amount of sediment deposition in the blind channels. This paper experimentally investigated the properties of the water flow and sediment diffusion in TMR, demonstrating that both water flow and sediment motion in TMR approximately coincide with a similar structure as in the free mixing layer induced by a jet. The similarity functions of flow velocity and sediment concentration are then assumed, based on observation, and the resulting calculation of these functions is substantially facilitated. For the kind of low velocity flow system of blind channels with a finite width, a simple formula for the sediment deposition rate in blind channels is established by analyzing the gradient of crosswise velocity and sediment concentration in TMR.

Influence of the Processing Conditions on the Characteristics of the Clad Layers Produced with Laminar Plasma Technology

Laminar plasma technology was used to produce ceramic hardened layers of Al2O3-40% mass Ni composite powders on stainless steel substrates. In order to investigate the influences of processing conditions on the morphologies of the surface modified layers, two different powder-feeding methods were tested, one with carrier gas called the powder injection method, and the other without carrier gas called powder transfers method. The microscopic investigations demonstrate that the cross-section of the clad layers consists of two distinct microstructural regions, in which the Al2O3 phases exhibit different growth mechanisms. When the powder transfers method is adopted, the number density and volume fraction of the Al2O3 particles increase considerably and their distributions exhibit zonal periodical characteristics. When the powder-feeding rate increases, the microstructure of the Al2O3 phases changes from a small globular to a long needle shape. Finite element simulations show that the transient thermo-physical features of the pool substances, such as solidification rate and cooling rate, influence strongly the mechanisms of the nucleation and the directional growth of the Al2O3 phases in the thermal processing.

Numerical Analysis of LEC Growth of GaAs with an Axial Magnetic Field

A set of numerical analyses for momentum and heat transfer For a 3 in. (0.075 m) diameter Liquid Encapsulant Czochralski (LEC) growth of single-crystal GaAs with or without all axial magnetic field was carried Out using the finite-element method. The analyses assume a pseudosteady axisymmetric state with laminar floats. Convective and conductive heat transfers. radiative heat transfer between diffuse surfaces and the Navier-Stokes equations for both melt and encapsulant and electric current stream function equations Cor melt and crystal Lire considered together and solved simultaneously. The effect of the thickness of encapsulant. the imposed magnetic field strength as well as the rotation rate of crystal and crucible on the flow and heat transfer were investigated. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Analysis of beam-quality degradation in nonlinear frequency conversion

Based on the ripple transfers of electric-field amplitude and phase in frequency tripling, simple formulas are derived for the harmonic laser's beam-quality factor M-3omega(2), with an arbitrary fundamental incidence to ideal nonlinear crystals. Whereas the harmonic beam's quality is generally degraded, the beam's divergence is similar to that of the fundamental after nonlinear frequency conversion. For practical crystals with periodic surface ripples that are caused by their machining, a multiorder diffractive model is presented with which the focusing properties of harmonic beams can be studied. Predictions of the theories are shown to be in excellent agreement with full numerical simulations. (C) 2002 Optical Society of America.

Recent advance in the study of intein

Since the first intein was found, more and more attention were paid on it. It not only enrichs the content of the process that the gene transfers its information but also can be used in protein purification. The recent advance in the sequence characterist

Population status, threats and conservation of the Yangtze finless porpoise

The Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis) is currently limited to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River from Yichang to Shanghai, China, and the adjoining Poyang and Dongting Lakes. Its population size has decreased remarkably during the last several decades due to the heavy impact of human activities, including overfishing of prey species, water development projects that cause attendant habitat loss and degradation, water pollution, and accidental deaths caused by harmful fishing gear and collisions with motorized vessels. It was estimated that the number of remaining individuals was down to approximately 1800 in 2006, a number that is decreasing at a rate as high as 5% per year. Three conservation measures - in situ and ex situ conservation and captive breeding have been applied to the protection of this unique porpoise since the early 1990s. Seven natural and two "semi-natural" reserves have so far been established. Since 1996, a small group of finless porpoises has been successfully reared in a facility at the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; three babies were born in captivity on July 5, 2005, June 2, 2007 and July 5, 2008. These are the first freshwater cetaceans ever born in captivity in the world. Several groups of these porpoises caught in the main stream of the Yangtze River, or rescued, have been introduced into the Tian'e-Zhou Semi-natural Reserve since 1990. These efforts have proven that, not only can these animals survive in the area, they are also to reproduce naturally and successfully. More than 30 calves had been born in the reserve since then, with one to three born each year. Taking deaths and transfers into account, there were approximately 30 individuals living in the reserve as of the end of 2007. Among eight mature females captured in April 2008, five were confirmed pregnant. This effort represents the first successful attempt at off-site protection of a cetacean species in the world, and establishes a solid base for conservation of the Yangtze finless porpoise. A lesson must be drawn from the tragedy of Chinese River Dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer), which has already been declared likely extinct. Strong, effective and appropriate protective measures must be carried out quickly to prevent the Yangtze finless porpoise from becoming a second Chinese River Dolphin, and save the biodiversity of the Yangtze River as a whole.

Molecular cloning and expression characterization of ApoC-I in the orange-spotted grouper

Endogenous yolk nutrients are crucial for embryo and larval development in fish, but developmental behavior of the genes that control yolk utilization remains unknown. Apolipoproteins have been shown to play important roles in lipid transport and uptake through the circulation system. In this study, EcApoC-I, the first cloned ApoC-I in teleosts, has been screened from pituitary cDNA library of female orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides), and the deduced amino acid sequence shows 43.5% identity to one zebrafish (Danio rerio) hypothetical protein similar to ApoC-I, and 21.2%, 21.7%, 22.5%, 20%, and 22.5% identities to Apo C-I of human (Homo sapiens), house mouse (Mus musculus), common tree shrew (Tupaia glis), dog (Canis lupus familiaris) and hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas), respectively. Although the sequence identity is low, amphipathic alpha-helices with the potential to bind to lipid were predicted to exist in the EcApoC-I. RT-PCR analysis revealed that it was first transcribed in gastrula embryos and maintained a relatively stable expression level during the following embryogenesis. During embryonic and early larval development, a very high level of EcApoC-I expression was in the yolk syncytial layer, indicating that it plays a significant role in yolk degradation and transfers nutrition to the embryo and early larva. By the day 7 after hatching, EcApoC-I transcripts were observed in brain. In adult, EcApoC-I mRNA was detected abundantly in brain and gonad. In transitional gonads, the EcApoC-I expression is restricted to the germ cells. The data suggested that EcApoC-I might play an important role in brain and gonad morphogenesis and growth.

Characterization of an early gene encoding for dUTPase in Rana grylio virus

dUTPase (DUT) is a ubiquitous and important enzyme responsible for regulating levels of dUTP. Here, an iridovirus DUT was identified and characterized from Rana grylio virus (RGV) which is a pathogen agent in pig frog. The DUT encodes a protein of 164aa with a predicted molecular mass of 17.4 kDa, and its transcriptional initiation site was determined by 5'RACE to start from the nucleotide A at 15 nt upstream of the initiation codon ATG. Sequence comparisons and multiple alignments suggested that RGV DUT was quite similar to other identified DUTs that function as homotrimers. Phylogenetic analysis implied that DUT horizontal transfers might have occurred between the vertebrate hosts and iridoviruses. Furthermore, its temporal expression pattern during RGV infection course was characterized by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. It begins to transcribe and translate as early as 4 h postinfection (p.i.), and remains detectable at 48 h p.i. DUT-EGFP fusion protein was observed in the cytoplasm of pEGFP-N3-Dut transfected EPC cells. Immunofluorescence also confirmed DUT cytoplasm localization in RGV-infected cells. Using drug inhibition analysis by a de novo protein synthesis inhibitor (cycloheximide) and a viral DNA replication inhibitor (cytosine arabinofuranoside), RGV DUT was classified as an early (E) viral gene during the in vitro infection. Moreover, RGV DUT overexpression was shown that there was no effect on RGV replication by viral replication kinetics assay. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.