Isospin symmetry breaking at high spins in the mirror pair Se-67 and As-67

Recent experimental data have revealed large mirror energy differences (MED) between high-spin states in the mirror nuclei Se-67 and As-67, the heaviest pair where MED have been determined so far. The MED are generally attributed to the isospin symmetry breaking caused by the Coulomb force and by the isospin-nonconserving part of the nucleon-nucleon residual interaction. The different contributions of the various terms have been extensively studied in the fp shell. By employing large-scale shell-model calculations, we show that the inclusion of the g(9/2) orbit causes interference between the electromagnetic spin-orbit and the Coulomb monopole radial terms at high spin. The large MED are attributed to the aligned proton pair excitations from the p(3/2) and f(5/2) orbits to the g(9/2) orbit. The relation of the MED to deformation is discussed.

Crystal structure of microwave dielectric ceramics Ba[(Mg1-xCdx)(0.33)Nb-0.67]O-3

A series of complex perovskite solid solutions of Ba[(Mg1-xCdx)(0.33)Nb-0.67]O-3 have been synthesized by the columbite method. Detailed Rietveld refinement of their X-ray diffraction data show that Ba[(Mg1-xCdx)0(.33)Nb(0.67)]O-3 has an order trigonal structure. The ordering degree as determined by the B-site occupancies increases with the partial substitution of Cd for Mg.

微观结构对溶胶-凝胶法合成的La_(0.67)Sr_(0.33)MnO_3电磁性能影响

采用溶胶-凝胶法制备了不同烧结温度的钙钛矿类锰氧化物La0.67Sr0.33MnO3样品。实验结果表明,在1573 K以上烧结的样品,晶粒出现异常长大,晶界效应明显。随着烧结温度的提高,磁化强度逐渐增大,但样品的居里温度基本不变。此外,在1173和1573 K温度下烧结的样品,均出现了低于居里温度的金属-半导体导电行为转变。在合适的烧结条件下,可以观察到隧道磁电阻(TMR)和超大磁电阻(CMR)2种磁电阻效应。实验表明,自旋电子的输运,不仅与样品平均粒径的大小和密度有关,而且与晶界的微观结构有密切关系。

Application of impedance spectroscopy for monitoring colloid Au-enhanced antibody immobilization and antibody-antigen reactions

We used colloidal An to enhance the amount of antibody immobilized on a gold electrode and ultimately monitored the interaction of antigen-antibody by impedance measurement. Self-assembly of 6 nm (diameter) colloidal An onto the self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 4-aminothiophenol modified gold electrode resulted in an easier attachment of antibody. The redox reactions of [Fe(CN)(6)](4-)/[Fe(CN)(6)](3-) on the gold surface were blocked due to the procedures of self-assembly of 4-aminothiophenol and antibody immobilization, which were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy. The interaction of antigen with grafted antibody recognition layers was carried out by soaking the modified electrode into a phosphate buffer at pH 7.4 with various concentrations of antigen at 37 degreesC for 30 min. The antibody recognition layers and their interactions with various concentrations of antigen could be detected by measurements of the impedance change. The results show that this method has good correlation for detection of Hepatitis B virus surface antigen in the range of 0.5-200 mug/l and a detection limit of about 50 ng/l.

Immunosensors based on layer-by-layer self-assembled Au colloidal electrode for the electrochemical detection of antigen

Colloidal Au particles have been deposited on the gold electrode through layer-by-layer self-assembly using cysteamine as cross-linkers. Self-assembly of colloidal Au on the gold electrode resulted in ail easier attachment of antibody, larger electrode surface and ideal electrode behavior. The redox reactions of [Fe(CN)(6)]-/[Fe(CN)(6)](3-) on the gold surface were blocked due to antibody immobilization, which were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy. The interaction of antigen with grafted antibody recognition layers was carried out by soaking the modified electrode into a phosphate buffer at pH 7.0 with various concentrations of antigen at 37degreesC for 30 min. Further, an amplification strategy to use biotin conjugated antibody was introduced for improving the sensitivity of impedance measurements. Thus, the sensor based oil this immobilization method exhibits a large linear dynamic range, from 5 - 400 mug/L for detection of Human IgG. The detection limit is about 0.5 mug/L.

Use of nitrocellulose films for affinity-directed mass spectrometry for the analysis of antibody/antigen interactions

Combination of affinity extraction procedures with mass spectrometric analyses is termed affinity-directed mass spectrometry, a technique that has gained broad interest in immunology and is extended here with several improvements from methods used in previous studies. A monoclonal antibody was immobilized on a nitrocellulose (NC) membrane, allowing the corresponding antigen to be selectively captured from a complex solution for analysis by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS). This method was also used to rapidly determine the approximate binding region responsible for the antibody/antigen interaction. The tryptic fragments of antigen protein in buffer were applied to the antibody immobilized on NC film and allowed to interact. The NC film was then washed to remove salts and other unbound components, and subjected to analysis by MALDI-TOFMS. Using interferon-alpha (2a) and anti-interferon-alpha (2a) monoclonal antibody IgG as a model system, we successfully extracted the antigen protein and determined the approximate binding region for the antigen/antibody interaction (i.e., the tryptic fragment responsible). Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Amplification of antigen-antibody interactions based on biotin labeled protein-streptavidin network complex using impedance spectroscopy

Antibody was covalently immobilized by amine coupling method to gold surfaces modified with a self-assembled monolayer of thioctic acid. The electrochemical measurements of cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy showed that the hexacyanoferrate redox reactions on the gold surface were blocked due to the procedures of self-assembly of thioctic acid and antibody immobilization. The binding of a specific antigen to antibody recognition layer could be detected by measurements of the impedance change. A new amplification strategy was introduced for improving the sensitivity of impedance measurements using biotin labeled protein- streptavidin network complex. This amplification strategy is based on the construction of a molecular complex between streptavidin and biotin labeled protein. This complex can be formed in a cross-linking network of molecules so that the amplification of response signal will be realized due to the big molecular size of complex. The results show that this amplification strategy causes dramatic improvement of the detection sensitivity of hIgG and has good correlation for detection of hIgG in the range of 2-10 mug/ml. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

STUDIES ON INCREASING THE ACTIVITY OF SELENIUM-CONTAINING ABZYME .1. SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND PROPERTIES OF HAPTEN AND ANTIGEN

The thiol group of glutathione (GSH) reacts specifically with 2,4-di-ni-trochlorobenzene to give S-substituted dinitrophenyl glutathione (GSH-S-DNP); two carboxyl groups of GSH-S-DNP were further esterified by n-butanol to produce the hapten, multisubstrate analog GSH-S-DNP Butyl Ester (GSH-S-DNP BE). The primary structure of the hapten was characterized by the free. amino group analysis, H-1 NMR, IR determinations and the elemental analysis. The hapten was then conjugated to bovine serum albumin (BSA) in the presence of glutaraldehyde. The reaction mixture was purified by Ultrogel AcA54 colum chromatography to give the antigen. On an average, 25 haptens were bound to each BSA molecule. Electrophoresis analysis showed that the average molecular weight of the antigen was 87 KD. CD spectrum showed that the a-helix content of the antigen increased.

Identification and immunoprotective analysis of an in vivo-induced Edwardsiella tarda antigen

Edwardsiella tarda is a severe aquaculture pathogen that can infect many important fish species cultured worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate the vaccine potential of an E. tarda antigen, Eta21, which was identified from a pathogenic E. tarda strain via the method of in vivo-induced antigen technology (IVIAT). Eta21 is 510-amino acid in length and shares similar to 58% sequence identity with a putative peptidase of several bacterial species. eta21 was subcloned into Escherichia colt, and recombinant Eta21 was purified as a histidine-tagged protein. When used as a subunit vaccine, purified recombinant Eta21 was effective against lethal E. tarda challenge in a Japanese flounder model. In order to improve the immunoprotective efficacy of Eta21, the chimera AgaV-Eta21 was constructed, which consists of Eta21 fused in-frame to the secretion domain of AgaV, an extracellular beta-agarase. E. coli DH5 alpha harboring plasmid pTAET21, which constitutively expresses agaV-eta21, was able to produce and secret AgaV-Eta21 into the extracellular milieu. Vaccination of Japanese flounder with live DH5 alpha/pTAET21 elicited immunoprotection that is significantly higher in level than that induced by vaccination with purified recombinant Eta21. Vaccination with DH5 alpha/pTAET21 and recombinant Eta21 both induced the production of specific serum antibodies at four to eight weeks post-vaccination. Taken together, these results demonstrate that Eta21, especially that delivered by DH5 alpha/pTAET21, is an effective vaccine candidate against E. tarda infection. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Expression of hepatitis B surface antigen gene (HBsAg) in Laminaria japonica (Laminariales, Phaeophyta)

A transformation model for Laminaria japonica was established from 1993 to 1998, on the basis of which the transgenic kelp with heterologous gene encoding hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was obtained by using the micro-particle bombardment transformation method. Results of quantitative ELISA showed that HBsAg in transgenic kelp was 0.529 mug/mg soluble proteins on average and the highest value was 2.497 mug/mg, implying that recombinant HBsAg had natural epitope. Further support for the integration of HBsAg gene into kelp genome was obtained by PCR-Southern and total DNA hybridization. Prospect of kelp bio-reactor producing high value materials such as edible HBV vaccine was discussed as well.

Molecular cloning and characterization of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) from Chinese shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis

The proliferating cell nuclear antigen gene was cloned from Fenneropenaeus chinensis (FcPCNA). The full-length cDNA sequence of FcPCNA encodes 260 amino acids showing high identity with PCNAs reported in other species. FcPCNA expressed especially high in proliferating tissues of shrimp such as haematopoietic tissue (HPT) and ovary. In order to understand the response of HPT to bacteria and virus challenge, mRNA level of FcPCNA in HPT was analyzed after shrimp were challenged by Vibrio anguillarum and white spot syndrome virus (WSSV). FcPCNA expression in HPT of shrimp was responsive to WSSV and Vibrio challenge, but different expression profiles were obtained after challenge by these two pathogens. The data provide additional information to understand the defense mechanisms of shrimp against virus and bacteria. (c) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Expression of Scophthalmus maximus CD83 correlates with bacterial infection and antigen stimulation

CD83 is a transmembrane glycoprotein of the immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily and a surface marker for fully matured dendritic cells (DCs) in humans and mice. In teleosts, DC-like cells and their molecular markers are largely unknown. In this report, we described the identification and expressional analysis of a CD83 homologue, SmCD83, from turbot Scophthalmus maximus. The open reading frame of SmCD83 is 639 bp, which is preceded by a S'-untranslated region (UTR) of 87 bp and followed by a 3'-UTR of 1111 bp. The SmCD83 gene is 4716 bp in length, which contains five exons and four introns. The deduced amino acid sequence of SmCD83 shares 40-50% overall identities with the CD83 of several fish species. Like typical CD83, SmCD83 possesses an Ig-like extracellular domain, a transmembrane domain, and a cytoplasmic domain. The conserved disulfide bond-forming cysteine residues and the N-linked glycosylation sites that are preserved in CD83 are also found in SmCD83. Expressional analysis showed that constitutive expression of SmCD83 was high in gill, blood, spleen, muscle, and kidney and low in heart and liver. Bacterial infection and poly(I:C) treatment enhanced SmCD83 expression in kidney in time-dependent manners. Likewise, bacterial challenge caused significant induction of SmCD83 expression in cultured macrophages. Vaccination of turbot with a bacterin and a purified recombinant subunit vaccine-induced significant SmCD83 expression during the first week following vaccination. These results demonstrate that SmCD83 expression correlates with microbial challenge and antigen stimulation, which suggests the possibility that there may exist in turbot DC-like antigen-presenting cells that express SmCD83 upon activation by antigen uptake. In addition, these results also suggest that SmCD83 may serve as a marker for activated macrophages in turbot. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.