Characterization of two genes encoding leucine-rich repeat-containing proteins in grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idellus

The cDNAs and genes of two different types of leucine- rich repeat-containing proteins from grass carp ( Ctenopharyngodon idellus) were cloned. Homology search revealed that the two genes, designated as GC-GARP and GC-LRG, have 37% and 32% deduced aminoacid sequence similarities with human glycoprotein A repetitions predominant precursor ( GARP) and leucine-rich alpha2-glycoprotein (LRG), respectively. The cDNAs of GC-GARP and GC-LRG encoded 664 and 339 amino acid residues, respectively. GC-GARP and GC-LRG contain many distinct structural and/or functional motifs of the leucine- rich repeat (LRR) subfamily, such as multiple conserved 11-residue segments with the consensus sequence LxxLxLxxN/CxL ( x can be any amino acid). The genes GC-GARP and GC-LRG consist of two exons, with 4,782 bp and 2,119 bp in total length, respectively. The first exon of each gene contains a small 5'-untranslated region and partial open reading frame. The putative promoter region of GC-GARP was found to contain transcription factor binding sites for GATA-1, IRF4, Oct-1, IRF-7, IRF-1, AP1, GATA-box and NFAT, and the promoter region of GC-LRG for MYC-MAX, MEIS1, ISRE, IK3, HOXA9 and C/EBP alpha. Phylogenetic analysis showed that GC-GARP and mammalian GARPs were clustered into one branch, while GC-LRG and mammalian LRGs were in another branch. The GC-GARP gene was only detected in head kidney, and GC-LRG in the liver, spleen and heart in the copepod ( Sinergasilus major)- infected grass carp, indicating the induction of gene expression by the parasite infection. The results obtained in the present study provide insight into the structure of fish LRR genes, and further study should be carried out to understand the importance of LRR proteins in host - pathogen interactions.

PURIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A KINASE SPECIFIC FOR THE SERINE-RICH AND ARGININE-RICH PRE-MESSENGER-RNA SPLICING FACTORS

Members of the SR family of pre-mRNA splicing factors are phosphoproteins that share a phosphoepitope specifically recognized by monoclonal antibody (mAb) 104. Recent studies have indicated that phosphorylation may regulate the activity and the intracellular localization of these splicing factors. Here, we report the purification and kinetic properties of SR protein kinase 1 (SRPK1), a kinase specific for SR family members. We demonstrate that the kinase specifically recognizes the SR domain, which contains serine/arginine repeats. Previous studies have shown that dephosphorylated SR proteins did not react with mAb 104 and migrated faster in SDS gels than SR proteins from mammalian cells. We show that SRPK1 restores both mobility and mAB 104 reactivity to a SR protein SF2/ASF (splicing factor 2/alternative splicing factor) produced in bacteria, suggesting that SRPK1 is responsible for the generation of the mAb 104-specific phosphoepitope in vivo. Finally, we have correlated the effects of mutagenesis in the SR domain of SF2/ASF on splicing with those on phosphorylation of the protein by SRPK1, suggesting that phosphorylation of SR proteins is required for splicing.

Structure, magnetization, and low-temperature spin dynamic behavior of zincblende Mn-rich Mn(Ga)As nanoclusters embedded in GaAs

We have fabricated a set of samples of zincblende Mn-rich Mn(Ga)As clusters embedded in GaAs matrices by annealing (Ga,Mn)As films with different nominal Mn content at 650 degrees C. For the samples with Mn content no more than 4.5%, the Curie temperature reaches nearly 360 K. However, when Mn content is higher than 5.4%, the samples exhibit a spin-glass-like behavior. We suggest that these different magnetic properties are caused by the competing result of dipolar and Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interaction among clusters. The low-temperature spin dynamic behavior, especially the relaxation effect, shows the extreme creeping effect which is reflected by the time constant tau of similar to 10(11) s at 10 K. We explain this phenomenon by the hierarchical model based on the mean-field approach. We also explain the memory effect by the relationship between the correlation function and the susceptibility.

Phase-separation suppression in GaN-rich side of GaNP alloys grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition

The GaN-rich side of GaNP ternary alloys has been successfully synthesized by light-radiation heating and low-pressure metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. X-ray diffraction (XRD) rocking curves show that the ( 0002) peak of GaNP shifts to a smaller angle with increasing P content. From the GaNP photoluminescence (PL) spectra, the red shifts from the band-edge emission of GaN are determined to be 73, 78 and 100 meV, respectively, in the GaNP alloys with the P contents of 1.5%, 5.5% and 7.5%. No PL peak or XRD peak related to GaP is observed, indicating that phase separation induced by the short-range distribution of GaP-rich regions in the GaNP layer has been effectively suppressed. The phase-separation suppression in the GaNP layer is associated with the high growth rate and the quick cooling rate under the given growth conditions, which can efficiently restrain the accumulation of P atoms in the GaNP layer.

Growth of crack-free GaN films on Si(111) substrate by using Al-rich AlN buffer layer

GaN epilayers were grown on Si(111) substrate by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. By using the Al-rich AlN buffer which contains Al beyond stoichiometry, crack-free GaN epilayers with 1 mum thickness were obtained. Through x-ray diffraction (XRD) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy analyses, it was found that a lot of Al atoms have diffused into the under part of the GaN epilayer from the Al-rich AlN buffer, which results in the formation of an AlxGa1-xN layer at least with 300 nm thickness in the 1 mum thick GaN epilayer. The Al fraction x was estimated by XRD to be about 2.5%. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy depth analysis was also applied to investigate the stoichiometry in the Al-rich buffer before GaN growth. It is suggested that the underlayer AlxGa1-xN originated from Al diffusion probably provides a compressive stress to the upper part of the GaN epilayer, which counterbalances a part of tensile stress in the GaN epilayer during cooling down and consequently reduces the cracks of the film effectively. The method using the Al diffusion effect to form a thick AlGaN layer is really feasible to achieve the crack-free GaN films and obtain a high crystal quality simultaneously. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.

Sulfur-induced exciton localization in Te-rich ZnSTe alloy

Exciton localization in Te-rich ZnSTe epilayers has been studied by photoluminescence (PL) and time-resolved PL. The sulfur-related exciton emission is found to dominate the radiative recombination at low temperature and is shifted to the low energy with the increase of S concentration. By measuring the PL dependence on temperature and by analyzing the PL decay process, we have clarified the localization nature of the sulfur-related exciton emission. Furthermore, the difference of the localization effect in Te- and S-rich ZnSTe is also compared and discussed. © 2005 American Institute of Physics.

Memory effect in a system of zincblende Mn-rich Mn(Ga)As nanoclusters embedded in GaAs

Zincblende Mn-rich Mn(Ga)As nanoclusters embedded in GaAs matrices are fabricated by in situ postgrowth annealing diluted magnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As films with Mn concentration ranging from 2.6% to 8% at 650 degrees C. Magnetization measurements show that memory effect and slow magnetic relaxation, the typical characteristics of the spin-glass-like phase, occur below the blocking temperature of 45 K in samples with high Mn concentration, while for samples with low Mn concentration, ferromagnetic order remains up to 360 K. The behavior of low-temperature spin dynamics can be explained by the hierarchical model. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Electroluminescence afterglow from indium tin oxide/Si-rich SiO2/p-Si structure

Indium tin oxide/Si-rich SiO2/p-Si structured devices are fabricated to study the electroluminescence (EL) of the Si-rich SiO2 (SRO) material. The obvious peaks at similar to 1050nm and similar to 1260nm in the EL are ascribed to localized state transitions of amorphous Si (alpha-Si) clusters. The EL afterglow associated with alpha-Si clusters is observed from this structure at room temperature, while the afterglow is absent in the case of optical pumping. It is believed that carrier-induced defects act as trap centres in the alpha-Si clusters, resulting in the EL afterglow. The phenomenon of the EL afterglow indicates the limits of EL performance and electrical modulation of the SRO material with a larger fraction of alpha-Si clusters.

Pressure behavior of Te isoelectronic centers in S-rich ZnS1-xTex alloy

The photoluminescence from ZnS1-xTex alloy with 0 < x < 0.3 was investigated under hydrostatic pressure up to 7 GPa. Two peaks were observed in the alloys with x < 0.01, which are related to excitons bound to isolated Te isoelectronic impurities (Te-1 centers) and Te pairs (Te-2 centers), respectively. Only the Te-2 related emissions were observed in the alloys with 0.01 < x < 0.03. The emissions in the alloys with 0.03 < x < 0.3 are attributed to the excitons bound to the Te-n (n greater than or equal to 3) cluster centers. The pressure coefficient of the Te-1 related peak is 89(4) meV/GPa, about 40% larger than that of the band gap of ZnS. On the other hand, the pressure coefficient of the Te-2 related emissions is only 52(4) meV/GPa, about 15% smaller than that of the ZnS band gap. A simple Koster-Slater model has been used to explain the different pressure behavior of the Te-1 and Te-2 centers. The pressure coefficient of the Te-3 centers is 62(2) meV/GPa. Then the pressure coefficients of the Te-n centers decrease rapidly with further increasing Te composition.

Effect of rapid thermal annealing and hydrogen plasma treatment on the microstructure and light-emission of silicon-rich oxide film

Silicon-rich silicon oxide (SRSO) films are prepared by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition method at the substrate temperature of 200degreesC. The effect of rapid thermal annealing and hydrogen plasma treatment on tire microstructure and light-emission of SRSO films are investigated in detail using micro-Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. It is found that the phase-separation degree of the films decreases with increasing annealing temperature from 300 to 600degreesC, while it increases with increasing annealing temperature from 600 to 900degreesC. The light-emission of the films are enhanced with increasing annealing temperature up to 500degreesC, while it is rapidly reduced when the annealing temperature exceeds 600degreesC. The peak position of the PL spectrum blueshifts by annealing at the temperature of 300degreesC, then it red-shifts with further raising annealing temperature. The following hydrogen plasma treatment results in a disproportionate increase of the PL intensity and a blueshift or redshift of the peak positions, depending on the pristine annealing temperature. It is thought that the size of amorphous silicon clusters, surface structure of the clusters and the distribution of hydrogen in the films can be changed during the annealing procedure. The results indicate that not only cluster size but also surface state of the clusters plays an important role in the determination of electronic structure of the amorphous silicon cluster and recombination process of light-generated carriers.

Photoluminescence from Erbium-implanted silicon-rich SiO2

Si-rich SiO2 films were deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition on the silicon substrates, and then implanted with 1 x 10(15) cm(-2) 400 keV Er ions. After annealing at 800 degrees C for 5 min the samples show room temperature luminescence around 1.54 mu m, characteristic of intra-4f emission from Er3+, upon excitation using an Ar ion laser.

A study of indium incorporation in In-rich InGaN grown by MOVPE

InGaN/GaN heterostructures have been deposited onto (0 0 0 1) sapphire by our home-made low pressure MOVPE with different growth parameters. It has been noted that the indium incorporation depends by a complex way on a number of factors. In this work, the effect of substrate temperature, trimethylindium input flow and V/III ratio on the indium incorporation has been investigated. Finally, by optimizing the growth parameters, we made a series of single-phase InGaN samples with indium content from 10% up to 45%.

Hydrogen-rich gas production from biomass air and oxygen/steam gasification in a downdraft gasifier

Biomass gasification is an important method to obtain renewable hydrogen, However, this technology still stagnates in a laboratory scale because of its high-energy consumption. In order to get maximum hydrogen yield and decrease energy consumption, this study applies a self-heated downdraft gasifier as the reactor and uses char as the catalyst to study the characteristics of hydrogen production from biomass gasification. Air and oxygen/steam are utilized as the gasifying agents. The experimental results indicate that compared to biomass air gasification, biomass oxygen/steam gasification improves hydrogen yield depending on the volume of downdraft gasifier, and also nearly doubles the heating value of fuel gas. The maximum lower heating value of fuel gas reaches 11.11 MJ/ N m(3) for biomass oxygen/steam gasification. Over the ranges of operating conditions examined, the maximum hydrogen yield reaches 45.16 g H-2/kg biomass. For biomass oxygen/steam gasification, the content of H-2 and CO reaches 63.27-72.56%, while the content Of H2 and CO gets to 52.19-63.31% for biomass air gasification. The ratio of H-2/CO for biomass oxygen/steam gasification reaches 0.70-0.90, which is lower than that of biomass air gasification, 1.06-1.27. The experimental and comparison results prove that biomass oxygen/steam gasification in a downdraft gasifier is an effective, relatively low energy consumption technology for hydrogen-rich gas production.

富钇稀土-铝合金制取的研究Study on Preparation of Yttrium-Rich RE-Al Alloys

我国江西龙南稀土矿是目前世界上储量最大的富钇稀土矿、研制具有多种用途的钇（Y）-铝（Al）或富钇混合稀土（Ymm）-铝中间合金，对于开拓我国龙南稀土矿的应用领域扩大稀土合金出口具有重要意义。基于这一背景并针对目前氟化物体系制取Ymm-Al合金时存在着电解温度高，腐蚀现象严重，电效偏低等缺点，本文系统开展了在氯化物熔盐体系中电解制取Ymm-Al合金的研究工作。本工作由三部分组成：在第一部分工作中，开展了熔盐电解所需要基本原料-无水稀土氯化物制取的工艺研究。利用化学分析和结构分析手段，弄清了干法氯化过程中YmmCl_3水解的机理，提出了减弱水解的措施，即YmmCl_3先在850-900 ℃灼烧1.5 + 0.2hr，脱掉吸附水并将碱式碳酸盐转化为氧化物，增加稀土氧化物的比表面。通过条件试验得到最佳工艺条件为：采用NH_4 Cl:Ymm_2 O_3 = 14:1（摩尔比）的配料比，每次投入氯化装置的原料量为0.26 - 0.36 kg, 在400-450 ℃氯化反应激烈开始后迅速降温至400 ℃以下，待物料粘结现象消失后，再行升温氯化。出料及后期控制温在475 ± 25 ℃。经过3.8 ± 0.2hr氯化，可制得水不溶物小于1%并符合熔盐电解要求的YmmCl_3原料。此新工艺与原有干法工艺相比，流程短，装置简单，不需密闭抽真空，成本低，适于制取任何量的优质熔盐电解所需氯化稀土原料。在第二部分工作中，利用上述YmmCl_3原料，以液态铝为阴极，在氯化物体系中进行熔盐电解，通过试验得出在小型试验规模制取Ymm-Al合金的最隹工艺条件为：电解质组成（重量比）40%YmmCl_3-1%NaF-59%等摩尔的NaCl-KCl；电解温度为790 ± 5 ℃；阴极电流密为0.7 - 0.02A/cm~2；电解电量为333 ± 5库仑/克铝，制得钇铝合金中Ymm含量为10 ± 2%。添加1%的NaF可消除阴极表面生成枝状物，减少合金中夹渣和熔盐中沉渣。在电解工作中，将方差分析应用于试验数据处理，方差分析结果表明，各种试验因素对电效有明显影响，试验数据可靠，试验误差在允许范围以内。在第三部分工作中，利用线性扫描伏安法测定了在最隹电解工艺条件下Y~（3+）和Ymm在液态铝及钼电极上的析出电位。测定结果表明：Y~（3+）和Ymm~（3+）在液态铝阴极上的析出电位比在钼阴极上偏正0.2 ～ 0.8伏，氟离子的加入要比不加氟时析出电位不有同程度的负移，但考虑到氟离了具有消渣作用，加入少量氟比物添加剂对提高电效有利。