The far-field spatial coherence of Gaussian Schell-model beam in turbulence in terms of position vectors

Spatial coherence properties of beam produced by Gaussian Schell-model source when the beam is propagating through atmosphere have been analyzed in terms of position vectors. New expressions for cross-spectral density of optical field and spectral degree of coherence as well as radiant intensity have been developed. Numerical results illustrated in this paper indicate the coherence degradation suffered from atmospheric turbulence and their directional dependence. (C) 2007 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Hybrid cytomegalovirus-U6 promoter-based plasmid vectors improve efficiency of RNA interference in zebrafish

Short hairpin RNA (shRNA) directed by RNA polymerase III (Pol III) or Pol II promoter was shown to be capable of silencing gene expression, which should permit analyses of gene functions or as a potential therapeutic tool. However, the inhibitory effect of shRNA remains problematic in fish. We demonstrated that silencing efficiency by shRNA produced from the hybrid construct composed of the CMV enhancer or entire CMV promoter placed immediately upstream of a U6 promoter. When tested the exogenous gene, silencing of an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) target gene was 89.18 +/- 5.06% for CMVE-U6 promoter group and 88.26 +/- 6.46% for CMV-U6 promoter group. To test the hybrid promoters driving shRNA efficiency against an endogenous gene, we used shRNA against no tail (NTL) gene. When vectorized in the zebrafish, the hybrid constructs strongly repressed NTL gene expression. The NTL phenotype occupied 52.09 +/- 3.06% and 51.56 +/- 3.68% for CMVE-U6 promoter and CMV-U6 promoter groups, respectively. The NTL gene expression reduced 82.17 +/- 2.96% for CMVE-U6 promoter group and 83.06 +/- 2.38% for CMV-U6 promoter group. We concluded that the CMV enhancer or entire CMV promoter locating upstream of the U6-promoter could significantly improve inhibitory effect induced by the shRNA for both exogenous and endogenous genes compared with the CMV promoter or U6 promoter alone. In contrast, the two hybrid promoter constructs had similar effects on driving shRNA.

Integration of double-fluorescence expression vectors into zebrafish genome for the selection of site-directed knockout/knockin

Production of zebrafish by modifying endogenous growth hormone (GH) gene through homologous recombination is described here. We first constructed the targeting vectors pGHT1.7k and pGHT2.8k, which were used for the knockout/knockin of the endogenous GH gene of zebrafish, and injected these two vectors into the embryos of zebrafish. Overall, the rate of targeted integration with the characteristic of germ line transmission in zebrafish was 1.7x10(-6). In one experimental patch, the integrating efficiency of pGHT2.8k was higher than that of pGHT1.7k, but the lethal effect of pGHT2.8k was stronger than that of pGHT1.7k. The clones with the correct integration of target genes were identified by a simple screening procedure based on green fluorescent protein (GFP) and RFP dual selection, which corresponded to homologous recombination and random insertion, respectively. The potential homologous recombination zebrafish was further bred to produce a heterozygous F-1 generation, selected based on the presence of GFP. The potential targeted integration of exogenous GH genes into a zebrafish genome at the P-0 generation was further verified by polymerase chain reaction and Southern blot analysis. Approximately 2.5% of potential founder knockout and knockin zebrafish had the characteristic of germ line transmission. In this study, we developed an efficient method for producing the targeted gene modification in zebrafish for future studies on genetic modifications and gene functions using this model organism.

Multi-armed poly(L-glutamic acid)-graft-oligoethylenimine copolymers as efficient nonviral gene delivery vectors

Background The application of polyethylenimine (PEI) in gene delivery has been severely limited by significant cytotoxicity that results from a nondegradable methylene backbone and high cationic charge density. It is therefore necessary to develop novel biodegradable PEI derivates for low-toxic, highly efficient gene delivery.Methods A series of novel cationic copolymers with various charge density were designed and synthesized by grafting different kinds of oligoethylenimine (OEI) onto a determinate multi-armed poly(L-glutamic acid) backbone. The molecular structures of multi-armed poly(L-glutamic acid)-graft-OEI (MP-g-OEI) copolymers were characterized using nuclear magnetic resonance, viscosimetry and gel permeation chromatography. Moreover, the MP-g-OEI/DNA complexes were measured by a gel retardation assay, dynamic light scattering and atomic force microscopy to determine DNA binding ability, particle size, zeta potential, complex formation and shape, respectively. MP-g-OEI copolymers were also evaluated in Chinese hamster ovary and human embryonic kidney-293 cells for their cytotoxicity and transfection efficiency.

State Vector: A New Approach to Prediction of the Failure of Brittle Heterogeneous Media and Large Earthquakes

The concept of state vector stems from statistical physics, where it is usually used to describe activity patterns of a physical field in its manner of coarsegrain. In this paper, we propose an approach by which the state vector was applied to describe quantitatively the damage evolution of the brittle heterogeneous systems, and some interesting results are presented, i.e., prior to the macro-fracture of rock specimens and occurrence of a strong earthquake, evolutions of the four relevant scalars time series derived from the state vectors changed anomalously. As retrospective studies, some prominent large earthquakes occurred in the Chinese Mainland (e.g., the M 7.4 Haicheng earthquake on February 4, 1975, and the M 7.8 Tangshan earthquake on July 28, 1976, etc) were investigated. Results show considerable promise that the time-dependent state vectors could serve as a kind of precursor to predict earthquakes.

Modification of Bertrand's theorem and extended Runge-Lenz vector

It is shown that for a particle with suitable angular moments in the screened Coulomb potential or isotropic harmonic potential, there still exist closed orbits rather than ellipse, characterized by the conserved aphelion and perihelion vectors, i.e. extended Runge-Lenz vector, which implies a higher dynamical symmetry than the geometrical symmetry O-3. The closeness of a planar orbit implies the radial and angular motional frequencies are commensurable.

周期性极化铌酸锂晶体中半非共线型宽带光学参变放大理论研究

基于周期性极化铌酸锂晶体(PPLN)的准相位匹配光参变放大过程,通过倾斜周期极化铌酸锂晶体中极化域(极化光栅)一定角度,实现了介于共线匹配方式和非共线匹配方式之间的一种半非共线型准相位匹配方式,并以该匹配方式下的各光矢量几何关系得出相位匹配曲线,找到在特定抽运光和信号光波长下能获得宽带增益放大的周期极化长度。并研究其极化倾斜角度与温度特性。模拟计算表明,在合适的角度与温度条件下,该方式可以532 nm抽运光抽运的信号光在800 nm和1064 nm处均获得宽带光参变放大。

Matrix analysis of an anisotropic optical thin film

Based on Maxwell's equations, standard boundary conditions are imposed on resultant electric- and magnetic-field vectors at interfaces, and the propagating characteristics of extraordinary waves, such as the forward- and backward-propagating directions of wave vectors, rays and their corresponding refractive indices are determined in a uniaxially birefringent thin film. Furthermore, 2 x 2 characteristic matrices of a birefringent thin film are derived including multiple reflections for the extraordinary wave.

基于Berreman矩阵的双折射薄膜光谱响应特性计算

采用Berreman特征矩阵方法，通过数值计算研究了双折射薄膜的反射、透射等光谱响应特性。依据电磁场理论的电场分量、磁场分量的界面连续条件，推导了光波在各向异性双轴薄膜中的Berreman转移矩阵，用以分析含有各向异性介质层的复杂薄膜系统的光学性质。这些矩阵递推关系包含了界面处的多点反射，适用于一般的各向异性的多层膜系统，包括入射媒质或基底为各向异性的情况。在文中给出了各向同性入射媒质双轴各向异性膜层一各向同性基底薄膜系统的计算结果，验证了该计算方法的可行性，以此作为进一步研究各向异性薄膜和相关光学薄膜器

植物生产生物可降解塑料PHB的研究：真养产碱杆菌H16的phbB和phbC的基因克隆、植物表达载体构建和转基因马铃薯植株的获得

利用聚合酶链式反应(PCR)技术从Alcaligenes eutrophus H16染色体DNA中扩增并克隆了调控聚-3-羟基丁酸(poly-3-hydroxy-butyrate，PHB)生物合成的两个关键酶基因：依赖NADPH的乙酰乙酰CoA还原酶基因(phbB)和PHB合成酶基因(phbC)。限制性内切酶图谱和核苷酸序列分析证实了克隆结果，并表明克隆的基因与国外所报道的有很高的同源性。经过基因拼接，构建了块茎特异性表达的高等植物表达载体pPSAGB（嵌合phbB）、pBIBGC(嵌合phbC)和pPSAGCB（嵌合phbB和phbC）。并以试管薯(microtuber)为外植体经Agrobacterium介导转化了虎头、京丰、Bintje、Favorita、高原4号和88-5共6个马铃薯品种，获得49个株系。经PCR检测导入phbB的株系共有44个，对其中30个株系进行DNA dot blot分析，结果表明phbC导入呈阳性的株系有20个。深入的鉴定工作还在进行中。

转基因植物生产生物可降解塑料PHB的研究-phbA功能鉴定、多价表达载体的构建及转基因植物的获得

聚-β-羟基链烷酸（PHA）是许多微生物作为碳源、能源的一类贮藏性聚酯，具有广泛的应用价值。该聚酯可被微生物完全降解且有与塑料相似的性质，因而研究并提高PHA在植物中的合成为解决环境污染提供了新的解决途径。 聚-β-羟基于酸酯（PHB）是研究的最早、研究的最清楚的一种PHA。用聚合酶链式反应扩增并克隆了真养产碱杆菌（Alcaligenes eutrophus）中合成PHB的一个关键酶——3-酮硫裂解酶基因phbA。DNA序列分析表明所克隆的基因与国外报道序列同源性很高，只有一个碱基对的区别。为了检测该基因的功能及导肽的定位效率，构建了带有导肽基因的组成型表达载体，由根癌农杆菌介导转化烟草（Nicotiana tabacum cv. Wisconsin 38）得到转基因植株。蛋白质电泳结果表明导肽可以将外源蛋白定位于质体，phbA基因能翻译成相应大小的蛋白。酶活性分析证实了转基因烟草中phbA编码的3-酮硫裂解酶可以催化乙酰-CoA合成乙酰乙酰-CoA。 将携有导肽序列的phbC（编码PHB合酶）和phbB（编码乙酰乙酰-CoA还原酶）连入pBIB-HYG得到组成型表达载体pZCB，用冻融法转入根癌农杆菌，介导转化烟草。烟草为已获得的具有卡那霉素抗性整合并表达phbA的转基因烟草。通过二次转化将携有潮霉素抗性的phbB基因和phbC基因导入已整合phbA的烟草，各基因均由质体导肽控制，最后得到整合PHB合成的三个酶基因的转基因烟草。转基因烟草经PCR、PCR-Southern检测，初步确定整合phbB和phbC烟草植株。以气相色谱初步分析，转基因烟草中PHB的含量可达鲜重的0.233%。 结果表明phbB和phbC基因可以在真核表达系统中编码相应的蛋白。通过色素分析、荧光动力学等手段分析了PHB在叶绿体中的累积对其功能的影响。 为了提高底物乙酰-CoA的供应能力及减少惰性聚酯对植物体的伤害，分离了种子特异性启动子和质体导肽序列，利用忆经克隆的合成PHB的三个关键酶基因，通过一系列DNA重组，分别构建了含有种子特异性启动子的嵌合phbC、phbB的二价表达载体pSCB及嵌合phbC、phbA、phbB的三价表达载体pSCAB，并由导肽将基因表达产物定位于质体。经根癌农杆菌介导转化油菜（Brassica napus L.) H165，获得转基因油菜植株，并进行了PCR、Southern blot及RT-PCR-DNA杂交等分检测。结果表明，三基因已经分别整合到相应的转基因油菜中，并已在转录水平表达。同时转化了油菜不育系、恢复系和保持系，获得批量转化株，并移入温室栽培。

利用转基因植物生产生物可降解塑料(PHB)的研究

聚 3 一控基丁酸酯 (Poly – 3 - hydroxybutyrate,PHB) 及其它类型的聚 3-泾基链烷酸醋同属于聚酯类物质 , 是自然界中多种细菌的碳源及能源储备物。这种聚酯的物理化学特性与传统塑料相似 , 并具有生物可降解性 , 如能取代化学合成塑料将减少环境中的塑料废弃物 , 从源头治理 " 白色污染 " 问题。微生物发酵法生产的 PHB 价格过高 , 无法在市场上与化学合成塑料竞争。随着分子生物学的发展 , 人们逐渐将视线转向植物生物反应器。转基因植物能够利用二氧化碳为碳源、太阳能为能源合成目的产物 , 大大降低生产成本 , 为生产具有市场 竞争力的新型生物可降解塑料提供可行途径。在此领域虽然己取得一定进展 , 但远未达到商业化生产水平。大规模商业化生产要求转基因植物能够在确保环 境安全性的前提下高效、稳定地生产 PHB 。本文尝试改善植物中 PHB 的生产体系 ,为环保型塑料早日进入市场作出努力。 1. 由于表达框架中多次使用同一启动子会导致基因沉默 , 本文克隆了另一 种子特异性启动子 nap300, 以替换重复使用的7S启动子,减轻“共抑制”。将 nap300 与 GUS 基因相连进行功能鉴定。荧光检测和组织化学染色的结果都证明此仅 30Obp 的 DNA 序列足以调控基因进行种子特异性表达。尽管 B 盒作为 高度保守区在种子特异性表达中起重要作用 , 位于此处的两个碱基替代型突变 并未使 nap300 的活性明显降低 , 对启动子的时空表达模式也无明显影响。将 nap300 、 7S 分别与 phbA 基因 ( 编码 3-酮硫裂解酶) 相连 , 在相似表达环境中 对二者功能进行比较 , 发现两个启动子表达模式基本相同并在同一时期达到活 性高峰 , 因此 nap300 可用于改善 PHB 合成基因在植物体内的表达调控。通过 对种子特异性启动子的比较可加深对其表达模式的了解 , 为植物基因工程中的 精细调控提供依据。 2. 叶绿体基因工程是随着植物遗传转化技术发展刚刚兴起的生物技术 , 具 有超量表达外源基因 , 为原核基因提供适宜表达环境 , 消除 “位置效应”和基因沉默 , 环境安全性好等优点 , 较更适合用于植物生物反应器方面的研究。本研究在国内率先探讨将叶绿体转化技术引入植物生产生物可降解塑料这一领域 的可行性 ( 国外仅有日本一例 ), 构建了叶绿体转化及表达载体 pTRV-PHB, 通过基因枪法将 PHB 合成相关基因导入烟草叶绿体基因组。转基因烟草顺利达到同质化，其形态和生长发育均无异常。 Northern 点杂交检测表明与 PHB 合成相关的三个基因均能在转录水平表达 , 未出现核转化中经常发生的“基因沉默”现象。通过 RT-PCR 进一步检测表明叶绿体型转基因烟草中目的基因的表达水平明显比核转化植株中相应基因的表达水平高。气相色谱分析确证转基因植株具有合成 PHB 的能力。这些都表明叶绿体转化适合用于转基因植物生产 PHB的研究。虽然叶绿体型转基因烟草中产物含量偏低 , 并未达到预期结果 , 但经进一步改进与完善 , 终将会成功地用于生产高附加值产品的植物基因工程中。 3. 为初步探讨叶绿体转化中在同源重组反应介导下整合外源基因的机理 , 从油菜叶绿体基因组中分离两段序列作为同源片段 , 基因枪法转化烟草 , 结果显示即使供体所含同源片段与受体叶绿体基因组相应区域差异高达 10%, 转化效率也无降低。这一现象的发现有助于促进“通用载体”　的改进 , 扩展叶绿体转化受体范围乃至达到商业化应用水平。 4. 成功地通过二次转化获得整合并表达多基因的转基因烟草 , 缩短了研究周期 , 对相关转基因植物的研究有一定参考价值。本文还优化了油菜转化体系 , 使转基因油菜同时整合三个 PHB 合成相关基因的效率由 7.69% 增加至 16.0% 。 田间试验与产物分析正在进行中。

水母雪莲DFR基因的克隆及其正义和反义植物表达载体的构建

水母雪莲（Saussurea medusa Maxim.）为多年生菊科植物，是我国珍稀药用资源。所含的主要生物活性成分是黄酮类物质，具有抗炎、镇痛、免疫抑制及抗氧化等功效。但由于水母雪莲生长环境特殊，生长缓慢，人工引种困难;加上长期掠夺性采挖，造成其野生药用资源短缺，已经不能满足市场的需求。近年来,世界上掀起了植物药开发的热潮,植物药以其天然低毒的特点倍受关注,而黄酮类化合物更是以其广谱的药理作用引人瞩目。 黄酮类化合物的合成代谢途径在植物界进化过程中很保守，黄酮类生物合成途径中的相关酶也已得到确证并进行了系统的研究。二氢黄酮醇-4-还原酶（Dihydroflavonol-4-reductase, DFR）是一个处于花色素或者原花色素合成途径中的关键酶，它与黄酮合成途径中的黄酮醇合成酶（flavonol synthase）竞争底物。本研究以水母雪莲为研究对象，根据近缘物种DFR基因的保守核苷酸序列设计兼并引物，通过PCR技术，从已经建立的水母雪莲红色愈伤组织cDNA文库中筛选到一个编码该酶的cDNA序列，该序列全长1166个碱基对。根据生物信息学分析，此cDNA编码342个氨基酸;Blastp分析结果显示，该氨基酸序列与同科植物翠菊（Callistephus chinensis）的相似性最高，达87%;SWISSMODEL软件预测其蛋白的三级结构与葡萄(Vitis vinifera)的十分相似，活性中心的关键氨基酸残基也完全一致。据此可以断定，我们所得到的cDNA为编码二氢黄酮醇还原酶的基因，并命名为水母雪莲二氢黄酮醇还原酶基因(SmDFR）。为了得到SmDFR的DNA序列，我们又设计特异引物，从水母雪莲的基因组中扩增出了由1871个碱基对组成的DNA序列，该序列包含五个内含子和六个外显子。 为了提高水母雪莲和大苞雪莲中黄酮类物质的含量，我们构建了SmDFR的反义植物表达载体，利用根癌农杆菌介导进行基因转化。通过改变影响农杆菌转化的实验条件包括外植体来源、农杆菌菌株、细菌浓度、外植体预培养时间、侵染时间和乙酰丁香酮的浓度进行转基因试验，目前尚未得到转基因植株。另外，我们构建了SmDFR正义植物表达载体，通过对拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana) DFR基因突变体和矮牵牛(Petunia hybrida)进行基因转化，来验证SmDFR的功能;目前，此实验尚在进行之中。

An immunoregulatory peptide from salivary glands of the horsefly, Hybomitra atriperoides

Horseflies are economically important blood-feeding arthropods and also a nuisance for humans, and vectors for filariasis. They rely heavily on the pharmacological propriety of their saliva to get blood meat and suppress immune reactions of hosts. Little information is available on horsefly immune suppressants. By high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) purification coupling with pharmacological testing, an immunoregulatory peptide named immunoregulin HA has been identified and characterized from salivary glands of the horsefly of Hybomitra atriperoides (Diptera, Tabanidae). Immunoregulin HA could inhibit the secretion of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP-1) and increase the secretion of interteukin-10 (IL-10) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LIPS) in rat splenocytes. IL-10 is a suppressor cytokine of T-cell proliferative and cytokine responses. IL-10 can inhibit the elaboration of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Immunoregulin HA possibly unregulated the IL-10 production to inhibit IFN-gamma and MCP-1 secretion in the current experiments. This immunosuppression may facilitate the blood feeding of this horsefly. The current works will facilitate to understand the molecular mechanisms of the ectoparasite-host relationship. 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Toward an understanding of the molecular mechanism for successful blood feeding by coupling proteomics analysis with pharmacological testing of horsefly salivary glands

Horseflies are economically important blood-feeding arthropods and also a nuisance for humans and vectors for filariasis. They rely heavily on the pharmacological properties of their saliva to get a blood meal and suppress immune reactions of hosts. Little information is available on antihemostatic substances in horsefly salivary glands; especially no horsefly immune suppressants have been reported. By proteomics or peptidomics and coupling transcriptome analysis with pharmacological testing, several families of proteins or peptides, which act mainly on the hemostatic system or immune system of the host, were identified and characterized from 30,000 pairs salivary glands of the horsefly Tabanus yao (Diptera, Tabanidae). They are: (i) a novel family of inhibitors of platelet aggregation including two members, which possibly inhibit platelet aggregation by a novel mechanism and act on platelet membrane, (ii) a novel family of immunosuppressant peptides including 12 members, which can inhibit interferon-gamma production and increase interleukin-10 secretion, (iii) a serine protease inhibitor with 56 amino acid residues containing anticoagulant activity, (iv) a serine protease with anticoagulant activity, (v) a protease with fibrinogenolytic activity, (vi) three families of antimicrobial peptides including six members, (vii) a hyaluronidase, (viii) a vasodilator peptide, which is an isoform of vasotab identified from Hybomitra bimaculata, and interestingly (ix) two metallothioneins, which are the first metallothioneins reported from invertebrate salivary glands. The current work will facilitate the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the ectoparasite-host relationship and help in identifying novel vaccine targets and novel leading pharmacological compounds.