Identification and characterization of a cathepsin L-like cysteine protease from Taenia solium metacestode

Taenia solium metacestode, a larval pork tapeworm, is a causative agent of neurocysticercosis, one of the most common parasitic diseases in the human central nervous system. In this study, we identified a cDNA encoding for a cathepsin L-like cysteine protease from the T solium metacestode (TsCL-1) and characterized the biochemical properties of the recombinant enzyme. The cloned cDNA of 1216 bp encoded 339 amino acids with an approximate molecular weight of 37.6 kDa which containing a typical signal peptide sequence (17 amino acids), a pro-domain (106 amino acids), and a mature domain (216 amino acids). Sequence alignments of TsCL-1 showed low sequence similarity of 27.3-44.6 to cathepsin L-like cysteine proteases from other helminth parasites, but the similarity was increased to 35.9-55.0 when compared to mature domains. The bacterially expressed recombinant protein (rTsCL-1) did not show enzyme activity; however, the rTsCL-1 expressed in Pichia pastoris showed typical biochemical characteristics of cysteine proteases. It degraded human immunoglobulin G (IgG) and bovine serum albumin (BSA), but not collagen. Western blot analysis of the rTsCL-1 showed antigenicity against the sera from patients with cysticercosis, sparganosis or fascioliasis, but weak or no antigenicity against the sera from patients with paragonimiasis or clonorchiasis. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Technology management tools: Generalization, integration and configuration

Managers in technology-intensive businesses need to make decisions in complex and dynamic environments. Many tools, frameworks and processes have been developed to support managers in these situations, leading to a proliferation of such approaches, with little consistency in terminology or theoretical foundation, and a lack of understanding of how such tools can be linked together to tackle management challenges in an integrated way. As a step towards addressing these issues, this paper proposes the concept of an integrated 'toolkit', incorporating generalized forms of three core technology management tools that support strategic planning (roadmapping, portfolio analysis and linked analysis grids). © 2006 World Scientific Publishing Company.

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.

Effect of metal contact's reflection on the effective coupling coefficient of second-order DFB laser diodes

For a second-order DFB-LD, the presence of a metal contact layer can reduce I-st-order radiation. Part of the reflected power is redistributed into guided modes and results in a variation of the effective coupling coefficient kappa(eff). In this paper, we study the effect of the Au top contact's reflection on the kappa(eff) of 2(nd)-order DFB lasers. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Hydrogen related defects in neutron-irradiated silicon grown in hydrogen ambient

Isochronal thermal-annealing behavior of NTD floating-zone silicon grown in hydrogen ambient (called NTD FZ(H) Si) is presented. The dependencies of resistivity and carrier mobility on annealing temperature are determined by room-temperature Hall electrical measurements. Using infrared absorption spectroscopy, hydrogen-related infrared absorption bands evolution for NTD FZ(H) Si were measured in detail. It is demonstrated that compared with NTD FZ(Ar) Si, NTD FZ(H) Si exhibits the striking features upon isochronal annealing in temperature range of 150 similar to 650 degreesC: there appears the formation of an excessive shallow donor at annealing temperature of 500 degreesC. It is shown that the annealing behavior is directly related to the reaction of hydrogen and irradiation-induced defects. The evolution of infrared absorption bands upon temperature reflects a series of complex reaction process: irradiation-induced defects decomposition, breaking of Si-H bonds, migration and aggregation of atomic hydrogen, and formation of the secondary defects. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

The effect of inserting strain-compensated GaNAs layers on the luminescence properties of GaInNAs/GaAs quantum well

Photoluminescence (PL) properties of GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells (QWs) with strain-compensated GaNAs layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy are investigated. The temperature-dependent PL spectra of GaInNAs/GaAs QW with and without GaNAs layers are compared and carefully studied. It is shown that the introduction of GaNAs layers between well and barrier can effectively extend the emission wavelength, mainly due to the reduction of the barrier potential. The PL peak position up to 1.41 mum is observed at the room temperature. After adding the GaNAs layers into QW structures, there is no essential deterioration of luminescence efficiency. N-induced localization states are also not remarkably influenced. It implies that with optimized growth condition, high-quality GaInNAs/GaAs QWs with strain-compensated GaNAs layers can be achieved. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

In situ doping of 3C-SiC grown on (0001) sapphire substrates by LPCVD

The heteroepitaxial growth of n-type and p-type 3C-SiC on (0001) sapphire substrates has been performed with a supply of SiH4+C2H4+H-2 system by introducing ammonia (NH3) and diborane (B2H6) precursors, respectively, into gas mixtures. Intentionally incorporated nitrogen impurity levels were affected by changing the Si/C ratio within the growth reactor. As an acceptor, boron can be added uniformly into the growing 3C-SiC epilayers. Nitrogen-doped 3C-SiC epilayers were n-type conduction, and boron-doped epilayers were p-type and probably heavily compensated.

Analytical study of the layered XY model with VCE method

Motivated by experiments on liquid-crystal films, we study the development of specific heat anomaly of finite layer system. With the VCE method, we introduce the strong surface interaction into the layered XY model and get the results of the forth-order analytical expansion. The results show that when the strong surface interaction becomes strong enough, the order trend defeats the quantum noise and the specific heat peak moves abnormally to the high temperature with the number of layers decreasing.

纳米水基磁性液体在肿瘤治疗领域的研究进展

结合作者在纳米磁性液体方面的研究经历，介绍了生物医学应用领域纳米磁性粒子的组成结构及特点，指出高分子改性纳米磁性粒子具有生物相容性好、稳定性强、载药量高的优点，并对目前高分子改性纳米四氧化三铁颗粒的制备方法及特点进行了对比分析。指出进一步研制磁响应性强、载药量高、粒度分布均匀的纳米磁性粒子，使之对癌细胞具有亲和作用，尽量避免对毛细血管网状内皮系统的清除，是未来肿瘤治疗领域纳米磁性粒子的研发目标，并对目前制备方法中存在的不足提出了改进的建议。

钙钛矿型有机－无机杂化半导体材料的合成及其发光性质的研究

有机-无机钙钛矿型杂化半导体材料结合了有机和无机材料优点，并在分子水平上自组装形成复合材料，具有独特的光、电、磁等性质，在许多领域具有潜在的应用。基于第四主族金属卤化物的杂化钙钛矿是本论文研究的主题，这一类杂化钙钛矿材料是一类独特的半导体材料，其光功能引起人们越来越多的重视。 为此，本论文通过选择不同的有机阳离子配体制备了新型的基于卤化铅的有机－无机杂化钙钛矿结构单晶材料和薄膜，对它们的发光性质进行了研究。利用N-(3-胺基丙基)咪唑和溴化铅在氢溴酸溶液中反应得到了罕见的(110)取向杂化钙钛矿(C6H13N3)2PbBr4 (monoclinic, P21/c)。所得到的杂化钙钛矿在吸收(392 nm)及发射(424 nm)光谱中均存在激子的特征峰。同时，由于N-(3-胺基丙基)咪唑的光活性，得到的杂化材料具有独特的发光性质，在无机层与有机层之间发生了能量传递，使得有机配体的峰位发生红移并且发光强度明显增加。利用CASTEP (Cambridge Serial Total Energy Package) 总能计算软件包对配合物及配体的能带结构进行了计算。结果证明了配体在杂化材料中发光的红移及激子与配体间的能量传递。另外，还发现了一个有机配体2-(2-氨基乙基)硫脲也能够与金属卤化物络合形成(110)取向的有机－无机杂化钙钛矿结构C3H11SN3PbBr4(monoclinic P21/c)，由于有机配体的不同，2-(2-氨基乙基)硫脲构筑的(110)取向杂化钙钛矿结构较N-(3-胺基丙基)咪唑构筑的(110)取向杂化钙钛矿结构有较大程度的扭曲变形，使得它们的发光性质有所不同。 邻-(胺基甲基)吡啶，间-(胺基甲基)吡啶，对-(胺基甲基)吡啶在相同条件下与溴化铅组装，得到0-D [(m-C6H10N2)2PbBr6] (orthorhombic, Pbca), 1-D [(o-C6H10N2)PbBr4] (monoclinic, P21/c), 2-D [p-(C6H10N2)PbBr4] (orthorhombic, Pbca) 等不同维数的溴化铅骨架。其中间-(胺基甲基)吡啶与溴化铅在酸性条件下形成稀有的0-D杂化钙钛矿；邻-(胺基甲基)吡啶在相同条件下形成2-D层状杂化钙钛矿；对-(胺基甲基)吡啶则得到共边八面体组成的一维链。证实了有机配体氢键和空间位阻对无机结构的形成起限制作用。得到的杂化钙钛矿化合物的无机层激子特征吸收峰分别位于428 nm(0-D)和431 nm(1-D)，无机层激子特征发射峰位于461 nm (0-D)和467 nm(1-D)。 由于甲基咪盐的特殊胺盐构型，我们选用甲基咪盐取代的吡啶作为有机阳离子配体来构筑基于溴化铅的杂化钙钛矿，分别为3-甲咪基吡啶和4-甲咪基吡啶。3-甲咪基吡啶与溴化铅在酸性条件下构筑未见文献报道的即共点又共边的Pb-Br八面体连成无机层网络的杂化结构(C6H13N3)PbBr4 (monoclinic, C2/c)。4-甲咪基吡啶与溴化铅在相同条件下构筑的是常见的(100)取向的杂化钙钛矿结构(C6H13N3)PbBr4(orthorhombic, Pbca)。通过两个不同的化合物在结构和光学性质上的对比，表明有机阳离子配体对无机层结构以及杂化钙钛矿材料光学性质的影响。 在氢溴酸溶液中，组胺与卤化铅自组装成(100)取向杂化钙钛矿(C5H10N3)PbBr4 (monoclinic, P21/c)，(C5H10N3)PbCl4 (monoclinic, P21/c)。得到由扭曲的共角八面体组成的钙钛矿片层。受有机配体空间位阻及氢键的影响，无机层发生一定的扭曲，从而导致激子吸收较(分别位于419 nm，339 nm)线形脂肪胺有一定程度的红移。荧光光谱中存在基于溴化铅，氯化铅杂化钙钛矿激子的特征发射峰。另外作为比较，另一个复杂的有机胺3-氨基-1,2,4-三唑，在同样的条件下与PbBr2进行组装得到的是无机组分为一曲折的链状一维结构的杂化结构(C2H2N4)PbBr3 (orthorhombic, Pna21)。 线形的二咪唑配体2,2΄-(二咪唑基-甲基)苯和4,4΄-(二咪唑基-甲基)对联苯，由于其空间位阻与氢键的影响，与卤化铅的组装得到链状骨架。2,2΄-(二咪唑基-甲基)苯与氯化铅构筑的无机骨架是由共边铅氯三角锥连成的一维链状结构(C7H8N2)PbCl3 (triclinic, P-1)；与溴化铅形成类似交替排布的层状结构(C7H8N2)PbBr3 (triclinic, P-1)。4,4΄-(二咪唑基-甲基)对联苯构筑的氯化铅骨架为新奇的由共点的铅氯四方锥组成的类隧道形链(C20H21N4)Pb2Cl6•H2O (triclinic, P-1)；构筑的溴化铅骨架为由共边的铅溴八面体组成的双链(C20H21N4)Pb2Br6 (monoclinic, C2/c)。形成配合物的发光为配体本身的π-π*跃迁发光。 所合成的杂化钙钛矿材料都具有较好的成膜性，利用简单的旋涂法即可得到质量较好的薄膜材料，有利于对其进行光电研究。

功能化聚喳琳的合成与性质

为了合成功能化聚哇琳（如质子传导聚喳琳或旋光性聚唆琳）和研究聚哇琳结构与性能之间的关系，合成了含毗咯基单元或含联蔡基单元的聚喳琳和聚葱琳，并对其性质进行了研究，主要内容如下：（1）建立了二乙酰吡咯的合成方法；合成并表征了四种二苯酞基一二氨基单体和五种新型的含毗咯基或联蔡基的二乙酞基单体；并对部分合成方法进行了改进，简化了实验步骤，提高了产率。（2）合成、表征了8种含吡咯基单元的聚喳琳和聚葱琳，这些新的聚合物具有较高的玻璃化转变温度（242-339℃）和出色的热稳定性（514-554℃）。与聚葱琳系列相比，聚哇琳具有较高的热稳定性，在普通溶剂中较好的溶解性和较低的最大吸收波长（λamax）。含有2，5-亚吡咯基的固态聚葱琳表现出少见的高人arnax（565nln）和低的带隙能量（2.02eV）。所有的聚合物在溶液中具有很低的光量子效率（0.01％一10-5％）。它们的激发态寿命为0.28-1.29ns。通过比较聚合物异构体的性质，探讨了分子结构，尤其亚吡咯基结构对聚合物电子结构、热力学和光学性质的影响，提出了聚合物主链上毗咯氢和喳琳氮间的氢键模型并对聚合物异构体性质差异给予解释。（3）考察了聚喳琳的电化学性质，结果表明这些聚合物存在1-3个不可逆氧化电位和1-2个不可逆还原电位，这是聚哇琳文献中未曾报道的现象。（4）以氯化锉作稳定剂，DMAc作溶剂，得到稳定的PBM高浓度溶液；以此溶液浇铸成膜，其热力学性能优良；经磷酸乙醇溶液浸渍掺杂的PBM膜，在157℃质子导电率达到1.5x*10-3Scm-1。（5）合成、表征了含联蔡基团的旋光性聚喳琳，这些新的聚合物具有较高的玻璃化转变温度（201-305℃）、出色的热稳定性（420-497℃）和耐溶剂性能。创门的结晶度较低，在浓硫酸中的旋光活性远大于联蔡单体，其旋光值与聚合物手性单元的过量比例成线性关系，但旋光方向却与单体不同。

PHYSICAL VAPOR TRANSPORT AND CRYSTAL-GROWTH OF GESEXTE1-X SOLID-SOLUTIONS

Physical vapor transport studies of GeSe(x)Te1 - x (x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4) solid solutions demonstrated, that individual, large single crystals of these materials can be grown in closed ampoules. A compositional analysis of the grown crystals revealed, that the mass transport (crystal growth) process under steady-state conditions is pseudo-congruent and controlled by diffusion processes in the source material. From these experiments, the degree of non-stoichiometry (Ge-vacancy concentrations) of GeSe(x)Te1 - x single crystals could be estimated. The effects of the cubic to rhombohedral phase transformation during cooling on the microstructure and morphology of the grown mixed crystals are observed. This work provides the basis for subsequent defect studies and electrical measurements on these crystals.