Subcellular localization and characterization of G protein-coupled receptor homolog from lymphocystis disease virus isolated in China

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute a large superfamily involved in various types of signal transduction pathways, and play an important role in coordinating the activation and migration of leukocytes to sites of infection and inflammation. Viral GPCRs, on the other hand, can help the virus to escape from host immune surveillance and contribute to viral pathogenesis. Lymphocystis disease virus isolated in China (LCDV-C) contains a putative homolog of cellular GPCRs, LCDV-C GPCR. In this paper, LCDV-C GPCR was cloned, and the subcellular localization and characterization of GPCR protein were investigated in fish cells. LCDV-C GPCR encoded a 325-amino acid peptide, containing a typical seven-transmembrane domain characteristic of the chemokine receptors and a conserved DRY motif that is usually essential for receptor activation. Transient transfection of GPCR-EGFP in fathead minnow (FHM) cells and epithelioma papulosum cyprini (EPC) cells indicated that LCDV-C GPCR was expressed abundantly in both the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm. Transient overexpression of GPCR in these two cells cannot induce obvious apoptosis. FHM cells stably expressing GPCR showed enhanced cell proliferation and significant anchorage-independent growth. The effects of GPCR protein on external apoptotic stimuli were examined. Few apoptotic bodies were observed in cells expressing GPCR treated with actinomycin D (ActD). Quantitative analysis of apoptotic cells indicated that a considerable decrease in the apoptotic fraction of cells expressing GPCR, compared with. the control cells, was detected after exposure to ActD and cycloheximide. These data suggest that LCDV-C GPCR may inhibit apoptosis as part of its potential mechanism in mediating cellular transformation.

Digital Elevation Models and GIS for watershed modelling and flood prediction - A case study of Accra Ghana

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Digital Elevation Models (DEM) can be used to perform many geospatial and hydrological modelling including drainage and watershed delineation, flood prediction and physical development studies of urban and rural settlements. This paper explores the use of contour data and planimetric features extracted from topographic maps to derive digital elevation models (DEMs) for watershed delineation and flood impact analysis (for emergency preparedness) of part of Accra, Ghana in a GIS environment. In the study two categories of DEMs were developed with 5 m contour and planimetric topographic data; bare earth DEM and built environment DEM. These derived DEMs were used as terrain inputs for performing spatial analysis and obtaining derivative products. The generated DEMs were used to delineate drainage patterns and watershed of the study area using ArcGIS desktop and its ArcHydro extension tool from Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI). A vector-based approach was used to derive inundation areas at various flood levels. The DEM of built-up areas was used as inputs for determining properties which will be inundated in a flood event and subsequently generating flood inundation maps. The resulting inundation maps show that about 80% areas which have perennially experienced extensive flooding in the city falls within the predicted flood extent. This approach can therefore provide a simplified means of predicting the extent of inundation during flood events for emergency action especially in less developed economies where sophisticated technologies and expertise are hard to come by. © Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2009.

Efficiency of constructed wetlands in decontamination of water polluted by heavy metals

A twin-shaped constructed wetland (CW) comprising a vertical flow (inflow) chamber with Cyperus alternifolius followed by a reverse-vertical flow (outflow) chamber with Villarsia exaltata was assessed for decontamination of artificial wastewater polluted by heavy metals. After application of Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn over 150 days, together with Al and Mn during the final 114 days, no heavy metals with the exception of Mn could be detected in either the drainage zone at the bottom, shared by both chambers, or in the effluent. The inflow chamber was, therefore, seen to be predominantly responsible for the decontamination process of more toxic metal species with final concentrations far below WHO drinking-water standards. About one-third of the applied Cu and Mn was absorbed, predominantly by lateral roots of C. alternifolius. Lower accumulation levels were observed for Zn (5%), Cd (6%), Al (13%). and Pb (14%). Contents of Cd, Cu, Mn, and Zn in soil were highest in top layer, while Al and Pb were evenly distributed through the whole soil column. Metal species accumulating mainly in the top layer can be removed mechanically. A vertical flow CW with C. alternifolius is an effective tool in phytoremediation for treatment of water polluted with heavy metals. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF A NOVEL 980nm MICROCAVITY SEMICONDUCTOR OPTICAL AMPLIFIER WITH HIGH GAIN AND LOW NOISE

A novel microcavity semiconductor optical amplifier ( MCSOA) was proposed by incorporating top and bottom distributed Bragg reflectors ( DBRs) into the waveguide structure of conventional traveling-wave semiconductor optical amplifiers(TW-SOAs). The incoming( outgoing) light beam incidented onto (escaped from) the waveguide structure at a oblique angle through two optical windows, where the top DBR was etched away, and anti-reflection coating was deposited. The light beams inside the optical cavity were reflected repeatedly between two DBRs and propagated along waveguide in a zigzag optical path. The performance of the MCSOA was systematically investigated by extensive numerical simulation based on a traveling-wave model by taking into account the comprehensive effects of DBRs on both the amplification of signals and the filtering of spontaneous emission( SE). Our results show that the MCSOA is capable of achieving a fiber-to-fiber gain as high as 40dB and a low noise figure is less than 3.5dB.

Influence of Mg content on molecular-beam-epitaxy-grown ZnMgS ultraviolet photodetectors

Zn1-xMgxS-based Schottky barrier ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors were fabricated using the molecular-beam-epitaxy (MBE) technique. The influence of Mg content on MBE-grown Zn1-xMgxS-based UV photodetectors has been investigated in details with a variety of experimental techniques, including photoresponse (PR), capacitance-voltage, deep level transient Fourier spectroscopy (DLTFS) and photoluminescence (PL). The room-temperature PR results show that the abrupt long-wavelength cutoffs covering 325, 305 295. and 270 nm with Mg contents of 16%, 44%, 57%, and 75% in the Zn1-xMgxS active layers, respectively, were achieved. But the responsivity and the external quantum efficiency exhibited a slight decrease with the Mg content increasing. In good agreement with the PR results, both of the integrated intensity of the PL spectra obtained from Zn1-xMgxS thin films with different Mg compositions (x = 31% and 52%, respectively) and the DLTFS spectra obtained from Zn1-xMgxS-based (x = 5% and 45%, respectively) UV photodetector samples clearly revealed a significant concentration increase of the non-radiative deep traps with increasing Mg containing in the ZnMgS active layers. Our experimental results also indicate that the MBE-grown ZnMgS-based photodetectors can offer the promising characteristics for the detection of short-wavelength UV radiation. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of the variation of temperature on the structural and optical properties of ZnO thin films prepared on Si (111) substrates using PLD

ZnO thin films were prepared on Si (1 11) substrates at various temperatures from 250 to 700 degrees C using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique in order to investigate the structural and optical properties of the films. The structural and morphological properties of the films were investigated by XRD and SEM measurements, respectively. The quality of the films was improved with the increase of the temperature. By XRD patterns the FWHMs of the (0 0 2) peaks of the ZnO films became narrower when the temperatures were above 500 degrees C. The FWHMs of the peaks of (0 0 2) of the films were as narrow as about 0. 19 degrees when films were grown at 650 and 700 degrees C. This indicates the superior crystallinity of the films. The optical properties of the films were studied by photoluminescence spectra using a 325 nm He-Cd laser. The two strongest UV peaks were found at 377.9 nm from ZnO films grown at 650 and 700 degrees C. This result is consistent with that of the XRD investigation. Broad bands in visible region from 450 to 550 nm were also observed. Our works suggest that UV emissions have close relations with not only the crystallinity but also the stoichiometry of the ZnO films. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Strain accommodation of 3C-SiC grown on hydrogen-implanted Si (001) substrate

The hydrogen-implanted Si substrate has been used for the fabrication of the "compliant substrate", which can accommodate the mismatch strain during the heteroepitaxy. The compliance of the substrate can be modulated by the energy and dose of implanted hydrogen. In addition, the defects caused by implantation act as the gettering center for the internal gettering of the harmful metallic impurities. Compared with SiC films growth on substrate without implantation. all the measurements indicated that the mismatch strains in the SiC films grown on this substrate have been released and the crystalline qualities have been improved. It is a practical technique used for the compliant substrate fabrication and compatible with the semiconductor industry. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structural and optical characterization of InAs nanostructures grown on high-index InP substrates

The structural and optical properties of InAs layers grown on high-index InP surfaces by molecular beam epitaxy are investigated in order to understand the self-organization of quantum dots and quantum wires on novel index surfaces. Four different InP substrate orientations have been examined, namely, (1 1 1)B, (3 1 1)A, and (3 1 1)B and (1 0 0). A rich variety of InAs nanostructures is formed on the surfaces. Quantum wire-like morphology is observed on the (1 0 0) surface, and evident island formation is found on (1 1 1)A and (3 1 1)B by atomic force microscopy. The photoluminescence spectra of InP (1 1 1)A and (3 1 1)B samples show typical QD features with PL peaks in the wavelength range 1.3-1.55 mu m with comparable efficiency. These results suggest that the high-index substrates are promising candidates for production of high-quality self-organized QD materials for device applications. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

6H-SiC高场输运特性的多粒子蒙特卡罗研究

采用非抛物性能带模型，对6H-SiC高场电子输运特性进行了多粒子蒙特卡罗(Ensemble Monte Carlo)研究．研究表明：温度为296 K时，电子横向漂移速度在电场为2．0×104 V／cm处偏离线性区，5．O×10~5V／cm处达到饱和．由EMC方法得到的电子横向饱和漂移速度为1．95×10~7cm／s，纵向为6．0×10~6cm／s，各向异性较为显著．当电场小于1．0×10~6 V／cm时，碰撞电离效应对高场电子漂移速度影响较小．另一方面，高场下电子平均能量的各向异性非常明显．电场大于2．O×10~5V／cm时，极化光学声子散射对电子横向能量驰豫时间影响较大．当电场一定时，c轴方向的电子碰撞电离率随着温度的上升而增大．对非稳态高场输运特性的分析表明：阶跃电场强度为1．0×10~6 V／cm时，电子横向瞬态速度峰值接近3．O×10~7cm／s，反应时间仅为百分之几皮秒量级．

虚拟现实人机交互的eGOMS模型研究

采用心理学和计算机技术相交叉的研究方法,对人机交互中人的认知过程的人类视知觉特征和心理加工机制与特点等进行了细致的探讨;结合虚拟环境中人机交互过程的不确定性、连续性和实时反馈性以及交互可用性评价指标的多样性等特点,提出了适用于虚拟现实人机交互的扩展GOMS(eGOMS)模型,克服了传统GOMS模型要求精确的用户操作、交互界面与实际应用相分离及评价指标单一的不足.以eGOMS模型为基础对PIBG交互范式进行了评估,PIBG为VR用户界面提供自然、隐式交互的手段,从而大大降低了用户在虚拟环境下交互的认知负荷.

动态调度系统中自适应用户界面的设计与实现

该文以炼化企业的动态调度系统为应用背景,以面向动态调度的自适应用户界面的设计与实现为主要研究内容,分析了当前炼化企业动态调度系统用户操作的流程以及界面的需求并建立起相应的数学模型。借鉴自适应用户界面的相关研究成果,设计了自适应用户界面的体系结构以及用户的动态行为过程,针对流程行业的应用特点提出了利用产生式推理和基于上下文的用户意图捕捉的方法,最后给出应用实例。文中所述方法已经成功在企业中得到应用。使用结果表明,该方法能够有效地开发动态调度系统的自适应用户界面,获得满意效果。

桃树茎直径微变化与土壤水势及气象因子的关系

通过对充分供水和逐步干旱处理的盆栽"仕女红"桃树茎直径微变化动态的观测,分析了茎直径日最大收缩量(MDS)、日增长量(DI)和日最大值恢复时间(RT)对水分状况和气象因子的响应,并对适宜灌溉控制指标进行了探讨。结果表明:随土壤水势降低,桃树茎直径MDS和RT呈增大趋势,DI呈下降趋势并由正值变为负值;气象因子对桃树茎直径变化影响显著,太阳辐射(Rn)和空气相对湿度(RH)对MDS影响最强烈,连续降雨对DI和RT影响显著。DI受土壤水势影响产生变化的趋势明显并受气象因子影响较小,是最理想的灌溉控制指标,可将DI=0作为灌溉控制临界值;MDS受气象因子影响强烈,变异性较大,且需要充分灌溉条件下的MDS作为参考,RT与土壤水势的相关性不高,因此均不适合单独作为灌溉控制指标。

黄土高原坡地密植枣园土壤质地与肥力状况分析

采用田间取样与实验室分析相结合的方法,研究了黄土高原坡地密植枣园土壤质地与肥力状况。结果表明,坡地枣园土壤肥力低,氮、磷严重缺乏,钾相对丰富,土壤属于砂壤土,通气性强,保肥、保水性差。0~60 cm土壤有机质含量为1.687~5.002 mg/kg;全氮为0.072~0.316 g/kg;硝酸盐为2.325~16.846 g/kg;铵态氮为1.187~2.146 g/kg,速效磷为0.270~2.480 mg/kg,速效钾为51.9~169.1 mg/kg,并且含量均随剖面向下减少。颗粒组成大部分为粉砂粒,含量一般在65.75%~68.98%;随有机质含量升高,0.25~0.05 mm微团聚体数量呈上升趋势,二者为正相关;<0.05 mm微团聚体含量则逐渐下降,二者呈负相关。黄土高原坡地密植枣园土壤肥力总体水平很低。除了速效钾为中等级外,有机质、全氮、碱解氮、速效磷均为很低等级。