DNA diagnosis by capillary electrophoresis and microfabricated electrophoretic devices

DNA diagnosis is experiencing an impressive progression towards the development of novel technology to identity various clinically relevant categories of genetic changes and to meet the exponential growth of genomics. The introduction of capillary electrophoresis has dramatically accelerated the completion of the first draft of the human DNA sequence in the Human Genome Project, and thus, has become the method of choice for analysis of various genetic variants. The recent development of microfabricated electrophoretic devices has led to the possibility of integrating multiple sample handling with the actual measurement steps required for automation of molecular diagnostics. This review highlights the most recent progress in capillary electrophoresis and electrophoretic microdevices for DNA-based diagnostics, including the important areas of genotyping for point mutation, single nucleotide polymorphisms, short tandem repeats and organism identification. The application of these techniques for infectious and genetic disease diagnosis, as well as forensic identification purpose, are covered. The promising development and the challenges for techinical problems are also discussed.

The effects of sediment transport on grain-size distributions

Changes in statistics (mean, sorting, and skewness) describing grain-size distributions have long been used to speculate on the direction of sediment transport. We present a simple model whereby the distributions of sediment in transport are related to their source by a sediment transfer function which defines the relative probability that a grain within each particular class interval will be eroded and transported. A variety of empirically derived transfer functions exhibit negatively skewed distributions (on a phi scale). Thus, when a sediment is being eroded, the probability of any grain going into transport increases with diminishing grain size throughout more than half of its size range. This causes the sediment in transport to be finer and more negatively skewed than its source, whereas the remaining sediment (a lag) must become relatively coarser and more positively skewed. Flume experiments show that the distributions of transfer functions change from having a highly negative skewness to being nearly symmetrical (although still negatively skewed) as the energy of the transporting process increases. We call the two extremes low-energy and high-energy transfer functions , respectively. In an expanded sediment-transport model, successive deposits in the direction of transport are related by a combination of two transfer functions. If energy is decreasing and the transfer functions have low-energy distributions, successive deposits will become finer and more negatively skewed. If, however, energy is decreasing, but the initial transfer function has a high-energy distribution, successive deposits will become coarser and more positively skewed. The variance of the distributions of lags, sediment in transport, and successive deposits in the down-current direction must eventually decrease (i.e., the sediments will become better sorted). We demonstrate that it is possible for variance first to increase, but suggest that, in reality, an increasing variance in the direction of transport will seldom be observed, particularly when grain-size distributions are described in phi units. This model describing changes in sediment distributions was tested in a variety of environments where the transport direction was known. The results indicate that the model has real-world validity and can provide a method to predict the directions of sediment transport

土壤侵蚀高维指数非线性模型及其参数辨识

模型验证和数据库组建基础上,用WinEPIC模型定量模拟研究了黄土高原半湿润区长武、半干旱区固原和半干旱偏旱区海原20～30年内苜蓿草地水分生产潜力、10m土层土壤有效含水量和土壤湿度剖面分布特征的动态变化.结果表明:长武、固原和海原苜蓿草地水分生产潜力模拟值随降水量变化而呈现波动性降低趋势,其平均值分别为8.81、3.83和2.48t.hm-2;长武、固原和海原苜蓿草地10m土层逐月土壤有效含水量模拟值均呈现明显的波动性降低趋势,模拟初期,4～8年生苜蓿草地土壤干燥化趋势十分强烈,此后,随降水量变化长期在较低水平上波动;随着苜蓿生长年限的延长,苜蓿草地土壤干层逐年加深、加厚,长武、固原和海原土壤干层分布深度达到10m所需时间依次为6、6和4年,此后苜蓿草地降水渗深以下土层长期维持较为稳定的干燥化状态;苜蓿草地水分持续利用的合理年限为半湿润区8～10年,半干旱区6～8年,半干旱偏旱区4～6年.

黄土高原主要土壤锌有效性及其影响因素

通过测定黄土高原不同区域、不同类型土壤全锌和有效锌含量,研究了黄土高原土壤锌含量及影响有效锌的因素。结果表明,供试土壤全锌主要分布在50～100mg·kg-1之间,有效锌含量较低,其中20.69%在临界值(0.5mg·kg-1)之下,37.93%为低(0.5～1.0mg·kg-1)水平。用直线、幂函数和指数函数回归方程对影响有效锌的主要土壤因素进行回归拟合。发现土壤有效锌与全锌、全氮、全磷、有机质呈显著正相关,与土壤pH值呈显著负相关;幂函数可以较好地拟合有效锌与土壤全氮、有机质的相关关系,有效锌与全锌、全磷、pH值宜用指数函数表示其相关性。通径分析表明土壤性质对有效锌的直接作用系数大小次序为全氮>全锌>pH>全磷,土壤全氮对锌有效性的直接作用最明显。

陕北黄土区生物结皮条件下土壤养分的积累及流失风险

分析了陕北黄土高原典型流域生物结皮的形成和发育对土壤养分的积累效应,同时对生物结皮条件下土壤养分的流失风险进行评价.结果表明:生物结皮生长发育后能够迅速增加结皮层及2cm土层的养分含量,但对深层土壤影响较小;退耕0～20年间结皮层的养分含量与退耕年限之间的关系可用指数函数(y=a[b-exp(-cx)])拟合,其中有机质、全氮和碱解氮在退耕20年间的增加速度变化不大,而全磷、速效磷和速效钾在退耕初期增加迅速,后期增加缓慢;自然发育生物结皮对土壤养分的年均净贡献量为:有机质50.15g.m-2、全氮1.95g.m-2、全磷0.44g.m-2、碱解氮164.33mg.m-2、速效磷9.64mg.m-2和速效钾126.21mg.m-2,人工培育条件下生物结皮发育更快,对养分尤其是速效养分的贡献速率更高;生物结皮条件下养分含量的提高增加了养分流失风险,尤其是养分随泥沙流失大幅度增加,生物结皮增加的养分中平均有39.06%随泥沙流失,仅有60.94%得以保留.总之,生物结皮可迅速、全面增加表层土壤养分,但同时会加大养分流失风险.尽管如此,土壤养分的净增加量仍相当可观,显示生物结皮具有较好的土壤养分积累效应.

Dembowski-Ostrom型完全非线性函数构造的线性码权分布

Dembowski-Ostrom型完全非线性函数是目前最主要的完全非线性函数类,已发现的完全非线性函数中只有一种不属于Dembowski-Ostrom型.为此,该文首先给出Dembowski-Ostrom型完全非线性函数的定义,将已有的线性码构造推广到这一类型函数上.进而给出此类函数构造的线性码的码字与有限域上非退化二次型之间的关系,并得到相应二次型的原像分布的一些性质.通过有限域上的二次型以及指数和理论,用统一的方法完全确定了基于所有Dembowski-Ostrom型完全非线性函数构造的两类线性码的权分布.

Distribution characteristics of (CS)-C-137 in wind-eroded soil profile and its use in estimating wind erosion modulus

Due to its inert reaction in soil system and distinctive vertical distribution in soil profile, caesium-137 (Cs-137) has been used as a tracer to assess wind erosion. In this study, 62 soil samples were collected from 4 sampling sites in Taipusi County, Inner Mongolia; Caesium-137 activities for those soil samples were measured using a gamma-ray spectrometry in Sichuan University, Chengdu. Distribution pattern of Cs-137 in vertical soil profile was different for different land use and land cover types. Caesium-137 was distributed homogeneously in plow layer of cropland, and negatively exponential in low to medium cover grassland. Distribution pattern in high covered grassland was represented by a peak at 2-4 cm soil depth followed by a negative exponential curve. Based on those findings, simplified mass balance model was chosen to estimate the rate of wind erosion for cropland, while profile distribution model was used for grassland. Estimated wind erosion rates were 7990, 4270 and 1808 Mg(.)km(-2.)a(-1) for cropland, low cover grassland and medium cover grassland, respectively. Wind erosion intensity correlated negatively with plant cover.

Effects of temperature, glucose and inorganic nitrogen inputs on carbon mineralization in a Tibetan alpine meadow soil

High levels of available nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) have the potential to increase soil N and C mineralization We hypothesized that with an external labile C or N supply alpine meadow soil will have a significantly higher C mineralization potential and that temperature sensitivity of C mineralization will increase To test the hypotheses an incubation experiment was conducted with two doses of N or C supply at temperature of 5 15 and 25 C Results showed external N supply had no significant effect on CO2 emission However external C supply increased CO2 emission Temperature coefficient (Q(10)) ranged from 113 to 1 29 Significantly higher values were measured with C than with N addition and control treatment Temperature dependence of C mineralization was well-represented by exponential functions Under the control CO2 efflux rate was 425 g CO2-Cm-2 year(-1) comparable to the in situ measurement of 422 g CO2-Cm-2 year(-1) We demonstrated if N is disregarded microbial decomposition is primarily limited by lack of labile C It is predicted that labile C supply would further increase CO2 efflux from the alpine meadow soil (C) 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS All rights reserved

Lattice Boltzmann study of hydrodynamic effects in lamellar ordering process of two-dimensional quenched block copolymers

By incorporating self-consistent field theory with lattice Boltzmann method, a model for polymer melts is proposed. Compared with models based on Ginzburg-Landau free energy, our model does not employ phenomenological free energies to describe systems and can consider the chain topological details of polymers. We use this model to study the effects of hydrodynamic interactions on the dynamics of microphase separation for block copolymers. In the early stage of phase separation, an exponential growth predicted by Cahn-Hilliard treatment is found. Simulation results also show that the effect of hydrodynamic interactions can be neglected in the early stage.

Electrical instability in vanadyl-phthalocyanine thin-film transistors

We investigated the electrical instability of vanadyl-phthalocyanine (VOPc) thin-film transistors (TFTs) at various temperatures. The results demonstrate a slow threshold voltage shift in the bias stress process and a rapid recovery after the removal of bias stress, which indicates that a slower degradation process occurs in the on state while a faster removal in the off state of VOPc TFTs. The shift of threshold voltage comes from traps generated at the organic/dielectrics interface. Additionally, a relaxation time of 10(7) s was obtained at room temperature according to the stretched exponential model, which is comparable to a-Si: H TFTs. Therefore, VOPc TFTs are suitable to be applied in flat panel displays.

Exploring the Origin of Power Law Distribution in Single-Molecule Conformation Dynamics: Energy Landscape Perspectives

We explored the origin of power law distribution observed in single-molecule conformational dynamics experiments. By establishing a kinetic master equation approach to study statistically the microscopic state dynamics, we show that the underlying landscape with exponentially distributed density of states leads to power law distribution of kinetics. The exponential density of states emerges when the system becomes glassy and landscape becomes rough with significant trapping.

Relationship between charge transfer energies of Yb3+ and Sm3+ and crystal environmental factor

Relationship between charge transfer energies E-CT of Yb3+ and Sm3+ and environmental factors h(e) in various crystals was investigated using a dielectric chemical bond method. Both results show that they have an exponential relation E-CT = A+B exp(-kh(e)), but the exponential factors are different, which indicates that the interaction between the rare earth ions and environment is connected with the kind of rare earth ion. This result provides a method of determining charge transfer energies of Yb3+ and Sm3+ from a crystal structure.

Structural and Bluish-White Luminescent Properties of Li+-Doped BPO4 as a Potential Environmentally Friendly Phosphor Material

Many efforts have been devoted to exploring novel luminescent materials that not contain expensive or toxic elements, or do not need a mercury vapor plasma source. In this paper, BPO4 and Li+-doped BPO4 powder samples were prepared by the Pechini-type sol-gel (PSG) process. The structure and optical properties of the resulting samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), photoluminescence (PL) excitation and emission spectra, kinetic decay, and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), respectively. It was found that PSG -derived Li+-doped BPO4 annealed at 960 degrees C exhibited bright bluish-white emission centered at 416 nm. The luminescence decay curves analysis indicates that each sample has two kinds of lifetimes (5.9 ns and 0.529 ms) and two types of kinetic decay behaviors which can be fitted into a single-exponential function and a double-exponential function, respectively.

Autophobic Dewetting of a Poly(methyl methacrylate) Thin Film on a Silicon Wafer Treated in Good Solvent Vapor

The wettability of thin poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) films on a silicon wafer with a native oxide layer exposed to solvent vapors is dependent on the solvent properties. In the nonsolvent vapor, the film spread on the substrate with some protrusions generated on the film surface. In the good solvent vapor, dewetting happened. A new interface formed between the anchored PMMA chains and the swollen upper part of the film. Entropy effects caused the upper movable chains to dewet on the anchored chains. The rim instability depended on the surface tension of solvent (i.e., the finger was generated in acetone vapor (gamma(acetone) = 24 mN/m), not in dioxane vapor (gamma(dioxane) = 33 mN/m)). The spacing (lambda) that grew as an exponential function of film thickness h scaled as similar to h(1.31) whereas the mean size (D) of the resulting droplets grew linearly with h.

Enhanced luminescence of BPO4 by mixing with SiO2 and Al2O3

In this paper, BPO4-xSiO(2) (X: SiO2/BPO4 molar ratio, 0-70%) and BPO4-xAl(2)O(3) (X: Al2O3/BPO4 molar ratio, 0-20%) powder samples were prepared by the Pechini-type sol-gel (PSG) process using glycerol and poly(ethylene glycol) as additives. The structure and optical properties of the resulting samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), diffuse reflection spectra, photoluminescence (PL) excitation and emission spectra, kinetic decay, and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), respectively. It was found that the Pechini-type sol-gel-derived BPO4-xSiO(2) annealed at 1000 degrees C and BPO4-xAl(2)O(3) annealed at 960 degrees C exhibited bright bluish-white emissions centered at 428 and 413 nm, respectively. The luminescence decay curve analysis indicates that each sample has two kinds of lifetimes (more than 0.4 ms and less than 10 ns) and two types of kinetic decay behaviors, which can be fitted into a double-exponential function and a single-exponential function, respectively.