Crystallization dynamics of supersaturated NaClO4 aerosols studied by high-speed photography

Single supersaturated NaClO4 aerosol droplets on a quartz substrate were observed by a high-speed video camera for their morphologic changes with decreasing relative humidity （RH）. The supersaturated droplets were found to form anhydrous NaClO4 at -10% RH. Three stages were roughly observed in this process, i.e., the main stem appearance, primary and secondary branches growth, and the deep dehydration. The main stem grew steadily and finished in 120 ms. Affected by both crystal precipitation and water evaporation, primary branches grew for 1200 ms, accompanied by a slower growth of secondary branches. The deep dehydration was more complicated, and lasted for a longer time.     

Improving analytic hierarchy process applied to fire risk analysis of public building

The structure importance in Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) reflects how important Basic Events are to Top Event. Attribute at alternative level in Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) also reflect its importance to general goal. Based on the coherence of these two methods, an improved AHP is put forward. Using this improved method, how important the attribute is to the fire safety of public building can be analyzed more credibly because of the reduction of subjective judgment. Olympic venues are very important public buildings in China. The fire safety evaluation of them will be a big issue to engineers. Improved AHP is a useful tool to the safety evaluation to these Olympic venues, and it will guide the evaluation in other areas. Support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50536030), National Project of Scientific and Technical Supporting Programs funded by Ministry of Science & Technology of China (Grant No. 2006BAK06B02) and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 20070410220)     

Measuring radial Young’s modulus of DNA by tapping mode AFM

Based on tapping mode AFM imaging, a method was demonstrated to evaluate compression elasticity of single double-stranded DNA （dsDNA） molecules in the force region. With images under ambient conditions, Young＇s moduli of dsDNA in compression were calculated. Results demonstrated that Young＇s moduli of dsDNA can be simply deduced according to the proposed model. The method can also be used to evaluate the compression elasticity of similar soft nanomaterials.     

Study on the specific interaction between angiogenin and aptamer by atomic force microscopy （AFM）

The specific interaction between angiogenin and aptamer has been investigated by using AFM. The specificity of the interaction is revealed by comparing the binding probability of aptamer to other elements in a series of control experiments. The results have shown that there is specific interaction force between angiogenin and aptamer. Moreover, the single molecular pull-off force between angiogenin and aptamer has also been determined using the Poisson statistical method to be 133.7±11.7 pN. These findings obtained are helpful to the better revelation of recognition mechanism between angiogenin and aptamer, which provided basis for further understanding the inhibition of the aptamer to angiogenic activity.     

State of water and its implications for supersaturated structures in Mg(NO3)2 aerosols

One technique based on the difference spectra was developed to study the state of water in supersaturated Mg(NO₃)₂ aerosols. The technique could be derived from the observation that the Raman scattering and infrared absorbance cross sections of molecular vibrations of interest remain practically constant from diluted solutions to supersaturated aerosols. The spectra of solvated water were obtained and primarily related to the first hydration layers of solute molecules in supersaturated Mg(NO₃)₂ aerosols. Based on this investigation, a chain structure was proposed to occur in the supersaturated Mg(NO₃)₂ aerosols at low relative humidities (RHs). Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 20673010 and 20640420450), “111” Project (Grant No. B07012), and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 20070410466)     

Dead lithium phase investigation of Sn-Zn alloy as anode materials for lithium ion battery

In this work, based on First-principle plane wave pseudo-potential method, we have carried out an in-depth study on the possible dead lithium phase of Sn-Zn alloy as anode materials for lithium ion batteries. Through investigation, we found that the phases Li_xSn₄Zn₄(x = 2, 4, 6, 8) contributed to reversible capacity, while the phases Li_xSn₄Zn_8−(x−4)(x = 4.74, 7.72) led to capacity loss due to high formation energy, namely, they were the dead lithium phases during the charge/discharge process. And we come up with a new idea that stable lithium alloy phase with high lithiation formation energy (dead lithium phase) can also result in high loss of active lithium ion, besides the traditional expression that the formation of solid electrolyte interface film leads to high capacity loss. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50771046), Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (Grant No. 05200534), Key Projects of Guangdong Province and Guangzhou City (Grant Nos. 2006A10704003 and 2006Z3-D2031) and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Project No. 20080440764)     

Mineral magnetic properties of surface sediments at Bei’anhe, Beijing, and its environmental significance

A multiparameter investigation of surface sediments from the Bei＇anhe section （Beijing） has been conducted using environmental magnetic approaches. The studied sedimentary sequence consists of pluvial and lacustrine silts and clay of the Holocene age. Magnetite, hematite and pyrrhotite were identiffed as the dominant magnetic minerals. The mineral magnetic characteristics are considered to reflect the Holocene paleoenvironmental processes of the studied area, which are different from the mineral magnetic properties of typical polluted sections reported in the Beijing area. The low-field magnetic susceptibility and saturated isothermal remanence magnetization of the section decrease gradually with increasing depth. This indicates that the concentration of magnetic minerals in the strata decreases down the section. Values of interparametric ratios, such as ARM/SIRM, XARM/Xand SIRM/X, gradually increase with increasing depth, which indicates a down-section decreasing trend in the magnetic grain size of the sediments. Pyrrhotite occurs below the depth of 22 cm, suggesting the existence of redox interface. The magnetic variations of the Bei＇anhe surface sediments might be controlled by two geological processes： reductive diagenesis and pedogenesis. Our findings may have provided a reference point for magnetic investigation of polluted surface sediments in the Beijing area.     

Induction of corneal epithelial prosenitors from bone-marrow mesenchymal stem cells of rhesus monkeys in vitro

Bioengineered corneas are substitutes for human donor tissue that are designed to treat severe disease affecting ocular surfaces. However, a shortage of candidate seed cells for bioengineering corneas is still a problem. Bone-marrow mesenchymal stem cells （MSCs） are capable of multilineage differentiation. Therefore, we determined whether MSCs differentiate into corneal epithelial cells （ECs）. We applied three exoteric-microenvironmental systems to induce MSCs to become ECs. Induced MSC were identified by means of morphologic examination, immunocytochemical analysis, and flow cytometry. MSCs grown in one microenvironment had characteristics similar to those of corneal epithelial progenitors. Induced MSCs expressed markers for EC, including integrin 61, Cx43, Pax6, and P63. MSCs were successfully induced to become corneal epithelial progenitors. Therefore, the use of MSCs may hold substantial promise for reconstructing the ocular surface after corneal injury.[第一段]     

Arctic dipole anomaly and summer rainfall in Northeast China

A dipole structure anomaly in summer Arctic atmospheric variability is identified in this study, which is characterized by the second mode of empirical orthogonal function （EOF） analysis of summer monthly mean sea level pressure （SLP） north of 70°N, accounting for 12.94% of the variance. The dipole anomaly shows a quasi-barotropic structure with opposite anomalous centers over the Canadian Arctic and the Beaufort Sea and between the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea. The dipole anomaly reflects alternating variations in location of the polar vortex between the western and eastern Arctic regions. The positive phase of the dipole anomaly corresponds to the center of the polar vortex over the western Arctic, leading to an increase in summer mean rainfall in Northeast China. The dipole anomaly has a predominant 6-year periodicity, and shows interdecadal variations in recent decades.     

Responses of rice growth to copper stress under free-air CO2 enrichment （FACE）

The responses of rice to the second degree contamination of copper were studied by pot experiments under free-air CO2 enrichment （FACE） with 570 μmol ·mol^-1 of CO2. The results showed that the content of copper in rice leaves was reduced with the CO2 concentration reaching 570 μmol· mol^-1 and this happened more significantly under the second degree contamination of copper. Under FACE, activities of superoxide dismutase （SOD） enzyme in rice leaves treated by copper contamination were induced, whereas the contents of glutathione （GSH） and glutathione disulfide （GSSG） had no significant difference from the control. In the presence of ambient CO2, activities of SOD enzyme treated by copper pollution were suppressed during the whole rice growth, however, the contents of GSH and GSSG were induced at tillering and jointing stages, and then restored to the control levels in later growth under the second degree contamination of copper. With the rice growing, the content of malondialdehyde （MDA） rises continuously, but there had been no significant difference between the treatments at the same growth stage. Further studies are needed on the response mechanism of rice to Cu stress under elevated CO2.     

An optimized staggered variable-grid finite-difference scheme and its application in cross-well acoustic survey

In this paper, an optimized staggered variable-grid finite-difference （FD） method is developed in velocity-stress elastic wave equations. On the basis of the dispersion-relation-preserving （DRP）, e fourth-order finite-difference operator on non-uniform grids is constructed. The proposed algorithm is e continuous variable-grid method. It does not need interpolations for the field variables between regions with the fine spacing end the coarse one. The accuracy of the optimized scheme has been veri-fled with an analytical solution end e regular staggered-grid FD method for the eighth order accuracy in space. The comparisons of the proposed scheme with the variable-grid FD method based on Taylor series expansion ere made. It is demonstrated that this optimized scheme has less dispersion errors than that with Teylor＇s series expansion. Thus, the proposed scheme uses coarser grids in numerical simulations than that constructed by the Teylor＇s series expansion. Finally, the capability of the opti-mized FD is demonstrated for e complex cross-well acoustic simulation. The numerical experiment shows that this method greatly saves storage requirements and computational time, and is stable.     

Study on elastic modulus of individual ferritin

The mechanical property of individual ferritin was measured with force-volume mapping (FV) under contact mode of atomic force microscopy (AFM) in this work. The elastic modulus of individual ferritin was estimated by the Hertz mode. The estimated value of the elastic modulus of individual ferritin was about 250－800 MPa under a small deformation. In addition, the elastic modulus of individual ferritin was compared with that of the colloid gold nanoparticle.     

Influence of location-dependent protuberance damage on cell viability

The influence of femtosecond laser-induced damages on viability of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) is investigated. Several cytokinetic processes including cellular damage, recovery and death are discussed. Using femtosecond laser with the power of 100 μW and cutting speed of 2 μm/s, we cut the cellular protuberance with smaller diameter twice in different locations, and then observe the viability of the damaged cells. Under the same conditions, the root of protuberance with larger diameter is cut six times to observe changes of cellular shape. Whether the damage is located in the end, middle or root of protuberance with smaller diameter, the cell viability can recover within 3 h. When the damage is located in the root of protuberance with larger diameter, the damaged cell will die in the way of oncosis. Cytokinetic phenomena including intracellular high Ca²⁺ concentration, cellular morphologic change, recovery and oncosis are discussed. Meanwhile, high Ca²⁺ concentration is observed after femtosecond laser surgery. Therefore, femtosecond laser surgery is an important tool for establishing cell damage model and studying cytokinetics. Supported by National High Technology Research & Development Program of China (Grant No. 2006AA04Z307), Author of National Excellent Doctoral Dissertation of PR China (Grant No. 2006039), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50775104), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. BK2006507) and Jiangsu Provincial Research Innovation Program for College Graduates (Grant No. CX07B_086z)     

Pulping performance of transgenic poplar with depressed Caffeoyl-CoA O-methyltransferase

This paper evaluated pulping performance of 3-year-old field-grown transgenic poplar （Populus tremula × Populus alba）. The transgenic poplar with anti-sense CCoAOMT had an about 13% decreased lignin content, in which a slight increment was found in S/G ratio. Chemical analysis showed that the transgenic poplar had significantly less benezene-ethanol extractive than that of control wood, but no significant differences were found in contents of ash, cold water extractive, hot water extractive, 1% NaOH extractive, holocellulose, pentosans and cellulose. Fiber assay demonstrated that down-regulation of CCoAOMT expression improved the fiber quality in transgenic poplar. Kraft pulping showed that lower lignin in transgenic poplar led to remarkable improved pulp quality and increased pulp yield.     

High-frequency giant magneto-reactance effect in a composite wire LC-resonator

The BeCu/Insulator/CoP composite wires were prepared by electroless-deposition on insulated BeCu wire. The composite wire constructs a serial LC resonant element by itself. Due to the LC resonance, very large high-frequency magneto-reactance effect is observed at near the LC resonance frequency, and the maximal magneto-reactance ratio for the composite wire with length of 5 cm is 1.08×107% at 58924500 Hz. The LC resonance frequency decreases with the increasing length of the composite wire. The practical working frequency, at which the very large high-frequency magneto-reactance effect is observed, can be controlled through controlling the LC resonance frequency. The LC resonance mechanism is also analyzed.     

Estimating divergence times among subfamilies in Nymphalidae

The mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit Ⅰ （COⅠ） gene and the nuclear elongation factor 1α （EF-1α） gene were sequenced from 13 species of Nymphalidae. Phylogenetic trees of Nymphalidae, which is the largest family in butterflies, were constructed based on the sequences determined from 13 species sequenced in our laboratory and an additional 43 species obtained from GenBank using the maximum likelihood （ML） and Bayesian methods. Relative-rate tests between lineages in these phylogenetic trees were performed. On the basis of the results of the relative-rate tests and fossil information of Satyrinae, Nymphalinae and Biblidinae, the average divergence times among the subfamilies are estimated as 44.2-87.1 million years ago （Ma）. These results will be helpful for better understanding of the origin and evolution of this family, as well as the divergence time of butterflies and other complex taxa.     

Field emission characteristics of ZnO nanotetrapods and the effect of thermal annealing in hydrogen

Large-scale tetrapod-like ZnO nanostructures have been synthesized using a thermal chemical vapor deposition method on a silicon substrate. The high-purity nanotetrapods show sharp tips geometry with a wurtzite structure. The field emission properties of the uniform ZnO nanostructural material are investigated at different anode-cathode distances. The turn-on field for the ZnO nanotetrapods is found to be about 3.7 V/μm at a current density of 1 μA/cm^2. The field emission behavior obeys Fowler-Nordheim relationship. More importantly, the field emission properties are improved after annearing in hydrogen, and therefore high emission current and low turn-on field are obtained. These results indicate that tetrapod-like ZnO nanostructures are a promising candidate for cold cathode emitters.     

Coexistence of normal, super-, and hyper-deformation in nuclei: A study with angular momentum projection method

Angular-momentum-projected energy surface calculations for A ≈ 110 nuclei indicate three distinct energy minima occurring at different angular-momenta. These correspond to normal, super-, and hy- per-deformed shapes coexisting in one nucleus. 110Pd is studied in detail, with a quantitative prediction on super- and hyper-deformed spectra by the Projected Shell Model calculation. It is found that several other neighboring nuclei in the A-110 mass region, with the neutron number around 64, also exhibit clear s...     

Detection of infrared photons with a superconductor

A superconductor single photon detector based on NbN nanowire was fabricated using electron beam lithography （EBL） and reactive ion etching （RIE） for infrared photon detection. When biased well below its critical current at 4.2 K, NbN nanowire is very sensitive to the incident photons. Typical telecommunication photons with a wavelength of 1550 nm were detected by this detector. Data analysis indicates the repeating rate of the device with 200 nm NbN nanowire may be up to 100 MHz, and the quantum efficiency is about 0,01% when biased at 0.95/c.     

Ultrahigh resolution optical coherence tomography with femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser and photonic crystal fiber

Optical coherence tomography （OCT） with ultrahigh axial resolution was achieved by the super-continuum generated by coupling femtosecond pulses from a commercial Ti：sapphire laser into an air-silica microstructure fiber. The visible spectrum of the super-continuum from 450 to 700 nm centered at 540 nm can be generated. A free-space axial OCT resolution of 0.64 pm was achieved. The sensitivity of OCT system was 108 dB with incident light power 3 mW at sample, only 7dB below the theoretical limit. Subcellular OCT imaging was also demonstrated, showing great potential for biomedical application.