RadA： A protein involved in DNA damage repair processes of Deinococcus radiodurans R1

RadA is highly conserved in bacteria and belongs to the RecA/RadA/Rad51 protein su-perfamily found in bacteria,archaea and eukarya. In Archaea,it plays a critical role in homologous re-combination process due to its RecA-like function. In Escherichia coli,it takes part in conjugational recom-bination and DNA repair but is not as important as that of archaea. Using PSI-BLAST searches,we found that Deinococcus radiodurans RadA had a higher similarity to that of bacteria than archaea and eukarya. Disruption of radA gene in D. radiodurans resulted in a modestly decreased resistance to gamma radiation and ultraviolet,but had no effect on the resistance to hydrogen peroxide. Complementa-tion of the radA disruptant by both E. coli radA and D. radiodurans radA could fully restore its resistance to gamma radiation and ultraviolet irradiation. Further domain function analyses of D. radiodurans RadA showed that the absence of the zinc finger domain resulted in a slightly more sensitive phenotype to gamma and UV radiation than that of the radA mutant,while the absence of the Lon protease domain exhib-ited a slightly increased resistance to gamma and UV radiation. These data suggest that D. radiodurans RadA does play an important role in the DNA damage repair processes and its three different domains have different functions.     

Construction of heteroduplex DNA and in vitro model for functional analysis of mismatch repair

Functional deficiency of mismatch repair (MMR) system is one of the mechanisms of tumorigenesis. With the development of the investigation and the requirement from the clinical diagnosis and treatment it is necessary to build up a method to evaluate the functional status of the whole MMR system in the concerned tumors. The original ssDNA and dsDNA from wild type (wt) bacteriophage M13mp2 and its three derivates with mutation points in the     

Expression of PHGPx in mammalian cells and its antiviral effect against coxsackievirus group B

To express human phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) in eukaryotic cells and to study its antiviral effect against Coxsackievirus B3m (CVB3m) in vitro, PHGPx cDNA was amplified from a human testis library using specific primers and cloned into expression vector pcDNA3. I/His. Expression of PHGPx was performed in COS-1 cells. The antiviral effect was studied by the treatment of HeLa cells with the recombinant PHGPx. Results showed that the activity of PHGPx expressed in COS-1 cells was 5-fold higher than that in control group, and it inhibited the cytopathic effect on HeLa cells caused by CVB3m. It can be concluded that recombinant PHGPx expressed in COS-1 cells has antiviral effect against CVB3m in vitro.     

The Reasons and Solutions of Polarizing Phenomenon in English Education in Middle School

Polarizing phenomenon in English in middle school is a difficult problem. In order to solve it, teachers need to get the essence of some instructional designs and methodologies such as “Task-Based Learning”; “Communicative Approach” and “Learning by Finding Approach”. It also requires teachers to understand the educational psychology theories on which they based. First of all, however, it is better to analyze the causes. This research focuses on the students who need help, because after all, the aim is to keep the students who fall behind up with the ones who study well.     

Secretion and regulatory mechanism of leptin during pregnancy in the golden hamster （Mesocricetus auratus）

Leptin, a 16 kDa polypeptide mainly secreted by white adipose tissue, has important function on the regulation of food intake and energy expenditure[1]. High concentration of leptin in the circulation suppresses food- intake, increases energy expenditure and therefore decreases the body weight; Accordingly, low concentration of leptin in the circulationstimulates food intake, decreases energy expenditure andincreases the body weight[1]. Normally, leptin level in thecirculation correlates with …     

On the “plasticity”of adult stem cells and its application in regenerative medicine

In recent years, with the increasingly further studies on embryonic stem cells and the recognition of the biologic characteristics of adult stem cells, it has been discovered that adult stem cells have another phenomenon of “plasticity” in addition to the characteristics of strong potential for self-renewal, proliferation and multi-differentiation, which brings us the hope for regenerative medicine—renewing new organ or tissue cells to replace those damaged by injury or diseases. Although the mechanism of “plasticity” and its application in the regenerative medicine are still in doubt, thorough exploration in these subjects would open up broad prospects for the use in cell and tissue engineering in the near future.     

Optimization and application of blasting parameters based on the “pushing-wall” mechanism

The large structure parameter of a sublevel caving method was used in Beiminghe iron mine. The ores were generally lower than the medium hardness and easy to be drilled and blasted. However, the questions of boulder yield, \"pushing-wall\" accident rate, and brow damage rate were not effectively controlled in practical blasting. The model test of a similar material shows that the charge concentration of bottom blastholes in the sector is too high; the pushing wall is the fundamental reason for the poor blasting effect. One of the main methods to adjust the explosive distribution is to increase the length of charged blastholes. Therefore, the field tests with respect to increasing the length of uncharged blastholes were made in 12# stope of -95 subsection and 6# stope of Beiminghe iron mine. This paper took the test result of 12# stope as an example to analyze the impact of charge structure on blasting effect and design an appropriate blasting parameter that is to similar to No.12 stope.     

Comprehensive evaluation of mechanism of “chimney effect” using principles of magnetism, geochemistry and mineralogy

Study of forming mechanism of \"chimney-effect\" (CE) has important significance for basic theory and applications of non-seismic geophysical and geochemical methods locating oil/gas reservoirs. The theoretical basis of comprehensive evaluation of mechanism of CE using principles of magnetism, geochemistry and mineralogy has been reviewed, with the problems to be solved: (ⅰ) study for the relationship between process of oil/gas migration and geochemical field; (ⅱ) analysis of genesis of magnetic, geochemical and mineralogical anomaly; (ⅲ) interpretation of surface soil magnetism and geochemical anomaly combined with seismic data.     

Depletion of phosphatidyl-glycerol head-group induces changes in oxygen evolution and protein secondary struc-tures of photosystem Ⅱ

The techniques of oxygen electrode polarogra-phy and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy were employed to explore the roles of polar head-group of phosphatidylglycerol (PG) molecules in the functional and structural aspects of photosystem Ⅱ (PS Ⅱ) through enzymatic approach. It was shown that the depletion of PG by treatment of phospholipase C (PLC) on PS Ⅱ particles caused the inhibition of oxygen evolving activity in PS Ⅱ. This effect also gave rise to changes in the protein secondary structures of PS Ⅱ, that is, an increase in a-helical conformation which is compensated by the loss of p-strand structures. It revealed that the head-group of PG molecules plays an important structural role in the maintenance of normal structure of PS Ⅱ proteins, which is required to maintain the appropriate physiological activity of the PS Ⅱ complex such as the oxygen evolving activity. It is suggested that there most probably exist hydrogen-bonding interactions between PG molecules and PS Ⅱ proteins.     

Surface roughness and removal rate in magnetorheological finishing of a subsurface damage free surface

Asphericalopticalcomponentsareimportantin modernopticalsystems[1].Thereexistmanytypesof aspheres.Thecommonlyusedonesincludeparabola,ellipsoid,etc.[2]Recently,increasingrequirements forasphericalopticalcomponents(e.g.forlithogra phy)togetherwithgrowingfieldsoftheirapplication(e.g.conformalandfreeformoptics)resultina strongneedforopticalfinishingmethodsthatcanbe appliedlocallytopolishcomplexshapedaspheresin brittlematerials(e.g.glass)[3].However,making high precisionaspheresisstillprimarilyanard…     

Detection of DNA methylation changes during seed germination in rapeseed （Brassica napus）

DNA methylation is a common yet important modi- fication of DNA in eukaryotic organisms. DNA methy- lation, especially methylation of cytosine (m5C), have both epigenetic and mutagenic effects on various cellu- lar activities such as differential gene exp…     

Effects of Li^＋ and PEG on DNA uptake in yeast

DNA uptake of Saccharo9myces cerevisiae known as genetic transformation was firstly described by Oppenoorth in 1960,and now the most commonly used efficient protocol for yeast transformation makes use of PEG and Li,which works well for most laboratory stratins and is suitable for high-efficiency transformation of plasmid DNA.However,it is still unknown how plasmid DNA enters yeast cells and what roles Li^ and PEG play on DNA uptake in yeast cells until now.     

p53-dependent upregulation of PIG3 transcription by γ-ray irradiation and its interaction with KAP1 in responding to DNA damage

PIG3 (p53-inducible gene 3), originally identified as one of a set of genes induced by p53 before the onset of apoptosis, was assumed to contribute to early cellular response to DNA damage. Here, we studied the relation between p53 status and the increased expression of PIG3 by ionizing radiation (IR), and the related clues regarding the involvement of PIG3 in the cellular response to IR-induced DNA damage signaling. We demonstrated that the pentanucleotide microsatellite sequence was responsible for the p5...     

The Similarities of Heart in English and “心” in Chinese in the use of Metaphor

Metaphor is a figure of speech which is often used both in written and spoken forms. There are both similarities and differences in the metaphorical uses of "heart" in English and the uses of its correspondent "心" in Chinese. The same metaphorical uses of "heart" and "心" are discussed in this paper.     

Relationships of mRNA-protein secondary structures in the human β-globin gene HBB and four variants

Single nucleotide polymorphism is an interesting problem that can alter gene expression,recode amino acids and affect protein function.Protein structural changes have generally been attributed to amino acid replacements,and only a few research efforts have examined the effects of mRNA structural changes to the conformation of the corresponding protein coded by the mRNA.In the present study,the human β-globin HBB gene and four variants were examined.The mRNA secondary structures were constructed using the dynamic extended folding method and the encoded protein secondary structures were obtained from related databases.Comparisons were performed between these structures before and after mutations were introduced into the mature mRNAs and the proteins.We focused on the structural changes from mRNA to protein and found that regular protein conformations tend to match stable mRNA regions,whereas irregular protein conformations,such as β/γ turns and random coils,often match unstable mRNA regions.Mutations within unstable regions can alter the mRNA secondary structure and leave footprints in the protein structure.Comparison of the mRNA-protein secondary structure relationships represents a potential strategy to explore protein functional changes.     

Surface roughness and removal rate in magnetorheological finishing of a subsurface damage free surface

Based on computer-controlled optical surfacing, a new technique called magnetorheological finishing (MRF), is presented. The new technique combines the features of conventional loose abrasive machining with a wheel shaped polishing tool. The tool incorporates a host of features and has unprecedented fabricating versatility. The pre-polishing and fine polishing processes can be performed only by adjusting different parameters. The material removal function is studied theoretically and the results of simulation present a Gaussian distribution feature. Based on the established theoretical model, material removal rate experiments involving a parabolic mirror are designed and carried out to determine the effect of controllable parameters on size of the gap between the workpiece and the polishing wheel, rotating speed of the polishing wheel, concentration of volume fraction of non-magnetic particles and polishing time. Further experiments are carried out on the surface microstructure of the workpiece, the final surface roughness with an initial value of 10.98 nm reaches 1.22 nm root mean square (RMS) after 20 min of polishing. The subsurface damage experiment and the atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurement on the polished surface can also verify the feasibility of the MRF technique.     

Spatial and temporal variations of forest LAI in China during 2000–2010

Forests are crucial terrestrial ecosystems.Their leaf area index (LAI) is a key parameter determining the exchange of matter and energy between the atmosphere and the ground surface.In this study,MOD 09A1 and MCD 43A1 data were input into an inversion model based on the 4-scale geometric optical model to retrieve 8-d 500 m LAI products in China during the period 2000 to 2010.The resulting LAI product was validated using LAI measured in 6 typical areas.The spatial and temporal variations of forest LAI and its relationships with temperature and precipitation were analyzed.The results show that the accuracy of the 500 m LAI product was above 70% in the 6 typical areas,indicating the reliability of this product.From 2000 to 2010,forest LAI in northeast,north,and south central China showed increasing trends.However,forest LAI in southeast and parts of southwest China showed downward trends,mainly because of the significant decrease observed during the period 2008 to 2010.Annual mean forest LAI positively correlated with annual mean temperature (AMT) in northeastern China and negatively correlated with AMT in southwest China.It had positive correlations with annual total precipitation in central south and north China.The abnormal climate conditions in 2001 and 2009 caused forest LAI to be obviously lower than normal in regions south of the Qinling Mountains and Huaihe River.Annual mean LAI decreased by more than 1.0 in some areas.