Asymmetric pores in a silicon membrane acting as massively parallel brownian ratchets

The brownian motion of mesoscopic particles is ubiquitous and usually random. But in systems with periodic asymmetric barriers to movement, directed or 'rectified' motion can arise and may even modulate some biological processes. In man-made devices, brownian ratchets and variants based on optical or quantum effects have been exploited to induce directed motion, and the dependence of the amplitude of motion on particle size has led to the size-dependent separation of biomolecules. Here we demonstrate that the one-dimensional pores of a macroporous silicon membrane, etched to exhibit a periodic asymmetric variation in pore diameter, can act as massively parallel and multiply stacked brownian ratchets that are potentially suitable for large-scale particle separations. We show that applying a periodic pressure profile with a mean value of zero to a basin separated by such a membrane induces a periodic flow of water and suspended particles through the pores, resulting in a net motion of the particles from one side of the membrane to the other without moving the liquid itself. We find that the experimentally observed pressure dependence of the particle transport, including an inversion of the transport direction, agrees with calculations of the transport properties in the type of ratchet devices used here.     

近红外光谱技术结合主成分聚类鉴别海面溢油

鉴于目前没有一种方法能独立解决溢油鉴别的所有问题[1],本文提出近红外光谱技术结合主成分聚类分析鉴别溢油种类的方法.通过有机溶剂萃取出自行配制的汽油、柴油和润滑油模拟样品中的溢油后记录其近红外光谱,对5 800～6 200 cm-1区段范围内的近红外谱图经过多元散射校正(MSC),Norris一阶导数平滑预处理处理后求其主成分,并在主成分的基础上引入Ward聚类分析法(离差平方和法)对样品分类.     

日益增长的城市问题

城市增长是二十一世纪人类最大的挑战之一。根据目前的预测,全世界的城市人口每年增长大约五千万。这种增长几乎是指数式的,在本世纪中期就可能达到饱和。因此就有了很多讨论和评估,关于土地消耗、特大城市可管理的面积以及组织而非控制这种快速传播的城市化的简单方法。为此,更好地理解城市增长的空间动力学应该是一个先决条件。实际上,城市规划学、城市地理学、城市经济学以及其它的相关学科已经在这个问题上作了很大的努力。虽然它们对一些细节有了深入研究,但是没有提出蕴含在这些复杂动力学下面的总的机制的大框图。因此有理由考虑是否…     

Characterization of murine non-adherent bone marrow cells leading to recovery of endogenous hematopoiesis

Non-adherent bone marrow-derived cells (NA-BMCs) are a mixed cell population that can give rise to multiple mesenchymal phenotypes and that facilitates hematopoietic recovery. We characterized NA-BMCs by flow cytometry, fibroblast colony-forming units (CFU-f), real-time PCR, and in in vivo experiments. In comparison to adherent cells, NA-BMCs expressed high levels of CD11b⁺ and CD90⁺ within the CD45⁺ cell fraction. CFU-f were significantly declining over the cultivation period, but NA-BMCs were still able to form CFU-f after 5 days. Gene expression analysis of allogeneic NA-BMCs compared to bone marrow (BM) indicates that NA-BMCs contain stromal, mesenchymal, endothelial cells and monocytes, but less osteoid, lymphoid, and erythroid cells, and hematopoietic stem cells. Histopathological data and analysis of weight showed an excellent recovery and organ repair of lethally irradiated mice after NA-BMC transplantation with a normal composition of the BM.     

Structure, mechanism and catalytic duality of thiamine-dependent enzymes

Thiamine is an essential cofactor that is required for processes of general metabolism amongst all organisms, and it is likely to have played a role in the earliest stages of the evolution of life. Here, we review from a structural perspective the enzymatic mechanisms that involve this cofactor. We explore asymmetry within homodimeric thiamine diphosphate (ThDP)-dependent enzyme structures and discuss how this may be correlated with the kinetic properties of half-of-the-sites reactivity, and negative cooperativity. It is likely these structural and kinetic hallmarks may arise through reciprocal coupling of active sites. This mode of communication between distant active sites is not unique to ThDP-dependent enzymes, but is widespread in other classes of oligomeric enzyme. Thus, it appears likely to be a general phenomenon reflecting a powerful mechanism of accelerating the rate of a chemical pathway. Finally, we speculate on the early evolutionary history of the cofactor and its ancient association with protein and RNA.