Size-dependent optical properties of Au nanorods

In the fast evolving field of nanoscience and nanotechnology,where size and shape are crucial in deciding the optoelectronic properties of nanomaterials,the understanding of size and shape dependent behavior is of direct relevance to device applications.Present study reports the synthesis of Au nanorods with well controlled aspect ratios,and the influence of the aspect ratio on the surface enhanced Raman scattering(SERS) activity using crystal violet(CV) as the probe molecule.The influence of pH and the concentrations of reducing agent and Ag ions in controlling the aspect ratio of gold nanorods are also investigated.The structural and optical properties of the synthesized samples have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy(TEM) and UV-visible absorption spectroscopy.The nonlinear optical(NLO) transmission of the Au nanorods investigated using the open aperture Z-scan technique revealed the absorption saturation followed by an optical limiting behavior,which may find potential applications in optoelectronic nanodevices.     

Sub-laser-cycle electron pulses for probing molecular dynamics

Experience shows that the ability to make measurements in any new time regime opens new areas of science. Currently, experimental probes for the attosecond time regime (10(-18) 10(-15) s) are being established. The leading approach is the generation of attosecond optical pulses by ionizing atoms with intense laser pulses. This nonlinear process leads to the production of high harmonics during collisions between electrons and the ionized atoms. The underlying mechanism implies control of energetic electrons with attosecond precision. We propose that the electrons themselves can be exploited for ultrafast measurements. We use a 'molecular clock', based on a vibrational wave packet in H(2)(+) to show that distinct bunches of electrons appear during electron ion collisions with high current densities, and durations of about 1 femtosecond (10(-15) s). Furthermore, we use the molecular clock to study the dynamics of non-sequential double ionization.     

Selective Smoothed Finite Element Method

The paper examines three selective schemes for the smoothed finite element method (SFEM) which was formulated by incorporating a cell-wise strain smoothing operation into the standard compatible finite element method (FEM). These selective SFEM schemes were formulated based on three selective integration FEM schemes with similar properties found between the number of smoothing cells in the SFEM and the number of Gaussian integration points in the FEM. Both scheme 1 and scheme 2 are free of nearly incompressible locking, but scheme 2 is more general and gives better results than scheme 1. In addition, scheme 2 can be applied to anisotropic and nonlinear situations, while scheme 1 can only be applied to isotropic and linear situations. Scheme 3 is free of shear locking. This scheme can be applied to plate and shell problems. Results of the numerical study show that the selective SFEM schemes give more accurate results than the FEM schemes.     

用基因芯片技术分析干旱胁迫下生殖生长期大麦的基因表达

耐旱性是干旱地区稳定和增加大麦产量的一个关键因素。鉴定出与耐旱性相关的功能基因,一方面可了解大麦的耐旱机理,同时还可以促进利用生物技术来改良大麦的耐旱性。在研究中,2个在耐旱性上具有明显差异的大麦品种Tadmor(耐旱)和WI2291(干旱敏感)被选作材料,采用22000个ESTs(基因表达序列标签)的Affymetrix大麦基因芯片Barley1来分析生殖生长期干旱胁迫下2个大麦材料的差异表达基因。研究结果表明,干旱胁迫下2个大麦材料中有77个共调节基因,其中部分基因已被报道过可能与抗旱性相关。这些基因中已有功能注释的基因按其生物学功能被分为14组,猜测它们是干旱胁迫的响应基因,在抗旱性上可能不起重要作用,或者是必需的但单独不足以提高大麦的抗旱性。进一步比较2个材料差异表达的基因,发现二材料之间有372个受干旱调节基因的差异。这些基因中有功能注释基因的生物学功能中可分为15组,其中一些已被认为与抗旱性相关;而对那些未知功能的基因,推测可能亦在大麦的抗旱性上扮演一定的角色。研究所得结果可为阐述生殖生长期大麦的耐旱性机理提供新的认识。     

Myeloid leukaemia inhibitory factor maintains the developmental potential of embryonic stem cells

Embryonic stem (ES) cells, the totipotent outgrowths of blastocysts, can be cultured and manipulated in vitro and then returned to the embryonic environment where they develop normally and can contribute to all cell lineages. Maintenance of the stem-cell phenotype in vitro requires the presence of a feeder layer of fibroblasts or of a soluble factor, differentiation inhibitory activity (DIA) produced by a number of sources; in the absence of DIA the ES cells differentiate into a wide variety of cell types. We recently noted several similarities between partially purified DIA and a haemopoietic regulator, myeloid leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF), a molecule which induces differentiation in M1 myeloid leukaemic cells and which we have recently purified, cloned and characterized. We demonstrate here that purified, recombinant LIF can substitute for DIA in the maintenance of totipotent ES cell lines that retain the potential to form chimaeric mice.     

Stem cells, cancer, and cancer stem cells.

Stem cell biology has come of age. Unequivocal proof that stem cells exist in the haematopoietic system has given way to the prospective isolation of several tissue-specific stem and progenitor cells, the initial delineation of their properties and expressed genetic programmes, and the beginnings of their utility in regenerative medicine. Perhaps the most important and useful property of stem cells is that of self-renewal. Through this property, striking parallels can be found between stem cells and cancer cells: tumours may often originate from the transformation of normal stem cells, similar signalling pathways may regulate self-renewal in stem cells and cancer cells, and cancer cells may include 'cancer stem cells' - rare cells with indefinite potential for self-renewal that drive tumorigenesis.     

十次幂和问题的解

给出不定方程１０＝ ｙ１０的一组正整数解     

基于分级遗传算法的结构损伤识别方法

提出了一种基于遗传算法的利用不完整振动数据识别结构损伤的新方法，该方法首先扩展不完整的振型并利用单元能量熵差比确定结构损伤的大致位置，然后采用二级搜索策略，借助遗传算法确定结构损伤的程度，数值计算结果表明，当可能的损伤区域较大时，本方法较直接搜索策略更能有效地确定结构损伤的程度。     

The genome sequence of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea

Magnaporthe grisea is the most destructive pathogen of rice worldwide and the principal model organism for elucidating the molecular basis of fungal disease of plants. Here, we report the draft sequence of the M. grisea genome. Analysis of the gene set provides an insight into the adaptations required by a fungus to cause disease. The genome encodes a large and diverse set of secreted proteins, including those defined by unusual carbohydrate-binding domains. This fungus also possesses an expanded family of G-protein-coupled receptors, several new virulence-associated genes and large suites of enzymes involved in secondary metabolism. Consistent with a role in fungal pathogenesis, the expression of several of these genes is upregulated during the early stages of infection-related development. The M. grisea genome has been subject to invasion and proliferation of active transposable elements, reflecting the clonal nature of this fungus imposed by widespread rice cultivation.     

Partial deficiency of erythrocyte spectrin in hereditary spherocytosis

Hereditary spherocytosis (HS) is a common, clinically heterogeneous haemolytic anaemia in which the primary erythrocyte defect is believed to be some abnormality in the spectrin-actin membrane skeleton, leading to loss of surface membrane. Recessively inherited spectrin deficiency with extreme erythrocyte fragility and spherocytosis has been identified in certain mutant mice and two severely anaemic humans. Although suspected, deficiency of spectrin has not been demonstrated in less severe forms of human HS. We not report the quantitation of erythrocytes spectrin by radioimmunoassay. We found that normal erythrocytes contained 240,000 copies of spectrin heterodimer, whereas erythrocytes from 14 patients with a variety of types of HS were all partially deficient in spectrin (range 74,000-200,000 copies), the magnitude of the deficiency correlating with the severity of the disease. Spectrin deficiency of varying degrees is common in HS and probably represents the principal structural defect leading to loss of surface membrane.