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.     

基于多输出支持向量回归算法的股市预测

提出了一种新的多输出支持向量回归算法,给出了定义在超球上的损失函数,并将训练SVM转化为迭代解线性方程组,在求解过程中采用边计算边使矩阵降阶的方法,加快了运算速度.建立了该算法应用于股市预测的模型,对上证指数的建模与预测表明:与单输出支持向量回归算法建立的模型相比,该算法具有更好的整体预测精度和抗噪性能,是对股市进行分析和预测的一种可行而有效的方法.     

Detection of water masers in a sample of 84 IRAS sources

Using a newly installed system on the 25 m telescope of Urumqi Observatory, we searched for H20 maser emission towards 84 IRAS sources including young stellar objects （YSOs） and candidates for OFUIR stars. Water masers were detected in four star formation regions and one envelope of late type of stars for the first time. New water maser components were measured in two sources. In a maser source with no water maser emission detected six years ago, strong maser emission was found at different velocities, showing that there was a new explosion of water maser in this source.     

Preparation of polypropylene/montmorillonite nanocomposites by intercalative polymerization： Effect of in situ polymer matrix functionalization on the stability of the nanocomposite structure

The copolymerization of propylene and 5-hexenyl-9-borabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane (5-hexenyl-9-BBN) has been conducted with an MgCl2/TiCl4 catalyst intercalated in an organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT) with triethylaluminum (AlEt3) cocatalyst and diphenyldimethoxysilane (DDS) external donor. This polymerization process simultaneously results in both the exfoliation of MMT layers to realize the preparation of polypropylene (PP)/MMT nanocomposites and the implantation of reactive borane groups in the formed PP matrix. The polymer-borne borane groups have been able to undergo an effi-cient hydrolysis process under very mild reaction conditions (40℃, 3 h, in THF), introducing hydroxy groups into PP without sacrificing the polymerization-formed nanocomposite structure (the exfoliation of MMT). The resultant hydroxyl-functionalized PP/MMT nanocomposites exhibit enhanced structural stability against processing compared with those based on unfunctionalized PP matrix.     

Ecdysteroids in the larvae of Opogona sacchari （Bojer）, a invasive alien pest

In order to understand the composition and quantitative variation of ecdysteriods in the larvae of Opogona sacchari (Bojer), a invasive alien pest, we analyzed the larval ecdysteroid composition and titers in this pest. The main component of ecdysteriods in the larvae of O. sacchari is 20-hydroxyecdysone, and also there is a little 26-hydroxyecdysone. The titer of ecdysteriods in the larvae from the 1st instar to the 7th instar was gotten higher gradually compared on ng ecdyster-oid/larva, but no regularity could be found about the titer if compared on ng ecdysteroid/g avoirdupois. There was only one peak of ecdysteroids (0.5475 ng/larva) showed at day 2 during the developmental time of the 6th instar larvae. However, there were two peaks appearing during the developmental time of the 7th instar larvae , one peak (0.29415 ng/larva) at day 3, another (0.214 ng/larva) at day 5.     

Neural correlates of short-term perceptual learning in orientation discrimination indexed by event-related potentials

The current work investigated the neural correlates of visual perceptual learning in grating orientation discrimination by recording event-related potentials (ERPs) from human adults. Subjects were trained with a discrimination task of grating orientation in three consecutive training sessions within 2 h. While reaction times (RTs) were shortened gradually across training sessions, the N1 was decreased and the P2 was increased over the parietal and occipital areas. A broadly distributed P3 was increased along with more practices. In addition, the time course of learning reflected in the P2 and P3 amplitudes was in line with the changes of reaction times and exhibited a stable level during later training. The impli- cations of these results to the neural mechanisms subserving perceptual learning were discussed.     

Biomineralization of phototrophic microbes in silica-enriched hot springs in South China

Microbial mats in two hot springs in South China were sampled for the research of mineralization of microbes and its mechanism by the methods of geology and modern biology. The results show that hot spring microbes have the key capability for enrichment of Si, Al, Fe, Ca and other elements, and the microbes are also crucial for the formation of SiO2, CaCO3, clay and so on. The extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) play important roles in the process of mineralization of hot spring microbes, which mainly takes place in the layer of EPS outside cell wall or sheath of cyanobacteria. The sheath outside cell wall, which keeps the normal metabolism of cyanobacteria during the process of mineralization on its surface, is also considerable for the biomineralization of cyanobacteria. According to structure and mineralization characteristics of two microbial mats, the process of mineralization can be divided into three stages, namely, early surface mineralization, middle degradation mineralization, and late des- quamation of mineral. The above conclusions are significant for comprehension of the process of mineralization, the process of deposition and the preservation of microfossil in modern and ancient extreme environments.     

Noble gases in corundum megacrysts from the basalts in Changle, Shandong Province, eastern China

This study presents noble gaseous data of the corundum megacrysts from the Cenozoic basalts in Changle, Shandong Province, eastern China. It is known that no noble gaseous data of corundum megacryst have been documented before. The 3He/4He ratios (1.13-7.37 Ra) of the corundums from Changle vary from atmosphere to MORB values; the 20Ne/22Ne (9.67-10.75) and 21Ne/22Ne (0.0280-0.0372) data define two linear trends on Ne three-isotope diagram, respectively, along the MFL and the correlation line between atmosphere and MORB; the 38Ar/36Ar (0.177-0.194) ratios, the 40Ar/36Ar (280.9 -404.2) ratios and the 128-136Xe/132Xe ration with obvious 129Xe excess are generally higher than at-mospheric component, but the 40Ar/36Ar ratios are much closer to atomospheric ratio. The isotopic compositions of noble gases (particularly for He and Ar) of the corundums are similar to those of py-roxene, anorthoclase megacrysts, and mantle-derived xenoliths from this area, and those of man-tle-derived xenoliths from several areas in eastern China. Therefore, the noble gases trapped in the corundums probably are from mantle source, representing a ‘mixed fluid' produced by the interaction between the lithospheric mantle and fluids releasing from the convective plate. Both the noble gas isotopic compositions and the oxygen isotopic compositions of the solid corundums are not the characteristics of crustal source. These suggest that the corundums crystallized from mantle-derived magmas with minimal crustal contamination.     

Diet control on carbon isotopic composition of land snail shell carbonate

Carbon isotope compositions for both the carbonate shells and soft bodies (organic tissue) of living land snails collected mostly from the Loess Plateau, China have been measured. The result shows that δ 13C values range from -13.1‰ to -4.3‰ for the aragonite shell samples and from -26.8‰ to -18.0‰ for the soft body samples. Although the shells are enriched in 13C relative to the bodies averagely by 14.2(±0.8)‰, the shell δ 13Ca values are closely correlated to the body δ 13Corg values, expressed as δ 13Ca = 1.021 δ 13Corg 14.38 (R = 0.965; N = 31). This relationship indicates that δ 13Ca is primarily a function of the isotopic composition of the snail diets since previous studies have proved that the snail body is the same as their food in carbon isotope composition. In other words, carbon isotope compo-sition of the carbonate shell can be used as a proxy to estimate the dietary 13C abundance of the land snails. The data also support that the 13C enrichment of the carbonate shells results mainly from the equilibrium fractionations between the metabolic CO2, HCO3-in the hemolymph and shell aragonite, and partially from kinetic fractionations when snail shells form during their activity.     

Inhibiting effect of melittin on pathogens of crops

The spectrum of antimicrobial effects of melittin were investigated on 19 pathogens by using a cylin-der-plate method with serial dilutions. Bacteriostatic efficiency and possible mechanistic effects were monitored via growth curves. The mechanism of inhibition was further analyzed by SDS-PAGE, flow cytometry and electron microscopy. Melittin had a wide inhibition spectrum and killed pathogens ef-fectively, and bacteriostatic action was influenced by factors such as pH and temperature. We eluci-dated three inhibitory mechanisms: melittin integrated with the cell membrane causing cell bursting and cytoplasm release, inhibited the synthesis of proteins and caused the cytoplasm to condense, and delayed pathogens in phase I (or phase G1) so that they could not complete the cell cycle. These re-sults suggest that melittin could serve as a broad-spectrum biological pesticide with fast-action and high-efficiency.