Photoinduced Electron Transfer, Energy Transfer and Chemical Reactions in Supramolecular Systems

The research team led by Prof.Chenho Tung (CAS member) trekked in the research of photoinduced electron transfer,energy transfer and chemical reactions of supramolecular system for 20 years.     

Alternative risk measure for decision-making under uncertainty in water management

Taking into account uncertainties in water management remains a challenge due to social, economic and environmental changes. Often, uncertainty creates difficulty in ranking or comparing multiple water management options, possibly leading to a wrong decision. In this paper, an alternative risk measure is proposed to facilitate the ranking or comparison of water management options under uncertainty by using the concepts of conditional expected loss and partial mean. This measure has the advantages of being more intuitive, general and could relate to many other measures of risk in literature. The application of the risk measure is demonstrated through a case study for the evaluation of flood mitigation projects. The results show that the new measure is applicable to a general decision-making process under uncertainty.     

Research on the atomic force microscopy-based fabrication of nanochannels on silicon oxide surfaces

The atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based nanomachining of nanochannels on silicon oxide surfaces is investigated both theo-retically and experimentally. The relationships of nanochannel depth versus cutting velocity, nanochannel depth versus normal force, friction force versus cutting velocity, and friction force versus normal force are systematically studied. Using the derived theory and fabrication method, a nanochannel with an expected depth can be machined simply by controlling the vertical deflection signal on the position sensitive detector of AFM. The theoretical analysis and fabrication method can be effectively used for AFM-based fabrication of nanochannels.     

Colorado's rare flora

Distribution, status, habitat, elevational range, original literature citations, synonymy, and specimens deposited at Brigham Young University (BRY), University of Colorado (COLO), Colorado State University (CS),Denver Botanical Garden (KHD), Kansas State University (KSC), University of Kansas (KANU), Missouri Botanical Garden (MO), and the Rocky Mountain Herbarium (RM) are given for 79 species of rare Colorado plants. Species federally listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act, candidates for listing, and species that qualify as federal candidates because of limited range, small populations, or known threats are included. Suggested changes in status are offered where appropriate. Maps and tables indicating the Colorado range of these species are provided.     

Preface

Professor LIU YouCheng is a pioneer of free radical chemistry in China. Born in Shucheng, Anhui Province in 1920, he received his undergraduate education at the National Central University, China and studied as a graduate student on a scholarship from the British Council at the University of Leeds, England, where he received his PhD degree in organic chemistry in 1948 under the guidance of Professor F. Challenger. He then went to the United States and took the position of research associate with Professor B. Riegel in the chemistry department of Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois until 1951. He then worked at the University of Chicago as a postdoctoral fellow with Professor M. S. Kharasch and thereby began his career in free radical chemistry research. Because of his strong desire to serve his mother country, Dr. Liu made strenuous efforts to return to China, finally suc- ceeding with the help of the Chinese Government in 1954. He accepted the offer from the Ministry of Education to become a chemistry professor at Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu Province in the northwest region of China in 1955. There, he started his professional career of teaching and research in organic chemistry. After only 2 years, he became the chairman of the chemistry department and remained at that post until 1983, a period of 26 years. During this period, Lanzhou University underwent strong development to become an important educational institution in China. Professor Liu resumed his research in free radical chemistry with only a small group of young col-leagues and graduate students and meager facilities in the middle fifties. Through stupendous effort and hard work, they had estab- lished an excellent center for free radical chemistry research by the early 1980s. 
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万物之理

有没有一个单独的统一了自然界显著多样性的深刻的理论？是不是正发现了粒子物理线索到万物之理的一个有趣的模式？某些物理学家正想回答这两个问题。爱因斯坦曾经说过“宇宙中最不可理解的事情，实际上是都可以理解的。”宇宙的体积之大不可相信，其所包含事物之多不可想象。至今我们已能模拟出它的大部分历史，阐明它的结构，预测它的未来，了解其所含有客体的迷惑多变的行为。我们之所以能做这些事是因为我们了解到所有事物都是通过一个关系网把它们联结在一起的。我们把它们称之为物理定律。万物归一个好的物理学定律或理论的工作就是用…     

DARPP-32, a dopamine-regulated neuronal phosphoprotein, is a potent inhibitor of protein phosphatase-1

The neurotransmitter dopamine has been demonstrated by biochemical, histochemical and immunocytochemical techniques to be unevenly distributed in the mammalian central nervous system. DARPP-32 (dopamine- and cyclic-AMP-regulated phosphoprotein of molecular weight 32,000) is a neuronal phosphoprotein that displays a regional distribution in the mammalian brain very similar to that of dopamine-containing nerve terminals, being highly concentrated in the basal ganglia. The state of phosphorylation of DARPP-32 can be regulated by dopamine and by cyclic AMP in intact nerve cells, suggesting a role for this phosphoprotein in mediating certain of the effects of dopamine on dopaminoceptive cells. The observation that many of the physical and chemical properties of purified DARPP-32 resemble those of phosphatase inhibitor-1 (inhibitor-1), a widely distributed inhibitor of protein phosphatase-1, suggests that DARPP-32 might also function as a phosphatase inhibitor. We report here that DARPP-32 inhibits protein phosphatase-1 at nanomolar concentrations. Moreover, like inhibitor-1, DARPP-32 is effective as an inhibitor in its phosphorylated but not its dephosphorylated form. Thus, the basal ganglia of mammalian brain contain a region-specific neuronal phosphoprotein that is a protein phosphatase inhibitor.     

Effects of fruit on ribulosediphosphate carboxylase activity inCitrus madurensis leaves

Zusammenfassung An fruchtenden und entblüteten Stecklingen vonCitrus madurensis wurde an vergleichbar inserierten Blättern die Aktivität von Ribulose-Diphosphat carboxylase und der Gehalt an löslichen Proteinen bestimmt. Sowohl die Aktivität von RuD Carboxylase als auch der Gehalt an löslichen Proteinen waren in Plättern fruchtender höher als in solchen nicht fruchtender Planzen.     

Planning for smallpox outbreaks

Mathematical models of viral transmission and control are important tools for assessing the threat posed by deliberate release of the smallpox virus and the best means of containing an outbreak. Models must balance biological realism against limitations of knowledge, and uncertainties need to be accurately communicated to policy-makers. Smallpox poses the particular challenge that key biological, social and spatial factors affecting disease spread in contemporary populations must be elucidated largely from historical studies undertaken before disease eradication in 1979. We review the use of models in smallpox planning within the broader epidemiological context set by recent outbreaks of both novel and re-emerging pathogens.