Long Chain Fatty Acid Affects Excited State Branching in Bilirubin-Human Serum Protein Complex

After binding to human serum albumin,bilirubin could undergo photoisomerization and photoinduced cyclization process.The latter process would result the formation of a product,named as lumirubin.These photo induced behaviors are the fundamental ofclinical therapy for neonatal jaundice.Previous studies have reported that the addition of long chain fatty acids is beneficial to the generation of lumirubin,yet no kinetic study has revealed the mechanism behind.In this study,how palmitic acid affects the photochemical reaction process of bilirubin in Human serum albumin(HSA)is studied by using femtosecond transient absorption and fluorescence up-conversion techniques.With the addition of palmitic acid,the excited population of bilirubin prefers to return to its hot ground state(S_(0))through a 4 ps decay channel rather than the intrinsic ultrafast decay pathways(<1 ps).This effect prompts the Z-Z to E-Z isomerization at the S_(0) state and then further increases the production yield of lumirubin.This is the first time to characterize the promoting effect of long chain fatty acid in the process of phototherapy with femtosecond time resolution spectroscopy and the results can provide useful information to benefit the relevant clinical study.

High-Efficiency Broadband Near-Infrared Single-Photon Frequency Upconversion and Detection

We propose and demonstrate a high efficiency broadband near infrared single-photon upconversion and detection with a broadband pump laser based on sum frequency conversion in the PPLN crystal.By using a pump laser centered at 1040 nm with a spectral bandwidth of 10 nm,the signal single-photons centered at 1562 nm with a broadband bandwidth up to 7.2 nm are frequency-converted from the near infrared to the visible regime.A maximum conversion efficiency of 18.8%is achieved,while the background noise is measured to be only1.2×10^-3 counts/pulse.The corresponding spectral linewidth of the upconverted photons is 0.2 nm.This scheme of broadband infrared single-photon upconversion and detection provides potential solutions in infrared laser ranging,broadband infrared imaging and quantum key distribution.

Comparison of two statistical models in predicting the outcome of female systemic lupus erythematosus patients in China

Objectives: Comparing two different statistical models to predict female SLE patients’ outcome and analyze some related factors. Methods: 1072 female SLE patients were from the Provincial Hospital of Anhui Province and The First Ancillary Hospital of Anhui Medical University from 1990 to 2000. Two types of statistical models including loglinear and Cox proportional hazard model were performed according to this data. Results: Marriage situation, family place, admission situation, whether coming from a different division, nosocomial infection, first occurrent or not and number of drug types had significant effects on LOS after fitting of a loglinear model. Related factors from Cox proportional hazard model were little more than those selected from loglinear model. Based on the former model, a female SLE patient could be predicted that how long she would stay in hospital. But from the latter model, we could predict the ratio of the probability of improvement between different groups of female SLE patients with different individual or clinical characteristics. Conclusions: Factors affecting the length of stay of female SLE patients could be selected from either loglinear model or Cox model. But these two models would be used to do different predictions.

Progranulin:A promising biomarker and therapeutic target for fibrotic diseases

Progranulin(PGRN),a multifunctional growth factor-like protein expressed by a variety of cell types,serves an important function in the physiologic and pathologic processes of fibrotic diseases,including wound healing and the inflammatory response.PGRN was discovered to inhibit proinflammation effect by competing with tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-a)binding to TNF receptors.Notably,excessive tissue repair in the development of inflammation causes tissue fibrosis.Previous investigations have indicated the significance of PGRN in regulating inflammatory responses.Recently,multiple studies have shown that PGRN was linked to fibrogenesis,and was considered to monitor the formation of fibrosis in multiple organs,including liver,cardiovascular,lung and skin.This paper is a comprehensive review summarizing our current knowledge of PGRN,from its discovery to the role in fibrosis.This is followed by an in-depth look at the characteristics of PGRN,consisting of its structure,basic function and intracellular signaling.Finally,we will discuss the potential of PGRN in the diagnosis and treatment of fibrosis.

Optimal Consumption, Leisure and Job Choice under Inflationary Environment

The optimal job choice,consumption and portfolio decision-making of economic agents under inflationary environment for a continuous infinite time are studied.The agent’s preference is characterized by the Cobb-Douglas utility function with two variables of consumption and leisure.The economic agent invests in three kinds of assets:risk-free bonds,inflation index bonds and risky assets.The agent has two kinds of working conditions:One is the work with high income and little leisure time,and the other is the work with low income and much leisure time.Firstly,the real wealth process after inflation discount is derived by using Itôformula.Then,based on the expected utility maximization standard under any working state,martingale method is adopted to obtain the closed form solution of optimal job choice,consumption and portfolio decision-making.Finally,the effects of wealth and inflation volatility on the optimal consumption and portfolio strategies are quantitatively analyzed by numerical simulation with given parameters.

基于体外组装核糖核蛋白形式的CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑方法研究进展

CRISPR(clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)/Cas(CRISPR-associated)系统是近年来发展起来的新型的基因编辑技术,在生物医学领域得到广泛应用。CRISPR/Cas9系统需要在gRNA存在的条件下通过Cas9蛋白实现对基因组的定点编辑,通常情况下以慢病毒感染或质粒转染等方式提供Cas9和gRNA。但是,这些方式容易引起免疫反应及基因片段不可控插入,存在一定的风险,限制了CRISPR/Cas9技术在机体的应用。近年来发展起来的基于体外组装的核糖核蛋白(ribonucleoprotein,RNP)转导入胞的策略由于快捷安全、编辑的脱靶率低等优势引起广泛关注。对Cas9 RNP的转导方式及其应用进行了总结,并就其目前存在的问题进行探讨,以期为CRISPR/Cas9技术的进一步发展提供依据,为拓展其应用奠定基础。