Dip-pen刻蚀技术直接制造蛋白质纳米阵列

This paper covers the first application of Dip Pen Nanolithography(DPN) to directly write protein patterns with submicrometer dimensions onto Au substrate. Using Bovine Serum Albumin(BSA) as the ink in the DPN procedure, we were able to utilize lateral force microscopy(LFM) images to differentiate between Au substrate and patterned area with deposited monolayers of BSA. Then the first evidence for Au_S bonding was reported between the gold substrate and the BSA surface thiol groups given by the angle resolved XPS measurements.

Cooperative Effects of Noise and Coupling on Stochastic Dynamics of a Membrane-Bulk Coupling Model

Based on a membrane-bulk coupling cell model proposed by Gomez-Marin et al. [ Phys. Rev. Lett. 98 （2007） 168303], the cooperative effects of noise and coupling on the stochastic dynamical behavior are investigated. For parameters in a certain region, the oscillation can be induced by the cooperative effect of noise and coupling. Whether considering the coupling or not, corresponding coherence resonance phenomena are observed. Furthermore, the effects of two coupling parameters, cell size L and coupling intensity k, on the noise-induced oscillation of membranes are studied. Contrary effects of noise are found in and out of the deterministic oscillatory regions.

Effect of Synergism and Antagonism between Metals on Toxicity in Soils

Synergism and antagonism of cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu) and selenium (Se) to biological toxicities in red soil, yellow brown soil and black soil were evaluated by MICROTOX method. The relation between forms of the tested metals in soil and the synergism or antagonism between them was also studied.Results showed that owing to the difference of soil chemical properties, toxicity of these metals in soils was different. In red soil with acid reaction and low in cation exchange capacity, antagonism occurred significantly between metals when they coexisted at high concentrations, while synergism occurred only under low concentrations. It is indicated that in red soil, toxicity of metals affected by synergism or antagonism depends on concentration of the metals present. For yellow brown soil and black soil with larger cation exchange capacity and lower exchangeable aluminium (A1), no toxicity of metals was observed even if metals were added to soil in high concentrations. Synergism and antagonism between Cd, Cu and Se were controlled by the forms of metals present. The amount of water-soluble metals was the most important factor in determining synergism and antagonism.In this paper, comparisons of synergism and antagonism between metals in soils and in water solutions were made. There occurred the synergism of metal toxicity in water solutions when the concentration of coexisting metals was high. This is just opposite to the case in soils.

High-efficiency magnetophoretic separation based on synergy of magnetic force field and flow field in microchannels

Magnetophoresis is one of the most important separation methods in biological and chemical engineering. In this paper,a novel impact parameter on separation efficiency,i.e.,the angle between the vectors of magnetic force and fluid velocity,was derived from the basic equation describing the motion of magnetic beads in microchannels. It is proposed that one of the most important approaches for separation efficiency enhancement is to improve the coordination of magnetic force field and fluid flow field. A T-shaped microchannel magnetophoretic separator was designed based on the angle. And then a two-dimensional dynamic model of magnetic beads moving in microchannels was established to study the separation efficiency of T-shaped microseparator by combined use of finite element method and Runge-Kutta method. The results show that the capture effi-ciency of T-shaped microseparator is much higher than that of the straight microseparator at the same conditions. For small magnetic beads at high fluid velocities,the designed T-shaped microseparator could still keep high separation efficiency whereas the conventional straight microseparator fails to separate the magnetic beads. Further analysis shows that the mechanism of separation efficiency enhancement lies in the synergy of magnetic force field and flow field,which directly leads to large deflected velocity of the magnetic beads from the main stream,and thus increasing the separation efficiency. It is anticipated that the results in this paper are theoretically helpful for the optimum design of highly efficient magnetophoretic separators.

jadR* and jadR2 act synergistically to repress jadomycin biosynthesis

The biosynthesis of antibiotics is controlled by cascade regulation involving cluster-situated regulators (CSRs) and pleiotropic regulators. Three CSRs have been identified in the jadomycin biosynthetic gene cluster, including one OmpR-type activator (JadR1) and two TetR-like repressors (JadR* and JadR2). To examine their interactions in jadomycin biosynthesis, a series of mutants were generated and tested for jadomycin production. We noticed that jadomycin production in the jadR*-jadR2 double mutant was increased dramatically compared with either single mutant. Transcriptional analysis showed that jadR* and jadR2 act synergistically to repress jadomycin production by inhibiting the transcription of jadR1. Furthermore, jadR* and jadR2 reciprocally inhibit each other. The complex interactions among these three CSRs may provide clues for the activation of the jadomycin gene cluster, which would otherwise remain silent without stimulation from stress signals.

Tectonomicrobiology:A new paradigm for geobiological research

Geomicrobiology is a sub-discipline of geobiology and emphasizes the interaction between microorganisms and their environment on Earth. There is a need to explicitly emphasize the biogeochemical processes performed by microorganisms associated with Earth's tectonic activities, especially under the framework of the modern theory of plate tectonics. Tectonomicrobiology aims to create a better synergy between microbial and active tectonic processes. This explicit synergy should also foster better communications between solid Earth scientists and life scientists in terms of holistic Earth system dynamics at both tectonic and micro-scales.