Probe Design for the Effective Fluorescence Imaging of Intracellular RNA

Over the past two decades, the spatiotemporal analysis of fluorescently labeled single RNA species has provided a broad insight into the synthesis, localization, degradation, and transport of RNA. To elucidate the dynamic behavior of functional RNAs in living cells, researchers throughout the world have proposed numerous fluorometric strategies for intracellular RNA imaging. Because, like most other biological molecules, RNA is intrinsically nonfluorescent, the development of methods for the labeling of RNAs of interest with fluorescent molecules is essential. Several artificial tag sequences have been attached onto the 3′ end of target RNAs and used as scaffolds for interacting with their fluorescent counterparts. In this Personal Account, we focus on the methods that have been developed to show how RNAs expressed in cells can be labeled and visualized by fluorescent proteins, small molecules, or nucleic acids. Each of these methods is designed to increase the sensitivity and specificity for imaging or to decrease the background fluorescence.     

Molecular Hydrogels with Esterase-like Activity

The development of molecular hydrogels that can be applied for mimicking bioactive molecules attracts extensive interests of researchers in fields of self‐assembly. In this study, we reported on several molecular hydrogels based on naphthylacetic acid‐peptides containing L‐histidine formed by the heating‐cooling process. All hydrogels exhibited higher activity to hydrolyze 4‐nitrophenyl acetate (4‐NPA) than the free L‐histidine probably due the high density of L‐histidine residue at the surface of self‐assembled nanofibers. To calculate the 4‐NPA hydrolysis rates, the Michaelis‐Menten enzyme kinetics model was made. Among these gels, the gel of Nap‐GFFYGHY possesses the highest enzyme activity of making the ester bond cleavage, which is approximately 25 times higher than that of the control (free L‐histidine and Nap‐GFFYGYY). These results indicate that molecular hydrogels with self‐assembled nanofibers have great potential for the generation of self‐assembled multivalent materials.     

不饱和聚酯型人造大理石研究进展

综述了不饱和聚酯型人造大理石的研究进展;回顾了人造大理石的研究现状,指出了其制备研究中存在的性能及工艺缺陷;分析了填料种类、混合填料粒径、黏结剂及制备工艺对人造大理石强度、韧性、斑印及吸水率等性能的影响,并就未来聚酯型人造大理石的性能改进及工艺优化进行了展望.     

Assessment of mobility of heavy metals in two soil types by use of column leaching experiments and chemometric evaluation of elution curves

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the mobility of heavy metals (HMs) in two types of soils (acidic forest soil and neutral agricultural soil) by leaching with calcium chloride solution in column experiments. The screening properties of neutral agricultural soil towards pollution by heavy metals (Ni, Cu, Zn and Cd) are approximately 10 times higher than those of acid forest soil. The neutral agricultural soil, polluted artificially by one pore volume (PV) of an HMs solution of concentration 200 mg L^?1, can screen the leaching of these metals over several hundreds of years. The higher apparent desorption rate and per cent desorption of HMs (especially Cd) in acid forest soil indicated a higher potential of intensive migration of the metals across the profile and indicated potential risk of Cd pollution for this type of soil. The latest approach of artificial neural networks to describe transport of HMs in soil has been also evaluated. Using a simple three-layer perceptron topology with three hidden neurons, the experimental data could be simulated. The results suggested that the pH of soil is a major factor controlling the retention of the heavy metals in the soils.     

文化框架下多群智能优化算法的云作业调度

作业调度是一种云计算核心技术,为了获得更优的云计算作业调度方案,提出一种文化框架下多群智能优化算法的云作业调度方法。首先构建云作业调度问题的数学模型,然后借助文化算法模型,粒子群算法组成信仰空间,人工鱼群算法组成群体空间,两者之间并行演化,相互促进,对云计算作业调度数学模型进行求解,最后通过仿真实验测试算法的性能。结果表明,本文加快了算法的收敛速度,获得了更优的云计算作业调度方案,大幅度缩短少云计算作业完成时间,具有一定的实用价值。     

Multiple Reaction Pathways Operating in the Mechanism of Vinylogous Mannich‐Type Reaction Activated by a Water Molecule

A systematic search for reaction pathways for the vinylogous Mannich‐type reaction was performed by the artificial force induced reaction method. This reaction affords δ‐amino‐γ‐butenolide in one pot by mixing 2‐trimethylsiloxyfuran, imine, and water under solvent‐free conditions. Surprisingly, the search identified as many as five working pathways. Among them, two concertedly produce anti and syn isomers of the product. Another two give an intermediate, which is a regioisomer of the main product. This intermediate can undergo a retro‐Mannich reaction to give a pair of intermediates: an imine and 2‐furanol. The remaining pathway directly generates this intermediate pair. The imine and 2‐furanol easily react with each other to afford the product. Thus, all of these stepwise pathways finally converge to give the main product. The rate‐determining step of all five (two concerted and three stepwise) pathways have a common mechanism: concerted Si? O bond formation through the nucleophilic attack of a water molecule on the silicon atom followed by proton transfer from the water molecule to the imine. Therefore, these five pathways have comparable barriers and compete with each other.     

Development and validation of an LC–MS/MS method for the quantification of artificial sweeteners in human matrices

Artificial sweeteners are widely used as substitutes for sugar. The sweeteners are generally considered safe, however their whereabouts during pregnancy and lactation and the effect on child development are poorly explored. There is a need for new tools to measure these substances during pregnancy and lactation. Here, we describe the development and validation of a sensitive liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous quantification of acesulfame, cyclamate, saccharin and sucralose in human plasma, umbilical cord blood, amniotic fluid and breast milk. The samples were prepared by protein precipitation and separated on a Luna Omega Polar C₁₈ column (2.1 × 50 mm, 1.6 μm). Electrospray ionization in negative mode and multiple reaction monitoring were used to monitor the ion transitions. The validated concentration ranges were from 1 to 500 ng/ml (10–500 ng/ml for sucralose). Interassay precisions were all ≤15% and the accuracies were within ±15%. Stability, linearity, dilution integrity, carryover and recovery were also examined and satisfied the validation criteria. Finally, this analytical method was successfully applied on spiked samples of plasma, umbilical cord blood, amniotic fluid and breast milk, proving its suitability for use in clinical studies on artificial sweeteners, including during pregnancy and lactation.     

多组件学习器实现有机分子沸点的精准预测

沸点(BP)是有机分子液体的基本物理化学量, 也是化学工业生产中的重要参数. 有机分子的沸点由分子结构决定, 呈现复杂的结构-沸点关系, 函数法(Function Method)、基团贡献法(Group Contribution Method)等传统方法无法应对复杂多样有机分子结构的预测, 应用范围狭窄, 预测精度低. 本研究中, 我们利用基于人工神经网络(ANN)和支持向量机(SVM)的多组件学习器实现有机分子沸点的精准预测. 我们构建了基于可解释性描述符的ANN、基于相关性描述符的ANN及基于复合分子指纹的SVM三个异质模型, 并通过包含4550个各种类别的有机分子沸点的数据集进行训练得到了三个异质性学习器, 最后集成三个学习器对有机分子沸点进行预测. 相比于传统方法和此前的定量结构性质关系(QSPR)模型, 多组件模型结合了三种模型的优点, 展现出很好的预测精度和泛化能力以及低的过拟合, 实现了对多种类型有机分子的沸点的有效预测.     

Pyrimidoquinazolinophenanthroline Opens Next Chapter in Design of Bridging Ligands for Artificial Photosynthesis**

The synthesis and detailed characterization of a new Ru polypyridine complex containing a heteroditopic bridging ligand with previously unexplored metal-metal distances is presented. Due to the twisted geometry of the novel ligand, the resultant division of the ligand in two distinct subunits leads to steady state as well as excited state properties of the corresponding mononuclear Ru(II) polypyridine complex resembling those of prototype [Ru(bpy)₃]²⁺ (bpy=2,2'-bipyridine). The localization of the initially optically excited and the nature of the long-lived excited states on the Ru-facing ligand spheres is evaluated by resonance Raman and fs-TA spectroscopy, respectively, and supported by DFT and TDDFT calculations. Coordination of a second metal (Zn or Rh) to the available bis-pyrimidyl-like coordination sphere strongly influences the frontier orbitals, apparent by, for example, luminescence quenching. Thus, the new bridging ligand motif offers electronic properties, which can be adjusted by the nature of the second metal center. Using the heterodinuclear Ru−Rh complex, visible light-driven reduction of NAD⁺ to NADH was achieved, highlighting the potential of this system for photocatalytic applications.