93 research outputs found
Optimization of Protein-Protein Interaction Measurements for Drug Discovery Using AFM Force Spectroscopy
Increasingly targeted in drug discovery, protein-protein interactions challenge current high throughput screening technologies in the pharmaceutical industry. Developing an effective and efficient method for screening small molecules or compounds is critical to accelerate the discovery of ligands for enzymes, receptors and other pharmaceutical targets. Here, we report developments of methods to increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for screening protein-protein interactions using atomic force microscopy (AFM) force spectroscopy. We have demonstrated the effectiveness of these developments on detecting the binding process between focal adhesion kinases (FAK) with protein kinase B (Akt1), which is a target for potential cancer drugs. These developments include optimized probe and substrate functionalization processes and redesigned probe-substrate contact regimes. Furthermore, a statistical-based data processing method was developed to enhance the contrast of the experimental data. Collectively, these results demonstrate the potential of the AFM force spectroscopy in automating drug screening with high throughput
Deep Learning Enables Large Depth-of-Field Images for Sub-Diffraction-Limit Scanning Superlens Microscopy
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is indispensable in diverse applications
ranging from microelectronics to food processing because it provides large
depth-of-field images with a resolution beyond the optical diffraction limit.
However, the technology requires coating conductive films on insulator samples
and a vacuum environment. We use deep learning to obtain the mapping
relationship between optical super-resolution (OSR) images and SEM domain
images, which enables the transformation of OSR images into SEM-like large
depth-of-field images. Our custom-built scanning superlens microscopy (SSUM)
system, which requires neither coating samples by conductive films nor a vacuum
environment, is used to acquire the OSR images with features down to ~80 nm.
The peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity index measure
values indicate that the deep learning method performs excellently in
image-to-image translation, with a PSNR improvement of about 0.74 dB over the
optical super-resolution images. The proposed method provides a high level of
detail in the reconstructed results, indicating that it has broad applicability
to chip-level defect detection, biological sample analysis, forensics, and
various other fields.Comment: 13 pages,7 figure
Effects of neferine on TGF-β1 induced proliferation and gremlin expression in hepatic stellate cells
Biochar has no effect on soil respiration across Chinese agricultural soils
This work was supported by NSFC (41371298 and 41371300), Ministry of Science and Technology (2013GB23600666 and 2013BAD11B00), and Ministry of Education of China (20120097130003). The international cooperation was funded under a “111” project by the State Agency of Foreign Expert Affairs of China and jointly supported under a grant for Priority Disciplines in Higher Education by the Department of Education, Jiangsu Province, China; The work was also a contribution to the cooperation project of “Estimates of Future Agricultural GHG Emissions and Mitigation in China” under the UK-China Sustainable Agriculture Innovation Network (SAIN). Pete Smith contributed to this work under a UK BBSRC China Partnership Award. The authors are grateful to Yuming Liu, Bin Zhang, Xiao Li, Gang Wu, Jinjin Qu and Yinxin Ye and Dongqi Liu for their contribution to field experiments, and to Rongjun Bian and Qaiser Hussain for their participation in discussions of the data analysis and interpretation, and to Xinyan Yu and Jiafang Wang for their assistance in lab works.Peer reviewedPostprin
Biochar-based fertilizer: Supercharging root membrane potential and biomass yield of rice
Biochar-based compound fertilizers (BCF) and amendments have proven to enhance crop yields and modify soil properties (pH, nutrients, organic matter, structure etc.) and are now in commercial production in China. While there is a good understanding of the changes in soil properties following biochar addition, the interactions within the rhizosphere remain largely unstudied, with benefits to yield observed beyond the changes in soil properties alone. We investigated the rhizosphere interactions following the addition of an activated wheat straw BCF at an application rates of 0.25% (g·g−1 soil), which could potentially explain the increase of plant biomass (by 67%), herbage N (by 40%) and P (by 46%) uptake in the rice plants grown in the BCF-treated soil, compared to the rice plants grown in the soil with conventional fertilizer alone. Examination of the roots revealed that micron and submicron-sized biochar were embedded in the plaque layer. BCF increased soil Eh by 85 mV and increased the potential difference between the rhizosphere soil and the root membrane by 65 mV. This increased potential difference lowered the free energy required for root nutrient accumulation, potentially explaining greater plant nutrient content and biomass. We also demonstrate an increased abundance of plant-growth promoting bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere. We suggest that the redox properties of the biochar cause major changes in electron status of rhizosphere soils that drive the observed agronomic benefits
Localized connectivity in obsessive-compulsive disorder: An investigation combining univariate and multivariate pattern analyses
Nanoscale imaging and force probing of biomolecular systems using atomic force microscopy: from single molecules to living cells
Nanoscale Imaging and Mechanical Analysis of Fc Receptor-Mediated Macrophage Phagocytosis against Cancer Cells
Research progress in quantifying the mechanical properties of single living cells using atomic force microscopy
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