Ionization Yield from Nuclear Recoils in Liquid-Xenon Dark Matter Detection

The ionization yield in the two-phase liquid xenon dark-matter detector has been studied in keV nuclear-recoil energy region. The newly-obtained nuclear quenching as well as the recently-measured average energy required to produce an electron-ion pair are used to calculate the total electric charges produced. To estimate the fraction of the electron charges collected, the Thomas-Imel model is generalized to describing the field dependence for nuclear recoils in liquid xenon. With free parameters fitted to experiment measured 56.5 keV nuclear recoils, the energy dependence of ionization yield for nuclear recoils is predicted, which increases with the decreasing of the recoiling energy and reaches the maximum value at 2~3 keV. This prediction agrees well with existing data and may help to lower the energy detection threshold for nuclear recoils to ~1 keV.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure

Generalized Parton Distributions and the Spin Structure of the Nucleon

Generalized parton distributions are a new type of hadronic observables which has recently stimulated great interest among theorists and experimentalists alike. Introduced to delineate the spin structure of the nucleon, the orbital angular momentum of quarks in particular, the new distributions contain vast information about the internal structure of the nucleon, with the usual electromagnetic form factors and Feynman parton distributions as their special limits. While new perturbative QCD processes, such as deeply virtual Compton scattering and exclusive meson production, have been found to measure the distributions directly in experiments, lattice QCD offers a great promise to provide the first-principle calculations of these interesting observables.Comment: 9 pages, plenary talk given at Lattice 2002, Cambridge, MA, US

In Vitro Study of Release of Metronidazole Tablets Prepared from Okra Gum, Gelatin Gum and their Admixture

The aim of this study is to evaluate the ability of okra gum to release it\'s medicament in bioadhesive polymer-based drug delivery system. Bioadhesive studies using the tensiometer were done to evaluate its bioadhesivenes. Conventional tablets were made with okra gum as binder and in-vitro release studies carried out using gelatin as a standard reference. Okra gum was seen to have a comparable result with gelatin in term of the bioadhesive property the amount of drug released. Keywords: Bioadhesive, Okra gum, Gelatin gum, Metronidazole, Release studiesBio-Research Vol. 6 (1) 2008: pp. 339-34

Impact of Enteromorpha Blooms on Aquaculture Research Off Qianliyan Island, Yellow Sea, China

Between 2008 and 2016, there were mass summer blooms of Enteromorpha in the Yellow Sea, China. They covered an area of thousands of square kilometers annually, lasting an average of 90 days. Remote sensing data, model predictions, and marine environment ecological data measured by ships before, during, and after the Enteromorpha blooms were used in this study of the Qianliyan Island area. Underwater robots survey trepang, wrinkles abalone, and submarine ecological status. We found that the time taken by Enteromorpha to cover the Qianliyan Island area was relevant, as were changes in sea surface temperature (SST). The Enteromorpha made a rise in inorganic nitrogen, reactive phosphate, and heavy metals content in upper, middle, and bottom layers of sea water, dissolved oxygen (DO) and pH were reduced; and there were changes in the dominant animal and plant population. Enteromorpha sedimentation during outbreaks was measured by benthos sampling. Considerable growth in starfish number was obtained by underwater robot observation. All of this directly influenced the regional ecological environment. Numbers of trepang and wrinkles abalone were declined over the years. Global warming and SST anomalies are the two main reasons for frequent marine disasters that take place. National aquatic germ plasm resources of Qianliyan should be protected from the blooms

Shotgun proteomic analysis of mulberry dwarf phytoplasma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mulberry dwarf (MD), which is caused by phytoplasma, is one of the most serious infectious diseases of mulberry. Phytoplasmas have been associated with diseases in several hundred plant species. The inability to culture phytoplasmas <it>in vitro </it>has hindered their characterization at the molecular level. Though the complete genomes of two phytoplasmas have been published, little information has been obtained about the proteome of phytoplasma. Therefore, the proteomic information of phytoplasmas would be useful to elucidate the functional mechanisms of phytoplasma in many biological processes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>MD phytoplasmas, which belong to the 16SrI-B subgroup based on the 16S DNA analysis, were purified from infected tissues using a combination of differential centrifugation and density gradient centrifugation. The expressed proteome of phytoplasma was surveyed by one-dimensional SDS-PAGE and nanocapillary liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. A total of 209 phytoplasma proteins were unambiguously assigned, including the proteins with the functions of amino acid biosynthesis, cell envelope, cellular processes, energy metabolism, nucleosides and nucleotide metabolism, replication, transcription, translation, transport and binding as well as the proteins with other functions. In addition to these known function proteins, 63 proteins were annotated as hypothetical or conserved hypothetical proteins.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Taken together, a total of 209 phytoplasma proteins have been experimentally verified, representing the most extensive survey of any phytoplasma proteome to date. This study provided a valuable dataset of phytoplasma proteins, and a better understanding of the energy metabolism and virulence mechanisms of MD phytoplasma.</p

Down-regulation of F-actin and paxillin by N-(3-(1Htetrazol- 1-yl)phenyl) isonicotinamide derivative inhibits proliferation of prostate cancer cells

Purpose: To investigate the effect of N-(3-(1H-tetrazol-1-yl)phenyl) isonicotinamide derivative (TPIN) on prostate cancer cells, and the mechanism involved.Methods: The cytotoxicity of TPIN in DU145 and PC3 cells was determined using Cell Counting Kit-8, while apoptosis induction was assayed by flow cytometry using Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate dye. Changes in expressions of F-actin, RAC-α and paxillin were determined by western blot assay.Results: Cell proliferation was effectively inhibited by TPIN in the concentration range of 0.75-15 μM. The values of half-minimum inhibitory concentration (IC50) of TPIN for DU145 and PC3 cells at 48 h were 5.6 and 10.2 μM, respectively (p &lt; 0.05). Treatment with 5.6 μM TPIN increased apoptosis to 59.64 % in DU145 cells, and 54.21% in PC3 cells. Cleaved caspase-3 and caspase-9 levels were increased by TPIN treatment in both cell lines (p &lt; 0.05). Moreover, the levels of F-actin and paxillin were significantly downregulated by TPIN treatment in DU145 and PC3 cells (p &lt; 0.05). In TPIN-treated DU145 and PC3 cells, cofilin-1expression was up-regulated, relative to control cells.Conclusion: TPIN exhibits cytotoxic effect on prostate cancer cells via activation of apoptosis. It elevates cofilin-1 and the expressions of targets F-actin and paxillin in prostate cancer cells. Thus, TPIN is a potential chemotherapeutic agent for prostate cancer. However, further investigations, including clinical trials are required to authenticate these findings. Keywords: Prostate cancer, F-actin, Paxillin, Apoptosis, Caspase