Babesia Bovis Ligand-Receptor Interaction: AMA-1 Contains Small Regions Governing Bovine Erythrocyte Binding

Apical membrane antigen 1 is a microneme protein which plays an indispensable role during Apicomplexa parasite invasion. The detailed mechanism of AMA-1 molecular interaction with its receptor on bovine erythrocytes has not been completely defined in Babesia bovis. This study was focused on identifying the minimum B. bovis AMA-1-derived regions governing specific and high-affinity binding to its target cells. Different approaches were used for detecting ama-1 locus genetic variability and natural selection signatures. The binding properties of twelve highly conserved 20-residue-long peptides were evaluated using a sensitive and specific binding assay based on radio-iodination. B. bovis AMA-1 ectodomain structure was modelled and refined using molecular modelling software. NetMHCIIpan software was used for calculating B- and T-cell epitopes. The B. bovis ama-1 gene had regions under functional constraint, having the highest negative selective pressure intensity in the Domain I encoding region. Interestingly, B. bovis AMA-1-DI (¹⁰⁰YMQKFDIPRNHGSGIYVDLG¹¹⁹ and ¹²⁰GYESVGSKSYRMPVGKCPVV¹³⁹) and DII (³⁰²CPMHPVRDAIFGKWSGGSCV³²¹)-derived peptides had high specificity interaction with erythrocytes and bound to a chymotrypsin and neuraminidase-treatment sensitive receptor. DI-derived peptides appear to be exposed on the protein’s surface and contain predicted B- and T-cell epitopes. These findings provide data (for the first-time) concerning B. bovis AMA-1 functional subunits which are important for establishing receptor-ligand interactions which could be used in synthetic vaccine development.     

Display illumination with modulated directional backlight

Illumination is essential for modern life as colorful world is perceived by human visionary system. Display technology has been developing rapidly in recent decades, and the basic principle is related to the way that the image is illuminated and light is emanated. Traditional illumination is provided by different types of light sources, and the display image is visible in large viewing space until the emanating light decays to zero. This work proposes and demonstrates a novel illumination scheme for a display in which the displaying images are visible only in specific spatial regions. The directional backlight ensures the image propagating to specific direction while imaging visibility can be controlled to terminate abruptly at certain distance from the display screen while exerting no influence to nearby regions. The working principle for such an illumination scheme is the use of the modulated coherent directional backlight through an axicon lens. It is shown that the illumination scheme can robustly deliver carried image information to the designated viewing region. This new illumination scheme has many advantages over conventional illumination, including its usage for personal display, very lower energy consumption, as well as minimizing light hazard pollution.     

南水北调中线总干渠藻类的生态调度

南水北调中线总干渠无在线调蓄水库,对藻类生态调度过程中出现的问题开展生态调度实现策略和实施方式研究。主要实现策略包括:划定自身的调蓄区,隔离生态调度对下游的影响;采用高效的渠池运行方式,减少生态调度时蓄量的反复调整;综合考虑安全、快速、平稳等需求,设定生态调度实施进程和方式。具体实施方式包括:将总干渠划分为流速调控区、调蓄区和正常运行区,分别实施等体积、控制蓄量和闸前常水位方式运行;将生态调度过程划分为充水阶段和泄水阶段,基于流速调控目标值、持续时长和水位降幅约束条件,确定各阶段时长和各分区的闸门群调控方案等。基于2018年3月输水工况,采用明渠一维非恒定流模型,仿真总干渠上游15个渠池的藻类生态调度过程。结果表明,生态调度可在3.5 d内完成,各渠池的平均流速由0.48 m/s增至0.93 m/s,持续时间超过2 h。在整个生态调度过程中,水位变化平稳,水位变幅符合安全阈值要求,下游渠道的正常运行未受生态调度明显影响。     

As the number falls,alternatives to the Hagberg–Perten falling number method: A review

This review examines the application, limitations, and potential alternatives to the Hagberg–Perten falling number (FN) method used in the global wheat industry for detecting the risk of poor end-product quality mainly due to starch degradation by the enzyme α-amylase. By viscometry, the FN test indirectly detects the presence of α-amylase, the primary enzyme that digests starch. Elevated α-amylase results in low FN and damages wheat product quality resulting in cakes that fall, and sticky bread and noodles. Low FN can occur from preharvest sprouting (PHS) and late maturity α-amylase (LMA). Moist or rainy conditions before harvest cause PHS on the mother plant. Continuously cool or fluctuating temperatures during the grain filling stage cause LMA. Due to the expression of additional hydrolytic enzymes, PHS has a stronger negative impact than LMA. Wheat grain with low FN/high α-amylase results in serious losses for farmers, traders, millers, and bakers worldwide. Although blending of low FN grain with sound wheat may be used as a means of moving affected grain through the marketplace, care must be taken to avoid grain lots from falling below contract-specified FN. A large amount of sound wheat can be ruined if mixed with a small amount of sprouted wheat. The FN method is widely employed to detect α-amylase after harvest. However, it has several limitations, including sampling variability, high cost, labor intensiveness, the destructive nature of the test, and an inability to differentiate between LMA and PHS. Faster, cheaper, and more accurate alternatives could improve breeding for resistance to PHS and LMA and could preserve the value of wheat grain by avoiding inadvertent mixing of high- and low-FN grain by enabling testing at more stages of the value stream including at harvest, delivery, transport, storage, and milling. Alternatives to the FN method explored here include the Rapid Visco Analyzer, enzyme assays, immunoassays, near-infrared spectroscopy, and hyperspectral imaging.     

Near-Field Drives Long-Lived Shallow Trapping of Polymeric C3N4 for Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Undesired photoelectronic dormancy through active species decay is adverse to photoactivity enhancement. An insufficient extrinsic driving force leads to ultrafast deep charge trapping and photoactive species depopulation in carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄). Excitation of shallow trapping in g-C₃N₄ with long-lived excited states opens up the possibility of pursuing high-efficiency photocatalysis. Herein, a near-field-assisted model is constructed consisting of an In₂O₃-cube/g-C₃N₄ heterojunction associated with ultrafast photodynamic coupling. This In₂O₃-cube-induced near-field assistance system provides catalytic “hot areas”, efficiently enhances the lifetimes of excited states and shallow trapping in g-C₃N₄ and this favors an increased active species density. Optical simulations combined with time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy shows there is a built-in charge transfer and the active species lifetimes are longer in the In₂O₃-cube/g-C₃N₄ hybrid. Besides these properties, the estimated overpotential and interfacial kinetics of the In₂O₃-cube/g-C₃N₄ hybrid co-promotes the liquid phase reaction and also helps in boosting the photocatalytic performance. The photocatalytic results exhibit a tremendous improvement (34-fold) for visible-light-driven hydrogen production. Near-field-assisted long-lived active species and the influences of trap states is a novel finding for enhancing (g-C₃N₄)-based photocatalytic performance.     

[Zr0.73(Cu0.59Ni0.41)0.27]87Al13合金过冷液相区热塑性成形研究

为探究[Zr_(0.73)(Cu_(0.59)Ni_(0.41))_(0.27)]_(87)Al_(13)非晶合金的热塑性成形性能以及绘制其对应的热加工图谱,用Gleeble3500型热模拟压缩实验机对该非晶合金进行不同参数下的热模拟压缩实验。结果表明,合金在压缩过程中变形行为由牛顿流变演变为非牛顿流变;同时,过高或过低的热加工温度均能导致合金晶化;进一步对数据分析得到该合金在不同热塑性成形参数下的功率耗散图与流变失稳图,并绘制出相应的热加工谱图,谱图分析结果表明,该合金在温度为420与430℃、应变速率为10~(-3) s~(-1)时具有较高功率耗散系数且没有失稳区域,因此,合金可选的热塑性加工参数为温度420～430℃,应变速率10~(-3) s~(-1)。     

结合位图切割和区域合并的彩色图像分割

就经典分水岭图像分割算法中存在的过分割问题，提出一种结合位图切割和区域合并的彩色图像分割算法。对原始彩色图像通过空域梯度算子求其梯度图像，并利用位图切割重建梯度图像；对新梯度图像进行分水岭预分割；对预分割图像基于异质性最小原则进行区域合并，并获得最终分割结果。相比于现有的同类方法，该算法引入位图切割，抑制噪声对分割结果的影响，在边缘模糊处分割准确，得到符合人类视觉的较小分割区域数目，同时在运行效率上提高。