A majority-logic device using an irreversible single-electron box

We describe a majority-logic gate device suitable for use in developing single-electron integrated circuits. The device consists of a capacitor array for input summation and an irreversible single-electron box for threshold operation. It accepts three binary inputs and produces a corresponding output, a complementary majority-logic output, by using the change in its tunneling threshold caused by the input signals; it produces a logical 1 output if two or three of the inputs are logical 0 and a logical 0 output if two or three of the inputs are logical 1. We combined several of these gate devices to form subsystems, a shift register and a full adder, and confirmed their operation by computer simulation. The gate device is simple in structure and powerful in terms of implementing digital functions with a small number of devices. These superior features will enable the device to contribute to the development of single-electron integrated circuits.     

cDNA cloning, gene expression and subcellular localization of anthocyanin 5-aromatic acyltransferase from Gentiana triflora

Acylation of anthocyanins with hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives is one of the most important and less under-stood modification reactions during anthocyanin biosynthesis. Anthocyanin aromatic acyltransferase catalyses the transfer of hydroxycinnamic acid moieties from their CoA esters to the glycosyl groups of anthocyanins. A full-length cDNA encoding the anthocyanin 5-aromatic acyltransferase (5AT) (EC 2.3.1.153) that acylates the glucose bound at the 5-position of anthocyanidin 3,5-diglucoside was isolated from petals of Gentiana triflora on the basis of the amino acid sequence of the purified enzyme. The isolated full-length cDNA had an open reading frame of 469 amino acids and the calculated molecular weight was 52,736. The deduced amino acid sequence contains consensus motifs that are conserved among the putative acyl CoA-mediated acyltransferases, and this indicates that 5AT is a member of a proposed superfamily of multi-functional acyltransferases (St-Pierre et al. (1998) Plant J. 14, 703-713). The cDNA was expressed in Escherichia coli and yeast, and confirmed to encode 5AT. The enzymatic characteristics of the recombinant 5AT were consistent with those of the native gentian 5AT. Immunoblot analysis using specific antibodies to 5AT showed that the 5AT protein is present in petals, but not in sepals, stems or leaves of G. triflora. RNA blot analysis showed that the 5AT gene is expressed only in petals and that its expression is temporally regulated during flower development coordinately with other anthocyanin biosynthetic genes. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that the 5AT protein is specifically expressed in the outer epidermal cells of gentian petals and that it is localized mainly in the cytosol.     

Analysis of glycosyl bond cleavage and related isotope effects in collision-induced dissociation quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry of isomeric trehaloses

The configuration isomers alpha,alpha-, alpha,beta-, and beta,beta-trehalose are distinguishable by a relative ion abundance analysis using collision-induced dissociation MS/MS measurements in electrospray ionization quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The relative abundance of the Y-type fragment ion of alpha,alpha-trehalose is the highest and that of beta,beta-trehalose is the lowest, indicating that alpha-glycosyl bonds cleave more easily than beta-glycosyl bonds. The relative ion abundance depends on both the alpha- and beta-glycosyl linkage type and the number of alpha-glycosyl bonds. The reaction path of glycosyl bond cleavage is calculated computationally using the molecular orbital method in the form of Hartree-Fock theory in conjunction with the 6-31G(d) basis set. The results are consistent with the experimental data. Isotope effects on the fragmentation of the glycosyl bonds are detected in the experiments of the H2O/D2O solvent systems. Furthermore, the isotope effect regarding beta,beta-trehalose is larger than those of alpha,alpha- and alpha,beta-trehalose, indicating that the isotope effect on the beta-glycosyl bond cleavage is larger than that on the alpha-glycosyl bond cleavage. The thermal energy increase in trehalose-d8 molecules over the corresponding trehalose molecules is calculated from the vibrational modes.     

90°圆截面弯管内稠油流动特性分析

采用计算流体力学三维层流模型模拟,研究了温度50~75℃、雷诺数Re=300~800、弯管内径D=50.7~131.7 mm、弯径比B=0.75~3.0条件下稠油在90°弯管内的阻力特性,分析了弯管局域阻力系数波动的机理。结果表明,随温度升高、入口雷诺数下降、弯管直径增加,局域阻力系数提高;在弯管0~15°范围内阻力下降,原因是弯管内形成双纵向涡,75°到弯管后0.5D范围内阻力下降,原因是弯管内形成4个纵向涡;弯管的弯径比对局域流动阻力影响很大,B=0.75时相邻截面最大落差达B=3.0时的28.35倍,但管道进出口阻力仅为1.68倍,原因是弯径比B≤1.0时,弯管后1.0D范围内侧形成了局域低压区,对应位置出现流向涡旋,同时弯管后0.5D截面稠油剪切速率达到峰值。     

基于 EVD 的一种高速公路路基压实度快速检测方法研究

路基的压实质量直接决定路基承载能力和抗变形能力,也同时影响道路的服务水平和使用寿命。传统的路基压实度采用环刀法、灌砂法、灌水法等,其操作复杂、投入人力多、测试时间长。本文将便携式动态变形模量测试仪(LFGpro)测得的动态变形模量(EVD)与压实度(K)之间建立相关关系,从而快速、高效的得到路基的压实度。本文分别建立了黄土(低液限粉土ML)、红砂岩(黏土质砂)、红泥岩(高液限黏土CH)路基EVD与K之间的相关关系,相关性良好。     

Microstructures of functionally graded materials fabricated by centrifugal solid-particle andin-situ methods

Functionally graded materials (FGMs) belong to a relatively new class of inhomogeneous composite materials, in which the composition and/or microstructure undergo a gradual change along some directions. In this review article, the microstructures and composition gradients in Al/SiC, Al/Shirasu (volcanic eruptions commonly found in south Kyushu in Japan), Al/Al₃Ti, Al/Al₃Ni, Al/Al₂Cu FGMs have been investigated. The Al/SiC, Al/Shirasu and Al/Al₃Ti FGMs are fabricated by the centrifugal solid particle method where the distribution particles of SiC, Shirasu and Al₃Ti are solids in the melts. On the other hand, Al/Al₃Ni and Al/Al₂Cu FGMs are fabricated by the centrifugalin-situ method where Al/Al₃Ni and Al/Al₂Cu systems have lower liquidus temperatures than the processing temperatures. The feature of Al/(Al₃Ti−Al₃Ni) hydrid FGM, which is fabricated by a method combining both the centrifugal solid-particle andin-situ methods, is also shown.     

Discrepancy between provocative test and clinical results following endovascular obliteration of spinal arteriovenous malformation

The isolated and perfused kidney of the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) exhibits an increased vascular reactivity to serotonin when compared to normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. Experiments were designed to determine the involvement of a prostanoid constricting factor in the augmented response to serotonin in the SHR kidney. Kidneys taken from male (12 months) SHR and WKY rats were studied in parallel and perfused with Tyrode's solution at constant, optimal flow rates. Vasoconstrictor response were recorded as increases in perfusion pressure. The dose-response curves to serotonin obtained in the SHR were shifted to the left compared to the WKY. Indomethacin decreased the responses to the smaller doses of serotonin in the SHR, but increased those to the higher doses of the monoamine in the WKY. The responsiveness to the monoamine was no longer significantly different in the two strains in the presence of the inhibitor of cyclooxygenase. Dazoxiben, an inhibitor of thromboxane synthetase, did not alter the responses to serotonin in either the WKY and SHR kidneys. These experiments suggest that a prostanoid, but not thromboxane A2, may play a role in the augmented response to serotonin in the kidney of aged SHR.     

Effects of buprenorphine and Ro 15-4513 on delayed death and brain beta-endorphin levels in rats treated with cocaine or cocaine-ethanol

The present study was aimed at elucidating the relationship between brain beta-endorphin, which was estimated by the immunofluorescence method, and fatal drug toxicities due to cocaine and combined cocaine-ethanol administration, including the late fatal toxicities clinically noted. beta-endorphin is an endogenous opioid peptide, and its secretion has been suggested to be influenced by physiological stresses. Furthermore, since protection against these fatal toxicities has been previously reported to be provided by buprenorphine (a ligand for opioid receptors) and Ro 15-4513 (a ligand for benzodiazepine receptors), this study also focused on the relationship between the effects of these two ligands and the changes in brain beta-endorphin immunoreactivity. In the fatal toxicity study, a toxic dose (75 mg/kg, i.p.) of cocaine combined with and without ethanol (3 g/kg, i.p.) was administered to the rats, with and without buprenorphine (0.25, 0.5, 1 mg/kg, i.p.) or Ro 15-4513 (5, 10, 15 mg/kg, i.p.). All of the deaths that occurred in these animals were divided into two groups: early deaths with early toxic symptoms in which the drugs were detected in the tissue samples, and late deaths with late toxic symptoms in which no drugs were detected in the samples. Without the administration of buprenorphine or Ro 15-4513, the frequency of late deaths was higher in the cocaine group as compared to the cocaine-ethanol group. The total mortality rate was effectively attenuated by treatment with 0.25 mg/kg buprenorphine or 10 mg/kg Ro 15-4513. Following treatment with 1 mg/kg buprenorphine or 15 mg/kg Ro 15-4513, the frequency of late deaths was significantly enhanced in the cocaine group. The brain and liver cocaethylene concentrations were also attenuated in those groups in which the total mortality rates were attenuated. In the brain beta-endorphin immunoreactivity study, the number of beta-endorphin immunoreactive nerve cells at the arcuate nucleus was counted at 3 minutes or 24 hours after the drug treatment. At 3 minutes after the drug treatment, the number of weakly immunoreactive cells with photographic light absorption values greater than 50% was enhanced in the groups in which the frequency of late deaths had been increased. In the cocaine-ethanol groups treated with buprenorphine or Ro 15-4513, this enhancement of weakly immunoreactive cells was observed when the total mortality rate was increased, regardless of the type of death. At 24 hours after the drug treatment (50 mg/kg cocaine), an enhancement of the weakly immunoreactive cells only was observed in all of the groups in which the occurrence of toxicities had been enhanced, regardless of the type of toxicity. Therefore, it can be concluded that the enhancement of total brain beta-endorphin immunoreactivity was closely correlated with the increase in the frequency of total fatal toxicities, and that the enhancement of weakly immunoreactive cells was closely correlated with the increase in the frequency of delayed fatal toxicities.