Genipin,an Inhibitor of UCP2 as a Promising New Anticancer Agent: A Review of the Literature

Genipin is a protein cross-linking agent extracted from Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides Ellis) fruits. This fruit has conventionally been used as a Chinese herbal medicine for the treatment of inflammation and jaundice and as an edible colorant in oriental countries. Uncoupling protein (UCP)-2 is a member of the family of uncoupling proteins, which are anion transporters positioned in the mitochondrial inner membrane. Genipin has been shown to have hepatoprotective activity, acting as an effective antioxidant and inhibitor of mitochondrial UCP2, and is also reported to exert significant anticancer effects. In this review, the author presents the latest progress of genipin as an anticancer agent and concisely describes its various mechanisms of action. In brief, genipin inhibits UCP2 to attenuate generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to ROS/c-Jun N-terminal kinase-dependent apoptosis of cancer cells. Genipin also increases the tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteases (MMP)-2, a kind of tumor promoter in a variety of cancers, as well as induces caspase-dependent apoptosis in in vitro and in vivo models. These findings suggest that genipin can serve as a promising novel antitumor agent that could be applicable for chemotherapy and/or chemoprevention for cancers.     

Molecular and Physiological Responses of Citrus sinensis Leaves to Long-Term Low pH Revealed by RNA-Seq Integrated with Targeted Metabolomics

Low pH-induced alterations in gene expression profiles and organic acids (OA) and free amino acid (FAA) abundances were investigated in sweet orange [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck cv. Xuegan] leaves. We identified 503 downregulated and 349 upregulated genes in low pH-treated leaves. Further analysis indicated that low pH impaired light reaction and carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms, thereby lowering photosynthesis in leaves. Low pH reduced carbon and carbohydrate metabolisms, OA biosynthesis and ATP production in leaves. Low pH downregulated the biosynthesis of nitrogen compounds, proteins, and FAAs in leaves, which might be conducive to maintaining energy homeostasis during ATP deprivation. Low pH-treated leaves displayed some adaptive responses to phosphate starvation, including phosphate recycling, lipid remodeling, and phosphate transport, thus enhancing leaf acid-tolerance. Low pH upregulated the expression of some reactive oxygen species (ROS) and aldehyde detoxifying enzyme (peroxidase and superoxidase) genes and the concentrations of some antioxidants (L-tryptophan, L-proline, nicotinic acid, pantothenic acid, and pyroglutamic acid), but it impaired the pentose phosphate pathway and V_E and secondary metabolite biosynthesis and downregulated the expression of some ROS and aldehyde detoxifying enzyme (ascorbate peroxidase, aldo-keto reductase, and 2-alkenal reductase) genes and the concentrations of some antioxidants (pyridoxine and γ-aminobutyric acid), thus disturbing the balance between production and detoxification of ROS and aldehydes and causing oxidative damage to leaves.     

轿车发动机电控喷射系统用新型传感器的开发

天津大学在国家“８６３”新材料领域的资助下,研制开发新型氧敏薄膜材料,研制出近百个Ａ／Ｆ传感器样件。该样件材料新颖,结构简单,响应速度快,成本低,具有独立知识产权。装在夏利车上,与国外生产进行了排放控制试验比较。试验结果表明,控制能力达到国外生产件水平;响应速度比后者快。     

MgO－CoO－NiO氧敏材料的缺陷化学及电导特性研究

本文用点缺陷理论分析了ＭｇＯ－ＣｏＯ－ＮｉＯ系氧敏材料的缺陷模型．并测量了ＭｇＯ－ＣｏＯ－ＮｉＯ材料的高温电导与氧分压的关系．在实验的基础上，研究了该材料的缺陷化学及电导特性，对其禁带宽度及缺陷的热力学参数进行了理论估算．实验结果与理论分析吻合得较好．     

Spin Electronics: From Concentrated to Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors and Beyond

This presentation will review physical properties, relevant to spintronics, of concentrated magnetic semiconductors. Examples from the open literature and current research utilizing thin film EuS will be used as illustrations. New research on potential spin injection materials and spin detection will also be described. This latter work, carried out at MARTECH, the Center for Materials Research and Technology, demonstrates that carriers from the half-metal CrO₂ may be injected across an insulator without loss of (100%) spin polarization. It also features the development of a Hall gradiometer capable of detecting as few as 10⁵ spins.     

一种衬底波纹注入的宽频带高PSR无片外电容LDO

基于40 nm CMOS工艺,设计了一种具有高频高电源抑制(PSR)的无片外电容 低压差线性稳压器(LDO)电路。电路采用1.1 V电源供电,LDO输出电压稳定在0.9 V。仿真结果表明,传统无片外电容LDO电路的PSR将会在环路的单位增益 频率(UGF)处上升到一个尖峰,之后才经输出节点处的电容到地的通路开始降低,最高时PSR甚至大于0 dB。采用新型的衬底波纹注入技术的LDO能很好地抑制PSR的尖峰,可以做到全频段都在-20 dB以上,相比传统结构,尖峰处的PSR提高了20 dB以上。该LDO适用于需要低电压供电的射频电路。     

一种针对FPGA位流的自动化故障注入分析方法

理论上通过篡改FPGA位流,利用其实现的密码算法的错误输出可以分析出密钥,但这种攻击通常需要非常了解目标FPGA的内部结构与位流的对应关系。而位流逆向的难度很大,导致此类攻击的实用性不高。文章提出一种针对FPGA位流的自动化故障注入分析方法,不需要逆向位流,结合张帆等人提出的持久性故障分析理论,把因篡改算法常量导致的出错结果作为可利用的故障。并首次在Xilinx-7系列FPGA开发板上利用Spider进行电压故障注入实验,480条错误密文就可以得到AES-128的密钥,且在10 min内可以完成数据的采集和分析。对于加密位流的情况,可以先利用电磁侧信道分析方法得到明文位流,再结合该文的分析方法来进行密钥破解。