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A novel low-power and cost-effective thresholder realized by a distributed-feedback (DFB) semiconductor laser under optical pulses injection is proposed and experimentally demonstrated.

NPAT is an in vivo substrate of cyclin E-Cdk2 kinase and is thought to play a critical role in coordinated transcriptional activation of histone genes during the G(1)/S-phase transition and in S-phase entry in mammalian cells. Here we show that NPAT transcription is up-regulated at the G(1)/S-phase boundary in growth-stimulated cells and that the NPAT promoter responds to activation by E2F proteins. We demonstrate that endogenous E2F proteins interact with the promoter of the NPAT gene in vivo and that induced expression of E2F1 stimulates NPAT mRNA expression, supporting the idea that the expression of NPAT is regulated by E2F. Consistently, we find that the E2F sites in the NPAT promoter are required for its activation during the G(1)/S-phase transition. Moreover, we show that the expression of NPAT accelerates S-phase entry in cells released from quiescence. The inhibition of NPAT expression by small interfering RNA duplexes impedes cell cycle progression and histone gene expression in tissue culture cells. Thus, NPAT is an important E2F target that is required for cell cycle progression in mammalian cells. As NPAT is involved in the regulation of S-phase-specific histone gene transcription, our findings indicate that NPAT links E2F to the activation of S-phase-specific histone gene transcription.

OPTICA APPLICATA; 3/2014; ISSN 1429-7507

The behavior of synthetic-powdered ^(57)Fe-enriched enstatite (Mg_(0.980)Fe_(0.020(5)))(Mg_(0.760)Fe_(0.240))Si_2O_6 has been explored by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and nuclear resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (NRIXS). The Pbca-structured enstatite sample was compressed in fine pressure increments for our independent XRD measurements. One structural transition between 10.1 and 12.2 GPa has been identified from the XRD data. The XRD reflections observed for the high-pressure phase are best matched with space group P2_1/c. We combine density functional theory with Mössbauer spectroscopy and NRIXS to understand the local site symmetry of the Fe atoms in our sample. A third-order Birch-Murnaghan (BM3) equation of state fitting gives K_(T0)=103±5 GPa and K'_(T0)=13±2 for the Pbca phase. At 12 GPa, a BM3 fitting gives K_(T12)=220±10 GPa with K'_(T12)=8±4 for the P2_1/c phase. NRIXS measurements were performed with in situ XRD up to 17 GPa. The partial phonon density of states (DOS) was derived from the raw NRIXS data, and from the low-energy region of the DOS, the Debye sound velocity was determined. We use the equation of state determined from XRD and Debye sound velocity to compute the isotropic compressional (V_P) and shear (V_S) wave velocities of enstatite at different pressures. Our results help constrain the high-pressure properties of Pbca-structured enstatite in the Earth's upper mantle. We find that candidate upper mantle phase assemblages containing Pbca-structured enstatite are associated with shear velocity gradients that are higher than the average Earth model PREM but lower than regional studies down to about 250 km depth.

The [FeFe] hydrogenase from Clostridium pasteurianum (CpI) harbors four Fe-S clusters that facilitate the transfer of an electron to the H-cluster, a ligand-coordinated six-iron prosthetic group that catalyzes the redox interconversion of protons and H(2). Here, we have used (57)Fe nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopy (NRVS) to study the iron centers in CpI, and we compare our data to that for a [4Fe-4S] ferredoxin as well as a model complex resembling the [2Fe](H) catalytic domain of the H-cluster. To enrich the hydrogenase with (57)Fe nuclei, we used cell-free methods to post-translationally mature the enzyme. Specifically, inactive CpI apoprotein with (56)Fe-labeled Fe-S clusters was activated in vitro using (57)Fe-enriched maturation proteins. This approach enabled us to selectively label the [2Fe](H) subcluster with (57)Fe, which NRVS confirms by detecting (57)Fe-CO and (57)Fe-CN normal modes from the H-cluster nonprotein ligands. The NRVS and iron quantification results also suggest that the hydrogenase contains a second (57)Fe-S cluster. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy indicates that this (57)Fe-enriched metal center is not the [4Fe-4S](H) subcluster of the H-cluster. This finding demonstrates that the CpI hydrogenase retained an (56)Fe-enriched [4Fe-4S](H) cluster during in vitro maturation, providing unambiguous evidence of stepwise assembly of the H-cluster. In addition, this work represents the first NRVS characterization of [FeFe] hydrogenases.

We have determined the elastic and vibrational properties of periclase-structured (Mg_(0.65)Fe_(0.35))O (“FP35”), a composition representative of deep mantle “pyrolite” or chondrite-pyroxenite models, from nuclear resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (NRIXS) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements in diamond-anvil cells at 300 K. Combining with in situ XRD measurements, the Debye sound velocity of FP35 was determined from the low-energy region of the partial phonon density of states (DOS) obtained from NRIXS measurements in the pressure range of 70 to 140 GPa. In order to obtain an accurate description of the equation of state (EOS) for FP35, separate XRD measurements were performed up to 126 GPa at 300 K. A new spin crossover EOS was introduced and applied to the full P-V data set, resulting in a zero-pressure volume V_0 = 77.24 ± 0.17 Å^3, bulk modulus K_0 = 159 ± 8 GPa and its pressure-derivative K′_0 = 4.12 ± 0.42 for high-spin FP35 and K_(0,LS) = 72.9 ± 1.3 Å^3, K_(0,LS) = 182 ± 17 GPa with K′_(0,LS) fixed to 4 for low-spin FP35. The high-spin to low-spin transition occurs at 64 ± 3 GPa. Using the spin crossover EOS and Debye sound velocity, we derived the shear (V_S) and compressional (V_P) velocities for FP35. Comparing our data with previous results on (Mg,Fe)O at similar pressures, we find that the addition of iron decreases both V_P and V_S, while elevating their ratio (V_P/V_S). Small amounts (

Summary According to the data such as outcrops, cores, well logging with imaging, and thin sections, the natural fractures are developed in ultra-low permeability reservoirs. The fracture types are with tectonic shear fractures as the dominated which appear in groups and en echelon arrangement. Natural fractures are most developed in sandstone and siltstone, but rarely developed in mudstone. The tectonic fractures show themself in four groups of the NE, NW, near EW and near SN orientations. Influenced by the heterogeneity of rock mechanics and the current stress field, fractures in NE-orientation are with wide opening and high permeability. Therefore the NE-orientation is the main flow direction of fluid in this area. On the basis of the traditional fracture description methods, a geological model of reservoirs considering the natural fractures is established with the help of modern fine reservoir description and fracture modeling techniques. The planar distribution laws of effective natural fractures that tally with production performance are determined by application of a numerical reservoir simulation inversion technique. A model considering natural fractures and non-Darcy flow is creatively established on the above mentioned basis. Quantitative evaluation of natural fracture and matrix's contribution to the individual well production rate has been conducted by using this model and the numerical reservoir simulation technique. The contribution rate of natural fractures obtained from the two methods to the average individual well production is 30%–40%. Research results show that the understanding of influences of natural fractures on development results of the ultra-low permeability reservoirs is deepened. Quantitive description of effective natural fractures and their assessment method of the contribution rate to the productivity have been preliminarily formed at the same time, which can be used for reference in the development of the same kind of reservoirs.

Double-crystal x-ray diffraction has been used to measure the rocking curve of Ta/Al multilayers. The diffraction profiles of the multilayers are different. Besides the normal profile, two kinds of distorted profiles have been found. The simulations show that the deformed profiles of the peaks are caused by the imperfect periodicity (e.g. systematic period deviation and coexistence of two slightly different periods) in the multilayers.

The dislocations in lithium tetraborate crystal have been investigated by means of synchrotron radiation white beam topography in BSRL (Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory). The Burgers' vectors of these dislocations are determined by their vanishing conditions. Both screw and edge dislocations exist in the specimen.