Using nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations, we study the thermal conductivity of asymmetric double chains. We couple two different single chains through interchain coupling to build three kinds of asymmetric ...Using nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations, we study the thermal conductivity of asymmetric double chains. We couple two different single chains through interchain coupling to build three kinds of asymmetric double- stranded chain system: intrachain interaction, external potential, and mass asymmetric double chains. It is reported that asymmetry is helpful in improving the thermal conductivity of the system. We first propose double-heat flux channels to explain the influence of asymmetric structures on the thermal conductivity. The phonon spectral behaviour and finite size effect are also included.展开更多
The adsorption dynamics of double-stranded DNA(dsDNA)molecules on a graphene oxide(GO)surface are important for applications of DNA/GO functional structures in biosensors,biomedicine and materials science.In this work...The adsorption dynamics of double-stranded DNA(dsDNA)molecules on a graphene oxide(GO)surface are important for applications of DNA/GO functional structures in biosensors,biomedicine and materials science.In this work,molecular dynamics simulations were used to examine the adsorption of different length dsDNA molecules(from 4 bp to24 bp)on the GO surface.The dsDNA molecules could be adsorbed on the GO surface through the terminal bases and stand on the GO surface.For short dsDNA(4 bp)molecules,the double-helix structure was partially or totally broken and the adsorption dynamics was affected by the structural fluctuation of short dsDNA and the distribution of the oxidized groups on the GO surface.For long dsDNA molecules(from 8 bp to 24 bp)adsorption is stable.By nonlinear fitting of the contact angle between the axis of the dsDNA molecule and the GO surface,we found that a dsDNA molecule adsorbed on a GO surface has the chance of orienting parallel to the GO surface if the length of the dsDNA molecule is longer than 54 bp.We attributed this behavior to the flexibility of dsDNA molecules.With increasing length,the flexibility of dsDNA molecules also increases,and this increasing flexibility gives an adsorbed dsDNA molecule more chance of reaching the GO surface with the free terminal.This work provides a whole picture of adsorption of dsDNA molecules on the GO surface and should be of benefit for the design of DNA/GO based biosensors.展开更多
Sepsis, which refers to a systemic inflammatory response syndrome resulting from a microbial infection, represents the leading cause of death in intensive care units. The pathogenesis of sepsis remains poorly understo...Sepsis, which refers to a systemic inflammatory response syndrome resulting from a microbial infection, represents the leading cause of death in intensive care units. The pathogenesis of sepsis remains poorly understood although it is attributable to dysregulated immune responses orchestrated by innate immune cells that sequentially release early(e.g., tumor necrosis factor(TNF), interleukin-1(IL-1), and interferon-γ(IFN-γ) and late(e.g., high mobility group box 1(HMGB1)) pro-inflammatory mediators. As a ubiquitous nuclear protein, HMGB1 can be passively released from pathologically damaged cells, thereby converging infection and injury on commonly dysregulated inflammatory responses. We review evidence that supports extracellular HMGB1 as a late mediator of inflammatory diseases and discuss the potential of several Chinese herbal components as HMGB1-targeting therapies. We propose that it is important to develop strategies for specifically attenuating injury-elicited inflammatory responses without compromising the infection-mediated innate immunity for the clinical management of sepsis and other inflammatory diseases.展开更多
Well-established targeted technologies to engi- neer genomes such as zinc-finger nuclease-based editing (ZFN), transcription activator-like effector nuclease-based editing (TALEN), and clustered regularly interspa...Well-established targeted technologies to engi- neer genomes such as zinc-finger nuclease-based editing (ZFN), transcription activator-like effector nuclease-based editing (TALEN), and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and associated protein system-based editing (CRISPR/Cas) are proving to advance basic and applied research in numerous plant species. Compared with systems using ZFNs and TALENs, the most recently developed CRISPR/Cas system is more efficient due to its use of an RNA-guided nuclease to generate double-strand DNA breaks. To accelerate the applications of these technologies, we provide here a detailed overview of these systems, highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each, summarize research advances made with these technologies in model and crop plants, and discuss their applications in plant functional genomics. Such targeted approaches for genetically modifying plants will benefit agricultural production in the future.展开更多
Genome editing is a valuable tool to target specific DNA sequences for mutagenesis in the genomes of microbes, plants, and animals. Although different genome editing technologies are available, the clustered regularly...Genome editing is a valuable tool to target specific DNA sequences for mutagenesis in the genomes of microbes, plants, and animals. Although different genome editing technologies are available, the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9 (CRISPR/ Cas9) system, which utilizes engineered endonucleases to generate a double-stranded DNA break (DSB) in the target DNA region and subsequently stimulates site-specific mutagenesis through DNA repair machineries, is emerging as a powerful genome editing tool for elucidating mecha- nisms of protection from plant viruses, plant disease resistance, and gene functions in basic and applied research. In this review, we provide an overview of recent advances in the CRISPR system associated genome editing in plants by focusing on application of this technology in model plants, crop plants, fruit plants, woody plants and grasses and discuss how genome editing associated with the CRISPR system can provide insights into genome modifications and functional genomics in plants.展开更多
基金supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11004082)the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province of China (Grant No. 01005249)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (Grant No. 21609305)
文摘Using nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations, we study the thermal conductivity of asymmetric double chains. We couple two different single chains through interchain coupling to build three kinds of asymmetric double- stranded chain system: intrachain interaction, external potential, and mass asymmetric double chains. It is reported that asymmetry is helpful in improving the thermal conductivity of the system. We first propose double-heat flux channels to explain the influence of asymmetric structures on the thermal conductivity. The phonon spectral behaviour and finite size effect are also included.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.11974366)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities+2 种基金Chinathe Supercomputer Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciencesthe Shanghai Supercomputer Center of China。
文摘The adsorption dynamics of double-stranded DNA(dsDNA)molecules on a graphene oxide(GO)surface are important for applications of DNA/GO functional structures in biosensors,biomedicine and materials science.In this work,molecular dynamics simulations were used to examine the adsorption of different length dsDNA molecules(from 4 bp to24 bp)on the GO surface.The dsDNA molecules could be adsorbed on the GO surface through the terminal bases and stand on the GO surface.For short dsDNA(4 bp)molecules,the double-helix structure was partially or totally broken and the adsorption dynamics was affected by the structural fluctuation of short dsDNA and the distribution of the oxidized groups on the GO surface.For long dsDNA molecules(from 8 bp to 24 bp)adsorption is stable.By nonlinear fitting of the contact angle between the axis of the dsDNA molecule and the GO surface,we found that a dsDNA molecule adsorbed on a GO surface has the chance of orienting parallel to the GO surface if the length of the dsDNA molecule is longer than 54 bp.We attributed this behavior to the flexibility of dsDNA molecules.With increasing length,the flexibility of dsDNA molecules also increases,and this increasing flexibility gives an adsorbed dsDNA molecule more chance of reaching the GO surface with the free terminal.This work provides a whole picture of adsorption of dsDNA molecules on the GO surface and should be of benefit for the design of DNA/GO based biosensors.
基金supported by grants from the National Center of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM, R01AT005076)the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS, R01GM063075)
文摘Sepsis, which refers to a systemic inflammatory response syndrome resulting from a microbial infection, represents the leading cause of death in intensive care units. The pathogenesis of sepsis remains poorly understood although it is attributable to dysregulated immune responses orchestrated by innate immune cells that sequentially release early(e.g., tumor necrosis factor(TNF), interleukin-1(IL-1), and interferon-γ(IFN-γ) and late(e.g., high mobility group box 1(HMGB1)) pro-inflammatory mediators. As a ubiquitous nuclear protein, HMGB1 can be passively released from pathologically damaged cells, thereby converging infection and injury on commonly dysregulated inflammatory responses. We review evidence that supports extracellular HMGB1 as a late mediator of inflammatory diseases and discuss the potential of several Chinese herbal components as HMGB1-targeting therapies. We propose that it is important to develop strategies for specifically attenuating injury-elicited inflammatory responses without compromising the infection-mediated innate immunity for the clinical management of sepsis and other inflammatory diseases.
文摘Well-established targeted technologies to engi- neer genomes such as zinc-finger nuclease-based editing (ZFN), transcription activator-like effector nuclease-based editing (TALEN), and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and associated protein system-based editing (CRISPR/Cas) are proving to advance basic and applied research in numerous plant species. Compared with systems using ZFNs and TALENs, the most recently developed CRISPR/Cas system is more efficient due to its use of an RNA-guided nuclease to generate double-strand DNA breaks. To accelerate the applications of these technologies, we provide here a detailed overview of these systems, highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each, summarize research advances made with these technologies in model and crop plants, and discuss their applications in plant functional genomics. Such targeted approaches for genetically modifying plants will benefit agricultural production in the future.
文摘Genome editing is a valuable tool to target specific DNA sequences for mutagenesis in the genomes of microbes, plants, and animals. Although different genome editing technologies are available, the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9 (CRISPR/ Cas9) system, which utilizes engineered endonucleases to generate a double-stranded DNA break (DSB) in the target DNA region and subsequently stimulates site-specific mutagenesis through DNA repair machineries, is emerging as a powerful genome editing tool for elucidating mecha- nisms of protection from plant viruses, plant disease resistance, and gene functions in basic and applied research. In this review, we provide an overview of recent advances in the CRISPR system associated genome editing in plants by focusing on application of this technology in model plants, crop plants, fruit plants, woody plants and grasses and discuss how genome editing associated with the CRISPR system can provide insights into genome modifications and functional genomics in plants.