Structural Characterization of Biomolecules through Atomistic Simulations Guided by DEER Measurements

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组织学与胚胎学虚拟仿真实验教学平台的构建

虚拟仿真实验课程建设,是推进现代信息技术与实验教学项目深度融合、拓展实验教学内容广度和深度、延伸实验教学时间和空间、提升实验教学质量和水平的重要举措。开展虚拟仿真实验教学能够强化学生实验基本技能、激发学生求知欲、培养学生创造性、提高学生专业技能,在组织学与胚胎学实验教学中具有重要意义。     

硕士研究生参与本科生组织学与胚胎学实验课教学的体会

硕士研究生通过参与本科生组织学与胚胎学实验课教学,可加深对本专业知识的理解,建立更合理的知识结构,完善自身的思维体系,提高综合能力,从中发现自身不足之处并积极弥补。硕士研究生参与本科生教学具有独特的优势,对提升其综合素质有所助益。     

应用多种教学方法,建设活跃的生物化学课程

生物化学授课过程中,教师通过丰富课堂资源、进行问题导向式教学、加强在线学习、建立多元化的课程考核方式及设定定时答疑制度等多种方法,激发学生学习兴趣,提升生物化学教学和学习效果,建设"笑起来""动起来"的活跃的课程。同学们普遍认为,生物化学课程内容充实有趣,教学形式多样,并且在课堂上学到了很多前沿知识。     

发展中高校微生物学教学体系建设

微生物学是生物学专业基础核心课程。结合学院发展规划及教学目标,系统地构建了微生物学教学体系,包括教学方法建设,主要以多媒体教学为基础,选择合理的教学方式,结合双语教学和实验教学,夯实学生的专业知识基础;教学资源建设,即以培养人才为目标的基础资源建设,包括教材、实验室及实习基地建设,以及提升教学整体实力的教学团队建设,包括人力资源建设和人才培养模式建设;考核体系建设,旨在构建综合、合理、有效及准确的考核体系,包括实践考核、理论及实验考核、科研成绩考核三个组成部分。通过建设教学体系,提升了微生物学教学质量及水平,为学院教育教学事业的稳步发展奠定了坚实的基础。     

Measuring avian specialization

Measuring the extent to which a species is specialized is a major challenge in ecology, with important repercussions for fundamental research as well as for applied ecology and conservation. Here, we develop a multidimensional index of specialization based on five sets of ecological characteristics of breeding bird species. We used two recent databases of species traits of European birds based on foraging ecology, habitat, and breeding characteristics. The indices of specialization were calculated by applying the Gini coefficient, an index of inequality. The Gini coefficient is a measure of statistical dispersion on a scale between 0 and 1, reflecting a gradient from low to high specialization, respectively. Finally, we tested the strength of the phylogenetic signal of each specialization index to understand how the variance of such indices is shared throughout the phylogeny. The methods for constructing and evaluating a multidimensional index of bird specialization could also be applied to other taxa and regions, offering a simple but useful tool, particularly suited for global or biogeographic studies, as a contribution to comparative estimates of the degree of specialization of species.     

Comparative analysis of the methods used for finding surface energy to investigate protein interaction behavior on chromatographic supports

Hydrophobic interaction chromatography, an important and effective purification strategy, is generally used for the purification of variety of biomolecules. A basic understanding of the protein interaction behavior is required to effectively separate these biomolecules. A colloidal type extended Derjaguin, Landau, Verwey, and Overbeek calculations were utilized to study the interactions behavior of model proteins to commercially available hydrophobic chromatographic materials that is, Toyopearl Phenyl 650C and Toyopearl Butyl 650C. Physicochemical properties of selected model proteins were achieved by contact angle and zeta potential measurements. The contact angle of chromatographic materials used was achieved through sessile drop method on disrupted beads and capillary penetration method (CPM) on intact beads. The surface properties were further used to calculate the interactions of the proteins to chromatographic supports. The calculated secondary energy minimum of the proteins with the chromatographic materials (from the contact angle values determined through both methods can be correlated with the retention volumes from the real chromatography. The secondary energy minimum values are higher for each protein to the chromatographic materials calculated from the inputs derived through sessile drop method compared to CPM. For instance, immunoglobulin G has secondary energy minimum value of 0.17 kT compared to 0.11 kT, obtained through sessile drop method and CPM, respectively. Average relative values of the energy minimum calculated for all proteins are as 1.51 kT and 1.29 kT for Toyopearl Butyl 650C and Toyopearl Phenyl 650C, respectively, as a conversion factor for estimation of secondary energy minimum for both methods.     

Determination of community structure through deconvolution of PLFA-FAME signature of mixed population

Phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) as biomarkers are well established in the literature. A general method based on least square approximation (LSA) was developed for the estimation of community structure from the PLFA signature of a mixed population where biomarker PLFA signatures of the component species were known. Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) standards were used as species analogs and mixture of the standards as representative of the mixed population. The PLFA/FAME signatures were analyzed by gas chromatographic separation, followed by detection in flame ionization detector (GC-FID). The PLFAs in the signature were quantified as relative weight percent of the total PLFA. The PLFA signatures were analyzed by the models to predict community structure of the mixture. The LSA model results were compared with the existing "functional group" approach. Both successfully predicted community structure of mixed population containing completely unrelated species with uncommon PLFAs. For slightest intersection in PLFA signatures of component species, the LSA model produced better results. This was mainly due to inability of the "functional group" approach to distinguish the relative amounts of the common PLFA coming from more than one species. The performance of the LSA model was influenced by errors in the chromatographic analyses. Suppression (or enhancement) of a component's PLFA signature in chromatographic analysis of the mixture, led to underestimation (or overestimation) of the component's proportion in the mixture by the model. In mixtures of closely related species with common PLFAs, the errors in the common components were adjusted across the species by the model.