Bio-soliton model that predicts non-thermal electromagnetic frequency bands,that either stabilize or destabilize living cells

Solitons, as self-reinforcing solitary waves, interact with complex biological phenomena such as cellular self-organization. A soliton model is able to describe a spectrum of electromagnetism modalities that can be applied to understand the physical principles of biological effects in living cells, as caused by endogenous and exogenous electromagnetic fields and is compatible with quantum coherence. A bio-soliton model is proposed, that enables to predict which eigen-frequencies of non-thermal electromagnetic waves are life-sustaining and which are, in contrast, detrimental for living cells. The particular effects are exerted by a range of electromagnetic wave eigen-frequencies of one-tenth of a Hertz till Peta Hertz that show a pattern of 12 bands, and can be positioned on an acoustic reference frequency scale. The model was substantiated by a meta-analysis of 240 published articles of biological electromagnetic experiments, in which a spectrum of non-thermal electromagnetic waves were exposed to living cells and intact organisms. These data support the concept of coherent quantized electromagnetic states in living organisms and the theories of Fröhlich, Davydov and Pang. It is envisioned that a rational control of shape by soliton-waves and related to a morphogenetic field and parametric resonance provides positional information and cues to regulate organism-wide systems properties like anatomy, control of reproduction and repair.     

From computational quantum chemistry to computational biology: experiments and computations are (full) partners

Computations are being integrated into biological research at an increasingly fast pace. This has not only changed the way in which biological information is managed; it has also changed the way in which experiments are planned in order to obtain information from nature. Can experiments and computations be full partners? Computational chemistry has expanded over the years, proceeding from computations of a hydrogen molecule toward the challenging goal of systems biology, which attempts to handle the entire living cell. Applying theories from ab initio quantum mechanics to simplified models, the virtual worlds explored by computations provide replicas of real-world phenomena. At the same time, the virtual worlds can affect our perception of the real world. Computational biology targets a world of complex organization, for which a unified theory is unlikely to exist. A computational biology model, even if it has a clear physical or chemical basis, may not reduce to physics and chemistry. At the molecular level, computational biology and experimental biology have already been partners, mutually benefiting from each other. For the perception to become reality, computation and experiment should be united as full partners in biological research.     

中国农业生态系统外来种入侵及其管理现状

农业生态系统极易遭受外来生物入侵。作者根据文献资料和多年工作观察统计出入侵我国农业生态系统的外来生物共计92科175属239种, 其中植物155种, 动物55种, 微生物29种, 植物多为有意引入后逸生, 而动物和微生物则主要是无意引入。外来入侵种发生数量呈现从南到北、从东到西逐渐减少的趋势。这些入侵种中, 来源于美洲的最多(占45.04%), 其次是欧洲(22.90%); 菜地(包括温室大棚)和果园入侵种最多, 分别达64.85%和66.53%, 而半年期的秋熟旱地和夏熟旱地分别占34.31%和23.85%。其中17种外来杂草、10种害虫、7种病原菌为恶性有害生物, 应作为防除的重点目标。目前农业生态系统外来入侵物种的控制以化学防治为主, 但由于长期施用化学农药, 在侵入我国农田的入侵种中, 已有51种在世界不同地区演化出抗药性生物型, 因而需重视生物防治、农业和生态防治以及检疫等的综合应用。今后外来种对农业生态系统的入侵格局、机制和趋势, 入侵途径以及生物入侵和抗药性生物型对农业生态系统中有害生物群落演替的影响、转基因作物导致的生物入侵等问题值得关注。     

The Generation of Higher-order Laguerre-Gauss Optical Beams for High-precision Interferometry

Thermal noise in high-reflectivity mirrors is a major impediment for several types of high-precision interferometric experiments that aim to reach the standard quantum limit or to cool mechanical systems to their quantum ground state. This is for example the case of future gravitational wave observatories, whose sensitivity to gravitational wave signals is expected to be limited in the most sensitive frequency band, by atomic vibration of their mirror masses. One promising approach being pursued to overcome this limitation is to employ higher-order Laguerre-Gauss (LG) optical beams in place of the conventionally used fundamental mode. Owing to their more homogeneous light intensity distribution these beams average more effectively over the thermally driven fluctuations of the mirror surface, which in turn reduces the uncertainty in the mirror position sensed by the laser light.We demonstrate a promising method to generate higher-order LG beams by shaping a fundamental Gaussian beam with the help of diffractive optical elements. We show that with conventional sensing and control techniques that are known for stabilizing fundamental laser beams, higher-order LG modes can be purified and stabilized just as well at a comparably high level. A set of diagnostic tools allows us to control and tailor the properties of generated LG beams. This enabled us to produce an LG beam with the highest purity reported to date. The demonstrated compatibility of higher-order LG modes with standard interferometry techniques and with the use of standard spherical optics makes them an ideal candidate for application in a future generation of high-precision interferometry.     

解磷微生物的研究进展

磷是植物生长必需的矿质元素之一,而土壤中可溶性磷的含量比较低。土壤中有大量的微生物存在,其中有一些微生物能够将土壤中的不溶性磷转化成可溶性磷,主要对解磷微生物的种类、数量、分布、解磷机制及应用方面的有关情况进行综述。     

Dark tree cavities – a challenge for hole nesting birds?

Holes provide the safest nest sites for birds, but they are an underutilized resource; in natural forests there are usually more holes than birds that could use them. Some bird species could be prevented from nesting in holes because of their inability to operate in the low light conditions which occur in cavities. As no visual system can operate in complete darkness some nest cavities could be too dark to be useable even by hole‐nesters. Thus, the light conditions within tree cavities could constrain both the evolution of the hole nesting habit, and the nest site choice of the hole‐nesting birds. These ideas cannot be tested because little is known about the light conditions in cavities. We took an opportunity provided by ongoing studies of marsh tits Poecile palustris and great tits Parus major breeding in a primeval forest (Bia?owie?a National Park, Poland) to measure illumination inside their nest cavities. We measured illuminance in cavities at daybreak, which is just after the parents commenced feeding nestlings. Only ca 1% of incoming light reached the level of the nest. Illuminance at nests of both species (median = 0.1–0.2 lx) fell within mesopic‐scotopic range, where colour vision is impaired. Measurements in model cavities showed strong declines in illumination with distance from the entrance, with light levels typically as low as 0.01 lx at 40 cm from the cavity entrance. Thus cavities can be very dark, often too dark for the use of colour vision, and we suggest that ‘lighting’ requirements can affect the adoption of specific nest sites by hole nesting birds. We discuss implications of the findings for understanding the adaptations for hole‐breeding in birds.     

Simulation of gravitational field variation on fluid-filled biological membranes

The knowledge of the behavior of biological organs in a gravitational field is important to understand the functioning of the human body in the aerospace environment. The disturbances in biological transport processes in microgravity have indicated adverse effects on humans engaged in space operations. The relationship between the deformations in the biological organs and the transport phenomena that take place in them has been long established and widely reported in biological sciences and engineering literature. A number of soft tissue organs such as brain, lungs, heart, kidney, bladder, stomach, and the circulatory system can be modeled as fluid-filled membranes. In this investigation, a mathematical model of a fluid-filled biological membrane is developed, and its deformation and spatial configuration in a variable gravitational field are calculated. The variation in the gravitational field in the range 1g to zero-g is simulated by partial submergence of the fluid-filled membrane which, by virtue of buoyancy, gains an effective density as if it is in a different gravitational field. The equations of motion are derived using the theory of large elastic deformations and numerically solved in conjunction with a constitutive equation suitably selected for the biological membrane.     

Lens optical properties in the eyes of large marine predatory teleosts

The optical properties of the crystalline lenses were studied in a variety of large predatory teleosts (bony fishes) that forage in the open ocean, some of them at considerable depths. We found the first fish lenses that are free of measurable longitudinal spherical aberration, i.e., are perfectly monofocal, in contrast to the multifocal lenses that are typical for smaller fishes living close to the surface. In fact, none of the lenses investigated in this study were clearly multifocal. Most, but not all, of the lenses had long normalized focal lengths (focal length/lens radius) of up to 3.3 lens radii. A monofocal lens of long focal length, combined with spectrally suitably placed cone pigments, may be the optimal solution for vision of high spatial and spectral resolutions in a habitat where the available spectrum of light is limited.     

Hyperaccumulators, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and stress of heavy metals

Use of plants, with hyperaccumulating ability or in association with soil microbes including the symbiotic fungi, arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM), are among the most common biological methods of treating heavy metals in soil. Both hyperaccumulating plants and AM fungi have some unique abilities, which make them suitable to treat heavy metals. Hyperaccumulator plants have some genes, being expressed at the time of heavy metal pollution, and can accordingly localize high concentration of heavy metals to their tissues, without showing the toxicity symptoms. A key solution to the issue of heavy metal pollution may be the proper integration of hyperaccumulator plants and AM fungi. The interactions between the soil microbes and the host plant can also be important for the treatment of soils polluted with heavy metals.     

蓝光对真菌的调控作用及研究进展

蓝光是环境中的重要信号因子,可影响微生物特别是真菌的生理周期、形态变化、基因表达,进而影响微生物的代谢活动。在国外,蓝光对微生物的影响研究是一个热点问题,并进行了较深入的研究,已在真菌中发现了一些蓝光受体因子。主要综述了蓝光对真菌影响的一些研究进展。     

植物源抗菌肽的研究进展

植物抗菌肽是植物自身合成的能够防御环境中微生物侵害的一类小分子多肽.它们大都是阳离子多肽,有较好的热稳定性.根据作用位点和抗菌机理的不同,植物抗菌肽可分为三大类:第一类通过干扰微生物细胞壁的合成来抑制微生物生长;第二类作用于质膜使其产生穿膜孔洞,从而导致微生物因细胞物质外泄受损;第三类则通过抑制某些细胞器的作用而起到抑菌的效果.本文从抗菌肽的作用机理及其分类等方面对植物源抗菌肽的研究进展进行了综述.     

Classical and quantum dynamics on p-adic trees of ideas

We propose mathematical models of information processes of unconscious and conscious thinking (based on p-adic number representation of mental spaces). Unconscious thinking is described by classical cognitive mechanics (which generalizes Newton's mechanics). Conscious thinking is described by quantum cognitive mechanics (which generalizes the pilot wave model of quantum mechanics). The information state and motivation of a conscious cognitive system evolve under the action of classical information forces and a new quantum information force, namely, conscious force. Our model might provide mathematical foundations for some cognitive and psychological phenomena: collective conscious behavior, connection between physiological and mental processes in a biological organism, Freud's psychoanalysis, hypnotism, homeopathy. It may be used as the basis of a model of conscious evolution of life.     

Does quantum mechanics play a non-trivial role in life?

There have been many claims that quantum mechanics plays a key role in the origin and/or operation of biological organisms, beyond merely providing the basis for the shapes and sizes of biological molecules and their chemical affinities. These range from Schr?dinger's suggestion that quantum fluctuations produce mutations, to Hameroff and Penrose's conjecture that quantum coherence in microtubules is linked to consciousness. I review some of these claims in this paper, and discuss the serious problem of decoherence. I advance some further conjectures about quantum information processing in bio-systems. Some possible experiments are suggested.     

Electronic excitations in condensed biological matter

In living matter, electronic excitations may have a collective character which is reviewed here in simple physical terms. In liquids and ordered solids the collective excitations appear as plasmons or excitons. Plasmons are delocalized electronic perturbations of a huge number of oscillating electrons decaying very quickly into localized electronic perturbations, mainly low-energy ionizations. Excitons are very light, moving quantum quasi-particles carrying energy, charge and information in structured biological systems. In deformable soft structures collective excitations appear as solitons behaving as rather massive quasi-particles of combined quantum and classical character. Solitons are relatively stable micro-objects able to transfer energy, charge, mass, and biological information along such biological structures as (chains of) macromolecules, fibres, membranes and surfaces. Some photobiological and radiation biological consequences of collective electronic excitations are suggested.     

青藏高原人体脉搏测量及几种脉图对比分析

脉搏信息反映人体内部各器官的健康状况,利用PVDF压力传感器并垫一水囊间接接触法拾取脉搏信息,通过调理放大硬件电路对脉搏信号进行调理放大,借助虚拟仪器软件LabVIEW在PC机上架构虚拟脉搏测试系统,测试并采集了青藏高原地区大量不同人群的脉搏信息数据,给出了几种具有地域特征的脉图,并结合中医脉诊理论进行了对比分析。     

Exploiting algal NADPH oxidase for biophotovoltaic energy

Photosynthetic microbes exhibit light‐dependent electron export across the cell membrane, which can generate electricity in biological photovoltaic (BPV) devices. How electrons are exported remains to be determined; the identification of mechanisms would help selection or generation of photosynthetic microbes capable of enhanced electrical output. We show that plasma membrane NADPH oxidase activity is a significant component of light‐dependent generation of electricity by the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. NADPH oxidases export electrons across the plasma membrane to form superoxide anion from oxygen. The C. reinhardtii mutant lacking the NADPH oxidase encoded by RBO1 is impaired in both extracellular superoxide anion production and current generation in a BPV device. Complementation with the wild‐type gene restores both capacities, demonstrating the role of the enzyme in electron export. Monitoring light‐dependent extracellular superoxide production with a colorimetric assay is shown to be an effective way of screening for electrogenic potential of candidate algal strains. The results show that algal NADPH oxidases are important for superoxide anion production and open avenues for optimizing the biological component of these devices.     

Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation Enhancement in Myocardial Infarction Rat Model under Ultrasound Combined with Nitric Oxide Microbubbles

Objective

This study evaluated the effects of ultrasound combined with the homemade nitric oxide (NO) micro-bubble destruction on the in vitro proliferation, apoptosis, and migration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Furthermore, we studied whether or not irradiation of the NO micro-bubble combined with bone-marrow derived MSC infusion had a better effect on treating myocardial infarction. The possible mechanism of MSC delivery into the infarcted myocardium was also investigated.

Methods

The murine bone marrow-derived MSCs were isolated, cultured, irradiated, and combined with different concentrations of NO microbubbles. MTT proliferation assay, annexin V-FITC apoptosis detection, migration assay, and RT-PCR were performed 24 h after the irradiation. The NO micro-bubbles was a intravenously injected, followed by the infusion of MSCs, which were labeled by CM-Dil. Myocardium was harvested 48 h later and the distribution of MSCs was observed by laser scanning confocal microscope after frozen sectioning. Echocardiography, histological examination, RT-PCR, and western blotting were performed four weeks after the cell transplantation.

Results

Ultrasound combined with 1:70 NO micro-bubbles had no significant impact on the proliferation or apoptosis of MSCs. Transwell chamber findings demonstrated that MSCs migrated more efficiently in group that underwent ultrasound combined with 1:70 NO micro-bubbles. The Real-time PCR results indicated that the expression of CXCR4 was much higher in the group undergoing ultrasound combined with 1:70 NO micro-bubbles. The normalized fluorescence intensity greatly increased in the group of US+NO micro-bubbles and the cardiac function was also markedly improved. Immunohistochemical staining showed that the capillary density was much greater in the group of US+NO micro-bubbles as compared to that of the other groups. RT-PCR and western blotting also revealed a higher SDF-1 and VEGF expression in the group of US+NO micro-bubbles.

Conclusions

NO micro-bubbles could be used in the cell transplantation, which efficiently promoted the MSC homing into the infarcted myocardium.     

Virulence or Niche Factors: What's in a Name?

The increasing interest in the human microbiota raises some interesting questions about the terminology we use to describe some of the structures and strategies employed by commensal and pathogenic microbes to compete in these complex biological ecosystems. For example, all microbes arriving in the alimentary tract face the task of surviving passage through the stomach, coping with bile, interacting with the immune system, competing with the established microbiota, and obtaining sufficient nutrients to gain a foothold in this hostile environment. It is not surprising then that many gastrointestinal microbes (both pathogens and commensals) use similar strategies to overcome the challenges associated with this particular biological niche. Given that many of these structures and strategies were discovered and characterized in pathogens and because they often play important roles in establishing and maintaining an infection, they have often been characterized as virulence factors. It would be misleading to describe the same strategies and structures found in harmless commensals as “virulence factors,” since they represent a sine qua non for life in the gastrointestinal tract. It may be time to reconsider and refer to them as “niche factors,” both in terms of providing scientific accuracy but also in light of the growing interest in using gut microbes as probiotics, where the distinction between virulence factors and niche factors is likely to be very important from a regulatory perspective.     

Harmonic oscillators: the quantization of simple systems in the old quantum theory and their functional roles in biology

This article introduces quantum physics into biology in an intuitive and non-intimidating manner. It extends the quantum aspects of harmonic oscillators, and electromagnetic fields, to their functional roles in biology. Central to this process are the De Broglie wave-particle duality equation, and the adiabatic invariant parameters, magnetic moment, angular momentum and magnetic flux, determined by Ehrenfest as imposing quantum constraints on the dynamics of charges in motion. In mechanisms designed to explain the generation of low-level light emissions in biology we have adopted a biological analog of the electrical circuitry modeled on the parallel plated capacitor, traversed by helical protein structures, capable of generating electromagnetic radiation in the optical spectral region. The charge carrier required for the emissions is an accelerating electron driven, in a cyclotron-type mechanism, by ATP-induced reverse electron transfer with the radial, emission, components, mediated by coulombic forces within the helical configurations. Adenine, an essential nucleotide constituent of DNA, was examined with its long wavelength absorption maximum determining the energetic parameters for the calculations. The calculations were made for a virtual 5-turn helix where each turn of the helix emits a different frequency, generating a biological quantum series. The components of six adiabatic invariant equations were found to be embedded in Planck's constant rendering them discrete, finite, non-random, non-statistical-Planck's constant precludes probability. A mechanism for drug-induced hallucination is described that might provide insights as to the possible role of electromagnetic fields in consciousness. Sodium acceleration through a proposed nerve membrane helical channel generated electromagnetic emissions in the microwave region in confirmation of reported microwave emission for active nerves and may explain saltatory nerve conduction. Theoretical calculations for a helical DNA system gave a conduction resistance in agreement with a experimentally determined parameter.     

Probability of Occurrence of Discrete Potential Waves in the Eye of Limulus

Discrete potential waves can be recorded from cells in the eye of Limulus both in darkness and in dim illumination. With constant illumination the frequency of these waves is linearly related to light intensity and the distribution of intervals between waves follows an exponential function. The latency of waves evoked by short flashes of light is usually long and variable and the number of waves evoked by a flash varies randomly, obeying approximately a Poisson distribution. The results of experiments with flashes of light have been compared with the predictions derived from the hypotheses that one, two, or three quanta of light are required for production of one wave. The agreement of the data with the theory can be considered acceptable for the "one quantum" hypothesis, is less satisfactory for the "two quanta" hypothesis, and is very poor for the "three quanta" hypothesis.