We also found that BiFC efficiency and the low false-positive rates of the BEVL-BiFC system was not affected whether Jun was on upstream or downstream of C-terminal fragment of mLumin.Figure 1.BiFC efficiency of the mLumin-based BiFC system with a bicistronic expression vector. (a) Fluorescence imaging and (b) BiFC efficiency analysis of COS-7 cells cotransfected with pBud-Ln-Fos(��Fos)-Lc-Jun or pBud-Ln-Fos(��Fos)-Jun-Lc and …3.2. Detection of the Interaction between K-Ras and RBD Using BEVL-BiFC SystemTo verify the robustness of the BEVL-BiFC system in the detection and analysis of PPIs, we examined the plasma membrane (PM) localized protein K-Ras and RBD as a PPI model. K-Ras is usually anchored to cell membranes because of the presence of an isoprenyl group on its C-terminus (Figure S2 in the Supporting Information).

As a small GTPase, K-Ras is phosphorylated by guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) when upstream signal proteins are activated, and then K-Ras transfers the signal to downstream effector proteins (e.g., Raf-1). K-Ras acts as a molecular on/off switch, conversed between active K-Ras bound with GTP (K-Ras-GTP) and inactive K-Ras bound with GDP (K-Ras-GDP). Using immunoblotting and FRET imaging approaches [21], it has been reported that K-Ras b
Corrosion of reinforcing steel, generally caused by carbonation or Cl?, is the most important factor causing severe degradation of the durability of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. Especially, Cl? from the concrete itself or the environment leads to pitting corrosion which will quickly result in a remarkable reduction of the cross section of the reinforcing steel [1,2].

The durability deterioration of RC structures finally leads to very high repair costs, sometimes much greater than the initial construction cost, and in some extreme situations, can result in the collapse of the structure [3]. With the development of global warming and further deterioration of the environment, the service condition of RC structures has recently GSK-3 become much harsher.Over the past two decades, structural health monitoring (SHM) has gained worldwide acceptance as an affordable way to obtain real-time data on the health, and consequently, on the safety and the serviceability of civil infrastructure systems [4]. There have been many sensing technologies applied in earthquake engineering, wind engineering and life-cycle performance evaluation, such as the fiber optic sensing technique [5], the wave propagation-based piezoelectric ceramic (PZT) sensing technique [6�C9] and the smart cement-based sensing technique, etc. [10,11]. Recently, future trends in the development of sensing technologies and SHM in civil engineering have been critically reviewed and put forward [12�C14].