Alteration of early T lymphocyte count in patients with herpes genitalis.

Peripheral blood samples from 52 women, including 16 with herpes genitalis and 36 healthy persons, were studied to enumerate subpopulations of lymphocytes. It was found that the mean percentage of 'active' T lymphocytes was significantly less in the patients with herpes genitalis than in the controls.     

Evidence against the involvement of cyclic GMP in the insulin-stimulation of lipoprotein lipase activity in fat cells

Under in vitro experimental conditions in which insulin increases adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase, cyclic GMP or dibutyryl cyclic GMP has no effect on this enzyme in rat adipose tissue fragments, or on either the intra- or extracellular forms of this enzyme in isolated fat cells. These results do not support the involvement of cyclic GMP in the insulin-stimulation of lipoprotein lipase in adipose tissue.     

Hyperthermia-induced apoptosis and the inhibition of DNA laddering by zinc supplementation and withdrawal of calcium and magnesium in suspension culture of tobacco cells

In the present paper we report examination of stereotypic hallmarks of apoptosis in heat-treated tobacco cells. Hyperthermia (44 °C, 4 h) caused apoptosis in 53.6% of cells when assayed 24 h after heat treatment. The induction of apoptosis by heat treatment was confirmed by flow cytometric assay. Cytological observations revealed condensation of the cytoplasm and nucleus, as well as nuclear collapse. DNA ladders were observed in DNA extracted from heat-treated cells, whereas DNA from control cells remained undegraded. The terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay revealed that 51.8% of the heat-treated cells (44 °C, 4 h) show positive reaction after a 24-h recovery. When cells were cultured in a medium supplemented with 0.4–5.0 mM ZnSO₄, internucleosomal DNA fragmentation induced by heat shock was completely negated. Strikingly, when cells were cultured in Ca²⁺ and/or Mg²⁺ free medium for 44 h followed by heat treatment, DNA laddering was not observed. The results suggest hyperthermia-induced apoptosis and a correlation between the regula tion of endonucleases and heat shock signal in apoptotic tobacco cells. Received 17 September 1998; received after revision 4 January 1999; accepted 4 January 1999     

Detection of Design Fault in Dart Placement - intersecting Dart

It is easy to apply lines in design drawings to create different styles, however, there is no guarantee that all the style lines drawn are able to be manufactured. In this paper, we focus on one undeliverable style to enhance our understanding of the relationship between the design sketch and the pattern design process. In order to evidence that such style is unworkable, a systematic display of pattern development, and to be reinforced by mathematical evaluation, will be introduced and addressed. When one can easily detect design fault, waste of product development time can be minimized.     

Congenital heart disease in mice deficient for the DiGeorge syndrome region.

The heterozygous chromosome deletion within the band 22q11 (del22q11) is an important cause of congenital cardiovascular defects. It is the genetic basis of DiGeorge syndrome and causes the most common deletion syndrome in humans. Because the deleted region is largely conserved in the mouse, we were able to engineer a chromosome deletion (Df1) spanning a segment of the murine region homologous to the human deleted region. Here we describe heterozygously deleted (Df1/+) mice with cardiovascular abnormalities of the same type as those associated with del22q11; we have traced the embryological origin of these abnormalities to defective development of the fourth pharyngeal arch arteries. Genetic complementation of the deletion using a chromosome duplicated for the Df1 DNA segment corrects the heart defects, indicating that they are caused by reduced dosage of genes located within Df1. The Df1/+ mouse model reveals the pathogenic basis of the most clinically severe aspect of DiGeorge syndrome and uncovers a new mechanism leading to aortic arch abnormalities. These mutants represent a mouse model of a human deletion syndrome generated by chromosome engineering.     

Dystrophin expression in the mdx mouse restored by stem cell transplantation.

The development of cell or gene therapies for diseases involving cells that are widely distributed throughout the body has been severely hampered by the inability to achieve the disseminated delivery of cells or genes to the affected tissues or organ. Here we report the results of bone marrow transplantation studies in the mdx mouse, an animal model of Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, which indicate that the intravenous injection of either normal haematopoietic stem cells or a novel population of muscle-derived stem cells into irradiated animals results in the reconstitution of the haematopoietic compartment of the transplanted recipients, the incorporation of donor-derived nuclei into muscle, and the partial restoration of dystrophin expression in the affected muscle. These results suggest that the transplantation of different stem cell populations, using the procedures of bone marrow transplantation, might provide an unanticipated avenue for treating muscular dystrophy as well as other diseases where the systemic delivery of therapeutic cells to sites throughout the body is critical. Our studies also suggest that the inherent developmental potential of stem cells isolated from diverse tissues or organs may be more similar than previously anticipated.     

基于氨基酸性质的二肽稳定性定量预测模型研究

【目的】二肽具有生物活性高、易于合成等优点,但在机体内有较差的代谢稳定性,易被降解,故基于氨基酸性质,对二肽稳定性进行定量预测研究,为设计稳定性好的二肽分子提供理论依据。【方法】基于209个二肽分子在不同时间段的降解率,使用偏最小二乘法,将逐步回归筛选变量与支持向量机、随机森林、多元线性回归等方法相结合,建立多肽降解率与氨基酸理化性质之间的定量预测模型。【结果】最为显著的是对二肽60 min降解率所建模型,对训练集和测试集分别具有良好的估计能力(R2>0.68,Q2>0.57)与预测能力(R2>0.54),能够有效预测二肽分子的降解率;而且基于多元线性回归系数计算的氨基酸贡献能够发现影响二肽稳定性的重要氨基酸,可以指导高稳定性二肽分子的合理设计。【结论】建立的预测模型方法简单,物理意义明确,多种方法均能获得较为理想的预测模型,确保了预测结果的准确性,可用于指导设计和筛选稳定性好的二肽分子。
     

Superplastic carbon nanotubes

The theoretical maximum tensile strain--that is, elongation--of a single-walled carbon nanotube is almost 20%, but in practice only 6% is achieved. Here we show that, at high temperatures, individual single-walled carbon nanotubes can undergo superplastic deformation, becoming nearly 280% longer and 15 times narrower before breaking. This superplastic deformation is the result of the nucleation and motion of kinks in the structure, and could prove useful in helping to strengthen and toughen ceramics and other nanocomposites at high temperatures.