Effects of vitamin B12 on plasma melatonin rhythm in humans: increased light sensitivity phase-advances the circadian clock?

Vitamin B12 (methylcobalamin) was administered orally (3 mg/day) to 9 healthy subjects for 4 weeks. Nocturnal melatonin levels after exposure to bright light (ca. 2500 lx) were determined, as well as the levels of plasma melatonin over 24 h. The timing of sleep was also recorded. Vitamin B12 was given blind to the subjects and crossed over with placebo. We found that the 24-h melatonin rhythm was significantly phase-advanced (1.1 h) in the vitamin B12 trial as compared with that in the placebo trial. In addition, the 24-h mean of plasma melatonin level was much lower in the vitamin B12 trial than with the placebo. Furthermore, the nocturnal melatonin levels during bright light exposure were significantly lower in the vitamin B12 trial than with the placebo. On the other hand, vitamin B12 did not affect the timing of sleep. These findings raise the possibility that vitamin B12 phase-advances the human circadian rhythm by increasing the light sensitivity of the circadian clock.     

系统聚类分析在农村消费水平划分中的应用

中国的经济发展主要存在着“东部”与“西部”的差距，文章利用聚类分析对我国部分省、市、自治区共28个样本进行分类，并加以分析．     

对河南农村劳动力向小城镇转移趋势的调查研究

“人口城镇化”是社会发展的必然趋势。本文从河南沁阳等九个“小城镇”的实际调查材料出发,较详细地讨论了农村劳动力向小城镇转移的流量,形成、就业层次和社会影响,说明中国的“人口城镇化”方向关键在于积极发展小城镇。     

Targeted inhibition of Livin resensitizes renal cancer cells towards apoptosis

Cancer cells are typically characterized by apoptosis deficiency. In order to investigate a possible role for the anti-apoptotic livin gene in renal cell cancer (RCC), we analyzed its expression in tumor tissue samples and in RCC-derived cell lines. In addition, we studied the contribution of livin to the apoptotic resistance of RCC cells by RNA interference (RNAi). Livin gene expression was detected in a significant portion of RCC tumor tissue specimens (13/14, 92.9%) and tumor-derived cell lines (12/15, 80.0%). Moreover, targeted inhibition of livin by RNAi markedly sensitized RCC cells towards proapoptotic stimuli, such as UV irradiation or the chemotherapeutic drugs etoposide, 5-fluorouracil, and vinblastine. These effects were specific for livin expressing tumor cells. We conclude that livin can contribute significantly to the apoptosis resistance of RCC cells. Targeted inhibition of livin could represent a novel therapeutic strategy to increase the sensitivity of renal cancers towards pro-apoptotic agents. Received 30 November 2006; received after revision 22 February 2007; accepted 20 March 2007     

Improving the thermal stability of lactate oxidase by directed evolution

Lactate oxidase is used in biosensors to measure the concentration of lactate in the blood and other body fluids. Increasing the thermostability of lactate oxidase can significantly prolong the lifetime of these biosensors. We have previously obtained a variant of lactate oxidase from Aerococcus viridans with two mutations (E160G/V198I) that is significantly more thermostable than the wild-type enzyme. Here we have attempted to further improve the thermostability of E160G/V198I lactate oxidase using directed evolution. We made a mutant lactate oxidase gene library by applying error-prone PCR and DNA shuffling, and screened for thermostable mutant lactate oxidase using a plate-based assay. After three rounds of screening we obtained a thermostable mutant lactate oxidase, which has six mutations (E160G/V198I/G36S/T103S/A232S/F277Y). The half-life of this lactate oxidase at 70 °C was about 2 times that of E160G/V198I and about 36 times that of the wild-type enzyme. The amino acid mutation process suggests that the combined neutral mutations are important in protein evolution. Received 15 September 2006; received after revision 21 October 2006; accepted 2 November 2006     

Innovation on Petroleum Engineering Technology of China Beach and Shallow Water Areas

1Chinaoffshoreoil&gasresourcesandtheircharacteristicfeatures　Chinaoffshoreoil&gasexplorationstartedduringthe1 95 0s .Until 1 971 ,thecommercialHai 4fieldwasfoundinBohai.Subsequentlytwoproductionplatformswereconstruc ted ,thefirstChinaoffshoreoilfieldwasformed .Fromthenon ,Chinaoffshoreoil&gasexplorationandexploitationspeedbecameprogressivelyfaster.Afteralargeamountofexplorationwork ,theoilandgasresourcesinChinacoastalareasweremadeclearpreliminarily .AccordingtoState sSecondaryResourceEva…     

浅谈新型墙体材料——煤矸石空心砖

煤矸石空心砖是一种新型环保墙体材料，符合国家及山西省出台的限制生产和使用实心黏土砖，鼓励发展新型建筑材料的政策。利用煤矸石制造的空心砖可以作为保温材料，既可节约建筑能耗，又可节约土地资源，减少环境污染。煤矸石空心砖同黏土实心砖相比，具有高强、轻质、隔音、隔热、保温、防震等优点，市场前景良好。     

我国最薄炉墙焦炉的设计、施工与生产

减薄炭化室炉墙是提高焦炉产量,节约能源,减少投资的重要途径之一。本文介绍我国厚80毫米炉墙焦炉的设计、施工与生产情况。     

学生体质,健康调研数据微机统计计算系统

全国学生体质、健康调研工作所涉及的指标多、数据量大、计算内容多,因此,有必要研制一套功能较齐全完备、便于使用的微机统计计算系统.该文介绍了该系统的设计思想、特点、结构、功能以及使用效果,该系统适用于全国各地及各高等院校,可处理以前的体质调研数据或其他有关数据,通用性与实用性较强.