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.     

Retrograde transport of endocytosed Shiga toxin to the endoplasmic reticulum.

Shiga toxin and some other protein toxins that act on targets in the cytosol have previously been shown to enter the trans-Golgi network. Transport by this route may be necessary for translocation of the toxin to the cytosol and for intoxication, but it is not known whether the enzymatically active part of the toxins actually enters the cytosol from the trans-Golgi network. It has been suggested that such toxins are transported in a retrograde manner to the endoplasmic reticulum and that translocation occurs in this organelle, but retrograde transport of endocytosed material beyond the trans-Golgi network has never been demonstrated. Here we show that in butyric acid-treated A431 cells endocytosed Shiga toxin is not only transported to the trans-Golgi network, but also to all Golgi stacks, to the endoplasmic reticulum and to the nuclear envelope. Furthermore, butyric acid sensitizes the cells to Shiga toxin, which is consistent with the possibility that retrograde transport is required for translocation of the toxin to the cytosol.     

Elaboration and Properties of Nanocomposite Structures Based on Crown Modified Platinum Nanoparticles

1 Results This paper presents the development of platinum nanocomposites structures based on organically modified c.a.2 nm core platinum nanoparticles.The chemical modification of the 4-mercaptoaniline functionalized particles by various in coming molecules is evidenced and precisely quantified.The particles can be dissolved like molecules in various solvents depending on the features of the new crown and X-rays shows that the interparticle distance is affected by the crown modification.These platinum n...     

Nanostructured Functional Thermoplastic Polymeric Materials Based on the Molecular Control of the Blending

1 Results The development of the concepts of nanotechnology has given an important impact on the design of new polymer based materials which are in most cases characterized by a multiphase morphology. When at least one phase has nanometric dimension(s) the system can be considered as a nanocomposite where the interface is not only determining for the adhesion but also may play a role in some bulk properties. Indeed in nanostructured multiphase solids the interface is significant as a bulk component. The...     

一类广义Liénard系统的正半轨线与特征曲线相交的条件

获得了广义Li啨ｎａｒｄ系统dxdt =p(y) -F(x) ,　 dydt =-g(x)q(y)过平面上任意一点的正半轨线与特征曲线p(y) =F(x)相交的充分条件 .     

功能性粘胶纤维及其织物的研究

简述TiO2、ZnO陶瓷粉纳米材料的性能、TiO2、ZnO陶瓷粉纳米功能性粘胶纤维的研制方法及含TiO2、ZnO等陶瓷粉纳米功能性粘胶纤维及其织物的性能分析.试验表明,用纳米材料制成的粘胶长丝与绦纶长丝复合丝(3.4tex/30f)制成的织物耐洗色率度、耐摩色率度、耐汗渍色牢度、燃烧性能均有不同程度改善,织物的服用性能提高,并具有屏蔽和抗菌性能.     

基于变神经网络的非线性最小方差预测控制器

提出基于变神经网络学习动态系统参数的最小方差预测控制器。其目的是通过在线学习 ,使控制器(MVPC)能适应被控对象参数变化和非确定性。提出的变神经网络由两部分组成 ,一部分是线性神经网络 (LNN) ,作为被控对象局部线性动态模型 ,另一部分是多层交叉回归神经网络 (DRNN) ,它近似为非线性动态模型。由于引进递推最小方差算法 ,本控制器运算速度相当快。仿真结果表明所提方法对非线性系统自适应控制是有效的