Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 is an essential regulator of heart function

Cardiovascular diseases are predicted to be the most common cause of death worldwide by 2020. Here we show that angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ace2) maps to a defined quantitative trait locus (QTL) on the X chromosome in three different rat models of hypertension. In all hypertensive rat strains, ACE2 messenger RNA and protein expression were markedly reduced, suggesting that ace2 is a candidate gene for this QTL. Targeted disruption of ACE2 in mice results in a severe cardiac contractility defect, increased angiotensin II levels, and upregulation of hypoxia-induced genes in the heart. Genetic ablation of ACE on an ACE2 mutant background completely rescues the cardiac phenotype. But disruption of ACER, a Drosophila ACE2 homologue, results in a severe defect of heart morphogenesis. These genetic data for ACE2 show that it is an essential regulator of heart function in vivo.     

四生散对肺癌细胞增殖的抑制作用及毒性研究

主要探讨中药制剂四生散对人肺癌A5 4 9细胞株的增殖抑制作用以及其急性毒性.应用改进的MTT法测定四生散对肺癌细胞增殖的影响;采用琼脂糖凝胶电泳测定四生散对诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡的影响;再用分剂量组灌胃小鼠的方法,鉴定四生散的急性毒性.实验结果表明,四生散对人肺癌A5 4 9细胞株的增殖有较强的抑制作用,并具有明显的量效和时效相关性;经四生散处理后的A5 4 9细胞呈现凋亡特征性电泳条带;在3 2倍于人的剂量时,小鼠饮食和体重均在正常水平,并无异常,证实口服四生散无急性毒性.     

T形线散射电流的麦克斯韦电路

运用最新提出的麦克斯韦电路理论,分析T形线的散射电流,将该结构等效为LC电路,求解与之对应的微分方程,得到该结构的散射电流,数值实验分别计算了T形线的等效电路参数L,C,α,β,以及相应的散射电流,分析结果表明,所得电路参数和散射电流符合物理现象,并且与矩量法的结果以及相关文献中的结果均吻合,从而证明了该方法的正确性和...     

Prion-like behaviour and tau-dependent cytotoxicity of pyroglutamylated amyloid-β

Extracellular plaques of amyloid-β and intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles made from tau are the histopathological signatures of Alzheimer's disease. Plaques comprise amyloid-β fibrils that assemble from monomeric and oligomeric intermediates, and are prognostic indicators of Alzheimer's disease. Despite the importance of plaques to Alzheimer's disease, oligomers are considered to be the principal toxic forms of amyloid-β. Interestingly, many adverse responses to amyloid-β, such as cytotoxicity, microtubule loss, impaired memory and learning, and neuritic degeneration, are greatly amplified by tau expression. Amino-terminally truncated, pyroglutamylated (pE) forms of amyloid-β are strongly associated with Alzheimer's disease, are more toxic than amyloid-β, residues 1-42 (Aβ(1-42)) and Aβ(1-40), and have been proposed as initiators of Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. Here we report a mechanism by which pE-Aβ may trigger Alzheimer's disease. Aβ(3(pE)-42) co-oligomerizes with excess Aβ(1-42) to form metastable low-n oligomers (LNOs) that are structurally distinct and far more cytotoxic to cultured neurons than comparable LNOs made from Aβ(1-42) alone. Tau is required for cytotoxicity, and LNOs comprising 5% Aβ(3(pE)-42) plus 95% Aβ(1-42) (5% pE-Aβ) seed new cytotoxic LNOs through multiple serial dilutions into Aβ(1-42) monomers in the absence of additional Aβ(3(pE)-42). LNOs isolated from human Alzheimer's disease brain contained Aβ(3(pE)-42), and enhanced Aβ(3(pE)-42) formation in mice triggered neuron loss and gliosis at 3 months, but not in a tau-null background. We conclude that Aβ(3(pE)-42) confers tau-dependent neuronal death and causes template-induced misfolding of Aβ(1-42) into structurally distinct LNOs that propagate by a prion-like mechanism. Our results raise the possibility that Aβ(3(pE)-42) acts similarly at a primary step in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis.     

Bone marrow cells regenerate infarcted myocardium

Myocardial infarction leads to loss of tissue and impairment of cardiac performance. The remaining myocytes are unable to reconstitute the necrotic tissue, and the post-infarcted heart deteriorates with time. Injury to a target organ is sensed by distant stem cells, which migrate to the site of damage and undergo alternate stem cell differentiation; these events promote structural and functional repair. This high degree of stem cell plasticity prompted us to test whether dead myocardium could be restored by transplanting bone marrow cells in infarcted mice. We sorted lineage-negative (Lin-) bone marrow cells from transgenic mice expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein by fluorescence-activated cell sorting on the basis of c-kit expression. Shortly after coronary ligation, Lin- c-kitPOS cells were injected in the contracting wall bordering the infarct. Here we report that newly formed myocardium occupied 68% of the infarcted portion of the ventricle 9 days after transplanting the bone marrow cells. The developing tissue comprised proliferating myocytes and vascular structures. Our studies indicate that locally delivered bone marrow cells can generate de novo myocardium, ameliorating the outcome of coronary artery disease.     

冲积河流相层序地层学研究

运用沉积学及层序地层学原理 ,分析了河流类型及其形成发育特征 ,借鉴国内外有关冲积河流环境下的层序地层模式 ,特别是近海冲积环境下层序地层模式 ,并以济阳坳陷新近系为例 ,建立了更具普遍意义的冲积河流相层序地层模式 ,探讨了不同体系域的特征及其与河流类型之间的关系。研究结果表明 ,冲积河流相地层的体系域划分具有 4分性特征 ,即主要发育有低水位体系域、扩张体系域、高水位体系域 ,当基准面缓慢下降时 ,还可发育收缩体系域。根据济阳坳陷新近系沉积特征 ,指出了各体系域对应的沉积体系及相类型。其中 ,低水位体系域时期以侵蚀下切、冲积扇辫状河沉积为主 ;扩张体系域时期是由辫状河向曲流河过渡 ;高水位体系域时期以曲流河为主 ;收缩体系域时期是由曲流河向辫状河过渡。     

Genome sequencing in microfabricated high-density picolitre reactors

The proliferation of large-scale DNA-sequencing projects in recent years has driven a search for alternative methods to reduce time and cost. Here we describe a scalable, highly parallel sequencing system with raw throughput significantly greater than that of state-of-the-art capillary electrophoresis instruments. The apparatus uses a novel fibre-optic slide of individual wells and is able to sequence 25 million bases, at 99% or better accuracy, in one four-hour run. To achieve an approximately 100-fold increase in throughput over current Sanger sequencing technology, we have developed an emulsion method for DNA amplification and an instrument for sequencing by synthesis using a pyrosequencing protocol optimized for solid support and picolitre-scale volumes. Here we show the utility, throughput, accuracy and robustness of this system by shotgun sequencing and de novo assembly of the Mycoplasma genitalium genome with 96% coverage at 99.96% accuracy in one run of the machine.     

有限元计算应力模拟实验光弹性等差条纹图

提出用有限元计算应力模拟光弹性等差条纹图像的方法，介绍了由计算应力计算图像显示点应力的算法．通过主应力差与光弹性等差条纹的关系获得了模拟条纹图．模拟条纹图的灰度值可由数字图像卡快速全场显示，实现了计算应力的光弹性应力等差条纹图的模拟．所提出的新思路为计算结果与实验结果进行全场定量比较提供了新的途径     

热敏电阻伏安特性自动测试系统

利用PC机通过RS－232C标准串行接口同智能万用表组成自动测试系统，通过并行打印接口控制外围接口电路，实现电压程序控制及通道自动转换，并实现了对热敏电阻伏安特性曲线的自动测试和自动数据处理。该系统能同时对10只热敏元件进行测试，各个通道具有单元单独击穿自动保护电路，程序VISUAL C＋＋6．0语言编写。     

Demography of the Yarrow's spiny lizard, Sceloporus jarrovii , from the central Chihuahuan Desert

The demography of a population of Yarrow's spiny lizard, Sceloporus jarrovii , was examined from 2004 to 2006 in the canyon Las Piedras Encimadas, located in Gomez Palacio, Durango, México. Lizards were studied using a mark-recapture technique. Reproduction in females occurred between November and May, coinciding with dry conditions. Reproductive activity was highest (percent of females with vitellogenic follicles or embryos) in the middle of the dry season (November and December). Thirteen percent of females reached sexual maturity at an average age of 8.5 months. The population structure was similar in spring and fall, but not in summer. A notable feature of summer, coinciding with the wet season, was the greater number of hatchlings and juveniles. The overall sex ratio did not differ from 1:1. The density of adults varied from 12 to 62 animals ? 0.5 ha –1 . Temperate and arid-adapted populations of S. jarrovii exhibited broad similarity in timing of the reproductive season, whereas factors such as density, growth, age at sexual maturity, and survivorship differed.