Therapeutic applications of bone marrow-derived stem cells in liver transplantation for end-stage liver diseases

Today, liver transplantation (LT) is the only established treatment for end-stage liver diseases. The de- velopment of LT, including OLT, cadaveric LT, split LT, living donor LT (LDLT), brings hopes to patients with these diseases. However, increasing donor shortage, rejection and life-long immunosuppression with its side effects are the major limitations of this therapy strategy. Bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMDSCs) are capable of differentiating into hepatocyte-like cells and contribute to liver injury repair. The microenvironment of liver injury caused by rejection, ischemia/reperfusion, loss of liver mass, recurrence of HCV and "small-for-size syndrome" after LT can attract a variety of bone marrow-derived stem cell population to the peripheral circulation and then migration to the injury liver to promote the hepatic function restoration. Additionally, BMDSCs can also take part in the functional regeneration of living donor liver after LDLT. This participation in liver regeneration may be associated to the interac- tion between SDF-1and its receptor CXCR4, involving HGF, IL-8, MMP9, and VEGF/VEGFR-2. BMDSC with its bio-characteristics could maintain the allograft tolerance from different angles and in different ways. In conclusion, BMDSCs transplantation, as a new assistant therapeutic method for LT, will ex- pand the space of LT, and provide more survival opportunities for the patients suffering liver diseases in the future.     

Structure of astacin and implications for activation of astacins and zinc-ligation of collagenases.

Astacin, a digestive zinc-endopeptidase from the crayfish Astacus astacus L., is the prototype for the 'astacin family', which includes mammalian metallo-endopeptidases and developmentally regulated proteins of man, fruitfly, frog and sea urchin. Here we report the X-ray crystal structure of astacin, which reveals a deep active-site cleft, with the zinc at its bottom ligated by three histidines, a water molecule and a more remote tyrosine. The third histidine (His 102) forms part of a consensus sequence, shared not only by the members of the astacin family, but also by otherwise sequentially unrelated proteinases, such as vertebrate collagenases. It may therefore represent the elusive 'third' zinc ligand in these enzymes. The amino terminus of astacin is buried forming an internal salt-bridge with Glu 103, adjacent to His 102. Astacin pro-forms extended at the N terminus, as observed for some 'latent' mammalian astacin homologues, did not exhibit this 'active' conformation, indicating an activation mechanism reminiscent of trypsin-like serine proteinases.     

The harmonic decomposition reconstruction for the exponential radon transform

The exponential Radon transform, a generalization of the Radon transform, is defined and studied as a mapping of function spaces. It is represented in terms of Fourier transform of its domain and range, and this leads to the harmonic decomposition reconstruction. The results are similar results of Tretiak and Metz. Foundation item: Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 19971064), Key Project of Science and Technology of Hubei Province Education Committee. Biography: Wang Jin-ping (1963-), male, Ph.D. candidate, research direction: numberical solution of singular integral equation and integral transformation etc.     

Resource Search in Unstructured Peer-to-Peer System Based on Multiple-Tree Overlay Structure

We propose a multiple-tree overlay structure for resource discovery in unstructured P2P systems. Peers that have similar interests or hold similar type of resources will be grouped into a tree-like cluster. We exploit the heterogeneity of peers in each cluster by connecting peers with more capacities closer to the root of the tree. The capacity of a peer can be defined in different ways （e.g. higher network bandwidth, larger disk space, more data items of a certain type etc.） according to different needs of users or applications.     

On the verge of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Umdeutung</Emphasis> in Minnesota: Van Vleck and the correspondence principle. Part one

In October 1924, The Physical Review, a relatively minor journal at the time, published a remarkable two-part paper by John H. Van Vleck, working in virtual isolation at the University of Minnesota. Using Bohr’s correspondence principle and Einstein’s quantum theory of radiation along with advanced techniques from classical mechanics, Van Vleck showed that quantum formulae for emission, absorption, and dispersion of radiation merge with their classical counterparts in the limit of high quantum numbers. For modern readers Van Vleck’s paper is much easier to follow than the famous paper by Kramers and Heisenberg on dispersion theory, which covers similar terrain and is widely credited to have led directly to Heisenberg’s Umdeutung paper. This makes Van Vleck’s paper extremely valuable for the reconstruction of the genesis of matrix mechanics. It also makes it tempting to ask why Van Vleck did not take the next step and develop matrix mechanics himself. This paper was written as part of a joint project in the history of quantum physics of the Max Planck Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte and the Fritz-Haber-Institut in Berlin.     

The Response of Debris-Flow Events to Solar Proton Flares （Ⅰ）

By analyzing the observation data from Dongchuan Debris Flow Observation and Research Station and historical data from year 1965 to 1990 gotten from National Astronomical Ob-servatories/Yunnan Observatory,the responding of debris flow in Jiangjia Ravine to Solar Proton Flare is studied. The following conclusion can be drawn. Solar Proton Flare,as one of most im-portant astronomical factors,affects the activity of debris flow in Yunnan. Generally,from 1965 to1990,the more active Solar Pro-ton Flare is,the greater the probability of high frequency and large runoff of debris flow is. On the contrary,the less active Solar Pro-ton Flare is,the greater the probability of low frequency,small runoff,and low sediment transport of debris flow is.     

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。     

Bang bang control of unified chaotic system

The unified chaotic system contains the Lorenz system and the Chen system as two dual systems at the two extremes of its parameter spectrum. This paper presents the design of bang bang controller for unified system and multitude of numerical experiments under various control parameters. Numerical experiments meet the theoretic proof perfectly and convincingly demonstrated the controller can be effectively used for unified systems with uncertainty of the equilibrium points. The method enriches the applications of chaotic control. Foundation item: Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(50209012) Biography: Deng Xiao-ming (1980-), male, Master candidate, research direction: chaos control.     

Comparison of the effects of different isomers of bicuculline infused in the preoptic area on male rat sexual behavior

Summary Intracerebral infusion of (+) bicuculline methiodide, but not of its (–) isomer, in the preoptic area, stimulated masculine sexual behavior in rat as evidenced by a decrease in the number of intromissions preceding ejaculation and a shortening of the ejaculation latency and postejaculatory interval. Data suggest a role of the GABAergic system in mediating masculine sexual behavior.Acknowledgments. Authors wish to thank Ms Elisabeth Wallin for excellent technical assistance and Ms Madelene Kröning for preparing the figures.     

金属基复合材料界面层阻尼功能研究

采用CVD技术制备了具有不同界面层的C-f/Al金属基复合材料，获得了一种界面层阻尼功能设计的新方法. 研究发现具有特殊界面层的C-f/Al复合材料的抗拉强度、弹性模量和阻尼性能比无界面层时都有明显增加，并且不同界面层的效果不同. 碳层对复合材料阻尼性能的提高效果最大，硅层的提高效果不如碳层，碳硅混合层的效果居中. 涂层的厚度也影响了阻尼提高的效果，较厚的碳层效果更好，这是由于提高了复合材料的阻尼应变振幅效应而产生的. 研究认为发生在界面层的微滑移是其主要的阻尼机制.