PYY modulation of cortical and hypothalamic brain areas predicts feeding behaviour in humans

The ability to maintain adequate nutrient intake is critical for survival. Complex interrelated neuronal circuits have developed in the mammalian brain to regulate many aspects of feeding behaviour, from food-seeking to meal termination. The hypothalamus and brainstem are thought to be the principal homeostatic brain areas responsible for regulating body weight. However, in the current 'obesogenic' human environment food intake is largely determined by non-homeostatic factors including cognition, emotion and reward, which are primarily processed in corticolimbic and higher cortical brain regions. Although the pleasure of eating is modulated by satiety and food deprivation increases the reward value of food, there is currently no adequate neurobiological account of this interaction between homeostatic and higher centres in the regulation of food intake in humans. Here we show, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, that peptide YY3-36 (PYY), a physiological gut-derived satiety signal, modulates neural activity within both corticolimbic and higher-cortical areas as well as homeostatic brain regions. Under conditions of high plasma PYY concentrations, mimicking the fed state, changes in neural activity within the caudolateral orbital frontal cortex predict feeding behaviour independently of meal-related sensory experiences. In contrast, in conditions of low levels of PYY, hypothalamic activation predicts food intake. Thus, the presence of a postprandial satiety factor switches food intake regulation from a homeostatic to a hedonic, corticolimbic area. Our studies give insights into the neural networks in humans that respond to a specific satiety signal to regulate food intake. An increased understanding of how such homeostatic and higher brain functions are integrated may pave the way for the development of new treatment strategies for obesity.     

First-passage times in complex scale-invariant media

How long does it take a random walker to reach a given target point? This quantity, known as a first-passage time (FPT), has led to a growing number of theoretical investigations over the past decade. The importance of FPTs originates from the crucial role played by first encounter properties in various real situations, including transport in disordered media, neuron firing dynamics, spreading of diseases or target search processes. Most methods of determining FPT properties in confining domains have been limited to effectively one-dimensional geometries, or to higher spatial dimensions only in homogeneous media. Here we develop a general theory that allows accurate evaluation of the mean FPT in complex media. Our analytical approach provides a universal scaling dependence of the mean FPT on both the volume of the confining domain and the source-target distance. The analysis is applicable to a broad range of stochastic processes characterized by length-scale-invariant properties. Our theoretical predictions are confirmed by numerical simulations for several representative models of disordered media, fractals, anomalous diffusion and scale-free networks.     

阻抗测量法及梁的阻抗应答分析

提出了利用压电陶瓷的阻抗测量法的概念,即用压电陶瓷作为驱动源产生动态阻抗信息.测试系统由阻抗分析仪、计算机、压电陶瓷片、铝梁组成.实验将铝梁作为测试对象,在其上粘贴压电陶瓷,通过对阻抗应答、振动模型和压电陶瓷片的粘贴位置的分析,研究梁的阻抗频率特性.实验结果表明,利用阻抗法,容易得到构造物的频率响应特性,应答分析也简单.     

附加应力沿深度变化的砂井地基固结分析

基于等应变固结的假设,考虑附加应力沿地基深度的变化以及涂抹效应和井阻的影响,导出砂井地基固结偏微分方程,求得孔隙水压力和平均固结度的解析解.在随时间变化的预压荷载作用下,对把初始孔隙水压力和附加应力简化为沿深度梯形分布的固结性状进行比较.结果表明,对于深厚砂井地基,附加应力和初始孔隙水压力分布对固结过程具有明显影响,若按均匀分布计算,所得的平均固结度偏小.     

满天星中的黄酮类化合物及其抗氧化活性

 对石竹科花卉植物满天星(Gypsophila elegans)进行化学成分研究,通过波谱技术鉴定化合物结构,得到6 个黄酮苷化合物,分别为2″-O-α-L-阿拉伯糖异荭草苷(1)、芹黄素-6-C--7-O-β-D-吡喃葡萄糖苷(2)、芹黄素-8-C-β-D-吡喃葡萄糖苷(3)、肥皂草苷(4)、芹黄素-7-O-槐糖苷(5)、异牡荆素-2″-O-β-D -吡喃葡萄糖苷(6).除化合物4为首次从该植物中分离得到外,其它化合物均为首次从石竹科植物中分离得到.并采用DPPH自由基清除模型对分离得到的化合物进行了抗氧化活性筛选,化合物1显示出强抗氧化活性.     

多单相逆变器线与工作的Multisim仿真

线与的概念来源于数字逻辑电路系统,本文将其应用在逆变驱动系统中,即不借助于任何接口控制电路,将多个单相逆变器的输出端直接并联在一起,共同驱动同一个负载.该技术的关键在于:系统中每一个单相逆变器根据其自身的承载力按比例分担负载的相应分量,本文利用频率、基波电压以及谐波电压的衰减校正算法来完成的,最后用Multisim的仿...     

锥度量空间中两个集值映射的公共不动点定理

在度量空间中引入了一种新的广义压缩条件,利用这种条件,在不要求正规锥的前提下,得到了满足广义压缩条件的集值映射的公共不动点的存在性结果.这些结果推广了一些锥度量空间中关于两个集值映射的最常见的公共不动点定理.     

中医耳鼻喉科中文名词术语选词、定名与释义规范表述

中医耳鼻喉科中文名词术语规范与审定工作作为中医临床术语规范与审定工作中的一环,遵循中医临床术语规范与审定工作的普遍规律,同时又有着自身的特点。文章介绍了中医耳鼻喉科中文名词术语的选词、定名工作和注释的规范表述方法等,以期为中医临床各科术语规范与审定方法的探讨提供借鉴和参考。     

Evidence for a spin-aligned neutron-proton paired phase from the level structure of (92)Pd

Shell structure and magic numbers in atomic nuclei were generally explained by pioneering work that introduced a strong spin-orbit interaction to the nuclear shell model potential. However, knowledge of nuclear forces and the mechanisms governing the structure of nuclei, in particular far from stability, is still incomplete. In nuclei with equal neutron and proton numbers (N = Z), enhanced correlations arise between neutrons and protons (two distinct types of fermions) that occupy orbitals with the same quantum numbers. Such correlations have been predicted to favour an unusual type of nuclear superfluidity, termed isoscalar neutron-proton pairing, in addition to normal isovector pairing. Despite many experimental efforts, these predictions have not been confirmed. Here we report the experimental observation of excited states in the N = Z = 46 nucleus (92)Pd. Gamma rays emitted following the (58)Ni((36)Ar,2n)(92)Pd fusion-evaporation reaction were identified using a combination of state-of-the-art high-resolution γ-ray, charged-particle and neutron detector systems. Our results reveal evidence for a spin-aligned, isoscalar neutron-proton coupling scheme, different from the previous prediction. We suggest that this coupling scheme replaces normal superfluidity (characterized by seniority coupling) in the ground and low-lying excited states of the heaviest N = Z nuclei. Such strong, isoscalar neutron-proton correlations would have a considerable impact on the nuclear level structure and possibly influence the dynamics of rapid proton capture in stellar nucleosynthesis.     

S-nitrosylation of NADPH oxidase regulates cell death in plant immunity

Changes in redox status are a conspicuous feature of immune responses in a variety of eukaryotes, but the associated signalling mechanisms are not well understood. In plants, attempted microbial infection triggers the rapid synthesis of nitric oxide and a parallel accumulation of reactive oxygen intermediates, the latter generated by NADPH oxidases related to those responsible for the pathogen-activated respiratory burst in phagocytes. Both nitric oxide and reactive oxygen intermediates have been implicated in controlling the hypersensitive response, a programmed execution of plant cells at sites of attempted infection. However, the molecular mechanisms that underpin their function and coordinate their synthesis are unknown. Here we show genetic evidence that increases in cysteine thiols modified using nitric oxide, termed S-nitrosothiols, facilitate the hypersensitive response in the absence of the cell death agonist salicylic acid and the synthesis of reactive oxygen intermediates. Surprisingly, when concentrations of S-nitrosothiols were high, nitric oxide function also governed a negative feedback loop limiting the hypersensitive response, mediated by S-nitrosylation of the NADPH oxidase, AtRBOHD, at Cys 890, abolishing its ability to synthesize reactive oxygen intermediates. Accordingly, mutation of Cys 890 compromised S-nitrosothiol-mediated control of AtRBOHD activity, perturbing the magnitude of cell death development. This cysteine is evolutionarily conserved and specifically S-nitrosylated in both human and fly NADPH oxidase, suggesting that this mechanism may govern immune responses in both plants and animals.