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.     

矿区铁路专用线下综采放顶煤开采的试验研究

介绍了国内第一个综采放顶煤开采矿区铁路线下压煤试验面的成功经验，总结了试采中对铁路所采取的各种分析和维护措施，分析了该采煤方法下的地在移动和变形特点，为我国“三下”采煤领域提供了具有特色的成功实例。     

Electrochemical studies of glutathione monolayer assembled on a polycrystalline gold electrode

The glutathione (GSH) monolayer and complex monolayer of GSH-metallic ion on polycrystalline gold electrode were studied by using K₃Fe(CN)₆ as the redox probe. As for the GSH monolayer, it was found that the metallic ions could open the ion-gate in the monolayer dramatically in the order La³⁺> Pb²⁺>>Ba²⁺>Ca²⁺ whereas Zn²⁺ ion closed the ion-gate. The complexes of GSH-metallic ions were capable of self-assembling the different kind of monolayer. All the differences were related to the structural configuration of the anchored GSH molecule, which changed with different metallic ions or pH. Biography:Fang Cheng (1971-) male, Ph. D, research direction: electroanlysis.     

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...