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.     

城市化进程中上海植被的多样性、空间格局和动态响应（Ⅶ）： 上海浦东近自然森林十年间的动态变化及模式优化

以2000年在上海浦东新区营建的近自然森林为研究对象,通过对群落种类组成、植株密度、植株高度、胸径和土壤养分的跟踪调查,研究了近自然森林十年间的动态变化.结果表明：经过10 年生长,林分长势良好,植物种类组成基本上仍以初期种植的物种为主,伴有少量自然侵入种;由于建设前期缺乏荫蔽,苦槠（Castanopsis sclerophylla）、红楠（Machilus thunbergii）等常绿阔叶树种枯死较多,枫香（Liquidambar formosana）和女贞（Ligustrum lucidum）死亡率低、生长迅速,逐渐占据群落上层后,常绿阔叶树种逐渐适应群落环境,趋于稳定生长;随着群落的发展近自然森林土壤养分较种植初期稳定上升.针对存在的问题,结合近自然森林优化模式建设的尝试,提出了“异龄复层落叶—常绿混交林”的种植模式,为城市地标性的植物群落构建提供指导与参考.     

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...     

Intermediates in the transformation of phosphonates to phosphate by bacteria

Phosphorus is an essential element for all known forms of life. In living systems, phosphorus is an integral component of nucleic acids, carbohydrates and phospholipids, where it is incorporated as a derivative of phosphate. However, most Gram-negative bacteria have the capability to use phosphonates as a nutritional source of phosphorus under conditions of phosphate starvation. In these organisms, methylphosphonate is converted to phosphate and methane. In a formal sense, this transformation is a hydrolytic cleavage of a carbon-phosphorus (C-P) bond, but a general enzymatic mechanism for the activation and conversion of alkylphosphonates to phosphate and an alkane has not been elucidated despite much effort for more than two decades. The actual mechanism for C-P bond cleavage is likely to be a radical-based transformation. In Escherichia coli, the catalytic machinery for the C-P lyase reaction has been localized to the phn gene cluster. This operon consists of the 14 genes phnC, phnD, …, phnP. Genetic and biochemical experiments have demonstrated that the genes phnG, phnH, …, phnM encode proteins that are essential for the conversion of phosphonates to phosphate and that the proteins encoded by the other genes in the operon have auxiliary functions. There are no functional annotations for any of the seven proteins considered essential for C-P bond cleavage. Here we show that methylphosphonate reacts with MgATP to form α-D-ribose-1-methylphosphonate-5-triphosphate (RPnTP) and adenine. The triphosphate moiety of RPnTP is hydrolysed to pyrophosphate and α-D-ribose-1-methylphosphonate-5-phosphate (PRPn). The C-P bond of PRPn is subsequently cleaved in a radical-based reaction producing α-D-ribose-1,2-cyclic-phosphate-5-phosphate and methane in the presence of S-adenosyl-L-methionine. Substantial quantities of phosphonates are produced worldwide for industrial processes, detergents, herbicides and pharmaceuticals. Our elucidation of the chemical steps for the biodegradation of alkylphosphonates shows how these compounds can be metabolized and recycled to phosphate.     

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.     

Structures of APC/C(Cdh1) with substrates identify Cdh1 and Apc10 as the D-box co-receptor

The ubiquitylation of cell-cycle regulatory proteins by the large multimeric anaphase-promoting complex (APC/C) controls sister chromatid segregation and the exit from mitosis. Selection of APC/C targets is achieved through recognition of destruction motifs, predominantly the destruction (D)-box and KEN (Lys-Glu-Asn)-box. Although this process is known to involve a co-activator protein (either Cdc20 or Cdh1) together with core APC/C subunits, the structural basis for substrate recognition and ubiquitylation is not understood. Here we investigate budding yeast APC/C using single-particle electron microscopy and determine a cryo-electron microscopy map of APC/C in complex with the Cdh1 co-activator protein (APC/C(Cdh1)) bound to a D-box peptide at ～10 ? resolution. We find that a combined catalytic and substrate-recognition module is located within the central cavity of the APC/C assembled from Cdh1, Apc10--a core APC/C subunit previously implicated in substrate recognition--and the cullin domain of Apc2. Cdh1 and Apc10, identified from difference maps, create a co-receptor for the D-box following repositioning of Cdh1 towards Apc10. Using NMR spectroscopy we demonstrate specific D-box-Apc10 interactions, consistent with a role for Apc10 in directly contributing towards D-box recognition by the APC/C(Cdh1) complex. Our results rationalize the contribution of both co-activator and core APC/C subunits to D-box recognition and provide a structural framework for understanding mechanisms of substrate recognition and catalysis by the APC/C.     

以胶体粒子为模板制备含磁药物胶囊

以低度交联的单分散三聚氰胺甲醛(M F)微球作为胶体模板,采用层层静电自组装技术,交替组装带正电的聚二烯丙基二甲基氯化铵(PDDA)和带负电的聚4-苯乙烯磺酸钠(PSS),得到具有核壳结构的复合微球,然后利用盐酸溶液将模板M F微球溶解,制得均匀的空腔胶囊。在N aC l浓度为0.7 m o l/L,pH<3时,将抗癌药物盐酸多柔米星(DOX)和磁流体同时封装到聚电解质胶囊中,可得到含磁药物胶囊,磁性粒子分散在胶囊的壳层和空腔内。该含磁药物胶囊具有良好的磁响应性和药物缓释性。     

Cryptic subarctic diversity: a new bumblebee species from the Yukon and Alaska (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

It is nearly 90 years since a bumblebee species has been described for the first time from Canada or the USA that was previously unrecognised by science. We describe and illustrate Bombus(Alpinobombus) kluanensis sp. nov. and begin to map its distribution. This species was discovered through analysis of Cytochrome c Oxidase subunit I barcodes and had been unsuspected on the basis of morphological and colour characteristics. So far, 247 female specimens considered to belong to this species are known from the subarctic mountains associated with the Denali Fault running from the Alaska Range (Alaska, USA) to Kluane in the Saint Elias Mountains (Yukon, Canada). A checklist of all species of the subgenus Alpinobombus worldwide is provided.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:78D524DD-FFBA-4BC4-8D39-3EF4F6BDD39E