The failing heart.

Cardiomyopathies are disorders affecting heart muscle that usually result in inadequate pumping of the heart. They are the most common cause of heart failure and each year kill more than 10,000 people in the United States. In recent years, there have been breakthroughs in understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in this group of conditions, with knowledge of the genetic basis for cardiomyopathies perhaps seeing the largest advance, enabling clinicians to devise improved diagnostic strategies and preparing the stage for new therapies.     

A calcium sensor in the sodium channel modulates cardiac excitability.

Sodium channels are principal molecular determinants responsible for myocardial conduction and maintenance of the cardiac rhythm. Calcium ions (Ca2+) have a fundamental role in the coupling of cardiac myocyte excitation and contraction, yet mechanisms whereby intracellular Ca2+ may directly modulate Na channel function have yet to be identified. Here we show that calmodulin (CaM), a ubiquitous Ca2+-sensing protein, binds to the carboxy-terminal 'IQ' domain of the human cardiac Na channel (hH1) in a Ca2+-dependent manner. This binding interaction significantly enhances slow inactivation-a channel-gating process linked to life-threatening idiopathic ventricular arrhythmias. Mutations targeted to the IQ domain disrupted CaM binding and eliminated Ca2+/CaM-dependent slow inactivation, whereas the gating effects of Ca2+/CaM were restored by intracellular application of a peptide modelled after the IQ domain. A naturally occurring mutation (A1924T) in the IQ domain altered hH1 function in a manner characteristic of the Brugada arrhythmia syndrome, but at the same time inhibited slow inactivation induced by Ca2+/CaM, yielding a clinically benign (arrhythmia free) phenotype.     

工程测量中的坐标变换

针对城市工程测量中经常遇到不同坐标系之间的成果转换问题 ,提出了一种非常简单实用的方法 ,该方法的基本原理是将一个坐标系中的坐标成果换算成实际的距离与方位 ,然后利用这实际的距离与方位计算在另一坐标系中的成果。论文最后给出了一实例说明这种转换的可靠性     

Quantum Mechanics and Operational Probability Theory

We discuss a generalization of the standard notion of probability space and show that the emerging framework, to be called operational probability theory, can be considered as underlying quantal theories. The proposed framework makes special reference to the convex structure of states and to a family of observables which is wider than the familiar set of random variables: it appears as an alternative to the known algebraic approach to quantum probability.     

Comparative study of the karyotypes of two Egyptian species of bats,Taphozous perforatus andTaphozous nudiventris (Chiroptera: Mammalia)

A detailed karyotypic analysis of two Egyptian species of bats,Taphozous perforatus andTaphozous nudiventris, was made on the basis of conventional data and G-band patterns. No detectable karyotypic difference was found between the two species (2n=42, F.N. 64). By comparison of G-band patterns, some differences between the two species were seen in the corresponding autosomal pairs. These results are reported for the first time in Egypt.     

THE TRANSFER BEHAVIOUR OF SOME CATIONS AT WATER／NITROBENZENE INTERFACE BY SEMIDIFFERENTIAL CYCLIC VOLTAMMETRY

The transfer of Sr~(2+) and Ba~(2+) ion, facilitated by 18-Crown-6 present in the aqueous phase, and of succinylcholine ion at w/nb interface were investigated by semi-differential cyclic voltammetry. A good polarographic curve of succinylcholine ion dissolved in water was obtained in the system of 0.01 mol/l LiCl (w)——0.01 mol/l TBATPB (nb). The peak current is directly proportional to the concentration of SC~(2+) ion. It can be used for the determination of SC and the detection limit is 1.05×10~(-5) mol/l.The apparent D~w and D~(nb) have been estimated. The transfer of Sr~(2+) and of Ba~(2+) at the interface are facilitated by 18-Crown-6 present in the aqueous phase and the peak current is directly proportional to the concentration of 18-Crown-6 in water. This method can be used for the determination of the complexing agent and for the stability constant of the complex formed in the aqueous phase.All the experimental results are in keeping with the theoretical.     

造纸污冷凝水中挥发醇的测定

本实验用自行研制的简易气提－浓缩装置，与气相色谱仪联用，在适当的实验条件下，对造纸污冷凝水中微量低沸点挥发醇的混合物进行了有效的测定。检测下限为～１０μｇ／Ｌ，变异系数＜１０％，加标回收率＞８１％。     

Aeromonas caviae: ecologic adaptation in the intestinal tract of infants coupled to adherence and enterotoxin production as factors in enteropathogenicity

Aeromonas caviae isolated from stools of diarrheic formula-fed infants and environmental sources produce acetic acid when grown in glucose broth, which is bactericidal (suicide phenomenon). A. caviae grows anaerobically in a minimal medium or under permissive conditions such as the intestinal tract of formula-fed infants. These isolates adhered to HEp-2 cells and produced a cytotoxic and a cytotonic enterotoxin which underscore their enteropathogenicity.     

The Huntington's disease candidate region exhibits many different haplotypes.

Analysis of 78 Huntington's disease (HD) chromosomes with multi-allele markers revealed 26 different haplotypes, suggesting a variety of independent HD mutations. The most frequent haplotype, accounting for about one third of disease chromosomes, suggests that the disease gene is between D4S182 and D4S180. However, the paucity of an expected class of chromosomes that can be related to this major haplotype by assuming single crossovers may reflect the operation of other mechanisms in creating haplotype diversity. Some of these mechanisms sustain alternative scenarios that do not require a multiple mutational origin for HD and/or its positioning between D4S182 and D4S180.