A negative inotropic effect of acetylcholine in the presence of several phosphodiesterase inhibitors

Summary The phosphodiesterase inhibitors papaverine, theophylline and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX) reveal a negative inotropic effect of acetylcholine in cat ventricular heart muscle. This effect is unrelated to -adrenoceptor stimulation and possibly mediated by the accumulation of cyclic GMP.I thank Mrs Petra Lauck for help. This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.     

In vivo incorporation of14C-phenylalanine into ascidian tunichrome

Ascidia ceratodes exposed to¹⁴C-phenylalanine in the surrounding seawater incorporates the radiolabel into newly biosynthesized tunichrome molecules. Radioactivity can be detected in tunichrome extracted from circulating blood cells within one day following initial exposure to the radiolabel; weak activity (4 Ci/mol tunichrome=22 nmol phenylalanine/mol tunichrome) is detected in 1 to 10 days; significantly higher amounts of radiolabel (57 Ci/mol tunichrome=318 nmol phenylalanine/mol tunichrome) appear 20 days after seawater exposure. Therefore, phenylalanine can function as a precursor in the biosynthesis of tunichrome.     

我国数字图书馆建设的必要性及主要任务

论述了我国数字图书馆建设的必要性，认为建设数字图书馆是加快社会信息化步伐的需要，是弘扬中华文化的需要，是提高国民素质的需要，是我国图书馆事业发展的需要。指出我国数字图书馆建设的主要任务包括数字资源建设、系统开发、标准规范的制定和人才培养等方面。     

浅谈企业人力资本的三大激励机制

在经济全球化、市场竞争日趋激烈的今天，为提升企业的综合竞争力，众多企业面临的一个很重要的问题就是如何留用人才，用好人才，为人才的成长创造宽松的空间和环境。从企业人力资源管理入手，重点从3个方面阐述了建立激励机制的原因及途径。     

浅谈钻孔灌注桩施工技术

详细介绍了钻孔灌注桩施工前的准备工作，以及施工过程中的钻孔、清孔、钢筋笼制作安装、水下混凝土浇注、桩基检测等施工工序应注意的事项及保证质量的措施。     

一种基于图像DCT域的信息隐藏方法

提出了一种在原始图像变换域内通过调整DCT系数嵌入秘密信息的隐藏算法,具有较大的数据隐藏能力,在恢复秘密信息时不需要原始图像.计算机实验结果表明,用该方法嵌入的秘密信息可以被恢复.     

Amplification and analysis of DNA sequences in single human sperm and diploid cells

The use of the polymerase chain reaction for analysing DNA sequences in individual diploid cells and human sperm shows that two genetic loci can be co-amplified from a single sperm, which may allow the analysis of previously inaccessible genetic phenomena.     

Pycnogenol enhances immune and haemopoietic functions in senescence-accelerated mice

Pycnogenol (procyanidin extracted from Pinus maritima) has been shown to be a potent free radical scavenger and an antioxidant phytochemical. The effects of pycnogenol on immune and haemopoietic dysfunction in senescence-accelerated mice (SAM), as a murine model of accelerated ageing, were determined. SAMP8, a strain of senile-prone mice, exhibit learning and memory deficits, immunodeficiency and dysfunction of the haemopoietic system. Oral feeding with pycnogenol for 2 months significantly improved their T- and B-cell function. Pycnogenol also augmented the proliferative capacity of haemopoietic progenitors of bone marrow in SAMP8. These data suggest that pycnogenol may be useful for either retardation or restoration of parameters associated with ageing. Received 3 July 1998; accepted 28 July 1998     

Structure of the insulin receptor substrate IRS-1 defines a unique signal transduction protein.

Since the discovery of insulin nearly 70 years ago, there has been no problem more fundamental to diabetes research than understanding how insulin works at the cellular level. Insulin binds to the alpha subunit of the insulin receptor which activates the tyrosine kinase in the beta subunit, but the molecular events linking the receptor kinase to insulin-sensitive enzymes and transport processes are unknown. Our discovery that insulin stimulates tyrosine phosphorylation of a protein of relative molecular mass between 165,000 and 185,000, collectively called pp185, showed that the insulin receptor kinase has specific cellular substrates. The pp185 is a minor cytoplasmic phosphoprotein found in most cells and tissues; its phosphorylation is decreased in cells expressing mutant receptors defective in signalling. We have now cloned IRS-1, which encodes a component of the pp185 band. IRS-1 contains over ten potential tyrosine phosphorylation sites, six of which are in Tyr-Met-X-Met motifs. During insulin stimulation, the IRS-1 protein undergoes tyrosine phosphorylation and binds phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, suggesting that IRS-1 acts as a multisite 'docking' protein to bind signal-transducing molecules containing Src-homology 2 and Src-homology-3 domains. Thus IRS-1 may link the insulin receptor kinase and enzymes regulating cellular growth and metabolism.     

Extracellular domains mediating epsilon subunit interactions of muscle acetylcholine receptor.

Ligand-gated ion channels, a major class of cell-surface proteins, have a pseudosymmetric structure with five highly homologous subunits arranged around a central ion pore. The correct assembly of each channel, whose subunit composition varies with cell type and stage of development, requires specific recognition between the subunits. Assembly of the pentameric form of the acetylcholine receptor from adult muscle (AChR; alpha 2 beta epsilon delta) proceeds by a stepwise pathway starting with the formation of the heterodimers, alpha epsilon and alpha delta. The heterodimers than associate with the beta subunit and with each other to form the complete receptor. We have now determined which parts of the subunits mediate the interactions during assembly of the adult form of the receptor from mouse muscle by using a chimaeric subunit in which the N-terminal and C-terminal extracellular domains are derived from the epsilon subunit with the remainder from the beta subunit. The epsilon and beta subunits were chosen because the epsilon subunit forms a heterodimer with the alpha subunit in the pathway for assembly of the receptor, whereas the beta subunit does not. The epsilon beta chimera can substitute for the epsilon but not the beta subunit in the oligomeric receptor, indicating that the alpha subunit specifically recognizes an extracellular domain of the epsilon subunit.