Endorcine cells producing regulatory peptides

Summary Recent data on the immunologication of regulatory peptides and related propeptide sequences in endocrine cells and tumours of the gastrointestinal tract pancreas, lung, thyroid, pituitary (ACTH and opioids), adrenals and paraganglia have been revised and discussed. Gastrin, xenopsin, cholecystokinin (CCK), somatostatin, motilin, secretin, GIP (gastric inhibitory beenrevised and discussed. Gastrin, xenopsin, cholecystokinin (CCK), somatostatin, motilin, secretin, GIP (gastric inhibitory polypeptide), neurotensin, glicentin/glucagon-37 and PYY (peptide tyrosine tyrosine) are the main products of gastrointestinal endocrine cells; glucagon, CRF (corticotropin releasing factor), somatostatin, PP (pancreatic polypeptide) and GRF (growth hormone releasing factor), in addition to insulin, are produced in pancreatic islet cells; bombesin-related peptidesare the main markers of pulmonary endocrine cells; calcitonin and CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide) occur in thyroid and extrathyroid C cells; ACTH and endorphins in anterior and intermediate lobe pituitary cells, -MSH and CLIP (corticotropoin-like intermediate lobe peptide) in intermediate lobe cells; met- and leu-enkephalins and related peptides in adrenal medullary and paraganglionic cells as well as in some gut (enterochromaffin) cells; NPY (neuropeptide Y) in adrenalin-type adrenal medullary cells, etc.. Both tissue-appropriate and tissue-inappropriate regulatory peptides are produced by endocrine tumours, with inappropriate peptides mostly produced by malignant tumours.     

Regulation of cellulose synthesis in Acetobacter xylinum by cyclic diguanylic acid

Cellulose is the most abundant renewable carbon resource on earth and is an indispensable raw material for the wood, paper, and textile industries. A model system to study the mechanism of cellulose biogenesis is the bacterium Acetobacter xylinum which produces pure cellulose as an extracellular product. It was from this organism that in vitro preparations which possessed high levels of cellulose synthase activity were first obtained in both membranous and soluble forms. We recently demonstrated that this activity is subject to a complex multi-component regulatory system, in which the synthase is directly affected by an unusual cyclic nucleotide activator enzymatically formed from GTP, and indirectly by a Ca (2+) -sensitive phosphodiesterase which degrades the activator. The cellulose synthase activator (CSA) has now been identified as bis-(3' 5')-cyclic diguanylic acid (5'G3'p5'G3'p) on the basis of mass spectroscopic data, nuclear magnetic resonance analysis and comparison with chemically synthesized material. We also report here on intermediary steps in the synthesis and degradation of this novel circular dinucleotide, which have been integrated into a model for the regulation of cellulose synthesis.     

总弯沉比及其在机场刚性道面板底脱空判定中的适用性

提出了一种板底脱空判定弯沉指标——总弯沉比（R_TD）,分析了其理论特征;为探究R_TD在机场刚性道面板底脱空判定中的适用性,基于Abaqus有限元软件建模,以弯沉比和截距为对比对象,计算分析了道面结构参数、接缝传荷能力和脱空参数等对指标的影响。结果表明：相比弯沉比和截距,R_TD与道面结构参数相关性更高,可据此建立相对精确的判定标准;此外,R_TD在对脱空参数敏感的同时可避免接缝传荷能力与板底脱空的耦合影响。综合而言,R_TD在机场刚性道面板底脱空判定中具有更好的适应性。     

Structure of the human CLC-7/Ostm1 complex reveals a novel state

CLC-7 functions as a Cl?/H+ exchanger in lysosomes. Defects in CLC-7 and its β-subunit, Ostm1, result in osteopetrosis and neurodegeneration. Here, we present the cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of the human CLC-7/Ostm1 complex (HsCLC-7/Ostm1) at a resolution of 3.6 ?. Our structure reveals a new state of the CLC-7/Ostm1 heterotetramer, in which the cytoplasmic domain of CLC-7 is absent, likely due to high flexibility. The disordered cytoplasmic domain is probably not able to restrain CLC-7 subunits and thus allow their relative movements. The movements result in an approximately half smaller interface between the CLC-7 transmembrane domains than that in a previously reported CLC-7/Ostm1 structure with a well-folded cytoplasmic domain. Key interactions involving multiple osteopetrosis-related residues are affected by the interface change.     

盾构隧道管片接缝密封垫防水耐久性试验研究

为研究盾构管片接缝橡胶密封垫的防水耐久性,开展了橡胶密封垫水热加速老化试验,并对老化后试样进行拉伸力学性能试验、试样表面电镜扫描与长期防水性能试验,分析了橡胶垫表面微观尺度下的防水失效机理;采用橡胶密封垫极限防水压力为耐久性评价指标,结合基于Arrhenius方程的p-T-t数学模型,推导了橡胶密封垫长期防水性能折减系数的预测公式。结果表明：老化后橡胶密封垫表面接触状况的恶化和橡胶材料的硬化,加速了橡胶密封垫接触面间渗漏通道的形成;橡胶密封垫防水性能随着老化时间的增加不断降低,但下降速度逐渐减小。采用提出的防水性能预测公式对广东榕江-关埠引水工程盾构隧洞实际使用的橡胶密封垫的耐久性进行了预测,预测服役100 a后的老化系数为0.390,结果相对于仅考虑橡胶材料力学性能时的预测结果偏小12.36%,对原设计使用期内频繁出现的渗漏现象提供了合理解释与更准确的寿命预测。     

A deficiency of the homeotic complex of the beetle Tribolium

In Drosophila, the establishment of regional commitments along most of the anterior/posterior axis of the developing embryo depends on two clusters of homeotic genes: the Antennapedia complex (ANT-C) and the bithorax complex (BX-C). The red flour beetle has a single complex (HOM-C) representing the homologues of the ANT-C and BX-C in juxtaposition. Beetles trans-heterozygous for two particular HOM-C mutations spontaneously generate a large deficiency, presumably by an exchange within the common region of two overlapping inversions. Genetic and molecular results indicate that this deficiency spans at least the interval between the Deformed and abdominal-A homologues. In deficiency homozygous embryos, all gnathal, thoracic and abdominal segments develop antennal appendages, suggesting that a gene(s) has been deleted that acts to distinguish trunk from head. There is no evidence that beetles have a homologue of the segmentation gene fushi tarazu of similar genomic location and function. On the basis of the genetic tractability, convenient genome size and organization of Tribolium, and its relatively long phylogenetic divergence from Drosophila (>300 million years), we have integrated developmental genetic and molecular analyses of the HOM-C. We isolated about 70 mutations in the complex representing at least six complementation groups. The homeotic phenotypes of adults and lethal embryos lead us to believe that these beetle genes are homologous with the Drosophila genes indicated in Fig. 1 (see text).