Prediction of the structure of a receptor-protein complex using a binary docking method.

To validate procedures of rational drug design, it is important to develop computational methods that predict binding sites between a protein and a ligand molecule. Many small molecules have been tested using such programs, but examination of protein-protein and peptide-protein interactions has been sparse. We were able to test such applications once the structures of both the maltose-binding protein (MBP) and the ligand-binding domain of the aspartate receptor, which binds MBP, became available. Here we predict the binding site of MBP to its receptor using a 'binary docking' technique in which two MBP octapeptide sequences containing mutations that eliminate maltose chemotaxis are independently docked to the receptor. The peptides in the docked solutions superimpose on their original positions in the structure of MBP and allow the formation of an MBP-receptor complex. The consistency of the computational and biological results supports this approach for predicting protein-protein and peptide-protein interactions.     

求Ramsey数最优下界值的递归算法

要确定每个具体的Ramsey数的数值是相当困难的,至今人们只求出了为数很少的几个Ramsey数的数值.人们在研究Ramsey数性质的同时,也在估计Ramsey数的数值,得出了某些Ramsey数的下界值,但工作进展缓慢.本文提出了一种计算Ramsey数最优下界值的递归算法,该算法利用当今关于Ramsey数的最新结果,能得出Ramsey数的目前最优下界值.1 算法描述不妨将本算法定名为G,参数个数为1个以上(可变化),算法允许递归调用,其输出值为Ramsey数的目前最优下界值.C(k_1,k_2…,k_n)表示以k_1,k_2…,k_n作为输入,通过算法G所得到的输出结果,即C(k_1,k_2…,k_n)表示的是G算出的Ramsey数N(k_1,k_2,…,k_n;2)的目前最优下界值,其中N(k_1,k_2…,k_n;2)的含意与文献[2]中有关含意相同.算法G:     

Short alanine-based peptides may form 3(10)-helices and not alpha-helices in aqueous solution.

Short alanine peptides, containing 16 or 17 residues, appear to form alpha-helices in aqueous solution. But the main spectroscopic analyses used on helical peptides (circular dichroism and nuclear magnetic resonance) cannot distinguish between an alpha-helix (in which the ith residue is hydrogen-bonded to residue i + 4; ref. 9) and the next most common peptide helix, the 3(10)-helix10 (i-->i + 3 hydrogen-bonding). To address this problem we have designed single and doubly spin-labelled analogues of alanine-based peptides in which the nitroxide spin label forms an unbranched side chain extending from the sulphur atom of a cysteine residue. Here we report the circular dichroism, Fourier-transform infrared and electron-spin resonance spectra of these peptides under helix-forming conditions. The infrared absorbance gives an amide I' band with a frequency that is substantially different from that observed for alpha-helices. The electron-spin resonance spectra of doubly labelled helices show that the ranking of distances between side chains, around a single turn (residues 4-8), is inconsistent with an alpha-helical structure. Our experiments suggest that the more likely peptide geometry is a 3(10)-helix.     

心肌动作电位对心脏节律的影响

采用数值方法分析心肌动作电位对心脏节律的影响。心肌动作电位用Noble模型来描述，心脏节律用Bernardo-Signorint模型来模拟。数值分析结果表明，心肌动作电位形成的靶环波和螺旋波对心脏节律影响较大。当心肌动作电位表现为噪声时，心脏节律可完全破坏。     

半群方法在发汗控制问题中的应用

本文研究执防护发汗冷却控制中的自由边界解的存在性、唯一性，应用算子半群方法得出了解的存在性、唯一性，所用的方法对一般非线性、抛转型偏微分方程和高维情形也适用．     

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.     

Abnormal pattern detected in fragile-X patients by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

The fragile-X syndrome is the most frequent inherited form of mental retardation, with an incidence of 1 in 1,500 males. It is characterized by the presence of a fragile site at Xq27.3 induced in vitro by folate deprivation or by inhibitors of deoxynucleotide synthesis. Its mode of inheritance is unusual for an X-linked trait, with incomplete penetrance in both males and females. Some phenotypically normal males transmit the mutation to all their daughters who rarely express any symptoms, but penetrance is high in sons and daughters of these carrier women. Genetic and physical mapping of the Xq27-q28 region has confirmed that the disease locus is located at or very near the fragile site. Hypotheses proposed to account for the abnormalities in the inheritance of the disease include sequence rearrangements by meiotic recombination or a mutation that affects reactivation of an inactive X chromosome during differentiation of female germ cells. To detect such rearrangements, or methylation changes that may reflect a locally inactive X chromosome, we used pulsed-field gel analysis of DNA from fragile-X patients with probes close to the fragile-X locus. The probe Do33 (DXS465) detected abnormal patterns in fragile-X patients, but not in normal controls or in non-expressing male transmitters.     

谈高校青年志愿者活动

从志愿者活动的发展开始谈起 ,阐述了在我国实行市场经济以后 ,高校青年志愿者活动在校园精神文明建设中的特点和作用 ,并就高校青年志愿者活动进一步规范与发展提出几点见解     

信息技术与学科教学的整合需要研究型教师

信息技术与学科的有效整合需要教师具备整合的基本能力，并成为研究型教师。指出教师要不断更新信息技术知识和技能，利用现代教学设施，依据教学实践开展研究，从而探索出有效的整合模式。     

Effect of 15(R)-15-methyl-prostaglandin E2 on iron absorption in the rat

Summary The administration of 15(R)-15-methyl prostaglandin E₂ (15(R)-15-M-PGE₂) in vivo significantly diminished the uptake of⁵⁹Fe into blood, spleen, liver, femur and dried intestine of rats, whereas acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) increased the counts significantly. This effect of ASA was counteracted by 15(R)-15-M-PGE₂. It is suggested that prostaglandins (PGs) might play an important role in inhibiting iron absorption at the intestinal level.This work was supported by grant No.6638 from CONICET (Argentina). The technical assistance of Mrs María E. Castro and Norma Rizzo is gratefully acknowleged.