The AA and ANA rat lines,selected for differences in voluntary alcohol consumption

Summary The offspring of rats that voluntarily select larger quantities of alcohol are heavier consumers of alcohol than the offspring of rats that tend to avoid it. Such selective breeding, repeated over many generations, was used to develop the AA (Alko, Alcohol) line of rats which prefer 10% alcohol to water, and the ANA (Alko, Non-Alcohol) line of rats which choose water to the virtual exclusion of alcohol. In addition to demonstrating the likely role of genetic factors in alcohol consumption, these lines have been used to find behavioral, metabolic, and neurochemical correlates of differential alcohol intake. Some of the line differences that have been found involve the reinforcing effects of ethanol, the changes in consumption produced by alcohol deprivation and nutritional factors, the behavioral and adrenal monoamine reactions to mild stress, the development of tolerance, the accumulation of acetaldehyde during ethanol metabolism, and the brain levels of serotonin. It is hoped that these studies will lead to a better understanding of the genetically-determined mechanisms that influence the selection of alcohol.     

Interaction of mitochondrial porin with cytosolic proteins

Summary Intracellular phosphorylation is an important step in active uptake and utilization of carbohydrates. For example glucose and glycerol enter the liver, cell along the extra intracellular gradient by facilitated diffusion through specific carriers and are concentrated inside the cell by phosphorylation via hexokinase or glycerol kinase. Depending on the function of the respective tissue the uptake of carbohydrates serves different metabolic purposes. In brain and kidney medulla cells which depend on carbohydrates, glucose and glycerol are taken up according to the energy demand. However, in tissues such as muscle which synthesize glycogen or like liver which additionally produce fat from glucose, the uptake of carbohydrates has to be regulated according to the availability of glucose and glycerol. How the reversible coupling of the kinases to the outer membrane pore and the mitochondrial ATP serves to fulfil these specific requirements will be explained as well as how this regulates the carbohydrate uptake in brain according to the activity of the oxidative phosphorylation and how this allows glucose uptake in liver, and muscle to persist in the presence of high glucose 6-phosphate without activating the rate of glycolysis.     

The physiology of the smooth muscle: an interdisciplinary review—part II

Summary In the guinea pig taenia coli, when glycogen is depleted by repeating Ca-induced contracture in excess K solution containing no glucose, the tension cannot be maintained. The decrease in tension is accompanied by reduction of high energy phosphate compounds and oxygen consumption. When substrate is readmitted to the glycogendepleted preparation in the presence of 2.4 mM Ca and 20 mM K, the first response is hyperpolarization of the membrane and relaxation, and this is followed by depolarization and development of contracture. The latter response is blocked by verapamil, suggesting that energy supply increases the Ca conductance of the plasma membrane. The early response is considered to be due to activation of electrogenic Ca pump, since this is not affected by ouabain as well as removal of Na and K. ATP produced by substrate readmission is probably preferentially utilized for Ca pump activation to reduce the intracellular. Ca. The recovery of tension is likely to be brought about by ATP supply not only to the contractile machinery but also to the plasma membrane to remove inactivation of Ca conductance. It is postulated that as the energy source is depleted, energy consumption is automatically limited by suppressing Ca influx, as a selfdefence mechanism. Since HB is as effective as glucose in the recovery of these processes, and also in the activation of electrogenic Na pump, the matabolic pathway of oxidative phosphorylation alone can support these functions without a contribution of the glycolytic pathway.     

气相色谱法测定催化剂中的积碳量

燃烧色谱法已用于测定钢铁等黑色金属中的碳。由于氧气既作燃烧气又作载气,检测灵敏度低,若选用氦气做载气,成本较高。王华明等采用氢气做载气,并用CO_2气体绘制标准曲线,由于气体体积进样的准确度较差,使该标准曲线线性欠佳,而且他们在测定催化剂的积碳量时,未做系统误差的检验。我们在燃烧炉中燃烧石墨-氧化铝混合物以制作标准曲线,线性     

Hepatic hydroxylation of melatonin in the rat is induced by phenobarbital and 7,12-dimethylbenzy[a]anthracene — implications for cancer etiology

The protective function of the pineal hormone melatonin in the etiology of cancer and carcinogenic activation is increasingly well-established. Low melatonin levels seem to parallel cancer growth. The question arises as to which factors cause the depression of melatonin levels and what the direct effects are. Melatonin is known to be metabolized in the liver by hydroxylation and subsequent conjugation yielding 6-sulfatoxymelatonin as a main product. Nevertheless, the microsomal monoxygenases catalyzing the first step have been poorly investigated. To further characterize these enzymes, typical inducers of three different sub-classes, namely phenobarbital, 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene, and 17-estradiol, were administered to female Fischer rats. Circadian urinary excretion patterns of melatonin and 6-sulfatoxymelatonin were determined over a 24-hour period on the third (second) day of induction. Liver homogenates were used to monitor the in vitro conversion of melatonin or 6-hydroxymelatonin to 6-sulfatoxymelatonin. Results of both approaches showed the microsomal monoxygenases catalyzing the 6-hydroxylation of melatonin to be strongly inducible by phenobarbital and to a lesser degree by the polyaromatic hydrocarbon 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene. The dramatic depletion of circulating melatonin as a result of these induction patterns and its possible implications for oncogenesis are discussed.     

Flexible supercapacitor electrodes with vertically aligned carbon nanotubes grown on aluminum foils

In this work, vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) grown on aluminum foils were used as flexible supercapacitor electrodes. Aluminum foils were used as readily available, cheap and conductive substrates, and VACNTs were grown directly on these foils through chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Solution based ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) method was used for the deposition of the CNT catalyst. Direct growth of VACNTs on aluminum foils ruled out both the internal resistance of the supercapacitor electrodes and the charge transfer resistance between the electrode and electrolyte. A specific capacitance of 2.61 mF/cm2 at a scan rate of 800 mV/s was obtained from the fabricated electrodes, which is further improved through the bending cycles.     

Double carbon decorated lithium titanate as anode material with high rate performance for lithium-ion batteries

Spinel lithium titanate(Li_4Ti_5O_(12)) has the advantages of structural stability, however it suffers the disadvantages of low lithium-ion diffusion coefficient as well as low conductivity. In order to solve issues,we reported a simple method to prepare carbon-coated Li_4Ti_5O_(12)/CNTs(C@Li_4Ti_5O_(12)/CNTs) using stearic acid as surfactant and carbon source to prepare carbon coated nanosized particles. The obtained Li_4Ti_5O_(12) particles of 100 nm in size are coated with the carbon layers pyrolyzed from stearic acid and dispersed in CNTs matrix homogeneously. These results show that the synthesized C@Li_4Ti_5O_(12)/CNTs material used as anode materials for lithium ion batteries, presenting a better high-rate performance(147 m Ahg~(-1)at20 C). The key factors affecting the high-rate properties of the C@Li_4Ti_5O_(12)/CNTs composite may be related to the synergistic effects of the CNTs matrix and the carbon- coating layers with conductivity enhancement. Additionally, the amorphous carbon coating is an effective route to ameliorate the rate capability of Li_4Ti_5O_(12)/CNTs.     

Selection pressure drives the co-evolution of several lipid metabolism genes in mammals

Adipose tissue is an important endocrine organ and energy supplier.Its physiological effect on the regulation of the energy balance is considered an important factor underlying the evolution of mammals.To test whether the genes controlling lipid metabolism have undergone adaptive molecular change in the evolution of mammals,in this study,we used the orthologous gene sequences of 12 important lipid metabolism proteins (leptin,OB-RL,RXRA,RXRB,RXRG,PPARA,PPARB/D,PPARG,PNLIP,ADIPOQ,LPL and UCP1) from NCBI’s databases.We found evidence that 4 of the corresponding genes (leptin,ADIPOQ,PNLIP and PPARA) have undergone positive selection in their evolutionary history and that most adaptive changes occurred during the evolution of the super-clades Laurasiatheria (placentals) and suborders within Euarchontoglires (primates and rodents).Comparisons across sets of genes showed that in a third of cases,bursts of positive selection,more than would be expected by chance,occurred on corresponding branches.We propose that the positive selection drives adaptive changes in some lipid metabolism genes in or within Laurasiatheria and Euarchontoglires clades.Along with evidence from earlier studies,our results show that co-evolution among interacting lipid metabolism proteins has taken place.     

高压氧治疗急性一氧化碳中毒后迟发性脑病疗效分析

目的 探讨急性一氧化炭中毒后迟发性脑病（ＤＥＡＣＭＰ）采取高压氧治疗后的效果。方法 将４０例包性一氧化碳中毒后迟发性脑病的病人随机分成两组治疗，观察病人精神、意识、锥体外系、锥体外系的变化以及生活能力变化等。结果 高压氧治疗组临床疗效评分提高比率、神经精神障碍、锥体外系及锥体系症状好转均明显高于对照组。结论 高压氧治疗ＤＥＡＣＭＰ可明显改善病人神经精神障碍及锥体外系及锥体系体征。