Bacterial suicide through stress

Outside of the laboratory, bacterial cells are constantly exposed to stressful conditions, and an ability to resist those stresses is essential to their survival. However, the degree of stress required to bring about cell death varies with growth phase, amongst other parameters. Exponential phase cells are significantly more sensitive to stress than stationary phase ones, and a novel hypothesis has recently been advanced to explain this difference in sensitivity, the suicide response. Essentially, the suicide response predicts that rapidly growing and respiring bacterial cells will suffer growth arrest when subjected to relatively mild stresses, but their metabolism will continue: a burst of free-radical production results from this uncoupling of growth from metabolism, and it is this free-radical burst that is lethal to the cells, rather than the stress per se. The suicide response hypothesis unifies a variety of previously unrelated empirical observations, for instance induction of superoxide dismutase by heat shock, alkyl-hydroperoxide reductase by osmotic shock and catalase by ethanol shock. The suicide response also has major implications for current [food] processing methods. Received 29 March 1999; received after revision 14 May 1999; accepted 17 May 1999     

Oxidative stress and hypoxia-like injury cause Alzheimer-type molecular abnormalities in central nervous system neurons

Neuronal loss and neuritic/cytoskeletal lesions (synaptic disconnection and proliferation of dystrophic neurites) represent major dementia-associated abnormalities in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This study examined the role of oxidative stress as a factor contributing to both the cell death and neuritic degeneration cascades in AD. Primary neuron cultures were treated with H₂O₂ (9–90 μM) or desferrioxamine (2–25 μM) for 24 h and then analyzed for viability, mitochondrial mass, mitochondrial function, and pro-apoptosis and sprouting gene expression. H₂O₂ treatment causes free-radical injury and desferrioxamine causes hypoxia-type injury without free radical generation. The H₂O₂-treated cells exhibited sustained viability but neurite retraction, impaired mitochondrial function, increased levels of the pro-apoptosis gene product CD95/Fas, reduced expression of N2J1-immunoreactive neuronal thread protein and synaptophysin, and reduced distribution of mitochondria in neuritic processes. Desferrioxamine treatment resulted in dose-dependent neuronal loss associated with impaired mitochondrial function, proliferation of neurites, and reduced expression of GAP-43, which has a role in path-finding during neurite outgrowth. The results suggest that oxidative stress can cause neurodegeneration associated with enhanced susceptibility to apoptosis due to activation of pro-apoptosis genes, neurite retraction (synaptic disconnection), and impaired transport of mitochondria to cell processes where they are likely required for synaptic function. In contrast, hypoxia-type injury causes neuronal loss with proliferation of neurites (sprouting), impaired mitochondrial function, and reduced expression of molecules required to form and maintain synaptic connections. Since similar abnormalities occur in AD, both oxidative stress and hypoxic injury can contribute to AD neurodegeneration. Received 24 May 2000; received after revision 7 July 2000; accepted 27 July 2000     

电阻应变测量技术在压力容器检验中的应用

介绍了电阻应变测量技术的测试原理和测试方法，并结合化工企业对压力容器检验的技术要求，应用电阻应变测量技术对典型压力容器作出了应力分析和安全评定。     

甲基丙烯酸镁补强丁腈橡胶的拉伸应力-应变行为

研究了单轴拉伸时甲基丙烯酸镁补强丁腈橡胶的应力 -应变行为 .采用 Gregory提出的储能函数形式 ,描述了甲基丙烯酸镁补强丁腈橡胶的应力 -应变行为 .结果表明 ,根据该形式所得的理论曲线在整个实验所及的应变范围内均能与实验曲线很好地符合 .另外 ,还研究了甲基丙烯酸镁补强丁腈橡胶的应力松弛及应力软化现象     

干旱胁迫下麻疯树幼苗根和叶的生理应答变化

采用高浓度聚乙二醇胁迫模拟干旱的方法,研究比较了麻疯树幼苗不同组织根和叶对胁迫的应答变化.结果表明,麻疯树幼苗根和叶对胁迫都产生明显应答,二者组织中相对含水量都明显下降,活性氧、可溶性糖、脯氨酸和丙二醛的含量持续增加,抗坏血酸含量呈现先增加后降低的趋势,但同期上述指标变化幅度都不一样.在整个胁迫期间,根和叶的抗氧化酶系统变化不一致,超氧化物歧化酶、过氧化氢酶、过氧化物酶和抗坏血酸还原酶活性的应答启动时间、活性变化幅度和应答持续时间也呈现一定的差异.但是,在整个胁迫处理期,根和叶组织中上述各酶活性均维持高于对照的水平.     

Ti/Cu/不锈钢爆炸复合界面层的电子显微组织

采用扫描电镜(SEM)与电子探针(EPMA)研究了Ti(合金)/Cu/不锈钢(S.S)爆炸复合界面层的电子显微组织特征,分析了界面层成分再分布规律及化合物的形成。结果表明,CU/S.S界面层具有明显的爆炸焊接波状组织,波长约200μm。Ti/Cu界面层呈锯齿波状,比较细小,波长仅30～40μm。在中间过渡层Cu,观察到大量的应力应变流线,显示爆炸复合过程冲击波流动特征。SEM照片及EPMA合析结果表明:在高温、高压、快速爆炸焊接过程中存在着复杂的冶金物理反应,形成多种反应产物。界面层除发生塑性形变外,还存在相互扩散,熔化和回复再结晶。     

4-Hydroxynonenal-modified amyloid-beta peptide inhibits the proteasome: possible importance in Alzheimer's disease

The amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) is a 4-kDa species derived from the amyloid precursor protein, which accumulates in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Although we lack full understanding of the etiology and pathogenesis of selective neuron death, considerable data do imply roles for both the toxic Aβ and increased oxidative stress. Another significant observation is the accumulation of abnormal, ubiquitin-conjugated proteins in affected neurons, suggesting dysfunction of the proteasome proteolytic system in these cells. Recent reports have indicated that Aβ can bind and inhibit the proteasome, the major cytoslic protease for degrading damaged and ubiquitin-conjugated proteins. Earlier results from our laboratory showed that moderately oxidized proteins are preferentially recognized and degraded by the proteasome; however, severely oxidized proteins cannot be easily degraded and, instead, inhibit the proteasome. We hypothesized that oxidatively modified Aβ might have a stronger (or weaker) inhibitory effect on the proteasome than does native Aβ. We therefore also investigated the proteasome inhibitory action of Aβ _1–40 (a peptide comprising the first 40 residues of Aβ) modified by the intracellular oxidant hydrogen peroxide, and by the lipid peroxidation product 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE). H₂O₂ modification of Aβ _1–40 generates a progressively poorer inhibitor of the purified human 20S proteasome. In contrast, HNE modification of Aβ _1–40 generates a progressively more selective and efficient inhibitor of the degradation of fluorogenic peptides and oxidized protein substrates by human 20S proteasome. This interaction may contribute to certain pathological manifestations of Alzheimer’s disease Received 26 September 2000; accepted 26 September 2000     

钢-砼结合梁温度应力的弹性力学解

采用弹性理论的半逆解法,视静定钢-砼结合梁为平面应力问题,将应力函数取为三角级数,考虑钢与混凝土的相对滑移,推导了钢-砼结合梁在一般温度分布作用下的应力公式。最后,通过算例,计算了钢-砼结合梁在温差、日照温度变化和骤然降温三种工况下的温度应力。     

陷落柱影响采场围岩破坏的数值模拟分析

针对岱庄煤矿4325工作面在掘进过程中揭露一岩溶陷落柱的情况,结合以往研究成果和工作面实际情况,利用FLAC3D数值模拟软件建立三维模型,对工作面距岩溶陷落柱不同距离的垂直应力和水平应力进行模拟,分析得到：该工作面垂直应力、水平应力均小于地应力的正常值;由于岩溶陷落柱的存在,使应力应变分布极不均匀,陷落柱附近顸板应力在垂直方向的作用范围在40～50m．远离陷落柱其影响逐渐减小,但对底板岩层的最大破坏深度为25m。