形与神——中国医学的“魂”论

分析中国古代特别是中国传统医学中关于“神”即人“魂”的学说．作者论证，中国人所认为的人“魂”与欧洲的传统有很大的不同，是以物质性作为其特征的，或者说“魂”并不是一个非物质的东西．     

Ni-P化学镀层相变过程研究

针对镍磷化学镀镀层相变过程中存在的问题,通过X射线衍射、差热分析和透射电镜等手段对含磷原子数分数12.15%的镍磷镀层的镀态组织和晶化过程进行了初步研究。结果表明,这种中磷含量的镍磷镀层镀态下组织为非晶态,晶化起始温度321℃;退火过程中,非晶组织中先形成镍纳米晶,然后纳米晶镍伴随晶化过程进行迅速长大,并在镍基体上析出亚稳过渡相Ni12P5和稳定的Ni3P相,400℃退火90min后的组织为晶粒尺寸为微米级的镍基体上分布着弥散的Ni3P相和少量的Ni12P5相。     

Free fatty acids regulate insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells through GPR40

Diabetes, a disease in which carbohydrate and lipid metabolism are regulated improperly by insulin, is a serious worldwide health issue. Insulin is secreted from pancreatic beta cells in response to elevated plasma glucose, with various factors modifying its secretion. Free fatty acids (FFAs) provide an important energy source as nutrients, and they also act as signalling molecules in various cellular processes, including insulin secretion. Although FFAs are thought to promote insulin secretion in an acute phase, this mechanism is not clearly understood. Here we show that a G-protein-coupled receptor, GPR40, which is abundantly expressed in the pancreas, functions as a receptor for long-chain FFAs. Furthermore, we show that long-chain FFAs amplify glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells by activating GPR40. Our results indicate that GPR40 agonists and/or antagonists show potential for the development of new anti-diabetic drugs.     

Neutral proteases in the guinea-pig lymphocytes.

Partial purification of neutral proteolytic enzymes in guinea-pig lymphocytes yielded 2 enzymes. Both enzymes were heat-labile and inhibited by thiol reagents. The molecular weights were more than 200,000 and 150,000-200,000, and optimal pH around 9 and 8, respectively.     

A thiol protease of peritoneal macrophages in the guinea pig

Proteolytic enzymes of the guinea pig peritoneal exudate macrophages were investigated using synthetic fluorogenic peptide substrates. Among several enzymes, t-butyloxycarbonyl-phenylalanyl-seryl-arginine 4-methylcoumaryl-7-amide cleaving enzymes had the highest activity, and the activity in exudate macrophages was about 3 times stronger than that in resident macrophages. The molecular weight of the enzyme was around 35,000 and optimal pH around 6.5-7.0. It was inhibited by thiol-blocking reagents, suggesting a thiol protease.     

An alkaline protease in the delayed hypersensitivity skin lesions in the guinea-pigs

Summary An alkaline hemoglobinolytic protease was extracted from the delayed hypersensitivity skin lesions induced by bovine -globulin as an antigen in the guinea-pig. The enzyme was heat-labile and inhibited by thiol-blocking reagents. The mol.wt was more than 100,000 and optimal pH around 9.We thank Prof. Hideo Hayashi and Yoshimasa Morino, Kumamoto University, for valuable discussions. This work was supported in part by grants from the Ministry of Education in Japan, the Naito Research Grant. Tokyo, and the Mitsukoshi Foundation, Tokyo.     

Comparative analysis of chimpanzee and human Y chromosomes unveils complex evolutionary pathway

The mammalian Y chromosome has unique characteristics compared with the autosomes or X chromosomes. Here we report the finished sequence of the chimpanzee Y chromosome (PTRY), including 271 kb of the Y-specific pseudoautosomal region 1 and 12.7 Mb of the male-specific region of the Y chromosome. Greater sequence divergence between the human Y chromosome (HSAY) and PTRY (1.78%) than between their respective whole genomes (1.23%) confirmed the accelerated evolutionary rate of the Y chromosome. Each of the 19 PTRY protein-coding genes analyzed had at least one nonsynonymous substitution, and 11 genes had higher nonsynonymous substitution rates than synonymous ones, suggesting relaxation of selective constraint, positive selection or both. We also identified lineage-specific changes, including deletion of a 200-kb fragment from the pericentromeric region of HSAY, expansion of young Alu families in HSAY and accumulation of young L1 elements and long terminal repeat retrotransposons in PTRY. Reconstruction of the common ancestral Y chromosome reflects the dynamic changes in our genomes in the 5-6 million years since speciation.     

A thiol protease of peritoneal macrophages in the guinea pig

Summary Proteolytic enzymes of the guinea pig peritoneal exudate macrophages were investigated using synthetic fluorogenic peptide substrates. Among several enzymes, t-butyloxycarbonyl-phenylalanyl-seryl-arginine 4-methylcoumaryl-7-amide cleaving enzymes had the highest activity, and the activity in exudate macrophages was about 3 times tronger than that in resident thiol-blocking reagents, suggesting a thiol protease.We thank Dr Yoshiaki Motozato, Kumamoto University, for kind donation of Cellulofine GC-700 and valuable discussions. This work is supported in part by the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan.