Flow-induced release of adenosine 5′-triphosphate from endothelial cells of the rat mesenteric arterial bed

Adenosine 5-triphosphate (ATP) was released into the perfusate of rat isolated mesenteric arterial beds during each of two consecutive increases in flow. There was no significant difference between the amounts of ATP released on each occasion. Substance P was also released into the perfusate by increased flow, although its release was more variable. Removal of the endothelium of the mesenteric vessels with sodium deoxycholate led to a significant reduction (74%) in the amount of ATP released compared with the release before the endothelium had been removed. This suggests that the ATP released into the mesenteric arterial perfusate during increased flow arises from endothelial cells.     

Influence of PGA1 on cartilage growth

Summary Using the Fell technique of organ culture of cartilage in a chemically defined medium, it has been shown that prostaglandin A₁ at a concentration of 25 g/ml caused chondrocyte death in chick embryonic limb rudiments. An equimolar concentration of PGE₂ was not toxic to the cells.Acknowledgments. We are grateful for the support of C. J. K. by the Medical Research Council and of D. L. G. by the Arthritis and Rheumatism Council for Research. Our thanks are due to Dame Honor Fell, F. R. S. for invaluable advice and guidance, to Dr J. Pike (Upjohn Co.) for supplies of prostaglandin A₁, and to Dr Sylvia Fitton-Jackson for the gift of culture medium.     

Expanding the diversity of chemical protein modification allows post-translational mimicry

One of the most important current scientific paradoxes is the economy with which nature uses genes. In all higher animals studied, we have found many fewer genes than we would have previously expected. The functional outputs of the eventual products of genes seem to be far more complex than the more restricted blueprint. In higher organisms, the functions of many proteins are modulated by post-translational modifications (PTMs). These alterations of amino-acid side chains lead to higher structural and functional protein diversity and are, therefore, a leading contender for an explanation for this seeming incongruity. Natural protein production methods typically produce PTM mixtures within which function is difficult to dissect or control. Until now it has not been possible to access pure mimics of complex PTMs. Here we report a chemical tagging approach that enables the attachment of multiple modifications to bacterially expressed (bare) protein scaffolds: this approach allows reconstitution of functionally effective mimics of higher organism PTMs. By attaching appropriate modifications at suitable distances in the widely-used LacZ reporter enzyme scaffold, we created protein probes that included sensitive systems for detection of mammalian brain inflammation and disease. Through target synthesis of the desired modification, chemistry provides a structural precision and an ability to retool with a chosen PTM in a manner not available to other approaches. In this way, combining chemical control of PTM with readily available protein scaffolds provides a systematic platform for creating probes of protein-PTM interactions. We therefore anticipate that this ability to build model systems will allow some of this gene product complexity to be dissected, with the aim of eventually being able to completely duplicate the patterns of a particular protein's PTMs from an in vivo assay into an in vitro system.     

一类连续小波的构造及其性质

小波分析是国际上新兴的一个前沿研究课题,已成为众多学科共同关注的热点.小波函数的构造问题是小波理论分析与应用研究的基础.文章提出了一类连续性小波函数的构造方法,同时证明了其满足允许条件,并利用该方法构造出了几个小波函数,同时利用MATLAB程序绘出了相应的小波函数及其Fourier变换(频谱)图.     

中小企业技术创新的现状与对策

分析了中国中小企业技术创新的特点和现状,指出中小企业技术创新能力不高、缺乏技术创新的人才队伍、产学研合作机制不健全、融资渠道少等问题,提出重视中小企业技术创新人才的培养、优化金融环境、建立健全产学研合作机制、通过培育中介组织推动企业自主创新、选择适合企业实际情况的技术创新战略等措施.     

人体经络复杂网络路由问题的求解

为了研究经络—免疫—神经—内分泌网络(jingluo-immune-nerve-endocrinenetwork)学说,采用复杂网络定义、模型、算法和理论,对穴位在经络中的信息传递方式、交互条件、路由途径、高导电性进行了测试和验证,建立了经络的复杂网络路由模型,证实了该网络的存在·信息物质沿经络路线传播,经络循行也有确定的方向和速度,确立了经络的基本功能是传递及调控生命信息物质为经络研究开辟了一条新的方法·     

互联网中的标准结构熵的时间演化分析

通过对Internet标准结构熵随时间变化规律的分析发现,Internet的标准结构熵具有随时间而逐渐降低的趋势,以riesling节点获得的Internet监测数据的计算结果为例,Internet标准结构熵从2000年4月的最大值0.379下降至2004年5月的0.318,月平均下降幅度为0.12%,即由高熵值拓扑结构向低熵值拓扑结构的状态变化.由此可知Internet的宏观拓扑结构在演化过程中存在着拓扑结构的信息代谢.     

基于VC和VIP的面向对象知识表示

知识表示是人工智能研究的基本问题之一。通过在 Visual C+ +的类中引入Visual Prolog的推理机制提出了一种基于 VC和 VIP的面向对象知识表示方法 ,完善了 Visual C+ +对象的推理功能 ,进一步增强了面向对象的知识表示能力以及 VisualProlog的接口和计算能力 ,并通过实验验证了方法的性能     

Roles of the DNA mismatch repair and nucleotide excision repair proteins during meiosis

Numerous proteins are involved in the nucleotide excision repair (NER) and DNA mismatch repair (MMR) pathways. The function and specificity of these proteins during the mitotic cell cycle has been actively investigated, in large part due to the involvement of these systems in human diseases. In contrast, comparatively little is known about their functioning during meiosis. At least three repair pathways operate during meiosis in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to repair mismatches that occur as a consequence of heteroduplex formation in recombination. The first pathway is similar to the one acting during postreplicative mismatch repair in mitotically dividing cells, while two pathways are responsible for the repair of large loops during meiosis, using proteins from MMR and NER systems. Some MMR proteins also help prevent recombination between diverged sequences during meiosis, and act late in recombination to affect the resolution of crossovers. This review will discuss the current status of DNA mismatch repair and nucleotide excision repair proteins during meiosis, especially in the yeast S. cerevisiae. Received 21 September 1998; received after revision 23 November 1998; accepted 23 November 1998     

Genome sequence of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7

The bacterium Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a worldwide threat to public health and has been implicated in many outbreaks of haemorrhagic colitis, some of which included fatalities caused by haemolytic uraemic syndrome. Close to 75,000 cases of O157:H7 infection are now estimated to occur annually in the United States. The severity of disease, the lack of effective treatment and the potential for large-scale outbreaks from contaminated food supplies have propelled intensive research on the pathogenesis and detection of E. coli O157:H7 (ref. 4). Here we have sequenced the genome of E. coli O157:H7 to identify candidate genes responsible for pathogenesis, to develop better methods of strain detection and to advance our understanding of the evolution of E. coli, through comparison with the genome of the non-pathogenic laboratory strain E. coli K-12 (ref. 5). We find that lateral gene transfer is far more extensive than previously anticipated. In fact, 1,387 new genes encoded in strain-specific clusters of diverse sizes were found in O157:H7. These include candidate virulence factors, alternative metabolic capacities, several prophages and other new functions--all of which could be targets for surveillance.