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.     

Structural differences between a ras oncogene protein and the normal protein

One of the most commonly found transforming ras oncogenes in human tumours has a valine codon replacing the glycine codon at position 12 of the normal c-Ha-ras gene. To understand the structural reasons behind cell transformation arising from this single amino acid substitution, we have determined the crystal structure of the GDP-bound form of the mutant protein, p21(Val-12), encoded by this oncogene. We report here the overall structure of p21(Val-12) at 2.2 A resolution and compare it with the structure of the normal c-Ha-ras protein. One of the major differences is that the loop of the transforming ras protein that binds the beta-phosphate of the guanine nucleotide is enlarged. Such a change in the 'catalytic site' conformation could explain the reduced GTPase activity of the mutant, which keeps the protein in the GTP bound 'signal on' state for a prolonged period time, ultimately causing cell transformation.     

Sliding movement of single actin filaments on one-headed myosin filaments

The myosin molecule consists of two heads, each of which contains an enzymatic active site and an actin-binding site. The fundamental problem of whether the two heads function independently or cooperatively during muscle contraction has been studied by methods using an actomyosin thread, superprecipitation and chemical modification of muscle fibres. No clear conclusion has yet been reached. We have approached this question using an assay system in which sliding movements of fluorescently labelled single actin filaments along myosin filaments can be observed directly. Here, we report direct measurement of the sliding of single actin filaments along one-headed myosin filaments in which the density of heads was varied over a wide range. Our results show that cooperative interaction between the two heads of myosin is not essential for inducing the sliding movement of actin filaments.     

The in vivo and in vitro formation of 2-amino-3-hydroxyacetophenone from 2-aminoacetophenone

Zusammenfassung Nach Verabreichung von 2-Aminoacetophenon an Ratten wurde 2-Amino-3-hydroxyacetophenon aus dem Urin isoliert und identifiziert. In-vitro-Untersuchungen haben gezeigt, dass Lebermikrosomen 2-Aminoacetophenon zu 2-Amino-3-hydroxyacetophenon hydroxylieren.     

Positional cloning of a novel gene influencing asthma from chromosome 2q14

Asthma is a common disease in children and young adults. Four separate reports have linked asthma and related phenotypes to an ill-defined interval between 2q14 and 2q32 (refs. 1-4), and two mouse genome screens have linked bronchial hyper-responsiveness to the region homologous to 2q14 (refs. 5,6). We found and replicated association between asthma and the D2S308 microsatellite, 800 kb distal to the IL1 cluster on 2q14. We sequenced the surrounding region and constructed a comprehensive, high-density, single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) linkage disequilibrium (LD) map. SNP association was limited to the initial exons of a solitary gene of 3.6 kb (DPP10), which extends over 1 Mb of genomic DNA. DPP10 encodes a homolog of dipeptidyl peptidases (DPPs) that cleave terminal dipeptides from cytokines and chemokines, and it presents a potential new target for asthma therapy.