The calpain system

The calpain system originally comprised three molecules: two Ca2+-dependent proteases, mu-calpain and m-calpain, and a third polypeptide, calpastatin, whose only known function is to inhibit the two calpains. Both mu- and m-calpain are heterodimers containing an identical 28-kDa subunit and an 80-kDa subunit that shares 55-65% sequence homology between the two proteases. The crystallographic structure of m-calpain reveals six "domains" in the 80-kDa subunit: 1). a 19-amino acid NH2-terminal sequence; 2). and 3). two domains that constitute the active site, IIa and IIb; 4). domain III; 5). an 18-amino acid extended sequence linking domain III to domain IV; and 6). domain IV, which resembles the penta EF-hand family of polypeptides. The single calpastatin gene can produce eight or more calpastatin polypeptides ranging from 17 to 85 kDa by use of different promoters and alternative splicing events. The physiological significance of these different calpastatins is unclear, although all bind to three different places on the calpain molecule; binding to at least two of the sites is Ca2+ dependent. Since 1989, cDNA cloning has identified 12 additional mRNAs in mammals that encode polypeptides homologous to domains IIa and IIb of the 80-kDa subunit of mu- and m-calpain, and calpain-like mRNAs have been identified in other organisms. The molecules encoded by these mRNAs have not been isolated, so little is known about their properties. How calpain activity is regulated in cells is still unclear, but the calpains ostensibly participate in a variety of cellular processes including remodeling of cytoskeletal/membrane attachments, different signal transduction pathways, and apoptosis. Deregulated calpain activity following loss of Ca2+ homeostasis results in tissue damage in response to events such as myocardial infarcts, stroke, and brain trauma.     

抗角蛋白抗体进入活细胞的共聚焦显微镜观察

目的：观察抗角蛋白抗体能否进入活细胞。方法：以鼠单克隆抗体（mAb)IgG作用于培养中的人Tca8113细胞，以黑素瘤细胞和抗HBsAg抗体作用的Tca细胞作为阴性对照。细胞固定后与FITC标记的羊抗鼠IgG结合，用荧光显微镜及共聚焦显微镜，观察细胞的荧光着色。结果：抗角蛋白mAb作用的Tca8133细胞胞浆呈亮绿色，着色较均匀，细胞核未见着色。两种对照均未见着色。结论：抗角蛋白mAb可进入活细胞，并结合于胞浆成分。     

Quantitation of the reconstruction quality of a four-dimensional computed tomography process for lung cancer patients

We have developed a four-dimensional computed tomography (4D CT) technique for mapping breathing motion in radiotherapy treatment planning. A multislice CT scanner (1.5 mm slices) operated in ciné mode was used to acquire 12 contiguous slices in each couch position for 15 consecutive scans (0.5 s rotation, 0.25 s between scans) while the patient underwent simultaneous quantitative spirometry measurements to provide a sorting metric. The spirometry-sorted scans were used to reconstruct a 4D data set. A critical factor for 4D CT is quantifying the reconstructed data set quality which we measure by correlating the metric used relative to internal-object motion. For this study, the internal air content within the lung was used as a surrogate for internal motion measurements. Thresholding and image morphological operations were applied to delineate the air-containing tissues (lungs, trachea) from each CT slice. The Hounsfield values were converted to the internal air content (V). The relationship between the air content and spirometer-measured tidal volume (v) was found to be quite linear throughout the lungs and was used to estimate the overall accuracy and precision of tidal volume-sorted 4D CT. Inspection of the CT-scan air content as a function of tidal volume showed excellent correlations (typically r>0.99) throughout the lung volume. Because of the discovered linear relationship, the ratio of internal air content to tidal volume was indicative of the fraction of air change in each couch position. Theoretically, due to air density differences within the lung and in room, the sum of these ratios would equal 1.11. For 12 patients, the mean value was 1.08 +/- 0.06, indicating the high quality of spirometry-based image sorting. The residual of a first-order fit between v and V was used to estimate the process precision. For all patients, the precision was better than 8%, with a mean value of 5.1% +/- 1.9%. This quantitative analysis highlights the value of using spirometry as the metric in sorting CT scans. The 4D reconstruction provides the CT data required to measure the three-dimensional trajectory of tumor and lung tissue during free breathing.     

Emergency department visits for asthma: the role of frequent symptoms and delay in care.

BACKGROUND: Use of the emergency department (ED) for asthma care is a costly form of health care that is largely preventable. However, little is known about how to reduce the number of people using the ED for asthma care. OBJECTIVE: To identify modifiable factors related to ED visits for asthma among a diverse nonelderly adult population. METHODS: This study used cross-sectional data from the 2001 California Health Interview Survey. A total of 4,359 adult respondents ages 18 to 64 years who reported being diagnosed as having asthma and experiencing symptoms in the past year were included. Any ED visits due to asthma in the previous 12 months among all nonelderly respondents with asthma, with stratification by those with daily or weekly symptoms and with less frequent symptoms, were examined. RESULTS: Adults with daily or weekly asthma symptoms, with fair or poor health status, and who delayed care for asthma because of cost or insurance issues were more likely to visit the ED for asthma. Stratification of the study population into those with daily or weekly symptoms and those with less frequent symptoms revealed that delay in care due to cost or insurance issues and fair or poor health status remained significant for both groups. Latinos and women were more likely to visit the ED in the severe asthma group, whereas Asian, African American, and uninsured adults were more likely to visit the ED in the group with less severe asthma. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that to prevent ED visits for asthma, it is important to control asthma symptoms. However, it is equally if not more important to reduce delays in receiving asthma care.     

His-tag 不影响 RSV 重组蛋白GIF/M2 的免疫原性

目的:观察 His-tag 是否影响 RSV 重组蛋白 GIF/M2 的免疫原性.方法:PCR 扩增 G1 和 F/M2 基因片段,插入表达载体 pET-His 和 pET-DsbA-His 中,转化E.coli BL21(DE3),IPrG 诱导表达,采用 Ni+螯合亲和层析法纯化得 His-GlF/M2 和 DsbA-His-GIF/M2,将后者用凝血酶消化,再经Ni+螯合亲和层析法纯化得 GIF/M2,将 His-GIF/M2 和 GIF/M2 免疫 BALB/c 小鼠,用 ELISSA 测定抗体滴度,MTT 法测定细胞毒性 T 细胞活性(CTL).结果:两种蛋白在BALB/ c 小鼠中诱导的 RSV 特异性抗体和 CTL 活性无显著差异.结论:His-tag 不影响 RSV 重组蛋白GIF/M2 的免疫原性.     

一次性注射器填充级HDPE专用料的研制

通过对母料载体树脂的筛选,无机填料的选择,添加性能优良的耐辐射助剂,制成了具有耐辐射性能、加工性能良好的母料,该母料的制备工艺简单。本文所述的填充级HDPE专用料是将HDPE与填充母料经过简单掺混制成的。经测试专用料满足国家医药标准YY 0114—93《医用输液、输血、注射器聚乙烯专用料》的要求。制品厂试验表明:该填充级的HDPE专用料加工性能良好,用该填充级HDPE专用料注射成型的注射器芯杆装配成一次性注射器满足国家专业标准ZBC 31009—87《一次性无菌注射器》的要求。该填充母料的加入可大大降低材料的成本,100份HDPE 7006A可添加67份填充母料,该填充级专用料的价格比HDPE树脂降低约1500元/吨,因此该填充级HDPE专用料的推广和使用具有良好的经济效益。     

Pleiotropic genomic variants at 17q21.31 associated with bone mineral density and body fat mass: a bivariate genome-wide association analysis

Osteoporosis and obesity are two severe complex diseases threatening public health worldwide. Both diseases are under strong genetic determinants as well as genetically correlated. Aiming to identify pleiotropic genes underlying obesity and osteoporosis, we performed a bivariate genome-wide association (GWA) meta-analysis of hip bone mineral density (BMD) and total body fat mass (TBFM) in 12,981 participants from seven samples, and followed by in silico replication in the UK biobank (UKB) cohort sample (N = 217,822). Combining the results from discovery meta-analysis and replication sample, we identified one novel locus, 17q21.31 (lead SNP rs12150327, {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"NC_000017.11","term_id":"568815581"}}NC_000017.11:g.44956910G > A, discovery bivariate P = 4.83 × 10⁻⁹, replication P = 5.75 × 10⁻⁵) at the genome-wide significance level (ɑ = 5.0 × 10⁻⁸), which may have pleiotropic effects to both hip BMD and TBFM. Functional annotations highlighted several candidate genes, including KIF18B, C1QL1, and PRPF19 that may exert pleiotropic effects to the development of both body mass and bone mass. Our findings can improve our understanding of the etiology of osteoporosis and obesity, as well as shed light on potential new therapies.Subject terms: Genome-wide association studies, Gene expression profiling     

Development of a Western Blot Assay for Detection of Antibodies against Coronavirus Causing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

To identify a major antigenic determinant for use in the development of a rapid serological diagnostic test for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus infection and to study the immune response during SARS coronavirus infection in humans, we cloned the full length and six truncated fragments of the nucleocapsid gene, expressed them, and purified them as glutathione S-transferase-tagged recombinant proteins. The reactivities of the recombinant proteins to a panel of antibodies containing 33 SARS coronavirus-positive sera and 66 negative sera and to antibodies against other animal coronaviruses were screened. A truncated 195-amino-acid fragment from the C terminus of the nucleocapsid protein (N195) was identified that had a strong ability to detect antibodies against SARS coronavirus. No cross-reaction was found between the N195 protein and antibodies against chicken, pig, and canine coronaviruses. The N195 protein was used to develop a Western blot assay to detect antibodies against SARS coronavirus in 274 clinically blinded samples. The specificity and sensitivity of this test were 98.3 and 90.9%, respectively. The correlation between our Western blotting assay and an immunofluorescence assay (IFA) was also analyzed. The results of our Western blot assay and IFA for the detection of SARS coronavirus-positive sera were the same. Thus, the N195 protein was identified as a suitable protein to be used as an antigen in Western blot and other possible assays for the detection of SARS coronavirus infection.     

Springer Link及其收录的医学期刊分析

目的：向图书馆员和用户介绍Springer Link，对其收录的医学期刊进行深入分析，使该数据库得到更好的利用。方法利用《外国报刊目录》和美国《医学索引》(IM)的《引用期刊一览表》等对Springer Link收录的英文医学期刊从权威性、出版地分布、学科分布和收藏年限等方面进行考查。结果86％的期刊被IM引用，欧洲——尤其是德国的期刊较多，医学各学科都有相应的期刊被收录，但数量分布不均，有所偏重，72．7％的期刊可以保证至少近5年或自创刊以来的文献。结论Springer Link所提供的全文医学期刊服务质量较上乘，并有自己的特色。