一种识别蛋白质的保守氨基酸残基的新方法

保守氨基酸残基在生物进化过程中具有较强的稳定性,一般不会发生太大的变化;生物信息学认为：氨基酸序列决定蛋白质结构,蛋白质结构决定蛋白质功能。因此,作者基于氨基酸的生化特性、几何特性和动态特性描述了一个新颖的算法去发现蛋白酶家族中的保守氨基酸残基,而保守氨基酸残基将对蛋白质的结构和功能的研究具有重要的意义。     

Ridge number density: A new parameter for in vivo bone structure analysis

An advanced analysis of the mechanical properties of bone should include information about the microarchitecture of cancellous bone in addition to its density. It has recently been shown that high-resolution quantitative computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging have the potential to assess such information in a noninvasive way in patients. Both techniques, however, lack sufficient spatial resolution to image the individual trabeculae with true precision. In this work, a new parameter, Ridge number density (RND), is introduced. RND is a measure for the trabecular number, which can be extracted directly from high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) images of patients. We applied the RND technique to a test group of nine healthy, postmenopausal women measured repetitively with a high-resolution 3D peripheral quantitative computed tomography (3D-pQCT) system with 165 × 165 × 165 μm³ voxel size. Simultaneously with the RND determination, the trabecular bone density (TBD) was also assessed in the same volume of interest. The examination site was the distal radius. The intersubject variability of the measured test group was 10.5% for RND and 26.3% for TBD. The root mean square error between first and second examinations (midterm reproducibility) was 1.6% and 1.1%, respectively. RND is determined independently from TBD and pertains to the structure of the cancellous bone. As such, it might add crucial information in cases where bone mass or bone density measurements alone give ambigous results.     

N-ω-Carbethoxypentyl-4-quinolones: A New Class of Leukotriene Biosynthesis Inhibitors

6-[(4-Quinolinyl)oxy]hexanoic acids and the corresponding esters were designed and synthesized as inhibitors of the production of arachidonic acid metabolites. The inhibitory activities were assayed in vitro by evaluation of serum leukotriene B₄ and thromboxane B₂ production. While all 6-[(4-quinolinyl)oxy]hexanoic acids and their esters proved to be inactive, the N-alkyl-4-quinolones, obtained as by-products in their synthesis, were found to be a new class of leukotriene biosynthesis inhibitors.     

The growth of the second underpotentially deposited silver layer on Pt(100)

The electrodeposition of Ag on Pt(100)-(1 × 1) in perchlorate electrolyte was studied by means of time-resolved in situ scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and cyclic voltammetry. One monolayer of Ag is deposited underpotentially (upd) ca. 500 mV positive of the Ag⁺/Ag equilibrium potential. Several millivolts positive of the equilibrium potential, a second well defined upd layer forms. Its growth was observed to proceed via island formation and coalescence. This process occurs in two separate stages that manifest themselves in voltammetric peaks as well as in the STM images.     

THE BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE OF 5S RIBOSOMAL RNA FROM THE HUMAN WORM PARASITE FASCIOLOPSIS BUSKI

With the method of rapid gel sequencing, the complete nueleotide sequence of Fasciolopsis buski 5S rRNA has been determined: AAC GGG AUG AAG CUA GAC AUG UGG CGG CCU AGU UGG AGG UCG GAA CUC GGA AGU UAA GGA AUG UUG GGC CUG GUU AGU ACU GGU AUG GGU GAC CUU GGG AAU ACC GGG UGU UGC GUC CA_(OH) This have been compared with 553 species of other organisms 5S rRNA sequences previously published and fitted to a secondary structural model.     

巴戟天枯萎病对寄主显微构造及成分的影响

枯萎病能显著影响巴戟天肉质根的显微构造,并显著影响巴戟天营养器官B,Mn等元素的转运以及根、茎的β-谷甾醇含量,使肉质根总糖含量下降5.42%～15.29%。     

微乳对难溶性药物增溶机理的研究

目的:初步探讨微乳对难溶性药物的增溶机理.方法:经处方筛选及相图研究确定(BL-9/正丁醇3∶1)/油/水比例为9∶1∶40的微乳处方;以二氢吡啶类药物为模型药物,测定其在微乳、胶束和油相中的溶解度及油/水分配系数;根据化学结构,采用计算机软件计算药物的特性参数,并结合模型药物的特性分析微乳增溶难溶性药物的机理.结果:微乳对药物的增溶效果远大于油相和胶束,并随药物的脂溶性和空间结构的改变而变化.结论:微乳可用于增溶难溶性药物,且脂溶性越大,空间位阻越小,增溶效果越明显.     

Potency variation of small-molecule chymase inhibitors across species

Chymases (EC 3.4.21.39) are mast cell serine proteinases that are variably expressed in different species and, in most cases, display either chymotryptic or elastolytic substrate specificity. Given that chymase inhibitors have emerged as potential therapeutic agents for treating various inflammatory, allergic, and cardiovascular disorders, it is important to understand interspecies differences of the enzymes as well as the behavior of inhibitors with them. We have expressed chymases from humans, macaques, dogs, sheep (MCP2 and MCP3), guinea pigs, and hamsters (HAM1 and HAM2) in baculovirus-infected insect cells. The enzymes were purified and characterized with kinetic constants by using chromogenic substrates. We evaluated in vitro the potency of five nonpeptide inhibitors, originally targeted against human chymase. The inhibitors exhibited remarkable cross-species variation of sensitivity, with the greatest potency observed against human and macaque chymases, with K_i values ranging from ∼0.4 to 72 nM. Compounds were 10-300-fold less potent, and in some instances ineffective, against chymases from the other species. The X-ray structure of one of the potent phosphinate inhibitors, JNJ-18054478, complexed with human chymase was solved at 1.8 Å resolution to further understand the binding mode. Subtle variations in the residues in the active site that are already known to influence chymase substrate specificity can also strongly affect the compound potency. The results are discussed in the context of selecting a suitable animal model to study compounds ultimately targeted for human chymase.     

股骨头骨坏死样本空间结构的Micro-CT评估

目的以股骨头骨坏死样本的Micro-CT断层图像为基础，对其进行空间结构评估。方法2003年11月～2005年6月，收集股骨头骨坏死患者行全髋关节置换术时取出的股骨头样本6个，对样本进行Micro-CT断层扫描，获取股骨头骨坏死样本的计算机三维图像，图像空间分辨率为36μm×36μm×36μm。手工选取兴趣区，随后采用骨体积分数（BV／TV）、骨小梁间隙（Tb．Sp）、骨小梁厚度（Tb，Th）、骨小梁数目（Tb．N）、骨表面积体积比（BS／BV）、结构模型指数（SMI）、骨小梁模型因子（Tb．Pf）等三维空间参数分别对股骨头骨坏死标本的正常区域、硬化带和塌陷区进行评价。结果晚期股骨头骨坏死硬化区和塌陷区的骨小梁空间结构明显改变：硬化区Bv／Tv明显增加，Tb．Th明显增厚，Tb，Sp变窄，SMI与正常区域的骨小梁无差别；而塌陷区Bv／Tv明显减少，BS／BV增大，Tb．N和Tb．Pf增加，Tb，Th改变不明显。结论Micro-CT作为一种新的检测手段，能够在不损伤样本的条件下快速获取股骨头骨坏死样本断层图像，具有精度高、检测快、可进行三维重建分析的优点。晚期股骨头骨坏死不同区域的骨三维结构呈现出不同的空间结构特征。     

心理一致感的潜结构研究

目的：探讨Antonovsky开发的13个项日的心理一致感量表在中国大陆的适用性。方法：采用实证研究方式对656名被试的样本数据进行了探索性及验证性因索分析，结果：个体的心理一致感是由可理解性、易处理性及意义性三个成分构成的总体．支持Antonovsky提出的关于心理一致感的要念构思。结论：心理一致感量表对中国大陆样本基本上是适用的，但个别题目有待进一步修正。