卧床前后压力感受性反射机能变化的研究

许多数据表明长期失重以后立位耐力降低可能与压力感受性反射功能的改变有关。本文比较了两组被试者15天低动力卧床前后的立位耐力。以血压调节模型为基础分析了两种不同方式卧床前后单纯立位和下身负压加立位时压力感受性反射功能的改变,并用颈部加压及下身负压对中枢调节功能改变进行了观察。结果表明严格的头低位卧床后,立位耐力下降及压力感受性反射功能改变明显大于半日平卧半日倚坐者。而压力感受性反射功能的改变,特别是中枢神经系统调节功能的紊乱,是卧床后立位耐力降低的主要原因。从这种考虑为基础,作者提出了改变失重或模拟失重状态下的血液分布,调整对压力感受器的刺激,可能是预防心血管失调的有效方法。     

Correlations in one-dimensional fully developed chaos

Correlations in the baker map and the tent map as examples of one-dimensional, fully developed chaos are considered. It is shown, utilizing symbolic dynamical systems derived from these maps, that the vanishing second-order correlation function is not sufficient to guarantee uncorrelatedness. Importance of the higher-order, especially third-order, correlation functions is emphasized for chaotic systems. In search of the quantities that grasp correlational behaviors as a whole in chaotic systems, it is proposed to use the fixed-separation correlation integral, which is a modified quantity of the usual correlation integral devised to calculate the fractal dimension of strange attractors, for these maps. It is shown that the new quantity contains all the even-number orders of autocorrelation function that are commonly considered.     

Molecular basis for the special properties of proteins and enzymes from Halobacterium marismortui

Abstract Three proteins from Halobacterium marismortui , malate dehydrogenase (hMDH), glutamate dehydrogenase (hGDH) and ferredoxin (hFD) were purified and characterized with respect to their molecular masses, amino acid composition and, for hFD only, primary structure. Striking features of halophilic proteins are: the high excess of acidic over basic residues; acidic clusters in the sequence. Low-salt concentration causes inactivation and changes in structural parameters of hMDH and hGDH. Reactivation of hMDH involves long-lived stable intermediates. The salt concentration optimum of enzymic activity is independent of salt nature. The high capacity of halophilic proteins to retain water and salt is due to unique molecular properties, studied by physico-chemical techniques.     

The relationship between NADPH-dependent lipid peroxidation and degradation of cytochrome P-450 in adrenal cortex mitochondria

The relationship between NADPH-dependent lipid peroxidation and the degradation of cytochrome P-450 has been studied in bovine adrenal cortex mitochondria. Malondialdehyde formation is accompanied by a corresponding decrease in total cytochrome P-450 content. Inhibitors of lipid peroxidation also prevent the loss of cytochrome P-450, further demonstrating a direct relationship between NADPH-dependent lipid peroxidation and degradation of P-450. To differentiate between cytochrome P-450(11)beta and P-450scc, steroid-induced difference spectra were used to evaluate P-450 degradation. These measurements provide the first evidence that both P-450's are degraded during NADPH-dependent lipid peroxidation with P-450(11)beta being much more susceptible to this process.     

Interaction of nucleic acids with the DNA-dependent RNA polymerases of Drosophila

The interaction between the three Drosophila DNA-dependent RNA polymerases (EC 2.7.7.6) and the DNA template or the RNA product was investigated by photochemical cross-linking and binding studies, using RNA polymerase subunits immobilized on nitro-cellulose filters. It can be shown that the two largest subunits are responsible for the binding of the enzymes to both template and newly-synthesized RNA.     

Structure and ultrastructure of the frog motor endplate

Summary The frog motor endplate in its simplest form consists of an elongated, slender nerve ending embedded in a gutter-like depression of the sarcolemma. This nerve terminal contains the usual synaptic organelles. It is covered by a thin coating of Schwann cell cytoplasm which embraces the terminal with thin finger-like processes from both sides, thereby sub-dividing it into 300–1000 regularly spaced compartments. The individual synaptic compartments correspond to the strings of varicosities or grape-like configurations of motor nerve terminals in endplates of other species and in the cerebral neuropil of vertebrates.Each compartment contains one or more bar-like densities of the presynaptic membrane, active zones, which are associated with the attachment sites between synaptic vesicles and plasmalemma. Active zones have a regular transverse arrangement and occur at specific loci opposite the junctional folds. The attachment sites for synaptic vesicles are at the edges of the bars which are bilaterally delineated by a double row of 10 nm particles attached to the A-face. The structural appearance of vesicle attachment sites in freeze-etch replicas corresponds to that of micropinocytosis. The active zones are often fragmented and the frequency of their association with vesicle attachment sites is highly variable.The junctional folds are characterized by specific sites in which intramembranous particle aggregations occur at relatively high packing density (7500/m²). These sites are located opposite the active zones at the juxtaneural lips, a location where one would expect ACh-sensitive receptors on the postsynaptic membrane.This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Sonderforschungsbereich 38, Projekt N), The Swiss National Foundation for Scientific Research (Grants Nr. 3 82372 and 3 77472) and the Dr. Eric Slack-Gyr Foundation Zürich.     

Analysis of three-dimensional cell imaging obtained with optical microscopy techniques based on defocusing

The properties of an optical microscope are analyzed and analytically evaluated with a simple and effective model in order to understand the true meaning, limitations, and real capabilities of a defocusing technique. Major emphasis is given to the applications related to microscopic objects of biological interest using fluorescence and absorption light microscopy. A procedure for three-dimensional viewing is analyzed and discussed.     

Cyproheptadine metabolites inhibit proinsulin and insulin biosynthesis and insulin release in isolated rat pancreatic islets

The contribution of drug metabolites to cyproheptadine (CPH)-induced alterations in endocrine pancreatic -cells was investigated by examining the inhibitory activity of CPH and its biotransformation products, desmethylcyproheptadine (DMCPH), CPH-epoxide and DMCPH-epoxide, on hormone biosynthesis and secretion in pancreatic islets isolated from 50-day-old rats. Measurement of (pro)insulin (proinsulin and insulin) synthesis using incorporation of ³H-leucine showed that DMCPH-epoxide, DMCPH and CPH-epoxide were 22, 10 and 4 times, respectively, more potent than CPH in inhibiting hormone synthesis. The biosynthesis of (pro)insulin was also inhibited by CPH and DMCPH-epoxide in islets isolated from 21-day-old rat fetuses. The inhibitory action of CPH and its metabolites was apparently specific for (pro)insulin, and the synthesis of other islet proteins was not affected. Other experiments showed the metabolites of CPH were active in inhibiting glucose-stimulated insulin secretion but were less potent than the parent drug in producing this effect. CPH and its structurally related metabolites, therefore, have differential inhibitory activities on insulin synthesis and release. The observation that CPH metabolites have higher potency than CPH to inhibit (pro)insulin synthesis, when considered with published reports on the disposition of the drug in rats, indicate that CPH metabolites, particularly DMCPH-epoxide, are primarily responsible for the insulin depletion observed when the parent compound is given to fetal and adult animals.Abbreviations CPH cyproheptadine - CPH-epoxide cyproheptadine-10-11-epoxide - DMCPH desmethylcyproheptadine - DMCPH-epoxide desmethylcyproheptadine-10,11-epoxide - HPLC high-performance liquid chromatography - KBB Krebs biocarbonate buffer Recipient of a Society of Toxicology Predoctoral Research Fellowship.Present address: Department of Biochemistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.     

Synthesis of polypeptides by microwave heating II. Function of polypeptides synthesized during repeated hydration-dehydration cycles

Summary Polypeptides, synthesized from a mixture of amino acid amides by microwave heating during repeated hydration-dehydration cycles, showed hydrolase- and oxidoreductase-like catalytic activities. Poly(GAVDH), polypeptides synthesized from an equimolar mixture (each 0.1 M) of glycinamide,l-alaninamide,l-valinamide,l-aspartic acid -amide, andl-histidinamide, catalyzed the hydrolysis of PNPAc. The hydrolytic rate of PNPAc with poly(GAVDH) was the quadruple of that ofl-histidine alone. Though the k_cat values of different resulting polypeptides were 10³–10⁶ times less than those of native hydrolases, the K_m value of the polypeptides further containing phenylalanine residues was nearly equal to that of the esterase. This result indicates the presence of hydrophobic interaction between a substrate and the polypeptides. Resulting polypeptides also showed catalytic activity for the reduction of ferricyanide ion [Fe(CN)^3–] with NADH. The polypeptides seemed to have a strong affinity for adenine nucleotides, because the reaction was inhibited by adenine derivatives such as NAD⁺ and AppA. A hypothesis for the emergence of primitive protein enzymes is discussed.