The chemical characterization of melanin contained in substantia nigra of human brain

The pigment of substantia nigra human brain has been extracted by a mild procedure consisting of washes with phosphate buffer, methanol and incubation with SDS-proteinase. Pyrolisis gas chromatography mass spectrometry infrared spectrometry, termogravimetric analysis and elemental analysis were the techniques used for the chemical characterization. An indole moiety bound to a sulfur containing amino acid and to palmitic acid were the main aspects found in the structure. The presence of a 7% inorganic component was observed. This probably contains Fe, Cu, Zn and Cr which are also relevant, for the formation and the role of melanin in substantia nigra neurons. The fatty acid moiety is chemically bound to the indole structure as it was not eliminated by repeated methanol washing. The same situation occurs for the sulfur containing gropu. Considering these data and the most abundant molecules present in substantia nigra the precursor of neuromelanin seems to be a cysteinyl-cethecol, to which is then bound a palmityl group.     

Human impact as registered in the pollen record: some results from the western Lake Constance region,Southern Germany

Pollen analytical results from a littoral profile taken in Lake Constance compared with pollen profiles from small kettle holes nearby form the basis for conclusions concerning human population density, the economy and environment from the Neolithic period to the Middle Ages. Early Neolithic human impact is implicated in a lime decline and also the expansion of beech. The late Neolithic lakeshore settlements caused a decline of elm, beech and lime and, by shifting cultivation, considerably changed the forest cover. The settlements were abandoned after less than 100 years. There were long periods without distinct human impact in the middle and towards the end of the late Neolithic period. Since at least the Late Bronze Age there has been permanent habitation in the region. Human impact was greatest in the High Medieval period and later, and was also substantial in the late La Tène and Roman periods. Distinct declines in human impact can be observed between the La Tène and Roman periods and in the Migration and Merovingian periods. In these intervals, open land and grazed oak forest were replaced by birch and later on by beech forests. The decreases in human impact are not of the same intensity in all diagrams.     

Early human disturbance of the natural environment recorded in annually laminated sediments of Lake Gosciaz,central Poland

Palynological records from the annually laminated sediments of Lake Gosciaz are presented for the period ca. 7600–3900 conventional B.P. Indications in percentage and influx diagrams of Mesolithic and Early Neolithic human impact on the natural environment around the lake are discussed and compared with the archaeological evidence. The first indications of human disturbance start at ca. 6700 B.P. and in the following period four disturbance phases with interruptions are distinguished. A relationship between the Elm Decline and an increasing thickness of annual sediment layers as a consequence of increased soil erosion is suggested. Some hitherto unrecognized or incompletely known microfossils are identified and figured, and their palaeoecological significance is discussed. The records of akinetes of Aphanizomenon probably indicate increasing eutrophication of the lake. Charred fragments of grass epidermis are possibly indicative of openings in the forest.     

高稳定人胰岛素的晶体学研究:Ⅲ,A21-Asp突变体的结晶和初步晶体学分析

研究一系列有明确意义改性胰岛素的结构将有益于新型胰岛素分子的设计。经蛋白质工程制备的AspA21—人胰岛素(ADHI)基本保持了生物活力,而在酸性溶夜(pH3—4)中的稳定性比天然胰岛素在中性溶液中高5—10倍。本文报道ADHI的结晶、初步晶体学研究及中等分辨率衍射数据的收集。ADHI晶体属R3空间群:a_H=b_H=82.72埃,c_H=34.02埃。     

人体和动物模型的体表物理信息地形图的研究

对人体头面、躯干、四肢、耳廓各局部几十个及整个人体等体表部位正、背面等210个部位进行超微弱冷光和温度测量,输入电子计算机,经特殊的自编程序处理,获得十分清晰的,由3000多数据构成的各个局部或人体整体的冷光和温度地形图。 对家兔左、右耳廓、胸腹部、背部都分别观察32个部位的冷光与体表温度,经计算机分析处理,每观察区域获得约由2000个数据构成的精确的冷光、温度地形分市图。并可见不同生理、病理状态及不同病程家兔体表冷光、温度等地形图呈有规律的改变。 此外,我们还编制了以体表左右相应对称部位差值为分析数据进行地形图分析的程序,用以人体和动物体表物理信息对称规律的研究。 本工作以图形的形式显示物理参量在体表的广泛的分布规律,以揭示机体内部的不同生理、病理状态。本方法定位准确、直观醒目,为研究体表信息及机体生命活动规律提供了与逐点直接测量方法相互补充的有益的新手段。     

几种药物抑制马传染性贫血病毒和人免疫缺陷病毒的实验研究

用马传染性贫血病毒—驴胚肺二倍体细胞(EIAV-DELDC)为实验体系,以细胞中病毒逆转录酶活性及病毒相关抗原的表达为观察指标,检测了叠氮胸苷(AZT)、三氮唑核苷(Ribavirin,病毒唑)、磷羧基甲酸钠(PFA)和苏拉明等4种已知抗人免疫缺陷病毒(HIV-1)药物对马传染性贫血病毒的抑制作用。结果表明,PFA、AZTTP(三磷酸AZT)和苏拉明均能抑制病毒相关抗原的表达,AZT虽无此作用,但能抑制细胞内逆转录酶活性。用~3H-TMP掺入法比较了PFA、AZTTP、苏拉明对体外无细胞系EIAV逆转录酶粗提物和HIV-1基因工程产物逆转录酶活性的抑制作用表明,两种逆转录酶对苏拉明的敏感性相近,而HIV-1逆转录酶对PFA和AZTTP的敏感性较EIAV者高约100倍。又以无细胞系中逆转录酶活性测定法,检测了12种中药提取物的抑制作用,其中小柴胡汤对EIAV和HIV-1逆转录酶活性都有抑制作用,IC_(50)为717μg/ml和700μg/ml(生药浓度)。小柴胡汤对两种病毒感染细胞中抗原的表达和HIV引起细胞病变都有抑制作用,对HIV-1的抑制比EIAV强。这些结果表明,EIAV-DELDC体系可考虑作为抗HIV-1药物筛选模型。     

Direct correlation between the circadian sleep-wakefulness rhythm and time estimation in humans under social and temporal isolation

Several bodily functions in humans vary on a 24 h pattern and most of these variations persist with a circadian period ofca 25 h when subjects are studied under conditions of social and temporal isolation. We report in this paper that the estimates of short time intervals (TE) of 2 h are strongly coupled to the circadian rhythm in sleepwakefulness. There is a linear correlation between the number of hours humans stay awake (α) and their estimation of 2 h intervals. The coupling of TE to α appears to obtain only under conditions of physical well-being.     

Immunohistochemical distribution of simple-epithelial-type keratins and other intermediate filament proteins in the developing human pituitary gland

Summary An immunohistochemical study of the production of the intermediate filaments [vimentin, cytokeratin, and glial filament acidic protein (GFAP)] during development of the pituitary gland was made by use of fetal and adult human pituitary tissue. Among these intermediate filament proteins in the anterior and intermediate lobes of the pituitary, cytokeratin is the first to appear, followed by GFAP and vimentin. However, only cytokeratin is seen during the period of morphogenesis of the pituitary gland, with the type-II subfamily cytokeratin 8 being the earliest to appear. Among the simple-epithelial-type cytokeratins, cytokeratins 8 and 19 were observed within the pituitary primordium during morphogenesis. Cells immunoreactive for cytokeratins 8 and 19 showed a heterogeneous three-dimensional distribution pattern in Rathke's pouch. Both cytokeratins 8 and 19 tended to be strongly positive at sites in the pituitary primordium where cells had become more loosely arranged (i.e., areas far from the diencephalon) but were only weakly positive in areas in which the epithelial cells were densely packed (i.e., areas closely associated with the diencephalon). It is concluded that, during the period of morphogenesis, Rathke's pouch has the intermediate filaments characteristic of simple epithelium and shows different immunoreactivity for simple-epithelial-type cytokeratins from place to place according to the extent of cellular differentiation.     

Initiation of acellular extrinsic fiber cementum on human teeth

Summary The development of acellular extrinsic fiber cementum (AEFC) has never before been studied in human teeth. We have therefore examined the initiation of AEFC in the form of a collagenous fiber fringe and its attachment to the underlying dentinal matrix, in precisely selected, erupting human premolars with roots developed to 50%–60% of their final length. Freshly extracted teeth were prefixed in Karnovsky's fixative, decalcified in EDTA and subdivided into about 10 blocks each, cut from the mesial and distal root surfaces, vertical to and along the root axis. The blocks were postfixed in osmium tetroxide, embedded in Epon and cut for light- and electron-microscopic investigation. Starting at the advancing edge of the root, within a region extending about 1 mm coronal to this edge, fibroblast-like cells were seen closely covering the external root surface. Along the first 100 m from the root edge, these cells extended cytoplasmic processes and contacted the dentinal collagen fibrils. Between these cells and the dentinal matrix, new collagen fibrils and very short collagen fibers gradually developed. Within the second 100 m from the root edge, this resulted in the formation of a cell-fiber fringe network. Newly formed fibers of the fringe were directly attached to the non-mineralized matrix containing dentinal collagen fibrils and could be distinguished from the latter by differences in fibril orientation. During the process of dentin mineralization, the transitional zone between the fiber-fringe base and the dentinal matrix, i.e., the future dentino-cemental junction, also mineralized. It is suggested that this fiber fringe is the base of AEFC, which later increases in thickness by fiber extension and subsequent mineralization.Abbreviations AEFC acellular extrinsic fiber cementum - AIFC acellular intrinsic fiber cementum - CIFC cellular intrinsic fiber cementum - CMSC cellular mixed stratified cementum - ARE advancing root edge - CP cytoplasmic process - D dentin - DCJ dentinocemental junction - E enamel - EBL external basal lamina - EC epithelial cell - EDTA ethylene diaminetetraacetic acid - ERM epithelial rests of Malassez - FF fiber fringe - HRS Hertwig's epithelial root sheath - IBL internal basal lamina - MD mineralized dentin - NMD non-mineralized dentin - OB odontoblast - PD predentin - PL periodontal ligament