急性高原病的预防性用药

急性高原病是暴露于高原时,因高原低氧而在数小时至数天内出现的临床症候群,若不及时诊治,会发展为较为严重的高原肺水肿和高原脑水肿。随着我国对西部地区投入力度的增加,内地人员进入高原地区日渐增多,因此如何保证进入高原的人员健康,是医药科研工作的一项重要任务。为使人们有效快速地预防急性高原病,本文对国内外使用较为普遍的药物以及它们的作用机制进行了概述;并对有良好应用前景的药物进行了介绍。     

基于重采样技术的肌电信号动作电位传导速度估计研究

目的：本文针对表面肌电（sEMG）信号探讨动作电位传导速度（APCV）估计问题。方法：以生理学仿真sEMG信号为基础,采用基于互相关分析的时延估计技术来获取相应的APCV估计值,并利用重采样技术来提高估计的精度。结果：实验表明。针对重采样后的仿真信号,其APCV的估计误差得到了明显降低。结论：所采用方法能够有效获取满意的APCV估计效果。     

基于重采样技术的肌电信号动作电位传导速度估计研究

目的:本文针对表面肌电(sEMG)信号探讨动作电位传导速度(APCV)估计问题。方法:以生理学仿真sEMG信号为基础,采用基于互相关分析的时延估计技术来获取相应的APCV估计值,并利用重采样技术来提高估计的精度。结果:实验表明,针对重采样后的仿真信号,其APCV的估计误差得到了明显降低。结论:所采用方法能够有效获取满意的APCV估计效果。     

Electrophysiological responses of the antennal campaniform sensilla to rapid changes of temperature in the ground beetles Pterostichus oblongopunctatus and Poecilus cupreus (Tribe Pterostichini) with different ecological preferences

Abstract.  Cold cells innervating antennal campaniform sensilla of the ground beetles Pterostichus oblongopunctatus (Fabricius, 1787) and Poecilus cupreus (Linnaeus, 1758) belonging to the tribe Pterostichini fire at a stationary rate of 22–23 imp s⁻¹ at 23 °C. In P. oblongopunctatus , there is a strong negative correlation between the stationary firing rate of the cold cell and temperature. By contrast, no relationship between the firing rate and temperature is observed in P. cupreus. Mean peak frequencies, reaching up to nearly 500 Hz, and first-second firing rates, reaching up to 140 imp s⁻¹, are observed at the beginning of the phasic-tonic response to rapid cooling of the cold cells of P. cupreus, which are significantly higher than those for P. oblongopunctatus . However, firing rates of the cold cells of the two ground beetles studied do not differ 3 s later, during the tonic stabilization period of the response. The length of the long interspike period, lasting up to several seconds, at the beginning of rapid warming, is a positive function of the extent of change in temperature, and is longer in P. oblongopunctatus than in P. cupreus . These differences in the responses of the cold cells are related to the ecological preferences of the two ground beetles.     

Axonal excitability revisited

The original papers of Hodgkin and Huxley (J. Physiol. 116 (1952a) 449, J. Physiol. 116 (1952b) 473, J. Physiol. 116 (1952c) 497, J. Physiol. 117 (1952d) 500) have provided a benchmark in our understanding of cellular excitability. Not surprisingly, their model of the membrane action potential (AP) requires revisions even for the squid giant axon, the preparation for which it was originally formulated. The mechanisms they proposed for the voltage-gated potassium and sodium ion currents, IK, and INa, respectively, have been superceded by more recent formulations that more accurately describe voltage-clamp measurements of these components. Moreover, the current-voltage relation for IK has a non-linear dependence upon driving force that is well described by the Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz (GHK) relation, rather than the linear dependence on driving force found by Hodgkin and Huxley. Furthermore, accumulation of potassium ions in the extracellular space adjacent to the axolemma appears to be significant even during a single AP. This paper describes the influence of these various modifications in their model on the mathematically reconstructed AP. The GHK and K+ accumulation results alter the shape of the AP, whereas the modifications in IK and INa gating have surprisingly little effect. Perhaps the most significant change in their model concerns the amplitude of INa, which they appear to have overestimated by a factor of two. This modification together with the GHK and the K+ accumulation results largely remove the discrepancies between membrane excitability of the squid giant axon and the Hodgkin and Huxley (J. Physiol. 117 (1952d) 500) model previously described (Clay, J. Neurophysiol. 80 (1998) 903).     

Vitamin D effective ultraviolet wavelengths due to scattering in shade

Solar UVB radiation (280–320 nm) is an initiator of Vitamin D₃ production in the human skin. While numerous studies have been conducted in relation to the biological impact of UV exposure in full sun, less research has investigated the irradiances in shade. The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of UV radiation in relation to Vitamin D₃ induction with six commonly encountered shade environments for the larger solar zenith angles observed during autumn and winter. Spectral UV irradiance measurements were made under relatively clear sky conditions at a sub-tropical Southern Hemisphere site for six specific shade environments and solar zenith angle between 35° and 60° to investigate the biologically effective UV irradiances for pre-Vitamin D₃ production. Data from this research indicates that pre-Vitamin D₃ effective UV wavelengths in the shade were most significant for tree shade and a shade umbrella. Compared to that in full sun, pre-Vitamin D₃ effective UV wavelengths were at levels of approximately 52 and 55%, respectively, beneath the shade umbrella and in tree shade. UVB irradiance levels in the shade of a northern facing covered veranda and in a car with windows closed were significantly less than those beneath the shade umbrella, with levels of approximately 11 and 0%, respectively, of those in full sun. Shade is important as a UV minimisation strategy; however, it may also play an important role in providing the human body with adequate levels of UVB radiation for pre-Vitamin D₃ production without experiencing the relatively higher levels of UVA irradiances present in full sun.     

Gene regulation at-a-distance in E. coli: new insights

The number of E. coli genes/operons regulated from sites distant from the gene, though limited, steadily increases. The regulation of the ula genes, in charge of L-ascorbate utilization, as well as the negative autoregulation of the non-related lambdaCI and 186CI repressors, for efficient switching of the corresponding phages from lysogeny to lysis, are recent examples. The interaction between the two GalR dimers, separated by 114 bp, undetectable in vitro, has been genetically mapped. lac repressor-operator loops might insulate a gene and its expression from the genomic environment. The genes in charge of nitrogen assimilation sequentially react to ammonia deprivation, via an increasing intracellular NRI concentration. Other sigma54-dependent genes are activated in response to various stimuli.     

Effects of selenium on altered mechanical and electrical cardiac activities of diabetic rat

Since selenium compounds can restore some metabolic parameters and structural alterations of diabetic rat heart, we were tempted to investigate whether these beneficial effects extend to the diabetic rat cardiac dysfunctions. Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (50mg/kg body weight) and rats were then treated with sodium selenite (5 micromol/kg body weight/day) for four weeks. Electrically stimulated isometric contraction and intracellular action potential in isolated papillary muscle strips and transient (I(to)) and steady state (I(ss)) outward K(+) currents in isolated cardiomyocytes were recorded. Sodium selenite treatment could reverse the prolongation in both action potential duration and twitch duration of the diabetic rats, and also cause significant increases in the diminished amplitudes of the two K(+) currents. Treatment of rats with sodium selenite also markedly increased the depressed acid-soluble sulfhydryl levels of the hearts. Our data suggest that the beneficial effects of sodium selenite treatment on the mechanical and electrical activities of the diabetic rat heart appear to be due to the restoration of the diminished K(+) currents, partially, related to the restoration of the cell glutathione redox cycle.     

Tyrosine-728 and glutamic acid-735 are essential for the metalloproteolytic activity of the lethal factor of Bacillus anthracis

The lethal factor (LF) of Bacillus anthracis is a Zn2+-endopeptidase specific for the MAPK-kinase family of proteins. The catalytic zinc atom is coordinated by a first shell of residues including the two histidines and the glutamate of the zinc-binding motif HExxH and by Glu-735. A characteristic feature of LF is the presence, within the second shell of residues, of a tyrosine (Tyr-728) in close proximity (3.3 A) to the zinc atom. To investigate the role of Tyr-728 and Glu-735, LF mutants with one or both of these two residues replaced by Ala were cloned, expressed, and purified from Escherichia coli. A fourth mutant was obtained by replacing Tyr-728 with Phe. Spectroscopic analysis of these mutants indicates that they fold in the same way as the parental molecule and that zinc stabilizes the structure of LF. These mutants have neither proteolytic activity nor in vivo toxicity. The possible role of Tyr-728 in catalysis is discussed.     

甘草的药理作用概述

通过对国内外期刊中有关甘草药理作用的文献进行查阅,综述了甘草具有肾上腺皮质激素样作用、抗消化性溃疡、解痉、抗炎及免疫抑制作用和解毒、抗病毒、镇咳祛痰、抗肿瘤、抑菌、防治肝损害、抗衰老、抗心律失常、抑制气道平滑肌细胞增生、降血脂与抗动脉粥样硬化等药理作用,其临床应用有广阔的前号。