Segment and joint angles of hind limb during bipedal and quadrupedal walking of the bonobo (Pan paniscus)

We describe segment angles (trunk, thigh, shank, and foot) and joint angles (hip, knee, and ankle) for the hind limbs of bonobos walking bipedally ("bent-hip bent-knee walking," 17 sequences) and quadrupedally (33 sequences). Data were based on video recordings (50 Hz) of nine subjects in a lateral view, walking at voluntary speed. The major differences between bipedal and quadrupedal walking are found in the trunk, thigh, and hip angles. During bipedal walking, the trunk is approximately 33-41 degrees more erect than during quadrupedal locomotion, although it is considerably more bent forward than in normal human locomotion. Moreover, during bipedal walking, the hip has a smaller range of motion (by 12 degrees ) and is more extended (by 20-35 degrees ) than during quadrupedal walking. In general, angle profiles in bonobos are much more variable than in humans. Intralimb phase relationships of subsequent joint angles show that hip-knee coordination is similar for bipedal and quadrupedal walking, and resembles the human pattern. The coordination between knee and ankle differs much more from the human pattern. Based on joint angles observed throughout stance phase and on the estimation of functional leg length, an efficient inverted pendulum mechanism is not expected in bonobos.     

Evolution of the membrane guanylate cyclase transduction system

Almost four decades of research in the field of membrane guanylate cyclases is discussed in this review. Primarily, it focuses on the chronological development of the field, recognizes major contributions of the original investigators, corrects certain misplaced facts, and projects its future trend.     

汉滩病毒S基因免疫小鼠的细胞免疫应答的初步观察

将汉滩病毒Ｓ片段编码区基因插入到含ＣＭＶ启动了／增强子（ｐｒｏｍｏｔｅｒ／ｅｎｈａｎｃｅｒ）的真核表达载体ｐＶＲ１０１２中,构建成真核表达质粒ｐＶＲＳ２２。质粒ＤＮＡ经纯化后,注射经布比卡因预处理的Ｂａｌｂ／ｃ小鼠的股四头肌,多次免疫后,免疫小鼠淋巴细胞增殖功能的检测结果显示：免疫鼠的脾细胞能够对体处抗原刺激产生增殖反应;ＣＴＬ活性检测结果表明：靶细胞＾５１Ｃｒ的释放是疚细胞依赖性的,并且与病毒感     

New developments in understanding the etiology of Parkinson's disease and in its treatment

Important recent advances have been made in understanding the etiology and pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease, as well as in developing novel treatments. Two newly identified genes, α-synuclein and parkin, have been linked to parkinsonism. In addition, disturbances to the normal basal ganglia circuits in Parkinson's patients are being described at both anatomical and physiological levels. These developments provide a strong scientific basis for novel medical and surgical strategies to treat the profound motor disturbances in patients with Parkinson's disease.     

经伤椎单节段固定与跨伤椎短节段固定治疗胸腰椎骨折的临床疗效比较研究

目的:研究经伤椎单节段固定和跨伤椎短节段固定对于胸腰椎骨折进行治疗的临床疗效。方法:从2011年6月至2014年6月,选择我院100例胸腰椎骨折患者作为研究对象。以数字法随机分为观察组50例以及对照组50例。观察组患者行经伤椎单节段固定,对照组患者行跨伤椎短节段固定,对比观察两组的临床效果。结果:观察组患者术中出血量及手术时间均明显低于对照组,差异均具有统计学意义(P0.05)。对两组患者手术前后的影像学检测结果进行比较,手术前后两组的压缩率以及Cobb角比较均无显著差异(P0.05),对所有患者进行末次随访时发现,观察组的压缩率明显高于对照组,Cobb角明显低于对照组,差异均具有统计学意义(P0.05)。治疗前两组在社会功能,情感职能以及躯体疼痛评分比较上均无统计学差异(P0.05),治疗后两组以上评分较治疗前均明显升高,并且观察组显著高于对照组,差异均具有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:使用经伤椎单节段固定较跨伤椎短节段固定方式能更好地恢复患者Cobb角度,对于预防手术之后矫正度的丢失性具有明显优势,且其有利于术后患者生活质量的提高,值得临床推荐使用。     

ND3, ND1 and 39 kDa subunits are more exposed in the de-active form of bovine mitochondrial complex I

An intriguing feature of mitochondrial complex I from several species is the so-called A/D transition, whereby the idle enzyme spontaneously converts from the active (A) form to the de-active (D) form. The A/D transition plays an important role in tissue response to the lack of oxygen and hypoxic deactivation of the enzyme is one of the key regulatory events that occur in mitochondria during ischaemia. We demonstrate for the first time that the A/D conformational change of complex I does not affect the macromolecular organisation of supercomplexes in vitro as revealed by two types of native electrophoresis. Cysteine 39 of the mitochondrially-encoded ND3 subunit is known to become exposed upon de-activation. Here we show that even if complex I is a constituent of the I + III₂ + IV (S₁) supercomplex, cysteine 39 is accessible for chemical modification in only the D-form. Using lysine-specific fluorescent labelling and a DIGE-like approach we further identified two new subunits involved in structural rearrangements during the A/D transition: ND1 (MT-ND1) and 39 kDa (NDUFA9). These results clearly show that structural rearrangements during de-activation of complex I include several subunits located at the junction between hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains, in the region of the quinone binding site. De-activation of mitochondrial complex I results in concerted structural rearrangement of membrane subunits which leads to the disruption of the sealed quinone chamber required for catalytic turnover.     

Multiple cysteine residues are necessary for sorting and transport activity of the arsenite permease Acr3p from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The yeast transporter Acr3p is a low affinity As(III)/H⁺ and Sb(III)/H⁺ antiporter located in the plasma membrane. It has been shown for bacterial Acr3 proteins that just a single cysteine residue, which is located in the middle of the fourth transmembrane region and conserved in all members of the Acr3 family, is essential for As(III) transport activity. Here, we report a systematic mutational analysis of all nine cysteine residues present in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Acr3p. We found that mutagenesis of highly conserved Cys151 resulted in a complete loss of metalloid transport function. In addition, lack of Cys90 and Cys169, which are conserved in eukaryotic members of Acr3 family, impaired Acr3p trafficking to the plasma membrane and greatly reduced As(III) efflux, respectively. Mutagenesis of five other cysteines in Acr3p resulted in moderate reduction of As(III) transport capacities and sorting perturbations. Our data suggest that interaction of As(III) with multiple thiol groups in the yeast Acr3p may facilitate As(III) translocation across the plasma membrane.