Aniracetam restores the effects of amyloid-beta protein or ageing on membrane fluidity and intracellular calcium concentration in mice synaptosomes

In the present study, we observed the in vitro effect of aniracetam on membrane fluidity and free calcium concentrations (Ca(2+)i) of frontal cortical (FC) and hippocampal (HP) synaptosomes of aged mice and young mice treated with amyloid-beta protein (A

Rapid label-free detection of metal-induced Alzheimer's amyloid beta peptide aggregation by electrochemical method

Amyloid beta peptide plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Metal ions are highly enriched in cerebral amyloid deposits in AD and are proposed to be able to mediate A beta conformation. Therefore, a rapid, low-cost, and sensitive detection of metal-induced A beta aggregation and their relation to AD is clearly needed for the clinical diagnosis and treatment. In this report, we study metal-induced A beta aggregation by a rapid, label-free electrochemical method and monitor both the aggregation kinetics and the morphology in the absence or presence of Zn (II) and Cu (II).

Time-dependent DNA condensation induced by amyloid beta-peptide

The major protein component of the amyloid deposition in Alzheimer's disease is a 39-43 residue peptide, amyloid beta (A beta). A beta is toxic to neurons, although the mechanism of neurodegeneration is uncertain. Evidence exists for non-B DNA conformation in the hippocampus of Alzheimer's disease brains, and A beta was reportedly able to transform DNA conformation in vitro. In this study, we found that DNA conformation was altered in the presence of A beta, and A beta induced DNA condensation in a time-dependent manner. Furthermore, A beta sheets, serving as condensation nuclei, were crucial for DNA condensation, and Cu2+ and Zn2+ ions inhibited A beta sheet-induced DNA condensation. Our results suggest DNA condensation as a mechanism of A beta toxicity.

STUDIES ON MORPHOLOGY OF SOLUTION-CAST FILMS OF IPP/APP BLENDS

Morphologies of solution-cast films of iPP/aPP blends have been studied by means of electron microscopy and X-ray scattering techniques. Microscopic observation showed that solution-cast film of iPP consists of two kinds of structural regions, cross-hatched and lath-liked structures. The addition of small amount of aPP (less than or equal to 30%) into iPP did not change iPP's characteristic crystallization behavior. It is noticed that when the content of aPP in its blend was over 80%, iPP formed a very loosely woven-like network composed of very long lamellae with wide-angle lamellar branchings. The X-ray data showed that aPP did not cocrystallize with iPP.

iPP／aPP共混物溶液浇铸薄膜的形态结构研究

用透射电子显微镜和Ｘ射线衍射等方法研究了等规立构聚丙烯（ｉＰＰ）和无规立构聚丙烯（ａＰＰ）共混物溶液浇铸膜的形态结构，结果表明，ａＰＰ的加入对ｉＰＰ的形态结构有很大的影响。

iPP/aPP共混物薄膜的形态结构研究

聚烯烃共混物中,最常见的和已商品化的是 iPP 与三元乙丙橡胶(EPDM)的共混物。人们一直用 EPDM 或乙丙无规共聚物(EPR)作为增韧剂加入到 iPP 中以提高其冲击强度。实验证明,橡胶的加入会导致 iPP 形态结构的变化。aPP 是一种非晶聚合物,它有类似像胶的性能,据报道,aPP 与 iPP 在熔体是相容的,aPP 的加入对 iPP 形态结构有很大影响。本文用 TEM 和 X-射线衍射等方法研究了 iPP/aPP 共混物薄膜的形态结构。

iPP／aPP共混物薄膜的形态结构研究

ｉＰＰ／ａＰＰ共混物薄膜的形态结构研究陈晔，杨德才（中国科学院长春应用化学研究所高分子物理开放实验室，长春１３００２２）聚烯烃共混物中，最常见的和已商品化的是ｉＰＰ与三元乙丙橡胶（ＥＰＤＭ）的共混物。人们一直用ＥＰＤＭ或乙丙无规共聚物（ＥＰＲ）作为增...

PLCß介导的钙调腺苷酸环化酶在突触可塑性相关基因转录中的作用和FE65对海马依赖学习及LTP的调节

Gene regulation is required for activity-dependent changes in synaptic plasticity and remodeling. The metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) contribute to different brain functions, including learning/memory, mental disorders, drug addiction, and persistent pain in the CNS. We found that Gp I mGluRs activate PLCß through Gq and then lead to activation of several calcium-dependent signaling pathways, including ERK, which play an important role in gene transcription. These findings support a calcium-dependent role for Gq in release of Calcium and activation of calcium-stimulated adenylyl cyclases I in activity-dependent transcription in response to application of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors agonist and may provide insights into group I mGluRs-dependent synaptic plasticity through MAP kinases signaling. Moreover, the present study investigated the transcription-dependent changes of Arc in response to the activation of group I mGluRs and suggested the central role of ERK1/2 in group I mGluR-mediated Arc transcription. Further, we selected APP-interaction protein FE65 to investigate the mechanism of transcription-related process in synaptic plasticity. FE65 is expressed predominantly in the brain, and interacts with the C-terminal domain of β-amyloid precursor protein (APP). We examined hippocampus-dependent memory and in vivo long-term potentiation (LTP) at the CA1 synapses with the isoform-specific FE65 knock-out (p97FE65-/-) mice. p97FE65 knock-out mice showed impaired short-term memory for both TDPA and CFC when tested 10min after training, which is transcription-independent. Consistently, at the Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapses, p97FE65 knock-out mice showed defective early phase LTP. These results demonstrate novel roles of FE65 in synaptic plasticity, acquisition, and retention for certain forms of memory formation.

Rarefied gas dynamics: fundamentals, simulations and micro flows

Identification of differentially expressed immune-relevant genes in Chinese soft-shelled turtle (Trionyx sinensis) infected with Aeromonas hydrophila

Expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis is an efficient tool for gene discovery and profiling gene expression. Aeromonas hydrophila, a ubiquitous waterborne bacterium, is one of the most frequent pathogens isolated from diseased aquatic organisms. In order to understand the molecular mechanism of anti-bacteria immune response in reptile, we have investigated the differentially expressed genes in Chinese soft-shelled turtle (Trionyx sinensis) experimentally infected with A. hydrophila by suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH). Forty-two genes were identified from more than 200 clones, of which 25 genes are found for the first time in reptiles, and classified into 6 categories: 18 in defense/immunity. 4 in catalysis, 2 in retrotransposon; 2 in cell signal transduction, 5 in cell metabolism, 10 in protein expression, and 1 in cell structure. Of the 42 differentially expressed genes, 6 genes, IL-8, serum amyloid A (SAA), CD9, CD59, activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) and cathepsin L genes, were further observed to be up-regulated in the infected turtles by virtual Northern hybridization and RT-PCR assays. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

黄土塬区旱作农田长期定位施肥对冬小麦水分利用的影响

对长期定位施肥试验第22年度的测定数据进行了分析,探讨了旱地施肥对冬小麦水分利用的影响。试验结果表明,测定年份冬小麦的耗水深度受播种前雨季降雨入渗深度的影响位于地下200 cm左右。长期单施磷肥处理,播种期土壤有效贮水量与不施肥的对照接近,而单施氮肥,氮磷配施和氮磷钾配施均显著低于对照;在施P2O590 kg/hm2配施氮肥或施N 90 kg/hm2配施磷肥,随着施氮量或施磷量从0增加到180 kg/hm2,播种期土壤有效贮水量均逐渐降低,但前者作物的土壤水分消耗表现出降低趋势,而后者表现出增加趋势。与对照相比,各施肥处理均提高了土壤有效底墒的利用率。氮磷配施比单施磷肥降低了土壤供水占作物耗水的比例,使得作物生长和产量的形成对当季降水的依赖性增加。与对照相比,氮磷配施及氮磷钾配施显著提高了冬小麦收获指数、产量和水分利用效率,而单施磷肥和氮肥使收获指数、产量和水分利用效率显著降低。施P2O590 kg/hm2的条件下,不同施氮量之间收获指数差异较小,而产量和水分利用效率均高于单施磷肥;施N 90 kg/hm2的条件下,不同施磷量作物的收获指数、产量和水分利用效率均得到提高。

Quartz crystal microbalance study of the kinetics of surface initiated polymerization

Surface initiated polymerization (SIP) is a valuable tool in synthesizing functional polymer brushes, yet the kinetic understanding of SIP lags behind the development of its application. We apply quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) to address two issues that are not fully addressed yet play a central role in the rational design of functional polymer brushes, namely quantitative determination of the kinetics and the initiator efficiency (IE) of SIP. SIP are monitored online using QCM. Two quantitative frequency-thickness (f-T) relations make the direct determination and comparison of the rate of polymerization possible even for different monomers. Based on the bi-termination model, the kinetics of SIP is simply described by two variables, which are related to two polymerization constants, namely a = 1/(k (p,s,app)-[M][R center dot](0)) and b = k (t,s,app)/(k (p,s,app)[M]). Factors that could alter the kinetics of SIP are studied, including (i) the molecular weight of monomers, (ii) the solvent used, (iii) the initial density of the initiator, (iv) the concentration of monomer, [M], and (v) the catalyst system (ratio among the ingredients, metal, ligands, and additives). The dynamic nature of IE is also described by these two variables, IE = a/(a + bt). Instead of the molecular weight and the polydispersity, we suggest that film thickness, the two kinetic parameters (a and b), and the initial density of the initiator and IE be the parameters that characterize ultra-thin polymer brushes. Besides the kinetics study of SIP, the reported method has many other applications, for example, in the fast screening of catalyst system for SIP and other polymerization systems.

Evaluation of different culture conditions for high-level soluble expression of human cyclin A(2) with pET vector in BL21 (DE3) and spectroscopic characterization of its inclusion body structure

In this paper, we evaluated various parameters of culture condition affecting high-level soluble expression of human cyclin A, in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3), and demonstrated that the highest protein yield was obtained using TB(no glycerol) + 0.5% glucose medium at 25 degrees C. By single immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography, we got highly purified human cyclin A(2) with a yield ranged from 20 to 30 mg/L. By amyloid-diagnostic dye ThT binding and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, we observed a significant decrease in alpha-helix content and an increase in beta-sheet structure in cyclin A(2) inclusion body in comparison to its native protein, and confirmed the resemblance of the internal organization of cyclin A(2) inclusion body and amyloid fibrils.

Electrooxidation of COad intermediated from methanol oxidation on polycrystalline Pt electrode

The poisonous intermediate of methanol oxidation on a Pt electrode was validated to be COad by electrochemical method. An approximate treatment to bimolecular elementary reactions on an electrode was advanced and then was applied to the stripping normal pulse voltammetry (NPV) for complex multistep multielectron transfer processes on plane electrodes to study the kinetics of completely irreversible process Of COad oxidation to CO2. The kinetic parameters for this process, such as standard rate constant (0) and anodic transfer coefficient (alpha) for this irreversible heterogeneous electron-transfer process at electrode/solution interface and apparent diffusion coefficient (D-app) for charge-transfer process within the monolayer of COad on electrode surface, were obtained with stripping NPV method. The effect of the approximate treatment on the kinetic parameters was also analyzed.