The inorganic perspective of nerve growth factor: interactions of Cu2+ and Zn2+ with the N-terminus fragment of nerve growth factor encompassing the recognition domain of the TrkA receptor

There is a significant overlap between brain areas with Zn(2+) and Cu(2+) pathological dys-homeostasis and those in which the nerve growth factor (NGF) performs its biological role. The protein NGF is necessary for the development and maintenance of the sympathetic and sensory nervous systems. Its flexible N-terminal region has been shown to be a critical domain for TrkA receptor binding and activation. Computational analyses show that Zn(2+) and Cu(2+) form pentacoordinate complexes involving both the His4 and His8 residues of the N-terminal domain of one monomeric unit and the His84 and Asp105 residues of the other monomeric unit of the NGF active dimer. To date, neither experimental data on the coordination features have been reported, nor has one of the hypotheses according to which Zn(2+) and Cu(2+) may have different binding environments or the Ser1 α-amino group could be involved in coordination been supported. The peptide fragment, encompassing the 1-14 sequence of the human NGF amino-terminal domain (NGF(1-14)), blocked at the C terminus, was synthesised and its Cu(2+) and Zn(2+) complexes characterized by means of potentiometric and spectroscopic (UV/Vis, CD, NMR, and EPR) techniques. The N-terminus-acetylated form of NGF(1-14) was also investigated to evaluate the involvement of the Ser1 α-amino group in metal-ion coordination. Our results demonstrate that the amino group is the first anchoring site for Cu(2+) and is involved in Zn(2+) coordination at physiological pH. Finally, a synergic proliferative activity of both NGF(1-14) and the whole protein on SHSY5Y neuroblastoma cell line was found after treatment in the presence of Cu(2+). This effect was not observed after treatment with the N-acetylated peptide fragment, demonstrating a functional involvement of the N-terminal amino group in metal binding and peptide activity.     

中介蝮蛇毒神经毒素对家兔隔神经放电的影响

用记录脶神经和脶肌的呼吸性发放的方法，对新疆中介蝮(A．intermedius Strauch)蛇毒急性中毒引起的呼吸麻痹，分别用家兔和大白鼠进行了实验分析。将稍大于最小致死量(0．1mg／kg体重)的中介蝮蛇毒，经静脉或肌肉注入动物体内，一般经数小时后出现软瘫性呼吸麻痹，若及时地给予人工呼吸，则在膈肌的呼吸性发放完全停止的情况下，心电和膈神经的呼吸发放都尚可维持相当长的时间。若将蝮蛇毒直接注入侧脑室内，甚直达每公斤体重30-50微克，不引起动物出现明显的呼吸困难。若将脑室注射量加大每公斤体重100mg以上，则动物经一定时间出现4肢僵直，头后仰，抽搐等症状而死亡。在离体标本上，蝮蛇毒具有不可逆地阻遏接头传递的阻遏过程相似。     

关于紧邻域扩充性质的等价条件及其应用

本文刻画了紧邻域扩充性质的等价条件，由此条件得到如果Ｘ是具有紧邻域扩充性质的可度量化的拓扑空间，则Ｆ_ｋ（Ｘ）＝｛Ａ?Ｘ：｜Ａ｜≤ｋ｝也具有紧邻域扩充性质，此处Ｆ_ｋ（Ｘ）上的拓扑是由Ｈａｕｓｄｏｒｆ度量所诱导出的拓扑     

神经纤维对磁刺激的动态响应

给出一种激活函数快速计算方法和公式 ,推导出磁刺激作用下神经纤维的 Hodgkin- Hux-ley模型 ,并建立了神经兴奋与磁刺激仪电路参数之间的联系 .研究了磁刺激作用下神经纤维的阈下、阈上和重复磁刺激响应 .结果表明 ,在不同电容初始充电电压下 ,响应具有阈值性 ;阈下响应在空间和时间上都与激活函数呈现一定的线性 ,两者相差 1 80°;不同强度下的阈上行为有相同的空间分布和时间历程 ,只是响应潜伏期有差异 .1 0 0 Hz以下的重复磁刺激是单脉冲的线性组合 ,没有累积效应 .     

Electric‐field‐controlled synthesis of HPMA hydrogels containing self‐organized arrays of micro‐channels

We report the synthesis of poly N‐(2‐hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide ordered arrays of fluid filled channels. The polymerization and crosslinking reactions are carried out under the influence of a constant electric field (60 V/cm). A charged comonomer, immobiline (pK 3.6), and porogen, polyethylene glycol (PEG) are added to the pregel solutions. Scanning electron microscopy reveals that the channels have a typical diameter of 2–25 μm and are oriented parallel to the electric field employed during synthesis. The self‐organization of channels occurs around an optimal PEG concentration of 8.6 wt/vol %, whereas significantly higher or lower concentrations yield random, isotropic pore structures. Moreover, tensile strength measurements show that the mechanical stability increases with decreasing concentration of PEG. Rheology experiments reveal that the swelling degree of these superabsorbant hydrogels increases with increasing PEG. Possible applications of these microstructured hydrogels as bidirectional scaffolds for regenerating neurons in the injured spinal cord are discussed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 2593–2600, 2007     

Materials for peripheral nerve regeneration

Recent efforts in scientific research in the field of peripheral nerve regeneration have been directed towards the development of artificial nerve guides. We have studied various materials with the aim of obtaining a biocompatible and biodegradable two layer guide for nerve repair. The candidate materials for use as an external layer for the nerve guides were poly(caprolactone) (PCL), a biosynthetic blend between PCL and chitosan (CS) and a synthesised poly(ester-urethane) (PU). Blending PCL, which is a biocompatible synthetic polymer, with a natural polymer enhanced the system biocompatibility and biomimetics, fastened the degradation rates and reduced the production costs. Various novel block poly(ester-urethane)s are being synthesised by our group with tailored properties for specific tissue engineering applications. One of these poly(ester-urethane)s, based on a low molecular weight poly(caprolactone) as the macrodiol, cycloesandimethanol as the chain extender and hexamethylene diisocyanate as the chain linker, was investigated for the production of melt extruded nerve guides. We studied natural polymers such as gelatin (G), poly(L-lysine) (PL) and blends between chitosan and gelatin (CS/G) as internal coatings for nerve guides. In vitro and in vivo tests were performed on PCL guides internally coated either with G or PL to determine the differences in the quality of nerve regeneration associated with the type of adhesion protein. CS/G natural blends combined the good cell adhesion properties of the protein phase with the ability to promote nerve regeneration of the polysaccharide phase. Natural blends were crosslinked both by physical and chemical crosslinking methods. In vitro neuroblast adhesion tests were performed on CS/G film samples, PCL/CS and PU guides internally coated with G to evaluate the ability of such materials towards nerve repair.     

广义神经传播方程全离散格式的修正混合有限元方法

利用修正的H1-Galerkin混合有限元的方法,研究了广义神经传播方程,得到了全离散解的最优阶误差估计,该方法的优点是不需要验证LBB相容性条件.     

Incidental abdominal aortic aneurysm on lumbosacral magneticresonance imaging — a case series

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is commonly used as part of the assessment of patients presenting with leg/back pain to the orthopedic spinal outpatient clinic. Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) can cause symptoms often similar to those of spinal stenosis. We report a case series of four patients who had incidental AAA detected on lumbosacral MRI. All patients were suffering from degenerative spinal disease and had been referred to the orthopedic spinal clinic. After history, examination and review of the imaging, all patients were referred to a vascular surgeon, and three were found to be completely asymptomatic from their aneurysm. One patient required open repair with an aortic graft due to the size of the aneurysm, although his symptoms were attributable to his spinal disease. All patients still required management of their degenerative spinal disease after their vascular review. We can find no other case reports of AAA as an incidental finding on lumbosacral MRI. This case series highlights the importance of looking at all aspects of our imaging and remembering the nonspinal causes of back and leg pains. Furthermore, in the presence of AAA when managing patients in the orthopedic outpatient setting, the authors recommend vascular review before offering orthopedic interventional management options to these patients.     

Synergistic antinociceptive activity of combined aqueous extracts of Artemisia campestris and Artemisia herba-alba in several acute pain models

In this study, total phenolic and flavonoid contents, acute toxicity and the antinociceptive activity of Artemisia campestris and Artemisia herba-alba, individually and in combination, were investigated using multiple forms of pain in animals. Our results have been shown that plants are relatively safe without clinical signs of toxicity in animals. Thus, extracts were presented high levels in phenolic and flavonoid contents. Artemisia decoctions with 100, 200, 400 mg/kg b-w studied dose, clearly attenuate chemical and thermal noxious stimuli in writhing, formalin and hot-plate tests, and significantly reduced paw oedema in formalin test. Additionally, binary combination forms exhibited a great improvement in intensity and amplitude of antinociceptive activity in comparison with both plants used individually by a relative interference with opioid system. Our findings suggested the central and peripheral analgesic properties and confirmed the folkloric medicinal use of these plants in pain symptom treatment.     

小世界生物神经网络的相干共振研究

研究了无外界周期信号时Hodgkin-Huxley模型小世界生物神经网络的非线性响应.数值模拟结果显示：当噪声强度取某一有限值时,峰序列有序度可以达到最大,即产生相干共振现象.同时发现： 随着网络规模N的变化,相干共振系数cv的极小值不是一个,而是多个.这表明相干共振可发生在神经元集群数目特定的不同规模的网络中. 关键词： 相干共振 有序度 小世界网络 生物神经网络