Iron is a critical micronutrient, and iron derived from heme contributes a large proportion of the total iron absorbed in a typical Western diet. Heme iron is absorbed by different mechanisms than non-heme iron, but d...Iron is a critical micronutrient, and iron derived from heme contributes a large proportion of the total iron absorbed in a typical Western diet. Heme iron is absorbed by different mechanisms than non-heme iron, but despite considerable study over many years these mechanisms remain poorly understood. This review provides an overview of the importance of heme iron in the diet and discusses the two prevailing hypotheses of heme absorption; namely receptor mediated endocytosis of heme, and direct transport into the intestinal enterocyte by recently discovered heme transporters. A specific emphasis is placed on the questions surrounding the site of heme catabolism and the identity of the enzyme that performs this task. Additionally, we present the hypothesis that a non-heme iron transport protein may be required for heme iron absorption and discuss the experiences of our laboratory in examining this hypothesis.展开更多
AIM: To determine serum leptin levels and investigate their correlations with anthropometric and metabolic parameters and biochemical liver function in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and their...AIM: To determine serum leptin levels and investigate their correlations with anthropometric and metabolic parameters and biochemical liver function in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and their potential clinical implications.METHODS: Forty-two chronic HCV-infected patients without anti-viral treatment were enrolled in this study, 30 patients had chronic hepatitis C, 10 had cirrhosis, and 2 had hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Thirty age- and sex-matched healthy individuals served as controls. Serum leptin levels were determined by ELISA. The biochemical liver function and serum lipids were determined at the same time. The height and body weight of patients and controls were measured, and body mass index (BMI) and body fat were calculated simultaneously. The correlations of serum leptin levels with anthropometric and metabolic parameters and biochemical liver function were assessed statistically.RESULTS: The mean of serum leptin levels in patients with chronic hepatitis C, HCV-associated cirrhosis, HCVassociated HCC and control groups was (6.13±3.94),(5.25±4.21), (4.17±0.28), and (3.59±3.44) ng/mL, respectively. The serum leptin level in patients with chronic hepatitis C was significantly higher than that in controls. The serum leptin levels between cirrhotic patients and controls and between male and female cirrhotic patients had no significant difference. Serum leptin levels were positively-correlated with body fat, BMI, and apolipoprotein B (Apo B) in patients with chronic HCV infection. The serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were closelycorrelated with BMI in patients with chronic hepatitis C. CONCLUSION: HCV infection interferes with fat and lipid metabolism in patients with chronic HCV infection and leptin may play a role in hepatosteatosis.展开更多
Mast cell (MC) is so widely recognized as a critical effector in allergic disorders that it can be difficult to think of MC in any other context. Indeed, MCs are multifunctional and recently shown that MCs can also ac...Mast cell (MC) is so widely recognized as a critical effector in allergic disorders that it can be difficult to think of MC in any other context. Indeed, MCs are multifunctional and recently shown that MCs can also act as antigen presenters as well as effector elements of human immune system. First observations of their possible role as anti-tumor cells in peri- or intra-tumoral tissue were mentioned five decades ago and a high content of MCs is considered as a favorable prognosis,consistent with this study. Believers of this hypothesis assumed them to be inhibitors of tumor development through their pro-apoptotic and -necrolytic granules e.g.,granzymes and TNF-α. However, some still postulate them to be enhancers of tumor development through their effects on angiogenesis due to mostly tryptase.There are also some data suggesting increased MC density causes tumor development and indicates bad prognosis. Furthermore, since MC-associated mediators have shown to influence various aspects of tumor biology, the net effect of MCs on the development/progression of tumors has been difficult to evaluate. For instance, chymase induces apoptosis in targets; yet,tryptase, another MC protease, is a well-known mitogen.MCs with these various enzyme expression patterns may mediate different functions and the predominant MC type in tissues may be determined by the environmental needs. The coexistence of tryptase-expressing MCs(MCT) and chymase and tryptase-expressing MCs (MCTC)in physiological conditions reflects a naturally occurring balance that contributes to tissue homeostasis. We have recently discussed the role and relevance of MC serine proteases in different bone marrow diseases.展开更多
A new general robust fuzzy approach was presented to control the position and the attitude of unmanned flying vehicles(UFVs). Control of these vehicles was challenging due to their nonlinear underactuated behaviors. T...A new general robust fuzzy approach was presented to control the position and the attitude of unmanned flying vehicles(UFVs). Control of these vehicles was challenging due to their nonlinear underactuated behaviors. The proposed control system combined great advantages of generalized indirect adaptive sliding mode control(IASMC) and fuzzy control for the UFVs. An on-line adaptive tuning algorithm based on Lyapunov function and Barbalat lemma was designed, thus the stability of the system can be guaranteed. The chattering phenomenon in the sliding mode control was reduced and the steady error was also alleviated. The numerical results, for an underactuated quadcopter and a high speed underwater vehicle as case studies, indicate that the presented adaptive design of fuzzy sliding mode controller performs robustly in the presence of sensor noise and external disturbances. In addition, online unknown parameter estimation of the UFVs, such as ground effect and planing force especially in the cases with the Gaussian sensor noise with zero mean and standard deviation of 0.5 m and 0.1 rad and external disturbances with amplitude of 0.1 m/s2 and frequency of 0.2 Hz, is one of the advantages of this method. These estimated parameters are then used in the controller to improve the trajectory tracking performance.展开更多
AIM： TO accurately and realistically elucidate human stem cell behaviors in vivo and the fundamental mechanisms controlling human stem cell fates in vivo, which is urgently required in regenerative medicine and treat...AIM： TO accurately and realistically elucidate human stem cell behaviors in vivo and the fundamental mechanisms controlling human stem cell fates in vivo, which is urgently required in regenerative medicine and treatments for some human diseases, a surrogate human-rat chimera model was developed. METHODS： Human-rat chimeras were achieved by in utero transplanting low-density mononuclear cells from human umbilical cord blood into the fetal rats at 9-11 d of gestation, and subsequently, a variety of methods, including flow cytometry, PCR as well as immunohistochemical assay, were used to test the human donor contribution in the recipients. RESULTS： Of 29 live-born recipients, 19 had the presence of human CD45^＋ cells in peripheral blood （PB） detected by flow cytometry, while PCR analysis on genomic DNA from 11 different adult tissues showed that 14 selected from flow cytometry-positive 19 animals possessed of donor-derived human cell engraftment in multiple tissues （i.e. liver, spleen, thymus, heart, kidney, blood, lung, muscle, gut and skin） examined at the time of tissue collection, as confirmed by detecting human 132- microglobulin expression using immunohistochemistry. Tn this xenogeneic system, the engrafted donor-derived human cells persisted in multiple tissues for at least 6 mo after birth. Moreover, transplanted human donor cells underwent site-specific differentiation into CK18-positive human cells in chimeric liver and CEHS-positive human cells in chimeric spleen and thymus of recipients. CONCLUSION： Taken together, these findings suggest that we successfully developed human-rat chimeras, in which xenogeneic human cells exist up to 6 mo later. This humanized small animal model, which offers an in vivo environment more closely resembling to the situations in human, provides an invaluable and effective approach for in vivo investigating human stem cell behaviors, and further in vivo examining fundamental mechanisms controlling human stem cell fates in the future. The potential for new advances in our better understanding the living biological systems in human provided by investigators in humanized animals will remain promising.展开更多
文摘Iron is a critical micronutrient, and iron derived from heme contributes a large proportion of the total iron absorbed in a typical Western diet. Heme iron is absorbed by different mechanisms than non-heme iron, but despite considerable study over many years these mechanisms remain poorly understood. This review provides an overview of the importance of heme iron in the diet and discusses the two prevailing hypotheses of heme absorption; namely receptor mediated endocytosis of heme, and direct transport into the intestinal enterocyte by recently discovered heme transporters. A specific emphasis is placed on the questions surrounding the site of heme catabolism and the identity of the enzyme that performs this task. Additionally, we present the hypothesis that a non-heme iron transport protein may be required for heme iron absorption and discuss the experiences of our laboratory in examining this hypothesis.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30170842
文摘AIM: To determine serum leptin levels and investigate their correlations with anthropometric and metabolic parameters and biochemical liver function in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and their potential clinical implications.METHODS: Forty-two chronic HCV-infected patients without anti-viral treatment were enrolled in this study, 30 patients had chronic hepatitis C, 10 had cirrhosis, and 2 had hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Thirty age- and sex-matched healthy individuals served as controls. Serum leptin levels were determined by ELISA. The biochemical liver function and serum lipids were determined at the same time. The height and body weight of patients and controls were measured, and body mass index (BMI) and body fat were calculated simultaneously. The correlations of serum leptin levels with anthropometric and metabolic parameters and biochemical liver function were assessed statistically.RESULTS: The mean of serum leptin levels in patients with chronic hepatitis C, HCV-associated cirrhosis, HCVassociated HCC and control groups was (6.13±3.94),(5.25±4.21), (4.17±0.28), and (3.59±3.44) ng/mL, respectively. The serum leptin level in patients with chronic hepatitis C was significantly higher than that in controls. The serum leptin levels between cirrhotic patients and controls and between male and female cirrhotic patients had no significant difference. Serum leptin levels were positively-correlated with body fat, BMI, and apolipoprotein B (Apo B) in patients with chronic HCV infection. The serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were closelycorrelated with BMI in patients with chronic hepatitis C. CONCLUSION: HCV infection interferes with fat and lipid metabolism in patients with chronic HCV infection and leptin may play a role in hepatosteatosis.
文摘Mast cell (MC) is so widely recognized as a critical effector in allergic disorders that it can be difficult to think of MC in any other context. Indeed, MCs are multifunctional and recently shown that MCs can also act as antigen presenters as well as effector elements of human immune system. First observations of their possible role as anti-tumor cells in peri- or intra-tumoral tissue were mentioned five decades ago and a high content of MCs is considered as a favorable prognosis,consistent with this study. Believers of this hypothesis assumed them to be inhibitors of tumor development through their pro-apoptotic and -necrolytic granules e.g.,granzymes and TNF-α. However, some still postulate them to be enhancers of tumor development through their effects on angiogenesis due to mostly tryptase.There are also some data suggesting increased MC density causes tumor development and indicates bad prognosis. Furthermore, since MC-associated mediators have shown to influence various aspects of tumor biology, the net effect of MCs on the development/progression of tumors has been difficult to evaluate. For instance, chymase induces apoptosis in targets; yet,tryptase, another MC protease, is a well-known mitogen.MCs with these various enzyme expression patterns may mediate different functions and the predominant MC type in tissues may be determined by the environmental needs. The coexistence of tryptase-expressing MCs(MCT) and chymase and tryptase-expressing MCs (MCTC)in physiological conditions reflects a naturally occurring balance that contributes to tissue homeostasis. We have recently discussed the role and relevance of MC serine proteases in different bone marrow diseases.
文摘A new general robust fuzzy approach was presented to control the position and the attitude of unmanned flying vehicles(UFVs). Control of these vehicles was challenging due to their nonlinear underactuated behaviors. The proposed control system combined great advantages of generalized indirect adaptive sliding mode control(IASMC) and fuzzy control for the UFVs. An on-line adaptive tuning algorithm based on Lyapunov function and Barbalat lemma was designed, thus the stability of the system can be guaranteed. The chattering phenomenon in the sliding mode control was reduced and the steady error was also alleviated. The numerical results, for an underactuated quadcopter and a high speed underwater vehicle as case studies, indicate that the presented adaptive design of fuzzy sliding mode controller performs robustly in the presence of sensor noise and external disturbances. In addition, online unknown parameter estimation of the UFVs, such as ground effect and planing force especially in the cases with the Gaussian sensor noise with zero mean and standard deviation of 0.5 m and 0.1 rad and external disturbances with amplitude of 0.1 m/s2 and frequency of 0.2 Hz, is one of the advantages of this method. These estimated parameters are then used in the controller to improve the trajectory tracking performance.
基金Supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30271177 and No. 39870676 the National 9th Five-year Program, No. 101033+3 种基金 The Major Science and Technology Projects of Guangdong Province, No. B602 Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, No. 021903 The Postdoctoral Fellowship Foundation of China (Series 29)The Special Fund of Scientifi c Instrument Collaborative Share-net in Guangzhou, No. 2006176
文摘AIM： TO accurately and realistically elucidate human stem cell behaviors in vivo and the fundamental mechanisms controlling human stem cell fates in vivo, which is urgently required in regenerative medicine and treatments for some human diseases, a surrogate human-rat chimera model was developed. METHODS： Human-rat chimeras were achieved by in utero transplanting low-density mononuclear cells from human umbilical cord blood into the fetal rats at 9-11 d of gestation, and subsequently, a variety of methods, including flow cytometry, PCR as well as immunohistochemical assay, were used to test the human donor contribution in the recipients. RESULTS： Of 29 live-born recipients, 19 had the presence of human CD45^＋ cells in peripheral blood （PB） detected by flow cytometry, while PCR analysis on genomic DNA from 11 different adult tissues showed that 14 selected from flow cytometry-positive 19 animals possessed of donor-derived human cell engraftment in multiple tissues （i.e. liver, spleen, thymus, heart, kidney, blood, lung, muscle, gut and skin） examined at the time of tissue collection, as confirmed by detecting human 132- microglobulin expression using immunohistochemistry. Tn this xenogeneic system, the engrafted donor-derived human cells persisted in multiple tissues for at least 6 mo after birth. Moreover, transplanted human donor cells underwent site-specific differentiation into CK18-positive human cells in chimeric liver and CEHS-positive human cells in chimeric spleen and thymus of recipients. CONCLUSION： Taken together, these findings suggest that we successfully developed human-rat chimeras, in which xenogeneic human cells exist up to 6 mo later. This humanized small animal model, which offers an in vivo environment more closely resembling to the situations in human, provides an invaluable and effective approach for in vivo investigating human stem cell behaviors, and further in vivo examining fundamental mechanisms controlling human stem cell fates in the future. The potential for new advances in our better understanding the living biological systems in human provided by investigators in humanized animals will remain promising.
