Regional regulation of microtubule dynamics in polarized, motile cells

INTRODUCTION: Tobacco use, diet and physical activity patterns, and alcohol use are the leading causes of death in the United States. To make major improvements in the health status of the population, behavioral risk factors for disease must be addressed. METHODS: We propose a brief survey of behavioral risk factors for enrollees of health care organizations, employer groups, or other adult populations that can be used to profile the health risk behaviors of a population, assess performance of prevention and risk reduction programs, or make comparisons with other populations. The survey contains questions about tobacco, diet, physical activity, alcohol, firearms, motor vehicle safety, sexual behavior, and drugs. RESULTS: Recommendations for survey items, implementation, and calculation of performance measures are given. CONCLUSIONS: Widespread adoption of this type of survey would be a major step forward in acknowledging the impact that behavior has on health and in furthering individual and organizational accountability for improving health risk behaviors.     

Segregation of two spectrin isoforms: polarized membrane-binding sites direct polarized membrane skeleton assembly

Spectrin isoforms are often segregated within specialized plasma membrane subdomains where they are thought to contribute to the development of cell surface polarity. It was previously shown that ankyrin and beta spectrin are recruited to sites of cell-cell contact in Drosophila S2 cells expressing the homophilic adhesion molecule neuroglian. Here, we show that neuroglian has no apparent effect on a second spectrin isoform (alpha beta H), which is constitutively associated with the plasma membrane in S2 cells. Another membrane marker, the Na,K-ATPase, codistributes with ankyrin and alpha beta spectrin at sites of neuroglian-mediated contact. The distributions of these markers in epithelial cells in vivo are consistent with the order of events observed in S2 cells. Neuroglian, ankyrin, alpha beta spectrin, and the Na,K-ATPase colocalize at the lateral domain of salivary gland cells. In contrast, alpha beta H spectrin is sorted to the apical domain of salivary gland and somatic follicle cells. Thus, the two spectrin isoforms respond independently to positional cues at the cell surface: in one case an apically sorted receptor and in the other case a locally activated cell-cell adhesion molecule. The results support a model in which the membrane skeleton behaves as a transducer of positional information within cells.     

偏振化能量色散X射线荧光光谱仪的新进展

能量色散X射线荧光光谱仪,由于其仪器本身结构比较简单,X射线的分析线强度利用率高,又能同时接受所有X射线光谱,近年来逐渐被广泛采用.特别半导体技术飞跃发展,促使半导体探测器分辨能力的提高,目前商品化的Si(Li)漂移探测器在MnKα5.9 keV处和计数率在10000cps以下时,其能量分辨率已达157 eV,这样大大扩大它的使用.从长远观点看,1998年47届Denver会议上,美国国家标准技术研究院(NIST)提出3 eV微热量计(micro calorimeter),其能量分辨率几乎可达到波长色散水平.当然目前由于成本昂贵,还没有达到实用阶段,另外偏振化技术的应用,使谱线散射背景大大降低,使能量色散X射线荧光痕量分析已达μg/g级,并成为地质、环保、冶金材料的科研和生产主导分析方法之一.从1992年开始斯派克分析仪器公司就开始生产偏振化能量色散X射线荧光光谱仪.     

Membrane traffic in polarized neurons

The plasma membrane of neurons can be divided into two domains, the soma-dendritic and the axonal. These domains perform different functions: the dendritic surface receives and processes information while the axonal surface is specialized for the rapid transmission of electrical impulses. This functional specialization is generated by sorting and anchoring mechanisms that guarantee the correct delivery and retention of specific membrane proteins. Our understanding of neuronal membrane protein sorting is primarily based on studies of protein overexpression in cultured neurons. These studies revealed that newly synthesized membrane proteins are segregated in the Golgi apparatus in the cell body from where they are transported to the axonal or dendritic surface. Such segregation presumably depends on sorting motifs in the proteins' primary structure. They appear to be located in the cytoplasmic tail for dendritic proteins and in the transmembrane-ectodomain for axonal proteins. Recent studies on neurotransmitter segregation suggest that anchoring in the correct subdomain of the plasma membrane also requires cytoplasmic tail information for binding to the cytoskeleton either directly or by linker proteins. Both mechanisms, sorting and retention, gradually mature during neural development. Young neurons appear to develop initial polarity by other mechanisms, presumably analogous to the mechanisms used by migrating cells.