Biologie und Biochemie des Elements Selen

The importance of selenium as an essential trace element has progressively emerged during the last years due to the analysis of selenium deficiency diseases and to the identification and characterization of a number of selenoenzymes. Selenium is incorporated in the catalytic site of the enzymes as an integral selenocysteine residue. The pathway of selenocysteine biosynthesis and incorporation has been elucidated recently for Escherichia coli. This article presents an overview on these subjects and describes the mechanisms which confer selenocysteine specificity in the framework of protein biosynthesis. In addition, some considerations concerning the phylogeny of selenocysteine incorporation are presented and a model for the evolution of the selenocysteine pathway is proposed.     

让我们积极应对气候变化

气候确实在发生变化。以往人们随意地认为这与温室效应气体排放量的增加有关，现在这种观点已得到充分证实。自1991年以来．已出现了自有记录以来全球气温最高的十个年份．而在上个世纪，温度上升7约0.6摄氏度。在同一期间内，全球的海平面上升了约20厘米．部分原因是陆地上冰层融化．海洋自身发生热膨胀。许多山峰上的冰盖正在消失．最近几十年来，夏秋季节北冰洋的冰层厚     

Detecting neural tube defects by amniocentesis between 11 and 15 weeks' gestation

Forty-two open neural tube defects (NTDs) were identified in our series of 7440 amniocenteses tested between 11 and 15 weeks of gestation. Using a cut-off of ≥2.0 MOM, the detection rate for open NTDs was 95 per cent; 100 per cent each for anencephaly and spina bifida; and 78 per cent for encephalocele. Two encephaloceles had AFP levels less than 2.0 MOM and negative AChEs. Thirty-four (81 per cent) of these NTDs were tested between 13 and 15 weeks and 8 (19 per cent) before 13 weeks. There were 0.6 per cent false positives by AFP (excluding serious abnormalities and fetal death) and 0.1 per cent after AChE. The likelihood of an open NTD after an elevated AFP (≥2.0 MOM) was 24 and 77 per cent for any serious abnormality. These results, when combined with an earlier study, indicate that amniotic fluid AFP appears to be as sensitive a test for open NTDs between 13 and 15 weeks as between 16 and 20 weeks. Additional experience is necessary to determine this before 13 weeks.