Solubility, adsorption, and the thermodynamics of the cutoff effect

For many years, the expression "cutoff effect of anesthesia," has been used to denote the failure of the higher alcohols or paraffins to produce anesthesia. As such, it is used to assess the plausibility of specific models, proposed for anesthesia. However, the uses were shown, in many respects, to be problematic. This article augments the notion of the cutoff to fit for all cases in which only some of the molecules in a homologous series are anesthetics. We find that the location of the cutoff points is affected by three free energy quantities: that of the adsorption of the agent to the anesthetic "site" (f(sl,site)), that of the perturbation of the site (f(ll,site)), and that of the evaporation of the agent from its pure condensed phase (Deltamu degrees (evaporation)). This outcome indicates that the cutoff cannot be attributed to a single parameter. In addition, the analyses that attribute the cutoff to the failure of compounds to obey the much-used Meyer-Overton correlation will have to be amended. This article shows that cutoff results can be used to elucidate the structure of a site.     

Cloning, expression, purification, cofactor requirements, and steady state kinetics of phosphoketolase-2 from Lactobacillus plantarum

The genes xpk1 and xpk2(Δ1–21) encoding phosphoketolase-1 and (Δ1–7)-truncated phosphoketolase-2 have been cloned from Lactobacillus plantarum and expressed in Escherichia coli. Both gene-products display phosphoketolase activity on fructose-6-phosphate in extracts. A N-terminal His-tag construct of xpk2(Δ1–21) was also expressed in E. coli and produced active His-tagged (Δ1–7)-truncated phosphoketolase-2 (hereafter phosphoketolase-2). Phosphoketolase-2 is activated by thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) and the divalent metal ions Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺, or Ca²⁺. Kinetic analysis and data from the literature indicate the activators are MgTPP, MnTPP, or CaTPP, and these species activate by an ordered equilibrium binding pathway, with Me²⁺TPP binding first and then fructose-6-phosphate. Phosphoketolase-2 accepts either fructose-6-phosphate or xylulose-5-phosphate as substrates, together with inorganic phosphate, to produce acetyl phosphate and either erythrose-4-phosphate or glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate, respectively. Steady state kinetic analysis of acetyl phosphate formation with either substrate indicates a ping pong kinetic mechanism. Product inhibition patterns with erythrose-4-phosphate indicate that an intermediate in the ping pong mechanism is formed irreversibly. Background mechanistic information indicates that this intermediate is 2-acetyl-TPP. The irreversibility of 2-acetyl-TPP formation might explain the overall irreversibility of the reaction of phosphoketolase-2.     

Infraciliature, Morphogenesis and Life Cycle of Endosphaera terebrans (Suctoria, Tokophridae)

The morphology, infraciliature, and life cycle of Endosphaera terebrans , a suctorian endocommensal of peritrichs, have been studied with the aid of silver impregnation.
The life cycle of Endosphaera terebrans begins with infection of the host cell by a small larva. The swarmer has a pointed needle-like cellular projection and two rings of cilia. The swarmer penetrates the peritrich, loses the cilia, and then matures into an adult. The infraciliature of the adult form has four rows of barren kinetosomes that lack kinetodesmal fibers. By endogenous budding, a migratory larva is produced that leaves the host cell through the peristomial disc and that can infect other peritrichs.     

A 3-disulfide mutant of mouse prion protein expression, oxidative folding, reductive unfolding, conformational stability, aggregation and isomerization

The structure of wild-type mouse prion protein mPrP(23-231) consists of two distinctive segments with approximately equal size, a disordered and flexible N-terminal domain encompassing residues 23-124 and a largely structured C-terminal domain containing about 40% of helical structure and stabilized by one disulfide bond (Cys(178)-Cys(213)). We have expressed a mPrP mutant with 4 Ala/Ser-->Cys replacements, two each at the N-(Cys(36), Cys(112)) and C-(Cys(134), Cys(169)) domains. Our specific aims are to study the interaction between N- and C-domains of mPrP during the oxidative folding and to produce stabilized isomers of mPrP for further analysis. Oxidative folding of fully reduced mutant, mPrP(6C), generates one predominant 3-disulfide isomer, designated as N-mPrP(3SS), which comprises the native disulfide (Cys(178)-Cys(213)) and two non-native disulfide bonds (Cys(36)-Cys(134) and Cys(112)-Cys(169)) that covalently connect the N- and C-domains. In comparison to wild-type mPrP(23-231), N-mPrP(3SS) exhibits an indistinguishable CD spectra, a similar conformational stability in the absence of thiol and a reduced ability to aggregate. In the presence of thiol catalyst and denaturant, N-mPrP(3SS) unfolds and generates diverse isomers that are amenable to further isolation, structural and functional analysis.     

Evolution of DNA structure: Direction,mechanism, rate

Summary On the basis of the results of an analysis of frequencies of pyrimidine oligonucleotides, the degree of pyrimidine clustering of DNA in species from different taxa has been determined. A tendency for an increase in the index of clustering of DNA was revealed in the sequence: invertebrates, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals. A mechanism is postulated, according to which the increase in the degree of clustering of DNA during the evolution may be associated with the accumulation of mutations, Purine Pyrimidine transversions, resulting in a selective enrichment of one of the chains of DNA with pyrimidines and the otherwith purines, i.e. in an increase in the degree of purine-pyrimidine imbalance (asymmetry) of DNA complementary chains. This mechanism of DNA evolution is supported by the presence of positive correlation between the degree of clustering and the degree of the chain asymmetry of natural DNAs, as well as the character of the amino acid substitutions in cytochromes c in different species. The progressive evolution of different groups of organisms on the whole may have been accompanied by an acceleration of the rates of evolution of the DNA structure.On the basis of the amino acid sequence of cytochromes c in different species the degree of clustering and the degree of the chain asymmetry of the corresponding structural genes of DNA was found to have a general tendency towards an increase in the following order: invertebrates, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals. Thus, evolution of cytochrome c cistron is a vector process based on a selection of mutations which, on the one hand, are neutral to protein, and, on the other hand, result in the sense chain of DNA being enriched with pyrimidines and the nonsense one (and the corresponding mRNA) - with purines. Hence, it is the polynucleotide template rather than protein, that must have been the object of selection. The frequency of substitutions in cytochromes c cistron for vertebrates is 1.56×10^–9 per nucleotide per year. It is believed that the evolutionary modification of the DNA structure may be associated with an increase in the interference resistance of the translation, i.e. with selection for codons of highest readout stability.Abbreviations Used Py pyrimidine - Pu purine - H heavy, i.e. the pyrimidine rich strand of DNA - L light, i.e. the purine rich strand of DNA     

Mass production,infectivity, and field application studies with the entomogenous fungus Paecilomyces farinosus

Hyphal bodies (HB) of the entomogenous fungus Paecilomyces farinosus mass produced in shaken liquid cultures are infective per os and topically to Spodoptera exigua larvae. Pathogenicity of HB was greatest at pH 5.5. It was reduced by exposure for more than one-half hour to temperatures above 30°C. P. farinosus infected, killed, and produced mycelia on the surface of first-instar S. exigua larvae at a temperature—relative humidity combination as low at 15°C and 70% RH. Using two types of microdroplet applicators (droplet in the size range 1–30 and 30–90 μm, respectively) under field conditions, HB were delivered to distances of 76 m from the site of spraying. The number of HB deposited on the leaf surfaces of treated crops caused mortality of 70 to 90% in bioassayed larvae.     

Prediction of the secondary structures of bovine blood coagulation factor IX, factor X, and prothrombin

The secondary structures of bovine blood coagulation factors IX and X, as well as that of bovine prothrombin, were predicted on the basis of a computerized combination of the Chou-Fasman and Burgess algorithms. Refinements in the predictions were made after consideration of the content of various secondary structures, as determined by circular dichroism studies of these same proteins. The final turn assignments were in good agreement with those assigned with use of an algorithm involving pattern matching of -turns in proteins of known structure.     

Large scale isolation of bovine and pig zonae pellucidae: Chemical,immunological, and receptor properties

A procedure is described for isolating milligram quantities of bovine and porcine zonae pellucidae, uncontaminated by follicle cells or their processes. On SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis the isolated bovine zona material formed one major glycoprotein band with an estimated molecular weight of approximately 100,000 daltons and two minor lower molecular weight components. The isolated pig zonae formed only one glycoprotein band with a molecular weight of approximately 62,000 daltons. Rabbit antisera raised against the isolated zonae were zona-specific and formed only a single precipitin line against the heat-solubilized zonae on immunoelectrophoresis. An adjuvant was not required for high-antibody titers. High titers were also obtained by injection of the dog and rhesus monkey. Anti-zona antibody was detected by immunofluorescence, zona-coating, double-immunodiffusion, and the inhibition of spermbinding to eggs, including those of human origin. Antigenic and sperm receptor properties were stable at 100°C for five minutes, but some activity was lost after longer exposure. The serum antibody produced by rabbits immunized with pig zonae was predominantly IgG and cross-reacted with the zonae of a variety of other species, including primates. Pregnancy was inhibited in female rabbits immunized with pig zona preparations.     

Evolutionary rescue in randomly mating,selfing, and clonal populations

Severe environmental change can drive a population extinct unless the population adapts in time to the new conditions (“evolutionary rescue”). How does biparental sexual reproduction influence the chances of population persistence compared to clonal reproduction or selfing? In this article, we set up a one‐locus two‐allele model for adaptation in diploid species, where rescue is contingent on the establishment of the mutant homozygote. Reproduction can occur by random mating, selfing, or clonally. Random mating generates and destroys the rescue mutant; selfing is efficient at generating it but at the same time depletes the heterozygote, which can lead to a low mutant frequency in the standing genetic variation. Due to these (and other) antagonistic effects, we find a nontrivial dependence of population survival on the rate of sex/selfing, which is strongly influenced by the dominance coefficient of the mutation before and after the environmental change. Importantly, since mating with the wild‐type breaks the mutant homozygote up, a slow decay of the wild‐type population size can impede rescue in randomly mating populations.     

Interval between clutches, fitness, and climate change

Timing of optimal reproduction can be affected by the presenceof multiple broods, with multi-brooded species breeding earlier(and later) than the optimal timing of breeding as comparedwith single-brooded species that only need to optimize the timingof a single brood. Approximately two-thirds of barn swallowsHirundo rustica produce 2 broods per year, and I tested whetherthe constraints on timing of reproduction were affected by climatechange because climatic amelioration would allow both an earlierstart and a later termination of reproduction. The durationof the interval between first and second clutches and the variancein the duration increased during 1971–2005 when temperatureduring spring, but not summer, increased rapidly. Interclutchinterval was shorter when mean date of breeding was late andalso among late-breeding individuals during individual years.When clutch size and brood size of the first clutch were large,interval until the second brood increased. Pairs with a longinterval produced more fledglings than pairs with a short interval.Pairs with first broods with strong mean T-cell–mediatedimmune responses took shorter time to start their second clutch,whereas mean body mass or tarsus length of first broods werenot significantly related to interclutch interval. Interclutchinterval increased with the size of a secondary sexual character,the length of the outermost tail feathers of adult male barnswallows, but not with tail length of females, or with sizeof several other phenotypic characters in either sex. Thesefindings are consistent with the hypothesis that the durationof the interclutch interval is determined by a combination ofenvironmental conditions, reproductive effort, and sexual selection.     

The tree, the network, and the species

To enrich the Hennigian internodal conception of species, a new formalization of the definition of the species concept is proposed. This rigorous definition allows for considerable unification of the various, and sometimes conflicting, techniques of species delimitation used in practice. First, the domain of such a definition is set out, namely, the set of all organisms on Earth, past, present, and future. Next, the focus is on the genealogical relationship among organisms, which provides the key to analysing the giant or global genealogical network (GGN) connecting all these organisms. This leads to the construction of an algorithm revealing the topological structure of the GGN, from families to lineages, ending up with a definition of species as equivalence classes of organisms corresponding to branches of the 'tree of life'. Such a theoretical definition of the species concept must be accompanied by various recognition criteria to be operational. These criteria are, for example, the ill-named 'biological species concepts', 'phylogenetic species concepts', etc., usually, but wrongly, presented as definitions of the species concept. Besides clarifying this disputed point, the definition in the present study displays the huge diversity of the scales (time-scale and population size) involved in actual species, thus explaining away the classical problems raised by previous attempts at defining the species concept (uniparental reproduction, temporal depth of species, and hybridization).  © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2006, 89 , 509–521.     

云南海口早寒武世褐藻化石新知

主要报道了产自云南海口耳材村早寒武世筇竹寺组玉案山段澄江生物群中的褐藻化石－拟点叶藻（Punctariopsis latifolia gen.et sp.nov.)简单拟点叶藻（Punctariopsis simplex gen.etsp.nov.)和古德带藻（Vendotaenia cf.antiqua Gnilovskaya)3种。这些化石丰富了澄江生物群物种的多样性,为研究该群生物爆发性演化提供了新的证据。同时通过对现生褐藻和褐藻化石形态学的比较研究,表明化石属和现代属在系统演化上可能有较密切的亲缘关系,并进一步证明了澄江生物群在云南海口地区发生于一个潮间带和亚潮带的海水环境。     

云南禄丰古猿化石地点的豪猪化石

描述了产自云南禄丰古猿化石地点的豪猪化石禄丰豪猪 (新种 ) (Hystrixlufengensissp .nov.)。这是一种较原始的豪猪。它的个体中等 ;两上颊齿列往前靠近 ;下颌骨骨体较低 ,齿隙稍凹 ,其前端高于下颊齿冠面 ;颊齿齿冠较低 ;上颊齿舌侧沟横向较短 ;P4大 ,前尖通常孤立 ,中附尖很发达 ,不与中脊连 ;M3较少退化 ;上颊齿具 3齿根 ,大的内侧齿根具明显纵沟 ;下颊齿通常具 4齿根等。形态结构分析表明 ,H .lufengensis仅比H .parvae进步 ,比H .primigenia和H .sivalensis及其他种都原始。它可能代表亚洲目前已知最早、最原始的豪猪。其产出时代为晚中新世保德期 (狭义 )的较早期 (距今约 8Ma)。     

云南曲靖晚始新世的梳趾鼠类化石(英文)

根据新材料修订了Ｄｉａｎｏｍｙｓ属及其两个种（Ｄ． ｏｂｓｃｕｒａｔｕｓ和Ｄ． ｑｕｊｉｎｇｅｎｓｉｓ）的鉴定特 征。原定为Ｄ、ｏｂｓｃｕｒａｔｕｓ的Ｐ４应为ｄＰ４,原定的Ｍ１／２和ｍ１／２分别被确认为Ｍ１和ｍ２,原属 Ｄ．ｏｂｓｃｕｒａｔｕｓ的ｐ４,实属Ｄ．ｑｕｊｉｎｇｅｎｓｉｓ。Ｄ．ｑｕｊｉｎｇｅｎｓｉｓ与Ｄ．ｏｂｓｃｕｒａｔｕｓ的区别除个体较大 外,还在于其上颊齿具分叉的后脊,ｍ１具下中脊和ｐ４具较发育的附加刺。另建立了一新属 （杨氏鼠Ｙｏｕｎｇｏｍｙｓ）,包括二新种（云南杨氏鼠Ｙ ．ｙｕｎｎａｎｅｎｓｉｓ、小杨氏鼠Ｙ ｐｉｓｉｎｎｕｓ）和一未 定种（Ｙｏｕｎｇｏｍｙｓ？ｓｐ．）。ｙｏｕｎｇｏｍｙｓ的主要特征为：颊齿比例上较窄长,齿冠较低,主尖钝,脊 较细而低;上臼齿长大于宽,后脊向原尖斜伸,内脊较低;下臼齿下原尖后臂较向后伸,无明显 的舌部,下内尖臂很弱,横向,不与下外脊连等。 Ｙ ｐｉｓｉｎｎｕＳ与 Ｙ ｙｕｎｎａｎｅｎｓｉｓ的区别在于个体 较小,齿冠较低,脊更细弱,较显丘形,上臼齿次尖位置向舌侧移,具较明显的后小尖,和后脊 不与原尖连等。 用ＰＡＵＰ ３．１．１对亚洲古近纪的梳齿鼠类进行了系统分析,表明第四前臼齿的     

Circular dichroism analysis of the secondary structures of bovine blood coagulation factor IX, factor X, and prothrombin

Analysis of the far-ultraviolet circular dichroism spectrum of bovine blood coagulation factor IX reveals the presence of approximately 14% helical structures 26% -sheets, 20% -turns, and 40% coils. These values are essentially the same for the activation products of this zymogen, factor IXa and factor IXa. Similar analysis for bovine factor X permits calculation of these secondary structural as approximately 11% helices, 31% -structures, 22% -turns, and 36% random structures. Bovine prothrombin contains approximately 12% helical structures, 35% -structures, 24% -turns, and 29% coils. None of these values is substantially altered as a result of increase of thepH from 7.4 to 10.5, or upon addition of Ca²⁺ to a concentration of at least 20 mM. Analysis of the near-ultraviolet spectra of factor IX and prothrombin suggests that several aromatic amino acid residues and the disulfide bond present in their -carboxyglutamic acid-containing regions are exposed to solvent and are perturbed by the abovepH adjustment and Ca²⁺ addition. Similar effects are observed in the case of factor X; in addition, the Trp residue at the amino terminus of the heavy chain appears to be influenced by the abovepH alteration. The results reported in this paper show that these vitamin K-dependent blood coagulation proteins are similar in their ordered secondary structures, which are dominated by -sheets and -turns. Their overall secondary structures are not influenced by Ca²⁺ binding and are stable to alkalinepH changes. However, these same environmental alterations appear to be effective probes of aromatic residues in the -carboxyglutamic acid regions.     

中国彝族、藏族和满族中Kidd、Duffy、Kell、Xg、Rh、Diego和P血型系统的分布

本文报道了中国彝族、藏族和满族的Kidd、Duffy、Kell、Xg、Rh、Diego和P红细胞血型系统的分布和血型基因频率。彝族210人全部是Rh(+)个体,藏族人数中有0.5％为Rh(-)个体。满族人数中Rh(-)者占0.95％;Xg(a+)频率明显低于白种人。Jk~a基因频率分别是:彝族0.4144,藏族0.4447,满族0.4262;Xg~a基因频率,藏族0.4030,满族0.3887;Fy~a基因频率在三个民族中都比较高,彝族0.9628,藏族0.9498,满族0.9405;Di~a基因频率则非常低,藏族0.0255,满族0.0168;在藏族中,P_1和K基因频率分别是0.2138和0.0051;满族中P_1基因频率为0.1577。     

DNA methylation,retroviruses, and embryogenesis

By exposing preimplantation embryos to Moloney leukemia virus (M-MuLV), we have previously derived substrains of mice designated as Mov-1-Mov-13 which genetically transmit the virus from one generation to the next. In some of the substrains the inserted viral genome becomes activated at specific stages of embryogenesis and the available evidence suggests that these viral genomes are developmentally regulated. To investigate the effect of cellular differentiation on virus expression, M-MuLV was introduced either into preimplantation or postimplantation mouse embryos or into embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells. Whereas preimplantation embryos or EC cells are not permissive for virus expression, efficient replication occurred in postimplantation embryos or in differentiated cell lines. The viral genomes introduced into early embryonal cells were highly methylated and noninfcctious when analyzed in the adult. In contrast, viral genomes introduced into postimplantation embryos or into differentiated cells remained unmethylated and were infectious in a transfection assay. These results demonstrate an efficient de novo methylation activity which appears to be involved in repression of genes introduced into pluripotent embryonal cells and which is not observed in cells of the postimplantation embryo or in differentiated cells in tissue culture.     

HindII, HindIII, and HpaI restriction fragment maps of bacteriophage lambda DNA

The site-specific restriction endonucleases isolated from Hemophilus influenzae strains Rc (HincII) and Rd (HindII + III), and Hemophilus parainfluenzae (HpaI) were used to digest bacteriophage lambda DNA into 34, 40, and 15 specific fragments, respectively. The sites cleaved by each of these enzymes were localized on the lambda physical map and the fragments resulting from these cleavages were electrophoretically identified on gels by (1) analysis of the digestion profiles of deletion and transducing derivatives of lambda; and (2) digesting individual fragments produced by one restriction endonuclease with another restriction endonuclease. This paper presents the HindII, HindIII, and HpaI restriction fragment maps for the entire lambda genome, and the data used to derive these maps for the region of the lambda genome between the attachment site (at 57.3% lambda) and the right vegetative end (100% lambda). The data for mapping the left arm of lambda may be found in the accompanying paper (Robinson and Landy, 1977).     

Conservation of genetic resources for five traditional crops from Jazan,SW Saudi Arabia,at the KACST Gene-Bank

The conservation of five traditional crops is an important aspect of achieving national food security. In the present study, we aimed to collect and conserve germplasm of five local crops from the Jazan region of southwestern Saudi Arabia: Sorghum: Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench); Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.); Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) and Guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub). Forty-one seed accessions of these five crops were collected and tested to determine seed moisture content (MC%) and quality as indicators of their potential to survive during long-term dry storage at ?18 °C (i.e. ex-situ conservation of genetic resources). Seed viability was assessed using germination tests, the tetrazolium chloride (TZ) test and X-ray imaging. Seeds of the five crops had very low MC% and high viability (fully developed embryos and germination >91%), indicating that they were of good quality and had high potential for long-term survival in gene banks. The genetic resources of these crops (seeds) have now been preserved at the gene-bank of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST-BGB), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.