CaM BP—10对NAD激酶的抑制效应

ＮＡＤ激酶在光合作用等植物生理过程中起重要作用。ＮＡＤ激酶的激活依赖于钙离子和钙调素（ＣａＭ）。从植物中分离得到的一种新的ＣａＭ结合蛋白ＣａＭ ＢＰ－１０（ＢＰ－１０）明显抑制ＮＡＤ激酶的激活活性。抑制作用可被ＣａＭ所克服。动力学研究表明,抑制效应是ＢＰ－１０与ＣａＭ之间特异性相互作用的结果。实验证实ＢＰ－１０对ＮＡＤ激酶活性起着重要调节作用。     

云南松花粉中钙调素结合蛋白的分离和鉴定

通过ＣａＭ－Ｓｅｐｈａｒｏｓｅ４Ｂ亲和层析方法从云南松花粉中提取出１０种ＣａＭ结合蛋白。它们均能抑制ＣａＭ对ＰＤＥ的激活,但这种抑制可被随后加入的过量的ＣａＭ所消除。酶活测定表明ＣａＭ结合蛋白中有Ｃａ２＋－依赖的ＡＴＰａｓｅ活力,但无植酸酶、过氧化物酶、酸性磷酸酶和磷脂酶Ｄ活性。     

4α－PDD、PMA对去甲肾上腺素促进大鼠腹腔巨噬细胞Ⅰa抗原表达的影响

本文采用Ｃａ~２＋指示剂的分光光谱法测定巨噬细胞（Ｍφ）内Ｃａ~２＋浓度（［Ｃａ~２＋］ｉ）、ＡＰＡＡＰ桥联酶标法检测Ｍφ膜上Ⅰａ抗原的表达,研究肌醇磷脂代谢中第二信使分子甘油二酯（ＤＧ）在去甲肾上腺素（ＮＥ）促进ＭφⅠａ表达效应中的作用,以进一步探讨ＮＥ效应的跨膜信息传递机制。结果表明：蛋白激酶Ｃ（ＰＫＣ）抑制剂４αＰＤＤ（２５μｇ／ｍｌ）虽不影响ＮＥ（１０￣－８ｍｏｌ／Ｌ）升高Ｍφ［Ｃａ￣２＋］ｉ的效应,却显著减弱了ＮＥ促进ＭφⅠａ抗原表达的效应;而ＰＫＣ激动剂ＰＭＡ（１０ｎｍｏｌ／Ｌ）本身促进ＭφⅠａ抗原表达的作用不明显,也不能进一步增强ＮＥ促进ＭφⅠａ抗原表达的效应。结果提示：ＤＧ激活的ＰＫＣ系统也参与了ＮＥ促进ＭφⅠａ抗原表达的信息传递过程,并与另一第二信使分子肌醇－１,４,５－三磷酸（ＩＰ＿３）介导的Ｃａ￣２＋途径协同发挥作用。     

生物素标记钙调素用于植物钙调素结合蛋白的检测

用生物素标了己了花椰菜ＣａＭ。生物素标记的ＣａＭ具有与天然ＣａＭ相似的Ｃａ２＋依赖电泳特性,可激活ＣａＭ依赖性磷酸二酯酶,能够检测出５０ｎｇ的磷酸二酯酶。利用它建立了检测植物ＣａＭ结合蛋白的生物素－覆盖法（Ｂｉｏｔｉｎ－ｏｖｅｒｌａｙ）并证实酶标亲和素可与胡萝卜愈伤组织内６４ｋＤ蛋白质非特异结合,因此将此法运用于植物材料时必需设置酶标亲和素处理的对照。用生物素－覆盖法检测胡萝卜愈伤组织形成过程中的ＣａＭ结合蛋白时可检出２,４－Ｄ诱导的ＣａＭ结合蛋白。     

刺五加在大鼠实验性肝癌诱发过程中作用的探讨

目的探讨大鼠实验性肝癌发病中刺五加对肌体免疫功能和抗氧化酶活性的影响。方法４６只ＳＤ雄性大鼠被随机分成对照组（喂普通饲料）、３－甲基４－双甲氨基偶氮苯（３－Ｍｅ－ＤＡＢ）组（喂含０．０６％３Ｍｅ－ＤＡＢ饲料 １０周）和刺五加组（饲喂同 ３－Ｍｅ－ＤＡＢ外、另加入刺五加 ４．５ｇ／ｋｇ饲料,用常规方法检测全血谷光甘肽过氧化物酶（ＧＳＨ－ＰＸ）、血清超氧化物歧化酶（ＳＯＤ）活性和丙二醛（ＭＤＡ）含量,用微量化学发光造检测吞噬细胞活性（ＰＭＮ－ＣＬ）。结果１．ＰＭＮ－ＣＬ检测峰值、积分值和吞噬细胞指数,３－ＭｅＤＡＢ组较正常组和刺五加组均有显著升高（Ｐ＜０．０５和Ｐ＜０．０１）２．全血ＧＳＨ－ＰＸ活性、ＳＯＤ活性,刺五加组较３－ＭｅＤＡＢ组均有显著升高（Ｐ＜０．０５）。ＭＤＡ含量刺五加组和３－ＭｅＤＡＢ组均较正常组升高（均Ｐ＜０．０５）。结论刺五加在大鼠实验性肝癌诱发过程中有提高抗氧化酶活性和对抗致癌剂引起的机体中性粒细胞吞噬功能代偿性增高的作用。     

大豆C4途径与光系统Ⅱ光化学功能的相互关系

测定了不同发育时期大豆（Ｇｌｙｃｉｎｅ ｍａｘ（Ｌ）Ｍｅｒｒ．）“黑农４１”叶片的４种Ｃ４酶（ＰＥＰＣａｓｅ（磷酸烯醇式丙酮酸羧化酶）、ＮＡＤＰ－ＭＤＨ（ＮＡＤＰ苹果酸脱氢酶）、ＮＡＤＰ－ＭＥ（ＮＡＤＰ苹果酸酶）和ＰＰＤＫ（丙酮酸磷酸二激酶））活性、荧光动力学数值（Ｆｖ／Ｆｏ（ＰＳⅡ活性）、ｑＰ（光化学淬灭）、ｑＮ（非光化学淬灭、ΦＰＳⅡ（有效ＰＳⅡ光化学效率））和光合速率。结果表明在“黑农４１”     

中国果瓣螺属─新纪录（肺螺亚纲：基眼目：耳螺科）

中国果瓣螺属─新纪录（肺螺亚纲：基眼目：耳螺科）ＡＮＥＷＲＥＣＯＲＤＯＦＣＡＲＹＣＨＩＵＭＦＲＯＭＣＨＩＮＡ（ＰＵＬＭＯＮＡＴＡ：ＢＡＳＯＭＭＡＴＯＰＨＯＲＡ：ＥＬＬＯＢＩＩＤＡＥ）￥ＣＨＥＮＤｅ－ｎｉｕ（ＩｎｓｔｉｔｕｔｅｏｆＺｏｏｌｏｇｙ,Ａｃａ...     

白芷细胞外21kD钙调素结合蛋白的生理功能初探

利用Ｓｅｐｈａｄｅｘ Ｇ－１００及ＣＭ－Ｓｅｐｈａｒｏｓｅ层析法,从白芷悬浮培养细胞的胞外盐提液中纯化了２１ｋＤ钙调素结合蛋白（２１ｋＤ ＣａＭＢＰ）,测其等电点的ｐＨ为８．９,紫外薄层扫描显示其纯度达９４％以上,以此蛋白为抗原,用免疫小鼠得水法制备了特异性抗体。由纯化的２１ｋＤ ＣａＭＢＰ及其特异性抗体研究其对白芷悬浮培养细胞增殖的影响,结果表明：加入外源纯化的２１ｋＤ ＣａＭＢＰ抑制细胞增殖,     

CaMBP—10介导的质膜H^＋—ATP酶磷酸化对该酶活性的调节

ＣａＭＢＰ－１０在活体处理条件下,抑制ＩＡＡ诱导的质膜Ｈ＾＋－ＡＴＰ酶活性及其磷酸化,抑制作用可被ＩＡＡ逆转并在外加ＣａＭ时被消除,与前期ＢＰ－１０对ＩＡＡ生理应答的调节效应相吻合。并且在各项处理中,质膜Ｈ＾＋－ＡＴＰ酶活性与其磷酸化水平呈现极显著的正相关。     

兔阑尾中一种新的21kD的钙结合蛋白的纯化与鉴定

纯化与鉴定了Ｂ淋巴细胞中一种新的分子量为２１ｋＤ的钙结合蛋白（ＣａＢＰ２１）。兔阑尾淋巴细胞匀浆经热变性,Ｐｈｅｎｙｌ－Ｓｅｐｈａｒｏｓｅ与ＤＥＡＥ－Ｓｅｐｈａｒｏｓｅ柱层析,自每１ｋｇ细胞沉积物中获得ＳＤＳ－ＰＡＧＥ均一的ＣａＢＰ２１５．３ｍｇ。ＨＣｌ水解后的酸性氨基酸（Ａｓｐ＋Ｇｌｕ）含量为２６％。如同大多数钙结合蛋白一样,Ｎ末端封闭阻止其进行Ｅｄｍａｎ降解。ＣａＢＰ２１中疏水性氨基酸（计Ｇｌｙ,不计Ｔｒｐ）约占４６％,碱性氨基酸１０％,酸性氨基酸与极性氨基酸约４４％。ＣａＢＰ２１有较高的Ｓｅｒ、Ｔｙｒ含量。肽谱分析等确证ＣａＢＰ２１为２个相同或相似亚基二聚体。以ＡｒｓｅｎａｚｏⅢ作Ｃａ２＋结合分析表明每分子ＣａＢＰ２１可结合４分子Ｃａ２＋,对Ｃａ２＋的结合常数约为１０－５ｍｏｌ／Ｌ。各种性质表明ＣａＢＰ２１是一种不同于其他已知钙结合蛋白的新钙结合蛋白。     

Phosphorylation of calmodulin by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV

Calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV (CaM-kinase IV) phosphorylated calmodulin (CaM), which is its own activator, in a poly-L-Lys [poly(Lys)]-dependent manner. Although CaM-kinase II weakly phosphorylated CaM under the same conditions, CaM-kinase I, CaM-kinase kinase alpha, and cAMP-dependent protein kinase did not phosphorylate CaM. Polycations such as poly(Lys) were required for the phosphorylation. The optimum concentration of poly(Lys) for the phosphorylation of 1 microM CaM was about 10 microg/ml, but poly(Lys) strongly inhibited CaM-kinase IV activity toward syntide-2 at this concentration, suggesting that the phosphorylation of CaM is not due to simple activation of the catalytic activity. Poly-L-Arg could partially substitute for poly(Lys), but protamine, spermine, and poly-L-Glu/Lys/Tyr (6/3/1) could not. When phosphorylation was carried out in the presence of poly(Lys) having various molecular weights, poly(Lys) with a higher molecular weight resulted in a higher degree of phosphorylation. Binding experiments using fluorescence polarization suggested that poly(Lys) mediates interaction between the CaM-kinase IV/CaM complex and another CaM. The 32P-labeled CaM was digested with BrCN and Achromobacter protease I, and the resulting peptides were purified by reversed-phase HPLC. Automated Edman sequence analysis of the peptides, together with phosphoamino acid analysis, indicated that the major phosphorylation site was Thr44. Activation of CaM-kinase II by the phosphorylated CaM was significantly lower than that by the nonphosphorylated CaM. Thus, CaM-kinase IV activated by binding Ca2+/CaM can bind and phosphorylate another CaM with the aid of poly(Lys), leading to a decrease in the activity of CaM.     

Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Phosphorylation in Synaptic Junctions

Synaptic junctions (SJs) from rat forebrain were examined for Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent kinase activity and compared to synaptic plasma membrane (SPM) and postsynaptic density (PSD) fractions. The kinase activity in synaptic fractions was examined for its capacity to phosphorylate endogenous proteins or exogenous synapsin I, in the presence or absence of Ca2+ plus CaM. When assayed for endogenous protein phosphorylation, SJs contained approximately 25-fold greater amounts of Ca2+/CAM-dependent kinase activity than SPMs, and fivefold more activity than PSDs. When kinase activities were measured by phosphorylation of exogenous synapsin I, SJs contained fourfold more activity than SPMs, and 10-fold more than PSDs. The phosphorylation of SJ proteins of 60- and 50-kilodalton (major PSD protein) polypeptides were greatly stimulated by Ca2+/CaM; levels of phosphorylation for these proteins were 23- and 17-fold greater than basal levels, respectively. Six additional proteins whose phosphorylation was stimulated 6-15-fold by Ca2+/CAM were identified in SJs. These proteins include synapsin I, and proteins of 240, 207, 170, 140, and 54 kilodaltons. The 54-kilodalton protein is a highly phosphorylated form of the major PSD protein and the 170-kilodalton component is a cell-surface glycoprotein of the postsynaptic membrane that binds concanavalin A. The CaM-dependent kinase in SJ fractions phosphorylated endogenous phosphoproteins at serine and/or threonine residues. Ca2+-dependent phosphorylation in SJ fractions was strictly dependent on exogenous CaM, even though SJs contained substantial amounts of endogenous CaM (15 micrograms CaM/mg SJ protein). Exogenous CaM, after being functionally incorporated into SJs, was rapidly removed by sequential washings. These observations suggest that the SJ-associated CaM involved in regulating Ca2+-dependent protein phosphorylation may be in dynamic equilibrium with the cytoplasm. These findings indicate that a brain CaM-dependent kinase(s) and substrate proteins are concentrated at SJs and that CaM-dependent protein phosphorylation may play an important role in mechanisms that underlie synaptic communication.     

Calmodulin Kinase II in Pure Cultured Astrocytes

Calcium- and calmodulin-dependent protein kinase activity was studied in pure neuronal and glial cultures. The addition of calcium and calmodulin stimulated 32P incorporation into several neuronal proteins including two in the 50- and 60-kilodalton (kD) region which comigrated with purified forebrain calmodulin kinase II subunits (CaM kinase II). In mature astrocytes, CaM kinase activity was also present, and was inhibited by trifluoroperazine and diazepam. Again in homogenates of these cells, two phosphoproteins of apparent molecular masses of 50 and 60 kD comigrated with purified CaM kinase. CaM kinase activity was absent in immature mixed glia and oligodendrocytes. The presence of CaM kinase in neurons and mature astrocytes was confirmed using monoclonal antibodies specific for the 50-kD subunit of the enzyme. No immunoreactivity was observed in oligodendrocytes. The presence of CaM kinase in astrocytes suggests a more ubiquitous role of this enzyme in regulating cellular processes than was previously recognized.     

轻稀土离子对钙调蛋白激活的磷酸二酯酶活力作用的影响

研究了轻稀土离子（Ｌｎ３＋）对钙调蛋白（ＣａＭ）调控的磷酸二酯酶（ＰＤＥ）活力的影响。结果表明,在无Ｃａ２＋的ＣａＭ（Ａｐｏ—ＣａＭ）体系中,由ＣａＭ调节的ＰＤＥ的活力随Ｌｎ３＋浓度的变化曲线是双相效应,即在高浓度时,Ｌｎ３＋具有抑制ＣａＭ调节ＰＤＥ活力的能力;低浓度的Ｌｎ３＋可以提高ＣａＭ调节ＰＤＥ活力的能力。在Ｃａ２＋４－ＣａＭ－ＰＤＥ体系中,高浓度的Ｌｎ３＋的加入能抑制ＣｈＭ调节ＰＤＥ活力的能力,其抑制程度因其离子不同而异。ＣａＭ的两类拮抗剂ＪｕＡ（非竞争性抑制剂）和ＴＦＰ（竞争性抑制剂）都能抑制ＣａＭ－Ｌｎ３＋－ＰＤＥ系统的活性。最后对Ｌｎ３＋和ＣａＭ相互作用的分子机制进行了初步的讨论。     

Regulatory Properties of Calcium/Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase II in Rat Brain Postsynaptic Densities

Calcium/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein kinase II (CaM-kinase II) contained within the postsynaptic density (PSD) was shown to become partially Ca2+-independent following initial activation by Ca2+/CaM. Generation of this Ca2+-independent species was dependent upon autophosphorylation of both subunits of the enzyme in the presence of Mg2+/ATP/Ca2+/CaM and attained a maximal value of 74 +/- 5% of the total activity within 1-2 min. Subsequent to the generation of this partially Ca2+-independent form of PSD CaM-kinase II, addition of EGTA to the autophosphorylation reaction resulted in further stimulation of 32PO4 incorporation into both kinase subunits and a loss of stimulation of the kinase by Ca2+/CaM. Examination of the sites of Ca2+-dependent autophosphorylation by phosphoamino acid analysis and peptide mapping of both kinase subunits suggested that phosphorylation of Thr286/287 of the alpha- and beta-subunits, respectively, may be responsible for the transition of PSD CaM-kinase II to the Ca2+-independent species. A synthetic peptide 281-309 corresponding to a portion of the regulatory domain (residues 281-314) of the soluble kinase inhibited syntide-2 phosphorylation by the Ca2+-independent form of PSD CaM-kinase II (IC50 = 3.6 +/- 0.8 microM). Binding of Ca2+/CaM to peptide 281-309 abolished its inhibitory property. Phosphorylation of Thr286 in peptide 281-309 also decreased its inhibitory potency. These data suggest that CaM-kinase II in the PSD possesses regulatory properties and mechanisms of activation similar to the cytosolic form of CaM-kinase II.     

Effects of short-term NaCl stress on calmodulin transcript levels and calmodulin-dependent NAD kinase activity in two species of tomato

NAD kinase is thought to play an important role in the plant cellular responses to biotic and abiotic stress as one of the isoforms of the enzyme is activated by the Ca^{2 +} –calmodulin (CaM) complex. NAD kinase activity was measured after short‐term NaCl stress applied to isolated cells from Lycopersicon esculentum, var. Volgogradskij (NaCl‐sensitive tomato) and L. pimpinellifolium, acc. PE2 (NaCl‐tolerant species). NAD kinase activity remained constant in the sensitive species, whereas a sharp decrease was observed in the tolerant one. After salt treatment, an induction of the calmodulin gene(s) was observed in the two species, together with a 30–50% decrease in ‘active’ CaM content, i.e. CaM able to activate purified NAD kinase, in L. pimpinellifolium. The decrease in NAD kinase activity could not, however, be fully explained by this decrease in active CaM content. A similar decrease in NAD kinase activity was also recorded with other ionic stresses and exposure to high temperatures, but not in the case of drought, exposure to low temperatures, hormonal (indole‐3‐acetic acid and abscisic acid) or H₂O₂ treatments. External Ca^{2 +} certainly plays a role in the biochemical mechanism(s) leading to NAD kinase inhibition, while no role could be shown for intracellular Ca^{2 +} . In addition, after salt stress, a modification of the redox state of NAD kinase seems to be responsible for the inhibition of the enzyme.     

Protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors inhibit primary (1-0) but not secondary (1-1) or cloned cytotoxic T lymphocytes

The isoquinolinesulfonamide PKC inhibitors H-7 and H-8 inhibit primary, in vivo generated cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity by 50% at concentrations approximating their reported Ki values for PKC, 6 uM and 15 uM respectively. However, a greater than ten-fold higher concentration of H-7 (100 uM) is required to reduce secondary or clone 8F CTL-mediated cytotoxicity by 50%. At this concentration H-7 is also reported to inhibit calmodulin (CaM)-dependent enzymes. To distinguish between the effect of 100 uM H-7 on PKC versus CaM the napthalenesulfonamide CaM antagonist W-7 was investigated. W-7 inhibited primary, secondary and clone 8F CTL-mediated cytolysis by 50% near its reported Ki value for CaM-dependent kinase activity, 12 uM. We conclude that W-7 and 100 uM H-7 reduce cytolysis by inhibiting CaM-dependent reactions and not PKC. Thus, these findings indicate that primary killers require both PKC- and CaM-dependent activation pathways for lethal hit delivery, whereas highly lytic cultured CTL use only one pathway dependent upon CaM.     

Functional interaction of calmodulin with a plant cyclic nucleotide gated cation channel

A family of plant ligand gated nonselective cation channels (cngcs) can be activated by direct, and reversible binding of cyclic nucleotide. These proteins have a cytoplasm-localized cyclic nucleotide binding domain (CNBD) at the carboxy-terminus of the polypeptide. A portion of the cngc CNBD also acts as a calmodulin (CaM) binding domain (CaMBD). The objective of this work is to further characterize interaction of cyclic nucleotide and CaM in gating plant cngc currents. The three-dimensional structure of an Arabidopsis thaliana cngc (Atcngc2) CNBD was modeled, indicating cAMP binding to the Atcngc2 CNBD in a pocket formed by a β barrel structure appressing a shortened (relative to animal cngc CNBDs) αC helix. The Atcngc2 CaMBD was expressed as a fusion peptide linking blue and green fluorescent proteins, and used to quantify CaM (A. thaliana CaM isoform 4) binding. CaM bound the fusion protein in a Ca²⁺–dependent manner with a K_d of 7.6 nM and a Ca²⁺ binding K_d of 200 nM. Functional characterization (voltage clamp analysis) of Atcngc2 was undertaken by expression in human embryonic kidney cells. CaM reversed cAMP activation of Atcngc2 currents. This functional interaction was dependent on free cytosolic Ca²⁺. Increasing cytosolic Ca²⁺ was found to inhibit cAMP activation of the channel in the absence of added CaM. We conclude that the physical interaction of Ca²⁺/CaM with plant cngcs blocks cyclic nucleotide activation of these channels. Thus, the cytosolic secondary messengers CaM, cAMP, and Ca²⁺ can act in an integrated fashion to gate currents through these plant ion channels.     

钙调素参与玉米线粒体琥珀酸脱氢酶活性的调节

经DEAE C-32柱纯化的玉米(Zea mays L.)线粒体琥珀酸脱氢酶(SDH),用NAD激酶(NADK)法测定时,无钙调素(CaM)活性,说明不存在游离CaM;而用ELISA法测定总CaM时,却可检测到CaM。纯化的SDH加热处理后,能激活NADK,可能加热释放出游离CaM。纯化SDH的电泳分析表明,天然聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(PAGE)只显示1条主带;而SDS-PAGE则出现67.0kD、30.0kD、16.7kD 3条带,前两条带与SDH的大、小亚基分子量一致,第三条带与CaM电泳迁移率一致。上述结果说明CaM可能与SDH处于结合状态,而且其活性受CaM调节。     

The effects of deletions in the central helix of calmodulin on enzyme activation and peptide binding

Using site-directed mutagenesis we have expressed in Escherichia coli three engineered calmodulins (CaM) containing deletions in the solvent-exposed region of the central helix. These are CaM delta 84, Glu-84 removed; CaM delta 83-84, Glu-83 and Glu-84 removed; and CaM delta 81-84, Ser-81 through Glu-84 removed. The abilities of these proteins to activate skeletal muscle myosin light chain kinase, plant NAD kinase, and bovine brain calcineurin activities were determined, as were their abilities to bind a synthetic peptide based on the calmodulin-binding domain of skeletal muscle myosin light chain kinase. Similar results were obtained with all three deletion proteins. Vm values for enzymes activated by the deletion proteins are all within 10-20% of those values obtained with bacterial control calmodulin. Relative to bacterial control values, changes in Kact or Kd values associated with the deletions are all less than an order of magnitude: Kact values for NAD kinase and myosin light chain kinase are increased 5-7-fold, Kd values for binding of the synthetic peptide are increased 4-7-fold, and Kact values for calcineurin are increased only 1-3-fold. In assays of NAD kinase and myosin light chain kinase activation some differences between bovine calmodulin and bacterial control calmodulin were observed. With NAD kinase, Kact values for the bacterial control protein are increased 4-fold relative to values for bovine calmodulin, and Vm values are increased by 50%; with myosin light chain kinase, Kact values are increased 2-fold and Vm values are decreased 10-15% relative to those values obtained with bovine calmodulin. These differences between bacterial control and bovine calmodulins probably can be attributed to known differences in postranslational processing of calmodulin in bacterial and eucaryotic cells. No differences between bovine and control calmodulins were observed in assays of calcineurin activation or peptide binding. Our observations indicate that contacts with the deleted residues, Ser-81 through Glu-84, are not critical in the calmodulin-target complexes we have evaluated. Formation of these calmodulin-target complexes also does not appear to be greatly affected by the global alterations in the structure of calmodulin that are associated with the deletions. In models in which the central helix is maintained in the altered calmodulins, each deleted residue causes the two lobes of calmodulin to be twisted 100 degrees relative to one another and brought 1.5 A closer together.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)