Somatic embryogenesis and shoot regeneration from intact seedlings of Phaseolus acutifolius A., P. aureus (L.) Wilczek,P. coccineus L., and P. wrightii L.

A rapid, one-step procedure has been developed for inducing direct organogenesis and somatic embryogenesis in cultures of Phaseolus coccineus L., P. acutifolius A., P. aureus L. [Vigna radiata L. Wilczek] and P. wrightii L. Development of somatic embryos and shoot buds occurred within 6–8 weeks of culture from intact seedlings raised on MS (Murashige and Skoog 1962) medium supplemented with N⁶-benzylaminopurine (BAP). Shoot buds or embryoids originated from subepidermal tissue of the regions adjacent to the shoot apex, hypocotyl and cotyledonary axils. While P. acutifolius and P. aureus were regenerated via shoot formation and P. wrightii by somatic embryogenesis, both embryogenesis and shoot regeneration were observed in P. coccineus. Relatively higher levels of BAP, 50–80 M, were found to be optimal for inducing regeneration while lower concentrations were ineffective. About 40–70 shoots and 70–250 somatic embryos were produced per responding seedling. Regenerated shoots and somatic embryos developed into whole plants on a basal medium or the one supplemented with 1 M naphthaleneacetic acid.     

Effect of dermal tumours on temperature distribution in skin with variable blood flow

Several investigations have been made for the heat flow problems in skin and subdermal tissues under normal physiological and atmospheric conditions. This paper considers the existence of a malignant tumour in the underlying tissues of epidermis of a human body. The surrounding tissues are assumed to have normal physiological functions, namely self-controlled metabolic activity, variable blood flow and perspiration. For the malignant portion the metabolic activity is taken to be continuous and uncontrolled. The effect of this factor is studied on the temperature profiles of the skin.     

Identification of a new gene in an operon for cellulose biosynthesis in Acetobacter xylinum

DNA sequencing of the region downstream of the cellulose synthase catalytic subunit gene of Acetobacter xylinum led to the identification of an open reading frame coding for a polypeptide of 86 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence of this polypeptide matches from position 27 to 40 with the N-terminal amino acid sequence determined for a 93 kDa polypeptide that copurifies with the cellulose synthase catalytic subunit during purification of cellulose synthase. The cellulose synthase catalytic subunit gene and the gene encoding the 93 kDa polypeptide, along with other genes probably, are organized as an operon for cellulose biosynthesis in which the first gene is the catalytic subunit gene and the second gene codes for the 93 kDa polypeptide. The function of the 93 kDa polypeptide is not clear at present, however it appears to be tightly associated with the cellulose synthase catalytic subunit. Sequence analysis of the polypeptide shows that it is a membrane protein with a signal sequence at the N-terminal end and a transmembrane helix in the C-terminal region for anchoring it into the membrane.     

A comparative study of pterion formation and its variations in the skulls of Nigerians and Indians

An attempt has been made to study and compare the incidence and variations in the pterion formation in the skulls of 40 Nigerians and 72 Indians obtained from the Department of Anatomy, University of Jos, Nigeria. The present study concludes: 1. All the three varieties of pterion i.e. sphenoparietal, frontotemporal and stellate are found in both races. 2. The frequency of sphenoparietal pterion is high in both races (Indians 95.3%, Nigerians 84.79%) while the frontotemporal (Indians 3.46%, Nigerians 10.11%) and the stellate (Indians 1.38%, Nigerians 5.06%) pterion are more common in Nigerians. 3. The frequency of epipteric bone is high in Indians (Indians 11.79%, Nigerians 3.79%) and is more commonly associated with sphenoparietal pterion. 4. No epipteric bone is associated with stellate pterion in both races. 5. The difference in the distance of pterion from the zygomatic arch is highly significant between two races on both sides. 6. The difference in the distance of pterion from the frontozygomatic suture is insignificant between the two races. 7. The frequency of "high Pterion" is more in Nigerians on both sides. 8. The frequency of "Backward Pterion" is more in Indians on the right side, whereas little more in Nigerians on the left side.     

Microfilaments appear in boar spermatozoa during capacitation in vitro

Boar spermatozoa were incubated in a capacitation medium and examined for the presence of filamentous actin by using the fluorescent probe NBD-phallacidin. F-actin was not observed in uncapacitated sperm, but developed in most regions of the cell during the capacitation period. Fluorescent staining was most intense in the flagellum. When fresh seminal plasma was added to capacitated sperm and the sperm was further incubated, F-actin was no longer observed. In view of previous experiments which indicated that plasma membrane proteins (PMPs), including a major integral PMP, move out of the sperm head into the flagellum during capacitation and that this movement is inhibited by the microfilament poison cytochalasin D (Peterson, Saxena, Saxena, and Russell: Biol. Reprod., in press, '86), we suggest that actin-PMP interactions play a major role in capacitating boar spermatozoa.     

Chemical methods of estimating plant available manganese in soils

Summary Twelve different chemical extraction procedures for extracting soil manganese were used. Soil test values determined for fourteen representative soil samples of Rajasthan State with manganese uptake by six crop species have shown that of the extractants used, 3N ammonium dihydrogen orthophosphate can be best used for estimating plant available soil manganese.     

Synthesis of sulphatide-containing lipoproteins in rat brain

Abstract—

• 1 Puromycin inhibits [¹⁴C]leucine Hincorporation into brain proteins, but has no effect on the incorporation of [³⁵S]sulphate into sulphatide. These effects of puromycin are observed not only with the proteins and sulphatide of whole brain, but also with the protein and sulphatide portion of water-soluble lipoprotein complexes.
• 2 Microsomes can be separated into three subfractions which differ chemically, morphologically and metabolically. Protein synthesis and sulphatide synthesis are located in different submicrosomal fractions.
• 3 The addition of water-soluble brain proteins to the incubation medium causes release of newly synthesized [³⁵S]sulphatide and formation of soluble sulphatide protein complexes. One acceptor protein is identified as the lipoprotein previously shown to bind [³⁵S]sulphatide in vivo (Herschkowitz , Mc Khann , Saxena and Shooter , 1968b).
• 4 These results suggest that protein and sulphatide synthesis can function independently and that association of newly synthesized lipid to preformed protein is possible.