Effects of anatomic variability on blood flow and pressure gradients in the pulmonary capillaries

Dhadwal, Amit, Barry Wiggs, Claire M. Doerschuk, and RogerD. Kamm. Effects of anatomic variability on blood flow and pressure gradients in the pulmonary capillaries. J. Appl. Physiol. 83(5): 1711-1720, 1997.Atheoretical model is developed to simulate the flow of blood throughthe capillary network in a single alveolar septum. The objective is tostudy the influence of random variability in capillary dimension andcompliance on flow patterns and pressures within the network. Thecapillary bed is represented as an interconnected rectangular grid ofcapillary segments and junctions; blood flow is produced by applying apressure gradient across the network. Preferred flow channels are shownto be a natural consequence of random anatomic variability, the effectof which is accentuated at low transcapillary pressures. Thedistribution of pressure drops across single capillary segments widenswith increasing network variability and decreasing capillary transmuralpressure. Blockage of one capillary segment causes the pressure dropacross that segment to increase by 60%, but the increase falls to<10% at a distance of three segments. The factors that causenonuniform capillary blood flow through the capillary network arediscussed.

     

Characterization of Superoxide dismutase genes from Gram-positive bacteria by polymerase chain reaction using degenerate primers

Abstract An internal fragment representing approximately 85% of sod genes from seven Gram-positive bacteria was amplified by using degenerate primers in a polymerase chain reaction assay. The DNA sequences of sod polymerase chain reaction products from Clostridium perfringens, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Lactococcus lactis, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus pneumoniae , and Streptococcus pyogenes were determined. Comparisons of their deduced amino acid sequences with those of the corresponding regions of the SOD proteins from Bacillus stearothermophilus, Listeria monocytogenes , and Streptococcus mutans revealed strong relatedness. Phylogenetic analysis of SOD peptides showed that members of the genera Streptococcus and those of the genera Enterococcus constitute two well-supported monophyletic groups. The method described in this study provides a means for easy recovery of sod genes and the construction of sod mutants of various Gram-positive pathogens.     

Peroxidases in Acetabularia: their possible role in development

Abstract. Crude enzymatic extracts from Acetabularia exhibit very low peroxidase activity after a lag period. Starch gel electrophoresis of extracts from growing algae shows a single, extremely anodic band. Extracts of small, slow-growing or cap-bearing algae, which do not grow any more, do not exhibit any peroxidase band. Cytochemical staining with benzidine reveals changes in both the quantity and distribution of peroxidase along the polarized Acetabularia cell. The homogenous staining of small algae becomes distributed along a negative apico-basal gradient when the algae initiate their rapid growth phase. This polarized pattern is repeated on the hair whorls. A similar developmental sequence directs cap growth, with an initial intense staining reaction of the primordium, which later leaves only the corona inferior stained blue. Finally, the Acetabularia cell remains slightly blue at the edges of the rhizoidal out-growths and cap rays. Crude extracts of Acetabularia induce a lag in standard horseradish peroxidase (HRP) activity. The inhibitor is always present in small and growing algae; it is sometimes absent or less active in cap-bearing algae. In no case does it change the kinetics of the HRP reaction with guaïacol. The lag is completely suppressed by pretreatment with either H₂O₂ or ascorbate oxidase. The changes in peroxidase activity, correlated with developmental stage and according to a polarized gradient, suggest that the enzyme could be involved in some way in the control of morphogenesis in Acetabularia . An inhibitor of peroxidase activity, which disappears as the cap matures, might, in turn, exert a regulatory function.     

Del11p13/nephroblastoma without aniridia

Summary A patient is reported with del11p13, low catalase level, nephroblastoma, chordee and cryptorchidism, no evident mental retardation, and with normal irides. This unique observation suggests the following order of loci in 11p13, from centromere to telomere: catalase, Wilms tumor, aniridia. The chromosomal origin of nephroblastoma may be more frequent than estimated on the basis of its association with aniridia.     

Proline excretion in Escherichia coli: A comparison of an argD + strain and a proline-excreting argD − derivative

In an attempt to deduce the physiological basis of proline excretion in argD ^– strains of Escherichia coli K12, several properties of an argD ⁺ (nonexcreting) and an argD ^– (excreting) derivative were compared. No difference was found in the transport or in the utilization of either proline or its immediate precursor, ¹-pyrroline-5-carboxylate (PCA). Furthermore, no differences were found in the physical or kinetic properties of partially purified preparations of the enzyme mediating the final step in proline biosynthesis, PCA reductase. The specific activity of PCA reductase was, however, consistently higher in crude extracts prepared from the argD ^– mutant.This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Public Health Service No. AI-10862) and The University of Connecticut Research Foundation (to C. M. B.). J. J. R. was supported by an NDEA Predoctoral Fellowship.     

Proposed replicative role of the NS polypeptide of vesicular stomatitis virus: structural analysis of an electrophoretic variant.

The structural lesion in the temperature-sensitive mutant E1 of the New Jersey serotype of vesicular stomatitis virus has been assigned to the NS protein. Although the packaged wild-type and mutant NS proteins were similarly phosphorylated, the mutant NS protein migrated faster than the wild-type NS protein in polyacrylamide slab gels electrophoresed in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. The resolution appears to be the result of conformational rather than size differences since the two proteins comigrated in polyacrylamide gels which contained 4 M urea in addition to sodium dodecyl sulfate. Peptide maps, obtained by limited proteolysis of 32P-labeled wild-type and mutant NS proteins with Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease and papain, revealed striking differences which suggested that the mutant alteration could involve an aspartic or glutamic acid residue. Since NS proteins obtained from naturally occurring revertants of E1 were indistinguishable from the wild-type protein in all of these analyses, the structural alteration in the mutant NS protein correlates with the functional lesion. Because E1 is defective in the RNA replication pathway at the restrictive temperature, a replicative role is proposed for the NS protein.     

Virus-like particles in the brown algaStreblonema

Summary Ultrastructural examination ofStreblonema sp. revealed icosahedral virus-like particles (135–150 nm) throughout the cytoplasm of vegetative cells. The densely packed particles consist of an osmiophilic coat around a fibrillar core. Most cytoplasmic organelles are excluded from the regions where the particles are extremely abundant, but no degeneration of plastids, mitochondria or dictyosomes is evident. The virogenic stroma contains many ribosomes and fibers possibly representing DNA strands remaining from the lysed nucleus. No decrease in vigor seemed to be associated with the presence of the particles.     

Male gametophyte in maize: II. Pollen vigor in inbred plants

Summary The competitive ability of pollen from inbred plants in mixed pollinations in this study is not merely maintained but enhanced through successive generations of selfing. The data presented suggest two conclusions: 1) the possible existence of pollen-stylar interactions during successive selfings, which select for certain pollen genotypes, those best suited for rapid growth through self styles; and 2) the presence of sporophytic vigor in the heterotic F₁ sporophyte, or its absence in the depressed F₇ sporophyte, is not necessarily demonstrated in the gametophytic generation, perhaps because it can be overwhelmed by other factors, e.g. gametophytic response to selection.     

A stochastic model of a temperature-dependent population

The theoretical basis is developed for a population model which allows the use of constant temperature experimental data in predicting the size of an insect population for any variable temperature environment. The model is based on a stochastic analysis of an insect's mortality, development, and reproduction response to temperature. The key concept in the model is the utilization of a physiological time scale. Different temperatures affect the population by increasing an individual's physiological age by differing rates. Conditions for the temperature response properties are given which establish the validity of the model for variable temperature regimes. These conditions refer to the relationship between chronological and physiological age. Reasonable agreement between the model and field populations demonstrates the practicality of this approach.