Photometric or fluorometric assay of cathepsin B, L and H and papain using substrates with an aminotrifluoromethylcoumarin leaving group

N-trifluoromethylcoumarinylamide derivatives of benzyloxycarbonyl-Arg-Arg, benzyloxycarbonyl-Phe-Arg and Arg are convenient chromogenic and fluorogenic substrates of cathepsin B, L and H, respectively. Benzyloxycarbonyl-Phe-Arg-N-trifluoromethylcoumarinylamide is also a highly sensitive substrate for papain.     

Molecular analysis of hemophilia A mutations in the Finnish population

We have examined the Finnish hemophilia A population for factor VIII gene mutations. This study included 83 unrelated patients and revealed 10 mutations associated with hemophilia. Using cloned cDNA, genomic, and oligonucleotide probes, we have identified three classes of mutations: five mutations causing the loss of TaqI restriction sites, a point mutation resulting in a new TaqI site, and four partial gene deletions. Although exons 5 and 6 were involved in three of the four partial gene deletions, the extent of the DNA lost differs in each case. The fourth deletion was located entirely within intron 1 and segregated with the disease in a large hemophilia pedigree. There was no history of hemophilia in eight of the 10 families. The origin of the mutation was determined in six of these pedigrees, two of which showed evidence for maternal mosaicism.     

In Vitro Nitrogen Fixation by Two Actinomycete Strains Isolated from Casuarina Nodules

Acetylene reduction activity was demonstrated in pure cultures of two actinomycete strains isolated from nodules of Casuarina equisetifolia. This activity was comparable to that of free-living Rhizobium strains, but appeared to be less sensitive to pO₂ and more sensitive to the presence of combined nitrogen.     

H-Y antigen in 46,XY gonadal dysgenesis

Summary Presence of H-Y antigen has been correlated with testicular differentiation, and absence of H-Y with failure of testicular differentiation, in a variety of mammalian species. To determine more precisely the relationship between expression of H-Y antigen and development of the testis, we studied the cells of phenotypic females with the 46,XY male karyotype. Blood leukocytes were typed H-Y⁺ in five XY females with gonadal dysgenesis, although in other studies blood leukocytes from XY females with gonadal dysgenesis were typed H-Y^-. Thus mere presence of H-Y antigen is not sufficient to guarantee normal differentiation of the testis. In the present paper we review evidence for an additional factor in gonadal organogenesis, the H-Y antigen receptor. We infer that testicular development requires engagement of H-Y and its receptor. It follows that XY gonadal dysgenesis is the consequence of functional absence of the H-Y testis inducer as in the following conditions: failure of synthesis of H-Y or failure of specific binding of H-Y.     

Cell labelling and separation with polyglutaraldehyde microspheres

Non-magnetic and magnetic polyglutaraldehyde microspheres were used in the labelling and separation of mouse and human T and B lymphocytes. The enrichment of the separated T- and B-cell fractions of mouse and human cells was 30 and 40% respectively. After magnetic separation 79% of the mouse B-cell fraction and 23% of the T-cell fraction were surface Ig-positive. The corresponding figures for human T and B cells were 10 and 51–54%, respectively. The labelling of mouse spleen B cells with antibody-conjugated non-magnetic microspheres was between 27–53% depending on the labelling procedures. The best labelling was obtained when mouse spleen cells coated with rabbit anti-mouse Ig were incubated with protein A-coupled microspheres.     

Molecular basis of chromosome banding

Silver and mercury ions are known to react with the bases of nucleic acids in solution. At low cation/base ratios Ag+ has an affinity for GC pairs in DNA, whereas Hg++ is preferentially bound to AT-rich nucleic acids. We have used fluorometry to measure the effect of these cations on the fluorescence intensity of preformed complexes of acranil and DNA in solution. The results are: 1) Ag+ enhances the fluorescence intensity presumably by affecting the dye intercalated in the vicinity of GC-pairs. 2) The addition of Hg++ leads to a quenching of the fluorescence intensity of the complex at low ion/base ratios, suggesting an effect on the dye molecules bound to AT pairs. At high GC-content of the nucleic acid, slight enhancement of the fluorescence intensity occurs with Hg++. 3) With both metals there is a correlation between base content of DNA and effect on the intensity of fluorescence indicating base specificity of the dye-polymer interaction.     

Mounting Interactions between Female Japanese Macaques: Testing the Influence of Dominance and Aggression

The goal of the work reported here was to determine whether female Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) participated in same-sex mounting interactions during homosexual consortships to communicate about asymmetries in their dominance relationships and to reduce aggression. Focal data were collected during 21 homosexual consortships involving 14 females living in a captive, mixed-sex group of 37 individuals. We identified eight types of mounts, one solicitation used specifically to request to mount (hands-on-hindquarters solicitation), two solicitations used specifically to request to be mounted (hindquarter and back presentations), and one behavior employed to facilitate mounts-in-progress (clasping). We tested whether dominant consort partners (1) mounted more and (2) requested to mount more than their subordinate partners and whether subordinate consort partners (1) requested to be mounted more and (2) facilitated mounts-in-progress more than their dominant partners. Finally, we examined whether mounting was temporally linked to the onset of aggressive interactions between consort partners and whether it functioned to defuse incipient aggression. None of these predictions was supported. All types of mounts, mount solicitations, and clasping occurred bi-directionally within consort dyads. Mutual sexual attraction and gratification provided the proximate motivation for these mounting interactions and, in turn, for the formation and maintenance of their homosexual consortships.