ION SERIES AND THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF PROTEINS. II

1. Our results show clearly that the Hofmeister series is not the correct expression of the relative effect of ions on the swelling of gelatin, and that it is not true that chlorides, bromides, and nitrates have "hydrating," and acetates, tartrates, citrates, and phosphates "dehydrating," effects. If the pH of the gelatin is taken into considertion, it is found that for the same pH the effect on swelling is the same for gelatin chloride, nitrate, trichloracetate, tartrate, succinate, oxalate, citrate, and phosphate, while the swelling is considerably less for gelatin sulfate. This is exactly what we should expect on the basis of the combining ratios of the corresponding acids with gelatin since the weak dibasic and tribasic acids combine with gelatin in molecular proportions while the strong dibasic acid H₂SO₄ combines with gelatin in equivalent proportions. In the case of the weak dibasic acids he anion in combination with gelatin is therefore monovalent and in the case of the strong H₂SO₄ it is bivalent. Hence it is only the valency and not the nature of the ion in combination with gelatin which affects the degree of swelling. 2. This is corroborated in the experiments with alkalies which show that LiOH, NaOH, KOH, and NH₄OH cause the same degree of swelling at the same pH of the gelatin solution and that this swelling is considerably higher than that caused by Ca(OH)₂ and Ba(OH)₂ for the same pH. This agrees with the results of the titration experiments which prove that Ca(OH)₂ and Ba(OH)₂ combine with gelatin in equivalent proportions and that hence the cation in combination with the gelatin salt with these two latter bases is bivalent. 3. The fact that proteins combine with acids and alkalies on the basis of the forces of primary valency is therefore not only in full agreement with the influence of ions on the physical properties of proteins but allows us to predict this influence qualitatively and quantitatively. 4. What has been stated in regard to the influence of ions on the swelling of the different gelatin salts is also true in regard to the influence of ions on the relative solubility of gelatin in alcohol-water mixtures. 5. Conductivity measurements of solutions of gelatin salts do not support the theory that the drop in the curves for swelling, osmotic pressure, or viscosity, which occurs at a pH 3.3 or a little less, is due to a drop in the concentration of ionized protein in the solution; nor do they suggest that the difference between the physical properties of gelatin sulfate and gelatin chloride is due to differences in the degree of ionization of these two salts.     

The Effect of Exercise on Visceral Adipose Tissue in Overweight Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Excessive visceral adipose tissue appears to trigger a cascade of metabolic disturbances that seem to coexist with ectopic fat storage in muscle, liver, heart and the ß-cell. Therefore, the reduction of visceral adipose tissue potentially plays a pivotal role in the treatment of the metabolic syndrome. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to describe the overall effect of exercise on visceral adipose tissue and to provide an overview of the effect of different exercise regimes, without caloric restriction, on visceral adipose tissue in obese persons. A systematic literature search was performed according to the PRISMA statement for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The initial search resulted in 87 articles after removing duplicates. After screening on title, abstract and full-text 15 articles (totalling 852 subjects) fulfilled the a priori inclusion criteria. The quality of each eligible study was assessed in duplicate with “The Critical Review Form for Quantitative Studies”. Using random-effects weights, the standardized mean difference (Hedge''s g) of the change in visceral adipose tissue was −0.497 with a 95% confidence interval of −0.655 to −0.340. The Z-value was −6.183 and the p-value (two tailed) was <0.001. A subgroup analysis was performed based on gender, type of training and intensity. Aerobic training of moderate or high intensity has the highest potential to reduce visceral adipose tissue in overweight males and females. These results suggest that an aerobic exercise program, without hypocaloric diet, can show beneficial effects to reduce visceral adipose tissue with more than 30 cm² (on CT analysis) in women and more than 40 cm² in men, even after 12 weeks.     

The intergeneric hybrid grass "Poa labradorica"

The new nothogenus × Dupoa (Dupontia × Poa ) is published. Nomenclature of the only known nothospecies, × Dupoa labradorica (= Poa labradorica ), is discussed. Morphology and synecology of this poorly known arctic and subarctic grass are described and a key to related taxa is given. Its morphology and ecology overlap with the putative parental taxa, Poa eminens and Dupontia fisheri ssp. psilosantha . Establishment and persistence of this sterile hybrid are related primarily to geological processes associated with glacio-eustatic rebound and seasonal ice action affecting its seashore habitats.     

Is E37, a major polypeptide of the inner membrane from plastid envelope,an S-adenosyl methionine-dependent methyltransferase?

Using antibodies raised against E37, one of the major polypeptides of the inner membrane from the chloroplast envelope, it has been demonstrated that a single immunologically related polypeptide was present in total protein extracts from various higher plants (monocots and dicots), in photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic tissues from young spinach plantlets, as well as in the cytoplasmic membrane from the cyanobacteria Synechococcus . This ubiquitous distribution of E37 strongly suggests that this protein plays an envelope-specific function common to all types of plastids. Comparison of tobacco and spinach E37 amino acid sequences deduced from the corresponding cDNA demonstrates that consensus motifs for S-adenosyl methionine-dependent methyltransferases are located in both sequences. This hypothesis was confirmed using a biochemical approach. It was demonstrated that E37, together with two minor spinach chloroplast envelope polypeptides of 32 and 39 kDa, can be specifically photolabeled with [³H]-S-adenosyl methionine upon UV-irradiation. Identification of E37 as a photolabeled polypeptide was established by immunoprecipitation. Furthermore, photolabeling of the three envelope polypeptides was specifically inhibited by very low concentration of S-adenosyl homocysteine, thus providing evidence for the presence within these proteins of S-adenosyl methionine- and S-adenosyl homocysteine-binding sites that were closely associated. Taken as a whole these results strongly suggest that E37 is an ubiquitous plastid envelope protein that probably has an S-adenosyl methionine-dependent methyltransferase activity. The 32 and 39 kDa envelope polypeptides probably have a similar methyltransferase activity.     

Amino acid incorporation by a natural population of Oscillatoria rubescens. A microautoradiographic study

Abstract The incorporation of a very low concentration (0.015 μM) of an [³H]amino acid mixture was measured for a natural population of Oscillatoria rubescens DC in samples from a eutrophic lake, Lake Nantua (France).
The kinetics of amino acid incorporation in the size fraction ⩾12 μ m showed that uptake was fast and that the maximum was reached after 4 h.
Microautoradiography demonstrated that Oscillatoria rubescens is able to utilize for protein synthesis an external pool of amino acids whose [³H] label becomes distributed generally throughout the cell.     

pUCL287 plasmid from Tetragenococcus halophila (Pediococcus halophilus) ATCC 33315 represents a new theta-type replicon family of lactic acid bacteria

Abstract A cryptic plasmid, pUCL287, was isolated from Tetragenococcus halophila (Pediococcus halophilus) ATCC 33315. It had a theta-type mechanism of replication in its natural host. Its minimal replicon, Rep 281, was isolated on a 1.6-kb Eco RI fragment. The Rep 287 host range included the genera Pediococcus, Enterococcus, Lactobacillus and Leuconostoc but not genus Lactococcus . Plasmids hybridizing to pUCL287 are rare among lactic acid bacteria. As assessed by hybridization, Rep2Sl is dissimilar to pAMβ1, pIP50l and pUCL22, representatives of the most common theta-type replicon groups in Gram-positive bacteria. Therefore, pUCL287 appears to represent a new theta-type replicon family from lactic acid bacteria.     

Simple formal kinetics for the reversible uptake of molecular hydrogen by [Ni-Fe] hydrogenase from Desulfovibrio gigas.

Enzymatic electrocatalysis, triggered and monitored by means of cyclic voltammetry, enabled us to achieve quantitative analysis of the kinetics of the hydrogenase catalyzed process, in the 7.8-10.0 pH range, in the presence of an electrochemically generated redox mediator. The quantitative analysis can be carried out by use of a quite simple SRC model. The simplicity of the SRC model is compatible with the existence of multiple redox microstates, which can be combined in a potential adjustable triangular mechanism consisting of three catalytic cycles, which are formally identical from the kinetic point of view. The steps involved in the kinetic control of the reversible process are H2 uptake or production at the Ni-Fe catalytic site and the intermolecular electron transfer between the mediator and the distal [4Fe-4S] cluster. The related rate constants have been determined. For the two accompanying intramolecular electron transfers which proceed at equilibrium, the equilibrium constants were found to be in very good agreement with previously published data.