Major histocompatibility (B) complex and sex effects on the phytohaemagglutinin wattle response

The influence of the major histocompatibility (B) complex and sex on the phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) wattle response was studied in 136 segregants (B2/B2, B2/B5 and B5/B5) of a fourth generation cross between inbred lines 6(1) and 15(1). At 6 weeks of age, chickens were injected with 100 micrograms purified PHA-P. Wattle thickness measurements were taken 4, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h after injection. Analysis of variance showed that 4 h after injection, males had a significantly higher response than females but the sex-genotype interaction was also significant. Females had higher responses than males 24 and 48 h after injection as a consequence of more rapid development and earlier resolution of the reaction in males. B2/B2 chickens had significantly lower responses than B5/B5 chickens 72 and 96 h after injection, signifying a faster late resolution phase in the B2/B2 genotype. The developmental and early resolution phases of the PHA wattle response were influenced by sex while the late resolution phase was influenced by B genotype.     

Changes in gill histology of fathead minnows and yellow perch transferred to soft water or acidified soft water with particular reference to chloride cells

Summary Fathead minnows, Pimephales promelas, and yellow perch, Perca flavescens, were transferred from moderately soft Lake Superior water (hardness 45mg/l as CaCO₃) to very soft diluted Lake Superior water (hardness 4.5mg/l). Sulfuric acid was added in some treatments by means of a multichannel diluter. In very soft water, chloride cells proliferated in the gills, especially in the epithelium of the secondary lamellae. When exposed to acid, chloride cells were damaged and less abundant in the secondary lamellae, and blood osmolality was reduced at pH 5.0 (x = 188 mOsm/kg, 9 days exposure; normal 280 mOsm/kg) for the minnows and pH 4.1 (x = 218 mOsm/kg, 58 days exposure; normal 329 mOsm/kg) for the perch. Certain chloride cells which form gland-like clusters in the primary lamellae of perch gills showed little damage even at pH 4.1. The present study supports the view that chloride cells proliferate in very soft fresh water to help maintain ionic balances, and that damage to these cells in acidified soft water may be related to diminished ionoregulatory capacity. The greater acid tolerance of chloride cells of, and the higher blood osmolality maintained by, perch could help to explain the greater tolerance of this species to low pH. In some cases, a species' ability to acclimate to very soft water and acidified soft water may depend upon the number, distribution, and physiology of its chloride cells.     

Allometric Root/Shoot Relationships and Predicted Water Uptake for Desert Succulents

Root morphology, shoot morphology, and water uptake for Agavedeserti and Ferocactus acanthodes of various sizes were studiedusing allometric relationships (y = ax^b) and a previously developedwater uptake model. Shoot surface area increased with shootvolume with an exponent b of 0.75 for both species. Root lengthand the ground area explored by the roots increased with shootsurface area with b's of 0.72 for A. deserti and 0.92 for F.acanthodes. Various sized individuals had about the same ratioof root length to explored ground area, with higher values occurringfor A. deserti. Predicted water uptake averaged over the exploredground area was approximately constant over a 10⁴-fold rangein shoot surface area, suggesting that shoot size confers nointraspecific competitive advantage for water uptake. For theroot lengths per explored ground area observed in the field,water uptake was predicted to be 85 per cent of maximal; wateruptake could be increased by the production of more rain roots.When differences in shoot volume were accounted for by allometry,small plants had relatively less shoot surface area and relativelymore root length per shoot volume than did large plants, whichmay be important for the water relations of seedling establishment. Agave deserti, Ferocactus acanthodes, allometry, desert succulents, root distribution, root length, seedling growth, seedling establishment, shoot surface area, shoot volume, water uptake     

DNA sequencing separations in capillary gels on a modified commercial DNA sequencing instrument

DNA sequencing separations of standard DNA fragments of known sequence have been achieved in small diameter capillary gels electrophoresed and analyzed in parallel in a modified commercial DNA sequencer instrument. DNA sequencing in terms of base-calling accuracy is comparable to conventional slab gels; however, the separations in the capillary were performed somewhat faster and required less sample than those in the slab gel. Advantages of this approach vs. separations on conventional slab gels are discussed.     

Bleeding time in patients with hepatic cirrhosis.

OBJECTIVE--To determine the frequency of an abnormal bleeding time in patients with cirrhosis and to relate this to known factors that affect primary haemostasis and to the severity of liver disease. DESIGN--Prospective clinical and laboratory study in patients admitted for complications or investigations of liver disease. SETTING--Royal Free Hospital hepatobiliary and liver transplantation unit. SUBJECTS--100 Consecutive inpatients aged 17-74 with various forms of cirrhosis, including alcoholic, biliary, autoimmune, viral, and cryptogenic. At least 10 days had elapsed since any episodes of bleeding, resolution of sepsis, or alcohol intake. No patient was taking any drug known to affect primary haemostasis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Bleeding time as measured with the Simplate double blade template device. A bleeding time longer than 10 minutes was considered abnormal. Other measures were platelet count, prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, packed cell volume, and blood urea, serum bilirubin, and serum albumin concentrations, all measured on each subject at the same time by standard laboratory methods. RESULTS--A weak but significant correlation existed between the bleeding time and the platelet count (rs = 0.483; p less than 0.001). There were significantly lower platelet counts, longer prothrombin times, and higher blood urea and serum bilirubin concentrations in the 42 patients with bleeding times of 10 minutes or more compared with the 58 patients with bleeding times less than 10 minutes. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the bilirubin concentration as well as the platelet count was independently correlated with the bleeding time. The combination of a platelet count greater than 80 x 10(9)/l and a prothrombin time less than 17 seconds (usually taken as safe limits for performing routine liver biopsy) did not predict a normal bleeding time. Ten of 39 patients fulfilling these criteria had a prolonged bleeding time. CONCLUSIONS--Prolonged bleeding time is common in patients with cirrhosis, even in those with prothrombin times and platelet counts within "safe limits" for invasive procedures. The severity of liver disease as assessed by the bilirubin concentration plays an important part in determining the bleeding time in cirrhosis. The bleeding time should be measured when assessing patients for invasive procedures who have a raised bilirubin concentration or poor hepatic function, even if the platelet count and prothrombin time are considered adequate.     

Kinds and spectrum of mutations induced by 1-nitrosopyrene adducts during plasmid replication in human cells.

1-Nitropyrene has been shown in bacterial assays to be the principal mutagenic agent in diesel emission particulates. It has also been shown to be mutagenic in human fibroblasts and carcinogenic in animals. To investigate the kinds of mutations induced by this carcinogen and compare them with those induced by a structurally related carcinogen, (+/-)-7 beta,8 alpha-dihydroxy-9 alpha,10 alpha-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetra-hydrobenzo [a]pyrene (BPDE) (J.-L. Yang, V. M. Maher, and J. J. McCormick, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84:3787-3791, 1987), we treated a shuttle vector with tritiated 1-nitrosopyrene (1-NOP), a carcinogenic mutagenic intermediate metabolite of 1-nitropyrene which forms the same DNA adduct as the parent compound, and introduced the plasmids into a human embryonic kidney cell line, 293, for DNA replication to take place. The treated plasmid, pZ189, carrying a bacterial suppressor tRNA target gene, supF, was allowed 48 h to replicate in the human cells. Progeny plasmids were then rescued, purified, and introduced into bacteria carrying an amber mutation in the beta-galactosidase gene in order to detect those carrying mutations in the supF gene. The frequency of mutants increased in direct proportion to the number of DNA-1-NOP adducts formed per plasmid. At the highest level of adduct formation tested, the frequency of supF mutants was 26 times higher than the background frequency of 1.4 X 10(-4). DNA sequencing of 60 unequivocally independent mutant derived from 1-NOP-treated plasmids indicated that 80% contained a single base substitution, 5% had two base substitutions, 4% had small insertions or deletions (1 or 2 base pairs), and 11% showed a deletion or insertion of 4 or more base pairs. Sequence data from 25 supF mutants derived from untreated plasmids showed that 64% contained deletions of 4 or more base pairs. The majority (83%) of the base substitution in mutants from 1-NOP-treated plasmids were transversions, with 73% of these being G . C --> T . A. This is very similar to what we found previously in this system, using BPDE, but each carcinogen produced its own spectrum of mutations. Of the five hot spots for base substitution mutations produced in the supF gene with 1-NOP, two were the same as seen with BPDE-treated plasmids. However, the three other hot spots were cold spots for BPDE-treated plasmids. Conversely, four of the other five hot spots seen with BPDE-treated plasmids were cold spots for 1-NOP-treated plasmids. Comparison of the two carcinogens for the frequency of supF mutants induced per DNA adduct showed that 1-NOP-induced adducts were 3.8 times less than BPDE adducts. However, the 293 cell excised 1-NOP-induced adducts faster than BPDE adducts.     

Celery transformation by Agrobacterium tumefaciens: cytological and genetic analysis of transgenic plants

Transgenic celery plants were obtained following co-cultivation of petiole explants with Agrobacterlum tumefaciens containing pMON200, a cointegrate vector carrying genes for kanamycin resistance and nopaline synthase. Transformants were selected by ability of callus to grow in the presence of 50mg/l kanamycin. Transformation was confirmed either by the presence of nopaline or by Southern blots. Cytological analysis of 14 transformed plants revealed chromosomal aberrations, both in structure and number. Only 20% of the regenerated plants had the normal karyotype. Kanamycin resistance behaved as a monogenic, dominant trait, segregating in a 3:1 ratio in three families derived from plants with normal karyotypes.Abbreviations KB Kilobases - 2-4D 2,4-diphenoxyacetic acid     

Ten-Year-Replicated Circadian Profiles for 36 Physiological, Serological and Urinary Variables in Healthy Men

At 3-hr intervals over a 24-hr span, 36 systemic, serologic and urinary variables were examined in 7 men in their mid 20's in the Spring of 1969, and again in the same 7 men in the Spring of 1979 under a similar chronobiologic protocol, using the same chemical and numerical analytical procedures. The variables examined for rhythms by cosinor were: vital signs--blood pressure (systolic, diastolic, pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure), heart rate, intraocular pressure (left and right), oral temperature; serum components--albumin, albumin/globulin ratio, total bilirubin, calcium, carbon dioxide, chlorides, bilirubin, cholesterol, globulin, glucose, potassium, sodium, sodium/potassium ratio, transaminase, triglycerides, total protein, urea nitrogen; and urine components--calcium, calcium/magnesium ratio, creatinine, magnesium, pH, potassium, sodium, sodium/potassium ratio, urea clearance, urea nitrogen, volume and zinc. Although all subjects appeared clinically healthy in 1969 and in 1979, certain inter-study differences were observed in a number of rhythm parameters of different variables. Statistically significant increases in mesor for the group as a whole were observed for serum Ca, cholesterol, Cl, CO2, K, Na, and while statistically significant mesor decreases for a group as a whole were noted in serum glucose and transaminase. Statistically significant increases in amplitude for the group as a whole were observed in serum chloride and urinary Na/K ratio, while statistically significant decreases were observed in amplitude for blood pressure, heart rate, serum albumin, A/G ratio, globulin, glucose, protein, sodium and transaminase.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)