Effects of salinity on uptake and distribution of Na+, Cl- and K+ in two wheat cultivars

Plants of two wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars differing in salt tolerance were grown in sand with nutrient solutions. 35-d-old plants were subjected to 5 levels of salinity created by adding NaCl, CaCl₂ and Na₂SO₄. Growth reduction caused by salinity was accompanied by increased Na⁺ and Cl^- concentrations, Na⁺/K⁺ ratio, and decreased concentration of K⁺. The salt tolerant cv. Kharchia 65 showed better ionic regulation. Salinity up to 15.7 dS m^-1 induced increased uptake of Na⁺ and Cl^- but higher levels of salinity were not accompanied by further increase in uptake of these ions. Observed increases in Na⁺ and Cl^- concentrations at higher salinities seemed to be the consequence of reduction in growth. Uptake of K⁺ was decreased; more in salt sensitive cultivar. This was also accompanied by differences in its distribution.     

Combination of solid phase extraction and a microalgal test system based on pulse-amplitude modulated fluorescence to detect photosystem 11 herbicides up to 0.05 μeq l−1

This note reports a microalgal test system which usesin-vivo chlorophyll a-fluorescence in combination with a solid phase extraction procedure to monitor photosystem II-herbicides in natural waters up to 0.05 g L^–1.     

人胎胸腺细胞的异质性荧光及其与T淋巴细胞分化阶段关系的形态学研究

以７６９０－Ｘｕ荧光染色法结合ＷｕＴ３、ＷｕＴ４、ＷｕＴ８致敏红细胞花环实验观察经胸腺细胞分层液分离所得高密度亚群和低密度亚群人胎胸腺细胞的异质性荧光及其膜分化抗原ＣＤ３、ＣＤ４、ＣＤ８的表达。结果表明：不同胎龄胎儿胸腺细胞悬液呈现相似形态和相似分布特征的８种异质性荧光的细胞,其中,墨黑核细胞和桔红核细胞分布于两密度亚群,表型为ＣＤ３－ＣＤ４－ＣＤ８－;少数深蓝核和蓝核细胞分布于低密度亚群．表型为ＣＤ３＋,属成熟的胸腺细胞;大多数深蓝核和蓝核细胞、灰蓝核细胞、灰黄核细胞及部分淡桔黄核细胞分布于高密度亚群,表型为ＣＤ３－、ＣＤ４＋、ＣＤ８＋,为处于中间发育阶段的胸腺细胞。推测这些细胞胞核由深蓝、蓝、灰蓝、灰黄到淡桔黄的荧光光谱的偏移可能与中间发育阶段所发生的生物及理化变化有关。     

草鱼出血病病毒多肽的免疫原性

采用中和试验比较了草鱼出血病病毒ＧＣＨＶ８７３的１１个多肽的免疫原性,确定了主要中和抗原。纯化的单个病毒多肽免疫家兔获得抗血清,多太ＶＰ１、ＶＰ５、ＶＰ６和ＶＰ９的抗血清具有中和效价,而ＶＰ２、ＶＰ３、ＶＰ４、ＶＰ８、ＶＰ１０和ＶＰ１１则不能诱生中和抗体。其中ＶＰ５的抗血清中和效价最高,因此,ＶＰ６极可能是病毒多肽中的主要中和抗原。     

新的生物杀虫剂螨虫素对棉花、蔬菜害虫的毒力评价及应用技术研究

本文通过生物杀虫剂螨虫素对棉花、蔬菜害虫的毒力评价及田间应用研究表明,它对棉朱砂叶螨和菜青虫两种害虫杀伤力最强,其中LC90分别为0．078ppm和0．013ppm。兼有胃毒、触杀作用,残效期较长,分别达13天和9天。田间小区试验认为防治菜青虫和茄朱砂叶螨以2ppm浓度为宜。防治适期为卵孵化初期或低龄幼(若)虫（螨)期,其防效能达90%以上。该药特点用药量低、效果好、无公害、值得推广。     

c-fos expression in the amygdala:In vivo antisense modulation and role in anxiety

Summary 1. The amygdaloid complex is a key structure in mechanisms of fear and anxiety. Expression of the immediate-early gene c-fos has been reported in the central nucleus of the amygdala following various stressors, but the functional role of this phenomenon has remained unknown.2. c-fos expression was observed in the central nucleus when rats were subjected to a pharmacologically validated animal model of anxiety, the Vogel conflict test, but not after mere exposure to the test apparatus. Bilateral amygdala injection of a 15-mer phosphorothioate c-fos antisense oligodeoxynucleotide prior to testing blocked conflict-induced c-fos expression and had behavioral effects similar to those of established antianxiety drugs.3. Separate experiments determined that antisense treatment did not affect conflict behavior by acting on shock thresholds or drinking motivation.4. These findings provide evidence that neuronal activation and c-fos induction in the amygdala may be of importance for mechanisms of fear and anxiety.     

The Eiken Latex test for detection of a cryptococcal antigen in cryptococcosis

A latex agglutination test for cryptococcal antigen, the Eiken Latex test (Eiken, Tokyo, Japan), was compared with a monoclonal antibody-based agglutination assay, Pastorex^® Cryptococcus (Diagnostics Pasteur, Marneur-la-Coquette, France). In a murine model of disseminated cryptococcosis, the kinetics of the antigen titers by the Eiken Latex were similar to those by the Pastorex^® Cryptococcus, but sensitivity was much higher. In HIV-negative patients with pulmonary cryptococcosis, a cryptococcal antigen was detected in 6 of 10 patients by the Eiken Latex test and in only 3 of those patients by the Pastorex^® Cryptococcus. The results indicate that the Eiken Latex is more sensitive for the detection of the cryptococcal antigen, even in non-disseminated cryptococcosis. The sensitivity and specificity of the Eiken Latex were examined using 195 sera from 25 patients with pulmonary cryptococcosis and 170 patients with non-cryptococcosis. The cutoff value of 1:8 showed a sensitivity of 76% (19/25) and a specificity of 98.9% (168/170).     

Vanadium levels in urine and cystine levels in fingernails and hair of exposed and normal persons

Vanadium was determined by radiochemical neutron activation analysis (RNAA) with proven accuracy in urine of workers occupationally exposed to vanadium-rich dust in a vanadium pentoxide production plant, and values in the range of 3.02–762 ng/mL (median 33.0 ng/mL) were found. In a control group consisting of administrative workers of the plant, urinary vanadium levels were found in the range of 1.05–53.4 ng/mL (median 2.53 ng/mL), whereas in an another control group of occupationally nonexposed persons, these values amounted to 0.066–0.489 ng/mL (median 0.212 ng/mL). Accuracy of the results was tested by analysis of reference material IAEA A-13 Animal Blood and NIST SRM-1515 Apple Leaves, and very good agreement was found with literature and the NIST certified values, respectively. Unlike urine, no significant differences were found for cystine levels in fingernails and hair of exposed and control persons.     

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae SGE1 gene product: a novel drug-resistance protein within the major facilitator superfamily

Several pleiotropic drug sensitivities have been described in yeast. Some involve the loss of putative drug efflux pumps analogous to mammalian P-glycoproteins, others are caused by defects in sterol synthesis resulting in higher plasma membrane permeability. We have constructed a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain that exhibits a strong crystal violet-sensitive phenotype. By selecting cells of the supersensitive strain for normal sensitivity after transformation with a wild-type yeast genomic library, a complementing 10-kb DNA fragment was isolated, a 3.4-kb subfragment of which was sufficient for complementation. DNA sequence analysis revealed that the complementing fragment comprised the recently sequenced SGE1 gene, a partial multicopy suppressor of gal11 mutations. The supersensitive strain was found to be a sge1 null mutant. Overexpression of SGE1 on a high-copy-number plasmid increased the resistance of the supersensitive strain. Disruption of SGE1 in a wild-type strain increased the sensitivity of the strain. These features of the SGE1 phenotype, as well as sequence homologies of SGE1 at the amino acid level, confirm that the Sge1 protein is a member of the drug-resistance protein family within the major facilitator superfamily (MFS).     

Cerulenin-resistant mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with an altered fatty acid synthase gene

Cerulenin, an antifungal antibiotic produced by Cephalosporium caerulens, is a potent inhibitor of fatty acid synthase in various organisms, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The antibiotic inhibits the enzyme by binding covalently to the active center cysteine of the condensing enzyme domain. We isolated 12 cerulenin-resistant mutants of S. cerevisiae following treatment with ethyl methanesulfonate. The mechanism of cerulenin resistance in one of the mutants, KNCR-1, was studied. Growth of the mutant was over 20 times more resistant to cerulenin than that of the wild-type strain. Tetrad analysis suggested that all mutants mapped at the same locus, FAS2, the gene encoding the subunit of the fatty acid synthase. The isolated fatty acid synthase, purified from the mutant KNCR-1, was highly resistant to cerulenin. The cerulenin concentration causing 50% inhibition (IC₅₀) of the enzyme activity was measured to be 400 M, whereas the IC₅₀ value was 15 M for the enzyme isolated from the wild-type strain, indicating a 30-fold increase in resistance to cerulenin. The FAS2 gene was cloned from the mutant. Sequence replacement experiments suggested that an 0.8 kb EcoRV-HindIII fragment closely correlated with cerulenin resistance. Sequence analysis of this region revealed that the GGT codon encoding Gly-1257 of the FAS2 gene was altered to AGT in the mutant, resulting in the codon for Ser. Furthermore, a recombinant FAS2 gene, in which the 0.8 Kb EcoRV-HindIII fragment of the wild-type FAS2 gene was replaced with the same region from the mutant, when introduced into FAS2-defective S. cerevisiae complemented the FAS2 pheno-type and showed cerulenin resistance. These data indicate that one amino acid substitution (Gly Ser) in the subunit of fatty acid synthase is responsible for the cerulenin resistance of the mutant KNCR-1.