Communication of gender from human breath odors: Relationship to perceived intensity and pleasantness

During five consecutive daily test sessions, 10 men and women rated the relative intensity and pleasantness of breath odors from 14 males and 19 females on a no-oral-hygiene regimen. In addition, the likely gender of the donor of each odor was also estimated. The breath odors of males were rated, on the average, as more intense and less pleasant than the breath odors of females. Women consistently gave lower pleasantness ratings to the odors than did men. Both the male and female judges assigned the breath odors to the correct gender classes at a frequency unlikely due to chance, although the females were more accurate in this regard. An inverse relation between breath odor intensity and pleasantness was noted. Systematic changes in the rated intensity and pleasantness of the odors were present across the 5 days of the study period. These data suggest that differences exist between the breath odors of men and women, and that humans, like many other mammals, may be capable of assessing gender from oral odors. However, such assignments conceivably reflect the strategy of assigning stronger and less pleasant odors to the male category, and weaker and less unpleasant odors to the female category, regardless of the true sex of the odor donor.     

Immunohistochemical localization of two monoclonal antibody-defined carbohydrate antigens during early murine embryogenesis

Monoclonal antibodies designated “C6” and “A5” identify cell surface carbohydrates shared by embryonal carcinoma cells and early mouse embryos. The binding of both antibodies to F9 embryonal carcinoma cells was inhibited by N-acetyllactosamine. While antibody C6 did not agglutinate human erythrocytes, antibody A5 agglutinated adult, but not fetal, erythrocytes of both type A and O, suggesting partial specificity for branched polylactosamine structures. Antibodies C6 and A5 did not label preimplantation stage embryos; however, labeling with both antibodies was observed following treatment of embryos with neuraminidase. In paraffin sections of postimplantation stage embryos, C6 and A5 exhibited similar yet distinct patterns of labeling, restricted primarily to the luminal surfaces of ectodermal and visceral endodermal epithelia. Neuraminidase treatment was found to expose additional patterns of C6 and A5 labeling within the ectoderm and mesoderm of the postimplantation embryo, not restricted to periluminal surfaces. These results suggest that cell surface carbohydrates are modified during early embryogenesis, in part, by selective patterns of sialylation.     

Correlation of the cell phenotype of cultured cell lines with their adhesion to components of the extracellular matrix

The differential adhesion of cultured mammalian clonal cell lines to components of the extracellular matrix was examined by kinetic adhesion and long-term growth assays. Uniform artificial matrices were prepared by air drying collagen Type I solution (C) onto a microtiter well and then air drying a solution containing a single glycosaminoglycan (GAG): hyaluronic acid (HA), chondroitin sulfate-4 (CHS-4), or chondroitin sulfate-6 (CHS-6). The adhesion of [3H]thymidine-prelabeled cells suspended in fibronectin (FN) depleted medium was measured at 2 and 6 hr. Neuroblastoma (N18, Lan 1) and melanoma (B16, G361, S91) cell lines exhibited a significantly greater percentage of cells adhering to one or more C-GAG matrices compared with C matrices. Maximal adhesion at 2 hr was to C-HA. In contrast at 2 hr, two glial, two epithelial, and one fibroblastic cell line showed unchanged or significantly decreased binding to C-GAG compared with C matrices. Further experiments using a neuroblastoma (N18) and a glioma (C6) cell line indicated that the adhesion patterns were not altered either by the method of dissociation from the tissue culture dish, preincubation with exogenous GAG, or the addition of exogenous fibronectin. Assays of N18 and C6 adhesion to matrices made from a non-GAG polyanionic compound, polygalacturonic acid (PGA), did not yield the same adhesion patterns as C-HA matrices. Long-term growth studies of a neuroblastoma (N18) melanoma (S91), and glioma (C6) cell line on nonuniform matrices deliberately prepared with GAG-rich and GAG-poor regions complemented the observations from the kinetic adhesion assays. N18 and S91 cells did not grow on areas which did not contain GAG by toluidine blue staining. However, the C6 cells did not grow on areas which did strongly stain for GAG. A quantitative analysis of the long term growth of N18 and C6 cells substantiated these observations. All these data indicate that the cellular phenotype may be correlated with matrix adhesion. Neuroblastomas and melanomas have a greater affinity for GAG-containing matrices while glial, epithelial, and fibroblastic cells appear to have a greater or equal affinity for collagen matrices.     

Molecular induction by phenobarbital of a rat hepatic form of cytochrome P-450: expression of a 4-kilobase messenger RNA

A differential screening procedure was employed to isolate a cDNA clone corresponding to a major phenobarbital (PB)-inducible form of rat hepatic cytochrome P-450. The G-C homopolymer-tailing technique was utilized to construct a cDNA library in the PstI site of plasmid pBR322. The library represented PB-induced poly(A+)RNA sequences from hepatic polysomes of 150-g male Sprague-Dawley rats. Hybrid-selection experiments against total PB-inducible RNA were performed with plasmid DNA derived from clones enriched in PB-inducible information. The mRNA molecules that specifically hybridized were subjected to in vitro translation, were immunoprecipitated with antibody raised in rabbits against purified cytochrome P-450b (P. E. Thomas, D. Korzeniowski, D. Ryan, and W. Levin (1979) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 192, 524-532), and were electrophoresed under sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic conditions. One cDNA clone, designated PB-8, contained a 600-bp insert partially coding for a PB-inducible cytochrome P-450 species that comigrated on SDS-gel electrophoresis with highly purified P-450b. A single injection of PB, 15-18 h before sacrifice, increased the level of polysomal poly(A+)RNA complementary to the isolated cDNA clone by approximately 16-fold. Northern blot hybridizations of polysome-derived poly (A+)RNA, electrophoresed in denaturing agarose gels, demonstrated that the size of the mRNA corresponding to the isolated clone was 4 kb. Isolated heteronuclear RNA species demonstrated a time-dependent increase in the synthesis of a similar 4-kb RNA molecule. By genomic blot hybridization to EcoRI-restricted DNA, at least three complementary DNA fragments migrating at 5.1, 3.2, and 2.9 kb were observed with 32P-labeled PB-8 as a probe. These data, together with restriction endonuclease mapping and partial cDNA sequence information of the PB-8 cDNA, suggest that the PB-8 clone represents a previously unreported cDNA clone for a form of cytochrome P-450 inducible by PB.     

Localization of the disulfide bond in human antithrombin III required for heparin-accelerated thrombin inactivation

Heparin accelerates the rate of inhibition of thrombin by antithrombin III. Reduction of one of the three antithrombin disulfide bonds with dithiothreitol under mild conditions abolishes this rate-enhancing effect without affecting the rate of reaction in the absence of heparin. Alkylation of mildly reduced antithrombin III with [³H]iodacetic acid followed by digestion with cyanogen bromide yielded two major labeled peptides. The smaller peptide, containing Cys-422, was identified as extending from Gly-414 to the C-terminus, Lys-424. Our data are consistent with the larger labeled peptide being the one extending from Glu-104 to Met-243 and containing Cys-239. Cys-422 has been shown by others to be linked to Cys-239. These data indicate that the sensitive disulfide bond in antithrombin III extends between Cys-239 and Cys-422; the site at which thrombin cleaves the antithrombin III is between these two half-cystines.     

Three-iron clusters in iron-sulfur proteins

Contents. 1. Introduction and history. 2. Characteristic spectroscopic features of 3Fe clusters. 1. General considerations. 2. M?ssbauer spectroscopy. 3. Magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy. 4. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. 5. Resonance Raman (RR) spectroscopy. 6. Extended X-ray fine-structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. 3. Results of X-Ray diffraction studies. 4. Proteins containing or showing features characteristic of 3Fe clusters 1. Overview. 2. Ferredoxin I of Azotobacter vinelandii. 3. Ferredoxin II of Desulfovibrio gigas. 4. Aconitase from beef heart. 5. Other observations and considerations relevant to 3Fe clusters or cluster interconversions 1. Oxidative degradation of [4Fe-4S] clusters to 3Fe clusters. 2. Extrusion studies on 3Fe clusters. 3. Reconstitution of 3Fe clusters. 4. Disposition of iron ligands in cluster interconversions. 6. Do all 3Fe clusters have the same structure? Evidence for [3Fe-4S] clusters. 7. Are 3Fe clusters artifacts or biologically significant structures?     

Synthesis and separation of tritium-labeled intermediates of the shikimate pathway

[5-³H]Shikimate (sp radioact 2000 Ci/mol) has been synthesized by reduction of the methyl ester of 5-dehydroshikimate with NaB³H₄ and subsequent hydrolysis of the ester group (M. M. Leduc, P. M. Dansette, and R. G. Azerad (1970) Eur. J. Biochem.15, 428–435). The [5-³H]shikimate has been converted enzymatically to [5-³H]chorismate and [5-³H]prephenate of similar high specific radioactivity by using a cell-free extract of Aerobacter aerogenes 62-1. In addition, a chromatograhic procedure, which utilizes polyethyleneimine-cellulose thin-layer chromatograms, has been developed for the separation of intermediates along the shikimate pathway between shikimate and hydroxyphenylpyruvate or phenylpyruvate. Since the method allows quantitative measurement of tritium-labeled intermediates, it provides the basis for sensitive radioassays of the individual enzymes and allows study of the reaction flux along the overall pathway. The same intermediates can be separated on a large scale by use of a column of DEAE-Sephacel.     

Functional response and searching efficiency inPseudogonatopus flavifemur Esaki and Hash. (Hymenoptera: Dryinidae), a parasite of rice planthoppers

The functional response of Pseudogonatopus flavifemur E & H (Hym., Dryinidae) was investigated by offering hosts (brown planthopper) at densities ranging from 8 to 160 per cage. The response curve was found to be sigmoid, i. e.Holling 's (1959) Type III curve. In experiments involving 310 hosts per cage distributed unevenly in 5 densities (10, 20, 40, 80 and 160 per hill), and a different female parasite density each time (viz. 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 per cage), the behavioral response was described well by the “random predator equation” ofRoyama (1971) andRoger (1972), which is a convex exponential curve. The area of discovery (a) decreased with an increase in female parasite density (P), and the relationship was described by the equation: log a=−1.0099−0.3638 log P. There was an apparent increase in handling time per host as the number of female parasites increased. Superparasitism, a rare phenomenon under natural conditions, was often observed in the laboratory. The potential of P. flavifemur as a biocontrol agent of the brown planthopper is discussed.     

Kinetic mechanism of the Cu(II) enzyme galactose oxidase

The steady-state kinetics of four redox reactions catalyzed by galactose oxidase have been determined. The alcohol substrate used in each case was galactose; the four oxidant substrates used were O₂, IrCl₆^2?, porphyrexide, and Fe(CN)₆^3?. With the exception of the last reagent, saturation behavior is exhibited by all substrates. Double reciprocal plots of rate data obtained varying one substrate at various concentrations of the other are intersecting for all pairs that exhibited saturation behavior. Thus, these reactions are kinetically sequential processes involving single central complexes. These complexes involve enzyme, galactose, and one molecule of oxidant, whether or not the oxidant is a one- or two-electron acceptor. This result indicates that for one-electron oxidants, an enzyme-alcohol-derived radical species may exist as a transient prior to the reaction of the second electron equivalent of oxidant. A similar substrate

transient is postulated in the reaction involving O₂. The inhibition by H₂O₂ has also been studied in detail. H₂O₂ apparently binds to the enzyme at two sites. The nature of alcohol and O₂ binding to the enzyme Cu(II) is discussed in light of these kinetic results.     

Copper and molybdenum absorption by rats given ammonium tetrathiomolybdate

Previous studies have shown that the tetrathiomolybdate ion [MoS_4^2?] is a potent antagonist of Cu metabolism. Effects of orally administered MoS_4^2? on the absorption and tissue distribution of ⁶⁴Cu in rats have now been investigated. Four or 12 mg Mo/kg diet, when given as MoS_4^2?, strongly inhibited ⁶⁴Cu absorption and modified the fate of absorbed Cu, decreasing hepatic and renal uptake but increasing plasma retention of ⁶⁴Cu. These effects were not induced by equivalent dietary concentrations of Mo as MoS_4^2? or when S^2? was given as CaS. Clinical and biochemical effects induced by orally administered MoS_4^2? were abolished by increasing dietary concentrations of Cu. Such treatment also inhibited the absorption and tissue retention of ⁹⁹Mo derived from ⁹⁹MoS_4^2?. Intraperitoneal administration of Cu ameliorated clinical effects attributable to MoS_4^2? but neither inhibited ⁹⁹Mo absorption nor the appearance of systemic defects in Cu metabolism. Since the absorption of MoS_4^2? (or its derivatives) from the gastrointestinal tract is inhibited by Cu, it is evident that the site of its action as an antagonist influencing either the absorption or the subsequent metabolic fate of Cu depends upon the ratio Cu/MoS_4^2? in the diet.