Characteristics of digital and palmar dermatoglyphics in people of different ages living in the territory of the Ukrainian Polesie]

Examination of dermatoglyphs in people aged 50-103 living in the territory of the Ukrainian Polesie has revealed age differences in some indices of dermatoglyphics: total crest count, palmar angle, character of the cutaneous pattern of fingers. It assumed that these differences have arisen as a consequence of selection of persons characterized by high reliability of the genotype functioning. The data obtained permit supposing that it is possible to use dermatoglyphics for determining hereditary predisposition of people to longevity.     

Mu-opioid-receptor-mediated inhibition of the N-type calcium-channel current.

The predominant consequences of mu-opioid-receptor activation are depression of both neuronal activity and transmitter release. Mu-Opioid agonists have previously been observed to increase a potassium conductance and to inhibit adenylate cyclase. We now report that activation of mu-opioid receptors directly decreases the N-type calcium-channel current in a differentiated, human neuroblastoma cell line (SH-SY5Y). The coupling between the mu-opioid receptor and the calcium channel involves a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein and is independent of changes in adenylate cyclase activity. The inhibition of the calcium-channel current is voltage dependent because it is largely overcome by strong membrane depolarization. It is not associated with changes in the kinetics of current inactivation. Therefore, the mu-receptor belongs to the superfamily of G-protein-coupled, inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors which modulate the activity of calcium and potassium channels and adenylate cyclase.     

Genetic exchange between kingdoms.

Bacterial conjugation with two evolutionarily divergent yeasts has been observed in the laboratory. Whether such trans-kingdom conjugation events, other than the well known Agrobacterium-plant cell interaction, actually occur in nature is not known. However, a few putative events have recently been uncovered by gene (or protein) sequence analysis, suggesting that horizontal gene transfer between phylogenetic kingdoms may be a real phenomenon.     

Larvae of Maculinea rebeli, a large-blue butterfly, and their Myrmica host ants: wild adoption and behaviour in ant-nests

The behavioural interactions between caterpillars of Maculinea rebeli Hir. and their Myrmica ant hosts were studied, both in the wild at the time of adoption, and inside captive nests of six Myrmica species.
In the wild, freshly moulted, final instar caterpillars left their food-plants at a time of day that coincided with the peak foraging activity of Myrmica (18:00-20:00 h). Once on the ground, caterpillars made no attempt to search for Myrmica but settled and waited for foraging ants to find them, which took up to 1.5 h. There was no adoption ritual: foragers of any Myrmica species picked up the caterpillars within 1–4 sec of discovery, and carried them directly to their nests.
Caterpillars grew from < 2 mg to 110 mg in laboratory ant-nests. About 60 mg was gained in autumn but 40% of this was lost during the winter, while the temperature was < 14 °C. Although caterpillars survived best with their normal host, Myrmica schencki , they could also survive in the nests of other Myrmica species. The presence of queen ants had no effect upon survival. The behaviour of the caterpillars was described and illustrated: this included the production of secretions that were drunk by the ants, begging for food and direct feeding by ants. The preferred solid food was ant eggs.
The results are discussed in terms of the social biology of Myrmica ants. It is hypothesized that Maculinea rebeli caterpillars mimic the touch pheromones of ant worker-larvae. This would explain the inability of ants to recognize caterpillars before touching them, their immediate adoption by any Myrmica species after discovery, host specificity inside wild ant-nests, the absence of queen-effect and the intimate attention of host workers.     

Acquisition of an additional internal cleavage site differentially affects the ability of pseudorabies virus to multiply in different host cells.

The translocation of the 325 leftmost bp of the genome of pseudorabies virus (PrV) to the internal junction between the L and S components confers upon the virus a growth advantage relative to wild-type PrV in chicken embryo fibroblasts (CEFs) and chickens and a growth disadvantage in rabbit kidney (RK) cells and mice. To clarify the molecular basis for the species-specific growth characteristics of the translocation mutants, we have compared several parameters of the virus growth cycle in CEFs and RK cells infected with wild-type PrV and with translocation mutants. The salient findings are as follows. (i) The synthesis of early-late and late proteins is not as effective in CEFs as it is in RK cells, and these proteins, in particular, the major capsid proteins, accumulate less abundantly in CEFs than in RK cells. (ii) Cleavage of concatemeric DNA to genome-size molecules is also not as effective in CEFs as it is in RK cells. (iii) The internal junction present in translocation mutants is a functional cleavage site. (iv) In RK cells, translocation mutants are hypercleaved and a significant proportion of the total viral DNA is cleaved into subgenomic fragments. (v) In CEFs infected with translocation mutants, subgenomic fragments also accumulate but most of the viral DNA remains in concatemeric form. A model which postulates that the cell-specific growth advantage or disadvantage of the translocation mutants is related to the presence of a second cleavage site within their genomes and is affected by the efficiency of cleavage of concatemeric DNA in particular infected cell types is presented. The significance of these findings as they relate to the evolution of herpesviruses with class 2- and class 3-like genomes is discussed.     

A rRNA-mRNA base pairing model for UGA-dependent termination.

A series of site-directed mutations has been constructed in E coli 16S rRNA and shown to suppress UGA-dependent translational termination. With the exception of the C726 to G base change, all were constructed in helix 34. Characterization of these mutations is reviewed here and from these data and mRNA-rRNA base pairing model for the termination event is presented. The interaction functions via antiparallel base pairing between either 1 of the 2 UCA motifs in helix 34 and the complementary UGA stop codon on the message, thus forming a quasicontinuous A-type helical structure that is further stabilized by stacking enthalpy. Finally, rRNA motifs potentially required for UAA and UAG-dependent translational termination are discussed.     

PARATI – a dynamic model for radiological assessments in urban areas

The structure and mathematical model of PARATI, a detailed computer programme developed for the assessment of the radiological consequences of an accidental contamination of urban areas, is described with respect to the scenarios used for the estimation of exposure fields in a village or town, the models for the initial and secondary contamination with the radionuclide ¹³⁷Cs, the concepts for calculating the resulting radiation exposures and the changes with time of the contamination and radiation fields. Kerma rates at various locations in tropical urban areas are given, and the contribution of different contaminated surfaces to these rates after dry or wet deposition are discussed. Received: 12 April 1996 / Accepted in revised form: 30 August 1996