BIOCHEMISTRY OF CEREBRAL TUMOURS: SODIUM, POTASSIUM, CALCIUM, PHOSPHORUS, MAGNESIUM, COPPER AND SULPHUR CONTENTS OF ASTROCYTOMATA, MEDULLOBLASTOMATA AND GLIOBLASTOMATA MULTIFORME

Abstract— Twenty-nine autopsy specimens of intracerebral tumours (nine astrocytomata, ten medulloblastomata and ten glioblastomata multiforme), as well as samples of peritumoral and apparently normal brain tissue, have been studied for Na, K, P, Ca, Mg, Cu, and S contents.
The tumour tissue, irrespective of the histological characteristics, as compared to the 'normal' and perineoplastic tissues, showed higher concentration of Ca, Mg, Cu and S. The peritumoral tissue, regardless of the tumour type, showed a higher concentration of Cu than the 'normal' control brain.
The more malignant glioblatomata and medulloblastomata. The Cu levels did not show a significant diference.     

Sex expression in floral buds of Acorn squash

Summary Staminate flowers of the Acorn squash (Cucurbita pepo, cv. Table Queen) are initiated monosexually, pistillate flowers are initiated bisexually. Pistillate flower primordia are physiologically bisexual from a stage below 0.3 mm until they are 0.8 mm in width.Male and female floral buds were cultivated on White's medium, modified according to Galun et al. (1963). In excised female floral buds the relative development of stamens is better than in in-situ floral buds; the opposite relationship holds for ovary development. The smaller the bud at excision, the greater the stamen growth and the lesser the ovary growth, both in absolute and relative terms. Although smaller pistillate floral buds cultured in vitro showed a greater increase in maleness than larger ones, there was no difference in the percentage of female buds between explants of the two sizes when originating from the mixed stem region (that is, the stem region carrying male and female flowers). Addition of 3-indoleacetic acid and the anti-auxin p-chlorophenoxyisobutyric acid to standard medium in equal amounts resulted in somewhat better development of excised floral buds than addition of each of these compounds alone.The percentage of female buds among explants originating from identical nodes was not significantly influenced by 3-indoleacetic acid or p-chlorophenoxyisobutyric acid.Weizmann Memorial Fellow. The studies reported in this publication were mainly undertaken at the Weizmann Institute of Science     

Close karyological kinship between the reptilian suborder serpentes and the class aves

Summary In contrast to the situation found in two classes of warm-blooded vertebrates, mammals and birds, the class Reptilia is not uniform with regard to total genetic content; rather, it contains two distinct categories. The close cytological kinship between snakes and birds was revealed. Both are almost identical in total genetic content, which is about 50 per cent that of placental mammals. Both have microchromosomes, as well as Z-chromosomes very similar in absolute size, comprising nearly 10 per cent of the homogametic haploid (AZ) set. This leads to the implication that snakes and birds originated from the same lineage, and that their Z-chromosomes have not changed substantially since the Jurassic period of the Mesozoic era, about 180 million years ago.Within the reptilian suborder Serpentes, the step-by-step differentiation from the primitive ZW pair to the grossly heteromorphic ZW pair could be observed. In the ancient family Boidae, the sex chromosomes were still homomorphic to each other. In the family Colubridae, the beginning of heteromorphism was manifested in two ways. In some species, a pericentric inversion on the W caused it to differ from the Z; in others, duplication of the W occurred. In the family Crotalidae, the W had apparently achieved its very specialized status; it was a distinctly smaller element.In Säo Paulo, this work was supported by Fundacão de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo e Fundo de Pesquisas do Instituto Butantan. In Duarte, this work was supported in part by grant CA-05138-05, National Cancer Institute, U. S. Public Health Service. Contribution No. 36-64, Department of Biology, City of Hope Medical Center.     

Nonvitellogenic female protein in Musca domestica

During vitellogenesis in Musca domestica, a major hemolymph protein, in addition to vitellogenin, appears preferentially in females. This protein is synthesized by the adult fat bodies, secreted into the hemolymph, and is not taken up by the ovaries during vitellogenesis. We have designated this protein nonvitellogenic female protein (NVFP). It is composed of only one type of polypeptide (M_r=70,000) and occurs in two different forms. Synthesis of NVFP is induced by a protein diet, attaining maximum concentrations in females at the middle of the gonotrophic cycle. In males its maximum concentration never surpasses 10% of the concentration in females. The quantitative variation of the NVFP is cyclic and coincident with the gonotrophic cycles of Musca domestica.     

Relationships of the chromosomal species in the eurasian mole rats of theSpalax ehrenbergi group as determined by DNA-DNA hybridization,and an estimate of the spalacid-murid divergence time

Summary DNA-DNA hybridization was used to measure the average genomic divergence among the four chromosomal species of the Eurasian mole rats belonging to theSpalax ehrenbergi complex (Rodentia: Spalacidae). The percent nucleotide substitutions in the single-copy nuclear DNA among the species ranged from 0 to 5%, suggesting that speciation has occurred with minor genomic changes in these animals. The youngest chromosomal species appear to differ by 0.2–0.6% base pair mismatch, which is only between one and three base differences in a 500-bp fragment. The interspecific values of percent nucleotide differences permit the recognition of two well-separated speciation events in theS. ehrenbergi complex, the older (of Lower Pleistocene age) having isolated the chromosomal species 2n=54 before the divergence of the three other species.DNA-DNA hybridization was also used to compare the Spalacinae (Eurasian mole rats), Murinae (Old World rats and mice), and Arvicolinae (voles and lemmings). These data enabled us to estimate the time of divergence of the spalacids at ca. 19 million years ago. The dates of divergence among the other rodent lineages, as predicted by DNA hybridization results, agree well with paleontological data. These dates of divergence are obtained by the relation between geological time and single-copy nuclear DNA change, a relation that was calibrated by Catzeflis et al. (1987) through the use of fossil Arvicolinae and Murinae data.