Transfer and expression of the cryIVB and cryIVD genes of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis in Bacillus sphaericus 2297

Abstract The genes encoding the CryIVB and CryIVD crystal polypeptides of B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis were cloned indepently on a stable shuttle vector, and transfered into B. sphaericus 2297. Recombinant cells expressed the B. thuringiensis toxins during sporulation and were shown to be toxic to Aedes aegypti fourth instar larvae, whereas the parental strain was not.     

Synthesis of 6(α,β)-aminocholestanols as ergosterol biosynthesis inhibitors

Δ⁷-5-Desaturase catalyses one of the last steps in ergosterol biosynthesis in fungi. Moreover Δ⁵-unsaturation is necessary for the sparking function. Synthesis of three pairs of C-6 epimeric cholestanol derivatives are described as potential growth inhibitors. Preliminary results suggest that 6β-aminocholestanol is a potent antifungal agent.     

Introduction historique et critique à la notion de dépression en psychiatrie

The author describes the history of the concept of depression in modern psychiatry from the end of the Age of Enlightenment until today in three parts. In the first period (1793–1854), the opposition of general delusion (mania) and partial delusion (melancholia) prevails, without the problem of changes of the affective state being an issue. Only with the work of J. Guislain, and later of W. Griesinger, does the concept of mood disorders become a categorical form in mental pathology with the idea of psychological pain. The second period (1854–1926) is distinguished firstly by the works of J.P. Falret on circular insanity, and then those of V. Magnan, J. Ségnan, J. Séglas et Ph. Chaslin in France and E. Kraepelin in Germany. This period is characterized by the classical construction of periodic manicdepressive psychosis and takes into account the opposition of mania and melancholia. In the third period (1926–1977), the influences of phenomenology, psychoanalysis and structuralism predominate. Gradually melancholia loses its place at the core of this field, in favour of the concept of depression and this change now characterizes contemporary psychiatry.     

Nucleotide sequence and characterization of a maize cytoplasmic ribosomal protein S11 cDNA

We isolated a Zea mays cDNA encoding the 40S subunit cytoplasmic ribosomal protein S11. The nucleotide sequence was determined and the derived amino acid sequence compared to the corresponding Arabidopsis thaliana protein showing an homology of 90%. This ribosomal protein is encoded by a small multigene family of at least two members. The mRNA steady-state level is about one order of magnitude higher in rapidly growing parts of the plant such as the roots and shoots of seedlings compared to fully expanded leaf tissue.     

A New Real-Time PCR for the Detection of Plasmodium ovale wallikeri

It has been proposed that ovale malaria in humans is caused by two closely related but distinct species of malaria parasites: P. ovale curtisi and P. ovale wallikeri. We have extended and optimized a Real-time PCR assay targeting the parasite’s small subunit ribosomal RNA (ssrRNA) gene to detect both these species. When the assay was applied to 31 archival blood samples from patients diagnosed with P. ovale, it was found that the infection in 20 was due to P. ovale curtisi and in the remaining 11 to P. ovale wallikeri. Thus, this assay provides a useful tool that can be applied to epidemiological investigations of the two newly recognized distinct P. ovale species, that might reveal if these species also differ in their clinical manifestation, drugs susceptibility and relapse periodicity. The results presented confirm that P. ovale wallikeri is not confined to Southeast Asia, since the majority of the patients analyzed in this study had acquired their P. ovale infection in African countries, mostly situated in West Africa.     

Effect of insulin on sulfated proteoglycan synthesis in cultured smooth muscle cells from pig aorta

The effect of insulin upon proteoglycan synthesis was studied in cultured smooth muscle cells from pig aorta blocked in the G0 phase by serum deprivation. Insulin enhanced [35S]sulfate incorporation into cell layer and medium-secreted proteoglycans. The increase in incorporation of the precursor was not due to a mitogenic response by smooth muscle cells to the hormone and the specific radioactivity of proteoglycans showed that the stimulation reflected a real increase in sulfated proteoglycan synthesis. Maximal stimulation was observed, for the cell layer as well as for the medium, 40 h after the addition of 1.7 x 10(-7) M insulin and reached respectively 65 and 53%. This stimulation was about 80 and 60% of the level achieved with 10% fetal calf serum for cell layer and medium-secreted proteoglycans, respectively. The half-maximal effect was attained, for both the cell layer and the medium, in the presence of 2.1 x 10(-9) M insulin. Proteoglycans secreted into the medium, in the presence of 1.7 x 10(-8) M insulin for 40 h, showed a higher proportion of complexes (24%) than those synthesized in control medium (11%) and at least 95% of the monomers from culture treated with insulin were characterized by a smaller hydrodynamic size than those synthesized by cells maintained in control medium. This decrease in the size of proteoglycans was partly due to a decrease in the size of their glycanic chains.     

Towards interbreed IBD fine mapping of the mh locus: Double-muscling in the Asturiana de los Valles breed involves the same locus as in the Belgian Blue cattle breed

The Spanish ``Asturiana' cattle breed is characterized by the segregation of a genetically determined muscular hypertrophy referred to as double-muscling or ``culones'. We demonstrate by linkage analysis that this muscular hypertrophy involves the mh locus previously shown to cause double-muscling in the Belgian Blue cattle breed, pointing towards locus homogeneity of this trait across both breeds. Moreover, using a twopoint and multipoint maximum likelihood approach, we show that flanking microsatellite markers are in linkage disequilibrium with the mh locus in both breeds albeit with different alleles. Finally, we discuss how allelic homogeneity across breeds might be exploited to achieve efficient genetic fine-mapping of the mh locus. Received: 13 September 1996 / Accepted: 20 January 1997     

The Use of Proton Chemical Shifts to Define the Solution Structure of a Dimeric Peptide

For flexible peptides, nuclear Overhauser Effects (NOE) experiments do not provide enough information to ensure a correct definition of their solution structure. The use of distance constraints, derived from the knowledge of proton chemical shifts, is developed to restrict the number of possible conformations. In the case of flexible molecules, randomization appears as an important factor of the correct estimation of the chemical shifts from the 3D structure. The refinement of the solution structure of the highly flexible AVP-like parallel dimer is described to illustrate this process.     

Effect of dibutyryl cyclic AMP and theophylline on lipoprotein lipase secretion by human monocyte-derived macrophages

The effect of dibutyryl cyclic AMP and theophylline on lipoprotein lipase secretion was investigated after a 24 h pretreatment of human monocyte-derived macrophages. Both the effectors decreased in a dose-dependent manner the enzyme activity recovered in the culture medium. The decrease in lipoprotein lipase activity appeared to be related to reduced enzyme synthesis without apparent modification of its stability and half-life and was conversely associated with an increase of lysosomal acid hydrolase activities. This effect was reversible on removal of the nucleotide. The present findings suggest that cyclic AMP may play a role in lipoprotein lipase expression in human macrophages and therefore may participate in the regulation of lipoprotein uptake by these cells, which are strongly implicated in the atherogenic process.