Identification of Phytopathogenic Virus Strains by their Luminescent Properties

A quick test has been developed to identify phytopathogenic virus strains by variations in their photoluminescence parameters. When heated, the virus suspension shows a jumpwise drop or rise in fluorescence intensity caused by conformational changes in the macromolecules of the virion protein capsules. The relative value of the jump in fluorescence intensity and the temperature value at which the jump occurs are essentially strain-specific. The minimum time needed for one test is from 15 to 20 minutes.     

Characterization of the state of differentiation of six newly established human non-small-cell lung cancer cell lines

Six new non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines were established directly from human tissue or indirectly via nude mouse xenografts in serum-supplemented media with success rates of 8% and 13%, respectively. They comprised one adenocarcinoma (ADLC-5M2), two squamous cell carcinomas (EPLC-32M1, EPLC-65H), two large cell carcinomas (LCLC-97TM1, LCLC-103H), and one malignant biphasic mesothelioma (MSTO-211H). All cell lines grew adherent to culture vessels with population doubling times (PDT) of 16-40 h, formed colonies in soft agarose with efficiencies of 0.1%-5.1%, and all grew in athymic nude mice. Xenograft histologies appeared as follows: (a) undifferentiated carcinomas with feeble resemblance to the original tumors in the case of adenocarcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas; (b) large cell carcinoma with high resemblance to the original tumor; (c) an undifferentiated tumor with predominance of large epithelial cells and few fibrous cells in the case of mesothelioma. Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) was found by radioimmunoassay and high-affinity binding sites for epidermal growth factor (EGF) by radio-receptor assay in 4/4 cell lines. A very low activity of L-DOPA decarboxylase (DDC) was detectable only in the adenocarcinoma cell line. All cell lines overexpressed the c-myc protooncogene, and no gene rearrangement or amplification was observed. Chromosome analysis revealed modal chromosome numbers of 70-73 in ADLC-5M2, EPLC-32M1, EPLC-65H, and MSTO-211H. Cell lines derived from large cell carcinoma had modal values of 65 and 170 and a wider chromosome distribution than all other cell lines. A NSCLC specific chromosomal aberration has been undetectable until now. These cell lines may aid in elucidating the biology of NSCLC and its interrelationship to other lung tumors.     

Occurrence of heparin and multisulfated chondroitins in the rat gastrointestinal tract and effect of fat feeding

Rats were fed glucose solution for 3 days and killed without fasting. Examination of the crude polysaccharides extracted from the gastrointestinal tract by electrophoresis on the micro scale and using critical electrolyte concentration and bacterial enzymes showed three types of sulfated mucopolysaccharides were present. These were identified as heparitins, multisulfated chondroitins, and heparins. The heparin resembled a macromolecular heparin of moderate molecular weight. Following oil feeding, only the heparitins and multisulfated chondroitins were present in the small intestine, and no heparin was found. With fasting for 12 h after glucose feeding, the amount of the heparin fraction in the small intestine was reduced. The results obtained demonstrate the presence of a heparin in the rat small intestine which is responsive to changes in diet.     

Effect of sodium butyrate on the hepatoma cell cycle: Possible use for cell synchronization

Summary Exposure of HTC cells to sodium butyrate caused inhibition of growth. The site of growth inhibition was studied by time-lapse cinematography and [³H]thymidine incorporation studies. Evidence is presented that sodiunm butyrate affected the cell cycle at a specific point immediately after mitosis. Inasmuch as it does not modify the interphase duration after its removal, butyrate may be used for HTC synchronization. This work was supported by l'Institut Nationale de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale and la Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique (L. T. and J. K.).     

Measuring maximum root growth instead of longest root elongation in metal tolerance tests for grasses (Agrostis capillaris,Agrostis delicatula and Agrostis castellana)

Longest root elongation diminished significantly in the three species tested from 6 mm d^-1 to 3 mm d^-1 in 3 weeks. During this period S.D. increased considerably (from 49% to 112%, A. castellana), and accounted on the average for 68% (A. capillaris) till 94% (A. castellana) of the mean. Maximum root growth stabilized at 6 mm d^-1 and showed less variation in the measurements (S.D. 52% of the mean). Growth of the originally longest root approaches zero in all three species, in accordance with the natural cease of growth of roots in grasses fascicular root system. Measuring maximum root growth instead of longest root elongation is proposed for testing metal tolerance of grasses in sequential experiments.     

Microfluidic and computational study of structural properties and resistance to flow of blood clots under arterial shear

The ability of a blood clot to modulate blood flow is determined by the clot’s resistance, which depends on its structural features. For a flow with arterial shear, we investigated the characteristic patterns relating to clot shape, size, and composition on the one hand, and its viscous resistance, intraclot axial flow velocity, and shear distributions on the other. We used microfluidic technology to measure the kinetics of platelet, thrombin, and fibrin accumulation at a thrombogenic surface coated with collagen and tissue factor (TF), the key clot-formation trigger. We subsequently utilized the obtained data to perform additional calibration and validation of a detailed computational fluid dynamics model of spatial clot growth under flow. We then ran model simulations to gain insights into the resistance of clots formed under our experimental conditions. We found that increased thrombogenic surface length and TF surface density enhanced the bulk thrombin and fibrin generation in a nonadditive, synergistic way. The height of the platelet deposition domain—and, therefore, clot occlusivity—was rather robust to thrombogenic surface length and TF density variations, but consistently increased with time. Clot viscous resistance was non-uniform and tended to be higher in the fibrin-rich, inner “core” region of the clot. Interestingly, despite intraclot structure and viscous resistance variations, intraclot flow velocity variations were minor compared to the abrupt decrease in flow velocity around the platelet deposition region. Our results shed new light on the connection between the structure of clots under arterial shear and spatiotemporal variations in their resistance to flow.

     

The influence of different aspects of grouse moorland management on nontarget bird assemblages

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Differential expression of sarcoplasmic proteins in four heterogeneous ovine skeletal muscles

Fiber-type distribution is known to vary widely within and between muscles according to differences in muscle functions. 2-DE and MALDI-MS were used to investigate the molecular basis of muscle fiber type-related variability. We compared four lamb skeletal muscles with heterogeneous fiber-type composition that are relatively rich in fast-twitch fiber types, i.e., the semimembranosus, vastus medialis, longissimus dorsi, and tensor fasciae latae (TL). Our results clearly showed that none of the glycolytic metabolism enzymes detected, including TL which was most strongly glycolytic, made intermuscular differentiation possible. Muscle differentiation was based on the differential expression of proteins involved in oxidative metabolism, including not only citric acid cycle enzymes but also other classes of proteins with functions related to oxidative metabolism, oxidative stress, and probably to higher protein turnover. Detected proteins were involved in transport (carbonate dehydratase, myoglobin, fatty acid-binding protein), repair of misfolding damage (heat shock protein (HSP) 60 kDa, HSP-27 kDa, alpha-crystallin beta subunit, DJ1, stress-induced phosphoprotein), detoxification or degradation of impaired proteins (GST-Pi, aldehyde dehydrogenase, peroxiredoxin, ubiquitin), and protein synthesis (tRNA-synthetase). The fractionating method led to the detection of proteins involved in different functions related to oxidative metabolism that have not previously been shown concomitancy.     

On the influence of vessel planarity on local hemodynamics at the human carotid bifurcation

The human carotid artery bifurcation is a complex, three-dimensional structure exhibiting non-planarity and both in- and out-of-plane curvature. The aim of this study was to determine the relative importance of vessel planarity, a potential geometric risk factor for atherogenesis, in determining the local hemodynamics. A combination of computational fluid dynamics and magnetic resonance imaging was used to reconstruct the subject-specific hemodynamics for three subjects. Planar models were then constructed by translating the centroids of the lumen contours onto a plane defined by the centroids of the vessel branches near the bifurcation apex. A novel "patching" technique was used to convert the continuous arterial surfaces into contiguous but discrete patches according to an objective scheme, making it possible to compare the original and planar models without the need for registration and warping. Results suggest that the planarity of the vessel has a relatively minor effect on the spatial distribution of mean and oscillatory wall shear stress. Out-of-plane curvature was, however, found to have a marked influence on the extent and magnitude of these hemodynamic variables. We conclude that vessel curvature - whether in- or out-of-plane - rather than planarity may deserve further scrutiny as a potential geometric risk for atherogenesis.