The reproductive strategy of the gregarious parasitoid,Pteromalus puparum (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae)

Summary Pteromalus puparum is a gregarious parasitoid of many butterfly pupae. Adult size, mortality, and sex ratio of P. puparum, as a parasitoid of Papilio xuthus, were unit weight of the host. Effects of female size on fecundity, wing load, and longevity were also examined.The highest total weight of progeny from the host was attained when the number of eggs per gram of the host was approximately 150. Positive correlations were observed between the size of the females and their fecundity and wing load. The maximum longevity of the female kept with honey but without hosts was attained when the initial number of parasitoids per g of the host was 150.Considering the total fecundity of all female progeny, the reproductively most efficient number of eggs to be deposited per g of the host was estimated to be approximately 300. However, as shortage of food for the adult females strongly affects their fecundity, the reproductively most efficient number of eggs to be deposited per g of the host was about 70 when the adult female progeny was not provided with food.The optimal number of eggs to be deposited when the emale oviposits in the host under field conditions is discussed.     

Hyperthermic treatment of chromomycosis with disposable chemical pocket warmers

A case of chromomycosis in which hyperthermia proved effective is reported. The patient was a 56-year-old male bean curd maker who, without any previous history of minor trauma, developed on the extensor side of the left upper arm an eczematous lesion that underwent gradual radial expansion. The lesion showed a well-defined, 7×10 cm infiltrated erythematous plaque with the central area healed and, at the upper and lower borders, adherent scales and crusts on the surface. Histological examination revealed granulomatous changes in the dermis, as well as sclerotic cells within giant cells and microabscesses. On culturing,Fonsecaea pedrosoi was isolated. The patient was treated with disposable chemical pocket warmers, which were secured over the lesion with a rather tight elastic bandage, so that they kept the affected area warm for 24 hours a day. After a month of such hyperthermic treatment, the erythema and infiltration had decreased considerably, and microscopic examination and culture of the crusts both yielded negative results. Examination of biopsy specimens of the lesion after the third month showed that it had cicatrized. The treatment was stopped after 4 months, and no relapse occurred. We also summarize the published results of local hyperthermic treatment of chromomycosis in Japan.     

The Amusic Brain: Lost in Music,but Not in Space

Congenital amusia is a neurogenetic disorder of music processing that is currently ascribed to a deficit in pitch processing. A recent study challenges this view and claims the disorder might arise as a consequence of a general spatial-processing deficit. Here, we assessed spatial processing abilities in two independent samples of individuals with congenital amusia by using line bisection tasks (Experiment 1) and a mental rotation task (Experiment 2). Both amusics and controls showed the classical spatial effects on bisection performance and on mental rotation performance, and amusics and controls did not differ from each other. These results indicate that the neurocognitive impairment of congenital amusia does not affect the processing of space.     

Experiments inducing prospective polar body nuclei to participate in embryogenesis of the sawfly Athalia rosae (Hymenoptera)

Summary Mature eggs dissected from ovaries of unmated females of Athalia rosae (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae), if placed on a filter-paper soaked with distilled water, are activated and develop to haploid males. Occasionally, however, diploid females develop from these artificially activated eggs. Treatment of mature unfertilized eggs dissected from diploid females with ice-cold temperatures immediately before activation and with a high temperature (36° C) upon and immediately after activation resulted in the production of diploid males, diploid females, triploid females and gynandromorphs at high frequency. The same treatment of mature unfertilized eggs dissected from triploid females resulted in the production of only triploid survivors. These results, together with the results on the segregation of a marker mutation, yellow fatbody (yfb), appear to indicate that meiotic divisions were complete in the treated eggs, and that all four nuclei became potentially capable of participating in development with or without automictic fusion.Studies on the sawfly, Athalia rosae (Insecta, Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae), part V     

Isolation and identification of prostaglandin I 2 stimulating factor from human plasma

To isolate and identify the plasma factor which stimulates prostaglandin I 2 production by rat aortic ring, a human plasma fraction which showed a major stimulating activity on prostaglandin I 2 production was purified by ultrafiltrate, Sephadex G-10 gel filtration and QAE-Sephadex column chromatography. The purified plasma factor was identified as acid by its ultraviolet and infrared absorption spectroscopy, and ¹H nmr and ¹³C nmr spectroscopy. The stimulating activity of the purified plasma factor and that of authentic uric acid coincided with each other. The stimulating potency of uric acid at its physiological concentration in human plasma (about 50 μg/ml) was half of the deproteinized human plasma, and was about 30 fold stronger than that of L-tryptophan, a cofactor of prostaglandin hyperoxidase.     

Mass-spectrometric identification of trehalose 6-monomycolate synthesized by the cell-free system of Bacterionema matruchotii

The fluffy layer fraction prepared from Bacterionema matruchotii was found to possess high activity for the biosynthesis of mycolic acids which were bound to an unknown compound by an alkali-labile linkage [T. Shimakata, M. Iwaki, and T. Kusaka (1984) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 229, 329-339]. To determine the structure of the mycolate-containing compound, it was purified and analyzed by field desorption (FD) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SI-MS). When non-labelled palmitic acid was used as a precursor in the in vitro biosynthetic system, the underivatized product had a cationized molecular ion, [M + Na]+, at m/z 843 in FD-MS and a protonated ion, [M + H]+, at m/z 821 in SI-MS, corresponding to the quasimolecular ion of trehalose monomycolate (C32:0). In SI-MS, characteristic fragment ions due to cleavage of glycosidic linkages were clearly detected in addition to the molecular ion. If [1-13C]palmitic acid was the precursor, 2 mass unit increases in both the quasimolecular and fragment ions were observed, indicating that two molecules of palmitate were incorporated into the product. alpha-Trehalose was found in the aqueous phase after saponification of the product. By the electron impact mass spectrometry of the trimethylsilylated product, the mycolate was found to be esterified with an hydroxyl group at position 6 of the trehalose molecule. These results clearly demonstrated that the predominant product synthesized by the fluffy layer fraction with palmitate as substrate was 6-monomycolate (C32:0) of alpha-D-trehalose. Because newly synthesized mycolic acid was mainly in the form of trehalose monomycolate instead of free mycolate or trehalose dimycolate, the role of trehalose in the biosynthesis of mycolic acid is discussed.     

Estrogen-mediated induction of a vitellogenin-specific nonhistone chromatin protein in the male chicken liver

Summary Non-histone chromatin proteins prepared from the livers of estrogen-treated and nontreated male chickens were compared by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), followed by sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The results revealed that the hormone-treated male liver chromatin contained a specific protein corresponding to the vitellogenin-specific protein previously purified from the liver of egg-laying hens (Nakayama 1985). The chicken protein, purified further by gel-filtration high performance liquid chromatography (GF-HPLC), showed specific binding activity to DNA fragments carrying a part of the vitellogenin gene. On the basis of similarities in the elution patterns from GF-HPLC and RP-HPLC as well as in the mobility on SDS-PAGE, we concluded that this hormone-induced protein in the male chicken liver was identical to the vitellogenin-specific protein identified in the hen liver, and assumed it to be a specific regulatory protein for the vitellogenin gene expression. The amino acid composition of this chicken protein has been determined.     

Effects of degranulation of mast cells on proliferation of mesenchymal cells in the mesentery of mice

Summary A mast-cell activator, compound 48/80, causes proliferation of mesenchymal cells in the mesentery of rats. Its effect on W/W ^vmice deficient in mast cells was tested to determine whether the proliferation is mediated in the degranulation of mast cells. Incorporation of [³H]thymidine into mesenchymal cells in the mesentery of these mice with or without compound 48/80 was very small compared to their normal litter mates. However, bone marrow transplantation markedly enhanced the effect of compound 48/80, and resulted in an incorporation of [³H]thymidine almost comparable to that observed in normal mice. Our results provide evidence that mesenchymal cell proliferation is caused by a product secreted by mast cells when stimulated by compound 48/80.Supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research, No. 366, from the Japanese Ministry of Health and WelfareThe authors are indebted to Drs. Motomu Minamiyama and Yukio Hirata for valuable advices, and to Miss Mitsuko Inoue for technical assistance     

Kinetics of microcolony formation of a soil oligotrophic bacterium, Agromonas sp.

Abstract The kinetics of budding/dividing of parent cells at different culture ages, spread on a fresh medium, was formulated by the following model N _t= N _∞ [1 − exp (− λ ( t − t _r)] where N _t is the number of budding/dividing cells in the parent population at time t , N _∞ is the expected number of budding/dividing cells at infinite time, λ is the rate of budding/dividing of parent cells, and t _r is the retardation time. The rate of budding/dividing λ decreased with the increase in the culture age of the parent cell population.     

Effect of triazinone on root growth and gravireaction

The effects of a synthetic growth promoter, 4-ethoxy-l-( p -tolyl)-S-triazine-2,6 (1H, 3H)-dione [TA], on growth and gravireaction of Zea mays L. (cv. LG 11) roots were investigated. In horizontal, intact roots, pretreatment with TA at 4 × 10⁻⁴ M inhibited the gravireaction. If the pretreated roots were rinsed with a buffer solution before incubation, the TA effect was reduced, indicating that a continuous presence of TA was necessary for its maximal activity. On the other hand, the TA pretreatment (1×10⁻⁵, 1×10⁻⁴ and 4 × 10⁻⁴ M ) promoted the elongation of these roots. The TA effect was stronger for illuminated roots than for those kept in darkness. TA also decreased the lateral curvature of half-decapitated roots maintained vertically in light. This indicates that the action of TA could be associated with some growth inhibiting substances produced or released in cap cells.