Effects of winter flooding on phosphorus dynamics in rice fields

Limnology - Controlling phosphorous (P) loads from rice fields is important for the conservation of aquatic ecosystems, in part because P is relatively concentrated at its sources. Recently, winter...     

SR alpha promoter: an efficient and versatile mammalian cDNA expression system composed of the simian virus 40 early promoter and the R-U5 segment of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 long terminal repeat.

We developed a novel promoter system, designated SR alpha, which is composed of the simian virus 40 (SV40) early promoter and the R segment and part of the U5 sequence (R-U5') of the long terminal repeat of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1. The R-U5' sequence stimulated chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene expression only when placed immediately downstream of the SV40 early promoter in the sense orientation. The SR alpha expression system was 1 or 2 orders of magnitude more active than the SV40 early promoter in a wide variety of cell types, including fibroblasts and lymphoid cells, and was capable of promoting a high level of expression of various lymphokine cDNAs. These features of the SR alpha promoter were incorporated into the pcD-cDNA expression cloning vector originally developed by Okayama and Berg.     

Immunocytochemical localization of ornithine transcarbamylase in rat intestinal mucosa. Light and electron microscopic study

We investigated light and electron microscopic localization of ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) in rat intestinal mucosa. In the immunoblotting assay of OTC-related protein, a single protein band with a molecular weight of about 36,500 is observed in extracts of liver and small intestinal mucosa but is not observed in those of stomach and large intestine. For light microscopy, tissue slices of the digestive system were embedded in Epon and stained by using anti-bovine OTC rabbit IgG and the immunoenzyme technique. For electron microscopy, slices of these and the liver tissues were embedded in Lowicryl K4M and stained by the protein A-gold technique. By light microscopy, the absorptive epithelial cells of duodenum, jejunum, and ileum stained positively for OTC, but stomach, large intestine, rectum, and propria mucosa of small intestine were not stained. Electron microscopy showed that gold particles representing the antigenic sites for OTC were confined to the mitochondrial matrix of hepatocytes and small intestinal epithelial cells. However, the enzyme was detected in mitochondria of neither liver endothelial cells, submucosal cells of small intestine, nor large intestinal epithelial cells. Labeling density of mitochondria in the absorptive epithelial cells of duodenum, jejunum, and ileum was about half of that in liver cells.     

Immunohistochemical evidence of progestin target cells in the pituitary gland of ovariectomized rat

Progestin (P) target cells were identified in the pituitary gland of gonadectomized female rats which had been primed with estrogen (E). P staining was localized using the immunohistochemical avidin-biotin-peroxidase (ABP) complex method. Dark brown precipitates were primarily found over the cytoplasm of cells in the pars distalis, but not in the pars intermedia nor in the pars nervosa. The majority of P-sensitive cells in the pars distalis were identical with luteotrophs, a few being lactotrophs. These observations suggest a role of P in the regulation of production and secretion of gonadotrophins in the pituitary glands of female rats.     

Dispersion distance of queens from natal sites in the two haplometrotic paper waspsPolistes riparius andP. snelleni (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Dispersion capabilities of new queens were studied in the two haplometrotic paper wasps Polistes riparius and P. snelleni. New queens were marked on the nests in the late summer and located in the next spring. Dispersion distances greatly varied among queens: although a large part of recovered queens nested in close proximity to their natal sites, some did disperse over 100–300 m. This suggests that queens' emigration from and immigration into the censused areas occurred to a substantial extent. On the whole, these species exhibited a weaker “philopatric” tendency than those so far studied for dispersion distance, and seem to have the potential for a long-distance dispersion.