Early conception factor lateral flow assays for pregnancy in the mare

The ECF™ lateral flow assay test is marketed to detect non-pregnancy in mares. The objectives of the present study were to determine the accuracy of the ECF test, the accuracy of the electronic reader accompanying the ECF test, and agreement between two human readers and the electronic reader. Serum samples were collected from anestrus, cycling but not inseminated, and inseminated mares, and were evaluated with the ECF™ test (EDP Biotech Company, Knoxville, TN, USA) at The Ohio State University and at the EDP Biotech Laboratory. Specificity ranged from 0.07 to 0.16, the negative predictive value ranged from 0.15 to 0.33, and accuracy ranged from 0.43 to 0.52. The electronic reader did not add improve the accuracy or predictive values of the test. Based on the electronic reader, 80.0% of the serum samples collected from the anestrus mares were false positives; Readers 1 and 2 had 60.0 and 33.3% false positives, respectively. For samples collected during the estrous cycle, 83.9% were false positives by the electronic reader, whereas Readers 1 and 2 had 43.7 and 26.4% false positives. We concluded that, regardless of whether the test strips were evaluated by a human or electronic reader, this assay was not accurate for determination of the non-pregnant mare.     

Fluorescent energy transfer measurements on fluorescein isothiocyanate modified cytochrome P-450 LM2

The distance between the heme iron and the N-terminus of cytochrome P-450 LM2 was determined by fluorescence energy transfer measurements. Fluorescein isothiocyanate which was covalently bound to the N-terminal methionine was used as donor chromophor. The Ro value between fluorescein isothiocyanate and the heme was calculated to be 3.98 nm. The distance between the nitrogen of the N-terminal methionine and the heme was estimated with 2.84 +/- 0.23 nm excluding most likely the N-terminal amino acid of cytochrome P-450 LM2 to participate in the electron transfer to the heme iron. A cytochrome P-450 LM2 membrane model is proposed.     

Über die gesteigerte Peroxydaseaktivität in gestörtenPhaseolus-Artbastarden

Ohne ZusammenfassungMit 3 Textabbildungen     

Untersuchungen über die Ursachen der Peroxydasevermehrung in gestörtenPhaseolus-Artbastarden

Zusammenfassung Um Aufschluß darüber zu erlangen, wie die Vermehrung der Peroxydase in gestörtenPhaseolus-Artbastarden (Phaseolus vulgaris x Phaseolus coccineus) zustande kommt, wurde die Fähigkeit der Bastarde zur Bildung von Peroxydaseapoenzym und Peroxydasecoenzym (=Hämatin) geprüft. Diese Prüfung wurde auf Grund des Befundes vonTheorell u. Mitarb., daß sich Peroxydaseapo- und Peroxydasecoenzym beiph-Werten um 7 spontan zur aktiven Peroxydase vereinigen, vorgenommen.Zusatz von Peroxydaseapoenzym zu Blatthomogenaten normaler und gestörter Pflanzen beeinflußt in keinem Fall die Peroxydasereaktion. Coenzymzusatz bleibt wirkungslos bei normalen, führt aber zu einem starken Anstieg der Peroxydasereaktion bei gestörten Bastarden. Wie der Chlorophyllgehalt ist auch der Gesamthämatingehalt bei den gestörten Bastarden stark vermindert.Aus den Befunden darf geschlossen werden, daß normale und gestörte Bastarde kein freies Hämatin enthalten und daß freies Apoenzym den normalen Bastarden fehlt, bei den gestörten Bastarden aber in größerer Menge vorhanden ist. Bei den normalen Bastarden sind Apound Coenzymproduktion aufeinander abgestimmt, während bei den gestörten Bastarden diese Koordination fehlt. Der begrenzende Faktor für die Peroxydasebildung ist bei den letzteren das Coenzym. Trotz des niedrigeren Gesamthämatingehaltes ist wesentlich mehr Hämatin in Form von Peroxydase festgelegt als bei den normalen Bastarden.Die Ergebnisse werden mit den Befunden über die Peroxydasevermehrung im alternden und im verdunkelten Blatt in Verbindung gebracht und diskutiert.Herrn Prof. Dr.W. Rudorf zum 70. Geburtstag gewidmet.     

Über die Fraktionierung des Protoplasmas vonPhaseolus-Arten undPhaseolus-Artbastarden

Zusammenfassung Es werden Beispiele für die Fraktionierung des Protoplasmas der Blätter vonPhaseolus vulgaris, Phaseolus coccineus undPhaseolus vulgaris ()×Phaseolus coccineus () mitgeteilt. Die Zahlen lassebn keine sicheren Unterschiede zwischen den entsprechenden partiklären und Grundplasmafraktionen der Elternarten und Bastarde erkennen, doch zeigen sich Differenzen, wenn die Partikel- und Grundplasmafraktionen jeweils zusammengefaßt und die Quotienten Partikel-Nucleinsäure/Grundplasma-Nucleinsäure (NS_P/NS_G) und Partikel-Eiweiß/Grundplasma-Eiweiß (E_P/E_G) gebildet werden. Diese Quotienten liegen beiPhaseolus vulgaris niedriger als beiPhaseolus coccineus, und bei den nichtgestörten Bastarden stimmt der Quotient E_P/E_G praktisch mit dem vonPhaseolus coccineus überein, wähert ist. Die gestörten Bastarde ähneln im Nucleinsäuregehalt den Elternarten und den normalen Bastarden, doch ist in allen Fraktionen, besonders stark in den Chloroplasten, der Eiweißanteil bezogen auf Frischsubstanz und Nucleinsäure vermindert.—Nucleinsäure und Eiweiß nehmen mit der Entwicklung der Blätter ab, dabei wird das Verhältnis Eiweiß/Nucleinsäure, eine Fraktion ausgenommen, stark zugungsten des Eiweißes verschoben, ferner findet eine Verschiebung der Quotienten NS_P/NS_G und E_P/E_G zugunsten der partikeln statt. Eine Abhängigkeit der Quotienten vom Gesamteiweiß oder der Gesamtnucleinsäure, die beide in den einzelnen Versuchen stark variieren, ist nicht festzustellen. Die Befunde zeigen, daß die in den Bastarden enthaltenen Kerngene vonPhaseolus coccineus das Verhältnis der Plasmakomponenten der Mutter, das bei völliger Unabhängigkeit und Selbständigkeit mit dem vonPhaseolus vulgaris übereinstimmen müßte, wesentlich beeinflussen. Sie werden unter dem Gesichtspunkt der Konkurrenzbeziehungen zwischen den Plasmakomponenten, deren Zusammenspiel den Stoffwechsel der Zellen ergibt, diskutiert.     

Avoidance conditioning in bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium griseum and C. punctatum): behavioral and neuroanatomical aspects

Animals face different threats; to survive, they have to anticipate how to react or how to avoid these. It has already been shown in teleosts that selected regions in the telencephalon, i.e., the medial pallium, are involved in avoidance learning strategies. No such study exists for any chondrichthyan. In nature, an avoidance reaction may vary, ranging from a ‘freeze’ reaction to a startling response and quick escape. This study investigated whether elasmobranchs (Chiloscyllium griseum and C. punctatum) can be conditioned in an aversive classical conditioning paradigm. Upon successful conditioning, the dorsal, medial and lateral pallium were removed (group 1) and performance tested again. In a second group, the same operation was performed prior to training. While conditioning was successful in individuals of both groups, no escape responses were observed. Post-operative performance was assessed and compared between individual and groups to reveal if the neural substrates governing avoidance behavior or tasks learned in a classical conditioning paradigm are located within the telencephalon, as has been shown for teleosts such as goldfish.     

Wood decay under the microscope

Many aspects of the interactions between host wood structure and fungal activity can be revealed by high resolution light microscopy, and this technique has provided much of the information discussed here. A wide range of different types of decay can result from permutations of host species, fungal species and conditions within wood. Within this spectrum, three main types are commonly recognised: brown rot, white rot and soft rot. The present review explores parts of the range of variation that each of these encompasses and emphasizes that degradation modes appear to reflect a co-evolutionary adaptation of decay fungi to different wood species or the lignin composition within more primitive and advanced wood cell types. One objective of this review is to provide evidence that the terms brown rot, white rot and soft rot may not be obsolete, but rigid definitions for fungi that are placed into these categories may be less appropriate than thought previously. Detailed knowledge of decomposition processes does not only aid prognosis of decay development in living trees for hazard assessment but also allows the identification of wood decay fungi that can be used for biotechnology processes in the wood industry. In contrast to bacteria or commercial enzymes, hyphae can completely ramify through solid wood. In this review evidence is provided that wood decay fungi can effectively induce permeability changes in gymnospermous heartwood or can be applied to facilitate the identification of tree rings in diffuse porous wood of angiosperms. The specificity of their enzymes and the mild conditions under which degradation proceeds is partly detrimental for trees, but also make wood decay fungi potentially efficient biotechnological tools.     

Loss of complexity from larval towards adult nervous systems in Chaetopteridae (Chaetopteriformia,Annelida) unveils evolutionary patterns in Annelida

Organisms Diversity & Evolution - Chaetopteridae — the parchment worms — comprise a group of early branching annelids with a scarcely investigated neuroanatomy and neurogenesis. Due...     

Haploinsufficiency for one COL3A1 allele of type III procollagen results in a phenotype similar to the vascular form of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV

Mutations in the COL3A1 gene that encodes the chains of type III procollagen result in the vascular form of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), EDS type IV, if they alter the sequence in the triple-helical domain. Although other fibrillar collagen-gene mutations that lead to allele instability or failure to incorporate proalpha-chains into trimers-and that thus reduce the amount of mature molecules produced-result in clinically apparent phenotypes, no such mutations have been identified in COL3A1. Furthermore, mice heterozygous for Col3a1 "null" alleles have no identified phenotype. We have now found three frameshift mutations (1832delAA, 413delC, and 555delT) that lead to premature termination codons (PTCs) in exons 27, 6, and 9, respectively, and to allele-product instability. The mRNA from each mutant allele was transcribed efficiently but rapidly degraded, presumably by the mechanisms of nonsense-mediated decay. In a fourth patient, we identified a point mutation, in the final exon, that resulted in a PTC (4294C-->T [Arg1432Ter]). In this last instance, the mRNA was stable but led to synthesis of a truncated protein that was not incorporated into mature type III procollagen molecules. In all probands, the presenting feature was vascular aneurysm or rupture. Thus, in contrast to mutations in genes that encode the dominant protein of a tissue (e.g., COL1A1 and COL2A1), in which "null" mutations result in phenotypes milder than those caused by mutations that alter protein sequence, the phenotypes produced by these mutations in COL3A1 overlap with those of the vascular form of EDS. This suggests that the major effect of many of these dominant mutations in the "minor" collagen genes may be expressed through protein deficiency rather than through incorporation of structurally altered molecules into fibrils.