The Daily Rhythms in the Core Temperature during Spring and Autumn under Natural Conditions in Young Women

Studies of the daily rectal temperature rhythms during May and October-November in three female subjects leading normal lives under natural conditions disclosed that although a rhythm of rectal temperature existed in all three subjects in both seasons, the temperature level seems to be lower in October-November than in May, especially during the nighttime. The phasing of the rectal temperature rhythm did not seem to differ between the two seasons.     

Sequential polypeptides: 5. Statistical mechanical analysis of helix-coil transition in sequential polypeptides

A statistical mechanical theory of the helix-coil transition in sequential polypeptides is developed assuming that the statistical weights of the Zimm-Bragg parameters of a given residue depend on the type of adjacent residues. In the case of a sequential polypeptide consisting of two kinds of residues, the theory describes the helix- coil transition of the polypeptide in terms of the Zimm-Bragg parameters associated with the corresponding residues. The theory is then used to determine this parameter, as a function of temperature, from experimental data for transition temperature as a function of solvent composition, for a series of sequential polypeptides consisting of Glu(OBzl) and Lys(Chz) residues in mixtures of dichloroacetic acid and 1,2-dichlorethane. This parameter is then combined with the Zimm-Bragg parameters for the parent homopolypeptides, and the theory used to predict helix coil transition curves which are in good agreement with the experimental ones for the sequential polypeptides studied.     

Solvent effects on the cooperative order-disorder transition of aqueous solutions of schizophyllan, a triple-helical polysaccharide

A triple helical polysaccharide schizophyllan in aqueous solution exhibited a highly cooperative transition between ordered and disordered states associated with the conformation of its side chains and nearby water molecules. The transition was followed by optical rotation and calorimetry using water containing additives such as NaOH and DMSO as solvents. The ordered state was stabilized or destabilized depending on the kind and amount of the additive employed; in particular, the addition of DMSO had a remarkable stabilizing effect. This effect was analyzed by means of a statistical mechanical theory of linear cooperative transitions, where DMSO was assumed to interact favorably with the ordered side chains. A small amount of NaOH in a solvent mixture stabilized the ordered state and made the transition curve very gradual. No molecular mechanism was elucidated to account for the role of NaOH.     

Mitogenic Activity of Cytoplasmic Membranes Isolated from L-Forms of Staphylococcus aureus

Cytoplasmic membranes of L-forms of Staphylococcus aureus exerted a strong mitogenic effect on splenocytes of athymic nude mice as well as normal mice, while a cytoplasmic fraction of the same bacteria did not show definite mitogenicity. The mitogenic principle(s) of the membrane fraction was resistant to treatment with trypsin and was heat stable (at 100 C for 10 min). The active principle(s) in the insoluble residue of the membrane fraction digested with trypsin was not extracted with cold acetone, but could be solubilized by extraction with a cold chloroform-methanol mixture (2:1, v/v). The mitogenic principle(s) in the extract was fractionated by silicic acid column chromatography. Among five fractions separated by chromatography, fractions eluted with chloroform-methanol mixtures (1:1 and 1:20, v/v) were found to be strongly mitogenic. The cytoplasmic membranes of the L-forms also exerted a definite mitogenic effect on guinea pig splenocytes, but not on the thymocytes.     

Effects of different light intensities during the forenoon on the afternoon thermal sensation in mild cold

1. 1. The study aimed at knowing whether thermal sensation during afternoon cool exposure could be influenced by bright light (4000 lx) or dim light (200 lx) in the forenoon.

2. 2. The subjects felt cooler after exposure to dim light than to bright light.

3. 3. Melatonin in the urine was significantly higher in bright light than in dim light at 10:30 h and at noon.