Biodiversity and function of bacteria in the Southern Ocean

A short overview of the biodiversity of Antarctic marine bacteria is given with respect to morphology and metabolic activity. The importance of spatial and temporal variability is described. The physiological adaptation and ecological function of Antarctic marine bacterioplankton are discussed.     

Intestinal pathophysiology in autism

Autism is a life-long developmental disorder affecting as many as 1 in 500 children. The causes for this profound disorder are largely unknown. Recent research has uncovered pathology in the gastrointestinal tract of autistic children. The pathology, reported to extend from the esophagus to the colon, is described here along with other studies pointing to a connection between diet and the severity of symptoms expressed in autism. The evidence that there is impaired intestinal permeability in autism is reviewed, and various theories are discussed by which a leaky gut could develop. Lastly, some possible ways in which impaired gastrointestinal function might influence brain function are discussed.     

The ultrastructure of chemoreceptor sensilla in Ciniflo (Araneida,Arachnida)

The morphology and ultrastructure of chemoreceptive hairs on the legs or the cribellate spider Ciniflo are described. About 20 bipolar sensory cells innervate each hair. The dendrites of two of these terminate at the hair base and are probably mechanoreceptive in function. The others continue into the hair shaft, where they terminate without branching. The associated sheath and enveloping cells are fully described and their physiological roles discussed. This sensillum is compared with the chemoreceptors of other arthropods.     

Cell receptors of thrombin

Modern notions on the structure, function and localization of thrombin receptors in different human and animal cells are considered. Molecular models of thrombin interaction with receptors are presented. The role these receptors play in the DNA synthesis regulation, proliferation and migration of cells is described. The functions of the thrombin-receptor complexes and mechanisms controlling the quantity of thrombin receptors are discussed.     

Pollen morphology and phylogenetic analysis of Eperua Aublet (Detarieae: Caesalpinioideae: Leguminosae)

The diverse pollen morphology of fourteen species of the genus Eperua is described and illustrated using light, scanning electron and transmission electron microscopy. Six pollen types are described and a key for their identification is provided. A cladistic analysis was carried out using macromorphological and palynological characters to form a hypothesis of relationships between taxa. The pollen morphology is discussed with regard to systematic relationships, function and phylogenetic significance of certain pollen morphological structures within the genus.     

Collar cells in planula and adult tentacle ectoderm of the solitary coral Balanophyllia regia (anthozoa eupsammiidae)

Summary The planula larva of the solitary coral Balanophyllia regia has an ectoderm of flagellate, diplosomal collar cells. The collar of these cells is composed of a ring of microvilli linked with mucus strands. Four types of flagellate gland cells, three types of nematocyst and spirocysts are present in the planula ectoderm. The function of these ectoderm cells is discussed. The mesogloeal muscular and packing tissues of the planula are briefly described. The tentacle of the adult coral, examined for comparison, has an ectoderm of flattened flagellate cells with a shallow collar. Collar cells similar to those of the planula are occasionally found on the tentacle and their function is not known. Independent sensory cells built on a modified collar cell plan with collar of thickened microvilli are common in the tentacle. These are quite separate from the three kinds of tentacular nematocyte. Distended glandular areas occur in the tentacle ectoderm. The flagellate tentacle gastrodermis, muscle and mesogloeal region are briefly described. The evolutionary significance of collar cell ectoderm in a planula is discussed and the occurrence of collar cells throughout the animal kingdom, reviewed.I am most grateful to Paul Tranter of the Plymouth Laboratory for providing material and to Gareth Morgan for assistance with electron microscopy.     

Cutinase: from molecular level to bioprocess development

This review analyzes the role of cutinases in nature and their potential biotechnological applications. The cloning and expression of a fungal cutinase, Fusarium solani f. pisi, in Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae hosts are described. The three-dimensional structure of this cutinase is also analyzed and its function as a lipase is discussed and compared with other lipases. The biocatalytic applications of cutinase are described taking into account the preparation of different cutinase forms and the media in which the different types of reactions have been performed, namely hydrolysis, esterification, transesterification, and resolution of racemic mixtures. The stability of cutinase preparations is discussed and, in particular, the cutinase stability in anionic reversed micelles is analyzed considering the role of hexanol as a substrate, a cosurfactant, and a stabilizer. Process development, based on the operation of cutinase reactors, is also reviewed.     

Mimicking Bone Structure and Function with Structural Composite Materials

This paper reviews the progress that has been made in fabricating biomimetic bone structures using synthetic composite materials. The specification for long bone applications is developed and we identify the candidate materials for delivering cortical and cancellous bone properties and function. The role of composite materials is discussed together with the factors influencing fibre and matrix type. Challenges associated with moderating their performance in-vivo are discussed, relating to the properties of the starting materials and the dependence, for fibre reinforced systems, on interface quality. Fabrication routes for producing complex biomimetic structures are also reviewed and the state of current clinical developments is described along with the associated technical and regulatory issues.     

Role of hormones in regulating sodium transporters in the kidney: Modulation of phosphorylation,traffic, and expression

The review focuses on the key sodium transporters involved in maintaining water–salt balance in the kidney. The topography of sodium transporters is discussed. Specifics of the hormone-dependent regulation, including phosphorylation, traffic, and expression, are considered for particular transporters. Special attention is paid to direct intracellular regulators of the transporter function. The role that dopamine plays as a natriuretic factor in modulating the function of various transporters is described.     

Hypertrophic smooth muscle

The neurones from the wind-sensitive hairs on the locust head have been filled with cobalt chloride and intensified with silver. All the neurones project through the brain to the suboesophageal ganglion, some continue to the prothoracic ganglion and a few as far as the mesothoracic ganglion. Three different types of projection are described and a regrouping is proposed of Weis-Fogh's five hair fields into three areas. The distribution of the neurones from these areas is described in relation to other structures in the ganglion and is discussed in relation to the function of the hair fields in stability control and grooming.     

Distinctions between optimal and expected support

Several commonly used support measures are discussed and described as either optimal or expected support. This distinction is based on whether the indices are based on a function of optimal and non‐optimal hypotheses, or on the statistical expectation of clades. © The Willi Hennig Society 2010.     

The repugnatorial gland of the grasshopper Poecilocerus hieroglyphicus (Klug)

The structure and function of the repugnatorial gland of Poecilocerus hieroglyphicus are described and the toxic components of the gland secretion discussed.     

The internal representation of solid shape with respect to vision

It is argued that the internal model of any object must take the form of a function, such that for any intended action the resulting reafference is predictable. This function can be derived explicitly for the case of visual perception of rigid bodies by ambulant observers. The function depends on physical causation, not physiology; consequently, one can make a priori statements about possible internal models. A posteriori it seems likely that the orientation sensitive units described by Hubel and Wiesel constitute a physiological substrate subserving the extraction of the invariants of this function. The function is used to define a measure for the visual complexity of solid shape. Relations with Gestalt theories of perception are discussed.     

The utero-ovarian vascularization of the albino rat

The utero-ovarian vascularisation of the non-pregnant rat was investigated, described and morphometrically evaluated. The ovarian and uterine arteries anastomose together giving up a ramus ovaricus. The leaving of these vessels from their main trunks varies to each body side, just as their length and width. Several segmental arteries arise from each uterine artery to the corpus uteri also side-specifically. Coiled circular arteries are found. The uterine cervical vascularisation is described separately. Different regulating effects on the function of the vessels are discussed.     

The dispersal of an initial concentration of motile bacteria.

The dispersal of an initial concentration of identical Brownian particles is accurately described by the solution of the conventional diffusion equation, and a diffusion coefficient can be assigned to the assembly of particles. However, the dispersal of an initial concentration of motile bacteria is not well described by the same solution, in spite of the similarity between the random motion of a bacterium and a Brownian particle. Reasons for the failure of the Gaussian solution of the diffusion equation to describe the dispersal of Escherichia coli are discussed. An equation is formulated which gives the concentration of dispersing organisms as a function of space and time if the speed distribution function of the assembly of organism is known and reproduction is suppressed. For three assumed speed distributions the results are compared with concentrations measured by previous authors.     

蚜虫触角感受器结构及功能研究进展

本文综述了蚜虫触角上感受器在形态和生理功能方面的研究进展;介绍了常用的触角感受器研究方法;文中对分布于蚜虫触角上的感受器种类进行了阐述,描述了各类感受器的外部形态特征,及其内部超微结构.此外,探讨了不同类型的感受器的生理功能,及其在分子水平上的化学感受接收的机制.     

The yeast genome and the first steps toward the postgenomic era

Data on the structure and function of the yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiae genome are summarized. Hypotheses of the evolution of the yeast genome are considered. The methods used to establish the function of earlier uncharacterized genes, to study the expression of the entire genome, and to analyze the yeast proteome are described along with the first results of this work. The prospects of further development of yeast genetics in the postgenomic era are discussed.     

Stopped flow method at subzero temperatures

A stopped-flow apparatus especially adapted for experiments with aqueous-organic solutions of enzymes at subzero temperatures is described.Performance data are given and discussed in a study of the reaction between ascorbate and 2,6-dichlorophenol-indophenol (DCPIP) in an “antifreeze” aqueous-organic mixture as a function of temperature.     

A description of larval and early juvenile development in Paralomis spinosissima (Decapoda: Anomura: Paguroidea: Lithodidae) from South Georgia waters (Southern Ocean)

The early ontogenetic stages of Paralomis spinosissima Birstein and Vinogradow, 1972, are described in detail and illustrated, with notes on morphological variability observed. Larval and early juvenile development was described to the crab I instar reared under controlled conditions of temperature and food supply. The abbreviated larval development invariably passed through two zoeal stages and the benthic megalopa stage. The larval development was completed without food supply, and food Artemia nauplii were first given after moult to the crab-I stage. Simplification and retarded development of the mouthparts are discussed as a function of lecithotrophy of these larvae and based on morphology no facultative feeding mode is suggested. Lecithotrophy in the Southern Ocean Lithodidae is discussed to be an adaptation allowing independence from seasonal food availability at high latitudes.     

Structure and function of the dorsal abdominal gland and defence mechanism in cocoa-capsids (Miridae: Heteroptera)

An account is given of the structure of the dorsal abdominal gland in Distantiella theobroma, Sahlbergella singularis, Bryocoropsis laticollis and Helopeltis corbisieri. The function is discussed, and defence mechanisms in the four species are described.