Method of repeated determination of muscle heat resistance in individual frog specimens]

The heat resistance of m. interphalangialis of fingers of hind extremities of Rana temporaria L. has been determined. No significant differences were observed in the average values of the heat resistance in fingers 3 and 5 isolated simultaneously. In separate individuals there exists a high positive correlation between the heat resistance levels of these muscles. When the muscles are isolated successively rather than simultaneously, the correlation degree depends on the time lapse between their isolation from the organism. With 1-14 days lapse the correlation breaks down, to be restored after a longer interval. Taking this into account, a method of successive isolation of m. interphalangialis can be used when studying the dynamics of muscle resistance within the same organism.     

Relationship between the heat resistance of different muscles and frog viability during heat selection]

An attempt was made to elucidate the relation between the survival of mature frogs Rana temporaria during sudden (unforeseen) thermal selection and the heat resistance of several muscles: m. interfalangealis, m. ileofibularis, m. sartorius, m. gastrocnemius and m. rectus abdominis. It has been found that of greater selective value are the individuals with lower heat resistance not in all muscles, but in those having lesser heat resistance, such as m. ileofibularis and m. sartorius.     

Changes in the properties of the enzymes of energy allowance resulting from heat shock in lake frogs

A study was made of the activity and heat resistance of preparations of Na, K-ATPase, Mg-ATPase and succinate dehydrogenase of the lake frog R. ridibunda caused by the heat shock of animals. A decrease in the activity and an increase in the heat resistance of all the three enzymes studied were observed. The level of individual correlations between these parameters remained unchanged. An increase in the heat resistance of Na, K-ATPase occurs at the expense of a higher threshold of its thermal inactivation without changes in the affinity of this enzyme to Na+ and K+. Under discussion is the question of the functional significance of the changes observed.     

The relation of changes in the individual levels of heat resistance of muscle tissue to their initial values during heat acclimation of Asellus aquaticus

1. 1.|In hog slater, Asellus aquaticus, five extremities were consecutively isolated in the course of heat acclimation to study the pattern of changes in the level of the heat resistance of muscle tissue of each single specimen.

2. 2.|The initial response of the population, during acclimation, is for the muscle resistance of different individuals to become less varied. Then a simultaneous increase in tissue resistance occurs in all ammals, which is complete by the 6th day of acclimation. Afterwards the heat resistance of muscles in the majority of animals shows little change and then, in spite of maintenance of acclimation, it starts to return to its initial level.

3. 3.|Thermal acclimation causes a temporary decrease in the variability of the heat resistance of the muscle tissue and also a temporary stabilization of this physiological characteristic to a new level. This phenomenon is a phenotypical masking of genotypic differences in a physiological characteristic in the population studied during changes in environmental temperature.

4. 4.|At all the stages of acclimation the relation of individual increases in cellular heat resistance to their initial levels follows a hyperbolic exponential equation. This implies that to a rise in environmental temperature a population responds as an integral functional system.

The effect of heat hardening on the heat resistance of some enzymes from plant leaves

Summary Heat hardening of leaves which leads to an increase in the heat resistance of their cells, also increases the heat resistance of their enzymes (urease, acid phosphatase, ATPase). As judged by the temperature reducing enzyme activity by 50%, the heat resistance increased by about 6° and 4°, respectively, for urease and acid phosphatase of cucumber, about 7° for acid phosphatase of wheat, and 1,5° for ATPase of Caragana. Increased heat resistance of acid phosphatase and ATPase caused by heat hardening was accompanied by a decrease in the activity ofthese enzymes. The activity of urease was not affected by heat hardening. It is assumed that the cause of this increase in thermal resistance of enzymes is a stabilization of protein macromolecules during heat hardening of leaves.     

Comparison of the heat resistance of ATP-hydrolyzing enzymes in 2 species of frogs

A comparison was made between the heat resistance levels of two enzymatic preparations: the actomyosinic and the transport ATPases of two species of frogs (grass and lake frogs) differing in their thermophilia. The interspecies differences in the heat resistance were found to be 6 degrees C for the actomyosinic and 3 degrees C for the transport ATPase in favour of the more thermophilic lake frog. In both species the myosinic ATPase is more sensitive to heat than the transport one. The high heat resistance of the transport ATPase is due to a higher threshold of its sensitivity to temperature.     

Properties of the enzymes of energy supply in the common frog under various physiological states. II. Changes in the heat resistance of adenosine triphosphatases and succinate dehydrogenase

The heat resistance of SDG, Na, K-ATPase and Mg-ATPase of the grass frog was determined in January, March and May, the number of animals examined being 30-40 in either experiment. It was found that the average level of the heat resistance of the enzymes studied shows significant, often differently directed changes, which depend on the physiological state of an organism. Negligible correlation between the thermal sensitivity of different enzymes of an organism during hibernation, completely disappear during the activity state.     

Ligninolytic activity and levels of ammonia assimilating enzymes in Sporotrichum pulverulentum

Levels of ammonia-assimilating enzymes (glutamate dehydrogenase, glutamine synthetase, glutamate synthase) were determined in extracts of Sporotrichum pulverulentum grown under different conditions with respect to both nitrogen source and concentration. Evolution of ¹⁴CO₂ from ¹⁴C-synthetic lignin by fungal cultures grown under parallel conditions was also determined as a measure of lignin decomposition and the suppressive effect of nitrogen on ligninolysis confirmed. Under low nitrogen conditions, fungal extracts exhibited relatively high levels of NADP-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamine synthetase dehydrogenase. Conversely, in high nitrogen extracts, lower levels of NADP-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamine synthetase activity, and higher levels of NAD-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase, were recorded. Possible effects of enzyme activities on intracellular pool concentrations of glutamate/glutamine, and the implications for the regulation of lignin metabolism, are discussed.A preliminary report was presented at The Ekman Days 1981, International Symposium on Wood and Pulping Chemistry, Stockholm, Sweden, June 9–12, 1981.     

Correlations between measures of heat resistance and acclimation in two species of Drosophila and their Hybrids

Associations between traits may differ at the interspecific and intraspecific levels, making it difficult to predict long term evolutionary constraints. In this study we used replicate hybrid lines generated from crosses between Drosophila serrata and D. birchii to investigate correlations between measures of heat resistance and acclimation responses. Within each species, knockdown heat resistance was uncorrelated with heat resistance as measured by mortality. In contrast, D. serrata was more resistant than D. birchii for both measures of heat resistance. Thus, inter- and intraspecific correlations between measures of heat resistance differ. In the hybrids, there was no evidence for a correlation between knockdown time and heat induced mortality. Hybrid data did suggest a trade-off between acclimation for knockdown heat resistance and heat resistance as measured by mortality. We argue that hybrids between species are a potentially useful tool for studying traits such as acclimation responses that show litde genetic variation within species.     

Correlations of insulin resistance and neoplasms

Insulin resistance is a worldwide risk factor for the two most dangerous human disease groups; namely, for cardiovascular lesions and malignancies. The insulin resistance syndrome have five basic criteria: hyperglycemia, visceral obesity, elevated serum triglyceride level, low HDL-cholesterol level (dyslipidemia) and hypertension. Each of these criteria alone are risk factors for cancer, and they mean together a multiple risk. Insulin resistance of the liver, skeletal muscles, and fatty tissue leads to a reactive hyperinsulinemia by the increased secretory activity of the beta-cells. Insulin has diverse metabolic effects, and at the same time is a growth factor. It enhances the production and mitogenic activity of other, insulin-like growth factors, and leads to pathological cell proliferation. In the uncompensated phase of insulin resistance hyperglycemia appears, which promotes tumor genesis by several pathways. The elevated serum glucose level is advantageous for the increased DNA synthesis of the tumor cells. It provokes deliberation of free radicals, which will cause derangement of both the DNA and the enzymes having a role in the repair mechanisms. Hyperglycemia leads to a nonenzymatic glycation of protein structures, and the glycated products enhance the deliberation of free radicals, cytokines and growth factors. Insulin resistance means an enhanced risk for breast, pancreas, liver, colon, bladder, prostate and oral cavity cancers. The moderately increased fasting glucose level is also a risk factor for breast, stomach and colon cancers, even without manifestation of type 2 diabetes. Insulin resistance promotes tumor progression as well. In cancer patients with hyperglycemia or type 2 diabetes, the rate of tumor recurrence, metastatic spread and fatal outcome is higher as compared with the tumor patients without metabolic disease. The correlation between insulin resistance and tumor promotion reveals new possibilities in the prevention and treatment of cancer. The healthy diet, physical activity and weight loss increase insulin sensitivity, and decrease the risk for both cardiovascular diseases and malignancies.     

Dynamics of various integral characteristics of individual changes in ethanol resistance in isolated muscles of grass frog]

A study was made of the dynamics of the mean level of toxic ethyl alcohol (EA) (3.5 M) resistance, of the correlation between the initial individual level of this resistance and the value and shifting direction of the level, and of the pattern of correlation between levels of resistance in the pair sartoria muscles and variability of resistance level in muscles, kept in EA subtoxic solutions (0.87 and 1.09 M) for 240 min. Two-phase changes in the mean level of resistance in muscles were revealed that involved its increase by 20% within 60 min of maintenance in both EA concentrations, and followed by a decrease of this level by the end of observation. On the first steps of muscle maintenance in EA subtoxic solutions, a negative correlation was noticed between the initial level of resistance and the value and direction of its shifting, in addition to narrowing the range of variability of this level in muscles. All these events were accompanied by a decrease or fluctuations in the correlation coefficient between levels of resistance in the pair muscles. By the end of the experiment, the range of variability of the level of resistance was seen to increase, and the earlier negative correlation between the initial individual level of resistance and the value and direction of its shifting appeared to change for a positive one. Both processes preceded the decrease in the mean level of muscle resistance.     

Correlations between individual and familial variables in Turner's syndrome]

In 20 cases of Turner's syndrome (10 with complete X monosomy, 10 with partial X monosomy or mosaicism) aged 3.47 to 15.5 years, the stature of the individual cases and their parents were evaluated. A significant frequency of short stature in mothers (25% below--2.0 S.D.S) has been observed, with a significant difference compared to the mean female stature of the general population. No significant difference has been observed on the stature of fathers. There was a closer correlation with mother's height (r = 0.65, p = 0.001) than with father's height (p = 0.07).     

Persistence of bacterial proteolytic enzymes in lake ecosystems

This study analyzes proteolytic enzyme persistence and the role of dead (or metabolically inactive) aquatic bacteria in organic matter cycling. Samples from four lakes of different trophic status were used. Irrespective of the trophic status of the examined lakes, bacterial aminopeptidases remained active even 72?h after the death of the bacteria that produced them. The total pool of proteolytic enzymes in natural lake water samples was also stable. We found that the rates of amino acid enzymatic release from proteinaceous matter added to preserved lake water sample were constant for at least 96?h (r(2) =?0.99, n?=?17, P?≤?0.0001, V(max) =?84.6?nM?h(-1) ). We also observed that proteases built into bacterial cell debris fragments remained active for a long time, even after the total destruction of cells. Moreover, during 24?h of incubation time, about 20% of these enzymatically active fragments adsorbed onto natural seston particles, becoming a part of the 'attached enzymes system' that is regarded as the 'hot-spot' of protein degradation in aquatic ecosystems.