Scientific consequences of the wreck of the “Torrey Canyon”

Summary 1. The re-deployment of the resources of the Plymouth Laboratory required to observe the consequences of the Torrey Canyon disaster were described. Some excerpts were taken from the report (Smith 1968) to be published by the Marine Biological Association of U. K. on 18 March, 1968.2. Field studies were made at sea and on the polluted shores, as well as laboratory studies of the toxicity of the detergents employed to disperse the oil.3. The drift of the oil, established by aerial reconnaissance, was found to be directly ahead of the wind at 3.3 % of the wind speed.4. Now that the 3.3 % factor has been established by direct observation at sea, a limited aerial survey of the area where the oil was predicted to be would have been of more value than the blanket survey of a limited area close to the coast.5. When known, strong surface currents should be added vectorially to the calculated wind-drift. Two examples are quoted, one explaining the differences between calculated drift and the drift observed by the French while oil was northwest of Ushant. The results in the Helgoland Bight were compared.6. The value of craie de Champagne used by the French to sink the oil at sea and the possible part played by the phagotrophic flagellate,Noctiluca miliaris, were discussed.7. Implications of the Torrey Canyon disaster affecting international law and enforcement were developed. The need was stated for an international fire brigade ready to deal with pollution of the sea by an accident on the high seas or on a coast.

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Wissenschaftliche Konsequenzen des Schiffsunglücks der Torrey Canyon

Kurzfassung Einige Gesichtspunkte ozeanographischer und biologischer Untersuchungen, die unmittelbar nach dem Auflaufen des Öltankers Torrey Canyon im Englischen Kanal (März 1967) in Angriff genommen worden sind, werden geschildert. Unter anderem werden die Ölverdriftung durch Wind und Fragen der Toxizität der Detergentien, welche zur Dispergierung des ausgelaufenen Öls benutzt wurden, behandelt. Im Großeinsatz hat sich französische Kreide (craie de Champagne) als besonders wirksam erwiesen. Die Beteiligung von Mikroorganismen und des FlagellatenNoctiluca miliaris beim Ölabbau wird diskutiert. Auf eine zusammenfassende, von der Marine Biological Association herausgegebene Darstellung der wissenschaftlichen Ergebnisse, welche nach dem Tankerunglück erarbeitet worden sind, wird hingewiesen.

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The two papers which I presented at the International Symposium 1967 of the Biologische Anstalt Helgoland were not scientific papers in the usual sense but news reports of much interest only at the time. The colour photographs had all been lent by colleagues. Seven of these in black and white, have been published in Penn ar Bed which contains the article byBrusson (1967). Close counterparts of others are appearing in the Plymouth Report (Smith 1968). There seems no point in duplicate publication. The appearance of the Breton publication Penn ar Bed (in French) and further information has made it possible to add to some of the interim reports. The paper byBrusson (1967) has been especially useful. It has been thought better to give the latest views rather than a verbatim account from the tape recordings taken at the Symposium. The two addresses given at the Symposium have therefore been combined and condensed and then developed with the help of new material.     

“Neutral theory” and the dynamics of the evolution of “Modern” human morphology

There is a widespread assumption, even among those who reject the Synthetic Theory of Evolution, that the form of “modern”Homo sapiens is somehow superior to that of archaicHomo sapiens (Tattersall 2000). Those who accept the general outlook of evolutionary biology also tend to assume that “modern” form emerged because it was selected for, which also implies that it was better than that which preceded it. However, after years of using craniofacial measurements to compare human populations, I finally came to realize that, with only a few exceptions, the dimensions measured have no relation to differences in adaptation (Brace 1989, 1996, 2000; Brace et al., 1993). Elsewhere the conclusion has been supported that what is shown by craniometrics is selectively neutral on the average (Relethford 2002). With the documentation that approximately 95% of the genome is not functional, molecular genetics has proved to be useful in documenting the length of time of separation of related human populations by investigating the differences that have accumulated in the neutral parts of the genome. Not surprisingly, the picture revealed by the study of genetic differences is very similar to the one revealed by the study of craniometric differences (Brace et al., 2001). For this reason, the logic behind the “neutral theory” in molecular genetics is very similar to that applied to what happens to morphological characteristics when selection ceases (Brace 1963; Kimura 1968). The difference is that random changes in the neutral part of the genome have no other consequences. However, random changes in the genes that produce specific aspects of morphology will be visible even when selection is no longer controlling the particular trait in question. From an assessment of what random changes in genes controlling morphological traits are likely to do, it follows that the most likely change will probably be a reduction in the trait in question, i.e. the Probable Mutation Effect will produce structural reduction. When survival in the temperate zone during the last glaciation dependend on “obligatory cooking”, one of the unintended consequences was a reduction in the selective pressures maintaining a Middle Pleistocene-sized dentition. The result was a gradual reduction in tooth size and a conversion, of a Neanderthal-sized face into one of “modern” dimensions. The manufacture and use of string for snares and nets similarly reduced the selective pressures maintaining post-cranial levels of robustness and muscularity. The reduction in the latter resulted in the emergence of moderm post-cranial robustness out of what had been a Neanderthal level,in situ wherever the technology can be documented and without any need for invasions and replacements.     

To the knowledge of the fauna of Microlepidoptera of the “Kurshskaya Kosa” National Park: I

A list of 212 Microlepidoptera species found in the territory of the Curonian Spit (both in its Russian and Lithuanian parts) is given: Micropterigidae (1), Eriocraniidae (1), Nepticulidae (16), Opostegidae (1), Heliozelidae (1), Adelidae (3), Prodoxidae (2), Incurvariidae (2), Tineidae (8), Psychidae (1), Douglasiidae (2), Bucculatricidae (3), Gracillariidae (26), Yponomeutidae (12), Plutellidae (3), Acrolepiidae (2), Glyphipterigidae (3), Lyonetiidae (1), Ethmiidae (1), Depressariidae (12), Elachistidae (20), Chimabachidae (1), Oecophoridae (9), Stathmopodidae (1), Batrachedridae (2), Coleophoridae (25), Momphidae (3), Blastobasidae (2), Cosmopterigidae (3), Choreutidae (1), Schreckensteiniidae (1), Epermeniidae (1), Alucitidae (1), Pterophoridae (7) and Pyralidae (35 species). 113 species of 24 families have been collected in the territory of the “Kurshskaya Kosa” National Park, including 45 species new to the Curonian Spit and 32 species new to Kaliningrad Province.     

Ultrastructure of the “fringe-layer”, the innermost epidermis of cotton seed coats

Summary The inner epidermis of the inner integument of cotton seed coats (fringe-layer) and the cuticles between this cell layer and the nucellus were examined in the light and electron microscope at different times of their development. The cells of the fringe-layer contain only small vacuoles and their cytoplasm is densely packed with organelles and free and membrane-bound polysomes. The lateral walls contain many plasmodesmata. At the time when the fruit capsules stop growing, the fringe-cells produce a cell wall labyrinth, resembling that of transfer cells. The cell wall labyrinth is restricted to the lateral walls. The differentiated state of the fringe-cells is short-lived. At about the time of elaboration of the cell wall labyrinth most of them become progressively vacuolated, lignify, and lose their cytoplasmic constituents. The development of the fringe-layer is well correlated with other developmental events in the inner integument, but not with the filling of embryo and endosperm with reserve substances.At anthesis, the fringe-layer and nucellus are covered by a thin cuticle proper of about 20 nm. After anthesis, the nucellar cells start to produce a cuticular layer of considerable, but variable, thickness (0.25–2.5 m), containing a polysaccharide network.In drying seeds the cells of the fringe-layer disrupt. The thin outer tangential wall remains attached to the seed coat. The rest of the cell, together with the cuticles and the collapsed cells of the nucellus, form a protective layer around embryo and endosperm, remaining attached to the seed coat at the chalazal end.     

Propagation of activity along the “stepping strip” of the cat spinal cord

Three points located approximately 8 mm apart were identified in a dorsolateral funiculus of the lower thoracic spinal cord in mesencephalic cats, each producing stepping movements on the ipsilateral hindlimb when stimulated. An area 5–17 mm caudal to the caudal stepping point (SP) was scanned for neurons responding synaptically to stimulating the rostral or caudal SP prior and subsequent to electrolytic coagulation of the medial SP. Relative incidence of neurons excited by stimulating the caudal SP did not change following this type of lesioning, although stimulation of the rostral SP at the rate of 4 Hz induced response 5 times less frequently than before. Even stimulation of the rostral SP at the rate of 40–60 Hz, which had considerably increased firing index prior to coagulation, could only produce excitation in tiny numbers of neurons. This indicates that synaptic excitation of neurons becomes considerably more difficult once the stepping strip between stimulation and recording sites has been damaged.Institute for Research into Information Transmission, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 20, No. 6, pp. 763–769, November–December, 1988.     

Effect of “Chemical” Hypoxia on the Potassium Conductance of the Membrane of Pheochromocytoma Cells

We studied the effect of “chemical” (induced by the action of sodium thiosulfate, STS) hypoxia on the potassium conductance of the membrane of pheochromocytoma cells. Application of 1 to 10 mM STS decreased in a dose-dependent manner the amplitude of integral potassium current without changes in the voltage dependence of its activation. The concentration dependence of the action of STS on the amplitude of potassium current was estimated using the Boltzmann equation. The value of concentration for 50% inhibition was 2.7 ± 0.2 mM, while the slope coefficient was 0.9 ± 0.2 mM⁻¹. In the presence of 10 mM STS, the decrease in the amplitude of potassium current reached, on average, 55%. Therefore, “chemical” hypoxia influences rather significantly the potassium conductance of the membrane of pheochromocytoma PC12 cells.     

The myth of “minima” and “maxima”, the species of Physalis in the Indian Subcontinent

The status of the names, Physalis minima L. and P. maxima Mill. (Solanaceae), and their alleged presence on the Indian subcontinent are discussed. The issues of nativity and identity of Linnaean Physalis minima are long-debated while the use of the name P. maxima Mill. and its report from India are recent. The available evidence indicates that the name “P. minima L.” is misapplied to two different elements, viz., P. angulata L. and P. lagascae Roem. & Schult. The name Physalis minima L. may be rejected as nomen confusum, for which the paper provides the primary information. As on today, it is submerged under the synonymy of P. angulata L. The correct name for the widely known P. minima is P. lagascae. The name “P. maxima Mill.” applied to the escape and naturalized weed in the Indian subcontinent and elsewhere is to be substituted by P. pruinosa L., a name misapplied to P. grisea (Waterf.) M. Martínez.     

Sporulation of the “Thermophilic Anaerobes.”

A reasonable degree of synchrony in the sporulation of Clostridium thermosaccharolyticum 3814 was obtained by using three 10% transfers of 8-hr cultures in a medium containing 0.5% L-arabinose, 0.5% peptone, 0.5% yeast extract, and Gc minerals. Sporulation was stimulated by L-arabinose and L-xylose, but was repressed by glucose, mannose, fructose, and D-pentoses. Sporulating cells were long and thin, whereas repressed cells were shorter and thicker. The optimal pH for sporulation was in the range of pH 5.0 to 5.5. As sporulation continued, the accumulated acetate decreased. Label studies indicated that a significant amount of acetate-2-C¹⁴ was incorporated into the spore lipid. The calcium, phosphorus, and dipicolinic acid (DPA) concentrations on a dry weight basis were 2.55, 2.60, and 7.25%, respectively. The molar ratio of Ca-DPA was 1.47.     

Study of neuronal organization of the “gastric” region in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve

The peculiarities of neuronal electrical activity in the dorsal motor nucleus (0.5–2.0 mm rostrally to the obex) were investigated in acute experiments on cats, using the microelectrode technique, under conditions of stimulation of the gastric vagal branches. In the gastric region of the nucleus, two groups of cells responding to nerve stimulation were identified: preganglionic parasympathetic neurons antidromically activated by such stimulation, and cells excited orthodromically with the involvement of afferent fibers of the vagus nerve.Neirofiziologiya/Neurophysiology, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 190–196, May-June, 1993.     

Morphology of the “spindle-shaped body” in the developing tail of human spermatids

Summary At the beginning of the late cap phase of the normal differentiation of human spermatids, a unique structure, the spindle shaped body, occupies part of the future middlepiece. This spindle-shaped body was followed throughout its development, and its functional relationship to the formation of the fibrous sheath is discussed. The spindle-shaped body disappears when the fibrous sheath is completed and the annulus moves down, giving rise to the middle-piece.Supported by Grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.     

The discovery of aniline and the origin of the term “aniline dye”

An historical background is provided for the term, “aniline dye,” which is still widely used as a synonym for “synthetic dye.” The discovery of aniline and the role of Hofmann in clarifying it are described. The subsequent discovery of mauveine (mauve) by a student of Hofmann's, William Perkin, and his difficulties in transforming an academic synthesis into a commercial product also are discussed. The key role of Scottish dyers, the Pullars of Perth and Thomas Keith in London, in this technology transfer is described. The subsequent ascendancy of the German dyestuff industry over British manufacturers is noted.     

Israel: The making of self in the “pioneering” of the nation

The Zionist project was more than a simple “ingathering” of people. All Jews by birth, those who reached Palestine in the early decades of this century were swept into the making of a “new” people with a “new” ethic and a “new” discipline—out of which would emerge the “old‐new” state of Israel. The present article addresses this multiple process with its strains and contradictions, as experiences by the “pioneer” generation and their Palestinian‐born children—the sabra.     

The myth of “minima” and “maxima”, the species of Physalis in the Indian Subcontinent

The status of the names, Physalis minima L. and P. maxima Mill. (Solanaceae), and their alleged presence on the Indian subcontinent are discussed. The issues of nativity and identity of Linnaean Physalis minima are long-debated while the use of the name P. maxima Mill. and its report from India are recent. The available evidence indicates that the name "P. minima L." is misapplied to two different elements, viz., P. angulata L. and P. lagascae Roem. & Schult. The name Physalis minima L. may be rejected as nomen confusum, for which the paper provides the primary information. As on today, it is submerged under the synonymy of P. angulata L. The correct name for the widely known P. minima is P. lagascae. The name "P. maxima Mill." applied to the escape and naturalized weed in the Indian subcontinent and elsewhere is to be substituted by P. pruinosa L., a name misapplied to P. grisea (Waterf.) M. Martínez.     

“In vivo” pH values of the estrous reproductive tract of the gilt

The hydrogen ion concentration of the fluids of various portions of the reproductive tract was determined in 6 estrous gilts. Determinations were made with a pH cardiovascular catheter electrode placed in the lumen of the oviduct, uterus, cervix and vagina and a reference electrode placed in the peritoneal cavity. The mean pH values were 7.02, 6.98, 7.49, and 6.61 for the oviduct, uterus, cervix and vagina, respectively.     

Conformational “Fingerprint” of the Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme

The angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is a zinc-dependent metalloproteinase widely occurring in the organism; it metabolizes many peptides and plays a key role in blood pressure regulation and vascular remodeling. This enzyme is expressed as a type-1 membrane glycoprotein on the surface of endothelial and epithelial cells, but is also found in a soluble form in biological fluids. In this study, we used purified ACE from lungs, which is mainly produced by endothelial cells of lung capillaries; ACE from heart, produced by endothelial heart cells and, probably, by myofibroblasts; and ACE from seminal fluid, produced by the epithelial cells of the prostate and epididymis. The pattern of binding of a set of 17 mAbs to different conformational epitopes on the surface of two domains of the human ACE significantly differed for ACEs from different organs. This pattern (the conformational “fingerprint” of ACE) reflects the local conformation of the surface of a particular ACE. The differences in the conformational fingerprints of ACEs expressed by different cell types, or even by similar cells but in different organs, can be explained by the posttranslational modification of ACE protein in these organs and, primarily, different glycosylation of N-glycosylation sites Asn25, Asn117, Asn289, Asn666, Asn685, and Asn731. The mass spectrometry of tryptic hydrolyzates of ACEs isolated from different human organs made it possible to reveal, in the composition of different ACEs, N-glycosylation sites that are really occupied by glycans, namely, Asn in positions 82, 117, 416, 648, 666, 685, and 731 in ACE from seminal fluid; Asn in positions 117, 648, 666, and 685 in ACE from lungs; and Asn in positions 117, 480, 666, and 685 in ACE from heart. Differences in the plausible structures of glycans in ACE, in particular, at the Asn666 N-glycosylation site were demonstrated, which can explain the differences in the efficiency of binding of mAbs to ACE from different organs.     

Analysis of the “Poso” wheat translocation

The two translocation chromosomes in the Poso 5B/7B translocation have been isolated in separate heterozygous aneuploid stocks (19^II+5B+T). The translocation breakpoints are in the long arm of chromosome 7B and the short arm of chromosome 5B. The translocation chromosome bearing the 5B^L pairing inhibitor was obtained as a homozygous aneuploid (19^II+T ₁ ^II ). The heterozygous aneuploid hemizygous for the pairing inhibitor (19^II+5B+T₂) was used to produce intergeneric hybrids. Only a small percentage were of the high-pairing type (17%), the majority having received chromosome 5B through the egg. This indicates a strong selection against eggs containing the translocation chromosome deficient for the pairing inhibitor.