Ceramide dihexosides from the spermatozoa of the starfish, Asterias amurensis, consist of gentiobiosyl- cellobiosyl-, and lactosylceramide

Ceramide dihexoside was obtained from the spermatozoa of the starfish, Asterias amurensis. Gas-liquid chromatography of the methanolysate to determine the sugar composition of the lipid demonstrated an unequal ratio of glucose and galactose, implying that two or more glycolipids are present. They were separated by thin-layer chromatography on a borate-impregnated plate into two bands. From the results of methylation analysis and chromic acid oxidation, one was determined to be lactosylceramide, while the other was suggested to be a mixture of two diglucosylceramides: gentiobiosylceramide (Glc beta 1-6Glc beta 1-1Cer) and cellobiosylceramide (Glc beta 1-4Glc beta 1-1Cer). The molar ratio of gentiobiosyl-, cellobiosyl-, and lactosylceramide was estimated to be 0.7 : 0.3 : 1.0. Ceramide dihexosides obtained from another batch of the spermatozoa, collected at the same place in a different year, consisted almost exclusively of gentiobiosylceramide as confirmed by proton-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and fast-atom bombardment mass-spectrometry. The fatty acid compositions of these glycolipids were similar and the main acids were 14h:0, 15h:0, 16h:0, 18h:0, and 24h:1 (constituting more than 80% of the total acids). The long-chain base compositions were qualitatively similar and the major constituents were commonly d18:2, d18:3, d19:3, d22:2, and t22:1. Lactosylceramide was rich in t22:1, while diglucosylceramides were rich in d22:2.     

Neutral lipids, their fatty acids, and the sterols of the marine ciliated protozoon, Parauronema acutum

The neutral lipids and their fatty acids and the sterol fractions of the marine ciliated protozoon, Parauronema acutum, were characterized. The neutral lipids consisted of triglycerides (30%), sterols (29%), free fatty acids (24%), steryl esters (9%), and diglycerides (8%) and small amounts of fatty alcohols. The fatty acid profiles of these lipids were very similar although quantitative differences were detected. Saturated fatty acids, primarily 14:0, 16:0, and 18:0 constituted 20-30% of the total. Unsaturated fatty acids containing one to three double bonds, primarily 18:1(9), 18:2 (9,12), 18:3 (9, 12, 15) and 20:3 (11, 14, 17), constituted 35-50% of the total. Highly unsaturated fatty acids, 18:4 (6, 9, 12, 15), 20:5 (5, 8, 11, 14, 17) and 22:6 (4, 7, 10, 16, 19), constituted 16-25% of the total. The fatty alcohols consisted of 14:0 (2%), 16:0 (66%), 18:0 (3%), 20:0 (8%), and 22:0 (21%). The sterols of Parauronema acutum consisted of cholesterol (53%), campesterol (32%), desmosterol (7%), and beta-sitosterol (8%).     

Carbohydrate, glycolipid, and lipid components from the photobiont (Scytonema sp.) of the lichen, Dictyomema glabratum

The photobiont of the lichen, Dictyonema glabratum (Scytonema sp.), was isolated and cultivated in a soil-extract medium and submitted to chemical analysis. Successive extractions with CHCl3-MeOH, aqueous MeOH, and H2O gave rise to solutions of lipids (25%), low-molecular-weight carbohydrates (22%), and polysaccharides (4%), respectively. TLC of the lipid extract showed the presence of glycolipids, which were further purified and examined by NMR spectroscopy and GC-MS. Monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (1%), digalactosyldiacylglycerol (0.8%), trigalactosyldiacylglycerol (0.4%), and sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol (0.5%) were identified. The most abundant fatty acid ester in each fraction was palmitic (C16:0), but a great variation of the ester composition from one to another was found. Others present were those of C12:0, C14:0, C15:0, C16:1, C17:0, C18:0, C18:1, C18:2, C18:3, C22:0, C22:2, and C24:0. The lipid extract was also subjected to acid methanolysis, which gave rise to dodecane, 2-Me-heptadecane, 2,6-Me2-octadecane, and 8-Me-octadecane, methyl esters of C14:0, C15:0, C16:0, C16:1, C17:0, C18:0, C18:1, C18:2, C20:0, and C24:0 fatty acids, and the dimethyl ester of decanedioic acid. The polysaccharide had mainly Glc, Gal, and Man, with small amounts of 3-O-methylrhamnose and 2-O-methylxylose, both found in plants, and unexpectedly, some of the units were beta-galactofuranose, typical of fungal, but not cyanobacterial polysaccharides. The low-molecular-weight carbohydrates showed mannose as the main free reducing sugar, which differs from Nostoc sp. and Trebouxia sp. photobionts.     

Crossing, Creolization, and the African Roots of American Culture

Group Harmony: The Black Urban Roots of Rhythm and Blues. Stuart L. Goosman. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005. 291 pp.
Right to Rock: The Black Rock Coalition and the Cultural Politics of Race. Maureen Mahon. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2004. 317 pp.
Crossovers: Essays on Race, Music, and American Culture. John Szwed. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005. 283 pp.     

Context, Meaning, and the Chomskyan Notion of Creativity

Implicit Meanings: Essays in Anthropology. Mary Douglas . London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1975. xxi + 325 pp. $23.50 (cloth).
Culture and Communication. The Logic by Which Symbols are Connected: An Introduction to the Use of Structuralist Analysis in Social Anthropology. Edmund Leach . New York: Cambridge University Press, 1976. 105 pp. $9.95 (cloth), $3.95 (paper).
Meaning. Michael Polanyi and Harry Prosch . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1975. xiv + 246 pp. $12.50 (cloth).     

Weather Variability, Sunspots, and the Blooms of Cyanobacteria

The roles of weather variability and sunspots in the occurrence of cyanobacteria blooms, were investigated using cyanobacteria cell data collected from the Fred Haigh Dam, Queensland, Australia. Time series generalized linear model and classification and regression tree (CART) model were used in the analysis. Data on notified cell numbers of cyanobacteria and weather variables over the periods 2001 and 2005 were provided by the Australian Department of Natural Resources and Water, and Australian Bureau of Meteorology, respectively. The results indicate that monthly minimum temperature (relative risk [RR]: 1.13, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02–1.25) and rainfall (RR: 1.11; 95% CI: 1.03–1.20) had a positive association, but relative humidity (RR: 0.94; 95% CI: 0.91–0.98) and wind speed (RR: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.82–0.98) were negatively associated with the cyanobacterial numbers, after adjustment for seasonality and auto-correlation. The CART model showed that the cyanobacteria numbers were best described by an interaction between minimum temperature, relative humidity, and sunspot numbers. When minimum temperature exceeded 18°C and relative humidity was under 66%, the number of cyanobacterial cells rose by 2.15-fold. We conclude that weather variability and sunspot activity may affect cyanobacteria blooms in dams.     

A comparative histochemical study of the masseter muscle of the cattle,sheep, swine,dog, guinea pig,and rat

Summary The masseter muscles of different mammals were studied by means of histochemical reactions: NADH: Nitro BT oxidoreductase (NADHOX), 3-hydroxybutyrate: NAD⁺ oxidoreductase (HBOX), glycerol-3-phosphate: menadione oxidoreductase (GPOX), and acid-stable and alkali-stable myosin adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase). The masseter muscles of cattle and sheep consisted only of the fibres that reacted moderately for GPOX and strongly for NADHOX, HBOX, and the acid-stable ATPase. The masseter fibres of rats and guinea pigs reacted uniformly and strongly for GPOX and the alkali-stable ATPase. The fibres of the rats showed a weak to strong reaction for NADHOX and mostly a negative reaction for HBOX, whereas those of the guinea pigs reacted uniformly and strongly for NADHOX and HBOX. The masseter fibres of swine and dogs showed a weak or strong reaction for the alkali-stable and a negative or weak reaction for HBOX. The fibres of the swine were weak to strong in NADHOX activity and those of the dogs uniformly strong; the fibres of the two species gave a moderate to strong reaction for GPOX. The masseter fibres of the ruminant differed from those of the other species in histochemical properties, and appeared to have the histochemical characteristics that meed functional demands for slow, long-term exercise.     

Effects of augmentative releases of eggs and larvae of the ladybird beetle, Adalia bipunctata, on the abundance of the rosy apple aphid, Dysaphis plantaginea, in organic apple orchards

The impact of augmentative releases of larvae and eggs of the indigenous ladybird beetle Adalia bipunctata (L.) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) against the rosy apple aphid Dysaphis plantaginea Pass. (Homoptera: Aphididae), a major pest insect on apple trees, was assessed in field experiments in Switzerland, during 1997. In a first experiment, eggs and larvae were released on 3-year old apple trees infested with five aphids at four different predator-prey ratios (0:5, 1:5, 1:1, 5:1). In a second experiment, eggs and larvae were released at a predator-prey ratio of 5:1 on branches of apple trees naturally infested with aphids. In both experiments, the interaction with ants was taken into account and the releases were done at two different times in spring. The results showed that an augmentative release of larvae significantly prevented the build-up of colonies of D. plantaginea. Significant reductions in aphid numbers were recorded at the two highest predator-prey ratios, 1:1 and 5:1. Larvae were efficient just before flowering of apple trees at a time when growers normally have to spray their trees. On trees where ants were present the larvae of A. bipunctata were significantly less efficient. Effects of eggs of A. bipunctata, however, were less reliable. At the first date of release (5 April), they did not hatch, probably as a consequence of bad weather conditions.     

Indigenous Peoples, State-Sanctioned Knowledge, and the Politics of Recognition

Invisible Indigenes: The Politics of Nonrecognition . Bruce G. Miller. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003. 248 pp.
Forgotten Tribes: Unrecognized Indians and the Federal Acknowledgement Process . Mark Edwin Miller. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2004. 355 pp.
Gambling and Survival in Native North America . Paul Pasquaretta. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2003. 202 pp.     

Inside the Neolithic Mind: Consciousness, Cosmos, and the Realm of the Gods

Inside the Neolithic Mind: Consciousness, Cosmos, and the Realm of the Gods. David Lewis-Williams and David Pearce. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2005. 320 pp.     

A comparative histochemical study of the masseter muscle of the cattle, sheep, swine, dog, guinea pig, and rat.

The masseter muscles of different mammals were studied by means of hisotchemical reactions: NADH: Nitro BT oxidoreductase (NADHOX), 3-hydroxybutyrate: NAD+ oxidoreductase (HBOX), glycerol-3-phosphate: menadione oxidoreductase (GPOX), and acid-stable and alkali-stable myosin adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase). The masseter mucles of cattle and sheep consisted only of the fibres that reacted moderately for GPOX and strongly for NADHOX, HBOX, and the acid-stable ATPase. The masseter fibres of rats and guinea pigs reacted uniformly and strongly for GPOX and the alkali-stable ATPase. The fibres of the rats showed a weak to strong reaction for NADHOX and mostly a negative reaction for HBOX, whereas those of the guinea pigs reacted uniformly and strongly for NADHOX and HBOX.The masseter fibres of swine and dogs showed a weak or strong reaction for the alkali-stable and a negative or weak reation for HBOX. The fibres of the swine were weak to strong in NADHOX activity and those of the dogs uniformly strong; the fibres of the two species gave a moderate to strong reaction for GPOX. The masseter fibres of the ruminant differed from those of the other species in histochemical properties, and appeared to have the histochemical characteristics that meed functional demands for slow, long-term exercise.     

Chronopharmacological Study of an Antimicrobial Agent,Norfloxacin, in the Rat

Circadian rhythms in physiological processes may affect pharmacological actions of drugs. The purpose of this study was to determine whether pharmacokinetics or acute lethality (LD 50) of norfloxacin, exhibited circadian rhythmicity. Female Sprague- Dawley prepuberal rats (weight 115.8 ± 10.2 g) synchronized with a 12-h-light/ 12-h-dark cycle (lights on 7:00h) were used throughout the study. Norfloxacin pharmacokinetics after intraperitoneal administration at 4:00, 10:00, 16:00 and 22:00h was characterized. Intraperitoneal norfloxacin LD 50 was administered at 2:00, 6:00, 10:00, 14:00, 18:00 and 22:00 h. Pharmacokinetic parameters and lethality percentages were analyzed by the cosinor method for the presence of circadian rhythmicity. The results showed evidence of circadian rhythmicity for norfloxacin k abs, t ½abs, t max, MRT abs, Cl t /f and AUC. Absorption was higher when the drug was administered during the rest (16:00 h) period, meanwhile elimination was higher when administered during the activity (22:00 h) period. No rhythmicity was determined for norfloxacin lethality. It is concluded that, in this study, time of administration modifies the pharmacokinetics of norfloxacin.     

Observations of mating behavior of the manta ray,manta birostris, at the ogasawara islands, japan

On 11 July 1997, the mating behavior of wild manta rays,Manta birostris, was observed while skin diving off Chichijima. Ogasawara Islands, Japan, and recorded with 49 underwater photographs and about 20 minutes of video tape. The female manta ray involved was estimated as being approximately 5 m in dise width (DW) and the two males involved, approximately 4 m DW. Copulatory behavior of the two males appeared to be almost the same, copulation itself being of the abdomen-to-abdomen type. Initially, the males chased the female for 20–30 minutes, all animals swimming at approximately 10 km/h. Each copulation event occurred within one meter of the surface, during which time the participating male grasped the tip of the female's left pectoral fin with his mouth. The clasper was inserted for 90 seconds (Male No. 1) and 60 seconds (Male No. 2), respectively. The mating behavior sequence of the manta rays involved following five steps. 1.: Male chases behind the tail of the female, attempting (several times) to grasp the latter's pectoral fin (chasing behavior). 2.: Male bites the tip of the female's pectoral fin, before positioning itself against the latter's underside (biting behavior). 3.: Male inserts a clasper into the cloaca of the female (copulating behavior). 4.: Male removes the clasper from the cloaca of the female, but continues biting the latter's pectoral fin (post-copulating behavior). 5.: Male releases the pectoral fin of the female, setting her free (separating behavior).     

Blazeispirols B, C, E and F, des-A-ergostane-type compounds, from the cultured mycelia of the fungus Agaricus blazei

Four new des-A-ergostane derivatives including blazeispirols B, C, E and F were isolated from the cultured mycelia of fungus Agaricus blazei Murill and were established to be (20S, 22R, 23R, 24S)-14beta,22: 22,25-diepoxy-5-methoxy-des-A-ergosta-5,7,9,11-tetraen-23-ol; (20S, 22S, 23R, 24S)-14beta,22: 22,25-diepoxy-5-methoxy-des-A-ergosta-5,7,9-trien-23-ol; (20S, 22S, 23R, 24S)-14beta, 22: 22, 25-diepoxy-5-methoxy-des-A-ergosta-5,7,9,11-tetraene-19,23-diol and (20S, 22S, 23R, 24S)-14beta,22: 22,25-diepoxy-des-A-ergosta-5,7,9-triene-5,23-diol by comparison of extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectral data with that of blazeispirol A.     

Obcells as Proto-Organisms: Membrane Heredity, Lithophosphorylation, and the Origins of the Genetic Code, the First Cells, and Photosynthesis

I attempt to sketch a unified picture of the origin of living organisms in their genetic, bioenergetic, and structural aspects. Only selection at a higher level than for individual selfish genes could power the cooperative macromolecular coevolution required for evolving the genetic code. The protein synthesis machinery is too complex to have evolved before membranes. Therefore a symbiosis of membranes, replicators, and catalysts probably mediated the origin of the code and the transition from a nucleic acid world of independent molecular replicators to a nucleic acid/protein/lipid world of reproducing organisms. Membranes initially functioned as supramolecular structures to which different replicators attached and were selected as a higher-level reproductive unit: the proto-organism. I discuss the roles of stereochemistry, gene divergence, codon capture, and selection in the code's origin. I argue that proteins were primarily structural not enzymatic and that the first biological membranes consisted of amphipathic peptidyl-tRNAs and prebiotic mixed lipids. The peptidyl-tRNAs functioned as genetically-specified lipid analogues with hydrophobic tails (ancestral signal peptides) and hydrophilic polynucleotide heads. Protoribosomes arose from two cooperating RNAs: peptidyl transferase (large subunit) and mRNA-binder (small subunit). Early proteins had a second key role: coupling energy flow to the phosphorylation of gene and peptide precursors, probably by lithophosphorylation by membrane-anchored kinases scavenging geothermal polyphosphate stocks. These key evolutionary steps probably occurred on the outer surface of an `inside out-cell' or obcell, which evolved an unambiguous hydrophobic code with four prebiotic amino acids and proline, and initiation by isoleucine anticodon CAU; early proteins and nucleozymes were all membrane-attached. To improve replication, translation, and lithophosphorylation, hydrophilic substrate-binding and catalytic domains were later added to signal peptides, yielding a ten-acid doublet code. A primitive proto-ecology of molecular scavenging, parasitism, and predation evolved among obcells. I propose a new theory for the origin of the first cell: fusion of two cup-shaped obcells, or hemicells, to make a protocell with double envelope, internal genome and ribosomes, protocytosol, and periplasm. Only then did water-soluble enzymes, amino acid biosynthesis, and intermediary metabolism evolve in a concentrated autocatalytic internal cytosolic soup, causing 12 new amino acid assignments, termination, and rapid freezing of the 22-acid code. Anticodons were recruited sequentially: GNN, CNN, INN, and *UNN. CO₂ fixation, photoreduction, and lipid synthesis probably evolved in the protocell before photophosphorylation. Signal recognition particles, chaperones, compartmented proteases, and peptidoglycan arose prior to the last common ancestor of life, a complex autotrophic, anaerobic green bacterium. Received: 19 February 2001 / Accepted: 9 April 2001     

Chemodenitrification in the cryoecosystem of Lake Vida,Victoria Valley,Antarctica

Lake Vida, in the Victoria Valley of East Antarctica, is frozen, yet harbors liquid brine (~20% salt, >6 times seawater) intercalated in the ice below 16 m. The brine has been isolated from the surface for several thousand years. The brine conditions (permanently dark, ?13.4 °C, lack of O₂, and pH of 6.2) and geochemistry are highly unusual. For example, nitrous oxide (N₂O) is present at a concentration among the highest reported for an aquatic environment. Only a minor ¹⁷O anomaly was observed in N₂O, indicating that this gas was predominantly formed in the lake. In contrast, the ¹⁷O anomaly in nitrate () in Lake Vida brine indicates that approximately half or more of the present is derived from atmospheric deposition. Lake Vida brine was incubated in the presence of ¹⁵N‐enriched substrates for 40 days. We did not detect microbial nitrification, dissimilatory reduction of to ammonium (), anaerobic ammonium oxidation, or denitrification of N₂O under the conditions tested. In the presence of ¹⁵N‐enriched nitrite (), both N₂ and N₂O exhibited substantial ¹⁵N enrichments; however, isotopic enrichment declined with time, which is unexpected. Additions of ¹⁵N– alone and in the presence of HgCl₂ and ZnCl₂ to aged brine at ?13 °C resulted in linear increases in the δ¹⁵N of N₂O with time. As HgCl₂ and ZnCl₂ are effective biocides, we interpret N₂O production in the aged brine to be the result of chemodenitrification. With this understanding, we interpret our results from the field incubations as the result of chemodenitrification stimulated by the addition of ¹⁵N‐enriched and ZnCl₂ and determined rates of N₂O and N₂ production of 4.11–41.18 and 0.55–1.75 nmol L^?1 day^?1, respectively. If these rates are representative of natural production, the current concentration of N₂O in Lake Vida could have been reached between 6 and 465 years. Thus, chemodenitrification alone is sufficient to explain the high levels of N₂O present in Lake Vida.     

Distribution of the ABO blood groups and the HP,TF, GC,PI and C3 serum proteins in Yakuts

In Yakut populations examined, polymorphisms of immunological and serum protein markers, including AB0 and Rhesus blood groups, HP, TF, GC, PI and C3, were revealed. Gene frequencies for the systems studied fell into the following ranges: AB0 system: r, 0.514 to 0.663; p, 0.136 to 0.306; q, 0.110 to 0.337; haptoglobin HP*1: 0.214 to 0.431; transferrin TF*C: 0.700 to 1.0; group specific component GC*1: 0.821 to 0.978; PI*M1 proteinase inhibitor (or alpha 1-antitrypsin) PIM1: 0.860 to 0.946; and third component of the complement C3*F: 0.031 to 0.143.     

Effect of temperature, photoperiod, flooding, and drying on the hatching pattern of the eggs of Strelkovimermis spiculatus (Nematoda: Mermithidae)

We assessed the number of Strelkovimermis spiculatus preparasites obtained from a known initial number of nematode eggs and the effect of abiotic conditions (temperature, photoperiod, flooding-drying) on the number of emerged preparasites. Two egg groups were maintained: one continuously flooded, another with flooding-drying cycles (every 15, 30, 60 days). Each egg group was studied at 25°C and 14:10 (L:D) and 16°C and 12:12 (L:D). The flooded eggs contained a higher overall percentage of S. spiculatus preparasites compared to the wet-dry-cycle eggs. The conditions of continuous flooding at 16°C and 12:12 (L:D) produced the maximum percent of emerged J2s (30±15%). Preparasites were recorded by 7 (25°C) and 14 (16°C) days, suggesting this period as the minimum time for embryonic development. The preparasite-emergence time observed from the same flooded-egg batch (98 and 112 days at 25°C and 16°C, respectively) suggested a nonsynchronous hatching, possibly through nonuniform egg embryonation. The time of exposure to drought in the assays did not significantly affect the total average percentage of J2s obtained at 25°C and 14:10 (L:D), whereas at 16°C the number of emerged J2s diminished with a prolongation of the drying period. The oviposition period was also recorded only at 16°C and 12:12 (L:D): S. spiculatus eggs were detected at 12.6 days after postparasite emergence, and oviposition was complete at 51days under those conditions. We propose a flooding schedule to optimize the mass-rearing of S. spiculatus.