A chronobiological study of delta-amino levulinic acid urinary excretion

Determination of urinary delta-amino levulinic acid (ALA) is now systematically used in occupational health to detect an excessive exposure to lead in professionally exposed workers. However, to determine whether circadian changes of the urinary excretion of ALA alter the significance of the test, we quantified the ALA levels in the urine of 19 healthy young adults. Urine samples were taken every 3 hr between 0700 and 2300 hr and ALA levels were determined by a spectrocolorimetric method. The data indicated that the 24-hr mean ALA level was: 1.81 mg/g creatinine. The peak values (2.24 +/- 0.24) were obtained between 1400 and 1700 hr whereas the lowest ALA levels were found between 2200 and 0300 hr. Cosinor analysis revealed a significant circadian rhythm while no significant difference could be found according to sex. Possible explanations of our findings are discussed.     

Initial decomposition ofNymphoides peltata (Gmel.) O. Kuntze (Menyanthaceae), as studied by the leaf-marking method

Summary In this paper the leaf-marking method as used for the study of the development and initial decomposition of floating leaves is described and the reliability of the various measurements is tested and/or discussed. Some general results obtained withNymphoides peltata (Gmel.) O. Kuntze in tanks and in the field are presented and crltically discussed. Autolysis followed by microbial decay was in all cases the most important factor by which leaves disintegrated. In the field plots animals were responsible for the disappearance of 22% of the total leaf area produced during a growth season. This is, however, the combined effect of consumption and damage succeeded by microbial decay. Real grazing can be estimated to be no more than 10% of the production of floating leaves. Fungi can have an important role in initial decomposition, especially after the flowering period, as is demonstrated forSeptoria villarsiae Desm. All damage types show temporal and, in the case of animals, also spatial distribution patterns.     

A simple,rapid, and sensitive method for measuring protein concentration in subcellular membrane fractions prepared by sucrose density ultracentrifugation

The Multiskan spectrophotometric system and Coomassie brilliant blue G-250 protein-dye binding method have been used together to measure NaOH-solubilized protein in subcellular membrane fractions prepared from isolated rat adipose cells. Forty-eight samples can be read in duplicate within 1 min. Sucrose in concentrations up to 0.7 m interfere only moderately with the assay. A rapid and convenient method is, therefore, now available for multiple protein determinations following sucellular fractionation on sucrose gradients.     

The phagocytic ability of neutrophils and serum lysozyme activity in experimentally infected carp, Cyprinus carpio L.

The phagocytosis of neutrophils and serum lysozyme activity were investigated in carp experimentally infected with Pseudomonas alcaligenes and Aeromonas punctata. The total leucocyte numbers, relative leucocyte counts, nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction, NBT test rate, lysozyme activity and lysozyme index were examined on days 7, 14 and 21 after injection. On days 7 and 14 there was a significant increase in total leucocyte numbers and serum lysozyme activity, but a decrease in the NBT test rate and lysozyme index. NBT reduction was unchanged compared with the control group. On day 21 the total leucocyte numbers and lysozyme activity had declined and were less than control values, but there was a significant increase of the NBT test rate, NBT reduction and lysozyme index.     

Molecular alteration of a muscarinic acetylcholine receptor system during synaptogenesis

Biochemical properties of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor system of the avian retina were found to change during the period when synapses form in ovo. Comparison of ligand binding to membranes obtained before and after synaptogenesis showed a significant increase in the affinity, but not proportion, of the high affinity agonist-binding state. There was no change in receptor sensitivity to antagonists during this period. Pirenzepine binding, which can discriminate muscarinic receptor subtypes, showed the presence of a single population of low affinity sites (M2) before and after synaptogenesis. The change in agonist binding was not due to the late development of receptor function; tests for receptor-stimulated phosphatidylinositol turnover and for modulation of agonist binding by guanylylimidodiphosphate showed functional coupling to be present several days prior to the onset of synapse formation. However, detergent-solubilization of membranes eliminated differences in agonist binding between receptors from embryos and hatched chicks, suggesting a developmental change in interactions of the receptor with functionally related membrane components. A possible basis for altered interactions was obtained from isoelectric point data showing that the muscarinic receptor population underwent a transition from a predominantly low pI form (4.25) in 13 day embryos to a predominantly high pI form (4.50) in newly hatched chicks. The possibility that biochemical changes in the muscarinic receptor play a role in differentiation of the system by controlling receptor position on the surface of nerve cells is discussed.     

Dietary shifts of sympatric buteos during a prey decline

Summary Diets of nesting Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) and Ferruginous Hawks (Buteo regalis) were sampled before and after a decline in the hawks' principal prey species. Diets of pairs that shared their foraging ranges with interspecifics were contrasted with those of pairs whose home ranges did not overlap with interspecifics. Current theory predicts that diets should diverge during prey shortages and that overlap should be especially reduced in ranges shared with interspecifics. Species composition of the two hawks' diets diverged during the prey shortage, but the divergence was most pronounced in hawks that did not share foraging ranges with interspecifics. In contrast to predictions, the two species converged on similar-sized prey during the prey shortage. Available data on differences in habitat composition and prey availability at the sample sites did not explain the deviations from the predicted response. Although our findings on diet shifts differ from those of most other studies, the implications are consistent with observations of others who have studied assemblages of mammal-feeding raptors. We conclude that diet composition of the hawks we studied was not directly affected by interspecific competition and that shifts in diet overlap during prey shortages do not necessarily imply that interspecific competition is occurring.     

Analysis of the mode of antigen presentation required for triggering of T cell proliferation by using various azobenzenearsonate-tyrosine derivatives

Various azobenzenearsonate-tyrosine (ABA-Tyr) derivatives were synthesized by modifying amino and carboxyl groups at the alpha-carbon of tyrosine, with preservation of most of the ABA-Tyr moiety (ABA plus hydroxyphenyl portion of tyrosine). These derivatives were tested for the ability to stimulate ABA-L-Tyr specific T cell lines derived from B10.BR and B10.S mice. ABA-acetyltyramine, ABA-hydroxyphenylpropionic acid (ABA-PPr), and ABA-propylphenol, which lack either the carboxyl or amino group or both, could not induce T cell proliferation. The lack of stimulation by these derivatives was not due to their cytotoxic effects. A similar pattern of proliferation was obtained on stimulating lymph node T cells from B10.BR and B10.S mice primed with ABA-L-Tyr. Some differences were observed, however, between B10.BR and B10.S mice. ABA-L-Tyr-specific T cells from B10.BR mice could not respond well to ABA-D-Tyr in contrast to B10.S T cells. Furthermore, B10.BR mice primed with ABA-acetyltyramine or ABA-PPr in complete Freund's adjuvant could not induce ABA-L-Tyr-reactive T cells, whereas T cells from B10.S mice primed with these derivatives could proliferate in the presence of ABA-L-Tyr. The differences between B10.BR and B10.S mice were further investigated by using (B10.S X B10.BR)F1 mice. T cells from ABA-L-Tyr-immunized F1 mice responded poorly to ABA-D-Tyr when presented with B10.BR antigen-presenting cells (APC), but responded well when presented with B10.S APC. Similarly, T cells from ABA-PPr-primed F1 mice did not proliferate to ABA-L-Tyr in the presence of B10.BR APC, but could proliferate in the presence of B10.S APC. Our results clearly indicate that the presence of charged groups at the alpha-carbon of tyrosine plays a critical role in the triggering of ABA-L-Tyr-specific T cell proliferation. The significance of these results is discussed.