Rioarribasaurus,a new name for a Late Triassic dinosaur from New Mexico (USA)

The Late-Triassic-dinosaur generic nameCoelophysis Cope 1889 (type species C.bauri [Cope 1887]) is a nomen dubium because the lectotype of C.bauri, AMNH 2722, is four sacral vertebrae and a pubic process of the ilium that are not diagnostic. Dinosaur specimens from the famous Whitaker (“Coelophysis”) quarry in the Rock Point Member of the Chinle Formation at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico thus lack a valid name. We create a new genus and species name,Rioarribasaurus colberti, for these specimens.     

Rapid acquisition of three-dimensional triple-resonance experiments using pulsed field gradient techniques

Summary A rapid method for recording three-dimensional triple-resonance experiments utilising pulsed field gradient techniques is proposed, and applied to the HNCO experiment. In order to optimise the sensitivity of the method, a short phase cycle is used in conjunction with the pulsed field gradients to select the desired coherence transfer pathway. The method is demonstrated for the HU protein.     

Isolation of brush-border membranes from rat and rabbit colonocytes: Is alkaline phosphatase a marker enzyme?

Summary A method for the isolation of brush-border membranes of large intestinal epithelial cells was developed, which is based on the purification of intact brush-border caps by Percoll^® density-gradient centrifugation followed by separation of the vesiculated brush-border membranes on sucrose gradients. The procedure has two major advantages in comparison to known methods: 1) its first step does not depend on the determination of marker enzymes and 2) the method is applicable to rats as well as rabbits without major modifications. Due to the lack of an accepted marker for the colonic brush-border membrane the validity of the isolation procedure was tested by its application to the small intestine. Rat small intestinal brush-border membranes were enriched 21-fold when compared to the homogenate. The method was used to evaluate alkaline phosphatase as a marker enzyme for the colonic brush-border membrane. The results suggest that alkaline phosphatase is not exclusively localized in the brush-border membrane since this enzyme was also associated with membranes having different physical properties.     

Techniques for hand-rearing tree-shrews (Tupaia belangeri) from birth

In captivity, Tupaia belangeri (Thailand tree-shrew) frequently show aberrant patterns of maternal care which result in the death of offspring. In order to maximize the potential of the tree-shrew as an animal resource for experimental studies we have developed a program for hand-rearing tupaiidae from birth. Newborn tree-shrews were removed from mothers with a history of poor parental care to a nursery maintained under conditions of controlled relative humidity (70 ± 10%) and temperature (25 ± 1°C) on a 12 h dark: 12 h light cycle. The young tree-shrews were fed on a liquid formula until the eyes opened (Day 18–23) and for the subsequent 10 days on a transitional diet until they could feed themselves on solid food. Our hand-rearing protocol appears to conform to the natural weaning pattern of tupaiids. Food consumption during the liquid diet phase was linearly related to age and the increase in body weight in both sexes. The initial growth rate of male and female hand-reared tree-shrews was slower than that of maternally reared animals during the liquid diet phase. The growth rate accelerated subsequently and the body weight of hand-reared tree-shrews eventually reached that of maternally reared animals of the same sex. Various developmental changes occurred during the same period in artificially and naturally reared animals. In both hand-reared and maternally reared groups, the growth rate of male tree-shrews exceeded that of females from about Day 40 onward. The accelerated growth rate of male tree-shrews was in apparent association with an increase in androgen secretion at the onset of puberty. The high fecundity of tree-shrews in captivity reinforced with a program for hand-rearing the young make T belangeri a potential alternative to more conventional laboratory species in specific areas of biomedical research.     

Schistosoma mansoni adult microsomal antigens, a serologic reagent. I. Systematic fractionation, quantitation, and characterization of antigenic components

A systematic and quantitative search was conducted to identify and isolate a serologically pertinent antigen with high specific activity and low cross-reactivity from adult worms of Schistosoma mansoni. Adult worms of S. mansoni quickly thawed from liquid N2 temperatures were disrupted by controlled homogenization in isotonic buffered sucrose. Differential centrifugation of the homogenate yielded three particulate and one soluble fractions: the 480 x G pellet (nuclear), the 7650 x G pellet (mitochondrial), the 360,000 x G pellet (microsomal), and the 360,000 x G supernatant (cytosol). Quantitative analysis indicated a major concentration of specific antigenic activities in the microsomal fraction. Further purifications of the urea-solubilized, n-butanol-treated microsomal particles by gel filtration and ionic-exchange chromatography resulted in a microsomal antigen (MAMA) possessing high specific activity and low cross-reactivity. The final purification post-ionic exchange chromatograph showed a 30-fold increase of specific antigen activity over that of the cytosol fraction. Sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and enzyme-linked immunotransfer blot by the "Western blot" technique (EITB) indicated specific antigenic activities in association with several different m.w. bands (heterogeneous m.w. by extrapolation = 4.3 to 11.9 x 10(6), 2.0 x 10(5), and 2.0 x 10(4) daltons) of the MAMA fraction. When compared with other reported serologic antigens, MAMA showed substantially higher specific activity and lower cross-reactivity.