The reactogenicity and immunogenicity of the Urabe Am 9 live mumps vaccine and persistence of vaccine induced antibodies in healthy young children

The immunogenicity and reactogenicity of the Urabe Am 9 mumps virus vaccine strain were studied after the administration of different doses of the vaccine to 197 children ranging in age from seven and a half months to nine years and without a history of mumps. There was no effect of dose on the response in serum neutralizing antibodies in the range of 10(2.9) to 10(4.7) TCID50/dose. In the 90 subjects without detectable serum neutralization antibodies before vaccination seroconversion was obtained in 94.4% after 42 days. Half of a group of 34 seropositive children who were tested also showed a fourfold or greater rise in antibodies. Persistence of vaccine-enhanced haemagluttinin-inhibition (EHI) antibodies was satisfactory as only two of 46 vaccinees followed-up for between 27 and 32 months had undetectable levels of EHI antibodies and the geometric mean titre of vaccine-induced EHI antibodies had only fallen to about one-third by 32 months after vaccination. Although there was serological evidence of a subclinical re-infection in three subjects, to date none of the vaccinees has had clinical mumps indicating that the vaccine confers protection against disease. The vaccine was well tolerated. Furthermore, the majority of the few 'reactions' reported were probably not vaccine-related. It is concluded that the Urabe Am 9 is an acceptable strain for use in live mumps vaccines.     

The cell coat of the olfactory epithelium proper and vomeronasal neuroepithelium of the rat as revealed by means of the Ruthenium-red reaction

Summary The apical cell coat of the olfactory epithelium proper and the vomeronasal neuroepithelium of the rat was investigated electronmicroscopically by means of the Ruthenium-red reaction. In the olfactory epithelium proper, the cilia of receptor cells and microvilli of supporting cells possess a cell coat measuring approximately 10 nm in thickness. In the vomeronasal neuroepithelium, the apical cell coat is thicker than in the olfactory epithelium proper. On microvilli of vomeronasal receptor cells the cell coat varies in thickness from 15 to 20 nm, and on microvilli of supporting cells it measures approximately 75 nm. The functional implications of these findings are discussed.A portion of this study was presented at the 6^th European Anatomical Congress in Hamburg. This publication is dedicated to Prof. E. KlikaSupported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Br 358/5-1).     

Une triple translocation chez le Triton Pleurodeles waltlii

A cytogenetic study has lead us to a stock of fertile heterozygotes for a triple translocation. The chromosomal rearrangement has first been detected in a female resulting from a cross between a normal female and a male submitted to X ray-irradiation. The aberration consists of rearrangements between a chromosome 3, a chromosome 6 and a chromosome 7. Abnormal chromosomes have the following constitution: 7q?: the terminal portion of the long arm is lost and replaced by the end of the short arm of the chromosome 3. 6 q+: the terminal portion of the long arm is lost and replaced by the end of the long arm of the chromosome 7. 3p+: the terminal portion of the short arm is lost and replaced by the end of the long arm of the chromosome 6. On the analogy of the human chromosome standardization, the formula of heterozygotes is 24, t (3p+, 6q+, 7q?). The first meiotic division shows both in the female and in the male 9 bivalents and one hexavalent. The formulae of the gametes are the same in both sexes. When a heterozygote is bred with a normal individual the offspring is composed of phenotypically normal or abnormal animals, depending on their karyotypes. The unbalanced karyotypes are lethal or semilethal. The importance of the malformations depends on the temperature of the water where the animals grow. The study of the meiotic slides brings a cytological confirmation of the results obtained from the study of the phenotypes and karyotypes which appear in the offspring.     

Untersuchungen mit der Röntgen-Mikrosonde über Verteilung und Transport von Ionen in Pflanzengeweben

Summary Translocation and distribution of K, Ca, Sr and P in the fruit stalk and pods of Pisum sativum were studied by means of the electron probe X-ray micronalyser.Long-distance transport through the fruit stalk of K and P as well as of Ca and Sr takes mainly place in sieve tubes. Therefore the theory of Münch (1930) concerning the supply of substances via the phloem to seeds of weakly transpiring fruits is confirmed for several important ions. A fairly small Ca supply to the sieve tubes seems to be the reason that the transport of Ca in sieve tubes and its content in seeds are relatively low. Ca and Sr are also translocated in xylem vessels, mainly to the dorsal suture of the pods; there they accumulate as sulfate in the xylem tissues of the central vein.In addition to the longitudinal translocation there is also a lateral transport outwards from the conducting tissues. The heaviest depositions of minerals are located in the cell walls of sclerenchyma outside of the vascular bundles. These depositions consist mainly of Ca-Sr-phosphate in the fruit stalk and the dorsal suture and of Ca-Sr-sulfate as well as K-phosphate in the ventral suture. The cortical cells of the fruit stalk contain some crystals of Ca-Sr-oxalate.     

Synergistic effects of ethanol and temperature on yeast mitochondria

At temperatures lower than 37°C, the ethanol inhibition constant (Ki) for growth or fermentation inrho ⁺ cells of theSaccharomyces cerevisiae strain S288C was always higher (1.1M) than inrho ^– mutants (0.7M). At 37°C these differences disappeared, and both strains were equally inhibited by ethanol (Ki=0.7m). Mitochondrial activity can be inhibited by high ethanol concentration and temperature. In fact, the stronger inhibition by ethanol of therho ⁺ strain at 37°C was due to the fact that, under these conditions, this strain loses the advantage conferred by mitochondrial activity since the induction ofrho ^– cells in the population is very high. This does not result in an increase in the frequency ofrho ^– mutants because of the poor viability of these mutants in conditions of high temperature and ethanol. In consequence, S288C strain becomes as strongly inhibited by ethanol as therho ^– mutant strains. Differences in viability were not related to the fatty acids and ergosterol composition of the strain. In the presence of ethanol, bothrho ⁺ andrho ^– strains modified their lipids in the same way, but these changes did not improve their ethanol tolerance. They were not due to differences in adaptation to ethanol either, since after successive transfers in ethanol, growth () and fermentation () rates in therho ^– mutants were increasingly inhibited with time, whereas in the S288C strain inhibition of and by ethanol remained unaltered. Rather,rho ^– mutants are less viable thanrho ⁺ cells because of the inability of the former to respire. At 37°C the Ki increased to 0.9M ethanol either when mitochondrial from highly ethanol-tolerant wine yeasts were transferred torho ^– mutants of the strain S288C or when the mitochondria of strain S288C were preadapted by growing the strain in glycerol instead of glucose before it was cultivated in ethanol.     

Interactive effects of salinity, nitrogen and sulphur on the organic solutes in Spartina alterniflora leaf blades

Glycinebetaine, proline, asparagine, sucrose, glucose, and dimethylsulphoniopropionate(DMSP) were the major organic solutes in Spartina alternifloraleaf blades. To investigate the physiological role(s) of thesesolutes, the effects of salinity, nitrogen, and sulphur treatmentson leaf blade solute levels were examined. Glycinebetaine wasthe major organic solute accumulated in leaf blades grown at500 mol m^–3 NaCl, although asparagine and proline alsoaccumulated when the supply of nitrogen was sufficient. Thesesolutes may play a role in osmotic adjustment. In contrast,DMSP levels either did not change or were reduced in responseto the 500 mol m^–3 NaCl treatment. Furthermore, elevatednitrogen supply decreased leaf blade DMSP levels, which wasopposite to the response of glycinebetaine, proline, and asparagine.A 1000-fold increase in external sulphate concentration hadno effect on the leaf blade levels of DMSP, glycinebetaine,proline, or asparagine. These findings suggest that the majorphysiological role of DMSP in S. alterniflora leaf blades isnot for osmotic adjustment, even under conditions of nitrogendeficit and excess sulphur. Instead, DMSP which was presentat 45—130 µmol g^–1 dry weight, may play arole as a constitutive organic osmoticum. Key words: Spartina alterniflora, dimethylsulphoniopropionate, glycinebetaine, nitrogen, salinity