Genetic variation in Cameroon: Thermostability variants of hemoglobin and of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase

The technique of heat denaturation was used in addition to electrophoresis for the detection of thermostability variants of hemoglobin and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in an attempt to measure the amount of genetic variability present in villages in the United Republic of Cameroon, Equatorial Africa. A minimum of three to a maximum of 13 thermostability variants were estimated for HbA and HbS, and a minimum of two to a maximum of ten thermostability variants were estimated for GdA, GdB, and GdA —. It is suggested that hemoglobin and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase thermostability variants are genetically determined and that the sites of these variants are at the hemoglobin and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase structural loci. The evidence for the existence of these hidden variants and their importance in the neutralist v. selectionist controversy are discussed.This work was supported in part by National Institutes of Health Grant HL 16005. S. C. B. was an International Telephone and Telegraph International Fellow to Cameroon, was supported by Training Grant NIH-GM 07197, and is currently an Insurance Medical Scientist Scholar. This work is in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Genetics by S. C. B.     

Potentiation of the in vitro cytotoxic response to syngeneic lymphoma cells by soluble products of tuberculin-sensitive lymphoid cells stimulated with PPD

Spleen cells from rats immunized with the syngeneic (C58NT)D Gross virus induced lymphoma have previously been shown to differentiate into cytotoxic effector cells following restimulation with tumor cells in vitro. Previous work has also demonstrated that the addition of PPD-primed syngeneic spleen cells and PPD to cultures of (C58NT)D-primed spleen cells will potentiate the in vitro cytotoxic response to tumor antigens. In the studies presented here, the potentiating effect was found to be mediated by a soluble factor(s) released by nonadherent cells from BCG-primed rats. The release of this immunopotentiating factor(IPF) required the presence of PPD and varied with the concentration of PPD added. IPF was produced by BCG-primed spleen, lymph node, and thymus cells. Maximal production of IPF in PPD-stimulated cultures was obtained after 6–12 hr of incubation. Supernatants obtained after 30 hr of incubation lacked apparent IPF activity when tested initially, but activity was recovered after mild heat treatment. Recovery of IPF activity after heat exposure is best explained by the presence of a heat-labile inhibitor. IPF itself is stable to heat treatment to 56 °C for 40 min. IPF was also shown to be capable of enhancing immune responses to histocompatibility antigens in vitro.     

Brain temperature in pigeons: Effects of anterior respiratory bypass

Summary During heat stress in domestic pigeons (Columba livia, mean mass 0.43 kg) brain temperature (T _B) varied in parallel with colonic temperature (T _c). The difference between these (T _C–T _B=T) averaged 0.7°C and was not significantly altered when the animal breathed through a trachael cannula bypassing the buccopharyngeal cavity. When we sealed the nares and beak in bypass animals, T was significantly reduced but was nevertheless maintained at 0.4°C. When the eyes were sealed as well, however, T was reversed, amounting to –0.4°C. Conversely, with eyes sealed but beak and nares open, T was indistinguishable from that in controls. These results suggest a role for the cornea in evaporative cooling, at least when respiratory evaporation is impaired, and are consistent with the hypothesis that buccopharyngeal and corneal evaporation are coupled to brain cooling. The probable mechanism for this coupling is the flow of venous blood from evaporative surfaces through theretia mirabilia in the temporal areas. Here heat is transferred from the warmer arterial blood flowing through theretia toward the brain to the centrally flowing, cooler venous blood.     

Induction by ouabain of hemoglobin synthesis in cultured friend erythroleukemic cells

Induction of erythroid differentiation in ouabain-resistant murine erythroleukemia cells by ouabain is reported. Ouabain induction results in the appearance of hemoglobin-containing cells 12–24 hr earlier than induction of the same clone by dimethyl sulfoxide. The levels of globin mRNA after ouabain induction are similar in amount to the globin mRNA levels observed after induction by dimethyl sulfoxide. The concentration of ouabain required to induce hemoglobin synthesis depends upon the K⁺ ion levels in the culture medium. Lowering the extracellular K⁺ ion concentration 2–4 fold reduced by 10–40 fold the ouabain concentration necessary for the induction of hemoglobin synthesis. In low K⁺ medium (1.8 mM), ouabain is an effective inducer of hemoglobin synthesis at a concentration of 0.02 mM. This K⁺ effect is specific for ouabain induction, since induction by other inducers, such as dimethyl sulfoxide and dimethyl acetamide, does not exhibit this marked sensitivity to the levels of K⁺ ions in the culture medium. These results suggest that the binding of ouabain to the plasma membrane enzyme, $\text{Na}\text{K}$ ATPase, is required for the induction of erythroid differentiation by ouabain. A small but significant proportion of wild-type, ouabain-sensitive cells also can be induced by ouabain, below ouabain concentrations that are toxic to these cells. The observation that the binding of ouabain to the $\text{Na}\text{K}$ ATPase induces hemoglobin synthesis suggests that changes in the intracellular concentration of K⁺ ions may be involved in the control of erythroid differentiation in Friend erythroleukemic cells.     

斑点叉尾鮰源普通变形杆菌的分离、鉴定及药敏特性

【目的】对患病斑点叉尾鮰进行病原菌分离、鉴定及药敏实验,为斑点叉尾鮰肠道坏死病的防控提供参考。【方法】从患病斑点叉尾鮰病灶、肝、脾和肾分离纯化病原菌,经理化特性测定及16S rRNA基因序列分析对其进行鉴定,开展人工感染试验,并利用纸片扩散法进行药敏特性分析。【结果】分离菌株k1为本次引发斑点叉尾鮰病害的致病菌,其对斑点叉尾鮰的LD50为2.82×10~5 CFU/g。菌株k1理化特性与普通变形杆菌Proteus vulgaris基本一致,16S rRNA基因序列与普通变形杆菌相似性最高,综合判定分离菌株为普通变形杆菌。分离菌株k1对环丙沙星、头孢唑林及头孢拉定等12种抗生素高度敏感,对苯唑西林、阿莫西林及痢特灵等7种抗生素耐药。【结论】分离菌株k1是斑点叉尾鮰病原菌,养殖时可选用庆大霉素及氟苯尼考等药物进行防控。     

灰胸竹鸡的生物学特性及经济价值

本文从形态特征、生活习性、繁殖和血液生理生化特点等方面介绍了灰胸竹鸡生物学特性和经济价值,对灰胸竹鸡的人工驯养与繁殖,以及保护性开发具有重要意义。     

低温弱光下水杨酸对黄瓜幼苗光合作用及抗氧化酶活性的影响

为了探讨低温弱光下水杨酸（SA）对黄瓜光合功能的调控作用,以‘津优3号’黄瓜幼苗为试材,叶面喷施不同浓度的SA溶液,研究低温弱光下黄瓜幼苗气体交换参数、光化学效率、MDA含量及抗氧化酶活性的变化.结果表明：低温弱光胁迫使黄瓜幼苗叶片的光合速率（P_n）、气孔导度（G_s）、蒸腾速率（T_r）、PSⅡ光下实际光化学效率（Φ_PSⅡ）及暗下最大光化学效率（F_v/F_m）明显降低,胞间CO₂浓度（C_i）显著升高,说明低温弱光下黄瓜幼苗P_n下降的主要原因是非气孔限制;低温弱光还可引起黄瓜幼苗丙二醛（MDA）含量增加,超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）活性升高,过氧化氢酶（CAT）活性降低,过氧化物酶（POD）活性先升高后降低.而胁迫前用0.5～2.5 mmol·L^-1 SA预处理幼苗,其叶片的P_n、G_s、T_r、Φ_PSⅡ、F_v/F_m及SOD、POD和CAT活性与CK（水预处理）相比均有不同程度的提高,C_i和MDA含量有所降低.表明SA可有效调控低温弱光下黄瓜幼苗叶片的光合功能,提高其低温弱光耐性,其适宜浓度为1 mmol·L^-1.     

新疆伊犁哈萨克族的体质特征研究

作者对新疆伊犁地区的哈萨克族大、中专学生进行了活体观察和测量,观察30项（551名,男262,女289）测量92项（404人,男226,女178）,所得数据进行了统计学处理和分析,计算了头面部和体部的31项指数,并进行了指数分型处理。