Resonance Raman spectra of chlorophylls dissolved in liquid crystal matrices. III. Orientational distribution function of chlorophyll b in an MBBA + EBBA liquid crystalline matrix

Polarized resonance Raman spectra of chlorophyll (Chl) b oriented in a mixture of p-methoxybenzylideno-p'-butylaniline (MBBA) and p-ethoxybenzylideno-p'-butylaniline (EBBA) have been measured. The spectra have been analyzed and the second- and fourth-rank order parameters and the orientational distribution function of Chl b are presented.     

Development of an enzymatic procedure to produce high-protein amaranth flour

Summary A basic procedure was developed to produce high-protein amaranth flour (HPAF) using a commercial preparation of heat-stable alpha-amylase. Slurries (20%, w/v) of gelatinized whole flour were liquefied at 70 and 90°C, pH 6.5, 0.1% (w/v) enzyme concentration and 30 min hydrolysis time. Protein content of raw flour was increased from 15 to 29.6 or 39.3% at liquefaction temperatures of 70 or 90°C, respectively. Some physicochemical and functional properties of HPAF were assessed. HPAF might be used as a dry milk extender.     

The effect of glucose and ammonium sulfate on kinetic acidification by heterogeneous mixed culture

Summary The effect of glucose and ammonium sulfate concentration on the kinetics of lactic acid formation by a heterogeneous mixed culture was evaluated by the sole product formation using the Gompertz model, which can be used to define culture media composition taking into account product accumulation and acidification rate constant. A compromise between ionic inhibition and nitrogen limitation was found by using ammonium sulfate as nitrogen source. The sugar tolerance was similar to that in exenic cultures.     

Discrepancy in hormone binding and information transfer between sister cells of Tetrahymena clones

Tetrahymena cells treated with insulin in mass cultures were separated to single-cell clones or one of the "sister-cells" of dividing Tetrahymena (in single-cell culture) was treated with insulin. In both cases the FITC-insulin binding of sister-cells were compared. The insulin imprinting significantly increased the insulin binding of cells. There was also a significant difference between the imprinted and not imprinted sisters as well as between the not imprinted sisters. This demonstrates the existence of a difference (in hormone binding) between sister-cells and justifies that the information of the first hormone treatment (imprinting) is not equally divided between the sister-cells.     

Cooperative binding of primycin and gramicidin on erythrocyte membranes. A cation transport study

In this paper the authors present a comparative study of the actions of the antibiotics primycin and gramicidin on the erythrocyte membrane permeability. It has been found that both antibiotics have a nonlinear effect on the membrane permeability. Above a threshold antibiotic concentration, which is characteristic of the type of the antibiotic, the cation permeability of the erythrocyte membranes increases sharply. In the range of nonlinearity the transport-kinetic curves level off before achieving the equilibrium radioactive ion distribution between the extra- and intracellular spaces. A stochastic model of the cooperative and aspecific incorporation of antibiotic molecules into the membrane explains the experimental findings. The authors conclude that membrane permeability increases at the places where two or more antibiotic molecules form aggregates in the membrane.     

Aliphatic hydrocarbons obtained from iron carbides: Possible stellar and meteoritic implications

Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres -     

Fluorescent staphylococci as microbeads

Fixed bacteria of the protein A-rich Cowan I Staphylococcus strain were labelled with fluorescein isothiocyanate and used as the second-step reagent in an indirect immunofluorescent assay of specific cell-surface antigen expression. The results are documented with fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry.     

Interaction between the Ca2(+)-ATPase and the proteolipid in artificial membranes

The interaction between the Ca2+ transport ATPase and the proteolipid of rabbit sarcoplasmic reticulum was analyzed by fluorescence energy transfer, using the following donor: acceptor combinations: Ca2(+)-ATPase tryptophan----IAEDANS-proteolipid; IAEDANS-ATPase----IAF-proteolipid; IAEDANS-proteolipid----IAF-ATPase. The observed energy transfer may indicate weak interaction between the Ca2(+)-ATPase and proteolipid, but collisional energy transfer definitely contributes. The energy transfer was abolished by deoxycholate or sodium dodecylsulfate at concentrations sufficient to solubilize the membrane. In view of the low proteolipid content of sarcoplasmic reticulum and the weak interaction suggested by the energy transfer, at best only a small fraction of ATPase molecules could exist in the form of ATPase-proteolipid complexes.     

Intracellular free [Ca2+] in human skeletal muscle with myopathic carnitine deficiency

Carnitine is required for the transport of activated long chain fatty acids through the mitochondrial inner membrane. We measured the intracellular free calcium concentration [( Ca2+]i) by means of a calcium selective microelectrode in skeletal muscle biopsies obtained from nine patients in which myopathic carnitine deficiency (MCD) was diagnosed, and from six subjects with no evidence of neuromuscular disease. Intact intercostal muscle bundles were dissected and then split for electron microscopic studies and electrophysiological measurements. The [Ca2+]i in muscle fibers from MCD patients was 0.46 +/- 0.02 mumol.l-1 (mean +/- SEM) and 0.10 +/- 0.01 mumol.l-1 in control subjects. At the electron microscopic level, the predominant abnormality was the presence of lipid vacuoles between the myofibrils. These results show that in patients with myopathic carnitine deficiency there is a significant increase in the resting myoplasmic calcium concentration which might be related to a malfunction of some mechanisms responsible for the homeostasis of intracellular calcium.     

Defensive behaviour in the pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis: the whole body withdrawal associated with exsanguination

The freshwater snail L. stagnalis is known to be able to respond to a strong, noxious stimulus with a full retraction of the foot and head into the shell accompanied with expelling the blood through the hemal pore. We have found that this behavioural response, besides graded local retractions, can be triggered by mild tactile stimulation provided that the stimulus is repeated several times. Only a complete exsanguination could be obtained, indicating that it is an all-or-none defensive behaviour. In an electrophysiological investigation of isolated brain, a number of similarities were found between this all-or-none behaviour and the so-called input 3 to central neurons, as described by Benjamin and Winlow. These include ability to be selectively activated by high calcium solutions, and blocked by keeping the snails in a spoiled water. Injection of snails with naloxone (0.5-2.0/micrograms/g) or ergotamine (0.4/microgram/g) blocked selectively the whole body withdrawal induced by tactile stimulation, but not that induced by injection of a high calcium saline or acetylcholine solution, indicating that enkephalinergic and/or dopaminergic mechanosensory neurons might be involved. The consideration of available data has led to a working hypothesis that the activity of input 3 might be the neurophysiological correlate of the high threshold all-or-none whole body withdrawal associated with exsanguination.