Healing the Modern in a Central Javanese City.

Healing the Modern in. Central Javanese City. Steve Ferzacca. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2001. 280 pp.     

Introducing the Multivariate Dale Model in Population‐Based Genetic Association Studies

Until recently, the most common parametric approaches to study the combined effects of several genetic polymorphisms located within a gene or in a small genomic region are, at the genotype level, logistic regressions and at the haplotype level, haplotype analyses. An alternative modeling approach, based on the case/control principle, is to regard exposures (e.g., genetic data such as derived from Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms – SNPs) as random and disease status as fixed and to use a marginal multivariate model that accounts for inter‐relationships between exposures. One such model is the multivariate Dale model. This model is based on multiple logistic regressions. That is why the model, applied in a case/control setting, leads to straightforward interpretations that are similar to those drawn in a classical logistic modeling framework. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Reproductive strategies,body size,and encephalization in primate evolution

In order to understand fully the generally high level of encephalization observed in living primates, we must determine why early primates exhibited moderately large relative brain sizes compared to their early Tertiary contemporaries. The relatively high degree of encephalization in early primates may be related at least in part to the fact that they were highly unusualamong mammals in combining a small body size with a strongly precocial reporductive strategy. Other small, precocial mammals also exhibit moderately high levels of encephalization; but primates appear to have been truly uniquein being the only such small-sized and highly precocial group to give rise to extensive radiations of larger descendants. This is a key element in understanding primate brain evolution, because the initial “head start” of the early primates was translated up to larger sizes in descendants. The possible relationships among encephalization, precociality, small size, and arboreality are discussed, particularly in light of recent debates concerning the validity of the superorder Archonta. This work emphasizes that we need to consider relative brain size as but one element in a complex synergistic network of morphological and life-history features.     

Cytokinin metabolism in tomato plants. II. Metabolites of kinetin and benzyladenine in decapitated roots

Decapitated tomato plants were supplied via the roots with [8-¹⁴C]-kinetin or [8-¹⁴C]-benzyladenine in a nutrient solution for a period of 24 h. After this time the root material, the root sap produced during the 24 h period and the nutrient solution remaining at the end of the experiments were analysed for cytokinins. HPLC techniques and chemical treatments were used to tentatively identify radioactive metabolites formed. Uptake of kinetin and benzyladenine by the roots was found to be limited but once within the root tissues metabolism was both rapid and extensive.At least 14 metabolites of kinetin were recovered from root tissue and root sap. Many of these appeared to be degradation products. There was, however, some evidence of formation of zeatin-like derivatives. Side-chain cleavage of the original kinetin which occurs rapidly is suggested as a possible route for the eventual production of these endogenous cytokinin forms.The benzyladenine taken up by the roots was apparently both ribosylated and glucosylated. No unmetabolized benzyladenine was detected in the root tissues after 24 h. Only very low levels of radioactivity were associated with the retention time of adenine, suggesting that in the case of benzyladenine side-chain cleavage is of limited importance.The significance of these reactions in relation to the potential use of cytokinins in the regulation of plant growth is discussed.     

A new approach to polarized fluorescence using phase and modulation fluorometry

In the preceding paper, an alternative method is described for obtaining information about the reorientational behavior of a fluorophore in a membrane system from frequency domain measurements. To demonstrate this new analysis procedure, we present data for the probe-molecule 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) in l--dimyristoyl- and l--dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC and DPPC) obtained with two different phase fluorometers: the SLM 4800A Subnanosecond Spectrofluorometer which has only three fixed frequencies available (6, 18 and 30 MHz) and the recently constructed continuously variable multifrequency phasefluorometer (Gratton and Limkeman 1983).It will be shown that reasonable information about the anisotropy behavior of a fluorophore can be obtained even if only three frequencies are used. The phase modulation technique was also used to check the new expression for the anisotropy, r(t), called the general model and introduced by Van der Meer et al. (1984). The parameters P ₂, P ₄ and D, obtained from the nonlinear least squares fit (Bevington 1969) for this general model, confirm the results from the pulse technique of Ameloot and coworkers (Ameloot et al. 1984; Pottel et al. 1986).     

PHYSIOLOGICAL MODIFICATIONS RELATED TO DENSITY INCREASE IN PERIPHYTIC ASSEMBLAGES 1

Periphytic communities in running waters were examined as they developed on granite rocks, concrete balls and glass slides. At equivalent cell densities, no differences in pigment concentrations, species diversity or production levels were found among the different substrata examined. Development of the assemblage appeared to result from the elongation of short algal filaments which had initially settled on the surface. As these communities matured, a distinct canopy and understory developed. Cellular metabolisms were comparable among the communities. In the understory of the communities, even though the cellular content of chl a and b did not differ, chl c and carotenoid pigment concentrations were higher than those in the over-story. Bicarbonate assimilation of Tabellaria fenestrata (Lyng.) Külz. and Eunotia pectinalisi var. pectinalis (O. F. Müll?) Rabh. was higher than that of the more abundant Tabellaria flocculosa (Roth.)Kütz. var. flocculosa IV (sensu Koppen) at both high and low cell densities. This probably reflects a seasonal succession of colonizing species. Glucose assimilation appeared to be mainly attributable to bacterial activity, and algal cells of the upper layer were less active than those of the bottom. The small amount of glucose that was incorporated by the algal cells was probably absorbed passively since its amount was in direct proportion to cell volumes.     

Identification and cloning of nodulation genes from the stem-nodulating bacterium ORS571

Summary After random Tn5 mutagenesis of the stem-nodulating Sesbania rostrata symbiont strain ORS571, Nif^-, Fix^- and Nod^- mutants were isolated. The Nif^- mutants had lost both free-living and symbiotic N₂ fixation capacity. The Fix^- mutants normally fixed N₂ in the free-living state but induced ineffective nodules on S. rostrata. They were defective in functions exclusively required for symbiotic N₂ fixation. A further analysis of the Nod^- mutants allowed the identification of two nod loci. A Tn5 insertion in nod locus 1 completely abolished both root and stem nodulation capacity. Root hair curling, which is an initial event in S. rostrata root nodulation, was no longer observed. A 400 bp region showing weak homology to the nodC gene of Rhizobium meliloti was located 1.5 kb away from this nod Tn5 insertion. A Tn5 insertion in nod locus 2 caused the loss of stem and root nodulation capacity but root hair curling still occurred. The physical maps of a 20.5 kb DNA region of nod locus 1 and of a 40 kb DNA region of nod locus 2 showed no overlaps. The two nod loci are not closely linked to nif locus 1, containing the structural genes for the nitrogenase complex (Elmerich et al. 1982).