The entire mitochondrial genome was sequenced in a prostriate tick, Ixodes
hexagonus, and a metastriate tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Both genomes
encode 22 tRNAs, 13 proteins, and two ribosomal RNAs. Prostriate ticks are
basal members of Ixodidae and have the same gene order as Limulus
polyphemus. In contrast, in R. sanguineus, a block of genes encoding NADH
dehydrogenase subunit 1 (ND1), tRNA(Leu)(UUR), tRNA(Leu)(CUN), 16S rDNA,
tRNA(Val), 12S rDNA, the control region, and the tRNA(Ile) and tRNA(Gln)
have translocated to a position between the tRNA(Glu) and tRNA(Phe) genes.
The tRNA(Cys) gene has translocated between the control region and the
tRNA(Met) gene, and the tRNA(Leu)(CUN) gene has translocated between the
tRNA(Ser)(UCN) gene and the control region. Furthermore, the control region
is duplicated, and both copies undergo concerted evolution. Primers that
flank these rearrangements confirm that this gene order is conserved in all
metastriate ticks examined. Correspondence analysis of amino acid and codon
use in the two ticks and in nine other arthropod mitochondrial genomes
indicate a strong bias in R. sanguineus towards amino acids encoded by
AT-rich codons.
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Using the strictly neutral model as a null hypothesis, we tested for
deviations from expected levels of nucleotide polymorphism at the alcohol
dehydrogenase locus (Adh-1) within and among four species of pocket gophers
(Geomys bursarius major, G. knoxjonesi, G. texensis llanensis, and G.
attwateri). The complete protein-encoding region was examined, and 10
unique alleles, representing both electromorphic and cryptic alleles, were
used to test hypotheses (e.g., the neutral model) concerning the
maintenance of genetic variation. Nineteen variable sites were identified
among the 10 alleles examined, including 9 segregating sites occurring in
synonymous positions and 10 that were nonsynonymous. Several statistical
methods, including those that test for within-species variation as well as
those that examine variation within and among species, failed to reject the
null hypothesis that variation (both within and between species of Geomys)
at the Adh locus is consistent with the neutral theory. However, there was
significant heterogeneity in the ratio of polymorphism to divergence across
the gene, with polymorphisms clustered in the first half of the coding
region and fixed differences clustered in the second half of the gene. Two
alternative hypotheses are discussed as possible explanations for this
heterogeneity: an old balanced polymorphism in the first half of the gene
or a recent selective sweep in the second half of the gene.
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ObjectiveTo test the hypothesis that a community based intervention by secondary child and adolescent mental health services would be significantly more effective and less costly than a hospital based intervention.DesignOpen study with two randomised parallel groups.SettingTwo health districts in the north of England.ParticipantsParents of 3 to 10 year old children with behavioural disorder who had been referred to child and adolescent mental health services.InterventionParental education groups.Results141 subjects were randomised to community (n=72) or hospital (n=69) treatment. Primary outcome data were obtained on 115 (82%) cases a year later. Intention to treat analyses showed no significant differences between the community and hospital based groups on any of the outcome measures, or on costs. Parental depression was common and predicted the child''s outcome.ConclusionsLocation of child mental health services may be less important than the range of services that they provide, which should include effective treatment for parents'' mental health problems. 相似文献
Propofol (2,6-diisopropylphenol) is a widely used intravenous anaesthetic that is formulated as an emulsion since it lacks water solubility. We report a range of water-soluble analogues of propofol, containing a para-alkylamino substituent, which retain good intravenous anaesthetic activity in rodents. 相似文献
25 aromatic carboxylic acids which are analogs of benzoic acid were tested in the rat diaphragm preparation for effects on chloride conductance (G(Cl)). Of the 25, 19 were shown to reduce membrane G(Cl) with little effect on other membrane parameters, although their apparent K(i) varied widely. This inhibition was reversible if exposure times were not prolonged. The most effective analog studied was anthracene-9-COOH (9-AC; K(i) = 1.1 x 10(-5) M). Active analogs produced concentration-dependent inhibition of a type consistent with interaction at a single site or group of sites having similar binding affinities, although a correlation could also be shown between lipophilicity and K(i). Structure-activity analysis indicated that hydrophobic ring substitution usually increased inhibitory activity while para polar substitutions reduced effectiveness.
These compounds do not appear to inhibit G(Cl) by altering membrane surface charge and the inhibition produced is not voltage dependent. Qualitative characteristics of the I-V relationship for Cl(-) current are not altered. Conductance to all anions is not uniformly altered by these acids as would be expected from steric occlusion of a common channel. Concentrations of 9-AC reducing G(Cl) by more than 90 percent resulted in slight augmentation of G(I). The complete conductance sequence obtained at high levels of 9-AC was the reverse of that obtained under control conditions. Permeability sequences underwent progressive changes with increasing 9-AC concentration and ultimately inverted at high levels of the analog. Aromatic carboxylic acids appear to inhibit G(Cl) by binding to a specific intramembrane site and altering the selectivity sequence of the membrane anion channel.
The rate of aromatization of 4-androstenedione (AD) and 7-hydroxylation of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) by different neuronal cell lines from fetal rat and mouse brain was compared to that of embryonic rat hippocampal cells in primary culture. The (3)H-labeled steroids were incubated with the cells and the metabolites extracted and separated by thin layer chromatography (TLC), as well as analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for further identification. All cell types produced estrone (E(1)) and estradiol (E(2)) from [(3)H]AD but the rate of aromatization was lowest with the rat hippocampal cells in primary culture. With [(3)H]DHEA, BHc.2 mouse hippocampal cells and E(t)C.1 neurons behaved like the mixed cells from rat hippocampus, forming 7-hydroxy DHEA as the almost exclusive product. In contrast, mouse brain BV2 microglia were virtually unable to hydroxylate DHEA at C-7 and yielded estrogen and more testosterone (T) than other cell types tested. These experiments highlight the pivotal role of 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/ketoisomerase in the control of AD formation for its subsequent aromatization to estrogen. It raises the possibility that differences in metabolism of DHEA by certain brain cells could account for differences in their immunomodulatory and neuroprotective functions. Some could exert their effects by converting DHEA to its 7-hydroxylated form while others, like BV2 microglia, by converting DHEA primarily to other C-19 steroids and to estrogen by way of AD. 相似文献
Light microscopy was used to study the structure and function of vacuoles in living protoplasts of barley (Hordeum vulgare cv Himalaya) aleurone. Light microscopy showed that aleurone protoplasts contain two distinct types of vacuole: the protein storage vacuole and a lysosome-like organelle, which we have called the secondary vacuole. Fluorescence microscopy using pH-sensitive fluorescent probes and a fluorogenic substrate for cysteine proteases showed that both protein storage vacuoles and secondary vacuoles are acidic, lytic organelles. Ratio imaging showed that the pH of secondary vacuoles was lower in aleurone protoplasts incubated in gibberellic acid than in those incubated in abscisic acid. Uptake of fluorescent probes into intact, isolated protein storage vacuoles and secondary vacuoles required ATP and occurred via at least two types of vanadate-sensitive, ATP-dependent tonoplast transporters. One transporter catalyzed the accumulation of glutathione-conjugated probes, and another transported probes not conjugated to glutathione. 相似文献
Studies to elucidate the role of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) metabolism in neuroprotection have compared its relative 7-hydroxylation against estrogen formation by way of 4-androstenedione (AD) in various rodent brain cell lines. In all cases, the 7alpha- and 7beta-hydroxy epimers of DHEA were found to be the dominant products with one notable exception. BV2 mouse microglia were virtually unable to hydroxylate DHEA at C-7 and converted AD to a major unknown metabolite not observed with mouse BHc hippocampal cells. In this paper, we describe the identification of this compound based on its physical properties and analysis by TLC and HPLC. Its identity as 3beta-hydroxy-4-androstene-17-one, the Delta(4)-isomer of DHEA, was confirmed by mass spectrometry (LC/MS), as well as by reverse isotope dilution analysis involving co-crystallization with the synthetic steroid. Possible mechanisms for the formation of this isomer of DHEA by BV2 microglia are proposed, together with that of other C-19 steroids detected which include testosterone (T), 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone and 5alpha-androstanedione. 相似文献