A process optimization for bio-catalytic production of substituted catechols (3-nitrocatechol and 3-methylcatechol

Background  

Substituted catechols are important precursors for large-scale synthesis of pharmaceuticals and other industrial products. Most of the reported chemical synthesis methods are expensive and insufficient at industrial level. However, biological processes for production of substituted catechols could be highly selective and suitable for industrial purposes.     

Context-specific calls in wild chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes verus: analysis of barks

Context-specific calls, which have a distinct acoustic structure and are selectively produced in specific contexts, are a prerequisite for calls that function referentially. Functionally referential calls, which convey information to conspecifics about objects and events in the external world, have been found in a number of species, notably primates. Evidence of context-specific calls in apes, however, is largely absent. We analysed whether the barks of wild male chimpanzees in the Ta? Forest, Côte d'Ivoire, are context specific. We examined the acoustic structure of barks, and other calls produced in association with barks, in six contexts, using discriminant function analysis. Chimpanzees produced context-specific signals in two ways. First, they produced two acoustically graded bark subtypes, in hunt and snake contexts, respectively. Second, they produced context-specific signal combinations of barks with acoustically different call types or drums. These signal combinations increased specificity levels in three of the six contexts to over 90%, a level similar to the classic vervet monkey, Cercophithecus aethiops, predator alarm calls. Furthermore, specific chimpanzee signals were produced in contexts other than alarm, such as travel and hunting, where the potential benefits of evolving specific calls are less obvious. These signals may convey specific context information to listeners, and thus function referentially; however, to confirm this, analyses of listeners' responses are required. The results show that two strategies for producing context-specific signals seem to have evolved in a species other than humans: chimpanzees produce context-specific bark subtypes and context-specific signal combinations. Copyright 2003 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.      

Multiple species of ornithine decarboxylase in rat tissues: Effects of dexamethasone

Several species of ornithine decarboxylase were separated by chromatography of rat thymus and kidney extracts on DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B. One major and one minor species were absent from thymus of rats two hours after hormone treatment but otherwise, the elution profile was identical to thymus from control animals. The elution patterns of ODC activity in kidneys of rats treated 2.5 or 5 hours before sacrifice with dexamethasone differ from that of control kidney and from each other. Enzyme from kidneys early after hormone treatment is eluted earlier than enzyme from control tissue, while at 5 hours, the enzyme is eluted much later than in the control. This suggests that the hormone-induced activity is subsequently modified.     

Reply to Hussey et al.: The requirement for accurate diet-tissue discrimination factors for interpreting stable isotopes in sharks

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses have improved our understanding of food webs and movement patterns of aquatic organisms. These techniques have recently been applied to diet studies of elasmobranch fishes, but isotope turnover rates and isotope diet–tissue discrimination are still poorly understood for this group. We performed a diet switch experiment on captive sandbar sharks (Carcharhinus plumbeus) as a model shark species to determine tissue turnover rates for liver, whole blood, and white muscle. In a second experiment, we subjected captive coastal skates (Leucoraja spp.) to serial salinity reductions to measure possible impacts of tissue urea content on nitrogen stable isotope values. We extracted urea from spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) white muscle to test for effects on nitrogen stable isotopes. Isotope turnover was slow for shark tissues and similar to previously published estimates for stingrays and teleost fishes with low growth rates. Muscle isotope data would likely fail to capture seasonal migrations or diet switches in sharks, while liver and whole blood would more closely reflect shorter term movement or shifts in diet. Nitrogen stable isotope values of skate blood and skate and dogfish white muscle were not affected by tissue urea content, suggesting that available diet–tissue discrimination estimates for teleost fishes with similar physiologies would provide accurate estimates for elasmobranchs.     

Interferon inhibits DNA Synthesis induced in Mouse Lymphocyte Suspensions by Phytohaemagglutinin or by Allogeneic Cells

IN addition to its well known antiviral activity, interferon has recently been shown to inhibit the multiplication of tumour and mammalian cells in cell culture^1–6. We report here the inhibition by interferon of DNA synthesis induced in mouse spleen lymphocytes by the non-viral stimuli phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and allogeneic lymphocytes. These findings are in accord with our contention that interferon affects cell function and, furthermore, they suggest that by acting on lymphocytes, interferon plays a role in the immunological response of the host.     

Untangling spider silk evolution with spidroin terminal domains

Background  

Spidroins are a unique family of large, structural proteins that make up the bulk of spider silk fibers. Due to the highly variable nature of their repetitive sequences, spidroin evolutionary relationships have principally been determined from their non-repetitive carboxy (C)-terminal domains, though they offer limited character data. The few known spidroin amino (N)-terminal domains have been difficult to obtain, but potentially contain critical phylogenetic information for reconstructing the diversification of spider silks. Here we used silk gland expression data (ESTs) from highly divergent species to evaluate the functional significance and phylogenetic utility of spidroin N-terminal domains.     

Inhalation of an Ethanol-Based Zileuton Formulation Provides a Reduction of Pulmonary Adenomas in the A/J Mouse Model

Potential efficacy of zileuton, a 5-LOX inhibitor, was evaluated for the reduction of pulmonary adenomas in the A/J murine model when administered via nose-only inhalation. Development of pulmonary adenomas was induced with benzo(a)pyrene. Animals were treated with a zileuton solution (5 mg/mL in 85:15 ethanol/water) either twice weekly or five times a week via nose-only inhalation; The placebo solution (85:15 EtOH/H₂O, no active) was also evaluated. Dose delivered was calculated to be 1.2 mg/kg per exposure for each zileuton group. After 20 weeks of treatment, surface tumors were enumerated and histologically assessed. A significant reduction in tumor count was noted for both the twice weekly administration (40%) and the five times a week administration (59%). The data also showed a significant reduction for the group, which received the placebo (approximately 58%). The treatment groups were also found to have an impact on the histological stages of adenoma development.     

Variability over time and correlates of cholesterol and blood pressure in systemic lupus erythematosus: a longitudinal cohort study

Introduction  

Total cholesterol (TC) and blood pressure (BP) are likely to take a dynamic course over time in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This would have important implications in terms of using single-point-in-time measurements of these variables to assess coronary artery disease (CAD) risk. The objective of this study was to describe and quantify variability over time of TC and BP among patients with SLE and to determine their correlates.     

A sticky situation: CCN1 promotes both proliferation and apoptosis of cancer cells

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF/CCN2) is overexpressed in diabetes. Diabetic rats possess myocardial and cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. In a recent report, Wang and colleagues (Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2009 Jul 22. [Epub ahead of print]) show that CCN2 directly mediates cardiomyocyte hypertrophy as well as that induced by high glucose and fatty acid. CCN2 acted via the TrkA receptor. These data are the subject of this commentary, and emphasize that CCN2 may be an excellent target for therapy in diabetes.     

Growth and water relations in a central North Carolina population of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Microstegium vimineum</Emphasis> (Trin.) A. Camus

The ability of an invasive plant to occupy new areas is often attributed to both morphological and physiological plasticities that allow them to remain viable over a wide range of environmental conditions. Studies addressing the ecological requirements of Microstegium vimineum often consider soil moisture or soil moisture along with other factors as important explanatory components for the establishment and persistence of this invasive monocot. However, controlled studies specifically targeting water relations in M. vimineum are needed. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine how different water availabilities influence the growth and physiological performance of M. vimineum. This study utilized experimental microcosms to achieve different water availabilities including low soil moisture (<15% water), moderate soil moisture (ca. 20–30%), and flooded conditions. While both flooded and low soil moisture resulted in diminished growth, M. vimineum still survived under these conditions. Physiological processes including C₄ metabolism, minimum stress under low water conditions, and the ability to increase tissue rigidity may confer some advantages to M. vimineum during periods of limiting water conditions. Similarly, the proportionally low root biomass, shallow root structure, and its ability to maintain stable water relations during flooding and/or soil waterlogging may facilitate M. vimineum’s ability to invade mesic habitats. It is likely, therefore, that the capacity to tolerate both low soil moistures and flooded conditions has enhanced the ability of M. vimineum to populate disturbed systems in central North Carolina.