Polyester Wadding for Specimen Orientation During Embedding in Methacrylates

Polyester fibers are not dissolved by either glycol methacrylate or methyl methacrylate. Commercial polyester wadding is consequently an advantageous material to use in getting precise orientation of tissue specimens during embedding in methacrylate.     

Permanent Preservation of Whole Alizarin Red S Skeletons by Clearing and Embedding in Polyester Resins

A one-step clearing and embedding procedure for alizarin red S stained skeletons is described. Embryos are fixed in formalin, skinned and eviscerated. After staining in a 10 mg/liter solution of alizarin red S in 5% aqueous KOH, specimens are dehydrated in a graded series of acetone-polyester monomer solutions. Finally, the specimens are embedded at room temperature in the polyester resin. A special reusable metallic mold is described for embedment of large fetuses. Specimens previously cleared in glycerol can be processed with this method.     

Identification of the major endogenous leukotriene metabolite in the bile of rats as N-acetyl leukotrience E4

Mercapturic acid formation, an established pathway in the detoxication of xenobiotics, is demonstrated for cysteinyl leukotrienes generated in rats after endotoxin treatment. The mercapturate N-acetyl-leukotriene E₄ (N-acetyl-LTE₄) represented a major metabolite eliminated into bile after injection of [³H]LTC₄ as shown by cochromatography with synthetic N-acetyl-LTE₄ in four different HPLC solvent systems. The identity of endogenoud N-acetyl-LTE₄ elicited by endotoxin was additionally verified by enzymatic deacetylation followed by chemical N-acetylation. The deacetylation was catalyzed by penicillin amidase. Endogenous cysteinyl leukotrienes were quantified by radioimmunoassay after HPLC separation. A N-acetyl-LTE₄ concentration of 80 nmol/l was determined in bile collected between 30 and 60 min after endotoxin injection. Under this condition, other cysteinyl leukotrienes detected in bile by radioimmunoassay amounted to less than 5% of N-acetyl-LTE₄. The mercapturic acid pathway, leading from the glutathione conjugate LTC₄ to N-acetyl-LTE₄, thus plays an important role in the deactivation and elimination of these potent endogenous mediators.     

Metabolism and Solubilization of Cellulose by Clostridium cellulolyticum H10

When Clostridium cellulolyticum was grown with cellulose MN300 as the substrate, the rates of growth and metabolite production were found to be lower than those observed with soluble sugars as the substrate. At low cellulose concentrations, the growth yields were equal to those obtained with cellobiose. The main fermentation products from cellulose and soluble sugars were the same. Up to 15 mM of consumed hexose, a change in the metabolic pathway favoring lactate production similar to that observed with soluble sugars was found to occur concomitantly with a decrease in molar growth yield. With cellulose concentrations above 5 g/liter, accumulation of soluble sugars occurred once growth had ceased. Glucose accounted for 30% of these sugars. A kinetic analysis of cellulose solubilization revealed that cellulolysis by C. cellulolyticum involved three stages whatever cellulose concentration was used. Analysis of these kinetics showed three consecutive enzymatic activity levels having the same K_m (0.8 g of cellulose per liter, i.e., 5 mM hexose equivalent) but decreasing values of V_max. The hypothesis is suggested that each step corresponds to differences in cellulose structure.     

Physical and biotic determinants of space utilization by the Galapagos land iguana (Conolophus pallidus)

Summary Home ranges of the Galapagos land iguana (Conolophus pallidus) were examined with respect to food availability and the thermal environment. Activity patterns, the amount of space used per day, and time required to use the entire home range were also investigated. The effects of, and the relationships between, these factors vary seasonally, as do home range sizes and preferred body temperatures.Food supplementation experiments resulted in only temporary reductions in use of space. Home range sizes were not different between the seasons with the least (Fall) and the most (Hot) food availalble, but home ranges were significantly smaller in Garua when food supplies were low, but not as low as in Fall. Calculations of metabolic expenditures in each season suggests that food availability alone does not explain seasonal patterns of home range size in this species.The thermal environment within each home range was characterized by microclimatic measurements and measurements of the area of sun, shade, and semi-shade. An index with units of m²h was used to quantify the thermal quality of each home range. Iguanas exploited optimal (with respect to body temperature) conditions more than would be expected from random use of their home ranges. Thermal transients (due to large body size) and optimal conditions were exploited to the largest degree in Fall.During Garua, low metabolic rates and time constraints imposed by an abundance of stressful thermal environments may result in small home ranges. In Fall, increased temperatures cause higher metabolic rates and allow more time for exploitation of the cooler portions of the home range, hence, home range sizes increase. In the Hot season, there is abundant food and optimal thermal conditions, but home ranges remain large. Searching for preferred foods may cause the large home ranges in this season.     

Proliferative heterogeneity of vascular smooth muscle cells and its alteration by injury

This study was designed to explore the question of whether the population of morphologically similar smooth muscle cells (SMC) in the vessel wall is functionally homogeneous or heterogeneous with respect to their proliferative response to injury. Using time-lapse video recording we measured interdivision times (IDT) of primary SMC clones, sibling pairs, and mother/daughter pairs. SMC from in vivo undisturbed vessels displayed an interclonal and intraclonal heterogeneity with a wide range in IDT. In vivo balloon injury resulted in a population with homogeneously short IDT. While 80% of IDT of SMC from injured vessels were shorter than 14 h, only slightly more than half of IDT of cells from undisturbed vessels fell into this category. Longitudinal analysis of mother/daughter pairs confirmed the presence of a heterogeneous population of SMC in the undisturbed vessel wall. In vivo balloon injury not only shortened the IDT of the majority of cells, but the shorter IDT persisted much longer than in the case of the undisturbed vessel. We suggest that a morphologically homogeneous SMC population in the aorta can now be subdivided into several groups of functionally different SMC with respect to their proliferative response to injury.     

Volume comparisons in the cerebellar complex of primates. II. Cerebellar nuclei

Volumes of medial, interposed, and lateral cerebellar nuclei (MCN, ICN, and LCN) were measured in Insectivora, Scandentia, and Primates, including man. The relative size of the nuclei was expressed in size indices. Insectivora had by far the smallest cerebellar nuclei. The simians, in general, had larger cerebellar nuclei than the prosimians, but there was considerable overlap. From Insectivora to man, the MCN was the least progressive and the LCN the most progressive. The indices are expected to reflect the relative size of the three longitudinal zones of the cerebellum (vermis/MCN, pars intermedius/ICN, hemisphere/LCN). They, together with those of the ventral pons and cerebellum (part I), are discussed in relation to the predominant locomotor pattern of a species, and with reference to evolutionary trends in primate phylogeny.     

Determination of the hydraulic conductivity of Lamprothamnium by use of the pressure clamp

By use of the pressure-clamp technique, the hydraulic conductivity of the brackish-water alga Lamprothamnium was found to be 5·10^-6 cm s^-1 bar^-1. The dimensions of the internodes are so small that it is possible, for the first time, to measure a complete volume relaxation upon clamping the turgor pressure to a preset value by a feedback control of the pressure probe. As theoretically predicted, the values of the hydraulic conductivity obtained from the initial slope of the volume relaxation induced by the pressure clamp are in agreement (within experimental error) with those obtained from the half-time of the relaxation process. The cell volume also obtained from the analysis of the volume relaxation is the osmotically effective cell volume and is therefore slightly smaller than the value obtained by taking the dimensions of the cell including the cell wall.Abbreviations and symbols Lp hydraulic conductivity - P turgor pressure - S_v initial slope of volume relaxion - T_1/2 half-time of volume relaxation Dedicated to Professor Dr. H. Ziegler on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Screening of thermostable leucine and alanine dehydrogenases in thermophilicBacillus strains

Summary Screening of leucine and alanine dehydrogenases in thermophilicBacillus strains was carried out to develop their utilization for industrial and analytical catalysts. Out of the 28 thermophilic strains tested, four strains,Bacillus sp. DSM 405, 730 and 1521, andB. sphaericus DSM 462, abundantly produce both the enzymes. Both the enzyme activities in these thermophiles are enhanced by addition of the substrates to a polypeptone medium.