Cellular and enzymatic changes in porcine adipose tissue during growth

Experiments were designed to define some of the cellular and metabolic changes in various areas of porcine adipose tissue during growth and to establish a relationship between these changes and the accumulation of fat in the domestic pig. 35 male castrate pigs were killed at various ages from late fetal to 6.5 months. The following determinations were made on each animal: (1) total carcass fat, (2) adipose cell size and number by fixation of adipose tissue with osmium tetroxide, and (3) the activities of acetyl CoA carboxylase, citrate cleavage enzyme, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, and malic enzyme from perirenal adipose tissue and each of the three layers of subcutaneous backfat. Carcass adipose tissue expanded by a combination of adipocyte hyperplasia and hypertrophy up to 5 months, after which adipose expansion was accomplished by cellular hypertrophy only, with no significant increase in cell number. The activities of the selected lipogenic enzymes (expressed on an adipose cell basis) increased markedly at weaning and again during the rapid increase in percentage of body fat between 3.5 and 5 months. Enzyme activities reached a peak at 5 months, after which activities decreased to values approaching mature levels.     

Regional differences in the feeding of the ambush predator Neosebastes pandus and comparisons of diets in the Scorpaenidae,Triglidae and Platycephalidae

This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the dietary composition of the ambush predator Neosebastes pandus and compares the diets of 49 species from 39 studies of three benthic predatory families in the Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenidae (20 species), Triglidae (19 species) and Platycephalidae (10 species). A total of 275 N. pandus were collected from the west (Rottnest Island) and south (Esperance) coasts of south‐western Australia and the percentage frequency and volumetric contribution of the stomach contents identified. Fish from the west coast consumed a greater mean number of broad taxonomic groups and were more diverse in their diet than fish from the south coast. Cephalopods, brachyurans and teleosts were the largest overall contributors to diet, with teleosts being more important to diets of west‐coast fish and polychaetes for south‐coast fish. This reflects differences in habitat between the two locations. Dietary composition also changed with increasing body size, reflecting morphological changes that allow bigger fish to capture and ingest larger, more mobile prey. Meta‐analysis of the diets of 49 species of scorpaenid, triglid and platycephalid revealed that they feed predominantly on teleosts and large crustaceans. Significant differences in diet were detected among families, with platycephalids being the most distinct and feeding more on teleosts than scorpaenids and triglids.     

MOLECULAR ASSOCIATION OF HEMOCYANIN PRODUCED BY X-RAYS AS OBSERVED IN THE ULTRACENTRIFUGE

1. When normal, monodisperse hemocyanin (60.5S) from Limulus Rolyphemus was irradiated in neutral buffer with x-rays, several new, more rapidly sedimenting ultracentrifugal components (86S, 107S, 122S) were produced, with a corresponding loss in the amount of the unaffected protein. The amount of the effect was roughly proportional to the amount of irradiation. 2. The new resolvable components apparently represented an association of the primary particles into aggregates of 2, 3, and 4 primary particles respectively. 3. The proportional amount of hemocyanin affected decreased almost to the vanishing point as the concentration of the protein was raised to high levels. 4. The absolute effect, i.e. the total number of particles affected in a given volume, increased with the concentration of hemocyanin, at least for concentrations below 15 per cent. 5. The presence of 33 per cent horse serum during irradiation inhibited the effect on the hemocyanin almost completely, with hemocyanin concentrations of both 0.8 and 14 per cent. 6. The presence of 2.8 per cent egg albumin during irradiation lowered the effect by about 70 per cent in the case of dilute preparations (0.8 per cent hemocyanin), but by only about 25 per cent in the case of 14 per cent solutions. 7. A lowering of the solution''s oxygen tension during irradiation enhanced the effect, almost doubling it in some cases. 8. The probable theoretical significance of these and other observations are discussed in the text.     

Response to a Respiratory Survey

Respondents to a respiratory survey of Berlin, New Hampshire, residents in 1961 have been studied to assess the relationship between co-operation and respiratory disease prevalence. Two hundred and forty-three unco-operative subjects, interviewed at home, had significantly more morning phlegm and a lower vital capacity than carefully matched subjects who attended the central clinic. Fifty-one volunteers had the same prevalence of respiratory disease symptoms and physiological abnormalities as carefully matched subjects drawn from a probability sample of the city.It is concluded that respiratory disease prevalence will be underestimated if calculated from studies of co-operative subjects who attend a clinic. Case-finding by respiratory disease screening clinics will also miss many persons who suffer from chronic bronchitis.     

Dwarf pea response to gibberellic acid applied to soil through a drip irrigation system,and gibberellic acid biodegradation in soil

Gibberellic acid (29 or 290 M) injected into drip irrigation lines significantly stimulated internode elongation of dwarf peas, and the 290-M soil treatment produced significantly taller plants than did the 29-M treatment. GA₃ uptake may limit GA-induced internode elongation when GA₃ is applied to soil, in contrast to results obtained for hydroponically grown plants, where uptake initially appeared to exceed the rate of hormone metabolism (andersonet al.). It is likely that biodegradation or chemical inactivation limited the plant-availability of GA₃ in the soil. Degradation of moderate GA₃ concentrations in a moist, aerobic loamy fine sand was nearly complete within five days, indicating that the inefficiency of soil applications may outweight the benefits provided by reducing labor costs associated with foliar-spray applications.     

The photosynthetic apparatus of C3 and CAM-induced Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L.

Accompanying the CAM induction of Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L. grown in high salinity there are changes in the enzymes of carbon metabolism. However, there are no changes in the electron transport activities, Chla/b ratios or in the distribution of chlorophyll amongst the various pigment-protein complexes of isolated thylakoids. Hence with CAM induction there are no changes in the photochemical apparatus of M. crystallinum thylakoids. Despite comparable amounts of chlorophylla/b-proteins of photosystem II to those found in typical C₃ sun plants, both the C₃ and CAM M. crystallinum chloroplasts have relatively more photosystem II, and, concommitantly, less photosystem I complex. This is consistent with greater fluorescence emission at 685 and 695 nm, and lower emission at 735 nm (measured at 77 K) than typically found for C₃ plants, whether sun or shade species. Photoinhibition of isolated C₃ and CAM thylakoids by white light led to comparable decreases in electron transport capacities and fluorescence emission at 77 K with photosystem II being more affected than PSI. We suggest however, that the presence of more core PSII complexes relative to PSI complexes in this CAM-inducible plant, may provide an additional strategy to mitigate photoinhibition in the short-term.     

Agglutination, Adherence, and Root Colonization by Fluorescent Pseudomonads

Two fractions of agglutination activity towards fluorescent pseudomonads were detected in root washes of potato, tomato, wheat, and bean. High-molecular-mass (>10⁶ Da) components in crude root washes agglutinated only particular saprophytic, fluorescent Pseudomonas isolates. Ion-exchange treatment of the crude root washes resulted in preparations of lower-molecular-mass (10⁵ to 10⁶ Da) fractions which agglutinated almost all Pseudomonas isolates examined. Also, components able to suppress agglutination reactions of pseudomonads with the lower-molecular-mass root components were detected in crude root washes of all crops studied. Pseudomonas isolates were differentially agglutinated by both types of root components. The involvement of these two types of root components in short-term adherence and in colonization was studied in potato, tomato, and grass, using Pseudomonas isolates from these crops. Short-term adherence of isolates to roots was independent of their agglutination with either type of root components. With agglutination-negative mutants, the high-molecular-mass components seemed to be involved in adherence of Pseudomonas putida Corvallis to roots of all crops studied. Short-term adherence to roots of four Pseudomonas isolates could be influenced by addition of both crude and ion-exchange-treated root washes, depending on their agglutination phenotype with these root wash preparations. Potato root colonization by 10 different isolates from this crop, over a period of 7 days, was not correlated with their agglutination phenotype. Agg^- mutants of P. putida Corvallis were not impaired in root colonization. It is concluded that the root agglutinins studied can be involved in short-term adherence of pseudomonads to roots but do not play a decisive role in their root colonization.     

A Centipede Toxin Family Defines an Ancient Class of CSαβ Defensins

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