Comparison of estrogen priming effects with body weight restoration effects on the gonadotropin pattern of patients with anorexia nervosa

Plasma estradiol (E2), serum LH and FSH, and the gonadotropin response to two consecutive LHRH administrations (10 and 100 micrograms with an interval of 2 h) were determined in 19 patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) at the emaciation phase, before and after estradiol benzoate (E2B) injections (3 micrograms/kg/day for 7 days). The same investigations were repeated after weight restoration in 9 AN patients who remained amenorrheic. Both at the emaciation phase and after weight restoration, E2B enhanced the second LH response to LHRH and decreased serum FSH, suggesting that the functional capacities of the pituitary gonadotrophs are normal in AN. Unlike E2B injections, weight restoration increased all the hormone values, suggesting that the weight restoration effects on the abnormal gonadotropin secretory pattern of AN depend on another mechanism than the E2 lowering. That mechanism is probably a disorder of the hypothalamic LHRH secretion, the consequences of which could be reinforced by the low E2 levels.     

Tunicamycin-resistant mutants of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens are deficient in amylase, protease and penicillinase synthesis and have altered sensitivity to antibiotics and autolysis

Mutants of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens resistant to at least 10 micrograms/ml of tunicamycin were isolated and shown to be pleiotropic. The mutants were more resistant to streptomycin, chloramphenicol, kanamycin and neomycin than was the parent strain but less resistant to penicillin G and tetracycline. They were more autolytic, presumably due to an altered cell wall. The mutants produced reduced levels of amylase, penicillinase and both metal and serine protease besides having an enhanced sporulation frequency and being more motile.     

Estimate of mean tissue O2 consumption at onset of exercise in males

A mathematical model has been developed that permitted the calculation of the flow-weighted mean tissue O2 consumption (VO2T) at the onset of a step increase in work rate. From breath-by-breath measurements of alveolar O2 consumption (VO2A) and cardiac output (Q) by impedance cardiography and assumptions about the site of depletion of O2 stores, the rate of change in O2 stores (VO2s) was determined. The sum of VO2A + VO2s = VO2T. Six very fit males performed six repetitions of each of two step increases in work rate. STlo was a transition from rest to 100-W cycling; SThi was a transition from 100- to 200-W cycling. For each work rate transition, the responses of VO2A and Q were averaged over the six repetitions of each subject and the model was solved to yield VO2T. The responses of VO2A, VO2T, and Q after the increase in work rate were fit with a monoexponential function. This function included a time constant and time delay, the sum of which gave the mean response time (MRT). In the STlo test, the MRT of VO2A (24.9 +/- 1.1 s, mean +/- SE) was longer than that of VO2T (15.3 +/- 1.3 s) and of Q (16.5 +/- 6.5 s) (P less than 0.05). The MRT of VO2T and Q did not differ significantly. Also for SThi, the MRT of VO2A (34.4 +/- 3.3 s) was significantly longer than that of VO2T (30.0 +/- 3.4 s) (P less than 0.05). The MRT of VO2T and Q (30.3 +/- 5.5 s) were not significantly different at this work rate either.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Inhibition of polypeptide synthesis initiation by a change of Mg++ concentration in wheat germ cell-free systems

Polypeptide synthesis programmed by poly(U) and globin mRNA has been studied in cell-free extracts from wheat germ. A two-step reaction with a preincubation at high Mg⁺⁺ levels followed by a second step carried out after a shift to a low Mg⁺⁺ concentration and the addition of labeled amino acids is described. Under these conditions the initiation of polyphenylalanine synthesis can be blocked without affecting the elongation of polypeptide chains. This procedure allows the selective inhibition of polypeptide synthesis initiation without using any drug or antibiotic.     

Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate is not effective in releasing calcium from skeletal sarcoplasmic reticulum microsomes

Regulation of many cell systems has been shown to be mediated by Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate which causes a release of calcium from intracellular sites. We have shown that release of Ca2+ from sarcoplasmic reticulum microsomes was not stimulated by IP3. The phorbol ester, TPA, also had no effect on Ca2+ release or Ca2+ ATPase activity. Thus, it is unlikely that the breakdown of polyphosphatidylinositides serves as a second messenger to mediate release of Ca2+ in skeletal muscle.     

Mechanism and dynamics of conformational ordering in xanthan polysaccharide

The thermally induced order-disorder transition of xanthan (extracellular bacterial polysaccharide from Xanthomonas campestris) has been investigated by optical rotation, differential scanning calorimetry, stopped-flow reaction kinetics and low-angle laser light scattering, and the results have been analysed in terms of Zimm -Bragg helix-coil transition theory. The reciprocal of the transition midpoint temperature (Tm) varies linearly with the logarithm of cation (K+) the salt dependence of Tm, is in agreement with Manning polyelectrolyte theory the ordered structure. The associated increase in cation binding, calculated from the salt dependence of tm, is in agreement with the Manning polyelectrolyte theory for one of the candidate structures from X-ray diffraction, a 5(1) single helix stabilized by packing of side-chains along the polymer backbone, but not for the alternative double-helix structure that has also been proposed. At each salt concentration, the two fundamental parameters of the Zimm -Bragg theory, s and sigma, were calculated. The equilibrium constant for growth of the ordered structure (s) is derived directly from calorimetric measurement of transition enthalpy (delta Hcal ), and sigma, which quantifies the relative instability of the helix nucleus, is derived from the ratio of delta Hcal to the apparent transition enthalpy (delta Happ ) obtained by van't Hoff analysis of the optical rotation data. The temperature course of conformational ordering calculated theoretically is in good quantitative agreement with experimental results from both optical rotation and scanning calorimetry. The calculated average length of stable, ordered chain-sequences increases with decreasing temperature, but equals or exceeds the total chain length from light scattering only at temperatures more than approximately equal to 70 K below Tm, suggesting that ordered and disordered regions may co-exist within the same xanthan molecule. Consistent with this interpretation, the observed rate of conformational ordering increases sharply under conditions where the starting solution for dynamic measurements is partially ordered, suggesting that ordered sequences within each chain may act as helix nuclei for adjacent disordered regions, so that helix growth, rather than the slower nucleation process, becomes rate limiting.     

DNA sequence plays a major role in determining nucleosome positions in yeast CUP1 chromatin.

The role of DNA sequence in determining nucleosome positions in vivo was investigated by comparing the positions adopted by nucleosomes reconstituted on a yeast plasmid in vitro using purified core histones with those in native chromatin containing the same DNA, described previously. Nucleosomes were reconstituted on a 2.5 kilobase pair DNA sequence containing the yeast TRP1ARS1 plasmid with CUP1 as an insert (TAC-DNA). Multiple, alternative, overlapping nucleosome positions were mapped on TAC-DNA. For the 58 positioned nucleosomes identified, the relative positioning strengths and the stabilities to salt and temperature were determined. These positions were, with a few exceptions, identical to those observed in native, remodeled TAC chromatin containing an activated CUP1 gene. Only some of these positions are utilized in native, unremodeled chromatin. These observations suggest that DNA sequence is likely to play a very important role in positioning nucleosomes in vivo. We suggest that events occurring in yeast CUP1 chromatin determine which positions are occupied in vivo and when they are occupied.     

New Intercommunity Infanticides by the Chimpanzees of Ngogo,Kibale National Park,Uganda

Hostile intercommunity relations, including attacking and killing extra-community infants of both sexes have occurred at most wild chimpanzee sites. We describe three recent cases of intercommunity attacks on infants committed by members of the Ngogo chimpanzee community in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Two of the attacks resulted in confirmed infanticides while a third attack probably resulted in the infant's death. In common with previous accounts of chimpanzee infanticides, the attacks described here occurred during boundary patrols outside the Ngogo community's usual range, adult and adolescent males were the main participants, one infant was cannibalized after being killed, and the victims’ mothers did not accompany the attacking party back to the Ngogo range. However, the patrol parties during each infanticide were larger than before and included females from the Ngogo community. Our observations indirectly support both the range expansion and imbalance of power hypotheses, which address why and under which conditions chimpanzee intercommunity encounters lead to aggression. These cases of intercommunity infanticide add to the growing database of the phenomenon in wild chimpanzees.     

The steroidal glycoalkaloid α-tomatine

The literature relating to chemical, biochemical and biological aspects of the steroidal glycoalkaloid, α-tomatine, is reviewed. The alkaloid, which can be used as a starting compound for the synthesis of steroidal hormones, is toxic to a wide range of living organisms. The significance of tomatine to plants which elaborate it is discussed and some possible uses of the compound are mentioned.