The scientific names in the German edition of Parkinson's plants of use for food, medicine etc., in Otaheite

Sydney Parkinson, aged 18, was Sir Joseph Banks' private assistant and artist on Captain Cook's first voyage around the world. Parkinson died on the voyage. Among his effects delivered to his brother Stanfield were drawings and notes which the latter published as a journal. Included in it is a chapter on the economic plants of Tahiti, and most of them are given scientific names, some of which were new. In 1941 Fosberg adopted two of them to form names which were new combinations under Artocarpus , and Inocarpus . The writer now indicates that Parkinson's names of 1773 were mononomials, hence invalid, but that in the German edition of 1774, edited by Herr "Z", the names are valid binomials. For the two plants mentioned, the authorship of the combinations is revised.     

Copy number and distribution of P and I mobile elements in Drosophila melanogaster populations

The distribution of the number of copies of P and I transposable elements per genome was investigated by in situ hybridization for a large set of Drosophila melanogaster strains. These included the P, Q and M types of the P-M system of hybrid dysgenesis. P element copy number varied widely (range 5–59). P and Q strains had around 40 copies whereas M strains generally had lower numbers (between 5 and 35) with one extreme value (52). The copy number of I elements appeared to be precisely regulated, as no strains were found outside the 15±5 range. The number of copies of the two families were independent. An excess of P copies on the X chromosome compared with the autosomes was found for the P and Q strains, but not for M strains. Among X-inserted P sites, a very high frequency of occupation was found at the tip of the X chromosome (cytological site 1A), especially for P and Q strains. The possible regulatory role in the P-M system of X-inserted P sites is discussed.     

Augmentation of mouse natural killer cell activity by LS 2616, a new immunomodulator

The quinoline-3-carboxamide LS 2616 administered to mice in drinking water increased spontaneous cytotoxicity against YAC-1 cells in a dose-dependent manner. The enhancement of spontaneous cytotoxicity was found to be mediated by NK cells, as judged by their lack of adherence to nylon wool columns, relative resistance to treatment with antibodies to Thy-1.2 and complement, and almost total abrogation after depletion of asialo-GM1+ cells. Enhancement of NK activity was evident after 2 days of treatment, was maximal after 4 days, and remained elevated during the 14-day exposure period studied. NK activity returned to control levels 4 days after cessation of treatment. NK activity was significantly increased in spleen, peripheral blood, lymph nodes, and bone marrow of LS 2616-treated mice, while activity in peritoneal exudate cells and thymus remained low. LS 2616 was able to elevate NK activity in several mouse strains studied, including mice homozygous for the beige gene. Serum interferon levels were not increased during treatment with LS 2616. Combined injection of the interferon inducer Poly I:C and LS 2616 did not increase NK activity above that of animals injected with Poly I:C alone. However, Poly I:C, in contrast to LS 2616, increased NK activity in peritoneal exudate cells. Studies at the single cell level revealed that LS 2616 increased NK activity by increasing the number of lytically active cells via recruitment of new target-binding cells and not by increasing the lytic activity of pre-existing binders.