études sur les phénomenes électrocapillaires

Sans résuméI. Analyse électrocapillaire des matières colorantes. Rev. gén. Mat. Col. 1926 Vol. 30 pp 34–45II. Phénomènes électrocapillaires et le problème du cancer. Arch. Med. Exper. 1926 Vol. I p 381III. Phénomènes électrocapillaires et l'antagonismes microbiens. Bol. Istituto Sier. Milano 1927 Vol. VI p 313.     

Analysis of higher-primate phylogeny from transversion differences in nuclear and mitochondrial DNA by Lake's methods of evolutionary parsimony and operator metrics

In the companion paper (Holmquist et al. 1988), we concluded that there is no agreement on either the correct branching order or differential rates of evolution among the higher primates, and we examined in depth why this uncertainty in the evolutionary understanding of our closest living relatives persists. Recently, Lake developed two novel methods, based on group properties of transition and transversion operators, that (a) permit, in principle, objective resolution of problems of the above type and (b) attach a statistical significance level to the conclusions drawn. In the present paper, we develop formulas for using these two methods in tandem and apply them to study transversion differences in (1) nuclear DNA for a 7-kb segment of the psi eta-globin locus and a 3-kb intergenic region between the psi beta- and delta- globin loci and (2) mitochondrial DNA for the 896-bp fragment of Brown et al. Although each of these nucleotide sequence regions has its characteristic tempo and mode of evolution, the nuclear and mitochondrial data together, comprising a total of 10,939 base positions, support a Homo/Pan clade at the 97% confidence level. If we calibrate the divergence point for humans and chimpanzees at 5 Myr, consideration of the transversion branch lengths for the combined nuclear data indicates that the gorilla lineage branched off 600,000- 900,000 years prior to that, although the 2 sigma sampling errors do not preclude either a temporal trifurcation for the three species or a considerably more ancient branch point for the gorilla. To resolve the length of this central branch to a relative accuracy of 25% and 30% will require a factor of 16 and nine times more data, respectively-- i.e., in excess of 100,000 homologous nucleotides for each of the four primates. For the nuclear genes, heterogeneity in evolutionary rates between different parts of the genome is mostly restricted to the human lineage for these two segments. The lineage leading to chimpanzees has evolved 0.4 (3-kb fragment) to 3.5 (7-kb segment) times as rapidly as the lineage leading to humans, and that leading to the gorilla has evolved approximately one-fifth to one-half as rapidly as that leading to chimpanzees. Thus, even local molecular clocks can "tick" badly. As significant is the fact that virtually contiguous parts of the genome tick at markedly different rates.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)      

Cooperative effects between two acyclovir resistance loci in herpes simplex virus.

The acyclovir-resistant mutant SC16 R9C2 (H.J. Field, G. Darby, and P. Wildy , J. Gen. Virol. 49:115-124, 1980) has been shown to contain two resistance loci which segregate independently on recombination with wild-type virus. One locus is in thymidine kinase, and the other is in DNA polymerase. Both induced enzymes have altered properties, thymidine kinase showing a low affinity for acyclovir and low activity, and DNA polymerase showing a low affinity for acyclovir triphosphate. Other properties of both enzymes are described which distinguish them from their wild-type counterparts. Recombinants containing either mutant thymidine kinase ( RSC -11) or mutant DNA polymerase ( RSC -26), but not both, have been used to investigate the relative contribution of each lesion to resistance and pathogenicity. Although SC16 R9C2 and both recombinants grow as well as does wild-type virus in tissue culture, they are considerably attenuated in vivo, the greatest attenuation of virulence being seen with SC16 R9C2 and RSC -26. With respect to both acyclovir resistance and in vivo growth, the lesions appear to behave synergistically. Cross resistance studies have shown the recombinant RSC -26, which contains mutant DNA polymerase but which evidently expresses wild-type thymidine kinase, to be cross resistant to both 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine and 5-trifluoromethyl-2'-deoxyuridine but not to (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine or 9-beta-D-arabinofuranosyladenine.     

Blood glucose control and glomerular capillary basement membrane thickening in experimental diabetes.

Glomerular capillary basement membrane thickness (BMT) was measured in 23 rats which had had streptozocin-induced diabetes for 14 months and in 12 age-matched controls. Diabetic rats were randomly allocated to different groups, either receiving no treatment or treated with a low carbohydrate diet or insulin, or both. Control rats were randomly allocated to a normal or low carbohydrate diet. Among the diabetic rats mean plasma glucose concentrations for the groups ranged from 27-4 mmol/l (494 mg/100 ml) in the untreated rats to 9-8 mmol/l (177 mg/100 ml) in those receiving both a low carbohydrate diet and insulin. A highly significant positive relation was found between BMT and plasma glucose concentration for individual rats. When BMT was corrected for body weight a similar relation was observed.     

Endopeptidases and prohormone processing

Peptide hormones and peptide transmitters are generated from polypeptide precursors by specific cleavage reactions which take place principally at sites formed by single or paired basic residues. Not all the possible cleavage sites are utilised, however, and the degree of processing of many propeptides has been found to vary according to the tissue of origin. The restricted nature of processing reactions could point to the existence of a series of enzymes with stringent specificities, recognising regions of structure in addition to the single or paired basic residues. Alternatively the action of processing enzymes may be directed by conformation of the pro-peptide which could focus the action of a protease onto or away from a particular site. In addition certain post-translational modifications such as glycosylation or phosphorylation may influence the accessibility of a site to the approach of a processing enzyme. In this review we describe recent advances that have been made in the characteristisation of proteolytic processing enzymes, we examine the relevance of the various factors that could account for restricted processing and discuss new approaches that may lead to better understanding of the mechanisms involved.     

The metabolism of (ureyl-14C)tolbutamide in vitro and in vivo in man

Hepatic microsomal kinetic constants and plasma half-lives and plasma clearances for the metabolism of tolbutamine were measured in the same patients. No significant correlations were found for the seven experiments performed. There was a trend to an inverse correlation between hepatic microsomal cytochrome P-450 content and the plasma clearance. The negative findings suggest a lack of variation in the hepatic drug-metabolizing activities of normal humans.     

Meta-analysis of the literature on diagnostic accuracy of SPECT in parkinsonian syndromes

Background  

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. One of the most widely used techniques to diagnose PD is a Single Photon Emission Computer Tomography (SPECT) scan to visualise the integrity of the dopaminergic pathways in the brain. Despite this there remains some discussion on the value of SPECT in the differential diagnosis of PD. We did a meta-analysis of all the existing literature on the diagnostic accuracy of both pre- and post-synaptic SPECT imaging in the differential diagnosis of PD.