Insulin sensitivity of liver glycogen synthase b into a conversion

Summary Liver glycogen synthase b phosphatase, chromatographically separable from phosphorylase a phosphatase, is decreased in 48-hour alloxan diabetic rats. The phosphatase activities are measured in an in vitro system using exogenous isolated phospho-enzyme as substrates with added phosphatases. Synthase and phosphorylase phosphatases were shown to have differential catalytic properties by their reactivity in the presence of Pi, the heat-stable inhibitor of phosphorylase phosphatase and after incubation with added cAMP-dependent protein kinase.Supported by NIH Grants HD-07788, AM-21149 and, in part, by grants from the Greater St. Louis Diabetic Childrens Welfare Association and the American Diabetes Association, N.Y.     

Nomenclatural adjustments in some European monocotyledons

New nomenclatural combinations are validated for fifteen taxa belonging to the generaDanthonia, Stipa, Lolium, Phippsia, Elymus, Schoenoplectus andAllium.     

Transparency improves concealment in cryptically coloured moths

Predation is a ubiquitous and strong selective pressure on living organisms. Transparency is a predation defence widespread in water but rare on land. Some Lepidoptera display transparent patches combined with already cryptic opaque patches. A recent study showed that transparency reduced detectability of aposematic prey with conspicuous patches. However, whether transparency has any effect at reducing detectability of already cryptic prey is still unknown. We conducted field predation experiments with free avian predators where we monitored and compared survival of a fully opaque grey artificial form (cryptic), a form including transparent windows and a wingless artificial butterfly body. Survival of the transparent forms was similar to that of wingless bodies and higher than that of fully opaque forms, suggesting a reduction of detectability conferred by transparency. This is the first evidence that transparency decreases detectability in cryptic terrestrial prey. Future studies should explore the organization of transparent and opaque patches in animals and their interplay on survival, as well as the costs and other potential benefits associated with transparency on land.