Wechselwirkungen zwischen Lektinen und Mikroorganismen II. Identifizierung von Mikrobiellen Stämmen und Mutanten durch die Kinetik induzierter Agglutinationen

The kinetic of lectin or antibody induced agglutination between single cells in a complex but highly specific reproducible marker. It is useful for the identification of strains and mutants. Using the described method we are able to differentiate the mutants of yeast strains.     

Effects of natalizumab,an α4 integrin inhibitor,on fertility in male and female guinea pigs

BACKGROUND : Natalizumab is a humanized monoclonal immunoglobulin G4 antibody directed against the human α4 integrin subunit disrupting interaction with its ligands. As α4 integrins and/or their ligands appear to be involved in reproductive function, the effects of natalizumab on fertility in male and female guinea pigs were investigated. METHODS : Natalizumab was administered by bolus intravenous injection every other day at doses of 0, 3, 10, and 30 mg/kg. Males began treatment at least 28 days prior to mating until necropsy (approximately 3 to 5 days after mating). Dosing in females was done from gestational day (GD) of an existing pregnancy to GD 30 of a second pregnancy. RESULTS : In male guinea pigs, natalizumab treatment had no effect on sperm parameters, reproductive organ weights, organ-weight ratios, or histology of the testis or epididymis. Natalizumab did not affect the ability of treated males to produce pregnancies in untreated females. In female guinea pigs, no treatment-related changes were seen in uterine weights or ovary weights. Pregnancy rates were reduced in females treated with 30 mg/kg natalizumab, but not those treated with 3 or 10 mg/kg. Pregnancy rates were 63.3, 66.7, 66.7, and 29.6% for groups treated with 0, 3, 10, and 30 mg/kg, respectively. Effects observed at 30 mg/kg were at exposures 36-fold those observed in humans. CONCLUSIONS : Natalizumab had no effects on male fertility, but did result in a reduction in pregnancy rates in females treated with the high dose of 30 mg/kg. Birth Defects Res (Part B)86: 108-116, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

The prosthetic need WHO index: a comparison between self‐perception and professional assessment in an elderly population

The purpose of this study was to consider the criteria for establishing the need for prosthesis, by comparing the need perceived subjectively by a patient (self‐perception) with that assessed by an examiner according to the WHO diagnosis criteria. The proposed domiciliary sample comprised 270 elderly (aged 60 years or older) residents in a municipality in southern Brazil. The interviews and oral examinations were conducted by two dentists following a period of training and calibration. The criteria used conformed to the WHO and FDI standards. Statistical treatment of data included bivariate and multivariate analysis using SPSS 10.0. Only five patients identified the need for a prosthesis when not identified by the examiner. In the case of 172 elderly subjects, there was agreement in the self‐perceived and observed treatment needs. The need for prosthesis was found in 93 elderly subjects who did not perceive any need for prosthetic treatment. The multivariate analysis showed that the variables age, gender, residential area and form of service most sought after during their lives were significantly associated with a better self‐perception of oral health. The professional criteria based on WHO guidelines differed from the self‐perceived need. Elderly male subjects who lived in a rural area and were 70 years of age or more, who did not participate in third age groups, and who had not sought dental services for most of their lives were the least likely to perceive the need for prosthetic treatment, thereby underestimating their oral health needs.     

The secondary vascular system of Actinopterygii: interspecific variation in origins and investment

Vascular casts of 3 species of Chondrichthyes, 1 of Dipnoi, 1 of Chondrostei and 14 species of the Teleostei were examined by light and scanning electron microscopy in order to give a qualitative and quantitative analysis of interarterial anastomoses (iaas) that indicate the presence (or absence) of a secondary vascular system (SVS). Anastomoses were found to originate from a variety of different primary blood vessels, many of which have not been previously identified as giving rise to secondary vessels. Segmental arteries derived from the dorsal aorta and supplying body musculature were major sites of origin of the SVS, although there was considerable variation in where, in the hierarchy of arterial branching, the anastomoses occurred. The degree of investment in a SVS was species specific, with more active species having a higher degree of secondary vascularisation. This difference was quantified using an absolute count of iaas between Anguilla reinhardtii and Trachinotus baillonii. A range of general features of the SVS is also described. No evidence of iaas was found on the coeliac, mesenteric or renal circulation in any species. Evidence of iaas was lacking in the dipnoan and chondrichthyan species examined, suggesting that a SVS is restricted to Actinopterygii. The presence and distribution of a SVS does not appear to be exclusively linked to phylogenetic position, but rather to the physiological adaptation of the species.The online version of the original article can be found at     

Interaction of the C14-OH group of adriamycin with DNA phosphate as spectroscopically evidenced

Monitoring the band of the antisymmetric stretching vibration of the backbone PO-2 group in DNA-anthracycline complexes demonstrates an extraordinary wavenumber shift for the adriamycin complex compared to that of daunomycin. The structures of both anthracyclines, however, are very closely related and differ only by a surplus hydroxyl group of adriamycin in the C14 position. The wavenumber shift observed for the DNA-adriamycin complex is unequivocally attributed to an additional linkage of the C14-OH of adriamycin to the phosphate group of DNA. Thus, several of the hypothetical structural models for the DNA-adriamycin complex for which a hydrogen bond between the C14 hydroxyl of the drug and DNA phosphate was postulated (S. Neidle, Cancer Treatment Rep. 61, 928 (1977); G. J. Quigley et. al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77, 7204 (1980)) get the first clear-cut experimental evidence.     

Land reclamation as a cause of fine-grained sediment depletion in backbarrier tidal flats (Southern North Sea)

Grain size distribution patterns along the East Frisian coast (German Wadden Sea) were evafuated with the aim of identifying potential effects of man-made structures (e.g. dikes) on the textural composition and sediment budget of the area. It was found that the distribution of various grain size fractions and settling velocities revealed a well-defined cross-shore energy gradient. Adjacent to the mainland dike the sediment is dominated by the 3.0–3.5 phi sand fraction (>70% by weight). In comparison to the sedimentary sequences normally observed in unobstructed backbarrier depositional environments, the sediments along the land-ward margin are in this case conspicuously depleted in grain sizes <3.5 phi, the corresponding size fractions contributing <20% by weight. This suggests that the dike interrupts the normal energy gradient, thereby inhibiting the deposition of sediments with settling velocities <0.5 cm s⁻¹. This interpretation is confirmed when comparing individual cross-shore transects. The shorter the transect between the barrier island shore and the dike, the greater the fine sediment depletion. Since many faunal assemblages are grain-size specific, it is further suggested that the backbarrier ecosystem must have undergone significant modifications as a result of the substantial reduction in mud flats since the onset of dike construction some 1000 years BP. It is predicted that in the wake of the persisting and possibly accelerating sealevel rise this process of fine sediment depletion will continue and also affect progressively coarser sediments.     

Late Holocene stratigraphic evolution of a back-barrier tidal basin in the East Frisian Wadden Sea, southern North Sea: transgressive deposition and its preservation potential

The late Holocene stratigraphic evolution of a back-barrier tidal basin in the East Frisian Wadden Sea, southern North Sea, was investigated on the basis of a conceptual model relating the rate of sea-level rise to the rate of sediment supply. For this purpose, more than 20 vibra-cores and box-cores were evaluated, complemented by ¹⁴C ages of in situ peats and historical charts. In spite of interspersed short regressive events, the late Holocene stratigraphy generally reveals upward-coarsening grain-size trends indicative of transgressive deposition in the course of sea-level rise rather than erosion and redeposition by migrating channels. A particular feature is the general absence of down-core bioturbation traces, which stands out in sharp contrast to the intensely burrowed modern surface layer. Thus, in the Wadden Sea, high sediment turnover in the course of rapid transgression evidently obliterates most bioturbation traces and other tidal signals such as minor regressive deposits, thereby emphasising the importance of preservation potential.