Thaumamermis cosgrovei n. gen., n. sp. (Mermithidae: Nematoda) parasitizing terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscoidea)

Summary A new mermithid nematode, Thaumamermis cosgrovei n. gen., n. sp. (Mermithidae: Nematoda) was found parasitizing two terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscoidea) in California. The hosts, Armadillidium vulgare (Latr.) (a pillbug) and Porcellio scaber (Latr.) (a sowbug) represent the first cases of isopods attacked by mermithid nematodes. The genus Thaumamermis can be distinguished from all previously described mermithids by the extremely dimorphic spicules, one being short and broad and the other long and filiform. It has been discovered that the nematodes are infected with an iridiovirus which commonly destroys the isopod hosts. ac]19800917     

Development of a diagnostic test system for detecting soluble staphylococcal antigens by an immunoenzyme method

ELISA is used for detecting the soluble staphylococcal antigen in patients with purulent septic infections. The optimum conditions for the assay have been established: the dose of staphylococcal gamma globulin for plate sensitization should be 5.0-10.0 micrograms/ml, the pH of the buffer solution 9.6-10.0, the time and temperature of incubation 18-20 hours at 4 degrees C or 5 hours at 37 degrees C. The possibility of using plates manufactured in the USSR has been shown. The sensitivity of the above diagnostic test system is 0.005 microgram/ml.     

Simple reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography quantitation of ganciclovir in human serum and urine

A fast, simple, and cost-effective HPLC method for the quantitation of the antiviral drug ganciclovir is described. The serum samples are extracted with perchloric acid and neutralized with potassium phosphate buffer, and urine samples are diluted with distilled water. A reversed-phase column with isocratic elution by 15 mM potassium phosphate buffer (pH 2.5) containing 0.25% acetonitrile is used to separate ganciclovir; quantitation is by UV absorbance at 254 nm. Total turnaround time is 22 min; more than 3000 samples can be run on a single column without loss of peak quality. The limit of quantitation is 0.05 μg/ml. Recoveries varied from 91 to 10% with coefficients of variation ranging from 0.387 to 7.95%.     

The cortical response in Xenopus laevis ova

A dependence on extracellular calcium has been demonstrated for fertilization and the cortical response to pricking in Xenopus ova. Neither event occurred in calcium-free solutions or in the presence of divalent cation chelating agents. The calcium-sensitive phase of the cortical response to pricking in dejellied eggs was restricted to the 5–10 sec immediately following the activation stimulus; the initial phase of activation was not calcium dependent. In contrast, the cortical response in dejellied Xenopus ova exposed to the chemical activating agents, urethan or methyl urethan, was independent of extracellular calcium. Experimental evidence was presented for the involvement of a direct, nonpropagated cortical reaction in response to urethan stimulation as opposed to a propagated reaction in response to pricking. A cortical response in dejellied eggs was not induced spontaneously by high concentrations of potassium, and the prick response was unaffected by inhibitors of energy transfer processes. Molecular mechanisms operative in the initiation and propagation of the cortical response in animal eggs have been discussed.     

Transmission of the cri-du-chat syndrome from a maternal balanced translocation carrier,t(5p-;11q+)

Summary A child with cri-du-chat syndrome, 46,XY,5p-, was born to a mother who had two normal children and two abortuses. The mother was shown to carry a balanced translocation. Giemsa and fluorescent banding demonstrate the exact location of the translocated segment. The deleted short arm of chromosome number 5 was shown to be attached to the long arm of chromosome number 11.

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Zusammenfassung Ein Kind mit Cri-du-chat Syndrom und Karyotyp 46,XY,5p- wurde von einer Mutter geboren, die zuvor zwei gesunde Kinder und zwei Aborte gehabt hatte. Bei der Mutter wurde eine balancierte Translokation nachgewiesen; Chiemsa- und Fluorescens-Bandenmuster zeigten die genaue Lokalisation des translozierten Segmentes: Der deletierte kurze Arm des Chromosoms Nr.5 war an den langen Arm vom Chromosom Nr. 11 angeheftet.

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We are indeed indebted to Dr. G. R. Hennigar for facilities and Dr. C. D. Barnett for financial assistance.     

DNA condensation by an oxidizable cationic detergent. Interactions with lipid vesicles.

Cationic amphiphile-mediated delivery of plasmid DNA is the non-viral gene transfer method most often used. In the present work, we considered a new cysteine-detergent, ornithinyl-cysteinyl-tetradecylamide (C(14)-CO), able to convert itself, via oxidative dimerization, into a cationic cystine-lipid. By using fluorescence techniques, we first characterized the structure of complexes of plasmid DNA with C(14)-CO molecules either kept as monomers, or oxidized into dimers. Both forms are able to condense DNA, with the formation of hydrophobic micelle-like domains along the DNA chain. Domains with a larger molecular order were obtained with dimeric C(14)-CO/DNA complexes. In a second step, the interactions of these complexes with lipid vesicles considered as membrane models were investigated. In the presence of vesicles, we observed a decondensation of the DNA involved in complexes obtained with C(14)-CO monomers. With anionic vesicles, the DNA is released into the bulk solution, while with neutral vesicles, it remains bound to the vesicles via electrostatic interactions with inserted C(14)-CO molecules. In sharp contrast, the complexes with C(14)-CO dimers are unaffected by the addition of either neutral or anionic vesicles and show no interaction with them. These results may partly explain the low transfection efficiency of these complexes at the +/-charge ratios used in this study.     

Effects of adrenoceptor blockade on cardiac hypertrophy and myocardial phospholipids.

Catecholamines have been proposed as a stimulus for the hypertrophic response to pressure overload of the heart and could also mediate the membrane lipid changes associated with cardiac hypertrophy. To address both of these possibilities, cardiac hypertrophy was induced by aortic constriction in the presence or absence of chronic alpha- or beta-adrenoceptor blockade. Heart weights and heart weight to body weight ratios in aortic-constricted rats of the adrenoceptor-blocked and vehicle-treated groups were elevated to the same extent when compared with values in sham-operated rats of each group. Analysis of the fatty acyl composition of the major phospholipid classes revealed that similar changes occurred in vehicle-treated, alpha-blocked, and beta-blocked aortic-constricted rats when compared with respective groups of sham-operated rats. Specifically, linoleic acid was reduced in the phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and cardiolipin (CL) fractions in all groups of aortic-constricted rats. This reduction was accompanied by increased docosahexaenoic acid, arachidonic acid, or palmitic acid in phosphatidylcholine; docosahexaenoic acid in phosphatidylethanolamine; and oleic acid in cardiolipin fractions. Adrenoceptor blockade did not prevent or attenuate the major changes in the fatty acyl composition of phospholipids or the increase in heart weight associated with aortic constriction. This suggests that a change in the level of adrenoceptor stimulation is not the stimulus for cardiac hypertrophy or the observed alterations in phospholipid composition in the pressure-overloaded rat heart.