Influence of glycosylation inhibitors on dihydropyridine binding to cardiac cells

In primary cultures of neonatal rat heart cells we found a linear correlation between the number of L-type calcium channel-specific dihydropyridine (DHP) binding sites and spontaneous beating frequency (v).Formation of glycoproteins in tissue culture was suppressed by different inhibitors of N-glycosylation. This inhibition alters to a different extent the binding of the DHP ligand (+)-[methyl-³H]PN 200-110 and v. The most severe but reversible effect occurs at 6 g/ml tunicamycin (B_max 45% and v 6%, resp., of control), a slight increase in B_max at 0.1–0.5 mM castanospermine and 0.05–2.5 mM deoxymannojirimycin. The other inhibitors gave no significant alterations of B_max.     

Post-mortem behaviour of Early Paleozoic nautiloids and paleobathymetry

It is unlikely that the intact or commonly preserved varieties of Ordovician-Silurian nautiloid shells were able to drift for any distance at the surface of the sea even if they died there. Their cameral capacity was much larger than the volume of the extracted or decayed body, and it would have contained a partial vacuum and cameral liquid when they were alive. The closely spaced and thin septa of the shallow-water adapted species were liable to buckle in compression and then implode in local tension during reverse hydrostatic loading by water pressure. This reverse loading and internal implosion of the septa was probably initiated by the sudden cameral refilling of an apical chamber caused by the depositional rupture of the apical siphuncle at or near the maximum habitat depth of these species. The instantaneous buckling of the more adorai septa was potentially terminated by variations in the septum thickness and cameral fill-fractions at that time, and they imply that some of the Silurian nautiloids from Bohemia were deposited at a minimum depth of about 65 m. Alternative interpretations involving the breakage of the same septa in tension, or buckling due to the difference in pressure between adjacent flooded chambers, set a maximum depth limit of about 160 m for the same facies. Many of the smaller Silurian nautiloids were unlikely to buckle during refilling, and they were potentially flooded faster than they could sink, below a depth of 100–300 m.     

Nucleotide sequence and taxonomical distribution of the bacteriocin gene lin cloned from Brevibacterium linens M18.

Linocin M18 is an antilisterial bacteriocin produced by the red smear cheese bacterium Brevibacterium linens M18. Oligonucleotide probes based on the N-terminal amino acid sequence were used to locate its single copy gene, lin, on the chromosomal DNA. The amino acid composition, N-terminal sequence, and molecular mass derived from the nucleotide sequence of an open reading frame of 798 nucleotides coding for 266 amino acids found on a 3-kb BamHI restriction fragment correspond closely to those obtained from the purified protein (N. Valdés-Stauber and S. Scherer, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 60:3809-3814, 1994). No sequence homology to any protein or nucleotide sequences deposited in databases was found. Comparison of the nucleotide sequence and the N-terminal amino acid sequence derived from the protein suggests that B. linens M18 produces an N-formyl-methionyl-CAC tRNA. A wide taxonomical distribution of the gene within coryneform bacteria has been demonstrated by PCR amplification. The structural gene from linocin M18 is present at least in three Brevibacterium species, five Arthrobacter species, and five Corynebacterium species.     

Contribution of Monsoon Asia to the carbon budget of the biosphere,past and future

The High Resolution Biosphere Model (HRBM), which has been developed by the group of the author, was used to investigate the carbon balance of the vegetation and the soil in the ecosystems of Monsoon Asia in comparison to the rest of the world. The HRBM is a global grid-based (0.5 degree resolution) model with a monthly time step. It includes modules for natural vegetation, land use, vegetation fires, vegetation composition. A historical carbon budget was calculated for the period 1860–1978 and, on a global scale, validated using atmospheric CO₂ data. Based on the per-country development of the population and their requirements, different reasonable scenarios were used to investigate the potential impacts of land use and deforestation in the period 1990–2050. The HRBM calculates considerable contributions of Monsoon Asia to the global CO₂ emissions due to land use changes in the past. Between 1860 and 1978, about 1/4 of the global releases from land use changes came from South Asian and Southeast Asian biota. The future contributions in the period 1990–2050 depend on the assumed development of the agricultural methods. If the intensity of agriculture and the agricultural productivity will stay the same as in the 1980s, there will be a strong need to increase agricultural areas, and thus deforestation will dominate. If there will be a change over to intensive methods of agricultural production, the presently used areas might be sufficient to provide resources to the growing population.     

Fine mapping of the Autosomal Dominant Split Hand/Split Foot Locus on Chromosome 7, Band q21.3-q22.1

Split hand/split foot (SHFD) is a human developmental defect characterized by missing digits, fusion of remaining digits, and a deep median cleft in the hands and feet. Cytogenetic studies of deletions and translocations associated with this disorder have indicated that an autosomal dominant split hand/split foot locus (gene SHFD1) maps to 7q21-q22. To characterize the SHFD1 locus, somatic cell hybrid lines were constructed from cytogenetically abnormal individuals with SHFD. Molecular analysis resulted in the localization of 93 DNA markers to one of 10 intervals surrounding the SHFD1 locus. The translocation breakpoints in four SHFD patients were encompassed by the smallest region of overlap among the SHFD-associated deletions. The order of DNA markers in the SHFD1 critical region has been defined as PON–D7S812–SHFD1–D7S811–ASNS. One DNA marker, D7S811, detected altered restriction enzyme fragments in three patients with translocations when examined by pulsed-field gel electro-phoresis (PFGE). These data map SHFD1, a gene that is crucial for human limb differentiation, to a small interval in the q21.3-q22.1 region of human chromosome 7.     

Subject: Navigation and orientation

Research Notes on Avian Biology 1994: Selected Contributions from the 21st International Ornithological CongressMorphology and Physiology: Orientation

Subject: Navigation and orientation     

Modification of sialic acids by 9-O-acetylation is detected in human leucocytes using the lectin property of influenza C virus

Influenza C virus spike glycoprotein HEF specifically recognizesglycoconjugates containing 9-O-acetyl-N-acetylneuraminic acid.The same protein also contains an esterase activity. Takingadvantage of these two properties, influenza C virus was usedas a very sensitive probe for the detection of traces of 9-O-acetyl-N-acetylneuraminicacid in human leucocytes. The binding of influenza C virus toleucocyte glycoproteins and gangliosides separated by sodiumdodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis andthin-layer chromatography, respectively, was assayed using achromogenic esterase substrate. In this way, glycoproteins ofB-lymphocytes and T-lymphocytes were found to contain 9-O-acetylatedsialic acids. Of the various 9-O-acetylated gangliosides detected,one had the characteristics of 9-O-acetylated G^D3. The identificationof 9-O-acetylated sialic acids on distinct glycoproteins andglycolipids should be helpful in assigning a physiological roleto this sugar. O-acetylation gangliosides influenza C virus lymphocytes sialic acids     

Carbon distribution in grass (Festuca pratensis L.) during regrowth after cutting—utilization of stored and newly assimilated carbon

Distribution of net assimilated C in meadow fescue (Fectuca pratensi L.) was followed before and after cutting of the shoots. Plants were continuously labelled in a growth chamber with ¹⁴C-labelled CO₂ in the atmosphere from seedling to cutting and with ¹³C-labelled CO₂ in the atmosphere during regrowth after the cutting. Labelled C, both ¹⁴C and ¹³C, was determined at the end of the two growth periods in shoots, crowns, roots, soil and rhizosphere respiration. Distribution of net assimilated C followed almost the same pattern at the end of the two growth periods, i.e. at the end of the ¹⁴C- and the ¹³C-labelling periods. Shoots retained 71–73% of net assimilated C while 9% was detected in the roots and 11–14% was released from the roots, determined as labelled C in soil and as rhizosphere respiration. At the end of the 2nd growth period, after cutting and regrowth, 21% of the residual plant ¹⁴C at cutting (¹⁴C in crowns and roots) was found in the new shoot biomass. A minor part of the residual plant ¹⁴C, 12%, was lost from the plants. The decreases in ¹⁴C in crowns and roots during the regrowth period suggest that ¹⁴C in both crowns and roots was translocated to new shoot tissue. Approximately half of the total root C at the end of the regrowth period after cutting was ¹³C-labelled C and thus represents new root growth. Root death after cutting could not be determined in this experiment, since the decline in root ¹⁴C during the regrowth period may also be assigned to root respiration, root exudation and translocation to the shoots. ei]{gnH}{fnLambers} ei]{gnA C}{fnBorstlap}     

Monoclonal antibody uptake in B-cell lymphomas: Experimental studies in nude mouse xenografts

Accumulation of radiolabelled monoclonal antibodies (mAb) in human B-lymphoma xenografts was found to result in two distinct patterns. The basic elements leading to these patterns were elucidated by autoradiographic and immunohistological analysis applied to the nude mouse xenografts BJAB and OCI.LY1. With BJAB, accumulation occurred exclusively in peripheral cell layers of the lymphoma nodule, while central areas were not accessible irrespective of mAb dose. This feature was the consequence of an inefficient transport across intratumoral vessels together with peripheral mAb supply through a subcapsular pseudosinus. With OCI.LY1, intratumoral vessels showed generalized leakiness. Furthermore, interstitial transport was operative to a fair extent, such that in early images multiple sites of mAb extravasation were obvious, which coalesced during the course of prolonged uptake. The pattern of peripheral mAb uptake resulted in a low overall tumour uptake, while multifocal uptake yielded substantial accumulation values.     

BLOEM: A spatially explicit model of bioenergy and carbon capture and storage,applied to Brazil

Bioenergy could play a major role in decarbonizing energy systems in the context of the Paris Agreement. Large-scale bioenergy deployment could be related to sustainability issues and requires major infrastructure investments. It, therefore, needs to be studied carefully. The Bioenergy and Land Optimization Spatially Explicit Model (BLOEM) presented here allows for assessing different bioenergy pathways while encompassing various dimensions that influence their optimal deployment. In this study, BLOEM was applied to the Brazilian context by coupling it with the Brazilian Land Use and Energy Systems (BLUES) model. This allowed investigating the most cost-effective ways of attending future bioenergy supply projections and studying the role of recovered degraded pasture lands in improving land availability in a sustainable and competitive manner. The results show optimizing for limiting deforestation and minimizing logistics costs results in different outcomes. It also indicates that recovering degraded pasture lands is attractive from both logistics and climate perspectives. The systemic approach of BLOEM provides spatial results, highlighting the trade-offs between crop allocation, land use and the logistics dynamics between production, conversion, and demand, providing valuable insights for regional and national climate policy design. This makes it a useful tool for mapping sustainable bioenergy value chain pathways.