An Improved Method for Determining the Ionic Conductance and Capacitance of the Membrane of Chara corallina

The assumption of a single exponential change for the voltageresponse caused by a square current of subthreshold intensityis not necessarily an adequate explanation of the situationin the Chara membrane. By improving the speed of electronicsfor current clamping and the accuracy of data simulation, itwas found that an additional process, which can be generallysimulated with another exponential function, was superimposedon the voltage response. Such an additional exponential processmay be partly atributed to the response of the tonoplast, ifthe internal potential measuring microelectrode is in the vacuole.However, this additional process still remained in the voltageresponse of the plasmalemma of the Chara internode when thetonoplast and a large amount of endoplasm were removed by internalperfusion with an glycol ether diaminetetraacetic acid solution.The additional exponential component arose from the change ofthe electromotive force of the single membrane during applicationof the test current pulse. The increase of the conductance of the plasmalemma alone waslarge during excitation, while that of the elecrostatic capacitancewas negligible. On the other hand, the conductance and capacitancewhich reflect an additional exponential ionic process duringthe test pulse both increased greatly around the peak of excitation.This rise is the main reason for an apparent large increaseof membrane capacitance which was deduced from a simple approximationof the membrane with a single time constant model. (Received January 6, 1982; Accepted June 23, 1982)     

Infection with HIV is associated with elevated IL-6 levels and production

Polyclonal B cell activation is commonly observed in AIDS and in infection with HIV. Because IL-6 (B cell stimulatory factor 2) plays an essential role in the differentiation of activated B cells to Ig-secreting cells, and because IL-6 production is induced by exposure of human PBMC to HIV, we measured the level of circulating plasma IL-6, spontaneously-produced IL-6, and IL-6 mRNA in HIV-infected donors and in healthy control donors. Elevated levels of plasma IL-6 and IL-6 mRNA were detected in HIV-infected donors. PBMC isolated from the peripheral circulation of HIV-infected donors, and cultured without added exogenous activators of IL-6 production, produced markedly elevated amounts of IL-6 when compared with cells isolated from healthy donors. Interestingly, levels of an acute-phase protein, which is known to be induced by IL-6, was also increased in HIV-infected donors. These results demonstrate that elevated levels of IL-6 are associated with HIV-infection, and suggest that IL-6 over-production may contribute to the polyclonal B cell activation seen in AIDS and HIV infection.     

A study of family communication space (Part I)--A preliminary study on how family communication is actually practiced

Housing science needs to concern itself with how to improve space for family communication because it plays an important role in human dwelling life. The purpose of this report (Parts I, II & III) is, hence, to elucidate various factors conditioning family communication, and spatial traits of the rooms where it is conducted, based on the survey of the households of students at women's junior colleges. Part I delves into what is specifically communicated within a family and how it is related with other living activities, by grasping how communication is practiced in everyday family life. A basic analysis is made as to how conscious a family members are of their mutual communication, and how rooms are used for it. It has become clear that family communication is closely related with meal-taking both behaviorally and spatially, and that different attitudes among a family members toward family communication cause different modes, and evaluations of it. It has proved to be necessary, for the further studies of family communication, to give an analytical perspective to an in-depth examination of how rooms in the target families are used and how every member views and evaluates their family communication.     

Dependence of removal of sperm-specific proteins from Xenopus sperm nuclei on the phosphorylation state of nucleoplasmin

In Xenopus laevis , nucleoplasmin from fully grown oocytes is not highly phosphorylated, but is more extensively phosphorylated during oocyte maturation to retain this state until mid-blastula transition. Incubation of demembranated sperm with nucleoplasmin from oocytes or mature eggs revealed that egg nucleoplasmin is twice as potent as oocyte nucleoplasmin in removing sperm-specific basic proteins from chromatin (protamine-removing activity: PRA). Dephosphorylation of egg nucleoplasmin by alkaline phosphatase induced a remarkable decline of PRA in nucleoplasmin. Treatment of oocyte nucleoplasmin with cdc2 protein kinase induced an increase of the extent of phosphorylation, but to a level lower than that exhibited by egg nucleoplasmin, suggesting the involvement of other unspecified kinase(s) in phosphorylating nucleoplasmin during oocyte maturation. Incubation of sperm with cdc2 kinase induced selective phosphorylation of sperm-specific basic proteins, accompanied by their enhanced removal from sperm chromatin upon exposure to high-salt solutions. These results suggest that removal of sperm-specific basic proteins from sperm chromatin in fertilized eggs is facilitated by phosphorylation of both nucleoplasmin and sperm-specific basic proteins.