Extracellular and intracellular acid-base status following strenuous activity in the sea raven (Hemitripterus americanus)

Summary Exhausting activity in the sea raven resulted in a pronounced extracellular acidosis, which consisted of a large, short-lived respiratory component and a small, longer-lived metabolic component. Thi disturbance had been corrected by 12 h. White muscle experienced a pronounced intracellular acidosis of chiefly metabolic origin, with pH_i dropping from a resting value of 7.51 to a low of 7.10 immediately post-activity. The recovery of pH_i was associated with a reduction in muscle lactate. Despite the large increase in , cardiac muscle pH_i remained constant postactivity, actually showing an alkalosis at 30 min into recovery. Maintenance of cardiac muscle pH_i was achieved by an accumulation of HCO ₃ ^– intracellularly.     

Simultaneous determination of cysteine sulfinic acid and cysteic acid in rat brain by high-performance liquid chromatography

A sensitive and specific assay method for cysteine sulfinic acid (CSA) and cysteic acid (CA) using high-performance liquid chromatography has been developed. The method includes post-column derivatization of various amino acids with o-phthalaldehyde in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol. The column packed with cation-exchange resin ($\text{ISC-07}\text{S1504}$, Shimadzu Sci entific instruments, Inc., Kyoto, Japan) was used for obtaining general separation of amino acids except CSA and CA, while the separation of CSA and CA was achieved using a strong-base anion exchange ($\text{ISA-07}\text{S2504}$, Shimadzu Scientific Instruments) column. The fluorescence peak area for CSA was linear between 20 pmol and 5 nmol, whereas that for CA was 10 pmol to 5 nmol. The regional distribution of CSA, CA, and other amino acids in the rat brain was studied using this new assay method.     

Stress-Induced Alterations in Metabolism of Γ-Aminobutyric Acid in Rat Brain

The effect of a stressful manipulation on the metabolism of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the rat brain was studied. Application of an immobilized stress to animals induced a significant increase in the striatal and hypothalamic GABA contents without affecting those in other central structures examined. It was also found that the increase in striatal GABA level preceded that in the hypothalamus. This increase in steady-state levels of GABA in the striatum and hypothalamus disappeared at 12 h after the termination of the application of stress for 3 h, which exhibited a maximal stimulatory action on the GABA contents in both central areas. The activity of L-glutamic acid decarboxylase was found to be significantly elevated in the striatum and hypothalamus following the stress application with a concomitant decrease in the content of L-glutamic acid, which is converted to GABA by the catalytic action of the latter enzyme. The in vivo turnover of GABA in the brain was estimated by taking advantages of the postmortem accumulation of GABA following decapitation and of the selective inhibitory action of a low dose of aminooxyacetic acid on the GABA degrading system, respectively. Analysis using these two different methods revealed that the cerebral turnover of GABA in vivo was not significantly altered under stressful situations despite of the increase in its steady-state level. These results suggest that central GABA system may respond to the input of painful stimuli resulting from the application of a severe physical and psychological stressor, in addition to the well-known functional alterations in catecholamine neurons. The functional significance of these alterations in the central GABA neurons is also discussed.     

Pyruvate Kinase of Streptococcus lactis

The kinetic properties of pyruvate kinase (ATP:pyruvate-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.40) from Streptococcus lactis have been investigated. Positive homotropic kinetics were observed with phosphoenolpyruvate and adenosine 5′-diphosphate, resulting in a sigmoid relationship between reaction velocity and substrate concentrations. This relationship was abolished with an excess of the heterotropic effector fructose-1,6-diphosphate, giving a typical Michaelis-Menten relationship. Increasing the concentration of fructose-1,6-diphosphate increased the apparent V_max values and decreased the K_m values for both substrates. Catalysis by pyruvate kinase proceeded optimally at pH 6.9 to 7.5 and was markedly inhibited by inorganic phosphate and sulfate ions. Under certain conditions adenosine 5′-triphosphate also caused inhibition. The K_m values for phosphoenolpyruvate and adenosine 5′-diphosphate in the presence of 2 mM fructose-1,6-diphosphate were 0.17 mM and 1 mM, respectively. The concentration of fructose-1,6-diphosphate giving one-half maximal velocity with 2 mM phosphoenolpyruvate and 5 mM adenosine 5′-diphosphate was 0.07 mM. The intracellular concentrations of these metabolites (0.8 mM phosphoenolpyruvate, 2.4 mM adenosine 5′-diphosphate, and 18 mM fructose-1,6-diphosphate) suggest that the pyruvate kinase in S. lactis approaches maximal activity in exponentially growing cells. The role of pyruvate kinase in the regulation of the glycolytic pathway in lactic streptococci is discussed.     

Lack of Chemically Induced Mutation in Repair-Deficient Mutants of Yeast

Two genes, rad6 and rad9, that confer radiation sensitivity in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae also greatly reduce the frequency of chemically-induced reversions of a tester mutant cyc1-131, which is a chain initiation mutant in the structural gene determining iso-1-cytochrome c. Mutations induced by ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS), diethyl sulfate (DES), methyl methanesulfonate (MMS), dimethyl sulfate (DMS), nitroquinoline oxide (NQO), nitrosoguanidine (NTG), nitrogen mustard (HN2), beta-propiolactone, and tritiated uridine, as well as mutations induced by ultraviolet light (UV) and ionizing radiation were greatly diminished in strains homozygous for either the rad6 or rad9 gene. Nitrous acid and nitrosoimidazolidone (NIL), on the other hand, were highly mutagenic in these repair-deficient mutants, and at low doses, these mutagens acted with about the same efficiency as in the normal RAD strain. At high doses of either nitrous acid or NIL, however, reversion frequencies were significantly reduced in the two rad mutants compared to normal strains. Although both rad mutants are immutable to about the same extent, the rad9 strains tend to be less sensitive to the lethal effect of chemical mutagens than rad6 strains. It is concluded that yeast requires a functional repair system for mutation induction by chemical agents.     

Inactivation of Aspartic Transcarbamylase in Sporulating Bacillus subtilis: Demonstration of a Requirement for Metabolic Energy

The aspartic transcarbamylase (ATCase) activity of Bacillus subtilis cells disappears rapidly from stationary-phase cells prior to sporulation. ATCase activity does not appear in the culture fluid during the stationary phase; hence the enzyme appears to be inactivated in the cells. The enzyme is inactivated normally in two different mutants lacking proteases; the activity is very stable in crude extracts of cells or in the culture fluid. These results suggest that ATCase is not inactivated by the general proteolysis that occurs in sporulating bacteria. The inactivation of ATCase can be completely inhibited after it has begun by oxygen starvation or addition of fluoroacetate. Inhibitors of oxidative phosphorylation and electron transport also interrupt the inactivation of ATCase. The inactivation of ATCase is very slow in two mutant strains that are deficient in enzymes of tricarboxylic acid cycle. Addition of gluconate to stationary cultures of the mutant strains, which is known to restore depleted adenosine 5'-triphosphate pools in these bacteria, also restores inactivation of ATCase. These experiments support the conclusion that the generation of metabolic energy is necessary for the inactivation of ATCase in stationary cells. ATCase activity is stable in growing cells in which ATCase synthesis is repressed by addition of uracil; the enzyme is inactivated normally, however, when such cells cease growing.     

Persistence of Salmonella typhimurium on Fabrics

The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of using airborne T3 coliphage as a viral tracer in microbial aerosols. Although T3 coliphage was relatively stable when stored either at temperatures ranging from 21 to 37 C or in the frozen state at -20 C, there was a 2-log loss in infectivity when stored for 72 days at 4 C. Either agitation of stored coliphage suspensions held at 31 C or wide fluctuations in storage temperature produced an increased loss of infectivity. In the airborne state, freshly prepared coliphage and stored coliphage behaved similarly, with survival diminishing as the relative humidity (RH) was lowered. The greatest loss occurred during the first five min following aerosolization. The results showed that only under certain conditions of temperature and relative humidity can T3 coliphage be used as a satisfactory aerosol tracer.     

Specific Learning Disorders—Natural History and Current Views

Each professional, whether pediatrician, neurologist, psychiatrist, psychologist or teacher, in evaluating behavioral, neuromuscular, and emotional factors with the tools of his discipline, can arrive independently at very similar views regarding etiology and diagnosis of learning and language disorders. Even though this is possible, it is essential to have the many disciplines work together. This manner of sharing information is not only supportive to the patient, but to the physician as well.The pediatrician''s role does not stop, however, with the diagnosis, but continues with the working through of problems that the child and parents present to one another.     

Amino acid sequences around the cystine residues in horse growth hormone

The cystine-containing peptides of horse growth hormone were isolated and their amino acid sequences determined. Four unique half-cystine residues occur in two peptides, one containing 11 and the other, at the C-terminus of the protein, 15 amino acids. These sequences are compared with published data on growth hormones from other species.