Analysis of factors restricting the use of binomial statistics for studying transmitter release in neuromuscular junctions

Binomial parameters of transmitter secretion were calculated on the basis of analysis of synaptic potentials in the frog sartorius muscle. Negative values of the parameter p were found in some synapses. This happened most often in low Ca²⁺ concentrations and with low amplitude of miniature end-plate potentials. The results were interpreted in terms of a model assuming spatial heterogeneity of probability of transmitter quantum release at different release points. Simulation of transmitter secretion by computer showed that the appearance of negative values of the parameter p and incorrect estimates of n experimentally are connected with the form of distribution of probability of transmitter quantum release in the synapse and with the amplitude of miniature potentials.S. V. Kurashov Kazan' Medical Institute, Ministry of Health of the RSFSR. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 182–189, March–April, 1984.     

BOOK REVIEW

Insect Pests of Trees and Timber in Tasmania: H. J. Elliott and D. W. deLittle. Forestry Commission, Tasmania, 1985. Pp. X + 90. $7.50.     

Influence of intertree distance on foraging behaviour of Rhagoletis pomonella in the field

Abstract. 1. We tested a prediction from contemporary foraging theory that animals should decrease their allocation of energy to the searching of individual patches when interpatch travel costs decrease.
2. We used individual Rhagoletis pomonella Walsh (Diptera: Tephritidae) females foraging for oviposition sites (= Crataegus fruit) in a host tree which was surrounded by four other trees at varying distances.
3. We found that flies generally invested less search, measured as time spent searching a tree or number of leaves visited on a tree, when neighbouring trees were nearby than when farther away.
4. Under our test conditions, flies appeared to have difficulty locating neighbouring trees at a distance of more than 1.6 m.
5. Our study calls into question the interpretation of search effort by insects within resource patches in the absence of information on interpatch distances.     

Auranofin affects early events in human polymorphonuclear neutrophil activation by receptor-mediated stimuli

Auranofin, a new oral antirheumatic gold compound, in concentrations achieved therapeutically, inhibits neutrophil phagocytosis, chemotaxis, chemiluminescence, reduction of cytochrome c, and release of lysosomal enzymes. To further characterize the mechanism by which auranofin affects neutrophils, we studied the effects of auranofin on unstimulated properties and functions of neutrophils as well as on rapidly stimulated functions. When examined by electron microscopy, 4 micrograms/ml of auranofin significantly decreased the number of visualized centriole-associated microtubules in resting cells. Furthermore, auranofin inhibited neutrophil spreading on glass and caused a decrease in negative surface charge (electrophoretic mobility). In addition, auranofin inhibited several fmet-leu-phe-stimulated responses such as shape change, increases in centriole-associated microtubules, decreases in surface charge, and elicited membrane potential changes (di-O-C5(3) dye response). Auranofin (1 micrograms/ml) inhibited fmet-leu-phe-stimulated superoxide and hydrogen peroxide production by 80% (p less than 0.05), and also increased the affinity of receptors for fmet-leu-phe (from Ka 0.035 to Ka 0.48, p less than 0.001). Auranofin also affected neutrophil responses to phorbol myristic acetate (PMA). The total amount of PMA-stimulated superoxide production was suppressed by as little as 0.4 micrograms/ml of auranofin, but the lag time for activation was shortened by low concentrations of auranofin (0.5 to 1 microgram/ml). Four micrograms per milliliter of auranofin suppressed the decrease in surface charge induced by PMA. However, auranofin did not influence superoxide production elicited by the ionophore A23187. The results indicate that auranofin affects the earliest detected responses in neutrophil activation by certain receptor-mediated stimuli.     

Interaction between the Msh2 and Msh6 Nucleotide-binding Sites in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Msh2-Msh6 Complex

Indirect evidence has suggested that the Msh2-Msh6 mispair-binding complex undergoes conformational changes upon binding of ATP and mispairs, resulting in the formation of Msh2-Msh6 sliding clamps and licensing the formation of Msh2-Msh6-Mlh1-Pms1 ternary complexes. Here, we have studied eight mutant Msh2-Msh6 complexes with defective responses to nucleotide binding and/or mispair binding and used them to study the conformational changes required for sliding clamp formation and ternary complex assembly. ATP binding to the Msh6 nucleotide-binding site results in a conformational change that allows binding of ATP to the Msh2 nucleotide-binding site, although ATP binding to the two nucleotide-binding sites appears to be uncoupled in some mutant complexes. The formation of Msh2-Msh6-Mlh1-Pms1 ternary complexes requires ATP binding to only the Msh6 nucleotide-binding site, whereas the formation of Msh2-Msh6 sliding clamps requires ATP binding to both the Msh2 and Msh6 nucleotide-binding sites. In addition, the properties of the different mutant complexes suggest that distinct conformational states mediated by communication between the Msh2 and Msh6 nucleotide-binding sites are required for the formation of ternary complexes and sliding clamps.     

Degradation of sugar cane bagasse by several white-rot fungi

Forty-two white-rot fungi isolated in South America were incubated with long fibre sugar cane bagasse (LFB). The residual composition of LFB was determined after white-rot decay at 30 and 60 days. The ratio of residual lignin to residual lignin to residual cellulose (RL/RC) of untreated material (LFB) was 0.48. After white-rot-decay, the residual material with lower RL/RC ratios indicated that mainly lignin was degraded. In only 30 days, Phlebia sp. MVHC 5535, Athelia sp. MVHC 5509 and Spongipellis pachyodon MVHC 5019 caused a decrease in the RL/RC ratio to 0.36, 0.37 and 0.38, respectively, while it took 60 days for Ganoderma applanatum MVHC 5347, Hyphodontia sp. MVHC 5544, Panus tigrinus MVHC 5400, Stereum sp. MVHC 5113, Phellinus punctatus MVHC 5346 and MVHC 6388 to reach a ratio lower than 0.40. No correlation was found between the amount of some ligninolytic enzymes secreted and the residual composition of bagasse after white-rot fungi fermentation. Most of the fungal strains caused an increase in the relative amount of residual cellulose, indicating that hemicellulose was the preferred energy source.