Protein phosphorylation during spontaneous contraction of smooth muscle

The relationship between spontaneous contraction and protein phosphorylation of rat uterine smooth muscle was studied. Myometrial strips from estrogen-dominated rats were incubated in [³²P]orthophosphate and then frozen at various levels of isometric tension. Proteins were separated by gel electrophoresis and the incorporation of ³²P was measured. Contraction was associated with the phosphorylation of one major protein (20,000 M_r). This phosphorylation preceded maximal tension development and dephosphorylation preceded complete spontaneous relaxation. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis indicates that the 20,000-M_r protein is the myosin light chain which has been implicated in the regulation of smooth muscle contraction.     

New Bacteriophage of Haemophilus influenzae

Some properties of a newly isolated Haemophilus influenzae bacteriophage are described. The phage is morphologically distinct from previously described H. influenzae phages.     

Huastec noncrop resource management: Implications for prehistoric rain forest management

The Huastec have interacted with elements of a diverse flora in northeastern Mexico for 30 centuries. A Huastec plant-management model is derived from patterns reflected in all anthropogenic vegetation zones, from the dooryard to the forest, and used to discuss the possible effects of human activities upon the prehistoric rain forest. Huastec plant management is discussed from an analytical perspective which views plant management as resulting from the integration of two types of plant manipulation: the manipulation of vegetation en masse and the manipulation of individual plants. Decisions about plant manipulation reflect a concern for minimal labor investment to place the resource at hand. Noncrop plant manipulation practices potentially influence the evolution of individual plants and plant communities primarily by affecting species' distribution and population parameters. Since the impact of plant-management practices clearly goes beyond domestication, ways of evaluating such practices in order to expand our understanding of ethnobotanical interactions and their impact are suggested.     

The Calcaneum—On the Heels of Marsupial Locomotion

The potential for making functional interpretations from a single postcranial element for marsupials was investigated through morphometric analysis of the calcanea of 61 extant species from Australia and New Guinea. Extant species were grouped into locomotor categories and a canonical variates analysis was carried out on measurements of their calcanea. A relationship between measurements of the calcanea and the locomotor behavior of species was found, allowing for prediction of locomotor behavior from calcaneum morphometrics. This was applied to fossil marsupial taxa, from early–late Miocene/?Pliocene deposits at Riversleigh, in an attempt to determine their locomotor behavior. Hopping (saltatorial) taxa are distinguished from quadruped terrestrial taxa and taxa capable of climbing (arboreal and scansorial) by their relatively longer tuber calcis and wider calcaneal head, by their dorso-ventrally thicker calcaneal head, and by their calcaneocuboid facet being less steeply angled antero-posteriorly. Taxa capable of climbing are distinguished from quadruped terrestrial taxa by their shorter tuber calcis relative to the calcaneal head and by their smaller calcaneo-astragalar facet. The locomotor categories distinguished in this study (arboreal/scansorial, quadruped terrestrial, and saltatorial) highlight differences between species in their use of available substrates and thus are informative with regards to the structural components of their habitat. The results of this analysis can be used, in combination with other data, to make inferences about the habitats of paleocommunities at Riversleigh through the Miocene. The calcaneum is a dense and very robust element and, therefore, has a good chance of being preserved. This method provides a quick and easy way of inferring locomotion and has a wide potential for application to many fossil deposits because it requires only a single element.     

3H-1,2-benzoxathiepine 2,2-dioxides: a new class of isoform-selective carbonic anhydrase inhibitors

A new chemotype with carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) inhibitory action has been discovered, the homo-sulfocoumarins (3H-1,2-benzoxathiepine 2,2-dioxides) which have been designed considering the (sulfo)coumarins as lead molecules. An original synthetic strategy of a panel of such derivatives led to compounds with a unique inhibitory profile and very high selectivity for the inhibition of the tumour associated (CA IX/XII) over the cytosolic (CA I/II) isoforms. Although the CA inhibition mechanism with these new compounds is unknown for the moment, we hypothesize that it may be similar to that of the sulfocoumarins, i.e. hydrolysis to the corresponding sulfonic acids which thereafter anchor to the zinc-coordinated water molecule within the enzyme active site.     

Summary of the 2000 Surgeon General's Listening Session: Toward a National Action Plan on Overweight and Obesity

Objective: To provide insight into discussions at the Surgeon General's Listening Session, “Toward a National Action Plan on Overweight and Obesity,” and to complement The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity. Research Methods and Procedures: On December 7 and 8, 2000, representatives from federal, state, academic, and private sectors attended the Surgeon General's Listening Session and were given an opportunity to recommend what to include in a national plan to address overweight and obesity. The public was invited to comment during a corresponding public comment period. The Surgeon General's Listening Session was also broadcast on the Internet, allowing others to view the deliberations live or access the archived files. Significant discussion points from the Listening Session have been reviewed by representatives of the federal agencies and are the basis of this complementary document. Results: Examples of issues, strategies, and barriers to change are discussed within five thematic areas: schools, health care, family and community, worksite, and media. Suggested cooperative or collaborative actions for preventing and decreasing overweight and obesity are described. An annotated list of some programmatic partnerships is included. Discussion: The Surgeon General's Listening Session provided an opportunity for representatives from family and community groups, schools, the media, the health-care environment, and worksites to become partners and to unite around the common goal of preventing and decreasing overweight and obesity. The combination of approaches from these perspectives offers a rich resource of opportunity to combat the public health epidemic of overweight and obesity.