Potentiation of the antagonistic effect of ACTH11-24 on steroidogenesis by synthesis of covalent dimeric conjugates

Covalent dimerization of the adrenocorticotropin fragment ACTH11-24 increases its antagonistic potency on the ACTH-induced steroidogenesis in isolated bovine fasciculata/reticularis cells by 3 orders of magnitude when the C-termini are linked via a 10 A long spacer. This strong potentiation, probably mediated by cross-linking of the receptors, was shown to be dependent on the point of attachment of the monomeric fragment to the spacer, thus providing information about the position of the binding site in the hormonal segment and about the distance of the receptors on the cell surface.     

T wave changes in humans and dogs during experimental dives.

Electrocardiogram (ECG) analysis was performed in three human divers studied at 21 and 23.5 ATA while they breathed various gas mixtures containing H2 and/or He (COMEX HYDRA IX experiment) and in five dogs exposed to 91 ATA of He-O2 or He-N2-O2. In all cases, the O2 partial pressure was slightly higher than its physiological value. These human and animal studies reveal that elevated pressure of different inert gases did not change the resting heart rate or its respiratory fluctuation. However, the T wave amplitude increased in proportion to the gas density in the three divers; this was also found in four of the five dogs studied. Changes in peak T wave configurations were also observed in the dog experiments. Positional changes in QRS or T vectors cannot explain these T wave changes.     

Economic incentives for conservation: beekeeping and Saturniidae caterpillar utilization by rural communities

The economic viability of the wildlife based enterprises (bee-keeping and caterpillar utilization) in Malawi is discussed in relation to conventional agricultural enterprises (maize, beans and ground-nuts). A strong incentive emerges for rural people to adopt wildlife management as an adjunct to subsistence agriculture, and therefore, to promote conservation of natural ecosystems and wildlife habitats in the face of growing human population and demand for land. Dependence on agriculture has depleted the wildlife resource outside protected areas and has been less effective in improving the wealth and living standards of most rural people. This study illustrates that the Malawi Department of National Parks and Wildlife needs to introduce economic incentives that integrate biological conservation with economic development for the rural people. The management programme involves the adoption of a rotation burning policy that promotes vegetation coppicing, eases harvesting and promotes high caterpillar yields.     

A proposed neural pathway for vocalization in South African clawed frogs,Xenopus laevis

Vocalizations of South African clawed frogs are produced by contractions of laryngeal muscles innervated by motor neurons of the caudal medulla (within cranial nerve nucleus IX-X). We have traced afferents to laryngeal motor neurons in male and female frogs using retrograde axonal transport of horseradish peroxidase conjugated to wheat germ agglutinin (HRP-WGA). After iontophoretic injection of HRP-WGA into n. IX-X, retrogradely labelled neurons were seen in the contralateral n. IX-X, in rhombencephalic reticular nuclei, and in the pre-trigeminal nucleus of the dorsal tegmental area (DTAM) of both males and females.     

Uptake of the aromatic retinoids Ro 10-9359 (etretinate) and Ro 10-1670 (acitretin), its main metabolite, delivered to cultured human fibroblasts by serum proteins. Lack of evidence for perturbation of LDL catabolism

Etretinate or acitretin are efficiently delivered to cultured human fibroblasts in the presence of low density lipoproteins, high density lipoproteins or human serum albumin. In contrast to acitretin, delivery of etretinate to fibroblasts is more efficiently achieved with human serum albumin than with lipoproteins. The uptake of etretinate and acitretin via low density lipoproteins delivery, does not take place via the low density lipoprotein-receptor endocytotic pathway but mostly through a passive exchange with the plasma membrane. However, in contrast to acitretin, the exchange of etretinate seems to occur alter binding of etretinate-loaded low density lipoproteins to the apolipoprotein B receptors. No differences are observed in binding, internalization and degradation of native, etretinate-loaded low density lipoproteins and acitretin-loaded low density lipoproteins, suggesting that the presence of these retinoids in low density lipoproteins does not alter their processing by the cells. Furthermore, the presence of these retinoids in the cells does not notably affect, under our experimental conditions, the catabolism of native low density lipoproteins.