STUDIES OF CYTOCHEMICAL LOCALIZATION OF SPECIFIC DEHYDROGENASES IN FROZEN,DISEASED TISSUES OF PINUS

Intracellular activity of individual dehydrogenases in frozen tissues of Pinus monticola and Cronartium ribicola was demonstrated by supplying a specific substrate and the appropriate pyridine-nucleotide-linked coenzyme. Freezing broke cell permeability barriers releasing endogenous coenzymes and substrates which had produced nonspecific enzymatic reduction of nitro blue tetrazolium by miscellaneous dehydrogenases throughout fresh tissues. Freezing enhanced specificity by accentuating the differences between control and treatment sections. Succinic, ethanol, glutamic, α-glycerophosphate, isocitric, lactic, malic, glucose-6-phosphate, and 6-phos-phogluconate dehydrogenases and NAD and NADP diaphorases were localized within cells of the blister rust fungus and its western white pine host. NAD- and NADP-linked forms of glutamic, isocitric, and malic dehydrogenases were also detected. The distribution and activity of the enzymes are described for cell types of host and pathogen. β-Hydroxybutyric and pyruvic dehydrogenases were not detected. Calcium and magnesium (5 × 10⁻³ m final conen) and zinc (1.5 × 10⁻⁵ m final concn) had little or no effect on localization. Amytal increased reduction by 6-phosphogluconate, glutamic, and ethanol dehydrogenases while azide depressed the reaction for the last enzyme. Cyanide augmented diformazan formation with succinate. Transhydrogenase was eliminated as a likely contributor to spurious localization in these frozen tissues. Enzymatically produced diformazan appeared on the surface of lipid droplets in cells of both organisms in fresh and frozen sections. The use and interpretation of data from frozen and fresh tissues in tetrazolium cytochemistry are discussed.     

Temporal pattern of resource use and variation in diets of individual grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

Patterns of resource fidelity, switching, and variation in individual diet were examined in the polyphagous grasshopper Taeniopoda equesforaging in experimental cages over an 11-day period. Ten novel dicots were provided in the cages, but grasshoppers fed primarily on kale (Brassica oleraceavar. acephala),lobelia (Lobelia erinus),pansy (Viola x wittrockiana),and dry bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon).Grasshoppers showed significant fidelity to a single plant within a meal but tended to eat less of the same plant in the next meal and, in the case of pansy, on the next day. Grasshoppers switched nonrandomly, suggesting that compensatory feeding on complementary resources may have occurred. There was no evidence that behavioral interactions among individuals increased switching rate or lowered fidelity. Overall patterns of resource use varied significantly among grasshoppers during the study, despite frequent switching among resources and a significant tendency to aggregate while feeding. All individuals were polyphagous but differed in relative consumption of available plants. The results suggest that individual grasshoppers express different feeding patterns that are consistent over time and that variation in diet among individual observed in the field may be more than simple sampling error.     

Impact of Atta colombica Colonies on Understory Vegetation and Light Availability in a Neotropical Forest1

We quantified patterns of vegetation removal and light availability above Atta colombica nests on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Ants cleared vegetation less than 1 cm in diameter from an area of 77 m², and up to 3 m above ground level. Overall light availability 1.5 m above ground level was 49 percent greater at ant nest sites than at sites in undisturbed understory. These higher light levels fell within the range known to enhance growth of both shade tolerant and pioneer species.     

Modeling of adaptations to physical training by using a recursive least squares algorithm

Busso, Thierry, Christian Denis, Régis Bonnefoy,André Geyssant, and Jean-René Lacour. Modeling ofadaptations to physical training by using a recursive least squaresalgorithm. J. Appl. Physiol. 82(5):1685-1693, 1997.The present study assesses the usefulnessof a systems model with time-varying parameters for describing theresponses of physical performance to training. Data for two subjectswho undertook a 14-wk training on a cycle ergometer were used to testthe proposed model, and the results were compared with a model withtime-invariant parameters. Two 4-wk periods of intensive training wereseparated by a 2-wk period of reduced training and followed by a 4-wkperiod of reduced training. The systems input ascribed to the trainingdoses was made up of interval exercises and computed in arbitraryunits. The systems output was evaluated one to five times per week byusing the endurance time at a constant workload. The time-invariantparameters were fitted from actual performances by using the leastsquares method. The time-varying parameters were fitted by using arecursive least squares algorithm. The coefficients of determinationr² were 0.875 and0.879 for the two subjects using the time-varying model, higher thanthe values of 0.682 and 0.666, respectively, obtained with thetime-invariant model. The variations over time in the model parametersresulting from the expected reduction in the residuals appearedgenerally to account for changes in responses to training. Such a modelwould be useful for investigating the underlying mechanisms ofadaptation and fatigue.

     

USE OF A PROGRAMMABLE CALCULATOR IN CARDIOPULMONARY PERFUSION

This study describes a hand-held, battery-powered, programmable instrument (Calculator Model SR-52) that can be taken directly into the operating room by cardiopulmonary perfusionists. Three programs are described in detail: 1) Cardiopulmonary perfusion parameters and estimated blood volume; 2) blood gas parameters and saturations, with temperature corrections; and 3) cardiopulmonary oxygen transfer and oxygenator efficiency. This inexpensive calculator allows perfusion personnel to manipulate easily-derived data into values which heretofore have required elaborate nomograms or special slide rules-or were not available within a reasonable computational time.     

The amino acid sequence of chick skin collagen α1-CB7: The presence of a previously unrecognized triplet

Because alignment of the amino acid sequences of chick skin collagen α2-CB3 (1) with the relevant portion of chick skin collagen α1-CB7 (2) suggested that a Gly-X-Y triplet may have been missed in the latter, the peptide TM-2, produced by tryptic digestion of maleylated α1-CB7, was reinvestigated. Cleavage by trypsin at the unblocked lysine at position 18, and isolation of the resulting COOH-terminal peptide, showed this to be a 15-residue peptide containing a previously unrecognized Gly-Pro-Hyp triplet. Sequencing of the peptide showed this to occupy positions 4 through 6, or 56 through 58 of α1-CB7. The latter thus has 271 instead of 268 residues, and the α1[I] chain 1055 instead of 1052.