Demonstration of rhodanese activity in polyacrylamide gels

Rhodanese activity from crude extracts of Thiobacillus sp. strain IV-85 was demonstrated in polyacrylamide gels after incubation in the reaction mixture by staining with dichloroindophenol in the presence of methylphenazonium methosulfate. The sensitivity of the staining system was found to be 8 × 10^-7 moles of sulfite.     

Sequential forms of ATPase activity correlated with changes in cation binding and membrane potential from meiosis to first clevage in R. pipiens

Changes in cortical membrane potential, cation binding, subcellular aggregation, ATPase activity, phosphoprotein phosphatase activity and inorganic phosphate levels have been measured in the R. pipiens egg from meiotic prophase to first cleavage.

1.

1. Between meiotic prophase (oocyte) and metaphase of the second maturation division (ovulated egg), the egg cortex depolarizes and the egg cytoplasm becomes positive relative to the external environment. Fertilization is accompanied by a transient positive hyperpolarization and the potential returns to the level of the ovulated egg by the completion of meiosis (15 to 20 min). The egg cytoplasm remains positive until first cleavage when the cortex slowly repolarizes and the cytoplasm again becomes negative relative to the external medium.     

Two African Viruses Serologically and Morphologically Related to Rabies Virus

Lagos bat virus and an isolate from shrews (IbAn 27377), both from Nigeria, were found to be bullet-shaped and to mature intracytoplasmically in association with a distinct matrix. They were related to, but readily distinguishable from, rabies virus and each other by complement fixation and neutralization tests. The three viruses, including rabies, form a subgrouping within the rhabdoviruses.     

Description of a Viral Agent Found in Blood Obtained from Patients with Infectious Hepatitis

A small, double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid viral agent (agent Y) has been found in blood from patients with infectious hepatitis. The agent was propagated in chimpanzee liver tissue culture which had been grown and maintained on unheated agamma calf serum. A causal relationship between this agent and the occurrence of human disease cannot be determined from the data presented.     

Experience with Electron Microscopy in the Differential Diagnosis of Smallpox

The usefulness of negative-contrast electron microscopy in the rapid differential diagnosis of poxvirus and herpesvirus exanthems is described in this study of 301 specimens from patients with vesicular exanthematous diseases. Specimens from patients with smallpox, various forms of vaccination complications, varicella, zoster (shingles), and herpes simplex are included in this evaluation. Electron microscopy, when applied to the study of lesion material, was found to be more sensitive than the classical techniques of virus isolation in the diagnosis of both poxvirus and herpes/varicella virus infections. However, since specific identification of a virus within a group cannot be made morphologically by electron microscopy, it is recommended that both electron microscopy and virus isolation methods be employed for the routine differential diagnosis of vesicular exanthematous diseases in the reference diagnostic laboratory.