Gene and mRNA for precursor polypeptide VI from adenovirus type 2.

We present a 1,040-base-pair-long sequences of adenoviruses type 2 DNA which encodes the complete gene for precursor polypeptide VI (pVI). pVI consists of 250 amino acids amounting to a molecular weight of 26,990. The proteolytic cleavage maturing pVI to virion polypeptide VI removes 33 amino acids from the amino-terminal end of the polypeptide, thus giving the mature polypeptide VI a molecular weight of 23,400. The UAA stop codon terminating pVI translation is separated by 84 nucleotides from the initiator triplet for the hexon gene. Both polypeptides are encoded by the same translational reading frame, suggesting the evolution of pVI and hexon as separate proteins by the introduction of a termination codon and selection of a new splice acceptor site in an ancestral fused polypeptide chain. The splice site where the common tripartite leader is attached to the pVI mRNA precedes the initiator codon for pVI translation by one nucleotide and forms, together with other late splice acceptor sites, a late adenovirus consensus acceptor site. We also demonstrate that the 3' end of the mRNA's belonging to the L2 3'-cotermination family is located only 31 nucleotides upstream from the splice junction of the pVI mRNA. Furthermore, we show that four novel polypeptides of molecular weights 80,000, 39,000, 36,000, and 10,500 are encoded by region L2.     

Virus-receptor interaction in the adenovirus system I. Identification of virion attachment proteins of the HeLa cell plasma membrane.

Plasma membranes from HeLa cells were isolated in a two-phase polymer system. To compare the efficiency of attachment protein extraction, a normalized assay for the assessment of adenovirus type 2 (Ad2) receptor-active components interfering with the attachment of Ad2 to HeLa cells was developed. An optimized detergent extraction procedure, 0.5% Triton X-100, was used, and solubilized membrane proteins were radioisotope labeled in vitro. Proteins with affinity for Ad2 virions were quantified and identified in a sucrose gradient sedimentation assay and by affinity chromatography with cross-linked Ad2 virions immobilized to AH-Sepharose 4B. From virions recovered in the sucrose gradient system, one major membrane component of high affinity was identified with a polypeptide molecular weight of around 40,000. Glycosylated proteins isolated by wheat germ lectin chromatography with high affinity for immobilized virus particles were isolated, and two major components with apparent molecular weights of 40,000 and 42,000 were identified. We suggest that a glycosylated protein with high affinity for Ad2 virions and a polypeptide molecular weight of 40,000 to 42,000 is one component of the Ad2 attachment site on HeLa cells.     

Plasma Cortisol in the Horse,Diurnal Rhythm and Effects of Exogenous Acth

Peripheral blood plasma Cortisol concentration and its diurnal variation was measured in 4 horses. Mean concentration of Cortisol during 24 hrs. was 42 ng/ml (s ± 20 ng/ml). Peak values occurred at 6 a.m. and the lowest values were observed at about 6 p.m. (mean 65 ng/ml and 20 ng/ml, respectively). Long-acting ACTH at a dose of 150 i.u. was given by intramuscular injection to the 4 horses. Peak Cortisol concentrations markedly exceeding the prestimulation level were obtained between 2 and 4 hrs. after injection. During the immediate 24 hrs. after these peaks, the mean Cortisol level was markedly lower and the cyclic variation out of phase with the basal diurnal pattern. After a gradual adjustment during the second postinjection day, no differences could be seen between the 2 patterns on day 3 after injection.     

A small skull from Flores dated to the 20th century

A human skull with mandible from the Ngada District on the island of Flores, Indonesia, is described in order to contribute to the knowledge of variation in cranial architecture, which is important in interpretations of evolutionary cerebralisation. The skull was excavated in 1924 and sent to the National Museum in Copenhagen. The “Copenhagen Flores” (CF) male skull is radiocarbon-dated and of modern age. The cranium is small, but larger than e.g. Liang Bua skull (LB1) in every measurement. The (CT-scan based) cranial capacity of 1258 ml is normal for modern humans, but somewhat lower than values from the middle or upper Palaeolithics. The metric cranial data analysed in FORDISC, characterize the skull as a male Vietnamese rather than a Chinese or White individual. Tooth morphology shows the sundadont pattern and tooth size corresponds to that of teeth from Bali, Java and Malayan Orang Asli. Remarkable are the marked asymmetries in the dentition with rotation of an upper premolar and congenital absence of a third molar. In these respects the CF skull is similar to dentitions belonging to the pygmoid villagers of Rampasasa, a village not far from the Liang Bua cave, and to LB1.     

Temporal and spatial variation in coastal macrobenthic community structure,hanö bay (southern Baltic)

Quantitative (0.1-m²) samples of benthic macrofauna were taken at three depths (5, 10, 17 m) off the eastern coast of Scania, southern Baltic, in the period April 1974 to August 1978. Altogether 20 sampling cruises were made. Spatial and temporal species composition, abundance and biomass were compared. The number of species increased significantly with increasing depth. Zonation of the species was due to their zoogeographical origin and capacity to withstand exposure. Abundance was highest at 5 m depth whereas biomass increased with depth due to the dominance of large bivalves. Variation in abundance within years was large at all three depths and connected with reproductive recruitment for all species except Bathyporeia pilosa Lindström which migrated towards the shore in summer.     

A Method for Simulating Signal Evolution Using Real Animals

We studied response biases to visual stimulation using a new experimental technique. The subjects (hens, Gallus gallus domesticus) were confronted with several rewarding and non‐rewarding patterns on a computer screen. In contrast with standard discrimination tasks the rewarding patterns were not identical and varied in a dimension differentiating them from the non‐rewarding patterns. The rewarding patterns changed in response to hens' biases in selection of patterns. The aim of the study was to examine the possibility of receivers being a driving force in signal evolution. In one of the experiments a clear‐cut result was obtained. During the course of the experiment the rewarding patterns became gradually more different from the non‐rewarding one, a result expected from theoretical studies of the effect of response bias in signal evolution. A second similar experiment was less conclusive, with ceiling and floor effects influencing the results.