van der Waals Forces between Cylinders: II. Retarded Interaction between Thin Isotropic Rods

We derive the retarded van der Waals interaction between two long thin parallel dielectric cylinders immersed in a solvent. The result shows that the ultraviolet interactions which may be responsible for the specificity of macromolecular interactions do not operate strongly over distances R ≥ 50 Å. For greater distances the contribution of these frequencies ξ is damped by a factor ∞ e^-ξR/c.     

Method for Assessing the Frequency of Transfer of an R Factor on Solid Media and for Isolating Cells of the Donor Type from a Predominantly Repressed Culture

A method for assessing the incidence of R factor transfer on solid media is described. The method gives values similar to those obtained with conventional techniques but allows the derepressed cells from a predominantly repressed population to be isolated.     

Substrate Effect on 2,3-Butylene Glycol Production by Rhizopus nigricans and Penicillium expansum

Rhizopus nigricans and Penicillium expansum produced 2,3-butylene glycol which accumulated in natural and artificial media with time. Mycelial mats of P. expansum decreased the quantity of a diacetyl substrate and converted part of this substrate into acetylmethylcarbinol (AMC) and 2,3-butylene glycol. Mycelial mats of P. expansum also decreased AMC substrate with the formation of 2,3-butylene glycol. 2,3-Butylene glycol decreased slightly during incubation with the fungal mat. The formation of AMC was suppressed significantly by cysteine and ascorbic acid.     

The purification and properties of a penicillinase whose synthesis is mediated by an R-factor in Escherichia coli

1. The penicillinase (beta-lactamase) from Escherichia coli strain TEM has been purified and its activity against a range of penicillin and cephalosporin derivatives measured. 2. The enzyme shows little resemblance to penicillinases from Bacillus cereus, Bacillus licheniformis and Staphylococcus aureus. 3. The molecular weight of the enzyme is 16700+/-5%, which is about half the value obtained for other penicillinases. 4. The enzyme is most similar in properties to a crude preparation of a penicillinase from Klebsiella (Aerobacter) aerogenes, but clearly different from crude enzyme preparations from other strains of E. coli. 5. Since penicillinase synthesis in E. coli strain TEM is mediated by an R-factor known to infect many other species of Enterobacteriaceae, the appearance of similar enzymes in other Gramnegative species is not surprising.     

Wild-type variants of exopenicillinase from Staphylococcus aureus

1. Three variants of staphylococcal exopenicillinase (types A, B and C) can be distinguished on chemical, enzymological and immunological grounds. 2. Enzyme type A has a higher specific activity than that of type B, but has a similar combination affinity with anti-(exopenicillinase type A) serum. 3. Enzyme types A and C have a similar specific activity, but enzyme type C has a lower combination affinity for anti-(exopenicillinase type A) serum than has enzyme type A. 4. The sedimentation coefficients and amino acid analyses of the three enzyme types are similar. 5. All three enzyme types have small but significant differences in kinetics of action when hydrolysing benzylpenicillin, methicillin, cloxacillin and cephalosporin C. 6. Peptide maps, obtained from enzyme types A and C after digestion with trypsin, show that these two variants probably differ in the nature of only a very few amino acid residues. 7. Enzyme type B seems to be confined to staphylococci that are members of staphylococcal phage group II. Enzyme types A and C are produced by staphylococci that are members either of phage group I or III, but never group II. 8. The low specific enzyme activity and affinity of enzyme type B towards all penicillins tested suggest that this enzyme type has a lower `efficiency' in hydrolysing penicillin and therefore in protecting bacteria from the action of penicillin. This could account for the low incidence among `hospital staphylococci' of penicillin-resistant staphylococci that are members of phage group II.     

Motor unit territories supplied by primary branches of the phrenic nerve

Recent studies have demonstrated that, under certain circumstances, the diaphragm does not contract as a homogeneous unit. These observations suggest that motor units may not be randomly distributed throughout the muscle but confined to localized subvolumes. In the present study, electromyographic (EMG) and glycogen depletion methods were combined to investigate the organization of motor units supplied by the primary branches of the phrenic nerve in the cat. Four primary branches are generally present, one branch to the crus and three branches to the sternocostal region. The gross motor-unit territory of each of the four phrenic primary branches was determined by stimulating each nerve separately, while recording from nine EMG electrodes distributed over the hemidiaphragm. Stimulation of the crural branch evoked activity in the ipsilateral crus, whereas stimulation of each of the remaining branches evoked activity in discrete but overlapping areas of the sternocostal diaphragm. A more precise analysis of the distribution and borders of the motor territories was obtained by mapping regions depleted of muscle glycogen due to stimulation of each primary branch for 90 min. Glycogen depletion results closely matched the EMG findings of a localized distribution of motor units served by single primary branches. Stimulation of the crural branch typically caused depletion of the ipsilateral crus, whereas the sternocostal branches each served a striplike compartment. In the majority of cases, the borders of the sternocostal compartments were relatively abrupt and consisted of a 1- to 2-mm transition zone of depleted and nondepleted fibers. These studies demonstrate that motor unit territories of the primary branches of the phrenic nerve are highly delineated. This compartmentalization provides the central nervous system with the potential for a more precise regional motor control of costal and crural diaphragm than previously suspected.     

Growth factor modulation of melanoma growth stimulatory activity mRNA expression in human malignant melanoma cells correlates with cell growth

This report demonstrates that the expression of melanoma growth stimulatory activity (MGSA) mRNA can be modulated in a positive fashion in the Hs294T human melanoma cell line by PDGF and MGSA. There is close correlation between MGSA expression and the pattern of cell growth in Hs294T cells.     

Plasmid diversity within the genus Chlamydia

Examination of 12 Chlamydia psittaci strains recovered from nine different host species (three avian and six mammalian) revealed the presence of a 7.5 kb plasmid in all isolates except two ovine abortion strains, the human strain IOL207 and the Cal 10 strain. Restriction mapping analysis distinguished four different plasmids that were associated with avian, feline, equine and guinea-pig C. psittaci isolates, respectively. The restriction maps of these four C. psittaci plasmid types all differed from that of the plasmid recovered from C. trachomatis L2/434. Despite this plasmid diversity, which is likely to be of taxonomic importance, all four plasmids identified within the species C. psittaci were found to share some sequence homology, which was mapped to two separate regions in the plasmid molecules. One region, which showed a high degree of homology between C. psittaci plasmids and also detectable homology with the C. trachomatis plasmid, may represent a common replication control region for plasmids of this genus.