Glycoalkaloids of Solanum Series Megistacrolobum and related potato cultigens

Glycoalkaloids were used as evidence of the affinities of nine taxa of Solanum Series Megistacrolobum and related potato cultigens from western Bolivia. S. boliviense, S. sanctae-rosae and S. toralapanum contain the commertetraose sugar moiety and appear to represent a relatively wild group within the Series. S. megistacrolobum, S. sogarandinum and S. raphanifolium show anomolous glycoalkaloid profiles that probably reflect hybridization associated with human disturbance. Primitive forms of the S. χ ajanhuiri cultigen are indistinguishable chemicaliy from conspecific weeds that were previously classified as S. megistacrolobum. Variation in total glycoalkaloid content within Series Megistacrolobum likely reflects direct selection by humans for reduced glycoalkaloid levels during the domestication process.     

Synthesis of human walking: A planar model for single support

A mathematical model for the single support phase of normal, level, human walking is formulated. The motion of the lower extremity is synthesized using a preprogrammed set of inputs, recognized by the model as a simple collection of applied joint moments.

Two mechanisms are forwarded as candidates for producing the observed peaks in the vertical ground reaction. The first, stance knee flexion-extension, generates the necessary level of whole-body vertical acceleration during the initial region of single support (opposite toe-off to heel-off). A model accounting for the determinants of foot and knee interaction then predicts the second peak to be the result of an increasing ankle moment in the region from heel-off to opposite heel-strike.     

Olfactory coding by lepidopterous larvae

Extracellular electrophysiological recording from olfactory receptors in the antennae of tobacco hornworm larvae (Manduca sexta (Johan.)) has revealed that cells respond differentially to different odors by changing latency, rate of increase of frequency of firing, rate of adaptation, and alternation of frequency increase and decrease. The resulting temporal patterns of spike activity could function as a code to allow for discrimination among various plant odors.

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Zusammenfassung Extrazelluläre elektrophysiologische Erregungsableitungen von Geruchsrezeptoren in den Antennen von Tabakschwärmer-Raupen (Manduca sexta (Johan.)) ergaben, daß die Zellen auf verschiedene Duftstoffe unterschiedlich mit Änderung der Latenzzeit, der Zunahmerate der Erregungsfrequenz, der Anpassungsrate sowie der Änderung der Frequenz-Zunahme und-Abnahme reagieren. Die sich daraus ergebenden Zeitmuster der Spike-Aktivität könnten als Code dienen und so die Unterscheidung zwischen verschiedenen Pflanzendüften ermöglichen.

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This research was supported by National Science Foundation Grant GB-1472.     

Bacterial oxidation of polythionates: determination of tetrathionate with an ion-selective electrode.

A commercially available ion-selective electrode for nitrate was used to continuously monitor tetrathionate oxidation by Thiobacillus dentrificans. The electrode was much more sensitive to tetrathionate than to nitrate. The same electrode could also be used for the determination of trithionate.     

The preparation and kinetics of lactate dehydrogenase attached to water-insoluble particles and sheets

1. The preparation of lactate dehydrogenase covalently attached to anion-exchange cellulose particles and sheets by use of a dichloro-sym-triazinyl dyestuff, Procion brilliant orange MGS, is described. 2. The stability and kinetic properties of these preparations were investigated. 3. An equation is derived to describe the change in concentration of a substrate when passed through a uniform bed of a substrate-inhibited enzyme. A number of theoretical curves are shown to illustrate the system. 4. A titrimetric assay for lactate dehydrogenase is described, and shown to be stoicheiometric over the range pH5.0-9.2. 5. The results are discussed in relation to previous work, and the effects of charged groups on the support, and of the diffusion film surrounding any particle in suspension, are treated qualitatively.