Historical biogeography and morphological differentiation ofStreptocephalus torvicornis (Waga) since the Würm III-glaciation

We argue that the Würm III glaciation eradicated possible European populations ofS. torvicornis, and that today, a reconquest of Europe takes place on two fronts.A western wave has reached the Pyrenees, an eastern one now occupies most of eastern and northern Europe. The western route probably started in the Maghreb, the eastern one in the Levant and the Ponto-Caspian. Animals in the west had to move north by crossing, at right angles, a series of east-west oriented river valleys and progressed slowly; animals in the east could move up river valleys extending north-east, and moved quickly. Italy was not occupied, becauseS.torvicornis is a warm stenotherm, and by the time the climate had warmed sufficiently for it to reach the southern shore of the mediterranean (ca 6000 BP), the gap with Italy was probably too large for a crossing. Cold-loving species (of the generaBranchipus, Chirocephalus) conversely, and could freely flow across the Central Mediterranean at low sea-levels (ca 12000 BP), and now occur in Italy (and the rest of Europe) as well as in Northern Africa.A prediction of our hypothesis is that the pioneer populations in Spain and Central Europe should have been isolated longest. Thisis tested and confirmed by their comparative morphology, and two subspecies,S. t. torvicornis andS. t. bucheti are reinstated.A gap across the Nile Valley where onlyS. rubricaudatus seems to occur, deserves further study.     

Somatic expansion of the (CAG) n repeat in Huntington disease brains

The mutation causing Huntington disease (HD) has been identified as an expansion of a polymorphic (CAG) _n repeat in the 5 part of the huntingtin gene. The specific neuropathology of HD, viz. selective neuronal loss in the caudate nucleus and putamen, cannot be explained by the widespread expression of the gene. Since somatic expansion is observed in affected tissue in myotonic dystrophy, we have studied the length of the (CAG) _n repeat in various regions of the brain. Although we have not found clear differences when comparing severely and mildly affected regions, we have observed a minor increase in repeat length upon comparison of affected brain samples with cerebellum or peripheral blood. Hence, although further somatic amplification seems to occur in affected areas of the brain, the differences between affected and unaffected regions are too small to make this mechanism an obvious candidate for the cause of differential neuronal degeneration in HD.     

Land-use history of the Axlarp area in the Småland uplands,southern Sweden: palaeoecological and archaeological investigations

The results of pollen analysis, magnetic measurements (SIRM), and archaeological and historical investigations, in the Axlarp area are presented. With respect to natural conditions and the distribution of prehistoric features, this area is typical of the higher parts of the Småland uplands, which, agriculturally, is a marginal region of southern Sweden. The study shows that farming in the Axlarp area began at ca. 700 B.C. (dates in calibrated/calendar years). The period 700 B.C.-A.D. 500 was characterized by shifting cultivation of Hordeum and Triticum and much pasture. Between A.D. 500 and A.D. 1200 farming declined but some pasturage was still practised, possibly on a seasonal basis. Two farms were established in the Middle Ages, probably between A.D. 1200–1300. Cereals were sown in stone-cleared fields and pastoral farming and hay making was carried out. One farm was deserted during the 15th or early 16th century and the other developed into the hamlet Axlarp whose farmers practised a three-course cropping system. Land-use history as recorded in the pollen diagram can be related to activities associated with these farms. Cereals grown after A.D. 1200 included Hordeum and Avena, and possibly Triticum and Secale. There are no indications of slash-and-burn cultivation in the area.     

Immunological studies on lysosomal sphingomyelinase: Identification of a 28 000-Da component deficient in urine from patients with Niemann-Pick disease types A and B

The immunoblotting technique was used to identify sphingomyeJinase protein in samples of tissue and urine after subjection to poIyacrylamide-gel etectrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate. In a sphingomyelinase preparation purified from control urine a prominent band was seen with an M_r of 28 000 Da. Glycoprotein fractions from urine and placenta, a membrane extract from spleen, and a partially purified sphingomyelinase preparation from placenta contained the 28 000-Da band plus additional, higher-M_r bands. The 28 000-Da band was detectable in urine from a patient with Niemann-Pick disease type C, but not in urine from patients with Niemann-Pick disease types A and B. It is concluded t h a t sphingomyeJinase is composed of at least one polypeptide with an M_r of 28 000 Da and that this polypeptide is deficient in the urine of patients with Niemann-Pick disease types A and B.     

Social interactions in a group of free-ranging sows

Earlier studies on social behaviour in the domestic pig have only been performed on groups housed artificially. The present study was undertaken to investigate the social behaviour of free-ranging sows in a well-established flock, so that it could be compared with the behaviour of sows housed indoors that had been studied earlier. The free-ranging flock, which contained 13 animals, 5 of which were sows, lived in an enclosure, approximately 1.1 ha in area. The interaction sequences were registered during 1 h after feeding and during foraging in the enclosure. With sequence analysis, the effect of different behaviours on the behaviour of the receiver animal was measured. This allowed the behaviour patterns to be classed after function. “Aiming”, a behaviour pattern not previously seen, was interpreted as a threat behaviour, being “statistically strongly directive” towards submissive and flight behaviour. The functions of the other 7 behaviours included in the study were found to be the same as in the indoor groups studied earlier. The dominance order was not found to be better established than in the most extensively housed indoor group, but the level of aggression was very low, indicating that a stable dominance order does not automatically lead to a low level of aggression. It was found that the dominance order was mainly maintained through the behaviour of the subordinate animals, supporting the use of an “avoidance order” instead of an “aggression order” as a measurement of social dominance. On the whole, no dramatic differences were found between the behaviour of the free-ranging sows and that of the most extensively housed of the indoor groups studied earlier, although great differences were found between free-ranging sows and sows kept in confinement indoors.     

Complete remission in a patient with acute myelogenous leukemia treated with leukocyte α-interferon and cimetidine

Summary A 76-year-old woman with acute myelogenous leukemia with approximately 65% myeloblasts on bone marrow examination was treated daily with a combination of 4 megaU of leukocyte interferon IM and 1,000 mg cimetidine PO. During therapy there was a gradual decrease of bone marrow myeloblasts down to 9% and a normalization of peripheral white blood cells. The treatment was discontinued after 6 weeks because of increasing fatigue and anorexia. The general condition improved greatly during the following weeks and the patient entered complete remission, which has continued for 6 months so far. In the course of therapy there was a gradual appearance of antibodies showing a selective binding capacity to autochthonous leukemic cells with no tendency to increased binding to remission cells. The aim of this report is to stimulate a further evaluation of this form of therapy in additional AML patients whenever this might be justified as an alternative to conventional chemotherapy.     

Effects of bunaftine on morphology,microfilament integrity,and mitotic activity in cultured human fibroblasts and HeLa cells

Summary Human fibroblasts and HeLa cells were treated with bunaftine (N-butyl-N-/2-(diethylamino)ethyl/-1-naphthalenecarboxamide) in vitro. At concentrations of 0.5–2.0 mM, the drug caused contraction and rounding of the cells with loss of microvilli-like processes. Aggregates of dense, partly granular, partly fibrillar material formed in the cytoplasm and the rough endoplasmic reticulum became vesiculated. Immunofiuorescence microscopy with DNase I and anti-DNase I demonstrated that bundles of actin filaments were disrupted, forming rings, coils, and granules. Filaments stained with antibodies to vimentin (fibroblasts) and prekeratin (HeLa cells) showed less characteristic rearrangements, probably related to the rounding up of the cells. 0.4 mM bunaftine increased and 0.8–1.0 mM markedly decreased the percentage of mitotic cells, without accumulation of cells in any particular stage of mitosis. The drug may arrest the cell cycle at some point before mitosis; it may have a critical concentration above which the arrest becomes permanent.These results suggest that bunaftine interferes with the integrity of microfilament bundles in a different manner from that of cytochalasins. It does not cause any depletion of cellular ATP, indicating that its effect is not a result of inhibition of cell metabolism. It is proposed that bunaftine may be used as a complement to cytochalasins in studies of the microfilament system of the cell. The possible binding of bunaftine to actin or myosin and further details of its mechanism of action remain to be elucidated.     

Anencephaly in trisomy 18 associated with elevated alpha-1-fetoprotein in amniotic fluid

Summary Elevated levels of alpha-1-fetoprotein (AFP) were found in the amniotic fluid of a 36-year-old woman in the 15th week of gestation. Because of this and the results of repeated ultrasonography, abortion was induced. An anencephalic fetus with trisomy 18 was delivered. The possible correlation among neural-tube defects, chromosomal abnormalities, and level of AFP is discussed.     

Isolation and characterization of the dut gene of Escherichia coli. II. Restriction enzyme mapping and analysis of polypeptide products

Restriction endonuclease mapping of previously constructed dut plasmids has been carried out using the enzymes PvuI, PvuII and SacI. Various dut plasmids were also tested in the "maxicell" protein-synthesizing system. They all show two protein bands in common, one of Mr 16000 in agreement with the size previously reported for the purified dUTPase subunit (Shlomai and Kornberg, 1978). With the information obtained the structural gene for dUTPase can be assigned to a 950-bp SacI-PvuII fragment of the E. coli genome. Studies, described in the preceding paper, on the overproduction of dUTPase by bacterial strains carrying different dut plasmids strongly suggest that the dut gene is transcribed in the direction from the SacI site towards the PvuII site and that the SacI site is located within the dut control region. The second protein band observed in the "maxicell" experiments has an Mr of 23500. Its identity is unknown but it may represent a precursor of dUTPase or the product of a separate gene located between dut and pyrE.