Effects of some ergot derivatives in bone marrow of mice

The in vivo chromosomal damaging properties of some ergot derivatives were investigated following their administration to male mice. Dihydroergotoxine, ergotamine and methysergide were injected in doses of 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg. Significant numbers of aberrations were observed in bone marrow preparations after treatment with the higher doses. Almost all the damage was in the form of chromatid aberrations. No exchange figures were observed, neither were other anamalies, such as nondisjunction or anti-mitotic activity. This frequency of damage was about 7- to 10-fold less than that produced by the powerful alkylating agent, cyclophosphamide. Thus the ergot derivatives were concluded to have weak chromosomal damaging effects in vivo only in very high doses.     

Temperature regulation in a hypometabolic primate, the slow loris (Nycticebus coucang).

Six slow loris were exposed to air temperatures between 10 degrees C and 40 degrees C. Rectal temperature was stable (mean, 34.8 degrees C) at air temperatures between 17 degrees C and 31 degrees C; at higher air temperatures, the animals became hyperthermic. Oxygen consumption was minimal at air temperatures of 31.4-36.6 degrees C; the mean value (0.250 ml O2 g-1 h-1) was only 36% of the expected level for a eutherian Mammal. The slow loris increased its heat production at lower air temperatures. Thermal polypnea occurred in response to heat, and some of the animals were able to dissipate their entire metabolic heat production at lower air temperatures. Thermal polypnea occurred in response to heat, and some of the animals were able the combined thermal conductance of the tissues and haircoat was 73% of the predicted values. It was concluded that, in spite of its low metabolic rate, the slow loris had effective responses to moderate cold, and that, in addition, it was well adapted to a hot climate.     

Adherent cell requirement for PWM-stimulated factor suppression of natural killer cytotoxicity

Natural killer cytotoxicity is enhanced in a 5-day mixed-leukocyte culture (MLC). This augmentation of NK can be suppressed by factor released from pokeweed-mitogen (PWM)-activated peripheral blood cells. To maximize activity, the PWM-soluble factor must be present within the first 6 hr of the MLC, and is required to be in the culture for at least 4 hr. The affect of the PWM factor is not due to the destruction of either effector or stimulator cells. This factor does, however, require the presence of an adherent, non-T cell in the effector population. Directly incubating adherent cells with the PWM-induced soluble factor activates this population to mediate suppression. Thus the adherent cells are required for the PWM-induced suppression of NK cytotoxicity, indicating a possible regulatory mechanism for this cytotoxicity.     

The mitogenic properties of rabbit anti-mouse brain serum

The mitogenic activity of heterologous rabbit anti-mouse brain sera (RAMB) was investigated. By complement-dependent cytotoxicity and indirect immunofluorescence, RAMB was T-cell specific. Mitogenic activity was assessed by determination of [³H]thymidine incorporation into DNA. RAMB was mitogenic for spleen cells for Thy 1.1- and Thy 1.2-positive mouse strains. Maximal mitogenic responsiveness to RAMB occurred on Day 3 of culture. The incorporation of [³H]uridine into RNA and [³H]leucine into protein and percentage of blast cells in culture were also significantly increased following RAMB stimulation. The mitogenic activity of RAMB was abrogated by adsorption of the sera with BALB/c or AKR thymocytes or brains or with RL♂ 1.3+, a Thy 1.2-bearing T-cell lymphoma of BALB/c origin. In contrast, the mitogenic activity was not removed when RAMB sera were absorbed with RL♂ 1.4?, a variant of RL♂ 1 which appears to specifically lack cell surface Thy 1 determinants. These data suggest that the mitogenic activity of RAMB is Thy 1 directed. RAMB mitogenicity is T-cell dependent. Spleen cells from normal and heterologous nu/+ mice respond to RAMB, while spleen cells from nu/nu mice do not respond. Normal thymocytes and cortisone-resistant thymocytes do not respond mitogenically to RAMB. The response of unseparated spleen cells to RAMB is also macrophage dependent. Nylon-wool column-purified splenic T cells respond to high concentrations of RAMB in the absence of exogenous macrophages but do not respond to lower concentrations of RAMB unless exogenous macrophages are added to the cultures. Nylon-wool-adherent cells, which are B-cell enriched and relatively T-cell depleted, also respond to RAMB, suggesting that in the presence of even small numbers of T cells, B cells can be recruited into the response.     

The acetylcholinesterase genes of C. elegans: identification of a third gene (ace-3) and mosaic mapping of a synthetic lethal phenotype

In C. elegans, the newly identified ace-3 is the third gene affecting acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity. ace-3 II specifically affects class C AChE and is unlinked to ace-1 X or ace-2 I, which affect the other two AChE classes (A and B, respectively). Strains homozygous for an ace-3 mutation have no apparent behavioral or developmental defect; ace-1 ace-3 and ace-2 ace-3 double mutants are also nearly wild type. In contrast, ace-1 ace-2 ace-3 triple mutant animals are paralyzed and developmentally arrested; their embryonic development is relatively unimpaired, but they are unable to grow beyond the hatching stage. Based on the analysis of genetic mosaics, we conclude that in the absence of ace-2 and ace-3 function, the expression of ace-1(+) in muscle cells, but not in neurons, is essential for postembryonic viability.     

Identification of Proteins Secreted by Malaria Parasite into Erythrocyte using SVM and PSSM profiles

Background  

Malaria parasite secretes various proteins in infected RBC for its growth and survival. Thus identification of these secretory proteins is important for developing vaccine/drug against malaria. The existing motif-based methods have got limited success due to lack of universal motif in all secretory proteins of malaria parasite.     

Ultraviolet Photoemission Spectroscopy and Kelvin Probe Measurements on Metal Halide Perovskites: Advantages and Pitfalls

In this essay, a case study is presented on the electronic structure of several metal halide perovskites (MHP) using Kelvin probe (KP)‐based surface photovoltage (SPV) measurements and ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) to demonstrate the advantages, but also the pitfalls, of using these techniques to characterize the surfaces of these materials. The first part addresses the loss of halide species from perovskite surfaces upon supragap illumination in vacuum. This has the potential to cause both a long‐term alteration of the sample work function and a modification of the KP tip during SPV measurements. If undetected, this leads to a misinterpretation of the MHP surface potential. The second part illustrates the difficulties in determining the valence band maximum (VBM) of MHP surfaces with UPS and stresses the importance of taking into account the low density of states at the VBM edge. Given this circumstance, specific care must be taken to eliminate measurement artifacts in order to ascertain the presence or absence of low densities of electronic gap states above the VBM. This essay also highlights issues such as film degradation, nonequilibrium situations (e.g., SPV), and satellite emissions, which occur during photoemission spectroscopy.     

Two-phase strategy of controlling motor coordination determined by task performance optimality

A quantitative model of optimal coordination between hand transport and grip aperture has been derived in our previous studies of reach-to-grasp movements without utilizing explicit knowledge of the optimality criterion or motor plant dynamics. The model’s utility for experimental data analysis has been demonstrated. Here we show how to generalize this model for a broad class of reaching-type, goal-directed movements. The model allows for measuring the variability of motor coordination and studying its dependence on movement phase. The experimentally found characteristics of that dependence imply that execution noise is low and does not affect motor coordination significantly. From those characteristics it is inferred that the cost of neural computations required for information acquisition and processing is included in the criterion of task performance optimality as a function of precision demand for state estimation and decision making. The precision demand is an additional optimized control variable that regulates the amount of neurocomputational resources activated dynamically. It is shown that an optimal control strategy in this case comprises two different phases. During the initial phase, the cost of neural computations is significantly reduced at the expense of reducing the demand for their precision, which results in speed-accuracy tradeoff violation and significant inter-trial variability of motor coordination. During the final phase, neural computations and thus motor coordination are considerably more precise to reduce the cost of errors in making a contact with the target object. The generality of the optimal coordination model and the two-phase control strategy is illustrated on several diverse examples.