Partial trisomy 14q

Summary A dysmorphic female born with partial trisomy of the proximal segment of the long arm of chromosome 14 had 47 chromosomes. The extra one was acrocentric, smaller than the D group, and bigger than the G-chromosome group. By GTG banding it was identified as a deleted chromosome 14, the karyotype being 47,XX,+del 14(q24). Chromosome analysis of the parents was normal.     

Turnover kinetics of Photosystem I measured by the electrochromic effect in Chlorella

The rise kinetics of the absorption changes induced at 515 nm and 480 nm by a flash were studied using two types of xenon flashes of different durations. The ‘slow’ rise of the absorption change ($\text{t}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{= 15–20 μ}\text{s}$) observed by Cox and Delosme (1978 C.R. Acad. Sci. (Paris) Sér. D 282, 775–778) and Joliot P., Delosme, R. and Joliot, A. ((1977) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 459, 47–57) was found to be due to double hits occurring in the reaction centers of System I during the flash.The turnover kinetics of the reaction centers of System I after a short flash were studied by a double flash method. They are in agreement with a second order reaction between P⁺-700 and its electron donor.     

An auto-anti-b in an a1b person. Serological studies.

The serum of a patient (Mr. Lat) with the regular blood group A1 B contains an anti-B reacting with all cells having a B antigen except Bx and cis AB. The anti-B reacts at 4 degrees C and occasionally at room temperature as shown by agglutination, absorption-eluction and by thermo-dynamic assays. The antibody is regarded as an irregular autoantibody belonging to the group of the so called "suppressed" or "latent" antibodies.     

Hepatocyte population dynamics during hydrocortisone and thioacetamide treatment

Summary The orderly organization in a number of discrete classes of weight persists in the hepatocytes during acute and chronic poisoning with thioacetamide and during a prolonged treatment with hydrocortisone, though many striking cytological and structural changes occur in the liver.The number of hepatocyte classes decreases under hydrocortisone treatment and during acute and chronic thioacetamide poisoning, and increases during recovery after acute thioacetamide poisoning and during the late phases of chronic thioacetamide poisoning. This is due to decrements and increments in dry mass of the hepatocytes, which occur by steps, through repeated losses and additions of a constant amount of solids substantially corresponding to the class period.Such a mechanism is similar to that acting in the hepatocyte atrophy due to starvation and in the hepatocyte enlargement occurring during postnatal development. Therefore, the increment and the decrement in dry mass by defined steps takes place in the hepatocytes in both physiological and pathological conditions.This work was supported by a grant of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, Italy.     

Arabinogalactan proteins and arabinan pectins abound in the specialized matrices surrounding female gametes of the fern Ceratopteris richardii

Planta - Both male and female gametes of archegoniates are highly specialized cells surrounded by an extraprotoplasmic matrix rich in AGPs, which are speculated to facilitate development and gamete...     

Synopsis of the land mollusca of Chile

About 150 species belonging to 14 families are mentioned in the scattered literature dealing with the land molluscs of Chile. However, the records of the Streptaxidae and Haplotrematidae are dubious and all those for the Limacidae, Zonitidae and Helicidae correspond to introduced species. The remaining 9 families are represented by endemic genera and subgenera present either in the oceanic islands (Fernandezia, Tornatellina, Ambrosiella) or in continental Chile (Bostryx (Ataxus), Chiliborus). A few are limited in their distribution to the southern part of South America (Austrodiscus, Stephadiscus, Macrocyclis) or are found both in the islands and along the continent (Amphiodoxa, Stephanoda). The majority of the other genera have a wider distribution in the Indo‐Pacific (Punctum, Ptychodon, Champa), in South America, the Americas in general and/or in the other parts of the world. The distribution of molluscan genera and species in continental Chile is discussed with regard to the biogeographic units proposed by various authors for plants and animals. Their probable relationships with the faunas of neighbouring countries and other biogeographic regions is briefly outlined. A taxonomic list of the species indicating the original reference, general distribution and the uncertain position of some of them within the different genera is given. Only about 120 species appear relatively well characterized.     

NEMO specifically recognizes K63‐linked poly‐ubiquitin chains through a new bipartite ubiquitin‐binding domain

An important property of NEMO, the core element of the IKK complex involved in NF‐κB activation, resides in its ability to specifically recognize poly‐ubiquitin chains. A small domain called NOA/UBAN has been suggested to be responsible for this property. We recently demonstrated that the C‐terminal Zinc Finger (ZF) of NEMO is also able to bind ubiquitin. We show here by ZF swapping and mutagenesis that this represents its only function. While neither NOA nor ZF shows any preference for K63‐linked chains, we demonstrate that together they form a bipartite high‐affinity K63‐specific ubiquitin‐binding domain. A similar domain can be found in two other proteins, Optineurin and ABIN2, and can be freely exchanged with that of NEMO without interfering with its activity. This suggests that the main function of the C‐terminal half of NEMO is to specifically bind K63‐linked poly‐ubiquitin chains. We also demonstrate that the recently described binding of NEMO to linear poly‐ubiquitin chains is dependent on the NOA alone and does not require the presence of the ZF.     

The Process-inducing Activity of Transmembrane Agrin Requires Follistatin-like Domains

Clustering or overexpression of the transmembrane form of the extracellular matrix proteoglycan agrin in neurons results in the formation of numerous highly motile filopodia-like processes extending from axons and dendrites. Here we show that similar processes can be induced by overexpression of transmembrane-agrin in several non-neuronal cell lines. Mapping of the process-inducing activity in neurons and non-neuronal cells demonstrates that the cytoplasmic part of transmembrane agrin is dispensable and that the extracellular region is necessary for process formation. Site-directed mutagenesis reveals an essential role for the loop between β-sheets 3 and 4 within the Kazal subdomain of the seventh follistatin-like domain of TM-agrin. An aspartic acid residue within this loop is critical for process formation. The seventh follistatin-like domain could be functionally replaced by the first and sixth but not by the eighth follistatin-like domain, demonstrating a functional redundancy among some follistatin-like domains of agrin. Moreover, a critical distance of the seventh follistatin-like domain to the plasma membrane appears to be required for process formation. These results demonstrate that different regions within the agrin protein are responsible for synapse formation at the neuromuscular junction and for process formation in central nervous system neurons and suggest a role for agrin''s follistatin-like domains in the developing central nervous system.