Behavioral stereotypy in old and young rhesus monkeys

Four old (25 years) and six young (3 years) female rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were observed individually in a laboratory cage with either an old or a young monkey present as a social partner. The behavioral repertoire was coded into ten mutually exclusive and exhaustive categories. An information analysis of the individual behavior records is presented along with subject and partner age effects on the frequency of bouts and the amount of time spent in each category of behavior. Knowledge of the relative frequencies of the behaviors tells more about the behavior of young than old monkeys; and knowledge of the preceding behavior tells more about the behavior of old than young monkeys. Further, knowledge of the relative frequencies tells more about the behavior of both old and young monkeys with junior or elder partners than with age peers; whereas knowledge of the preceding behavior is more informative for old monkeys than for young ones regardless of the partner's age. Both old and young engaged in more affiliative behaviors with age peers than with junior or elder partners. An hypothesis is proposed which relates this social homophyly to the age difference in behavioral stereotypy.     

Rapid synthesis of photoreceptor membrane and assembly of new microvilli in a crab at dusk

Summary Large areas of photoreceptor membrane are synthesized in the retinula cells of the crab Leptograpsus variegatus at dusk. Initially, new membrane differentiates from rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER) as large tubules of smooth ER. These tubules transform to concentric ellipsoids of closely apposed pairs of membranes (doublet ER), sometimes passing through an intervening crenate form. The new membrane is transported through bridges of cytoplasm that cross the palisade to the rhabdom region, from which the remains of the rhabdomeres that were built during the previous dusk have been dissolved. The degradation of the old microvilli of one rhabdomere is accomplished without affecting neighbouring rhabdomeres of other cells. New microvilli are assembled in situ from sheets of doublet ER, which are converted to tubules oriented in the same direction as the future microvilli. The cytoplasmic face of the ER remains the cytoplasmic face of the tubules, which become progressively narrower, partly by further longitudinal division, until the final diameter of the microvillus is reached. A central core is often seen in transverse sections of mature microvilli. It may be involved in the final consolidation, but rhabdomeric microvilli are not formed in the same manner as those of intestinal brush border cells. There is no evidence that new membrane passes through the Golgi compartment before incorporation into the rhabdom, as is the case for rod outer segment membrane in vertebrate photoreceptors.     

Variability and stability of selected components in rainbow trout Salmo gairdneri serum and the precision of automated analysis in measuring these components*

Eighteen components in rainbow trout serum were tested for variability among individuals and stability during storage. In addition, the precision of an automated serum analysis system was determined. Stability of serum components was observed over 42 days at temperatures of 25° C, 4° C and - 10° C. Components tested included: albumin, total protein, blood urea nitrogen, cholesterol, chloride, glucose, potassium, sodium, cholinesterase, alkaline phosphatase, lactic dehydrogenase, a-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, glutamic pyruvic transaminase, phosphohexose isomerase, inorganic phosphorus, calcium, creatinine, and creatine phosphokinase. Fish serum was generally more stable than human serum when stored at 25° C and 4° C and similar in stability at - 10° C. Precision of analytical methodologies was excellent for all components measured except creatine phosphokinase.     

Influence of molecular configuration on the passage of macromolecules across the glomerular capillary wall

The influence of molecular configuration on the filtration of macromolecules across glomerular capillary walls was examined by comparing fractional clearances of two uncharged polysaccharides of distinctly different molecular configuration in the Munich-Wistar rat. The macromolecules employed were dextran, a slightly branched polymer of glucopyranose, and ficoll, a highly cross-linked copolymer of sucrose and epichlorohydrin. Differences in effective shape between these two polymers were determined from measurements of several physical properties of aqueous solutions containing either dextran or ficoll. It was found that dextran is best represented as a prolate ellipsoid with axial ratios of 4, 9, and 16 for molecules with Stokes-Einstein radii of 22, 32, and 40 A, respectively. On the other hand, ficoll is more closely approximated as spherical since the axial ratio was found to be between 1 and 2 for all molecular sizes. Fractional clearances of dextran and ficoll ranging in effective radius from 18 to 44 A were determined in each of seven Munich-Wistar rats. Fractional clearances of dextran were found to be greater than those of ficoll, the difference being significant for molecular radii ranging from 24 to 44 A. In addition, as shown previously for dextran, ficoll was found to be neither secreted nor reabsorbed by the renal tubules. These results, therefore, suggest that in addition to molecular size and charge, molecular configuration is also a determinant of the filtration of macromolecules across the glomerular capillary wall.     

Incorporation of fucose and leucine into PNS myelin proteins in nerves undergoing early Wallerian degeneration

The simultaneous incorporation of [³H]fucose and [1-¹⁴C]leucine into normal rat sciatic nerve was examined using an in vitro incubation model. A linear rate of protein precursor uptake was found in purified myelin protein over 1/2–6 hr of incubation utilizing a supplemented medium containing amino acids. This model was then used to examine myelin protein synthesis in nerves undergoing degeneration at 1–4 days following a crush injury. Data showed a statistically significant decrease in the ratio of fucose to leucine at 2, 3, and 4 days of degeneration, which was the consequence of a significant increase in leucine uptake. These results, plus substantial protein recovery in axotomized nerves, are indicative of active synthesis of proteins that purify with myelin during early Wallerian degeneration.     

Genetic studies of the Macushi and Wapishana Indians

Summary Blood samples from 509 Macushi and 623 Wapishana Amerindians of Northern Brazil and Southern Guyana have been analyzed with reference to the occurrence of rare variants and genetic polymorphisms of the following 25 systems: (i) Erythrocyte enzymes: acid phosphatase-1, adenosine deaminase, adenylate kinase-k, carbonic anhydrase-1, carbonic anhydrase-2, esterase A_1,2,3, esterase D, galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, nucleoside phosphorylase, peptidase A, peptidase B, phosphoglucomutase 1, phosphoglucomutase 2, phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, phosphohexoseisomerase, triosephosphate isomerase and (ii) Serum proteins: albumin, ceruloplasmin, haptoglobin, hemoglobin A, hemoglobin A₂ and transferrin. Fifteen different rare variants were detected, involving 11 of these systems. In addition, a previously undescribed variant of ESA_1,2,3 which achieves polymorphic proportions in both these tribes is described. Excluding this variant, the frequency of rare variants is 1.1/1000 in 12510 determinations in the Macushi and 4.7/1000 in 15 396 determinations in the Wapishana. The ESA_1,2,3, polymorphism was not observed in 382 Makiritare, 232 Yanomama, 146 Piaroa, 404 Cayapo, 190 Kraho and 112 Moro. Irregularities in the intratribal distribution of this polymorphism in the Macushi and Wapishana render a decision as to the tribe of origin impossible at present. Gene frequencies are also given for previosly described polymorphisms of 5 systems: haptoglobin, phosphoglucomutase 1, erythrocyte acid phosphatase, esterase D, and galactose-1-phosphate-uridyl-transferase.Research supported by the National Science Foundation and the Energy Research and Development Administration.     

Electrogenic bicarbonate secretion in the turtle bladder: Apical membrane conductance characteristics

Summary We have recently shown that stimulation of electrogenic HCO ₃ ^– secretion is accompanied by a simultaneous increase in short-circuit current (I _sc, equivalent to HCO ₃ ^– secretion rate under these conditions), apical membrane capacitance (C _a , proportional to membrane area), and apical membrane conductance (G _a , proportional to membrane ionic permeability). The current experiments were undertaken to explore the ionic basis for the increase inG _a and the possibility that the rate of electrogenic HCO ₃ ^– secretion is regulated by changes inG _a . Membrane electrical parameters were measured using impedance-analysis techniques before and after stimulation of electrogenic HCO ₃ ^– secretion with cAMP in three solutions which contained different chloride concentrations. In another series of experiments, the effects of an anion channel blocker, anthracene-9-carboxylic acid (9-AA), were measured after stimulation of electrogenic HCO ₃ ^– secretion with cAMP. The major conclusions are: (i) a measurable apical Cl^– conductance exists in control hemibladders; (ii) the transport-associated increase inG _a includes a Cl^–-conductive component; (iii)G _a also appears to reflect a HCO ₃ ^– conductance; (iv) the relative magnitudes of the apical membrane conductances to Cl^– and HCO ₃ ^– are similar; (v) 9-AA reducesG _a andI _sc appear cAMP-stimulated hemibladders; and (vi) alterations inI _sc appear to be mediated by changes inG _a .     

A labile,Ca2+-dependent cytoskeleton in rhabdomeral microvilli of blowflies

Summary Rhabdomeral microvilli of photoreceptors of the blowfly Lucilia are shown to contain a cytoskeleton. An axial filament ( 6–11 nm) in each microvillus is inserted into a terminal cap distally, and into a plug filling the narrow neck of the microvillus proximally. In some states, the axial filament projects beyond the neck; within the microvillus it is surrounded by amorphous material. Together, they form an axial complex, which supports side-arms linking it to the plasma membrane. Conventional fixation for examination with the electron microscope destroys the cytoskeleton. To preserve it, retinae are pre-treated with a Ringer's solution buffered with 20 mM imidazole and containing, minimally, the following components: (i) a protease inhibitor, usually phenylmethylsulphonyl-fluoride (PMSF); (ii) either the Ca²⁺-chelator EGTA, or the calmodulin-blocking agent trifluoperazine (TFP); and (iii) a source of divalent cations to preserve the side-arms. When EGTA is used, Mg²⁺, Sr²⁺, Ba²⁺, Mn²⁺ and Co²⁺ are effective, Ba²⁺ giving the most satisfactory contrast, and Mg²⁺ and Co²⁺ the best preservation. It is inferred that the cytoskeletal complex includes at least one Ca²⁺-activated protease, and possibly calmodulin. Microvilli are bonded together by intermicrovillar bridges with a periodicity of 11–17nm. The cytoskeleton is destroyed by pretreatment with 1 mM dithiothreitol (DTT), possibly by the activation of a thiol protease. It does not survive osmication unless treated with low molecular weight tannic acid (LMWT). The evidence does not discriminate between actin and intermediate filaments as the basis of the cytoskeleton. Attention is drawn to similarities and differences between the rhabdomeral cytoskeleton and that of vertebrate intestinal brush-borders. The extreme lability of the rhabdomeral cytoskeleton to conventional methods of fixation is attributed in part to the Ca²⁺ fluxes experienced by invertebrate photoreceptors, and in part to the effects of osmication.The authors thank Dr. Lindsay Barton-Brown and Tom Van Gerwen for supplying flies from CSIRO cultures: Smith Kline and French Laboratories Ltd., French's Forest, N.S.W. for a generous gift of trifluoperazine, and Mallinckrodt, Inc., St. Louis, Missouri, USA, for a gift of low molecular weight tannic acid. Many colleagues, especially Richard Payne, Steve Shaw and Gert De Couet helped by discussing the results. George Weston and the staff of the Electron Microscope Unit provided support and advice. Sandy Smith prepared Table 1