Discrimination of jittered sonar echoes by the echolocating bat,Eptesicus fuscus: The shape of target images in echolocation

1. Behavioral experiments with jittering echoes examined acoustic images of sonar targets in the echolocating bat, Eptesicus fuscus, along the echo delay or target range axis. Echo phase, amplitude, bandwidth, and signal-to-noise ratio were manipulated to assess the underlying auditory processes for image formation. 2. Fine delay acuity is about 10 ns. Calibration and control procedures indicate that this represents temporal acuity rather than spectral discrimination. Jitter discrimination curves change in phase when the phase of one jittering echo is shifted by 180 degrees relative to the other, showing that echo phase is involved in delay estimation. At an echo detectability index of about 36 dB, fine acuity is 40 ns, which is approximately as predicted for the delay accuracy of an ideal receiver. 3. Compound performance curves for 0 degrees and 180 degrees phase conditions match the crosscorrelation function of the echoes. The locations of both 0 degrees and 180 degrees phase peaks in the performance curves shift along the time axis by an amount that matches neural amplitude-latency trading in Eptesicus, confirming a temporal basis for jitter discrimination.     

Expression and function of the homoeotic genes Antennapedia and Sex combs reduced in the embryonic midgut of Drosophila

Drosophila homoeotic genes control the formation of external morphological features of the embryo and adult, and in addition affect differentiation of the nervous system. Here we describe the morphogenetic events in the midgut that are controlled by the homoeotic genes Sex combs reduced (Scr) and Antennapedia (Antp). The midgut is composed of two cell layers, an inner endoderm and an outer visceral mesoderm that surround the yolk. Scr and Antp are expressed in the visceral mesoderm but not in the endoderm. The two genes are required for different aspects of the midgut morphogenesis. In Scr null mutant embryos the gastric caeca fail to form. Scr is expressed in the visceral mesoderm cells posterior to the primordia of the gastric caeca and appears to be indirectly required for the formation of the caeca. Antp is expressed in visceral mesoderm cells that overlie a part of the midgut where a constriction will form, and Antp null mutant embryos fail to form this constriction. An ultrastructural analysis of the midgut reveals that the visceral mesoderm imposes the constriction on the endoderm and the yolk. The mesodermal tissue contracts within the constriction and thereby penetrates the layer of the midgut endoderm. Microtubules participate in the morphological changes of the visceral mesoderm cells. The analysis of the expression of Scr in Antp mutant embryos revealed a case of tissue-specific regulation of Scr expression by Antp. In the epidermis, Antp has been shown to negatively regulate Scr, but it positively regulates Scr in the visceral mesoderm.     

Molecular topography of the Ca2+ — ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum

Summary The Ca²⁺ binding site region of the Ca²⁺ — ATPase of skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum was labeled with several fluorescent analogs of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide. As has been shown by Chadwick and Thomas [1, 2], in the absence of Ca²⁺ in the medium, labeling with the naphthyl carbodiimide results in the inhibition of enzyme activity. Further, Ca²⁺ occupancy of the high affinity sites of the enzyme protects against incorporation into the site(s). The fluorescent carbodiimide has been used to determine the depth of the site of label incorporation relative to the aqueous-bilayer interfaces by quenching studies using spin-labeled fatty acid derivatives. The series of quenchers used have their spin-label moiety located at different positions along the fatty acid chain. It was found that after suitable correction for differences in partitioning of the various derivatives, the order of quenching efficiency was 16 - > 12- > 10- > 7- > 5-NS, indicating that the naphthyl moiety is near the center of the bilayer. In contrast, quenching with the aqueous-restricted I^– indicated that the label is accessible from the external milieu, likewise for a presumed aqueous quencher, acrylamide. The aqueous quenchers accessibilities were altered upon Ca²⁺ binding to the ATPase. Quenching of the intrinsic fluorescence with the x-NS derivatives indicates that the ATPase tryptophan residues are primarily localized at the aqueous-membrane interfaces, with the order of quenching being 5- > 7- > 10- > 12- > 16-NS. The trp residue(s) which changes its fluorescence upon Ca²⁺ binding is shown to be near the membrane surface.     

Autologous antibodies to human bladder cancer

Summary The autologous serologic reactivity of 13 patients with bladder cancer was evaluated using cell lines derived from each individual's own tumor as targets. Protein A and immune adherence assays were employed to determine antibody binding to the tumor targets at varying passage numbers. Autologous reactivity was found in 6 of the 13 cell lines tested. However, the titer was usually low regardless of the passage number. Seven autologous serum/cell line combinations were tested using both low and high passage cells as targets. In six of these combinations, the degree of antibody binding was similar with both low and high passage target cells. The incidence of autologous reactivity in the 12 patients with urothelial tumors was 50%.This investigation was supported by PHS Grant number CA36933, awarded by the National Cancer Institute, DHHS.     

Temporal relationship between nerve-stump-length-dependent changes in the autophosphorylation of a cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase and the acetylcholine receptor content in skeletal muscle

The acetylcholine receptor (AChR) content and the autorphosphorylation of the regulatory subunit of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase type II (R-II) were evaluated in rat soleus muscles at 24, 30 and 66 hr after surgical denervation by cutting the nerve at a short distance (short-nerve-stump) and at a long distance (long-nerve-stump) from the muscle. AChR content was based on the specific binding of [¹²⁵I]alpha-bungarotoxin (BUTX); changes in the autophosphorylation of R-II were based upon the predominant in vitro³²P-phosphorylation of a 56-Kd soluble protein in cytosolic fractions of solei. The AChR content and the³²P-autophosphorylation of R-II were increased in samples from short-nerve-stump solei, but not from long-nerve-stump solei, after a denervation-time of 30 hr. This nerve-stump-length dependency indicates that the two denervation effects are not related to the immediate halt of impulse-evoked muscle contractility. Furthermore, the results show that alterations in the³²P-autophosphorylation of R-II occurred before, as well as whenever, increases in the AChR content were found. Speculatively, this temporal relationship may be significant with respect to the potential role of R-II in gene expression.Abbreviations ACh acetylcholine - AChR acetylcholine receptor(s) - BUTX alpha-bungarotoxin - Kd kilodalton - PAGE polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis - R-II regulatory subunit of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase type II - SDS sodium dodecyl sulfate     

Rhythmic signalling and entrainment inVespa orientalis larvae: Characterization of the underlying interactions

Rhythmic “circa-second” contrations of larvae of the hornetVespa orientalis, believed to serve as hunger signals, were studied. A considerable degree of coordination among individual larvae, both in frequency and phase of these contractions, has been observed. The oscillations of singly isolated larvae are of short duration, non-constant, with increasing intervals in between and there is a substantial variability in the patterns shown by different larvae. In contrast, the association of two or more larvae leads to enhancement of their periodic behaviour and to (partial) entrainment. Communication among larvae may perhaps be mediated by the sound pulses (“scratching” noises) which are generated by these contractions. We have subjected individual and grouped larvae to external sound pulses and were able to demonstrate: (a) enhancement of rhythmic activity; (b) phase resetting; (c) entrainment to an external oscillator within a range of frequencies; (d) the existence of a subharmonic mode of entrainment. We propose a simple phenomenologic model to account for these larvae responses. Our model assumes the existence of an “energy” variable which declines with time but is upgraded, in a phase-dependent way, by external stimuli. Based in part on work performed by V. Barenholz-Paniry in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the M.Sc. degree from the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 1986.