Chronobiologic Factors in Experimental Stress Ulcer

The available literature on chronobiologic factors in experimental stress ulcer is extremely small and thematically limited. It focuses almost exclusively on circadian rhythms and, within that, on rhythms related to light-dark cycles, activity and body temperature. Among these, only differences in ulcer induction related to circadian activity patterns have been adequately demonstrated. Other circadian patterns and other temporal phase relationships might be profitably explored, including those related to postnatal development. It is also likely that the important relationships between biorhythms and stress ulcer are not limited to ulcer induction. Future studies should address chronobiologic factors in predisposition, severity of illness, the probability of recovery and response to various therapeutic interventions.     

Some effects of polyvinyl alcohol and polyvinyl pyrrolidone on the activity of lactate dehydrogenase and its isoenzymes

Summary The activity of Sigma type II LDH (containing all LDH isoenzymes), type VII (LDH 1) and type V (LDH 5) has been evaluated in 0.1 M phosphate buffer and 0.4 M tris-HCl buffer, both at pH 7.4, before and after addition of PVP and PVA. A slight reduction of reaction velocity occurred when PVP and PVA were added, probably because of the increased viscosity of the medium. More specifically, PVA seemed to reduce the LDH 1 activity in phosphate buffer, but it seemed to counteract, together with PVP, conformational changes due to tris-HCl buffer of high molarity. None of these effects were found to influence the results of section histochemistry, but it could be shown that PVA was able to reduce urea inhibition of LDH 5 in tris-HCl buffer.The following Abbreviations are used in the Article PVA Polyvinyl alcohol - PVP Polyvinyl pyrrolidone - tris tris (hydroxymethyl)-aminomethan - LDH Lactate dehydrogenase - -NADH -Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide, reduced form - PMS Phenazine methosulfate - BSA Bovine serum albumin     

Genes of the R-phycocyanin II locus of marine Synechococcus spp., and comparison of protein-chromophore interactions in phycocyanins differing in bilin composition

R-phycocyanin II (RPCII) is a recently discovered member of the phycocyanin family of photosynthetic light-harvesting proteins. Genes encoding the and subunits of RPCII were cloned and sequenced from marine Synechococcus sp. strains WH8020 and WH8103. The deduced amino acid sequences of RPCII were compared to two other types of phycocyanin, C-phycocyanin (CPC) and phycoerythrocyanin (PEC). These three types vary in the composition of their covalently bound bilin prosthetic groups. In terms of amino acid sequence identity RPCII is highly homologous to CPC and PEC, suggesting that the known three-dimensional structures of the latter two are representative of RPCII. Thus the amino acid residues contacting the three bilins of RPCII could be inferred and compared to those in CPC and PEC. Certain residues were identified among the three phycocyanins as possibly correlating with specific bilin isomers. In overall sequence RPCII and CPC are more homologous to one another than either is to PEC. This probably reflects functional homology in the roles of RPCII and CPC in the transfer of light energy to the core of the phycobilisome, a function not attributed to PEC. The genomes of Synechococcus sp. strains WH8020, WH8103 and WH7803 share homologous open reading frames in the vicinity of RPCII genes. The nucleotide sequence extending 3 from RPCII genes in strain WH8020 revealed two open reading frames homologous to components of an CPC phycocyanobilin lyase. These open reading frames may encode a lyase specific for the attachment of phycoerythrobilin to RPCII.     

Nest distribution shaping within-stream variation in Atlantic salmon juvenile abundance and competition over small spatial scales

1. Spatial heterogeneity in population density is predicted to have important effects on population characteristics, such as competition intensity and carrying capacity. Patchy breeding distributions will tend to increase spatial heterogeneity in population density, whereas dispersal from breeding patches will tend to decrease it. The potential for dispersal to homogenize densities is likely to differ both among organisms (e.g. plants vs. mobile animals) and throughout ontogeny (e.g. larvae vs. adults). However, for mobile organisms, experimental studies of the importance of breeding distributions from the wild are largely lacking. 2. In the present study, experimental manipulations replicated over eight natural streams and 2 years enabled us to test for effects of the distribution of Atlantic salmon eggs over spatial scales which are relevant to local interactions among individuals. Artificial nests were placed along 250 m study reaches at one of two levels of nest dispersion - patchy (two nests per stream) and dispersed (10 nests per stream) - while holding total egg density (eggs m(-2) stream area) constant. 3. Nest dispersion had significant effects on the spatial distribution of the resulting juveniles in their first summer. Patchy nest distributions resulted in a highly right-skewed frequency distribution of local under-yearling densities (among 25 m sampling sections), as sample sections adjacent to the nest sites had relatively high densities. In contrast, dispersed nest distributions yielded approximately normal density distributions. Sections with high relative densities in the patchy nest distribution treatments also had relatively small juvenile body sizes, and patchy egg distribution appeared to produce a higher redistribution of individuals from the first to the second juvenile growth season than the dispersed distribution. 4. Because patchy breeding distribution combined with limited early dispersal can create spatial variation in density over scales directly relevant for individual interactions, this will be one important component in determining mean levels of early juvenile competition and its spatial variation within populations. Assuming random or ideal-free distribution of individuals may therefore underestimate the mean level of density experienced by juveniles over surprisingly small spatial scales (orders of magnitude smaller than total spatial extent of populations), even for mobile organisms.     

Side-chain modified analogues of histaprodifen: asymmetric synthesis and histamine H1-receptor activity

New analogues of histaprodifen with polar side chains have been stereoselectively synthesized and evaluated as histamine H(1)-receptor agonists. As a key transformation the asymmetric aminohydroxylation has been used, which was successfully realized for the first time on an imidazolyl derivative. While all chiral analogues proved to be weak H(1)-receptor antagonists, an achiral keto derivative of histaprodifen turned out to be the first 2-acylated histamine congener displaying partial H(1)-receptor agonism (relative potency 12%).