Andromonoecy and fruit set in three genera of the Proteaceae

It has been suggested by some authors that the low fruit to flower ratio in some Proteaceae is due to andromonoecy, while others, looking particularly at Banksia , have not been able to find evidence for male flowers in the inflorescences. Stirlingia latifolia, Xylomelum occidentals and X. angustifolium are clearly andromonoecous, while no evidence for this condition could be found in Brabejum stellatifoliutn. Production of fertile fruit is related to andromonoecy in Xylomelum and S. latifolia but not in Brabejum. It is unlikely that all-encompassing solutions will be found to what initially seem to be widespread traits in the family, especially in regard to pollination biology, as the genera in the family occupy widely different environments and have very diverse ecological ranges.     

On the Rotation of Canonical Solutions

Some points of CLIFF /KRUS 's important rotation procedure are criticized. This result in the definition of simple structure of canonical solutions, the use of STEWART /LOVE 's redundancy index as a measure of common variance, and two new rotation procedures (HAKSTIAN 's modified varimax rotation, separate rotation of both sets). The objects of rotation should be the (intraset) loadings.     

Absent aldosterone response to metoclopramide in patients with high spinal cord transection: evidence that metoclopramide stimulates aldosterone secretion through central pathways

This study evaluates dopaminergic regulation of aldosterone secretion in 6 patients with high spinal cord transections. Administration of the dopamine antagonist metoclopramide resulted in a marked rise in plasma aldosterone and 18-hydroxycorticosterone levels in 12 normal individuals, but no change in plasma levels of these zona glomerulosa corticosteroid products in spinal cord patients. Spinal cord transected patients also did not have the rise in plasma renin activity that was observed in normals following metoclopramide administration. Basal levels of aldosterone, 18 hydroxycorticosterone, corticosterone and renin activity as well as the aldosterone responses to graded dose infusion of adrenocorticotropin were similar in the spinal cord patients and the normals. These data suggest that dopaminergic regulation of adrenal zona glomerulosa corticosteroid and renal renin secretion is absent in patients with high spinal cord transections, suggesting that intact neural pathways from the central nervous system are necessary for metoclopramide stimulation of aldosterone and renin secretion in men. Since basal plasma aldosterone levels were normal in spinal cord transected patients, it appears that the absence of dopaminergic control does not result in elevated secretion.     

Antibody responses to galectin-8, TARP and TRAP1 in prostate cancer patients treated with a GM-CSF-secreting cellular immunotherapy

A critical factor in clinical development of cancer immunotherapies is the identification of tumor-associated antigens that may be related to immunotherapy potency. In this study, protein microarrays containing >8,000 human proteins were screened with serum from prostate cancer patients (N = 13) before and after treatment with a granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-secreting whole cell immunotherapy. Thirty-three proteins were identified that displayed significantly elevated (P ≤ 0.05) signals in post-treatment samples, including three proteins that have previously been associated with prostate carcinogenesis, galectin-8, T-cell alternative reading frame protein (TARP) and TNF-receptor-associated protein 1 (TRAP1). Expanded analysis of antibody induction in metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients (N = 92) from two phase 1/2 trials of prostate cancer immunotherapy, G-9803 and G-0010, indicated a significant (P = 0.03) association of TARP antibody induction and median survival time (MST). Antibody induction to TARP was also significantly correlated (P = 0.036) with an increase in prostate-specific antigen doubling time (PSADT) in patients with a biochemical (PSA) recurrence following prostatectomy or radiation therapy (N = 19) from in a previous phase 1/2 trial of prostate cancer immunotherapy, G-9802. RNA and protein encoding TARP and TRAP1 was up-regulated in prostate cancer tissue compared to matched normal controls. These preliminary findings suggest that antibody induction to TARP may represent a possible biomarker for treatment response to GM-CSF secreting cellular immunotherapy in prostate cancer patients and demonstrates the utility of using protein microarrays for the high-throughput screening of patient-derived antibody responses.     

Iron-sulfur centers in the photosynthetic reaction center complex fromChlorobium vibrioforme. Differences from and similarities to the iron-sulfur centers in Photosystem I

The photosynthetic reaction center complex from the green sulfur bacteriumChlorobium vibrioforme has been isolated under anaerobic conditions. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis reveals polypeptides with apparent molecular masses of 80, 40, 30, 18, 15, and 9 kDa. The 80- and 18-kDa polypeptides are identified as the reaction center polypeptide and the secondary donor cytochromec ₅₅₁ encoded by thepscA andpscC genes, respectively. N-terminal amino acid sequences identify the 40-kDa polypeptide as the bacteriochlorophylla-protein of the baseplate (the Fenna-Matthews-Olson protein) and the 30-kDa polypeptide as the putative 2[4Fe-4S] protein encoded bypscB. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis shows the presence of an iron-sulfur cluster which is irreversibly photoreduced at 9K. Photoaccumulation at higher temperature shows the presence of an additional photoreduced cluster. The EPR spectra of the two iron-sulfur clusters resemble those of F_A and F_B of Photosystem I, but also show significantly differentg-values, lineshapes, and temperature and power dependencies. We suggest that the two centers are designated Center I (with calculatedg-values of 2.085, 1.898, 1.841), and Center II (with calculatedg-values of 2.083, 1.941, 1.878). The data suggest that Centers I and II are bound to thepscB polypeptide.     

Effect of a Cloned DNA Fragment from Streptomyces chrysomallusNo. 2 on the Metabolism of Certain Streptomyces Strains

The effects on a cloned DNA fragment carrying an actinomycin resistance determinant on physiological processes in strains of streptomycetes with various potencies in producing this antibiotic, their inactive mutants, and the model strain ofStreptomyces lividans66 were studied. This fragment was shown to modulate bacterial resistance to actinomycin and biosynthesis of antibiotics.