Bacteriophage Transport in Sandy Soil and Fractured Tuff

Bacteriophage transport was investigated in laboratory column experiments using sandy soil, a controlled field study in a sandy wash, and laboratory experiments using fractured rock. In the soil columns, the phage MS-2 exhibited significant dispersion and was excluded from 35 to 40% of the void volume but did not adsorb. Dispersion in the field was similiar to that observed in the laboratory. The phage f2 was largely excluded from the porous matrix of the two fractured-rock cores studied, coming through 1.2 and 2.0 times later than predicted on the basis of fracture flow alone. Because of matrix diffusion, nonsorbing solutes were retarded by over a factor of three relative to fracture flow. The time for a solute tracer to equilibrate with the porous matrix of 6.5-cm-diameter by 25-cm-long cores was measured in days. Results of both granular-medium and fractured-rock experiments illustrate the inability of a solute tracer to provide estimates for dispersion and effective porosity that are applicable to a colloid. Bacteriophage can be used to better estimate the maximum subsurface transport rate of colloidal contaminants through a porous formation.     

Genetic evidence for α2-adrenergic receptor subtypes in rat brain,heart and adrenal gland

Summary A complementary DNA (cDNA) clone - cA₂-47 - corresponding to a new ₂-adrenergic receptor subtype has been isolated from a rat brain cDNA library and used as a hybridization probe to scrutinize the ₂-receptor poly(A⁺) RNAs in rat brain, heart and adrenal gland. Hybridization of the 5 half of the coding region of this cDNA at 37°C to rat brain poly(A+) RNA revealed a single band at 5.8 kb as the size of its corresponding mRNA. Under identical hybridization conditions, a human platelet ₂-receptor genomic probe failed to hybridize to any rat brain mRNAs.Under lower stringency conditions, hybridization of the full-length cDNA, cA₂-47, to selected rat tissue poly(A⁺) RNA showed the presence of four different sized mRNAs in brain and three in both heart and adrenal gland. Messages of 1.3 kb and 2.1 kb were common in all three tissues (although the band at 2.1 kb was slightly higher in the heart and adrenal gland). A 5.8 kb mRNA was unique to the brain and a slightly higher band at 6.0 kb was consistently present in heart and adrenal gland but was absent in the brain. A fourth message at 3.4 kb was found predominantly in the brain and was either absent or present at very low levels in the other tissues examined. Under the same conditions, a human platelet ₂-receptor probe hybridized to similar sized messages of 2.1 and 5.8 kb in rat brain and 2.2 and 6.0 kb in rat heart and adrenal gland. This probe, however, failed to detect the abundant 1.3 kb mRNA common to all tissues or the 3.4 kb message in rat brain. The extent of homology of these messages with cA₂-47 is not confined to limited regions of the cDNA since similar hybridization patterns were observed using either 5-noncoding or 5-coding regions of the probe.These results provide the first direct evidence of a surprisingly large range of mRNA sizes for members of the ₂-receptor family in brain, heart, and adrenal gland. The unique nature of certain members of the family in each of the tissues examined raises the curious possibility that these members might contribute to some of the individualized functions of the brain, cardiovasculature and adrenal gland.     

Growth characteristics and ion contents of non-selected and salt-selected callus lines of highbush blueberry (Vacdnium corymbosum) cultivars Blue Crop and Denise Blue

Non-selected and sodium chloride selected callus lines of Vacdnium corymbosum L.cv Blue Crop and cv. Denise Blue were grown on media supplemented with 0–100 mM NaCl. For both cultivars, fresh weight and dry weight yields were greater in selected lines on all levels of NaCl. Selected lines of Blue Crop displayed better growth than selected lines of Denise Blue at most concentrations of NaCl. Internal Na⁺ and Cl^– concentrations in selected and non-selected lines of both cultivars increased as external concentration was raised. However, selected lines of Blue Crop and Denise Blue accumulated more Na⁺ and Cl^– than non-selected lines. Selected lines of both cultivars maintained higher levels of K⁺ than non-selected lines on all external NaCl levels. Selected lines of Blue Crop had higher levels of Na⁺ and Cl^– than that of Denise Blue. The results suggest Na⁺ and Cl^– accumulation could be a mechanism allowing better growth in selected lines at moderate salinity levels (50–75 mM NaCl).     

Regulation of brood size in a burying beetle,Nicrophorus tomentosus (Silphidae)

Regulation of brood size in a biparental burying beetle, Nicrophorus tomentosusWeber, was studied by providing pairs with one of two sizes of mouse carcasses in the laboratory. For a given carcass size, there was an inverse relationship between number and mass offspring in a brood. The requirement for regulation was that brood size was adjusted such that mean mass of individual larvae was constant for carcasses of different size. Brood size was regulated if parents were present but regulation did not occur if parents were removed prior to hatching of larvae. Pairs bred in quick succession on two carcasses raised fewer than the regulated number of young in the second reproductive attempt. Reasons for regulation of brood size in this genus are discussed.     

Arguing from potential

Buckle's article is one of three discussing the potentiality of the human embryo in this issue of Bioethics devoted to the subject of embryo research. (See also Michael Lockwood's "Warnock v. Powell (and Harradine): when does potentiality count?" and Richard M. Hare's "When does potentiality count? A comment on Lockwood.") In his essay, Buckle analyzes some of the distinct ways of arguing about potential, and the different senses of potential on which these arguments rely. He also examines some of the criticisms of the argument from the potential and replies to them, and shows why the argument's protagonists and critics are often at cross-purposes.     

The role of protein kinases and protein phosphatases in the regulation of cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum function

Summary Canine cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum is phosphorylated by adenosine 3,5-monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent and by calcium · calmodulin-dependent protein kinases on a 27 000 proteolipid, called phospholamban. Both types of phosphorylation are associated with an increase in the initial rates of Ca²⁺ transport by SR vesicles which reflects an increased turnover of elementary steps of the calcium ATPase reaction sequence. The stimulatory effects of the protein kinases on the calcium pump may be reversed by an endogenous protein phosphatase, which can dephosphorylate both the CAMP-dependent and the calcium · calmodulin-dependent sites on phospholamban. Thus, the calcium pump in cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum appears to be under reversible regulation mediated by protein kinases and protein phosphatases.