Description of eight phases of spermiogenesis in the marmoset testis

The differentiation of spermatids in the marmoset (Callithrix jacchus, n = 9) testis is described here at the light-microscopic level employing serial semithin sections. The definition of 8 different phases of spermiogenesis, i.e. the formation of spermatids, is based upon the changes in the development of nucleus, acrosome and flagellum.     

Abbau von 14C-, 3H- und 36Cl-markiertem γ-Hexachlorcyclohexan durch anaerobe Bodenmikroorganismen

Zusammenfassung Durch eine anaerobe Mischflora aus Ackerboden wurde -Hexachlorcyclohexan (-HCH) in 4–5 Tagen zu 90% abgebaut. Dabei erfolgte eine schnelle Abspaltung des Chlors in Form von Chloridionen und danach eine Freisetzung des C- und H-Anteiles in Form flüchtiger Verbindungen, in denen kein Chlor und auch kein CO₂ nachzuweisen war.Die Verwendung von ¹⁴C/³H- und ³⁶Cl/³H-doppelmarkiertem -HCH zeigte, daß die Cl- und H-Abspaltung nicht im Verhältnis von 1:1 erfolgte, sondern mehr Cl als H abgespalten wurde. Die flüchtigen Verbindungen enthielten andererseits höhere ¹⁴C- als ³H-Anteile. Gaschromatographische Untersuchungen zeigten ebenfalls eine rasche Verminderung des -HCH und die Bildung verschiedener Metabolite. Es wurde jedoch kein -Pentachlorcyclohexen nachgewiesen. Bei steigenden O₂-Gehalten in der Gasphase verminderte sich der -HCH-Abbau. Jedoch fanden auch noch bei 5% O₂ Chlorabspaltung und die Freisetzung flüchtiger Metabolite statt.-HCH wurde ebenfalls, jedoch langsamer, durch die anaerobe Mischflora abgebaut. Auch hier wurde Chlorid abgespalten, und es traten ebenfalls flüchtige Verbindungen auf, die kein Chlor enthielten.

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Degradation of ¹⁴C-, ³H- and ³⁶Cl-labelled -hexachlorocyclohexane by anaerobic soil microorganisms

Up to 90% of the -Hexachlorocyclohexane (-HCH) applied to an anaerobic mixed bacterial flora enriched from an arable soil were degraded within 4–5 days. Degradation resulted in a rapid release of chloride and in formation of chlorine-free volatile metabolites. CO₂ formation from the molecule was not detected.Investigations with ¹⁴C/³H- and ³⁶Cl/³H double-labelled -HCH indicated that the release of Cl and H did not occur in the ratio of 1:1. More Cl than H was split off. The volatile compounds contained more ¹⁴C than ³H. Gas chromatographic studies also showed the rapid decrease of -HCH and the formation of several metabolites. -Pentachlorocyclohexene was not detected. Increasing O₂-contents in the gas phase of cultures resulted in decreases of the compound's degradation. Release of chloride and of volatile metabolites were observed with O₂ contents in the gas phase up to 5%.-HCH was also, but more slowly as with -HCH, degraded by the anaerobic mixed flora. Chloride was released and volatile, chlorine-free metabolites were found.

     

Functional analysis and structure determination of alkaline protease from Aspergillus flavus

Proteases are one of the highest value commercial enzymes as they have broad applications in food, pharmaceutical, detergent, and dairy industries and serve as vital tools in determination of structure of proteins and polypeptides. Multiple application of these enzymes stimulated interest to discover them with novel properties and considerable advancement of basic research into these enzymes. A broad understanding of the active site of the enzyme and of the mechanism of its inactivation is essential for delineating its structure-function relationship. Primary structure analysis of alkaline protease showed 42% of its content to be alpha helix making it stable for three dimensional structure modeling. Homology model of alkaline protease has been constructed using the X-ray structure (3F7O) as a template and swiss model as the workspace. The model was validated by ProSA, SAVES, PROCHECK, PROSAII and RMSD. The results showed the final refined model is reliable. It has 53% amino acid sequence identity with the template, 0.24 Å as RMSD and has -7.53 as Z-score, the Ramachandran plot analysis showed that conformations for 83.4 % of amino acid residues are within the most favored regions and only 0.4% in the disallowed regions.     

Preparation of rich handles soft cellulosic fabric using amino silicone based softener, part II: colorfastness properties

The preparation of amino silicone based softeners with different emulsifiers was carried out and adsorbed onto the surfaces of cotton and blends of cotton/polyester fabrics. The softened fabrics have high surface area, so poorly performance in washing and rubbing fastness. It is obvious from the results of colorfastness to rubbing and washing that some of the samples of the dyed fabric treated with prepared softeners have shown some poor rating as compared to the untreated fabrics. However the other two samples have shown acceptable rubbing fastness results without losing softness and permanent handle. It can be observed that washing of the printed treated fabric remains unaffected almost in all the studied samples. Moreover, the application of the prepared softeners has imparted anti pilling property to the fabric. It can be seen that there is a remarkable increase in weights of treated fabrics as compared to the untreated fabrics.     

Immunohistochemical expression of pi class glutathione S-transferase and alpha-fetoprotein in hepatocellular carcinoma and chronic liver disease

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether tumor marker pi glutathione transferase (GST-pi) is expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and other chronic liver diseases and to compare its expression with that of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). STUDY DESIGN: Samples used were formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded liver tissues: normal (n = 3), chronic hepatitis B (n = 15), cirrhosis (n = 15) and HCC (n = 30). The expression of AFP and GST-pi was detected by using immunohistochemistry with the peroxidase-antiperoxidase method. AFP immunoreactivity was based on the cytoplasm of the hepatocytes, while GST-pi immunoreactivity was based on the nuclei of hepatocytes. RESULTS: In normal liver tissues, AFP was not expressed. However, there was strong staining of GST-pi in bile duct epithelium cells and weak staining in hepatocytes. Our results showed higher AFP immunoreactivity in cases of HCC (36.7%) as compared to cirrhosis (6.7%) and hepatitis B (0%), whereas GST-pi immunoreactivity was lower in cases of HCC (53.3%) as compared to cases of cirrhosis (100.0%) and hepatitis B (93.3%). Percent sensitivity of AFP determination for HCC was 36.7% as compared to 53.3% for GST-pi, thus making GST-pi a more sensitive marker for detection of HCC. This study showed a significant relationship between the intensity and percentage of cells stained in hepatitis B, cirrhosis and HCC for GST-pi immunoreactivity (P < .001, .001 and .05, respectively) but not for AFP (P > .05). Statistical analysis showed that there was no significant relationship between expression of AFP and GST-pi in cirrhosis and HCC cases. Hepatitis B virus infection in HCC cases showed a positive rate of 46.7%, with AFP staining positively in 42.9% of tissues and GST-pi staining positively in 57.1% of tissues. CONCLUSION: AFP is a diagnostic but rather insensitive tissue marker for HCC. However, the absence of AFP in benign chronic liver disease makes this marker useful in differentiating between HCC and other chronic liver diseases, whereas GST-pi can be used as a diagnostic marker for HCC as well as in detecting other chronic liver diseases.     

Clinical proteomics of the neglected human malarial parasite Plasmodium vivax

Recent reports highlight the severity and the morbidity of disease caused by the long neglected malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax. Due to inherent difficulties in the laboratory-propagation of P. vivax, the biology of this parasite has not been adequately explored. While the proteome of P. falciparum, the causative agent of cerebral malaria, has been extensively explored from several sources, there is limited information on the proteome of P. vivax. We have, for the first time, examined the proteome of P. vivax isolated directly from patients without adaptation to laboratory conditions. We have identified 153 proteins from clinical P. vivax, majority of which do not show homology to any previously known gene products. We also report 29 new proteins that were found to be expressed in P. vivax for the first time. In addition, several proteins previously implicated as anti-malarial targets, were also found in our analysis. Most importantly, we found several unique proteins expressed by P. vivax.This study is an important step in providing insight into physiology of the parasite under clinical settings.     

Copper metabolism in the plaice, Pleuronectes platessa (L.)

Copper metabolism in a teleost, the plaice, Pleuronectes platessa (L.) from a natural environment has been studied. Distribution in the various tissues of the metal and of five key copper-dependent enzymes: ceruloplasmin EC 1.16.3.1; Superoxide dismutase EC 1.15.11; tryptophan oxygenase EC 1.13.1.12; cytochrome oxidase EC 1.9.3.1 and monoamine oxidase EC 1.4.3.4 have been determined. The copper distribution was found to be similar to that in mammals with the greatest concentrations in the brain and heart. Distribution of the copper enzymes is also similar to that found in mammals. A preliminary characterization of the copper enzymes showed that plaice cytochrome oxidase has a pH maximum 2 pH units more alkaline than the mammalian enzyme and that plaice tryptophan oxygenase is more sensitive to heat denaturation than the mammalian enzyme. The present data form a base-line against which studies on factors affecting the copper metabolism in a teleost can be assessed.     

The Effect of Chilling of the Physiological and Simulated Apex of 2- and 3-leaf Plants of Pisum sativum L. cv. Alaska on Lateral Shoot Growth, C-14 IAA Movement and P-32 Accumulation

The apex of a 3-leaf pea plant was chilled in cold chambers maintained at 5–7°C. The lateral shoots 1 through 5 grew, and shoot 5 eventually dominated other lateral shoots. The apex when returned to the ambient temperature did not reimpose apical dominance. The growing lateral shoots competed with the stem apex. The apices of 2- and 3-leaf plants were chilled and P-32 distribution in these plants was studied in the entire plant, at various intervals of time. Phosphorus-32 accumulation followed the growth pattern of the plant. The lateral shoots accumulated P-32 activity and very little activity was accumulated by the apex. The dominating shoots 2 and 5 accumulated the maximum amount of activity in 2- and 3-leaf plants, respectively. Labeled-IAA moved basipetally through the stem when applied to the cut stump simulating the apex. By cold treatment the translocation of IAA was influenced more than its absorption. The plant seems to metabolize this compound in the later periods of application. The plant now becomes “insensitive” to auxin and the lateral shoots grow.