Nutrients and heavy metal contamination of plants and sediments in Futian mangrove forest

An ecological survey was carried out to determine the levels of nutrients and heavy metals in the sediments and leaf tissues of two dominant mangrove plant species, Kandelia candel and Aegiceras corniculatum, in Futian mangrove forest, Shenzhen, the People's Republic of China. The spatial and seasonal variations of these elements were also investigated. The results show that there was no major difference between two sampling sites 150 m apart. In both sites, the sediment concentrations of total and NH₄ ⁺-N, total and extractable P, total and extractable K, total organic carbon were consistently higher in the landward locations and decreased gradually towards the sea. The sediment sample collected at the seaward edge of the mangrove plant community had the lowest levels of nutrient and organic matter. The vertical variations (from the land to the sea) of sediment heavy metals were less obvious and no particular trend could be identified. Extremely high contents of Cu, Cd, Pb, Cr and Zn were found at certain locations, suggesting the occurrence of some local contamination. The mean total metal concentrations in sediments decreased in the order Mn > Zn > Cu > Cr = Pb > Cd for the sample locations. Most of the heavy metals were not in a bioavailable form as the concentrations of extractable metals were relatively low (< 1% of total metals). Pb, Cr and Cd were not detected in leaf samples. Leaf C, N, P and K contents were similar between the two species and no significant difference was found among locations, although A. corniculatum seemed to have lower Mn concentrations than K. candel. With reference to temporal variations, no significant difference in sediment concentrations of some nutrients and metals was found between the spring and autumn seasons.     

Comparison of the effect of calcium(II) and manganese(II) ions on trypsin autolysis

The effect of Mn²⁺ and Ca²⁺ ions on the rate of trypsin autolysis was studied at pH 7.0 and at 34.4-60.2°C. For comparison, the kinetic constants of esterolytic activity of trypsin in the presence of the metal ion were determined at pH 7.4 and at 36° and 40°C. There was no significant difference in the rate of autolysis between Mn²⁺ and Ca²⁺ in the temperature range 34-47°C, but at 56.8° and 60.2° autolysis was slightly more rapid in the presence of Mn²⁺. The Mn²⁺ or Ca²⁺ ion bound to trypsin is supposed to control the conformation and thereby the stability and the activity of the enzyme. This indirect effect of Mn²⁺ and Ca²⁺ is discussed on a structural basis of the enzyme molecule.     

Oxygen-binding and immunological properties of complexes between dextran and animal haemoglobins.

Complexes of dextran 20 000 with haemoglobins of sheep, rabbit, dog, bovine and human origin were prepared through alkylation of haemoglobin by N-bromoacetylaminoethylamino-dextran. The yields were uniformly high. Complex-formation in each case was accompanied by the disappearance of reactive thiol groups on the haemoglobin, and by an increase in the affinity of the haemoglobin for oxygen. The immunological properties of dog, rabbit and sheep dextran-haemoglobin were investigated in both homologous and heterologous species. The complexes were found to be non-immunogenic in the homologous species. In heterologous species the anti-haemoglobin response induced by each complex was generally of a similar level to that induced by the haemoglobin alone.     

A single mutation affects L-serine deaminase, L-leucyl-, L-phenylalanyl-tRNA protein transferase, and proline oxidase activity in Escherichia coli K-12.

A mutation at a single locus, wyb, results in several phenotypic changes in Escherichia coli K-12. The Wyb- phenotype includes: (i) an increase in L-serine deaminase activity, together with a loss of inducibility by L-leucine; (ii) an absence of L-leucyl-, L-phenylalanyl-tRNA protein transferase activity; (iii) inducibility of proline oxidase by proline; and (iv) a loss of ability to use maltose as a carbon and energy source.     

Evaluation of human monoclonal antibody (2-139-1) in cutaneous melanocytic neoplasms in fixed tissue sections.

Despite the growing list of xenogeneic monoclonal antibodies (MAb) that recognize malignant melanoma-associated antigens (MAA) in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue, none has been able to detect epitopes found in malignant melanomas and not in melanocytic nevi. A human MAb, 2-139-1, that showed promise in this regard was evaluated against 85 melanocytic neoplasms, including malignant melanoma and histological simulators, particularly Spitz's nevus. MAb 2-139-1 stained 18 (53%) of 34 melanomas, eight (57%) of 14 dysplastic nevi, six (38%) of 16 Spitz's nevi, and three (14%) of 21 banal nevi, which included three small congenital nevi. We observed a significant increasing trend in reactivity (% positive cells x intensity) associated with the potential for malignancy (p for linear trend = 0.002). We conclude that human MAb 2-139-1 is applicable to the study of melanocytic neoplasms in routinely processed tissue. Although the ability of this MAb to separate benign from malignant cells is not absolute, our results suggest that the expression of the 2-139-1 epitope may be an early event in melanocytic tumor progression.     

Location of the origin of replication for the 7.5-kb Chlamydia trachomatis plasmid.

The hypothetical origin of replication for the 7.5-kb plasmid common to Chlamydia trachomatis is believed to be in a region of the plasmid that contains four 22-bp tandem repeats preceded by an A-T-rich region. To test this hypothesis, replication of plasmid DNA in metabolically active reticulate bodies of the Lymphogranuloma venereum biovar of C. trachomatis was examined by electron microscopy. The results presented show that the origin of replication appears to be near the tandem repeats of pCHL2. In addition, replication of the 7.5-kb plasmid is unidirectional, and the copy number during replication is 7-10. The evidence presented suggests that C. trachomatis has a homologue to the Escherichia coli dnaA gene and that this homologue might be involved in replication of the C. trachomatis 7.5-kb plasmid.     

Synthesis and structure-activity study of myxoma virus growth factor

Myxoma virus growth factor (MGF) is an 85-residue peptide derived from the gene product of a DNA tumor virus that infects rabbits. The carboxyl domain of MGF possesses about 40% sequence homology with the epidermal growth factor (EGF). This EGF-like domain covering residues 30-83 was synthesized and found to possess putative activities of EGF. It was, however, about 200-fold less active than EGF in the competitive binding of EGF receptor in A431 cells and the stimulation of [3H]-thymidine uptake in NRK 49F cells. MGF(30-83) is a basic and a hydrophobic peptide rich in beta-sheet structure. These features in MGF tend to promote aggregation, leading to precipitation even in strongly denaturing solutions. Thus, the refolding of MGF was achieved with difficulty and resulted in low yield. To increase the synthetic yield of MGF(30-83), a cluster of acidic amino acids was added to the NH2-terminus of MGF(30-83). This approach was found to be effective in minimizing the refolding difficulties and allowed accessibility to the synthesis of analogues in this class of compounds. The relationships of structure and function of MGF were studied by using analogues with point substitution by the corresponding D-amino acid or by Ala at position 44 or 52 and analogues with deletion of basic residues from the amino terminus. Modifications of both the receptor contact and the structural residues greatly reduced the potency of MGF(30-83), and the overall result correlated well with the known structure-activity of the EGF family.     

Simple and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of diltiazem and six of its metabolites in human plasma

A sensitive, specific and reproducible high-performance liquid chromatographic technique is described for the simultaneous determination in human plasma of diltiazem (DZ) and six of its primary and secondary metabolites which are products of N- and O-demethylation, deacetylation and N-oxidation. The method involves addition of excess KHCO₃ to 1 ml of plasma, followed by extraction with 4 ml of ethyl acetate. The organic layer was extracted with 0.01 M HCl and the aqueous layer was dried under nitrogen and then reconstituted with 0.002 M HCl. DZ and its metabolites were free from interference and were baseline-separated. Calibration curves were linear in the concentration range studied (5–500 ng/ml for all the species). The lower limit of quantification of the assay was 5 ng/ml for DZ and the metabolites. Inter-day and intra-day coefficients of variation were less than 10%. The applicability of this procedure is shown by evaluating the kinetics of DZ and its metabolites in three patients receiving chronic DZ therapy. N-Demethyldiltiazem, deacetyldiltiazem and N-demethyldeacetyldiltiazem were found to be the major metabolites, as previously described. Deacetyldiltiazem N-oxide was found in two of the patients. The other two known but unreported metabolites in human, O-demethyldeacetyldiltiazem and N,O-didemethyldeacetyldiltiazem, were found in the plasma of all three patients.     

Minor sterols of marine invertebrates 37. Isolation of novel coprostanols and 4α-methyl sterols from the tunicate Ascidia nigra

The complex sterol mixture isolated from $\text{A, nigra}$ was found to contain a low level of Δ⁴-3-keto steroids, 5β-stanols and 4α-methyl sterols in addition to regular (4-demethyl) sterols. The following new marine sterols were isolated and identified using MS and 360 MHz NMR: 5β-cholest-22E-en-3β-ol, 24S-methyl-5β-cholest-22E-en-3β-ol, 24-methylene-5β-cholestan-3β-ol, both epimers at C-24 of 4α-methyl-24-ethyl-5α-cholest-22E-en-3β-ol, 4α, 22ξ, 23ξ-(or 24ξ-)trimethyl-5α-cholest-8(14)-en-3β-ol and (22S, 23S, 24S)-4α-24-dimethyl-22, 23-methylene-5α-cholestan-3β-ol. The latter sterol and 23-demethylgorqosterol have opposite configurations at C-22, C-23, and C-24; the Δ⁸⁽¹⁴⁾ sterol has an unprecedented side chain.