Diversity and conservation of blackwater fishes in Peninsular Malaysia,particularly in the North Selangor peat swamp forest

One of the most extreme freshwater habitats in Peninsular Malaysia is the peat swamp forest, with dark-coloured and highly acidic waters. Surprisingly, little is known about blackwater fishes in Peninsular Malaysia. Until 1968, only 26 fish species were known from blackwaters throughout Peninsular Malaysia, of which only one can be regarded as stenotopic. A recent intensive survey of part of the North Selangor peat swamp forest yielded 47 species, of which 14 are probably stenotopic taxa. These include four undescribed species and several new records for western Peninsular Malaysia. These discoveries are significant in that they include the family Chaudhuriidae which until 1985, was not reported from Sundaic Southeast Asia, and the rare genus Encheloclarias which had not been encountered for over 50 years. The rapid rate of destruction of the peat swamp forest owing to development, forestry and agricultural activities must be halted or slowed significantly to enable the proper zoological surveys and studies to be conducted. Conservation plans and environmental impact assessments based on inadequate sampling and knowledge of species present is acutely dangerous. There are no longer substantial undisturbed blackwater peat swamp forests left in most of Peninsular Malaysia. Conservation of the remaining blackwater biotopes is critically important if extinction of many species, here regarded as economically valuable renewable resources, is to be prevented.     

Alginate-chitosan coacervation in production of artificial seeds

Survival of secondary embryoids of winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus ssp. oleifera cv. Primor) has been used as an assay for the development of artificial seeds involving complex coacervation of alginate (polyanion) with chitosan (polycation). Germination frequency of 100% was achieved for encapsulated embryoids when alginate formed the inner matrix and chitosan the outer layer. When the matrix makeup was reversed, there was no germination of embryoids. The artificial seeds produced were hardened in dilute alkaline solutions of NaOH and Ca(OH)(2). An optimum setting time could be selected based on a quantitative measurement of resistance of hardened capsules to compression and the germination frequency of the encapsulated embryoids. (c) 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Comparative study of the cellular replication kinetics of rat mammary epithelial cells in vivo and in vitro

Ts-131b, one of the temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants isolated from mouse FM3A cells, was found to be defective in DNA replication at a non-permissive temperature. After the cells were transferred to 39.5 °C, the cell number increased by only 10% and the rate of incorporation of precursors into cellular DNA decreased rapidly. Cell cycle analysis by a flow cytometric method with the cells incubated at 39.5 °C revealed that progression of the cells through the S phase was inhibited and most of the cells were arrested in the S phase. To study the defect in DNA replication of this ts-mutant at 39.5 °C, DNA-fiber autoradiography was performed to measure the rate of DNA-chain elongation. The results showed that the rate of DNA-chain elongation was decreased at 6 h after the temperature shift. However, since the decrease in the rate of DNA-chain elongation was not sufficient to account for the decrease in the rate of incorporation of the precursors, it was suggested that there was also a decrease in the rate of initiation of DNA replication at some of the replicon origins.     

Apolipoprotein H (beta-2-glycoprotein I) polymorphism in Asians.

Apolipoprotein H (APOH) (beta-2-glycoprotein I) polymorphism has been studied in 1159 Asians. The sample included 872 Chinese, 179 Asiatic Indians (Dravidian), 91 Filipinos, and 17 Malays. APOH polymorphism was determined by isoelectric focusing of sera in thin-layer polyacrylamide gels containing 3 M urea followed by immunoblotting. The frequencies of the three alleles--APOH*1, APOH*2, and APOH*3--were found to be 0.031, 0.900, and 0.069 in the Chinese; 0.061, 0.866, and 0.073 in the Dravidian Indians; 0.055, 0.923, and 0.022 in the Filipinos; and 0.088, 0.882, and 0.029 in the Malays. The phenotypic distribution was at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in all the populations.     

Identification and cloning of a novel heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein C-like protein that functions as a transcriptional activator of the hepatitis B virus enhancer II.

Liver specificity of hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication has been attributed to the action of its second enhancer (EII). We report here the characterization of EII and the subsequent isolation of a novel liver-specific DNA-binding protein which binds to and activates EII. The cDNA clone of the protein, designated E2BP, was isolated from a lambda gt11 expression library constructed from the hepatoma cell line HuH-6 which was screened with a binding site probe derived from EII. Sequence analysis of E2BP revealed 86.6% homology with a rat heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein C protein sequence, while conformational studies suggest a helix-loop-helix motif as a DNA-binding site. Cloned E2BP expressed in human fibroblasts by transient transfection displayed EII binding and activating characteristics similar to those of native E2BP in hepatocytes.     

Cell division cycles and circadian clocks : phase-response curves for light perturbations in synchronous cultures of euglena

The cell division rhythm in Euglena gracilis Klebs (Z strain) freeruns with a circadian period (30.2 ± 1.8 hours for 156 monitored oscillations) in aerated, magnetically stirred, 8-liter, axenic batch cultures grown photoautotrophically at 25°C in LD: 3,3, (7,500 lux, cool-white fluorescent) 6-hour light cycles from the moment of inoculation. Cell number was measured at 2-hour intervals with an automatic fraction collector and Coulter Electronic Particle Counter. At different circadian times throughout the 30-hour division cycle, 3-hour light perturbations were imposed on free-running cell populations by giving light during one of the intervals when dark would have fallen in the LD: 3,3 regimen. Using the onset of division as the phase reference point, the net steady-state phase advance or delay (±Δ) of the rhythm was determined after transients, if any, had subsided (usually in one or two days) relative to an unperturbed control culture. Both +Δ and −Δ were found, with maximum values of approximately ±11 to 12 hours being obtained at circadian time (CT) 20 to 22 (the `breakpoint'); little, if any phase shift occurred if the light signal was given between CT 6 and CT 12. The phase-resetting curve obtained by plotting new phase (′) versus old phase () was of the type 0 (`strong') variety. Light perturbations, no matter when imposed, engendered new phases which mapped to a relatively restricted portion (CT 6 to CT 13) of the circadian cycle.

These data provide the first detailed phase-response curve for a circadian mitotic clock. The findings, therefore, not only further support the hypothesis that a circadian oscillator (perhaps exhibiting limit cycle behavior) can modulate cell division in eukaryotic cells, but also provide a useful basis for the dissection of the nature and extent of the coupling between cell division and circadian cycles.

     

Observations of a set of isomeric anti-lactose antibodies directed against a group D streptococcal polysaccharide

Sets of isomeric anti-lactose antibodies with specificity for the lactose units of a cell wall polysaccharide fromStreptococcus faecalis strain N were induced in rabbits immunized with a vaccine of nonviable cells of the organism. Such sets of anti-lactose antibodies were isolated from the serum of immunized animals by affinity chromatography on lactosyl-Sepharose. Gel electrofocusing experiments showed that the preparations consisted of multiprotein components. One preparation of antibodies of 13 isomers was separated into homogeneous components by liquid isoelectrofocusing. The individual isomeric antibodies exhibit specificity for the lactose units of the antigenic polysaccharide, possess isoelectric points in the range of 5.9–8.0, and belong to the IgG class of immunoglobulins, and each member yields one light chain and one heavy chain on dissociation in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and mercaptoethanol. These results have been interpreted as evidence for the assembly of the chains of isomeric antibodies by a single-chain pairing mechanism.     

Global Analysis of Apicomplexan Protein S‐Acyl Transferases Reveals an Enzyme Essential for Invasion

The advent of techniques to study palmitoylation on a whole proteome scale has revealed that it is an important reversible modification that plays a role in regulating multiple biological processes. Palmitoylation can control the affinity of a protein for lipid membranes, which allows it to impact protein trafficking, stability, folding, signalling and interactions. The publication of the palmitome of the schizont stage of Plasmodium falciparum implicated a role for palmitoylation in host cell invasion, protein export and organelle biogenesis. However, nothing is known so far about the repertoire of protein S‐acyl transferases (PATs) that catalyse this modification in Apicomplexa. We undertook a comprehensive analysis of the repertoire of Asp‐His‐His‐Cys cysteine‐rich domain (DHHC‐CRD) PAT family in Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium berghei by assessing their localization and essentiality. Unlike functional redundancies reported in other eukaryotes, some apicomplexan‐specific DHHCs are essential for parasite growth, and several are targeted to organelles unique to this phylum. Of particular interest is DHHC7, which localizes to rhoptry organelles in all parasites tested, including the major human pathogen P. falciparum. TgDHHC7 interferes with the localization of the rhoptry palmitoylated protein TgARO and affects the apical positioning of the rhoptry organelles. This PAT has a major impact on T. gondii host cell invasion, but not on the parasite's ability to egress.     

Intermittent Explosive Disorder amongst Women in Conflict Affected Timor-Leste: Associations with Human Rights Trauma,Ongoing Violence,Poverty, and Injustice

Introduction

Women in conflict-affected countries are at risk of mental disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder and depression. No studies have investigated the association between experiences of abuse and injustice and explosive anger amongst women in these settings, and the impact of anger on women''s health, family relationships and ability to participate in development.

Methods

A mixed methods study including an epidemiological survey (n = 1513, 92.6% response) and qualitative interviews (n = 77) was conducted in Timor-Leste. The indices measured included Intermittent Explosive Disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder; severe distress; days out of role (the number of days that the person was unable to undertake normal activities); gender-specific trauma; conflict/violence; poverty; and preoccupations with injustice.

Results

Women with Intermittent Explosive Disorder (n = 184, 12.2%) were more disabled than those without the disorder (for >5 days out of role, 40.8% versus 31.5%, X² ₍₂₎  = 12.93 p = 0.0016). Multivariable associations with Intermittent Explosive Disorder, controlling for the presence of PTSD, psychological distress and other predictors in the model, included the sense of being sick (OR 1.73; 95% CI 1.08–2.77); victimization as a result of helping the resistance movement (OR 2.33, 95% CI 1.48–3.68); war-related trauma specific to being a woman (OR 1.95, 95%, CI 1.09–3.50); ongoing family violence and community conflict (OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.27–2.77); extreme poverty (OR 1.23, 95%, CI 1.08–1.39); and distressing preoccupations with injustice (relating to 2/3 historical periods, OR 2.10, 95% CI 1.35–3.28). In the qualitative study, women elaborated on the determinants of anger and its impact on their health, family and community functioning, child-rearing, and capacity to engage in development. Women reflected on the strategies that might help them overcome their anger.

Conclusions

Intermittent Explosive Disorder is prevalent and disabling amongst women in conflict-affected Timor-Leste, impacting on their health, child-rearing and ability to participate fully in socio-economic development.     

Prevalence of Cataract Surgery and Visual Outcomes in Indian Immigrants in Singapore: The Singapore Indian Eye Study

Objective

To determine the prevalence of cataract surgery and factors associated with post-surgical visual outcomes in migrant Indians living in Singapore.

Research Design and Methods

We conducted a population-based study in 3,400 Indian immigrants residing in Singapore−the Singapore Indian Eye Study (SINDI). All participants underwent comprehensive medical eye examination and a standardized interview. Post-operative visual impairment (VI) was defined as best-corrected or presenting visual acuity (BCVA or PVA) of 20/60 or worse.

Results

The age- and gender-standardized prevalence of cataract surgery was 9.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.9%, 10.7%) in Singapore resident Indians. Post-operative VI defined by BCVA occurred in 10.9% eyes (87/795). The main causes of post-operative VI were diabetic retinopathy (20.7%), posterior capsular opacification (18.4%), and age-related macular degeneration (12.6%). Undercorrected refractive error doubled the prevalence of post-operative VI when PVA was used.

Conclusions

The rate of cataract surgery is about 10% in Indian residents in Singapore. Socioeconomic variables and migration had no significant impact on the prevalence of cataract surgery. Diabetic retinopathy was a major cause of post-operative VI in migrant Indians living in Singapore. Uncorrected postoperative refractive error remains an efficient way to improve vision.