Ueber den stand der Agrarmeteorologischen Forschung in der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Elektronenmikroskopische Untersuchungen über Glaskörperrindenzellen und Zonulafasern

Zusammenfassung Es werden folgende Befunde zur Feinstruktur des Glaskörpers beim 16 Tage alten Rattenembryo und der Glaskörperrinde beiderseits der Ora serrata beim 3 Jahre alten, an Retinoblastom erkrankten Kind mitgeteilt:Der Glaskörper des Rattenembryos und die Glaskörperrinde des kindlichen Auges enthalten Fibroblasten. Sie unterscheiden sich nicht von den im Bindegewebe vorkommenden Fibroblasten. Im embryonalen Rattenglaskörper wurden außerdem faserbildende Zellen mit wabiger Struktur des Zytoplasmas beobachtet.Die Fibroblasten der Glaskörperrinde bilden die Fibrillen des Glaskörpergerüstes und der Zonulafasern. Diese Fibrillen zeigen eine deutliche Querstreifung. Die Streifung ist unregelmäßig oder periodisch. Die Länge der Perioden beträgt in unseren Schnitten bei den Glaskörperfibrillen des Rattenembryos und des kindlichen Auges meist etwa 120, seltener 210 A. An den Fibrillenbündeln einer Zonulafaser des kindlichen Auges wurden Perioden von 90–120, 400, 440 und 630 A beobachtet.Die Fibroblasten der Glaskörperrinde des kindlichen Auges liegen im Bereich der Pars plana corporis ciliaris auch tief in den Buchten und Falten des Ciliarepithels. Hierdurch wird eine maximal große Anheftungsfläche für die von ihnen produzierten Fibrillen der Zonulafasern gewährleistet.Die Pars plana corporis ciliaris des kindlichen Auges ist von einem dichten Netz von Fibroblastenfortsätzen überzogen. Auch vereinzelte Makrophagen finden sich hier.Unsere elektronenmikroskopischen Befunde bestätigen die Angaben von Balazs über das Vorkommen von Fibrocyten (Fibroblasten) und Makrophagen in der Glaskörperrinde. Ferner bestätigen sie die bereits von früheren Autoren lichtmikroskopisch gewonnenen Erkenntnisse, wonach es sich beim Glaskörper um mesenchymales Gewebe, bei den Zonulafasern im Bindegewebsfasern handelt.

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Summary The following electron microscopical findings in the vitreous body of 16-day-old rat embryos and in the vitreoretinal border layer on both sides of the ora serrata in a 3-year-old child are reported:The vitreous body of the rat embryo and the vitreoretinal border layer of the infant eye contain fibroblasts. These fibroblasts do not differ from those present in connective tissue. The embryonic vitreous body of the rat contains fibre-forming cells, which show an alveolar structure of the cytoplasm.The fibroblasts in the cortical tissue layer of the vitreous body form the fibrils of the stroma of the vitreous body and the zonula fibres. These fibrils show a marked cross striation. The striation is either irregular or shows periodicity. In the vitreous body of the rat embryo and of the infant eye the lenght of these periods has been measured with 120 and 210 A. Periods of 90–120, 400, 440 and 630 A could be shown in the fibrillar bundles of a zonula fibre of the infant eye. In the region of the pars plana corporis ciliaris the fibroblasts of the cortical tissue layer of the vitreous body of the infant eye are also found deep down in the sinus and folds of the ciliary epithelium. Thus they guarantee an as large as possible area for the attachment of the fibrils of the zonula fibres which they produce.The pars plana corporis ciliaris of the infant eye is covered with a dense network of fibroblast processes. Also cells of the macrophage type may be found in this region.Our electron microscopical findings confirm those of earlier light microscopists and lately by Balazs. The vitreous body of the eye is formed by mesenchymal tissue, whereas the zonula fibres are formed by connective tissue.

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Mit dankenswerter Unterstützung durch den Schweizerischen Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung.     

Microbial oxidation of ebastine

The microbial oxidation of ebastine to carebastine was investigated. Among the 15 micro-organisms examined, only theCunninghamella strains showed the desired biotransformation.Cunninghamella blakesleeana oxidised the substrate within 7 days, via the intermediates alcohol and aldehyde, mainly to carebastine, the corresponding carboxylic acid. Optimisation of the culture conditions increased the yield from initially 10% up to a reproducible 40%. For the synthesis of carebastine a substrate concentration of 200 mg/l, a starting pH of 5.0 and the addition of 1% poly(vinyl alcohol) is favourable. The results achieved in experiments with shaking flasks are transferable to the fermentation scale and yielded 270 mg carebastine in a 3-l fermentation of 600 mg ebastine. The progress of the reaction was detected by TLC and HPLC, the products were identified by mass spectrometry and NMR.     

Nutrient balances and phytoplankton dynamics in two agriculturally loaded shallow lakes

The impact of agriculture was estimated on two shallow, eutrophic lakes, Lake Kotojärvi and Lake Villikkalanjärvi in southern Finland. The main emphasis was on phosphorus and nitrogen budgets and on the phytoplankton dynamics. Special attention was paid to internal P loading and blue-green algal blooms. The mean Tot-P load from agricultural land was 1.2 kg ha^-1 a^-1 in both basins and Tot-N loads were 19 kg ha^-1 a^-1 in L. Villikkalanjärvi and 12 kg ha^-1 a^-1 in L. Kotojärvi. The Tot-P input to L. Kotojärvi was on an average 0.62 g m^-2 a^-1 (per lake surface area), and the Tot-N input 9.1 g m^-2 a^-1. The corresponding inputs to L. Villikkalanjärvi were 3.1 and 57 g m^-2 a^-1, respectively. The annual variation followed the runoff volumes. About half of the Tot-P and one third of the Tot-N load was retained in L. Kotojärvi. In L. Villikkalanjärvi the retention was only 24% for Tot-P and 19% for Tot-N. The difference was very probably due to a longer theoretical retention time in L. Kotojärvi. In L. Villikkalanjärvi the mean concentration of Tot-P was 120 µg 1^-1 and that of Tot-N 1700 µg 1^-1 and the corresponding figures in L. Kotojärvi 67 and 990 µg 1^-1, respectively. The mean chlorophyll a concentration was, however, higher in L. Kotojärvi (26 µg 1^-1) than in L. Villikkalanjärvi (20 µg 1^-1). This was probably due to an internal P load in L. Kotojärvi: in 1988 the internal load of dissolved P was estimated to be as much as twofold the external load. In L. Villikkalanjärvi the internal dissolved P load was only up to 50% of the external input. In L. Kotojärvi the high internal P load coupled with a low DIN:DIP ratio resulted in a strong blue-green algal bloom in the summer of 1988. In L. Villikkalanjärvi blue-green algae were observed only in small amounts. Even in August 1990, when the DIN:DIP ratio was low enough to favor the occurrence of blue-green algae, they contributed only up to 10–15% of the total phytoplankton biomass.     

Effects of energy deprivation on the fly pupil mechanism: evidence for a rigor state

The energy dependence of the pupil pigment-migrations in the fly Musca domestica was studied in live animals, using optical techniques and nitrogen-gas induced anoxia. The results obtained can be summarized in 3 points:

1. Energy deficiency can make the pupil mechanism stop in any state, extreme or intermediate.
2. Anoxia induced during intermittent stimulation makes the pupil stop in the closed state (aggregated pigment granules).
3. During long-term anoxia the pupil very slowly opens (dispersal of pigment granules), irrespective of ambient intensity.

The slow anoxic opening (point 3) is more than 1000 times slower than that predicted for free diffusion of pigment granules in water. Assuming realistic values of cytoplasm viscosity, this implies that anoxia causes the pigment granules to attach to rigid structures in the cells, in analogy with the rigor state in anoxic muscles. The rigor phenomenon in the pupil mechanism prevents experimental discrimination between active and passive processes of pigment migration. Normal pupil opening has a time course which agrees reasonably with a passive diffusion process, but it is argued that an active transportation of granules away from the rhabdom is more likely in the dark adapted eye.     

The Effect of Transport Stress on Plasma Levels of Catecholamines,Cortisol, Corticosteroid-Binding Globulin,Blood Cell Count,and Lymphocyte Proliferation in Pigs

The effect of transport stress on the plasma levels of catecholamines, Cortisol, and corticosteroid-binding globulin were studied in 6 gilts. To assess the effect on immune status, white blood cells were also counted and the cell-mediated immunity was estimated. The adrenaline level increased significantly during transport, from a basal mean level of 0.03 ng/ml to a plateau level of 0.11 to 0.12 ng/ml. The noradrenaline level fluctuated, but not constantly, during transport. The mean plasma Cortisol level before loading was approximately 40 nmol/1 and rose immediately after the start of transport to 70 nmol/1 (p< 0.05) and to 87 nmol/1 (p< 0.01) within 10 and 30 min, respectively. After unloading the Cortisol level rapidly decreased and a minimum level was seen 4 h after the transport, whereafter the diurnal rhythm was resumed. The plasma corticosteroid-binding globulin level increased nonsignificantly during the day of transport, from 25 nmol/1 to a level of 34 nmol/1, and it continued to increase until a plateau level was reached on the second day after transportation. The total white blood cell number increased significantly (from 13.7 to 15.5 × 109 cells/1), the number of lymphocytes decreased significantly (from 8.4 to 7.0 × 109 cells/1), and the number of polymorphonuclear neutrophils increased significantly (from 4.3 to 7.2 × 109 cells/1) during transport. No significant variation in the proliferation response was seen in the whole blood cell cultures. The main results were the significant signs of simultaneous activity of both the adrenal cortex and the adrenal medulla during transport.     

EPR and multi-field magnetisation of reduced forms of the binuclear iron centre in ribonucleotide reductase from mouse

Mouse ribonucleotide reductase is composed of a 1?:?1 complex of two homodimeric subunits and catalyses the first unique step on the biochemical pathway to DNA synthesis. The small subunit, protein R2, contains dinuclear iron-oxygen clusters and a tyrosyl free radical required for catalytic activity. We have studied the mixed valent and fully reduced forms of the diiron oxygen cluster from mouse R2 protein by low-temperature EPR. EPR signals of the mixed-valent states of proteins R2 reconstituted with ferrous iron and oxygen in normal and deuterated water, using the same buffers, show apparent g values of 1.92, 1.73, and 1.60 for the mixed-valent state in H₂O and 1.93, 1.73, and 1.62 in D₂O. These g values are typical for diiron-oxygen proteins, while the effect of D₂O is unprecedented for this class of proteins. We estimate the coupling constant J for the Heisenberg exchange (H?=?2J*S₁*S₂) to be J?=?–7.5±1?cm^–1 for the mixed-valent form. The diferrous R2 protein shows an integer spin EPR signal in the presence of azide or 20% glycerol. Variable temperature variable field saturation magnetisation measurements show that only in the azide-complexed R2 protein does a weak ferromagnetic coupling occur (J?=?0.26±0.05?cm^–1), while R2 protein in the absence or presence of 20% glycerol contains non-coupled mononuclear ferrous iron (S?=?2) sites.