Effect of glucose feeding on net transport of plasma free fatty acids

The effect of a single glucose feeding upon the net inflow and outflow transport of plasma free fatty acids (FFA) has been studied in 75 unanesthetized rats. The animals were fasted for 22 +/- 2 hr; then 50 rats were refed 2 ml of 50% glucose by gastric intubation. At 0, 10-15, and 30-35 min after glucose refeeding, the rats were injected with palmitate-1-(14)C complexed to rat serum. The tracer dose included (131)I-labeled albumin. Plasma FFA concentration, (131)I concentration, and FFA-(14)C were measured at five time intervals after injection of the tracer dose. From these data the irreversible disposal rate, or net outflow transport, and the net inflow transport of plasma FFA were calculated. Estimations were based upon a special case of a general solution for measuring net inflow and outflow transport of a circulating metabolite. The general solution is independent of the number of compartments, how they are interconnected, the number of nonradioactive inflows, and where the inflows enter the system. Net inflow = net outflow transport = 7.6 micro eq/min in the fasted state and 3.5 micro eq/min in the new steady state that is reached 30-40 min after glucose refeeding. A very slight imbalance between the rates of net inflow and outflow transport could account for the rapid fall in plasma FFA concentration that results from a single glucose feeding. Theoretical and practical problems associated with studying inflow and outflow transport by means of the technique using a single injection of racer are discussed.     

Chemical composition and ultrastructure of the epicuticular wax in four mutants of Pisum sativum (L)

The action of mutations affecting the epicuticular wax of Pisum sativum has been investigated at the chemical and ultrastructural level. Upper and lower surfaces of the leaves were found to differ markedly in both ultrastructure and chemistry. Mutations affected primarily either the lower (wa, wb and wsp) or the upper surface (wlo), but some effects of all 4 genes could be seen on both surfaces. Specific biochemical lesions could be implied for wsp and wa but the chemical effects of wb and wlo were more diffuse. Generally a close relation between chemical composition and crystallite form of the wax was evident throughout the work.     

Chemical composition and ultrastructure of the epicuticular wax in three lines of Brassica napus (L)

The epicuticular wax in three lines of Brassica napus (rape) has been investigated and the detailed chemistry and ultrastructure of the waxes examined. A distinct chemical make-up has been found for all three waxes which is correlated with three distinct crystallite structures. A tentative scheme for classification of Brassica wax mutants is described in which the two newly analysed rape mutants can be placed. Mass spectral analysis of all wax components confirms and extends previous ideas about the chemistry of Brassica waxes.     

A comparison of three noise reduction procedures applied to bird vocal signals

ABSTRACT.   Recordings of avian vocal signals in natural habitats include ambient noise. Often this background noise corrupts across all frequencies and is of substantial amplitude. Reducing this ambient noise to prepare vocal signals for playback stimuli or to remove habitat-specific noise signatures prior to analyzing a signal's acoustic characteristics can be useful. We conducted experimental evaluations of three noise reduction procedures to determine their effectiveness. We embedded two bird vocalizations ("clean" signals) in four kinds of natural noise, resulting in eight noise-signal combinations. We then applied three noise reduction procedures (Noise Profile, Band Pass, and Noise Estimate) to each of the embedded signals and compared the recovered signals to the original (clean) signals. Noise Profile filtering was effective in reducing noise and returning fairly high-quality signals from even severe levels of masking noise. The other two noise reduction procedures did not perform as well. For the two most corrupting maskers, however, Noise Profile filtering also altered the signal properties by reducing signal amplitude at those frequencies containing high levels of noise. Apart from this loss of amplitude, the quantitative features of the filtered signals were similar to those of the original model sounds. We conclude that Noise Profile filtering produces good results for cases where noise is approximately constant over the signal duration and the signal intensity exceeds noise intensity over the frequencies of interest.     

Categorization of Hospital Emergency Services—Developing Valid Criteria

In a pilot project sponsored by the California State Emergency Medical Services Authority, validated, verifiable criteria were developed for the vertical categorization of hospital emergency services in 11 different groupings of medical and surgical emergencies. We describe the development of an assessment process and categorization criteria to identify the most appropriate receiving facility for interfacility transfer and, in selected instances, field triage of patients with different levels of severity of illness or injury. We propose that this facility assessment project be used in the critical care planning process for the eventual vertical categorization of hospital emergency services in California and as a template for similar projects in other states.     

Attachment as a factor in the protection of Enterobacter cloacae from chlorination

Enterobacter cloacae attached to drinking water distribution particles was subjected to chlorination. Attachment resulted in the protection of these organisms from disinfection. This effect was found to be dependent upon both the level of chlorine in the system and attachment time. The results obtained in this study indicate that attached organisms may play an important role in coliform outbreaks.     

Microzooplankton and macrozooplankton glutamate dehydrogenase as indices of the relative contribution of these fractions to ammonium regeneration in the Gulf of Maine

Ammonium regeneration by micro- (35–153 µm) andmacrozooplankton (> 153 µm) was determined in the Gulfof Maine by measuring the activity of the excretory enzyme glutamatedehydrogenase (GDH) in various size fractions. GDH maxima weregenerally observed to correspond to the depth of the chlorophyllmaximum as previously reported in the Gulf of Mexico and inthe vicinity of the Nantucket Shoals. GDH activity of the microzooplanktonwas considerably lower than the macrazooplankton, suggestingthe microzooplankton made only a minor contribution (1–11%) to the total ammonium regenerated. These results were confirmedby biomass estimates made from counts of individual species.Ammonium excretion by both zooplankton fractions was estimatedto supply 5–31 % of the nitrogen requirements for primaryproduction, with an estimated 59–63% supplied by the verticaltransport of nitrate (new nitrogen) into the euphoric zone.