Peripheral and central nervous responses evoked by small water movements in a cephalopod

Potentials were recorded from the epidermal head lines and from the CNS of young cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis, in response to weak water movements. 1. Within the test range 0.5-400 Hz a sinusoidal water movement elicits up to 4 components of response if the electrode is placed on a headline: (i) a positive phasic ON response; (ii) a tonic frequency-following microphonic response; (iii) a slow negative OFF response; and (iv) compound nerve impulses. 2. The amplitude of both the ON wave and the microphonic potential depends on stimulus frequency, stimulus amplitude and stimulus rise time. Frequencies around 100 Hz and short rise times are most effective in eliciting strong potentials. The minimal threshold was 0.06 microns peak-to-peak water displacement at 100 Hz (18.8 microns/s as velocity). 3. Change of direction of tangential sphere movement (parallel vs. across the head lines) has only a small effect on the microphonic and the summed nerve potentials. 4. Frequency and/or amplitude modulations of a carrier stimulus elicit responses at the onset and offset of the modulation and marked changes in the tonic microphonic response. 5. Evoked potentials can be recorded from the brain while stimulating the epidermal lines with weak water movements. The brain potentials differ in several aspects from the potentials of the head lines and show little or no onset or offset wave at the transitions of a frequency and amplitude modulation.     

Nonhyperbolic kinetics of Na,K-ATPase--a new viewpoint]

The kinetics of the 130 kDa monomer obtained by treatment of duck salt gland Na,K-ATPase with C12E8 was compared with that of the membrane-bound enzyme. The shapes of the substrate-velocity curves for the membrane-bound and solubilized forms were quite different: a hyperbolic one for the monomeric Na,K-ATPase and a nonhyperbolic one for the native enzyme. A reaction scheme for ATP hydrolysis based on a comparative analysis of kinetic properties of these two forms is proposed. Experimental evidence in favour of this hypothesis is presented.     

Seasonal Changes in the Pattern of Assimilatory Enzymes and of Proteolytic Activities in Leaves of Juvenile Ivy

Ivy growing under natural conditions is an interesting plantto study the influence of external (e.g. temperature, light)and internal (e.g. source/sink relations) factors on leaf metabolism.Leaves of this evergreen plant are subject several times toseasonal changes. The contents of selected assimilatory enzymeswere well conserved throughout the winter indicating that ivyleaves are probably able to make use of short periods with highertemperatures and to immediately restart growth in spring. Totalproteins and carbohydrates increased considerably between Februaryand May before the emergence of the new leaf generation. Theincrease in the content of non-structural carbohydrates wasdue to the accumulation of starch, while soluble sugars peakedin winter and decreased in spring. From May onwards, the assimilateswere retranslocated to the emerging young plant parts. Markedseasonal changes in the peptide hydrolase pattern were observed.All exo- and endopeptidases investigated were minimal duringsummer suggesting that the net protein remobilization from olderleaves was not based on an increase in the level of these majorpeptide hydrolases. Source/sink interactions on a whole plantlevel seem to be decisive in the regulation of seasonal changesin the pattern of assimilatory enzymes and of proteolytic activities.Since ivy leaves remain active for several years, the changesmust be reversible and occur repeatedly during the life-spanof a particular leaf.Copyright 1994, 1999 Academic Press Hedera helix L., ivy, peptide hydrolase, assimilatory enzyme, low temperatures, retranslocation     

How the Visual Cortex Handles Stimulus Noise: Insights from Amblyopia

Adding noise to a visual image makes object recognition more effortful and has a widespread effect on human electrophysiological responses. However, visual cortical processes directly involved in handling the stimulus noise have yet to be identified and dissociated from the modulation of the neural responses due to the deteriorated structural information and increased stimulus uncertainty in the case of noisy images. Here we show that the impairment of face gender categorization performance in the case of noisy images in amblyopic patients correlates with amblyopic deficits measured in the noise-induced modulation of the P1/P2 components of single-trial event-related potentials (ERP). On the other hand, the N170 ERP component is similarly affected by the presence of noise in the two eyes and its modulation does not predict the behavioral deficit. These results have revealed that the efficient processing of noisy images depends on the engagement of additional processing resources both at the early, feature-specific as well as later, object-level stages of visual cortical processing reflected in the P1 and P2 ERP components, respectively. Our findings also suggest that noise-induced modulation of the N170 component might reflect diminished face-selective neuronal responses to face images with deteriorated structural information.     

The influence of cell co-operation, nutrients and surface area on cell division

Abstract. Two opposite views have been proposed to explain the decline of the growth potential in cell populations with a limited life span: 1 variations in the probability of cycling and in cycling times or 2 a progressive increase in the nondividing cell fraction. Human brain-derived cells were studied with respect to their proliferative potential under the influence of different growth conditions, using haptotactic palladium islands on agarose. The results emphasize the need for cell co-operation, surface area and nutrients for cell division. These parameters also influence the final cell density. The results illustrate the multiple factors that can vary the probability of initiating the division cycle and stress the uncertainty of defining the irreversible non-dividing state.     

Energy coupling sites in the electron transport chain of Zymomonas mobilis

Abstract Energy-coupling sites in the electron transport chain of the obligately fermentative aerotolerant bacterium Zymomonas mobilis were examined. The H⁺ /O stoichiometry of the electron transport chain in intact bacteria oxidizing ethanol was close to 3.3. Cytoplasmic membrane vesicles coupled NADH oxidation to ATP synthesis. With ascorbate/phenazine methosulfate they showed oxygen uptake which was sensitive to antimycin A, but no significant ATP synthesis could be detected. Cells with a defective coupling site I, prepared by cultivation on a sulfate-deficient medium, showed a decreased rotenone sensitivity of respiration, and they lacked almost all the respiration-driven proton translocation and ATP synthesis. We conclude that, despite the reported composition of the electron transport chain, only energy coupling site 1 was functional in Z. mobilis .