在原代培养的大鼠肝细胞观察消炎痛的细胞保护作用

我们曾观察到消炎痛预处理能明显减轻四氯化碳和半乳糖胺对大鼠的肝损伤作用,本工作采用原代培养的大鼠肝细胞进一步观察了这一现象。结果表明,经消炎痛整体处理后分离的大鼠肝细胞,在原代培养的条件下,对四氯化碳的损伤仍然具有明显的抵抗作用,表现为细胞内酶的漏出少于对照组。正常大鼠离体肝细胞在原代培养条件下用消炎痛处理,在相当大的剂量和相当长的时间范围内未出现明显的抗损伤作用。结果提示:消炎痛整体处理可使肝细胞本身获得抗损伤的能力,而这种抗损伤能力的产生可能有赖于肝细胞外其它因素的参与。     

A Markov approach for describing post-fire succession of vegetation

Vegetation dynamics in the coastal area of the Seto Inland Sea region in Japan, where wild fires occur frequently, were described using a stationary Markov model. In this region, vegetation types ofMiscanthus-Pleioblastus grassland,Lespedeza-Mallotus scrub,Pinus-Rhododendron forest andCrassocephalum-Erechtites community have been identified, and these show cyclic succession under the influence of fires. The model uses parameters determining fire frequency and rate of successional change to analyze the effect of variation in these parameters on the areal ratio of each vegetation type at equilibrium and on the time taken for one vegetation type to succeed another (elapsed successional time). The effect of fire frequency differs between hypothetical habitats with high and low productivity. A policy for vegetation management in areas of high and low productivity is proposed. The advantages and limitations of applying Markov models to studies of vegetation succession are also discussed.     

Dendrochronology in Coniferous forests around Lake Rara,West Nepal

In two forest stands, one domonated byAbies spectabilis, and the other byPinus wallichiana-Picea smithiana, 198 cores were taken from 105 conifers in May 1983 and the annual ring widths were measured. The annual ring widths usually had significant similarities between cores taken from the same tree and with cores taken from different trees. these similarities increased with tree size. The climatic change affected the large trees more strongly than it did the small trees. Micro environmental changes, such as canopy gap affected the small trees more strongly. Annual ring widths were also correlated with the annual precipitations at Jumla 30 km south of the plots for a recent 20 year period. A multiple regression analysis between ring width and seasonal precipitation showed that the growth ofA. spectabilis was correlated primarily with the rain from May to August and secondarily with that from September to December in the previous year.     

Regional brain GABA metabolism and release during hepatic coma produced in rats chronically treated with carbon tetrachloride

Hepatic coma was induced in rats chronically treated with CCl₄, by means of a single injection of ammonium acetate. The activities of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) and GABA transaminase (GABA-T), as well as the synaptosomal uptake and release of [³H]GABA, were measured in the following brain areas of the comatose rats: cortex, striatum, hypothalamus, hippocampus, midbrain and cerebellum. Hepatic coma was associated with a general decrease of GAD activity, whereas GABA-T activity was diminished only in the hypothalamus, striatum and midbrain. During hepatic coma, the K⁺-stimulated [³H]GABA release was notably diminished in the striatum and cerebellum, whereas a significant increase was observed in the hippocampus. [³H]GABA uptake increased in most regions after CCl₄ treatment, independently of the presence of coma. The results indicate that GABAergic transmission seems to be decreased in most cerebral regions during hepatic coma.     

Analysing partitioning of recently fixed and of reserve carbon in reproductive Phaseolus vulgaris L. plants

Abstract. Partitioning of recently-fixed carbon among plant organs and subsequent distribution of reserve carbon were studied by supplying whole shoots of bean plants ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) with ¹⁴C-labelled CO₂ of constant specific radioactivity throughout a photoperiod. The gain of tracer carbon in each part revealed net accumulation of recently-fixed carbon from direct fixation, import or both. Growth rate coefficients describing the present pattern of plant growth were calculated from ratios of tracer carbon to total carbon present in plant organs and were used to project future plant form. The period 10–20 d after the start of flowering was marked by a major increase in partitioning of recently-fixed carbon to reproductive growth. Growth rates for the plant and its parts during this period were projected on the basis of growth rate coefficients and were found to be similar to rates measured by gravimetric growth analysis. Changes in tracer carbon recovered in individual organs after chase periods of various lengths revealed net decreases for leaves and stems. About 9% of the carbon distributed to fruits came from reserves even in the absence of obvious stress. Respiratory loss during the chase period was determined from the progressive drop in recovery of the original tracer carbon. The methods are being applied to measure current net accumulation rates in studies of sink organ physiology, and to compare partitioning of recently-fixed and of stored carbon in several plant species under defined growth conditions.     

Effects of boundary layer conductance on substomatal pressures of carbon dioxide

Abstract. Gas exchange measurements were made on single leaves of three C₃ and one C₄ species at air speeds of 0.4 and 4.0 m s⁻¹ to determine if boundary layer conductance substantially affected the substomatal pressure of carbon dioxide. Boundary layer conductances to water vapour were 0.4 to 0.5 mol m⁻² s⁻¹ at the lower air speed, and 1.2 to 1.5 mol m⁻² s⁻¹ at the higher air speed. Substomatal carbon dioxide pressures were about 5 Pa lower at low boundary layer conductance in the C₃ species, and about 3 Pa lower in the C₄ species when measurements were made at high and moderate photosynthetic photon flux densities. No evidence of stomatal adjustment to altered boundary layer conductance was found. Photosynthetic rates at high photon flux densities were reduced by about 20% at the low air speed in the C₃ species. The commonly reported values of substomatal carbon dioxide pressure for C₃ and C₄ species were found to occur only when measurements were made at the higher air speed.     

Social organization and ecology of proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus) in mixed coastal forest in Sarawak

Data are presented from a 16-month study of proboscis monkeys in an area of mixed coastal forest in Sarawak. The population density, social organization, and feeding and ranging behavior are described in detail. Results are compared with those from other primates in an attempt to understand why females of certain species (including proboscis monkeys) transfer between social groups. The scarcity of available food and reasons for the limited habitat preferences of proboscis monkeys are also discussed.     

Growth and activities of enzymes of primary metabolism in batch cultures of Catharanthus roseus cell suspension under different pCO2 conditions

In vitro enzyme activities of glycolysis, pentose-phosphate pathway and dark CO₂ fixation were assayed in batch cultures of heterotrophic Catharanthus roseus cells under various gassing rates and partial pressures of carbon dioxide. Detrimental effects of low pCO₂ culture conditions on the growth characteristics could be linked to marked changes in levels of enzymes of primary metabolism during growth. The enzyme levels observed during the early stages of growth were found to be more stable when a constant pCO₂ (20 mbar) was maintained and enabled exponential growth to be reached more rapidly.The importance of carbon dioxide as a conditioning factor of the culture medium is discussed.     

Early-blocked sporulation mutations alter expression of enzymes under carbon control in Bacillus subtilis

Summary The physiological roles of the gene subset defined by early-blocked sporulation mutations (spo0) and their second-site suppressor alleles (rvtA11 and crsA47) remain cryptic for both vegetative and sporulating Bacillus subtilis cells. To test the hypothesis that spo0 gene products affect global regulation, we assayed the levels of carbon- and nitrogen-sensitive enzymes in wild-type and spo0 strains grown in a defined minimal medium containing various carbon and nitrogen sources. All the spo0 mutations (except spo0J) affected both histidase and arabinose isomerase levels in an unexpected way: levels of both carbon-sensitive enzymes were two- to six-fold higher in spo0 strains compared to wild type, when cells were grown on the derepressing carbon sources arabinose or maltose. There was no difference in enzyme levels with glucose-grown cells, nor was there a significant difference in levels of the carbonindependent enzymes glutamine synthetase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. This effect was not due to a slower growth rate for the spo0 mutants on the poor carbon and nitrogen sources used. The levels of carbon-sensitive enzymes were not simply correlated with sporulation ability in genetically suppressed spo0 mutants, but the rvtA and crsA suppressors each had such marked effects on wild-type growth and enzyme levels that these results were difficult to interpret. We conclude that directly or indirectly the spo0 mutations, although blocking the sporulation process, increase levels of carbon-sensitive enzymes, possibly at the level of gene expression.     

Phosphate sequestration by glycerol and its effects on photosynthetic carbon assimilation by leaves

Glycerol induced a limitation on photosynthetic carbon assimilation by phosphate when supplied to leaves of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.). This limitation by phosphate was evidenced by (i) reversibility of the inhibition of photosynthesis by glycerol by feeding orthophosphate (ii) a decrease in light-saturated rates of photosynthesis and saturation at a lower irradiance, (iii) the promotion of oscillations in photosynthetic CO₂ assimilation and in chlorophyll fluorescence, (iv) decreases in the pools of hexose monophosphates and triose phosphates and increases in the ratio of glycerate-3-phosphate to triose phosphate, (v) decreased photochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence, and increased non-photochemical quenching, specifically of the component which relaxed rapidly, indicating that thylakoid energisation had increased. In barley there was a massive accumulation of glycerol-3-phosphate and an increase in the period of the oscillations, but in spinach the accumulation of glycerol-3-phosphate was comparatively slight. The mechanism(s) by which glycerol feeding affects photosynthetic carbon assimilation are discussed in the light of these results.Abbreviations Chl chlorophyll - C _i intercellular concentration of CO₂ - P phosphate - PGA glycerate-3-phosphate - Pi orthophosphate - triose-P sum of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate