Dominance, competition, and energetic reserves in the European starling, Sturnus vulgaris

We investigated the relationships between social dominance,competition for food, and strategies of body mass and fat regulationin the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris). In birds housedin groups of three, subdominant birds stored more fat than dominants.A removal experiment established a causal link between socialdominance and fat reserves; in groups that had the dominantindividual removed, the remaining birds reduced body mass andfat, relative to control groups that had the subordinate removed.In a second experiment, we investigated the influences of degreeof competition for food and dominance on body mass and fat reserves.Birds under high competition increased fat reserves and tendedto have higher body mass than birds under low competition. Theincrease in fat reserves was higher in the subdominants thanin the dominants. These results are consistent with hypothesesconcerning dominance-dependent access to food; subdominant birds,or birds under increased competition, may store more fat asan insurance against periods when food cannot be obtained. However,relations between dominance, body mass, and fat reserves mayalso arise through other proximate factors relating to dominance-dependentcosts and benefits of fat storage, such as predation risk andenergetic expenditure.     

Litter fall and decomposition in a Pinus halepensis forest on Mallorca

Abstract. Litter fall and decomposition in a Pinus halepensis forest was studied in order to help understand nutrient cycles in this ecosystem, threatened as it is by fire and tourism. The study was done over two years in an experimental forest stand at Cap des Pinar on Mallorca, Spain. The woodland area has not been disturbed for about 40 yr. Total litter fall amounted to 3.44 ton ha^-1 yr^-1 and 2.52 ton ha^-1 yr^-1 in the first and second year, and leaf fall to 2.00 ton ha^-1 yr^-1 and 1.93 ton ha^-1 yr^-1 respectively with a maximum in July. As to litter fall, there was a summer maximum for brown needles and kernels, a spring maximum for inflorescences and bud scales, and an autumn maximum for bark. Erratic maxima occurred for fall of green needles, cones and branches, linked to strong winds in winter. The total amount of litter mass on the forest soil reached 12.68 ton/ha: 5.75 ton/ha in the L organic horizon, 3.46 ton/ha needles, and 6.93 ton/ha in the F organic horizon. Weight loss from annual decomposition, measured using litter bags, was 18.1 % in year 1 and 26.8% in year 2. Over 365 days, an Olson (1963) decomposition rate of 0.045 %/day was found in year 1 and of 0.084 %/day for year 2. Decomposition half-time was 1529 for year 1 and 827 days for year 2.     

Application of the multiple antigenic peptides (MAP) strategy to the production of prophormone convertases antibodies: Synthesis,characterization and use of 8-branched immunogenic peptides

Antiserum against an N-terminal sequence of murine prohormone convertase-1 (mPC1) incorporating the sequence immediatley following the junction between the putative pro-region and the active enzyme was obtained. This was accomplished using the multiple antigenic peptide (MAP) approach whereupon an 8-branched polylysine core to which are grafted multiple copies of a 16 amino acid peptide representing the N-terminal sequence of mPC1 (positions 84–99) was synthesized by solid-phase Fmoc chemistry. The ensuing peptide was purified and fully characterized by RP-HPLC, ¹H-NMR, amino acid composition, peptide sequencing and ion-spray mass spectrometry. The immunological properties of the resulting antibodies in detecting recombinant PC1 in both crude and purified preparations were compared with antibodies raised against a similar N-terminal segment of PC1 but using the conventioanl method of peptide–carrier protein conjugation and also developed against a C-terminal fusion protein of PC1. Our data indicate that the MAP antibody was as efficient as both the amino and carboxy-terminal antibodies in qualitative as well as quantitative analysis of PC1 encoded protein by radioimmunoassay. Following an identical approach, antibodies against other prohormone convertases like furin, PC5/6 and PACE4 were also developed and subsequently applied to a number of biochemical and immunological studies. In each case, the ease of preparation and high immunogenicity of the MAP approach were confirmed and reside in the simplicity and rapidity with which a potent and useful antiserum is obtained.     

Nuclear matrix involvement in sperm head structural organization

Summary— In the sperm nuclei the DNA is packaged into a highly condensed form and is not organized into nucleosome and solenoid but is bound and stabilized mainly by the protamines that arrange the DNA in an almost crystalline state. As demonstrated for somatic cells, the sperm DNA has been reported to be organized in loop domains attached to the nuclear matrix structures. However, the possible role of the sperm head matrix in maintaining the loop organization in absence of a typical nucleosomal structures has not been fully elucidated. By using in situ nick translation at confocal and electron microscope level, we analyzed the organization of the DNAprotamine complex and its association with the sperm nuclear matrix. The data obtained indicate that the chromatin organization in sperm nuclei is maintained during the sperm condensation by means of interactions with the nuclear matrix at fixed sites. The fine stucture of sperm nucleus and of sperm nuclear matrix, investigated on sections and replicas of freeze-fractured specimens, suggests that the lamellar array, observed by freeze-fracturing in the sperm nuclei, could depend on the inner matrix which presents a regular organization of globular structures possibly involved in the maintenance of chromatin domains in highly condensed sperm nuclei also.     

Incorporation of two18O atoms into a peptide during isoaspartyl repair reveals repeated passage through a succinimide intermediate

To study the mechanism of protein carboxyl methyltransferase-driven repair of age-damaged sites in polypeptides, a modell-isoaspartyl peptide,l-isotetragastrin, was enzymatically repaired to normall-tetragastrin in the presence of¹⁸O-enriched water. By this design, the enrichment of¹⁸O atoms in the peptide would reflect the number of passages through a hydrolyzable succinimide intermediate during formation of the repaired product. Mass determinations by FAB mass spectrometry revealed repaired peptide with two¹⁸O atoms incorporated, demonstrating that more than a single cycle of methylation and demethylation is necessary to ensure stoichiometric repair.Abbreviations HPLC high-pressure liquid chromatography - FAB fast atom bombardment - TFA trifluoroacetic acid - PCM proteind-aspartyl/L-isoaspartyl carboxyl methyltransfer-ase - l-Normal [l-Asp³]tetragastrin - l-Iso [L-isoAsp³]tetragastrin - d-Normal [d-Asp³]tetragastrin - d-Iso [d-isoAsp³]tetragastrin     

Effects of 12 weeks of aerobic exercise plus dietary restriction on body composition, resting energy expenditure and aerobic fitness in mildly obese middle-aged women

This study investigated the effects of 12 weeks of aerobic exercise plus voluntary food restriction on the body composition, resting metabolic rate (RMR) and aerobic fitness of mildly obese middle-aged women. The subjects were randomly assigned to exercise/diet (n = 17) or control (n = 15) groups. The exercise/diet group participated in an aerobic training programme, 45–60 min · day ^–1 at 50%–60% of maximal oxygen uptake (VO_2max), 3–4 days · week^–1, and also adopted a self-regulated energy deficit relative to predicted energy requirements (–1.05 MJ · day ^–1 to –1.14 MJ · day ^–1 ). After the regimen had been followed for 12 weeks, the body mass of the subjects had decreased by an average of 4.5 kg, due mainly to fat loss, with little change of fat free mass (m _ff). The absolute RMR did not change, but the experimental group showed significant increases in the RMR per unit of body mass (10%) and the RMR per unit of m _ff (4%). The increase in RMR/m _ff was not correlated with any increase in VO_2max/m _ff. The resting heat production per unit of essential body mass increased by an average of 21%, but the resting heat production rate per unit of fat tissue mass remained unchanged. We concluded that aerobic exercise enhances the effect of moderate dietary restriction by augmenting the metabolic activity of lean tissue.     

QUANTITATIVE GENETICS OF SEQUENTIAL LIFE-HISTORY AND JUVENILE TRAITS IN THE PARTIALLY SELFING PERENNIAL,AQUILEGIA CAERULEA

We determined the genetic basis of several traits related to overall fitness of Aquilegia caerulea, a perennial herb of the Rocky Mountains in western North America. To obtain measures of heritability relevant to the evolutionary potential of wild populations, we performed full and partial diallel crosses and studied progeny performance in the field. Based on a joint analysis of two designs with a total of 18 parents and 102 crosses, we detected significant maternal variance for seed mass and emergence time, but this component was negligible for later-expressed traits. Low heritability and evidence that maternal effects on seed mass are largely environmental suggest that in this population there is little evolutionary potential for change in seed mass under conditions experienced during the study. Seed mass varied depending on particular combinations of parents and cross direction. Such an interaction can have several different biological interpretations, including that particular maternal parents selectively provision embryos sired by particular pollen genotypes. Width of the first true leaf after 4 wk of growth and leaf size of juvenile plants at years one and two were significantly heritable and positively genetically correlated. Juvenile survival exhibited significant dominance variance, as expected from evidence of inbreeding depression in this trait. In contrast, for other traits that exhibit inbreeding depression in this population (seed mass and third-year leaf size), dominance variance was negligible.     

Metabolic activation of unsaturated derivatives of valproic acid. Identification of novel glutathione adducts formed through coenzyme A-dependent and -independent processes

The ability of 2-n-propyl-4-pentenoic acid (Δ⁴-VPA) and 2-n-propyl-2(E)-pentenoic acid ([E]-Δ²-VPA), two unsaturated metabolites of valproic acid (VPA), to form reactive intermediates, deplete hepatic glutathione (GSH) and cause accumulation of liver triglycerides was investigated in the rat. With the aid of ionspray liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), three GSH adducts were detected in the bile of Δ⁴-VPA-treated animals and were identified as 4-hydroxy-5-glutathion-S-yl-VPA-γ-lactone, 5-glutathion-S-yl-(E)-Δ³-VPA and 3-oxo-5-glutathion-S-yl-VPA. A fourth conjugate was identified tentatively as 4-glutathion-S-yl-5-hydroxy-VPA. Quantitative analysis of the corresponding N-acetylcysteine (NAC) conjugates in urine indicated that metabolism of Δ⁴-VPA via the GSH-dependent pathways accounted for approximately 20% of an acute dose (100 mg kg⁻¹ i.p.). In contrast, when rats were given an equivalent dose of (E)-Δ²-VPA, only one GSH adduct (5-glutathion-S-yl-(E)-Δ³-VPA) was detected at low concentrations in bile. In vitro experiments with rat liver mitochondria demonstrated that Δ⁴-VPA undergoes coenzyme A- and ATP-dependent metabolic activation in this organelle via the β-oxidation pathway to intermediates which bind covalently to proteins. When liver homogenates and hepatic mitochondria from rats injected with Δ⁴-VPA, (E)-Δ²-VPA or VPA were analyzed for GSH content, it was found that only Δ⁴-VPA depleted GSH pools significantly. Treatment of rats with Δ⁴-VPA and (to a lesser extent) VPA led to an accumulation of liver triglycerides, whereas (E)-Δ²-VPA had no measurable effect. It is concluded that Δ⁴-VPA undergoes metabolic activation by both microsomal cytochrome P-450-dependent and mitochondrial coenzyme A-dependent processes, and that the resulting electrophilic intermediates, which are trapped in part by GSH, may mediate the hepatotoxic effects of this compound. In contrast, (E)-Δ²-VPA is not transformed to any appreciable extent to reactive metabolites, which thus accounts for the apparent lack of hepatotoxicity of this positional isomer in the rat.     

Measurement of k(L)a by dynamic pressure method in pilot-plant fermentor

The dynamic pressure method (DPM) is used for measurement of k(L)a in a 1-m(3) pilot scale fermentor in coalescing (distilled water) and noncoalescing (0.3 M Na(2)SO(4) aqueous solution) batches. The method consists in recording oxygen concentration in a batch after a small pressure change (20 kPa) in the fermentor. The upward pressure change is brought about by temporary closing and subsequent throttling of outlet gas stream and the downward change by full reopening of the gas outlet. Absorption of pure oxygen yields the same k(L)a values as absorption of air. In noncoalescing batch, the downward k(L)a values are always higher than the upward values owing to spontaneous nucleation of bubbles. The experiments performed in a stirred cell confirm this behavior. Thus, only upward pressure change should be used for measurement. The correlation of k(L)a data measured in small (18-L) and large (1000-L) vessels based on power dissipated and superficial gas velocity are in a good agreement. Unlike the DPM, the classical dynamic methods yield, under the same conditions, excessively low values of k(L)a (the dynamic startup method) or fail to produce data at all (the dynamic method with interchange of air for N(2)). (c) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Rapid screening for metabolite overproduction in fermentor broths, using pyrolysis mass spectrometry with multivariate calibration and artificial neural networks

Binary mixtures of model systems consisting of the antibiotic ampicillin with either Escherichia coli or Staphylococcus auresu were subjected to pyrolysis mass spectrometry (PyMS). To deconvolute the pyrolysis mass spectra, so as to obtain quantitative information on the concentration of ampicilin in the mixtures, partial least squares regression (PLS), principal components regression (PCR), and fully interconnected feedforward artificial neural networks (ANNs) were studied. In the latter case, the weights were modified using the standard backpropagation algorithm, and the nodes used a sigmoidal squsahing funciton. It was found that each of the methods could be used to provide calibration models which gave excellent predictions for the concentrations of ampicillin in samples on which they had not been trained. Furthermore, ANNs trained to predict the amount of ampicilin in E. coli were able to generalise so as to predict the concentration of ampicillin in a S. aureus background, illustrating the robustness of ANNs to rather substantial variations in the biological background. The PyMS of the complex mixture of ampicilin in bacteria could not be expressed simply in terms of additive combinations of the spectra describing the pure components of the mixtures and their relative concentrations. Intermolecular reactions took place in the pyrolysate, leading to a lack of superposition of the spectral components and to a dependence of the normalized mass spectrum on sample size. Samples from fermentations of a single organism in a complex production medium were also analyzed quantitatively for a drug of commercial interest. The drug could also be quantified in a variety of mutant-producing strains cultivated in the same medium. The combination of PyMS and ANNs constitutes a novel, rapid, and convenient method for exploitation in strain improvement screening programs. (c) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.