Morphology,physics, chemistry and biology of Lake Rara in West Nepal

A survey of oligotrophic Lake Rara, the biggest lake in Nepal, was carried out from 1982 till 1984. Mean depth is 100 m, and maximum depth is 167 m. The surface area covers 9.8 km², and the lake contains 0.98 km³ volume of water. Transparency was about 16 m, photoquantum yield decreased exponentially with depth below 5 m, and the extinction coefficient was 8.3 × 10⁻². The concentration of Chl.-a was in the range of 0.06–0.46 mg m⁻³, and total nitrogen was 18–30 μg 1⁻¹. The whole water column was well oxygenated. Primary productivity was extremely low. It has more than 30 inflowing brooks and one outlet. The water quality of the brooks changes drastically with their location. The pH, electrical conductivity, and EDTA hardness in the waters from a landslide area were high. In the waters from a rich pine forest they were extremely low. The zooplankton consisted of two species of protozoa, five species of rotifers, two species of Cladocera, and two species of Copepoda. The zooplankton density range was 6200–16200 individuals m⁻³. The minimum was on November 11th, 1983 and the maximum on August 19th, 1983.     

Hydrobiology and organic production in a marl lake of Kashmir Himalayan Valley

L. Naranbagh (alt. 1587 m) is a polymictic, shallow marl lake in the flood-plain valley of Kashmir, India. Macrofloral affinities resemble Potamogeton Type of Forsberg (1965) with alkaline waters, not rich in phosphorus. CaCO₃ precipitation coupled with decline in Ca²⁺ and alkalinity values are characteristic of the lake. Fluctuations in Mg²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, and Cl^– were relatively conservative. The levels of PO _inf4 ^sup3– -P and NO _inf3 ^sup– -N indicate moderate fertility of the lake water.Persistence of a summer-autumn planktonic algal pulse is related to favourable irradiance, high water temperatures, and increased photosynthetic efficiency values. The most striking seasonality in photosynthetic rates (m^–2 h^–1) between winter minimum (3 mg C_assim) and summer maximum (75.4 mg C_assim) is determined by mainly climatic changes. Energy flow gave annual phytoplankton production of 51.95 × 10² KJ m^–2 for the ecosystem.The nutrient levels and productivity rates suggest mesotrophic status of L. Naranbagh in classic oligoeutrophic classification of lake types.     

Osmotic properties of human red cells

Summary When an osmotic pressure gradient is applied to human red cells, the volume changes anomalously, as if there were a significant fraction of nonosmotic water which could not serve as solvent for the cell solutes, a finding which has been discussed widely in the literature. In 1968, Gary-Bobo and Solomon (J. Gen. Physiol. 52:825) concluded that the anomalies could not be entirely explained by the colligative properties of hemoglobin (Hb) and proposed that there was an additional concentration dependence of the Hb charge (z_Hb). A number of investigators, particularly Freedman and Hoffman (1979,J. Gen. Physiol. 74:157) have been unable to confirm Gary-Bobo and Solomon's experimental evidence for this concentration dependence of z_Hb and we now report that we are also unable to repeat the earlier experiments. Nonetheless, there still remains a significant anomaly which amounts to 12.5±0.8% of the total isosmotic cell water (P0.0005,t test), even after taking account of the concentration dependence of the Hb osmotic coefficient and all the other known physical chemical constraints, ideal and nonideal. It is suggested that the anomalies at high Hb concentration in shrunken cells may arise from the ionic strength dependence of the Hb osmotic coefficient. In swollen red cells at low ionic strength, solute binding to membrane and intracellular proteins is increased and it is suggested that this factor may account, in part, for the anomalous behavior of these cells.     

Separate,Ca2+-activated K+ and Cl− transport pathways in Ehrlich ascites tumor cells

Summary The net loss of KCl observed in Ehrlich ascites cells during regulatory volume decrease (RVD) following hypotonic exposure involves activation of separate conductive K⁺ and Cl^– transport pathways. RVD is accelerated when a parallel K⁺ transport pathway is provided by addition of gramicidin, indicating that the K⁺ conductance is rate limiting. Addition of ionophore A23187 plus Ca²⁺ also activates separate K⁺ and Cl^– transport pathways, resulting in a hyperpolarization of the cell membrane. A calculation shows that the K⁺ and Cl^– conductance is increased 14-and 10-fold, respectively. Gramicidin fails to accelerate the A23187-induced cell shrinkage, indicating that the Cl^– conductance is rate limiting. An A23187-induced activation of⁴²K and³⁶Cl tracer fluxes is directly demonstrated. RVD and the A23187-induced cell shrinkage both are: (i) inhibited by quinine which blocks the Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ channel. (ii) unaffected by substitution of NO ₃ ^– or SCN^– for Cl^–, and (iii) inhibited by the anti-calmodulin drug pimozide. When the K⁺ channel is blocked by quinine but bypassed by addition of gramicidin, the rate of cell shrinkage can be used to monitor the Cl^– conductance. The Cl^– conductance is increased about 60-fold during RVD. The volume-induced activation of the Cl^– transport pathway is transient, with inactivation within about 10 min. The activation induced by ionophore A23187 in Ca²⁺-free media (probably by release of Ca²⁺ from internal stores) is also transient, whereas the activation is persistent in Ca²⁺-containing media. In the latter case, addition of excess EGTA is followed by inactivation of the Cl^– transport pathway. These findings suggest that a transient increase in free cytosolic Ca²⁺ may account for the transient activation of the Cl^– transport pathway. The activated anion transport pathway is unselective, carrying both Cl^–, Br^–, NO ₃ ^– , and SCN^–. The anti-calmodulin drug pimozide blocks the volume- or A23187-induced Cl^– transport pathway and also blocks the activation of the K⁺ transport pathway. This is demonstrated directly by⁴²K flux experiments and indirectly in media where the dominating anion (SCN^–) has a high ground permeability. A comparison of the A23187-induced K⁺ conductance estimated from⁴²K flux measurements at high external K⁺, and from net K^– flux measurements suggests single-file behavior of the Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ channel. The number of Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ channels is estimated at about 100 per cell.     

Osmotic water permeabilities of brush border and basolateral membrane vesicles from rat renal cortex and small intestine

Summary The osmotic water permeabilityP _f of brush border (BBM) and basolateral (BLM) membrane vesicles from rat small intestine and renal cortex was studied by means of stopped-flow spectrophotometry. Scattered light intensity was used to follow vesicular volume changes upon osmotic perturbation with hypertonic mannitol solutions. A theoretical analysis of the relationship of scattered light intensity and vesicular volume justified a simple exponential approximation of the change in scattered light intensity. The rate constants extracted from fits to an exponential function were proportional to the final medium osmolarity as predicted by theory. For intestinal membranes, computer analysis of optical responses fitted well with a single-exponential treatment. For renal membranes a double-exponential treatment was needed, implying two distinct vesicle populations.P _f values for BBM and BLM preparations of small intestine were equal and amount to 60 m/sec. For renal preparations,P _f values amount to 600 m/sec for the fast component, BBM as well as BLM, and to 50 (BBM) and 99 (BLM) m/sec for the slow component. The apparent activation energy for water permeation in intestinal membranes was 13.3±0.6 and in renal membranes, 1.0±0.3 kCal/mole, between 25 and 35°C. The mercurial sulfhydryl reagentpCMBS inhibited completely and reversibly the highP _f value in renal brush border preparations. These observations suggest that in intestinal membranes water moves through the lipid matrix but that in renal plasma membranes water channels may be involved. From the highP _f values of renal membrane vesicles a transcellular water permeability for proximal tubules can be calculated which amounts to 1 cm/sec. This value allows for an entirely transcellular route for water flow during volume reabsorption.     

夏季高温对水牛瘤胃代谢的影响

利用南京地区夏季炎热的自然条件,连续两年在高温季节(7—8月)进行实验。第一年(系列Ⅰ)的实验动物为四头装置瘤胃瘘管的空怀母水牛,研究高温初期(27.5～33.4℃)和持续高温期(28.0～35℃)对水牛瘤胃消化代谢的影响。第二年实验(系列Ⅱ)利用三头装置瘤胃瘘管的海仔母水牛重复高温(26～35.3℃)实验。 夏季高温期间,实验水牛的呼吸率、瘤胃温度和直肠温度升高,采食量减少,饮水量增加,瘤胃液流速减缓。高温初期出现瘤胃代谢升高[总挥发性脂肪酸(TVFA)和氨氮(NH_3-N)浓度及乙酸/丙酸(A/P)比率升高]。但在持续高温情况下,水牛的采食和瘤胃代谢均明显抑制。采取瘤胃内降温措施(投入冰袋)或冷水淋浴,均能迅速降低呼吸率、直肠和瘤胃温度,恢复采食和反刍,并缓解瘤胃代谢的抑制。提示动物机体参与调节瘤胃代谢的变化,并为改善水牛夏季的饲养管理提供生理学依据。     

An examination of the method of sizing the spermatozoa of the domestic fowl and duck with an electronic counter

Although many estimations have been made electronically of mammalian sperm volume, detailed investigations have not been reported for avian spermatozoa with an electronic counter. In the present study, sizing of spermatozoa of fowls and Muscovy and Pekin drakes was examined using a Coulter counter (model ZB). In our preliminary work on fowl sperm volumes, we found mono- or di-morphic distribution displays that were modified depending on the combination of amplification (AMP) and aperture current (APC). Therefore, methodology to estimate the fowl and drake sperm volume was examined. Dilution of semen had no effect on the dimorphic distribution pattern of the sperm volume. Density-gradient centrifugation did not separate two kind of particles in the semen in either continuous or discontinuous Percoll gradients; therefore, we varied settings of AMP and APC, and found that the most suitable settings for measuring sperm volumes of these birds are 1 for AMP and 8 for APC. With these settings, mean volumes of spermatozoa were 5.1 μm³ for fowls, 5.7 μm³ for Muscovy drakes, and 5.6 μm³ for Pekin drakes.