Variations in problem conceptualizations and intended solutions among Hong Kong students

Cognitive schema were used to explain health and illness behaviors among Chinese students. University students in Hong Kong were asked to attribute causes and suggest solutions to five health/mental health problems: Weakness/Fatigue, Tension/ Anxiety, Sleep Difficulty, Hollow/Emptiness, and Headache. The patterns of endorsement on the causal and solution categories used for the five problems were compared using a new asymptotic chi-squared test. The response patterns were found to be significantly different across the five problems. Each problem was attributed to multiple causes including psychological, social, situational, somatic, and existential factors. The intended solutions were often related to the nature of the causal attributions especially when the problems were mild. In lay help-seeking, the Hong Kong students would attempt a variety of self-help measures. However, for professional consultation, the medical doctor would be the primary care professional the students would turn to for most of the problems except in the case of Hollow/Emptiness.     

Heterochromatin distribution and chiasma localization in the grasshopper Bryodema tuberculata (fabr.) (Acrididae)

The problem of extreme localisation of chiasmata in the grasshopper species Bryodema tuberculata has been reinvestigated, using C-banding, Q-banding and benzimidazol techniques. These techniques reveal the precise localisation of heterochromatin in different chromosomes. Single or double heterochromatic blocks are present near the centromeric regions, except in chromosomes 5 and 11, which have larger blocks. These two chromosomes possess a distal chiasma while the other autosomes have a proximal chiasma. The results with regard to the distribution of chiasmata, in relation to the localisation of heterochromatin, as well as the existence of a short arm, are compared with the earlier observations of White, and discussed briefly.     

Effects of amphipathic peptides,including presequences,on the functional integrity of rat liver mitochondrial membranes

A number of amphipathic peptides were tested for their effects on structural and functional properties of isolated rat liver mitochondria. The peptides included the matrix targeting sequence of subunit IV of (yeast) cytochromec oxidase. Titration experiments in which the mitochondria were incubated with increasing concentrations of the peptides revealed two major stages in the interaction. First, at low peptide/mitochondria ratios, peptide binding to the outer membrane occurred which was accompanied by gradual lysis of the outer membrane at higher ratios. The latter was deduced from the release of adenylate kinase, the classical marker enzyme of the intermembrane space. Secondly, at still higher peptide/mitochondria ratios, the permeability of the inner membrane progressively increased, as evidenced by measurements of respiratory control and of the membrane potential. Complete uncoupling of respiration seemed to precede dissipation of the membrane potential.     

Isozyme differentiation of aldolase and pyruvate kinase in fetal,regenerating, preneoplastic,and malignant rat hepatocytes during culture

Summary Aldolase and pyruvate kinase isozymes were investigated in cultured hepatocytes from fetal, regenerating, and 2-acetyl-aminofluorene-fed rat liver as well as in some epithelial liver cell lines. Our results show that: (a) cell proliferation and prolonged expression of specific isozymes were found only in cultured hepatocytes from 17-day old fetuses; (b) the fetal type of pyruvate kinase expressed in regenerating and carcinogen-treated liver was temporarily lost only in cultured hepatocytes from regenerating liver; (c) the adult type of aldolase and pyruvate kinase was absent in one epithelial cell line derived from a carcinogen-treated liver and in the hepatoma tissue cell (HTC) line but was found in the Faza clone of the Reuber H₃₅ cell line during the 50 first passages in vitro; and (d) the isozyme pattern of pyruvate kinase was always more strongly shifted than that of aldolase. The observations suggest that: (a) hepatocytes from carcinogen-treated liver exhibit the same lack of ability to proliferate in primary culture as normal adult hepatocytes; (b) adult hepatocytes can produce fetal isozymes without prior cell division; (c) pyruvate kinase is a stronger marker of dedifferentiation (retrodifferentiation) than aldolase; and (d) regulatory processes of isozyme expression are different during ontogenesis, regeneration, and hepatocarcinogenesis. This work was supported by the “Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale” and the “Fondation pour la Recherche Medicale Fran?aise”     

Peculiarities in PMC Meiosis of Pisum sativum

Summary Nemesia strumosa plants were discovered which had styles capable of discriminating among incompatible pollen tubes from different pollinators, allowing growth of some but not others. All but 3 of 26 families tested had at least some members with discriminating styles (DS). Presence and level of DS was independent of S genotype. Plants with pseudo-self-compatiblity (PSC) levels greater than 10% had the trait, though many plants with strong DS had PSC levels less than 10%. Self pollination of highly DS plants produced mostly DS offspring, but of differing sensitivities. Some progenies from crosses between a family of highly DS plants and unrelated, probably low DS plants segregated half DS and half non-DS, while others consisted of mostly DS or mostly non-DS. The DS phenomenon is probably caused by PSC genes.Scientific Journal Series Paper No. 11,677 of the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station     

The Best Timing of Mate Search in Armadillidium vulgare (Isopoda,Oniscidea)

Mate choice is mediated by many components with the criteria varying across the animal kingdom. Chemical cues used for mate attractiveness can also reflect mate quality. Regarding the gregarious species Armadillidium vulgare (isopod crustacean), we tested whether individuals can discriminate conspecifics at two different levels (between sex and physiological status) based on olfactory perception. Tested conspecifics were individuals of the same or opposite sex, with the females at different moult stages. We found that the attractiveness of individuals was mediated by short-distance chemical cues and tested individuals were able to discriminate and prefer individuals of the opposite sex. Moreover, male preference to female increased during their moulting status as they matured. Males were particularly more attracted by females with appearing white calcium plates, which corresponds to the beginning of their higher receptivity period. These differences in attractiveness due to sex and physiological status are likely to shape the composition of aggregates and facilitate mate finding and optimize the reproductive success for both males and females. Thus aggregation pheromones could be linked to sex pheromones in terrestrial isopods.     

Congruent population genetic structures and divergence histories in anther‐smut fungi and their host plants Silene italica and the Silene nutans species complex

Study of the congruence of population genetic structure between hosts and pathogens gives important insights into their shared phylogeographical and coevolutionary histories. We studied the population genetic structure of castrating anther‐smut fungi (genus Microbotryum) and of their host plants, the Silene nutans species complex, and the morphologically and genetically closely related Silene italica, which can be found in sympatry. Phylogeographical population genetic structure related to persistence in separate glacial refugia has been recently revealed in the S. nutans plant species complex across Western Europe, identifying several distinct lineages. We genotyped 171 associated plant–pathogen pairs of anther‐smut fungi and their host plant individuals using microsatellite markers and plant chloroplastic single nucleotide polymorphisms. We found clear differentiation between fungal populations parasitizing S. nutans and S. italica plants. The population genetic structure of fungal strains parasitizing the S. nutans plant species complex mirrored the host plant genetic structure, suggesting that the pathogen was isolated in glacial refugia together with its host and/or that it has specialized on the plant genetic lineages. Using random forest approximate Bayesian computation (ABC‐RF), we found that the divergence history of the fungal lineages on S. nutans was congruent with that previously inferred for the host plant and probably occurred with ancient but no recent gene flow. Genome sequences confirmed the genetic structure and the absence of recent gene flow between fungal genetic lineages. Our analyses of individual host–pathogen pairs contribute to a better understanding of co‐evolutionary histories between hosts and pathogens in natural ecosystems, in which such studies remain scarce.