Urine selenium level in healthy adult population

The level of urine selenium in healthy adult population, 230 persons, was examined. Persons were selected regarding sex, ages, and smoking habits. No differences versus these observations have been found. For a total, group values are 16.96 Se nmol/creatinine mmol, SD=5.44. It is possible from a single-void specimen to express daily excretion of selenium.     

Presence and Analysis of Plasmids in Human and Animal Associated Arcobacter Species

In this study, we report the screening of four Arcobacter species for the presence of small and large plasmids. Plasmids were present in 9.9% of the 273 examined strains. One Arcobacter cryaerophilus and four Arcobacter butzleri plasmids were selected for further sequencing. The size of three small plasmids isolated from A. butzleri and the one from A. cryaerophilus strains ranged between 4.8 and 5.1 kb, and the size of the large plasmid, isolated from A. butzleri, was 27.4 kbp. The G+C content of all plasmids ranged between 25.4% and 26.2%. A total of 95% of the large plasmid sequence represents coding information, which contrasts to the 20 to 30% for the small plasmids. Some of the open reading frames showed a high homology to putative conserved domains found in other related organisms, such as replication, mobilization and genes involved in type IV secretion system. The large plasmid carried 35 coding sequences, including seven genes in a contiguous region of 11.6 kbp that encodes an orthologous type IV secretion system found in the Wolinella succinogenes genome, Helicobacter pylori and Campylobacter jejuni plasmids, which makes this plasmid interesting for further exploration.     

Dynamics of long-leaved sundew Drosera intermedia populations at two extremes of a hydrological gradient

Densities of Drosera intermedia were low in two studied habitats (10–25 ramets m⁻¹), a path through a wet heath (short inundation in spring, low soil moisture in summer) and a pool edge (longlasting inundation, high soil moisture in summer). The low densities could be explained by the observed low recruitment and high adult mortality.
The low recruitment resulted from: (1) a high first year mortality of the large number of seedlings that emerged each year in the path population, caused by summer drought and cover with algae after heavy rainfall; (2) the absence in two years out of three of seedling emergence at the pool edge, due to the longlasting inundation. In neither population any seedlings survived to flower; (3) low vegetative reproduction rate.
Adult mortality during the growing season was caused by drought, which did not occur at the pool edge. Rapid senescence in autumn, caused by summer drought on the path and by a rapid submersion after heavy rainfall at the pool edge, was associated with a high winter mortality.     

The temporal region and the supramastoid ridge in mesolithic skulls from Padina in the Iron Gate Gorge of the Danube

Studies of the morphological features of the temporal region of mesolithic skulls from Padina in the Iron Gate Gorge of the Danube revealed a very prominent and large supramastoid ridge which is the most striking feature in skulls of both sexes. Mastoid processes were larger in male skulls, but in 25% of the cases there was an overlap between the size of the processes in male and female specimens. The mastoid ridge was prominent in both sexes. The digastric fossa was always well defined in both sexes and in the two thirds of the skull specimens it was deep. The posterior root of the zygoma was prominent in all the skulls, but it was better developed in the male specimens. The parietotemporal suture in both sexes rises above the level of the pterion. There were no morphological or anthropometrical differences between the left and the right side of individual skulls outside the limits of natural asymmetry. All these morphological characteristics of the temporal region may help in racial and sexual diagnosis of the Mesolithic skulls from the Iron Gate Gorge.     

The reproductive behaviour of a clonal herbaceous plant, the longleaved sundew Drosera intermedia, in different heathland habitats

The reproductive behaviour of the longleaved sundew Drosera intermedia Hayne was studied in three hydrologically differing heathland habitats a pool edge, an old path through the wet heath and a seepage area
Sexual reproductive allocation (SRA) (the slope of the regression of sexual biomass on vegetative biomass m a given season) differed strongly between years (related to temperature and precipitation) and habitats Averaged over years, path plants had a higher SRA than plants in the seepage area and at the pool edge
Asexual reproductive allocation, expressed as the size-dependent probability of reproducing asexually, did not differ between habitats in most years
The observations agreed with general life history theory SRA was high in the path habitat where adult survival chances were low and juvenile (= seed, first year seedling) survival was high SRA was lower in the seepage area where adult survival chances were higher and juvenile survival lower At the pool edge, a habitat with high adult mortality and low juvenile establishment, the predicted optimal reproductive behaviour, a high SRA, was not observed due to environmental constraints (inundation)     

Sex differences in the response of rats to drugs affecting GABAergic transmission

The administration of diazepam 1.0 mg/kg decreased the level of plasma corticosterone in female but not in male Wistar rats. Picrotoxin, another drug affecting GABAergic transmission, also brought about an increase of plasma corticosterone in both sexes. However, in order to achieve a plasma corticosterone increase of similar magnitude (more than 500%) a threefold higher dose of picrotoxin had to be given to males. When the convulsive properties of picrotoxin were tested, it became evident that the dose of picrotoxin (2.5 mg/kg) which was subconvulsive in male was almost 100% convulsive in female rats. The existing sex differences in the response of rats to drugs affecting GABAergic transmission might have possible implications in the treatment of GABA system dysfunction.     

Formation of autophagosomes in the pinealocytes of the rat and Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus): A lysosome wrapping mechanism?

Summary Autophagosome formation in rat and gerbil pinealocytes is described. It starts with the setting up of a tubular acid phosphatase-rich cisterna which gradually wraps around cytoplasmic areas to be catabolized. In light of obtained findings, it seems that the autophagosome formation in pinealocytes is a type of lysosome wrapping mechanism.