Water Balance in Cucumis Plants, Measured by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, I

In this paper we demonstrate the study of plant water balanceby the non-invasive measurement of tissue water content andwater flow using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Sapvelocity and flux were measured independently in the presenceof an excess of stationary tissue water. The instrumentationdescribed allows automated and unattended measurement of flow-and water content-variables in a well-defined region of theplant over periods of several days, with a time resolution betweensuccessive measurements of c. 5 s. Using this apparatus theeffect of changes in light intensity (day/night rhythm) andrelative humidity on stem tissue water content as well as onthe velocity and flux of xylem sap in the stem were investigatedin a cucumber plant. The results are in agreement with predictionsfrom a simple model for plant water balance, which is basedon water potential, flow rate and resistance to flow. As longas only transpiration is varied, flow rate and water content(or potential) are affected in opposite ways as demonstratedin this paper. In contrast, the model predicts that changesin uptake (resulting from changes in, for example, root resistance)will induce changes in water content and flow in the same direction.An experimental verification of this prediction is given ina subsequent paper, where, in addition, the NMR results arecompared to those obtained with a dendrometer. Key words: Water balance model, Cucumis sativus L., flow, water content, NMR, water balance measurement     

Fate of sperm tail components after incorporation into the hamster egg

The changes in the cytoplasmic organelles of sperm tail in golden hamster eggs fertilized in vivo were observed by electron microscopy. Eggs were obtained from oviducts of hamsters that had been superovulated and inseminated by injection of cauda epididymal spermatozoa into the uteri. In the egg cytoplasm 10 hours after insemination, some of the mitochondria of the spermatozoon midpiece had begun to swell, and a number of multivesicular bodies were observed surrounding the midpiece. The fibrous sheath of the principal piece quickly disappeared prior to the first cleavage, whereas the axoneme and outer dense fibers were unaltered. During the two-cell stage, numerous multivesicular bodies gathered around the midpiece and fused with the mitochondria. The heterophagic vacuoles thus formed then gradually separated from the axial fibers. The outer dense fibers were disarranged and partially torn into small segments; then they seemed to dissociate into substructural granular components. The axonemal microtubules had begun to swell but were still present in the two blastomeres. It is indicated from these observations that at least the mitochondria of the tail constituents carried into the oocyte are digested into small molecular elements by the multivesicular bodies and are possibly distributed as nutrients for the blastomeres during the early stage of development.     

Purification and characterization of a calcium-activated neutral protease from monkey brain and its action on neuropeptides

A calcium-activated neutral protease was purified from Japanese monkey brain by ammonium sulfate fractionation and sequential column chromatographies monitored by assay of caseinolytic activity. The purified enzyme gave a single protein band on non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and consisted of two subunits with molecular weights of 74,000 and 20,000 as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme required millimolar order calcium ions for activation, and was optimally active at pH 7.5-8.0. Upon incubation with various neuropeptides as substrates, the enzyme preferentially cleaved the peptide bonds with Arg, Lys, or Tyr at the P1 position and an amino acid residue with a bulky aliphatic side chain, such as Leu, Val, or Ile, at the P2 position. The hydrolytic activity toward neuropeptides as well as casein was strongly inhibited by various thiol protease inhibitors. These results suggested that the brain calcium-activated neutral protease may participate in the degradation of neuropeptides in vivo.     

Inherited deficiency of the seventh component of complement associated with meningococcal meningitis: lack of serum bactericidal activity against Neisseria meningitidis in a girl with C7 deficiency and HLA studies of a C7-deficient Japanese family

An 8-year-old girl with meningococcal meningitis lacked serum complement activity. The seventh component of complement (C7) could not be detected in her serum by either functional or immunochemical analysis. The levels of the other components were within the normal range. Her serum complement activity was restored by the addition of purified C7. Her fresh serum showed a total absence of bactericidal activity against Neisseria meningitidis, group Y, but her serum bactericidal activity was restored by the addition of purified C7. The restoration of her serum bactericidal activity was completely inhibited in the presence of Mg2+ EGTA. These findings suggest that restoration of the bactericidal activity of her serum against N. meningitidis might be mediated by the specific antibody against N. meningitidis and the reconstituted complement system in her serum. Heterozygous deficiency of C7 was found in 10 of her family members. Genetic studies showed that the mode of inheritance might be an autosomal codominant trait. No genetic linkage between deficiency of C7 and the HLA system was found.     

TASTE GROUP THRESHOLDS AND SENSORY EVALUATION OF SPANISH WINE VINEGARS

Wine vinegar is a product obtained from wine acidification which contains at least 5% by wt. of acetic acid, in general without any additives or colorings.
Aspects studied in this work include: the determination of the taste group thresholds (geometric mean of the individual best-estimate thresholds "BET") of two different acids (citric and acetic acids) in aqueous solution and spanish vinegars produced from table and sherry wines. The results obtained suggest that wine vinegar can be considered something more than just an acidulant agent.
In order to evaluate differences among wine vinegars, discriminant tests for twenty-five spanish vinegars (sherry, table and flavored vinegars) were applied. Six of the twelve attributes freely chosen by assessors allowed grouping of the spanish wine vinegars according to their sensory aspects.     

Arginine deprivation in KB cells: I. Effect on cell cycle progress

When exponentially growing KB cells were deprived of arginine, cell multiplication ceased after 12 h but viability was maintained throughout the experimental period (42-48 h). Although tritiated thymidine ([(3)H]TdR) incorporation into acid-insoluble material declined to 5 percent of the initial rate, the fraction of cells engaged in DNA synthesis, determined by autoradiography, remained constant throughout the starvation period and approximately equal to the synthesizing fraction in exponentially growing controls (40 percent). Continous [(3)H]TdR-labeling indicated that 80 percent of the arginine-starved cells incorporated (3)H at some time during a 48-h deprivation period. Thus, some cells ceased DNA synthesis, whereas some initially nonsynthesizing cells initiated DNA synthesis during starvation. Flow microfluorometric profiles of distribution of cellular DNA contents at the end of the starvation period indicated that essentially no cells had a 4c or G2 complement. If arginine was restored after 30 h of starvation, cultures resumed active, largely asynchronous division after a 16-h lag. Autoradiographs of metaphase figures from cultures continuously labeled with [(3)H]TdR after restoration indicated that all cells in the culture underwent DNA synthesis before dividing. It was concluded that the majority of cells in arginine-starved cultures are arrested in neither a normal G1 nor G2. It is proposed that for an exponential culture, i.e. from most positions in the cell cycle, inhibition of cell growth after arginine with withdrawal centers on the ability of cells to complete replication of their DNA.     

Synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotides showing abnormal mobilities on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

We found that synthetic DNA fragments containing a GCGAAAGC sequence showed higher mobilities than oligonucleotides without the sequence on denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. For example, the fragment, GCGAAAGCT (9mer), showed higher mobility than the corresponding 8mer (CGAAAGCT). In addition, on Maxam-Gilbert sequencing, a 21mer containing the GCGAAAGC sequence showed an abnormal pattern, which were similar to those due to compression observed on sequencing of DNAs with high GC contents, as recently reported. It was suggested that this compression was due to the increased mobilities of the specific fragments with the GCGAAAGC sequence and that these fragments took on abnormal conformations.