Age estimation in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) based on mandibular dimensions

A new technique has been developed for estimating age in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) that is based on mandibular measurements and has several advantages over presently available techniques. First, the new technique is relatively quick and inexpensive because a single measurement or radiograph suffices to produce an age estimate. Second, mandibular growth represents a more continuous phenomenon than either epiphyseal union or dental eruption; therefore, age estimates may be made throughout the period of growth without significant gaps in the process. Finally, the new technique may be used on incomplete or even fragmentary skeletal material because it requires that only a portion of the mandible be preserved. The new technique produces age estimates with a prediction error of ±5.08 months in males and ±7.29 months in females. These errors are only slightly higher than those found previously for dental eruption or epiphyseal union data.     

Sampling for Explosives-Residues at Fort Greely,Alaska

Fort Greely, Alaska has an extensive complex of weapon training and testing areas located on lands withdrawn from the public domain under the Military Lands Withdrawal Act (PL106-65). The Army has pledged to implement a program to identify possible munitions contamination. Because of the large size (344,165,000 m²) of the high hazard impact areas, characterization of these constituents will be difficult. We used an authoritative sampling design to find locations most likely to contain explosives-residues on three impact areas. We focused our sampling on surface soils and collected multi-increment and discrete samples at locations of known firing events and from areas on the range that had craters, pieces of munitions, targets, or a designation as a firing point. In the two impact areas used primarily by the Army, RDX was the most frequently detected explosive. In the impact area that was also used by the Air Force, TNT was the most frequently detected explosive. Where detected, the explosives concentrations generally were low (<0.05 mg/kg) except in soils near low-order detonations, where the explosive-filler was in contact with the soil surface. These low-order detonations potentially can serve as localized sources for groundwater contamination if positioned in recharge areas.     

Two centuries of growth among Czech children and youth

The trend of increasing height can be interpreted as a reflection of the unfolding progress of civilization. Height changes among children and adolescents are good markers of this trend. We analyze the secular trend in the heights of children and adolescents in the Czech Republic on the basis of data from anthropological surveys. The earliest height data pertain to Czech youths who attended the Military Schools in Austria in 1800-1809. Data also exist for 1895 and continue in 1951 and at 10-year intervals thereafter. Growth curves were obtained for separate age groups by fitting mean values via third-order polynomial smoothing splines. Between 1951 and 2001, the mean heights of boys and girls aged 2.5 years increased by 2.7 and 3 cm, respectively. Since 1895, the mean height of 13-year-old boys has increased by 19.4 cm, and the mean height of girls has increased by 18.3 cm.     

Biosynthesis of glyantrypine by Aspergillus clavatus

The biosynthesis of glyantrypine from radiolabelled amino acid precursors has been shown experimentally to involve anthranilic acid, tryptophan and glycine. Low values for percentage incorporation of radiolabel into glyantrypine were partly influenced by a complex array of other novel alkaloids shown by the radiolabelling experiments to be related to glyantrypine. Interpretation of radiolabel incorporation from [14C-carboxyl]-anthranilic acid into microbial metabolites seen to contain an anthranilyl moiety in various biosynthetic arrangements is discussed. The possibility of diversion of anthranilic acid from the kynurenine pathway to glyantrypine biosynthesis is recognised.     

Ca2+/Calmodulin Distinguishes Between Guanyl-5''-yl-Imidodiphosphate-and Opiate-Mediated Inhibition of Rat Striatal Adenylate Cyclase

The inhibition of adenylate cyclase from rat striatal plasma membranes by guanyl-5'-yl-imidodiphosphate [Gpp(NH)p] and morphine was compared to determine whether Gpp(NH)p-mediated inhibition accurately reflected hormone-mediated inhibition in this system. Inhibition of adenylate cyclase activity by Gpp(NH)p and morphine was examined with respect to temperature, divalent cation concentration, and the presence of Ca2+/calmodulin (Ca2+/CaM). Gpp(NH)p-mediated inhibition was dependent on the presence of Ca2+/CaM at 24 degrees C; the inhibition was independent of Ca2+/CaM at 18 degrees C; and inhibition could not be detected in the presence, or absence, of Ca2+/CaM at 30 degrees C. In contrast, naloxone-reversible, morphine-induced inhibition of adenylate cyclase was independent of both temperature and the presence of Ca2+/CaM. Mg2+ dose-response curves also reinforced the differences in the Ca2+/CaM requirement for Gpp(NH)p- and morphine-induced inhibition. Because Gpp(NH)p-mediated inhibition was independent of Ca2+/CaM at low basal activities (i.e., 18 degrees C, or below 1 mM Mg2+) and dependent on the presence of Ca2+/CaM at higher basal activities (24 degrees C, or above 1 mM Mg2+), the inhibitory effects of Gpp(NH)p were examined at 1 mM Mg2+ in the presence of 100 nM forskolin. Under these conditions, both Gpp(NH)p- and morphine-induced inhibition of adenylate cyclase were independent of Ca2+/CaM. The results demonstrate that the requirement for Ca2+/CaM to observe Gpp(NH)p-mediated inhibition depends on the basal activity of adenylate cyclase, whereas hormone-mediated inhibition is Ca2+/CaM independent under all conditions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Dynamics of indole-3-acetic acid and indole-3-ethanol during development and germination of Pinus sylvestris seeds

Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and indole-3-ethanol (IEt) were identified in immature seeds of Pinus sylvestris L. by combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Indole-3-methanol was tentatively identified using multiple ion monitoring. Anatomical investigations of seeds, as well as measurements of free and alkali-hydrolysable IAA and IEt, were made during seed development and germination. Levels of free IAA and IEt decreased during seed development. In the later stages of seed maturation most IAA and IEt were present in alkali-hydrolysable forms. Bound IAA and bound IEt rapidly decreased during germination, while levels of free IAA and IEt increased dramatically for a short period.     

Siliceous protozoan plates in lake sediments

The silicified plates of certain testate amoebae have the necessary characteristics to be useful paleoindicators. These plates are usually abundant and well preserved in sedimentary deposits, where they can be studied using the same preparation techniques developed for other siliceous microfossils. Individual plates can usually be identified to the generic and, in some cases, to the species level. A preliminary survey of plates recorded in the surficial (top centimetre) sediments of 38 Adirondack Mountain (NY) lakes suggests that these testaceans may reflect catchment features (e.g. bog development) more closely than lakewater characteristics. The siliceous, species-specific scales of heliozoans are also shown to preserve in sedimentary profiles.     

The roles of prolactin and testosterone in the development and function of granulosa lutein tissue in the rat

The luteotropic roles of prolactin and testosterone (or estradiol formed in luteal tissue) were investigated in hypophysectomized rats with homografts of granulosa lutein tissue. Using this approach, we could determine the effects of prolactin independently of estrogen, since granulosa lutein tissue does not produce estrogen de novo under these conditions. Luteinizing granulosa cells were expressed from the ovaries of immature pregnant mare's serum gonadotropin-primed Fischer 344 rats 6 h after injection of human chorionic gonadotropin. The cells were transplanted beneath the kidney capsule of adult, hypophysectomized, ovariectomized Fischer 344 recipients, which were treated with hormones daily for 12 or 14 days. In rats without treatment (no hormones, n = 3) and in rats treated with only testosterone (Silastic capsule, n = 6), only small amounts of luteal tissue (less than 5 mg/rat) were found and serum progesterone remained at low concentrations (10 ng or less) throughout the experiment. In contrast, in rats treated either with ovine prolactin (300 micrograms/day, n = 10) or with the combination of prolactin and testosterone (n = 12), serum progesterone increased to 43 ng/ml by Day 8. Beyond Day 8, serum progesterone continued to rise in rats treated with the combination of prolactin and testosterone to reach a mean value of 87 ng/ml by Day 14, and mean homograft wet weight was 49 mg/rat; in rats treated with only prolactin, serum progesterone decreased to 25 ng/ml by Day 14 and homograft wet weight was lower (24 mg/rat). Prolactin and testosterone together stimulated more homograft aromatase activity in vivo than did prolactin alone, but the in vitro production of progesterone was not different.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)