Nitrogen and phosphorus content of flow from drains fertilized with cow manure slurry

Summary The rate of flow and nitrate and phosphorus content of the water from four drained sandy and clayey plots of size 12×60 m cropped to continuous corn were determined following two annual applications of different rates (0, 260, 390 and 520 kg N/ha) of cow manure slurry. The drain flow was directly related to the rainfall and was greatly influenced by soil texture. The N losses were greater in 1972 (7.8 to 19.1 kg N/ha) than in 1971 (0.4 to 7.8 kg N/ha) because of more summer rainfall. Nitrogen and phosphorus losses were larger from the sandy plots than from the clayey plots. The manure application rates had no apparent effect on nitrogen losses in the drain water.     

Iron and Porphyrin Trafficking in Heme Biogenesis

Iron is an essential element for diverse biological functions. In mammals, the majority of iron is enclosed within a single prosthetic group: heme. In metazoans, heme is synthesized via a highly conserved and coordinated pathway within the mitochondria. However, iron is acquired from the environment and subsequently assimilated into various cellular pathways, including heme synthesis. Both iron and heme are toxic but essential cofactors. How is iron transported from the extracellular milieu to the mitochondria? How are heme and heme intermediates coordinated with iron transport? Although recent studies have answered some questions, several pieces of this intriguing puzzle remain unsolved.     

Risk assessment of heavy metal and metalloid toxicity through a contaminated vegetable (Cucurbita maxima) from wastewater irrigated area: A case study for a site-specific risk assessment in Jhang,Pakistan

The present research was conducted in district Jhang, Pakistan, to evaluate the concentration of metals/metalloids in soil and pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) irrigated with domestic wastewater. Data revealed that the levels of metals and metalloids in soil samples from two different sites were below the safe limits except Cd, whereas, in the vegetable, the concentrations of As, Se, Ni, Mo, Pb, Mn, and Cu were above the safe limits. The levels of 12 metals and metalloids in the soil were ranged between 0.14 to 22.76 mg/kg at site-I and 0.16 to 22.13 mg/kg at site-II. The levels of these metals in the vegetable were found 0.35 to 61.13 mg/kg at site-I and 0.31 to 53.63 mg/kg at site-II. The transfer factor at both sites was highest for As and Co. The pollution load index recorded for Se, Cu, Cd, Mo, Pb, and Co was greater than 1. The daily intake of As, Mn, and Mo was above the oral reference dose, which reflects that the intake of pumpkin is not safe for the inhabitants of the selected sites. The control measures should be taken to phytoextract heavy metals and metalloids from polluted sites so as to reduce the health risks.     

A simple enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for sex hormone-binding globulin

A simple enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) has been developed. Polyclonal antibody raised to SHBG purified to homogeneity was employed. The ELISA, which may be performed in under 4 h, shows no cross-reactivity with other serum proteins, has a sensitivity of less than 1.2 fmol per sample, demonstrates excellent correlation with ligand-binding techniques (r = 0.996; p less than 0.0001), and has intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation of between 5-9% and 7-11% respectively.     

Microtubule-associated protein tau. A component of Alzheimer paired helical filaments

Microtubule-associated protein tau was purified from bovine brain microtubules by either (1) phosphocellulose chromatography, (2) heat treatment at pH 6.4, (3) heat treatment at pH 2.7, (4) heat treatment at pH 2.7 followed by extraction with perchloric acid and precipitation with glycerol, or (5) by precipitation with ammonium sulfate followed by extraction with perchloric acid. All of these tau preparations reacted specifically with antibodies to Alzheimer paired helical filaments. Affinity purified antibodies to tau labeled both Alzheimer neurofibrillary tangles and plaque neurites but not amyloid in Alzheimer brain tissue sections and labeled paired helical filament polypeptides on Western blots. Human brain tau and paired helical filament polypeptides co-migrated on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. These results suggest that tau is a major component of Alzheimer paired helical filaments.     

Crystal structure of Boc-Ala-Aib-Ala-Aib-Aib-methyl ester,a pentapeptide fragment of the channel-forming ionophore suzukacillin

t-Buthyoxycarbonyl-L -alanyl-α-aminiosobutyryl-L -alanyl-α-aminoisobutyryl-α-aminoisobutyric acid methyl ester (t-Boc-L -Ala-Aib-L -Ala-Aib-Aib-OMe), C₂₄H₄₃N₅O₈, an end-protected pentapeptide with a sequence corresponding to the 6th through the 10th residues in suzukacillin, crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group P2₁2₁2₁ with a = 11.671, b = 14.534, c = 17.906 Å and z = 4. The molecule exists as a right-handed 3₁₀-helix with a pitch of 6.026 Å. The helix is stabilized by three 4 → 1 hydrogen bonds with the NH groups of Ala(3), Aib(4), and Aib(5) hydrogen bonding to the carbonyl oxygens of t-Boc, Ala(1), and Aib(2), respectively. The helical molecules arrange themselves in a head-to-tail fashion along the a direction in such a way that the NH groups of Ala(1) and Aib(2) hydrogen bond to the carbonyl oxygens of Aib(4) and Aib(5), respectively, of a translationally related molecule. The helical columns thus formed close-pack nearly hexagonally to form the crystal.     

Rearing, reproductive behaviour and gamma sterilization of fruit fly, Dacus zonatus (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Investigations were made on rearing, reproductive behaviour and gamma sterilization of one-day old male adults of Dacus zonatus. The larvae were successfully reared on an artificial diet based on wheat shorts. Adult emergence ranged from 89–99% with a sex ratio of about 1:1. Mating occurred at dusk and its duration ranged from 8–13 hours. Males mated a second time with the same female but preferred mating if the already mated female was replaced with a sexually mature virgin female. The optimum dosage for inducing sterility amongst one-day old male adults was 12 kR.

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Zusammenfassung Zucht und Fortpflanzungsverhalten von Dacus zonatus (Saunders) wurde untersucht. Die Larven wurden vier Generationen lang an einer Diät aus Weizenkleie, Bierhefe, granuliertem Zucker, Agar, Nipagin, Salzsäure und Wasser gehalten. Die Arbeit gibt Daten über Verpuppungsprozentsatz (69,3%), Puppengewicht, Dauer der Ei + Larvenperiode, Schlüpfen der Adulten, Präovipositionszeit, Fruchtbarkeit, Fertilität und Lebensdauer der Adulten. Die Schlüpfrate der Adulten betrug 89–99%, das Geschlechtsverhältnis lag etwa bei 1:1. Die Kopulation findet während der Abenddämmerung statt, sie dauert 8–13 Stunden. Maximum der Kopulationen zwischen dem 10. und 15. Tag nach dem Schlüpfen. Männchen paarten sich ein zweites Mal mit dem gleichen Weibchen, bevorzugten jedoch geschlechtsreife jung-fräuliche Weibchen. Die Eiablage begann am 2.–7. Tag nach der Paarung, die Eizahl betrug bei gepaarten Weibchen 91–564.Die optimale Dosis zur Erzeugung von 99,3% Sterilität bei Bestrahlung von einem Tag alten Männchen war 12 kR. Die Lebensdauer der Bestrahlten war vermindert.

     

Guanine deaminase inhibitor from rat liver. Isolation and characterization

1. An inhibitor of cytoplasmic guanine deaminase of rat liver was isolated from liver ;heavy mitochondrial' fraction after freezing and thawing and treatment with Triton X-100. 2. Submitochondrial fractionation revealed that the inhibitor was localized in the outer-membrane fraction. 3. The method of purification of inhibitor, involving precipitation with (NH(4))(2)SO(4) and chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, its precipitability by trichloroacetic acid and the pattern of absorption in the u.v. indicated that the inhibitor was a protein. In confirmation, tryptic digestion of the isolated material resulted in destruction of the inhibitor activity. The inhibitor was stable to acid, but labile to heat. 4. The isolated inhibitor required phosphatidylcholine (lecithin) for activity. Phosphatidylcholine also partially protected the inhibitor against heat inactivation. 5. When detergent treatment was omitted, the inhibitor activity of frozen mitochondria was precipitated by (NH(4))(2)SO(4) in a fully active form without supplementation with phosphatidylcholine, indicating that Triton X-100 ruptured the linkage between inhibitor and lipid. 6. A reconstituted sample of inhibitor-phosphatidylcholine complex was precipitated in a fully active form by dialysis against 2-mercaptoethanol, but treatment of the precipitate with NaCl yielded an extract which was inactive unless supplemented with fresh phosphatidylcholine. 7. We interpret the results as evidence that the inhibitor was present in vivo as a lipoprotein and that once the complex was dissociated by the action of detergent and the protein precipitated, there was an absolute need for exogenous phosphatidylcholine for its activity. The manner in which inhibitor associated with the outer membrane of rat liver mitochondria might regulate the activity of the enzyme in the supernatant has been suggested.     

Effect of acute gamma irradiation on initiation and maturation of vascular tissues in stems of capsicum annuum L.

The effect of acute gamma rays (⁶⁰Co; 1 to 10 kR) on the vascular differentiation in stems of seedlings of Capsicum annuum L. long fruited cultivar at 8-loaf stage of development. Prooambium, phloem and xylem of irradiated seedlings showed an early initiation and maturation in terms of distance from the tip. Magnitude of these differences increased with the increasing exposures and time following irradiation. In irradiated seedlings there is a ohange in the developmental sequence of metaphloem and metaxylem when they first appear (in terms of number of leaf primordia). There is also a general increase in the number of procambial cells, sieve elements and vessel elements after irradiation. The early initiation and maturation of the vascular tissue is correlated with the growth inhibition resulting from cell death and suppression of cell division activity in the shoot apex.