The reproductive strategy of the gregarious parasitoid,Pteromalus puparum (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae)

Summary Pteromalus puparum is a gregarious parasitoid of many butterfly pupae. Adult size, mortality, and sex ratio of P. puparum, as a parasitoid of Papilio xuthus, were unit weight of the host. Effects of female size on fecundity, wing load, and longevity were also examined.The highest total weight of progeny from the host was attained when the number of eggs per gram of the host was approximately 150. Positive correlations were observed between the size of the females and their fecundity and wing load. The maximum longevity of the female kept with honey but without hosts was attained when the initial number of parasitoids per g of the host was 150.Considering the total fecundity of all female progeny, the reproductively most efficient number of eggs to be deposited per g of the host was estimated to be approximately 300. However, as shortage of food for the adult females strongly affects their fecundity, the reproductively most efficient number of eggs to be deposited per g of the host was about 70 when the adult female progeny was not provided with food.The optimal number of eggs to be deposited when the emale oviposits in the host under field conditions is discussed.     

Hyperthermic treatment of chromomycosis with disposable chemical pocket warmers

A case of chromomycosis in which hyperthermia proved effective is reported. The patient was a 56-year-old male bean curd maker who, without any previous history of minor trauma, developed on the extensor side of the left upper arm an eczematous lesion that underwent gradual radial expansion. The lesion showed a well-defined, 7×10 cm infiltrated erythematous plaque with the central area healed and, at the upper and lower borders, adherent scales and crusts on the surface. Histological examination revealed granulomatous changes in the dermis, as well as sclerotic cells within giant cells and microabscesses. On culturing,Fonsecaea pedrosoi was isolated. The patient was treated with disposable chemical pocket warmers, which were secured over the lesion with a rather tight elastic bandage, so that they kept the affected area warm for 24 hours a day. After a month of such hyperthermic treatment, the erythema and infiltration had decreased considerably, and microscopic examination and culture of the crusts both yielded negative results. Examination of biopsy specimens of the lesion after the third month showed that it had cicatrized. The treatment was stopped after 4 months, and no relapse occurred. We also summarize the published results of local hyperthermic treatment of chromomycosis in Japan.     

The Amusic Brain: Lost in Music,but Not in Space

Congenital amusia is a neurogenetic disorder of music processing that is currently ascribed to a deficit in pitch processing. A recent study challenges this view and claims the disorder might arise as a consequence of a general spatial-processing deficit. Here, we assessed spatial processing abilities in two independent samples of individuals with congenital amusia by using line bisection tasks (Experiment 1) and a mental rotation task (Experiment 2). Both amusics and controls showed the classical spatial effects on bisection performance and on mental rotation performance, and amusics and controls did not differ from each other. These results indicate that the neurocognitive impairment of congenital amusia does not affect the processing of space.     

Release of human epidermal growth factor from platelets in accordance with aggregation in vitro

We measured the intra-platelet content of human epidermal growth factor (hEGF) and beta-thromboglobulin (beta-TG) and the quantities of these released from platelets during in vitro aggregation. The intra-platelet amounts of hEGF and beta-TG in 10(8) platelets were 104.9 +/- 18.9 (Mean +/- SEM) pg and 2920.9 +/- 149.9 ng, respectively. During platelet aggregation elicited by 9, 11-epithio-11, 12-methano-thromboxane A2, a stable thromboxane A2 agonist, hEGF and beta-TG were released in amounts about 50% and 40% of the respective content in platelets. Also during arachidonate-induced aggregation, hEGF and beta-TG were released at about 60% and 50%, respectively. Various concentrations of thromboxane A2 antagonist, (9, 11), (11, 12)-di-deoxa-9, 11-dimethyl-methano-11, 12-methano-13, 14-dihydro-13-aza-14-oxo-15-cyclopentyl-16, 17, 18, 19, 20-pentanor-15-epi-thromboxane A2, suppressed both aggregation and release reactions in a dose-dependent manner. There were good correlations between the platelet aggregation rate and released beta-TG (r = 0.9368, p less than 0.01) or hEGF (r = 0.8931, p less than 0.01) and between released beta-TG and hEGF (r = 0.9385, p less than 0.01). These results suggest that hEGF is released from platelets in a similar fashion to beta-TG in vitro.     

Experiments inducing prospective polar body nuclei to participate in embryogenesis of the sawfly Athalia rosae (Hymenoptera)

Summary Mature eggs dissected from ovaries of unmated females of Athalia rosae (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae), if placed on a filter-paper soaked with distilled water, are activated and develop to haploid males. Occasionally, however, diploid females develop from these artificially activated eggs. Treatment of mature unfertilized eggs dissected from diploid females with ice-cold temperatures immediately before activation and with a high temperature (36° C) upon and immediately after activation resulted in the production of diploid males, diploid females, triploid females and gynandromorphs at high frequency. The same treatment of mature unfertilized eggs dissected from triploid females resulted in the production of only triploid survivors. These results, together with the results on the segregation of a marker mutation, yellow fatbody (yfb), appear to indicate that meiotic divisions were complete in the treated eggs, and that all four nuclei became potentially capable of participating in development with or without automictic fusion.Studies on the sawfly, Athalia rosae (Insecta, Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae), part V     

Isolation and identification of prostaglandin I 2 stimulating factor from human plasma

To isolate and identify the plasma factor which stimulates prostaglandin I 2 production by rat aortic ring, a human plasma fraction which showed a major stimulating activity on prostaglandin I 2 production was purified by ultrafiltrate, Sephadex G-10 gel filtration and QAE-Sephadex column chromatography. The purified plasma factor was identified as acid by its ultraviolet and infrared absorption spectroscopy, and ¹H nmr and ¹³C nmr spectroscopy. The stimulating activity of the purified plasma factor and that of authentic uric acid coincided with each other. The stimulating potency of uric acid at its physiological concentration in human plasma (about 50 μg/ml) was half of the deproteinized human plasma, and was about 30 fold stronger than that of L-tryptophan, a cofactor of prostaglandin hyperoxidase.     

Prostacyclin stimulation of adenylate cyclase activity in human thyroid membranes

Effect of prostacyclin (PGI2) on adenylate cyclase activity in human thyroid membranes was examined. PGI2 caused a dose- and time-dependent production of cyclic AMP (cAMP) with high potency. When GTP was added in concentrations up to 100 uM, the activation of adenylate cyclase by PGI2 was increased. In the assay medium containing 3 mM ATP, 10 uM GTP and nucleotide regenerating system, the replacement of Mg2+ by increasing concentrations of Mn2+ caused a progressive loss of PGI2 as well as TSH-stimulated adenylate cyclase activities, while high concentrations of Mg2+ (12 or 18 mM) slightly suppressed the activity stimulated by either PGI2 or TSH. Both agents had an additive effect on the stimulation of adenylate cyclase activity in the presence of either 6 mM Mg2+ or 6 mM Mn2+. Gamma-globulin fraction containing non-stimulatory TSH receptor antibody which was prepared from a patient with chronic thyroiditis, suppressed only TSH- but not PGI2-stimulation of the adenylate cyclase activity. These results suggest that PGI2 can stimulate the adenylate cyclase activity in human thyroid tissue, and that PGI2-stimulation may be mediated by the different system from TSH-dependent one.     

Estrogen-mediated induction of a vitellogenin-specific nonhistone chromatin protein in the male chicken liver

Summary Non-histone chromatin proteins prepared from the livers of estrogen-treated and nontreated male chickens were compared by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), followed by sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The results revealed that the hormone-treated male liver chromatin contained a specific protein corresponding to the vitellogenin-specific protein previously purified from the liver of egg-laying hens (Nakayama 1985). The chicken protein, purified further by gel-filtration high performance liquid chromatography (GF-HPLC), showed specific binding activity to DNA fragments carrying a part of the vitellogenin gene. On the basis of similarities in the elution patterns from GF-HPLC and RP-HPLC as well as in the mobility on SDS-PAGE, we concluded that this hormone-induced protein in the male chicken liver was identical to the vitellogenin-specific protein identified in the hen liver, and assumed it to be a specific regulatory protein for the vitellogenin gene expression. The amino acid composition of this chicken protein has been determined.     

Effects of degranulation of mast cells on proliferation of mesenchymal cells in the mesentery of mice

Summary A mast-cell activator, compound 48/80, causes proliferation of mesenchymal cells in the mesentery of rats. Its effect on W/W ^vmice deficient in mast cells was tested to determine whether the proliferation is mediated in the degranulation of mast cells. Incorporation of [³H]thymidine into mesenchymal cells in the mesentery of these mice with or without compound 48/80 was very small compared to their normal litter mates. However, bone marrow transplantation markedly enhanced the effect of compound 48/80, and resulted in an incorporation of [³H]thymidine almost comparable to that observed in normal mice. Our results provide evidence that mesenchymal cell proliferation is caused by a product secreted by mast cells when stimulated by compound 48/80.Supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research, No. 366, from the Japanese Ministry of Health and WelfareThe authors are indebted to Drs. Motomu Minamiyama and Yukio Hirata for valuable advices, and to Miss Mitsuko Inoue for technical assistance