Chromosomenaberrationen in den Wurzelspitzen vonAllium cepa durch Aflatoxin B1

Summary After treatment of roots ofAllium cepa with aflatoxin B₁ in 0.3% dimethylformamide, chromosome bridges, C-mitose chromosomes and a reduction of the mitotic index were observed. The aberrations occurred especially frequently when the roots had grown in 200 µg/ml toxin for 48 h. In its cytotoxic effect onAllium cepa root tips, aflatoxin B₁ acts similarly to the chemically related coumarin.     

Action and teleaction of specific ligands on DNA: a quantitative study with Azbel's model and an application to the regulatory mechanism of the lac operon]

Assuming that the action of specific ligands is transferred to DNA via the bases in close contact with the ligand, which are stabilized (or destablized) in this process, the local and more distant action of the ligand on DNA can be evaluated quantitatively with the aid of Azbel's model. An application to the system regulating the E. coli lac operon is presented.     

Magnetic vortex core reversal by excitation with short bursts of an alternating field

The vortex state, characterized by a curling magnetization, is one of the equilibrium configurations of soft magnetic materials and occurs in thin ferromagnetic square and disk-shaped elements of micrometre size and below. The interplay between the magnetostatic and the exchange energy favours an in-plane, closed flux domain structure. This curling magnetization turns out of the plane at the centre of the vortex structure, in an area with a radius of about 10 nanometres--the vortex core. The vortex state has a specific excitation mode: the in-plane gyration of the vortex structure about its equilibrium position. The sense of gyration is determined by the vortex core polarization. Here we report on the controlled manipulation of the vortex core polarization by excitation with small bursts of an alternating magnetic field. The vortex motion was imaged by time-resolved scanning transmission X-ray microscopy. We demonstrate that the sense of gyration of the vortex structure can be reversed by applying short bursts of the sinusoidal excitation field with amplitude of about 1.5 mT. This reversal unambiguously indicates a switching of the out-of-plane core polarization. The observed switching mechanism, which can be understood in the framework of micromagnetic theory, gives insights into basic magnetization dynamics and their possible application in data storage.     

Fishing elevates variability in the abundance of exploited species

The separation of the effects of environmental variability from the impacts of fishing has been elusive, but is essential for sound fisheries management. We distinguish environmental effects from fishing effects by comparing the temporal variability of exploited versus unexploited fish stocks living in the same environments. Using the unique suite of 50-year-long larval fish surveys from the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations we analyse fishing as a treatment effect in a long-term ecological experiment. Here we present evidence from the marine environment that exploited species exhibit higher temporal variability in abundance than unexploited species. This remains true after accounting for life-history effects, abundance, ecological traits and phylogeny. The increased variability of exploited populations is probably caused by fishery-induced truncation of the age structure, which reduces the capacity of populations to buffer environmental events. Therefore, to avoid collapse, fisheries must be managed not only to sustain the total viable biomass but also to prevent the significant truncation of age structure. The double jeopardy of fishing to potentially deplete stock sizes and, more immediately, to amplify the peaks and valleys of population variability, calls for a precautionary management approach.     

Prevention of the formation of mycotoxins in whole wheat bread by citric acid and lactic acid (Mycotoxins in foodstuffs. IX)

Summary Additions of citric acid and lactic acid to whole wheat bread suppress the formation of aflatoxins byAspergillus parasiticus (0.5% citric acid, 0.75% lactic acid) and that of sterigmatocystin byA. versicolor (0.25 and 0.5% respectively).Acknowledgment. I thank Dr.R. Orth (Bundesforschungsanstalt für Ernährung, Karlsruhe, BRD) for the strain ofAspergillus versicolor.     

The cytochemical demonstration of dehydrogenases and oxidases in the cells of fungi

Zusammenfassung Die Ergebnisse der bisherigen Untersuchungen zum zytochemischen Nachweis verschiedener Dehydrogenasen und Oxydasen in den Zellen von Pilzen (Neurospora crassa, Oospora lactis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae u.a.) werden beschrieben.