Chromosomal investigation ofCtenopharyngodon idella x Aristichthys nobilis hybrids

Summary Diploid, triploid, and gynogenetic offspring resulted from hybridizing femaleCtenopharyngodon idella with maleAristichthys nobilis.This research was supported in part by a contract with the Coachella Valley Water District, Coachella, California.     

Differences in cerebral morphology in 2 stocks of mutant mice heterozygous for the loop-tail (Lp)-gene

Summary Adult loop-tail heterozygotes (Lp/+) from a stock ofLp-mice which consistently fail to show head wobbling exhibit normal brain morphology with respect to size and shape of lateral ventricles and nearby nuclei. Loop-tail heterozygotes from a head wobbling stock ofLp-mice show enlargement and deformity of the lateral ventricles.Supported by research grant HD09562 from the National Institutes of Health.     

IAA oxidase activity in relation to adventitious root formation on stem cuttings of some forest tree species

Summary IAA oxixase activity was very high in stem cuttings ofSalix tetrasperma andPopulus robusta, which rooted profusely, less in stem cuttings ofHibiscus rosa sinensis which rooted less, and insignificant in those ofEucalyptus citriodora which did not root at all. Protein(s) extracted from the stem cuttings ofE. citriodora inhibited the activity of IAA oxidase as well as root formation on hypocotyl cuttings ofPhaseolus mungo. The possibility of involvement of IAA oxidase activity in the process of adventitious root formation is discussed.The research has been financed by a grant from U.S. Department of Agriculture.     

Experimental gynogenesis provides evidence of hybridogenetic reproduction in theRana esculenta complex

Summary The gynogenetic offspring of the hybrid frogRana esculenta (R. ridibunda x R. lessonae) are exclusively of theridibunda type. This is due to the premeiotic exclusion of thelessonae genome from the hybrid's germ cells.Acknowledgments. Prof. M. Fischberg, Genève, and Prof. P. Vogel, Lausanne, provided laboratory facilities. This research was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation, grants 3.221-0.73 and 3.644-0.75.     

A paradoxical effect of 2,4-dinitrophenol in stimulating the rooting of hypocotyl cuttings ofPhaseolus mungo

Summary 2,4-dinitrophenol enhanced root formation on dark-grown hypocotyl cuttings ofPhaseolus mungo. This effect is probably related to uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation and not through IAA-metabolism as is evident from studies with respiratory inhibitors (Cd²⁺) and non-phenolic uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation (arsenate).The research has been financed by a grant from United States Department of Agriculture.     

Aggregated oviposition byChymomyza amoena (Diptera: Drosophilidae)

Summary Aggregated oviposition byChymomyza amoena in Virginia and Michigan has been shown to be due to egg clustering, females attracted to fruits on whichC. amoena females have already oviposited, and to variation in fruit attractiveness. Negative binomialk values support behavioral similarities among females of this rarely seen species in both states. Discovery ofC. amoena in Europe may indicate that this larval overwintering drosophilid has a Holarctic distribution.The research in Virginia during summer 1986, conducted at Mt. Lake Biological Station, was supported by a fellowship from the University of Virginia. Thanks are gratefully extended to all property owners in Virginia and Michigan for allowing me to collect fruits and to Blaine Cole, Director and J.J. Murray, Chairman of the Biology Dept., University of Virginia for research space in 1986 and 1987. R. N. Band constructed the figures. Comments from reviewers have been helpful.     

The chromosome banding patterns of the aardvarkOrycteropus afer (Tubulidentata,Orycteropidae)

Summary C- and G-banding patterns ofOrycteropus afer are described on the basis of fibroblast cultures obtained from a female individual.This work was supported in part by a research grant DEB 76-10580 from the National Science Foundation.     

Biochemical divergence between cavernicolous and marine Sphaeromidae and the Mediterranean salinity crisis

Summary Allozymic variation in proteins encoded by 14 loci was analyzed in 3 cavernicolousMonolistra and in 2 marineSphaeroma species. Genetic distance data, high levels of heterozygosity and the divergence time calculations support the hypothesis thatMonolistra diverged from its Sphaeroma-like marine ancestor during the Messinian, in connection with the Mediterranean salinity critis.This research was supported by the National Research Council, Italy, grant No. 77.01490.04, and by funds of the Faculty of Sciences, University of Rome.     

Enzyme polymorphism in the Sicilian honeybee

Summary In Sicily we can identify two genetically differentiated groups of local honeybee populations, on the basis of the only two polymorphic loci,Mdh-1 andEst; the western one, whose genetic characteristics are probably those of the native honeybee (Apis mellifera sicula) and the eastern one affected by recent large-scale importation of Italian bees from northern Italy.This research was supported by a grant of the Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione.     

Urease inhibition by hydroxamic acids

Summary Ureases from jack beans andRhodototorula pilimanae were observed to be inhibited by primary hydroxamic acids but were not inhibited by acyclic-secondary (N-alkyl) hydroxamic acids.This project was supported by a Lamar University organized research grant.     

Glucose phosphate isomerase heterophenotypes in the human filarial parasiteBrugia malayi from peninsular Malaysia

Summary Glucose phosphate isomerase of subperiodicBrugia malayi was studied by horizontal starch-gel electophoresis. Two heterophenotypes, each represented by 3 bands of enzyme activity, were found among 38 parasites studied. This finding is attributed to the occurrence of 2Gpi gene loci.This research is supported in part by a University of Malaya Vote F research grant. We wish to thank the Vice-Chancellor, University of Malaya, and the Director, Institute for Medical Research, for supporting this collaborative work, and Encik Rosni Sarjan and P. Azavedo for their assistance.     

Toxicity ofPhytophthora infestans andAlternaria solani to chick embryos

Summary None of the extracts and culture filtrates from growth of 9 races ofPhytophthora infestans on living potato tissue and potato dextrose broth are toxic to chick embryos. Chloroform extracts of 4 out of 10 isolates ofAlternaria solani grown on potato dextrose broth showed some toxicity to chick embryos.Acknowledgment. This research was supported by grant FD-00683-03 from the Office of Research Grants, Food and Drug Administration.     

Estrogen binds to hypothalamic nuclei of androgen-insensitive (tfm) rats

Summary Androgen-insensitive (tfm) rats possess a nuclear-estrogen binding system in the brain that is similar to that of wild-type control males. In these mutant rats, radiolabeled estradiol was bound predominantly to hypothalamic nuclei and this binding was of limited capacity.This research was supported by grants Nos HD-13957 and HD-14726 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.     

A New Translation of and Guide to Newton's Principia

This paper discusses the emergence of new medical experimental specialties at the Medical School of Surgery (Escola Médico-Cirúrgica) and the Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon University (Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa) between 1897 and 1946, as a result of the activities of Marck Athias's (1875–1946) histophysiology research school. In 1897, Marck Athias, a Portuguese physician who had graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, founded a research school in Lisbon along the lines of Michael Foster's physiology research school in England and Franz Hofmeister's physiological chemistry school in Germany. His research programme was highly innovative in Portugal. Not only did it bring together many disciples and co-workers, but it branched out and created new medical specialties within Portuguese medical science. These new disciplinary areas grew out of the study of the histology of the nervous system but eventually expanded into normal and pathological histophysiology, physiological chemistry and experimental endocrinology. The esprit de corps that existed between research school members ensured the school's success and influence in various fields social and political as well as scientific. Athias's school was strongly influenced by positivist ideals and promoted a teaching and research style that sought inspiration in Humboldt's university model, thus helping to bring about a change in the dominant scientific ethos and to modernize scientific research in Portugal during the first half of the twentieth century.     

Identification and localization of volatile hairpencil components in maleAmauris ochlea butterflies (Danaidae)

Summary By gas-chromatography and mass-spectroscopy 7 volatile substances have been found on the abdominal hairpencils ofAmauris ochlea males. 6 substances have been identified. The spatial distribution of compounds is correlated to the 5 types of hairs comprising the scent organ.Acknowledgments. We thank our colleagues M. Kaib and P. Lounibos for their continous effort to supply us with danaids from Kenya. Support by a research grant from the National Institute of Health (AI 12020) is acknowledged with pleasure.     

Host cell reactivation capacity of different strains ofE. coli B resistant or sensitive to ozone

Summary Host cell reactivation capacity for ozonated or irradiated phage was determined for different strains ofE. coli either more sensitive or resistant to ozone than the wild type strain. The results suggest that theozr gene product could be involved in the same repair pathway for ozone-induced lesions on DNA as thepolA gene. The possible involment of a specific endonuclease for these lesions is also considered.This research was sponsored by the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. P.L.H. acknowledges a postgraduate scholarship from the NSERC of Canada.     

Modeling eBay price using stochastic differential equations

Online auctions have become increasingly popular in recent years. There is a growing body of research on this topic, whereas modeling online auction price curves constitutes one of the most interesting problems. Most research treats price curves as deterministic functions, which ignores the random effects of external and internal factors. To account for the randomness, a more realistic model using stochastic differential equations is proposed in this paper. The online auction price is modeled by a stochastic differential equation in which the deterministic part is equivalent to the second‐order differential equation model proposed in Wang et al. (Journal of the American Statistical Association, 2008, 103, 1100–1118). The model also includes a component representing the measurement errors. Explicit expressions for the likelihood function are also obtained, from which statistical inference can be conducted. Forecast accuracy of the proposed model is compared with the ODE (ordinary differential equation) approach. Simulation results show that the proposed model performs better.     

Penicillin-induced formation of ribonuclease in rice (Oryza sativa L.) endosperm and its inhibition by abscisic acid

Summary Penicillin stimulates the formation of ribonuclease in embryoless rice (Oryza sativa L.) endosperm and enhances gibberellin-induced response. Penicillin-induced RNase production is completely inhibited by abscisic acid.Acknowledgment. We are thankful to Professor A.K. Sharma, Head of the Department, for providing facilities for this work. This study was supported by a research grant from the University Grants Commission, New Delhi.     

Insensitivity of erythrocyte catalase to substances that depress liver catalase

Riassunto La tirosina che inibiscein vivo l'attività della catalasi epatica dei topi edin vitro l'attività della catalasi cristallizzata, ed una frazione di albumine denaturate attiva sulla catalasi soloin vivo, si sono dimostrate inattive sulla catalasi eritrocitaria.

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Acknowledgment. The present research was partially supported by a grant from Farmitalia S.p.A.