Mitochondrial DNA variation in social wasps (Hymenoptera,Vespidae)

Summary Patterns of restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) of European Vespinae were more similar within genera than between them. Distance trees were constructed that support the hypothesis of monophyly of the generaVespula andDolichovespula. Within the genusVespula, V. germanica was more closely related toV. rufa than toV. vulgaris. The position of the genusVespa remained uncertain due to the precision limits of the RFLP technique.     

Sauerstoff-Heteroringe. Die Konfiguration und Synthese desd,l-Homopterocarpins

Summary The racemic form of homopterocarpin (V), a constituent of red sandal-wood, has been synthesized by a method which has previously been proposed by the authors. N. M. R. spectral studies in conjunction with the examination of models have enabled the assignment of thecis configuration (V) to homopterocarpin.

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V. Mitteilung. IV. Mitteilung sieheH. Suginome, Exper.18, 161 (1962).     

Localization of succinic oxidase inVibrio cholerae

Zusammenfassung Verschiedene Fraktionen des mit Ultraschall, bzw. mit mechanischer Behandlung freigesetzten Zellinhaltes vonV. cholerae wurden auf die Bernsteinsäuredehydrogenase, bzw. die Zytochromoxydasekomponente des Bernsteinsäureoxydase-Enzymkomplexes untersucht. Der letztere ist beiV. cholerae an Körnchen mit gewissen Teilchengrössen gebunden, deren Verwandschaft mit Mitochondrien besprochen wird.     

Nuclear blebs in oocytes of the fishClarias batrachus

Summary Large nuclear blebs have been observed in oocytes of the fish,Clarias batrachus. The bleb, which contains nucleoplasm, is finally extruded from the nucleus. The extruded body is DNase-sensitive, and it implies that some amount of DNA is extruded from the nucleus of these oocytes.Acknowledgments. We are thankful to Dr. R.K. Sharan, Department of Zoology, Patna University, for providing laboratory facilities, and to Dr V.G. Jhingran and Dr P.V. Dehadrai of ICAR for their keen interest in the work.     

Juvenile hormone titers in penultimate and last instar larvae ofPieris brassicae andBarathra brassicae,in relation to the effect of juvenoid application

Summary JH titer was determined in the haemolymph of penultimate and last instar larvae ofPieris brassicae L. andBarathra brassicae L. The differences we observed were consistent with physiological differences between the two species.The authors feel indebted to Prof.V. J. Brookes for useful comments.     

Antiparasitic agents. 4. Injectable phenylguanidine anthelmintics

Summary A series of phenylguanidine anthelminties has been discovered to be active by injection against nematode and trematode species.For the previous paper in this series, see R. D. Haugwitz, B. V. Maurer, G. A. Jacobs, V. L. Narayanan, L. R. Cruthers and J. Szanto, J. med. Chem.22, 1113 (1979).     

Structure and toxicity of the alkaloids of Russian comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum Nyman), a medicinal herb and item of human diet

Summary Eight pyrrolizidine alkaloids of hepatotoxic type have been indentified in leaves ofSymphytum × uplandicum The combined alkaloids exhibit chronic hepatotoxicity in rats.The authors thank N. Anderton and P. Stewart for skilled assistance and V. Lord for statistical analyses.     

Telocentric chromosomes in pearl millet,Pennisetum typhoides

Summary InPennisetum typhoides S. and H., a new karyotype was found with 13 normal chromosomes and 2 stable telocentric chromosomes, which represent 1 arm each of a submetacentric chromosome.The authors are thankful to Dr.J. V. Pantulu, Professor of Cytogenetics, for guidance and encouragement and to Dr.V. Manga, for helpful discussion. They express their thanks to the U. G. C. (PSRLNR) and to the C. S. I. R. (MVSR and INR) for the award of Junior Research Fellowships.     

Quinone tanning in Agnatha

Summary The buccal teeth and notochordal sheath of the marine hagfish,Petromyzon marinus (L.) are phenolically tanned like the cuticle of insects and other arthropods.Acknowledgments. We are grateful to Dr Bill Lovejoy for generously supplyingP. marinus L. A.R.V. is thankful to Prof. R.G. Michael for encouragement.Previously called A. Sannasi.     

Toxicity of Dithane M-45 onDrosophila melanogaster

Summary The toxicity of different concentrations of Dithane M-45 onDrosophila melanogaster was determined. The chemical was administered by larval feeding. It has been estimated that the LC₅₀ is 17.5 mg/100 ml food medium. The studies have suggested that Dithane M-45 has a pronounced effect on the rate of development and viability.Acknowledgments. The authors are grateful to Dr M.R. Rajasekarasetty, F.N.A., Professor and Head of the Department of Postgraduate Studies and Research in Zoology, Manasa Gangotri, University of Mysore, Mysore, for his constant encouragement and valuable suggestions. One of us (V.V.) is thankful to the UGC for the financial assistance.     

Improving the thermal stability of lactate oxidase by directed evolution

Lactate oxidase is used in biosensors to measure the concentration of lactate in the blood and other body fluids. Increasing the thermostability of lactate oxidase can significantly prolong the lifetime of these biosensors. We have previously obtained a variant of lactate oxidase from Aerococcus viridans with two mutations (E160G/V198I) that is significantly more thermostable than the wild-type enzyme. Here we have attempted to further improve the thermostability of E160G/V198I lactate oxidase using directed evolution. We made a mutant lactate oxidase gene library by applying error-prone PCR and DNA shuffling, and screened for thermostable mutant lactate oxidase using a plate-based assay. After three rounds of screening we obtained a thermostable mutant lactate oxidase, which has six mutations (E160G/V198I/G36S/T103S/A232S/F277Y). The half-life of this lactate oxidase at 70 °C was about 2 times that of E160G/V198I and about 36 times that of the wild-type enzyme. The amino acid mutation process suggests that the combined neutral mutations are important in protein evolution. Received 15 September 2006; received after revision 21 October 2006; accepted 2 November 2006     

Antihypertensive agents III. Synthesis and antihypertensive activity of 3-[4-(p-fluoro-phenyl)-1,2,3,6-tetrahydro-1-pyridyl]-1-[1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-5-methyl-4-pyrazolyl]-1-propanone

Zusammenfassung 3-[4-(p-Fluorphenyl)-1,2,3,6-te-trahydro-1-pyridyl]-1-[1-(2-hydroxyaethyl)-5-methyl-4-pyrazolyl]-1-propanon (I, CIBA 4416/B-Go) senkt bei normotonischen und hypertonischen Tieren den Blutdruck. Die Drucksenkung kann hauptsächlich auf die periphere Vasodilatation sowie auf die Vasomotorenzentren bezogen werden. Ausserdem wirkt CIBA 4416/B-Go adrenolytisch.

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Previous paper:V. P. Arya, R. S. Grewal, C. L. Kaul, S. P. Ghate, D. V. Mehta andT. George, J. Pharm. Sci.58, 432 (1969).Contribution No. 243 from CIBA Research Centre.     

Die postnatale Entwicklung der Bursttätigkeit im Bulbus olfactorius des Kaninchens

Summary An investigation of the olfactory burst activity was undertaken in rabbits during 1–8 days of life. The bursts are already present at the first postnatal day (frequency 18 c/sec, amplitude 23µV). The values of the adult animal are reached at 8 days.     

A plant species of suspected accumulator behaviour

Summary 17 plant species growing near Bombay, India, were analysed for 26 trace elements by neutron activation analysis. Out of these onlyAlternanthera sessilis was found to be an accumulator plant for Al, V, Ti and Sc.     

Effect of cyproterone acetate on the testis and epididymis of the lizard,Psammophilus dorsalis (Gray)

Summary The effect of cyproterone acetate (CPA) on the testis and epididymis of the lizard,Psammophilus dorsalis has been studied. Treatment with CPA affects spermatogenesis and steroid metabolism in the testis. It also causes regression of the epididymis and a decrease in steroidogenic enzyme activity.Acknowledgments. We wish to thank Prof. M.R. Rajasekarasetty for his encouragement, Dr K.V. Rao, Nagpur, for a generous gift of cyproterone acetate, Dr V.B. Nadkarni, Dharwar, for permitting the use of his cryostat, Sri B.M. Sekharappa for his technical assistance and UGC, New Delhi for their financial help to one of us (GRS).     

Biosynthesis of roquefortine and 3,12-dihydroroquefortine by the culturePenicillium farinosum

Summary A new culturePenicillium farinosum synthesizing roquefortine and 3, 12-dihydroroquefortine was found. UnlikeP. roqueforti, a known producer of these compounds, the culture under study does not synthesize clavine alkaloids. The maximal roquefortine content was observed in the late logarithmic and early stationary growth phases while the maximal 3, 12-dihydroroquefortine content was obtained in the beginning of the stationary phase.Thanks are due to Drs V. M. Adanin and M. Yu. Nefedova for mass- and IR-spectra.     

Detection of capsaleinVibrio parahaemolyticus

Zusammenfassung Durch normale Färbungstechnik wird das Vorhandensein der Kapseln inV. parahaemolytiens gezeigt.

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The authors wish to convey their gratefulness to ProfessorJ. B. Chatterjea, School of Tropical Medicine Calcutta, for his kind permission to publish this paper.     

Honey-induced pollen embryogenesis in anther cultures ofDatura metel

Summary In anther cultures ofDatura metel, pollen-embryoids could be induced on a medium consisting of honey alone. Further studies revealed that a combination of fructose and dextrose was sufficient to trigger pollen-embryogenesis. The 2 sugars, when tried individually, did not elicit any response.The authors wish to thank Prof. V.L. Chopra and Prof. S. Ramanujam for their help and encouragement.     

Electroreception in the Turkistan catfish

Summary The Turkistan catfish,Glyptosternum reticulatum, has highly sensitive electroreceptors (threshold voltage gradient 1 V/cm) that detect a voltage drop across the skin. These electroreceptors were found to be sensitive to magnetic stimulation.