Cbln and C1q family proteins – New transneuronal cytokines

The C1q family is characterized by a C-terminal conserved global C1q domain, which is structurally very similar to the tumor necrosis factor homology domain. Although some C1q family members are expressed in the central nervous system, their functions have not been well characterized. Cbln1, a member of the Cbln subfamily of the C1q family, is predominantly expressed in cerebellar granule cells. Interestingly, Cbln1 was recently shown to play two unique roles at excitatory synapses formed between cerebellar granule cells and Purkinje cells: the formation and stabilization of synaptic contact, and the control of functional synaptic plasticity by regulating the postsynaptic endocytosis pathway. Since other Cbln subfamily members, Cbln2-Cbln4, are expressed in various regions of developing and mature brains, Cbln subfamily proteins may generally serve as a new class of transneuronal regulators of synapse development and synaptic plasticity in various brain regions.     

Über induzierte Mutationserscheinungen an Milzbrand- und Kartoffelbazillen

Summary Experiments have been carried out with strains ofBacillus anthracis andBacillus mesentericus which in consequence of a mutation have lost their capsulas.Non-capsulated living anthrax bacilli mixed with bacteria-free extracts of capsulated mesentericus bacilli may undergo a mutation which results in the appearance of constant strains of capsulated and flagellated bacilli with colony formation peculiar toBacillus mesentericus. Similarly, after treatment of non-capsulated mesentericus bacilli with extracts of capsulated anthrax bacilli it is possible to isolate capsulated mesentericus bacilli.It is pointed out that in both cases there is the question of the result of an induced mutation caused by the introduction of genes of the one species into the other.     

Radioprotective and haemopoietic effects of some lipopolysaccharides from Rhodospirillaceae species in mice

Summary Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from variousRhodopseudomonas andRhodospirillum species were tested for their radioprotective efficiency against X-irradiation and for their influence on the growth of spleen colony forming units (CFU-s) in mice. The LPS fromRhodopseudomonas gelatinosa Dr₂ gave a high survival rate. It also favoured CFU-s formation and erythroid differentiation.     

Ultrastructure de la glande mammaire humaine non cancéreuse

Summary Striking cytological features of the nonmalignant human mammary gland are reported. The most important of them are 1. In gynecomastia, epithelial cells produce secretion like the epithelial cells of dysplasic and tumoral female mammary gland. 2. In pregnancy, the lipid synthesis appears earlier than the protein synthesis. 3. Lamellar osmiophilic inclusions have been found within myoepithelial cells in two cases.     

Membrane traffic in the secretory pathway

Secretion is a fundamental biological activity of all eukaryotic cells by which they release certain substances in the extracellular space. It is considered a specialized mode of membrane trafficking that is achieved by docking and fusion of secretory vesicles to the plasma membrane (i.e., exocytosis). Secretory vesicle traffic is thought to be regulated by a family of Rab small GTPases, which are regulators of membrane traffic that are common to all eukaryotic cells. Classically, mammalian Rab3 subfamily members were thought to be critical regulators of secretory vesicle exocytosis in neurons and endocrine cells, but recent genetic and proteomic studies indicate that Rab3 is not the sole Rab isoform that regulates secretory vesicle traffic. Rather, additional Rab isoforms, especially Rab27 subfamily members, are required for this process. In this article I review the current literature on the function of Rab isoforms and their effectors in regulated secretory vesicle traffic.     

Oligo-1,6-glucosidase and neopullulanase enzyme subfamilies from the alpha-amylase family defined by the fifth conserved sequence region

The α-amylase enzyme family is the largest family of glycoside hydrolases. It contains almost 30 different enzyme specificities covering hydrolases, transferases and isomerases. Some of the enzyme specificities from the family are closely related, others less so. This study, based on the analysis of 79 amino acid sequences, postulates two subfamilies in the framework of the α-amylase family: the oligo-1,6-glucosidase subfamily and the neopullulanase subfamily. The specific sequence in the fifth conserved sequence region of the family served as the basis for defining the subfamilies: QpDln for the oligo-1,6-glucosidase subfamily and MPKln for the neopullulanase subfamily. This conserved sequence region is proposed to be the selection marker that enables one to distinguish between the two subfamilies. The 'intermediary' sequence MPDLN can be characteristic of the so-called intermediary group with a mixed enzyme specificity of α-amylase, cyclomaltodextrinase and neopullulanase. The evolutionary trees clearly supported the proposed definition of the two subfamilies. Received 12 July 2002; received after revision 28 August 2002; accepted 24 September 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author.     

Comparative study of the karyotypes of two Egyptian species of bats,Taphozous perforatus andTaphozous nudiventris (Chiroptera: Mammalia)

A detailed karyotypic analysis of two Egyptian species of bats,Taphozous perforatus andTaphozous nudiventris, was made on the basis of conventional data and G-band patterns. No detectable karyotypic difference was found between the two species (2n=42, F.N. 64). By comparison of G-band patterns, some differences between the two species were seen in the corresponding autosomal pairs. These results are reported for the first time in Egypt.     

Instar-specific defensive secretions of stink bugs (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)

Defensive secretions (allomones) from first-instar nymphs of stink bugs in the subfamily Pentatominae contain (E)-4-oxo-2-decenal as a major constituent, whereas this compound is absent from later instars. In contrast, first instars ofEdessa meditabunda (Edessinae) produce allomones like those of later instars. The C₆ and C₈ (E)-4-oxo-2-alkenals are common, characteristic exocrine compounds of nymphal and adult Heteroptera, but (E)-4-oxo-2-decenal is previously unknown as a major natural product for which a biological role has yet to be established.     

Myoglobin in the heart ventricle of tuna and other fishes

Summary The myoglobin content in the hearts of several fishes is positively correlated with the ecological physiology of the species. In the tuna heart, where the highest myoglobin values are found, the logarithmic relationship between myoglobin content and body weight is reported.     

蚁群算法中参数设置对超声回波估计性能的影响

摘要针对超声回波参数估计问题存在着耗机时长,估计结果严重依赖于初始值的缺点,本文将蚁群算法应用到超声回波参数估计中,结合超声回波的非线性高斯模型,提出了基于蚁群算法的超声回波参数估计算法,并就蚁群算法在超声回波估计中参数的优化组合设置进行了分析研究通过数值仿真,在信噪比为10dB条件下计算了蚁群算法中各参数的不同取值对估计结果的不同影响,包括计算时间、估计精度和算法稳定性,得出了算法中各参数的组合优化设置,给出了最优参数下的超声回波参数估计结果,并通过与其他算法的比较验证了蚁群算法在超声回波参数估计问题中的有效性．该研究有助于提高超声回波估计的精度和算法的稳定性,缩短蚁群算法的计算时问,以达到优化算法性能的目的．     

Chemistry and slavery in the Scottish Enlightenment

ABSTRACT

The Scottish Enlightenment has long been identified with abolitionism because of the writings of the moral and economic philosophers and the absence of slaves in Scotland itself. However, Scots were disproportionately represented in the ownership, management, and especially medical treatment of slaves in the British Caribbean. Sugar and cotton flowed into Glasgow and young, educated Scots looking for work as traders, bookkeepers, doctors made the return trip back to the Caribbean to manage the plantations. Chemically trained doctors and agriculturalists tested their theories in the plantations and developed new theories based on their experimentation on the land and slaves. In foregrounding the participation of Scottish trained chemists in the practice of slavery, I argue that the development of eighteenth-century chemistry and the broader intellectual Enlightenment were inextricably entangled with the economic Improvement Movement and the colonial economy of the British slave trade.     

Chromosomal evolution and zoogeographic origin of southeast Asian shrews (genusCrocidura)

To the origins and evolution of Indomalayan shrews, we investigated the chromosomal variations of 14 species ofCrocidura from SE Asia. Intraspecific polymorphism was mainly due to variation in the number of short chromosomal arms butC. lepidura andC. hutanis showed a polymorphism due to a centric fusion. The undifferentially stained karyotypes were similar in 9 species, all possessing 2n=38 and FN=54–56 (68);C. fuliginosa had 2n=40 and FN=54–58. These karyotypes are close to the presumed ancestral state for the genusCrocidura. Four species from Sulawesi had a reduced diploid number (2n=30–34), a trend not observed among other SE Asian species but present in few Palaearctic taxa. Compared to the apparent stasis of karyotypic evolution observed among other SE Asian species, the high degree of interspecific differences reported among Sulawesian shrews is unusual and needs further investigation.Stasis and reduction in diploid number found in both Indomalayan and Palaearctic species suggest that these two groups share a common ancestry. This is in sharp contrast to most Afrotropical species which evolved towards higher diploid and fundamental numbers. The zoogeographical implications of these results are discussed.     

Biomedicine and Diseases: Review¶Assembling the human immunodeficiency virus type 1

Retroviral assembly proceeds through a series of concerted events that lead to the formation and release of infectious virion particles from the infected cell. Upon translation, structural proteins are targeted to the plasma membrane where they accumulate. There, the nascent particle forces the plasma membrane to form a bud, which pinches off releasing the virion particle from the cell. In this review we describe the molecular mechanisms now known to be behind the process of virion assembly. In particular, we focus on the human immunodeficiency virus type 1, the prototype member of the lentivirus subfamily of the Retroviridae.     

Chromosome arrangement throughout mitosis and interphase inAllium sativum (Liliaceae)

Summary Allium sativum (garlic) root-tip chromosomes were subjected to a C-banding procedure. In addition to the nucleolar bands reported previously in this species, bands which are telomeric or close to the telomeres have been detected in some pairs. This has allowed us to analyze the arrangement of chromosomes during interphase.     

Asiatic cobras: systematics and snakebite

The population affinities of the Asiatic cobras of the genus Naja are investigated, using multivariate analysis of a range of morphological characters. This complex, which was formerly thought to be monospecific, consists of at least eight full species. In some cases, species whose bites require different antivenoms occur sympatrically. The new understanding of the systematics of the Asiatic cobra complex calls for a reappraisal of cobra antivenom use in Asia, and for more research into venom composition.     

Chromosomal polymorphism caused by supernumerary chromosomes inRattus rattus ssp.frugivurus (Rafinesque, 1814) (Rodentia,Muridae)

Summary A chromosomal numeric polymorphism 2n=38, 39, 40 and 41 in the speciesRattus rattus ssp.frugivurus (Rafinesque, 1814) is reported for the first time for this subspecies. The numbers 2n=39, 40 and 41 are new for the species. The polymorphism is due to the presence of 1, 2 or 3 B-chromosomes, which are all small metacentrics of the size and shaped very close to the other autosomes of the normal complement, and whose character of being supernumeraries is shown in Meiosis.     

Asiatic cobras: Systematics and snakebite

Summary The population affinities of the Asiatic cobras of the genusNaja are investigated, using multivariate analysis of a range of morphological characters. This complex, which was formerly thought to be monospecific, consists of at least eight full species. In some cases, species whose bites require different antivenoms occur sympatrically. The new understanding of the systematics of the Asiatic cobra complex calls for a reappraisal of cobra antivenom use in Asia, and for more research into venom composition.     

Signaling in the Chemosensory Systems

A vast number of structurally diverse bitter compounds need to be detected by a subfamily of only approximately 25 human bitter receptors. Failure in detecting them might be lethal, since some naturally occurring bitter compounds, such as strychnine, are very toxic. This review presents an overview about the enormous progress in the field of mammalian bitter taste research with special emphasis on humans, if data were available. It summarizes the current knowledge about the anatomical basis for bitter taste perception, intracellular signal transduction, evolution, expression and polymorphisms of hTAS2R genes, and the molecular basis for the recognition of bitter compounds.