Metabolic activity of goat adipose tissue at the end of gestation and at the beginning of lactation: level of deoxyribouncleic acid content and lipoprotein lipase activity]

In the goat the passage from late pregnancy to early lactation is accompanied by a decrease of the epiploon lipoprotein lipase activity and an increase in the epiploon DNA content. The between-goat variations allow us to emphasize a linear relation between the lipoprotein lipase activity decrease and the reduction of the epiploon volume, expressed on a DNA basis. These parameters, used as indicators of the adipose tissue metabolic status, could contribue to the determination of a feeding strategy adapted to high yield milking Ruminants.     

Lipid overload induced in myocardial cells by vegetable oils. Observation using electron microscopy]

Comparative studies were made to estimate the lipid overloading of myocardiac cells in rats fed by groups, for 3 and 6 days, one of the following dietary oils: peanut oil, maize oil, sunflower oi, soyabean oil, rapeseed-primor oil, rapeseed-canbra oil and rapeseed oil.     

Zone immunoelectrophoresis assay applied to α1 glycoprotein secretion by isolated rat hepatocytes

Summary A method for measuring proteins in low concentrations applying the zone immunoelectrophoresis assay is reported. The low detection limit makes it possible to measure ₁-acid glycoprotein in rat serum and also to quantify the secretion of this protein after concentration of the incubation media containing less than 10⁷ isolated rat hepatocytes. The method is simple and consumes very small quantities of antiserum.     

Discovery of the short gamma-ray burst GRB 050709

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) fall into two classes: short-hard and long-soft bursts. The latter are now known to have X-ray and optical afterglows, to occur at cosmological distances in star-forming galaxies, and to be associated with the explosion of massive stars. In contrast, the distance scale, the energy scale and the progenitors of the short bursts have remained a mystery. Here we report the discovery of a short-hard burst whose accurate localization has led to follow-up observations that have identified the X-ray afterglow and (for the first time) the optical afterglow of a short-hard burst; this in turn led to the identification of the host galaxy of the burst as a late-type galaxy at z = 0.16 (ref. 10). These results show that at least some short-hard bursts occur at cosmological distances in the outskirts of galaxies, and are likely to be caused by the merging of compact binaries.     

Complex organic matter in Titan's atmospheric aerosols from in situ pyrolysis and analysis

Aerosols in Titan's atmosphere play an important role in determining its thermal structure. They also serve as sinks for organic vapours and can act as condensation nuclei for the formation of clouds, where the condensation efficiency will depend on the chemical composition of the aerosols. So far, however, no direct information has been available on the chemical composition of these particles. Here we report an in situ chemical analysis of Titan's aerosols by pyrolysis at 600 degrees C. Ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN) have been identified as the main pyrolysis products. This clearly shows that the aerosol particles include a solid organic refractory core. NH3 and HCN are gaseous chemical fingerprints of the complex organics that constitute this core, and their presence demonstrates that carbon and nitrogen are in the aerosols.     

Palaeontology: early Neolithic tradition of dentistry

Prehistoric evidence for the drilling of human teeth in vivo has so far been limited to isolated cases from less than six millennia ago. Here we describe eleven drilled molar crowns from nine adults discovered in a Neolithic graveyard in Pakistan that dates from 7,500-9,000 years ago. These findings provide evidence for a long tradition of a type of proto-dentistry in an early farming culture.