Heme structure in cooperative and noncooperative hemoglobins: study by resonant Raman diffusion]

The modifications of heme sites of hemoglobin, which should occur upon apoprotein alterations (responsible for variations of oxygen affinity), have been examined by Resonnant Raman scattering. The oxygenated (R) and deoxygenated (T) shape of apoprotein do not modify the heme states. The spectral differences between these forms are essentially due to the presence or the absence of the sixth ligand.     

Differential fluorimetric estimation of adrenalin and noradrenalin

Zusammenfassung Einfache und empfindliche Methode zur differentiellen fluorimetrischen Bestimmung von 0.01–1gmg/ml Menge von Adrenalin und Noradrenalin. Die Oxydation wird mit K₃Fe(CN)₆ bei pH 6.8 durchgeführt. Nachdem die fluorescierenden Derivate von Adrenalin und Noradrenalin sowie von Noradrenalin allein mittels basischem Askorbat bzw. Cystein-Thioglykolsäure stabilisiert worden sind, wird die Fluorescenz bei 409 nm und 519 nm gemessen 9.     

A new synthetic sulfur-containing amino acid: S-aminoethylcysteine

Riassunto L'aminoetilcisteina, composto intermedio ipotetico di transulfurazione tra cisteina e etanolamina, è stata preparata cristallina sotto forma di monocloridrato, trattando la cisteina con bromoetilamina in ambiente alcalino.     

Demonstration of antigen-antibody complex of TSV5C12 cell membranes by means of guinea pig fluorescent anti-complement antibodies]

The application of rabbit anti-guinea pig complement fluorescent antibody to SV40 transformed cells demonstrated the presence of immune complexes on the cell membrane surface. The presence of such complexes was not detectable by using fluorescent rabbit anti-hamster immunoglobulins antisera.     

Electrophoretic variation in esterases and phosphatases in eleven wild-type strains ofMetarrhizium anisopliae

Summary 11 wild-type strains ofMetarrhizium anisopliae were electrophoretically tested for phosphatases and esterases. Phosphatase was homogeneous for all strains. For esterase it was possible to distinguish 5 different patterns with which it is possible to characterize the strains analyzed.Acknowledgment. The authors are thankful to the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and to the Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EM-BRAPA) for financial assistance.     

Glycolitic enzymes in the human amniotic fluid

Riassunto È stata messa in evidenza nel liquido amniotico di donne a termine di gravidanza la presenza di alcuni enzimi glicolitici. Sono riportati i dati quantitativi ottenuti per l'attività della fosforiboso-isomerasi, aldolasi, fosfoesoso-isomerasi e lattico-deidrogenasi. È stato determinato inoltre il contenuto proteico dei campioni di liquido amniotico presi in esame.     

Attività enolasica del plasma e del fegato nell'epatite sperimentale de virus MHV-3 Craig

Summary In experimental hepatitis from MHV-3 Craig strain, the enolase activity of plasma increases significatively from 48^th h of the infection, reaching the highest values at 72–96^th h.The same activity in the liver decreases only after 72^th h, while in the precocious stages of the infection it is unmodified.The physiopathological significance of the enzymatic modification in the plasma is related to the liver necrosis (enzymo-plasmatic syndrome of virus hepatitis).     

The diet of Australopithecus sediba

Specimens of Australopithecus sediba from the site of Malapa, South Africa (dating from approximately 2 million years (Myr) ago) present a mix of primitive and derived traits that align the taxon with other Australopithecus species and with early Homo. Although much of the available cranial and postcranial material of Au. sediba has been described, its feeding ecology has not been investigated. Here we present results from the first extraction of plant phytoliths from dental calculus of an early hominin. We also consider stable carbon isotope and dental microwear texture data for Au. sediba in light of new palaeoenvironmental evidence. The two individuals examined consumed an almost exclusive C(3) diet that probably included harder foods, and both dicotyledons (for example, tree leaves, fruits, wood and bark) and monocotyledons (for example, grasses and sedges). Like Ardipithecus ramidus (approximately 4.4 Myr ago) and modern savanna chimpanzees, Au. sediba consumed C(3) foods in preference to widely available C(4) resources. The inferred consumption of C(3) monocotyledons, and wood or bark, increases the known variety of early hominin foods. The overall dietary pattern of these two individuals contrasts with available data for other hominins in the region and elsewhere.