Determination of erythrocyte pyrimidine 5′-nucleotidase activity by31P nuclear magnetic resonance: Comparison of normal controls and multiple sclerosis patients

Summary A technique to assay erythrocyte pyrimidine 5-nucleotidase activity in situ using³¹P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is presented. The assay is chemically specific, simple and applicable to untreated lysates. A comparison of enzyme levels in normal controls and in multiple sclerosis patients employing the assay yielded no significant differences between both groups. Difficulties encountered in the quantitative analysis of the assay using¹H-NMR spectroscopy are briefly discussed.     

Wine technology: Current trends

Conclusion Current enological research does not aim at developing technological wines whose organoleptic characteristics are basically determined by the methods used in the transformation of grape wine, but rather to refine methods which will highlight the original qualities of different cultivars and viticultural conditions.     

The median procedure for n-trees

Let (X,d) be a metric space The functionM:X ^k 2 ^x defined by is the minimum } is called themedian procedure and has been found useful in various applications involving the notion of consensus Here we present axioms that characterizeM whenX is a certain class of trees (hierarchical classifications), andd is the symmetric difference metricWe would like to thank the referees and Editor for helpful comments     

Biological role of major transplantation antigens in T cell self-recognition

Summary The proposal is made, illustrated and supported by experimental evidence that T cell-mediated immunopathology triggered initially by low- or non-cytopathic infectious agents may cause diseases, susceptibility to which is linked to the major histocompatibility gene complex.This summary is an updated version of the paper given on the occasion of the Paul Ehrlich Prize ceremonies in 1983; it was also presented at the meeting New Trends in Allergy II in München 1985, and is reproduced here with the permission of Springer Verlag, Heidelberg.     

Molt-induced muscle atrophy decreases the zinc content of the pectoralis of the Giant Canada Goose (Branta canadensis maxima)

Summary During molt-induced atrophy of the pectoralis muscle of the Giant Canada Goose (Branta canadensis maxima), the zinc content of the muscle was significantly reduced (p0.0139), though the concentration of zinc per unit weight of muscle appeared higher (p0.0232). Zinc lost from the muscle during molt could be utilized for growth of the new flight feathers.Acknowledgments. Funds for this study were obtained from an operating grant awarded to J. C. G. by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.     

Cooperative inhibitory effect of follicular fluid and cAMP on hamster oocyte maturation

Summary Porcine or human follicular fluid inhibited the spontaneous maturation of isolated hamster oocytes in vitro during the first 1.5 h of culture. Moreover, the presence of 50% follicular fluid combined with 100 M dbcAMP cooperatively reduced the incidence of germinal vesicle breakdown. The addition of FSH also inhibited the resumption of meiosis, and the presence of LH did not overcome the inhibitory effects of follicular fluid and tended to impede isolated hamster oocyte maturation in vitro.     

Organically preserved microbial endoliths from the late Proterozoic of East Greenland

Diverse microorganisms ranging from cyanobacteria to eukaryotic algae and fungi live endolithically within ooids, hardgrounds and invertebrate shells on the present-day sea floor. These organisms are involved in the mechanical destruction of carbonates, and are useful ecological indicators of water depth and pollution. The Phanerozoic history of microbial endoliths has been elucidated through the study of microborings (the trace fossils of endolithic microorganisms) and rare cellularly preserved individuals, but nothing was known of the possible Precambrian evolution of comparable microorganisms until Campbell documented the occurrence of microborings in late Proterozoic ooids from central East Greenland. We now report the discovery of large populations of organically preserved endolithic microorganisms in silicified pisolites from 700-800-Myr-old Limestone-Dolomite Series of East Greenland. This fossil assemblage is significant for three reasons: (1) It confirms the prediction that oolites, pisolites and hardgrounds--the substrates for pre-Phanerozoic endoliths--provide a hitherto poorly explored but rewarding set of environments into which the search for early microfossils must be broadened; (2) the assemblage is diverse, containing about 12 taxa of morphologically distinct and previously unknown endolithic cyanobacteria, plus associated epilithic and interstitial populations; and (3) at least six of the fossil populations are indistinguishable in morphology, pattern of development, reproductive biology and inferred ecology from distinctive cyanobacterial species that bore ooids today in the Bahama Banks.     

Internalization of polypeptide hormones and receptor recycling

Conclusion The insulin receptor is an integral protein of the plasma membrane of the cell. It is composed of two subunits: an subunit, which binds the hormone, and a subunit which is a tyrosine specific protein kinase capable of undergoing autophosphorylation. These independent subunits are synthesized by way of a higher molecular weight single chain precursor and thus are the product of a single gene^{29, 49, 85} localized to chromosome 19^{29, 91}. Assuming that the insulin receptor is synthesized in the same fashion as other integral membrane glycoproteins, then the nucleus, the rough endoplasmic reticulum, and the Golgi apparatus are involved in its biosynthesis. Further, there must be some form of transport of the mature receptor subunits to the plasma membrane where they are inserted.By contrast, the endocytotic route involves coated pits, coated vesicles, large clear vesicles or endosomes, multivesicular bodies and other lysosomal forms. In addition, it is possible that some other as yet unidentified organelle is involved in recycling (fig. 8). At the present time, with respect to the insulin receptor, the biosynthetic pathway and the endocytotic pathway appear to be separate. Further, it does not appear that either pathway, i. e. synthesis or endocytosis, exerts a regulatory function over the other.     

New phytotoxic butenolides produced bySeiridium cardinale,the pathogen of cypress canker disease

Summary Two new butenolides, seiridin andiso-seiridin, were isolated from culture filtrates ofSeiridium cardinale, the pathogen of cypress canker, a destructive disease ofCupressus and relatedConiferae These metabolites were characterized as 3-methyl-4-(2-hydroxyheptyl)-2(5H)-furanone and its 4-(3-hydroxyheptyl) isomer, respectively. Chlorotic, and necrotic symptoms were produced on leaves of either host or non-host test plants by absorption of 0.3 mg/ml solutions of either compound. These also showed antibacterial activity.This study was supported in part by the National Research Council, Rome (special ad hoc project Chimica fine e secondaria) and in part by the Ministry of Education, Rome.