Les bases cytologiques de l'hérédité «relativement» liée au sexe chez les mammifères

Summary The author shows that the conception of an incomplete sex-linkage in mammals must be discarded on cytological grounds. There is either (general case) pre-reduction of theX andY chromosomes at the first metaphase, or post-reduction (Apodemus) but never facultative post-or pre-reduction.During the growth period, from the Zygoteny to the Diacinesis, the occurrence ofc -o is made highly improbable, owing to the heteropycnotic state of the sexchromosomes, and has never been observed with accuracy. The revision of the literature shows that such an hypothesis is not tenable.The obligatory post-reduction byApodemus can be interpreted in the concept of anticipation centromérique.In a very few cases, formations like chiasmas occur as linking theX andY chromosomes at the first metaphase. It is possible that these exceptional configurations might be explained by a translocation of the sex-chromosomes on a pair of autosomes.From a more general standpoint, it would be desirable that geneticians should have more confidence in the results of pure cytologists rather than in the work of cytogeneticians who wish to find an explanation for every genetical hypothesis.

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Institut de Zoologie et d'Anatomie comparée.     

Ablation of cyclase-associated protein 2 (CAP2) leads to cardiomyopathy

Cyclase-associated proteins are highly conserved proteins that have a role in the regulation of actin dynamics. Higher eukaryotes have two isoforms, CAP1 and CAP2. To study the in vivo function of CAP2, we generated mice in which the CAP2 gene was inactivated by a gene-trap approach. Mutant mice showed a decrease in body weight and had a decreased survival rate. Further, they developed a severe cardiac defect marked by dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) associated with drastic reduction in basal heart rate and prolongations in atrial and ventricular conduction times. Moreover, CAP2-deficient myofibrils exhibited reduced cooperativity of calcium-regulated force development. At the microscopic level, we observed disarrayed sarcomeres with development of fibrosis. We analyzed CAP2’s role in actin assembly and found that it sequesters G-actin and efficiently fragments filaments. This activity resides completely in its WASP homology domain. Thus CAP2 is an essential component of the myocardial sarcomere and is essential for physiological functioning of the cardiac system, and a deficiency leads to DCM and various cardiac defects.     

Un nouveau type de détermination chromosomique du sexe chez les mammifèresEllobius lutescens Th. etMicrotus (Chilotus) oregoni Bachm. (Muridés-Microtinés)

Summary (1)Ellobius lutescens andMicrotus oregoni show the same type of sex-chromosomes. The diploid number is odd in both sexes, seventeen.(2) The odd element ofEllobius is morphologically alike in the male and in the female. InM. oregoni, the odd element of the male is acrocentric, that of the female metacentric.(3) Following a hypothesis ofWhite, it seems very probable that the heterochromosome of the male is built of the primitiveY (short arm) and the primitiveX (long arm) linked together. In the female of the same species (M. oregoni), the sex-chromosome represents both theX fused together.(4) Only the half of the Zygotes may develope, the other half being lethal.(5) The close kinship betweenEllobius andM. oregoni is certain, a parallel evolution appearing as highly improbable.     

Can purchasing power parity help forecast the dollar?

This paper examines the information on future exchange rate movements provided by the doctrine of purchasing power parity (PPP). Previous research has studied this issue by analyzing the time-series properties of period-by-period levels of, or changes in, exchange rates. In contrast, the present study focuses on the durations of periods in which exchange rates deviate from their PPP levels. If PPP provides information about future exchange rate movements, these durations should exhibit positive duration dependence. That is, the probability of returning to PPP levels should increase as the period of deviation increases. Parametric hazard functions estimated using data from eighteen countries provide no evidence of positive duration dependence. These results are robust to alternative definitions of PPP and to alternative functional specifications. While exchange rates take prolonged swings away from their PPP levels and then eventually return, these movements apparently constitute Monte Carlo cycles in which, at any point in time, the probability of moving back toward PPP is the same as the probability of moving farther away. Thus, PPP provides no useful information on future exchange rate changes, a result consistent with market efficiency.     

Dosage de la procaïnestérase sérique par spectrophotométrie différentielle

Summary A method is proposed for dosage of serum procainesterase by differential spectrophotometry, based on the decrease of the optical density at 295 mµ in the course of the hydrolysis.