Juvenile hormone titre and regulation in the cockroachDiploptera punctata

Summary Titres of juvenile hormone (JH) have been determined in both hemolymph and whole body extracts of femaleDiploptera punctata during the first gonotrophic cycle using a method employing gas chromatography/mass spectrometry for qualitative and quantitative analysis. JH III is the sole JH found in both adult and last instarD. punctata. Maximum values of 1500 ng/ml (6M) were observed at the middle of the gonotrophic cycle, when basal oocyte growth rate was greatest. Changes in rates of JH release in vitro by corpora allata paralleled closely the changes in JH titre, suggesting that biosynthesis is a major regulator of titre. JH levels per animal were calculated from observed JH titres, and at certain time points in the gonotrophic cycle JH levels obtained from analysis of whole bodies were significantly greater than those predicted from hemolymph titres. These results suggest the existence of a nonhemolymph JH pool inD. punctata. Decay in JH titre after allatectomy of 5 day females has also been studied. Following a rapid initial decline, the rate of decay slowed appreciably 4 h post-operation. Thus, use of a first-order rate constant to estimate half-life of JH significantly underestimated the longevity of the hormone. The apparent persistence of JH following allatectomy may be due to the existence of a nonhemolymph JH pool.     

The susceptibility to exercise-induced muscle damage increases as rats grow larger

Summary Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and N-acetyl--glucosaminidase activities were both elevated after eccentric exercise indicating that this type of exercise causes muscle damage. Muscle damage as measured by glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in the vastus intermedius was greater and occurred later in larger rats indicating that the susceptibility to muscle damage is increased and the repair process delayed in older and larger animals.     

A new semisynthetic ergot peptide alkaloid: DCN 203-922

Summary We report the synthesis, stereochemistry and preliminary pharmacological evaluation of DCN 203-922, a novel ergot alkaloid of the cyclol type, which contains in its peptide moiety the uncommon amino acid L-allo-isoleucine.Part of this paper was reported by this author at the Herbstversammlung der Schweizerischen Chemischen Gesellschaft, Bern, in October 1986.     

Regulation of cellulose synthesis in Acetobacter xylinum by cyclic diguanylic acid

Cellulose is the most abundant renewable carbon resource on earth and is an indispensable raw material for the wood, paper, and textile industries. A model system to study the mechanism of cellulose biogenesis is the bacterium Acetobacter xylinum which produces pure cellulose as an extracellular product. It was from this organism that in vitro preparations which possessed high levels of cellulose synthase activity were first obtained in both membranous and soluble forms. We recently demonstrated that this activity is subject to a complex multi-component regulatory system, in which the synthase is directly affected by an unusual cyclic nucleotide activator enzymatically formed from GTP, and indirectly by a Ca (2+) -sensitive phosphodiesterase which degrades the activator. The cellulose synthase activator (CSA) has now been identified as bis-(3' 5')-cyclic diguanylic acid (5'G3'p5'G3'p) on the basis of mass spectroscopic data, nuclear magnetic resonance analysis and comparison with chemically synthesized material. We also report here on intermediary steps in the synthesis and degradation of this novel circular dinucleotide, which have been integrated into a model for the regulation of cellulose synthesis.     

人工干预压采条件下东风湖泉域地下水环境响应研究

为掌握我国北方典型岩溶泉域在人工干预条件下地下水的动态响应规律,以涉县东风湖泉域为研究对象,结合区内地质、水文地质、2011-2021年地下水位动态监测和地下水压采资料,在分析该地区地下水动态变化特征的基础上,运用GMS软件构建了在人工压采干预作用下的地下水流数值模拟模型,对地下水位变化趋势进行了预测。结果表明：①研究区地下水动态变化明显,具有周期性、滞后性,具体表现为4个变化阶段;②研究区内岩溶地下水整体呈现回升的状态,但是空间分布特征不同,上升区主要分布于下游地区;;③地下水类型为降水入渗-开采型,低水位期基本在5-6月,高水位期在1-2月;④在干预条件下,区内地下水位有着不同程度的回升,南部(下游)浅层水位响应特征值超过15m,中游地下水位响应特征值达到了5-10m,北部(上游)地下水位响应特征值为3-5m;上游和中游地下水位影响整体小于下游,下游水位响应尤为突出。该研究对于泉域内泉的保护以及地下水开发利用和保护具有重要的理论和实际意义。