Variability of sterol utilization in stored-products insects

A comparison of sterol utilization by 3 stored-products insects revealed very different capabilities. The fluor beetle,Tribolium castaneum dealkylates and converts dietary sitosterol to about equal amounts of cholesterol (43.7%) and 7-dehydrocholeterol (39.8%), whereas another flour beetle,Tenebrio molitor, produces considerably less 7-dehydrocholesterol (16.8%) and relatively more cholesterol (66.7%) from sitosterol. The lepidopteran,Plodia interpunctella, utilized dietary sterol very similar to plant-feeding lepidoptera, producing primarily cholesterol (86.5%) from sitosterol.     

A novel mechanism for jumping in the indian ant<Emphasis Type="Italic">Harpegnathos saltator</Emphasis> (Jerdon) (Formicidae,Ponerinae)

The Indian antHarpegnathos saltator may be unique among insects in using its jumping capacity not only as an escape mechanism but also as a normal means of locomotion, and for catching its prey in flight. High-speed cinematography used to analyse the various phases of the jump suggests thatHarpegnathos employs a novel jumping mechanism to mediate these behaviours: namely the synchronous activation of its middle and hindlegs. Electrophysiological recordings from muscles or nerves in pairs of middle and hindlegs show remarkably synchronous activity during fictive jumping, supporting the synchronous activation hypothesis.Harpegnathos is not the only ant to jump, and a cladistic analysis suggests that jumping behaviour evolved independently three times during ant evolutionary history.     

Influence of bistramide A on the twitch tension in rat atrial heart muscle

Bistramide A, a new toxin isolated from the UrochordateLissoclinum bistratum Sluiter, was applied to rat auricular heart muscle bundles. At a stimulation frequency of 0.2 Hz, the toxin induces a dose-dependent reduction of the stimulated twitch tension force; it decreases and shortens the duration of the plateau and the slow repolarizing phase of the action potential. In the control solution, switching from a stimulation frequency of 0.2 Hz to 1 Hz decreases the force with which a positive potentiation develops either at a maintained high frequency or after switching from 1 Hz to 0.2 Hz. Bistramide A reduces both the force evoked at 1 Hz and the potentiation. The data suggest that Bistramide A blocks Na⁺ conductance; inhibits Ca⁺⁺ channels in a time-and frequency-dependent manner; reduces Na⁺–Ca⁺⁺ exchange activity; but does not modify the ability of the sarcoplasmic reticulum to be refilled although the rate of Ca⁺⁺ accumulation is decreased.     

Bovine microvascular endothelial cells of separate morphology differ in growth and response to the action of interferon-γ

Five cell types recently isolated from the bovine corpus luteum differed in their epithelioid morphology and their cytoskeleton, but shared common criteria of microvascular endothelial cells^1,2. To give strong evidence for the separate entity, the growth rate of the 5 phenotypically different cells was studied. They were seeded at low density on day 0. Most of these cells were treated with 200 to 1000 U recombinant bovine interferon- (IFN-) for 3 days. The untreated remainder served as controls. Cell counts were made for all cultures on days 4, 7, 10 and 13. morphology: 13 d after treatment with IFN- senescent cells as well as intact cells occurred in cultures of cell types 1 to 4. Cultures of cell type 5 were apparently unchanged and resembled their untreated counterparts. Desminpositive cells in cultures of cell type 2 developed cell processes. Growth rate: In the absence of IFN-, the growth rate was high for cell types 3 and 4, moderate for cell type 1, and low for cell types 2 and 5. The presence of IFN- caused anti-proliferative effects. These were higher for cell types 3 and 4 than for cell types 1 and 2. IFN- could be cytotoxic on cell type 3. In contrast, the cytokine tended to support the cell growth of cell type 5. These findings substantiate the postulate that endothelial cells exhibiting separate morphology in culture also function differently.     

Thrombospondin co-localises with TGFβ and IGF-I in the extracellular matrix of human osteoblast-like cells and is modulated by 17β estradiol

Thrombospondin (TSP) is a multifunctional glycoprotein which is synthesised by several cell types including osteoblasts, and incorporated into the extracellular matrix (ECM) of these cells. The function and regulation of TSP in bone is not clear. In this study, using a long term culture model of human osteoblast-like cells, we examined the distribution of TSP in the ECM and its modulation by added estradiol. In this model the osteoblast-like cells form a regular multilayer which continues to increase in depth up to 50 days post confluence. In the ECM of these cultures and in 19-week fetal bone, the bone markers osteocalcin and alkaline phosphatase were diffusely distributed in the matrix. In contrast, labelling for TSP was concentrated, confined to the banded collagen and its immediately adjacent ECM. This pattern of labelling resembled that of the growth factors transforming growth factor-I (TGF), and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), with which TSP label co-localised. Labelling intensities were comparable between fetal bone and the in vitro material for TSP, TGF and IGF-I. TSP label was present by 10 days post confluence, reached a maximum by 20 days, and declined slowly thereafter, a time course which was similar to that of IGF-I. Incubation of osteoblast-like cell cultures with 17 estradiol resulted in an increase in multilayer depth and a maximal 3-fold increase in TSP labeling at 30 days as well as approximately 2-fold increases for TGF and IGF-I. The dose-response relationship for these responses to estradiol treatment was biphasic with maximal increases at 10^–10 M–10^–11 M of added estradiol. Treatment with 17 estradiol produced labelling intensities that were not significantly different from controls. Studies with other cell types have suggested that TSP may be involved in modulation of growth factor activity. The similarities between TSP, TGF and IGF-I, in terms of their distribution and regulation by 17 estradiol treatment, may indicate a role for TSP in modulating bone cell proliferation and function through interaction with local growth factors.     

Sex pheromone of the pine sawflyDiprion pini (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae): Chemical identification,synthesis and biological activity

The main component of the sex pheromone secretion of femaleDiprion pini L. (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae) from insects collected both in Finland and in France has been identified as athreo-3,7-dimethyl-2-tridecanol (8 ng per female) stereoisomer by GC-MS and synthesis. The secretion also contains lower and higher homologues in small amounts (1–4% of the main component). Combined gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection showed activity in both natural and esterified extracts (acetates and propionates); the esters of the main component gave the largest responses. The acetates and propionates of the eight stereoisomers of 3,7-dimethyl-2-tridecanol were synthesized from enantiomerically highly enriched (>99% ee) building blocks. The stereochemistry of the main component was established to be (2S,3R,7R)-3,7-dimethyl-2-tridecanol by GC analysis of the natural material. It was purified by liquid chromatography prior to the GC analysis of both its pentafluorobenzoates and its isopropylcarbamates on a non-chiral polar column (ECD) and a chiral column (NPD), respectively. Field tests demonstrated that both the acetate and propionate of the main component (100 g of each applied on cotton roll dispensers) were active in attracting males, with or without the presence of several of the minor compounds. Experiments with smaller amounts of the acetate and the propionate (1 g in France and 50 g in Finland) demonstrated that the propionate was more active than the acetate, and that it also caught more males than a blend of the two compounds.     

Medical representations of the body in Japan: gender, class, and discourse in the eighteenth century

This paper examines the introduction of European anatomy to Japan via translated medical texts in the eighteenth century. It argues how detailed illustrations of the body found in the texts presented a new discourse by which to objectify and control the body, and new metaphors and analogies by which to view society. Inspection of bodily parts through dissection and the reading of anatomical texts marked a transition to Western forms of science, to 'reliable' knowledge which was certified by the social status of the author. By looking at one important text, the Kaitai shinsho [A New Book of Anatomy] (1774), it will be shown that changes in representations of the body reflect the social construction of gender.     

Nα-quinaldyl-L-arginine·HCl,a new defensive alkaloid fromSubcoccinella-24-punctata (Coleoptera,Coccinellidae)

The isolation of N-quinaldyl-L-arginine·HCl (1) from the CoccinellidaeSubcoccinella-24-punctata is reported. The structure, first established on the basis of the analysis of the spectral properties of1, has been confirmed by synthesis. The alkaloid is of endogenous origin and markedly deterrent to ants.     

Molecular evidence for increased hematopoietic proliferation in the spleen of the b/b laboratory rat

The splenomegaly and the appearance of a significant number of CFU-E (erythroid colony-forming units) and BFU-E¹ (erythroid burst-forming units) in the Belgrade laboratory rat (b/b) spleen prompted us to analyse further the molecular evidence for increased hematopoietic proliferation in the b/b spleen. Messenger RNAs (mRNAs) specific for globins, proteins for iron transport and deposition and the band 3 protein were used in rat erythropoietic tissues as markers for proliferation and erythroid differentiation. In the b/b spleen, all mRNAs analysed display an erythroid-specific pattern of expression. This analysis also revealed an enhanced level of mRNA for ferritin in the +/b spleen, whereas erythrocyte-specific mRNA production was normal.