Biogenesis of mitochondrial porin: The import pathway

Summary We review here the present knowledge about the pathway of import and assembly of porin into mitochondria and compare it to those of other mitochondrial proteins. Porin, like all outer mitochondrial membrane proteins studied so far is made as a precursor without a cleavble signal sequence; thus targeting information must reside in the mature sequence. At least part of this information appears to be located at the amino-terminal end of the molecule. Transport into mitochondria can occur post-translationally. In a first step, the porin precursor is specifically recognized on the mitochondrial surface by a protease sensitive receptor. In a second step, porin precursor inserts partially into the outer membrane. This step is mediated by a component of the import machinery common to the import pathways of precursor proteins destined for other mitochondrial subcompartments. Finally, porin is assembled to produce the functional oligomeric form of an integral membrane protein wich is characterized by its extreme protease resistance.     

Exogenous fibronectin modifies the aggregation of collagen-stimulated human platelets

Summary Fibronectins (FN) are adhesive glycoproteins whose role in platelet aggregation is unclear. Addition of 3, 6 and 12 g/ml of human plasma FN in vitro to isolated human platelets, which had been freed from plasma FN by gel filtration and subsequently stimulated with collagen, inhibited the last stage of platelet aggregation. With 3 and 6g/ml of FN a shortening of the lag-time was also observed. These data showed that FN may play a role in platelet-collagen interaction as well as in platelet-platelet interaction.     

Proton-induced dismutation of superoxide in aprotic media by bile pigments

Summary Cyclic voltammetry of molecular oxygen in aprotic media (dimethylformamide) and in the presence of bilirubin and other bile pigments shows that superoxide anion ( ) undergoes proton-induced dismutation. Lactam hydrogens of bile pigments are sufficiently acid to induce disproportionation to O₂ and H₂O₂. Because of its characteristic lipophilic behavior, a biological role for natural bilirubin similar to that of other non-enzymatic lipophilic scavengers of is suggested.     

Evidence from carbon isotope measurements for diverse origins of sedimentary hydrocarbons

The organic matter found in sedimentary rocks must derive from many sources; not only from ancient primary producers but also from consumers and secondary producers. In all of these organisms, isotope effects can affect the abundance and distribution of 13C in metabolites. Here, by using an improved form of a previously described technique in which the effluent of a gas chromatograph is continuously analysed isotopically, we report evidence of the diverse origins of sedimentary organic matter. The record of 13C abundances in sedimentary carbonate and total organic carbon can be interpreted in terms of variations in the global carbon cycle. Our results demonstrate, however, that isotope variations within sedimentary organic mixtures substantially exceed those observed between samples of total organic carbon. Resolution of isotope variations at the molecular level offers a new and convenient means of refining views both of localized palaeoenvironments and of control mechanisms within the global carbon cycle.     

Amino-acid synthesis in carbonaceous meteorites by aqueous alteration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

It has been suggested that amino acids and other organic compounds found in carbonaceous meteorites formed by aqueous alteration in the meteorite parent bodies. Observations of carbonaceous material in interstellar grains and interplanetary dust particles indicate that condensed organic compounds may have been present in meteorite parent bodies at the time of aqueous alteration. One group of compounds thought to be representative of this carbonaceous material is the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Recently it was proposed that PAHs condense on SiC grains in the molecular envelopes of carbon-rich red-giant stars, which would allow for their subsequent incorporation into meteorite parent bodies during accretion. This incorporation mechanism is supported by the identification of SiC grains in carbonaceous chondrites. The possibility therefore exists that PAHs, and/or other condensed organic compounds, represent the starting material for aqueous alteration which leads to the formation of amino acids and other water-soluble organic compounds. Here we present calculations of the distribution of aqueous organic compounds in metastable equilibrium with representative PAHs as functions of the fugacities of O2, CO2 and NH3. The results reported here for pyrene and fluoranthene, two PAHs with different structures but the same stoichiometry, differ greatly but indicate that the formation of amino and carboxylic acids is energetically favourable at probable parent-body alteration conditions. The actual reaction mechanisms involved could be revealed by consideration of isotope data for PAHs, amino acids, other organic compounds and carbonates in carbonaceous chondrites.     

A user designer-based systems methodology

This paper develops the argument that in organizational redesign it is desirable to utilize user-designers as the architects for the redesign. A methodology is developed which emphasizes the use of ideal systems models by user-designers to plan for the organization's future. The methodology involves the creation of an ideal system model, then an analysis of the present system through the creation of root definitions and process models of the existing system. Then root definitions and process models for the idealized system are created. Finally, the two are compared and desirable changes are generated which bring the existing system toward the idealized.     

Error rates in quadratic discrimination with constraints on the covariance matrices

In multivariate discrimination of several normal populations, the optimal classification procedure is based on quadratic discriminant functions. We compare expected error rates of the quadratic classification procedure if the covariance matrices are estimated under the following four models: (i) arbitrary covariance matrices, (ii) common principal components, (iii) proportional covariance matrices, and (iv) identical covariance matrices. Using Monte Carlo simulation to estimate expected error rates, we study the performance of the four discrimination procedures for five different parameter setups corresponding to standard situations that have been used in the literature. The procedures are examined for sample sizes ranging from 10 to 60, and for two to four groups. Our results quantify the extent to which a parsimonious method reduces error rates, and demonstrate that choosing a simple method of discrimination is often beneficial even if the underlying model assumptions are wrong.The authors wish to thank the editor and three referees for their helpful comments on the first draft of this article. M. J. Schmid supported by grants no. 2.724-0.85 and 2.038-0.86 of the Swiss National Science Foundation.