Effect of acetylcholine on the osmotic fragility of papain-treated and untreated human red blood cells

Résumé L'hémolyse des globules rouges, incubés avec de fortes concentrations d'acétylcholine en conditions isotoniques est due à l'acide acétique libéré dans le milieu. Cette hémolyse est complètement inhibée par l'inactivation de l'acétylcholinestérase érythrocytaire avec la papaïne.

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This work was supported by research grant No. 151-1-31 of the Research Committee of Bar-Ilan University.     

FRP钢骨混凝土梁抗剪性能

对FRP布加固钢骨混凝土梁斜截面受力特点进行研究,在对已有FRP抗剪加固的相关文献分析的基础上,提出了修正的FRP钢骨混凝土梁的斜截面抗剪承载力计算公式,并通过实验数据验证其正确性．     

Structure and mobility of electron gain and loss centres in proteins

Radiation damage to proteins is a topic of intense interest to those involved in radiation effects in biology, and also to those involved in radiotherapy. Although it has been widely studied, fundamental processes in protein damage are very hard to specify because of the complexity of the final damage products. But the non-invasive technique of electron-spin resonance is ideally suited to the task of detecting and identifying the primary and secondary products as these are expected to contains unpaired electrons (that is, free-radicals) and such species are uniquely detected by this sensitive form of spectroscopy. Our present study shows that a major radical species formed by electron loss in a range of proteins is the backbone amido radical, -N.(CO)-, characterized by hyperfine coupling to one 14N nucleus. These centres are efficiently trapped in proteins at low temperatures. In contrast, the expected backbone electron-capture centres, -NH(CO.-)-, are not readily trapped and electron transfer occurs until the ejected electron is trapped by some electrophilic centre. Such electron mobility was in fact established in our previous work on oxyhaemoglobin (FeO2----FeO2-), superoxide dismutase (Cu(II)----Cu(I] haemocyanin (Cu(II)O2Cu(I)----Cu(I)O2Cu(II] and various proteins containing S-S bonds (-S-S-)----(-S.-S-) (refs 1-4 respectively). This is strongly supported by our observation that such electrons are captured by DNA molecules, giving T.- centres, when nucleohistones are irradiated, and that Fe(CN)3-(6) ions readily scavenge such electrons from proteins which are devoid of highly electrophilic centres.     

Seasonal prediction of hurricane activity reaching the coast of the United States

Much of the property damage from natural hazards in the United States is caused by landfalling hurricanes--strong tropical cyclones that reach the coast. For the southeastern Atlantic coast of the US, a statistical method for forecasting the occurrence of landfalling hurricanes for the season ahead has been reported, but the physical mechanisms linking the predictor variables to the frequency of hurricanes remain unclear. Here we present a statistical model that uses July wind anomalies between 1950 and 2003 to predict with significant and useful skill the wind energy of US landfalling hurricanes for the following main hurricane season (August to October). We have identified six regions over North America and over the east Pacific and North Atlantic oceans where July wind anomalies, averaged between heights of 925 and 400 mbar, exhibit a stationary and significant link to the energy of landfalling hurricanes during the subsequent hurricane season. The wind anomalies in these regions are indicative of atmospheric circulation patterns that either favour or hinder evolving hurricanes from reaching US shores.     

Timing is everything: the regulation of type III secretion

Type Three Secretion Systems (T3SSs) are essential virulence determinants of many Gram-negative bacteria. The T3SS is an injection device that can transfer bacterial virulence proteins directly into host cells. The apparatus is made up of a basal body that spans both bacterial membranes and an extracellular needle that possesses a channel that is thought to act as a conduit for protein secretion. Contact with a host-cell membrane triggers the insertion of a pore into the target membrane, and effectors are translocated through this pore into the host cell. To assemble a functional T3SS, specific substrates must be targeted to the apparatus in the correct order. Recently, there have been many developments in our structural and functional understanding of the proteins involved in the regulation of secretion. Here we review the current understanding of protein components of the system thought to be involved in switching between different stages of secretion.     

Population structure of a native and an alien species of snail in an urban area of the Atlantic Rainforest

Native Megalobulimus paranaguensis was identified on Brazil’s Ilha Porchat promontory, an area that Achatina fulica commonly populates. The population structures of these species were investigated for interactions. Spatial distribution, niche overlap and mark–recapture analysis were conducted. The outer lip of M. paranaguensis and environmental variables were measured. One and two abundance peaks were observed for A. fulica and M. paranaguensis, respectively. Survivorship was higher in A. fulica. Distribution was aggregate for M. paranaguensis, whereas for A. fulica it varied from random to aggregate. Both species aggregate as abundance increases. The lifespan of M. paranaguensis in this location is shorter than its lifespan in a nearby location. Achatina fulica was affected by soil temperature and humidity; M. paranaguensis was influenced by humidity. Niche overlap was random. The results show that M. paranaguensis can keep its natural activity and abundance in the presence of A. fulica, but environmental degradation impacts M. paranaguensis and should be evaluated.     

Randomized policy of a poisson input queue with <Emphasis Type="Italic">J</Emphasis> vacations

This paper studies the operating characteristics of an M/G/1 queuing system with a randomized control policy and at most J vacations.After all the customers are served in the queue exhaustively, the server immediately takes at most J vacations repeatedly until at least N customers are waiting for service in the queue upon returning from a vacation.If the number of arrivals does not reach N by the end of the J~(th) vacation,the server remains idle in the system until the number of arrivals in the queue re...