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PubMed2001

Movement and regeneration of epicuticular waxes through plant cuticles.

Regeneration of plant epicuticular waxes was studied in 24 plant species by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy. According to their regeneration behaviour, four groups could be distinguished: (i) regeneration occurs at all stages of development; (ii) regeneration occurs only during leaf expansion; (iii) regeneration occurs only in fully developed leaves; (iv) plants were not able to regenerate wax. Wax was removed from the leaves with water-based glue and a liquid polymer, i.e. water-based polyurethane dispersion. In young leaves these coverings could not be removed without damaging the leaves. After a few days, waxes appeared on the surface of these polymer films, which still adhered to the leaves. It is concluded that waxes move through the cuticle in a process similar to steam distillation. This hypothesis could be further substantiated in refined in vitro experiments. Wax isolated from Eucalyptus globulus was applied to a filter paper, subsequently covered with a liquid polymer and fixed onto a diffusion chamber filled with water. The diffusion chamber was put into a desiccator. After 8-10 days at room temperature, crystals similar in dimensions and shape to in situ crystals appeared on the surface of the polyurethane film. This indicates that waxes in molecular dimensions move together with the water vapor that permeates through the polymer membrane. Based on these results, we propose a new and simple hypothesis for the mechanism of wax movement: the molecules that finally form the epicuticular wax crystals are moved in the cuticular water current.

Biological Transport↗
PubMed1977

Clinical electromyography: definition, application, and innovation.

Clinical EMG techniques, useful in the study of patients with neuromuscular disease, are defined. These include measurement of motor and sensory nerve conduction velocities; analysis of the size, shape, and latency of response of muscle and nerve action potentials after nerve stimulation; estimates of nerve excitability; study of the response to repetitive nerve stimulation as a measure of neuromuscular transmission; and observation of the electrical activity of muscle with needle recording electrodes (monopolar, bipolar, and multielectrodes). From a consideration of the application, limitations, and value of these various techniques, it can be concluded logically that to assure the highest probability of reliable information in regard to an individual patient, the choice of technique(s) and the part(s) to be studied should be intimately tied to a clinical analysis of that patient's problem. EMG as a fishing expedition is rarely fruitful; EMG as an exercise in clinical physiology is often exciting.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed2006

Diet synergies and mortality--a population-based case-control study of 32,462 Hong Kong Chinese older adults.

BACKGROUND: Food and drink are not consumed in isolation and can have complimentary effects enhancing or blocking the overall uptake of nutrients. We investigated how combinations of foods, drinks, and smoking affected mortality. Method Adjusted logistic regression was used to assess the joint effect of healthy foods, less healthy foods, smoking, and alcohol use on mortality in a case-control study of all Chinese adults aged 60 or over who died in 1998; 21,494 dead cases (81% of all registered deaths) and 10,968 live controls were included. RESULTS: There was a significant trend of increasing all-cause mortality risk with decreasing healthy food consumption (P < 0.001), and the increase in risk was significantly steeper for people with high intakes of less healthy food (P for interaction <0.001). There was a steeper risk from increasing less healthy food intake in ever-smokers and people not drinking tea regularly (P < 0.001), while the J-shaped relationship between alcohol and mortality differed in shape with level of less healthy food intake. CONCLUSION: Intake of some dietary items may modify the effect of others. An analysis framework explicitly recognizing complementary and potentially synergistic effects of food, drinks, and smoking could enhance our understanding of dietary epidemiology.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

[Anatomy and uses of the mature leaves of three species of Sabal (Arecaceae) of the Yucatan, México].

This paper describes the leaf anatomy of Sabal mauritiiformis (Karst.) Griseb. & H. Wendl., Sabal mexicana Mart. and Sabal yapa Wright ex Becc., three of the four most representative species of the Yucatán Península, in Mexico. These species are locally used: in the roofing of traditional homes, as food (fruits and apical buds), and in the production of hats, brooms and handicrafts. Leaf samples were collected in secondary growth of lower montane rainforest in the state of Quintana Roo and in two home gardens in the state of Yucatán. Herbarium samples were obtained, and samples of blade and petiole were fixed in formaline-acetic acid-alcohol. Cross incisions were made on the blade and petiole, and were dyed with safranin and toluidine blue O. The results show that S. mauritiiformis and S. yapa are morphologically alike: both are tall, slim palm trees; the leaf in S. mauritiiformis is a shorter palm-like structure compared with the other two species. The shape of the main nerve, as seen in cross section, is rectangular in the three species. The hastula in the three species is acuminate and adaxial. The foliar anatomic structure is similar in the three species, although there are some differences. The adaxial an abaxial epidermis of the blade consist of one layer and, superficially, the anticlinal walls are straight; the stomata are intercostal, of the tetracytic type, present on both surfaces in S. mexicana and S. yapa and only on the abaxial surface on S. mauritiiformis. The hypodermis is one layer thick in S. yapa and in S. mexicana and two layers thick in S. mauritiiformis. In the three species the palisade parenchyma consists of several undefined strata as the cells are similar-in shape and size--to the cells in the spongy parenchyma, so there is no marked difference between these strata and the spongy parenchyma seems almost continuous. Both fibrous and vascular bundles are distributed between the hypodermis and the palisade parenchyma; the fiber bundles can be found towards the abaxial surface while the vascular and fiber bundles are located towards the adaxial surface. The fibers, in the three species, are elongated, with the pointed tips, undivided and unseptated. One to three wide vessels of metaxilem can be seen in the vascular bundles, those in S. yapa being the widest in diameter. The vascular bundles are surrounded by thick fiber sheaths which come in pairs. The anatomic structure of the petiole is similar to that of the blade, and is characterized by the many vascular and fiber bundles dispersed in the parenchymatous tissue, and which are very resistant. The histological structure of the blade and petiole reflects strength and flexibility, qualities which make these plants adequate in the construction of roofs for rural housing and other buildings.

Arecaceae↗
PubMed1998

Ultrastructural effects of date extract on Candida albicans.

The effect of Berhi date extract on the ultrastructure of Candida albicans was studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Exposure of yeast to 5% (w/v) date extract showed evidence of weakening in the cell wall with indications of cell distortion and partial collapse in some cases as seen by scanning electron microscopy. Increasing the concentration of date extract (20%, w/v) led to more drastic damage to the yeast with cell lysis and concurrent leakage of cytoplasmic material with eventual cell death. Ultrastructural investigation showed irregular shapes of cells treated with date extract, with prominent effects on cell wall layers. Cell membranes lost their integrity, aggregation of the cytoplasmic contents and large detachment of plasmalemma from cell wall was observed in the treated cells. These results suggest that date extract may have multiple effects on Candida with an increasing potential of using it for prophylaxis purposes.

Antifungal Agents↗
PubMed1991

The somatic envelopes around the germ-line cells of polytrophic insect follicles: structural and functional aspects.

The polytrophic ovarioles of three insect species, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, the fungus gnat Bradysia tritici, and the honeybee Apis mellifera, were compared morphologically and with respect to the cytological organization of the peripheral somatic layers. Staining with rhodaminyl-phalloidin revealed differences in the organization of the muscle strands of the epithelial sheath and the microfilament pattern in the basal part of the follicular epithelium (mid-vitellogenic stages). Also, the size of the intercellular space between the follicle cells differed considerably in the three analyzed species. The basement membrane of Drosophila and Bradysia follicles was partially digested using purified collagenase. The observed morphological changes indicated that in both species the basement membrane of the follicular epithelium plays an important role in shaping the follicles. The possible functional significance of the species-specific structural differences is discussed.

Actin Cytoskeleton↗
PubMed2004

Effect of a novel oil extraction method on avocado (Persea americana Mill) pulp microstructure.

Avocado (Persea americana Mill) is an oil-rich fruit, the pulp containing up to 33% of the oil. It is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, and has nutritional properties similar to olive oil. However, there is no widespread commercial method for oil recovery from avocado pulp. The aim of this study is to contribute to the limited knowledge about the micro- and ultrastructure of avocado. It presents a micro- and ultrastructural study of avocado pulp before and after three different oil recovery methods, in order to relate the quality and yielding of the oil to the cellular changes in the pulp. This study was made using light, scanning electron, and electron transmission microscopy. The microwave-squeezing method yielded 67% of the oil, preserved the shape of the cell by causing only a slight modification, and gave the best quality oil. Hexane extraction yielded 59%, causing the idioblastic oil cells to become irregularly shaped and rough-surfaced. Acetone extraction yielded 12%, and deformed the cellular wall while the oil remained inside, giving a poor quality oil. On the basis of these results, the microwave-squeezing method is suggested as a new option for oil recovery from avocadopulp. This method could be adapted for industrial processing.

Chemical Phenomena↗
PubMed2003

The evolution of floral homeotic gene function.

Plant MADS-box genes encode transcriptional regulators that are critical for a number of developmental processes. In the angiosperms (the flowering plants), these include the specification of floral organ identities, flowering time and fruit development. It appears that the MADS box gene family has undergone considerable gene duplication and sequence divergence within the angiosperms. Here I discuss the possibility that these events have allowed the recruitment of these genes to new developmental pathways in particular angiosperm lineages. Recent analyses of sequence changes, expression patterns and, in a few cases, gene function are beginning to provide tantalizing evidence for deciphering when and how such genetic diversification has led to particular morphological innovations. In the future, comparative studies of large numbers of species will be required to assess the extent of such variation as well as to fully understand the mechanisms by which evolution of these developmental regulators has played a role in shaping new morphologies.

Evolution, Molecular↗
PubMed2003

The Garden of Eden--plant based diets, the genetic drive to conserve cholesterol and its implications for heart disease in the 21st century.

It is likely that plant food consumption throughout much of human evolution shaped the dietary requirements of contemporary humans. Diets would have been high in dietary fiber, vegetable protein, plant sterols and associated phytochemicals, and low in saturated and trans-fatty acids and other substrates for cholesterol biosynthesis. To meet the body's needs for cholesterol, we believe genetic differences and polymorphisms were conserved by evolution, which tended to raise serum cholesterol levels. As a result modern man, with a radically different diet and lifestyle, especially in middle age, is now recommended to take medications to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Experimental introduction of high intakes of viscous fibers, vegetable proteins and plant sterols in the form of a possible Myocene diet of leafy vegetables, fruit and nuts, lowered serum LDL-cholesterol in healthy volunteers by over 30%, equivalent to first generation statins, the standard cholesterol-lowering medications. Furthermore, supplementation of a modern therapeutic diet in hyperlipidemic subjects with the same components taken as oat, barley and psyllium for viscous fibers, soy and almonds for vegetable proteins and plant sterol-enriched margarine produced similar reductions in LDL-cholesterol as the Myocene-like diet and reduced the majority of subjects' blood lipids concentrations into the normal range. We conclude that reintroduction of plant food components, which would have been present in large quantities in the plant based diets eaten throughout most of human evolution into modern diets can correct the lipid abnormalities associated with contemporary eating patterns and reduce the need for pharmacological interventions.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Scanning electron microscopic study of arterial cushions in rats: a novel application of the corrosion-replication technique.

The morphology and organ distribution of arterial cushions were studied in adult rats (body weight ranging from 200 to 500 gm) by scanning electron microscopic (SEM) observation of corrosion casts. Scanning electron microscopic observations of renal vascular casts were correlated with SEM views of the luminal surfaces of similarly fixed vessels; there was a striking similarity in shape, organ distribution, and dimensions between fixed arterial cushions and indentations at the surfaces of casts. Application of this technique to 11 different organs, some of which had never been studied by SEM before, revealed the occurrence of indentations at branching sites similar to those found in kidneys (and hence they were termed "cushions"). Our findings are in generally good agreement with previous light and transmission electron microscopic studies on rats. Our results support the view that arterial cushions are present throughout the vasculatures of the rat. A quantitative morphologic study of replicated branching sites related to "cushions" showed a great variability of the parent-to-daughter luminal diameter ratio (range 0.87-16.38) and of branching angles. A fruitful application of this technique to other laboratory animals may be anticipated.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Induction of beta-lactamase influences the course of development in Myxococcus xanthus.

Myxococcus xanthus is a gram-negative bacterium that develops in response to starvation on a solid surface. The cells assemble into multicellular aggregates in which they differentiate from rod-shaped cells into spherical, environmentally resistant spores. Previously, we have shown that the induction of beta-lactamase is associated with starvation-independent sporulation in liquid culture (K. A. O'Connor and D. R. Zusman, Mol. Microbiol. 24:839-850, 1997). In this paper, we show that the chromosomally encoded beta-lactamase of M. xanthus is autogenously induced during development. The specific activity of the enzyme begins to increase during aggregation, before spores are detectable. The addition of inducers of beta-lactamase in M. xanthus, such as ampicillin, D-cycloserine, and phosphomycin, accelerates the onset of aggregation and sporulation in developing populations of cells. In addition, the exogenous induction of beta-lactamase allows M. xanthus to fruit on media containing concentrations of nutrients that are normally too high to support development. We propose that the induction of beta-lactamase is an integral step in the development of M. xanthus and that this induction is likely to play a role in aggregation and in the restructuring of peptidoglycan which occurs during the differentiation of spores. In support of this hypothesis, we show that exogenous induction of beta-lactamase can rescue aggregation and sporulation of certain mutants. Fruiting body spores from a rescued mutant are indistinguishable from wild-type fruiting body spores when examined by transmission electron microscopy. These results show that the signal transduction pathway leading to the induction of beta-lactamase plays an important role in aggregation and sporulation in M. xanthus.

Ampicillin↗
PubMed2001

The efficiency of aerodynamic force production in Drosophila.

Total efficiency of aerodynamic force production in insect flight depends on both the efficiency with which flight muscles turn metabolic energy into muscle mechanical power and the efficiency with which this power is converted into aerodynamic flight force by the flapping wings. Total efficiency has been estimated in tethered flying fruit flies Drosophila by modulating their power expenditures in a virtual reality flight simulator while simultaneously measuring stroke kinematics, locomotor performance and metabolic costs. During flight, muscle efficiency increases with increasing flight force production, whereas aerodynamic efficiency of lift production decreases with increasing forces. As a consequence of these opposite trends, total flight efficiency in Drosophila remains approximately constant within the kinematic working range of the flight motor. Total efficiency is broadly independent of different profile power estimates and typically amounts to 2-3%. The animal achieves maximum total efficiency near hovering flight conditions, when the beating wings produce flight forces that are equal to the body weight of the insect. It remains uncertain whether this small advantage in total efficiency during hovering flight was shaped by evolutionary factors or results from functional constraints on both the production of mechanical power by the indirect flight muscles and the unsteady aerodynamic mechanisms in flapping flight.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Effect of chrysin, a flavonoid compound, on the mutagenic activity of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5- b]pyridine (PhIP) and benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P) in bacterial and human hepatoma (HepG2) cells.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the antimutagenic effects of chrysin (CR), a flavonoid compound contained in many fruits, vegetables and honey. Earlier investigations with bacterial indicators showed that CR is one of the most potent antimutagens among the flavonoids. In the present study, we tested the compound in the Salmonella strains TA98 and TA100 in combination with benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P) and 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5- b]pyridine (PhIP) and found pronounced protective activity over a concentration range between 10 and 100 microg/ml. The compound itself was devoid of mutagenic activity at all concentrations tested. In the micronucleus (MN) assay with human-derived HepG2 cells, a different pattern of activity was seen. CR itself caused significant induction of MN at dose levels > or =15 microg/ml; in combination experiments with B(a)P and PhIP, U-shaped dose-response curves were obtained and protection was found only in a narrow dose range (5 - 10 microg/ml). Our findings indicate that the molecular mechanisms that account for the antimutagenic effects of CR in bacterial cells are different from those responsible for the effects in HepG2 cells. Earlier reports indicate that the antimutagenic effects of CR towards B(a)P and heterocyclic amines in bacterial indicators is due to inhibition of the activity of CYP1A. In contrast to this, we found a significant induction of CYP1A1 activity in HepG2 cells by CR. It can also be excluded that induction of GST, which is involved in the detoxification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons accounts for the protective effects of CR against B(a)P since this enzyme was not significantly induced in the HepG2 cells. In the case of PhIP, induction of UDGPT and/or inhibition of sulfotransferase seen in human derived HepG2 cells after exposure to CR might play a role in the antimutagenic effects. In conclusion, our findings show that data from antimutagenicity studies with bacterial indicators cannot be extrapolated to HepG2 cells, and that CR causes genotoxic effects at higher dose levels in the latter cells. The implications of these observations for human chemoprevention strategies are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Location of B- and Z-DNA in the chromosomes of a primitive eukaryote dinoflagellate.

The usual conformation of DNA is a right-handed double helix (B-DNA). DNA with stretches of alternating purine-pyrimidine (G-C or A-T) can form a left-handed helix (Z-DNA). The transition B----Z, facilitated by the presence of divalent cations, cytosine methylation, or constraints on DNA such as superhelicity may play a role in the regulation of gene expression and/or in DNA compaction (Zarling, D. A., D. J. Arndt-Jovin, M. Robert-Nicoud, L. P. McIntosh, R. Tomae, and T. M. Jovin. 1984. J. Mol. Biol. 176:369-415). Divalent cations are also important in the structure of the quasi-permanently condensed chromosomes of dinoflagellate protists (Herzog, M., and M.-O. Soyer. 1983. Eur. J. Cell Biol. 30:33-41) which also have superhelicity in their DNA. The absence of histones in dinoflagellate chromosomes suggest that the search for Z-DNA sequences might be fruitful and could provide one indication of the physiological role of this particular DNA conformation. We report a complete immunofluorescent and immunogold analysis of the nuclei of the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum micans E. using monoclonal and polyclonal anti-B and anti-Z-DNA antibodies. Positive labeling was obtained with immunofluorescence using squash preparations and cryosections, both of which showed the intranuclear presence of the two DNA conformations. In ultrathin sections of aldehyde-prefixed, osmium-fixed, and epoxy-embedded cells, we have localized B-DNA and Z-DNA either with single or double immunolabeling using IgG labeled with 5- and 7-nm gold particles, respectively. Chromosomal nucleofilaments of dividing or nondividing chromosomes, as seen in ultrathin sections in their arch-shaped configuration, are abundantly labeled with anti-B-DNA antibody. Extrachromosomal anti-B-DNA labeling is also detected on the nucleoplasm that corresponds to DNA loops; we confirm the presence of these loops previously described external to the chromosomes (Soyer, M.-O., and O. K. Haapala. 1974. Chromosoma (Berl.). 47:179-192). B labeling is also visible in the nucleolus organizer region (NOR) and in the fibrillo-granular area (containing transcribing rDNA) of the nucleolus. Z-DNA was localized in limited areas inside the chromosomes, often at the periphery and near the segregation fork of dividing chromosomes. In the nucleolus, Z-DNA is observed only in the NOR area and never in the fibrillo-granular area. For both types of antibody experiments, controls using gold-labeled IgG without primary antibody were negative. A quantitative evaluation of the distribution of the gold-labeled IgG and a parametric test support the validity of these experiments.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Diversity and distribution of saprobic microfungi in leaf litter of an Australian tropical rainforest.

The diversity and distribution of microfungal assemblages in leaf litter of a tropical Australian forest was assessed using two methods: (1) cultures were isolated using a particle filtration protocol (wet season 2001), and (2) fruit bodies were observed directly on leaf surfaces following incubation in humid chambers (wet and dry season of 2002). Four tree species were studied using both methods, namely Cryptocarya mackinnoniana (Lauraceae), Elaeocarpus angustifolius (Elaeocarpaceae), Ficus pleurocarpa (Moraceae), and Opisthiolepis heterophylla (Proteaceae). An additional two species, Darlingia ferruginea (Proteaceae) and Ficus destruens (Moraceae), were studied using direct observations. In total, fruiting bodies of 185 microfungal species were recorded on leaf surfaces (31-81 species per tree species), and 419 morphotypes were detected among isolates obtained by particle filtration (111-203 morphotypes per tree species). Although the observed microfungal diversity was higher with the particle filtration protocol, both methods concurred with respect to microfungal distributions. The overlap of microfungal species in pair wise comparisons of tree species was low (14-30%), and only 2 and 3% of microfungal species were observed in leaves of all tree species by particle filtration and by direct observations respectively. Multivariate analysis of data from direct observations confirmed the hypothesis that microfungal assemblages are strongly influenced by host phylogeny and are also affected by seasonal and site factors. The importance of host species in shaping microfungal distributions was also supported by the particle filtration data. Several taxa new to science, as well as some widespread saprotrophs, were detected on only one host. The underlying reasons for this affinity remain unclear, but we hypothesise that a number of factors may be involved such as fungal adaptation to plant secondary metabolites or the presence of a biotrophic phase in the fungus' life cycle.

Ecosystem↗
PubMed1988

[Karl Wilmanns (1873-1945)--a biobibliographic view of a psychiatric era].

The Heidelberg University school of psychiatry was mainly shaped by the personality of Emil Kraepelin (1876-1926) who won world-wide recognition at the end of the 19th century during the discussions on "dementia praecox". It was his personality that made Heidelberg a fulcrum of a growing new scientific self-assurance that had no precedent in clinical psychiatry which no longer needed the disciplines of neuropathology and neurophysiology as pillars of support to gain recognition among the experts. Although the scientific achievements of Wilmanns cannot be rated as highly as those of E. Kraepelin and K. Jaspers, it is a fact that the period between 1918 and 1933 during which the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Heidelberg as represented by the University Hospital of Psychiatry, was headed by Karl Wilmanns, was the most fruitful period of the "Heidelberg School". 1933 was not only a political but also a psychiatric turning-point. Karl Wilmanns was one of the first of the well-known university teachers who was dismissed from office for political reasons. With his exit the Heidelberg School came to an end, and with it the discipline of psychopathology as a fundamental part of psychiatry- which had been the true progeny of that school. The references outline the influence of biological though on the "zeitgeist" of psychiatry. The contradictions, inhumanity and seduction of this line of thinking were not sufficiently recognised in all their aspects and consequences even by critical minds such as that of K. Wilmanns.

Bibliographies as Topic↗
PubMed2004

"Change yourself and the whole world will become kinder": Russian activists for reproductive health and the limits of claims making for women.

This article views reproductive health activism as a fruitful site for analyzing the cultural logics through which legitimate claims for women's needs become expressed and circumscribed. It begins from the observation that in the United States and Britain, reproductive health has been a key arena for feminist political claims and struggles for women's rights, bodily integrity, access to health care, and demands for authority in relations with experts. These concerns and struggles have not, however, emerged in all postsocialist contexts, and new activism in Russia reveals strikingly different agendas. Innovative groups of health providers seeking to increase women's access to birth control methods and safe sex, home birth opportunities, and improved health services work outside of feminist perspectives and reject political paths for change. By examining the ideological inspirations, cultural logics, and political-economic constraints shaping the outreach work of Russian health practitioners, the article explains how and why health activism became a site for personal "spiritual" revival and the strengthening of nuclear families. It also explores how conditions following the collapse of socialism have further legitimized activists' rejection of political agendas for change.

Female↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A new ballistosporous species of Protostelium.

During surveys of the protostelids of the Hawaiian Islands and the South Island of New Zealand, an undescribed species of Protostelium was discovered fruiting on collections of substrates found in several sites on the southern and western parts of the island of Hawaii and from one site near Port Elizabeth, New Zealand. The new species, P. okumukumu, has a sporocarp with a bipartite stalk that supports a single, spherical spore. The basal portion of the stalk is straight and rigid. The upper part of the stalk is a nearly spherical apophysis. The junction between the stalk base and the apophysis is flexible such that the spore and apophysis swing back and forth as a unit. Spores are forcibly discharged from the stalk, and only the straight base of the stalk is left behind. Amoebae typical of the taxon Protostelium germinate from the spores, and when an amoeba differentiates into a prespore cell, it becomes lozenge shaped (nearly ellipsoid) in top view, as is typical for species of Protostelium. This represents the seventh species of protostelids described to have forcible spore discharge, and the possibility of forcible discharge needs to be examined in several other species.

Amoeba↗