bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Lens Effect and Phototropism of Phycomyces
Authors: Shropshire Walter
Published: May 2004

Normally, the dioptrics in air of the cylindrical sporangiophore of Phycomyces blakesleeanus confer on the distal side a focusing advantage of about 30 per cent for unilateral stimuli of parallel light. This advantage can be nullified or reversed to produce negative curvatures by means of diverging light stimuli. A thin cylindrical glass lens was positioned 0.15 mm from the light-adapted growing zone with its long axis parallel to the long axis of the sporangiophore. A 3 minute blue stimulus was given and the lens removed. Reproducible negative curvatures were observed with a maximum of 13 degrees occurring within 8 minutes after the beginning of the stimulus. Experiments in air were done in a water-saturated atmosphere to minimize avoidance responses due to the proximity of the lens. The data support Buder's conclusion that the focusing advantage is the principal mechanism which produces the response differential necessary for phototropism. When the lens advantage is small, the attenuation becomes important in determining the direction of the response. Data obtained from sporangiophores immersed in inert liquids indicate that the attenuation is about 14 per cent. Therefore, whenever the focusing advantage is less than 14 per cent, negative curvatures are produced by unilateral stimuli.
The Chemistry of Sites Binding Rubidium in Chlorella
Authors: Cohen Dan
Published: May 2004

The chemistry of sites that specifically bind Rb in Chlorella pyrenoidosa has been investigated by changing or modifying specific chemical groups or bonds in the cell and observing changes in binding capacity. Boiling the cells in water or in 70 per cent ethanol did not affect binding capacities of the sites. These results suggest that the integrity of the sites is independent of both hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic bonds, and that the sites, therefore, do not consist of a protein or protein-lipid complex. At 30°C, both 1 M HCL and 0.5 to 1 M NaOH rapidly inactivated 70 per cent of the sites, but over a range of Ph 4.4 to 11.3, there was no effect. The sites are inactivated by strong chelating agents at 0.05 to 0.2 M and by reagents which reduce trivalent iron, and 4 to 10 atoms of iron per site are removed from the cells. Prolonged incubation in iron solutions, but not in solutions of Cu, Mn, or Mg, reversed to a considerable extent inactivation by EDTA. It is suggested that the sites probably bind trivalent iron tightly as chelation bridges which are essential to their structure. These structural bridges are broken when iron is removed by chelating agents or reduction, and are reformed in the presence of iron. Other experimental evidence indicates that amine, sulfhydryl, and carbonyl groups are not structural components of the sites.
Sodium Fluxes in the Erythrocytes of Swine, Ox, and Dog
Authors: Sorenson A. L. , Kirschner Leonard B. , Barker Jennifer
Published: May 2004

Sodium fluxes were measured in erythrocytes from three species of mammals. Unidirectional fluxes were slowest in swine RBCs (low sodium cells), fastest in dog RBCs (high sodium cells), and between these extremes in ox cells (intermediate level of internal sodium). In addition, efflux and influx in swine cells both correlated positively with intracellular sodium concentration between 12 to 4 µeq/ml. Tracer effluxes in swine and beef cells were separated into three components: active transport, diffusion, and exchange diffusion. The last two also contributed to influx. Transport was greater in swine cells than in beef, while the leak was similar in both. Pump to leak ratios were about 21 for swine and 3 for beef, a difference that probably accounts for the higher cell sodium in the latter. Exchange diffusion was faster in beef cells than in swine resulting in a larger tracer movement in beef. The exchange mechanism was temperature-sensitive, but was not inhibited by strophanthin. The unidirectional fluxes in canine cells were inhibited by low temperature, but they were sensibly unaffected by strophanthin. When placed in magnesium Ringer's solution (inhibits exchange diffusion in beef and swine cells) dog RBCs lost more than half of their internal sodium at a rate approximating the isotope flux in plasma or normal Ringer's solution. It was, however, not possible to separate the total tracer movement into pump, leak, and exchange.
Effects of Silicate Polymers on Erythrocytes in Presence and Absence of Complement
Authors: Charache Patricia , MacLeod Colin M. , White Peter
Published: May 2004

The effects of silicates upon erythrocytes depend upon the degree of polymerization. Monomeric silicate does not appear to be taken up by red cells. Polymerized silicates are taken up and bound tightly. In the presence of small polymeric forms erythrocytes are lysed by complement. Larger polymers are bound to erythrocytes but do not sensitize to complement hemolysis. Larger polymers, however, are directly toxic and cause hemolysis in the absence of complement. Red cells exposed to complement-active polymers show characteristic alteration in morphology with the assumption of irregular bell shapes. Larger polymers cause the cells to become spherical before spontaneous rupture occurs. Large polymers cause erythrocyte agglutination but this is minimal or absent with small complement-active polymers. Complement-active polymers cause little or no change in osmotic fragility. Increase in mechanical fragility is a sensitive indication of the presence of larger, agglutinating polymers. The conversion of pneumococci from Gram positivity to negativity appears to be caused principally by complement-active polymers. Possible implications of polymer size and complement activity are discussed in relation to production of silicotic lesions by silica-containing ores.
Current-Voltage Relations in the Lobster Giant Axon Membrane Under Voltage Clamp Conditions
Authors: Julian Fred J. , Moore John W. , Goldman David E.
Published: May 2004

The sucrose-gap method introduced by Stämpfli provides a means for the application of a voltage clamp to the lobster giant axon, which responds to a variety of different experimental procedures in ways quite similar to those reported for the squid axon and frog node. This is particularly true for the behavior of the peak initial current. However, the steady state current shows some differences. It has a variable slope conductance less than that of the peak initial current. The magnitude of the steady state slope conductance is related to the length of the repolarization phase of the action potential, which does not have an undershoot in the lobster. The steady state outward current is maintained for as long as 100 msec.; this is in contrast to a decline of about 50 per cent in the squid axon. Lowering the external calcium concentration produces shifts in the current-voltage relations qualitatively similar to those obtained from the squid axon. On the basis of the data available, there is no reason to doubt that the Hodgkin and Huxley analysis for the squid giant axon in sea water can be applied to the lobster giant axon.
Water Loss during Contracture of Muscle
Authors: Kaminer Benjamin
Published: May 2004

The relationship of contracture and exudation of water in frozenthawed frog muscle was studied. With maximum shortening, there was a water loss of 35 per cent of the weight of muscle. By restricting the contraction, it was demonstrated that the amount of water loss was proportional to the degree of shortening, there being no significant loss with isometric contraction. Muscle already shortened by tetanic stimulation also exuded water on subsequent freezing and thawing. The force of contraction could be reduced by depleting the muscle of calcium and it was shown that the amount of water exuded was also proportional to the tensile ability of the muscle. In a smooth muscle (anterior byssus retractor of Mytilus) which did not contract vigorously only a little water exuded. Contracture produced by caffeine was similarly associated with a loss of water. Microscopic studies revealed a disruption of the sarcomeres of the frozen-thawed muscle which contracted; glycerol-extracted and calcium-depleted muscles, which did not contract on freeze-thawing, did not show such disruption. Freezing and thawing of actomyosin caused a reversible syneresis of the protein. It is concluded that the exudation of the water is not merely due to the freezing and thawing but is also dependent on the contractile events.
The Chemical Constitution of Compounds Which Protect Erythrocytes against Freezing Damage
Authors: Nash T.
Published: May 2004

Eleven simple neutral water-miscible compounds were tested for protective action against freezing damage to human red blood cells. All the compounds penetrated the cells at room temperature without damage, but only four, N-substituted amides, were active. These results are considered together with previously published work on freezing protection by other low molecuar weight solutes. The affinity of the compounds for water is gauged in two independent ways, and correlates well with protective ability. The chemical constitutional factors responsible for high affinity for water are discussed. It appears that basic character is most important.
Unified Theory of Enzyme Catalysis and Denaturation
Authors: London Morris , McHugh Rosemary , Hudson Perry B.
Published: May 2004

A system of kinetics was developed to show that a simple anion, chloride, bromide, or thiocyanate can inhibit an enzyme, prostatic acid phosphatase, in solution, both competitively with regard to substrate, and noncompetitively. The non-competitive inhibition was related to alteration of charges on the protein molecule. The kinetics developed fit the experimental data. It was demonstrated that the anions studied were also effective accelerators of the thermal denaturation process. From the evidence, a theory was developed proposing that apart from the site of enzyme-substrate combination, secondary factors concerning charged sites and tensions within the enzyme molecular structure conferred specificity on the enzyme. These factors are designated as the "second order specificity," and are under the regulation of anions and protons.
Linear Superposition of Retinal Action Potentials to Predict Electrical Flicker Responses from the Eye of the Wolf Spider, Lycosa baltimoriana (Keyserling)
Authors: DeVoe Robert D.
Published: May 2004

Retinal action potentials were elicited from light-adapted posterior median ocelli of the wolf spider Lycosa baltimoriana (Keyserling) by rectangular shaped photic stimuli representing 8 per cent increments or decrements of the background illumination. Responses to trains of recurrent incremental or decremental flashes were successfully predicted by graphical linear superposition of a single flash response, which was repeatedly drawn and added to itself at intervals equal to the period of the intermittent stimulus. Incremental stimuli inverted to form decremental stimuli elicited responses which were also inverted. Responses to single incremental flashes were successfully predicted by linear superposition of the response to one incremental step stimulus, which was inverted and added to itself at an interval equal to the duration of the flash.
Effect of Temperature on the Potential and Current Thresholds of Axon Membrane
Authors: Guttman Rita ,   with the technical assistance of Ben Sandler
Published: May 2004

The effect of temperature on the potential and current thresholds of the squid giant axon membrane was measured with gross external electrodes. A central segment of the axon, 0.8 mm long and in sea water, was isolated by flowing low conductance, isoosmotic sucrose solution on each side; both ends were depolarized in isoosmotic KCl. Measured biphasic square wave currents at five cycles per second were applied between one end of the nerve and the membrane of the central segment. The membrane potential was recorded between the central sea water and the other depolarized end. The recorded potentials are developed only across the membrane impedance. Threshold current values ranged from 3.2 µa at 267deg;C to 1 µa at 7.5°C. Threshold potential values ranged from 50 mv at 26°C to 6 mv at 7.5°C. The mean Q10 of threshold current was 2.3 (SD = 0.2), while the Q10 for threshold potentials was 2.0 (SD = 0.1).
Direct Action of Light in Naturally Pigmented Muscle Fibers
Authors: Seliger Howard H.
Published: May 2004

Contraction due to light in excised eel irises appears to follow a simple first order law. The action spectrum for contraction has a maximum which agrees with the eel rhodopsin absorption maximum. Inasmuch as rhodopsin is the rod pigment-opsin complex and the iris sphincter pupillae evolves from the pigment epithelium of the retina in the region of the iris, the muscle pigment might be the same as the visual pigment. In the human eye the contraction of the iris sphincter is activated only by light incident on the retina and the pupil diameter varies inversely with the square root of the light intensity. The inverse first power relation observed in the present experiments suggests a more primitive origin for the light reaction in eel irises. Relaxation is a much slower process and can be approximated as the sum of two first order processes.
Aerobic Fermentation and the Depletion of the Amino Acid Pool in Yeast Cells
Authors: Swenson Paul A. , Betts Robert F.
Published: May 2004

The amino acid pool of yeast cells, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, incubated with galactose remains at a constant level for 100 minutes. This is 30 minutes beyond the time at which the oxidative phase of the induced-enzyme formation begins. Washed yeast cells, the pools of which have been depleted 60 per cent by incubation with glucose, do not replenish their pools as do washed cells incubated without a substrate. These facts indicate that the induced enzymes are formed at least partially from pool-replenishing amino acids. The time of onset of pool depletion is the time at which the aerobic fermentation phase of induced-enzyme formation begins for cells incubated with galactose. With 0.1 per cent galactose the respiratory phase begins at 100 minutes but no aerobic fermentation nor pool depletion occurs. The rates of respiration and aerobic fermentation are constant for four glucose concentrations from 0.1 to 1.0 per cent. The amount of aerobicfermentation is proportional to the initial concentration of glucose. Amino acid pool depletion occurs for all concentrations but depletion ceases and is followed by pool replenishment after aerobic fermentation is complete. Ultraviolet radiations, which delay the appearance of the respiratory phase of induced-enzyme formation, completely eliminate both the appearance of aerobic fermentation and pool depletion. The results indicate an intimate association between aerobic fermentation and amino acid pool depletion.
The Role of the Gut in Albumin Catabolism
Authors: Franks J. J. , Edwards Kenneth W. , Lackey William W. , Fitzgerald John B.
Published: May 2004

Using I131-albumin tracer methods, albumin breakdown rates were estimated in 7 rabbits following extensive gastrointestinal resection, including 5 with nearly complete enterectomy, 1 with total gastroenterectomy, and 1 with gastrectomy only, and in 4 sham operated rabbits. Breakdown rates in the resected animals varied from 48 to 187 per cent of the corresponding controls, with an average of 96 per cent. It is concluded that no more than one-half, and probably much less, of albumin breakdown occurs in the gastrointestinal tract.
Physical Variables in the Olfactory Stimulation Process
Authors: Tucker Don
Published: May 2004

Electrical recording from small twigs of nerve in a tortoise showed that olfactory, vomeronasal, and trigeminal receptors in the nose are responsive to various odorants. No one kind of receptor was most sensitive to all odorants. For controlled stimulation, odorant was caused to appear in a stream of gas already flowing through the nose. Of the parameters definable at the naris, temperature, relative humidity, and nature of inert gas had little effect on olfactory responses to amyl acetate, whereas odorant species, odorant concentration, and volume flow rate effectively determined the responses of all nasal chemoreceptors. An intrinsic variable of accessibility to the receptors, particularly olfactory, was demonstrated. Flow dependence of chemoreceptor responses is thought to reflect the necessity for delivery of odorant molecules to receptor sites. Since the olfactory receptors are relatively exposed, plateauing of the response with flow rate for slightly soluble odorants suggests an approach to concentration equilibrium in the overlying mucus with that in the air entering the naris. Accordingly, data for responses to amyl acetate were fitted with Beidler's (1954) taste equation for two kinds of sites being active. The requirement for finite aqueous solubility, if true, suggests substitution of aqueous solutions for gaseous solutions. A suitable medium was found and results conformed to expectations. Olfactory receptors were insensitive to variation of ionic strength, pH, and osmotic pressure.
Physiology of Photoreceptor Neurons in the Abdominal Nerve Cord of the Crayfish
Authors: Kennedy Donald
Published: May 2004

Nerve fibers which respond to illumination of the sixth abdominal ganglion were isolated by fine dissection from connectives at different levels in the abdominal nerve cord of the crayfish. Only a single photosensitive neuron is found in each connective; its morphological position and pattern of peripheral connections are quite constant from preparation to preparation. These cells are "primary" photoreceptor elements by the following criteria: (1) production of a graded depolarization upon illumination and (2) resetting of the sensory rhythm by interpolated antidromic impulses. They are also secondary interneurons integrating mechanical stimuli which originate from appendages of the tail. Volleys in ipsilateral afferent nerves produce short-latency graded excitatory postsynaptic potentials which initiate discharge of one or two impulses; there is also a higher threshold inhibitory pathway of longer latency and duration. Contralateral afferents mediate only inhibition. Both inhibitory pathways are effective against both spontaneous and evoked discharges. In the dark, spontaneous impulses arise at frequencies between 5 and 15 per second with fairly constant intervals if afferent roots are cut. Since this discharge rhythm is reset by antidromic or orthodromic impulses, it is concluded that an endogenous pacemaker potential is involved. It is postulated that the increase in discharge frequency caused by illumination increases the probability that an inhibitory signal of peripheral origin will be detected.
The Accumulation of Zinc by the Mosquito
Authors: Lang Calvin A.
Published: May 2004

The zinc content of mosquitoes in various developmental stages was determined by spectrographic and microchemical analysis and use of zinc65 and found to be five to ten times higher than other trace elements. Also the concentration of zinc in the mosquito was much greater than in other insects of different biological orders. Over 90 per cent of this element was localized in the Malpighian tubules at a concentration of 32 µg zinc per mg dry weight. The non-dialyzable form of zinc is loosely bound, for it was dissociated upon dialysis against ethylenediamine tetraacetate. The uptake of this trace element was correlated during larval growth with weight increase and required the presence of food particles. Furthermore, this uptake was different from that of cobalt which was not accumulated when offered as an inorganic salt or as vitamin B12. Zinc was not detectable in pooled egg masses, and once embodied by the larvae, was retained under fasting conditions and at a constant level throughout the pupal stage and as long as 14 days' adult life. Supplementation of the media with EDTA caused a marked inhibition of growth that could be completely reversed by the addition of zinc or zinc plus lead. The resultant pupae, however, contained less than 5 per cent of the normal amount of zinc and were essentially zinc-free; yet their rate of growth and gross appearance were normal.
Effects of Zinc on Responses of Skeletal Muscle
Authors: Isaacson Allen , Sandow Alexander
Published: May 2004

Zn++ potentiates the twitch tension of the frog's sartorius muscle by as much as two to three times, and prolongs twitch time parameters. Tetanus tension is unchanged, but fusion frequency is reduced. Thus, the basic mechanical effect of Zn++ is prolongation, but not intensification, of the active state. Threshold effects appear at about 0.005 mM Zn++, and maximal changes at 0.05 mM. In 0.05 mM, potentiation begins after a delay of about 1 min. and develops with half-time of 6 min.; full changes reverse in pure Ringer's with halftime of 60 min. Diffusion theory analysis of these kinetics indicates that the potentiating action of zinc involves special features not found in potentiation by anions: a primary membrane action is not excluded, but Zn++ may have to penetrate to and act at sarcoplasmic reticular or myoplasmic sites. Zn++ does induce excitatory membrane effects: the fall of the action potential is slowed and the refractory period is increased about four times; but excitability as such is not changed. Unique chemical features of Zn++ are discussed in relation to possible mechanisms of its action on muscle fibers.
Absence of Rapid Exchange Component in a Low-Affinity Carrier Transport
Authors: LeFevre Paul G. ,   with the technical assistance of Kathryn I. Habich
Published: May 2004

A previous study showed that human red blood cells equilibrate much less rapidly with D-glucose at moderately high concentrations than with C14-glucose added after the net movement is completed. This had been predicted from a simple reversible mobile-carrier mediated-transport model system suggested by the net monosaccharide transport kinetics in these cells, but is also consistent with the more complex models proposed for certain active transport systems to account for elevation of tracer fluxes of even low-affinity "substrates" when their trans-concentration is raised. The simple model predicts, however, that with any sugar showing a much lower apparent affinity for the reactive sites, such as D-ribose, this phenomenon would not be observed, and tracer equilibration should proceed at approximately the same rate as net uptake. The latter expectation was confirmed experimentally by analyses of the ribose, or radioactivity, content of washed red cells sampled serially during incubation with ribose or C14-ribose in the appropriate mixtures. The tracer ribose movement showed no evidence of a relatively rapid exchange component. The relative rapidity of glucose tracer uptake into cells preloaded with ordinary glucose may therefore more readily be attributed simply to depression of tracer efflux by competition for the saturated reactive sites, than to any action of the trans-concentration on the influx by way of a coupled exchange process.
Permeability of Squid Axon Membrane to Various Ions
Authors: Tasaki Ichiji
Published: May 2004

The permeability of the squid axon membrane was determined by the use of radioisotopes of Na, K, Ca, Cs, and Br. Effluxes of these isotopes were measured mainly by the method of intracellular injection. Measurements of influxes were carried out under continuous intracellular perfusion with an isotonic solution of potassium sulfate. The Na permeability of the resting (excitable) axonal membrane was found to be roughly equal to the K permeability. The permeability to anion was far smaller than that to cations. It is emphasized that the axonal membrane has properties of a cation exchanger. The physicochemical nature of the "two stable states" of the excitable membrane is discussed on the basis of ion exchange isotherms.
K-Na Discrimination by Porous Filters Saturated with Organic Solvents As Expressed by Diffusion Potentials
Authors: Ilani A.
Published: May 2004

The permeability ratio of Millipore filters saturated with organic solvents to K and to Na has been studied by measuring the potential difference across these filters. It was found that with n-octanol, toluene, and chloroform the membranes were more permeable to K+ than to Na+, the degree of discrimination being in inverse proportion to the polarity of the solvent. The dependence of NaCl and KCl diffusion potentials upon the concentration gradients across a filter soaked with about 1:1 toluene/n-butanol solution, could be expressed by the constant field equation, if it is assumed that this layer is 6 to 7 times more permeable to K+ than to Na+ and that the permeability to Cl- is negligible. Elevating the fraction of toluene in n-butanol in the separating phase makes it more selective.
Schwann Cell and Axon Electrical Potential Differences
Authors: Villegas Raimundo , Villegas Leopoldo , Giménez Máximo , Villegas Gloria M.
Published: May 2004

In fifty-seven resting nerve fibers of the squid Sepioteuthis sepioidea impaled from outside to inside, three potential difference (PD) levels were recorded. In twelve nerve fibers the position of the tip of the micropipette, when it was recording one of the PD levels, was labeled with carmine, and the minute spot of dye was localized histologically. The first PD level of -10 to -26 mv, was located in the endoneurium cells; the second level, formed by a single PD of -33 to -46 mv, was located in the Schwann cell; and the third level, formed by a single PD of -50 to -65 mv, was located in the axon. In sixteen nerve fibers the independence among these PD levels was demonstrated as follows. One micropipette was inserted inside the axon for recording its PD; a second one was inserted inside one endoneurium cell or inside one Schwann cell for recording the PD; and a third micropipette was inserted inside the axon to supply current to depolarize the axon. When the axon was depolarized no significant change was observed in the PD of either the endoneurium cell or the Schwann cell. In all nerve fibers action potentials were registered from the axon only. This identifies the axolemma (axon plasma membrane) as the excitable membrane.
Demonstration of Increased Permeability as a Factor in the Effect of Acetylcholine on the Electrical Activity of Venom-Treated Axons
Authors: Rosenberg Philip , Hoskin F. C. G.
Published: May 2004

D-Tubocurarine (curare) and acetylcholine (ACh) had been found to block electrical activity after treatment of squid giant axons with cottonmouth moccasin venom at a concentration which had no effect on conduction. It has now been demonstrated that this effect is attributable to reduction of permeability barriers. The penetration of externally applied C14-labeled dimethylcurare, ACh, choline, and trimethylamine into the axoplasm of the squid giant axon was determined in axons treated with either cottonmouth, rattlesnake, or bee venom, and in untreated control axons. The lipid-soluble tertiary nitrogen compound trimethylamine readily penetrated into the axoplasm of untreated axons. In contrast, after exposure of the axons to the lipid-insoluble quaternary nitrogen compounds for 1 hour their presence in the axoplasm was hardly detectable (less than 1 per cent). However, following 15µg/ml cottonmouth venom 1 to 5 per cent of their external concentration is found within the axoplasm while following 50µg/ml venom 10 to 50 per cent enters. The penetration of dimethylcurare is also increased by 10 µg/ml bee venom but not by 1 µg/ml bee venom nor 1000 µg/ml rattlesnake venom. The experiments show that when ACh and curare, following venom treatment, affect electrical activity, they also penetrate into the axon. Treatments which do not increase penetration are also ineffective in rendering the compounds active.
The Nature of the Muscle-Relaxing Factor
Authors: Fuchs Franklin , Briggs F. Norman
Published: May 2004

High speed centrifugal fractionation of homogenates of rabbit skeletal muscle has led to the discovery of a soluble muscle-relaxing factor in the homogenate. Assay of the relaxing activity with deoxycholate-treated myofibrils and reconstituted actomyosin systems has established that the activity is not produced by the presence of contaminants. Relaxing activity could be removed or destroyed by charcoal, dialysis, prolonged heating, and treatment with the chelating resin, chelex-100, making it improbable that the effect is due simply to calcium deficiency. Many of the characteristics of this muscle-relaxing factor suggest that it is very similar to or the same as the factor formed by the incubation of muscle granule fractions and ATP. Evidence is presented that some soluble protein component is involved in the stabilization of the factor. The relaxing activity could be separated from the high molecular weight material in the supernatant by the technique of gel filtration. On the basis of the gel used, the molecular weight of the active agent should be less than 4000.
Heritability and Control of Differentiated Function in Cultured Cells
Authors: Davidson E. H.
Published: May 2004

An established tissue culture cell line which retains a differentiated function in vitro is described. The cell line is of connective tissue origin, and its characteristic property is the synthesis and secretion of acid mucopolysaccharides, mainly hyaluronic acid. This differentiated cell function, the activity of which depends on continuous gene action, was found to be possessed by each of eleven clonal substrains, and is therefore a genetically heritable cell character. Rate of acid mucopolysaccharide biosynthesis falls sharply under the influence of the environmental conditions existing in crowded cultures, and this rate also declines if protein synthesis is directly inhibited with puromycin. Environmental modification of a differentiated product of gene action is thus illustrated in this study.
Structural Requirements for the Action of Neurohypophyseal Hormones upon the Isolated Amphibian Urinary Bladder
Authors: Rasmussen Howard , Schwartz Irving L. , Young Richard , Marc-Aurele Julien
Published: May 2004

The response of the isolated amphibian urinary bladder to thirty-four structural analogs of arginine vasotocin was determined in an effort to define the physiological significance of specific structural groups on the hormone molecule. All but one of the analogs tested possessed full intrinsic activity in this system but varied greatly in their affinity for the receptor site. An analysis of the effect of changes in hydrogen ion concentration upon the response of the bladder to oxytocin was performed in order to determine the number and nature of the ionizable groups involved in hormone receptor interaction. Two ionizable groups with apparent pK's of 7.1 and 7.75 were found to be important in determining the magnitude of the hormonal response. On the basis of the results it was postulated that hormone-receptor interaction can be considered a two-step process: (a) The binding or attachment of hormone to receptor site through ionic, hydrogen, and hydrophobic bonds and (b) a disulfide interchange reaction between hormonal disulfide and receptor sulfhydryl. The latter step is considered to be the reaction which initiates the chain of events leading to the observed change in permeability.
Potassium Fluxes in Desheathed Frog Sciatic Nerve
Authors: Hurlbut William P.
Published: May 2004

Desheathed frog (R. pipiens) sciatic nerves were soaked in Na-deficient solutions, and measurements were made of their Na and K contents and of the movements of K42. When a nerve is in Ringer's solution, the Na fluxes are equal to the K fluxes, and about 75 per cent of the K influx is due to active transport. The Na content and the Na efflux are linearly related to the Na concentration of the bathing solution, while the K content and the K fluxes are not so related. When a nerve is in a solution in which 75 per cent of the NaCl has been replaced by choline chloride or sucrose, the active K influx exceeds the active Na efflux, and the K content is maintained. When a nerve is soaked in a solution that contains Li, the K42 uptake is inhibited, and the nerve loses K and gains Li. When a Li-loaded nerve recovers in a Li-free solution, K is taken up in exchange for Li. This uptake of K requires Na in the external solution. It is concluded that the active transports of K and of Na may be due to different processes, that an accumulation of K occurs only in exchange for an intracellular cation, which need not be Na, and that Na plays a specific, but unknown, role in K transport.
Quantum Relations of the Rat Electroretinogram
Authors: Cone Richard A.
Published: May 2004

The rat retina is uniform and contains almost exclusively rods. Therefore the rat eye, when uniformly illuminated, produces a gross electroretinogram (ERG) which is simply related to the activity of the individual retinal sources of the ERG. Characteristics of ERG's are shown on an intensity scale of the average number of quanta absorbed per rod per stimulus flash obtained by direct accurate measurement of all quantities involved. An independent check on the accuracy of these measurements is applied to pigment-bleaching data reported by Dowling (1963). When ERG characteristics are placed on this scale it is found that: (a) The b-wave can usually be observed when fewer than one out of two hundred rods absorbs a quantum, the threshold being determined by the noise of the preparation. (b) Near threshold the b-wave amplitude is proportional to intensity. (c) The a-wave appears when there are more than two to four absorptions per rod per flash. (d) The b-wave latency decreases with intensity, and the amplitude becomes proportional to the logarithm of intensity when fewer than one out of ten rods absorbs a quantum. This implies that the b-wave sources must combine excitation from more than one rod (probably more than seven). Therefore the b-wave cannot arise from independent rods or rod-bipolar synapses, but probably reflects activity of entire inner nuclear layer cells.
The Effects of Inhibitors of Macromolecular Biosynthesis upon the Persistent Rhythm of Luminescence in Gonyaulax
Authors: Karakashian Marlene W. , Hastings J. Woodland
Published: May 2004

Certain inhibitors of nucleic acid and protein synthesis, namely actinomycin D, mitomycin C, and puromycin, have been found to block the expression of a persistent daily rhythm of bioluminescence. The action does not inhibit luminescence per se but rather the rhythmicity. Exposure of the cells to these inhibitors for only a few hours, which might be expected to thereby delay the rhythm by a few hours, does not in fact have this effect. Chloramphenicol and amethopterin do not inhibit the rhythm. It is proposed that the functioning of the clock-like rhythmic mechanism depends upon the cell's normal ability to synthesize RNA.
Contracture of Slow Striated Muscle during Calcium Deprivation
Authors: Irwin Richard L. , Hein Manfred M.
Published: May 2004

When deprived of calcium the slow striated muscle fibers of the frog develop reversible contractures in either hypertonic or isotonic solutions. While calcium deprivation continues because of a flowing calcium-free solution the muscles relax slowly and completely. Restoration of calcium during contracture relaxes the muscle promptly to initial tension. When relaxed during calcium lack the return of calcium does not change tension and the muscle stays relaxed. When contractures are induced by solutions containing small amounts of calcium relaxation does not occur or requires several hours. The rate of tension development depends upon the rate at which calcium moves outward since the contractures develop slower in low concentrations of calcium and are absent or greatly slowed in a stagnant calcium-free solution. Withdrawal of calcium prevents the contractile responses to ACh, KCl, or electrical stimulation through the nerve. Muscles return to their original excitability after calcium is restored. Origin of the contractures is unrelated to nerve activity since they are maximal during transmission failure from calcium lack, occur in denervated muscles, and are not blocked by high concentrations of d-tubocurarine, procaine, or atropine. The experiments also indicate that the contractures do not originate from repetitive activity of muscle membranes. The findings are most simply explained by relating the outward movement of calcium as a link for initiating contraction in slow type striated muscle.
Physiological Evidence for Multiple Calcium Sites in Smooth Muscle
Authors: Weiss George B. , Hurwitz Leon
Published: May 2004

Inherent smooth muscle tone and acetylcholine-induced contractions of the isolated longitudinal muscle from guinea pig ileum are inhibited by 1.2 M ethanol. The inhibitions are antagonized by high concentrations of calcium ion in the external medium. Previous work has indicated that an acetylcholine-induced increase in potassium efflux from the ileal muscle is also inhibited by ethanol and reactivated by high concentrations of calcium ion. It was found in this study that, in addition to ethanol, a drastic reduction in the calcium ion concentration of the bathing medium appeared to produce a depression of this drug-induced increase in potassium efflux. Preincubating the muscle in a reduced calcium ion concentration also inhibited the increase in potassium efflux initiated by a high potassium medium. Conversely, the exposure of the muscle to 1.2 M ethanol did not depress the potassium-induced increase in potassium efflux. Increases in smooth muscle tone produced by a high potassium medium have been reported to be inhibited both by ethanol and by a depletion of external calcium. These data suggest that the calcium ions which activate or enhance a potassium-induced increase in potassium efflux are not bound to the same loci in the muscle fiber as those involved in an acetylcholine-induced increase in potassium efflux or those involved in a potassium-induced increase in smooth muscle tone.
Electrical Response and Growth of Olfactory Cilia of the Olfactory Epithelium of the Newt in Water and on Land
Authors: Shibuya Tatsuaki , Takagi Sadayuki F.
Published: May 2004

A correlation between the length of the olfactory cilia and the electrical activity of the olfactory epithelium was studied in newts living in water and on land. The olfactory cilia grew when newts were transferred onto land. The cilia in the olfactory bud became longest in 108 hours after the transfer and then became shorter, while those in the interstitium only gradually elongated. Slow potentials were evoked in the epithelium by the application of odorous fluids but not by odorous vapors for 20 hours after the transfer. Thereafter, the slow potential began to appear in response to odorous vapors and reached maximal magnitude between 60 and 70 hours after the transfer, while it was not evoked by odorous fluids in this period. In the later stage, the slow potential to odorous vapors decreased in magnitude and disappeared 120 hours after the transfer, while it began to reappear in response to odorous fluids. When these changes in the slow potential were compared with those in the cilium, a discrepancy was found between the period of maximal potential magnitude and that of maximal cilium length.
The Lack of Selective Reincorporation into Tissue Protein of the Amino Acids Derived from the Catabolism of Serum Protein
Authors: Radovich Jevrosima , Szentivanyi Andor , Talmage David W.
Published: May 2004

Homologous S35-labeled albumin, gamma globulin, and alpha-beta globulin were transfused into rabbits and the specific activities of the electrophoretic fractions of the sera of the recipients were determined at various time intervals up to 12 days after injection. Detectable reincorporation into a fraction other than that transfused was found only in the gamma globulin fraction after albumin injection. This activity rose between 2 and 12 days and reached a level of 2 to 3 per cent of the extrapolated zero time activity of the albumin fraction. When homologous serum protein doubly labeled with I131 and S35 was transfused into mice, marked drops in the ratios of I131 to S35 in the serum and tissue proteins were observed between 1 and 48 hours after injection. On the basis of a determination of the absolute and relative amounts of I131 and S35 found in the various tissue and serum proteins, the amount of reincorporation of S35 into each protein was calculated. The relative amounts of reincorporation of S35 among the various tissues were remarkably similar to the relative amounts of incorporation of S35 after the injection of labeled free amino acids. It is concluded that serum protein does not form a major direct source of amino acids to the tissues but feeds them indirectly through the extracellular pool.
Outstanding Characteristics of Thrombokinase Isolated from Bovine Plasma
Authors: Milstone J. H. , Oulianoff N. , Milstone V. K.
Published: May 2004

Thrombokinase has been isolated from bovine plasma by a procedure which begins with the highly purified product of a previously described method, chromatographs it on DEAE-cellulose, and then fractionates it by continuous flow electrophoresis, yielding 0.2 mg per liter of oxalated plasma. The electrophoretic fraction has shown a single boundary in the ultracentrifuge; and its esterase activity on toluenesulfonylarginine methyl ester has been about the same as that of thrombokinase previously isolated by repeated electrophoretic fractionations. Thrombokinase is a euglobulin with minimum solubility near pH 5.0. It is most stable within the pH range 7.5 to 9.5; but there is also a peak in the stability curve near pH 1.8. A few micrograms of thrombokinase per milliliter can activate prothrombin in the presence of EDTA. A few thousandths of a microgram causes rapid production of thrombin in the system: prothrombin, thrombokinase, calcium chloride, phosphatide, "accelerator." But, thrombokinase has less than 1/175 the proteolytic activity of crystallized trypsin.
Quantitative Studies on Pigment Migration and Light Sensitivity in the Compound Eye at Different Light Intensities
Authors: Bernhard C. G. , Ottoson D.
Published: May 2004

Comparative electrophysiological and histological studies were made on the functional significance of the secondary iris pigment migration for the sensitivity of the eye in the noctuid moth Cerapteryx graminis. The pigment position at different adapting light intensities was studied as well as the influence of different positions on the sensitivity of the eye. Adapting light intensities above a certain value hold the pigment in light position. At a 3 log units lower intensity the pigment is brought into dark position and at light intensities between these limiting values the pigment attains intermediate positions. The results indicate that at light intensities between the limiting values the pigment shifts closely follow the changes in intensity of the environmental light. With the pigment in dark position the eye is about 1000 times more sensitive than when the pigment is in light position, there being a close relationship between the sensitivity of the eye and the position of the pigment at intermediate positions.
The Receptor Potential of the Taste Cell of the Rat
Authors: Tateda Hideki , Beidler Lloyd M.
Published: May 2004

The electrical responses of the taste cell of the rat to chemical stimuli were studied by means of microelectrode techniques. Although large positive potential changes in the taste cell were usually elicited by taste stimuli, the response was a small negative potential change with respect to surrounding tissues if the microelectrode was thrust deeply into the taste bud. Both FeCl3 and cocaine produced a positive change in the steady potential. If this new potential is larger than a certain equilibrium potential, reversal of the polarity of the potential change caused by a taste stimulus is observed. Gamma-aminobutyric acid and acetylcholine had no effect on the receptor steady potential nor on the receptor responses elicited by taste stimuli.
Impulse Origin and Propagation in a Bipolar Sensory Neuron
Authors: Mellon Deforest , Kennedy Donald
Published: May 2004

Intracellular recording techniques were used to study electrical activity in bipolar sensory cells associated with crayfish tactile receptors. Several lines of evidence indicate that spikes evoked by natural stimulation of the receptor originate at a dendritic locus. Although overshooting spikes are recorded in the soma in response to both natural and antidromic stimulation receptor potentials are observed only rarely, and, when present, their amplitude is less than 5 mv. Impulses propagating centrifugally into the soma following antidromic stimulation always exhibit an inflection in the rising phase of the spike; however, orthodromic spikes are usually uninflected. Occasionally, orthodromic responses (in the soma) exhibit rather unusual wave forms. Such spikes evoked by natural stimuli are indistinguishable from those elicited electrically in the dendrite, but they do not resemble antidromic impulses. Because the axonal and dendritic boundaries of the soma have a low safety factor for spike transmission, at high frequencies invasion of the soma by dendritic spikes is impeded and often blocked. The soma region can thus act as a low-pass filter. The significance of this self-limiting mechanism for the behavior of the animal is not known; it is suggested, however, that this impediment is a potentially critical one, and may, in other situations, have encouraged the evolution of alternative arrangements.
Influence of Lithium Ions on the Transmembrane Potential and Cation Content of Cardiac Cells
Authors: Carmeliet E. E.
Published: May 2004

The effect of lithium ions on cardiac cells was investigated by recording the changes in transmembrane potential and by following the movement of Li, Na, and K across the cell membrane. Isolated preparations of calf Purkinje fibers and cat ventricular muscles were used. Potentials were measured by intracellular microelectrodes; ion transport was estimated by flame photometric analysis and by using the radioactive isotopes of Na and K. It was shown (a) that Li ions can replace Na ions in the mechanism generating the cardiac action potential but that they also cause a marked depolarization and pronounced changes in action potential configuration; (b) that the resting permeability to Li ions is high and that these ions accumulate in the cell interior as if they were not actively pumped outwards. In Li-Tyrode [K]i decreases markedly while the K permeability seems to be increased. In a kinetic study of net K and Na fluxes, the outward movement of each ion was found to be proportional to the second power of its intracellular concentration. The effect on the transmembrane potential is explained in terms of changes in ion movement and intracellular ion concentration.