bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Osmotically Functional Water Content of the Human Erythrocyte
Authors: LeFevre Paul G. ,   with the technical assistance of Kathryn I. Habich
Published: May 2004

Experiments were directed toward estimation of the magnitude of error incurred by the presumption of idealized osmometric behavior in the author's recent studies of monosaccharide transport through the human erythrocyte membrane. Thick suspensions of washed cells in isotonic buffered balanced salt medium were mixed in fixed proportions with varying dilutions of a concentrate of either (a) the mixed chlorides of the medium, or (b) glucose in the isotonic medium, and the resultant freezing point and hematocrit values determined. The form of the responses in the tonicity and the cell volume, as functions of the variable dilution of sugar or salts, conformed consistently with relations derived from the classical van't Hoff-Boyle-Mariotte pressure-volume relation. However, the effective cell water contents appeared substantially less than the weight lost in conventional drying, and varied somewhat according to the index used: expressed as grams of H2O per milliliter of cells at isotonic volume, the cell water implied by the hematocrit behavior was 0.614 ± 0.015 (SD); by the salt tonicity response, 0.565 ± 0.027; by the immediate glucose tonicity response, 0.562 ± 0.044; and by the equilibrium glucose tonicities, 0.589 ± 0.043. Olmstead's reports of gross deviation from the van't Hoff relation, in the rabbit red cell's responses to tonicity displacement, are attributed primarily to a systematic aberration in his method of data analysis, the observations themselves agreeing substantially with the present findings.
Photoreversal of Rhodopsin Bleaching
Authors: Williams T. P.
Published: May 2004

A mechanistic scheme, showing certain steps of rhodopsin bleaching, provides two ways of viewing the bleaching process: (a) The rate of bleaching depends upon the net rate of accumulation of labile species; and (b) the number of labile molecules which accumulates in a certain period is the number which has absorbed an odd number of quanta by the end of that period. Both views, based on the photoreversibility of bleaching, lend themselves to concise mathematical formulation. The expected amounts of bleaching at various intensities, calculated according to these formulae, give very close fits to the experimental data. The relevance of these results to other experiments is pointed out and emphasis is placed on the explanation of observed quantum efficiencies which obtain at both low and high intensities.
The Effects of Alkali Metal Cations and Common Anions on the Frog Skin Potential
Authors: Lindley Barry D. , Hoshiko T.
Published: May 2004

The effects on the potential difference across isolated frog skin (R. catesbeiana, R. pipiens) of changing the ionic composition of the bathing solutions have been examined. Estimates of mean values and precision are presented for the potential changes produced by substituting other alkali metal cations for Na at the outside border and for K at the inside border. In terms of ability to mimic Na at the outside border of bullfrog skin, the selectivity order is Li > Rb, K, Cs; at the outside border of leopard frog skin, Li > Cs, K, Rb. In terms of ability to mimic K at the inside border of bullfrog and leopard frog skin: Rb > Cs > Li > Na. Orders of anion selectivity in terms of sensitivity of the potential for the outside border of bullfrog skin are Br > Cl > NO3 > I > SO4, isethionate and of leopard frog skin are Br, Cl > I, NO3, SO4. An effect of the solution composition (ionic strength?) on the apparent Na-K selectivity of the outside border is described. The results of the investigation have been interpreted and discussed in terms of the application of the constant field equation to the Koefoed-Johnsen-Ussing frog skin model. These observations may be useful in constructing and testing models of biological ionic selectivity.
Tetrodotoxin Blockage of Sodium Conductance Increase in Lobster Giant Axons
Authors: Narahashi Toshio , Moore John W. , Scott William R.
Published: May 2004

Previous studies suggested that tetrodotoxin, a poison from the puffer fish, blocks conduction of nerve and muscle through its rather selective inhibition of the sodium-carrying mechanism. In order to verify this hypothesis, observations have been made of sodium and potassium currents in the lobster giant axons treated with tetrodotoxin by means of the sucrose-gap voltage-clamp technique. Tetrodotoxin at concentrations of 1 x 10-7 to 5 x 10-9 gm/ml blocked the action potential but had no effect on the resting potential. Partial or complete recovery might have occurred on washing with normal medium. The increase in sodium conductance normally occurring upon depolarization was very effectively suppressed when the action potential was blocked after tetrodotoxin, while the delayed increase in potassium conductance underwent no change. It is concluded that tetrodotoxin, at very low concentrations, blocks the action potential production through its selective inhibition of the sodium-carrying mechanism while keeping the potassium-carrying mechanism intact.
The Mechanisms of Post-Tetanic Potentiation in Cat Soleus and Gastrocnemius Muscles
Authors: Standaert Frank G.
Published: May 2004

Post-tetanic potentiation of muscle contraction strength (PTP) occurs in cat soleus and gastrocnemius muscles. However, the mechanisms of potentiation are different in these two muscles. Soleus PTP is predominantly a neural event. The application of a high frequency stimulus to the soleus nerve regularly causes each subsequent response to a single stimulus to become repetitive. This post-tetanic repetitive activity (PTR) originates in the motor nerve terminal and is transmitted to the muscle. Consequently each potentiated soleus contraction is a brief tetanus. In gastrocnemius PTR occurs too infrequently to account for PTP. Furthermore, PTP occurs in curarized directly stimulated gastrocnemius muscles to the same extent as in the indirectly stimulated muscle. In this instance PTP is a muscle phenomenon.
Ion Transport in Isolated Rabbit Ileum
Authors: Schultz Stanley G. , Zalusky Ralph
Published: May 2004

The addition of actively transported sugars to the solution bathing the mucosal surface of an in vitro preparation of distal rabbit ileum results in a rapid increase in the transmural potential difference, the short-circuit current, and the rate of active Na transport from mucosa to serosa. These effects are dependent upon the active transport of the sugar per se and are independent of the metabolic fate of the transported sugar. Furthermore, they are inhibited both by low concentrations of phlorizin in the mucosal solution and by low concentrations of ouabain in the serosal solution. The increase in the short-circuit current, ΔIsc, requires the presence of Na in the perfusion medium and its magnitude is a linear function of the Na concentration. On the other hand, ΔIsc is a saturable function of the mucosal sugar concentration which is consistent with Michaelis-Menten kinetics suggesting that the increase in active Na transport is stoichiometrically related to the rate of active sugar transport. An interpretation of these findings in terms of a hypothetical model for intestinal Na and sugar transport is presented.
Turnover of Phosphatidic Acid and Sodium Extrusion from Mammalian Erythrocytes
Authors: Kirschner Leonard B. , Barker Jennifer
Published: May 2004

Phosphatidic acid (PA) from swine and beef RBCs was isolated by chromatography on silicic acid columns. It comprised about 1 per cent of the total lipid phosphate in RBCs, but was eluted nearly pure from columns. An uncharacterized inositide accounted for 5 to 10 per cent of the phosphate in the PA-containing fraction. When cells were incubated with HP32O4=, the fraction containing PA became more radioactive than any of the other fractions obtained. However, analysis of the labeled material by paper chromatography showed that most of the P32 was in the inositide, not in PA. With the assumption of kinetic homogeneity for cellular PA, compartmental analysis of the kinetics of tracer incorporation showed that PA turnover is 3 to 4 orders of magnitude too slow to account for sodium extrusion by these cells.
The Rat Electroretinogram
Authors: Cone Richard A.
Published: May 2004

Electroretinograms were obtained from the all-rod eye of the rat with uniform illumination of the entire retina and stimulus flashes of less than 3 msec. duration. Bloch's law of temporal summation was verified for the b-wave latency by varying the time between two equal intensity flashes and observing that no change occurred in the latency when measured from the midpoint of the two flashes. The results of this and other experiments are described in terms of a simple but general model of the latency-determining mechanism. It is shown that this latency mechanism acts as if it depends on a linear additive process; and also that a hypothetical excitatory substance which triggers activity in the sources of the b-wave must accumulate rapidly in time after the flash, approximately as t8. The rate at which this substance accumulates is accurately represented by the diffusion equation for more than 4 to 6 log units in the flash intensity. This suggests that the rate-determining step in the latency mechanism may be diffusion-limited.
Influence of Some Ions on the Membrane Potential of Ascaris Muscle
Authors: Del Gastillo J. , De Mello W. C. , Morales T.
Published: May 2004

The influence of several ions on the membrane potential of the somatic muscle of Ascaris has been investigated by changing their concentration in the surrounding solution. When [K]o is increased at the expense of [Na]oleaving [Cl]o constant, the membrane potential is first seen to increase. [K]o higher than 45 mM reduces the membrane potential with a slope of 23 mv for a tenfold change in [K]o. However, when [K]o is increased keeping [Na]o and [Cl]o low and constant, the line relating the membrane potential with log [K]o has a slope of almost 50 mv. If [Cl]o is reduced in the absence of external Na, after the [K]o is increased to 45 mM, the membrane potential decreases with a slope of 59 mv per tenfold change in [Cl]o in close agreement with the Nernst equation. If Cl- is replaced by SO42-, a depolarization is produced, while chloride replacement by NO3-, Br-, and I- results in a hyperpolarization of the membrane. Removal of the external Na+ ions increases the average membrane potential by 17 mv.
The Effect of Proteolytic Enzymes on E. coli Phages and on Native Proteins
Authors: Northrop John H.
Published: May 2004

Lambda coli phage is not inactivated by chymotrypsin, trypsin, or ficin. T2 phage is slowly inactivated by high concentrations of (α-, ß-, γ-, or Δ-chymotrypsin, but not by trypsin or ficin. P1 phage is slowly inactivated by α-, ß-, or γ-chymotrypsin, or ficin, more rapidly by Δ-chymotrypsin, and much more rapidly by trypsin. Crystalline egg albumin, crystalline serum albumin, E. coli nucleoprotein, and yeast nucleoprotein are hydrolyzed slowly by α-chymotrypsin. Yeast nucleoprotein, like P1 phage, is hydrolyzed more rapidly by Δ-chymotrypsin than by α-chymotrypsin, but not by trypsin or ficin. Neither phages nor native proteins were attacked by papain, carboxypeptidase, deoxyribonuclease, or ribonuclease.
Osmotic Properties of Human Red Cells
Authors: Savitz David , Sidel Victor W. , Solomon A. K.
Published: May 2004

The hematocrit method as a technique for determining red cell volume under anisotonic conditions has been reexamined and has been shown, with appropriate corrections for trapped plasma, to provide a true measure of cell volume. Cell volume changes in response to equilibration in anisotonic media were found to be much less than those predicted for an ideal osmometer; this anomalous behavior cannot be explained by solute leakage or by the changing osmotic coefficient of hemoglobin, but is quantitatively accounted for by the hypothesis that 20 per cent of intracellular water is bound to hemoglobin and is unavailable for participation in osmotic shifts.
The Spectral Distribution of Firefly Light
Authors: Seliger H. H. , Buck J. B. , Fastie W. G. , McElroy W. D.
Published: May 2004

The in vivo emission spectra of sixteen species of Jamaican fireflies and four species of American fireflies have been measured with a photoelectric recording spectrometer. A simple technique of stimulation with ethyl acetate vapor was found to elicit bright continuous emission over a period of several minutes. Although the luciferin-luciferase cross-reactions were positive in all cases tested, peak intensity wavelengths show distinct species differences, ranging from 5520 to 5820 A. Widely separated emission peaks arise from the thoracic and abdominal organs respectively in the same animal, the click-beetle, Pyrophorus.
Relation between Membrane Potential Changes and Tension in Barnacle Muscle Fibers
Authors: Edwards Charles , Chichibu Shiko , Hagiwara Susumu
Published: May 2004

Constant current pulses have been applied to single muscle fibers of the barnacle, Balanus nubilus Darwin, with an axial metal electrode. The membrane potential change, which took place over a large part of the muscle fiber, was measured with a similar electrode. Depolarizing pulses, if the voltage was greater than threshold, produced tension. The size of the tension was a function of the magnitude and the duration of the depolarizing pulses. The latency between the onset of depolarization and tension can be only in part attributable to mechanical factors. AC stimulation produced tension, but 5 to 10 seconds were required for the steady-state level of the tension to be reached. Muscles were depolarized in elevated K and studied after the contracture had terminated. If not too depolarized, further depolarization produced tension. Termination of hyperpolarizing pulses also produced tension, which decayed quite slowly. Hyperpolarizing pulses reduced, or abolished, any preexisting tension. Thus, it appears that at certain values of the membrane potential tension is set up, but there is also a slow process of accommodation present.
The Relation Between the Late After-Potential and the Size of the Transverse Tubular System of Frog Muscle
Authors: Freygang W. H. , Goldstein D. A. , Hellam D. C. , Peachey L. D.
Published: May 2004

This is an investigation of the effects on the late after-potential of immersing frog sartorius muscles in three kinds of modified Ringer's fluid; hypertonic, low chloride, and potassium-free. The late after-potential has been attributed to the depolarizing effect of an accumulation of potassium, during a preceding train of impulses, in the intermediary space of the model of a muscle fiber proposed by Adrian and Freygang. Both the hypertonic and low chloride solutions prolonged the late after-potential reversibly and the potassium-free solution shortened it. The effect of the low potassium solution fitted those data calculated from the model, but the effect of the hypertonic and low chloride solutions required an increase in size of the intermediary space of the model in order to fit the calculated data. An electron microscopic study of the muscles showed that the size of the transverse tubular system changed reversibly in the hypertonic and low chloride solutions in almost the amount necessary to fit the experimental data to the calculated data. This agreement between the change in size of the transverse tubular system and that of the intermediary space indicates that the intermediary space may be the transverse tubular system.
The Effects of Several Alcohols on the Properties of the Squid Giant Axon
Authors: Armstrong Clay M. , Binstock Leonard
Published: May 2004

The effects of several alcohols on the resting potential, action potential, and voltage-clamp currents of the squid giant axon have been measured. All the alcohols employed are similar in that they depress maximum sodium conductance much more than maximum potassium conductance. Octyl alcohol differs from the others (C2 through C5) in that it has less tendency to depolarize the axon. Depolarization is always accompanied by a decrease of gK near the resting potential, such that the ratio gK/gleak is decreased. Steady-state inactivation of the sodium ion current is unaffected by alcohols, as is membrane capacity. Resting membrane conductance is usually decreased by alcohols. The findings are discussed in relation to work on monomolecular films.
Reaction of Local Anesthetics with Phospholipids
Authors: Feinstein Maurice B.
Published: May 2004

Local anesthetics (LA) have been found to interact with phospholipids and lipids extracted from nerve and muscle. This reaction is demonstrated by: (a) Inhibition by LA of phospholipid (and tissue lipid) facilitated transport of calcium from a methanol: water phase into chloroform. This action is dependent upon the cationic form of the LA. (b) LA increase the electrical resistance of "membranes" prepared by impregnating Millipore filters with cephalin:cholesterol or tissue lipid extracts and bathed with NaCl or KCl solutions. (c) LA coagulate aqueous dispersions of cephalin, phosphatidyl serine, phosphatidyl ethanolamine, and inositide, an action shared by calcium. The order of potency in coagulating cephalin sols is tetracaine > calcium > butacaine > procaine. Na+ and K+ do not coagulate phospholipid dispersions at 0.1 M concentration and antagonize the effect of Ca2+. (d) LA produce a marked fall in the pH of cephalin sols equivalent to that produced by calcium, (e) Ca2+ and LA form 1:2 molar complexes with phospholipids probably by ion-ion and ion-induced polar type of binding at the phosphate groups of the lipid. It is suggested that such reactions with cell membrane phospholipids may underlie inhibitory effects of LA on cellular ion fluxes and provide a chemical basis for anesthetic action.
Differential Growth and Phototropic Bending in Phycomyces
Authors: Castle Edward S.
Published: May 2004

Using present knowledge of the cell's optical and growth mechanisms, a theoretical bending speed of about 5° min.-1 is calculated for unilateral irradiation by a single beam of normally incident visible light; this figure is of the magnitude found experimentally. Between beams of light opposed at 180°, the resultant bending speed is given by the difference-to-sum ratio of the light intensities of the two beams. Valid comparisons between cells differing in size, growth speed, or optical properties are made by expressing bending speed as a fraction of each cell's bending response to unilateral irradiation. With multiple beams differing in intensity and azimuth, the resultant bending speed follows from vector addition of phototropic components proportional to the flux fraction of each beam. The bending speed in Oehlkers' experiment where a luminous area is the light source also appears compatible with this rule. In such experiments, the bending speed quantitatively matches the scaled asymmetry of the pattern of flux incident upon the cell. Resolution experiments support the assumption that light intensity enters into steady state phototropic formulations as the first power of I.
Exposure of the Isolated Frog Skin to High Potassium Concentrations at the Internal Surface
Authors: Ussing Hans H. , Biber Thomas U. L. , Bricker Neal S.
Published: May 2004

Isolated frog skin epithelia undergo marked, but reversible swelling when the external skin surface is bathed with conventional NaCl Ringer's and the internal surface with KCl Ringer's solutions. In 2 hours, epithelial thickness increased by over twofold. When NaCl Ringer's was replaced on both sides of the skin, volume returned to control levels in less than 1 hour. When sulfate, rather than chloride, was the predominant anion, exposure of the internal surface to high potassium concentrations did not evoke changes in epithelial cell volume. With both KCl and K2SO4 Ringer's, an immediate drop in DC resistance across the skin occurred. This was followed by partial recovery. Both the immediate drop and partial recovery were unrelated to changes in volume. A slow, sustained secondary drop in resistance was observed with KCl but not K2SO4 Ringer's. This slower drop was associated temporally with swelling. When epithelial cell swelling occurred (i.e. with KCl Ringer's), the characteristic response of the skin to vasopressin was abolished. However, with sulfate as anion, vasopressin elicited an increase in short-circuit current and/or in cell volume despite high internal potassium concentrations. It is concluded that epithelial swelling increased the permeability of the sodium-selective barrier at the external surface of the cells; and the possibility exists that stretching of cell membranes altered dimensions of pathways through which Na and water move, thereby mimicking the effects of vasopressin.
Effects of Alkali Metal Gations on the Potential across Toad and Bullfrog Urinary Bladder
Authors: Leb Daniel E. , Hoshiko T. ,   Barry D. Lindley with the technical assistance of James A. Dugan
Published: May 2004

Isolated urinary bladders of the bullfrog (R. catesbeiana) and the toad (B. marinus) were mounted in an Ussing chamber. Potential differences up to 114 mv were observed in bullfrog bladder when the mucosal surface was bathed in dilute Na2SO4 and the serosal surface in sulfate Ringer's. In experiments with bullfrogs, K was used to replace Na in the mucosal solution and Na was used for K in the serosal solutions. The selectivity was judged in terms of the relative effectiveness of the replacement cation in maintaining the bladder potential. In experiments with toads, K and Rb were equally poor replacements for Na at the mucosal border, while Rb was a good replacement for K at the serosal border. Li in the mucosal solution appeared to depress the potential in part irreversibly. At the serosal border, Li was a partially effective substitute for K, more so than was Na. However, both were poor replacements compared to Rb. The mucosal surface of the urinary bladder of both frog and toad appears to be Na-selective and the serosal surface appears to be K-selective, consistent with the Koefoed-Johnsen-Ussing model for frog skin.
Energetics of Anaerobic Sodium Transport by the Fresh Water Turtle Bladder
Authors: Klahr Saulo , Bricker Neal S.
Published: May 2004

Certain of the metabolic events associated with anaerobic sodium transport by the isolated bladder of the fresh water turtle have been investigated. The data suggest that energy for this transport arises from glycolysis and that endogenous glycogen was the major and perhaps the sole source of substrate. The rate of anaerobic glycolysis, as determined by lactate formation, correlates well with the rate as determined by glycogen utilization. Using lactate formation as the index of anaerobic glycolysis, a linear relationship was observed between glycolysis and net anaerobic sodium transport. In the absence of sodium transport, glycolysis decreased by approximately 45 per cent. Tissue ATP concentrations were maintained at about the same level under anaerobic as under aerobic conditions. Finally if it is assumed that in the conversion of glycogen to lactate anaerobically, 3 moles of ATP are generated per mole of glucose residue, an average of over 15 equivalents of sodium were transported for every mole of ATP generated.
Electrical Activity in the Chemoreceptors of the Blowfly
Authors: Wolbarsht Myron L. , Hanson Frank E.
Published: May 2004

All sizes of the chemosensory hairs on the labellum of the blowfly, Phormia regina, contain neurons which respond to chemical stimulation with diphasic impulses if the recording electrode is at the tip of the hair. The impulses are initially positive, then become negative and return to the base line. The negative phase can be abolished by the action of anesthetics (xylocaine, cocaine, procaine, chloral hydrate) and tetrodotoxin, an extract from the puffer fish. The negative phase is increased by strong salts, mechanical injury, and thermal injury, which also act to reduce or abolish the positive phase. Simultaneous recordings from the side and the tip of the hair show that both positive and negative phases appear first at the side. These results indicate that the impulse is initiated in or near the cell body at the base of the hair and under certain conditions is propagated antidromically up the dendrite to the tip.
The Quantitative Interrelationships between Ion Fluxes, Cell Swelling, and Radiation Dose in Ultraviolet Hemolysis
Authors: Cook John S.
Published: May 2004

Following treatment with ultraviolet radiation, human red cells leak cations at accelerated rates which depend on the radiation dose. With one exception (initial Na efflux), these accelerated cation fluxes fit the Ussing flux-ratio criterion for passive diffusion. Na efflux is transiently high, but with time falls to the value expected on the basis of the other cation fluxes. An equation based on the hypothesis of colloid osmotic hemolysis satisfactorily predicts the rate of cell swelling as a result of these ion movements.
Anomalous Rectification in the Squid Giant Axon Injected with Tetraethylammonium Chloride
Authors: Armstrong Clay M. , Binstock Leonard
Published: May 2004

The injection of tetraethylammonium chloride into the giant axon of the squid prolongs the action potential and eliminates most of the late current under voltage-clamp. Experiments on fibers in an external medium of high potassium ion concentration demonstrate that injected tetraethylammonium chloride causes rectification of the instantaneous current-voltage curve for potassium by excluding outward current. This interference with the flow of outward potassium ion current underlies the prolongation of the action potential seen in tetraethylammonium-injected fibers.
The Suppression of the Late After-Potential in Rubidium-Containing Frog Muscle Fibers
Authors: Hellam D. C. , Goldstein D. A. , Peachey L. D. , Freygang W. H.
Published: May 2004

The late after-potential that follows trains of impulses in frog muscle fibers is virtually absent when most of the intracellular potassium is replaced by rubidium and the muscle is immersed in rubidium-containing Ringer's fluid. Its amplitude is also reduced in freshly dissected, potassium-containing muscle fibers that are immersed directly in Rb-Ringer's fluid. These findings are discussed in terms of the model for muscle membrane of Adrian and Freygang (1962 a, b) and in relation to the report of Adrian (1964) that Rb-containing muscle fibers do not exhibit the variations in potassium permeability as a function of membrane potential that are found in fibers with normal intracellular potassium concentration immersed in Ringer's fluid.
After-Potentials and Large Depolarizations of Single Nodes of Ranvier Treated with Veratridine
Authors: Ulbricht W. , Flacke W.
Published: May 2004

Potential differences between normal nodes of Ranvier (single fiber from the sciatic nerve of the frog, air-gap method) and a node exposed to 1 to 2.5 x 10-6 gm veratridine per ml were measured. Negative after-potentials occurred immediately after application of the alkaloid when spike configuration and resting potential were virtually unchanged. The after-potentials decreased in magnitude and their time constant increased as the resting membrane was depolarized either by outward currents or by a train of impulses. Increase of (Na)o markedly increased the amplitude of the after-potential. After prolonged application of veratridine or with higher concentrations, a large slow depolarization (rate of potential change about 7 mv per second) could be triggered by a train of impulses or even a single spike. This depolarization could promptly be terminated by withdrawing Na. It is concluded that, once the nodal membrane has become permeable to Na (as during a spike), veratridine prevents the normal return of PNa to its resting value.
Effects of Internal and External Ionic Environment on Excitability of Squid Giant Axon
Authors: Tasaki Ichiji , Singer Irwin , Takenaka Toshifumi
Published: May 2004

The effects of ten cations and fifteen anions on the excitability of the squid giant axon were studied. The method of intracellular perfusion used in these investigations is described in detail. Empirical criteria were established for evaluating the relative favorability of any salt solution for maintaining the normal excitability of the membrane of the axon. It was found that both cations and anions could be ordered in sequences of relative favorability, which are directly related to the classic lyotropic sequences found for protein macromolecules and in colloid chemistry in general. The effects of concentration, salt mixtures, non-electrolyte carriers, enzymes, metabolic inhibitors, pH, and external media were also studied. The results are interpreted in terms of current concepts of the interactions between water structure, charged macromolecules, and their ionic environments. A macromolecular approach is given to the physicochemical nature of the "two stable states" of the excitable membrane, to describe the time-dependent potential changes observed.
Some Factors Affecting the Time Course of the Recovery of Contracture Ability Following a Potassium Contracture in Frog Striated Muscle
Authors: Milligan J. V. , Edwards C.
Published: May 2004

The recovery rate of contracture ability after a K contracture was shown to be initially dependent upon the rate of repolarization and later to be dependent upon a process which was sensitive to concentration and temperature changes in a manner consistent with chemical binding. It was shown qualitatively that repolarization did not depend on the presence of external calcium and the second process was studied by allowing the muscle to repolarize for 2 minutes in calcium-free solution following a K contracture. Recovery after this procedure was speeded by decreasing either the concentration of potassium in the contracture solution or its temperature and was slowed by either decreasing the calcium concentration of the recovery solution or its temperature or by increasing the duration of the exposure to potassium.
The Oxygen Equilibrium of Mammalian Hemoglobin
Authors: Roughton F. J. W.
Published: May 2004

The three chief physicochemical theories of the oxygen-hemoglobin equilibrium in vogue 40 years ago still influence current thought on the problem. Although the Hill theory lost its fundamental basis some 40 years ago, the famous empiric equation to which it gave rise is still much used, as a useful phenomenological expression, only involving two disposable constants. The Haldane theory, of which a difference in aggregation of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin was a fundamental feature, lay for many years dormant but has recently had an astonishing reawakening through the work on lamprey hemoglobin, which clearly reveals such differences in aggregation. Lamprey hemoglobin might thus be called a "Haldane type" hemoglobin. Adair's four-stage intermediate compound theory still seems applicable in the case of hemoglobins such as those of sheep, whose tetramer molecules do not tend to dissociate into dimers, and which might therefore be called "Adair type" hemoglobins. Horse and human hemoglobins appear to reveal both "Haldane" and "Adair" behaviour. The effects of pH, temperature, and protein concentration on the oxygen-equilibrium of sheep hemoglobin are summarised, and it is shown that, although the equilibrium curves are often isomorphous over their middle range, intensive work at the top and bottom of the curves reveals considerable differences in the relative effects of these factors on the several equilibrium constants of Adair's four intermediate equations. In the last section an account is given of preliminary experimental attempts to interpret the oxygen- and carbon monoxide—equilibrium curves of whole human blood, under physiological conditions in terms of the Adair intermediate compound hypothesis.
On the Mechanism of Respiratory Control
Authors: Butow Ronald A. , Racker Efraim
Published: May 2004

Control of oxidation is the key mechanism in the regulation of energy metabolism. In glycolysis the oxidation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate is controlled by DPNH, which inhibits glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. In oxidative phosphorylation the inhibition of electron flow from DPNH to oxygen, called "respiratory control," is the subject of this paper. After a discussion of the physiological significance of the "tight coupling" between phosphorylation and oxidation, studies on "loosely coupled" submitochondrial particles are reported. These particles are capable of oxidative phosphorylation in the presence of a suitable phosphate acceptor system, but in contrast to controlled, intact mitochondria they oxidize DPNH in the absence of phosphate and ADP. The addition of o-phenanthroline to submitochondrial particles gives rise to an inhibition of respiration, which is partly reversed by phosphate and ADP or by dinitrophenol. The properties of this model system of respiratory control will be described.
Reaction of Oxygen with the Respiratory Chain in Cells and Tissues
Authors: Chance Britton
Published: May 2004

This paper considers the way in which the oxygen reaction described by Dr. Nicholls and the ADP control reactions described by Dr. Racker could cooperate to establish a purposeful metabolic control phenomenon in vivo. This has required an examination of the kinetic properties of the respiratory chain with particular reference to methods for determinations of oxygen affinity (Km). The constant parameter for tissue respiration is k1, the velocity constant for the reaction of oxygen with cytochrome oxidase. Not only is this quantity a constant for a particular tissue or mitochondria; it appears to vary little over a wide range of biological material, and for practical purposes a value of 5 x 107 at 25° close to our original value (20) is found to apply with adequate accuracy for calculation of Km for mammalia. The quantity which will depend upon the tissue and its metabolic state is the value of Km itself, and Km may be as large as 0.5 µM and may fall to 0.05 µM or less in resting, controlled, or inhibited states. The control characteristic for ADP may depend upon the electron flux due to the cytochrome chain (40); less ADP is required to activate the slower electron transport at lower temperatures than at higher temperatures. The affinity constants for ADP control appear to be less dependent upon substrate supplied to the system. The balance of ADP and oxygen control in vivo is amply demonstrated experimentally and is dependent on the oxygen concentration as follows. In the presence of excess oxygen, control may be due to the ADP or phosphate (or substrate), and the kinetics of oxygen utilization will be independent of the oxygen concentration. As the oxygen concentration is diminished, hemoglobin becomes disoxygenated, deep gradients of oxygen concentration develop in the tissue, and eventually cytochrome oxidase becomes partially and then completely reduced. DPN at this point will become reduced and the electron flow diminished. The rate of ATP production falls and energy conservation previously under the control of the ADP concentration will now be controlled by the diffusion of oxygen to the respiratory enzymes in the mitochondria. Under these conditions the rate of reaction of cytochrome oxidase with oxygen and the reaction of cytochromes with one another become of key importance. The rise of ADP and the depletion of energy reserves evoke glycolytic activity, and failure of biological function may result.
Maximum Rate of Depolarization of Single Muscle Fiber in Normal and Low Sodium Solutions
Authors: Ferroni Arnaldo , Blanchi Donatella
Published: May 2004

The values of membrane action potentials and maximum depolarization rates of single muscle fibers in normal Tyrode solution and in low sodium solutions containing as little as 20 per cent of the sodium chloride were measured with intracellular microelectrodes. Under these conditions the membrane potential remains unchanged up to 36 per cent of [Na+]out concentration, whereas the overshoot of the action potential varies linearly with the logarithm of the external sodium concentration. The maximum depolarization rate is a linear function of the external sodium concentration. The results obtained support the ionic theory for sodium and the independence principle for sodium current related to the external sodium concentration.
Osmotic Properties of Amphibian Muscles
Authors: Bozler Emil
Published: May 2004

Changes in the volume of fiber water in hypotonic and hypertonic Ringer's solution were determined for the sartorius, stomach, and cardiac muscle of the frog using two methods. Loss of water in hypertonic solutions was nearly the same in all muscles, but swelling in hypotonic solutions was greatest in the sartorius, smallest in the heart. For the sartorius the deviation from the properties of an osmometer can be accounted for by a loss of electrolyte and by assuming that a small part of the fiber water is bound, but this appears insufficient to explain the behavior of stomach and cardiac muscle in hypotonic solutions. In very dilute solutions of CaCl2 and MgCl2 a large difference in concentration of electrolytes is maintained between the fibers and the medium. Under these conditions divalent cations, accumulating in the fibers, produce a change in physical properties which indicates increased internal cross-linking. It is suggested, therefore, that swelling is limited as in a gel and that a considerable hydrostatic pressure may develop within the fibers.
The Variation of Muscle Oxygen Consumption With Velocity of Shortening
Authors: Baskin R. J.
Published: May 2004

Total oxygen consumption following contraction at controlled shortening velocities was determined for ten twitches of frog sartorius muscle. Under the conditions of this investigation maximum oxygen consumption occurred at approximately 30 mm/sec. shortening velocity and decreased for larger and smaller velocities. Mechanical efficiency was calculated and found to show a maximum at approximately 20 mm/sec. shortening velocity. The relationship between this study and a similar investigation in which heat changes are measured as a function of shortening velocity is discussed.
Na and K Fluxes in Nitella clavata
Authors: Barr Charles E.
Published: May 2004

Na and K influxes and effluxes, membrane potentials, and cell ion concentrations of Nitella clavata were measured as functions of external NaCl concentrations and time. It appears necessary to conclude that active K transport into the cells as well as active Na extrusion is present, although the latter is of small magnitude and possibly is explicable as exchange-diffusion. An attempt has been made to account for the capacity of the cells to discriminate between K and Na ions and yet have fairly independent passive ion movements. This is done by proposing a model in which the permeation areas are "slit-pores" rather than cylindrical pores. The slit-pores would permit rather independent movements of ions within them so long as the pores do not tend to become saturated from both or either side. In the latter case one way movement results. The experimental results are in fair agreement with this suggested model.
The Gustatory Neural Response Function
Authors: Erickson Robert P. , Doetsch Gernot S. , Marshall David A.
Published: May 2004

With few exceptions, afferent neurons in the various sensory systems respond to wide ranges of stimuli. In those sensory systems for which the stimulus dimensions are understood, the response functions of these neurons may be described; they are usually simple functions with one maximum, although many variations exist. In the chemical senses, the stimulus dimensions are not known, and thus the neural response functions of these neurons have never been described. The present paper presents methods to determine these response functions and the stimulus dimensions for the chemical senses. A tentative response function for taste is developed, and preliminary steps are taken toward disclosing the stimulus dimensions.
The Components of the Visual System of a Dragonfly
Authors: Ruck Philip
Published: May 2004

In this study of the electroretinograms of dragonflies (adults and nymphs) the objectives were to determine the number of classes of photoreceptors present in the visual system and to allocate these to particular morphological regions. There are probably five classes of photoreceptors present with peak sensitivities near 550, 530, 518, 420, and < 380 mµ. The dorsal ocelli contain two classes (518 mµ and < 380 mµ). The ventral (anterior) ommatidia of the adult compound eye contain at least two classes (near 518 mµ and < 380 mµ) and probably a third class (near 550 mµ). The dorsal ommatidia of the adult compound eye contain one class (420 mµ) and possibly another class (< 380 mµ). The compound eye of the nymph contains one class (530 mµ) and possibly another class (420 mµ).
Interaction between the Effects of Inside and Outside Na and K on Bullfrog Skin Potential
Authors: Leb Daniel E. , Edwards Charles , Lindley Barry D. , Hoshiko T. ,   with the technical assistance of James A. Dugan
Published: May 2004

The composition of the solution bathing one border of the isolated frog skin affects the response of the potential across the skin to changes in the composition of the solution bathing the opposite border. Increasing the K concentration of the inside (corium) bathing solution decreased the sensitivity of the potential to a change in outside Na concentration. Decreasing the outside Na concentration decreased the sensitivity of the potential to a change in inside K concentration. Increasing the total ionic strength of the outside bathing solution or of both bathing solutions decreased the sensitivity of the potential to a change in outside Na concentration.
The Distribution of Pre- and Postsynaptic Inhibition at Crustacean Neuromuscular Junctions
Authors: Kennedy Donald , Evoy William H.
Published: May 2004

The relative contribution of pre- and postsynaptic mechanisms to peripheral inhibition has been analyzed in the abdominal slow flexor muscles of crayfish and lobsters. The conductance of the muscle fiber membrane may be increased to five or more times its resting value by repetitive stimulation of the peripheral inhibitory axon, and this effect accounts for all of the attenuation exerted by the inhibitor against excitatory junctional potentials. No "critical interval" has been found at which an inhibitory nerve impulse produces anomalously large reduction of a following depolarizing junctional potential; electrotonic depolarizations and junctional potentials are identically affected under all phase conditions. The presynaptic inhibitory mechanism is, therefore, absent in this system. In the dactyl opener muscle, on the contrary, most of the attenuation of excitatory junctional potentials is achieved presynaptically, though equally large postjunctional conductance changes are also seen (Dudel and Kuffler, 1961). The difference is correlated with a difference in the reflex operation of the two muscles. Reflex inhibition in the abdominal slow flexors is primarily central, whereas in the dactyl opener, inhibition is brought about by an increase in inhibitory nerve discharge frequency without central suppression of the single excitatory axon. The function of peripheral inhibition in the abdominal flexors is presumably to terminate residual depolarization by reducing the long time-constant of the muscle fibers.
Cation Transport in Escherichia coli
Authors: Epstein Wolfgang , Schultz Stanley G.
Published: May 2004

K influx and net K flux have been measured in suspensions of chloramphenicol-arrested Escherichia coli. The rate of K exchange in the steady state was independent of the K concentration of the medium over a 200-fold range. Under a number of experimental conditions the rate of exchange may be considerably increased or decreased without changing the cellular K content. These results show that under these conditions changes in K influx are associated with equal changes in K efflux, and suggest that the latter process is, at least in part, both carrier-mediated and tightly coupled to the influx process.
The Surface Charge of Isolated Toad Bladder Epithelial Cells
Authors: Lipman Kenneth M. , Dodelson Robert , Hays Richard M.
Published: May 2004

The surface charge of epithelial cells isolated from the toad bladder has been determined by the microscope method of cell electrophoresis. The cells possess a net negative charge, and a net surface charge density of 3.6 x 104 electronic charges per square micron at pH 7.3. Estimates of net surface charge over the alkaline pH range indicate (a) that an average distance of the order of 40 A separates the negatively charged groups, and (b) that amino as well as acid groups are present at the electrophoretic surface of shear. A significant increase in mobility following cyanate treatment of the cells suggests that a large proportion of the amino groups are the ϵ-amino groups of lysine. In view of the known effects of calcium and other divalent ions on cell permeability and cell adhesion, the extent of binding of calcium and magnesium to the cell surface was determined by the electrophoretic technique. Mobility was significantly decreased in the presence of calcium or magnesium, indicating that these ions are bound by surface groups. When the pH was lowered from 7.3 to 5.2, calcium binding was markedly decreased, an observation consistent with competition between calcium and hydrogen ions for a common receptor site.
Interactions of Oxygen at High Pressure and Radiation in Drosophila
Authors: Thomas J.J. , Baxter R.C. , Fenn W.O.
Published: May 2004

Oxygen at high pressure (OHP) and X-irradiation can interact in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster to potentiate toxic actions characteristic of one agent alone. 1000 kvp X-irradiation in doses of 30, 60, and 75 kr accelerated the acute immobilization of young male Drosophila by oxygen at 7.8 atm, up to rates twice that observed with such oxygen pressure alone. X-irradiation alone in these dosages did not acutely immobilize the Drosophila. X-irradiation during exposure to 7.8 atm pO2 was more effective and consistent in producing this potentiation than was X-irradiation that preceded exposure to OHP. Acute OHP toxicity in young female Drosophila was not potentiated by 75 kr of X-irradiation. On the other hand, shortening of the life span of young male Drosophila by the above doses of X-irradiation was augmented significantly by a concurrent 40 min exposure to OHP (which alone did not significantly decrease life span). This shows, for the first time, that oxygen can affect not only the acute effects of radiation, but also the residual irreversible effects indicated by the life span shortening.
The Influence of the Intracellular Potential on Potassium Uptake by Beetroot Tissue
Authors: Poole Ronald J.
Published: May 2004

Intracellular potentials were measured in beetroot tissue during the steady-state uptake of K+ from various solutions. In solutions containing bicarbonate, the membrane potential becomes up to 70 mv more negative than the estimated equilibrium potential for K+. The uptake of K+ from such solutions is correlated with variations in the potential, both when the bicarbonate concentration is changed and also when the metabolic activity of the tissue is changed by washing in water for various periods. However, the estimated permeability to K+ varies from 0.4 x 10-7 to 1.5 x 10-7 cm·sec-1. It is postulated that the change of potential arises from the metabolic transport of HCO3- into the cell or H+ outwards, and that the associated uptake of K+ is partly or entirely by passive diffusion across the cell membrane. In contrast, K+ uptake from KCl solutions is not accompanied by any significant change in the membrane potential, which remains relatively close to the K+ equilibrium potential. In solutions containing both KHCO3 and KCl, it appears that an amount of K+ equal to the influx of Cl- is taken up independently of the potential, while the component of K+ uptake which is not balanced by Cl- uptake is related to the potential in the manner described. These results suggest that K+ uptake is linked to Cl- uptake in an electrically neutral active transport process.