Phylogenetic relationship within Fusarium sambucinum Fuckel sensu lato, determined from ribosomal RNA sequences

The importance of abnormalities of function and epididymis structure in the etiology of male infertility is still not well understood. We studied 52 individuals distributed in five age groups: fetuses, children, adolescents, adults and the elderly. The region of the body of epididymis was obtained by autopsy and immediately fixed by immersion in a solution of 10% buffered formaldehyde, embedded in paraffin and histologically prepared. The samples were observed under an optic microscope. Test-points were counted in 12 random microscopic fields with the M42 test-system. The following stereological parameters were determined: ductal area, volumetric densities (Vv) of the duct, smooth muscle, connective tissue, epithelial duct and blood vessels. The main results distinguished by those whose averages were statistically significant (p < 0.05), showed that the ductal area is 9.7 times greater in the adolescent/adult/elderly group than the children's group. The Vv of the lumen of the epididymis duct occupies 11.7% of the epididymis body in the fetal period, 5.3% in the child and in individuals after puberty this figures reaches more than 15%. The Vv of smooth muscle occupies 28.3% of the body of the epididymis in the fetus and 35.9% in children, but after puberty this figures stays around 22%. The Vv of the connective tissue occupies 26% in prenatal life, 37% in children, and after puberty these figures range from 21 to 27.5%. Comparing the results of the adult group with that of the elderly group there is an increase in the volumetric density of the connective tissue by 18.1%. In conclusion, the epididymal duct area and the Vv of the ductal lumen, smooth muscle and connective tissue were significant comparing the different groups. However, the quantitative relative differences of the duct's epithelium and the blood vessels were not significant comparing these groups. The study of quantitative aspects of the normal human epididymis can increase our knowledge about male fertility.     

SurA assists the folding of Escherichia coli outer membrane proteins

Many proteins require enzymatic assistance in order to achieve a functional conformation. One rate-limiting step in protein folding is the cis-trans isomerization of prolyl residues, a reaction catalyzed by prolyl isomerases. SurA, a periplasmic protein of Escherichia coli, has sequence similarity with the prolyl isomerase parvulin. We tested whether SurA was involved in folding periplasmic and outer membrane proteins by using trypsin sensitivity as an assay for protein conformation. We determined that the efficient folding of three outer membrane proteins (OmpA, OmpF, and LamB) requires SurA in vivo, while the folding of four periplasmic proteins was independent of SurA. We conclude that SurA assists in the folding of certain secreted proteins.     

Berechnung der Anlaufdaten von Asynchron-Käfigläufermotoren verschiedener Stabformen mit der Methode der finiten Differenzen

Übersicht Die spannungsabhängigen Anlaufströme und Drehmomente eines 2800 kW Asynchron-Käfigläufermotors werden mit der Methode der finiten Differenzen und einem neuen Block-SOR-Iterationsverfahren berechnet. Es wird ber die Ergebnisse für Rechteck-, Trapez- und andere Rotorstabformen berichtet. Die numerisch berechneten Daten werden mit den nach konventionellen Regeln ermittelten Zahlen verglichen. Der Sättigungseffekt ist unerwartet groß, als Folge des großen Nennstrombelages. Die ungesättigten werte stimmen sehr gut überein.

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On the calculation of the starting data of A.C. squirrel-cage motors with different bar shapes by the method of finite differences

Contents The voltage dependent starting currents and torques of a 2,800 kW 3-phase a.c. squirrel cage motor are calculated by the method of finite differences using a new block-SOR iteration technique. The paper describes the results for different rotor bars with rectangular, trapezoidal and other shapes. The calculated data are compared with conventionally determined figures. The saturation effect is rather large due to the high values of the rated current loading per air gap periphery. The unsaturated values agree very good.

     

Acromegaly caused by pulmonary carcinoid tumours

Vascular input impedance and associated hydraulic power was measured in rabbit isolated lungs. The study was focused on changes in impedance and in pulsatile hydraulic power during relaxation and contraction of vascular smooth muscle. Pulsatile power was found to be at a minimum when smooth muscle tone was such that the pulmonary arterial pressure was in the physiological range, and increased both when the vessels were relaxed and further constricted. Input impedance was found to be determined mainly by the large, proximal ('extra-alveolar') arteries.     

Effects of breed and age at slaughter on degradation of muscle lipids during processing of dry‐cured hams

Hams from Landrace, Duroc and Hampshire pigs slaughtered at ages 6, 7.5 and 9 months were processed to generate Norwegian Parma‐style hams. Lipid contents and the compositions of fatty acid classes (ΣSFA, ΣMUFA, ΣPUFA) within neutral lipids, phospholipids and free fatty acids were determined. Small differences in lipid degradation and composition of the classes were revealed. However, significant sensory differences related to lipids were observed. Breed was more important than age. Dry‐cured Hampshire hams gave a more intense mature odour that may be associated with higher overall lipid degradation. Unexpectedly, these hams also demonstrated high juiciness and tenderness, which could be related to the melting characteristics of the fat. Dry‐cured Duroc hams showed a higher susceptibility towards rancidity, presumably associated with preferential oxidation of n‐6 fatty acids relative to C18:1 n‐9. Dry‐cured Landrace hams showed the lowest juiciness and tenderness, likely due to their lower fat content (marbling).     

Synthetic aperture focusing for a single-element transducer undergoing helical motion

This paper describes the application of 3-D synthetic aperture focusing (SAF) to a single-element trans-rectal ultrasound transducer. The transducer samples a 3-D volume by simultaneous rotation and translation, giving a helical motion. Two different 3-D SAF methods are investigated, a direct and a two-step approach. Both methods perform almost identically for simulated scatterers and give a significant improvement in azimuth resolution and a constant resolution in elevation. Side lobes below -60 dB are achievable for both methods. Validation of the method is achieved by scanning a simple wire phantom and a complex phantom containing wires in azimuth and elevation. The simple wire phantom shows the same results as that found through simulation. The complex phantom shows simultaneous focusing in azimuth and elevation for the wire scatterers. Consideration of the processing requirements for both 3-D SAF methods shows that the two-step approach can give equivalent performance using an order of magnitude fewer calculations. This reduction requires a temporary storage of 9.1 GB of data for the investigated setup.     

Isolation of monoclonal antibodies monospecific for bovine alpha-lactalbumin.

Monoclonal antibodies were generated against purified bovine alpha-lactalbumin. Three antibodies reactive only to alpha-lactalbumin were selected. Two of the antibodies appeared to be species monospecific and bound with only bovine alpha-lactalbumin. The third monoclonal recognized both bovine and human alpha-lactalbumin with a 2:1 preference for bovine alpha-lactalbumin. Two of the monoclonals (48-60, 48-68) bound to different epitopes with high affinity (Ka = 8 x 10(11), 5.3 x 10(12) M-1). The third monoclonal (48-22), which was of isotype IgA, had an epitope similar to that of 48-60 but with an apparent affinity of approximately 4 x 10(12) M-1. These antibodies should prove extremely useful adjuncts in structural studies of bovine alpha-lactalbumin.     

Genetic analysis of delta helD and delta uvrD mutations in combination with other genes in the RecF recombination pathway in Escherichia coli: suppression of a ruvB mutation by a uvrD deletion

Helicase II (uvrD gene product) and helicase IV (helD gene product) have been shown previously to be involved in the RecF pathway of recombination. To better understand the role of these two proteins in homologous recombination in the RecF pathway [recBCsbcB(C) background, we investigated the interactions between helD, uvrD and the following RecF pathway genes: recF, recO, recN and ruvAB. We observed synergistic interactions between uvrD ant the recF, recN, recO and recG genes in both conjugational recombination and the repair of methylmethane sulfonate (MMS)-induced DNA damage. No synergistic interactions were detected between helD and the recF, recO and regN genes when conjugational recombination was analyzed. We did, however, detect synergistic interactions between helD and recF/recO in recombinational repair. Surprisingly, the uvrD deletion completely suppressed the phenotype of a ruvB mutation in a recBCsbcB(C) background. Both conjugational recombination efficiency and MMS-damaged DNA repair proficiency returned to wild-type levels in the deltauvrDruvB9 double mutant. Suppression of the effects of the ruvB mutation by a uvrD deletion was dependent on the recG and recN genes and not dependent on the recF/O/R genes. These data are discussed in the context of two "RecF" homologous recombination pathways operating in a recBCsbcB(C) strain background.