Spontaneous and induced mutagenesis in a culture of Chinese hamster cells

Spontaneous and nitrosoguanidine (NG)-induced rate of reversions to glutamine independence was studied in cultured temperature-sensitive glutamine auxotrophs of Chinese hamster cells. In 3 experiments the spontaneous rate of reversions varied from 0.8-10(-6) to 3.84-10(-6) per cell per generation. A dependence of the yield of NG-induced back mutations upon the time interval between the mutagenic treatment and the transfer to selective conditions (glutamine deficient medium, 40 degrees C) was established. No induced revertants were detected when cells were transferred to selective conditions immediately after the treatment with NG. After 2--3 days cultivation in glutamine containing medium at 36 degrees C and the sunsequent transfer to selective conditions the frequency of induced reversions varied from 0.56-10(-4) to 10.55-10(-4) in different experiments; after 6 days -- from 0.05-10(-4) to 4.0-10(-4). In all cases where induction was detected, the difference, between the frequency of glutamine prototrophs in treated and control plates was significant. Glutamine independence proved to be stable after prolonged cultivation under non-selective conditions, the degree of prototrophy being greatly unequal in different clones. No differnce in this respect was detected between spontaneous and NG-induced revertants. The proposed system of reverse mutations can be used for studying diverse problems of somatic cell genetics.     

Models for clinically relevant research.

Contends that the ideal program of research to maximize clinical relevance combines 4 models of strategies. These are (1) convergent/convergent, (2) divergent/divergent, (3) divergent-theory/convergent-method, and (4) convergent-theory/divergent-method, and all are employed nomothetically at the level of theory and idiographically at the level of method. Model 1 serves to expand theoretical and procedural possibilities, giving clinicians the flexibility they need when working with individuals in service-delivery settings. Model 2 controls theoretical expansion. Model 3 controls procedural expansion. Model 4 may be used to provide preliminary demonstrations of feasibility that are then used to stimulate other forms of more directly relevant investigation. The products of this overall program of research will increasingly represent a useful body of tested theoretical and procedural possibilities and alternatives that clinicians can use for explaining and treating individual clients and for evaluating treatment outcomes in individually relevant terms. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Estrogen, the ovary, and neutotransmitters: factors associated with aging

Our studies in the C57BL/6J mouse have been designed to examine the interactions of aging and the ovary, and their mutual effects on neuroendocrine function. In the pituitary, ovarian status and not age determines responsiveness to gonadotropin hormone releasing hormone (GnRH), but estrogen (E2) is an important mediator in CNS changes, and removal of the ovary (OVX) is deleterious to the neuroendocrine hypothalamus. OVX for just six days in young animals results in synaptic loss between noradrenergic terminals and gonadotropin hormone releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons. Long-term OVX, hypothesized to protect against neuroendocrine aging, fails to guard against any studied age-related changes. Some age-related changes occur as early as midlife. Although neuron number remains constant at middle age, opiatergic neurons undergo significant functional changes by producing opiate antagonist peptides. This change appears to be caused by alterations in the prohormone convertases, which cleave propeptide to peptide. Altered peptides may trigger the loss of reproductive capacity. The midlife shift in opiate peptide production is a component of natural developmental processes that begin in the neonate and continue through old age. In the cholinergic system, E2 mediates numbers of cholinergic receptors, cholinergic neurons, and cholinergic-modulated memory systems in both young and old animals. Regardless of age, ovarian steroids, if present at physiologic levels, are beneficial to the neuroendocrine CNS, and long-term deprivation from ovarian-produced factors is deleterious in the systems we have examined. Our studies have shown that deprivation from ovarian steroid hormones in the female appears to be a major factor in the health of the CNS and in events associated with aging.     

Cellular pathways acting along the germband and in the amnioserosa may participate in germband retraction of the Drosophila melanogaster embryo

Germband retraction in Drosophila melanogaster, like most embryonic morphogenetic events in this organism and in higher eukaryotes, is not well understood. We have taken several approaches to study the relationships between previously identified mutations (u-shaped, serpent, hindsight and tailup) that selectively cause germband retraction defects in homozygous embryos, and a more pleiotropically acting locus, DER/faint little ball. Our observations from genetic, immunohistochemical, and embryo culture experiments suggest that the former four loci are elements of at least two parallel and partially redundant cellular pathways that affect germband retraction by acting in amnioserosal development or maintenance. An additional discrete and unique pathway, represented by DER/faint little ball, is likely to function in the germband itself. While the role of the amnioserosa during germband retraction appears to be permissive, the action of DER in the germband may be mediated by the cytoskeleton.     

Spontaneous formation of nanoparticle stripe patterns through dewetting

Significant advancement has been made in nanoparticle research, with synthetic techniques extending over a wide range of materials with good control over particle size and shape. A grand challenge is assembling and positioning the nanoparticles in desired locations to construct complex, higher-order functional structures. Controlled positioning of nanoparticles has been achieved in pre-defined templates fabricated by top-down approaches. A self-assembly method, however, is highly desirable because of its simplicity and compatibility with heterogeneous integration processes. Here we report on the spontaneous formation of ordered gold and silver nanoparticle stripe patterns on dewetting a dilute film of polymer-coated nanoparticles floating on a water surface. Well-aligned stripe patterns with tunable orientation, thickness and periodicity at the micrometre scale were obtained by transferring nanoparticles from a floating film onto a substrate in a dip-coating fashion. This facile technique opens up a new avenue for lithography-free patterning of nanoparticle arrays for various applications including, for example, multiplexed surface-enhanced Raman substrates and templated fabrication of higher-order nanostructures.     

Mineral matter effects on the rapid pyrolysis and hydropyrolysis of a bituminous coal: 2. Effects of yields of C3-C8 hydrocarbons

Effects of minerals on yields of C₃-C₈ volatiles from rapid pyrolysis of a Pittsburgh Seam bituminous coal were investigated. Whole, demineralized, and mineral-treated samples of pulverized coal were heated in 101 kPa He or 6.99 MPaH₂ at 1000 K s⁻¹ to temperatures of up to 1300 K. Yields of C₃, C₄–C₆, and C₆–C₈ hydrocarbon gases were determined as a function of time-temperature history. Calcium minerals decrease yields of all three fractions in pyrolysis under He atmosphere but have little effect on hydropyrolysis. Kaolinite reduces yields in pyrolysis, but increases them in hydropyrolysis. Other minerals, notably FeSO₄, have varying effects on product yields depending on run conditions.     

Trends in digital communication by wire

The introduction and rapid spread of pulse code modulation must be examined in the framework of overall capability, efficiency, and cost. However, apart from television, the only field of application that can presently justify a massive investment in a new transmission system is telephony, because it represents the dominant communication market. Other communication services?such as data and facsimile transmission, telegraphy, broadcast sound, and closed-circuit television?must in general travel as passengers on telephony networks if they are to be economically feasible. Hence, the most fruitful approach to an examination of digital communication is to begin by studying PCM telephony and then to see how other services can be coordinated with it.