The effect of phosphine on the absorption and circular dichroic spectra of cytochrome c and cytochrome oxidase

The interaction of phosphine with purified cytochrome c and cytochrome oxidase was studied by absorption and circular dichroic spectrometry. Treatment of cytochrome oxidase with phosphine yielded absorption spectra in both the visible and Soret region that were similar to that produced by dithionite. Striking changes in the circular dichroic spectra were also recorded, sugesting that a valence change of the heme iron was accompanied by a conformation change of the prosthetic group.Phosphine treatment of cytochrome c also yielded spectra similar to those produced by reduction with dithionite suggesting a valence change of the heme iron. However, both the time necessary for complete reduction and the concentration of phosphine necessary for this effect suggest that, in comparison with cytochrome oxidase, cytochrome c was relatively insensitive. Reduction of cytochrome oxidase by phosphine had only a very minor effect on the intrinsic dichroic spectrum suggesting little effect on the polypeptide chains.The persistence of a component after reduction by phosphine and the subsequent reduction of this component by dithionite suggests that phosphine primarily reduced only one comonent of the cytochrome aa₃ complex. The failure of EDTA and fluoride, which are known ligands of cytochrome a₃ to affect the reduction of cytochrome aa₃ by phosphine, as well as the occurrence of a 436-nm isosbestic point of the ferric-ferrous absorption spectra suggests that phosphine reduced primarily cytochrome a. However, it is argued that a slow reduction of cytochrome a₃ cannot be ruled out.     

The qualitative assessment of glycosaminoglycans in the canine intervertebral disc using a critical electrolyte concentration staining technique.

Through the use of a critical electrolyte concentration staining technique, the glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in the nucleus pulposus region of the canine intervertebral disc were arbitrarily identified as "hyaluronic acid", chondroitin sulphate and keratan sulphate. Approximate estimates of GAG concentration could be qualitatively deduced by determining the appropriate GAG "ALCIANOPHILIC INDEX". This index was considered to be an effective qualitative adjunct to chemical quantitation of GAGs in the intervertebral disc.     

Spectral interactions of insecticide synergists with microsomal cytochrome P-450 from insecticide-resistant and susceptible house flies

The spectral interactions of 45 insecticide synergists and related compounds with oxidized and reduced cytochrome P-450 from microsomes of insecticide-resistant and -susceptible house flies were investigated. The type III interaction typical of piperonyl butoxide was the most common spectral interaction for the compounds studied. In addition to this, several other varients of the type III interaction were noted. In general these responses with house fly microsomes were similar to those reported for mammals, although some minor species and strain differences were observed. The cytochrome P-450 from susceptible house flies, although reported previously not to exhibit type I difference spectra with many xenobiotics, was found to elicit this spectral response with several methylenedioxyphenyl compounds.     

Erwinia carotovora (Jones) Bergey et al. var. atroseptica (Hellmers et Dowson) Dye. Seed Tuber Infection Versus Symptom Expression in the Field1

Based on the time that symptoms of blackleg become evident in the field and the various ways of inoculation, it is concluded that the spread of symptom expression is due to the depth at which the bacteria penetrate into the interior of the tubers. Moreover, it is demonstrated that it is not the closed lenticels which prevent penetration, but the absence of a waterfilm in the intercellular spaces of the tuber tissue.     

The effects of progesterone on oviposition and ovulation in the domestic fowl (Gallus domesticus)

1. Following an injection of 0.5 or 0.1 mg progesterone/kg between 0 and 6 h after ovulation, oviposition of the resulting egg was delayed by 1 to 11 h and occurred 26 to 31 h after injection, depending on the dose. The injection terminated the laying of a sequence of eggs by causing the next ovulation to occur a day late. The delayed ovulation occurred at the time normally expected for the first ovulation of a sequence and became the first of a new sequence.

2. Following an injection of 0.5 or (H mg progesterone/kg between 6 and 15 h after ovulation, oviposition of the resulting egg was generally delayed by between 15 and 28 h and occurred at the same time of day as the next ovulation, which was delayed as in the first experimental situation. Subsequent ovulations were resynchronised and followed at intervals according to the normal sequence established before the injection.

3. Injection of 0.5, 0.1 or 0.05 mg progesterone/kg between 12 and 9 h before an expected ovulation advanced the oviposition of the egg already in the uterus (shell gland) by about 3 h. The succeeding ovulation was either advanced or blocked.

4. These observations suggest that the pre‐ovulatory surge of progesterone is directly or indirectly involved in the timing of oviposition and ovulation.     

A simple method for isolating leucocytes from bovine blood and their separation into lymphocyte and granulocyte fractions.

A method for the separation of leucocytes from bovine blood and its separation into lymphocyte and granulocyte fractions is described. The method, involving flash lysis of the erythrocyte population, was found to yield large numbers of viable cells suitable for maintenance in tissue culture medium and hence of value in immunological studies.     

Comparison of the specificty of human and bovine tuberculin PPD for testing cattle. 1--Republic of Ireland.

A tuberculin testing trial in cattle was carried out in the Republic of Ireland to compare the specificity for bovine tuberculosis of a human purified protein derivative (PPD) tuberculin (Weybridge) with that of a bovine PPD (Rotterdam), and to determine whether discrimination between specific and non-specific reactions to mammalian tuberculin is better with doses of tuberculins smaller than those traditonally used for testing cattle. Tests were carried out in 510 cattle, 395 of which were shown by post mortem examination to be tuberculous and 115 non-tuberculous. Three dilutions at five-fold intervals of both mammalian tuberculins were used together with two dose levels of avian tuberculin PPD (Weybridge), and all reactions were measured both by increase in skin fold thickness and by diameter of induration. In the environment of this trial, the bovine PPD was shown to be more specific for bovine tuberculosis than the human PPD, and particularly in differentiating from "skin tuberculosis". There was no indication of greater specificity at lower doses of tuberculin. Measurement of induration diameter proved a satisfactory alternative method of reading tuberculin reactions in cattle under field conditions.