Three substances believed to be neurohormones in the lobster--serotonin, octopamine, and proctolin--can modulate the physiology of the dactyl opener muscle of the lobster walking leg. All three act directly on muscle fibers to cause long-lasting contractures. In addition, serotonin enhances the release of transmitter from the excitatory and inhibitory axons that innervate the muscle. We now rep...

Bordetella hinzii is a commensal respiratory microorganism in poultry but is increasingly being recognized as an opportunistic pathogen in immunocompromised humans. Although associated with a variety of disease states, practically nothing is known about the mechanisms employed by this bacterium. In this study, we show by DNA sequencing and reverse transcription-PCR that both commensal and clini...

Melatonin production in the pineal gland is high at night and low during the day. This rhythm reflects circadian changes in the activity of serotonin N-acetyltransferase [arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AA-NAT); EC 2.3.1.87], the penultimate enzyme in melatonin synthesis. The rhythm is generated by an endogenous circadian clock. In the chick, a clock is located in the pinealocyte, which als...

A number of uncouplers and energy transfer inhibitors suppress photosystem II cyclic photophosphorylation catalyzed by either a proton/electron or electron donor. Valinomycin and 2,4-dinitrophenol also inhibit photosystem II cyclic photophosphorylation, but these compounds appear to act as electron transport inhibitors rather than as uncouplers. Only when valinomycin, KCl, and 2,4-dinitrophenol...

The inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) has been proposed to be a site of atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) action. We carried out experiments in isolated perfused terminal IMCDs to determine whether ANF (rat ANF 1-28) affects either osmotic water permeability (Pf) or urea permeability. In the presence of a submaximally stimulating concentration of vasopressin (10(-11) M), ANF (100 nM) signifi...

In the preceding paper (Heppel & Whitfeld, 1955) evidence was presented that at least two different phosphodiesterases, namely ribonuclease and spleen phosphodiesterase, can catalyse synthetic and exchange reactions involving nucleotide residues. The simple alcohols, methanol and ethanol, were shown to be capable of acting as acceptors in these reactions in which nucleoside alkyl phosphates are...

Optimal transcription of the lac operon in a defined purified in vitro system is dependent upon the concentrations of cyclic adenosine 3’,5’-monophosphate (cyclic AMP), the cyclic AMP-binding protein (CRP) and RNA polymerase. The concentration of CRP required for maximal Zac transcription varies proportionately with the concentration of lac DNA used as template. Maximal Zac transcription is obt...

The ability of proteins in various subcellular fractions of the rat cerebrum to act as substrates for a partially purified cyclic adenosine 3’,5’-monophosphate (cyclic AMP)-dependent protein kinase has been studied in vitro. Distribution of substrates generally paralleled the distribution of activity of protein kinase as well as of adenylate cyclase and cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase. Alth...

In certain two-dimensional time-dependent flows, the braiding of periodic orbits provides a way to analyze chaos in the system through application of the Thurston-Nielsen classification theorem (TNCT). We expand upon earlier work that introduced the application of the TNCT to braiding of almost-cyclic sets, which are individual components of almost-invariant sets [Stremler et al., "Topological ...

The effect of dibutyryl cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate upon calcium and phosphate metabolism in thyroparathyroidectomized rats was undertaken in an effort to clarify the possible role of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (3',5' AMP) in parathyroid hormone action. The infusion of dibutyryl cyclic 3',5' AMP at a rate of 3 mg/hr into thyroparathyroidectomized rats leads to changes in calcium, ph...