Using standard osmium fixation and methacrylate embedding techniques, a study has been made of the melanocyte of human biopsy skin removed under general and local anaesthesia. Melanogenesis was easily observable in the melanocytes, but immature pigment granules were rarely seen in the Malpighian cells. The passage of melanin from melanocyte to Malpighian cell-cytocrine secretion-is thought to h...

The electric and magnetic properties of matter are of great interest for materials science and their use in electronic applications. Large dielectric and magnetoelectric responses of materials at room temperature are a great advantage for electromagnetic device applications. Here we present a study of FeCo-MgF nanogranular films exhibiting giant dielectric and magnetoelectric responses at room ...

A new protein immobilization and purification system has been developed based on the use of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs, or bioplastics), which are biodegradable polymers accumulated as reserve granules in the cytoplasm of certain bacteria. The N-terminal domain of the PhaF phasin (a PHA-granule-associated protein) from Pseudomonas putida GPo1 was used as a polypeptide tag (BioF) to anchor fusi...

Protein purification of recombinant proteins constitutes a significant cost of biomanufacturing and various efforts have been directed at developing more efficient purification methods. We describe a protein purification scheme wherein Ralstonia eutropha is used to produce its own "affinity matrix," thereby eliminating the need for external chromatographic purification steps. This approach is b...

The roles of nonmuscle myosin II and cortical actin filaments in chromaffin granule exocytosis were studied by confocal fluorescence microscopy, amperometry, and cell-attached capacitance measurements. Fluorescence imaging indicated decreased mobility of granules near the plasma membrane following inhibition of myosin II function with blebbistatin. Slower fusion pore expansion rates and longer ...

Molluscan nacre is a fascinating biomineral consisting of a highly organized calcium carbonate composite that provides unique fracture toughness and an iridescent color. Organisms elaborately control biomineralization using organic macromolecules. We propose the involvement of the matrix protein Pif80 from the pearl oyster Pinctada fucata in the development of the inorganic phase during nacre b...

The objective of this study was to determine the density anaerobic granules on different heights a full-scale Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Bed reactor. defined through settling velocities granules, measured in In study, granular calculated with and developed mathematical model. model is based Stokes experiment, were taken from an reactor, 0.6 7.6 m. granules’ diameters varied between 1 5 mm. six vel...

The fine structure of the bat thyroid parafollicular cell has been examined at monthly intervals throughout the hibernating period. During November and December parafollicular cells appear either partly or totally degranulated and intact dense secretory granules are relatively sparse. The degranulated cells exhibit an inconspicuous Golgi complex and relatively few lysosome-type bodies. Few degr...

To determine the localization of several enzymes in Tritrichomonas foetus, the axenic KV-1 strain was grown in Diamond's medium with bovine serum, homogenized in 0.25 M sucrose, and subjected to analytical differential and isopycnic centrifugation. The fractions were assayed for their enzymatic composition and examined electron microscopically. NADH and NADPH dehydrogenases, about 90% of the ca...

After 10 days of a protein-free diet the acinar cells of the rat pancreas showed a coarsening of nuclear matrix, depletion of zymogen granules, some loss of ribosomes, and a widening of the spaces between ergastoplasmic membranes. In addition, there could be found, but rarely, a lesion of the ergastoplasm consisting of vacuoles of agranular, disoriented membranes, which was similar to a lesion ...