Comparative Biochemistry

1. The morphology of bacteria treated with the bactericidal glycoprotein, Achacin, purified from the giant African snail, Achatina fulica Férussac, has been studied. 2. Achacin lengthens the bodies of Escherichia coli by three to seven times. 3. Achacin damages the surface of Staphylococcus aureus and sinks the cytoplasmic membranes into the cytoplasm. 4. Achacin causes neither the leakage nor the destruction of cells.

Milk yield was measured by a tritiated water dilution procedure during consecutive lactations in mice suckling four, 10 or 18 young. Analysis of variance revealed positive effects of lactation number and litter size on milk yield. There was a significant correlation between maternal body weight and parity; increased body weight accounted for some, but not all, of the parity-related increases in milk yield. Peak milk yield was reached between days 10 and 16 of lactation, but the efficiency with which the growing young utilized milk for weight gain was greatest before day 7. Milk composition varied significantly during the course of lactation.

... Pergamon Press pie STEROL AND FATTY ACID DISTRIBUTION IN RED ALGAE FROM THE SENEGALESE COAST MAURICE AKNIN,* JOSEPH MIRALLES'~ and ... Napolitano GE, Ratnayake WMN and Ackman RG (1988) All cis-3,6,9,12,15 octadccapentaenoic acid: a problem ...

The effect of dieldrin on the heart and ventilatory activity in the shrimps Macrobranchium faustinum and Macrobrachium amazonicum was studied over 4 and 7 day exposure periods, respectively. In M. faustinum, ventilatory rate increased by 43% and heart rate by 14.4%. In M. amazonicum, the ventilatory and heart rates decreased by 21 and 6%, respectively. In M. amazonicum ventilatory reversal frequency, an index of respiratory stress, was 6.7 times higher than the control values. All the changes, except for M. amazonicum heart rate were significant at the 0.01 level of probability.

1. The body temperatures of five echidnas in Australia's Southern Alps were monitored by radio telemetry from February to December 1987.2. All five hibernated throughout the winter, showing very low body temperatures (4–9°C, close to ambient) when torpid, compared with 28–33°C in a typical day during the active season.3. Spontaneous arousals from hibernation occurred every 2–3 weeks, during which body temperatures rose rapidly to over 30°C for several hours before dropping to be close to ambient again.4. The identification of “classical” hibernation in a monotreme, with a similar pattern to that seen in Eutheria and in an animal as large as the largest eutherian hibernator, has important implications for current ideas about the evolution of endothermy.

1. Vitamin D3 (5000 i.u. and 100 i.u./100 g body wt) and 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (0.5 unit, 5 units and 500 units/100 g body wt) were administered daily to the male catfish, Clarias batrachus for 17 days. The serum calcium and inorganic phosphate levels were measured colorimetrically.2. The serum calcium level increased significantly in all the treated groups and is dose-dependent.3. The serum inorganic phosphate was elevated in the treated groups (except in the group where only 100 units vitamin D3/100 g body wt was administered).4. This is the first report of the 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3-induced hypercalcemia in fish.

... IN VITRO RELEASE OF BIOLOGICAL ACTIVE MOLECULES DURING THE CLOTTING REACTION IN HOLOTHURIA POLII CALOGERO CANICATTI', ANNA MIGLIETTA and ... 2. The results show that in Edds' isotonic salt solution clot reaction follows three phases: an immediate ...