B-Lines on Pediatric Lung Sonography: Comparison With Computed Tomography.

Objectives: Sonographic artifacts known as B-lines can been used to estimate alterations of lung parenchyma. Multiple B-lines on sonography are seen in congestive heart disease, interstitial lung disease, respiratory infections, and neonates. The aim of this study was to compare the amount of B-lines on sonography to the extent of parenchymal changes on computed tomography (CT) in children.

Phloem loading in two Scrophulariaceae species. What can drive symplastic flow via plasmodesmata?

To determine the driving forces for symplastic sugar flux between mesophyll and phloem, gradients of sugar concentrations and osmotic pressure were studied in leaf tissues of two Scrophulariaceae species, Alonsoa meridionalis and Asarina barclaiana. A. meridionalis has a typical symplastic configuration of minor-vein phloem, i.

Three decades in transport business: studies of metabolite transport in chloroplasts - a personal perspective.

This article gives an historical overview of our group's research on various metabolite translocators of chloroplasts, such as the translocators for phosphorylated intermediates of the Calvin-Benson cycle and of glycolysis, of ADP and ATP, of dicarboxylates, of pyruvate and of hexoses; how it began and where it led to. Wherever appropriate, references will be made to research in other laboratories.

Evidence for the Presence of a Porin in the Membrane of Glyoxysomes of Castor Bean.

Glyoxysomes of endosperm tissue of castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) seedlings were solubilized in a detergent and added to a lipid bilayer. Conductivity measurements revealed that the glyoxysomal preparation contained a porin-like channel.

Purification, molecular cloning, and sequence analysis of sucrose-6F-phosphate phosphohydrolase from plants.

Sucrose-6(F)-phosphate phosphohydrolase (SPP; EC ) catalyzes the final step in the pathway of sucrose biosynthesis and is the only enzyme of photosynthetic carbon assimilation for which the gene has not been identified. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity from rice (Oryza sativa L.) leaves and partially sequenced.

Changes in amino acid composition and nitrogen metabolizing enzymes in ripening fruits of Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.

The free amino acid content of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) fruits from cultivars Platense, Vollendung and Cherry were determined during ripening. It was found that glutamate markedly increased in red fruits of the three cultivars under study.

Oxaloacetate transport into plant mitochondria.

The properties of oxaloacetate (OA) transport into mitochondria from potato (Solanum tuberosum) tuber and pea (Pisum sativum) leaves were studied by measuring the uptake of 14C-labeled OA into liposomes with incorporated mitochondrial membrane proteins preloaded with various dicarboxylates or citrate. OA was found to be transported in an obligatory counterexchange with malate, 2-oxoglutarate, succinate, citrate, or aspartate. Phtalonate inhibited all of these countertransports.

Participation of mitochondrial metabolism in photorespiration. Reconstituted system of peroxisomes and mitochondria from spinach leaves.

In this study the interplay of mitochondria and peroxisomes in photorespiration was simulated in a reconstituted system of isolated mitochondria and peroxisomes from spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) leaves. The mitochondria oxidizing glycine produced serine, which was reduced in the peroxisomes to glycerate.

Permeability properties of the porin of spinach leaf peroxisomes.

The membrane of spinach leaf peroxisomes contains an anion-selective channel. Reconstitution experiments were performed with lipid bilayer membranes to study its permeability properties. A variety of different monovalent inorganic and organic anions were found to be permeable through the porin channel.

Magnesium deficiency results in accumulation of carbohydrates and amino acids in source and sink leaves of spinach.

Accumulation of assimilates in source leaves of magnesium-deficient plants is a well-known feature. We had wished to determine whether metabolite concentrations in sink leaves and roots are affected by magnesium nutrition. Eight-week-old spinach plants were supplied either with a complete nutrient solution (control plants) or with one lacking Mg (deficient plants) for 12 days.

The use of problem-based learning in dealing with cultural minority groups.

Minority peoples like the Romanies have divergent cultures. Typical cultural aspects for medical personnel to consider would include greetings and other communication, family and social support, dressing and habits of cleanliness, marriage and sexuality, honor, and other issues of importance to any human being. Some minority cultures have no geographic boundaries but they still may adopt the lifestyles of the country they live in.

Solute accumulation and decreased photosynthesis in leaves of potato plants expressing yeast-derived invertase either in the apoplast, vacuole or cytosol.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum cv. Désirée) plants expressing yeast invertase directed either to the apoplast, vacuole or cytosol were biochemically and physiologically characterised. All lines of transgenic plants showed similarities to plants growing under water stress.

Evidence for the expression of the triosephosphate translocator gene in green and non-green tissue of tomato and potato.

Western blot analysis revealed a cross reaction of an antibody against the spinach triosephosphate translocator with 29 kDa proteins from envelope membranes of plastids from green and red tomato fruits and also of potato tuber amyloplasts. Envelope membranes from potato tubers were isolated from a homogenate of total membranes by isopycnic sucrose density gradient centrifugation. We were able to demonstrate by reverse transcription and sequencing of the PCR product that the mRNA for the triosephosphate translocator in leaves is also present in green and red tomato fruits.

The membrane of leaf peroxisomes contains a porin-like channel.

Spinach leaf peroxisomes were purified by Percoll density gradient centrifugation. After several freeze-thaw cycles, the peroxisomal membranes were separated from the matrix enzymes by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The purity of the peroxisomal membranes was checked by measuring the activities of marker enzymes and by using antibodies.

Porins from plants. Molecular cloning and functional characterization of two new members of the porin family.

Porins are voltage-gated diffusion pores found in all eukaryotic kingdoms. Here we describe, for the first time, the identification and characterization of two cDNAs encoding porins from plants. Peptide sequences obtained from a 30-kDa protein of envelope membranes from pea root plastids allowed the isolation of two cDNA clones from pea and maize.

Protein organization in the matrix of leaf peroxisomes. A multi-enzyme complex involved in photorespiratory metabolism.

This report is an investigation on how the compartmentation of peroxisomal metabolism, involved in the photorespiratory cycle, is accomplished. With isolated peroxisomes from spinach leaves the conversion of serine to glycerate, as coupled to the conversion of glycolate to glycine, was measured. Not only with intact but also with osmotically shocked peroxisomes, which had retained the aggregated state of the peroxisomal matrix but lost the integrity of the boundary membrane, the rates of glycerate synthesis were as high as required for the photorespiratory cycle in vivo.

On the Function of Mitochondrial Metabolism during Photosynthesis in Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) Leaves (Partitioning between Respiration and Export of Redox Equivalents and Precursors for Nitrate Assimilation Products).

The functioning of isolated spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) leaf mitochondria has been studied in the presence of metabolite concentrations similar to those that occur in the cytosol in vivo. From measurements of the concentration dependence of the oxidation of the main substrates, glycine and malate, we have concluded that the state 3 oxidation rate of these substrates in vivo is less than half of the maximal rates due to substrate limitation.

ADP/ATP Translocator from Pea Root Plastids (Comparison with Translocators from Spinach Chloroplasts and Pea Leaf Mitochondria).

The kinetic properties of the adenosine 5[prime]-diphosphate/adenosine 5[prime]-triphosphate (ADP/ATP) translocator from pea (Pisum sativum L.) root plastids were determined by silicone oil filtering centrifugation and compared with those of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) chloroplasts and pea leaf mitochondria.

Antisense repression of the chloroplast triose phosphate translocator affects carbon partitioning in transgenic potato plants.

The major chloroplast envelope membrane protein E29 is central for the communication between chloroplasts and cytosol. It has been identified as the triose phosphate translocator (TPT) exporting the primary products of the Calvin cycle (i.e.

Studies of the Enzymic Capacities and Transport Properties of Pea Root Plastids.

Plastids have been isolated from pea (Pisum sativum L.) roots with a high degree of purity and intactness. In these plastids, the activity of enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism have been analyzed and corrected for cytosolic contamination.

Identification of two general diffusion channels in the outer membrane of pea mitochondria.

Reconstitution experiments were performed on lipid bilayer membranes in the presence of detergent solubilized mitochondrial membranes of pea seedlings (Pisum sativum). The addition of the detergent-solubilized material to the membranes resulted in a strong increase of the membrane conductance. To identify the proteins responsible for membrane activity the detergent extracts were applied to a hydroxyapatite (HTP) column and the fractions were tested for channel formation.

Apoplastic expression of yeast-derived invertase in potato : effects on photosynthesis, leaf solute composition, water relations, and tuber composition.

In potato plants (Solanum tuberosum), a chimeric yeast-derived invertase gene fused to a 35S cauliflower mosaic virus promoter has been expressed. The protein was targeted to the cell wall by using the signal peptide of proteinase inhibitor II fused to the amino terminus of the yeast invertase. The transformed plants had crinkled leaves, showed a reduced growth rate, and produced fewer tubers.

Phloem Transport of Amino Acids in Relation to their Cytosolic Levels in Barley Leaves.

A comparison of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) leaves was made between the cytosolic content of amino acids and sucrose as determined by subcellular fractionation and the corresponding concentration in phloem sap, which was collected continuously for up to 6 days from severed aphid stylets. Because amino acids were found to be almost absent from the vacuoles, and because the amino acid patterns in the stroma and cytosol are similar, whole leaf contents could be taken as a measure of cytosolic amino acid levels for a comparison of data during a diurnal cycle.

Inter- and intracellular distribution of amino acids and other metabolites in maize (Zea mays L.) leaves.

In illuminated maize (Zea mays L.) leaves, the distribution of triose phosphates, 3-phosphoglycerate, malate and various amino acids between the chloroplastic and the extrachloroplastic compartments of mesophyll and bundle-sheath cells, and the total vacuolar fraction of the leaves, was determined by a combination of previously published methods, for separating mesophyll from bundle-sheath material, and for nonaqueous subcellular fractionation. The results show that the triose phosphate/3-phosphoglycerate ratio in the extrachloroplastic fraction of the mesophyll cells is about 20-fold higher than in the bundle-sheath cells, which is in accordance with a triose phosphate/phosphoglycerate shuttle postulated previously.