scholarly journals The composition of intracellular granules from the metal-accumulating cells of the common garden snail (Helix aspersa)

1981 ◽  
Vol 194 (2) ◽  
pp. 507-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Howard ◽  
P C H Mitchell ◽  
A Ritchie ◽  
K Simkiss ◽  
M Taylor

Certain cells in the hepatopancreas of the common garden snail (Helix aspersa) contain intracellular granules that are sites of metal-ion accumulation. These granules have been extracted and investigated by u.v. and i.r. spectroscopy, atomic-absorption spectroscopy, X-ray microanalysis, thermogravimetric analysis, enzymic assay and microanalysis. The deposits contain about 18% (w/w) water, 5% (w/w) organic matter and 76% (w/w) inorganic material of which the main components are Ca2+, Mg2+ and P2O7(4)-. The possible origin of these granules is discussed, as is their role in detoxifying heavy-metal ions.

Author(s):  
Jean L. Brandenburger ◽  
Richard M. Eakin

Previous studies have described the retina of the common garden snail Helix aspersa to be composed of two cell types: sensory and pigmented. We have now found a third, a ganglion cell, and another kind of sensory cell, both heretofore undescribed.Ganglion cells (Fig. 1) are large (11-16 fan in diameter), ovoid, and few in number. We estimate about 12 per eye. They occur only along the periphery of the retina. Each possesses a large spherical nucleus centrally situated in an electron lucent cytoplasm which contains numerous organelles and in clusions: mitochondria, Golgi bodies, EH, lysosomes, glycogen granules, microtubules, ribosomes, fine filaments and clusters of irregular vesicles. These vesicles (insert, Fig. 1) vary in size (500 A to 1200 A in diameter) and density (clear, granular or dense-cored).


1965 ◽  
Vol s3-106 (73) ◽  
pp. 3-13
Author(s):  
JOHN R. BAKER ◽  
ELIZABETH G. M. WILLIAMS

The cation of methyl green carriea two poaitive charges, that of malachite green only one; but the two dyes behave towards tissue-constituents in almost exactly the same way. These dyes are not specific for chromatin. They colour certain objects that are devoid of DNA, even when they are used in very dilute solution. The granules of cells called Körnchenzellen in the connective tissue of the common snail, Helix aspersa, are strongly coloured by both dyes from very dilute solutions, and thus provide a striking instance of the unspecificity of these dyes. Malachite green, which is stable and free from contamination by metachromstic impurities, can advantageously replace the methyl green commonly used in mixtures with pyronine. It is suggested that pyronine may have a greater capacity for penetrating into close-textured objects, such ss nucleoli and ribosomes, than methyl and malachite greens.


1982 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 384-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARION E. WILLIAMSON ◽  
PIERS C. EMSON

Author(s):  
C. Wolpers ◽  
R. Blaschke

Scanning microscopy was used to study the surface of human gallstones and the surface of fractures. The specimens were obtained by operation, washed with water, dried at room temperature and shadowcasted with carbon and aluminum. Most of the specimens belong to patients from a series of X-ray follow-up study, examined during the last twenty years. So it was possible to evaluate approximately the age of these gallstones and to get information on the intensity of growing and solving.Cholesterol, a group of bile pigment substances and different salts of calcium, are the main components of human gallstones. By X-ray diffraction technique, infra-red spectroscopy and by chemical analysis it was demonstrated that all three components can be found in any gallstone. In the presence of water cholesterol crystallizes in pane-like plates of the triclinic crystal system.


1986 ◽  
Vol 84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiro Okamoto ◽  
Koichi Chino ◽  
Tsutomu Baba ◽  
Tatsuo Izumida ◽  
Fumio Kawamura ◽  
...  

AbstractA new solidification technique using cement-glass, which is a mixture of sodium silicate, cement, additives, and initiator of the solidification reaction, was developed for sodium borate liquid waste generated from pressurized water reactor (PWR) plants. The cement-glass could solidify eight times as much sodium borate as cement could, because the solidifying reaction of the cement-glass is not hindered by borate ions.The reaction mechanism of sodium silicate and phosphoric silicate (initiator), the main components of cement-glass, was studied through X-ray diffraction and compressive strength measurements. It was found that three- dimensionally bonded silicon dioxide was produced by polymerization of the two silicates. The leaching ratio of cesium from the cement-glass package was one-tenth that of the cement one. This low value was attributed to a high cesium adsorption ability of the cement-glass and it could be theoretically predicted accordingly.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 1101
Author(s):  
Anirban Karmakar ◽  
Anup Paul ◽  
Elia Pantanetti Sabatini ◽  
M. Fátima C. Guedes da Silva ◽  
Armando J. L. Pombeiro

The new coordination polymers (CPs) [Zn(μ-1κO1:1κO2-L)(H2O)2]n·n(H2O) (1) and [Cd(μ4-1κO1O2:2κN:3,4κO3-L)(H2O)]n·n(H2O) (2) are reported, being prepared by the solvothermal reactions of 5-{(pyren-4-ylmethyl)amino}isophthalic acid (H2L) with Zn(NO3)2.6H2O or Cd(NO3)2.4H2O, respectively. They were synthesized in a basic ethanolic medium or a DMF:H2O mixture, respectively. These compounds were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, FTIR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric and elemental analysis. The single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that compound 1 is a one dimensional linear coordination polymer, whereas 2 presents a two dimensional network. In both compounds, the coordinating ligand (L2−) is twisted due to the rotation of the pyrene ring around the CH2-NH bond. In compound 1, the Zn(II) metal ion has a tetrahedral geometry, whereas, in 2, the dinuclear [Cd2(COO)2] moiety acts as a secondary building unit and the Cd(II) ion possesses a distorted octahedral geometry. Recently, several CPs have been explored for the cyanosilylation reaction under conventional conditions, but microwave-assisted cyanosilylation of aldehydes catalyzed by CPs has not yet been well studied. Thus, we have tested the solvent-free microwave-assisted cyanosilylation reactions of different aldehydes, with trimethylsilyl cyanide, using our synthesized compounds, which behave as highly active heterogeneous catalysts. The coordination polymer 1 is more effective than 2, conceivably due to the higher Lewis acidity of the Zn(II) than the Cd(II) center and to a higher accessibility of the metal centers in the former framework. We have also checked the heterogeneity and recyclability of these coordination polymers, showing that they remain active at least after four recyclings.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1260
Author(s):  
Diego S. Ferrero ◽  
Michela Falqui ◽  
Nuria Verdaguer

RNA viruses typically encode their own RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) to ensure genome replication and transcription. The closed “right hand” architecture of RdRPs encircles seven conserved structural motifs (A to G) that regulate the polymerization activity. The four palm motifs, arranged in the sequential order A to D, are common to all known template dependent polynucleotide polymerases, with motifs A and C containing the catalytic aspartic acid residues. Exceptions to this design have been reported in members of the Permutotetraviridae and Birnaviridae families of positive single stranded (+ss) and double-stranded (ds) RNA viruses, respectively. In these enzymes, motif C is located upstream of motif A, displaying a permuted C–A–B–D connectivity. Here we study the details of the replication elongation process in the non-canonical RdRP of the Thosea asigna virus (TaV), an insect virus from the Permutatetraviridae family. We report the X-ray structures of three replicative complexes of the TaV polymerase obtained with an RNA template-primer in the absence and in the presence of incoming rNTPs. The structures captured different replication events and allowed to define the critical interactions involved in: (i) the positioning of the acceptor base of the template strand, (ii) the positioning of the 3’-OH group of the primer nucleotide during RNA replication and (iii) the recognition and positioning of the incoming nucleotide. Structural comparisons unveiled a closure of the active site on the RNA template-primer binding, before rNTP entry. This conformational rearrangement that also includes the repositioning of the motif A aspartate for the catalytic reaction to take place is maintained on rNTP and metal ion binding and after nucleotide incorporation, before translocation.


Coatings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 685
Author(s):  
Ai-Huei Chiou ◽  
Jun-Luo Wei ◽  
Ssu-Han Chen

A novel surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based probe to capture heavy metal ion (Zn2+) by bovine serum albumin (BSA) using Si-nanowire (SiNW) arrays with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was developed. A layer with AgNPs was deposited on the SiNW surface by RF magnetron sputtering for enhancement of SERS signals. Using a high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), the observation reveals that the AgNP layer with depths of 30–75 nm was successfully deposited on SiNW arrays. The Ag peaks in EDS and XRD spectra of SiNW arrays confirmed the presence of Ag particles on SiNW arrays. The WCA observations showed a high affinity of the Ag–SiNW arrays immobilized with BSA (water contact angle (WCA) = 87.1°) and ZnSO4 (WCA = 8.8°). The results of FTIR analysis illustrate that the conjugate bonds exist between zinc sulfate (ZnSO4) and –OH groups/–NH groups of BSA. The resulting SiNWs/Ag NPs composite interfaces showed large Raman scattering enhancement for the capture of heavy metal ions by BSA with a detection of 0.1 μM. BSA and ZnSO4 conjugations, illustrating specific SERS spectra with high sensitivity, which suggests great promise in developing label-free biosensors.


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