Optimal Conditions for Kinetic Study of Succinate Dehydrogenase in Rat Liver

Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) commonly is assayed as a marker enzyme for mitochondrial activity. The literature presents numerous conditions for conducting this assay due to the fact that, it has been difficult to get sufficient reduction of the acceptor dye, 2,3,5-triphenyl-2H-tetrazolium chloride (TTC). This study was undertaken to optimize the SDH-catalyzed reduction of TTC dye by evaluation of a greater range of molor ratios of TTC to succinate and by further evaluation of additives reported as beneficial. Improvement in enzyme specific activity was achieved by liver perfusion via the left cardiac ventricle with homogenizing solution. Increase in TTC from 1 to 10 mM and further increase to 20 mM resulted in major improvement in color production. The greatest improvement in apparent activity was achieved by addition of 1 mM phenozine methosulfate, a hydrogen transfer mediator. Use of CaCI₂. EDTA, Triton X-100, NaN₃ and KCN was not beneficial. The above modifications of the SDH assay resulted in greater sensitivity, the conduct of a greater number of assays with less tissue and the sacrifice of fewer animals

Legal Challenges in Government Imposition of Water Conservation: The Kansas Example

This article deals with legal challenges in conserving water in the United States, using Kansas as an example. The focus is on one aspect of American water allocation law—the extent to which a state can force reductions in pumping by holders of water rights. It explains the hybrid nature of water rights, which on the one hand are “real property rights,” and yet on the other hand they are viewed as rights only to use water and not to own the water itself. Because they are a kind of property right, they are protected by the fifth amendment to the U.S. Constitution against “takings” by the government without compensation. The question becomes: to what extent, then, can states demand reductions in pumping without having to pay compensation? The answer is difficult for both water right holders and government officials to predict. The law of groundwater rights in Kansas illustrates the problem. The article describes the Kansas law in the context of other states on this issue, including the historic changes in Kansas’ water law doctrines, water management under the appropriation doctrine, the public trust doctrine, groundwater management districts, and intensive groundwater use control areas, as well as recent attempts to foster voluntary actions by water right holders that avoid government imposition of restrictions. Questions remain in Kansas and elsewhere about where the line can be drawn, between acceptable government restrictions and unacceptable takings of property. Future drought caused by climate change will focus even more attention on this question

FOOD DISTRIBUTION RESEARCH PRIORITIES TO ALLOW MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS IN TOTAL SYSTEMS PRODUCTIVITY BY 1985: FOOD WHOLESALING

Agricultural and Food Policy,

Apparatus and method for voice controlled apparel machine

Apparatus and method for speech recognition control of apparel manufacture equipment, such as a sewing machine, is provided. This invention allows an operator to control specific operational modes of the apparel manufacture equipment through verbal commands recognized by the equipment as distinct from other sounds in the environment of the equipment. The invention includes a device for recognizing and translating an operator\u27s verbal command into an electronic control signal; a communication device such as a microphone for inputting the operator\u27s verbal command into the recognizing and translating device; and interfacing means for presenting the electronic control signal to the apparel manufacture equipment in a form recognized and accepted by the equipment. The method for voice control of apparel manufacture equipment according to the present invention comprises the steps of receiving an operator\u27s verbal command through, for instance, a microphone; recognizing and translating the verbal command into an electronic control signal; and routing this electronic control signal to the apparel manufacture equipment in a form recognized by and actable upon by the equipment

OPPORTUNITY COSTS OF WATER LEASING: IRRIGATION, INSTREAM FLOW, AND WETLAND CONSIDERATIONS IN THE LARAMIE BASIN, WYOMING

Flood irrigation in the Laramie Basin of southeast Wyoming has created many wetlands that rely directly on irrigation inputs for water. The Laramie Basin is a proposed water source for enhancing Platte River instream flows, to the benefit of endangered cranes, terns, plovers, and sturgeons. Increasing irrigation efficiency, or retiring irrigated lands would transform Laramie Basin agriculture and cause a high fraction of the Basins wetlands to be lost. This study explores the limitations of traditional water transfer tools when regional instream-flow requirements compete for water with local irrigation-dependent wetlands. A rotating short-term water lease program is proposed. The program would allow Laramie Basin producers to contribute to instream flow without causing permanent wetland damage or loss. Short-term water leasing programs could allow agricultural communities to contribute to regional environmental water needs without sacrificing local, agriculturally-based ecological resources. An estimate of minimum water costs, advantages and disadvantages of short-term water leasing are discussed.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,