PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

B F Taylor

Publications and source records attributed to B F Taylor.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

The effects of therapeutic application of heat or cold followed by static stretch on hamstring muscle length.

Hamstring stretching is an important part of treatment programs aimed at decreasing the likelihood of hamstring injury. Few studies have examined the use of superficial thermal modalities in conjunction with hamstring stretching. The purpose of this study was to determine if the application of a superficial heating or cooling modality, followed by static stretch, increased the efficacy of static stretching of the hamstring muscles. This study examined 12 male and 12 female subjects, ages 18-38. All subjects received each of the following treatments: heat followed by static stretch, cold followed by static stretch, and static stretch alone. Each treatment was separated by at least 1 week. Pre- and post-treatment measurements of hamstring length were obtained using the Active-Knee-Extension (AKE) test. The data were analyzed via a 2 x 3 analysis of variance experimental design. Results indicated that there was an increase in hamstring length regardless of stretch treatment used, with F(1,23) = 35.49, p < .001. However, no significant differences were detected among stretch treatments, F < 1.0, nor among interaction effects, F < 1.0. The results of this study suggest that adequate hamstring stretching can occur without the use of a superficial thermal modality.

Adolescent

Demethylation of dimethylsulfoniopropionate to 3-mercaptopropionate by an aerobic marine bacterium.

A bacterium, strain BIS-6, that grew aerobically on dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) was isolated from an intertidal mud sample. Strain BIS-6 quantitatively demethylated DMSP and 3-methiolpropionate to 3-mercaptopropionate. Strain BIS-6 was a versatile methylotroph growing on the osmolytes DMSP and glycine betaine and their methylated degradation products (dimethyl glycine, sarcosine, methylamines, and dimethyl sulfide.

Bacteria, Aerobic

A nuclear-magnetic-resonance study of the binding of novel N-hydroxybenzenesulphonamide carbonic anhydrase inhibitors to native and cadmium-111-substituted carbonic anhydrase.

Various ring- and nitrogen-substituted benzenesulphonamides have been prepared and tested as potential inhibitors of carbonic anhydrase. N-Methoxysulphonamides showed no inhibitory activity, as predicted by the classic work of Krebs on N-substituted inhibitors. By contrast, N-hydroxysulphonamides proved to be very effective inhibitors of carbonic anhydrase. Using 111Cd-NMR it has been possible to analyse the molecular interaction of 4-fluoro-N-hydroxybenzenesulphon[15N]amide, with 111Cd-substituted bovine carbonic anhydrase. A large cadmium-111:nitrogen-15 spin-coupling shows that this inhibitor is directly bound to the metal via its nitrogen rather than through an oxygen atom. The mode of this binding is similar to that for the unsubstituted sulphonamide inhibitor, 4-fluorobenzenesulphon[15N]amide. The 111Cd-chemical shift of the signal for the inhibited enzyme shows that the N-hydroxysulphonamide is bound as its anion. From the relative intensities of free and complexed enzyme signals it can be deduced that the cadmium enzyme complex with the N-hydroxysulphonamide has a longer life-time than that formed with the unsubstituted sulphonamide. By contrast, native zinc-containing bovine carbonic anhydrase shows similar I50 values with both of these sulphonamides. Attempts to monitor the binding using 15N-NMR were unsuccessful, possibly due to a very long relaxation time for the nitrogen nucleus in the N-hydroxysulphonamide when bound to the enzyme leading to loss of the 15N signal.

Animals

N2 fixation in the rhizosphere of Thalassia testudinum.

N2 fixation (C2H2 reduction) associated with the roots, rhizomes, and sediments (rhizosphere cores) of the seagrass Thalassia testudinum was measured at sites in South Florida (Soldier Key, Biscayne Bay) and the Bahamas (Bimini Harbor). Rates of C2H2 reduction were higher in anaerobic than in aerobic assays and were linear for several hours after an initial lag period of 1-2h. Nitrogenase activity was proportional to the weight of rhizomes plus roots but showed no correlation with the total weight of the rhizosphere cores. C2H2 reduction occurred to depths of at least 30 cm but the majority (<85%) of the activity was in the 0- to 20-cm fraction; also the ratio of activities for the 0- to 10- and 10- to 20-cm depths was about 2:1. Most investigations were carried out using anaerobic assays of the 0- to 10-cm fractions and rates calculated for the period of 3-6 h after adding C2H2. These rates were not stimulated by organic compounds (glucose, lactate, succinate) but were approximately halved by a decrease in temperature of 10 degrees C. In a seasonal study at Soldier Key the rates of N2 fixation varied about 20-fold with maximal rates in late summer and minimal rates in winter (January). On a diurnal basis, C2H2 reduction increased in the morning but was depressed in midafternoon, probably due to O2 buildup in the rhizosphere. Daily rates of N2 fixation, during the summer months of 1975-1978, varied between 5 and 24 mg N (-2)m and the estimated annual rates of N2 fixation were 10-50 kg N (-1)ha, taking into account seasonal variations and activities to a depth of 20 cm.

Kinetics

(14C)acetate assimilation by a type I obligate methylotroph, Methylococcus capsulatus.

Methanol and formate oxidation supported the assimilation of [14C]acetate by cell suspensions of Methylococcus capsulatus; oxidation of other primary alcohols, except ethanol, did not. The extent of [1-14C]acetate assimilation supported by methanol oxidation was decreased in the presence of primary alcohols, except ethanol. Potassium cyanide (0.33 mM) completely inhibited the oxidation of formate and its stimulation of [1-14C]acetate assimilation. The amount of [1-14C]acetate assimilation supported by methanol oxidation was significantly inhibited by cyanide.

Acetates

Anaerobic degradation of the benzene nucleus by a facultatively anaerobic microorganism.

A bacterium was isolated by elective culture with p-hydroxybenzoate as substrate and nitrate as electron acceptor. It grew either aerobically or anaerobically, by nitrate respiration, on a range of aromatic compounds. The organism was identified as a pseudomonad and was given the trivial name Pseudomonas PN-1. Benzoate and p-hydroxybenzoate were metabolized aerobically via protocatechuate, followed by meta cleavage catalyzed by protocatechuic acid-4,5-oxygenase, to yield alpha-hydroxy-gamma-carboxymuconic semialdehyde. Pseudomonas PN-1 grew rapidly on p-hydroxybenzoate under strictly anaerobic conditions, provided nitrate was present, even though protocatechuic acid-4,5-oxygenase was repressed. Suspensions of cells grown anaerobically on p-hydroxybenzoate oxidized benzoate with nitrate and produced 4 to 5 mumoles of CO(2) per mumole of benzoate added; these cells did not oxidize benzoate aerobically. The patterns of the oxidation of aromatic substrates with oxygen or nitrate by cells grown aerobically or anaerobically on different aromatic compounds indicated that benzoate rather than protocatechuate was a key intermediate in the early stages of anaerobic metabolism. It was concluded that the pathway for the anaerobic breakdown of the aromatic ring is different and quite distinct from the aerobic pathway. Mechanisms for the anaerobic degradation of the benzene nucleus by Pseudomonas PN-1 are discussed.

Benzene

New facultative Thiobacillus and a reevaluation of the heterotrophic potential of Thiobacillus novellus.

A new facultatively autotrophic Thiobacillus has been isolated in pure culture. The general physiological characteristics of the organism are described together with a redescription of Thiobacillus novellus. The new isolate differs from T. novellus in its ability to grow heterotrophically at faster rates and on a greater range of organic compounds. It can be transferred readily between autotrophic and heterotrophic conditions. It can grow anaerobically by nitrate respiration on a number of organic compounds, but not on thiosulfate. Some problems in the nomenclature and taxonomy of the thiobacilli are discussed with reference to the new isolate.

Cell-Free System