Evidence from heterologous expression of glutathione S-transferases A and A1 of the plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) that their endogenous role is in detoxification of lipid peroxidation products

cDNA clones for glutathione S-transferases A (GST-A) and A1 (GST-A1) from plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) were expressed as N-terminally 6XHis tagged proteins in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity from Ni-NTA silica. GST-A was an efficient catalyst for conjugation of unsaturated alkenals derived from peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids with the highest activity observed with trans-non-2-enal (8 micromol min(-1) mg(-1)). GST-A1 was a very efficient Se-independent glutathione peroxidase with an activity towards cumene hydroperoxide of 25 micromol min(-1) mg(-1). Although the enzymes exhibited moderately high activities towards the model substrate 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) they exhibited little or no activity towards other common prototypical xenobiotic substrates. Together with data for ontogeny, tissue distribution and inducibility of these enzymes, we contend that a primary function of these enzymes is protection from the harmful effects of lipid peroxidation products generated naturally or exacerbated by xenobiotic exposure.     

A linear Boltzmann equation to model wave scattering in the marginal ice zone

We present a linear Boltzmann equation to model wave scattering in the Marginal Ice Zone (the region of ocean which consists of broken ice floes). The equation is derived by two methods, the first based on Meylan et al. [Meylan, M.H., Squire, V.A., Fox, C., 1997. Towards realism in modeling ocean wave behavior in marginal ice zones. J. Geophys. Res. 102 (C10), 22981–22991] and second based on Masson and LeBlond [Masson, D., LeBlond, P., 1989. Spectral evolution of wind-generated surface gravity waves in a dispersed ice field. J. Fluid Mech. 202, 111–136]. This linear Boltzmann equation, we believe, is more suitable than the equation presented in Masson and LeBlond [Masson, D., LeBlond, P., 1989. Spectral evolution of wind-generated surface gravity waves in a dispersed ice field. J. Fluid Mech. 202, 111–136] because of its simpler form, because it is a differential rather than difference equation and because it does not depend on any assumptions about the ice floe geometry. However, the linear Boltzmann equation presented here is equivalent to the equation in Masson and LeBlond [Masson, D., LeBlond, P., 1989. Spectral evolution of wind-generated surface gravity waves in a dispersed ice field. J. Fluid Mech. 202, 111–136] since it is derived from their equation. Furthermore, the linear Boltzmann equation is also derived independently using the argument in Meylan et al. [Meylan, M.H., Squire, V.A., Fox, C., 1997. Towards realism in modeling ocean wave behavior in marginal ice zones. J. Geophys. Res. 102 (C10), 22981–22991]. We also present details of how the scattering kernel in the linear Boltzmann equation is found from the scattering by an individual ice floe and show how the linear Boltzmann equation can be solved straightforwardly in certain cases.     

A modified linear analysis of a wave-energy conversion buoy

The analysis of a pneumatic-type wave-energy conversion buoy is developed assuming independence of the buoy heaving motion and the motion of the water column within the center pipe. Results of the analysis are then compared with experimental data in a study of the relative air velocity within the turbine passage. The results compare very well. The effect of the variation of the center pipe length is found to be significant for periods about the surge chamber resonance but is negligible in the neighborhood of the heaving resonance period. Further, the theory is applied to a prototype buoy study of the U.S. Coast Guard, and a dimensionless design curve is developed from the results of the prototype analysis.     

Strategic forum : Soviet seapower — a new kind of navy

The purpose of this article is to draw attention to a change in the trend of Soviet naval developments. This change stems from a combination of: (1) a sharp increase in the allocation of resources to naval shipbuilding; (2) a marked rise in the navy's political influence; and (3) a new approach to the role of seapower in Soviet policy. Professor MccGwire, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, USA, believes that both the nature and the significance of the change are being obscured by the fact that for the past decade naval leaders in the West have been talking of ‘a Soviet naval build-up’, and continue to use the same language to describe the very different present situation. There is no general awareness, even within naval circles, that we are now facing a significant change in established trends. This article draws on a longer and more general article.¹