RESUMO
Acetylcholinesterase activity and molecular groups characteristic of erythrocyte ghost membrane proteins show significant circadian oscillations over 24 h. These fluctuations were previously interpreted as very slow oscillations with a period ranging between 1.3 and 1.6 h. Autocorrelation function analysis revealed that practically all data represented correlated noise which was characterized by an integral time scale of about 3-4 h. The meaning of this characteristic time is proposed in terms of an analogy with hydrodynamic turbulence. The fluctuations seem to be sensitive to the type of protein involved, the protease and Triton-X treatment, respectively. This suggests that fluctuations may offer information about the slow dynamics of the membranous proteins.
