The specification of metameric order in the insect Callosobruchus maculatus Fabr. (Coleoptera). I. Incomplete segment patterns can result from constriction-induced cytological damage to the egg. Eggs of the pea-beetle Callosobruchus were divided into two at different stages of development. Both fragments were allowed to develop into partial larvae. The segment patterns of normal and partial larvae are described using cuticular markers of cell differentiation. To study the contribution of cytological damage to the segment gap phenomenon three different types of constriction were performed: complete and incomplete permanent constriction and complete temporary constriction. Changes in the structure of the egg can produce absence of segments resulting from two different effects. First, partial absence of segments results from a decreased egg circumference in the constriction region and involves the disturbance of a morphogenetic process (dorsal closure). Secondly, cytological damage can result in a gap between two arrays of segments. The loss of segments in the gap occurred in two different ways. In a spatial segment gap the two arrays of segments were physically discontinuous, whereas in a non-spatial gap the segments bordering the gap were juxtaposed in a physically continuous cuticle. The extent to which the gap phenomenon can be attributed to cytological damage is discussed. We also discuss, on the basis of certain dorsal defects, a possible stepwise specification of the dorsal transverse cuticular pattern.


Changes in protein synthesis during the development of Xenopus laevis. Patterns of protein synthesis during the development of Xenopus were studied by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Up to the end of the blastula stage we find no newly synthesized proteins which are not already made in the oocyte. The first new proteins are seen during gastrulation, and they increase in number during neurulation. Some of these are restricted to the 'ectodermal' region, and some to the 'endodermal' region of embryos divided into two parts. These new, region-specific proteins include alpha-actin. When the oocyte matures the number of detectable newly synthesized proteins decreases, reaching a minimum in the unfertilized egg. Some, such as beta- and gamma-actin, re-appear at the end of cleavage. This could not be shown to be a recovery artifact. The relation of the total mRNA to these changes in protein synthesis was studied by translation in the lysed reticulocyte cell-free system. The mRNAs that code for oocyte proteins that cease synthesis in the unfertilized egg and re-appear in blastulae are nevertheless detectable in total RNA made from eggs. These proteins therefore seem to cease and resume synthesis through translational control. mRNAs for new proteins first appear after gastrulation, just when these proteins are first detected in vivo. This strongly suggests, though it does not prove, that new gene activity is involved. It is therefore likely that region-specific gene activity is already present by the gastrula stage of development, and has an impact on the most abundant kinds of proteins made in the embryo.


Cyclic changes in the cortical layer of non-nucleated fragments of the newt's egg. Various changes in the cortical layer of the amphibian egg have been observed during cleavage; for example, rounding up in the animal hemisphere, increase in stiffness of the surface and reactivity of the cortex to furrow-inducing cytoplasmic components. The three kinds of change occur synchronously with the cleavage cycle. The present experiments were aimed at determining whether the above changes in the cortical layer are caused exclusively by the nucleus or autonomously by the cytoplasm. Uncleaved fertilized eggs of the newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster, were divided into two parts, one nucleated and one non-nucleated, by cutting with a fine glass needle. Special attention was paid to the behaviour of the non-nucleated fragments, where the above-mentioned changes were also observed. The cycle of these changes did not necessarily start synchronously with the cleavage cycle of the nucleated partner, but, once started, the rhythm of both cycles had almost the same timing. These results suggest that some change in the cortex necessary for cleavage furrow formation in the amphibian egg is brought about by cyclic change in the cytoplasm, independently of the nucleus.


[Familial translocation 22/Y and partial autosomal trisomy in a young girl]. Report on a translocation t(22;Y)(q12;p 13) with conservation of the NOR in normal members from 2 generations of a family. The proposita has in addition a small autosomal duplication, probably (1)(q44-ter) which could explain her mental deficiency.


Day and night rhythms in the methylation of N-acetylserotonin/5-hydroxytryptophol in the pineal gland of males rats of different ages. Next to a night rhythm of the methylation of N-acetylserotonin/5-hydroxytryptophol the presence of a daytime rhythm could also be established. Rhythmicity was studied in May during the night and in June during daytime in 21, 42 and 70 days old male Wistar rats. In 21 days old rats, moderate HIOMT activity was observed from 12 p.m.--4 a.m. In rats aged 42 and 70 days HIOMT activity was increased showing a peak at 4 a.m. In September this night maximum is observed at 12 p.m. in rats, aged 42 days. This points to the presence of a seasonal change in HIOMT rhythmicity during the night. During daytime a moderate HIOMT activity is present, which reaches a maximum at 2 p.m. in the 21 and 42 day old animals, while in the adult 70 days old rats activity starts to increase at 2 p.m. probably reaching a maximum at 6 p.m.


Cutaneous masking. I. Psychophysical observations on interactions of multipoint stimuli in man. 1. Psychophysical masking of cutaneous sensation at the locus of punctate test stimulation has been quantitatively examined with phasic mechanical and brief air-pulse stimuli using a conditioning-test stimulus paradigm. 2. Masking was maximal at the minimal interstimulus distance effective with this paradigm, varies inversely with interstimulus distance, and is demonstrable with the conditioning and test stimuli up to 10 cm apart on the forearm. 3. The degree of masking was found to be a direct function of the relative intensity of the conditioning stimulus with respect to the test stimulus. 4. Variations in the interstimulus interval permitted an investigation of the temporal features of cutaneous masking. It was detectable from 10 ms before to 70 ms after conditioning stimulation. Maximum masking occurred when the test stimulus was delivered about 10 ms following conditioning stimulus onset. 5. We also noted the much less marked, but still significant, enhancement phenomenon, in which weak conditioning stimuli, at just-threshold intensity levels, lowered the detection threshold for sensation at the test stimulus locus. We found this enhancement of sensation to have the same spatial distribution as did masking, but a much reduced time course. It began with the test stimulus presented simultaneously with the conditioning stimulus, peaked with 10--15 ms interstimulus intervals, but decayed in less than 40 ms. 6. Since psychophysical experiments often form the framework for the understanding of physiologic processes, it is suggested that these behavioral determinations of enhancement and masking may be correlated with the electrophysiologic properties of excitation and inhibition in neurons of the major primary somatic pathways of the central nervous system.


Pneumonectomy in infants and children: the use of a prosthesis to prevent mediastinal shift and its complications. Twenty cases of pneumonectomy in infants and children performed over a 35-yr period have been reviewed. Pneumonectomy may be necessary for inflammatory, congenital, neoplastic, and traumatic conditions. The postoperative complications of progressive mediastinal shift can be minimized by the use of a pleural prosthesis.


Synergistic actions of propantheline bromide with cimetidine and thiopropazate hydrochloride in the prevention of stress ulcer formation in rats. The effects of propantheline bromide (PB), cimetidine (CM) and thiopropazate hydrochloride (TP) on the course of stress ulcer formation were investigated. Gastric ulcers were induced by subjecting rats to forced exertion. Intragastric administration of PB, CM or TP produced dose-dependent inhibition of gastric ulceration with parallel dose-response curves. PB was found to be 10 times more potent than TP and 44 times more potent than CM. Administration of subtherapeutic doses of PB and TP in combination produced significant synergistic antiulcer activity. Similarly, PB significantly potentiated the antiulcer actions of CM. However, TP in combination with CM showed no more than simple additive effects. The basis for these enhanced antiulcer activities is not fully understood, but they may be related to suppression by PB of one or more factors in the pathophysiology of stress ulcer formation separate from those affected by TP and CM. This finding supports the concept that a combination of anticholinergic drugs with either histamine H2 antagonists or with tranquilizers may be very useful in the prevention of stress ulcer disease in man.


Effects of oestrous cycle and exogenous ovarian steroids on 5-hydroxytryptamine metabolism in rat lung. 1. The metabolism of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in homogenates of lung and in perfused isolated lungs, was measured, using [14C]5-HT, over the 4-day oestrous cycle in rats. 2. In lung homogenates, 5-HT metabolism (reflecting monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity) was greater during met-oestrus than during the rest of the cycle. 3. In homogenates, the apparent Km for MAO activity was lowest during met-oestrus whereas the, Vmax value was highest during di-oestrus. 4. In perfused lungs, 5-HT metabolism and uptake was greater during pro-oestrus than during met-oestrus. 5. In lung homogenates prepared from female rats treated with 17 beta-oestradiol or progesterone for 8 days, the metabolism of 5-HT was increased. 6. We conclude that although the lung is not usually considered a target organ for ovarian hormones, its metabolic activity is affected by changes in the levels of endogenous or exogenous ovarian steroids, an effect comparable with those already observed in uterus, ovary and other more commonly accepted target organs.


Effect of PGF-2 alpha on serum progesterone levels in the swamp buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). Induction of some oestrous phenomena was achieved. Treatment with 25 mg PGF-2 alpha cuased mucous discharge, within 48-72 h after injection, which lasted for 4-5 days. Rectal palpation indicated rapid regression of the CL, and in 9 treatments of 6 buffaloes serum progesterone levels declined from 1.76 +/- 0.01 (s.d.) ng/ml before treatment to less than 0.25 ng/ml within 24 h after injection. Concentrations increased at about Day 11 and reached a peak of 1.78 +/- 0.62 ng/ml on Day 18.50 +/- 2.45.


The effects of oestradiol benzoate, progesterone, relaxin and ovariectomy on cervical extensibility in the late pregnant rat. Cervical extensibility increased from Day 16 to term in the pregnant rat. Following ovariectomy on Day 16 of pregnancy the cervix became as inextensible by Day 20 as that of non-pregnant animals. Fetal growth was maintained in rats ovariectomized on Day 16 if given oestradiol benzoate plus progesterone but cervical extensibility only increased to a small extent. Relaxin given to these animals further increased cervical extensibility, suggesting a role for this hormone.


Enhanced and co-ordinated movement of the hamster oviduct during the periovulatory period. The movement of the hamster oviduct in vivo was examined after injection of a small quantity of India ink into the lowermost region of the isthmus. An active and co-ordinated movement of both the isthmus and ampulla that caused a rapid transport of the ink to the upper ampulla (and eventually to the ovarian bursa) was observed shortly before, during and within a few hours after ovulation. During the rest of the oestrous cycle, no ink was transported to the upper ampulla despite active contractile movement by the isthmus. These observations suggest that the oviduct as a whole exhibits an efficient contractile movement suited for sperm transport only during the periovulatory period.


In-vivo myometrial electrical activity in the cyclic mare. Uterine electromyography was performed by means of chronically implanted surface electrodes in 3 Pony mares during spontaneous oestrous cycles and following luteolysis induced by a prostaglandin analogue (fluprostenol). Three distinct patterns were recognized during the oestrous cycle. (1) During oestrus well defined phases of activity with closely grouped high-amplitude spikes were separated by long periods (10-45 min) of complete inactivity. (2) During dioestrus more diffuse phases of activity with low-amplitude spikes were separated by variable periods of relative inactivity. (3) During luteolysis, short and frequently occurring phases of activity were propagated between the two electrodes on one uterine horn; a similar pattern also occurred between 1 and 3 h after injection of fluprostenol. Peripheral plasma progesterone, but not total inconjugated oestrogen, concentrations were closely related to characteristics of the myographic activity during the cycle. Insemination during oestrus and injection of fluprostenol during dioestrus caused a marked and prolonged increase in myometrial electrical activity. Almost any non-specific environmental stimulus, including entry by palpation of the genital tract per rectum and vaginoscopic examination, but these were of brief duration and the normal resting pattern of activity was quickly re-established after completion of the manipulations.


Effect of actinomycin D on uterine prostaglandin production and oestrous cycle length in guinea-pigs. Intrauterine, but not systemic, administration of actinomycin D on Day 10 increased oestrous cycle length in guinea-pigs. Peripheral plasma progesterone levels remained elevated during these lengthened cycles presumably because luteal life-span had been extended. Prostaglandin (PG) F-2 alpha production in vitro, on Day 15, by the uterus of guinea-pigs which had received intrauterine actinomycin D was much lower than control values. This decrease in PG production was not due to lack of precursor, increased metabolism, re-direction of synthesis towards PGE-2, or a direct inhibition by actinomycin D of the conversion of arachidonic acid to PGs. The effects of actinomycin D treatment were not reversed by oestradiol. It is proposed that actinomycin D prevents the increase in uterine PG synthetase levels that normally takes place after Day 11, thereby reducing uterine PGF-2 alpha synthesis and output in vivo, and resulting in luteal maintenance and longer oestrous cycles.


Plasma oxytocin and vasopressin concentrations in response to prostaglandin injection into the pig. A single i.m. injection of 5 mg PGF-2 alpha evoked a significant elevation of plasma oxytocin values in sows 6 days post partum and during dioestrus. Plasma vasopressin levels in dioestrous sows were not significantly affected by PGF-2 alpha. It is concluded that circulating steroid levels do not interfere with the response of oxytocin levels to PGF-2 alpha.


Plasma gonadotrophins and progesterone concentrations during various degrees of underfeeding in pregnant mice. Daily reduction of the normal (ad libitum) food consumption by as little as 35% significantly reduced (P less than 0.05) the percentage of mice with implantation sites at Days 7 and 9 of gestation. Underfeeding decreased body weight and reduced the weight of the ovaries and uterus. Plasma progesterone was decreased (P less than 0.05) as dietary intake was restricted and was associated with regression of the corpora lutea. No significant alterations in the plasma values of LH and FSH were observed in mice underfed between Days 1 and 9 of pregnancy. The decrease in plasma progesterone in the absence of reduced LH values may indicate that progesterone secretion between Days 5 and 9 of gestation is not controlled solely by LH.


Glucose movement into rat interine fluid. The uterine horns of anaesthetized rats were cannulated and 2.5 ml 0.9% NaCl at 37 degrees C were recirculated for up to 90 min. Glucose appeared in the medium, reaching a concentration of approximately 1 mM. Various aspects of the transport process were examined, and it is suggested that the glucose is mainly derived from the plasma, and probably enters the uterine lumen by a process involving facilitated diffusion.


LH contamination may explain FSH effects on rat Leydig cells. Treatment of immature, hypophysectomized male rats with 50 micrograms ovine FSH (NIH-FSH-S12) twice a day for 5 days stimulated the maximum quantity of 17 beta-hydroxyandrogen produced by isolated Leydig cells in response to hCG. Pretreatment of the FSH preparation with an LH antiserum in one study markedly reduced and in another study completely abolished this stimulatory effect of FSH, but only slightly impaired the capacity of the hormone to stimulate the Sertoli cell in vivo (epididymal androgen-binding protein). Administration of another highly potent FSH preparation (LER-1881) had no discernible effects on the dose-response characteristics of the Leydig cells but was superior to the NIH-FSH-S12 in its capacity for stimulating the Sertoli cell. When all hormone preparations were tested for their ability to stimulate steroid secretion from normal Leydig cells in vitro, a close correlation was obtained between their Leydig cell-stimulating activity (a measure of LH contamination) and their capacity to alter Leydig cell responsiveness after in-vivo treatment. FSH treatment had no effects on specific LH binding per 10(6) Leydig cells. It is concluded that the stimulatory influence of FSH on rat Leydig cells may to some extent be a result of the LH contaminating the hormone preparation.


Effect of androstenedione on the oestrous cycle of the rat. The implantation of Silastic capsules containing androstenedione (release rate 63.2 +/- 4.4 micrograms/24 h) into 4-day cyclic rats resulted in a prolongation of the cycle (P less than 0.001), most rats showing 5-day cycles after the first, largely unaffected cycle. There was a reduction in ovulation rate (P less than 0.01) and lower serum LH levels on the morning of oestrus (P less than 0.01) but serum FSH levels were unaffected.


The effects of serum oestrogen-binding components on the unbound oestradiol-17 beta fraction in the serum of developing female rats and on inhibition of [3H]oestradiol uptake by uterine tissue in vitro. Total oestradiol concentrations in the serum of young female rats were high and decreased after about 21 days of age. High affinity serum oestradiol-binding components (EBP), however, fell steadily from 5 to 23 days of age while the unbound oestradiol-17 beta fraction, which was low early in development, increased between 21 and 28 days of age. Injection (i.v.) of immature (EBP-rich) oestradiol-free serum into 21-day-old female rats led to a decrease in the unbound oestradiol fraction and an increase in serum FSH concentrations. Incubation of uterine tissue with [3H]oestradiol, with or without the addition of diethylstilboestrol (DES), showed the rate and degree of total and DES-suppressible uptake of [3H]oestradiol to be greatest from buffer, less from adult (EBP-poor) serum and negligible from immature (EBP-rich) serum; moreover, there was a positive correlation between the degree of uptake of [3H]oestradiol and the unbound fraction of [3H]oestradiol in the incubate. It is concluded that, at least in young rats, oestradiol activity depends more on the availability of free oestradiol than on its total plasma concentrations.


[Two years feeding toxicity study of tamarind seed polysaccharide in rats (author's transl)]. Tamarind seed polysaccharide (Glyloid) was incorporated at the level of 4, 8, 12% in a standard commercial diet and fed ad lib. to male and female rats for 2 years. No significant changes were noted in the behavior, mortality, body weight, food intake, biochemical analysis of urine and blood, hematological test, organ weight and histopathological findings of rats receiving Glyloid. In all groups containing control group, spontaneous diseases with aging, such as myocardial change, nephropathy, mammary tumor (in female), pituitary tumor etc., were seen. These diseases played important role as the cause of death of the dead rats.


Traumatic rupture of the female urethra. The clinical course of 4 female patients with complete traumatic rupture of the urethra was evaluated in an effort to propose guide lines for the investigation and initial management of this unusual injury. Treatment modalities are determined by the level of urethral injury and the subsequent effect on continence. We recommend a retropubic approach for bladder neck injuries, a transvaginal approach for proximal urethral ruptures with reanastomosis over a stenting catheter and acceptance of a hypospadiac neomeatus for distal urethral ruptures.


[Cryo- and photocoagulation for choroidal metastases of a thyroid carcinoma (author's transl)]. A 47-year-old patient underwent surgery in 1972 for a metastasising medullary thyroid carcinoma. 4 years later he developed choroidal metastases in the left eye and then, after another 3 months, multiple small metastases appeared in the right eye. The metastases were cryo- and photocoagulated because medullary thyroid carcinoma do not respond to radiation or chemotherapy. Although the single very large metastasis in the left eye was scarcely affected, the multiple metastases in the right eye were destroyed. As a result the patient has retained useful vision in this eye for the past three years.


Haemolysis due to formaldehyde-induced anti-N-like antibodies in haemodialysis patients. During reuse of formaldehyde sterilized Kiil-dialysers, red cell survival, measured by means of 51Cr t/2, was significantly reduced (p less than 0.001) in 16 patients with anti-N-like positive sera, when compared with 19 antibody negative control patients (mean +/- SD: 16.5 +/- 2.7 versus 22.4 +/- 3.1 days.) In antibody negative patients (n = 10) replacement of formaldehyde sterilized dialysers by ethylene-oxide sterilized disposable dialysers resulted in a significant increase (p less than 0.002) of 51Cr t/2 (Mean +/- SD, days: Kiildialyser 16.3 +/- 1.9; disposable dialyser 20.3 +/- 3.5). This improvement took place, although antibody titres persisted during the 51Cr-measurements and declined thereafter only slowly. In antibody negative patients (n = 6) red cell survival did not increase, when formaldehyde as a sterilant was avoided. In antibody positive patients mean haematocrit rose significantly (p less than 0.05), whereas in none of the antibody negative patients a definite change of haematocrit occurred. The data demonstrate, that formaldehyde sterilisation of dialysers may cause antibody-mediated haemolysis contributing to the extent of renal anaemia. This immunohaemolysis may be corrected, in spite of continuing antibody persistance, when formaldehyde exposure is totally avoided, or possibly when minimized.


Instant nutritional assessment.

Instant nutritional assessment. Instant nutritional assessment of the hospitalized patient is described based upon admission serum albumin levels and total lymphocyte counts. Abnormalities of these parameters are associated with markedly increased morbidity and mortality in a series of 500 consecutively admitted patient. It is suggested that instant nutritional assessment be performed on all hospitalized patients with appropriate alterations and therapy being made to allow for nutritional repletion.


Body composition changes in the critically ill patient: emphasis on water balance. The moisture contents of foods, fluids, and parenteral solutions taken in and of all samples excreted, the water of oxidation of fuel mixtures burned, and the evaporative water loss must be determined in order to obtain a quantitative picture of water balance. Because there is a tendency to retain water after trauma, surgery, or an acute illness, changes in the water compartment of the body may lead to changes in body weight that may be considered erroneously as changes in energy or protein stores. Measurement of water balance, in addition to calorie and nitrogen balance is one of the most accurate means of accounting for these changes in body composition. Fluid and electrolyte therapy and nutritional supplementation can be tailored to meet the patient's specific needs by utilizing this information. Application of these principles to the care of hospitalized patients outside of the research setting will be discussed.


[Ultrastructure of tumor-stroma junction of invasive laryngeal carcinoma (author's transl)]. The tumor-stroma junction of invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx was examined electron microscopically. Polymorphic cytoplasmic protrusions (blebs) with a diameter ranging from 2--4 micron to 8--10 micron were observed on the basal and lateral surfaces of the malignant keratinocytes. A system of cytoplasmic 6--8 nm microfilaments can be seen consistently at the base of the blebs. The microfilaments possibly serve as a contractile ring during the pinching-off process of the blebs from the malignant keratinocytes. The blebs were observed at various stages of development until the pinching-off process occurred. They have varying shapes, sizes, and electron density and are plasmamembrane bounded. They contain hyaline ectoplasm, ribosome particles, a fine filamentous and fine granular material as well as some lysosomes. The blebbing phenomenon is discussed in respect to the cellular locomotion of malignant keratinocytes and interpreted as a possible temporary invasion mechanism in the preliminary stages of the tumor growth.


Longitudinal assessment of Eustachian tube function in children. Eustachian tube function was evaluated in 27 children (32 ears) with tympanostomy tubes at 6-week intervals for 12 to 30 months. Using a modified inflation-deflation test of passive and active ventilatory function, it was found that the ears had persistent functional obstruction. Most ears exhibited no significant change in tubal function throughout the observation period. There was no difference in the ventilatory function when the nasal airway was congested (other than due to purulent upper respiratory tract infection) and not congested. However, significant seasonal effects on Eustachian tube ventilatory function were recorded: function was poorer in the winter than in the summer. No relationship was found between Eustachian tube ventilatory function and the age of the child.


Bacteriocinogeny and antibiotic resistance of naturally occurring strains of Streptococcus mutans. We studied bacteriocinogenies and antibiotic resistances of naturally occurring strains of Streptococcus mutans isolated from different sources. It was found that naturally occurring strains from humans and rats were distinguished by their bacteriocin susceptibilities and production. We had a few incidences of tetracycline resistant strains only among those isolated from rats. It is quite interesting that none of the resistant strains we collected produced bacteriocins.


[Cyanide-resistant respiration in Torulopsis candida]. The effect of cyanide and the inhibitors of cyanide-resistant oxidase--hydroxamic acids on endogenous respiration and oxidation of a number of substrates by Torulopsis candida resting cells taken at different stages of growth on glucose and hexadecane was studied and made it possible to arrive at the following conclusions. 1. The effect of cyanide on endogenous respiration of T. candida differs during its growth on glucose and hexadecane. On hexadecane, irrespective of the growth phage, cyanide inhibits endogenous respiration by 70--75%. On glucose, cyanide inhibits endogenous respiration not more than by 35% and only at the exponential growth phase whereas it stimulates endogenous respiration in the course of other growth stages. 2. The effect of cyanide on respiration of the resting cells of T. candida which oxidize glucose, hexadecane, primary alcohols and tetradecanoic acid hardly depends on the growth stage. It is determined mainly by the nature of a substrate to be oxidized. 3. Hydroxamic acid have no effect on the cell respiration in the absence of cyanide. However, in its presence, they entirely inhibit both endogenous respiration and oxidation of the aforementioned substrates. 4. Under almost all above experimental conditions, the sensitivity of cell respiration to cyanide changes only slightly at different stages of growth on either glucose or hexadecane. This feature markedly distinguishes T. candida among other cyanide-resistant yeasts.


Skin test-active substance prepared from culture filtrate of Fonsecaea pedrosoi. Ethanol-precipitated substance (EP) was prepared from culture filtrate of Fonsecaea pedrosoi. EP was separated into two components by passing through a Sephadex G-50 column; the faster passing component was referred to as EP-1, the slower as EP-2. EP-1 and EP-2 were evaluated as an antigen for detecting cutaneous delayed hypersensitivity in patients with chromomycosis. EP-1 elicited positive delayed skin reactions in all of 8 patients with chromomycosis, of which 7 caused by F. pedrosoi and one by Exophiala jeunselmei. Healthy subjects, patients with sporotrichosis and patients with tinea barbae failed to react to EP-1. These results indicate that EP-1 is a useful tool for detecting cutaneous delayed hypersensitivity in patients with chromomycosis caused by F. pedrosoi. It was found that precipitin test using EP-1 as an antigen had little diagnostic value in chromomycosis. EP-2 did not show antigenic activity in both skin and precipitin reactions.


[Effect of the lipid component of the medium on lipase biosynthesis by fungi]. The lipolytic activity of the fungi Aspergillus and Rhizopus was studied on a medium with soybean flour. The lipolytic activity of the Aspergillus fungi was low or absent whereas many of the cultures belonging to the Rhizopus genus possessed the lipolytic activity. The effect of soybean flour components on lipase biosynthesis was studied with Geotrichum asteroides and Rhizopus cohnii AUCMF-597. The lipid component was shown to be necessary for lipase biosynthesis by G. asteroides and to stimulate lipase synthesis by Rh. cohnii AUCMF-597. Oleic acid is presumed to activate lipase biosynthesis by G. asteroides.


Experimental cerebral lesions produced by inoculation with Basidiobolus strains. Two Basidiobolus strains produced progressive chronic granulomatous lesions in the brain following intracerebral inoculation of mice with hyphal material. Large septate hyphal bodies, together with sperical structures and granular material presumed to be of fungal origin, were present in the granuloma tissue surrounding the IIIrd and lateral ventricles. No progressive lesions developed when Basidiobolus mycelium was inoculated at extra-cerebral sites.


Anti-inflammatory effect of warfarin and vitamin K1. 1. Sodium warfarin, given by oral or by parenteral route, displays a pronounced anti-inflammatory effect in the formaldehyde and carrageenan induced rat paw edema. This effect becomes patent not only when the warfarin application precedes the local injection of the irritant substance (prophylactic effect), but also when it is given to animals with already developed inflammatory reactions (therapeutic effect). 2. The active doses of Na warfarin lie between 0.5 and 5.0 mg/kg. Smaller as well as higher doses show a reduced anti-inflammatory effect. 3. A marked anti-inflammatory effect can be noted already 90 min after drug injection at a still normal prothrombin level. 4. Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone), given by oral or parenteral route, in doses from 1.6 mg/kg upwards, shows a marked anti-inflammatory effect both in the prophylactic and the therapeutic rat paw test. Vitamin K3 is devoid of any anti-inflammatory activity. 5. The anti-inflammatory effect of both sodium warfarin and of vitamin K1 in rats, is not interfered with by previous adrenalectomy.


Echocardiogram analysis in a pattern recognition framework. Echocardiogram analysis is treated in a pattern recognition framework. Anterior mitral leaflet waveforms are classified for the four-class problem consisting of the classes "normal," "mitral stenosis," "mitral valve prolapse," and "idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis." In addition, aortic root waveforms and left ventricular wall waveforms are classified for the two-class problem consisting of the classes "normal" and "idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis." One common method of analysis (Fourier analysis) underlies each classification scheme. Classification accuracy is sufficiently good to warrant the inference that successful automated decision-making based on the algorithms investigated is feasible.


Cerebral amyloid angiopathy: possible relationship to rheumatoid vasculitis. In three cases of cerebral amyloid angiopathy there was also a chronic cerebral vasculitis characterized by segmental fibrinoid necrosis, chronic adventitial inflammatory infiltrates, obliterative "endarteritis" and hyaline arteriolar change, resembling rheumatoid vasculitis. Two of these cases had rheumatoid arthritis, and one had unspecified "arthritis" at the onset of dementia. Both vasculitis and amyloidosis involved the leptomeningeal and cerebral cortical vessels. In the two autopsy-verified cases, the vascular disease was limited to the brain. In the third case, only a brain biopsy was available. Amyloid-containing neuritic plaques were present in the cerebral cortex in all three cases, but they were abundant only in one, which also showed numerous Alzheimer tangles.


Myopathy and primary aldosteronism: electronmicroscopic study. We studied two patients with myopathy and primary aldosteronism. Necrosis and vacuolation of muscle fibers were found on light microscopy. Ultrastructurally, the necrotic areas were characterized by dissolution of myofilaments with degenerative vacuoles. In muscle fibers that did not show necrosis, there were membrane-bound vacuoles, dilation of the sarcoplasmic reticulum, widening of the T-system, and a "honeycomb" appearance of T-tubules. These ultrastructural features suggest that the necrosis of muscle fibers may originate from membrane vulnerability of the sarcoplasmic reticulum and the T-system.


[Effect of tweens on the lipase activity of Oospora lactis]. Oospora lactis was found to use Tweens 20, 40, 60 and 80 as a source of carbon in a nutrient medium for lipase biosynthesis. The highest production of lipase was registered in the medium with Tween-80. The lipase activity of the culture increased if even small quantities of Tweens 40, 60 and, particularly, 80 (0.05--1.0%) were added to the medium containing cottonseed oil. All the tested Tweens stimulating the biosynthesis of lipase were also, at a particular concentration, the inhibitors of this enzyme.


Genetic susceptibility to multiple sclerosis. Previous studies of histocompatibility (HLA) types in multiple sclerosis (MS) families did not provide convincing proof of an HLA-linked susceptibility factor. In 12 families we studied, all MS cases in each family shared at least one chromosome. The probability of this occurring in the absence of genetic linkage is approximately 0.001. The estimated penetrance is 5 percent, implying that the genetic susceptibility factor may be a necessary but not a sufficient cause of MS. Additional studies are needed to identify other differences between affected and unaffected susceptible individuals.


Malignant cells in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF): the meaning of a positive CSF cytology. We reviewed the correlation between malignant cells in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (positive cytology) and pathologic findings at autopsy. The purpose was to discover: (1) the incidence of negative CSF cytology in patients with CNS malignancy, (2) the incidence of false-positive cytology, and (3) the relationship between a true-positive cytology and the distribution of malignant tumor at autopsy. Of 117 patients with CNS tumor and premortem cytologic examination of the CSF, 31 (26 percent) were positive and 86 (74 percent) were negative. Only 1 of 66 patients with tumor that did not reach the leptomeninges had a positive cytology. Of 51 patients with leptomeningeal tumor at autopsy, cytology was positive in 30 (59 percent) and negative in 21 (41 percent). Five potentially "false-positive" cytologies were encountered: three patients were treated, and tumor may have been eradicated; in two patients with lymphoma, inflammatory cells associated with infection were apparently mistaken for malignant cells. These data indicate that a positive CSF cytology is a reliable indicator of CNS malignancy and almost always reflects leptomeningeal tumor.


No morphometric abnormality recurrent laryngeal nerve in spastic dysphonia. Spastic dysphonia is a disorder of phonation that is usually markedly improved by surgical resection of one recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN). In this study, biopsies of the RLN were obtained at surgery from nine patients with spastic dysphonia (disease group) and eight patients with laryngeal cancer (control group). The RLN was found to be composed of several nerve regions having characteristic fiber compositions. For the various nerve regions and for the whole nerve, we evaluated morphology, median fiber diameter, density, and size distribution of fibers. The morphologies of teased fibers were also evaluated. We found no significant differences between the nerves of the disease and control groups. Therefore, we were unable to verify previous reports of neuropathic abnormality of the RLN in spastic dysphonia.


Computed tomography in Herpes simplex encephalitis. Eight patients with Herpes simplex encephalitis had computed cranial tomography (CT). In every case, areas of decreased attenuation were found in the temporal lobe(s); these areas extended to the insular cortex and often to the frontal or parietal lobes. This change developed between the third and the eleventh day of illness. It was present, sometimes only in retrospect, in patients who were alert as well as patients who were comatose. Compared to the isotopic brain scan, electroencephalogram, and cerebral angiogram, CT demonstrates changes that are indicative of H simplex early enough in the course of the illness to be therapeutically useful.


Carbamazepine: prevention of alcohol withdrawal seizures. Effects of carbamazepine on alcohol withdrawal seizures and symptoms were studied in rats. Carbamazepine was administered during alcohol feeding and continued during alcohol withdrawal. When carbamazepine serum levels were above 3 micrograms per milliliter, alcohol withdrawal seizures were not observed. Carbamazepine also alleviated alcohol withdrawal symptoms, especially heightened spontaneous activity, startle to noise, stereotyped chewing movements, and intermittent body stiffening.


Cerebral arteritis in cat-scratch disease. Acute right hemiplegia and transient expressive aphasia occurred in a 7-year-old girl a few days after nonspecific constitutional symptoms and the appearance of a large right submandibular lymph node. Biopsy of this node and lack of other evident cause suggested a diagnosis of cat-scratch disease. Carotid arteriography showed a localized arteritis of the supraclinoid part of the left internal carotid artery and the left middle cerebral artery, involving also some lenticulostriate vessels. Computerized tomography demonstrated infarction in the left internal capsule. The size of this infarct and the angiographic abnormalities improved 6 weeks after onset, and coincided with clinical recovery. Cat-scratch disease may have caused the localized arteritis.


Lymphocyte capping in muscular dystrophy. We investigated lymphocyte capping in nine patients with muscular dystrophy (seven with Duchenne dystrophy and two with limb-girdle dystrophy), nine carriers, and five normal controls. No differences between the groups were observed. Thus, we have been unable to confirm a recent report that patients with muscular dystrophy, as well as carriers, have a defect in lymphocyte capping.


No association between oligoclonal immunoglobulins in cerebrospinal fluid and HLA antigens in acute aseptic meningitis. The frequencies of the HLA antigens A3, B7, and Dw2, previously related with multiple sclerosis, were investigated in 26 patients with acute aseptic meningitis and oligoclonal immunoglobulins in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), but not in serum when investigated by agarose gel electrophoresis. HLA antigen frequencies were similar in patients with aseptic meningitis and controls. The oligoclonal immune response within the central nervous system in aseptic meningitis is not associated with the same HLA antigens found in patients with multiple sclerosis.


Carrier detection in Duchenne muscular dystropy. We investigated the number of echinocytes, the serum hemopexin level, and spectrin band II phosphorylation in the blood of normal subjects, patients, and carriers of Duchenne dystrophy. The patients and carriers exhibited quantitatively significant differences with respect to controls.


Dementia in Parkinson disease: a neuropathologic study. Thirty-four autopsy cases conforming to the standard neuropathologic criteria of Parkinson disease were sex- and age-matched with controls who had died of infarct or trauma. All brains were reviewed for changes compatible with Alzheimer disease, and available clinical data were retrospectively reviewed. Nineteen (56 percent) of the Parkinson cases had shown some degree of dementia. The average parkinsonian brain weight was 1281 gm; it was 1365 gm for the controls (p less than 0.02). Plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, granulovacuolar degeneration, and cortical cell loss were present in all but one of the parkinsonian brains; these pathologic changes were present in fewer controls and to a lesser degree. The higher incidence of dementia in patients with Parkinson disease may be explained by the simultaneous presence of Alzheimer disease.


Epidemiology of multiple sclerosis in U.S. veterans: 1. Race, sex, and geographic distribution. Five thousand three hundred five World War II and Korean conflict veterans who have been compensated by the Veterans Administration for multiple sclerosis (MS) were matched to controls on the basis of age, date of entry into military service, and branch of service. Case/control ratios for white males, white females, and black males were 1.04, 1.86, and 0.45, respectively. The coterminous 48 states, divided into three tiers on the basis of latitude, exhibited the well-known north-south gradient in risk: For all races and both sexes, case/control ratios were 1.41, 1.00, and 0.53 for the North, Middle, and South tiers. Both white females and black males showed this same north-to-south variation in risk. The case/control ratio for males of races other than black or white was 0.23, with possible deficits in risk for American Indians and Japanese-Americans. Filipinos and Hawaiian Japanese were significantly low-risk groups. These findings suggest that both a racial and a possibly genetic predisposition, as well as a geographically determined differential exposure to an environmental agent, are related to the risk of MS.


Mechanically and electrically evoked somatosensory potentials in normal humans. Somatosensory potentials evoked by mechanical stimulation of the fingernail and electrical stimulation of the nerve in the finger and at the wrist were recorded by surface electrodes over; (1) the digital nerve in the index finger, (2) the median nerve at the wrist, (3) the median nerve at the axilla, (4) the brachial plexus at Erb's point, (5) the cervical cord at C2, and (6) the scalp overlying the somatosensory cortex. Nerve conduction velocities were computed for two portions of the median nerve. Conduction times along the somatosensory pathway between spinal cord and cerebral cortex were also defined. The mechanically evoked potentials had less temporal dispersion, were of lower amplitude, and occasionally consisted of fewer components than the electrically evoked potentials. Electrical stimulation of the nerve trunk at the wrist evoked some additional components not detected by the other stimulation methods. Nerve conduction velocities and conduction times were comparable among the three methods of stimulation.


Delayed postischemic hypoperfusion: a potentially damaging consequence of stroke. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was assessed with radioactive butanol and antipyrine during and after 1 hour of unilateral carotid artery occlusion in gerbils. Animals with clinical evidence of stroke demonstrated a marked fall in ipsilateral CBF during occlusion "no-reflow" phenomenon did not develop; instead, blood flow returned to normal 5 minutes after the termination of carotid occlusion. Flow subsequently fell to half the control value, however, and remained depressed for several hours despite local metabolic demands. This delayed imbalance in energy supply and demand creates a potential for additional brain damage that might be prevented by appropriate therapeutic intervention.


Analysis of the clinical problems in parkinsonism and the complications of long-term levodopa therapy. We evaluated the current status of 131 patients with idiopathic parkinsonism who were receiving levodopa therapy. The residual parkinsonian symptoms and signs were tabulated, as were the adverse effects from medication. Response to therapy was correlated with duration of the disease and with duration of treatment. Patients with on-off or wearing-off effects were likely to have been treated for 4 years or longer. Patients treated with levodopa for 4 to 8 years were significantly more impaired with parkinsonism than patients treated for 0 to 3 years, even when patients were matched for total duration of disease. These data suggest that the deterioration of responsiveness after several years of levodopa therapy may be due to the therapy itself. Our findings support the concept that utilization of levodopa therapy should be delayed until a patient becomes significantly impaired in occupational or social situations.


Hemifacial spasm: clinical and electrophysiologic observations. Twenty-three patients with hemifacial spasm were studied clinically and electrodiagnostically. Seven patients had mild facial weakness. All patients had clinical evidence of synkinesis, which often varied considerably. Facial nerve conduction and blink reflex latencies were normal. Facial synkinesis could be measured objectively on the involved side in all patients by simultaneously recording from the orbicularis oculi and orbicularis oris muscles at the time of supraorbital nerve stimulation. Using this procedure, synkinesis was also observed in association with aberrant regeneration after Bell palsy but was not seen in other movement disorders involving the face. The demonstration of synkinesis and its variability in hemifacial spasm can be of value in differentiating hemifacial spasm from other movement disorders affecting the face and provides further insight into its pathogenesis.


Cerebral atrophy, EEG slowing age, education, and cognitive functioning in suspected dementia. Seventy-eight hospital patients, 50 years of age or older, were selected for suspected changes in mentation and for the absence of focal or other organic brain disease. They were studied in relation to education, age, cerebral atrophy (by computerized tomography), electroencephalographic (EEG) slowing, and performance in several neuropsychologic tests. Adequate test-retest reliability of the cognitive measures and interjudge reliability of the cerebral atrophy and EEG measures were demonstrated. Stepwise multiple regression analyses suggested the following: (1) EEG slowing is the strongest and most general pathologic influence on cognition in elderly persons without overt brain disease. (2) Cerebral atrophy independently affects primarily the verbal recall of recent and remote information. (3) Age independently affects primarily recent memory for both verbal and nonverbal material. (4) Formal education is a powerful influence that must be accounted for in all studies of the effects of age on cognition.


Enhancement of CNS penetration of methotrexate by hyperosmolar intracarotid mannitol or carcinomatous meningitis. Intracarotid (i.c.) hyperosmolar mannitol enhances central nervous system (CNS) penetration of intravenous (i.v.) methotrexate (MTX) in normal adult rats. A fivefold augmentation in the CSF:serum and ipsilateral brain:serum MTX concentration ratios was observed 1 hour after drug administration. Intravenous mannitol had no such effect. Rats with meningeal carcinomatosis have a partial defect in blood-brain barrier function, and the CSF:serum MTX concentration ratio was 4.6 times higher in these animals than in normal rats prior to mannitol therapy. Intracarotid hyperosmolar mannitol further augmented the blood-brain barrier permeability to intravenous MTX. Intracarotid mannitol increased the therapeutic effect of MTX, since rats with meningeal carcinomatosis that received i.v. MTX and i.c. mannitol experienced a slight enhancement in survival.


Sleep apnea: treatment with protriptyline. Fourteen patients with an average of more than 60 episodes of upper airway obstruction during night sleep were treated with a nonsedating tricyclic antidepressant, protriptyline. Frequency and duration of recorded apneas decreased in 11 cases, and satisfactory control of sleep apnea was maintained with medical therapy alone in 8 of these 11 patients for 7 to 15 months. Potential adverse effects of protriptyline, particularly on the cardiovascular system, limit its use in this illness. These results indicate the possibility of pharmacologic reversal of sleep-induced incoordination of the upper airway.


Extending neurologic services to rural children. The University of Kentucky provides neurologic services to rural children by a traveling clinic. In 1978, 438 children (including 231 new patients) made 646 clinic visits. The primary diagnoses were appropriate for a neurology clinic; epilepsy was the most common (74 of 231) among new patients. A community survey of school-age children found the clinic serving 45 percent of "active epileptics." Clinic patients had a higher seizure frequency and came from a more disadvantaged background that nonclinic patients. These data show that an urban-based traveling clinic can identify and care for rural children with neurologic disorders.


The flexion-adduction sign in neuralgic amyotrophy. In the "flexion-adduction" sign, the arm is maintained in a posture of flexion at the elbow and adduction at the shoulder. Abduction and lateral rotation of the arm, with the elbow in extension, may result in radicular pain. These signs may be useful in the evaluation of patients with cervical root or brachial plexus lesions.


Bilateral facial palsy associated with Stevens-Johnson syndrome. A 22-year-old man developed acute bilateral peripheral facial paralysis in association with Stevens-Johnson syndrome, probably as a result of ampicillin allergy. All symptoms cleared except the facial paralysis. He is the first patient in whom acute facial palsy and Stevens-Johnson syndrome have occurred simultaneously.


Amplitude of the F wave: a potential means of documenting spasticity. The amplitude of 32 averaged F responses (F32) recorded with surface electrodes was 1 percent of the amplitude of the M wave. The largest F response (Fmax) was 4.5 percent of the M wave. In spasticity, Fmax did not increase in amplitude but became more persistent, resulting in a significant increase of F32. There was a positive correlation between the amplitude of F32 and the M wave, and this relationship was abnormal in 60 percent of the studies of patients with spasticity.


Spatially oriented movements in the absence of proprioception. Four patients, each with a cerebrovascular accident in a different arterial supply, had unilaterally impaired somatosensory function that included eficits in the perception of touch and proprioception. In spite of central nervous system lesions and absent proprioception, all patients accurately performed spatially oriented movements with the deafferented hand. These observations suggest that execution of certain motor programs can proceed effectively without peripheral feedback.


[Sensitivity of fragmented and stratified sea urchin embryos to cytotoxic neuropharmacological preparations]. The red half embryos and related quarter embryos (yolk and pigment) of Arbacia lixula, obtained by means of centrifugation of the eggs in sucrose gradient, retain the normal level of sensitivity and supersensitivity to cytotoxic neuropharmaca, antagonists of biogenic monoamines. The white half embryos and clear quarter embryos practically lack supersensitivity whereas the granular quarter embryos restore it to the initial level. The non-pigmented blastomers of stratified embryos are characterized by somewhat weakened supersensitivity. A suggestion is put forward that the supersensitive embryos of A. lixula possess a sensibilizing factor which couples the supersensitivity receptors with the processes of cell division and moves together with the yolk granules upon centrifugation. This factor is not observed in the Strongylocentrotus granularis embryos lacking evident supersensitivity.


Recurrent trichiasis: treatment with laser photocoagulation. Treatment of recurrent trichiasis with argon laser photocoagulation is discussed. The laser cutting light is guided into the depths of the eyelid to cauterize the diseased follicles. Eight treated cases have been followed for over six months with satisfactory results.


Familial anterior and posterior lenticonus. A pedigree showing anterior lenticonus, posterior lenticonus and deafness with sex-linked inheritance and the probable gene locus in the short-arm of X chromosome is described.


Eye movements associated with eye closure. I. Normal subjects. Eye movements associated with eye closure were studied in 36 normal adults, and they were recorded by DC amplifiers of ENG. (1) Eyes moved 64 +/- 17 degrees upward and were adducted 15 +/- 7 degrees when eyes were closed. (2) The vertical eye position was held upwards in 33 persons and slightly turned down in 3 persons. (3) The superior rectus and inferior oblique muscles worked together during eye closure.


Eye movements associated with eye closure. II. Down turning of eye ball elevation. DC recordings of horizontal and vertical eye movements of various neurological patients were made in an attempt to specify the mechanism underlying sustained eye ball elevation associated with eye closure. Sudden or gradual down turning of vertical eye ball elevation was seen in the following groups: (1) acute stage of inner ear hypo- or afunction; (2) lateral lesions of the cerebellum; (3) acute stage of cerebellar inflammation, and (4) some cases of cerebral lesions. The following pathway seems to be the simplest which would account for these findings: anterior semicircular canal leads to superior vestibular nucleus leads to brachium conjunctivum leads to oculomotor nucleus leads to superior rectus muscle (ipsilateral) and inferior oblique muscle (contralateral).


Allergy in otorhinolaryngology.

Allergy in otorhinolaryngology. The authors discuss briefly the definition of allergy. Then step by step all the stages of a thorough allergic examination of patients with mainly ENT complaints are described with special emphasis on: history, ENT examination, routine laboratory tests (total eosinophil count, nasal smear, skin tests, RIST, RAST) and nose challenge tests. The results of these investigations allow the authors to propose a useful scheme in allergic diagnosis. Finally the therapeutic possibilities in allergic rhinopathy are discussed.


Treatment of postinflammatory acquired atresia of the external auditory canal. In 11 patients postinflammatory acquired atresia of the auditory canal, 7-15 mm thick, was excised, the drum and auditory canal covered with a Thiersch graft alone or by fascia and a Thiersch graft. 2.5-5 years after the operation there was no case of recurrence of the atresia. The functional result was most favourable in cases with atresia of minor thickness. Early operation is recommended, especially as cholesteatoma was found behind the atresia in 2 patients.


Myasthenia gravis: the effect of Tensilon on the caloric nystagmus response. Photoelectronystagmographic study. The nystagmus response evoked by thermic vestibular stimulation on 25 patients with myasthenia gravis and on 10 control persons was investigated using the photoelectronystagmographic method before and after administration of Tensilon. On the basis of 19 nystagmograms (capable of being evaluated) it was found that the test is of diagnostic value when combined with abstinence from drugs, furthermore, it may indicate under- or overtreatment of patients taking drugs. Excluding the drug-resistant, "burned out" cases, a certain correlation may be observed between the magnitude of the reaction evoked by Tensilon and the severity of the clinical condition independent from the existence of ocular symptoms. The advantage of the test, apart from being numerically measurable, is that it can be repeated because of its non-invasive nature causing no physical burden to the patient. Its disadvantage is that it cannot be applied in cases with a pre-existent difference in vestibular tonus - 20% in the material tested.


A study on dermatoses due to tonsillar focal infection using a nation-wide questionnaire in Japan. The relation of the infected to nephritis, rheumatic and heart diseases has been recognized but that to dermatoses has not been fully established nor applied clinically by dermatogists or otolaryngologists in the treatment of such patients. In order to assess to attitude of dermatologists as regards the dermatoses due to focal tonsillar infection, a questionnaire was sent to the departments of dermatology of 72 universities in Japan: 44 (61.1%) have replied. There were 40 dermatoses listed as possibly associated with a focal infection. About 60% of the universities endeavoured to detect the focus although the focus was not always removed when identified.


Diagnostic ultrasonography in paranasal sinus diseases. A 5-year review. Ultrasonography is a useful diagnostic tool in the evaluation of patients with paranasal sinus disease. It is a simple, reliable method with a failure rate of approximately 10%. The increasing use of this diagnostic tool requires the reemphasis and prevention of possible errors in establishing the correct diagnosis.


Effects of denervation on resting membrane and action potentials of neonate rat fast and slow twitch muscles. During the first 20 days postpartum of the rat, a period of rapid muscle growth, resting potentials and maximum rate of rise and overshoot of action potentials recorded from fast and slow twitch muscle fibres all increased, although did not reach adult values. The action potential of fast twitch muscle fibres had a greater maximum rate of rise and overshoot than that of slow twitch muscle fibres of the same age. Innervation had a marked influence upon maintenance of the electrical properties of muscle fibres in the neonate since denervation reduced the value of the resting potential and maximum rate of rise and overshoot of the action potential. Neverthless, some differences between action potentials recorded from the two fibre types remained 4 days after denervation.


Model experiments on the effect of bifurcations on capillary blood flow and oxygen transport. O2-delivery by a single capillary is a function of the flow rate and the fraction of flow made up of red blood cells. Capillary flow rate in turn depends upon flow resistance which is determined by the fraction of capillary volume occupied by red blood cells. Experiments were carried out to study the relationship between these parameters in an in vitro model consisting of glass capillaries (I.D. 3.3--11.0 micrometer) branching from a large bore feeding channel which was perfused at variable flow rates with suspensions of human red cells with different hematocrits. Capillary flow rates ranged from 0--10(-4) mm3s-1. The results indicate that the red cell flow fraction increases with increasing capillary flow rate and with decreasing feeding vessel flow rate. Capillary volume fraction occupied by red cells similarly depends on these two parameters, but is consistently lower than the red cell flow fraction. Capillary flow resistance increases with flow rate due to increasing volume fraction of cells. If the results obtained with the model system are applicable to in vivo capillaries it must be concluded that O2-delivery by a single capillary is not linearly related to flow rate but increases more than proportionately with flow rate. Due to alteration of resistance with flow rate another type of "autoregulation" of capillary flow is proposed which tends to keep flow rate constant despite changes of driving pressure.


Exocrine ductal pCO2 in the rabbit pancreas. An improved pCO2 microelectrode has been evaluated and used to investigate whether a significant barrier to diffusion of CO2 exists in the rabbit pancreas. The results of this study show the improved Carter and Caflisch pCO2 microelectrode to be an accurate and reliable tool for measuring pancreatic venous and ductal pCO2. The similarities between pCO2 values from the pancreatic ducts and small pancreatic veins suggest that there is no barrier to CO2 diffusion between small veins and exocrine ducts in the rabbit pancreas, and that ductal pCO2 is probably strongly influenced by the CO2 tension of the small pancreatic blood vessels.


The effect of various stimulated altitudes on the turnover of norepinephrine and dopamine in the central nervous system of rats. The elimination rate constant, half-life and turnover time of dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) were determined, after inhibiting their biosynthesis by alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine (alpha MT), in the hypothalamus, striatum and the remainder of the brain of rats exposed to different degrees of hypobaric hypoxia, corresponding to altitudes of 1,800, 3,800, 5,200 and 7,000 meters. The effects varied as a function of the degree of hypoxia and the brain region studied. The turnover time of NE in the hypothalamus remained unchanged, regardless of the altitude, while in the rest of the brain the rate constant of neurotransmitter elimination decreased inversely as a linear function of the degree of hypoxia. On the contrary, the changes of the DA turnover time in the striatum and the rest of the brain, were biphasic, being accelerated by moderate altitudes (1,800 m) and retarded by the two highest simulated altitudes studied as a function of hypoxia. The differential effects of hypoxia on NE and DA turnovers are attributed to different sensitivities of the respective enzyme systems.


Time course of the enhanced blood pressure response to reinduction of renal artery stenosis in unclipped renal hypertensive rats. Moderate or severe hypertension was induced in rats by application of a clip 0.25 or 0.20 mm internal diameter) to the left renal artery leaving the contralateral kidney intact. Removal of the clip 6, 13 or 24 days after the induction of the hypertension was followed by a rapid decrease in blood pressure. A near normotensive level was reached after 2--6 h. Reapplication of the clip to the unclipped renal artery after 1 day caused an enhanced blood pressure response. The preoperative hypertensive levels were reached within 2 h. This enhanced response was related to the level of blood pressure before the removal of the clip. Lengthening the interval between removal and reapplication of the clip gradually reduced the enhanced response of blood pressure, which had disappeared 8 days after the removal of the clip. Reapplication of the clip to the contralateral renal artery was not followed by an enhanced response in rats with previous moderate or severe hypertension.


The influence of the surface electrogram on the rising phase of the mammalian cardiac action potential. 1. When guinea pig cardiac tissue is stimulated, the rising phase of the action potential is influenced by the shape of the concomitant local surface electrogram. This, in turn, depends on the direction of the wave of excitation passing the recording microelectrode. 2. A symmetrical biphasic surface electrogram yields sigmoid upstrokes with masimum upstroke velocity (Vmax) lower than when it is either zero or uniphasic and negative. 3. When the main direction of the depolarization wave in guinea pig ventricular myocardium is receding from the recording microelectrode, giving rise to negative uniphasic extracellular potentials, a notch might distort the registration of the rising phase of the action potential. 4. When the main direction of the depolarization wave is approaching the recording microelectrode, giving rise to positive uniphasic extracellular potentials, Vmax is transferred to less negative membrane potentials. 5. The extracellular surface electrogram influences the overshoot of the action potentials of the normal atrial and depressed (D-600) ventricular myocardium and is changed, depending on how the wave of excitation passes the recording microelectrode.


A micropuncture study of the renal handling of lithium. Although clearance studies in man and experimental animals indicate that filtered lithium is reabsorbed primarily in the proximal tubule, it is unclear whether lithium is also reabsorbed in distal portions of the nephron. Micropuncture studies were, therefore, performed to determine the nephron sites involved in lithium transport during free flow. A method was established to estimate the concentration of lithium in nanoliter samples, using the Helium Glow photometer, which permitted the accurate measurement of lithium in tubular fluid samples over a range from 0.5--30.0 mM. Approximately 56% of filtered lithium and tubular fluid was reabsorbed at the end of the proximal convolution, while at the early distal tubule 75% of filtered lithium and water was reabsorbed. There was no change in net transepithelial movement of lithium beyond the loop of Henle. These data suggest that lithium transport is localized to the proximal tubule, including the pars recta. Lithium reabsorption does not occur in distal tubule or collecting duct. Beyond the early distal tubule net movement of lithium and sodium is dissociated.


Action potentials can propagate along small strands of smooth muscle. Bundles of taenia coli muscle as small as 25 micrometers in diameter were dissected from guinea pigs and incubated in an organ culture media for several days. We found that use of an organ-culture bathing solution greatly extended the in vitro responsiveness as well as survival of such small bundles. Electronmicrographs showed that surviving strands of cells constituted only a very small fraction of the cross section of these bundles. Nonetheless, still they supported propagating nondecrementing action potentials. This means that in some cases strands, only a few cells in cross section, supported propagating action potentials. The long length constant and parallel orientation of cells provide a basis assuming cells act as parallel core conductor segments. For these reasons we have called into question the notion that for propagation to occur there must be a facilitating cooperation between large numbers of smooth muscle cells in parallel. Indeed we suggest that the limiting size for propagation is a strand of single cells.


Lifelong variations in heart rates in SPF Sprague Dawley rats of both sexes. Statistical correlations with body weights. In unanesthetized Sprague Dawleys, SPF, of both sexes, housed in DL12:12 (100lux), at a temperature of 18--23 degrees C and a hygrometry of 60--75%, the measurements of heart frequencies during most part of their life point out a continuous decrease with age and an always higher (40--20 c.min-1) heart rate in females than in males. Significant correlations between heart rate and body weight can account for these heart rates variations. Between the ages of 72 and 589 days, which corresponds to the growth period, a linear relationship was established between Log heart rate (y; c. min-1) and Log body weight (x; gram); for males: Log y = 0.122 Log X +Log 938 and for females: Log y = -0.166 Log X + Log 1217. After the age of 600 days, which corresponds to senescence, decreases in heart rate as well as in body weight were observed in both sexes.


Cold-sensitive afferents from the abdomen. In cats afferent impulses from splanchnic and vagus nerve preparations were studied. In each splanchnic nerve serving the stomach or the adjacent part of the duodenum, cold-sensitive afferents could be recorded. There were also numerous mechanosensitive fibers originating from stomach, intestine, mesentery and the region of blood vessels. No thermal afferents were found in the vagus nerve. The cardiovascular and respiratory myelinated afferents were insensitive to thermal stimuli.


Computerised image analysis of split-drop micropuncture data. A technique is described for rapid and reproducible analysis of split-drop micropuncture sequences recorded on film. Automatic identification of the droplet menisci in each cine frame, and subsequent evaluation is performed by a computerised T.V. image analysis system. In comparison with a more conventional technique, the improvement in reproducibility of the analysis is achieved without loss of accuracy and is accompanied by a three fold increase in speed.


The role of the vagus nerves in the ventilatory response to lowered PaO2 with intact and eliminated carotid chemoreflexes. In anaesthetized rabbits the influence of vagal cold-block on the ventilatory response to lowered arterial oxygen pressure was investigated. With intact carotid chemoreflexes, lowered PaO2 caused hyperventilation, which was progressively intensified with the degree of hypoxia, regardless of whether the alveolar PCO2 was uncontrolled or kept constant at the hyperoxic control. The V-PaO2 response was to a greater extent due to an increase of respiratory rate than to one of tidal volume. During hyperoxia, vagal cold-block caused a distinct increase in ventilation provided the alveolar PCO2 was not allowed to decrease. During moderate hypoxia, vagal block caused only a slight increase in ventilation, when PACO2 was not controlled, but a distinct decrease in ventilation, when PACO2 was maintained at the hyperoxic level. Without carotid chemoreflexes, lowered PaO2 did not change ventilation at any level, provided the vagus nerves were left intact. This was due to a substantial increase in respiratory rate counteracting a corresponding decrease in tidal volume. Then vagal block led to a ventilatory depression depending on the degree of hypoxia, which was due to a simultaneous decline in respiratory rate and tidal volume. It is concluded that during hypocapnic hypoxia the vagal stretch reflex primarily inhibits the carotid chemoreflex drive of ventilation. During normocapnic hypoxia, however, the mode of interaction between the peripheral and the central chemical drive has to be considered, which without vagal feed-back is occlusive. This occlusion appears to be counteracted by a vagal mechanism sensitive to CO2 in the airways--and possibly also to a lack of O2--, mainly shortening respiratory cycle duration.


Computer program for intestinal spike bursts recognition. A FORTRAN program has been developed for locating intestinal spike bursts and for estimating their strength. Tested against human scanning, the reliability rate was 92% and the misrecognition rate was 2.5%. This program was applied to the automatisation of the Migrating Myoelectric Complex analysis. A first method computed the percentage of Basic Electrical Rhythm (BER) cycles with superimposed spike bursts. A second one was based on the evaluation of spike bursts strength.


Volumetric assessment of the capillary filtration coefficient in the cat small intestine. The capillary filtration coefficient of the cat small intestine was measured in four ways; the conventional measurement was compared with the "zero time extrapolation" technique, and with two methods designed to assess the end of the blood volume shift due to venous pressure elevation. If the capillary filtration coefficient (CFC) was determined using small elevations of venous pressure (10 mm Hg or less), there was good agreement between the techniques. Larger elevations of venous pressure resulted in apparent over-estimates of CFC measured by the conventional technique, probably because of increased "smearing" of the blood volume shift into the component of the response measured as the CFC. In general, larger elevations of venous pressure gave smaller CFC's, and using venous pressure elevations of 10 mm Hg or less, the CFC was greater if the final elevated venous pressure was 10 mm Hg than if it was 20 or 30 mm Hg. Changes in CFC due to noradrenaline and isoprenaline (about 15 ng/ml arterial blood concentration) were in agreement when small venous pressure elevations were used and CFC measured in three different ways.


Cerebral potentials during smooth goal-directed hand movements in right-handed and left-handed subjects. During smooth goal-directed hand movements a negative potential shift can be recorded from the human scalp. This goal-directed movement potential (GDMP) is preponderant over central areas with a maximum at the vertex and, over the motor cortex, contralaterally larger than ipsilaterally to the moving hand. In 11 right-handed and 6 left-handed subjects, the morphology and distribution of these potential shifts were studied in relation to task differences, moving hand and handedness. The results show a functional differentiation of two components of the GDMP: (1), a lateralized, slow negative wave, restricted to the precentral area and selectively varying with the hand used, and (2), a widespread, bilateral symmetrical component, selectively influenced by task-specific and individual factors. Two effects reflect an influence of the subject's handedness on the GDMP: (A) averaged for both hand conditions, there are larger amplitudes over the hemisphere contralateral to the dominant hand, and (b), averaged for both hemispheres, larger amplitudes result from using the non-dominant hand.


Initiation of muscle activity in spinalized pigeons during spinal cord cooling and warming. 1. The effect of spinal cord temperature changes on muscle activity was investigated in unanaesthetized intact and chronically spinalized pigeons and in acutely spinalized pigeons which were artifically respirated and lightly anaesthetized with ether. 2. Spinal cord cooling regularly produced an increase in muscle activity and visible muscle tremor in intact and spinalized pigeons. This motor cold defence reaction was less intensive in spinalized animals, but was qualitatively identical in all groups with regard to spindle shaped firing patterns and grouped discharges. 3. Intravenous injection of 60-100 mg/kg L-Dopa enhanced the motor response to spinal cord cooling in acutely spinalized pigeons. It is suggested that L-Dopa may act on dopaminergic or noradrenergic neurones in the spinal cord. 4. The results demonstrate that the generation of the motor cold defence response to cooling of the spinal cord in pigeons is basically independent from supra-spinal nervous mechanisms. The decreased intensity of cold induced muscle activity in spinalized animals may be attributed to the loss of excitatory or disinhibitory descending inputs to the spinal cord. 5. Spinal cord warming above normal body temperature (41.5 degrees C) produced an increase in muscle activity and slow muscle movements. The pattern was qualitatively different from that of the cold induced tremor.


Characterization of Ca2+- and Sr2+-activated tension in functionally skinned chicken fibers of normal and dystrophic skeletal and normal cardiac muscle. The Ca2+ and Sr2+ activation of tension in functionally skinned chicken fibers of normal and dystrophic skeletal and normal cardiac muscle were studied. The muscles studied can be separated into two groups based upon their Ca2+ and Sr2+ sensitivities: those which are significantly more sensitive to Ca2+ than to Sr2+, pectoralis and posterior latissimus dorsi (PLD), and those which show no Ca2+/Sr2+ sensitivity difference, cardiac and anterior latissimus dorsi (ALD). This suggests that there is more than one type of Ca2+ site involved in Ca2+ control of muscle contraction in different muscle types and suggests that ALD and cardiac muscle may be controlled by a different type of binding site than PLD and pectoralis muscle. Dystrophic ALD and PLD muscles showed little change in their Ca2+ and Sr2+ sensitivities from those of normal muscles in contrast to the pectoralis which showed a decrease in both Ca2+ and Sr2+ sensitivity (approaching that of PLD) with the onset of dystrophy. Similarly, upon SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, dystrophic ALD and PLD muscles showed no difference in contractile proteins from those of normal muscles, in contrast to pectoralis muscle where the appearance of a 36,000 dalton protein band correlated with the onset of dystrophy and the changes in the Ca2+/Sr2+ activation properties of this muscle. The contractile protein band pattern of normal and dystrophic PLD and dystrophic pectoralis muscle were similar including the presence of the 36,000 dalton protein.


Activation of contraction of arterial smooth muscle in the presence of nitrate and other anions. Contraction strength was measured in ear artery and aorta of the rabbit and coronary artery of the pig during replacement of chloride with anions of the lyotrophic series. Contractions induced by depolarization with elevated external potassium were potentiated in the presence of foreign anions, while those induced by noradrenaline were affected only at higher concentrations of the drug. Drug induced contractions in calcium-free solutions were not affected by the anions. In the presence of nitrate and excess K the change of membrane potential per tenfold change in (K)o was 56mV in chloride and 50 mV in nitrate solution. Enhancement of contraction strength by nitrate was not associated with alterations in membrane potential. Stimulation of aorta with 29.5 mM K resulted in a larger net uptake of 45Ca in nitrate than in chloride. K-stimulated 45Ca efflux was greater in the ear artery in NO3 solution than Cl solution while 45Ca efflux induced by noradrenaline was not effected by anion replacement. These results suggest that in these arteries anions potentiate contraction by enhancing the influx of external calcium, and do not modify the release of internal stores of calcium.


The role of intrinsic, non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic inhibitory nerves in the regulation of distensibility of the guinea-pig colon. 1. The lengthening responses of segments of distal colon of guinea-pigs to applied weights were measured. 2. Distensibility was reduced by tetrodotoxin and quinidine; increased by atropine and hyoscine, and unaffected by guanethidine and phentolamine. 3. Tension changes produced by controlled stretches were increased by tetrodotoxin. 4. These results suggest that there is a net, inhibitory, non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic influence acting on the muscle during stretch against a background of cholinergic excitatory tone. This inhibitory activity may be activated reflexly by stretch.


Lack of effect of ouabain on sodium transport across the rat placenta. The umbilical vascular bed of the rat placenta was perfused in situ. Ouabain (10(-4)M) in the perfusion fluid had no effect on the unidirectional flux of Na+ from the maternal (electrically negative) to the foetal (electrically positive) side of the placenta, or on the transplacental potential difference. This was taken to indicate that there is no significant active transport of Na+ across the placenta of the rat.


Stimulation of proximal tubular sodium reabsorption by ile5 angiotensin II in the rat kidney. A direct dose-dependent stimulation or inhibition by val5-angiotensin II of sodium reabsorption in the rat proximal nephron has been shown using stationary microperfusion combined with perfusion of the peritubular capilaries. Since the circulating form of the hormone in the rat has been suggested to be the ile5-analogue these experiments have been repeated using the ile5-peptide at peritubular concentrations covering the normal physiological range (10-10 -10-13M). Comparison of the results with the previously published data shows no significant difference between the actions of these two analogues. At the concentrations tested both caused significant stimulation of sodium reabsorption with a maximum effect at 10(-11)M.


A multiple regression model for blood lactate removal in man. After exercise the lactate (La) removal from blood occurs significantly faster during moderate exercise than at rest. However, under both conditions there are considerable inter-individual differences in La removal. These differences in man may depend on the slow-twitch (ST) fiber content of muscle (X1), the La concentration in blood (X2), and the intensity of the recovery exercise (X3). Therefore, multiple regression models were obtained to describe La removal rates with these variables. In 10 women La concentrations were increased via a 6 min bicycle ergometer ride (87% VO2max) and blood La concentrations were measured every 5 min during 20 min resting and active recovery periods (29--49% VO2max). For resting recovery only the initial La concentration after the 6 min exercise provided a significant description for La removal in 8 subjects (P = 0.03). However, for the active recovery a highly significant description for La removal was obtained: La removal rate (mM/1 . min) = 0.773 x 10-2X1 + 0.321 x 10-1X2 - 0.120 x 10-1X3 + 0.202 (R = 0.91; P = 0.01). The statistical independence (P greater than 0.010) of each of these variables in the model suggests that each is contributing uniquely to the total removal rate of La observed during an active recovery period. The relationship between La removal and %ST fibers may be related to the metabolic and anatomical features of these fibers, the La concentration probably reflects the significance of the mass action effect of La, and the intensity of exercise reflects the role of the muscle's metabolic rate. The present results illustrate that the removal of blood lactate is influenced by the interactive effects of the intensity of the recovery exercise, blood lactate concentration and the ST fiber content of muscle.


Regulation of myocardial oxygen consumption by perfusion pressure in isolated fibrillating canine heart. In order to evaluate whether perfusion pressure or coronary flow affect myocardial oxygen metabolism, oxygen consumption of the isolated fibrillating blood-perfused canine heart was investigated at perfusion pressures of 100, 150, and 200 mm Hg. To obtain different coronary flow rates at a given coronary perfusion pressure, alpha-adrenergic blockade by phenoxybenzamine (10 mg/kg b.w.) was applied, resulting in an increase in coronary flow and a decrease in myocardial oxygen extration. Myocardial oxygen consumption was increased by elevation of perfusion pressure in both the control and phenoxybenzamine-pretreated group. At the same level of perfusion pressure there was no significant difference between the oxygen consumption of control and phenoxybenzamine-pretreated preparations. It can be concluded that in the isolated fibrillating canine heart oxygen consumption is primarily regulated by perfusion pressure, and is independent from coronary blood flow.


Cyclic and non-cyclic variations of spinal cord temperature related with temperature regulation in pigeons. 1. The temperature of the spinal cord (Tvc) was measured in unanaesthetized pigeons at different ambient temperatures (Ta). 2. In short-term experiments spontaneous or noncyclic variations of Tvc at constant (20 and 10 degrees C) and changing Ta were correlated with the amplitude of the electromyogram EMG) which indicates shivering, i.e., heat production. At constant Ta no unequivocal correlation between Tvc (and also Tskin) and EMG was found. During ambient cooling there was often an increase of Tvc which resulted in a positive correlation whereas there was a negative correlation to Tskin. 3. In long-term experiments (24h, LD 12:12Y cyclic variations of Tvc were measured at different Ta and ocrrelated with O2-consumption, i.e., heat production. As with body temperature Tvc was lowered during the dark phase of the diurnal cycle. In the light phase both Tvc and heat production increased with decreasing Ta which results in a positive correlation. In the dark phase there was a smaller increase in heat production but a decrease in Tvc, i.e., a negative correlation. 4. The results show that natural variations of Tvc are often positively ocrrelated with heat production. This is in contrast to experimental changes of Tvc where a clear negative correlation to heat production can be observed.


Separate determination of the pulsatile elastic and viscous forces developed in the arterial wall in vivo. The viscoelastic behaviour of arteries in vivo is analyzed by separate representation of the purely elastic and the purely viscous properties, using natural pressure and diameter pulses of various dog arteries recorded under steady-state conditions. The circumferential wall stress (sigma) and the radius (r) of the mean wall layer are calculated as functions of time and the hysteresis of the sigma-r diagram is represented. The stress is regarded as the sum of an elastic stress (sigma el) which is a function of r, and a viscous stress (sigma vis) which is a function of dr/dt. Thus sigma el = sigma - sigma vis. Since the sigma el-r diagram must be free from hysteresis, the disappearance of the loop is the criterion that indicates that sigma el has been found. sigma vis is formulated as a second degree polynomial of dr/dt whose coefficients are determined using that criterion. The sigma el-r curve is always nonlinear and the elastic modulus increases with increasing radius. The sigma vis-dr/dt curve, too, is nonlinear. Its slope decreases with increasing dr/dt. The same applies to the wall viscosity (pseudoplastic behaviour). The nonlinear properties can be represented adequately by processing the experimental data in the time domain. Problems inherent in investigations based on the frequency domain, as reported in the literature, are pointed out.


Thermoregulation in the diabetic-obese (db/db) mouse. The role of non-shivering thermogenesis in energy balance. 1. Thermoregulation and non-shivering thermogenesis have been studied in the genetically diabetic obese (db/db) mouse. 2. At all environmental temperatures between 33 and 10 degrees C the body temperature of the diabetic mice was lower than that of the normal littermates, the difference varying from 1.1 degrees C at 33 degrees C to 4.5 degrees C at 10 degrees C. 3. At 4 degrees C the diabetic mice rapidly died (3.2h) of hypothermia while the normal mice maintained their body temperature within the normal range. 4. At 23 degrees C the diabetic animals exhibited a diurnal rhythm in body temperature which was similar in both phase and amplitude to the controls, but at every point throughout the 24h cycle the temperature of the mutants was lower by 1--2 degrees C. 5. The resting metabolic rate at thermoneutrality (33 degrees C) was higher per whole animal for the diabetics than for the normals. However, at temperatures below thermoneutrality the converse was observed; between 30 and 4 degrees C the RMR of the mutants was lower than the controls by approximately 25%. 6. The capacity for non-shivering thermogenesis in diabetic mice was only one-half that found in normal animals. 7. The diabetic mouse has abnormalities in thermoregulation and non-shivering thermogenesis which are similar to those found in the genetically obese (ob/ob) mouse. It is concluded that the high metabolic efficiency of the diabetic mouse, like that of the ob/ob mouse, can be explained by a reduced energy expenditure on thermoregulatory thermogenesis; this may represent a primary mechanism for the operation of the "thirfty genotype" associated with obesity and diabetes.


The early phase of experimental acute renal failure. V. The influence of suppressing the renin-angiotensin system. Experiments were conducted to determine whether suppression of the renin-angiotensin-system and inhibition of the tubuloglomerular feedback response offer protection from acute renal failure, as found in chronically-salt loaded animals. The juxtaglomerular renin activity and tubuloglomerular feedback response were inhibited acutely, by saline expansion, or chronically, by DOCA-treatment with saline drinking fluid or salt diet, by high salt diet alone, or by inducing two-kidney Goldblatt hypertension. The chronic pretreatment procedures depressed juxtaglomerular renin to 16, 7, 13 and 4% of control, respectively, inhibited the feedback response to 53, 37, 56, and 38% of control, respectively, but conferred no benefit in the first hours following a nephrotoxin or ischaemia. In contrast, the acute treatment procedure reduced juxtaglomerular renin activity to only 56% and lowered the feedback response to only 71%, but improved renal function after the nephrotoxin, although not after ischaemia. It is concluded that since severe restrictions of renin activity and tubuloglomerular feedback are not protective, neither is primarily involved in generating the functional restrictions early in acute renal failure. The restoration of renal function by saline expansion accompanied only a modest depression of these two systems and suggests that the beneficial effect may result more from volume expansion or diuresis than from suppression of renal renin or inhibition of tubuloglomerular feedback.


Functional and metabolic features of an isolated perfused guinea pig heart performing pressure-volume work. Cardiac performance and some parameters of glycolytic and oxidative metabolism were analyzed in isolated perfused guinea pig hearts performing pressure-volume work. Perfusion medium was an oxygenated Krebs-Henseleit bicarbonate buffer (pH 7.4) which contained glucose and physiological concentrations of pyruvate and insulin. The pressure-flow relationship in the coronary vascular bed indicated autoregulation of coronary flow. Left ventricular function was influenced by aortic pressure (Pa) and venous filling pressure (Pv) in accordance with the Frank-Starling principle, i.e. stroke work increased as a function of Pa or Pv to a certain maximum and then decreased. Myocardial oxygen consumption (MVO2), on the other hand, was linearly correlated with Pa and Pv, respectively, over the entire pressure range. Efficiency of the left ventricle, therefore, increased to an optimum (16%) and decreased at higher pressures. Myocardial contents of glycogen, ATP and creatine phosphate were not markedly influenced by a change in Pa or Pv. L-Noradrenaline (0.08 micrometer, NA) stimulated stroke work and MVO2 at a all Pv tested; efficiencies reached physiologic values (21%) at high volume loads. The increased MVO2 was associated with an acceleration of pyruvate decarboxylation and lactate release up to 10- and 15-fold, respectively, at elevated but physiological NA concentrations (0.2 micrometer). Our results demonstrate that the isolated perfused working guinea pig heart compares favourably with the non-failing Starling heart-lung preparation and hearts in situ, as far as coronary function, left ventricular performance and oxidative metabolism are concerned.


Direct visualization of cell to cell coupling: transfer of fluorescent probes in living mammalian pancreatic acini. A technique whereby it is possible directly to observe the movement of organic molecules from cell to cell in living mammalian exocrine glands is described. Thin translucent segments of mouse pancreas are mounted in a superfusion bath. Fluorescent probes are injected intracellularly via fine micropipettes and fluorescence observed. Both fluorescein (mol. wt. 332) and procion yellow (mol. wt. 697) are shown to be transferred from the injection cell to neighbouring acinar cells. This shows directly the existence of intercellular communicating pathways.


Production of elastic electrodes for nerve stimulation. For better evoking and monitoring electrical activities of visceral nerves, a elastic electrode made of conductive plastic and silicone gum is developed.


Pyometra in the dog. II.--A pathophysiological investigation. II. Anamnestic, clinical and reproductive aspects. The article deals with the anamnesis and clinical status of pyometra patients at the time of admission for treatment. The average age of 119 pyometra bitches was 7.8 years. About 80 patients were examined for clinical signs of dehydration and hypoperfusion. Such signs were present in up to 80% of the patients, although only about 1/3 seemed weak and in a poor condition. Previous treatment with oral gestagens did not seem to influence the pyometra incidence. However, 14% of the bitches had been given oestrogens (stillbestrol) during the pyometra-associated season.


Cloning of human satellite III DNA: different components are on different chromosomes. Two fragments cloned from purified human satellite III DNA do not cross-react with each other. One fragment, for which a partial sequence is reported, hybridises to satellite II as well as III and is shown to originate on chromosome 1. The other cloned fragment originates from the Y chromosome. This fragment has undergone considerable changes in size when cloned in lambda gt WES lambda B. Human satellite III is shown to consist of a number of non-cross-reacting sequences which nevertheless are related by the presence of closely spaced Hin F1 sites.


Functional development of dopamine receptors in the rat forebrain. Dopamine (DA) was injected unilaterally into the dorsal caudate-putamen (D-CPU), ventral caudate-putamen (V-CPU), piriform cortex (PIR), olfactory tubercle (OTU) and frontal cortex (FC) of two day old rats and rotational behavior observed. Injection of DA into D-CPU, PIR, and OTU produced a contralateral postural deviation which differed significantly from the ipsilateral deviation produced by control injections. Only DA injections into PIR and OTU produced contralateral turning differing significantly from the effects of control injections. These results suggest that the DA receptors in C-CPU, PIR, and OTU involved in rotational behavior are functionally mature at two days of age and that the two components of rotation, postural deviation (direction) and turning (locomotion), involve different neural systems at this age. The developing rat is suggested as a valuable tool for understanding the neural circuitry and pharmacology of rotational behavior.


The effect of baclofen and aminooxyacetic acid on the action of drugs stimulating the dopaminergic system. Baclofen and aminooxyacetic acid (AOAA) depressed the explorative and locomotor activity in rats. Baclofen, but not AOAA, decreased the locomotor stimulation, produced by apomorphine. Both compounds did not affect hyperactivity, induced by D, L-amphetamine, amantadine and methylphenidate. Neither baclofen nor AOAA influenced stereotypy induced by the above four substances.


Effects of neonatal lead exposure on apomorphine-induced aggression and stereotypy in the rat. Rats were exposed to lead via the maternal milk. At 90 days of age, lead-exposed pairs and control pairs were tested for aggression induced by 5.0 mg/kg apomorphine. The large increase in aggression in response to apomorphine seen in controls was markedly attenuated in lead-treated subjects. In contrast, apomorphine-induced stereotypy was not affected. These results provide a further demonstration of persistent behavioral abnormalities resulting from early exposure to lead at levels which do not affect weight gain or mortality.


Synthesis of hexahydro-1,4-thiazepine derivatives with expected pharmacological activity. Part I. N-alkyl(hydroxyalkyl)-hexahydro-1,4-thiazepines and 2-(hexahydro-1,4-thiazepinyl)-ethyl esters of phenoxyacetic acids. New N-alkyl or N-hydroxyalkyl derivatives of hexahydro-1,4-thiazepine(compounds 1--6, Table 2) were obtained by condensation of 2-chloroethyl-3-chloropropyl sulfide with appropriate primary amines. Estrification of 2-hydroxyethylhexahydro-1,4-thiazepine by chloride of appropriate phenoxyacetic acids yielded 2-(hexahydro-1,4-thiazepinyl)-ethyl esters of phenoxyacetic acids (compounds 7--12, Table 4).


[Oxidative metabolism of main and accessory olfactory bulbs, limpic system and hypothalamus during the estral cycle of the rat (author's transl)]. The in vitro oxidative metabolism of hypothalamus, olfactory and limbic systems from female rats in the estrous cycle have been measured. The accessory olfactory bulb becomes most active during diestrous when the hypothalamus reaches its lowest values.


[Blockade of the pheromonal effects in rat by central deafferentation of the accessory olfactory system]. Female rats reared without sex odours from male rats have a five day stral cycle. With exposure to male odour the estral cycle is shortened from five to four days. This pheromonal effect is blocked on deafferenting the vomeronasal system by electrolytically damaging both accessory olfactory bulbs.


Intestinal brush border enzymes and chronic alcohol ingestion. The effect of graded (5, 10, 20, and 50%) chronic ethanol administration on the intestinal brush border enzymic activities has been investigated in the rat at three levels of the intestinal tract (duodenum, jejunum, ileum). Ethanol has been administered for 8, 15, 30, and 90 days. A 30% to 50% decrease of sucrase and alkaline phosphatase results, showing that the effect of alcohol appears in the first 8 days of intoxication is not reversible after 8 days of an alcohol-free diet. The effect of ethanol is not limited to disaccharidases. Impairment of alkaline phosphatase, peptidases and also enterokinases is observed. The decrease is more marked in the duodenum and jujunum than the ileum. The decrease of enzymic activity is generally maximal after 30 days of intoxication. There is then little further deterioration or even significant improvement. At the 30th day of ethanol administration, a clearcut dose-response relationship has been established. The results obtained suggest that ethanol exerts an effect on the intestinal mucosa which is not directly correlated to morphological villus changes.