Spontaneous and mitogen-induced proliferative activity of mononucleocytes in pollinosis patients

The proliferative response of lymphocytes to mitogens was studied in 17 patients according to 3H-thymidine incorporation. The patients had high sensitivity to timothy pollen, confirmed by the allergological anamnesis, skin tests, and the presence of allergen-specific IgE-antibodies. Mononuclears of peripheral blood were cultivated with a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to study the response to the polyclonal B cell activator, while with PHA to study the response of T cells over 7 days. The patients with pollinosis manifested increased spontaneous cell proliferation. The degree of the proliferative response of the cells to LPS and PHA was similar in patients and normal subjects. It is suggested that the magnitude of spontaneous proliferation influences the degree of the mitogenic response of B cells.     

Neural correlates of threat perception: neural equivalence of conspecific and heterospecific mobbing calls is learned

Songbird auditory areas (i.e., CMM and NCM) are preferentially activated to playback of conspecific vocalizations relative to heterospecific and arbitrary noise. Here, we asked if the neural response to auditory stimulation is not simply preferential for conspecific vocalizations but also for the information conveyed by the vocalization. Black-capped chickadees use their chick-a-dee mobbing call to recruit conspecifics and other avian species to mob perched predators. Mobbing calls produced in response to smaller, higher-threat predators contain more "D" notes compared to those produced in response to larger, lower-threat predators and thus convey the degree of threat of predators. We specifically asked whether the neural response varies with the degree of threat conveyed by the mobbing calls of chickadees and whether the neural response is the same for actual predator calls that correspond to the degree of threat of the chickadee mobbing calls. Our results demonstrate that, as degree of threat increases in conspecific chickadee mobbing calls, there is a corresponding increase in immediate early gene (IEG) expression in telencephalic auditory areas. We also demonstrate that as the degree of threat increases for the heterospecific predator, there is a corresponding increase in IEG expression in the auditory areas. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the amount IEG expression between conspecific mobbing calls or heterospecific predator calls that were the same degree of threat. In a second experiment, using hand-reared chickadees without predator experience, we found more IEG expression in response to mobbing calls than corresponding predator calls, indicating that degree of threat is learned. Our results demonstrate that degree of threat corresponds to neural activity in the auditory areas and that threat can be conveyed by different species signals and that these signals must be learned.     

Water stimulation of the posterior oral cavity induces inhibition of gastric motility

The response of gastric motility to the administration of water and saline in the larynx and epiglottis was investigated in urethan-chloralose anesthetized rats. Administration of water inhibited motility of the distal stomach, but 0.15 M NaCl did not induce the inhibitory response. Bilateral sectioning of the superior laryngeal nerve (SLN) abolished the inhibitory response induced by water. Bilateral cervical vagotomies abolished the inhibitory responses, although spinal transection did not affect the inhibitory response. These inhibitory responses have been observed in immobilized animals. The degree of inhibition by water and hypotonic saline was negatively correlated with the sodium concentration. In contrast, the degree of inhibition to hypertonic saline was positively correlated with the sodium concentration. The proximal stomach also showed a reduction in intragastric pressure in response to the administration of water. These findings suggest that water-responsive afferent neurons in the SLN suppress gastric motility via the vagal efferent nerve.     

野生稻光周期反应研究

对稻属不同种及部分中国普通野生稻的光周期反应进行了比较研究,结果表明供试材料在短日下能量提早抽穗,它们对短日诱导的敏感程度与染色体组有一定关系,ＡＡ染色体组的稻种,其光周期反应呈明显的多样性,中国东乡,茶酸,江永,仁化普通野生稻短日性强弱不同,与地理分布有关,即分布纬度较高的类型感光性较弱,另外还对群体内光周期反应差异及苗龄效应也作了研究。     

Temperature modulation of behavioural thresholds controlling male moth sex pheromone response specificity

ABSTRACT. The response specificity of male Oriental fruit moths, Grapholita molesta (Busck) and pink bollworm moths, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), to different blends and doses of pheromone is altered dramatically by temperature. When acclimated and tested in a flight tunnel at 20^oC males of both species exhibit a high degree of specificity, with peak response levels occurring to a narrow range of blend-dose combinations close to the natural blend. When tested at 26^oC, however, males exhibit a significantly lower degree of specificity, with peak response occurring to a broader range of treatments. The change in response specificity results from shifts in behavioural threshold effects influencing plume orientation and initiation of upwind flight, as well as from arrestment of upwind flight, occurring later in the flight sequence. The observed changes in male behaviour suggest that the effect of temperature is directly on neural pathways involved in the perception of odour, and not simply the result of an increase in motor activity or a significant change in the release rate of the pheromone. The results support the threshold hypothesis for pheromone perception (Roelofs, 1978) as a general principle in the Lepidoptera, but also show that the degree of response specificity can be significantly affected by temperature.     

Effect of long- and short-term intravaginal progestagen treatments on synchronization of oestrus and fertility in heifers.

A total of 273 Herford cross heifers were treated with intravaginal progestagen pessaries to determine some of the factors affecting oestrous response and fertility following long-term (20-day) and short-term (10-day) treatments. Oestrous response and degree of synchronization were high after treatment for 20 days, but the fertility rate was lower than that of control heifers. There was no difference in the fertility of heifers inseminated artificially and those mated naturally. When the treatment period was reduced to 10 days and 900 mg progesterone and 5 mg oestradiol valerate given intramuscularly at the start, a high oestrous response and a low degree of synchronization resulted, but the conception rate was similar to that of the control animals. Reducing the dose of progesterone to 250 mg resulted in a high oestrous response and a high degree of synchronization. The stage of the cycle at the start of the 10-day treatment did not affect the oestrous response. Retention of the progesterone pessary was low (79-9%) in heifers treated for 2- days, but was 100% in those treated for 10 days.     

Idiotype-restricted antibody response to specific immune complexes

In this report, we compared the immunogenicity of specific antigen/antibody complexes with that of free antigen. The complexes were prepared in antigen excess using the TEPC-15 myeloma protein and a phosphorylcholine-containing polysaccharide antigen (PnC), and the PnC-specific antibody response was measured using a hemolytic plaque assay 5 days after immunization. The results showed that the complexes were as immunogenic as the free antigen; however, the PnC-specific antibody response induced with the complexes was completely dominated by one particular idiotope (defined by plaque inhibition with the AB1-2 monoclonal antibody). On the other hand, the response of mice immunized with free antigen (PnC) was dominated to a lesser degree by the AB1-2 idiotope, and there was a great degree of variability in idiotope expression among individual mice. The results suggest that immunization with antigen/antibody complexes restricts the response to the expression of idiotopes that are present in the immune complex.     

Sensitizing and protective activity of a staphylococcal vaccine made of water-soluble antigens, depending on the method and schedule of administration

An experiment on guinea pigs immunized with staphylococcal vaccine prepared from water-soluble antigens revealed that the degree of developing sensitization and specific resistance was essentially determined by the method and schedule of the administration of the preparation. The intranasal administration of the vaccine induced a lesser degree of sensitization in comparison with its subcutaneous injection. The optimum response to the administration of the vaccine (a low sensitization level and a high degree of protection from infection) was observed in the animals immunized first intranasally and then by subcutaneous injection. The subcutaneous injection of the preparation in combination with its subsequent intranasal application induced a more pronounced degree of sensitization and a lesser degree of protection from infection.     

Cell-mediated immunity to viruses measured by the indirect agarose technique of leukocyte migration inhibition

The indirect agarose technique of leukocyte migration inhibition has been used to measure the response of human peripheral blood lymphocytes to several viruses. Using commercially available viral antigens, the indirect assay was found to be more sensitive than the direct agarose technique. Supernatants from cultures of sensitive lymphocytes with virus contained a nondialysable factor which inhibited the migration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN). Under strict conditions of assay, whereby all culture supernatants were tested together on the same PMN preparation, the degree of migration inhibition obtained in response to mumps virus correlated well with the size of the skin test reaction to mumps. A similar relationship was shown for PPD. A good correlation existed also between the degree of migration inhibition and the lymphocyte transformation response for each of these two antigens.     

Cellular basis for a hapten-specific state of tolerance induced in vitro.

A hapten-specific unresponsive state was induced in vitro by the incubation of normal murine spleen cells with highly conjugated dinitrophenylated bovine gamma-globulin (DNP-BGG) or a dinitrophenylated copolymer of D-glutamic acid and D-lysine (DNP-D-GL) for 24 hr. After this incubation period spleen cells were washed and cultured for 4 days with the thymic-independent antigen dinitrophenylated polyacrylamide beads (DNP-PAA) or the thymic-dependent antigen trinitrophenylated burro the erythrocytes (TNP-BRBC). Preincubation with either DNP-BGG or DNP-D-GL led to a specific depression of the in vitro anti-hapten plaque-forming cell response. The degree of depression was dependent upon the concentration of the tolerogen and the duration of preincubation. The response to DNP-PAA or TNP-PAA beads was depressed to a greater degree than was the response to TNP-BRBC. The cellular basis of the immunologic unresponsiveness induced by DNP-BGG was attributable to an inhibition of B cell function whereas the unresponsive state induced with DNP-D-GL was due to both a specific inhibition of B cell function and the activation of antigen-specific suppressor T cells.     

Ecological response surfaces for North American boreal tree species and their use in forest classification

Abstract. Empirical ecological response surfaces were derived for eight dominant tree species in the boreal forest region of Canada. Stepwise logistic regression was used to model species dominance as a response to five climatic predictor variables. The predictor variables (annual snowfall, degree-days, absolute minimum temperature, annual soil moisture deficit, and actual evapotranspiration summed over the summer months) influence the response of plants more directly than the annual or monthly measures of temperature and precipitation commonly used in response surface modeling. The response surfaces provided estimates of the probability of species dominance across the spatial extent of North America with a high degree of success. Much of the variation in the probability of dominance is apparently related to the species' individualistic response to climatic constraints within different airmass regions. A forest type classification for the Canadian boreal forest region was derived by a cluster analysis based on the probability estimates. Five major forest types were distinguished by the application of a stopping rule. The predicted forest types showed a high degree of geographic correspondence with the distribution of forest types in the actual vegetation mosaic. The distribution of the predicted types also bears a direct relationship to seasonal airmass dynamics in the boreal forest region.     

Types of immune response in acute infectious diseases

The author's concept on the system of self regulation of immune response is described. Four types of this response are proposed, which differ by total intensity of cytokine reaction, the development time as well as manifestation degree of non specific immunosuppression, and, most importantly, the profile of specific immune response to the antigens of the infective agent. These four types of immune response are closely linked with increased severity of clinical manifestations.     

Respiration of conscious kittens in acute hypoxia and effect of almitrine bismesylate

Respiration was measured noninvasively in conscious kittens at an ambient temperature of 28-32 degrees C. Inspired O2 fraction (FIO2) was reduced abruptly from 0.21 to 0.12, 0.10, or 0.08 for 5 min on the day of birth and then on days 4, 7, 14, and 28. The ventilatory response to hypoxia was biphasic, as reported previously in anesthetized kittens, with minute ventilation (VE) increasing in the first minute and then falling towards control over the next 4 min. The fall in VE was due to a consistent fall in tidal volume, the changes in frequency during the second phase being more variable. The size of the first phase of the response increased up to 14 days, but the time at which the peak increase in VE occurred was not correlated with age. The degree of the secondary fall in VE was similar at each age and at each FIO2 studied. The degree of the biphasic response was significantly reduced after administration of almitrine (2 mg/kg ip) on days 1 and 4, but almitrine did not affect the response in older kittens.     

Responsiveness to sucrose and habituation of the proboscis extension response in honey bees

In honey bees, complex behaviours such as associative learning correlate with responsiveness to sucrose. In these behaviours, the subjective evaluation of a sucrose stimulus influences the behavioural performance. Habituation is a well-known form of non-associative learning. In bees, the proboscis extension response can be habituated by repeatedly stimulating the antennae with a low sucrose concentration. A high sucrose concentration can dishabituate the response. This study tests whether habituation correlates with responsiveness to sucrose in bees of different behavioural states and in bees which are habituated with different sucrose concentrations. Habituation and dishabituation in newly emerged bees, 5-day-old bees and foragers strongly correlated with responsiveness to sucrose. Bees with high responsiveness to sucrose displayed a lower degree of habituation and showed greater dishabituation than bees with low responsiveness. The degree of habituation and dishabituation also depended on the concentration of the habituation stimulus. These experiments demonstrate for the first time in a non-associative learning paradigm that the subjective strength of a sucrose stimulus determines the behavioural performance. Non-associative learning shares this property with associative learning, which suggests that the two processes might rely on similar neural mechanisms.Abbreviations: GRS Gustatory response score - PER Proboscis extension response     

An indoor mesocosm system to study the effect of climate change on the late winter and spring succession of Baltic Sea phyto- and zooplankton

An indoor mesocosm system was set up to study the response of phytoplankton and zooplankton spring succession to winter and spring warming of sea surface temperatures. The experimental temperature regimes consisted of the decadal average of the Kiel Bight, Baltic Sea, and three elevated regimes with 2°C, 4°C, and 6°C temperature difference from that at baseline. While the peak of the phytoplankton spring bloom was accelerated only weakly by increasing temperatures (1.4 days per degree Celsius), the subsequent biomass minimum of phytoplankton was accelerated more strongly (4.25 days per degree Celsius). Phytoplankton size structure showed a pronounced response to warming, with large phytoplankton being more dominant in the cooler mesocosms. The first seasonal ciliate peak was accelerated by 2.1 days per degree Celsius and the second one by 2.0 days per degree Celsius. The over-wintering copepod populations declined faster in the warmer mesocosm, and the appearance of nauplii was strongly accelerated by temperature (9.2 days per degree Celsius). The strong difference between the acceleration of the phytoplankton peak and the acceleration of the nauplii could be one of the “Achilles heels” of pelagic systems subject to climate change, because nauplii are the most starvation-sensitive life cycle stage of copepods and the most important food item of first-feeding fish larvae. Priority programme of the German Research Foundation—contribution 3.     

A comparison of autoimmunity and experimental allergic thyroiditis in strain 2 and Hartley strain guinea pigs

The response of Strain 2 guinea pigs to immunization with thyroid extract in complete adjuvant was compared with the response of the Hartley strain. The Strain 2 did not develop thyroiditis as frequently or in as great a degree as the Hartley strain. This difference in degree of thyroiditis between these two strains occurred consistently even when the animals were immunized with a wide range of doses of thyroid extract and of mycobacteria in adjuvant, and was independent of the strain origin of the antigen used for immunization. Although the Strain 2 made less thyroiditis than the Hartley strain, it made as much agglutinating antibody, and often as much delayed sensitivity as the Hartley strain. The genetic controls regulating autoimminity to the thyroid and production of thyroiditis appear to differ from those regulating production of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.     

Molecular analysis of heavy and light chains used by primary and secondary anti-(T,G)-A--L antibodies produced by normal and xid mice

The primary (1 degree) antibody response to (T,G)-A--L shows limited heterogeneity, consisting mostly of side chain-specific antibodies that bind GT and that express the TGB5 idiotype (Id). The secondary (2 degrees) response is very diverse: antibodies that bind the backbone A--L constitute a third of the response, and a high proportion of the side chain-specific antibodies do not bind GT and are TGB5 Id-. To provide a molecular basis for understanding this difference in repertoire expression, we analyzed the Ig genes used by heavy and light chains of 1 degree and 2 degrees side chain-specific anti-(T,G)-A--L hybridoma antibodies (HP). Southern blot restriction analysis and nucleotide sequence analysis of the expressed genes used by three TGB5 Id+ 2 degrees HP showed usage of three different VH genes in two VH gene families (36-60 and J558), different D segments, and two different Vk1 genes (the Vk1A and Vk1C subgroups). Thus, antibody heterogeneity in the 2 degrees response is contributed by combinatorial diversity of distinct germ-line genes. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the expressed genes used by TGB5 Id+ 1 degree HP showed use of highly homologous VH genes in the J558 VH gene family and highly homologous Vk1A genes. The majority of TGB5 Id+ 1 degree HP from different donors gave similar heavy and similar light chain gene rearrangements by Southern blot restriction analysis, after correction for known or potential J region differences. The combined nucleotide sequence and Southern blot restriction analysis data suggest that most 1 degree B cells use the same or very similar VH and Vk genes, i.e., the 1 degree response is paucigenic. Different D segments were used by the TGB5 Id+ 1 degree and 2 degrees HP that were sequenced, and there was no apparent correlation between TGB5 idiotypy and VH, D gene, or JH gene usage. However, all TGB5 Id+ HP sequenced used highly homologous genes from the Vk1 group. Expression of a Vk1 light chain correlates with, but is not sufficient for, TGB5 idiotypy, because one GT-binding, TGB5 Id- HP was found to use a Vk1C subgroup light chain. By Southern blot and nucleotide sequence analysis, the Vk genes used by two TGB5 Id+ 2 degrees HP from xid mice are highly homologous, if not identical to the Vk1A gene(s) used by 1 degree and 2 degrees Id+ HP from wild-type mice.     

不同品种大豆(Glycine max L.)对中国菟丝子(Cuscuta chinensis)寄生的生理生态响应

田间条件下观察了中国菟丝子危害14个大豆品种的差异,随后选择受中国菟丝子危害差异显著的3个品种与中国菟丝子混种,探讨田间条件下中国菟丝子危害这3个品种大豆植株的生理生态效应。实验显示:在寄生关系确立前,受危害重的大豆品种植株的光合色素含量和净光合速率、总黄酮和植株全氮的含量比受危害轻的品种高,而可溶性糖的含量则相反。在寄生关系确立后,危害重的品种植株光合色素含量和净光合速率、总黄酮和植株全氮的含量下降,可溶性糖含量则是危害程度愈重,升幅愈大。在相同栽培条件下,中国菟丝子生物量为:危害重的大豆植株>危害轻的大豆品种植株,同时受危害重的大豆品种植株的生物量下降也大,但中国菟丝子生物量与寄生大豆植株生物量下降量的百分比为:受危害重的品种<受危害轻的品种。结果表明:中国菟丝子在大豆品种间的寄生差异与大豆品种光合作用、次生代谢、同化物质合成和氮含量指标的变化有关,受中国菟丝子影响后大豆品种间的这些生理指标的差异进一步扩大。     

Resistance of proteinuric rats to furosemide: Urinary drug protein binding as a determinant of drug effect

The effect of drug binding to urinary proteins on the diuretic response to furosemide was assessed in normal and nephrotic rats. Nephrosis was induced by treating Sprague-Dawley rats with puromycin aminonucleoside. Binding of furosemide to urinary proteins was found to range from 60 to 95% depending on the concentration of urinary protein. The diuretic response to furosemide reaching the renal tubular lumen was inversely correlated with the degree of proteinuria, a finding that was independent of serum protein concentration of glomerular filtration rate. These data suggest that the binding of furosemide to urinary protein decreases the diuretic effect of furosemide and that drug-protein interactions of this type may also be important in modulating the activity of other lumenally-active drugs or endogenous substances exhibiting a high degree of protein binding. The binding of furosemide to urinary protein may explain the refractoriness of some patients with proteinuria to this agent.     

Parasternal and external intercostal responses to various respiratory maneuvers.

Recent studies suggest that the external intercostal (EI) muscles of the upper rib cage, like the parasternals (PA), play an important ventilatory role, even during eupneic breathing. The purpose of the present study was to further assess the ventilatory role of the EI muscles by determining their response to various static and dynamic respiratory maneuvers and comparing them with the better-studied PA muscles. Applied interventions included 1) passive inflation and deflation, 2) abdominal compression, 3) progressive hypercapnia, and 4) response to bilateral cervical phrenicotomy. Studies were performed in 11 mongrel dogs. Electromyographic (EMG) activities were monitored via bipolar stainless steel electrodes. Muscle length (percentage of resting length) was monitored with piezoelectric crystals. With passive rib cage inflation produced either with a volume syringe or abdominal compression, each muscle shortened; with passive deflation, each muscle lengthened. During eupneic breathing, each muscle was electrically active and shortened to a similar degree. In response to progressive hypercapnia, peak EMG of each intercostal muscle increased linearly and to a similar extent. Inspiratory shortening also increased progressively with increasing PCO2, but in a curvilinear fashion with no significant differences in response among intercostal muscles. In response to phrenicotomy, the EMG and degree of inspiratory shortening of each intercostal muscle increased significantly. Again, the response among intercostal muscles was not significantly different.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)