Distribution of acetylcholinesterase-positive nerve fibers in the wall of the great saphenous vein in women

A relative density of acetylcholine esterase-reactive fibers in adventitium of the large subcutaneous vein changes in the postnatal ontogenesis in women: it is the lowest in newborns, the greatest in mature women, in old women it grows small. In newborns these fibers are situated in the compact layer of the adventitium, in mature and old women they are revealed in interlayers of the connective tissue that separate fasciculi of muscle fibers of the external longitudinal and internal circulatory layers of the middle sheath.     

The reaction of the mast cell population to the intratracheal administration of heparin and fucoidan]

Mast cell population of rat after single intratracheal injection of heparin and fukoidan was investigated with cytofluorometry and cytochemical methods. These polysaccharides have great differences in the molecular weight nevertheless they both were found to include in mast cells.     

Fishers' knowledge and seahorse conservation in Brazil

From a conservationist perspective, seahorses are threatened fishes. Concomitantly, from a socioeconomic perspective, they represent a source of income to many fishing communities in developing countries. An integration between these two views requires, among other things, the recognition that seahorse fishers have knowledge and abilities that can assist the implementation of conservation strategies and of management plans for seahorses and their habitats. This paper documents the knowledge held by Brazilian fishers on the biology and ecology of the longsnout seahorse Hippocampus reidi. Its aims were to explore collaborative approaches to seahorse conservation and management in Brazil; to assess fishers' perception of seahorse biology and ecology, in the context evaluating potential management options; to increase fishers' involvement with seahorse conservation in Brazil. Data were obtained through questionnaires and interviews made during field surveys conducted in fishing villages located in the States of Piauí, Ceará, Paraíba, Maranhão, Pernambuco and Pará. We consider the following aspects as positive for the conservation of seahorses and their habitats in Brazil: fishers were willing to dialogue with researchers; although captures and/or trade of brooding seahorses occurred, most interviewees recognized the importance of reproduction to the maintenance of seahorses in the wild (and therefore of their source of income), and expressed concern over population declines; fishers associated the presence of a ventral pouch with reproduction in seahorses (regardless of them knowing which sex bears the pouch), and this may facilitate the construction of collaborative management options designed to eliminate captures of brooding specimens; fishers recognized microhabitats of importance to the maintenance of seahorse wild populations; fishers who kept seahorses in captivity tended to recognize the condtions as poor, and as being a cause of seahorse mortality.     

Science – A life fully lived: Joe Sodroski wins the 2006 Retrovirology Prize

The 2006 M Jeang Retrovirology Prize for HIV research has been awarded to Dr Joe Sodroski     

Dynamics of visual association formation in man]

The subjects were asked to memorize four combinations of paired visual stimuli on an illuminated tableau. The test-signal, a single flash on the tableau, was presented after the signal pair and could coincide either with the second component of the association or with the elements not involved in this particular association. After presentation of the test signal, the subject had to press the key as quickly as possible and then point to the pair on the tableau, associated with the signal pair (the second component of the association). The changes occuring in the structure of the association were evaluated by the changes of reaction time (rt) to the test-signal and the RT variability. Differences have been revealed between the RT dynamics and variabilities, which characterize the functional state of the elements activated during the achievement of the association and those not participating in the given association. During stabilization of the visual association, oppositely directed tendencies of RT changes and variabilities were observed.     

Effect of metopirone and glucocorticoids on the glycogen content in the adrenals of rat fetuses]

Metopiron, hydrocortisone and dexamethazone are able to influence different links of the hypothalamo-hypohysial-adrenal system and induce the inhibition of glucocorticoid function. Changes in glycogen content in the adrenal gland and liver of rat foetuses under the effect of the drugs in question were studied. It was shown that metopiron exerted no marked influence on the level of glycogen in the adrenal gland and decreased 2.5 times that in the liver. On the contrary, hydrocortisone and dexamethazone increased the glycogen content 2 times in the adrenal gland and did not change that in the liver. The results obtained agree with the hypothesis on the relation between the glycogen level in the adrenal gland and the level of its hormonal activity and are considered as an additional proof of the functioning of hypothalamo-hypophysial-adrenal system during the last days of the rat prenatal development.     

Changes in testosterone levels in the testes of rat fetus after removal of the hypothalamus

To specify the time of setting in of the hypothalamic control over testicular androgenous function in the prenatal development of rats, the brain hypothalamic area of 18.5-day-old fetuses was excised by encephalectomy in utero. Three days after the operation, i. e. on day 21.5 of the development, testosterone concentration in the testes was measured by radioimmunoassay. Testosterone concentration in the testes of encephalectomized fetuses was significantly decreased as compared with intact fetuses. Administration of LH-RH into the encephalectomized fetuses 2 hours prior to fixation removed the effect of encephalectomy on testosterone concentration in the testicular tissue. The data evidence the establishment of the hypothalamic control over androgenous function of the testes in rat fetuses at the end of the prenatal development.     

Regulatory role of DOPA and components of the cyclic adenosine-3',5'-monophosphate system]

It was shown on albino mice that when DOPA-3H (20 muCi/mouse) was administered before nonradioactive DOPA (1 mg/mouse) tritium accumulation in the tissue of Harding-Passi's melanoma of these mice proved to increase. Melanoma radioactivity in this experimental group was double that in the tumour tissue of the animals to which DOPA-3H alone was administered. Examination of the adenylate cyclase, phosphodiesterase activity and of the level of cAMP in melanoma of mice 2 hours after DOPA administration (1 mg/mouse) showed accumulation of cAMP and an increase in the phosphodiesterase activity; as to adenylate cyclase activity--it fell. It is suggested that DOPA realizes its effect not only as melanin precursor, but also through the cAMP system, influencing the melanogenesis enzymes activity.