Chromosome aberrations in workers of nuclear-power plants

The frequencies of chromosome aberrations in 135 workers from nuclear-power plants were compared with those in 135 age-matched controls. A total of 135,000 cells was scored. The frequencies of dicentric chromosome were 1.67 × 10⁻³ in the exposed group and 0.49 × 10⁻³ in the control group and those of chromosome-type deletion were 3.33 × 10⁻³ and 1.10 × 10⁻³, respectively. The frequencies of all types of chromosome aberrations in the exposed subjects were higher than those in the control group, but no significant trend of dose-dependent increase was observed when only the exposed group were considered. Poisson regression analysis, with both exposed and control included, showed that there was a significant association of chromosome aberration with radiation dose and the duration of work, but not with age, smoking habit and alcohol intake. It was also found that recent exposure to radiation, within the last 5 years, had contributed more to the observed chromosome aberration than earlier exposure.     

正常小鼠高频心电图时域值和功率谱的研究

本文用南京新博公司生产的ＮＨＥ－１０００型心电高频信息检测分析仪研究了正常小鼠（昆明种）高频心电图（ＨＦ－ＥＣＧ）的时域值和ＱＲＳ波群的功率谱。主要结果如下（以正导为例,－Ｘ±ＳＤ）：心率６０３±８８次／ｍｉｎ（ｎ＝７４）;Ｐ－Ｒ间期相对较长。为３４．９±４．７ｍｓ（ｎ＝５８）,占心动周期的３４．９±４．９％,这与人类有很大的不同;ＱＲＳ波宽９．２±１．２ｍｓ,占心动周期的９．２±１．４％（ｎ＝７４）,这一结果与以前的文献报道相差较大。Ｔ波宽１０．３±３．２ｍｓ,占心动周期的１０．３±３．２％;Ｑ－Ｔ间期１９．４±３．２ｍｓ,占心动周期的１９．５±３．６％;ＱＲＳ波群峰－峰值（Ｖｐ－ｐ）为１．４５６±０．４８０ｍＶ;Ｔ波高０．３３６±０．１１５ｍＶ;７３只动物Ⅱ导联高频切迹总数只有３个,扭挫２６个。Ⅱ导联ＱＲＳ波群的功率谱特点：０—８０Ｈｚ的相对能量为４５．４８±１５．３２％;８０—２００Ｈｚ为４３．９７±９．９５％;２００—３００Ｈｚ为８．８９±７．３８％;３００—１０００Ｈｚ为１．６６±２．７４％。     

Base water potential of Picea abies as a characteristic of the soil water status

Variation in base water potential (Ψ_b, a daily maximum level of plant water potential, which is presumed to correspond to the condition of equilibrium between the soil and plant water potentials) was examined in shoots of Norway spruce trees growing in well-drained and waterlogged soils. The influence of soil water content, air temperature, and vapour pressure deficit of the atmosphere on Ψ_b was studied using the pressure chamber technique. Maximum daily water potentials were not always observable before dawn; some were registered up to two hours later. This tendency being characteristic of trees growing under stress (shade, waterlogging) conditions, increased with declining soil water availability. In trees growing in well-drained soil, Ψ_b depended asymptotically on the available soil water storage (R²=0.73), while the values were slightly influenced by vapour pressure deficit of the atmosphere as well. In trees growing in waterlogged soil, Ψ_b was independent of the soil water storage, but sensitive to the vapour pressure deficit.     

Effect of anthropometric characteristics and socio-economic status on physical performances of pre-pubertal children living in Bolivia at low altitude

We have previously observed that 11-year-old children of low socio-economic status (LSES) showed a delayed physical growth of approximately 2 years and developed lower normalized short-term power output than children of high socio-economic status (HSES) of the same age. In contrast, maximal oxygen uptake per unit of fat free mass was no different in either group. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of anthropometric characteristics between HSES and LSES prepubertal children in aerobic and anaerobic performance. To compare children of the same body dimensions, 11-year-old boys (n = 30) and girls (n = 31) of LSES and 9-year-old boys (n = 21) and girls (n = 27) of HSES were studied. Anthropometric measurements, (direct test), maximal anaerobic power (P _max, force-velocity test) and mean anaerobic power ( , Wingate test) were determined. In these children having the same body dimensions: mean were the same in LSES and HSES children [1.2 (SD 0.2)1-min^–1];P _max and were lower in LSES subjects [154.0 (SD 33.2) vs 174.6 (SD 38.4) W and 116.3 (SD 23.3) vs 128.2 (SD 28.0) W, respectively]; the linear relationships between and fat free mass were the same in LSES and HSES boys but, in the girls, the LSES group had lower values. For anaerobic performance, the relationships were significantly different: the slopes were the same but LSES values for the both sexes were lower. These results would suggest that factors other than differences in body dimensions alone were responsible for the lower performance of LSES girls and boys. Cultural factors and motor learning, structural and functional alterations of muscle induced by marginal malnutrition have been discussed.     

Detection of mining impacts on aquatic macroinvertebrate communities: Results of a disturbance experiment and the design of a multivariate BACIP monitoring programme at Coronation Hill,Northern Territory

Abstract Multivariate methods for the detection of impacts on communities are: (i) explored in the context of a disturbance experiment at a site of previous uranium mining in Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory; and (ii) applied to the design of a monitoring programme for a proposed mining development at nearby Coronation Hill. The disturbance experiment in Rockhole Mine Creek used a gravity-fed redirection of polluted water from the mine adit to create a point-source pollutant. Weekly samples of the macroinvertebrate communities were taken both before and after disturbance at the control and‘impact’ site, as part of a multivariate BACIP (Before-After-Control-Impact-Pairs) design. The results of the experiment show that the multivariate approach provided high sensitivity in detecting impacts on the community, with little difference in sensitivity between species and family level analyses. A simple procedure for deleting those taxa that show poor discrimination between pristine and presently disturbed areas further increased the sensitivity of the tests. In addition to the BACIP analyses, robust ordination of the community data suggested a time/treatment interaction effect. Application of the multivariate BACIP approach also was explored using baseline data for benthic communities from the South Alligator River near Coronation Hill. The method provides high statistical power for monitoring; a relatively small change in community dissimilarity would be detectable in a programme with 5 years of observations before and after commencement of mining. A robust ordination of the yearly samples for the control and potential-impact sites showed that, although samples varied along identifiable gradients over time, the two areas changed in parallel so that the difference between the areas was approximately constant over years. This result demonstrates that the multivariate BACIP approach can provide relative constancy of pre-impact difference values, a key requirement of BACIP designs that is difficult to satisfy using abundance data for a single species.     

Characteristics of microwave evoked body movements in mice

Microwave evoked body movements were studied in mice. A resonant cavity was used to provide head and neck exposure of the mouse to pulsed and gated continuous wave (CW) 1.25 GHz microwaves. No difference in response to pulsed and gated CW stimuli of equal average power was found. The incidence of the microwave evoked body movements increased proportionally with specific absorption (dose) when the whole-body average specific absorption rate was at a constant level (7300 W/kg). Under a constant average specific absorption rate, the response incidence reached a plateau at 0.9 kJ/kg. For doses higher than 0.9 kJ/kg, response incidence was proportional to the specific absorption rate and reached a plateau at 900 W/kg. Body movements could be evoked by a single microwave pulse. The lowest whole-body specific absorption (SA) tested was 0.18 kJ/kg, and the corresponding brain SA was 0.29 kJ/kg. Bulk heating potentials of these SAs were less than 0.1 °C. For doses higher than 0.9 kJ/kg, the response incidence was also proportional to subcutaneous temperature increment and subcutaneous heating rate. The extrapolated absolute thresholds (0% incidence) were 1.21 °C temperature increment and 0.24 °C/s heating rate. Due to high subcutaneous heating rates, these microwaves must be perceived by the mouse as an intense thermal sensation but not a pain sensation because the temperature increment was well below the threshold for thermal pain. Results of the present study should be considered in promulgation of personnel protection guideline against high peak power but low average power microwaves. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Determination of base specificity of multiple ribonucleases from crude samples

Ribonucleases are widely found in the tissues of living organisms, but the functions of individual ribonucleases are not clear. To facilitate characterization of individual ribonucleases, I have developed a rapid method to separate and identify each ribonuclease from a crude sample by gel electrophoresis instead of by time-consuming purification steps. The ribonucleases in a crude sample are first separated by RNA-cast SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and then eluted from the gel after ethidium bromide staining. To determine the base specificity of each ribonuclease, a 5 labelled oligonucleotide with known sequence is added to the enzyme eluate and the digested products are analyzed by denaturing gel electrophoresis. The base specificity of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease (RNase A), bullfrog oocyte-specific ribonuclease (RC-RNase), human serum ribonucleases and sweet potato leaf ribonucleases were determined by this method. Other properties of individual ribonucleases, e.g. substrate preference, may also be determined from crude samples by this method without further purification steps.Abbreviations RNase ribonuclease - SDS sodium dodecyl sulfate     

Electromyographic correlates of the transition from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism in treadmill running

This study analysed the changes in electromyographic (EMG) activity of the vastus lateralis, biceps femoris and gastrocnemius muscles during incremental treadmill running. The changes in EMG were related to the lactate and ventilatory thresholds. Ten trained subjects participated in the study. Minute ventilation, oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide expired and the fraction of oxygen in the expired gas were recorded continuously. Venous blood samples were collected at each exercise intensity and analysed for lactate concentration. The EMG were recorded at the end of each exercise intensity using surface electrodes. The EMG were quantified through integration (iEMG) and by calculating the mean power frequency (MPF). The iEMG measurements were characterized by a breakpoint in the vastus lateralis and/or gastrocnemius muscles in eight of the subjects tested. However, the results indicated that blood lactate concentrations had already begun to increase in a nonlinear fashion before the iEMG breakpoint had been surpassed. Consequently, the occurence of the lactate threshold cannot be attributed solely to the change in motor unit recruitment or rate coding patterns demonstrated by the iEMG breakpoint. The ventilatory threshold was shown to be a far more reliable and convenient noninvasive predictor of the lactate threshold in comparison with EMG techniques. In conclusion, the EMG measurements used in this study (i.e. iEMG and MPF) were not considered to be viable noninvasive determinants of the aerobic-anaerobic transition phase in treadmill running.     

Determinants of peak muscle power: effects of age and physical conditioning

The relationships between absolute peak muscle power (W _peak), muscle cross sectional area (CSA_tot, i.e. the sum of both thigh and calf CSA) and muscle high energy phosphate concentration (adenosine 5-triphosphate [ATP] and phosphocreatine concentrations [PC]) were studied in 47 subjects classified into five groups: A, 10 sedentary (S) subjects aged 20–35 years; B, 9 S aged 35–50 years; C, 9 S aged more than 50 years; D, 13 children aged 8–13 years; and E, 6 athletes (top level volleyball players) aged 24 (SD 3) years. The W _peak was measured during a maximal vertical high jump off both feet on a force platform. The CSA_tot was measured anthropometrically. The [ATP] and [PC] were determined by ³¹Phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The W _peak decreased with age, was 65% lower in D than in A, and 43% higher in E than in A. The CSA_tot did not vary with age, was 45% smaller in D than in A, and 15% greater in E than in A. The [ATP] and [PC] were essentially the same in all groups. The changes observed in W _peak were only partially accounted for by changes in CSA_tot. Therefore, in addition to the variables investigated, other factors appear to have been involved in the determination of W _peak with increasing age and training. An important role may be played by hormonal, particularly at puberty, and neural factors.