Pindolol acts as beta-adrenoceptor agonist in orthostatic hypotension: therapeutic implications.

Three bedridden patients with severe orthostatic hypotension due to chronic autonomic failure were treated with pindolol (15 mg/day), a beta-adrenoceptor antagonist with partial agonist activity. While taking this drug the patients were free of orthostatic symptoms: they could walk, and standing blood pressure was maintained above 90/50 mm Hg. Supine heart rate rose during treatment by 12-21 beats/minute, and stroke volume and cardiac output by 12-24 ml and 1.5-3.1 l/min respectively. Supine blood pressure rose by 21-68 mm Hg systolic and 14-49 mm Hg diastolic. Pindolol 15 mg/day was therapeutically effective in these three patients with severe orthostatic hypotension due to chronic autonomic failure. Further studies in a larger series of patients are needed to confirm this result.     

元谋新第三纪食肉动物化石的初步观察

本文对云南元谋盆地产古猿化石地点的部分食肉类化石进行了初步观察分类,认为它们的时代似应稍晚于禄丰,相当上新世早期,估计距今5-6百万年.     

Retardation of leaf senescence by inhibitors of RNA and protein synthesis

Effects of actinomycin-D (ACT), cycloheximide (CH), rifampicin (RIF) and chloramphenicol (CAP) on senescence of soybean leaf discs were investigated. All inhibitors tested are effective in retarding senescence of soybean leaf discs. However, CH is more effective than ACT, RIF and CAP, suggesting that activation of preexisting, latent metabolic systems present in the cytoplasm piays predominant role in the initiating of leaf senescence. However, the possibility that events taking place in the nucleus or chloroplast are essential for the initiation of leaf senescence cannot be excluded.     

Comparative ultrastructure of Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepraemurium cell envelopes.

The structural properties of the cell envelopes of Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepraemurium were investigated by freeze-fracture, freeze-etching, and negative-staining techniques. Freeze-fracture split the cell wall and exposed the internal features of the peptidoglycolipid mycosidic filamentous network. The cell membrane was also split into two asymmetric faces. The external fracture face was characterized by linear arrays of intramembranous particles, whereas the protoplasmic fracture face showed randomly distributed clusters of particulate entities. Comparative analysis of the ultrastructural features observed in M. leprae and M. lepraemurium indicated that the organization of the cell envelope in these two species differed particularly with respect to the amount and complexity of the superficial peptidoglycolipid and mycosidic integument, which is poorly developed in the mycobacterium responsible for human disease.     

Isolement du vernodalin et du vernolepin a partir de Vernonia guineensis: Authenticité du squelette elemane

The isolation of vernoladin and vernolepin is reported. The authenticity of the occurrence of the elemane skeleton in nature is discussed, and a biosynthetic scheme concerning the genus Vernonia is proposed.