Quantitation of pathways of ethanol metabolism

A method has been developed for estimating the sum of the contributions to ethanol oxidation by the microsomal ethanol-oxidizing system (MEOS) and catalase in the intact liver cell. It depends upon a comparison of the fate of the R hydrogen of ethanol and the hydrogen bound to carbon-2 of sorbitol under identical conditions. Limitations of the approach, particularly as regards isotopic effects, are defined. Under the condition of incubation of liver slices from rat and monkey at a concentration of ethanol of 3 mg/ml and from rat at 1 mg/ml, alcohol dehydrogenase catalysis is concluded to account, on the average, for 89% or more of the initial metabolism of ethanol. As by-products of this study, the stereospecificity of the sorbitol dehydrogenase-catalyzed reaction is shown to be of the A type in the rat, and evidence is obtained for the irreversibility of sorbitol oxidation in the intact liver cell.     

Quality of life in childhood epilepsy with lateralized epileptogenic foci

Background  

Measuring quality of life (QOL) helps to delineate mechanisms underlying the interaction of disease and psychosocial factors. In adults, epileptic foci in the left temporal lobe led to lower QOL and higher depression and anxiety as compared to the right-sided foci. No study addressed the development of QOL disturbances depending on the lateralization of epileptogenic focus. The objective of our study was to examine QOL in children with lateralized epileptiform discharges.     

Comparison of suspicious and positive colposcopic, cytologic and histologic findings in the uterine cervix

One hundred thirty-five cases of suspicious or positive colposcopic or cytologic findings were histologically analyzed. In cases of colposcopically detectable atypical changes or suspicious findings as well as of cytologic dysplasias or carcinomas, the histologic diagnoses were almost the same. The results demonstrated that colposcopy and cytology with a quick staining method are of value. Biopsy can quickly follow in cases of suspicious findings.     

Terpenoid lactones with the p-menthane system as feeding deterrents to the lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus

The application of antifeedants, often in combination with other methods within integrated pest management (IPM) strategies, has proven to be a good way to control insect pests. Little is known about compounds that have antifeedant activity against the lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus Panzer (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). The antifeedant properties of optically pure isomers of pulegone and isopulegol and some enantiomeric pairs of bicyclic terpenoid lactones with the p -menthane system, derived from these isomeric starting compounds, were studied in choice and no-choice tests with the lesser mealworm. The original monoterpenes and γ-spirolactones were weak feeding deterrents to larvae and adults of A. diaperinus . The δ-hydroxy-γ-spirolactones showed significant activity against adults, but substituting the hydroxy group with a ketone group considerably reduced the deterrent activity of the resulting δ-keto-γ-spirolactones. The bicyclic γ-hydroxy-δ-lactones with condensed rings and with the (1 S ,6 R ,8 R )-(+) and (1 R ,6 S ,8 S )-(–) configuration of the chiral centres, and δ-hydroxy-γ-lactone (1 S ,4 S ,6 S )-(+) were very strong antifeedants to both larvae and adults. The hydroxy groups and the configuration of the chiral centres of the molecules were very important features for determining the antifeedant activity of the lactones tested. Generally, the compounds studied were better antifeedants to adults than to larvae.