Germanized or etymologic spelling of scientific nomenclature?

Some remarks are passed on the spelling of medical and scientific technical terms in German. In the present writer's opinion, the orthography according to Duden disfigures words from Latin origin for the most part since Latin c is written as a k before a, o, u and as a z before e and i. Also words of Greek origin are murdered if borrowed via Latin: x becomes c in Latin and than z in German if before e and i. An alternative recommendation given by Eschenbach could be acceptable for the most terms of Latin source but not for such borrowed from Greek. Especially Eschenbach is up to mischief if he proposes his alternative orthography also for words which are borrowed from Latin 1,000 years ago and are used by everybody in the colloquial German language. The better system of orthographic handling the Latin- and Greek-derived terms in German is published by Jansen (1907).     

Sequence homologies of glucose-dehydrogenases of Bacillus megaterium and Bacillus subtilis

The sequence homologies of the glucose dehydrogenase subunits of B. megaterium and B. subtilis are compared. From the known B. megaterium aminoacid sequence and the base sequence of the cloned B. subtilis structural gene we predict the B. megaterium structural glucose dehydrogenase gene. Assuming the minimal mutational changes to convert one gene into the other 23 transitions, 30 transversions, 1 inversion, 3 insertion-deletions, but no frameshifts are postulated necessary to interconvert the structural genes. The homology of both enzyme subunits of 85% reflects the close evolutionary distance between B. subtilis and B. megaterium.     

Diaphragmatic blood flow in the dog

In anesthetized mongrel dogs we measured the blood flow in the left phrenic artery (Qdi), using an electromagnetic flow probe, before and during supramaximal phrenic nerve stimulation (pacing). This was done at constant respiratory rate (24/min) but at three different stimulation frequencies at a duty cycle of 0.4 (20, 50, and 100 Hz) and at three different duty cycles at a stimulation frequency of 50 Hz (duty cycle = 0.2, 0.4, and 0.8). Qdi was unchanged during diaphragm contraction until transdiaphragmatic pressure (Pdi) was greater than approximately 11 cmH2O, whereafter it began to decrease, reaching zero at Pdi approximately 20 cmH2O. Thus, when Pdi was greater than 21 cmH2O, all flow occurred during relaxation. Qdi averaged over the entire respiratory cycle (Qt) was less at duty cycle = 0.8 than under the other conditions. This was because of decreasing length of relaxation phase rather than a difference of relaxation phase flow (Qr), which was maximal during all conditions of phrenic stimulation. During pacing-induced fatigue, Qt actually rose slightly as Pdi fell. This was due to an increase in contraction phase flow while Qr remained constant. The relationship between Qt and tension-time index was not unique but varied according to the different combinations of duty cycle and stimulus frequency.     

Anatomical separation and clinical importance of two different parts of the vastus medialis muscle

In 32 corpses, either fresh or fixed, the deviations of the two heads (musculus vastus medialis longus and musculus vastus medialis obliquus) of the vastus medialis muscle from the long axis of the femur were measured. The deviations were between 15 and 18 degrees medially for the m. vastus medialis longus and between 46 and 52 degrees medially for the m. vastus medialis obliquus. Anatomical dissections of the vastus medialis muscle in 115 fixed thigh specimens could always demonstrate a clear separation between a long head of the muscle that inserts at the base (m. vastus medialis longus) and a short head (m. vastus medialis obliquus) that inserts at the medial margin of the patella. The plane of separation could be identified by a femoral nerve's branch in every case. In 17 instances the nerve's localization was superficial, in 57 in an areolar fascial plane, and in the depth between the muscles in 41 instances. The ramification of the femoral nerve's branch that runs along the separation plane showed four types of variation. With these investigations it was possible to distinguish between two individual heads of the vastus medialis muscle not only with regard to its function, but also to its anatomy.     

Tissue distribution of phenylpropanoid metabolism in cotyledons of Raphanus sativus L.

The tissue distributions of sinapic acid esters (1-sinapoylglucose, sinapolyl-l-malate, 6,3-disinapoylsucrose), kaempferol glycosides, free malic acid and of the enzyme involved in the synthesis of sinapoyl-l-malate, 1-sinapoylglucose: l-malate sinapoyltransferase (SMT), have been investigated in cotyledons of Raphanus sativus L. seedlings. The kaempferol glycosides were mainly localized in the upper epidermis. The sinapoyl esters were found in all tissues, but differed markedly in their concentrations. While disinapoylsucrose was localized predominantly in the mesophyll, most sinapoylmalate was found in the epidermal layers, as was most SMT activity. Ultraviolet microscopy and microfluorospectrophotometry of isolated epidermal peels indicated that the epidermal sinapoyl esters were restricted to guard cells, guard mother cells and adjacent epidermal cells. Upon excitation by UV light (365 nm) these exhibited strong blue fluorescence with an emission maximum at about 480 nm. Our results indicate a highly tissue-and cell-specific secondary metabolism in Raphanus cotyledons and indicate that the biosynthesis of sinapoylmalate is intimately related to the malic-acid metabolism of the guard cells.Abbreviations HPLC high-performance liquid chromatography - SMT 1-sinapoylglucose: l-malate sinapoyltransferase     

CO2 sensitive receptors on labial palps ofRhodogastria moths (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae): physiology,fine structure and central projection

Summary The tips of the labial palps ofRhodogastria possess a pit housing uniform sensilla (Fig. 1), histologically characterized by wall-pores and receptor cells with lamellated outer dendrites (Fig. 2). The receptor cell axons project to glomeruli in the deutocerebrum (cf. Fig. 3) which are not innervated by antennal receptors. From their histology as well as from their central projection these sense organs are identical with palpal pit organs of other Lepidoptera (Lee et al. 1985; Kent et al. 1986; Lee and Altner 1986).Physiologically, the palp-pit receptors respond uniformly; they are most excitable by stimulation with carbon dioxide (Fig. 6) while they exhibit relatively moderate responses to various odorants (Fig. 4). The responses to CO₂ (Fig. 7) show a steep dose-response characteristic. In ambient atmosphere (i.e., ca. 0.03% CO₂) the cells are in an excited condition already; the seeming spontaneous activity exhibited in air is decreased if the preparation is kept under N₂ or O₂ or CO₂-free air (Figs. 7, 10). There is hardly any adaptation of the responses to continuous or repeated stimulation (Fig. 8). Perhaps CO₂ sensitivity is correlated with sensilla characterized by both wall-pores and lamellated dendrites. Pilot tests indicate that CO₂ perception might be widespread in the Lepidoptera (cf. Fig. 12), but the biological significance remains obscure.     

Strukturanalytische Untersuchungen zur Altersabhängigkeit der Sensibilität

Zusammenfassung Eine Analyse der Meßwerte von Ronge (1943) über die Reizausnutzung durch das Tastsinnes-Nervensystem der Haut zeigt im Zusammenhang mit einer vorausgegangenen Studie (Scharf und Blumenthal, 1967), daß der Reizerfolg in einer transzendenten Fläche höherer Ordnung in Abhängigkeit vom Lebensalter (oder von der Anzahl der Meissnerschen Tastkörperchen pro Hautflächeneinheit) und vom Reizdruck dargestellt werden kann. In Druckrichtung steigt diese Fläche mit zunehmendem Reizdruck nichtlinear an, in Zeitrichtung oscilliert die Fläche dagegen träge um Normwerte, die beim 20jährigen Menschen realisiert sind. Dabei werden die Altersveränderungen der histologischen Hautstruktur offenbar zur Kompensation der altersabhängigen Verminderungen der Zahl der Tastkörperchen ausgenutzt.

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Summary An analysis of the observations on the Reizausnutzung by nerves of touch (Ronge, 1943) connected to a previous study (Scharf and Blumenthal, 1967) shows that the irritation result may be figured by a transcendental plane of higher order as a function of age (or number of Meissner's corpuscles per area skin) and irritation pressure. Along the pressure axis this non-linear plane is increasing non-linear in dependence on ascending pressure, but along the time axis the plane oscillates lazily round about the norm values which are realized in human beings of about 20 years of age. It seems that the age-dependent changes of histological skin structure are utilized to compensate the age-dependent diminution of touch corpuscle number.

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Mit dankenswerter Unterstützung durch einen Forschungsauftrag des Staatssekretariates für das Hochschulwesen der DDR.

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Numerische Rechnung: Tischrechner Mercedes Cellatron R 44 SM, Leitende Med. techn. Ass. Ruth Pieper (Anatomisches Institut Halle). Programmgesteuerter Digitalrechner ZRA 1, Math, techn. Ass. Friedegund Hüther (Institut für Numerische Mathematik, Halle).

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Graphik: Akad. Bildhauer Hellmut Helwin.