The physiological indices of emotional reactions in the clinical picture of local brain lesions

The psychophysiological correlates of recognition and reproduction of emotional states were studied in patients with differently localized lesions of the brain cortex. It was shown that the effect of different lesions are anisotropic. The cross and reciprocal interaction between the posteriofrontal and temporal regions of the left and right hemispheres was described. A relation was revealed between the emotion sign and different autonomic indices. A quantitative estimation of physiological reactions of healthy persons and patients with focal brain pathology was carried out.     

I. The clinical picture of asthma

Life-threatening asthma may be judged to be present in patients who, in the presence of a low FEV₁ are too dyspneic to speak, have altered consciousness or unequivocal cyanosis. Other physical signs which indicate airway obstruction of grave severity are pulsus paradoxus, gross thoracic overinflation and electrocardiographic evidence of pulmonary hypertension. A rise in the arterial CO₂ tension, the presence of pneumothorax or pneumomediastinum, and an FEV₁ less than 1 litre and vital capacity less than 0.5 litre, failing to increase immediately after inhalation of a bronchodilator, are also features which demand urgent and intensive therapy.Corticosteroids in large doses should be administered whenever a life-threatening situation is recognized. Systemic steroids should be stopped only when the danger phase, as indicated by the criteria given above, has been reversed. At all stages of therapy regular inhalations of a sympathomimetic bronchodilator should be maintained. Oral steroid therapy should be continued until maximum ventilatory function has been attained; only then should dose reduction be attempted.     

The Mongolian gerbil: qualitative and quantitative aspects of the cellular blood picture.

The gerbil displays sex determined differences in packed red-cell volume, haemoglobin level, total leukocyte count and absolute number of circulating lymphocytes. The erythrocytes demonstrate a prominent polychromasia and frequent occurrence of basophilic stippling.     

Image analysis: putting filamentous microorganisms in the picture.

Image analysis can be used to characterize the morphology and simple differentiation of fungi and actinomycetes. It provides a new and powerful tool for the physiologist or fermentation technologist working with filamentous microorganisms.     

The early atmosphere: a new picture

Over the last several years, many of the fundamental ideas concerning the composition and chemical evolution of the Earth's early atmosphere have changed. While many aspects of this subject are clouded--either uncertain or unknown, a new picture is emerging. We are just beginning to understand how astronomical, geochemical, and atmospheric processes each contributed to the development of the gaseous envelope around the third planet from the sun some 4.6 billion years ago and how that envelope chemically evolved over the history of our planet. Simple compounds in that gaseous envelope, energized by atmospheric lightning and/or solar ultraviolet radiation, formed molecules of increasing complexity that eventually evolved into the first living systems on our planet. This process is called "chemical evolution" and immediately preceded biological evolution; once life developed and evolved, it began to alter the chemical composition of the atmosphere that provided the very essence of its creation. Photosynthetic organisms which have the ability to biochemically transform carbon dioxide and water to carbohydrates, which they use for food, produce large amounts of molecular oxygen (O2) as a by-product of the reaction. Atmospheric oxygen photochemically formed ozone, which absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the sun and shields the Earth's surface from this biologically lethal radiation. Once atmospheric ozone levels increased sufficiently, life could leave the safety of the oceans and go ashore for the first time. Throughout the history of our planet, there has been strong interaction between life and the atmosphere. Understanding our cosmic roots is particularly relevant as we embark on a search for life outside the Earth. At this very moment, several radio telescopes around the world are searching for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).     

The electron-microscopic picture of postnatal development of oligodendroglia.

Ultrastructural studies were carried out on the oligodendroglia in the corpus callosum of rat brain in different periods of the animal's extrauterine development. These investigations showed a possibility of distinguishing in the early stages of ontogenesis three forms of oligodendroblasts differing from one another by electron density and the organelle content of the cytoplasm. The beginning of the production of medullary sheaths was noted as early as the first day after birth and the termination of the morphological phase of this process was recorded on the 8th day of postnatal ontogenesis. Moreover, it was found that on the 17th day of the rat's life the process of differentiation of oligodendroglia in the corpus callosum comes to an end.     

Chromatin: constructing the big picture

Chromatin is the ensemble of genomic DNA and a large number of proteins. Various genome-wide mapping techniques have begun to reveal that, despite the tremendous complexity, chromatin organization is governed by simple principles. This review discusses the principles that drive the spatial architecture of chromatin, as well as genome-wide-binding patterns of chromatin proteins.