Connections of the representational area of the distal section of the forelimb in the rat sensorimotor cortex

Using horseradish peroxidase, studies have been made on the distribution of retrogradely labeled nervous cells in the sensorimotor cortex of rats. The enzyme was injected into electrophysiologically identified zone of representation of the distal part of the forelimb in areas S2 and S1. It was found that this zone in S2 contains afferent connections mainly from representation of the same extremity in S1 and only a few afferents from other areas of S1, S2 and M1 of the same hemisphere. Single labeled neurones were found in areas S2, S1 and M1 of the contralateral hemisphere. Representation of the forelimb in S1 receives mainly cortical afferents from the same region of S1 and from single cells of homologous zones S2 of the same and S1 of the contralateral hemisphere. Connections from S1 to S2 are more numerous than the opposite ones. In contrast to cats and monkeys, in rats afferent cortical fibers to zone S2 pass not only from the third layer, but also from the fifth and sixth layers of the cortex. It is suggested that during progressive development of the neocortex in mammals, the increase in the degree of separation of neurones (which give origin to corticofugal and cortical connections) among different layers of the cortex takes place.     

Comparative study of the kinetic properties of the neutral maltase of human granulocytes and of the kidney maltase of the rat

Neutral maltase from human granulocytes has a different substrate specificity from the human neutral maltase of kidney, though it has been reported that these two enzymes are immunologically similar. We report here that human granulocyte neutral maltase is similar to the neutral maltase from rat's kidney as regards the substrate specificity and the inhibition by Tris and maltodextrins. We also report a different thermal stability that might imply some structural differences between the two enzymes.     

Effect of deafferentation of the forelimb on the postnatal development of the synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus

The postnatal development of LTP in CA1 area of hippocampus was studied in hippocampal slices from 13-20-day-old intact rats, after unilateral resection of n. medianus on the 13th day, and sham-operated animals. In slices from the intact rats prepared on the 15th-16th-day of postnatal development, the LTP magnitude and duration were significantly larger than in adult animals. Partial deafferentation eliminated this overshoot. However, a less pronounced increase in synaptic plasticity was observed in operated animals on the 17th day. The LTP suppression in the experimental animals may be explained by a decrease in the NMDA receptor activity due to enhanced synaptic activity in the hippocampus. We think that the limited sensory inflow from the partially deafferented forelimb to the hippocampus via the entorhinal cortex may be compensated by activation of other inputs from specific or/and nonspecific pathways. In contrast, the LTP magnitude and duration were significantly increased in slices from the sham-operated rats. This increase may be explained by a decline of synaptic activation of the hippocampus under anesthesia.     

A Note on the Relevance of the Mesocotyl in the Systematics of the Gramineae

Seedlings of most of the Gramineae possess a mesocotyl, buta few tribes are characterized by its absence. Seedlings ofBromus resemble the Triticeae in having no mesocotyl and thisis further evidence for separating the Bromeae both from theFestuceae and from the Brachypodiae.     

The capacity for change and the unpredictability of the phytoplankton of the east coast of the United States

Differences in the change of numerical abundance from time totime through the year and place to place along the U.S. eastcoast show Skeletonema costatum to have a greater capacity forchange than Thalassionema nitzschioides. These differences emergefrom the unpredictable occurrence and absence of Skeletonemafrom time to time through the year and from year to year atWoods Hole and from place to place along the U.S. east coast.Skeletonema's greater capacity for change than Thatassionema'stransmit an inherently variable capacity for change to the wholephytoplankton, and the unpredictability of these species transmitsthis characteristic to the whole population too.     

Studies of the distribution of the Z-pinch radiance during the implosion of wire arrays in the angara-5-1 facility

Results are presented from time-integrated measurements of soft X-ray emission from Z-pinches during the implosion of simple and nested wire arrays. The blackening density distribution obtained with the help of a pinhole camera is recalculated into the time-integrated Z-pinch radiance. It is found that, in the case of a simple wire array, up to 70% of the total SXR energy emitted during a discharge is radiated from the axial region, the rest of energy being radiated from plasma jets, whereas in the case of a nested wire array, more than 90% of the SXR energy is radiated from the axial region.     

Localization of the kdsA gene with the aid of the physical map of the Escherichia coli chromosome

The isolation and analysis of two recombinant plasmids containing the kdsA gene from Escherichia coli chromosomal gene libraries is reported. The subfragments obtained from the inserts correspond to the fragment pattern around coordinate 1,282 kilobases of the physical map of the E. coli chromosome (Kohara et al. Cell 50:495-508, 1987). The kdsA gene has been located at coordinates 1,282 through 1,283 kilobases, corresponding to min 26.7 in the classical map coordinates. The kdsA gene is transcribed from this position toward the nearby nar gene.     

Electrophysiological studies of the isolated posterior moiety of the electroplax of the electric eel

Intracellular microelectrodes were used to measure resting and action potentials of electric eel electroplax cells from which the middle portion of the anterior moiety had been removed. External electrode studies of this preparation have been described by Chagas and Esquibel (C. R. Acad. Sc., Paris, 260: 3172 ('65)). In the present studies it was found that the resting and action potentials were almost as large as normal in the intact portion of the preparation, whereas these potentials were greatly reduced in the areas from which the anterior moiety had been removed. The reduction in amplitude was greater the farther the microelectrode was from the intact portion, indicating the possibility of decremental spread from the intact portions. The action potentials measured with external electrodes appeared to be an average of potentials from the various areas of the preparation. In other experiments the entire anterior moiety of the electroplax was removed, leaving only the innervated plasma membrane plus some adhering cytoplasm and extracellular material. Various high K⁺ solutions were used to bathe the inner surface. No action potentials could be elicited from these preparations, but resting potentials as high as 51 mV were observed using external electrodes. The resting potential could be reduced reversibly by carbamylcholine applied to the outer surface. Carbamylcholine applied to the inner surface had no effect.     

Aneurysm of the abdominal aorta: the prognosis of the condition if untreated

In a study of the autopsies of 87 patients at Cedars of Lebanon and Los Angeles County General hospitals, it was noted that 38 had died from rupture of the aneurysm and 49 had died of unrelated diseases, the aneurysm being intact postmortem. At each age group from 50 to 85 years, just as many patients who had the lesion died from rupture of the aneurysm as from other causes. It was found that predisposing to rupture of the aneurysm was not the age of the patient, not hypertension, but definitely the size of the aneurysm. Aneurysms under 6 cm. in diameter (most are visible by x-ray) rarely ruptured.     

Frequency of the stages in the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium in the rat

This study determined the optimum number of tubules to be counted per testis cross section, and the number of animals per treatment group, when changes in stage frequencies in the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium are criteria for assessing effects of treatment on spermatogenesis. A data base of 9,672 observed and staged tubules was collected from testicular cross sections of 15 Sprague-Dawley rats. A significant variation between animals was found for the frequencies of Stages I, II, IV, VI, VIII, and XIII. Computer simulation was used to randomly select different combinations of animal and tubule numbers from the observed data. Stage frequency means from each simulation experiment were compared statistically to observed mean frequencies. A model that used data from all 14 stages was analyzed. The following conclusions were made: a) a minimum of 200 tubule cross sections/testis is recommended for estimating stage frequencies; b) for a fixed number of tubules scored, the number of animals sampled is more important than the number of tubules per animal in reducing variance; c) to detect a difference of 2 standard deviations from the mean with a 2% error rate and examining 200 tubules/testis, at least 12 animals must be used per group when assessing all 14 stages; d) when individual stages are examined using 10 animals per group, only Stage VII has 80% or greater power of test (alpha = 0.05) to detect a frequency difference; e) pooling stages into 3-4 groups is recommended to improve the power of detecting a treatment difference.     

On the origin of the so-called Meckelian ossicles in the nasal skull of odontocetes

Although Cave (1987) accepts the theory that the Meckelian ossicles originate from the maxilloturbinals, evidence given in his study in fact supports the opinion of Klima and van Bree (1985) that the Meckelian ossicles arise from elements of the nasal floor, solum nasi, of the embryonic nasal capsule, in particular from the lamina transversalis anterior and the cartilago paraseptalis.     

Sex-associated differences in the regulation of immune responses controlled by the MHC of the mouse

The immunologic potential of T lymphocytes and antigen-presenting cells (APC) from male and female mice were compared. Lymphocytes from female mice or from male mice that cannot produce and respond to testosterone (Tfm/y) were more reactive than male lymphocytes to alloantigens in MLR. Spleen cells from Tfm/y mice equipped with estrogen implants showed a higher responsiveness than control Tfm/y to alloantigens. The removal of suppressive adherent cells or the addition of T cell growth factor (TCGF) enhanced the proliferative activity of the cells in the MLR. The responsiveness of female cells to alloantigens, however, remained superior to that observed in male cells. Similarly, in the presence of TCGF, thymocytes from female mice react more effectively than male cells in MLR. In addition, Con A-stimulated spleen cells from female mice produce more interleukin 2 (IL 2) than do spleen cells from males or female mice treated with testosterone. Lymphocytes from immunized mice were tested for their ability to respond to soluble antigens (KLH and OVA) in vitro. Again, female immunocompetent cells respond more vigorously than male cells or cells originating in female mice with testosterone implants. APC from female spleen were more efficient than male APC in initiating a secondary response in primed lymphocytes from either males or female mice. Moreover, castration of male mice enhanced, and treatment of female mice with androgen reduced, the efficiency of antigen presentation. In conclusion, these data suggest that female cells are superior to male cells in immunologic functions that are known to be associated with reactions to and recognition of histocompatibility antigens, i.e., antigen presentation and MLR. Furthermore, our present data indicate that the differential reactivity of immunocytes between male and female mice depends on the hormonal balance of the animal.     

A neurochemical description of the dopaminergic innervation of the stomatogastric ganglion of the spiny lobster

The spiny lobster stomatogastric ganglion has been shown to be innervated by catecholaminergic processes which derive from cells of large central ganglia (Kushner and Maynard, 1977). Biochemical evidence had indicated that the stomatogastric system synthesizes dopamine and not norepinephrine from tritiated tyrosine (Barker, Kushner, and Hooper, 1979). Studies reported here document that the stomatogastric ganglion itself contains dopamine, as measured with a sensitive endogenous assay. Moreover, the ganglion can synthesize dopamine from tritiated tyrosine or DOPA. Additionally, when incubated in tritiated dopamine, the ganglion takes up dopamine and protects it from degradation; this process is inhibited by cocaine. When incubated with 3H-tyrosine, small but measurable amounts of tritiated dopamine were detected in the medium surrounding the ganglion.     

Further data on the origin of gonadotropin releasing hormone in the median eminence of the rat hypothalamus

Gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) content of the two halves of the median eminence of the rat hypothalamus was determined by radioimmunoassay three weeks after three different unilateral knife cuts around the preoptic area. A unilateral cut in front or above the area caused a more than 25% decrease in the GnRH content of the two halves of the median eminence. A cut lateral to the preoptic region had only a slight effect similar to that observed after sham operations. The data suggest that probably more than 50% of the rat median eminence GnRH derives from outside the preoptic-suprachiasmatic region. The GnRH fibres projecting to the median eminence but arising from outside the preoptic region, probably mainly from GnRH perikarya in the limbs of the diagonal band of Broca and septum, enter this area partly from rostral and partly from above, but not from lateral direction. partly from rostral and partly from above, but not from lateral direction. Several of these fibres probably cross before terminating in the median eminence.     

Differences in the concentration of erythrocytes and the hematocrit value in the blood in relation to the location of the vessels and the intensity of the blood flow

The experiments in adult rabbits revealed that in the blood flowing in cerebral veins the red cell concentration and hematocrit are much greater than in the veins of hind legs of the same animals. In blood samples taken from the heart these values are higher than in those taken from the hind leg, but usually lower than in blood samples taken from the brain. Under conditions of reduced cerebral blood flow (ischemia) the red cell concentration and hematocrit in the brain vessels decrease significantly as compared to the control conditions. Thus, the red cell distribution in arterial branching sequence is irregular, depending both on the localization of the vascular bed and the blood flow rate in it.     

Role of the Z band in the mechanical properties of the heart

In striated muscle the mechanism of contraction involves the cooperative movement of contractile and elastic components. This review emphasizes a structural approach that describes the cellular and extracellular components with known anatomical, biochemical, and physical properties that make them candidates for these contractile and elastic components. Classical models of contractile and elastic elements and their underlying assumptions are presented. Mechanical properties of cardiac and skeletal muscle are compared and contrasted and then related to ultrastructure. Information from these approaches leads to the conclusion that the Z band is essential for muscle contraction. Our review of Z band structure shows the Z band at the interface where extracellular components meet the cell surface. The Z band is also the interface from cell surface to myofibril, from extra-myofibrillar to myofibril, and finally from sarcomere to sarcomere. Our studies of Z band in defined physiologic states show that this lattice is an integral part of the contractile elements and can function as an elastic component. The Z band is a complex dynamic lattice uniquely suited to play several roles in muscle contraction.     

The fine structure of the megakaryocyte of the bone marrow of the guinea pig

Summary The cytoplasm of megakaryocytes frequently exhibits bullate processes which protrude into the lumen of the sinusoids through small apertures in the reticular cells. These bullae differ morphologically from the platelet demarcation zones and are held to have a different function. It is concluded that the bullae detach from the megakaryocyte in a manner comparable to apocrine secretion and enter the blood stream.This investigation was supported by a PHS research grant (CA 05493) from the U.S. Public Health Service.Dedicated to Professor Friedrich Wassermann with admiration and affection on the occasion of his 80^th birthday.     

Bacterial Abundance and the Activity of Microbiological Processes in the Bay of Tugur of the Sea of Okhotsk

This paper presents the results of investigation of the total abundance and the biomass of bacterioplankton, the abundance of heterotrophic bacteria, and the activity of microbiological processes involved in the carbon cycle in the water of the Bay of Tugur of the Sea of Okhotsk. In different regions of the bay, the total abundance of bacterioplankton was found to vary from 0.51 × 10⁶ to 2.54 × 10⁶ cells/ml; the bacterioplankton biomass, from 8.5 to 46.5 g C/l; the abundance of heterotrophic bacteria, from 0.06 × 10³ to 2.12 × 10³ cells/ml; the bacterial assimilation of CO₂, glucose, acetate, and protein hydrolysate, from 0.8 to 6.3, from 0.11 to 1.88, from 0.07 to 0.56, and from 0.01 to 0.22 mg C/(m³ day), respectively; the degradation of organic matter ranged from 28 to 221 mg C/(m³ day); and the intensity of methane oxidation, from 0.0005 to 0.17 l CH₄/l. The spatial pattern and the functional characteristics of bacterioplankton in the Bay of Tugur were found to be dependent on the tidal dynamics.     

On the early stages of the evolution of the geosphere and biosphere

The conditions necessary for the existence of nucleic-protein life are as follows: the presence of liquid water, an atmosphere, and a magnetic field (all of which protect from meteorites, abrupt changes in temperature, and a flow of charged particles from space) and the availability of nutrients (macro-and microelements in the form of dissolved compounds). In the evolution of the geosphere, complex interference of irreversible processes (general cooling, gravitational differentiation of the Earth’s interior, dissipation of hydrogen, etc.) with cyclic processes of varying natures and periodicities (from the endogenic cycles “from Pangea to Pangea” to Milankovitch cycles), these conditions have repeatedly changed; hence, in the coevolution of the geosphere and biosphere, the vector of irreversible evolution was determined by the geosphere. Only with the appearance of the ocean as a global system of homeostasis, which provided the maintenance and leveling of nutrient concentrations in the hydrosphere, and the conveyor of nutrients from the mantle, “the film of life” could begin its expansion from the source of the nutrients. Life itself is a system of homeostasis, but not due to the global size and a vast buffer capacity, but because of the high rate of reactions and presence of a program (genome) that allowed its development (ontogeny) independent from the outside environment. The early stages of the origin and evolution of the biosphere (from the RNA-world to the development of the prokaryotic ecosystems) were characterized by the domination of chemotrophic ecosystems. The geographical ranges of these ecosystems were directly or indirectly (through the atmosphere and hydrosphere) tied to the sources of nutrients in the geosphere, which were in turn connected to various sources of volcanic and geotectonic activity (geothermal waters, “black smokers” along the rift zones, etc.). This gave the biosphere consisting of chemotrophic ecosystems a mosaic appearance composed of separate local oases of life. The decrease of methane and accumulation of O₂ in the atmosphere in the geological evolution of the Earth caused the extinction of chemotrophic ecosystems and directed evolution of the biosphere toward autotrophy. Autotrophic photosynthesis gave the biosphere an energy source that was not connected to the geosphere, and for the first time allowed its liberation from the geosphere by developing its own vector of evolution. This vector resulted in the biosphere forming a continuous film of life on the planet by capturing the continents and occupying pelagic and abyssal zones, and the appearance of eukaryotes. The geosphere formed biogeochemical cycles in parallel to the geochemical ones, and comparable in the annual balances of participating matter.     

Main traits of the annual cycles of the fleas (Aphaniptera) of the mountain suslik in the Baksan River valley

Data are given on the fleas of Citellus musicus from Central Caucasus. Ecological peculiarities of fleas from the above region were compared with data known for fleas from plain Precaucasus. Differences between annual cycles of fleas of the same species from two altitude belts of the Baksan valley are considered. Epizootological significance of ecological peculiarities of fleas in the Baksan plague nidus is discussed.