The human embryo: a scientist's point of view

...Thus, my judgement is that a human embryo is not a human person, and so we may do experiments on it which involve killing it. But my judgement is also that a human embryo has the potential to become a human being. The consequence of this attribute is that it imposes limits on the kinds of experiments which may be performed on human embryos. It is this which sets the boundaries. Experiments which may harm the embryo while still allowing it subsequently to realise its potential, and become a person, should not be permitted. It is the potentiality of the human embryo which governs our behaviour towards it. Its potential makes it special, and radically different from any other human tissue. This potential which the early embryo has means that great respect must always be accorded it, and great thought and care must surround any dealings with it....     

Action of a chalone-containing esophageal preparation on its epithelial cell proliferation

The effect of esophageal chalone on epithelial cell reproduction in the esophagus was studied. Lyophilized aqueous extract from the esophagus was used. The following properties of the esophageal preparation have been revealed: it is water-soluble; it is present in the same tissue where it acts; it has tissue-specific effect (the preparation does not act on the mitotic and radioactive index in the epithelial crypts of the small intestine); its action is short-term and reversible; its effect on DNA division and synthesis in the esophageal epithelial cells is dose-dependent. Therefore, it is suggested that the esophageal preparation contains a chalone.     

The immunomodulating properties of translam]

Effect of translam--beta-1,3;1,6-D-glucan on some of naturally occurring host protective mechanisms was investigated. It was shown that translam has potent biological activity: it has preventive effect on experimental bacterial infections, it stimulates absorbtion and digestion activity of mononuclear phagocytes, it effects on humoral and cell immunity. Translam had mitogenic activity.     

Abuse of hypothesis testing statistics in ecological risk assessment

Statistical hypothesis testing is commonly used inappropriately to analyze data, determine causality, and make decisions about significance in ecological risk assessment. Hypothesis testing is conceptually inappropriate in that it is designed to test scientific hypotheses rather than to estimate risks. It is inappropriate for analysis of field studies because it requires replication and random assignment of treatments. It discourages good toxicity testing and field studies, it provides less protection to ecosystems or their components that are difficult to sample or replicate, and it provides less protection when more treatments or responses are used. It provides a poor basis for decision‐making because it does not generate a conclusion of no effect, it does not indicate the nature or magnitude of effects, it does not address effects at untested exposure levels, and it confounds effects and uncertainty. Attempts to make hypothesis testing less problematical cannot solve these problems. Rather, risk assessors should focus on analyzing the relationship between exposure and effects, on presenting a clear estimate of expected or observed effects and associated uncertainties, and on providing the information in a manner that is useful to decision‐makers and the public.     

The parotid gland; a reinterpretation of its anatomic structure

The parotid gland does not have a constant size and shape and relationship to the facial nerve. It consists of two glandular masses, one lying on the masseter muscle and the other in the pterygoid space to a varying depth. These two masses are connected by a glandular bridge, either wide or narrow, which lies on the posterior border of the mandible. The course of the facial nerve may be through this connecting bridge or it may pass to one side or a branch may pass on either side. In passing forward, the nerve branches may lie wholly within the glandular mass on the masseter, wholly beneath it or partly within it and partly beneath it.     

The returning tide: how China, the world's most populous country, is building a competitive research base

When China turned its back on the Cultural Revolution, it aimed to build a thriving capitalist sector. It got one. Now, it wants a world-class research enterprise. How far has it progressed in the biosciences, how did it get there, and how far does it have to go?     

Formation of heat-sensitivity in the ontogenesis of a heat-resistant Drosophila strain and the relation between this property and the mutation process

In the experiments with a heat-resistant line of Drosophila melanogaster, it has been shown that organismal heat-resistance is formed during ontogenesis, prior to hatching, though it can be changed, in accordance with the temperature conditions after hatching (acclimation). Heat-resistance of germ cells is formed during the pupal stage; it depends on the development temperature and remains unchanged thereafter. The mutation rate (the frequency of dominant lethals) in oocytes depends on the development temperature and not on the temperature life conditions of imago. Therefore, it may be concluded that heat-resistance of germ cells as well as their reaction on extreme temperatures are autonomous, meaning their independence of this property in the organism.     

THE PAROTID GLAND—A Reinterpretation of Its Anatomic Structure

The parotid gland does not have a constant size and shape and relationship to the facial nerve. It consists of two glandular masses, one lying on the masseter muscle and the other in the pterygoid space to a varying depth. These two masses are connected by a glandular bridge, either wide or narrow, which lies on the posterior border of the mandible. The course of the facial nerve may be through this connecting bridge or it may pass to one side or a branch may pass on either side. In passing forward, the nerve branches may lie wholly within the glandular mass on the masseter, wholly beneath it or partly within it and partly beneath it.     

Serologic identification of early members of the T cell lineage

The SC-1 antigen, identified by thymus-absorbed rabbit anti-mouse brain antiserum, is present on multipotential stem cells. Its presence on cells of the T lineage has been examined by immunofluorescence, and we have demonstrated that it is also a marker for thymic development. Although it is present on the majority of fetal and neonatal thymocytes, its expression declines rapidly and, as early as 1 mo after birth, adult levels are reached. In normal animals, these do not change during adult life, even in mice destined to develop a T cell leukemia. SC-1 does reappear transiently on cells in the regenerating thymus of sublethally irradiated mice. Although the antigen is not associated with preleukemic changes in the thymus, it is expressed on some cells of all spontaneous T lymphomas, and it is uniformly present on tissue culture lines of T cell lymphomas.     

Consanguinity and endogamy

This study distinguishes consanguinity, endogamy and social milieu. It reveals three facts: (a) the action of consanguinity is greater on mental capacities than on bodily dimensions; (b) endogmay, when distinguished from consanguinity, has on the contrary a more marked effect on body size than on mental abilities. This effect is additional to that of consanguinity; occasionally it exacerbates it (negative interaction); (c) the social milieu adds its effects to those of consanguinity and it explains the larger part of the endogamic depression.     

Modelling spatial landscape complexity using the Levenshtein algorithm

A new measure (C_L) of spatial/structural landscape complexity is developed in this paper, based on the Levenshtein algorithm used in Computer Science and Bioinformatics for string comparisons. The Levenshtein distance (or edit distance) between two strings of symbols is the minimum of all possible replacements, deletions and insertions necessary to convert one string into the other. In this paper, it is shown how this measure can be applicable on raster landscape maps of any size or shape. Calculations and applications are shown on model and real landscapes. The main advantages of this measure for structural (spatial) landscape analysis are the following: it is easily applicable; it can be compared to its maximum value (depending on the grid resolution); it can be used to compare structural/spatial complexities between landscapes; it is applicable to raster landscape maps of any shape; and it can be used to calculate changes in landscape complexity over time. At the level of ecological practice, it may aid in landscape monitoring, management and planning, by identifying areas of higher structural landscape complexity, which may deserve greater attention in the process of landscape conservation.     

Lipase and alpha amylase of chick embryo pancreas and of chickens of various ages]

In chicken embryo pancreas on the 19th day the activity of alpha-amylase and especially of lipase is very low; it increases soon after until it reaches its highest level in 36 hours old chick. Then it falls considerably on the 2nd and 10th day of normal diet; finally it starts again: in fact in three months old chickens the activity of alpha-amylase is equal to thirty-six hours old chick's, while lipase's is lower than this last one.     

Tumour physics

During the cell division dynamic processes take place, the origin of which are to find in the physical characteristics of cell components. The most important characteristics are the electrical charge and the energy of the moving base components in a viscous cytoplasm. The interactions between the components lead as well known, to the emergence of hydrogen bonds between two DNA strands. The computations show that the strength of these bindings depends on three factors: first it is dependent on the length of a monotonous sequence, second it is dependent on the viscosity of the cytoplasm, and third it is dependent on the replication speed. In the study in detail is stated, how it affects the effectiveness of the DNA repair mechanism, mutation susceptibility, and thus also affects the cancer susceptibility.     

BACTERIAL DISEASES OF STONE-FRUIT TREES IN BRITAIN

A bacterial shoot wilt, observed at the East Malling Research Station in 1923 and 1924, is described.
A bacterium isolated from infected shoots has been shown by inoculation experiments to be the cause of the disease.
The organism not only infects young green shoots, but experiments have shown that it can also cause leaf spots, and that it can induce gummosis and cankers on woody branches and on stems.
Cultural studies of the organism suggest that it has not previously been described, so the name Ps. prunicola is proposed for it.     

Institutional refusal to offer assisted dying: A response to Shadd and Shadd

Ever since medical assistance in dying (MAID) became legal in Canada in 2016, controversy has enveloped the refusal by many faith‐based institutions to allow this service on their premises. In a recent article in this journal, Philip and Joshua Shadd have proposed ‘changing the conversation’ on this issue, reframing it as an exercise not of conscience but of an institutional right of self‐governance. This reframing, they claim, will serve to show how health‐care institutions may be justified in refusing to provide MAID on moral or religious grounds. I argue that it will not make it easier to justify institutional refusal, and is likely to make it harder.     

Estimation of biological value of mycelial protein in Botryodiplodia theobromae (Pat.) and the possibility of its utilization

The ever increasing deficit of protein on the globe has made it necessary to search for its new sources. Due to this reason attention was focussed on the fungusB. theobromae Pat. cultivated on the carbohydrates medium. Its protein content converted into dry matter claims on the average 12.5 %, whereof the digestible protein constitutes a half of that value. The analysis of aminoacid composition has revealed that the protein is not of full value in the sense of nourishment, since it does not contain methionine. Nevertheless, it may be looked upon as a certain kind of protein supplement to the food of reared animals, because it is deprived of any dangerous aflatoxins and antibiotic substances.     

Active secretion of bicarbonate by rabbit colon

A serosa-mucosa movement of bicarbonate against concentration gradient was detected at this intestinal level. This movement is partially dependent on oxidative phosphorylation since it is abolished by DNP administration, but as it is not affected by acetazolamide administration it can be supposed as dependent on carbonic anhydrase activity.     

基于QRS波群的心律失常辅助诊断模型研究

基于对QRS波群的特征变量提取。利用减法聚类和自适应模糊神经网络构建心律失常辅助诊断模型,分析不同训练数据集对模型测试结果的影响。实验结果表明。该模型能准确识别不同类型的QRS波群,使用不同训练数据集对诊断结果存在影响,为进一步实现更复杂的心律失常辅助诊断模型提供方法。     

Tankyrase function at telomeres, spindle poles, and beyond

Telomeres have special needs; they require distinct mechanisms for their protection, replication, and separation at mitosis. A dedicated six-subunit protein complex termed shelterin attends to these needs. But shelterin cannot do it alone and often relies on recruits from other cellular locales. One such recruit is tankyrase 1, a poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase that is brought to telomeres by the shelterin DNA binding subunit TRF1, where it functions in telomere length regulation and sister chromatid separation. An understanding of how tankyrase 1 functions at telomeres has been confounded by its complexity; it localizes to multiple subcellular sites, it has many diverse binding partners, and it has a closely related homolog (tankyrase 2) with which it may functionally overlap. This review summarizes our current knowledge of tankyrases focusing on their localization, binding partners, and function.