EFFECTS OF NEUROMUSCULAR BLOCKING AGENTS ON THE DIFFERENTIATION OF NERVE-MUSCLE CONNECTIONS IN SLOW AND FAST CHICK MUSCLES

The effects of neuromuscular blocking drugs on the development of slow and fast muscle fibres and their neuromuscular junctions was studied in chick embryos.
Treatment of embryos with the depolarizing neuromuscular blocking agent suxamethonium affected the development of muscle fibres of the slow anterior latissimus dorsi (ALD) muscle more than that of muscle fibres of the posterior latissimus dorsi (PLD). The differentiation of the presynaptic elements of the neuromuscular junction was delayed and this was particularly obvious in PLD. Normally the number of axon profiles at individual endplates is reduced by 18 days of incubation, but in suxamethonium treated embryos this reduction took place only at 21 days. During earlier stages of development the axon profiles from treated embryos were small with sparse synaptic vesicles. Nevertheless the subsynaptic site of endplates on ALD and PLD muscle fibres became specialized earlier than normal and to a greater extent. Treatment with hemicholinium (HC-3), a drug that reduces the synthesis of acetylcholine (ACh) in nerve terminals affected the development of PLD muscle fibres more than ALD muscle fibres. Although in HC-3 treated embryos nerve-muscle contacts were formed, the axon terminals look immature and remain small even in 18-day old embryos at both ALD and PLD muscle fibres. The reduction of the number of axon profiles normally seen at 18 days failed to take place in treated embryos. At 18 days of incubation many endplates on PLD muscle fibres showed little sign of postsynaptic specilization and resembled endplates usually seen at this stage on ALD muscle fibres.
It is concluded that while neuromuscular activity may be important for the reduction of the number of axon profiles at individual endplates, the specialization of the subsynaptic membrane is brought about by depolarizing effect of ACh.     

用AFLP技术研究花生根瘤菌的遗传多样性

采用AFLP分子标记技术,对分离自中国、津巴布韦、以色列的133株慢生花生根瘤菌(\%Bradyrhizobium \%sp.\%arachis)\%和13个代表菌株(\%Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Bradyrhizobium elkanii)\%的DNA扩增长度多态性进行了分析,并根据各供试菌株的遗传相似性进行了数值聚类。结果表明慢生花生根瘤菌群体内存在很高的遗传多样性,每个菌株的AFLP带谱均与其它菌株完全不同。AFLP技术简便、快速、重现性极高,能表现高信息量的DNA长度多态性,是目前研究生物群体内遗传多样性的最有效办法。     

大鼠心脏的雌激素受体免疫组织化学研究

观察雌激素受体在雌性与雄性大鼠心脏中的表达.取大鼠心房与心室组织制作冰冻切片,应用抗雌激素受体单抗进行免疫组织化学(SP法)染色并进行图像分析.结果显示,雌性与雄性大鼠心脏都存在雌激素受体,且受体的表达无性别差异(P＞0.05);心房与心室都存在雌激素受体阳性表达,其表达也无明显差异(P＞0.05);阳性反应见于心肌细胞和成纤维细胞.结果表明,大鼠心脏存在雌激素受体,心房与心室都可能是雌激素的靶组织;心血管疾病的性别差异与雌性、雄性的受体含量无关,可能与生理条件下受体的活性及功能状态有关.     

雌激素受体在小鼠睾丸表达的免疫组织化学研究

观察雌激素受体在小鼠睾丸的定位与分布。取Ａ／Ｊ系小鼠睾丸, 制备石蜡切片。用间接酶标免疫组织化学和高温处理抗原暴露技术显示雌激素受体的所在部位。睾丸所有Ｌｅｙｄｉｇ 细胞和约２０％ 的肌样细胞的胞核呈雌激素受体阳性反应。睾丸支持细胞和生精细胞为阴性。本研究首次用免疫组织化学技术证明了睾丸中雌激素受体的存在,并定位于Ｌｅｙｄｉｇ 细胞和部分肌样细胞的胞核。为研究雌激素对雄性生殖功能的调节提供了形态学依据。     

哮喘豚鼠肺内SP受体分布的免疫组织化学研究

为探讨哮喘豚鼠肺内SP受体（SPR）的表达[及分布,将豚鼠分成哮喘组和对照组,利用SPR特异性抗血清,免疫组织化学ABC法,葡萄糖氧化酶-DAB-镍染色和计算机图象分析技术。结果显示;与对照组相比,哮喘豚鼠肺内支气管至终末细支气管SPR免疫反应（SPR-IR）阳性产物显浓密,以平滑肌层和粘膜层为。此外,在哮喘组豚鼠而不是对照组豚鼠的呼吸性细支气管壁也有SPR-IR阳性分布。结果表明：SPR表达上调在哮喘的发病过程中起一定作用。     

USE OF THE RECEIVER OPERATING CHARACTERISTIC IN THE STUDY OF TASTE PERCEPTION

Studies of the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) for taste are reviewed and new data on its shape are presented. What evidence there is suggests that ROCs for taste conform to the normal-normal equal variance model of signal detection theory. Few ROCs for taste have been reported, probably because the large number of trials required by detection theory makes the task arduous for subjects in taste experiments. However, pooling ratings from several subjects and estimating the parameters of the pooled ROC by jackknife techniques circumvents that problem to some extent. Because experiments on taste are often based on a small number of trials, it is especially useful to determine the standard errors of ROC parameters. Methods for estimating these standard errors, including that of the area measure, p(A), are therefore presented.     

THE ANALYSIS OF NEUROMUSCULAR MECHANISMS IN CHITON

1. The degree of curvature of the body and of the girdle of a Chiton is determined by the activity of antagonistic muscle groups. At a certain, early stage in the strychninization of a Chiton the reciprocal inhibition involved in the natural use of these muscle groups is reversed, such that extensor muscles, rather than, as normally, flexor muscles, contract as the result of stimulation. This condition involves a reversal, under strychnine, of the normally positive stereotropism of the foot, and of the usual response of the mollusk to an increased illumination of its ventral surface. Strychnine reversal of this character is not a matter of the relative strength of the opposed muscle groups, for the flexor muscles are the more powerful and are the ones always shortened in tetanic contraction. 2. Nicotine, in contrast to strychnine, primarily induces contraction of flexor muscles. Its effects, moreover, are in a degree selective, being notably exerted on "cerebral" nervous structures. Curare is devoid of characteristic action on the neuromuscular responses of Chiton. 3. The chemical organization of the neuromuscular organs of Chiton, as far as revealed by these tests, corresponds to a more simple condition than is inferred for gastropods. In particular, the behavior with respect to curare resembles more that of the neuromuscular apparatus of flatworms.