A New Approach to Undergraduate Biology

The use of a common pathogenic vegetable soft-rot bacterium Erwinia carotovora is recommended for school student investigations. Suggestions are made about simple ways in which quantitative data can be collected, as well as some suitable investigations that could be carried out by school pupils at Key Stage 4(15–16 years old) or Advanced level.     

Andropause ou P.A.D.A.M.

Recently the word P.A.D.A.M. has been proposed to replace the term Andropause (Partiel Andrologen Deficiency in Aging Males). This implies that most if not all problems of the aging male are due to testosterone déficiency, which is not at all true when one considers the results of endocrine investigations in that group. So many other sociological and relational causes are involved that the term P.A.D.A.M. is clearly a misnomer.     

Role of Preschool and Primary School Children in Epidemics of Influenza A in a Local Community in Japan during Two Consecutive Seasons with A(H3N2) as a Predominant Subtype

Enhanced influenza surveillance was implemented to analyze transmission dynamics particularly driving force of influenza transmission in a community during 2011/12 and 2012/13 seasons in Odate City, Japan. In these two consecutive seasons, influenza A(H3N2) was the predominant influenza A subtype. Suspected influenza cases were tested by commercial rapid test kits. Demographic and epidemiological information of influenza positive cases were recorded using a standardized questionnaire, which included age or age group, date of visit, date of fever onset, and the result of rapid test kit. Epidemiological parameters including epidemic midpoint (EM) and growth rate (GR) were analyzed. In 2012/13 season, numbers of influenza A positive cases were significantly lower among preschool (212 cases) and primary school (224 cases) children than in 2011/12 season (461 and 538 cases, respectively). Simultaneously, total influenza A cases were also reduced from 2,092 in 2011/12 season to 1,846 in 2012/13 season. The EMs in preschool and primary school children were earlier than EMs for adult and all age group in both 2011/12 and 2012/13 seasons. The GR in 2012/13 season was significantly lower than that in 2011/12 season (0.11 and 0.18, respectively, p = 0.003). Multiple linear regression analysis by school districts revealed that GRs in both seasons were significantly correlated with the incidence of school age children. Our findings suggest that preschool and primary school children played an important role as a driving force of epidemics in the community in both 2011/12 and 2012/13 seasons. The reduction of total influenza A cases in 2012/13 season can be explained by decreased susceptible population in these age groups due to immunity acquired by infections in 2011/12 season. Further investigations are needed to investigate the effect of pre-existing immunity on influenza transmission in the community.     

The priority contribution of academician A.L. Kursanov's scientific school to the study of oxygen metabolism and anaerobiosis in plants

The biographical data on scientific activity of Academician A.L. Kursanov are presented. The contribution of A.L. Kursanov and his school to study of oxygen metabolism and plants anaerobiosis is reviewed. Special attention is given to the works on plant respiration, biosynthesis of endogenous water within plants and animals, mechanism of vitamin A biosynthesis and the metabolism of intracellular water studied with 18O methods. The important works of A.L. Kursanov's school that played an essential role in establishing the new brunch of science at the interface of physiology, biochemistry and ecology of plants, focused on the plant anaerobiosis theory are considered in details.     

Aggregations in flatworms

A school project to investigate aggregations in flatworms is described. It was found by a series of simple experiments that the formation of aggregations in the flatworm, Polycelis nigra, was influenced by light intensity, temperature, and some form of chemical stimulus released by already aggregating flatworms. Such investigations could be adapted to suit many levels of school practical work.     

Black spots on the scalps of schoolchildren. A recurrent condition in the windy west.

During the past 10 years, epidemics of black spots on the scalps of schoolchildren have caused considerable concern in at least 4 communities in the Rocky Mountain states. We describe the clinical presentation of "black spots" in a group of Wyoming elementary school students and the epidemiologic investigation that revealed the cause. Our study included a questionnaire survey of students'' parents, examination of students at the affected school and at two other schools, observation of playground activity patterns, and laboratory analysis of specimens taken from affected children and from the school environment. The black material in the scalp spots was chemically identical to flakes of black material found on the playground and tar from the school roof. We concluded that the spots were caused by flakes of windblown tar from the school roof. Previous outbreaks of black spots may have had a similar cause.     

L.A. Bliumenfeld and quantum conceptions in biophysics

The development of quantum conceptions in biophysics and the role of experimental and theoretical works of L.A. Blumenfeld in this process were considered. The influence of his investigations on the researches of other scientists in the field of quantum biophysics was shown.     

A review of research examining the coronary-prone behavior pattern.

With the increasing incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) and the subsequent interest in factors which contribute to its development, the idea of a coronary-prone (Type A) behavior pattern has attracted much attention in recent years. In this paper, research on the coronary-prone behavior pattern is reviewed. Type A behavior is found to be fairly accurate in predicting the likelihood and severity of CHD, at least in large groups of people. Problems in measuring and in more clearly defining the components of Type A behavior are discussed. Future investigations are urged, focusing on how the behavior pattern develops and on strategies for intervention.     

Some aspects of enzymatic browning in apples

The investigations outlined in ‘Browning reactions in fruits’, part of the special study of food science of the Nuffleld Advanced Chemistry course, are modified to make the material meaningful and relevant to pupils in the middle school. This article discusses a series of simple experiments on apple browning which were performed by third formers. A summary of the nature of the browning process and its control are included.     

中国东部与西部汉族小学生体质发育差异的动态变化

为了揭示中国东西部汉族小学生体质发育差异的动态变化,应用文献资料法和数理统计法,将中国学生体质与健康1985年和2010年两次调研中有关东部和西部汉族小学生体质数据进行统计和对比分析。结果表明:东部小学生体质持续优于西部小学生且总体上差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05),东西部小学生的身体形态、身体机能及城市小学生体育素质呈拉大的趋势,东西部乡村小学生的体育素质呈缩小的趋势;东西部小学生身体形态发育处于增长的长期趋势;东西部小学生肺活量全面下降具有统计学意义(P<0.05),西部小学生下降速度快于东部小学生;东西部小学生耐力跑全面下降而斜身引体全面提高且具有统计学意义(P<0.05);东西部小学生体育素质发展差异的特征比较明显,东部小学生体育素质项目提高数量、幅度和速度高于西部小学生而下降的数量、幅度和速度低于西部小学生。     

The Concanavalin A agglutinating system of cell membranes.

The hopes raised by the finding of differential Concanavalin A (Con A) agglutinability of normal and transformed cells in efforts to quantify differences between these cell lines seem not to have been justified. In this paper, the development of information on the mechanism of action of Con A on the cell surface, as well as the theories put forward at each stage of this development are surveyed. In this respect, investigations on Con A constitute a case history in biological research. The involvement of glycoproteins and galactosyltransferases in cell-cell interactions and their relations to Con A are also reviewed.     

The importance of the “Gegenbaur school” for German morphology

Summary The school Carl Gegenbaur cultivated at Heidelberg (1873–1901) was critical to the history of German morphology in multiple ways. During and after his lifetime, the school carried out detailed comparative anatomical and embryological investigations in an evolutionary framework, thereby contributing substantially to the project of vertebrate evolutionary morphology. Its members also defended their mentor when his ideas came under attack. After his death, they labored to perpetuate his program and his memory in the increasingly unwelcoming environment of medical education and research. While the senior members of the school did this largely through institutional means-seeking to place Gegenbaur sympathizers in academic and editorial positions-its junior members absorbed some of the criticisms of the school to develop a modified, more functional approach to evolutionary morphology. The school thus kept the Gegenbaur program alive and active in the German-speaking lands for over fifty years. This paper is drawn largely from Nyhart (1995), esp. chapter 7 (supported by NSF award no. 8910873). Information not otherwise documented derives from this book.     

A clinical study of the EMI scanner: implications for provision of neuroradiological services.

The records of the first 571 patients to be examined with an EMI brain scanner were assessed. The patients were divided into diagnostic categories according to their clinical presentation. The intracranial investigations that would have been performed had the scanner not been available were compared with the investigations that were actually performed. As expected, the number of contrast investigations fell, but the reduction surpassed expectation. If the full clinical impact of the scanner is to be realised the patient''s illness must be defined in detail and strict attention paid to radiographic detail. By reducing the number of special contrast investigations use of the scanner enables existing contrast facilities to serve a wider population; and use of the brain scanner in district general hospitals would improve the service to patients, especially those with head injuries.     

On the knowledge of the intertidal zone of Russian Far Eastern Seas

A historical review. By the end of the 20th century, the composition of intertidal biota has been studied in all Russian Far Eastern seas; the specific features of vertical zonation in intertidal communities have been revealed; the major belt-forming communities of flora and fauna have been described and studied in the quantitative aspect; the existence of bionomic types in the intertidal zone, similar to those in the coastal area of the Barents Sea, has been corroborated; and some regularities have been retraced in the geographical zonation of different types of marine intertidal zone. The progress of the scientific school of Academician Oleg G. Kusakin has been particularly emphasized in the investigations of intertidal biota, communities and taxocenoses.     

Transmission of urinary schistosomiasis in Sukumaland, Tanzania. 1. Snail infection rates and incidence of infection in school children

Seasonal density fluctuations of Bulinus nasutus populations with accompanying Schistosoma haematobium infection rates in relation to rainfall and habitat water volumes were studied at Ukiriguru, Mwanza, Tanzania. Alongside the snail investigations, 50 school children initially negative for urinary schistosomiasis were examined regularly to determine seasonal incidence rates for the infection. Of the 17,646 B. nasutus collected in 2 years, 156 (0.88%) were found shedding cercariae. Snail populations fluctuated seasonally as influenced by rainfall through its effects on habitat water volume. Monthly snail infection rates ranged from 0.09% to 3.19% and were highest in February and March, at the time of the short dry period. Monthly incidence of S. haematobium in school children ranged between 2.6% and 12.5%, being highest in April and May. There was a significant linear association between monthly snail infection rates and S. haematobium incidence rates in school children (r2s = 0.65 in 1982/83; r2s = 0.87 in 1983/84) suggesting that the maximum transmission period for urinary schistosomiasis in the area occurs during the short dry period, sometime in February/March so that most of the infections in the community would be detected in April/May.     

Diagnosis of gastric cancer.

A prospective comparison was made of the accuracy of different diagnostic methods for gastric cancer. The basis of the study was a consecutive series of 113 patients thought to have gastric pathology; cancer was the final diagnosis in 32. Endoscopy and radiology were the most accurate investigations, whereas biopsy, cytology, and clinical examination gave disappointing results. A wide range of clinical features and laboratory investigations were studied in all patients in an attempt to identify criteria suggestive of malignancy. Multifactorial computer analysis of these investigations failed to improve upon the radiological diagnosis. A systemic approach designed to make optimal use of limited endoscopic and histopathological resources in the diagnosis of gastric lesions is presented.     

Welch, Sedgwick, and the Hopkins model of hygiene

William H. Welch and William T. Sedgwick, two of the founding fathers of American public health, were both early generation "Hopkins Men." Sedgwick was part of the first group of graduate students to attend Johns Hopkins University, and Welch was part of the initial faculty at the University's medical school. While they never worked together as colleagues at Hopkins, both became interested in the exciting new discoveries of the microbial nature of human disease and developed similar public health programs based on this information. Sedgwick expanded upon these investigations in the new sanitary science program at MIT, where academic public health first emerged in the United States following Sedgwick's appointment in 1883. Welch, who had been exposed to European research in microbiology, promoted microbial research in pathology in Baltimore in 1884. His laboratory-based investigations expanded until they led to the formation of the country's first school of public health in 1916. Thus, a "Hopkins Model" for hygiene and public health emerged from the efforts of both Welch and Sedgwick.     

The phenomenon of debrachycephalization in Jena school children

Head measurements are performed within the anthropological investigations of school children from Jena (Germany) since more than 5 decades (1944-1995). Here we report on secular changes of the head length, the head breadth and the cephalic index. The head circumference, measured in 1985 and in 1995, is included in the analysis. Head length and head breadth show a contrary development over the whole period: the average length of the head increases between the consecutive investigations, whereas the breadth of the head decreases continuously between the separate investigations. As a consequence the cephalic index decreases in boys and girls for about 8 units since 1944. In this way a secular change of the shape of the head in the sense of debrachycephalisation can be proved in Jena school children. The head circumference, however, remains nearly constant between 1985 and 1995. Possible causes of this process of debrachycephalisation are focussed in this article.     

Development of biochemistry in the Biology Department of Kharkhov State University. Formation of a new direction--physiology and biochemistry of aging

The article presents some data on teaching Biochemistry at the Nature Department of Kharkiv Imperial University Physico-Mathematical Faculty, as well as restoration of biochemical education and scientific researches as a result of the University reorganization in the Soviet period and foundation of the Biochemistry Chair at the Biological Faculty in the renovated Kharkiv State University. The analysis of scientific biochemical investigations conducted in the Kharkiv University till now is revealed. The special attention is paid to development of such a scientific trend as age physiology and biochemistry. The article deals with the comprehensive information on scientific and pedagogical activity of the outstanding scientists such as O. V. Nagorny and I. M. Bulankin as founders of the Kharkiv school of age physiology and biochemistry. The work has utilized some archive data.     

Inner Speech And The Processes of Grammatical Generation of Utterances

The present article contains no ultimate truths. As indicated in the title, the author's aim is to present, on the basis of presently available data, a few hypotheses concerning socalled "inner speech" in order to provide a foundation for experimental investigations. These hypotheses have as their premise the general conception of processes of speech generation that is current in contemporary Soviet psychology, in particular, in L. S. Vygotsky's school, as well as in another school of Soviet physiology of higher nervous activity associated with the name of N. A. Bernshteyn. However, these hypotheses are not, in principle, incompatible with certain other theories of verbal activity (verbal behavior); indeed, as will be evident later, they are partially based on material accumulated with the aid of these theories.