Control of reproduction in female cockroaches with special reference to Nauphoeta cinerea—I. First pre-oviposition period

Prior to the first oviposition, a receptivity centre, perhaps neurosecretory cells in the brain, controls the female's acceptance of courting males. In L. maderae this centre is affected by starvation. A brief exposure to food can induce mating but is inadequate for oöcyte development. Before the first ovulation starvation has no effect on receptivity in N. cinerea.

In N. cinerea mechanical stimulation caused by the firm insertion of the spermatophore in the bursa copulatrix releases stimuli via the nerve cord to the brain which render the female unreceptive and, at the same time, increases the activity of the corpora allata resulting in rapid development of the oöcytes.

The mechanical presence of the oötheca in the uterus also has two principal effects. Like spermatophore insertion, it inhibits mating. But its effect on the corpora allata is inhibitory, rather than stimulatory, and, consequently, the oöcytes remain underveloped for almost the entire gestation period. The effectiveness of inhibitory stimulation from the stretched uterus depends upon the period in the reproductive cycle in which it occurs-i.e. on the physiological state of the female. In N. cinerea uterine stretching inhibits mating and oöcyte development after oviposition or during gestation but is not effective when exerted during the first pre-oviposition period. In P. surinamensis, uterine stretching does not inhibit the corpora allata prior to the first ovulation but does prevent oöcyte development during gestation.

In fed L. maderae and N. cinerea there appears to be a synergistic action of nutrition and mating in controlling the rate of oöcyte development. Mating (mechanical) and feeding (chemical) stimuli are both usually required for activating the corpora allata to their fullest extent so that the oöcytes mature at their maximum rate. There is some indication that mating stimuli in N. cinerea and L. maderae are effective in further stimulating the corpora allata only if the corpora allata have reached a certain level of activity, if activating stimuli have begun to occur in the brain, or if the mating stimulus occurs in combination with nutritional factors. Thus, the corpora allata in starved virgin females of N. cinerea become sufficiently active so that some yolk is deposited in the oöcytes but these oöcytes do not mature; mating is effective in further stimulating the endocrine glands in these starved females and oviposition occurs in about the normal period. In starved virgins of L. maderae the corpora allata are virtually inactive and yolk is not deposited in the oöcytes; mating has no effect on oöcyte development in starved females. D. punctata differs from both the above species in that the corpora allata in the virgin female usually remain inactive whether she feeds or starves. Mating stimuli alone can activate the corpora allata, in fed or starved females, and consequently the oöcytes mature.     

On the History of Men and Genocide

A historical and psychological study of genocide is presented in which special emphasis is given to modern manifestations of this phenomenon. The policy of eradication of the Jews by the Hitler regime is considered as an example of genocide in the twentieth century. The psychopathology of genocide and the complex relationships among aggressors, victims and witnesses are elaborated. Inferences are drawn from past and present patterns of genocide that may provide some leads to the future. It is now possible to envisage an all-consuming genocide unless nations can learn to live together, not necessarily in unity but in diversity.     

Shunt effect of gas compression inside pneumotachographs during forced oscillations

Determination of the frequency response of pneumotachographs is needed whenever they are used to measure high-frequency flows, such as in the forced oscillation method. When screen and capillary pneumotachographs are calibrated using an adiabatic compression in a closed box as a reference impedance, they can be adequately described by a series of inertial-resistive elements. However, this type of reference impedance strongly differs from the actual respiratory impedance (ZL). We studied the frequency response of pneumotachographs up to 250 Hz in reference to the impedance of a compressible gas oscillating in a long tube, taken as a more generalizable model of actual ZL. We found that, with this device, the series resistance-inertance models fail to describe the frequency response of the pneumotachograph. However, when compressible effects in the pneumotachograph are taken into account by adding to the resistive models a compliance (Cpn) corresponding to the compression in half of the inner volume of the pneumotachograph, the agreement with experiments becomes satisfactory. Gas compression-related phenomena were demonstrated to be negligible only when the parameter omega Cpn magnitude of ZL is much smaller than 1 (omega pulsation). Results obtained in normal humans have shown that such a correction is required above 100 Hz. Similar correction at lower frequency might also be necessary in cases of large respiratory impedance (e.g., babies, subjects with pathological lungs, and intubated subjects).     

Ca modulates outward current throughI K1 channels

Summary Inward-rectifier channels in cardiac cells (I _K1) stabilize the resting membrane potential near the K equilibrium potential. Here we investigate the role ofI _K1 in the regulation of action potentials and link this to the influx of Ca during beating. Inward Ca current alters the open-channel probability of outwardI _K1 current. Thus Ca ions depolarize cells not only by carrying an inward current but also by blocking an outward current.     

Pharmacological Characterization of Somatostatin Receptors in the Rat Cerebellum During Development

Abstract: Somatostatin (SRIF) receptors (SRIF-Rs) are transiently expressed in a germinative lamina of the rat cerebellum, the external granule cell layer. The appearance of SRIF-Rs coincides with the expression of SRIF-like immunoreactivity in the cerebellum. However, the cellular location of SRIF-Rs does not overlap with the distribution of SRIF-like immunoreactivity, with the latter being restricted to ascending fibers arising from the brainstem, to perikarya within the white matter, and to some Purkinje cells. The characterization of SRIF-Rs in the immature (13–day-old) rat cerebellum was conducted by means of binding experiments in membraneenriched preparations and autoradiography, using two radioligands, [¹²⁵I-Tyr⁰,D-Trp⁸]SRIF-14 ([¹²⁵I-Tyr⁰,d -Trp⁸]S14) and ^I25I-SMS 204–090. The pharmacological profile of cerebellar SRIF-Rs was compared with that of adult cortical SRIF-Rs. Saturation studies performed in 13–day-old rat cerebellum showed that the A'_D values for [¹²⁵I-Tyr⁰,D-Trp⁸]S14 and ¹²⁵I-SMS 204–090 binding were 0.35 ± 0.04 and 0.39 ± 0.01 nM, respectively. The corresponding B_max values were 52.7 ± 4.8 and 49.9 ± 5.3 fmol/mg of protein, a result indicating that radioligands with high specific radioactivity (2,000 Ci/mmol) bind to a single class of high-affinity sites (SSI). Competition studies showed that different D-Trp-sub-stituted analogs displaced [¹²⁵I-Tyr⁰,d -Trp⁸]S14 binding with Hill coefficients >1, a finding indicating the existence of different subtypes of binding sites. When [Tyr⁰,d -Trp⁸]S14 was used as a competitor, two sites were resolved by Scatchard analysis in both 13–day-old cerebellum and adult cerebral cortex. The higher-affinity sites correspond to the SSI subtype identified in saturation experiments, whereas the lower-affinity sites most likely correspond to the SS2 subtype. Ionic supplementation studies showed that divalent cations were required to obtain maximal specific binding on the SSI sites. In particular, Mn²⁺ was the most efficient cation for promoting binding of [¹²⁵I-Tyr⁰,d -Trp⁸]S14. Addition of GTP to the incubation buffer induced a marked reduction of specific binding. The results obtained by membrane binding assays were similar to those obtained by quantitative autoradiography, a result indicating that the microenvironment of SRIF-Rs was preserved in both types of tissue preparations. Receptors expressed in the developing rat cerebellum exhibited the same K_D and similar pharmacological profile as those observed in the adult rat cortex. These results show that SRIF-binding sites transiently expressed in the external granule cell layer of the cerebellum of young rats are indistinguishable from adult rat brain SRIF-Rs. The extremely high density of SRIF-Rs found in the external granule cell layer in 13–day-old rats suggests that SRIF may play a pivotal role in the proliferation and/or differentiation of these germinative cells.