URINARY DIVERSION IN THERAPY OF PELVIC CANCER—An Appraisal of Ileal-Ureteral Anastomosis

In 43 cases, diversion of the urinary stream was carried out by means of an end-to-side anastomosis of ureters into an ileal segment. Forty-one of these operative procedures were performed in conjunction with the primary or secondary surgical treatment of malignant neoplasm arising in the pelvis.There were six postoperative deaths in this group of patients, none due to the urinary diversion.The remaining patients were observed for periods of from three to sixty months, the mean average eighteen months. During that period, only one patient died (at 42 months) as the result of urinary diversion. In that case death came about because the patient insisted on wearing a Foley retention catheter rather than an ileostomy bag, and the catheter perforated the ileal segment.In only three of the patients did pyelonephritis develop, and the disease was controlled by giving chemotherapeutic agents. In ten patients, some changes in postoperative intravenous pyelograms were observed.     

Rapid measurement of drug release from temperature-sensitive liposomes by electron paramagnetic resonance and radioisotope techniques

We have developed two new methods for quantifying drug release from temperature-sensitive liposomes. Large unilamellar vesicles were made by the reverse phase evaporation process. They contained a water-soluble electron paramagnetic resonance probe, trimethyl-4-amino-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl piperidine N-oxyl and the radioisotope cytosine-[³H]1-β-D-arabinofuranoside in their aqueous compartment. Release of the electron paramagnetic resonance probe was measured by placing the liposomes in a solution of a spin label quenching agent, potassium ferricyanide, and monitoring the reduction in signal strength. The measurement of radioisotope release involved rapid ultracentrifugation of the liposomes after which the supernatant was tested for the presence of radioactivity. Both methods were found to be rapid and convenient ways of measuring drug release from temperature-sensitive liposomes and both methods gave comparable results. The radioisotope assay provides a direct measurement of drug leakage, whereas the electron spin resonance assay provides a continuous marker for liposome stability as a function of temperature.     

Evidence supporting the microbiota–gut–brain axis in a songbird

Recent research in mammals supports a link between cognitive ability and the gut microbiome, but little is known about this relationship in other taxa. In a captive population of 38 zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), we quantified performance on cognitive tasks measuring learning and memory. We sampled the gut microbiome via cloacal swab and quantified bacterial alpha and beta diversity. Performance on cognitive tasks related to beta diversity but not alpha diversity. We then identified differentially abundant genera influential in the beta diversity differences among cognitive performance categories. Though correlational, this study provides some of the first evidence of an avian microbiota–gut–brain axis, building foundations for future microbiome research in wild populations and during host development.     

A role for histamine in cardiovascular regulation in late stage embryos of the red-footed tortoise, Chelonoidis carbonaria Spix, 1824

A chorioallantoic membrane artery in embryos of the red-footed tortoise, Chelonoidis carbonaria was occlusively cannulated for measurement of blood pressure and injection of drugs. Two age groups of embryos in the final 10 % of incubation were categorized by the ratio of embryonic body to yolk mass. All embryos first received cholinergic and β-adrenergic blockade. This revealed that β-adrenergic control was established in both groups whereas cholinergic control was only established in the older group immediately prior to hatching. The study then progressed as two series. Series one was conducted in a subset of embryos treated with histamine before or after injection of ranitidine, the antagonist of H₂ receptors. Injection of histamine caused an initial phasic hypertension which recovered, followed by a longer lasting hypertensive response accompanied by a tachycardia. Injection of the H₂ receptor antagonist ranitidine itself caused a hypotensive tachycardia with subsequent recovery of heart rate. Ranitidine also abolished the cardiac effects of histamine injection while leaving the initial hypertensive response intact. In series, two embryos were injected with histamine after injection of diphenhydramine, the antagonist to H₁ receptors. This abolished the whole of the pressor response to histamine injection but left the tachycardic response intact. These data indicate that histamine acts as a non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic factor, regulating the cardiovascular system of developing reptilian embryos and that its overall effects are mediated via both H₁ and H₂ receptor types.     

Eccrine sweat gland activity in heat acclimation

The response of eccrine sweat glands of the forearms of four females was investigated during acclimation to heat. The sweat rate increased progressively during ten exposures. There was no significant change in the number of active sweat glands. The increased sweat rate could, therefore, be attributed to enhanced secretory activity of individual glands.

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Zusammenfassung Die Schweissdrüsenreaktion des Vorderarms von 4 Frauen wurde während der Akklimation an Hitze untersucht. Die Schweisssekretion stieg progressiv während 10 Sitzungen an. Eine signifikante Änderung in der Zahl der aktiven Schweissdrüsen wurde nicht beobachtet. Die gesteigerte Schweisssekretion beruht danach auf einer vermehrten Schweissbildung der einzelnen Drüsen.

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Resume On a étudié les réactions des glandes sudoripares de quatre femmes pendant la période d'acclimation à la chaleur. La sécrétion de sueur a augmenté progressivement durant 10 heures. On n'a cependant pas observé de modification sensible du nombre des glandes actives. L'augmentation de la sueur sécrétée provient donc d'une augmentation de la sécrétion de chacune des glandes en particulier.

     

Mouse male sterility and histoincompatibility (mshi) maps between the D10Mit51/168/212 cluster and D10Mit213

The recessive male sterility and histoincompatibility (mshi) mutation in the mouse generates pleiotropic effects on graft transplantation and male reproduction. Previous analysis of backcross mice typed for mshi either by testicular morphology or by allograft rejection has located each trait to a 20-cM region on proximal mouse Chr 10. Here we present the microsatellite polymorphism analysis of a new 276-member intraspecific backcross panel—including a set of 135 males typed for sterility and histoincompatibility—that places both features controlled by mshi within a 1.7-cM interval between markers D10Mit51/168/212 and D10Mit213. In addition, this analysis has allowed an explicit test of a two-gene model for the mshi locus and has provided a measurement of the penetrance of the mshi-generated histogenic phenotype in both male (88.4 ± 3.9%) and female (91.0 ± 3.5%) mutants. The fine-structure map presented should facilitate a chromosome walk across this region and, ultimately, the molecular identification of the gene or genes affected by this interesting mutation. Received: 28 August 1998 / Accepted 18 December 1998