Analysis of the spectrum of ACTH-immunoreactive peptides in the brain of inbred mice

The ACTH-immunoreactive peptides (IP) distribution in the acid extract of brain and plasma fractions of C57BL/6, BALB/c and F1 (C57BL/6 X BALB/c) mice was investigated. IP were isolated by high-performance liquid chromatography. Interstrain differences in the IP spectrum were found in intact mice and mice after exposure to stress in the "open-field" test.     

COMPARISON OF METHODS USED TO ESTIMATE NUMBERS OF WALRUSES ON SEA ICE

The US and former USSR conducted joint surveys of Pacific walruses on sea ice and at land haul-outs in 1975, 1980, 1985, and 1990. One of the difficulties in interpreting results of these surveys has been that, except for the 1990 survey, the Americans and Soviets used different methods for estimating population size from their respective portions of the sea ice data. We used data exchanged between Sovier and American scientists to compare and evaluate the two estimation procedures and to derive a set of alternative estimates from the 1975, 1980, and 1985 surveys based on a single consistent procedure. Estimation method had only a small effect on total population estimates because most walruses were found at land haul-outs. However, the Sovievr method is subject to bias that depends on the distribution of the population on the sea ice and this has important implications for interpreting the ice portions of previously reported surveys for walruses and other pinniped species. We recommend that the American method be used in future surveys. Future research on survey methods for walruses should focus on other potential sources of bias and variation.     

Morphological characteristics of tissue components of different layers of the rat myocardium

The tissue components of the subendocardial, inner and outer intramural layers of the myocardium were examined by morphometry. There was no significant difference in the proportion of cardiomyocytes in the different layers of the myocardium (subendocardium 0.820 +/- 0.007; inner layer 0.713 +/- 0.100; outer intramural layers 0.727 +/- 0.008; subepicardium 0.699 +/- 0.009). The relative surface of cardiomyocytes was maximal in the subepicardium (58.62 +/- 1,18). The magnitudes of the volumetric density and surface of the capillaries decreased from the subepicardial toward the subendocardial layer. The diameter of myocytes in the test layers of the myocardium varied within a wide range.     

Development of male germ cells in the fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus)

Three types of spermatogonia have been distinguished in the fur seal: type A, intermediate, type B. The type A spermatogonia are presented by means of five varieties: stem A, A1, A2, A3, A4. The spermatogonia of the stem A type is characterized with presence of equally distributed chromatin in the nucleus. The spermatogonia of the A1-A4 types are characterized with a gradual condensation of chromatin. The intermediate spermatogonia possesses a light nucleus, chromatin as small and large granules is situated near the nuclear membrane. The spermatogonia of B1-B3 types have a round nucleus, their chromatin is granular. Spermatocytes both at the leptotene stage and at the zygotene stage are presented by means of three cellular forms. At the pachytene stage four cellular forms are distinguished. Basing on formation of the acrosomic apparatus, 18 stages of spermatids development are distinguished.     

The effect of sensitization to the electrical activity of the muscles of the lower respiratory tract in the rat

The electrical activity of the smooth muscle of the trachea was studied on sensibilized ovalbumine rats. The role of intramural ganglions of the airway was shown.     

A self-consistent kinetic model of the stratification of plane and spherical low-pressure discharges in argon

A self-consistent kinetic model is used to describe the effect of stratification of the positive column of a plane and a spherical gas discharge in argon at low pressure. The model is based on solving the Boltzmann kinetic equation for the electron energy distribution function, the time-dependent ion continuity equation, and Poisson’s equation for the self-consistent electric field. The spatial distributions of the electron and ion densities and of the electric field in the positive column of a stratified discharge are determined. The kinetic mechanism for discharge stratification in noble gases at low pressures is explained in terms of the proposed model. The model makes it possible to describe the moving strata and to confirm the validity of the experimentally obtained dependence of the radii of the strata on their numbers in a spherical discharge.