Die Serumgruppen-Systeme Lp(a), Gm(a), Gc und Hp bei Cerebralsklerotikern

Zusammenfassung Im genetisch determinierten Lp(a)-System war die Häufigkeit von Lp(a+) bei 307 Cerebralsklerosefällen statistisch signifikant erhöht im Vergleich zur Lp(a+)-Häufigkeit der gleichen Population. In den Systemen Gm(a), Gc und Hp wurde dagegen keine Veränderung der Genotypenhäufigkeit infolge der arteriosklerotischen Erkrankung festgestellt.

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In the genetically determined Lp(a) system the frequency of Lp(a+) showed with 45.6 per cent a statistically significant raise in 307 patients with cerebral sclerosis compared with 38.7 per cent in normal population. The increase of Lp(a+) is almost exclusively confined to weakly positive precipitation and is discussed in connection with the often observed increase of -lipoprotein concentration in the serum of arteriosclerotic persons. As expected no changes of genotype frequency due to arteriosclerotic diseases has been stated in the Gm(a), Gc and Hp system.

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Herrn Medizinalrat Dr. Wieder, Ärztlicher Direktor des Bezirkskrankenhauses, sind wir für die Überlassung der Blutproben zu besonderem Dank verpflichtet.

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(Direktor: Obermedizinalrat Dr. med. K. Thomas)     

Das Subfornikalorgan und seine Beziehungen zu dem neurosekretorischen System im Zwischenhirn des Frosches

Zusammenfassung Das Subfornikalorgan von Rana esculenta und Rana temporaria liegt am Zusammenfluß dreier Ventrikel in der Pars ventromedialis oder septalis des Telencephalon und weist einen bei Säugetieren nicht erkennbaren Bauplan in drei Zonen oder Schichten auf. Die innere Zone wird von einem glomerulumartigen Gefäßsinus mit perivaskulärem Raum dargestellt. Große, nur von Gliamembranen getrennte Vakuolen umgeben als mittlere Zone das Gefäß. Diese Schicht ist praktisch zellfrei. Die äußere Schicht wird im ventrikulären Bereich von sehr unterschiedlich gebauten Ependymzellen gebildet. Sie können hochprismatisch bis endothelartig platt sein. Die anderen dem Gehirn zugewandten Seiten der dritten Zone bestehen aus Gliazellen, unter denen drei Zellarten gefunden werden, die keine Ähnlichkeit mit den Parenchymzellen der Säugetiere haben. Im basalen Bereich kommen Zellen vor, deren Cytoplasma sich mit Chromhämatoxylin und Aldehydthionin tingiert und die faserige Fortsätze bilden. Auch im Ependym und zwischen den Vakuolen werden in Einzelfällen Gomori-positive Substanzen gefunden.Durch osmotische Belastung und Hypophysektomie der Tiere wurde versucht, Bahnen zwischen Nucleus praeopticus und Subfornikalorgan darzustellen. Es konnte gezeigt werden, daß zwischen beiden Bezirken des Gehirns eine Verbindung besteht, deren Hauptweg über den Commissurenwulst der Commissura anterior und Commissura pallii anterior zum Subfornikalorgan führt. Unter experimentellen Bedingungen ließen sich auch die im Normalfall nur selten vorkommenden Gomori-positiven Substanzen im Ependym und zwischen den Vakuolen regelmäßiger nachweisen.Der Drei-Schichten-Bau, in dem sich die Flüssigkeitssysteme Blut und Liquor unter Vermittlung eines dritten — dem Vakuoleninhalt — gegenüberstehen, und die Verbindung zum neurosekretorischen System des Zwischenhirns werden für die Funktion des Organs als bedeutsam erachtet.     

Protein kinase C activity is rate limiting for shedding of the interleukin-6 receptor.

An analysis of the mechanism of generation of the soluble interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6R) has been performed. The membrane-bound receptor is proteolytically cleaved to release a soluble receptor form which retained its ligand binding capacity. Furthermore, the soluble IL-6R is unique in its ability to induce a biological signal in complex with the ligand interleukin-6 (IL-6) on cells which by themselves do not bind IL-6. Shedding of the IL-6R is strongly activated by PMA and can be inhibited by the protein kinase inhibitor staurosporine. The generation of the IL-6R is not dependent on protein synthesis. The inactive PMA analogue 4-alpha-phorbol-12,13-didecanoate fails to induce shedding of the IL-6R. Transfection of a protein kinase C expression plasmid into IL-6R expressing cells leads to enhanced shedding of the receptor. These experiments clearly show that protein kinase C regulates shedding of the IL-6R.     

A heuristic algorithm for the loading problem in flexible manufacturing systems

The paper considers the loading problem in flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs). This problem involves the assignment to the machine tools of all operations and associated cutting tools required for part types that have been selected to be produced simultaneously. The loading problem is first formulated as a linear mixed 0–1 program with the objective to minimize the greatest workload assigned to each machine. A heuristic procedure is presented in which an assignment of operations to machine tools is obtained by solving a parameterized generalized assignment problem with an objective function that approximates the use of tool slots required by the operations assigned to the machines. The algorithm is coded in FORTRAN and tested on an IBM-compatible personal computer. Computational results are presented for different test problems to demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of the suggested procedure.     

A novel, “hidden” penicillin-induced death of staphylococci at high drug concentration,occurring earlier than murosome-mediated killing processes

In log-phase cells of staphylococci, cultivated under high, non-lytic concentrations of penicillin G, there occurred a novel killing process hitherto hidden behind seemingly bacteriostatic effects. Two events are essential for the apprearance of this hidden death: (i) the failure of the dividing cell to deposit enough fibrillar cross-wall material to be welded together, and (ii) a premature ripping up of incomplete cross walls along their splitting system. Hidden death started as early as 10–15 min after drug addition, already during the first division cycle. It was the consequence of a loss of cytoplasmic constituents which erupted through peripheral slit-like openings in the incomplete cross walls. The loss resulted either in more or less empty cells or in cell shrinkage. These destructions could be prevented by raising the external osmotic pressure. In contrast, the conventional non-hidden death occurred only much later and exclusively during the second division cycle and mainly in those dividing cells, whose nascent cross walls of the first division plane had been welded together. These welding processes at nascent cross walls, resulting in tough connecting bridges between presumptive individual cells, were considered as a morphogenetic tool which protects the cells, so that they can resist the otherwise fatal penicillin-induced damages for at least an additional generation time (morphogenetic resistance system). Such welded cells, in the virtual absence of underlying cross-wall material, lost cytoplasm and were killed via ejection through pore-like wall openings or via explosions in the second division plane and after liberation of their murosomes, as it was the case in the presence of low, lytic concentrations of penicillin. Bacteriolysis did not cause any of the hitherto known penicillin-induced killing processes.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Georg Henneberg on the occasion of his 85th birthday