Insulin secretion in the hibernating edible dormouse (Glis glis): in vivo and in vitro studies

Plasma glucose and insulin have been studied during lethargy and spontaneous arousal of hibernating edible dormouse. During lethargy blood glucose was low while plasma insulin remained at the same level as in other seasons. Plasma glucose and insulin did not fluctuate along the phase of lethargy. During spontaneous arousal plasma insulin rose strongly from the 17 degrees C stage, reaching the higher values at 26 degrees C while blood glucose was only 85 mg/100 ml, then decreased at 37 degrees C. The effect of glucose and temperature on insulin secretion was studied using perfused pancreas preparation from hibernating edible dormice. During the rewarming of the edible dormouse pancreas the insulin release did not occur in response to the absolute extracellular glucose level but occurred in response to a B cell membrane phenomenon which was dependent on the changing rate of glucose level. The effect of glucose and temperature on insulin secretion from perfused pancreas was compared between edible dormouse and homeotherm permanent, the rat. The B cell response to glucose of the dormouse pancreas increased up to 15 degrees C whereas that of the rat only from 25 degrees C. The dormouse insulin secretion reached a peak value at the 30 degrees C of temperature, whereas that of the rat progressively increased until 37 degrees C. These results showed that some biochemical adjustment or process of acclimatization took place in the B cells of the hibernators.     

Comparison of Stainless-Steel Closures and Cotton Plugs in Maintaining Contamination-free Medium in Circulating Air

Culture flasks capped with stainless-steel closures became contaminated when incubated in circulating air. Cotton plugs prevented this contamination.     

Involvement of Adenosine in the Acute Action of Progesterone on Glucose Metabolism In Rat Adipocytes

Abstract

Progesterone and synthetic steroids (RU-5020, progestomimetic; RU-38486, anti-progesterone and anti-glucocorticoid) inhibit glucose netabolism in female rat adipocytes. The inhibitory effect, which is dose-related, occured after 20-min of incubation and is sustained during 2-hours of incubation. This effect of progesterone is similar to that observed during pregnancy and after treatment of ovariectomized rats with progesterone (5 mg/rat/day-15 days).     

The influence of monoterpenoids and phenol derivatives on Drosophila melanogaster viability

The present study investigated the effect of mono/bicyclic terpenoids and phenol derivatives on the viability of Drosophila melanogaster and their influence on the multiplication of the nuclear genome. The fertility and viability of fruit flies were assessed after oral administration and inhalation exposure of compounds 1–5: guaiacol, eugenol, borneol, menthol and carvacrol. The influence of terpenoids and phenols on the degree of chromosomes polyteny in salivary gland cells of D. melanogaster larvae was determined. Among all tested compounds, carvacrol demonstrated the most significant impact on fecundity and insect survival when inhaled or adding to the culture medium. Oral administration of carvacrol had an impact on giant chromosomes increasing their average level of chromosome polyteny degree while eugenol adding to culture medium had the opposite effect. The possible mechanism of terpenoids and phenols action is discussed.     

Isolation and patch clamp measurements of xylem contact cells for the study of their role in the exchange between apoplast and symplast of leaves

Because of their importance for nutrition, a method was developed to patch xylem contact cells in leaves of Vicia faba and maize. Since the lignification of older cells was a major obstacle for isolating protoplasts which could be patched, only young leaves (fourth fully developed leaf) were used. An important step in the isolation of these cells was the infiltration of the leaves and their exposure to enzymes for several hours, allowing mesophyll cells to be removed whilst having most of the xylem contact cells attached to the xylem. Channel activity in cell-attached mode or in excised patches could only be observed if an internal coating of sigmacote was used to block diffusion ions out of the pipette glass. Two different types of K+ channels were identified by measuring the reversal potential at different concentrations of KCl. One channel (SC) had a symmetric IV curve with a high probability of remaining open, irrespective of membrane potential; the other channel was an inward rectifier. The symmetical channel could be blocked weakly by Na+ but it was permeable to .     

Bacteremia After Genitourinary Tract Manipulation: Bacteriological Aspects and Evaluation of Various Blood Culture Systems

A total of 300 patients undergoing various types of urological procedures was studied for incidence of bacteremia. An osmotically stabilized anaerobic broth with sodium polyanethol sulfonate (Liquoid) yielded more positive blood cultures than any other culture system and was also the best system by far for recovery of anaerobes. The membrane filter showed faster growth and, therefore, facilitated faster identification of the infecting organism. There was a 31% incidence of bacteremia in the patients having transurethral resection of the prostate, 17% in the cystoscopy group, 24% in the urethral dilation group, and 8% in the urethral catheterization group. The organisms found most frequently isolated in blood cultures were enterococci and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Notable were a relatively large number of anaerobes and two protoplasts. The major source of the bacteremia was previous urinary tract infection, but evidence is presented which indicates that the prostate gland and the normal urethral flora are other significant sources.     

Limits of application of initiated chemiluminescence in monitoring of oncological process of mucous membrane of mouth and larynx

Investigation into the limits of application of chemiluminescence (CL) methods in oncology still attracts the attention of researchers. In the present work we analyze the screening and monitoring of oncological processes (OP) in the mucous membrane of the mouth and larynx by initiated CL (ICL). Chemiluminescence has already been used by stomatologists to define the start of OP, but methods that reflect the metabolic changes in organism under cancer diagnostics still have not found their place. This work presents results of ICL on blood serum (BS) of patients with oncological diseases at different stages of medical treatment compared with those of healthy people. We found an essential metabolic difference only in types of OP that are characterized by two maxima on chemiluminograms. These OP represent only 12.81% of groups of patients with oncological diseases. The possibility to apply ICL methods to monitor operation quality and control medical treatment at different stages when the two ICL maxima are present is established. At present, the chemiluminograms with the two maxima are mostly informative, but this does not exclude the quantitative analysis of other ICL kinetic methods and is encouraging for their investigation. Any OP introduces changes in organism function and these should be reflected in the ICL. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Open-label add-on treatment trial of minocycline in fragile X syndrome

Background  

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a disorder characterized by a variety of disabilities, including cognitive deficits, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism, and other socio-emotional problems. It is hypothesized that the absence of the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) leads to higher levels of matrix metallo-proteinase-9 activity (MMP-9) in the brain. Minocycline inhibits MMP-9 activity, and alleviates behavioural and synapse abnormalities in fmr1 knockout mice, an established model for FXS. This open-label add-on pilot trial was conducted to evaluate safety and efficacy of minocycline in treating behavioural abnormalities that occur in humans with FXS.