Galactorrhoea: Successful Treatment with Reduction of Plasma Prolactin Levels by Brom-ergocryptine

In five patients with inappropriate lactation and amenorrhoea or impotence brom-ergocryptine was found to suppress the lactation and to diminish the raised plasma prolactin levels. The responses to treatment suggest that there may be an inverse relationship between prolactin secretion and gonadotrophin secretion in man.     

Metabolic products of microorganisms

1. The total nitrogen content of spores of Penicillium notatum increased during swelling and reached a maximum before germ-tubes were formed. It subsequently decreased during germ-tube formation until a constant value in hyphae was reached.
2. An increase in the protein content of the spores was found during swelling, followed by a decrease when germ-tubes were formed. After germination, the protein content increased again to a constant level in hyphae.
3. The content of total lipids steadily decreased during swelling of spores. It reached a minimum value in germinating spores, followed by a net accumulation during hyphal growth. Similar changes occurred in free lipids, phospholipids and the acetone-soluble lipids but not in bound lipids.
4. After an initial decrease during swelling, no further change took place in the neutral carbohydrates content of the spores at the time of germ-tube formation. An accumulation of neutral carbohydrates occurred during late hyphal extension.
5. The nucleic acid content increased sharply during swelling, and reached the highest value in swollen spores just prior to the initiation of germ-tube formation. Afterwards, its content steadily decreased during germ-tube formation and hyphae elongation.

     

Preparation of protoplast-like structures from conidia ofFusarium culmorum

Protoplast-like structures have been formed by digestion of the cell walls ofFusarium culmorum conidia by lytic enzyme preparations ofMicromonospora AS. Under the test conditions extrusion of the protoplasts was not observed. It seems that digestion of the cell wall occurs in different stages. Digestion of the septa preceded the formation of protoplasts of the individual cells of the multicellularF. culmorum conidia. A few protoplasts survived the lytic enzyme treatment. “Protoplasts” obtained from conidia are much more stable than those obtained from young hyphae and were able to germinate with the formation of normal mycelium. Lysis of some of the protoplast bodies led to the formation of a membranous structure. The protoplasts derived from each of the constituent cells of the conidia could be isolated with the micromanipulator. No differences were found in the ability of the isolated cells to germinate.     

Barium- and calcium-permeable channels open at negative membrane potentials in rat ventricular myocytes

Summary Ca²⁺- and Ba²⁺-permeable channel activity from adult rat ventricular myocytes, spontaneously appeared in the three single-channel recording configurations: cell-attached, and excised inside-out or outside-out membrane patches. Single-channel activity was recorded at steady-state applied membrane potentials including the entire range of physiologic values, and displayed no rundown in excised patches. This activity occurred in irregular bursts separated by quiescent periods of 5 to 20 min in cell-attached membrane patches, whereas in excised patch experiments, this period was reduced to 2 to 10 min. During activity, a variety of kinetic behaviors could be observed with more or less complex gating patterns. Three conductance levels: 22, 45 and 78 pS were routinely observed in the same excised membrane patch, sometimes combining to give a larger level. These channels were significantly permeable to divalent cations and showed little or no permeability to potassium or sodium ions. The inorganic blockers of voltage-gated Ca channels, cobalt (2mm), cadmium (0.5mm) or nickel (3mm), had no apparent effect on these spontaneous unitary currents carried by barium ions. Under 10^–5 m bay K 8644 or nitrendipine, the activity was clearly increased in about half of the tested excised inside-out membrane patches. Both dihydropyridines enhanced openings of the larger conductance level, which was only very occasionally seen under control conditions. When the single-channel activity became sustained under 5×10^–6 m Bay K 8644, it was possible to calculate the mean unitary current at different membrane potentials and show that the mean current value increased with membrane potential.     

Lavage fluid from continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. A model for mesothelial cell changes

Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) lavage can be interpreted as an artificial short-term ascites. The cellular content of 362 CAPD specimens from 32 patients was investigated. Irregular inflammatory reactions were seen in 85.3% of the specimens and eosinophilia in 27.6%. Mesothelial aggregates of great variability were registered in 59.4% of the specimens and mainly atypical mitoses in 7.5%. The cytologic changes seen in those patients from whom lavage fluids were examined over 10 to 12 months did not correlate with the changes in blood chemistry (BUN and creatinine) in those cases.     

Successional dynamics of the phytoplankton in the lower part of the river Ebro

The temporal and spatial dynamics of phytoplankton have beenstudied in four sites located along the last 60 km of the riverEbro, over a period of 1 year. Diatoms and green algae werethe most abundant groups; blue-green algae were frequent onlyin autumn. Asterionella formosa dominated the winter phytoplanktonassemblages. In autumn, spring and early summer centric diatomswere dominant: Aulacoseira granulata (Ehr.) Simonsen in autunm;Cyclotella sp. p1., Skeletonema potamos (Weber) Hasle and StephanodisciLssp. p1. in spring. A great abundance of green algae was observedduring the summer, mainly in the lower sites. In the sites closerto the mouth, the spring maximum of centric diatoms extendedto the summer. Mainly in the downstream sites, a remarkablegrowth of Acrinocyclus normanii f. subsalsa (Juhl.-Daunf.) Hustedtand Stephanodiscus hantzschii f tenuis (Hust.) Hak. & Stoerm.was added to green algae in the late summer. As has been investigatedthrough a principal component analysis, the phytoplankton temporalsuccession and longitudinal differences between the sites maybe affected by the variations in flow and the increase of waterconductivity downstream; both factors seem to act together.The river is rather homogeneous with respect to the phytoplanktonassemblages during the winter and spring months, and from latespring to the following autumn, differences greatly increaseboth in time and downstream.     

Linkage disequilibrium analysis in Machado-Joseph disease patients of different ethnic origins

Machado-Joseph disease (MJD) is an autosomal dominant spinocerebellar degeneration originally described in families of Portuguese-Azorean ancestry. The hypothesis that its present world distribution could result from the spread of an original founder mutation has been raised. To test this possibility we have conducted a linkage disequilibrium study of markers segregating with the MJD1 locus in a total of 64 unrelated families of different geographical origins. Significant association was detected between the MJD1 locus and marker alleles at loci D14S280, D14S1050 and D14S81. All affected individuals, except one Chinese family, had allele 3 (237 bp) at D14S280. This finding is consistent with a founder effect in our MJD population. However, distinct haplotypes were observed in patients originating from the two Azorean islands showing the highest disease prevalence; therefore, the possible existence of more than one founder mutation can not be excluded with the markers currently available. Received: 27 February 1996 / Revised: 4 June 1996