Degeneration of the laminated corpuscles (of Vater--Pacini) following colchicine application to a nerve]

Laminated pacinian corpuscles from the cat mesentery have been studied morphologically and morphometrically after nerve section and colchicine application to the nerve and the results obtained are represented. Similar interventions in the nerve produce changes in the receptors resembling those of wallerian type degeneration, degeneration rate after sectioning being higher than after colchicine application. At early stages after colchicine application the internal cone and its nuclei increase in size. The data obtained suggest the nuclei of the internal cone to be under neurotrophic control of the sensory neuron that might be realized via axoplasmic transport of substances.     

NUCLEAR DNA CONTENT IN POPULATIONS OF PINUS RIGIDA

Five populations of Pinus rigida growing in contrasting ecological situations ranging from North Carolina (35°53'N latitude) to Quebec (45°06'N latitude) showed no significant variation in amounts of nuclear DNA with respect to germinating seedlings. Nuclear volume of dormant nuclei also showed no significant variation between and within populations, a finding that is consistent with the concept that the basic 2C DNA value of Pinus rigida is uniform under all habitats. This finding is in contrast to numerous reports for other coniferous species.     

Comparative evaluation of the action of prostanoid inhibitors on uterine contractile function

Indomethacin and substance BW-755C in experiments on isolated myometrium striae of pregnant white rats exert an inhibiting effect on the contractile uterus function due to inhibition of cyclooxygenase or lipoxygenase ways of the arachidonic acid transformation. Prostaglandin F2 alpha is sensitive to functioning of the cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase ways of the arachidonic acid transformation, while oxytocin--only lipoxygenase one. Conclusions rest on results from multiparametric analysis of the contractile uterus function suggested by authors and confirmed by the pattern recognition method--the Karunen-Loev orthogonal decomposition.     

Short-term delay in blood processing does not alter basal or isoproterenol-stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation in human lymphocytes

Isoproterenol-stimulated cyclic AMP (cAMP) accumulation in lymphocytes is an index of beta-adrenergic receptor functioning. It is not known if a delay between blood collection and subsequent cell preparation influences cAMP accumulation. We compared cAMP levels in lymphocytes processed from whole blood immediately after collection and following a 3.5 hour delay. There were no significant changes in either basal or stimulated levels of cAMP. This information may alleviate time constraints in certain experimental designs where immediate isolation of lymphocytes from whole blood may not be practical.     

Structure of a hemoglobin gene cluster and nucleotide sequence of three hemoglobin genes from the midge Chironomus thummi piger (Diptera, Insecta)

The aquatic larvae of the genus Chironomus (Diptera, Insecta) contain at least 12 different hemoglobin (Hb) variants in their hemolymph. In the present study we have analysed the structure and part of the nucleotide sequence of a Hb gene cluster cloned from the genomic DNA of Chironomus thummi piger. The cluster contains probably 6 different genes, separated by intergenic regions of various lengths. The nucleotide sequence of three putative Hb genes including the intergenic regions is presented. The inferred amino-acid sequences show clearly that two of these putative genes code for subvariants of the Hb variant VIIB. The third gene codes for a so far unknown Hb protein. As known already for other chironomid Hb genes, there are no intron sequences present in the coding regions.     

Apparent anion imbalance in the fresh water adapted eel

Summary On adapting brackish waterAnguilla anguilla to fresh water it was noted that, while the plasma sodium, magnesium,pCO₂ and pH were held reasonably constant, there was a substantial fall in chloride concentration (–33 mEq). The gradient of the linear correlations between plasma sodium and chloride also fell (brackish water gradient=0.92, fresh water gradient=0.21) indicating that a new pattern of plasma ion interrelationships was being established. Comparison with plasma Na/Cl ion ratios from other fishes suggested that this phenomenon was peculiar toA. anguilla. Corresponding with the very low plasma chloride levels plasma bicarbonate was four to five times that found in other fishes, and this was thought related to the finding that the haematocrit value almost doubled during adaptation to fresh water. In fresh water adapted fish a fall in plasma chloride was associated with a rise in plasma bicarbonate, however the charge compensation effect of this response was only partial as summing the common plasma cations and anions left an anion deficit of about 34 mEq to be accounted for.