The effects of vasopressin on renal sodium excretion in pigs given intravascular hypertonic salt loads

Young pigs of about 25-30 kg liveweight were given intravenous infusions of a hypertonic sodium chloride solution (4-6 mol.1(-1)) at rates varying from 2-6 mmol.min-1. Such infusions resulted in a marked increase in the urine flow and in urinary sodium excretion, the size of these increases being proportional to infusion rate. Circulating vasopressin levels were also markedly increased, the size of these increases being the same as those seen in other pigs given exogenous vasopressin in amounts which were shown to increase urinary sodium excretion. This suggests that vasopressin was probably contributing to the increase in renal sodium excretion seen in those pigs given the intravenous salt loads.     

Proximo-distal pattern regulation in deficient avian limb buds

Summary Deficient limb buds composed of prospective stylopod and autopod are able to regulate the missing intercalary zeugopod, the origin of which was investigated by heterospecific quail/chick recombinants. The associations of quail prospective autopod and chick prospective stylopod failed to regulate. The reverse combination of chick prospective autopod grafted onto a quail prospective stylopod gave rise to a three-segmented limb. In 13 out of 16 cases the regulated zeugopod was made up of both chick and quail cells. Chick cells were located predominantly along the postaxial half of the zeugopod, while the quail cells made up most of its preaxial half. In two cases, the intercalary zeugopod consisted exclusively of chick cells originating from the tip and in one case of quail cells originating from the base.These results demonstrate that during the regulative processes, the prospective values of some of the original stylopodial and autopodial cells have been shifted along the proximo-distal axis, towards the expression of more distal as well as of more proximal structures.Heteropolar stylo-autopodial or zeugo-autopodial recombinants, in which the proximo-distal axis of the base was reversed with respect to that of the tip, were unable to regulate the pattern defects and thus revealed the importance of concordant p-d polarity for regulative processes to take place between abutted tissues.     

Renovascular Hypertension: Pathophysiology,Diagnosis, and Treatment

Renovascular hypertension can result from renal artery lesions involving the main renal artery, or its branches. It is generally felt that the elevation of blood pressure results from excessive systemic vasoconstriction secondary to enhanced renin secretion by one or part of one kidney. Renin secretion is enhanced because of constriction of the renal artery and resultant intrarenal ischemia. Clinically patients cannot be distinguished from those with essential hypertension and diagnosis must be made with arteriography although urography and isotope renography may suggest the diagnosis. Surgical cure can be predicted if differential renal vein renin ratios lateralize but a non-lateralizing study does not necessarily mean that surgery will fail. In properly selected patients, surgical results are excellent.     

Effect of preoperative anaesthetic visit on anxiety.

Anxiety levels measured in patients who received preoperative reassurance about anaesthesia from a member of the hospital staff were significantly lower than those in a control group given no such support. Anxiety levels in patients who read a booklet designed to reassure about anaesthesia were less significantly reduced. Owing to the increasing work load in the operating theatre many anaesthetists can no longer afford the time to visit patients preoperatively. This study shows that either this trend should be reversed or the role of reassurer should be assumed by someone else, possibly the anaesthetic nurse. For optimal effect, the visits should be combined with use of the booklet. Unless such measures are taken, up to three million people each year may be being denied any form of reassurance before surgical treatment.     

Enalapril in the treatment of hypertension with renal artery stenosis.

The converting enzyme inhibitor enalapril, in single daily doses of 10-40 mg, was given to 20 hypertensive patients with renal artery stenosis. The blood pressure fall six hours after the first dose of enalapril was significantly related to the pretreatment plasma concentrations of active renin and angiotensin II and to the concurrent fall in angiotensin II. Blood pressure fell further with continued treatment; the long term fall was not significantly related to pretreatment plasma renin or angiotensin II concentrations. At three months, 24 hours after the last dose of enalapril, blood pressure, plasma angiotensin II, and converting enzyme activity remained low and active renin and angiotensin I high; six hours after dosing, angiotensin II had, however, fallen further. The rise in active renin during long term treatment was proportionally greater than the rise in angiotensin I; this probably reflects the fall in renin substrate that occurs with converting enzyme inhibition. Enalapril alone caused reduction in exchangeable sodium, with distinct increases in serum potassium, creatinine, and urea. Enalapril was well tolerated and controlled hypertension effectively long term; only two of the 20 patients required concomitant diuretic treatment.     

The population dynamics and sexual strategy of Anodonta woodiana (Bivalvia: Unionacea) in Plover Cove Reservoir, Hong Kong

A 12-month investigation of the population dynamics, growth, ageing, reproduction and sexuality of Anodonta woodiana (Lea, 1834) in Plover Cove Reservoir, Hong Kong, has been undertaken. Recruitment occurs in the summer, May through July being the period of peak incidence of glochidia on captive fish hosts. Juveniles grow rapidly to a shell length of 30 mm and are sexually mature by the following spring. A study of the population structure of A. woodiana indicated that most animals were less than 8 years old. Results of a Walford plot for this species indicated a maximum theoretical shell length (in Plover Cove) of 162·5 mm and a life span of approximately 12 years; the latter is in good agreement with age estimates for European unionids.
Anodonta woodiana is dioecious with females predominating in a ratio of 60:40. A very small number of individuals (0·3%) are hermaphrodite. Males possess mature gonads throughout the year whereas females come into reproductive condition during the spring. There was no evidence of shell form sexual dimorphism, as has been recorded for other unionaceans.
The reproductive strategy and time of gonad maturation of A. woodiana is compared with that of unionids from elsewhere and with other fresh water bivalves from southern China.     

Thermodynamic functions of biopolymer hydration. II. Enthalpy–entropy compensation in hydrophilic hydration processes

The thermodynamic functions of biopolymer hydration were investigated by multitemperature vapor pressure studies. Desorption measurements were performed that allowed determination of reversible isotherms in the hydration range of 0.1 to 0.3–0.5 g H₂O/g dry polymer. These isotherms are accessible to thermodynamic interpretation and are relevant to the interaction of water with biopolymers in their solution conformation. The results obtained on a series of different biopolymers (lysozyme, α-chymotrypsin, apo-lactoferrin, and desoxyribonucleic acid), show the following common features of interest: (1) The differential excess enthalpies (ΔH^e ) and entropies (ΔS^e ) are negative, and exhibit pronounced anomalies in a well-defined low-humidity range (approx. 0.1 g H₂O/g dry polymer). These initial extrema are interpretable by structural changes, induced in the native biopolymer structures by water removal below a critical degree of hydration. (2) The ΔH^e and ΔS^e terms exhibit statistically significant linear enthalpy–entropy compensation effects in all biopolymer–water systems investigated. The compensation temperatures \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \hat \beta = \overline {\Delta H} ^e /\overline {\Delta S} ^e $\end{document} are approximately identical for all biopolymers, ranging from 360 to 500 K. The compensation effects are attributable to phase transitions of water molecules between the bulk liquid and the inner-sphere hydration shell of native biopolymers. (3) The negative excess free energies (ΔG^e ) decrease monotonically with increasing water content and are close to zero at 0.3 to 0.5 g H₂O/g polymer. This result indicates that only transitions between the bulk liquid and the inner-sphere hydration shell are associated with significant net free energy effects. The outer-sphere hydration water is thermodynamically comparable to bulk water. The importance of the proportionality factor \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \hat \beta $\end{document} in the control of the free energy term is discussed.     

An ordered arrangement of chromosomes in the somatic nucleus of common wheat Triticum aestivum L.

Spatial relationships between chromosomes of the same genome, both homologous and non-homologous, were studied in root-tip cells of common wheat, Triticum aestivum (2n = 6x = 42). Mean distance between members of all the 21 homologous pairs (seven in each of the three genomes) and of 45 out of the 63 possible non-homologous combinations of two (21 in each genome) were determined. To minimize disruption of nuclear chromosomal arrangement, the cells were pretreated with cold temperature either in tap water or in a physiological medium (White solution) and distances between cytologically marked chromosomes were measured at metaphase. Comparison of distances for homologues with those for non-homologues indicated clearly that, within each genome, the homologous chromosomes were significantly closer to one another than were the non-homologues. Distances between homologues were similar in all three genomes, as were distances between non-homologues. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that the chromosomes of each genome of common wheat are arranged in the somatic nucleus in a highly specific ordered pattern. In this hypothetical arrangement, homologous chromosomes are closely associated, while the nonhomologues occupy definite positions with respect to one another. The universality of the phenomenon and its cellular mechanism and biological significance are discussed.     

Levels of water-soluble vitamins in methanogenic and non-methanogenic bacteria

The levels of seven water-soluble vitamins in Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum, Methanococcus voltae, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron were compared by using a vitamin-requiring Leuconostoc strain. Both methanogens contained levels of folic acid and pantothenic acid which were approximately two orders of magnitude lower than levels in the nonmethanogens. Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum contained levels of thiamine, biotin, nicotinic acid, and pyridoxine which were approximately one order of magnitude lower than levels in the nonmethanogens. The thiamine level in Methanococcus voltae was approximately one order of magnitude lower than levels in the nonmethanogens. Only the levels of riboflavin (and nicotinic acid and pyridoxine in Methanococcus voltae) were approximately equal in the methanogens and nonmethanogens. Folic acid may have been present in extracts of methanogens merely as a precursor, by-product, or hydrolysis product of methanopterin.