Effect of crude extract of Stevia rebaudiana on renal water and electrolytes excretion.

To evaluate the effect of crude extract of Stevia rebaudiana on renal water, Na+ and K+ excretion, male Wistar rats (250-350 g each) under antidiuresis or water diuresis conditions, were evaluated. During intravenous infusion of the extract (0.05 mg/min/100 g) no significant differences were detected in mean arterial pressure or renal hemodynamics parameters. In contrast, fractional water and sodium excretion and solute clearance increased significantly, in both groups of animals. In antidiuresis rats the extract significantly increased reabsorption of water by the collecting duct and in water diuresis animals the extract significantly increased free water clearance. The data suggest preferential action of the extract in the proximal tubular cells involved with salt transport mechanism.     

Directional asymmetry of finger ridge counts in females of Sardinian linguistic groups

The data used in this study are the fingerprints of 744 females from 6 Sardinian linguistic groups. We analyzed 15 dermatoglyphic variables of directional asymmetry, namely the right vs left signed differences between i-th homologous fingers for larger ridge counts, radial counts and ulnar counts. Principal components analysis of the dermatoglyphic variables in the females of Sardinian linguistic groups revealed a pattern of biological relations among the groups which is consistent with their linguistic, but especially historical and demographic, backgrounds.     

Characterization of a resolved oxygen-evolving Photosystem II preparation from spinach thylakoids

An oxygen-evolving Photosystem (PS) II preparation was isolated after Triton X-100 treatment of spinach thylakoids in the presence of Mg²⁺. The structural and functional components of this preparation have been identified by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and sensitive spectrophotometric analysis. The main findings were: (1) The concentration of the primary acceptor Q of PS II was 1 per 230 chlorophyll molecules. (2) There are 6 to 7 plastoquinone molecules associated with a ‘quinone-pool’ reducible by Q. (3) The only cytochrome present in significant amounts (cytochrome b-559) occurred at a concentration of 1 per 125 chlorophyll molecules. (4) The only kind of photochemical reaction center complex present was identified by fluorescence induction kinetic analysis as PS II_α. (5) An E_m = ? 10 mV has been measured at pH 7.8 for the primary electron acceptor Q_α of PS II_α. (6) With conventional SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the preparation was resolved into 13 prominent polypeptide bands with relative molecular masses of 63, 55, 51, 48, 37, 33, 28, 27, 25, 22, 15, 13 and 10 kDa. The 28 kDa band was identified as the PS II light-harvesting chlorophyll $\text{a}\text{b-}\text{protein}$. In the presence of 2 M urea, however, SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed seven prominent polypeptides with molecular masses of 47, 39, 31, 29, 27, 26 and 13 kDa as well as several minor components. CP I under identical conditions had a molecular mass of 60–63 kDa.     

Identification of a novel T-insertion polymorphism at the DMD locus

We have identified a novel T-insertion polymorphism located in the second intron of the dystrophin gene. This polymorphism should prove useful in linkage studies in Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy families in addition to the previously described markers.     

Large-scale methylation patterns in the nuclear genomes of plants.

Methylation was investigated in compositional fractions of nuclear DNA preparations (50-100 kb in size) from five plants (onion, maize, rye, pea and tobacco), and was found to increase from GC-poor to GC-rich fractions. This methylation gradient showed different patterns in different plants and appears, therefore, to represent a novel, characteristic genome feature which concerns the noncoding, intergenic sequences that make up the bulk of the plant genomes investigated and mainly consist of repetitive sequences. The structural and functional implications of these results are discussed.     

Structural and ultrastructural modifications following transurethral injection of teflon paste

Structural and ultrastructural tissue modifications caused by polytetrafluoroethylene (teflon) paste injection in incontinent male patients have been studied. The most considerable observations are: a diffuse interstitial splitting of teflon paste in particles of about 3-100 microns. Given that the tissue reaction is limited to a modest infiltration of lymphocytes and monocytes and a slight increase in the collagen fibres, it is concluded that the teflon paste injection is well tolerated by the tissues.     

Risk assessment does not explain high prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus in a large group of Sardinian women

Background  

A very high prevalence (22.3%) of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) was recently reported following our study on a large group of Sardinian women. In order to explain such a high prevalence we sought to characterise our obstetric population through the analysis of risk factors and their association with the development of GDM.