COMMON EYE PROBLEMS IN CHILDREN

Most penetrating or lacerating injuries of the eye in children justify examination under anesthesia to avoid further harm to an uncooperative patient. The pediatrician in doubt should merely apply a sterile dressing and have an ophthalmologist examine the injury in hospital. Nonperforating injuries may result in severe bleeding 48 to 72 hours later; this may be averted by bandaging the eyes and maintaining rest for four or five days. Removal of foreign bodies should be followed by application of antibiotic ointment and patching to prevent contamination.Congenital stenosis of the lacrimal duct may clear spontaneously or through application of decongestants and sympathomimetic drops. More severe effects, especially infection, justify probing at six months or earlier. The operation should be done under general anesthesia, preferably in hospital.Acute conjunctivitis is best treated by local application of antibiotics or sulfonamides only. Chronic infections may be better managed with the addition of corticosteroids, which reduce local inflammation and control bacterial reaction. Bacterial study should be done only if empirical antibiotic therapy fails. Bacterial desensitization may be helpful. The same methods are effective in blepharitis, aided by hygienic measures. Corticosteroids are most useful in allergic inflammations.Refractive difference is difficult to test before a child can read, and apparent defects may be due to lack of cooperation. Marked inequality of the eyes may signify organic disorder. Strabismus, on the other hand, can be detected as early as 12 or 15 months and should be treated as early as possible by proper lenses, surgery, or both. Pediatricians and parents should be aware that many children appear to have strabismus because of wide epicanthi and deep-set eyes.     

HYBRIDS AND GENOME RELATIONS OF HIBISCUS SABDARIFFA,H. MEEUSEI,H. RADIATUS AND H. ACETOSELLA

Chromosome pairing was studied in the following hybrids: Hibiscus radiatus-meeusei (tetraploid F₁), H. sabdariffa-meeusei (tetraploid F₁ and spontaneous allooctoploid F₂), and hexaploid H. acetosella-(sabdariffa-meeusei). Genome constitutions of the species adduced from these data are symbolized as follows: H. radiatus and H. acetosella, AABB; H. meeusei, AAXX; H.sabdariffa, XXYY or AAYY.     

In situ heart rate and activity of incubating Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae)

Summary Heart rates and activity were monitored over 24 h in unrestrained, incubating Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) exposed to natural conditions in the colony. Heart rate (HR in bpm) increased linearly with wind speed (w; range 0–19 m/s): HR = 85.8+1.35 w, but was unrelated (P>0.05) to temperature (-2.5°–6°C), humidity (37%–100%) cloud cover (0–8/8) and estimated solar radiation (0–12). Wind-induced heat loss was apparently compensated to a large degree by increased metabolic activity. Activity (A) measured as frequency of standing per hour, decreased linearly with temperature (t) and wind speed (w): A = 1.651–0.033w–0.090t. After correcting for meteorological influences, heart rate and bird activity showed no diurnal periodicity. When incubating, metabolism and activity of Adélie penguins appear to be mainly governed by climatic variations.     

Identification of a new subpopulation of triad junctions isolated from skeletal muscle; Morphological correlations with intact muscle

Summary It has been previously recognized that a number of protocols may cause breakage of the triad junction and separation of the constituent organelles of skeletal muscle. We now describe a fraction of triad junctions which is refractory to the known protocols for disruption. Triads were passed through a French press and the dissociated organelles were separated on a sucrose density gradient, which was assayed for PN200-110, ouabain and ryanodine binding. Ryanodine binding showed a single peak at the density of heavy terminal cisternae. On the other hand, the PN200-110 and ouabain, which are external membrane ligands, bound in two peaks: one at the free transverse tubule region and the other at the light terminal cisternae. Similarly, a two peak pattern of PN200-110 and ouabain binding was observed when triad junctions were broken by the Ca²⁺-dependent protease, calpain, which selectively hydrolyzes the junctional foot protein. The light terminal cisternae vesicles were subjected to three different procedures of junctional breakage: French press, hypertonic salt treatment, and protease digestion using calpain or trypsin. The treated membranes were then centrifuged on density gradients. Only extensive trypsin digestion caused a partial shift of ouabain activity into the free transverse tubule region. These observations suggest that the triads are a composite mixture of breakage susceptible, weak, and breakage resistant, strong, triads. Scatchard analysis of PN200-110 suggests that the transverse tubules of strong triads contain a relatively high number of dihydropyridine receptors compared to those of weak triads. Thin section electron microscopic images of the strong triads comparable to those of intact muscle are presented.     

Comparison of α1-Adrenergic Receptor-Stimulated Inositol Phosphate Formation in Primary Neuronal and Glial Cultures

alpha 1-Adrenergic receptor binding sites and norepinephrine-stimulated 3H-inositol phosphate (3H-InsP) accumulation were measured in primary cultures of neurons and glia from 1-day-old rat brains. The density of alpha 1-adrenergic receptor binding sites was approximately three times higher in membranes from neurons compared to glia. Although norepinephrine was slightly more potent in stimulating 3H-InsP formation in neurons than in glia, the maximal response was greater in glial cells. Norepinephrine-stimulated 3H-InsP formation remained constant for [3H]inositol prelabelling periods of 1-14 days in neurons, whereas the response increased with time in glia and was maximal after 7-10 days of prelabelling. Both the incorporation of [3H]inositol into lipid and basal levels of 3H-InsPs were lower in glial cells than in neurons, which accounted for the greater percent stimulation in glia. Pretreatment with phenoxybenzamine decreased norepinephrine-stimulated 3H-InsP formation in a dose-dependent manner in both neurons and glia by decreasing the maximal response without altering potency. HPLC separation showed that similar types of 3H-InsPs were accumulated in neurons and glial cells. These results demonstrate that alpha 1-adrenergic receptors exist on both neurons and glial cells and activate 3H-InsP accumulation in both cell types. Although receptor density is higher in neurons than in glia, the 3H-InsP response is higher in glia. This difference does not appear to be due to different receptor reserves, but may be due to differential coupling mechanisms in the two cell types.     

Selective photochemical modification by trichloroethanol of tryptophan residues in proteins with a high tyrosine-to-tryptophan ratio.

We present an improved procedure for the selective modification of tryptophan residues in proteins. A simple, low-cost set-up allows rapid tryptophan photoreaction upon ultraviolet irradiation in the presence of 2,2,2-trichloroethanol. This photochemical reaction is carried out under native conditions, occurs only in the excited state of tryptophan, and yields a single, as yet unidentified, photoproduct. Except for tyrosine, no reaction with other amino acid side chains are known. Stringent photoselection of tryptophan, ensuring that tyrosine residues are not affected, is achieved in situ without the need for an elaborate system of optical filters or lenses. Illumination with a medium-wave uv lamp of samples placed in disposable, dual pathlength, polystyrene fluorescence cuvettes allows treatment of small sample volumes (greater than or equal to 100 microliters) of various optical density. Chromophore accessibility in oligomeric assemblies or protein-nucleic acid complexes can be assessed by this reaction since the integrity of these structures is preserved. Moreover, this technique can be used to evaluate the involvement of tryptophan residues in catalytic or ligand binding processes.     

Aerosolization of recombinant SLPI to augment antineutrophil elastase protection of pulmonary epithelium

In a variety of lung diseases the respiratory epithelial surface must contend with an increased burden of neutrophil elastase (NE). One candidate for augmenting epithelial anti-NE protection is the secretory leukoprotease inhibitor (SLPI). In vitro evaluation demonstrated that 96 +/- 1% of the recombinant SLPI (rSLPI) molecules were capable of inhibiting NE, with an association rate constant of 7.1 +/- 0.1 X 10(6) M-1.s-1. Evaluation of rSLPI after in vitro and in vivo aerosolization showed that aerosolization did not alter rSLPI. Aerosolization of a single dose of 50 mg rSLPI to sheep resulted in a fourfold increase of the anti-NE capacity in epithelial lining fluid (ELF) at 3 h, with a half-life in ELF of 12 h. After aerosolization some rSLPI appeared in lung lymph. Simultaneous aerosolization of rSLPI and recombinant alpha 1-antitrypsin (rAAT) demonstrated a molar ratio of the concentration in lymph to the concentration in ELF 3 h after the aerosol eightfold higher for rAAT than for rSLPI. Overall, these observations demonstrate that it is feasible to use aerosolized rSLPI to directly augment the anti-NE capacity of the lung, particularly on the pulmonary epithelial surface.     

Recombination associated with replication of malarial mitochondrial DNA.

Mitochondrial DNA of the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum comprises approximately 20 copies per cell of a 6 kb genome, arranged mainly as polydisperse linear concatemers. In synchronous blood cultures, initiation of mtDNA replication coincides with the start of the 4-5 doublings in nuclear DNA that mark the reproductive phase of the erythrocytic cycle. We show that mtDNA replication coincides with a recombination process reminiscent of the replication mechanism used by certain bacteriophages and plasmids. The few circular forms of mtDNA which are also present do not replicate by a theta mechanism, but are themselves the product of recombination, and we propose they undergo rolling circle activity to generate the linear concatemers.