Myocardial adaptations in aortic valve disease.

Injections of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) have been claimed to aid in weight reduction by reducing hunger, and affecting mood as well as aiding in localized (spot) reduction. We have tested these claims in a double-blind randomized trial using injections of HCG or placebo. Weight loss was identical between the two groups, and there was no evidence for differential effects on hunger, mood or localized body measurements. Placebo injections, therefore, appear to be as effective as HCG in the treatment of obesity.     

The Fcu controlling-element system in maize

Summary The relationship between the Fcu controlling-element system and the spotted-dilute R system was investigated. The Fcu controlling-element system consists of the receptor element allele r-cu and the regulatory element Fcu. The equivalent components of the spotted-dilute R system are respectively R-r#2 (or R-r#2 Dil) and Spf. The R-r#2 allele of the latter system was shown to be responsive (mutable) to Fcu, provided that it has had an uninterrupted association with Dil or Dpf as evidenced by the color variegation of the aleurone tissue. The reverse test, in which the r-cu allele of the Fcu controlling element system was tested for its response to Spf, proved negative. This was surprising in view of the relationship and specificity between systems. The possibility was considered that maize controlling elements may have different sizes as is known for bacterial insertion sequences. —The variable dilute pigmenting capacity of the r-cu allele also was studied. A given level of r-cu-induced pigmentation, despite the wide range in pigmentation expression, was found to be generally non-heritable, as based on a test of correspondence between parent and progeny.Journal Paper No. J-9204 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa. Project No. 1884Now with Funk's Seeds, Casalmorano (Cremona), Italy     

Altered metabolic incorporation of fucose and leucine into PNS myelin of 25-week-old diabetic (C57BL/Ks〈db/db〉) mice: Effects of untreated diabetes on nerve metabolism

Sciatic nerves of 25-week-old genetically diabetic (C57BL/Ks 〈db/db〉) mice and their litter-mate controls were removed, and their metabolic incorporation of [³H]fucose and [¹⁴C]leucine into myelin was studied in vitro. Untreated diabetic animals showed significant increases (p<0.05) in the fucose/leucine incorporation into myelin when compared to values found for their litter-mates. These results correlated well with previous experiments performed on alloxan or streptozotocindiabetic rats and thus show the in vitro incubation procedure to be a good indicator of altered metabolic conditions in peripheral nerves due to diabetes mellitus. The resulting ratio increases seen in diabetic animals is at variance with the decrease in ratios found in animals undergoing typical Wallerian degeneration. These results suggest that different metabolic processes operate in untreated diabetics than in normals or in those undergoing other degenerative nerve processes.     

A unique activity assay for carboxypeptidase A in human serum

Measurement of carboxypeptidase A, one of the pancreatic proteolytic enzymes, in human serum is made possible by a combination of affinity chromatography to isolate and concentrate the enzyme followed by monitoring activity spectrophotometrically with a high-turnover peptide substrate. Concentrations of enzyme in the nanogram-per-milliliter range can be determined with high precision and reliability. Initial clinical application of this method demonstrates no detectable activity in serum from normal individuals, but the enzyme is present in the sera of individuals with pancreatitis.     

Growth and morphology of neuronal cell lines cultured in perfusion

Summary To optimize culture conditions and gain a more reliable culturing system for studies of metabolic properties of neuronal cells, a simplified perfusion chamber was developed. It consists of two parts: a perfusion block and a standard plastic culture dish. To confirm the suitability of this chamber for continuous culturing of anchorage-dependent cells, the growth and morphology of the four neuronal cell lines glioma C6 and glioma 138MG, neuroblastoma C1300, clones N1E115 and N18 were followed for 4 d using both traditional and perfusion techniques. A marked increase in growth and a decrease in the degree of morphological differentiation were obtained with the latter technique compared to the former. This work was supported by grants from the National Swedish Board for Technical Development (Grant 81-5009), the Swedish Work Environmental Foundation (Grant 76-53), and Ollie and Elof Ericssons Foundation for Scientific Research.     

Efficient Lipid Staining in Plant Material with Sudan Red 7B or Fluoral Yellow 088 in Polyethylene Glycol-Glycerol

Polyethylene glycol (400) with 90% glycerol (aqueous) is introduced as an efficient solvent system for lipid stains. Various lipid-soluble dyes were dissolved in this solvent system and tested for their intensity, contrast, and specificity of staining of suberin lamellae in plant tissue. The stability (i.e., lack of precipitation) of the various staining solutions in the presence of fresh tissue was also tested. When dissolved in polyethylene glycol-glycerol, Sudan red 7B (fat red) was the best nonfluorescent stain and fluorol yellow 088 (solvent green 4) was an excellent fluorochrome. These two dyes formed stable staining solutions which efficiently stained lipids in fresh sections without forming precipitates. Estimations of the solubilities of these dyes in the solvent compared with their solubilities in lipids of various chemical types indicated that they should both be effective stains for lipids in general.