From the tallest to (one of) the fattest: the enigmatic fate of the American population in the 20th century

Within the course of the 20th century the American population went through a virtual metamorphosis from being the tallest in the world, to being among the most overweight. The American height advantage over Western and Northern Europeans was between 3 and 9 cm in mid-19th century, and Americans tended to be underweight. However, today, the exact opposite is the case as the Dutch, Swedes, and Norwegians are the tallest, and the Danes, British and Germans--even the East-Germans--are also taller, towering over the Americans by as much as 3-7 cm. Americans also have shorter lives. The hypothesis is worth considering that this adverse development is related to the greater social inequality, an inferior health care system, and fewer social safety nets in the United States than in Western and Northern Europe, in spite of higher per capita income. The Western and Northern European welfare states, with cradle to grave health and unemployment insurance currently seems to provide a more propitious environment for the biological standard of living than its US counterpart.     

Koppelungserscheinungen beiAntirrhinum majus

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Ultrastructure of Aplysia neurons having different degrees of light sensitivity

The relationship between ultrastructure and photosensitivity of pigmented neurons of the abdominal ganglion of Aplysia californica was investigated using electron microscopy and electrophysiological methods. Four identified neurons of similar light microscopic appearance were examined; two are photoresponsive and two are not. Illumination hyperpolarizes both responsive neurons. One of them, R₂, requires roughly 100 times greater light intensities than does the other, the ventral photoresponsive neuron (VPN), for similar responses. Two neurons lying adjacent to VPN and similar in appearance to VPN do not have measurable electrophysiological responses to even the highest light intensities. All four neurons contained lipochondria, pigmented organelles associated with the light response. Therefore the presence of these organelles is not the only requirement for light sensitivity in these neurons. Illumination appeared to increase the number of membranous lipochondria in both R₂ and the ventral neurons, but only in R₂ was this increase significant. Factors such as the concentration of lipochondria near the plasma membrane may affect quantitative aspects of the light response, but in the insensitive cells the lipochondria are apparently uncoupled from other factors required for the light response.     

Contribution of interleukin-12 to the pathogenesis of non-thyroidal illness.

Changes in both central and peripheral thyroid hormone (TH) metabolism occur during illness. These changes, known collectively as non-thyroidal illness, are apparently mediated by the proinflammatory cytokines IL-6, TNFalpha and IFNgamma. IL-12 is involved in regulation of IFNgamma and TNFalpha. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of IL-12 in TH metabolism during illness. We studied TH metabolism both centrally (in the pituitary) and peripherally (in the liver) in IL-12 knock-out (IL-12 (-/-)) and wild type (WT) mice during illness induced by administration of bacterial endotoxin (LPS). LPS induced a similar decrease in serum T (3), T (4) and liver 5'-DI mRNA expression in IL-12 (-/-) and WT mice with the exception of a smaller reduction of serum T (4) in IL-12 (-/-) mice. In the pituitary, the LPS-induced decline in 5'-DI activity in WT mice was not observed in IL-12 (-/-) mice (p < 0.001), whereas the decrease in DII activity tended to be smaller in IL-12 (-/-) mice (p = 0.066). The lower decrease in pituitary activity of both DI and DII in IL-12 (-/-) mice is possibly related to the lower LPS-induced T (4) decrease. In conclusion, IL-12 is involved in the central regulation of the HPT axis during illness but not in the peripheral regulation.     

Hagem, Oscar. Arvelighets-Forskning. En oversigt over nyere resnltater

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Rosen, F. Die Entstehung der elementaren arten vonErophila verna

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