Teratogenic effect of trifluoperazine in rats and mice

Trifluoperazine was administered to pregnant mice and rats by gastric intubation during the period of organogenesis. Dams were treated at doses of 0.5, 5, 50 (mice and rats) and 100 (only rats) mg/kg/day. The drug affected the pregnant weight increment in a dose-related manner in rats but only the 50 mg/kg/day dose level affected the weight gain of mice. The foetal weight was not markedly affected in either species. The drug induced cleft palate and micrognathia in rats but did not produce a teratogenic effect in mice. Trifluoperazine caused abortions in mice and there were significant increases in the number of resorptions with the top dose levels in both species.     

Rhodotorula nothofagi sp. nov., isolated from decayed wood in the evergreen rainy Valdivian forest of southern Chile

An unusual Rhodotorula isolated from decayed wood of Nothofagus obliqua (Mirb.) Blume is described and illustrated. This species differs from all accepted Rhodotorula species (1–7, 10) to warrant its establishment as a new species, Rhodotorula nothofagi sp. nov.Postgraduate student from the Instituto de Ecología y de Evolución, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia.     

Metabolic response to ethanol and isopropanol in D. funebris and D. immigrans

Ethanol at low concentration increases larval viability in D. funebris and D. melanogaster and decreases it in D. immigrans. Isopropanol decreases viability in all three species. Isopropanol depresses alcohol dehydrogenase activity. This is accompanied by a change in the relative proportion of electrophoretic forms of the enzyme. Acetone appears in the medium when larvae of D. funebris and D. immigrans develop in the presence of isopropanol. It can be transformed again into isopropanol on reaching a threshold value. It seems that this transformation cannot be carried out by alcohol dehydrogenase alone.     

Phylogenetic relationships in the family Resedaceae L.

A study was made on the phylogenetic relationships of species of the family Resedaceae, based on morphological features, chromosome meiotic behaviour, karyotype features, size and fertility of pollen grains, nucleotypic parameters, seed protein profiles and esterase isozyme patterns.For the comparison of the seed protein profiles among species a method was developed based on the presence or absence of the bands by means of a computer program. The dendrogram obtained by such a method is in line, to a great extent, with the clusters (sections) obtained within the family based on morphological features.Data on meiotic behaviour and on morphology, such as the type of fruit, carpel numbers and others, suggest that x=5 is the primitive basic chromosome number of this family. x₁=6 and x₂=7 are considered as secondary basic numbers derived from x=5 through aneuploid changes.The results support a proposed phylogenetic tree of the genera and sections of the genus Reseda represented in the European Flora.The principal phenomena that have operated in the evolution of the Resedaceae seem to be aneuploid changes, polyploidy and structural rearrangements. A trend towards DNA increase in the evolution of this group is also apparent.     

Antagonism of diazepam-induced feeding in rats by antisera to opioid peptides

Diazepam-induced feeding in rats is antagonized not only by the opiate antagonist naloxone but also intraventricular administration of specific antisera to the endogenous opioid peptides met-enkephalin or beta-endorphin. Pituitary beta-endorphin is probably not implicated in the diazepam effect since blockade with the glucocorticoid dexamethasone of the release of beta-endorphin from the anterior pituitary does not modify the diazepam-induced feeding, which is however prevented by TRH, a suggested physiological antagonist of some of the effects of opioid peptides. The possible central participation of both beta-endorphin and met-enkephalin in the ingestive behavior induced by diazepam gives further support to the postulated physiological role of endogenous opioids in appetite regulation.     

Addition of an androgen-free epididymal protein extract increases the ability of immature hamster spermatozoa to fertilize in vivo and in vitro

The fertility of spermatozoa from the different epididymal segments of hamsters was tested by in-vivo insemination. Caput and proximal corpus spermatozoa were non-fertile; spermatozoa from the distal corpus epididymidis fertilized 13% (38/290) oocytes and those from the proximal and distal cauda epididymidis 71 and 87%, respectively. When tested by in-vitro insemination, distal corpus spermatozoa penetrated 44% of oocytes while those from the distal cauda fertilized 87% of oocytes. Spermatozoa from the distal corpus recovered in Medium BMOC fertilized 13% (28/219) of oocytes in vivo, while those mixed with an epididymal protein preparation (0.8 mg protein/ml) fertilized 24% (49/204; P less than 0.01) of oocytes. When distal corpus spermatozoa were inseminated in vivo with 0.8 mg epididymal protein preparation 34% (31/90) oocytes were fertilized and only 22% (23/103; P less than 0.05) oocytes were fertilized when the proteins were obtained from epididymides of animals castrated for 30 days. When distal corpus spermatozoa were preincubated for 5 h in medium without (control) or with protein preparation (0.8 or 1.6 mg protein/ml), a significant increase in in-vitro oocyte penetration was found (25 compared with 45%; P less than 0.05) when the protein was present at 1.6 mg/ml. These results confirm and extend previous observations suggesting a role for androgen-dependent glycoproteins secreted by the epididymis in the acquisition of fertilizing ability that occurs during sperm maturation.     

Phylogenetic relationships in theSideritis leucantha group (Lamiaceae)

Six closely related taxa of the sect.Eusideritis of the genusSideritis (S. leucantha, S. pusilla, S. flavovirens, S. granatensis, S. biflora andS. osteoxylla) are analysed to elucidate their phylogenetic relationships and position within the sect.Eusideritis. Meiotic behaviour, karyotype features, size and fertility of pollen grains, DNA amounts and seed protein profiles are reviewed. A polyploid origin of the group (from x = 7) and the further diversification through dysploidy and chromosome repatterning is postulated.S. osteoxylla is apparently of hybrid origin.     

A new function for overall optimization of yeast production

The influence of several operating variables on the productivity and nutritional quality of Candida utilis under carbon-limited growth conditions was studied. Four responses were analyzed: biomass yield (Y), in vitro dry matter digestibility (d), nucleic acid cotents, and protein content (P). Three operating variables were studied: dilution rate, temperature, and carbon-nitrogen ratio in the growth medium. Correlation describing the influence of operating variables on the studied response parameters were developed. From these correlations response surfaces were drawn. A new function, alpha = PdY, is proposed as a more comprehensive criterion for selecting the optimal conditions under the constraint of satisfying multiple objectives. It is demonstrated to be superior to the yield coefficient alone in this respect, since it accounts for factors that are important to the nutritional aspects of the process.