Oral ontogeny of the Ayu, Plecoglossus altivelis and comparisons with the jaws of other salmoniform fishes

The Japanese Ayu, Plecoglossus altivelis Temminck & Schlegel is the sole representative of the salmoniform family Plecoglossidae. The Ayu is remarkable for its dentition which in adults comprises groups of diagonally arranged comb-like teeth in the outer tissue of the jaws. In juveniles (below 63 mm SL) the teeth are attached normally to the jaws. The transition of tooth form is correlated with a switch from zooplanktivory to algal or aufwuchs grazing. The present study follows the development of the teeth, jaws, oral cavity ethmoid and suspensorial elements in specimens ranging in size from 41–70 mm SL. The possible mode of function of the adult dentition is discussed. Comparisons are made with the jaws of other salmoniform fishes and a suite of supposed apomorphic characters are identified which are also shared with certain genera of the family Osmeridae, thus supporting the ideas of others that the Osmeridae is a paraphyletic assemblage.     

Further refinements on the triangular flap closure of the cleft lip

Refinements in the triangular flap closure of the unilateral cleft lip are presented. Randall's mathematical interpretation of the Tennison repair has been extended by using a series of arcs to determine the crucial points which form the triangular flap. Using this easily taught method, an isosceles triangular flap can be plotted which will interdigitate into the noncleft side of the lip. Two symmetrical vertical distances on either side of the cleft are thus formed. This allows for a standardized repair which may be more readily taught than the rotation-advancement technique. In addition, flaps are created which are turned medically toward the cleft and are used to accentuate the philtral pout, close the nostril floor, and reinforce the lip repair, allowing closure of even extremely wide clefts in one stage. These refinements in using the triangular flap closure for the repair of the unilateral cleft lip are diagrammatically presented. We believe that these refinements enhance the results of this closure.     

The effects of ionizing radiation on the pulmonary vasculature of intact rats and isolated pulmonary endothelium

We studied the effects of ionizing radiation on the morphology of the pulmonary circulation using an in vivo rat model and an in vitro pulmonary artery endothelial cell model. Gamma radiation was given as either an acute (30 Gy) or fractionated (5 X 6 Gy) dose to one hemithorax of rats. An acute 30-Gy dose delivered resulted in a 70% decrease in pulmonary arterial perfusion, using technetium-99m microaggregated albumin (99mTc-MAA), in the irradiated lung by 2-3 weeks after irradiation. Pulmonary microradiographs, using a barium sulfate perfusion method, obtained 2-3 weeks after irradiation demonstrated widespread loss of capillary filling and segmentation of the vessels. Histologic examination demonstrated intact capillaries, suggesting that the alterations in pulmonary perfusion were at the precapillary level. Similar abnormalities in lung perfusion and morphology were found after delivery of fractionated doses of radiation, but the onset of the changes was delayed, occurring 4-6 weeks postirradiation. Using cultured pulmonary endothelial cell monolayers, cell sloughing and retraction from the surface substrate were observed within 24 h after in vitro delivery of 30 Gy. Similar findings occurred in monolayers given fractionated doses (5 X 6 Gy) of radiation 2-3 days after the final dose. The in vivo animal and in vitro endothelial cell models offer a useful means of examining the morphologic alterations involved in radiation lung vascular damage.     

Aspirin and acetaminophen use by pregnant women and subsequent child IQ and attention decrements

In a longitudinal prospective study of 1,529 women pregnant in 1974-1975, aspirin and acetaminophen were the two medications most frequently taken during the first half of pregnancy (46 and 41%, respectively). In a selected cohort of 421 offspring of these women, examined at 4 years of age, maternal aspirin use during the first half of pregnancy was significantly related to IQ and attention decrements in the exposed children. Multiple regression analyses were used to statistically adjust for a variety of potentially confounding factors including demographic characteristics, child characteristics, other exposures, and lifestyle/environmental variables. Continuous dose-response and step-function parameterizations of aspirin exposure were both statistically significant and not clearly distinguishable from each other. The estimated aspirin effect is significantly greater for girls than boys. Aspirin effects on offspring function were found in the absence of effects on physical size both at birth and at 4 years. Maternal acetaminophen use was not significantly related to child IQ or attention. As this exploratory research originated from observations of a data set gathered for other purposes, it would be desirable to have these findings replicated in other studies. Further follow-up of the children at a later age is planned.     

Potential long-acting contraceptive agents: esters of testosterone with alkoxy- and halogeno-substituted carboxylic acids

The chemical synthesis and physical data of several new esters of testosterone (17 beta-hydroxyandrost-4-en-3-one), which contain either a halogeno or an alkoxy substituent in the acid chain, are reported.     

Lipid peroxidation in plumbagin administered rats

Plumbagin was administered to rats at a concentration of 1,2,4,8 and 16 mg per kg body weight. After 24 h lipid peroxide levels were found to decrease in subcellular fractions of liver. Plumbagin inhibited ascorbate and nicotinafde adenine dinucleotide phosphate (reduced) dependent lipid peroxidation but was without any effect on cumene hydroperoxide dependent lipid peroxidation. Injection of 16 mg of plumbagin per kg body weight was found to decrease liver total reduced glutathione and also fcrosomal glucose-6-phosphatase. The results are discussed with reference to the anti- and prooxidant properties of plumbagin.     

Binding of chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate and fat-storing cell-derived proteoglycans to rat hepatocytes

1. The interaction of isolated rat hepatocytes with exogenous 3H-labeled chondroitin-4-sulfate and dermatan sulfate and with biosynthetically 35S-labeled proteoglycans secreted by cultured rat liver fat-storing cells has been studied. 2. All ligands are bound by hepatocytes in a concentration-dependent manner. Scatchard-plot analysis of the data revealed the existence of high- and low-affinity binding modes. 3. The cell-bound exogenous [3H]glycosaminoglycans could be displaced by each unlabeled ligand and by heparin, whereas displacement of the endogenous material was less effective. 4. Binding of all ligands to hepatocytes increased with time. For the exogenous glycosaminoglycans the two- to threefold amount was retained at 37 degrees C as compared to 4 degrees C; it was markedly reduced by pretreatment of the cells with trypsin. 5. Degradation of the exogenous ligands could be detected neither for the cell-bound fraction nor for the free glycosaminoglycans in the culture medium. 6. The binding of the ligands to hepatocytes is viewed as a cell-matrix interaction. Its possible pathobiochemical relevance in liver fibrosis or neoplasia is discussed.     

The ATP-dependent interaction of eukaryotic initiation factors with mRNA

The interaction of three protein synthesis initiation factors, eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF)-4A, -4B, and -4F, with mRNA has been examined. Three assays specifically designed to evaluate this interaction are RNA-dependent ATP hydrolysis, retention of mRNAs on nitrocellulose filters, and cross-linking to periodate-oxidized mRNAs. The ATPase activity of eIF-4A is only activated by RNA which is lacking in secondary structure, and the minimal size of an oligonucleotide capable of effecting an optimal activation is 12-18 bases. In the presence of ATP, eIF-4A is capable of binding mRNA. Consistent with the ATPase activity, this binding shows a definite preference for single-stranded RNA. In the absence of ATP, eIF-4F is the only factor to bind capped mRNAs, and this binding, unlike that of eIF-4A, is sensitive to m7GDP inhibition. The activities of both eIF-4A and eIF-4F are stimulated by eIF-4B, which seems to have no specific independent activity in our assays. Evidence from the cross-linking studies indicates that in the absence of ATP, only the 24,000-dalton polypeptide of eIF-4F binds to the 5' cap region of the mRNA. From the data presented in conjunction with the current literature, a suggested sequence of factor binding to mRNA is: eIF-4F is the first initiation factor to bind mRNA ind an ATP-independent fashion; eIF-4B then binds to eIF-4F, if in fact it was not already bound prior to mRNA binding; and finally, eIF-4A binds to the eIF-4F X eIF-4B X mRNA complex and functions in an ATP-dependent manner to allow unwinding of the mRNA.     

Ethanol-elicited alterations in the oligomycin sensitivity and structural stability of the mitochondrial F0 . F1 ATPase

Liver mitochondria from rats fed ethanol chronically demonstrated a 35% decrease in mitochondrial ATPase activity. Moreover, the ATPase activity was inhibited only 61% by addition of oligomycin. Treatment of mitochondria from ethanol-fed rats with the detergent, Lubrol-WX, caused the release of 36% of the F1 from the resulting inner membrane particles. In comparison, only 5% of the F1 was dissociated when control mitochondria were subjected to the Lubrol treatment. However, when the units of ATPase activity from the supernatant and particles obtained after Lubrol treatment were added together, their sums were equivalent in preparations from control and ethanol-fed animals. Moreover, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analyses indicated equal amounts of the alpha + beta subunits of F1 in mitochondria from control and ethanol-fed rats. Reconstitution experiments with urea particles and F1 prepared from both control and ethanol mitochondria revealed a decrease in oligomycin sensitivity which could be attributed to an alteration in the functioning of either the oligomycin sensitivity conferring protein or a membrane sector subunit that interacts with oligomycin. Analysis by reconstitution also demonstrated that there were no ethanol-elicited alterations in the properties of the F1 portion of the ATP synthase complex. These observations indicate that the activity of the ATP synthase complex is altered significantly by ethanol-elicited changes in the functioning of those polypeptides involved in modulating both oligomycin sensitivity and the association of F1 with membrane sector subunits.