A MASS STRANDING OF SPERM WHALES IN OREGON: SEX AND AGE COMPOSITION OF THE SCHOOL

A school of 41 sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus , that stranded near the mouth of the Siuslaw River, Oregon (43°59'N, 124°08'W), on 16 June 1979 consisted of 13 males and 28 females. Their ages were estimated by assuming that each postnatal dentin layer represents one year. The males were all sub-adults, 9.3–11.5 m long and 14–21 yr old. The females were 9.3–11.4 m long, and 11 to about 58 yr old. Ten females were dissected; nine were sexually mature and three were carrying fetuses 2.64–4.62 m long. None of the 28 females was visibly lactating.     

Change from inhibition to stimulation by levan of AKR lymphoma following serial transfers

A progressive increase in malignancy following serial passages of AKR lymphoma is often accompanied by loss in sensitivity to the antitumor agent, levan. In further transfers, stimulation of tumor growth, instead of inhibition, is sometimes observed. It is proposed that the shift from inhibition to stimulation of tumor growth by the immunomodulator levan may be due to a change during tumor progression in the sensitivity of the tumor cells to the reported dual effect of macrophages, inhibitory or stimulatory, on tumor growth.     

Effects of prolonged administration of high molecular levan on hematological parameters in rabbits

Rabbits were injected intraperitoneally with 100 mg of high molecular levan, daily for 4--6 weeks. Study of various hematological parameters revealed that the treatment resulted in the following changes: 1. Marked elevation in fibrinogen levels and in the number of platelets. 2. Insignificant changes in the intrinsic and extrinsic clotting mechanisms and in platelet aggregation. 3. Some reduction in the number of circulating RBCs. The findings indicate that levan treatment has no obvious effect on hematologic functions, except for the increase in fibrinogen and platelets and the slight decrease in circulating RBCs.     

Effects of phase transitions on enzymes bound to different cellular membranes

Summary In unfixed cryostat sections enzymes attached to various cellular membranes differ in their sensitivity to the inhibitory effects of Ca and CNS ions. Similar differences between enzymes related to various membranes were also noted in the possibility of reversing the inhibition of NaCl treatment and in the effects of oxygen in rendering the inhibition irreversible.Evidence was adduced to show that some of the previous data on reversibility of ionic inhibition of membrane bound enzymes were due to an inadvertently introduced step of drying. The effect of drying was not apparent in NaCl-treated sections. In CaCl²- and KCNS-treated sections the effect of drying was due to a high concentration of the salts prevailing during evaporation and to atmospheric oxygen. A possible effect of denaturation not associated with oxidation could not be excluded.A summary of this report has been presented at the International Congress of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry in New York in August 1968.     

Histochemical study on the pathogenesis of chlorocyclizine-induced pulmonary lipidosis

Summary Male rats were fed a diet containing chlorocyclizine in high concentrations for about 3 weeks. They lost weight and showed respiratory distress. The lungs contained clusters of foam cells in the alveoli. Acid esterase staining revealed reduction of activity in alveolar cells presumed to be granular pneumocytes and absence of activity in the foam cells. The lipid showed in the foam cells could not be stained with Sudan dyes, except at high temperature, and was not stained by phospholipid and cholesterol procedures. This indicated that the stored lipids are probably solid at room temperature, consisting of saturated triglycerides and/or phospholipids. It is suggested that the lipid originated in the granular pneumocytes. The drug might have deranged the esterase-phospholipase activity in these cells and in the macrophages.With technical assistance of Nitza Deitsch