Amphetamine and chlorpromazine modify cerebral insulin levels in rats

Rats treated with chlorpromazine (CPZ) (1 mg/kg/day i.p.) experienced a marked decline in cerebral insulin levels (0.057 +/- 0.01 ng/g wet weight) with respect to a control group (0.38 +/- 0.05 ng/g wet weight), while rats given D-amphetamine bitartrate (AMPH) chronically (20 mg/kg/day p.o.) showed a rise in cerebral insulin (0.55 +/- 0.04 ng/g wet weight). Combined treatment with both drugs at the same dosages produced lower cerebral insulin levels (0.46 +/- 0.10 ng/g wet weight) than in the AMPH animals. In the groups of rats treated with CPZ and with AMPH + CPZ, there was a slight elevation in serum insulin levels. Serum glucose values did not vary.     

19q distal trisomy due to a de novo (19;22)(q13.2;p11) translocation

A 2 4/12-year-old girl whith a de novo 46,XX,-22 + der(22), t(19;22)(q13.2;p11) karyotype is described. From this and other eight similar cases previously published, a typical phenotype in distal 19q trisomy is concluded.     

Egg and cows' milk hypersensitivity in exclusively breast fed infants with eczema,and detection of egg protein in breast milk.

Forty nine eczematous infants who were still solely and exclusively breast fed and who had never received anything but breast milk were studied for evidence of sensitisation to foods. Thirty four similar infants without eczema formed a control group. The eczematous infants were divided into three groups according to clinical criteria: (1) definite atopic eczema; (2) possible atopic eczema; (3) atopic eczema unlikely. Twenty three infants showed cutaneous hypersensitivity to foods, usually egg and cows'' milk. Seven of 14 infants in group 1 and nine of 20 in group 2 were sensitised compared with four of 15 in group 3 and three of 34 controls (p less than 0.01). Ovalbumin was detected in breast milk from 14 of 19 mothers tested after ingestion of egg, the concentrations being the same for mothers feeding eczematous and normal infants. Breast fed babies developing eczema may be sensitised by foods eaten by their mothers.     

Effect of maternal dietary exclusion on breast fed infants with eczema: two controlled studies.

Thirty seven breast fed infants with eczema were studied to see whether changes in their mothers'' diets affected their skin condition. Nineteen mothers and babies took part in a double blind crossover trial of exclusion of egg and cows'' milk, and 18 took part in open exclusion of 11 foods followed by double blind challenge to those mothers whose infants seemed to respond. Babies were examined at the beginning and end of each dietary period, and the extent and severity of the rash were given a numerical score. The eczema improved in six infants when their mothers avoided egg and cows'' milk and worsened again when these were reintroduced. Two infants suffered gastrointestinal reactions after maternal ingestion of egg and cows'' milk, one developing colitis. Maternal dietary exclusion seems to benefit some breast fed babies with eczema.     

Eucampia Index as an indicator of the Late Pleistocene oscillations of the winter sea-ice extent at the ODP Leg 119 Site 745B at the Kerguelen Plateau

A new paleoenvironmental proxy, Eucampia Index, was used to trace the Late Pleistocene oscillations of winter ice extent at ODP Leg 119, Site 745B (59° 35.71 S and 85° 51.60 E) on the Kerguelen Plateau. The index is calculated as the ratio of winter terminal to intercalary valves of the diatom Eucampia antarctica sensu lato. During the early Brunhes the winter sea-ice edge was positioned south from Site 745. It started expanding northward, closer to the site location soon after 0.4 Ma and progressed in a manner of a several wide oscillations. For approximately the last 0.1 Ma the winter sea-ice edge oscillated less and retained similar range of oscillations. The ice edge oscillated in periods which correspond closely to that of Milankovitch oscillations of Earth obliquity, although the significance of individual periods appears to vary in time.     

Expression of ferredoxin-dependent glutamate synthase in dark-grown pine seedlings

Pine seedlings are able to accumulate chlorophylls and develop green plastids in a light-independent manner. In this work, we have characterized ferredoxin-dependent glutamate synthase (EC 1.4.7.1; Fd-GOGAT), a key enzyme in nitrogen interconversion during this process. Fd-GOGAT has been purified about 170-fold from cotyledons of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster). As occurs in angiosperms, the native enzyme is a single polypeptide with an apparent molecular mass of 163–168 kDa that is confined to the chloroplast stroma. Polyclonal antibodies generated against the purified enzyme were used to immunoscreen a gt11 expression library from Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) seedlings and partial cDNA clones were isolated and characterized. The clone with the longest cDNA insert (pGOP44) contained the codification for the C-terminal (550 amino acids) of the pine Fd-GOGAT polypeptide. Immunological cross-reactivity and comparative amino sequence analysis revealed that Fd-GOGAT is a well conserved protein in higher plants. Western blot analyses showed that protein was expressed in chloroplast-containing pine tissues and this expression pattern was not affected by exogenously supplied nitrogen. Fd-GOGAT mRNA, polypeptide and enzyme activity accumulated in substantial amounts in dark-grown pine seedlings. The presence of a functional Fd-GOGAT may be important to provide the required glutamate for the biosynthesis of nitrogen compounds during chloroplast biogenesis in the dark.     

Severe mental deficiency,proportionate dwarfism,and delayed sexual maturation

Summary Two 46,XY brothers were found to have a previously undescribed syndrome characterized by severe mental deficiency, proportionate dwarfism, and delayed sexual development. A recessive mode of inheritance, either autosomal or X-linked, is assumed.     

Familial true hermaphrodism in three siblings: clinical, cytogenetic, histological and hormonal studies.

Three affected siblings with the hermaphrodism are described. The propositi showed the following characteristics: male phenotype and gender role, hypospadias, bilateral scrotal ovotestes with palpable nodules, and absence of müllerian structures. The X chromatin was positive and the Y chromatin was negative in the 3 affected subjects. Their karyotype in peripheral blood lymphocytes and in gonadal fibroblasts was 46,XX and no Y chromosome fluorescence was observed. Plasma FSH was elevated in the 2 older patients and plasma LH was elevated only in the oldest. Plasma testosterone was low and plasma estradiol high in the 3 siblings; plasma progesterone was elevated in 2, but normal in 1 sibling. Since some of the clinical characteristics of these 3 affected siblings are not the most common features in the majority of sporadic cases of true hermaphrodism, it is suggested that the presence of all of them may be the first clue for the clinical suspicion of the familial type of true hermaphrodism.