Separation and determination of chemical constituents in the volatile oil of three traditional Chinese crude drugs

The parts of Jilin ginseng growing on the ground, Radix aucklandiae and the citrus tangerina peels were extracted with ether, and yellow volatile oil 0.31 wt.%, 2.1 wt.% and 1.6 wt.% were obtained respectively. Their chemical constituents were separated and determined by gas chromatography and interfaced with mass spectrometry in an electron impact mode.     

Value of results of animal experiments for the evaluation of drugs. 3. Animal trials and subjective probability

Inasmuch as the findings in pharmacology and toxicology are based on animal trials these disciplines have to be considered as subjective sciences, since the experimentally obtained objective data become medically relevant only on the basis of subjective probabilities. The value of pharmacological and toxicological tests is dependent on the quality of the investigator. Data obtained in animals trials are of no relevance for human medicine unless the investigator substantiates his subjective probabilities and at the same time demonstrates how the hypotheses won in animal trials can be verified in man. Toxicological testing methods allowing the "preselection" of drugs or any other kind of deductions without verification in man do not exist. Animal studies which are not based on the principles of decision theory serve merely as an alibi and may lead to wrong conclusions. Besides, they interfere with the German Animal Protection Law. Methodological problems can neither be solved by normative regulations of an administrative authority nor by increasing experimental activity.     

Studies on crude drugs originated from gentianaceous plants. II. Determination of swertiamarin, the major bitter principle of Swertiae herba and related crude drugs (author''s transl)

The LOT test was administered to 100 normal-hearing subjects ranging in age from seven years, six months to 10 years, six months. The test was conducted at 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz with 99 subjects who were able to perform the required task. The LOT test misclassified (false-positive result) only 4% of the normal-hearing children at 1000 Hz. The test misclassified 3% at 2000 Hz, 3% at 4000 Hz, and 14% at 500 Hz. A new criterion for the use of the LOT test with children is proposed which reduced the percentage of misclassification to 2% at 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz. The frequency of 500 Hz is not recommended for the preadolescent population.     

Development of species identification in ducklings: V. Perceptual differentiation in the embryo.

Studied the precise manner in which normally occurring exposure to embryonic vocalization contributes to the Peking duckling's ability to detect distinctive features of the maternal call. Polygraphic recordings of heartbeat, bill-clapping, and vocalization were made from embryos that were exposed to maternal calls or were incubated in silence. The key acoustic features of the maternal call for the embryo were high- and low-frequency components and repetition rate. Embryonic auditory experience facilitated the development of high-frequency sensitivity, whereas it maintained repetition-rate specificity. The single most important finding was that the embryo's initial perceptual response to the maternal call was not fully differentiated in advance of exposure to its own or sib vocalizations. The youngest (Day 22) aurally inexperienced embryo's behavioral response to the maternal call was based on only the low-frequency components, whereas the aurally experienced Day 22 embryo's response was based on both high- and low-frequency components. Although the initial repetition-rate specificity of the Day 22 embryos was as sharp without auditory experience as it was with it, subsequent development on this perceptual dimension, if it is to be species-typical, requires auditory experience. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The regulation of drugs and medicines in horse racing in the United States. The Association of Racing Commissioners International Uniform Classification of Foreign Substances Guidelines

It is proposed that both polar and radical reactions should be considered when discussing radical ion reactivity. The fact that only the polar reactivity has dominated previous discussions is pointed out. It is argued that if the configuration mixing model is applicable for the estimation of radical cation-nucleophile (or cation-nucleophile) combination reaction barriers, the theory should also explain the reactivity of the proton toward anionic nucleophiles. The model severely overestimates reaction barriers for the latter reactions. The discussion is centered around the following hypothesis: In the absence of severe steric effects, the reactivity of radical ions, especially evident in the reactions with radicals (for example very few radical cations react with dioxygen at measurable rates), is dominated by the degree of coupling between charge and radical centers. Evidence from the literature supporting the hypothesis is presented for a number of different classes of radical ion reactions. Further work to test the validity of the hypothesis is proposed for many of the reaction types. Triarylmethyl radicals and carbenium ions are suggested as models to which the radical and polar reactivities of 9,10-diarylanthracene radical cations may be compared. It is concluded that the radical cation/carbenium ion comparison (for the reaction with acetate ion) would show similar reactivities while the radical cation/free radical comparison (for the reaction with dioxygen) would fail, since no reaction at all would be observed with the radical cation while the free radical reacts rapidly.     

A technique for the laboratory evaluation of the speed of onset of I.V. anaesthesia

A method is described for the evaluation of the speed of onset of i.v. anaesthesia in mice. The technique involves (a) determination of the median hypnotic dose (HD50) by plotting the probit value of the percentage of mice sleeping, against dose on a logarithmic scale, (b) plotting mean induction time over a range of doses against the logarithm of the dose and (c) comparison of induction times at 1.25 HD50. All doses were given over 1 s or 10 s. A 1-s injection was thought to be of most value in the evaluation of structure activity effects whereas the 10-s injection produced results similar to those which have been reported in man. With this technique, and using 1-s injection times, induction times were found to be similar with thiopentone and Althesin. Those following methohexitone, etomidate and propanidid were marginally longer whereas ketamine and pentobarbitone were obviously slower in onset.     

Evaluation of efficacy of traditional Chinese medicines in the treatment of childhood bronchial asthma: clinical trial, immunological tests and animal study. Taiwan Asthma Study Group

Traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) have been used to treat bronchial asthma for several centuries and a certain degree of clinical benefit has been observed; however, scientific substantiation is lacking. A multicenter, double-blind and placebo-controlled study was therefore conducted to evaluate the clinical efficacy in terms of symptom score, medication score, morning and evening PEFRs, and changes of immunoregulatory function, such as distribution of lymphocyte subsets and in vivo and in vitro production of lymphokines (IFN-gamma and IL-4) and inflammatory mediators (histamine, PGE2 and LTC4). Furthermore, the protective effect of TCM on the late asthmatic reaction (LAR) was evaluated by using asthmatic guinea pigs. Three hundred and three asthmatic children were classified by Chinese doctors, according to a standardized questionnaire designed on the basis of basic logic of Chinese medicine, into three groups of specific constitution (group A, B and C). Group A consisted of 32 herb A-treated patients and 34 placebo-treated; group B, 74 herb B-treated and 64 placebo-treated; and group C, 55 herb C-treated and 44 placebo-treated. The study period was six months. The results were: 1) Both treatment group and placebo group showed an improvement in all clinical parameters, thus demonstrating a placebo effect. However, the improvement was usually greater in the former than the latter, although only the difference in PEFR was significant; 2) Herb A could increase total T cell and decrease B cell; 3) Herb A and B enhanced production of PGE2 but not LTC4, IFN-gamma and IL-4; 4) There was a general tendency for in vivo and in vitro production of histamine to decrease at the end of study in both treatment group and placebo group; however, the decrease was significantly greater in the former than the latter; 5) In asthmatic guinea pigs, 10-day's pretreatment with Chinese herbs could reverse the decrease of sGaw, suppress eosinophilia in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), prevent the eosinophil infiltration of airways, increase PGE2 production and decrease LTC4 production in serum and BALF. Thus, traditional Chinese medicines did show a certain degree of clinical efficacy. The decreased production of histamine and LTC4, increased production of PGE2 that were found in both asthmatic children and asthmatic guinea pigs, and prevention of occurrence of LAR by suppressing eosinophil infiltration of airways and preserving airway conductance that were observed in asthmatic guinea pigs after allergen challenge might be used to account partly for the effectiveness.     

"Repty" scales of strokes. Functional index "Repty" for the evaluation of ADL in hemiplegic patients after cerebral stroke. Part II

The Escherichia coli FtsH protein is a membrane-bound and ATP-dependent protease. In this study, we describe ATP-dependent conformational changes in FtsH as well as a polypeptide binding ability of this protein. A 33 kDa segment of FtsH became trypsin resistant in the presence of ATP. ATP and ATPgammaS prevented self-aggregation of detergent-solubilized FtsH-His6-Myc at 37 degrees C, again suggesting that the binding of ATP induces a conformational change in FtsH. Affinity chromatography showed that FtsH-His6-Myc can associate with denatured alkaline phosphatase (PhoA) but not with the native enzyme. Denatured PhoA also prevented the aggregation of FtsH, and these two proteins co-sedimented through a sucrose gradient. Binding between FtsH-His6-Myc and detergent-solubilized SecY was also demonstrated. Although FtsH-bound SecY was processed further for ATP-dependent proteolysis, FtsH-bound PhoA was not. Thus, FtsH association with denatured PhoA is uncoupled from proteolysis. Overproduction of FtsH significantly increased the cytoplasmic localization of the PhoA moiety of a MalF-PhoA hybrid protein, in which a charged residue had been introduced into a transmembrane segment. Thus, denatured PhoA binding of FtsH may also occur in vivo.     

The limiting hand skin temperature for unaffected manual performance in the cold.

12 soldiers put their hands in a refrigerated box and tried to tie knots. "Performance was severely hindered when hand skin temperature fell to 55° F… . becoming asymptotoic after about 40 minutes." From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4LG93C. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ability requirements as a function of changes in the characteristics of an auditory signal identification task.

Examined the nature of changes in abilities contributing to individual differences in a criterion task (auditory signal identification) when 2 task characteristics (signal duration and signal-to-noise ratio) were systematically varied. 127 male college students performed under 9 different conditions on the criterion task (3-, 6-, or 9-sec signal durations, and -5 db, 0 db, and 5 db signal-to-noise ratios), as well as on a battery of 24 printed and auditory ability measures (e.g., Object-Number, Gestalt Completion, and Hidden Tunes tests). Variations in the 2 task characteristics were found to increase task difficulty. Of the 6 ability factors identified, one (Auditory Perceptual) predicted criterion task performance, and this prediction increased systematically as each manipulation increased the task's difficulty. It was possible to specify the task characteristics under which the ability was least critical and most critical to criterion performance. Implications of the results for linking ability requirements and task characteristics are discussed. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of kinins on the action of circulatory drugs. II. The influence of bradylinin on the action of selected drugs on the isolated rat heart

The influence of bradykinin and bradykinin in conjunction with norepinephrine, epinephrine, isoprenaline, phentolamine and propranolol on the work of the isolated rat heart was studied. Amplitude of cardiac contractions, their frequency, and coronary flow were recorded. The kinin had no influence on the work of the isolated rat heart, inhibited the stimulating action of norepinephrine, epinephrine and isoprenaline on the heart muscle, and had no effect on the action of phentolamine and propranolol.     

Artifact in the "essence of hypnosis": An evaluation of trance logic.

Assigned 70 female student nurses to 1 of 3 treatment conditions: hypnotic induction, instructions to simulate hypnosis, or imagination control. All Ss were assessed on M. Orne's (see record 1960-05341-001) 2 indexes of trance logic (the transparent and the double hallucination). The imagination controls consistently showed trance logic as often as the hypnotic Ss. Depending upon the stringency of the criterion for hallucination, the simulating Ss showed trance logic less often, as often, or more often than the hypnotic Ss and the imagination controls. In the 2nd phase of the investigation, 6 simulating Ss consistently manifested trance logic as often as 5 highly selected "somnambulistic" hypnotic Ss. Since trance logic was not found to be a discriminating characteristic of hypnotic Ss, investigators who seek the "essence of hypnosis" must now search elsewhere. (25 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)