Progress of fundamental research in Wilms'' tumor

The sectional anatomy of the pelvic floor was studied in plastinated sections of adult pelves by computed tomography and by magnetic resonance imaging. In sectional anatomy, the levator ani is composed of three portions that can be clearly distinguished by their planes of cleavage and by the course of their fiber bundles. No muscular connections are found between the levator ani portions and the pelvic organs. The fascia of the levator ani in always interposed between the muscle and the pelvic organs. The sectional anatomy of the sphincter ani externus reveals a subdivision into a subcutaneous and a deep portion. Although the puborectalis portion of the levator ani and the deep portion of the sphincter ani externus are more or less continuous, in sectional anatomy they can be distinguished due to their different origins and attachments.     

Surgery of primary sphincter incontinence

A thorough functional analysis of the anorectal continence organ and the pelvic floor is a prerequisite for adequate treatment of incontinence. If conservative therapy has failed, corrective surgery on the basis of careful patient selection may well lead to improvement of continence. In our experience, plastic surgery of both the anterior levator ani muscle and the sphincter ani externus muscle is the treatment of choice for idiopathic incontinence.     

The longitudinal muscle of the anal canal

The longitudinal muscle (LM) represents a strong muscular structure of the anal canal situated between the internal (IAS) and the external anal sphincter (EAS). Terminal fibres of this muscle insert at the submucosa of the anal canal, representing the m. canalis ani. Others cross the subcutaneous part of the EAS to become the m. corrugator ani. Thus, the LM connects the visceral and somatic parts of the anal sphincter complex. Histologically ganglionic cells and as Vater-Pacinian corpuscles can be identified inside the LM. Morphology, topography and histology of the LM suggest that this muscle participates in maintaining anorectal continence. It is mandatory that the exact functions of this muscular structure be to elaborated upon, if we are to understand the mechanism of anorectal continence.     

The effects of castration on body composition, adipose tissue cellularity and lipid and carbohydrate metabolism in adult male rats

Gonadal hormones affect body composition, food intake, weight gain and serum lipids in numerous species including man. In this study, mature male Sprague-Dawley rats were castrated or sham-operated at 16 weeks of age. During the 6-week observation period with weekly records of food intake and weight gain, these parameters were significantly lower in the castrated group. The decrease in food intake in this group could not account for the difference in body weight between the groups, indicating a lower feed utilisation in the castrates. At sacrifice accessory reproductive organs, the levator ani muscle, thymus and adrenals were dissected for determination of organ weight and histology, revealing significant reductions in the accessory reproductive organs and levator ani of the castrates. The thymus was significantly heavier in the castrated animals. No differences were found in the adrenals. Two of the sham-operated animals had signs of accidental functional castration. The proportion of body cell mass and total lipid of the carcass was the same in both groups. Significant reductions in adipocyte weights were found in the epididymal depots of the castrated rats. Blood samples taken at sacrifice in pentobarbital anaesthesia were analysed for glucose, insulin, triglycerides, cholesterol, FFA, glycerol and protein. Statistically significant reductions in triglycerides and protein were recorded in the castrated animals without any significant changes in the other parameters studied. The results are discussed with reference to the age of castration and the importance of the reduced food intake in castrated animals.     

彩色涂层钢板的预处理

本文论述了彩色涂层钢板预处理的最佳工艺条件的选择,该工艺可在室温下进行,节约能源,并且成膜速度快(小于10s),效果好,具有广泛的适应性。同时也研究了各组分对预处理成膜的影响,探讨了预处理膜的组织结构与彩色涂层钢板性能的关系。     

Comparative psychology and the study of animal learning.

Comparative psychology and the study of animal learning have been closely related since the start of both areas of study. At its inception, comparative psychology addressed questions about the evolution of consciousness and intelligence. The scope of comparative psychology then increased to include a wide range of issues related to behavioral evolution and adaptation. Both of these aspects of comparative psychology are reflected in contemporary research on animal learning. Contemporary investigations of animal learning and cognition reflect the roots of comparative psychology in questions about animal intelligence. Contemporary studies of adaptive specializations and functions of learning are related to the contemporary emphasis in comparative psychology on the role of behavior in evolution and adaptation. In addition, the comparative method remains important in the study of both specialized and general learning processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Magnetic Properties of the Nitrides of R_2Fe_(17)CN_x

The carbon and nitrogen atoms can be introduced into the R_2Fe_(17) structure by a proper heat treatment.The crystallographic and intrinsic magnetic properties of a series of R_2Fe_(17)CN_x,where R=Y,Sm,Gd,Tb,Dy,Er have been investigated by using X-ray diffraction technique and magnetic measurements.The interstitial car-bon and nitrogen atoms are found to have an effect of dilating unit cell volume,raising Curie temperature andsaturation magnetization,as well as enhancing uniaxial magnetocrystalline anisotropy.     

Defecographic assessment after colonic J pouch-anal anastomosis

Colonic J pouch anal anastomosis is widely employed after rectal resection. In the 36 patients who participated in our retrospective study, although postoperative continence was retained/maintained in each individual, a survey questionnaire indicated some difficulties in neoanorectal function. Therefore, defecography was performed in 20 of these patients. Patients experiencing soiling were found to have an increased ano-pouch angle and pelvic floor descent. Loss of sensation and incomplete evacuation were also associated with an abnormally large pelvic floor descent. However, stool frequency, urgency, and the need for medication showed no correlation with any of the defecography parameters. These findings thus suggested that the puborectal muscle and the levator ani muscle played an important role in postoperative function. Defecography was also found to provide a dynamic assessment of the postoperative state of colonanal reconstruction.     

The importance of sodium pyruvate in assessing damage produced by hydrogen peroxide

OBJECTIVES: The external striated urethral sphincter (rhabdosphincter) is a tubular muscle sleeve that extends from the prostato-membranous urethra and perineal membrane to the bladder neck. The male rhabdosphincter neuroanatomy remains unclear, and a better understanding of its innervation may provide insight into potential modifications of radical pelvic surgery to improve urinary continence. METHODS: Fresh cadaveric dissections of 12 male hemipelves were undertaken to investigate the neuroanatomy of the urinary rhabdosphincter. RESULTS: Neuroanatomic courses of the nerve supply to the rhabdosphincter revealed that, in the perineum, the perineal nerve (a terminal branch of the pudendal nerve) provided branches directly to the bulbospongiosus muscle and the urinary rhabdosphincter. In the pelvis, the course of the pelvic nerve was as follows: (1) arising from the inferior hypogastric plexus, it had a weblike course beneath the muscle fascia of the levator ani muscle; (2) traveling posterolateral to the rectum, it gave many branches that perforated into the lateral rectum; and (3) at the level of the prostatic apex, still beneath the levator ani muscle fascia (superior fascia), it sent multiple direct branches to the inferolateral aspect of urinary rhabdosphincter. The pudendal nerve traversed the pelvis in the pudendal canal, and, before leaving the pelvis to enter the perineum, it gave an intrapelvic branch that courses with the pelvic nerve to innervate the rhabdosphincter. CONCLUSIONS: Our understanding of the neuroanatomy of what may be the continence nerves has been improved by fresh cadaveric dissection. The rhabdosphincter receives nerve fibers from the pelvic nerve and dual innervation from an intrapelvic branch and a perineal branch of the pudendal nerve. Better understanding of these anatomic findings may have potential surgical significance with respect to improvement in postoperative urinary continence.     

Riluzole interacts with voltage-activated sodium and potassium currents in cultured rat cortical neurons

Inhaled nitric oxide is a selective pulmonary vasodilator used for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension. The potential adverse effects of inhaled nitric oxide are unknown and represent the focus of the present studies. Whereas inhalation of nitric oxide (10 to 100 ppm, 5 h) by Balb/c mice had no effect on the number or type of cells recovered from the lung, a dose-related increase in bronchoalveolar lavage protein was observed, suggesting that nitric oxide induces alveolar epithelial injury. To determine if this was associated with altered alveolar macrophage activity, we quantified production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediates by these cells. Interferon-gamma, alone or in combination with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), induced expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) protein and nitric oxide production by alveolar macrophages. Cells from mice exposed to 20 to 100 ppm nitric oxide produced significantly more nitric oxide and expressed greater quantities of iNOS than cells from control animals. Superoxide anion production and peroxynitrite generation by alveolar macrophages were also increased after exposure of mice to nitric oxide. This was correlated with increased antinitrotyrosine antibody binding to macrophages in histologic sections. Taken together, these data demonstrate that inhaled nitric oxide primes lung macrophages to release reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediates. Increased production of these mediators by macrophages following inhalation of nitric oxide may contribute to tissue injury.     

Acquisition and extinction in autoshaping.

C. R. Gallistel and J. Gibbon (2000) presented quantitative data on the speed with which animals acquire behavioral responses during autoshaping, together with a statistical model of learning intended to account for them. Although this model captures the form of the dependencies among critical variables, its detailed predictions are substantially at variance with the data. In the present article, further key data on the speed of acquisition are used to motivate an alternative model of learning, in which animals can be interpreted as paying different amounts of attention to stimuli according to estimates of their differential reliabilities as predictors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

熔盐电镀.I.电化学成核及其在离子扩散控制下的长大

研究电化学成核和长大可为熔盐电镀找到一些控制镀层质量的方法,对熔盐电镀很重要。电化学成核和长大是通过电化学反应生成新相的过程,其基本关系过去都是从气—液相变和液—固相变的关系导出的。本文利用两个带电的简单相之间的平衡条件——电化学势相等,导出了电化学成核和长大的基本热力学关系和晶核密度(或成核速度)公式。本文还利用溶液中离子的半球形扩散方程,并考虑成核和长大的特点,导出了恒电势下半球形晶核形成和长大的暂态极化公式。推导过程比过去更加直接明瞭,所得的一些关系比经典理论更加普遍,因而更易于理解。     

The isolation of Bordetella bronchiseptic from an outbreak of canine pneumonia

This report describes an outbreak of bronchitis and bronchopneumonia among young dogs in a breeding kennel following the introduction of two pups from another area. Bordetella bronchiseptica was isolated in heavy culture from affected animals which responded well to antibacterial therapy. There was no evidence of distemper virus involvement. Important bacteriological properties of Bord. bronchiseptica are discussed particularly as they relate to its known pathogenicity in the young of several species of animal. During the outbreak reported, it was noted that only young pups were clinically affected and it is suggested that Bord. bronchiseptica may be pathogenic in a certain age-group within the canine population. This seems to require further investigation.     

Reversal of the morphological effects of monocular deprivation in the kittens's lateral geniculate nucleus

1. Eleven kittens were deprived of vision in one eye until the age of between 5 and 14 weeks. Their eyes were then reverse-sutured, they were allowed to survive for a further 3-63 days, and their brains were then examined histologically. 2. Measurement of the cross-sectional area of cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) showed that when the reversal of lid suture was performed at the age of 8 or 14 weeks, the mean cell size was smaller in laminae connected to the initially closed right eye than it was in other laminae. 3. When the reversal of lid suture took place at 5 or 6 weeks of age there was a reversal of interlaminar size differences: the initially deprived eye was then connected to laminae containing larger cells. Even within 3 days after the reversal of lid suture, most of the morphological effects of the initial suture had been abolished, and they were fully reversed within 12 days. 4. These results are compared with physiological changes in the visual cortex of these and similarly reared animals.     

Rats and mice together: The predatory nature of the rat's mouse-killing response.

Distinguishes between predatory behavior and other types of behavior typically called aggressive (e.g., territorial fighting). Predatory behaviors are (a) usually interspecific, (b) related to eating, and (c) topographically distinct from other fighting behaviors. It is suggested that differences in response patterns offer a relatively simple way to distinguish predatory behaviors from other fighting behaviors. Studies of the rat's mouse-killing response are reviewed and compared with those of predatory animals according to the criteria listed above. It is concluded that the rat's mouse-killing response is predatory (i.e., a link in a behavioral chain that typically ends in eating). This definition is important for the consideration of future conditioning studies concerned with the modification of such behavior. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Germ-cell mutagenesis in lambda lacZ transgenic mice treated with ethylating and methylating agents: comparison with specific-locus test

Germ-cell mutagenesis has been studied in male lambda lacZ transgenic mice in such a way that the data can be compared with literature data for germ-cell mutagenesis obtained with the specific-locus test (SLT). Mutagenesis induced by ethylnitrosourea (ENU), ethylmethanesulphonate (EMS), methylnitrosourea (MNU) and methylmethanesulphonate (MMS), has been studied in mature spermatozoa isolated from the epididymis and vas deferens. In order to investigate mutagenesis in different phases of spermatogenesis, animals were sacrificed at various time points after treatment. ENU at 150 mg/kg body weight significantly induced mutations in stem cells (analysis at 100 days post-treatment), but not in post-stem cells (7 days post-treatment). EMS (250 mg/kg) and MMS (60 mg/kg) induced mutations only in post-stem cells (7 days), but not in stem cells (100 days). MNU (70 mg/kg) resulted in an increase of mutations in both post-stem cells (14 and 37 days) and stem cells (100 days), although the latter, due to a limited number of data, was not statistically significant. All these data are in accordance with published SLT data. These results indicate that lambda lacZ transgenic mice are a suitable model to study gene mutations in different phases of spermatogenesis.     

Maternal control of embryogenesis by MEDEA, a polycomb group gene in Arabidopsis

The gametophytic maternal effect mutant medea (mea) shows aberrant growth regulation during embryogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. Embryos derived from mea eggs grow excessively and die during seed desiccation. Embryo lethality is independent of the paternal contribution and gene dosage. The mea phenotype is consistent with the parental conflict theory for the evolution of parent-of-origin-specific effects. MEA encodes a SET domain protein similar to Enhancer of zeste, a member of the Polycomb group. In animals, Polycomb group proteins ensure the stable inheritance of expression patterns through cell division and regulate the control of cell proliferation.     

Diagnosis of acute localized irradiation lesions: review of the French experimental experience

In the last 50 years several radiation accidents occurred in which industrial radiographers and others suffered severe radiation injuries from inadvertent contact with radiation sources. Such accidents involving acute localized injuries are characterized by a severe initial reaction progressing through erythema to skin necrosis with a spontaneous resolution of the lesion over a 2-mo period for the lower doses. However, the early symptoms observed on the skin give no indication as to the in-depth pathology, and cutaneous and muscular radionecrosis started generally from early epithelial, microvascular, and vascular lesions and from delayed muscular and connective tissue lesions. In a case of acute localized irradiation, different biophysical techniques are able to give real responses in biological dosimetry. More numerous are the methods, especially imaging methods, that make it possible for the clinician to evaluate the extent of the early injuries and to manage the medical intervention. We have developed animal experimental models of acute localized irradiation: overexposure to the gamma rays of a 192Ir industrial radiographic collimated source (in the pig and the rabbit) and overexposure to the beta rays of a 90Sr-90Y collimated source (in the pig). In these experimental models, most of the imaging techniques used in clinical practice, as infra-red thermography, microwave thermography, cutaneous and tissular vascular scintigraphy (beta or gamma emitters), cutaneous blood flow measurements by cutaneous laser Doppler, x ray computed tomography, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, and skin topography, were correlated with clinical evaluation and histopathological observations, after high doses of gamma or beta irradiations ranging from 4 to 340 Gy at the skin surface. All these techniques are not for isolated use and the present review indicates that their combination is necessary to give an improved diagnostic and prognostic picture of early and late delayed radiation damage to the skin and subcutaneous tissues.     

Oligomannose-coated liposomes as an adjuvant for the induction of cell-mediated immunity

Rats were exposed prenatally to the coplanar congener 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (TCB). The amount of long-term potentiation (LTP) was measured in slices from the visual cortex and hippocampus of the adult males as well as of controls. While in the cortical slices from the controls a stable LTP could be induced, LTP was inhibited in the TCB-exposed rats. In hippocampal slices, the amount of LTP was not significantly different between the two groups. Our results suggest that the visual cortex of adult animals is functionally altered by TCB if the exposure takes place during embryonic development.