Patterns of cell functioning in starvation (exemplified by isolated roots)

Comparison is made over physiology of the cells of isolated roots with those of animals under long-term starvation conditions. General mechanisms of functioning of such cells are exposed. It is shown that cut-off roots could be used as proper model for the studying physiology of the cell starvation.     

The efficacy of the combined conservative therapy of patients with chronic obliterating arterial diseases of the extremities in outpatient practice

The paper provides the results of multimodality conservative therapy in 527 patients with chronic obliterating diseases of extremity arteries, which was performed in the outpatient setting. Factors influencing its efficiency were analyzed. The paper emphasizes the value of this direction of treatment whose underestimation sharply aggravates the prognosis of these diseases, including the results of their surgical management. Having obtained positive results in 84.5% of patients, the authors note the efficiency of treatment to be decreased with severe arterial insufficiency of lower extremities (5% of negative results in Stage IIa, 23% in Stage IIb, and 40% in Stage III), in patients with prior surgical interventions, and in elderly patients with atherosclerosis obliterans and younger patients with non-specific aortoarteritis.     

Cis-Dichloro(diaminosuccinate diethyl ester)palladium (II) as Pd(II)/Pt(II) model compound for DNA-binding and antitumor properties: solution equilibria of their aqua-, hydroxo-, and/or chloro-species

Cis-Dichloro(diaminosuccinic acid)palladium(II), cis-[Pd(H2dasa)Cl2] (I), or cis-dichloro(diaminosuccinate diethyl ester)palladium(II), cis-[Pd(Et2dasa)Cl2] (II) reacts with two equivalents of AgClO4 to give insoluble Pd(dasa) or an aqueous solution of [Pd(Et2dasa) (H2O)2](ClO4)2, respectively. Three solutions of this salt were titrated with NaOH (I = NaClO4 (0.15M),37 degrees C), and 133 E(H+) data (3.5 < or = pH < or = 7) were treated by SUPERQUAD to fit log beta pqr of cis-aquahydroxo-(pqr = 10-1, -5.25(3)) and di-mu-hydroxo-species (20-2, -6.55(1)). At pH > 7 the ester hydrolysis prevents the calculation of log beta 10-2 for the cis-dihydroxo-complex. Another three solutions of such salt were titrated (I = 0.15M (NaClO4), 37 degrees C) with NaOH and NaCl simultaneously using two potentiometric systems (which measure H+ or Cl-). From 147 E(H+) and E(Cl-) data pairs and the above fixed log beta pqr, SUPERQUAD calculations yield log beta pqr for cis-chloro-aqua (pqr = 110, 3.65(1)), cis-chloro-hydroxo (11-1, -2.68 (4)), and cis-dichloro-species (120, 5.86(3)). Simulated and experimental titrations are in good agreement. Circular dichroism spectra of native DNA and drug:DNA complexes suggest that cis-Pd(H2dasa) and cis-Pd(Et2dasa) chelate moieties induce an opening and rotation of the stacked bases in the double helix. This finding is explained by the abundance of each one and of the total neutral and charged species of II in the tested CD solution.     

The use of intermittent lighting in broiler raising. 2. Effects on the somatotrophic and thyroid axes and on plasma testosterone levels

Male and female broiler chicks were raised separately in nearly continuous lighting [23 h light (L):1 h dark (D), CL] and consumed feed ad libitum. At 7 d of age, the intermittent lighting schedule (1L:3D, IL) was imposed on half of the chicks, whereas the other chicks remained under CL. In addition to performance characteristics, several parameters of the somatotrophic and thyrotrophic axes were studied together with plasma concentrations of testosterone. Males had a higher growth rate than females regardless of the imposed lighting schedule and this pronounced growth difference is reflected by higher plasma concentrations of growth hormone (GH), and a better GH receptor occupancy. Differences in growth rate between sexes could not be attributed to differences in circulating 3,3',5-triiodothyronine (T3) levels or to hepatic deiodination activities. However, from 3 wk of age onwards, males had significantly higher plasma testosterone levels than females. Plasma GH and T3 levels decreased whereas plasma insulin-like growth factor-I and thyroxine levels increased with age in all experimental groups. The age-related decline in plasma GH levels were less pronounced for males than for females. No major changes in other hormonal parameters or deiodination activities could be observed as a result of imposing IL, except for the higher plasma GH levels of IL chickens, and for plasma testosterone concentrations in IL males at Day 41, which were twice the levels found in their CL counterparts. These results therefore suggest that the somatotrophic axis as well as circulating testosterone levels mediate the sex-related differences in growth rate and the compensatory growth as present in males.     

A brain-tumor model utilizing stereotactic implantation of a permanent cannula

A tumor model involving stereotactically implanted culture-reared tumor cells is presented. Stainless steel cannulas were stereotactically and permanently implanted into the caudate nucleus of 30 rats. The animals were separated into two groups. In Group I, 15 animals received a 10-microliters injection containing 10(6) C6 glioblastoma cells (five rats), 10(6) Walker 256 breast carcinoma cells (five rats), or cell medium (five rats). The coordinates were A(+1.5), L(+3.0), and DV(-5.0). In Group II, the coordinates were changed to A(+1.0), L(+3.0), and DV(-5.0) and the same number of rats received a 1-microliter injection containing 10(5) cells of each tumor in an attempt to produce more focal tumors. Two weeks after implantation, brain sections were stained with cresyl violet and a subset was stained for glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP). A computerized morphometric analysis system was used to quantify tumor size. In Group I, the mean C6 tumor areas (+/- standard error of the mean) at specific coordinates were (in sq mm): A(+4.7) 0.4 +/- 0.2; A(+3.7) 3.5 +/- 1.1; A(+2.7) 5.7 +/- 1.7; A(+1.7) 9.5 +/- 2.3; A(+0.7) 7.5 +/- 3.2; A(-0.3) 3.7 +/- 2.9; and A(-1.3) 0.3 +/- 0.3. A nearly identical tumor mass and extension into the brain was produced in rats injected with Walker 256 cells. Similar C6 tumor areas were indicated in adjacent sections stained with cresyl violet and GFAP. Tumor was found in the caudate nucleus in all 10 rats, but not in the nucleus accumbens, fornix, or hippocampus. In Group II animals, tumor magnitude and extension into the brain were greatly reduced. The 10(6) cells in the 10-microliters volume was the most reliable tumor load for obtaining uniform tumors in different animals. The similarity of tumor distribution across different animals was indicated by the low variance of tumor area at specific anteroposterior coordinates. Reproducible and well-circumscribed caudate nucleus tumors were produced using this stereotactic procedure.     

Relative estimates of combination weights, decision criteria, and internal noise based on correlation coefficients

A means by which relative combination weights may be determined is described for a signal detection model in which the decision variable is a weighted linear combination of several independent, normally distributed random variables, Xi's. The first theorem presents the correlation between the binary response variables--signal versus no signal--and the component Xi. The second theorem presents a parallel result for the case that additive internal noise is present. Thus in psychophysical experiments, the relative combination weights may be obtained by correlating the observers' responses and the input random variables. Third, three numerical methods which allow the evaluation of the relative magnitude of the decision criterion and the variance of a hypothetical additive internal noise are considered.     

Fibrous skeleton endocarditis: repair using Konno procedure

Information about the surgical management of fibrous skeleton endocarditis is incomplete, as the vast majority of current literature describes the isolated repair of either the aortic or the mitral annulus, the combination rarely being addressed. Annular destruction, in the presence of endocarditis, demands extreme ingenuity for surgical treatment and cure. We describe and illustrate the Konno procedure for replacement of both infected mitral and aortic valves and repair of mycotic ventricular septal defects.     

Sensory modulation of the medial preoptic area neuronal activity by dorsal penile nerve stimulation in rats

The study was aimed at finding out the influence exerted by the genital afferents on the medial preoptic area (mPOA), which plays a pivotal role in the regulation of male sex behavior. To fulfil this objective, the effects of stimulation of the dorsal penile nerve (DPN) on the activity of 82 mPOA neurons were studied. The base line firing rates of the mPOA neurons, studied by extracellular recording, ranged between 0.5 and 38.5 Hz (mean 7.18 +/- 7.91). The stimulation of the DPN (20 Hz, 0.4 msec. 70 microA) influenced 79.69% of the neurons studied. Though increased firing was the predominant influence produced (50%), decreased firing was also seen in a few (29.69%). The excited and inhibited neurons were randomly distributed within the mPOA. Neurons located in the lateral and posterior hypothalamus were not affected by the DPN stimulation. The stimulation parameters used in this study did not produce any change in the systemic arterial pressure and heart rate. The results provide electrophysiological evidence of afferent inputs from the male sex organ to the mPOA, which is an important area controlling male sex behavior.     

Methods for quantitative determination of drug localized in the skin

The quantification of drugs within the skin is essential for topical and transdermal delivery research. Over the last two decades, horizontal sectioning, consisting of both tape stripping and parallel slicing through the deeper tissues has constituted the traditional investigative technique. In recent years, this methodology has been augmented by such procedures as heat separation, qualitative autoradiography, isolation of the pilosebaceous units and the use of induced follicle-free skin. The development of skin quantitative autoradiography represents an entirely novel approach which permits quantification and visualization of the penetrant throughout a vertical cross-section of skin. Noninvasive strategies involve the application of optical measuring systems such as attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared, fluorescence, remittance or photothermal spectroscopies.