Biochemistry and experimental biology最新文献

The development of testicular glutamate oxaloacetate (GOT) and glutamate pyruvate (GPT) transaminases and of 5'-Nucleotidase was monitored in the male Nigerian fowl. The findings indicated triphasic and monophasic oscillations of GOT and GPT respectively with age. 5(1)-Nucleotidase was found to decrease with increase in the chronological age of the chicks. Furthermore, while GOT and GPT exhibited cubic and quadratic relationships respectively with age and testicular weights, 5(1)-Nucleotidase was related to both variables in a quadratic manner. The results are discussed in terms of spermatogenesis which may bear profoundly on the overall reproductive performance traits of the Nigerian cockerel.

Plasma Sorbitol Dehydrogenase levels were determined in subjects with diabetes mellitus and normal people. The diabetic subjects had circulating plasma levels of SDH significantly higher (p less than 0.001) than those observed in controls. Moreover, the diabetics with vascular complications presented the highest SDH values. The lack of positive correlation between plasma glucose and SDH levels suggests that SDH, like hemoglobin A1C, reflect the degree of previous metabolic control of diabetes mellitus.

The behaviour of the arteriolo-venular anastomoses was investigated. Observations were completed by the electrical stimulation of the superior mesenteric artery. During stimulation a constriction was induced in the arterioles while the gauge of the anastomoses was almost unchanged. An interpretation of this observation is given.

Histoplasmin skin-test was applied to 1014 patients in two different parts of Somalia: in Mogadishu, an arid area, and in Jilib, a southern village on the banks of the Juba river. Among these patients only three gave areas of induration greater than 5 mm in diameter; all reactors were from Jilib. Results of a serological survey (latex-agglutination test) of histoplasmosis antibodies among 203 Somalian patients from three villages in river valleys are compared with the results of 171 inhabitants of the town of Mogadishu. Indirect agglutination antibody titers greater than or equal to 20 were found in 21.6% of the Mogadishu population as compared to 52.2% found in the river villages. In 96.2% of our cases in which the two tests were contemporarily used, the skin-test was completely negative despite high titres of positivity in the serological test. The results indicate the existence of founts of histoplasmosis infection in Somalia, particularly in humid areas bordering the rivers rather than in the surrounding arid semi-desert area characteristic of most of the country.

O-isopropoxyphenylmethyl carbamate in S. fossilis chromosomes has been found to induce fragmentation at pachytene and diakinesis. Fragmentation frequency increased with the increase in dose. The yield of total clumping at different doses and different intervals was inconsistent. Precocious despiralization and stickiness were also observed. Time interval was observed to be a factor in the appearance of anomalies with different doses. The dicentric bridges which were frequent at low dose, diminished in quantum with the increase in dose.

Effect of whole body gamma irradiation (1200 r) and the effect of administration cystamine prior to irradiation has been studied on kidney total lipids, cholesterol, phospholipids (phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine). Irradiation significantly decreases kidney cholesterol and this decrease was not prevented by administration of cystamine prior to irradiation. Irradiation did not affect the incorporation of NaH232PO4 into kidney phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine but the incorporation of glucose-U-14C was significantly reduced in kidney total lipids and phosphatidylcholine. Administration of cystamine before irradiation was ineffective in modifying the incorporation of glucose-U-14C into kidney lipids and phosphatidylcholine.

Starting from the epidemiological investigation on a sample of 22.560 subjects of different chronological age classes in the Latium region with the research of hemoagglutinoinhibiting antibodies of the Rubella virus, and of 9.800 subjects with the research of hemoagglutinoinhibiting antibodies of the Measles virus, the authors observe that the diffusion of the seroprotection presents on an average 82.5% for Rubella and 79.8% for Measles. On the strength of the results, referred also according to the established chronological age classes, any obligatory treatment against Rubella is excluded in prepuberal age. In order to prevent the risk of congenital malformation in cases of pregnant and not seroprotected subjects who, during the first three months of gestation might come into contact with sick affected by Rosolia or with healthy carriers, the authors suggest the vaccination three months before the conception. Evidently, this involves a screening of the adult female population before their marriage. On the contrary as concerns Measles, the vaccination within the second year of life is being hypothesized exactly on the basis of the consideration that this is a matter of a serious illness and not always free from grave complications. In these cases, after shortly referring on the results of the experiments of different authors, the mixed anti-Measles and anti-Rubella vaccination might be taken into consideration, though with all the precautions that are suggested.

The blood extract Solcoseryl (SO), when administered daily in i.p. injection to mice adapted to ambient temperature of 32.5 degrees C enhances within a period of 5 days the activities of the enzymes LDH and G-6-PDH of liver, kidney, testes and thymus in an oscillatory way. The changes of enzyme activity resulting from whole body irradiation with gamma-rays and exhibiting mostly a tendency towards diminution are abolished and the activities restored to values lying in between those obtained with sole SO treatment or irradiation alone, respectively, when following irradiation SO is again applied for a period of 3 days.

The composition of various lipids were measured in ten healthy newborns of mothers who were treated with 100 mg vitamin E per day, starting in the 35th week of pregnancy. The maternal serum vitamin E levels following the treatment (1.10 +/- 0.49 mg/dl) showed no increase as compared to the pretreatment values (1.06 +/- 0.38 mg/dl). There was no significant difference in serum vitamin E levels in those newborns whose mothers were treated--(0.19 +/- 0.12 mg/dl) as compared to 10 newborns whose mothers were not treated with vitamin E (0.13 +/- 0.07 mg/dl). However, there was a striking increase in the relative concentration of linoleic acid in the adipose tissue to those newborns whose mothers were treated (9.4%--versus--4.1%).