Comparison of frequency, intensity, and duration of aggressive responses in rats

Three judges were trained to evaluate the frequency, intensity, and duration of aggressive responses in rats. Intrajudge and interjudge reliability ranged from .84 to .99. Correlation coefficients between frequency, intensity, and duration of aggressive responses ranged from .89 to .99. All three measures were found to be highly reliable methods of measuring aggression.     

Histochemical studies on striated muscle of ischemic and angiosurgically reperfused lower extremities

There have been reports on an increased oxidative capacity in muscle tissue from the diseased legs of patients with intermittent claudication. In biopsy from specimens the gastrocnemius muscle of 25 patients the effect of arterial reconstructive surgery were studied, using fresh frozen cryostate sections and histochemical reactions for some oxidoreductases. The present study describes additional histochemical changes in the leg muscles in patients suffering from arterial insufficiency. The changes observed are correlated to the clinical severity of the disease.     

Lymphocytic Hypophysitis Presenting as a Pituitary Tumor in a 63-Year-Old Man

This report describes a case of lymphocytic hypophysitis in a 63-year-old man who presented with symptoms of a pituitary mass lesion associated with hypothyroidism and hypogonadism. Postoperative endocrinological testing demonstrated gonadotropic, thyrotropic, and corticotropic hypopituitarism, and the patient was commenced on replacement therapy with hydrocortisone and levothyroxine. Histological examination of the pituitary tissue obtained by transsphenoidal surgery revealed lymphocytic hypophysitis without evidence of a pituitary adenoma. The vast majority of patients with lymphocytic hypophysitis are women particularly during pregnancy and the puerperium. Until recently only four men were reported in the literature. The pathogenesis of lymphocytic hypophysitis is uncertain but autoimmune mechanisms are possibly involved.     

Interleukin-11 expression: its significance in eutopic and ectopic human implantation

Embryo implantation and subsequent decidualization, trophoblast invasion and formation of a functional placenta are crucial for establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. Interleukin-11 signalling has been shown to be obligatory for adequate decidualization and trophoblast invasion in mice. Defects in IL-11 signalling in mice result in trophoblast over-invasion and fetal loss. The pathological situation of human tubal pregnancy resembles that of IL-11Ralpha(-/-) mice concerning these symptoms. As our interest is focused on the human early pregnancy, we compared IL-11 expression at the implantation site of ectopic tubal pregnancy (EP) to 1st and 2nd trimester of normal intrauterine pregnancies (IP), and to the normal cycling endometrium. The mRNA expression of IL-11 and IL-11Ralpha was analysed by semiquantitative RT-PCR. Protein expression was detected by western blotting and immunohistochemistry. IL-11Ralpha is expressed constitutively in all tissue specimens analysed. IL-11 is expressed predominantly during follicular and early luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. In IP, IL-11 expression peaks during the 1st trimester and declines from the beginning of the 2nd trimester onwards. In tubal abortions, IL-11 expression is reduced in comparison to vital EP and IP. Cultured primary endometrial and decidual epithelial cells were analysed for hormonal regulation of IL-11 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and RT-PCR. IL-11 is up-regulated by estrogen and down-regulated by progesterone. Overall, our results indicate that in humans, IL-11 signalling is significantly involved in regulation of trophoblast invasion. In the case of tubal abortion, inadequate IL-11 signalling may therefore result in dysregulation of trophoblast invasion.     

Are house dust mite allergen levels influenced by cold winter weather?

BACKGROUND: Moisture is vitally important for house dust mites and they cannot survive in cold or hot-dry climates. AIMS OF THE STUDY: To investigate the influence of two extraordinarily cold and dry winters in 1995/1996 and 1996/1997 on house dust mite levels in German homes. METHODS: Dust samples were collected between June 1995 and December 2001 on the mattresses of 655 adults and 454 schoolchildren living in five different areas of Germany. We compared house dust mite allergen Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Der p 1) levels before and during the winters of 1995/1996 and 1996/1997 with levels after these winters. RESULTS: D. pteronyssinus (Der p 1) levels in samples taken after the cold winters of 1995/1996 and 1996/1997 were approximately two times lower than Der p 1 levels in dust samples collected before or during these respective winters (Geometric means: Erfurt 89 vs 33 ng/g; Hamburg 333 vs 219 ng/g; Bitterfeld, Hettstedt, and Zerbst 296 vs 180 ng/g). Except for Hamburg, the decrease in Der p 1 levels was statistically significant. D. pteronyssinus levels measured in dust samples collected in 2001 (i.e. 3 years after the two cold winters) show a statistically non-significant increase (Geometric means: Erfurt 33 vs 39 ng/g; Hamburg 219 vs 317 ng/g), suggesting that it may take a long time for mite allergen levels to increase again after a sudden decrease. CONCLUSION: We conclude that Der p 1 levels in German mattress dust samples have been approximately reduced by a factor of three to four by the two consecutive cold winters of 1995/1996 and 1996/1997.     

Effects of training on body composition and subcutaneous fat distribution in women gymnasts

Repeated measurements of body composition and subcutaneous fat distribution were obtained in female gymnasts to test the hypothesis of a selective response from localized fat deposits to intense physical training. Repeated measurements were obtained on the members of three nationally ranked collegiate gymnastic teams: at the beginning and peak of the training season. The highest ranked team was measured a third time, three weeks after the end of the competitive season. Body composition was estimated using anthropometry and bioelectric impedance; subcutaneous fat thickness was measured using skinfold calipers and ultrasound images of adipose tissue thickness (ATT). The mean difference between baseline and peak measurements were statistically significant (P ? .05) for the triceps and suprailiac skinfolds, and for the adipose tissue thickness at the suprailiac and hypogastric sites. There were no significant changes in weight, percentage of body fat, circumferences, or subcutaneous fat thickness at the subscapular, calf or medial thigh sites. In the team with three sets of measurements, only the triceps skinfold and the suprailiac ATT showed a statistically significant effect of training. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Effects of saline loading on jejunal absorption of calcium,sodium, and water,and on parathyroid hormone secretion in the rat

Summary To investigate whether intestinal calcium absorption parallels that of sodium following extracellular fluid volume expansion, the effects of saline loading on intestinal transport of calcium. sodium and water were studied in rats by perfusing jejunal loops in situ.After calcium-free saline infusion net calcium absorption was reversed similar to that of sodium and water and net secretion occurred. Concurrently, blood-to-lumen (b-l) calcium flux, measured using⁴⁵Ca, increased significantly (P<0.001). Following expansion with calcium-containing Ringer a similar reversal of net calcium, sodium and water flux was also observed. Again, the b-l calcium flux increased but to a significantly lesser extent (P<0.05). Plasma ionized calcium remained unchanged after calcium-rich Ringer loading, but decreased significantly (P<0.001) when calcium was omitted from the solution. Plasma immunoreactive parathyroid hormone was unchanged after expansion with the calcium containing solution but increased following calcium-free infusion.It is concluded that after extracellular fluid volume expansion: 1. net jejunal calcium absorption is decreased; 2. the decrease parallels that of sodium and water; 3. b-l calcium transport is enhanced to a greater degree by calcium-free Ringer infusion than by a calcium-rich solution. This difference could be the result of increased parathyroid hormone secretion.     

Combined liquid-crystalline polymers with chiral phases, 2. Lateral substituents

Chiral combined liquid-crystalline polymers (i. e. polymers with the mesogenic groups in the main chain as well as in the side groups) with dipole moments perpendicular to the mesogenic groups were synthesized and characterized. These dipole moments were introduced by lateral substituents, which were located at different parts of the mesogen or directly at the chiral centre. The polymers, thus prepared, show crystalline or glassy phases at room temperature and smectic A, chiral smectic C^* or cholesteric phases at higher temperatures. Since the lateral substituents decrease the melting temperature more strongly than the clearing temperature, the liquid-crystalline phases are broadened compared to the unsubstituted polymers. Often glassy liquid-crystalline phases are obtained. The dipole moments perpendicular to the mesogenic groups or at the chiral centre may help to obtain a high spontaneous polarisation in the chiral smectic C^* phase (ferroelectricity).     

Infiltrating mononuclear cells in human breast carcinoma: predominance of T4+ monocytic cells in the tumor stroma

Frozen sections of 52 breast carcinomas were examined for the presence and nature of a leukocytic infiltrate. The number of "common leukocyte (T200-) antigen"-bearing cells was remarkably high in the stromal compartment of the carcinomas, whereas the tumor foci themselves were usually infiltrated only sparsely. Approximately 80% of these T200+ stromal cells carried the myelomonocyte lineage-associated antigens M-M522 and 63D3 and exhibited "non-specific esterase" activity. More than 2/3 of the stromal monocytic cells expressed the T4 antigen as verified by monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) directed against different T4-associated epitopes. A T-cell analysis showed that T4+ cells clearly outweighed the total number of T cells as defined by anti-T3 and anti-TII antibodies. In addition, a correlation became apparent between the HLA-DR phenotype and the T lymphocyte content of tumor cell areas in the sense that densely infiltrated tumor areas were invariably HLA-DR+.