Relationship between lipofuscin granules and polyunsaturated fatty acids in the housefly, Musca domestica

The fractional volume occupied by lipofuscin granules in epithelial cells of the midgut or oenocytes of abdominal fat body of 3-day-old and 13-day-old male houseflies was determined in two groups of flies by electron microscopic morphometry. One group had developed from larvae reared on diets containing no added polyunsaturated fatty acids and the second from larvae reared on diets containing added linoleic acid. No polyunsaturated fatty acids could be detected in the lipids of the first group of flies using a method which would have detected their presence in amounts greater than 0.1% of the total esterified fatty acids. The second group contained at least two hundred times more than this minimal level. The volume of lipofuscin granules increased significantly (p less than 0.01) (about threefold for the fat body and twofold in midgut cells) between 3 days and 13 days of age but no statistically significant difference was seen between the two groups of flies at the same age. The results show that if lipofuscin formation depends on the oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the housefly, then extremely small amounts of the acids are involved which lie below the detection limit of the methods employed. The age-associated small increase of extractable fluorescence seen previously in the linoleic acid group of flies is not associated with an increase in the lipofuscin granules.     

Sex- and age-related blood pressure response to dynamic work with small muscle masses

Summary Four groups of subjects of different ages and sex (group I: 20–29 years, women; group II: 20–29 years, men; group III: 30–39 years, women; group IV: 30–39 years, men) undertook dynamic one-hand work (load range 40%–80% of maximum voluntary contraction, at 60 working cycles/min) to allow a study of cardiovascular responses as shown by the resultant changes in blood pressure and heart rate. During fatiguing dynamic one-hand work, there was a large increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressures in both sexes after a few minutes. For all load levels, the systolic blood pressure was found to be higher by about 4 kPa in men (groups II and IV) than in women (groups I and III). Other age-related differences became evident in the diastolic blood pressure changes. The values obtained for the older groups were higher than those in the two younger groups. These differences in blood pressure response are possibly due to sex-related differences in the release of catecholamines, or to age-related organic changes in the vessels.     

Sympathetic nervous activity and cardiovascular variability after a 3-day tail suspension in rats

The effects of a 3-day tail suspension on central and peripheral sympathetic activity were studied in rats by determining the in vivo noradrenaline (NA) turnover in the brain cell groups involved in central blood pressure control (A1, A2, A5 and A6) and in two peripheral organs, heart and kidneys. In addition, cardiovascular parameters and their variabilities were investigated by recording blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) before and after suspension. These measurements were processed by spectrum analysis to assess the influence of tail suspension on autonomic balance. The NA turnover in the suspended rats was markedly reduced in A2 (–49%, P<0.01) and A5 (–38%, P<0.01) nuclei but unchanged in A1 and A6 cell groups compared with the control rats. Peripheral NA turnover was decreased in cardiac atria (–44%, P<0.001) and ventricles (–27%, P<0.01) while it was unchanged in kidneys after suspension. The BP, HR and their variabilities were similar in both groups of animals and showed no changes after suspension compared with baseline values. Spectrum analysis of BP and HR in our conscious suspended rats revealed no changes in power spectrum density or in peak frequencies. The discrepancy between the decrease in central sympathetic activity and the absence of changes in cardiovascular parameters after tail suspension raises the question of the validity of the tail suspended rat model when studying the cardiovascular deconditioning observed in humans after an exposure to actual or simulated weightlessness.     

The effects of age and strain on aggression in male rats

Aggressive behaviors were compared for male Fischer-344 and Long-Evans rats formed into mixed-sex colonies at 100, 200, or 300 days of age. Within each strain, male aggression did not differ across these ages, nor did it differ for an additional group of 600-day old Long-Evans males: both the form and the incidence of specific aggressive and defensive behaviors remained relatively constant over an age range representing nearly the entire normal life span for this species. However, Fischer-344 males at all ages were reliably lower in aggression than the Long-Evans rats. The specific aggression components seen in the Fischer-344 rats tended to be nondamaging, resembling “play fighting” more than the tissue damaging attack behaviors typical of other strains. Despite the frequent use of this strain in gerontological research, such low levels of aggressiveness counterindicate their use in research in aging and aggression.     

建立不同民族永生细胞株质量控制方法的探讨

目的以建立普米族、独龙族和怒族永生细胞为基础,探讨EB病毒转化细胞、细胞培养、冻存、复苏以及支原体检测等建立永生细胞株的技术要点及质量检测方法.方法采用EB病毒转化技术建立3个民族永生细胞株;培养法和PCR法对细胞株进行支原体污染检测;染色体G显带及核型分析细胞株的遗传稳定性.结果成功建立了3个民族B淋巴细胞永生细胞株,转化率分别为98%、86%和76%.对已建株保存的3个民族的永生细胞进行复苏培养,复苏成活率为100%.支原体污染检测均为阴性.染色体计数和G带分析显示,细胞株经早期传代培养后,仍然保持二倍体特征,未发现染色体结构畸变.结论本研究中传代培养、细胞冻存、细胞复苏和支原体污染防范等一整套技术过程是满足建库要求的.同时为大规模永生细胞库的建立和进行相应的质量监测提供了科学的依据.另外,本研究还对一些影响转化的因素和可能的机理进行了探讨.     

The impact of hormonal therapy for infertility on the age at menopause

Objectives: To look for possible association between past history of ovulation induction and age at menopause. Design: Women attending our postmenopausal outpatient clinic were asked to fill questionnaires with demographic data, obstetrical history (including treatment for infertility), and medical details related to menopause. Patients: The study group (n=31) consisted of women with a history of ovulation induction, and a control group (n=200) included women who did not experience such intervention. Results: The age at the final menstrual bleeding was 46.4±5 in the study group, and 50±4 for the control group (P<0.001). This difference was most prominent for women who had induction of ovulation prior to age 35 years: they entered menopause at age 43.8±5 years. Smoking had a weak effect on the age at menopause (48.5±4 for current, vs. 49.9±4 for non- or past-smokers; P<0.03). Conclusions: This retrospective and preliminary study raises the question whether hormonal manipulations and ovarian over-stimulation during fertility treatments could be a risk factor for premature menopause.     

702例正常成人红细胞变形性与性别、年龄的相关性

采用激光衍射法对７０２例正常成人的红细胞变形指数ＤＩ值测定，并将测得的各个数据随年龄增长配对分不同年龄（范围）组作相关性研究。结果发现正常成人红细胞变形性随增龄呈抛物线状的改变。性别年龄与红细胞变形性关系有如下特征：（１）１８～２９岁男女组的ＤＩ值随增龄呈上升状态，达到正常成人的高峰，与增龄呈显著正相关，相关有显著意义，Ｐ＜０．０５。（２）１８～４４岁男女组随增龄ＤＩ值开始呈缓慢下降趋势，相关性由１８～２９岁的正相关逐渐过渡到负相关，相关无显著性意义，Ｐ＞０．０５。（３）１８～４９岁开始直至７９岁男女各组随增龄红细胞变形性明显下降，与增龄呈显著负相关，相关有非常显著意义，Ｐ＜０．００１。男女性的ＤＩ值，５４岁以前男女各组间比较，经ｔ检验，无显著性差异，Ｐ＞０．０５；１８～５９、１８～６４、１８～７４和１８～７９岁男女组间比较，有显著性差异，Ｐ＜０．０５。结果提示：正常成人在青年、壮年和老年前期、老年期的红细胞变形性有其不同变化特点，性别年龄与红细胞变形性相关有显著意义。     

HLA class I in three West African ethnic groups: genetic distances from sub-Saharan and Caucasoid populations

Fulani of Burkina Faso (West Africa) are a particularly interesting ethnic group because of their lower susceptibility to Plasmodium falciparum malaria as compared to sympatric populations, Mossi and Rimaibé. Moreover, the occurrence of a Caucasoid component in their genetic make-up has been suggested on the basis of their physical traits and cultural traditions even though this view was not supported by genetic studies. A total of 149 unrelated subjects (53 Mossi, 47 Rimaibé and 49 Fulani) have been typed for 97 HLA class I alleles with the amplification refractory mutation system/polymerase chain reaction (ARMS/PCR) technique. Mossi and Rimaibé data were pooled since none of the 42 statistically testable alleles exhibited a significant heterogeneity. These pooled gene frequencies were found to be very different from those of Fulani: a certain (P<0.001) or a likely (0.001 相似文献   

Age- and training-related changes in the collagen metabolism of rat skeletal muscle

Summary The effects of ageing and life-long endurance training on the collagen metabolism of skeletal muscle were evaluated in a longitudinal study. Wistar rats performed treadmill running 5 days a week for 2 years. The activities of collagen biosynthesis enzymes, prolyl-4-hydroxylase and galactosylhydroxylysyl glucosyltransferase, were highest in the muscles of the youngest animals, decreased up to the age of 2 months and from then on remained virtually unchanged. The enzyme activity in young animals was higher in the slow collagenous soleus muscle than in the rectus femoris muscle. The enzyme activity in the soleus muscle was higher for older trained rats than older untrained rats. The relative proportion of type I collagen increased and that of type III collagen decreased with age, suggesting a more marked contribution by type I collagen to the agerelated accumulation of total muscular collagen. The results show that collagen biosynthesis decreases with maturation and that life-long endurance training maintains a higher level of biosynthesis in slow muscles.     

Effects of floor textures on open-field behavior in selected lines of mice

Mice representing the twenty-second generation of selection for high and low open-field activity were tested on four different floor textures: soil, bedding, metal, and astroturf. Members of both groups were most active on soil and least active on the metal floor surface. Although floor texture significantly affected activity level, rank order of the high and low selected groups was maintained. In general, defecation scores were negatively correlated with activity.