Uterotrophic effect of a saturated fatty acid 17-ester of estradiol-17beta administered orally to juvenile rats

In comparison to estradiol-17beta, the naturally synthesized estradiol-17beta-17-fatty acid esters are potent estrogens when administered subcutaneously. A lipophilic character of estradiol-17-esters could partially protect them from metabolic inactivation. In order to compare their relative estrogenic potency when administered orally, the uterotrophic response to different dosages (0, 2.5, 25, 250 and 2500 nmol/kg BW/day) of estradiol-17beta and estradiol-17beta-17-stearate was assessed in juvenile Sprague-Dawley female rats. Estrogens were administered by oral gavage once a day for 6 days. On the 7th day uterus and vagina were dissected, weighed, and examined microscopically. At 2.5 and 25 nmol/kg BW/day, no difference was detected in the uterus weight compared to control animals which received the vehicle alone (corn oil). At 250 nmol/kg BW/day, the uterotrophic response was maximal in estradiol-17beta-17-stearate-treated animals (x2.40-2.70), whereas it was moderate in estradiol-17beta-treated rats (x1.86) at the same dosage. This differential weight gain effect of estradiol-17beta-17-stearate was correlated with typical microscopic changes in uterus and vagina. The results are in favour of a stronger estrogenic effect of orally given lipoidal estrogens compared to estradiol-17beta. This could be explained by a slower but sustained absorption of estradiol-17beta released from estradiol-17beta-17-stearate by esterases and/or by a facilitated transfer of esters in the lymphatic circulation.     

Effect of alkalosis on performance and lactate formation in supramaximal exercise

Summary An increased base binding power of the blood induced by alkali administration to subjects performing a supramaximal exercise has no appreciable effect neither on the maximal performance time nor on the total amount of lactic acid or its rate of appearance in blood.This work has been supported by a grant from the Italian National Research Council. Thanks are due also to Laboratory Glaxo, S.p.A. for facilities and financial support in the course of the experiments.     

The “Mozart Effect”: An Electroencephalographic Analysis Employing the Methods of Induced Event-Related Desynchronization/Synchronization and Event-Related Coherence

The event-related responses of 18 individuals were recorded while they were listening to 3 music clips of 6 s duration which were repeated 30 times each. The music clips differed in the level of their complex structure, induced mood, musical tempo and prominent frequency. They were taken from Mozart's sonata (K. 448), and Brahms' Hungarian dance (no. 5). The third clip was a simplified version of the theme taken from Haydn's symphony (no. 94) played by a computer synthesizer. Significant differences in induced event-related desynchronization between the 3 music clips were only observed in the lower-1 alpha band which is related to attentional processes. A similar pattern was observed for the coherence measures. While respondents listened to the Mozart clip, coherence in the lower alpha bands increased more, whereas in the gamma band a less pronounced increase was observed as compared with the Brahms and Haydn clips. The clustering of the three clips based on EEG measures distinguished between the Mozart clip on the one hand, and the Haydn and Brahms clips on the other, even though the Haydn and Brahms clips were at the opposite extremes with regard to the mood they induced in listeners, musical tempo, and complexity of structure. This would suggest that Mozart's music--with no regard to the level of induced mood, musical tempo and complexity--influences the level of arousal. It seems that modulations in the frequency domain of Mozart's sonata have the greatest influence on the reported neurophysiological activity.     

Functional magnetic resonance imaging evidence for binocular interactions in human visual cortex

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we explored the binocular interactions occurring when subjects viewed dichoptically presented checkerboard stimuli. A flickering radial checkerboard was presented to each eye of the subject, while T2*-weighted images were acquired over the visual cortex with gradient-echo, echoplanar sequences. We compared responses in striate and extrastriate visual cortex under four conditions: both eyes were stimulated at the same time (binocular condition), each eye was stimulated in alternation (monocular condition) or first the one eye then the other eye was stimulated (left eye first - right eye trailing, or vice versa). The results indicate that only the striate area, in and near the calcarine fissure, shows significant differences for these stimulation conditions. These differences are not evident in more remote extrastriate or associational visual areas, although the BOLD response in the stimulation-rest comparison was robust. These results suggest that the effect could be related to inhibitory interactions across ocular dominance columns in striate visual cortex.     

毫米波辐射对植入前小鼠胚胎及早期胚胎的影响

本文报道小鼠受精卵体外及在体受毫米波辐照后一些改变。毫米波源为36.11GHz固态微波连续发生器,波长8mm,功率密度为10mW/cm~2、8mW/cm~2、4mW/cm~2及2mW/cm~2。结果发现2-4mW/cm~2毫米波辐照即可使体外培养之受精卵细胞表面微绒毛减少、脱落,细胞表面形成许多囊泡。透射电镜下可见细胞间隙扩大、胞浆中线粒体膨胀、空化,用FITC-ConA试验可见细胞表面结合荧光减少。酶试验证明辐照后卵胚细胞表面AKP,ATPase,5′-Nase均有降低。在体受精卵细胞经辐射后证明,辐射可使胎儿体重增长减慢,囊胚形成数量下降,植入率降低,而表面酶下降不明显。     

Effect Of Pulsatile Electromagnetic Fields On Blood Viscosity And Coagulation

Ithasbeenprovedthatanumberofdiseasesarerelatedwithabnormalityofbloodviscosityandcoagulationinclinicalresearch.Bloodhyperviscosityandhypercoagulationcauseandaccelearatethedevelopmentofcertaindiseases,deathrateofsomeofwhicharerisingwithyears.Lookingforawaytoreducebloodviscosityandrestrainfasterandstrongercoagulationbecomesasubjectdrawingmoreattention.Theproperseofthisresearchwastofindsuchaway.Intheblood,therearechargrdRBC,WBC,PLT,inorganicions,sothattheremustbesensitiveandcomplicatedresponse…     

Benzbromarone disposition and uricosuric action; evidence for hydroxilation instead of debromination to benzarone

Summary Benzbromarone is one of the main uricosuric drugs currently used. We determined plasma concentrations of benzbromarone, bromobenzarone, and benzarone and 24 hour uric acid excretion in ten healthy individuals following fasting application of two different non-micronised benzbromarone brands. In addition we explored the influence of adjusting urinary pH to near neutral values and of concomitant food intake. Benzbromarone was more rapidly absorbed from the test preparation than from the reference preparation; the extent of systemic availability did not differ significantly. Urinary pH adjustment had no clearcut effect, whereas food intake retarded drug absorption (even though not significant because of the variability of the data). Binding of benzbromarone to plasma proteins exceeded 99%. Bromobenzarone and benzarone were not detectable and are unlikely to be major metabolites of benzbromarone. Instead we found two other compounds suggestive of metabolites, one of them being monohydroxilated benzbromarone. The plasma concentrations of the parent compound in one subject exceeded those of the rest of the group, possibly indicating genetic differences in drug metabolism. The uricosuric effect was not related to benzbromarone plasma concentrations.Abbreviations AUC area under the (plasma concentration time) curve - GC-MS gas chromatography-mass spectrometry - HPLC high performance liquid chromatography - t1/2 plasma elimination half life Dedicated to Professor Dr. N. Zöllner on the occasion of his 65th anniversary     

食管癌细胞膜提取物体外诱导胚胎胸腺细胞抗癌效应的研究

本文探讨增强胚胎胸腺细胞抗肿瘤效应的方法。采用食管癌细胞膜抗原体外诱导培养的胚胎胸腺细胞 ;用3 H TdR掺入法检测其对食管癌细胞的细胞毒效应 ;用SP 免疫组化法检测其经诱导后细胞表面抗原的变化。结果经食管癌细胞膜抗原诱导 3～ 9d的胚胎胸腺细胞对食管癌细胞的杀伤率明显大于未经诱导的胚胎胸腺细胞 ;胚胎胸腺细胞经诱导后CD4 + /CD8+ 细胞无明显变化 ,但诱导后出现少量CD5 6细胞。食管癌细胞膜抗原体外诱导胚胎胸腺细胞可增强其对食管癌细胞的细胞毒作用     

Development of polyclonal ELISA for the N-methylcarbamate insecticide bendiocarb

A polyclonal antibody-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was developed for the N-methylcarbamate insecticide bendiocarb (2,2-dimethyl-1,3-benzodioxol-4-yl methylcarbamate). Two novel haptens having dimethylbenzodioxyl and dimethylbenzofuranyl groups connected to oxyacetyl-γ-aminobutanoic acid and oxyacetyl-β-alanine spacer arm respectively were synthesised. The first hapten was conjugated to carrier proteins to make antigens that were used to raise polyclonal antibodies in rabbits. The antibodies specifically recognised bendiocarb and its metabolite 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-benzodiox-4-ol with an IC₅₀ value of 9 ppb (ng ml^-1). The assay was standardised using the competitive ELISA format at 0.0625 µg antibody concentration and at 1/10k pesticide-HRP dilution. Matrix effect studies were carried out in four vegetable and cereal food samples. Matrix effect elimination in cabbage, cauliflower and rice was achieved by simple dilution of the extract. Five different approaches were attempted to achieve matrix clean up in paddy rice. C-18 column and gel permeation column chromatography (GPC) helped in the matrix removal. The spike and recovery studies for all the four food samples gave a recovery in the range of 75-95%, thus indicating the efficiency of the matrix elimination procedures developed.     

The inversion effect on gaze perception reflects processing of component information

When faces are turned upside-down they are much more difficult to recognize than other objects. This "face inversion effect" has often been explained in terms of configural processing, which is impaired when faces are rotated away from the upright. Here we report a "gaze inversion effect" and discuss whether it is related to configural face processing of the whole face. Observers reported the gaze locations of photographed upright or inverted faces. When whole faces were presented, we found an inversion effect both for constant errors and observer sensitivity. These results were closely replicated when only the eyes were visible. Together, our findings suggest that gaze processing is largely based on component-based information from the eye region. Processing this information is orientation-sensitive and does not seem to rely on configural processing of the whole face.