Pyramidal cells in primary auditory cortex project to cochlear nucleus in rat

Recent work has demonstrated that the auditory cortex in rat sends direct projections to the auditory nuclei of the brainstem, including the cochlear nucleus and superior olive. To determine the cortical origin of the projections to cochlear nucleus, Fast Blue, a retrograde fluorescent tracer, was injected into the cochlear nucleus. Labeled cells in the forebrain were then studied with light microscopy and mapped. The projection was found to originate from large pyramidal neurons in layer V of primary auditory cortex. The projection was predominantly ipsilateral, and no labeled neurons were found in other cortical areas. These data imply that primary auditory cortex exerts influence over ascending auditory information at the earliest stages of the central auditory system.     

Effects of ageing on the total number of muscle fibers and motoneurons of the tibialis anterior and soleus muscles in the rat

The age-related changes in the total number of muscle fibers and motoneurons of the tibialis anterior and soleus muscles were studied using 10-, 65-, and 135-week-old rats. The number of fast twitch muscle fibers was decreased at age 65 weeks, while the numbers of slow twitch fibers and of alpha motoneurons were decreased only later, at age 135 weeks. Therefore, the degenerative process of muscle fibers differs with the fiber type.     

Contrast on T2-weighted images of the lumbar spine using fast spin-echo and gated conventional spin-echo sequences

A prospective study in 31 patients was designed to compare contrast quantitatively using axial conventional, gated spin-echo T2-weighted (T2W) (SE) (asymmetrical echo TE 30 and 80 ms) and axial dual-echo fast spin-echo (FSE) sequences (TE_eff20 and 120 ms) to image lumbar discs, nerve roots, and cerebrospinal fluid CSF. We used two quantitative measures, percent (%) contrast and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), to compare the sequences. The FSE sequence had greater % contrast and CNR on the first and second echo images for both disc and nerve root detection using these scan parameters. An axial FSE sequence, therefore, provided contrast characteristics similar to those of gated axial T2W SE sequence in the lumbar spine, with a 60% saving in acquisition time. The FSE sequence is now our standard axial T2W study for the lumbar spine.     

Enhanced period-peak analysis of electro-encephalograms using a fast sinc function

In an effort to reduce the memory space and processing time required by fast Fourier transforms, enhanced period-peak detection is investigated. The method is based on a combination of Fourier transforms and period-peak detection. The signal is considered as a train of truncated sinusoidal functions. Each truncated sinusoidal function is limited by two successive local extrema. The Fourier transform of the truncated sinusoidal function is a sinc function. The summation of these sinc functions yields an approximate frequency spectrum of the signal.     

Spectral analysis of spontaneous contractions of the isolated portal vein of rats

Summary The spontaneous contractions of segments of rat portal veins have been examined in vitro under isotonic and isometric conditions. The power density spectra of recorded time series lasting 10–60 min were calculated. The spectra usually consist of harmonic frequency components. Only during shorter periods of analysis (10 min time series) we sometimes found additional non-harmonic components. All frequency components are proportionally shifted by changes of the bath temperature according to an average Q₁₀ of 2.0. Increase of the load decreases the frequency of the contractions.The results of the spectral analysis, indicating a preponderance of a single source of periodicity, were supported by direct evidence of a pacemaker region. By recording contractions after systematic dissections of the portal vein segment, we found that spontaneous activity is generated at the central end of the segment.This work was supported by the Austrian Research Fund     

Relations between the effect of tetanus toxin on the neuromuscular transmission and histological functional properties of various muscles of the rat

Summary Various doses of tetanus toxin were injected into three hind leg and two fore leg muscles of the rat. The neuromuscular transmission was tested by recording the mass action potential of the muscles elicited by a single electrical stimulus to the motor nerve after strong symptoms of local tetanus had developed. The muscle responses were depressed and blocked at lower toxin doses in the fast tibialis anterior than in the mixed gastrocnemius latemlis, while blocking of the slow soleus required the highest dose. The extensor carpi radialis and the flexor carpi ulnaris muscles showed medium sensitivity. In all five muscles the contraction time was measured and correlated with its individual minimal blocking dose. The more phasic (i.e., the faster) the muscle, the more sensitive its neuromuscular transmission was to tetanus toxin. The proportional distribution of red, white, and intermediate fibres, which are associated with specific end-plate types, was evaluated for the five muscles. The percentage of white fibres in the muscles displayed a very good negative correlation with the blocking dose. The relation between structures of end-plates and effects of tetanus toxin were analysed and it is suggested that the differences in sensitivity to tetanus toxin in the neuromuscular transmission in the five muscles is determined by a differential distribution of endplates with varying sensitivities to this toxin due to structural properties.This study is a part of a doctoral dissertation submitted by one of the authors (H.K.) to the Faculty of Medicine, University of Göttingen. Some of the results were presented at the 48th and 49th Congr. of German Physiol. Soc. (Kretzschmar et al., 1977, 1978) and at the 5th Internat. Conf. on Tetanus (Kretzschmar et al., 1979)     

Radiotelemetry recording of electroencephalogram in piglets during rest

A wireless recording system was developed to study the electroencephalogram (EEG) in unrestrained, male Landrace piglets. Under general anesthesia, ball-tipped silver/silver chloride electrodes for EEG recording were implanted onto the dura matter of the parietal and frontal cortex of the piglets. A pair of miniature preamplifiers and transmitters was then mounted on the surface of the skull. To examine whether other bioelectrical activities interfere with the EEG measurements, an electrocardiogram (ECG) or electromyogram (EMG) of the neck was simultaneously recorded with the EEG. Next, wire electrodes for recording movement of the eyelid were implanted with EEG electrodes, and EEG and eyelid movements were simultaneously measured. Power spectral analysis using a Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) algorithm indicates that EEG was successfully recorded in unrestrained piglets, at rest, during the daytime in the absence of interference from ECG, EMG or eyelid movements. These data indicate the feasibility of using our radiotelemetry system for measurement of EEG under these conditions.     

L-[S-^11C-甲基]-蛋氨酸的快速制备和质量控制

利用回旋加速器轰击产生的^11C-C02为合成原料，甲醇化后获得反应活性很强的甲基化前体^11C-CH3I、该前体再与L-高胱氨酸硫内酯在常温下反应，快速制备后获得^11C标记的蛋氨酸(^11C-MET)．实验同时对30批次产品进行质量控制指标检测．结果表明从^11C-CH3I到^11C-MET合成时间为2min，合成效率为85％，产品放射化学纯度大于99％；质量控制指标合格。     

Identification, isolation, and characterization of a species-specific 30-kDa antigen of Oesophagostomum dentatum

In the search for a serology tool for the diagnosis of nonpatent as well as patent infections with Oesophagostomum dentatum in pigs a water-soluble, unglycosilated antigen of about 30 kDa specific for the third-stage larvae of the parasite was purified by ion-exchange chromatography. In Western blots, the antigen was first detected by antibodies at day 7 postinfection. Cross-reactivity with O. quadrispinulatum, Ascaris suum, or Trichuris suis was not detected. It is suggested that this protein is a suitable tool for the species-specific serodiagnosis of O. dentatum infection in pigs. Received: 15 June 1998 / Accepted: 28 September 1998     

A quantitative method for thein vitro study of sounds produced by prosthetic aortic heart valves Part II: an experimental,comparative study of the sounds produced by a normal and simulated-abnormal Starr-Edwards series 2400 aortic prosthesis

A comparative study was made of the sounds produced by a normal Starr-Edwards 2400 aortic valve prosthesis with those produced by the same valve but having a simulated overgrowth at the apex of the struts. Comparisons were made over the entire cardiac cycle for time and amplitude, power-density spectra, power-distribution spectra, power-distribution surfaces associated with individual valves, and three-dimensional power-distribution-difference surface. Power-density spectra were compared for portions of the cycle corresponding to the opening, systolic, and closing sounds of the valve. Physical parameters of an acoustical model were estimated from the power-density spectra. The results showed that each comparison gave information pertinent to the simulated malfunction. Opening. systolic and closing sounds, respectively, were different for each valve. The opening sound of the abnormal valve displayed a much lower frequency. Systolic sounds for the two valves were similar in frequency, but the normal valve produced more total power for this sound. The closing sound of the abnormal valve occurred later than that of the normal valve. These differences were more clearly seen when viewed in the frequency domain.