Effect of the extracts from Aristolochia indica Linn. on interception in female mice.

The crude petroleum ether, chloroform and alcoholic extracts from the roots of Aristolochia indica (Linn.) showed 100% interceptive activity in mature female mice at the single dose of 100 mg/kg body wt. The follow-up studies with the chloroform extract showed the most significant effect in the basic part and two acidic fractions at the single dose levels of 50 mg/kg body wt. No toxic effect was observed at the dose levels used.     

Effect of a sesquiterpene fromAristolochia indica Linn. on fertility in female mice

Summary A sesquiterpene isolated from the roots ofAristolochia indica (Linn.) was found to exert 100% interceptive activity and 91.7% anti-implantation activity in mice at a single oral dose of 100mg/kg b. wt. No toxic effect was found at the dose levels used.The authors wish to thank Dr S. C. Pakrashi and his associate Mr P. P. Ghosh Dastidar of Medicinal Chemistry Department for isolating the compound for this study. Thanks are also due to Director-General of Indian Council of Medical Research for granting a Junior Research Fellowship to C.S.     

Effect of methyl ester of aristolic acid fromAristolochia indica Linn. on fertility of female mice

Summary Methyl ester of aristolic acid, a pure compound isolated from the roots ofAristolochia indica (Linn.), was found to exert 100% abortifacient activity at a single oral dose of 60 mg/kg b. wt when administered on 6th or 7th day of pregnancy; 20 and 25% abortifacient effect were observed at the same dose on day 10 and 12, respectively.The authors wish to thank Dr S.C. Pakrashi and his associate Mr P.P. Ghosh Dastidar for the compound. Thanks are also due to the Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research for granting a fellowship to one of them (C.S.).     

Isolation of a potent allergen from house dust mite by interaction with the lectin tridacnin

Summary Tridacnin, the lectin from the clamTridacna maxima, precipitates with house dust mite extracts and provides a simple procedure for obtaining a potent, purified mite allergen. Allergenic activity was investigated using the radioallergosorbent test (RAST).We thankKarin Williams, Jill Butler, Elizabeth Quinn andGisela Steinhausen for technical help. This work was supported by the Princess Margaret Children's Medical Research Foundation, the Asthma Foundation of Western Australia, the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.     

Solid phase synthesis and some pharmacological properties of 8-glutamine-oxytocin: a possible intermediate in the evolution of the neurohypophysial hormones

Zusammenfassung Die erstmalige Synthese des Peptidhormons 8-Glutamin-Oxytocin wird beschrieben. Das synthetische Peptid ist mit einem anderen Peptid des Dornhaies von noch ungeklärter Struktur nicht identisch.

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(a) This work was supported in part by a Studentship (to J.W.M.B.) and a Grant (to M.M.) from the Medical Research Council of Canada, an award (to T.C.W.) from the Banting Research Foundation, a National Science Foundation Grant No. GB 4932 and a General Research Support Grant to Columbia University from the National Institutes of Health. (b) An abstract of this work was presented at the 5th Annual Meeting of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies, July, 1968; M.Manning, T. C.Wuu, J. W. M.Baxter and W. H.Sawyers, FEBS 1968 Meeting, Prague, Abstr.824, p. 206.     

Prevention of 7, 12-dimethylbenz(α)anthracene-induced adrenal necrosis by cyproterone acetate

Résumé L'administration per os d'une dose de 40 mg/100 g de poids corporel ou de 40 mg/rat de DMBA à des rats femelles a produit une nécrose surrénalienne dans 100% des cas. L'acétate de cyprotérone, un stéroïde synthétique très puissant, a réduit le taux des lésions surrénaliennes de façon significative et a empêché la une augmentation de l'activité métabolique des enzymes microsomiales hépatiques.

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This work was supported in part by the Medical Research Council of Canada (Block Term Grant No. MT-1829), the Ministère des Affaires Sociales, Quebec, and was undertaken as a special project of the Council for Tobacco Research, USA, and the Canadian Tobacco Industry. The technical assistance ofD. Daboval, A. Rokosz andB. Salnave is gratefully acknowledged.     

Gastric mucus effusion elicited by oral copper compounds: Potential anti-ulcer activity

Summary In rats, both Cu(I) and Cu(II) show an irritancy profile not shared with Cu^o or Zn(II) or Ni(II). The gastric response to Cu(II), i.e. copius fluid and mucus secretion, can protect the stomach from the acute ulcerative effects of aspirin or physical stress administered subsequently.to whom all enquiries should be addressed, Supported by grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council (Austr.) and University of Tasmania Research Commitee.Acknowledgments: ProfessorsW. R. Walker (Newcastle, Austr.) andL. Field (Nashville, Tenn.) for gifts of Cu(I) and Zn complexes;Dr. J. R. J. Sorenson (Cincinnatti, Ohio) for illuminating discussion; Drs.D. D. Perrin (Canberra) andR. P. Agarwal (Washington D. C.) for providing stability constants and much helpful advice.     

Involvement of a surface concanavalin A-binding glycoprotein in the adhesion ofTrichomonas vaginalis to substrates

Summary Treatment ofTrichomonas vaginalis with EDTA removes their ability to adhere to glass surfaces and changes their affinity to Concanavalin A (ConA) by a different distribution of their surface structures. Filtrates of the EDTA-treatedTrichomonas passed through affinity chromatography columns (ConA bound to Sepharose 4B0 separate into 2 fractions, one fraction was bound to the ConA-Sepharose beads, the other was not. The Con A-bound fraction appears to be a glycoprotein which restores in a specific way the ability of the EDTA-treated protozoa to adhere to glass. We want to thank Dr.P. M. Comoglio for the donation of the FITC-labelled immunoglobulin fraction of anti-ConA rabbit antiserum. This work was supported by a grant from the Italian National Research Council (C.N.R.)     

The response of the adrenal gland to hypoglycaemia in the conscious calf

Résumé La sécrétion de glucocorticoides et de catécholamines par la glande surrénale droite fut observée chez des veaux conscients après une injection d'insuline. L'accroissement de la production de stéroides fut passagère malgré une hypoglycémie ininterrompue.

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Acknowledgements. This work was supported by grants from the Medical Research Council, the Smith, Kline & French Foundation and Twyford Pharmaceutical Services Ltd. We are also indebted to Dr.D. M. Burley (CIBA) for his continued assistance and to Dr.P. C. Risdall (Boots Co. Ltd.) who supplied the highly purified insulin. K.W.M. has been supported by the Agricultural Research Council. It is a particularly pleasure to acknowledge the skilled technical assistance provided by Mr.P.M.M. Bircham.     

The effect of leafhopper infestation on the respiration of castor bean varieties in relation to their resistance toEmpoasca flavescens (F.) (Homoptera: Jassidae)

Zusammenfassung Die Saugtätigkeit der JassideEmpoasca flavescens (F.) führte zu einer um 44% gesteigerten Respiration von geschädigten, anfälligen Rizinuspflanzen (Ricinus communis L.) im Vergleich zu 11.6% und 3.7% bei Pflanzen einer toleranten und resistenten Sorte. Diese Zunahme war bei der anfälligen Sorte verknüpft mit einer gesteigerten Anhäufung von Rohrzucker, Gesamtstickstoff und Gesamtaminosäuregehalt.

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This study formed part of the Doctoral Thesis submitted to the University of Madras and financial support was given by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Government of India, New Delhi. Grateful appreciation is extended to Prof. A. R.Seshadri, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Coimbatore, India and Prof. R. H.Painter, Kansas State University, Kansas, U.S.A. for their valuable suggestions made during the course of the study.     

Catecholamine-containing nerve fibres in the hind-gut of the crayfishAstacus astacus L. (Crustacea,decapoda)

Zusammenfassung Katecholamin enthaltende Nervenfasern im Enddarm vonAstacus astacus (L.) werden mit Hilfe vonFalcks undHillarps spezifischer Fluoreszenzmethode gezeigt. Die Fasern, die eine grüne Fluoreszenz abgeben, wurden in Nervenplexen der zirkulären und der längsgehenden Muskelschichten des Darmes beobachtet. Es wird angenommen, dass diese Fluoreszenz durch Noradrenalin zustande kommt.

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The research reported in this document has been sponsored by the Swedish Natural Science Research Council under grant No. 99-35.     

Familial association in serum IgE levels

Summary The serum IgE levels measured by RIST correlated closely with those obtained by the single radioimmunodiffusion method. Values for husband and wife were closely related as were those between father and daughter but in contrast to previous observations no significant relationship existed between IgE levels for mother and son.Acknowledgments. The Busselton population studies, of which this paper forms part, have been supported by the University of Western Australia the Arnold Yeldham and Mary Raine Foundation, the National Heart Foundation of Australia, Royal Perth Hospital, State Health Laboratories (Western Australia), the National Health and Medical Research Council, Princess Margaret Children's Medical Research Foundation, various private donors, numerous volunteer workers, and the people of Busselton. The authors wish to personally acknowledge support from the Arnold Yeldham and Mary Raine Foundation, the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Asthma Foundation of Western Australia. We are indebted to Drs.K. J. Cullen andR. C. Godfrey for making available valuable material from the Busselton population survey.     

LysogenicKlebsiella pneumoniae strains of capsular serotype 2(B)

Résumé L'auteur décrit quatre souches deKlebsiella pneumoniae du type capsulaire B lysogènes pour les bactériophages actifs pour une autre souche du même type.

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I am grateful to ProfessorsD. G. Catcheside andJ. P. Duguid, Drs.B. H. Park, I. Ørskov, J. Papavassiliou andY. Hamon for encouragement, information and bacterial strains. This work was begun at the Microbiology Department, University of Birmingham, while the author held an award from the Agricultural Research Council.     

Effects of L-lysine administration on certain aspects of ascorbic acid metabolism in weanling rats

Summary L-lysine administration to male weanling rats at a dose of 110.4 mg (25% LD₅₀) per 100 g body weight per day for 15 days reduced the liver total ascorbic acid level. The biosynthesis as well as the degradation of L-ascorbic acid was diminished under these conditions. The fall in liver total ascorbic acid level after L-lysine administration was ascribed to its reduced synthesis.Acknowledgment. The authors are thankful to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India, for providing Junior Research Fellowships to Miss J. Basu and Miss K. Sen Gupta.     

Urinary excretion of methylated purines following inhalation of dimethyl sulphate

Zusammenfassung Nach Inhalation des alkylierenden Agens Dimethylsulfat wurden im Urin von Mäusen methylierte Purine in Mengen von etwa 0,3% der Dimethylsulfatdosis ausgeschieden. Auch bei einer 100-fachen Expositionsverminderung mit radioaktivem Dimethalsulfat wird ungefähr der gleiche relative Anteil an markierten Purinen eliminiert.

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Acknowledgements: We thank Dr.P. D. Lawley of the Chester Beatty Research Institute for the gift of 3-methyladenine. This investigation is supported by a graht from the Swedish Medical Research Council.     

A mutant of the antibiotic resistance factor R124 with altered copy number

Summary A mutation conferring increased antibiotic resistance onSalmonella typhimurium strain 11G carrying R124 was plasmid determined; strains harbouring the mutant plasmid contained more DNA as ccc plasmid than those harbouring R124. The increased copy number was manifested at all growth rates at all growth rates tested.This work was supported by a grant (to R. J. R.) from the Central Research Fund of the University of London and by a studentship (to J. J. P.) from the Science Research Council.     

Role of salivary glands in the maintenance of midgut amylase activity inPeriplaneta americana L.

Summary It was experimentally demonstrated, by the surgical removal of salivary glands and severence of salivary ducts, that most of the amylase in the gut ofPeriplaneta americana comes from the salivary glands.We wish to acknowledge Prof. H. Swarup (Jiwaji University, Gwalior, M.P.) for working facilities provided at School of Studies in Zoology, Vikram University, Ujjain, M.P., and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, for fincancial support in the form of Junior Research Fellowship to one of us (O.P.A.)     

Glycogen contents in the rat uterus: Response toHibiscus rosa-sinensis Linn. extracts

Summary Ethanolic extracts (50%), as well the benzene extracts, ofH. rosa-sinensis Linn. have reduced significantly the glycogen contents in the uterus of adult rat. Both the extracts exhibit a clear-cut dose-response relation. The inhibition in glycogen contents increases as the dose is increased. Of the 2, benzene extract seems to be more potent. The results are due to antiestrogenic nature of the extracts.This investigation was supported by a grant from Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, New Delhi.     

Location of enzyme loci in chromosomes ofDrosophila willistoni

Zusammenfassung Es wurde eine Karte von 13 Chromosomen-Loci für Strukturgene verschiedener Enzyme vonDrosophila willistoni gegeben. Auf dieser Basis konnten Homologien zwischen den Chromosomenschenkeln vonD. willistoni, D. melanogaster undD. pseudoobscura aufgezeigt werden.

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We thank ProfessorsF. Ayala andTh. Dobzhansky for help and advice. Research supported by grants from the National Research Council for Sciences of Finland, the University of Helsinki, the Alfred Kordelin Foundation and NSF Grant No. GB 20694.     

Formation of 4-ketocyclophosphamide by the oxidation of cyclophosphamide with KMnO4

Zusammenfassung Oxydation des (³²P) Cyclophosphamides durch KMnO₄ in Wasser oder Aceton führt zu 4-Ketocyclophosphamid und einem N-dechloroäthylierten Derivat des Cyclophosphamides, beides bekannte Metaboliten der Droge. Die Auftrennung der Produkte gelingt durch Dünnschichtchromatographie und die Richtigkeit der Strukturen wurde durch Massenspectrometrie nachgewiesen.

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Acknowledgments. This investigation was supported by grants to the Chester Beatty Research Institute (Institute of Cancer Research: Royal Cancer Hospital) from the Medical Research Council and Cancer Research Campaign. The A.E.I. MS-12 mass spectrometer was purchased on a special grant No. G969/189/C from the Medical Research Council. The work was carried out partly during the tenure of a Ludwig Fellowship awarded by Cancer Research Institute. The interest of ProfessorA. B. Foster and Dr.T. A. Connors in this work, and the skilled technical assistance of Mr.M. H. Baker, are gratefully acknowledged.