On the epistemological foundations of the law of the lever

In this paper I challenge Paolo Palmieri’s reading of the Mach—Vailati debate on Archimedes’ proof of the law of the lever. I argue that the actual import of the debate concerns the possible epistemic (as opposed to merely pragmatic) role of mathematical arguments in empirical physics, and that construed in this light Vailati carries the upper hand. This claim is defended by showing that Archimedes’ proof of the law of the lever is not a way of appealing to a non-empirical source of information, but a way of explicating the mathematical structure that can represent the empirical information at our disposal in the most general way.     

Melatonin decreases the amplitude of the b-wave of the human electroretinogram

In a double-blind placebo crossover study of 13 healthy volunteers, the pineal hormone melatonin (10 mg) was given at 4 pm, and the electroretinogram measured under conditions of dark and light adaptation. A significant diminution of b-wave amplitude was found under both photopic (=5.4 V, p<0.05) and scotopic conditions (=7.4 V, p<0.01). These data indicate that melatonin may transduce the dark signal at the level of the retina as well as the pineal. Acute administration of melatonin decreases sensitivity to light.     

On the adenosintriphosphatase activity of the particulates of the egg of the sea urchinParacentrotus lividus

Riassunto I particolati delle uova vergini di riccio di mare possono essere separati, a mezzo della centrifugazione differenziale, in due frazioni, una fortemente ed una scarsamente pigmentata. La prima mostra una attività ATPasica attivata da Mg con un massimo a pH 8.2; il massimo della seconda è invece a pH 6.4. Nelle preparazioni contenenti i due tipi di particolati si ritrovano i due massimi.     

Establishment of the indigenous microbial flora of the intestines in the course of the evolution of vertebrates

Riassunto È stato osservato che la flora microbica indigena intestinale, praticamente assente nei Pesci, si trova associata stabilmente nei Tetrapodi, a partire dagli Anfibi Urodeli e Anuri.     

Statistical analysis of the relation between the length of the genoma and the diploid number of the chromosomes inCercopithecus

Riassunto Utilizzando metodiche statistiche è stato analizzato l'incremento della lunghezza totale del genoma rispetto al numero dei cromosomi in piastre a diversa ploidia nel genereCercopithecus. È stato riscontrato che la relazione numero dei cromosomi e lunghezza del genoma è significativamente lineare. È supposto un meccanismo adittivo per interpretare l'incremento del numero dei cromosomi.     

Effect of diabetes on the enzymes of the cholinergic system of the rat brain

Summary Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities were determined in several brain regions of normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. The diabetic rats exhibited significant increase in ChAT activity (p<0.05) in all brain regions studied except for the cortex and the midbrain. Meanwhile, the diabetes condition was associated with significant increase (p<0.05) in AChE activity of the bulbus olfactorius, medulla oblongata and cerebellum. These data suggest that uncontrolled diabetes is associated with significant alterations in the brain cholinergic systems.To whom requests of reprints should be addressed.This work was supported by grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NSG 2183 and NAG-2-411), a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH Grant RR0811) and a grant from the Division of Research Resources, National Institutes of Health (NIH Grant RR03020).     

Determination of the structure of the peptide moiety of the antibiotic albomycin

Zusammenfassung Der Peptidteil des Antibioticums Albomycin wurde aufgeklärt durch Überführung der -Hydroxy-ornithinreste in Glutaminsäurereste und anschliessende saure Partialhydrolyse, wobei sechs Peptide resultierten, deren Kombination eine eindeutige Strukturformel lieferten.