Effect of stress on choline acetyltransferase activity of the brain and the adrenal of the rat.

Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity was determined in cerebral cortex, hypothalamus, hippocampus, cerebellum, medulla oblongata, midbrain and adrenal gland of rats exposed to acute or chronic stress. The exposure of animals to acute immobilization and cold stress (4 degrees C) for one hour resulted in a significant decline of ChAT activity in all brain regions examined except for the medulla oblongata. Moreover, the exposure to acute stress resulted in significant increase of the same enzyme in the adrenal gland. However, chronic exposure of animals to cold stress (4 degrees C) for 7 days resulted in no significant changes of ChAT activity in all tissues examined except for a decline in the midbrain and an increase in the medulla oblongata. The administration of corticosterone (2.0 mg/kg) 1 h prior to sacrificing caused an effect similar to that of acute stress on ChAT activity in all brain regions except for the hypothalamus and the cerebellum. It was concluded from this experiment that stress-induced changes in the ChAT activity of specific brain regions might be mediated by the adrenal steroids.     

混凝土减水剂的发展与绿色化

混凝土实现绿色化生产,对节约资源、能源和保护环境具有特别重大的意义。为适应绿色高性能混凝土发展的需要,混凝土外加剂的绿色化也成为必然。本文概述了促进我国绿色高性能混凝土发展的绿色减水剂的发展与最新研究成果,并讨论了应进一步研究的问题。分析认为,沿用多年的萘系高效减水剂并不符合减水剂绿色化的要求,寻求其替代品是当今减水剂工作者的重要任务。从资源、环境和安全等绿色化发展的角度,改性木素磺酸盐高效减水剂最具生命力;然而,消除改性木素磺酸盐过度缓凝性使之适应于高强混凝土、以木素替代全部或部分苯酚生产氨基磺酸系减水剂、控制脂肪族高效减水剂中残余甲醛及其回收利用、利用工业副产品替代昂贵的石油基原料对现有的聚羧酸系高效减水剂的改性或开发新型高性能减水剂是实施高效减水剂绿色化所面临的长期而艰巨的挑战。     

Relativities of fundamentality

S-dualities have been held to have radical implications for our metaphysics of fundamentality. In particular, it has been claimed that they make the fundamentality status of a physical object theory-relative in an important new way. But what physicists have had to say on the issue has not been clear or consistent, and in particular seems to be ambiguous between whether S-dualities demand an anti-realist interpretation of fundamentality talk or merely a revised realism. This paper is an attempt to bring some clarity to the matter. After showing that even antecedently familiar fundamentality claims are true only relative to a raft of metaphysical, physical, and mathematical assumptions, I argue that the relativity of fundamentality inherent in S-duality nevertheless represents something new, and that part of the reason for this is that it has both realist and anti-realist implications for fundamentality talk. I close by discussing the broader significance that S-dualities have for structuralist metaphysics and for fundamentality metaphysics more generally.     

Radioimmunoassay of polyacrylamide

Summary Antiserum to polyacrylamide has been produced in rabbits. It can be used in a sensitive radioimmunoassay for quantitation of polyacrylamide at very low concentrations. This novel approach to the analysis of a synthetic, biologically inactive, hydrocarbon polymer has potentially widespread implications, for example, in the downstream measurement of flocculating agents used in water purification treatments.Acknowlegment. We thank L. P. McCarty for coordination of the project, F. A. Blanchard for synthesis of the¹⁴C-PAA, and C. Brown and J. Cuan for technical assistance in the biological studies.     

Effect of stress on choline acetyltransferase activity of the brain and the adrenal of the rat

Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity was determined in cerebral cortex, hypothalamus, hippocampus, cerebellum, medulla oblongata, midbrain and adrenal gland of rats exposed to acute or chronic stress. The exposure of animals to acute immobilization and cold stress (4°C) for one hour resulted in a significant decline of ChAT activity in all brain regions examined except for the medulla oblongata. Moreover, the exposure to acute stress resulted in significant increase of the same enzyme in the adrenal gland. However, chronic exposure of animals to cold stress (4°C) for 7 days resulted in no significant changes of ChAT activity in all tissues examined except for a decline in the midbrain and an increase in the medulla oblongata. The administration of corticosterone (2.0 mg/kg) 1 h prior to sacrificing caused an effect similar to that of acute stress on ChAT activity in all brain regions except for the hypothalamus and the cerebellum. It was concluded from this experiment that stress-induced changes in the ChAT activity of specific brain regions might be mediated by the adrenal steroids.This work was supported by a grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NSG 2183 and NAG 2-411), a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH RR 0811) and a grant from the Division of Research Resources (NIH grant RR 03020).     

Involvement of a sperm aminopeptidase in fertilization of the sea urchin

Summary Inhibitory efficiencies of bestatin methyl ester and its nine analogs for sea urchin sperm aminopeptidase activity were similar to the efficiency of the same compounds as inhibitors either of sperm respiration or of fertilization. This suggests that a sperm aminopeptidase plays a role in fertilization in the sea urchin, possibly through its involvement in sperm respiration.Acknowledgment. We are grateful to Dr Wataru Tanaka of Nippon kayaku co. for his gifts of bestatin and its analogs. We are also indebted to Mrs Akiko Tsuchida-Watanabe for her technical assitance, and to the staff of Asamushi Marine Biological Station, Tohoku University, where part of this work was carried out. This work was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan.     

刨煤机平面振动的数学建模与仿真

为了降低刨头的振动,提高刨煤机的工作性能,通过简化和假设,应用牛顿定律建立了刨煤机在垂直煤壁方向振动和在水平面扭转振动的数学模型,通过对刨煤机的实体模型进行简化并导入Adams软件,得到了刨头沿垂直煤壁方向和平面扭转振动的仿真曲线,为研究刨煤机的振动、改进设计、合理确定刨煤机的参数提供了理论依据。     

The many faces of unification and pluralism in economics: The case of Paul Samuelson's Foundations of Economic Analysis

The history of modern economics abounds with pleas for more pluralism as well as pleas for more unification. These seem to be contradictory goals, suggesting that pluralism and unification are mutually exclusive, or at least that they involve trade-offs with more of one necessarily being traded off against less of the other. This paper will use the example of Paul Samuelson's Foundations of Economic Analysis (1947) to argue that the relationship between pluralism and unification is often more complex than this simple dichotomy suggests. In particular, Samuelson's Foundations is invariably presented as a key text in the unification of modern economics during the middle of the twentieth century; and in many ways that is entirely correct. But Samuelson's unification was not at the theoretical (causal and explanatory) level, but rather at the purely mathematical derivational level. Although this fact is recognized in the literature on Samuelson, what seems to be less recognized is that for Samuelson, much of the motivation for this unification was pluralist in spirit: not to narrow scientific economics into one single theory, but rather to allow for more than one theory to co-exist under a single unified derivational technique. This hidden pluralism will be discussed in detail. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for more recent developments in economics.     

Cryopreservation of parasites

In this review, advances in cryopreservation of helminth parasites are reported. Our own studies demonstrate that metacestodes of Echinococcus multilocularis can be maintained in a viable state for at least 1-2 years by appropriate deep-freezing and storage in liquid nitrogen. Infective larvae of the nematode Toxocara canis cryopreserved for 1 week in liquid nitrogen were maintained after thawing in vitro in a chemically defined medium for 35 weeks. Although motility of previously deep-frozen larvae was reduced they produced secretory/excretory antigens of similar immunodiagnostic quality as those from unfrozen larvae. Whereas infective larvae of several species of trichostrongy-lids can be easily cryopreserved, the infective larvae of the cattle lungworm, Dictyocaulus viviparus, and muscle larvae of Trichinella spiralis are more sensitive to damage by subzero temperatures. Therefore, survival rates after cryopreservation are low, but improvement of the cooling schedules appears to be feasible. It is concluded that cryopreservation of certain stages of helminth and protozoan parasites is a useful technique for long-term storage of defined isolates, which can contribute considerably to reducing the number of experimental animals usually required for serial passages.     

Accumulation of Phosvel in adipose tissue of hens

Summary Phosvel, an organophosphorus pesticide, was stored in the adipose tissue of hens after they were given daily a single oral dose. The concentration of Phosvel in fat was related to the size of the daily dose.Acknowledgment. The authors are grateful to Prof. Yoshito Tsuji for his valuable suggestions; to Mr Mitsuo Kaneda and Mr Kazuo Sasaki for their technical assistance.     

Molecular diagnosis of parasites

Summary New developments in molecular biology have generated exciting possibilities for improved diagnosis of parasitic diseases. Through gene clonign and expression and peptide synthesis, defined parasite antigens can be produced in vitro for use in serodiagnosis, while nuclear hybridization techniques offer a vastly improved approach to identification of parasites in the tissue specimens of infected hosts as a means of diagnosis. Furthermore, the advent of the polymerase chain reaction technique has made it possible to increase the sensitivity of nuclear hybridization techniques, through amplification of target DNA sequences of the parasites in test material, by in situ synthesis of these sequences prior to hybridization with the diagnostic probe. Finally, through the use of monoclonal antibody technology, it is possible to design highly specific and sensitive serological assays, as well as assays for parasite antigen detection in tissue fluids and in the excreta of infected hosts, as a means of diagnosis.     

Molecular diagnosis of parasites

New developments in molecular biology have generated exciting possibilities for improved diagnosis of parasitic diseases. Through gene cloning and expression and peptide synthesis, defined parasite antigens can be produced in vitro for use in serodiagnosis, while nuclear hybridization techniques offer a vastly improved approach to identification of parasites in the tissue specimens of infected hosts as a means of diagnosis. Furthermore, the advent of the polymerase chain reaction technique has made it possible to increase the sensitivity of nuclear hybridization techniques, through amplification of target DNA sequences of the parasites in test material, by in situ synthesis of these sequences prior to hybridization with the diagnostic probe. Finally, through the use of monoclonal antibody technology, it is possible to design highly specific and sensitive serological assays, as well as assays for parasite antigen detection in tissue fluids and in the excreta of infected hosts, as a means of diagnosis.     

Toxicity of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis for Simulium larvae, vectors of onchocerciasis]

On field trials in infested streams, the primary powder R 153-78 made of B. thuringiensis var. israelensis with a potency of 3,000 I.T.U. Aedes aegypti/milligramme is very toxic for Blackfly larvae, especially for Simulium damnosum s.l. larvae. The lethal concentration 100, in 24 h. is 0.2 X 10(-6) for a 10 min. treatment. This high toxicity, specific for Diptera larvae such as Mosquitoes and Blackflies, is related to the special characteristic of the bacterial crystal protein which has a clear serological and chemical individuality compared to the crystal proteins of the other B. thuringiensis serotypes essentially pathogenic for Lepidoptera larvae. These preliminary results are very promising and could lead, on further research, to the utilization of B. thuringiensis var. israelensis on large scale for onchoceriasis vector control in Africa.     

两种新生大鼠皮质发育障碍模型的差异基因表达谱研究

目的研究两种不同的方法构建皮质发育障碍(DCDs)动物模型中的共同差异表达基因,为进一步研究DCDs形成机制提供基因水平筛选的研究平台。方法用两种方法制备DCDs模型:①射线损伤模型(射线组):采用剂量为1.45 Gy的γ射线照射妊娠15 d的SD大鼠制作子代大鼠DCDs模型;②卡莫司汀(BCNU)药物损伤模型(药物组):妊娠15 d的SD大鼠,腹腔注射BCNU制作子代大鼠DCDs模型。同时设正常对照组。对两种DCDs模型的子代新生鼠(P0)全脑做基因芯片扫描,结果与正常对照组比较,获得两种模型共有的差异基因。结果射线组大鼠与正常比较得到170个差异基因,其中25个上调,145个下调;药物组大鼠与正常比较得到259个差异基因,其中67个上调,192个下调。两组重合的基因共54个,其中3个上调,51个下调。结论皮质发育障碍是一个复杂的病理过程,本实验运用基因芯片技术,对两种不同方法构建的DCDs模型进行了研究,获得两种DCDs模型共有的基因差异表达谱,为进一步研究DCDs形成机制提供了分子生物学平台。     

Phytotoxins as tools in breeding and selection of disease-resistant plants

Conventional plant breeding for resistance to pathogens, although successful, is in many cases still too slow to keep pace with pathogen adaptation, and suffers from the lack of genetic variability in cultivated varieties. Phytotoxins, because of their role in disease development, have been proposed as convenient markers for early screening of resistant genotypes and as selective agents for in vitro selection. The present review summarizes, firstly, the evidence for a genetic correlation between tolerance to toxins and resistance to pathogens, with particular reference to host-selective toxins (HST) and factors affecting early screening. There follows a discussion of results obtained from the use of phytotoxins for in vitro selection of resistant plants. The conclusion is drawn that this practice, while potentially useful in the case of HST, leads to contradictory results when ill-defined toxins or culture filtrates are used. Finally, prospects for future research are adumbrated.     

近自然森林经营目标树作业体系辅助设计系统的研究与开发

目标树林分作业体系是近自然森林经理计划中规定本经理期内对当前林分执行具体作业的林分作业模式.近自然的目标树作业体系设计是以单株木为对象,按调整林木竞争或互助的生态关系、降低作业成本、提高生产能力的原则进行,设计的技术要求较高,工作量大,结果也会因具体林分条件不同而出现较大的差异.开发一个近自然林分作业辅助设计系统是导引近自然森林经营向规范化和标准化方向进行的必要工作.本文以此为目标,以天保工程区天然林和人工林的样地调查数据为基础,以模块化设计思想为指导,采用C/S结构的系统开发模式、用Access提供数据管理并以Excel支持结果输出、以VB 6.0为程序设计语言,开发了可视化的目标树林分作业辅助设计系统.该系统实现了虚拟的林木分类标记、干扰木采伐操作及保护促进天然更新标识等作业设计内容,并提供了样地数据管理、林木空间位置分布图制作、林分统计图表和主要经营参数的自动计算和设计文本输出功能,实现了林分作业的规范化和自动化辅助设计和决策分析目标.该系统的应用可促进近自然森林经营工作规范化推广发展.     

Reduction of the number of mice used for potency testing of human and animal rabies vaccines

Eight different rabies vaccines were tested for their potency in the standard mouse potency test using 3-, 5- and 7-week-old mice. 5-week-old mice seem to be best suited for this purpose, variability from test to test could be reduced considerably. An ELISA was used in parallel for the evaluation of the rabies glycoprotein content of rabies vaccines. Results of the mouse potency test correlated well with those of the ELISA if highly purified human vaccines were tested. Unspecific reactions in the ELISA caused by adjuvanted veterinary vaccines could not be blocked. Further experiments will be needed in order to evaluate the potency of inactivated veterinary rabies vaccines by a in vitro test.     

Reduction of the number of mice used for potency testing of human and animal rabies vaccines

Summary Eight different rabies vaccines were tested for their potency in the standard mouse potency test using 3-, 5- and 7-week-old mice. 5-week-old mice seem to be best suited for this purpose, variability from test to test could be reduced considerably. An ELISA was used in parallel for the evaluation of the rabies glycoprotein content of rabies vaccines. Results of the mouse potency test correlated well with those of the ELISA if highly purified human vaccines were tested. Unspecific reactions in the ELISA caused by adjuvanted veterinary vaccines could not be blocked. Further experiments will be needed in order to evaluate the potency of inactivated veterinary rabies vaccines by a in vitro test.     

Effect of cold exposure on electrophysiological properties of rat heart

Male rats exposed to the cold (4°C) for five or ten days exhibited modifications in their thyroid state, as documented by increases in serum thyroid hormone levels, to which differently graded modifications of heart weight/body weight ratio, heart rate, and resting metabolic rate were associated. The values of the above mentioned thyroid state indicators returned to those of the control when the animals, kept at cold for ten days, were re-exposed to room temperature (24°C) for an additional 10 days. The configuration of action potentials, recorded in vitro at 26°C from fibres of anterior papillary muscles, was different in control rats of different age and was affected by prolonged cold exposure. In fact, the action potential duration (APD) increased after ten days of cold exposure. In the re-exposed group the APD was not different from that of the controls. Such a pattern was not significantly modified when the stimulation frequency increased from 1 Hz to 5 Hz. The above results suggest that in cold exposure, as in experimental hyperthyroidism, thyroid hormone might exert a cardiac chronotropic effect by modifying heart electrophysiological properties. Thus thyroid hormone should play a basic role during the exposure to cold environment, stimulating the body metabolism and increasing heart rate as a response to the requirement for greater tissue perfusion.     

Cryopreservation of parasites

Summary In this review, advances in cryopreservation of helminth parasites are reported. Our own studies demonstrate that metacestodes ofEchinococcus multilocularis can be maintained in a viable state for at least 1–2 years by appropriate deep-freezing and storage in liquid nitrogen. Infective larvae of the nematodeToxocara canis cryopreserved for 1 week in liquid nitrogen were maintained after thawing in vitro in a chemically defined medium for 35 weeks. Although motility of previously deep-frozen larvae was reduced they produced secretory/excretory antigens of similar immunodiagnostic quality as those from unfrozen larvae. Whereas infective larvae of several species of trichostrongylids can be easily cryopreserved, the infective larvae of the cattle lungworm,Dictyocaulus viviparus, and muscle larvae ofTrichinella spiralis are more sensitive to damage by subzero temperatures. Therefore, survival rates after cryopreservation are low, but improvement of the cooling schedules appears to be feasible. It is concluded that cryopreservation of certain stages of helminth and protozoan parasites is a useful technique for long-term storage of defined isolates, which can contribute considerably to reducing the number of experimental animals usually required for serial passages.