The effects of physostigmine on the oxygen uptake in rat brain tissue

Summary Physostigmine in a dose of 0.1 mg/kg i.v. expressly stimulated the oxygen uptake in the rat cerebral cortex. This effect was blocked by propranolol and seems be mediated by catecholamines. Since atropine also antagonized the stimulant effect of physostigmine, it appears that the action of physostigmine is primarily cholinergic and that the adrenergic effect is a secondary phenomenon. The higher dose of physostigmine (0.4 mg/kg i.v.) caused a depression of rat brain oxygen uptake.This work was supported by a grant from Serbian Republic Scientific Fund (ZMNU SR Srbija), Belgrade (Yugoslavia).The authors wish to acknowledge the skilful technical assistance of Lj. Krsti.     

Immunochemical identity of dipeptidyl aminopeptidase IV from pig serum, liver, submaxillary gland and kidney.

The enzymes which were extracted by autodigestion from the microsomal fractions of the pig kidney, liver and submaxillary gland and from the serum showed an immunochemical identity by a double immunodiffusion test. But the kidney enzyme had a different pI-value from the pI-values of the enzymes of other organs.     

Increase in Na+, K+ -ATPase enzyme units in liver and kidneys from essential fatty acid deficient rats.

(3H)-Ouabain binding to liver and kidney preparations was utilized to estimate the number of Na+, K+-ATPase enzyme units in livers and kidneys from rats fed 2% corn oil supplemented or fat-free diets. The specific (3H)-ouabain binding in liver and kidney preparations from fatty acid deficient rats was increased approximately 40%, but the affinity of the binding sites for ouabain (Kd-value) remained unchanged. The increased concentration of Na+, K+-ATPase enzyme units observed in the essential fatty acid deficient rats may contribute to the reduced body fat accumulation and elevated heat production observed in these animals.     

In vitro inactivation of corpora allata of the bugOncopeltus fasciatus by precocene II

Summary Corpora allata fromOncopeltus fasciatus incubated in vitro in medium containing 10^–5.35 M (1 g/ml) of precocene II lose their ability to secrete juvenile hormone when reimplanted into last instar larvae.Acknowledgments. We thank Mr K. Dorn, Mrs L. Dolezal, Mrs V. Nötzli-Graf, Mr K.H. Trautmann and Mr A. Schuler for technical help, Dr W. Vogel and Dr A. Dübendorfer for valuable discussions.     

Monolayer cultures of perikarya isolated from postnatal rat cerebellum

Summary Viable cerebellar perikarya of mixed cell type obtained from 7–9-day-old rats were maintained in monolayer culture for up to 12 days. During this time extensive neurite formation and outgrowth occurred. The large majority of the cells developing in culture were tentatively identified as granule neurons. This identification was based on the large number isolated from the starting tissue, and the cells general morphological features in culture such as perikaryal and nuclear size, the bipolar nature of neurite extension, and their migratory behaviour.D.N. Currie was supported by a grant from Hoechst Pharmaceuticals, Ld, U.K.J.C. was supported by an S.R.C. Grant to S.P.R. RoseThe authors would like to thank Kathleen Tear for excellent technical assistance and members of the Brain Research Group for helpful discussions.     

0957 + 561 A, B: twin quasistellar objects or gravitational lens?

0957 + 561 A, B are two QSOs of mag 17 with 5.7 arc s separation at redshift 1.405. Their spectra leave little doubt that they are associated. Difficulties arise in describing them as two distinct objects and the possibility that they are two images of the same object formed by a gravitational lens is discussed.     

Density gradient centrifugation of cells separated from multicellular tumor spheroids

Summary Cells from a murine fibrosarcoma (FSa) have been grown in vitro as multicell tumor spheroids (MTS). The growth rate of these MTS was determined. Follwing selected periods of growth, MTS were made into a single cell suspension and separated on linear density gradients of Renografin. While only 1 population of cells was separated from small spheroids (400 m diameter), at least 3 subpopulations of tumor cells were separated and isolated from large spheroids (800 m in diameter).This investigation was supported in part by grants numbered CA-18628 and CA-06294, awarded by the National Cancer Institute, DHEW.     

An independent microbial flora of the epithelium and its role in the ecomicrobiology of the rumen

IT has been suggested that the bacterial flora of the rumen should be considered as three distinct, interacting populations-the bacteria of rumen fluid (the population which has been studied most extensively), the bacteria associated with food particles, and the bacteria adhering to the epithelial wall of the organ(1). Until now, studies of the 'epithelial' population have been restricted to examination of postmortem samples of wall tissue and its attached bacterial flora(2-5). A recently developed technique(6) for feeding young sheep for long periods solely by infusion of protein and other essential nutrients into the abomasum, and of volatile fatty acids and bicarbonate buffer into the rumen, has provided us with an opportunity to study in isolation the role of the bacterial population of the wall in the ecomicrobiology of the rumen in the living animal. Our studies show that this population can exist independently of the other two populations, that it is primarily responsible for urea digestion in the rumen and that it initiates breakdown of dead epithelial tissue. Furthermore, our results point to an inverse relationship between ammonia concentration and ureolytic activity in rumen fluid, which may account for the control which ammonia exerts over flux of urea across the rumen wall(7-9).