Isometric length-tension diagram for maximal tetanic contractions of cardiac muscle from a gastropod,Busycon canaliculatum

Zusammenfassung Der Herzmuskel von Mollusken unterscheidet sich von der übrigen Molluskenmuskulatur entsprechend wie sich der Herzmuskel der Wirbeltiere von ihrer Skelettmuskulatur unterscheidet, insofern man die Beziehungen zwischen passiver und aktiver Kraft betrachtet. Im Herzmuskel der Mollusken lässt sich der maximale Tetanus für die Messung der aktiven Kraft verwenden.

---

---

This work was supported by Grant No. GB5598 from the U.S. National Science Foundation.     

A new substrate for cultures of dissociated primary rat brain

Different substrates were used to coat plastic petri dishes for the cultivation of dissociated fetal rat brain cells. Only on surfaces which were coated with a mixture of serum and non-reconstituted collagen, did the majority of the inoculated cells attach singly or as aggregates within 24 h. The attachment of the cells was followed by the outgrowth of cellular processes either from single cells or from aggregates in the same time period. This did not occur on collagen or serum treated or on regular plastic dishes. Under the latter conditions a similar outgrowth was observed only after 3–5 days.     

Activity of orotate metabolizing enzyme complex and various urea-cycle enzymes in mutant mice with ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency

Summary The overall activity of the enzyme complex consisting of orotate phosphoribosyl transferase and orotidine monophosphate decarboxylase, and of various enzymes of the urea cycle, has been studied in sparse-fur (spf) mutant mice with ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency. The enzyme complex has a lower overall activity, which could be caused by disturbed pyrimidine metabolism due to hyperammonemia. Other enzymes of the urea cycle do not show any significant change.Acknowledgments. The research was supported by a grant from the Conseil des Clubs Sociaux and Fondation Justine Lacoste Beaubien, Montréal. The authors wish to thank Ms Louise Poulin and Ms Francine Poisson for technical assistance.