Measurement of urinary steroid production rates using stable-isotopes and GC-MS

Summary The urinary production rate of pregnenolone has been determined for a male subject using 7,7-d₂-pregnenolone as an isotopic tracer.To whom correspondence should be addressed.     

A new simple assay for total blood lipids by refractometry

Summary A fast simple method for assay of total blood lipids has been devised by precipitating blood proteins with methanol and extracting lipids into diethyl ether. The change in refractive index of the methanol-ether due to dissolved lipids is measured in a refractometer.     

Ecdysteroids inLimulus larvae

Summary Free ecdysteroids were extracted from intermolt and premolt larvae ofLimulus polyphemus in the first posthatch stage, purified by TLC and HRLC, and assayed by RIA and theLimulus bioassay 20-hydroxyecdysone appears to be a principal ecdysteroid and occurs at least 3 times higher a concentration in premolt vs intermolt animals.Supported by NSF grant GB-40620.Acknowledgments. We are indebted to Prof. G. R. Wyatt for the antibody, Prof. K. Nakanishi for use of his laboratory for HRLC separations, and to Dr David King for the³H-ecdysone and for performing radio-TLC analyses.     

Oxidation of bilirubin with chloranil. A simple method for preparing isomerically pure biliverdin

Summary Isomerically pure biliverdin IXa can be prepared in high yield through dehydrogenation of bilirubin IXa with chloranil-picric acid in chloroform containing t-butanol.     

A genetic study of intergradation betweenMytilus edulis andMytilus galloprovincialis

Summary A study of geographic variation at 2 diagnostic allozyme loci in the musselsMytilus edulis andM. galloprovincialis reveals considerable spatial variation, both in allele frequencies and in the extent of intergradation.This work was supported in part by grant GR3/2452 from the NERC. We thank M. Hunt, A. Dunn and M. Newton for technical assistance and the many people who gave advice or helped in the collection of specimens.     

A duration-dependent negative potential in the cichlid electroretinogram

Summary A negative potential can be evoked in the local electroretinogram of the cichlid fishCichlasoma octofasciatum by light stimuli of duration longer than 70 msec. This response superficially resembles the proximal negative response, but differs in some waveform components and dependence upon stimulus configuration and duration.     

The influence of homologous plasma and fetal calf serum on human lymphocytic cortisol metabolism

Summary The influence of a) tissue culture medium (RPMI), b) homologous plasma (HP), and c) fetal calf serum (FCS) on lymphocytic cortisol metabolism was compared to that of phosphate buffered saline alone. RPMI was found to enhance the conversion rate 1.71 times, whereas HP and FCS enhanced it about 3.2 times. Raising the temperature of the HP and FCS to 100°C before incubation reduced the enhancing effect to the level of that obtained with RPMI.This work was supported by The Israel Cancer Research Fund N.Y. (George and Rose Blumenthal Research Fellowship for Hodgkins Disease). The authors are grateful to Dr Malchi and his staff from the Beilinson Hospital Blood Bank, for supplying us with buffy coats and to Mr Z. Klein for drawing the figure.     

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.     

Epithelial cell processes in the development of the secondary palate in the mouse

Summary Ultrastructural studies of palatal shelves of Tuck A mice embryos aged 12.25–14.25 days show discontinuities of the epithelial basement membrane traversed by epithelial cell processes before the onset of midline degenerative changes.     

Photoperiod manipulation to control diapause in the pink bollworm,Pectinophora gossypiella

Zusammenfassung Im 12-h Kurztag gehaltenePectinophora gossypiella gehen zu 78% in Diapause. Zusätzlich applizierte, einstÜndige Perioden mit 15 Lichtpulsen von je 1 min Dauer reduzieren die Diapauserate. Die besten Resultate ergeben 2 Pulsperioden, je 1,5 h vor und nach der Hellphase appliziert.