Evaluation of the hepatotoxicological effects of a drug in an in vivo/in vitro model

Both in vivo and in vitro models have certain disadvantages for the study of the chronic hepatotoxicity of drugs. The aim of this work was to evaluate a new approach based on an in vivo/in vitro model. After chronic in vivo treatment of rats with Vincamine and Vindeburnol (an eburnamenine derivative which exhibits hepatotoxic properties in man) liver cells were isolated, and functional and metabolic disorders (metabolic utilization of fructose and protein biosynthesis) were studied to determine injury. The results showed no modification of blood parameters, but a direct relationship between the dose of Vindeburnol administered in vivo and the metabolic disorders observed in vitro, evidencing the high sensitivity and reliability of this model.     

The induction of secondary seed dormancy by oxygen deficiency in a barnyard grassEchinochloa crus-galli

At 25°C, secondary dormancy was induced in seeds ofE. crus-galli exposed for 100 days to oxygen deficiency. By contrast, hypoxia did not induce dormancy at 15°C or prevent dormancy termination at 7°C. Secondary dormancy was terminated after 2 months stratification at 7°C. Oxygen deficiency may increase the proportion of dormant seeds in the soil, and affect the dynamics of the barnyard-grass soil seed bank.We thank Miss Jitka Králová for her excellent technical assistance.     

In vitro protein synthesis and α amylase activity in F cells from hepatopancreas ofPalaemon serratus (Crustacea; Decapoda)

In crustaceans, all the steps in the assimilation of food take place in the hepatopancreas. To facilitate the study of this organ, a method for the dissociation of cell types was developed. The hepatopancreas of the prawnPalaemon serratus was mechanically dissociated and the cells separated by Percoll density-gradient centrifugation. The E and R cells had similar densities of around 1.05 g/ml. The F cells were separated into two distinct fractions with densities of 1.075 and 1.082 g/ml. The B cells sedimented at a density of 1.12 g/ml. The ratio between the two populations of F cells was found to vary during the intermolt cycle while B cells disappeared after the molt. When the density gradient fractions were incubated with³H-leucine, incorporation was highest in the F cell fractions. Measurements of -amylase activity, indicated that the two populations of F cells may be derived from the same cell type.     

Identification of a new predaceous stink bug pheromone and its attractiveness to the eastern yellowjacket

Summary Males ofPodisus fretus (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) release a long-range attractant pheromone containing linalool (49.0%), (E)-2-hexenal (34.5%), benzyl alcohol (12.0%), nerolidol (2.0%),-terpineol (1.1%), and traces of several other compounds. The eastern yellowjacket,Vespula maculifrons (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), is attracted to artificial pheromones forP. fretus and for the sympatric species,Podisus maculiventris.The authors thank Mr T.J. Henry of the USDA Systematic Entomology Laboratory and Dr J.E. McPherson, Southern Illinois University, for examining the pentatomid species and Dr A.S. Menke, USDA-SEL, for determining the yellowjacket species. We also thank S. Wilzer for technical assistance. Mention of a company name does not imply endorsement by the US Department of Agriculture.     

Molt-induced muscle atrophy decreases the zinc content of the pectoralis of the Giant Canada Goose (Branta canadensis maxima)

Summary During molt-induced atrophy of the pectoralis muscle of the Giant Canada Goose (Branta canadensis maxima), the zinc content of the muscle was significantly reduced (p0.0139), though the concentration of zinc per unit weight of muscle appeared higher (p0.0232). Zinc lost from the muscle during molt could be utilized for growth of the new flight feathers.Acknowledgments. Funds for this study were obtained from an operating grant awarded to J. C. G. by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.     

Secular variation in carbon isotope ratios from Upper Proterozoic successions of Svalbard and East Greenland

Analyses of stratigraphically continuous suites of samples from Upper Proterozoic sedimentary successions of East Greenland, Spitsbergen and Nordaustlandet (Svalbard) provide an approximation to the secular variation in carbon isotope ratios during a geologically and biologically important period of change from around 900 million years ago to the beginning of the Cambrian period. Late Riphean carbonates and organic material show a stratigraphically useful pattern of enrichment in 13C relative to Phanerozoic or earlier Proterozoic samples. Isotopic compositions of isolated samples from other localities are consistent with a worldwide extended interval of enhanced organic burial and consequent net survival of oxidized material, probably O2, just before the initial radiation of metazoans.     

Organically preserved microbial endoliths from the late Proterozoic of East Greenland

Diverse microorganisms ranging from cyanobacteria to eukaryotic algae and fungi live endolithically within ooids, hardgrounds and invertebrate shells on the present-day sea floor. These organisms are involved in the mechanical destruction of carbonates, and are useful ecological indicators of water depth and pollution. The Phanerozoic history of microbial endoliths has been elucidated through the study of microborings (the trace fossils of endolithic microorganisms) and rare cellularly preserved individuals, but nothing was known of the possible Precambrian evolution of comparable microorganisms until Campbell documented the occurrence of microborings in late Proterozoic ooids from central East Greenland. We now report the discovery of large populations of organically preserved endolithic microorganisms in silicified pisolites from 700-800-Myr-old Limestone-Dolomite Series of East Greenland. This fossil assemblage is significant for three reasons: (1) It confirms the prediction that oolites, pisolites and hardgrounds--the substrates for pre-Phanerozoic endoliths--provide a hitherto poorly explored but rewarding set of environments into which the search for early microfossils must be broadened; (2) the assemblage is diverse, containing about 12 taxa of morphologically distinct and previously unknown endolithic cyanobacteria, plus associated epilithic and interstitial populations; and (3) at least six of the fossil populations are indistinguishable in morphology, pattern of development, reproductive biology and inferred ecology from distinctive cyanobacterial species that bore ooids today in the Bahama Banks.     

Loss of antibody production accompanied by chromosome loss in a cloned hybrid line secreting antibodies to sheep red blood cells

Summary Somatic cell hybrids between Sp2/O-Ag14 mouse myeloma cells and lymphocytes derived from BALB/c mice hyperimmunized with sheep red blood cells (SRBC) were produced. One hybrid producing IgG₁ antibody to SRBC was selected, cloned twice and subsequently transferred to BALB/c mice. After a number of transfers it was found that the antibody titer in ascitec fluid gradually decreased. Cytogenetic analysis revealed gradual chromosome loss in the hybrid clone, which produced progressively less antibody.