Antidiuretic effects of oxytocin in the Brattleboro rat

Summary The antidiuretic activity of oxytocin (OT) was measured in Brattleboro rats with congenital diabetes insipidus. A dose dependent antidiuretic response was found in animals receiving chronic infusions of 0.1 g/h, 1.0 g/h, and 5 g/h of OT. OT infused at the rate of 5 g/h over a 7-day period completely reversed the symptoms of diabetes insipidus. The results support the concept that OT serves as a weak agonist of vasopressin at the level of the kidney and at pharmacological levels exhibits antidiuretic activity.     

AnAnolis skin melanophore assay suitable for photoaffinity labeling studies with α-MSH

Summary Visual determination of MSH-induced pigment migration in melanophores of small pieces ofAnolis carolinensis skin is standardized by first measuring photoelectrometrically the change in reflection/transmission of the whole dorsal skin in response to different hormone concentrations. This method allows the rapid and precise recording of time-response curves after photoaffinity labeling of MSH receptors or of dose-response curves of large series of synthetic compounds.Acknowledgments. We wish to thank Ms V. Jäggin, Ms C. Schulthess and Ms G. van Hees for excellent technical assistance, Dr. R. Andreatta, Ciba-Geigy AG, Basel, for his generous gift of -MSH and Prof. A Pletscher for his continuous interest. This work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation.     

Bicuculline and picrotoxin block γ-aminobutryic acid-gated Cl− conductance by different mechanisms

Summary Using isolated, internally perfused bullfrog dorsal root ganglion cells we have studied the dose-response curves for -aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the presence of internally or externally applied GABA antagonists. With external application of antagonists the inhibition of the GABA current by bicuculline was competitive and that by picrotoxin was noncompetitive. Picrotoxin but not bicuculline blocked when internally perfused.To whom reprint requests should be addressed.Acknowledgments. We thank Drs S. Minakami and S. Yasui for helpful discussions and comments.     

Discovery of Jupiter's 'gossamer' ring

Jupiter's ring system has previously been described as being composed of a 'bright' narrow ring and an interior, vertically-extended halo. The one image which reveals this morphology most clearly is Voyager 2's parting shot of the Jupiter system, a wide-angle (WA) view of the ring ansa in forward-scattered light (FDS 20693.02). The bright ring is plainly visible, and the halo appears after slight contrast enhancement. By further enhancement of this image we have discovered an additional ring, which is far fainter than either of the (already faint) components previously identified, extending to a radius of 210,000 km.     

Differential effects of prostaglandins and isoproterenol on cAMP content and Na,K pump activity in rat submandibular acini

Summary The -adrenergic agonist isoproterenol and prostaglandins E₁ and E₂ (but not F₂) increased the cAMP content of rat submandibular acini in vitro, but only isoproterenol enhanced ouabain-sensitive⁸⁶Rb (K) uptake. These findings suggest that cAMP is not involved in the activation of the Na, K pump in salivary cells.     

An enzyme immunoassay for mouse epidermal growth factor utilizing a liquid phase double-antibody system

Summary An enzyme immunoassay for mouse epidermal growth factor (EGF) involving a liquid phase double-antibody system was developed. The EGF--galactosidase conjugate prepared was stable for at least 8 months. By this method, EGF was detectable at a concentration as low as 20 pg per tube. The concentrations of EGF in various tissues of mice are also presented.This work was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan.     

不同热管工质对热管冷却反应堆堆芯物理参数的影响与分析

热管冷却反应堆采用非能动传热技术,热响应速度快,可避免堆芯单点失效,具有功率密度大、寿命长、环境适应性强、工作性能稳定等特点,是目前空间核反应堆研究的热点。本文基于清华大学开发的反应堆蒙特卡洛中子输运程序RMC (Reactor Monte Carlo code),以美国爱荷华国家实验室(Idaho National Laboratory, INL)设计的热管冷却反应堆INL Design A为研究对象,选取3种热管工质开展热管冷却反应堆堆芯物理计算。计算结果表明：锂热管工质不仅拥有很好的热物性参数,并且使用锂热管工质的热管冷却反应堆缓发中子有效份额最大、中子能谱较硬、燃耗反应性损失最小、增殖性能最佳,有利于热管冷却反应堆堆芯小型化与长寿命。因此,推荐锂为热管冷却反应堆的热管工质。     

震区中小跨径桥梁墩柱配筋率取值范围

为研究配筋率对钢筋混凝土桥梁延性抗震性能的影响,并在不同设防烈度对主筋配筋率的合理取值进行细分。以钢筋混凝土桥梁为研究对象,通过拟静力模型试验与有限元数值分析的方法,研究竖向钢筋(主筋)配筋率对桥墩延性的影响,提出典型桥墩的多级性能水平量化指标;并探究在氯离子侵蚀的恶劣环境下,不同配筋率对桥梁抗震性能所带来的影响,从而对氯离子侵蚀环境下的震区中小跨径桥梁墩柱配筋率取值范围提供参考建议。结果表明：考虑氯离子侵蚀作用下的恢复力模型能够较好地反映刚度的退化特性,墩柱的最佳配筋率取值范围为1.11%～2.72%;当加速度为0.3g(g为重力加速度)时,仅从配筋率的角度已无法满足墩柱的损伤指标,建议采用减隔震体系进行抗震设计,如采用延性体系时配筋率不得小于2.64%。研究结果可为中小跨径连续桥梁抗震设计提供参考。     

四硝基酞菁合钴化学修饰电极的制备及对氧的电催化还原

合成了4,4′,4″,4″′—四硝基酞菁合钴(Ⅱ),并进行了表征,用不可逆吸附法制备了该化合物为修饰物的化学修饰电极,以光电子能谱法进行了表面表征。并研究了分子氧在该化学修饰电极上的电化学行为,发现该化学修饰电极对氧的还原有明显的电催化作用。