Using histochemical analysis (NADPH-diaphorase) we have been investigating the influence of intraperitoneal administration of kainic acid (KA), hypoxia and combination of both these factors on neurons of the hippocampus and on the primary auditory cortex (PAC) in male rats of the Wistar strain. Kainic acid was administered to 18-day-old animals, which were exposed to long-lasting repeated hypoxia from the 2nd till the 17th day of age in a hypobaric chamber (for 8 h a day). At the age of 22 or 90 days, the animals were transcardially perfused with 4 % paraformaldehyde under deep thiopental anesthesia. Cryostate sections were stained to identify NADPH-diaphorase positive neurons that were then quantified in the hippocampus, in the dentate gyrus and in the PAC. In 22-day-old animals both hypoxia and KA increased the number of NADPH-diaphorase positive neurons in the hilus, CA1, CA3 areas of the hippocampus and in the PAC. On the contrary, KA given to hypoxic animals lowered the number of NADPH-diaphorase positive neurons in the dentate gyrus. In 90-day-old animals, hypoxia and KA given to both normoxic and hypoxic animals lowered the number of NADPH-diaphorase positive neurons in some areas of the central nervous system.
Latent toxoplasmosis is the most widespread parasite infection in developed and developing countries. I'he prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection varies mostly between 20 to 80% in different territories. This form of toxoplasmosis is generally considered to be asymptomatic. Recently published results, however, suggest that the personality profiles of infected subjects differ from those of uninfected controls. These results, however, were obtained on non-standard populations (biologists or former acute toxoplasmosis patients). Here we studied the personality profiles of 191 young women tested for anti-Toxoplasma immunity during gravidity. The results showed that the differences between Toxoplasma-negative and loxoplasma-posilive subjects exits also in this sample of healthy women. The subjects with latent toxoplasmosis had higher intelligence, lower guilt proneness, and possibly also higher ergic tension. The difference in several other factors (desurgency/surgency, alaxia/protension, naiveté/shrewdness, and selfsentiment integration) concerned changes in the variances, rather than the mean values of the factors.
By using a wild-type rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. Norin No. 8) and the chlorophyll (Chl) b-deficient mutant derived from Norin No. 8 (chlorina 11), the present study monitored the oxygen evolution, contents of Chl a and b, β-carotene, and lutein in leaf and the contents of cytochrome f, and the reaction centres of photosystem I (PSI) and photosystem II (PSII) in thylakoids. The oxygen evolution, maximal quantum yield of PSII (Fv/Fm) and Chl concentration remained constant in both Norin No. 8 and chlorina 11 under 5 and 2% of full sunlight for six days. On the other hand, on the thylakoid level, the PSII reaction centre of chlorina 11 was more stable even under high irradiance, while approximately 40% decrease in levels of the PSII reaction centre occurred under 2% of full sunlight for six days. However, under such conditions, by regulating the stoichiometry of active PSII and PSI centres, the light absorption balance in both rice types was adjusted between the two photosystems. The present study attempted to examine whether the light absorption balance between PSII and PSI is altered to effectively conduct photosynthesis in the wild-type and Chl b-deficient mutant rice seedlings. and J. Yamazaki.
Changes in the pools of carotenoids and protochlorophyll(ide) were investigated in etiolated cucumber cotyledons treated with norflurazon (NF) and an experimental herbicide KC 6361 (KC). Both the NF- and the KC-treated tissues considerably accumulated the colourless carotenes phytoene and phytofluene with a concomitant depletion of the coloured carotenoids lutein and β-carotene in darkness. However, the profiles of changes in chlorophylls (Chls) and carotenoids were different for the two herbicides. The plants were also influenced by the photosynthetic photon flux densities (PPFD's), with a more pronounced decline of Chl under high PPFD than under low PPFD. The ratios of protochlorophyll (PChl)/protochlorophyllide (PChlide) were greatly altered due to a decrease and an increase of PChl in the NF- and the KC-treated etiolated tissues, respectively, whereas the PChlide content was not significantly influenced by the inhibitors. Large increase of PChls in the KC-treated tissues seems to derive from the binding of accumulated geranylgeraniol (GG) equivalents, through carotenogenic inhibition, to PChlide. Therefore, the alterations of PChl and PChlide occurring under disturbed carotenogenesis may suggest an interaction between the biosynthetic pathways of Chls and carotenoids. In addition, the great proportion of PChl GG and PChl dihydro-GG in the KC-treated tissues implies that PChl formation is regulated at the level of hydrogenation. and S. Jung ... [et al.].
Free radicals and proinflammatory cytokines from phagocytes have been implicated in the pathogenesis of endotoxic shock, a disease with high mortality caused by Gram-negative bacterial endotoxin. In the present study, male BALB/c and Swiss mice received intraperitoneally lipopolysaccharide (LPS) at 100 mg/kg and 150 mg/kg, respectively, that led to a lethal endotoxic shock (100 % of mortality before 30 h). Swiss mice injected with 100 mg/kg, that did not show lethal endotoxic shock, were also studied. Peritoneal macrophages were obtained from animals at 2, 4, 12 or 24 h after injection of LPS or saline (control) solutions. Superoxide anion and tumor necrosis factor (TNFα) production were determined in these cells as well as other functions such as adherence capacity, chemotaxis and phagocytosis. The increase in superoxide anion production after endotoxin injection was higher in cells from mice with lethal shock than in those with non-lethal shock. However, the enhancement of TNFα production was similar in all cases, although in Swiss mice the highest levels of TNFα were observed at 1.5 h after endotoxin injection, while in BALB/c mice they occurred at 2 h after LPS injection. This oxidative stress was also revealed by the other functions analyzed, since adherence to substrate and phagocytosis were stimulated and chemotaxis was decreased after endotoxin injection as compared to controls, the differences being even more significant in animals with lethal shock. These data suggest that these changes, mainly the increased production of free radicals even more than the TNFα release, could be involved in mouse mortality caused by LPS., V. M. Víctor, M. de la Fuente., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Chloroplast polypeptide composition of rice plants {Oryza sativa L. cv. Safari) exposed for 30 d to increasing Cu ion concentrations in a hydroponie growth medium was analyised. The conventional discontinuous SDS-aerylamide gel electrophoretic systém, the SDS PhastGel (Pharmacia Fine Chemicals) gradient 10-15 and tíie 5-8 pH range polyaciylamide isoelectric focusing of the PhastSystem separation and development technique were ušed. With Cu levels greater than 0.25 g m'^ die polypeptide bands with apparent molecular masses of 42/41, 33/32, 21/20 and 19/18 kDa deereased in the PhastSystem separation and development systém, whereas with the conventional discontinuous SDS buffer systém gel electrophoresis all these bands disappeared except the 33/32 kDa band. Also, under the latter systém excess Cu deereased the 56/55, 55/54, 26 and 22 kDa bands which was not shown by the PhastSystem separation and development technique. Furthermore, in the discontinuous SDS-PAGE high Cu levels induced the disappearance of the 16.5, 14.5 and 12 kDa bands, which were again not shown by the PhastSystem separation and development technique; yet the opposite oceurred with the 49 kDa band of the gel profiles. Polyacrylamide isoelectric focusing of thyiakoid membranes showed in all Cu treatments two major bands at pl 7.7 and <5 and a minor one at pl 6.48. At Cu concentrations lower than 1.25 g m'^ two additional smáli bands appeared (pl 5.5 and 5.18); and at Cu concentrations greater than 0.25 g m'^ these smáli bands were replaced by four different ones (pl 6.7, 6.05, 5.35, 5.25).
A comparison between maximum quantum yield of PSII photochemistry (Fv/Fm) and chlorophyll fluorescence decrease ratio (Rfd) for low and high temperature resistance was assessed in a seasonal study of the acclimation in Pterocephalus lasiospermus. Analyzing the regression adjustment of both parameters and the lethal temperatures (LT50), Rfd resulted in being a more sensitive indicator for low and high temperature treatments, since the thermic resistance estimated with Rfd parameter was never higher than those estimated with Fv/Fm. Furthermore, the use of Fv/Fm led to an overestimation of the acclimation phenomena, with 6ºC of a maximum difference between both parameters. Using Rfd as the indicator parameter, P. lasiospermus acclimated to low temperatures but it kept on being a sensitive species (the lowest LT50 values only achieved -9.9 ± 0.3ºC). However, no heat acclimation was observed (LT50 around 43.5ºC). Thus, according to Rfd evaluation of the thermic threshold, this species could be in risk of damage at low temperatures in this alpine ecosystem., A. V. Perera-Castro, P. Brito, A. M. González-Rodríguez., and Obsahuje bibliografii
French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cotyledons lost most of their reserve substances during several early days of germination and turned green. In cotyledon mesophyll cells of one-week-old seedlings, plastids were represented predominantly by amyloplasts (starch grains) and chloroamyloplasts, and the cells appeared to be metabolically highly active. Cell heterogeneity associated with distance of the cells from cotyledon vascular bundles was evident. Only mesophyll cells near to the bundles were rich in plastids. In two-weeks-old intact bean plants, the cotyledons were yellow and shrunken, and their cells were nearly "empty". The plastids in them were represented by senescent plastids (gerontoplasts) only. In the gerontoplasts as well as freely in cytosol, fluorescent lipoid inclusions were accumulated. This cotyledon development was more or less independent of irradiance. In "decapitated" bean plants, senescence of mesophyll cells and plastids was slowed down considerably, and the life span of the cotyledons was prolonged. and J. Kutík, N. Wilhelmová, J. Snopek.