The protective effects of vitamin E on microcephaly in rats X-irradiated in utero: DNA, lipid peroxide and confronting cisternae.

Fetuses from rats given either water or 0.03% D,L-alpha-tocopherol acetate (vitamin E) as a drinking fluid and X-irradiated with 100 rad on gestational day 13 were examined on gestational day 21. Mean cerebral weight which was significantly reduced by the X-irradiation was increased by vitamin E supplementation but the level did not reach that in sham-irradiated controls.

The protective effects of vitamin E against microcephaly in rats X-irradiated in utero: dendritic branches.

Fetuses from rats given either water or 0.03% dl-alpha-tocopherol acetate (vitamin E) as the drinking fluid and X-irradiated with 100R on gestational day (gd) 13 were examined on gd 21. The degree of dendritic branching of frontal cerebral neurons, examined after Golgi staining, was significantly reduced by X-irradiation, and supplementation of vitamin E caused increased branching order numbers in irradiated fetuses.

Cytochemical localization of alkaline phosphatase in the ependyma of the rat medulla oblongata.

The ependyma of the IVth ventricle and the central canal of the rat medulla oblongata was investigated using the cytochemical technique for alkaline phosphatase (A1Pase) which revealed two types of ependymal cells in the medulla. The central canal type of the ependymal cell occupying the dorsal part of the central canal in the lower medulla exhibited intense A1Pase activity with light microscopy. These cells had reaction products in all plasma membranes, including the microvilli and the cilia at the luminal cell surface.

Effects of neonatal capsaicin treatment on thiamine monophosphatase (TMPase) activity in the substantia gelatinosa of the rat spinal cord.

The present study investigated changes in gelatinosal TMPase activity following capsaicin treatment. The gelatinosal TMPase activity was positive around postnatal day 3, and the activity disappeared when newborn rats were treated with capsaicin on postnatal days 2 or 3. The absence of TMPase activity was still observed four months after treatment.

Atlanto-axial dislocation with brain atrophy and edema: an autopsy report.

We report autopsy findings of the vertical type of atlanto-axial dislocation. Details of the anatomical features in the head and neck are described, with reference to the histological findings of medullary compression.

Ultracytochemical studies of capillary endothelial cells in the rat central nervous system.

The ultracytochemical localization of eight hydrolytic enzymes (TMPase, 5'-NPase, TPPase, TTPase, Mg++-ATPase, Ca++-ATPase, ALPase and K+-NPPase) and one oxidative enzyme (MAO) was determined in rat brain capillary endothelial cells. In the somal plasma membrane, the enzymatic activity was mainly located in the antiluminal plasma membrane. This finding was appropriate for enzymes possessing the optimal pH at alkaline ranges, except for alkaline phosphatase.

The confronting cisternae in neurons in the substantia gelatinosa of the spinal cord of rats and Japanese monkeys.

The neurons in the substantia gelatinosa of the spinal cord of the rat and Japanese monkey were investigated electron microscopically and ultracytochemically. The confronting cisternae observed in the cytoplasm of the majority of gelatinosal neurons in both species were composed of closely apposed parallel cisternae with electron-dense flocculent material, and a continuity with the cisternae of the rough endoplasmic reticulum was often observed. Ultracytochemically, the p-nitrophenylphosphatase (p-NPPase) activity was present in the confronting cisternae, but thiamine monophosphatase (TMPase) and thiamine pyrophosphatase (TPPase) activities were absent.

Zinc supplementation in ethanol-treated pregnant rats increases the metabolic activity in the fetal hippocampus.

As a possible preventative measure for brain dysfunction in the fetal alcohol syndrome, the effect of zinc supplementation together with ethanol on the fetal cerebrum, especially the hippocampus, was investigated. Female rats of an ethanol group and a control group received 30% ethanol and water, respectively. During pregnancy half of both groups received 0.

A cerium method for the ultracytochemical localization of monoamine oxidase activity.

A cytochemical method based on the complex formation between cerous ions and hydrogen peroxide is described for the ultrastructural localization of monoamine oxidase (MAO). First, the residual MAO activity after fixation was measured by a radiochemical assay technique and was found to be sufficiently retained for cytochemical detection. Although the Tris buffer used in the present method was found to be inhibitory to MAO, considerable activity was still retained after fixation and incubation in Tris.

Amino acids derivatives synthesis from nitrogen, carbon and water by electric discharges.

Electric discharges between a pair of carbon electrodes were continued for 50 days in a vessel of 5 liters in volume which initially contained nitrogen at a pressure of 15 cm Hg and 200 ml of water. The pressure in the vessel was gradually increased to 60 cm Hg at the end of the run. Gas chromatographic analysis showed that the increase of the pressure mainly results from the production of hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

[Oblongata in the spinal trigeminal nucleus of the adult rat (author's transl)].

The substantia gelationsa has been noted as a region of central pain control, In 1979, we reported that an intense thiamine monophosphatase (TMPase) activity was specifically localized on the plasma membrane of the synaptic glomeruli, especially dense sinusoid axon terminals (DSA). In the present investigation, the ultracytochemical localization of TMPase activity was studied in the spinal trigeminal nucleus of the adult rat. Vibratome sections of aldehyde-fixed specimens were incubated in the incubation medium (veronal-acetate buffer, pH 5.

Constant AMP synthesis in aqueous solution by electric discharges.

An electric discharge was made through a gas mixture of N2 (7 cm Hg), H2 (14 cm Hg) and CO2 (14 cm Hg) over an aqueous solution (100 ml, pH 7.6) of adenosine (0.02 M) and phosphate (0.

Axoplasmic transport of microtubule-associated proteins in the rat sciatic nerve.

32P-ATP was injected into the L5 dorsal root ganglion and axoplasmic transport of the phosphorylate MA proteins 2, microtubule-associated proteins 2, was observed. After the injection of 32P-ATP, the nerve was dissected out at prescribed time intervals and sliced into 5-mm pieces. Each segment was electrophoresed on an SDS-polyacrylamide slab gel and subjected to autoradiography.

Oligo-glycine synthesis in an aqueous solution of glycine under oxidative conditions.

Di- and tri-glycine were synthesized in 1M aqueous solution of glycine by bubbling for 90 hr with oxygen discharged in the path from an oxygen cylinder. The peptides were also produced by an incubation at 37 degrees C of 2M glycine solution prepared with 75% hydrogen peroxide, and the yields were traced for 200 days. The final yields were about 0.

Influence of different preparatory sets on reaction time and arm-movement time.

The effect of three different preparatory sets on reaction time (RT), movement time (MT) and reaction time-movement time (RT-MT) relationship was examined. All 15 subjects were required to perform under the three conditions regarding the relative payoff of stimulus and speed of movement. No significant effect of RT was found, while the significant difference between MT under MT-payoff condition and MT under RT-payoff condition was found.

A case of suspected congenital rubella encephalopathy.

A case of suspected congenital rubella syndrome was reported. The patient, a 3-month-old female, was admitted because of irregular respiration. She was diagnosed as suspected congenital encephalodysplasia by CT-scan.

Ultrastructural study on myelination in rat spinal cord during the early postnatal stage.

The progress of myelination and the appearance of myelinated fibers in the anterior funiculus of the lumbar spinal cord of newborn rats were examined by electron microscopy. Myelin was seen only in the relatively larger axons on the first postnatal day, and the number of myelinated axons increased in number with age, but no tract-specific development in myelination could be observed in the anterior funiculus. During the early development of the white matter in the spinal cord, active immature oligodendrocytes, whose cytological characteristics differed from those of mature oligodendrocytes, were seen.