Cortisol and ACTH response to Dex/CRH testing and 24-hour urine free cortisol levels in women with and without premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Hyperactive and hyperreactive HPA axis functions are frequently reported in depressive disorders, particularly in major depression. However, research into HPA axis function in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), which is also classified as a depressive disorder, has shown inconsistent results. This study aimed to characterize the HPA axis in women with PMDD using the combined dexamethasone suppression and CRH stimulation (Dex/CRH) test, alongside measurements of 24-hour urine free cortisol (UFC).

Lectin binding and gel secretion within Lorenzinian electroreceptors of Polyodon.

We imaged the carbohydrate-selective spatial binding of 8 lectins in the ampullary organs (AOs) of electroreceptors on the rostrum of freshwater paddlefish (Polyodon spathula), by fluorescence imaging and morphometry of frozen sections. A focus was candidate sites of secretion of the glycoprotein gel filling the lumen of AOs. The rostrum of Polyodon is an electrosensory appendage anterior of the head, covered with >50,000 AOs, each homologous with the ampulla of Lorenzini electroreceptors of marine rays and sharks.

Papilla cells may guard the entrance to ampullary organs of Polyodon electroreceptors.

We imaged 'papilla cells' in the skin pores of ampullary organs in electroreceptors on the rostrum of freshwater paddlefish (Polyodon spathula), by lectin labeling and fluorescence stack imaging of frozen sections. >50,000 ampullary organs, each 0.3-0.

The Cortisol and ACTH Response to Dex/CRH Testing in Women With and Without Perimenopausal Depression.

Context: Abnormalities in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are frequent accompaniments of depression, and studies have documented the role of stress and stressful life events in the ontogeny of perimenopausal depressions (PMD). Because HPA axis function in women is further modulated both by aging and ovarian steroids, it is possible that a dysregulated HPA axis contributes to the increased risk of PMD.

Objective: We examined HPA axis function in perimenopausal women with and without depression using the combined dexamethasone-corticotropin-releasing hormone (Dex/CRH) test.

Large-Scale Convergence of Receptor Cell Arrays Onto Afferent Terminal Arbors in the Lorenzinian Electroreceptors of .

Certain sensory receptors contain many transducers, converging onto few afferents. Convergence creates star-topology neural networks, of iterative parallel organization, that may yield special functional properties. We quantitated large-scale convergence in electroreceptors on the rostrum of preadult paddlefish, (Acipenseriforme vertebrates), and analyzed the afferent terminal branching underlying the convergence.

WordSeeker: concurrent bioinformatics software for discovering genome-wide patterns and word-based genomic signatures.

Background: An important focus of genomic science is the discovery and characterization of all functional elements within genomes. In silico methods are used in genome studies to discover putative regulatory genomic elements (called words or motifs). Although a number of methods have been developed for motif discovery, most of them lack the scalability needed to analyze large genomic data sets.

Tritium thermal activation study of bacteriorhodopsin topography.

The action of thermally activated tritium on the purple membrane and delipidated bacteriorhodopsin fragments has been studied, tritium incorporation into specified amino acid residues being quantified by Edman degradation. The membrane environment was found to affect the accessibility of amino acid residues for tritium. Bacteriorhodopsin fragments 14-31, 45-63, 81-89, 171-179, and 210-225 were localized to the membrane interior while fragments 4-12, 32-44, 64-65, 73-80, and 156-170 should lie outside or close to membrane surface.

[Effect of qualitatively varying nutrition on several parameters of aflatoxin B1 metabolism and toxicokinetics].

The influence of qualitatively different nutrition (physiological and that with lysine, methionine, threonine and vitamins A, B, C deficiencies) on certain toxicokinetic parameters of 3H-aflatoxin B1, after single and multiple (every day, during 5 days) intraperitoneal injections of this agent in a dose of 25 micrograms/animal, was studied in two series of experiments on growing male WAG rats with the initial bw 40-50 g. It has been proved that the main parameters of aflatoxin B1 toxicokinetics depend on the injection multiplicity and the nutrition character. It has been established that the qualitative differences in the nutrition character essentially influence the stages of aflatoxin B1 distribution in the body, the sorption and metabolic transformation in the liver, enterohepatic recirculation, the rate and correlation of the main elimination routes.

[Study of the interaction between cytochrome c and cytochrome oxidase by tritium planigraphy].

Treatment of molecular crystals of the bovine cytochrome oxidase and the cytochrome oxidase-cytochrome c complex with thermally activated tritium leads to highly labelled cytochrome oxidase preparations. HPLC separation of its subunits and measurements of radioactivity of each polypeptide allow to determine the shielding of cytochrome oxidase surface sites by cytochrome c in the complex.

[Use of electric stimulation for activating the process of bone consolidation].

A method of electrostimulation aimed at activation of bone adhesion processes was developed and introduced into practice at the Latvian Research Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics on the basis of data on bone bioelectric activity. The method was used in complex with external fixation of the fracture by Kalnbers' apparatus. The phase pattern of callus formation necessitated the employment of the appropriate potential of direct current.

[Tritium labeling of RNA and protein of bacteriophage MS2].

Thermal activation of tritium gas is used for labeling of the nucleoprotein, phage MS 2. The obtained preparation of tritiated phage has a specific radioactivity of 20-50 Ci/mmole, is considerably infectious and appears suitable for a wide range of studies. The radioactivity is distributed between intraphage RNA and phage outer protein (approximately 1:3 ratio).

[Tritium labeling of tRNA by the tritium thermal activation method].

Tritium labelled E. coli total tRNA and tRNAPhe are prepared by action of thermally activated tritium atoms. The preparations, having the molar radioactivity up to 3.