Hybrid dysgenesis in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster in Japan. III. The P-M system in and around Japan.

The P-M system of hybrid dysgenesis in Drosophila melanogaster was investigated on the basis of gonadal dysgenesis, using 1,590 strains from 28 natural populations in Japan, and 20 populations from Southeast Asia, the Pacific area and Africa. Strong P strains were found sporadically in several populations in Japan. Few strong M strains were observed.

The necessity of dietary vitamin B6 to selenium biopotency for tissue selenium and glutathione peroxidase in rats.

Necessity of dietary vitamin B6 to the biopotency of selenium (Se) for the levels of Se and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in tissues was investigated. Male Wistar 12-week-old rats were fed a vitamin B6-Se-deficient basal diet for 3 weeks, and then the rats were divided into 6 groups. One group was fed the basal diet, the others were fed the diet supplemented with 250 micrograms vitamin B6/100 g as pyridoxine.

Fatty acid composition of breast milk from Nigerian and Japanese women.

The fatty acid composition of samples of breast milk obtained from well-nourished Nigerian and Japanese women was determined by gas chromatography. The cultural differences in dietary intake was reflected in the fatty acid composition of breast milk samples. The milk of Nigerian women contained a significantly higher percentage of saturated fatty acids (48.

Effects of dietary zinc and cadmium on tissue selenium concentration and glutathione peroxidase activity in rats fed DL-selenomethionine or sodium selenite.

The effects of dietary zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) on tissue selenium (Se) concentration and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity were studied in weanling male Wistar rats. One group of rats was fed a purified diet based on casein and sucrose, and the other rats used in a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatment were fed this diet supplemented with 0.1 mg Se/kg, either as DL-selenomethionine or sodium selenite and plus 100 mg Zn/kg as zinc sulfate or 5 mg Cd/kg as cadmium chloride or both for 4 weeks.

Effect of fish oil and safflower oil in common Japanese diet on human plasma fatty acid composition.

The influence of fish oil and safflower oil contained in the common Japanese diet as the main dietary polyunsaturated fatty acid source on plasma fatty acids in ten female student volunteers (21-22 years old) was investigated. The subjects were divided into two groups and fed the experimental diets for five days. The total daily fat intake in the fish diet and safflower oil diet was 54.

Hepatic cysteine dioxygenase activity and sulfur amino acid metabolism in rats: possible indicators in the evaluation of protein quality.

Experiments were carried out to examine the possibility that the sulfur amino acid metabolism of rats may be an indicator of the nutritional value of dietary protein. Rats were fed diets containing 8, 16 or 24% of gluten, soy protein or casein for 3 wk. Hepatic cysteine dioxygenase activity, hepatic concentration of glutathione, cysteine and taurine and urinary taurine were examined.

Autoradiographic study of [35S]-cysteine and [1-14C]-cystine in pregnant and neonatal mice.

The distribution and fate of 35S from [35S]-cysteine and 14C from [1-14C]-cystine, both precursors to taurine in 17-day pregnant mice and (1-day-old) neonates were investigated by whole-body autoradiography following IV injection for the pregnant mice and IP injection for the neonates. Survival intervals were 30 min, 3 hr. In the dam, 35S and 14C were both highly incorporated into the pancreas.

Distribution of 35S-taurine in rat neonates and adults. A whole-body autoradiographic study.

The distribution of 35S-taurine in rat neonates and adults was investigated by wholy -body autoradiography. The neonates (4-day-old) were frozen in dry-ice hexane at 30 min, 1, 3 and 6 h after an intraperitoneal injection of 35S-taurine, whereas survival intervals for adult rats were 1 and 3 h. Whole-sagittal sections of the frozen rat, obtained by using a cryostat microtome were dried in situ and autoradiographed.