Sleep patterns of the monkey and brain serotonin concentration: effect of p-chlorophenylalanine

The amount of time that monkeys (Macaca mulatta) slept was reduced after they were given p-chlorophenylalanine, a selective depletor of serotonin in animal tissues. The time spent in the rapid eye movement stage of sleep was unchanged, but the time in other sleep stages decreased. Seven regions of the brain had a 31 to 46 percent decrease in serotonin content; the concentration of cerebellar serotonin increased by 44 percent.     

Long-term amphetamine treatment decreases brain serotonin metabolism: implications for theories of schizophrenia

Long-term amphetamine administration to cats (a mean of 8.75 milligrams per kilogram twice daily for 10 days) produced large decreases (40 to 67 percent in serotonin and its major metabolite, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, in all brain regions examined. This treatment also produced several behaviors that are dependent on depressed central serotonergic neurotransmission, and which normally are elicited exclusively by hallucinogenic drugs. Short-term amphetamine administration (15 mg/kg) did not produce these behaviors and resulted in small decreases in brain serotonin and no change in 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid. These data are discussed in the context of monoamine theories of schizophrenia.     

Stratospheric response to trace gas perturbations: changes in ozone and temperature distributions

The stratospheric concentration of trace gases released in the atmosphere as a result of human activities is increasing at a rate of 5 to 8 percent per year in the case of the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), 1 percent per year in the case of methane (CH(4)), and 0.25 percent per year in the case of nitrous oxide (N(2)O). The amount of carbon dioxide (CO(2)) is expected to double before the end of the 21st century. Even if the production of the CFCs remains limited according to the protocol for the protection of the ozone layer signed in September 1987 in Montreal, the abundance of active chlorine (2 parts per billion by volume in the early 1980s) is expected to reach 6 to7 parts per billion by volume by 2050. The impact of these increases on stratospheric temperature and ozone was investigated with a two-dimensional numerical model. The model includes interactive radiation, wave and mean flow dynamics, and 40 trace species. An increase in CFCs caused ozone depletion in the model, with the largest losses near the stratopause and, in the vertical mean, at high latitudes. Increased CO(2) caused ozone amounts to increase through cooling, with the largest increases again near 45 kilometers and at high latitudes. This CO(2)-induced poleward increase reduced the CFC-induced poleward decrease. Poleward and downward ozone transport played a major role in determining the latitudinal variation in column ozone changes.     

A strong influence of serotonin axons on beta-adrenergic receptors in rat brain

The role of serotonin axons in modulating the norepinephrine neurotransmission system in rat brain was investigated. Selective lesions of the forebrain serotonergic system were made by injecting 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine into the midbrain raphe nuclei. Four to six weeks after the lesion, the uptake of 3H-labeled serotonin in the frontal cortex and the hippocampus was reduced by more than 90 percent, while neither the uptake of 3H-labeled norepinephrine nor the content of norepinephrine was affected in either tissue. The number of beta-adrenergic receptors, as measured by radioligand binding with 3H-labeled dihydroalprenolol, was increased in the frontal cortex and hippocampus of rats with lesions. Similarly, specific lesions of central serotonin axons produced by systemically administered p-chloramphetamine resulted in an increase in the binding of 3H-labeled dihydroalprenolol to beta-adrenergic receptors and in the production of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate in response to isoproterenol. These results indicate that serotonin axons may regulate beta-adrenergic receptor number and function in brain.     

Recent changes in atmospheric carbon monoxide

Measurements of carbon monoxide (CO) in air samples collected from 27 locations between 71 degrees N and 41 degrees S show that atmospheric levels of this gas have decreased worldwide over the past 2 to 5 years. During this period, CO decreased at nearly a constant rate in the high northern latitudes. In contrast, in the tropics an abrupt decrease occurred beginning at the end of 1991. In the Northern Hemisphere, CO decreased at a spatially and temporally averaged rate of 7.3 (+/-0.9) parts per billion per year (6.1 percent per year) from June 1990 to June 1993, whereas in the Southern Hemisphere, CO decreased 4.2 (+/-0.5) parts per billion per year (7.0 percent per year). This recent change is opposite a long-term trend of a 1 to 2 percent per year increase inferred from measurements made in the Northern Hemisphere during the past 30 years.     

分枝型普通小麦的创育及其杂种优势利用研究

小麦产量构成的三要素是单位面积穗数、每穗粒数及粒重,其中通过增加穗粒数来提高产量的潜力是很大的。应用亚远缘梯级复合杂交培育出多粒穗分枝普通小麦(2n=42)品系,其优点是半矮秆,抗病抗逆性好,分枝性状稳定,穗粒数较普通小麦增加50%以上,在良好栽培条件下,公顷产量最高可达11 235kg。选用其中两个不同类型的分枝小麦与5个普通小麦配置了6个CHA杂交组合,试验结果表明,其中杂种比双亲之一的推广品种晋麦67号(CK)等平均增产24.4%,幅度为7.5%~38.8%。由此可以预测,多粒穗分枝小麦将成为CHA组合理想的强优势亲本,并在生产中得以广泛应用。     

Phenobarbital: effects of long-term administration on behavior and brain of artificially reared rats

Two doses of phenobarbital were given daily for 2 weeks to infant rats fed by intragastric cannulas. The larger dose (60 milligrams per kilogram of body weight) resulted in decreased spontaneous activity and increased responses to novel stimuli. The smaller dose (15 milligrams per kilogram) resulted in increased spontaneous activity and also an increase of responses to novel stimuli. The larger dose produced a 12 percent reduction in brain growth, while the smaller dose was associated with a 3 percent reduction in brain growth.     

Oxygen isotopes: experimental vapor fractionation and variations in tektites

High-temperature (about 2800 degrees C) vapor fractionation of a silicate glass that originally contained 82 percent by weight of SiO(2) resulted in a decrease of the silica content to 45 percent. Oxygen isotope analyses show that the O(18)/O(16) ratio increased from 13.80 per mil in the starting material to 14.47 and 15.03 per mil in the residuum. This suggests that bediasites, which also exhibit an increase in this ratio with decreasing content of silica, have been subjected to a process of vapor fractionation.     

Indication of increasing solar ultraviolet-B radiation flux in alpine regions

Measurements at the Jungfraujoch High Mountain Station (Swiss Alps, 47 degrees N, 3576 meters above sea level) indicate that there has been a slight increase of about 1 percent per year in the flux of solar ultraviolet-B radiation (290 to 330 nanometers) since 1981. A Robertson-Berger detector was used to measure solar erythemal radiation. The increase can be related to a long-term ozone depletion.     

杭州木荷次生林生物量的研究

杭州西湖山区北高峰南坡的木荷次生林的生物量、生长量及凋落量的调查结果表明:①林分总生物量为134.113t/hm~2,其中活植物体126.649t/hm~2;②总生物量各个层次分配比例为:乔木层80.16％,更新层5.67％,灌木层3.84％,草本层4.76％,枯落物层5.57％;③在乔木层中,干、枝和叶的生物量分别分53.591,16.996和4.835t/hm~2,占地上部分的70.95％,22.50％和6.40％,根生物量18.474t/hm~2,占该层生物量的29.76％;④全林年生长量18.474t/hm~2,乔木层12.598t/hm~2,占68.19％,更新层1.948t/hm~2,占10.54％;⑤年平均凋落量5.848t/hm~2,叶凋落量占79.49％。2～4月和8～9月分别是凋落的两个高峰季节。     

Pharmacologic effects in man of a specific serotonin-reuptake inhibitor

Fluoxetine (Li-ly 110140) caused a 63 percent inhibition of [3H]serotonin uptake into platelets obtained from normal volunteers to whom the drug was administered daily for 7 days. This dose had no effect on the usual pressor response produced by injections of norepinephrine or tyramine.     

Atmospheric carbon dioxide and carbon reservoir changes

The net release of CO(2) from the biosphere to the atmosphere between 1850 and 1950 is estimated to amount to 1.2 x 10(9) tons of carbon per year. During this interval, changes in land use reduced the total terrestrial biomass by 7 percent. There has been a smaller reduction in biomass over the last few decades. In the middle 19th century the air had a CO(2) content of approximately 268 parts per millon, and the total increase in atmospheric CO(2) content since 1850 has been 18 percent. Major sinks for fossil fuel CO(2) are the thermocline regions of large oceanic gyres. About 34 percent of the excess CO(2) generated so far is stored in surface and thermocline gyre waters, and 13 percent has been advected into the deep sea. This leaves an airborne fraction of 53 percent.     

Aminoacidemias: effects on maze performance and cerebral serotonin

The feeding of high dietary supplements of L-phenylalanine (7 percent) and L-leucine (7 percent) to weanling rats is associated with poor performance in a multiple-T, water-escape maze. Supplements high in L-tryptophan (5 percent), on the other hand, result in maze performance which is superior to that of controls. Adding 5 percent tryptophan to the high-phenylalanine diet reverses the behavioral deficit. The quality of maze performance correlated with the cerebral content of serotonin.     

椪柑“三疏一改” 和贮藏保鲜技术及其效果

针对衢县柑生产中果形偏小、品质欠佳和商品率低等问题, 经大面积推广疏株、疏大枝、疏果、增施有机肥改良土壤(三疏一改)和果品贮藏保鲜技术后表明:实施以三疏 一改 为核心的低改技术, 基地平均产量超过45 thm-2 , 特级和一级果率由实施前的30 %提高到78 %, 增加160 %, 二级和三级果明显减小;年增收0.26 万～ 1.88 万元hm-2 , 投产比达1∶4 ～ 6 。推广万利得贮藏保鲜技术, 果品保鲜时间达3 ～ 4 个月, 好果率提高3.4 %,衢县柑有95 %果品实施贮藏保鲜, 减少了损耗。推广三疏一改 和保鲜技术, 经济效益十分显著。表5 参5     

Growth enhancement of plants by femtomole doses of colloidally dispersed triacontanol

Colloidal dispersions of crystalline 1-triacontanol in water, upon foliar application to corn (Zea mays L.) seedlings, resulted in growth increases at femtomole dosages (spray concentrations as low as 1 nanogram per cubic decimeter). The maximum growth increase occurred at 100 nanograms per cubic decimeter; at both higher and lower concentrations lessened growth increase was observed. The dispersions were prepared by sonication, with control of temperature and composition. Selected surfactants, which facilitate the dispersion process, are effective at 1 percent of the 1-triacontanol composition and are nontoxic.     

速溶芦笋粉改善睡眠作用研究

[目的]评价以芦笋为原料开发的功能食品速溶芦笋粉改善睡眠的功效。[方法]通过60名志愿者试食试验,每日食用1次,1次2袋(24 g),连续食用60 d,进行睡眠状况评估,同时测定安全性指标及失眠相关内分泌指标,观察速溶芦笋粉对人体睡眠障碍的改善作用。[结果]速溶芦笋粉可明显增加有失眠困扰测评者的有效睡眠时间,由5.1 h延长至6.1 h;缩短入睡时间,由50.4 min缩短到25.3 min;醒后再入睡时间明显减少,平均时间由46.5 min减少至19.5 min,食用前后差异显著(P0.05),测评者对睡眠质量改善满意度较高。食用后无肝肾功能影响,具有较好的安全性。速溶芦笋粉可以降低皮质醇、去甲肾上腺素水平,提高5-羟色胺、多巴胺水平。[结论]速溶芦笋粉有改善睡眠质量作用,安全有效,其改善睡眠作用可能与调节HPA轴或5-羟色胺分泌相关。     

Septal tryptophan-5-hydroxylase: divergent response to raphe lesions and parachlorophenylalanine

A soluble form of tryptophan-5-hydroxylase activity was found to be present in areas rich in serotonergic terminals (colliculi, hippocampus, septal area, and remaining telencephalon) as well as in brainstem, an area rich in cell bodies. The enzymatic activity in all brain regions, except the septal area, was inhibited to varying degrees following administration of parachlorophenylalanine. Destruction of the raphe nuclei in the midbrain led to a large and comparable decrease in both serotonin content and tryptophan hydroxylase activity of the hippocampus. In contrast, these lesions did not significantly affect the enzymatic activity of the septal area although the serotonin content was decreased by 72 percent. These findings suggest that the major portion of the tryptophan hydroxylase activity of the septal area is uniquely different from that found in other telencephalic areas in that it is not localized in serotonergic nerve terminals nor is it inhibited by parachlorophenylalanine.     

Trends in Stomatal Density and 13C/12C Ratios of Pinus flexilis Needles During Last Glacial-Interglacial Cycle

Measurements of stomatal density and delta(13)C of limber pine (Pinus flexilis) needles (leaves) preserved in pack rat middens from the Great Basin reveal shifts in plant physiology and leaf morphology during the last 30,000 years. Sites were selected so as to offset glacial to Holocene climatic differences and thus to isolate the effects of changing atmospheric CO(2) levels. Stomatal density decreased approximately 17 percent and delta(13)C decreased approximately 1.5 per mil during deglaciation from 15,000 to 12,000 years ago, concomitant with a 30 percent increase in atmospheric CO(2). Water-use efficiency increased approximately 15 percent during deglaciation, if temperature and humidity were held constant and the proxy values for CO(2) and delta(13)C of past atmospheres are accurate. The delta(13)C variations may help constrain hypotheses about the redistribution of carbon between the atmosphere and biosphere during the last glacial-interglacial cycle.     

Atmospheric trace gases in antarctica

Trace gases have been measured, by electron-capture gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques, at the South Pole (SP) in Antarctica and in the U.S. Pacific Northwest (PNW) ( approximately 45 degrees N) during January of each year from 1975 to 1980. These measurements show that the concentrations of CCl(3)F, CCl(2)F(2), and CH(3)CCl(3) have increased exponentially at substantial rates. The concentration of CCl(3)F increased at 12 percent per year at the SP and at 8 percent per year in the PNW; CCl(2)F(2) increased at about 9 percent per year at both locations, and CH(3)CCl(3) increased at 17 percent per year at the SP and 11.6 percent per year at the PNW site. There is some evidence that CCl(4) ( approximately 3 percent per year) and N(2)O (0.1 to 0.5 percent per year) may also have increased. Concentrations of nine other trace gases of importance in atmospheric chemistry are also being measured at these two locations. Results of the measurements of CHClF(2)(F-22), C(2)Cl(3)F(3)(F-113), SF(6), C(2)-hydrocarbons, and CH(3)Cl are reported here.     

L-dihydroxyphenylalanine: effect on S-adenosylmethionine in brain

Forty-five minutes after intraperitoneal injection of a single dose (100 milligrams per kilogram) of L-dihydroxyphenylalanine, the concentration of S-adenosylmethionine in rat brain was lowered by 76 percent. As little as 10 milligrams of L-dihydroxyphenylalanine per kilogram decreased content of S-adenosylmethionine in the adrenal medulla by 51 percent, whereas 100 milligrams per kilogram did not significantly depress concentration of S-adenosylmethionine in the liver in this time interval. Concentration of S-adenosylmethionine in the brain varied diurnally; L-dihydroxyphenylalanine lowered this concentration whether administered at the daily peak or at the nadir.